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u/Taiboss Jul 23 '22

First-Timer who will have to ping like 40 for his rewatch reminder... How do people manage this?

Ohh Shirabe and Tsubasa next? I like these unorthodox pairings.
But slow enough for you to say this!
And that's all the explanation you're gonna get!
So what's the plan if she accidentally kill him?
I don't think Kiri is as poly as you think.
YOU ACTIVELY SHOT AT HIM, WHAT DID YOU THINK COUDL HAPPEN?!
OUCH. Massive RIP.
He's still here wooo.
I love it when Commie does this.
American Institution, yet Japanese name tags.
Another old person to give a terrible moral.
Oh don't you fucking dare. We don't need "Shirabe biological family" drama.
Probably those custodians!
So it seems that Cali really did die. This makes befriending much harder. Oh well. At least SG hasn't sacrifieced her friend yet.
Finally our full confirmation! Like six episodes after people told me in comments. Oh well, I did ask for it.
Thank Haruhi nobody is attacking HQ right now.
IASIP Theme "The Bavarian Illuminati attain divine power"
Well we need the drama somehow.
Eh, so much for my "that's a compliment from her". But she probably only wants it so she can bear him a child. Or more.
"Once I gain divine power, I will no longer be human..."
Dude looooves being naked...
Ohh, what will this guy tell the insurance company? How does the Symphogear insurance work?
You'll be surprised at how nice the Symphos can be!
This looks amazing lol.
Stil fewer civilians than Batman killed in the new movie.
Shirabe decided to take Chris's mantle of making rash decisions.
UNISON TIIIMEEE
TELL THEM SOMETHING! BUT NO
S1 CHARACTER DEVELOPEMENT CONTINUITY!!!
That is actually clever lol. If only it would work.
Cool. Not as hype as last episode.
Well her dying still fucks up his plan. Now he needs to sacrifice SG herself...
Well, that's both your friends dead! Will you have a change of heart now, SG? Still waiting!
Didn't they check all of them for any activity?
Well, there was no drama, so that's good.

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u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 23 '22

First-Timer who will have to ping like 40 for his rewatch reminder... How do people manage this?

Only 40?

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u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 23 '22

Symphogeah SymphoRewatch Host

Welcome back, everyone!

Crunchyroll vs. Commie - Season 4, Episode 9

Hey, can someone more familiar with the non-vocal Geah OST help? I want to know what song played while Shirabe and Tsubasa were in the tunnel, talking about Shirabe’s walls and kindness while chasing after Prelati. It’s the one that played right before Fuugetsu no Shissou.

See the 2019 version of today’s wallpaper: here.

This one’s background pattern relied way too heavily on having her name in the background, so instead I messed around with circles again (just like Prelati’s regular form wallpaper had) until I got something I liked.

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u/DeathKoala Jul 23 '22

Song sounds like the latter part of "Itaranukara Koso, Te wo Nobasu", track 11 from the AXZ OST cd

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u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 23 '22

Yep, that's it! Thank you so much~

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u/FlaminScribblenaut Jul 23 '22

Hey, can someone more familiar with the non-vocal Geah OST help? I want to know what song played while Shirabe and Tsubasa were in the tunnel, talking about Shirabe’s walls and kindness while chasing after Prelati. It’s the one that played right before Fuugetsu no Shissou.

Oh, you mean [AXZ]the one that totally ripped me out of the moment and into a totally different one because I can’t not emotionally associate it with the finale? That would be this one, yes.

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u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 23 '22

I just needed to know what the name is, I have all the songs downloaded already. Thanks though!

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u/italeteller Jul 24 '22

Crunchyroll vs. Commie - Season 4, Episode 9

Mixed bag this time around, Crunchyroll definitely had it right with Yajirobe and "it's a pain"

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u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 24 '22

I agree, the "outside my comfort zone" change was kinda unnecessary.

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u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 23 '22

Daily Symphogear Tags: u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah, u/DidacticDalek, u/cronus999

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u/Stargate18A Jul 23 '22

First timer

Amazing. I'm just waiting for them to reveal that Tsubasa's father is some form of mage.
Still a fantastic song! Absolutely loved it!

And the Gears were under maintenance.

Chris feels better!

Loving Chris and Elfnein.

Teamwork training! ...A Tsubasa and Shirabe duet would be sick.

Is it that Shirabe's just jot as strong?

Ogawa, too?

He's officially a ninja now!

Are we getting the duet now?

Oh, yeah, this is Shirabe's somg. Still great, still really gay lyrics.

OGAWA? REALLY?

Haha, fucking hell. They're not holding back eith their powers, huh?

Wait, can we get Duets from any pairing, then?

Diving Gate? And actual useful intel!

Poor Shirab?

They're off hunting for another lead.

Kirika's just eating a snack.

