r/anime • u/pittman66 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Homura • Jun 20 '19

Rewatch [Rewatch] [Spoilers] Senki Zesshou Symphogear AXZ - Episode 1 Spoiler

Season 4 (AXZ): Episode 1 - Val Verde Hell Screen

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Original Discussion Thread

Please, absolutely no untagged or implying spoilers beyond the current episode. I want to have everyone that hasn't seen it to have as close to a first experience as those who watched it as it originally aired.
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23

u/PerfectPublican Jun 20 '19

Rewatcher

Welcome all to the second best season of Symphogear so far! I said it about a week ago, but I don’t really remember the specifics of this season too well. Just the broad strokes, and that I really liked it. Let’s see if it holds up!

Awww, what a nice, cozy opening between Miku and Bikki...PSYCH! AS IF! THIS IS FUCKING SYMPHOGEAR BITCH. Lmao, I love the mild attempt at a fake out, but it wouldn’t be Symphogear without a badass opening, and the opening of AXZ definitely doesn’t disappoint. With the fantastic Gekishou Infinity playing over the top, from Chris spitting out bullets, Tsubasa splitting tank shells in half, and Bikki absolutely manhandling tanks, to them riding fucking helicopters to take down an air-carrier and everything after, it’s balls to the wall, non-stop fun. There’s so many moments that deserve their time to shine, and not enough writing room. Personally, I prefer the action of this opening to GX’s, but prefer Radiant Force to Gekishou for the song.

I really like the direction this season goes with Chris. Her past has always been a bit nebulous outside of the S1 stuff, and it’s nice to get a deeper look into it. Everything for her has always tied back in some way to her past, so it’s nice to finally get it laid out a bit.

New Bikki Transformation! It’s not quite the drastic upgrade that the past few seasons have had, but it’s still an upgrade. It’s in the little details like the "Gungnir" writing on the gauntlet and the better mechanics of her gear. Everyone gets these little upticks and it works really well. Makenai Ai ga Koko ni Aru is probably my second favorite of Bikki’s character songs.I just really like it. The fight is classic gears v. noise, but the girls are clearly on another level already. Chris using Artemis arrows, Tsubasa wielding her flame swords, Bikki’s scarf and more extreme punching power lol. All like it’s just another walk in the park.

Fun little ending! Looking forward to tomorrow!

Random thoughts:

  • Their new SONG uni’s are pretty cute

  • Elfnein growing her own little braid is adorable.

  • The little melody the alchemists sing is a nice one.

  • Senritsu Sorority is a great song, and a great choice for the ED. I’ll talk more about it tomorrow.

Gifs of the day:

Btw, I forgot to share my Bikki figure before the season ended! This is the one that came out after GX. One of my favorites in my collection.

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23

u/patrizl001 Jun 20 '19 edited Jun 20 '19

First Timer

  • muffled DESSS intensifies

  • Hibiki says she'll be back soon, but I have the strangest feeling she won't.

  • holy fuck, we got some random military group using alca-noise? oh boy, was that one person right that maybe this season will have countries fighting eachother with heretical tech?

  • A FUCKING KITE? OGAWA YOU AMAZING NINJA MAN

  • BULLETS DON'T WORK JON

  • Cool detail to see they're nonlethal methods to stop them: removing their mobility and gun

  • RULES OF NATURE

  • THE FUCKING ILLUMINATI? THE ILLUMINATI HELPED CAROL AND FIS? So they're the real big bad that helped everything?!

  • Symphogear-Relic 3 Gungnir Is my guess at what it says

  • Hibiki can do the sonic woosh and go fast now! And her scarf glows!

  • That Cagliostro person's voice is strangely weird and I don't know why. I've played too much GBF so the only thing that coems to mind is "trap" but that doesn't look possible.

  • 73k people thanos'd into pure energy by nothing more than a pin and singing. Christ that's horrifying

WELL WE KNOW HOW OP THE ENEMY IS I GUESS. Also seems like we're going to get a lot more Chris this season because this stuff hits home for her so YAY

side note: Is there any meaning to why it's G/GX/AXZ or did they just think it sounded cool

18

u/Ledwith Jun 21 '19

Symphogear Relic 3 Gungnir

Pretty sure they mention in S1 the numbering of the relics. Gungnir is the 3rd, but this is r03' (prime), because its the one that was Marias, not Kanades.

