Madoka Magica - General Discussion

[LightDragonman]

So I was scrolling through TV Tropes, and I noticed that they had three entries for this series on the "Dethroning Moments Of Suck" section. They were as follows:

"Kashima Kitty: Episode 3 "I'm Not Afraid of Anything Anymore". The major Wham Moment of the episode, you know the one. Mami getting decapitated and devoured. After the series spent the last two and a half episodes pretending to be Lighter and Softer than it really is, this moment arrives for the sake of pure shock value. Not only was three episodes too soon to care about this character, but up until this point, said character came off as ignorant and Holier Than Thou. The recap/movies make it even worse, as what little character development this character had is completely removed, making her seem even more expendable.

Shotgun Ninja: I agree that this show felt stupid and pointlessly dark, but the one thing I really liked in it was Kyouko. That's why the ending of episode 9 "I'd Never Allow That To Happen" annoyed me so much. So she starts the show as somewhat psychopathic, but one single Wham Episode - which she really has no excuse for being blind-sighted by, considering everything she already knows - causes a complete change in her personality, to the point where she seems completely focused around Sayaka. This all culminates in her suddenly deciding to kill herself to beat Witch!Sayaka, rather than, oh I don't know, asking Homura for help! Why is she suddenly worth dying for when you can't have known her for more than two weeks? This was where the show officially lost that last shred of interest I had in it, because if that is what passes for good writing in this series...

melonpan09: I agree with the first two tropers, but my moment came when Sayaka suddenly starts wailing about being unable to embrace people after she's found out the true purpose of her Soul Gem. I was already watching the series with slight dubiousness, and the sheer melodramatics of that scene actually lowered my opinion of it as a whole. While the cause is painfully obvious, Sayaka had far too little character development to even hint at something of that magnitude being on its way; it's supposed to look like a plain old nervous breakdown, I'm sure, but instead it looks like a completely uncalled-for temper tantrum. What's even sadder for me is that it could have had real power and impact, if only it had been written differently."

What say you guys?

[Akito Kinomoto]

Mami's death (or maybe I should say, the Death Flag scene with Madoka before her death) isn't as strong as it used to be. Yup.

Kyouko had been trying to get Sayaka to look out for herself even before they learned the truth about Soul Gems. The one thing I do wonder is, depending on how long Kyouko's been a magical girl, whether Sayaka's talk of being a hero wasn't anything Kyouko hadn't already seen before. I could always consider the context outside the story, but just taking the story as it is we see a girl who doesn't want to see someone go through what she did.

When Sayaka says she can't hug anyone anymore, we know she's talking about Kyousuke. The show doesn't go into much detail about their relationship, but part of her downfall is what she thinks she knows about him VS who he actually is.

[Triple_R]

Madoka Magica had a lot to cover in just 12 episodes, so certain things had to be done quickly.

It wasn't perfect - I myself found Kyouko's sudden 180 towards Sayaka a bit hard to swallow - But I think Gen and SHAFT did a pretty good job all things considered.


And the simple fact is that these characters, and their key moments, would not be as popular as they are, unless this overall approach resonated with an awful lot of people.

Mami's death scene in Episode 3 may well be the most well-known and commonly referenced death scene in all of anime over the past five years. That doesn't happen unless it resonates with a lot of people.

Madoka Magica fanart - including fanart of Mami, Kyouko, and Sayaka - Remains very commonplace and popular and massive in amount to this day. The only shows I've seen rival it over the past two or three years are Love Live! and Kancolle, both of which had more preexisting fandom before their respective anime shows aired.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by Akuma Kinomoto

The one thing I do wonder is, depending on how long Kyouko's been a magical girl, whether Sayaka's talk of being a hero wasn't anything Kyouko hadn't already seen before. I could always consider the context outside the story, but just taking the story as it is we see a girl who doesn't want to see someone go through what she did.

It IS something she had seen before. From herself. Read the first volume of The Other Story to get Kyoko's past and her training under Mami.

[Akito Kinomoto]

Originally Posted by GDB

It IS something she had seen before. From herself. Read the first volume of The Other Story to get Kyoko's past and her training under Mami.

I read TDS, but I'd still review the show on its own else I'd say something like it's okay read TDS to make Mami interesting!

[Triple_R]

In Episode 9, Kyouko did hint at a past love of heroic idealism. She hinted at that to Madoka.

