According to the SanCom article, it was "confirmed" that two movies would be a rehash, while the third would be an entirely new production. I enjoyed the series, so I'm not complaining about seeing it again with a theatrical budget.
According to the SanCom article, it was "confirmed" that two movies would be a rehash, while the third would be an entirely new production. I enjoyed the series, so I'm not complaining about seeing it again with a theatrical budget.
It's dangerous to go alone. Take Nep.
It's dangerous to go alone. Take Nep.
The ending was fantastic. I was dumbstruck when it happened, and had to think about it for a bit before deciding that I love the ending.
I perfectly understand Homura's decision, and the grim taste left by the conclusion fits the tone of the series perfectly. She saved Madoka from being controlled by imprisoning her and sealing her memories. It was a perfectly selfish decision, yet it created a world where Madoka can be happy. The contrast between Homura and Madoka's personalities, selfishness versus selflessness, is what made the ending work. Homura enslaving Kyubey and his race is also a nice touch. It is apt punishment for trying to control god. They got the Devil controlling them instead.
The battle scene between Homura and Mami was fantastic. I was a little miffed that Homura lost, but I laughed it off when it was revealed that all of it was a dream created by Homura as a witch. The only reason Mami won is because Homura wanted her to, or at least believed that she would win had they fought.
I still hate Sayaka as a character.
Peace.
Two things there wasn't enough of in the third movie: Red ribbon wearing, black bow wielding, witch-like wing sprouting super Homura, and Demon Homura. I mean seriously, they brought back wimpy, twin braid, glasses Homura for a good thirty minutes of the movie. I'm a fan of that character image just as much as the next person, but the two I mentioned above were so much more badass.
That being said, I liked the movie. I knew Homura was the witch long before the reveal, but I can't say it was very hard to figure out anyways. The more interesting part was that Madoka's wish never really got rid of witches; she only intervened before a witch was born. So the Incubators were incredibly smart to try and isolate Homura and guide her into that "unknown" source of energy. I'm assuming that's what they meant by "controlling Madoka".
What I don't understand though is, based on Madoka's wish, how is it that Sayaka and Bebe are witches? If Madoka truly intervened past, present, future, and pre/post birth, then shouldn't Sayaka and Bebe have been "saved"?
It's dangerous to go alone. Take Nep.
Aren't they the saved versions of themselves? Sayaka had both witch and magical girl powers.
Peace.
Should I even bother downloading the first two movies?
Nope. Just watch the third.
Peace.
But that's my point. If Madoka's wish worked like it was supposed to, she should have saved both Sayaka and Bebe before they became a witch. Thus "eliminating" witches, thus there being no witch powers.Originally Posted by shinta|hikari
I guess it kind of makes sense if you believe that Sayaka became a witch of her own free will, like Homura. But even then, it's hard to think you can just ignore the Law of the Cycle on a whim.
It's dangerous to go alone. Take Nep.
But we don't know what exactly happens when Madoka saves them. Maybe saving means that they don't become witches, but still change, like how Sayaka and Bebe did. They do disappear after Madoka picks them up after all.
Homura became a witch because she was isolated with a barrier. It has nothing to do with her wanting to become one.
If you mean at the end when she grabbed Madoka, she was already a witch, and at that point surpassed Madoka in power, thus enabling Homura to steal part of Madoka.
Peace.
You just said yourself that they disappear. From the end of the series (or movie two, if you want to go that way), it shows that Madoka takes on all the "despair" and "curses" from every magical girl in existence from the past, present, and future. She essentially takes their very essence as a magical girl, which is what causes them to fade away. It is literally impossible at that point for anyone to turn into a witch. Even Madoka herself surpassed her own despair and became a God because of her wish.
While the first part of that sentence is true, I was ignoring it because she could have very easily overcome that situation had she wanted to betray Madoka. Instead, she chose to accelerate the process of becoming a witch in order to protect her. I guess it could be argued it wasn't exactly "free will", but she gave in all the same. The only reason I compare it to Sayaka is because Sayaka was the same way. While she wasn't forced to become a witch through isolation, she voluntarily gave in to her despair. She chose the path of becoming a witch.
I don't think she was actually a witch at that point. It was made very clear that the emotion enveloping her soul gem wasn't despair. Even Homura herself said she was a being far greater than a witch. She dubbed herself a demon only because Madoka was a God. Either way though, in that particular instance, she chose to take that path.
On another note, I can't decide if I want them to make a 4th movie that reconciles everything for the greater good, or if I prefer the more tragic ending we have now.
It's dangerous to go alone. Take Nep.
This ending is fine.
Peace.
I was under the assumption that this world was one where Homura had already been to once before, but ultimately knew would still lead Madoka back down the diety path (and thus leaving Homura alone). I think it can be safely assumed that Homura has still been blasting through temporal paths in an effort to find the outcome that reunites her with Madoka (post-diety wish). This fake world doesn't use grief seeds and the potential witches take other forms. It is the rarest of rare pathways, one where Kyubey "accepts" this less efficient method without Madoka forcing the issue...though mostly out of the hope of returning to the old days.
In the earliest parts, Homura is dramatically more aware of Madoka and the others. She knew how to become best friends with Madoka absurdly fast (something Madoka comments on), which implied to me that Homura has even been to this variation before, she just forgot about it after millennia of rewinding. That despair of not finding a path is what pushed her over the edge to whatever it is she is, she found an alternative to achieve her goals.
