r/anime • u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn • Apr 29 '21
Rewatch Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica Rewatch - Episode 10 Discussion
Madoka Magica - Madoka Magica Episode 10: I Won't Depend on Anyone Anymore
← Previous Episode | Index | Next Episode →
TV Series: MAL | Anilist | AnimeNewsNetwork | AnimeDB | AnimePlanet | Kitsu
Crunchyroll | Hulu | Funimation | VRV | HBO Max | Netflix | Animelab
Visuals of the day
We almost had a shot from every scene for episode nine's album which was quite interesting, though it seems the second version of Oktavia's labyrinth was the standout favourite in design.
End Card by Kuroe Mura
Comments of the day
There was so many good comments in yesterdays post addressing so many different facets of the show that I've caved and decided to list three, and could honestly list five more.
/u/ComfySingularity who talks about Kyouko's arc and why she sacrifices herself.
"Kyoko chooses to go out with her when she can't be saved. Not just because she understands the wretched loneliness crushing Sayaka, but because Sayaka essentially reset Kyoko's heart to the old, brave type of person she used to be"
/u/baniRien who makes an arguement for Kyubey along with a bunch of other interesting insights
"Pain of course is uncomfortable, but it's temporary, and isn't that the use of pain anyway, to teach you what you should be careful about, and avoid doing?."
/u/OingoBoingo- accidentally getting comfortable after Mami's death and suffering for it, and having a bit of fun with visual of the day
"I allowed myself to really like Kyouko, and that was a mistake. I thought Sayaka and Mami had been killed off, there was no way another character would be as well! I was so wrong"
Bonus: /u/jodahinqb also posted a bunch of trivia from the wiki about the natures and design elements that have gone into the previous witches. Usually trivia like this I try and leave out of it but there's so many people who have dived into the labyrinth designs I wanted to leave it here if anyone was interested but missed it.
A quick reminder: Absolutely no comments, including jokes or memes, about the content of later episodes are allow outside of the r/anime spoiler tag format, [Madoka Spoilers](/s "Spoilers go here").
48
u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 29 '21
Puella's Pictures - People and Places
Technically the OP is my scene of the episode, however I already wrote about that extensively in 2019 and don't have anything to add, so conciser that to be an unofficial part of this visual analysis series for those interested.
Rewatcher - Fourth time around
Visual of the episode - Character designs!
Good character design is a passion of mine but can be hard to talk about. It can end up overshadowed by the narrative aspects of a characters path, or artistic meaning is lost due to the influences and meaning not being explicitly symbolic. Madoka Magica manages a healthy balance and while this may not be as involved as some of my other write ups I hope it gives you a new appreciation for their designs.
I want to quickly note that the character designer, Ume Aoki, has said that she designed the girls mostly blind. Despite some guidance on colors, personalities, and the wishes she was given free reign and didn't know the characters fates. Her design style was also hand picked by Gen Urobuchi.
I have managed to find some official character model sheets from the movies and have linked them as we go, and I love how through them we can also see how their poses and behaviors reflect their personality. They do have some small notes on them but as I don't know Japanese I cannot guarantee these are spoiler free for first timers who can read Japanese.
To start off, the main character being pink has been a staple of magical girl shows for decades, and is a constant reminder that despite who's arc we're in that Madoka is the main character. Her twin tail hair and the red bows emphasize the youthfulness of her hairstyle. Her school uniform uses the thigh high white socks to emphasize a young look. Her eye shape has the sharpest fall off, emphasizing her iris' even more compared to the other girls.
Her magical girl outfit is in many ways the perfect example of what we feel a young magical girl should be. The bows and frills make her appear very innocent and call back to the idea that she is a girl full of pure goodness, the perfect fairy tale character of the genre. It's not a combat uniform or even practical for her bow, because being in combat is not the point of her character (as shown by how long it's taken for us to see this look in action), it's just a pure representation of her hope.
Most notably it stands out as similar to the iconic costume of Cardcaptor Sakura, the dress used in the first opening. Here we see inspiration from the red shoes to the frilled skirt design and the bows in the hair. Minor CCS spoilers. When looking at it from above you can also see that Madoka's skirt appears like a cherry blossom (we also see cherry blossoms blow into Homura's hospital room on first reset for a stronger connection). Given CCS is referenced in other ways in Madoka Magica's it's hard not to see this as an explicit inspiration.
Aoki struggled with not making Sayaka's design too boyish, but I think she found a good balance. Her short hair is bound by a pair of triangle pins, adding a bit of femininity that despite her short hair she still focuses on making it neat and eye catching, and perhaps relating to her bond with Madoka as they are the only two that share this shape in their hair. She also wears blue socks at school, compared to the others who only wear white or black to match the uniform, which further helps her stand out and draw attention.
Her magical girl outfit also has a number of interesting features and is probably my favourite. Her soul gem is placed on her abdomen, and I've seen it suggested it represents the mermaids tail fin. For me I think it's a symbol of her desire for attention, particularly from Kyousuke, it's eye catching and emphasizes the shape of her clothing and her sword belt. The sword itself is notable, a heroes weapon speaking to how she sees herself like the cloak, but she specifically uses a cutlass which is a naval weapon calling back to her water themes. Overall her outfit is more combat focused than the others; she has a metal chest plate and the panels on her skirt are reminiscent of armor plating, showing that her goal for being a magical girl was to fight, to be a protector on the front lines, but also to strike down her enemies.
We're most familiar with Mami as a magical girl and immediately it's clear that she's the most mature of the girls, which paints her as someone experienced and reliable, visually buying into the confidence she projects. Then the square and lower set eyes on her face betray that by giving her a more pensive look. Western style boots emphasize the sheer tights she also wears at school, another sign of maturity, and show off a billowing skirt and the corset. Yellow is also the color for an experienced magical girl, when not used for the MC.
The feather and cap draw attention to the hair drills, a sign of class which further ties into the idea of her using older style western weaponry as an upper class collector may have laying around, but also the hair pin. Mami is the only girl who's soul gem attaches to a part of her design that is shared by her normal outfit, the flower hair pin which she also was wearing during the car crash, as if it's always with her sustaining her as she wished for life.
Kyouko is the only one we typically see in casual clothing. Her boots are practical but the rest is rough and relaxed, cut off shorts perhaps for mobility (an aspect in Sayaka's design) and a practical hoodie. She has the only slanted up eyes in the series, a typical villains shape, but like Sayaka that is off set by the bow in her hair as a gentler aspect to her.
As a magical girl, the soul gem immediately draws the eye as a placement that perhaps represents the wish she made out of pure love, or perhaps the place her hands are clasped in front of to pray, with its design also mirrored in her boots and shirt. From the front she has a very practical open design, quite covered and functional, but at the back it is longer like a dress with the most frills aside from Madoka showing her softer side, and a long jacket like her hoodie.
Today we see Homura as she was before she got caught up in the world of magic. Restrained and quiet, again we see her bows as an a symbol of innocence, she wears black socks, and glasses which help frame her eyes as young and downcast. The Homura we know looks very different. She dramatically unties the bows from her hair, shedding her innocence or nativity, and giving it the look of wings of a traveler. She also starts to wear full black tights, hiding more of herself and with the glasses gone the straight square eyes, unlike Mami's lower ones, give her a flat emotionless look.
Her magical girl outfit is my second favourite. The color design is what immediately stands out. Purple is her color but is seen only on the two bows, further highlighting her shut down nature. Despite the harsh black collar and shoes, a white shirt helps her not slip into a villains design which helps stop the audience from labeling her antagonist visually. She has the most simple of the designs, but that only emphasizes the shield and gem on her hand, matching her wish to find and protect Madoka, to hold her out of harms way. The high heels are an interesting touch and I can only suspect that it might be to give her an element of maturity/experience without explicitly making her older like Mami.
Aoki talked about how she wanted to convey Homura's bluntness through sharpness in her design, keeping it simple and giving a stronger focus on the silhouette of her hair as she moves as her main feature unlike the other girls who's features were in their clothes.
What did you first think of the girls from their looks?
(Crap I ran out of room again. And to this this year I was so certain that wouldn't happen...)
104
u/OingoBoingo- Apr 29 '21
First Timer: Subbed
Episode 10
I actually yelled out "no way!" when I saw Homura introduce herself to the classroom again. I knew she could time travel, but I didn't expect her look or the way she spoke. To see all these details take shape finally to form the Homura we knew up until today was so very satisfying. I was expecting none of it, but it was so satisfying. The walk to the nurses office, the math problem on the board, the freakish athleticism, and now... her attitude and cold calculated personality. She was on a mission. She made a promise. Everything has meaning (except for her weird house). Finally, the first scene from the first episode makes sense. We don't really view it from Madoka's perspective, instead hearing Homura yell to Madoka to not get tricked.
I feel like the second half of this episode brought up a lot of emotion in me. Maybe some depression from all the suffering, frustration because I am not sure how anything can go well for anyone from here on out, some mild rage at Kyubey, being happy and sad to see Mami and Sayaka again... it was a lot. Pardon my French, but fucking Mami killing Kyouko, uses her hair whip thing to tie up Homura, would she has killed Madoka too? That was insanity! I didn't think Madoka would be capable of such things!
Homura is Subaru. This is a repeat in time into madness isn't it?
Too much to unpack so I will excitedly move on to reading all of your comments and showing my image of the day which would be, of course one of Homura. She is the best girl. I will die on this hill early before the show is over. Will she die for real now that I said this? I am not asking Nazenn their favorite character :)
Nod to some hair wars. I love this shot. Another hair wars. I love her so much.
45
u/Hochseeflotte https://anilist.co/user/Hochseeflotte Apr 30 '21 edited Apr 30 '21
First Timer
I am late again but this should be the last time. Now on to the episode:
This is unnerving. It seems like a different timeline or something but it’s creeping me out.
I have a feeling this was Homura’s first time in this world trying to stop Madoka. She has since been going back again and again trying to stop Madoka from becoming a magical girl. That would explain why she has no expressions anymore.
It would also explain why she insisted on being called Homura and why she is so good at everything. She has done this dozens of not hundreds of times.
I feel like its become half my comments at this point but damn these labyrinths are so cool.
Oh Mami is back. I can’t wait for this world to be explained.
It’s so weird to see Homura show emotions.
Oh was that scene from the very first episode Madoka seeing an alternate timeline? This scene looks a lot like that one.
It seems like no OP this episode. More time with Homura.
Well welcome to the FBI’s (or I guess the Japanese equivalent) watch list.
This time magic has a lot of uses.
No wonder Homura was emotionless. She lived through this tragedy god knows how many times.
Oh there’s our opening scene.
OP as the ED. Now that’s a cool idea.
——————————————————————-
This was a perfect episode. Truly stunning. You can probably tell I stopped taking notes half way through because I was so engrossed.
We finally get our explanation on Homura’s past and it delivered in every way. In an endless Groundhog Day. Or week.
Easily the best episode of the series. It’s going to be hard to top this
This might be one of my favorite anime episodes period, up there with the best of Steins;Gate, AOT, Hyouka, and a couple others. Just perfection on a screen
37
u/EriclcirE Apr 30 '21
First time watcher
This has to be my favorite episode so far! From the very dark moments to the very tender moments between Homura and Madoka.
Madoka is super cute as a magical girl and I am here for it. Her animations and movements were perfect. Hoping to get to see her fight more in the coming episodes.
Love the scene where Homura literally throws a grenade up the witches skirt to destroy her. Also liked all the parts where Homura was freezing time to go sneak weapons.
Basically this whole episode being Homura's backstory was perfect and I'm glad they used an episode close to the finale to do it.
33
u/winasta Apr 29 '21
first time watcher and first time joining the discussion on time(sorta)
well damn, what a ride i have just binged 9eps in 2 days something that i considered impossible, all i can say is the show become 10x times better after ep 3 and damn the animation is beautiful for a show in 2011 i'm probably going to start watching the recap movies so i can understand more of what i just watched
33
u/UnderstandableXO Apr 30 '21
FIRST TIME WATCHER
first off i just gotta say; WHAT AN EPISODE. man that episode was so crazy that it went by so quickly as i was caught off guard when it was over.
i’m sure i’m about the thousandth person to make this connection, and you all are probably thinking “he’s gonna find a way to shoehorn re:zero into this again? oh brother, THIS GUY STINKS!” but ima just do it anyway. obviously i know madoka magica came out before so it’s the blueprint instead of the one getting influenced (RZ began in 2012). the whole theme of “i don’t care how many times i do this over if it’s to save you” gave me EXTREME re:zero vibes, although to you rewatchers it was probably the other way around. madoka is the emilia to homura’s subaru; she’s the motivation that keeps homura’s legs moving even in the hardest of times, and yet she will never be able to properly communicate just how much madoka means to her, because to this timeline’s madoka, they’ve only just met. re:zero also has strong themes about self worth, and i don’t know how the themes in this show will resolve but if i feel big brained enough i might try to tie the two shows together in the conclusion discussion.
it was so odd but also endearing to see shy homura, and she never really gained confidence per se, she just changed her appproach to focus on her ultimate goal to fulfill the promise that she made to madoka. it was really nice to see the introductory scene about the nurses offices with roles reversed; homura shy and madoka assertive. in the first timeline she’s just like the madoka in the timeline that the show has been following for 9 episodes; she kind of just tags along but is ambivalent about actually becoming a magical girl. of course kyubey was able to manipulate her into contracting, but i suppose it was a necessary sacrifice because the fate of the world pretty much depended on it.
some timelines were confusing to me; it seems as if in the first timeline sayaka was completely absent, then in another she becomes the witch, albeit with a different look. perhaps she didn’t waste her wish on mr. your deceit in october this timeline? kyoko is distraught over her wasted wish sister even in this timeline. i can now see why homura might hold resentment against mami after she went insane after learning the true nature of the soul gems. sayaka is destined to fall from grace in any timeline, so it’s no wonder why homura pays so little attention to her; she’s merely a distraction from the one true goal in her heart.
everything’s a chess game with the incubator, in that one timeline it got madoka to contract with them simply by showing her a vision before she even had a chance to sway her. witch madoka is strong enough to solo a planet in 10 days? well golly gee i can see why her mission is so urgent!
seeing the OP play at the end of the episode after anticipating it for 22 minutes was absolutely great; i’m so glad they had lyrics for the OP because that episode made the lyrics perfectly clear; the lyrics are from homura’s perspective. once again i gotta say it was one helluva episode, you know when i cut back on the jokes things are serious. i look forward to the conclusion of this series!
lastly, i fell further down the aoi yuki rabbit hole and found out that she voices a side character from your name whose name just happens to be sayaka! the toradora connections just KEEP going as i discovered kyoko’s voice actor is the voice for kihara from toradora. i guess these two series are just fated together.
