The page has grown big enough to start corrupting the wiki software. Unconfirmed theories are here. Crossover theories are here. Meta theories are here. Theories about the Rebellion movie are here.
- Much like future Trunks from Dragon Ball Z.
- Confirmed as of episode 11. Kyuubey mentions that Homura's efforts created alternate universes. All of those universes' "fate lines" made Madoka stronger than usual.
In the magic cycle: Human wish consumed by Witches, Witches consumed by Magical Girls.
Magical girls are indeed powered by wishes, but Kyubey just lied about the critical part of the picture.
- Semi-confirmed: The exact metaphor has been brought up, but nothing about witches eating wishes.
- Confirmed in a more literal sense, since witches are corrupted magical girls, essentially making the uncorrupted ones cannibals.
- Arguably Kyoko got the order wrong Humans consumed by magical girls (magical girls were once human), magical girls consumed by witches (witches were once magical girls), witches consumed by the universe.
- There always seems to be another Kyuubey around to take the last one's place—in fact, it always seems to be the exact same Kyuubey. And he may not have emotions, but he at least understands the concept of happiness and suffering; despite this, his inability to understand why the loss of Sayaka would bring emotional distress to the other Magi suggests that he can't even conceive of why anyone, even a being with emotions, would ever develop that kind of attachment to a specific individual. This is potentially explained by the existence of a Kyuubey hive mind—Kyuubey doesn't believe individuals to have any value because every individual Kyuubey body is just an extension of a single Kyuubey meta-consciousness. Losing an individual Kyuubey is about as distressing to him as losing a tooth: certainly an annoyance, but nothing to cry in the dark about.
- Confirmed. Word of God is that to Kyubey, losing a body is the equivalent of pulling out a single strand of hair.
- Confirmed as of Episode 8. QB = "In-QB-ator" — Incubator.
- Only half this theory is confirmed. The other half is still up in the air. Namely the "QB" part.
- This article on the show's wiki http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Speculah:The_Questing_Beast_Theory speculates that QB stands for questing beast.
It is highly possible that Homura is Madoka's daughter or other blood relative, which explains her immense magical potential. Her mission to save her mother could also create loads of drama (such as her disappearing if she succeeds due to time paradox).
- The last part is jossed. In episode 10 we see that Homura isn't Madoka's daughter, but a former classmate and friend.
- Perhaps the battle between Madoka and Walpurgis Night was so intense that it resulted in Earth-Shattering Kaboom, and Homura wants to ensure the witch's victory and sacrifice a single city instead.
More into the theory: There are a few frames that have shown that Homura has soul gems on the back of each hand in Episode 6 (just before she picks up the soul gem on the truck). If that isn't an animation error, it is possible that one of them came from future Madoka. That could explain why another long-haired girl shows up when Madoka transforms in the OP animation: that was indeed her future self. That would mean she may not need a contract to transform at all (at least at the present), instead using the soul gem of her future self to control the present body.
- Alternatively, the whole universe is set in a time loop. The scenario with Homura that Madoka saw in her dream occurs some time in the future, and that is when she makes a contract with Kyubey to become a magical girl. Her wish? None other than to make right everything that has gone wrong, a total reset. This has happened countless times and yet failed, with all possible time loop outcomes coming to a tragic end and Homura retaining every single memory of the events that occurred. (Kind of like Rachel Alucard in Blazblue)
- Episode 10 confirms this. It was Homura who initiated the time loop with her wish.
- Confirmed as of Episode 8. She has time travel powers, which she was trying to hide from QB. This and Hammerspace are her only powers. Unlike the other Puella Magi, she lacks any sort of offensive powers so she must rely on normal weapons to fight witches. Not that it impedes her in any way.
- Not necessarily. If it's true that Grief Seeds are simply Soul Gems that have gone too long without being "cleansed", the Magical Girl couldn't just stop fighting witches without serious consequences. Continue to fight witches or else you become one.
- True enough, but the theory does shed some light on the significance of the wish. Mami initially encourages the girls to choose carefully, but after Madoka reveals her desire in life and the extent of her admiration for Mami, Mami then explicitly suggests that she should simply wish for cake afterwards. Kyubei averts this since a contract based on cake hardly has any binding power, and Mami loses what she had wished for not long afterwards.
- You say that when we haven't found out what she wished for? If Mami's wish was indeed "not to die alone" or "not to be alone" and was granted when she befriended Madoka, then a wish can only be fulfilled upon the contractor's death. That or the death of a contractor happens upon the wish being fulfilled. And if the Witches are indeed fallen MS or dead MS then a wish fulfilled equals one witch. If Kyubei is evil or a demon, then witches might be the equivalent of reapers that reap human souls. This whole situation is solely based on the guess that Kyubei is evil and the fact that the whole show is full of Faust references and symbolism.
- True enough, but the theory does shed some light on the significance of the wish. Mami initially encourages the girls to choose carefully, but after Madoka reveals her desire in life and the extent of her admiration for Mami, Mami then explicitly suggests that she should simply wish for cake afterwards. Kyubei averts this since a contract based on cake hardly has any binding power, and Mami loses what she had wished for not long afterwards.
- Confirmed as of Episode 8. Without constant leeching of darkness into grief seeds, which QB then "eats" — remember, he's the "incubator" — Magical Girls are turned into Witches.
- Actually, Magical Girls becoming Witches is intended, the cleansing only delays the inevitable. Kyubey mentions that Madoka would be one of the greatest magical girls ever, and that when she becomes a witch, he would get a huge amount of the energy they need for staving off the heat death of the universe.
- Both Jossed and Confirmed. Episode 8 reveals that Kyubey actually creates magical girls so that they can eventually "mature" into witches. The way he casually states his Wham Line at the end of episode 8 has connotations that he either intended for all this to happen, or he literally just doesn't care one way or another.
- The worst part is that all the abominations will probably be of human origin.
- Confirmed as of Episode 10. To be exact it's the fifth time line.
- Confirmed as of episode 11. Kyubey mentioned that a leader of a country or a saviour would have more potential.
- On episode 10 we can see that Homura is the original weak-minded and depressed moeblob.... but because of being a time-traveling transhuman she managed to overcome it and become the badass we know today, but at the exchange of the role of the Moeblob ending up at Madoka instead (especially when Homura keeps killing Kyubey and preventing the contract, since in the Drama CD it is after all mentioned that Madoka used to be someone with low self-esteem until she became a Puella Magi).
- However, it's not a direct connection where resetting timelines causes increased depression; rather, notice how, in the timelines where Madoka does become a magical girl, she is far more confident and outgoing because she feels she's found a way to help people, whereas in timelines where Homura prevents that, she has that depression stemming from her Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life.
- Additionally: because Homura's time cycles increased Madoka's power as a magical girl, Madoka views her reluctance to form a contract as increasingly selfish, especially after Sayaka blames her for not using that power to come to her aid.
- Confirmed as of Episode 12. Madoka saves the world by changing the system, and then disappears from existence.
- Confirmed. Madoka fights it. Yeah, you heard me.
- Confirmed. It sacrifices her existence too. However, she doesn't wish for a world without magic, exactly. What she wishes for is a world without witches, and the resulting paradox of having to destroy all witches, including her own, removes her from physical reality and turns her into a supernatural force.
- Confirmed. We can say it's both. Yup, he did get the quota from Earth which is what he wanted all along, but now that Madoka has Out-Gambitted him by rewriting the Magical Girl System, he can't screw anyone else and is bound to play by her rules. Considering that he may be less Lawful Evil than he used to be...
- This would probably be true, since Kyubey straight up tells Madoka that she has the potential to become a omnipotent goddess. (Remembering that his plot is to get them to turn into Witches eventually, so he truly wants an omnipotent witch.
- The card for Madoka's Witch form basically states her Barrier is akin to Heaven, but as a Witch, a lot of people have to die to get there. Kind of like Instrumentality. Thus, if the bad end is everyone gets widefaced and turned into Morning Rescue, the good end might as well be CONGRATULATIONS.
- Confirmed. Madoka rewrites reality to make the world a better place.
- Sayaka has her fall of darkness in episode 8. This, combined with Mami, put this in the confirmed section.
- In episode 9, Sayaka was killed by Kyouko. Who died right after having bonded more with Madoka. So yeah...
