Symphogear

[[caption-width-right:350:That's not the main duo of the series.

Senki Zesshou Symphogear (widely translated as Swansong of the Valkyries - Symphogear and streamed by Niconico Douga and FUNimation as simply Symphogear) is a music-themed sci-fi Magical Girl Warrior series about killing Eldritch Abominations with Power Armors fuelled by song. If the last sentence doesn't make sense, read it again, more slowly.

Developed by Noriyasu Agematsu (composer of music for games and anime including Wild Arms and Girls Bravo), published by Kadokawa Shoten, and animated by Studio Satelight.

Part of the Winter 2012 Anime season.

Currently setting up a Characters page. Help is greatly appreciated!

Available the week after they air on NicoNico Beta (in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and South Africa) and on the FUNimation website (US and Canada only).

For a similar premise with musical play, see Ar Tonelico. Compare and contrast Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Lyrical Nanoha. See also Wild Arms and Suite Pretty Cure.

This series contains examples of:
"Tsubasa: Smiles have no meaning where we're going.
 * The Ace: Kanade. She's not always better than Tsubasa, mind you; but she's upbeat, popular with everyone, cheerful and fun-loving. Parallels to Zack Fair are noted.
 * Action Dress Rip: Gungnir's Combat Stilettos are on the way of Hibiki's new kung-fu moves, so she gets rid of the heels.
 * All Myths Are True: Norse myths (Kanade's relic, Gungnir), Japanese myths (Tsubasa's relic, Ama-no-Habakiri) Hebrew/Sumerian tales (Kadingir, the gateway of the gods, looks like the Tower of Babel, the healing artifact Nehushtan and the demon-binding Staff of Solomon), Roland's sword Durandal, all together.
 * And the Adventure Continues...: At the end of the series there's still Noise in the world to be fought and heroines willing to do it.
 * Anyone Can Die
 * in the very first episode.
 * Of diplomatic importance,.
 * Armed Legs: Tsubasa's Symphogear comes with large blades attached to her boots. She has several spinning moves that use them.
 * As Long as It Sounds Foreign: Besides the ... American, the beginning phrase of each girl's activation songs is gibberish. Or Norse. Or Ar Tonelico's Con Lang
 * Bait and Switch Credits: Subverted.
 * Bastard Girlfriend: Phine punishes subordinates' mistakes stark naked save for black stockings.
 * Batman Can Breathe in Space: Symphogears, without any visible means of life support, are space-worthy. The part about talking in the vacuum is explained by being telepathy, at least.
 * Beethoven Was an Alien Spy:
 * The Berserker: Hibiki becomes visibly bestial (her fangs grow slightly and her figure darkens) when angry.
 * BFS
 * Tsubasa. Her Armed Gear is a no-dachi which can transform that into a giant claymore. Her "Heaven's Wrath" Finishing Move causes it to grow many times her size and combine with a flying kick from her Symphogear For Massive Damage.
 * Durandal. Hibiki activates it in episode 5, which she promptly uses to demolish an entire chemical plant in a single attack.
 * Blade on a Stick: Kanade uses the mythical spear of Odin, Gungnir.
 * Blood From the Mouth: Kanade, in a flashback during episode four, lets fly a massive geyser of this, when she injects herself so Gungir will sync with her. This is a set standard when invoking the "Ultimate Song", too.
 * Bloodier and Gorier: While there's plenty of High-Pressure Blood instances, Tsubasa is even shedding Tears of Blood at the end of Episode 4.
 * Boobs of Steel: The bustiest girl is the Big Bad, who can easily take on several other Symphogears at once. On the heroic side, it's played with. The one who's a brawler (Hibiki) doesn't have the biggest bust.
 * Book Ends: Just as Hibiki did in the first episode, in the last episode Miku rescues a girl under Noise attack, they run, she falls, a heartbeat is heard...
