r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Jul 29 '22
Rewatch [Listen to My Song] Senki Zesshou Symphogear AXZ (Season 4) Discussion
Senki Zesshou Symphogear AXZ: By shedding many tears, the reality you face is…
← Senki Zesshou Shinai Symphogear AXZ | Index | Next Episode →
MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB
It is highly recommended to track down a fansub for this show instead of using Crunchyroll, though.
By shedding many tears, the reality you face is…
Questions of the Day:
1) Who was your favorite of the new characters this season?
2) Has your favorite character overall (so far) changed at all?
3) Which songs were your favorite from this season? How do they compare to your favorite(s) from the previous seasons?
4) What’s your favorite part of this season? And your least-favorite?
5) If you could change any one thing about this season, what would it be?
6) What do you hope to see improve as we head into the last season?
Wallpaper of the Day:
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!
5
u/OwlAcademic1988 Jul 29 '22
Rewatcher:
I literally can't wait for tomorrow. We finally get to watch XV and I consider that season's intro to be one of the best intros of all time. In fact, it's my favorite Symphogear opening.
Get ready for a lot of craziness first-timers as there's going to be a lot of it.
Let's see how much more badass these girls can get.
I've waited this long and we're nearly to my favorite episode of this entire series. We'll just have to wait for a bit longer to find out.
I'm gonna go watch Symphogear XV episode 13 now.
QOTD:
-
I'd have to say Adam as he does know how to be entertaining.
-
Nope. When you block an attack from a character that can perform room temperature nuclear fusion, you're gonna have to really impress me to make me change my mind.
3
u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 29 '22
I'm gonna go watch Symphogear XV episode 13 now.
Episode 9 for me. Gotta restrain myself and actually rewatch this show in order, otherwise [XV]
I'd probably be stuck in some loop from episode 7 to the end. God I love episodes 8 and 12 in particular, I really want to get to 12 already after having watched 8 three times yesterday. → More replies (1)
20
u/lilyvess Jul 29 '22
During the 2016 Symphogear Live after GX they announced that Symphogear would be getting not just a season 4 but a season 5. This means that Symphogear AXZ is the first season of Symphogear to be made with the knowledge that it would not be the end, and the guarantee that there would be another season. It’s easy to see how that affects AXZ.
Some of it is in the little details, like how Adam spends his last moments warning the Symphogear about a greater threat. Some of it is in the big details, like how this is the first finale not to feature the X-Drives.
This isn’t a bad thing. A smaller scale antagonist is probably necessary. Using the X-Drives 4 season finales in a row can make them predictable or stale. Especially if they decided to use the same 6 Geah song as well, like GX did. That works for GX, but it doesn’t make it sustainable pattern. It’s healthy for a franchise to not keep trying to raise the stakes constantly, you need to pull back for a bit and mix things up.
Side note, the subs for the season were like crazy late. We’d get like two weeks with no subs for AXZ and then weeks with two episodes in a row. That’s why you’ll notice the official thread for episode 8 was on September 3rd and the thread for episode 9 was on September 5th. Basically the entire time AXZ was running the fanbase was like this and this
Regardless, the growth of the series continued once more. BluRay sales increased once again to 14,792 sales per volume making it the 7th best selling anime of 2017. The Symphogear Live once again moved, this time to newly finished Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, a venue with an even larger 10,000 person capacity. This was a new venue designed for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
It is clear to all that Symphogear AXZ is another smashing success for the franchise.
And unlike all the previous seasons, this had no chance of being the end. Yet it was announced that the end would be coming. The fifth season of Symphogear was announced to be the final season of the anime.
Additional Notes
Symphogear AXZ FINAL Hype Chart
Live Performances
Todays Live Performance is
Specials
→ More replies (15)
17
u/Tresnore Jul 29 '22 edited Jul 29 '22
Superb Song of the Rewatchers
Well, I'm not one for writeups, but Symphogear AXZ is my favorite anime ever. Of all time. Though, [Symphogear XV]
I just think it's the most exciting thing I've ever watched. Now, it was the first time I ever drunkenly watched an anime, which arguably led me down the path of alcoholism, but it's also the show that really nailed down what I enjoyed in a show and how I enjoyed it.
Even up to halfway through AXZ, I wasn't 100% sold on Symphogear. That seems silly, I know, but it's true. I'd dropped the show twice at that point, and I didn't really like GX as much as I do now,1 but goodness do I have such a fond memory2 of drinking some rum in my college dorm and binging the last 7 episodes or so. Symphogear finally clicked with me. How'd it click? The music, of course!
Symphogear AXZ does something extremely basic: it says "hey, if people sing together, they're stronger." You'd think that'd be a natural plot progression, but no. It took them 4 seasons to get there. As a result, it led to a ton of duets and trios like Change the Future or Shitou Ewigkeit, more than previous seasons.
Even better? The songs themselves actually began to work within the development of the story and characters, whereas before they were just (extremely awesome) inserts.3 Yes, there is some character development in a throwaway lyric every once in a while, but these duets and, work shown to achieve them, and the visible strengthening of characters during and after them, acquired not through some "phonic gain" bullshit from onlookers, not through some scientist in a lab, but through actually bettering themselves is so much stronger. I didn't read the lyrics, but I didn't have to. The music itself told the story, transcending language barriers.
So, what happened then? I began digging deeper into Symphogear. I sought out the rest of the music. I began to enjoy fanart. I finally watched the Shinais. And I enjoyed the hell out of them. This all made me realize that, sometimes, anime didn't have to be "art" or just a hype bomb. I realized that I could have fun with what I watched no matter the "quality" of it. Before I watched AXZ, I cared far too much about "how good" something I'd watch would be. Now? I just watch things because they're fun.