- In the end, everyone is revived by Madoka's wish. Sayaka ends up falling anyway, but in the new universe this is less tragic than before, she ascends to a higher plane of existence and is with Madoka in Magical Girl Heaven.
- It's actually a Time Travel Plot.
- Semi-confirmed ( In Episode 8, Madoka almost, but not quite, remembers her.
- With Homura shedding tears at Madoka for not listening to her, that would be a yes at this point.
- Episode 10 confirms a variation of this. It's revealed that Homura and Madoka were close friends in previous time loops.
- She is going to murder Hitomi, then slowly but steadily lose her mind until her love for Kyosuke and her paranoia over possible romantic competence make her evil, forcing the other Puella Magi to slay her before its too late.
- She is going to curse Hitomi. This will make her turn into a witch, meaning she's now an enemy to destroy. And so, Madoka's prophetic nightmare becomes a reality...
- She curses humanity in general, but it does turn her into a witch.
- Sorta jossed. Kyouko killed her and herself.
- And in the end, she decides to pass on peacefully and not curse anyone anymore. Such is her share of Madoka's wish.
- She curses humanity in general, but it does turn her into a witch.
- All those little things thought of as laziness are really intentional. The cars that move at the same time/speed = AI driven, too much glass = high tech plastic(?). Also the CD player in episode 4 and elevator in episode 5.
- Almost certainly? 20 Minutes into the Future is on the trope list for a reason.
- Confirmed to a point: Mami's death did open up a spot that Kyoko wanted. Negative emotions (especially despair and angst) darken the gems.
- The revelation that Homura comes from a Bad Future all but confirms this.
- WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY confirmed when you find out she's friends with Madoka and the gang before experiencing hell. Several times over.
- Close. Run out of soul, and you Turn Red and become a witch, but only after going Ax-Crazy for a while.
- At least until Madoka wishes it won't be like that anymore.
- Confirmed. Kyubey and other Incubators were created by (or are) an alien race that is attempting to stave off the heat death of the universe.
- Madoka is still not a Mahou Shoujo
- Kyuubei is still doing his recruitment thing
- Homura is fighting the Witch
- Sayaka may actually be the Witch
- Mami is dead
- It's quite possible that was the previous timeline before Homura jumped to the current one. Events may have changed.
- Confirmed in Episode 9. Basically: Kyouko's death was confirmed but it didn't have to do with the initial reasoning since the scene was not a flash forward.
For the record, familiars are said to grow into copies of the original witch, so basically familiars turned witches are clones.
So, if Sayaka is the witch in episode one, her theme will relate to hospitals, classical music (which she learned for Kyousuke), or unrequited love.
Expanding on this:
- Gertrud was a woman who was completely obsessed with her garden and would kill anybody who trespassed. The reason why her minions all have mustaches is because her most traumatizing memory is killing a mustached man that entered her garden and burying his body in her garden.
- Suleika was a girl who suffered from severe photophobia (fear of light).
- Charlotte was a girl who suffered from an eating disorder like bulimia.
- Or she may have been diabetic—there are some hypodermic needles shown briefly in one scene.
- Someone on the Puella wiki commented that chemotherapy patients can't eat dairy products like cheese, which Charlotte always craves, so she may have been a terminal cancer patient. We know Kyubey's approached dying girls in the past.
- According to the translations from the guidebook posted on the wiki, it wasn't her that was sick, it was her mother, and she wished to be able to share some cheesecake with her before she died.
- Elly was a hikokomori.
- Albertine was traumatized or victimized by something/someone, which why she always plays hide and seek.
- Elsa Maria was an extremely religious girl who hit a faith-shattering Despair Event Horizon and turned into a Knight Templar. Extra WMG points for the possibility that she was part of Kyouko's father's cult.
- Gisela was a kleptomaniac or pack rat that loved collecting metallic objects.
- Uhrmann wanted to be loved by everyone.
- We can consider this confirmed in a way. In episode 9, Oktavia(AKA Witch!Sayaka)'s labyrinth is full of calls for attention (the Madness Mantra 'Look at me' inscribed in runic text on lots of posters.). These probably represent Sayaka's mental desire for Kyosuke to pay attention to her. Additionally, the center of the labyrinth looks like a concert hall, with a violinist that looks like, guess who? That's right, Kyosuke!
- Further confirmed by the mermaid's tail. Her story mirrors the Hans Christian Andersen version of the "The Little Mermaid" in practically every detail.
- And let's not forget episode 10, where we see her again, and her familiars are girl dancers that look like Hitomi...
- Granted there is some debate over it, but didn't it end with the mermaid becoming a spirit of air, being able to go into heaven after doing good deeds? Hmmm....But in this series it can only be expected that such a thing will be bad. Especially since heaven seems associated with Kriemhild Gretchen.
- Before settling on that ending, Andersen originally had the mermaid simply die dissolved. A possible sign that a happy(ier) ending might happen despite everything pointing to tragedy?
- Based on official website info on Kriemhild Gretchen. Madoka's witch form, the witch of salvation and mercy, intent on enveloping the world in a heaven inside her barrier. This fits perfectly with how she's only concerned about how she can help people and how the others keep warning her about taking her kindness too far.
- This has been confirmed, and Word of God wasn't necessary. The symbols turned out to be a Cypher Language the texts during the dream sequence in episode 2 are mostly German quotes from Faust.
- Confirmed in episode 10. She has no offensive magic at all, so she relies on homemade explosives and guns she steals from the Yakuza and from the JSDF.
- Her shield also functions as a Hammerspace/Bag of Holding where she can store guns and grenades.
- Time Travel, as of Episode 8.
- Or maybe anything involving time. She slows down time in her environment, moves from one place to another, then sets it back to normal (so she appears to teleport), she stops time (already seen), and she's from an alternate timeline. Maybe her wish was, in response to a family member's or someone close's death, "If only I had more time with them..."
- Confirmed as time stop.
- Confirmed to an extent, although Madoka is not the True Final Boss, but rather the Apocalypse Maiden.
- Confirmed. Madoka couldn't save anyone, not even Homura or the city.
- It's a Bittersweet Ending, so it's half-confirmed, half-jossed.
- Incorrect in detail but Confirmed in core; his wish-giving was what enabled Madoka to change the system to favor Magical Girls instead of him. He was Oh, Crap! when he realized it.
Black cats also represent bad luck. In the opening with Madoka, perhaps it is protecting her from the bad luck of turning into a witch, which might be foreshadowing of the final result - perhaps something will happen and stop Madoka from becoming a witch. Perhaps Homura will bring an extra Grief Egg with her to the past, and will use it on Madoka's Soul Gem when the world is saved? Homura IS good luck to Madoka - if Madoka wasn't nice to Homura, then Homura wouldn't be trying to save her and she would have perished or turned into a witch. In the opening, Madoka is holding/hugging the cat. She is showing it kindness, which might cause it/luck to favor her. Perhaps like karma?
On the other end of the spectrum, the cat is seen with Sayaka. Sayaka isn't shown to be petting the cat, or paying any attention to it. She's indifferent to it. She also is the unluckiest of the girls, having used her wish on someone who possibly doesn't return her feelings (as far as she knows). She also dies every time-line, and is turned into a witch.
- It appears in the first Drama CD. Timeline 1 Madoka made her wish to save that cat, and that cat leads Timeline 1 Homura to Walpurgisnacht
This might mean that there's a case of One Dialogue, Two Conversations going on. It looks like Madoka is speaking to Kyuubey, but she might actually be talking with someone or something else.
- This is confirmed in Homura's case. In episode 10, we revisit the events of the prologue and find out that Homura was desperately pleading to Madoka to not accept Kyubey's contract:Homura: Madoka! Don't listen to what he says! Don't listen to him! He's tricking you! DON'T!!!
- Kyubey tricks the girls into becoming magical girls so that they'd collect all that yummy negativity for him. Then he'll take back the Soul Eggs, gorge on them, and become a full-fledged Eldritch Abomination. And then the above happens.
- The details are incorrect (she does gain her powers by making a contract with Kyubey), but the basic idea is confirmed.
- Either this or the show will be a deconstruction, but the manga to be released after the show ends will be a reconstruction. It would nicely parallel the two parts of Goethe's Faust.
