I WAS LIED TO
(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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The Season 2 watch starts tomorrow. Before that, I want to conclude Season 1 with a wrap-up about my impressions of the season and my experience writing these watch/react posts. This isn’t an analysis, just a roundup of stray thoughts now that I can look at the season as a whole.
If you want a one-picture summary of Nekekur Watches Symphogear, here ya go:
If you want more detail on how I feel about this anime now that I’ve finished the first season, let me make it clear:
I WAS LIED TO
There are two things about Symphogear about which I WAS LIED TO. First and foremost being that this would be a fun show.
I was given the distinct impression by my mutuals that Symphogear would be the light, adventurous, colorful type of anime. A feel-good time all around!
“Watch Symphogear, Nekekur, it’s a fun show!”
“Lots of comedy!”
“The main yuri ship is really fluffy!”
“Cool action scenes!”
“I mean, there’s conflict of course, but no heavy angst, ya know?”
These people were utter liars.
But, after all is said and done… they weren’t wrong. I did have an incredible amount of fun watching Symphogear.
Feeling pain at watching these characters struggle means the anime told its story well enough that I feel connected to these characters and want to see them overcome those struggles. When I call this a Wretched Fucking Anime, it’s because it pulled me in tight and won’t let me go. We all suffered because we care about these girls.
Watching them climb the fucking mountain of anguish throughout every episode to finally plant their flag of triumph at its peak in the finale was worth every single heart-twinge I endured along the way. The end message of the show is an uplifting one. I could not be more eager to start Season 2 and throw myself to the pain again.
So, I can confidently say Symphogear Season 1 was a blast! What a fucking ride. Even so, there were some frustrating moments.
There weren’t any significant storytelling gaps I noticed. But, there were various pieces of information Symphogear could have conveyed better to the viewer. Every time I get “it’s explained in the OVAs” or “in the keywords” or similar, all I hear is, “The show chose to make the unwise storytelling decision not to explain it to the anime viewers.”
To vent my frustration in a positive way, I’ve decided to add a new feature. I’m going to start keeping a running tally of these moments in the anime, and readers’ comments I got to that effect.
I call it the More Cohesive Storytelling Payments jar.
Or just the MCSP (pronounced Mucks-Up) jar.
The Mucks-Up jar works like a swear jar. Every time something plot-relevant isn’t adequately explained in the story proper, and instead the anime chooses to explain it in background canon, I’ll pay a dollar to the jar. At the end of all three seasons, or all five depending on the time frame, I’ll tally up how much we gathered and donate it to charity.
I jokingly call it Mucks-Up, but really this tally isn’t the same as plot holes or other mistakes. Overall, the story functioned well and didn’t leave any major gaps, so I’m not gonna go around grumping at Symphogear. These MCSP jar moments aren’t mistakes the anime made, just moments I felt it could have woven more cohesively into the story proper.
If my keeping this jar annoys you, please console yourself with the knowledge that 1) it’s for a good cause, and 2) to maintain the jar I will need to go to the bank several more times to get an indecent number of Ones and make the tellers think I’m the type of person who frequents strip clubs or something. The things I go through for this anime, I swear.
I went back and counted moments like this, and reader commentary to the effect of “it’s explained elsewhere”, so we were able to populate the fund a bit already.
That fucking twenty is in there for the ending Hibiki/Miku scene, because it was so egregious a Mucks-Up moment and because I remain sour about it to this day.
We’ll see if the jar grows further once we start Season 2.
As for the writing process of the posts themselves, that was definitely an “I have no idea what I’m doing”, Hamster-Jesus Take The Wheel adventure.
I’ve never attempted anything like this Watch/React series before. It was so tough to force myself to go slowly, to only watch one episode at a time, to stop and think and type scene-by-scene, when all I wanted to do was binge more more more of this delicious show until I was stuffed to the brim.
At the start, I figured hey, it’ll be a chance to try watching a new anime series in a completely different way from what I’m used to. It’ll be a fun little writing project!
This “fun little writing project” yielded a total of 79,332 words for all 13 episode posts, averaging 6,102 words per episode.
The first Harry Potter book is 77,000 words long. The Diary of Anne Frank is 82,000. The Scarlet Letter is 63,000. It’s not the same thing, I know, since these posts aren’t original fiction, but rather just me relating the story of the anime and detailing my reactions to it. However, in terms of length alone, congratulations to you who soldiered through all of Season 1 with me, you read the equivalent of a damn novel with these posts. (Or a longfic. I know some of you fic writers churn out monsters in the 100,000s and beyond, and I stand in awe of you.)
And we still have four seasons of Symphogear remaining.
Machete-ing a trail through the jungle of this anime scene by scene like this and not seeing the larger picture above the canopy also meant that many of my speculations turned out wrong. Examples include thinking Tsubasa would turn evil and that Hibiki would be the Kadingir, among many others.
