For the final entry in this series, we’re sitting down with the co-creators of Symphogear: Mr. Akifumi Kaneko and Mr. Noriyasu Agematsu. They’re going to talk about how the story and music of AXZ were born, and how it will connect into season 5. Now that AXZ has ended, they can give us all the inside info!
Regarding the title of season 4, “AXZ”, was this something you thought up, Mr. Kaneko?
Kaneko: Yes, I was the one who proposed it and we decided to use it after some discussion. One of the main elements of the story this season was the “Philosopher’s Stone” and I wanted to incorporate that in the title somehow. Of course, we couldn’t just call it: “Symphogear: Philosopher’s Stone” (laugh). However, the Philosopher’s Stone has been called “one the all” and in other words that can mean “A to Z”. So I took that and made it “A times Z” hence “AXZ”. At the same time, you pronounce it like “axis”, which is another meaning it carries. The theme of this season was “choosing justice” and when you connect it to season 5 it becomes the axis that all the different choices rotate around.
Can you tell us more about why you decided upon the theme of “choosing justice”?
Kaneko: Thus far in the Symphogear series there have never been any characters who are clearly evil. The adversaries have their own principles and sense of justice, just like the main characters do. I’ve always written the series to feature the fallout that comes when both sides are convinced that they’re fighting for what’s right. However, this time I decided it was necessary to go a step further and show the choices that each side made in determining “what is justice?” I also used this an opportunity to show less of a direct struggle between the two sides, and prepare for how Hibiki Tachibana’s story will unfold in the future.
Mr. Agematsu, after you first saw the story outline for AXZ, how did you approach production of the music?
Agematsu: Well, Mr. Kaneko and I have known each other for many years and we’re almost like brothers, so I knew that he would write a good story. My job was to think about how I could amplify the story's appeal by synching the music to it. In addition, live concerts are big part of the Symphogear series, so I wanted to create songs that would be exciting to hear in that venue. I knew that people would watch, listen, and wonder what sort of things would be in store at the concert. My approach is to always consider a way to make music that people can get into, but also that fits with the story.
In regards to the new characters associated with Bavarian Illuminati, how did you approach working them into the story?
Kaneko: Together, Saint Germain, Cagliostro and Prelati make a complete set. My intention was that they alone formed a perfect little world. At their core, they are friends with incredibly deep bonds. In a manner of speaking, they are one form that justice can take. This is why when I established their characters I gave them eternal life and the ability to draw power through the sacrifice of other lives. As perfect beings, they needed to have a relation to the concept of “death”. On Hibiki’s side you have people who resolve by problems by “putting their lives at stake.” Meanwhile, on Saint Germain’s side you have people that try to secure the future by “bringing light to death”. Both groups are ultimately working towards the same goal, however I thought it would be interesting if they had completely different ideas on how to go about it. A lot of this was heavily influenced by Mr. Agematsu after he came up with “shitou” (deathlight) as the title of their song.
Agematsu: Looking at Mr. Kaneko’s ideas for AXZ, it seemed clear that “death” would be a theme. So, I came up with “deathlight” as a way to capture that concept in a positive manner. Ultimately, Saint Germain’s group give up their lives trying to fulfill a greater goal. Honestly, I had hoped that would be the kind of characters they turned out to be. It’s a bit contradictory, but while “bringing light to death” does essentially just mean “death” the “light” aspect is intended to mean “something revealed or left behind.” I thought combining those words into one was a great idea, so I submitted it for Mr. Kaneko’s consideration.
What sort of things did you keep in mind when you produced “Deathlight - Ewigkeit”?
Agematsu: When I began producing the song, it had already been decided in the plot that it would be sung twice. For its use in episode 1, I really wanted to portray the sense of mysteriousness of these characters and also their amazing singing ability. That’s why I decided to make it a capella with no instrumental accompaniment. When it came to episode 12, the melody was the same but the lyrics changed from German to Japanese, because the song is intended to convey their determination in the face of death. Of course I had to be careful because it’s not supposed to be a somber song of finality, but a heroic battle song that they sing while standing at death’s door. I wanted it to convey the image of heroism and antiquity that is unique to the alchemists. In general, the songs of AXZ were all like this. Instead of giving in to my desires to create certain types of songs, I took both the story and future concert into consideration and approached the production of the music in a more logical way.
