8||0|2023|0|
0|0|0|||1||SSSS.Gridman|Gryphon||17:51:35|12/26/2019|This show has one of the odder origin stories.  Not within the show%2C I mean the origin of the show itself.%0D%0A%0D%0ABack in the strange television wasteland that was the early 1990s%2C Tsuburaya Productions%2C the company responsible for the %5Bi%5DUltraman%5B%2Fi%5D franchise%2C was on a bit of a break from its most famous creation.  They hadn%27t made an Ultraman series since 1980%27s imaginatively titled %5Bi%5DUltraman 80%5B%2Fi%5D%3B although a couple of licensed Ultraman series were made in English-speaking countries in the early %2790s%2C Tsuburaya themselves wouldn%27t make another one until %5Bi%5DUltraman Tiga%5B%2Fi%5D%2A in 1996.%0D%0A%0D%0AIn 1993%2C perhaps missing a bit of that giant superhero action%2C Tsuburaya made a TV show called %5Bi%5DDenk%C5%8D Ch%C5%8Djin Gridman%5B%2Fi%5D %28%22Lightning Superman Gridman%22%2C sometimes rendered %5Bi%5DHyper Agent Gridman%5B%2Fi%5D in English%29.  %5Bi%5DGridman%5B%2Fi%5D is... weird.  Like%2C really weird.  It%27s as if someone at Tsuburaya stayed up %5Bi%5Dway%5B%2Fi%5D too late one night and thought%2C %5Bi%5DWhat if we crossed Ultraman with Tron%3F%5B%2Fi%5D%0D%0A%0D%0AYou see%2C like Tsuburaya%27s more famous characters%2C Gridman is a giant superhero of alien origin %28it%27s suggested that he%27s actually from another dimension%29%2C but%2C as his name might tend to suggest%2C he lives and fights giant monsters inside %22the computer world%22%2C not in the actual streets of Tokyo.  Real-world consequences of his battles are thus limited to whatever weirdness is caused when the computers go haywire because there is a giant monster battle happening in%2C and wrecking large swathes of%2C cyberspace.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe thing is%2C like certain other fictional properties of the early %2790s %28yes%2C I%27m looking at you%2C %5Bi%5DReBoot%5B%2Fi%5D%29%2C %5Bi%5DGridman%5B%2Fi%5D is a show about computers that seems to have been written by people who had %5Bi%5Dheard%5B%2Fi%5D of computers%2C but didn%27t %5Bi%5Dknow%5B%2Fi%5D anything about them.  %28It sometimes feels likely that the writers of %5Bi%5DGridman%5B%2Fi%5D had never actually %5Bi%5Dseen%5B%2Fi%5D one. %3A%29  The effects which Gridman%27s battles in The Computer World have on the real world are hilariously impossible.  Example%3A In one scene in the first episode%2C the monster%27s targeting of a hospital%27s computers is reflected not in the hospital%27s scheduling system going down%2C or the power failing%2C or perhaps the accounting computer mistakenly billing patients for procedures they never had%3B no%2C instead%2C an operating room in which a young boy is being treated for acute appendicitis is suddenly filled with arcs of lightning and inexplicably levitating surgical instruments%2C as if the place has been invaded by an unlikely and bothersome team-up of a feral Pikachu and a poltergeist with a grudge against the medical profession.%0D%0A%0D%0ACouple that with the high%2C high visual standards of early-1990s %22live actor matted into CG scenery%22 technology and you have one strange-ass viewing experience.  %5Bi%5DGridman%5B%2Fi%5D is a relic from a simpler time%2C a time when Japanese audiences would happily put up with shows that neither made sense nor looked good as long as the premise was interesting and the presentation was sincere.  And %5Bi%5DGridman%5B%2Fi%5D%27s presentation is certainly sincere.  The actors all come across like they%27re in a Very Special Episode of %5Bi%5DABC After School Special%5B%2Fi%5D.  %28The quality of script and direction they have to work with is similar as well.%29  This nonsense is Serious Business as far as they%27re concerned. