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akiizayoi4869 · 5 months

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I watched the Madoka Magica: Rebellion movie today, and I absolutely loved it. A very interesting spin on the shows ending, and it makes perfect sense to me. In the show, nearly all of them died except for Madoka and Homura, the former of which sacrifices herself to become a God of sorts so that way no other magical girl will have to suffer anymore. So she leaves Homura alone. Alone in a world where nobody but Homura remembered Madoka. And after everything that girl went through to try and save Madoka, that's a hard pill to swallow. So when it's revealed in the movie that the reality that the girls are in isn't real, and that one of them made it up because they now have the powers of a witch, it made perfect sense for that person to be Homura.

Out of all the other magical girls, she's the one who has faced the most heartbeat and despair. Constantly going back in time, creating different worlds as a result of said time travel, all in a bid to save Madoka, the person who she loves the most. And in the end, all of her efforts were in vain. She lost the one person who she had sworn to save and protect. So is it any wonder that she would give in to her despair and create a world where Madoka and all of their friends could live peacefully?

Look at them. All together and happy, unaware of the reality they actually come from. In other words, a world that Homura wanted and desired more than anything else. Something that I found to be really interesting and thought was a nice touch was this:

The people around them don't have faces. Almost as if they weren't real people, and the only ones who WERE in fact real was Homura, her friends, and the people closest to them. They were the only ones who actually had faces in this world. Of course, eventually Homura realizes that something is off about the world, and confides in Kyoko. The two then set out to Kyoko's hometown, hoping to find some answers there....only for the bus that they were on to take them back to the city that they currently live in. And endless loop that they can't get out of. As if nothing outside of that city existed. A lot of stuff happens, and Homura eventually comes to a startling conclusion: that she was the witch that created the labyrinth they were all currently stuck in. As a result, she gives in to despair entirely and transforms into a witch. Madoka and the others arrive to try and save Homura. And now we get up to the scene that had me screaming😂.

I've been shipping these two since I watched the show, so the fact that Sayaka actually confessed to Kyoko here was a very welcomed surprise, lol. Anyway, they all fight together to save Homura (also, I loved that they played Misterioso by Kalafina for that scene, absolutely banger song) and eventually Madoka regains her true form once again:

Everything looks like it's going well, and it looks like Homura will be saved....until this happens:

Homura takes away Madoka's God powers so she can live as an ordinary girl, and takes the power for herself, essentially turning her into a demon.

Now, I'm pretty sure that there's a lot of people who hated this part, but honestly? I loved it. To me, it really showed how done Homura was with everything (and I can't say that I blame the girl, she just found out from Kyube that she was being used for an experiment in order to get to Madoka) and that she would literally do ANYTHING to make sure that Madoka and her friends could live happy lives.

Even if that meant becoming a demon to do it.

The movie ends with all of the girls alive. And this time, instead of Madoka no longer existing in the world, she's here too. In fact, she's the transfer student instead of Homura. Very interesting turn of events indeed.

All in all, I really loved this movie and I think the ending makes perfect sense, especially for someone like Homura, who has been through a heck of a lot for a young girl her age. So becoming the villain in the end? Fits her tragic story perfectly.

#puella magi madoka magica #Puella magi Madoka magica rebellion #homura akemi #madoka kaname #sayaka miki #kyoko sakura #mami tomoe

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kiwisandpearls · 2 months

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adding onto my last post (linked here), and maybe this is a hot take, but honestly:

homura taking madoka’s powers and rewriting the universe was a morally gray action. Not totally justifiable but also not totally irredeemable. She’s justified in the fact that if she hadn’t, kyubey probably would’ve used madoka in order to bring back the old magical girl system with witches. It’s not totally justifiable though because she goes against madoka’s wishes and desires.

“But madoka was lonely being a god.”

that’s correct. She was lonely and wasn’t fully happy being a god (displayed in the lyrics of the first ending). Even then though, she weighed her options and chose this one knowing what she would sacrifice. And objectively (key word being objectively. It does not matter how you view this scene this is what homura is objectively doing by taking Madoka’s powers) homura kinda invalidates that.

this isn’t something irredeemable on homura’s part but it does mean homura’s action is a very complex and a morally gray one that can’t just be boiled down to being a good thing or a bad thing. It’s a mix of both.

and even if homura’s action was an entirely good thing, homura’s action does nothing but prolong the inevitable. Her world is kinda falling at the seems, with how easy it was for madoka to nearly gain her memories back.

that doesn’t mean her actions are totally evil either. She didn’t do what she did to “have madoka for herself”. Frankly anyone who believes that that was any part of her motive to do what she did didn’t pay attention when watching the anime and movie. She does strongly (and I use strongly very heavily here lol) love madoka but she’s not a yandere who isolated madoka from those she loves to have her all to herself like some people act like she is.

It’s just…I really do wish people would understand that her actions as a whole and specifically in rebellion don’t need to be seen as exclusively a good or bad thing. In the some way as how I said in my previous post that homura just wanting to protect her loved but also doing some morally questionable actions aren’t as mutually exclusive as the pmmm fandom pretends they are.

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yall-hate-kids-tourney · 3 months

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Round 2: Nagisa Momoe (Madoka Magica) vs. Amane Momose (MILGRAM)

Propaganda below the cut

Nagisa Momoe:

I think this might just be the fandom circles I'm in,but a lot of people don't like how Nagisa killed Mami?Even though she herself was dead duue to being a witch at that point guys come on.Also how her wish was selfish and pointless even though the fandom doesn't criticize characters who made objectively worse wishes when they were older.There is some criticism that her inclusion in rebellion was unnecerssary and just bloated the cast while contributing nothing significant to the plot but it's been a while since I've watched rebellion so idk .