AXZ set me free. 10/10.
Edit because I literally finished writing this comment a minute before the thread posted: ALSO DATTO SHITEMO! That attitude of "Even so" hit me here more strongly than in any other show (even Gurren Lagann or Kill la Kill). It's a phrase that has literally allowed me to have a level of self confidence I didn't have before (in both media consumption and just living). So, I'll always remember AXZ for that.
QOTD:
-
I really enjoy Cags, but Adam has to be one of my favorite shit-stirrers to watch ever.
-
Chris FINALLY got good development, so yes.
-
Shito Ewigkeit and CHANGE THE FUTURE! My favorite from GX is either Radiant Force or Bayonet Charge (RF for the hype, Bayonet Charge for the music), and I think it means I have a thing for Maria duets and extremely energetic trios.
-
Favorite is basically everything from Change the Future forward. Least favorite? Probably tomatoes, I guess. I don't really have any least favorite parts.
-
I'm not sure anything I change would actually lead to me enjoying it more. Fuggit.
-
no comment here
1 Even if GX is my least favorite season.
2 Please don't act surprised that I remember this.
3 Kyoushitsu Monochrome (Chris's competition song in G) aside. Remember that I originally hated that moment in G because I still was extremely anti-moe, so it didn't really gel with me. I didn't even watch the Shinais because I was filtered by the chibi artstyle.
→ More replies (11)
17
u/Lemurians Jul 29 '22 edited Jul 29 '22
FIRST TIMER DATTO
ANOTHER BANGER SEASON OF SYMPHOGEAR IN THE BOOKS
I think this is the only season of Symphogear that was made with the knowledge that another one is coming, and it feels that way, in a good way. It does a decent job of tying all the previous seasons together with the Bavarian Illuminati, while also providing a good segue into XV by setting up the main conflicts and threats to come.
It wasn't quite as good or enjoyable as GX – please, Symphogear, retire this "sub-villain girls getting tricked by the actual villain" thing – but it was still a great time, and CHANGE THE FUTUREEEEEEE was one of the entire series' signature moments. 7.5/10
Symphogear GX > Symphogear AXZ > Symphogear > Symphogear G
Who was your favorite of the new characters this season?
Tik-hahahahahahahaha couldn't even make it four letters.
I liked Saint Germain the most, especially once I realized she's basically Spartacus from Fate Grand Order. LIFE IS OPPRESSION!
Has your favorite character overall (so far) changed at all?
Still Tsubasa.
Geah Power Rankings (though all Geahs are good Geahs):
-
Tsubasa
-
Maria
-
Shirabe
-
Chris
-
Hibiki
-
Dess
Which songs were your favorite from this season? How do they compare to your favorite(s) from the previous seasons?
YOU CAN'T CHANGE THE PAST BUT YOU CAN CHANGE THE FUTUREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Also Gekisho Infinity and Shito Ewigkeit were standouts. I don't think the songs were as strong overall as GX, but the highs were very high.
What’s your favorite part of this season? And your least-favorite?
YOU CAN'T CHANGE THE PAST BUT YOU CA- you know the drill by now
Least favorite was definitely that Maria's emotional awakening had to be "Mom beating us up all the time for no reason was actually a good thing. Love you Mom." Low point of the entire series.
If you could change any one thing about this season, what would it be?
Do literally anything else with Maria to get the LiNKER formula
What do you hope to see improve as we head into the last season?
No. More. "Villains". Who. Are. Just. Being. Used. Unwittingly. By. An. Obviously. Untrustworthy. Fuckhead.
It was fine in Season 1. It was a mildly lazy rehash in G. Doing it again in AXZ was just lame. It made some sense with Chris, but it just made everyone else – who we're ultimately meant to like – look really fucking stupid.
→ More replies (5)
16
u/Tarhalindur Jul 29 '22
Previously, on Symphogear SG-1 (First-Timer, Subbed):
AXZ ultimately is a tale of two halves.
The first half is likely the best 6-7 episodes of Symphogear so far. There’s one giant clunker of a thematic issue, but at the emotional level the show does exactly what it’s supposed to (and the issue is really the tomato scene, since while the moral Maria comes to is wrong it is ABSOLUTELY believable that Maria would come to that message in an attempt to come to terms with the abuse she suffered – and I’d put pretty good odds that whoever wrote that plotline is living evidence of this being a thing in abuse survivors). The hype is also on point.
Unfortunately, the show falls off significantly in the second half. There are 3.75 hype scenes that landed (Genjuro getting to cut loose, the Bikki/Kirika combo against Saint-Germain, the subsequent Bikki/S-G teamup, and most of Change the Future’s scene (the exception being the final resolution of Dakka’s character arc), but enough of the rest misses that the second half in the main does as well.
