Senki Zesshou Symphogear – 06

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[Commie] Senki Zesshou Symphogear - 06 [769E643A].mkv_snapshot_05.44_[2012.02.11_20.58.57] [Commie] Senki Zesshou Symphogear - 06 [769E643A].mkv_snapshot_16.44_[2012.02.11_21.10.43] [Commie] Senki Zesshou Symphogear - 06 [769E643A].mkv_snapshot_21.53_[2012.02.11_21.15.53]

Subtle as a sledgehammer to the face and slick as sandpaper, Symphogear somehow still manages to keep me totally engaged every week.  And have I mentioned that Yuuki Aoi is a genius?

Seriously, I could listen to this woman all day.  That scene in the hospital with Tsubasa – how is it that a seiyuu can manage to sound preposterously cute, be hilarious and project deep emotional pain all at the same time?  That awkward laughter…  Maybe I’m letting my affection for the performance color my view of the series as a whole too much, because there’s no question that my total and complete buy-in to Hibiki’s character and her emotional state is the key to Senshogear for me.  But I really do think there’s more to it than that.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that Chris is going to be a major factor in the series going forward.  There are numerous archetypes for the character journey she’s going through, but it seems obvious that Chris may in fact be the central figure in Hibiki’s life before this is all said and done, displacing Miku (and let’s be honest, Kanade will always be the yin to Tsubasa’s yang).  Chris’ pain at the hands of “Fenie” (still no confirmation that it’s Ryoko, though it seems very likely – look to the lipstick-stained coffee cup , I think it was with Colonel Mustard in the conservatory) isn’t even known to Hibiki yet, but she still tries to break through the wall and communicate with the girl – even after Chris’ careless attack almost kills Miku.  The fact that Hibiki broke Chris’ Nehushtan armor in the final scene in a highly symbolic one.

Setting aside that “I’ll tell you my weight when I get to know you better” might be the most hilariously out of context line of dialogue in the entire series, I think this sequence is an awfully important one for many reasons.  Fact is, Chris needs Hibiki more than Miku does.  As Hibiki heartbreakingly tells Tsubasa (and us), her rasion d’etre is to try and help people in whatever clumsy way she can, and she even admits it’s to try and make up for having lives while Kanade and so many died, Kanade in the act of saving her.  This conflict in Hibiki’s heart could be a gut-wrenching one to watch, as it’s obvious Miku means a great deal to her.  She does say “I’ve never had a boyfriend in my life” as if she’d like to have, but even if there’s no romantic element to the coming conflict between Miku and Chris for the central place in her heart, the depth of feeling is obvious.  I think it’s inevitable that Miku and Hibiki will drift apart now that the truth is out (prologue notwithstanding) as Miku simply doesn’t have a role in what’s increasingly becoming the driving force in Hibiki’s life.  Miku is her old world, and Chris is her new one.

For now, of course, Chris is still an enemy and Ryoko is still playing both sides (presumably) and the political situation is getting worse with the appointment of a (gasp!) pro-American as the new Defense Minister.  And Tsubasa seems to have found a sort of humility (if not cleanliness) now that she’s bottomed out karmically.  She even goes so far as to compliment Hibiki (which makes Hibiki endearingly uncomfortable) for the job she’s doing filling in.  This was a new side of Tsubasa that I liked an awful lot, the first real indication that she’s come to realize the universe doesn’t revolve around her.  Her arc still has tragic end written all over it, but I hope she’s at least able to find some peace before that happens.  She seems to be off to a good start, at least.

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11 comments

  1. F
    Fencedude
    February 12, 2012 at 6:17 am
    Reply

    Chris is Fate.

    Literally. They're the same character, Chris just has the crazy dial cranked up a lot further.

  2. A
    Arabesque
    February 12, 2012 at 9:17 am
    Reply

    Well, a Fate is a war orphan and whose ''master'' is someone that occasionally tortures her and engages in BDSM.