Know Your Audience is important in any kind of writing, but I wasn’t even sure who my audience was. In the beginning, it was a handful of mutuals already familiar with the show who enjoy tormenting me. But, since that time, I’ve met a lot of folks from the Symphogear fandom, a couple people told me they started watching Symphogear because of these posts (about which I’m not sure if I should be happy or apologize profusely for subjecting them to the same trials), and a few other people told me they don’t intend to watch Symphogear but still follow along on these posts for the lulz.
It was a fun challenge learning how to make these posts welcoming to a mixed audience of “seen this show a million times and adore it” who never hesitated to inbox me like a coyote pouncing on a squirrel every time I made a Wrong interpretation, and people on the other end of the spectrum who were all, “I Have No Memory Of This Place, so I need you to write what is happening in each scene so I’m not lost as a non-viewer.”
Especially since these posts are not and never have been intended to be a review/analysis of Symphogear. Just me reacting to what I’m watching. The ratio of recap to reaction is a pretty watery line, but hopefully everybody gets what they need out of these posts. Overall, the responses I received were supportive and encouraging. They never failed to make my day and spur me to keep posting!
Because holy shit can Symphogear ARC!
Every character hit the exact notes they needed to hit. From Hibiki growing into her inherited mantle of The Hero and carrying on Kanade’s brave sacrifice to save others, to Tsubasa overcoming grief and finding new purpose in life beyond just being a sword for battle, to Chris unlearning to hate the world and herself and realizing There Are Things Worth Protecting, and even supporting characters like Miku and Snoop Oni growing during the season.
And all these character arcs were tied together seamlessly with the common thread of the season’s main theme: Don’t Give Up On Life.
The MCSP jar is an outlier and should not have been counted. Overall, Symphogear stands upon a solid foundation.
Characters hold a story together, and relationships hold characters together. So, let’s take a took at the three canon yuri relationships of the first season.
Ahhh, blessed Hibiki/Miku. I forgot what a wholesome ship felt like.
Until that happened, anyway. I already said my piece about that in the episode post, so no need to regurgitate my bile. I won’t repeat–
–UGHH NOPE, NO.
STILL IN A FIT over how CRUEL this was to Miku.
No amount of “It’ll be explained once you watch the OVAs” will sweeten this bitterness.
Son of a bitch, this ship was going perfectly until this point, WE COULDA HAD IT AAAAAAALLLLLLL ♪♫
ARGHH WHERE IS MY JAR
Okay, I feel better now. One poorly-handled ending scene doesn’t erase the excellent quality of all the relationship dynamics that came before it.
It’s hard to find such a mutually supportive relationship. Their arc as a couple was about learning to be more honest with each other and trusting each other’s capabilities. Miku’s individual arc was about learning to speak up about her feelings and not swallow them like she did in the early episodes out of fear of making things worse.
Likewise, Hibiki needed to become more honest, too, and learn to count on Miku rather than try to hide things to Keep Her Safe. “Saving” someone and “keeping them safe” are very different. Saving someone is what heroes do, but it doesn’t imply weakness on behalf of the person who was saved. Don’t Give Up On Life as the overarching theme of the season was also manifest in the form of characters finding the strength to participate in their own salvation.
By contrast, “keeping someone safe” usually translates to denying that someone their agency and their wish to fight for what they believe in. Thankfully, Hibiki and the other heroes learned the difference.
I still think it was really clever of Symphogear to give this couple that honest, open talk that they needed so badly, during a scene where they can’t talk due to a monster looming over them. This Tentacruel scene where Hibiki and Miku finally overcome their struggle by working together as a couple remains tied for my favorite scene in the entire season.
So, 10/10, would recommend Hibiki/Miku. Good job, Symphogear!
On to our second canon couple.
Praise Madokami, another wholesome ship!
Well, they were wholesome once Kanade calmed the fuck down.
Kanade went from Bloodthirsty Vengeance to Valiant Leader in like one timeskip scene. It’s a pretty abrupt change, and not much explained. But, I don’t consider this worthy of the MCSP jar. Kanade and all Dead From Chapter One characters are only relevant to the story in how their memory/legacy affects those still living. Primarily Tsubasa, and to a lesser extent Hibiki through the inherited Gungnir and the Don’t Give Up On Life message. So, a lack of explanation on Kanade is perfectly fine. I’m content to have things like that explored in background canon. (I hear the manga has more of her in it, and I look forward to that!)
Kanade’s spirit is a continuous presence throughout the season, always supporting Tsubasa.
Whether this is actually Kanade’s spirit or just Tsubasa’s projected memories of her doesn’t really matter. Either way, Tsubasa had a lot to learn from Kanade. Mainly that there’s more to life than battle. Tsubasa threw herself fully into the warrior life after Kanade’s death, as if that would somehow erase Tsubasa’s perceived failure of letting Kanade die on her.
With Kanade’s help, Tsubasa eventually learns that the proper way to remember her beloved is to live the life Kanade should have lived had she not sacrificed herself to save others. Tsubasa finds new purpose by continuing to sing as an idol, just like Kanade wanted when she convinced Tsubasa to form Zwei Wing with her.
