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Grue Reacts To: Senki Zesshou Symphogear XV: XD Translations When?

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Yes, this is a magical girl series in which an adult male nearly solos a major antagonist :V

And yes, you did hear that correctly. Only Symphogear has the insanity needed to make an antagonist's plan involve Durandal, the Tower of Babel, and the Moon (no, Final Fantasy 4 doesn't count).

Also, the reveal of just how old she is kinda makes the Gilgamesh comparison even more relevant, doesn't it?
 
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1.12
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    • Episode 12: NOT AS KEIKAKU
    We start with the ending theme, which is fairly blatantly Chris's. Reaction shots from everyone.
    Hibiki's crying over Chris's death. Fine proceeds to go full Gilgamesh. And by that, I mean snatching defeat from the claws of victory; Hibiki just went Anti-Sora again. This time completely.
    ...Fine was experimenting on Hibiki and Redwing. Fuck you Fine.
    Unfortunately, berserkering tends to reduce your ability to reason. Fine's doing a lot better now Hibiki's in Anti-form.
    And she breaks Fine's AT Field! Unfortunately, with Fine winded, she's now aiming at Bluewing.
    Down in the peanut gallery, the anime member of the trio is having a breakdown. Times are dark.
    Bluewing's failing against Anti-Hibiki, Fine's fused with her armour to gain regen, and the cannon's powering up again.
    Apparently, the cannon's basically a huge Excaliblast. Odds that someone's going to go remove Durandal now she's revealed that?
    Oh no. I think Bluewing's going to go swansong to try and kill Fine, which apparently will stop the cannon.
    WAIT, WHY DID SHE LET HIBIKI HEARTSHOT HER?
    Wait, no, it's the exact same thing she pulled on Chris during her last Swansong. Hibiki's frozen mid-berserkering.
    "The human world can never accept a sword." Apparently, Fine hasn't heard of sheaths.
    More NOT AS KEIKAKU faces from Fine as Bluewing dodges her whips.
    The Sword Kick returns....as a distraction to get to the cannon. We're going to see another Swansong to stop the cannon, aren't we?
    ...Or Fine could manage to hit her before she reaches it. Damnit Fine.
    And a pep talk from Ghost Redwing allows her to reengage the move! And as the whips already attacked, Fine can't get her again!
    The cannon destroyed, Fine's plans are finally falling apart around her.
    Chris is down, Bluewing's down, Hibiki's the only one left. And she wasn't able to do a thing to help them. The popcorn gallery's also devasted over Bluewing's apparent death.
    Meanwhile, Fine is breaking down now her plan is foiled. She was going to rule the world after the moon got busted, and now she's all ONORE.
    She apparently hasn't heard of positive Social Links, and she's taking her rage out on Hibiki.
    Hibiki's fallen into despair. Back with NERV, it's the return of the girl from Episode 1!
    And they've had an idea. Get the school computer system back up, and get across to Hibiki that they're alright.
    Meanwhile, questioning her motivations gets Fine to beat Hibiki's face in more. She did not take God's rejection well at all.
    Back in base, it's time for the small character in anime to take the spotlight! FWD:8%
    Miku protests this isn't anime. Anime girl says there's nothing wrong with taking inspiration. Plus, they are an anime. FWD up to 10%
    If she didn't do this, she'd be worse than an anime character. If she's not as good as fiction, how can she call herself real? Notch that damage up to 12%.
    Power is back on! Time to speak to Hibiki!
    Fine's Gilgamesh is showing again as she prepares to kill Hibiki. I see that backfiring.
    It's the school song, here to throw spanners in Fine's plan!
    As the sun dawns, the song lends power to Hibiki, restoring her strength and making Fine go NOT AS PLANNED. Again.
    ...Wait, it's not just empowering Hibiki. Bluewing and Chris are back in action as well, to the tune of the OP!
    And are those energy wings Hibiki's just sprouted?
    AND NOW THE CREDITS.
     