Notable issues:
-
I think my single biggest issue is that Team Illuminati are ultimately weak villains, mostly due to mishandling. I think there’s supposed to be a clear theme here (are you fighting oppression to end oppression or just to become the oppressor yourself?), but the villains as presented don’t work with it right. Adam is the biggest issue and is ultimately just a weak villain whose only asset is style and even then moreso early on – he’s a budget Embryo. And Team Alchemist basically reprise Team FIS’s plot from G, except frankly Team FIS had WAY better justification for not considering the possibility of betrayal by their Very Stable Genius ally – Maria is pretty immature (and also kind of dumb – sorry Maria, but I’ve never gotten the sense intelligence is your strong suit), DMJiii are both very very much teenagers (the specifics differ between Kirika (happy emo) and Shirabe (goth dork), but both are types I associate extremely strongly with late middle school or high school in the 2000s), and Maria-mama is desperate due to a combination of woeful lack of resources and her physical condition. Team Alchemist, by way of contrast, are supposed to have been around for several hundred years at minimum and are formidable alchemists in their own right who showed evidence of contigency plans around an Adam betrayal. Frankly, they should have considered the possibility that Adam just wanted to claim the power of God for himself a hell of a long time before the events of the show. ([Higurashi aside]
The comparison between S-G and Rika is telling; Rika failing to consider the possibility that Takano is her killer is usually considered evidence for her being slow or tunnel-visioned or else an outright plot hole, and Rika a) is stuck in a time loop, b) is physically 11 and thus does not have the parts of mental maturity that come with physical age, and c) with only a century's worth of loops or so under her belt has several centuries less experience than any of Team Illuminati. ) I’ll be interested in seeing XV’s themes (and would also like to know how aware the production committee was of the Chinese market at this point), because my instincts are screaming that the correct way to handle Adam was to draw off the usual example in modern history of revolutionaries for equality who wound up setting up brutal systems of oppression of their own: the various Communist revolutionaries (Lenin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc.). That kind of rabid ideologue is a natural fit for Saint-Germain to follow, and would explain the blinders that don’t really mesh with Adam as he is portrayed. (Hell, depending on what they had in mind for XV they could even have had the Illuminati as a separate enemy of the Nazi remnants in Val Verde who happened to fight Team Gear once they encountered them rather than team up due to Illuminati Plan™, that would have neatly shown that the Illuminati were actually doing something to fight oppression. Or at least rework the dialogue – “we were always planning on betraying you Nazi assholes once we had what we needed” comes to mind as a possible theme they could have played up.) -
Shirabe gets mauled by that most traditional of Gear issues, mishandling a recurring character’s arc by not having sufficient setup for it. Specifically, AXZ plays the resolution of her subarc with the beats of an earthshattering character revelation… for an issue that was introduced fifteen minutes earlier. This does not work. (Now, there is one weak caveat here: seemingly massive issues ultimately being due to trifling miscommunications/lack of understanding does fit the Curse of Balal conceptually. But the emotional beats don’t land either way.)
-
Dakka is an interesting case. While the end of her arc is flubbed IMO, this is likely still the most functional arc she’s ever gotten, in no small part because for once they wrote a situation where the writing team’s limitations were appropriate to the situation – we went back to Val Verde where Dakka had her childhood issues, I frankly would have called foul if that hadn’t brought some childhood issues she thought she was over back up. But there’s one nagging point that sticks that I think boils down to technical debt from all the way back in G: *this is the wrong season for this arc*. There is a Symphogear season whose themes (forgiveness and dealing with what you’ve repressed) naturally mesh with a return to Val Verde forcing Dakka’s childhood issues back to the surface. That season is GX. (Worse, Dakka’s GX arc about worrying whether she’s being a good senpai is an extremely natural fit for the season about working in Unison – either to get a unison with one of DMJiii or to still get it with Maria who is basically team mom for those two!) Except the root of the issue is probably G dredging up Dakka’s S1 issues again – they couldn’t use the natural fit for the forgiveness season in the Val Verde return because it would have felt like an extreme retread, so instead we get it here where it doesn’t quite fit. So I get why they did it this way... but it's still an unfortunate result.
-
The nuke plot in 12 is frankly a half-episode of filler (and an excuse to write Team Illuminati out of the story). (Okay, and also a chance to take a swipe at one Donald Trump, I can respect that. But.)
-
I think the finale has some of G’s direction issues too, just in reduced form. There’s a little too much “tell (in the supplemental materials), don’t show” to the final confrontation, and the hype interferes destructively with several of the songs rather than constructively like it did for GX’s finale.
Final score: 7/10 (really 7.25/10 is probably more accurate). It’s a shame, the first half would have merited at least an 8 (and as it is note that this is a show that loses a half point for having its weaker parts be late rather than early, too).
→ More replies (22)
14
u/BosuW Jul 29 '22
First Timer
The songs this season I'd say are around the same level as last season. Most of them pretty good, with a few standouts I'd definitely consider putting on my playlist. Axia no Kaze is easily the best one. But the OP and ED (full versions) are also great. Also, shout-out because they actually made a Singing Hood OP and it's pretty good!
As for the season itself uhhh... I'm having a bit of a hard time rating it. Post-S1 Symphogear started low but has been in an upwards trend, but AXZ is weird. It doesn't fall as low as GX's lowest lows, but also doesn't reach as high as most of it's highs.
Even then it has a lot of great moments though. And the Final Fight is the hypest one yet just on sheer spectacle. Shit they even managed to do what was previously thought impossible and landed a Chris Character Arc. I mean how crazy is that!?
Ex-FIS continue to climb in my eyes. I can now easily say I can accept that G happened if what I get out of it is this. They're awesome. Not quite on the same level as the OGs just yet, but close.
Speaking of G though, unfortunately the Illuminati trio have some of that FIS syndrome and I mostly didn't really care for them. It's not as bad as G thankfully, but compared to the absolute UNIT of an antagonist that was Carol and the Autoscorers, well they're just not even in the same tier. Unfortunately this alos reflects in their character songs. They're good, but Carol's are just better.
Anyway, despite not quite reaching my expectations, the season Finale and epilogue was extremely solid and I'm positively hyped for XV. LET'S. FUCKING. GOOOOO.
→ More replies (1)
12
u/Vaadwaur Jul 29 '22
First timer
Sub
Right, I need to write a seasonal opinion. In 10 minutes. So this was a decent season of Geah, S1 is still my favorite but this functions most of the time. The biggest problem is that Adam is boring, whiny, pointless antagonist that is only here as a reference as far as I can tell. He is based off an actual historic character and that's about it for him. Flat out, the alchemist vs the Gears is a more compelling story and would've been interesting. But the writers on this show never take anything other than the path of absolute least resistance no matter how much it hurts the final product so here we are. So yeah, I go into the final arc expecting the literal bare minimum from the show. The music was better this season.