 * Body Horror: Noises' mere touch turns people into ashes quickly, but not quick enough for the victims not to feel it.
 * Break the Cutie
 * Breather Episode: A well-deserved one, at that. Episode 9 is a "girl's day out", and Nana Mizuki performs karaoke on an Enka song.
 * Broken Bird: Tsubasa and Chris. Tsubasa by experiencing the death of a partner and Chris after undergoing  made one to become a cold and obssessive death-seeker and the other a violent, mistrusting terrorist.
 * Calling Your Attacks: All Symphogear users showcase their special attacks and defenses with cuts to a Pastel-Chalked Freeze-Frame with a title card.
 * Catapult Nightmare: Chris comes around in episode eight with the typical "bolt upright" move.
 * Catch Phrase: Hibiki's "I think I'm cursed..."
 * Cerebus Rollercoaster: The first episode is very dark. The second episode is far brighter, focusing on Hibiki's induction as a Symphogear candidate; then episodes three and four go back to being serious... until the very last minutes of episode four suddenly turn into a goofy Shonen Training Montage. Overall the tone of the series gets Lighter and Softer as the series progresses (Episode 8 even relies on The Power of Love and The Power of Friendship as a plot point) with the international conspiracy subplot and Chris' Dark and Troubled Past being the only "edgy" elements left by the finale.
 * Chainmail Bikini: The Nehushtan armour  doesn't do much to cover her user below the shoulders. But it makes the exposed skin as bullet-proof as the rest of the armour, as seen in episode 11.
 * Character Focus: After introduction, the show takes some time off from its heroines and devotes it to her. Half of Episode 7 was dedicated to her Character Development, alongside Episode 5. Being one of the antagonists, this foreshadows her.
 * Chekhov's Gunman: The little girl Hibiki saved during episode 1 plays a role in the finale.
 * Chilly Reception: Averted when Hibiki gets a welcome party that a new employee/recruit/etc in Japan can expect from the old-timers... but played straight by Tsubasa, who gives her the cold shoulder.
 * Cliffhanger Copout:.
 * Cooldown Hug: Tsubasa gives one to an out-of-control  in episode 12.
 * Creepy Doll: The ending features a lot of "gutted" mannequins, for no discernible reason. It somehow got past the radar with it's explicit pictures.
 * Cruel and Unusual Death: The fate of those attacked by Noise: they get reduced to Carbon compounds over the span of a few seconds.
 * Cute Bruiser: Hibiki's inability to summon Gungnir's armed gear forces her to fight empty-handed, clumsily brutal at first and later with flashy kung-fu moves..
 * Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The Ultimate Song releases energy beyond what the Symphogear can safely handle.
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: wasn't even on-screen for five minutes before talking about Hibiki being the "lead protagonist."
 * The Dark Arts: That's exactly what the Big Bad calls her forbidden powers.
 * Dead Partner:
 * Dead Star Walking:
 * Death By Origin Story: Tsubasa wasn't always the hostile cold fish;  death turned her so.
 * Decon Recon Switch: At first it seems the series is going to play the Magical Girl Warrior as strategical weapons, villains being honestly deadly, heroines never getting a break and lacking Plot Immunity. By the final three episodes, the Power of Friendship and the Power of Rock trumps all. It's quite epic.
 * Decoy Protagonist: The promotional videos show the four girls have a prominent role in the series. At the end of the first episode however, it shows that  died halfway through the episode.
 * Description Cut

Beat

Cue the next scene having the bureau celebrating Hibiki getting there."