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0ACut to North America%2C where Art Metrano and Harry Connick eat pizza and buy ties for their stupid girlfriends and Harry Truman gets off a plane by the sewage dump and then a blind guy goes by and says%2C %22Help me%2C%22 %5Bi%5Dwhat the hell was that supposed to be%3F%21%5B%2Fi%5D  DiC Entertainment%2C eyeing the success of repackaged %5Bi%5Dtokusatsu%5B%2Fi%5D shows like %5Bi%5DMighty Morphin %5B%2Fi%5D%26l%3Bsic%26r%3B%5Bi%5D Power Rangers%5B%2Fi%5D and %5Bi%5DBig Bad Beetleborgs%5B%2Fi%5D%2C set themselves the task of coming up with something like that%2C only based on a show that is not as good and given an even dumber title.  They succeeded wildly in both respects%2C because what they came up with was a series built around the battle footage from %5Bi%5DGridman%5B%2Fi%5D and called %5Bi%5DSuperhuman Samurai Syber %5B%2Fi%5D%26l%3Bsic%26r%3B%5Bi%5D Squad%5B%2Fi%5D.%0D%0A%0D%0AOddly for one of those shows%2C %5Bi%5DSSSS%5B%2Fi%5D was produced with the actual cooperation and input of Tsuburaya%2C rather than just using Western actors and a pair of scissors like Haim Saban did to make the original %5Bi%5DMMPR%5B%2Fi%5D.  Among other things%2C this meant that the props and sound effects matched.  On the other hand%2C it was still based on the fight footage from %5Bi%5DGridman%5B%2Fi%5D%2C with its iffy matte effects and hilariously bad CGI backgrounds%2C so it still wasn%27t a very good show.  I was just at the wrong age to really get into any of these shows%2C besides a mild 20s-ironic flirtation with %5Bi%5DPower Rangers%5B%2Fi%5D %28which mostly consisted of seeing the first movie with Derek a few times%29%2C but I remember running across it a few times on cable and thinking it looked pretty bad even by the liberal standards of that kind of program.%0D%0A%0D%0ABy the time %5Bi%5DSSSS%5B%2Fi%5D started airing%2C Tsuburaya had put its international adventures behind it and started work on the Heisei-era %5Bi%5DUltra%5B%2Fi%5D shows%2C starting with the aforementioned %5Bi%5DUltraman Tiga%5B%2Fi%5D.  %5Bi%5DGridman%5B%2Fi%5D and %5Bi%5DSSSS%5B%2Fi%5D lived out their runs and then faded into a well-deserved obscurity.%0D%0A%0D%0AUntil a year or two ago%2C when someone at Tsuburaya was apparently looking around for a project that needed doing and thought%2C %5Bi%5DWell%2C there%27s Gridman... oh%2C and the Americans did that other show that was based on it.  Why don%27t we make an anime series based on %5Bb%5Dboth of them%3F%5B%2Fb%5D%5B%2Fi%5D%0D%0A%0D%0ASo... that%27s what they did.  That%27s what the %5Bi%5DSSSS%5B%2Fi%5D in %5Bi%5DSSSS.Gridman%5B%2Fi%5D stands for.  It%27s a mashup of %5Bi%5DGridman%5B%2Fi%5D %5Bb%5Dand%5B%2Fb%5D %5Bi%5DSuperhuman Samurai Syber %5B%2Fi%5D%26l%3Bsic%26r%3B%5Bi%5D Squad%5B%2Fi%5D.  And it is just as weird as that sentence suggests it must be.  The thing is that%2C at least over the first three episodes %28that%27s all I%27ve watched so far%29%2C although it%27s based on two television shows that were bad%2C %5Bi%5DSSSS.Gridman%5B%2Fi%5D somehow manages not to be terrible.  In fact it%27s pretty good.%0D%0A%0D%0AI mean%2C the visuals are a lot better%2C but you would expect that from animation produced in the late 2010s as opposed to live-action-plus-CG from 1993.  It%27s not just that%2C though%3B it%27s also better-written.  Weird and trippy%2C yes%2C but one gets the sense that the general vibe of %22I can%27t be sure what the hell is actually going on here%22 is %5Bi%5Dcultivated%5B%2Fi%5D instead of accidental.  It feels like it%27s leading somewhere%2C rather than just being a function of the show being an incoherent mess.%0D%0A%0D%0AIt also feels%2C unlike the original series%2C like it was made by people who were having fun.  For example%2C it%27s %5Bi%5Drelentlessly%5B%2Fi%5D referential to its origins%E2%80%94not just %5Bi%5DGridman%5B%2Fi%5D and %5Bi%5DSSSS%5B%2Fi%5D%2C but Tsuburaya in general.  One of the main characters %28the Third Guy%2C who is not one of the deuteragonists but isn%27t quite a secondary character either%29 is an Ultraman fan and routinely remarks about the similarity of various situations they%27re in %28mainly involving giant monsters attacking the city%29 to how things generally go in the Ultra series.  