No they didn't. I remember seeing Urobutchi as the writer in the preview before the series aired and going "there's no way this is as innocent as it looks."
This is not true haha. I remember people tweeting him to mock him being like “what is this child’s play” before episode 3. Some people thought he lost his edge and the others were just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
One thing I really love about this show is how each character is unhinged in a way that is completely opposite to how they are portrayed. Mami being a perfect example. She is objectively the strongest and most experienced magical girl from the main cast (before Madoka's constant resets). Everyone relies on Mami and completely trusts her yet the second she learns the truth about magical girls she quickly resorts to insane methods of redemption. This was shown in the main series when she tried to murk the rest of the girls after finding out about witches. You also notice the game of chess Homura plays in her head before introducing herself. I really think after Homura saw how badly Mami reacted she made a conscious choice to avoid her due to the fear of her finding out and potentially killing everyone before Walpurgisnacht. You further see this in the movie rebellion and other spinoffs but I won't spoil that too much.
Magia Record is like another timeline in the Madoka Magica universe which is a series with 1 or 2 short seasons i think, centred around other magical girls and their lives as a whole and we meet the original 5 (Mami, Kyoko, Madoka, Sayaka and Homura) in certain episodes too. It's not as revolutionary as Madoka magica itself but i love their character interactions (especially between the 2 main characters) and the world building that Madoka magika didn't have time to discover.
You really should watch the third movie, Rebellion! Opinions on that are pretty devisive, but it makes more sense for it to end like this. The series isn't fully concluded without that, and it's just absolutely stunningly animated - Please give it a watch with an open mind~ There is an analysis video called "Homura was never a good person", that makes a point on how important it is for the series. You know about her alternate timelines and all, and have a story this time with her as the main character in rebellion. I really really recommend it~ Even if you just want to see more of the characters
one anime that TRUE madoka magica NEEDS to watch is Hidamari Sketch, you Madoka fans needs to know this series, is the reason why Madoka Magica existed in the first place. And Madoka Magica is really a dark twist to Hidamari Sketch, just imagine the magical girl character that was on the yukata Hiro gave to Miyako in episode 2 season 1 of Hidamari Sketch was a legit anime. A lot of the rumors, about Yamabuki High School, and Hidamari Apartments became the witches, and rumors of Madoka Magica, and Magia Record. and those who hadn't watch Madoka Magica, I suggest you watch Hidamari Sketch before watching Madoka to properly understand a lot more about Madoka Magica than watching other magical girl anime, and how similar these two series are in many ways.
I’ve always wanted to write an essay about madoka, there’s just so much to decipher and so many interesting themes and references. The price of miracles, the value of human life, truth vs ideals etc the references to literature like Faust, the nutcracker, the Bible and more. It’s addicting to keep learning about it 😭 all from just 12 episodes. And the movie is a gold mine in itself
I watched the series with my sister today thinking we would only watch a few episodes….we ended up watching the whole thing. We got hooked on it and it was amazing. Easily now in my list of favorite anime ever.
@@SpunkReviews Homera is romanticly in love with Madoka however Madoka being the innocent little girl she is still thinks only of platonic love and has not gotten to the point she is ready for romantic love yet so is entirely unaware of what Homera is feeling
Clearandsweet did a long ass series where he dove deep into every episode a few years ago. I think the whole thing totals to around fifteen hours worth of content and I definitely recommend it. There’s also a book by Jed A. Blue that critically examines the series that’s worth checking out.
After Movie 3 "Rebellion" (continuing the main story, even if it doesn't seem like it at first maybe), there is a 4th Movie coming out eventually. This was already teased and such as a continuation after "Rebellion", and I'm ready for it ;) Top 3 anime for me are Higurashi, Steins;Gate and Madoka, guess I'm a sucker for dark time travel stories with a lot of drama and pain in them... as long as all ends well, amirite? ...
I was about to type a similar comment until I saw your comment. Couldn't have said it better, especially the part of Higurashi, Steins;Gate, and Madoka being top 3 personally. I tend to love darker psychological anime with elements of time travel. Person with class I see 😎
I recommend checking out Claymore.. It doesn't have time travel but definitely has lots of pain and drama with a good ending. And imo has a bunch of similarities to Madoka Magica but somehow even darker
Fun Fact: The phenomenon that Kyubey is trying to prevent is an actual real life thing. It’s called the “heat death“ of the universe. Basically, every closed system (our universe included) strives to maximize entropy, it’s the driving force behind pretty much everything. Every chemical reaction that occurs does so only because it increases the overall entropy in the universe. This of course means that once that point of maximum entropy is reached, nothing will ever happen anymore because everything is in its „ideal“ state. There just won’t be a reason for things to keep happening. It also means that the heat death will only occur once every reaction that can possibly happen has happened. It’s kind of like the universe dying of old age. Tl;dr Kyubey proudly proclaims he is saving a person‘s life and completely omits the fact that he’s basically just slapping some life support on a 90 years old who already lived out their life.
Welcome to the fandom. This show will stick with you for decades. 😂 The trap is that even if a magical girl never lears the truth of her existence, or never comes to regret her wish, eventually she will run out of energy. The witches she battles don't provide enough grief seed energy to cleanse her soul gem, and if she lets familiars turn into witches as Kyoko does, the guilt over letting people die will eventually lead to despair. Kyubey stacks the deck, however, by granting wishes that are bound to go astray, and cutting the girls off from each other as a potential suppprt system. The girls fall into despair as they realize there is no escape and become witches
Ahahaha~ True, it's still stuck in my head after a decade as the dark mahoushoujo that I ever saw. After Madoka, I don't have a heart to watching another dark mahoushoujo anymore. And I think this is a right choice for my sanity. 😅😅😅
@@kuroyuri04somehow, only Madoka Magica so far is a dark magical girl done right. Idk if the genre actually has some goods now that it's been a decade since rebellion though so there's that.
Another insidious way the deck is stacked against them is by granting them a wish to start it all. Set them on the highest pedestal possible so that everything sucks in comparison. Genius... Evil Genius, the best kind.
5:10 That music you’re referring to is I believe Credens Justitiam and it actually is Mami’s theme! It’s got a very hopeful feeling which is very sad honestly once you know what happens to her :(
Dude your recap of events was the funniest thing I have ever heard "When their soul gems fill up with too much...witch juice I guess," had me laughing out loud alone in my apartment. Also "The energy source for the universe - which is little girls ... For some reason," is SO hilarious to me Great video. Sounds like someone who just watched the entire anime and is fumbling trying to explain what happened ahahah Totally me, to my brother after I finished it the first time, so no worries I think we've all been there! ♥️ Super endearing, hope you make more vids!
HAHA YES THATS EXACTLY IT! I literally had JUST got done with the anime and I wanted to come on here and just ramble about it because I absolutely adored it. In no way is this video/channel supposed to be like a super smart analytical view on these shows bc I’m not that smart :0 LOL but I do like to talk about the things I love. Thank you for watching and I really appreciate the support!!
I watched Madoka Magica as it came out in 2011 because of Yuki Kajiura. I wasn't a fan of Mahou Shoujo anime, but have loved her Music ever since Noir, Madlax and El Cazador, and would always watched anime where she was the composer. So I gave Madoka a chance and I was blown away by the music, at first. I remember while watching episode 3, thinking that Mami was setting a lot of death flags, but since it was a Magical Girl anime, it would be fine. Boy, was I wrong
A few notes about the series All the girls have their own musical theme, and they're all in the common 4/4 time, except for Homura, which is in 3/4 and consists of 2 eight notes followed by a half note. Her theme is literally in a different time and looped. All girls represent a stage of grief: Mami is Denial Sayaka is Depression Kyoko is Anger Homura is Bargaining Madoka is Acceptance Speaking of Grief, at the end of each of Homura's timelines that we get to see, she also goes through each stage of grief. First bargaining,, then anger, then depression, then denial and finally acceptance Kyubey says a play on words at the end of episode 8. Basically the first and last Kanji of Mahou Shoujo (Magical Girl) form the word Majou, which means Witch. So from their beginning to their end, they're destined to become witches. In the conversation that Madoka has with Homura where she asks her to help Sayaka, Homura mentions how Mami died, while taking the cap off her coffee cup. Resembling how Mami died by having her figuratively own cap taken off. Afterwards, Madoka tells Homura that she will always remember Mami to which Homura replies that Mami is lucky in that way. Madoka then says that she will also remember Homura for saving them, but in fact, she has forgotten Homura many times already.