Kaneko: In every season there have been a lot of songs that were dramatic, but this time I think the story aspects were so strongly tied to them that it really helped create an extra level of excitement, for which I was very grateful.
In regards to the Barvarian Illuminati trio, was there a certain motif they were based on?
Kaneko: Yes, certainly. Whenever I come up with a character, I’m usually influenced by people I’ve interacted with recently or seen on TV. In this case, the story of these three characters is pretty emotionally heavy, so I tried to create some distance from that by modeling them after comedians who have a certain back-and-forth between each other.
Agematsu: Oh? Who exactly did you model them after?
Kaneko: The group known as “Tokyo 03”.
Agematsu: Ah! I can see it!
Kaneko: The adaptors are all modeled after people who I know, too. Of course, no one exists who is exactly like those girls, so what I do is take only some of the qualities of their models and stretch them out to create somewhat of a caricature.
In this season, the adaptors formed new pairs to sing new unison songs. What kind of ideas was this aspect of the story born from?
Kaneko: In terms of the story, I would say: “tolerating disharmony”. In this season, the enemies don’t actually become allies, but rather simply join forces with the heroes while remaining as antagonists. One of our goals with AXZ was to see how things would unfold if we created unison scenarios for couplings that we’ve never done before. However, to be honest, my personal curiosity about how those songs would sound also played a big role.
Agematsu: We thought a lot about what sort of theme we should use to combine the characters different styles into unison songs and still make it feel fresh. At that point, we realized that we hadn’t worked the transformation chant melodies into any individual songs yet. So, the transformation chants serve as an intro and then pop up throughout different parts of the song. For example, in Tsubasa and Shirabe’s song, the orchestrated bridge features both of their transformation chant melodies. I thought that by using the music to demonstrate their respective chants responding to each other, that would be the basis for which the gears evolved and changed their form. I worked with everyone else on the staff to establish that as a rule.
Kaneko: Although I was the one who put the whole thing in motion, the songs really surpassed all my expectations and made me happy to hear. I’ll admit my motive in making it a plot point was somewhat of a prank, but in the end I felt like you stepped up and threw it right back at me.
Agematsu: All of us on the composing side were excited to make them. We’ve been through 4 seasons now, so there was a sense of wanting to inject something fresh into the music. Of course, it was a surprise to see these pairings were how you were going to accomplish it. I honestly felt like you had given me some new toys to play with (laugh).
“Wind of Axia” was the ending of episode 6 and also played a big role in the final episode. How exactly did that come about?
Agematsu: That song was one proposed to us by the Music Director, Ms. Asami Suita. She’s always been very passionate about the Symphogear project and has been a staff member with us since the beginning. Admittedly, one reason I was excited to do it was so that we could respond to her passion (laugh). But I was really impressed with her idea to combine the transformation chants, superb song and battle songs all into one.
Kaneko: Within AXZ, the end of episode 6 is one spot where the story takes a break of sorts. The LiNKER plot line comes to an end in that episode, and there is a buildup to the climax as the battle with the Illuminati becomes much more serious. So, that’s why we thought about having a special ending for that particular episode. That’s when we went to confer with Ms. Suita and she gave us a bunch of ideas. She is always a huge help when it comes to music, but in this case she also helped to bring the story together as well.
Agematsu: The transformation chants were originally a single song to begin with. In “Babel of Beginning” their lyrics were translated into Japanese, but considering the story in AXZ, Ms. Suita suggested that we have them play in full from the start as they originally were. I thought it was a great concept that deepened the meaning behind “Babel of Beginning” itself. “Babel of Beginning” has that sort of “final form” feeling to it, but by joining it together with this new song, we were able to create a fresh and exciting ending once again. I thought “joining” two pieces together like that was really fitting for Symphogear. Of course, now that we’ve created these masterpieces I really worry about what we’re going to have to come up with for season 5… (laugh).
Could you both tell us which scenes in AXZ left an impact on you?
