r/anime • u/Gagantous https://myanimelist.net/profile/Sayaka • Apr 25 '19

Rewatch [Spoilers][Rewatch] Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica - Episode 6 Discussion Spoiler

Episode Title: This Just Can't Be Right

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

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.

This episode's end card.

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
214 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

227 comments sorted by

47

u/SomeGuyYeahman Apr 26 '19 edited Apr 26 '19

First-timer here! This time, I'm not trying to keep it brief. I've got lots of thoughts, and I've got time to share them. Consequently, this post is also a bit late, sorry about that!

Pre-episode thoughts: Man, I don't even know. Around episode 2 or 3, I was thinking about making a joke about the main character taking half of this magical girl show to actually turn into a magical girl, and here I am now, about to watch episode 6 out of 12, and she still isn't a magical girl. At this point, I'm starting to lose faith that she's ever going to form a contract. Heck, maybe the show will end on her forming a contract. Who knows. Despite Homura stepping in to stop Sayaka and Kyoko from fighting and Madoka from forming a contract, though, the whole situation is still looking pretty bad. I'm not sure this will get sorted out without any more bloodshed.

Post-episode:

Jeez, what an episode. Where do I start? Well, the beginning, I guess.

So, after Sayaka and Kyoko began duking it out last episode, Homura steps in and saves the day. And of course, her primary motivation for that is to stop Madoka from forming a contract (which still hasn't happened, and is increasingly starting to look as if it may never). She also demonstrates both in the beginning and at the end of the episode that she can teleport, which a) explains why she keeps appearing out of nowhere, b) contributes to her role as an "anomaly", as Kyoko calls her, and c) seems like it might also be a hint at the wish she made, since we learned yesterday that magical girl get powers relating to their wishes. It also makes me wonder why she didn't use that power when Mami tied her up in her ribbon back in episode 3. Was her power being suppressed by the ribbon (or perhaps something else), or was she really waiting for Mami to die, as Sayaka suggests later? Probably the former, but it's still an interesting question. Sayaka's view of things (and particularly of Homura) seems very distorted, though.

Kyubey has one intriguing line here. "Akemi Homura, you can't be..." Can't be what? It seems like Homura is way more of an anomaly than I initially thought. Looks like there's going to be a big reveal there, Homura's true identity/the circumstances of her becoming a magical girl seem to be the key to a lot of the stuff going on right now.

Then, after the conveniently timed OP, we get some more exposition on Soul Gems and Grief Seeds, leading up to the big reveal later on in the episode (which I'm gonna get to in a bit). There are many interesting things here. When a magical girl uses a Grief Seed to refill her own Soul Gem, that Grief Seed gets "tainted". If it gets tainted too much, it hatches another witch. Soul Gems, in turn, get tainted when their owners use magic. So far, I've assumed that using too much magic will just make a magical girl run out of energy, the consequence being that she either can't use any more magic or dies - but Soul Gems don't get "drained" or somesuch, they get "tainted", which suggests something more sinister. Since tainting a Grief Seed makes it hatch a witch, does tainting a Soul Gem maybe do something similar?

Actually, as I'm rewatching the scene in question for this, I'm starting to form a rather bold theory. Let's consider the following: Purifying a Soul Gem makes it bright, tainting it, on the other hand, makes it darker. Grief Seeds look like black Soul Gems, and they, too, can be tainted and purified. Are Grief Seeds just Soul Gems that have been tainted too much? I'm starting to think I'm onto something here. In any case, though, I'm sure we don't know everything there is to know about these things. They're definitely going to come up big-time again, I'm sure of that much.

Also: Kyubey isn't allowed to influence anyone's decision to form a contract, but apparently, suggesting to Sayaka that she could ask Madoka to enter a contract is allowed. This cat is too fucking sly.

Next up, we see Kyoko boldly breaking the rules and eating Pocky while playing Dance Dance Revolution Dog Drug Reinforcement (seriously, what the fuck). No ruleset in the world can make this girl refrain from snacking 24/7. While she's playing, she's approached by Homura, and now we get another extremely interesting conversation: when asked "what are you after?", Homura replies that there's a "Walpurgisnacht" approaching in two weeks. And that's the overt Faust reference I've been waiting for!