2023 and there´s still ppl that skip the sequel movie. Yeah, the first two movies is basically a compilation from the anime, but the third movie (Rebellion Story/Hamgyaku no Monogatari) is a direct sequel. And well they announced another sequel movie 2 years ago soooooooooo yeah, watch Rebellion Story too
Just a question to think about, What if the incubators named kyubei are just office workers of their society and the actual villains were the incubators that developed a System for harnessing emotional energy on purpose. Because the very concept is a form of emotional abuse and all the incubators care about is an energy farm if for the universe or themselves is uncertain (we dont know their species after all).
Sure, but that don't add anything for the story or themes, so that type of speculation is just.. Fruitless. It's like the Star Wars fandom obsession with irrelevant details.
@@MiloKuroshiro I'm not trying to add something to the source material thou? Maybe the example isnt deep enough or thought through, but thats my intention. And i feel like your limiting your imagination. I commented that because it was my thoughts on the first watch through, to add to the conversation.
One thing I like about Kyubey is that he even said that no girl throughout the ages asked about the "terms of service" so to speak. They all willy nilly said "yes" to their wish. Madoka is really the only one we see actually think about her choices and options
There were indeed magical girls who asked about 'terms of service', Nagisa for example. Kyubey just weaseled out of the questions like a well-olied politician.
@@loxem2668 ^This! Kyubei uses lying by omission when girls don't ask about the terms of service, and those that do get gas-lit into taking up the contract anyway... 0_0
Regarding Kyuubey - despite what he says, he can definitely be called a villain. He is manipulative and will stop at nothing to achieve his goal, which might not be as noble as he states. For example, he lies about not lying - he says to Madoka that humans are one day destined to join Incubators in space. But after Valpurgis Night (last boss) witch is defeated, and Madoka becomes witch herself, he says "Earth is gonna be destroyed in couple of days, and we gathered enough energy. Now Earth being destroyed is humanity's problem, we are out of here". Due to him lying about this, I do no see why he cannot lie about other things - like energy being required for some other thing, not as noble as "saving Universe".
the thing about kyuubey is, he doesn't need to do all the manipulating and gaslighting and torturing. he could go up to a suitable girl and say: i can grant you a wish. you can save someone. you will then become a magical girl, and save more people. it will have a cost, and will kill you, but even in that act of dying you will continue to save more people. and he would find plenty of girls who said YES. that kyuubey is working to prevent the heat-death of the universe is not a bad thing. but kyuubey chooses to use gaslighting, and manipulation, and torture, and endless lies to achieve this goal. he is a masterful depiction of an abuser. and that's why kyuubey is evil.
@@mrsdissThe thing that confuses people is he is like someone with anti-social disorder. He doesn't understand his ways are harmful because it leads to a greater good and he has good intentions at the end of the day. So can you tell someone is evil if they are trying to make things for greater good or someone is evil because they are not capable of understanding? I'd say no, he is not evil but his decent behaviors arent decent too i wont say its good too.
Always does my heart good to see new people get hooked on Madoka Magica. It's a great show that deserves it. Now we just need to see what you think about the third movie >:3
Fun story, acording to the creator, _Sayaka_ is the main character of the show, not Madoka. Which kinda makes sense, doesn't it? From episode 3 to 9, half the entire show, the story is entirely centered around Sayaka and her grief and actions, and even after her death she's present in the form of being motivation for Madoka. And come the end of Rebellion, you have Sayaka as the last survivor standing against an overwhelming foe.
I also would like to know where to read this because I don’t think this is true. I remember reading something that pointed out how western audiences would typically associate someone like Sayaka as the main hero due to stubborn need to throw on the cape and fight the “bad guy” but I’ve never seen her declared as the main character.
Exactly what I also thought on my first watch. The dialogues are so well written and carefully crafted. Wasted unimportant filler dialogue is one of my pet-peeves in anime because it unnecessarily stretched the duration (I could groan listening to them like "ugh come on get to the point already"--especially if it includes grating obnoxious screaming!) But not in anime like Madoka Magica, Perfect Blue, and Le Portrait de Petit Cossette (another Akiyuki Shinbo's masterpiece imo, also has OSTs by Yuki Kajiura which are mesmerizing). Almost every dialogue *counts* .
I understood Kyubey and sided with him until the last timeline where Madoka kills Walpurgisnacht and then turns into Walpurgis2: Electric Boogaloo, and all Kyubey says is "Lol not my problem" Like, no, you little shit, it is.
Madoka has been my favorite anime since I was 15. I am currently 23. Last month I finally got Homura's soul gem tattoo'd! Madoka and Made in Abyss are my top favorite animes. Madoka came to me in a time of burnout and depression, and it helped me carry on. It will forever be dear to me. It makes me happy people are still enjoying it, rediscovering it, or even watching it for the first time and recognizing its amazingness despites it being from 2011. Small bit of trivia: the last 2 episodes were delayed because of the Tsunami that happened in Japan. Fans who were used to one episode being launched once per week had to wait a while after episode 10 before getting to see the ending of it.
They probably won't have a happy ending, the closest thing we got to it is the Japan Only Magia Record Game Version where a version of Madoka and Homura still exists and living happily but our Madoka and Homura doesn't get that happy ending
I hope they will resolve the story and uncover all of the mysteries and all subjects including Kyubei's heat death of universe theory finally get's explained in fact Kyubei and the girls need expanding on and a final conclusion
@@BlazeMaster there are two versions, one is the game the second is anime, the game ver and anime ver are different. In the game they clearly state that the magi reco universe is different to the main anime Universe. You think that is because you have only seen the magi reco anime Universe when it is different from the game one. One of these Homura continues her timeloop in anime but not in the game, another is that in the game they defeat Walpurgisnacht with the help of Madokami, the biggest difference is that in the game arc 1 end no one dies. However in the anime there's Momoko, Mifuyu, the Magius that dies
Absolutely insane that you never once saw the spoiler for ep3, its so infamous that its near impossible for someone to go in actually blind I will also say, i watched this show back in 2013 i think? And ten years later, watching it again with my boyfriend, its just as good if not better, the depth the details the subtleties and the not-so subtleties lol. Ive thought about this show all the time and i was still realizing new things about it often. Sighhh truly a masterpiece
That's not why they become witches. They turn into witches when enough of their own negative emotions (the process of their wish turning into a curse) corrupts their soul gem. They use grief seeds to cleans that curse from their soul gem so they can keep fighting. But no matter what, eventually, it won't be enough and the curse forms anyway, thus turning them into witches.
This show literally changed a dress up game I was playing online when it aired. I also "recently" watched it (2 years ago now) and it was mind blowing. Wait till you see what happens next. Rebellion is an amazing truly amazing follow up.
Seeing how much you enjoyed Madoka Magica is absolutely amazing, however, with that in mind I *implore* you to watch Princess Tutu. It's a 26 episode magical girl anime from the early 2000's (2002 specifically). This anime is absolutely amazing. Not only do all of the characters and the environment feel truly alive, but, the mid-point and the final climax of the series is absolutely flawless. It does so well to set up the characters, their ambitions and everything else. Then episode 12-13?? Well lets just say it's not what you're going to expect. Princess Tutu is the epitome of "Let them cook", because I promise you, the meal you will be served is fucking SCRUMPTIOUS.