"The Big Bad in episode 12: What are you using? What?
 * Disco Tech: Symphogears and relics are activated and run on "phonic energy", that comes from singing.
 * Doomed Protagonist/Foregone Conclusion: Hibiki is shown to have expired some time before the end of the story and what we're seeing are the events leading to her death.
 * Downer Beginning: It was rather shocking to watch Episode 1 where a main character dies and another is seemingly handed a death sentence (not to mention the villains slaughtering a whole concert hall).
 * Eagle Land: Extremely obvious by the phone call -- In-universe, Japan and America relations are tense due to sheer competition and its authority present around the world.
 * Earthshattering Kaboom: was designed for blowing up the Moon.
 * Eccentric Mentor: Genjurou teaches Hibiki his unnamed, super-powered Secret Art after she proves unable to bring out her Armed Gear in episode four. Part of the training involves watching action movies and doing forms in Cosplay.
 * Eldritch Abomination: The Noise.
 * Empathic Weapon: The Symphogears are powered armors that run on their users' singing skill and emotional state. They also take more or less Stripperiffic forms on specific users (compare Chris in her Nehushtan armour to ).
 * Evil Gloating: The Big Bad keeps on harping about how she's going to rule the Earth while beating a downed Hibiki.
 * Evolving Credits: Chris is added to the final group shot in the OP in episode 11.
 * Executive Meddling/Compressed Adaptation: The show was originally planned for a 2 cour (26 episodes) run, before being switched to 1 cour (13 episodes) midway. This forced the writers to rewrite the script in a week.
 * Expy
 * The Noise; they're the Gnosis in all but name.
 * Tsubasa in her fighting gear looks like KOS-MOS.
 * Phine is pretty much
 * Kanade's weapon resembles and makes the same sound effects as Erio's.
 * Genjuro is, appearance wise, a dead ringer for Ali-Al Saachez.
 * The fact that Tsubasa is a highly-skilled, blue-haired stoic cool songstress may remind fans of The Idolmaster of Chihaya Kisaragi.
 * ZweiWing? Well, if you put the wings on their backs, then they look like another duet during transformation.
 * Faux Fluency: The beginning of episode 5 has a conversation over the phone done in full English. And it's very obvious the voice actors aren't very fluent in the language. Watch it here. Invoked on the Japanese side of the conversation: she was performing that gratuitousness as an insult to her American interlocutors.
 * Fiery Redhead: Kanade.
 * Fighting Your Friend: For one reason or another,
 * Final Speech:  last words are revealed in episode three. She opens with a variation on "Everything's going dark".
 * First Episode Spoiler: We see the tombstone of a main character a minute into the first episode. Midways through that episode another main character is dead, becoming a Posthumous Character.
 * Flash Back : The first episode has an extended flashback to
 * Flash Step: When tries to slow   Tsubasa down with some Mooks, Tsubasa instantly appears in front of her.
 * Fun with Subtitles + Blind Idiot Translation = Zero Wingrish: Invoked. During the English portion of Episode 5. When the Eagle Land person is speaking, it is actually in Surprisingly Good English. When the woman is speaking, she is talking in Blind Idiot. This demonstrates the way she thinks of America: a bigoted country who needs to know their place.
 * The Future: Not terribly far into the future, but more than Twenty Minutes Into the Future.
 * Genetic Memory: The Big Bad is a scientifically reincarnated  who stored her personality and memories in her descendants' DNA.
 * Genre Busting: The above description is correct: a music-themed Science Fantasy Magical Girl series.
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom: Hibiki, when she gets massively P.O.ed at the Noise in episode 3 and in Episode 5.
 * Good Thing You Can Heal: Some users get most of the Nehushtan armour healing ability than others.
 * Gratuitous English: The subtitle for the logo is "Meteroid-falling, burning, and disappear, then..." This is supposed to reference shooting stars, which show up in Episode 3 as a YouTube video.
 * Hair Contrast Duo: Kanade (orange) and Hibiki (creme) are cheerful, Tsubasa (dark blue) and Miku (black) are calm.
 * Heroic BSOD: Episode 7 is a good contender for the most BSODs in one episode.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: How  and potentially anyone who uses the Ultimate Song.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!/Names to Know In Anime: These are some very big names.
 * Tsubasa is voiced by Nana Mizuki, who had voiced another BFS-wielder before.
 * Kanade is voiced by Minami Takayama, who voiced Conan Edogawa, Nabiki Tendou, amongst others. She's also part of TWO-MIX, in which ZWEI-Wing would be some sort of Dream Team of J-Pop (see above)
 * Hibiki is Aoi Yuuki, who voiced another Naive Newcomer Magical Girl.
 * Genjuro is Hideo Ishikawa, who voiced Auron. Now try and picture him saying "This Is My Story".
 * Chris is voiced by Ayahi Takagaki, and she shares similarites with another anti.
 * Ryoko and Phine are Yomi and Dead Master.
 * High-Pressure Blood: Any meaningful impact will release a humongous burst of blood, as seen for example when Hibiki gets hit in the first episode.
 * Hot-Blooded: Kanade, Genjurou and his alumn Hibiki. Watch a man teach martial arts to a girl with lines like "Your fists ought to fly like hammers that hit the thunder of the bolt that strucks you!" and the girl respond "I didn't understand a word of that, but I'll try!". Same gal who yells battlecries while playing an arcade crane game.
 * High-Pressure Blood: Any meaningful impact will release a humongous burst of blood, as seen for example when Hibiki gets hit in the first episode.
 * Hot-Blooded: Kanade, Genjurou and his alumn Hibiki. Watch a man teach martial arts to a girl with lines like "Your fists ought to fly like hammers that hit the thunder of the bolt that strucks you!" and the girl respond "I didn't understand a word of that, but I'll try!". Same gal who yells battlecries while playing an arcade crane game.

