What I've gathered is whether Homura's a good or bad person doesn't matter compared to the fact that she IS a person, and the choices she made, good or bad, were made out of her humanity
It's always a releif to see someone else understand the toxic nature of Madoka and Homura's love. The shippers hate me for it but Homura has to let Madoka become Self-Actualised and Madoka needs to stop throwing herself off the dang bridges.
Oh totally, I love madoka magica so much, and I love madoka and homuras love, but they’re also 14 and both went to extremes to save each other, sacrificing themselves without even asking if that’s what the other wanted, because they’re young and stoopid, but they’re *my* young and stoopid damnit 😂
I don't think i've met anyone who thinks their love is healthy, it is pure doom but it is there none the less. I personally think the 4th movie is gonna end up with Madoka dead in a way that is unchangeable and permanent, and Homura has to live on with the consequences of her actions. Or its gonna be a bs cashgrab 2 parter
@@onionarmpit do not go to the madoka subreddit lmao, you'll literally get put on a list if you say "Homura did everything wrong" and that her relationship with Madoka is not leading up to a happy ending 😂
Madoka was one of the first anime that introduced me to he world of magical girls. As a result, unlike every other magical girl veteran viewer, some scenes didn't hit for me as much (like Mami's death and the twist that magical girls become witches). And yet, the franchise pulled me in because of Madoka. Like Madoka, I love my family, but unlike her, I lack any friends (at least close ones). Seeing a girl as pure as Madoka sacrificing herself for the sake of the world, people she knows, people she doesn't know, people she loves, and maybe even people she hates, resonates with me. Madoka was my template for what I like in a magical girl: heroism, kindness, humility, humor, and love. And even if one becomes selfish at some point, Madoka really does show that a good deed can outdo all the wrong ones. This is also the reason why I (to some extent) despise Homura and hope she doesn't succeed in her rebellion against the law of cycles and Madoka's sacrifice. She's going up against everything I admire. Those are just my thoughts. I really enjoyed the video and seeing Madoka through someone else's perspective!
@enanomi I dont think they mean that at all, when looking at Rebellion one realizes that Madoka is very much not acting like herself in the end, it shows that despite being technically "happy" homura has even if unintentionally warped her personality to fit her view of madoka, madoka isnt human anymore shes both god and girl and her godly half is very much unhappy being appart from her, I believe homura isnt evil for what she did but I also believe Homura knew what she was doing wasn't good either
Homura is so damn tragic like I genuinely understand why she went so crazy in rebellion but what homura wants and what madoka wants fundamentally will never align with each other. Universally they are literally destined to not be together and I genuinely hope homura finds something to live for in herself and not madoka
3:43 also this part when you consider Mami as "mother" it got me flashbacks of Bebe because Bebe means "baby" in French I think. Mami and Bebe... Mommy and baby...
I love Madoka Magica ^^ It really surprised me on how it showed the darker side of what a magical girl could be ^^ Madoka, Mami & Homora are my favourite characters and what made the anime for me ^^ Great video as always ^^
I really love this series, I personally felt like Homura wanted Madoka to live for herself and experience her own joy instead of always worrying about others. I definitely feel like Homura is more interested in her own view of what Madoka wants than actually what Madoka wants but at the same time, she can't really ask Madoka if she's happy or what she wants since Madoka is so distant in the Rebellion movie. Homura spent a lot of time trying to save Madoka too, close to 100 timelines just living in a loop, her whole life, all she's wanted is to protect Madoka and she definitely doesn't see Madoka as someone who's capable of looking out for her own interests. I believe there's some reasons for her to feel that way after spending more time with Madoka(albeit more and more distantly each time) than she's actually lived. She doesn't have the ability to step back and see the way things could change in each timeline because she's seen the same thing happen so many times. Homura has known Madoka's regrets and weaknesses so deeply and each time she failed probably took something out of her emotionally to a point of severe damage. I really hope in the upcoming movie that Madoka and Homura can talk and Madoka can prove that she doesn't need to be taken care of anymore so Homura can let her go. I want them both to be happy and find resolution. I don't want witches to begin existing in universe again.
Madoka's struggle to act selfishly is something the series brings up. But Homura is also being quite selfish by limiting Madoka's freedom. It's a great recipe for tension
The way you described how Homura keeps Madoka from growing was never something I thought about after watching the show. I thought that it was more something like a refusal to let madoka disappear or become a Witch, but those are in fact the same thing. Madoka is like a domesticated bird that wants to fly, but Homura keeps the bird caged because she knows that if the bird flies, it would probably not survive in the wild.
