I had a distinct sense of enchantment when I first sat down to watch Senki Zesshou Symphogear for the first time, not too long ago. There is a certain aesthetic presentation of the show that just calls out to me and gets my chuunibyou hype to reach levels only seen when reading the likes of A Certain Magical Index or Dies Irae. That is to say, something about the way the show is presented gets me giggling like an idiot and I love it. It has a strong reliance on “the rule of cool” and will go off the rails with absolutely ridiculous action but manages to keep stakes high. There’s German phrases thrown around and magical mecha-musume singing on a battlefield that is similar to what you might have seen in Dynasty Warrior. But all along I have this dumb smile on my face because of not only the unrestrained action but the intimate character interactions. For me it all started from the very beginning, so here’s why I think the first episode of Symphogear is perfect.



We open upon a lone girl standing in the midst of dull gray setting waiting at a bus stop. At this moment we are starting to observe the surroundings to wonder what caused the destruction behind her. A few snappy cuts establish a feeling of unease before continuing the journey to what is eventually a cemetary. Of course we are presented with a cliche scene of rain in a cemetery, though as per usual, it is used to establish the mood. As it turns out, the girl is visiting who appears to be a friend, and this short scene serves to foreshadow events to come at the end of the season. Those who have seen the series already know what time this falls into line with the events of the series, but a new viewer will be kept on their toes trying to piece together the events of the flashback that starts immediately after this scene and the series name drop.


Personally, what really sold me on Symphogear was the flashback due to the incredible presentation. It begins with Hibiki, the “dead” girl at the cemetery, waiting in line to get into a concert. Meanwhile we are shown bits of information of two other girls backstage who we assume to be the performers of the concert. After a brief exchange between those backstage we are shown a weird relic and the “producer” stating the ominous “The show tonight will decide the future of mankind.” This encourages the viewer to start paying more attention to the following performance and wondering what the heck is actually going on. Another important detail before the concert in the insight to Kanade and Tsubasa’s close relationship, and how they are reliant on one another, since this will serve to be an important motivator later on.



Then the idol performance begins and it took my breath away. This wasn’t a lazy Sunrise attempt here, this reminded me of the beautiful performance animation cuts from Idolm@ster (2011) in terms of dynamically animating 2D characters. What really makes this standout is the dynamic camera which gives a sense of energy to the performance like it was a music video, and the characters are always moving. Well choreographed dances and movements paired with the camera made for a delightful viewing that made me feel genuinely in awe instead of watching a girl sway side-to-side like we often get in these scenes. Though this scene was not just eye candy since it also served to be the catalyst of the destruction to come. I too wonder why they thought it was a good idea to do testing on acoustics for an unstable relic in huge venue, but alas I don’t have logical reasoning for that. But more importantly, there is an explosion and everything goes wrong. Clearly something went wrong and beasts known as Noise appear and are killing people, which is a huge divergence from what we were just watching.


The first transformation fills us with a sense of awe as our breath is taken away and the beauty of the music fills our ears. The first starts off initially looking optimistic and we are rooting for Zwei Wing to overcome the beasts and the music is upbeat supporting that idea, but that is until we realize the overwhelming odds and the current strategy is not very effective. With Kanade’s last stand, her swan song (Zesshou), is her greatest performance and she wants to fight with no regrets even if that means sacrificing herself. The nature of the Zesshou consequently results in the death of the performer, and Kanade’s death alters the lives of everyone involved. Hibiki is gravely injured and unbeknownst to the audience now but Tsubasa will change her outlook on life completely as a result of this moment. 



It was at this moment that I realized I need more. I think the greatest strength of the series was being able to hook the audience effectively through the dramatic presentation and visual flare. Aesthetic is hard to judge and even harder to pin down a description of, but this first episode presented a scene of intrigue that mirrors the kind of directing I would have done. I honestly can’t explain the thought process as to why anime has an inexplicable fixation of German phrases, and it’s almost unnecessary here but it overall is used to establish a personality for the series. Deeply influenced by Magical girl anime with the transformations, secrecy of their actions and Hibiki mirroring an innocent girl being roped into a seemingly magical world due to a sense of obligation reminds me a lot of Madoka’s choice. Using Gen Urobuchi’s conclusions drawn in Madoka Magica, to be a magical girl is to essentially sacrifice your humanity and Hibiki does the same to save an innocent girl just like Kanade did for her. But not to get overly critical of the genre trappings, Symphogear is a beast of its own. Part mecha musume, part battle shounen, part idol show with influences from magical girl anime and Bruce Lee movies, it’s quite unique in how it establishes itself. I honestly can’t pin down a precise demographic for who might like this show, but that is why the first episode exists.


The first episode of Symphogear is not perfect, it just does it’s job extremely well. I would be hard pressed to tell you that this is the best anime episode ever directed or that it’s the best episode of the franchise. However, I feel like it is a great representation of what a first episode of a show should strive to be. Overflowing with a completely unique aesthetic, unrestrained visual spectacle and a demonstration for what to expect. Idols perform, huge battles occur, people are killed and those around them suffer. The beautiful Valkyrie’s are shown in an almost tragic light as we see the cost of their greatest power, but also their moments of strength in battle. And when the curtains close and the title screen appears with Synchrograzer playing over, I immediately jumped to the next episode. That is what a first episode should do, just like a proper story should have a hook to draw your attention in the first episode of an anime should demonstrate why you should keep watching, and Symphogear demonstrated that to me. 


Closing Thoughts, or rather, the punchline:
The first episode of an anime is simultaneously considered the most important and least important aspect of a show depending on who you ask. For instance, my english professor might emphasize the importance of a “hook” to draw the reader in for a certain essay whereas someone looking for a well-constructed story would prefer a methodical approach to storytelling. I’d attribute this difference to simply a matter of the intent of the writing. The author should be considering the importance of drawing in a viewer, or perhaps detering some, with their first episode. Masters of this art have gone on to play with conventions to subvert expectations, think of Madoka Magica. Other instances can be used to perfect display what the show will deliver like K-On! Or Lucky Star. Perhaps I’m evading the question at hand to choose the cheap answer, but it’s honestly a matter of authorial intent and what they want the viewers to expect from their series regardless of sincerity. 


As a side tangent, I mentioned Lucky Star as having a good first episode, which I will standby. It’s infamously went on to be a bit of a meme with the lengthy conversation about how to eat a chocolate cornet but I believe this to accurately set expectations for the show. It’s a show about high school girls doing dumb stuff and just being friends, and this is probably the kind of dumb stuff you might expect to talk about lackadaisically during an otherwise unmemorably lunch period. But this is a different subject for another day my friends.