×
  • 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
Senki Zesshō Symphogear (TV) (5 seasons).


Goto page Previous    Next

Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Series Discussion
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
FenixFiesta



Joined: 22 Apr 2013
Posts: 2581
PostPosted: Sat Sep 26, 2015 1:20 pm Reply with quote
spoiler[there combat was so fierce it caused a NUCLEAR EXPLOSION, the only thing more dissonant is the "all our heroes are fine", yet the metropolis they used to live in is now a literal crater.

Sure, it is better than the whole world being magical annihilated, but anyone still alive is going to be pissed that it accelerated to this point.]

Symphogear only works because "holy crap ANIME time", but just as well I found this to be overall a weaker production compared to previous seasons (in regards to narrative), perhaps the writing is "on auto pilot" or the staff didn't honestly want to commit to the estranged father aspect in a much more harsher light (I still didn't like him even after his attempts at redemption) but I guess "something is better than nothing" especially as it doesn't really ruin Symphogear as it is simply "what you were expecting".
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13224
PostPosted: Sat Sep 26, 2015 1:25 pm Reply with quote
DuskyPredator wrote:
so would a hypothetical season 4 have Carol come back in some way and sacrifice herself in some way? Just saying that I call it if it does.


She already did sacrifice herself to save Elfnein, though.

So, this season... really, compared to G it was a disappointment. It's far from being awful, but G was just so much better in pretty much every regard from the transformation scenes, to the songs, to the finale.

I'd say the biggest knock against GX is the character stuff. I realise that since each season isn't made with the next in mind they make stuff up as they go along (G's reveal of Hibiki's bullying wasn't even hinted at in season 1, for example) but it still stands out.

Hibiki's dad is an example of that since he was never mentioned in show until this season so it comes across as the creators going "Hm, we need a confict for Hibiki this season... I know! Let's give her daddy issues!" Apparently they had the exact same conversation when it came to Tsubasa.

But overall the plotlines themselves did work. They tied in Tsubasa's issues into her whole "be a sword" thing she went through after Kanade's death and we got to see a side of Hibiki we couldn't see otherwise.

Maria probably comes off the best development wise, since she's still working through what happened in G. Shirabe and Kirika should have had similar issues, but they only touched on that in episode 12, instead having them fight over a stupid reason.

They did help Chris quite a bit, though. Whereas the other characters deal with stuff rooted in their past, Chris has to deal with a new concept: being a senpai and looking out for others. Sadly this was only touched upon a few times.

Of course the worst thing was Hibiki's whole "can't fight" thing which I've gone on about before. Thankfully it didn't last long.

The villains were pretty good as villains. The autoscorers weren't much as characters, but that's fine because their whole purpose was to get destroyed to achieve Carol's objective. Carol herself was a strong foe who planned well and while her anger is understandable they don't force us to see her as sympathetic.

It was still good over all with some pretty impressive fight scenes and the expected amount of heart. However I think perhaps it's running out of steam at this point. I'll be back for season 4 for sure, but I'll have a bit more caution in my optimism.

But if they really wanted to have Glorious Break be the main song, why didn't they just make it the opening? They only tossed in Exterminate at the end there.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
Crisha
Moderator


Joined: 21 Apr 2010
Posts: 4290
PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2015 11:25 pm Reply with quote
Anime Marathon Discussion (Nov. 6th, 2015 - Nov. 15th, 2015)

Spoilers Reminder for Marathon Discussion: Tag all spoilers within your post(s) and record the episode number(s) you're discussing at the top of your post.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2017 7:57 am Reply with quote
Season 4 (Senki Zesshō Symphogear AXZ), Episode 1

Okay, question time, how can you possibly go more over the top of a previous season that had the characters literally punch through a mountain to have a plain go through? Well we have spinning bike entrance, super ninja moves, now fighting military people which has them punching tanks (without killing anyone), fighting 'on top of' helicopters, opening both doors of a helicopter to have a missile go through, jumping on rockets, destroying giant flying fortress (with a drill punch). And the enemy this time is none other than the Illuminati. All of this with huge action scenes, with plenty of singing. Oh Symphogear, never change with how the top you can be.