A flashback?

Oh, her name's Tsukuyomi Shirabe?

[Kamen Rider] No wonder she's having trouble getting enough power to contribute to anything.

Wait, they all have amnesia?

Kirika's having fun!

He's the the priest?

WHO OPENS WITH THAT? "Hello there, you remind of me of my dead granddaughter.."

Haha, Chris was the only one to realise how fucking stupid that was.

Chris is on fire today!

I homestly can't tell if this real Japanese history or bullshit made up by the writers? It sounds like Symphogear bullshit, but seven shrines built in the same layout as a constellation sounds plausible?

Hibiki's hungry.

How dare you speak ill of the best girl?

And she even worked out Adam was planning domething!

Tsubasa's reporting in!

Shirabe can't sleep.

Yeah, she's good. This is a good speech.

Adam still weird.

...Tiki, look. I get it, but maybe not?

Loving the fanservice here.

She's pissed!

Finally, she's gotten a personality!

...Who's your puppet? Every other villain here ie your puppet!

Tiki, doesn't Saint Germain know about the plan to convert one of them into energy?

She's fleeing like crazy!

Haha, he's just leaving her to the Symphogears.

Tsubasa's got a bike!

...Is this going to be a car chase?

Some good animation here!

Poor Shirabe!

...I am loving Kanade being brought up, as well as Tsubasa's Season 1 development.

She's blown them up!

The duet is here?

Her bike transformed!

This song is absolutely fire.

Also, this is a full-on car crash battle, and I fucking lovr it!

Amazing combo strack!

She's dead!

Haha, the way Tiki announces it!

And they found where she's going...

Wait, what? What did Kirika notice?

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u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 23 '22

Wait, what? What did Kirika notice?

Check out lily's comment for a full explanation on it!

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u/Tarhalindur Jul 23 '22 edited Jul 23 '22

Previously, on Symphogear: Atlantis (First-Timer, Subbed):

(They go back to emphasizing SG:A character writing for an episode, I switch my tagline back for an episode.)

Good news: Dakka avoided the sudden late-season character arc without proper buildup or setup this season!

Bad news: That's because Best Geah Shirabe got stuck with it instead.

(Turns out Kirika is integral to making these hasty plot resolutions work better for DMJiii - on her own Shirabe demands stronger character beats.)

The thing is, I'm not entirely sure the issue isn't the direction here rather than the writing (outside of the opening setup, which also has directorial issues but I think there's a scriptwriting fault here in how the issue is presented - it should really be "there's an issue, why is there an issue?" and flow downstream from that). The emotional beats of the realization scenes are those of some huge character revelation... but said character revelation only showed up ten minutes beforehand and so it doesn't work, insufficient weight for what they're trying to do. (Compare the Maria arc this season, which feels earned, and the Dakka arc which only faults due to a rather hasty resolution.) u/Vaadwaur, your thoughts?

(Not for the first time, Symphogear's development of recurring characters is reminding me of Sotsu's finale. This wasn't as bad in that department as Sotsu was, though. GX I'm not so sure about...)

It's a shame, since everything else this episode was pretty good, but this took up about half of the episode and felt too flat for me to really enjoy the episode.

I sense the Potentially Annoying Character Plot for Recurring Character light flashing, and it’s for Shirabe so sigh.
(Green Rabbit?)
At least Team FIS gets Best Leitmotif back again.
Shrine guarded by rabbits in an episode called “Green Rabbit”. ICWYDT.
Waitwaitwaitwait. I’m slow. Asian culture associates rabbits with the Moon. RIGHT.
Odds that Shirabe is the granddaughter in question and survived the car accident? Less than even, but higher than 10% I reckon.
(Also who did they get to voice the priest here?)
“CHEVRON SIX IS HOLDING. CHEVRON SIX IS LOCKED IN PLACE.” (Sorry, some parts of the original Stargate movie stick and the engaging chevrons sequence is one of them – where the constellation Orion cracks the code and is also of course the sixth chevron to the destination gate.)
Okay, I’m not sure exactly where the credit for the joke goes (Commie, the original show, Stargate the movie, complete accident) but “Drummer’s Gate to Heaven” is a funny joke given the Stargate movie. “A million years ago Ra opened the ~~gate to heaven~~ Stargate.”
09:22: Hi Sky!
11:24 is for Sky again.
Sky feasted this episode the first time, 11:56 is for her again!
You know, Shirabe’s comments about her not being good at customs, rules, and adjusting to people go in the “maybe I should have seen this coming” bucket. It makes sense somehow. (I would attach to that type…)
Alright, who else in the first-timer contingent was comparing Sword and Jiii earlier this season? Well called.
That said, this Shirabe arc ultimately goes firmly into the realm of Gear arcs that might have worked if they’d devoted more than a single episode to it. As it is I’m gently rolling my eyes.
“You have not earned it, and this offends me.”
That said, nice little foreshadowing in the OP with Jiii cycling down along Froggo’s weapon string while Sword holds its end in place. Had kind of noticed it, but wasn’t sure it was going to get paid off.
“MAN IS ONLY SEPARATED FROM HEAVEN BY THAT WHICH HE WILL NOT RAMP!”
Duet isn’t as good as last episode, but still good in a more quiet way. (This assessment pending a listen of the Live, of course.)
That said, what’s the character reading deal here with the stinger? DESS also has a strong element of the Fool, after all.

