
Score: 8.47/10
Senki Zesshou Symphogear XV
Synopsis
Fifth series of Senki Zesshou Symphogear.
The shortest and fastest route, straight ahead!, In a straight line!
LA FUCKING LOVES Symphogear and what a way to go out, Game of Thrones’ Final Season WISHED it wanted something like this…
Senki Zesshou Symphogear’s FINAL season and LA is still sad that this series is ending but nonetheless goes out with a bang, righting wrongs from previous seasons, culminating everything from it’s previous seasons and tying up loose plotlines in making this final season all the more worth it to this end making it not only LA’s favourite anime of Summer 2019 but to this franchise to one the greatest animes of all time (no seriously).
See LA only got into the Symphoghear series about 3 years ago when it BARELY known, but quickly over G, LA really got into Symphogear with GX being a stumbling block but still having it’s batshit craziness, it wasn’t until AXZ that LA was in deep in Symphogear, heck because of it, LA played XD Unlimited (the mobile game and STILL plays to this day) and with XV tying EVERYTHING together while servicing the fans with crazy scenarios that they wanted for YEARS, this final season REALLY drives home how far the Symphogear franchise has gotten to, it’s an underrated Fool’s Stone but DAMN does it pack a punch when it delivers!
Nuff reminiscing, so XV as a final season wraps up everything the previous 4 season culminated in, everything from the Curse of Balal, Tsubasa’s family issues, the newly notion of not only Hibiki but Miku being cleansed of the curse and ABLE TO HOUSE THE POWER OF THE GODS because of it and all the while the Symphogear team needs to deal with the remnants of the Bavarian Illumanati, Noble Red. The first thing to note is that Tsubasa’s family issues with her grandfather was hinted at multiple times in previous season finally comes into the forefront and we see both a regressions and progression to Tsubasa’s character development and it’s not to knock it on Tsubasa’s regression as it brought up Tsubasa’s worries and “duty” over to the forefront as a result, how it was handled was..uhhh aggressive to say the least. The entire deal with Hibiki and Miku being cleansed with the Curse of Balal after Tsubasa’s arc (though they are both in tandem with each other) afterwards becomes the central focus and MAN does the plot twist it gives us changes everything about Hibiki’s mantra of “to the fastest route, in a straight line” with how complicated Hibiki’s arc gets, it’s still something fans wanted, just not in the way they wanted but nonetheless. The Curse of Balal or more or less get full world building from what was hinted at in the first season and obviously becomes a HUGE plot point latter on. The only character that really didn’t get character development this season was Chris and LA thinks it’s mostly because her arc was already resolved in AXZ and this season wanted to tackle the rest of the cast that still had lingering plotlines and yes Chris IS still LA’s faovurite character from the series and her not getting enough screentime is COMPLETELY ok, considering how batshit crazy this season gets with it’s cliffhangers and plot twists, THOSE sufficed.
Now for the villains for this final season, well we have Noble Red, three Alchemists wanting to get their human bodies back and their under the command or a certain bastard father….yeah Tsubasa’s father Fudou hired them. Now Noble Red themselves aren’t exactly “noble” as they are actually weaker than MOST of the series villains and thus they use trickery and deception in their fights, the worst example being Millaarc voiced by Aimi Terakawa and she HEAVILY gives Tsubasa Cerberus Syndrome as a result of her presences, like Millaarc is an interesting villain, LA just didn’t like her tactics. Elsa voiced by Kana Ichinose and Vanessa voiced by M.A.O were cool and were nice contrast to Caglistro and Saint-Germain from AXZ though out of the three, LA liked Vanessa the most. Fudou’s purpose was the conflict and regress Tsubasa as a character but also the pinnacle of resolving the entire issue with Tsubasa’s crazy family dealings, LA hated the asshole let alone his plans were wonky as hell in his extremist nationalist ideals and to this end, he was probably worse of a villain than Adam was, maybe the worst villain of the series, heck even Dr. Ver had SOME sense of dignity. Now for the “final boss”, well without spoilers, it’s actually the perfect wall for Hibiki to NOT be able to punch through let alone the final boss brings in plot elements from not only previous seasons but gives the leeway for other underdeveloped main characters to the forefront, mainly Maria , the aforementioned Tsubasa and Fudou who set it all up and Hibiki (since her involvement was slimmed down from AXZ, fighting NOT withstanding). But much like the Bavarian Illumanati, Noble Red for the most part were a nice dragon to the ACTUAL final boss as well as their notions of wanting to be human…Millaarc….ehhh she was fine.
Plot twists, man to say that they brought plot elements back and MADE IT AMAZING for this season is an understatement and LA mainly says this for GX, since even LA had problem with that season but XV remedied it as well as the previous seasons (G for it’s moon, AXZ with somehow bring back Saint-Germain and the first season with the Curse of Balal to be brought in more detail) in the most batshit crazy Symphogear way possible. GX got most of the redeeming treatment, from Carol, the Autoscorers and heck they even brought back Hibiki’s father and actually showed that he’s developed out of his asshole father phase and he started being a father to Hibiki!, the rest of the seasons more or less got cameos and callbacks and everyone of them were gloriously done. Nonetheless like SYmphogear’s style with plot twists and cliffhangers, THEY DO MAKE sense and only drives the plot to even crazier and crazier scenarios. The callbacks don’t even feel like it was pandering to us, as it was more like they wanted to give what the fans wanted all the while solidifying and making the story better in being just Symphogear. LA says this as they DO gives us what the fans what they want, but Symphogear does it in the most awesome but blindsided way possible while giving it that Symphogear flair to it. The plot twists and callbacks were fucking amazingly done.
