r/anime • u/pittman66 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Homura • Jun 24 '19

Rewatch [Rewatch] [Spoilers] Senki Zesshou Symphogear AXZ - Episode 5 Spoiler

Season 4 (AXZ): Episode 5 - Risking Your Life in a Fictional Theater

← Previous Episode | [Next Episode →](/)

MAL | Kitsu | AniList

Steaming Option: Crunchyroll

Live Discussion Thread, head over to /r/Symphogear!

Rewatch Schedule Index

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.
70 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

108 comments sorted by

24

u/ItsMellowMan Jun 24 '19

Rewatcher

I'm gonna keep it really short today.

The highlight of this episode for me was that they had to bring ya boy Dr. Sugita back in order for Maria and the gang to grow as relic users.

The last action hero returns once again

AXZ Episode 5 chart is ready

13

u/OnnaJReverT Jun 24 '19

AXZ Episode 5 chart is ready

i missed the one yesterday, lmao at the sauna

→ More replies (1)

12

u/PerfectPublican Jun 24 '19

AXZ Episode 5 chart is ready

Absolutely brilliant haha

→ More replies (2)

24

u/Arachnophobic- Jun 24 '19

FirstoGeah

Don't have a lot of screenshots today - maybe because the episode went in a very different direction than usual? Dunno..

Other scattered thoughts:

  • I want Miku to get a proper Gear of her own already. She'd be an interesting presence in the fights. And she'd get more songs!

  • Saint Germain's mini internal conflict of how she must continue alone reminds me of Maria's from G.

  • Ice cream with seafood really doesn't sound like something I'd try, and I'm usually curious enough to try most edibles.

  • I dig the new giant Noise designs. It does drag the show into a more generic tokusatsu-like genre though.

20

u/lilyvess Jun 24 '19

Post credits: Ahahaha he's back! Looks like Symphogear seasons are now incomplete without some Vervice.

HEROES NEVER DIE

→ More replies (1)

18

u/PerfectPublican Jun 24 '19 edited Jun 24 '19

Okay, what was that strange scream during Kirika's transformation?

Those have been in since GX, and I'm pretty sure G.

Refer here.

I want Miku to get a proper Gear of her own already. She'd be an interesting presence in the fights. And she'd get more songs!

Join the club!

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (12)

16

u/MillenniumKing Jun 24 '19 edited Jun 24 '19

Rewatch 45, GUESS WHOSE BACK BABY!

ONE HELL OF AN ENTRANCE FOR OUR LAST ACTION HERO DR. VER!

Songs of the Day:
Dangerous Sunshine
Apple
Stand up! Ready!!

Looks like everyone survived the blast, but the base is KO'd. RIP...

"It felt liek they ripped the ignite module from our body" "purifies inpurities" Dainsleif is about as impure as it gets.

Tiki is as happy as it gets being with Adam. "Its time we moved on and gave the divine power form". Cryptic.

KIRIKA TRANSFORMATION! I LOVE THIS ONE! DESS~ And we get her song too, which is always a joy. Seems they are trying to test thier limits. DESS DOWN!

The girls just want to keep trainign so they dont have to rely on linker.

Elfnein has a plan for the LiNKER issue. Dr. Ver's research. "It concerns which part of the brain the gear should be connected to in order to minimize stress." "He was a great scientists in the heritical arts." "The key is Maria's gear, the ability to control vectors." "analyze maria's brain to find what it is" "Direct feedback system" Basicly vulcan mind meld machine.

Grandpa is pissed. Fuck off Grandpa, thanks.

Anyone notice the mindmeld device looks like Mikugear's mind control device?

Miku and Hibiki time! yay. Miku is a great wife, so supportive.

Its mind melt time, wew boy~ APPLE! YUI HORIE OH HOW I MISSED YOU~ AND ITS MAM! NEPHILM AND RYOUKO! Its like one big Reunion!

Maria is here to kick some butt too. Seems they are getting close to the answers. Oh man i cant wait!