Gridman%27s %22manifest%2C then grow to giant size%22 thing is shown from above %5Bi%5Djust like%5B%2Fi%5D pretty much every Ultraman%27s%2C too.%0D%0A%0D%0ATonally%2C it reminds me a little of the %5Bi%5DArpeggio of Blue Steel%3A Ars Nova%5B%2Fi%5D anime%2C in that Very Serious Things are happening%2C but at the same time you can never trust it not to just haul out the slapstick %5Bi%5Din the same scene%5B%2Fi%5D.  There%27s a group of characters who are apparently personifications of Gridman%27s inevitable power-up equipment%2C and although frighteningly capable%2C they are also idiots.  For instance%2C one of them%2C Samurai Caliber %28who turns into a giant sword for Gridman to wield%29%2C carries a bunch of very long swords crossways on his back%2C and although he possesses superhuman agility and combat prowess%2C he can%27t walk through a door without banging them into the doorframe and falling down.  In the third episode%2C while the Female Deuteragonist and the Third Guy are trying to get an emotional handle on the apparent deaths of Gridman%2C Caliber%2C and their friend the Male Deuteragonist%2C three more of the %22personified power-ups%22 characters randomly show up and do this whole comedy scene about ordering lattes.%0D%0A%0D%0AI%27m finding it to be good fun so far.  It%27s not a %22deconstruction%22 of the genre the way%2C e.g.%2C %5Bi%5DEvangelion%5B%2Fi%5D was%3B it doesn%27t have that mean-spirited %22revenge%22 vibe to it.  More like it%27s somewhere between there and the bald-faced celebration of all the clich%C3%A9s %5Bi%5DKing of Braves Gaogaigar%5B%2Fi%5D was%E2%80%94aware of its own absurdity%2C but having fun with it rather than trying to make you feel like a dick for enjoying it.%0D%0A%0D%0AOf course%2C there are nine episodes left%2C so there%27s still %5Bi%5Dplenty%5B%2Fi%5D of time for it all to go horribly wrong%2C but so far I think it%27s very promising.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A%5Bfont size%3D%222%22%5D%2A Not to be confused with this year%27s %5Bi%5DUltraman Taiga%5B%2Fi%5D.  Seriously.%5B%2Ffont%5D%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
1|1|0|||1||RE%3A SSSS.Gridman|Peter Eng||14:34:01|12/27/2019|Okay%2C first off%2C I can%27t believe they dug up SSSS and used anything from it.  I mean%2C we%27re talking about a series where the transformation sequence was based on the protagonist strumming a power chord%2C the female lead saying something that made you think the character wanted to be a cheerleader%2C and the third character saying a non sequitur %28until he was replaced by a generic airhead surfer.%29%0D%0A%0D%0AReally%2C the live-action visuals and characterization felt like they were leftovers from an 80s high school show.%0D%0A%0D%0A%3E It%27s not just that%2C though%3B it%27s also better-written. Weird and trippy%2C yes%2C%0D%0A%3E but one gets the sense that the general vibe of %22I can%27t be sure what the hell%0D%0A%3E is actually going on here%22 is %5Bi%5Dcultivated%5B%2Fi%5D instead of accidental.%0D%0A%0D%0AI think it would have to be.  It sounds like they didn%27t have much to work with%2C so they built on the weakness until it was a strength.%0D%0A%0D%0APeter Eng%0D%0A--%0D%0A%28%22What were they smoking when they wrote this script%3F%22%29%0D%0A%28%22I don%27t know%2C but I think we can work with this.  What we do is...%22%29
5|2|1|||||RE%3A SSSS.Gridman|Star Ranger4||05:12:01|12/29/2019|%3EOkay%2C first off%2C I can%27t believe they dug up SSSS and used anything %0D%0A%3Efrom it.%0D%0A%0D%0ATo be fair%2C Pete%2C what was wrong with SSSS was not really in the hands of the line producers or writers.  To be blunt%2C the way RL-Gryph is handling this whole issue is a lot better than anything we lived through in the 1980%27s
