#this is why you watch symphogear

[alltheoutsinfreeeee]

🎶✨when u get this, list 5 songs u like to listen to, publish. then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (positivity is cool)🎶✨

Gasp! I did not expect to get an ask today! Thank you!

I'm super boring, anime and game songs mostly.

Utada Hikaru - Sanctuary / Passion

Yukine Chris (CV: Takagaki Ayahi) - Tsunaida te dake ga tsumugu mono (Anime scene)

Man of the Internet - Lantern from Deltarune

Wada Kouji - The Biggest Dreamer

Nightwish - The Islander (Live performance)

I have so many favorite songs, picking just five was very hard. (especially with my recency bias from having played Persona 3 Dancing and Persona 5 Dancing. The remixes are incredible!)

Once again, thank you so much for the ask! I hope you have a great day!

[gossamer-witch]

I'm not normal about this series.

So, me and my best friend just finished our watch of Symphogear (her first time, my second time through the whole series) and I have come to the conclusion that I just can't be normal about it. I got into the series right before XV came out and that was still a few years before I transitioned, and after a rewatch and having transitioned, I know why this show resonated with me back then. It, like me, is HELLA gay.

I knew it was gay to start, I'll be honest with that, but after being a part of the queer community, I see just how gay this show actually is. Between Miku's near constant pining for Hibiki, Tsubasa having such autistic rizz that she pulls in two (arguably three) women over the course of the show, EVERYTHING regarding Kirika and Shirabe, and a hell of a lot more than I can put into succinct words. I'm amazed that throughout five seasons they managed to keep the show queer.

I guess in a way it was one of the final things that really cracked my egg, and for that I'm really thankful. Cag probably did the most given that she outright has a scene in the specials that is what a lot of trans women say and truly see in themselves (minus a couple hundred years) I think it was the first real time I was starting to identify with characters in a series, and after this rewatch, characters I passed over are the ones I truly relate to the most.

I usually just lurk and look at random images, but I felt I needed to get this out in some form. Yell into the void that this show, and soon to be movie, is something that is important to me. Who knows, maybe someone will come across this and give the show a try and it helps them in a similar way that it helped me. And if you do decide to watch it, all I can say is, "Enjoy!"

[shinkuryuuga]

If anyone wants to know why I love these two, just watch this. Or the show in general. Please watch the show if you can, Symphogear is just great.

[heyitsthatweirdo]

I wanna talk about how Symphogear uses cliffhangers and why I think it's really cool most of the time. From the first episode, the show does a good job at getting getting you hooked at whatever conflicts are going on at the moment. I'm watching XV, and at the end of ep 4, after a super hype fight, it ends with the government holding guns on SONGs operatives and issuing Gear users to ease. Now, as a newer fan, i'm incredibly hyped for the next episode.

[hikari-ni-naritai]

Hibiki x Miku x Chris

i cant say that i ship this one!

1. Why don’t you ship it?

one i think chris would be better joining . whats her face. blue girl and maria cadenzavna eve if shes going to be in a triad. two i genuinely dont think theres room between hibiki and miku like even if they both wanted to date another girl she would end up third wheeling so so hard.

2. What would have made you like it?

possibly if i finished watching symphogear i would have a different opinion. ive only seen 3 seasons so i dont think ive ever seen miku and chris interact. also if hibimiku wasnt already perfect

3. Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

i think its cute! i like the way it can expound on the way hibiki shows chris how to be a better person, and i think chris as a tsundere pairs well with a bright sunshiny girl who wont take her tsundering seriously

[diezmil10000]

I don't know if you've watched it, but I'd recommend watching Symphogear. I've only watched ten episodes from the first season (of five), but it's amazing and incredibly gay. By that, I mean Hibiki (one of the main characters) sleeps in the same bed as her extremely close friend Miku (Kohinata). They have a bunk bed, it's just that they choose not to use the bottom bunk. The plotline with Hibiki and Miku plays out like a wife worried that her husband has been cheating on her (as Hibiki has been hiding her life as a magical girl from Miku).

It's also labeled mecha, for good reason. The magical girl designs are excellent, fusing well with the mechanical elements, and the way they fight actually feels like they're people who have put thought into how to use their powers.

Of course, there's also Tsubasa, who's relationship with Kanade is... very emotionally charged. They're also a blue hair and pronouns/red hair and pronouns couple.

