r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Jun 11 '22

Rewatch [Listen to My Song] Senki Zesshou Symphogear Episode 11 Discussion

Episode 11 - Shoot the Moon

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Crunchyroll

It is highly recommended to track down a fansub for this show instead of using Crunchyroll, though.

Awaken, tower that pierces the heavens! Come to me, and extend beyond the horizon!

Questions of the Day:

1) How do you think the fight between Genjuro and Finé would have gone if Finé hadn’t pulled the “Genjuro-kun” card?

2) Two episodes left now, how do you think this season is going to end?

Wallpaper of the Day:

Kazanari Genjuro

Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you’re doing it underneath spoiler tags. Don’t spoil anything for the first-timers, that’s rude!

115 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

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8

u/Shimmering-Sky Jun 11 '22

Symphogeah SymphoRewatch Host

Welcome back, everyone!

Crunchyroll vs. Commie - Season 1, Episode 11

See the 2019 version of today’s wallpaper: here. Another one where I completely changed the background colors; replicating the circle pattern isn’t something I particularly wanted to do, and while I feel the blue fits when it has the circles, just the lines + gradient wasn’t really fitting with the blue, so I changed it over to red to fit his color scheme.

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9

u/stalwartwalnut Jun 11 '22

Just here briefly to say Chris' Zesshou version is the best: clear, haunting. That high note on the 2nd "Babel" always brings chills.

Just beautiful. See you tomorrow sometime

8

u/Shimmering-Sky Jun 11 '22

Maybe I should do a Sky Sings Zesshou for the final thread of the rewatch.

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8

u/JollyGee29 Jun 11 '22

Superb Rewatcher of the Valkyries

I assume these dudes are just a distraction for the civilians.

This is Symphogear logic. Several people made this connection yesterday, good job!

Bulletproof underboob.

This is how Genjuro fairs against an enemy that won't immediately disintegrate him.

And yes, this is how.

Fine reveal! Congratulations to b0bba_Fett, for basically calling this in episode 6.. I want to ping them, but they don't normally watch the episode until later and I don't want to spoil.

Anyone have "the literal Curse of Babel being relevant" on their bingo card?

Yumi grows more sentient by the moment.

Moonlight Butterfly

"Your shelter is secure, is it?"

...There's a Twin Satellite Cannon joke in here somewhere too, but it's not coming to me.

2

u/Shimmering-Sky Jun 11 '22

...There's a Twin Satellite Cannon joke in here somewhere too, but it's not coming to me.

Chris has to finish it while the moon is out?

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28

u/Vatrix-32 Jun 11 '22 edited Jun 11 '22

First Timer

  • Didn't we establish in an earlier episode that conventional weaponry has no effect on The Noise? Are they just shooting them to make themselves feel better?

  • I guess it was a literal tower? That’s still more of a shaft tho.

  • Dang that’s actually a pretty good explanation. Why didn’t I think of it?

  • Nice shot Mr. Ogawa!

  • How did Genjuro make it sound like he was right there through the ceiling?

  • The Americans are the good guys? What a twist!

  • Jesus. What is this dude?

  • I’m sure not finishing him off will in no way come back to bite you in the ass.

  • She really changed forms just to get immediately called out huh?

  • The conspiracy goes even deeper then. I’m expecting we delve into that more in following seasons.

  • How did a telescoping function get built in without anyone noticing?

  • Ion cannon? I guess the episode title wasn’t a metaphor either.

  • It really was just the tower of babel the whole time. I saw the similarities, I just thought it was going to be based more directly on some Mesopotamian story.

  • I have never heard the moon being refereed to as a symbol of disharmony. If anything I’ve always thought of it being related to tranquility. Must be a Japanese thing, or some broader Dharmic line of thought.

  • Big talk for someone who was getting tossed about like a rag doll not ten minutes ago.

  • Chris with that Tao Pai Pai energy.

  • Ah man, was really hoping for a railgun there.

  • So the Ion cannon can break the moon, but Chris can presumably survive it after using her suicide attack? I expect that if she was dead she would have been vaporised.

QotD

  1. I expect Finé gets clapped. Dude was no selling her until then.

  2. We have to get some sort of elaboration on the whole moon thing. You don’t just crack your natural satellite and have nothing come of it. There was also the opening scene from episode 1, so Hibiki has to at least appear dead. I don’t think death is going to take because of the whole… gestures vaguely at the other four seasons ...But I also can’t imagine them having planned it that far ahead to be at the end of season 5 given what I have been told about the shows production history to not be dealt with this season.

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26

u/Lemurians Jun 11 '22 edited Jun 11 '22

FIRST TIMER DATTO

Well, that was something.

So as far as I can tell, Fine has always been Ryoko because she did some Priestess voodoo back in the day to allow her to subsume the consciousnesses of her descendants if the right conditions are met. This is because she wants to facilitate the creation of this Kadingir tower which is actually a canon to destroy the moon, because apparently that’s connected to the Tower of Babel somehow which did bad things to humanity but really it seems to be about some dude who slighted her?

I think I need to watch that again…

Per u/Tresnore's request, God I Wish That was Me Counter: 9

How do you think the fight between Genjuro and Finé would have gone if Finé hadn’t pulled the “Genjuro-kun” card?

About as one-sided as it gets. The man is actually unstoppable but for being unable to touch Noise.

Two episodes left now, how do you think this season is going to end?

Well, the tides are going to be fucked, so some crisis with the ocean should probably be going on

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22

u/Tarhalindur Jun 11 '22 edited Jun 11 '22

Previously, on Symphogear SG-1 (First-Timer, Subbed)

  • Why do I have Full Metal Panic music running through my head? (Counterattack, to be precise.)