    Then again, this show is pretty shameless about showing where it got it's inspirations from, so I suppose?

  3. S
    Seishun Otoko
    February 12, 2012 at 1:09 pm
    Reply

    I do see the resemblance lol

  4. t
    totoum
    February 12, 2012 at 6:59 am
    Reply

    Darn it symphogear I thought I had you figured out and that enzo had written my thoughts about it in a review for another anime,it was:

    " In watching it I can’t shake the feeling that it’s something very calculated and commercial trying to pass itself off as profound – as if certain variables were plugged into a sophisticated computer program with the intent of spitting out a franchise. The melodrama is turned up too high, the symbolism is too obvious, and the emotions of the characters just don’t ring true – at least for me. I don’t like being pushed and prodded this hard to feel what I’m supposed to feel, when I’m supposed to feel it."

    That was before this episode where for the first time I actualy managed to get involved in the anime,or rather,the anime managed to get me involved.
    This is largly thanks to it finally slowing down a bit in this episode instead of throwing me a bunch of dramatic moments one after another without any sort of buildup.

    Though it's still got a long way to go before it catches up to the othe sci fi shows of the season in my book.

  5. admin
    February 12, 2012 at 7:42 am
    Reply

    Those other sci-fi shows have some catching up to do if they're going to catch Symphogear, you mean!

  6. A
    Arabesque
    February 12, 2012 at 9:14 am
    Reply

    I think that the thing I love the most about this show is that it's pretty honest with itself and the viewers. It's pretty much an amateurish, over-the-top, sensational mess that has no problem being one. The creators are all telegraphing how much they liked the shows that inspired this show to be created, and are making no effort to hide how much love they have for these tropes and stories. It's all 100% style-over-substance, and they have no problem being completely honest about it. I think it's that honesty that sells in, even though by all rights the show is a mess from a storytelling and visual perspective, the fact that it doesn't try and present itself as being something else makes it pretty endearing to me.

    If only shows like Guilty Crown could be just as honest about themselves.

    '' Maybe I’m letting my affection for the performance color my view of the series as a whole too much, because there’s no question that my total and complete buy-in to Hibiki’s character and her emotional state is the key to Senshogear for me.''

    It's okay man. Let it colour your view, I did it with Gosick and I enjoyed that show a whole lot more for it!

  7. admin
    February 12, 2012 at 5:49 pm
    Reply

    That sums it up pretty well. Senshogear is what it is, and has no pretense about it. I don't think it's quite as much of a mess storytelling as you do, but it's definitely not polished and certainly visually inconsistent. It's like a love letter to Gainax and Madoka and Nanoha.

    I actually liked Gosick pretty well as a whole – though it was wildly inconsistent – and I was probably one of the few that liked Eguchi Takuya's performance as Kujo. But there's no doubt it was Aoi's Victorique that elevated that show to whatever transcendence it achieved. Her being the best thing in a flawed series is becoming a recurring story.

  8. A
    Anonymous
    February 12, 2012 at 5:18 pm
    Reply

    Not to be too cliche, but this show might be like the Gurren Lagann of Magical Girl shows, reconstructing the genre with shameless vigor. Except without quite the same production quality as Gurren Lagann.

  9. d
    deafvader
    February 13, 2012 at 5:17 am
    Reply

    I may not have completed TTGL. But I feel that that is an insult.
    Btw anyone knows why Chris does not need to sing to transform?

  10. F
    Fencedude
    February 13, 2012 at 6:02 am
    Reply

    …and the fact that Symphogear isn't really a magical girl show…

  11. admin
    February 13, 2012 at 6:58 am
    Reply

    Are you insulted for TTGL's sake, of Senshogear's? 😉

    I can see the comparison, and it's obvious to me that the writers and animators here count TTGL as one of the shows they love. It's fine to make the comparison – it's not the same as saying it's just as good.

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