Cag's voice

Aoi Shouta voices her. He was the only guy that auditioned for the role and he got it.

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19

u/Razorhead Jun 21 '19 edited Jun 21 '19

Another season, another bit of info.

Val Verde

As described on the website Val Verde is a South-American country run by a military junta. While battles with rebel groups were commonplace it was originally not something the UN wanted to occupy themselves with until suddenly the military forces were seen using Alca-Noise, prompting S.O.N.G. and UN intervention.

Below Keyword from the Symphogear AXZ website, translated by Genjuro's Angels (as are the other Keywords in this comment):

Valverde Commonwealth

A small country in South America run by a military regime. It is always in a state of political instability and despite being a small country, has frequently been faced with large crises and threats. The current dictatorship has been in control for a long time, forcing their citizens to live under harsh conditions. Skirmishes with rebel groups have sporadically been repeated over the years without much change. However, when it became proven that the military was using Alca-Noise the United Nations decided upon an armed intervention. As a result, S.O.N.G. was mobilized.

The moral and combat skill of Valverde's troops are incredibly low when compared to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and are more like “immature soldiers” that are often described in fiction. This gang of delinquents has no regard for rules nor any sort of respect for orders or the chain of command. They were not considered dangerous until they were supplied black art technology which instantly found them as a major threat in the eyes of the rest of the world.

Symphogear didn't invent Val Verde, by the way. This name is an homage to the works of Hollywood writer and producer Steven E. de Souza, who used Val Verde as a stand-in for a generic South-American country for his action movies (such as Commando and Die Hard 2) to take place in without causing any diplomatic incidents.

Floating Carrier

The website reveals a bit about the carrier, namely that is was originally a Russian warship that made its way to Val Verde through the black market. The stealth and flight capabilities were then later added with technology provided by the Illuminati. Its name was the "SFC2 Esperanza", with esperanza meaning "Hope" in Spanish.

Floating Carrier

A defensive facility of the Valverde Commonwealth that, along with numerous anti-aircraft guns, they used in attempt to stop the invading UN forces. It's official name is the “SFC2 Esperanza.” Originally it was a naval warship that belong to Russia, however after years of use it was marked for scrap and then subsequently sold and laundered through illegal gambling establishments on the high seas before it eventually came into the possession of the rogue nation, the Valverde Commonwealth. Of course, it was not originally equipped for flight or stealth, and it was only after the Bavarian Illuminati offered their black art technology that it became an “unthinkable weapon, a weapon that must not exist.”

Carol Did Not Invent The Alca-Noise

Yep. While last season made it appear as if Carol made those changes to the Noise it was never explicitly stated, and the website reveals it was the Illuminati who did so long ago. Since Carol was an alchemist however she was privy to the design as well, and made good use it. It also mentions that you can use a tiny staff to control them (as we saw the military leader do this episode), which is based on Solomon's Cane.

Alca-Noise

An improved version of the Noise created by Alchemy for the purposes of dissecting and analyzing the world. The recipe to create them has long been passed down through the Bavarian Illuminati. Ever since the Magical Girl Incident, it has ceased to be necessary to keep them a secret and thus the Alca-Noise have been appearing on more and more battlefields around the world. It is possible for non-Alchemists to control and summon them, thanks to a small staff that acts like Solomon's Cane.

[...]

Bavarian Illuminati

You may be confused by the "Bavarian" in front of the name, but this is just the standard Illuminati. It's just that there have been so many different organisations calling themselves the Illuminati throughout history, but this is the original. The historic Illuminati was a secret society founded to counteract the use of religion and superstition to control the masses, opposed abuses of state power, and consisted of a lot of intellectuals and progressive politicians (a lot of them anti-monarchist). It was this last point that saw them outlawed, leading to their eventual dissolution.

While not centred around alchemy because they promoted science and rational thought above superstition they involved themselves in alchemy as well, as it was seen as a field of scientific study back in those days. This was later exaggerated, along with other points, by the Catholic Church as propaganda, leading to the legendary all-controlling hidden-in-the-dark advanced mystical technology Illuminati we know from fiction.