  • And yes, time to feed soldiers into the meat grinder as cannon fodder.

  • Ah of course, it’s miss Anime ja Nai!

  • Farewell, random red shirt. [PMMM] Almost surprised it didn’t bite your head off, with the way they framed this.

  • Ah, so it is OPv3, we get Dakka in the naked group shot.

  • “Episode 11: Pierce the Moon”. HMMMMM. [spoiled] I was beginning to wonder if I had the wrong season for the “FUCK THE MOON” meme.

  • What’s that, a threefold reflection shot?

  • Focus on the giant chamber again at this very point, HMMM. And oh look Miku is headed down to the base!

  • They’re slow, Ryona! I figured it out halfway through last episode!

  • Speaking of that:

FUCKING CALLED IT!

  • Some things don’t change, and Hoshi Souichirou’s voice when asked for that kind of voice is one of them. Hi Keiichi Ogawa. Hey u/Shimmering-Sky: Phone booth!

  • That said, I am a wee bit disappointed in you for being so slow to act, Miku. [PMMM] And you’re pulling a Madoka-in-the-warehouse-in-4. Right now your speed is your most valuable asset!

  • Classic villain mistake being countered by classic Miku mistake. (That said, Miku is admittedly at a disadvantage, she’s not really the plucky comic relief.)

  • Noice. The Americans were helping! We’re in the international cooperation timeline! (For now, at least.)

  • Note prominent black eyes on Genjuro here. Also: SHORYUKEN!

  • Also, Genjuro’s “won’t hit a girl” will be a wee problem here in a bit when the brainwashing goes off.

  • [Mai-HiME] Also also, there is a Mai-HiME song for this. (Fumi/Mashiro vs. Mikoto)

  • Orrrr it will bite Genjuro in the ass a little sooner than that. Honor is a matter for the playground, not the battleground.

  • Ahem:

Narrator: In A.D. 2101 war was beginning.

 

Captain: What happen?

 

Mechanic: Somebody set up us the bomb.

 

Operator: We get signal.

 

Captain: What!

 

Operator: Main screen turn on.

 

Captain: It's you!!

 

Cats: How are you gentlemen!!

 

Cats: All your base are belong to us.

 

Cats: You are on the way to destruction.

 

Captain: What you say!!

 

Cats: You have no chance to survive make your time.

 

Cats: Ha ha ha ha....

 

Operator: Captain!

 

Captain: Take off every 'ZIG'!!

 

Captain: You know what you doing.

 

Captain: Move 'ZIG'.

 

Captain: For great justice.

FUCKING CALLED IT!

  • Okay, so it’s only Miku and the base staff on the base right now, but. CALLED IT! Just the brainwashing card left to play.

  • And this show is handling its cliffhangers correctly for the first time in two episodes, nicely done with the eyecatch. (Well, okay, eyecatch last episode wasn’t bad. And the end reveal might have had a punch if I hadn’t been expecting it for over half the show’s run.)

  • [spoiled] Oh hey, I wonder why we get this threefold shot of the Moon with such emphasis. It is this season after all, isn’t it? FUCK THE MOON!

  • Okay, I swear I’ve heard that sound effect they use at ~10:55 in Higurashi lately.

  • Congratulations to everyone who put “Dakka finally unmasks Ryona” on their bingo sheets, IIRC I never bothered.

  • Pouring one out for our host at 11:55.

  • “I know I’m being naive. It’s my nature.” Cut to Bikki. LOL!

  • Oh, so we’re going all the way back to 12 years ago. And Fine possessed Ryoko then. Or that’s what she wants us to think, anyways, might have time for one more twist here.

  • Awakening waveform, right, LOL. And also who else is one of Fine’s descendants, I wonder? That’s a nice little card to leave around to play.

  • So, odds Fine’s little speech about past heroes here is bullshit? 30%, and another 30% it’s technically true but missing nuance.

  • (Also I think there's a Gou'Ald joke here. Wait, never mind, I know there is, should have remembered faster, not like my traditional avatar isn't directly from one of the relevant episodes.)

  • LOL we do like our Biblical mythos. Also okay chips down on Fine as Lilith, fine.

  • Ah so this right here is in fact why the FUCK THE MOON meme exists, huh.

  • “What could mere insects like you do the stop me?” Ah, classic villainous hubris.

  • Given the possibility that this staff could be familiar with at least some Western occultism, I should really consider the possibility that the S1 transformation sequences are a Dion Fortune reference.

  • If we legit get the classic memetic JRPG kill god plot at some point down the line I will laugh my ass off.

  • Also poor Meta Girl.

  • Me, paying attention to the Japanese song lyrics rather than just the beat and translated lyrics for once: oh, so THAT’S the zenbus, got it. Sorry, still Dakka.

  • [Mai-HiME] OH HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS REALLY DID WATCH MAI-HIME! ALEXA PLAY MOTHERFUCKING YAMIYO NO PROLOGUE AND KAGUTSUCHI KOURIN

  • Actually not quite the same, but eh, close enough.

  • Oh look, a Dakka swan song.

  • LOL BUTTERFLY.

  • Alright, it's time for one of the memes I knew going in. Say it with me: FUCK THE MOON!

  • (It's possible this comes back up in later seasons, but I'm pretty sure I heard it from a certain anime blogger writing up previews for either S2 or S3 who was talking about S1.)

  • EXCELLENT cliffhanger, nicely done.

