Gridman Universe is one of those films that is a great reminder on why crossovers are awesome. It really takes every fun aspect from the two shows and brings them together here. You’ll have tons of easter eggs and every character gets something to do. One of the best scenes in the film is when someone whips out the “Domination” ability because that thing is super overpowered and for a minute you’re wondering if they remembered that some heroes can use it. It’s really a trip down nostalgia lane and the film has a pretty long climax. It’s all just excellent stuff.

The movie starts with Yuta still feeling the effects of the Gridman show. At the end of that adventure, Gridman left and so Yuta got his body back. The problem is that it means he didn’t get to really keep the experiences of what happened during the show. He had gotten close to Rikka at the time but in a way it didn’t count and he’s having a hard time approaching her. Things have gotten a bit awkward again and he is also having a hard time contributing to the big school play that they are working on. Well he has no time to worry about that when a Kaiju attacks the city and Gridman returns. Yuta merges with him to fight off the invaders but something feels different about these attacks.

The Kaiju are very real but Akane isn’t around anymore. Who is this new threat? Additionally, the universe appears to be colliding with another one which brings in Yomogi, Yume, and the rest of the new cast of Dynazenon fighters. They don’t know why they’re here either but are ready to help as soon as they get their mechs back. Can Yuta save the world and also express his feelings to Rikka or is that too much to accomplish in such a short time frame?

Yuta’s predicament is definitely a super understandable one because in a way he did lose part of his life there. It’s not easy to reclaim any amount of extra time. I’d say doubly so because it’s not like it was due to a villain or anything like that. There isn’t someone to blame, it just sort of happened and Gridman didn’t do anything bad either. Everyone seemed to really like Yuta during that time so it’s a lot to live up to. The film handles this whole character arc really well. Yuta may not be my favorite character because of how timid he is the whole time but he’s still likable enough.

Meanwhile Rikka’s also in a tough spot here because it’s like she has to get to know Yuta all over again. I’d say she does a good job of putting on a brave face and acting as normal as possible though. She is doing her best to put on a great school play for everyone and keeps good relations with the main characters. Utsumi has a little less to do than the main two but he’s also contributing to the play and doing well. He’s a solid friend who is always there for Yuta when he needs some support.

On the other end, Yomogi is pretty solid. He’s definitely gained confidence since the older days and is way more self assured. He’s quick to notice when someone’s not feeling well and gives Yuta some nice words of encouragement which was definitely nice. He does a great job of holding off the villains at one point and basically does what he can to save the world. Likewise Yume mirrors his confidence and helps Rikka by not beating around the bush either. Yomogi and Yume’s dynamic is definitely pretty solid and they’re long past the point of having any doubts which is great. It would have been nice for them to have gotten a bigger role as the film definitely skews more towards Gridman than Dynazenon but their role was still good.

You may be curious about the big villain, Mad Origin. Well he’s a pretty solid villain. At first I was worried that he was showing up too late and wouldn’t get to do anything but at the end of the day he still did get to have a standout fight and lasted longer than I expected. Naturally that boosted him up the ranks for me quite a bit. He basically wants to destroy everything and you gotta respect that. If not for basically every hero in existence showing up to team together against him, the guy really could have won.

Akane only gets a small role here but it’s definitely a really good one. She was always a fun villain in the first story and she’s still shown to clearly be one of the most powerful fighters here. At this point she shows up whenever she wants to deal out some damage which is a fun role to have. Also the film doesn’t shy away from the twist in the first show that it’s all a fake world that is manipulated from the real world. The characters have had to contend with that, at least the ones who know about it. After all if you found out that you’re fake, what would you do about it? You’re still you after all so on a grand level it shouldn’t matter but that might be easier to tell yourself than to actually believe.

Each show gets to bring their whole supporting cast so as you keep watching you get rewarded for how much you remember each character. Meanwhile the animation here is really excellent as you would expect. The fights really pop out and the colors are very striking. The characters all have very distinct designs and then you’ve also got a really great soundtrack. The domination theme is excellent and then you’ve also got a lot of good general action themes and even a good insert song. The technical aspects were definitely on point here and never faltered. It goes without saying that the story and writing are also very good here.

The movie also did a good job of making up for some previous weaknesses. The two shows did have a bit of a fanservice issue at times and this movie really didn’t have any of that. Maybe a quick moment somewhere but it wasn’t an issue in the film which is great. The movie also came up with a good villain for the end which helped to end things on a high note. It’s really fundamentally sound on every level. The movie is also long enough to give the human characters a chance to catch up and talk a lot outside of the fight scenes. Maybe at most I’d have liked the main two from each show to have gotten to talk a bit longer. I’ll take what I can get though.

Overall, This was definitely a great film. I can’t imagine you will have any real complaints as a fan of either show. The movie went above and beyond to include every possible reference and plot point that it could. There is a lot of great action and also time for character reflection. It also works as an excellent end to the franchise. Naturally I’d love to see more installments in the series but if it ends with this then that’s fine. You can probably watch this even without seeing the shows first but I don’t think you will get the full experience since the big cameos and such won’t hit as hard even if there are enough context clues to figure out what’s going on. Now I suppose I need to wait and see what the next film crossover will be. There are endless possibilities for fun crossovers in anime after all.

Overall 8/10