2012-11-15, 00:20 | Link #862 | ||
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That happy ending is just weaker in theme, and mostly an "earned your happy ending" deus ex machina for Homura. It did not address everything as good as the anime ending. |
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2012-11-15, 00:55 | Link #864 | |
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Madoka has the power of a God, and an Incubator constantly reminds her that she can fix any problem. To think she can resist this temptation forever is preposterous, especially given Madoka's personality. Without sufficient reason to believe she would resist this, it's entirely a handwave to make the ending work.
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2012-11-15, 01:31 | Link #866 | |
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Kyubey himself states that he only contracts with teenage girls. Now, it's conceivable that he could contract with men, women, and teenage boys, but there's no evidence of this. At the very least, it seems likely that Kyubey greatly prefers contracting with teenage girls rather than any other age/gender demographic group, and I'm inclined to think there's some good reason for this (perhaps people really do lose their magical potential once they reach adulthood). Taking all of the above into consideration, Madoka might merely need to reach adulthood without contracting. At that point, Kyubey may conceivably give up on her forever. It's not all that improbable for a teenage girl to go a few years without facing a personal or global tragedy that would prompt her to sacrifice her life for the sake of others. So I wouldn't say that Homura's ending is all "false hope" here. Actually, I think you insult the very point of this ending by arguing that. Homura's ending is naturally all about Homura succeeding. Madoka not contracting is the very point of that. What's so wrong in one AU ending of PMMM actually having Homura succeed? That's not to say you (or anybody else) has to like Homura's ending though. Is it better for Madoka to enjoy a full, normal, happy human life as Homura wants, or is it better for Madoka to sacrifice that life for the sake of Puella Magi throughout the whole of human history? I can certainly understand people thinking that the latter is preferable. Nonetheless, I find it nice to see an ending where Homura succeeds in her mission.
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2012-11-15, 05:35 | Link #867 | |||
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You're right, Homura and the rest don't now what will happen in the future, but we know enough that I don't hold high hopes for them. Madoka is a person who is not adept at living with her hands folded. She'll throw her life away for a CAT. Quote:
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But my rational mind just doesn't buy it. My disbelief is not suspended. It feels like an asspull.
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2012-11-15, 10:25 | Link #868 |
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kyubei should not mind contracting with anyone as long as that being has got magic potential, so the risk of madoa contracting will always be there, we already got proof on non humans contracting as well as mahou "shoujo" who are well over 20 years old.
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2012-11-15, 10:39 | Link #869 | |
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Anyway, let's agree to disagree. I personally don't need guarantees. I like this ending's uncertain feeling. It fits the theme I think.
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Last edited by Kazu-kun; 2012-11-15 at 13:54. |
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2012-11-15, 11:10 | Link #870 | ||||
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It's not that difficult a concept to buy into, imo. In real life, people generally lose much of their athletic ability sometime in their 30s (this is why a very small percentage of pro sports players are 40 or older). So I don't see anything that hard to believe about the notion that magical potential erodes with age. Quote:
But Madoka not becoming a Puella Magi? I can buy that. Quote:
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I'm presuming this is something that came up in Kazumi Magica, so this isn't something I know about myself.
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2012-11-15, 16:20 | Link #871 | ||
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Madoka's sense of empathy and personal responsibility is too high for her own good. It's the reason why Homura's mission has taken as long as it did; she keeps throwing herself into this even when she knows the consequences because she feels her potential gives her a responsibility to help others.
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2012-11-15, 16:42 | Link #872 | |
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You yourself admit that it's possible that Madoka's magical potential will fade with age, which would logically mean that Kyubey's interest in her will wane. So that alone means it's possible that the ending we're discussing is not all "false hope". Maybe it really does indicate that Homura has succeeded in preventing Madoka from ever contradicting as a Puella Magi. Something else that should be kept in mind here - Some people believe that Madoka felt great guilt during Episode 4 because she couldn't bring herself to wish Mami back to life (that's the most logical explanation for the guilt that Madoka expresses when confronted by the TV-Witch, imo). And that Madoka wasn't even aware that magical girls could turn into witches; Madoka was simply scared due to having seen how Puella Magi can endure gruesome deaths in "the line of duty". So I don't think that Madoka is entirely without a sense of self-preservation.
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2012-11-15, 17:58 | Link #873 | |
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Madoka is a very empathic person, but I strongly disagree she would throw away her life so easily.
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2012-11-15, 21:31 | Link #874 | |
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Spoiler for kazumi magica:
Spoiler for madoka anime and suplementary materials:
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2012-11-15, 22:06 | Link #875 | |||
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Also, even if we assume for the sake of argument that the cutoff point is Madoka's 20th birthday, that's still six years. Quote:
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I'm inclined to agree with you on this point, but even when she knew all the consequences in the main timeline, she WOULD have wished to return Sayaka to normal if Homura didn't do something.
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2012-11-15, 22:41 | Link #877 | ||
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@maximilianjenus - Thanks for the info.
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However, just because this approach failed in Timeline 3 doesn't mean every attempt at it would have failed. Quote:
Madoka wouldn't do it for Mami... but she would do it for Sayaka, as you correctly pointed out. I think these two instances do a good job of demonstrating exactly where "the line" is for Madoka. What I take from this: Madoka isn't likely to throw her life away for somebody she barely knows, even if her initial impression of that person is very positive (this summing up Mami well). But there are, I think, a handful of specific people that Madoka would sacrifice herself for. Her parents, her brother, Sayaka, and maybe Hitomi. Basically, her immediate family and her two best friends. Aside from that, sheer numbers will motivate Madoka (i.e. her entire city being in danger, or vast unknown numbers of Puella Magi needing help). So yeah, I'll say that Madoka never contracting as a Puella Magi probably depends on her family, her two closest friends, and her city, never being grievously endangered beyond what other Puella Magi can help. So yes, Madoka needs to get pretty lucky here, I won't deny that. But it's possible, so I say let the Homura fans enjoy the Homura ending.
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2012-11-16, 01:49 | Link #879 | |||
The True Culprit
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2012-11-16, 14:29 | Link #880 |
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No, she learned about that in episode 9, when Sayaka was already a witch, and that's when she started to seriously consider the real consequences of becoming a magical girl.
It was you not me. Let's end here if you want.
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madoka magica, movie |
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