I dont think Homura is selfish in that she wants Madoka to keep depending on her, i think she just genuinely believes Madoka, her version Madoka, needs saving. In rebellion the law of cycles has forgotten about her godhood so when they talk in the feild of lillies, it really is Madoka talking to Homura, who is already aware that this is her labyrinth. Madoka tells Homura that there is no way she'd ever go alone to somewhere no one else can see her again because she's so wimpy, Homura took that as Madoka admitting that becoming Madokami was scary and made her very sad. Madokami the God is able to recognise that her existence/ non existence is for the better of all magical girls, but Madoka the human girl still just wants to be with her friends and family and is hurting deeply, the two beings still exist together clearly as otherwise Homura wouldn't of been able to rip them apart. Madoka's wish is objectively very selfless yes, but also very selfish, Madoka has consistently shown her own low self-esteem at the beginning of the series, she talks frequently about being nothing special and doubting if she is even worthy to be a magical girl, saving other people and making a difference on others is the only way she believes she can have value. She loves her friends and family, and wants them to be happy ofc, but she also believes they can be happy without her, undervaluing how much she means to them and hence disrespecting them, homura isn't the only one who remembered her, her little brother did too in someway which just showed the impact she had despite erasing herself. Her wish was very selfish to her loved ones, but benevolent to everyone else. I think Homura is the polar opposite, completely selfish to everyone else by ripping Madokami apart despite how much she's helped the world, but very selfless to the only one she loves and cares for. Personally i think Homura is the only one who sees Madoka, I think if Madoka had said anything to indicate that she was truly content with her descision in their conversation, then Homura would've let go and let Madokami take her away. Despite being this mature and mysterious character at the start and madoka being very childish and innocent, i think as things are now they've switched roles; Madoka is the mature one who sees that this is the way things have to be for the greater good who wants to grow and embraces suffering, Homura is the childish one who will stop at nothing to get what she wants who wanst things to stay the same and will go through suffering just to avoid it.
This is my last comment I swear, but the reason why Madoka is my favorite fictional character of all time is because I think Madoka represents survivors guilt. Throughout the Madoka's been desperate in need to help her friends as she watches everyone fighting for their lives as magical girls. She saw mami died, she saw the truth of soul gems, she got to witness syaak break down, realizing that she just an empty shell, seeing sayaka as a witch. Knowing that Homura has spend decades of years trying to save Madoka, and the end of the world that Madoka saw in her dream. Madoka is willing to do anything to help her friends and during these events, she was scared, not doing what to do. She wanted to be a magical girl but Homura would stop her everytime. When Homies gave up and admits defeat, madoka come in to help her and to put a stop to this once and for all. When kyubey offer her a wish, mami told her to treat herself with eh wish bu madoka doesn't know what to wish on. When madoka saw Kyoko and sayaka fighting, madoka's was quick to make a wish sign sh wanted to stop the two from fighting but now since homura'a down and there's nobody left to fight, madoka makes the wish to erase all witches so that not just her and her friends, but every magical girl from the past, present and future won't have to suffer from despair every again. I can't explain madoka's character arc as much as you did but I just wanted to share what I felt about madoka and why she my all time favorite.