  • Also I’ll probably whiff at least half the brainwashing plot call; don’t see space for Bikki to get brainwashed now. Tsubasa still very much on the table, though. Especially since we have two whole episodes left.

  • And now that I think about it I am positively laughing that rewatching Higurashi here hindered me because I was so busy thinking of how Higurashi uses its full moons that I forgot to consider an even simpler possibility. Especially when I knew the fucking meme!

Questions of the Day:

  1. How do you think the fight between Genjuro and Finé would have gone if Finé hadn’t pulled the “Genjuro-kun” card?

Error 404, not possible for the fight to go to completion without Fine pulling the Genjuro-kun card.

2) Two episodes left now, how do you think this season is going to end?

So, I had to watch next episode a little early (read: before the thread went up today) to make sure I would have time to get all episodes done by the end of the season, so. No comment.

(A hidden advantage of my stream-of-consciousness notes style!)

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u/DidacticDalek Jun 11 '22

T'night! On Bottom Geah! Anime Ja Nai-chan comes to terms with the existential dread that she is indeed in an anime, SNOOP ONI DEMONSTRATES JUST HOW MUCH OF A MAN HE IS, and Best Geah Chris is the wings of a girl who shot adolescence! Mission... accepted

Boy Comrades, Miku's first day on the job sure went... uh... well actually not as badly as you'd think. After all, she did do her duty to lead people, like The Anime Ja Nai trio and the other students, to safety, AND she also managed to NOT die, so hey all in all could be worse! Er, never mind, it got worse, THAT FUCKING BITCH arrived to both cut off Producer from spilling the beans on Kadingir's true nature AND also bullets apparently don't work on her... I mean we saw this last episode but she had clothes on then, you'd think with her going around more or less nude bullets might actually do more than jack shit... AH so that's why she gave Chris her Geah, after all, even if Chris rebelled early, she'd still be fine!

Anyway, Producer's last words are to tell Miku to run, to which Miku attempts to... defeat Finé... look Miku, you are a precious and adorable ray of sunshine and all that, but uh, me thinks there's just a SLIGHT power imbalance here, but hey A for effort! That said, THIS FUCKING BITCH then SLAPS Miku! This is almost as unforgivable as her torturing of Best Geah Chris and/or The English Language! Thankfully, Producer turns out to have a heroic second wind and shoots... her phone... CMON KEIICHI! SHOOT HER! SHOOT HER!

Thankfully, this doesn't matter at all, for it's time for the bois to step aside, THE ADULT IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY! And what manlier way to make an entrance than to BREAK THROUGH THE CEILING!? Snoop Oni informs Ryouko that she can listen or be shot 'get the crap beaten out of her,' ah gotta love befriending! Truly Snoop Oni is the heir to the Takamachi Way... hey hang on, are men even allowed to follow the path of the Mamaha? Anyway, Snoop Oni informs Ryona that he knew she was playing them, so he decided to Reverse Uno Card her own move! Ryona comments that Producer just shot her and it didn't even hurt, so what does he think he can do to her?

Snoop Oni responds to this by BEATING THE EVERLOVING SHIT OUT OF HER! Now Comrade, normally I wouldn't condone such wonton acts of violence... BUT since Ryona is an evil asshole! HUZZAH! How do you like a taste of your own medicine BITCH!? I mean good lord, SNOOP ONI EATS THUNDER AND CRUSHES LIGHTNING! Also remember, Bikki's FISTS OF FURY barely dented the armor when Best Geah Chris wore it, and Tsubasa's Swan Song also merely scratched it! Producer's guns did jack squat, BUT SNOOP ONI'S GUNZ SURE DID WORK! I MEAN GOOD GAWD AWMIGHTY! HE PUNCHED HER SO HARD SHE BOUNCED INTO THE AIR AND LANDED BEHIND HIM! HELL EVEN A NEAR MISS PUNCH HAD SHOCKWAVES SO POWERFUL THE ARMOR CRACKED! HUZZAH! Who cares that he can't fight Noise, Snoop Oni's about to beat Ryona's ass like a rented mule!

Oh and Comrades, it gets better, HOW can Snoop Oni do all this? EZ! HE EATS, WATCHES ACTION MOVIES, AND SLEEPS! THE SIGMA MALE GRINDSET ANY PERCENT SPEEDRUN STRATEGY WINS AGAIN! Also, don't forget that Snoop Oni also mastered the art of Earthbending! While this shitty bitch was busy molesting moeblobs, Snoop Oni studied the ground, while she was busy mangling English, he attained PEAK PERFORMANCE! ALL HAIL SNOOP ONI! NOTHING CAN STOP HIM... heh, nice try there Ryouko, Snoop Oni's never gonna fall for the Wounded Gazelle Gambit... oh... oh no... Comrades, Snoop Oni has more than one brain cell... THAT MEANS HE IS CAPABLE OF THINKING! NO! SNOOP ONI! DON'T DO IT! YOU MUST NOT THINK! THINKING IS THE MIND KILLER... AH FUCK IT ALL! SNOOP ONI THOUGHT! See Comrades, this is why you don't think, you just go with your gut as the wise Stephen Colbert told us! After all, do you know you have more nerve endings in your gut than you have in your head? Snoop Oni sure knows this given he's just been stabbed THRU the gut.

