[Let's Watch!] Puella Magi Madoka★Magica: magical girls with Faustian themes

[Midori]

Oh my goodness.

[MasterDias]

I figured the show would get darker eventually...

...but I wasn't expecting THAT in only episode 3.

[LadyRushia]

I--I--I--did that just happen?

At first I was like "What?" and then I was sad.

[SPOILER]I also think that Madoka's wish will be to bring Mami back to life and that Sayaka's will be related to Hospital Man. I'm convinced that Kyubey is evil, especially from the way he tried to pressure Madoka and Sayaka to make contracts with him in this episode, and that Homura is ultimately on the "good" side in that she's trying to prevent him from forcing more girls into contracts.[/SPOILER]

Regarding Mami:

[SPOILER]My head nearly exploded during her brief flashback with the car accident, especially when Mami said "I'd rather be alive in this world than dead in that one" or something like that. It really REALLY makes the theory of an alternate reality situation seem plausible. Also, if it's true that Mami's wish was to not die/be alone and Madoka promising her to be by her side made that wish come true meaning that Mami would die, then if Madoka did wish Mami back to life Mami wouldn't be a puella magi anymore unless she made a new contract.[/SPOILER]

[Nate]

[SPOILER]Also, if it's true that Mami's wish was to not die/be alone and Madoka promising her to be by her side made that wish come true meaning that Mami would die, then if Madoka did wish Mami back to life Mami wouldn't be a puella magi anymore unless she made a new contract.[/SPOILER]

[SPOILER]Eh...I don't think so, there's no proof that Puella Magi lose their powers once their wish is fulfilled. After all, I still think Homura's wish was to be the best at everything she does, and she's not dead despite her wish being fulfilled (again, assuming that is her wish). Plus, if we're wrong and her wish was simply "I want to live" or "I don't want to die here" then obviously it would have been fulfilled and she's still a Puella Magi.[/SPOILER]

[LadyRushia]

Then that raises the question of when wishes get fulfilled. Wishes have to be made in order to become a puella magi, but are they fulfilled right away or do the girls have to work for a certain amount of time before they come true?

[blkmage]

[SPOILER]When I watched the episode again with subs, I was pretty surprised by how many death flags were raised. Like, tragic backstory, the hubris when confronting Homura, and being the happiest she's ever been:

[SPOILER]he attracts the attention of the devil (represented by Mephistopheles), who agrees to serve Faust until the moment he attains the zenith of human happiness -- at which point Mephistopheles may take his soul.[/SPOILER]

And that's not to mention the obscure visual hints that SHAFT loves, hidden in random frames and runes.[/SPOILER]
There are actually a lot of other things I liked about this episode. I think the visuals deserve another mention. Obviously, it's still super trippy, but I like that each witch seems to have its own motif going on and the designs of the witches themselves are wildly different from each other. This episode's witch looked and worked like something out of Kaiba and it's making me look forward to what other crazy things the girls are going to have to face down.

The other thing I'm looking forward to is more action from the other girls. I mean, rifle-kata is cool and all, but ever since Mami's Unlimited Rifle Works from the first episode, I've been anticipating equally awesome stuff from the others. We finally got to see Homura's combat style and it turned out to be really different and a lot more subdued. I'm hoping that she (or someone else) eventually pulls out all the stops and give us some more visual flair like Mami.

[LadyRushia]

I have sat here with my friend hashing out theories and reading other theories and the result is this possibly far-fetched layout:

*Assuming Kyubey fulfills wishes before giving girls magical powers and assuming that we're dealing with two different realities.


[SPOILER]-Madoka’s wish is for everyone/everything to be normal so that none of this would’ve happened

-Makes a contract with Kyubey to get that, which erases her memories b/c going back to normal means not being a magical girl and not having Homura et all suffer and stuff

-Kyubey tells her in episode 1 that she can reject the grief and sadness, she can change destiny

-So if her wish is to reverse everything, that’s changing destiny

-Therefore, she’s stuck in a cycle where she ultimately reaches a point of unbearable hardship causing her to wish that it never happened and it gets reversed each time

-Since it’s Kyubey fulfilling the wish, in addition to erasing memories, he could be making a new world (b/c the world in the episode 1 opening scene and the one we see Mami dying in briefly looks very different from the one the characters are in now)

-But if this is really a Faust thing, then Kyubey still wants a contract in order to kill her

-Therefore, he creates new worlds to restore normalness like Madoka wants and could also create the people in them in order to push her to make a different wish (trying to break her out of the cycle so she’ll actually die instead of just reversing things)

-Homura found a way to hack into the new world and is trying to prevent Kyubey from preventing Madoka from restarting the cycle

-This explains why Kyubey won’t leave Madoka’s side and why he says things like “Do you want power?” in order to possibly suggest something different for her wish

-Mami is an invented person used as a ploy for Madoka to make her wish be “Bring Mami back” instead of “Make everything normal again.”