Madoka Magicka is a show I recommend anyone who finished watching to rewatch. The art is so much more important, as the scene is always using visual storytelling for the witches. It’s a whole different experience to see the witches, knowing what they used to be, and recognizing the labyrinth is designed to be symbolic of the magical girl who it came from. Some of them are exceptionally sad, with themes closer to an elementary school girls toy box than our usual middle schoolers we meet on screen. There are video essays breaking down each witch, who they likely were (using other shows and games as well for more characters and such), and what they liked and wished for
For how to say Kyubey, I'm going with q-bay because he's one of the Incubator (in-q-bay-tor) race, and that's how it's said in Japanese (キュゥべえ). Fun video! I also only just got into the series after hearing so many rave about it, but thinking for the longest time it looked like just another magical girl show! Love how the show twists things around.😮😊
It also points out the fact that any extera terrestrial being capable of making contact would have a different morality system to us and would even see us as barbarous simplistic and self obsessed.
Honestly, considering Kyubey's portrayal and what we can learn about him through it, I firmly believe I would do the same thing in his shoes, down to the exact details. That shouldn't be taken to mean that I'm weird, either. Being tasked with saving the universe from running out of energy and lacking emotion, an understanding of human values, and even an understanding of concepts like manipulation and lying, you would be much like Kyubey as well. What gets me the most about all this is that once you think through all the effects this would have on the way you make decisions, everything Kyubey does makes perfect sense to me. The times he shows up. The times he doesn't. The things he says. _Especially_ the things he doesn't say. In the end... why should you attempt to learn what "manipulation" is if you already have what you want by the time humans start talking about it? Why would you need to tell anything but the facts when the facts will suffice to get your way? Why explain things in details when humans will just ask questions about things they don't understand? Why tell humans about things that will make them upset with you? Why say anything less or more than exactly what you need to get the job done? Why be anything other than ruthless and ruthlessly efficient--setting aside the fact that "ruthless" means nothing to you--when that's precisely what you need to be? Kyubey isn't evil. Not because he lacks a concept of evil, but because the only times ethics actually factor into his decisions is when it _benefits_ humans. But that doesn't mean that what he _does_ isn't evil. Then again... why care about whatever "evil" might mean if it's not in your job description? Humans say the path to hell is paved with good intentions, but if it's not _your_ hell, there's no reason to let anything stop you from paving it, let alone learn what "hell" is in the first place. It's an alien and disturbing mindset, but once it clicks, once you learn to see the world the way Kyubey does, it's very nearly a thing of beauty. Only very nearly, because in the state of mind where such a horrifying thing would actually be beautiful, words like "beauty" cease to have any meaning at all.
I found madoka magica because I remember an anime that was also about magical girls and witches and that had Kyubey in it. The anime I recall ends with the protagonists on top of a tower they regularly used to meet, promising to find a way to stop what's happening. I'm pretty sure it's older than madoka magica. I've never been able to find that show again, and I don't remember the name. Still glad I found this instead though.
Spoiler Warning Read this comment after you watched Rebellion Also Homura is a Lesbian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To explain what happened The Universe is rewriten again by Homura but this time she incased the universe inside her labyrinth and split Madokami in half, the Human half is Madoka while the God half remains as the Law of Cycles, also stated in a trailer for Walpurgisnacht rising(Movie 4), lots of dead cats (Probably Incubators) popped up and as we hear from Homura "To handle all the curses that have spread around our world, you Incubators are now necessary for us. So you'll be staying to help......Incubator." And at the end of the movie we see an injured Incubator. Coincidence I think not, The Incubators are probably burdened to deal with the world's curses because wraiths are still a thing
There's lots of people telling to watch Rebellion (and you should), but I'd like to add there's a spin off series called Magia Record you should also watch, is its own thing and kind of expands more the world building, plus its situates in a different timeline to the one in this show so you get to see Mami in action again (not much, but it's something)!
- Kyubey in the English dub is pronounced as "Kyubey." Not "Kyubee." - A girl is the younger version of a woman. You know how a witch could be called a magical woman? Similarly, then the younger version is called a magical girl, right? It's only fair to assume that when a magical girl becomes an adult, they grow into a witch.
There is a manga that takes place between the ending of this series and the beginning of Rebellion. The movie doesn’t tell you this so you might want to read that before diving into the movie.
Tbh Homura is the real main character of the series, Madoka would’ve never had the potential she did unless Homura spent centuries looping time solely to save Madoka
I had been familiar with it for a few years from my sister but I never got around to watch it until january There's so much depth and smart writing that's it's my absolute favorite show of all time along with mob psycho It's the first thing that I felt leave a powerful impact after watching
i love seeing people's reactions to madoka, so far this year i've forced 4 (soon to be 5) of my friends to watch it with me, idk if i'm just obsessed but to me it has basically infinite rewatch value, all the characters are so well crafted (my favorite character is sayaka by a lot but I love all of the girls, they're my babies) and the literary parallels work so well, fleshing out the characters without just making them a shallow reference (madoka and homura's relationship in the series is loosely based off that of Faust and Gretchen (which just so happens to be the name of madoka's witch form from episodes 10 and 12) in the first act of Goethe's Faust while Sayaka's story references the original Little Marmaid written by Andersen) also since you said that mami was your favorite character I'd recommend you the spin off manga "puella magi madoka magica: the different story" it's partially an adaptation of a prequel drama cd that released with the original japanese blurays of the series and partially an alternate timeline retelling of the story (it loses a bit of its charm after it gets into the parallel timeline stuff because it kinda has to end with walpurgisnacht killing everyone and homura resetting the timeline but it's still a good read)
WATCH THE FILM BOYYYYY, the fourth film which is the final for the series is coming out in....some years, but rebellion movie is honestly a piece of fucking art
I love madoka. MY NUMBER ONE FAVORITE! madoka is 100% my favorite :D But anyway its so funny that a "im not special, but let me try to help you guys🥺🥺" high school girl becomes the biblical god
Madoka Magica is one of the best series of all time for sure, with the themes and subthemes just filling the whole of the serie/movies with so much to think, all while telling a tragic story with light tint of horrors, all that in a gendra so out of theme for those (the magical girl gendra) that it just emplify by contrast everything it has to say about the themes. It is to those themes what Code Geass is to character writing, a masterpeice showing how much writing, be it characters, storyline, plots, themes ect, can by itself make any gendra an increadible watch.
Bro, I’m totally gonna start saying “my cereal went soggy” when explaining shit to people as a way to explain just how insane it was 😂 “Dude it was so crazy I swear, literally my cereal went soggy, THAT’S how nuts it was” hahah
There are several spin-offs I think you will like, including stuff like Kazumi-Magica and Suzune-Magica, where different girls try to approach the witch transformation problem from different point of views, or Tart-Magica, focusing on past Magical Girls, which are much more friendly towards QB from circumstances. Orico-Magica is more closer to the original series, where the protagonists tries to manipulate QB in order to stop the worst witch ever (Madoka's witch) to be born. Oh, there are also many games of Madoka-Magica such as the portable, the battle pentagram, the Magia-Record (the anime ver. of the Magia-Record recommended in the comments is actually a spin-off of the game and has a different ending), all which can help you sink in the depths of the world and help you understand character developments and so on......
Second comment but just to say, you were right the first time when saying “sound design _or_ OST”, they’re actually very much not the same thing OST is all the original music to the show, sound design is basically eeeeeverything else which is original audio, which is for the most part sound effects for anything from the sound Madoka’s duvet makes, to the sound of Homura rewinding time, and everything in between
"I still need to wrap my head around it" One head joke made, 723 more accidental jokes to go. Oh yeah, to your reference Homura jumped 100+ timelines. At least the director said it during an interview. ... Guess I should say something else too. The reason why Homura didn't forget Madoka after episode 12 is because of interesting problems that happened after her wish. Because the entire universe got rewritten everyone unbecame a magical girl. So Homura basically got another wish, which was 'I never want to forget her'. This is also why she lost her time hopping power (or maybe just because Madoka thought I don't want her to have any thoughts not like she would), and got replaced with this cool black bow with memory manipulation. By the way, if you watch the movie your head might explode because if THIS is how you handle the show then your very not ready.