Amane Momose:

Amane was voted guilty in the first trial so that she would acknowledge her guilt. It backfired, and now she’s considered a threat. Well, everyone is a threat, but nobody’s threat level has been as heavily discussed and debated as hers. Consider the next prisoner in line, Mikoto. He’s objectively more dangerous and cannot be restrained. He beat up the guard in trial 1, and he was able to hold his own when the other guilty prisoners were attacked. But a good incentive to forgive him is so that he will calm down. You know what? That’s a good incentive to forgive Amane too! But she *can* be restrained, so a good portion of the discussion went into how she should be voted guilty so she *will* be restrained and not a threat. Since her vote was a near 50/50, of course a good chunk of the voters expressed dissatisfaction with her forgiven verdict. Some are already planning to vote her guilty for trial 3, calling her a “lost cause”. She hasn’t even done any concrete harm yet. Hold the pitchforks until she actually causes harm, please? And what if she *was* voted guilty in trial 2? We’ve been warned that she will continue to deny our judgement. A second guilty verdict won’t make her better either, and then what? She’d be called a “lost cause” as well. There is no winning with her.

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Where do I even start? So first of all she’s an cult child who was physically and mentally abused and tortured by her parents and then (presumably) murdered her mother after her mother killed a cat that she took care of.

Now everyone in Milgram is a murderer but when Amane came and her MV showed her murder and circumstance in an admittedly highly fictionalized depiction of it the audience decided to…repeat the cycle of abuse!

She was voted guilty for the main reason of “teaching her” and helping her “realize that she was abused.” I would like to note that this tough love approach is something her parents utilized against her. “We are only doing this to help you.”

So the audience replicates Amane’s abusers and repeats the cycle of abuse and that’s pretty shitty but it isn’t exactly “Fuck Em Kids” level.

And then Trial 2 happened. Cause Amane is bitter and angry and horrifically traumatized so she acts aggressive and hostile. Especially towards another prisoner.

Now, again, everyone here is a fucking murderer (of atleast could be constructed as one) These people being able to Harm is a core concept of this series.

Yet for some reason it feels like people treat Amane as a “delusional creepy kid who wants to kill people” which completly takes away the nuance of her character. She does have the capacity to harm! Everyone here does! She’s not Uniquly Dangerous! She just has a Reason to be Dangerous. A Reason we GAVE HER by REPEATING THE CYCLE OF ABUSE.

In short: In a series full of Murderers I’m honestly a bit pissed that the 12 year old abuse victim is the one who’s treated like the guy from American Pyscho.

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TL;DR: "We metavoted this abused, indoctrinated child guilty in trial 1, but it didn't work. Now she is a threat to three grown adults: one who is fully free and two whom she has been shown to get along with. Please metavote her guilty again so she will be restrained and unable to attack them, even though that means subjecting her to further psychological torture." Amane Momose is the youngest of ten murderers, prisoners of Milgram who are to be judged innocent (forgiven) or guilty (unforgiven). In the first interrogation (voice drama), she said that what she did was in line with her religion's doctrines. If we judged her the "wrong way", she said she will just deny the verdict. Combining the voice drama and music video, you could piece together that she was raised in a cult and abused, even though she is cheerful and downplays her pain. She never shows *who* she killed, only *why* she did. After the first day of her vote, she was 81% innocent, but this wouldn't last the whole three months. Many people voted her guilty so she would "see her sins", part of the practice commonly known as "metavoting". Her innocent percentage rapidly decreased, and she hit guilty in the last 15 days, finishing at 51% guilty. At the end of the first trial, Jackalope (who is something like a host) went over all the prisoners' verdicts and commented on the general reasoning. When he got to Amane, he *laughed* at the audience for voting that way to make her realize her sins. Trial 2 rolled around, and it was revealed that Amane's victim was her abuser. On day one, she was at 74% innocent. Seems like a cut-and-dry case now, right? Well... in the intermission, two of the prisoners (Fuuta and Mahiru) were badly beaten up and became reliant on the care of Shidou, a doctor. Amane became hostile to Shidou because what he was doing was against her beliefs. She visited all three of them on their birthdays to convince them to change their ways. She seems to be especially close to Fuuta, who is now murmuring about salvation. Guilty prisoners are psychologically tortured, forced to listen to voices that reject their beliefs. Fuuta and Mahiru both say that the mental strain is worse than their physical injuries. But Amane, who also looks worse for wear, was thrown under the bus because she isn't injured and is considered a physical threat to them (never mind that she gets along with them). She's considered a threat to Shidou, a grown man who is twice her size and fully free, while she is partially restricted by the long sleeves in her trial 2 uniform. She might indoctrinate Fuuta even though, in a prison of ten people and one guard, she's the only voice of her cult. Fortunately, she got a break. Her vote was falling at a similar rate to the first trial. But this time, it stabilized at 51% innocent, 12 days before the end of her vote. But there's no way this is over.

#yall hate kids tourney #round 2 #Madoka Magica #Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Rebellion #Momoe Nagisa #nagisa momoe #milgram #milgram project #amane momose #momose amane #cw child death #cw cults #cw child abuse #cw torture #cw psychological torture #cw animal death

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hotvampireadjacent · 9 months

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Hey, just wanted to preface this by saying that you’re a cool dude, and obviously I’m not trying to attack you or say you’re wrong or need to agree with me or anything! I just wanted to make this ask to hear your perspective and potentially show you a new perspective on Madoka Magica.

You recently reblogged a post about how Gen Urobuchi wrote a subversion of a genre without showing respect to it, and clown me if I have made the wrong assumption, but was that post about Madoka Magica?