-If that’s the case, and if the price of the wish depends on the wish itself, then Madoka would have to die to be an equal exchange for Mami’s life, but if Mami isn’t real then Madoka is dead for nothing and Kyubey wins.

-Of course, that might just be the plan, not how it actually ends.[/SPOILER]

Also, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought this:

[blkmage]

So Urobuchi Gen has revealed his little secret on Twitter.

Originally, the plan was for him to write the show under a pen name, because obviously, his name attached to a work has certain associations. Unfortunately, the staff details got leaked, so in order to hide the true nature of the show, they had Urobuchi pretend he wanted to write something nice. That combined with the pre-airing advertising was all an intentional misdirection to hide the true nature of the show, which is a dark subversion of the genre.

So basically, expect the typical Urobuchi Gen writing that he's known for and expect more terrible, terrible things to happen.

Also, fun fact: based on his twitter and his conversation with Urobuchi, it looks like Ryohgo Narita is enjoying Madoka and this turn of events.

[SIZE="4"][color="Red"]●[/color]　ω　[color="red"]●[/color][/SIZE]

[Falx]

For the uninformed... who is Ryohgo Narita?

[Nate]

Guy who wrote Baccano and Durarara.

[goldenspines]

I'm a bit late to the party, but I'll still add my own WHATISTHISIDON'TEVEN to the mix after watching episode 3. Despite the mood of the show already, I didn't see that one coming so soon and like that. (And now I will have nightmares about that witch).

I wasn't originally going to watch this show (I was thinking, "Another magical girl show? Do I like these, but do I really need to watch another one?") But after seeing the main character crying in the OP, I knew this was not going to be the ordinary happy and upbeat magical girl anime. Plus the parallels on Faust's plot are quite interesting. I hope they stick to it and continue to put their own fantastic twist on it.

The witches and their worlds creep the heck out of me, but they suit the anime perfectly. I don't think I would have it any other way.


Puella Magi Madoka has surpassed my expectations so far. Bring it on, episode four.

[blkmage]

ffffffffffff

A charlotte is a type of dessert that can be served hot or cold. It can also be known as an "ice-box cake". Bread, sponge cake or biscuits/cookies are used to line a mould, which is then filled with a fruit puree or custard. It can also be made using layers of breadcrumbs.

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[LadyRushia]

So at least in Mami's case. . .

[SPOILER]In Soviet Russia, the cake eats you.[/SPOILER]

[Nate]

which is then filled with a fruit puree

[SPOILER]So Mami is a fruit?[/SPOILER]

[Falx]

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/3764/1295837863594.png

I have a dark sense of humor.

Linked for size and spoilers. Don't look if you haven't seen episode 03.

[MightiMidget]

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/3764/1295837863594.png

I have a dark sense of humor.

Linked for size and spoilers. Don't look if you haven't seen episode 03.

*insert utter rofling*

[LadyRushia]

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/3764/1295837863594.png

I have a dark sense of humor.

Linked for size and spoilers. Don't look if you haven't seen episode 03.

Pffft. That was my reaction too and I look nothing like Mami, XD.

[blkmage]

I guess the hidasketch/Madoka crossover flood on pixiv has begun

[Falx]

Chidamari Sketch is a good name.

[blkmage]

Miya-chan~

[LadyRushia]

Wait, is that a new girl?

[Falx]

Just a Seiyuu joke.

[blkmage]

Also a character design joke.

[LadyRushia]

Ohhh, I see. XD.