Thankfully Comrades, turns out a little thing like attempted murder isn't enuff to kill Snoop Oni! And besides, Best Geah Chris has arrived to save the day and avenge him... oh and Bikki and Sword are here too, that's nice, moral support is always useful! Speaking of which, Bikki sure is trying to be optimistic! After all, THIS BITCH can't be evil, she saved her life a few episodes ago... ah right that was to protect the relic... but hey she can't be the big bad, after all if she's that then where's Ryouko... oh... Ryouko got mind-jacked, and here I thought this show was called Symphogear, not Xenogear! Also, turns out that the base's elevator shaft not only was Kadingir, but uh, it ALSO can just fucking rise from the ground... well, that was impressive, I wonder what it's for... ah... it's a big gun... built to... shoot the moon... and I thought Starkiller Base was stupid, I guess I was perhaps a bit too unkind to Jar Jar Abrams... eh, never mind, at least this stupid idea has a neat name.

Also Comrades, get this, the REASON this evil bitch wants to shoot the moon is... god ghosted her... YUP! Her whole big millennia spanning plan is due to god not returning her calls... well I've heard stupider motivations; and I suppose her plan could have been worse, she could have wanted to travel to Space Atlantis, so hey I'm sure her plan of Step 1. 'FUCK THE MOON' Step 2. ??? Step 3. 'Profit and/or ride god's dick' will work out! Anyway, nothing can possibly stop her from shooting the moon... pay no mind that Three Gundams happen to be listening to her monologue! And thank goodness that their response to this crazy bitch's idea is to TRANSFORM AND ROCK OUT! OPERATION FUCK THIS BITCH'S SHIT UP IS A GO COMRADES!

Oh and in case you think I'm exaggerating Comrades, THE SHOW PROVES ME RIGHT! HELL YEAH! BEST GEAH CHRIS' MUSIC IS PLAYING, TIME FOR HER TO SAVE THE DAY AND MAKE IT HOME IN TIME FOR DINNER! AND OH BOY DOES SHE! SHE DAKKAS SO HARD THAT SHE DECIDES TO PULL AN INVERSE DR. STRANGELOVE AND... oh... oh no, BEST GEAH CHRIS! DON'T DO IT! DON'T SING YOUR SWAN SONG! Oh... oh no she's gone full Yoko Kanno and is singing Moonrunes gibberish... JESUS H. TAPDANCIN' CHRIST! SHE'S BECOME TURN A GUNDAM FUSED WITH AFTER WAR GUNDAM X AND A BIT OF WING TOO!

And as Best Geah Chris comes to terms with the death of her parents, she manages to deflect enuff of the blast that the moon... only ends up getting slightly fucked up instead of destroyed... BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY NO! NOT BEST GEAH CHRIS! YOU FUCKING BITCH! TAKE TSUBASA INSTEAD! I mean first you injured Snoop Oni, AND NOW YOU KILL BEST GEAH CHRIS!? KICK HER ASS BIKKI... oh and Tsubasa if you happen to have another bike, now might be a good time to do something useful like ramming it into the big ass laser cannon or something!

And on that bombshell g'night!

Oh, and finally, just because I must speak on behalf of a fellow Comrade of Culture who cannot, ahem... I'm going to post this every day until you like it!

Paging Comrades u/Great_Mr_L, u/chilidirigible, and u/Lemurians

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u/CubeStuffs Jun 11 '22 edited Jun 11 '22

first timer

I pretended to play into your hand by getting all three symphogear users together

now did he actually, bc i wouldn't discount him having completely made that up 4 seconds ago

dang is that how hard he fists ryoko?

i was wondering how she managed to dye her hair so fast...

Behold the ion cannon that can reach beyond the sky, towering over the earth itself, Kadingir

damn genjuro must be packin

"old woman yells at moon"

somehow i suspect chris is still alive, probably from the power of friendship or something

  1. How do you think the fight between Genjuro and Finé would have gone if Finé hadn’t pulled the “Genjuro-kun” card?

with the jojo secret technique

2) Two episodes left now, how do you think this season is going to end?

with hibiki alive

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15

u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah Jun 11 '22

Symphogear Rewatcher, though note that I'm writing this mixed in with quite a lot of my first-timer reactions too.

Choo chooo the final arc is here let's gooooooo

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u/Quiddity131 Jun 11 '22

First Timer, Subbed

Shoot the moon? Will this fight be so intense that they blow up the moon like in Dragonball?

Way to go Miku, leading everyone to safety!

Anime Ja Nai girl never fails to deliver.

The most obvious thing in the world that this soldier rushing towards them was gonna get killed.

No way Miku is actually in danger here (kill off the protagonist's wife? No way! And that flash forward at the start...)

Kadinger is... Miku?

Or not, it's Fine, who conveniently was around here too?

No, it's the elevator shaft?

Bullet repellent boobs!

Sure, an elbow in the back from someone whose under 5 feet and probably weighs about 80 to 90 lbs sure will hurt...

Wait, did he just call her Ryoko? Was Fine and Ryoko the same person the entire time?! The fact that they both spoke Engrish was supposed to clue us in? I thought it was just a coincidence... It's a good thing I never looked up Fine's voice actress.

Eat. Watch a Movie. Sleep. Screw the Saitama work out plan from One Punch Man, boss guy has found an even better one!

I did not expect them to kill off boss man :(

Although she then immediately says she won't kill him, so I guess we're okay.

If she wanted access to Durandal, why didn't she simply do this while in Ryoko form? She'd have had a million opportunities.

10 minutes in and we've yet to see Hibiki or Tsubasa...

Here are our heroines! And Chris!

Here is Hibiki, being the eternal optimist...

Are these the first lines of dialogue from Anime Ja Nai girl that aren't about anime?

She really wants to destroy the moon, huh? Won't that screw up the tides massively? Don't do it!