I won’t speak on Rebellion, but Madoka as a show seemed to me like a reinforcement of the themes of the Magical Girl genre. It uses its subversions, not to disrespect magical girls, but celebrate them and their ideals. And that’s only if you consider Madoka a subversion at all, as many people make the argument that it doesn’t actually subvert the genre.

Clearandsweet has a great series on YouTube dedicated to analyzing Madoka through this lens. (The spoiler thesis is that Madoka’s character is a Magical Girl, with all the themes that entails, in a story that’s constantly trying to prevent her, and the show itself, from being one. In the end, she overcomes this the way a Magical Girl would, ultimately celebrating magical girls and their ideals. Everything that goes wrong in this show is not an edgey indictment of magical girls, but rather an exploration of how things can go wrong without them, and therefore a reinforcement of why we need Magical Girls and their themes.)

Sorry if this ask felt out of nowhere or rude! I just wanted to make this ask because the anime-bro discourse about Madoka has seriously lost the plot on what the show is even about. To the point that Madoka ripoffs (that also fail to understand Madoka) plague the genre. I was even someone who felt similarly about Gen Urobuchi and Madoka until I did a rewatch as an adult.

It’s a really well-directed show that was mired with the stupid “deconstruction” discourse of its time, so I definitely recommend watching or rewatching the show with this in mind if you’re ever bored or need something to do. Obviously this interpretation is not objectively correct or anything, but I just wanted to open this up to you because this revelation was something I really enjoyed (and something I felt cheated out of by the stupid anime-bro culture surrounding it), and maybe you’d enjoy it too. And I’d love to hear your perspective on it, too, as I love reading different interpretations of Madoka!

I’m sorry that happened to you or happy it’s 2023 I’m not reading an essay on madoka.

Did read the end tbh I haven’t watched madoka since it aired I don’t remember enough to even give a perspective. Honestly I just hate gen urobuchi bc of fate/ zero.

Anyway it’s almost my birthday and almost midnight here

Only slightly related he said some insane shit about a minor gundam characters death

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clacing · 4 months

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Do you think Harrow would ever hit Homura levels of "girl who is just fine, everyone else is the problem"? Or do you think she's surpassed Homura in that area?

From what I've seen of the TLT fandom, Harrow seems to be almost universally loved, so I wonder if she'll do something that ppl will say is too messed up and start writing posts about how she's actually the devil. I think if that happened it would make me like her more than, or at least as much as, Homura.

THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION 'cause I've said repeatedly that Homura and Harrow are the same character but I never considered that Harrow doesn't really have an equivalent to Homura's "becoming the devil". She might still get one since she's literally going to be in hell for the first part of ATN but I honestly think it's too late in the game for her to do something that's actually unforgivable. The rift between Gideon and Harrow is already as large as you could make it because of Harrow choosing to forget about Gideon and even that is only a Wraith Arc Homura level of offense. With only one book left I don't think there's time for the rift to grow even deeper and for it to have a satisfactory resolution. She might do something terrible against John at the very end I guess but that'll be far from shocking unless she like, blows up a planet in the process or something (as I am writing this I just realized Harrow actually already blew up several planets so actually that won't cut it)

Even if Harrow were to pull an actual Rebellion, it would be framed and received differently, if only because I trust a target audience of mostly sapphics won't jump to "She's a horrible person and literally the devil" the moment she makes a morally ambiguous decision. I mean, look at Ianthe. She's absolutely awful and everyone loves her for it. Gay people are starved for complex characters like that and I'm sure if Harrow just went fucking apeshit everyone would love her even more.

Homura on the other hand is in a show targeted to adult men who have no idea what it's like to be a teen lesbian and can only spout misogyny and homophobia out of their ass. I also think a lot of the criticism coming from queer people is simply due to Rebellion coming out at a time when everyone still criticized morally ambiguous queer representation because of how few gay characters were actually around back then, and so everyone was understandably up in arms at Homura becoming the devil because of her feelings for Madoka. I love Rebellion to death and think it's the best movie ever made but I know if I'd watched it back then I also would have hated it, and people who first watched it in 2013 probably still can't shake off their first impression of it even though times have changed. But queer representation is definitely at a point where we can want something more than perfectly sanitized stories and it says a lot that people will usually be much more receptive to Homura if they watch Rebellion now

So yeah I honestly don't think Harrow will ever beat Homura on that front. Maybe she'll do something bad but in a series where everyone does bad stuff and in the context of what Harrow has already done I honestly think barely anyone will even blink. The reason Homura's actions are still debated today is that no one saw it coming and so everything felt so much more shocking because of how abrupt it was

#homura akemi #harrowhark nonagesimus #madoka magica #locked tomb

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fantasythetrashywriter · 3 months

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@homuraakumaakemi Protective Homura, my beloved!! I just love it when someone gets protective over their loved one (romantic, platonic, familial, whatever, as long as it’s love) it’s one of my favorite things!! Especially in shows or games!

Huh. That’s weird, I thought protective Homura was a common thing in this fandom…

I wonder how Madoka reacts in the scenerios where she doubts something about the system… and what she does with it…

In this fandom, I think we like to torture the characters (especially the Quintet, definitely the Quintet) before we give them their happy ending. It’s gonna be real heartbreaking, and angsty (ugh, angst my beloved–) and so heartwarming when they finally get to be happy. Uggghhh, when will this happen in canon?!

