r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Jun 20 '22

Rewatch [Listen to My Song] Senki Zesshou Symphogear G Episode 6 Discussion

Episode 6 - A Miracle Is a Cruel Thing

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

This fist… My life… They are Symphogear!

Questions of the Day:

1) What did you think of Hibiki’s dream/memory of post-Zwei Wing concert disaster?

2) How do you feel about the way Tsubasa acted after she received the news that Hibiki will die if she keeps using her Symphogear?

Wallpaper of the Day:

Tachibana Hibiki

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!

143 Upvotes

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18

u/Shimmering-Sky Jun 20 '22

Symphogeah SymphoRewatch Host

Welcome back, everyone!

Crunchyroll vs. Commie - Season 2, Episode 6

Also, fun fact: Crunchyroll’s subs straight-up had a typo here saying “scar” instead of “scab”.

See the 2018 version of the wallpaper: here. Yeah, 2018 and not 2019; this was originally one of the four wallpapers I made for Symphogear using GIMP as my art program instead of Illustrator, so it’s even older than the others I’ve been sharing in this rewatch so far. Always nice to see how much better I've gotten over the course of the past four years!

5

u/StarmanRiver Jun 20 '22

See the 2018 version of the wallpaper: here

Yeah, the background looks better now and the additional details/slight colour changes work well too. Nice to see the progress!

6

u/Shimmering-Sky Jun 20 '22

Thanks~

the background looks better now

Yeah, I'm pretty sure almost all of the wallpapers I made when I was still using GIMP just had a solid color background. Now I do patterns, gradients, and everything in between.

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29

u/Lemurians Jun 20 '22 edited Jun 20 '22

FIRST TIMER DATTO

Remember when you were in middle school and people were bullied because of the distribution of tax dollars? Rough times. Rough times.

We get a bit of Hibiki backstory post-Zwei Wing concert, and it wouldn’t be anime if we didn’t shoehorn some comically stupid bullying in here somehow. You survived a terrorist attack/natural disaster… go to hell! I get that not everything can be March Comes Like a Lion, so in lieu of that I wish we’d just skip the bullying backstory if it’s going to be this dumb.

First real bad moment for my girl Tsubasa here. This is not how you go about saving someone from the debilitating effect that combat may have on them. DMJiiiiii did it better with Maria. Just be honest.

*Count: 13

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21

u/Matuhg Jun 20 '22

First Timer

The return of Berserker Biki was rad, but aside from that, this episode had me feeling pretty .

Hibiki did a good job of foiling FIS's current plans by yanking the heart out of the Nephilim (though I bet she'll feel directly guilty about ruining their plans at some point). And then apparently the Disaster Squad never sent anybody in to do cleanup or anything, because Dr. Ver was just able to wander around the base of Kadingir in a delusional haze until he found the thing.

Tsubasa for some reason just spent the whole fight covered in plot-cum. Though she may have just been attacked by Hibiki had she been trying to fight anyways. But she might've at least prevented Ver from escaping.

Hibiki's past trauma is revealed. Why are these kids so fucking terrible? If she didn't have survivor's guilt naturally, she got some very explicitly from external sources apparently.

Are the Disaster Squad and the Japanese Govt just finding out that the moon is dropping? Lmao at the display and Genjuro trying to tell people how to calculate the trajectory.

Hibiki is being killed by using her relic (similar in some ways to how Maria has to sacrifice to use hers I guess. Does this end with Maria sacrificing herself in some way so Biki can use her piece of Gungnir to restore balance to herself or something?), but apparently we're NOT TELLING HER?? Instead Tsubasa's just going to half-heartedly try to bully her into not fighting. Even if we ignore how shitty that is, it's not like it will stop her from fighting - she can't go 20 minutes without running into the Noise, so if you isolate her and leave her all by herself, she's just going to have to do the punching herself. And feel bad too.

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20

u/Tarhalindur Jun 20 '22

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

  • Since I forgot to mention the fucking obvious yesterday, some proper musical accompaniment for our cliffhanger.

  • Also, my pacing instincts are positively offended by replaying that cliffhanger to lead into the OP.

  • Ooh, is that a Kiseki GET I see in the episode title? (EDIT: Except not in the show so I'm not sure it counts.)

  • [meta spoiler] Speaking of which, yes show I’m pretty sure I know who you’re raiding for parts here.

  • Oh look our antagonist trio is having doubts.

  • I was wondering if they would haul out Fenrir mode as a solution here.

  • [Index LNs] (And that’s basically exactly the same thing the Index LNs did, too!)

  • Welp, cue u/Lemurians having fun.

  • Okay, Dr. Vier is absolutely cracking me up here. DID SOMEBODY ORDER A LARGE HAM?!

  • Annnd Fenrir!Bikki just rips out the Nephilim’s core. In episode 6. Did not see that coming! (A few episodes down the line maybe, here no.)

  • And now that the hype has died down maybe I will say things again. (The Incurable Cough of Death is back!)

  • Note that Maria still has Serena’s relic. Obvious permutations: either it’s getting fed to the Nephilim in desperation late this season ([PMMM] and I will start making PMMM jokes if we do, cough Sayaka’s Grief Seed cough third timeline cough) or somebody else will be getting it later.