The animation once again done by Satelight is GODLY to say the least, everything from it’s addrenaline-music-fueled fight scenes the updated character designs, it being even more bloodier than before and in the backgrounding even. Seriously Satelight gave it their own with XV, even to the point LA seeing this rivaling David Productions’ Jojo works or a Bones work. Yes there are the few rare derps but once again it just can’t compared to the heart and soul the animation was taken overall…it is seriously GODLY animation, excellent work Satelight. LA KNEW you’d obviously could do it and for a last hooray for the series, even better.
Voice acting?, well does LA REALLY need to say?, well give Aoi Yuuki the MVP of the season and LA’s favourite seiyuu of Summer 2019, with her focused and honed shouting, Nana Mizuki gets an standing ovation with her much more dramatic tone as Tsubasa and let alone her singing the OP Metanoia, just DAMN, Yoko Hikasa as Maria as result of Tsubasa’s arc get something similar to Nana Mizuki and heck even Yuka Iguchi gets to show her multiple cadences thanks to the huge plot twist of the season and man it shows in this season even more so. Another standout is Misaki Kuno as Elfnein and Inori Minase as Carol gets her time to shine as well. Add in Yoshino Nanjo and Ai Kayano as Shirabe and Kirika on comedic relief duty and they both still have great cadences (especially Ai Kayano). Hell add in Noble Red’s voice actresses of M.A.O, Kana Ichinose and Aimi as Vanessa, Elsa and Millaarc all have their major strengths, form Aimi really reveling in her smug genki-ish cadence to M.A.O being really moe even as a villain to Kana Ichinose being the calm and collected sisters to Elsa and Millaarc while also having that trickster cadences coming through to Vanessa as a character. Seriously much like it’s animation, the voice cast just gets even better to GODLY status.
And yes on speaking of the OP, the OP was great and easily took LA’s favourite OP of Summer 2019 and maybe for the year, showing off it’s the final season. To the ending being an impactful farewell sung by Ayahi Takagaki. THIS IS SYMPHOGEAR so it’s a no brainer that LA would gush about the OST and most if not all the insert songs and music in Symphogear was GOD tier with Nana Mizuki and Ayahi Takagaki as always making both OP and ED’s GODLY. Essentially if you want Aoi Yuuki, Yoko Hikasa, Nana Mizuki, Ayahi Takagaki, Ai Kayano, Yoshino Nanjo, Yuka Iguchi and Inori Minase singing their bloody hearts out while fighting let alone the awesome OST from their discography added along with the singing. Symphogear is GOD Tier anime music.
To say that the majority of this season gives us cliffhangers upon cliffhangers as well as situations that becomes REALLY hard to get back to normal, great resolutions to the majority of the casts that also callbacks to the previous seasons and even giving us one the largest plotlines to rest, Symphogear XV is at it’s best to say the least especially for a “Final Season” and for going out like a bang that it did, the moniker as “Final Season” is apt and impactful.
The finale, well AXZ’s was great in impact and foreshadowing, while GX and G’s was it in scale, but XV?, well…it brought the small scale, but large impact of AXZ while bringing in the absurdity of G and GX’s final fights all into one AND THEN they went over to an eleven heck TWENTY with it’s finale, this finale was utterly glorious and stands for what Symphogear is, if there is anything Symphogear does right it’s is climactic final fights and finales in general and this finale definitely delivered in all it’s glory!
Too say that Symphogear finished that way or not, LA IS sad that Symphogear is finishing but it needs to end to make this finale last, instead of going on forever so LA sees that sentiment and by all means XV went ALL out this season if LA’s praying to the Custodians instead proof enough. But what a way to go, from that little anime about mecha girls beating the crap out of Noises with plenty of melodrama, into an anime where mecha girls beat the crap out of a power hungry corrupt GOD with Sentai references.
Symphogear as a franchise was just a rollercoaster of a ride in ALL forms of batshit adrenaline pumping awesomeness and craziness is just an understatement but LA said this in LA’s Jojo’s Part 5 anime review, but Symphogear is one of the current animes to achieve the status of being one of the animes that was utterly jawdropping and stunned and just constantly wanting and waiting for more episodes, heck not only that but Symphogear’s discography were such earworms they even became a staple in LA’s daily life in listening to the Openings and endings (and some of the batshit crazy battles) on a daily basis (no seriously). Symphogear may be ending but as LA said again…no matter what, Symphogear was a bloody great, no GODLY anime.
Maybe a movie but if Symphogear ends here LA is wholly, far exceedingly satisfied with XV nonetheless.
Symphogear is anime, Symphogear is music itself, Symphogear is life, Symphogear is GOD…LA is gonna fucking miss ya…
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