[Kaijo]

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

No, it's very different from the standard Magical Girl show. If this were the standard MG, everyone would have planet-busting nukes that could obliterate their opponent, yet after the fight the enemy would become their friend in no time.

In Madoka, the MGs often fight alone, their enemies are inhuman, and they have a much higher chance of dying. When they do die, the public will have no knowledge of the MG or what the enemy is like. The MGs can't even trust their own kind as friends because they have their own agenda and differing ideals, and the one who gave them power does not follow human morals. The only real friend these MGs have is Madoka, who can't really help out since she can't fight. There is little comraderie compared to the typical MG show.

So? Sakura fought alone. Nanoha fought alone. Even when teaming up, a lot of Nanoha fights are one-on-one.

Like I said, I'm not buying it yet. What's happening here is no different than every other show out there, and yet we're told it is supposed to be bad somehow. Why? Because one person died and teenage girls are angsting? People die in other shows. Teenage girls angst in other shows.

I'm sorry, but it's not convincing.

Now, if they wanted to convince me, then show me exactly WHY they have to keep fighting. Does their soul gem darken automatically and they die when that happens? Or become a witch? Or do they lose their sanity as it goes dark? Mai HiME did a good job showing why the powers were a curse; it meant their loved ones were at constant risk. Not themselves, but the people they cared about most in the world. And the clash of personalities was believable, because everyone had a good reason why.

So show me WHY I should believe that this universe is so grim dark.

Hell, in Nanoha, there was blood and injuries were bad. But in Madoka, they have convenient bodies which can feel very little pain and be rebuilt easily! If anything, that makes Nanoha more threatening.

Originally Posted by jeroz

I have a feeling that there's more to the soul gem than we are aware of. Though the revelation might come as the big twist in the final episodes.
Not to mention that you would think it's hard to put your soul back in, and we don't know much about the zombie's body, if it's physically different from a normal human being or not.

Maybe there is. The problem is we don't know. And my prediction is that the girls will never ask. Even after learning this, they won't think to ask, "What else aren't you telling us?"

Just easier to die in unconventional ways and harder to die in conventional ways. Personally I wasn't disgusted by it. Even Kyoko and Sayaka both accepted the fact already so I don't see why you think it's supposed to be creepy and bad. All I see is a set up for more plot twists

The show is trying to tell us it is, through Sayaka's angsting over Kamijou. Also through the whole shock factor of last episode. This is falling straight into Cursed with Awesome territory:

"This trope is a major source of Angst Dissonance — if not used carefully, then a character being Cursed With Awesome carries the risk of plummeting straight into Wangst or Deus Angst Machina territory, as nothing is guaranteed to piss an audience off more than a character complaining about having abilities that are, on the face of it, utterly fantastic and that the audience would kill to have. This is especially a risk if a balance between the awesomeness of the powers and the suckiness of the consequences of possessing them is not maintained; if the drawbacks are outweighed by the benefits, then the character just looks whiny."

I'm reminded of that sword chick from Negima, the one with the white wings. "*sniff* Look at me, I'm a monster!"

That's why I'm not buying the "look at how awful and grim dark all of this is!" line of thought yet.

that's unless she's still following her hollow sense of justice at that time. You never know if Kyoko's story has any effect on her or not. It's sad to see your hard works not to get recognised by other people. This scenario may have been played in the superhero story for numerous times already, but it's still a good one to create a huge sense of doubt in those people with great responsibilities.
The problem is not "omg she's stealing my boyfriend" but "omg why did I have the idea that I want to abandon her to die". It has been raised on this thread before, but it's her realising that her(and even Mami's) sense of justice might be false is what's hurting her.

That line of thought is human, though. We all have dark thoughts, and sometimes they last just a moment, and sometimes they last longer. The fact that she's crying over it, shows she has a good heart. She just needs to learn that what she's feeling is okay, and to stop beating herself up. Time will tell if that will happen.

And I think Kyoko's story did have an effect on Sayaka; she realized where she was heading, and that Kyoko was the cynical example of what she could become. Sayaka decided she wouldn't be like Kyoko, but hold to her ideals of using her power to protect people. So while Kyoko helped, it just wasn't in the way Kyoko expected.

We need Sayaka to fall into the depth of hell first to give madoka a good example of a Mahou Shoujo went wrong from start to finish. I'm still in the camp of "Hitomi is just pressuring Sayaka because she's not being honest with herself" and that her behaviour might be another example of "do the right thing the wrong way" that was mentioned in ep6.

Possibly. I still think Hitomi's secret love is a bit contrived, but if she's doing this to push Sayaka, then it is still a bad move. The dude just got out of the hospital, and Hitomi could have given Sayaka more time, or let her know that she would support Sayaka, but not to wait, because someone else could snatch him. It just seemed perfectly timed to strike when Sayaka was just recovering from her earlier issue.

Originally Posted by Sackett

It's because she's already dead, can never have children, and from the backstory of Kyoko- will never age.

Just want to point out: We don't know how long ago Kyoko's story took place, and we don't know if they can have children or if they age. Physically speaking, nothing has changed about them, other then their souls moving from a body to a gem. Given the fact that they still eat, shit, and sleep as normal, their bodies are still governed by biological processes. And even if they don't age, given that magic can rebuild them, who is to say it can't rebuild them looking a little older?

I suppose we would know for sure if someone asked Kyube, but I doubt any of the girls will. =/