Hibiki: SYYYYMMPHOOOGEEAARRRRRRR!"

"Yumi in episode 11: How could the school be under attack? Is not like this is an Anime or anything!"
 * Hot Chick with a Sword: Tsubasa
 * Hot Scientist: Ryoko Sakurai.
 * Ice Queen: Tsubasa. Defrosting Ice Queen after she wakes up from her coma.
 * I Know Mortal Kombat: Genjuro's idea of training includes watching action movies and playing fighting games, and trying to copy main characters' moves...while being dressed like them. It includes trying to teach Hibiki Hadouken, by having them both dressed as Makoto and Gouki/Akuma. All of this set to a Badass Rocky-like theme.
 * In-Series Nickname: Friends call Hibiki "Bikki".
 * I Surrender, Suckers: Being outmatched,  to recover the momentum.
 * I Thought It Was Forbidden: By the end of the series  has been used so often that it doesn't look that dangerous.
 * Invincible Minor Minion: The Noise are truly dangerous Mooks. They can actively adapt, morph, mutate, and combine to form some of the strangest kinds of Eldritch Abominations. The concert scene destruction in the first episode, for example, was comprised fully of Mooks and several Boss in Mook Clothings. Episode 4 is the first episode to actually show a Mook Maker and a Boss, if you would call it that.
 * It's All My Fault: In episode four Hibiki blames her lack of skills for forcing
 * It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Hibiki's relationship with Miku become strained after Hibiki become a superheroine. However, Miku will always support Hibiki. Aww... until
 * Jumped At the Call: Hibiki takes to her new powers and working with her heroine earnestly.
 * Leitmotif and Mood Motif: All of the Valkyries sing their song as a way to debilitate the Noise. The songs also actively change throughout the series as a way to show their current personality/Character Development. For example, Hibiki's songs earlier in the series are Lighter and Softer, but gets progressively more Hot-Blooded as the show goes on.
 * Let's Get Dangerous: The guy with the Anime Hair and pink necktie in charge of Mission Control? He can beat a Symphogear barehanded, as seen in episode 3.
 * Magic From Technology: The relics are explained as ancient supertechnology by Ryoko.
 * Magical Girl Warrior: Sure their power depends on their singing activating mysterious relics, but it manifests as humongous swords, gatling guns and piston punches.
 * Magic Idol Singer: Kanade and Tsubasa, aka Zweiwing.
 * The Masquerade Will Kill Your Dating Life: Hibiki starts missing appointments with Miku after she joins The Organization. Keeping Secrets Sucks.
 * Meaningful Echo:
 * Meaningful Name: "Hibiki" means "to resound/echo", "Kanade" means "to play (an instrument)". "Tsubasa" means "wings", which fits with "Zwei Wing", valkyrie theme, and her Broken Bird status. "Miku" means "future".
 * Megaton Punch: Hibiki decides to go this route, since she can't properly manifest her Armed Gear, and simply funnels all the power into ass-whooping punches from episode 5 and onwards.
 * The Men in Black: The government agency handling the Symphogears actively keep their existance from the public eye, as they are considered a strategic resource. But their tactics are pretty nice and polite, like making witnesses sign Nondisclosure agreements.
 * Meta Girl: Yumi, one of Those Two Guys, keeps pointing out how things play out like in an Anime, beginning by calling Hibiki out for behaving like a cartoon character in the second episode.

