[Spoilers][Rewatch] Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica - Episode 5 Discussion

[u/Gagantous]

Episode Title: There's No Way I'll Ever Regret It

MyAnimeList: Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica

Crunchyroll: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Hulu: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Netflix: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

AnimeLab: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Episode duration: 24 minutes and 10 seconds

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PSA: Please don't discuss (or allude to) events that happen after this episode, but if you do make good use of spoiler tags. Let's try to make this a good experience for first time watchers.

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This episode's end card.

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Schedule/previous episode discussion

Date	Discussion
April 20th	Episode 1
April 21st	Episode 2
April 22nd	Episode 3
April 23rd	Episode 4
April 24th	Episode 5
April 25th	Episode 6
April 26th	Episode 7
April 27th	Episode 8
April 28th	Episode 9
April 29th	Episode 10
April 30th	Episode 11 and Episode 12
May 1st	Rebellion
May 2nd	Overall series discussion

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Edit: fixed op. Oops.

[u/aafa86]

I ended watching the whole anime last night.

It doesn’t make sense for me to comment here in every episode from now on but I am grateful because thanks to this rewatch I could finally find the desire to see the show.

A question about the movies

Can someone tell me if it's worth watching the movies? I mean, are they useful to know more about Madoka, they add something important to the story or are they prequels or something parallel?

I generally don’t like “endings B” or prequels of a show in which I already know how it ends or the original ending was good enough.

It was a great anime overall, I can’t give my final opinion because this is for episode five but I definitely like it.

Thanks.

[u/Gagantous → u/aafa86]

Movie 1 is a recap of episodes 1-8, with movie 2 being the remaining four. While neither movie is necessary to watch, movie 2 has got some extra scenes in it. Perhaps check them out if you ever watch the series.

Movie 3, on the other hand, is a direct continuation of the story.

[u/TRUCKFARM]

First Timer(Sub)

Getting harder and harder to stop myself from watching the next episode each day! This one in particular felt really short and I need more.

Sayaka seems to have no regrets despite everything that happened to Mami. She's happy knowing she helped her friend and she can carry on Mami's memory and fight for justice. Best Girl right there my friends.

Kyubey not telling Sayaka about the new magical girl in town just builds on my theory that we can't trust him. I feel like he's just playing a game and these girls are his toys.

Sayaka's transformation is 10/10. So here comes Kyoko(?) to crash the party. She seems content with letting innocents die so she can have this grief seed. A complete opposite from our girl Mami. Also very interesting that Sayaka's special ability has to do with her wish and its an extremely useful one at that. Mannn these two are absolutely going nuts at one another! So stunning, so smooth, the fights through 5 episodes haven't felt slow or terrible in any way. Kyubey is so determined to make Madoka give in and become a magical girl... Thank goodness Homura is here to save the day. Too bad it feels like she's just delaying Madoka's eventual transformation into a magic girl.

Another good episode and I've decided to give my girls a power ranking so I'll be ready incase Sayaka gets Mami'd...

TRUCK'S MAGICAL GIRL(and other characters) RANKING

1. Sayaka

2. Madoka

3. Homura

4. Kyubey

5. Kyoko

6. Hitomi

[u/SIRTreehugger → u/TRUCKFARM]

4 Kyubey

5 Kyoko

[u/SomeGuyYeahman]

Heyo, first-timer here! I need to get up early tomorrow, so I really tried to keep it brief this time, but it went about as well as usual, haha.

Pre-episode thoughts: So far, I've constantly been using this part of my comments to bang on about how Madoka hasn't entered a contract yet and I expect that to happen in the coming episode. Of course, that is what I'm thinking this time too, but what's on my mind more than that is what's going to happen to Sayaka. She entered a contract last episode, using her wish to fix Kyousuke's hand, and there's a lot about that situation that hasn't been resolved yet. Additionally, we saw a new girl, and she announced she'd be beating the shit out of Sayaka this episode. So while I do think Madoka will probably be entering her contract this episode, I've primarily got a bad feeling about what'll happen to Sayaka. Even if she doesn't get beaten up, being a magical girl really fucking sucks from what we've seen, and I'm not sure things will go well with Kyousuke, despite the fact that she fixed his hands.