Awesome video! Small clarification: Kyubey's job is essentially to extend the time until the heat death of the universe, which happens because all energy in the universe will eventually be equal and stable everywhere. As for why they absolutely needed magical girls, I suppose it's because the process somehow creates energy out of thin air? It does play into the theme of emotion nicely though so I like it (Also it's kinda funny how you said "healing the universe," cuz technically kyubey is fighting against its natural state haha)
Honestly, a similar thing happened to me when I first watched this series. I started around 1:30-2am and was up until 6 something because I ended up binging the entire series. This show gets you HOOKED. Mami is my favorite character! I really like her characterization.
Kyubey isn't pronounced "cue bee", it's "cue bay" as in the middle 2 syllables of incubator. I watched the subs too and said it in my head wrong until i watched the movie. Great video. I just finished watching it all myself.
Loved the video! It’s always fun to have new fans brought in. Just curious you said your into light novels and willing to sit through longer media have you read Umineko? It’s a sequel(ish) to higurashi and even though they are very different medias both gave me that satisfactions magical feeling!
Ty for watching!! I actually own all the umineko/higurashi visual novels on steam but I have only played like 3 hours of the umineko question arcs.. :( BUT I’m super super interested in going through the series and potentially making a set of videos where I talk about my thoughts through each chapter hahaha but yes ty for the recommendation I’ve been meaning to get into the “when they cry series” !!
See that's what's great about a lot of magical girl anime is that there's an underlying assumption that it's just going to be cutesy with no substance. It almost never is. But madoka definitely stands as one of the strongest magical girl anime especially in the realm of... psychological horror I'd say? Everything is so purposeful, as you said, there isn't a single moment wasted in dialogue or even pauses because they're letting a feeling marinate and it hits you very hard. I love madoka magica I'm glad you do too now
I've never watched Madoka but know it's dark as fuck just not in what way or why. Just never had time to watch it while somehow managing to avoid getting too many spoilers as well
After watching angels beats, i thought that will be the anime will saddened me but Puella magi madoka magica decide show up and traumatised me. Especially the movie, this will not be move from most scary and sad anime for a long time 😢 but there no mascot i dislike more then kyuubey 😡
People like to hate a lot on the side story magia record and thats bc yes its definitely worse story wise from the og version, but still if you really like the world, its mechanics and the witches and mystery aspects I still think its a pretty good watch so don't get too scared off from the MAL rating, people just wanted it to be something it is not Also ey atleast the story in the magireco anime is better then the version in the game lmaoo
12:20, we know that homura had reset the time around *100* times, she passed *12* years in the loops, she was 14, at the end she had 26 years old in her head
hearing you talk about lucy and the omnipresent goddess concept reminded me a lot of serial experiments lain!! it’s another short anime, but very similar to madoka and evangelion! also, would love to see a video about the third movie! that film destroyed me
The best thing for me about Madoka Magica is the "Rewatch," Yeah I said it right, the best thing about this show is "Rewatching" it make you feel like you are watching a brand new show, things that you miss on the first time and a shift in perspective can potentially make your mind be blown away again. I have watched it more than 10x now and recommend you rewatch it again. Also Rebellion, I recommend you rewatch Madoka Magica TV again before watching it, if you haven't done so. Madoka Magica is a 10/10 show for me, but Rebellion makes it a notch greater to 11/10.
Dude this is a great video, you’re really good at just improvising with no script, got some hilarious jokes in, got some really great takes in (I was especially struck by your observation that the show is like a hyper elaborate version of the trolley problem with Kyubey as the one pulling the lever, absolutely brilliant!) Great stuff man! I’ll be looking out for your video on Walpurgusnacht Rising once that has been released!
If you're curious about Urobuchi's other work, I can recommend the visual novel Song of Saya~ Tho be warned, it is VERY fucked up (about a similar level to Berserk imo, if not more so). I recommend the slightly censored steam version unless you're really desensitized to sexual and gruesome stuff. Ps; I'm glad you enjoyed Madoka Magica, it's my favorite anime alongside Erased 💜
Ohh I played song of saya last year and it is one of the most memorable experiences ive had in any media, super super crazy story and one of the best crafted visual novels I’ve ever played
Oh shit you really didn’t know what you were getting into lol. It’s so good. Ya know one thing that’s pretty cool to me is that even though it’s over 10 years old, well loved and watched, yet it’s spoilers haven’t been splattered all over the place. I think it’s because everyone holds that plot twist and that moment in episode 3 where everything changes in such high regard. It’s cherished I think. I remember I was very drunk when I watched it and the next day I woke up and knew something was wrong, that something fucked up jad happened but I was sorta black out and didn’t know exactly what had happened. I do remember my mouth falling open though haha.
You Gotta fix your audio man. Too much high-frequency stuff, it's kind of annoying to listen to on high-end headphones. Anyway, I actually went and watched the original sailor moon after seeing Madoka Magica and it's actually also pretty good. Like, super-cheap animation or whatever but it's actually pretty funny.
as someone who watch madoka as a kid thinking it would be another magical girl actually broke me and make me addicted that i keep rewatching it from time to time even now as an adult lol
Fun fact: Before episode 3 airing the kept secret who the writer is, because he is famous for writing dark story with significant amount of deaths
That’s soooo cool haha
We love Gen the Uro-Butcher
No they didn't. I remember seeing Urobutchi as the writer in the preview before the series aired and going "there's no way this is as innocent as it looks."
It wasn't. Urobuchi himself said he wanted to make a different show, and everyone misinterpreted it as being his first non-violent anime.
This is not true haha. I remember people tweeting him to mock him being like “what is this child’s play” before episode 3. Some people thought he lost his edge and the others were just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
One thing I really love about this show is how each character is unhinged in a way that is completely opposite to how they are portrayed. Mami being a perfect example. She is objectively the strongest and most experienced magical girl from the main cast (before Madoka's constant resets). Everyone relies on Mami and completely trusts her yet the second she learns the truth about magical girls she quickly resorts to insane methods of redemption. This was shown in the main series when she tried to murk the rest of the girls after finding out about witches. You also notice the game of chess Homura plays in her head before introducing herself. I really think after Homura saw how badly Mami reacted she made a conscious choice to avoid her due to the fear of her finding out and potentially killing everyone before Walpurgisnacht. You further see this in the movie rebellion and other spinoffs but I won't spoil that too much.
Magia Record is like another timeline in the Madoka Magica universe which is a series with 1 or 2 short seasons i think, centred around other magical girls and their lives as a whole and we meet the original 5 (Mami, Kyoko, Madoka, Sayaka and Homura) in certain episodes too. It's not as revolutionary as Madoka magica itself but i love their character interactions (especially between the 2 main characters) and the world building that Madoka magika didn't have time to discover.
You really should watch the third movie, Rebellion! Opinions on that are pretty devisive, but it makes more sense for it to end like this.
The series isn't fully concluded without that, and it's just absolutely stunningly animated - Please give it a watch with an open mind~
There is an analysis video called "Homura was never a good person", that makes a point on how important it is for the series.
You know about her alternate timelines and all, and have a story this time with her as the main character in rebellion.
I really really recommend it~ Even if you just want to see more of the characters
one anime that TRUE madoka magica NEEDS to watch is Hidamari Sketch, you Madoka fans needs to know this series, is the reason why Madoka Magica existed in the first place. And Madoka Magica is really a dark twist to Hidamari Sketch, just imagine the magical girl character that was on the yukata Hiro gave to Miyako in episode 2 season 1 of Hidamari Sketch was a legit anime. A lot of the rumors, about Yamabuki High School, and Hidamari Apartments became the witches, and rumors of Madoka Magica, and Magia Record. and those who hadn't watch Madoka Magica, I suggest you watch Hidamari Sketch before watching Madoka to properly understand a lot more about Madoka Magica than watching other magical girl anime, and how similar these two series are in many ways.
And it is a regular magical girl show... For 2 1/2 episodes. And then it starts.
I hope you've watched the movie by now. It's really excellent.
You need to watch the sequel movie!
I’ve always wanted to write an essay about madoka, there’s just so much to decipher and so many interesting themes and references. The price of miracles, the value of human life, truth vs ideals etc
the references to literature like Faust, the nutcracker, the Bible and more. It’s addicting to keep learning about it 😭 all from just 12 episodes. And the movie is a gold mine in itself
Oh yes I can totally see someone dissecting and analyzing the HELL out of this series and figuring out soooo many themes and little things!