Kaneko: In terms of being allowed to do what I wanted, episodes 1 and 2 for sure. Both of those together, I approached with the intent of creating a pure “Hollywood” feel. I was raised on Hollywood films, so to be able to fit so many different aspects of those into this series, I really owe my thanks to the efforts of the other staff.
Agematsu: I have to agree with episodes 1 and 2. “What is Symphogear?” - I think people can easily understand the answer by watching those two. It’s the ideal representation of an anime where the music and animation are perfectly combined. If people get asked what kind of series “Symphogear” is, I hope they would show them these episodes. In regards to other scenes… well, Adam getting naked to transmute gold (laugh). Not only did that scene have an impending sense of doom, but the nudity just doubled the impact and it was truly amazing.
Kaneko: Also, one other thing I’d like to bring up is the story of Stephan. In this series, it’s rather hard to put any male characters out at the front (laugh). Although he’s not an adaptor, I think he’s a boy with an incredible amount of courage and the way he was portrayed became a great accent to the series as a whole.
From your perspectives, is there anything about AXZ that made you think it was different from the seasons prior?
Kaneko: Well, this time I had Mr. Agematsu come up with the majority of the song titles.
Agematsu: I usually leave the titles up to Mr. Kaneko, so to be honest I didn’t feel like I had come up with that many, but I guess I did.
Kaneko: For example, “Resounding Infinity” was one that you came up with.
Agematsu: That’s right! And you were the one who responded to that with “Melodic Sorority”.
Kaneko: When I ask for a song to be produced, I provide a general theme and details of the story along with the character’s feelings and motivations. Mr. Agematsu then comes up with the lyrics and at the very end, I’m the one who provides the title. That’s usually how it’s gone up until now. However, this time Mr. Agematsu had a lot of ideas. For example, the unison song titles were all thought up by him. Although, I came up with “Blooming Courage” before the song was produced and asked them to stick with that title.
Agematsu: I think for season 5, you should go ahead and decide all of the song titles beforehand.
Kaneko: I think deciding all of them ahead of time might be a struggle (laugh).
Agematsu: Producing in that style is a lot of fun for me. Even if I hear what you’d like to do from the story perspective, putting those emotions into a few words is impossible. If you submit the title, then the lyrics don’t diverge at all. When I have a song title to work with, I’m really able to bring out my full power.
Kaneko: Okay, I’ve taken your order (laugh).
Of course, what kind of interview would this be if we didn’t ask about season 5. The end of AXZ focused on Miku in a way that made it seem like bad things might be in store, so I know there are a lot of people curious about it…
Kaneko: For this season, I went along with Mr. Agematsu’s wish to show that “there will be more” at the very end. Since we already know there’ll be a season 5, we were able to bring AXZ to a close like that.
Agematsu: This season was really exciting for me, precisely because of that.
Kaneko: It’s my personal philosophy that the most important aspect of a story is to provide a proper ending. That’s why up through GX I always made sure it ended with a clear “that’s all!” even though I had left some foreshadowing to allow people to imagine the future. However, this time there was a need for it to connect directly to the next season, which is why it ended like it did. Although people may get the impression of “bad things” happening, from our perspective the intent is that it’ll just be “more of the usual Symphogear”. The adaptors have always fought hard to obtain the happiest ending possible, even in the toughest of situations. Their fight will continue, so please just wait patiently.
Agematsu: I’m the opposite of Mr. Kaneko, I prefer being able to show everyone “there’s still more to come”. Maybe that’s because I’m the type who likes to get excited by imagining all the things that are to come. I’ve always wanted Symphogear to have that feeling, which is why the end of each episode is meant to pull you into the next one. That being said, this time we actually ended the whole season that way and at the current moment I have no idea what’s going to happen, so I’m very excited. All the members of Elements Garden will be ready to bring their absolute best!
Please sum up Symphogear in one word!
Kaneko: (Tolerance of) Disharmony
Agematsu: Hibiki (Harmony)
“more of the usual Symphogear”. Well that kind of sucks. I hope they actually do something interesting and are only saying this to cover up spoilers.
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