OH SHOOT. Homura at her LOWEST point?? I’d like to see that, definitely…

One of the first things I thought of after watching Rebellion was, “what if Homura was an equal to Madoka? What if they looked after the universe (and all its Puella Magi) together?”. That’s what I kept on thinking of, and honestly, I’d love it if they would be Gods together instead of, you know, warring against each other…

Ahhhh, I’d love a series like that… I don’t think it will happen though…

(Ignore this, but if we get a series or a story like that, I need some friendly moments between Homura and Sayaka. I am DYING for some platonic (*cough cough* besties) SayaHomu. Why do I crave it? I do not know…)

#A comment to @homuraakumaakemi!#Thank you for the comments!#I’d love a series like that! I don’t think it will be made though….#Platonic SayaHomu. Them being besties? YES PLEASE–#I need a platonic KyoSayaHomu relationship PLEASE their dynamic is SO TEMPTING–#Platonic. Has to be a platonic relationship 😅

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hopeymchope · 9 months

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Honestly, anon is beginning to think "fandom culture itself" is the problem, rather than just Puella Magica fans. Modern pop culture fans just seem to have very warped moral compasses in general. The Once Upon a Time fandom makes excuses for Regina Mills raping a man, a man in the FE3H fandom threatened to lynch anyone who doesn't like Edelgard (and the Edelgard Discord agreed with him), the Star Wars fandom excuses the Sith's racism, and the New Vegas fandom has Caesar's Legion apologists.

I hadn't thought to throw this into the same pit with "People who think Hiyoko Saionji did nothing wrong," but... no, you're right, it's totally the same pit. (I also didn't realize I was tipping my hand quite this blatantly about which side I'm on when I posted that poll, but... hoo boy, am I EVER on the side you presumed.)

It's not like Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion was subtle about the conclusion's implications. The voice acting, the visual presentation, the dialogue, the music, everything was VERY VERY SUPER-DOUBLE-PLUS OBVIOUS about this being BAaAaAaAaAaAaAaD.

But the utterly fucking bugnuts Reddit PMMM community somehow sees it the entire OPPOSITE way, and any post to the contrary is shouted down, gets zero upvotes, etc. Every post about how you-know-who is purely heroic and entirely justified gets tons of upvotes, everybody else gets told they don't fucking get it, and it is fucking INSANE.

I didn't know Regina raped a guy?! WTF and WHY TF??? Like I've said before, didn't watch a lot of that show.

Edelgard is highly problematic by design. That's like, her whole thing. It is both the appeal and the anti-appeal of her character/narrative — the "by ANY means necessary, kill-your-friends-if-you-have-to" way she sets out to make her world (theoretically?) better. If you try to make her non-controversial, you're missing the whole goddamn point of the narrative. I don't know why anyone would WANT that. You're just killing your babies.

And speaking of "Why would anyone want that": Why would anyone ever excuse the fucking Sith's ANYTHING? They are murderers and oppressors. They are legit rotting from the inside-out due to embracing darkness so hard. They are so known for betraying and backstabbing each other that it's literally built into their own rules of operation! And there are people who think these are the heroes?

#anti-hiyoko saionji #fandom #fandom commentary #anon #asks #wtf #puella magi madoka magica: rebellion #puella magi madoka magica #pmmm #star wars #once upon a time #ouat

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mythtiide · 3 months

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3, 17, 26, and 38!!! :3

3. 3 films you could watch for the rest of your life and not get bored of?

dis is kindof a hard one because i actually dont watch a lot of films but uhh uhh uhh madoka magica rebellion, coraline, and adolecence of utena (<- i should rewatch dis one honestly i miss it)

17. name 3 things that make you happy

falkeler, rabbits, and various sweet treats

26. Favorite color and why?

i quite like red because its a very intense color to me . and very versitile too. Like I use a lot of reds when im drawing falkeler to make it more romantic/steamier iykwim . its also just generally i find it easier to work off with red as an base than any other color really!

38. Favorite song at the moment?

ive been listening to 4EVER by removeface a lot recently ..... its berry good i think ... runner up has got to be rewind by wonder girls

#asks

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ersatz-colubridae-88 · 6 months

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was it your first time watching madoka? what did you think? are the petrigrof comparisons right lol

YES YES AND YES. it was absolutely 100% incredible and i loved it so so so much, definitely a really important piece to me for so many reasons... incredibly inspiring visuals, really good and complex characters and just an incredible subversion of the initial trope they're getting at. and of course the story is amazing. homura means so so so much to me... also YES the petrigrof comparisons are so incredibly right lol like it was actually insane... honestly wished fionna and cake ended off the way madoka did because its a way way better ending but still in the same vein as how it turned out LOL (let it be known i haven't seen rebellion yet so 😁.i don't know any thing that happens there so eehehee)

#INCOMING BROADCAST #hello petrigrof anon. i think i know who this is but hiiiiii hi hi

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xenosagaepisodeone · 1 year

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(i am so sorry for the wall of text)

personally my problems with homura in rebellion have less to do with like, how morally justifiable her actions are in an in universe context and more with how shes framed. like yeah it makes sense that she wants to free madoka bc madokas ‘godhood’ forced her to martyr herself only to still be trapped within the incubators’ system, but then the scene comes where homura grins evilly and pulls madoka out of the sky while madoka yells and protests and then homura turns into satan and the camera pans over her sexy satan outfit while she monologues about how her love for madoka has made her into ~the devil~ and suddenly its really hard to read all that stuff in good faith anymore. like idk, the concept of homuras love for madoka leading her to disregard madokas agency in order to do what she thinks will protect her could be interesting but everything about the way that scene actually plays out (the sexy satan outfit) just kinda feels like homuras love for madoka is being presented as like, an evil corrupting force which doesn’t have great implications lol

that is generally what the film presents, but what piques my interest (and honestly makes me more comfortable in creating an alternative reading) is that they don't really 100% commit to that reading either. rebellion takes place as homura is actively falling into despair. she's virtually an unreliable narrator, emphasized further by how the world of the film is a figment of her own psyche. one thing that rebellion makes clear as homura grows closer to becoming a witch is that she hates herself. in her pseudo instrumentality sequence she is depicted as despairing over being unable to save madoka, and then being judged by towering figures that resemble her when she was squirrely, meek meganemura. her failures remind her of her weakness, and her weakness resembles who she was at the start of her journey: a helpless girl who would watch madoka die. her final witch form depicts her inching towards a guillotine because she would rather die than fail madoka. homura sees herself as beyond redemption for betraying madoka, but will madokami in all her shining compassion and forgiveness see her as the same when she returns?

