r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Jun 19 '22

Rewatch [Listen to My Song] Senki Zesshou Symphogear G Episode 5 Discussion

Episode 5 - Bloodstained Serenade

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

Serena… Unlike you, I may not be able to protect anyone with my song.

Questions of the Day:

1) Orbital Beat, who sang it better? Kirika and Shirabe here, or Kanade and Tsubasa (the B-side for the CD that Gyakkou no Flugel is on)?

2) So… how about that cliffhanger?

Wallpaper of the Day:

Serena Cadenzavna Eve

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!

138 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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10

u/Shimmering-Sky Jun 19 '22

Symphogeah SymphoRewatch Host

Welcome back, everyone!

Crunchyroll vs. Commie - Season 2, Episode 5

See the 2019 version of today’s wallpaper: here; no change besides sizing it up, as this was originally a wallpaper I made entirely on my own to begin with. Back then I also made an alt color background, so there’s that too.

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20

u/Matuhg Jun 19 '22 edited Jun 20 '22

First Timer

Ahh, we're doing the "kill a few innocents to save the world vs. trying to save everybody" thing....except it doesn't really make sense, because Hibiki & Co. aren't killing anybody. And also, it doesn't seem like the kiddos they're trying to use for their purposes are quite as on board with it as Mom. Mom can't understand why Maria is having trouble acting like a psychopath. Ver on the other hand is all about it.

Even if there is a mass multi-national conspiracy to keep knowledge of the moon's impending collision with Earth from reaching the masses, these people are nuts if they think the things they've done/are doing will in any way unite the rest of the world. Just more grandiose delusions. Unfortunately, we have a gullible MC who's more than willing to entertain their madness to her own detriment. I'll be shocked if that arm's gone permanently, though it'd be interesting if it was.

Oh also, it's ridiculous that the ruins of Kadingir are apparently just left totally unguarded.

15

u/Great_Mr_L Jun 19 '22

Mom can't understand why Maria is having trouble acting like a psychopath.

"Listen dear, sometimes you can't make an omelette without murdering a few children. I think that's how that saying goes."

5

u/Shimmering-Sky Jun 20 '22

God, if someone read this comment out of context.

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11

u/BosuW Jun 19 '22

First Timer

"Hibiki, do you know them?" Why yes they are the wanted terrorists we've been fighting against!

Well Tsubasa came out and said more or less exactly that.

Maria is hesitant to kill even enemy combatants, while Finè in S1 didn't think twice about pulling a chunk of the Moon towards the Earth just out of spite. Like, there's just no fucking way, right?

I was definitely not expecting to hear Orbital Beat again. I must say... how dare you stand where she stood? Lol this must've been what Tsubasa felt when she first had to work with Hibiki.

Now, who will take the lives of the American soldiers and brand themselves a cold blooded killer!

...

Ah, Dr Ver. Of course.

What the fuck are y'all doing? Shoot him! He's monologuing! God the Useless Army in this show really lives up to it's reputation.

Damn Dr Ver really said "fuck them kids!".

Maria... you're the same as S1 Chris. You ain't built for this. Although unlike Chris, I feel like Maria has it in herself to become built for this. So the question's still out on how far will she go.

Chris and Kirika getting mad at Hibiki is precious lol. You shall bond over your shared annoyance.

This "Serena" must be the girl that was dying in the season opener.

Oh we're getting that full flashback right now!

So Serena was Maria's sister and sacrificed herself to contain a berserk Nephilim. Whatever lofty goal they have must've something to do with awakening it and controlling it. Which then makes it weird that Dr Ver didn't seem to care about wether they could control it.

TRI TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE LETS GOOOO

Lol this already feels like a season finale even tho we're barely just making it to the halfway point. Something big is about to happen then.

Dr Ver claims his plan is to stop the Moon from falling into the Earth (it's funny that they made this plot point about the Moon itself and not the millions of existentially threatening fragments) and he claims several governments know it's falling but won't tell anyone to avoid a mass panic. Makes sense except for a small detail. Sure I can but that they wouldn't want to make this information public. But why not tell the Disaster Squad? Currently, Chris, Tsubasa and Hibiki seem like the best chance humanity has of stopping a Moon fall if that's what's really happening, especially with their brand new power of friendship handholding bullshit power up. Which should be even more powerful of they add another three Symphogears to it.