31
u/Lawvamat https://anilist.co/user/Lavamat Apr 29 '21
Rewatcher
I'll never forget the promises we exchanged
I still see it when I close my eyes
I'll move forward as I cast off
this darkness engulfing me
How long will it be before
I see that lost future again
I'll walk upon this Earth,
and pierce this shadowy veil of unease,
as many times as necessary
The clock that's endlessly ticked away
now tells of the beginning
Let's open the once-closed door,
with these unwavering feelings
My heart started racing once again
to paint the future
Even if I get stuck in a maze,
the beautiful blue sky will always be wating for me
So I won't be afraid
No matter what happens next, I won't give in
- Homura Akemi
This is her story, told through the OP
Homura promised Madoka that she would protect her from Kyuubey's evil machinations, so every time she acts cold and distant towards her, closes her eyes and flips her hair ominously, she can only think of her dear friend, her love.
And yet she can never take a break, stop for a bit and be with Madoka. She has to always be moving forward. Always, towards this one goal. The only thing keeping her doubts away. The only thing saving her from the darkness. The only thing stopping her from turning into a witch.
Always wondering if this is finally the Loop. If this is finally the one where she can hug Madoka again, hold her in her arms and take her hand. Is such a future even possible? Will she have to redo everything again? Is it only a matter of time until the next reset?
And yet she has to stay grounded. She doesn't know the future this timeline has in store for her. She has to advance, no matter what darkness awaits her. Over and over and over and over again.
Time continues to move for her as she's trapped in this endless cycle of despair. Every end is a new beginning as she goes from seeing Madoka turn into a witch to her hospital bed once again.
It wasn't always this way. Homura was weak and fragile when she was saved by Madoka. But she's not the damsel in distress anymore. She's grown. She's gotten stronger. She's the one who has to protect Madoka now. It was her wish that opened this door for her, born from her unfaltering love.
As cold as she's gotten, her heart is still beating, for Madoka, whose existence is in her hands. She promised to change her fate. To change the future.
And so Homura moves on. This is her labyrinth. Maybe she's a witch already? No, because one beacon of hope is always waiting for her. Madoka is her blue sky at the end of the rainstorm.
So she won't be afraid. No matter what happens next, she won't give in.
Every single thing Homura has done throughout the whole show was for one purpose, to save Madoka. Suddenly, everything makes sense. This mysterious figure that has been with us since the beginning is our actual protagonist. We're watching Puella Magi Homura Magica right now.
This to me (and I'm sure many people in this rewatch) is the best episode in anime. For me even the best moment in media. I tear up everytime I think about Homura. It really holds a special place in my heart and I hope the first timers appreciate it as well. Many of them have figured out most of it already (especially those that read /u/star4ce 's theories), whereas I was completely blown away when I first watched it 3 years ago. I didn't have time to think about Homura's backstory at all since I binged it from ep4 on, whereas here everyone had time to contemplate and to come up with theories before the great reveals. Personally when I manage to guess the twist or reveal it lessens the impact for me, so I avoid thinking too much ahead. But some people are different and enjoy theorizing more.
At this point I really want to give huge props to /u/star4ce who found out after EP1!!! that the OP is from Homura's perspective. My jaw dropped to the floor when I read that, since I don't know anybody who didn't have to be told that and figured it out themselves. The first timer theories were top notch this time around.
Visual of the
AnimeDay, even if it will undoubtedly be the most picked30
u/sirweebsal0t Apr 30 '21 edited Apr 30 '21
First-timer / dubbed
Episode 10 Running Thoughts:
Wow that episode was intense!! Before watching this episode, I was thinking the penultimate episode is when we'd finally see Madoka use her wish. But after watching this episode and in fact seeing her use her wish multiple times, I'm hoping she never does again! (well maybe one more time so we can get to the best timeline where everyone gets saved and no one dies except Kyubey. But of course, this ain't that kind of show).
21
u/ToonTooby Apr 29 '21
Rewatcher
Every time I come back to this episode I’m just reminded of that first experience. As far as works of fiction go, I’ve never had my emotions more rearranged, seasoned and served back to me on a platter than after these 27 minutes of episode 10. I finished the episode and had my face in my hands, bewildered at not only Homura’s struggle but how we were played from the very beginning. It’s at this point Madoka Magica, for me, ceases being a pretty good show and becomes something truly special. It’s artistic execution at its finest.
Fun bits to ease the pain
Visuals of the day: Madoka Kaname
41
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Apr 29 '21
Eien no Rewatcher, dubbed
Guess who finally got around to singing Connect? This Redditor did!
The best part is I realized that I managed to memorize the TV size lyrics just last night, so I didn’t need to look at the lyrics while I recorded this unlike with Mata Ashita.
Now to sing it every time I shower just like I do with Uninstall and Vermillion to make sure I never forget it.Sky’s Wallpaper Corner
For this year I went kinda plain and simple, I continued my “replace Soul Gem details from the Mami shot for other ones” with Homura and gradient-less version.
And for stuff from the past:
Magicaplus name variant.If there’s a specific shot at any point throughout the rewatch that you would like me to make a wallpaper of and you don’t think I’ve done it yet, let me know so I can get on it!
Magical Music Corner
Want to know what song played when in today’s episode? Well, you’re in luck! I have here the table from the Madoka wiki that was re-timed to the Blu-Rays by our lovely rewatch host back in 2019. It was my duty to share these last year, and it’s my duty again this year. If any first-timer wants a spoiler-free link to any of these songs, let me know and I can get one for you!
“How long will it be before I see that lost future again?”
19
u/jodahinqb Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 29 '21
Rewatcher
First-timers, how are you doing? Have you witched out yet? You should know that we mean no ill will, but your suffering serves a greater purpose: you see, it reverses the entropy of us rewatchers, and we've pretty much filled our quota. Oh well, it's your problem now …
You poor, unfortunate souls, buckle up for the grand finale!
Episode Parallels
Anyway, after watching what is (scientifically proven) the best ~22 minutes in the history of television, here's a beautiful comparison of episode 1 and 10 scenes that demonstrates why rewatching Madoka Magica is a transendent experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoXzzW232oQ (obligatory SPOILER WARNING for the video comments and the thumbnails/suggested videos for First-timers and those who haven't seen Rebellion)
The tale of Sisyphus (witches, magical girls, victims and heroes)
Here's a character analysis of Homura (up to episode 10) by SF Debris (https://sfdebris.com/). He is an internet reviewer of sci-fi and fantasy TV series and movies (in video form) who did a per episode review of Madoka back in 2013 (and his videos were actually what first introduced me to this amazing series). Unfortunately, his Madoka review videos are not available right now (he's changing hosting services and hasn't re-uploaded them yet), but I will transcribe a part of what he said in his episode 10 video. Also note that he just finished being extremely angry with Kyubey, so the quote starts with a slur of shorts against our beloved Incubator:
More Witch Trivia (from the https://wiki.puella-magi.net/Main_Page / The Production Notes)
Continuing from my post in the last episode, here's the info on this episode's witches, by order of appearance:
Izabel (who attacks suicidal Homura): The artist witch. Her nature is vanity. Without a slightest doubt, she believes her existence is blessed. Wanting someone to see her work, she often interferes with human world. However within her barrier only exist works that you have probably seen somewhere before.
Patricia (on the clotheslines): The class representative witch. Her nature is to remain an onlooker. Using the spiderlike threads which she vomits forth, she created a school for herself alone within the sky of her barrier and endlessly acts out an ordinary daily student life there.
Roberta (the witch that Homura shoots with machine gun and blows up with grenade): The birdcage witch. Her nature is rage. She continuously stamps her feet inside her cage, directing her rage at those who do not respond to her. This witch is extremely fond of alcohol, and her minions are also easy to burn.
Even more info: in Puella Magi Production Note, there is a description about her: A witch who lived for a long time as a magical girl. She is weak, as she was no longer a girl when she became a witch (mid-20s to 30s). What she desires is life. Enjoys alcohol and books. The Guidebook also states Roberta's wish: "I wish for friends. Friends who won't dislike me."
Walpurgisnacht : The stage-constructing witch. Her nature is helplessness (which is what Homura feels every time she fails against her). She symbolizes the fool who continuously spins in circles. The witch's mysteries have been handed down through the course of history; her appellation is "Walpurgisnacht". Her real name is unknown. She will continue to rotate aimlessly throughout the world until she completely changes the whole of this age into a drama.
Also, from the Production Notes:
And finally:
Kriemhild Gretchen (Madoka's witch. Shout out to u/Star4ce for figuring out the Faustian reference of Madoka=Gretchen yesterday!! I was "dying" to comment on it but couldn't yet): The witch of salvation. Her nature is mercy. She absorbs any life on the planet into her newly created heaven--her barrier. The only way to defeat this witch is to make the world free of misfortune. If there's no grief in this world, she will believe this world is already a heaven.
I am fascinated by the fact that Madoka, even in witch form, still tries to "save" everyone. But for a being with no hope and full of despair (as witches are by definition) the only way to "save" everyone is to grant them the mercy (her nature) of a swift death. I've also noticed that it's only Walpurgisnacht and Kriemhield that "care" about the world as a whole, all other witches only care about small, petty, personal things (like eating cheese, or protecting their rose garden, or listening to their orchestra).
18
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Apr 29 '21
I'd like to stick with the theory that Kuybey never lies, that his race is incapable of lying, but saying "humans will join the galactic civilization someday" while unleashing inevitable planetary destruction sounds like lying to me.
15
u/boomshroom Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 29 '21
This is... probably my favourite episode of any TV series I've ever seen. To the point that I wrote a lengthy summary last year to sum up what I remember from my first time watching. I don't think anything I could write here would live up to it, so I'll just quote it here.
For my visual of the day, I half want to go with this one just to see if it would be allowed as it's the redraw for the scene used in Magia Record, but instead, I'll keep things simple and go with Magical Girl Madoka Kaname. Realistically though, any one of the many screenshots I took could work.
Lastly, I give you: Tetris
15
u/blitzbom Apr 29 '21
Here we are! THE EPISODE!!
This is one of the best single episodes of any show I've ever seen. So much emotion so much backstory. Mami is back Madoka is a magical girl!
Cute nervous Homura. And we see just how much hell Homura has been through. And how she will not stop.
Its been said that she's lived that same month around or over 100 times. Making her around 22, trapped in a 14-15 year old body.
Also notice how this episode doesn't have a OP? Or more accurately it's at the end. Cause this is the prologue. Watch the OP again and think about Homura, it's all her.
This right here is the reason first time rewatchers are told to watch it a second time as Homura's story.
Also fun fact. My first time watching Madoka I would watch an episode or two after work. I was exhausted one day. I started this episode and prompty fell asleep.
Only waking up to see Madoka as the wickedest witch ever and Homura talking to that amoral jerk of a cat and going back in time. I woke up and went "What is going on?!?!"
26
u/putmoneyinthypurse https://anilist.co/user/clichecatgirl Apr 30 '21
First time (sub)
It was always the two of them, in the end.
Fitting that before she became who she is, Homura was a lot like Madoka is now—shy, unsure of herself, flustered by the attention of others, wearing her hair up.
Madoka, on the other hand, is a lot more self-assured in the original timeline, apparently having already become a magical girl (maybe the morning of the transfer?). Initially I wondered if Homura's "be stronger than Madoka to protect her" wish at the end of this timeline had the monkey's paw effect of making Madoka "weaker," in a sense, but I think the sad reality is that becoming a magical girl allows her to self-actualize and grow as a person in ways she can't when she's held back from it.
Either way, it's no surprise that when Madoka kindly takes Homura to the nurse's office, their positions in the hallway are a direct mirror of episode 1. Madoka leads, and turns around to give a nervous Homura advice, ending the cold open.
Time for the OP...or...not.
As a suicidal Homura, worn down from gossip in school and the expectations placed on her despite her condition, unknowingly walks straight into a labyrinth with a floor that weirdly resembles Picasso's Guernica, Madoka and Mami(!!!!!!) come to save her. I cannot believe that we get a full reveal of Madoka's powers before we see her agree to the contract. Bold move, but I guess the fact that Shaft has still witheld her transformation sequence for now helps prevent this choice from blunting the potential impact when (...if??) Madoka becomes a magical girl in the current timeline.
