Gridman the Hyper Agent

Denkou Choujin Gridman (電光超人グリッドマン), known as Gridman the Hyper Agent in some English-speaking territories, is a 1993–1994 Japanese tokusatsu "Giant Hero" series created by Tsuburaya Productions (the producers of Ultraman) and would be Tsuburaya's last non-Ultra superhero production before Bio Planet WoO. It was the inspiration and source material for DiC Entertainment's Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad.

Shot on live video, Gridman was the first series by Tsuburaya Productions to utilize D-2 digital video for its special effects scenes, allowing for smoother slow-motion photography. Tsuburaya, having switched to digital techniques since then, would continue to use D-2 for all future productions.

The series was released in the United States with subtitles in English on the television network TOKU on December 18, 2017. The series was also made available on Toku's streaming service and on its Amazon Prime channel.

On October 30, 2020, the series began streaming episodes weekly on Tsuburaya's Ultraman Official YouTube channel to mark the second anniversary of SSSS.Gridman. Episodes are released each Friday at 6:30pm JST and have English subtitles available. Two weeks after the premiere date of each episode, the episode is removed from the channel. Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete series on Blu-ray for the first time in North America on August 17, 2021.

Story
Three computer-savvy kids—Naoto, Yuka and Ippei—create their own video game superhero, but then discover it's possessed by an inter-dimensional police officer named Gridman. Pursuing an evil program called Khan Digifer, he merges with Naoto and fights Khan Digifer's digitized monsters (created by social misfit Takeshi) in order to prevent the computerized demon from wreaking havoc on the town of Sakuragaoka and the entire Human World.

Episodes

 * 1) The Birth of a New Hero! (新世紀ヒーロー誕生!)
 * 2) The Secrets of Acceptor (アクセプターの秘密)
 * 3) Imminent Telephone Panic (電話パニック危機一髪)
 * 4) A Runaway Car (暴走自動車)
 * 5) The Perfect Sword with a Man's Pride (男の意地の必殺剣!)
 * 6) A Terror Melody (恐怖のメロディ)
 * 7) Zero Seconds to Microwave Oven Explosion (電子レンジ爆発0秒前)
 * 8) Brother's Bond (兄弟の絆)
 * 9) Operation Evil Brainwashing (悪魔の洗脳作戦)
 * 10) The Dangerous Gift (危険な贈り物)
 * 11) Is My Allowance ¥100,000? (おこづかいは十万円?)
 * 12) Beware of The Phantom Thief Marty (怪盗マティに御用心!)
 * 13) I Hate Sports (スポーツなんか大嫌い)
 * 14) Manipulated Time (あやつられた時間)
 * 15) The Distorted Target (歪んだターゲット)
 * 16) Ippei is Scared!? (一平、チビる!?)
 * 17) A Lonely Hacker (孤独なハッカー)
 * 18) The Legend of Dragon (竜の伝説)
 * 19) A Sexy Policewoman in Trouble (セクシー婦警SOS!)
 * 20) Colors Disappear from the Planet of Earth?! (地球から色が消える?!)
 * 21) The Execution, My Hero! (処刑!! 夢のヒーロー)
 * 22) Revival! Dinosaur King (復活! 恐竜帝王)
 * 23) An Assassination! A Thunderclap in Hell (暗殺! 地獄の雷鳴)
 * 24) My Love! Bio-Flower (恋! バイオフラワー)
 * 25) The Decisive Battle! The End of the Hero (Part 1) (決戦! ヒーローの最期 (前編))
 * 26) The Decisive Battle! The End of the Hero (Part 2) (決戦! ヒーローの最期 (後編))
 * 27) Big Surprise! A Toy Rebellion (驚天! オモチャの反乱)
 * 28) Yuka Vanished!! (神かくし! ゆかが消えた!!)
 * 29) A Pet Dog Bomb Operation (愛犬爆弾計画)
 * 30) The Day of the World Destruction (世界滅亡の日)
 * 31) The Monster's Mother is a College Girl (怪獣ママは女子大生)
 * 32) Attack of a Human Vacuum Cleaner (人間掃除機の襲撃!)
 * 33) Another Takeshi (もうひとりの武史)
 * 34) A Body Guard (ボディガード弁慶参上!)
 * 35) Yuka Becomes Delinquent (ぎくっ! スケバンゆか!?)
 * 36) A Baby Given A Birth (やったぜ! ベイビィ)
 * 37) What? Is Daddy Executed? (えっ! パパが死刑?)
 * 38) The Earth in Danger (危うし地球!)
 * 39) Goodbye Gridman (さらばグリッドマン)