Kanade/Tsubasa doesn’t seem quite as equal-sided a love as Hibiki/Miku. For sure, they’re definitely a couple and Kanade clearly loved Tsubasa dearly and was always there to inspire Tsubasa to be her best self. But, from what we saw, I don’t think Kanade held quite the same You Are My Sun And Stars And Entire Universe mentality that Tsubasa held for her.
This is understandable. Tsubasa is a couple years younger than Kanade, and on top of that, Tsubasa seems to have led a rather isolated childhood focused on training to be a Symphogear wielder, and therefore likely didn’t have many friends growing up. So, Tsubasa falling head over heels for someone big-hearted and bold and full of vivacious energy like Kanade is not at all surprising.
Even with Kanade gone, Tsubasa has dedicated herself to sharing Kanade’s passion for life by inspiring and healing people through song. Kanade using their music to teach Tsubasa that a warrior can heal as well as hurt is a really touching way of structuring a relationship. I’m glad Symphogear gave us this partnership to enjoy.
So, that’s Hibiki/Miku and Kanade/Tsubasa covered…
…which leaves us with our final entry of the three canon yuri relationships.
Welp. They can’t all be wholesome.
Chris and Finé are astronomically unhealthy. As in, the level of inappropriateness is over the fucking Babel-cursed moon. Every time they’re on screen, Depeche Mode starts playing in my head.
We can’t even really call them a couple like the other two relationships. Chris is only with Finé to begin with because Finé captured her when she was fourteen, by stealing her away from the good guys right after they rescued her from her shithole of a childhood being the prisoner of that human trafficking gang.
AND YET…
Chris did hold some kind of affection for Finé. Probably just because Fine was the only person in her life. Regardless, Chris is not naive enough to think Finé loves her, only that Finé “understands” her.
Finé gave Chris power, through Ichaival and Nehushtan, and Chris thought this meant they could work together for the same goal of making the world a better place.
Chris had no idea that Finé didn’t truly want to make the world a better place the same way Chris did. When Finé reveals her plan to destroy the world and remake it into one she will rule, Chris is disgusted. Pretty much calls her a Basic Bitch.
On Finé’s side, we never see her display any affection for Chris whatsoever. Unless Finé really did convince herself that inflicting pain is the best way of showing love, like she mentioned a couple times. To Finé, Chris was a tool, a source of entertainment through sexual torment, and that seems to be all. When Chris sacrifices herself with a Climax Song to stop Kadingir, Finé doesn’t express the slightest sorrow. She does the opposite, mocking Chris’s sacrifice and calling it foolish.
Chris knew she was stuck in a shitty situation with an abusive asshole.
Chris nevertheless chose to stay and continue being Finé’s tool and toy. After such a horrendous childhood, Chris convinced herself that even being with a villain and doing awful things at their command was better than being lonely.
I mean, look at Chris’s face when Finé cuts her loose.
And when Finé tosses her aside a second time and tries to kill her with Noise.
And later, when Chris is lost and alone and unsure of her purpose in life, she falls to her knees in an empty alley and cries Finé’s name.
And once this shitlord finally dies and Chris is free of her, Chris can’t even force herself to be happy about it. The other characters in this scene have tears in their eyes, but Chris is the only one who actually lets them stream down her cheeks.
This type of shot composition doesn’t happen by accident. The anime deliberately chose to show Chris last out of all the characters watching Finé die, have the camera linger on Chris the longest, and make Chris the only one actually overcome by tears to the point she bites her lip and bows her head.
There’s a whole tangled mess of emotions Chris must be feeling right now. That sure isn’t relief on her face as she watches Finé die.
Convincing someone they’re unlovable and they deserve pain is the most poisonous thing you could ever possibly trick them into believing. Especially an isolated person like Chris who had no one else in her life but Finé, no family or friends or mentors or anything.
Finé could’ve chosen to help Chris heal and grow into a better person. Instead, Finé chose to further abuse her. Thank Hamster-Jesus that Chris ended up strong-hearted enough to redeem herself despite Finé’s vile influence.
Chris and Finé are just plain fucked up.
They’re also my favorite of the three relationships.
“THAT’S THE LAST STRAW, NEKEKUR,” I hear you holler as you slam your fist on the table. “This time you’ve gone too far. We’re calling the cops!”
Hold up, hold up, I should clarify. When I say favorite, I don’t mean, “I want more of them together.” Finé’s awful, and being cut loose by her was the best thing that ever happened to Chris. I don’t ship them together. What I mean by favorite is that I find their dynamic just plain fascinating.
Because they’re practically the same person.
Both of them hate the world and want to transform it into something new. Both of them believe humans are inherently awful. Both of them are bitter, solitary, and unwilling to make friends. Both of them use extreme violence against people in their way.
Chris even wears Finé’s Nehushtan Relic early in the story, showing Finé’s influence over her. But, once Chris starts her redemption arc, she removes her Nehushtan mask, showing her true face and her true desire to be a good person, unlike Finé.
