[hyperborealis]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

I disagree with this. The lines are from Madoka's perspective no doubt, but I'm pretty sure she's talking to QB, not Homura. Why? Because she said "anoko tachi" (lit: those girls) which made it seem like she's talking about girls she doesn't know. Also, she said "mimamori" instead of just "mamori", meaning "watching over" instead of "protecting".

So, who is the one who has been constantly "watching over" girls (including ones Madoka might not know) while "feeling" nothing about it, as Madoka claims?

Yes, the answer is most likely the obvious one: QB. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'm not.

Thank you. I appreciate your analysis of the actual Japanese.

The English translation doesn't seem to fit QB. Madoka assumes the listener has a capacity for feeling and for understanding others' pain--"Did you not feel anything watching over them all that time? Did you not try to understand how much pain everyone was in?"--but we know and Madoka knows QB is incapable of any such emotional sympathy. More than that, QB is an antagonist, an enemy, someone who has tricked the girls: would Madoka ever think of him as even considering the girls' welfare?

I defer to your superior understanding of Japanese. All the same, something doesn't make sense here.

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Obviously, it's because that promise was made in the most highly emotional scene in the freaking series, which I think we can agree on (if not, go watch it again), and, you know, magic is emotion!!

Madoka basically begs for Homura to go back in time and save her, with tear all over her face. Homura frantically promise she'll do it no matter what, also crying rivers.

Do you really think it would be farfeched that all those feelings (and feelings are MAGIC) at that moment could trigger a real miracle? And we're talking Madoka here, who's said to have lots of potential, and also Homura, whose wish was strong enough to bend the laws of the universe.

So yeah, their feelings (magic) which were running wild at the moment, could quite possible create a miracle IMO.

At any rate, since the articles available hint to it, I suppose the possibility exist.

OK, this makes sense. It is clear the promise creates a destiny for Homura, since her promise is made real in her own, transformed personality, as she becomes a hardened woman, committed to repeating the timelines endlessly, until she finds a way to save Madoka. So the promise may likewise create a destiny for Madoka as well. It is a little awkward that it is on time-delay, two timelines back, but that may be simply a matter of the writers waiting to bring it out for maximum dramatic effect.

Originally Posted by Solace

Homura has definitely become colder each time, and Madoka is the key figure in the group, but I don't believe that Homura has any less "love" for the other three girls, it's just that Madoka is figuratively and literally the most important person to her and her mission right now.

Remember that she tried to warn all of them about Kyubey. She was part of the fight to bring back Sayaka the first time. She grieved for each of them, and even in the current time when she has acted the coldest she has tried to reach out and save every one of them. She tried to help Mami, she tried to help Sayaka, she tried to work with Kyoko, she's trying to save Madoka.

It may seem that Homura has no one but Madoka in her heart, but I don't think that is the case at all.

All true, but...

It's hard to reconcile all this with that brutal conversation Homura has with Sayaka in episode eight. As when Homura says, "You're sharp. / In fact, you're exactly correct. / I don't want to help you. / I simply don't want Madoka to have to watch you fall." Then she threatens to kill Sayaka: "I'll kill you myself right now, Sayaka Miki."

At times Homura does seem to act on behalf of all of the girls, as you say, and at others it seems she does so only for Madoka's sake. I hesitate to say it, but the anime's characterization of Homura does not seem consistent.

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

Is not really....deep passionate love or something that drives Homura. More like steel loyalty. You know, the kind you share with a close friend and you know something horrible is going to happen to him and so you do everything in your power to try and avert it.

Yes, I agree. Homura's feelings are not romantic, but rather an extreme expression of loyalty to Madoka and dedication to the task of saving her.

Homura has become the creature of her own wish. The feelings she has are those necessary so that she can fulfill the wish. Think of her as an incarnation of a wish, or a machine crafted to realize a particular task, rather than as a person. She is no longer human, as she puts it. All she is is the loyalty, the amazing will, the dedication necessary to accomplish her wish.