Senki Zesshou Symphogear
戦姫絶唱シンフォギアTwo years ago, a pair of idols, Tsubasa Kazanari and Kanade Amou, collectively known as ZweiWing, fought against an alien race known as Noise using armor known as Symphogear. To protect a girl named Hibiki Tachibana, who got severely wounded by the Noise, Kanade sacrificed herself. Two years later, as Tsubasa has fought the Noise alone, Hibiki ends up gaining the same power as Kanade. (Source: ANN, Wikipedia)
Reviews
nova.torp - 2014-02-27 03:42:19
This is a series that caught me off guard. Symphogear(as it's commonly known as) is a music/magical girl style anime, I was already surprised I liked it despite it being an MGS which I don't normally like. It follows Hibiki Tachibana, Tsubasa Kazanari and Chris Yukine, three girls who through the use of a specific song are able to use special armor known as Symphogear(hence the title) to battle mysterious beings known as the Noise. The Noise appear to randomly attack human beings and by simply touching an organic lifeform, turn that lifeform into carbon dust, in simpler terms, they touch a human, that human dies instantly. The only ones capable of fighting the Noise are the Symphogear users.
One thing that is definitely of note is the use of an ability called the Swan Song. It is probably one of the most intriguing plot elements in any series I've watched. The Swan Song is essentially the strongest attack a Symphogear user has, but at the same time it is the sharpest of double edged swords. Whoever sings it, can destroy any enemy, but also singing it, causes massive physical harm to the user, up to and including the possibility of killing the one who sings it.
Now the story is loaded with cliches at times, though watching it a first time I never noticed them so really if you're looking for the cliches, you'll find them. Despite that, it's a fairly good story and is pretty engaging at times. The characters are all likeable in their own ways. Aside from Hibiki, Tsubasa, and Chris, we also have Miku, Hibiki's roommate and best friend, Genjuro, the ipso-facto supervisor of the Symphogear users, Shinji Ogawa, one of the associates of the team, Ryoko Sakurai, who is Genjuro's assistant, and Finé, the main baddie of the series.
Sound wise, you'd expect a series in which music is a major plot device to have at the very least a decent song selection, and for the most part, it does, aside from forgettable instrumental tracks, the character songs are very good. The songs, sung by the voice actors themselves definitely fit each character's personality. I definitely enjoyed Chris' and Hibiki's songs the most. Voice acting wise, there's more good moments in the dialogue than bad moment. The only notable VA in the series, at least as far as I knew, is Nana Mizuki, who voiced Tsubasa, if you don't know her, you'd probably know her better as the voice of Hinata Hyuga from Naruto. Nana Mizuki also performed the main theme of the first season "Synchrogazer"(as well as season 2's opening "Vitalization), while the endings of both seasons have been performed by Chris Yukine's VA. At this moment in time, Symphogear doesn't have an English dub, and I'm not surprised as I believe music anime are probably the most difficult ones to dub in another language.
The animation of the series isn't much to gawk at, it's fairly decent for the most part but it's definitely not noteworthy, and as always, in anime like this, the animation is at it's best during action sequences.
So far 2 seasons of the series has aired, with season 1 having aired in 2012 and season 2 aired this past Summer. And last month it was announced that the show has been green-lit for a 3rd season. A decision that I've seen be met with some split reactions from people over here in the West, but I can totally understand it as Symphogear is, as far as I can tell, wildly popular in Japan as the series is among the best selling and the character songs have made the charts in Japan.
Overall I think the series is worth a watch, especially if your into the kind of series this show is. As I said at the beginning, I was surprised I enjoyed this series, especially considering I am the furthest from being a fan of MGA as you can be.
franecki.hosea - 2013-10-05 06:28:03
Anyone criticizing it fails to understand that Senki Zesshou Symphogear is tautologically flawless. There are a couple of fans of the show who will express acknowledgement of the flaws in the series but excuse their enjoyment of it by declaring it so bad it's good. I personally enjoyed the series a lot and I can acknowledge criticisms of the series, but I would not say that it's so bad it's good because I believe Symphogear was not one bit bad at all. "Symphogear is bad," is a logical fallacy, what symphogear does is it trashes your ideas of "bad" by harnessing it so that it's flaws become strengths, and asks, "Is it really bad if you enjoy it?" addressing your enjoyment on only a sincere level, not ironic at all. Unroot yourself from objectivity, this is the most important thing Japan has to offer the New Sincerity movement.
lillian.johnston - 2013-09-27 03:37:11
I love this show, no lie. the story is quite solid, the animation is good, the music is awesome and characters are good. A few fan service bits but i could ignore them. This show needs allot more publicity, it is awesome. My full review is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5SBt_R34xEjonas28 - 2013-07-30 15:23:24
Senki Zesshou Symphogear is a primarily action anime that does a lot of things that have been done before. The plot and character types are nothing new to anime, but at the same time it brings its own charm to everything it does.