"Miku in the first episode: I miss you! I cannot bear not being able to see you anymore, Hibiki!"
 * Mistaken for Cheating: In what might be considered a Contrived Coincidence, Miku caught Hibiki visiting the just-recently-waking-up-from-comatose Tsubasa, when Hibiki said that she needs to go somewhere else and can't go shopping with Miku. Then things get worse.
 * Monumental Battle: The fight in episode 10 takes place around the Tokyo Tower.
 * Mood Whiplash: It's extremely hard to keep a straight face when transitioning from an Idol concert to a Bloodier and Gorier battle in under 12 minutes and then to high school Slice of Life.
 * More Dakka: MEGA DETH PARTY! dual-wields Gatling guns, a multi-rocket launcher, and a crossbow that can shoot multitudes of exploding light arrows. Did we mention the crossbow is a Bifurcated Weapon? And it upgrades it later, even, to MEGADETH QUARTET.
 * Music for Courage: In the Darkest Hour, the school's anthem rallies the forces of good.
 * Naive Newcomer: Hibiki -- we see through her eyes what is like the situation from the point of a civilian and then from the organization that fights the bad guys.
 * Name's the Same: Hibiki and Kanade are also the names of the first two heroines of Suite Precure, another music themed magical girl anime.
 * Never Found the Body: Space is vast. Or maybe  burned in the atmospheric reentry.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: While protecting Hibiki from the Noise, some fragments from Kanade's Gungnir breaks off and accidentally sends a sharp chunk straight at her, spearing her through the chest, nearly killing her.
 * Normally I Would Be Dead Now:.
 * Not So Stoic: Tsubasa isn't terribly consistent with the whole "A sword should have no emotions" thing.
 * Off-Model: Episode 3 has a walk scene that looks animated in Adobe Flash. The animation studio working on Bodacious Space Pirates in the same season (especially when Mouretsu Pirates has so much CG scenes in them), plus having the OP single delivered post-haste and a budget slash might explain these animation issues.
 * Ominous Latin Chanting: Reportedly, it's actually (supposed to be?) Old Norse, which fits with the Symphogears' naming theme.
 * One-Winged Angel:  Apocalypsis Dragon form is her last trump against the Symphogears.
 * Orange-Blue Contrast: Kanade/Hibiki's uniform next to Tsubasa's.
 * Painful Transformation: Hibiki at the end of the first episode.
 * Pastel-Chalked Freeze-Frame
 * Kanade has a hardened American style, complete with Gratuitous English and very strong strokes similar to The Eighties Comics.
 * Tsubasa has an Oriental style like those from the Feudal Japan. The kanji are showcased in very deep and complex strokes, and makes Shout Outs to famous paintings.
 * has a Wild West-esque theme, complete with a brown overlay you often see in said genre.
 * Perspective Flip: Episode 5 focuses on Chris.
 * Power Limiter: There are several factors that limit a Symphogear's power.  Nothing that the right song can't release.
 * The Power of Friendship: It can release the ultimate power of Symphogears and fuels the Heroic Willpower to overcome a Super-Powered Evil Side.
 * Posthumous Character: keeps appearing all through the series in flashbacks and Talking in Your Dreams.
 * The Power of Rock: This is a series about fighting evil Noise with power armours running on singing.
 * Psycho Serum: How they develop Gungnir inside Kanade. It didn't work on the first attempt, so Kanade forced the transformation by injecting herself with the rest of it.
 * Rage Against the Heavens: Subverted.
 * Rape as Backstory:
 * Real Men Wear Pink: Genjuro wears a pink tie.
 * Red Herring:
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Kanade holds enthusiastic view toward battle, while Tsubasa is more reserved (and in the Flash Back, was actually quivering in fear). Hibiki, while not quite enthusiastic, is always in high spirits.
 * Red Sky, Take Warning: Episode 11, complete with a Weird Moon.
 * Replacement Goldfish:
 * The Reveal: An In-Universe example:.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Why Kanade took up the Gungnir Symphogear; her family was carbonized by the Noise. As a result, she initially would go utterly crazy while fighting them. She started to tone it down, however, after people began thanking her for saving their lives.
 * Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: Hibiki and Miku behave more like a couple than as friends. For starters, they sleep together.
 * Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: Hibiki and Miku behave more like a couple than as friends. For starters, they sleep together.
 * Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: Hibiki and Miku behave more like a couple than as friends. For starters, they sleep together.

