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This Week in Anime - We Love Symphogear


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darkchibi07



Joined: 15 Oct 2003
Posts: 5459
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 7:00 pm Reply with quote
God this show and the 5th season is such a riot even with its rough edges. Yeah, the whole Tsubasa brainwashing thing was really lame in hindsight, but I guess it gets Maria to be cool and be on top of her. Surprised There's also spoiler[the sudden, bloody demise of the Noble Red] though I expect they'll come back in a different form.

I get the simulcast of this show was inconsistent throughout, but I hope lot more peeps give this crazy female-led magical mecha action show a chance. On a side note, I consider Symphogear a worthy successor of the Nanoha franchise for the 2010s so I wonder what original all-girl action anime would succeed Symphogear in the 2020s. If that becomes real, I really hope it will simulcast on time.
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Millhi



Joined: 20 Feb 2017
Posts: 136
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 7:06 pm Reply with quote
Quite a bit of misinformation throughout the article though. Shocked

and AXZ is all plot set-up for XV so why in gods name would you watch both at the same time.
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gedata



Joined: 04 May 2013
Posts: 615
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 8:27 pm Reply with quote
This is it, the greatest piece you two have ever done or ever will do. Might as well pack it in now.
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Heishi



Joined: 06 Mar 2016
Posts: 1314
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 9:29 pm Reply with quote
I would enjoy alot more if it didn't have the constant yuri subtext baiting that happens throughout the series.

Also, is there a female equivalent to shows like Seint Sieya and Ronin Warriors? You know, a female majority team of fully armored heroes? That would be a series that I would love to see.


Last edited by Heishi on Tue Sep 03, 2019 11:45 pm; edited 1 time in total
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 9:42 pm Reply with quote
Yeah, Symphogear is awesome. It can be dumb at times, but that dumb fun is kind of something that makes it all the better, always playing by the rule of cool or fun. Watched each season since it came out, from its somewhat flawed first season that it was finding its footing, to I think the fifth season being the best yet. This despite the villains not being the best, kind of like the B level villains that they are and trying to match a hero team that has grown so far. Even that came to a positive when they went up against the return of probably the coolest villains, the Autoscorers and Carol.

The show has been pretty cruel though in recent episodes, with all the slideshows of Miku in teasing us that Hibiki might lose her girlfriend.
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VerQuality



Joined: 01 Oct 2016
Posts: 136
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 9:43 pm Reply with quote
This season so far has been great, and the return of the autoscorers especially was executed perfectly. I don't even remember the last time an anime had me that hyped up. Although this series still has its weak points. The recent episode with Fudo felt like they wanted to clean up a few too many plot threads in one episode (Tsubasa's brainwashing, Fudo's scheme, Noble Red, and kaMiku - on top of a generous helping of the runner up for worst dad of the franchise making instant ramen, peeling an orange and being generally useless). It's also kind of annoying how no one in the show seems to realize 70 000 is heck of a lot of people. But I think that's just part of what makes Symphogear great. It's overflowing with crazy ideas, near nonsensical plots, and more character moments than you can shake a stick at, and sometimes they don't give as much attention to some of these that it feels like they should. And yet if it didn't have that hectic, explosive imagination fueling it, it wouldn't be nearly as fun a ride as it is.

Either way, with it's flaws and all, Symphogear is one of my absolute favourite anime. Especially in terms of the raw production quality of this season, it seems to be getting the send off it deserves (if, indeed, this is the final season).

(And in terms of characters, some of their development doesn't even happen on screen. Chris's b-side from XV especially is a near perfect finale for her ongoing character arc.)
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encrypted12345



Joined: 25 Jan 2012
Posts: 715
PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 11:48 pm Reply with quote
Honestly, I love Symphogear so much. Even with GX being the arguably weakest season, I was so happy when the Autoscorers came back one last time.

I think every season has at least one blatant flaw, but that blatant flaw isn't nearly big enough to overshadow the good. S1 had fake-out deaths, S2 handled Fine really weirdly, S3 went full episodic in the middle, S4 did the same to a lesser extent and arguably kinds of suffers for being more of a lead up to S5 than its own thing. Tsubasa mind control is the least offensive out of all of these IMO, but we'll see how XV handles its finale.
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steelmirror



Joined: 22 Oct 2015
Posts: 342
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 1:01 am Reply with quote
I discovered Symphogear this season, with people telling me to just go out and watch the show, dammit. Which I did.

I do really love this show. Anime hyper I haven't started on season 5 yet because I wanted to finish streaming 4 on Crunchyroll, but once it's complete I think this week, I'll be able to binge everything up until now in one go! Very excited. As others have said, this show is super dumb in basically the best way possible, and I forgive the show's rough patches because all the girls are basically the best, especially Hibiki. She hasn't met a plot hole or thematic disconnect that she can't punch out of existence.
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Generations



Joined: 21 Jul 2016
Posts: 204
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 3:44 am Reply with quote
Symphogear is one of those that is absolutely incredibly so freaking stupid and yet I love it so very very much. The plot is nonsense, but the action is great and the character arcs are actually well-developed (sometimes). I'd still argue, however, that Season 1 did it the best out of all of them, having a self-contained story with each character getting in-depth and personal arcs that had very satisfying conclusions. The following season really amped up the action and budget, but the writing and characterization never really got to that amazing level I first fell in love with.
If I had to rate the seasons, I'd go Symphogear>GX>G>AXZ, not including the current unfinished season.