genuinely one of the best madoka magica analyses…if not the best one ive ever seen.. i always see people over complicate the show or misrepresent the show by fixating on minor details without looking at the show as a whole. Genuinely an amazing watch thank you for making this
Having been on the ground floor when Madoka released, instead following the studio SHAFT arthouse X Gen Urobutcher despair, it's at least a little neat to still see essays out there that can give further insight in Madoka after more than decade. While "MADOKA DECONSTRUCTS MAGICAL GIRLS" has become it's own stagnation as a perverse admiration, having seen more than a couple of Gen Urobuchi's interviews on "needing to reintroduce 'poison' for children's entertainment to teach them of the world", i.e. mirroring the "Either you die a Magical Girl or live long enough to become a Witch" conundrum. I see Madoka in continuity more with Gen's themes than within Magical Girl's genre ethos; Partially since up to that point, beyond random episodes of CardCaptors on cable, the only Magical Girl show I'd watched to completion by then was amusingly Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, directed by the OTHER Madoka Showrunner, Akiyuki Shinbo. But also since so much of Gen's "BEING MEGUCA IS SUFFERING" is an extension of "BEING A HERO OF JUSTICE/SEIGI NO MIKATA IS SUFFERING" (worth noting that Sayaka's theme is literally titled Hero of Justice etc..). Although it is more so that the direness and despair exentuate "truly pure heroism", in one of his quotes: "The Darkness is there so that they can shine" -Interview 2013 in Kamen Rider Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki retrospective. Still, I actually deeply enjoyed the emphasis that even within despair that "the bonds of connection are our salvation", in Mami's respite from loneliness, Kyouko's last act of mercy for Sayaka, and paradoxically twisted where Madoka's ultimate Self-Sacrifice contrasts Homura's selfish rebuke with a "gift of immortality", ironically that their love for each other is incompatible in understanding each other. Actually it's that theme of Bonds and Connection that winds up being a major theme in Magia Record, and as one of the maybe 20 people who actually watched the whole spin-off anime, I'm also one of the maybe 3 people who actually enjoyed the bittersweet conclusion. In extension and it's own conversation of Magia Record > OG, it further pushes a "Sacrifice to end all Suffering", in incredible directions, in Tragedy, but also selflessness, and even in truth that being Heroic itself breaks the ability to understand those who are "less heroic". But to continue back to the Video and OG's point, the Salvation of Bonds manifests quite literally through Connection, but rather than extend and falsely prolong despair via Doppel system (basically soft-Witchdom if you vent your despair, with unknown side-effects), the conclusion that it is in Sharing the Burden of being Magical Girls that saves. In more eloquent terms, while so many memes of Gen and Madoka being "Being Meguca is suffering" and along side Rebellion's cliff-hanger downer, Magia Record dares to respond that even through an inevitable tragedy, because all these Magical Girls can share the burden, that it ISN'T a mistake to become a Magical Girl for the connection of others.
I loved reading this comment. I found Madoka while binging other magical girl shows and while I recognized its darkness, I do think its aesthetic stuck with me more than anything. As an adult, it was fun to see what still held up and what I could've missed. I should check out Nanoha.
@@cureice Will disclose even as a big fan, that Nanoha did pioneer the late-night side of Magical Girls meaning some sketchy otaku fanservice (nothing on Kill La Kill levels but it is worth noting) but also had hard-hitting hero drama that I haven't seen replicated even from later shows. It's still definitely worth checking out, especially in having the major sapphic ship build throughout the main Nanoha stories and while it's mostly been a collab/merch well until this year, I found the right level of "Connecting with your adversaries with both force and kindness" lead all the way into it's last double feature movies of Reflection-Detonation And even still, both Nana Mizuki's big role in Nanoha, and Aoi Yuki in Madoka do later lead to Symphogear which is very much in the same lineage (can't wait for the same team to be working on Princession Orchestra in April)
Sailor Moon was my first magical girl series to give me interested in the franchise of magical girls and to be honest I always wanted to be a magical girl when I was little I would always imagine myself and my cute magical girl outfit with my companion by my side with my friends, also being magical girls I always love that child like wonder and that’s why I will always love magical girl shows because of how interesting and how heartwarming or how tragic the series can be and the ones that made me feel comfort like precure and Tokyo new new and my all-time favorite that you probably never heard of Soushin shoujo matoi or matoi the sacred slayer which is something that I will always run back to when I need something to watch
I don't think that most of these sacrifices are intended to be worthwhile. I think that the underlying theme is that only with labor can the wish be worthwhile.
This was a wonderful video essay! I always love hearing people talk about this show cause there is always something interesting someone has to say about it.
Im a big fan of seeing someone re-examine the original precipice of the series and subsequent franchise. With the release of side stories, games, manga, anime, etc. I feel like many of the main themes of the original anime were beginning to be a bit forgotten. Instead choosing to delve further into nitty-gritty lore details. Overall I enjoy that you're willing to focus on what the show was trying to talk about. A look at humanity, connection and care.
