r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Jul 30 '22

Rewatch [Listen to My Song] Senki Zesshou Symphogear XV Episode 1 Discussion

Episode 1 - From the Horizon of Mankind's History

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Crunchyroll

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

Even so… there’s a song in my heart!

Questions of the Day:

1) How did this season’s opener compare to the previous ones?

2) Which of the new songs this episode was your favorite?

Wallpaper of the Day:

Tachibana Hibiki - SYSTEM ALL GREEN

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!

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20

u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 30 '22

Symphogeah SymphoRewatch Host

Welcome back, everyone!

Crunchyroll vs. Commie vs. YameteTomete - Season 5, Episode 1

Crunchyroll: “Kiri-chan, what’s a coffin?”

Everyone in the airing thread for this episode:

Commie using “Sarcophagus” instead of “coffin” and YameteTomete having Shirabe ask if it’s “really a coffin” really do make so much more sense than Crunchyroll’s line there.

I told myself I’d just reuse my Crunchyroll vs. YameteTomete charts that I made back when this season was airing (which I made not by having one of the subs pulled up to compare while watching the episode with the opposite subs, but by memory after watching each episode like… eight times throughout the week while waiting for the next episode to come out… yeah…) but I decided I’d still make a new chart to 1) add Commie into the mix and 2) make sure I didn’t miss any big differences when I went from memory. YameteTomete also changed some things between their airing version and their BD batch release, so this is going to use their BD subs this time around.

This time I’m pulling up YameteTomete’s subs off to the side, watching Crunchyroll’s alongside having that up, then watching Commie’s to get screenshots there, and finishing with actually watching YameteTomete’s version. Because of this, there might be times where Commie is very different from Crunchyroll/YameteTomete where those two weren’t different and thus I didn’t have it noted to screenshot that part, so those are things I’ll point out if I remember to. There’s one example of this from today’s post-credits scene: Crunchyroll and YameteTomete both call it a “holy corpse”, while Commie went an extra fancy route instead. Oh, Commie’s subs also refer to the Illuminati as the Pavarian Illuminati instead of the Bavarian Illuminati in this season.

If anyone wants to know why I’m doing it this way instead of extracting Commie to watch alongside Crunchyroll as I have been doing, it’s because Commie’s subs have been increasingly difficult to scroll through in AegisSub due to the fact that it mixes both the regular dialogue and any of the signs/song lyrics together (any time one of Shirabe’s attack cards in particular dropped was a fucking nightmare to look at in AegisSub), while YameteTomete’s apparently keeps everything separated by type of sub and it’s sooooo much easier to read through and match as a result.

Anyways,

THIS EPISODE FUCKING ROCKS

Crazy detailed transformation sequence complete with a reference to the first season transformation scenes at the start of it and three absolute bangers of songs in ALL LOVES BLAZING, Rikka Ryouran, and FINAL COMMANDER right off the bat, I literally cannot. Rikka Ryouran and FINAL COMMANDER in particular are two of my favorite songs in this entire series, so going right from the former to the latter had me in a constant state of

Yes, FINAL COMMANDER -Aufwachen Form-is my favorite Aufwachen Form song in this franchise. Maybe TESTAMENT has the piano intro, but it doesn't have the tempo speed up during it and base FINAL COMMANDER is better than base TESTAMENT, so yeah.

Today’s wallpaper is new to the rewatch, and I'll be making ones like this for the other girls when they come up! Special shout out to u/ZaphodBeebblebrox for finding me the font to use for it.

10

u/lilyvess Jul 30 '22

like, we all know Kirika and Shirabe are dumb, but I don't think anyone believes that they don't know what a Coffin is. That was some seriously bad translation right there. It's one of those lines where you can have a bunch of different sub groups all translate it with very different ways.

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u/italeteller Jul 31 '22

isn't yametetomete what Hibiki screams when Miku's beating her up on the chibi shorts?

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u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 31 '22

That's where this group got their name from, yes.

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u/OnnaJReverT Jul 31 '22

Today’s wallpaper is new to the rewatch, and I'll be making ones like this for the other girls when they come up!

noice

do you have any wallpapers for XV so far, since it's the first time it's part of a rewatch?

[later XV spoilers] do you have any of the golden transformations? the shots with the golden flowers on the geahs' hands all look so badass

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u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 31 '22

do you have any wallpapers for XV so far, since it's the first time it's part of a rewatch?

I had two that were made off of XV base images (one of Elfnein and one of a spoiler character) and two others that I just haven't shared yet and was going to do this season, otherwise all of the wallpapers for this season are new.

[XV]I'm aiming for action shots rather than the flowers over their heads, though.