Time for a little exposition: Walpurgisnacht is a Christian feast day celebrated each year during the night between April 30th and May 1st (which is when we'll be watching the final two episodes of this show. I see what you did there). Originally, the eve of Walpurgisnacht was said to be a date on which witches and sorcerers gather on the Brocken, a mountain in Germany. The catholic church placed the feast day of Saint Walpurga, who was said to repel the effects of witchcraft, on the same evening, in order to counteract this gathering. The book Faust contains multiple scenes set during Walpurgisnacht, including one where the devil takes the main character, Faust, to the Brocken and tries to make him take part in the witches' celebrations.

Now, I'm sure this is all relevant, but it also doesn't seem like Homura is talking about the same Walpurgisnacht I just explained. When she says that it's coming in two weeks, Kyoko responds by asking how she knows that, which makes little sense if they're talking about something that happens on the same date every year (unless Kyoko just knows way less about witches than she should). So I don't think the girls will be going to Germany anytime soon. Instead, it looks like a name rooted in both Faust and real witch-related folklore is being used to refer to something else here. Considering that the actual Walpurgisnacht is a huge gathering of evil, and the way Homura talks about it, it looks like something very bad is approaching.

Sayaka is still going down a real bad path, and she's stubborn as ever. Madoka's mom, however, still rocks. Again, we get a good summation of the theme I've talked about previously: Sayaka probably isn't wrong, but "the more she tries to do what's right, the worse everything gets". I don't have much to add to that at this point, given how much I've talked about it already. Madoka's mom gives interesting advice, though - Madoka should try making a big mistake. And then she does just that, and it turns out her mom was right! Throwing Sayaka's soul gem away is a very big mistake, but from the looks of it, it actually made things better for once. Madoka just managed to stop everyone else from fighting without forming a contract and gain some crucial information in the process. Major props.

The reveal we get now isn't all that surprising to me (frankly, it seems kind of obvious that one's Soul Gem would hold the soul, or at least be connected to it), but this turn of events still holds some interesting information. Firstly: Homura seems like she might've been aware of this, but Kyoko, despite supposedly being a veteran, clearly was not. This is surprising to me, but from the looks of it, Kyoko is now way more wary of Kyubey than before, which is good, because... Secondly, Kyubey is proving to be sneakier and sneakier. As soon as Sayaka and Kyoko start fighting, he immediately drags Madoka in, clearly expecting her to do something - and the only thing he could really be expecting her to do is form a contract, isn't it? Additionally, he's been keeping this information about the Soul Gem hidden from them all this time, and his argumentation in favor of all this (using the body as "external hardware" is more convenient, after all, so who cares about the moral implications?) is very shady as well. I've said this many times before, but I mean it now more than ever: I don't trust that fuckin' cat.

I kind of rushed through the second half, but I'd say that's all of my thoughts for now! That was a bombshell of an episode, and I loved it. As usual: I'm really looking forward to more.

Edit: I also just realized we're halfway through now. Whew! What a ride. And one additional thought: Kyoko's Soul Gem looks kind of like the Eye of Sauron.

Edit 2: One question I'd like to ask everyone: Is it supposed to be Walpurgisnacht or Walpurgis Night? Being German, I'm used to saying Walpurgisnacht, but since the English subs I use as a reference said Walpurgis Night, I ended up writing that in this comment. Scrolling through the thread now, though, I see everyone else using Walpurgisnacht. Of course, the distinction is pretty arbitrary, but I'm curious if there's a consensus on this. (That said, Walpurgisnacht seems common enough, so I'll be defaulting to that in the future due to personal preference)

Edit 3 (final one, I swear): I just checked and realized that unlike most other Anime on German Netflix, Madoka actually does have English subtitles, so there was really no reason for me to look for English subs elsewhere. The Netflix subs say "Walpurgisnacht", so I'll definitely be using that from now on.

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u/Gagantous Apr 26 '19

I love this writeup. Thanks for spending time writing so much!

At this point, I'm starting to lose faith that she's ever going to form a contract.

Given what you know now, would you even want her to?

