Superhuman Samurai Syber Pod: Recent Episodes
Iacon Underground
Discussing Studio Trigger's SSSS.Gridman through the lens of Transformers and other pop culture nerdery.
The Clan Battle stakes are going through the roof as a mysterious team with military ties is lined up for the Pomeranians’ next fight — and what’s that giant box they’re smuggling into Side 6 as an “air conditioning unit”? Challia and Xavier get tied up in political intrigue, Machu gets tied up in her feelings, and we explain why that creepy little girl whose name is a number is such a bad omen! So are we gonna have some robots fight or nah? Join us this week for episode 6 of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, “The Plot to Assassinate Kycilia”!
With Machu cornered by Xavier to find out if she’s the GQuuuuuuX’s pilot and Shuji out of sorts with a high fever, it’s up to Nyaan to pilot the Gundam against Gaia and Ortega of the Black Tri-Stars! But Nyaan isn’t even a Newtype… or is she? And is the Rick Dom the platonic ideal of a Zeon mobile suit? Join us this week for episode 5 of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, “Nyaan Doesn’t Know About Kira-Kira”!
A former Federation ace pilot with a vendetta against the Red Gundam challenges Team Pomeranian in Clan Battle! Does it even matter that Shuji isn’t the one who killed her mav in the war? That new mav of hers is clearly a lesbian, right? And what’s this about the Gundam having a little fighter jet inside it? Join us for episode 4 of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, “The Witch’s War”!
Machu is determined to skip out on cram school to pilot the mysterious Gundam in Team Pomeranian’s clan battles, and the Magic Pixie Dream Boy in the red Gundam is going to be her mav! But their high-profile events have caught the attention of Challia Bull — will he use this to take the GQuuuuuuX back, or is he going to let her cook? And why does this weird hobo kid have Char Aznable’s Gundam? Join us for episode 3 of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, “Machu in Clan Battle”!
This week on Superhuman Samurai Syber Pod, we go back to the 0070s to see the moment a change in plans changed everything! Who will survive this time? And why is the original Gundam intro so cheery? Join us for episode 2 of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, “The White Gundam”!
David and Jen are once again subjecting Rob to weeb nonsense as we resurrect the Superhuman Samurai Syber Pod for Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX! A run-in between two teenage girls living in a Side 6 colony leads to the inevitable starting point of any new Gundam series: a kid stealing a Gundam and being surprisingly good at piloting it! Join us this week as we get back on our anime bullshit with the first episode of GQuuuuuuX, “The Red Gundam”!
The Kaiju Eugenicists are finally defeated, and with them, the last of the kaiju are gone from this world. But with Gauma gone as well, can the Dynazenon team move on? Will Yomogi and Yume admit that they're a couple? Can Koyomi find a job? How did Chise even get a tattoo at her age!? And with the series over, how does it stack up to SSSS.Gridman? Join us one last time for the final episode of SSSS.Dynazenon, "What Was I Entrusted With?"!
With all the world's kaiju seeds wiped out in the last battle, the Kaiju Eugenicists are finished and the Dynazenon team has to face going back to their normal lives. But what's wrong with Gauma? Are Yume and Yomogi actually going to date now? Is Koyomi looking for a JOB!? And which Eugenicist still has one last trick up his sleeve? Join us this week for episode 11 of SSSS.Dynazenon, “What Wish Can't Come True?”!
A new kaiju pulls everyone but Chise and the Second into their own traumatic memories, and the city itself as well! It's up to Yomogi to convince his new friends to let go of the past to save the present -- but can Yume let go of her sister? What will they learn that gives them a new perspective on their memories? What happened to Gauma's shirt? And what's up with the art in this episode, and are we feeling it or not? Join us this week for episode 10 of SSSS.Dynazenon, "Which Memories Do You Regret?"!
Chise gets a toyetic new friend she names Goldburn -- but can she convince the team that a kaiju can be good? Can they finish fighting the Kaiju Eugenicists' latest monster in time to make it to the festival? And how many mecha vehicles and heroic kaiju can you combine together into one big Final Fusion? Join us this week as we mash ALL the toys together for SSSS.Dynazenon episode 9, "What Are These Overlapping Emotions?"!
When the team finds a sad little "failed" kaiju, they begin to question whether they should be fighting them at all! Knight and the Second want to kill it before it becomes a threat, but Gauma promises to keep an eye on it -- and the creature promptly escapes and grows big enough to threaten the city! Can the rest of the team stop it with Yume and Chise trapped in the mall? Can Yomogi control the kaiju? Will the Kaiju Eugenicists enjoy their day off? Join us this week for SSSS.Dynazenon episode 8, "What Is This Wavering Emotion?"!