Magical girls becoming witches to me was such a poignant message to me, bc how could girls go through such a cruel world and not feel fury. They become witches bc what powerful magical woman wouldn’t retaliate against a world that put them through so much
I’m gonna edit this as I watch through this: I don’t really agree with the idea that homura wasn’t happy in her world because she couldn’t protect madoka. She wasn’t happy in her world because she started to realize things weren’t right; nightmares weren’t the enemies magical girls fought against it was wraiths and when Homura and Kyoko try to leave mitakihara city they can’t. Very importantly, Homura originally doesn’t like the new world because she sees it as a world that defiles Madoka’s original wish, a wish that made it so homura wasn’t able to protect her anymore. Also, I disagree big time with the idea that homura split madoka off from the law of cycles so have a version of her she could protect. Homura, while putting up a facade, was clearly unhappy with what she did and probably resents herself deeply as seen with her Clara dolls throwing tomatoes at her. She says herself that she knows that one day Madoka will become her “enemy” but that she doesn’t care and that she’ll keep wishing for a world where Madoka can just be happy. Which she wasn’t wrong to, there are many little details hinting that Madoka wasn’t happy as a god; in the MadoMagi ending “See You Tomorrow”, many of the lyrics are implied to be from Madoka’s perspective as a god, putting on a brave face even as she misses all her family and friends. And while Madoka, Sayaka, Mami, Kyoko, and Nagisa are all seen having fun with each other or their families at the end of the movie, Homura’s alone. With no one else but Kyubey there with her. Speaking of Kyubey, something to note about Kyubey’s involvement in the movie is that his whole plan was luring out Madoka using Homura so he could control her, and he almost succeeds in doing so if it weren’t for what Homura did; which hints to the idea that Homura probably had no other choice but to split madoka from the law of cycles. Was what Homura did ultimately flawed and maybe even a little selfish, yes. I don’t disagree with that. I just think that Homura’s actions in rebellion have far more complexity to them than her just wanting Madoka’s dependency again. Sorry if I missed anything; I just thought your analysis on Homura was interesting even if I did disagree with it ^^
They should put a warning for new watchers cuz people who watched the show are not this same people they used to be before watching the show.... After watching it... I started constantly thinking about God and wither or not I believe in him 😭
I do think that in the story of both the anime and the movie, they convey very well the theme of Homura alone has achieved adulthood. Not only repeating the loop multiple granted her knowlegde and time to mature the others didn't have enough, she also learned to be selfish as Madoka's mother tells is necessary to grown into adulthood, and Homura is not afraid to break someone else's happy ending for hers, to prolongue her connections, even if she is dissatisfied. It also connects very well with the themes of womenhood, where pursuing your own interests will have you villanized and repreatedly shun for it. At the end of the movie her efforts achieve the closest to her wishes, but not what she needs, and perhaps she is adamantly refusing her needs for she knows that would be her actual end, and Homura embody the refusal to yield.
Madoka: I will perform the greatest act of sacrifice for the good of all magical girls, and in fact the good of all beings, and become a pillar of eternal hope out of love for others (becomes a god and creates a literal heaven) Homura: I am sad about this. I, the Catholic in the group, will BECOME THE DEVIL FROM THE BIBLE and drag you down from your throne so I can ensure that you live a happy life. Madoka: homura I literally don’t want that why are you doing this? Homura, the devil from the Bible: AI YO
10:46 I don't like sayaka but I do love her wittting and her moments that make her realistic. She much better in the Rebillon movie and even with her good writhing, I just can't stand her in the anime. I just don't like how her realistic scenes are executed(aside from the train scene) especially with her interactions with Homura
this isn't some profound new idea youve come across. any actual magical girl fan could've told you this from the numerous references to sailor moon and revolutionary girl utena they have in the show and movie💀
![Sayaka's Motives in Rebellion [Puella Magi Madoka Magica - REBELLION]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FFjCVobHrcA/mqdefault.jpg)
![Sayaka's Motives in Rebellion [Puella Magi Madoka Magica - REBELLION]](/img/tr.png)
What I've gathered is whether Homura's a good or bad person doesn't matter compared to the fact that she IS a person, and the choices she made, good or bad, were made out of her humanity
Yeah, I think the need to find a "good" and "bad" person in their relationship distracts from why they both turned out the way they did
It's always a releif to see someone else understand the toxic nature of Madoka and Homura's love. The shippers hate me for it but Homura has to let Madoka become Self-Actualised and Madoka needs to stop throwing herself off the dang bridges.
Yeah, they're both such extreme versions of selfishness and selflessness.
