Symphogear GX is the third season of the Symphogear anime, produced by Satelight. The director was Katsumi Ono, and the writing was handled by Akifumi Kaneko. All three seasons of Symphogear are available on Crunchyroll.
Once again, the singing magical girl warriors return. Their enemies this time are an alchemist and her group of living dolls called ‘Autoscorers’. The alchemist, Carol Malus Dienheim seeks to destroy all miracles as revenge against the world for burning her father at the stake for witchcraft.
Right from the word go, Symphogear GX is packed full of action. Whether it’s a rescue mission or actually fighting their new enemies, every episode always has something major going on. Impressively, there’s quite a bit of character development to be found between all the action. Family seems to be a key theme this time around.
With appearances from both Tsubasa and Hibiki’s fathers, we get to learn a little more about their family situations. Tsubasa’s is… complicated, to say the least. Hibiki’s father doesn’t make a good first impression, though he definitely starts taking steps towards redemption.
As things tend to be, the emergence of a new enemy means that the Symphogear wielders are required to power-up to actually stand a chance in a fight. Thus, we get the ‘ignite mode’, which is basically just a controlled form of the berserk rage Hibiki previously exhibited in the prior seasons.
Of course, the ignite mode doesn’t hold the same power as the EX Drive, but that is pretty much a power reserved for the climax.
As with the previous seasons, there’s a fair amount of techno-babble thrown around that might throw some viewers off. There are keywords that are released alongside the episodes, though the casual viewer would probably not be aware of them. A quick Google search could probably find you the translated words, which goes some way to explaining everything. Of course, taking into consideration how much each episode packs in, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that there are some details that can’t be included.
One could argue that Symphogear‘s main draw is its soundtrack. Each character has their own specific song for activating their Symphogear, and those songs tend to serve as battle music. The variation in genres for the different users serves to keep things interesting, and there’s even a song about beef stroganoff thrown in there.
The antagonists from Symphogear G, Maria, Kirika and Shirabe, are now allies and fight alongside the others to protect the world from Carol and the Autoscorers. They aren’t the only familiar faces to return from the second season.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Symphogear without the yuri. Obviously, the relationship between Hibiki and Miku is as strong as ever – it is Miku who is able to cheer up Hibiki when she starts feeling low.
Kirika and Shirabe outright state that they love each other, and it seems that Maria has the attention of both Chris and Maria.
One aspect that has been ramped up is definitely the fanservice. For the first time, this season features a beach episode. Naturally, this means seeing the Symphogear wielders in swimwear. Transformation scenes also have increased fanservice, but that is pretty much par for the course as Symphogear is a magical girl anime at its core.
The antagonists are certainly a unique group. The Autoscorers, Phara Suyuf, Leiur Darahim, Galie Tuman and Micha Jawkan are all dolls created by Carol. Many found their designs to be out of place at first, but watching them in action is definitely fun. Though Carol has a young appearance, she’s got her own tricks up her sleeve – she doesn’t rely solely on the Autoscorers to fight for her.
In addition, the Noise return. However, these are a more powerful type known as ‘Alca-Noise’, which are capable of damaging the Symphogear wielder’s relics.
Score: 10/10
With a great soundtrack, incredible action and brilliant characters, Symphogear GX is an outstanding anime. All three seasons are just pure joy to watch, and the action keeps the adrenaline pumping.
Rory Muses 
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