88264 réponses à ce sujet

[Puzzlewell]

I'm not at my computer currently so this might be a bit shorter again (keyword might ) but since I can't stop thinking about it anyway, I might as well get some Rebellion thoughts out. I'm saving the bigger plotpoints til I can type a bit more freely.

Spoiler

Knowing some of the twist in advance ruined absolutely nothing about it for me. In fact, after Homura and Kyouko's attempts to leave the city happened, and I started to piece together what Homura was trying to understand, I had the hugest grin on my face. When I had originally watched all the movie trailers, my brain couldn't really piece together why those that should be dead were still present. I figured there was another timeline reset but no, it was something even more amazing. I knew they were planning something with Kyuubey since he had been completely mum for a while. I suppose I should have figured that the Incubators would never be keen to just accept the new world, curiousity repeatedly killed the cat-thing and all that.

It was so nice to finally see Homulily in action since I haven't been able to play the PSP game. I tried to see if Ophelia (Kyouko's witch) showed up cause I love her design but I dont recall seeing hers or Mami's. Sayaka summoning Oktavia was both intense and just amazing.

It was fairly amusing that at the time of their teacher's doomsaying speech my brain pretty much went 'Hee. This is just setting the pace for things to get dark later' and how right that truly was. The full on imagery of Homulily's maze was just astounding and the fact that they set the rescue up to make it seem like it would have a 'happy' ending was just perfect. There's so much I want to say regarding Homura but that will come at a later date.

[TheChris92]

Brotherhood is probably the best anime I've ever seen - There's not a single character I don't like in it. The female characters in particular are excellent without resorting to the cliché action-girl trope where they might as well be a male character with boobs. Even General Armstrong carries a deeper characterization, then how one perceives her on the outside. Last but not least the villains are rather intriguing. Most of them are quite simply downright evil, and they know it, but what makes them compelling is that they are 100 % dedicated to the idea that what they are doing is how things should be to them. In short -- They actually believe in their cause with great certainty. It also manages to carry a rather perfect blend of comedy, drama & action. To me the Elric brothers made for a great duo of protagonists without being overpowered Gary Stu's with the charisma of a cardboard cut-out. So far there's nothing like it, or anything that has topped it, for me.

[Isichar]

I'm not at my computer currently so this might be a bit shorter again (keyword might ) but since I can't stop thinking about it anyway, I might as well get some Rebellion thoughts out. I'm saving the bigger plotpoints til I can type a bit more freely.

Spoiler

Knowing some of the twist in advance ruined absolutely nothing about it for me. In fact, after Homura and Kyouko's attempts to leave the city happened, and I started to piece together what Homura was trying to understand, I had the hugest grin on my face. When I had originally watched all the movie trailers, my brain couldn't really piece together why those that should be dead were still present. I figured there was another timeline reset but no, it was something even more amazing. I knew they were planning something with Kyuubey since he had been completely mum for a while. I suppose I should have figured that the Incubators would never be keen to just accept the new world, curiousity repeatedly killed the cat-thing and all that.

It was so nice to finally see Homulily in action since I haven't been able to play the PSP game. I tried to see if Ophelia (Kyouko's witch) showed up cause I love her design but I dont recall seeing hers or Mami's. Sayaka summoning Oktavia was both intense and just amazing.

It was fairly amusing that at the time of their teacher's doomsaying speech my brain pretty much went 'Hee. This is just setting the pace for things to get dark later' and how right that truly was. The full on imagery of Homulily's maze was just astounding and the fact that they set the rescue up to make it seem like it would have a 'happy' ending was just perfect. There's so much I want to say regarding Homura but that will come at a later date.

 

Spoiler

I love how the first half of the movie sets things up. You can tell that something is deeply wrong by just how right it all was. There's a part of you that just wants to forget that its inconsistent with the TV series just to be able to see the girls alive and well together. It was an effective way to give some emotional payoff to the end of the TV series, as well as develop things for later in the movie, plus I like how they gave the setting a surreal feel without making it too obvious whats happening earlier on in the movie. The witch runes also foreshadow quite a bit as well as add context to whats happening in a lot of scenes if you can understand those, which I think is pretty damn cool.

 

The TV series masterfully screwed with all my expectations, I was worried that the movie would not be able to reach the same height of the first season, but honestly, I actually thought it was even better in some ways.

 

I kind of wish Sayaka had a few more scenes, I really liked her role in the movie, but I could also say the same for Mami and Kyoko (although Mami did get that insanely badass fight scene). Her interactions with Homura were some of my favorites, I'm glad that was get to see how shes matured more and does not treat everything as black and white as she use to. I like how Sayaka could still turn into Oktavia Von Seckendorff, which is one of the coolest looking and designed witches imo.

 

There's a few things I wouldn't mind hearing your opinion on when you get a chance, such as:

What did you think of the new Mahou Shoujo?

What is your opinion of the Sayaka/Kyoko relationship? Would you consider them a couple or is it just comradery?