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    • 1.13
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    • Symphogear: Finé
    It's not just Hibiki who now has wings; all three girls have gained them from the song.
    Apparently, breaking the limits on Symphogear grants flight and telepathy.
    The Noise were apparently made so that humans would kill eachother after the Tower fell. Meanwhile, Fine gets her power literally from the Gate of Babylon; apparently Gil's stuff spills out every now and again.
    And so I pray, Unlimited Noise Works. She seems to have forgotten that Chris specialises in Dakka.
    No, all three are clearing Noise that feel like a distraction. Chris now transforms into a plane, while Hibiki's apparently gained shotgun gauntlet blasts.
    Damnit subs, you've stopped subbing the backing triplet.
    WHY DID FINE JUST STAB HERSELF WITH THE NOISE GUNNER?!
    She's combining with the Noise. All of them.
    Eating Durandal, Fine has assumed her Finale Form: Shamsel.
    It regenerates, and can laser just as well as the Symphogears. Fine is back in Gilgamesh mode.
    New plan: Bluewing and Chris clear the way, Hibiki goes MAX PUNCH.
    Swordbeam from Bluewing opens a hole, Chris flies in, Fine goes NOT AS KEIKAKU, then MAX MISSILE.
    Wait, no, Bluewing dives in after that to get Hibiki the sword. The OP's back on.
    Anti-Hibiki's back-MIKU WHY ARE YOU GOING TO THE SURFACE.
    Hibiki's actually breaking out of Anti-Hibiki, and everyone else in NERV has accompanied Miku to the surface.
    And Miku's cries are what finally breaks her out of the Dark Mode! Fine is about to have minor issues.
    Huh. The Excaliblast's named after the opening.
    The battle's over, everyone is emerging into the wrecked city...and Fine's actually alive. Though clearly in no condition to fight, given Hibiki's shouldering her over here.
    Wait, no, she can still fight. After a brief discussion on Hibiki's idealism vs Fine's cynicism, she goes for Hibiki again.
    WAIT WHAT. IS SHE LITERALLY DRAGGING A CHUNK OF THE MOON DOWN?!
    She considers killing herself to kill everyone else to be a good idea. She can just take over someone else.
    Hibiki tells her to pass a message to the future that humans can unite without war. But first, there's that moonchunk to deal with.
    And Fine's eyes flicker between her two forms as she finally fades to dust. RIP, Ryoko Sciencelady.
    ...This is the final Swansong of the series, isn't it? Hibiki's Swansong, to punch out the moonchunk.
    Wait, no, Bluewing and Chris are here to fly into space with her. We're getting another partially-translated triplet here.
    Giant sword for Bluewing, ALL THE MISSILES for Chris, and a really overcharged punch for Hibiki. Their most powerful attacks obliterate the moonchunk.
    A meteor shower happens, but at what cost? Miku's back into tears.
    Oh. We're at the very beginning again, with Miku visiting the grave of Hibiki. Looks like she didn't survive her swansong.
    Seems the Americans and the Japanese Government are kicking up a shitstorm after that mess. Goddamnit politicians.
    And of course there's a sudden Noise attack. Miku's proceeding to run the victim to safety, just like Hibiki was doing in Episode 1.
    Miku protects her with her own body-HIBIKI INTERRUPT?! Reports of their death were apparently greatly exaggerated.
    And the series ends with Hibiki and Miku finally getting their meteor shower.


    That's been quite a ride, though I don't quite get why Hibiki's being portrayed as dead now. What am I supposed to watch next? The in-between OVA, or jump to season 2?
     
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    • Grue said:
    That's been quite a ride, though I don't quite get why Hibiki's being portrayed as dead now. What am I supposed to watch next? The in-between OVA, or jump to season 2?
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    Season 2, just because the first OVA makes a bit more sense after seeing the first two or three episodes of season 2. OVAs have Villains Out Shopping moments.
     
