I’m sure some of you were at least vaguely aware of JoJo Fridays being a thing over the previous few seasons. We’re going to go one better, and have Symphogear Saturdays – which has alliterative added appeal going for it, as well.
As the second episode demonstrates, there are no brakes on the Symphogear hype train.
Hibiki is happy that Chris likes the birthday present she and Miku picked out for her
As ever, a summary to start: the remnants of the Bavarian Illuminati make their move. Meanwhile, Tsubasa returns to the stage, but she wonders whether that is where she should be with a new threat emerging.
Yet another amazing new transformation sequence
After some stuff with Hibiki, Miku & Chris, as well as Tsubasa & Maria (I’ll get to that in a little bit), we’re back to more action, with the appearance of Alca-Noise. This time around it is just Kirika and Shirabe who are fighting.
Kirika & Shirabe just ooze pure yuri energy
Kirika’s new song is amazing – and I’ll almost certainly be saying this about every song this season, so get used to reading that a lot – and Kirika and Shirabe annihilating the Alca-Noise in the gayest way possible is utter brilliance.
Eliza
This episode also gives us first contact between the S.O.N.G. and the remnants of the Bavarian Illuminati – in this case, it is the alchemist Eliza who fights Kirika and Shirabe. We get a pretty good idea of Eliza’s combat capabilities, and it seems that her boss is rather fond of her, too.
Maria & Tsubasa
As promised, I will now focus on Tsubasa and Maria for a little while. Tsubasa is conflicted about what it is she should be doing with the arrival of a new threat, but Maria is there to put her on the right path. Actually, Tsubasa calls in a favour and has Maria join her on stage.
As with all previous Tsubasa concerts, it is a visually stunning affair. Tsubasa and Maria’s song is excellent, too – definitely up there alongside “Seiten Galaxy Cross” for me.
Millaarc
Whilst Tsubasa and Maria’s concert is certainly spectacular, it soon turns disastrous. The events hark back to the first episode of the first season, and we get a very stark reminder that ordinary humans stand absolutely no chance against Alca-Noise. The attack is instigated by Millaarc, who is specifically targeting Tsubasa.
Things get really dark, really quickly at the end of this episode. Also, make sure to keep watching after the credits.
This episode is the first time we’ve had the opening and ending themes played. The opening theme is “METANOIA” by Nana Mizuki, whilst the ending theme is “Lasting Song” by Ayahi Takagaki. Naturally, both songs are incredible.
This episode was certainly a rollercoaster. We had a more light-hearted tone with Hibiki, Miku and Chris to kick things off, and things weren’t entirely serious when Kirika and Shirabe were fighting.
Then we met Millaarc. She’s already proved herself to be irredeemable, but I like her. I know she is voiced by Aimi, which meant I was going to like her anyway, but Millaarc is just pure evil. I am into that. The fact that she wouldn’t seem out of place in Castlevania/Bloodstained only increases her appeal, too. In fact, all three of the remnants of the Bavarian Illuminati are based on creatures that have served as foes in Castlevania games: Eliza is a werewolf, Millaarc is a vampire, and Vanessa is Frankenstein’s monster. I really like that particular theme for the antagonists.
Symphogear XV continues going strong with its second episode. I still absolutely adore Symphogear.
Rory Muses 