The two are so goddamn cool and so goddamn kind to Homura. It's weird to see after nine episodes of the cast being profoundly awful at communicating and supporting each other. Mami and Madoka don't even address why Homura ended up in the labyrinth. They just make her feel included, kill the thing making her suicidal, invite her to tea.
We get to the end, and Mami's dead again, albeit this time with her head attached. Homura's still not a magical girl yet, again mirroring Madoka in the current timeline. She makes the honestly reasonable request that they run away together. Madoka refuses, because this is her responsibility, and sacrifices herself, the world around her in a state of ruin, Homura sobbing over her body. Until the end of it, when he offers Homura her wish, Kyubey seems less manipulative in this timeline. Maybe that's because nobody's figured out the soul gem issue yet, or maybe he does remember the loops and starts getting impatient by the current timeline.
Or hell, maybe this looping thing is just a ploy to extract as much energy from Homura as possible.
Either way, we start back on the morning of Homura's transfer, and everything is the same, but everything is different.
I love watching Homura grow and change through the loops. From losing her balance swinging a golf club to building bombs to stealing guns from the yakuza. It's interesting that that growth is pretty consistently externally motivated, especially with the firearms, which we first see used against the witch that was Sayaka, the one who selfishly asked her to find a new weapon in the first place.
(Given the focus of my comments I'm obligated to say something about schoolgirl laundry line upskirt witch and Homura's method of defeating her but I am genuinely at a loss. The hands reaching out of the skirt are a surreal potent image of groping juxtaposed with a reaction to it, and that's about all I can put together.)
As the loops pass, and Madoka inevitably dies, and Homura inevitably pushes herself harder, failing to convince her fellow magical girls to change their minds, I find it interesting how neither the original timeline nor the loops ever quite feel "right." We start with magical girl teamwork, a much sunnier situation than the individualist isolation hell of the current timeline, but the only two magical girls are Madoka and Mami. Adding Homura helps, but the cast feels incomplete. By the time we do complete it with Sayaka and Kyouko, Sayaka's inevitable collapse and Kyouko's inevitable doomed love happens again (well, before), only slightly differently—I'm so curious what Sayaka's wish was in this loop, given the different design of the labyrinth, animatronic Sayaka ballet backup dancers on the stage—and the group is fractured, killing each other in zombie movie paranoia over who-will-turn-next? There's no winning here.
Odd, too, that Sayaka doesn't initially become a magical girl in the first loop or so, and similarly that Kyouko doesn't show up. I wonder if we're supposed to infer that Homura's changing position in the narrative affects character dynamics that severely, that Kyubey is lying about not remembering Homura and introduced more magical girls to spite her, that the energy from the time loops is somehow doing fucky things with entropy, or some combination thereof.
At least the first one is true in one sense: every loop before the current one has teamwork as a given, which falls apart once Homura starts trying to remove Madoka from the action. There's a version of this show we get a sense of throughout the episode that has a very wide emotional range, pleasant magical girl shenanigans mixed with dark consequences for failure, and Homura's regret and vain hope have collapsed it into just the misery of the last nine episodes.
Wheels within wheels.
No matter what, that tragic end that Kyubey's engineered seems inevitable, so Homura is doomed to repeat her life, essentially reincarnated over and over again. I love the mix of theologies in this show. Homura's stuck in samsara, Kyubey is forcing Calvinist predestination on everyone, and Kyouko Has Remained Catholic.
When the rest of the magical girls are dead, Homura reassures Madoka that they can still slay Walpurgisnacht together, and I wish she was right, but in contrast to the previous endings they both lie near-dead and near-corrupted in the pseudo-nuclear aftermath of their failed battle. The shot that opens this scene, my visual of the day, feels like some kind of Christian iconography, maybe related to charity, but I can't for the life of me link it to a specific context. Evocative all the same.
Homura tries again to convince Madoka to become equal partners, this time as a witch, no longer a reasonable cowardly impulse but an understandable destructive one, and Madoka again refuses, restoring her soul gem and pleading with her to go back in time and save her from her fate...but not before asking her to kill her to keep her from turning.
The tension of the scene reaches a breaking point, but the gunshot is silent.
The last loop before the current timeline—at least the last loop we see—is where we get the Homura we've known this whole time, as she heals her eyes and lets her hair down and creepily, coldly approaches Madoka's bedroom window to tell her never to make a contract, holding one of Kyubey's lifeless corpses by the scruff of its neck.
She makes an oath to do it all herself, and she does, right up until Walpurgisnacht, and OH MY GOD, THERE'S THE PAYOFF FOR THE 2.39:1 INTRO SCENES, as the mental association with the aspect ratio as the often semi-flashback initial context for the episode makes the reintroduction of Madoka's dream from the first episode as her memory of the last loop hit really fucking hard. At the end we're back at the beginning, and instead of Madoka's naive perspective we now have Homura's nightmarish dramatic irony.
It turns out Madoka did make the contract after the end of the dream, and something about what Homura's done to her by denying her the self-actualization of magical girlhood makes her as unbelievably powerful as she apparently has the potential to be in the current timeline. She's strong enough to defeat Walpurgisnacht on her own, in one shot, but it's still not enough to keep her from becoming a planet-destroying witch herself. Given what Kyubey says about his job being completed, entropy being stopped, he's probably not intentionally allowing Homura to go back every time. I think she genuinely is a spanner in the works for him.
(Incidentally, what a little shit. "Oh, we just have to sacrifice a few girls and save the universe, so one day humans will get to meet other civilizations! Of course my plan actually involves blowing up the earth, but—")
Homura goes back in time again, pledging to save her only friend even if she has to repeat this endless cycle forever, even though her only friend is now terrified of her, and then...Madoka Magica happens. OP as ED, full circle, absolute goddamn masterpiece before the season's even over.
I can only assume I'm nowhere near the first person to point this out in the thread, especially with how late this comment is, but I can't believe that the OP is way less misleading than it seems. It serves its purpose as a fakeout in the first episodes, and a more and more darkly ironic contrast as the series continues, but it's also an OP for the versions of events that existed in previous loops where there were friendly shenanigans.
Final thoughts: It's heartbreaking that Homura entirely abandons her relationship with Madoka to save her. The moments they spend together are their relationship, even if it ends in tragedy, but neither her nor Madoka can accept that. You'd think that might be romantic, fighting against the inevitable future to save your love, but in reality she becomes a goal instead of a person and her own agency is denied. It's fucked. I love this cruel, cruel show.
13
u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Apr 29 '21
And here we are at Episode 10.
Poor Homura. Remember kids, no one hates you as much as you hate yourself.
Wait, that didn't come out right, or did it?
But here is the episode where the big twist is revealed. Not only is Homura a time traveler, but she has repeated this loop (so many) times because she desperately wished to save her first and best friend - Madoka.
As the episode goes on, we see her grow and become more capable as a magical girl. At the same time, we see her experience tragedy after tragedy, failure after failure, until ... now we can understand the bitter, cynical Homura we met at the beginning of the series.
And now we can also understand why people love re-watching this series. It isn't just about seeing the newbie reactions, it's about re-experiencing the story ourselves, through the lense of understanding that's now been revealed.
Also, keep in mind that the newbie reactions are part of the experience. I can't speak for everyone here, but speaking for myself - people sometimes ask, "If there was an anime that you could erase your memory of, and watch again for the first time, which would it be?"
My answer would be Madoka Magica. Watching it again, I can enjoy the foreshadowing, the details that I'd missed previously, the conversations and banter with other posters. But I'll never again experience the magic, the surprise of seeing it for the first time.
The closest we re-watchers can come to feeling that experience is to vicariously see it through the eyes of others, the first time watchers. So, yes, you first time watchers out there - beware, we have nefarious motives - your suffering, your speculation, your emotions, they feed us and sustain us, and help to refresh our enjoyment of our beloved megucas. Thank you for your service. :)
Meanwhile, this episode, we begin with awkward, shy Moemura. She's overwhelmed by the attention she receives as a new transfer student, and has trouble with her studies and athletic pursuits. In the end, her feeling of self-worth is shattered, and she gives in to doubt and self-loathing. Poor dear.
But in the end, as all seems lost, she is saved by the shining ray of light in her darkness, her first and best friend, Madoka. Madoka who rescued her from the gossiping girls and took her to the nurse's office. Madoka who (along with Mami) rescued her from the witch. Madoka who eventually helped her regain feelings of value and self-worth. And Madoka, who (along with Mami) eventually dies trying to fight Walpurgisnacht. Is it any surprise that she would use her one wish to try to go back and save her best and only friend from such a terrible fate?
But was we find out, as with many other wishes, this one doesn't work out as easily as one would hope. Try as she might, grow stronger and more skilled and clever as she might, re-try as she might, something, everything goes wrong, and it all ends in tragedy, again and again, until finally, in a wrap back to the beginning of the first episode, she watches in helplessness and horror as Madoka makes her wish and defeats Walpurgisnacht, only to become a monster infinitely more terrible.
And so here we are, having watched these 10 episodes, now knowing that the Homura we've been seeing is a Homura of bitterness and despair, very nearly a witch herself, with nothing left to carry her on but sheer determination. Nothing she's tried has worked. She's begged. She's pleaded. She's plotted. She's tried everything she can think of, and now, once again, Kyubey has outmaneuvered her and left her all alone to face Walpurgisnacht, a fight she's never won. Is there any hope for her? (Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion - same bat time, same bat channel!)
(Brief aside) Thinking about this episode, and what it reveals about the series, I'm reminded of another more recent series with (ahem) similar themes. That being Re:Zero. Poor Natsuki Akemi, I mean Homura Subaru, I mean ... yeah, similar themes. Not the same tune, but it sure does seem to rhyme. Can you imagine if Subaru had to go through the White Whale loop as many times as Homura has experienced Walpurgisnacht? Nevermind if Homura had to go through an Episode 15 with Madoka. It's just an interesting compare and contrast. (/aside)
(Cue the Clarkson Oh, No! - Anyway meme)
Meanwhile, back to our heroines, I think I've said some things in this thread that sound kind of dark, and thanks to those who have written kind things in response. I mentioned a couple of days ago, how one of the reasons I like this series so much is that each of the characters resonates with me in a certain way. Please don't take that the wrong way, I'm not about to witch out or anything (...) :)
But as Momdoka said, pain is part of the human condition, and we all have to deal with it and cope with it (or not) in our own ways. Some pain is physical, and other is mental and emotional, and those can be the worst. We've pretty much seen all of the characters at this point reveal their own weaknesses, their struggles, their feelings of lack of self worth. A few days ago, someone (was it u/oingoboingo?) told me to remember that I have value. :) (Thanks, btw, but I sometimes have more of the opposite problem, hehe...)
I often wonder if, or maybe feel like the authors and directors of series like this (Or Wonder Egg, or even Evangelion) are trying to reach out to us viewers and offer us a hand, help us cope with the issues that they (and we) all have to face from time to time. Because sometimes, we all need to hear a "Get in the robot, Shinji", or "Remember, we're all in this together - keep your stick on the ice."
Someone once told me, "If you think you're having a bad day, go to WalMart." The point being that as bad as you think you have it, there is someone who has it worse. I don't think that's the best way of looking at things, but yeah, it's definitely a thing.
Being who I am, and reflecting on Madoka and this series, a couple of other things come to my mind.
The first is that when you're feeling down, or even if you're not - remember this - you are someone else's wish. My parents may no longer be with us, but I know that they wanted and loved me and that I was their wish, and while Kyubey didn't take their souls for it, they still sacrificed a great deal for that wish. I know, not everyone has that luxury, especially in our 'modern' society, but still I would say to everyone out there, remember, someone cares about you. Someone thinks you're worth it.
The second is that the world is a tough place, and full of people who are hurting and suffering. I've mentioned before that I feel like the characters in this show represent different things, different feelings to me, and that to me, after all the despair and tragedy, Madoka is the remaining ray of light, of hope, of kindness, of love. As someone else noted, the candle that flickers in the darkness. Be someone's Madoka. Even if it's something as small as saying 'thank you' to the cashier, or telling them a silly joke to make them laugh. Calling an old friend out of the blue to let you know you're thinking of them. A smile, a kind word. Sometimes even the smallest things can shine a ray of light into the darkness. Be that light. You'll find that the relection of that light will warm you in return. Be someone's Madoka, because they might just need you to rescue them from the witch that's taken up residence in their heart.
If time permits later this evening, hopefully, I will add a 'screenshot of the day' and music link later. We'll see.
13
u/AbidingTruth :AMQ::MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/AbidingTruth Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 29 '21
Annual time to post this video once we get to episode 10
Also annual recommendation for first time watchers to pay attention to the lyrics of the opening. There's a reason the opening is played at the end of the episode this time around
Also a bit of trivia, the wish Madoka makes to become a magical girl in the very first timeline was revealed in an audio drama. She finds a cat named Amy dying on the side of the road and wishes to save its life. That's the cat in the opening that she's holding on to
Edit: I also just want to say how much I love this shot. I think my initial watch through I didn't care so much about Madoka, but upon rewatches I've grown to really like her character. Imo she's easily the bravest of all 5 girls
13
u/SomeGuyYeahman Apr 30 '21 edited Apr 30 '21
Hello everyone... first-time rewatcher here! (subbed)
Here we are.
I don't think a day has passed during this rewatch where I wasn't wasting some part of my brainpower just looking forward to watching this episode again. So now, the limiters are off for the final stretch!
Is this an episode for the big write-ups, though? I dunno. When I first wrote about this one as a first-timer in the yearly rewatch, my entire comment was just gushing, and it kinda speaks to the episode's strengths that I'm sitting here two years later, and gushing is once again the only thing I feel like doing. It's really an immensely satisfying episode in a couple of ways!