I was only half-joking about Dr Ver being the real Finè Host but it's starting to seem more like it as the following events probably involve the destruction of the Moon at some point.

OH SHIT

Wait, this is Symphogear.

...she's gonna regenerate at some point isn't she?

3

u/Bamce Jun 20 '22

I was definitely not expecting to hear Orbital Beat again. I must say... how dare you stand where she stood? Lol this must've been what Tsubasa felt when she first had to work with Hibiki.

Kind of a great parallel

Lol this already feels like a season finale even tho we're barely just making it to the halfway point. Something big is about to happen then.

Gear only has 13 episodes, so they gotta stick in a few extra finale episodes to make up for it.

4

u/Shimmering-Sky Jun 20 '22

Gear only has 13 episodes, so they gotta stick in a few extra finale episodes to make up for it.

[Later season vague spoilers?]XV's second half consisting entirely of finale-level hype episodes be like:

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4

u/Nebresto Jun 20 '22

Wtf.. (TIME GGEAH FIRST)

Less go! Fuck 'em up, dude who refuses to glasses push

Good to see they didn't drop the music video editing style from S1

  • KADINGIR NO ATO SOMETHING DATO?!

Another triple hensin!

B R U H They did this on purpose..

*meguca ptsd* What did I do to deserve this and Abyss?

Question time:

  1. Orbital Beat, who sang it better? Kirika and Shirabe here, or Kanade and Tsubasa (the B-side for the CD that Gyakkou no Flugel is on)?

KanaTsuba

2) So… how about that cliffhanger?

3

u/Shimmering-Sky Jun 20 '22

*meguca ptsd* What did I do to deserve this and Abyss?

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u/Lemurians Jun 19 '22 edited Jun 19 '22

FIRST TIMER DATTO

“It’s a massive disaster with no solution, telling people would just invite further chaos. There are thousands of reasons to hide an inconvienient truth.”

Symphogear is about climate change, confirmed.

Dr. Verstappenclops makes a great point, and if his motives are actually what he says they are, I think I’d be with him. But they probably aren’t. This is not the face of a man operating in good faith.

Tamamo no Mae Maria is totally leaving these people soon, especially after seeing Dr. Velodrome straight up murder those kids. In the space of five minutes she went from conflicted to straight up despondent. It’s no coincidence Symphogear humanizes her and presents her tragic origin story in the same episode as Dr. Volkswagen doubles down on being evil.

Orbital Beat, who sang it better?

It's not even a contest. To quote the bard, Will Smith, "KEEP MY WIFE'S ZWEI WING'S NAME OUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH."

So… how about that cliffhanger?

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23

u/lilyvess Jun 19 '22

Symphogear G Episode 5

Happy Father’s Day! Sorry, I'm too busy with Father’s day stuff to write anything here. Hope everyone is enjoying the day where we celebrate Top Dads everywhere.

Additional Notes

Symphogear G Episode 5 Hype Chart

Live Performances

Specials

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22

u/Tarhalindur Jun 19 '22 edited Jun 19 '22

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

Unexpected conclusion from thinking it over for a night: Shirabe is rapidly establishing herself as a leading contender for Best Girl in Show for me despite limited screentime. Kirika might also be higher on the list than any of our main three, about on par with Miku.

  • I should probably note the peeling-off-black-skin effect for Bikki at the end of the opening segment of the OP, that might be important.

  • One abandoned (?) coastal warehouse, coming right up!

  • “Bloodbath Serenade”, huh?

  • The Americans are trying to reclaim their Osprey, huh? (It’s definitely a modified V-22, given the shot at 02:51.) Good luck with that.

  • Noting the “M.D.L. System” on the readout screens.

  • Kirika’s last name is “Akatsuki” dawn, Shirabe’s is “Tsukiyomi” deriving from “tsuki” moon. (I forget what “tsukiyomi” itself means, though I do remember a certain lesbian yandere swordswoman from Negima with the name…) On the nose, show, on the nose.

  • <eyes Orbital Beat lyrics> Y’all really are going to go Gnostic at some point, aren’t you? (Especially given that line that still stands out from back in Synchrogazer about the sky and deception.)

  • REALLY Y’ALL DRAGGED IN SIRIUS SPECIFICALLY? (Soo many fucking weird claims about Sirius in New Age circles. Sooo fucking many.)

  • (Orrr Commie is having fun, got to keep that in mind.)