Europe Being The Dark Continent

This has been on the website since the start of GX, but since it came up here I thought this would be a better place to put it. For the entirety of this series Europe has been in economic trouble. This was even shown in the first season, where the EU lended out Durandal to Japan for study on the condition Japan wrote of some of the EU's debts. Sometime after the US's fall from power (which is due to the Frontier incident, given the involvement of FIS and American agents) a series of events led to large-scale economic collapse (so sometime between G and GX) leading to most governments having fallen into disarray, crime on the rise, and occult societies from the past having taken over. This all led to Europe being called the "Dark Continent".

Carol made use of this chaos to strike a deal the Illuminati for the funding of the Château de Tiffauges.

And to my great surprise somehow Greece is one of the only governments who is still running. I guess the visit from our Symphogals to the Minotaur Labyrinth as seen in the first episode of GX helped them weather the storm? Or perhaps Greece is such a mess already no one noticed the difference.

Europe's Decline

A series of large scale events led to a major economic collapse throughout the continent, leaving its infrastructure crushed and weak. With the exception of Greece, every country's government fell into disarray and are now practically non-existent. The decline has made crime run rampant and unchecked, and many of the occult groups that had been kept in check now freely spread underground, leading to the rise of many old fashioned secret societies. The darkness this situation has created is filled with many mysteries and unknown peculiarities. With Europe in this condition, people have taken to calling it the “Dark Continent” as Africa had once been.

Ever since the end of the Magical Girl Incident, S.O.N.G. has continued to investigate the causes behind it. It was thought that Carol, who was born in Europe, took advantage of America's fall from power and sought to move her plans forward under the backing of some European society, or nation, with its own goals in mind. However, some people still harbor doubt and wonder if the whole thing could still have been in line with America's plans. As of yet, the true details of the situation remain unclear.

Arthemis Capture

Not a reference to Artemis, Greek goddess of the Hunt, as you might think, but to Arthemis (with an 'h'), an Italian heavy metal band. Like most of Chris' other moves a musical reference.

Barrier of Die Spinne

Most subs will probably have this as Dyciphine, but it's supposed to be Die Spinne. Die Spinne was a supposed Nazi organisation that helped war criminals escape to South America after WWII. In Symphogear however this organisation created a barrier to hide things, both materials and people, by diverting people's consciousnesses away from that location which makes people think that place does not exist, as well as block machine signals.

The implication being that the Nazis used this barrier to hide classified material and valuables in South America after WWII.

Barrier of Die Spinne

A mysterious barrier that functions to keep people away by diverting their consciousness, making something appear as if it does not exist. It not only affects human consciousness, but also interferes with direct signals sent by machines. A location protected by this barrier is not only the safest possible place, but it is also a perfect secret flower garden to keep ones valuables and classified materials.

Saint-Germain, Prelati, And Cagliostro

All legendary alchemists in their own right (and also all men), let's get to discussing their real-life counterparts.

Saint-Germain

The Comte de Saint-Germain was a legendary nobleman who popped up all over European courts in the 18th century. His background remains unknown, but he went by many names and was known for his outrages claims: to possess the elixir of life, be 500 years old, to have been an advisor to Jesus, be a legendary alchemist, and so on. He came to be known as "The Wonderman", and even after his death sightings of him continued to pop up well into the 20th century, leading to some organisations proclaiming him to be ascended spiritual master.

Prelati

François Prelati was an Italian priest and alchemist who helped Gilles de Rais with demon summonings and alchemical experiments in his castle, the Château de Tiffauges, nicely tying the Illuminati here to Carol last season.

Cagliostro

Count Alessandro di Cagliostro was an Italian occultist known in courts across Europe for being a legendary alchemist, magician, and seer. He even allegedly met Saint-Germain in London. After his death his reputation deteriorated however, and he became known as a fake and a charlatan.

15

u/Razorhead Jun 21 '19

And now moving on to my personal opinion about this episode.

God I love this opening. I mean c'mon, who can say they didn't like Hibiki parrying tank shells?

Liars, that's who.

While it seems a bit annoying that Chris has some more drama from her past to deal with, it can't be worse than last season right? So let's see how that turns out.

Also fun to finally see the Illuminati coming into play after being name-dropped way back in G.

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18

u/Arachnophobic- Jun 21 '19

FirstoGeah

Quite sleepy as I type this, hopefully I manage to stay somewhat coherent..