I watched all of Symphogear in a few days to catch up and watch Symphogear G, my experience won't be the same as someone who kept up and watched it week to week, but if you're reading my review I'm pretty sure you won't have to worry about that. I will keep this review as spoiler free as possible as well, so read on without worry that I'll spoil the end.
I make reference to "frisson" multiple times throughout this review. For those that don't know frisson typically refers to that body encompassing shiver you get whenever something awesome happens, or when you really enjoy something.
Story
As I said above, Symphogear's story isn't anything new to the world of anime. There are likely dozens of other shows that have a very similar plot to the point where you won't be watching symphogear for a new story you've never heard before. That isn't to say its a bad plot, it was quite enjoyable, just that some people may be bored of the premise. Basically (again without ruining anything), the story goes that the Noise, a type of creature with unknown origin and semi-known abilities, have been attacking and killing mankind in increasing frequency. Conventional weapons have no effect, and only people armed with what's called a Symphogear can even touch them without getting turned to dust. These Symphogear users are obviously the only ones able to fight the Noise as well.
Obviously through the standard development of plot it ends up being deeper and more complex than that, but if I were to delve into that then I'd be ruining some of the show for you.
For the Story I give Symphogear a 7 out of 10. Mostly for doing a plot that has been done many times before, but at the same time pulling it off fairly well.
Animation
The animation quality of symphogear isn't as fluid as the best animes out there, but there aren't any noticeable mistakes that I noticed going through. As well, the action scenes have a lot of my favorite angles to see, and make many of the attacks look appropriately devastating. I don't think there was a time during the anime where I thought a different angle or different view would have been better for a scene, or that an attack should have had more impact than they make it seem.
For the Animation I give Symphogear another 7. The effects and quality don't blow your mind, but it did everything it needed to do pretty well.
Sound
This is the section where Symphogear shines. The music in this anime is absolutely phenomenal and before even finishing all the episodes I made sure I had downloaded the OST. The OP, the ED, the character songs they sing as they battle, even the standard battle music is so well done I find myself listening to it with my everyday music as well. Usually an anime's battle music really is just battle music and its hard to listen to outside of that setting, but not Symphogear.
So far Symphogear has probably given me the most frisson moments of any anime I've watched, and that was thanks to the music and to how the music was matched up and timed with the show itself. There's a mixture of Pop and heavier Rock/Metal sounds in many of the songs and I love it.
For the sound, especially the music, I give Symphogear a 10 out of 10. There aren't many animes with soundtracks like this, and for an anime based around song it delivers. If you want a good example my favorite song from the OST is Makyuu Ichii-Bal, but even the OP and ED are good examples.
Character
For the character section I'm going to stick to personality traits and character development. Some people may not like certain characters because of their abilities and such, but we'll ignore that for this review. It would be too difficult to go in depth enough without talking about some of the characters, so I guess you could say this section has spoilers for the first few episodes (which aren't really spoilers but if you want to go in knowing nothing then skip the character section).
The characters in Symphogear are relatable, and pretty realistic as well. Hibiki, when drawn into a war she wasn't expecting doesn't turn away, she acknowledges her responsibilities as a Symphogear, but she also doesn't get too gung-ho about it. She wants to help people, but she wants to stay herself. As well she doesn't just magically know how everything works, she has to go through some training and experience to become a good fighter. I like that about this show, nothing too unbelievable was done with the characters personalities.
The character interactions were done well as well. Hibiki, possessing the symphogear shard of Gungnir, which she received when Tsubasa's partner gave her life to protect the people in the stadium at the beginning of episode 1, is obviously shunned by Tsubasa at first. Tsubasa clearly still missed her partner, and then Hibiki comes in with the same symphogear and acts like she was going to replace Tsubasa's partner. There's a fair bit of tension there and its great to see the feelings of every character considered.
