DESCRIPTION

CAST

ANIME ActionSenki Zesshou Symphogear G
MANGA ActionSenki Zesshou Symphogear

REVIEWS

• 

  fulgur

  77/100
  Start with idol singers. Add yuri and elements from TTGL, Madoka Magica, and Blue Exorcist and blend on high.

  This review contains spoilers. Any spoilers beyond the first episode are marked with spoiler tags. It's also my first anime review, plz dun hurt me ;-;

   

  Overall Thoughts / TL;DR

  Symphogear is a fun, music-heavy anime that blends a lot of generic action elements together in a new way. Though it has some darker moments, it is overall a light, fun anime that can be enjoyed by anyone who can read subs (obviously it would be difficult to sub an anime where the characters sing for a massive portion of the anime). I would only recommend avoiding this if you don't care for Japanese singing.

  First Impressions

  I found the first episode to be a strange mixture of happy scenes and disturbing, dark scenes. Particularly the initial transformation sequence of the main character at the end of the episode invokes a knee-jerk gag reaction due to the body horror involved. (Luckily, this is the only time that brutal sequence is shown.) I wondered if the series was trying too hard to be tragic.
  
  does this look like a normal transformation sequence to you?

  I had heard the music was good but even so it exceeded my expectations. Animation and art seemed pretty decent quality too. The first episode managed to hook me in, despite the aforementioned shortcomings. I wondered if it may not be so trashy after all.

  Setting

  Sympogear is set in a more-or-less modern Japan. The primary differences are the existence of powerful 'relics' which can be awakened through song, and the existence of eldritch abominations called 'Noise'. The noise are impervious to conventional weaponry and turn humans to ash on contact, so battle songstresses wielding relics manifested as weapons and armor do battle with them. Anime being what it is, only grade-school girls are 'compatible' with relics.

  Major Characters

  In order of introduction, more or less. Names written in Last First format.

  Kohinata Miku -- Hibiki's roommate and close friend. Tends to serve the token normal girl and emotional support roles. Has several small yuri moments with Hibiki, if you're into that sort of thing.

  Tachibana Hibiki -- The main protagonist. Although she's not exactly a reluctant hero, Hibiki's primary motivation is to protect her normal life. Although she has no qualms about mowing down Noise, she becomes distressed if her opponent is human, attempting to reason with them and only fighting if forced to. Although powerful, she is not a 'Mary Sue' character as she has her weak points -- just don't expect them to get in the way too much unless diverted by villain plot armor. Unlike the other relic wielders, she cannot summon a weapon and thus learns martial arts to be able to fight

  Kazanari Tsubasa -- The first relic user, who wields a sword-themed relic. Cold exterior, due to seeing herself as a human weapon rather than a human being. Also seems especially hostile towards Hibiki due to Kanade effectively sacrificing herself to protect Hibiki. Later makes it up to Hibiki and becomes a close partner.

  Kazanari Genjuro -- Commander of the Noise-fighting organization, and a fatherly figure to the relic users that work for it. A training maniac that appears to have an obsession with Bruce Lee movies, he's so ridiculously strong he could easily have been the protagonist, ace, or primary antagonist of a shounen anime.

  Yukine Chris -- The first human antagonist introduced. An underling that works for 'Finé', she appears to have the ability to summon and control the Noise. Tsundere personality. She later flips sides after Finé disposes of her.

  Finé -- The primary antagonist. Her plan is initially unclear, but seems to both require relics and can be impeded by them. Can summon and control the Noise. It is later revealed that her soul has taken over the body of the primary researcher that aids the protagonists, and that her plan is to destroy the moon in order to lift the curse of confusion that has been cast on mankind.