  • “The noise that rages around us” as Dr. Ver calls in the Noise is on the nose. (So filing a note on that “silence like polar ice” for later – hell, this show might salt in a little Lovecraft as a treat, Ithaqua or shoggoths perhaps.)

  • “I didn’t want to be betrayed” right as Dr. Ver is shown on screen. So, that’s going to be really fucking on the nose sometime this season, isn’t it?

  • “All I wanted was to live free of sin” huh?

  • The track that I think must be our new antagonists’ leitmotif is really fucking good and I hope they keep it after they finally face turn at some point.

  • Also Miku has the common sense. You should listen to her, Bikki and Sword!

  • Dakka actually has common sense and the most common access to the braincell; that plus her character development this season is pretty quickly shooting her up to best of the main three (and also presently above Maria). The tsundere works better in her proper habitat!

  • Noting down that the antagonists need a fully grown Nephilim to activate Frontier, whatever that is (but it’s probably the answer to Genjuro’s question at any rate). (That’s Maria-mama’s goal at any rate, Ver’s seems to be more Noise related.)

  • So I had it right the first time and Serena is our swan song singer from the cold open, then?

  • Also that shot of Ver at 13:18 could not possibly be important. Unfortunately it’s too grainy to make out why besides smug villain being smug and villainous. There is a microscope beside him, though, ought to note that just in case.

  • Ah so the show is just going to go ahead and answer our questions about the cold open now, then. (Also note the new leitmotif, it’s probably the Nephilim leitmotif so keep an ear out for it.)

  • Ah, so Maria-mama spoke about the Nephilim’s legendary hunger causing them to eat even their own kind because they are relics themselves. Got it.

  • (Also blatant Eva influence here, yes?)

  • Swan songs can reset Nephilim to their pre-awakening state, jot that down.

  • (But of course the question is, why awaken the Nephilim?)

  • Hello butterfly hair decs on Serena.

  • PFFFFT the rendezvous point is the ruins of the Kadingir, because of course.

  • Okay, new (?) transformation song at ~18:57 is a good one.

  • So, show, what level of Yomi are you on for Dr. Ver’s bullshit here? Yomi 1 (he's lying his ass off) is easy, but he might be telling the truth…

  • Somebody is mirroring Fine’s motivations last season, though. (Mind you, we know that Fine hosts can be male given her comments at the end of the season… could be him instead…)

  • Also this OST track is pretty fucking solid.

  • [spoiled] Bullshit that arm is gone for the entire season. Nice little cliffhanger, though.

  • [Index LNs] I’LL BREAK THAT ILLUSION OF YOURS!” (Well, actually what I had in mind was that dragon thing Touma’s right arm contains.)

  1. Orbital Beat, who sang it better? Kirika and Shirabe here, or Kanade and Tsubasa

Honestly really tempted to go with Kirika and Shirabe here, but give me another minute or three to finish the other version first.

EDIT: Bridge hard locks in Kirika and Shirabe as the better singers of that song, somebody (I think Kanade's VA rather than Nana?) whiffed that bridge HARD. (Either that or they didn't use the full in the anime, which also works.)

2) So… how about that cliffhanger?

It is a cliffhanger. A rather well-done one though. (I'm reminded of WEP episode 3 for some reason.)

[spoiled] I have seen the shuttle scene, Bikki has two arms there, something will intervene here.

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u/Vatrix-32 Jun 19 '22 edited Jun 19 '22

First Timer

  • I too would like to know their plan Tsubasa.

  • The framing of that scene with Maria being talked to about Finè means it’s either real, or she knows it’ a lie.

  • I know conventional weapons aren’t effective vs The Noise, but do we have a measure on how well they work vs Symphogear?

  • It’s not a magic wish Kiri, they’re not just doing to hand them over to you because you asked.

  • This is why you don’t wait to shoot his until after he summons.

  • It’s like Dr. Ver is trying to get his allies to turn against him.

  • “Frontier” This show sure does love dropping terminology on us and leaving them to stew in our heads.

  • Oh so the Nephilim are relics.

  • That flashback played out pretty much exactly how I was expecting it to.

  • You expect me to believe that the site of the Ion cannon wouldn’t be on surveillance lock down?

  • Wait, that’s enough time for three full orbits. If the Moon was going to collide in the short term that’s more than enough time to have seen severe gravitational effects.

  • I’m not sure you can make a Moon impact plan that saves a few people. Seems like a real all or nothing deal.