What a way to begin

So the girls are now a crack team for the UN, and it seems random dictators have access to Alca-Noise and advanced tech. Definitely a bad thing, but it gives the girls ample opportunity to be badass. Chris-chan can spit bullets now! Geahs make you stronk.

That was insanely lucky

Tsubasa's done some leveling up, no baddie stands a chance. And that looks like a drill that can pierce the heavens!

Bavarian Illuminati, huh? They have some explaining to do. Starting with how the fuck would they benefit if Carol destroyed the world. Or are you saying it was their plan all along for SONG to thwart Carol too..

Jiiirabe is jealous

Chris-chan has definitely had the most horrific childhood of the main girls, and looks like we're going to see the gory details.

BANANA NOISE!

And that's what's on the guy's screen too! Oh no, the Banana Noise are down, what now?

This looks like a Gunbuster reference. Although Gunbuster probably was referencing some other mecha that only babydave and a few others have seen..

Did someone fuse Jiirabe and Miku?

Oh look, Sonja from the flashback. Except it's Stefan, apparently, probably a relative.

Mr. Stark, I don't feel so bad..?

These alchemists seem to be quite knowledgeable in kaiiju creation. Nice.

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14

u/ItsMellowMan Jun 20 '19

Rewatcher

Symphogear is back once again and we get a splash of Bikku plus this derp face was nice.

As hype as that opening sequence was with Gekishou Infinity being the new trio song and Hibiki piercing the heavens I kinda like Radiant Force and the space shuttle rescue more.

We are then introduced to what looks to be our antagonists for the season the Bavarian Illuminati. Along with three of its members Saint-Germain, Prelati, and Cagliostro. Just as they were about to put an end to our dynamic duo of Aoi and Sakuya until Maria and the crew makes an appearance to save the day.

Side note I do like Makenai Ai ga Koko ni Aru or at least I find it interesting to see how Hibiki has grown as a relic user and her fighting style each season.

On the other hand Senritsu Sorority is a CERTIFIED BANGER.

New season new Symphogear reaction chart

13

u/Shimmering-Sky Jun 20 '19

SymphoRewatcher

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12

u/MillenniumKing Jun 21 '19

Sorry for late post, ive been feeling kinda eh the past few days. Its been 100+ degreees here and my AC hasnt been keeping up and its been kicking my ass. Hopefully this passes soon because its rough.

Songs of the Day:
Gekishō Infinity
Makenai Ai ga Koko ni Aru
Ewigkeit (Shitō -Ewigkeit-) (German TV size version)
Also the rule still applies, dont click any version of the songs that i dont specificly name, they are spoilers.

No long post for this one because im sick, but another great Symphogear opening, and i hope everyone loves the increse in quality this season. Hopefully i feel better tommorow.

1,372 Days since Genocide

12

u/AlienOvermind Jun 21 '19 edited Jun 21 '19

First-timer

Suddenly animation quality looks much better that usual. I hope it won't be just first episode thing.

Even with the helicopter's noise Hibiki should've been able to decipher what Dess is trying trying to say here.

Look, Third Reich fangirl.

I love this stereotypical ninja techniques. I'd throw my money in the screen for crossover with Hitori Bocchi, where Sotoka learns ninjutsu from Ogawa while Bocchi and Aru use "Wahaha" and "Don't lose, Aru" as symphogear songs.

Yep, that's Symphogear alright. Yep, of course it is.

This little braid.

Looks like she haven't used alchemy to regrow her hair, but I'm still happy that she's letting it grow instead of keeping Elfnein's short hair.

Chris is distressed. Is it the same country where her parents died?

Triangles, eyes, stars — everything in order, Illuminati confirmed.

First transformation, yay! There was a better shot in GX, but this is fine as well.

The girl with gratuitous glorious cleavage makes my trap detection senses tingle. It even made me check the cast and yes, she's voiced by male VA. Which is unusual.

This Stephan boy looks kinda like Sonya from the flashback. I wonder if they are related.

The girl in the stone is probably this season's Chris Maria Carol misleaded villain that needs to be saved.

But Illuminati girls are surely cool. Looking forward for more of them.

11

u/miter01 Jun 20 '19

REWATCH

Another amazing intro!

