Madoka Magica - Movie Discussion (& Speculation) Thread

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

So why don't we have one yet? Or even the slightest hinting of one? It's been over two years...

Probably because Shinbo doesn't own the property. The Madoka franchise belongs to Aniplex (Sony), and they're probably don't want to take any risk with it. Even without doing anything, they're still making money with the merchandise and manga spin-offs anyway.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Probably because Shinbo doesn't own the property. The Madoka franchise belongs to Aniplex (Sony), and they're probably don't want to take any risk with it.

So are you saying then that it would be considered risky to even do a SoL spin-off? If so, what would make it risky?

In any event, where's the evidence that Shinbo wants to do a Madoka SoL? Where are you and Solace getting that from?

I vaguely remember Shinbo throwing around the idea a long time ago, but I don't recall recently hearing it.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

So are you saying then that it would be considered risky to even do a SoL spin-off? If so, what would make it risky?

We're talking like 250k dollars (not yen) per episode. If you consider they can still make money with merchandise and such without having to invest that much, then yeah, even a slice of life could be considered a risk.

I vaguely remember Shinbo throwing around the idea a long time ago, but I don't recall recently hearing it.

He said so a few times if I remember correctly. Don't know how serious he was though.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

We're talking like 250k dollars (not yen) per episode. If you consider they can still make money with merchandise and such without having to invest that much, then yeah, even a slice of life could be considered a risk.

So how many DVD/Blu-Rays do you think a hypothetical Madoka Magica SoL would need to pull down in order to make a decent profit on DVD/Blu-Ray sales alone? Given the price per episode, I mean.

[Solace]

I don't remember the exact interviews, but I know he was "joking" about the slice of life stuff even while they were promoting Rebellion. I agree with Kazu on the costs. I expect if there is a continuation or a reboot, it will be tested in cheaper waters: novels and manga. At best they might adapt an existing story like Kazumi to milk a little bit more revenue out of the franchise before moving on.

[Triple_R]

One thing just occurred to me - The discussion has been on the costs "per episode", as though a Rebellion sequel would be a TV series one.

But a movie sequel is something with different financials involved. Then you get to air it in theaters, and ticket sales made by theaters would be a factor here, wouldn't it?

How much money did SHAFT make off of the Rebellion movie?

[Vegard Aune]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I have to admit I get some considerable cognitive dissonance as I read that, and then look over at your avatar...

...You mean that as in, it's weird to say one doesn't want more Madoka while at the same time having a Madokami avatar? Because to me at least, that doesn't seem strange at all. I mean, Madoka is my favorite anime of all time, but I still stand by the TV-series not even slightly needing a sequel, and while I have indeed been saying time and time again that Rebellion seriously needs one, this is just because I feel as an ending the thing is pretty much the biggest failure since Timeline #4. And note that my suggested continuation was specifically written in such a way that would completely exclude any chance of them ever making another sequel.

I mean, obviously I'm not speaking for Solace here, but I always consider knowing when to stop a good thing when writing a story, and indeed, the fact that Madoka Magica the TV-series clearly did know when to stop is one of the many reasons why I love it so much.

[Solace]

Originally Posted by Vegard Aune

...You mean that as in, it's weird to say one doesn't want more Madoka while at the same time having a Madokami avatar? Because to me at least, that doesn't seem strange at all. I mean, Madoka is my favorite anime of all time, but I still stand by the TV-series not even slightly needing a sequel, and while I have indeed been saying time and time again that Rebellion seriously needs one, this is just because I feel as an ending the thing is pretty much the biggest failure since Timeline #4. And note that my suggested continuation was specifically written in such a way that would completely exclude any chance of them ever making another sequel.

I mean, obviously I'm not speaking for Solace here, but I always consider knowing when to stop a good thing when writing a story, and indeed, the fact that Madoka Magica the TV-series clearly did know when to stop is one of the many reasons why I love it so much.

You weren't speaking for me, but I'll let you keep talking. This isn't too far from my opinion. If anything, I was hoping Madoka's success would drive the greenlighting of more projects like it. Instead we got Daybreak Illusion and Wixoss. Mixed results, of course.

[woxx]

I almost agree with Kazu-kun except few things. Rebellion did succeed a lot. I don't want to look for numbers to compare, but it did great with box office, bluray sales and boosted merchandise sales big time.
I think Urobuchi is what stopping them from making a sequel. Without his name franchise might be ruined. And after learning with all his other works, I'm 100% sure Rebellion is his true final ending.

But I still believe they will make "rebuild" of madoka someday or maybe something somehow connected to madoka's franchise. But Rebellion's direct sequel isn't going to happen.

[Vegard Aune]

Urobuchi kind of specifically said that Rebellion would not be the end of the story though... But his further comments can really only either be taken as...
1: I intend to write more but I don't have a clear plan as to where the story will go yet, or
2: I'm stepping down from the head writer position and whatever comes next will be written by somebody else.

...And I seem to recall seeing somewhere that he'd already made some comments along the lines of the second option. So I'm still sticking to the "We wanted a sequel but how on earth do we actually continue this?!" explanation.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Vegard Aune

...You mean that as in, it's weird to say one doesn't want more Madoka while at the same time having a Madokami avatar?

Post-Rebellion, yeah. It's admittedly hard for me to see how a big Madokami fan could be completely cool with Rebellion's ending being the final note of the entire series. To me, that's like a Seattle Seahawks fan saying he's Ok with how Super Bowl XLIX ended.

Still, my reply to Solace was meant more as playful joking than as a serious counterargument.

Originally Posted by Solace

If anything, I was hoping Madoka's success would drive the greenlighting of more projects like it. Instead we got Daybreak Illusion and Wixoss. Mixed results, of course.

Symphogear, Vivid Red Operation, and Yuuki Yuuna are three other anime shows that I think were probably inspired by Madoka, at least partially. The first two borrows a fair bit from Nanoha as well, I think.

Adding those 3 to the two you mentioned, and that's a pretty good record of inspiration that Madoka can probably claim.

[woxx]

Shaft is finishing monogatari series and making kizu movie soon. Madoka becomes their only succesful franchise. Something will definitely going to happen in 2017-2018. But as I said already, it might not be what people expect(sequel I mean)

Also found some information that they wanted to animate wraith arc(Rebellion's prequel), but decided to make manga instead. It's ongoing now and it's pretty good, but no one translates it yet.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by woxx

Shaft is finishing monogatari series and making kizu movie soon. Madoka becomes their only succesful franchise. Something will definitely going to happen in 2017-2018. But as I said already, it might not be what people expect(sequel I mean)

My 2nd choice after a direct sequel would probably be an anime adaptation of Oriko Magica. Maybe even a movie (Oriko Magica is probably just the right length for adapting to a nice 90 minute movie - If they want to flesh out the characters a bit with anime-original content, they could push it to two hours).

I'm honestly not that big on the idea of a Madoka Magica SoL. While I like the characters a lot, they're usually at their best when facing/overcoming dark and serious troubles. Without that to rise them up, the characters honestly aren't that different from what you can find in countless anime shows. I mean, a generally content/relaxed Madoka and Sayaka and Homura and Mami and Kyouko living normal day-to-day lives would basically be K-On. Just with less comedy, as neither character strikes me as someone who could play a comedian role as well as Yui Hirasawa does.