"Chris in episode five: She learned how to fight?"
 * Rule of Cool: Singing while fighting energy creatures in your mystical power armour.
 * Scenery Porn and Scenery Gorn: On both sides of the spectrum, and can change at any moment. Transitioning from a vibrant laser-show concert that ended with a sunset to a battle-stricken concert under that same sun is animated very beautifully.
 * Secret Identity: The Symphogear are kept out of the public eye, and thus Kanade, Tsubasa and Hibiki have to keep their side job secret, even from best friends.
 * Sexy Backless Outfit: Tsubasa and Chris' Symphogear armor has this.
 * She Fu: Tsubasa is keen on flying kicks and cartwheels.
 * Ship Tease: Miku and Hibiki are roommates and classmates, but they are also close friends, often share the same bed, have at least one moment together, and they comfort each other. Not only that, but they also want to go out and see shooting stars. Everyone can see it, until.
 * Shout-Out
 * Hibiki? Kanade? Noise? Why does it sounds so familiar?
 * When Tsubasa, she looks almost like Miki Sayaka during her "I'm such a fool" moment. Jarring, because Tsubasa normally doesn't make that kind of face, her emotional spectrum considered.
 * At one point during the episode 4 Training Montage, Genjuro is dressed exactly like Akuma/Gouki. Considering his Badassery, it's not exactly inappropriate. Hibiki is also wearing Makoto's clothes.
 * is a nice one to Wild Arms.
 * Let's not forget "pagan technology", the "Ruins of Memory" and.
 * Megadeth PARTY. In episode 10, she transforms into the Dendrobium Orchis.
 * Shower of Angst: In the second episode, Tsubasa has one to show how distressed she is by Gungnir's reappearance.
 * Shut Up, Kirk: cuts off Hibiki when the latter is trying to talk her around during the battle.
 * Shy Blue-Haired Girl: Little Tsubasa was initially this.
 * Slasher Smile: Phine is prone to this humourless grin.
 * Small Girl, Big Gun: Chris' Iron Maiden attack summons a pair of Guns Akimbo twin-linked Gatling guns.
 * Starts with Their Funeral: The first few minutes of the first episode reveals under Grave Clouds that Hibiki is already dead and buried. The series then flashbacks to two years ago and then forward two years again (though some time before the initial scene, since Hibiki's still alive) to show it got to that point. Also doubles as a Foregone Conclusion.
 * Start X to Stop X:  wants to stop all wars and fighting... by viciously beating anyone with a weapon using her Symphogear.
 * Stripperiffic: The Nehushtan armour  makes its user sport Underboobs, Bare Your Midriff and comes with absurdly tall platform boots.
 * Super-Powered Evil Side: Hibiki shows one first in episode 3. She really wanted to go see the stars with Miku.
 * Taking You with Me
 * How died.
 * Talking in Your Dreams:
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Tsubasa, after  death.
 * Tears of Blood:  after her Ultimate Song.
 * Theme Music Power-Up: How the titular "Symphogear" activates. Having Orchestral Bombing and dramatic music in the background is entirely optional, but it makes fights that much more awesome.
 * There Are No Therapists: Especially for poor Tsubasa.
 * Those Three Girls: Besides Miku, Hibiki has another three friends, one of which oddly enough plays the role of a Meta Guy.
 * Tempting Fate: Pretty much all of the first half of episode 10. "Boy do I like my school! I sure hope nothing happens to it!" Well guess what?
 * Throwing Down the Gauntlet: Genjurou doesn't usually fight women, but he'll do an exception if said woman wants to hurt someone under his protection.
 * Title Drop: The collective name of the anti-Noise armor is the name of the show. Also,
 * Tokyo Is the Center of the Universe: Japan as a whole consists of the Research Facility underneath the school, at least Valkyries in, and (potentially) two weapons, one of them being BFS Durandal. Doesn't look like Japan will hand over Durandal to the EU, what with Episode 5's revelation that.
 * Took a Level In Badass: She may activate her Symphogear fine, but Hibiki has the fighting skills of the average middle schooler until she gets training from Genjurou.
 * Took a Level In Badass: She may activate her Symphogear fine, but Hibiki has the fighting skills of the average middle schooler until she gets training from Genjurou.


