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silverthunder) wrote2011-05-13 10:10 am
silverthunder) wrote2011-05-13 10:10 am
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Madoka Magica
So, yesterday evening I finished watching Mahou Shoujo (or Puella Magi, as some prefer) Madoka Magica. This was recommended to me by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
herongale, so I was fairly confidant that it would be good. It's also a magical girl anime and in some ways is typical of the genre, but it contains numerous elements that I have never seen in any magical girl series anywhere.
The show starts off in typical magical girl format - you have the main heroine, her best friend, additional friends, and a mentor figure. You have a girl who appears to be a villain, or at least a rival. And, of course, you have the cute magical creature who offers the opportunity to be a magical girl. This sets you up nicely for Madoka and her friends to go on magical adventures, fight witches (the evil beings of the series) and protect humanity.
Except not quite.
None of the elements of this story are really what they seem. The villain is not what she seems. The cute magical creature is not what it seems. The witches are not what they seem. Even the concept of a magical girl is not what it seems. The fate of the girls who are tricked by this seemingly straightforward offer (one wish in exchange for fighting witches in your free time) is terribly cruel.
The show has a theme of cycles. Magical girls ultimately become witches, providing new enemies for their fellow magical girls to battle. The hope provided by the wish sets the wisher up for the despair of having it turn around on her. Madoka's ultimate wish at the end is cyclical as well, and I thought it was pretty clever of her.
I have to admit, I was wondering what she would do. Wishing to stop the Incubators would ultimately doom the universe, so how could she do anything to end the cycle? Even the wish she makes - to prevent witches from being formed - could be turned around. It was not until she adds the last part - "by my hands" - that Kyubei finally seems shocked, and I'm convinced that this addition won her success. Because her doing this herself allows her to pick the method, and take the despair upon herself instead of having it inflicted on the world in some other fashion. And because of the nature of her wish - ALL witches will be prevented - she comes back full circle, with the ability to prevent her own witch as well.
The price she pays is a harsh one, but what she achieves is incredible. Her triumph isn't perfect - magical girls are still required to fight again and again until they die, for the sake of the universe - but the most crucial piece is eliminated. No magical girl will be pushed by her despair into suffering an existence of madness and grief before meeting a wretched and disgraced end. Because of Madoka, those girls fade away with hope still in their hearts.
It is a huge step forward. And I think, magical girls being what they are, others will follow in this example one day to alter their fate even more. That's the kind of power hope can give you.
I'd recommend this series to most people. The opening video can be found here, although it is not really representative of what the series is actually like. This scene that is shown at the beginning of the series is probably better. And just as a bonus, here are some magical girl transformation sequences.
I would also like to note that the BG music is done by Yuki Kajiura, and is therefore made of awesome.
herongale, so I was fairly confidant that it would be good. It's also a magical girl anime and in some ways is typical of the genre, but it contains numerous elements that I have never seen in any magical girl series anywhere.The show starts off in typical magical girl format - you have the main heroine, her best friend, additional friends, and a mentor figure. You have a girl who appears to be a villain, or at least a rival. And, of course, you have the cute magical creature who offers the opportunity to be a magical girl. This sets you up nicely for Madoka and her friends to go on magical adventures, fight witches (the evil beings of the series) and protect humanity.
Except not quite.
None of the elements of this story are really what they seem. The villain is not what she seems. The cute magical creature is not what it seems. The witches are not what they seem. Even the concept of a magical girl is not what it seems. The fate of the girls who are tricked by this seemingly straightforward offer (one wish in exchange for fighting witches in your free time) is terribly cruel.
The show has a theme of cycles. Magical girls ultimately become witches, providing new enemies for their fellow magical girls to battle. The hope provided by the wish sets the wisher up for the despair of having it turn around on her. Madoka's ultimate wish at the end is cyclical as well, and I thought it was pretty clever of her.
I have to admit, I was wondering what she would do. Wishing to stop the Incubators would ultimately doom the universe, so how could she do anything to end the cycle? Even the wish she makes - to prevent witches from being formed - could be turned around. It was not until she adds the last part - "by my hands" - that Kyubei finally seems shocked, and I'm convinced that this addition won her success. Because her doing this herself allows her to pick the method, and take the despair upon herself instead of having it inflicted on the world in some other fashion. And because of the nature of her wish - ALL witches will be prevented - she comes back full circle, with the ability to prevent her own witch as well.
The price she pays is a harsh one, but what she achieves is incredible. Her triumph isn't perfect - magical girls are still required to fight again and again until they die, for the sake of the universe - but the most crucial piece is eliminated. No magical girl will be pushed by her despair into suffering an existence of madness and grief before meeting a wretched and disgraced end. Because of Madoka, those girls fade away with hope still in their hearts.
It is a huge step forward. And I think, magical girls being what they are, others will follow in this example one day to alter their fate even more. That's the kind of power hope can give you.
I'd recommend this series to most people. The opening video can be found here, although it is not really representative of what the series is actually like. This scene that is shown at the beginning of the series is probably better. And just as a bonus, here are some magical girl transformation sequences.
I would also like to note that the BG music is done by Yuki Kajiura, and is therefore made of awesome.