Once we get the Who Wore It Better competition, we see that Finé’s version of Nehushtan has no mask. Because, the Evil Asshole persona really is Finé’s identity, it’s not a temporary thing which is overcome like Chris’s mask and corresponding assholery.
The only major difference between Chris and Finé is compassion. Finé shows again and again that she gives zero shits about who gets hurt or killed by her.
Chris does give a shit. Several shits. She’s willing to use violence, but not against innocent people like Finé is. Chris only wants to hurt people in power who would cause suffering for others. She regrets hurting people who don’t deserve it.
Chris’s character arc this season was about redemption. It was about surpassing her worst self. Finé is Chris’s worst self.
If Chris hadn’t unlearned all that hatred, if she had allowed Finé’s influence to rule her, she would’ve ended up cast exactly in the same mold as Finé. Chris would’ve been another villain who refused to grow into a better person.
When Chris actually does complete her redemption arc by realizing that she wants to protect this world and the people in it so she can carry on her parents’ love for her, Chris co-opts Finé’s butterfly symbol.
We talked during the finale post about how Finé is the failed butterfly, the one who was never able to metamorphose and be reborn into a better person, no matter how many reincarnations she has. Chris is the successful butterfly, the one who metamorphoses into a Good person, refusing to let Finé’s shit damage her own growth. Chris’s use of this butterfly symbol to mock Finé’s pathetic-ness is such an awesome Fuck You moment and I completely adore it.
The reverse side of this is that Chris is the person Finé should have been. If Finé hadn’t let bitterness overcome her all those centuries ago, if she had realized humanity actually is worth saving, Finé could’ve become a powerful, if vicious, fighter for Good like Chris eventually develops into.
One thing I adore seeing in fiction (don’t you dare call it a “kink” I swear to god I will find you) is when protagonists and antagonists are opposing parallels to each other. Basically, I fucking love it when the villain is just a shitty reflection of the hero.
Finé and Chris hit that mark fabulously and it’s why they’re my favorite. But really, Finé is a shitty reflection of the other magical girls, too.
Finé is a worse Hibiki. You’d think these two are nothing alike, but they have a surprising amount in common.
For starters, Hibiki and Finé have a similar color scheme. Blonde hair, yellow eyes, yellow-orange armor… That’s not an accident. Color alignment is a major Thing in anime, especially magical girl/superhero anime, where each hero has a distinct color they are identified by. Look at any lineup of magical girls, it’s unusual to find two of the same color.
Symphogear choosing to match the main hero with the villain is significant.
Hibiki and Finé are both Rebirth figures, as well. We talked a lot throughout the season about how Hibiki is a Rebirth-Savior character archetype, and then about how Finé fails at the rebirth theme despite her butterfly motif, because she never really grows as a person.
Hibiki and Finé are also alike in that they’re the only human/Relic fusions to exist.
Both of them “inherit” their fusions. Hibiki has a Good inheritance from Kanade’s sacrifice, while Finé has the Bad inheritance of studying and exploiting Hibiki’s Frothing Berserker mode.
Get a girl who can do both.
Also, Hibiki and Finé’s power is in their hands. Hibiki uses her fists as her main weapon, and Finé has that weird glowing blue hand thingy she activates Nehushtan with.
But, Finé uses her hands to cause pain.
Hibiki, by contrast, uses her hands for healing as much as harming. She opens her hands to befriend others instead of hurting them, which Finé never does.
We even get an instance of the Parallel-Opposites theme between Hibiki and Finé in the form of selfies, believe it or not.
When they first meet, Finé tries to take a selfie with Hibiki without her consent. Hibiki refuses because her hands were cuffed at the time, and she says a picture like that wouldn’t be a happy memory.
Finé, however, clearly isn’t bothered by binding people’s hands (there’s that Hand symbolism again) against their wills and creating unhappy memories.
Later in the season, we get the parallel-opposite version of the attempted Finé/Hibiki selfie.
Hibiki and Miku take a mutually consenting selfie, and frame it in their dorm to keep as a happy memory. It’s even the picture Miku chooses to place on Hibiki’s grave to remember her forever.
The number of Shitty Reflections our hero and villain hit is surprisingly high. Much more so than I would’ve expected when Finé was first introduced.
In addition to Hibiki, Finé is also a worse version of Tsubasa.
Both Tsubasa and Finé lost their connection to the one they loved. Lost their whole reason for being.
Tsubasa learns to live with the grief and finds new purpose in her life. In a way, she even manages to reconnect with her lost lover through comradeship with Hibiki, who is the closest thing to Kanade’s living legacy.
Unlike Tsubasa, Finé doesn’t learn to live with her grief or find new purpose. Finé spends thousands of years obsessing over someday breaking her god’s curse and flying up to reach him again. Finé never realizes that with this obsession she is only hunching herself tighter into her cocoon, instead of regrowing her wings like the surviving half of Zwei Wing was able to do.