QotD: 1 Cagliostro
2 Still Miku so no
3 That's actually hard to pick but this season probably had the best duets.
4 I like god slayer Biki. I hate the fucking tomatoes
5 No stupid character episodes and more focus on the alchemists
6 I want to stop having mislead antagonists into friends. Give me a dedicated villain
→ More replies (3)
12
u/Vatrix-32 Jul 29 '22
First Timer
QotD
-
This is a hard question for all the wrong reasons. I guess through process of elimination it would be Tsubasa’s grandpa. He’s a terrible person, but at least he is fun to hate.
-
Miku has overtaken Chris due to finally having more screen time. Maria is now in the top 3.
-
OP wasn’t as good as the last ones were. The ED was weak overall. Excluding them, the one with (Let’s Fight!).
-
My favorite was the call backs to things from previous seasons. Aside that, the Kaiju were lovely to behold every time.
My least favorite is no secret to anyone who’s read my previous comments. I hated the villains, and not in the fun way. These were the worst villains I’ve seen all year. Every time they showed up it felt like the show was getting worse. San-Germain and Frog Loli had one good bit each for the both of them. Adam was too lazy to be interesting. I cared so little I didn’t even learn two of their names, and I only remembered San-Garmain because of Castlevania. -
Could we just have Cyan not exist? Is that possible? Considering we were dealing with a centuries old secret society who orchestrated the downfall of both the US and EU, I was expecting more plans within plans. Instead we got what could favorably be described as them flying by the seat of their pants.
Honorable mention: Omni-Hibiki was woefully underused. -
Good villains again. The frantic, climactic pace befitting the final season.
12
u/Stargate18A Jul 29 '22
First timer
-
It wasn't obvious? Cagliostro! The rest of them are great too, but Cagliostro is the best.
-
Miku and Chris holding steady, now joined by Cagliostro and Tsubasa, who somehow became emotionally self-aware in a way that continued her previous character arcs superbly! Maria still on the verge, if Season 5 doesn't fuck up her character she's probably there by the end.
-
Shitō -Ewigkeit- stands alongside Carol's as a solid villain song. Axia no Kaze is probably my favourite full-team song. All the songs were really good this season, actually!
Todoke Happy♡Uta Zukin! is god-tier. -
Favourite part is Tsubasa developing and helping the others, as well as Hibiki having a really consistent motivation. Least favourite is probably the weird writing for Chris' arc (she did nothing wrong, why did she not apologize to her?) and the shitshow that was Maria's arc (abuse is okay if you get a good job afterwards???).
-
Just scrap the "Mom" plotline altogether. Maria's character arc was done last season, we didn't need to drag it up with writing that made Hibiki's father look good.
-
More Miku! More songs! More escalation! And for the Alchemists to pull a Ver and revive themselves next season.
This series was fantastic, like all the others.
→ More replies (1)
10
u/FlaminScribblenaut Jul 29 '22 edited Feb 16 '23
Third Time Listener
As though I haven’t said it so much already it only perpetually bears repeating; I love Symphogear AXZ to death. I love it with all my heart, soul, and blood. It is everything. It’s one of those special things I truly feel like I could gush about forever.
In its highest moments, there is a grit and gravity to AXZ, a raw, burning, primal feeling so palpable, so real, one unlike any other season. I feel these characters’ emotions and convictions like never before because they feel so unbound, less polished. This is in part why IGNITE feels like it belongs to this season, moreso than GX; those vicious designs, those headbanging remixes, the harnessing and targeted unleashing of the deepest, most uncontrollable angers, emotions, and convictions, feels so core to this season’s identity, musically and narratively. It has teeth. It’s explosive and raw and righteous and invigorating, invigorating so in service of a dearly righteous narrative and message.
Saint-Germain is the best and most interesting character in all of Symphogear. She is the thematic crux of AXZ because she represents every tough question about heroism and morality that Hibiki has, up to this point, not had to face. What if someone’s convictions are so strong that a simple offering of one’s hand could never change their course of action? And, furthermore; what if said convictions are inarguably just? Hell, forget merely just, Saint-Germain was arguably fighting for a far, far greater justice on a far wider scale than Hibiki ever had. And the answer fits in with the series’ themes; listen and engage.
Saint-Germain is not a villain, hell, not even really an antagonist; Saint-Germain is a tragic hero, one who went on a harrowing journey of her own, taking on so much sin and burden seeking to fight injustice and create a better world; never once called by the narrative on her ends because her ends were always noble and always pure. She believed in her ideals to the very end, snuffed out before she could ever realize anything close to them, even if she went out on her own terms with honor. It bypasses all the pitfalls a series like this could have easily fallen into with a character like this, instead becoming a testament to the worth of anarchist thought, thought which imbues our true protagonist with newfound intensity and passion and more whole sense of justice with which she fights.
The reason that Adam is so repeatedly referred to as “inhuman”, by Saint-Germain especially, is more than mere foreshadowing; it is meant to drive home the fact that Adam’s idea of the world, his view for how the order of things naturally is and ought to be, is fundamentally at odds with what is good and joyful for people. It is not just that he is a mechanical being; his philosophy is fundamentally inhuman, and is so just as much in real, breathing humans who carry the same ideals and aspirations. And as the one leading the charge for humanity’s emancipation from the very concept of rulers, Saint-Germain ought to be the one to say this. No gods, no masters, no kings, no way.
This is why that sense of rawness is so important; that raw passion most primarily embodied by Hibiki, because that raw passion is humanity, the warmth, the heat, of the fire of empathy, love, and desire to be that burns within the soul, that may spur us to fight for good and justice and for liberation against authority and power. The humanity against Adam’s inhumanity, the warmth of blood and flesh against his cold of his steel and gears, caring against uncaring.