By the looks so far, it is pretty nasty that military groups actually able to weaponised the Alca Noise, and also looks like we are going a bit into Chris' past.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
FenixFiesta



Joined: 22 Apr 2013
Posts: 2581
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2017 11:15 am Reply with quote
S4 Ep 01
It is Symphogear and an opening episode, it is over the top with the girls fighting what looks like South American (?) war lords.
What was intriguing was our now villain cast summoned up a decent looking ginormous cgi Serpent.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 2:01 am Reply with quote
Season 4, Episode 2

I don't know if it was just the subs, but Hibiki was straight up badass when the bad guy questioned what was up with the "invincible one". A giant serpent that on top of hard defences can use I think multi-dimension manipulation to replace an injured form with one not, was here not a match for a strong punch from Hibiki. I think if there is anything we know after so long it is how strong Hibiki's punches can be.

Just kind of crazy to consider this the fourth season, reminding myself that the second season introduced Maria's group, and season 3 was Elfnein and the Autoscorers. The first two episodes have not really let up, it has been right in the action, was not like Chris had enough to feel guilty about. But this is also making me wonder if the important things might happen this season, mainly Hibiki and Miku, whether there be anything official.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 12:37 am Reply with quote
Season 4, Episode 3

Finally they had a break from the war, which gives chance of Miku back in the story. Interestingly it seems the wallpaper of Miku's phone is a close up of Hibiki's face when she was in a swimsuit. At least I think that it is interesting. Other plot wise, indeed the figure in some sort of crystal was a new autoscorer, who are always so creepy.

Also, did not really expect that they could still use the Ignite Module. This show in general always does great with the singing fights that it can be something cool on itself to focus on how the seiyuu are going, along with everything we see of the fights onscreen.

Looking at the rest of the season, I wonder how the alchemists will fight from the OP, and how long it will take for Maria and the other two to take part in battles after they are out of Linker.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 10:22 pm Reply with quote
Season 4, Episode 12

Was this the last episode? Every other season had 13 episodes, and the encyclopaedia does mention 13, but the way this ended, just felt so final and without a wait for next week sort of thing, the OP song played during credits and all. Yet at the same time it was also so sudden, that it also feels really strange, with what I had heard about even a 5th season announced, it is kind weird. Like they are planning to fully pull the rug from underneath us with something big that would lead into the next. With what turns had happened about Hibiki almost becoming a god, I was thinking we might get a truly evil Hibiki, which would shake things up. Miku also feels not quite used yet, like we would see the return of her with a symphogear. Side note, it was totally Donald Trump who fired the nuclear missile, weirdly relevant.

I think it is a good of time as any to talk about some of the problems with this season. It has felt like it has had no idea of what it wants to do. Amongst things missed, has been making the villains the proper kind of interesting, Tiki got away with it by being creepy like all of the other autoscorers, but the 3 alchemists were not interesting. Yet, this final act of theirs had them actually sing like any other symphogear, and I think they actually worked well. Adam also got a bit Doctor Ver in this episode too, him complaining about Hibiki being unfair was funny.

And also getting a bit ahead, I think the really best addition from this season has been the inclusion of more duets.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 12:41 am Reply with quote
Season 4, Episode 13 (finale)

I was thinking that there was not too much of a purpose of this final, unless I guess that it had Adam turning into a powerful monster, the group working together one more time, and Hibiki getting everyone's power when she tore Adam a new one with a new form with gold like the alchemists. It also gave some explanation to some of what happened with Hibiki, and it was that she was hit by the cleansing blasts in the Miku gear incident, which puts Miku in the same sort of circumstance. An implication of relevance in the 5th season, either an ally or a possible threat.

Well as I said previously, this season was kind of missing something, it had trouble really getting us to feel why it was needed. I think the ED had some focus on Chris, and she had her own little plot with doubts and all, but it was kind of sparse for the majority. Shirabe had an episode, that I think actually hinted at her past that she had forgotten, with possibly a relative. Again, a case that some work needed to be done with the villains. Maybe they were worried about making them too likable or something, the cast is fairly large, and Elfnein got a reasonable amount of exposure.

It has not made me lose interest in the franchise, which I continue to as long as it is fun, and look forward to whenever they bring out the next season, which I had heard they confirmed along when this season was. I think it purposely left some places where it can continue on for another season, and would be interested to see whatever combinations they could manage. I give a rating of Good (7/10), is still worth seeing.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13224
PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 10:18 am Reply with quote
Not much actually happened this season. It really was all just set up for the next season. Hopefully the payoff there will be worth it. If not this franchise really is running out of steam. It needs to aim for the highs of G again.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 2:50 am Reply with quote
Senki Zesshō Symphogear XV (Season 5), Episode 2

Holy cow! It was not enough that the concert was feeling a bit familiar to the first episode of the series, it straight up went into a massacre that I think might outdo anything that had happened before. Pretty sure that Tsubasa full on regressed into all of her trauma. It was already pretty aweful with large swaths of general public being slaughtered, before the villain who has a kind of cute demon girl look, full on shoves her hand through a little girl's chest in a gruesome and bloody display. Would not have been surprised if Tsubasa right in that moment went into berserk mode.