- Confirmed without the upcoming manga. Madoka herself performs the reconstruction by removing the worst aspect of Magical Girl life (i.e. witching out) and restoring the hope the genre typically has. However, the reality is still present in that Magical Girls can still die in battle and other social isolation.
- The cake is a lie!
- Confirmed, though it was cheesecake that she could share with her mother.
Kyosuke isn't stupid, and Hitomi agreed to let Sayaka have her shot at him before she took hers. If Sayaka had just been completely honest with him about being a magical girl and the reasons she became one, he would have believed her, and maybe even admit he loved her too, and he would have been able to keep her from falling from despair.
- Confirmed by Word of God, and can be done in the PSP game. Just Eat Gilligan, indeed.
- In Germany, Walpurgisnacht, the night from 30 April to 1 May, is the night when witches are reputed to hold a large celebration on the Brocken and await the arrival of spring. ..... A scene in Goethe's Faust (Part One) is called "Walpurgisnacht", and one in Faust (Part Two) is called "Classical Walpurgisnacht". .....In some parts of northern coastal regions of Germany, the custom of lighting huge fires is still kept alive to celebrate the coming of May, while most parts of Germany have a derived Christianized custom around Easter called "Easter fires". In rural parts of southern Germany, it is part of popular youth culture to play pranks such as tampering with neighbours' gardens, hiding possessions, or spraying graffiti on private property. These pranks occasionally result in serious damage to property or bodily injury.
- For those interested, in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust the Walpurgisnacht of Part One had Mephistopheles taking Faust to a big gathering of witches (and wizards) all singing and flying. Interestingly, there was a short piece of dialogue with a half-witch who couldn't fly, and she was told that if she can't fly on that night she'll never fly again. A half-witch...you mean like a magical girl?
- Therefore, Walpurgisnacht is the event in the prologue, Madoka's the half-witch, Kyubee is Mephistopheles and the world will perish in a witch's bonfire while crazed humans [[AxeCrazy destroy things, leading to The End of the World as We Know It.
- Walpurgisnacht is a hell of a lot of witches, leftover bits and bobs of curses and familiars and such that coalesce into one super-witch. She's powerful enough that she doesn't need a barrier, she just manifests whenever and wherever the Hell she feels like it; that's why all her familiars are arranged into a traveling circus. God only knows how many natural disasters were her doing.
- We can even get a Faust reference out of this, though it would be from a different version of Faust than the one referred to in Madoka. If Walpurgis Night is a Fusion Dance, it can then be thought of a horrifically twisted version of You Are Not Alone (a recurring theme in this series). In Marlowe's Doctor Faustus it's none other than Mephistopheles who says "Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris (It is a comfort to the wretched to have companions in misery)" or more simply "Misery loves company". Being that witches are embodiments of despair, it only makes sense they would bond - literally! - with others like themselves.
- As of episode 10 we know that witch is the Walpurgis Night, named after a gathering of witches, adding further credibility to the theory. If so it and its powers may have been changing depending on the timeline and who was available.
- Supporting this theory is that in Episode 12, when Madoka greets her, she splits into a circle of girls (though this could just be symbolic and they could all be the same girl).
- The witch's spell circle has multiple symbols on it. The inner most part of the circle, as seen here◊ resembles a pointed flower. The next ring out has a bunch of strange letters. The next ring is the bizarre line of Tomoe. The outermost ring has symbols that resemble◊ a spade in playing cards, or more specifically, something containing the spade. Essentially, the spell-circle appears to be a combination of symbols, which suggest that Walpurgisnacht is a composite entity; formed from multiple witches.
- Supported by the witch card, though not confirmed.
- Confirmed by Word of God
- Jossed by Word of God. Kyubei creates new bodies from surrounding mana, and consumes old bodies to "hide evidence of the unnatural from the world.." Which raises questions as to what he's hiding the evidence from and why... Considering how affective regular ammunition are against witches and how horrifying the whole thing is, Kyubee is likely trying to keep the world governments from finding out, killing all the witches and educating young girls about the dangers of becoming Magical Girls.
- Jossed in episode 9 Kyouko killed witch Sayaka before she had the chance to make herself a self-made orphan. We see Sayaka's parents later during her funeral.
This theory also prevents an otherwise unavoidable time paradox in the "Madoka is Kyubey" theory and explains why Homura gave up on killing Kyubey after it meets Madoka for the first time.
- Apparently there IS more than one Kyubey. After Homura kills him in episode 8, another one appears to eat the corpse.
- Could be a Hive Mind of some sort. There is one Kyubey, but he has multiple bodies he jumps around between.
- Jossed by Word of God. It was stated that Kyubey cannot be killed that way. Whenever its body is destroyed it will drain the magic from nearby and reform a new body. That's why Homura cannot just kill it over and over, as that will only waste her precious magic to achieve nothing.
- Maybe... If her Soul Gem isn't over 100 meters from her body, she might recover. If her body can still be fixed and/or her Soul Gem has enough magic.
- She wore it in her hair, though.
Or at least has less than good motives. She has half closed, droopy (yet strangely stern) eyes, which since that other anime used it with a memorable villain, has become a villainous trope in Anime.
- Observe her creepy discourse with Homura at the end of episode one, which changes from a strange, almost approving speech about "killing the witch" to a very passive-aggressive threat if Homura didn't leave immediately ("What I meant was, I'll let you go this time").
- Observe episode 2, which shows that Mami is stealing the Grief Seeds from the Witches she kills and then draining them of power... instead of giving it back to the original humans (who may, however, be beyond all help by then). Or worse, she's siphoning her own evil and shoving it into the witches' coupon to prevent her appearing as / transforming into a witch.
- Continue to note that she tries to hand Homura the empty(?) Grief Seed, but she refuses to take it, something that visibly pisses Mami off — the first time we've seen her openly angry (possibly because it hints that her earlier statement about Homura seeing new magical girls as "competition" was a lie). The parallels to some form of drug use are uncanny.
Observe in Episode 2, when Homura refuses to do something special with the evil plot coupon after it's been drained/filled, something that Mami says is a good thing, that the Magical Girls are willing to fight each other for... but she refuses to do herself. Are witches merely Magical Girls who absorb too much magic? Is this the result of a "wish"? Is Mami merely trying to get Madoka and Sayaka to embrace magic so she can later kill them for their plot coupons?
- The reason Mami shoves blackness from her seed into the Grief Seeds she steals is to prevent her from turning into a Witch. The reason she's so interested in getting the others to become magical girls is because they will likely fall, very quickly, into witchdom, which will give her 2 free Grief Seeds to use.
Jossed rather badly due to Episode 3. However, the new magical girl appears to be farming familiars — intentionally letting them kill humans until they gain a grief seed, then killing them.
- Semi-Jossed. Witches are basically the "adult" form of magical girls.
- And then fully jossed when Madoka rewrites the Magical Girl system. There are other enemies to fight, but not witches anymore.
- Jossed. They all get wishes, but it's all at a horrible price and with severe repercussions they don't recognize at the time.
- Jossed. It was Kyoko. Though Homura's wish also was selfless. Not like they knew it, anyway.
- Semi-Jossed. Homura made a half selfless, half selfish wish. She selfishly wished for Madoka to be saved because she didn't want to live without her. BUT, I'm guessing that Madoka wanted to live, so Homura was selflessly using her one wish for Madoka's sake. And for the first many timelines it worked out poorly, but the very last was an okay ending
- Then again, he's an animal. Like a real animal (and very pointedly unlike most magical-girl animal mascots), he expresses more emotion through body language than through facial expression.
- Its because he isn't human and he doesn't understand emotions. But he might turn out to be good.
- Episode 8 shows that Kyubey is definitely in control of what's going on, and whatever he is, he is definitely not good.
- Not exactly. For example, Sayaka is described (and shown) as being the weakest of the Puella Magi seen so far and she's the first to become corrupted into a witch.
- If that is the case then we get: PuellaMagiSentaiMadokaMagica....
- Seeing how in episode 4, she was affected by a witch and almost Driven to Suicide, it's rather improbable. Still, she may become a magical girl in some later episodes.
- Nope, she remains human.
- Episode 8 confirms that witches are actually magical girls who succumbed to their own corruption.