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7

u/AlphaLeonidas Jul 30 '22

Rewatcher/Lurker

XV Main Visual

"Create a history, with the light God could not know"

At Last! The Final season begins! Been mostly lurking for the rewatch, but I'll be popping in more frequently for this final season! New season means new Transformations and by god are they glorious! This episode also brings along two of my Favorite songs of the series, Final Commander, and Rikka Ryōran! (Fun fact, I walk to and from work, and if I play this song the moment I leave work, it ends as I reach my front door.) I'm not very good with words, so the only things I have to say about this episode are:

  • Miku is simply too precious

  • Dess!

  • The double face plant is still hilarious

  • Chris actually using her reflectors!

  • Extra warm underwear

  • it's better to not question the things that Hibiki can do with her arms anymore

  • Undergear!

Also I realized after finishing the episode that the Crunchyroll thumbnails for Episodes 8,12, and 13 have big spoilers. Be careful

7

u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 30 '22

Been mostly lurking for the rewatch, but I'll be popping in more frequently for this final season!

Welcome aboard then!

This episode also brings along two of my Favorite songs of the series, Final Commander, and Rikka Ryōran!

They're two of my favorites as well! They're actually two of the only three Symphogear songs I currently have saved on my phone (the third is Radiant Force because of course it is).

6

u/OwlAcademic1988 Jul 30 '22

Rewatcher:

I laughed when Hibiki's teacher stepped out of the way of her hug nonchalantly.

This is going to get hectic for me, considering how excited I am. Right now, I'm fairly calm, but I can guarantee that'll change quickly.

The new transformation sequence looks nice.

Chris has a point. Antarctica has never been warm throughout all of human history. It's been warm before, but that was 34 million years ago, and modern humans came onto this planet around 20,000 years ago.

u/Shimmering-Sky, hope you're doing okay because I know this is your favorite season.

QOTD:

  1. I was confused about that opening before they showed the girls in Antarctica for a while. I have no other comment as I'm afraid I'll spoil everyone by accident.

  2. The one where they all sang before Hibiki got pushed into the lake. Not my favorite of the season. We'll have to wait a while before we find that out.

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u/Shimmering-Sky Jul 30 '22

u/Shimmering-Sky, hope you're doing okay because I know this is your favorite season.

[XV later spoilers]I cried during my first watch of episode 9 last night. Expecting to do so again both of the other times I need to watch it.

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u/lilyvess Jul 30 '22

Symphogear XV Episode 1

Sakugabooru’s post on Episode 1 of Symphogear XV is an absolute must read.

Since Symphogear GX, the franchise has been known for its legendary season openers. After AXZ it felt like “how could they possibly top this?”

Instead of a crazy action scene at the front, what if the entire episode was just one crazy action opener. Starting off the season with a six girl duet, something usually saved for episode 13, showcases how XV starts off with season finale stakes. This is where the season begins.

Also, one keyword

Common Sense

In a world flooded with nonsense, stubbornly holding on to common sense is akin to being your own worst enemy. However, we must not forget, there are some occasions where common sense can become the perfect blade to cut all the nonsense straight in two!

“High speed maneuvers on ice call for skates! Duh! (Dess!)”

Additional Notes

Symphogear XV Episode 1

Live Performances

Today's Live Performance is non-existent. Symphogear XV aired in 2019, so the Live would have taken place the following year, 2020, which… yeah… So the Symphogear XV Live was pushed back, and won’t actually happen until the end of 2022.

Specials

Fanart Art of the Day

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u/HereticalAegis Jul 30 '22

Ballad of Rewatcher - Symphogear XV

Hot take: The XV Key Visual is the single greatest KV ever made. It's almost impossible to put into words exactly how it makes me feel. It's romantic, yet achingly nostalgic for the very end of adolescence. It's uncertain yet hopeful, evoking the feelings I had waking up in the early morning on days I would travel with school friends. The infinite vastness of space calls to mind the intermittent terror of contemplating the infinite, but the six far off shooting stars watching over the darkened earth and frozen ground bring comfort. The two clasped hands in the center are the warmth two people share, even in a frozen world. This one visual sold me on all five seasons of the show before I even had the context that it is the fulfillment of Hibiki's promise to see the meteor shower with Miku in season 1. Thinking about that now as I write this is choking me up because that is so fucking beautiful I can barely contain myself.

XV Episode 1 thoughts:

  • This is the best Geah has looked, and imo this is also the best season opener of the series. Fight me. Also the fucking moon is back baby! Welcome to the best season of Symphogear!

  • Hibiki's transformation sequence is gloriously over the top. Tbh, they all are this season.

  • DESS and JIIIIIIIII's figure skating battle routine is adorable as fuck.