There are a lot of characters in the show as well that as a viewer you begin to notice, care about, and appreciate, even though they don't go through the same level of development as the main characters. Hibiki's friend Miku is a good example, as well as commander Genjuro. They dont have the same level of development the main characters do, but there are a lot of scenes where we empathize with what they're going through and care what happens.
In terms of development, since I don't want to spoil anything beyond the first couple shows in this section, I'll just say that the main characters go through a character arc that has been seen in anime a multitude of times before. That doesn't mean its bad, in fact its probably been done that many times because its a good character arc.
For character personalities and development I give Symphogear an 8. It has a lot of characters the viewer can empathize with and care about even though they don't undergo as big a development as the mains. The mains themselves also have good interaction and undergo a standard but still good character development.
Enjoyment
Obviously this section is pretty heavily biased based on who I am, what I enjoy, and what I've been watching lately. What I enjoy doesn't always equal something you'll enjoy, but I'll do my best to explain everything so you know why I enjoyed it as much as I did.
I primarily watch action and SoL animes, and the last couple seasons I've kept up with have been heavy on the good SoLs and lacking some decent action. Going back and watching Symphogear was a dose of action I really needed.
The most enjoyable aspect of the show to me was by far the music. I love good music in anime, games, and movies, and Symphogear definitely delivered on that front. I will be listening to this music for long after Symphogear G has ended. Not only the music either, but the way the music was incorporated into the show, and how well everything synced up with the music, gave me many frisson moments throughout the show but especially in the last few episodes. Even listening to the music without the show gives me that delicious shiver on occasion.
For enjoyment I give Symphogear an 8 out of 10. It was just everything I needed when I watched it, as well as giving me a delicious new soundtrack to listen to for months to come.
Overall
While nothing new or groundbreaking for anime, symphogear takes old plotlines and character archetypes and puts them in a setting that makes great use of them. Heavily based in the power of music and song, while maintaining everything you'd want from an action anime, Symphogear was one of the more enjoyable animes I've seen.
Total score:
Story 7
Animation 7
Sound and Music 10
Characters 8
Enjoyability 8
Average: 8
ryann28 - 2013-06-26 02:20:00
If you hate inconsistencies, stupid plot devices, a horribly flawed setting, and poor characterization, Senki Zesshou Symphogear is your worst nightmare.The start of the series is deceptively good, we see a concert that's animated brilliantly, and we have a seemingly gritty story; we witness Kanade die in the past, and Miku crying over Hibiki's grave in the future. This image the anime painted itself in the first episode is one of the greatest deceptions I've witnessed in any form of media.After the first episode, the animation quality drops dramatically, at times you wonder how the producers thought they could get away with it. Epitomizing this is a scene as early as episode 3 where Tsubasa is walking along the corridor with her manager, which looks like a GIF pasted on top of a moving background. It's obvious that they spent most of their budget on the first episode, leaving them to cut back as much as they could throughout the rest of the series. By the end they managed to get a more acceptable level of quality, which was consistent for the rest of the series, so happily it manages to avoid totally failing in the art area.The soundtrack is quite enjoyable, and goes some way to make up for the animation. The songs they sing as they fight are relatively good, and it can bring an atmosphere to fights that is otherwise missing. The Opening is fine and fits the series very well, but I personally preferred the ED, "Meteor Light" by Takagaki Ayahi. It took a while for it to grow on me, but it's a track that sounds dark and traumatic, which fits the atmosphere the series was originally aiming for.The characters are terrible, and the relationships they share change for the most bizarre of reasons. There's an instance where a character hates another one so much she's tried to kill her, but her hate is instantly forgotten when the other character points out her room is messy. Most of the characters are characterized very poorly, and the protagonist is very annoying. However, whilst this is the case, most of the cast is likable, and so you'll find yourself liking most of them, even as they go through the harsh character changes that the plot forced upon them.Unsurprisingly, the plot is also lacking. It's a very simple plot, the one plot twist the series has is so obvious that you can identify it 5 episode before. It's simplicity works for Symphogear's though, as it manages to avoid being too disastrous throughout most the series. However, in the final few episodes, it gets so ridiculous that you will be amazed. Stupidity like this is something that