Translation Corner #14 & #15

I've got a double dose for you here. I paired these two keywords together since they are both about the Ultimate/Swan Song (part 1 and part 2). These will help clear up a lot of misunderstandings in the fandom about what exactly the song is designed to do and what its effects are. A lot of people were confused when Tsubasa didn't die from it like Kanade did, but there's a reason for that which is explained here.







Ultimate Song / Swan Song: Part 1

This is the strongest and most effective offensive strike available to the Symphogear users. 

The attack utilizes amplified energy and releases it in one burst, inflicting critical damage upon the intended target. However, the energy also backfires upon the Symphogear user, so much so that even a physically strengthened body cannot abate any of the damage. It is without a doubt a double-edged sword that should only be used as a last resort. 

The damage resulting from the backfire can be lessened when the Symphogear user has a high compatibility coefficient. However, even as a compatible candidate, Tsubasa was unable to reduce all of the damage when she used it against the armored girl and it resulted in severe injuries to her body. 

In Kanade's case, she originally had a very low compatibility coefficient and in addition was suffering from a decline in usage of the control drug LiNKER, so the damage from the backfire crossed over her endurance threshold and spread throughout her body, causing her to disintegrate. 


Ultimate Song / Swan Song: Part 2


Originally, the Ultimate/Swan Song is intended to effectively discharge high levels of energy through the user's Armed Gear. 

In the instance where Tsubasa used it against the armored girl, she did not pass the energy through her Armed Gear and instead allowed her surplus of energy to overflow, thereby attacking all the Noise within the nearby area. This eventually resulted in Hibiki being freed from capture, but it is by no means the most efficient use of the song's power. 

The Ultimate/Swan Song also has special characteristics that are unique to each respective Symphogear. For example, Kanade's Gungnir emits spirals of energy in the shape of a winding drill, thereby granting a superior capability to pierce and penetrate. 

When she used it at the concert hall, the spirals of energy were expanded to a wide area in order to exterminate all the Noise in the vicinity. This demonstrates that the song's usage can be arranged at the user's will, depending on how they desire to respond to their current situation. 

Ame no Habakiri's special characteristic is its ability to condense the energy and then release it in the direction of the user's choosing. In the circumstance when it was used against the armored girl, Tsubasa's thoughts were to: "release the energy directly from within, without using the Armed Gear" and "invoke it at a point-blank range." Tsubasa's only goal was the complete destruction of the enemy, and so without heeding any care to the effects the recoil would have on her body, she created a usage of the song that functions exactly like a suicide bomb. 

However, due to Tsubasa's high-level compatibility coefficient and the heightened defensive capabilities of the Nehushtan armor, both parties survived the encounter. 


So, there you have it. I think this pretty much answers any questions that people had about the Ultimate/Swan Song, and it also reveals a lot of details about its usage that we didn't know before. I think a lot of viewer's confusion about the song came about from the fact that Kanade and Tsubasa both had to use it in a similar way due to the presence of large numbers of Noise. Later, people were surprised (and confused) when Chris used it and it resulted in...well, a giant cannon. But now that we know that the song was originally supposed to be used in tandem with the Armed Gear, scenes like that make a lot more sense. Plus there was all that confusion when Tsubasa didn't die from her attack, but a lot of people speculated that Kanade's case was different and that ultimately turned out to be true. Anyway, I am personally surprised that the song has such versatile use on the battlefield. It makes me excited for season 2 since we might see it used in different ways by different characters, which is a pretty cool idea in my book!