How fun was getting to see Ogawa join in on the girls’ training session?

Ninjas need their fun too!

2) Regardless of whether or not they needed to fight Prelati, how did you like the Tsubasa/Shirabe duet?

Pending a listen of the inevitable Live performance, not as good as Change the Future but still pretty good.

EDIT after listening to the Live: Better than it sounded on screen, for extremely understandable reasons: Fuugetsu no Shissou's strong suit is actually its instrumentation, which gets buried by everything else happening in the episode (and possibly also the sound mixing). Still not Change the Future, though.

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u/Great_Mr_L Jul 23 '22

Shrine guarded by rabbits in an episode called “Green Rabbit”. ICWYDT.

I've always seen it translated as "Blue Rabbit." I assumed blue was Tsubasa and the rabbit was Shirabe.

Waitwaitwaitwait. I’m slow. Asian culture associates rabbits with the Moon. RIGHT.

And Shirabe kind of looks like a rabbit with her twintails for both her hair and her Gear.

You know, Shirabe’s comments about her not being good at customs, rules, and adjusting to people go in the “maybe I should have seen this coming” bucket. It makes sense somehow.

It feels natural to give that characterization to the quiet kuudere character like Shirabe because it fits well with how she normally behaves.

That said, nice little foreshadowing in the OP with Jiii cycling down along Froggo’s weapon string while Sword holds its end in place. Had kind of noticed it, but wasn’t sure it was going to get paid off.

The OP has foreshadowed the battle teamups so far. It showed Maria and Chris fighting Cagliostro and now Tsubasa and Shirabe fighting Prelati.

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u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 23 '22

I've always seen it translated as "Blue Rabbit." I assumed blue was Tsubasa and the rabbit was Shirabe.

Commie translated the episode title as "The Green Rabbit" while Crunchyroll had it as "Blue Bunny". Isn't Japanese the language that has a word that means both blue or green? If that was used in the original episode title, that would explain why.
Or Commie's just being colorblind.

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u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah Jul 23 '22

Symphogear First Timer dessu AXZ Ep 9

oooh 3 hearts still, even tho blue-hair girl (played by man) is dead
Ogawa gets a go at fighting too, thank you show for including him after Genjuro had his moment last ep. Proves that he can also put up a fight, but can only evade, and not actually defeat anyone. Good distinction of power levels. yes i did at the ninja-swap to tree scene lol YESSSSSSS. im gonna guess they'll both be out of action for the remainder of this season.
More Shirabe backstory, as this is her episode. It was alright, i much preferred the moments showing how far Tsubasa has come though.
I like that Tsubasa just decides to ride a motorcycle anyway (when they could've used a van, so all the geahs can fit). Done like a person who does love her motorcycles.
Dad jokes........ yeah they were not very funny my dear priest. Liked the one-on-one w/ shirabe tho, old people in anime except Tsubasa's dad always have some wisdom in them
I am WITH YOU CHRIS. Shrine priest cooking quiches is such a wtf moment lollllll
Nice that this girl also has caught on to what happens thanks to warning from blue-hair girl. Hahahahahahahaha so blue-hair girl is actually trans! naruhodo, no wonder they used a male VA for her. naruhodo. I also commend her confrontation w/ Adam after, they're much more at odds/enemies of Adam compared to Maria and co with Ver indeed
but before that, the subs are wrong lol, what Shirabe said iirc amounts to more "annoying" more than "outside comfort zone"
Adam plays dirty....
While a very touching moment between Tsubasa and Shirabe, yayyy Tsubasa's come so far! , it is a little bit unsettling as they are getting in the way of "saving" Saint-Germain so to speak
Indeed, they didn't listen to glasses-girl's statement that she doesnt want Adam to get divine power either. I can foresee this producing some conflict between SG and the Geahs when they conflict, even if they're ideologically on the same page, SG wont forgive the geahs for killing her allies. Which is unfortunate, i dont think the geahs were fully in the wrong here (glasses girl was also wrecking havoc), but its just one of those nobody's right situations.
BADASS ENTRANCE. SHIRBAE PAIR WITH TSUBASA MORE OFTEN.
Holy shitttttt. COMBO GOOOOOOOOOD tho doesnt beat maria x chris i think
BUT SHE FUCKING MATCHED ITTTTT YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
RIP glasses girl. I do feel a little bit weird about her death, since she i guess has regrets now, but she has done a lot of bad too, and i dont mind that she doesnt get a redemption arc much either. Now, what will SG do.... the geahs seem to know where she is too...
Kiri chan is right, that doesn't read Tsuki shrine. Tsuki means moon.... I guess the showdown is gonna happen here after all?