I watched the series with my sister today thinking we would only watch a few episodes….we ended up watching the whole thing. We got hooked on it and it was amazing. Easily now in my list of favorite anime ever.
@@SpunkReviews Homera is romanticly in love with Madoka however Madoka being the innocent little girl she is still thinks only of platonic love and has not gotten to the point she is ready for romantic love yet so is entirely unaware of what Homera is feeling
Clearandsweet did a long ass series where he dove deep into every episode a few years ago. I think the whole thing totals to around fifteen hours worth of content and I definitely recommend it. There’s also a book by Jed A. Blue that critically examines the series that’s worth checking out.
@@mugiikari1641There was also a book written by Brian McAfee called Revelations, which looked at both the series and Rebellion.
After Movie 3 "Rebellion" (continuing the main story, even if it doesn't seem like it at first maybe), there is a 4th Movie coming out eventually. This was already teased and such as a continuation after "Rebellion", and I'm ready for it ;)
Top 3 anime for me are Higurashi, Steins;Gate and Madoka, guess I'm a sucker for dark time travel stories with a lot of drama and pain in them... as long as all ends well, amirite? ...
Oh wow you like being hurt huh LOL.
Didn’t know about movie 4 that’s awesome!!
I was about to type a similar comment until I saw your comment.
Couldn't have said it better, especially the part of Higurashi, Steins;Gate, and Madoka being top 3 personally.
I tend to love darker psychological anime with elements of time travel.
Person with class I see 😎
Higurashi for sure. Good to see another person with good taste. Umineko for the visual novel lovers
Get you on Re:Zero, mate.
I recommend checking out Claymore.. It doesn't have time travel but definitely has lots of pain and drama with a good ending. And imo has a bunch of similarities to Madoka Magica but somehow even darker
Fun Fact: The phenomenon that Kyubey is trying to prevent is an actual real life thing. It’s called the “heat death“ of the universe. Basically, every closed system (our universe included) strives to maximize entropy, it’s the driving force behind pretty much everything. Every chemical reaction that occurs does so only because it increases the overall entropy in the universe. This of course means that once that point of maximum entropy is reached, nothing will ever happen anymore because everything is in its „ideal“ state. There just won’t be a reason for things to keep happening. It also means that the heat death will only occur once every reaction that can possibly happen has happened. It’s kind of like the universe dying of old age.
Tl;dr Kyubey proudly proclaims he is saving a person‘s life and completely omits the fact that he’s basically just slapping some life support on a 90 years old who already lived out their life.
Welcome to the fandom. This show will stick with you for decades. 😂
The trap is that even if a magical girl never lears the truth of her existence, or never comes to regret her wish, eventually she will run out of energy. The witches she battles don't provide enough grief seed energy to cleanse her soul gem, and if she lets familiars turn into witches as Kyoko does, the guilt over letting people die will eventually lead to despair.
Kyubey stacks the deck, however, by granting wishes that are bound to go astray, and cutting the girls off from each other as a potential suppprt system. The girls fall into despair as they realize there is no escape and become witches
Ahahaha~
True, it's still stuck in my head after a decade as the dark mahoushoujo that I ever saw.
After Madoka, I don't have a heart to watching another dark mahoushoujo anymore. And I think this is a right choice for my sanity. 😅😅😅
@@kuroyuri04somehow, only Madoka Magica so far is a dark magical girl done right. Idk if the genre actually has some goods now that it's been a decade since rebellion though so there's that.
Another insidious way the deck is stacked against them is by granting them a wish to start it all. Set them on the highest pedestal possible so that everything sucks in comparison. Genius... Evil Genius, the best kind.
5:10 That music you’re referring to is I believe Credens Justitiam and it actually is Mami’s theme! It’s got a very hopeful feeling which is very sad honestly once you know what happens to her :(
Aw man that’s so cool that it’s her theme I could have sworn I heard it somewhere else haha. But yeah really cool theme and it fits her well :)
Dude your recap of events was the funniest thing I have ever heard
"When their soul gems fill up with too much...witch juice I guess," had me laughing out loud alone in my apartment.
Also
"The energy source for the universe - which is little girls ... For some reason," is SO hilarious to me
Great video. Sounds like someone who just watched the entire anime and is fumbling trying to explain what happened ahahah
Totally me, to my brother after I finished it the first time, so no worries I think we've all been there! ♥️
Super endearing, hope you make more vids!
HAHA YES THATS EXACTLY IT! I literally had JUST got done with the anime and I wanted to come on here and just ramble about it because I absolutely adored it. In no way is this video/channel supposed to be like a super smart analytical view on these shows bc I’m not that smart :0 LOL but I do like to talk about the things I love. Thank you for watching and I really appreciate the support!!
A pity you didn't make your first Madoka experience into a reaction series -- it would have been a wonderful way to start a new channel!
That sounds like fun! If i can figure out how to set up something like that I can do it for future series or maybe even the movie!
@@SpunkReviews you can just record yourself watching what ever show and use some parts when you review the series etc
It would need headphones warnings
@rush9800 the thing is you have to deal with working around copyright
I watched Madoka Magica as it came out in 2011 because of Yuki Kajiura. I wasn't a fan of Mahou Shoujo anime, but have loved her Music ever since Noir, Madlax and El Cazador, and would always watched anime where she was the composer. So I gave Madoka a chance and I was blown away by the music, at first.
I remember while watching episode 3, thinking that Mami was setting a lot of death flags, but since it was a Magical Girl anime, it would be fine. Boy, was I wrong
A few notes about the series
All the girls have their own musical theme, and they're all in the common 4/4 time, except for Homura, which is in 3/4 and consists of 2 eight notes followed by a half note. Her theme is literally in a different time and looped.
All girls represent a stage of grief:
Mami is Denial
Sayaka is Depression
Kyoko is Anger
Homura is Bargaining
Madoka is Acceptance
Speaking of Grief, at the end of each of Homura's timelines that we get to see, she also goes through each stage of grief. First bargaining,, then anger, then depression, then denial and finally acceptance
Kyubey says a play on words at the end of episode 8. Basically the first and last Kanji of Mahou Shoujo (Magical Girl) form the word Majou, which means Witch. So from their beginning to their end, they're destined to become witches.
In the conversation that Madoka has with Homura where she asks her to help Sayaka, Homura mentions how Mami died, while taking the cap off her coffee cup. Resembling how Mami died by having her figuratively own cap taken off.
Afterwards, Madoka tells Homura that she will always remember Mami to which Homura replies that Mami is lucky in that way. Madoka then says that she will also remember Homura for saving them, but in fact, she has forgotten Homura many times already.
2023 and there´s still ppl that skip the sequel movie. Yeah, the first two movies is basically a compilation from the anime, but the third movie (Rebellion Story/Hamgyaku no Monogatari) is a direct sequel. And well they announced another sequel movie 2 years ago soooooooooo yeah, watch Rebellion Story too
Yes yes def on my watch list!
Just a question to think about,
What if the incubators named kyubei are just office workers of their society and the actual villains were the incubators that developed a System for harnessing emotional energy on purpose. Because the very concept is a form of emotional abuse and all the incubators care about is an energy farm if for the universe or themselves is uncertain (we dont know their species after all).
It's no wonder they never feel any empathy towards others
Sure, but that don't add anything for the story or themes, so that type of speculation is just.. Fruitless. It's like the Star Wars fandom obsession with irrelevant details.
@@MiloKuroshiro I'm not trying to add something to the source material thou? Maybe the example isnt deep enough or thought through, but thats my intention. And i feel like your limiting your imagination. I commented that because it was my thoughts on the first watch through, to add to the conversation.
common Spunk W glad you enjoyed!!!
btw also for how long Homura had been looping she had been looping for 12 years to save Madoka
W TRISTAN MOMENT! (This video wouldn’t exist without you!!)
HOLY 12 YEARS?? I UNDERESTIMATED
figured she was somewhere in her twenties. with the amount of skills she picked up and from where she started.