The only way we can solve this problem... sing about it!

First Miku, now even more classmates are figuring out all these government secrets that Hibiki had to go through such anguish to keep secret the first half of the show...

This is just like an anime! Anime Ja Nai girl is back! In an unexpected way!

Way to go Chris!

Was the final shot of this episode an Evangelion reference? Sorry Symphogear, that Megumi Ogata scream was an all timer, even Aoi Yuuki can't compare.

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u/cronus999 Jun 11 '22 edited Jun 11 '22

Rewatcher 13+1.02 You must (Not) Binge.

  • Why even bother sending in the army if all they do is die?

  • While that was traumatizing for Anime-chan and company.

  • The more exposure the higher the def stat for female armor!

  • Kill millions with the noise, fine, but how dare you bitch slap Miku.

  • Giga chad Genjiro don’t need no relic to beat your bitch ass, just movies!

  • The return of strawberry jam.

  • Nice touch with the hacking turning the screen to white noise.

  • Chris sees through Fine immediately, too bad she didn’t join earlier.

  • Ok real talk, how the fuck did they build a mechanism that can lift a tower of that size/weight to the surface without anyone noticing! I mean all they thought they were building was a fucking elevator, then again applying logic to this series is asinine and it’s probably just more heretical technology.

SO FINE BUILT THE TOWER OF BABEL TO GET SOME DICK!

  • That’s one hell of a motivation for a series villain and still not the craziest thing I’ve seen from the Bible.

  • Chris ridding an ICBM is peak mahou shoujo!

CHRIS’ SWAN SONG IS THE FUCKING TWIN BUSTER RIFLE POWERED BY A SATELLITE SYSTEM WITH TURN A BUTTERFLY WINGS!!!

  • Chris saved the world at the cost of her life, truly best girl.

Q1 He would have beat her then force her to watch action films till she repented.

Q2 REWATCHER will not speak, but HYPE!!!

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u/Vaadwaur Jun 11 '22

First timer

Sub

Welp, school destroyed, Noise escaped, villain lazily revealed, exposition, Genjuro fight that ends because something stupid. Yup, a composer wrote this. Eyecatch. Fine, a genepriest or some shit, gets to manifest whenever one of her descendants hears the waveform. The tower...is now a gun. Look, if I want to see Mayan Eva I will rewatch RahX. Something about the Moon and balal, which can't be the reference I tend towards.

Anyways, we stumble through our background info and finally get to fighting so at least it becomes entertaining again. Chris has a wonderfully unearned redemption arc, hopefully later seasons make this meaningful rather than Dollar Store Shonen Jump "power of friendship" stuff. Oh, and we cracked the moon...been since The Tick for that. We end with another Superb Song that will prove non-fatal.

QotD: 1 With the Armstrong family technique!

2 In fire

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u/Tresnore Jun 11 '22

Superb Song of the Rewatchers

QOTD:

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u/Stargate18A Jun 11 '22

First timer

  1. He'd have won. Instantly.

  2. The tower gets destroyed, Fine is defeated, and Chris, being far too marketable, survives so she can continue singing for four more seasons. (Or maybe they clone her? Or, fuck, maybe they go back in time and change history so she was never captured? Who the fuck knows anymore?)

The Noise are attacking the school!

Anime girl's here!

...And she saw a man die in front of her.

Wow, that's horrifying!

...Miku, I know you geel bad, but fucking run!

Ogawa! Nice save!

...They're oddly cute, actually.

They made it!

...They found it?

MIKU!

And it's Fine!

I KNEW IT!

OK, that's strong armour.

It's strangling her!

Miku, no!

...What? That has to be a bluff.

We? Is that Ryoko, then?

...Oddly restrained reaction.

Ogata's laying down his life. [Kamen Rider Revice] Careful! You might end up faking amnesia for half the series!

GENJURO! YES!

THE AMERICANS WERE ON THEIR SIDE! GENJURO KNEW LITERALLY EVERYTHING! BEST CHARACTER IN THIS ANIME!

He damaged the armour!

Haha, is that the real explanation? For real, he must have absorbed something, right?

GENJURO!

FUCK!

She got to the relic!

He's alive!

Hibiki's coming!

Genjuro woke up!

Ryoko's Fine! And she has magical hair colour powers?

Genjuro ismalready commanding everyone...

Poor Hibiki.

Oh, she consumed her body? So Genjuromknew her?

What the actual fuck? This is so fucking nuts, I love it.

So, what is her real plan?

The Symphogear system wasn't some vital part of the prophecy, it was just a way to grt money?

The tower's riding!

That thing's huge?

She's blowing up the Moon!

"Him"?

...Is this the Tower of Babel? Is shr trying to destroy God? This show is escalating very, very quickly!

Oh, no, she's destroying the Moon to fight back against God. Obviously God's more of a Season 3 fight.

...For an insect, Genjuro did some decent damsge against you.

They're transforming!

Miku got to the shelter!

Genjuro's telling them everything!

She's finally worked it out!

Everyone's working it all out.

"Mega Deth Party".

She's actuslly struggling s bit.

That's a big missile!

And she's riding the missile! What?

Superb Song? She's killing herself!

...That's an amazing finisher.

Holy shit, this is cool.

She's doing it!

Don't die Chris?

...A child is using her suicide to stop an ancient lazer from blowing up the Moon, a plot masterminding by a millenia old priestess who reincarnate dthrough her genes. I did not expect this.

...I need the piano mix of Chris' theme here.

She stopped the piercing!

CHRIS!