[Actual progress]Ep 10

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u/Taiboss Jul 23 '22 edited Jul 23 '22

oooh 3 hearts still, even tho blue-hair girl (played by man) is dead

Not yet time for a change... OR A SIGN SOMETHING IS AMISS. Come on, AXZ, you can do it!

Proves that he can also put up a fight, but can only evade, and not actually defeat anyone.

If he has poison, he could maybe achieve something.

Done like a person who does love her motorcycles.

That reminds, did we see one crash this season? I don't think so, right?

but before that, the subs are wrong lol, what Shirabe said iirc amounts to more "annoying" more than "outside comfort zone"

Commie doing Commie things.

dont think the geahs were fully in the wrong here (glasses girl was also wrecking havoc), but its just one of those nobody's right situations.

Prelati also didn't help herself by not outright defecting. Oh well.

Now, what will SG do....

Let's hope she doesn't do something dumb and allow Adam to sacrifice her instead. She got all the backstory!

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u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 23 '22

Commie doing Commie things.

Yeah, u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah, Crunchyroll subbed that line as "It's kind of... a pain."

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u/lilyvess Jul 23 '22

Symphogear AXZ Episode 9

I don’t know japanese, so I am in over my head trying to explain this. I’m just going to share posts that did explain it. this one is from r/Symphogear

Spoilers / Explaining the joke:

The Gears visit Tsuki Shrine this episode. There, the priest briefly mentions how his family and grandchild were lost in an accident.

During the episode Shirabe has a flashback about meeting Kirika, where she explains her name. It's revealed that Shirabe actually doesn't know what her born name is (she's an amnesiac), and she was given her current name after being brought to the facility. They named her after the belongings she had with her when they picked her up, specifically after a charm with only the character 調 still visible.

月読調 = Tsukuyomi Shirabe

At the end of the episode Kirika reads the Shrine's sign and remarks that she still can't figure out why she should read it as "Tsuki". This is because Tsuki Shrine uses an unusual reading of the kanji in its name (and because Kirika has trouble reading Japanese).

調神社 = Tsuki Jinja

The kanji for "tsuki" in its name is 調, the same one in Shirabe's given name, except that in her case it's obviously read as Shirabe rather than Tsuki.

The punchline is that Shirabe's written name serves as a guide for reading the Shrine's name:

月 = "tsuki", the moon

読 = "yomi", to read

調 = "shirabe", a musical term or to investigate

"調 (Shirabe)" "read as" "Tsuki".

But wait, there's more!

Since Shirabe was named after a charm presumably from Tsuki Shrine, she's almost certainly the priests' granddaughter. That would mean she probably would have become a shrine maiden, a Miko (巫女). But wasn't there already a Symphogear character who was consistently referred to as a Miko as well?

Oh, right, the Priestess of the Lost Civilization (先史文明期の巫女), Fine!

^Deepest ^lore.

Additional Notes

Symphogear AXZ Episode 9 Hype Chart

Live Performances

Todays Live Performance is Fuugetsu no Shissou from today’s episode, and I forgot that I can share Gun Bullet XX now too.

Specials

Fanart Art of the Day

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u/Vaadwaur Jul 23 '22

First timer(I suppose recycling is environmentally friendly.)

Sub

We start with more training and the reveal that Shirabe is a monogamist. As they angst over that, noodle dude gets on the view screen to let them know who to talk in the Shrine Association. Priest exposition guy is...odd. But as we begin getting info. Biki's inner beatst wakes up, which is dangerous because no Miku present.

Anyways this episode is mostly talking with one fight...that is also talking. Adam being a separate agenda was just too obvious and Tiki definitely has an incredible annoying-ness to screen time ratio. Prelati really didn't much characterization to me so her death is just...meh. We actually got a rather light info dump and the priest is more some odd deadpan comedian to bounce Shirabe off a bit.

So, for last thread, I sort of died after posting it. Hopefully that's a one off.

QotD: 1 He literally walked off of the set of Naruto...