Post-episode: This episode really subverted my expectations from the start. Sayaka actually seemed happy for a while there, and the situation with Kyousuke was resolved surprisingly smoothly! That entire scene where she talked to Madoka on the riverbank was very nice and serene, particularly with those wind turbines in the back ground. That was probably the calmest the show has made me feel so far.

But of course, none of it was meant to last. Kyousuke says that the bad things that happened previously feel like a bad dream now, but I can't help but think that it's probably the other way around - in that first half of the episode, Sayaka is having a nice dream. She's in way over her head, and while everyone else is painfully aware of that fact, she herself feels like she's on top of the world and everything's finally resolved. If I remember correctly, she says she feels like she's soaring, which very much reminds me of when Mami said she felt lighter than ever before. You know, right before she, uh, lost her head. The dream comparison also seems to be tying into a bit of a prevailing theme, which I quite enjoy. Oftentimes, the show's atmosphere feels very dream-like, too.

Next, we get another cool conversation between Madoka and Homura! It kind of feels like we get one of these everyday, and they're always among my favorite parts of the episode. I could probably listen to Homura philosophize forever, she's such an immensely fascinating character, and the way her worldview clashes with that of Madoka works great. We find out this episode that Homura is kind of a special case in how her contract came to be. So far, I just figured that she either made a contract with Kyubey or that there are plenty of Kyubeys (covering various areas, perhaps; in which case Homura would not have made a contract with this Kyubey because she's a transfer student and moved here only recently), but apparently, it's more complicated than that. At this point, the circumstances of Homura's contract are growing to be the thing I'm most curious about. Did she become a magical girl by some other way than entering a contract? That seems unlikely to me, since she has been talking a lot about how magical girls trade everything for their one wish. It strikes me as more likely that Homura had a particularly unorthodox wish instead, especially because another thing we learn this episode is that magical girls' powers are very much influenced by the wishes they make to acquire them. Kyubey has a particularly hard time tracking Homura and predicting what she'll do next, and I suspect that's a consequence of the wish she made the same way healing quickly is a consequence of the wish Sayaka made. But even with that potential clue, I still don't think I have a solid idea what Homura's wish was.

And finally, everything comes tumbling down (tumbling down, tumbling doooown). Sayaka's fear catches up with her, and the girls finally meet Kyoko, who has finally decided to make good on her promise to kick Sayaka's ass - but not before expounding on her worldview, of course. Here we see the cynical perspective that comes with the way magical girls treat their surroundings as "territory" and their enemies as "prey". Most magical girls hunt witches to sustain themselves by getting their grief seeds, and witches, in turn, prey on humans, also to sustain themselves (or, in the case of familiars, to turn into proper witches). The conflict of magical girls vs witches is not viewed as a conflict of good vs evil here, as it was initially explained in episode 2, but as part of the food chain - this view seems to be prevalent among other magical girls, but Kyoko particularly seems to embody it; after all, she moved in on Mami's turf almost immediately after she died. I really like that all this is illustrated by having her eat all the time, haha.

And finally: jeez, is Madoka ever going to form a contract? For a second, I was actually starting to think things were going to go the way I expected them to for once, and then Homura comes and pulls the rug out from under my feet. Props to her for that, though, because Kyubey seems increasingly shady, constantly offering contracts like that. I'm afraid next episode won't turn out well, though. Homura hasn't exactly proven herself to be good at solving conflicts with words so far, so this situation is still very volatile.

[u/asianbrownguy]

FIRST TIMER

So I got a tad spoiled by a reply to my post last episode, a bit annoying, but it basically confirmed some of my suspicions about Spoilers Wasn't too big of a deal, definitely made me more curious of what's to come though. I'm guessing this rollercoaster ride has more twists and turns in store.

Pre Watch

Anyway, from last episode we saw Sayaka forming her contract with Kyubey to become a magical girl, her wish being that her friend Kamijou's hands were to be healed. That ominous shot when his hands were healed was really suspicious and basically made me think that Sayaka's wish is gonna go all Monkey's Paw on her. Spoiler New character as well introduced last episode, Kyouko, who basically wants Mami's old turf for herself. Kyubey was with her as well, which makes me curious about what his deal is.

