Awakening

Awakening
SSSS.GRIDMAN, episode 1
Information
Airdate	October 7, 2018
Directed by	Yoshihiro Miyajima
Written by	Keiichi Hasegawa
Continuity
Previous	Hime and Samurai
Next	Restoration
Watch
Watch on Crunchyroll

Awakening is the first episode of SSSS.GRIDMAN.

Synopsis

One day, Yuta woke up without his memories. Even seeing his face in the mirror confuses him as he cannot remember who he is. An echoing voice guided Yuta to an old personal computer and it spoke to him. It is the Hyper Agent Gridman, who has come from the Hyper World with a mission!

Voice Drama 1.1

It Is Hard to Say In the Classroom

Namiko and Hass ask Rikka about what she was doing with Yuta.

Cast

• Yuta Hibiki : Yuya Hirose (Japanese dub)/Brandon McInnis (Funimation Dub)
• Gridman : Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese dub)/Robert McCollum (Funimation Dub)
• Sho Utsumi : Soma Saito (Japanese dub)/Greg Ayres (Funimation Dub)
• Rikka Takarada : Yume Miyamoto (Japanese dub)/Jill Harris (Funimation Dub)
• Akane Shinjo : Reina Ueda (Japanese dub)/Lindsay Seidel (Funimation Dub)
• Alexis・Kerib : Tetsu Inada (Japanese dub)/Barry Yandell (Funimation Dub)
• Rikka's Mother : Mayumi Shintani (Japanese dub)/Anastasia Munoz (Funimation Dub)
• Namiko : Suzuko Mimori (Japanese dub)/Sarah Wiedenheft (Funimation Dub)
• Hass : Akari Kito (Japanese dub)/Amber Lee Connors (Funimation Dub)
• Sakiru Tonkawa : Kaede Yuasa (Japanese dub)/Dani Chambers (Funimation Dub)

Appearances

Heroes

• Gridman
  • Initial Fighter

Kaiju

• Venora
• Alexis・Kerib
• Ghoulghilas

Easter Eggs

Gridman the Hyper Agent

• Yuta was treated at Inoue Hospital, which also made an appearance in the original Gridman the Hyper Agent as the workplace of Yuka Inoue's parents, hence its name. It was where Naoto Sho's brother, Daichi was being treated back in episode 1 until an attack by Gilarus caused all surgical instruments to go haywire.
• Akane gives Yuta a Special Dog (a type of hot dog). This food appeared in episode 3 of the original series and was Ippei's inspiration for designing Barrier Shield.

Ultraman Series

• In addition to being a Seven Eleven parody, the "Seven Two One" shop where Yuta and Rikka stop by is a reference to Ultraseven 21.
• Sakiru's pouch has the same design as Kazuki Komon's charm, which was given to him by Riko Saida.
• When Akane talks to Yuta, she puts her fingers in a way that resemble Alien Baltan's pincers. Incidentally, the Kaiju Metallus from Gridman is known for referencing this as well.
• This series established that the Ultraman Series is an in-universe entertainment program. As shown:
  • Sho Utsumi lamented that if Ghoulghilas were an Ultra Kaiju, he could have detected its weak spot.
  • Gridman's vaguely similar design to Ultraman Orb Lightning Attacker is acknowledged by a YouTuber in Hass' live broadcast.

Other

• One of the items sold in the Junk Shop is the stuffed bird Alcor from Little Witch Academia
• One of Yuta and friends' classmates highly resembles Akko from Little Witch Acadamia. This character appears in later episodes as well.