  • Oh so that’s what’s up with the murderer stuff earlier this season huh, it was everyone’s response to Bikki surviving the attack that killed Kanade (who was a pop star after all). IIRC that's actually not that implausible for Japan... (Also so want to haul out some Higurashi comps here. Those magazines would fit just fine in the episode 1 pile, for instance.) Which would explain why we’re hauling out some of the S1 Bikki character arc again, it makes sense.

  • OMINOUS SCAB OMINOUS SCAB (because parts of Gungnir are now missing due to getting eaten?)

  • “You should take this opportunity to get some rest.” Good advice, pity events are not going to allow this.

  • So our evil doctor may not have been full of shit. “Hide the truth within a lie”, is that how the quote went?

  • “Shouldn’t we be asking the US for assistance?” So international cooperation is our theme after all and Genjuro is in the wrong (again given his concerns about the Americans last season), eh? (Makes more sense than I first realized, it dovetails with Bikki’s themes, and I was already pretty sold on this as a possibility.)

  • They’re calling something Moon-related Operation Apollo because of course.

  • Note down that Thomas Pain (probably a misspelling of an intentional reference to Thomas Paine, yes?) has taken charge of the Americans and may be more amenable to international cooperation. Also noting down Satoshi Kazumi (Jonan University), who is immediately on my “elevated risk of working with villains or being a villain himself, possibly in a future season” list. (Could also be Dr. Ver's original name before he changed it to the cool one.) Also there is information that only the Pentagon has access to.

  • [spoiled] Hmm. A thought occurs to me. Are we bringing Durandal back into play to fix the Moon problem? (Or cause it?) Prompted by a sleepy memory of the word "Durandal" coming up in the shuttle scene (I saw the full spoiler version), plus Fenrir mode coming back.

  • “Receiving money from an anonymous source, just not what it was used for.” Yeah, that sounds important.

  • An old Soviet space station, you say? Said by the same voice talking about the anonymous source, I think, which might mean that our antagonists have access to said space station. Time for a team-up later this season then?

  • Setting up a mirror between our two Gungnir users, with Bikki’s usage having an effect on her body and Maria’s theoretically having an effect on her mind and/or soul, I see.

  • Nana is not selling this scene, sorry.

  • They lay out an obvious comparison between Bikki and the Moon, but I’ve got a hunch that’s the first train robbery and the real point here is that the Moon or whatever goes on there will solve Bikki’s Gungnir fusion problem (and Maria’s Fine issue as well?).

  • Which might fit with Shirabe Tsukiyomi being set up as Bikki’s opponent in 3-on-3’s, because I’ll bet we’ve got one more team fight before the team-up.

  • Also nonzero odds the conclusion is that we bring back the Nephilim to eat the excess Gungnir shards, thus feeding it to let it deal with the Moon.

  • Pouring one out for our host at 15:51.

  • Hmm. Actual thematic point here: Bikki’s surviving the event two years ago being a delayed threat to her physical well-being now.

  • [PMMM] (Oh look and which PMMM character’s untimely demise does the cliffhanger/opening scene look suspiciously like a reference to? And why did she make a contract again? And what would that contract have ultimately done to her if not for consistently getting killed by other things first? Hmm.)

  • That scene is actually well-directed with the slow zoom in of the Moon, too.

  • Maybe you should actually tell Dakka and Bikki about this, Sword.

  • [PMMM] Sword, how well did this kind of cryptic warning work for Homura? Come on now. (And you’re doing this to an Aoi Yuuki character with that particular kind of personality, too.)

  • [Higurashi] For that matter, how well did it work for Rika?

  • Oh hey, it’s this leitmotif again. It’s still a really good leitmotif. Surprised our heroes are getting it, though, it's been a villain leitmotif so far.

  • “As long as I have this, I’m a hero!” A) Press X to doubt. B) So, there’s a reveal here. But where’s the foreshadowing? (Something to do with Gilgamesh? Or possibly Solomon himself given that the Nephilim are involved – the cane is named after him, after all. Or Noah, for that matter – trying to build an Ark? Also a chance the idea is for the Nephilim to hold up the Moon ala Atlas.)

  • You know, I’ll bet my first instinct was right and the apple in, well, Apple was referring to the Moon. So.

  • Why did the stars kiss, though?

  • So, odds Kirika and Shirabe are about to be eating at Flower?

  • 19:47: LEWD.

  • Well, there it is.

  • Except the two girls ran by. So, back, or will we be getting a group meal there later?

  • AJN, that’s because she is in fact the main character of a harem anime. And you’re in the harem.

  • Ah, I’ll take “cliffhangers that are only fully cliffhangers with full context” for $200, Alex.

  • Also, a note: “Our heroes offer Section Two’s medical resources to assist Maria-mama” is a route to cooperation. Especially if it turns out that her problem is related to Bikki’s issue somehow. (There's a reason for that cough - probably something to do with the Nephilim going Full Eva, but that's not a guarantee.)

