Madoka Magica - Novel Thread

[Solace]

Originally Posted by GDB

Wasn't it also implied by the end of the manga?

Sigh. I'm more expressing my sadness that the story is done, there will be no sequels with these characters. Sure, side stories are fun and all, and maybe the slice of life thing (if it's ever made) will be fun too. But I wanted to keep some hope (maybe pun intended) that there would be a direct sequel.

The anime ending was vague enough that it was possible to take different meanings from it, leaving room for a sequel. The manga had a definite ending. If the novel concludes like the manga, killing all of the main characters and calling it a day, then the only sequel would be what...watching new characters go through the meat grinder again? Oh joy. I have Kazumi Magica for that.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Solace

So no one else looked at the last pic of Homura and realized what the ending of the anime actually meant? Poor Homura.

Wasn't it obvious? She was going into a hopelessly uneven fight...Again I suppose....

[Jimmy C]

Uneven... for her advesaries.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by Solace

Sigh. I'm more expressing my sadness that the story is done, there will be no sequels with these characters. Sure, side stories are fun and all, and maybe the slice of life thing (if it's ever made) will be fun too. But I wanted to keep some hope (maybe pun intended) that there would be a direct sequel.

The anime ending was vague enough that it was possible to take different meanings from it, leaving room for a sequel. The manga had a definite ending. If the novel concludes like the manga, killing all of the main characters and calling it a day, then the only sequel would be what...watching new characters go through the meat grinder again? Oh joy. I have Kazumi Magica for that.

To be fair, Mami and Kyouko are still kicking around as far as we know.

[Solace]

Originally Posted by GDB

To be fair, Mami and Kyouko are still kicking around as far as we know.

Fair point. And looking closer at the picture, it doesn't have to mean the end of Homura. For one thing the patterns mirror the patterns in her wings in the epilogue. The darker area resembles the dark areas in Goddess Madoka's clothing (the "space" look), and the colored areas have the same flower patterns. That could mean anything really, and Gen himself has said that the epilogue scene was a homage to "Blade" more than anything (which is to say, the fight isn't over yet).

So really she just looks sad and torn up, which is understandable.

Guess my pining for a sequel had a moment of grief. *checks Soul Gem*

[Nagumo]

... I read the novel snippet about Mami's... head chomp...

Excuse me, I'm going to go and have nightmares again.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Jimmy C

Uneven... for her advesaries.

It doesn't seem like she had time-stop anymore post Madoka rewriting the universe

[Akashin]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

It doesn't seem like she had time-stop anymore post Madoka rewriting the universe

She didn't; at least not the buckler/shield/time machine, anyway.

That said, she did have a bow, and abilities concerning it that appeared at least visually similar to Madoka's. And unless I'm mistaken, didn't those wings she grew at the end do something as well? Whether they did or not, assuming Homura was able to take on small groups with no problem, that final scene was at least a level playing field, if not stacked in her favor. Given that they seemed capable of appearing in groups and that the Puella Magi seemed to still be capable of dealing with them just fine, it's safe to say that they're probably not all that strong individually, either.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Akashin

She didn't; at least not the buckler/shield/time machine, anyway.

That said, she did have a bow, and abilities concerning it that appeared at least visually similar to Madoka's. And unless I'm mistaken, didn't those wings she grew at the end do something as well? Whether they did or not, assuming Homura was able to take on small groups with no problem, that final scene was at least a level playing field, if not stacked in her favor. Given that they seemed capable of appearing in groups and that the Puella Magi seemed to still be capable of dealing with them just fine, it's safe to say that they're probably not all that strong individually, either.

The way that scene had it though, was like an apocalyptic ending feel to it rather than just a standard engagement

[Hagoshod]

Originally Posted by Solace

Sigh. I'm more expressing my sadness that the story is done, there will be no sequels with these characters. Sure, side stories are fun and all, and maybe the slice of life thing (if it's ever made) will be fun too. But I wanted to keep some hope (maybe pun intended) that there would be a direct sequel.

The anime ending was vague enough that it was possible to take different meanings from it, leaving room for a sequel. The manga had a definite ending. If the novel concludes like the manga, killing all of the main characters and calling it a day, then the only sequel would be what...watching new characters go through the meat grinder again? Oh joy. I have Kazumi Magica for that.

I don't get what made the manga ending so different from the anime ending and I don't know what you're implying the manga ending was implying.

Is it something about how Homura never actually left that empty void from the middle of episode 12 and all that stuff that happened afterward was just her going crazy?

Originally Posted by Nagumo

... I read the novel snippet about Mami's... head chomp...

Excuse me, I'm going to go and have nightmares again.

Please elaborate. Is it anything like my version?

[Akashin]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

The way that scene had it though, was like an apocalyptic ending feel to it rather than just a standard engagement

That's mostly a matter of opinion, and besides, that scene having an apocalyptic feel really has no bearing on Homura's ability to fight the things. My point was just that the odds were only stacked against Homura numerically; from the looks of things, she was more than equipped to fight the lot of 'em. That scene feeling apocalyptic (it didn't really feel that way to me, but again, matter of opinion) doesn't do much to change that.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by Hagoshod

I don't get what made the manga ending so different from the anime ending and I don't know what you're implying the manga ending was implying.

Is it something about how Homura never actually left that empty void from the middle of episode 12 and all that stuff that happened afterward was just her going crazy?

No, it's that she burned herself out fighting the demon equivalent of Walpurgisnacht and went on to meet with Madoka.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by GDB

No, it's that she burned herself out fighting the demon equivalent of Walpurgisnacht and went on to meet with Madoka.

That's assuming way too much. In the manga she eventually dies and meets Madoka, but we don't know when this happen. We don't know if it happens after the fight with the demons a page before.

As for the anime, Gen makes it clear in an interview Homura is just fighting one more battle, not necessarily her last battle or anything. It's a homage to Blade and means "Homura onto the world" or something like that. Also, if you look closely you'll notice Homura's dark wings can reflect the demons' attacks (this is also explained in a production sketch) and is also a bombardment weapon. So she's clearly well equipped to fight a great number of demons on her own.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Finally got both volumes of the novel at a convention selling C80 stuff....can't wait to start reading...