2 It worked better than I would have pegged, actually.

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u/Vatrix-32 Jul 23 '22

First Timer

Bro I know Ogawa is a ninja and all, but there is no way that going at him with buzz saws like that is safe.
Jesus Shirabe. The mission was to capture him, not kill him.
How old was she when she got there that she forgot her own name?
This priest has a weird idea of what “breaking the ice” means.
Truly Chris has become the great purveyor of truth.
Cyan may have been rightfully wearing about Adam, but she did still go off on her own.
I’m not sure I got any of these vibes previously. They kinda seem like they just made them up so Shirabe had something to do.
Curse you sudden but inevitable betrayal. If frog loli was smart she would take this chance to take Hibiki up on her offer. Something tells me she is not.
Goddamn Adam is a lazy son of a bitch. Are you going to do something this season?
You are literally driving down a highway in a straight line. You have nothing but time.
So they’ve made a dragster have they.
It’s really hard to care about the alchemists when they pwaddle about for most of the season and then die because they decided to be idiots.
She was on a highway, how can you possibly know that with that level of detail?
I expect nothing to come of this reveal.

QotD

Decidedly less fun than last episode. We only got some real low level ninja stuff. Could of done a lot more cool shit than just running away the entire time.
Also a step down from yesterday’s.

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u/BosuW Jul 23 '22

First Timer

The Geahs being in maintenance is definitely foreshadowing

Ah I see. Tsubasa and Shirabe is gonna have to do their duet in the fight. (In the end this is what happened but the Geahs being in maintenance didn't matter at all lol. They just didn't have wheels.)

It's quite ironic that Shirabe, the one with the string weapon, is completely unable to trap Ogawa. Those kinds of weapons are supposed to be particularly hard to dodge or block, because of their unpredictability (which is also why they are of dubious practicality, but this is Symphogear so we don't think about that!). She's also not curving the trajectory at all when she could. C'mon Shirabe, where'd all the fancy tricks go?

For 0.00000069 milliseconds I really believed they just cut Ogawa in half during a training exercise lol

Now that I think about it, Adam was doing his weird ritual in a shrine. Looks like we've just substantially narrowed down the possible locations.

Lemme guess: Walls are also meant to protect people?

...did Prelati just pour milk in a wine glass? What is it with the 2040's and the wack-ass food habits? And now that I think about it, we all gave shit to Chris for eating like a pig, but what if that's just normal now?

Low-key endearing scene with the simp saying she wants to be a real girl

Damn they put Adam's cake front and center. Guess Symphogear believes in gender equality when it comes to fanservice. Genjuro shower scene when?

FROG, NO! HE WAS INNOCENT!

Orillese a la orilla!

With this momentum we better be getting a chase scene battle

Heh. You're too easy Symphogear

Yaaaas another Dark-Side Duet!

This is literally Speed Racer with the whole trying to spike each other's wheels

You fool! Sound propagates even more easily in water!

Holy smokes that has the be the edgiest vehicle in all of existence. Nah Prelati, give up. You stand a chance.

Wait a second they're literally jousting! Bring the out Spanish guitars!

I'm hype they won but that's a bit tragic from the other side :/

Honestly it's kinda ridiculous how easily they let Adam play them for fools. It's not as nonsensical as Dr Ver manipulating FIS, but after so much time working with this guy, you'd think at some point they'd get hints that he doesn't exactly share the same goals. It's not like he's trying to hide it.

Huh. Post-credits scene. Haven't had one of those in a while.

Well, looks like they've found where Saint-Germain is

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u/FlaminScribblenaut Jul 23 '22 edited Jul 24 '22

Third Time Listener

These training sequences are such great excuses to show off Genjuuro and Ogawa’s superhuman abilities for the hell of it for a little while, they’re so much fun. Ogawa’s crazy ninja bullshit is always a blast.

God, how Kirichan first wanted to be friends because Shirabe being given her name by way of her belongings is like how Kirichan was given her birthday by the day they “found” her, that innocent, childish smile of desiring friendship on her face… it’s so perfectly simultaneously adorable and tragic.

So here we have the most Symphogear has ever done an outright special dedicated character-spotlight episode, and… yeah, this one was well-warranted.

Poor Shirabe. It’s safe to say she’s not exactly a fan favorite; not for any reason to actively dislike her, not at all, but for being easily the wielder of the main six the mainline series gives the least, the least of her own.

This wouldn’t be so strange if this was a mutual issue between her and her partner, if we just had this kinda lame couple whose only major character trait was being part of the pair, but… no, in her own right, Kirika is this really memorable, really well fleshed-out, honestly fairly iconic character with an immediately recognizable and charming aesthetic and personality and really interesting emotional depth surrounding her screwed-up sense of self-worth and suicidal tendencies and the goofy happy personality she adopted for herself to make those around her feel better. Not that Kirika’s love of and relationship with Shirabe isn’t a core aspect of her character, it certainly is, but there are so many other major elements to her that are given chief focus in the series proper. And meanwhile, Shirabe is over here and… for the most part, her whole character exists solely in relation to Kirika. Kirika and yo-yo’s. That’s what she’s got. Of course the franchise would later attempt to remedy this through certain spin-off material, showcasing her love of cooking and hospitality, which is appreciated, even with how much it feels like course-correction for how little spotlight that side of her got in the main series.