  Character Quality

  Although I can't call the cast original by any means, they're certainly fun. In other words, though the originality is low, the execution was very good. I believe most audiences can empathize with them well enough to care about them, even the villains to an extent. Character development is at an acceptable level for a show of this length, but nothing to rave about Character Score: 82/100

  Plot

  This is the main area the show suffers in. However, it is not terrible, simply rather generic. The blandness is somewhat offset by the characters dealing with events in a reactionary manner for most of the show: the protagonists don't know or, perhaps, pretend not to know who their enemy is, and thus have to react to threats as they appear. However, this is somewhat diminished once the primary antagonist shows her face -- aside from a few small hiccups, like Hibiki going into an animalistic berserk mode, the plot becomes more or less predictable. However, excluding the ending, there is virtually no deus ex machina, and they don't use too many cheap plot devices. Plot Score: 52/100

  Animation

  A good point for the show. Animation is fairly smooth, without any noticeable inconsistencies. The concert in the first episode and the battles throughout the series stand out in particular. It's not on the level of, say, Unlimited Blade Works or Onepunch-man, but it's definitely up there. Animation Score: 85/100

  Sound

  As expected from an anime called more or less 'Swan Songs of the Valkyries', Symphogear's music is simply phenomenal. Particular tracks worth noting are 'ORBITAL BEAT', 'Gyakkō no Flügel', and 'Gekisō Gungnir'. Music Subscore: 100/100

  Music isn't the only component of sound though. Sound effects are about average. Nothing to complain about, but nothing that stands out from the crowd. Voice Acting is a little harder to judge. On one hand, the seiyuus are excellent. They have to be in a show where the characters sing as they fight. On the other hand, the writers made the always questionable decision to use English for foreign characters... and proceeded to fail miserably. So badly, I suggest having your finger over the mute button for some episodes. Thankfully this only happens in a couple episodes, and the later installments in the franchise drop Engrish in favour of magically making everyone speak Japanese, much to everyone's relief. Voice Acting and SFX subscore: 85/100
  Sound Score: 90/100

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• 

  Heinzes

  74/100
  Fists and feelings. A fresh enough take on an all too familiar idea.

  Heinzes' 2010s Anime Cleanup Series #3

  ---

  __minor spoilers within, consider yourself warned__ >Don't give up on living!

  Senki Zesshou Symphogear is not the kind of show which immediately inspires particularly deep reflection unto itself, but it's brisk pace, hooky premise, and overblown action and drama most certainly cover for that. On the point of “immediacy,” the show delivers quite strongly as entertainment, and managed to surprise me with the amount of thought and thematic threads I was able to pick out with the reflection required to write this review.

  The series functions as a kind of amalgamation of elements from mecha/sci-fi, magical girl, and idol/music anime influences. As such, the series derives some of its appeal from a fairly unique fusion of elements from these genres, though this also means, inversely, that the story beats will ring very familiar and perhaps a tad predictable to anyone familiar with the typical structures of said genres.

  Any feelings of not being particularly dazzled or impressed by the plot or narrative structure aside, it becomes more apparent that the series’ strongest intervention is in the category of its characters, and further the ways in which they play off each other in their consistently escalating situation. The cast is largely endearing, covering all the archetypes you might expect in a show like this in fine form. Our heroine Hibiki proves to present an interesting intervention for the typical magical girl protagonist; with the way her character arc confronts her reasons for fighting and wanting to protect others, we see an interesting and all too rare reconciliation between her altruistic and her more self-centered personal desires to preserve friendships and that which is of importance to her specifically.

  Really, if the show can be said to be about anything in particular - aside from the literal plot of transforming singer-heroines who fight techno-drone/alien/mutant monsters - it would probably be about reconciling differences in perspective. This potentially could link the text of this show into a broader philosophical/political discussion about mutualism (though not with any clear gesture toward the conceptualizing of anarchist polities). However, the way in which Symphogear embraces emotional realities and the impact of immaterial abstractions builds towards a satisfying, if somewhat narratively predictable, example of a high-octane action series. Any tangential thought experiments or suppositions it could lead any theory/philosophy nerd like myself down are purely secondary.

  ---

  Final Grade: B-

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• 

  CyberSage999

  51/100
  An ok start to a really enjoyable series that can take itself too seriously at times

  Some spoilers for S1, but not major spoilers. Heavy spoilers for Episode 1 tho.