It makes sense that Sayaka may have reminded Kyouko of that previous love of heroic idealism and re-awakened it in Kyouko.

It's subtle, but you can get all of that from the anime alone.

[zend0g]

You can see it when Kyoko tells Sayaka of her own history.

Plus, I like to think that when Homura turned into her magical girl self and was getting ready to just kill all but defenseless Sayaka in cold blood that that pushed some residual protective instincts inside of Kyoko to the surface.

[Bombchu Link]

TRADUKO just released their new english Translation patch to the PSP title

https://www.facebook.com/tradukosoft

[wavehawk]

O_O
https://characterjapan.com/content/19056

[Chibiloli]

Originally Posted by wavehawk

O_O
https://characterjapan.com/content/19056

MADOka Max, huh, seriously, what is it with people putting Madoka and Mad Max together? I even saw a pic with the girls and Lord Humungus together.

[Arwen Uzumaki]

Since I can not make a new thread I got a simple Question and I just finished series.

Are magica girls immortal ???? I mean their souls are in a Gem do they still age ? And if they don't turn into witches is their a age limit where they lose their powers like they become 20-30 or something ?????

The series never explains since it seems most Magica girls well die a year or 2 after making a contract......

But what about the ones who don't despair or don't have emotions really or don't let them get out of control.... And can kyubey really grant any wish or does it depend on your potential??? Like say I made a wish to avoid the downsides like Witches ?

Wish: " I would like to become super smart and when I die I wish to be reborn as another human with my memories intact.
or this wish to avoid just death and seems like he could do it....
Wish : I wish to be reborn when I die as another human with my memories intact.

IF you guys could please help it would be nice I would make my own topic for it but its not allowed on these forums.

[Witch of Uncertainty]

Originally Posted by Arwen Uzumaki

Since I can not make a new thread I got a simple Question and I just finished series.

Are magica girls immortal ???? I mean their souls are in a Gem do they still age ? And if they don't turn into witches is their a age limit where they lose their powers like they become 20-30 or something ?????

The series never explains since it seems most Magica girls well die a year or 2 after making a contract......

But what about the ones who don't despair or don't have emotions really or don't let them get out of control.... And can kyubey really grant any wish or does it depend on your potential??? Like say I made a wish to avoid the downsides like Witches ?

Wish: " I would like to become super smart and when I die I wish to be reborn as another human with my memories intact.
or this wish to avoid just death and seems like he could do it....
Wish : I wish to be reborn when I die as another human with my memories intact.

IF you guys could please help it would be nice I would make my own topic for it but its not allowed on these forums.

This is at least my understanding of it:
I think their bodies do develop. However, as Kyubei said, their magical energy is harvested from their emotions, which is why teenage girls are the best bet. When they grow up, they grow weaker as their emotions settles down.

This is the quote regarding Roberta, one of the witches Homura kills when she turns badass in episdoe 10.

In Puella Magi Production Note, there is a description about her: A witch who lived for a long time as a magical girl. She is weak, as she was no longer a girl when she became a witch (mid-20s to 30s?). The form she takes in her barrier is how she would've turned out in the future (around 40s). What she desires is life. Enjoys alcohol and books.

http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Roberta

I think a girl could ask for an indestructible soul gem, but it would probably have some other consequence. After all, the motif in madoka was balance. For every magical girl (wish), there's a witch (curse).

The potential of the Magical girl decides the wish, as far as I understand. Every girl can ask for anything, but how that wish is "executed" depends on the girls potential. No way could Sayaka have had Madoka's wish fulfilled for herself. If she had wished for the same, she would probably just have killed her own witch form, or maybe a numerous amount of magical girls. It's also possible that Kyubey simply can't grant some wishes. Like if Sayaka had asked for Madoka's wish, he would have just said "no". It's not really explained. My guess, though, is that the potential of the magical girl simply strengthens the quality of the execution of the wish.

[andyjay729]

Does Madoka's art style remind anyone else more of a '60s American cartoon than a modern anime at times?

That's not an insult to me. Rocky and Bullwinkle was one of my favorite shows as a kid (and still is), as is Ren and Stimpy and John Kricfalusi's imitation of that era of animation, and as a result I have a deep respect for the flat, primary-colored "Mid-Century Modern" artwork. Definitely one of the things that drew me into the series.

Yes, Shaft is famous for their flat, primary-colored, glossy look, but coupled with Ume Aoki's loli character designs, the show at times seems rather...retro, especially in the occasionally washed-out look of the original broadcast.