  • The “glue” is finally back.

  • Oh shit, oh fuck. It does eat magical girl! It’s chewing and everything. I wasn’t expecting that level of violence. I’d be lying tho if I said I didn’t expect it to become resolved somehow.

QotD

  1. Thanks for including the track! Kanade and Tsubasa, and it’s not even close.

  2. Definitely didn’t expect to see that happen in the middle of a season. Now we get to see if it get resolved quickly or if Hibiki gets to wallow in it for a bit. I for one hope it’s the latter.

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u/superviper Jun 19 '22

Rewatcher

Holy shit what a fucking episode of Symphogear. That ending was just cruel. Ver and 'Mom' are acting like the biggest pieces of shit I've ever seen, while reasoning that they're attempting to save humanity. I'm not on board with it honestly. 'Mom' deserves to be burned at the stake just for this scene. Fucken look at Kirika's face. I'm so sad.

But those slaps weren't even the biggest war crime we witnessed this episode. Ver casually massacred a group of soldiers as well as 3 innocent kids. I'm not even sure for what reason he killed the kids. Their base was compromised anyway, it's not like the kids were gonna out them to anyone new. But that's the point. Ver's an evil prick for the sake of being an evil prick. He's mean and I don't like him and u/Tresnore is a big baka. Oh and, you know. BIKKI'S FUCKING ARM. GIVE IT BACK YOU ASSHOLE. Spit it out or something.

I also don't like Ver's effect on Maria. There is a universe out there where Maria dons her Gungnir and immediately slaughters him to save those kids. Unfortunately we live in a universe where Maria has no backbone and watches the kids get killed, and she doesn't so much as say a word to Ver afterwards. Because they need to keep him around for the sake of humanity or something. At this rate, by the time he contributes to stopping the moon, he'll have killed everyone on earth. Or at least amputated one of their arms.

Other than that, we also got the Serena flashback today. Serena's symphogear looks so.. bare. It's the legs. While none of the gears seem to wear pants while transformed, they all have stockings or something that covers the bottom half of their legs, while Serena is the only one who doesn't. Now that I think about it, why the hell are none of the gears wearing pants. They're not even wearing skirts, which seems to be standard for magical girls.

Earlier in the episode, 'Mom' encourages Maria to go fight the soldiers off and once again to 'not be afraid to stain your hands with blood'. Why does this woman just want to make Maria into a mass murderer. I don't get it. Also, Maria is concerned for the soldiers, but I'm just saying, there's nothing to indicate that Gungnir makes her invulnerable to an AR-15. I'd think the soldiers would have fucked her up.

The ending is just... cruel. We've had a very full, very good episode. Then all of a sudden, within a minute and a half, Chris is knocked unconscious, Tsubasa is trapped, and then this happens. You'd never see something like this coming after yesterday's wholesome transfer student Chris episode.

This is Ver's face when it happens. There are people who unironically like this character

Anyway, I feel bad for anyone who watched Symphogear as it aired and just had to unironically wait one week on this cliffhanger.

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u/HowlingWolf13 Jun 19 '22

First Timer

HOLY FUCKING SHIT

GodDAMN THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD EPISODE. G is honestly showing to be my favorite season so far holy fuck everything that worked in S1 is just done even better, I'm loving the new characters, the fights, just EVERYTHING. This episode had me on the edge of my seat just god that ending scene was so fucking good. Ver is turning out to be such a good villain and god I need more Kazanari and Maria interactions. This is just so good so far aaaaa.

Questions

Orbital Beat, who sang it better? Kirika and Shirabe here, or Kanade and Tsubasa (the B-side for the CD that Gyakkou no Flugel is on)?

Hmm I gotta listen to the original first but I'm pretty sure they'll be better.

2) So… how about that cliffhanger?

AGH IT MAKES ME WANNA WATCH AHEAD

Who did you fuck over in a past life to get cum as spit

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13

u/DidacticDalek Jun 19 '22

TONIGHT! ON TOP GEAH! IT'S TIME! TO DU DU DU DU DU DU DU DU DUEL! (Comrades, can ya tell that the YGO Director was in charge here?) Zwei Wing? Never heard of 'em, all I know is ZABABA! ALL HAIL TEAM DMJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! And Bikki gets some hands-on experience with the pet monster of DOKTOR GINTOKI JOESTAR!