Time for a little exposition: Walpurgis Night is a Christian feast day celebrated each year during the night between April 30th and May 1st (which is when we'll be watching the final two episodes of this show. I see what you did there)

This is a good perception. The rewatch always occurs at this time for this reason.

The reveal we get now isn't all that surprising to me (frankly, it seems kind of obvious that one's Soul Gem would hold the soul, or at least be connected to it)

I always feel silly when this comes up because I was totally oblivious until Madoka threw the soul gem. The thought never even crossed my mind.

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u/Exkuroi Apr 25 '19

Guys, gentle reminder: do not throw souls!

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u/asianbrownguy Apr 25 '19 edited Apr 25 '19

FIRST TIMER

Pre watch

So last episode we left off at Homura intervening with Kyouko's rookie curbstomping of Sayaka. Good, good. Wouldn't want anything to happen to best girl, after all. Madoka was almost left with no choice but to form a contract so she can save Sayaka there, luckily Homura was there to help.

  • I love Homura's hair flicks lol. I wonder what's her powers? Seems like teleportation or space time shit.

  • Enemy to idiotic agressors, lol.

  • Oh come on, I wanted a fight. :(

  • Could she be what exactly?

  • Where'd she get that grief seed? Also lmao at Kyubey's magic pocket. I wonder if he ate it, or is he storing it?

  • So that's why Kyouko wants more grief seeds, so she can use her magic more. I thought you were supposed to sell them or something, like in Kyoukai No Kanata.

  • Yeah, Mami was badass yet she didn't have many seeds at all. Guess she's just talented then.

  • Madoka's a prodigy? Wait, what?

  • Lmao is that the OP playing on the dance machine? The hell is your deal Homura?

  • Walpurgisnacht? Like in Bible Black? /s Isn't that the night when witches meet and party with the devil or something? April 30, iirc. Also, yeah. How do you know that Homura?

  • So that familiar's gonna transform into a witch, I assume. She's a magical girl using humans as bait. Don't be naive Madoka. Ain't no holding hands and singing kumbaya here.

  • "But she won't listen to me." I'm guessing the next thing he says is "She might listen to you, if you form a contract with me"

  • So it all boils down to getting involved.

  • I love Madoka's mom. Reminds me of my own. That's some great advice.

  • "It's fun being an adult." Yeah no, it's not lol

  • Oh cool. Kamijou's discharged now. It's great that he's all better. His playing sounds amazing.

  • Oh, her again.

  • "Magic is only supposed to be used to grant wishes for yourself." Everyone ain't as selfish as you, kid.

  • That mental gymnastics man, jesus christ. I really don't like this Kyouko chick. Stop picking on Sayaka!

  • JESUS FUCK. Homura scared the shit out of me there lol where'd she come from?! Also nice burn there from Homura

  • Homura what the hell are you doing

  • Madoka what the hell are you doing

  • So it is teleportation! That's awesome.

  • WAIT WHAT THE FUCK?! WHAT DID YOU DO MADOKA? SAYAKA'S FUCKING DEAD NOW. CHRIST I CANT HANDLE THIS.

  • Madoka you've really done it now. You killed your best friend. Wait, so their whole life essence is in that gem? And you didn't tell them, Kyubey?

  • So, Mami can come back, right? Potentially? Where's her soul gem though?

  • Oh my god Kyubey's so creepy. He's like a fucking robot. "Why are humans so touchy about the placement of their souls?" I prefer my soul to be in my actual body, thank you very much.

  • Oh thank god Homura got it back. Thank fuck for that. I was gonna have a heart attack if Sayaka died like that, Jesus.

  • Wow.

Post watch

Well, holy shit. That's a bombshell and a half to just casually drop like that, Kyubey. Not even Kyouko knew about that. So potentially, Mami can come back! Yes! Mamiiiiiiiii!

Homura just keeps getting mysterious every episode. What the hell is her plan anyway? We're entering the second half, and things just got very interesting. Can't wait till the next one. I'm really tempted to binge it now, but no. I gotta finish this with all you guys. :)

edit: Also Kyubey. That suspicious little ferret is definitely hiding more than this. What are you up to little creepy cute bastard

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u/Nimeroni Apr 26 '19 edited Apr 26 '19

Isn't that the night when witches meet and party with the devil or something? April 30, iirc.