Do you think Homura was right to do what she did? Obviously from here PoV it was what she was working towards throughout the series, but I'm interested in what the alternative would have been in terms of dealing with kyubey who obviously was going to continue to be a problem. Seems like Homura's solution deals with that little sob quite nicely.

The "caught you" twist.. is it not the most epic twist in anime history?    lol

Do you think its good they left things open for a sequel or would you have preferred a more definite ending? That scene with Madoka in the school hallway certainly seems to suggest that Homura's system may not be able to last forever.

 

Tbh, I want to hear what you thought of Homura/Humolilly in general when you get a chance, seeing as how shes one of the best and most interesting characters in anime. I know some people had really mixed feelings about the direction they took her in this movie, but I thought it was absolutely perfect. It fit with everything she did beforehand so well that it almost scares me that I didn't see it coming. I like how it also adds a lot of context to what she said and did beforehand, like with the conversation she has with Madoka earlier in the movie when she expresses regret that she couldn't stop Madoka from sacrificing herself at the end of the TV series.

 

I loved the surreal animation style, making the entire movie take place in a labyrinth was great for that. I would say Mikoto Shinkai's animation is still a bit better, but theres something about the symbolic/surreal style I find incredibly appealing. You can really tell the sheer amount of effort that goes into every scene, though that goes for the entire series.

 

I also agree on the OST, on par with the TV series. Definitely something I would purchase.

 

Random last thought, I really liked the intro in this movie. The intro's in the first 2 movies and TV series are sort of misleading (which actually makes sense) this time around it was far more symbolic which fits. The only thing that could have made the into better imo is if it was being played with the song Magia instead, since the lyrics to that song match the storyline in this movie and describe Homura's character perfectly (seriously, those lyrics basically describe the entire plot of this movie)

 

@mhmbaSR1

 

Pretty sure Akuma No Riddle is tomorrow, at least I heard it would be the 4th.

 

From what I can remember with Strawberry Panic some people really wanted Nagisa to end up with Tomoe, but no luck there. I remember rooting for Tsubomi and Yaya, they don't ever end up daying, though they did have a good dynamic.

 

I doubt most people will love Chihayafuru the same way I do, so take my hyping it up with a grain of salt. That said, I still think its a fairly safe recommendation for anyone who enjoys a character driven story, just maybe not the 10/10 that it was for me. The 2nd season is really well reviewed, though you don't hear about these kinds of animes as much as popular ones from other genres unfortunately.

 

And no worries if it takes a while to respond. I do enjoy your posts quite a bit but I completely understand how it is. Plus, you will actually go back and read my older posts directed towards you, which I appreciate. Let me know what you think of the third Madoka movie when you get a chance though, no rush though, I could probably write some posts on that which could potentially turn out longer then our Shin Sekai Yori ones if I really wanted to... So take your time lol.

[Isichar]

As far as I'm concerned FMA:B biggest fault is that it will make people less likely to check out and enjoy the original FMA anime. Sure, Its not as good as Brotherhood, but its still worth watching.

[CptBomBom00]

So I started to watch HxH(I am on ep 73) and I gotta say; I was wrong not to watch it earlier,  if not for my friend I would've kept on ignoring this jewel. xD

[Master Warder Z_]

Yeah Cowboy Bebop or something. There's Bebop, she worked on Darker Than Black, and Ghost in the Shell: SAC. There's more but those are the only ones that I've watched.

 

Never said she was bad at what she did, its just that find that Choral to be the best piece of anime music i have ever heard period.

 

Tank was pretty good though.

 

And i have watched quite a few animes she did Audio work on.

[Puzzlewell]

Isi: I hope you don't mind books, my friend. Cause that's what this is undoubtedly going to become.

 

Spoiler

A few notes first: Most importantly, I hope this will be coherent as I'm still working to piece together all of my thoughts on the movie and there's just so many threads there that it's tricky to put it all together and make sense outside my head. Secondly, I rewatched a good chunk of the movie tonight but not the whole thing so this will go mostly off my first viewing. I mostly watched the last half an hour or so again because it's just too amazing for words.

 

I couldn't agree more on the oddly surreal feelings before things start unraveling. I'm not going to lie, even the very beginning fight with the nightmare made me happy beyond words because all the girls were together again. My brain knew things weren't right, Bebe/Charlotte's presence non-withstanding but still, my feelings overrode it because it was just so nice to see the team together again.

 

The repeated bustrip really stuck out to me because I kind of knew of what it was trying to set up (note the only thing Tumblr actually spoiled for me was the fact that Homura becomes the devil, nothing else) but it took til the conversation afterwards for me to finally start to realize 'Oh my god. The reason they can't find Kazamino City is because Homura has never been there and it isn't integral to her wish to save Madoka.' Once that thought process registered, I couldn't help but grin like a complete idiot at how brilliant it all was. The external Homura had created a world where everyone could be together and happy as long as they didn't question things. Internal Homura needed her answers as per usual though... Much more on that later. The questioning of Bebe and the ensuing fight between Mami and Homura was just amazing. I suppose I'll keep leaving little breadcrumbs regarding my thoughts on Homura til I get to that undoubtedly huge paragraph later. In this point, she was far more brutal with Bebe, Mami and even herself than anything we saw in the series.