- Jossed in the sense that Kyoko is one of the heroines now, albeit an Anti-Hero.
- Fully Jossed now from a certain point of view since Kyouko kills the Witch Sayaka becomes, at the price of her own life.
- Actually sort of inverted - Madoka did try to use The Power of Friendship, but it was to help save Sayaka from her fate as a witch, and it was KYOUKO'S idea!.
- Jossed. The witch's name was Elly and she had nothing to do with Hitomi. She's fully human.
As a cruel twist, she musters up the courage to confess only to learn that he loves music more than he does human beings and be Friend Zoned. Or he has someone else in mind.
- Or he's gay.
- Or loves Hitomi.
- Or is too focused on his music.
- Jossed. Hitomi got to him first.
- Jossed hard as of episode 10.
- Jossed with a vengeance in episode 8.
- And then, episode 12 has him apparently re-written to be less of an asshole. Possible side-effect of Madoka using her wish to rewrite the MG system.
- How is he less of a jerk? He seems to think that the idea of depleted Soul Gems creating witches is awesome. And possibly confused as to why they don't. He's only "nicer" because he gets more demon cores out of a live Puella Magi than a dead or despairing one.
- Jossed with a vengeance in episode 8.
- Besides standing by and not participating in fights and speaking cryptically, viewers seem to be tacking on evil based on amusement of a little creature being evil rather than the actions. He seems to be more of an observer who speaks harshly.
- Hitomi certainly didn't seem evil... And she wasn't. She had good intentions, but HORRIBLE timing.
- We will see this in Ep 8. Each episode grounds on this theory firmer than ever, especially in Ep 7 where there is a strong indication that using magic to perform a miracle is inherently evil.
- Episode 8 sort of Josses this, since it shows that witches are corrupted magical girls.
- Completely Jossed, with us finding out Kyoko's tragic origin story. While she and Mami did meet each other according to Oriko Magica and the 3rd Drama CD, it looks like it happened after Kyouko became a Magical Girl via Kyuubey.
- Looking less likely. She just wants Sayaka to leave her alone or else she will kill her.
- Jossed. As of episode 8, among other things, it seems that Kyouko didn't know that fallen Mahou Shoujo turn into witches.
It'd definitely be an interesting twist.
As Homura was already seen trying to kill Kyubey, his intentional death at the hand of one of the girls would be more probable, but a completely unintentional death (being eaten by a Witch) would be interesting.
- With what happened at episode 8, THAT'S HIGHLY UNLIKELY!!! A second Kyuubei just popped out of nowhere and devoured the first Kyuubei.
- He even remarks that was the second time she had killed him, which means it already happened once before.
- Madoka will rush in the last minute and plead for Sayaka's sake.
- Kyoko will not give up on Sayaka.
- Homura would finish her off.
- Jossed. In episode 9, Kyoko makes a Heroic Sacrifice to fend off Sayaka as Homura pulls her out of the barrier. Sayaka has killed someone already... She has killed Kyoko. ;_;
- It's also possible that Kyubey was once like Madoka, a person with extremely high magical potential, as in strong enough to give other people powers. Then the higher powers/rules/whatever decide to use him and his magic as an empowering device. Thus Kyubey wants to turn Madoka into a magical girl so she can take his place.
- Jossed in Episode 9. Kyubey is actually a Starfish Alien.
You know that little black cat Madoka's holding in the OP animation? Ever notice how it's never seen around her house or even alluded to in the show?
The cat was Madoka's pet, at some point in the past or an alternate timeline. Something horrible happened to Madoka - grave illness or death - and her cat, desperate to save her owner, made a wish to Kyubey. Madoka's life was saved, but, in order to fulfill her contract, the cat was made into a human Puella Magi and ran away from home. She fought witches on her own, but Kyubey (executing witches for some unknown reason or for personal gain) begins pressuring Madoka to make the same contract - by showing her the suffering of Akemi Homura, the human identity her old pet has assumed. Homura still cares about Madoka and wants her to live happily, even if she can't be by her side any more, so she confronts her and tells her not to take the bargain. This is why she's in pursuit of Kyubey: he's ruined her life, and she doesn't want him to ruin Madoka's too.If this keeps up...
- Jossed, she was always a human.
- Jossed in episode 10. Homura's reason to like Madoka was that Madoka was her only friend at school in her original timeline, where she was weak, shy and nervous. In other words, it doesn't have anything to do with Madoka's wish or deeds after becoming a magical girl.
- Jossed in episode 10. Homura was a ordinary student in her original timeline and made her wish when Madoka died in that timeline, making it impossible for Homura to be Madoka.
Junko's motive for stopping Madoka from becoming a mahou shoujo would be either to stop Madoka's future death after Maokda protected her from a witch as a mahou shoujo, or to stop Madoka from being corrupted into a witch that kills the rest of her family and goes on to possibly destroy the world and her wish to Kyubey would be to prevent Madoka from ever being a mahou shoujo, and gets sent back through time as a result, probably to the time when Kyubey first knew about Madoka, which could have been as soon as when Madoka was born, as opposed to when they first made contact, which would explain how experienced Homura is as a mahou shoujo, as she would have had 14 years to practice and be de-humanised from having her soul and body separated, explaining her comments in episode 7. As it was a transportation wish, she gets teleportation as an ability. The Kyubey from Madoka's present hasn't actually formed a contract with Junko at this time, which explains his comments about her forming, yet not forming a contract.
The magic potential that Madoka has may very well be in Junko as well, seeing as they are blood-related, which would explain her power. Furthermore, there doesn't appear to be an upper age limit to being a mahou shoujo that we know of, and it is likely that if an older person becomes a mahou shoujo, the ageing process gets reversed in the process in order to make their bodies more able to battle. Also, Homura's beauty and intelligence get commented on positively by those around her, just like Junko's and they are both pretty cold and distant in personality, further strengthening a possible link between the two. Sure Junko is more cheerful, but pretty much anyone would be more cheerful than someone who has spent 14 years as a mahou shoujo, with all of the despair that being a mahou shoujo brings.
- Perhaps Misato became a witch in the original timeline. Her mom probably wished her youth back. And got time travel powers as a side-effect. That would explain why Homura is so obsseed with saving madoka. Becuase Madoka is her daughter.
- Also it could be that Junko wished being able to time-travel in an attempt to save her daughter madoka from becoming a witch. This could explain why madoka knows a lot of things about past stuff despite the fact that there isn't a present version of her.
- Jossed in episode 10. Homura was a weak, shy, transfer student at Madoka's school before making her wish.
Per the OP, her older self will be very nice to Madoka, even if she happens to be evil (or broken?). This doesn't mean she'll be nice to anyone else. Madoka may try to avoid this fate, but fate is fate..
- There are apparently multiple witches. Still, this does not preclude Madoka from becoming a very powerful witch or the Big Bad later. See also the theory that Mami is raising Madoka up as a magical girl as a food source.
- Not impossible. Since we now know that Magical Girls are Larval Witches, and Madoka is the strongest potential magical girl QB's ever seen (he likens her unto a god-like level of power), and Homura (who can time travel) is very, very specificlaly trying to keep QB away from her...
- We've seen what Homura screamed at Madoka and it wasn't because she was the Big Bad. This one's out.
- We now know what Witches are. Or used to be, til Madoka said "NO DAMIIT!".
- Jossed in episode 10. Sayaka is also present in other timelines... And she still becomes a witch that has to be Mercy Killed.
- Nope. Homura was always the same person. It's her time travel powers that cause this one-sided difference in knowledge.
- Since we now know that Kuybey is a representative of a Starfish Alien race, this one is jossed.
- Madoka's previous (and future) wish was/will be for none of this to have happened. Homura remembers each cycle because of the powers granted from her wish. The sin she talks about are all the things she's done in previous loops to try to break out of the cycle.
- Perhaps Homura was empowered in the middle of a cycle, and maintains her status because of her wish (or powers gained from the wish).
- No, but close. It was Homura's own wish.
- Jossed in episodes 10, 4, and then confirmed in episode 12
- Jossed, since we now know who Homura is.
- Nope. She resets time everytime things go wrong.
Yeah, it's unlikely, but it's WMG so why not?
- Jossed by her witch card.