2|1|0|||||RE%3A SSSS.Gridman|Star Ranger4||01:53:40|12/29/2019|So%2C I%27m at episode 10...  and while it is not the deconstruction that NXE was...  %0D%0AThere whole %27what is reality and what is really going on here%27 is really pushing the dial up to Big O%27s 11.  Depending on where you place 10 on that dial%2C it might already be there%3B but with two more episodes after this one we are already deep in the pool.%0D%0A%0D%0AOnly other thing I can think of at the moment is that the translators made a major error.  Those 4 are anything BUT JUNIOR high students.  I%27d argue that they were what us californians would call junior COLLEGE students%2C but I%27m not sure the whole junior %28aka 2 years to an associate instead of a baccalaureate degree%29 college thing is a thing anywhere other than California%3F
3|2|2|||1||RE%3A SSSS.Gridman|Gryphon||03:46:15|12/29/2019|%3EOnly other thing I can think of at the moment is that the translators %0D%0A%3Emade a major error.  Those 4 are anything BUT JUNIOR high students.  %0D%0A%0D%0AThey%27re meant to be first-year senior high school students%2C i.e.%2C in the 10th grade%2C which would mean they%27re either 15 or 16 depending on where in the year their birthdays fall.  %28In Japan%2C junior high is grades 7-9%2C senior high is 10-12%2C as opposed to %7B6%7C7%7D-8 %2F 9-12 split more typical here in the US.%29%0D%0A%0D%0A%3EI%27d argue that they were what us californians would call junior %0D%0A%3ECOLLEGE students%2C but I%27m not sure the whole junior %28aka 2 years to an %0D%0A%3Eassociate instead of a baccalaureate degree%29 college thing is a thing %0D%0A%3Eanywhere other than California%3F %0D%0A%0D%0AOh sure%2C two-year colleges exist outside California%2C though they%27re not always called junior colleges.  Here in Maine%2C for instance%2C we have the Maine Community College System%2C which is a network of two-year schools that exists in parallel with%2C and separate from%2C the University of Maine System%27s four-year ones.  There are also a few independent post-secondary schools in the state that offer two-year degrees%2C although I don%27t know off the top of my head of any that don%27t also have four-year programs.%0D%0A%0D%0AI think a lot of two-year colleges around the country are rebranding away from the word %22junior%22 as part of a general drive to be taken more seriously as an educational option%2C although Maine%27s state-run ones were never called that.  When I was a kid%2C the state%27s network of two-year public colleges were called Vocational Technical Institutes %28because all their courses were in technical things like radiography and the building trades%29%2C then they were Technical Colleges for a while%2C and lately they%27ve settled on the %22Community College%22 label.%0D%0A%0D%0AThere%27s that whole thing of whether they%27re positioned as trade schools or feeders to a university system%2C too.  The MCCs shifted from one model to more-or-less both along with their rename%3B they still offer associate degrees in the trades%2C but they also have liberal-arts offerings that do lead to a two-year degree%2C but are really meant as a less expensive way to do the first two years of a BA.%0D%0A%0D%0A%28I can think of an example from Massachusetts as well%26mdash%3Bwhen I went to WPI%2C there was a two-year nursing school nearby called Becker Junior College%2C but they also started awarding four-year degrees and dropped the %22Junior%22 in the early %2790s.%29%0D%0A%0D%0AI actually took my physics courses at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor when I was in the mechanical engineering technology program at UMaine%3B they were worth exactly equivalent transfer credit and cost about 10 percent as much%2C which was a nice thing for the lady who runs the School of Engineering Technology%27s admin office to clue me in on. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