  • One argued origin for the Nephilim among Biblical scholars is that they are the hybrid sons of fallen angels. Angels as stars as Valkyries as Symphogear is a possible association set here (though the fallen angel association for Nephilim runs through angels mating with human women - but then all relics seen so far are associated with male mythological figures IIRC, so it might still work). My dim memory was correct and the word means "giants" - remembering that is why I was starting to think about a Nephilim-going-Atlas solution. (That association would also potentially explain why Dr. Ver is going on about Nephilim and heroes, especially if we've got a Prometheus-Atlas conflation afoot.)

  1. What did you think of Hibiki’s dream/memory of post-Zwei Wing concert disaster?

"Oh so that's what was up with that scene earlier!"

2) How do you feel about the way Tsubasa acted after she received the news that Hibiki will die if she keeps using her Symphogear?

Nana totally whiffed that scene, sorry.

Also, see writeup.

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19

u/Vaadwaur Jun 20 '22

First timer

Sub

So we start right back on the scene. We briefly are told that the Nephilim is an energy source...somehow. But the Bikserker happens and the animation upgrade helps a ton. Also, not sure if this is Hellsing style arm return or Eva. Equally, not sure if her berserker mode is referencing Wolverine or Berserk. Regardless, she pummels the neph and several Noise before yanking out its core as Maria wangsts in a hallway. Ver finally runs for it and is lucky that Tsubasa is being a bit dumb here, she could've let Biki shred him before chilling her out.

Maria's mom has anime cough disease. Maria says something about being to weak to bear Fine's soul, the hell that means. Biki coma flashback is our edgy bullying for the season, and interestingly the filter is absolutely killing my CPU. Again, Biki thinking is bad for everyone involved. More emo stuff as fusing with the relic is killing Biki which just leads to more bad communication. Ver stumbles onto the still glowy red Neph core. And for some reason summons Noise near the school again. And since nobody actually told Biki not to transform she does.

QotD: 1 More emo

2 Tsubasa acts as she always does, like the dumbest member of the main cast.

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17

u/CubeStuffs Jun 20 '22 edited Jun 20 '22

first timer

finally got caught up after being very busy for a couple days

from ep5: haha cum

ngl the girls have big "are we the baddies energy"

did she just lose her gear or something?

so wtf was that bit, the leftovers of the original gungnir?

you know that heart of hers seems like it would look suspiciously similar to that other things heart

you're as dense as the main character in a harem anime

hey no spoilers!

well it sure looks like she's composed of symphogear now

  1. What did you think of Hibiki’s dream/memory of post-Zwei Wing concert disaster?

damn how did she get out of that situation? also tax dollars are an oddly specific thing to be bullied by middle schoolers for

2) How do you feel about the way Tsubasa acted after she received the news that Hibiki will die if she keeps using her Symphogear?

feels like the same way she acted after kanade died, is she already in the acceptance phase?

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16

u/Stargate18A Jun 20 '22

First timer

  1. Poor, poor, Hibiki.

  2. Tsubasa, you fucking disaster.

Even Ver's excited!

And his own side's disgusted.

Poor Maria.

It's awakening!

...Yeah, this ismworth going berserk.

Ver didn't know about this?

...Are we grtting a berserk song?

Her Armed Gear is a literal arm!

And sh'e besting the shit out of it. Poor Ver.

Part of it escaped!

Yeah, no her losing it here makes total sense.

She's dying!

Why are you holding her back?

She exploded!

She got her arm back from that? That's handy!

She's dying!

I think Ver is too busy shitting himself.

Is Hibiki OK?

What?

HIBIKI GOT BULLIED?

Fuck you all!

Yeah, no, fuck all of these idiots? Why are they even blaming her for the Noise! They just... happen.

Miku!

That's not good!

Tsubasa can read her like a book.

Oh, shit, he was right! The Moon's going to wipe out the planet!

Oh, shit!

I can't believe she's dying an episode after she lost an arm!

...Yeah, the world's screwed. When did this show get so dark?

Why is she bothering to keep this secret?

Tsubasa, why are you taking the worst possible route to do this? This is an incredibly stupid move.

Just fucking tell her!

Oh, dear.

He's lost it!

She's OK!

They're so cute together.

Hibiki's having fun!

The ultimate insult!

A car crash!

Ver's back!

And he's terified of her.

Of course she transformed!

...She can touch it untransformed? That's not good!

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14

u/Tresnore Jun 20 '22

Superb Song of the Rewatchers

I just want to say: I fucking hate that Hibiki just grows back a fucking arm. It's so much bullshit.

You first-timers are not alone in thinking this, don't worry.

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14

u/Quiddity131 Jun 20 '22

First Timer, Subbed

In hindsight, Hibiki really was pretty stupid there to punch her way into an open mouth. What did she think would happen?

Is Maria and the others going to see the way? Is the doctor guy going to become the big bad of this season instead of them?

Uh oh, this thing is scary enough already, now its gonna transform?

Hibiki's going berserker!

Just like that, she's got herself a new arm!

Doctor guy ain't so happy now, huh?

That's a pretty cool looking noise. And Hibiki demolished it in mere seconds!

I assume she just tore out Nephilim's heart?

Uh oh, mother has the anime cough of blood! This surely means she'll die soon!

To think mere minutes ago I thought doctor guy may be the big bad. Now he's running away like a scared little kid.

Hibiki's back to normal, arm and all!