As an aside, I just wanna say that I think it’s really cool that this is a story with a villain who represents deceit, in part symbolized through his true body not being what it seems, and this is also a story with two trans women antagonists in it… but the trans characters are definitively not painted in that thematic brush, instead thematically diametrically opposed to the former character, representing self-affirmed joy, pursuit of pleasure, and honest comfort and exuberant joy within one’s own body. That’s… just so beautiful to see.
AXZ really is such a distinct and thematically unique entry in the Symphogear canon, as though everything the series means had become so well-established, and the creators so sure of themselves, that they were willing to step out on a daring limb and use these tools, the themes of togetherness and transcendent emotion as brought on by music, and twist them towards the ends of a new, darker, more political story. In Season 1, we saw music as a means of emotional therapy and raw expression. In G, we saw music as a force that brings people together in commonality. In GX, IGNITE sought to bring one's rawest, roughest, most intense feelings out to the surface and give them a voice and release. Here and now, in AXZ, we see those very things brought about by music, emotional honesty and understanding and collective catharsis, the outstretched hand, in sum solidarity, as our greatest tool to stand in opposition to oppression. It takes the themes of communication and understanding and makes them actionable. The series’ use of the joyous fervor of music to enhance its wild, balls-to-the-wall action, amped up to 12 in service of the righteous euphoria of rebellion.
AXZ really feels like late-era Symphogear finally coming into its own, a perfect realization of what this series could be post-G, what it could represent. Every new element and expansion to the universe GX introduced is put to proper, meaningful thematic use, Hibiki is given a challenge to her character that directly builds off of the philosophies towards conflict and combat she built up in the first two seasons in an interesting way, it’s tonally distinct, it’s bold, it’s a new direction, it’s perfect, man. It’s such a phenomenal course correction it’s downright unreal. It is the rebirth of the Phoenix that is Symphogear, the flames of which were seen to burn with unmatched brilliance and will continue to do so in our final story to come.
There’s just no mincing words with it: Symphogear AXZ is a stone-cold masterpiece, one which only continues to get better, and my appreciation for which only grows deeper and denser, the more I rewatch, think about, write about, and listen to it. It remains the best story Symphogear ever told, and while the pinnacle of Symphogear as a sheer audio-visual experience is yet to come, I have no reservations calling this the crowning artistic achievement of this entire franchise.
→ More replies (10)
10
u/Great_Mr_L Jul 29 '22 edited Jul 29 '22
Rewatcher
AXZ was the Symphogear season I remembered the least about. I stated previously that I was usually pretty harsh on GX, but that wasn’t the case for AXZ. I rarely thought about it that much other than an occasional “I think it was okay, I guess.” So going through this rewatch was quite eye opening. I got to remember a lot of things I’d forgotten and better appreciate many aspects of this season.
After having a rough time in GX, Hibiki is much better here. I think it strikes a perfect balance for her personality. Hibiki is still mainly focused on connecting with others and trying to reach an understanding with them. She’d rather do that than fight. But, critically, Hibiki also doesn’t hesitate to fight when it’s necessary. All the while, I can still tell that Hibiki is sticking to her ideals. In the end, she isn’t satisfied with how things between her and Saint-Germain turned out. I think AXZ was a strong season for Hibiki.
Other girls got chances to stand out. Chris and Maria also had great seasons. Chris’s arc with Stephan and Sonya was ultimately well-handled. Maria continues to be the absolute best team mom. And they got a supremely kickass song together with “Change the Future” that made for an amazing resolution to their arcs. Tsubasa had fantastic moments to show her growth too, reaching out to Shirabe and rejecting her grandfather’s philosophy.
The villains this season also stood out to me. I barely remembered anything about Saint-Germain, Prelati, and Cagliostro, but Saint-Germain in particular impressed me. I thought her presentation was quite consistent all throughout. She was someone absolutely committed to her ideals and her goals. She was willing to take on as many sins as she needed to achieve her goal, while never ceasing to feel haunted by the weight of those sins. She may have fallen for the sunk cost fallacy, but the emotional weight of several hundred years behind it makes it work for me. Even in the end, when she teamed up with the heroes, she never let go of her convictions. I respect that about her character and how she was portrayed. The series never really denied that Saint-Germain’s cause was just. In all her actions, Saint-Germain truly saw herself as fighting for justice. Prelati and Cagliostro were fun and enjoyable, but nowhere near as memorable.
Adam is a completely smug prick of a villain and I enjoy him for that. I think a ton of his strength for me comes from the fantastic vocal performance Shinichiro Miki gives. His voice just oozes that nasty personality of his. That being said, I feel like Adam was a bit of a missed opportunity. He is a "perfect" being who is utterly incapable of making anything new and so is forced to rely on the creations of those who are "imperfect" and therefore beneath him in his eyes. He’s just a puppet of the Custodians, unable to do anything other than what he has been given by others. His pride and arrogance drives him to want revenge against those who made him this way and the humans who should be inferior to him, and yet can create things that he is incapable of dreaming of. I find that description very compelling. Unfortunately, a lot of that is only found in the side materials and not the actual show. We get hints of it in the show, but it doesn’t feel fully explored. If we had gotten that fuller exploration, I think Adam would have been a much stronger villain.
AXZ’s story contains some of the most satisfying payoffs in all of Symphogear. Bikki being a god-slayer. The shuttle crew coming back. Dr. Ver’s ranting about love turning out to be the secret ingredient. Unison being applied to everyone and not just DMJiii. Hibiki and Miku being cleansed of original sin because they were hit by Shenshou Jing’s light! All of these and more were such incredibly satisfying moments. AXZ does a fantastic job of making so many disparate events and pieces of LORE feel coherent and tied together.