For Finé, there can be no new generation, because she steals it from them. She takes away the lives of her descendants by possessing their bodies, like she did to Ryouko. Finé refuses to leave things to the next generation, therefore she cannot create a lasting legacy like Kanade did. She just keeps coming back like a really persistent rash.
There’s one more character we could compare Finé to.
We could look at Finé and Snoop Oni as contrasting views of adulthood.
Finé, in her relationship with Chris and her treatment of Tsubasa and Hibiki while disguised as Ryouko, shows how she fails as an adult.
I often hear people playfully complain along the lines of, “Oh my god, I can’t even make a dentist appointment or spend money wisely, I’m a failed adult.” Dude… dude, chill, it’s okay, you’ll get there eventually, that’s not a failure of adulthood. The only way to fail as an adult is to damage the development of people who are not adults.
Finé fucks up the teenagers who are partially under her guidance. Or fully under her guidance, in Chris’s case.
With Hibiki, Finé turns this adorable little Hamster into her personal Guinea Pig for experimentation. She manipulates Hibiki into activating Durandal for her, not caring if Hibiki dies serving her purposes, just like she didn’t care when Kanade died.
Finé is also completely inappropriate with Hibiki and later with Miku, abusing her position of adult power to make non-consensual advances on these minors, like biting Hibiki’s ear sexily and stroking her claws over Miku’s lips.
This Is Not The Joy Yuri I Wished For.
Finé lets Tsubasa, who she’s known since the girl was tiny, fucking rot in grief and self-loathing until Tsubasa nearly splinters herself into shards. Not only is Finé responsible for this, as she’s the one who got Kanade killed, but Finé makes it worse by standing aside for two years and refusing to help Tsubasa.
Seeing someone dependent on you be in pain and doing nothing to help them is unforgivable. It goes against what it means to be an adult, in other words a fully-developed and Whole human being, who is supposed to help guide younger, still-developing human beings in their growth toward Wholeness.
Snoop Oni contrasts heavily with Finé in this. He actually is a responsible adult, because he knows how to support the young people under his care and not catastrophically fuck them up.
Compare the way Finé embraces Chris to the way Snoop Oni embraces her.
These two embraces even take place in the same room! Chris returns to Finé’s abandoned mansion looking for revenge or rekindling or who fucking knows what, but it’s Snoop Oni she finds there instead of Finé. When Finé’s trap blows the place up like that one Ke$ha song, all that’s left is a broken shell of the room where we had to watch Chris be sexually tortured.
But, through the broken shell of this room that is also the broken shell of Chris’s awful past, the symbolic sunlight can now shine in. And Snoop Oni is there to do what a Good Adult should have done for Chris, which is help bring that light back into her life. He doesn’t berate Chris for all the bad shit she’s done, and he doesn’t tell her she’s unlovable like Finé did.
Instead, he gives Chris hope and support. He gently reminds her that she is loved, by telling her how he believes her parents would still love her and how she can live their dream and return to the good guy’s side.
Snoop Oni doesn’t hate the world like Finé does. Despite the terrible things he’s seen, he still believes he can make a difference for the better. His character Doesn’t Give Up On Life.
All the good characters follow that theme of Don’t Give Up On Life. Finé is the only one who does give up on the world.
After Chris opens up to Snoop Oni in that mansion scene, he respects her distance and doesn’t try to force her to join the team. He lets Chris make her own way and her own decisions, for better or for worse. That’s all you can do with teenagers. Guide but don’t rein.
He shows the same respect to the other Symphogear girls under his care. He’s protective of Tsubasa and Hibiki, but he never talks down to them or underestimates their competency. He trusts them as capable fighters, and lets them stand by their own triumphs and defeats.
We saw with Miku and Hibiki’s relationship how loving a person sometimes means letting them take risks in order to follow their beliefs. Even if it pains you to watch them possibly get hurt. Snoop Oni loves his niece Tsubasa and his student Hibiki enough to know that they have their own purpose for becoming warriors. He doesn’t try to “keep them safe”, because he knows that would deprive Tsubasa and Hibiki of the chance to fight for what they want to protect.
With this form of non-intrusive support backing them, Tsubasa, Hibiki, and Chris are able to create their own path and become their own heroes. They grow into more whole and therefore more powerful people by the end of the season.
Finé sucks because she leeches the power of others, rather than cultivating her own like the magical girls do.
Finé steals the lives of her descendants such as Ryouko, leeching off their bodies. She summons Noise to act as her minions instead of risking herself. She captures an abused girl and further abuses that girl into being her tool, trapping Chris in a poisonous loop. Finé also leeches off Hibiki, using Hibiki’s human-Relic fusion for Finé’s experiments to make herself more powerful. Finé manipulates the agency into unknowingly funding her Kadingir, leeching their resources to build her personal Stairway To Heaven.
Speaking of Kadingir, that’s another giant object of fake/leeched power. Finé must build a tower in order to climb to heaven, because again she’s the failed butterfly who was never able to metamorphose, to grow her own wings to fly herself to heaven.