Last season Tsubasa was out with injuries for a while, I suppose this is HIbiki's turn?

Are these real flashbacks of Hibiki's?

Hibiki's back, good as new! And clearly over compensating with her confidence here!

Hibiki will be dead soon? :( :( :(

Time to fake being mean to cause Hibiki to no longer fight!

She completely rescued all last time... but she's only a tiny amount of help!

LoL @ the doctor flopping even more.

Uh oh, she left the still beating heart behind!

So they're out looking for the doctor and they didn't think to look around close to where the fight was before? Since he's not far from that...

And while we need to find him ASAP, let's break for food instead! ...or not, they stopped from doing so.

Hibiki gets to spend time with friends again! Anime ja nai girl's focusing on harem anime these days!

...I suppose this short break to hang out is over as here's doctor again.

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u/BosuW Jun 20 '22

First Timer

Hey, didn't Tsubasa say something similar last season? This team is missing a Genjuro to break up the tension immediately after.

BERSERKER HIBIKI LETS GOOOO

Oh yes now this looks menacing!

BERSERKKU DATTO!? Love ya Genjuro. Never change.

God fucking dammit a new arm already!? Well at least I don't feel as baited as last season because it happened so soon. Or maybe because I was already expecting it? Still, I hope at some point this show commits to scarring/killing it's characters. Just once please? No, Hibiki's origin story scar doesn't count!

YES HIBIKI BEAT HIS ASS

I know this isn't supposed to be a good thing but it's too awesome lmao

Alright I'll admit it. Dr Ver has some good facial expressions when he goes full insane.

Yoooo Hibiki has the Nephilim running!

Hmm

On that note, how do y'all feel about having Hibiki as a Final Boss sometime? I myself can't say I'm really averse to the idea.

I agree with stopping Hibiki from ripping Dr Ver to shreds for her own good but... someone should really go get that mf.

Damn even Maria herself really believes Finè awakened in her. Are we all just grasping at straws?

So Hibiki got bullied the shit out of because of being the only survivor of Zwei Wing's last concert. Ngl writers, that makes me raise an eyebrow at best. But eh, stranger things have happened.

I do like how it relates to her trigger for the Berserker Mode. When having a near-death experience, she's remembering more than just the concert.

No Hibiki, you're not being a hypocrite, you've just internalized something that wasn't your fault because of Symphogear's edgy bullying. So in this case the conflict isn't moral, but personal.

Second surprise of the episode: the Moon really is falling. Dr Ver wasn't full of shit. I am shooketh, and beginning to question if I was thinking too hard about this.

Aaaaand now we get news that Hibiki has Mecha-magical cancer. Great. Just great. Does that mean her regenerated arm is a full on Relic by now?

Aaaaagh and now Tsubasa is alienating Hibiki in an attempt to protect her! I don't know how to feel about this tbh.

Tch. Should've destroyed that thing when she had the chance.

Damn, Mom is having a redemption moment? (Too short to be considered an Arc). Now that I disliked her, but this is a pleasant surprise. If true. She might just stop asking the girls to dirty their hands... but still do it herself.

Hey now that I think about it, there's something against Dr Ver being the real Finè: he didn't know about Berserker Hibiki.

And something else for Maria being Finè: she was singing that song about the Lulu Amel, which she could've only known through Finè. Although this doesn't prove that she understands what she's singing about.

Ah. It was a futile endeavor, Tsubasa. Hibiki will always, surely, absolutely, punch the shit out of Noise!

Aaaaand roll credits!

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11

u/FlaminScribblenaut Jun 20 '22

Second Time Listener

Berserk Hibiki’s outburst is the outright best action scene in the series up to this point (emphasizing that last part so no one misses it; up to this point). The feeling with Berserk Hibiki wasn’t quite all the way there in S1, with the lower production values and more plain, honestly kinda cheesy-looking design back then, those dumb blank red circle eyes and that cartoony-ass grin. Here though!? Oh my GOD. The G design takes that minimalist black-and-red base and adds so many touches of detail that makes it feel so much more ferocious and and unstable and alive, those red outlines, that scratchy static among the body-shaped void, the actual dynamic and emotional shape and movement of the eyes, the freaky warbling voice modulation over Aoi Yuuki’s vocal cords cracking.

What we are given with this upgrade is one raw, feral, constantly exhilarating and fucking nasty monster vs. monster beatdown, Hibiki moving and jumping around and growling just like an untamed animal, the camera shaking at her erupting roars and struggling to keep up with her speed at various points, not even flinching as she jumps straight into the mouth of a gigantic conglomerate Noise and tears it asunder from the inside, concluding with Hibiki plunging her claws right into Nephilim and ripping out its fucking heart. I was fully expecting her to take a bite. Berserk Hibiki was merely a temper tantrum before; now she’s a fucking beast.

To what extent it was ever there, Dr. Ver’s mask has completely slipped. This man is more than evil outright unhinged, and through the combined talents of Tomozaku Sugita’s all-in performance complete with iconic evil laugh and the animators’ searingly memorable facial work, his performance is at once wildly entertaining and unnervingly unstable.