Speaking of which, do you also see similarity between Ume Aoki's artwork and that of Mary Blair? She was an artist who did a lot of work for Disney in the '40s and '50s, most prominently on Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan. To me some of her pictures of children almost resemble early versions of the famous "wideface", heh.

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...52.Y0GpRAepBVI

[ArrowSmith]

Interesting take on the visual style of the show. Still funny how it ends up with an "End of Evangelion" type plot.

[woxx]

Originally Posted by andyjay729

Does Madoka's art style remind anyone else more of a '60s American cartoon than a modern anime at times?

That's not an insult to me. Rocky and Bullwinkle was one of my favorite shows as a kid (and still is), as is Ren and Stimpy and John Kricfalusi's imitation of that era of animation, and as a result I have a deep respect for the flat, primary-colored "Mid-Century Modern" artwork. Definitely one of the things that drew me into the series.

Yes, Shaft is famous for their flat, primary-colored, glossy look, but coupled with Ume Aoki's loli character designs, the show at times seems rather...retro, especially in the occasionally washed-out look of the original broadcast.

Speaking of which, do you also see similarity between Ume Aoki's artwork and that of Mary Blair? She was an artist who did a lot of work for Disney in the '40s and '50s, most prominently on Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan. To me some of her pictures of children almost resemble early versions of the famous "wideface", heh.

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...52.Y0GpRAepBVI

The style you are talking about is probably Inu curries work. Madoka looks like their first major project. Btw rebellion has much more it + really high budget.

[NeverKnewINeeded]

Madoka Magica 'Concept Movie' Hints at New Work

Animation studio SHAFT will unveil a short concept movie for a new story related to Puella Magi Madoka Magica for its "~Commemorating 40 Years of Shaft~ Madogatari" event in Tokyo on Friday. The movie hints at a new project for the franchise, but nothing has been officially announced.

Magica Quartet—the team behind the Puella Magi Madoka Magica anime, consisting of director Akiyuki Simbo, character designer Ume Aoki, scriptwriter Gen Urobuchi (Nitroplus), and animation studio Shaft—have continued plans for a new work since the Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part 3: Rebellion film opened in October 2013. The concept movie was born from their meetings.

Simbo created the storyboards and served as chief director for the short, while series director Yukihiro Miyamoto returned to direct. Composer Yuki Kajiura contributed a new musical piece. Other returning staff members include:

Alternate Space Design: Gekidan Inu Curry
Animation director: Junichiro Taniguchi
Sound Director: Yota Tsuruoka
Sound Production: Rakuonsha
Animation Production: SHAFT

The following cast members from previous anime recorded new lines for the concept movie:

Aoi Yūki as Madoka Kaname
Chiwa Saito as Homura Akemi
Kaori Mizuhashi as Mami Tomoe
Eri Kitamura as Sayaka Miki
Ai Nonaka as Kyōko Sakura
Emiri Katō as Kyubey
Kana Asumi as Nagisa Momoe

The original television anime premiered in January 2011, and Crunchyroll later streamed the series. Aniplex of America released the television series, two compilation films, and Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part 3: Rebellion sequel film in North America.

Sources: Moca News, animeanime.jp

[Sayaka's sandbag]

POSSIBLE NEW MOVIE GUYS!!! CAN'T FREAKING WAIT!!!!

*Ahem*, to all of those wankers all over the world and internet who kept going on about how Madoka was finished and that it didn't need to continue... Please kindly go and FUCK YOURSELVES!!!

Oh and before others come in and whinge about it, no, 12 episodes and 2 movies of one franchise isn't 'milking' a series.

HELL YEAH!!!

[Dextro]

I honestly just want them to let it go. The original show was fine as it is and there's no need for sequels. Rebellion was fine and even the need for that one was very debatable.

[woxx]

The movie hints at a new project for the franchise, but nothing has been officially announced.

Don't be so overhyped and read it carefully. What they do is probably some 10 minutes of animation(no one would even see it outside shaft's exhibition), then years of waiting of some uncertainty.

Animation studio SHAFT will unveil a short concept movie for a new story related to Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Basically confirms that it's not sequel of Rebellion.

[ilcane87]

^ These are loose translations, "new story" probably refers to the fact that they are showing new content.

It's very hard to imagine them doing an unrelated story with the same characters.