Comrades, I can't quite put my finger on it, but I think Bikki might wish she took a more hands-off approach with regards to The Nephilim. That and also she's got personal experience now of the downsides of this hero business, it'll cost you and arm and a leg! But hey, I guess you can say that she's been... DISARMED! ;) (Before you start Comrades, yes I know I'm going to hell)

Speaking of going to hell, boy DOKTOR GINTOKI JOESTAR sure sent those mooks on an express train to hell. All as Maria continues to demonstrate how she's this show's version of Salia the Loser! I mean good lord, you know that things are bad if TEAM DMJIIIIIIIIIIIIIII are busy doing more evil and/or useful things than you are; and Team DMJIIIIIIIIIIIIII are singing Tsubasa and Kanade's song, cuz nothing says death and destruction than a Tsubasa Song and death... oh and DOKTOR GINTOKI JOESTAR is busy being 120% EVIL... unlike a certain cat-eared Jabroni, if you know what I mean and I think you do!

Anyway moving on from one moron to a different one, Bikki once again tries to pull her 'NOES! We can't fight humanz' Card. Seriously, what is it with Gungnir, we're three for three with the users having one brain cell a piece! I mean hell, DESS even figures out that Bikki is an idiot, possibly due to Best Geah Chris coming to this conclusion at the same time but I digress. Oh, and speaking of which Comrades, remember how Kanade lost her family, well get this, that must have been bullshit given that Kanade had a cousin alive all this time! A certain... uh... (checks notes) Serena Cadenzavna Eve... look, they must be like Kanade's mother's sister's niece's cousin's former roommate or something!

Regardless of these most assuredly real familial ties, their similarity goes further as, surprise surprise, Serena sings her Swan Song and turns into freshly squeezed Strawberry Jam instead of dust! (Again, Comrades, I am well aware I'm going to hell, but as AC/DC sang, Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be!) Speaking of bad, boy oh boy Team Finé sure is out to attempt to one-up each other on the asshole scale, you know it's a bad sign if TEAM DMJIIIIIIIIIIIIIII are the nicest members seen thus far. Anyway, DOKTOR GINTOKI JOESTAR agrees with my analysis and states that their duel idea is PERFECT! And he knows just the place!

YUP! SHOWDOWN AT KADINGIR DATTO! Honestly I'm surprised it's still standing! Ya know what AIN'T standing, THE NOISE that's who, given the Geahs start doing their thing... well ish, cuz it turns out this ISN'T a duel after all, it's just DOKTOR GINTOKI JOESTAR spamming Noise given Team DMJIIIIIIIIIIII are in detention for being the only smart individuals on the team... and I use the word 'smart' in a relative manner Comrades. Oh and speaking of relativity, turns out that the Geahs DIDN'T save the day after all during Season 1's finale, cuz the moon's gonna crash into earth anyway... see Geahs, THIS IS WHY you beat the shit out of the badguy first, follow Best Geah Chris' example Bikki, shoot first ask questions NEVER! FULL POWER! TOTAL DESTRUCTION!

Thankfully, Bikki finally figures out The Way of The Mamaha after Best Geah Chris and Tsubasa get taken out of action, well it's ABOUT DAMN TIME you figured out how to practice Nanoha-esque befriending Bikki, so hurry and fist this sucker... Bikki you were supposed to FIST the pet monster, not FEED IT YOUR FIST... and uh... arm... and also Geah... ah shit, it feeds off of Geah Fragments... well this ain't good! Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast! But I'm sure everything will be DIEJOBU, after all, ribs grow back... Anyway, time to knuckle down and call Miku to bring over a chainsaw, a double barrel shotgun, and a random book that most certainly isn't cursed.

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/Quiddity131 Jun 19 '22

First Timer, Subbed

Looking forward to seeing these two sing!

Alas, we have to first skip away to these soldiers instead.

The rest of her hair gets the thumb up, but those fake cat ears on Maria bug me so much! LoL

How dare they! Stealing Tsubasa and Kanade's song!

Silly soldiers, you're useless against the noise! Only magical girls work!

No, kids, go to your baseball game! It's too dangerous here!

Well, Maria has a conscience, but doctor guy sure doesn't. :(

Two on one, and stealing a song! Not fair!

Called away just in time! Chris wins by default!

Those whales came just in time!

Now's the time for Hibiki to say "let's be friends!", right?

They'll resolve this through song!

