Maser Patrol podcast episode 48: Symphogear

Podcast – Maser Patrol

After a long hiatus, it’s time for another episode of the Maser Patrol podcast. This time, we take a look at a show with a valuable life lesson:

That’s right, this time around Josh and Kevin discuss the sweet Swan Songs of the Valkyries in the Senki Zesshō Symphogear franchise. It’s largely a synopsis of the five seasons, but hopefully our enthusiasm (and a little bit of the historical context) gives a sense of why it’s a program absolutely worth checking out.

Warnings: Many spoilers. Also, the editing for this podcast might not be all that tight due to Audacity problems (but it’s Maser Patrol, so of course it’s a couple hours long anyway).

Direct download

Show notes:

• Buy Season 1 here
• Buy Season 2 here
• Watch on Crunchyroll
• The indispensable Symphogear wiki
• The Shooting the Moon fansite

Marketing

• How Symphogear is marketed in Japan:

• How Symphogear is marketed in the US:

• How Symphogear probably should be marketed:

• But what Symphogear is really about:

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Sample clips:

• The marketing leading up to season 1 all implied that Kanade would be a main character, and not, say, someone who would die halfway into the first episode:

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Talking about the show:

• Hibiki Tachibana in a nutshell:

• The Noise designs are very much like Tohl Narita’s Ultraman monsters:

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• Even more psuedo-Ultraman: The Nephilim was modeled after Zetton, while Hibiki turns into a red-and-silver giant at one point.

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• Yumi’s self-awareness:

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• Ignite module vs Kill la Kill god robe:

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The mobile game

• Symphogear XD Unlimited mobile game opening:

XDU Collaborations that’d be of interest:

• SSSS.Gridman

• Godzilla

• ULTRAMAN

• Nanoha Detonation

• Attack on Titan

• the Gamera trilogy

• Nendoroids mentioned:

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Hopefully that all sheds some light on why the franchise has such a devout fanbase, and why “watch Symphogear” has become a meme associated with rabid, proselytizing otaku. But seriously, if you’re even a bit curious, it’s worth checking out.