 

Bebe/Charlotte at first I was so very huuuuh on what they had planned there. All the scenes with her and Mami had tons of little references that vaguely hinted at what happened in the series but to see them getting along, it felt off as it was supposed to. I'm still kind of questioning this one as well, knowing that everyone that got through the barrier did so by invitation. So are we lead to believe that perhaps external Homura wanted Mami to have a companion to help her deal with that crushing loneliness that lead to her own death in the series? In the end, Bebe turned out to be pretty wonderful and her human-form was adorable. I did get really amused when she put on the Charlotte face during the rescue and later when downed and Mami was petting her head, she kind of just lay there like @_@

 

Sayaka and Kyouko started off as an interesting thing for me with the series because they were perfect foils for each other. Sayaka wanted to do the right thing and be the noble one searching for justice for the weak whereas Kyouko wanted to be self serving to protect herself from any more pain like what happened with her father. Sayaka's decline into cynicism proved a catalyst for a few things: The girls to properly learn what their destiny was with the current system, Sayaka to unfortunately get the lesson that there are many terrible things that will happen in this world and Kyouko to realize that she was starting to let someone in. It wasn't until I had watched the Oktavia fight for the millionth time (I'm not kidding when I say she's my favorite witch and episodes 9 and 10 are probably my favorite of the series, for different reasons of course) and really paid attention to a lot of the background imagery that I realized I did think they had feelings for each other.

 

If we're to believe that the blue and red images that roll along while Kyouko shares her thoughts on their 'relationship' up until that point are Sayaka attempting to speak to them through Oktavia, then the fact that not only does Kyouko cradling Sayaka's face before the whole image boils down into a heart before slipping away could point that way. I also do find it curious that Oktavia stops her attach once they finally get down to the lower level of the arena and Kyouko prepares her sacrifice. Now one could say that it was because the bottom of the arena is also where phantom Kyousuke is playing and that calmed her but I still did find it rather curious. That covers my series thoughts and the movie pretty much solidified my thoughts on them being a couple. Even looking past their playful banter of the beginning of the movie (most notably, Sayaka mentioning her not being hung up on Kyousuke anymore because of getting some life experience), their little time together during the rescue phase really hit it home for me. See, I was a little... not necessarily let down with how the series ended in terms of Sayaka just going 'Oh well, they're happy. Bye.' but it did feel almost anti-climatic considering her own despair from earlier. There was just something incredibly endearing to her admission of leaving Kyouko behind being the one thing she regretted that tugged at my heartstrings in all the right ways. Sayaka and Bebe's secret roles of being Madoka's 'secretaries' also made me incredibly happy and again made up for how I was a little let down with the end of Sayaka's story in the series.

 

If you want to run away now after those huge tangents, I won't blame you cause now comes the fun part. Of course it's also the biggest part where I have so many thoughts running around my head to try and put together. My dear Homura Akemi.

 

I'll go on record as saying that as far as the series is concerned, both Sayaka and Homura mean a lot to me because I can relate to so much of their actions and thought processes, both negative and positive. The movie didn't change that thought process one little bit. External Homura of course didn't know (at least that's the impression I got?) that she was part of the Incubators' experiment but true to series fashion she was hellbent (hurr, literally it seems) on having a world where she can be with Madoka, even if it was in her head (or soul gem in this case). Part of me can understand why people would have issues with her shift but sometimes the fandom in general makes my brain explode (not even the ones that refuse to ponder relationships above platonic, more the ones that say Sayaka overreacted). Quite honestly I view it as an almost natural progression.

 

From the time she contracted, her one goal was to keep Madoka from dying and how did that end at the last we knew? Madoka transcended our plane of existence and became a god, so in the end, Homura was still left without. The series only gave us a tidbit of the mental and emotional damage Homura experienced because of all the time resets and constantly landing in a failed state. I did read up on it and it was mentioned that she's reset time over 100 times. Let's ponder for a moment how badly that could break someone, knowing their goal and still despite all their best efforts they keep failing. We know that Homura chooses to shoulder her own burdens and attempt to handle everything herself. We first saw that when the truth came out in episode 10 and she swore to defeat all witches singlehandedly. Both Madoka and Sayaka put it simply in the movie that she doesn't need to do this. Shouldering the pain of 100 failed resets, of still losing the one she loves no matter what, it truly is enough to cause the largest breaking point imaginable. So the earlier mentioned brutality against Bebe and Mami fit because the despair was there, the potential frustration was there, she just couldn't remember *why*. It's kind of akin to repressing painful emotions and or memories. In the instances where they come back, the sky might as well be falling

 

And that's why there's a ton of beauty in the huge rescue scene where Homulily is attempting to crawl her way to her own death. Internal Homura feels that there's no way around it. She's hit her breaking point and despair finally has its claws dug in too tight to do anything else. Now if we're to believe that internal and external Homura have their own separate thought processes, external Homura very well could have figured out her 'win situation' by the time the internal rescue was complete. That's not out of character either, considering she always was thinking ahead in the series. Madoka broke the game once before and now it's Homura's turn to once again attempt to move things into a position that could work for her. When people are backed into a corner longer enough, chances are they will figure out the path that will shift things in their favor.

