First Impressions / Senki Zesshou Symphogear

「夜にすれ違う」 (Yoru ni Surechigau)
“Passing in the Night”

It’s one thing to take away my Mizuki Nana/TWO-MIX anime after the premiere, but it’s another thing altogether to replace it with a crossover of Madoka Magica and BLOOD-C. Thanks to the seiyuu, I’m finding it hard to “unsee” the obvious similarities between Madoka in Hibiki and Saya in Tsubasa. The former is the unexpected heroine who’s at a loss over what she’s gotten herself into but still wants to help out however she can, whereas the latter is previously emotional heroine who’s resigned to being the “sword” that cuts down evil without question. The end result is interesting to say the least, and I don’t mean that in a negative sense. What I was most worried about last episode was Hibiki taking over the show as Kanade’s replacement and Tsubasa taking a backseat as her mentor, so I was quite pleased to learn here that Tsubasa’s misdirected anger toward Hibiki hasn’t shown any signs of letting up just yet. If anything, the situation has worsened, which as sadistic as it may sound, actually bodes well for me as the viewer.

I’ll be quick to admit that I much preferred the Symphogear that we got in the premiere over the show we’re getting now, as I like the idea of Tsubasa as the main heroine over Hibiki. There’s just something much more appealing about seeing her as a dependent person rather than the stoic person she is now, even though the changeover is what’s driving the story at the moment. What’s more, Hibiki feels like a pretty poor replacement for Kanade, which befittingly enough, makes it easier to understand where Tsubasa’s coming from. As such, any initial failure for them to get along is welcome in my books, as it provides a much more balanced depiction of both their characters. It also provides a lot more character development, beyond Hibiki’s lapses of insanity where she seems to lose control to the Gungnir relic. There’s little doubt in my mind that they’ll eventually get along, especially with a surprisingly powerful Genjuurou seeing that it happens, so it’s good to see the writers take a slightly less conventional route to get there.

To that end, I can appreciate what the series is going for by starting off with the tragic loss of Kanade and bringing in Hibiki to try and fill in some irreplaceable shoes. The only thing that has me going back to the original Zwei Wing duo and considering what the show could’ve been like with just the two of them is how awesome Kanade was made out to be in only a single episode. How things have progressed since then is hardly disappointing, since Kanade’s effect on the story is felt throughout. In addition, the actual plot surrounding Symphogears has made more headway with mention of the Sacrist D, a.k.a. Durandal, relic that the Mobile Disaster Prevention Unit is banking its hopes on by having Tsubasa use one day against the Noise. We also have the United States involved in some way, trying to get their hands on Durandal themselves as per the Japan-US Security Treaty that I mentioned in the Winter 2012 Preview.

So amidst the common threat to mankind, there appears to be a conspiracy of sorts concerning who wants to possess the ultimate countermeasure against the Noise. I gather that’s where the lavender-haired girl we see in the opening and ending sequences comes in. She wields the Nehushtan relic that was (presumably) energized via “Sonophonic Gain” two years ago during Zwei Wing’s final concert, so the obvious implication is that the United States may have used that Noise attack to obtain a Symphogear for themselves. In any case, our new mysterious character is only credited as the “Armor Girl” (Takagaki Ayahi) but listed third only behind Hibiki and Tsubasa, so it’s probably safe to assume that we’ll be seeing a lot of her in this series.

* I loved the instrumental version of the Zwei Wing’s “Gyakkou no Flugel” that was played during the rainy scene and flashback.
* Full-length images: 01, 04, 10, 14, 32, 33, 36.

 

60 Comments

  1. One thing that would make this series interesting : Kill more characters, particularly the commander, the annoying guy who just so happens to have some otherwordly talents

    I find Tsubasa annoying. There’s just too many characters like her. Although characters like Hibiki are starting to grow in numbers.

    Alec
    Reply

  3. Yeah yeah, there IS some glimpse of Evangelion ion this Show 🙂 Was not the “Outside” ones that send the other cloned Angels, to destroy the Facility. And here is the UN and USA these “outside” Force.

    But yes, hope they stay to much on the “self finding/self forgiving” Story of these 2 Main Persons. Hibiki to find herself the Place, where she fighting/protect for. Tsubasa for not forgiving that Hibiki took Kanades place

    Well, time will tell
    And again the Black Box, is again the Key (blablabla Armor.. and we saw these “Black Box” again for a Glimpse)

    Germanguy
    Reply

  6. Did anyone else notice how bad the animation quality was when Tsubasa was walking down the hall with her manager? I thought maybe the anime makers middle school kid got to animate that scene. Hopefully we never see bad animation like that any more.