    Grue said:
    That's been quite a ride, though I don't quite get why Hibiki's being portrayed as dead now. What am I supposed to watch next? The in-between OVA, or jump to season 2?
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    Basically, Hibiki went and blew up the Meteor, and the fact they were alive was kept secret for whatever reason. Therefore, Hibiki was presumed dead, until she showed up to save Miku.
     
    There's a few months or so between the battle with Fine and the reunion with Miku.

    The first half of the first OVA covers what Hibiki, Tsubasa, and Chris were doing during that time skip. The second half of the first OVA covers what characters were doing shortly before episode S2E1, including characters introduced in season 2.
     
    2.1
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    • Can I plead the Fifth?:V
    Anyway, time to start on Season 2.
    Symphogear G: Episode 1
    We start with fire, black-and-white silent animation, and is that a Symphogear?
    Another girl, out of the fire, seems to be screaming. The Symphogear in the fire detransforms, turns, and BLOOD FROM EYES AND MOUTH.
    The building proceeds to collapse on the girl who, judging by the Symphogear and the last time we saw that blood pattern, probably sang her Swan Song. Cheerful opening.
    In accordance with physics, the Moon seems to have developed a ring since last season.
    We're apparently cutting between an unsubbed song being sung by someone(Damnit subbers) and a noise attack with Hibiki and Chris.
    And somebody seems to be in charge of this attack. Apparently, they're after the Noise Gunner.
    Seems scientists want to analyse the Gunner to deal with the Noise. The tsuning Chris is sceptical on that.
    The new transformation sequence seems more like the average MG one now. We do get to see the weapons form, though.
    Huge amounts of aerial Noise. Hibiki's defending, while Chris unleashes as much dakka as she can.
    That's a lot of bolts.
    Seems the Noise invested in fighter jets between seasons. And it can dodge the missiles and tank Hibiki's punch.
    TUNNEL! They duck back into the train just in time.
    Ah, Car-Fu: Phase Cut Edition. Did Hibiki just break out a rocket?
    Delivery complete, safe and sound. Apparently, the Americans are getting in on the research.
    ...Did a Noise just attack the place just after they delivered it?
    The Americans proceed to get slaughtered by the Noise.
    Meanwhile, the girl singing earlier just recieved a call. "Setting the stage for the end of the world"? We have one of our villians.
    Back with the Americans, both the Noise Gunner and the scientist have vanished, presumably stolen by whoever orchestrated the attack. Also, NERV Communications are currently SOUND-ONLY.
    Meanwhile, Bluewing has a concert with the probably-villian girl, Maria. We have some old lady watching from afar. I put the chances of some form of attack high.
    Oh hey, the Trio plus Miku came. Hibiki's sadly held up by the mess earlier.
    Lots of fire motifs in that concert. Hm.
    And here's the predicted attack with suddenly-summoned Noise, with Maria telling people not to panic. Guess who got the Noise Gunner?
    I recognise those pendants. Old Lady has two Symphogears.
    Look, I thought we established last season that this was an anime. Fourth Wall Damage at 13%.
    Maria is threatening the audience. Not winning points, Maria.
    Unfortunately, threatening secret identity doesn't work when Bluewing's willing to discard that if needed. Maria admires that.
    And she just declared that they're assuming ownership of the world via Noise.
    Hello there, Symphoge-Wait a second, did she just say Gugnir?!
    We have an evil counterpart of Hibiki, complete with gauntlets. Isn't Gugnir supposed to be a spear normally?
    And they've named themselves after Fine. Y'know, the one who was trying to blow up the moon several months back?

    Right. The enemy, Fine, apparently has three Symphogears. What's betting the other two are counterparts to Bluewing and Chris?
     
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    • Hibiki has advanced to Rocket Punch! I think it was at think point she became my favorite character and stayed there :D
     
    Ahh, you're almost at the bit with... actually IMO the weakest character in the series, K@S. I say weakest character singular because so much of the pairs characterisation depends on the other one of the two + how they're nearly never in a scene without their pair, that K and S on their own are only half a character.