Cast

 * Naoto Sho (翔 直人): Masaya Obi (小尾 昌也)
 * Yuka Inoue (井上 ゆか): Jun Hattori (服部 ジュン)
 * Ippei Baba (馬場 一平): Takeshi Sudo (須藤 丈士)
 * Gridman (グリッドマン): Hikaru Midorikawa (緑川 光)
 * Junk (ジャンク): Junko Shimakata (嶋方 淳子)
 * Daichi Sho (翔 大地): Masahiro Iwaoka (岩岡 真裕)
 * Kana Baba (馬場 カナ): Kanako Nakatake (中武 佳奈子)
 * Soichiro Sho (翔 宗一郎): Edo Yamaguchi (エド 山口)
 * Michiko Sho (翔 道子): Miru Hitotsuyanagi (一柳 みる)
 * Hideyo Inoue (井上 英世): Daisuke Ban (伴 大介) (Played as Naoya Ban (伴 直弥))
 * Yoshie Inoue (井上 良枝): Yumi Mitani (三谷 侑未)
 * Yoshihito Inoue (井上 良仁): Masakazu Arai (あらい 正和) (Played as "新井 昌和")
 * Hiroshi Baba (馬場 寛司): Goro Kataoka (片岡 五郎)
 * Ayako Baba (馬場 彩子): Yuko Tsuga (津賀 有子)
 * Police Officer Koganemura (小金村 巡査): Shoichi Komatsu (小松 正一)
 * Police Officer Amagasaki (尼崎 巡査): Daisuke Itsumori (五森 大輔)
 * Takeshi Todo (藤堂 武史): Tsuyoshi Sugawara (菅原 剛)
 * Khan Digifer (カーンデジファー): Masaharu Sato (佐藤 正治)
 * Narrator (ナレーター): Yuji Machi (真地 勇志)

Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad
Airing from September 1994 to April 1995 in syndication, Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad was an American adaption of Gridman produced by Tsuburaya, Ultracom (Tsuburaya's American division), and DiC Entertainment. It starred Matthew Lawrence as Sam Collins/Servo, Glen Beaudin as Malcolm Frink, Troy Slaten as Amp Ere, Kevin Castro as Tanker, Robin Mary Florence as Sydney Forrester, Rembrandt Sabelis as Lucky London, Jayme Betcher as Jennifer Doyle, John Wesley as Principal Pratchert, Diana Bellamy as Rimba Starkey, Kelli Kirkland as Yolanda Pratchert, and Tim Curry as the voice of Kilokahn. The story revolves around a rock band named Team Samurai, led by Collins, that fights evil Mega Virus monsters created by Malcolm Frink and brought to life by Kilokahn in the Digital World. Due to direct involvement from Tsuburaya, unlike most adaptions of Tokusatsu programs from that time period, Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad remained largely faithful to its source material and retained elements from Gridman including sound effects, character traits and arcs, plot points, and certain names.

Denkou Choujin Gridman: boys invent great hero
In 2015, the series inspired an animated short directed by Akira Amemiya and produced by Studio Trigger for the Japan Animator Expo. Entitled, Denkou Choujin Gridman: boys invent great hero (電光超人グリッドマン boys invent great hero), it debuted on January 16, 2015. It features the return of Takeshi Todo and the brief appearance of, another Hyper Agent like Gridman who has never made it to the show's final cut.

The entire short took place in 22 years after Gridman's final battle with Khan Digifer. Takeshi Todo, a former brainwashed servant of Khan, reflects on the past incidents as monster attacks took place in real life. Using the Acceptor, he transforms into Gridman Sigma before facing the monster.

Gridman Universe
During Anime Expo 2017, Akira Amemiya, Studio Trigger and Tsuburaya announced SSSS.GRIDMAN, a brand new original anime series incorporating elements from both the original Gridman and its western adaptation, which aired in 2018. It is followed by a 2021 sequel called SSSS.Dynazenon with a crossover film, Gridman Universe, announced.

Songs

 * Opening theme
 * "Yume no Hero" (夢のヒーロー)
 * Lyrics: Akira Ōtsu
 * Composition: Kisaburo Suzuki
 * Arrangement: Masaki Iwamoto
 * Artist: Norio Sakai
 * The piano version of "Yume no Hero" made its appearance in the sixth episode of SSSS.Gridman.


 * Ending theme
 * "Motto Kimi o Shireba" (もっと君を知れば)
 * Lyrics: Akira Ōtsu
 * Composition: Kisaburo Suzuki
 * Arrangement: Masaki Iwamoto
 * Artist: Norio Sakai


 * Insert song
 * "Futatsu no Yūki" (ふたつの勇気)
 * Lyrics: Atsushi Aida
 * Composition & Arrangement: Osamu Totsuka
 * Artist: Compoid Three
 * The karaoke version of "Futatsu no Yūki" made its appearance in the fourth episode of SSSS.Gridman.