There's been a few times I've paused the show and thought "man, it would be really cool if they did this. but that won't happen, because its a magical girl show." Then I unpause and the exact thing I thought happens. For example, Hibiki gets stopped from going on what's pretty much a date with Miku and, when she finds the enemies responsible, fights as usual for a bit. At this point, I paused and thought "It would be great if they made her go absolutely feral for having her date crashed by some monsters. But they probably don't want to go that far with the cheery protagonist." After unpausing she immediately went feral and started talking about how because of the attack she wouldn't be able to see the shooting stars with Miku.

Anyways, you should watch it, it's nicknamed Symphogay for very good reason.

oh hi i saw this some time ago but i forgot to reply!! im fact i don't think i even know how to reply 🤔 i promise i read everything but i don't know who you are and i'm kind of confused as to why you sent this to me. i'm not upset or anything it's just surprising that you spent so much time on this, but maybe some of my followers are interested.

regarding your suggestion, i don't think i'll watch symphogear anytime soon, sorry. i get why you think i'm into shows that are kinda yuri but not quite there, but i must admit i'm kinda tired of them (⁠´⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠.̫⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠`⁠) i mean, i still see the appeal in friendships that seem to be written as romances, but i'm tired of believing in delusions and colective headcanons when there are so many pieces of media with canon sapphic characters out there. i got hit by love live in 2015 because i was a teenager and there was nothing gayer to see (that wasn't straight up romance, which i don't find interesting), but nowadays i have higher standards and i like to watch Things that are Good. not saying symphogear isn't, i just have no idea of what it's about and i'm not looking for new pieces of media to consume at the moment.

hope you have a nice day!

[michajawkan]

I've seen you talk about Symphogear before and order people to watch it. I finally started it and am only 3 episodes in and I can see why. Also more girls should get so angry they can't go on a date with their girlfriend they go on a murderous rampage.

You know as much as everyone says "Watch Symphogear" I'm still surprised every time anyone actually watches it;

anyways here is an image I made about the 2nd part of this ask

[wxtchpilot]

[ Going to sound like a very thirsty weirdo for just a second but I have to get it out somewhere so please don't mind me lol

REALLY WANT...AN ON-SCREEN KISS FROM MIORINE AND SULETTA.

I don't care if it takes forever (after, you know, good build) but after seeing one anime that my friends have been watching air its final episode today and the two girls actually kissed on screen, my brain went "well damn".

Normally I don't care much about on screen kisses, no matter the pairing or orientation. Sometimes I don't think kissing is even the most intimate thing to do. Like, I loved Miku and Hibiki a ton in Symphogear but I didn't feel like a on-screen kiss was right for them at their point in the relationship. When XV ended, it felt they were crossing new ground, finally being open with each other, and I don't think that warranted a kiss at the end and I will forever stick by that.

Even when I watched LycoReco I didn't feel an urge to have Takina and Chisato kiss lol. Takina leaning on Chisato's chest to hear her "non-existent" heartbeat was actually a very sweet scene.

Yet, I don't know what the hell Suletta and Miorine are doing to me where I want them to kiss when we barely scratched the surface of everything. I can't explain it, I am sorry lmao.

Their scene in episode 11 was honestly the best thing ever and would be enough, but yeah. I don't know what's wrong with me and why these two just set my brain on fire so badly.

Anyway, there's more important things to focus on in the show, I know. And I am thinking about them, yet at the same time I can't make predictions because I don't see how the story is going to go. I'll leave it as me being curious about everything and just enjoying the journey without making predictions haha.

Better to just say this to the void instead to anyone directly. ]

[xbuster]

started watching futari wa precure because of you. wanted to watch it for a really long time (was occupied with other media) but the gifs and screencaps you posted really gave me the push!

I'm really glad whenever someone says they started watching Futari wa Precure because of me because I think it's pretty important to understanding why my blog is what it is now. Futari wa changed this blog in many ways. I wasn't really much of a gif maker yet, I would sometimes post screencaps from stuff I was watching, rarely videos, and very rarely gifs. And that was usually only for a couple series I was watching, not nearly everything I was watching. Most notably Macross, Tsurezure Children, Zombieland Saga, Idolmaster, and Symphogear. And I went into Futari wa with the same mindset, not even tagging Nagisa and Honoka, just the series, because I didn't I would end up caring to search for them on my blog. Now 4 of my top 5 tags are Precure-related (one being the tag I use for the entire franchise, another for just Futari wa and the other two being for Nagisa and Honoka). It even changed what kinds of anime I watch and how I watch them (like I used to binge at least four episodes of one anime a day but now I usually just watch one a day so I can take my time with them). It was so formative that I sometimes go back to Futari wa episodes just to make even more gifs. I only first saw it two and a half years ago, but it has become a very special anime to me. I wouldn't be making these Cutie Honey gifs right now if it weren't for that anime.