- Jossed. Homura didn't even seem to have a family in the first place; it's very telling that her residence only has her name on the nameplate.
- Jossed as of Episode 10.
- Jossed as of Episode 10
- Jossed in episode 8, where her wish was confirmed as a time-travel related wish.
- Jossed in episode 10.
- Jossed in episode 10. Notice a pattern?
- On a related note - if she does become a magical girl, her outfit will be NOTHING like the one she wears in the opening and released artwork.
- Or alternatively, she won't become a magical girl until either the final episode or the end of the second-to-last.
- This WMG may be jossed, but the two above points are actually confirmed!
- Jossed. Madoka becomes a Puella Magi in the last episode.
- Maybe the walpurgis are actually enemies of kyuube's race, trying to stop them from their nonsensical collection of energy.They are against magical girls because they want to stop them from gathering energy.
- Jossed. Walpurgis is a witch.
- EVERYONE GETS HUGGED AND TURNS INTO MORNING RESCUE.
- Jossed. It was pretty normal.
- Well, everyone got hugged.
- Not entirely jossed, the show DID have a Gainax Ending just not in the way described above.
- Jossed sort of. The cat was related to Madoka's wish in the very first timeline, as revealed by the first Drama CD.
- Jossed (and thank goodness, given episode 11)
- Supporting this theory: When the subject of Kamijo comes up in connection with Sayaka's potential wish, Mami asks her whether she really wants to put him so deeply in debt to her. Sayaka is, in turn, incensed that Mami would phrase it so bluntly. Clearly, she didn't get the point of the question — she just thought it was a mean thing to say.
- Jossed. But it probably helped.
- Her soul gem was on her barette. It's likely that it was either chewed up by Charlotte or destroyed by Homura's bomb (meaning Sayaka might've been right about Homura murdering Mami).
- That seems not possible as all her magic cease to function is a strong indication of dying. She was seen being slammed into a wall without any lasting damage previously. It is more likely that she ran out of mana and died due to the critical damage done to her body. Kyubey states that Magical Girls are invincible as long as they have mana remaining.
- Except Homura was released the exact moment Mami's head was being eaten. Forget the whole thing about mana being depleted, the theory that her gem was crushed is more plausible than simply running out.
- This is confirmed by the Compilation Movie, which adds a shot of the Soul Gem shattering when she gets bitten, before showing Homura is released.
- Except Homura was released the exact moment Mami's head was being eaten. Forget the whole thing about mana being depleted, the theory that her gem was crushed is more plausible than simply running out.
- Jossed, though Mami isn't dead anymore.
There's also a possibility that Madoka holds the power to break the Witch / Magical Girl cycle, given Kyuubei's other comments about rejecting fate, which might explain why he's so pushy to get Madoka to accept his contract.
- Then there is also that option where Gen will do his usual thing. I shudder to think of a tree where Madoka and Homura is hanged by a, hypothetically, deranged Sayaka.
- A slightly different take on this theory: The whole thing is a set-up by Kyubey and will take place in the next 2-3 eps. Kyouko (who is just an Unwitting Pawn for Kyubey) attacks Sayaka in an attempt to get rid of her, and is about to win due to having more combat experience. Sayaka, angry that she is going to lose and that she is unable to protect the city as well as Mami did, curses Kyouko. Kyubey grants that curse, in the process turning Sayaka into the witch from Madoka’s dream and taking Kyouko out of the picture. Homura attempts to stop her. This is when Madoka arrives and sees what’s going on. Wanting to save both her friends she makes a wish: to return/restore Sayaka, Homura and the city to normal. Her wish is granted and her friends are saved while she becomes a magical girl ? which is exactly what Kyubey was aiming for the whole time.
- In anycase, why is Madoka so special anyway? There has got to be tons of pure girls out there, why Madoka? Is it because she's the one with the purest heart? She's a frikin' goddess? Or she might be an magical WOMD?
- Supposedly, she has enormous magic potential.
- Ok.... why is that? Supposedly magic comes from, we all guess, from a person's soul. Does using magic consume an MS' soul? Will Madoka, upon becoming an MS, show that her soul is the greatest source of magic?
- Well, as of Ep 5, we now know that a MS's powers relate to their wish, ie Sayaka's regeneration. As Madoka had no real wish in life that needed fulfilling - even after certain recent events, the situations where Madoka would have contracted would have been less 'fulfil a wish' and more 'become an MS for the power that entails', maybe that would be the cause, considering powers are granted depending on wishes?. Thinking about it, given the implication that Homura tried to wish a dead person back to life, which apparently doesn't work, this may explain why she is an irregular that Kyuubei cannot predict; her wish went ungranted.
- Alternately: Someone ELSE wished for Homura to get power, leaving her stuck as a magical girl. Alternately 2: She gained her powers through a different way — force of will, self-corruption, etc.
- In anycase, why is Madoka so special anyway? There has got to be tons of pure girls out there, why Madoka? Is it because she's the one with the purest heart? She's a frikin' goddess? Or she might be an magical WOMD?
- This becomes a whole lot more likely after episode 10, assuming that it wasn't actually a Flash Back to the previous timeline, where Madoka really did accept the contract. However, things are a bit different to what has been speculated. Firstly, it is highly unlikely (but not impossible, as we never saw if her grief seed was still intact) that Sayaka is the prologue/Walpurgis witch. She died after Kyoko (who is still essentially an Unwitting Pawn despite her Heel–Face Turn of sorts) sacrificed herself so that Sayaka (who did become a witch, by the way) didn't die alone. Secondly, Homura's motive for trying to stop Madoka from accepting the contract is so that she doesn't become a witch. Partilly out of her past love, er, friendship with Madoka, which resulted in homura promosing Madoka to never let her turn into a witch, and partially to stop earth from being consumed by witch Madoka.
- Jossed (probably), since it didn't go that way.
- Jossed though she gets pretty damn close.
- Forget Homura, Kyouko could be a good example of this. How so? Her flasback hints that the time in which her dad lost his church, the family went destitute and she made her Selfless Wish happened LONG ago, in a time where there wasn't even electricity in Japan. Since they were Christians and lived peacefully in their faith until it got worse (if it was earlier, they would've been persecuted and killed for it), it's likely that Kyouko has been around ever since the Meiji era in which Japan opened its borders to the world. If this is true, then she's more than 100 years old.
- Homura, jossed. Kyouko, not. By now.
- How is it jossed? While her body is about the age it looks, we have no idea how many times she's lived through her time with Madoka, except to set a minimum, and she has Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory. Sounds to me that, aside from the time-looping/Alternate Universe source of the extra time, the original WMG is dead on.
- Jossed. They all live, but barely remember Madoka anymore due to the Reset Button.
Now that it's been confirmed Homura is a time traveller and has Hammerspace powers capable of storing hand-held sized items. She probably brought future madoka's Soul Gem with her as her trump card on stopping whatever she wants to stop in this timeline. And she kept stopping Madoka from becoming a mahou shoujo because if Madoka's powers are really needed she can use future Madoka's soul gem to transform instead OR Madoka can lend her body to her future self to turn into mahou shoujo.
- The problem with this is that Homura has no Soul Gem to bring back. In the first timeline, Madoka died; this is only possible if her Soul Gem was shattered. In the second timeline, it turned into a Grief Seed as she became a witch. In the third timeline, Homura mercy-kills her, the only way to do so being shooting her Soul Gem, and in the fourth Madoka once again becomes a witch, meaning it became a Grief Seed.
- Jossed, she does it on Kyubey's terms.
- Alternatively, Kyuubey is Madoka's familiar. Specifically a witch version of Madoka - possibly even the longer haired Madoka seen in the OP. But either theory leads to the following:
- Jossed. He and his girlfriend Hitomi live on. Though at least he recalls her now.
- You know what? This actually happened in a previous timeline. The reason she did it was to stop her from turning into a witch, at Madoka's request. Uuh... Confirmed?
- Not until it happens at the end of the series.
- Madoka killed herself, in a sense, so this is Jossed.
- Alternatively, Madoka will come back instead of Homura.
- Alternatively alternatively, they send back the cat from the OP. The cat will be created as the anti-Kyuubey, capable of contracting Magical Girls without the pesky "rip out soul, turn into witch" problem. Somehow this will also provide the energy Kyuubey needs which is why he'll stick around (and why we see him with the cat in the last scene of the OP); basically he'd be the Token Evil Teammate.
