Don’t kill the little girl.
(Read the full episode below, or click here for the list of other episodes)
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(The following is a re-upload of my original tumblr post. I’ve altered it in the following ways: fixed typos/grammar/punctuation, made image edits easier to read, clarified confusing sentences, streamlined extraneous content, and added stickers to nude scenes to comply with Blogspot policies. The rest of the original madness is preserved as-is.)
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We begin the second episode of Symphogear, an anime starring this adorable little hamster:
As I mute the ads and settle down to start the episode, the only thought going through my mind right now is: Don’t kill the little girl.
I don’t mean Hamster. Oh no, it’s far too early for her to die. The anime clearly has a metric ton of suffering in store for her before she bites the dust. I mean don’t kill the little girl she was trying to save.
We ended the first episode with Hibiki and a random little girl about to be devoured by Noise, when Hamster’s mecha-magical girl powers awaken and she transforms into this beast:
She’s unhinged. She’s gone full Oni. I have no idea why her first transformation would affect her like this, but all I can think is don’t kill the little girl.
No, not the Noise, Hibiki, I’m talking to you. Don’t accidentally kill the little girl you were trying to save, as you flail and lash out with your new powers you have no idea how to control, coupled with your red-eyed battle lust. I swear to god you will never forgive yourself and it will haunt you the rest of the anime if you kill that little girl.
We start the episode with the scientists and Snoop Oni back at the command post detecting a Disturbance In The Force due to Hamster’s power awakening.
“Gungnir” is not in fact the name of some nasal blockage medication, but the name of Hamster’s, like, power-suit, I guess? I thought their powers were unique and tied to each girl, however, the physical forms/outfits manifest by their powers go by a name, and this named outfit can be passed from one mecha-magical girl to another.
“Gungnir” it turns out was the magical form belonging to Kanade, who sacrificed herself in the first episode to save Hibiki from a monster attack, leaving behind a grief-stricken lover named Tsubasa, and a huge shitting pile of future problems, also named Tsubasa.
Well hey, if this form is tied to each mecha-magical girl’s spirit in some way, maybe Tsubasa will have a chance at getting some part of Kanade back! Tsubasa might be happy at this unexpected new development!
Or, you know, she could shit a brick over it.
Last episode, I predicted a huge feud between these two (well, one-sided, Hamster doesn’t seem the feuding type) over Kanade’s death. This is just going to poison the cauldron between them even worse.
We cut to the OP, which I don’t think we saw in the first episode.
“Meteroid-falling, burning, and disappear, then…”
THEN SUFFERING, APPARENTLY
We get an okay song, some nice visuals, pictures of characters we will probably eventually meet, lots of shots of Miku looking on forlornly as her girlfriend heads off into danger (does this mean Miku will be the stay-at-home-wife who has to pick up the broken pieces as her war-weary Oni comes home from battle after battle, or will Miku eventually become meguca herself for the sake of keeping her Hamster safe?), and then...
Okay fuck you, Symphogear. You can’t give me this:
And then try to pass me off with this:
IT’S FAR TOO LATE FOR THAT. I’VE GOT YOUR NUMBER ALREADY, SYMPHOGEAR, I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE UP TO.
We also get shots of Hibiki and Tsubasa fighting the Noise.
There’s nothing important about this screencap, she’s just pretty.
Ohhh, so Symphogear is this kind of anime. Now I know why so many people recommended it…
HA, I was right! Hibiki and Tsubasa facing opposite each other, with Kanade’s memory hanging above them, right there in the OP. There’s gonna be a feud.
Aaand we end the OP with a suitably gay shot.
Back to the episode proper, Hibiki is… fine now?
Well, that was anticlimactic. What happened to the Oni rage? I’m confused. Hopefully, the anime will come back to that at some point.
Okay but still, don’t kill the little girl.
Hibiki tries to get the two of them away safely, but of course ends up fighting the Noise with her new powers.
Which… requires Hibiki to sing all throughout the fight scene? I thought Kanade did that in the first episode just for the lulz, but apparently all mecha-magical girls sing during battle? Like, around their grunts of exertion, gasps as they take injuries, and panting from strain, they somehow manage to keep their voices steady and never miss a beat? Now, that’s the magical part right there. Unless Gungnir is just inherently musical and infects all its wielders with the Power of J-Pop.