    It's one of the main complaints I have writingwise with S2 and 3, although its worse in S3.
     
    Sightedjt said:
    Ahh, you're almost at the bit with... actually IMO the weakest character in the series, K@S. I say weakest character singular because so much of the pairs characterisation depends on the other one of the two + how they're nearly never in a scene without their pair, that K and S on their own are only half a character.

    It's one of the main complaints I have writingwise with S2 and 3, although its worse in S3.
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    I assume that you're referring to the other two enemy Symphogears?
     
    Ahhh, i see.

    Those pics on the right are from Yugioh 5Ds by the way. My favorite one :D
     
    Derek58 said:
    Ahhh, i see.

    Those pics on the right are from Yugioh 5Ds by the way. My favorite one :D
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    Later seasons actually have a lot of similar scenes. A guy who was one of the animators for 5Ds later became the animation director for seasons 2 and 3 of Symphogear as well as Arc-V.

    Most of those are mentioned at the following link (Grue, don't look). Main one missing is that the final shot of the GX OP and the final 5Ds OP are very similar.
    Genjuuro's Angels: Symphogear and Yugioh
     
    Grue said:
    We have an evil counterpart of Hibiki, complete with gauntlets. Isn't Gugnir supposed to be a spear normally?
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    Normally, yes. I don't know quite when this gets explained, but there's a reason why Hibiki's not spearblasting everything. I think, anyway. Someone else might correct me.

    Basically it's because she has a partial copy of Gugnir, so she has the limited powerset. Maria here, on the other hand....
     
    Krika said:
    Normally, yes. I don't know quite when this gets explained, but there's a reason why Hibiki's not spearblasting everything. I think, anyway. Someone else might correct me.

    Basically it's because she has a partial copy of Gugnir, so she has the limited powerset. Maria here, on the other hand....
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    Actually, Maria has a partial copy as well - that's why there even can be multiple Gungnirs. (Indeed, Tsubasa's Ame-no-Habakiri is said to just be a fragment as well. All the Symphogears are fragments - which is why stuff like Durandal or the Cane of Solomon are so powerful in comparison.) The reason Hibiki just goes around punching things is due to Gungnir interacting with her personality, IIRC - she'd rather be able to stop and open her fists so that she could extend the hand of friendship, whereas jabbing someone with a spear is pretty lethal.
     
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    Krika said:
    Normally, yes. I don't know quite when this gets explained, but there's a reason why Hibiki's not spearblasting everything. I think, anyway. Someone else might correct me.

    Basically it's because she has a partial copy of Gugnir, so she has the limited powerset. Maria here, on the other hand....
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    Well, there's a good reason for that, everyone uses Relic FRAGMENTS.
     
    o3o said:
    Actually, Maria has a partial copy as well - that's why there even can be multiple Gungnirs. (Indeed, Tsubasa's Ame-no-Habakiri is said to just be a fragment as well. All the Symphogears are fragments - which is why stuff like Durandal or the Cane of Solomon are so powerful in comparison.) The reason Hibiki just goes around punching things is due to Gungnir interacting with her personality, IIRC - she'd rather be able to stop and open her fists so that she could extend the hand of friendship, whereas jabbing someone with a spear is pretty lethal.
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    Yeah but I was thinking that it was at least partially because she had only a piece of Gugnir as compared to Kanade or Maria - her fragment is literally a piece of Kanade's that was broken off by a Noise attack. When she gets a more complete fragment at the end of G, she can manifest an actual Armed Gear (the giant fist thing), whereas before she couldn't. So while yeah I know that they're all fragments, I thought it was at least partially because Hibiki's fragment was that much smaller.
     