Oh totally, I love madoka magica so much, and I love madoka and homuras love, but they’re also 14 and both went to extremes to save each other, sacrificing themselves without even asking if that’s what the other wanted, because they’re young and stoopid, but they’re *my* young and stoopid damnit 😂
I don't think i've met anyone who thinks their love is healthy, it is pure doom but it is there none the less. I personally think the 4th movie is gonna end up with Madoka dead in a way that is unchangeable and permanent, and Homura has to live on with the consequences of her actions. Or its gonna be a bs cashgrab 2 parter
@@onionarmpit do not go to the madoka subreddit lmao, you'll literally get put on a list if you say "Homura did everything wrong" and that her relationship with Madoka is not leading up to a happy ending 😂
Madoka was one of the first anime that introduced me to he world of magical girls. As a result, unlike every other magical girl veteran viewer, some scenes didn't hit for me as much (like Mami's death and the twist that magical girls become witches). And yet, the franchise pulled me in because of Madoka. Like Madoka, I love my family, but unlike her, I lack any friends (at least close ones). Seeing a girl as pure as Madoka sacrificing herself for the sake of the world, people she knows, people she doesn't know, people she loves, and maybe even people she hates, resonates with me. Madoka was my template for what I like in a magical girl: heroism, kindness, humility, humor, and love. And even if one becomes selfish at some point, Madoka really does show that a good deed can outdo all the wrong ones. This is also the reason why I (to some extent) despise Homura and hope she doesn't succeed in her rebellion against the law of cycles and Madoka's sacrifice. She's going up against everything I admire.
Those are just my thoughts. I really enjoyed the video and seeing Madoka through someone else's perspective!
I'm glad that Madoka resonated with you. She's a really good character
so youd rather madoka, a normal teenage girl, be taken advantage of, stripped of all her personal relationships and suffer eternally?
@enanomi I dont think they mean that at all, when looking at Rebellion one realizes that Madoka is very much not acting like herself in the end, it shows that despite being technically "happy" homura has even if unintentionally warped her personality to fit her view of madoka, madoka isnt human anymore shes both god and girl and her godly half is very much unhappy being appart from her, I believe homura isnt evil for what she did but I also believe Homura knew what she was doing wasn't good either
Homura is so damn tragic like I genuinely understand why she went so crazy in rebellion but what homura wants and what madoka wants fundamentally will never align with each other. Universally they are literally destined to not be together and I genuinely hope homura finds something to live for in herself and not madoka
@enanomi That's such a bad faith asumtion
3:43 also this part when you consider Mami as "mother" it got me flashbacks of Bebe because Bebe means "baby" in French I think. Mami and Bebe... Mommy and baby...
Awww, that's sweet. I never even noticed
Also in Spanish, baby is bebé, but some people say bebe so close enough.
Also Mami is mommy in Spanish
I love Madoka Magica ^^ It really surprised me on how it showed the darker side of what a magical girl could be ^^ Madoka, Mami & Homora are my favourite characters and what made the anime for me ^^ Great video as always ^^
Glad you enjoyed it!
I really love this series, I personally felt like Homura wanted Madoka to live for herself and experience her own joy instead of always worrying about others. I definitely feel like Homura is more interested in her own view of what Madoka wants than actually what Madoka wants but at the same time, she can't really ask Madoka if she's happy or what she wants since Madoka is so distant in the Rebellion movie. Homura spent a lot of time trying to save Madoka too, close to 100 timelines just living in a loop, her whole life, all she's wanted is to protect Madoka and she definitely doesn't see Madoka as someone who's capable of looking out for her own interests. I believe there's some reasons for her to feel that way after spending more time with Madoka(albeit more and more distantly each time) than she's actually lived. She doesn't have the ability to step back and see the way things could change in each timeline because she's seen the same thing happen so many times. Homura has known Madoka's regrets and weaknesses so deeply and each time she failed probably took something out of her emotionally to a point of severe damage.
I really hope in the upcoming movie that Madoka and Homura can talk and Madoka can prove that she doesn't need to be taken care of anymore so Homura can let her go. I want them both to be happy and find resolution. I don't want witches to begin existing in universe again.
Madoka's struggle to act selfishly is something the series brings up. But Homura is also being quite selfish by limiting Madoka's freedom. It's a great recipe for tension
The way you described how Homura keeps Madoka from growing was never something I thought about after watching the show. I thought that it was more something like a refusal to let madoka disappear or become a Witch, but those are in fact the same thing. Madoka is like a domesticated bird that wants to fly, but Homura keeps the bird caged because she knows that if the bird flies, it would probably not survive in the wild.