Tsubasa BAMFs in, on a motorcycle no less (last episode it was a helicopter, now it’s a motorcycle, next episode it’s gonna be a freaking yacht or the S.S. Enterprise), to help fight the monsters.
Tsubasa BAMFs in, on a motorcycle no less (last episode it was a helicopter, now it’s a motorcycle, next episode it’s gonna be a freaking yacht or the S.S. Enterprise), to help fight the monsters.
To activate their transformation, the mecha-magical girls sing out a little phrase. We saw this last episode, but my eyes kind of glazed over it because there was so much Crazy Shit happening. I might as well talk about it now.
Activation phrases are nothing new in magical girl anime, even for grim sci-fi-style magical girl shows like Symphogear seems to be, but…
These activation phrases look like a tumblr shitpost.
I’m too lazy to google what that phrase might even mean, because it sounds like they just tossed a bunch of vaguely mythological/literary words onto the carpet, vacuumed up a few at a time, then putty-glued them together into a single phrase. It’d be like if Madoka’s activation phrase was “Cycle Deus no Rosa sagittus Hope”.
Okay, okay, I tease. The idea of Songs Are Magic is actually a really old concept. Even just the word “enchant” means to “en-sing”, and countless religions use songs and music as a way of connecting to mystical aspects.
Entering an altered state (i.e., “transforming”) for the purpose of religion or magic is historically accomplished in three ways:
1) Sensory deprivation. (Fasting, sleep-denial to the point of hallucinating, cloistering oneself.)
2) Drugs, which can be administered into the body in a variety of ways. (Tangent, but one time back in college, one of my anthropology professors told us how he was doing field work in the Amazon when he was a lad and stooped down to relieve himself, and the plant leaves he used to wipe himself just so happened to be the plant the local shaman used for their rituals. My professor got high off a plant enema, then had to go explain to the shaman what he had done, and he had to go through all kinds of rituals to appease them for his sacrilege and not get kicked out. That was a wild semester.)
3) Repetitive music and sounds, or motions to establish a rhythm. (Think of Gregorian chants, or the bobbing motion used by some Jewish practitioners, also some Southeast Asian cultures wave a small banner in front of their face rhythmically for the same purpose).
A mystic can use some combination of these three methods in order to enter this altered state of consciousness and connect with things thought to be supernatural, like magic or special powers.
POINT BEING, I should be generous to Symphogear and assume they are tapping into an ancient, cross-cultural phenomenon by tying music with magic.
Anyway, back to the battle. Tsubasa dispatches the Noise with little effort and without missing a note of her song. Hibiki fangirls majorly over this.
HONEY NO
FEUD IS COMING
Whew, battle’s over. All I can say is, thank goodness they didn’t kill that little girl after all.
Oh my god we are so fucked, you guys. How long are they going to drag out the “It was YOU that day!” realization on Tsubasa’s end? She already knows Hibiki is wielding Gungnir, her former lover’s suit, but I guess she hasn’t yet connected that Hibiki was the girl Kanade died to save on that day. There is going to be hell to pay when she does realize. Hell. To. Pay.
*looks warily out into the distant gray skies, my brow creased with worry as I tighten the hatches on my home* Storm’s a’ comin…. you mark my words. Storm’s a’ comin.
WHY DIDN’T ANYBODY GIVE ME ONE OF THOSE BEFORE STARTING THIS ANIME
Also, what the hell, the government is trying to cover up the existence of the Noise? What about last episode, when the monsters destroyed an entire concert, and other attacks? I seem to remember that people in the concert crowd already knew what the Noise were when attacked, unless I’m mistaken, so I am really baffled by this “consent form” stuff. How do you cover this up?
Hamster is told that she must keep the secret, too, since she has powers now. She’s then handcuffed and whisked away by Tsubasa and a bunch of MIBs to join their Special Disaster Team to fight the Noise.
Thankfully, the team base is hidden under the grounds of the school she (and Tsubasa) already attend, so at least Hamster can continue living there with her girlfriend while she tries to lead her double-life. Hamster seems the kind of person who is a terrible liar, so I don’t think it’ll take long for Miku to find out about the whole Noise and mecha-magical girl thing.