is rare, and therefore something to be treasured, as it will make you re-evaluate what you consider truly preposterous. The setting is also so tremendously flawed that whilst you can happily ignore it if you so wish, even minor probing will expose questions to which there are no answers. For example, with the frequent attacks by the Noise, which you cannot defend yourself against and kill everyone in the areas they attack, why do people go outside so casually? Much as I like the outdoors, I can't hep but think that I like living more. Also, much as I love my current house, if there was constantly the threat of death, I think I'd move.The inconsistencies are fairly easy to ignore, but if you think about anything in the series, you're likely to notice some. Take the Swan songs, they used to mean certain death, yet past Kanade's death, it stops being fatal, and towards the very end, there is no visible affect at all. This is of course because it was a plot device, but the unashamed way in which the anime casually allows these is dreadful.With this all in mind, this is a very bad anime. However, there is one thing that works in Symphogear's favour that saves it from the worst, and that is that it's earnest in it's stupidity. It isn't trying to be taken seriously, and it isn't pretentious, which means it is very hard to hate. The characters that I hated at the start of the series grew on me, to the point I liked almost all of them. Take the girl who's lines almost solely consist of failed meta-comedy attempts like "If this were an anime" which infuriated me at the start, towards the end I almost found her habits endearing.It's a strange quality of an anime like Symphogear, which is terrible, but still enjoyable to the extent where I looked forward to the last few episodes, to see if the episodes could outdo themselves in their silliness, but more importantly fun.So, if you are happy to ignore all that is wrong with this anime, then you will be able to enjoy it. Despite the amount that is wrong with this, it's all surprisingly easy to ignore. However, if you cannot ignore the technical details in anime, then avoid this like the plague, unless you wish to see how badly executed an anime can be.
fredy96 - 2013-04-23 21:56:26
Trite and hackneyed are words that feel apropos to Symphogear. So are concise, focused, effective and worthwhile. This is not a show anyone should apologize for liking.
This series is what would happen if you mixed Lyrical Nanoha with Spiderman-level cliches, added in singing and shounen battles and underlaid everything with strong lesbian undertones.
The creators chose to hit character development early and hard, and that's what kept me interested in the show. While I never was in tears like I am with some of my favorite shows, I certainly was able to understand and empathize with each main character.
Love how Tsubasa doesn't want Hibiki to mimic her and lose her humanity. Love how Tsubasa is so affected by the loss of Kanade (complete with hallucinations) that she completely gives up and becomes, as she says, a sword. Love how we understand why Hibiki wants to help people because we were shown how she received help. Love everything about the character of Miku and how she reacts to what Hibiki does. More than anything else, I love how they kept all this clearly as the focus of the show.
The show is not about The Noise or the logistics of singing as battle technique, or even the rules of the Symphogear. All of these are just tools and are waved away with some sparse dialogue to better facilitate the internal journey of the main characters. This hurts the show's realism but helps it's goal. It's a large credit to the director to understand this point and do things to aid it, such as end almost every episode on an emotional revelation or breaking point. The show then respects the time spent working on establishing all this when at climax when the final decision occurs inside Hibiki, allowing The Power of Friendship to shine through and keeping the minor characters relevant. True, the show certainly isn't a masterclass on character development, but props are in order to the production staff for understanding the heart of their creation and featuring it.
Otherwise, the voiceover work and fight music was enjoyable. The lyrics the girls sang always seemed to be relevant to the current situation even though the words didn't change. The opening and ending theme songs reminded me of those of Revolutionary Girl Utena.
Now, I acknowledge that there were some areas that could have benefited from some reworking – what in the world was with the fanservice at random, the weird, self-aware humor, and the ridiculous English – but the only thing I really docked points for was the lame villain. Alright, Precia Testarosa, put some clothes on. Maybe another point for not taking any chances and ending up a bit predictable, especially with the ending. But hey, nobody criticizes West Side Story for ripping off Romeo and Juliet.
The show just does too many things well to be considered a failure. Perhaps my magical girl background was tinting my glasses rosy as I watched this show or maybe I'm just a sucker for the voice actress who also gave life to Madoka, but what I watched was an interesting, tight, character-driven take of some well-loved tropes.
And I'm not sorry for liking it.