Senhime Zesshou Symphogear - 4 (A New Resolve)

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Finally I can say that I've started to enjoy this series being fully aware that I enjoy it and not being confused as to what feelings I have about it! All thanks to one episode which not only takes a huge step forward in the character development and storyline but makes think that things will only keep getting interesting from now on.

The start was just like last weeks, not going into the action straight away but this week it was refreshing to see a flashback to the time with Kanade and Tsubaasa. Although the episode starts off with an almost Wolverine Origins type feel to it, which isn't actually bad and in a away fun to watch given how much of a generic setting it takes, the flashback quickly progresses through Kanade's time with Tsubasa and even though it focuses on the emotional bond between them yet again, it does have a big impact on the rest of the episode.

I can't say that I expected Tsubasa to be a match for the girl clad in Nehushtan armour but to have her go all out and to sing her Zesshou was something I didn't really expect; at best I thought she would be defeated to within an inch of her life and then rescued by the division commander. That development in the plot did make me chuckle since I remembered the first episode and I thought to myself, is this anime in the habit of killing off all the main characters

Well Tsubasa isn't dead yet but she wouldn't have performed her Zesshou had it not been for her friendship with Kanade. I'm all for self-sacrifice since it's something I find to be a noble act but I thought that Tsubasa's attempt to sacrifice herself came way too early in the story and shocked me a little bit; that being said since it was a breakaway action from the norm, it did come across as a pleasant surprise and since the enemy didn't die either we can expect a future battle where she will either sacrifice herself once more or come out victorious.

And of course In episodes like these, the weak main character has to re-examine their position and to obtain a new resolve which of course was inevitable for Hibiki but about time since she has been a weak character now for almost too long. Her new-found resolve is of course what you would expect it to be (she wants to protect Miku, a little small-scale in my opinion) and of course she blames herself for Tsubasa's near death but during the end credits it was funny to see her in training just because she is such a comic character that I still can't take her seriously.

Now the main questions are: Who is wearing the Nehustan armour and why is she after Hibiki Maybe something to do with Kanade herself or maybe not but either way this time round we have had an episode which has left us with an unanswered question.