    I still like this series anyways.

    Karmafan
    Reply

    5. I think, it was Deadline stress

      or they deleted or changed the Storyline, and they haven’t enough time to redo/fill it with animations, until deadline

      or Perhaps they got slowed out because of Earthquake things and so on

      As long as they dont fall down, for the rest of this show. i am fine with that

      Germanguy
      Reply

  7. I usually don’t mind or notice bad animation in anime. I understand they take shortcuts in animation because of tight budgets but… that scene with Tsubasa and the manager walking was animated like a paperdoll puppet show. It looked hilariously janky.

    Chillax Mang
    Reply

  9. Soooo…. we didn’t get a berserk Hibiki when her power awoke but she went berserk because she couldn’t hang out with her (girl)friend? Seems a little disproportionate.

    QUALITY moments aside (that walking scene was just painful to watch), that story is at least interesting if a little derivative. I like that it is at least showing Hibki’s normal life getting affected by her heroics. Tsubasa is still being unpleasant though, trying to actually kill her was just a dickish thing to do.

    fragb85
    Reply

    1. It’s quite understandable for me since she(Hibiki) is so worn out, Tsubasa hate her and not even trying to hide that fact and in this episode she couldn’t kept the promise she gave to her best friend because she has to go protecting this world. (lol)

      Sure it’s not a good improvement for one’s life, her daily life is completely ruined.

      I wished that I could see Tsubasa wrecks some machine in every episode just like how she fashionably kamikaze-s her bike last week. Such a disappointment that there wasn’t any in this episode :-\

      Silver
      Reply

  11. I confess I’m having a very opposite reaction to yours, Div. I don’t mind that Kanade isn’t the MC and I think Yuuki Aoi is doing a phenomenal job.. Her relationship with Miku is the most interesting one in the series for me..

    In terms of the comically bad animation during the manager scene, yes – it was hideous. But this show has been on a panic schedule – first ep was finished 30 minutes before airing. Hopefully they’ll get caught up..

    Guardian Enzo
    Reply

    3. Well, that explains the “reuse” or Attacking Animations. But i dont mind, Tsubasa will not gain in every Episode new Attacks that need new Animations. As long they dont overuse it, to fill the Time-frame (5 Minutes Attack animations for an 20 Mins Episode, you get it?)

      Germanguy
      Reply

  12. could the noise be familiars of a yet to be revealed antagonist? and what happens to relic users that have gone beyond hope? will they turn into the yet to be revealed antagonist?

    AHAHAHAHAHAH

    c2710
    Reply

  13. could the noise be familiars of a yet to be revealed antagonist? and what happens to relic users that have gone beyond hope? will they turn into the yet to be revealed antagonist?

    AHAHAHAHAHAH

    c2710
    Reply

      3. Yeah the whole sword thing was making me think wtf. Kanade should obviously know thats out of her league in terms of power. I was wondering if perhaps the symphogear would absorb the damage instead of seriously injuring/killing Hibiki.

        Shin
        Reply

    2. Kanade was her Shining Knight, for Tsubasa. She gave her Hold in time she needed it.. Just see the 1 Episode again at the Start. Kanade is there the Pro, and encourage Tsubasa and give her “Fighting Spirit”

      Germanguy
      Reply

  18. “To that end, I can appreciate what the series is going for by starting off with the tragic loss of Kanade and bringing in Hibiki to try and fill in some irreplaceable shoes. The only thing that has me going back to the original Zwei Wing duo and considering what the show would’ve been like with just them is how awesome Kanade was made out to be in only a single episode.”

    What would the show had been if Kanade was still alive ? Probably better than what we have right now. I’m sorry, but I need to voice my opinion, no matter how blunt it’s gonna be.

    First off, Kanade sacrificed herself in the first episode to destroy a bunch of noises. However, the other two characters keep warding roughly the same number of noises without any problems, including equipment malfunction. She’s supposed to be the strongest member of the team… and yet she can’t handle the job unlike Hibiki who’s a complete n00b and she’s fighting noises like it’s a walk in the park. Furthermore, Kanade had problems with a complete relic, and yet Hibiki has no problems with a shattered one ? How does that work again ?!?

    Second, a character death should be shocking and memorable… yet it mustn’t be wrongly portrayed. I’ve seen bunch of series where special characters are killed in the first episode. Here’s the catch, they are not the main characters. They aren’t portrayed as such, they don’t get any attention on websites or TV ads. However, Kanade was CLEARLY shown in the promo and is still shown on the website, but she’s out of the picture. WTF ?!?