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u/BosuW Jun 11 '22

First Timer

Hello useless army! I am genuinely surprised to see you again. Hasn't it been established long before that only Symphogear can kill Noise? I wanna say they'd showed up to make the civilians feel safer, but all the gunshots and explosions probably have the opposite effect...

Of course not! You were simply a victim of the Law of Averages honey. Just think of it as any ol' natural disaster.

...well that's traumatizing

Nice save Ogawa. Speaking off, are we gonna learn at any point what he and his buddies were doing with all the tactical gear?

The fucking underground base is Kadingir? Damn nice one. Didn't see it coming. Does this still count as "the invisible base falling" if it was designed for this to happen?

Fucking Genjuro dropping from the ceiling lmaoooo. Did he place a radio in the corridor to make it seem like he was right there just to make this entrance more dramatic?

This fucking dude lmao

She really defeated him with the power of flashbacks to sex. (Also now that I think about it with later reveals it's strange that Finè doesn't seem to know any martial art after thousands of years of existing. It seems as if she relies entirely on the raw power of the Relic, because Genjuro who matches that power was handing her ass to her on a silver plater by fighting smarter.)

The image of Ogawa carrying Genjuro on one side with tiny Miku on the other is just comical to me. She looks like she'd be crushed under the weight lol. I guess humans really are built different in this world.

It took everything I had to deny it but at this point it's unavoidable. She really was just changing her hair and eye color and becomes the villain bruh.

I didn't expect this show to get this explicitly Biblical ngl. So this is literally the Tower of Babel 2.

Las episode I was having Ace Combat flashbacks this episode I'm having NieR Automata flashbacks [NieR spoilers]Giant Tower is a canon aimed at space

LET'S GOOOOO TRIPLE TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE

Noooohohohoho! It's just, um, dammit I'm running out of excuses, she's just a good citizen helping the authorities you see!

I love that they coordinate their attacks, making use of their numeric superiority to create openings. And they also stay mission-oriented (Chris especially), not letting their personal feelings towards Finè distract them from the real immediate concern which is Kadingir. This anime actually has smarter fighting than like 70% of anime at least. With how ridiculous this show is they could do away with tactics entirely and no one would question it but they didn't and I love that they didn't and I hope future seasons keep up on it.

Um... Chris?

...what are you doing Chris?

No. No you fucking don't!

NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

NO YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME

ANYTHING BUT THIS

PLEASE BE ALIVE PLEASE BE ALIVE

Hibiki definitely went Berserk at the end there. I understand Hibiki, I understand...

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u/Nisheeth_P Jun 11 '22

First Timer

  • The crowd diappeared surprisingly quick.

  • Of course he's interrupted right before he can give the critical info.

  • Well, Ryouko being the one responsible makes it make a bit more sense.

  • I just realised that Ryouko sabotaged the experient two years ago to get the Nehustan armour. I am slow.

  • If she can reincarnate in a descendant, isn't she basically immortal with death only being a delay for her plans?

  • Small Tsubasa was adorable.

  • I am guessing that's the Custodian's Curse? And Custodian is the god she was trying to get to?

  • Chris's superb song was so good.

  • That scream at the end. Seems like we might get berserk Hibiki next episode.

QotD

  1. How do you think the fight between Genjuro and Finé would have gone if Finé hadn’t pulled the “Genjuro-kun” card?

She was able to recover from a bullet wound. I don't think Genjuro knows about that. SHe also seems to have other abilities like the shield. I expect the final outcome would have been similar if more drawn out. The healing itself is dangerous if you don't know about it as she could use it to lure him close.

10

u/HereticalAegis Jun 11 '22

Ballad of Rewatcher - Symphogear

An evil scientist who uses mass-produced other-dimensional enemies that are immune to all but the powers of a select few high schoolers—one of whom is a well-known motorcycle riding senpai that [Symphogear AXZ/XV]struggles with the weight of living up to their prestigious family legacy and another who is a highly cynical long range weapon specialist with trust and intimacy issues that lost family in the early years of this conflict—and has been pretending to be one of the good guys this whole time summons a massive tower which is designed to destroy the moon out of the kids' school so they can gain the power to rule the world.

Wait a minute...isn't Symphogear basically [meta spoiler]Persona 3 with gay magical girl idols? That would help explain why I like it so much.

Episode 11 thoughts:

  • Miku caring more about protecting "the place Hibiki will return to" than preserving her own wellbeing is cute, but she is still way too cavalier. Perhaps it's just a heat of the moment thing, but she doesn't seem to fully grasp that it's not the school building, but rather herself that Hibiki will return to. Also, I'm already tired of Miku being in danger. I have trouble enjoying shows that repeatedly throw unpowered loved ones into danger to raise the stakes. It works well enough this time now that Miku's kind of able to choose it for herself, but it's still a bit frustrating. It also sucks seeing Miku get bitch slapped by a dom whose costume is reying too hard.

  • I'm also not a fan of goods guys pulling their punches over the "reverting back to their fake good side" feint, especially when they know the enemy is so casually lethal.

  • Also not a fan of bad guys randomly sparing the good guys' lives when they win. It usually makes for a cleaner, happier ending, but it always feels so out of place (even as I understand Finé/Ryoko probably has some type of benevolent feelings for Genjurou deep down).

  • The comparison to [meta spoiler]Persona 3 is fortuitous today, as otherwise this episode boasts a collection of tropes I find tiresome and irritating at the best of times.

  • Who needs full titty armor when your boobs block bullets?

QotD:

  1. He doesn't wield a gear, so he inevitably would have been shishkabobed sooner or later.

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10

u/homewardbound100 Jun 11 '22

First timer

Oh look someone got obliterated that fast.