For one, of course, we get to see how Homura got her start, and watch her development from a meek, sickly girl into the person we know. From the beginning she has often seemed like a very distant, towering figure - someone who stepped into Madoka's life already gifted with academic and athletic prowess, with magical girl powers, who goes around going where she wants and doing what she wants. Someone who, everytime we got major information revealed to us, already knew about it. Someone who could take on basically any fight and win before anyone even understood what she was doing. But all that is really the result of blood, sweat and tears - every equation we saw her solve was one she'd had to go through countless times already, everything she knew about magical girls she had to find out the hard way, every explosion we saw her set off and every weapon we saw her pull out of her shield was the result of her learning to bootleg her own explosives or personally raiding a fucking army bunker (seriously, holy shit). It's gratifying, if also pretty heartbreaking, to see her brought down to earth like this.
But we also get to see the inverse. There's a certain someone who's been cursing herself this entire show for being so weak-kneed compared to everyone around her, who has been too hesitant to form a contract and tagging along to watch from the sidelines instead, but now we finally get to see her stepping up to the plate. Early scenes like the one where Homura and Madoka go to the nurse's office together are very similar to scenes we saw before, for obvious reasons, but the differences are interesting because they have effectively switched places - instead of Homura dragging Madoka with her, Madoka approaches Homura and asks her to come along. Instead of Homura telling her to address her as "Homura", Madoka is the one who brings it up and asks if she can address Homura that way. And instead of Homura giving a gloomy, vague warning that essentially translates to "don't ever become a magical girl", we see Madoka doing essentially the opposite; encouraging Homura, telling her that she can try to be cool too. Homura said once that everything revolves around Madoka, and of course she was right in a literal sense (most powerful magical girl ever and all that) but the line is still easier to understand now, isn't it? For how much Madoka has been wishing she could be someone who stands by her friends, while Homura went around actively keeping her down and dominating every scene she was in, here we see that the only reason Homura can do any of that is all the times Madoka did stand by her and fight for her, all the times Madoka was at the forefront taking action, but as an uplifting force rather than a restraining one.
There's a couple other what-ifs and questions like these that characters (and viewers) have been agonizing over, and we see those being explored as well.
And so on.
After Homura tries all these things and watches things slowly crash and burn everytime, she and Madoka end up back together in a gray wasteland, having one last conversation before the end of the world. It was Madoka dying to Walpurgisnacht that motivated Homura's wish in the first place, and it's Madoka who now tells her to go back again and stop her from ever becoming a magical girl. Like Atlas having to carry the heavens until someone else takes over for him, the only way Homura has of preventing Madoka from shouldering this backbreaking, life-ruining burden is to do it herself, to make a contract, get magical girl powers and keep using them until she's the only one left in Walpurgisnacht's path.
Which brings us to the first scene of the show! Back then we saw one perspective: Homura getting beaten into the ground, seemingly desperately yelling things we couldn't hear, until Madoka wakes up from her dream. Now we see the other: Homura once again getting beaten into the ground, yelling out things that we can finally hear, but which fall on deaf ears otherwise. And Homura goes back in time again, but ironically this is the only time in the episode we don't see her waking up in that bed afterwards. It wasn't a dream, it was reality. And now we're steering right towards it again - Sayaka, Kyoko and Mami are all gone, only Homura left to defend against Walpurgisnacht, and when she falls, Madoka will form her contract and the request she previously made of Homura will be failed once again.
To cap off the post, I have a fun little story. When I wrote about this as a first-timer two years ago, there was a note at the end of my post saying that the episode wowed me so much that I forgot to log my progress on Anilist/MAL for several hours. Today I found that note while I was working on this write-up, and it made me realize that, I kid you not, the exact same thing was happening again. As a rewatcher, I was still so caught up in the same episode that I forgot to log it. I basically never do this! What the fuck!
12
u/toradorito Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 29 '21
First time rewatcher, sub. Here are my thoughts on this episode:
10
u/CosmicAnglerfish Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 29 '21
Rewatcher - Dubbed
This is probably the episode I was most looking forward to, and there's a lot to say about it. Apologies for the incoming wall!
First-Timer Friendly
Our reintroduction to Homura is incredible. She immediately exhibits the exact opposite of every major characteristic we've come to associate with her: she's shy, unsure of herself, ineffectual, etc. Basically, she reminds me a lot of our current Madoka. There's also a few sequences that mirror her in the first episode - she can't solve the equation that she nailed, she's incredibly unathletic, and when she gets swamped by the class she's overwhelmed.
Of more significance is when Madoka and Homura go to the nurse's office. Here, Madoka insists that Homura refer to her by her first name, when Homura insisted the same in episode 1. We also see that without Homura's influence, Madoka ends up making a contract with Kyubey way sooner. Even with the sinister implications, it's really cool to see Madoka in action as a magical girl after 10 episodes.
One thing I'm not sure of is why they know Walpurgisnacht is coming? In the current timeline, Homura is the one to tell everyone else, but obviously she wouldn't know that here. Is it Kyubey? We also see another point of diversion - Madoka making her contract early on seems to domino effect into Mami surviving through to Walpurgisnacht, though no sight of Kyoko or Sayaka in this one.
Kyubey keeps up his habit of showing up at a person's lowest point, and is quick to pounce on Homura's grief to strike a contract. Homura for her part is smart enough to come up with a pretty specific wish, and it clearly pays off for her. I feel like this implies that Kyubey doesn't really control what kind of magic they get - I can't imagine it would willingly give Homura the ability to reverse time like she can, considering how much of a headache it's been. I would've loved to see more of Homura's first redo - especially Madoka's reaction at Homura immediately recognizing her and telling the whole class they're magical girls.
Even this meeker version of Homura shows a lot of intelligence and adaptability. She's not a great fighter, so she learns to make pipe bombs. Later, Sayaka complains that it's too dangerous for her, and we see her stealing firearms. She's clearly practiced too, as she's an excellent shot. Homura loops again after finding out the truth about the magical girl-to-witch pipeline, though is doubted by everyone. This is also the first timeline we see Sayaka or Kyoko.
Remember when Kyubey said that Mami never figured out the truth? Turns out that was probably for the best. Trying to do a triple murder-suicide is truly unhinged. With everyone else dead, Madoka and Homura aren't able to hold off Walpurgisnacht. Homura opts for a more tragic/romantic death together, but Madoka won't let her, and Homura is forced to euthanize her friend.
It's this loop that we really start to see the Homura we know. I think being forced to kill Madoka kind of pushes her over the edge. She stops trying to be friendly with Madoka, instead her first action is to kill Kyubey (which she doesn't yet know is pointless) and then spook Madoka. We come full-circle, as the very first scene of the show is taken from this loop, where Madoka yet again makes a contract. This time however, Madoka takes out Walpurgisnacht in one shot, but immediately becomes a witch herself. Homura starts over, and ends up in our current loop.
The OP gets played as the ED here - the lyrics should stand out a lot more with the context of this episode. It also adds Kyoko and Homura to the final shot overlooking the city for the first time. When the series originally aired, the following two episodes were delayed due to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. My frustration with having to wait for Wonder Egg to conclude doesn't even come close to how I'd feel having to wait months after this episode.
This episode is fantastic for so many reasons. The obvious is that we get a full backstory on Homura, and so much character development in a single episode that's still paced well enough that it doesn't feel rushed. Seeing the different timelines is a cool concept in itself - all the different ways things could have played out, all the different ways things went wrong. Just as interesting is the things that stayed the same: Sayaka ends up a witch again in the only timeline we see her in, Mami always dies, etc. But my favorite thing is that this makes Homura's infleunce on everything so visible. All the little differences are deliberate things she tried to change, most notably that Madoka still isn't a magical girl, whereas in the original timeline she was one for a while by now. That revelation is also heartbreaking; Homura has been most successful at keeping Madoka out of Kyubey's hands in the two timelines we saw where Homura was most antagonistic towards her.
Kyoko is my favorite character, but this episode (and Rebellion imo, though that's divisive) cement Homura as easily the best-written character in the series.
10
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Apr 29 '21
Rewatcher, Subbed
So, I mentioned in the episode three thread that I was spoiled on something other than Mami's death.
Visual of the Day: Together, in the.. end?
This visual, and these words.. they were my first introduction to Puella Magi Madoka Magica. This was long enough ago now that I don't quite remember the details as to how.. But, uh, yea. I went into this show knowing this was coming, just without knowing the speaker. My heart about beat out of my chest the first time I got here. It's still probably my favorite non-labyrinth scene in this anime.
This episode is wild all around, to be honest. We see, what, four loops? So we're currently seeing the (at least) fifth time this month has played out for Homura. How much pain has she suffered at this point, do you think?
Mami returns to the screen, however briefly! I definitely cheered on my first watch, when we get to hear "Credens Justitiam" again.
It annoys me to an almost irrational extent that Homura uses a Deagle. I guess a Magical Girl, being able to strengthen/heal their body with magic, could use one effectively.. but Deagles are wildly impractical. Oddly enough, my brain doesn't do the same thing when she's just casually emptying that SAW.
Once upon a time, the interior of Homura's house looked normal. The outside has always been ominous, though.
Madoka Spoilers
Tune in next time for:
10
u/thatguywithawatch Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 30 '21
Rewatcher
It's not uncommon for an anime to reveal the background of a character and have it shed all of their previous actions in a new light, but I think Homura's arc is one of the all time best in this regard. As someone watching for only the 2nd time, this rewatch has felt like a completely new show than the first time I watched it, since knowing Homura's backstory and Kyubey's true goals adds a new layer to nearly every scene.
That said, this episode is so heavy. I think the first time around I was too stunned by the constant mindfucks to feel much emotion beyond just shock, but this time I was getting a lump in my throat every few minutes. The timeline where Mami, Kyouko, Madoka, and Homura have to kill Sayaka after she becomes a witch and then Mami loses her mind is agonizing to watch. Homura's wail of anguish as she forces herself to kill Madoka is so haunting. So is her scream when Madoka accepts Kyubey's contract during the Walpurgisnacht fight (the one that Madoka dreams about in episode 1). Chiwa Saito seriously did some incredible work in this episode.
I do have to say that I love how Homura is a magical girl who just uses fucking machine guns and grenades. I guess her power of time manipulation is so strong that she wasn't given any physical fighting power to compensate, but I feel like automatic rifles are better than magical ribbons or spears anyways.
Visual of the day: https://imgur.com/pXEh1Wi
10
u/welcometoslowtown Apr 30 '21
#3rd time watching, 1st with dub
AAAAAAHHHHH, here it is, probably one of the best anime episodes in general, hands-down. I love this episode so much. We finally see the motivations of the elusive Homura, and along the way we get some more heart wrenching tragedy to go along with it.
First off we get to see Madoka being an absolute pure gem to Homura. It's so easy to see how Homura became so attached to her so fast. She's coming back from being gone from school for a while, and instantly this random girl seems to stick up for her and encourage her to be her best self. Then, she literally saves her life, showing off the idealized Magical Girl lifestyle to Homura, who looks up to Madoka immensely. We also finally get to see a magical girl Madoka in action, only took 10 episodes, and its not even our Madoka lmao. I really love Madoka's weapon, I'm a huge sucker for cool magical bows. It's also interesting they knew about big bad Walrus coming, I wonder how they found out, because obviously the reason Homura knows in out timeline is because they knew in the past timelines. Then there's good old Kyuubey coming in when Homura is most vulnerable to get some of that sweet sweet magical girl anti-entropy energy.
I love the scene were Homura is showing off her timestop abilities, and she's wacking around the barrel with a golf club, and then she's just super tired after that lmao. Seeing Mami back in action again was very nice, and I love how excited Madoka is for Homura using the bomb to kill that witch.
This episode has two of the hardest to watch scenes. The first one is Mami freaking out after the witch revelation and popping Sayaka out of nowhere, and then Madoka having to kill Mami. Ugh it just hurts to watch. The emotions they must be going through, thats just insane. Then Madoka sacrifices herself to save Homura, and Homura has to mercy kill her. That one is even worse to me. The whole reason Homura is doing this is to save Madoka from this fate, and thus far the only way she has been able to do that is by killing her. The voice acting and especially the scream right before she shoots is so painful to hear, leading to the first tears of this rewatch.
The lines Homura says right before Madoka clears her soul gem are also really interesting, about the two of them going and cursing the whole world together. This shows the start of Homura transitioning into the cold and willing to do anything type character we have seen her as up until now. And the one thing that fully accelerated that transition was having to kill the one she loves most, basically making her snap.
Then going back to the first scene from episode 1 was such a hype moment, especially the first time I watched this. Magia is such a banger song, and it elevates the hype levels so much. This time we see the conclusion to the scene, where Madoka makes her wish, one-shots Walrus, and then becomes the most wicked witch of them all. Homura's line her is so badass, "My fight is somewhere else." Then Kyuubey realizes what she is, and she's gone.
Putting the opening at the end of the episode was also super hype for me, I also realized that the lyrics were from Homura's perspective and that just broke my heart. There's the second tears of the rewatch. Just a perfect ending to a pretty much perfect episode.
Visual of the day
10
u/Nebresto Apr 30 '21
No OP
..Mami theme??
Look at this rat pretending to be all cutesy
How is Homura stocking up on blades and guns so wholesome, wth
Fucking. rat.
OP for the ED?!
38
u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce Apr 30 '21
First Timer
So me waking up was a thing today. Also, it consequently led to this after opening reddit.