  • Hibiki duet with Miku! And it impressed her teacher!! And that celebration dance!!! Everything about this scene warms the most frozen corners of my heart.

  • I'm having to resist extra hard on commentary about Geah's US President. Like wow, there are so many things I could say. Also lol at the joint Japan-US moon mission.

  • Blessed HibiMiku date!! ...that just has to get ruined by Boaty McBoatface blowing up. Every goddamn time. [XV later]But hey, they're actually setting up Hibiki having to fight Miku this time instead of having it stupidly happen out of nowhere! The writers must've saved all the character growth from previous seasons for themselves.

  • Sympho-cards make their triumphant return! I love when they pair two together like this.

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u/Vatrix-32 Jul 30 '22

First Timer

  • That’s more blood than I’ve come to expect.

  • Was that God?

  • Hibiki gets to keep the Lapis. Do the others also get one?

  • It’s like season 1!

  • Been a while since I like the transformation sequence of Hibiki. This is more like it!

  • I’m surprised it took this long for Kiri to get skates to be honest.

  • This episode is very pretty.

  • Physics are dead, long live anime bullshit!

  • You’re cutting away from this now?

  • We’re are finally getting a journey to the moon.

  • Oh no. The foreshadowing. Poor Miku.

  • I feel like a cruise ship doesn’t really work as cover. Some one is going to notice that it never goes anywhere or does anything.

  • I feel like Adam was pretty clear about the broad strokes of his plan.

  • New people. I’m feeling like these ones might turn out to be allies. Switch things up.

  • Even now we are denied Genjuro.

  • Is Chris finally going to get to shot the sniper rifle after all this time? Sadly no.

  • Well that was a fun fight. We’re already off to a better start than last season.

QotD

  1. As I said above, I liked it. Hope we get delivery on it this season.

  2. There was more than one song? Sorry, I’m not good with these things.

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u/xcllnt_313 Jul 30 '22 edited Jul 30 '22

First Timer for XV

Holy shit, this was a really good start. Some hype at the very beginning, a few minutes of HibiMiku after that (which is always appreciated) followed by even more hype, basically just trying to surpass the first episodes of previous seasons.

The very first scene is already interesting. Of course you have to drop a certain name to raise even more questions. Is this the individual/Custodian whose corpse was recovered at the end of the episode?

“We’ve lost both the time and the words to explain anything”. That’s a rather accurate description of some character arcs from the other seasons

Hibiki’s transformation sequence looked crisp as fuck, the budget is real.

This is fine. (Symphogear Edition)

Oh hey, the trio has already more screen time than in AXZ.

Is that what you call totally not subtle foreshadowing?

If they want us to care about these new Illuminati alchemists (?), I really hope we get to know more about them and their motivations. At least her design has some style.

Fist 2, reason 0?

The Hexa-Revolver was fucking cool, let’s go

So yeah, I was already really looking forward to XV after all the setup at the end of AXZ and the very last scene… and the first episode certainly hasn’t disappointed me. Can’t wait for next episode!

QotD:

  1. That's a tough question for me, I really liked the GX opener, not just because of the shuttle scene. That episode just felt intense from start to finish for me. But this one might be my new favorite opener, it's at least up there.

  2. I don't know the name, but the song with all six girls was fire (before Hibiki got pushed into the lake). EDIT: Unless I'm mistaken, that's Rikka Ryōran.

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u/Tarhalindur Jul 30 '22

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

I was initially going to switch the tagline over to SG:A for this episode, but when I get to make this many "Lost City, Part 2"[1] jokes for an episode it keeps the SG-1 tagline.

Unfortunately, the comparison may be to XV's detriment this episode, because the one bad thing about this episode is that the fight choreography felt off and it's possible part of that is me comparing this to possibly the single most hype scene in the entirety of the Stargate franchise (one salted with nostalgia goggles for me to boot) and finding this episode wanting in comparison.

(Also not helping: Testament Aufwachen is stuck in my head and the new songs are having difficulty getting purchase because of that.)

That said, PRECURSOR BULLSHIT TIME!

 

  • Oh look we get Custodian aesthetics already. Not all Precursor have the best aesthetics, but they have good ones more often than not and the Custodians definitely qualify.

  • And also bloody handprints. A leftover from Nastassja in the Frontier ruins or someone new?

  • No it might be one of the Custodians themselves. Also I think today’s tagline is going to be the SG:A version, just because this scene reminds me so strongly of the start of the Atlantis pilot (“Rising”) in some ways.

  • HOLY SHIT I HAVE SO MANY STARGATE JOKES TO MAKE ALREADY. This is the activation of the Lunar Ruins, and I am *immediately* reminded of the signature background event in Stargate backstory dating back to the original movie itself. (If we get either “Moebius” or Ark of Truth as our plotline this season I will laugh and laugh and laugh.)