- In other words, the cat is Morning Rescue!
- Alternatively alternatively, they send back the cat from the OP. The cat will be created as the anti-Kyuubey, capable of contracting Magical Girls without the pesky "rip out soul, turn into witch" problem. Somehow this will also provide the energy Kyuubey needs which is why he'll stick around (and why we see him with the cat in the last scene of the OP); basically he'd be the Token Evil Teammate.
- This is the end, so jossed.
Notice how entirely stoic Hitomi was when she told Sayaka that she was in love with him, how it only came up after she notices Sayaka's crush on him, and how she gives Sayaka a convenient 24-hour window for Sayaka to confess her feelings first. Chances are, Hitomi doesn't have any feelings for him: she's just trying to make Sayaka think she does in an effort to push the girl to make the first move. Too bad she doesn't know that the reason Sayaka's too scared to confess her feelings is because of the whole being technically dead thing..
- Note how this is unlikely in the manga, where Hitomi and Kyousuke are holding hands. The anime however...
- In the anime, Hitomi mentions how she wishes she were outspoken like Sayaka (or something to that effect) in either the first or second episode. It was probably a very tiny hint about Hitomi's crush on Kyosuke.
- Pretty much Jossed, she's very concerned about him and his concert in a lover-like way in episode 12.
- It's still possible that she wasn't in love with him, and that she started going out with him out of a sense of guilt.
- Jossed. Human through and through.
- Mew, nope. =^-^=
- Here's a possibility: Homura becomes a witch. She then fulfills her wish to protect Madoka by pulling her witch form from an alternate timeline.
In the first timeline Madoka had to work alone, and died. In the second timeline, Madoka had Homura help her, so while it saved her life, it turned her into a witch. In the third timeline, Madoka and Homura had taken on some grief, so it put both of them on the verge of becoming witches. Thus, in the fourth timeline, Madoka's capability to become an extra-powerful witch was due to the fact her wish was probably along the lines of wanting to defeat Walpurgis Night; having the capability to wield such power severely increased her power as a witch. Thus, the key to saving the universe - and protecting Madoka - would be in what exactly Madoka wishes for.
QB likely knows a lot about what's going through Madoka's head and what she wants, hence why he sees "potential" in her.
- Jossed, it's Homura's wish.
- No reasoning behind this other than it would be appropriately mind fuck-ish.
- Again, can't imagaine how this could be possible, it's just that the Mind Fuck would be fitting.
- ...Nope not sympathetic.
- He's reset alongside the whole Magical Gil gig, as of the Grand Finale. And seems to be less of an ass than he used to be.
- Jossed; this was the final.
- Even the first half was Jossed.
Madoka-as-Kriemhild will make her barrier into a perfect world, or at least a world where everyone is saved, and will absorb the entirety of Earth into it. That was what Kyubey meant by “destroying the world”.
Thus, everyone will live in said utopia, and Kyubey will ignore it since he got his quota.
- Jossed, Kriemhild is killed by Madoka.
- It'd be a very interesting twist, as well as a paradox for Kyubei. It'd probably destroy him, causing the Universe to not lose its heat anymore.
- Jossed, though it's close (no more witches).
Homura is essentially an Expy Faust, who forges a friendship with Madoka, who is an Expy for Gretchen. After seeing Madoka being killed, Homura makes a contract with Kyubey to change Madoka's fate, but inadvertently makes things worse for Madoka in progressive timelines. Eventually, in the final timeline, Homura will sacrifice herself to achieve a single moment of happiness, finally being able to protect Madoka. Like the original Gretchen, Madoka attains godlike powers without becoming a witch and uses them to save Homura, as a reward for her unending striving and because Madoka is just a nice girl like that. The series will then either end on a bittersweet note with Homura being the last magical girl alive, or a truly happy ending where the Reset Button is hit and Kyubey and witches never existed.
- But, if Madoka died, wouldn't she just go back in time all over again? After all, that was her wish...
- Not totally a bad ending, but still not truly happy, so this is jossed.
- It's the closest to a Happy Ending that Urobuchi will ever write, though.
- Jossed, though she was this close to becoming a Witch. Madoka stopped it, though.
- Jossed by Word of God:Urobuchi: The weapon that looks like Homura's shield is actually a sand timer. When the flow of the sand is blocked, time is stopped. And when there is no sand on the upper part of the sand timer and then the timer is reverted, one month's worth of time is turned back. But before that stage is reached, only time stopping is possible. This means the special power of Homura is the ability to manipulate one month's time's worth of sand in the sand timer.
- Jossed in the most extreme way possible. Rather than being the source of all witches, Madoka brings about the end of all witches.
- Listen to how she reacts to having the blinds opened and covers pulled off of her in her first scene - Gee, that's a rather over-the-top reaction.
- Look at how her toothbrush falls away from everyone else's when she puts it down. Just a little something to take note of.
- Listen to her talk about how appearance is really important. This can be taken in multiple contexts if you're reading into it hard enough.
- She's built up by Madoka's friends as such a gorgeous career woman. And, of course, you can knock down just as easily as you build up.
- And remember her Hard Truth Aesop about how Madoka should "make mistakes" in Sayaka's stead? "Tell white lies, run away when things look bad. You'll realise later that this was the best thing to do. Make mistakes now, before you get old. You heal faster when you're young." And Magical Girls...are younger witches.
- Highly unlikely given Episode 11.
- Barring further revelations in a future season, this is jossed. Junko is a muggle.
- However, Sayaka turns into a witch quite some time before Walpurgisnacht is "supposed" to arrive. The only explanation is that either Sayaka escapes and eludes the magical girls until that night, Homura's time traveling screwed up the set order of events and caused Sayaka to fall much earlier than intended, or the more distressing possiblity that Sayaka is not the Final Boss.
- Maybe the fact that Sayaka just turned into a witch means she'll stage, possibly, a huge, apocalypse-bringing event with her witch-kisses. Like a mass murder or something.
- Extremely unlikely (though vaguely possible).
- Jossed. Sayaka is not the prologue witch, and her corruption has nothing to do with Walpurgisnacht.
- In Goethe's Faust (which the series references heavily and quotes often), Faust's lover's family suffer and die as a result of his contract with Mephistopheles. It's likely that Kyubey's contract has similar consequences.
- Confirmed in Episode 3: Mami's family died in a car accident, where she was slowly dying as well. Kyubey just happened to be there in time to rush in and offer her a Deal with the Devil.
- "Just happened." Right.
- Madoka's little brother will be the worst. Why? [[Moe He's cute]], he's her little brother, and think of all the possibilities!
- Jossed, thankfully. For the entire series, the rest of the Kaname family is mercifully unaware of and unaffected by what's going on.
- Judging by the events of episode 7, Sayaka might have just gotten her Start of Darkness. Hoo boy...
- Well, we've got the "become the witch" part so far...
- This is the troper who originally posted this, and I'm here to say... CONFIRMED...TT~TT I'm gonna go grab a tissue now...
- Slightly Jossed as of episode 9. Sayaka's witch form, Oktavia von Seckendorff◊, doesn't look like the prologue witch and was killed by Kyoko.
- Not Jossed entirely. Given the drastic differences in visuals between both times the girls walk into Sayaka's kekkai, it's possible that what Kyouko killed was one of Sayaka's familiars and not Sayaka herself.
- That seems to be grasping.
- No One Could Survive That!
- For what it's worth, in episode 10 the Walpurgis Night of the first iteration is wearing blue. The Walpurgis of the fourth iteration also seems to be wearing blue (though she might have red sleeves with white cuffs), although the two look different, and both seem to have differences from the Walpurgis in episode 1. (That one resembles the first ep 10 Walpurgis, but with white cuffs, which the first ep 10 Walpurgis didn't have.) However, it's likely the third iteration's Walpurgis - which was unseen - was not Sayaka, as it seems that the Grief Seed Madoka uses to cleanse Homura's Soul Gem at the end of the battle was Sayaka's.
- Well, we've got the "become the witch" part so far...
- Jossed. Sayaka becomes a witch, but is unrelated to the Walpurgisnacht witch.
- First half confirmed. Due to Homura's wish, unknown.
