Senki Zesshou Symphogear G

Three months after a Lunar Attack which nearly caused Earth's destruction, Hibiki Tachibana, Tsubasa Kazanari, and Chris Yukine continue to fight the Noise—a mysterious alien threat—using powerful armor known as Symphogear. After defending an American convoy from a Noise attack, Hibiki and Chris race toward the Queens of Music concert hall to attend one of Tsubasa's concerts.

Meanwhile, Tsubasa and rising international superstar Maria Cadenzavna Eve deliver an amazing performance that is broadcast throughout the entire world. Just as the concert is about to conclude, a group of Noise suddenly appear, plunging the hall into chaos. Amidst the panic, Maria declares war against the world as the successor of Finé—Chris' former mistress—and her allies Kirika Akatsuki and Shirabe Tsukuyomi reveal Symphogear powers of their own. After initiating a skirmish with Tsubasa and her teammates, they retreat mysteriously, leaving the three friends bewildered as to what their true intentions could be.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tachibana, Hibiki Main

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Yukine, Chris Main

Takagaki, Ayahi Japanese

Kazanari, Tsubasa Main

Mizuki, Nana Japanese

Akatsuki, Kirika Supporting

Kayano, Ai Japanese

Cadenzavna Eve, Maria Supporting

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Tsukuyomi, Shirabe Supporting

Nanjou, Yoshino Japanese

Kohinata, Miku Supporting

Iguchi, Yuka Japanese

Amou, Kanade Supporting

Takayama, Minami Japanese

Kazanari, Genjuurou Supporting

Ishikawa, Hideo Japanese

Vercingetorix, John Wayne Supporting

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Morii, Yuusuke Producer

Hamamoto, Yumi Producer

Ono, Katsumi Director

Motoyama, Satoshi Sound Director

Reviews

Mar 2, 2024

Canafa

Recommended

Symphogear G improves in several ways over the first season, though in other ways feels like it fails to quite live up to the same breakneck antics that made the first season work so well. On the whole, though, it still maintains the same level of enjoyability, and while it can drag at times it feels very much like a natural continuation of the previous season.

As with the last season, the first episode actually sets the ball rolling almost immediately, with a very powerful opening scene. However, after this, the season loses steam much faster than the previous one, and is overall much more stop-and-go ... than the full-steam-ahead of season one. That's not to say that the drama isn't there, as it most certainly is, and one of my favourite sequences of the show occurs around episode 5. It's just more hit-and-miss than the previous season. Like the previous season, the mystery is solved by around episode 5, with the story throwing as many twists as it can in to make the plot finish out the season. Unlike the previous season which makes it work as a (somewhat) coherent story, this season definitely feels more meander-y, with the plot slowing down to a crawl for a few episodes.

While I will defend the characterizations and arcs of the first season, I do have to admit that this season did the characters better than season one, though it feels like at least some of the character progressions are repeats of what had happened the previous season. The background characters aren't given quite as much attention, though the new additions to the main cast more than make up for this, as all three are given quite good characters. Finally, the "twist" villain is... significantly worse than that of the previous season, with poorer execution and an infinitely worse motivation.

The continued brutalization of the Climax Song aside, the season didn't actually do power creep as badly as the previous season. I liked the direction that they went w/ Hibiki's gear, and there are some clever things done with the gears throughout the season. With the absence of a certain character, there's less explanation about how specific systems work, though with how handwavey the systems are anyways I consider that a good thing. As with the previous season, the finale goes just a bit over-the-top for my taste, but on the whole I feel the power levels were much more engaging.

The show, as with nearly all anime, also still suffers from the occasional show-then-tell-anyway problem that cropped up in the last season, with an equally egregious example placed in for the sake of a twist that was easy to see coming from several miles away. And, as with the previous season, there is a shower scene. So be advised if those ick you.

Animation is done way more consistently than in season 1, with fewer of the Jpeg background images that showed up in key moments, though I'd still hesitate to call it great, just good. Which is better than the "fine" of the last season. The soundtrack is also very good, with one of my favourite songs of the series cropping up about midway through the season, the sound design is still done competently, and though the voice acting misses some of the raw highs of the first season, it's still punchy enough to sell it in my opinion.

This review may read like I don't like Symphogear G as much as I do the first season; however, I do still think they both have their merits, and both deserve the same rating. While there are a lot of things G does worse in little ways than the first season, those few things it does better it does so by quite enough that it comes together to the same mile-a-minute don't-think-too-hard package that worked so well for the first season!

