Magical Girl

Senki Zesshou Symphogear G

13 episodes ; started in the Summer 2013 season

·        Staff

o   Original creator – Akifumi Kaneko  and  Senki Zesshou Symphogear G

o   Director – Katsumi Ono – Hataraki Man

o   Production studio – Satelight

o   Music – Elements garden – Boburetsu Pirates, Love, Election and Chocolate, Senki Zesshou Symphogear, Uta no Prince Sama, Kimi to Boku

·        Plot Summary

o   As was the case with the first Symphogear anime, this one is fueled by the pop idol power of Nana Mizuki, who as of a couple years ago was the top anime related idol in Japan.  She does the voice for one of the main characters Tsubasa and contributed 5 of her pop songs  to this anime including the main theme, Vitalization.  My belief is that Mizuki Nana’s popularity is the fuel behind this anime and it is probably what allowed it to have a second season in addition to increased production values.

o    This anime continues the story of Hibiki, Tsubasa and Kurisu.  In this anime the world is in peril as one of the planets moons are being pulled down to the Earth on an imminent crash course.  The world is predicted to be destroyed in the future and rival groups are each trying to save the world in their own way.  To this end, an organization of American origin emerges with its own trio of Symphogear users to help remove the seal on mankind’s sanctuary from the impending destruction, “the Frontier”.

o   The anime goes through an array of battles with the Symphogear users, which allows the series to show off its new character’s designs, the improved budget, and show new viewers what Symphogear is all about, music themed battles.  We have battles at concerts, on top of air craft carriers, battles on top of Sky Tree (It gets destroyed a little), and everywhere in between.  The flash and style of the action scenes will win over a lot of users and it’s what this show does best.  One of the most fun aspects of the action is how Symphogear users will often call out the name of an attack, which is displayed on screen, before the move is done.  It’s quite fun.

o   The biggest problem with this anime is how blatantly it rips off the storytelling efforts of prior magical girl anime and it contributes virtually nothing new in the genre.  I feel that Symphogear tries its hardest to be Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha and sadly, the truth is that it just isn’t that good.  The mechanized weapons, the Nana Mizuki flare, and the way that villains are treated in the anime all feel like they were pulled straight from Lyrical Nanoha and in addition, the ending of the anime felt like it an attempted duplication of the end of Lyrical Nanoha A’s.

o   I found the ending of the anime grew more and more convoluted and less and less believable.  I also didn’t enjoy how the show subjected itself to the genre’s clichés and ultimately left me wanting a lot more.   Also, the anime seems to treat the viewer with kid gloves by failing to deliver on its promise to kill off certain characters, magically saving them via some of the most obvious Deus ex Machina.

·        Hanging its hat

o   The anime’s designs are interesting and ton notch.  Magical girl anime such as Symphogear  G have led me to prefer the mechanized magical girl suits to the lace and frills of Sailor Moon.

o   The music in this anime is what makes it special to watch. The openings and closing songs are magnificent and it’s always a treat to hear Mizuki Nana sing as she is definitely a great singer.   I didn’t enjoy the battle songs quite as much as in the first series.

·        Aesthetic

o   The visuals of the anime appear to have been giving a production budget boost.  `The visuals look more crisp than previously and the action scenes are longer and more frequent which makes the show generally look more impressive.

·        Summary

o   Pros

§  Action scenes are great.  Much improved from the first season.

§  Music is great

§  Character designs are interesting and preferred to the lacy style of magical girl

§  Hibiki is a badass

o   Cons

§  Story riddled with clichés and borrows too much from concepts used in other anime

§  Poorly delivered storyline

§  Uninteresting villain

§  Ending is just “WHAT?!”