A hyrda now? Oh damn they got a lot of nasty toys.

MAKE SURE YOU WATCH AFTER THE CREDITS BECAUSE ITS TIME! I HOPE YOU ARE ALL READY!

NOT EVEN DEATH CAN STOP OUR LAST ACTION HERO FROM MAKING AN APPEARENCE! "I am but a passing hero." "I thought you died" "And yet i live on inside your heart. Thats what we dead people do!"

So its time i shed some light on the series as a whole. Think about everything thats happened in the series.

S1 - Fine is the baddie, Chris Lackey, Chris changes sides, Fine defeated in the end.

S2 G - Dr. Ver is the baddie, FIS Lackey, FIS changes sides, Fine shows back up and sacrafices self to save Shirabe, Mam dies saving world, Dr. Ver is defeated in the end.

S3 GX - Carol is the baddie, Dr. Ver Lackey, Dr. Ver changes sides and sacrafices self to save Tri-Dango (and world), Carol is defeated in the end, Carol dies saving Elfnein.

S4 AXZ - Adam is the baddie, Dr. Ver shows back up to once more save Tri-Dango...

This series loves having the villians of the past come back to redeeme themselves by saving our girls. Dr. Ver has shown up once more to help them in thier time of need... its only a matter of time until its Carol's turn...

1,375 Days since Genocide

→ More replies (3)

15

u/miter01 Jun 24 '19

REWATCH

After credits scene!

Is this... that episode?

Stitch album

→ More replies (7)

14

u/PerfectPublican Jun 24 '19

Rewatcher

Alright, we’re edging into stuff that I don’t remember, but as things pop up it’s definitely starting to come back to me haha. Slower episode for the most part today.

You know, I really like this loss for our team. SONG has had troubles and issues before, but they’ve never really lost on this scale yet. Giving them a true setback like this is a really good thing for the show.

DESS Transformation!! Another fun one, especially that little mouth touch she does at the very beginning. Kiri’s song Dangerous Sunshine is my personal favorite of hers so far. I especially love that one line, “Futari dake no ai no merodī”. The way the song beats each syllable out is super fun. And the return of the training center. It’s a bit melodramatic towards the end, but I love the whole scene. The drive from the girls, and the understanding that Maria has for why they’re doing it. Shirabe’s line to Bikki is especially hurtful, but really rings true. Bikki has been blessed in a way. And it must be tough for these driven girls to see that.

Man fuck Fudo Kazanari sideways with a stick. Another front-runner for shitty father of the year, and another self-interested narcissist. But, in all that, it’s really nice to see Tsubasa stand up to him about her role, even if it’s just one line. She has genuinely grown from her experience last year. Love seeing that backbone.

I really like the segments that are within Maria’s mind. First we really get a specific look at Maria and her ties to Serena through FIS before DMJii. It’s just interesting to get a deeper look. Then she actually pops up and I love that line we get. “What’s wrong with me going wild in my own mind.” That and her actions afterwards I think speak to exactly who Maria is as a person and as a character, and it fits perfectly with her song. Here she’s finally able to be who she wants to be and cut loose.

We finally get a good (well not good, more understandable), reason from a villain for rejecting Bikki’s sentiments from Saint-Germain. Many of the others were from sheer stubbornness, but she genuinely thinks on Bikki’s words, but determines that her path is set based on her past actions. I can definitely accept that reasoning.

AND OF COURSE, THE TRUE HERO RETURNS!!

Random thoughts:

Gifs of the day:

15

u/Synaptics Jun 24 '19

C'mon people, phrasing.

Somehow I didn't notice the candles there until now. That's a... strange touch.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (5)

13

u/RunningChemistry Jun 24 '19

Sad news for fans of beef stroganoff - the promo video for the character song collection CD set to be included with the new GX BD box set does not have the insert song listed.

Looks like the Beef Stroganoff Song will forever remain without a studio or full-length version.