[animebw]

Is StrikerS the best season of Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha? Probably, yeah. More importantly, though, it’s far and away the most fully realized season. After it spent its first season breaking out of its lackluster source material and struggled to figure out how to move things forward in A’s, StrikerS is where the Nanoha franchise finds exactly what it wants to be and delivers on it. It has the most interesting ideas, the most original characters, and the most unique vision of a sci-fi/fantasy world that basically invented its own subgenre in the magical girl space. And with two cours to work with, it’s able to flesh out those concepts with more depth than evers. From the exciting new cast of characters to the incredibly smart ways the old cast has matured in the intervening years. StrikerS is the smartest, most self-assured this franchise has even been, fully embracing its own identity to deliver on thrills and feels alike. And if it weren’t for the giant Symphogear-shaped asterisk hanging over everything, I’d happily say that I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

Speaking of Symphogear, though, it’s honestly really cool to see how Nanoha grew from a simple magical girl show into the futuristic magitech playground that Symphogear would appropriate so successfully. This franchise started out as a standard mahou shoujo in its first season, revealing its more sci-fi leanings over that season’s second half. A’s doubled down on the dimension-hopping and physical action, but still kept the mahou shoujo formula of everything taking place on our normal Earth, hidden from the sight of mere mortals. It’s only in StrikerS that it fully abandons all pretentions of classic magical girl aesthetics, fully immersing itself in an openly utopian futuristic world defined by advanced technology and mecha stylings, a world where mages fly through cities of shining chrome and magic has entirely been harnessed as a source of mechanical energy rather than an ancient, unknowable mysticism. I’ve had fun pointing out all the connections between Nanoha and Symphogear, but StrikerS marks the point where the two series meet, where Nanoha basically invents an aesthetic and narrative space for Symphogear to inherit and carry forward as seamlessly as passing a baton. Nanoha season 3 is Symphogear season 0, and I don’t just say that because of how obviously the Symphogear writers used Subaru as a prototype for Hibiki,

And that’s perhaps the coolest thing about finally checking out Nanoha. Watching this show has been like watching the secret history of one of my favorite stories on the face of the earth. I feel like an archaeologist rooting through the ruins of still-recent history, seeing all the daring new ideas these people of the past came up with and how they were eventually able to blossom into the finished forms we know and love today. Nanoha may fall short of its successor in many ways (to be fair, it also does some things better), but watching it has given me a much better appreciation of why Symphogear was such a phenomenal accomplishment. From an unlikely spinoff back in 2004 to creating a history that god doesn’t know in 2019, the legacy of these two intertwined series has shaped the course of anime, an unbroken chain of inspiration that has, in no small way, come to define why I love this medium so goddamn much. So thank you, Nanoha. Thank you for helping to provide the foundation of anime as we know and love it today.

Now, does that mean StrikerS is a perfect season of television? Hell to the no. It’s got the worst antagonists of any Nanoha season, the final battle is underwhelming thanks to focusing on too many lackluster subplots at once, and I’m still not a fan of the mid-2000s aesthetic this series is steeped in. It’s a flawed, gangly, lopsided animal, just as imperfect as this franchise has always been. But god damn, when it works, it really works. So while I don’t think I can justify giving it higher than a 5.5/10 because of how uneven it is, StrikerS was definitely a good note to close Nanoha out on, and I know I’ll have fond memories of its best moments long after its weaker aspects have faded from memory. Thank you all for joining me, and I’ll see you next time when we take on Black Butler!

[fallroute]

THE GUNGNIR GIRL - PART 1

"ALL CIVILIANS, PLEASE HEAD TO THE EVACUATION SHELTER. IT IS A CLASS 6 THREAT."

Class 6, which meant Noise. It'd been years since she'd first fought them when she was seventeen. And this was supposed to be her vacation. A groan escaped her as she watched people's cars drive by or people just... running towards where the shelters were supposed to be.

Noise, the machines of humanity.

"Are you fucking serious...?" She'd wanted to avoid this, if possible. Given that the Noise were here, this meant that her own world had the Symphogear system on it. Walking in the opposite direction, she wondered if it had been evacuated for a reason. Or was someone using the Cane of Solomon to summon Noise?

If they were, did that mean she had to deal with Maria again? Taking her pendant off, she stowed it in her pocket as she walked towards where the people were running from. Did this mean that she'd have to deal with it? Were there no Wielders here?