idk homura taking on the role of the devil came across to me as guilt and self flagellation. she knows that depriving madoka of her agency is wrong, but she can't live with herself in a world where madoka is unable to be happy. when sayaka asks if she'll destroy the universe when she's finished destroying the wraiths and she says "yes", it's clear that she doesn't mean that, but it's what an enemy of madoka would say. if madokami returns, it wouldn't surprise me if homura asked her to end her life.

#asks #anonymous

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honey-tongue · 10 months

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Okay! After rewatching pmmm for the first time in about 10 years, what are my thoughts?

(This will be all over the place and probably really long. Formatting? What's that?)

I'll start with the ending! It's very emotional and bittersweet. It puts enough emphasis to show how major Madoka's wish is. Not in terms of the universe, but in terms of Madoka's existence itself. And everytime she's asked if that's what she truly wants, she's says she's fine with it. Even with her heartbreaking goodbye with Homura.

And the ending tries to be a little ambiguous where this will go. Madoka's hope that Homura will remember her reminds me of Kyoko's hope that she can bring Sayaka back. Granted, Madoka truly hoped for that and wasn't trying to give false hope like Kyubey did. But still! Idk if it was intentional but it's cute! We also see after the credits (I never saw this part :0) was Homura walking to some wraiths and Madoka's aura(?) Telling her to do her best and her little smile is cute. :) Apparently those wings weren't supposed to be there, one of the staff just put them there because it looked cool lol. Anyways! Everything is supposed to be all good now! Right? It seems all good now!

Well... I'm gonna read the wraith arc soon after this and before rewatching Rebellion. (Rebellion will always confuse me lol.) But... I dunno! It wraps up a little TOO nearly, huh? It makes sense why people hated Rebellion and like how it ended. And some people like bittersweet endings, that's fine. But... It just seems a little TOO okay. We all know Homura wasn't really happy. Duh. But she's definitely less cold and she's smiling! That looks good! Kyoko and Mami are alive! That's good! Sayaka got to see the dumb boy play his violin and got some closure! That's good! But, again, this all just seems a little TOO fine. Like, how Madoka felt about how she'll forgotten and only a concept. She's just like "yeah! That's fine! That's okay with me! :D" I can't buy that. Not without that being a front or a result of feeling PUSHED into carrying this heavy burden and combined with her low self esteem and self confidence.

Madoka, like the other girls, was completely exploited. That's just a fact. You'll never make me believe otherwise. No normal person with a good mindset would wish that upon themselves, that doesn't have some form issues within themselves. Not to mention how Kyubey LITERALLY FORCED her into seeing things she didn't want to. You really think it didn't bother her? Just like my post about Sayaka, this dumb cat KNOWS what he's doing. Madoka has a kind heart, obvious she wants peace and goodness for everyone. We see and hear this time and time again, so it really hurts seeing that used by the magical system to try exploiting it for their own gain. And it sucks that this very system, that has caused so much pain, in fighting, abuse, instability, is the way to fix it all. But, I suppose that's how it is in the real world too... Anyway, Madoka was in a vulnerable spot, just as Kyubey wanted. Like he's scripting all of this just to push her. And I just have to emphasize that I don't buy Madoka being fully okay with this. Girl just wanted to be good at something, to give something amazing to this world and she thinks the only way to do that is to become a concept of law. People argue that "she wanted this" and yeah, maybe I'd fall for it too if I had all this information pumped in my head by Kyubey PLUS the whole events of the anime itself with Mami, Sayaka, and Kyoko dying and Homura almost dying.

Oh, my Homura... Babygirl. I'll add that Christina V was SO good at her emotional parts, honestly. It's a good reason to watch the dub! Idek what to say about Homura that I haven't either said irl or liked other people's posts about. But God... The whole ending is about hope. I GET IT. I GET IT. But there was just... It felt so wrong seeing her act okay and I guess that's the point of the darkened eyes at the end, mayhaps? I get how Homura feels selfish now, because even I feel selfish about wanting those two together after seeing how "okay" things are. ;_;

(I GOT DISTRACTED AND STOP TYPING RIP ILL DO MY BEST TO CONTINUE.)

Going away from the ending, Sayaka is such an underrated character oh my God? It felt like she was stealing the show sometimes lol. I don't understand how she's so hated. I mean I do, but I feel people see her wayyy too surface level. I almost started loving her more than Homura! Crazy! Her arc always will break my heart. It's the main reason I didn't rewatch it for so long, it's just so... Depressing and relatable as time goes on. (I first watched in like... 2014ish) Her English VA is so good too! Especially in the quiet moments when her voice is breaking. Ahh

!ALSO I DONT REMEMBER HATING KYUBEY THIS MUCH. Obviously, I didn't like him before, but I don't know if like, life has changed me or anything be I just wanna 😡😡😡 everytime he was on screen after they find out about the soul gems. I will NEVER understand how people can find it in their hearts to sympathize with him after seeing all that he's done to be manipulative. Like, did we watch the same show???