- Episode 12: This is jossed unless you count Madoka's ascension to the level of metaphysical god as "dying".
- Madoka is crying but also smiling when we see her lying down with the cat on her. Perhaps they're Tears of Joy from getting a happy ending? Should be mentioned that the cat is still present in the last scene of the re-purposed episode 10 opening with all five of the magical girls. Some believed that the opening was actually a "Season Zero". Perhaps it's actually a "Season Two".
- Jossed. The cat is metaphorical and never appears in the series proper.
- Homura's still alive and kicking at the end of the series, so this is jossed. For now.
- Jossed.
- And she will be Madoka. Hence why she's crying in the OP—all her friends are dead.
- Or her wish will be to hit the reset button for the rest of them, leaving HER as the only one fighting the Witches — suffering in silence, so her friends can all have peacefully ignorant lives.
- And she will be Madoka. Hence why she's crying in the OP—all her friends are dead.
- Jossed by the explication of Homura's powers. She can only turn back one month, and of her own will.
- Jossed: Aniplex is releasing Madoka, and the cast is mostly unknowns.
- Jossed and very much subverted as of episode six.
- And jossed even more with her Heroic Sacrifice of episode 9.
- In the concept art showing a younger Kyouko and her family, Kyouko and her sister are wearing fairly modern clothes; however, the art is not within context. However, a shot in Episode 7 shows the younger Kyouko drawn normally; her outfit is distinctly modern, detracting from the theory that she is centuries old.
- Doesn't mean she isn't older than she looks. For all we know, she could very well be, chronologically speaking, on her twenties, without ant major problems.
- Jossed in the third Drama CD, in which Kyouko says she has been a magical girl for about a year when talking with Homura at a strategy meeting, and was fighting her first witch when she first met Mami.
- Another thing. Homura is mentioned to be appearing in the series. Since it seems unlikely that Oriko will take place in the week between the beginning of Homura's "Groundhog Day" Loop and when Homura transfers to Madoka's school, it's possible that we will see Homura in the hospital, before the loop begins. A likely reason we would see her there is because Oriko is ill too, and they're in the same hospital. Isn't there a theory about Charlotte being the Littlest Cancer Patient?
- Homura boldly kept Charlotte's grief seed, partially so Kyuubey wouldn't dispose of it and it could be useful (and keep it away from Sayaka and Madoka), and partially because she might have recognized Charlotte.
- We may actually have a piece of evidence for this: Remember the runes in Episode 3? The one that basically went " OMNOMNOM Mami"? The line before that one is apparently the origin of Homura's Fan Nickname Homuhomu. Now remember the following: The runes are messages from the witch. Which means that Charlotte knew Mami and Homura's names!
- Should be mentioned that if Oriko does call Homura Homuhomu it would still fit with her "people don't usually call me by my first name" statement in episode 10.
- Preview pages of Oriko Magica show that the girl on the cover IS NOT Oriko. However, she can still be the Mysterious Green-Haired Girl.
- Jossed
- Extremely likely given Madoka's wish. The only contradictory part is that in Chapter 3 we see a Grief Seed much like the ones in the anime, not the cube-like shapes Homura has in the end.
- Nearly Jossed as of Chapter 4.
- Jossed six ways to Sunday in Chapter 5.
- If you re-watch the series, you'll notice that this is Jossed. In the first episode it shows how Homura is athletic, while in the first loop, she had to rest after only doing the warm-ups. Or she just healed herself with magic 2nd loop on.
- The witch's card states that it's nature is helplessness, as in Homura's helplessness against fate continuously dooming Madoka and making her suffer, while the description "It symbolizes the fool who continuously spins in circles" is symbolic of the "Groundhog Day" Loop hell she had been living. Additionally, the minions could actually represent the different Madokas Homura failed to save. The gears, and their relation to Homura's shield and also to clocks bears mention as well.
- When Homura fights against the witch, we see shades of other witches. Instead of Walpurgis being just a collection of witches, those witches are the familiars of Homura...the collection of the countless witches she killed on her quest to save Madoka.
- If you look at Homura's home, it's covered with references to Walpurgis' form, including the swinging pendulum that looks like the monster's head. She lives in a house designed like a clock's interior and has time travel powers; the witch from episode 1's dream has a gear motif. It could be suggested that these representations are part of Homura planning, but it could also be that Walpurgis night is Homura's personal hell, and that surrounding herself with its trappings is forming a Stable Time Loop, where she surrounds herself with images of Walpurgis, and in turn creates those images herself.
- Another thing that contributes to this theory is that when Homura muses to Madoka about them both becoming witches together in the 3rd timeline. She considers becoming a witch, and together with Madoka/Kriemhild Gretchen, "turn the world upside down". Now, look at Walpurgis Night. Doesn't it look like its hanging upside down in the air?
- Animator and witch-designer InuCurry has stated that Walpurgisnacht's and Kriemhild Gretchen's silhouettes are supposed to make a pair. Rule of Symbolism alone should explain the significance of that.
- It gets better. Production Documents show that Walpurgis Night and Kriemhild Gretchen are supposed to respectively be the upper and lower half of a sand timer. And what what did Word of God say Homua's weapon was? A sand timer.. Not mention Homura's flipping an hourglass to reset time is reminiscent of Walpurgis Night description of flipping herself to reset civilization. Walpurgis' desire to turn the world into a stage now makes Homura's time power reminiscent of making a film. Either Walpurgis Night is yet another Evil Counterpart of Homura, or she's a full-blown Enemy Without.
- Okay, bear with me, because I've got an alternative theory stolen from When They Cry that replaces how Homura transforms into Walpurgis herself (made unlikely by Puella Magi Madoka Magica Portable below). Every time Homura leapt through time, it (or her repressed emotions) created an "echo" of herself in the space between timelines, similar to how Madoka went to another plane of existence after her death. These echos merged with each other, as well as with the Grief Seeds she had on her possession in every timeline, eventually forming a powerful witch that existed outside of time and space. This witch then sent copies of herself into each timeline, appearing at the exact place where, in her corrupted mind, it remembered leaving.
Yeah that's right, Homura created Walpurgis Night the exact same way that Rika created Bernkastel. And because of it's unusual nature, it might be something even Madoka's wish would have trouble erasing, since by existing outside of time it might be difficult to be erased before it is "born". Walpurgis Night wouldn't be considered a witch in the new universe, but rather a type of demon and be called by it's real name (probably a variation of Mephistopheles or another witch-related festival).- I'm only writing this theory because All There in the Manual doesn't give Walpurgis Night's actual name, which smells suspiciously like something that would be picked up upon later, possibly in Oriko Magica. It helps that part 2 of Goethe's Faust had a "Classical Walpurgis Night". Incidentially, that the characters were taken to that Walpurgis Night by a homunculus. The humanoid form on top of Walpurgis Night in series is described as a doll.
- That scene in the manga where Walpurgis summons Mami, Sayaka, and Kyouko? Well, rumor has it that Puella Magi Madoka Magica Portable will answer the question of "what if that magical girl became a witch?" If Walpurgis Night is somehow made with witches from alternate timelines...But of course that part may not be canon.
- That manga omake about Homura telling the magical girls that they can combine may just become Hilarious in Hindsight.
- Jossed by Puella Magi Madoka Magica Portable. It shows a possibility of Homura turning into a witch after failing to destroy Walpurgisnacht. This witch is named Homulilly and is very different to Walpurgisnacht.
- But It is still disputed whether or not the Portable Game is canon.
- The game is canon since Gen himself aka God supervised the scenario
- Not necessarily. "Walpurgis Night" is a class of Witch, not the specific name of this Witch; it is "a witch that has grown from the combination of countless other witches". We have no idea whether such a Witch would retain the same appearance and abilities as the original Witch(s) from which it was born, if a single Witch among those "countless Witches" may gain dominance over others, etc. It's possible that Homulilly is Homura's actual Witch form, and the Walpurgis Night that we see in the anime is the result of Homulilly's eventual conglomeration with other Witches or multiple dimension-hopping Homulillies from other timelines.
- Where else does the despair go? The wraiths are more uniform because the magical girl's memories and personality go to magical girl heaven, seperate from the produced wraiths.
