Hello all, and welcome the fuck back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re continuing to barrel through Symphogear, as you can’t really stop a season of this show once you’ve started it. I knew this to be true, and thus scheduled myself some space between the fourth and fifth seasons, but the time for recuperation is clearly over – now is the time of Burning Hearts, Fighting Spirits, and Blowing Up The Goddamn Moon.
So far, Symphogear’s fifth season has proceeded in a much similar way to its predecessors: there’s some supernatural menace, the wielders kick its butt, and then we learn that menace was just an appetizer for the true threat. This time, that threat will presumably be the “custodians” that Adam warned about, though it also seems we’ve still got a crew of alchemists running around, who will presumably first clash with and ultimately be befriended by the indomitable Hibiki. One funny consequence of this being Symphogear’s final season is that the show no longer has to worry about cast bloat – there’s no need to find roles for any new cast members in future seasons, so Hibiki is free to befriend as many foes as she wants. That’s sure to come, but for now, I’m mostly just hyped to see another beautifully choreographed and ludicrously well-animated transformation sequence. Let’s not waste a moment longer, and get right into the Symphogear!
Episode 2
This one’s called “The Day the Sky Falls.” Appropriately bombastic, but far too coherent – I give it three Hibiki punches out of five
“Adam was attempting to use the power of the gods to accomplish some goal.” “And what goal was that?” I love these sentence constructions that only show up in melodrama like this, where the characters are basically acting like a back-and-forth chorus of escalation. Obviously it isn’t naturalistic in the slightest, but naturalistic writing isn’t appropriate for every story – for something like Symphogear, you’re looking for more JoJo-esque bravado, and Genichiro happens to have an endless supply
The coffin actually contains the body of one of these custodians – “the body of an Anunnaki, the ones they call gods”
Aw shit, final OP time. What could we possibly be in for
“Create a history with the light God could not know.” Bombastic, vaguely poetic, and nonsensical – the season subtitle earns its full five Hibikis!
So those alchemists are clearly this season’s principle villains. Based on the contrasting of the lead cast against their families, it also seems like everyone is going to have some capstone personal drama to send them off. Amusingly, they’ve entirely (and rightly) ditched Hibiki’s father, instead presenting Miku as her only family
Reject Bad Dad, Acquire Good Wife. Some really inspiring messages in this here show
We start off the episode proper on an unusually personal moment, as Chris prays to her parents before heading off to school. Symphogear was a crueler, less character-driven show when Chris was first introduced; her backstory seemed designed to be as tragic as possible, so it’s interesting seeing this more thoughtful, character-focused incarnation of the show give her feelings some time to breathe
The expression work actually seems even more precise than usual. Some nice subtlety in looks like Chris’ changing expression as she turns away from the shrine, or her visibly growing annoyance as Hibiki interrupts her thoughts
Bullying Chris is always good content
“But… my fun times at school may be coming to an end.” So we’re presumably aligning Symphogear’s end with the end of high school for the oldest cast members. An easy way to give it a sense of finality, and provide a rationale for a party at the end, like Chris’ birthday did before
Tsubasa seems distracted while practicing for a concert, and Maria is attempting to look super cool in a suit and shades
Oh my god, Kirika and Shirabe plummet into battle in a full embrace as they transform. God bless this relentlessly married cast
Like, Symphogear is genuinely making me wonder why at least a few more shows don’t embrace having their casts in genuine, active relationships, even if pursuing a relationship isn’t the point of the show. It’s fun to see nice people in love! If the audience cares about a cast, they’ll be happy to see that cast happy!
Jesus christ, Kirika’s transformation is an extended pole dancing sequence. WHAT HAVE WE DONE
“The girl who’s too cute, so she wants to eat meat, is here.” Very thankful that Crunchyroll is translating all of these nonsensical yet somehow perfectly appropriate lyrics
Lots of energetic, ambitious camera movement for this fight, creating a sense that you’re being dragged along by Kirika’s momentum
The fox girl alchemist appears, wielding… a roller suitcase? Her signature weapon is luggage
This sequence of them diving into the bowels of the ship is genuinely unsettling. Symphogear is generally working at such a loud dramatic tempo that simply slowing down both the action and the music can create a sense of unease – and as in the fight, the layouts here significantly amplify the emotional effect, with the camera peering at our heroes from the dark corners of this ship interior
The fox girl has an attachable tail that she keeps in her suitcase. Seems sensible enough, you wouldn’t want to lose track of it
Kirika’s scythe is too big to swing inside the ship. Amazing
Yesss. Kirika and Shirabe have developed a baseball-themed combo attack, complete with a beautifully animated pitcher’s windup for Shirabe, where she pitches a top to Kirika and Kirika bats it back with her scythe
Now Shirabe’s top is stuck on the end of Kirika’s scythe. Just throwing every idea out there, seeing what sticks, having fun with it. And god, the animation of this sequence is so generous, and the spinning camera work just won’t stop. This show looks so stupidly good!
The fox girl’s name is Eliza
Tsubasa is too preoccupied with their S.O.N.G. duties, so Maria flicks her forehead. Again, it’s so nice to see these characters embracing their relationships; of course Maria would be good at getting Tsubasa out of her own head by now, and these gestures of affection just make them even more likable
Kamakura is letting Genichiro have it for losing the relic to the Americans
“Maria said she couldn’t come to Tsubasa’s concert.” Oh come on kids, don’t you know what that actually means?
Oh my god, they built an entire CG arena just for the sake of this concert sequence. This season is so excessive in every way, I love it
To think that Symphogear would become one of the last refuges of traditionally animated idol sequences. Carry the flag proudly, Symphogear!
“You said you wanted to sing all night with me, didn’t you?” Tsubasa wildly misinterpreting Maria’s signals here
Tsubasa’s dancing is even more fluid than the show’s standard. Normally, there are several frames of stillness between each changed frame in animation – shows are animated “on 4s” or somesuch, meaning that every fourth frame is updated. It looks like they’re animating Tsubasa on a more precise rate here, to really capture the practiced elegance of her gestures
As expected, this CG arena is facilitating some ludicrous character and camera movements, as the two of them zoom around the venue on floating platforms
Aw shit, Noise attack. Bringing Symphogear full circle, I suppose
Oh wow, I love this cut of Maria and Tsubasa running towards the camera. Such a terrific sense of energy in the lightning speed of their movements, sacrificing clarity to embrace smeary flashes of motion
A grand introduction for the next alchemist, who looks to be themed after a bat, or succubus
Even the individual action sequences all have their own sort of personality. I really like how this sparring match between Tsubasa and the alchemist winds away from and back towards the camera, emphasizing their dramatic expressions each time they clash
Tsubasa loses control entirely when the alchemist kills a girl right in front of her
And Done
Holy what the fucking goddamn hell was all of THAT!? That was absurd! That was ridiculous! I figured I’d had my expectations more or less properly calibrated from the first episode, but this one just utterly blew its predecessor out of the water in terms of gloriously animated excess. Kirika and Shirabe’s battle this episode was the greatest battle they’ve ever had, offering an unending stream of creative weapon changes, beautiful cuts, and charming combo moves. And then on top of that, we received both a sumptuously animated idol performance, and a second battle, complete with its own vivid style and animated attractions? Symphogear is clearly intending to go out on the highest possible note, finishing the franchise with an unimpeachably glorious set of episodes, and I am so here for it. Reach for the stars, Symphogears!
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