It was clear why the evacuation notice was made, as soon as Melanie came across a scene of a few schoolgirls running from Noise. As she tried to make it to them, one of them ended up falling onto the ground.

And that was when she saw it, flying through the air. A converter pendant. As a car spun out of control nearby, Melanie ran and jumped, reaching out to grab the pendant from the air. Whoever owned it, she'd give it back.

Feeling the familiar song swell in her chest, she let the melody flow out of her like water.

"Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron ...!"

Within a couple seconds, the Symphogear had been easily donned. However, she realized something as she landed in front of the schoolgirls. One was that it was a different make from her own Gear. The second was that it was so godsdamned tight that it was hard to breathe in it, let alone move.

"The fuck? This thing's so tight, it's cutting off circulation. What kind of sadist designs this shit?" She asked, before shaking her head. No, for now she'd have to deal with the Noise ahead. Garie's visage was familiar enough that she remembered when Maria had taken Gungnir and had tried to defeat her, only for the Gear to reject her after a bit of use.

These Noise could dissect this Gear she wore easily. With the Symphogear providing the music, which wasn't of a genre she generally sang in, Melanie took a fighting stance and launched herself forward, to take out the Noise. And the song flowed out from between her lips as she fought.

"What is the purpose that I seek? A thousand layers deep within Am I doomed to learn it's for nothing?

Is it something that I dreamed? Or is it a damned nightmare?

In the end, I want to know what it is.

Can you hear my voice now? Are you reading me clear?

Is this interference what I want?

In the end, I've decided, that this is all I need. (Stand up!) I know now (Stand up!) That it is (Stand up!) Destiny (Stand up!) But know that I will Grasp it with my fist!

Don't stop, don't stop, no matter what it takes. Don't cry, don't cry, you'll be okay! With this chance that I have, I'll fight my desti-"

Garie's barrier stopped her song short, something she'd seen before. Though Garie then decided to break apart the barrier and say something about thanking for the meal, Melanie watched as she started to dart forward on ice.

Within the split second that she had to react, Melanie moved out of the way and kneed Garie in the gut as hard as she could, sending the Autoscorer flying backwards with a follow-up kick. Watching as she tumbled and came to a stop, it was with surprise that Garie left it at that, probably mumbling something about how she couldn't destroy Gungnir yet.

With a sigh, the sound of the Gear powering down filled her ears and the transformation popped off with a shower of magical girl-esque sparks. Catching the pendant before it fell, she turned around and walked over towards the schoolgirls before catching sight of who they were.

The one who had tripped was supposed to be in the hospital, in a coma... and yet, here she was. Was this her gear, then? Holding it out without a word, Melanie had the pendant practically snatched out of her hand.

"That's my Gungnir!" The girl said, holding it close. "This power is supposed to save people! I was the one who got it! It's my Gungnir!"

Power to... save people? Did she not think it worth it to use Gungnir to fight people? What sort of thinking got it to where she couldn't even don the Gear to fight to protect her friends? Herself?

Her name was... Hibiki. And she wasn't even thinking about protecting herself with the Gear. No, she had something wrong with her to think that it was only used to save people.

"I suggest re-evaluating why you have Gungnir in the first place, then." Melanie said. "If I hadn't of stepped in and used it in your place, you and your friends would be dead right now."

"Don't use that sort of talk with Bikky!" One of the girls said. Melanie's attention turned to them. "She's helping people with it!"

"By sacrificing herself to an Autoscorer?" Melanie put a hand on her hip. "What you're doing is stupid, plain and simple. Remember, you can't save anyone if you don't help yourself first. Re-evaluate why you have Gungnir. If you can't take the burden of the gear, I suggest you stop being a wielder and go play pretend elsewhere."

Turning away, Melanie walked off without a word. Though she knew that she was going to be dragged in to S.O.N.G's business here once they knew where she was staying here for vacation since she could use Gungnir, she couldn't understand why anyone would employ someone who didn't even want to use their "power" to save themselves.

It's foolish. When I was in that same situation, the only reason I didn't use it was because I thought we could get away. This girl.... thinks Gungnir is some power to save people when it has the power to protect everyone she cares about? And who the hell made it, anyway?

And, as she made it to the hotel she was staying at, she took a look behind her to see Shinji Ogawa standing there. He had probably followed her the entire way in the car.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm going to have to ask you to come with me." He said. Melanie shrugged, turning to face him and not giving any resistance as she walked to the car with him. She knew what would come next. Interrogation, potentially being held in a cell much like Miyuki had been and then having to explain that she was capable of wielding a Symphogear.

But she couldn't reveal that she had a Gungnir, too, or else they would take it from her. This was... going to really be interesting, wasn't it?