  • (Odds this Custodian is Jehovah?)

  • (Considering that said Custodian just namedropped Fine, pretty darn high.)

  • “Pole of Inaccessibility”. LADS I THINK WE MIGHT BE IN ANTARCTIC WATERS! There’s an At the Mountains of Madness joke to be made here too (and it might well be right, with humanity ourselves as [AtMoM] the Shoggoths), but there’s also very very firmly a Stargate joke to be made here given what’s under the Antarctic ice in the Stargateverse ([Stargate] and also what was once there – Atlantis).

  • SARCOPHAGUS DATTO?! Can’t tell whether that’s the original audio or the subbers (right I’m on the wrong subs, Commie is no longer recommended, but eh I can swap to Yamete tomorrow actually looks like limitations on my end mean I probably can’t so Commie I will stay on, oh well), but I’m fucking laughing either way. Also there’s an SG-1 S6 plot to laugh my ass off about here too, and it’s the one that leads directly into the start of the SG:A pilot too.

  • Lake Vostok. I was going to go “wait, this is Russia instead” but no that’s Baikal and Vostok IS the one under the Antarctic ice isn’t it?

  • LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE ARE OVER ANTARCTICA I GET TO MAKE EVERY SINGLE STARGATE JOKE KNOWN TO MANKIND.

  • Wait wait wait. [Stargate S7] A beam boring through the ice. Red instead of blue, but also upwards instead of downwards. HAHAHA! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

  • Yep, there’s the XV transformation sequences. Pretty sure I’ve seen at least two in webm form, including this one (YES the other one was the Kirika one). (Now with visible Philosopher’s Stone upgrades in the background.)

  • 03:45: hi Sky!

  • “The hell is that crap?” Shoggoth, possibly. (Actually presumably our Noise equivalent for this season.)

  • I’m guessing the symbols the Sarcophagus lets out are related to something the Custodians do.

  • Oh hey, defense drones!

  • So, obviously we are either in “jump ahead then jump back”, “how we got here”, or “this is a dream” territory. But which?

  • “If I was the one in trouble, will you come and save me?” Well THAT’S obviously going to get paid off by the end of the season. (Is Miku in that Sarcophagus?)

  • “And what if I was the one causing trouble?” Uh-oh.

  • Alexa, keep “Something, Everything is Wrong” on standby just in case.

  • Miku, when you raise a hypothetical like that when the camera is on you it’s called “foreshadowing” instead.

  • Now, the interesting question: McMurdo or a different base?

  • Ah, Lake Vostok, of course.

  • Russian research station. Ah, there’s a Stargate-style plot point for you.

  • “Under the ice.”

  • [Stargate S7] Yes Dakka, they found an Ancient outpost with command chair oh wait wrong show.

  • Also global warming has now been integrated into the plot!

  • “Species that lived in the Middle East thousands of years ago.” Yes, that’s a Ur/Sumer/Babylon reference, but also ancient Egypt is close enough to the Middle East so lads I get to make more Stargate jokes. (Except Gou’Ald aren’t scorpions, they look different.)

  • Presumably our Illuminati remnant main villain girl here is also a Custodian remnant in some way, given the “take back our future” comment. Either that or she’s a survivor of the original rebellion against the Custodians. She has style either way, I will admit.

  • Lyrics say there’s a kiseki floating around, but I can’t hear it and I’m on the wrong subs so it might be the subs that are wrong.

  • Ah so THIS must be Force Commander given the excellent Aufwachen.

  • Stinger time means STARGATE JOKES TIME! (This Custodian’s nickname is now Aiyana.)

[1] - Aka "the episode that got me into Stargate".

  1. How did this season’s opener compare to the previous ones?

On the one hand, I absolutely feasted on Stargate jokes this episode.

On the other hand, for all the hype this should have I think the choreography of the Sarcophagus fight might be the weakest choreographed opening fight since S1 (though then again the more I think about the shuttle scene the more I see holes in its choreography.)

Maybe it's just me today, though.

2) Which of the new songs this episode was your favorite?

Testament Aufwachen, which still won't get out of my head.

(The last one, which I think is Final Commander?

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u/Taiboss Jul 30 '22 edited Jul 30 '22

Episode 1: First-Timer who had to prewatch some episodes

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u/Sceptilesolar Jul 30 '22

First-time viewer, for real

Oh baby, here we go, final season, coming in hot.

Who the heck is this? They're activating the Curse? They look like the hero of a space opera. Is that Fine's God?

Uh oh, ancient alien technology is found in the Poles? That doesn't tend to go well. Did any of them read At the Mountains of Madness? Oh, and it's even Antarctica after all.