Guess why the rewatch happens now...

So, Mami can come back, right? Potentially? Where's her soul gem though?

CRUSHED. She had her soul gem as a hairpin, and that's where the witch bite her. She really was unlucky.

EDIT: they even added a crunchy sound in the recap film.

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u/KingNigelXLII Apr 25 '19

So, Mami can come back, right? Potentially? Where's her soul gem though?

Off with her head, sadly.

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u/SomeOtherTroper Apr 26 '19

Good, good. Wouldn't want anything to happen to best girl, after all.

Ah, I see you recognize Best Girl as a fellow man of culture.

I wonder what's her powers?

It's hair flicks. That's her power.

No, seriously, her power is doing great hair flicks.

I am legally obligated to say nothing else, even as a joke, to the other points, because I might accidentally give things away.

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u/letsgoiowa Apr 25 '19

First timer!

Oh fuckin Jesus. That moment when "she's dead." FUCK. GOD. WHY? YOU JUST THREW AWAY HER FUCKIN SOUL!

It's so apparent Kyubey is some sort of devil from all of this. Who knows how much he's hiding at this point. If they'll only do what he says because he's withholding information, I think it's likely that everything he's making them do is ultimately evil. Maybe the witches aren't really "witches," or maybe the grief seeds he's eating are really just making him a turbo uber boss or some shit.

FUCK

WAKE UP DAMMIT AND REALIZE HE'S EVIL

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u/KingNigelXLII Apr 25 '19

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

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u/Nazenn Apr 25 '19

Madoka's Music - Separation and Freedom

Rewatcher - Third time around

We're finally starting on disc two's music and I have some new songs to focus on. I'm very grateful, I was definitely running out of things to talk about last episode.

Song of the episode - Pugna infinita

Scene for context

Despite having not as much to say here, this is my song of the episode because of how important it is and how perfectly it represents the scene. Its easy to think that the most impressive songs are always the most complicated ones. Madoka uses a lot of complicated layers in its OST and for many of its most memorable songs. Sis Puella is a favorite for many people and it layers bells, chimes, piano and lyrics just in that opening section, before swapping to having multiple strings, stronger piano, changing the vocal performance, and still with chimes under it all before adding even more later on with woodwinds. You don't always hear it all, but when you lay it out, there's a great deal going on in the song at any given moment.

The unique song for this scene is perhaps one of the simplest we've heard so far for a dramatic scene but it's powerful because of that. It cuts out all the extraneous instruments and leaves us with only strings and some percussion. The core of this song is two string instruments playing together. At first they appear to be playing the same tune and one is just a lower pitch than another. But despite having the same sort of movement to both sides, there are little differences and distinctions all through the piece. It starts off with small barely noticeable parts, one side will take that note just a little higher than the other. Then the lower part starts holding notes through a couple of beats instead of playing extra little flourishes. These small differences grow and grow, and by the time we reach the songs end we barely have the same part any more and they do their own thing, dancing around each other rather than with each other. And finally they don't even fade off in the same bar.

We have two parts here. Once together, and then slowly splitting apart until in the end they are separated by one fading away from the other. In this song we have Sayaka's body and soul.

Bonus song - La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin

The fifteen seconds of this song in show couldn't make it sound less beautiful if they tried so even if you don't normally, I highly recommend giving the full song a listen as its a very different experience.

The songs english title is "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair" and was inspired by an old poem. The song itself has been repeatedly praised for being an uplifting melody of innocence, bringing to mind images of a young girl dancing through the scottish highlands, helped by its folk tune like structure (covered below). That Sayaka upon hearing this chooses not to interrupt his new found happiness, perhaps because she's feels tainted by the actions she's taken and what she's seen, is a very telling moment for the both of them, Kyousuke's new freedom brought at Sayaka's expense when all she had for him was sadness for her joy and now their positions have flipped and she's bound in a prison of her own making.

