SSSS.GRIDMAN (Limited Edition Blu-ray & DVD) Unboxing

SSSS.GRIDMAN is a 2018 television anime series based on the 1993 Japanese live-action show Denkou Choujin Gridman created by Tsuburaya Productions. The creators of the tokusatsu series collaborated with studio TRIGGER to make the SSSS.GRIDMAN anime with director Akira Amemiya, writer Keiichi Hasegawa, and composer Shiro Sagisu. The series aired during the Autumn 2018 anime season in October.

SSSS.GRIDMAN was announced alongside PROMARE and Darling in the FRANXX back in Anime Expo a few years ago and overall it turned out to be a solid series in general. It did well enough that the two companies are collaborating once again for a second anime series called SSSS.DYNAZENON, which at the time of this post, has just been announced with no date. The show also gained traction for the doujin and fan art community for the main two female characters, one of which the creators apparently drew her with thick thighs intentionally. I don’t blame him.

Despite airing around the time that the Crunchyroll & Funimation partnership was active, Funimation actually acquired the series a season ahead than usual and have full rights for a number of territories including the UK, Ireland, US and Canada. For the UK & Ireland, distributor Manga Entertainment is releasing the series on behalf of Funimation (who owns them since May 2019).

The UK & US both receive limited edition treatment. It’s the traditional Funimation packaging that offers a rigid box, an Amaray Blu-ray case for the discs, and physical add-ons such as a 150+ page art book and a few others. The UK version is a complete replica for the most part as Manga Entertainment has opted for using the artwork from the limited edition’s front side and the usual info specs as the front & back covers of the Amaray case (with a slipcover as well, which isn’t included in the US LE version). The BBFC stickers are on the box but can be removed.

I ordered the series through MVM’s 20% off sale on Anime-on-Line website, however if this is anything like Manga’s recent limited edition releases, the stock levels for this particular set will very likely sell out as soon as it gets released so don’t bother waiting for a discount or sale.

Released in February 2020, SSSS.GRIDMAN from Manga Entertainment contains the entire series (12 episodes total) across 2 Blu-ray and 2 DVD discs. The audio options available include the Funimation English dub and original Japanese audio with English subtitles. The white subtitles are unlockable during playback, and the regions are locked to both B and 2 NTSC respectively.

The Japanese 5.1 audio that was included in the Japanese Blu-ray Box release is not included in the English releases.

SSSS.GRIDMAN is available to own as a limited edition Blu-ray & DVD combo pack and individual standard edition Blu-ray and DVD sets on Amazon UK.

Blu-ray Specs:

Languages: English, Japanese
Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0
Video: 1080p High Definition Native format with 16:9 ratio
Region: B
Subtitles: English
Locked Subtitles: No
Discs: 2

DVD Specs:

Languages: English, Japanese
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0
Video: Standard Definition in NTSC format with 16:9 ratio
Region: 2
Subtitles: English
Locked Subtitles: No
Discs: 2

Plot Synopsis (via Manga Entertainment):

“You’re not alone. Whenever, forever.

Yuuta Hibiki is a first-year student in high school living in Tsutsujidai. One day, he wakes up without his memories. Yuuta later meets Hyper Agent GRIDMAN who is inside an old computer. GRIDMAN tells him to fulfill his purpose. Yuuta’s quest to understand the meaning behind those words and to find his memories begins. While all of this is sudden, Yuuta has helpful assistance from his classmates, Shou Utsumi, Rikka Takarada, and Akane Shinjou, but…

Those peaceful days are destroyed mercilessly by a monster that suddenly appears.”

Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:

Disc 2:

SSSS.GRIDMAN: Behind the Gridman Alliance

DVD On-Disc Extra Features:

No extras across all discs

Limited Edition Extras:

Rigid Box with Clean Artwork & Title on Spine
150-page Booklet
4 Art Cards
An Acrylic Keychain that can be converted into a Bracelet
Sticker

SSSS.GRIDMAN is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Manga Entertainment.