  I think I can say with complete confidence that I have never seen a show quite like Symphogear, and I do mean that every way possible. Despite the tags it has on MAL and Anilist, it is technically not a mahou shoujo in the traditional sense. Its technical term is mecha musume, where mechanical elements are used to enhance the transformations of the girls, which makes sense because we see all these kinds of machines and different weapons be used constantly throughout the series. From sawblades, to a giant scythe, to giant swords with boosters on them, and so on. One of the girls even uses guns and rockets as weapons, but you can also give monsters the middle finger by just punching them good. The gears that the girls use is called Symphogears, or relics that can be used by singing to activate them and even increase their powers, even if it could lead to their own death if the situation calls for it.

  The reason why I decided to watch this show from beginning to end is because after I finished the wonderfully tranquil and emotional Aria series, I was itching for some action, and after my Discord buddies recommended it and I saw the protagonist Hibiki Tachibana punch an actual mountain on YouTube, I became convinced that I needed to watch this show. Plus, AMQ (Anime Music Quiz) kept screwing me over by using the openings in the show, so I figured that watching it would help me out. But the point is that I wanted some dumb fun action show, and while it can be a bit frustrating, I think I got that and more out of this series overall. Despite some issues that I have with it, I can say that I really enjoyed this series throughout its run, and it’s quite impressive that it spanned throughout the 2010’s from 2012 to as recent as 2019, even though that clearly wasn’t the intention at first.

  So, before I begin talking about the first season, I should mention a few background details. First of all, this show was literally just made to promote Tsubasa’s seiyuu's singing career and there wasn’t really a plan for the rest of the seasons. This is obvious when you finish S1 where it ends on a pretty happy and conclusive note. Thing is, the OST did so well that the show continued, even with an entirely different studio. Encourage Films was the studio that made S1, and then the show was continued by Satelight. Satelight also co-produced Fairy Tail, and made Log Horizon as well, and they may have been somewhat involved in the production of S1.

  The other thing is that the director for S1, Tatsufumi Itou, also sadly passed away due to brainstem hemorrhage and died on May 23rd. However, his death was not officially announced until July 1st because of the request of his wife Mariko Itou. He was only 55 years old when he passed away. He was a key animator and has storyboarded for many different anime, such as Princess Tutu, The Aria Series, Casshern Sins, and many more. He also directed Shugo Chara! Party. Regardless of my opinions or anyone else’s opinions on S1, the fact of the matter is that he helped create this series, and the result was something that flourished and became popular in Japan and has grown some popularity in the West. My point being is that he deserves respect for his work, and I can only hope that his wife and friends are doing well and that he can rest in peace.

  To begin with this series, Miku Kohinata goes through a destroyed city, caused by some kind of disaster. She’s carrying some kind of flowers in the rain, symbolizing that she lost someone important to her. After getting off of a bus, she goes to a grave with the name “Hibiki Tachibana”, which also has a photo right above it. She starts crying over the loss of her best friend, and while all of this was going on, an ominous poem about a little bird continued to sing until it coughed up blood, and she also mentions how her friend continued to sing until her last breath, hinting at what’s to come.

  Two years earlier, we met our protagonist, who is a high school girl named Hibiki Tachibana, a fairly normal high school girl who goes to a concert by herself because her best friend Miku Kohinata invited her but couldn’t actually make it to the concert due to her aunt getting in an accident. Hibiki doesn’t really follow the two idols that are about to sing, but she goes anyways because a free concert ticket is a free concert ticket. In the background, one of the idols and a main character, Tsubasa Kazanari, is a bit worried about how the concert will play out. Her best friend Kanade Amou tells her to be more open minded and optimistic, telling her that singing is fun, and they should just enjoy singing. Kanade is the more extroverted and outgoing of the two while Tsubasa is the more introverted girl of the Zwei Wing idol duo. They also seem to work for the government, and Section 2, a government agency who specializes in saving people from disasters led by Genjurou Kazanari, who’s Tsubasa’s uncle and Hibiki’s eventually martial arts teacher as well as action movie bro with her.