 

What's clever is that episode 11 gave us an admission of love that was everything but the word. Why is that clever? Because once Homura finally admitted her feelings in the plainest of words, she became so much more than just a magical girl. One of the keys that I really appreciated so much was right near the end. Homura has her shift, she can almost arrogantly and effortlessly address the other girls in a manner that she will fight them if it comes to that so that she can stay with Madoka. The key to this scene? That bravado falters hard once she's with Madoka again. The cracks in her chainmail have always been there as the series hinted so many times leading up to the admission in episode 11 but even after becoming what we can basically believe to be an equal in power to Madoka as far as their god and devil natures, she still breaks when around Madoka. That aloof nature gone and she's still searching for acknowledgement that she did the right thing.

 

I will say though, there's one picture I keep seeing on Tumblr that I thought was going to be in the movie (mostly because people kept saying 'Harr, you think it's cute but wait til you see it in context!') of Madoka nuzzling Homura's cheek in the scene where they're sitting on the white chairs in the field. Now I know the sitting scene is really quite dark, but I saw no nuzzling that normally makes me squeal like an idiot!

 

And yes, the 'Caught you!' scene is just so perfect. As soon as she gets that grin I just go 'This is going to be amazing *_*'.

 

Phew. If you read all that, thank you. I apologize but I get incredibly wordy when I love something. There's so much more I can and probably will say on the movie but I'll give your eyes a break from my rambling.

[Isichar]

@AnimusandAnime

 

Oh.. I knew you wouldn't let me down

 

Ok give me a bit of time to type up a proper response to that beast.

 

If I could, I would "like" your post repeatedly XD so many good points.

[Puzzlewell]

Thank you for reading all of it! X3 Please, take your time. I already feel kind of bad for word vomitting everywhere but so many thoughts and feelings! XD

[Isichar]

Thank you for reading all of it! X3 Please, take your time. I already feel kind of bad for word vomitting everywhere but so many thoughts and feelings! XD

 

Don't. Reading that honestly made my day.

[Master Warder Z_]

Animu shouldn't feel overly bad for going on a Anime Tangent I do occasional gundam rants that are longer then some fanfics.

[Isichar]

Animu shouldn't feel overly bad for going on a Anime Tangent I do occasional gundam rants that are longer then some fanfics.

 

Haha I can tell you put a lot of effort into those as well. I do read them but I feel bad for not being able to respond since I have not seen the series (yet. Its on the list lol)

[Master Warder Z_]

Haha I can tell you put a lot of effort into those as well. I do read them but I feel bad for not being able to respond since I have not seen the series (yet. Its on the list lol)

 

Friend, at least you show interest.

 

Trying to find some one outside of Thailand or Japan who isn't in their mid twenties to thirties who is a fan of UC Gundam is a chore though.

 

It's regrettable i think.

[Isichar]

Friend, at least you show interest.

 

Trying to find some one outside of Thailand or Japan who isn't in their mid twenties to thirties who is a fan of UC Gundam is a chore though.

 

It's regrettable i think.

 

I believe it and feel your pain. It sucks when you find something that you could talk about passionately for hours, but find that its largely underrated compared to many series that don't have half the quality. Man, if I could take back all the time I wasted on Bleach, and put that towards Mobile Suit Gundam, I would do it in a heart beat.

[Master Warder Z_]

I'm only currently interested in Zeta Gundam, since a geth has regaled me as to its quality punching sequences.

 

Had to do it.

 

You mentioned it.

 

[Isichar]

Isi: I hope you don't mind books, my friend. Cause that's what this is undoubtedly going to become.

 

Spoiler

A few notes first: Most importantly, I hope this will be coherent as I'm still working to piece together all of my thoughts on the movie and there's just so many threads there that it's tricky to put it all together and make sense outside my head. Secondly, I rewatched a good chunk of the movie tonight but not the whole thing so this will go mostly off my first viewing. I mostly watched the last half an hour or so again because it's just too amazing for words.

 

I couldn't agree more on the oddly surreal feelings before things start unraveling. I'm not going to lie, even the very beginning fight with the nightmare made me happy beyond words because all the girls were together again. My brain knew things weren't right, Bebe/Charlotte's presence non-withstanding but still, my feelings overrode it because it was just so nice to see the team together again.

