Musical Names
One last note (hehe, note) on the characters: almost all of their names involve something related to music, and something related to their personality. Once you know this, you’ll start noticing references to their names all over the lyrics of Symphogear’s songs. I thought it was kinda fun, and learning these has helped me remember some of these kanji more easily, so let’s take a look together!
(Yes I do feel kinda bad putting this much uninterrupted text on a single page of this intentionally-unreadable website. You can copy-paste it into a separate text editor if you’re having trouble reading it.)
Tachibana, Hibiki 立花 響
Standing Flower, Resonance/Sound
Tachibana means “standing flower,” because Hibiki stands tall (see also the “hana” in song title “Hanasaku Yuuki”, “blooming courage”).
The name “Hibiki” has a couple meanings. The one that most closely ties into her character would be “resonance” or “reverberation” - the transmission/persistence of sound to the surrounding area. This is easily seen in how she resonates with everyone around her. She’s the conduit for all of the group’s biggest combo attacks, because she can resonate with all of their energy; and she’s the one who does the most befriending, because she can resonate with the spirit of whoever she meets. Most of her songs feature call-and-response sections where the lyrics can “reverberate” throughout the audience. In many ways her role in the first season begins as an “echo” of Kanade.
“Hibiki” can also refer to a “sound,” as in the timbre of a sound, the feeling of a sound, the distinctive quality of a sound - like how music can have a heavy “sound” or a soothing “sound,” and if anything captures the distinct “vibe” or “sound” of Symphogear, it’s Hibiki.
Kazanari, Tsubasa 風鳴 翼
Resounding/Ringing/Crying Wind, Wing
Kazanari is a “resounding wind,” reflecting Tsubasa’s powerful singing that rings true in the hearts of people around the world. While “nari” suggests the verb “naru”, which is “to resound” or “to ring” (like a bell or phone), the same kanji 鳴 is also used in the verb “naku” - typically used to describe a bird singing or other animal noise. This verb is different from “naku” spelled with the 泣 kanji, meaning “to cry,” though it’s a fitting pun given how Tsubasa carries some of the show’s most tragic storylines.
“Tsubasa” means “wing,” tying into the name Zwei Wing (“two wings”) - her idol unit with Kanade - and serving as a powerful metaphor for taking flight to overcome the struggles she faces. In the first season, the metaphor also kind of works for her arc in that a bird needs two wings to fly, and Tsubasa has to learn what to do when she’s lost her second wing. And ultimately, it’s the “kaze,” or “wind,” that carries both her song and her wings over the horizon.
Series creator Noriyasu Agematsu also claims to have chosen the name because he sees “wind” as the origin of music.
Yukine, Chris 雪音 クリス
Snow Sound, Chris
Yukine, or “snow sound,” is a name immediately visible in Chris’s character design, with her snow-white hair (TL note: “yuki” means “snow”). Personality-wise, it is one of Symphogear’s greatest delights to watch Chris’s initially ice-cold facade melt like snow as she learns how much her friends love and care for her. “Ne” can mean “sound” or “note” when written this way, but I’ve mostly seen it used in names - in everyday speech it’s usually pronounced “oto.” Compared with “hibiki,” which refers to the abstract quality of a sound, “oto” refers to a literal audible noise. Incidentally, this is the same “ne” kanji that appears in Hatsune Miku’s name.
I’ve long thought that “ne” was just put in there as a generic music term to match the other characters, but I’ve since learned that Agematsu has revealed that “Yukine” is derived from the idea that snow absorbs sound, so the idea of a “snow sound” would be a contradiction that Kaneko managed to work into her character arc. And that’s certainly present in the way that she starts out hating to sing, but gradually, as the snow “melts” and is no longer there to absorb/block her “sound,” we can see her personality and her song break through and reach other people.
“Chris,” as far as I’m aware, is just “Chris.” Maybe it’s short for “Christmas,” to play into the snow/winter theme? That’s the best I’ve got. She’s just Chris imo, that’s all you need.