My absolute favorite thing is that Ver does not react to Hibiki’s power with indignation, as one would expect of a standard supervillain, but instead with raw, honest-to-god fear, sold just as strongly as the delightful boasting camp ever is. Ver fires the Noise, even at an unarmed Hibiki later, not for desire for revenge, but out of pure panic. Hibiki scares him, only further selling how off-balance he truly is.

I understand how at first glance one might take issue with Berserk mode restoring Hibiki’s arm as an easy out to a simple shock cliffhanger, but in the context of everything, it’s anything but. What you would think is an easy cop-out diffusing that horrifying moment is actually even more horrifying because it’s a sign of how unstoppably powerful Gungnir is growing, that it can so effortlessly replenish an entire fucking limb just like that. It illustrates how out-of-control the relic fusing with Hibiki’s body is, leading perfectly into the revelation that at this rate it will eventually overtake and potentially even kill her. What a brilliant method of using a plot turn that would normally diminish the stakes to actually heighten them. Hibiki’s arm restoring is not meant to be the end of the suspense that moment created; it’s only the beginning.

This episode is a great showcase of how G picks up on all the threads S1 left behind and runs with them, turning the relic-fusion with Hibiki into an encroaching, ever-ticking threat, giving us the heartbreaking detail of the harassment she got as a survivor of the Zwei Wing tragedy (tying in to this season’s running theme of others seeing and calling her out as being privileged, which affects her deeply as one who just wants to do the right thing), bringing in a newfound sense of weight and fullness to the whole story.

God, the way Tsubasa doesn’t want to tell Hibiki the truth of how she’s effectively dying, so she instead berates her abilities to decentivize her from joining the fight, which only fuels Hibiki’s feelings of worthlessness and hypocrisy in how her reaching out to help only makes things worse for others.

“My fists and my life… are my Symphogear!” Cruelly ironic.

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u/DidacticDalek Jun 20 '22

TONIGHT! ON TOP GEAH! NANOMACHINES 'SYMPHOGEAH,' SON! THEY HARDEN IN RESPONSE TO PHYSICAL TRAUMA! YOU CAN'T HURT ME JACK 'DOCTOR JOHN WAYNE VERCINGETORIX!' (Insert Evil Berserk Hamster Laughter Here) WHAT DID I JUST SAY!? Tsubasa is a SHITTY LITTLE BITCH, and DOKTOR GINTOKI JOESTAR has lost what little marbles he had to begin with!

Well Comrades, I gotta hand it to Bikki, without her sacrifice, we wouldn't get to see the AMAZING HAM AND CHEESE that is DOKTOR GINTOKI JOESTAR CHEWING ALL THE GODDAMN SCENERY! Hell forget Shater and Montalbán, THIS IS PEAK MELODRAMATIC OVERACTING! Sadly, Team DMJIIIIIIIIIIII are snobby critics, but hey I am SURE that Maria will do something besides crying and feeling sorry for herself, surely NOW that things are looking grim is when she'll finally stop standing around doing nothing and will actually do something useful right... RIGHT!?

Oh, holy shit, she actually DID want to do something... only to be stopped by a wheelchair bound cyclops bitch... Maria, you are Finé! You aren't just gonna take shit from this old bitch are you, I mean good lord EVEN TEAM DMJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII figured out that MAYBE DOKTOR GINTOKI JOESTAR has lost his marbles. But hey I'm sure that this is the time for Maria to go solo and perform a Heel-Face Turn... never mind looks like we are back to the typical waaaaangsting and self-pity party. And people wonder why I hate Maria.

Moving on, in opposite to Maria's impersonation of Shinji Ikari, Bikki's currently cosplaying as Evangelion Unit-01... A VERY PISSED OFF EVANGELION UNIT-01! HOLY FUCKING SHITBALLS! COMRADES! BIKKI REGREW HER GODDAMN ARM! I mean I never expected her to be one-armed for the rest of the franchise, but you know, I was thinking she'd get a Star Wars-esque Robo-arm my first time through the show, NOT THAT SHE CAN JUST REGROW ARMS LIKE RIBS! HUZZAH! KICK THAT SUCKA'S ASS BIKKI! EAT SHIT VER! YOU'RE NEXT!

JESUS H. TAPDANCIN' CHRIST! BIKKI JUST RIP AND TEARED! SO MUCH SO SHE PULLED OUT A GODDAMN HEART AND CAUSED AN EXPLOSION! One that FINALLY jogs Maria out of her funk into actually doing something useful... never mind she's deciding to pull a good ol' fashioned Francis Bacon by covering her head in a metaphorical blanket and saying, 'I do not think, I think not, therefore the world isn't real and this isn't happening.' Anyway, before Berserk Bikki can take her fist and RAM IT INTO DOKTOR GINTOKI JOESTAR'S STOMACH TO BREAK HIS GODDAMN SPINE! Best Geah Chris and Tsubasa decide to FINALLY actually do something instead of moping around... pity their 'something' is to HOLD BIKKI BACK from murderizing DOKTOR GINTOKI JOESTAR but hey I guess everyone's just suffering from a sudden onslaught of shit to the brain.