And Kyoko! She doesn't get much screentime but ah! What a doll! I forgot she ever interacted with Madoka! She's so sweet to her despite hardly speaking with her to begin with. Literally every magical girl wants to look out for her and I just 🥺💜💜!!! Honestly, her adamant stance on never wasting food hits harder now that I've actually experienced going without food. I remember not caring much about her when I first watched, but she's so fun! And normal lmao. Probably the least messed up in the cast. And I LOVE the idea of her and Homura having a solid friendship. The way they interact in rebellion and the way they get along in the show is refreshing. I'm sure Homura appreciated not having to babysit her as much as the others.

Overall, this was painful. :) Episode 8 was the most painful one, if I'm being honest. Sayaka breaking down plus Homura's emotional outburst HURT. I kept having to pause from watching it because I just couldn't handle it. Also, because I watched the dub, I didn't get to see something's be translated.

This was when she became a witch and :((( she felt so bad for wanting to be acknowledged. My heart...

Sighhhhh.... But those are my thoughts. Is it just as good as when I watched it? Even better! I feel like as an adult, I understood the concepts and explanations way better and have a better appreciation gift the themes it tackled and the way it was written! I low-key hate it now though because for now, I feel oddly... Bad for wanting Homura to pull Madoka down. I never felt bad about it and now I kind of do? I feel like the "Homura is evil and everything was fine before she interfered" people are infiltrating my brain. Oh no... Well! Time to watch Rebellion after I read the wraith arc. Maybe that will help me not feel so insecure with how I feel.

Also this was really all over the place, I can't seem to fully sit down and write this out like I did with my Sayaka vs Madoka post. My brain is truly a mystery.

#idk why i suddenly feel do insecure with my thoughts all of a sudden? geez... do i dare even tag it #ash says stuff #ash watches pmmm #pmmm #SCREW IT ILL DO IT ANYWAY

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fanfic-inator795 · 10 months

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Does anyone have that one movie/tv show/book/etc. that’s so outside their usual taste in regards to the genre, yet it still ends up being one of your favorite things - or at the very least, it’s something you always come back to rewatch?

Example: I typically stick to very light-hearted, slice-of-life and funny and/or silly shows/movies focused around family/friendship that don’t have much serialization... Yet at the same time, I’ve probably watched ‘Titanic’ at least a dozen times, and one of my absolute favorite anime is angst-fest that is Madoka Magica, with Rebellion being yet another movie that I’ve found myself rewatching over and over.

I guess I could also say the same for things like Death Parade, which is another really dark and dramatic anime that I think is very well done, and Grey’s Anatomy, which is nothing but drama (which I normally hate, especially of the romance variety... honestly this one may partially be because it’s fun to scream about and also sunk-cost fallacy given I’ve been watching Grey’s since I was in high school, lol).

I just have to wonder though if these ‘exceptions’ to our personal taste are just instances of us occasionally needing to try out something completely different - in my case, craving a bit of tragedy or angst before going back to my joke and fluff-filled shows - or, given the fact that they’re stuff we frequently rewatch when we’re in the mood, they truly are the exceptions that we find to be worth stepping out of our usual genres for because the specific media is just That Good on an individual level.

Idk, worth thinking about maybe. In other news, I wanna rewatch Madoka Magica again.

#personal crap #random thoughts

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suiker · 11 months

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Top 5 animated movies

ooh hmm i'm gonna have to dig deep for this one because i don't watch many movies tbh but let's see in no particular order

liz and the blue bird comes to mind because i watched it recently and i absolutely love hibike euphonium

koe no katachi was like my first anime movie i think and it genuinely made me cry so shoutout to that (though the manga is way better imo)

madoka magica: rebellion is a fucking awesome movie for sure

honestly i think the kizumonogatari trilogy is just a brilliant set of movies though i don't really like monogatari series anymore...

and um i guess wall-e honestly because that was my absolute favorite movie as a kid lol

#🏣

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mewtonian-physics · 1 year

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Why I Like Puella Magi Madoka Magica (Yes, This Includes Rebellion)

I actually highly recommend people who haven't seen it but are shunning it based solely on what they've heard to read this. I'd say 'if they don't mind spoilers' but I get the feeling most if not all of them have already gotten all the spoilers without the proper context. Anyway, yeah. I have a lot to say about this show.

Let me just say right off the bat that no, I do not like Gen Urobuchi. He's done some truly horrifying things. I do not believe Puella Magi Madoka Magica to be one of those things; however, if someone is turned off from watching it due to his involvement I have no issue with that.

On to address the biggest argument I tend to see against this show.

"It's torture porn!"/"It's just a bunch of teenage girls suffering for twelve episodes!"/And so forth.

I feel like there's a double standard here. For example, there's another show I like called Hunter x Hunter. Hunter x Hunter has an extremely long arc generally referred to as the Chimera Ant arc.

Now, the Chimera Ant arc involves a lot of fucked up things. It's many chapters and many episodes of Gon and Killua, who are around 14 or 15 at the time, going through absolutely horrific trauma. This includes: all but watching a mentor figure die in front of them; fighting inhuman creatures, many of whom used to be human; being put into life-and-death situations by people who evidently don't care that much about their wellbeing; fighting amongst themselves; being driven to the brink of despair and becoming something truly horrifying and wanting nothing more than revenge; and almost dying many times.

These elements I listed... are some of the main things I see people complain about with regards to Madoka Magica.