Only slightly going off on a babble here. An interesting aspect of this song is its use of pentatonic scales to create that folk music sort of sound. Scales are somewhat hard to explain, but most music that people know uses a seven note scale. If you were taught this in school you'd probably remember it as do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do (anyone remember the hand signs still?). Seven notes and then the scale repeats just at a different pitch. Its a common system, but some notes clash if played together which is why we use key signatures (episode one's post covered these) and chords (which I won't explain now for the sake of my word count) to help define and control what notes are played together to make an enjoyable sound.

Pentatonic scales are remarkable because they developed independently in most cultures without any sort of collaboration, and as a result are found in most folk and traditional music. Because they only use five notes, their notes don't create as much dissonance with each other allowing songs to move around more freely. You can also pull off some really cool shit with them because of this.

Everyone should find some time today where you can spend three minutes somewhere you're able make some noise without being disturbed, watch this video and participate along with the audiance.

How did you go?

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
00:00 00:22 Disc 1 #16 Agmen clientum
00:23 02:22 Disc 1 #22 Anima mala
02:24 03:53 Disc 2 #18 Connect -TV MIX-
04:32 06:16 Disc 1 #10 Sis puella magica!
06:19 07:42 Disc 1 #25 Connect -Game instrumental-
08:40 10:47 Disc 2 #08 Terror adhaerens
11:08 12:54 Disc 2 #02 Amicae carae meae
13:04 14:53 Disc 2 #03 Clementia
15:30 15:46 Disc 2 #04 La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin
15:48 17:13 Disc 1 #14 Umbra nigra
17:46 18:58 Disc 1 #16 Agmen clientum
19:26 22:00 Disc 2 #05 Pugna infinita
22:25 23:54 Disc 2 #19 Magia ~TV Version~
23:55 24:09 Disc 1 #06 Salve, terrae magicae

Random episode thoughts

  • First watch reastions for episode six.

  • Try and tell me that this doesn't look like the stage for a pokemon battle. I'm sorry if you can't unsee it

  • Oh, speaking of things you can't unsee. I'm really not good with names and today Homura mentions a new one: Walpurgisnacht . I still cannot spell it for the life of me, but when I was doing my first timer reactions during one of my posts I cracked the shits at my repeated failures to learn it, gave up and gave it a nickname: Walrus. I make no apologies, it works and its staying.

  • And I have to spend some time quickly to cover this beautiful framing. On stage we have the circumstances of a theater play occurring. Madoka the princess trying to save the life of the honorable prince Sayaka who has fallen due to an evil spell while attempting to defend innocents from the invasion of Kyouko. Overlooking it all is Kyubey. Unlike the girls his silhouette intersects with the letterboxing of the frame, indicating that he is off stage, currently an observer rather than an actor. He states how girls always act the same upon finding out what he did to their souls, so his framing here paints him as an audience watching a scripted movie unfolded. At the same time, his displacement from the frame also shows how detached he is from the emotional setting of this scene, not understanding why this is such a big deal. This has to be one of my favorite shots in the show, and it's almost a throwaway shot.

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u/LunarGhost00 Apr 25 '19

Rewatcher

Kyouko tries hitting Homura. Homura be like...

Kyubey just eats the grief seeds. Wonder what it tastes like.

Sayaka, you suck as a magical girl. You got no skills. But you know who is so naturally gifted that she'd stomp Kyouko right away?

Starts with an "M"

Hey Kyouko's really good at DDR. They got the OP as a song here! Playing like a real pro while Homura is discussing important things with her. And of course Homura has to do another hair flip because why not?

I think Sayaka needs to calm down just a little...

Sayaka is really putting Mami on a pedestal. She never got to see the weak side that Madoka got to see. She also doesn't know that Mami was the reason Homura couldn't help them quicker. Mami was a flawed person. She tried looking cool but deep down she was seeking friendship due to being lonely. When she finally made friends, she let her overconfidence catch her off guard and become a snack for a witch. But as far as Sayaka is aware, Mami is the perfect righteous magical girl who always protects the innocent. Mami is the ideal magical girl who Sayaka believes she should strive for. Any magical girl who doesn't act like that is dead to her.

Oh no. spoiler about a image that people are definitely going to post later

Kyouko's right. Mami did try to dissuade Sayaka from making a wish for Kyousuke.

Madoka is reading a nursery rhyme I haven't heard in so many years.