It is such high impact, you almost forget that Kirika's new transformation pretty much has her pole dancing.

And then go back and think that a second massacre to NOISE would not be too good for Tsubasa's idol career. And I don't think that these villains are going to do a heel turn and become good guys.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 5:07 am Reply with quote
Season 5, Episode 3

Another shocking twist, this time that it seems that Tsubasa's awful grandfather (biological father) is working with the villains, making us officially allowed to despise him now. This especially how earlier in the episode he was pretty much blaming Tsubasa for a surprise attack that she had no control over, a total slaughter that he is now complicit in.

The episode also had transformations for Chris and Shirabe. I do like all the girls, with Shirabe and Kirika being high up, but Chris is kind of my favourite, still have Makyū Ichaival as my ringtone.

And... NOISE... on... Segway!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sun Aug 18, 2019 1:33 am Reply with quote
Season 5, Episode 7.

Oh dang, did not think that I could be so happy to see the return of characters like the Autoscorers, and also Carol overtaking Elfnein. At least as good guys now. The Autoscorers always had a sort of creepy, but kind of cool element to them, even if usually evil, but I really liked here being allowed to be happy over their return, with the mission to protect Elfnein.

What next, Dr Ver suddenly show up to be the hero? Or maybe Fine.

Excited over that, but this was already an episode that started with the Symphogears taking on an enemy with those sort of god powers of healing through alternate reality or whatever it was. Hibiki being able to help, but needing to retreat with needing Hibiki as their ace. This is only episode 7, so feels crazy where it might continue to take us to the actual climax.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 5:06 am Reply with quote
Season 4, Episode 8

*End credits show Miku compilation*
Don't you effing do that Symphogear! Do not make me think that is happening, and do not even try to pull a season one again while swapping the characters!

Really though, this series is in total high gear, and just keeps pushing itself more and more. Making Carole a total badass, with Elfnein acting like some sort of Yugi Moto ghost. It was getting crazy last episode, but they are really leaning into this being the greatest one yet in terms of action.

What should be the final boss, Miku possessed by a god, with her own gear transformation, the sort of thing you would expect to pop up at the very end, just showed up at the end of episode 8. What will Symphogear do next? I can only expect that old man Fudou is going to pull something, his eyes glowing all menacingly as his betrayal of the villain goons of the season was put into action. Kind of funny how this season's villains have kind of been the most underdog of the lot, doing awful things earlier, but the heroes pretty much being the stronger group, despite the season being no weaker with craziness.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sun Sep 01, 2019 12:35 am Reply with quote
Season 5, Episode 9

Tsubasa's mind control thing placed earlier in the season finally pays off with her betraying the others, siding with the fascist grandfather, Fudo. There specifically seems to be some sort of message against fascism here (promise not looking too hard), where Fudo's deal is to return Japan to some sort of glorious heyday, with his traditional and samurai look, and calls it respectful to the blood shed to form the country. Plays off well with Tsubasa's character, who has always had the blade angle, of being samurai like, and it kind of feels like the way the brainwashing on her was working by making just looking for justification of what she had been forced to believe by Fudo.

Not forced politics of the viewer, Fudo literally called Genjuro a UN dog, with Fudo seeming to be one of those old school people that only think within the border of their nation, and hate the ideas of things like global movements like the UN. SONG always having been a multinational organization, which is why they have not always been on complete friendly relations with the Japanese government, and as they have had to follow requests from the USA, even if it has dicked them around a bit. Gotta say there is some familiarity where it feels like the world has been having the such conservative anti-global people become louder, and wanting everyone to only act in the interest of their nation.

Genjuro jumping in front of Tsubasa's blade when about to kill Fudo, the awful man he is, but a declaration that they don't need to fall to the levels of being monsters, by the likes of some sort of ancients samurai or say Japan in WWII. It is cool because Genjuro has always kind of been this idea in Symphogear of manliness; strong, confident, a leader who can make decisions with convictions, but he is also empathetic, plays by the rules to respect trust from others, and both cares for those part of his family and those who may be outsiders. Just cool seeing him in action, after I don't think he has been in a while. Tsubasa's father also did his part.

Noble Red, as ineffectual yet somehow also destructive villains that they are, may have done that yet again, and to their possible own end.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Series Discussion All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous    Next
Page 12 of 13

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group