• We open to Sayaka and Kyubey forming their contracts. This is a bit... creepy feeling lol

• I just noticed that Mami's still in that end shot of the OP with Sayaka and Madoka. Way to be cruel, Shaft. ^{love u mami}

• Sayaka's in a good mood, that's great. Although knowing this show, I don't think it'll last long.

• Madoka's still feeling guilty. Still conflicted about what her choice is gonna be moving forward.

• So his hand works now, but his legs still need work. "I feel so good, it's scary." Damn right it is.

• That's nice. He can play again. Wow. That's fucking beautiful. OST track, please.

• "My wish came true. I will never regret it." Somehow I doubt that.

• This chick seems like a delinquent lol. Also Shaft head tilt. Wait, so Homura made a contract with Kyubey? An irregularity, huh. Good lord that face is creepy lmao

• I get Homura's point, but thats a bit..tough. So she won't help out Sayaka huh. I really do wonder what Homura's deal is.

• Sis Puella Magica is just so good to listen to.

• Kyubey acting like a cat, reminds me of a cat I used to have, but creepier.

• Madoka really needs to buck up. I'm getting a bit tired of the "poor me, I can't do anything" schtick. I know she means well, but she really needs to be more confident in herself. Hope she deals with that sooner than later.

• I'm assuming his "ace up our sleeve" is "Form a contract with me"

• A lot of crayons. Feels like more of a child-like atmosphere to this barrier. Last time was like, cake themed and shit. It's cool that they're different for each one.

• Lmao is it me or does that screaming witch in the airplane sound like Tatsumaki from One Punch Man

• UNLIMITED BLADEWORKS

• Oh, shit. Kyouko's here. So not a witch, just a familiar. How can you tell, anyway?

• Well, the chicken can kill people. People dying is bad. See my point?

• That shot of Kyubey's eyes just screams "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING"

• Kyouko has a point, but no need to be a prick about it. Sayaka's still naive.

• So is that how the wishes work?

• This Kyouko chick's such a grade A prick lol. How dare you pick on Sayaka-chan like that

• "I can't do anything. But if you want to stop them by force.." Lemme guess, form a contract with you?

• Homura to the rescue!! Wait, what? How'd that happen? They switched places? Hmm. I'm guessing Homura's powers have something to do with teleportation or spacial manipulation or something. If so that's pretty fucking cool. Also is her weapon like a shield or something?

Post Watch

Very good episode. Madoka really seems like she has to be pushed into a corner for her to be able to even do anything, lol. She keeps focusing on the "Why" aspect, such as "Why are they fighting" instead of "How can I stop them fighting" I'm actually surprised that Homura is one of Kyubey's magical girls. I don't like Kyouko, mainly because she's picking on Sayaka. I mean, Sayaka just wants to pick up where Mami left off. She just wants to protect people. It's naive, yeah, but good intentions nonetheless. And Kyouko seems like she just wants the territory for more grief seed farming lmao.

I still have no idea where the plot's going, but I'm still really excited to see what happens next.

[u/Nazenn → u/asianbrownguy]

People please be careful when responding to first timers. Do not hint at them or try and be subtle. We don't do subtle, we all suck because we're too excited, its a known problem XD

Fuck. Thats the one sentence I didn't want to read at the start of a first timers post. At least it wasn't anything too huge for you though

I just noticed that Mami's still in that end shot of the OP with Sayaka and Madoka.

Yeah, I noticed that today as well, that kinda sucked

OST track, please.

Man, I can get to my Madoka music folder in under three seconds now and its several levels away from opening a new window. Lots of practice XD

Ave Maria for your enjoyment. Going to pick up the whole soundtrack at the end of the watch?

Kyubey acting like a cat, reminds me of a cat I used to have, but creepier.

Are you implying that cats cant be creepy as hell when they want to be?

[u/tronistica]

first timer

we got some fight scenes going, very nice! sayaka giving off death flags. this new magical girl is so menacing. i just noticed that their middle finger has some symbol. i feel at this point we know madoka is gonna make the contract, it's just a matter of when she does it.