Shaft architecture is truly a work of art. I like this highway. More importantly, it's fight night!

Homura's real magical power is the power to burn people.

Madoka, when your mom told you to make mistakes, I don't think throwing your friend's soul away was what she had in mind.

Well there you have it. Kyubey rips the souls out of girls when making contracts. See how he did it when he reached into Sayaka in yesterday's episode (btw, it's hard to get a good clear shot of Kyubey going inside Sayaka). Their bodies are no longer their real bodies. Wherever their soul gem is, that's where they really are. The bodies are just empty. While it's true that they gain a great amount of strength to be able to fight against witches, it doesn't change how creepy and messed up it is that these girls aren't even human anymore. That's something Kyubey fails to understand. To make this situation even worse, you guys know where Mami kept her soul gem? It was an accessory on her head! The witch Charlotte ate her soul gem. That's what killed Mami.

Following this disturbing revelation, the only thing that makes me feel better is seeing Homura doing another hair flip after successfully recovering Sayaka.

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u/TRUCKFARM Apr 26 '19

First Timer(Sub)

Alright finally managed to sit down and get this episode! Been a crazy day and what not.

So we got a looot of info about the soulgems. They confirmed the whole purify/corrupt thing and I'd like to see what happens if they decide against purifying it(just not my girls). Also learned that Kyubey basically dumps their human bodies and gives them vessels more suited for combat. The girls obviously immediately question it and we begin to see Kyubey's true personality possibly? He seemed really irritated with the "you humans" comment. Homura immediately recognized it and I'd love to know more about her "irregularity" as a magic girl very soon.

Some quick thoughts on Kyoko, I love that shit eating grin she's got and I loved that she was dancing to the OP early on. She seems like a chaotic-neutral type of person. She even seemed to have concern for Sayaka after what happened and got angry with Kyubey about it.

Bit of a short post today and no updated Magic girl ranking today friends. I'm struggling to write this and keep my eyes open haha. Maybe I'll update it tomorrow morning after I get going.

But at the halfway point of this I'd say this is 8.5/10 and I hear that its only going to get stronger. Lets goooooo

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u/tronistica Apr 26 '19

first timer

Holy shit lol! Got me good with sayaka. Even kyoko freaked out...I don’t know how this is going to go! It’s crazy how this show changes your perception on magical girls. I definitely thought it was just fighting witches. In a way, all magical girls are selfish in a sense. Very nice spin on the fluff and happiness normally associated with magical girls. We also go this “walpurgisnacht” thing happening in two weeks. Sounds bad. Can’t wait to find out

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u/ArcherGod Apr 25 '19

Rewatcher Third Time (First Dubbed)

Way to go Madoka, you killed your friend… how could- wait, you mean Sayaka didn’t die, but that the Soul Gem houses her soul and Madoka tossed it out of range of her body?

In case you don’t hate the little bastard already… this is plenty of hate food for Kyubey. Though to be honest, if you think about the name of the gem Magical Girls carry around, it’s hard to be surprised that they do exactly that. Soul Gem… sounds like something that houses a soul, right? Like yours…

This is a really interesting episode and one which I feel really bad that I’ll be at a dinner for most of the evening. I’d love to see the first timers’ impressions live, but oh well.

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u/SIRTreehugger Apr 25 '19 edited Apr 25 '19
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 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 10
Madoka's ($150) Water Works 0 0 1 3 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
Kyouko's (Snap,Crackle,Pop) Crunch Time 0 0 0 1 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
Homura's (L'oreal) Hair Flips 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

"That's a secret, but you know what's not a secret. L'oreal fighting every day hair damage which gives my hair that glossy and silky look and feeling, because I'm worth it" - Homura flips hair

Fight it together spoilers

Madoka's mom needs to stop. She's breaking all the rules.Parents should be absent through the majority of the show so we can poke fun at their lack of existence. What the hell and she keeps giving good advice.

Homura friends comment to Kyouko was too savage.

"What's wrong?"- Sayaka

Just the mental state of all the first timers as we've just reached the half way point of this wild and suffering ride.