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Canafa (5)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Oct 16, 2013

Infinite

Mixed Feelings

If you've watched the first season of Symphogear then you have a good idea of what to expect from this series; poorly developed characters, a completely bonkers plot, bad drama, bizarre plot twists and general all round silliness. However whilst that may be the case, this series is superior to its predecessor in several key areas, making it a significantly more enjoyable watch. In fact, whilst this series still suffers from the multitude of flaws and failures of the first season, there is the possibility that you may even enjoy it.

The visuals are far more consistent than they were before, there will be no scenes ... with absolutely atrocious animation or badly drawn faces, and all the fights are competently done, although the budget is still noticeable limited. This is very noticeable with the art, the backgrounds lack detail, are usually completely bare and are nothing in the way of eye candy. The character designs for the girls are diverse and have a lot of charm, whereas those for everyone else have much less thought put into them. If they had more money to pump into the show all of them would have looked much better. At least they have their priorities right with focusing on the female characters.

The soundtrack also is an improvement upon the last season, there were a couple of insert songs that may catch your liking, both of which were sung by Takagaki Ayahi, the seiyuu for Chris, who is by far the best singer in the cast. The lyrics for the songs (if you your subs provide them) are incredibly cheesy and are often funny because of that, they rather fit into the spirit of the show. The other seiyuu aren't bad singers, and some of their songs are also pretty nice, however it is Chris that runs away with it.

The characters are much more likable this season, and the developments of the characters (notably the three new ones introduced), whilst clumsy and lacking subtlety are markedly better than the random character developments of the last season. The characters are really weak, however despite this they are still quite endearing, to the extent where some of their annoying habits become lovable quirks. In all they are much like the show, really poorly written and lacking any depth, but that's just a strange part of their appeal. Sadly, for all my back-handed praise, they are not characters that you will forever remember, if not for the character designs they are entirely forgettable. They lack the depth to leave a lasting impression. Additionally some of the characters still manage to be annoying on occasion, however those events are few and far between.

The plot is disappointing the sense that it does not reach the ludicrous moon-shattering events of the first season, it does somewhat make up for it by being much more cheesy. In any case, whilst slightly more grounded, the writing is still horrendous. For one it managed to make the fairly simple plot convoluted to the point where it was unclear what exactly was going on. Additionally serious plot twists which are sporadically introduced get either dismissed or resolved easily and are instantly forgotten about despite the fact they should be major events, and even some major points which build up throughout the series are effortlessly resolved out of nowhere. The antagonist is also an atrociously written character, his motives are beyond cliché, his actions are inane, and his personality is one dimensional and he has only two emotions, hysterical or cocky. Despite his amazing seiyuu he is an incredibly irritating character towards the end, he was far inferior even to Fine in the first season.

So whilst Symphogear has improved in most areas, it is still a very poor show on paper, and indeed if you cannot ignore bad writing, and cannot let go stupid things, then I do not recommend this show, because you will be in for the same experience as you had watching the first season. However if you can embrace Symphogear for the incredibly earnest and cheesy show it is then you may have an enjoyable experience watching it. You will find that there are plenty of things to laugh and smile about; one scene in the latter half had me in fits of laughter, and another near the begging had me smiling at how lovable Chris was despite everything. Having watched the first season you should know well by now whether you will be able to enjoy the show or not even if this season is considerably more enjoyable.

Overall, I will say pretty much the same of this season as I did the last; if you can embrace this for the earnestly silly show that it is then you should be able to have some good fun watching it with its somewhat unique appeal. However if you cannot abide watching an anime that does almost every single technical and literacy aspect wrong, then I simply cannot recommend it, because you're going to have a rough time.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Infinite (15)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Jul 21, 2023

Phasar2022

Not Recommended

Funny

Symphogear is about high school, magical girls who activate their powers through singing, and their battle against Noise, evil creatures controlled by vindictive magical girls. Due to the activation and control of these relics through sounds, these magical girls also "moonlight" as idol singers. The plot armor for why high school girls save the world is that ancient relics can only be activated through certain frequencies, which only certain chosen ones possess. Closing the distance between yourself and your symphogear increases your power, and there are a few pure relics only a chosen few can possess, wielding nearly unlimited power.

Is the plot made up on ... the spot? Of course. Is anything ever explained? No. Stock footage? Check. Dramatic voice lines? Check. Signature moves? Check. Transformation sequences? Check. Comic fanservice? Check. Leery camera angles? Check. Undefeatable finishing move? Check. Vague platitudes? Check. Action training sequence? Check. Impossible physics? Check. Stripperific outfits? Check. Magical stripping to unlock superpowers? Check. Undercover spy? Check. Chosen one? Check. Improbably well-endowed women? Check. Creepy bath scenes? Check. Boob closeups? Check. Gratuitous boob jiggling? Check. Groin shots? Check. Boobs larger than a character's head? Check. Nudity for the ending credits? Check. Lesbian for the camera? Check. Save the cat? Check.