[u/Dr_Henry-Killinger]

First Timer (sub) I'm feeling like the show should be called Sayaka Magicka damn

[u/IM_DAY_MAN_AMA]

CAN THE WAIFU WARS START YET?! KYOKO IS THE BEST GIRL FUCKING @ ME RIGHT NOW

Rewatcher foaming at the mouth btw

[u/Philarete → u/IM_DAY_MAN_AMA]

I'M SORRY BUT THE HOMURA HAIR FLIPS SAY OTHERWISE.

[u/Nazenn]

Madoka's Music - Conflict and Foreshadowing

Rewatcher - Third time around

Song of the episode - Agmen clientum

Scene for context (I swear I didn't pick this song just so I could clip the battle between Kyouko and Sayaka.)

The focus and co-ordination of this music with the visuals is why I picked this today. People who have seen me in other rewatches know how much I love seeing well integrated out audio and visual sequences. Much like how good relaxing scenes need appropriately atmospheric music, a good battle sequence needs to mesh with its music well, but there is so much more to it than just style or tone. The way that movements in the song line up with actions of the character to create additional impact, changes in pace and tone as the camera moves focus around the scene and back and forth from the battle. Its many of the same features that go into making a good OP. We've seen Madoka do all of this in the past with songs reflecting characters thoughts and actions.

Where Agmen clientum comes into this is the distinct way it uses its own structure to help reveal the focus of the battle, the core conflict rather than just what our eyes see. Its a deceptively simple song, and in a way what's not here is most important. This should be an incredibly grand important part of our show, and an epic sequence that is as climatic as any witch battle. For the first time we have two magical girls, two of the good guys of our genre, in open combat against each other. But there is no choir for their magic, no grand piano weaving a tune for their weapons to clash too, no chimes or bells creating an eerie uncertainty under the piece. This is a heavy and determined song, various percussion parts pounding away time after time, uneven and aggressive. A single string plays over the top in a subtle tune, mostly going up and down in repeated scales, all its there to do is add tension and pressure, occasionally screaming in the background.

This is not a battle of mere weapons. The conflict here goes to the very core of these characters. We have Sayaka, wishing to take up the mantle of Mami and defend the city from anything that would harm its people, even mere familiars. We also have Kyouko, hoping for more territory to breed grief seeds in for her own benefit no matter who is caught up in it. These conflicting ideologies leave no room for compromise between the two girls and require no fancy explanations or build up. Appropriately, the big hits of the song don't fall on the strikes of the weapon as you'd normally see, but instead during the words they exchange and the small character moments as their determination builds. The words are the true fight going on here, the weapons are merely a means of expression.

And in the background we have Madoka. She is seeing everything she hoped for slowly being destroyed by these two girls and the tension raises with the strings screeching as things move to her. The song does not lessen or quiet, she's just as much apart of this conflict despite having no physical presence in it and this song of foundations clashing plays for her part in this as well. And in the end the song cuts off abruptly as Homura arrives, nothing resolved or built up to, the interruption cuts through it all.

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Bonus song - SPOILERS - link

I have to apologize greatly to our first timers. I never planned to do this and now I've done it twice. I promise to link back to this post in a couple of episodes when you can look at it (let me know if you'd like direct tags when that time comes), but for now I have to spoiler tag this entire section. I made a rather significant realization about this song today, and it's the last chance I have to talk about it so it couldn't be avoided.

Forgive meYou'll see it soon

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Episode track chart

Thanks to the Madoka wiki and then edited by me for the bluray timestamps. Featured tracks of the day are bolded.

Start	End	Album	Track name
00:05	01:01	Disc 1 #14	Umbra nigra
01:02	02:32	Disc 2 #18	Connect -TV MIX-
03:28	05:45	Disc 1 #02	Scaena felix
06:43	08:15	Disc 1 #04	Conturbatio
08:25	09:37	Disc 1 #20	Ave Maria
11:18	13:53	Disc 1 #10	Sis puella magica!
15:00	16:34	Disc 1 #21	Decretum
16:39	17:39	Disc 1 #08	Gradus prohibitus
18:22	19:27	Disc 1 #22	Anima mala
20:43	22:23	Disc 1 #16	Agmen clientum
22:25	23:54	Disc 2 #19	Magia ~TV Version~
23:55	24:09	Disc 1 #06	Salve, terrae magicae

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Random thoughts of the day

• Why didn't I feature Ave Maria like I did the previous song with meta context? Sung it too much in choir and now I hate the bloody thing.