When the Kaiju Eugenicists retreat with their kaiju instead of fighting to the death, the Dynazenon team decides to spend the night kicking around the waterfront, waiting for it to return. In the downtime, can Koyomi work through his feelings for Inamoto after reluctantly saving her husband? Can Yume accept Yomogi's help learning what happened to her sister? And can Knight and the Second convince Gauma that they're there to help Dynazenon before the kaiju returns? Join us this week for SSSS.Dynazenon episode 7, "What's Our Reason for Coming Together?"
Yume learns some difficult things about her sister, Koyomi realizes he's getting strung along by his old school friend, and everyone learns that it's hard to fight kaiju when you're struggling with existential angst! Can they pull it together to save the city -- or will a VERY EXCITING RETURNING CHARACTER come to their rescue? Join us this week for SSSS.Dynazenon episode 6, “What Is This Pain?”!
It's time for a swimsuit episode when Chise wins everyone free passes to the Tokyo Beach Land water park! But when Sizumu from the Kaiju Eugenicists invites himself along, can Gauma resist the urge to start a fight that'll get them all kicked out? Can Yomogi and Yume figure out what Gauma meant when he told them to act "like lovers" to throw Sizumu off? And how does this one stack up to the SSSS.Gridman swimsuit episode? It's no running by the pool this week as we watch SSSS.Dynazenon episode 5, "What's Lover-Like Mean?"!
Frustrated with Yomogi's angst interfering with Dynazenon training, Gauma pushes him to deal with his feelings for Yume -- but when he gets a horrible cold, that only makes things more complicated! But why is Sizumu joining their class, and why is he just wearing his ridiculous Kaiju Eugenicist yacht club outfit there? What super-cool power does this episode's kaiju have? And can they beat it with Yomogi out of action? Join us this week for episode 4 of SSSS.Dynazenon, "What Is This Thumping Heart?"
When the Kaiju Eugenicists call Gauma a traitor, Yomogi has a crisis of faith in his new ally! Can he get it through his head that someone betraying the bad guys actually makes them more likely to be a good guy before the Eugenicists' latest kaiju blows them all up? What secrets will we learn about Yomogi's boss? And wait, Gauma and the Kaiju Eugenicists are HOW old? Join us this week for episode 3 of SSSS.Dynazenon, "What is a Traitor?"
With the kaiju defeated, Gauma gives each pilot their piece of Dynazenon in the form of a toy. But what good is a team-piloted mecha when one of its pilots is unreliable? Can Yume convince Yomogi that fighting kaiju is more important than his after-school job? How bad is Gauma at being people? And will the Kaiju Eugenicists make it to their yacht club meeting? Join us this week for the second episode of SSSS.Dynazenon, "What's Your Reason for Fighting?"!
The Superhuman Samurai Syber Pod returns for SSSS.Dynazenon! After totally normal high school boy Yomogi gives some weird starving punk hobo his Special Dog, the strange man called Gauma won't leave him alone -- which is going to complicate his attempts to befriend/date his melancholy classmate Yume. Meanwhile, slacker teen Chise tries to get her NEET cousin/guardian Koyomi to join her in wandering the city to gawk at some strange phenomena she saw on the news. But when their paths all cross at night, nobody is expecting a kaiju attack -- except Gauma, who declares himself a "Kaiju User" and summons a giant robot to fight it! Join us this week as we return to the world of Hyper Agent Gridman with SSSS.Dynazenon episode 1, "What Is a Kaiju User?"!
It's all come down to this! The Special Signature to Save a Soul is activated, Gridman regains his "nostalgic" true form, and the final fight is joined to save Akane from Alexis Kerib! Who will survive, and what will be left of their world when it's all over? This week we're joined by tokusatsu megafan Igadevil for the final episode of SSSS.Gridman, "Awakening"!
But with news of a new SSSS project on the horizon, will this truly be the final episode of this podcast, or do new adventures await us? Stay tuned!
Yuta is wounded and comatose and Akane is too depressed to make any more kaiju, but that's not stopping Alexis Kerib from pulling out the old toku series trick of resurrecting the ones Gridman's already defeated -- and it falls to Anti to stop them as Gridknight! Can he hold them off long enough for the Gridman Alliance and the Neon Genesis Junior High crew to figure out how to wake Yuta up or get through to Akane? And can they deal with the whole existential crisis thing on top of that? This week we're once again joined by Trent Troop, one of the creators of Transformers: Shattered Glass, for the penultimate episode of SSSS.Gridman, "Decisive Battle"!
Unable to defeat Gridman, Shinjo spirals into depression and starts to question her own humanity, but Alexis Kerib still wants a kaiju -- and the sad, half-finished one he brings to life hides a horrifying monster with the power of a teenage girl's broken heart! It's too powerful for Gridman, but can he stop it with a little help from... Gridknight? Does that kaiju look like a vagina to anyone else? And who want a poetry reading? This week we're joined by Christine Love of Love Conquers All Games for the next-to-penultimate episode of SSSS.Gridman, "Collapse"!