The other girls are true to their own strength and their love for others, so they’re the ones who become kick-ass winged beings able to transcend.
Meanwhile, Finé is stuck down on the ground below, still trying to brick up her tower that always crumbles beneath her feet every time she tries to climb it, and she never understands why she keeps failing while in the same breath she mocks the girls for believing in things like love and friendship.
This is a classic core theme of the magical girl genre. Love and Friendship make our heroes strong, magically strong. The villains are selfish assholes who don’t love or befriend anyone (or, they twist the idea of love into something unrecognizable and take agency away from the person they claim to love), therefore the villains are weak in the end.
This is why Hibiki, Tsubasa, and Chris are all “reborn” at the end of the season by symbolically coming back from the dead. Through shared love, they become a team more powerful than they are as individuals, and they overcome death together. Hibiki and the other girls Transcend Self by connecting with other people through the many kinds of love, whether romantic or familial or friendship.
Finé tries to Transcend Self by abusing, leeching, and breaking down other people. And she fails at accomplishing her goal, for thousands of years on repeat, never living up to her own butterfly symbol of rebirth and growth.
Even Finé’s choice of weapon reflects her lack of personal power and her preference for manipulation. She uses Nehushtan’s pauldrons as whips. But, whips aren’t really a weapon, not like Chris’s guns or Tsubasa’s swords. Whips aren’t supposed to kill, they’re used to cause pain to punish and force into obedience. Finé would rather use manipulation and abuse to get someone to go along with her than fight them fairly one-on-one.
Finé doesn’t use her fists until she’s really pissed. Like when she slaps Miku for daring to be brave enough defy her, or when she flings Hibiki around in a tantrum after Tsubasa destroys Kadingir. Compare this to Chris’s version of Nehushtan – Chris was a much more bodily fighter with this Relic, throwing a lot of punches and kicks in addition to the whip lashes.
As Hibiki found out pretty painfully.
All these parallels/contrasts between our heroes and villain really fascinate me. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said Symphogear’s best quality to me is its character writing. This anime put a lot of thought and heart into the development of these characters.
Remember at the start of this post, I said there were two things about this anime about which I WAS LIED TO, the first being that it would be lighthearted?
Here’s the second one.
I was lied to that this anime was bad.
The people who told me Symphogear was a lighthearted, fun, girl-centric action anime that they loved are the same people who quickly backpedaled, as if they regretted liking it and recommending it, as if they were trying to shovel dirt over this mound before I noticed. They didn’t say Symphogear was Bad bad, but they basically told me it would be a popcorn anime with little substance or thought-provoking moments, and above all shouldn’t be taken seriously.
What the fuck were you people talking about.
Why would this be considered a bad or a pointless anime? Because it has some ass shots and goofy moments? Please. When I think “trashy fanservice anime with little redeeming qualities” I think of shows like Queen’s Blade or Valkyrie Drive or even Cross Ange. Heck, even trashy fanservice anime have their place. I had fun watching garbage like Cross Ange and the rest.
Symphogear is worlds apart from what I think of as Bad Anime. Much effort was put into this anime, and it shows.
The characters are fleshed out, they climb significant arcs over the course of the season, and they’re just plain fun and memorable. The overarching themes are touching and well-executed. This anime isn’t what I’d call Tightly Plotted, but the plot is functional, doesn’t leave any gaps…
…Not huge gaps, anyway, and it flows steadily along a story development curve through the season.
The animation itself is lovely. A pleasure to watch, from the character design to the action scenes to the musical performances. Speaking of the music, the songs in this show are another of its good qualities. It was creative of this anime to work in a way to make its songs diegetic the majority of the time, but also balance them out with a more standard OST/BGM for other scenes. The anime also draws from mythological and literary allusions, it uses a lot of thought-provoking symbolism and parallelism for its characters, and the overall story is internally cohesive.
I can’t yet speak for the other seasons. But, as for Season 1, this anime is good, solid storytelling, worthy of praise. The people who told me not to expect much out of Symphogear were so very wrong, but I think maybe they were just nervous.
A lot of us are scared to admit to liking things. Symphogear isn’t a genre-redefining masterpiece, and therefore people worry they’ll be subject to criticism for loving anything that is less than 100% perfect and inimitable. It’s popular within internet culture to make fun of something you dislike instead of openly enjoying something you like. I’m happy to tease the flawed or nonsensical moments in this anime when I come across them (MCSP jar is currently at $53 and counting), but the anime as a whole is a well-put-together story, and I’m happy to keep watching it. I Regret Nothing.
I declare this anime to be Good, and I will stand by that. And in case anyone needed it, I give everyone reading this permission to openly like Symphogear and not pretend you think it’s bad just to deflect criticism from the anti-fun crowd.
I’ve decided to conclude this Season 1 Wrap-Up with farewell letters to our characters, and a hope for what Season 2 might have in store for them.