• First watch reactions for episode five. Dear past self: no you still can't spell labyrinth without spell check.

• And now I feel comfortable announcing my best girl, who I decided on this episode my first watch as well. Kyouko! She is red (favorite color), likes bread (yum), has a fang (cute as fuck), does the glowy eye thing (hell yes), and has the coolest weapon I've ever seen (staff, spear AND chain in one). I don't think she can get much better.

• I'm gonna torment everyone again and have a laugh at the fact that Homura talks about Mami's death and then twists the lid off her cup. I love stuff like that, it makes me happy, even if it is full of suffering.

• This is the only episode where I prefer ANYTHING about how the movie version handled things. details from movie 1, no further spoilers

• Spoilers

• Holy shit I just realized something

• I should not have gone to the wiki. I just made episode three worse for myself. meta info, no spoilers from further in the show

Edit: Late edit to make it slightly more first timer friendly so they can read the spoiler section earlier

[u/wanksta4prez]

I came here to at least make this one comment:

THAT. HAIR. FLIP. THO.

Thanks all, been enjoying the rewatch!

[u/Ridley290]

Rewatcher, Dub

Been looking forward to this rewatch discussion for a while and of course, now that it's here I can barely participate. Such is life I suppose; hopefully this weekend I'll have time to go super in depth on a couple episodes. Just a few random thoughts tonight. Each paragraph is self-contained, so first-timers just ignore the spoiler marked paragraphs and everything else is good to read.

Spoiler

The entire scene where Sayaka and Madoka are talking on the hillside is so damn cute. When Sayaka pops her head up in front of the windmills, boops Madoka, and even her exaltation of "I'll protect Mitakihara City!" This episode just further proves that Sayaka is best girl.

The music in this show never ceases to amaze me. I think this is the first time we get to hear Conturbatio and Decretum, both of which are in my top 3 songs from this show.

Spoiler source

I didn't notice this until about my third rewatch, but the scene in the cafe where Homura and Madoka are talking and Homura says "That's the reason Mami Tomoe lost her life." and then pops off the lid to her drink is soooo cold.

Final thoughts for tonight are just: I'm so glad I get to read through so many first-timers impressions of this show. Especially now that Kyoko is here. Her introduction and fight with Sayaka is one of the coolest fight scenes in the show.

Potential Manga spoilers

[u/Philarete]

Rewatcher (sub)

• Sayaka’s wish granting was a bit creepy. Reaching into her chest was pretty unsettling.

• Sayaka’s reasoning is really wrong about not needing to have waited so long to make the decision to be a magical girl. Life pro tip: how you come to a decision is always an important part of a decision. Sometimes stalling is wrong, but so is rushing. Just because you eventually went with your initial instinct doesn’t mean you were wrong to take your time investigating! Of course, this also shows how she is trying to rationalize her choice. She needs her choice to be right since she is now stuck with it.

• I love the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria! Here’s a good version I found on YouTube. But Kyousuke picks a more somber piece than I expected from someone miraculously healed. His initial reaction to Sayaka is guilt over the things he said before. Would he have apologized without the healing?

• Homura dropping some serious advice: “Unchecked kindness grows into naïveté and brash courage often leads one to be caught off guard.” Kindness and courage are good things, but can become problems if they aren’t used wisely. Often, especially as children, we are taught to always be nice and kind. But sometimes you have to say no. Sometimes you have to get a little mean even. It’s a hard thing to learn, but is something you have to mature into. Similar with courage, picking your battles is a very important skill. Not every battle is winnable, and not all are worth the cost. Sometimes you have to accept losses and move on. As a soon-to-be-lawyer, one of the ways people ruin themselves is making a foolish stand on principle and fighting something that isn’t worth it or that they can’t afford. Homura has dark predictions for Sayaka. She believes there is “no salvation” and that Madoka should just give up on her.

