Saturday, September 30, 2017

AXZ Keywords #10

Tonight is the finale of AXZ and maybe our first glimpse into what season 5 will bring. I'm trying to get through the keywords as I find the time. I hope to be finished up within the next week. Here's the post-episode 10 keywords.








The after school briefing

Based on the lack of any reactions to Genjuro saying it, one can surmise this name has in use for a long time. It adequately represents the stressful lives of the Symphogear Adaptors as they go straight from school into S.O.N.G. missions on a daily basis.



God Killer

Throughout the world there are numerous legends passed down of "God," a being of superior power and status. Likewise, many legends also exist regarding how this being ultimately met its end. Although details remain unclear, talk of a "God Killer" power has been brought up as potential countermeasure to the "Power of God" that the Bavarian Illuminati seek to obtain. Maria believed that Hibiki's Gungnir might be the key based on the fact it defeated the "Power of God" prototype "Youaltepuztli" in episode 2. However, as Tsubasa remarked, there are no generally known legends of Gungnir having that type of power or ability. The key to unlock the secret of this mechanism almost certainly lies within Germany's secret documents from the previous world war. However, all the data that the Kazanari Agency obtained, as well as the documents brought from Valverde, have been reduced to ashes. The Germans struggled with the limits of eugenics as they sought to obtain the "power to kill a god," meanwhile Japan focused its research on the "Mighty Spear Gungnir" that they received from them. Perhaps it is not Gungnir itself, but rather "something" that connects these two threads together is the true "God Killer," or maybe...



Blue Three

A member of S.O.N.G.'s "Team Blue" that was dispatched to provide security at the leyline points that formed the inverse Orion constellation which was identified as "God's Gate." His official codename is "BLUE-3." He attempted to get in contact with the other members of his team when he noticed something strange, but before he knew it he met his end at the hand of one of Saint Germain's alchemic bullets.

On a slightly unrelated note, there exists an incredible man with a similar name: "Bruce Lee." He was an actor, producer, writer and talented martial artist. At the same time (although this seems contradictory) he was also one of two people, called the "strongest man on Earth." (TL note: this is reference to Shinobu Kaze's manga "Chijo Saikyo no Otoko: Ryu" in which Bruce Lee and Miyamoto Musashi, both known as "the strongest man on Earth," are resurrected by Jesus to kill the main character, Ryu, before he can awaken as the Antichrist.) 

His most famous work, "Enter the Dragon," became a huge hit all over the world and left a deep impression on the genre of action movies after its release. He died at the very young age of 32, and had passed away before the height of the trend that he himself started. For that reason he quickly passed into legend, almost that of a God, and even now there are "men eternally reliving their middle school days" that respectfully refer to him as "Master." On yet another slightly unrelated note, this legendary man will never appear directly in the story of Symphogear. But in reality, a number of famous lines from the movies he starred in have been adapted and made their way into the script at more than one occasion.



Summer Homework (Update)

She never looked cool while doing it. Sometimes struggling to her wits end, other times crying like a baby, but thanks to some unconventional assistance she was finally able to finish her summer homework. To Hibiki Tachibana, who lives in the middle of the paranormal, the mundanity of every day life is something important and special. If she was by herself, she might have cracked under the pressure. However, at all times she is surrounded by friends, companions and sunshine.



Tiki Statue - Update

As an Auto-Scorer, Tiki's primary function is to use her data of the stars to determine the exact timing when the Orion constellation matches up with the leyline points on the ground. That is when the ritual must be performed. Furthermore, the concept of love that she impressed upon herself gives her blind devotion to Adam and thus when she obtained the immense power from God's Gate, she became a weapon on par with the strength of a God. As can be surmised from Tiki's behavior, although her words are spiteful, she doesn't actually feel any ill-will. She does not function within the concepts of good and evil, but rather simply "ignorance." To put it in perspective, this attitude is identical to the craze that swept Hibiki Tachibana's junior high school, as the rumors that hurt her were spread with no real reason or intent. With no clear leader or agitator in the school, within the classroom, within the cliques, all that could be seen was a faint outline that looked "human" (doll). The average person is unaware they carry a blade, one that is used whenever they speak wantonly, without thinking of the consequences. And that can kill heroes.



The Leyline Blockade Plan

Glittering lights mark the points. If you connect the points, lines begin to form. If you follow the lines, they eventually come together to form a circular pattern. That pattern has form and meaning, and when completed creates a magic circle. The space filled by that magical circle becomes "God's Gate" and it drains the life energy that flows from the points that connect the leylines. Using that energy to transmutate the "Power of God" was the Bavarian Illuminati's plan. For most of the time S.O.N.G. had simply been chasing them, but after their battles with the Alchemists they took the fragments of data they obtained and saw through their intentions. Their counter plan was to use the Keystones that act as the safety valves of the leylines and temporarily block the flow of energy. However, the leylines are an important source of energy that makes the land fertile and stopping the flow might risk inducing a "wasteland effect" that causes the land to wither. It was for this reason that the Director of Cabinet Intelligence, Yatsuhiro Kazanari (a man who works mostly in a gray area), called a meeting with heads of each administrative division of Japan. With various assurances and guarantees, including ample reparation, a vote was cast that successfully put the plan into action. They waited until the spiritual pressure had rose to the limit, then used the keystones to shut down the flow of the leyline energy into God's Gate. They successfully put a stop to the plans of the Bavarian Illuminati.

However, that wasn't the end. In reality, there was more than one of "God's Gate." If you look up into the night sky, the very stars themselves form the shape of yet another gate. Just as Elfnein had utilized the balance of Macrocosm and Microcosm to form a plan to deal with the Lapis Philosophicus, Adam also used the same perspective to deal with this interference. Instead of drawing energy from the life among the stars, he drew enormous power from the very stars themselves into yet another "God's Gate." With the Keystones now useless, the life energy of the stars flowed like a waterfall of light down upon Tiki. Of course the incompetent Adam had not actually foreseen Yatsuhiro's plan, he didn't even consider the idea of anyone outside of the Adaptors actually posing a threat. With the "Power of God" nearly in his grasp, he was shocked when it came to an abrupt halt. He almost threw his back out. Even so, without the need for any tools or preparation, he simply utilized the ridiculous amount of magic energy at his disposal to perform alchemy that forcibly opened the "God's Gate" among the stars - out of the reach of anyone else. Thus, the tables turned once again to where the Bavarian Illuminati's plan was a success and the efforts of Japan and S.O.N.G. had failed. It all stays according to Adam's plan.






2 comments:

  1. Hello sir Zoid, i am sorry if i post this in the wrong section you are welcome to delete it.
    I have been following your blog for a while now and i would like to
    thank you for translating the Symphogear series content that have not yet been English localized (or never will be).
    I have just begun learning and studying Japanese language and i am a fan of the Symphogear series myself.
    I am trying to translate the current Symphogear XD event story dialog do you have any tips for translating these series.
    (this would be my first time translating something)
    I am very sorry for the long post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there,

      I'm glad to hear you enjoy Symphogear and are trying to learn Japanese. Translating Symphogear is very difficult because they use a lot of words and phrases that are not commonly used in the Japanese language, so it takes a lot of time to do research. If you are going to try to translate XD Event story dialog the biggest tip I can give you is make sure you define each character's voice. Every Symphogear character has their own way of speaking, for example Tsubasa always uses ancient Japanese so in English I try to reflect that with similar terms like "thy" "thus" etc. You will probably get confused many times, but don't give up. When you don't understand something try googling the Japanese and see where else people use the word or phrase - it can really help!

      Good luck!

      Delete