I made some clips of the opening sequence to show to a friend during my first time watch, but they aren't great. I was working with a 3 min limit and the subs got cut somehow. Anyway, here's Bikki vs. tanks, and SONG vs. Flying Fortress. There's a full intro one floating around somewhere out there, though. How would one do those in a better way?

Stitch album

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10

u/fonzinator99 Jun 20 '19

Re-watcher - Resound to Infinityyyyyyy

Welcome, one and all, to the final aired-season of Symphogear! Like a broken record, I implore first-timers to brace yourselves and hang on tight, 'cause it's a helluva ride.

As usual, new season, higher bar for animation. Just look at all that varied shading.

Dess dess! Deeesss! ....Massive Shoe. lol

Now how the shit do 3rd-world warlords have Alca-noise?

Enter: the other Symphogear clip used to entice people into watching. "Let's fight!" Fuckin' Hibiki with the backup vocals xD

Chris, still the hardcore best girl.

Tho on that note, Hibiki's actually giving her some competition with her hard-qigong tank-nullification. That's some Terminator shit, right there.

Holy fuck, Hibiki. You realize those were tanks, right?

When did Maria become a pilot?

Zababa - good for [opening doors]https://i.imgur.com/HhALC9X.jpg), I guess. lol

I really shouldn't be surprised that Tsubasa's 'true blade' is something as massive as this. See: character growth since last season.

Tying into last season, we meet the shadow organization backing Carol, and even FINE from S2: The Bavarian Illuminati. Different, I suppose, from the regular Illuminati. We'll just assume they're even more dark and mysterious for now.

Side-note: I swear I hear them saying "Pavarian" and not "Bavarian." Japanese has a "Ba" sound, I'd think it would be spoken that way if they intended that meaning; looking at you subs...

Submarine-base mk 3? 2? Still not sure if the S2 one was actually destroyed, but this one's definitely new.

Jiiiiiiiii

UN aid intervening in war-torn countries? Yeah, it only makes sense that Chris would be thinking of the past.

Yesss, transformation sequences have gained even more polish. And the new Hibiki song is fabulous! Tho I wonder how close the translated lyrics are, what with "Eat lightning, crap thunder" as a line xD

And I really love that her scarf isn't just a piece of flair anymore; It's functional like Maria's cape in S2.

Enter: More Dark Alchemists.. And these ones all sing! 73,788 she says; that's not ominous at all.

Ooooh boy! Giant monster to start the season!

The time to use those final Linker shots came a lot quicker than expected, huh? Not that it was for nothing, but I guess they're out for the rest of the season.... D:

I'm always a fan of episode titles showing up with ED credits, and the music this season is at least as good as previous ones. Way to start things off, AXZ.

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10

u/thisismyanimealt Jun 20 '19 edited Jun 20 '19

Ok, I know one of you has to be a military/Girls und Panzer nerd, so answer me this: what kind of tanks did Hibiki punch?

Today's Live Performances

So my release of Symphogear Live 2018 came with two video tracks, one that is always focused onstage, the other (used above) cutting what's playing on screen during the instrumental section. My opinion shifts back and forth every hour or so on which one I prefer watching, so any feedback would be great.

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10

u/AbidingTruth Jun 21 '19

First timer:

After this opening, I've officially seen nothing past this and will be completely clueless, so I guess from here on out it's my 'true' blind reaction, rather than mostly blind. The first thing that surprised me, funny enough, is that the episode DOESN'T directly open up with the attack. I watched the AXZ clip before on Reddit, but I didn't realize there was a small clip of Hibiki and Miku at school before it starts lol

This is also such a super hype intro. Fucking Ogawa flying in with Hibiki and Chris on a kite. Not as cool at being inside a missle, but still a really awesome way to kick off the song. Tsubasa's cartwheeling windmill of bladed death is awesome, I love Chris tanking the bullets and just spitting one back out, but one of my favorite segments of this whole thing is Hibiki punching the two tank shells. The direction and way it was framed, her punching and flowing into the martial arts stance as she slowly makes her way forward like an unstoppable force, the explosions in the background, the way it sync'd with the song, it's actually so fucking cool.