Wow, Tsubasa, if your frigid behavior thus far is what you call “friendliness”, I shudder to think what you’re like when you’re really pissed.
*mutters to self, battening down some more hatches* Storm’s a’ comin…
The walls of their base are covered with these colorful murals. I’m guessing each symbol represents a different mecha-magical girl outfit, like Gungnir? Are these, like, ancient beings whose power has only recently awakened and been harnessed by technology? Or, was each outfit manufactured recently and the scientist/MIB folks just decided to decorate the walls with them because interior décor is hard?
Turns out, Snoop Oni and his crew are actually nice folks by “shady government agency” standards. They give Hibiki a warm welcome. The lady scientist (named Ryouko, but damned if I’m going to remember that, I need to come up with a nickname for her) even tries to take a selfie with Hibiki.
Hamster is understandably overwhelmed and confused by all this, and asks them to explain. But then...
Welp, looks like I found my nickname for you, lady. Say hello to Dr. Perv.
Welp, looks like I found my nickname for you, lady. Say hello to Dr. Perv.
OKAY WHAT THE HELL
I AM SO CONFUSED
Wasn’t the government trying to cover up the Noise?? Apparently I was right that they don’t try, which is why those concert attendees knew what they were. Then WHAT WAS THE CONSENT FORM FOR?
Was it… was it for keeping the mecha-magical girls secret??
BUT WHY?
If your society is under attack by creatures that can ONLY BE BEATEN by mecha-magical girls, why are you keeping those girls secret? You are basically telling your population: LOL MONSTERS, IF ONLY WE HAD SOME SORT OF FIGHTERS WHO COULD DEFEAT THEM, OH WELL CITIZENS, JUST WATCH THE NEWS OF THESE MONSTERS ATTACKING PEOPLE AND KNOW THAT THERE IS NOTHING YOU OR YOUR GOVERNMENT CAN DO ABOUT IT, SWEET DREAMS
I give up. I’ll wait for the anime to explain it.
We get confirmation that the current time is taking place two years after the concert attack and Kanade’s death. This means we are dangerously close to Hibiki’s death, since the opening scene of the first episode was Miku at Hibiki’s grave, with a “two years earlier” placard. Suffering fast approacheth, it seems…
This throws a wrench in my earlier speculation that Hamster inherited Gungnir from Kanade’s death. If she did, why did it take two years to activate? And if she didn’t inherit it, that’s a hell of a big coincidence that Gungnir, like, “reincarnated” in Hibiki of all people. Hopefully, more will become clear as we progress.
Hibiki and Miku go to bed. Hibiki is already struggling with her vow of secrecy.
Oh sweet Madokami, this is only just beginning. My “stay-at-home-wife who has to pick up the broken pieces as her war-weary Oni comes home from battle after battle” prediction from the OP is already coming true. All that suffering their relationship will go through, and we already know per the first episode that Hibiki is going to die and someday won’t come home to Miku, and Miku will just be waiting by the door of their little home wondering where she is and oh my god I’m heartbroken already and it hasn’t even happened yet.
AHHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOO THE PAIN
FUUUUUUUCK MEEEEE
EXCEPT YOU’RE GONNA GODDAMN DIE AND NOT RETURN TO HER AND LEAVE HER ALL ALONE IN THIS WORLD, WHY DID I AGREE TO WATCH THIS ANIME, WHERE IS MY CONSENT AND RELEASE FORM
They better have some type of resurrection plot or “she wasn’t really dead, she just had to pretend to be dead to throw off her enemies”, is all I gotta say! Not that that would lessen the pain on Miku’s side, though, so fuck fuckity fuck.
The two doomed lovers fall asleep in each other’s arms. We cut to Tsubasa in the shower...
...as she angsts over losing Kanade, flashes back to happy memories together, and rages at the thought that some random Hamster is now using Gungnir.
So, the mecha-magical girl power suits are called Gear? Great job, anime, thanks for telling me that halfway through the second goddamn episode when I’ve been calling them power-suits all this time.
“But it’s in the title of the show, Nekekur,” you say.