Yet I have never once seen anyone call Hunter x Hunter torture porn. Not even the Chimera Ant arc specifically. I'm not saying that that never happens, but I've never seen it personally, and I certainly doubt it happens to the degree it does with regards to Madoka Magica. And the Chimera Ant arc is much, much longer. It is drawn out and horrible and gutwrenching and honestly, at some points, genuinely sickening.

So I can't help but wonder, why the double standard? To give people the benefit of the doubt, I tend to assume it's one or both of the following:

Madoka Magica is a magical girl show, which is not a genre you would typically expect such dark content. (Or, at least, it wasn't.)

It's because Gen Urobuchi is involved, and his other works cast a (fully justified) negative light on this one. Again, if this is your problem with it that is your prerogative and I do not blame you. But I actually rarely see people bring that up.

If I'm being less generous, I could say that perhaps it's some form of misogyny--that since the main characters of Madoka Magica are girls, it's worse and more unforgivable than it is for boy characters to go through similar things. (Because girls apparently can't handle trauma like boys can, or something? I don't claim to understand the reasoning behind it.) But I doubt that's actually the case in most situations, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was in a few.

Though really, if people want to complain about magical girl torture porn, Mahou Shoujo Site is right there. (God, I hate Mahou Shoujo Site.)

But that's enough with the rebuttals. I'm here to talk about why I personally like it.

Quality

I mean, come on. In terms of technical skill, this show has so much going for it. Outside of the occasional awkward moment (as showcased in the famous Meduka Meguca), the animation is stunning, particularly in the witch's labyrinths. The music is amazing and adds so much to each scene--some songs that played in particularly heartwrenching scenes still make me sad just to listen to. In my personal opinion, the voice acting in both the Japanese and English dubs is fantastic. (Though I know that's subjective for a lot of people.) The storyline is concise and does what it needs to do without padding things out or feeling rushed. Even the recap movies are worth watching for the new material they offer, to say noting of Rebellion. So much symbolism is packed into it without feeling forced (okay, except maybe for the 'Love Me Do' bit; that one felt a little excessive)--it's just something fun to think about. Hell, they came up with the runes system when they really didn't have to, and it's a great touch. On a purely technical level, I think Madoka Magica is amazing.

(General) Lack of Sexualization

Magical girl series are scary because they are a haven of fun costumes but also at high risk of oversexualizing teenage girls. I'd say it's the second worst genre in that regard. Although it's not perfect, particularly in regards to some of Mami's portrayal, Madoka Magica tends to steer away from sexualizing its characters. (Magia Record, on the other hand, went full tilt into that, which is a major factor when it comes to how much I despise it.) It does have some troubling moments, and honestly whoever animated the opening for the original show should come meet up with me some time (I just want to talk, I swear...) but I appreciate its general avoidance of the problem. (Also, the long transformation sequence in Rebellion not having a single moment of that at all is soooo refreshing. I love magical girl transformations. Right up until they start making the characters naked. Looking at you again, Magia Record... and like ten thousand other shows on top of that.)

Characters

My god. My god. I adore the characters. All five of the main girls feel so real to me, and they subvert expectations brilliantly. That calm, collected mentor figure? She's horribly lonely and acts like that because it makes her seem a lot stronger than she feels. The 'hero of justice'? So focused on her ideals that she doesn't see the truth of the matter until it's already too late. The selfish rival? Traumatized from her own time trying to be a hero and the horrible consequences. The cool, mysterious girl? An anxious kid trying to protect her only friend (and/or crush). And unlike a lot of magical girl shows, the main protagonist isn't a leader at all--she's just a normal kid watching her life fall apart around her and trying desperately to figure out what to do even as everything seems completely hopeless.

The character development feels genuine, and not just that--this show's portrayal of mental health issues is something I'm never going to forget. I watched it for the first time when I was the same age as the main characters and hadn't yet realized just how bad my own issues were, and I felt seen in a way I didn't fully understand myself. The scene where Madoka bursts into tears at breakfast because she's just realized the danger she was in and is grateful to be alive to eat breakfast with her family is heartwrenching. Kyouko and Homura closing themselves off to the world because their painful experiences have left them feeling like they can't rely on anyone else is horribly believable. Mami hiding her loneliness behind the façade of a cheerful, cool big sister figure is painful. And Sayaka. My god, Sayaka. I'll get into her in the next section.

Witches as a Metaphor for Depression

So, this is pretty obvious. I mean, it's despair that makes a magical girl turn into a witch. The things a witch leaves behind are literally called Grief Seeds. But it feels so true to life even outside of that. Watching Sayaka's ideals, hopes, and dreams get crushed and her subsequent spiral is something I've seen multiple other people talk about relating to in the same way I did. Sayaka is perhaps the most relatable character in the show for someone with depression. She starts out as a confident, cheerful, idealistic girl, and then the real world hits her. The world where there are truly horrible people who do awful things for no reason (the men on the train, for example). The world where good deeds don't necessarily get rewarded and good intentions don't make everything turn out okay. The world where sometimes things just suck and no amount of ideals can change that.

As her Soul Gem gets corrupted, it becomes more and more similar to severe depression. She experiences fatigue and dissociation and hopelessness, and she lashes out at her best friend for not being in her shoes even as she knows what she's doing is wrong--she runs away crying in the rain afterwards beating herself up over it. And at the end, when she reaches a point of absolute despair and no longer holds any of the ideals she once had, having become disillusioned with reality, she implodes. She draws into herself and creates a world of the things she loves, and attacks Madoka and Kyouko when they try to bring her out of it. She gives up entirely on the world and on herself. And supernatural influences or not, that's something a lot of people with severe depression can relate to.

But it doesn't stop there.