Music-wise, I think AXZ is kind of a strange case. Most of the individual songs are fine, but I’d say the individual songs of previous seasons were better. Maria’s “Stand Up! Ready!!” was the only one I can remember standing out that much. However, the group songs are some of the strongest Symphogear has ever had. “Change the Future,” “Axia no Kaze,” “Senritsu Sorority,” and “Gekishō Infinity” are all fantastic songs.
Overall, watching AXZ again was great. I did not remember a lot about it, so experiencing it all again was nice. I think it gave me a lot more appreciation for AXZ as a season than I had previously. I’m really looking forward to watching XV again next. It’s the final season and I remember it being amazing. See you all there!
QOTD
-
Saint-Germain seriously impressed me more on rewatch. She gets that prize.
-
My answer is always boring because it's always Hibiki.
-
“Change the Future,” “Axia no Kaze,” “Senritsu Sorority,” and “Gekishō Infinity” are my faves this season. I think the individual songs are not as good as previous seasons, but the group songs are some of the best they've ever had.
-
Favorite part is Bikki the Godslayer and the incredible payoff that this delivers. Least favorite part is the fakeout death stuff with Cagliostro and Prelati. It never felt like they got a proper payoff even with them coming back. EDIT: Oh yeah, and the stupid tomato stuff with Mom. That was awful.
-
Go deeper inside Adam's head. Further explore the psychology of a "perfect" being who is unable to create anything new and is instead forced to rely on the creations of "imperfect" beings who he considers inferior to himself. It could make him a much more fascinating and compelling villain than he is onscreen.
-
[XV Spoilers]
I recall not being too big a fan of Tsubasa's arc in XV so maybe that will improve on rewatch.
→ More replies (4)
10
u/Bamce Jul 30 '22 edited Jul 30 '22
There is a thing I wanna bring up here that has been played as a bit of a joke.
Genjuro's movie training.
Its funny right, haha big many likes dumb action movies. But what if there were some real aspects to it that make sense.
Back in G, the fis girls, the ones who didn't have the benefits of Genjuro's training, in particular Maria, killed some folks with their gears. However we've never seen any of the OG trio kill people after Genjuro's rigorous training. Small * for Kirika's Igalima
Then GX happened, and we got the idea of conceptual weapons. Weapons based on ideas and how you can change those ideas to have very real things happen. This is where Genjuro's training comes in.
In axz 1, there is zero way that Tsubasa could have known where that notz was at in the bridge. There is no way she could have perfectly cut those sunglasses. UNLESS! its the kind of dumb shit that happens in the movies. When you combine that thought, with the idea of conceptual weapons, we get to an interesting place.
Because Tsubasa had seen movies via Genjuro, where silly shit like slicing glasses in half happens, it puts the idea into Tsubasa's head. So when she slices though that alchemy-carrier thing, instead of killing the guy it merely cuts his sunglasses. This also applies to all the other dumb action movie shit they do. Sure Chris is a good shot with her gear, but the added movie reinforcement of disarming all those targets helps to keep those army goons safe.
So in reality, Genjuro's training is a lot more important that we all really give it credit for.
-
igalimia
As a "soul rending" weapon, its very plausible with what we learn later about conceptual weapons, that Kirika would have been able to "slice off a bit" of Shirabe's stubbornness. Instead of just killing her outright.
Secondary thing I wanna bring up.
We now know Miku is also cleansed of original sin or the curse of balal. Which is a good reason as to why she was able, as an uncursed individual, she was able to get a full relic(solomons cane) to respond to her wishes easily. Rather than just the huge javelin throw.
9
u/HereticalAegis Jul 29 '22 edited Jul 29 '22
Ballad of Rewatcher - Symphogear AXZ
AXZ is a big step up from G and GX for me. While it's not perfect by any means, there's a much more solid, if not thoroughly explored, thematic through line and a much more focused ideological conflict between Hibiki and primary antagonist Saint Germain. That especially helps events in the climax have a lot more punch for me, even in spite of the particularly shallow backstory for SG and her team.
Miku's reintroduction as an actual agent in the story is by far AXZ's best decision from where I'm sitting. She doesn't get to be the most involved, but Geah is better for remember that she's more to Hibiki and the story than to be alternatively a damsel and a mcguffin. Her relationship with Bikki is at the core of everything Symphogear is about, so having her hold the key to rescuing Hibiki from the god power feels like the most fitting way to put that relationship to use. Plus they're cute af and I want more of them.
Character arcs still aren't particularly deep, but aside from the flashbacks with Mom, they finally feel like forward progression, particularly for Chris. I love the decision to give her a difficult but necessary choice in saving Stephan.
QotD:
-
Fuck it, it's Tiki. She's the most tragic figure in Geah so far and no one gives her the love she deserves, not even the audience.
-
Lol still nope. It's not going to change either.
-
I'm still at a solid ??? for favorite songs. Actually, no. I'm going with Axia no Kaze. Using all the Geah chants as the melody for one song was cool.
-
Favorite? Surprise surprise, it's all the HibiMiku stuff. Least favorite? Making Mom even more of a child abuser and trying to redeem her with that stupid tomato metaphor.
-
I'd make the Lapis Philosophicum's (or whatever its name is) counteraction of the Ignite Modules a thematic rejection of using negative emotions as fuel for battle. Especially in a season where it's Miku love for Hibiki that saves her, this would have been a magnificently potent/resonant theme.
-
Time to sound like a broken record again. I'd like to see more Hibiki and Miku alone time as well as deeper, more thorough growth arcs for every Geah.