One thing I like about Kyubey is that he even said that no girl throughout the ages asked about the "terms of service" so to speak. They all willy nilly said "yes" to their wish.
Madoka is really the only one we see actually think about her choices and options
Aliens go around exploiting emotionally vulnerable teenage girls. Not a surprise they don't ask questions.
There were indeed magical girls who asked about 'terms of service', Nagisa for example. Kyubey just weaseled out of the questions like a well-olied politician.
and Queen Isabeau. She literally asked everything until she decided her wish would be to have everything Kyubey has.
@@loxem2668
^This! Kyubei uses lying by omission when girls don't ask about the terms of service, and those that do get gas-lit into taking up the contract anyway... 0_0
Kyuubey was lying by omission and also take advantage of kids in desesperated situations.
Homura is such an interesting character, and the whole hope vs despair symbolizes so much about life itself and what people are ready to fight for
Regarding Kyuubey - despite what he says, he can definitely be called a villain.
He is manipulative and will stop at nothing to achieve his goal, which might not be as noble as he states.
For example, he lies about not lying - he says to Madoka that humans are one day destined to join Incubators in space.
But after Valpurgis Night (last boss) witch is defeated, and Madoka becomes witch herself, he says "Earth is gonna be destroyed in couple of days, and we gathered enough energy. Now Earth being destroyed is humanity's problem, we are out of here".
Due to him lying about this, I do no see why he cannot lie about other things - like energy being required for some other thing, not as noble as "saving Universe".
the thing about kyuubey is, he doesn't need to do all the manipulating and gaslighting and torturing. he could go up to a suitable girl and say: i can grant you a wish. you can save someone. you will then become a magical girl, and save more people. it will have a cost, and will kill you, but even in that act of dying you will continue to save more people. and he would find plenty of girls who said YES.
that kyuubey is working to prevent the heat-death of the universe is not a bad thing.
but kyuubey chooses to use gaslighting, and manipulation, and torture, and endless lies to achieve this goal. he is a masterful depiction of an abuser. and that's why kyuubey is evil.
@@mrsdissThe thing that confuses people is he is like someone with anti-social disorder. He doesn't understand his ways are harmful because it leads to a greater good and he has good intentions at the end of the day. So can you tell someone is evil if they are trying to make things for greater good or someone is evil because they are not capable of understanding? I'd say no, he is not evil but his decent behaviors arent decent too i wont say its good too.
Urobuchi said he's like a lovecraftian being
Not excusing his behaviour
Though funnily enough According to urobuchi he has no gender
@@mrsdisskyubey doesn't understand human emotions
Urobuchi noted this
Always does my heart good to see new people get hooked on Madoka Magica. It's a great show that deserves it.
Now we just need to see what you think about the third movie >:3
Yesss I’m very excited!!
Fun story, acording to the creator, _Sayaka_ is the main character of the show, not Madoka.
Which kinda makes sense, doesn't it? From episode 3 to 9, half the entire show, the story is entirely centered around Sayaka and her grief and actions, and even after her death she's present in the form of being motivation for Madoka. And come the end of Rebellion, you have Sayaka as the last survivor standing against an overwhelming foe.
Where does the Madoka Magica creator state this?
I also would like to know where to read this because I don’t think this is true. I remember reading something that pointed out how western audiences would typically associate someone like Sayaka as the main hero due to stubborn need to throw on the cape and fight the “bad guy” but I’ve never seen her declared as the main character.
Cap madoka is the main character untill you see the rebellion movie where the perspective changes but still resolve around madoka
I think it's about everyone, just madoka is the heart and driving force of the series
Lol nobody cares
Exactly what I also thought on my first watch. The dialogues are so well written and carefully crafted.
Wasted unimportant filler dialogue is one of my pet-peeves in anime because it unnecessarily stretched the duration (I could groan listening to them like "ugh come on get to the point already"--especially if it includes grating obnoxious screaming!) But not in anime like Madoka Magica, Perfect Blue, and Le Portrait de Petit Cossette (another Akiyuki Shinbo's masterpiece imo, also has OSTs by Yuki Kajiura which are mesmerizing). Almost every dialogue *counts* .
Yess!! Makes 12 episodes feel really impactful although they are short. You said it perfectly :) TY for watching!
I understood Kyubey and sided with him until the last timeline where Madoka kills Walpurgisnacht and then turns into Walpurgis2: Electric Boogaloo, and all Kyubey says is "Lol not my problem" Like, no, you little shit, it is.
if you rewatch it, there’s an insane amount of foreshadowing and symbolism :)
Madoka has been my favorite anime since I was 15. I am currently 23. Last month I finally got Homura's soul gem tattoo'd!
Madoka and Made in Abyss are my top favorite animes. Madoka came to me in a time of burnout and depression, and it helped me carry on. It will forever be dear to me.
It makes me happy people are still enjoying it, rediscovering it, or even watching it for the first time and recognizing its amazingness despites it being from 2011.
Small bit of trivia: the last 2 episodes were delayed because of the Tsunami that happened in Japan. Fans who were used to one episode being launched once per week had to wait a while after episode 10 before getting to see the ending of it.
I really hope that in the new upcoming movie, Madoka and Homura get their happy ending like they deserve :(
They probably won't have a happy ending, the closest thing we got to it is the Japan Only Magia Record Game Version where a version of Madoka and Homura still exists and living happily but our Madoka and Homura doesn't get that happy ending
I hope they will resolve the story and uncover all of the mysteries and all subjects including Kyubei's heat death of universe theory finally get's explained in fact Kyubei and the girls need expanding on and a final conclusion
@@baikaachyuplays5097 I do think Magia record is just a side story or what happened during Homura's redoing of the time line before the main series.
@@BlazeMaster there are two versions, one is the game the second is anime, the game ver and anime ver are different. In the game they clearly state that the magi reco universe is different to the main anime Universe. You think that is because you have only seen the magi reco anime Universe when it is different from the game one. One of these Homura continues her timeloop in anime but not in the game, another is that in the game they defeat Walpurgisnacht with the help of Madokami, the biggest difference is that in the game arc 1 end no one dies. However in the anime there's Momoko, Mifuyu, the Magius that dies
Do they?
Absolutely insane that you never once saw the spoiler for ep3, its so infamous that its near impossible for someone to go in actually blind
I will also say, i watched this show back in 2013 i think? And ten years later, watching it again with my boyfriend, its just as good if not better, the depth the details the subtleties and the not-so subtleties lol. Ive thought about this show all the time and i was still realizing new things about it often. Sighhh truly a masterpiece
"I didn't get romance vibes"
Just wait 'til you get to Rebellion my guy. 😏
That's not why they become witches. They turn into witches when enough of their own negative emotions (the process of their wish turning into a curse) corrupts their soul gem. They use grief seeds to cleans that curse from their soul gem so they can keep fighting. But no matter what, eventually, it won't be enough and the curse forms anyway, thus turning them into witches.
This show literally changed a dress up game I was playing online when it aired. I also "recently" watched it (2 years ago now) and it was mind blowing. Wait till you see what happens next. Rebellion is an amazing truly amazing follow up.
Seeing how much you enjoyed Madoka Magica is absolutely amazing, however, with that in mind I *implore* you to watch Princess Tutu. It's a 26 episode magical girl anime from the early 2000's (2002 specifically).
This anime is absolutely amazing. Not only do all of the characters and the environment feel truly alive, but, the mid-point and the final climax of the series is absolutely flawless. It does so well to set up the characters, their ambitions and everything else. Then episode 12-13?? Well lets just say it's not what you're going to expect.
Princess Tutu is the epitome of "Let them cook", because I promise you, the meal you will be served is fucking SCRUMPTIOUS.
Madoka Magicka is a show I recommend anyone who finished watching to rewatch. The art is so much more important, as the scene is always using visual storytelling for the witches. It’s a whole different experience to see the witches, knowing what they used to be, and recognizing the labyrinth is designed to be symbolic of the magical girl who it came from. Some of them are exceptionally sad, with themes closer to an elementary school girls toy box than our usual middle schoolers we meet on screen. There are video essays breaking down each witch, who they likely were (using other shows and games as well for more characters and such), and what they liked and wished for
"Oh I could give it to you."