I love how every Madoka essay has something new to it? This was really nice to watch < 3
Glad you enjoyed it 🎉
I dont think Homura is selfish in that she wants Madoka to keep depending on her, i think she just genuinely believes Madoka, her version Madoka, needs saving. In rebellion the law of cycles has forgotten about her godhood so when they talk in the feild of lillies, it really is Madoka talking to Homura, who is already aware that this is her labyrinth. Madoka tells Homura that there is no way she'd ever go alone to somewhere no one else can see her again because she's so wimpy, Homura took that as Madoka admitting that becoming Madokami was scary and made her very sad. Madokami the God is able to recognise that her existence/ non existence is for the better of all magical girls, but Madoka the human girl still just wants to be with her friends and family and is hurting deeply, the two beings still exist together clearly as otherwise Homura wouldn't of been able to rip them apart. Madoka's wish is objectively very selfless yes, but also very selfish, Madoka has consistently shown her own low self-esteem at the beginning of the series, she talks frequently about being nothing special and doubting if she is even worthy to be a magical girl, saving other people and making a difference on others is the only way she believes she can have value. She loves her friends and family, and wants them to be happy ofc, but she also believes they can be happy without her, undervaluing how much she means to them and hence disrespecting them, homura isn't the only one who remembered her, her little brother did too in someway which just showed the impact she had despite erasing herself. Her wish was very selfish to her loved ones, but benevolent to everyone else. I think Homura is the polar opposite, completely selfish to everyone else by ripping Madokami apart despite how much she's helped the world, but very selfless to the only one she loves and cares for. Personally i think Homura is the only one who sees Madoka, I think if Madoka had said anything to indicate that she was truly content with her descision in their conversation, then Homura would've let go and let Madokami take her away. Despite being this mature and mysterious character at the start and madoka being very childish and innocent, i think as things are now they've switched roles; Madoka is the mature one who sees that this is the way things have to be for the greater good who wants to grow and embraces suffering, Homura is the childish one who will stop at nothing to get what she wants who wanst things to stay the same and will go through suffering just to avoid it.
That's an interesting reading. Homura's takeaway from that convo lines up with her actions.
This is my last comment I swear, but the reason why Madoka is my favorite fictional character of all time is because I think Madoka represents survivors guilt. Throughout the Madoka's been desperate in need to help her friends as she watches everyone fighting for their lives as magical girls. She saw mami died, she saw the truth of soul gems, she got to witness syaak break down, realizing that she just an empty shell, seeing sayaka as a witch. Knowing that Homura has spend decades of years trying to save Madoka, and the end of the world that Madoka saw in her dream. Madoka is willing to do anything to help her friends and during these events, she was scared, not doing what to do. She wanted to be a magical girl but Homura would stop her everytime. When Homies gave up and admits defeat, madoka come in to help her and to put a stop to this once and for all. When kyubey offer her a wish, mami told her to treat herself with eh wish bu madoka doesn't know what to wish on. When madoka saw Kyoko and sayaka fighting, madoka's was quick to make a wish sign sh wanted to stop the two from fighting but now since homura'a down and there's nobody left to fight, madoka makes the wish to erase all witches so that not just her and her friends, but every magical girl from the past, present and future won't have to suffer from despair every again. I can't explain madoka's character arc as much as you did but I just wanted to share what I felt about madoka and why she my all time favorite.
@@Idkmanfanpan She's incredibly selfless. It's genuinely inspiring
genuinely one of the best madoka magica analyses…if not the best one ive ever seen.. i always see people over complicate the show or misrepresent the show by fixating on minor details without looking at the show as a whole. Genuinely an amazing watch thank you for making this
Glad you enjoyed it. One of the videos I've worked the hardest on.
Having been on the ground floor when Madoka released, instead following the studio SHAFT arthouse X Gen Urobutcher despair, it's at least a little neat to still see essays out there that can give further insight in Madoka after more than decade. While "MADOKA DECONSTRUCTS MAGICAL GIRLS" has become it's own stagnation as a perverse admiration, having seen more than a couple of Gen Urobuchi's interviews on "needing to reintroduce 'poison' for children's entertainment to teach them of the world", i.e. mirroring the "Either you die a Magical Girl or live long enough to become a Witch" conundrum.
I see Madoka in continuity more with Gen's themes than within Magical Girl's genre ethos; Partially since up to that point, beyond random episodes of CardCaptors on cable, the only Magical Girl show I'd watched to completion by then was amusingly Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, directed by the OTHER Madoka Showrunner, Akiyuki Shinbo. But also since so much of Gen's "BEING MEGUCA IS SUFFERING" is an extension of "BEING A HERO OF JUSTICE/SEIGI NO MIKATA IS SUFFERING" (worth noting that Sayaka's theme is literally titled Hero of Justice etc..). Although it is more so that the direness and despair exentuate "truly pure heroism", in one of his quotes: "The Darkness is there so that they can shine" -Interview 2013 in Kamen Rider Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki retrospective.