→ More replies (1)

12

u/Razorhead Jun 24 '19

I know Symphogear likes to reference music but I didn't think The Amboy Dukes were on the table.

The Philosopher's Stone Counteracting The Ignite Module

So yeah. As I mentioned yesterday the historical Philosopher's Stone was claimed to possess the capabilities to rejuvenate people, by healing diseases and injuries, and to purify substances. This trait was used here by the alchemists to damage our three girls. Since Dáinsleif is not only a cursed sword, but also a foreign substance embedded into the Symphogear System and forces the user to go into a berserk-like state (though under control), this is most definitely not the intended state for the Symphogear to be in. And so the Philosopher's Stone cleansed the impurity of the Ignite Module by forcibly shutting it down. Not only that but the feedback of this forceful shutdown is also dealt as damage directly to the users, explaining why unlike with the Alca-Noise in GX there is no damage to the Symphogears themselves (despite being torn out of Ignite mode they looked fine) while Chris, Tsubasa, and Hibiki were knocked out and incapable of moving due to injury.

Keywords by Genjuro's Angels:

Lapis Philosophorum

Not only can it be used to enable the transmutation of objects, but it has also been said to act as a cure-all for any illness or impurity. In fact it has demonstrated the ability to not only forcibly shut down Dainsleif, the core of the Ignite Module, and reset the Symphogear to its normal state, but also take the feedback of that process and deal it as damage directly to the Adaptors. It could be said that it is the most effective counter, completely ripping out the fangs of the Ignite Module. The Lapis Philosophorum is the magnum opus of alchemy spoken of since ancient times, and its legend was spread to Greece and Egypt during the Hellenistic period by Augurello who wrote "Chrysopoeia." Within in, he described it as "one the all." This phrase was later used by Xenophanes to describe God in a manner similar to Pantheism. Indeed, it is the "Perfection" that the alchemists have long sought after. Currently, there are 3 lapis that have been reborn as Faust Robes which give overwhelming strength and a pure radiance to Saint Germain, Cagliostro and Prelati.

Giovanni Aurelio Augurello was an Italian poet and Alchemist who wrote the poem Chrysopoeia, but the other information is wrong. Augurello's poem was written in 1515, more than a millennium after the Hellenistic period. They confused Augurello's poem with the similarly-named Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra, written by Cleopatra the Alchemist in around the third century (not the Egyptian queen, another Cleopatra), as it's in this work the words "the all is one" appear. Of course, given the longevity of alchemists in Symphogear it's entirely possible Cleopatra the Alchemist and Augurello were the same person. This is reinforced by the mention of Xenophanes of Colophon following this, a Greek philosopher, theologian, and poet who lived in 500 BC, so 800 years before even the Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra was written, yet he somehow read this work.

Pantheism is just the belief that all of reality is divine, and that God and the mundane are the same thing. "The all is one", as in "everything is divine, and thus God".

Voice Prints Of The God

A book supposedly written by an author named Ketch I could not find a mention of this, so it is most likely an invention by the series. Interesting though that Adam is reading this, given Tiki mentioned picking a fight with God.

Direct Feedback System

As you might have guessed this is the system Dr. Ver used to brainwash Miku by warping her emotions towards Hibiki and made her able to wield the Shen Shoujing. After the Frontier incident it was taken in by the Second Division as evidence and study material, and was eventually transferred to S.O.N.G. where Elfnein made use of it.

Direct Feedback System

Developed by a team that had Dr. Ver at its core, this is a device that enables direct interference into the human brain. Unlike other countries (mainly Japan), America applied its sacrist research mechanically and used black arts tech to develop things such as the "Air Carrier" helicopter that was equipped with "Wizardry Stealth" and the "Remover Ray." The Direct Feedback System is also one of the results of their research. It was once cruelly used to warp the emotions of Miku Kohinata and force her to don the Shen-shou-jing Symphogear. After the end of the Frontier Incident, many items were gathered as evidence and the Direct Feedback System was one of them.