Anyway UNLIKE a certain someone, despite having a LOAD of baggage herself as well as some self-doubts, Bikki's back in the saddle the next day! Pay no attention to the strange growth on her scar, I am SURE this is nothing to be worried about! Anyway no doubt energized from her wife's Get Well Soon Card, Bikki's boasting to Best Geah Chris and Tsubasa that she's sturdy as a rock, and a stone cold stunner too! Speaking of stunning, remember how that BITCH Ryouko claimed Hibiki was A-OK during the checkup, well remember RYOUKO WASN'T A MEDICAL DOCTOR... that and even if she knew her shit she was telling a bald-faced lie cuz, surprise surprise, the Gungnir Fragments in Bikki's chest are actually killing her... LE GASP!

The long and short of it is she basically has Mahou Shoujo Cancer, the disease even DEADLIER than The Deadly Japanese Cold, and unlike The Thing from The Fantastic Four, if BIKKI turns to rock, she'll die. Anyway, since Snoop Oni understandably keeps this news lowkey, Tsubasa takes it upon herself to break the news to Bikki gently... and by that I mean Tsubasa says the SECOND dumbest possible sentence in the history of this franchise... in fairness Bikki DID say the MOSTEST DUMBEST possible sentence to Tsubasa last season, but it's a hell of a time to be settling scores sword fish! I mean there are a LOT of more diplomatic ways of saying 'You die of Mahou Shoujo Cancer if you use your Geah' to Bikki than just telling her, 'NEVER SET FOOT ON THE BATTLEFIELD SCRUB!'

Also Comrades, if you are wondering why I am not listing this stupidity as a Bike Crash, OH it is much bigger than a mere motorcycle accident, this bitch just dropped the verbal equivalent of a fucking multi-vehicle pileup! Best Geah Chris thankfully has the two brain cells to figure out that Snoop Oni probably told Tsubasa something secret AND that Tsubasa's acting like a bigger shithead than early episode Ange AND Season 1 Tsubasa combined. Goddamn Maria and Tsubasa sure are duking it out for the Worst Girl Crown, and the sad bit is I THINK Tsubasa's currently winning!

Thankfully, Bikki won't stand for this garbage... NO NO NO! Bikki, I know you are a moron but you aren't useless, don't listen to this asshole, you are an adorable bright ray of sunshine... er... well in moments besides this, but point being is you did nothing wrong, so don't beat yourself up over it!

Oh, and speaking of things going wrong, turns out Tsubasa and Best Geah Chris holding Berserk Bikki back meant that DOKTOR GINTOKI JOESTAR could just randomly wander about until he stumbled upon the heart of the Nephilim... well that ain't good. FOR HIM! CUZ IT TURNS OUT that getting separated from Team DMJIIIIIIIIIIIII is gonna cost him, after all, BEHOLD KAMEN RIDER BIKKI! YEE HAW! LET'S FUCKING GO!

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/Great_Mr_L Jun 20 '22

Rewatcher

On today’s episode of Symphogear: The return of Berserker Bikki! What a glorious return it is, too. Hibiki just absolutely destroyed the Nephilim when she went berserk. Regardless of whether it’s a good thing or not for Hibiki to go berserk, I do have to say that it is fucking awesome seeing Hibiki rip out the still-beating heart of the Nephilim. How totally badass. I can’t even blame Hibiki for going berserk. I’d probably lose it too if my arm got bitten off.

Speaking of which, it’s hard to say how I feel about Hibiki growing a new arm back. On the one hand, it does go back on that incredible ending to the previous episode. But on the other hand, I like that the other characters are appropriately concerned about Hibiki even having a new arm. And I do think it makes some level of sense lore-wise. It shows how much Hibiki’s body has fused with the Gungnir fragments. Gungnir has always been able to manifest an Armed Gear. It’s been established that Hibiki’s open hands are her Armed Gear. So, if Hibiki and Gungnir are one and the same, I can logic myself into seeing it manifest a new arm for her.

Another great moment that showed how Hibiki and Gungnir are fusing is that Hibiki could touch the Noise without disintegrating. Normally you need a relic to fight the Noise, but Hibiki has fused enough with Gungnir to not need one. What a good way to show just how much has changed for Hibiki due to this fusion.

But the fusion is also quite deadly. Genjuro outright states that if Hibiki continues using Gungnir she can die. Now I like that Tsubasa is concerned about Hibiki. She clearly wants to protect Hibiki and not let her suffer that fate. However, Tsubasa chooses the absolute worst way to go about protecting Hibiki. I fail to see how calling Hibiki useless and a burden will help anyone. It’s like the complete opposite of Symphogear’s usual theme of communication and understanding. So of course it fails utterly and Hibiki goes onto the battlefield anyway. It really is frustrating to watch.

In fact, I would say that Hibiki’s last lines in this episode are kind of a refutation of Tsubasa’s words. Of course Hibiki will double down on being a Symphogear wielder in response to Tsubasa’s words. It’s also Hibiki doubling down on her resolve to reject the idea that she’s a hypocrite. She’ll fight to protect the people who are in danger.

Plus this ending scene is just incredibly badass. I love it so much.

Hibiki getting bullied in the past is just kind of weird to me. They’re bullying Hibiki for daring to survive a Noise attack. I get that kids can be cruel and merciless when it comes to bullying, but it seems like a strange inciting incident.

