Application

[dissonantharmony]

Name: Kai
Personal Journal: N/A
Contact: PM, Plurk: Kaius, windofkai@gmail.com
Other Characters Played: None

Character: Kanade Amou
Series: Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Age: 17

History: Kanade was from Minakamiyama in Nagano. She had been spending the holidays with her family when the noise attacked. Having just been a fourteen year old girl with no way to fight Kanade could only watch helplessly as her family was killed. She was the only survivor of the attack and was brought to Division 2, a special branch of the Japanese Defense Forces. She was immediately hostile to her would be rescuers and had to be physically restrained to keep her under control. Fighting against her bonds the girl demanded to be released and given a weapon to slay the creatures that had killed her family. The head of Division 2, Commander Genjuro Kazanari, offered her a way to accomplish this; to become a wielder of Symphogear, ancient armor powered by song and only thing capable of destroying the Noise. But he also warned her that it would take her to the depths of hell. Without hesitation Kanade accepted and so began the process to turn her into a Guardian.

Kanade had the potential to become a user of the Third Relic, Gungnir, but as she wasn’t an Attuned she wasn’t able to sync with it naturally. In order to make her compatible with the Third Relic a myriad of experiments were performed on her, including the introduction of the yet untested LiNKER drug into her system. The pain was agonizing and the results were poor but Kanade pushed on, determined to reach her goal. When it seemed impossible to administer a safe dose of LiNKER and attain the desired results, Kanade took matters into her own hands and injected herself with an overdose of the drug. The results improved almost immediately but the side effects became apparent as well and Kanade began to cough up large amounts of blood. Onlookers had thought she was about to die but miraculously she did not; instead she was able to form a perfect synchronization with Gungnir and attain her Symphogear.

Having gained the instrument of her revenge Kanade set about fighting the Noise alongside her partner and fellow Symphogear user, Tsubasa Kazanari. As they fought together through countless battles Kanade formed a close sister-like relationship with Tsubasa. Even off the battlefield they spent a vast amount of their time together. After one of their missions they participated in search and rescue efforts for the regular soldiers trapped beneath the rubble of ruined buildings. During this a soldier had said that Kanade and Tsubasa’s songs, which they had sung during battle, had given him and his fellows hope and courage. This moment became the catalyst for the creation of musical band Zwei Wing in which Kanade and Tsubasa were the lead singers. Juggling life as students, pop stars and Symphogears wasn’t as difficult for the pair as neither had families or many friends outside of work, and relied on each other for emotional support.

By the time Kanade had turned seventeen, things were going pretty well for them; the damage from Noise attacks had lessened thanks to the pair and their music was growing in popularity. However Kanade’s health had also begun to decline as using LiNKER over the years had still had a negative effect on her body. The symptoms only became apparent after the effects of the LiNKER drug wore off and she would begin vomiting blood.

The Nehushtan Project was then undertaken in order to charge a relic with phonic energy so that a person normally incompatible with Symphogear would be able to wear the gear. A plan was drawn up to use the energy generated by a Zwei Wing concert to charge Nehushtan and so the relic was moved beneath the stadium. Kanade had already been told to stop taking LiNKER by the time of the concert so that it wouldn’t complicate things. Kanade was found by Tsubasa, moments before they went on stage, doubled up on floor of her dressing room coughing up blood. Tsubasa, in a panic, wanted to call off the concert but Kanade stopped her saying that she knew her limits and plead with Tsubasa to let her sing without the power of the drug holding her up. Reluctantly Tsubasa agreed to let Kanade perform. Zwei Wing went out on stage and performed their first song to resounding applause. The energy proved sufficient to charge the relic and the experiment was deemed a success.

However only a few moments later disaster struck; the Nehushtan went out of control and Noise attacked the concert killing anyone to slow to flee. Seeing people in danger Kanade leapt into action knowing that without LiNKER Gungnir wouldn’t function optimally due to a low sync ratio. During the fighting Kanade overextended and became separated from Tsubasa. It was then she met Hibiki Tachibana, a girl who had attended the concert but had been too distracted by the fighting to flee. Kanade weathered multiple attacks whilst protecting Hibiki, with her parts of her Symphogear being torn off. One such piece struck struck Hibiki in the chest but she was alive. Surrounded by enemies and running out of power Kanade opted to sing her Swan Song, her most powerful song, despite knowing that it would not only destroy the Noise but also claim her own life. As expected the blast generated by the song obliterated the Noise but it also proved too much for Kanade’s body. Her final request was that Hibiki never forget her song as it was proof that she had lived. And so lying in the arms of her beloved friend Tsubasa, Kanade was at peace even as she died.

