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View Poll Results: Madoka Magica - Episode 03 Rating | |||
Perfect 10 | 118 | 56.19% | |
9 out of 10 : Excellent | 58 | 27.62% | |
8 out of 10 : Very Good | 23 | 10.95% | |
7 out of 10 : Good | 4 | 1.90% | |
6 out of 10 : Average | 2 | 0.95% | |
5 out of 10 : Below Average | 1 | 0.48% | |
4 out of 10 : Poor | 0 | 0% | |
3 out of 10 : Bad | 1 | 0.48% | |
2 out of 10 : Very Bad | 1 | 0.48% | |
1 out of 10 : Painful | 2 | 0.95% | |
Voters: 210. You may not vote on this poll |
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2011-08-03, 00:23 | Link #401 | |
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Join Date: Jun 2010
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I don't think it was putting a gun against Charlottes face that made her happy. It was her situation. The smile, when shooting Charlotte) was directed towards Madoka. It wasn't pleasure in killing, but rather her being so happy that she, well, wasn't alone anymore. In the transformation scene, she did explain how happy she was. Killing Charlotte was sort of the symbol of Madoka joining her. That said, I also thought she was the bad guy. Until ep 3, that is. |
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2011-08-03, 01:25 | Link #402 | |||
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Austria
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She was conflicted: the very thing that made her want friends (or better: companions) is also the thing that made it hard for her to pursuade others. To take the pressure of that guilt from herself, she pushed the responsibility onto Kyubey. When she had her little talk with Homura in ep3, she explicitly told Homura that Kyubey had chosen them, they are involved. I think she was trying to convince herself as much as Homura, there. Look at the earlier conversation, where she told the girls to take their time choosing a wish. She didn't have the time and now wishes she had had the opportunity to select a wish. Kyubey then says something to the point that he wants them contract as soon as possible. Mami's coy answer (girls don't like pushy boys) shows her position pretty well: please join, but do it in a way so you take the maximum profit out of it. Homura is in the way, so of course Mami would tie her up. I mean, there are two competent magical girls in town. If they can ward off witches, who knows, maybe Madoka will change her mind? Just look at Mami's behaviour just before: first cautioning Madoka that she wouldn't have time for friends or boy friends, and then - once Madoka comes out - she drops all pretense, responsible Mami disappears and wishful-thinking Mami pops out, suggesting Madoka could wish for a cute boyfriend, of all things. (Hasn't she, only moments ago, told Madoka there isn't any time for that sort of thing?) Madoka pretty much surprised her with that sincere, naive "you're not alone," and now she's riding the high. I found this totally plausible and it did reverse the impression I had of her. But that creepy feeling didn't go away: Quote:
To explain, I have to tell you about my relationship to guns. I hate them. I couldn't hold them with such an expression, much less fire them. I couldn't shoot a phone box, or even a pillow like that. I'm biased like that. It's not that I think Mami took pleasure in killing. Far from it, actually. I had the impression that Mami didn't get what it means to fire a gun. Her fights reminded me more of ballet than a fight (a Yuki Kajiura ballet - Mami does have one of the most beautiful pieces of music in the show). This - to me - was apparent from the beginning. From her first fight against the familiar in episode 1. It's sort of understandable; we don't exactly know, but I think it's safe to assume that Mami didn't have gun training before she became a magical girl. But since she's a magical girl (i.e. not necessarily a good shot with a real gun) the choice of weapon also says something about her attitude, I think. It's the most impersonal of weapons, point and pull the trigger. There are many ways you can fire a gun: I'm scared - keep away; quick and efficient... Mami took the show-off route from the beginning. Yes, Mami putting a gun to doll Charlotte's head and pulling the trigger was an expression of her situational light-headedness, but it was also an extension of her fighting style. It's quite possible that "style" was what she used to cover up her fear, I get it. And as I said, I'm aware I might be unfair to her. But still, her fighting style, to me, appears to be a combination of cold-blooded and show-off, and that's frightening. Interestingly, viewed in the context of your avarage magical girl show, the effect is lessened. I mean take away the gun and give her a cutesy wand, and see what you get. So I can sort of see, if you're expecting a magical girl show, how this might shed a different light on her. Not sure that's the case. As I said above, I didn't actually view episode 3 as a game changer. Perhaps I watched too few magical girl shows in the past? Quote:
If you contrast that very first fight, Homura vs. the giant witch, isn't that a lot more ugly than anything you've seen from Mami? (Especially her death.) Ah, well, as you can probably see, I really love that show. Not that I think it's flawless, but it's among the best I've seen. And, yes, I did have to adjust my interpretations a couple of times during the show (interestingly mostly in places that nobody else seemed to find problematic, while I immediately took to the least popular [if you've seen the show you probably know what I'm talking about] twist in the show, thinking of course, now it all makes sense... ) |
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2011-08-03, 01:57 | Link #403 |
Senior Member
Author
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This post is primarily a response to Sol and Dawnstorm's latest posts on this thread. It will require spoiler space, though, given that it involves a major spoiler.
Spoiler for Major Madoka Magica final episode spoilers:
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Last edited by Triple_R; 2011-08-03 at 02:36. |
2011-08-03, 02:46 | Link #406 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Age: 35
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Ah, lol. I already sent a moderately detailed PM, also in interests of not derailing this thread, but I think I see what caused the slip in communication.
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2011-08-03, 03:23 | Link #407 | |
Senior Member
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I think that your precise wording might be... a tad too stern (Homura-style, shall we say ), but I do see some validity, at least, to your interpretation here. Certainly Gen is arguing that there's at least a darker side to reality, and that true hope requires confronting and overcoming that darker side. As Madoka did.
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2012-01-15, 04:32 | Link #409 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
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This episode made me really appreciate the odd imagery they use when dealing with the witches.
I also would've loved to see Kyubey's expression when Homura came to the rescue. That slick bastard. I honestly wish I could say I felt bad about what happened to Mami but she sort of had it coming. Then again I don't know her full history with Homura so maybe she had a good reason to not want her at her back. Still the real witch was too amusing. Digging in like she(it?) was at a smorgasbord. And those expressions when it was trying to catch Homura, priceless. Can't wait to see where Madoka and Sayaka go from here. |
2012-03-19, 11:28 | Link #410 |
Remember, no moe.
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Illinois, California
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I was about to drop the series after watching episode 1 and 2. I am so glad I watched episode 3. For someone who has never seen a magical girl series despite a couple episodes of Sailor Moon back on Toonami, this was an awesome experience.
That witch was downright creepy, as someone who fucking hates clowns, this episode was all kinds of dark |
2016-01-07, 22:47 | Link #411 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: The Netherlands
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Note that Sayaka didn't know Mami had tied up Homura -- she thought Homura had just showed up to kill the witch after Mami had been killed. This should have been Mami's catch, but, to Sayaka, Homura just kept waiting in the shadows till Charlotte ate Mami, and only then did she show up and attack Charlotte. Sure, Sayaka and Madoka were saved, but that was, in Sayaka's view, just a happy coincidence -- she thought Homura hadn't meant to save them, just to get yet another grief seed.
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