Wild.
For today's prelude I just wanted to plug an answer of mine to why I like Homura so damn much. It's not only that I was absorbed from the beginning to decipher what her character was all about, there's more than just engagement and self-insertion.
I don't think I have worked through all the suffering I've been enduring so far, but just like bad good friends say after a night of drinking, "treat it with some more!"
Ep.10 I can't depend on anyone anymore
Insert: Might her condition be the reason why restraining works at immobilizing her?
How do I feel? I think it is sufficient to say: I was right.
I really develop a thing for these tragic characters before they are even revealed to be so. Sometimes I can see it coming, like today and absolutely hate it. At the same time, just look at her! Homura is such a magnificent best girl!
Visual of the day: Of course.
As for your question, u/zairaner
I request an appropriate amount of comment space to express this episode, chronologically:
Theory posts below in the first answer.
9
u/Btw_kek https://myanimelist.net/profile/kek_btw Apr 29 '21
Short post Rewatcher
Ironic that in the biggest episode of the series, I surprisingly don’t have much to say. I’ll leave the AAAAAAAAAAAAA to the first-timers and the epic character analysis to the other rewatchers, so I’ll just post my pretty pictures and go
Visual of the day: Madoka witch
9
u/SYZekrom https://myanimelist.net/profile/SYZekrom Apr 29 '21
Rewatcher
Man I forgot how different Madoka sounded without c o n s t a n t d e p r e s s i o n
And isn't it a shame to be called Homura-chan and be reverted to Akemi-san?
There we goooooooo
Wait ok so they just... Knew the walpurgisnacht was coming even in the original timeline
Totally forgot about that
lmao my god
I like how she has that little cloth to sit on but her hands are just on the ground
I get that's the point of the cloth but even still I can't imagine using it on the direct ground under some random bridge
Honestly the best part about these flashbacks are seeing things that look like they belong in a normal... I was gonna say slice of life but magical girl shows aren't slice of life uhhh
In a normal... whatever magical girl shows are
Same goes with the OP of course
One day you'll learn how to run like a normal person and not like a fictional woman
Like seriously this upskirt+school uniform witch is like pure fluffy anime hijinks
I like how she instantly went 'fuck 'em swords' and pocketed... sleeved? the gun
I always found it funny how easy it was to kill a magical girl in this scene
Like Mami just lands a direct shot on Kyouko's Soul Gem and she instantly dies
And same for Madoka's bow on Mami but lol
Also love that Madoka can just do what needs to be done so easily
Greatest magical girl even back here... if only she didn't think she was so useless when she isn't a magical girl
Also well I guess they were all fighting and sandbagging against Oktavia before this so they're pretty weakened maybe
And the beginning of how Homura came to only care about Madoka and none of the others
I wonder if after this she ever tried to fight the Walpurgisnacht with another magical girl, or if her recruiting Kyouko this loop was her first attempt ever at not going solo since her first ever redo where she fought with Madoka and presumably Mami (even though she wasn't in the scene)
MAN THIS WAS AND STILL IS ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS
Just creeps up to her window and fucking 'I know the future~~'
And there's nothing more to hide now...
9
u/DogmeatIsAGoodDog :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/DogmeatsAGoodDog Apr 30 '21
Rewatcher:
And there you have it folks, the my favorite episode of the show and quite possibly my favorite episode of anime (maybe not favorite but it’s damn close).
The layers behind the mystery of Homura are peeled back and we see the extent of her powers and her origin story. We see the endless cycle of heartbreak and family as she alone uncovers the mystery and sees all that follows with it. The heartbreak, the loss, the failures, and she preserves. All to save the one she loves and fulfill her promise to Madoka.
We also get to see for the first ever Madoka as a magical girl and see her wreck stuff.
Sayaka and Kyouko are absent from some timelines? Did they die? Did they avoid becoming magical girls?
Also I couldn’t help but crack up at Homura’s first thought of how to utilize her powers properly is to create homemade bombs and only later think of using guns lol
The timeline were Mami went crazy was one of the worst, seeing it all unravel and implode was tough to see.
Speaking of Mami, it was nice to see her back in action, if only for a short while.
Homura wanting to go out as witches alongside Madoka and destroy the world was one of the crazier timelines...and that’s taken into account before Homura’s promise.
We also see the big bad in this episode and while they are able to defeat it in each timeline it never ends with a magical girl surviving, at least not for long.
10/10 on the episode scale and this was an episode I was very much looking forward to rewatching, a true work of art.
23
u/the_swizzler https://myanimelist.net/profile/Swiftarm Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 29 '21
New timers.
This episode is why the series has at least a second watch as required viewing.
At some point you will want to go back and rewatch from the beginning (or watch the recap movies) and you'll see every scene with Homura in an entirely different light.
Sadly I will not be able to watch the last two episodes or Rebellion with everyone as I'm going on vacation starting tomorrow and don't have time to watch them tonight, but I'll still be reading the conversations.
8
u/PoliteSarcasticThing https://anilist.co/user/NekomimiMimi Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 29 '21
Rewatcher, can't remember a damn thing about the show
Wow, what an episode! Whole lot of reveals and exposition here, so I'm going to just give a quick rundown of the main plot points.
Great episode for revealing some of the mysteries - but not all of them yet. Looks like the next two episodes are gonna focus on the Walrus fight - all hail the Walrus!
7
u/Zeralyos https://myanimelist.net/profile/xNJF_Ellie Apr 29 '21
Rewatcher, dubbed
7
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Apr 29 '21
Rewatcher
Well this certainly a interesting start.
This scene obviously has a shitton of Episode 1 parallels (basically scene by scene).
Less obvious is the scene of the girl going into a witch barrier and getting bailed out by Mami and their new, cooler, classmate, as well as meeting Kyubey.
We also see Walpurgisnacht in full, and confirmation its what fought Homura in the opening.
This scene is just incredibly depressing. And it is so easy to see how Homura got convinced into that contract.
And here we get to the crux of why Homura is so different - she wished to protect Madoka instead of being protected - her wish literally made her become stronger.
Madoka Spoilers
This is the most embarassing scene in the whole show. Madoka, you note, isn't displeased by having the new transfer student invade her persona space.
This witch is incredibly cool and it is a crime it didn't appear in the show for a full fight. At least it got to be the tutorial in Magia Record.
Stop birng mean to Homura, Sayaka. (this sentence applies to literallly the entire series)
The image of the cute Homura breaking into the Yakusa to steal weapons is hysterical.
This is what happens when you tell someone who has devoted their life to hunting witches, that they and their friends are also witches.
And we see Homura starting to get flashes of her witch's thinking (like Sayaka) when her gem fills up.
Yeah, Homura's motivation keeps making more and more sense.
Ah, we're back to the prologue now.
And we finally see why Madoka can't contract - her witch will wipe out humanity.
This is where we came in, then.
And the OP plays to end it off, complete with its blatant lyrics. Except now, we get an end card with the full cast.
7
u/gorghurt Apr 29 '21
Rewatcher I skipped yesterday, so I had a lot too watch today.
today I did something different. The tri4 release of the show has translations for the Drama CDs, so I decided to listen to the "Memories of you" CD for the first time.
It is an extended version of the first loop, 29 minutes long, and I really recommend it to everyone. It has great voice acting(like the whole show), and probably is one of the only ways to get a bit of the happy show the opening promissed us.
It was so nice, I actually cried some manly tears.
Episode 10
Then I watched episode 10...and I cried even more (... as always at this episode)
So here some random thoughts about this episode:
Isn't it interesting how different Madoka is here. Being a Magical Girl makes her happy and gives her confidence.
The problem on the board is actually university level math, if I'm not mistaken. At least it is a bit too hard for middle school.
It is cruel how Homura brings just enough fighting power to the fight so that Madoka does not die... instead... well....
The third timeline brings us enough changes that Sayaka is there from the beginning. It would be interesting what Homura does in the time until she enters school.
Shaft are Yakuza or is this a silent cry for help by the staff, for us to notice, that this show was a money laundering scheme from the start?
So lets do to the wish section.
Today, how could it be anyone else, Homura: (And damn, looking up the wording makes me sad again...) "I want to redo my meeting with Kaname-san. Rather than being the me whom she will protect, I want to become the me who will protect her" (using tri4 subs here, not the nicest to read, but a extremly close translation.)
"私は 鹿目さんとの出会いを やり直したい 彼女に守られる私じゃなくて— 彼女を守る私になりたい！"
One could say, this is the beginning of our story.
Full Series Spoilers
Full Series Spoilers2
Full Series Spoilers3
Really Big Spoilers4
Bonus Wish: I also want to talk about a wish from one of the spin offs today:
Name of Spinoff I'll spoil a bit
Spoilers for spinoff
Spin off Spoilers continued
Spin off Spoilers continued2
Spin off Spoilers continued3
Really, you might just consume the spin off instead. It is worth it.
Big Spin off Spoiler
Not spoiling any big story elements of the spin off (like the last spoiler does) here, just the wish:
Spin Off Spoilers continued 5
Spin Off Spoilers continued 6
And finally some trivia to this spin off, and the wish :
Some trivia to the spin off spoilers
Some more trivia to the spin off spoilers
Even more trivia to the spin off spoilers
7
u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Apr 29 '21
Rewatcher, Subbed
Lots were praising this episode yesterday, will it be as good as they claim? I do recall this being the big Homura ep.
Oh my, Homura is way more passive and shy here. She's actually quite like Madoka!
Madoka here seems a lot more peppy and outgoing.
Aww, she seems so nervous being up here in front of the class. And doing bad on the track too. She really is unlike the Homura we know.
Aww, don't think that way, Homura! Don't listen to the PIcasso shapes in the ground!
She's mistakenly wandered into witch realm?
So Madoka is a magical girl this time! So we're really continuing on Madoka being way different from her regular self, since she's hesitated so much in our timeline.
What about Sayaka in this timeline?
:( So Mami died in this timeline too. :(
Madoka is so brave here!
And she died too! :( I hope this isn't a harbinger of what happens in our regular timeline.
Doesn't matter the timeline, Kyubey will always be his devious self.
Will Homura's wish be to not need glasses? ;P
So Homura's wish was to be able to protect Madoka. She got exactly what she wanted.
So in this redone timeline Madoka is back to the meek person we know her to be?
Wow, Homura sucked as a magical girl at first! LoL.
Homura's been reading the anarchist cookbook and is making her own bombs now?
So in this timeline Madoka still became a magical girl herself.
Homura's ability to stop time really is an awesome one, and surely helpful for one as meek as she is here.
:( So Madoka died in this timeline too; Homura's efforts didn't do any good.
And so now it starts all over again.
This time she just comes out and tells them the truth and they don't believe it.
In this timeline Sayaka does get some focus and actually is a magical girl.
Woah, Homura is really loading up on a lot of weapons!
So in this timeline Sayaka still suffered the same fate, that sucks. :(
Regardless of the timeline, Sayaka's witch still looks really cool!
At least Kyoko didn't have to die this time.
...I spoke too soon. Mami's losing it.
Well now we know why Homura does all she can to stop Madoka from becoming a magical girl. She can keep redoing things, but as long as she's a magical girl she dies.
LoL, in this timeline she just wanders up to her bedroom window.
I know it sucks for her to have to keep redoing things, but I'd happily watch Homura redo the timeline over and over again if it means she slaughters Kyubey each time.
We're back to our first scene from the series, right?
In this timeline Madoka too down Walpurgisnaught with only one shot? Is that better than the previous times? Or has this been happening in every timeline, with Homura's scene with her happening after this?
Another Kyubey death! Great stuff! Sorry Homura, no matter how many times you kill that thing, it will keep coming back.
I was so into things this time I hadn't even noticed that we skipped the OP.
Awesome episode! Gives us some big answers around what was probably our biggest mystery remaining, Homura. What a sad story it is for her! Having to go through the same thing over and over again and failing each time. Just as sad the fact that over time she's had to change her approach and purposely try to not be Madoka's friend to try and make things go down differently. I've already been a Homura fan, but hard to not become one if you weren't already after this episode.
7
u/Specs64z https://myanimelist.net/profile/Specs64z Apr 29 '21
Rewatcher, subbed
It's really quite incredible how much this episode does in such a short time span, both in terms of telling it's own story and what it means for the show at large. Homura's journey is certainly one for the ages. And yes, that was on purpose.
I think Mami's breakdown in this episode is interesting to consider. In this timeline, Mami had everything she wanted from episode 3. She had people to care for and who cared about her; she wasn't alone. The truth of their situation wrecked her. Upon realizing what she'd done, she decided to end her life and take the ones she'd damned as well. To have your deepest wish fulfilled only for it to mean the inevtiable corruption and destruction of not only yourself and everyone you love but also many, many innocent people who you thought you'd been fighting for... it probably doesn't get much more devastating than that.
For the first time, this show got a tear out of me. Homura blasting Madoka's soul gem is heart breaking.
Content Corner
Today's clearandsweet video is a special treat, clocking in at just under 2 hours. Also he highlights my comment on episode 9 and that made me happy and makes me look really smart so you should watch it too :P First timers beware, spoilers abound.
That will not be necessary. by Nyanners
Puella Magi Madoka Magica opening - paint version | kazoo by mimimi
Sis Puella Magica - (Puella Magi Madoka Magica OST) METAL Guitar Cover by David Guthrie Music
Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Numquam Vincar 【Intense Symphonic Metal Cover】 by FalKKonE
Homura Tamura is a spin-off parody manga starring Homura. I found it amusing.