Hibiki is my favourite character of the bunch. She's basically a gay schoolgirl version of Superman -- an absolute pacifist who can solve problems with violence but has taken every resolve to result in a peaceful solution, even if means putting themselves in fatal danger. I love how even after 5 seasons, she has yet to use her Armed Gear, her main weapon. And how can you not love someone whose main superpower is holding hands?
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FackuIkari



Joined: 31 Dec 2013
Posts: 411
Location: Argentina
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 6:42 am Reply with quote
I started watching Symphogear last month because Crunchyroll was really pushing it posting all those scenes on their youtube channel so I gave it a try and oh my lord, it's been so long since I was so into something that I felt the NEED to catch up to 4 and a half seasons in a week, I started the first season on monday and by sunday I was on XV, it was crazy, I haven't had that rush in years. And then every episode of XV has just been hype thing after hype thing and I'm so sad to find out this is the last season because I could watch this forever to be honest

It's a Magical Girl Idols Super Sentai anime, THIS IS AMAZING!
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AsuraTheDestructor



Joined: 24 Dec 2013
Posts: 466
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 11:25 am Reply with quote
Her'es how I see Symphogear.

Picture a male Kamen Rider and Female Sentai ranger having a healthy, but extremely Hot Blooded and badass baby. Said baby is a Pretty Cure. She then grows up on a cocktail fusion of 80's and 90's action movies, Super Robot Anime, Saint Seiya, YuGiOh and their favorite video game of All time being Asura's Wrath.

Add in the Power of Friendship, and you get Symphogear in a nutshell, one of the most successful original anime properties in Japan in the past 7 years or so who's disc sales continue to exponentially increase with each season, and yet due to the botched NicoNico exclusive streaming in the west with Funimation during its first season, it never caught on like it could have.

Only now thanks to Crunchyrolls pushing of XV have people started to discover this Glorious series. The xDU mobile game isn't bad either, having a crossover event with not only BanG Dream, but also GRIDMAN! (Baby Dan Dan, Baby Dan Dan).
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Yuvelir



Joined: 06 Jan 2015
Posts: 1529
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 11:30 am Reply with quote
No matter how bad Tsubasa's case might be, it doesn't even register next to Hibiki's crisis in GX.

Quote:
Frankly, we could fill several TWIA columns with just a Greatest Hits list of all the ridiculously cool stuff that Symphogear does every week

Do it, you cowards!

Generations wrote:
I'd still argue, however, that Season 1 did it the best out of all of them, having a self-contained story with each character getting in-depth and personal arcs that had very satisfying conclusions. The following season really amped up the action and budget, but the writing and characterization never really got to that amazing level I first fell in love with.

I thought I was alone on this. The character arcs were indeed handled so damn well (and Kanade's echo throughout the season was so cool) and I loved the subplot about Hibiki awkwardly trying to balance her normal and superhero lives with all the drama it ensued - my strongest point of emotional investment through the series was about whether Hibiki and Miku would manage to salvage their marriage or not.
When getting into G, the cast being now twice as large had me fearing that what I loved the most about season 1 would be gone for good, and I was mostly right.
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MesousaGaby



Joined: 16 Oct 2018
Posts: 71
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 2:07 pm Reply with quote
Eh, honestly, I stopped caring after the third season. I just accepted the fact that it's just one big queer-bating action show that honestly didn't have the same effect as the first season did.

Here's an idea, crew; how about you just oficially make the couples...couples? Like, no more freaking teasing, just actually go for it. Oh right, Japan seems to love the idea of incest more than actual gay relationships. Is it any wonder why it feels like western animation is going in a better direction than anime?

Also, there seems to be too much sweet-talk here about how good the 5th season is, but there is a blog I do follow that mentions how incredibly crap this season is, such as how incredibly nonthreatening the villains are, and the fact that Miku being brainwashed? Rehashed from season 2.
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AsuraTheDestructor



Joined: 24 Dec 2013
Posts: 466
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 2:31 pm Reply with quote
MesousaGaby wrote:
Eh, honestly, I stopped caring after the third season. I just accepted the fact that it's just one big queer-bating action show that honestly didn't have the same effect as the first season did.

Here's an idea, crew; how about you just oficially make the couples...couples? Like, no more freaking teasing, just actually go for it. Oh right, Japan seems to love the idea of incest more than actual gay relationships. Is it any wonder why it feels like western animation is going in a better direction than anime?

Also, there seems to be too much sweet-talk here about how good the 5th season is, but there is a blog I do follow that mentions how incredibly crap this season is, such as how incredibly nonthreatening the villains are, and the fact that Miku being brainwashed? Rehashed from season 2.


Trusting a Blog thats obviously biased against the series is dumb.

Also, Miku isn't brainwashed. She's literally possesed by the Captical G God of Symphogear.

And All the voice cast involved sees the characters as lesbians, and even the original character designer feels the same way.

Season 5 is also literally a celebration of everything that has happened in the previous 4 seasons, so of course their will be call backs in it.
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Randomuser



Joined: 09 Mar 2018
Posts: 46
Location: Somewhere
PostPosted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 3:45 pm Reply with quote
Started watching Symphogear because after diving into the Macross franchise, I craved for something similar. And so I discovered Symphogear and I'm loving it too! To me it's a bit more intense than Macross. I don't mind it 'being very queer'. And I'm pretty/plesantly surprised to see how well rated XV currently is at The List
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