Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Why not Kyuubey?

One of the things that irritates me about the script is it seems to lean too heavily into the idea Madoka was miserable as the Godhead. I don't mind Homucifer's world being more pleasant than the previous Wraith world, but that dialogue seems to contextualize Madoka's choice to become the godhead as a mistake, and I think that robs the original series' ending a bit of its power.

Also I really don't care for how Shinbo is making Mami out to be the ultimate magical girl. Shouldn't this be an ensemble affair?

Well Mami was the most badass and powerful of them wasn't she?

She's not perfect (as her death in ep 3 shows) but when she's on her game, she's a force to be reckoned with, while still having a weakness in her crippling loneliness.

As long as she doesn't lose her head, she's the most powerful.

.....

What do we think of that joke Megatron?

I think only Homura believes that Madoka was miserable as the Law of Cycles, given how she misinterprets Madoka's reply in Rebellion as similar to "I was just forced to do this because it had to be done" while withholding key information from Madoka.

While Mami is cool, I agree that the affair should be handled by all remaining members of the Holy Quintet... and probably Nagisa too.

edited 16th Dec '15 8:18:09 PM by Hoki

It's not that I don't think she deserves to be a hero; it's that I think it's weird to single her out as the hero. One of the Magica Quartet guys called her the "Goddess of Battle" which I think is raaaaather overstating her. I of course want her to be fleshed out, but not at the expense of Sayaka and Kyoko.

Eh, the script basically has Madoka confirming that she wasn't happy as the Godhead, which... the fact that she suffered as Godoka is irrefutable, she gave up all earthly pleasures for an unsung existence as the manifestation of Hope. But I wouldn't go so far as to say she was 'unhappy' with her state.

I'm inclined to wait until I can watch the damn movie to see whether or not the context of Madoka's words holds true. After all, Madoka wanted to become something that will help other Puella Magi, and was completely accepting of the consequences that came with it.

It seems to me that it's questioning whether "happiness" even means anything to Madokami. She acts basically human, but she's really a weird combination of a force of nature and the abstract concept of hope. She doesn't really seem happy or sad or anything else; she just "is." Being a god seems almost like being dead, or in an emotionless trance.

But that doesn't necessarily mean Homura did the right thing, because Madoka wasn't all that happy being a regular human either. She felt useless and unremarkable, and pretended to be a lot more cheerful than she really was. (Ever read the lyrics to her character song?)

Madoka never values her own life or humanity, always feels like a burden, and constantly tries to sacrifice her supposedly worthless life to help others. (The exact opposite of Sayaka, who values her own life and humanity tremendously and sees herself as a hero, but always burns out and loses it all because she demands too much of herself.) Madoka takes many time-loops to realize how much she helps and inspires people just by being kind and friendly, and even then, she throws her life away to become only the goodness associated with it.

Total selflessness is inhuman, because if you don't have any inner desires for your own sake, you're practically an automaton. But pure selfishness (i.e. Homucifer) doesn't work either, because if you can make everything exactly the way you want it, there's no room for real human interaction or conflict. (Plug for Gatchaman Crowds Insight, come to think of it.) And both of those god-types make you rather inaccessible to normal human beings.

So... now what? Maybe Mami has a plan of some sort...

edited 16th Dec '15 9:57:34 PM by Kotomikun

Sayaka and Kyouko were both running around for at least half the season, while Mami got her head chomped three episodes in. And they weren't exactly shoved in the background for Rebellion, either. Mami getting a little more focus than the other two this time around isn't exactly going to shaft them.

And as for the Goddess of Battle thing, I'd be quite surprised if she wasn't the best fighter out of the non-conceptual types, just by virtue of experience.

Also, the last movie certainly gave everyone time to shine (despite being very clearly Homura's story) so I don't see why we shouldn't expect the same thing for this?

Agreed. Previews are filthy filthy liars.

I think Madoka's state in the main timeline of the series, how insecure and the existential ennui she feels, is partially because of Homura's meddling, but I think it's fair to say she was always a savior looking for a cross to hang herself on.

It's just weird to me that the PV sort of positions Mami as like the protagonist, when I feel it should be her, Sayaka, Kyoko and probably Nagisa working together. She is the least developed (in animation) of the Puella so I don't mind her getting more screentime and development, but it's not like Kyoko and Sayaka had arcs in Rebellion either. I'm just saying they should all be co-equal more or less in whatever comes next.

I mean, you're totally right that this whole concept movie thing could be a total fakeout, but it's out there so I'm just giving my feelings on it.

Text from the witch card of Ultimate Gretchen, reportedly.

This is pretty funny, but also kinda sad, because you know Homura would do it if it would make Madoka happier from her perspective.

edited 18th Dec '15 5:01:07 AM by 32ndfreeze

Wait, is this different than Witch Madoka that Madoka slays to become Godoka? It's kinda hard to make sense of what it's actually saying tbh.

Anyways, had another dumb music association thing (couple more actually, but this is the first one):

Apparently there's another teaser thingamajig for the new movie, described below.

Also Wraith info.

And very settling pictures from a production artbook for the first anime.

edited 27th Dec '15 6:18:29 PM by rikalous

I believe the term you're looking for is "unsettling."

Nonsense. Look at all those funny little creatures just waiting to be friends with our heroes.

So we are likely gonna figure out what happens when "the last wraith dies"

EVERYTHING ENDS?

Had a bit of a realization: Magical Girls are pretty much mini-solar systems.

They need the curses of Witches to sustain themselves and prolong their inevitable death. Much like how the Incubators need the curses of them so sustain the galaxy and prolong its inevitable death.

With those wraiths designs, I wonder if they will need a positron rifle in case an even stronger one appears.

Alright. Finall sat down and watched this. The big, bad, scary magical girl deconstruction horror-creepypasta Lovecraftian horror anime that leaves everyone in tears, more notorious than Berserk or even Hellsing in its brutality.

And while I had it spoiled that a major character would bite it, fortunately, my memory's become so plastered, I couldn't tell which one of the main girls it would be. I figured it was Sayaka.

And THEN Mami shows Madoka and Sayaka her impression of a Dullahan.

And I... I genuinely didn't feel much, momentary surprise that my guess was wrong, but beyond that, nothing. I don't think it was the execution, that was fine. I've just been watching too much Jojo, Parasyte, and Berserk lately.

I'm curious if I should just watch the first two movies or keep going with the episodes.

edited 7th Jan '16 5:49:56 PM by Soble

The first to movies are just HD remakes of the show.

Tell ya the truth, I never thought that scene was the big stomach-churner of the show. It's the reveals that come later on that really give me chills (and feels of various other kinds). At least stick around till episode eight. For my money, that one's the big Gut Punch.

edited 7th Jan '16 2:45:53 PM by MrMaestro

That scene is only impactful if you don't know it's supposed to be a Deconstruction. It's meant to be an alarming departure from the otherwise standard happy-go-lucky Magical Girl fare that came before it. It's the point that reveals what the tone is going to be, but if you already know what the tone is going to be, then there's nothing to reveal.

edited 7th Jan '16 3:21:22 PM by TobiasDrake