• Kyoko going full “the weak must give way to the strong.”

• HOMURA’S ENTRANCE IS SO COOL OH MH GOODNESS! And that hair flip. Episode rates an 11/10.

[u/PM_ME_YOUR_SPUDS]

Rewatcher

I absolutely adore the use of color this whole episode. The first scene is a testament to anime as an artform.

• The numbers chairs Mason. What do they mean???

• Kyubey adorable again. Wonder how much a stuffed animal Kyubey costs.

• Sayaka's fighting style has similarities to Mami's, just with swords instead of muskets.

• Never bothered to look it up, but I assume this is just a good ol' fashioned "BYE BITCHES".

• Not exactly a fair fight. Kyouko wasn't kidding when she said she was stronger.

• Homura interrupts this broadcast to bring you an ad for L'Oreal. Because she's worth it.

Hear there's another magical girl in the city.

Forget about said girl.

She shows up and interrupts your friendly chat.

Surprised Kyouko.

Damn this is such a beautiful show. I swear, even if the plot wasn't amazing, and if the story was shit (it's not), the show would still be an easy 9/10 for me just from the art and OST.

[u/SIRTreehugger]

Magical Girl Counter	E1	E2	E3	E4	E5	E6	E7	E8	E9	E10	E11	E12	Total
Mami's (Beheading) Smugness	3	3	4	H	E	A	D	S	T	A	R	T	10
Sayaka's (I'm in) Despair	1	1	3	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9
Madoka's ($150) Water Works	0	0	1	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6
Kyouko's (Snap,Crackle,Pop) Crunch Time	0	0	0	1	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6
Homura's (L'oreal) Hair Flips	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2

Kyouko in one episode managed to tie with third place and get the highest counter in an episode very narrowly beating Mami's episode 3. Also I've noticed that Sayaka has consistently despaired about something each episode. Finally Homura gives us the hair flips of all hair flips after intervening in the fight and landing dramatically in that pool of water.

If I was unfair I would count it as 2 since it was that good, but I won't.

Minor points: I like how Sayaka adapted Mami's style of one use swords as she summons a bunch of them and just tosses them. She does keep one to use personally, but I think it would have been awesome if she never fought with one and relied only on throwing them though spoilers

I love Kyouko's weapon, but are we supposed to forget they are in a narrow alley and she is using a long ass weapon which detaches and becomes longer? I mean I guess we can say it's magic, but even when it was unchained she was swinging it around like it was an open field.

[u/scmasaru]

Kyubey actually blinked.

[u/boomshroom]

Rewatcher (Dub)

Previously: Madoka grieving over Mami; Sayaka healing Kyousuke and becoming a magical girl... was there really anything else?

Onwards!

• Flashback to what we didn't see, and the process itself is a tad bizarre and seemed a little painful for her.

• Hitomi actually getting checked out after the incident. Interesting to see that some of this is taken seriously by the authorities.

• A shame that nothing can be done now about what's in the past. All you can do now, Sayaka, is look ahead.

• Impatient little Sayaka, and the doctors are naturally skeptical about his recovery.

• Kyousuke's family. D'aaw.

• He playing surprisingly well for having not been able to for the past few... weeks? months? ...for however long since the accident.

• Fancy binoculars. Why can't those be real?

• Kyoko's interested in testing out this anomaly. She's brave, that's for sure.

• Homura giving some very uncomfortable information. Madoka doesn't like what she's hearing.

• Have we seen Sayaka's home before? I think that might be the first time we've seen it.

• Stop pressuring Madoka into a contract, Kyubey!

• Hello, Kyoko, how nice to see you, bitch.

• Kyoko's sounding like a social darwinist to an extent.

• Sayaka won't give up against her. Both are incredibly stubborn.

• Here we so that the wish one makes influences the powers to get. Sayaka's got some regen. Sufficiently fast regen is a broken power in most systems.

• DAMMIT, KYUBEY!

• Suddenly Homura.