Homura's inability to see the faces of anyone not playing a large part in the variations of the timelines was a nice a subtle way to show how absurdly far her obsession had gone, even that early on. She simply didn't bother bringing anyone else in because she just doesn't care about them. She only grabbed who she needed. Then she becomes worse than a witch as a result of the despair from her very own trap. She exists as a 'demon' because of her own catch-22 and obsessive, putrid love.
It basically started as one of the happiest of outcomes. Homura can control and influence a lot of events in trying to get her ideal outcome, but ultimately the girls still have their own free will, as with Kyoko already being friends with Sayaka. Mami had somehow already tamed Charlotte/Bebe. And so on. It went on to show that only love can be so twisted and vicious to pervert even the best intentions. She also didn't even end up with what she wanted, because the method she used to get it ruined it for her. Madoka is rather terrified of her, and Homura gives off no warmth with which to draw Madoka to her.
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I did adore that Bebe growls and hisses at Kyubey. I do wonder how the hell Mami determined that Charlotte was after cheese (which may have even been the reason she initially chomped on Mami's head, the similarity of her hair color to fine cheese). I never got any of that from the original series. How could we as viewers have determined her minions were looking for cheese to feed to her?
That may also lead to why she is still a witch despite Madoka's divine interventions. She got caught in a wish that was impossible to both fulfill and for Madoka to stop the resulting despair. Essentially, if Madoka stopped it, she wouldn't have become a witch in the first place for Madoka to save, breaking Causality. Perhaps some very clever wording on Kyubey's part, making her both become a magical girl and a witch immediately in the same stroke. The same way that Sayaka becomes a witch no matter what, she always falls.
It's similar to the way that Madoka becomes the apocalyptic witch when she makes a wish when Walpurgis Night appears aside from the one wish to save all witches across all time, or (when she wishes earlier) any other time at all when Walpurgis renders Madoka unable to save others. Madoka could only escape her fate by rending herself from existence.
Perhaps Charlotte is impossible to save as a human girl (which is fine because she's the least aggressive witch of all time). It is interesting that the way that Mami treats her after taming her actually makes her more human, such as a speech and a more expressive face. Not to mention they can even use her as a pseudo-magical girl, something she probably never got to do.
Either way, despite Homura asking her, Bebe/Charlotte doesn't seem to mind the past that Onihomura had trapped her in as well. You could take Bebe's confusion as wondering why Homura is asking about it when she's the one who did it. It's not too hard to infer that witches weren't affected by Homura's meddling. Charlotte questions Homura's inquiry when she knows she's the cause, and Sayaka remembers everything too. In the end, Divine Madoka found a way to use them anyway, a method by which they could redeem themselves.
It's only through Homura's power that they are spared their fate. Not as a reward for allowing her ambition to succeed, but because she wants no competition for Divine Madoka's attention. The same reason that the part she broke off was Madoka's memory of who she used to be.
Finally watched the movie. I think it was jolly good and the ending was even better. If you think about the original show (or movie 1+2), Madoka was the goddess and Homura the devil from the beginning, that is, Madoka was very fluffy and friendly to everybody and then sacrificed herself no questions asked for everybody's sake. While Homura was timid and harmless in the temporally absolute beginning, the show actually started with her as a villain of a sort. It's fitting this story didn't go all Hollywood trying to change that setting. It reflected their basic personality. It's not like everybody would even have what it takes to make themselves the devil.
I was kind of worried this movie wouldn't have any Madoka as she was a goddess already, but fortunately that wasn't the case, even if the beginning kept baffling me for a while. Kyubey was again successfully fricking evil, as expected. I think it was needed for the great justice that Kyubey finally got what was coming to them when Homura ascended. Madoka simply wasn't cut out to do something like that. She's a healer and could only try to deal with the consequences. As opposed to that, Homura is an experienced warrior in trying to prevent something due to the numerous loops. As sad as it is, being cold to the person she loves the most suits her character as well. I guess that's her introversion, which also allowed her to fight the others and betray goddess Madoka. No doubt that's a big part of why she wanted the social Madoka to have another chance to be with her friends, while she was ready to doom herself to loneliness. I doubt she will actually suffer from it as much as Madoka must have.
I don't really need another movie anymore, especially if it was going to give a Hollywood ending to replace this somewhat forlorn one.
Why did nobody tell me about how good this anime is?! ;>
Watched it in 2 days. The magical girl-element is basically just a superficial part of the setting, but it bears not ultimate relevance. Rather, this anime is on par with something like Steins;Gate.
It oozes quality, such great animation and sound. Still, Iīd only give it 9/10, because the story is too permanently depressing, and itīs too short to tell a real adventure. Itīs more of a very specific mystery show. Which is still fantastic.
"She's the only non-loli girl in the show, your honor!" will be my defense in court
Did you understand that this was very popular and critically acclaimed because it's a subversion of the magical girl tropes? If you take out the magical girl part of Madoka, it's just another depressing teen angst story.
BTW, have you seen the final movie? It's a sequel to the TV series ending.
Peace.
I hope he watched the movie versions in general. The series is a bit superfluous at this point.
Didnīt feel like there was anything superfluous. And no, havenīt watched any movies, yet, although a friend told me the 3rd movie was a direct continuation, so I plan on watching that one.
"She's the only non-loli girl in the show, your honor!" will be my defense in court
Ryll meant that the movies are better, so the series itself is superfluous now. He was hoping for the sake of your improved enjoyment that you watched the movies and skipped the series.
Peace.
Well, I honestly loved every single episode. If the movie-version is even better, thatīs good to hear.
"She's the only non-loli girl in the show, your honor!" will be my defense in court
This is one of my masterpiece anime, actually, along with Fate/Zero, which you really should see.
Peace.
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