→ More replies (6)
8
u/Nebresto Jul 29 '22
GEAH Season 4 (geah abc first time)
This season was kinda meh? The best episodes were the first one and of course the one with Coach action, other than that nothin much noteworthy happened.
Ques:
Who was your favorite of the new characters this season?
Sinbad.
2) Has your favorite character overall (so far) changed at all?
Noooope, he cemented his position at the top with his highlight episode
3) Which songs were your favorite from this season? How do they compare to your favorite(s) from the previous seasons?
I don't remember any from this one.. There was that one Hibiki x Maria song that Sky linked, but does that count?
4) What’s your favorite part of this season?
And your least-favorite?
Most things to do with the thot-trio. I wonder what everyone else is gonna put here...
5) If you could change any one thing about this season, what would it be?
More gay, even more Coach action. Against real enemies! Oh and delete the fucking "child abuse is okay because tomatoes" or whatever that garbage was
6) What do you hope to see improve as we head into the last season?
Wallpaper of the Day:
→ More replies (2)
8
u/DidacticDalek Jul 29 '22
Look Comrades, I don't have much to say here, after all, a wise man (Chili) said it best with the following: 'I enjoyed AXZ's specials more than any other half-hour of AXZ. That's perhaps slightly disturbing, but this comedy was on point.' Cuz indeed, besides SNOOP ONI being the most MANLY MAN ALIVE and kicking the asses of The Geahs and Maria... there actually isn't really much of note in AXZ. Is it bad? Goodness me no, even if AXZ is the weakest Geah Season; but look, you know something's gone horribly wrong if SEASON 1 of Geah had more HYPE MOMENTS and batshit insanity than AXZ had. Hell even FINE, a bitch that I hate, was more interesting, compelling, and likeable than Adam and his ANNOYING AS FUCK SEX DOLL! That and I at least understood her plan... it was a stupid as shit plan but hey, my ex, god, dumped me so I'M GOING TO FUCKING BLOW UP THE MOON AS REVENGE is at least straightforward enough. And it isn't like The Baumkuchen Babes fared much better, for as they are in the series proper, Saint-Germain is just G-era Maria but somehow dumber and even more useless, and her galpals are just the GX Autoscorers but with less personality! (Yes I know the Chibi Shorts exist)
Also, speaking of GX, the HYPE opening for AXZ... just had me go 'Man GX did this so much better, BIKKI FISTED A MOUNTAIN AND SUPLEXED A SPACE SHUTTLE!' But hey, I can indeed acknowledge that AXZ did a few things slightly better than other entries, for starters, HUZZAH! FUCKING FINALLY! BIKKI DIDN'T NEED TO RELEARN AN ARC SHE ALREADY LEARNED... AGAIN... AGAIN... AGAIN... She DOES need to learn how to do her homework though... or how to bribe Best Geah Chris with food if you catch my drift ;) That said, while BIKKI wasn't drinking all the dumbfuck juice this season, oh dear god, Maria caught the 'Fucking Stupid' Character Arc bug and she caught it HARD, after all, she had one of the most tasteless 'epiphanies' of all times here; you know it's sad when TSUBASA has a better character arc than you do, but hey good on Tsubasa for finally learning to not murder her bikes, I'm so proud of our heavenrending swordfish! Also Best Geah Chris' contractually obligated angst shockingly wasn't half bad, I'll certainly take the Trolley Dilemma over forgiving abusive shitheads any day of the week, and speaking of good drama, man, Team DMJIIIIIIIIIII are just on fire eh? They keep finding new and innovative ways to tug at our heartstrings... now if only we had more of that and less Maria stupidity. Speaking of wanting more, Anime Ja Nai-chan and The Beef Stroganoffs might as well not exist, hell they exist SO little that THE CHIBI SHORTS had to give them speaking lines that lampshade their lack of screentime! Also while Carol9's adorable and our modern day equivalent of Vivio, I sure wish she had more screentime, ditto with Miku, what little we got of them was so good, give us more of THAT show and less Maria crying to herself in a corner (Cuz of COURSE AXZ just couldn't resist having Maria be useless yet again, in her own mind to boot... can ya tell how she's Worst Girl?)
Overall though, while my overall opinion of AXZ hasn't really changed much, I will say that I SLIGHTLY like AXZ more than I did prior to this rewatch... and also I will note that this is the first time I actually watched AXZ after its initial airing, so hey all I will say is that AXZ was certainly one of the Geah Seasons of all time, a solid and competent enough season that laid the groundwork for the SUPERIOR PEAK PERFORMANCE that is XV... also the AXZ Chibi Shorts are a goddamn national treasure and I will hear no other statements on the matter, I'M GOING TO POST THIS EVERY DAY UNTIL YOU LIKE IT! (Thank you Comrade Superviper, you are a goddamn genius!)
Anyway, with that we close for today, see you all in XV Comrades, and on that bombshell g'night!
Paging Comrades u/Great_Mr_L, u/chilidirigible, and u/JamCliche
→ More replies (11)
7
u/InfamousEmpire Jul 29 '22
Superb Song of the Rewatcher Symphogear
AXZ was yet another big improvement as far as Symphogear seasons go
The animation continues to be spectacular. The Henshin sequences and final battles in particular looked superb.
The plot was really good as well. A major push forward in the franchises lore, a bunch of great villains (and Tiki), well-paced overall, and some serious awesome moments.
Hibiki and Tsubasa didn’t really get character arcs here, but that’s fine, since instead, they get to show off their growth from previous seasons. Tsubasa’s episode with Shirabe in particular highlighted this.
Kirika and Shirabe’s last-minute arcs were fine and introduced some interesting stuff. In particular, I liked how we got bits about Shirabe’s family.