  So, the concert begins, but the duo can only sing one song before the concert is attacked by Noise, monsters that are capable of reducing a living organism to nothing more than ash. They kill a lot of people in the concert, and of course, this is where the singing magical girl fights come into play. Kanade and Tsubasa transform and use their weapons to stop the Noise, but they’re quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number of them, and Hibiki, who seems to be the only survivor from the audience (this comes into play later), is attacked and is unable to escape. Eventually, one of Kanade’s armor pieces is damaged and is lodged right into Hibiki’s chest (Again, this comes into play, very soon might I add). Kanade chooses to save her by singing her climax song, a song that pushes the wielder to their absolute limits, and past them. To the point where it can cause either severe internal damage, or even death, which is exactly what was mentioned right at the start. All the Noise are destroyed, and Tsubasa loses her best friend. This causes Tsubasa to become a solo idol, causes her to have an internal struggle throughout this season and later on, and Hibiki to eventually become a Symphogear two years later at the end of episode 1 to save a child.

  Needless to say, this show starts off pretty dark. Darker than I had expected, and this does work in S1’s favor…. sometimes. Other times, it can be quite frustrating to watch it drag on with drama, especially the drama involving Miku. For what it’s worth, I was interested in seeing how the rest of this season would play out, especially since people often claim this is the worst one.

  After Hibiki saves the kid from Noise, the kid is reunited with her mother and Hibiki is now a Symphogear girl working with Tsubasa, with Hibiki’s special ability is punching everything in sight, and Tsubasa can conjure swords, make it rain with smaller laser beam swords, and make giant swords that fall from the sky. Tsubasa butts’ heads with Hibiki because at first, she doesn’t really want to work with someone else, and when it’s revealed that Kanade’s Gungnir is the same as Hibiki’s, which is still stored in her chest unlike Tsubasa who uses a pendant to transform, it causes Tsubasa to further put up walls, calling herself a sword that cannot feel anything. Eventually, Tsubasa fights Hibiki and she refuses because she doesn’t want to fight the person she’s working with and is trying to be friends with. Genjurou stops Tsubasa, and Hibiki says that she’ll work hard to replace Kanade, which is the worst thing you could say to her given her situation. If nothing else, I certainly feel for Tsubasa’s plight and can sympathize with her. At the same time, Hibiki is trying to be friends with Tsubasa, but is continuously denied. I do like their dynamic and Hibiki is at least endearing, if nothing else (aside from GX, that was awful). Tsubasa eventually does admit that she loves singing to a concert that she’s doing in episode 9 and decides to go on a tour around the world, but that happens later on.

  What does annoy me about Hibiki in this season is that she keeps saying that she really wants to save people, which is repetitive. Miku even calls it a hobby, which is really dumb, and not in the fun way. Do fire fighters save people because it’s a hobby or is it because it’s their job? This is a reoccurring plot point, which is frankly done better in G, but is done worse in GX. Outside of that, she’s an optimistic and energetic girl, despite all of the harassment and nonsense she had to deal due to the concert attack, which is also a reoccurring plot point I’ll talk about more in later seasons. She also doesn’t want to fight other people, and would rather talk things out with her enemies, which is more focused on in the later seasons as well. This can either cause endless frustration like in GX or can actually be a well defined part of her character like in G, XV, and especially in AXZ. In this season, it’s not a big focus aside from when she fights Yukine Chris, the fourth and final Symphogear girl in this season.