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Dear Hibiki,
Adorable little fluffy-cheeked Hamster full of sunshine and perseverance. Tiny fierce determination warrior who fists everything. You are so lovable and admirable I don’t know whether to squeeze you or build a shrine.
You went from someone who thought she had no worth…
…to someone who proudly fights for what she wants to protect. No matter how many times you were battered down, you got back up and punched back.
I struggle every day against my own end, and have for years now. Messages of hope from characters like you and your fellow Rebirth-Savior archetype Madoka (same voice actor, even) always hit me really hard. Optimism is beyond my reach, but with your inspiration then maybe hope isn’t. Thank you for reminding me Don’t Give Up On Life.
What I’d like to see for her in Season 2:
Making amends to Miku for what you put her through in the finale. Also, more fisting!
Uh, but please not both of those things at the same time…
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Dear Miku,
The bravest little green garden gnome I ever did see. I’ll never forget the time you ran up to Finé and shoulder-checked her like a goddamn hockey player.
You didn’t make much impression on me the first couple episodes. I thought you were just going to be the Poor Beleaguered Wife who helplessly watches her hero run off into battle after battle and is unable to do anything except look on forlornly and wave a handkerchief. It wasn’t until the Tentacruel scene that you truly won my heart.
You showed me how brave you are. Willing to risk your life, despite having no magical powers like the other girls. You embody the difference between Might and Strength, showing us that even “weak” people can still be strong enough to protect what they love through whatever means they can. And you kept that up the entire season.
What I’d like to see for her in Season 2:
More of that wonderful courage. Less of putting up with Hibiki’s crappy handling of your relationship. I know she’s awfully cute, but honey you really ought to tighten that leash.
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Dear Tsubasa,
You are such a drama queen. I can’t imagine what your insurance premium is on that fucking motorcycle.
You are also so thirst-inducing it probably worsened the already hefty drought in my entire state.
Okay, okay, but seriously, I am so proud of you.
In the early episodes, I was expecting you to be overcome by resentment over losing Kanade, eventually turning against the good guys and having to be brought back to the light by Hibiki and Kanade’s spirit. But, that was before we met Chris, who ended up shouldering the whole redemption theme really well. Your arc instead was about breaking out of a pattern of self-loathing, and unlearning the habit of thinking of yourself as a failure.
Your solo concert remains tied with the Tentacruel scene as my favorite moment in the whole season. You were brave enough to forgive yourself and to lay the past to rest peacefully, looking toward a future with a new purpose.
Here’s what I said when first watching that beautiful moment:
“It’s no wonder Tsubasa is moved to tears in this scene. Breaking out of a pattern of self-loathing and grief isn’t easy. When you’ve suffered as long as Tsubasa has, releasing your pain feels like another death, and you grieve all over again. Not only is she leaving behind the pain, she’s leaving behind the self that was trapped by that pain, and that’s godddamn scary to live through.
Pain endured long enough starts to feel like maybe it’s just one of your personality traits now. She has to forge herself into an entirely new person and identity than the one she’s been living as for the past two years since Kanade died. It takes a whole lot of bravery to become a better person, but if Tsubasa can pull it off like she seems to be well on her way to doing, then the person she becomes will be so much more complete.”
Nothing that happened in the episodes since then has changed my opinion. I’m so proud of you, Tsubasa, and so inspired by you.
What I’d like to see for her in Season 2:
More of that spinning slashing Leg Thing.
Seriously, I cannot get enough.
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Dear Chris,
I love you, but your hair is ridiculous.
I already gushed about how much I love your character arc when I was talking about your relation to Finé earlier, so instead I’ll use this letter to ask you a few questions.
I still don’t know why you threw yourself out that window.
But, it sure was memorable.
I’m also not sure why you never warned the good guys that Ryouko was Finé in disguise. I get it during that window-smashing scene, since you still didn’t trust Snoop Oni and the agency at that point and had no motivation to help them.
But, what about after you cried in Snoop Oni’s arms? After that scene, you went to the trouble of trying to help him by telling him what you knew about Kadingir. And yet, you still held back on telling him what you knew about Finé/Ryouko? If you try to tell me that you did tell him about it somewhere, then it happened off-camera and wasn’t made clear to the viewer, so… I like you, don’t make me put a dollar in the More Cohesive Storytelling Payments jar.
What I’d like to see for Chris in Season 2:
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Dear Snoop Oni,
Sorry I saddled you with a nickname that is equal parts shitty and indelible. But, when you were introduced…
…the first thing that popped into my head was, “He looks like Snoop Lion fucked an Oni,” and it just stuck. I will probably continue to call you this unto perpetuity.
But perk up, my good sir, because you accomplished what no one before you ever had: being a male supporting character in a yuri anime who didn’t annoy me! I actually got pretty fond of the big spiky lion dad by the end.
What I’d like to see for him in Season 2:
More of being the Good Dad of the team. Really, it’s great. Anime parents are usually completely absent, completely useless, or completely assholes. It’s refreshing to see a parental figure who contributes to the plot and character development in a positive way, but doesn’t take the spotlight away from the main heroes or start unnecessary drama on his own. Keep up the good work.