4|3|3|||||RE%3A SSSS.Gridman|Star Ranger4||05:01:47|12/29/2019|%3EI actually took my physics courses at Eastern Maine Community College %0D%0A%3Ein Bangor when I was in the mechanical engineering technology program %0D%0A%3Eat UMaine%3B they were worth exactly equivalent transfer credit and cost %0D%0A%3Eabout 10 percent as much%2C which was a nice thing for the lady who runs %0D%0A%3Ethe School of Engineering Technology%27s admin office to clue me in on. %0D%0A%3E%3A%29 %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3E--G. %0D%0A%0D%0AAnd that drastic decrease in paid tuition vs accredited credits pretty much describes the strength of the state%2Fcommunity%2Fchoose your own term system.  Heck%2C if it wasn%27t for the number of credits that transfered into the 4 %27year%27 system I%27d have been carrying about 10 times the amount of debt I eventually had to use my Veteran benefits %28and a couple of other programs%29 to eliminate. %3E.%3C%3B%0D%0A
6|3|3|||1||RE%3A SSSS.Gridman|McFortner||17:05:31|12/29/2019|%3E%28In Japan%2C junior high is %0D%0A%3Egrades 7-9%2C senior high is 10-12%2C as opposed to %7B6%7C7%7D-8 %2F 9-12 split %0D%0A%3Emore typical here in the US.%29 %0D%0A%0D%0AOddly enough%2C when I went to school in this county back in the dark ages %28Class of 85%29%2C they had elementary %281-4%29%2C middle school %285 %26 6%29%2C junior high %287-9%29 and senior high %2810-12%29.  I moved back after the Air Force and College %281989-1997%29 they had switched to the %22standard%22 of elementary %281-5%29%2C middle %286-8%29%2C and high school %289-12%29. I still confuse people when I talk about graduating from Stockbridge Senior High when it%27s just Stockbridge High School now.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe old Jr. and Sr. buildings are now the school for the discipline problems as well as the county police training and gym.  I guess they want to keep the police near the problem kids.  %0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bfont color%3D%22black%22%5DMichael C. Fortner%5B%2Ffont%5D%0D%0A%5Bfont color%3D%22green%22 size%3D-1%5D%22Maxim 37%3A There is no such thing as %22overkill%22.%0D%0AThere is only %22open fire%22 and %22I need to reload%22.%5B%2Ffont%5D
7|4|6|||1||RE%3A SSSS.Gridman|Gryphon||17:35:36|12/29/2019|%3E%3E%28In Japan%2C junior high is %0D%0A%3E%3Egrades 7-9%2C senior high is 10-12%2C as opposed to %7B6%7C7%7D-8 %2F 9-12 split %0D%0A%3E%3Emore typical here in the US.%29 %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EOddly enough%2C when I went to school in this county back in the dark %0D%0A%3Eages %28Class of 85%29%2C they had elementary %281-4%29%2C middle school %285 %26 6%29%2C %0D%0A%3Ejunior high %287-9%29 and senior high %2810-12%29.%0D%0A%0D%0AHere in Maine at around the same time %28I graduated from high school in 1991%29%2C most school districts including Millinocket%27s had K-5 elementary schools%2C a middle school for grades 6-8%2C and high school was 9-12.  There were a few places around the state in the %2780s%2C one of which I remember visiting as a member of the George W. Stearns High School stage band%2C that had K-6 elementary schools%2C plus a 7-8%2F9-12 junior%2Fsenior high school in a single building.%0D%0A%0D%0ATo save facilities cost in the face of cratering enrollment%2C Millinocket has gone to that model in recent years %28having closed two of its elementary schools and added grade 6 to the remaining one%29%2C although they still call the 7-8 school %22Millinocket Middle School%22%2C even though the whole thing is properly Stearns Jr.-Sr. High now.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
8|5|7|||1||RE%3A SSSS.Gridman|Offsides||14:38:35|01/03/2020|I grew up with K-6%2C 7-8%2C and 9-12 %28Newton%2C MA%29.  My step-siblings next-door in Brookline were K-8 and 9-12.  Now %28Cheltenham%2C PA%29%2C my kids are in K-4%2C with 5-6%2C 7-8 and finally 9-12 in the future.  They%27re currently in 4th and 1st%2C so this is the last time they%27ll be in the same school until my oldest is a Senior in High School%2C and my youngest is a Freshman.  Which is definitely a little weird for me%2C but whatever...%0D%0A%0D%0AOffsides%0D%0A%0D%0A%26%2391%3B...%26%2393%3B in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.%0D%0A    -- David Ben Gurion%0D%0AEPU RCW %23%26pi%3B%0D%0A%23include %3Cstdsig.h%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A