×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
REVIEW: Senki Zesshō Symphogear GX




Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13224
PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2015 11:11 am Reply with quote
I've already made a comprehensive evaluation of the season over in the series thread.

Some of the character stuff didn't work that great since they largely came out of nowhere and weren't even hinted at in past seasons. Hibiki's brief stint of being unable to fight was the worst of it since it makes no sense with her pre-established character.

Carol made for a strong, effective villain who had a sympathetic backstory but the narrative never forced you to feel sorry for her. She also has probably the best character song in the franchise, so that helped too.

A 4th season is inevitable, but thanks to this season I'll be more cautiously optimistic about it. Might be a sign the franchise is running out of steam.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
Ryu Shoji



Joined: 15 Jul 2009
Posts: 671
Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom
PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2015 12:20 pm Reply with quote
Due to the way the franchise was made available in the UK (all series' at once), I quickly marathoned the lot and while I still remain a fan of the franchise, I have to admit that I personally feel that the quality of Symphogear has gradually declined with each subsequent season.

Both G and GX were enjoyable enough and each introduced some of my favourite designs in the franchise (like Shirabe's Shul Shagana and as the review mentioned, the Autoscorers) but I feel that the story has just been in a constant nose-dive since the climax of the first series (how brilliant a finale would it have been if spoiler[Hibiki, Tsubasa and Chris had actually all sacrificed themselves to stop Finé]?).

After having two seasons dedicated solely to symphogear relics and the noise, the introduction of alchemy came across as really forced to me (urgh, the Alca-Noise). At the very least, I wish more attention had been given to fleshing out the autoscorers, especially as I personally didn't care very much for Carol. I think Maria, Shirabe and Kirika were too much of a distraction this season, but I guess bringing them back let them sell more Character Song CDs.

One thing that did really bug me about GX though, is that despite introducing the hostile reunion between Hibiki and her father, we didn't actually learn more of the event that caused the divide in the first place. I just hope we're not being drip-fed that to forcefully justify the fourth season...

(Also, it's a shame Climax Songs are now treated more like a bankai than the big deal they were in the first season, but that trend admittedly started with Symphogear G, so I can't fault GX for that).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message MSN Messenger
DmonHiro





PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2015 1:31 pm Reply with quote
I agree that story wise it was pretty weak, inferior to the first 2 seasons. But it did give me two things I absolutely adored. Two wonderful songs (Radiant Force and Genocide) and Garrie. I absolutely adore Garry. She was the best cute & psycho character I've seen in a long time. Charming and graceful with a sadistic streak to rival Dio (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure). The fact that this was one of the first major roles her voice actress has is also amazing, as the voice was fantastic.
Back to top
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 5:06 am Reply with quote
Yeah, the direction of story did not really work in this season.

But the Autoscorers were fantastic in how creepy they were, really pulling from the music box theme. The sort of thing where you open a box and a ballerina spins to music. Also it was not quite just elements they were based on, but the suits of the tarot Minor Arcana: wands, coins, cups, and swords. Leiur was coins (she used them as weapons), Garie was cups (the whole water thing), Phara is swords (she used swords), and the last, Micha was wands (she used flaming rods). All their elements also matched up with the card type too.

I was happy that Shirabe, Kirika, and Marie were back, I enjoyed their introduction in the first season. But it felt like they did not know what to do with them. Also Miku barely appeared.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
ssgOverlord



Joined: 02 Sep 2010
Posts: 91
PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2015 1:40 pm Reply with quote
Overall I was pretty happy with S3. It kept me interested enough until the end, although I'm looking forward to the next season to see if they can shake things up a bit.

I liked the philosophical weapon concept a lot. I'd like to see more things like that.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group