Symphogear Episode 05: From the Bottom of Darker Depths

Episode Summary:

This episode starts with Hibiki leaving Miku behind in order to train. Hibiki seems like she is getting good, given the way she hits that punching bag!

After the opening, we get this long scene with another new villain character. This woman seems to be in charge of the mystery girl who attacked Tsubasa. We learn that mystery girl’s name is Chris and she is being commanded, sexually abused, and tortured by this new villainess. Chris seems to be under the impression that all of it is necessary to fulfill some sort of wish she has.

This new villainess seems to be in contact with someone who speaks English. They provided her with Soloman’s Cane (the relic that summons Noise?) and now she is lying to them about not being able to activate it.

Hibiki is still taking the day off to train. At 2nd division headquarters, she learns about the uncomfortable situation the “Disaster Squad” is in politically, and that the Japanese government is funding the Symphogear project as a hedge against other nations. But there is one good minister who looks out for 2nd Division.

The exact order of the next series of events is a little unclear. Ryoko is summoned to report to the minister. At some point, she returns with new orders… but in the meantime that minister is ambushed and killed by the person who was talking to the villainess over the phone. If things were just in that order, it would be tragic but not suspicious. But instead, the series of events is suspicious because Ryoko returns with what seems to be the carrying case the minister was protecting and the case has blood on its bottom edge.

While all this is happening, Tsubasa is still in her coma and is dreaming about Kanade. She remembers their bad times and their good times, but just before she wakes up she realizes that she can hold Kanade’s memory as close as she wishes to. Tsubasa wakes up for the first time since the battle and seems to resolve to be more flexible from now on.

Back at 2nd division, Ryoko claims to be unaware of the minister’s assassination, and proceeds to inform everyone of new orders to transfer a powerful relic named Durandal from beneath headquarters to a separate vault beneath parliament.

Hibiki and Miku are still deflecting off each other, but Ogawa helps cheer Hibiki up by reminding her that even the little things are being taken care of by a team of people.

The next morning comes, and Hibiki and Ryoko set off with Durandal intending to escort it to its new destination. Things don’t go as planned when Noise attack the convoy of cars leading to a big fight at a chemical plant where Ryoko blocks a Noise attack with an unexpected forcefield.

Hibiki is a much better fighter now after Genjuro’s training. She takes on a whole crowd of noise by herself by using a series of kicks, punches, and dodges. Chris attacks and gets a good hit on Hibiki, but then Durandal, which is apparently a sword, breaks free of its case and Hibiki manages to grab it. Hibiki’s rage returns, and in one swing of Durandal she destroys the chemical plant before fainting.

In the end, Ryoko suggest Hibiki not worry about the forcefield she saw then walks off to help with the cleanup.

Episode Impressions: 

This is an interesting episode. We seem to be introducing the main villain of the series, we get to see Hibiki fight after she concludes her training, and Tsubasa might now be on a better path than she was before.

This episode is also filled with mysteries and no small amount of suspicion. Who was the villainess talking to? Why does she have control of Chris? What does Chris want? And why did Ryoko return with blood on that carrying case?

And yeah, overall, this episode was good. It moved several things forward and asked all those interesting questions. Maybe it was a little confusing, but I think it is holding things back on purpose to create that suspicion about Ryoko.

Specific Scenes I Loved: 

Hibiki knocking the punching bag into the pond after acting on Genjuro’s silly nonsense advice.

Tsubasa’s dream sequence. I think she finally realized something important before waking up. Plus, it was nice seeing Kanade again.

Ogawa reminding Hibiki that there is a team supporting her.

Hibiki’s first real fight against the Noise. Some of those moves and animations are real quick but really, really good. Especially when she dodges all those tentacles. There’s a cartwheel in there as well as a frame or two where she punches one of the tentacles aside!

Songs In This Episode: 

Gekisou Gungnir – No new songs yet, but it’s nice to see Hibiki fighting along with her song. I liked the part about “I’ve found it, the place where my heart belongs” as she was taking on the Noise. That was good.

Themes In This Episode: 

One theme that gets touched on a couple times this episode is that there are teams of people helping make even the small things possible. We see it first when Hibiki worries about her actions as a Symphogear user and she’s told not to worry because 2nd Divison’s staff helps keep things secret. The minister helping 2nd division could be considered another layer of this, helping keep them clear of government politics. Later, Ogawa reminds Hibiki that he and many others are there to help both her and Tsubasa live their lives and do their jobs as Symphogear users. It’s not said directly, but one way to look at it is even superheroes need help.

Tsubasa’s dream sequence with Kanade. I don’t think the two are literally talking to each other. As in, it’s not Tsubasa being encouraged by Kanade’s spirit or ghost. Rather, I think Tsubasa is working out for herself the path she needs to take to move forward. And her subconscious is using her memories of Kanade, both good and bad, to help with that process. There’s some good stuff here. Most notably, we come back to the theme of being flexible. Tsubasa nearly died because she wasn’t willing to let anyone in to her life after Kanade’s death. Really, she nearly killed herself. Her comment about failing to die shows us she did not intend to survive defeating Chris. When she came upon an enemy she couldn’t take on alone, she didn’t have a partner to help her. Imagine if instead of ignoring and hating Hibiki, Tsubasa had welcomed her as a Symphogear user and had helped teach her how to fight. The battle against Chris in the previous episode might have gone very differently!

Tsubasa still has Kanade with her. We also get this little thing where Tsubasa realizes that she has been keeping Kanade’s memories distant. She considered Kanade dead and gone, but now I think she has realized that it doesn’t have to be that way. Instead, she can cherish her time with Kanade and hold her lessons close instead of locking all those memories far away.

We’ve also come back to Hibiki’s rage. She can hardly control herself after she grabs Durandal. And then she sends an attack at Chris without a moment’s hesitation. Remember, in the previous episode, Hibiki grabbed onto Tsubasa to prevent her from attacking Chris, because Chris was a fellow human. That didn’t seem to be a problem for Hibiki in this episode, but then, she wasn’t thinking clearly at the moment she swung Durandal at Chris…

Special Attacks In This Episode: 

Interestingly, there were no named special attacks this episode. I’d say Hibiki blowing up an entire facility in one swing of Durandal was pretty special… but it didn’t get a title card.