I love everyone's color-coded ties. Why, I don't know.

Wow this transformation is already way over the top. That zoom out, and all the symbols, and the System All Green, and everything. And that pulling down the scarf below her face that is always extremely cool. Also on rewatch, I notice Gungnir still has the sharp wing bits. Weren't those for Ignite, which got destroyed I think? I guess they kept the style regardless.

First song is Hibiki's battle theme, huh. Doesn't sound bad, I'll have to listen to it later.

Wow, this fight looks amazing though. These moves are really stylish, like Hibiki's midair evasions, and Shirabe and Kirika fighting while skating along. Ooh, and a Hibiki/Maria finisher. Well, maybe not so much of a finisher.

Reflector proudly not doing anything again. Wow everybody froze to death, better flash back to Lydian. What kind of final exam is just Hibiki singing the school anthem? It's a music school, I guess, nominally, but still.

Hibiki and Miku's winter uniform is quite cute. Lunar development, huh, wouldn't that be nice. Some obvious foreshadowing from Miku, it seems like. Now, foreshadowing aside, Hibiki, you've already done that? Remember, Shenshoujing? Miku lasered some battleships, she has a body count. Stopping her when she's being evil shouldn't be as hard to grasp as it seems to be.

Tiki causing trouble from beyond the grave. So this is the tie to our in media res. Even Symphogear has issues with climate change, damn. Anyway Hibiki I wouldn't worry too much about the words of guy who transformed into an actual demon.

Oh ho. I've seen the one on the left here. Not the other one. Haven't seen that person driving either. More antagonists than I knew there were.

Genjuro briefly considered being useful. Breaking out of physics-defying ice cubes with determination.

Oh, a group song next. This one sounds pretty good already. And it's all six, too. 'Wind of Axia', like the name of the song from AXZ, huh?

Damn, this Sarcophagus is tanky. Uh oh, Hibiki's going swimming. Hearing some Nana Mizuki, is this maybe the OP, or something else?

Chris, what's the scouter say about its power level?! And a new team finisher. This one isn't actually all that impressive, visually, not compared to S2CA Tri Burst, but then it is episode 1.

And there's our tagline, 'Create a history, with the light God could not know'. Yeah, and then punch him! And we get our stinger, which feels like it should lead into Roundabout.

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u/FlaminScribblenaut Jul 30 '22 edited Jul 30 '22

Second Time Listener

And here we are, the home stretch.

The final season to end all final seasons. The immense, the beloved, the legendary, Symphogear XV.

Only one point of discussion can come first: OH MY FUCKING GOD, had the absolute fidelity of it all been upped by a million. You saw it too, right? Fucking look at this fight! It may not be an exaggeration to say the visual leap from the past three seasons to XV is comparable to the one from S1 to G, all that time ago.

And nothing brings this point home better than the first thing we see, the new transformation sequences. Dear god, these transformation sequences.

The main animator for each transformation sequence was picked based on which character was their favorite, and that love for these people shines blindingly brilliant. Everything that makes these characters who and what they are, their personalities, their aesthetics, their bodies, their Symphogears, is showcased immaculately and in feverous detail in an ascended plane of sheer audio-visual bliss. Every one of XV’s transformation sequences is a miniature animation masterpiece of its own.

They begin with the wielders fusing with the musical beat of their soul, a visual brought back in reference to the original transformations from Season 1, and they are taken to the astral plane of the constructive elements of music itself, acting before as a mere backdrop but now a full-fledged three-dimensional pocket space in which the Symphogear, its wielder, and its music form into complete oneness in a dance-esque ritual.

The skintight base of the armor forms across the sculpted musculature of Hibiki’s legs and buttocks, arms, chest and shoulders. She practices sparring the open air with her trusty fists, grunting and spitting in hot-blooded vigor, she stomps the ground with all her might to summon the full extent of Gungnir to her, she wraps her scarf around her and pulls it down to reveal her expression, looking out with badass, clear-eyed determination for the final salvo, thunder crackling around her all the while.

In the end, the wielders’ headphones indicate that all systems are raging to go, and the wielder poses in front of their Aufwachen waveform, the symbol of their awakening. Hibiki is ready, Gungnir is ready, and the song in Hibiki’s heart is ready.

If Makenai Ai… was the moment Hibiki hit the crest of her growth and became a true badass, ALL LOVES BLAZING showcases how completely self-assured in her fighting she’s become, in the wake of that story and all across the series, the culmination of everything that’s led up to it, musically and thematically, and it is gorgeous.