 

The repeated bustrip really stuck out to me because I kind of knew of what it was trying to set up (note the only thing Tumblr actually spoiled for me was the fact that Homura becomes the devil, nothing else) but it took til the conversation afterwards for me to finally start to realize 'Oh my god. The reason they can't find Kazamino City is because Homura has never been there and it isn't integral to her wish to save Madoka.' Once that thought process registered, I couldn't help but grin like a complete idiot at how brilliant it all was. The external Homura had created a world where everyone could be together and happy as long as they didn't question things. Internal Homura needed her answers as per usual though... Much more on that later. The questioning of Bebe and the ensuing fight between Mami and Homura was just amazing. I suppose I'll keep leaving little breadcrumbs regarding my thoughts on Homura til I get to that undoubtedly huge paragraph later. In this point, she was far more brutal with Bebe, Mami and even herself than anything we saw in the series.

 

Bebe/Charlotte at first I was so very huuuuh on what they had planned there. All the scenes with her and Mami had tons of little references that vaguely hinted at what happened in the series but to see them getting along, it felt off as it was supposed to. I'm still kind of questioning this one as well, knowing that everyone that got through the barrier did so by invitation. So are we lead to believe that perhaps external Homura wanted Mami to have a companion to help her deal with that crushing loneliness that lead to her own death in the series? In the end, Bebe turned out to be pretty wonderful and her human-form was adorable. I did get really amused when she put on the Charlotte face during the rescue and later when downed and Mami was petting her head, she kind of just lay there like @_@

 

Sayaka and Kyouko started off as an interesting thing for me with the series because they were perfect foils for each other. Sayaka wanted to do the right thing and be the noble one searching for justice for the weak whereas Kyouko wanted to be self serving to protect herself from any more pain like what happened with her father. Sayaka's decline into cynicism proved a catalyst for a few things: The girls to properly learn what their destiny was with the current system, Sayaka to unfortunately get the lesson that there are many terrible things that will happen in this world and Kyouko to realize that she was starting to let someone in. It wasn't until I had watched the Oktavia fight for the millionth time (I'm not kidding when I say she's my favorite witch and episodes 9 and 10 are probably my favorite of the series, for different reasons of course) and really paid attention to a lot of the background imagery that I realized I did think they had feelings for each other.

 

If we're to believe that the blue and red images that roll along while Kyouko shares her thoughts on their 'relationship' up until that point are Sayaka attempting to speak to them through Oktavia, then the fact that not only does Kyouko cradling Sayaka's face before the whole image boils down into a heart before slipping away could point that way. I also do find it curious that Oktavia stops her attach once they finally get down to the lower level of the arena and Kyouko prepares her sacrifice. Now one could say that it was because the bottom of the arena is also where phantom Kyousuke is playing and that calmed her but I still did find it rather curious. That covers my series thoughts and the movie pretty much solidified my thoughts on them being a couple. Even looking past their playful banter of the beginning of the movie (most notably, Sayaka mentioning her not being hung up on Kyousuke anymore because of getting some life experience), their little time together during the rescue phase really hit it home for me. See, I was a little... not necessarily let down with how the series ended in terms of Sayaka just going 'Oh well, they're happy. Bye.' but it did feel almost anti-climatic considering her own despair from earlier. There was just something incredibly endearing to her admission of leaving Kyouko behind being the one thing she regretted that tugged at my heartstrings in all the right ways. Sayaka and Bebe's secret roles of being Madoka's 'secretaries' also made me incredibly happy and again made up for how I was a little let down with the end of Sayaka's story in the series.

 

If you want to run away now after those huge tangents, I won't blame you cause now comes the fun part. Of course it's also the biggest part where I have so many thoughts running around my head to try and put together. My dear Homura Akemi.

 

I'll go on record as saying that as far as the series is concerned, both Sayaka and Homura mean a lot to me because I can relate to so much of their actions and thought processes, both negative and positive. The movie didn't change that thought process one little bit. External Homura of course didn't know (at least that's the impression I got?) that she was part of the Incubators' experiment but true to series fashion she was hellbent (hurr, literally it seems) on having a world where she can be with Madoka, even if it was in her head (or soul gem in this case). Part of me can understand why people would have issues with her shift but sometimes the fandom in general makes my brain explode (not even the ones that refuse to ponder relationships above platonic, more the ones that say Sayaka overreacted). Quite honestly I view it as an almost natural progression.