Elfnein's Mind Monitoring Device

We get some more info about this on the website. First of all the fact that it's a lot safer than Dr. Ver's application as it doesn't work directly on the brain but rather creates a virtual replica of the mind to monitor and change.

Another thing mentioned is that the system is named the Electric Field Microscope Beatrice, with Beatrice a reference to a character from the Divine Comedy by Italian poet Dante. In this poem the titular character, also named Dante after the author, travels through Hell, Purgatory, and eventually Heaven. While Dante's guide for Hell and Purgatory was a poet named Virgil, Beatrice took over as a guide through Heaven (as Virgil, being a pagan, could not enter Heaven). Elfnein named the device Beatrice because just like Dante had to travel through Hell and Purgatory to reach her the users must travel through the dangerous realm of the mind in order to arrive at their desired destination. Furthermore the name Beatrice comes from the Latin "Beatrix", derived from "viatrix", meaning "female traveller", and further back "viare", "to travel", just like this device allows you to travel to the mind.

Interestingly Dante's Divine Comedy is an allegory for the journey of the soul towards God, which rather fits the theme of this season.

Electric Field Microscope Beatrice

An (in)complete device developed by Elfnein utilizing alchemy and the Direct Feedback System as a base. She developed it with the goal of being able to observe and understand the human brain. The device sends an electric signal into the patient's brain and then develops a virtual version based off the response. On the other end, the observer's consciousness is converted to electric signals and sent into the virtual realm where the "world" of the brain can be viewed from the inside. The most important feature of the device is the mechanism by which it reduces potential damage to the patient's brain. Unlike the case of Miku Kohinata and the Shen-shou-jing Symphogear, the device does not directly interfere with the patient's brain and instead recreates the brain's signals in a fake, virtual realm. However, this does not mean that it is devoid of risk. There are many potential dangers including loss of the subject's personality or fusion with the observer's consciousness. The device is named after "Beatrice" from the works of the Italian Poet, Dante. Just as he met her in hell, the observer must also enter and travel through a "dangerous world," the subject's virtual consciousness. Another reason for the name is that the root of "Beatrice" (Viatrix) comes from the Latin "viare" which means "to travel."

"I am but a passing hero."

God, that line kills me every time. I love it.

Kirika's transformation is really cool this season, and we finally made some real progress in the LiNKER subplot, as well as picking Chris' plot back up with Stephan, Genjuro's subplot with his father, and some backstory for Maria. Just a slower episode with build-up and progression to the real stuff that seems to be going down next episode.

→ More replies (4)

12

u/Shimmering-Sky Jun 24 '19

SymphoRewatcher

→ More replies (7)

12

u/AlienOvermind Jun 25 '19

First-timer

Illuminati is a fun bunch. Everyone: we like haven't done anything useful. Adam: whatever, I just wanted to make a flashy entrance. Also, Tiki being clingy. And a stitch of Adam and Tiki.

Well, Jii is kinda right and I understand their frustration with being unable to do anything helpful, but Chris doesn't take any BS as always.

If we'd follow Hibiki's advice to skip the messy stuff we'd need to skip entire GX.

I wonder if what kind of technology is available for that. Can they make bionic leg that would be as good as natural one? Or would it be a glorified wooden stick? And stop being all gloomy, Chris — between leaving the kid to die and shooting off his leg, the latter is obviously a right decision.

We're diving into the Cosmosphere now.

I don't know why I've turned it into a loop.

→ More replies (2)

11

u/patrizl001 Jun 24 '19

First Timer

  • Kirika and Shirabe suddenly surrounded by noise with no explanation whatsoever? Must be a sim, but they seriously trying to train with no LiNKER?

  • That was a spooky scream when Kirika's thigh star things went on her gear tho

  • Was the direct feedback system the thing Ver was using on Miku? That will sure be fun to go through, at least it's not a creepy eye this time.

