Madoka Magica - General Discussion

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by TJR

Seems to me that he's planning more Madoka out of obligation (i.e. returning the favor as is customary within Japanese business culture) as opposed to personal interest. Hopefully, he can find the motivation to make something interesting.

So... Gen feels he owes this to Shinbo and SHAFT? Just to be clear here.

[ThereminVox]

I'm fine if they pull a Madoka Fumoffu. If you've got a cash cow, you may as well milk it. You can't say they haven't earned it.

Gotta say though, if they're going to try to keep things serious I hope they move on to side stories like the manga. Madoka S1 doesn't need any addendum. The story is perfectly fine the way it is.

[Sol Falling]

Originally Posted by TJR

Seems to me that he's planning more Madoka out of obligation (i.e. returning the favor as is customary within Japanese business culture) as opposed to personal interest. Hopefully, he can find the motivation to make something interesting.

You're taking the quote from the ANN thread too literally. It is not about returning a "favour" (what favour? Madoka was a collaborative creation) but about continuing on with a successful working relationship. Sure that does not necessarily have anything to do with creative intent or inspiration, but it is certainly within Gen's own self-interest.

[sa547]

Personally I prefer a parallel universe, with a storyline that should uplift and remind viewers that it's time to rise above the physical and emotional wreckage wrought by the earthquake, the tsunami and the nuke plant disasters.

For now, we'll see how Gen's Fate/Zero would fare in the coming months.

[omimon]

If a second season does appear maybe they could do it like how they did the drama cds. Some of the episodes would be light-hearted while some of them would be soul crushing sadness. This would keep the audience on their toes too since we wouldn't know what to expect from each episode.

[Guernsey]

Well, I hope that they don't do a sequel or undo any of the sacrifice 'Madokami' made.

[BaKaBaKaOtaKu]

What??! second season??!!! i'm having mixed feelings here..DX i like how madoka ended.

An AU slice of life would be nice though..XDD

[B2-Lancer]

Though I wasn't anticipating any, I can't see anything that would invalidate a "second season" (as opposed to sequel.) There are new baddies in this brand new universe Madoka created and nothing says she can't re-materialize as human or astral since apparently she's still very much alive and in force (pun intended), being of everthing in this universe only Homura was left untouched/protected. Maybe Madoka believes her mission isn't really done until she eliminates the reason to have ANY magical giirls anywhere -- which might suggest a ultimate showdown with QB's species itself (strange she didn't also wipe them out the first time around while she'd the chance). And since little bro' senses there was a Madoka, maybe this opening presents her a chance to patch up things with her mom. Just a thought.

[Jimmy C]

Are we sure he wasn't talking about the novel in the commentary?

[Lord of Fire]

Originally Posted by Jimmy C

Are we sure he wasn't talking about the novel in the commentary?

All we know is that Urobuchi has something up his sleeve concerning Madoka. What that exactly is, is something even he himself doesn't really know yet. Yuki Aoi seems to be the one who dropped the "season two?" comment, but it was neither confirmed or denied that that was true.

Whatever it is, don't expect anything to come from it anytime soon.

[xizro345]

Even if it's animated, it took them three years just for this thanks to lolshaft scheduling issues so....

[Sol Falling]

Three years...so, this means Madoka Magica as a project began even before Shaft's success in making monster hits became established in Bakemonogatari.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Sol Falling

Three years...so, this means Madoka Magica as a project began even before Shaft's success in making monster hits became established in Bakemonogatari.

Good point.

Gen and Shinbo must go way back then, and Gen's decision to work with Shinbo/SHAFT couldn't be due to Bake's success as you say.

Thinking of SHAFT circa three years ago, this was actually a bit of a gamble on Gen's part.

[xizro345]

Just as a curiosity for those wondering how Madoka is being treated overseas: the Italian company that will localize it has actually started a poll on voice actors (selected via a strict reader submission policy) to let the public decide who dubs who.

[blakstealth]

Originally Posted by xizro345

Just as a curiosity for those wondering how Madoka is being treated overseas: the Italian company that will localize it has actually started a poll on voice actors (selected via a strict reader submission policy) to let the public decide who dubs who.

Snap, that's cool.

[Arkanis]

Originally Posted by blakstealth

Snap, that's cool.

Something like that happened with Haruhi in Germany. In the end, there were people who liked the dub and people who disliked it. Business as usual. What we need aren't polls like this but competent people in charge of the dub who have at least some idea of what the product they are working on is about. This shouldn't imply that this isn't the case, but there must be a cause why dubs are often (or even most of the time) inferior to the original japanese dub.

[Kaioshin Sama]

The whole idea that Madoka is something sacred that would be ruined by a sequel is just kind of ridiculous to me. I'm not sure how this enjoyable, entertaining and well casted dark magical girl tale become such serious business in less than a year that it's now sacrosanct and a sequel would somehow ruin it. Let it be said that I don't share this sentiment in the slightest.

Now is the perfect time to build on Madoka's success by pursuing this new mature angle on an old historically kid friendly genre, not to laminate it and seal it away in some imaginary anime hall of fame so that it just becomes a flash in the pan. I say if they want to do more then go for it, but have a plan and keep up the same standards of quality and don't let it be another Nanoha StrikerS or something that feels like an afterthought. That's all I ask.