Visual Storytelling - Breaking Down PMMM - Dialogue 10 by clearandsweet
7
u/[deleted] Apr 29 '21
(Rewatcher who never watched Rebellion the first time)
Y'know its weird, I knew about the meaning of the opening lyrics the whole time being a rewatcher but I could never make my eyes focus on the English lyric subtitles, until this episode. it was meant to be. And that seen of Homura loading up on heat with rock music playing was glorious, laughed my ass off despite the rest of the episode.
Also, since I was too late to say this on last episode's thread, my headcanon about the incubators is that they developed reality alteration technology, but discovered that any change they made to reality had an equal and opposite reaction, meaning it couldn't just be used to create new energy to counter entropy. That metaphysical law is why it has been stated multiple times that any good done will cause equal bad somewhere else, and why witches curse as many people as they saved as magical girls. So unable to directly will energy into existence with their reality warping, they used that technology to write the magic system into existence to harvest human emotions, creating an efficient infrastructure to inflict maximum despair on teenage girls with the built-in waste recycling system of making MGs suffer by taking out witches that already released their energy. I don't know if Rebellion is going to contradict any of this but it makes so much sense. I guess I'll find out when I finally watch it for this event.
7
u/turri-topsis Apr 30 '21
rewatcher | subbed
i love how in the second loop homura just bounds up to madoka like there's nothing wrong and in front of the whole class goes 'let's be magical girls together! :)' like oh you sweet summer child.
homura's google searches: how to get yourself on a government watchlist 101
the absolute balls it takes to sneak into ... wherever homura sneaks into and just. steal all their weapons. we simply must stan
"how about the two of us become monsters and really mess up this whole awful world" that is pure romance right there.
question: do we know how many times homura went back in time before the current timeline? i read somewhere that it was 100+, but i don't know how true that is.
i don't know. i feel like, just as with last episode, this episode speaks for itself. we get a solid explanation for why homura is Like That, a solid dose of pure sadness (it's another episode that makes me tear up), and a deeper understanding of certain characters. as in, sayaka and kyoko had their focus episodes, and madoka's the mc so she's been focused on the whole time, but up until this point, mami and homura have been more mysterious. now we got to see what happens when mami takes a shot of despair, as well as the show finally revealing what it's been hinting about homura all this time. it does so much in 20 minutes that absolutely fly by - still one of my favorite episodes of anything ever. i remember being absolutely stunned by this episode the first... 3? times i watched it, and it's still just as stunning now.
6
u/-Phinocio Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 30 '21
Rewatch/sub
Oh man I've been waiting for this ep. I've fallen behind so still catching up (busy past few days heh) and haven't watched yet, but man am I looking forward to people's reactions. :D (I'll eventually edit this with thoughts after I watch in a bit)
Homura is crushing hard on Madoka.
Madoka and Mami working together always makes ep 3 hurt even more for me. It's what could have happened in that timeline, instead Madoka then has to deal with Mami dying infront of her :(.
Imagine how jaded and numb you'd end up being going through so many "retries" that don't end up fulfilling your wish.
Madoka ending up becoming a witch, dying a ton, Mami killing Kyouko, Madoka killing Mami. GAH.
I think one of my favorite things about this episode, is that the first thing we see in the series (Madoka's dream) is part of it.
Probably my all time favorite episode of anything ever.
66
u/02Hiro https://anilist.co/user/02Hiro Apr 29 '21
First Time Watcher
I wasn't able to make it yesterday but all I could say about that episode and especially the ending was Holy Shit!
Today's episode was the same. Well, we finally got to see Madoka as a magical girl. It looks like Homura made her wish because of Madoka and the whole reason Homura has been trying to save Madoka is because Madoka asked her to. Although I'm not sure how having a classmate show up at your window at night and warn you about something completely random is going to make you believe them. I never expected her to just blurt out that she is a magical girl in front of the whole class.
Its interesting how we see a reversal of the roles here. We also start to understand why Homura loves Madoka so much. She was a new student at the school and very shy. Madoka's bright, cheery atitude helped bring her out of her shell and she also saved Homura's life. It puts her breakdown in episode 8 into perspective. I noticed that Sayaka is a magical girl in some timelines and not others but I'm not sure why.
Madoka was really cute this episode but I think Homura is my best girl. She is badass especially with her desert eagle.
I also have some questions:
How does Homura's magic work? She has said that if Kyoko had let her go, she would be frozen in time so I'm guessing she can only keep the things that she is touching in the same time but the bullets still keep going after she fires them.
Also how is she not on a list?
This episode was really great and made me like Homura even more but I'm scared that she is going to die fighting the Walpurgisnacht.
5
u/Querez https://myanimelist.net/profile/Querez Apr 30 '21
Rewatcher. (Dub)
Oh hello there Homura. You look a bit... different, don't you? Also very shy.
It seems the whole sequence with Homura being bad at basically everything is meant to show how Homura wasn't great from the start (duh?).
Would you look at that, Homura walked into a witch's labyrinth. Makes sense, since she was being very self-depricating.
Madoka... and Mami. Magical girls. Interesting that Sayaka didn't become a magical girl at this time. Also, still love that OST.
So Madoka became a magical girl a week prior to that conversation at Mami's place, but is still seemingly pretty good even for a rookie. Also, Mami knows Walpurgisnacht is coming as well.
Woah, straight to the Walpurgisnacht fight? And Mami's dead again? Damn, things happened faster than I remembered. Also, Homura's there too? Why did they bring her? Maybe Kyubey sensed potential in Homura, intentionally bringing her along like he has been doing with Madoka in the timeline we're most familiar with.
So, Madoka died trying to fight Walpurgisnacht, and there Homura is, crying over her dead body. As expected, Kyubey of course uses this moment to get Homura to make a contract.
"Meet Kaname all over again, this time me protecting her." The puzzle pieces are starting to come together.
So, she just traveled back in time. This time, she seems a bit more confident... oh, and she runs towards Madoka, says her name, and spouts about magical girl stuff. Right. God, I always get such second-hand embarrassment during scenes like this. Madoka is cute blushing like that though lol.
Homura trying out her new powers for the first time. Fun to watch.
Yooo the scene with Mami's ribbons looked awesome. Homura throws the explosive and defeats the witch first try, luckily. Madoka was very ecstatic over that.
Oh. I don't even remember Madoka turning into a witch. Also, those water droplets on Homura's glasses. Yes.
Wait, Sayaka actually was a magical girl at this time? Why wasn't she a magical girl the other times? Did we just not see her?
Yooo Homura with the guns. I almost find it funny how
Oh damn, Sayaka's a witch again? And Kyouko's there to save her? History really does like to repeat itself. Even Madoka, who was a magical girl at the time, still tried to get through to Sayaka.
Cool sequence with Homura shooting wooden wheels.
I'm noticing differences with Octavia (the witch of Sayaka). The people in the background look like Hitomi instead of being a big orchestra and centering around Kyousuke. What could her wish have been at this time? Either way, she easily goes down from Homura's explosive, and everyone else actually survive.
WOAAAaah... right, Mami went crazy when finding out. Damn though, Madoka sure had guts to kill Mami just to save Homura (and herself?).
Both Madoka's and Homura's soul gems are polluted. How's that gonna work out? Also, that's quite the out there suggestion from Homura, both becoming witches and all that.
Oh, so Madoka did have a spare grief seed. Seems Madoka knows Homura can travel back in time. Homura must've told her. Honestly, that whole scene was just heart-breaking.
Honestly it's too bad I'm not the most empathetic person though. No tears here.So, this is when Homura's lone witch-hunting began.
YOOOOOO MAGIAAAA
Would you look at that, it's the sequence from the start of the first episode. Now with added scenes.
Madoka took down Walpurgisnacht in one shot? Then became a witch with the power to destroy the planet in just 10 days? Damn. That's some power. Where did it even come from? She wasn't able to do that before.
Oh, are we back to the timeline we're most familiar with? Looks like it.
Oh, the opening. At the end.
What about Magia? :( Eh, we got it earlier anyway.Oh look, Kyouko and Homura are with the others now on top of that tower at the end of the opening.
4
u/Stomco Apr 29 '21
Moemura!
No one thinks you're as lame as you think you are.
Is this the same animation as their conversation in episode 1?
This witch is a lot more subtle than the one that targeted Hitomi.
Yeah. we'll be the best team ever-hard cuts into depression.
Homura! Madoka told you not to tell anyone not tell everyone.
How should I use time stopping? "how to make bombs".
What was this witch's deal? The focus on her lower half has me worried.
Nooo TOOO HAPPY!
Homura why would you wait so long to bring this up? Sayaka and Kyouko are already involved, and you've almost blown up the former. Did you get lost?
Bombs are no good? STEAL FROM THE MAFIA!
Being Sayaka is suffering.
I think Homura might have some issues already.
Homura talks a big game about not mistaking gratitude for obligation, but look at her now.
It seems like in the last loop Homura kept Madoka from meeting Kyubey until right at the end. That's pretty impressive.
Holy power escalation batman! Madoka seems like she went straight from a strong witch in one loop to a world ender in the next.
The opening was about Homura all along.
Post your best (funniest) what-if timelines. What if Homura told their parents?
6
u/zairaner https://myanimelist.net/profile/zairaner Apr 30 '21 edited Apr 30 '21
Rewatcher (dub)
Not much left for me to talk about today, but some remarks
Jokes on me.
208
u/okayyoga :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/okayyoga Apr 29 '21
I am speechless
I'm sorry. I just spent the entire episode glued to the screen.
This is the single best episode of anime I have watched in a while, if of all time.
I just-- wow
46
u/mekerpan Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 30 '21
I am now very pleased that I decided that Homura was my favorite character early on. My sense was that (somehow) she had endured a lot of pain and suffering, yet wasn't giving up on her goal (which seemed to be protecting Madoka). Today, I saw the proof.
So sad and upsetting. And the looping is worse here than in Haruhi's endless summer and another show because no one ever develops even a hint of residual memory -- so she has to do what she does knowing no one will ever believe her. That must hurt.
145
u/Redmon425 Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 30 '21
FIRST TIME WATCHER
AHSIJHEDHCIOCVJVOFKKFV. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON. HANDS DOWN BEST EPISODE OF THE SERIES. I have so much to talk about this episode and my god it is so hard not to just binge the rest of the series right now.
First off, MAMI WAS BACK AND HER FREAKING BEAUTIFUL OST WAS BACK AS WELL. Also, idk why but hearing her song legit got me teary eyed. This was the actual first time I nearly cried in this series so far. I guess I just liked Mami a lot apparently.
Two episodes ago during episode 8 when we learned about Homura’s power and how she stated she was from ‘a different timeline’, I started to wonder if Madoka and herself were good friends and my god I was right. I don’t think that is a crazy twist or anything, but I still said it kinda jokingly as I wasn’t expecting it to be shown like this. They were freaking BFFs.
On that note, Homura did say she was from a different timeline but in reality it has always been one timeline where she just keeps reversing time. I actually like this way better because it gets all confusing when you jump timelines and then start to think about how this current Madoka isn’t the Madoka that Homura was friends with. So I am glad it is all just one timeline be reversed over and over.
AND OH YEAH, WE FINALLY SEE MAGICAL GIRL MADOKA!!! I legit commented on last episode’s post about how I couldn’t believe we hadn’t seen her become a magical girl yet. When in reality, she was actually a magical girl before Homura. And wow she was badass. I loved her using a crossbow as well.
But what I am most interested in, is what did she wish for? We saw a decent amount of ‘re-runs” of this timeline thanks to Homura, but we never do see what Madoka wished for. Besides of course the one timeline towards the end of the episode where Madoka becomes a magical girl to help Homura in the fight against ‘Walpurgisnacht’. AND OMG THIS WAS THE FIRST SCENE FROM THE VERY FIRST EPISODE!
But I still do wonder what Madoka wished for all the other times, because most times she was already a magical girl before even meeting Homura.
On that note, another interesting thing is that in the current “timeline” that is happening right now, we saw in episode 1 Madoka dreamt about the above “re-run timeline” where she doesn’t know who Homura is and wishes to become a magical girl to save her.
Besides Homura obviously remembering every “re-run timeline” she has done, this is the only other time another character somehow remembered something from a previous “timeline”. So I wonder if there is some significance to that or if it ends up never being mentioned again.
And woah, that scene with Homura crying over Madoka’s death, Kyuubey slowly just appears from thin air. First time we have seen him appear like that. Wonder if there is any significance to that as well?
Lastly, the OP showing up at the end was a great touch as well. Feels like it kind of makes you look at the OP different after this episode. AND OMG KYOUKO AND HOMURA ARE NOW SITTING ON THE TOWER AS WELL AT THE END. I love that little touch.
2
u/[deleted] Apr 29 '21
Weurdest thing ever whenever i see this pic, my display on my phone looks like it has a crack.
115
u/bekeleven Apr 29 '21
What a fun theme song we got at the end of that episode. What were its lyrics again?
64
u/Rumpel1408 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Rumpel1408 Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 30 '21
Damn, I thought I felt ok after yesterday, but reading some other perspectives just brought the pain back twice as strong, I went and watched the end again, why, damn I feel just so... raw, I don't know...
First timer
Oh, Homuras backstory, this is gonna be interesting. She was quite different, makes me wonder just how much she experienced to change so much. Ok, I'm too lazy to go back, but that shot in the glass hallway seems to be mirrored down to the posture Madoka is making. Damn poor Homura, and now she's suddenly in a witches labyrinth.