SILENCE
SILENCE
Tsubasa takes Hamster back to the base, where Dr. Perv tells Hibiki that her physical exam came back fine. (What the fuck was that red-eyed Oni shit, then? I’m still waiting on an explanation.) The doctor finally explains what exactly this Symphogear power is.
Symphogear power comes from Relics, which are pendant-like stones the mecha-magical girls wear as amulets. These Relics were crafted A Long Time Ago and can’t be made anymore. Their power is activated by “a wave that vibrates at a special frequency” (yeah I bet you know all about special vibrations, Dr. Perv), i.e. by a song or those tumblr-shitpost activation phrases I was talking about earlier. The armor spawned from this energy vibration protects the wielder from Noise attacks and allows the Symphogear girls to slay the monsters.
Interesting. If the Relics are ancient, does that mean the Noise also ancient? Have there always been Symphogear girls to fight them off throughout history? How are the girls still covered up by the government, then? Or, if the Symphogear fighters are new but the Noise are old, why did the Noise not overrun humanity with no opposition? Or, if Noise attacks are a new thing, what caused them?
…Okay, so the Relics are old, but the Symphogears are new. See above: if Gear is new, what did you use to fight Noise before? Where did the Noise come from? From corrupted Relics, like tainted Soul Gems that spawn witches?
We get an explanation about Gungnir. Turns out, Hibiki did inherit it from Kanade. Shards of Kanade’s Relic broke off during the concert battle and were lodged in Hamster’s chest. Too tiny to be removed from her body, but containing enough of Gungnir’s essence to give her power.
TSUBASA IS IN THE ROOM WHILE THIS CONVERSATION IS HAPPENING
SHE FINALLY REALIZES WHO HAMSTER IS
STORM’S HERE FOLKS, I HOPE YOU BATTENED THOSE HATCHES SUFFICIENTLY
Or, you know, she could just leave the room without saying anything and save the drama for a future episode, that works too. We lucked out, still some time for battening.
When Snoop Oni tells Hamster she must keep this Symphogear stuff secret to protect “friends, family, and those close to you”, the only person who flashes into Hamster’s head is Miku. No other friends, no family, nobody. Just Miku. Miku is the only person she has.
Fuck.
And so it begins.
The newly-resolved Hamster seeks out Tsubasa in the corridor and asks to be her ally.
Careful what you wish for, fluffy cheeks. I suspect those words just might come true in a way you didn’t want…
Before Tsubasa can respond, the alarm goes off for a Noise attack, just in case viewers thought this episode was going to be all Exposition with brief interludes of Gay.
Hibiki insists on going with Tsubasa to fight the Noise, even though she’s a noob who has no idea what she is doing. Maybe she wants to group up with Tsubasa for an exp bonus and some sweet power-leveling.
It’s mentioned that Tsubasa has trained her whole life to be a Symphogear wielder. If so, how does the government agency decide which little girls to take and train for this? And why do they get these girls to moonlight as pop idols and put out CDs and perform at concerts? To practice their singing, to improve their Gear power maybe?
That’s it, that’s the anime.
Tsubasa reaches the Noise, sings her shitpost-activation, and we get to see her proper transformation sequence!
Yeah man, my rad album covers are back!! Still gnarly.
Hibiki joins the battle, to Tsubasa’s displeasure. Together, the two girls Fuck That Noise (with Tsubasa doing most of the work, because power-leveling).
Aaaand there it is.
STORM’S STILL A’ COMIN, FOLKS.
We’ll see how bad the damage is next episode.
Did they not show the ED last episode, or did I just forget to watch it? Either way, I should talk about it now.
Holy shit. Did I accidentally switch channels to The Cell?
Shit, man. Shit.
This is worse than Magia. I better start tagging this “gore” to be safe.
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So, we made it through Episode 2!
Like most second episodes, it dumped a lot of info and worldbuilding on us, which answered a number of my questions from the first episode. But honestly, it raised even more questions. I’m not sure if this is a confusing show, or if I’m just slow on the uptake. I’m not the most intelligent owl out there, so it’s perfectly possible I’m just missing obvious details the anime is trying to tell me. I can only hope things will get clearer as we progress.
Looking forward to next episode!