  Yukine Chris is a unique girl to say the least. Despite her angry attitude and somewhat violent outbursts against her enemies, she is the kind big sister type of character, especially when it comes to two different girls who are introduced in G. Before she becomes that girl, she is initially hostile towards the other two Symphogear girls, particularly Hibiki, who doesn’t want to fight against her. Eventually, her Symphogear transforms into Ichaival, a gear which is capable of shooting bullets, laser arrows, and giant missiles. After getting defated and later saved by Hibiki, the villain of S1, Finé, decides to leave her behind and steal the Nehushtan armor from Chris. What’s interesting about Chris is that she suffers from self loathing due to the destruction that she blames herself for and claims that she hates singing because of that. She grows as a character in later seasons and resolves her inner demons with the help of the other girls. She eventually helps fighting the Noise and Fine in this season and becomes one of the three main Symphogear girls.

  Next character is Miku Kohinata, Hibiki’s best friend and roommate in high school. She’s generally a cheery and helps Hibiki with her homework, but as the season goes on, she worries about Hibiki’s consistent disappearances due to her new double life. She eventually discovers that Hibiki is a Symphogear when Hibiki saved her life during a fight. What annoys me is that Miku is angry with Hibiki about keeping it a secret, when Hibiki was obviously operating under basic superhero rules of a secret identity and had to keep it a secret because the government told her too. This gets resolved in the episode afterwards, and I genuinely think this drama could’ve been cut out from S1 without much change. It just feels pointless and annoying. Beyond that, Miku’s relationship with Hibiki does get the spotlight in other seasons like G and especially in XV, but we’ll talk more about that later.

  I don’t have too much to say about Genjurou Kazanari, but he is Tsubasa’s uncle and commander of Section 2, a government agency responsible for dealing with disasters for the Japanese government, including issues that have to be dealt with by the gears, like the Noise and other supernatural threats. He’s portrayed as the caring and levelheaded commander of the group, and often guides the gears to defeat their enemies. Despite being a human unable to fight Noise, he’s also capable of training the gears and he’s even action movie buddies with Hibiki, which is something I find charming. There’s also Ryoko Sakurai, the head scientist of Section 2 and is responsible for a lot of research of the gears, which she calls the Sakurai theory. She also speaks some hilariously awful Engrish to American soldiers, and it’s so unintentionally funny to hear it. She’s portrayed as a mysterious, but also very cunning scientist that knows more than she lets on.

  Finally, there’s the main villain, Finé. She’s a character that gets referenced in every season following this one (except for GX), and beyond some interesting lore that gets explored in AXZ and XV, I found her character to be uninteresting and shallow. She wants to destroy the moon to remove the Curse of Balal, a curse that apparently makes it difficult for humans to understand one another, although the true purpose of the curse wouldn’t be revealed until the final season, XV. Eventually, Fine is defeated in a pretty cool final fight for the season. It’s also nice that there’s a little song with all three of the girls right at the end of the season to reflect on what has happened and what they learned.

  Next, we’ll talk about the art and animation for this season. The character designs are very different in the next four seasons in comparison to this one, and honestly, I prefer the character designs in the next couple of seasons, because the character designs in S1 look a little too…simple. Characters go off model at times, and the fights are generally uninteresting aside from the final fight. There’s a good amount of still frames too, so maybe the success of the OST for this season allowed the team to improve upon the other four seasons visually, especially in regard to XV, which looks amazing.

  Last but certainly not least, we have the voice acting and OST. I love Hibiki’s voice actress in particular, Aoi Yukki, who is a prolific voice actress and seiyuu. She brings so much energy and optimism to her role, and when she sings and screams, it feels really natural. I feel the same way for all of the characters, and I feel like they did great on the songs as well. Speaking of the songs, the entire show is filled with really good rock and pop songs throughout the series. They’re jams to listen too, and I enjoy all of them for one reason or another.

  All in all, S1 is a bit of a mixed bag. While I found Tsubasa and Chris’s arcs to be compelling enough to follow, I found the villain to be bland, and I was annoyed by the drama surrounding Hibiki and Miku. There’s not too much to this season that hasn’t been done before by other magical girl shows, but the foundation is there. It took itself too seriously, but I thought S1 was an ok start to a series that I ended up loving. We’ll talk about that more in the next review for G and possibly GX as well.

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