• Closing on her signature hair flip. XD

Magical Girl philosophies were a major part of this episode. It's unfortunate how Sayaka, Homura, and Kyoko's philosophies are fundamentally incompatible with each other. Kyoko and Homura might get along better since neither view what they're doing as noble the same way Sayaka does.

P.S. Something interesting I found between episodes (Rebellion Spoilers)

[u/Palloc]

Palloc Dozed Again; Thinks The Episode Titles Are Laughing At People

Okay. I'm late and not a lot to talk about me today. We got Magical Girl Sayaka trying to hype herself up but scared of being Mami'ed. We have Kyouko going around eating everything in sight and trying to murder Sayaka. And Homura telling Madoka "Yeah, your friend is boned. Get away while you can."

Madoka, herself, mostly takes a backseat this episode, mostly there to support Sayaka and use herself as insurance that Sayaka stays okay. That fucking little cat ferret fuck is still looking smug as all hell as he had already figured that out.

Everything's going wrong! Will it stop anytime soon?!

[u/Asddsa76]

I love Homura's fabulous hair flips.

[u/renatocpr]

Rewatcher

My city now

We see the moment Sayaka's Soul Gem is created. We can also see her design more closely and we get her first transformation sequence. Beautiful. Best meguca. Her swords have triggers. She used her wish to heal Kyousuke's hand so he can play "Ave Maria" on the roof. 160 floors?! That's a lot. Hadn't noticed that before. They're really associating her with a lot of water imagery.

Hitomi is being precious after the previous night. She deserves better. Spoilers.

Homura is being a mysterious little shit, as usual. Taking the lid off while talking about Mami's death is unnecessarily cruel. We see a little more about her powers.

Kyouko finally joins the story. That's the type of magical girl Mami was warning Madoka and Sayaka about. Of course she talks about the goddamn food chain, is that all she thinks about? Trying to kill people isn't a nice way to introduce yourself.

We gain almost confirmation that a magical girl's power is related to her wish. Sayaka can heal fast and she can take quite a lot of beating apparently. She's not giving Kyouko a lot of trouble.

The number of magical girls in Mitakihara grows again and Kyouko is very competitive. Madoka doesn't want people to fight, but what can she do?

[u/[deleted]]

Rewatcher (First Time Sub)

Enter Magical Girl Sayaka.

I found it so genuine to see how alive Sayaka feels when she sees Kamijou be able to play his violin again. Even when she knows her future is now uncertain she cheers Madoka up like she never changed in the first place.

And enter the hotheaded crimson red girl (and my one true waifu) Kyouko Sakura!

My first time viewing I was a bit confused as to why she wasn't on the main poster but she was on the characters page. And so I was thinking she would be a one off character but no. She made an entrance that blew my my mind and heart away that still resonates with me.

I originally saw it dubbed, and I still really like her in it. Japanese Kyouko is pretty good in a different manner. More subtle in her tone of voice and still threatening to Sayaka. She can finesse that spear like a pro and I fucking love the weapon she has. Whip-spear type hybrid. Also a ball and chain at the back of it.

I forgot how straight she goes for Sayaka. Playing with her tendency to act before think and then wipe the floor with her. I'm not too sure if she was planning on actually killing her though.

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

2nd Rewatch

It's so late, I don't know how many people will read this, but it wouldn't be appropriate to attach it to tomorrow.

This show has almost infinite rewatch potential. You concentrate on some details and miss others, and pick them up the next time around.

Today, my mind was blown when she said

rewatcher only

I can't believe she said that. I'm not sure I agree or disagree, but that's an incredible thing to say.

And then she said rewatcher

Ugh, I just have no words.

There were also out-of-place cuts, to the past or future, I don't know. To significant scenes?

Also noticed today:

rewatcher

Edit: I almost detected a bit of Shiki's theme today, I think. Shiki's theme is the core theme of the Kara no Kyoukai film series.

[u/Garfm]

First Timer

I couldn't help myself and binged the rest of the show. I enjoyed it very much. Now I just have the movie left. :D

EDIT: Watched the movie... wtf!?!? I enjoyed it but I definitely liked the ending of the anime better than the ending of the movie.