 

From the time she contracted, her one goal was to keep Madoka from dying and how did that end at the last we knew? Madoka transcended our plane of existence and became a god, so in the end, Homura was still left without. The series only gave us a tidbit of the mental and emotional damage Homura experienced because of all the time resets and constantly landing in a failed state. I did read up on it and it was mentioned that she's reset time over 100 times. Let's ponder for a moment how badly that could break someone, knowing their goal and still despite all their best efforts they keep failing. We know that Homura chooses to shoulder her own burdens and attempt to handle everything herself. We first saw that when the truth came out in episode 10 and she swore to defeat all witches singlehandedly. Both Madoka and Sayaka put it simply in the movie that she doesn't need to do this. Shouldering the pain of 100 failed resets, of still losing the one she loves no matter what, it truly is enough to cause the largest breaking point imaginable. So the earlier mentioned brutality against Bebe and Mami fit because the despair was there, the potential frustration was there, she just couldn't remember *why*. It's kind of akin to repressing painful emotions and or memories. In the instances where they come back, the sky might as well be falling

 

And that's why there's a ton of beauty in the huge rescue scene where Homulily is attempting to crawl her way to her own death. Internal Homura feels that there's no way around it. She's hit her breaking point and despair finally has its claws dug in too tight to do anything else. Now if we're to believe that internal and external Homura have their own separate thought processes, external Homura very well could have figured out her 'win situation' by the time the internal rescue was complete. That's not out of character either, considering she always was thinking ahead in the series. Madoka broke the game once before and now it's Homura's turn to once again attempt to move things into a position that could work for her. When people are backed into a corner longer enough, chances are they will figure out the path that will shift things in their favor.

 

What's clever is that episode 11 gave us an admission of love that was everything but the word. Why is that clever? Because once Homura finally admitted her feelings in the plainest of words, she became so much more than just a magical girl. One of the keys that I really appreciated so much was right near the end. Homura has her shift, she can almost arrogantly and effortlessly address the other girls in a manner that she will fight them if it comes to that so that she can stay with Madoka. The key to this scene? That bravado falters hard once she's with Madoka again. The cracks in her chainmail have always been there as the series hinted so many times leading up to the admission in episode 11 but even after becoming what we can basically believe to be an equal in power to Madoka as far as their god and devil natures, she still breaks when around Madoka. That aloof nature gone and she's still searching for acknowledgement that she did the right thing.

 

I will say though, there's one picture I keep seeing on Tumblr that I thought was going to be in the movie (mostly because people kept saying 'Harr, you think it's cute but wait til you see it in context!') of Madoka nuzzling Homura's cheek in the scene where they're sitting on the white chairs in the field. Now I know the sitting scene is really quite dark, but I saw no nuzzling that normally makes me squeal like an idiot!

 

And yes, the 'Caught you!' scene is just so perfect. As soon as she gets that grin I just go 'This is going to be amazing *_*'.

 

Phew. If you read all that, thank you. I apologize but I get incredibly wordy when I love something. There's so much more I can and probably will say on the movie but I'll give your eyes a break from my rambling.

 

The Rebellion Story spoilers below..

 

Spoiler

I'll start with my thoughts on Homura seeing as how that's the largest point on the topic. Forgive me since this is going to be long and some of it will simply be mirroring some of your own thoughts. Try and bear with me please:

 

(Added a TL;DR just incase its too much lol)

 

Its actually kind of scary when you think of just how much that girl has suffered in the series, and I like that a lot of it is not explicitly stated or shown. Homura's situation is one that just gets worse the longer you take to think about it. The series sets her up so that her entire existence is essentially a living hell, and what makes it interesting is that its one that she is willingly choosing (to some extent) which is something I felt the new movie rightly focuses on. At the end Homura states that she even learns to love even her own despair, which at that point was indistinguishable from her love for Madoka, who in a sense was/is indirectly the source of her suffering. What makes thing especially hard from her point of view is that she essentially fails to save Madoka at the end of the TV series, and is instead left the only one being able to remember... remember how she failed to save Madoka. I know the ending had a bittersweet feel to it, there was a lot of good the came from Madoka's sacrifice, but it doesn't surprise me that Homura would place a higher value on Madoka's life then that of the greater good, which leads me to my next point.. Homura's feelings for Madoka.

 

I've already stated I felt it was pretty obvious that Homura loved Madoka, even before this movie. For one I completely agree that what Homura went through for Madoka is way beyond what someone would be willing to go through for a friend, hell even a close friend. Her feelings for Madoka are probably the only thing that kept her from a similar fate as Sayaka or any of the other mahou shoujo's. Since she placed a higher value on Madoka's life then anyone elses including her own, she was willing to keep going even when her future was one of despair. Consider not only what she went through, but what it would take for someone to go through that well also accepting that even if she saves Madoka's life, she will never be able to live her own life. Also even if she did succeed, Madoka would not have being able to understand those feelings since the Madoka that she originally connected with is long gone.

 

Thats one of the most interesting aspects of Madoka's and Homura's relationship, which also something I brought up in a previous post, about how Madoka cannot truly understand Homura's feelings well in a state that she would be able to recuperate them in the series. Its tragic because the two actually do share a really deep bond initially, but as Homura states the longer she goes on, the farther she drifts from Madoka. Its another thing I thought the movie handled amazingly. It shows us Homura back when she was innocent, where we get to see that she is not just some obsessive stalker for Madoka, the two genuinely bonded with each other, and you can't help but hate the entire Magical girl system for warping that so much. The third movie handled this brilliantly by showing us Homura and Madoka as they were when they could connect with each other the most, and then almost immediately afterwords has Homura remember everything, showing us just how far shes come, in particular since her journey is a result of her feelings for Madoka.