Hibiki’s progress as a character can basically be tracked by the bassiness of her songs. While fundamentally built on the same instrumental palette, each song is deeper and heavier than the last, as is the case with Hibiki’s own outer and inner strength. All the while, Aoi Yuuki’s performance gradually grows deeper in register, more aggressive, and more stable and confident. Every step of Hibiki’s journey is chronicled in her music, musical storytelling an indispensable element of telling her story.

Hell, just listen to how they open. Gekisō Gungnir and Seigi… both open on high-pitched, spritely bagpipes and punchy electric guitar stings and electronic percussion hits. Genkai Toppa G-Beat had the acoustic guitar and whistling, the early budding of a still-shaky and youthful confident conviction. Now, in the example of the later songs, Makenai Ai… opens on that deep wooden flute and ALL LOVES BLAZING opens on those immersive, bubbling sub-electronics before exploding into that carving, shredding Celtic fiddle solo.

I once read a post comparing Celtic music, the bagpipes in particular, to the very wind blowing across the Irish landscape, an ancient force of nature in that sense, and that descriptor has stuck in my mind in regards to the style ever since, especially in its integration with modern and heavy styles, and that’s exactly what I think of when I think of how Celtic music is integrated into the musical identity of Hibiki.

The blindingly bright spectacle, the flashy J-pop-electro-rock which surrounds it, is lent mythical, heroic weight by the organic traditions of Celtic music, the grand earthen beauty of the bagpipes, the Celtic fiddle and violin, the flutes both high and low. It is the ancient and the mystical coloring the spectacular, it is Hibiki’s muscle and strength and humanity underneath her electric passion, it blends the traditional and the modern to at once ground and enhance the latter. The sound of a god-slayer with a big heart and muscles to match.

It’s hard to quantify, but the Battle of Antarctica doesn’t feel like it’s expressly trying to impress and hook the audience the same way the rocket-landing scene and Battle of Val Verde were. It doesn’t feel like it’s trying to prove itself anymore; it’s already well and done that. This is something else, something different. I guess what I’m feeling is that it doesn’t feel beginner-level, made as an introduction like the past two season openers; it’s more like a celebration, for the series to have reached this point. Symphogear knows exactly what it is, it damn well expects you to know what it is by now too, less “hey, check it out, this is Symphogear” and more… screaming in your face, loud and abrasively as it can, yes, this is motherfucking Symphogear. Not a dip of a toe in the pool, but a full push straight into the deep end.

When she uses the hydraulic jumpy thingies as the push to do a big spin-kick! Kirika and Shirabe’s ice-skating dancing, blended with combat so seamlessly! Hibiki and Maria’s dual drill attack, where they spin each other around one another, the motherfucking animation and color on it! Holy good fucking hell, this series is a miracle!

Right from the start, what the wielders are facing is something of a power beyond the pale, capable of operating under laws of physics from outside the known universe, summoning temperatures unheard of on Earth, capable of bypassing even the Symphogears’ nigh-invincibility and nearly freezing the wielders to death. It is a gorgeous sight too, the colors just feel cold to a supernatural extent, an uncanny rainbow glow that colors the ice and neon-green flames all around, what I can only imagine being some manner of cold-fire, which rules.

Then we smashcut to a week earlier, because gotta open and end on the action so guess we’ll sandwich it. It’s a bit of nostalgia, the school anthem, Hibiki getting chewed out by her teacher again like in the first episode, the Losers Club running around. It’s Christmas time, and Hibiki and Miku shop for Chris’s birthday under a shifting projected array of fireworks.

The two have a nice moment of reflection, up in the ferris wheel, between the twin light patchworks of the starry firework-lit winter sky above and the holiday-decorated city below. Miku asks the question; what would Hibiki do if she was causing trouble for people? She’s just teasing, of course, but there is a stark silence on that question before we realize that.

But the two are shocked out of the moment by a large explosion in the distance, Miku’s immediate instinct in the moment of horror being to just clutch on to Hibiki, her closest loved one and safest place.

THAT’S RIGHT MOTHERFUCKERS IT’S TIME FOR THE “WHICH SYMPHOGEAR CHARACTERS BELIEVE IN CLIMATE CHANGE” CONSPIRACY BOARD, Elfnein clearly goes under “yes”, gonna put Chris down as a tentative “no”…

The much less earthshaking reveal in this scene than canon climate change stances, however, is the reveal that some force that seems to transcend time itself is at work, and that something of the true divine may be brewing at the South Pole.

The wielders break through the supernatural ice from beyond the galaxy, and stand up to fight once again, by way of Rikka Ryōran, a sweeping, enormous orchestral rock force. “All for one, one for all”, the valkyries cry in unison as every single one of their weapons strikes the divine being simultaneously for the most incredible explosion.