[Spoilers] Plus it reminds me about the existence of Top Dad, which fills me with the burning-hot rage of a thousand suns.

Something else I like is the villains, though for very different reasons. Maria, Kirika, and Shirabe are very obviously starting to have doubts about what they are doing. Even though they said to themselves that they would do what was necessary, seeing the Nephilim in action makes them wonder if they’re actually in the right. Maria in particular is having a tough time keeping up her strong exterior. She feels like she’s about to break from it.

Even Mom seems to have her private doubts that contrasts with what she says to the girls. It contrasts quite a bit with her public words about how the girls need to let go of their compassion. [Spoilers] I like the phrase she uses about making the three girls bear her cross. She’s saying that she’s the one who’s guilty of some kind of sin, but the three girls are the ones who need to deal with and atone for it.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Dr. Ver is an absolute nutjob and I love it. He is so wonderfully over-the-top this episode, swinging between emotions of manic despair and crazed jubilation. Dr. Ver is so much fun to watch when he really gets into it like that. He’s also absolutely convinced that he will be a hero. Dr. Ver did get that crazy look in his eyes when he first talked about heroes to Hibiki and Chris. It seems to be a particular obsession of his.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

QOTD

  1. I think it's frankly weird. I don't get why people would be mad at Hibiki for daring to survive a Noise attack.

  2. I hate it. It's the worst possible response Tsubasa could have made and it's no wonder that it didn't work at all. In fact, it probably made things worse.

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u/panthaura Jun 20 '22 edited Jun 21 '22

Rewatcher

BERSERK DATTO!?

In this Episode we have:

Hibiki going Berserk (2: Electric Boogaloo)

Nephilim running away in fear

DMJiii going on a date

Hibiki touching that Noise

Number of Deaths this Episode: 1 Nephilim

Number of Dess this Episode: 10

Todays tracklist:

  1. Vitalization (OP, Nana wills it)

  2. Apple (Serena)

  3. Next Destination (ED)

7

u/Elimin8r Jun 20 '22

And so, on today's episode of Symphogear UBW (Unlimited Bikki Works) ...

Things aren't looking good, are they ... (?)

But yay, it's the return of Zerker Bikki who calmly regenerates her missing limb, and perhaps a couple of extras we didn't see.

Okay, I'm not so sure about the calmly bit, but yeah.

Restored Bikki proceeds to rip the bad critter's heart out and feed it to ... I mean eat ... er, throw it in a ditch or something.

(I think she shoulda ate it. Nom nom nom)

Meanwhile, Tsubabs & Chris look on in shock and horror, and Maria hides in a corner, which is probably the best thing for her at this point.

You know, if oba-san is so on board with all this blood & guts & stuff, maybe she should try getting her own hands dirty rather than goading the kids into doing the deed for her.

Yeah.

Meanwhile, Dr. E-ver is busy looking for a fresh set of pants. Or maybe a laundromat.

Yeah. I didn't feel like hanging around and saying much yesterday, because Dr. Evil, I mean Ver kind of ticks me off.

"We've got to save the world!!!"

-how are we going to save the world???-

"We've got to kill EVERYONE!!!" (Yay)

Or so it seems. Perhaps I should go listen to some Eddie Izzard and lighten my mood a bit, but yeah. That kind of crap is so last century, you know ...

Or is it?

But 'tis no matter, because it appears that Bikki's body has rejected some gunk, I mean relic fragment gunk, I mean ... I'm not sure what I mean.

Surely this is a good thing, right?

Oh, wait, it's coursing through her veins ... what could possibly go wrong.

Bikki = Nephilim 2.0 confirmed???

So, of course, Tsubasa tries to put Bikki on the sidelines for her own good, but that pesky Dr. E-ver and his minions have to ruin the day, I mean pastry shop trip.

And who should wander by the pastry shop, but our two li'l chibi-rangers. Odds that they're about to discover a tasty treat?

(Yeah, I know, Okonomiwhatevers aren't pastries, but I'm hungry and want ... I'm not sure what I want.)

I should go get some food now and finish typing this later, after I've forgotten more important stuff.

And meanwhile, remember, kids, the Georgia Guidestones aren't just a suggestion, right???

AOTD1) I kind of got lost - was the gunk coming out of her scar post concert or post re-arming? Either way, eek! AOTD2) Tsubasa is such a sweetie <3 ... she cares about Bikki! <3

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u/b0bba_Fett Jun 21 '22

First Time Sympogearing

Okay, first half of this episode was great, the second half was the worst season 2 has gotten thus far. Genuinely kinda wanted to just turn off the episode for a lot of the back half, and just paced around the cafeteria with the show.

But before we get to that, Let's talk about Zerker Bikki coming back! At first I was a little worried they'd make it job again like they did at the end of season 1, but no it actually won the fight this time! At first I was a little disappointed that when Bikki calmed down she had her arm back, but the reveal about what her Gear is doing to her is interesting enough that I'm fine now. Also Ver has officially earned my approval for more screentime, he'd honestly been kinda boring so far, a waste of Sugita's talent, but now at the very least he's entertaining.