"Nah I don't want your lice."
Dude, I am perishing. XD
For how to say Kyubey, I'm going with q-bay because he's one of the Incubator (in-q-bay-tor) race, and that's how it's said in Japanese (キュゥべえ).
Fun video! I also only just got into the series after hearing so many rave about it, but thinking for the longest time it looked like just another magical girl show! Love how the show twists things around.😮😊
It also points out the fact that any extera terrestrial being capable of making contact would have a different morality system to us and would even see us as barbarous simplistic and self obsessed.
Honestly, considering Kyubey's portrayal and what we can learn about him through it, I firmly believe I would do the same thing in his shoes, down to the exact details. That shouldn't be taken to mean that I'm weird, either. Being tasked with saving the universe from running out of energy and lacking emotion, an understanding of human values, and even an understanding of concepts like manipulation and lying, you would be much like Kyubey as well.
What gets me the most about all this is that once you think through all the effects this would have on the way you make decisions, everything Kyubey does makes perfect sense to me. The times he shows up. The times he doesn't. The things he says. _Especially_ the things he doesn't say. In the end... why should you attempt to learn what "manipulation" is if you already have what you want by the time humans start talking about it? Why would you need to tell anything but the facts when the facts will suffice to get your way? Why explain things in details when humans will just ask questions about things they don't understand? Why tell humans about things that will make them upset with you? Why say anything less or more than exactly what you need to get the job done? Why be anything other than ruthless and ruthlessly efficient--setting aside the fact that "ruthless" means nothing to you--when that's precisely what you need to be?
Kyubey isn't evil. Not because he lacks a concept of evil, but because the only times ethics actually factor into his decisions is when it _benefits_ humans. But that doesn't mean that what he _does_ isn't evil. Then again... why care about whatever "evil" might mean if it's not in your job description? Humans say the path to hell is paved with good intentions, but if it's not _your_ hell, there's no reason to let anything stop you from paving it, let alone learn what "hell" is in the first place.
It's an alien and disturbing mindset, but once it clicks, once you learn to see the world the way Kyubey does, it's very nearly a thing of beauty. Only very nearly, because in the state of mind where such a horrifying thing would actually be beautiful, words like "beauty" cease to have any meaning at all.
I found madoka magica because I remember an anime that was also about magical girls and witches and that had Kyubey in it. The anime I recall ends with the protagonists on top of a tower they regularly used to meet, promising to find a way to stop what's happening. I'm pretty sure it's older than madoka magica. I've never been able to find that show again, and I don't remember the name. Still glad I found this instead though.
I think You are refering to "Magic knight rayearht". Is a shojo manga/anime made by Clamp, the creators of card captor Sakura and XXX holic
Spoiler Warning
Read this comment after you watched Rebellion
Also Homura is a Lesbian
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To explain what happened
The Universe is rewriten again by Homura but this time she incased the universe inside her labyrinth and split Madokami in half, the Human half is Madoka while the God half remains as the Law of Cycles, also stated in a trailer for Walpurgisnacht rising(Movie 4), lots of dead cats (Probably Incubators) popped up and as we hear from Homura "To handle all the curses that have spread around our world, you Incubators are now necessary for us. So you'll be staying to help......Incubator." And at the end of the movie we see an injured Incubator. Coincidence I think not, The Incubators are probably burdened to deal with the world's curses because wraiths are still a thing
Ep 1: Normal school girl
Ep 12: *Literal fucking goddess*
There's lots of people telling to watch Rebellion (and you should), but I'd like to add there's a spin off series called Magia Record you should also watch, is its own thing and kind of expands more the world building, plus its situates in a different timeline to the one in this show so you get to see Mami in action again (not much, but it's something)!
- Kyubey in the English dub is pronounced as "Kyubey." Not "Kyubee."
- A girl is the younger version of a woman. You know how a witch could be called a magical woman? Similarly, then the younger version is called a magical girl, right? It's only fair to assume that when a magical girl becomes an adult, they grow into a witch.
There is a manga that takes place between the ending of this series and the beginning of Rebellion. The movie doesn’t tell you this so you might want to read that before diving into the movie.
Oh boi just wait till you watch the movies and side series btw highly recommend the dub it's pretty good
Tbh Homura is the real main character of the series, Madoka would’ve never had the potential she did unless Homura spent centuries looping time solely to save Madoka
0:03 HE SAID MA-TOCCA?! WTH
“This middle school girl I really really liked”
*running sounds*
“THERE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN A SLIGHT MISUNDERSTANDING”
NOT LIKE THAT AAAAA 😭😭😭
I had been familiar with it for a few years from my sister but I never got around to watch it until january
There's so much depth and smart writing that's it's my absolute favorite show of all time along with mob psycho
It's the first thing that I felt leave a powerful impact after watching
I really wana meet the magical girl who wished for a giant chicken
its quate amazing, bc 3:33 in the night is considered literaly the WITCHITCHING HOUR and you started around 3:30+
ironic? funny? foreshadowing
HAHA that’s awesome! I guess it was meant to be
I'm excited to see ur next video on rebellion LMAO
I LOVE MADOKA MAGICA SO MUCH AAAAA!!!!
AHHHH!!!!
i love seeing people's reactions to madoka, so far this year i've forced 4 (soon to be 5) of my friends to watch it with me, idk if i'm just obsessed but to me it has basically infinite rewatch value, all the characters are so well crafted (my favorite character is sayaka by a lot but I love all of the girls, they're my babies) and the literary parallels work so well, fleshing out the characters without just making them a shallow reference (madoka and homura's relationship in the series is loosely based off that of Faust and Gretchen (which just so happens to be the name of madoka's witch form from episodes 10 and 12) in the first act of Goethe's Faust while Sayaka's story references the original Little Marmaid written by Andersen)
also since you said that mami was your favorite character I'd recommend you the spin off manga "puella magi madoka magica: the different story" it's partially an adaptation of a prequel drama cd that released with the original japanese blurays of the series and partially an alternate timeline retelling of the story (it loses a bit of its charm after it gets into the parallel timeline stuff because it kinda has to end with walpurgisnacht killing everyone and homura resetting the timeline but it's still a good read)
Im so glad people are talking about madoka again ❤️ literally one of my first and favourite anime of all time :))))
It really is such a wonderful series!!
WATCH THE FILM BOYYYYY, the fourth film which is the final for the series is coming out in....some years, but rebellion movie is honestly a piece of fucking art
The fandom tends to refer to Kyubey as the "cabbit" (cat+rabbit), incidentally.
I love madoka. MY NUMBER ONE FAVORITE! madoka is 100% my favorite :D
But anyway its so funny that a "im not special, but let me try to help you guys🥺🥺" high school girl becomes the biblical god
10:21 "Third party lazered" I'm playing Apex Legends while listening to this, so that made me chuckle lmao well done.
Madoka Magica is one of the best series of all time for sure, with the themes and subthemes just filling the whole of the serie/movies with so much to think, all while telling a tragic story with light tint of horrors, all that in a gendra so out of theme for those (the magical girl gendra) that it just emplify by contrast everything it has to say about the themes. It is to those themes what Code Geass is to character writing, a masterpeice showing how much writing, be it characters, storyline, plots, themes ect, can by itself make any gendra an increadible watch.
Now you juat have to finish the third movie and Magia Record.
And theres the upcoming movie
Bro, I’m totally gonna start saying “my cereal went soggy” when explaining shit to people as a way to explain just how insane it was 😂
“Dude it was so crazy I swear, literally my cereal went soggy, THAT’S how nuts it was” hahah
There are several spin-offs I think you will like, including stuff like Kazumi-Magica and Suzune-Magica, where different girls try to approach the witch transformation problem from different point of views, or Tart-Magica, focusing on past Magical Girls, which are much more friendly towards QB from circumstances.
Orico-Magica is more closer to the original series, where the protagonists tries to manipulate QB in order to stop the worst witch ever (Madoka's witch) to be born.