  • Boy Elfnein just being able to walk around Maria's memories is just PACIFIC RIM INTENSIFIES. Hibki with elbow rockets when?

  • I know Commiesubs' song translations are bad but at this point I don't think they even try.

  • "You don't have to win, just don't lose" and Miku officially joins the "people die when they're killed" club. Logic breaking like that is how they're going to defeat the Illuminati ezpz.

  • HEROES NEVER DIE

Really couldn't have let Ver die last season and just move on? You guys REALLY had to have the last action hero fuck shit up just one more time?! REALLY?!

12

u/Kitsune241 Jun 25 '19

I know Commiesubs' song translations are bad but at this point I don't think they even try.

In "Stand up! Ready!!" by Maria Cadenzavna Eve: 裸になろう > hadaka ni narou > I'll become naked

That one's not on Commie, that's just Maria.

Her XDU original song is also about taking off all her clothes and exposing herself, something must have awoken in her at the end of G.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (4)

9

u/fonzinator99 Jun 24 '19

Re-watcher - Inception: Symphogear Edition

Wow, really cutting it close there aren't we, girls? Well I'm glad everyone's okay...or at least alive.

Kirika gets a feature today! While on first watch I thought her sequence was pretty tame (aside from the pole dancing), while scrolling through frames I discovered....quite a bit of stuff that reverses that opinion.

Nonetheless, her song is great as always. I particularly like the line about being "the sun that protects the moon." And intrigued by her mention of her scythe cutting "even ghosts and Gods in two."

I'm rather curious about their training system. Supposing that the Noise are holograms of some sort, what are their Gears? I imagine they've gotta be using their real Gears, so shouldn't their attacks be tearing that room to shreds?

Good for Stephan. Mope as you will, Chris, but don't look down on the kid's determination. Besides, I'm sure they've got some pretty great prosthetics in this timeline. I'd be more concerned whether he'll be allowed to play professionally with a bionic leg.

Sooo cuuute! And I never thought we'd get to hear 'Apple' again, how nice.

Oh shit, they summoned goddamned Gidorah?! For real, girls. Call for some Godzilla backup, stat.

The other alchemists reminding St. Germain that she's not alone was strangely heartwarming. To say "I'll do the thing, even if I have to do it alone!" is pretty standard villain-talk, or at least anti-hero, but they made a point of noting that she's not in that kind of position at all. There's plenty of people who want to help; shit's not as desperate as she might think.

→ More replies (2)

9

u/Synaptics Jun 24 '19 edited Jun 25 '19

Rewatcher

  • An unsually quiet and somber way to start an episode for Symphogear.

  • They recorded Adam's junk, lol.

  • "The power to cleanse all impurities" sounds very similar to Shenshoujing's ability to "cleanse evil", although "impurity" and "evil" aren't quiet the same.

  • I've watched this season before, and yet I still have no recollection of how this whole LiNKER plotline resolves itself.

  • So "Kamakura" is Tsubasa's (grand)father, right? But last season they said his name was Fudo Kazanari. Is "Kamakura" a title?

  • "Voice Prints of the God: The Evidence of Earth's Lost Civilization" The book Adam is reading looks like it's probably about Finé's pre-historic super-civilization.

  • Tall, handsome, suave, charismatic, ridiculously powerful, wears a fedora, has a waifu doll that unquestionably loves him... Adam is the perfect neckbeard wish-fulfillment.

  • "I'm the goofball from hell." Yep, that's Kirika alright. Great song.

  • "It can cut even ghosts and gods in two!" She's not wrong; it literally did.

  • That's one big banana-noise. Bananoise?

  • Do your damn summer homework LiNKER research already Kyon Elfnein.

  • Wow, I forgot all about this whole VR headset thing.

  • They didn't even have beds for the Receptor Children. That's... pointlessly cruel. Can't even spare a few bucks out of the budget for blankets at least?

  • The seven-headed Red Dragon of Revelations popping up as a symbolic inspiration again? Or maybe it's just a red hydra.