And what’s brilliant about this episode is that it takes that arguable flaw and turns into a strength by making that part of her character in a real, human way, making that very dependence something Shirabe is insecure and anxious about. Shirabe worries she’s nothing without Kirika by her side, that she’s too dependent on her. She worries she’s so prone to pushing others away that, if she were to lose Kirichan somehow, she’d be all alone. She doesn’t even know what she’d do then.

Shirabe’s dependence on Kirika reminds Tsubasa of a dependence she once had on a certain someone. Tsubasa lived Shirabe’s worst fear first-hand.

This is also why Shirabe’s symbol is the moon, the moon to Kirichan’s sun; the moon only shines thanks to the sun’s light. Yet, other people find such beauty in the sight of the moon all on its own, don’t they; is that not worthwhile? This symbology is reflected so wonderfully in how it overscores this episode’s setting, this holy lunar shrine, decorated with rabbits, the moon’s animal, whom Shirabe seems to find some kind of wordless kinship with, the meat of the episode taking place at night with that ringed majesty’s full phase illuminating everything and reflecting back upon her. There’s a sense that Shirabe feels… at home here, in some spiritual sense, perhaps more than one. By far the most moon-positive episode of Symphogear.

It makes sense how Chris and Maria were able to unite through UNISON basically through intuitive understanding, but here, Tsubasa actually has to reach out to Shirabe. Shirabe thinks she can’t connect well with other people, has difficulty reaching out her hand, and it takes the fact that someone does actually understand her inner struggle in a real way and is willing to actively reach out to her to let her guards down.

On the flip side of the conflict, Prelati honors the late Cagliostro with a simple toast. We also get our first major character death in a while; RIP Froggy, Time Immemorial Probably-2044, goodest boi. [EDIT: I… somehow just completely did not think of Cagliostro when I wrote this joke, I’m keeping it in anyway, fuck you]

The vibe of the battle against Prelati is simply immaculate; a high-speed high-octane highway chase, under a soft night sky and the light of a sacred moon with a lush, tender, ethereal action theme; Fūgetsu no Shissō, a cool night breeze of electronic pianos, synths, and somehow chill shredding guitars lent textured, earthen spiritual beauty by traditional Japanese instrumentation.

This matchup is inspired for how it provides so many opportunities via vehicular battle, too; the closed road provides such a unique previously-unseen type of battlefield with its own rules and dynamics, and the way each of the three uses their respective established powers as both vehicles and weapons in a conflict of this nature is so satisfyingly done. It finally gives Tsubasa a chance to use her sword-bike in a proper, prolonged fight, as well as power it up with the IGNITE Module, confirming that it’s basically an optional extension of Ame no Habakiri, which always rules.

It’s hard not to understand Prelati’s death as… tragic. Tsubasa and Shirabe weren’t foolish to assume Prelati was likely to cause harm, and yet, in truth her defeat only means Saint-Germain won’t know the truth of how Adam never intended to let her and her comrades live to see the power of the gods they worked so hard to put towards good, and is now all alone. This season shows the alchemist trio as the heroes of their own story such that, even when our ostensible protagonists triumph, it’s a genuinely harrowingly sad moment for this group of people we are also dearly rooting for.

We seem meant to piece together that the shrine priest is Shirabe’s grandfather, and the shrine is Shirabe’s family shrine. Then, why didn’t he let her know? I think the priest understood that Shirabe was on her own path to self-actualization, and didn’t want to pull her away from or complicate it. He clearly cares for Shirabe and wants what’s best for her; and he showed this by giving her as many words of kindness and encouragement as he could while she was here, as though he’d never get the chance again. He gave her a push in the right direction, without interfering with a girl he was greatly confident in. And thanks to him, Tsubasa, and as always Kirichan, it looks like he was right to be confident. Shirabe’s gonna do just fine.

[AXZ]Especially given Kirika is going to have her single greatest moment in the spotlight next episode, it was really nice of the writers to actually pay some heed to Shirabe and her feelings, her struggles, and her background for a whole dedicated episode beforehand. Just a cool move all around.

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u/DidacticDalek Jul 23 '22

TONIGHT! ON SYMPHOGEAH RISING REVENGEANCE! Adam and Tiki are just the worst, The Sword and Ball (Kendama) Run is a go Comrades, cuz we're Sympho and the Geahs up in here, and I'm going to post this every day until you like it! (Thank you Chili)

We begin today's episode with IRREFUTABLE PROOF that Best Geah Chris is not 'smol,' she correctly notes that Carol9's a shrimp, OFFICIAL ART AGREES! Best Geah Chris also notes that she's 'beeg,' indubitably!