Oh, there are also many games of Madoka-Magica such as the portable, the battle pentagram, the Magia-Record (the anime ver. of the Magia-Record recommended in the comments is actually a spin-off of the game and has a different ending), all which can help you sink in the depths of the world and help you understand character developments and so on......
Second comment but just to say, you were right the first time when saying “sound design _or_ OST”, they’re actually very much not the same thing OST is all the original music to the show, sound design is basically eeeeeverything else which is original audio, which is for the most part sound effects for anything from the sound Madoka’s duvet makes, to the sound of Homura rewinding time, and everything in between
"I still need to wrap my head around it"
One head joke made, 723 more accidental jokes to go.
Oh yeah, to your reference Homura jumped 100+ timelines. At least the director said it during an interview.
... Guess I should say something else too.
The reason why Homura didn't forget Madoka after episode 12 is because of interesting problems that happened after her wish. Because the entire universe got rewritten everyone unbecame a magical girl. So Homura basically got another wish, which was 'I never want to forget her'.
This is also why she lost her time hopping power (or maybe just because Madoka thought I don't want her to have any thoughts not like she would), and got replaced with this cool black bow with memory manipulation.
By the way, if you watch the movie your head might explode because if THIS is how you handle the show then your very not ready.
Awesome video!
Small clarification: Kyubey's job is essentially to extend the time until the heat death of the universe, which happens because all energy in the universe will eventually be equal and stable everywhere. As for why they absolutely needed magical girls, I suppose it's because the process somehow creates energy out of thin air? It does play into the theme of emotion nicely though so I like it
(Also it's kinda funny how you said "healing the universe," cuz technically kyubey is fighting against its natural state haha)
Honestly, a similar thing happened to me when I first watched this series. I started around 1:30-2am and was up until 6 something because I ended up binging the entire series. This show gets you HOOKED. Mami is my favorite character! I really like her characterization.
all of your comments between Homura and Madoka....all I'm saying watch the 3rd movie already if you haven't!
Kyubey isn't pronounced "cue bee", it's "cue bay" as in the middle 2 syllables of incubator.
I watched the subs too and said it in my head wrong until i watched the movie.
Great video. I just finished watching it all myself.
It’s been some years, now after watching some TH-cam stuff about it I definitely have to rewatch. I remember I loved it❤ still do though, hyped again.
If you still want a shonen-magical girl series, watch Symphogears. Season 1 is a bit slow but from season 2-5 its stupidly awsome.
Loved the video! It’s always fun to have new fans brought in. Just curious you said your into light novels and willing to sit through longer media have you read Umineko? It’s a sequel(ish) to higurashi and even though they are very different medias both gave me that satisfactions magical feeling!
Ty for watching!! I actually own all the umineko/higurashi visual novels on steam but I have only played like 3 hours of the umineko question arcs.. :( BUT I’m super super interested in going through the series and potentially making a set of videos where I talk about my thoughts through each chapter hahaha but yes ty for the recommendation I’ve been meaning to get into the “when they cry series” !!
This was my exact experience watching it and now madoka magica controls my life lol
Haha I feel that
See that's what's great about a lot of magical girl anime is that there's an underlying assumption that it's just going to be cutesy with no substance. It almost never is.
But madoka definitely stands as one of the strongest magical girl anime especially in the realm of... psychological horror I'd say? Everything is so purposeful, as you said, there isn't a single moment wasted in dialogue or even pauses because they're letting a feeling marinate and it hits you very hard. I love madoka magica I'm glad you do too now
Are you really friends if you don’t go back in time multiple times giving up your life and sanity in a hopeless mission to possible save them? 🤨
LOL frrrrr me personally, I would give up my life and sanity for a burger
@@SpunkReviews nah Deadasss tho 😂
I've never watched Madoka but know it's dark as fuck just not in what way or why. Just never had time to watch it while somehow managing to avoid getting too many spoilers as well
After watching angels beats, i thought that will be the anime will saddened me but Puella magi madoka magica decide show up and traumatised me. Especially the movie, this will not be move from most scary and sad anime for a long time 😢 but there no mascot i dislike more then kyuubey 😡
I don't consider Madoka Magica as a dark Magical girl anime, but instead as a dark retelling of a manga and anime series called Hidamari Sketch.
“I wonder how Homura’s life is gonna end up”
Spoilers, she becomes Satan lol
Kyubey is obviously a cat-like creature, not dog-like..
this rambling is so funny and i fully feel your enthusiasm
1:28 don't worry man, that was my opinion two weeks ago
But our eyes are opened
People like to hate a lot on the side story magia record and thats bc yes its definitely worse story wise from the og version, but still if you really like the world, its mechanics and the witches and mystery aspects I still think its a pretty good watch so don't get too scared off from the MAL rating, people just wanted it to be something it is not
Also ey atleast the story in the magireco anime is better then the version in the game lmaoo
Another Fact:
Madoka Magica English dub is out now
12:20, we know that homura had reset the time around *100* times, she passed *12* years in the loops, she was 14, at the end she had 26 years old in her head
I watched all madoka in 2024 I'm a new fan but i understand it
Fun fact about Homura she has experience over 200 loops.
hearing you talk about lucy and the omnipresent goddess concept reminded me a lot of serial experiments lain!! it’s another short anime, but very similar to madoka and evangelion! also, would love to see a video about the third movie! that film destroyed me
The best thing for me about Madoka Magica is the "Rewatch," Yeah I said it right, the best thing about this show is "Rewatching" it make you feel like you are watching a brand new show, things that you miss on the first time and a shift in perspective can potentially make your mind be blown away again.
I have watched it more than 10x now and recommend you rewatch it again.
Also Rebellion, I recommend you rewatch Madoka Magica TV again before watching it, if you haven't done so.
Madoka Magica is a 10/10 show for me, but Rebellion makes it a notch greater to 11/10.
Yesss since this video I have watched madoka magica twice with family and friends , as well as rebellion a handful of times too :)
Dude this is a great video, you’re really good at just improvising with no script, got some hilarious jokes in, got some really great takes in (I was especially struck by your observation that the show is like a hyper elaborate version of the trolley problem with Kyubey as the one pulling the lever, absolutely brilliant!)
Great stuff man! I’ll be looking out for your video on Walpurgusnacht Rising once that has been released!
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!! this comment absolutely made my day. thanks for watching and Im really glad you enjoyed it
I always tell anyone that I suggest this to to decide whether or not to finish after episode 3
If you're curious about Urobuchi's other work, I can recommend the visual novel Song of Saya~
Tho be warned, it is VERY fucked up (about a similar level to Berserk imo, if not more so). I recommend the slightly censored steam version unless you're really desensitized to sexual and gruesome stuff.
Ps; I'm glad you enjoyed Madoka Magica, it's my favorite anime alongside Erased 💜
Ohh I played song of saya last year and it is one of the most memorable experiences ive had in any media, super super crazy story and one of the best crafted visual novels I’ve ever played
I watched it all in one day last Friday afternoon
my brother told me that rick and morty is better then madoka, LOL
Oh shit you really didn’t know what you were getting into lol. It’s so good. Ya know one thing that’s pretty cool to me is that even though it’s over 10 years old, well loved and watched, yet it’s spoilers haven’t been splattered all over the place. I think it’s because everyone holds that plot twist and that moment in episode 3 where everything changes in such high regard. It’s cherished I think.
I remember I was very drunk when I watched it and the next day I woke up and knew something was wrong, that something fucked up jad happened but I was sorta black out and didn’t know exactly what had happened. I do remember my mouth falling open though haha.
You Gotta fix your audio man. Too much high-frequency stuff, it's kind of annoying to listen to on high-end headphones. Anyway, I actually went and watched the original sailor moon after seeing Madoka Magica and it's actually also pretty good. Like, super-cheap animation or whatever but it's actually pretty funny.
Ah yes thanks for the heads up, I’ve been tinkering with my audio here and there so I appreciate the feedback
Holy shit I relate to everything said in this video like 100%
I actually cannot wait for the next movie raaahh!!!
as someone who watch madoka as a kid thinking it would be another magical girl actually broke me and make me addicted that i keep rewatching it from time to time even now as an adult lol