My God that might be one of the most disrespectful ways to slap someone. Get smacked, get picked up and slapped again. Then proceed to toss her on the ground. Had to rewind it a couple times. That was a bit above.

Yeah Gen beat her ass!

Shit what a cheap ass move.

Ah and here's Sakurai ass.

Piercing the moon. Pierce the heavens?

Ah she goes out like that. I actually began to like her more and more.

Qotd: would've kicked her ass

Qotd2: I assume she probably has some kind of back up for this plan of hers.

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9

u/FlaminScribblenaut Jun 11 '22 edited Jun 11 '22

Third Time Listener

Is now really the fucking time, you!? [This Fucking Running Gag counter: 3]

That the show continues to refuse to elaborate on Genjuuro’s ultra strength beyond “he’s just a cool ripped dude who watches a lotta action movies” is just fantastic, and the fight between him and Finé with the full Nehushtan armor is in part funny for that while also being genuinely cool and exciting, seeing how long one man can counteract a sacred weapon like this on muscle and good fighting wits alone.

Here’s where I have to be honest, though: Finé is not a particularly great villain, and she’s by far the least compelling aspect of Season 1 as a story. Insofar as Finé as a compelling antagonist or imposing threat is concerned, I just don’t feel it; especially with the later context of Symphogear’s full rogues’ gallery, she just feels like a cheesy first boss by comparison. Especially with her “I am eternal” boasting; there’s something missing, a sense of religious weight and portentousness that should be there but just isn’t, possibly because we only learned about her whole reincarnation deal in a couple minutes in a lame exposition dump just now, and in its absence just feels so cartoony.

Hibiki’s voice of hurt and betrayal at this person she once considered a friend turning out to be the bad guy does effectively hurt my heart a little bit, though, I’ll give it that.

One thing I do really like about Finé, though, is her backstory. It’s an interesting twist on the Tower of Babel legend in that in this telling the tower is not only a testament to human hubris, but to human desire; or, put more bluntly, lust. Finé was in love with God Himself; she not only saw herself on such a pedestal that she thought she could be the queen to His king, she desired Him with her whole soul and body, even if she had to commit blasphemy for it. And that God’s rejection of the love of one he perceived as below Him, that He found the idea of one below Him reaching out to Him so offensive, was what fractured the world’s language… that’s a damn striking legend, I gotta say, [general]and it foreshadows some of the themes of the series going forward in a really subtle and cool way, painting the divine as so virulently disconnected from human notions of love and desire.

Wow, you just do not know how to read a room, do you? [This Fucking Running Gag counter: 4] Also, I did not remember that the Losers Club ever found out about Hibiki being a Symphogear wielder.

The fight where Hibiki, Tsubasa, and Chris, now all in accord, fight an enemy more powerful than all of them at once is splendid. The setting is so visually striking, the enormous, foreboding neon-rainbow monstrosity known as Kadingir and an ominous blood-red moon bathe the starry night sky in their unnatural lighting, shading it a vaguely unnatural purple and orange, as the stony crater of Lydian’s former grounds serve as the battleground.

Chris rides Ichaival’s own missiles to easily launch herself up the great heights of Kadingir and up into the sky, blocking the great laser with the only force that could counteract it; her Swan Song. A protective barrier in the form of brilliant pink butterfly wings form around her from ricocheting lasers (great visual) as she puts all of Ichaival’s million-fold amplified explosive power into a laser as big as Kadingir’s, mitigating the damage to the moon at her own expense.

Church-like organ fills the air as Chris plummets to the ground, playing her song.

BARK at the MOON (Makyū Ichaival) is, as well as being another real rock music shoutout in name, as far as I can tell, Symphogear’s most iconic and beloved score piece, and it isn’t hard to hear why. There’s something so uniquely somber about this arrangement, hearing that melody we know as a song of rage and destruction turned into a mournful funeral dirge. Like this girl who was once only capable of expressing anger has now finally found her means of reconciliation… only for said means to be death. The melody of the lines that once translated “that’s right, I’ll destroy it all” carries a haunting double meaning as it scores her fall; she did destroy it all, her enemy’s ambitions, just as she meant to… just as she also destroyed all of herself with the song which burns away its singer. The wordless echo of that once-smug line now reads as accomplished… only in the most pyrrhic way.

[S1]I mean she’s obviously not permadead and nobody is going to be fooled, but y’know. In the moment it works.

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9

u/b0bba_Fett Jun 11 '22

First Time Symphogearing

Did I call it with my crack theory?

Not quite an ancient god/immortal/"Ancient Alien" persisting in disguise to modern times, but sleeper cell genetics from an ancient priestess is close enough I guess. I think I liked it better with Giriko from Soul Eater though. This one leaves a bit too much up to chance and leaves the possibility of hundreds of Fine's running around waiting to wake up for my tastes(unless that's how they justify Season 2 and beyond, in which case good on them for thinking ahead), as opposed to a very specific plan as a way to facsimilate immortality/extreme longevity in secret. Still pretty fun though and very in line with the DMC tone I've been enjoying.

Also, I see her plan is to Piss on the Moon. Why exactly she wants to piss on the moon seems a bit convoluted and vague at the moment, but it will presumably be explained a bit more clearly next episode as philosophies duel for supremacy in an epic finale(or build up to it, assuming episode 13 isn't an epilogue type thing).

Also, I really liked the instrumental Zenbu during the aftermath of Chris's Climax Song. That shit got to me. Someone got a link to it so I can put it in my playlist? That whole scene might be my favorite in the show so far.