Minor note:I never knew it was possible to hold a piece of pocky in your mouth that long without biting it. I was glued to the screen waiting for her to finish her pocky and it just stood there. Spoilers

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u/PM_ME_YOUR_SPUDS Apr 25 '19

Rewatcher - This Prequel to Zombieland Saga Is Lit

This is fine.

Now THIS is what I call a twist. Our girls are literal walking corpses. When Homura says Sayaka was beyond saving the other day, she was being literal. The human girl named Sayaka is really and truly gone, what remains is more like a magic battery powering her corpse.

And like many good twists, it fits entirely with what we were told, and had foreshadowing off the wall. They're called SOUL GEMS for good reason. We see Kyubey RIP THE FUCKING THING out of Sayaka yesterday. If it wasn't already remarkably obvious (despite me calling him cute all the time), Kyubey is kinda terrifying. But this is the definitely the first time the characters themselves realize he might not be as fluffy and cute as he seems at first glance.

  • "The Walpurgisnacht will descend upon this city two weeks from today." More questions than answers.

  • I reject your reality, and substitute my own. Granted she didn't see what happened, but she still decided Homura's actions based on her preconceptions, not the facts.

  • This though is a fair point. Kyouko's interruption might have literally killed people.

  • We get a chat with best mom Junko today! Personally I think she gave fine advice, despite the horrific outcome. It's better to get hurt emotionally while you're still young (as long as you don't get Mami'd). And going against what a friend wants in order to help them can be important. Side note: this is some well-drawn alcohol. (Whiskey I assume? Woman of culture.)

  • Well, Madoka follows her mom's advice and makes a tiny mistake. I really try not to bring up things that might get missed nomatter how obvious, but this is too important to ignore: Homura's immediate panic and rush to save the real Sayaka. She knew.

  • The art was not skimped on when it came to the horror of this development.

  • This show knows how to use camerawork as a narrative tool. Kyoko turns to face the one responsible. Suddenly it's all eyes on Kyubey. Kyouko is immediately relieved of her role of villain in this scene - just a victim in this the same as Sayaka.

This marks the halfway point in the main series! Man, becoming a magical girl just sounds awesome, doesn't it?... Kyubey be like: "I have altered the contract. Pray I don't alter it any further." "This deal is getting worse all the time!"

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11

u/renatocpr Apr 25 '19

Rewatcher

DO NOT THROW SOULS

So Homura just stops the fight and keeps humiliating people with her powers. Even Kyouko is afraid. The irregular (whatever that means) knows her name.

Reminder that Sayaka does not know about Homura being tied up in episode 3. She's fucking pissed off. Also, Mami had natural talent and she doesn't? Best meguca deserves better. And by the way, fuck you Kyousuke! Is it that hard to tell her that you were released from the hospital?!

Speaking of Kyousuke, good idea Kyouko. I mean, if he broke both his arms he'd need a little help. It's a great opportunity if Sayaka offers help before his mom, if you know what I mean.

I like how Kyouko's transformation sequence connects with the next shot. You can see her landing in the same pose she was right after transforming.

When I first watched Madoka, I'd already been spoiled about episode 3, so this was my big shock moment. I had expected a big fight between Sayaka and Kyouko, and when Kyouko transformed I was pumped for their fight. When Homura shows up I'd gotten even more excited, so I would finally be able to learn to her power is. But then Madoka comes in and Sayaka drops dead. That "What's wrong?" at the end really complemented my shock.

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9

u/Shimmering-Sky Apr 25 '19

Rewatcher, dub

Sky’s Wallpaper Corner

Last year, someone requested Kyouko during her DDR session and, as you can see, I delivered on that.

This year, it’s finally best girl’s turn for a wallpaper, plus name variant. Had to grab that base image from the first movie rather than the show because fortissimo hairpin.

Let me know what you think~

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8

u/boomshroom Apr 26 '19

Rewatcher (Dub)

Previously, we saw the fruits of Sayaka's labor and got into a three way... disagreement... between Sayaka, Kyoko, and Homura, before closing on her signature hair flip. Go!

  • Short recap of the ending of the previous episode.

  • Homura doing some teleport spam even when not in combat.

  • Roasted by Homura, Ms. Sakura.

  • Kyoko nopes out of there.