Maria Cadenzavna Eve マリア・カデンツァヴナ・イヴ
Maria/Eve=Biblical Mothers, Cadenza=Solo
A “cadenza” is a musical term referring to an extended solo in the middle of a piece, usually a showpiece for the soloist’s skill at their instrument. Maria is a “solo” idol, in contrast to Zwei Wing from the first season. She’s expected to carry out a number of literally “solo” operations for FIS early on, but as the season goes on, her conflicted feelings about the organization’s goals leave her feeling isolated, like she’s on her own to perform. And as her character arc progresses, one of her main struggles is proving to herself that she does in fact have the strength to perform on her own.
“Maria” and “Eve” are the two most important mother figures in the Bible, and this absolutely comes through in Maria’s role among the other gears. She takes it on herself to defend and encourage them and try to serve as a role model - she very much plays the part of a mom to the others, especially Kirika and Shirabe. This role she’s taken on is also part of the reason she so fiercely wants to feel confident in her independence - how can she protect her found family if she’s not strong enough to do it herself?
One thing that Agematsu mentions that I hadn’t picked up on was that the Biblical origins of “Maria” and “Eve” also reflect the long intertwined history that religion and music share.
Akatsuki, Kirika 暁 切歌
Dawn, Cutting Song
Kirika and Shirabe share a sun and moon metaphor in their names, so Akatsuki means “dawn,” the time the sun rises. Kirika’s the bright and cheerful one, so of course she’d be the sunrise spreading light to the world.
Kirika literally means “cutting song,” and I can’t think of a better name for someone who swings a big ol’ scythe around while singing about chopping things up with the big ol’ scythe she’s swinging around. She’s a pretty simple character, she’s got a pretty simple name, right? Wrong on both counts. Kirika’s also had a more complex, bittersweet side to her character where she doesn’t know her place in the world - she never knew her parents, she doesn’t even know her birthday. She’s wrestling with the existential pain that she’ll never know where she comes from, or what she’ll leave behind. Death (well, “dess”) laces every sentence she speaks.
Reading Agematsu’s comments on her name, he uses the word “setsunai,” an alternate reading of the “kiri” kanji 切 that appears in her name. “Setsunai” roughly translates to “heartrending,” using the “cut” kanji in an emotional sense, so the “kiri” here is meant to capture the sadness that lies beneath Kirika’s sunny smile. This especially rings true if you listen to some of her b-side songs, like Tegami or her Birthday Song. Some of her “cutting songs” are songs about cutting, and some of them are songs that’ll cut you deep.
Tsukuyomi, Shirabe 月読 調
Moon Reading/Moon Goddess, Tune/Melody
The moon to Kirika’s sun, Tsukuyomi literally translates to “moon reading.” Shirabe is more of the quiet, observant type, so the idea that she’s reading people (“jiiiii”) works for her, along with the stillness of a moonlit night. Taken as a whole, Tsukuyomi is the name of the Shinto god of the moon (though it’s sometimes written with the more archaic 讀 version of the “yomi” kanji), fitting given that the strongest clue we have about her family history is her ties to a Shinto shrine.
That shrine is called the Tsuki Shrine (and it’s a real place!), but it uses a different “tsuki” kanji than the 月 in her name (which means “moon”). The Tsuki Shrine does lean into the pun, though, as it’s decorated with rabbits in reference to the fact that the name sounds like the word for “moon” (rabbits are associated with the moon in Japan, and also have long ears like Shirabe’s pigtails). It’s kind of ironic that she’s connected to Fine the way that she is, because Fine’s whole thing is getting revenge on god by blowing up the moon.