[blkmage]

Hey guys, 16 hours left until broadcast. In the meantime, here's some neat fanart: (ep3 spoilers) http://i.imgur.com/kAxjw.png
[SPOILER]｡･ﾟ･(ﾉД`)･ﾟ･｡[/SPOILER]

[MightiMidget]

Hey guys, 16 hours left until broadcast. In the meantime, here's some neat fanart: (ep3 spoilers) http://i.imgur.com/kAxjw.png
[SPOILER]｡]

That is really sad.

[LadyRushia]

Guys.

Guys.

O.M.G.

[SPOILER]I didn't think Sayaka would be the first to make a wish and it looks like Madoka didn't wish Mami back to life. Also, I think it's safe to say now that Homura is trying to save others from making a contract with Kyubey. There's more support for the Sayaka=final boss theory too because of that one part where she said "I'm a bad girl." I'm kind of expecting her to go crazy at some point. Maybe her doki doki crush won't be completely cured somehow or he'll distance himself from her like others have said. Also, I found it interesting how Homura told Madoka not to think such negative thoughts. This could imply that enough negativity in the heart can turn someone into a witch.

Another interesting observation: the backgrounds keep changing and it's especially noticeable in this episode. I'm not talking about when they're inside the witch's curse, but just in general. The world around them is very strangely dreamlike. That coupled with Homura comment about how no one comes back from the other side (or whatever it was she said) means she's either talking about the witches' realms or that there's support for the whole two realities theory.[/SPOILER]

Is it next Thursday yet? lol.

[blkmage]

[SPOILER]I'm actually expecting Sayaka and Kamijo to meet a bad end (whether by death or going nuts) fairly quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if Sayaka dying ended up being the catalyst for Madoka to finally sign the contract. Also, Kamijo's crazy eyes when he realized his hand had healed.

Also, now we know who red hair girl is and voiced by Ai Nonaka. I wonder if this means ruthless Puella Magi battles or if red is going to try and trip up Sayaka somehow and cause another tragedy.[/SPOILER]
I don't think the backgrounds and general design of the world should be read into too much. I think it's more of a product of Shaft's design sensibilities and Shinbo's direction. The design of the normal world is actually very reminiscent of Bakemonogatari's visual design and that was purely a design decision for that show and had nothing to do with the story itself.

Also Kyubey is creepy. ( ●　ω　● )

EDIT: Oh, someone mentioned something interesting in another forum.
[SPOILER]Madoka isn't a magical girl yet and she's understandably afraid of the prospect of dying horribly if she does become one. And yet, in this episode, she was pretty close to meeting death, except that she took the initiative and did something about it, which saved all those people.

The other thing was Mami's death. I watched the broadcast so I didn't get a translation at the time. Someone had said that Puella Magi had their existence erased, but now that I know what's going on, I think it's a lot more interesting that they just disappear. It drives home just how alone Mami was, that no one would notice she was gone precisely because she had no friends or relatives.[/SPOILER]

[Nate]

Also we can now confirm that wishes are granted as soon as the contract is made. But yeah, I don't expect Sayaka's wish to go well, especially given Kamijo's actions and statements in this episode. I have a strong feeling he's going to be filled with hatred for her and this will cause...something to happen, who knows what.

Well now it's time to wait for next Thursday.

EDIT: I come bearing images from my travels around the net.

First, although I think it was mentioned, Kyubey isn't white. He's red. In episode one when he was injured, it LOOKED like he was cut and bleeding, but in reality, his "suit" was ripped and torn, exposing the red underneath. Someone got a screenshot.

http://img220.imageshack.us/i/vlcsnap2011012501h13m57.jpg/

Second. A screenshot of one of the quick flashes from episode 3, a bit of nightmare fuel for you.

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/430/129555640774716208591.jpg

Third, it's hard to say if these are spoilers or not, since it's speculation, but this image could potentially have spoilers.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/kaemmerite/colorclock.png
[SPOILER]Someone mentioned on the thread I got this from that the colors on the number 7 are the same colors as the school uniforms, so 7 might be a tragedy involving the school. However, everyone is pretty sure that 9 is Madoka's mom, 8 is the dad/brother (or both), and 11 is almost certainly Madoka. 5 is likely Sayaka, especially given that she just became a Puella Magi in this episode, and 10 is PROBABLY Hitomi, due to hair color and the fact that she does have a Witch's Kiss.[/SPOILER]

[blkmage]

That reminds me of 2ch's cue ball theory (spoilers, maybe).