Canon Point:

Before the concert after Tsubasa found her.

Personality:

“A reed before the wind lives on, where mighty oaks fall.”

Kanade is a bright-spirited, courageous and headstrong young woman despite her tragic past. When she was first brought to Division 2 it was in the wake of her family’s murder. Kanade’s anger and grief were so great that she was extremely hostile toward the people around her and had to be restrained with a straightjacket. Tsubasa described Kanade as a wounded animal during this time.  Even when Genjuro had said that they would take vengeance for her family Kanade outright refused, saying that she was the only one who could avenge them. She wanted to slaughter the Noise for what they’d taken from her. Kanade’s absolute resolve ensured she would see things through to the end no matter what. Tsubasa remarked that whether for better or worse Kanade has unshakeable nerves. She demonstrated this during the experiments performed on her to make her compatible with Gungnir. Even though her body was wracked by excruciating pain she refused to give up and willingly took an overdose of the LiNKER Drug as a last ditch effort to grant her control of Gungnir even though it could have been fatal.

During her earlier missions Kanade fought without restraint against the Noise despite the effects the drugs were having on her body. It was after one of these missions, during a rescue effort, that a soldier told Kanade that their songs had given the men trapped beneath the rubble hope. This event caused a change in Kanade and she began to take on a more optimistic view of life remarking that having people listen to her sing was nicer than she thought. Eventually Kanade began to see that there was more to life than just fighting and began to approach life with a more cheerful way. She started to enjoy singing just for fun whereas she would only sing in battle previously. She would put her all into everything she did and over the years that boundless energy became characteristic of her.

The first thing anyone would notice about Kanade is her bright-spirited nature. She could always be seen smiling and in a generally good mood. Kanade’s genuinely friendly demeanor toward everyone made her well liked by both friends and coworkers, many of whom began referring to her fondly as Kanade-chan. One could say that her spunky attitude was infectious as the people around Kanade remained in high spirits. These changes didn’t go unnoticed by the brass, including Commander Kazanari who treated her as much as one of his own as he did with Tsubasa. With this came a greater appreciation for life and the lives of those she was protecting by donning her Symphogear.

Kanade could be incredibly impatient; if left with nothing to do for a short amount of time she would become restless and start seeking a new thrill and if none could be found, would get bored quite easily. During an important meeting she once asked a soldier if they kept a karaoke machine on the base so she could entertain herself while they were waiting. Her impetuous nature makes it impossible for her to sit still and she can be unsurprisingly impatient when asked to wait.  This was even evident during battles when she would often charge ahead before orders were given. Even her fighting style relied on high damage maneuvers so she could move on to new targets quickly. Kanade believes nothing gets done by sitting around and cannot sit by and watch terrible things happen to others if she had the ability to help regardless of the danger to her own life. This was shown during the Concert Tragedy where, despite her health and knowing she had limited fighting strength, she still leapt into harm’s way to protect the fans being attacked by Noise.

 She has remarkable confidence in herself and her abilities; she’d always be upfront with her thoughts and would never turn down a challenge. Keeping up appearances meant very little to her and so she could be very casual with her opinions. She would be completely informal with everyone she met and outside of battle, rarely approached many things with any form of severity.

She has a cherished relationship with her partner, Tsubasa, whom she treats like a sister. Kanade would often tease Tsubasa and chastise the younger girl about her serious attitude telling her “A reed before the wind lives on, where mighty oaks fall.” Despite all her teasing it goes without saying that Tsubasa was undoubtedly Kanade’s most cherished friend and confidant and she would go to even greater lengths to protect her from anything or anyone who would do her harm. In fact threatening Tsubasa would be one of the very few ways to make Kanade angry. Kanade would constantly encourage the younger girl when she was unsure of herself and tell her to be more flexible with her views for fear that her rigidness would cause her to snap one day.

In spite of her energetic character Kanade is someone who has lived a difficult life. Having lost both her parents and younger sister to a Noise attack she retained a great amount of hatred toward the creatures, the same hatred which prompted her to become a Symphogear. She is someone who tries to get the most of her second chance at life, especially since she knows how suddenly it can all come to an end.