Still, I actually deeply enjoyed the emphasis that even within despair that "the bonds of connection are our salvation", in Mami's respite from loneliness, Kyouko's last act of mercy for Sayaka, and paradoxically twisted where Madoka's ultimate Self-Sacrifice contrasts Homura's selfish rebuke with a "gift of immortality", ironically that their love for each other is incompatible in understanding each other.
Actually it's that theme of Bonds and Connection that winds up being a major theme in Magia Record, and as one of the maybe 20 people who actually watched the whole spin-off anime, I'm also one of the maybe 3 people who actually enjoyed the bittersweet conclusion. In extension and it's own conversation of Magia Record > OG, it further pushes a "Sacrifice to end all Suffering", in incredible directions, in Tragedy, but also selflessness, and even in truth that being Heroic itself breaks the ability to understand those who are "less heroic". But to continue back to the Video and OG's point, the Salvation of Bonds manifests quite literally through Connection, but rather than extend and falsely prolong despair via Doppel system (basically soft-Witchdom if you vent your despair, with unknown side-effects), the conclusion that it is in Sharing the Burden of being Magical Girls that saves.
In more eloquent terms, while so many memes of Gen and Madoka being "Being Meguca is suffering" and along side Rebellion's cliff-hanger downer, Magia Record dares to respond that even through an inevitable tragedy, because all these Magical Girls can share the burden, that it ISN'T a mistake to become a Magical Girl for the connection of others.
I loved reading this comment. I found Madoka while binging other magical girl shows and while I recognized its darkness, I do think its aesthetic stuck with me more than anything. As an adult, it was fun to see what still held up and what I could've missed. I should check out Nanoha.
@@cureice Will disclose even as a big fan, that Nanoha did pioneer the late-night side of Magical Girls meaning some sketchy otaku fanservice (nothing on Kill La Kill levels but it is worth noting) but also had hard-hitting hero drama that I haven't seen replicated even from later shows.
It's still definitely worth checking out, especially in having the major sapphic ship build throughout the main Nanoha stories and while it's mostly been a collab/merch well until this year, I found the right level of "Connecting with your adversaries with both force and kindness" lead all the way into it's last double feature movies of Reflection-Detonation
And even still, both Nana Mizuki's big role in Nanoha, and Aoi Yuki in Madoka do later lead to Symphogear which is very much in the same lineage (can't wait for the same team to be working on Princession Orchestra in April)
Sailor Moon was my first magical girl series to give me interested in the franchise of magical girls and to be honest I always wanted to be a magical girl when I was little I would always imagine myself and my cute magical girl outfit with my companion by my side with my friends, also being magical girls I always love that child like wonder and that’s why I will always love magical girl shows because of how interesting and how heartwarming or how tragic the series can be and the ones that made me feel comfort like precure and Tokyo new new and my all-time favorite that you probably never heard of Soushin shoujo matoi or matoi the sacred slayer which is something that I will always run back to when I need something to watch
Oh I should check that out👀
I know that you like them also and happy precure day
I don't think that most of these sacrifices are intended to be worthwhile. I think that the underlying theme is that only with labor can the wish be worthwhile.
This was a wonderful video essay! I always love hearing people talk about this show cause there is always something interesting someone has to say about it.
Thanks. It's such a rich show
Im a big fan of seeing someone re-examine the original precipice of the series and subsequent franchise.
With the release of side stories, games, manga, anime, etc. I feel like many of the main themes of the original anime were beginning to be a bit forgotten. Instead choosing to delve further into nitty-gritty lore details.
Overall I enjoy that you're willing to focus on what the show was trying to talk about. A look at humanity, connection and care.
Glad you enjoyed it. I also worried that some of these themes were less discussed on TH-cam than I wanted them to be, so I made this video.