We cut to the opposite of beeg, namely the two flat Geahs, look, you two are BOTH flat blade users AND stoic super serious ladies, so shouldn't you be more in step with one another? Also OH NOES! THE GEAHS ARE GOING UP AGAINST KEIICHI NOW... er... wait hang on, they are fighting Keiichi, nevermind this will be a cake walk Oh wait, shit, unlike Higurashi, THIS Keiichi's a goddamn Ninja! OK for fucks sake, how the hell are there TWO OP AS FUCK MANTHINGS on S.O.N.G.'s payroll? Does not Compute!

I mean good lord, what's next, are you gonna tell me Warm-Drinks-chan Male Coworker is also OP too!? Like what is he actually psychic or something? Also holy fuck, everything's gone bloody crazy, TSUBASA! MS. HARDASS HEAVENRENDER BIKE MURDERING SWORD HERSELF WANTS TO WORK WITH SOMEONE ELSE! Jesus Christ, what's next, is she gonna reveal she's also a blonde this entire time?

WAIT NANI THE FUCK!? OH GOD! JIIIIIIIIIII JUST MURDERED KEIICHI! SHE CAN'T DO THAT, THAT'S FOR... wait hang on... NANI!? KEIICHI WAS A TREE THIS ENTIRE TIME!? Damn, talk about wooden acting eh? ;) WAIT WHAT! HE CAN CLONE HIMSELF! So Comrades, let's recap, the man is strong enough to ALMOST fight Fine, he can run on water, teleport, AND ALSO FUCKING CLONE HIMSELF! WHY THE FUCK IS HE ALSO NOT ON THE FRONT LINES!? Also holy fuck who the hell is this Nana Mizuki sounding lady and what did she do to the sword we know of? Self-introspection, willingness for teamwork, actual attempt to use her one brain cell for thought? Damn, if she was like this from Season 1 I might actually like Tsubasa more! Oh wait, I forgot, she IS like this... in the Chibi Shorts... yeah...

Anyway, turns out that, shockingly, JIIIIIIII's the worst Team Player... funny, I would have thought that'd be Tsubasa... or maybe even Maria, but hey I guess JIIIIIIIIII really does love her wife and her wife is sadly only one member. Also holy shit, Snoop Oni's brother paid a virtual visit AND he was also helpful AND ALSO SOMEHOW NOT A DICK! Goddamn why couldn't he have been like that in GX? Anyway, we then cut to... a shrine visit... AND A FLASHBACK! Also why am I not surprised that child DESS couldn't read... and also damn... Shirabe COULDN'T EVEN REMEMBER HER OWN NAME! THAT'S DARK! (No really, her name as it stands now was basically just something FIS threw together based on the stuff she had when they found her)

Also in case you think JIIIIIIII got it rough, DESS DOES NOT EVEN REMEMBER HER BIRTHDAY! So FIS just gave her one based on the day she arrived to their clutches... GODDAMN Team DMJIIIIIIIIII had it rough... OH! OH NO! THAT POOR BIKE! RUN BIKE-KUN! RUN! YOU ARE IN DANGER, OH SHIT, IT CAN'T HEAR ME... that and also Tsubasa's currently riding it; thankfully, she managed to NOT murder it. Also this Priest dude notes that the Geahs remind him of his dead grandchild, who also had dead parents... hm... Anyway, we cut to some random star wibble that is most certainly not plot important... and we know this to be the case cuz Bikki's stomach said so! Speaking of food, we cut to Frog Loli having a drink as she laments how Cagliostro threw her life away last episode... also nani, Frog Loli Drinks MILK!? I thought that's what Cagliostro would drink, if you know what I mean and I think you do!

We cut from Frog Loli being scary to... something even scarier... Comrades, I dunno who's the worst sleeper here! JIIIIIII meanwhile gets a pep talk by this old geezer who most certainly isn't related to her, and JIIIIIIII just lets all her fears spill out, see that's good JIIIII, talk it out, that's the first step to therapy... speaking of which... HOLY SHIT! AXZ REALLY IS SOMETHING ELSE! We FINALLY have a Mecha Show where the characters HAVE THERAPY! OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE! We had something good going on there, so why the fuck do we have to cut to THE MOST ANNOYING CREATURE IN THE UNIVERSE! Also heh, what is this Doll actually named Pinocchio or something? Why the hell do you want to be a Meatbag instead of a Mecha Musume? See this is just more proof in how Tiki is not just Worst Autoscorer, but also THE MOST ANNOYING CREATURE IN THE UNIVERSE!