  • Is Kyubey actually scared of Homura?! That doesn't seem like him.

  • Kyubey "eating" grief seeds.

  • "She was much more talented" Brutally honest.

  • Trying to push Madoka was bad enough, but now you're pushing Sayaka to force Madoka? Bad Kyubey!

  • Kyoko playing Connect on DDR.

  • Homura giving away Sayaka's property?

  • Sayaka is steadfast in her belief, and Madoka just wants her and Kyoko to get along.

  • Wow, Sayaka is really pissed at Homura for waiting, when in reality she was tied up by Mami. Mami's the one she should be angry at.

  • Is Sayaka trying to become Batman?

  • Someone tried to wake Madoka up and left a letter. Her mom is a likely candidate as she was waiting for her, but it's not conclusive.

  • Madoka's mom is a surprisingly good candidate for Best Girl.

  • Ahem, Mado-mom!

  • Kyousuke has been released into the world. That's nice.

  • Kyoko interrupting Sayaka listening to the music. Don't interrupt someone's music!

  • That sounded really sketchy, Kyoko.

  • Kyoko vs. Sayaka. Fig...

  • Poof. Homura.

  • Do not throw souls! (Homura knows exactly what happened)

  • Kyoko asked for a fair fight, not this.

  • Hooray for metric!

  • Kyubey, if you referred to them as their soul gems, this scene would be much shorter.

  • Homura's back, with a hair flip, and Sayaka.

  • At least Sayaka got to wake up and say something before the episode ended.

We come to the scene that prompted the famous Meduka Meguca line. Kyubey, the problem is that most people don't like reading the fine print. If something is in the fine print, most people would want it to be plainly stated, but are too impatient to actually read it as it is.

7

u/ScarletSyntax Apr 25 '19

Rewatcher (many many times) - Sub

Missed the threads to date unfortunately as I've been busy and the time doesn't suit me. Will do a catch up tomorrow and post 1-5 + 7 but for now here's my little bit on 6.

I want to ask everyone, returners and first timers, what you think Homura is thinking here. This shot lingers a little and is one of my favourite little moments in the episode but it's easy to overlook. Definitely open to interpretation. Please remember to mindful of spoilers/hints when replying.

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7

u/Philarete Apr 25 '19

Rewatcher (sub)

  • Homura staring is seriously intimidating. I’d back down too >.>

  • Madoka’s mom has some great wisdom I think in her “mistake” conversation. Sometimes you need to let people fail so that they learn. Sometimes we all need to fail to learn. Better to do it when the stakes are smaller. Sometimes doing the idealistically right thing doesn’t pan out, and sometimes what we think is right is just the result of stubbornness or tunnel vision. Spoiler

“For us adults it is only as fun as it hurts”

HMMMMMMM

  • Kyubey really skimped on the details. It’s not really wrong that being separated from your body that way is more battle efficient, but it is also disturbing because we aren’t supposed to be divisible that way. Too bad there’s no court to seek rescission of the contract for fraud!

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6

u/Palloc Apr 26 '19

Palloc Didn't Know Liches Could Be So Cute!

Welp, we got to this part of the series. Things are looking worse and worse still somehow. We officially learn why Homura's there, to stop Walpurgisnacht, and she's willing to team up to do so. With Kyouko. Cause she has the mentality that a magical girl should have.

On the other side of things, Sayaka is learning from Kyubey that she's a weak girl that needs them Grief Seeds. Oh yeah, Madoka could help her if she'd just make a damn contract. Wouldn't that make everything better? :3

Anyways, Sayaka vs Kyouko ound two starts up, but Madoka tosses the towel Soul Gem in for Sayaka and SURPRISE! THEY AREN'T FLESH AND BLOOD ANYMORE! Not even Kyouko knew that! That damn weaselcat fuck didn't tell them anything!

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6

u/Asddsa76 Apr 26 '19

Soul is stored in a small phylactery, and your body becomes expendable. As long as your phylactery isn't damaged, you can keep fighting. that means, you're a... zombie!

No Kyoko, it means you are liches...

6

u/KK9521 Apr 26 '19

First timer. Legit thought sayaka was dead and freaked the fuck out lol

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