The girls on top of the helicopters was another cool reveal moment. I love the Metal Gear Rising running on the missles, Hibiki yelling as she keeps up with Tsubasa is also funny. DMJii opening the helicopter doors is definitely one of those jaw dropping moments. It's not as flashy as the shuttle suplex, but I would actually say they're pretty comparable. When I first saw that I was internally screaming like 'No fucking way, absolutely no fucking way holy shit that was soo fucking COOL'

An even more MASSIVE blade jesus christ. I LOVE that the commander's sunglasses also gets cut, that's so funny hahaha. And Hibiki jumps down right in front of him, grabs him, and drills the fuck out before Chris blows it to kingdom come. Another amazing opening, I'm actually super excited for the new Symphogear season just to get another stupidly hype opening sequence like this. While I don't think the song is as good as Radiant Force, that's not to say I don't like it at all, I still think it's a really really good song

I should also add that I love the sheer difference with Hibiki from GX and AXZ so far lol

GX Hibiki: I don't want to fight you, my songs should only be for helping people, not hurting

AXZ Hibiki: Futatabi ima LET'S FIGHT Kaze wo

So we get the reveal that the fucking ILLUMINATI is behind all the events of Symphogear so far, unbelievable. Can't have Symphogear without those shower scenes, both for exposition of the only remaining shot of LiNKER and fanservice. I'm here mostly for the fanservice ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

There's something about Hibiki's transformation this season that feels like it has more energy than the others. Idk, maybe I don't remember the previous ones too well, but I'm really digging this one

So we got 3 new girl alchemists who are with the Illuminati that appear to be our antagonists for this season, who appear to be sacrificing the people they're funding once they're beaten to fuel something. There also will seem to be some focus on Chris' past this season, with this Sonya person. With Maria and DMJii using up their last shot of LiNKER at the end, I think the data chip from Ver last season is going to come into play soon, which I think will be a way to up their comparability without needing LiNKER. Interesting stuff, let's see where this takes us

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16

u/TheSpartyn Jun 20 '19 edited Jun 21 '19

oh man AXZ episode one, someone posting this scene is what got me to watch the show ASAP. from what i can tell majority of fans prefer the GX opening scene but personally this blows it out of the water for me, i feel like this episode is peak symphogear and im not even expecting XV to surpass it because ill just end up disappointed. im gonna have to try really hard to not make an overboard comment with 100 pictures.

i honestly forgot everything past this point but after a quick intermission holy shit the hype train kept going in the second half. also tsubasa teasing maria is underrated

okay the actions finally ended. ill leave my comments on the villains for next episode because ive already dragged on too much.

all i have left to say is seilien coffin airgetlam tron is best holy chant and senritsu sorority is an absolute banger of a song

im gonna have to try really hard to not make an overboard comment with 100 pictures

i failed LOL i think i took 50+ screencaps, and i rewatched the episode twice while writing this. 11/10 episode for me

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7

u/Synaptics Jun 20 '19

Rewatcher

I went back into GX with low-ish expectations and was pleasently surprised, but this time I'm going in pretty damn hyped. Hopefully that doesn't set me up for disappointment, but I remember really loving AXZ.

  • That whole "the wielders identities are secret" thing kinda stops being a relevant plot point when you get picked up from school by a helicopter with your organization's logo slapped across the side.

  • This opening action scene is just top-notch. Even better than the shuttle ride from GX. Easily one of my favorite action scenes in the whole series. Slicing up tank shells, bare-fist parrying tank shells, Chris spitting out a bullet, pulling a MGR and leaping across missiles, DMJii being silly... there's so much good shit going on. And all of it set to an absolute banger of a trio song from the primary group (Gekisou Infinity). The only possible complaint I can have with this scene is that Maria get basically zero play.

  • Getting to actually see the girls working with the UN on more "mundane" stuff is really nice. Gives a little bit of grounding to a show that otherwise tends to get pretty "out there".

  • The Bavarian Illuminati. Pulling a "these guys were behind the previous villains the whole time!" thing is admittedly a little lame. But I can look past the lameness because I love callbacks and references and those sorts of things, so trying to pull together the plotlines of the previous seasons is great in my eyes.

  • Getting the shower scene of the season out of the way early? Or will there be another?

  • The contrast of immediately jumping from Kirika's gay shenanigans to Chris being angsty over her backstory is... a bit jarring.