Oh and by the way, IMO making it a "slice of life" sequel would sidestep every single thing that made the show interesting in the first place. That's frankly a TERRIBLE idea for a sequel to a darker magical girl show like Madoka and if that would be where they are going then they might as well make it a whole new property altogether cause it sure as hell wouldn't have anything in common with it's namesake.

[Sol Falling]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

The whole idea that Madoka is something sacred that would be ruined by a sequel is just kind of ridiculous to me. I'm not sure how this enjoyable, entertaining and well casted dark magical girl tale become such serious business in less than a year that it's now sacrosanct and a sequel would somehow ruin it. Let it be said that I don't share this sentiment in the slightest.

Now is the perfect time to build on Madoka's success by pursuing this new mature angle on an old historically kid friendly genre, not to laminate it and seal it away in some imaginary anime hall of fame so that it just becomes a flash in the pan. I say if they want to do more then go for it, but have a plan and keep up the same standards of quality and don't let it be another Nanoha StrikerS or something that feels like an afterthought. That's all I ask.

Oh and by the way, IMO making it a "slice of life" sequel would sidestep every single thing that made the show interesting in the first place. That's frankly a TERRIBLE idea for a sequel to a darker magical girl show like Madoka and if that would be where they are going then they might as well make it a whole new property altogether cause it sure as hell wouldn't have anything in common with it's namesake.

I'm not worried about a/the sequel either, but Madoka's thematic consequence is about more than just 'darkness'. Madoka was extraordinary for juxtaposing a classical expression of the hope and miraculous elements of fiction/fantasy against the gravitas of real life. And ultimately Madoka's conclusion was an affirmation of that hope and miraculous fantasy. That conclusion makes Madoka very much a complete story and narrative, so that it is hard to imagine how there could be anything more to say (about that hope, and about the chains of reality) in the context of the same work. A new iteration or extension of Madoka will almost certainly have to be about something else. I trust that SHAFT and Urobochi will take their time to formulate a worthwhile new idea before stepping in that direction.

I agree that a slice of life would be a poor use of Madoka's impact/popularity. Despite Shinbo's desire and SHAFT's competency at making such series, the truth is if they went in that direction they'd have no use of Urobochi's involvement. On a more mainstream level, what people now associate with Madoka is more than just SHAFT itself. I think the Madoka franchise would at the least require another iteration with just as much coldness and severity before they could gain the freedom to make any sort of genuinely relaxed/lighter/fluffy associated work.

[Solace]

Originally Posted by Sol Falling

A new iteration or extension of Madoka will almost certainly have to be about something else.

I'm not totally against a sequel but I'm really not sure how they could do it. Gen writing it means the story will still be grimdark, which is fine, but then you have the hopeful note the series ended on, which is the problem. If the story continues from that ending, what could he do with the sequel? Unless he changes the narrative, we know that Sayaka is "dead", Mami, Kyouko, and Homura will eventually follow suit, and Madoka is trapped as a omniscient being for all time. I'm not really sure what kind of story is left to tell.

On the other hand he could do a new story set in the same universe, like Kazumi, or an alternate timeline like Oriko. But then it's not really a sequel, and that's not a bad thing....but no matter how you spin it Madoka is going to be a tough act to follow.

[Tempester]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

The whole idea that Madoka is something sacred that would be ruined by a sequel is just kind of ridiculous to me. I'm not sure how this enjoyable, entertaining and well casted dark magical girl tale become such serious business in less than a year that it's now sacrosanct and a sequel would somehow ruin it. Let it be said that I don't share this sentiment in the slightest.

Now is the perfect time to build on Madoka's success by pursuing this new mature angle on an old historically kid friendly genre, not to laminate it and seal it away in some imaginary anime hall of fame so that it just becomes a flash in the pan. I say if they want to do more then go for it, but have a plan and keep up the same standards of quality and don't let it be another Nanoha StrikerS or something that feels like an afterthought. That's all I ask.

Oh and by the way, IMO making it a "slice of life" sequel would sidestep every single thing that made the show interesting in the first place. That's frankly a TERRIBLE idea for a sequel to a darker magical girl show like Madoka and if that would be where they are going then they might as well make it a whole new property altogether cause it sure as hell wouldn't have anything in common with it's namesake.

Fantastic statement, Kaioshin Sama. If a sequel/prequel/spinoff for Madoka is good, then we can consider it a worthy side project and maybe even a great anime by itself. And if it's terrible, we can simply write it off as a money-milking scheme and forget about it. The original of anything is almost impossible to be 'tainted' by sequels and the such, in my opinion.

Although admittedly I'd most likely watch a slice-of-life spinoff just because I'm already so attached to the characters and themes. I feel sinful.

Originally Posted by Solace

I'm not totally against a sequel but I'm really not sure how they could do it. Gen writing it means the story will still be grimdark, which is fine, but then you have the hopeful note the series ended on, which is the problem. If the story continues from that ending, what could he do with the sequel? Unless he changes the narrative, we know that Sayaka is "dead", Mami, Kyouko, and Homura will eventually follow suit, and Madoka is trapped as a omniscient being for all time. I'm not really sure what kind of story is left to tell.

On the other hand he could do a new story set in the same universe, like Kazumi, or an alternate timeline like Oriko. But then it's not really a sequel, and that's not a bad thing....but no matter how you spin it Madoka is going to be a tough act to follow.

I think either a spinoff based on different characters or an alternate universe would work the best. How about they start by making a story out of the original anime's misleading OP? It looks colorful and dramatic enough, especially with the scene of Madoka crying while holding a black cat.