Symphogear's first episode, like much of the advertising for the show, was misleading. It makes the show out to be a lot darker than it is, the show isn't another Madoka in terms of how dark it is, but the first episode certainly does paint it that way. The show as a whole is about communication, which shows when the only human antagonists we get are characters who refuse to, can't, or find it worthless to communicate with others. If you want to stop reading now I'll say in short that I believe Symphogear is a fun magical girl romp with well written characters, good design and music, with it's main weaknesses being that the art can sometimes falter, and that if you're not paying attention you can lose the plot fairly fast.
Symphogear has a simple enough story when you strip away the specifics of the characters. The cast is what makes the show worth watching, Hibiki on her own is a wonderful protagonist, she's overly kind and fond of food, and is only balanced out by her (girl)best friend Kohinata Miku. Hibiki's history is what makes her overly kind nature work, as other members of the cast say "A girl who's willing to throw herself into the frontlines just to help others seems twisted" and she is. Hibiki's happiness and kindness is her shield and her sword, it protects her from the things that scare her most, and allows her to fight to her fullest, or to take the time to talk. Her powers grow and grow to ridiculous levels, and unfortunately in the first season we only get scraps as to why, but that idea is completely fleshed out in the second season, as are many other things that make Hibiki one of my favorite characters. Not only that but her relationships with the other characters helps to make the show what it is. Her interactions with Tsubasa and Miku in particular brings development to all of the characters involved, and helps them flesh out.
Tsubasa is our second magical girl, a cold and unfeeling character at first. The first episode shows us what Tsubasa was like before the start of the show, she was sweet and shy, but after those events Tsubasa considers herself nothing but a sword. She sees herself as a weapon to fight the Noise, and holds with her guilt and feelings of loss that drive her character to grow and change. As she grows she further proves her worth as a mentor to Hibiki, changing from a sword to a warrior, and learning that she's more than just a weapon. Her development is natural, and the change only occurs after a period of introspection.
The other characters are no less well done, but for the sake of keeping this review at a readable length I'll cut the details and say that any characters who matters is given the development they need.
As a show that's plot is music heavy Symphogear sports a fantastic sound, with each character getting a unique character song that highlights each characters personality. They're all unique and good in their own rights, and as the characters change, hearing the songs really relates how far they've come.
This show really brought a breath of fresh air into my watching schedule, and gave me a female protagonist to point at when people ask me what I think makes a protagonist good. The art wasn't up to snuff when it was broadcasting, and I chalk that up to budget, but with the DVD release those issues have been solved. I leave the art rating relatively low because there was a lot that needed to be fixed after the original broadcast.
Overall I think Symphogear is under appreciated, it has it's issues, but each pitfall is followed by a mountain of reasons to let it slide. It's not perfect, far from it actually, but the shows stands well, and is enjoyable.