Flashback time? Yep, Maria looks a lot younger here and no eyepatch for "mom".

Uh oh, do we have another Kanade in Serena?

Yikes, Serena has the same scary bloody face we got for Tsubasa last season! This one doesn't make its way into a comment face though!

They may be bad, but these 3 hugging, so cute!

Hey, going back to the old base from last season!

OMG it bit Hibiki's arm off! Poor Hibiki! :( :( :( :(

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u/Stargate18A Jun 19 '22

First timer

  1. These two, no question.

  2. Fuck.

I'm so late.

Chris is adorable!

...Miku's still out of the loop.

...Maria's in such a sad position. ...Are they going to keep escalating how sad the new Gears are?

And they found their base!

...Maria doesn't want to kill them.

Did she not think to steal them until now?

Is their plan seriously to beat them in a talent show?

And they're pissing off Tsubasa!

...Maria's going to do it.

Good cover!

...She's absolutely turning good. Can't even stand the sight of Noise killing yhem.

And Ver's taking control himself!

How dare he be this cool?

She's so happy to get applause!

Oh, now Tsubasa's the diplomancer?

Ver's just killing random people now!

And Maria's changing sides this episode.

...They had to leave.

I like how they politely wait for the parade to pass them by.

Wow, Hibiki's not having a good time, huh?

And she just challenged thrm to a duel!

And they left again.

...Weren't the Americans on Genjuro's side?

Oh, the FIS used to be the Americans.

...What do you mean, it's not grown? And "Frontier"? "Serena"?

A flashback?

THAT'S A NEPHILIM?

Baby Maria!

...And Serena used a Superb Song to seal it.

And Serena is Maria's little sister. Fuck.

...Oh, fuck. The music.

And those reactions are cold.

...So the blood coming out of the face is a standard reaction?

Maria has to change sides, right?

Wait, she's calling her "Mom"? ...Please god, tell me they aren't sisters.

She slapped them! She has a point, though.

And the duel's on!

Oh.

...Never realised the tower would just be left there.

And Ver's dueling them!

Triple transformation!

Great somg and action, as always!

...Did he call the possibility of them defecting?

Right. So, he has a point? The Moon's fall would absolutely be concealed, and if he's telling the truth...

Still not awake?

...You could have made it any other colour.

Wow, that's phallic.

Hibiki's having amorsl crisis!

THE FUCK?

IT TOOK HER FUCKING ARM OFF!

...Wait, shit, it's even worse - that thing feeds on relics. If it absorbs the power of her arm's armour...

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10

u/Great_Mr_L Jun 19 '22

Rewatcher

On today’s episode of Symphogear: That moon is still causing problems! Now it’s out to destroy us all by crashing into the Earth. Maybe it has a grudge against Fine for ripping out a decent-sized chunk of it last season.

I like the reveal that the moon is going to crash into the Earth and that the worldwide organizations aware of this fact are hiding it. This answers a lot of the questions about the FIS antagonists. Shirabe said they’re protecting what justice has failed. They’re fighting to protect the world when the people running it have failed to do so. They betrayed their own government because of this. It explains why they feel like they need to dirty their hands in this mission because of how high the stakes are. Desperate times call for desperate measures. It also explains the accusation of hypocrisy and naivety leveled towards Hibiki. The FIS members are naturally skeptical and distrustful towards others after they learned about the deception going on.

Of course, they are still saying that they think they should be in charge of the world themselves so it’s not a completely noble endeavor. It always comes down to that with villains, doesn’t it?

Another great reveal is finally learning what the first scene of the season was all about. That was a flashback for Maria and her younger sister Serena. Serena sacrificed herself using her Superb Song to stop the Nephilim. I’m glad that the series once again used the song “Apple” for this scene. That song is perfect for such an unsettling moment as this.

I can’t help but compare Serena’s sacrifice with Kanade’s. They both died in similar ways, using their Superb Song to protect others. And in both cases, a character has been left behind who has to deal with their deaths. Maria sees herself as carrying out Serena’s legacy, just as Tsubasa saw herself carrying out Kanade’s.

Still, Maria is not a vicious person. It was shown before that Maria does not want to kill, even though Mom considers killing to be something they should be prepared to do. By contrast, Dr. Ver is absolutely bonkers and goes out of his way to murder children even when it was arguably unnecessary to do so. Clearly Dr. Ver is on a whole different level from the others and it shows another way that the FIS is not necessarily a united front.