Scheduling has been a whole thing this month, so while we get our next episode of Superhuman Samurai Syber Pod together, enjoy our thoughts on the second episode of Kemono Friends, "Jungle Area", from our Patreon special!
Yuta wakes up with a familiar case of amnesia, but this time it's his girlfriend Akane who greets him! Utsumi runs into Akane while checking out some new magazines and discovers she's a toku nerd too! Rikka gets pulled into Akane's life as one of the popular kids! But can any of this be true? Can Gridman wake them up inside, or will Akane convince them to stay with her in their happy dreams? Can Borr stop Anti from getting water all over the junk shop's carpet? And can we stop singing that Evanescence song for like five minutes? This week we're once again joined by Vintage Henshin's Mach Dent for SSSS.Gridman episode 9, "Dream"!
It's time for the school festival, but Akane announces to the Gridman Alliance that she'd rather unleash a kaiju on the school than join the party! Can Rikka talk her out of it, or will they have to fight? Can they tweak Junk's graphics settings enough to load Full Powered Gridman? And does the Neon Genesis Junior High crew just live with Rikka's mom now? This week we're joined by Grant from Blade Licking Thieves as we talk inside shoes, gender-swapped cafes, and the implications of Rikka's skirt in episode 8, "Confrontation"!
Convinced that Yuta is on to her, Akane gives up all pretense of secrecy about her kaiju and... takes him out for a nice dinner with Alexis Kerib? But if both of them are at the restaurant with Yuta, who sent that kaiju to attack the city!? This week we're joined by Greg Sepelak, another of the creators behind the original Transformers: Shattered Glass and the other half of Isle of Rangoon, as we get way too much fan service, appreciate flying kaiju on strings, and try to remember the name of that one Mobile Suit we're thinking of in episode 7, "Scheme"!
The Gridman Alliance kids go their separate ways for the day, but an episode with no kaiju fight doesn't mean they're safe! Utsumi runs into Shinjo at a book store and gets grilled on his friend Yuta, Rikka gives Anti some special dogs and a bath, and a familiar kaiju child shows Yuta that their city is more than meets the eye! We're joined this week by special guest PatzPrime from The Cockpit podcast as we talk stalky friends, Starbows frappuccinos, and kaiju lineage in episode 6, "Contact"!
It's time for a fanservice episode as the Gridman Alliance takes a class trip to go river rafting! How much phys ed can Akane Shinjo put up with before it's time to call in a kaiju? How can Yuta Access Flash with Gridman so far from the city? Why does everyone keep falling asleep on the train? And seriously, where was Shinjo keeping that cell phone? Join us this week for episode 5 of SSSS.Gridman, "Provocation"!
Akane thinks she's figured out who Gridman is -- and in hopes of confirming her suspicions, she joins Rikka on the most relatable group date ever! Will she learn Yuta's secret? Can Rikka get this show past the Bechdel test despite how determined Akane is to talk about a boy? And wait, are all those creepy college boys... Jetfires? This week we're joined by our buddy @KeliraTelian for episode 4 of SSSS.Gridman, "Suspicion"!
After Utsumi suggests the kaiju might really be people, Gridman hesitates when the next one he fights actually speaks -- and that gives the kaiju an opening to defeat him! Is he gone for good? Will Yuta cease to exist like their dead classmates? Can Calibur's friends help? And... wait, did they say they were from the junior high school? This week we're joined by Big Name Tokusatsu Fan Mach Dent from Vintage Henshin and Kamen Ramen Studios as we watch SSSS.Gridman episode 3, "Defeat"!
On the surface it seems like the fight between Gridman and the kaiju never happened, but Yuta, Utsumi, and Rikka soon discover that their classmates who were killed in the attack are still gone -- and as far as anyone else knows, they died years ago! Can they find more answers before having to defend the city and the school from another monster? Can the adorkable weirdo Samurai Caliber help with more than upgrading Junk's sound card? How do you open Ramune? If you die in the game, do you die for real? Join the Stasis Pod crew for SSSS.Gridman episode 2, "Restoration"!
A boy with amnesia. An old computer that calls to him as a forgotten hero named Gridman. Conveniently absent parents. Strange, seemingly unfinished kaiju raining destruction on his neighborhood. Why does this all seem so familiar -- in ways that have nothing to do with Tim Curry? Why are we joined for our premire episode by Trent Troop, one of the creators of Transformers: Shattered Glass (as well as Isle of Rangoon and Prize Inside)? Why is SSSS.Gridman like this? Join the Stasis Pod crew as we launch the Superhuman Samurai Syber Pod with episode 1: "Awakening"!