Rebellion And Its Inevitability

I've seen people talk about how they think Rebellion was out of character and unbelievable, but I have to disagree with that perspective. Rebellion is horribly believable, and despite the relative happiness of the main show's ending for everyone else (Madoka's speech about how people should hold on to hope and keep trying even when things seem impossible still brings tears to my eyes), Homura never really got any closure, and it's honestly not a surprise to me that things turned out how they did. I mean, think about it. The girl she spent literal years trying to protect just disappeared in the end, leaving her little brother and Homura as the only ones who remember her. No one else is even aware she ever existed at all. Homura says it herself in the movie--it made her feel like she was going crazy. Like her most precious memories with the person she loved most were just things she made up. How is a traumatized teenage girl supposed to deal with that? And yes, Homura is still a teenager--no matter how many loops she went through, she never actually aged. Her brain is still at the developmental stage it was when she started--that of a fourteen-year-old girl. She's not an adult and expecting her to make perfectly rational adult decisions is unfair--hell, expecting even an adult to make perfectly rational decisions in that kind of situation is unfair! And even though she decided to play the role of the devil, on some level she really thought she was doing what was best for Madoka, because the amnesiac Madoka told her that what happened would make her sad. Homura still spent the whole movie trying to do right by Madoka, even to the point where she was desperate to die so that Kyubey couldn't hurt Madoka anymore. Sure, her actions were hardly selfless, but again--this is a scared, traumatized teen in a desperate situation making a split-second decision. Even if she thinks Madoka will hate her for it, on some level she thinks she's doing the right thing. Actually, that's how you can tell--if it was a purely selfish action, she wouldn't accept Madoka potentially hating her. She'd want to keep Madoka by her side forever. But she doesn't. She accepts the fact that Madoka might someday hate her for what she did. She wanted to save Madoka even if it meant damning herself. And she didn't go about it in the smartest way, but yet again--scared, traumatized teenager.

All in all I think Homura's despair was inevitable under the circumstances. Rebellion's ending makes sense to me. And I love it just as much as the main show.

Okay, I'm going to call it there since this post is stupidly long already. Hopefully it helped explain at least a little bit of my love for this show.

#pmmm

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dokidokitsuna · 2 years

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So with Ice Queendom’s second-to-last episode on the horizon, I wanted to talk a bit about my more recent thoughts on it (don’t worry about spoilers, this isn’t really story-related).

I don’t dislike it as much as some other people do at this point...let’s just say that my expectations usually rise and fall along with the quality of whatever I’m watching. If I had seen all the ugly CGI and re-used animation immediately after the relatively higher-quality first three episodes, I’d probably be livid, too. But as it is now, I’m too jaded to feel betrayed. ^^;

To those of you who DO feel betrayed, though: I’m really sorry, and I hope you know that your high expectations weren’t in vain. It honestly could have been (and should have been) so much better. Studio SHAFT can DEFINITELY do better; they’re not famous for no reason. I’ve seen their work myself in Puella Magi Madoka Magica...and if you liked the ideas that Ice Queendom presented but failed to deliver on, I’d honestly recommend that anime to you. Everyone compares IQ to Persona, and that’s definitely warranted, but it takes a lot of visual cues and concepts from MadoMagi, too. The Rebellion movie even has a plot very similar to that of Ice Queendom.

Anyway...it’s been pointed out that IQ feels like an anime movie that was stretched out to fill the runtime of an anime series, and I agree with that now. It’s clear at this point that they keep repeating the plot point of ‘get past Nega-Weiss and fight the Nightmare Grimm’ not out of any symbolic significance, but simply because they don’t have any other plot points to use.

It’s almost like someone originally wrote a normal story for Ice Queendom (Urobuchi, I guess), everything was set up to turn that story into a movie...and then at some point, a third party said “um actually I want a 12-episode anime series” and told the animation director to get it done with the exact same budget and timeframe. And also didn’t bother consulting the original writer about making the story longer.

To be honest (and take this with a grain of salt, because I have no real evidence) I suspect that Rooster Teeth’s management may have been behind this mess.

They themselves admit that RWBY is the main reason people still get First membership subscriptions, and those people often unsubscribe when RWBY goes on hiatus. So, with this huge gap between Vol 8 and Vol 9 (which they definitely anticipated way ahead of time) what better way to make sure people keep paying them than to pump out an anime series for them to look at in the meantime...?

An Ice Queendom movie could only premiere once; meanwhile a series would keep people subscribed for months. Whether or not the story needed a series or could even fill a series would be irrelevant.

Or even worse...the subscription money might be secondary to simply buying time. :/ Just working on Vol 9 and the Justice League crossover movie simultaneously could easily have their own animation team stretched to its very limit. They may simply be unable to release anything until further notice, and IQ is nothing more than a way to stay relevant.

I mean, just think: if it wasn’t airing right now, we would have gone for almost a year without any animated RWBY content or solid release dates to look forward to. Even with IQ going on (and the fan art I do), I almost forgot about the original series. Imagine how many more casual fans they could have lost in that time...

I don’t normally do this type of ‘conspiracy theorizing’, but (a) RT are the producers of IQ after all, (b) this sort of mismanagement isn’t exactly unheard of for them, and (c) I just know something had to go horribly, horribly wrong to make a talented team of animators shove something like THIS out for international broadcast.

I’ve seen an anime collapse due to production issues before-- I followed Wonder Egg Priority practically from its premiere. And even its complete faceplant was leagues more graceful and professional-looking than what’s going on with IQ now. WEP felt like it ran out of resources at the last minute; IQ feels like it ran out halfway through production. :[

#rwby #RWBY Ice Queendom

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