Skills and Abilities:

 First and foremost Kanade is an incredibly talented singer and this also makes her uniquely qualified to wear the Symphogear. As a part of the duet, Zwei Wing, she enjoys a successful career as a pop artist

Years of training and real combat experience have made Kanade a master of her Symphogear. Her modified genetic structure along with the LiNKER drug allow Kanade to access the full potential of Gungnir in battle to perform feats of superhuman strength, agility and speed.  The upper limits of these abilities are unknown but she has been shown to throw aside slabs of concrete as well as leap great distances into the air with ease.

Unlike other Gear users Kanade is dependent on the LiNKER control drug in order to keep her relic functioning optimally. If Kanade attempts to use her Symphogear without having recently taken a pill she will tire during combat and the Gear will backfire as the strength of her attacks will be reflected upon her. When the effects of the LiNKER wear off it has adverse effects on her body causing her to vomit blood. At the same time constant use of the drug also causes harm so the dosage needs to be regulated.

Armed Gear: Gungnir, the Spear of Odin.

In addition to the base abilities provided by her Symphogear, Kanade also has the ability to create the Armed Gear: Spear of Odin, which is a lance said to be able to pierce through anything. It is also used to perform the following special attacks:

Last Meteor – The head of the lance spins at a great speed generating a large tornado which Kanade can direct. This is a powerful attack shown to rip dozens of regular Noise apart in a single blow and destroy even the larger ones with concentrated power. The force of the attack has been shown to carve deep rents into the concrete stadium floor as well as lift large enemies high into the air and tear them apart.

Stardust Photon - Holding her lance aloft Kanade is able to create hundreds (if not thousands) of replica lances that rain down on her enemies with destructive force.

Zesshou (Swan Song):

 The most powerful attack a Symphogear can use and generally only performed when the Gear user has exhausted all other options. Three of these songs sung in unison had enough power to destroy a piece of the moon. The armor is incapable of reducing the backfire created by this attack so it can be fatal to the user as well. The Compatibility Coefficient determines the damage the user takes from the backfire; the higher the sync ratio the lower the damage. The user is also supposed to be able to channel the energy of the Zesshou through their Armed Gear to significantly reduce the damage to themselves. The reason this attack proved fatal in Kanade’s case is because her sync ratio was low (due to not taking LiNKER) and the Spear of Odin was falling apart as she began to sing.

 

First Person Sample:

Yo! Kanade here. Quick question for whoever can hear me on this thing.

[She holds up a pair of heeled slippers.]

These babies weren’t built for all this uneven ground, and the big guy-

[She jerks a thumb over her shoulder but the dragon is long gone.]

-who brought me here didn’t give me a chance to grab a decent pair of shoes. Anyone know where a girl can get a pair of trainers? The little bunny-chan’s don’t seem to have any idea what I’m talking about.

Third Person Sample:

Kanade dipped a foot into the water wincing immediately as the heat permeated the sores on her soles. Suddenly walking through the countryside bare-foot didn’t seem like such a great idea anymore, it was too bad that she had already done it. The bunny-chan’s, Moogles as they had called themselves, had been kind enough to walk with her to the nearest town and direct her to the inn. The first thing she had resolved to do was take a bath.

“Keehee! That’s hot!” she declared to the empty bathroom.

 Kanade submerged herself fully into the tub ignoring the water that had spilled out; she’d mop it up later if didn’t evaporate by the time she was done. As she enjoyed the steam Kanade thought of current events, of this different world that seemed like something out of a crazy video game. Hey that’d make her the hero, wouldn’t it? She’d asked the Moogles about the Noise and they hadn’t seemed to have ever heard of them. Kanade was grateful for that at least, that that accursed scourge wasn’t in this world.

“I wonder what Tsubasa would think of all this. Ha! For one she wouldn’t have let me walk without my shoes and she probably would have fainted when she saw the dragon too.”

She glanced down at the two objects hanging from her neck; one was her relic, Gungnir. The other was a slightly larger container with a dozen or so little white objects sliding about inside; it was this one she examined more closely.

“Hmm fourteen left, huh?”

She pressed her palm up to her chest; she could already feel the LiNKER running its course.

“I guess I can’t afford to snack on these.”