But anyway. The word “shirabe” has a few very disconnected meanings. Probably the most common is “examination” or “inspection” (again, “jiiiii”), but we need a music reference, so the one that’s relevant to us is that it can mean “melody” or “tune.” What’s REALLY interesting about the 調 kanji, though, is that in archaic Japanese, it used to be pronounced “tsuki.” I mentioned before that the Tsuki Shrine uses a different kanji in its name - it’s this one. It even confuses Kirika when they visit the shrine, because this is one of the few Kanji she knows how to read, because it’s Shirabe’s name. One might say that “tsuki” is a “moon reading” of the 調 kanji (ok ok I’ll stop).
Kohinata, Miku 小日向 未来
Small Sunny Spot, Future (Miku=Hatsune Miku?)
The three kanji in Kohinata literally mean “small” “sun” and “over there,” and if there’s anything this show wants you to know about Miku, it’s that she’s Hibiki’s little sunny spot in the world.
“Miku,” in addition to coincidentally sounding like famous musical personality Hatsune Miku, is actually spelled with the kanji for “mirai,” or “future” - “mirai” is made of the kanji for “yet to come,” with the “rai” being the same kanji as in the verb “kuru” (“to come”), hence the change to “ku.” This is being important because Miku IS the future to Hibiki - Hibiki is so firmly rooted in the present that the only thing that can get her to consider her own future at all is looking forward to seeing Miku there. And so all the times that Hibiki talks about wanting to protect the future, or sings about how she wants to look towards the future, how she wants to fly to the future, how she’s held tight by the future that is right there by her side, how everything she is exists for the future… she’s singing about Miku.
Amou, Kanade 天羽 奏
Heaven’s Feather, Playing Music
Amou is written with the kanji for “heaven” and “feather,” a reference to taking to the sky and being one of the two “Zwei Wings” used to do so, similar to Tsubasa’s name. It could also be a nod to the relationship between religion and music, similar to Maria (it wouldn’t be the only link between her and Maria). If you want to get dark, the “heaven” kanji could be a reference to the tragic events of the first episode, but if you want to get sentimental, I like to read the “feather” kanji as a statement that she’ll always be a part of Tsubasa, the wing.
“Kanade,” meanwhile, is the kanji from the verb “kanaderu,” which means “to play music.” Straightforward, gets right to the point. Probably the kind of name Kanade would come up with for herself, honestly.
Serena Cadenzavna Eve セレナ・カデンツァヴナ・イヴ
Serena=Serenade, Cadenza=Solo
Serena’s name is pretty similar to her sister Maria’s, but her first name comes from the word “serenade.”
Finé フィーネ
Fine=End of a piece of music
Fine, our first main antagonist, cannot stop telling us that her name means “the end.” And she’s right: “fine” is the word used to mark the end of a section of music, usually a repeated section marked by a Da Capo or Dal Segno (DC al Fine or DS al fine). In these sections, you play up until you hit the measure marked DC or DS, then go back to the beginning (capo) or the sign marking (segno), and play it again until you reach the measure marked “fine” (end). This has nothing to do with Fine herself, unless you count her reincarnation cycle as a DC al fine of human lifetimes; she’s more interested in “the end” as in “the end of the world” (or perhaps more accurately “the end of the moon”).
Carol Malus Dienheim キャロル・マールス・ディーンハイム
Carol=like a Christmas carol, Malus=Malice?
Carol, our antagonist in GX, is a bit trickier to figure out. “Carol” is obviously a type of song, like a Christmas Carol. But otherwise… the best I can come up with is that Malus sort of sounds like “malice,” and that Dienheim appears to be a town in Germany - maybe that’s supposed to be where she’s from?
Other characters, especially in later seasons, are based on references to historical figures.
- Dr. John Wayne Vercingetorix - Vercingetorix was a Gallic king and the leader of a failed revolt against Julius Caesar.
- Leiur - Anagram of the Archangel Uriel
- Garie - Based on the Archangel Gabriel
- Micha - Based on the Archangel Michael
- Phara - Based on the Archangel Raphael
- St. Germain - The Count of St. Germain was a mysterious noble who was rumored amongst occultists to have discovered the elixir of immortality through alchemy (or to be a time traveler, or even Francis Bacon).