 

Great point about how you get to hear Homura state her feelings for Madoka in episode 10 without actually saying the words "I love you" it just goes to show how well written the story is that it can rely so heavily on subtext. Sometimes its the things that are left unsaid and untold that leave the biggest impact. Sort of unrelated but related is how when Madoka's saves Homura's life in episode 10 (in the third timeline) she claims she has no more grief seeds but later reveals she did have one. Its never states it directly but if you look closely you can see that the grief seed has Sayaka's magical girl symbol on it, meaning that she probably only saved that seed because she didn't want to let go of Sayaka.. knowing that added so much more to the scene then I can describe, in particular since its not something your even told.

 

Funny how in contrast the third movie is mostly centered around Homura's love for Madoka, so theres not much subtlety in that regard anymore, infact Homura emphasized her love for Madoka during the two scenes in which Homura and Madoka are in a field of flowers during the night time (both are incredibly well executed scenes) and the "caught you" moment when she says "It's only natural that you don't understand. Yes... No one in the world could possibly understand. This emotion is mine alone. It is for Madoka alone." and then soon after when talking to Kyubey "Because I finally remembered, all the times I repeated history, got hurt and suffered over and over, all of that was proof of my feelings for Madoka. So now even pain is dear to me. It was not curses that soiled my soul gem, its something that you have no chance of understanding, Incubator. It is the pinnacle of all human emotion, more passionate then hope, far deeper then despair. Love."

 

There's also an underlying question at the end of the TV series in whether it was right for Madoka to have to sacrifice so much in order to do what she did which the movie addresses rather well. I like how Madoka unknowingly admits that she would not want to sacrifice herself and being able to be with Homura and the others if she had a choice, because we already know Madoka is the sort of person who would gladly sacrifice her life for others, even to the point of it being extreme (her original wish in the original timeline was to revive a cat lol) which I believe is one of the main things that Homura falls in love with. There's a certain duality involved with the motivations and situation that is rather intriguing if you think about it: Madoka is willing to selflessly sacrifice herself for almost no reason for the greater good, Homura on the other hand finds it unacceptable that Madoka would sacrifice herself and is selfishly willing to sacrifice everything other then Madoka's life even if that goes against her own will. Its easy to look at Homura's actions as being despicable, but I view them more of an extension of Madoka's actions/feelings, and vice versa. I cant help but wonder: is it right for Madoka to sacrifice her life so easily, despite how much it would hurt those she loves? When you combine their motivation with the system Kyubey created in order to nurture and feed on those emotions, it kind of makes sense that it would end up surpassing the current cycle. I love the theme of duality in PMMM, and the way its shown through Madoka and Homura is one of the things that will make this series memorable for me 10+ years down the road.

 

The ending for the third movie nailed the theme of duality. Was what Homura did evil? Was it good? I think at this point its something way beyond being able to give any kind of simple answer to. I do think what she did was 100% consistent with her character, but beyond that there's no real answer. A labyrinth is the closest you can come to creating a personal hell, though Homura fulfills her wish by giving into her despair and thus allowing her to create one of those hells which is essentially her perfect world. I also like how we get to see Homura as a source of despair in the world (makes Kyoko waste food, makes Sayaka see Hitomi and Kyousuke together, breaks a teacup near Mami) well simultaneously creating a world that allows them all to be alive and happy. Despite the dark tone of the ending, we get to see some form of happiness for everyone: Kyoko and Sayaka are friends, Mami meets Nagisa, Madoka is alive with her family, and Homura has finally achieved her perfect world by taking on all the despair herself, something she's wanted to do the entire series. I imagine that by the end of the series, Homura probably would not be able to choose a solution that was not coupled with her despair.

 

Despite everything that has happened, I suspect that Madoka if given the chance would do just about anything to save Homura, which could end up causing more suffering then just abandoning her, something which even Homura ironically mentions earlier (She says something like "your far too kind for your own good, but remember that kindness might lead to an even greater disaster one day") which is where I think the duality comes into play, as long as the two are unwilling to abandon each other, the cycle of hope and despair will just keep escalating (possibly even more then it already has, if that's possible) without ever fully succumbing to one emotion or the other.

 

I completely agree about what you said in regards to Homulilly, her witches design matched her personality very well. Watching her futility clawing away at the ground as she gets dragged to her execution, I gotta say couldn't have fit her character any better. It also reminds me somewhat Wulpurgis, who would spin upside down aimlessly and unctrollably. I also like how we got a brief glimpse into her mind as a witch after turning. When characters turned into witches in the TV series it felt almost as if they were dying, in this you actually got a sense that somewhere deep down, they were still alive in their own emotional hell.

