Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica
Okay I'd dare say that Madoka Magica is one of the best shows this season and is not what it seems. For anyone that isn't up to date with the show or doesn't want to be spoiled you can go now.
> Episode 6 reveals that the name of soul gem is literal, basically Kyubey rips their souls out and places it in the gem. Yes, the bodies are just empty shells which are animated when the soul gems are nearby. Which brings me to point out that them being called 'Puella Magi' or 'Mahou Shoujo' is just a way to pretty up and not call them a lich. Why a lich you ask? "In some works of fiction, liches can be distinguished from other undead by their phylactery - an item of the Lich's choosing into which they imbue their soul, giving them immortality until said phylactery is destroyed."
> The balance of power in the show is just evil.. Magical girls' soul gem dims every time they use their magic to fight witches/familiars, magical girls needs grief seeds to cleanse their soul gems, Only way to get grief seeds is from the witches they defeat and not familiars, familiars need to eat humans to grow into witches. Do the math..
> Faust quotes (in German) are dropped in the episode two.. Well, Faust is the prototypical story about a guy being tricked into making a Deal With The Devil, who appears to him as a cute animal. And you gotta wonder why Kyubey keeps on pestering the girls to make the contract in each episode. :3
> Living the life of a magical girl in this universe is not fun or has rainbows and happiness. First off you get turned into a lich, you won't get much time for yourself because of your job, you need to fend off familiars/witches until your last breath and even after all that nobody would even know that you died fighting for them.
So yeah that's some of the points I'm sharing.. Also giving credit to TV Tropes and Angry (for pointing out stuff in the show).
I agree with your assessment that this may be one of the best Mahou Shoujo shows of this season, if not of all time. Reveals like the cutesy mascot being a demonic slavedriver, magical girls being liches and people being eaten abruptly certainly do not make this anything cloyingly sweet. If anything, more like bittersweet.
Will look forward to future eps.
my favorite mahou shoujo of the show - why they gotta eat her up like that? :(
The cake (she promised Madoka) is a lie.. D:
She's my favourite too :(
*builds a Mami shrine*
Also agree with your assessments. To add to yours: each mahou shoujo's color also tells their attribute.
Some guesses: Madoka might bring back Mami considering mahou shoujo = lich here (personally I dislike this idea because it denounces gravity of death). She will also become the pivotal character that hold the group together. Something worse might happen to Sayaka, considering her dedication to Kyousuke (blue is hope, joy but also means sadness).
Biggest question I have ATM: what is salvation for these characters? I hope Shinbo'll deliver this, or else it would be very depressive. This series reminds me so much of Evangelion (piloting a big mecha is cool, isn't it?).
All in all, this is the 2nd mahou shoujo show I can watch, but it's because it's a genre defying one. All hails to Shinbo :D. The first one was Sailor Moon but I watched the series when being a kid. Nowadays, every mahou shoujo shows always have me question myself "what the heck I'm watching?"
madoka wishing mami back...I never thought of that possibilty. very intriguing.
Care to elaborate more on the colors?
Much as a love Mami I'm not a big fan of her being resurrected, that just downplays the gravity of death. I'm not keeping my hopes on the topic of them surviving 'til the end, considering Mami was killed very early in the show xD
I suggest you read this page http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/color/a/symbolism.htm on color meanings. For example yellow (mami) http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/colorselection/p/yellow.htm :
"Yellow is sunshine. It is a warm color that, like red, has conflicting symbolism. On the one hand it denotes happiness and joy but on the other hand yellow is the color of cowardice and deceit."
I actually came to the same conclusions as yours (I thought QB was like a devil at ep3) before reading your article but reading yours provided me link to TV Tropes which dig far deeper. I like this :D. This show has become the Evangelion of mahou shoujo anime for me.
Also red will die you know, likely trying to protect others which will go against her principal :D.
Lol.. That's the same article I got by doing a google search xDD
And yes like what Evangelion did with the mecha genre, this show is pretty much deconstructing the mahou shoujo stereotypes and such.
Just finished reading the article and yes.. The colors the characters has does give insight on what their personalities are. :O
There're also gem and flower languages, FYI. These stuffs can be used as tactic to win over certain girls :D.
Yes the gem/runes, notes, the like.. Deciphering 'em all and whatnot
Certain girls it is, cosLOL wouldn't work if she's as smart as a sack of potato. xD
There is a scene in the OP in which Mami, Sayaka and Madoka are sitting on top of a satellite dish tower with a city backdrop. Kyubey is sitting on Madoka's lap and Sayaka is holding a black cat. Could that be another magical girl mascot pet?
In any case, I believe the show is throwing false hints around to lure viewers into suspecting "Kyubey is the devil!"
This is my 1st time watching a magical girls that are horrify & death appears...sad they gonna all die in every episodes?
I can has contract nau?~~~ ● ω ●
Will you?／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
You said:
Gem dims after fighting with witches -> Need grief seeds for cleansing -> Need to fight witches -> etc
So you should just avoid to start fighting witches. That way your soul gem won't lose power xD
So you're saying the witches/familiars should just om nom nom everyone, so that the magical girls can conserve their magic? o__0
You should ask whether they become mahou shoujos for world peace or for their own wishes :<
I'm leaning towards the 'personal reasons' side.. Why they decided to become a mahou shoujo.
Mami had no choice since she was on the verge of death and did not want to die, Sayaka made the decision cos she wants the boy she has a crush on to fully recover. Considering Kyokou herself said to Sayaka that Sayaka made the mistake of granting somebody else's wish hints that Kyokou is in this whole business for her own gain.
i'm not really magic anime but this one just breaks my mind!
best magical anime ? yes !
the thing is that show us that kyubei need puppet to clean the city!
because in the end those girls got trapped in something darker than she thoughts!
the worst is that you can die so easily and think that nobody will ever know you died if it happens is just so O_O
i can't wait to see more of this addicting show!
kyubei used winrar for that? lD
After watching the 6th episode, I don't really think Mami is dead yet, unless the Witch that decapitated her also devoured her Soul Gem. Yet, nothing was confirmed yet, since recent resources say she will come back because Mami is a major character in the story. Well, that's what I think X3
Mami wass wearing her soul gem as a hairpin.. Remember what got om nom nom nom'd first by Charlotte? xDD
You can go and hope that what QB told Madoka wasn't lies. Well until now, what it's said weren't.
My second best character in the show, Kyoko-chan is MAI WAIFU