    2.2
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    • SymphoG #2
    And we're starting with last episode's Gugnir transformation. Now, let's hit it with the OP.
    Hibiki's unable to hold hands with the other two at the start of the OP. Hopefully that's not foreshadowing.
    Okay, Chris is also missing hands in the OP.
    And we're given the names of the other two Symphogears. Purple is Shul Shagaha, which I've never heard of, while Green is Ig Alima, which I have heard of as the fuckhuge blade of fuckhugeness in Prisma.
    Checking, seems every Gugnir has the gauntlets. The spear in the OP indicates Maria probably doesn't use them.
    Okay, why was half of the Defence Minister's words unsubbed. Was his mouth full?
    Apparently, America got a biological lab raided, presumably by Fine, given the blinking red word on their computers.
    Alright, here's the stick: Fine will attack every major city with Noise unless they hand over control.
    I think Maria's underestimating humanities' ability to go "FUCK YOU." Threatening world peace tends to fail for that reason.
    Pretty much everyone else has noted the issues with the thing. Tsubasa's still getting held back from transforming due to crowds.
    And then Maria proceeds to let the crowds leave. Interestingly enough, contrary to the orders of Old Lady.
    Oh hey, Manager's run headfirst into the other two Symphogears.
    ...Please don't tell me Manager fell for that blatant lie. On an unrelated note, does Green do all the talking for Purple?
    ...Yep. He fell for it. Green can't believe that worked.
    Back in the arena, Maria still wants to fight Bluewing. She's forced to defend out-of-henshin from her. She been taking lessons from Commander?
    In other news, backup's not soon, and that cape turns into a saw.
    ...Ah, that's their plan. They're trying to get her to transform on camera. Shame a broken heel foiled this escape attempt. Her points aren't increasing.
    And she's been thrown into the Noise that will oneshot her untransformed. Their plan's basically worked perfectly, though Maria doesn't seem to like the risk involved.
    Luckily, someone shut down the broadcast. Just in time as well.
    That someone being Manager, recovering from having completely missed the enemy Symphogears.
    Wait, is that cape supposed to be the equivalent of Redwing's spear?
    OL chimes in to note that Bluewing seems to be holding back. This gets Maria a Fire Spin for her troubles. Why hasn't Maria sung yet?
    And in comes Purple to interrupt, believe it! She's apparently some form of ninja, judging by the formatting of her specials.
    Meanwhile, I can't read Green's font. The surprise attack has hit Bluewing, though. I rather suspect gloating's incoming.
    Yep. From Marie. You were getting thrashed by Bluewing before they came in, Marie. Like Fine against Commander, you don't have room to gloat.
    Bluewing agrees. She also points out that gloating leaves them open for an Interrupt by the rest of NERV's Symphogears.
    Apparently, Hibiki's whole idealism thing just annoyed Green and Purple.
    Bluewing agrees, this isn't the time. Meanwhile, Purple's beef appears to be that Hibiki lacks a dark backstory and TRUE SUFFERING. Next person in need of therapy?
    OL's getting impatient and summons Giant Blob Noise. Also tells them to withdraw. Somehow, I don't think this is going down as easily as a normal Noise, otherwise there's no point in summoning it.
    Ah, there's the spear. It blows up the Noise...into blobs. Noise aren't supposed to turn into blobs.
    Right, this one treats any part as a separate Noise that can grow. And most attacks will send it into bits. And the audience is still outside.
    ...Swan Song. And they're calling it a combination attack. I suspect multiple hospitalisations soon.
    Do all Swan Songs use the same words? This seems to support my theory that transformation songs are in fragments of the Original Language.
    Ah. The combo places all the strain on Hibiki. Who, thanks to the Gugnir in her heart, can recover from it better than the other two. Welcome to hospital, Hibiki,
    The core looks a bit freaky. No match for Swansong Rocket Tornado Punch, though.
    The Fine Symphogears aren't looking forward to having to fight someone who can pull off that. Meanwhile, all goes according to keikaku for the Old Lady.
    ...Odd. Hibiki seems to have taken no damage from the Swansongs. She is, however, revealing what looks like Traumatic Backstory Flashbacks-
    WHY IS SCIENTIST THERE. WITH THE NOISE GUNNER. Is it possible to get a non-evil scientist here?
     
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