 

TL;DR I agree that everything that happens is a result of her natural progression. I can understand why some people would dislike it, but I have yet to hear an argument that I agree with in regards to her just having a last second change of heart. I have heard people argue that she should have being happy or at least content with what Madoka did at the end of the series, to which I can't help but wonder if they actually payed attention to Homura's character at all =_= Homura was never interested in the greater good, her goal was to save Madoka and I don't see how her actions at the end even remotely contradict that.. dumb fandom >_<

 

Just curious Animus, what did you think of the post credits scene in which we see the half moon and the 1 chair during night time? I know some people think that Homura commits suicide at the end when she falls off the edge, but I saw this entire scene as largely just being symbolic of her character in pretty much all the ways you mentioned in your point about shouldering all the burden herself (even against Madoka's own will). On a side note it was incredibly satisfying to see Kyubey suffering at the end, if it does not understand despair, it soon will

 

 

Oh my Godoka.. thats just my post on Homura 0_o  going to split it from the rest

 

Sorry, I tried to keep it as organized as possible. Obviously I'm not capable of talking about Homura in any sane or rational manner.

 

Spoiler

 

What I liked about Sayaka and Kyoko is their relationship is almost the opposite of Madoka and Homura's. Instead of being two characters that are able to emotionally connect right away, these two are shown as being direct foils to each other (as you stated ) and as the two develop they learn to see aspects of themselves in each other. Sayaka admitting her own foolishness well succumbing to her despair, and Kyoko seeing how far she has falling and sacrificing herself for Sayaka was absolutely beautiful. I have no doubt that Sayaka would be much happier in a relationship with Kyoko then Kyousuke. Even Gen Urobuchi stated that had Sayaka ended up with Kyousuke, she would not have been happy, which makes sense considering how black and white Sayaka's views on love were, I never got the impression that she was really in love with him anyways.

 

I'm not going to say that I think that Sayaka and Kyoko are going out by the end of the third movie, but it does seem like there is a possibility that there's more there then just friendship, and I have to be honest, I think they would make a good couple, that may just be my opinion, but I also think that its largely intended to be viewed that way (Like you said, there's quite a bit of imagery in the movie centered around those two together) Even though their feelings for each other may not be quite as intense as with Homura/Madoka, I still enjoy this pairing a bit more just because the dynamic was a bit funner, and I like how you could see how well they both pushed each others buttons even well fighting (haha, they really knew how to annoy each other.. After all, its the people closest to you that are able to annoy you the most lol)

 

I'm glad the movie shows them together before the end, even if they both forget everything they have been through together I still think they will both be much happier with each other in their lives. Its something I would have never expected to happen after the way the TV series ended (Urobuchi was quite insistent that Sayaka die at the end...  ) It's one reason I would worry if there was ever a sequel, things ended so well for these 2 that any continuation from the Urobutcher would undoubtedly ruin that.
 

 

I did like the new magic girl, though she did sort of feel like an excuse to give Mami companion so she wouldn't be alone, which I can't say I'm entirely against. Its easy to forget since Mami usually gets pushed off to the side in the later half of the TV series and movie, but that girl deserves some happiness as much as anyone else in the series. I felt really bad for her after reading the different story manga that went into her and Kyoko's past. Mami has basically had to deal with her crippling loneliness for much longer then she should have, it was nice that she finally found someone who actually wanted to be with her, especially someone who enjoys sweets so much (a perfect match for Mami ). I also can't help but chuckle at the not so subtle jokes about Mami being the cheese.

 

 

Btw I get what your saying about Oktavia, and I'm right there with you, she's by far my favorite witch too. I really liked how symbolic it was of the little mermaid which mirrors Sayaka's story wonderfully (the original little mermaid... not the Disney version) Sayaka's conversation with Kyoko as well as her transformation is matched only in epicness by the ''caught you'' moment in TRS. I have to admit though, I find almost anything Sayaka related in this series to be awesome, which is funny since she was initially one of my least favorite characters, and now shes my favorite (other then Homura... because that's not even a fair competition =/) as well as the one I find most sympathetic.

 

Even though I have already spent an ungodly amount of time reading up on the series, you still managed to raise a number of good points that I had not even thought of, its helped deepen my appreciation for the series even more, and giving me an excuse to gush on about it myself, so again: thank you!

 

I'll end off by C+P what you said since it fits how I feel pretty well:

 

Phew. If you read all that, thank you. I apologize but I get incredibly wordy when I love something. There's so much more I can and probably will say on the movie but I'll give your eyes a break from my rambling.

[eroeru]

Holy mother of...

 

Homura.

[Isichar]

I blame the writers for making her too damn interesting.

[Dave of Canada]

So now that there's a dark setting for the forum, I'm back!

 

sort of. Still haven't started any new series or anything, I was contemplating starting Eureka Seven but then I got side-tracked with homework and now I'm debating on starting The Tatami Galaxy.

 

OH BOY, INDECISION.

All indecision will end once the new Berserk comes out in a few days, I'm just hoping they get off the damn boat.