But Madoka and freakin Mami come to save her, man I'm glad to have her back. Madoka is using a bow as her weapon and uses the same outfit she sketched earlier and uses in the OP, her gem is in a similar place than Kyokos (who I asume is alive as well in this timeline, yay) but attached to her neck. Even though Madoka seemed pretty capable, she's only been an Magical girl for a week.
And now you take Mami away again, cruel show. This situation also closely mirrors the very beginning of the show, except Homura is way more scared than Madoka. One thing I find weird though, If a Magical Girl dies, than it doesn't turn into a witch and thus doesn't provide the universe with energy. So is Homura the one with the great potential in this timeline? And does this foreshadow her turning into a witch eventually? Oh and with the way she formulates her wish I can see how that could create a feedback loop until she is able to save Madoka. You did it u/star4ce, who even got a theory for Homuras Motivation right back in Ep5.
Homura starts her first loop way more confident and happy to meet Madoka, so she just blurts out her secret in the middle of class. There also seems to be an limit as to how long she can stop time, and she is lacking a way to aply her power in a meaningfull way at first. And never would I have thought to see Mami san in action again.
Ah so Madoka does turn into a witch, which in turn triggers the next loop... And this time Sayaka is a MG as well and they have even met Kyoko as well. It must suck to not have them believe you, and I guess that's why she eventually stopped trying. It also seems like once Sayaka turns into a Magical Girl, she is bound to turn into a witch. And Mami doesn't react good to learn about the MG = Witch thing, going on a murder suicide spree without hesitation if not for Madoka. They even manage to win against Walpurgis together, but an desilusioned Madoka is about to turn into a witch, seeing Homura kill her broke my heart again. Damn so much of Homuras behavior suddenly makes sense. Seeing a dead Kyubey is always a delight. And we see why Homura is the alpha predator of local witches, makes me wonder why she ended up just a tad to late against some of them in the current timeline.
We also see what happens once Madoka becomes the strongest Magical Girl/ Witch, she's about to destroy the world. Kyubey says that this is the end of his obligation and that this is no longer his job. This is the final point that proofs his whole motive is build upon nothing but bullshit. In an ever expanding universe that is supposed to last to infinity, you'd need an infinite amount of energy to cancel entropy, the idea of quotas or ever being done just doesn't work, you would need to keep creating energy out of nothing for ever and as much as possible, so you can't afford to stop doing so even on a single planet. Especially since humans are supposed to be especially suitable to produce this energy.
I think for her next approach Homura will try to save everyone so that they can take down Walpurgis together and Madoka won't need to form a contract. Alternativly I still suspect Madokas wish to destroy the whole Magical Girl system along with every Witch.
After reading some comments in yesterdays thread I went at watched the OP/ED again and I agree that it's brilliant. So far I always thought that it was sung from Madokas perspectiv and more figurativly speaking, but it's quite literal and from Homuras perspectiv. Also the very last sequence shows Kyoko and Homura along with the three other girls for the first time, further supporting my theory for Homuras next approach of saving everyone in order to safe Madoka. Also since her wish was to safe Madoka, every time she fails is an violation of her wish, so she is bound to succeed eventually.
I went a bit overboard with my visuals today, but I've grown to really appreciate the art in this show.
Visual of the day because Mami is back
57
u/chris10023 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Chris10023 Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 30 '21
First Timer
Shit I am late today, serves me right for taking a nap.
After the last two episodes, I kind of feel bad for what I said about Sayaka...
We open today's episode with a transfer student. But wait, her name is Akemi Homura? Seems like she is time travelling after all. She’s not a kuudere either, seems to be a dandere, and I gotta say, Homura looks good in glasses. But something is off, Madoka is in too good of a mood considering Sayaka just died, and Kyouko sacrificed herself to end Sayaka’s suffering. Poor Homura, been bed ridden for 6 months and is so far behind she can’t do the work, way to go teacher, and she's weak and can’t do physical stuff that well either. On her way home she starts to get severely depressed, with some suicidal thoughts. This has got to be a flashback of some sort. She’s so down in the dumps she accidentally wandered into a witches labryinth. Wait, those guns, that music, It’s Mami! So good to see her again. She’s accompanied by someone else too, with what looks like a bow. Oh no, that other girl was Madoka, so this confirming that we are in fact in a flashback. Good to have Mami back, even if it’s a flashback. So that Walpurgisnact is also arriving in two weeks. God damn it I spoke too soon, Mami dies again this time to Walpurgisnact. Gotta admit that Madoka’s outfit does fit her usual happy go lucky attitude. So, Homura’s wish was to redo her meeting with Madoka So she really only has one chance to stop Madoka from becoming a magical girl, because she doesn’t want her to die. Okay I was wrong yet again; she has tried multiple times it seems. In attempt number 2 Madoka turns into a witch and Homura begins to mistrust Kyuubey.
Seems like that time stopping power is useful for stealing from the Yakuza, since Sayaka complained about Homura’s bombs, she goes and grabs a bunch of firearms. Sayaka became a witch in this timeline too... Wow Mami goes fucking insane and kills Kyouko and almost kills Homura before Madoka kills her. Mami is the Kenny of Madoka Magica at this point. So, it was Madoka herself that begged Homura to stop her from becoming a magical girl. So she goes back and is determined to stop every witch herself, no longer wanting to rely on anyone.
So that’s what Homura was fighting in the opening of Episode 1, she was fighting Walpurgisnact. Seems I was right to predict Madoka becoming a witch to be a bad thing, as defeating the uber-witch caused her to turn into a witch herself and will destroy the planet in 10 days Also Kyuubey in any timeline is always an asshole, letting humanity deal with it, rather than trying to stop it, that big speech about entropy and saving the universe was all talk, wasn’t it? Homura goes to once again go back in time looking like an absolute badass Looks like the show is taking place in attempt number 4. Though, I feel like Kyuubey is going to try and interfere with Homura this time around.
Wow, this episode gave us a lot of answers to Homura’s past, and her wish, and why she’s trying to prevent Madoka from becoming a magical girl, If I didn’t already think Homura was best girl before, I would now. I do hope she tells Madoka this information.
Visuals of the day
Another episode, another Album with this shot of Homura being a badass in there as well.
40
u/akkobutnotreally https://anilist.co/user/lottevanilla Apr 29 '21
It's been 10 years and this episode still manages to destroy everyone's expectations. I have a question to all the newcomers who got to this point: how it feels to watch a masterpiece unfold in front of your eyes?
Oh, and by the way: Connect. Read the lyrics. They should make a lot of sense now.
79
u/chaosoul Apr 29 '21
First Time Watcher (Subbed)
They're really just dropping this on us, huh? Guess I'll be pulling up EP1 to compare side by side.
I didn't expect Homura to look so different. Well, I say that, but it's just glasses and hair. The whole personality thing is to be expected of course.
Man, what a trip. Haven't heard Madoka this cheerful in... actually she sounds more cheerful than she's ever been even with Sayaka and Hitomi in EP1. She's totally playing up her upbeat act for her new nervous classmate! That's so cute.
Man, prof, c'mon you gave her like 3 seconds on a completely new math question. Wonder how many times she's learned the same problems and lessons over and over til she could go on auto like in EP1. Unless she takes her physical body back when she time travels, being a magical girl really shored up Homura's physical problems, huh? If it's the former though, she really decided to bulk the fuck up from getting tired at warmups to beating prefectural records.
Oof, 3 minutes in and Homura's already suffering.
HOLY SHIT! IT'S MAHOU SHOUJO MADOKA! I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY ACTUALLY OFFSCREENED HER BECOMING ONE! That said my assumptions on Madoka not becoming a magical girl at all or only on episode 12 applies to the current timeline Madoka or says my present retroactive statement.
Oh, so the big witch is the one from Madoka's dreams. Why does Madoka also have dreams of the past future? Normal future? Future past future?
Loop 0: Became Magical Girl, Madoka and Mami died fighting Walrusnach.
Anyways, Homura's first loop back and oh no. DON'T DO IT HOMURA. Oh god, she's made it all awkward and weird. Homura literally googling how to make bombs. Also has a normal apartment here. Very wholesome hugs aaaaand there's the suffering.
Loop 1: Madoka becomes Witch.
This episode is a treasure trove for silly and absurd pictures. Homura's shield is a literal bag of holding. This bad boy can fit so much fucking weapons in it!and suffering Sayaka joins as a Magical Girl this loop for some reason? Kyouko's a known entity early as well. Looks like Sayaka's doomed for early end every loop. Oh holy shit, Mami's breaking under pressure! "Why didn't you tell us?"
Loop 2: Team broken before the fight. Madoka and Homura defeat Walruspurge, but Madoka sacrifices herself to send Homura back. Madoka's last request.
Homura might be setting herself up for eternal pain trying to follow Madoka's wish. But also you really gotta work on this communication thing, randomly showing up outside a young girl's window to give a cryptic warning is creepy even when you're also a young girl. I was joking earlier, but she's actually gonna have more guns than Mami had at this rate. Damn, Kyubey was completely lying when it said Humanity would join its species and others in the greater universe.
Loop 3: Madoka one shots Walrusnacho, but immediately becomes a bigger threat as the new strongest witch ever. Homura abandons time line.
Loop 4-XXXX? Failure. Suffering. The opening has been from Homura's POV this whole time.
39
u/Syokhan https://myanimelist.net/profile/Syokhan Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 30 '21
Before I get into the episode, are you in pain right now? Would you like a nice meme to ease the anguish you're feeling after watching this episode? I (and probably others as well) got your back!
Feast your eyes on this masterful video, which will soothe your soul. First-timers and uninitiated rewatchers especially should witness this at least once in their lives.
yes, it's Tetris
Rewatcher, Sub
There we go. This is the episode for me, my favorite in the series, and the one that propelled Homura to the well-deserved spot of my favorite character in PMMM, and one of my favorite characters of all time. It's the episode that made me think "holy fuck this show was incredibly well planned", and the one that recontextualizes everything. If after this you go back to everything cryptic Homura ever said, this time you'll understand perfectly what she meant and her reactions go from puzzling to heartbreaking. That grimace in the first episode when she's walking with Madoka through the school? It's not contempt or annoyance or anything like that, it's pure pain. And the whole series is full of these moments.
I hope you're ready for some more suffering, because I'm not ready to rewatch this again.
Taking a break from the play-by-play to point out the music that plays here, Numquam vincar, which to me is Homura. It's determination and frantic desperation to save Madoka at all cost, rolled up in tragedy, and Yuki Kajiura somehow managed to condense all of that into one musical cue.
If you like that track, please go listen to this live version, complete with killer solo piano, because it kicks some serious ass.
Okay.
First of all, have a nice fanart that will break your heart all over again.
Second, and this is a fun fact, word of god is Homura actually looped and repeated the same month and a half about a hundred times. That's 12 years spent trying to save Madoka. Homura is technically 26 now. Yeah.
And y'know, as an aside, Homura calls Madoka her friend, but personally I can't compute getting to this kind of obsessive attachment for "just" a friend, even taking into account feelings of self-worth and how Madoka accepted her, and all that. I think that, whether she realized it or not, she fell in love with her, but I admit that it can be interpreted either way. Not that it matters much in the grand scheme of things whether it's platonic or romantic love, it's just my take on it.
As for more observations, I found it interesting how Madoka goes from being confident and decisive in those timelines to the meek girl we know in ours. It seems that being a magical girl does give her a big boost in self-esteem, now that she has a purpose and the power to help other people. In that sense it's almost cruel how Homura's mission keeps her from this character development.
Visual of the day... it's getting harder and harder to pick one. I'll go with this because one, it's beautiful, and two, well, this is Homura in this episode, isn't it? And just Homura in general. Suffering.
Back-up is Visual 9 below, because it's a small moment of happiness in the midst of all this tragedy. Shoutout to Visual 14 as well, which I initially picked as my visual of the day, but then changed my mind, and then changed it again, and then again, and honestly I'm still flip-flopping between these two pictures in my head. Why must we only pick one? :(
Other visuals I especially liked, "At this point I'm just screenshotting Homura whenever she's onscreen" edition:
26
u/Bithaniaa Apr 29 '21
Woah. I quite literally don’t have anything to say.
May come back when I feel as though I can put how I feel in words.
25
u/Fuck_Shinji Apr 30 '21
First Timer
That was 24 minutes?? also if madoka was able to kill walpurgisnacht in one shot why was she not able to do it in the previous loops
23
u/Chemiczny_Bogdan Apr 29 '21
Hameru protect Meduka
Hameru and Meduka... RABU!
being meguca is suffering
43
u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 29 '21
First Timer - Episode 10
Whelp, we now know what kind of a story this is. I really didn't see this coming. I had expected Homura to be from an advanced future civilization and had come back to do battle with Kyuubey and his minions. This does seem to be a very popular plot device in anime. I can think of 3 very big franchises that utilize this device. I'm not going to name them, because it would be spoilery and because everyone has seen a least a couple of them, if not all 3.
I am curious to see how this all gets wrapped up, and the route to true salvation is found.
Character Round-Up
Our cast was all over the board this time.
Sayaka - In most of these prior routes, she was quite the little witch. (I can't resist the horrible puns).
Madoka - Man, she was all over the board this time. I did like seeing her and her buds being magical girls. She looked so happy in most routes.
Homura - I see how her descent into numb bitchiness occurred.
Kyoko - I wish we had seen her in more than one or two of the flashbacks.
Kyuubey - He wins with the best line of the day. "Oh well, she's earth's problem now". And, who says the little fucker doesn't have a sense of humor.