- Before being defeated by The Host of the Valar and thrusted into the great void, Morgoth created a considerable amount of small creatures bred for magical deception. Deception that would tear all of that is good by corrupting them. Now his most powerful servant Sauron was somehow told everything by him about them and to keep these creatures locked for a while, only to be released some time in the future. Now Sauron fought many battles in his time. He modified them in secret and when he was about to be defeated in the Third Age, he thought of releasing those which his master created. After Sauron's final defeat, he activated them all to wander across all across Arda up until they reached the future, that is the world we live in. This would create further chaos that would destroy the world as what Morgoth wanted it to be with his malice that are poured into those Incubators and Sauron's deceptive powers combined. Now Morgoth wanted to target little girls through them according to their design to actually fight for some purposes only to become Eldritch Abomination horrors in the end. This mirrors how the hearts of men of Numenor and of the East were easily corrupted into thinking that they're working for good under Sauron's influence only to be left in the dark as abominable men. The Incubators lied to them because while indeed they granted them power, they hide or not disclose a dark secret inside of them until they found out it was too late. Like how Sauron used the rings of power through the Elven smith Celembrimbor which gave power to all that wore them but only to be subjected to his will only to be unveiled by the eleventh hour. Therefore, by turning the girls into warriors of power, they are secretly turned little by little into Eldritch Abomination horrors while their powers were used up.
The scenario goes like this:
- -Girls given a contract.
- -Girl thinks it over.
- -Contract is given. Power is given unto the girls with corruption inserted into their souls in secret.
- -Magical girl fights for a while.
** -Uses up the remaining mana they have until they are depleted for the corruption to take over.
-Magical girl griefs over the truth and succumbs into darkness.
-Evil is formed out of them and thus begins the slaughter of creation through men first.
Because by targeting select little girls means that any of them can hold significant threat to their master through their descendants or them themselves. Because when these girls are gone, their threat is eliminated and thus giving Morgoth more advantage to kill, pillage, and destroy all of God's creation in the process. For Morgoth loves to torment and twist what was once beautiful into a nightmarish forms. This time, he gave it more and more horrifying form.
- The whole premise of the show is based on balance, between hope and despair. Season one saw hope (in the form of Madoka) triumphing over a system of despair. Well, as Kyubey said, any change in reality is bound to cause an equal distortion to balance it out. Madoka’s wish changed the entire universe. The only natural outcome would be despair (in the form of Homura) swallowing up that system of hope. However, this is still a huge distortion, bringing the universe to the complete opposite of the hope/despair spectrum. I can only see this being resolved by canceling out both systems of hope and despair through one way: no more magical girls. Season two would be about doing away with the magical girl system of keeping entropy at bay. Not erasing the entire history of it, but every current magical girl in existence no longer being magical girls and no more magical girls being created. The universe would eventually die out, but in the meantime, young girls would not be tricked into being sacrificed to prolong it. I can see the last episode ending, after some major change/wish/curse/whathaveyou, at the beginning of it all: Homura being introduced to Madoka’s class. I don’t know if anyone would remember the previous timelines/universes, but it would proceed with the girls living their lives the way they would have without the Incubators from that point on.
- Not by much, but it gives you a clearer complexion, nice hair, little things like that. It would explain how Homura went from being regarded as a loser to a gasp-worthy hottie just by getting rid of her glasses and braids. It'd also help to make the job seem more ideal.
- Word of God states Walpurgisnacht is the Fusion Dance of several witches to create this Laughing Mad super witch. So the question is what witches are making it. The answer is Homura by virtue of her Ground Hog Day Loop. Every time Homura went back in time, she expelled a lot of magic which could have risked turning her into a Witch, but she was protected from this by nature of the magical act. So whenever Homura went back in time, a Witch of Homura was left behind. Recall what Kyubey says about it all. Every time Homura went back in time, the alternate timeline's fate connected to Madoka, empowering her. By that logic, then Walpurgisnacht would be affected in the same way. Because every time Homura went back in time with the intention of saving Madoka, it was to save her from Walpurgisnacht, tying both of them to the fates of the other timelines. Walpurgisnacht represents Hopelessness. She spins and laughs on her gear at the helpless misfortune of others. Homura was trapped in a truly hopeless scenario as Kyubey spells out. Literally the only thing that kept her going was the hope that Madoka would be saved, a hope that may have died some time ago. The instant Homura admits it, she would become a Witch on the spot. Walpurgisnacht is specifically laughing at Homura's hopelessness, since all she can do is fail and continue to create/strengthen Walpurgisnacht. Finally, the gears that make up part of Walpurgisnacht are a visual clue, relating to Homura's time based magic, just as Octavia's sword and armor referenced Sayaka's swordsmanship.
- Hitomi receives a lot of Hatedom from her one scene wonder in which she has an almost distressed breakdown at the thought of girl on girl love. Taken at face value, it makes her seem like a bigot, but in real life, the most vocal of the homophobic crowd are actually themselves gay. This helps contextualize Hitomi's attitude, which does not seem like a genuine hatred or dislike of homosexuals, but more like a struggle with her own unwanted feelings. Additionally, it makes her sudden push to compete with Sayaka over Kyosuke make sense, why is she suddenly latching onto this guy? Because she's insecure about her sexuality and trying to convince herself she's straight.
- After reading about deconstructions of Magical Girl stories, coming across both Sailor Nothing and Mahou Shoujo Nante Mou Ii Desu Kara, one notices something the 2 have in common and Madoka doesn't, Both Sailor Nothing and Nantemouiidesukara's main characters watched and enjoyed Magical Girl anime. In fact, in Sailor Nothing, that's what kind of tips off Himei that this might not be like TV, because "it (the Transformation Trinket introduction) wasn't this much of a hack job." But Madoka has no references to it whatsoever, even though all 3 take place around the same time, and Nantemouiidesukara is also an anime (albeit shorts). BUT, there are multiple things that would probably tip a magical girl anime Otaku off that this "wasn't how it happens on TV", like the pure Nightmare Fuel that is the witch's labyrinths. We also know that Kyubey's race has basically shaped human history since cavemen times, and, as discussed earlier in the page, could've bred the humans (more specifically teenage girls) to be more efficient at creating witch-transforming-based energy, like cattle. so, this might just be putting 2 extremely complicated numbers together by hand, but the Incubators might've stopped the magical girl anime genre from existing in this universe to keep teenage girls who are into that sort of thing from noticing the big differences and refusing to contract due to it not happening like that on TV.
It is established that they have time travel, because how else could they have bestowed it on Homura? Some day in the distant future, humans will:
- Figure out how to do basically anything by tapping some energy source that at first seems unlimited.
- Realize, at some point, that the "magic" energy source had the cost of increasing entropy.
- Become a Hive Mind entity, and what are now thought of as emotions will become gradually considered mental disorders. (We are already asking ourselves if religion is a mental disorder, so generations of gradually increasing skepticism and scientism could result in that.)
- Figure out that, the only way to reverse entropy is to get energy out of something that happens when humans experience strong emotions. Problem is, their society has evolved culturally so much that they're completely rational and unified. The solution? Go back to the past, when humanity was full of grief and division.
- NOT evolve into ferrets. (Evolution takes way too long for that.) The form Kyubey takes that we see in the show is just them using small amounts of magic to project an image into the past that can speak and appears to be physical. That's why Kyubey isn't too worried when Homura shoots one of the bodies up, it's no more real to these future people than a video game avatar is to us. The mission of these avatars is to collect energy. Perhaps they simply chose a form that was cute and pleasing to little girls, because what they look like now would be too scary for them.
- This also gets around the Aliens Speaking Japanese problem, they would have archaeological records of every past language, so going to the past becomes a simple matter of adequate historical research to understand the language and culture. Maybe they even have something like cyber-brains that can store much more language data than a human brain currently can.
- Are they responsible for humanity moving beyond primitive "cave men" as Kyubey says? If they are humans, how might they be responsible for their own enhancement? Kyubey could tell ancient peoples what they know about the future, having experienced it themselves. They might be in some kind of stable time loop.
- "You didn't ask."
As a side effect, this is why Homura thinks that a couple of Magical Girls, or a single one with massive firepower, can take on Walpurgisnacht: she saw it happen, but wasn't experienced enough to realize the truth of the situation.
All I need is for you to make a contract.