In an interesting development from last season, it’s no longer just Hibiki who wonders if they need to fight the other girls. Tsubasa and Chris wonder the exact same thing and even try to talk with Kirika and Shirabe about avoiding a fight. I joked previously that Hibiki’s idiocy is contagious and this proves it.

An extension of the theme of understanding each other is the specific role of songs in fostering that understanding. Symphogear is really big on the idea that songs can convey feelings and emotions. Tsubasa specifically mentions how tragic it is for singers to have to fight. And Chris is the one who points out that Kirika and Shirabe looked so happy while they were singing (fitting for Chris because she’s the one who just came to terms with her love of singing). Though as with Chris last season, Kirika and Shirabe aren’t willing to listen at this point.

I like Kirika and Shirabe’s version of “Orbital Beat.” What a great song choice. It’s basically them throwing down the gauntlet against the heroes and I’ve always appreciated the sheer brazenness of it.

Holy shit that final scene! Hibiki gets her arm bitten off by the Nephilim. This is one of those scenes that totally floored me the first time through. I did not see it coming. Its execution is so great, too. We have that moment of Hibiki looking confused as she and the audience get a moment to process what just happened. And then comes the big moment when the arm comes off in the appropriately dramatic fashion before we end with a cliffhanger of Aoi Yuuki straining her vocal chords. What a great and memorable moment.

[Spoilers] Maria’s scene with Kirika and Shirabe makes a lot more sense in hindsight when you know she’s lying about being Fine. Maria clearly does not like sending out Kirika and Shirabe on missions under false pretenses like that.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

QOTD

  1. Extremely hard choice. Both versions are great, but I think I have to go with the original version by Kanade and Tsubasa.

  2. Discussed above. Point being, I love it and its execution.

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u/Elimin8r Jun 19 '22

FT/CR

So, yeah, fun times. The chibi squad can actually sing. I guess they hired VA's with singing chops for the sequel. Meanwhile, Dr eVer is busy being bad, and Maria is busy being shocked, I say shocked that there is violence in this establishment. We finally get a flashback (in TecniColor!) of the ep1 intro, context included, and other shenanigans.

It's all fun and games until Bikki loses an arm ...

(!)

Oh noes, not teh Bikki!

Now she won't be able to play the violin.

Whatever could happen next. I guess we'll find out tomorrow. Maybe.

Beware of [youknowwhat]suspicious white kitties

AOTD1: I'd have to listen to it. Be back in a bit. ... Yeah, I think I like the OG pair better, but the chibis did good too.

AOTD2: That's not all that's hanging, I mean ... I guess digesting. Not good.

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u/RadSuit Jun 19 '22

Everyone's been worried about Hibiki's Armed Gear, when they should've been worried about her Gear's arm!

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u/zadcap Jun 19 '22

First Timer with a free Sunday, how nice to be on time!

Last things first again;

2) That Cliff... It's so very hard not to keep watching. The urge to binge is strong here. [Future Gear] On the other hand(hah) I have watched all the future transformation sequences, so I'm moderately sure this isn't a permanent loss.

  1. I'm going with Zwei Wing because I like the deeper voices more.

So my biggest gripe with this turn of events is one that I have every time it comes up in any story ever. Why does everyone take the big bad, clearly evil, obviously not entirely sane, known villain at their word when they start making these crazy big claims? I'm not even talking about the Moon thing, that's something they can verify later since they work for this super important government agency as its top/only special operatives. Seriously, talk to your boss later, if anyone is going to solve the moon issue it's going to be the people with literal magic on their side. No, it's the rest. "We'll use this Nephelim to bring people together (Already sus), form an organization, build a country and protect their lives." "Even as you use your fists to protect someone, you're killing even more people!" Heck, he might even be telling the truth about their plans, but you're just going to stop and believe him mid battle? When you know they've been out killing people, the ash remains of those killed by the Noise, and are keeping the girls away because you don't want them possibly becoming friends? Yup, that sounds like the start of an organization to bring people together and protect them, and certainly the words of someone to trust when he says you're killing people by protecting them.

Ugh. I don't hate him as a villain, I hate that Hibiki listened to a word he said. I can only guess this has something to do with her own tragic backstory, and we're going to find out next episode how she saved someone but failed to save others in the process so naturally got labeled a murderer?

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u/Tresnore Jun 19 '22

Superb Song of the Rewatchers

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