[tumblezwei]

Honestly I was one of the people who, back when it came out, was kinda dishing on GX a lot. (Though less for the Hibiki thing all the edgelords took issue with, more for stuff in the back half I wasn't much impressed by at the time.) However, rewatching Symphogear in the past year, I found it held up way better than I thought, and the stuff I didn't care for at the time either had more going on that I didn't notice on my first watch, or in one case was subsequently addressed better by AXZ and XV.

I still favor G on a purely subjective level just because it did more with Miku, who's my favorite of the main cast, but I also agree with what you said about the villains' handling being pretty messy and weak in comparison to Finé and Carol. Been loving your reactions to it so far, and looking forward to when you resume!

Thank you!

I think on a rewatch there might be more things I appreciate about G and it's villains, but the initial reaction was really tainted by how sloppy I felt their motives were, and how fucking terrible scientist man was. And that's not to say that I thought G as a whole was bad because of him, I fucking loved everything that went on on the heroes side, especially Miku.

The reason I consider GX to be more enjoyable, at least as far as I've gotten, is because the whole feels more cohesive. I might make a bigger post on it later on why I felt Carol works where FIS didn't, but that'll have to wait for me to actually finish GX lol.

But I am getting back to that soon!

[elderemorune]

In Defense of Hating Magical Girl Anime

I got nothing.

I just don't like it, couldn't tell you why.

I know Mashle is stupid. I know that whatever light novel crap I'm watching is dumb.

But for some reason, Symphogear just ain't it, chief.

Sorry to my roommate, whom I love deeply. My taste in anime is SHIT, and I refuse to defend it further. :P

(P.S. I actually really respect their opinions on media, but they've been trying to get me to watch more Symphogear and while it should be my vibe, I don't really like idol anime or magical girl that much.)

(P.P.S. No, I can't explain it.)

[fzzr]

Symphogear was fine I guess

Not much to say about this one, so I'm not going to do a full review. I watched the first season of Symphogear on recommendation from a random person on tumblr as a followup to g-witch. I can see why they made that recommendation, but this one just wasn't for me. It felt more like a magical girl anime than a mecha show, in the same way that Nanoha is more mecha than magical girl. The action was good but not amazing. For a series where they're powered by singing the music was pretty eh. Additionally, the plot was... ergh. I don't mind a wacky twist at the end of something, I like Darling in the FranXX mostly unironically. This one was just so arbitrary that it felt like they just needed a way to raise the stakes without building up to it. And the whole Superb Song where you can burn out your life force to win automatically was heavily undercut by multiple characters using their Superb Songs multiple times and being fine after. There were a bunch of other tiny issues that I won't bother to enumerate. Overall a generous 7/10. I won't be continuing with the series.

[arkadiaasks]

How is it that the circumstances behind ARC-Vs development combined to make the perfect clusterfuck to drag its quality through the mud? The fact that there were 4 series before this should have meant something when it came to their ability to streamline the development of a Yugioh anime and make sure that all of the parts are working properly and as a cohesive unit.

Personalities of the showrunners are important, ultimately. Personalities at any job matter more in many ways than a lot of other factors.

This becomes apparent if you watch any number of Tokusatsu or long runner anime.

A lackadaisy director is fine if you have strong or flexible writers which Symphogear and 5D's had respectively.

A long running adaptive writer is good for adapting works... but you need to be very flexible with an original work. And.

Well, we have a fairly talented if breezy director who's good at pop and bang, and a head writer with a long history of successes.

Well, basically, I know I'm too heavy on blaming Mr. Kamishrio, but...

It honestly seems like Mr. Kamishiro just seems to have gotten a really rigid idea of how he wanted to write the story in his head once it got more and more developed, and it appears his sheer rigidity to his own ideas while constantly undercutting the ideas of other writers definitely resulted in a trainwreck.

Because the big thing is Mr. Kamishiro wanted to seemingly write a non-standard Yu-Gi-Oh!, while everyone else kept trying to write a standard Yu-Gi-Oh!

And why not remove him and try to salvage the show?

By the time it became apparent this wasn't gonna work out well, well.

I think resources were already being poured into VRAINS' production.

No nevermind ARC-V was during a lot of the first signs of the anime industry cracking.

Most of Gallop's staff that everyone adores were cycling out of the company or been promoted or retired. Newer talent, not enough talent, and lackluster pay means you can't really do as much revision.

Now I could be wrong.

But that's what it seems like to me, basically, personality issues with the head writer and director are critical failure points as far as the story goes.