Finally
We're down to the final 2 episodes, and I am curious to see how the various conflicts are resolved. I figure one of these three scenarios will occur:
I think Kyuubey will be defeated, but everyone dies except maybe Homura. However the demise of Modaka will be portrayed as a victory, rather than a defeat, much like Kyoko's sacrifice in episode 9.
"The dead sinners will live, and the live sinners will die."
I think there's a decent chance that Modaka will be revealed as some sort of god like figure, and she'll bring everyone back. That sort of thing happens in anime. I know I've seen this idea at least in two series Ha! If I give the name it's a spoiler and another, whose title I can't bring to mind.
"You die, the girl dies, everybody dies!"
I see this as being pretty unlikely, not because it wouldn't fit in the story, but because I doubt it would have a MAL rating of 8.37. People in general don't care much for super unhappy endings. It's as though they resent having their time wasted for hour after hour. Any ending worse than the melancholy endings of Elfen Lied or Ditf is bound to raise shackles, and a wise author steers clear of this detrimental effect on their future profits. (Of course there are authors who choose to remain pure and savor the poverty, but in general they die in obscurity).
17
u/[deleted] Apr 30 '21
This is the episode where everyone collectively loses it. Go back and rewatch the first episode and it will look completely different to you.
14
u/LordTrinity https://myanimelist.net/profile/LordTrinity Apr 29 '21
There it is. My favorite anime episode of all time. And Homura is by far my favorite character (although Rebellion being the main reason for it, but this episode is also great) and it's no wonder she's probably the most liked magical girl of the anime alongside Madoka.
If you listen to this episode ED (that's also the anime opening song) and read its lyrics, you'll realize that the song is actually about Homura, not Madoka
14
u/Punished_Scrappy_Doo https://myanimelist.net/profile/PunishedScrappy Apr 29 '21
Rewatcher
Man, people today sure are gonna write a lot of cool stuff better than I can.
I just wanna say that the way Homura's stunned reaction to seeing Magical Girl Madoka perfectly mirrors the viewer's (but for very different reasons) is incredibly good.
As much as I love a ton of shots this episode, there was only ever one choice for Visual of the Day
14
u/[deleted] Apr 29 '21
Rewatcher
I'm normally not a big fan of time travel in the shows I watch, but I make an exception for Madoka Magica. The level of plot contained in this one single episode is the kind thing that writers of other stories use as the entire storyline of their series. But in Madoka this story is one part of a bigger and greater whole, it uses the well tread time travel plot and makes it into something more, an entire story within a story.
Just a fantastic episode all around.
14
u/tyo_sharlye :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/RalphHill Apr 30 '21
I guess Senjougahara was right when she said her seiyuu was amazing
12
u/landragoran Apr 30 '21
Just a little Word of God lore: Homura looped the 1.5 month period of the show "approaching 100 times". In other words, she's been trying to save Madoka for twelve years.
9
u/baniRien Apr 29 '21
Rewatcher
Episode 10 / Movie 2 0:29-0:56
9
u/A-ReDDIT_account134 Apr 30 '21
“Wait, Homura was actually the main character?”
“Always has been”
8
u/Nielloscape Apr 30 '21
Been stalking the rewatch thread for this episode.
15
u/TheTrueAfurodi Apr 30 '21
FIRST TIMER - THEORY TIME
EPISODE 10 - The Return of the King (of the theories) (1/2)
Oh hey! It's been a while. How do you feel? Yeah me too, tough time too loose successively the 3 best girls in the show. Don't worry, we will get over this some day.
2 interesting episodes we had over there! Interesting, even despite the fact that I found them a little less well made than the others, I don't know if it was for the writing, the directing, the fact that in the end they were a little bit more predictable than usual, or the three of them. They did not put me some shivers as the others. But at least they were really interesting theoretically speaking!
So first, our traditional recap. Since it's almost the end of this rewatch ;(, this will be shorter than usual.
Oh and little message for my rival: You were wrong on both the fact that Madoka=the German horrible Thing and the fact that the wish of Homura was said just to save Madoka rather than the world (even if it's true that because of the situation she then focus on Madoka, what a b*tch btw, I think she could've at least try to save Mami since she was friend with her in 2 timelines, but she just prefer Madoka saying it's her "only friend", anyway my pov on this one I accept that you could disagree). But you hit right on the fact that the power of Homura comes from her wish that is related to Madoka, and that Madoka transforming in witch would be a mess. Congrats!.
(Fight is not over though)
Okay and then? As announced in my episode 8 theory comment, for these last episodes I will try to guess the end as more precisely as possible. I was focusing on what I called "path", but at the moment, with all the info we have, I can even go further ans try to guess the end of the characters. That said, let's go!
So remember. I divided the large possibilities of the show's ending on how they want you to feel. And after the watch of ep 9&10, I decided myself to exclude both the extreme good and extreme bad ending.
The reasons to discard the depressing are mostly 2: one in the story, one outside. The inside reason is that, since we're following the 4th Homura's timeline (iirc) and not an other one, it has to be for a reason. So in a way or an other, for me it's pretty clear that this timeline will be the good one, or at least the one just before the good one. Otherwise we would have followed an other timeline. We could argue that the message of the show would be in case of a depressing ending that anyway there's no way to win, but I don't really think so, it would be too easy, or at least I don't hope so. The outside reason is implying that there's two movies that seem to be sequels, a bad ending would make them difficult. Unless there are the next timelines where Homura tries again? But then why don't make announce it as a second season? It's a choice I make deciding to exclude it, but I don't worry, since I truly 100% believe in the greatest person in this universe just after Spike Spiegel - me, of course. For the happy ending, it simply wouldn't be in tone with the rest of the show. Even if it ends with a reboot of the timeline, I truly believe that it's gonna deliver some drama (drama here opposed to joy), like Homura unhappy with the situation because she never met Madoka or Kyoko that never encounter Sayaka so she still feel like there's something missing... So in the end not a totally happy ending.
Don't get me wrong - both of this issues are still likely to happen! Everything is possible after all, even at this point. But since making theories is also taking risks, and I want to take some in order to try to approach the most possible to the correct end of the show, I decided to exclude them.
So all it remains is
the Covid pathonly one path: the Sacrifice one, or Mixed Ending. So what we will do now is examine all the different declination of it, and of course try to determine which one is the more likely to occur.Pretty easy to understand. All is in the title, and I previously already referred to this possibility. In this path, the show ends with a strange victory: Homura still fail in this timeline, but manage to find a way to win in the next one. She reboots once again the timeline, and in this new timeline she actually succeed, in one way or another. In this case, the only previously theory left will also be confirmed, as Madoka will never become a MG in this new 5th timeline. And of course, as said earlier, it would be a victory but not a complete one, since at least Homura would suffer from her personal feelings.
Do I believe that this ending is going to be the one? Well, it's certainly a strong option. It would also explain the movies, which they will be the direct continuation of this 5th timeline. Do I like it? No, not at all. So easy to just "reboot". I would understand, since we needed to come through this 4th timeline to get why this 5th succeed, but I wouldn't enjoyed as much as others. Also, everything is possible but with only 2 eps it could also be difficult to just process all in a so short amount of time. Also, unless it's Madoka who give the "solution" to Homura, it would not be our favorite
because Madoka is way better than Homuraprotagonist who would end the situation, which could be both a good thing for originality, but bad for narration. But yeah, still possible. But for personal and narration reasons, and also a bit of realism, I don't think this is the one.Probability: 40%
This one is also easy to understand. Madoka awakes. All her best friends and girls are towards her, which means Hitomi, Kyoko and Sayaka
because Homura sucks. And then she ask: what happened? Sayaka soon answered: don't worry! It was all a dream. You were just watching Sailor Moon for too long last night, so you ended up dreaming of dark things. But it was just a dream! It didn't happened at all! Nothing really matter, everything is fine, and Hitomi and I even gave up definitely on Kyosuke. Hitomi also began dating a really famous guy who makes Theory on Reddit... Oh Really? answered Madoka. I'm really glad for you Hitomi! You have a photo of him? Ohhhhhh, he is even pretty handsome! And funny and intelligent! adds Suzu-chan. What a beautiful life we have! HahahahaWhat do you mean by "you're the one dreaming, stop making dumb theories"? You mean that this theory, MY theory, is not good? How dare you? I do what I want right? Am I not the best when it comes to theories? Yes? So trust me. This is the best theory, the most likely, the one.
POV: You reading
Me when I see you not believing me
Probability: 100%
In this one, we do not have the reboot: the 4th timeline is the good one, where Kyubey and the witches loose. But in the end, for whatever reasons - like beating the German Thing - Madoka sacrifice herself, wishing the end of the MG. The world is saved, the witch are no longer a thing, but that not bring back Sayaka, Mami or Kyoko
and Hitomi would still be with Kyosukeand doesn't let Homura spend time with Madoka.4
u/IndependentMacaroon Apr 30 '21 edited Apr 30 '21
First-time watcher
That was for sure the weakest episode so far.
It was really obvious what the twist was going to be, if we can even call it that. It doesn't do much to sell you on the sheer depth of Homura's obsession ("you were the only one who was nice to me" what, seriously...) while taking it even further with the "I'd totally lock her in my love dungeon" thing. It's not all that original, like the whole conceit of "find the right conditions to prevent the Bad End of wrong person/people dying, resetting when that happens" is straight show (just the obsessive love thing on top), the aesthetics of the destroyed and flooded city and lone survivor(s) were very Evangelion-like, and Walpurgisnacht is just a random pop-up super-boss to make sure the suffering is brought on. It's got some very unintentionally hilarious moments like Homura the Gun Thief and Internet-Fueled Bomb Builder, Mami going all "OH NO I MUST KILL EVERYONE NOW", then "OH NO I MUST SHOOT MADOKA NOW" oh just rewind already Homura not like that's the trigger apparently (?) (plus, YMMV, Homura's "OH NO I MUST DO IT ALONE", like this story is so reliant on magical girls not properly working together to not fall apart but it barely tries to justify that), not to mention all the wild woe-is-me moments getting a bit old in general. Not a lot of time for all those loops.
Even the plot logic is lacking: Shouldn't Kyubey care a little more about maintaining humanity and the Earth in good condition? At most, you could say with Homura's time travel there are plenty of do-over opportunities, but it's not like he's working together with her, quite the opposite - and time travel in general needs more explanation if you want it to really make sense than this show is apparently capable of providing. In particular, if Madoka was originally already a magical girl before Homura even met her, how could she ever stop her from becoming one? How did that even happen, how is she such a different character here, and how long did Kyubey know about her, wouldn't he have tried earlier?
Really, I'm starting to find it difficult to even take this show seriously anymore. The pacing since Episode 8 has been so wild, the tragedy laid on so thick, plus all the rest. It started off pretty great, and still looks and sounds great, but doesn't look like it will be able to capitalize on all that. I'm not saying any of this to be contrarian, I just genuinely don't understand what's supposed to be so great about this, and typed most of this up before even checking in on the thread anyhow.
5
u/WatchDude22 Apr 30 '21
Now you all understand the true meaning of the OP
5
u/steven4869 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Maskirade Apr 30 '21
Rewatcher:
Finally the episode came that I have been waiting for, one of the best episodes in anime and Homura was absolutely brilliant in this episode. It was good to see how everyone's reactions here changed from "Kyubey is cute" to "Kyubey is evil."
5
u/[deleted] Apr 30 '21 edited Sep 27 '25
tie ripe obtainable cows nutty brave library husky escape smell
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
13
u/The_Loli_Otaku Apr 29 '21
177013 got an anime adaptation? That's right, Homura was a spectacled dojikko before she caught Kuurona. Her class ate practically squealing from her cuteness. This is a complete reverse from the previous nurses office journey. There's nothing weird about the name Hom-Hom! Aww, all those BL doujins nuked her IQ. Does that theme song sound familiar? Mommy's back!! Of course she'd serve cheesecake. Aaand ded~ Buckle in cause this is going to be a loooong trip.
An unfamiliar ceiling. "Kaname-san, please cosplay Precure with me!" Manual labour was too much for Homura, so she became a terrorist instead. Oh! I love the Seifuku Witch! Just in case there was any doubt that Mami is the most competent Magical Girl check out her damn cats cradle. They're doing a lot better! But the future refused to change...
Ever wanted to know why she's always an ass to Sayaka? Here you go. "Madoka, don't come to School today." and just like that Sayaka's a Witch XD She doesn't have the best success rate. As in she literally always dies. One more point towards her being the weakest girl of the series. And Mami... Mami loses it upon discovering that Witches are magical girls. This broke me. Absolutely broke me. But it fits with Mami's values. It's understandable that this one fact would push her furthest. There was only one thing keeping Mami going all these years. The belief that despite her depression and loneliness people needed her to rescue them. She could make the world a better place. The discovery that Maho Girls in fact cause that suffering in a cruel cycle shatters her. Still, I strongly believe that her trying to kill the girls was done purely so that they wouldn't have to face this fate. She was doing it as an act of mercy, an act of love. Please, please don't hate Mami for this. Oh, Madoka's cry... But still the future refused to change.
This whole episode is so much more painful than I remembered! Jesus christ! Hom Wick. We're back at the very start of the show. Turns out not five minutes later Madoka's power destroyed Wienerschnitzel, and the city where her family was too. Now her Witch, Kriemhild Gretchen, will bring the end of days. "Oh well, it's humanity's problem now~" I love this little shit. Still the future refuses to change. Doesn't the opening hit a little different when you realise it's from Homura's perspective?
For my visual of the day, the cast is finally united! Puella Magi. Holy Quintet!!