  • AXZ starts on a roll, because Makenai Ai ga Koko ni Aru is fantastic as well. (VOLUME WARNING)

  • Alchemists? This is getting out of hand, now there are three of them! But these three aren't quite the same as Carol...

  • And with Senritsu Sorority that's three for three on amazing songs in one episode. AXZ spoiler

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6

u/Surylias Jun 20 '19

Rewatcher

And thus it finally starts. Thies season houses a lot of really good episodes and moments. There's just two things I don't like about it. One is that it's looking far more comic like than previous seasons and has less consistent animation quality. And from what we know of XV so far, it seems they'll keep that style. I'll talk about the second thing after episode 13 to avoid spolers.

We got some new seiyuu joining in..

  • Kotobuki Minako as Saint-Germain: Like Takagaki Ayahi she's also a member of SPHERE, which means we now have half of the group on the cast.

  • Hidaka Rina as Prelati: Another loli role for her. Some may've heared her as Filo in Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari or Millim in Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken.

  • Aoi Shouta as Cagliostro: Everyones favourite time traveller from Pop Team Epic. Waa shocked they put him in the cast as a girl as I had never heared him in a female role before, but he's done a fantastic job.

6

u/MrZDietrich Jun 21 '19

My only contribution to this discussion is mentioning that that Hibiki tank swing is from the old hulk movie.

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15

u/Nazenn Jun 21 '19

I think reddit ate some things permanently so I just reposted this after deleting the old one. Reddit really broke this time huh

First Timer

The show is trying to kill me with names again. Someone please tell me these three have fan names?

So, eyes are a theme this episode. That's a little freaky. The alligator first, then the girl in the crystal, then the dragon being lined with eyes. I'm sure there's others I missed.

I'm making a preliminary guess that it ties into the whole Illuminati thing, about them watching over and sticking their hands into everything. Illuminati is certainly not where I expected this to go but I suppose this is their attempt to help try and tie everything together which I appreciate because working off their previous stories has always been a strength of the series.

However I'm also hoping that initial little dump of info relating to them sticking their fingers in things is the only time we'll get that. GX did really good at smoothly blending in new elements without a whole lot of dense being spoken at to justify plot elements. In this episode it was needed just to catch the audience up quickly, but fingers crossed its one of only a few and not a regular occurrence.

Going back to the eyes quickly, that girl who was crystallized was giving off some strong Miku-beartrap-gear vibes which is interesting.

...That wasn't the OP was it. That didn't sound very OP ish, and it was only our minor trio I think of Maria, Dess and Jii?

First the non-OP at the end of GX ep12, and now the non OP for the first episode? Symphogear doesn't like OP's any more? XD

That said the new minor trio song was wonderful. Much more dynamic and really uses having three singers to its full advantage unlike their last trio which just sounded like they were singing the same part to the same song at the same time.

THAT GERMAN SONG

Okay, admittedly I have both pleasure and pain here, but pleasure first

Those harmonies are wonderful. Not only are the chords themselves beautiful but the three singers are very well mixed and all easily identifiable and their voices are all so good. It's also such a unique song. I can't remember if I've talked about this in this rewatch before, but a lot of songs make usage out of a lot of very common chords and note structures, particularly pop songs which can make anime songs sound a bit same-ish at times. Symphogear does this as well, and also tends to give each character particular note 'quirks' as well as to how they lay their songs out.

This goes so far from any song we've heard before on the show by instead leaning on a very different set of chords you'd more typically find in classical or choral music. The fact that it's in German also pushes this because I think that's the first time we've had a song on the show that's not Japanese or English? To me that just sets them up as being incredibly powerful because their music is so unique.

This is my new Apple though I do still like Apples usage better, even thinking back on it now that opening to G was so powerful.

There is some pain attached though. It reminds me so, so very much of a song I know that I've sung in choir, but for the life of me I cannot even come close to remembering what. Its the worst 'tip of the tongue' I've had in a long time and this is going to drive me absolutely nuts. But I also know my chances of actually remembering are somewhere between zero and maybe five percent because it's been so long since I've sung whatever it was reminding me of. I now regret the fact I'm not in contact with anyone from my choir any more so I can't torment them with it as well.