    Third, her death could have been easily replaced by something less shocking but still manageable for character development. How about that when she used a non-death-dealing swan song (I don’t know, like a very high note), all the noises get vaporized, but her relic gets shattered (losing her powers… and the fragments get into Hibiki’s chest) and her voice box gets punctured (losing her ability to sing properly after healing)? What would that do, you might ask ? Well, Tsubasa could still be depressed for losing Kanade as a fighting comrade, but not as a friend, mainly because she told her NOT to use that attack; she could still be pissed off at Hibiki for getting Kanade’s powers; she could still be angered at Hibiki for pestering her to be her partner, because the powers Hibiki wield is not hers; she could still be a solo signer because Kanade couldn’t sing anymore. Kanade could still be working outside of battle with the rest of the team… but her death is almost like that they couldn’t think of anything else.

    Finally, Hibiki is barely tolerable. Seriously, the “airheaded-n00bish-school-girl-with-no-training-with-powers” archetype has been done countless times… and they didn’t fixed it here… again. At first, I thought that both Hibiki and Miku were holding the secret of Kanade’s and Tsubasa’s powers and I thought both of them would be secondary characters. You know the rest of the story.

    Thumb me down if you wish, I don’t care… this series has a major problem with the characters, and they better fix it soon or else brace yourself of a trainwreck.

    JiCi
    Reply

    1. I still find it hilarious how butthurt people are over them killing the “main character”, including the fantastically ridiculous accusastions of “false advertising”.

      Kanade was never the main character. Fucking deal with it.

      (she’s also no more “original” a character than Hibiki is. Different, sure, but there are tons of characters like her)

      Fencedude
      Reply

    2. To sum up: “The show isn’t the way I WANTED IT!”

      I’m with Fence here. Kanade is no longer important other than being a plot device for Tsubasa’s angst and Hibiki’s powers. She was NEVER meant to be a main characters and it was never false advertising. I don’t even get where this praise of Kanade comes from when she barely had 10 minutes of screentime. Hardly enough to get a proper read on her chracter.

      Kanade is DEAD. She has passed on. This person is no more. She has ceased to be. She’s expired and gone to meet her maker. She’s a stiff bereft of life. She rests in peace. If she didn’t shoot herself, she’d be pushing up daisies. Her metabolic processes are now history. She’s of the twig. She’s kicked the bucker. Shuffled off the mortal coil. Run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. She is an ex-person.

      Get over it.

      fragb85
      Reply

      1. Should have added, I totally agree with all 4 of your points JiCi, your responses are similar to mine in how much better the show could have been if we just avoided the whole Hibiki n00b arc and built straight from Kanade’s excellent start and gotten right down to the story and characters and world and Symphogear and Noise plots.

        DangerMouse
        Reply

  23. So I’m the only one who thinks the production committee sat down for this one and said “Say, what do you think would happen if we crossed Evangelion with Macross?”

    I mean the parallels are so strong. We have an underground fortress where there is something supernatural/spiritual even deeper down that foreign forces don’t trust the organization with. We have waves of things coming at us again and again. We have a tormented central character who occasionally goes into Berserk mode (ok I see bits of Shinji in both the main characters right now, but still). And the solution to everything is to sing.

    NaweG
    Reply

    1. I think the only macross aspect is the singing. I think there is no real comparison to Evangelion yet. My only issue with the series is that Mizuki Nana’s singing seems kind of out of place coming from Hibiki’s normal voice.

      Shin
      Reply

  24. lol that hallway scene is hilarious. It felt like they forgot they needed to animate that scene and then threw it together five minutes before they turned it in.

    I’m definitely getting the feeling that Hibiki’s crazy mode is just on big troll. It turned on and off for no reason at all and very quickly at that too. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if that plot line just disappears from the show with no explanation. I could be wrong, in fact I hope I’m wrong, but I just really feel like it’s a dead end plot thread.

    W.Wolf
    Reply

  27. Lol, the ossan should be fighting the Noise with his ubergodly skills. I thought that was hilarious when all it took to get Tsubasa out of the sky was a ground punch wave.

    Hibiki’s so cute! Though whether or not she’ll mature as the series progress is something I’d like to see. As well as Tsubasa dealing with her past and reconciling with Hibiki.

    Berserker-Hibiki ftw!

    Islidox
    Reply

  28. Poor Hibiki, its the Peter Parker curse. The masquerade is already killing her love life. And for sure things will go worse.
    And if the first minutes of the 1st episodes doesnt lie to us… poor, poor Miku. And Hibiki. T_T

    rincewind
    Reply

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