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Dear Finé, a.k.a. Ryouko/Topless/Dr. Perv/She of Many Names,
Finé… How do I even begin to explain Finé…
I’m still not quite sure what your goal was, Finé. Oh, not the whole “shoot the moon” thing. I’ve made my peace with that bizarreness.
I mean what your goal around the mid-season was.
You sent Chris to kidnap Hibiki because… why? I get that you needed Hibiki to experiment on to eventually fuse yourself with Nehushtan. However, you were already experimenting on Hibiki in the agency’s base in your Ryouko persona, without Hibiki suspecting at all. Why kidnap Hamster when you already had her in your hands to experiment upon freely? The only thing this attempted kidnapping accomplished was alerting the agency they had a traitor somewhere.
Speaking of alerting the agency to things they should not have known, why the fuck did you send Chris/Nehushtan to do the kidnapping? You could’ve just kidnapped Hibiki yourself, lazy-ass leech.
This decision revealed to the agency that someone out there was in control of Chris, of Nehushtan, and later of Ichaival. All three of which were “stolen” powerful things the good guys had no idea the current whereabouts of. Seems like a big trump card for you to reveal in the early game, Finé.
Was Chris just chomping at the bit to actually go out and do something instead of hanging around your mansion all day in various suspension rigs, so you gave Chris some kind of mission to keep her busy? “We needed a way to introduce Chris to the story” is kinda weak. I’m not complaining about the end result, since I freaking love Chris and Tsubasa’s vicious, catty duel, but still.
Also, the reason you attempted to steal Durandal in the above scene wasn’t made clear to the viewer. You needed Durandal to stay in the base to power Kadingir. Why steal it if you intended to bring it back later?
I guess we’re supposed to infer that you never meant to steal Durandal. You just pretended to want to steal it, to trick the good guys into trying to move Durandal elsewhere, at which point you manipulated Hibiki into awakening the sword for you before the good guys brought it back home to the base. That’s kinda sinuous logic though.
None of this stuff qualifies as a plot hole, though. Finé may have just changed her mind somewhere during the season, and the story still functions just fine. However, the whole deal could have been presented more coherently to the viewer, so I’ll put a dollar toward the MCSP fund.
(Honestly not at all relevant and not worth a Mucks-Up dollar, but I still want to know... Where the fuck does your food come from, Finé? Do you spend hours slaving in the kitchen in the nude? Do you have a fucking squad of servants hanging around the mansion who aren’t creeped out by their employer’s various torture devices? Also, lol, that’s two champagne glasses on that food cart you shared with Chris. Minor compared to your other shitbaggery, but you gave a teenager alcohol.)
Anyway, this was supposed to be a farewell letter to Finé. I should say something positive about you after doing nothing but lashing you for, like, 70% of this entire post.
Um… positive…
Uhh…
Well, at least you can rock a pair of Louboutins! I mean damn.
Seriously though, you were vile, selfish, obscene, murderous, cruel, manipulative, and fully unrepentant. You were a complete shitlord, and…
…and I miss you already.
What a blast you were to watch! You were mesmerizing in your incredible sleazy and sinister villainy. I’m so glad you were part of this show. Awesome antagonist for an awesome first season to kick off a franchise.
What I’d like to see for her in Season 2:
Well, I doubt she’ll be in Season 2, considering her All We Are Is Dust On The Wind death scene.
Besides, bringing her back for Season 2 would defeat Hibiki’s final wish for her. Finé’s tiny chance at redemption hinged on Hibiki’s request for Finé to wait to reincarnate until Hibiki and the rest have passed on, so Finé can then carry on Hibiki’s message of hope to a future generation of people that Hibiki herself won’t be able to reach.
So instead, I’ll just say that whoever next season’s antagonist is, they are gonna have to StairMaster so hard it’ll mold their ass into sculpted perfection if they want to climb anywhere near Finé’s top-level villainy. High bar to clear, all I’m saying.
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And finally, it’s not a person from the anime, but…
Dear everyone who supported me through this bold new venture, a.k.a. this living entombment in my suffering:
I’ve gotten closer to mutuals I didn’t know as well before, and I’ve met a ton of new folks who were brave enough to strike up conversation with me over these Watch/React posts. Thank you to every single one of you readers for the encouragement, the good humor, and the patience you provide.
I’m so glad I started watching Symphogear. Not only because it’s a good anime on its own, but because the majority of its fandom seems like a bang-up crowd. I can’t wait until I finish the entire series and can actually participate in this fandom properly, instead of blocking everything out for the sake of avoiding spoilers. I hope you will continue to ride along with me until that point, and watch me alternately weep and gush over this great show.
I hope Season 2 will bring more tears and enjoyment for us all! We’ll find out tomorrow with Episode 1!
Lastly, to my sadistic “friends” who tricked me into subjecting myself to Symphogear to begin with…
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