Magical girls becoming witches to me was such a poignant message to me, bc how could girls go through such a cruel world and not feel fury. They become witches bc what powerful magical woman wouldn’t retaliate against a world that put them through so much
Exactly! That twist was amazing
I’m gonna edit this as I watch through this:
I don’t really agree with the idea that homura wasn’t happy in her world because she couldn’t protect madoka. She wasn’t happy in her world because she started to realize things weren’t right; nightmares weren’t the enemies magical girls fought against it was wraiths and when Homura and Kyoko try to leave mitakihara city they can’t. Very importantly, Homura originally doesn’t like the new world because she sees it as a world that defiles Madoka’s original wish, a wish that made it so homura wasn’t able to protect her anymore.
Also, I disagree big time with the idea that homura split madoka off from the law of cycles so have a version of her she could protect. Homura, while putting up a facade, was clearly unhappy with what she did and probably resents herself deeply as seen with her Clara dolls throwing tomatoes at her. She says herself that she knows that one day Madoka will become her “enemy” but that she doesn’t care and that she’ll keep wishing for a world where Madoka can just be happy. Which she wasn’t wrong to, there are many little details hinting that Madoka wasn’t happy as a god; in the MadoMagi ending “See You Tomorrow”, many of the lyrics are implied to be from Madoka’s perspective as a god, putting on a brave face even as she misses all her family and friends. And while Madoka, Sayaka, Mami, Kyoko, and Nagisa are all seen having fun with each other or their families at the end of the movie, Homura’s alone. With no one else but Kyubey there with her.
Speaking of Kyubey, something to note about Kyubey’s involvement in the movie is that his whole plan was luring out Madoka using Homura so he could control her, and he almost succeeds in doing so if it weren’t for what Homura did; which hints to the idea that Homura probably had no other choice but to split madoka from the law of cycles.
Was what Homura did ultimately flawed and maybe even a little selfish, yes. I don’t disagree with that. I just think that Homura’s actions in rebellion have far more complexity to them than her just wanting Madoka’s dependency again.
Sorry if I missed anything; I just thought your analysis on Homura was interesting even if I did disagree with it ^^
I love reading about Homura.
There's a lot going on in Rebellion, so I'm always happy to hear other perspectives.
They should put a warning for new watchers cuz people who watched the show are not this same people they used to be before watching the show.... After watching it... I started constantly thinking about God and wither or not I believe in him 😭
One thing I see constantly glossed over is that sayaka killed those men on the train or at least it’s heavily suggested
Yeah. Sayaka kill count: 2😔
I do think that in the story of both the anime and the movie, they convey very well the theme of Homura alone has achieved adulthood. Not only repeating the loop multiple granted her knowlegde and time to mature the others didn't have enough, she also learned to be selfish as Madoka's mother tells is necessary to grown into adulthood, and Homura is not afraid to break someone else's happy ending for hers, to prolongue her connections, even if she is dissatisfied. It also connects very well with the themes of womenhood, where pursuing your own interests will have you villanized and repreatedly shun for it. At the end of the movie her efforts achieve the closest to her wishes, but not what she needs, and perhaps she is adamantly refusing her needs for she knows that would be her actual end, and Homura embody the refusal to yield.
Yeah, I love that about Homura
Madoka: I will perform the greatest act of sacrifice for the good of all magical girls, and in fact the good of all beings, and become a pillar of eternal hope out of love for others (becomes a god and creates a literal heaven)
Homura: I am sad about this. I, the Catholic in the group, will BECOME THE DEVIL FROM THE BIBLE and drag you down from your throne so I can ensure that you live a happy life.
Madoka: homura I literally don’t want that why are you doing this?
Homura, the devil from the Bible: AI YO
The CHAD Protestant Kyouko VS The Blackpilled Catholic Homura
that kyoko connection was something i never noticed that was such a nice catch
Thanks
*gasp* we need the tatsuya deep dive
Hell yeah madoka magica video in 2025
Madoka Magica...now and forever!
good essay 9/10
🎉🎉🎉
10:46 I don't like sayaka but I do love her wittting and her moments that make her realistic. She much better in the Rebillon movie and even with her good writhing, I just can't stand her in the anime. I just don't like how her realistic scenes are executed(aside from the train scene) especially with her interactions with Homura
She's quite the divisive character
this isn't some profound new idea youve come across. any actual magical girl fan could've told you this from the numerous references to sailor moon and revolutionary girl utena they have in the show and movie💀
You missed the point. Thats exactly what I'm saying.
The vid changing thumbnails whenever I go into youtube: 👱🏽♂️➡️🧑🏿🦱➡️👨🏻🦳➡️👨🏼🦲➡️👩🏻🦰➡️🧓🏿
Gotta catch them all🤭