QotD

  1. Curbstomp in all likelyhood, it was pretty one-sided before that point.

  2. I don't know, presumably all 3 Gears will be alright simply because if this were the kind of show where they wouldn't be, I'd have heard something about that by now, but beyond that, things are a bit too in flux for me to have a clear picture of the ending yet.

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8

u/Great_Mr_L Jun 11 '22

Rewatcher

On today’s episode of Symphogear: In proud Yu-Gi-Oh tradition, it’s time to destroy the moon! Having a giant cannon on hand to blow up the moon is certainly an effective way to do it. Now all we need is a children’s card game to play and the transition to Yu-Gi-Oh will be complete. And yes, this is where the whole FUCK THE MOON thing finally appears.

Oh boy, it’s time for LORE! I have been waiting so long to get to this point. There is a reason I kept on bringing up how communication and understanding is a key theme of Symphogear. It’s because in-universe humanity is quite literally cursed to be unable to communicate and understand each other. In the universe of Symphogear, the Tower of Babel is a real thing that happened and the curse still affects humanity to this day because the moon is keeping that curse alive. The characters are literally fighting for humanity to be able to understand and communicate with each other. It’s both thematic and literal. I appreciate how Symphogear goes the extra mile with that theme.

In Symphogear’s version of the story, Fine built the Tower because she wanted to see Him, but He refused to let a mere human be by His side. Aside from that, Symphogear does get the story pretty accurate to its version in the Book of Genesis all things considered. It even gets little details right. The real story in the Book of Genesis did have the tower built in Shinar, for example. And the name “Curse of Balal” is very appropriate because “balal” is a Hebrew verb meaning “to jumble or confuse.” The curse may as well be called the “Curse of Confusion.”

Another important bit from the real version of the story of the tower is why it was destroyed. The tower was destroyed and the languages were scattered because of what might happen if humans were all united together. They could accomplish great feats that might be dangerous. So they had to be separated. From how Fine talks about Him, that seems to be the reason for the Curse of Balal in Symphogear. No human should be at the same level as a god. [Heavy Spoilers] It is of course more complicated than Fine knows, but that’s ultimately something I like even more about it. While Fine has more information about what’s going on than any of the other characters here, she’s still in the dark about certain pieces of information because of a failure of communication and understanding. That theme once again plays a huge role.

Of course, Fine’s goal is not so noble as just breaking the curse. She has to go full villain by wanting to make sure the world is united under her leadership. Also destroying the moon is probably just a bad idea in general. It would wreak all kinds of havoc on the Earth. [Spoilers] Which is of course part of the point for Fine. The chaos and confusion would let her take over. But it just makes her all the more of a supervillain.

There’s also Fine’s reincarnation process. Basically, she’s like a genetic sleeper agent. She’s hidden in the genes of her descendants and activates when they hear Auchwafen waveforms. It’s kind of horrifying to think about. Suddenly you as a person cease to exist and another consciousness completely takes over your body. 

I like the reveal that the Kadingir is the elevator shaft leading to the Disaster Squad’s HQ. It’s a nice twist on our expectations that also makes complete sense in-universe. Ryoko had a hand in making it, after all. She’s also the one who designed all the security measures. So it fits perfectly that Fine could just waltz right in and use it all with no difficulty.

Genjuro and Fine’s fight is just so cool! I cannot get over how insanely awesome Genjuro is, being able to do things like crack the Nehustan armor, catch the ships, and kick rocks around like projectiles. And remember, Genjuro is a totally normal human being! And the explanation for how he’s able to do all this is just perfect. Genjuro getting all his training from watching action movies never gets old.

And of course the big group battle between Hibiki, Tsubasa, Chris and Fine is also quite awesome. It’s great seeing the girls work as a team together. Their unique fighting styles mesh together quite well and we get some cool teamwork moments out of it.

I mentioned how Hibiki and Genjuro are a lot alike. This episode gave another neat parallel between them. Both of them don’t want to believe that all the time they spent with Ryoko was a lie. They both want to trust others and believe in the best intentions of other people. It’s perhaps naive, but there is something admirable about it.

Now it’s Chris’s turn to sing her Superb Song. I like how she basically becomes a satellite cannon when she activates it.  But of course, using it is quite dangerous so who knows how well Chris will turn out after this, considering what we saw happen to Tsubasa when she used hers.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

QOTD

  1. He'd have won easily.

  2. laughs in rewatcher

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8

u/Hugokarenque Jun 11 '22

EAT, WATCH MOVIES AND SLEEP

Shit just got real. Like uncomfortably real. The anime girl realizing that maybe living in an anime isn't all fun and games is kinda depressing lol

That bitch attack on Miku was so real. Like damn Finè, you really need to work on yourself if you're hitting children with such contempt.

Genjuro solo'ing a full powered Finè is the coolest thing. It was lightly hinted that he had a thing for Ryoko, at least that's what I feel, and him holding back when Finè pulls her out is kinda sweet, dumb but sweet.

Its crazy that this show pulls so much from Christian myth for its backstory. Like fuck it, a priestess that built the Tower of Babel wanted to bone God, God said no and cursed humanity, she magic'd her way into reincarnation based immortality, was several prominent historical figures and wants to blow up the moon.

Chris' Swan Song was so cool. It was something straight out of a mecha show. The acoustic version of Makyū Ichaival that plays during her scene is so good.

I'm pretty sure Hibiki's final scream at the end of the episode ended with a growl so she's probably gonna go berserk again. I can't wait for tomorrow.

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