Senki Zesshou Symphogear – 13 [END]

One last fight to remember.

Finale time!~ What will the fate of our trio be, will Anime-chan get any more lines, and will Fine ever stop making creepy faces? All this week on Symphogear! ;D

With their limiters now released, Hibiki, Chris, and Tsubasa set their sights on Fine. (They also randomly get some telepathic powers, but I have to wonder if that was just a way to cut out some animation …) Fine summons some Noise and follows up with an explanation that they were created as a way of making humans slaughter each other, because that also makes tons of sense. Without a moment’s waste Fine continues to summon a plethora of Noise across the city. Before attacking, Hibiki reflects on the events of last week’s episode and apologizes to Tsubasa, who easily forgives her.

Fine’s worst nightmare, unkillable Sympho-girls.

Even Hibiki needs a pep talk every now and then.

The trio dispatch the Noise using a combination of classic attacks as well as seemingly new abilities most likely granted by their new powered up forms. With the majority of the enemy gone, Fine resorts to a final tactic. She stabs (what I believe to be) Nehustan into her stomach, the effects of which cause the remaining Noise to form a growing clay-like mold around her body. Soon after, she summons Durandel from the depths of the super rainbow tower of death, which transforms her again into a Pokemon hilt-like shape capable of shooting beams of energy, regeneration (a property of Nehustan), and shielding.

Fine now has the upper hand in the battle, but the trio devise a plan to retrieve Durandel. Tsubasa leads by creating a hole in the hilt’s armor, which Chris then enters before it has the chance to close up. She fires off beams in all directions causing a much larger gap to form, which gives Tsubasa the opportunity to hit Fine with all her power. The strike causes a lot of damage and Fine loses her hold of Durandel.

With help from Chris’s accurate gun shots Hibiki is then able to wield Durandel. The sheer power of the relic almost causes Hibiki to go right back into “berserk mode”, but with the support of her friends, co-workers, Symphogear partners, and most importantly Miku, she fights off the dark powers and fires off a new ability, “Synchrogazer.” This new ability pretty much obliterates Fine’s chances of winning.

Please no, not again! :<

Awesome, but not as awesome as blue flash. </3

After the battle is through Hibiki helps Fine regain her posture and even attempts to comfort her by reminding her of the times they shared when she was “Ryoko”.  That does … nothing, and Fine goes insane, she uses her Nehustan whips to latch on to the broken piece of the moon and forces it into a downward fall towards the Earth. Hibiki however is unaffected, she simply smiles at Fine and tells her that if she wants to unite the Earth in the future there must be an Earth. Fine crumbles away with the wind.

This might very well be the only “normal” face she’s made all season.

With some resistance from Miku, Hibiki decides to fly off and be the hero the Earth deserves. She begins her swan song, but is soon interupted by the arrival of Tsubasa and Chris who also decide to take part in saving the day. Together the three sing their final song and reflect on the changes in their lives. With their most powerful attacks prepared, the three strike all at once causing a massive explosion of awesomeness that destroys the lost fragment of the moon.

Sacrifices … with a smile!

Swan Song x3 >>> Physics

Three weeks later we revisit the scene from the opening of the first episode. (Is it just me or did the timeline get screwed up somewhere along the way? Maybe not …) Only this time we get to see more then just Miku’s tears. After leaving the grave she finds a woman being attacked by Noise and helps her to run away. They’re soon cornered by the enemy, but before they can attack they’re saved by who other then … HIBIKI! The three Symphogear stand farther down the street. Miku, already in tears, runs up and embraces Hibiki in a warm hug and eventually get to see the long awaited meteor shower together.

Adorable right up to the end. :3

I hope I’m not the only one who found the finale of Symphogear completely ridiculous in all possible ways, but with that said I also hope I’m not the only one was strangely entertained. I’m sure by now we Symphobros (… no.) are used to this, but this “conclusion” felt more like a jumbled mess, albeit fun to watch. For starters the production side of the episode felt … lacking, there were plenty of weird camera angles, half-finished pans, and lazy animation (or lack thereof). I’m not expert on that stuff, as I’ve said before, but even I could tell that it didn’t feel “right”. Despite that the music, as always, was fantastic and a lot of the fight sequences looked amazing, especially against the transformed Fine. Speaking of Fine …

Dem’ faces!

Overall, it was a predictable, but enjoyable, finale that I’m sure most people who have been following along will appreciate to some degree. Fine was a pretty cruddy and detestable character right up until the end, and Hibiki didn’t impress me all that much either. Does someone like Fine truly deserve mercy, even after practically destroying your planet and everyone you love like three times!? I’m all for optimism, and I’m pretty optimistic myself, but Hibiki took it to a whole new level. Chris and Tsubasa once again proved to be the strongest characters in the cast, up until the end they’ve always felt more complex and likable then the protagonist, of course that’s completely subjective like everything else.

I felt a little cheated with the ending, but I can’t say I didn’t see it coming as soon as Chris revived last week. With that said, it was a lot less emotional then you probably expected. Don’t get me wrong, I’m incredibly happy for the girls and the meteor shower at the end brought a smile to my face, but now episode one feels like a big tease!

Symphogear is a hard show to recommend, the story is generally weak and the characters are somewhat one dimensional, but on the positive side the action was always a highlight week to week and music lovers might find some new interests here in Elements Garden or the seiyuu. For the most part I feel as if Symphogear, although lacking in originality, can entertain a niche audience, especially one that’s not very critical. As long as you’re willing to suspend your disbelief a fair deal and not question the details, it’s not all that bad. (Not all that great either.) But a good watch for anyone with some free time.

AND ONE LAST TIME. Kurisuuuu~<3

See you in the Spring!~

About Hawthorne

I enjoy watching anime, when I'm not burning toast or sleeping through college.