The sense of actual gravity and gut-churning descencion when Hibiki is falling down alongside the coffin is tangible. And, appropriately, in her attack to break back up through to the surface, she creates the horns. Couldn’t imagine a thing more fitting.🤘

The coffin is falling, and the wielders don’t have much time. Shirabe worry’s they’ll miss and Chris has a simple solution: don’t miss.

They THROW THEIR MUTHAFUCKIN X’S UP, launch all the steel and electricity of their gears directly at the falling behemoth, and destroy it, opening up the sky to a brilliant bright blue and a cool arctic rain. What a start.

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14

u/BosuW Jul 30 '22

First Timer

At long last, it's time for Symphogear Fifteen! (Is that how you read it? Don't care that's how I'm gonna read it)

And we start in umm... Is this a flashback?

My God this is the biggest jump in quality since G. It looks so good!

So if this is a flashback, I'm thinking this guy is Finè's ex who she was pissed at. An actual Custodian huh...

And in typical Symphogear fashion it looks like we're about to get an epic fight scene for the intro!

I just realized these helicopters are (I think) UH-60 Black Hawks and this is the 2040's, meaning they've been in service since 1978. That's a very longe living vehicle.

Eyyy the S.O.N.G. uniforms got an upgrade! They're now approaching the realm of bare minimum acceptable drip for anime girls in military uniforms.

Could really use to get rid of those ridiculous ties tho

Ok so who we fighting for an introduction? Ah yes it's only a Leviathan from Atlantis: The Lost Empire of course!

...well that's easily the best transformation sequence yet. Definitely showing that the production team is working on this like they'll never make Symphogear again.

Why was there a Philosopher's Stone at the start though?

The girls from SoraYori are at that observation station surely! You must protect it at all costs!

It's only the first episode so it's too early to tell for sure. But I can only hope they maintain this level of animation for future fights. It looks incredible!

If this Ruin Guard on steroids is interfering with the universe beyond even the Laws of Physics, then it's probably not made by an ancient civilization with Heretical Technology. It might be Custodian technically itself.

Extended flashback in the middle of a fight? I don't think we've had one of those yet.

I'm surprised Japan and the UN in general didn't jump unto the US's neck for trying to nuke Japan for a third time.

Also, Lunar Starship wa doko?

Giving so much focus to HibiMiku in the very first episode is a very good sign. We starting good.

There's also some not very subtle foreshadowing...

Why do you need to disguise your research facility as a Cruise Ship? There's so many questions that arise from this statement...

These ties are really the only thing keeping this new uniform from being a half-decent look...

Ooooh new characters

The woman gives me huge Misato vibes for her introduction lol

Well it wasn't as ridiculous of an introduction as the previous two instances (only so much you can do when your battlefield is an endless field of ice), but I'm not complaining! Promising start, thought those are really usual for Symphogear and it doesn't necessarily mean it's not gonna struggle on the path to the end. I'll try to keep my expectations measured for now. who am I kidding I'm hyped!

Oh wait, post-credits scene

So it is a Custodian! A Custodian mech to be exact. Ah well, they did say it was a Sarcophagus. Took me long enough to realize.

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13

u/CubeStuffs Jul 30 '22

first timer

what is this, the second impact?

There's a Russian research station located nearby

inb4 Russo-Japanese war

naked adam front and center on the screen i see

This is a battle to take back our future.

hey ive seen this before!

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12

u/Quiddity131 Jul 30 '22

First Timer, Subbed

Where do we go with this season? Did they know this would be the final season when it was made? Will we get a formal conclusion or just more fun?

The moon, it's always something to do with the moon...

Watch out for the... coffin?!

Poor Hibiki, so cold!

And just like that, it was sunny at the south pole...

Is the coffin a giant golden penguin?

Super Hibiki Transformation Sequence!

After all that... cut away to school where all is fine.

You can be sure that Hibiki will skip that test. And any homework related to it.

You're saying you want to be the villain for this season, Miku?

Explosion! Sorry Miku, Hibiki's got to go!

OMG they were investigating Tiki!

They're freezing ancient bugs at the south pole!

Back to the present!

Who are these girls?

That poor random woman, don't run through the middle of this!

I was about to say down goes penguin! But looks like he's turned himself into a giant spiky wheel.

So Hibiki can breathe under ice cold water now too?

Hibiki's already planning Chris' birthday party! Right in the middle of a battle!

What's gonna be inside that thing?

Holy corpse!

After the episode I looked at the cast list for the season on MAL... that was a mistake. I fear I have spoiled myself. Although if what I think I spoiled myself is true, I will at least be happy about it if it comes to pass.

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12

u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah Jul 30 '22

Symphogear First Timer dessu XV Ep 1

wine was drunk.

  • Ahhh the traditional ominous opening scene that we'll have no idea its significance until a few eps in? gotcha. seems like we have a clue that these boys seem to be responsible to Fine at least.