 * Took a Level In Jerkass: Tsubasa after  death.
 * Tower of Babel:
 * Training Montage: Hibiki trains with old man Genjuro during the credits of episode 4. Bruce Lee and Street Fighter make an appearance!
 * Transformation Is a Free Action: Shown in episode 12, when
 * Unmoving Plaid: Sometimes the school uniform skirts move but the fabric pattern doesn't.
 * Unusual User Interface: The consoles in the control room include features such as virtual faders/drawbars and turntables.
 * Waif Fu: Hibiki can send a punching bag 20 feet away with one hit after getting a few weeks of training from Genjurou.
 * Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World: Hibiki tries to juggle her Symphogear heroics, training with Genjurou, keeping up with her homework and not forgetting about her girl friend. Her sleep time suffers.
 * War Is Hell/: The Noise
 * Wave Motion Gun: is not a tower -  - even though it is referenced as such, but an humongous energy cannon with the intention of shooting the moon.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist:  -- She fights Tsubasa and isn't afraid of  to overwhelm her, all for her laudable objective of
 * Wham! Episode: Episode 11; the Big Bad and her plan is revealed, bad guys change sides or turn to have been The Mole for the good guys all along.
 * What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic: During transformation sequences, a random splice of words flow in the background. In most cases, they're faux German, except for maybe a few. During Kanade's transformation, for example, the word "ziggurat" flows for a short moment before the cut. Strange how The Other Wiki notes that none of the shrines on them were saved.
 * Whip It Good: The Nehushtan Armor has a couple of Variable Length Chains as main weapons. And as seen in the last episode, it has a really long, long reach.
 * Whole Costume Reference: During Hibiki's aforementioned training montage with Genjuro, there's a brief still where Hibiki dressed like Makoto (the red cloth strip is on her neck and her gi isn't sleeveless) and Genjuro dressed exactly like Akuma, both characters of Street Fighter fame.
 * With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Ryoko delivers this word for word to Hibiki, about keeping her new powers a secret.
 * Would Hit a Girl: Genjurou is a gentleman, but he makes an exception for villains.
 * You Are Not Alone:
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Tsubasa.
 * You Remind Me of My Partner
 * X Meets Y: Suite Pretty Cure meets Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.