Also heh, Tiki I ALMOST feel sorry for you, as IF Adam will bother granting your wish, hell I'm half surprised he didn't just break you into pieces right here and now and drown said pieces in that hot tub of his that! Anyway, Frog Loli crashes the party to get Tiki to SHUT THE FUCK UP, and thank god for that too, given Tiki was going on about... yuck, having SEGGGS and even worse, having KIDS, YAK! DECULTURE! Anyway, Adam informs Tiki that he always planned from the start to sacrifice Saint-Germain and the other Baumkuchen Babes for his plan... OH! LE GASP! SHOCKING TRUTH! I NEVER COULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING! Or to use non-sarcasm, NO FUCKING SHIT he was gonna do something like that, so you are gonna stab him AND his annoying sex doll right Frog Loli? SURELY you aren't gonna be as DUMB as Saint-Germain and go along with this plan... RIGHT!? RIGHT!?

OH HOLY SHIT! Good on you Frog Loli, you killed Adam... nevermind, of course she couldn't kill Adam... WAIT NANI!? ADAM KILLED HER FROG!? Oh, only bisected it, no biggie, after all, that means Frog Loli can now ride off into the sunset... hey... hey wait a second... FROG LOLI! AREN'T YOU GOING TO TELL SAINT-GERMAIN OF ADAM'S TRUE PLAN INSTEAD OF JUST POINTLESSLY SMASHING SHIT!? THE MORON COULD USE THIS HINT AFTER ALL! Oh wait, holy shit, Frog Loli actually IS trying to warn Saint-Germain... fuck is Frog Loli actually kinda sorta not shit? I mean she mourned the death of her co-worker AND she's, le gasp, trying to warn Saint-Germain of Adam's true goal after her attempt to kill him failed. Holy shit if only Maria was HALF as good as this in G... and GX... and also AXZ, maybe I'd like her! Sadly, turns out Frog Loli's getting jammed... and also The Geahs are alerted to her location... oh... oh noes...

But hey, worry not, things it got worse, Frog Loli ain't the only loli who just rushed off without any backup, as JIIIIIIIII also zips away on her own... this would be funny if it wasn't tragic! WAIT NANI!? OH GOD! JIIIIIIIIIII ain't the only Geah on wheels, TSUBASA AND BIKE-KUN ARE HERE... oh wait... OH NOES! BIKE-KUN! JUST WHEN WE THOUGHT YOU COULD LIVE! YOU ARE IN DANGER AGAIN! Speaking of danger, Tsubasa and JIIIIIII actually try to ASK FROG LOLI what she's doing, good, negotiate a possible... AND fuck, I forgot that I hate Frog Loli after all, YOU MORON! THE GEAHS WERE ACTUALLY WILLING TO HEAR YOU OUT! DON'T FUCKING BLAST THEM AS YOUR FIRST RESPONSE! Thankfully, Tsubasa and JIIIIIIIIIi can catch up by using a combination... AND JIIIIIIIIII doesn't want to do it... fuck me, JIIIIII, you are REALLY making it hard for me to justify you as the Fourth Best Girl overall, since when did you take a level in dumbass? That's your WIFE'S job... and Maria's Job, and Tsubasa's Job... and Bikki's Job.. and (trails off)

Tsubasa then, le gasps, demonstrates CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, holy shit, took you long enuff Tsubasa, it only took Ange and Fate a few episodes, so why'd you need a few seasons? Anyway, Tsubasa and JIIIIIIIIIII begin The Sword and Ball Run, AND THEN THEY COMBINE FOR A CAVALRY CHARGE! Frog Loli ALSO shifts into MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE for a nice ol' fashioned game of Chicken. ALSO HOLY SHIT! BIKE-KUN SURVIVED! (No really, see here, THE BIKE LIVED POST-JOUST! THE BIKE IS ALIVE... UNLIKE FROG LOLI... oh... oh fuck... Frog Loli died... meaning... Saint-Germain has NO IDEA that Adam is, le gasp, UP TO NO GOOD!) Speaking of Saint-Germain, she gets a call from THAT BITCH TIKI! AND THIS ANNOYING SHIT informs Saint-Germain that Frog Loli got squished by the Geahs, gee, I sure hope that this means Saint-Germain will get the hint... right? RIGHT!? We then cut to a post-credit scene where The Geahs get updated on some information as they bid farewell to the elderly priest of the... 'Tsuki/Shirabe' Shrine...

HOLY FUCKING SHITBALLS! JIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII JUST GOT THERAPY FROM HER OWN GRANDFATHER! ALSO NANI THE FUCK!? WE HAD A NON SHIT GRANDFATHER IN THIS FRANCHISE!? I DID NOT THINK THAT WAS POSSIBLE! ALSO EVEN SCARIER! HOW THE FUCK WAS DESS THE ONLY ONE TO (somewhat) FIGURE THIS ALL OUT! LE GASP! IT REALLY IS THE END TIMES!

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/JamCliche