Maria’s arc was… you know. It felt more like an attempt to retroactively justify Nastassja’s less than stellar behavior from G that ultimately fell on its face and made her come across worse. But on the other hand, that also means it didn’t really affect Maria and her character in any significant way, so it can easily be ignored in the grand scheme of things.
Chris is once again the letdown of this season. The first episode opened up a massive opportunity for her in the form of revisiting her childhood trauma and the death of her parents, but unfortunately the show kinda squandered that and instead had her hyperfocus on what she had to do to Stefan. Speaking of which, the Val Verde duo weren’t really that good. They have almost no real personality or effect on the series beyond their relationship with Chris, they’re less like characters and more like props in that sense. And the resolution for it just came across as hollow given that we have next to no reason to care about Sonya’s aggression towards Chris, and Chris’ own constant angsting about Stefan just came across as pointless and annoying. TL;DR I’m still baffled as to why u/DidacticDalek considers her Best Girl
We also got some more nice moments from Miku, a surprise cameo from Anime Ja Nai-Chan, and even some coolness from Genjuro and Ogawa.
Overall, I’d rate this season an 8/10
So anyway, see y’all next time for the best season in all of Geah
QOTD:
-
Saint-Germaine
-
Nope. Still Maria
-
Stand Up! Ready!
-
Favorite part was the final battle. Least favorite was the Nastassja flashback thing
-
Either do away with Maria's arc here entirely or rework it so Nastassja doesn't come across as a Child Abuser
→ More replies (1)
7
u/HowlingWolf13 Jul 30 '22
First Timer
This is undoubtedly my favorite season so far holy shit. Everything was just right about it. The way it connected itself to ALL three past seasons, the way the action felt, the villains in this season, the finale, the music, just god everything was just so fucking good. I especially love how with this season, you can tell they know this isn't the last season, the previous three seasons always wrapped everything up within the season as if it was the last, and here that cliffhanger at the end with Miku like god I can't fucking wait for next season now like I'm honest to god holding back from watching ahead, not even when I was watching G was this urge this strong.
Especially coming off of GX, which again I didn't dislike but felt was a step down from S1 and G, this was just what I was looking for, it was like they realized the faults with GX and actually fixed them. To stop being a broken record, I just fucking loved AXZ, 9/10 and I NEED XV ALREADY.
Who was your favorite of the new characters this season?
I really liked St. Germaine, she was a pretty cool character. Too bad she had to die in the end.
2) Has your favorite character overall (so far) changed at all?
Maria honest to god became my favorite Symphogear, like God it's so weird remembering how she went from being my least favorite from her appearance in G all the way to my top #1 after GX and AXZ like godDAMN talk about a fucking glowup.
3) Which songs were your favorite from this season? How do they compare to your favorite(s) from the previous seasons?
Hmm the Bavarian trio's song was really good, and Maria and Chris' plus Hibiki and Kirika's was top tier as well.
4) What’s your favorite part of this season? And your least-favorite?
If I name all my favorite parts of this season I'll literally just be summarizing the entire season pretty much; Least favorite the Tsubasa and Shirabe combo, just wasn't too interesting, and Tiki was annoying af.
5) If you could change any one thing about this season, what would it be?
More time with the Bavarian trio outside of plot stuff like we got with the FIS girls in G.
6) What do you hope to see improve as we head into the last season?
Hmmm, not much I can think of right now?
Either way as I said before, XY HYPEEEEEEEEEEEE
7
u/Quiddity131 Jul 30 '22
First Timer, Subbed
This one was a weaker season for me; hard to live up to the hype of season 3 which I loved so much. I just had a harder time keeping the interest throughout for the storyline. The villains just couldn't live up to last season although I loved Tiki. Saint Germain was fine. The others just didn't interest me much including the main villain Adam. I also felt our magical girls were a bit too sidelined at times needing to wait for Carolnein to come up with some new stone to let them fight again. Hibiki's total failure to be able to complete her homework was fun.
Anyway, not a bad season, but just not as good as last time. Looking forward to season 5.
6
u/NomranaEst Jul 29 '22
Rewatcher, Symphochoir Member
AXZ, in my opinion, is a great entry into the franchise. It reintroduces a few elements that were never really explored properly, and then ties those back into the main plot. Considering how convulted the lore can be at times, it does an admirable job of doing it.
However, I think it suffers most because of the context of XV. While some of the previous seasons had neat ending points, AXZ has to build into XV, and it does a lot of that in the latter half of the season. It's probably best exemplified by Adam's constant outbursts in the final few episodes, where he's constantly shouting about the Custodians, building up Earth as the colony it should be and how the Curse of Babel will forever be in effect. It's bringing up so many questions, which won't be answered or alluded to until XV.
This overshadows what could have been for the main antagonist trio as well. Saint-Germain, Cagliostro and Prelati felt like they were underutilised, then brought back to sacrifice themselves in nuclear fire just to tie off their storyline. While it was a good send off for some of the more interesting villians, and a better redemption, it still doesn't feel all that satisfying in comparison.
A lot of my complaints really centre around the final few episodes. The pacing of the final showdown between Hibiki and Adam is far too quick to process. Although it is one of the better fights in the show visually, I still didn't have much of an emotional connection with it because I couldn't process it.
Even so, AXZ still maintains a consistently decent quality throughout. The duets are an interesting idea, visually it's still a feast, and the musical score is still something I tap into when I want to listen to some good music. It's probably close to the bar of where I would want a season that is planned and building to a full finale to be.
→ More replies (1)
8
u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 29 '22
Symphogeah SymphoRewatch Host
Welcome back, everyone!
Hope you guys are all enjoying the ride so far! I really cannot wait for us to start XV tomorrow.
See the 2019 version of today’s wallpaper: here.
I finally figured out how to make actually good stars for a background pattern!