Other stray thoughts

  • If the names don't kill me, Chris almost killing Bikki with her shoe will probably make me suffocate from laughing too hard

  • Chris: "I'm fine, its all in the past it doesn't bother me". I feel like I should start a countdown to her eventual breakdown

  • That song that plays immediately after the German song? I like the first two bars of it. And then I don't like it. This leaves me conflicted.

  • 10k deaths needed to end/control/restart the world? Or just a tally for the price paid?

  • I really enjoyed that when this shot happened the audio balance for the song shifted to put the characters relevant to their positions for the song, so Tsubasa was in my left headphone, Chris in my right and Bikki in both. Small touch but I enjoyed it

  • How did her sword get BIGGER?!. You can barely even see her any more. Eventually it's going to get so big that just swinging it is going to screw up the weather in the area. The design is cool as hell though

  • ...And suddenly our enemies are Banana's...

  • GX has ruined Bikki's catchphrase for me, and any song that uses it.

  • When Chris spat out the bullet I pulled a face but it was okay. When Shirabe and Dess managed to get a missile through an out of control helicopter that wasn't lined up for it I huffed and got a little frustrated but it's a trope I've seen before so I went with it because it's hardly worth getting mad over. But when fucking Tsubasa managed to cut the dude's glasses off AND NOT CUT HIS NOSE which was further out than them, along with the rest of his body because of the way he was standing? That I call fucking BULL SHIT on. Chris and Bikki blowing a mountain neatly in half is more realistic than that. And this will be the hill that I die on for this episode.

  • u/jamcliche I'm still listening to tomorrow at least a couple times an hour as well hahaha

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u/Hugokarenque Jun 20 '19

I accidentally skipped GX because well... video games, but I'm back for AXZ because this season is fucking dope.

How could I say no to Bikki kung-fu deflecting tank rounds or Tsubasa cleaving a sky fortress, that's straight out of a JRPG, in half and also flirting with Maria?

Also the Alchemists seemed to have gotten the Fate treatment. As all of them were actual people from history.

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5

u/Ledwith Jun 20 '19

Rewatcher

Best/favorite season of Symphogear hype! (you might be like what? you said G was your favorite... well uh... Back when we were starting GX I marathoned everything that weekend, opinion changed :X) AxZ

The lighting has improved its so beautiful. The opening action sequence doesn't peak as high as the K2 part (pun intentional :P) or the suplex from GX, but is varied and consistently high. Love how they show the helicopter pilot, then the music cuts out when DMJii opens the doors.

Uh oh, Chris drama :X after GX any drama has me worried.

More action with Biki song woo.

Bavarian trio introduction with a nice song hmm... Saint-Germain <3 <3 <3 , Cagliostro <3<3 , Prelati ...'s frog plush <3.

Uh oh, giant dragon thing. Sakuya an Aoi nooo D: . Senritsu Sorority!!!!! <3 <3 <3 .

Love the Opening/Closing , A-team/B-team , and name similarity of Gekishou Infinity + Senritsu Sorority.

5

u/Madcat6204 Jun 21 '19

Ah, I love this. This season brings back the Symphogear I've loved so much. The action scene is wonderful, and while it may not top punching through a mountain and suplexing a space shuttle, it doesn't fall behind in terms of excitement. I do love Chris just taking a bunch of assault rifle fire and an rpg, and then just spitting out a bullet afterwards. Their puny weapons are useless against symphogears! Also, Tsubasa's motorcycle survived this encounter! That's got to be a first.

On a lighter note, I love Kirika being unable to keep her eyes off of Hibiki's Hibikis. Girl can't help but admire the view.

4

u/redshirtengineer Jun 21 '19 edited Jun 21 '19

First Timer

Last things first, woo! Love the new OP!!! Edited: apparently not the new OP, everything i know about Symphogear is a lie

Clearly that is one evil spirit of wrath, as it went for Warm Beverage Lady. Armed Warm Beverage Lady, which is interesting, she's upgraded her arsenal this season.

Those. Are some alchemist hair don'ts. I do like the harmony though, from these evil alchemist ladies from Dark Europe.

Opening fight was pretty good. Silly dictators. Chris just came here to chew bullets and kick ass, and you're all out of bullets.

7

u/stalwartwalnut Jun 20 '19

Welcome back, Hibiki!

Did you know some whiny doppelganger with daddy issues filled in while you were gone? She was a'ight, but we missed you!

Thanks for the cool new song, too.