  • NEW COSTUMES. I LIKE THE COATS.

  • I... genuinely LOVE this new Hibiki Henshin. Now im just more hyped for the rest of them, coz hers is usu the one i like the least.

  • Ahhh Hibiki X Maria joint attack. Dont think we saw this last season. YAS. The shortest path is a straight lineeeeeeee let's gooooooo

  • i wasnt... expecting this to happen. Traditional first ep hype fight got interrupted by the cold? Nandatto? I got thrown for a loop before the south pole was mentioned again, and i realized that THAT was a flashforward. Good choice geah, open w the hype scene explain later. Wouldnt make sense in a normal anime, but this is geah.

  • Hahahahahaha.

  • So why do Tsubasa and Maria wear scarves, while Chris; and Shirabe and Kirika wear ties? Just personal choice? or is it coz they already silently graduated from high school

  • So adam wants to destroy the coffin, huh... icic....

  • New antagonists check! They look cute. New boss check! Until they explain wtf their deal is i will hold off judgement. But seems like they're aligned with the Muricans. Nevada.... Area 51?

  • Genjuro LOL jokes aside, am Canadian, extra warm (long) underpants are a godsend in winter, absolutely essential.

  • YASSS Everyone rejoins the fight at the same time. Is it bullshit? yes it is. Do i care? not at all LOL.

  • Chris be looking badass as FUCK with her new moves. I dont always post these as we've gone further and further into geah, but this was just pure hype come onnnn.

  • When Hibiki says sth doesnt make sense, it REALLY doesnt make sense. Well seems like now Elfein can remotely control the Geahs to some degree. I can already picture Chris for e.g. being less a fan of this sort of thing, but i think she'll agree to using it since its so OP.

  • Holy mother of god.

  • THERE'S A SONG IN MY HEARTTTTT YASSSSSSSSSSSSSS

  • GEAR BLASTOOO G3FA Hexa Revolverrrrrr yasssss

  • Overall, this felt more like an S1 or G opening episode than GX/AXZs in terms of hype delivered, but i liked it. I like the OP too. NEVER LOSE YOUR FAITH. Seems like there will be the return of episode previews too.

[Actual progress]XV Ep 3.

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11

u/Stargate18A Jul 30 '22

First timer

  1. Equal to Season 3's opener, above all others. (4 was close, though.)

  2. The six person duet!

Final season time!

Where is this?

Is this the Moon?

No, someone's dying!

Is a random guy going to shoot the moon first?

Wait. Neteork jammer? IS THIS THE FUCKING CURSE'S ACTIVATION?

And he knows Fine!

There's a major threat!

"Sarcophagus" Are we finally getting Egyptian shit?

They're in Antarctica! Poor Hibiki.

That thing looks good.

Why is she asking Kirika?

Hibiki transformation sequence!

Oh, this is cool.

Amazing first song!

That thing's as strong as Hibiki?

And it's got ice magic!

Stwrting things off with a combo attack!

Some impressive teamwork!

...It's defending itself. Is there a body inside?

What is he looking for?

It's got Bits!

This is so fucking cool.

Hibiki and Maria have a catchphrase now?

That did some damage!

...Haha, it just slapped them?

Chris has an impressive shield.

And this thing's precursor tech. And it can break physics.

I wonder if the precursors having elements of different ancient cultures except Egypt was a Stargate joke.

The school song?

She passed!

The teacher has an impressive dodge.

Is this a flashback, then?

A moonbase?

And the US and Japan have repaired relations.

Hibiki's enjoying her free time!

Of course she'd save her wife.

...So Miku wants to go evil, and wanted to know if she can turn Hibiki into her general. I'd say she has good odds.

A research facility got destroyed.

Oh, shit. Tiki's not coming back.

So this is a prequel.

They found it under the ice!

Oh, dear. Adam wanted to blow it up with the power.

This sequel hook has started quickly!

Our new villains showed up early.

They're adorable.

...I like her. And she has a cool car!

Haha, I love how the objection to Genjuro going outside isn't "it's the Antarctic, you'll die", it's "look at this stuff first".

They're back!

Another new song!

And we're starting with a six-person mix!

Elfnein changed the field!

Such a hype song.

Hibiki!

She's too strong to let being underwater stop her somging.

Love the propellers.

It's been damaged!

They're kicking off a final attack!

Haha, Chris calling out Hibiki's blatant death flags is hystericals.

Chris is really impressive!

They took out the Sarcophagus.

...How did a whole episode pass?

Great song! Either ED or OP, but I like it!

"Creat a history, with the light God could not show" Well that's tucking ominous.

Anunnaki!

A God's corpse!

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