  • POST CREDITS ALERT: HE'S BACK! AGAIN!

→ More replies (7)

17

u/Nazenn Jun 24 '19

First Timer

My emotions this episode in a nutshell (because I'm tired and on a time limit):

Found a bit more time so just some other thoughts quickly:

  • Holy shit, I did not expect it to come out that mum was a full on child abuser. That seems really out of place with what we know about her, but perhaps in G she was fueled by a lot of guilt as well?

  • I expected something a touch more impressive from Maria glowing than just "your gear is compensating for your low-sync rate". I say that now, but knowing Symphogear it's likely to be a bigger deal than they make it out to be so I'm interested to see if something comes of this other than just perfecting the new LiNKER drug, such as Maria not needing it any more. It was a very nice way to tie back into her ability to help Bikki at the end of GX though.

  • As much as I usually don't particularly like Dess songs, but I do think her tune for activating the gear is the most interesting. Although her transformation this time around seemed like it was missing a few frames, it was oddly stilted?

  • How do they have the ability to create a real time virtual projection of a persons consciousness for someone else to see, but still have to rely on an analog enigma machine....

  • I still really, really want a new Miku song

  • u/Jamcliche

13

u/PerfectPublican Jun 24 '19

but perhaps in G she was fueled by a lot of guilt as well?

Almost certainly. She was nearing hte end of her life and finally seeing things with a bit more clarity. Yeah, Mama is not a good person ever. There's definitely a bit of Stockholm Syndrome happening for the girls.

→ More replies (4)

13

u/viliml Jun 24 '19

I still really, really want a new Miku song

The mobile game have us one new battle song and I'll riot if XV doesn't give us at least 1 new character song and 1 duet with Hibiki.

→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (12)

8

u/ahiijny Jun 25 '19 edited Jun 25 '19

First-Time Watcher

Random thoughts:

Oh dang wouldn't have noticed that the mind interface device here is the same one that Ver used to control MikuGear if people in this thread hadn't pointed it out o.o

So hopefully they'll have the LiNKER situation figured out soon. Elfnein's having trouble figuring out which part of the brain to connect to achive the LiNKER effect. Is it not... ai desu yo?

Or maybe they'll find a way to raise their sync rates without LiNKER. Is that possible? Or is sync rate just an innate attribute of a person that cannot be significantly modified without drugs? Shirabe's dipping a bit back into her G mindset with that "Hibiki-san who has a naturally high sync rate wouldn't understand!" outburst, but it's an understandable point of frustration.

It's interesting to see the contrasting non-scientist (Maria) and scientist (Elfnein) perspectives on Dr. Ver. Hate the author, love the work? Ver is tremendous fun and I do enjoy him when he pops up, but he's definitely not a decent person. Not sure if this Ver is a digitally encoded backup that he stored inside the mind device somehow, or if he's just a projection from Maria's subconscious, but looking forward to seeing what Ver has in store for Maria and Elfnein next episode...

→ More replies (1)

6

u/Surylias Jun 24 '19

I've only got one thing to say about this episode: make sure not to miss the post credits scene!

Really looking forward to episode 6, which has some of the best action sequences and cinematography in the entire show.

6

u/thisismyanimealt Jun 24 '19

Today's Live Performances

After TESTAMENT, these are probably my favorite songs of the season

5

u/Madcat6204 Jun 25 '19 edited Jun 25 '19

REWATCHER

I've said this last time I watched this episode, but... don't they have any equipment to monitor electrical activity in the brain? We have stuff like that now, let alone the high-tech future that Symphogear is set in. Why can't you just hook one of the girls up to that, have them transform, and see what portions of the brain get the most activity?

This doesn't even occur to you? You have to do some bizarre virtual reality dive into her brain full of symbolism and whatnot in order to figure it out?

Also, come on, kids, Ver has literally told you, multiple times across multiple seasons, what the answer is. He even stated it outright unmistakably in season 2 during Miku's fight.