But Symphogear is awful outside of just the horrendous plot and fan service. An emotionally and physically abusive mom is repeatedly framed as loving, with her children missing just how great she was after her death. Even though she even subjected them to medical experimentation, she's framed as actually good because she cries while she abuses her children. Abuse isn't a character flaw as long as you have good intentions while you carry it out, since it's simply tough love. It doesn't matter that they're child soldiers to carry out terrorism as long as you love them.

Even if you ignore all its problematic elements and incoherent plot, Symphogear is still terrible. Despite the increased animation budget of later seasons, the fight scenes are just as lifeless and uninspired as ever. Rather than do anything creative, the creators seem content with new transformation stock footage, shinier graphics, and incessant boob jiggles. Their commander catches a barrage of bullets flying at him with all the excitement of catching someone's car keys. The protagonist's punch, which normally can pierce metal and destroy rock, doesn't even graze him. Dramatic collisions overshadow fluid fight scenes. Effortless attacks can wipe out an entire battalion of enemies. Epic battle scenes include the protagonist throw punches in the same place without moving while yelling top of her lungs for a full minute. The "high-octane action" is less inspired and creative than golf.

Symphogear is atrocious and haphazardly combines classic shounen tropes into a mindless mess of a story. There's the audience surrogate, a weeb girl who relates everything to anime. There's a scantily clad villain sensually torturing her pawn as character development. The 55 pound school girl lets her fists do the talking. The soundtrack is a generic blend of up-tempo synthpop. Symphogear is peak anime, everything from the awful objectification of minors to gratuitous fan service to mindless action sequences, so its target audience will love it.

Is it good? Absolutely not. Is it worth watching? Absolutely not. Does it at least execute the overused plot devices it contains well? Also no. Symphogear being not "not bad" is about the strongest praise I can give it. It's budget Kill la Kill, with a high-octane magical girl story that doesn't take itself seriously. Unfortunately, Symphogear has all of Kill la Kill's of the problematic elements and few, if any, of its upsides. The plot, action, and music are generic, incoherent, and dull. Cutting the entire creative department and replacing it with footage from a Grand Theft Auto playthrough would be an improvement in every regard. Worse, this show gets progressively creepier as it goes along, seemingly unwilling to spend more than 5 minutes without leering at minors.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Phasar2022 (63)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Songs covered in anime

by coffeedrops

49 Entries · 9 Restacks

animelon complete catalog: JPDB level 7

by database_animal

43 Entries · 5 Restacks

Super Robot Wars Future Wish List Part 3

by AcidTyphoon

48 Entries · 28 Restacks

North American Anime & Manga Releases for January

Here are the North American anime & manga releases for January Week 1: January 5 - 11 Anime Releases Black Bullet Blu-ray [2021 re-release] Conception Blu-ray [E...read more

Jan 5, 2021 2:08 PM by ImperfectBlue | Discuss (8 comments)

Q3 2020 Anime & Manga Licenses [Update 9/19]

In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of anime and manga licensed in the second quarter (Jul-Sep) of 2020. Summer 2020 anime which were licensed befo...read more

Jun 25, 2020 6:32 PM by Snow | Discuss (18 comments)

	Poll: Senki Zesshou Symphogear G: In the Distance, That Day, When the Star Became Music... Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) VioLink - Jul 4, 2013	100 replies	by Hibiki2134 »» Sep 18, 2023 5:13 AM
	Poll: Senki Zesshou Symphogear G: In the Distance, That Day, When the Star Became Music... Episode 13 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Sep 26, 2013	92 replies	by MxS7HGS »» Sep 12, 2023 2:20 PM
	Poll: Senki Zesshou Symphogear G: In the Distance, That Day, When the Star Became Music... Episode 12 Discussion Stark700 - Sep 19, 2013	49 replies	by MxS7HGS »» Sep 12, 2023 10:11 AM
	Poll: Senki Zesshou Symphogear G: In the Distance, That Day, When the Star Became Music... Episode 11 Discussion Stark700 - Sep 12, 2013	48 replies	by MxS7HGS »» Sep 12, 2023 8:56 AM
	Poll: Senki Zesshou Symphogear G: In the Distance, That Day, When the Star Became Music... Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Elite60 - Sep 5, 2013	54 replies	by MxS7HGS »» Sep 12, 2023 8:05 AM