- Cagliostro - Allesandro Cagliostro was an occult alchemist and freemason who is thought to have been an associate of St. Germain (and is notably portrayed in Granblue Fantasy as having alchemically created an ideal, female form for herself, much like how she would later appear in Symphogear).
- Prelati - François Prelati was an alchemist enlisted by Gilles de Rais (Caster from Fate/Zero and owner of the real-life Castle of Tiffauges) to summon a demon, who conspired in Rais’s infamous serial killings by claiming that child sacrifices were needed to complete the summoning.
- Adam Weishaupt - Adam Weishaupt was the founder of the irl Illuminati in Bavaria.
- Tiki - Tiki is the name of the first man in the religion of the Maori, much like how Adam is the name of the first man in the religions of the West.
- Vanessa Diodati - Villa Diodati is the name of the mansion where Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein.
- Millaarc Cranstoun - Carmilla (rearrange the letters a bit) is one of the very first vampire novels, whose vampire was thought to be inspired by the countess Jane Ann Cranstoun.
- Elza Bete - La Bête du Gévaudan was a creature, thought to be a wolf, that terrorized the French province at the site of present-day Lozère, the part of France where Elza is from.
- Shem-Ha - Shem-Ha Mephorash is a Hebrew term referring to the true name of God.
- Enki - Enki is the Sumerian god of creation.
Creator’s Commentary
Noriyasu Agematsu made a few tweets in 2021 about the origins of the names of the six main girls. Translation group YameteTomete made a thread translating them, but I could only find them covering the first three, so I decided to take a stab at doing all of them here:
Hibiki: Original Tweet
Tachibana 立花 comes from Tachibana 橘, the symbol of the Agematsu family crest.
Hibiki 響, the resonance or quality of the sound, is the number one word in my mind when I’m composing music.
In my 20s, I thought, if I had a kid, I would name a girl Hibiki 響, or a boy Kyou 響.
It made me happy when my co-writer, Kaneko, went along with that.
Tsubasa: Original Tweet
Originally Tsubasa’s family name was Utagawa 歌川, or “song river.”
As Kaneko was writing the script, we kept seeing lines like “Uta wo Utau Utagawa” when describing “Utagawa singing a song” - and seeing Uta 歌 repeated so much, it came up that we should… probably change the name to something else.
So we went with Kazanari 風鳴.
I’ve always defined wind 風 as the original form of music.
And “wing” 翼 is a word that appears very often in my lyrics, because it’s a very important word to me.
Chris: Original Tweet
Snow 雪 absorbs sound 音, so the “sound of snow” isn’t even a thing that exists.
I decided to make a name from that contradiction.
I thought maybe that would lead Kaneko naturally into a story where she starts out as an enemy, but then, as the snow melts, they become friends.
I always made sure to include some kind of music term in each of the Gear wielders’ names.
Maria: Original Tweet
A “cadenza” is a musical term referring to a soloist’s performance.
In using this term, I was imagining a girl who would wield Gungnir impressively, but who was lonesome and reckless as she did so.
The popularity of music (and melody) originates from religious music. That was the inspiration behind “Eve” and “Maria.”
Kirika: Original Tweet
At dawn 暁, the sun shines its bright smile all across the land.
However, it’s so cuttingly 切 intense that it ends up a heartrending song 切ない歌.
Looking at her, I felt this sadness 切ない, as if the brighter she shone, the more apparent it became that something was wrong.
Take that, along with the image of cutting things 切り技 with a scythe…
And you get Kirika 切歌
Shirabe: Original Tweet
The partner of the sun (dawn 暁) is the moon 月, and if you add a little Japanese flavor, you end up with Tsukuyomi 月読.
“Shirabe” 調べ represents the idea of her wrapping up her partner in the sound of a melody or tune 調べ to protect her and keep her in line from her own sadness 切ない and recklessness.
Based on the musical term “tuning” 調律.