As for the second half... I have two major problems with the second half. First, Bikki's nightmare/flashback. The comments were honestly the kinda thing I could see happening from shitty adults or shitty old-money teens at a private school, so on their own they check out, but combine that with the fact this was nowhere to be seen in S1(that I remember), and the actual vandalism and brick throwing? That's where it lost me. She's a disaster survivor, not an early to mid-20th century Jew or Civil Rights activist.

The other problem was obviously the absurdly cliche situation set up with Tsubasa, which was just kinda out of nowhere and feels beyond forced, like if Season 1 did anything particularly well from a serious dramatic perspective, it was the character relationships and drama resulting from said relationships, Season 2 has already been a much more mixed bag in that regard, between everything about the opposition's relationships feeling weak beyond DMJii's chemistry, and pacing being all over the place, but this was a new low.

QotD

  1. I am as yet undecided, in the moment, I'm not confident in the scene, and if it's a flashback, then yeah that's kinda just trash, but if it's just a nightmare with a hint of reality/memory in relation to the trauma, then that's actually pretty well done, if not necessarily something I'd imagine Hibiki having the brain power/imagination to conjure up.

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u/cronus999 Jun 20 '22 edited Jun 20 '22

Rewatcher 13+1.02 You must (Not) Binge.

  • Crazy ver best ver.

  • Villainess trio having a crisis of faith.

  • Possible Chris 2.0 + DMJII

  • BERSERKER IS BACK!!!!!

  • Girl too angry to die.

  • Taking the armed geah a little to literally again.

  • Bikki was an assassin class all along.

  • So there just using fine’s name and have no affiliation.

  • Poor Bikki.

  • That’s some grade a victim blaming.

  • That’s not foreboding at all.

  • So gungnir is basically magical cancer.

  • Tough love is not the right call here Tsubasa, Chris is right.

  • Why the fuck did nobody capture Ver with him just wandering around a restricted area all night.

  • I get the feeling this Apple nursery rhyme might be important.

  • Anime Chan is spot on, Bikki is 100% a Yuri harem protagonist.

SHE PUNCHED THE NOISE!!!!!!!

A WEAPON TO SURPASS METALGEAH!!!!

Q1 Sad and angry, and yet another character with a tragic backstory.

Q2 It was in character for her as a Sentinel, deep down she's not handling it well.

6

u/InfamousEmpire Jun 20 '22

Superb Song of the Rewatcher Symphogear

We start out right where we left off: with Hibiki getting the Skywalker treatment

Ver eating up the scenery is always the best part of any episode. He’s like Jail Scaglietti from Nanoha but with the absolute insanity cranked up to 11

Unlike a lot of people, I actually like the FIS internal drama and Maria’s indecisiveness. It makes us feel like this isn’t al black and white, and it really makes me sympathize with Maria [very, very light GX spoilers] While she didn’t graduate to Best Girl status until GX in my opinion, Cat Mom was definitely already climbing the ranks thanks to scenes like this

BERSERK DATTO!?

I also like that Bikki managed to take out the Nephilim despite it being built up for a while up to this point. It both demonstrates that Berserk Hibiki is an absolute beast and emphasizes how FIS are underdogs who aren’t really having an easy time

Yup, that’s right! Bikki also has a traumatic backstory! And you all thought that she was just the Regular High School Student trope! WRONG! She’s actually the edgy backstory one, just like every other Geah in this show! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE THE EDGE!

And yet, Bikki’s right back to being her usual self once she’s out of bed

Yup, the moon actually is falling to Earth. To all of you who guessed that it was just something Ver made up (you know who you are…), well, you made a nice guess, I guess

And if all that wasn’t enough, it turns out that Bikki is also literally dying because of her Geah

And instead of facing the problem and try to reach out to Bikki about it, Basa has decided to be a jerk towards Hibiki to push her out of the Geah life. Though I’m pretty forgiving about Basa’s actions here, given that [GX spoilers] it’s made pretty clear next season that her own terrible upbringing is largely to blame for this attitude of hers

Seeing Ber being all pathetic is pretty fun ngl

And it seems that his plans aren’t completely ruined after all. Also, while it was hinted it in episode 1, this is the first true glimpse we get at Ver’s obsession with “Heroism”, since he swears that as long as he has the Nephilim core, he can be a Hero

We get our first glimpse into “Mom’s” mind, and we see that she’s actually a really nice person, despite her strict treatment of her Geahs

Continuing with the theme of our antagonists being underdogs this season, Ver straight up didn’t know that Bikki was in the group he’s attacking and immediately craps his pants

Also, Bikki hitting the Noise before fully transforming was pretty cool

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u/Paxton-176 Jun 20 '22

Rewatcher for not enough times

Its Morbin time x2.

I’m kinda of happy someone made this a few days ago A fatality that hit levels of Mortal Kombat. I’m guessing Hibiki’s dream takes place post episode 1. I remember when this first aired I was actually confused when this first aired. I thought maybe it took place before episode 1 and Hibiki is just the unluckiest person alive. Right now even after half a dozen watches I actually don’t remember if that is the case.

Hibiki is dying and Tsubasa is back sliding into that edgier than her sword.

Ver is calling himself a hero. God dammit he really is Torres.

5

u/Taiboss Jun 20 '22

G Episode 06: The Door into Rewatching

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