Translation Corner #24 + 25

The next few keywords deal with the individual Symphogears and reveal some important details that we didn't know before. They finally answer some questions I had in regards to: why Tsubasa's gear changed after the timeskip in episode 1, and why the Symphogears were built with locks (as per Fine's dialog about the XD forms in ep 13).








Ame no Habakiri

The Symphogear system created from a fragment of the first classified relic,"Ame no Habakiri." 

Its user is Kazanari Tsubasa. 

Between the attack at the concert two years ago and current day, there is one section of the design that is noticeably different (note: see my reference picture down below).

In fact, the Symphogear system has 301,655,722 different varieties of locks applied to it. Depending on the user's level of ability and their personal battle style, there is a systematic progression of phases that the user will go through to release the locks. 

The purpose of this setup is to adjust the Symphogear to the user's individual preferences, however it is also in place to reduce the strain put on the user's body as much as feasibly possible. In order to achieve this, and give the user a greater mastery of the system itself, it is essential that the user be trained with the device at an increasingly difficulty and learn to operate it proficiently. 


Ichaival

The Symphogear system created from a fragment of the second classified relic, "Ichaival." 

Its user is Yukine Chris. 

At a point during World War II, Japan was facing a losing war and tensions were running high. In the interest of researching an "absolute power" that might help to turn the tide, Ichiaival was obtained from Germany. However, 10 years prior to today...

The private organization that established the core of holy relic research, the "Kazanari Agency," was newly formed into the Special Disaster Response Team Division 2. It was around this time that Ichiaival went missing. (At this point the leader of Division 2 was Tsubasa's Grandfather, Kazanari Fudou. He resigned as a result of the incident and a young Genjuurou, who was working as a public safety officer, was assigned as the 2nd generation Commander.)

The details of Ichaival's disappearance and how it came into the possession of Chris are currently unknown. 


It's great to read these keywords and have a lot of my speculation confirmed, as I've wondered about these details for a long time, ever since I noticed the differences in Tsubasa from ep 1:

Tsubasa from 2 yrs ago | Tsubasa from present day

You'll notice that her famous leg blades actually weren't a part of her original Symphogear, it's something that was added later on in addition to her nifty shoulder armor. Anyway, as this keyword has explained the Symphogear itself is an evolving system that adjust to the user's needs as they obtain control over it and unlock its full potential. This perhaps explains why the gears in season 2 look pretty different for all the characters, yet still reminiscent of their XD forms from season 1.

It makes sense that the locks were put in place not because Fine wanted to have control over the system (she was always confident that her power was unbeatable), but because the system is powerful enough that it could bring harm to a user that isn't prepared for it. However, if you ask me 301, 655, 722 is a ridiculously large number and I wonder why they decided upon that specific amount of locks...we may never know. 

Anyway, the keywords here also confirm that Ichaival was given to Japan from Germany as part of the war effort, which is something I suspected the last time it was mentioned that Germany originally had possession of it. It also tells us that Genjuurou has been in command of Division 2 for almost 10 years! That may not be of any particular significance but it puts into perspective the respect that the people in Division 2 seem to have for him, as well as his strength.