Symphogear Episode 03: Passing in the Night

Episode Summary:

For the past month, Hibiki and Tsubasa have been fighting the Noise, but they still haven’t been able to get along. Their fights against the Noise mostly seem to involve Tsubasa slicing through the enemies while Hibiki tries to fight but mostly ends up running from attacks or getting knocked around.

Back at her dorm with Miku, we find Hibiki trying to stay awake as she is writing a report on the Noise, of all things. But really, Hibiki is remembering the time she and Tsubasa almost fought.

In Hibiki’s flashback, Tsubasa insist that she doesn’t accept Hibiki’s attempts to replace Kanade at all. She says hell will freeze over before she accepts Hibiki and then jumps high in the air and launches one of her most powerful attacks at Hibiki! But right before her “Heaven’t Wrath” connects, she is stopped by a powerful punch from… Genjuro?!

Genjuro’s attack rips the road up and sends Tsubasa flying. In the aftermath, water spews from a broken pipe drenching Tsubasa and helping cover the tears now flowing from her eyes. Hibiki once again tries to console Tsubasa by saying she will do her best to replace Kanade… which is the exact wrong thing to say… and earns Hibiki a well-deserved, angry, tearful slap from Tsubasa. It’s only a month later during her evening daydream that Hibiki finally realizes why Tsubasa was crying.

That same evening we see Tsubasa reliving her memory of Kanade’s final moments. She is there at the stadium again holding a near comatose Kanade in her arms. Instead of impactful words of wisdom, all Tsubasa receives from Kanade are pained, glassy-eyed babbles before Kanade’s body crumbles. In the present, we find that Tsubasa blames herself and her own lack of strength for Kanade’s death.

Both Hibiki and Tsubasa are called to 2nd Division headquarters for a new briefing on the Noise attacks. We learn that the Noise were first recognized by the world 13 years ago, but have existed all the way back to ancient times. All the recent attacks have been around the school, and Ryoko wonders if someone might be controlling the Noise. Tsubasa thinks that they are trying to get to Durandal, an almost completely intact relic stored below headquarters. We’re told it is much more powerful than the Symphogears Tsubasa and Hibiki wear since their relics are just mere fragments. Interestingly, it seems that an intact relic can be used by more than just the limited few Attuned who can operate a Symphogear. If 2nd Division could activate Durandal, anybody could use it.

Tsubasa leaves with Ogawa to work on her album, once again noting her goal to have no emotions, while Hibiki stays with the others where Ryoko actively flirts with her! More importantly, we find that the headquarters and its mix of modern and ancient technology was designed by Ryoko same as the Symphogears. Meaning that headquarters should be safe from all Noise attacks.

At school the next day, Hibiki finally finishes her report and it is accepted by her teachers leaving Hibiki free to see a meteor shower with Miku that evening. Both are excited to finally have time to spend together, but then a Noise outbreak calls Hibiki away and she has to cancel her plans with Miku. Frustrated and angry, Hibiki tears into the Noise, quite literally at one point, showing an aggression we haven’t seen from her before. It’s almost a bit scary as she chases down one final Noise that escapes the subway tunnel they’ve been fighting in.

The Noise is about to get away when Tsubasa drops in like a shooting star and destroys it from the air. Hibiki tries once more to get through to Tsubasa, saying that she too has somethings she wants to protect, but before the two have any chance to talk, someone new interrupts them! The new girl that appears is wearing the Nehushtan armor that was stolen during the concert two years ago!

Episode Impressions: 

This was another episode pretty heavy on info dumping. We learn about how the Noise have probably always existed, how 2nd Division is protecting a powerful relic, and a little more about why Tsubasa has grown so cold and emotionless since Kanade’s death. We also see that Hibiki is having her own issues with being a superheroine, but she has finally started to realize why Tsubasa won’t fight along side her.

In a lot of ways, it felt like this episode set up things to come. Surely, we’ll hear more about Durandal, for instance. It also seems likely that 2nd Division headquarters will be attacked directly. Oh, and we end on a cliffhanger with a new girl wearing the armor stolen from the concert.

Specific Scenes I Loved: 

Genjuro stopping Tusbasa’s rocket sword kick aimed at Hibiki! How the heck did he do that?! Maybe he didn’t… at least not entirely? I’m pretty sure that even though Genjuro did block it temporarily, it’s also true that Tsubasa cancelled her attack in order not to hurt him. Look at the way her giant sword vanishes and she sorta falls awkwardly away before the street is ripped up.

The scene where Hibiki is on the school lawn working on her report while accepting friendship and food from every direction. It’s just a cute scene.

Hibiki going berserk against the Noise in the subway! She stomps one’s face in! She rips another’s head off! She is not happy. We focus a lot on Tsubasa’s emotional state, but I wonder if Hibiki’s might play a role in future episodes. A stoic and controlled Tsubasa vs an out of control Hibiki?

The appearance of an actual villain. We don’t know who is in that armor, but we seem to have someone willing to talk and taunt at our heroines.

Songs In This Episode: 

Zettō Ame no Habakiri (Ame no Habakiri, the Ultimate Blade) – For Tsubasa, we get her theme song at the beginning and end of the episode mostly just as a show of her power. The meaning hasn’t really changed.

Gekisou Gungnir (Gungnir, the Striking Spear) – For Hibiki, I can’t help but note the cruel irony Hibiki’s song talks about never letting go of someone’s hand when just hours ago Hibiki was forced to leave Miku behind.

Themes In This Episode: 

Tsubasa as a sword. After Kanade’s death, Tsubasa seems to have closed herself off to everyone. She keeps referring to herself as a sword or a weapon. She sees herself as someone who only exists to fight the Noise and who has no need for emotions. And yet… we see that Tsubasa still has those emotions she does not want. She attempts to fight Hibiki because she is so angry at the cheerful girl’s insistence that she can replace Kanade. She seems to often think back to the moment where Kanade died. She insists she cannot even be upset, but she clearly is often mad at everyone when she isn’t able to hide her emotions from the world. Just fighting against the Noise is not enough for Tsubasa, but she hasn’t been able to admit that she needs more than fighting to be a full person.

Things Hibiki wants to protect. Hibiki isn’t helping things. It has taken her more than a month to start to grasp why Tsubasa refuses to fight along side her. I think what Hibiki says near the end, that she too has things she wants to protect, is her first real attempt to reach out to Tsubasa. It may not be the best attempt, but Hibiki seems to have realized that one of the reasons Tsubasa is so cold towards her is that Tsubasa thinks she has no real reason for being a Symphogear user. Of course, the only response that declaration got from Tsubasa was an emotionless glare, so we don’t know if Hibiki got through at all.

Hibiki lying to Miku. Over and over again Hibiki is abandoning Miku to fight the Noise. It is making both of them frustrated and we’ve already seen Hibiki take out that frustration on the Noise. It was actually kinda scary watching Hibiki literally tear apart the creatures that pose an unstoppable threat to humanity! But we also have to wonder how much longer Miku will keep covering for Hibiki. Or what might happen if Miku finds out what Hibiki is doing. Miku also seems like a good target to capture in order to force Hibiki to do something…

Special Attacks In This Episode: