Hey, so, this video has 20k views and is as of writing my most seen video. If you're new here, I have a whole library of other video essays that UA-cam barely promotes, some of which are newer and better than this one. Please consider checking them out if you like this one. Now for some corrections/end notes: I should have put the outro later and made it shorter. Skip to 33:19 for the AMV or ua-cam.com/video/VYXf21yxPgE/v-deo.html (5/19/2020 update) Digi is also trans now. I think that my offhand response to her old video was incredibly weak and pointless and should not have been included, not because I think I was wrong, but because I think having a dig at her in specific did not meaningfully bolster my own arguments. It's easily the weakest part of this essay and should have been entirely cut. With that said, any transphobic comments/misgendering pertaining to either of us will be vaporized on sight. Still pretty happy with this video. Anyway, feel free to engage the algorithm with likes/comments, and/or send me money: Patreon: www.patreon.com/joycestick Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/joycestick Follow on Twitter for updates: twitter.com/joyceestick Alternatively, mastodon: eldritch.cafe/@joyce_stick curiouscat: curiouscat.me/joyce-stick
If Homura is trying to essentially kill the Magical Girl System, I'm all for that. Little girls getting tricked into becoming Child Soldier Litchs by a sociopathic Mephistopheles expy is kind of a disturbing concept, even without the Witches. Her actions were morally dubious to be sure, but compared to the alternative.... "I am of the Devil's party and know it."
The girl took hold of the universe and changed things so that people. Regular people. Could have the lives that they deserve. They they we're exploited out of originally
Homura just seeks to keep Madoka from becoming a magical girl. She saw that redoing the cycle was leading nowhere, and then Madoka became god. Then in Rebellion Homura saves the human part of Madoka and becomes "the devil" in the process. Homura is not at any point trying to kill Kyubei's scheme. As it turns out it looks like she got Kyubei nice and roflstomped, so there is that.
I'd like to note that I think Homura giving Madoka back her ribbons is symbolizing Homura renouncing being with Madoka, because Homura doesn't think she deserves to be with her. Given how her Clara Dolls were acting during her confrontation with Sayaka and that Homura was alone, hurling herself off the edge of a cliff at the end Rebellion, I'd think this represents Homura being suicidal and hating herself for what she's done.
Hmm. Homura definitely can be read as self-hating to a degree, so I can see how you'd come to that conclusion. Although that post credits scene you're referring to, didn't read to me as suicidal at all, it seemed Homura was very pleased with herself, like, she smiled and all and the film lingers on a shot of a disheveled Kyubey. I took that to mean that Homura was pleased with having seized power from Kyubey-- seizing the means, if you will, and plunged off the cliff as more of a dramatic exit than anything. As for the ribbons...? Y'know, I thought I had an idea of what that meant, but I didn't think about it too much and now that you mention it, yeah, I maybe could have thought about how her motives of wanting to be with Madoka and wanting to smash the system might have overlapped, instead of trying to distinguish them as I did in this video. So... idk, while I don't know if I agree, you've given me something to consider, so yeah, thanks. I don't think your reading's invalid. I could probably do with watching the movie again to be sure.
I think Homura's self hatred is very much Illustrated with the descriptions of her Witch and it's familiars. Notably her Clara Dolls seem to be embodiments of her self-described flaws. Homulilly's description is as follows: "The Nutcracker Witch. Its nature is self-sufficiency. Its gallant form, which once split many nuts, is now useless. Without any other purpose, this witch's last wish is her own execution. However, a mere decapitation will not clear away the witch's sins. This foolish witch will forever remain in this realm, repeating the procession to her execution. Her teeth are showing, her skull is melted, and her eyeballs have fallen out. A promise is the only thing that pitifully planted in that head which can no longer crack any nuts, but within the husk of the awakened witch is the distinct form of a magical girl. Her servants shamefully refer to that thing as a good-for-nothing." On a side note, the original Madoka Magica anime was loosely based on Faust, well Rebellion seems to have been very loosely influenced by The Nutcracker and The Mouse King. Rebellion has also been compared to Paradise Lost, but the two have very little in common with each other and Homura and Milton's Lucifer in particular are radically different characters.
Here is my reading of Homuras actions and her decision: her motivation and her ideology in the series or in the first two movies is this: she despises a system that requires people to accept being exploited and she despises the way that the likes of Mami sugarcoat what that entails. Specifically, her actions are motivated because she loves Madoka and won‘t accept her suffering the fate of exploitation and erasure that marks the end of a magical girls career. Then, Madoka accepts giving her existence up for the greater good. Then, the cosmic parasite Kyubey seeks to undermine this sacrifice because they want even more energy. It becomes obvious for her that Madokas solution doesn‘t accomplish what Homura wants and won‘t even accomplish what Madoka wants on the long run. So she continues on her path beyond good and evil. She continues working towards the destruction of a system that requires noble sacrifices. Is she selfish? Proudly so. After all, the Kyubey exploit selflessness.
"The incubators need to go, or else the system will always be exploited." But note one thing: Madoka was about to win against the incubators. She noticed what had happened -- the incubators trapping Homura inside their isolation field -- and came up with a plan to save Homura and destroy the chances of getting the old system back. In fact, if Homura hadn't split Madoka, the incubators would not have won -- and that was certainly the status quo, because they actually had no chance against a being with Madoka's power (a being they were at first not even aware actually existed in any form) -- remember her saying "I can see all universes that were, are or will be?" How she could see all Homura's sufferings in all the timelines she went through, so as to understand what a wonderful friend she was? How could the incubators possibly hide anything from a being with such powers? So we need a different perspective here. It's not that "no system that included the incubators could possibly work" -- that one was working, and the incubators' "rebellion" was being dealt with, as was unavoidable, given Madoka's powers. It's that this system does not satisfy Homura, and Homura's opinion about Madoka's happiness. Homura wanted Madoka, and she needed Madoka to be the way she was when Homura first met her; all of Homura's interactions with Madoka in Rebellion (especially the lower versions, the ones without memory of ever being Madokami) show Homura turning away from her initial conclusion, about the sanctity of Madoka's sacrifice, and towards a new conclusion, namely that she, Homura, would never be happy with Madoka "like that." She, Homura, needed a new universe where the personal elements of Madoka could be happy the way Homura thought best. She needed Madoka to be what she had been before, not what she had chosen to become. So it's hard to avoid the conclusion that Homura wanted this for herself. The very fact that the force "polluting" her soul gem is the force of love shows that. Homura's experiences inside the isolation field led to her developing her "controlling" personality into a powerful demigod (or demon, as she sees herself) that could, after a surprise attack on Madoka, keep at least part of her friend frozen in time, as she was when Homura first met her; and, in that way, happy. The final corridor scene, in which Madoka almost remembered her powerful self, suggests that this is ultimately not going to work, and that Madoka will ultimately recover her power and confront her friend about this surprise attack. And we're left wondering what the consequences will be.
I think you have reached some wrong conclusions. In approximate order, Madoka wasn't about to "win" against the incubators, there's not really anything that implies her achieving a long term victory. It was really only said that she was going to thwart this particular plan. She would have to achieve singular victories again and again against more and more sophisticated ploys. The incubators would never give up on returning to the witch system; its too beneficial to them. I also think its a misconception that Madoka is a traditionally conceptualized "god". As far as we've been shown we have not seen much to support such an idea. I think its more accurate to say that she has very specific powers aligned with her wish and magical girl form. She is not omnipotent or anything like that. Homura needed to accept Madoka's wish at the end of the series. To do otherwise would be to both betray Madoka's kindness and to fall into despair. With talking to Madoka when she's not forced into such an incredible situation Homura confirms that Madoka doesn't want to leave her friends and family. If you argue that its something Madoka chose to do, I'd argue that between being a literal child and being put into a situation with seemingly no other outs that this is a choice made under extreme duress made by an individual incapable of truly understanding the consequences. Finally, the end of Rebellion is not Homura making some self serving universe. If you pay attention you'll note that of the Mitakihara 5 (6 with Bebe I guess) its only Homura herself that does not get her happy ending. She's completely isolated herself in this new universe. She very clearly hates herself and is suicidal by this point. This is directly supported by the movie in the sequence after her transformation. She systematically cuts ties with all of her friends. Her familiars leave their shoes behind as they jump into the river (suicidal imagery), and throw tomatoes at her as she cuts ties to show how bad of an actor they think she is.
This video is seriously brilliant! Madoka Magica has been my favorite anime for years now, but I'd never thought about it as a metaphor for late-stage capitalism, or seen the parallels between Kyubey and parasitic billionaires who benefit off the hard labor of workers (magical girls) through deceit and guilt and exploitation of the system, not to mention pitting them against one another so they never catch on to who the *real* enemy is (the way Kyubey makes the girls think witches--aka. former magical girls--are the enemy is the same way the rich love it when the poor fight among themselves), eventually crushing their hopes and wishes and working them to the point of despair, then rinse and repeat. My god, I will never look at this anime the same way again, and I *already* thought it was near perfection. I was looking for an excuse to rewatch it and Rebellion (which this vid also gave me new insight to, and, for the record, I ended up loving once I understood it, though I feel like without a 4th movie it's still incomplete) again anyway, but now I get to view it through this fascinating new lens and see what other parallels I can spot. Immediate sub!
Madoka had to become a god because a wish can't be made without sacrifice, and because of the scale wish Madoka had to make the ultimate sacrifice (take on all the grief of the magical girls from all across time). Homura becoming the supreme witch was the only way to save Madoka from Kyubey and the incubators, so yes Homura is the ultimate hero in this tale (and also my favorite character from all media). Because of the Rebellion movie i consider Madoka Magica in it's entirety, to be the greatest piece of media ever created.
the only critique I have is that homura was not doing this in order to save magical girls. her only motivation is to protect (and posess) madoka which is a selfish desire at its core.
Yes, but in doing so she's still saving everyone. If Madoka is the hero they wanted, Homura is the one they needed. Everyone accepted that they couldn't have a happy ending. But, Homura rebelled and gave everyone the happiness they wanted by force
this is BRILLIANT and thank you so much for making this. I don't usually watch video essays but I have watched this twice AND recommended it to several people already and now i have so many feelings. I was DEFINITELY confused the 1st time I watched Rebellion. you prompted me to watch it a 2nd time and upon that viewing I think this Take is SUPER sound (IT DOES OBJECTIVELY SLAP) and I'm 100% all for Homura finding a way to rid the world of incubators and magical girls alike. I really hope that if/when they do a 4th film that it goes in that direction and addresses more how like... Homura isn't "evil" or "a demon" in the conventional sense whatsoever, I think really that word choice was the most confusing thing for me on the first watch. She IS serving her own interests, but, ultimately, the interests of others as well, and acts as a sort of 'opposite' to Madoka. That's not objectively evil, it's just... opposite. Madoka was doing the whole "I'll become a cop so I can fix the system from the inside!" thing and Homura, HOMURA, THE MOST BADASS B*TCH TO EVER LIVE, who has SEEN THRU TIME and can CONTROL IT and CONTAINS MULTITUDES, is like, "yeah but there are literally endless universes and possibilities and we COULD just trash this whole thing so you don't have to do that." That's upsetting to these girls who have given up literally everything to this status quo, even though none of that was in their own best interest. They gave up so much for the Incubators already, and they can't get it back. Of course that makes Sayaka angry. But Madoka didn't know better bc she didn't see all those potentially millions of timelines that Homura lived through, and the other girls don't know better because they didn't get to literally see the universe be re-written before their eyes. They know the Incubators don't really have their best interests in mind, but the whole thing has been going on for so long it just seems inevitable, so I guess why not enjoy your cool magic powers while you can? The Incubator's system (capitalism/imperialism cough cough) is all they know! It's so old, it must be the only way! But Homura knows SO MANY THINGS and I would REALLY like to see the next potential film expand on exactly how much she knows, her struggle with the Incubators, and maybe even the attempt to sway the other magical girls towards the conclusion that, yeah it's cool to have powers but maybe we should wish for a universe where the Incubators don't exist and nobody "needs" the expoitation of magical girls and everyone can just be normal girls in love. because after all, love is the REAL greatest magic power am I right (人◕ω◕) LOL SORRY FOR THE RANT YOU DONE GOOD I LOVE YOU BYE
ahhhhhhhhh this comment is a lot, but, yeah! I'm really happy to hear I helped you see the movie in a new light and I'm super glad you enjoyed the video. Thank you for taking the time to watch and write all this, and for sharing the video! see you later, uwu 💜
Actually "Devil" does make sense in a way, In some beliefs it is said that an angel named Satanael *Satan* purposely stole away and gave humanity knowledge so they aren't shackled to Gods system
Ikr. At the beginning of the series, Homura is 21. On top of that she has been through at least 100 loops. I did not make this up, it is cannon and if you don't believe me you can look it up.
Also with how smart Kyuubey claims to be...you'd think he'd understand how devastating it'd be for the structure of the universe. If his plan succeeded. It's like he didn't think this thought that inevitable consequence "is future Kyuubey's problem." Like boi what.
Okay. Just finished the video. Good to see a fellow vegetarian, I’m one too. At first, even though I’m not an anti-sjw (anti-sjws are dumb) I felt like maybe you were over reading it a little, but I payed attention and kept an open mind, and i think your theory is right. Your video is fantastic, perfect editing and production value, and not boring. You’ve gained a subscriber.
I have repeatedly heard and read about Homuras actions coming out of left field in Rebellion. I did not have that problem when I had first watched it. From the moment of the flower garden scene, I knew Homura was going to do -something-, I just did not know what exactly. But then again, I could just be wired differently
I adore Madoka and especially love hearing different people's takes on it and the movie. I still need to watch Rebellion all the way through personally, but from everything I've learned of it I can't understand the hatred for it. Does part of me wish the anime was the ending (though tweaked so Homura went with Madoka to be goddess girlfriends forever), this makes a lot more sense for their characters. And yeah, the Incubators are manipulative assholes who clearly will say and do anything to get their way. To that end, I've come to severely doubt even the existence of entropy in that universe. What if it's just a lie they're telling so that they can power their own planet and growth as a species? Homura seeing the system as broken and deciding that it needs to be completely wrecked and redone makes perfect sense, especially with how fast the Incubators were in discovering Madoka's Law of Cycles and coming up with a way of trapping her. I really hope the next movie and Magia Record help bring us to a point where a real solution can be found. It will probably end up being somewhere between Madoka's world and Homura's. I'm excited to see where the writers take this series next!
I came to the exciting realization that PMMM Rebellion is like the bad boy of Anime. Great style. Great taste in music. Arrogant air to it. Kickass. And your friends think it's trouble. . . And I think I've got a crush.
I personally have choose to think of Madoka as a metaphore of the Global Crisis of Care, and how women are pushed to do invisible unpaid work for the sake of stability and progress with no warranty for their safety or self stability. But yeah I guess thats just a micro of how capitalism is for everyone. Tho for this feminist reading there just so much subtext in the show itself, all the comments about relationships and the position of Madoka's mom just enriches that reading I have of it.
I think this is in character for Homura, remember in episode 12 she rebelled up to the last second before her memories where rewritten. Madoka says that becoming god is the last thing she wanted anyway, Rebellion is a necessary ark for Homura. This proves it.
I really liked this video I always thought that the incubators were exploitative as are all parasites but I never really gave it much thoughts as I thought they were the mere representation of the cowardly nature of a wish. But your interpretation is also valid and really holds up though I would argue that the Homura's system is more of a response to Madoka's more than that of Kyubey's. Homura's goal was to save Madoka but Madoka's system did not allow that. Because in a way her ultimate selfless system robed agency to some extent and only caused suffering to her alone. That is if everyone is unknowing of her suffering and live in blissful ignorance the law of cycle did not address the source of suffering but merely hided that sufffering in and on itself, it was still there only no one could see it before it was promptly eliminated. However Homura's system is also wrong because it solely focused on the individual's happiness and not the whole which will lead to the collapse of the universe and Homura's system. My own interpretationof the series is different from this one to me it is more a story about selflessness, selfish and the cowardly nature of a wish but that's what I like about great stories. Though they have their own original intention many interpretation can be attributed to them which are also valid if well tought out. And while I do not not see the need for a sequel as I think the story complete with the tv show and the movie I do admit that they allow for a sequel which would explore the compromise between the two opposing extreme ideals of Homura and Madoka
amazing video, madoka analysis by a fabulous trans leftist is everything i've ever wanted. i noticed the same parallels between the magical girl system and capitalism but wasn't sure if i was just being an overeager commie. now i'm convinced it was intentional tho anyway A++ 💜
"Why did you approach us?" "To make you into Magical Girls" "But you never told us! If I knew I'd become a Witch, I never would have...!" "Can you really say you wouldn't have become a Magical Girl? It's not like it was a one-sided exploitation on my part. You haven't forgotten, have you? You formed a contract with me for something in exchange." "T-that's..." "I granted your wish, and formed a mutual contract with you. I believe that's a fair agreement." - Madoka and Kyubey, from Mami's Bad End route in PMMM Portable Game *See Kyubey, when you decide to knowingly gatekeep the fact that Magical Girls eventually become Witches behind a need-to-know-basis clausule without them knowing instead of laying bare all the terms and conditions like with, you know, a contract... HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU CALL THAT FAIR?!* And I'm still wondering why some people keep saying "Incubators don't lie". *Offering only a small slider of truth while omitting 99% of the truth is still lying.* Oh, and never forget the fact that Kyubey, despite claiming adolescents have the greatest potential, had no problem recruiting Nagisa Momoe... an 8. EIGHT. YEAR. OLD! The Incubators are the definition of a predatory parasite.
This 👏 Video 👏is👏slappin’! Finally someone views rebellion in a way that doesn’t throw away the potential meaning of the film besides being fan service art show. And thank you for calling out that Madoka’s wish wasn’t good for her or Homura. Also for shutting down that the incubators were any good for humanity at all. All of it is basic facts everyone throws out the window.
I find the prospect of a fourth movie that sorta finalizes the radical change is interesting, but I feel the solution ought not to be the abolition of despair so much as it's sublation with hope such that the dichotomy itself no longer makes sense, or to phrase it differently, the hope/despair dynamic is itself a product of the incubator's system. Magical girls are premised on their developmental stage, but more importantly, an inability to mature, and in Homura one finds that instead of being able to integrate despair, she instead opts to repurposed it towards saving Madoka, yet never truly overcoming it, resulting in Rebellion. Likewise, witches are in some way a symbolic antithesis of being able to overcome or sublate despair into one's growth. Perhaps Madoka's godhood is not necessarily a product of her many fates but her maturation outside of the environment of coercion that being a magical girl necessarily provides. Homura and Madoka then both fail in their inability to meaningfully attack the *schniff* ideology *schniff*, which consists not only of the practice of exploitation, but a hope/despair binary which conditions the terms by which magical girls understand their situation and how that situation conditions the emotional development of magical girls. Kyubey still wins, because Homura is still playing on the terms of despair and hope, so it's very possible that her rebellion still provides energy to the universe.
well.... So if I understand your comment correctly, basically what you're saying is "the solution should be not getting rid of despair, but the conditions that created it (i.e., the Incubators and their system)"? I mean, I'd disagree that Homura is operating solely on the dichotomy of hope/despair, like, that was the whole point of her saying "I'm not a magical girl, or a witch, my feelings are more passionate than hope, deeper than despair, it's love" and that's why Kyubey tries to flee before Homura stops them; because they realize that understanding human emotion in the simple binary of hope/despair was a false dichotomy, and since the Incubators can't understand the full spectrum of human emotion, they say, yeah, fuck that, we're going to go figure out somewhere else in the universe to get our energy-- in the process, leaving Earth to eventually collapse as they leave behind the curses they've left there. Homura's like, nope, not happening, you stay here and clean up your mess. Anyway, yeah, that whole scene is about showing that the dichotomy of hope/despair is a false one, and that seems to be something Homura is trying to break the magical girls out of in the process of phasing out the Incubator's system. It is indeed possible that her love is just giving more energy to the universe, but it's evidently not doing so in a manner that's desirable to the Incubators, and I'd hope that'd be addressed in the hypothetical fourth movie...? But yeah, what you're saying, I think, that it's not about getting rid of despair, by itself, but the systemic dynamic that encouraged it? I mean, I agree with that, I did try to present that in the video. But maybe I misunderstood. I kinda had to read your comment multiple times before I felt I could make sense of it, and I know I didn't really address some of your points, but you kinda said a lot in very little space... so, well, if I got it wrong, I'm sorry, and you're welcome to try and rephrase it.
@@joycestick I'm really sorry about how messy and delirious my response came out, as I was awfully sleep deprived when I posted it. In other news, gosh, I completely forgot the scene with Homura's transition from grief into love! That was such a great scene! Gushing aside, my point is instead that despair is not necessarily bad, but rather that the conditions that come with being a magical girl are designed such that despair cannot be meaningfully worked through towards becoming and growth. To illustrate my point, we can look at the various meguka and how they develop emotionally. Homura's trust issues and coldness are a product of repeating the same time over and over again, but they might be a product of having to engage in dangerous, life threatening scenarios time and time over so to sustain her magic. Kyoko is a selfish, cruel person when we first meet her, but it's made clear later that this wasn't always the case, and her death in the TV show might be interpreted as her selfless qualities both coming out and giving in to the despair. Sayaka's descent operates in two spaces, with the first being in her school life and the second in her life as a magical girl - the two areas are initially quite distinct as she is rejected in her school life and is given a violent and destructive means of expression that never really helps in her life as a magical girl, and eventually the distinction between being a magical girl and somebody normal fades in the train as the violence and contempt for the body that magical girl work encourages manifests in her transformation into a witch. Being a magical girl is then a life conditioned by submission or destruction. Kyoko acts selfishly and not out of hope for any future because she has none to hope for; Sayaka acts selflessly and not out of any concern for herself because despair has already destroyed whatever self there was to care for. My point is that the goal should not be to fight despair but to accept and synthesize it into oneself. Homura's soul gem changes because she is able to take both her despair and hope and to make something new out of it, but I suspect this isn't the only outcome there is, which is what I would hope the fourth movie brings about. Something something Hegel.
Blaming the Incubators isn’t the best way to look at the show. Imagine a species that were directly programmed with no thoughts or feelings forced to work off of a race where there are emotions involved. Evil isn’t the word to describe them, ignorant is more of a term to describe them.
I don't know if I really agree with that one. Kyuubey said he existed since the beginning of the human race. And ahs seen the human race since the beginnings of its development. You'd think his race would've learned to make humans cooperate with being turned into witches in all that time. If this was really about saving the universe. Plus Kazumi magica is basically canon now and that doujinshi heavily suggests Kyuubey is like the Zim of his race. if you know who Zim from Invader Zim is.
@Criminally Nerdy They did find a way to make the humans do it willingly, by manipulating the girls to turn into Magical Girls while avoiding giving them all information.
this is actually the first time i've watched this video, somehow. i largely came to the same conclusion as you when it comes to the anime and rebellion. i rewatched the movie immediately because i could tell it was saying something interesting, and in the end i really love it. but for me, i don't know, i still go back and forth on homura. it's all going to depend on the fourth movie i think, the story isn't over after all. i think it's going to come down to whether or not the kyubeys finally develop emotion after all the trauma homura has put them through. if they still can't understand emotion, then homura was right. they're literally just evil. i think that would be a little boring tbh. but if they CAN understand emotion after having a turn at the bottom of the totem pole, i feel like maybe that makes what homura did quite cruel. then again, maybe it was necessary. in a way it isn't personal, it's just what she feels she needs to do to change the exploitative system. now homura herself is at the top of the totem pole, and idk... i feel like a more anarchistic power structure is needed. i hope movie 4 does that somehow. because i don't think madoka is happy in this new world of homura's either. not really. praying that development hell ends soon and we get to see movie 4 some time in the next decade
While I still enjoy Madoka Magica for its story and themes, it still leaves a lot to be desired in terms of characterizations. Would love to see you analyze Yuuki Yuna is a Hero, another magical show that kind of tackles the exploitation themes you mention in your video but through a religious perspective
This is random and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with your main point, but going back on the "how" of Homura taking over for Madoka at the end of Rebellion beyond simply the power of her love (which I certainly think was a contributor, don't get me wrong,) I've had this theory sitting in the back of my mind that I'd like to share: The reason Madoka had gained the power to make such an enormous, god-like wish in the first place was due to her being at the center of each of Homura's timelines, building up her potential as a magical girl as each jump in time overlapped the other and increased her place in grand scheme of the universe. Likewise, Homura has always been deeply intertwined with Madoka's fate; she's the reason her potential increased as much as it did, after all. So, considering how much information the incubators frequently withhold, as well as the fact that they don't understand the effects of despair/hope as intimately as they thought they did, I'm willing to bet they either didn't mention or take into account just how much potential Homura would have accumulated herself as a result of that and rewinding time so much. Because really, when you think about it, she was just as much in the center of those timelines as Madoka was, just in a different way. She may not have been the main star of the play, but she was the director guiding Madoka through trial and error, which is just as crucial a part. I think we didn't see this pent up power initially because she had already become a magical girl and didn't have such an explosively powerful start as Madoka did, but upon realizing her true feelings, the consequences of her and Madoka's wishes, and much more by the end of the film, that power finally manifested in the form of taking over and rewriting the universe.
Dunno if anyone's caught it but Homura also says that all she did was yoink the human part of Madoka away from the Goddess Madoka. Which, gets rid of the Goddess Madoka's humanity and that's why Human Madoka "remembers" sort of what she's supposed to be doing but....yeah
Wonderful, this hit a specific kind of analysis that I couldn't help but see in the show as I first watched this anime a few days ago. I think this along with some existentialism and absurdism fills the show for me, considering how much they talk about despair and hope, but I might need a rewatch to flesh out those ideas. In the meantime, I eagerly await the revolt of the fourth movie, and I gotta watch more of your videos.
no no the comparison to Madoka and the Capitalist machine is valid. I have regularly had the thought that it's wild that EULA and TOS contracts are so long and convoluted that so many Madoka fans still didn't read them after (myself included)
I'd have to agree, Homura was always rather selfish, her wish in general was for her own desire to be with Madoka, so her actions at the end of the movie only makes sense
This is probably one of the best video essays on the series I've ever watched. It really surprised me that you have just that many subscribers. You deserve the universe! I can't wait to see your channel grow more and more, I think you have really good ideas and the "magical girl = capitalism" view is a take I hadn't even thought of. Great job!!
Homura Akemi wish never came true! Her wish was to be the one to save Madoka . The Magical Girls must have their wishs so yeah Homura Akemi is still trying to save Madoka even from herself.
Why you don't have more subscribers I don't get it. This is an excellen analysis. I might slightly disagree on the fact on the moviations of Homura to rewrite the universe. Though it is also a complicated topic with many nuisances. In a way, it feels like what she learnt gave her a excuse to rewrite a universe to live with Madoka while attempting to solve the incubator issue, but that's more of my opinion. Excellent video.
I really enjoyed this analysis and I think the way you talk about capatalism and your light hearted tone is reminiscent of contrapoints and philosophy tube.
I feel like all of these things chould just be pushed away, from just bringing up the fact that incubators have no emotions. "oh well, its humanities fault" Any creature without emotions and are bigger life forms then humans would say that. "Basic human decency" They are not human, they dont feel humans emotions, they feel nothing. His tone is not "Arrogant" his tone is just straight forward and empty. Cause like i said, they dont feel any emotion.
I don't believe that the Incubators are truly emotionless. I rather believe that they, or most of them at least, feel only a limited range of emotions (such as a heightened sense of pride, arrogance, superiority, and occasionally shock/surprise when their schemes do not go as planned) and because they don't have any interest as a culture in understanding whatever emotions they may in fact feel, they dismiss the concept of "emotion" altogether (and, as implied by Kyubey's line about them believing emotions to be a "mental disorder" on their planet, shun those of their race who do not conform to this social profile) as they (wrongly) believe they are above such feeble things. Much as Kyubey and his race seem to think this makes them superior to other races and thus rightfully entitled to take charge of the universe, I believe that this quality is more accurately a show of weakness and a strong case for why they should not be trusted.
@@joycestick That would kinda explain why the baby Kyubey in magia record seems to be more softer then madoka's kyubey. Though i feel like, them having no emotion just makes more sense.
This video was so good, oh my god, probably the best Madoka video I’ve seen after Meguca, because obviously it carries the entire fandom. Though I have one question about the system, would Homura’s new system be Monarchy, Communism or Anarchy? And if so what would Madoka’s system be? What about Kyubei’s? And if the new system is similar to the one you mentioned, what would that system without magical girls be as well?
honestly with the fourth movie and the potential of a complete abolition of the system, it is important to remember that the incubators didnt invent magic, they discovered that humans had magic, and then created the system as a way to harness and then control the humans abiligy to do magic
The contracts they make with the Magical Girls are 100% good for humans as well. It's not good for Magical Girls specifically of course, but Kyuubei explains that his species sees the sacrifices of the few magical girls as worth it for the whole of the universe. And they wouldn't go to another species when "done" with the humans, Kyuubei specifically says that the adolescent girls of the Human Race are the only ones that his species were able to find that generates the amount of energy that is needed. I genuinely don't know why anyone thinks Kyuubei would lie. He has no emapthy so he doesnt care how they feel or what they think of him. He's a manipulator for sure and he leaves out information to manipulate, but nothijg in the series suggests he's lying at any point. He just has no empathy and cannot understand why humans get so upset when they were the ones that didnt ask the right questions. Kyuubei is a monster, but hes a monster because he manipulates to get what his species wants and has no empathy. Not because he lies to the girls. Love your videos tho! Always great
what a lovely video. i really like the little music video segments and the music choice throughout, beautiful attention to detail. honestly...from the capitalism reading, rebellion's ending is a Hell Yeah. bring down our billionare overlords and put them through the same suffering we go through! but the problem is that there's too many damn readings. 31:07 to be fair, most things in madoka are given their explanations and reasons, even if they are magic. madoka didn't become a goddess because It's Magic Bitch I Ain't Gonna Explain Shit that being said............still waiting for that rebellion sequel.
Only thing I can say. Is that the energy wasn't good enough. We can see entropy degrading the environment at the end. So that's why incubator wanted the old system
I finally found my stance on this show after seeing tons of video like this. People either love or hate this show and I do love it but you can easily view it either way which I love. I have stopped loving it for the show and started loving it for what people say and the debate about it.
While this is a four year old video, I do want to give my personal two cents. A lot of this video is a very logical argument, and one that works perfectly for the analogy of Madoka & capitalism. The thing that strikes me however is I don't think Homura was doing this to save magical girls, she was doing this for Madoka and Madoka alone. While she did oppose the Incubators actions, she didn't do it because it would damn other magical girls (after all, we know how much she cares about Sayaka living or dying). Rather she does it because it would undermine Madokas sacrifice. One big moment to me is Maoka's reassurance that she wouldn't have done what she did if she had the choice. The big asterisk of that scene is that this is _Homuras_ Labyrinth, meaning that even if unconsciously, she has an effect on the things inside, Madoka included. This isn't to say it's fully incorrect, but rather that in this moment, Homura is hearing what she wants to hear. She wants to be told Madoka wouldn't leave her unless forced. I believe Homuras actions were entirely selfish... but that in that selfishness, she tore down a system that would have been much worse off in the long term if she hadn't. Either way, stellar video! Great AMV at the end too!
We could've done more to underline that Homura's actions were almost entirely selfish even if they may have happened to benefit others and that her solution was imperfect even if preferable.
Hi Joyce well I have 3 escential things to say: 1: I'd like to congrat you and thank you for your exceptional work on anime analysis and essays, I didn't watched all alreadye becouse *spoilers* but I loved this One, promare and re:creators, I'll watch The other main sources first before get back onto ur chanel, I hope u can do more of this content and will share ur content with friends to help ur chanel grow up n.n 2nd. What is The song played on interlude background? 3rd. I Will check ur other social media to contact u soon for some partnership I'd like to pay
Wow, an actually interesting analysis of this series! Did not pick up on the anticapitalist undertones at all. Have you any thoughts about the Magia Record anime so far?
Saying that its "a few billion years" is an understatement Its 10^100 years We are not even 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% Of the way through the universes natural lifespan
So this means magical girls, soul gems and incubators are unable to go from the universe? Is Madoka not able to play the role of the incubators instead herself? Then the incubators would not be exploitative and Madoka could pursue her new Cycle undisturbed, right? The idea is that, in my understanding, under Madoka's system the incubators are given a new energy-source opportunity that doesn't involve magical girls necessarily dying. But if we understand that incubators wouldn't back away from exploitation, would the other strategy of Madoka be to just have everyone forget about her so that no one will remember or know how the universe came about? Because if that is so, Homura would be the key to the incubators to destruct the universe. But I also don't think that's quite true. Could it be that Homura was enclosed by the incubators before she even told them about the Law of Cycles? Maybe there was some other odd 'energy connection' thing going on that they could sense but not explain. Also, even without that, we've discussed before that the incubators use the strategy of 'keeping their cattle ignorant', and that in the end it didn't work (causing the magical girls to rise up and exploit loopholes). So if the magical girls were able to understand through themselves and exploit loopholes, the incubators (with their high tech and constant experiments) will eventually find traces in the universe (through scientific method of trail and error etc) that will enable them to figure it out and exploit it once again. So it's similar to an economic theory of, for example, monarchy/capitalism, that you can try modifying it and changing the ruler class/dominion as much as you want, eventually within the system, change can happen enabling it to the risk of turning into it's worst form (which, with the incubators interest, is that of magical girls/witches. And the incubators seem indispensible, meaning that the system has to go (unless we find a substitution for incubators)). Therefore, Homura enslaved the incubators and played the part of the devil. But what else did Homura do?
![Sayaka's Motives in Rebellion [Puella Magi Madoka Magica - REBELLION]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FFjCVobHrcA/mqdefault.jpg)
Hey, so, this video has 20k views and is as of writing my most seen video. If you're new here, I have a whole library of other video essays that UA-cam barely promotes, some of which are newer and better than this one. Please consider checking them out if you like this one. Now for some corrections/end notes:
I should have put the outro later and made it shorter. Skip to 33:19 for the AMV or ua-cam.com/video/VYXf21yxPgE/v-deo.html
(5/19/2020 update) Digi is also trans now. I think that my offhand response to her old video was incredibly weak and pointless and should not have been included, not because I think I was wrong, but because I think having a dig at her in specific did not meaningfully bolster my own arguments. It's easily the weakest part of this essay and should have been entirely cut.
With that said, any transphobic comments/misgendering pertaining to either of us will be vaporized on sight.
Still pretty happy with this video. Anyway, feel free to engage the algorithm with likes/comments, and/or send me money:
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If Homura is trying to essentially kill the Magical Girl System, I'm all for that. Little girls getting tricked into becoming Child Soldier Litchs by a sociopathic Mephistopheles expy is kind of a disturbing concept, even without the Witches.
Her actions were morally dubious to be sure, but compared to the alternative....
"I am of the Devil's party and know it."
The girl took hold of the universe and changed things so that people. Regular people. Could have the lives that they deserve. They they we're exploited out of originally
Homura just seeks to keep Madoka from becoming a magical girl. She saw that redoing the cycle was leading nowhere, and then Madoka became god. Then in Rebellion Homura saves the human part of Madoka and becomes "the devil" in the process. Homura is not at any point trying to kill Kyubei's scheme. As it turns out it looks like she got Kyubei nice and roflstomped, so there is that.
@@n3rdm4nI don't think that Kyube can easily be removed. So until a way to delete him is found, all she can do really is control him
1 minute in and we already be talkin abt capitalism. When you think abt it, Madoka magica stole Karl Marx's wig
Now I'm imagining Madoka with a Marx beard.
I always thought this was the reason why her ribbons were pink. She's a red commie, is what she is!
A magical girl wig or weave 😂
lmao no
you guys just see what you want to see
I'd like to note that I think Homura giving Madoka back her ribbons is symbolizing Homura renouncing being with Madoka, because Homura doesn't think she deserves to be with her.
Given how her Clara Dolls were acting during her confrontation with Sayaka and that Homura was alone, hurling herself off the edge of a cliff at the end Rebellion, I'd think this represents Homura being suicidal and hating herself for what she's done.
Hmm. Homura definitely can be read as self-hating to a degree, so I can see how you'd come to that conclusion.
Although that post credits scene you're referring to, didn't read to me as suicidal at all, it seemed Homura was very pleased with herself, like, she smiled and all and the film lingers on a shot of a disheveled Kyubey. I took that to mean that Homura was pleased with having seized power from Kyubey-- seizing the means, if you will, and plunged off the cliff as more of a dramatic exit than anything.
As for the ribbons...? Y'know, I thought I had an idea of what that meant, but I didn't think about it too much and now that you mention it, yeah, I maybe could have thought about how her motives of wanting to be with Madoka and wanting to smash the system might have overlapped, instead of trying to distinguish them as I did in this video. So... idk, while I don't know if I agree, you've given me something to consider, so yeah, thanks.
I don't think your reading's invalid. I could probably do with watching the movie again to be sure.
I think Homura's self hatred is very much Illustrated with the descriptions of her Witch and it's familiars.
Notably her Clara Dolls seem to be embodiments of her self-described flaws.
Homulilly's description is as follows:
"The Nutcracker Witch. Its nature is self-sufficiency. Its gallant form, which once split many nuts, is now useless. Without any other purpose, this witch's last wish is her own execution. However, a mere decapitation will not clear away the witch's sins. This foolish witch will forever remain in this realm, repeating the procession to her execution.
Her teeth are showing, her skull is melted, and her eyeballs have fallen out. A promise is the only thing that pitifully planted in that head which can no longer crack any nuts, but within the husk of the awakened witch is the distinct form of a magical girl. Her servants shamefully refer to that thing as a good-for-nothing."
On a side note, the original Madoka Magica anime was loosely based on Faust, well Rebellion seems to have been very loosely influenced by The Nutcracker and The Mouse King. Rebellion has also been compared to Paradise Lost, but the two have very little in common with each other and Homura and Milton's Lucifer in particular are radically different characters.
The Clara Dolls jumped off of the river with their shoes off, it's a symbol for suicide.
@@joycestick The shoes being left behind are a strong reference to suicide in Japan.
Here is my reading of Homuras actions and her decision:
her motivation and her ideology in the series or in the first two movies is this: she despises a system that requires people to accept being exploited and she despises the way that the likes of Mami sugarcoat what that entails. Specifically, her actions are motivated because she loves Madoka and won‘t accept her suffering the fate of exploitation and erasure that marks the end of a magical girls career.
Then, Madoka accepts giving her existence up for the greater good. Then, the cosmic parasite Kyubey seeks to undermine this sacrifice because they want even more energy. It becomes obvious for her that Madokas solution doesn‘t accomplish what Homura wants and won‘t even accomplish what Madoka wants on the long run. So she continues on her path beyond good and evil. She continues working towards the destruction of a system that requires noble sacrifices.
Is she selfish? Proudly so. After all, the Kyubey exploit selflessness.
"The incubators need to go, or else the system will always be exploited." But note one thing: Madoka was about to win against the incubators. She noticed what had happened -- the incubators trapping Homura inside their isolation field -- and came up with a plan to save Homura and destroy the chances of getting the old system back. In fact, if Homura hadn't split Madoka, the incubators would not have won -- and that was certainly the status quo, because they actually had no chance against a being with Madoka's power (a being they were at first not even aware actually existed in any form) -- remember her saying "I can see all universes that were, are or will be?" How she could see all Homura's sufferings in all the timelines she went through, so as to understand what a wonderful friend she was? How could the incubators possibly hide anything from a being with such powers?
So we need a different perspective here. It's not that "no system that included the incubators could possibly work" -- that one was working, and the incubators' "rebellion" was being dealt with, as was unavoidable, given Madoka's powers. It's that this system does not satisfy Homura, and Homura's opinion about Madoka's happiness. Homura wanted Madoka, and she needed Madoka to be the way she was when Homura first met her; all of Homura's interactions with Madoka in Rebellion (especially the lower versions, the ones without memory of ever being Madokami) show Homura turning away from her initial conclusion, about the sanctity of Madoka's sacrifice, and towards a new conclusion, namely that she, Homura, would never be happy with Madoka "like that." She, Homura, needed a new universe where the personal elements of Madoka could be happy the way Homura thought best. She needed Madoka to be what she had been before, not what she had chosen to become.
So it's hard to avoid the conclusion that Homura wanted this for herself. The very fact that the force "polluting" her soul gem is the force of love shows that. Homura's experiences inside the isolation field led to her developing her "controlling" personality into a powerful demigod (or demon, as she sees herself) that could, after a surprise attack on Madoka, keep at least part of her friend frozen in time, as she was when Homura first met her; and, in that way, happy. The final corridor scene, in which Madoka almost remembered her powerful self, suggests that this is ultimately not going to work, and that Madoka will ultimately recover her power and confront her friend about this surprise attack. And we're left wondering what the consequences will be.
I think you have reached some wrong conclusions. In approximate order, Madoka wasn't about to "win" against the incubators, there's not really anything that implies her achieving a long term victory. It was really only said that she was going to thwart this particular plan. She would have to achieve singular victories again and again against more and more sophisticated ploys. The incubators would never give up on returning to the witch system; its too beneficial to them.
I also think its a misconception that Madoka is a traditionally conceptualized "god". As far as we've been shown we have not seen much to support such an idea. I think its more accurate to say that she has very specific powers aligned with her wish and magical girl form. She is not omnipotent or anything like that.
Homura needed to accept Madoka's wish at the end of the series. To do otherwise would be to both betray Madoka's kindness and to fall into despair. With talking to Madoka when she's not forced into such an incredible situation Homura confirms that Madoka doesn't want to leave her friends and family. If you argue that its something Madoka chose to do, I'd argue that between being a literal child and being put into a situation with seemingly no other outs that this is a choice made under extreme duress made by an individual incapable of truly understanding the consequences.
Finally, the end of Rebellion is not Homura making some self serving universe. If you pay attention you'll note that of the Mitakihara 5 (6 with Bebe I guess) its only Homura herself that does not get her happy ending. She's completely isolated herself in this new universe. She very clearly hates herself and is suicidal by this point. This is directly supported by the movie in the sequence after her transformation. She systematically cuts ties with all of her friends. Her familiars leave their shoes behind as they jump into the river (suicidal imagery), and throw tomatoes at her as she cuts ties to show how bad of an actor they think she is.
Finaly someone agreeing Incubators in the wrong. I have seen so many people say "I mean, he is kinda right, he isn't evil"
This video is seriously brilliant! Madoka Magica has been my favorite anime for years now, but I'd never thought about it as a metaphor for late-stage capitalism, or seen the parallels between Kyubey and parasitic billionaires who benefit off the hard labor of workers (magical girls) through deceit and guilt and exploitation of the system, not to mention pitting them against one another so they never catch on to who the *real* enemy is (the way Kyubey makes the girls think witches--aka. former magical girls--are the enemy is the same way the rich love it when the poor fight among themselves), eventually crushing their hopes and wishes and working them to the point of despair, then rinse and repeat. My god, I will never look at this anime the same way again, and I *already* thought it was near perfection. I was looking for an excuse to rewatch it and Rebellion (which this vid also gave me new insight to, and, for the record, I ended up loving once I understood it, though I feel like without a 4th movie it's still incomplete) again anyway, but now I get to view it through this fascinating new lens and see what other parallels I can spot. Immediate sub!
I never considered the loop hole the incubators found as one of the reasons Homura did what she did before
Thats actually a very good point
I was doordash driving during the intro. I was literally sitting there like wait..
Madoka had to become a god because a wish can't be made without sacrifice, and because of the scale wish Madoka had to make the ultimate sacrifice (take on all the grief of the magical girls from all across time).
Homura becoming the supreme witch was the only way to save Madoka from Kyubey and the incubators, so yes Homura is the ultimate hero in this tale (and also my favorite character from all media).
Because of the Rebellion movie i consider Madoka Magica in it's entirety, to be the greatest piece of media ever created.
I can't believe Magical Girls is an MLM
the only critique I have is that homura was not doing this in order to save magical girls. her only motivation is to protect (and posess) madoka which is a selfish desire at its core.
Yes, but in doing so she's still saving everyone. If Madoka is the hero they wanted, Homura is the one they needed.
Everyone accepted that they couldn't have a happy ending. But, Homura rebelled and gave everyone the happiness they wanted by force
this is BRILLIANT and thank you so much for making this. I don't usually watch video essays but I have watched this twice AND recommended it to several people already and now i have so many feelings. I was DEFINITELY confused the 1st time I watched Rebellion. you prompted me to watch it a 2nd time and upon that viewing I think this Take is SUPER sound (IT DOES OBJECTIVELY SLAP) and I'm 100% all for Homura finding a way to rid the world of incubators and magical girls alike. I really hope that if/when they do a 4th film that it goes in that direction and addresses more how like... Homura isn't "evil" or "a demon" in the conventional sense whatsoever, I think really that word choice was the most confusing thing for me on the first watch. She IS serving her own interests, but, ultimately, the interests of others as well, and acts as a sort of 'opposite' to Madoka. That's not objectively evil, it's just... opposite.
Madoka was doing the whole "I'll become a cop so I can fix the system from the inside!" thing and Homura, HOMURA, THE MOST BADASS B*TCH TO EVER LIVE, who has SEEN THRU TIME and can CONTROL IT and CONTAINS MULTITUDES, is like, "yeah but there are literally endless universes and possibilities and we COULD just trash this whole thing so you don't have to do that." That's upsetting to these girls who have given up literally everything to this status quo, even though none of that was in their own best interest. They gave up so much for the Incubators already, and they can't get it back. Of course that makes Sayaka angry.
But Madoka didn't know better bc she didn't see all those potentially millions of timelines that Homura lived through, and the other girls don't know better because they didn't get to literally see the universe be re-written before their eyes. They know the Incubators don't really have their best interests in mind, but the whole thing has been going on for so long it just seems inevitable, so I guess why not enjoy your cool magic powers while you can? The Incubator's system (capitalism/imperialism cough cough) is all they know! It's so old, it must be the only way!
But Homura knows SO MANY THINGS and I would REALLY like to see the next potential film expand on exactly how much she knows, her struggle with the Incubators, and maybe even the attempt to sway the other magical girls towards the conclusion that, yeah it's cool to have powers but maybe we should wish for a universe where the Incubators don't exist and nobody "needs" the expoitation of magical girls and everyone can just be normal girls in love. because after all, love is the REAL greatest magic power am I right (人◕ω◕)
LOL SORRY FOR THE RANT YOU DONE GOOD I LOVE YOU BYE
ahhhhhhhhh this comment is a lot, but, yeah! I'm really happy to hear I helped you see the movie in a new light and I'm super glad you enjoyed the video. Thank you for taking the time to watch and write all this, and for sharing the video! see you later, uwu 💜
Actually "Devil" does make sense in a way, In some beliefs it is said that an angel named Satanael *Satan* purposely stole away and gave humanity knowledge so they aren't shackled to Gods system
Ikr. At the beginning of the series, Homura is 21. On top of that she has been through at least 100 loops. I did not make this up, it is cannon and if you don't believe me you can look it up.
@@haileyschindler9615 She's 14 physically and 20 mentally
Also with how smart Kyuubey claims to be...you'd think he'd understand how devastating it'd be for the structure of the universe. If his plan succeeded. It's like he didn't think this thought that inevitable consequence "is future Kyuubey's problem." Like boi what.
watching this after walpurgis rising was announced hits different
anyways based essay
Loved this, I would never imagine such a beautiful analysis
Okay. Just finished the video. Good to see a fellow vegetarian, I’m one too. At first, even though I’m not an anti-sjw (anti-sjws are dumb) I felt like maybe you were over reading it a little, but I payed attention and kept an open mind, and i think your theory is right. Your video is fantastic, perfect editing and production value, and not boring. You’ve gained a subscriber.
5:40
So you're telling me Madoka is essentially the Dark Souls of Magical Girls?
Yes, yes it is. Very much so.
It’s like the dark souls of being gay
@@LesbiansMarie We have ourselves a winner
I have repeatedly heard and read about Homuras actions coming out of left field in Rebellion. I did not have that problem when I had first watched it. From the moment of the flower garden scene, I knew Homura was going to do -something-, I just did not know what exactly. But then again, I could just be wired differently
Also, We didn't have any magical girls (that we know of) and we are not still naked in caves.
Rebellion is the plot of Wandavision but in the end wanda didnt give up her alternate reality.
Wandavision is the plot of rebellion but alternative universe - happy ending
I adore Madoka and especially love hearing different people's takes on it and the movie. I still need to watch Rebellion all the way through personally, but from everything I've learned of it I can't understand the hatred for it. Does part of me wish the anime was the ending (though tweaked so Homura went with Madoka to be goddess girlfriends forever), this makes a lot more sense for their characters.
And yeah, the Incubators are manipulative assholes who clearly will say and do anything to get their way. To that end, I've come to severely doubt even the existence of entropy in that universe. What if it's just a lie they're telling so that they can power their own planet and growth as a species? Homura seeing the system as broken and deciding that it needs to be completely wrecked and redone makes perfect sense, especially with how fast the Incubators were in discovering Madoka's Law of Cycles and coming up with a way of trapping her.
I really hope the next movie and Magia Record help bring us to a point where a real solution can be found. It will probably end up being somewhere between Madoka's world and Homura's. I'm excited to see where the writers take this series next!
Madoka can be a metaphor/analogy for an entrepreneur who started a franchise with a better system and work environment
I came to the exciting realization that PMMM Rebellion is like the bad boy of Anime. Great style. Great taste in music. Arrogant air to it. Kickass. And your friends think it's trouble. . . And I think I've got a crush.
I personally have choose to think of Madoka as a metaphore of the Global Crisis of Care, and how women are pushed to do invisible unpaid work for the sake of stability and progress with no warranty for their safety or self stability. But yeah I guess thats just a micro of how capitalism is for everyone. Tho for this feminist reading there just so much subtext in the show itself, all the comments about relationships and the position of Madoka's mom just enriches that reading I have of it.
I think this is in character for Homura, remember in episode 12 she rebelled up to the last second before her memories where rewritten. Madoka says that becoming god is the last thing she wanted anyway, Rebellion is a necessary ark for Homura. This proves it.
I really liked this video I always thought that the incubators were exploitative as are all parasites but I never really gave it much thoughts as I thought they were the mere representation of the cowardly nature of a wish. But your interpretation is also valid and really holds up though I would argue that the Homura's system is more of a response to Madoka's more than that of Kyubey's. Homura's goal was to save Madoka but Madoka's system did not allow that. Because in a way her ultimate selfless system robed agency to some extent and only caused suffering to her alone. That is if everyone is unknowing of her suffering and live in blissful ignorance the law of cycle did not address the source of suffering but merely hided that sufffering in and on itself, it was still there only no one could see it before it was promptly eliminated. However Homura's system is also wrong because it solely focused on the individual's happiness and not the whole which will lead to the collapse of the universe and Homura's system. My own interpretationof the series is different from this one to me it is more a story about selflessness, selfish and the cowardly nature of a wish but that's what I like about great stories. Though they have their own original intention many interpretation can be attributed to them which are also valid if well tought out. And while I do not not see the need for a sequel as I think the story complete with the tv show and the movie I do admit that they allow for a sequel which would explore the compromise between the two opposing extreme ideals of Homura and Madoka
amazing video, madoka analysis by a fabulous trans leftist is everything i've ever wanted. i noticed the same parallels between the magical girl system and capitalism but wasn't sure if i was just being an overeager commie. now i'm convinced it was intentional tho
anyway A++ 💜
"Why did you approach us?"
"To make you into Magical Girls"
"But you never told us! If I knew I'd become a Witch, I never would have...!"
"Can you really say you wouldn't have become a Magical Girl? It's not like it was a one-sided exploitation on my part. You haven't forgotten, have you? You formed a contract with me for something in exchange."
"T-that's..."
"I granted your wish, and formed a mutual contract with you. I believe that's a fair agreement."
- Madoka and Kyubey, from Mami's Bad End route in PMMM Portable Game
*See Kyubey, when you decide to knowingly gatekeep the fact that Magical Girls eventually become Witches behind a need-to-know-basis clausule without them knowing instead of laying bare all the terms and conditions like with, you know, a contract... HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU CALL THAT FAIR?!*
And I'm still wondering why some people keep saying "Incubators don't lie". *Offering only a small slider of truth while omitting 99% of the truth is still lying.*
Oh, and never forget the fact that Kyubey, despite claiming adolescents have the greatest potential, had no problem recruiting Nagisa Momoe... an 8. EIGHT. YEAR. OLD!
The Incubators are the definition of a predatory parasite.
This 👏 Video 👏is👏slappin’! Finally someone views rebellion in a way that doesn’t throw away the potential meaning of the film besides being fan service art show. And thank you for calling out that Madoka’s wish wasn’t good for her or Homura. Also for shutting down that the incubators were any good for humanity at all. All of it is basic facts everyone throws out the window.
Homura became the despair from Madoka's hope.
I find the prospect of a fourth movie that sorta finalizes the radical change is interesting, but I feel the solution ought not to be the abolition of despair so much as it's sublation with hope such that the dichotomy itself no longer makes sense, or to phrase it differently, the hope/despair dynamic is itself a product of the incubator's system. Magical girls are premised on their developmental stage, but more importantly, an inability to mature, and in Homura one finds that instead of being able to integrate despair, she instead opts to repurposed it towards saving Madoka, yet never truly overcoming it, resulting in Rebellion. Likewise, witches are in some way a symbolic antithesis of being able to overcome or sublate despair into one's growth. Perhaps Madoka's godhood is not necessarily a product of her many fates but her maturation outside of the environment of coercion that being a magical girl necessarily provides. Homura and Madoka then both fail in their inability to meaningfully attack the *schniff* ideology *schniff*, which consists not only of the practice of exploitation, but a hope/despair binary which conditions the terms by which magical girls understand their situation and how that situation conditions the emotional development of magical girls. Kyubey still wins, because Homura is still playing on the terms of despair and hope, so it's very possible that her rebellion still provides energy to the universe.
well....
So if I understand your comment correctly, basically what you're saying is "the solution should be not getting rid of despair, but the conditions that created it (i.e., the Incubators and their system)"?
I mean, I'd disagree that Homura is operating solely on the dichotomy of hope/despair, like, that was the whole point of her saying "I'm not a magical girl, or a witch, my feelings are more passionate than hope, deeper than despair, it's love" and that's why Kyubey tries to flee before Homura stops them; because they realize that understanding human emotion in the simple binary of hope/despair was a false dichotomy, and since the Incubators can't understand the full spectrum of human emotion, they say, yeah, fuck that, we're going to go figure out somewhere else in the universe to get our energy-- in the process, leaving Earth to eventually collapse as they leave behind the curses they've left there. Homura's like, nope, not happening, you stay here and clean up your mess.
Anyway, yeah, that whole scene is about showing that the dichotomy of hope/despair is a false one, and that seems to be something Homura is trying to break the magical girls out of in the process of phasing out the Incubator's system. It is indeed possible that her love is just giving more energy to the universe, but it's evidently not doing so in a manner that's desirable to the Incubators, and I'd hope that'd be addressed in the hypothetical fourth movie...?
But yeah, what you're saying, I think, that it's not about getting rid of despair, by itself, but the systemic dynamic that encouraged it? I mean, I agree with that, I did try to present that in the video. But maybe I misunderstood. I kinda had to read your comment multiple times before I felt I could make sense of it, and I know I didn't really address some of your points, but you kinda said a lot in very little space... so, well, if I got it wrong, I'm sorry, and you're welcome to try and rephrase it.
@@joycestick I'm really sorry about how messy and delirious my response came out, as I was awfully sleep deprived when I posted it. In other news, gosh, I completely forgot the scene with Homura's transition from grief into love! That was such a great scene! Gushing aside, my point is instead that despair is not necessarily bad, but rather that the conditions that come with being a magical girl are designed such that despair cannot be meaningfully worked through towards becoming and growth.
To illustrate my point, we can look at the various meguka and how they develop emotionally. Homura's trust issues and coldness are a product of repeating the same time over and over again, but they might be a product of having to engage in dangerous, life threatening scenarios time and time over so to sustain her magic. Kyoko is a selfish, cruel person when we first meet her, but it's made clear later that this wasn't always the case, and her death in the TV show might be interpreted as her selfless qualities both coming out and giving in to the despair. Sayaka's descent operates in two spaces, with the first being in her school life and the second in her life as a magical girl - the two areas are initially quite distinct as she is rejected in her school life and is given a violent and destructive means of expression that never really helps in her life as a magical girl, and eventually the distinction between being a magical girl and somebody normal fades in the train as the violence and contempt for the body that magical girl work encourages manifests in her transformation into a witch.
Being a magical girl is then a life conditioned by submission or destruction. Kyoko acts selfishly and not out of hope for any future because she has none to hope for; Sayaka acts selflessly and not out of any concern for herself because despair has already destroyed whatever self there was to care for. My point is that the goal should not be to fight despair but to accept and synthesize it into oneself. Homura's soul gem changes because she is able to take both her despair and hope and to make something new out of it, but I suspect this isn't the only outcome there is, which is what I would hope the fourth movie brings about. Something something Hegel.
Blaming the Incubators isn’t the best way to look at the show. Imagine a species that were directly programmed with no thoughts or feelings forced to work off of a race where there are emotions involved. Evil isn’t the word to describe them, ignorant is more of a term to describe them.
I don't know if I really agree with that one. Kyuubey said he existed since the beginning of the human race. And ahs seen the human race since the beginnings of its development. You'd think his race would've learned to make humans cooperate with being turned into witches in all that time. If this was really about saving the universe. Plus Kazumi magica is basically canon now and that doujinshi heavily suggests Kyuubey is like the Zim of his race. if you know who Zim from Invader Zim is.
@Criminally Nerdy , you know blue and orange morality exists
@Criminally Nerdy They did find a way to make the humans do it willingly, by manipulating the girls to turn into Magical Girls while avoiding giving them all information.
I normally don't have enough time to watch these videos, but when I do I really love them.
Your explanation is the best that helped explain the reason for rebellion-s ending
this is actually the first time i've watched this video, somehow. i largely came to the same conclusion as you when it comes to the anime and rebellion. i rewatched the movie immediately because i could tell it was saying something interesting, and in the end i really love it. but for me, i don't know, i still go back and forth on homura. it's all going to depend on the fourth movie i think, the story isn't over after all.
i think it's going to come down to whether or not the kyubeys finally develop emotion after all the trauma homura has put them through. if they still can't understand emotion, then homura was right. they're literally just evil. i think that would be a little boring tbh. but if they CAN understand emotion after having a turn at the bottom of the totem pole, i feel like maybe that makes what homura did quite cruel. then again, maybe it was necessary. in a way it isn't personal, it's just what she feels she needs to do to change the exploitative system. now homura herself is at the top of the totem pole, and idk... i feel like a more anarchistic power structure is needed. i hope movie 4 does that somehow. because i don't think madoka is happy in this new world of homura's either. not really.
praying that development hell ends soon and we get to see movie 4 some time in the next decade
While I still enjoy Madoka Magica for its story and themes, it still leaves a lot to be desired in terms of characterizations.
Would love to see you analyze Yuuki Yuna is a Hero, another magical show that kind of tackles the exploitation themes you mention in your video but through a religious perspective
This is random and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with your main point, but going back on the "how" of Homura taking over for Madoka at the end of Rebellion beyond simply the power of her love (which I certainly think was a contributor, don't get me wrong,) I've had this theory sitting in the back of my mind that I'd like to share:
The reason Madoka had gained the power to make such an enormous, god-like wish in the first place was due to her being at the center of each of Homura's timelines, building up her potential as a magical girl as each jump in time overlapped the other and increased her place in grand scheme of the universe. Likewise, Homura has always been deeply intertwined with Madoka's fate; she's the reason her potential increased as much as it did, after all.
So, considering how much information the incubators frequently withhold, as well as the fact that they don't understand the effects of despair/hope as intimately as they thought they did, I'm willing to bet they either didn't mention or take into account just how much potential Homura would have accumulated herself as a result of that and rewinding time so much. Because really, when you think about it, she was just as much in the center of those timelines as Madoka was, just in a different way. She may not have been the main star of the play, but she was the director guiding Madoka through trial and error, which is just as crucial a part.
I think we didn't see this pent up power initially because she had already become a magical girl and didn't have such an explosively powerful start as Madoka did, but upon realizing her true feelings, the consequences of her and Madoka's wishes, and much more by the end of the film, that power finally manifested in the form of taking over and rewriting the universe.
Dunno if anyone's caught it but Homura also says that all she did was yoink the human part of Madoka away from the Goddess Madoka. Which, gets rid of the Goddess Madoka's humanity and that's why Human Madoka "remembers" sort of what she's supposed to be doing but....yeah
Love it good Job do more vids pretty please!!
Apologies for discovering this 5 years later, but I couldn't have professed my love of Rebellion better
Yes, someone else who appreciates rebellion!
I come back to this video like a lot and consistently forget the banger of an intro that you have in it
this essay SLAPS. I LOVE REBELLION SO FUCKING MUCH YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW VALIDATING THIS ESSAY IS
This is a legitimately brilliant analysis and video as a whole. Your work is fantastic, thank you.
Wonderful, this hit a specific kind of analysis that I couldn't help but see in the show as I first watched this anime a few days ago.
I think this along with some existentialism and absurdism fills the show for me, considering how much they talk about despair and hope, but I might need a rewatch to flesh out those ideas.
In the meantime, I eagerly await the revolt of the fourth movie, and I gotta watch more of your videos.
After first minute of the video: BEING A MAGICAL GIRL IS BEING IN AN MLM HOLY SHIT
no no the comparison to Madoka and the Capitalist machine is valid. I have regularly had the thought that it's wild that EULA and TOS contracts are so long and convoluted that so many Madoka fans still didn't read them after (myself included)
This video made me start watching madoka. Thank you but I won't say I wasn't traumatized by the experience lol
(This essay is still great btw)
I'd have to agree, Homura was always rather selfish, her wish in general was for her own desire to be with Madoka, so her actions at the end of the movie only makes sense
I love you and everything you stand for this is the best take
This is why I believe the incubators are collecting it FOR THEMSELVES! Its something that keeps them alive.
Nice,
I never read/saw Madoka' Magika (I came from a Reddit's post), but I like a lot your choice of words...👏👏
proudly, your 513th subscriber
This is probably one of the best video essays on the series I've ever watched. It really surprised me that you have just that many subscribers. You deserve the universe! I can't wait to see your channel grow more and more, I think you have really good ideas and the "magical girl = capitalism" view is a take I hadn't even thought of. Great job!!
3 years late but I’m here to say this is a very good video!
Honestly, having this video in my recommendations just a few days after the big news must be a blessing of Madokami
I keep coming back to this video, so good but also… you righhhhhht doe ~
this is a hella great video, thanks for making it
Thanks for this new perspective on Madoka
Homura Akemi wish never came true! Her wish was to be the one to save Madoka . The Magical Girls must have their wishs so yeah Homura Akemi is still trying to save Madoka even from herself.
Why you don't have more subscribers I don't get it. This is an excellen analysis. I might slightly disagree on the fact on the moviations of Homura to rewrite the universe. Though it is also a complicated topic with many nuisances. In a way, it feels like what she learnt gave her a excuse to rewrite a universe to live with Madoka while attempting to solve the incubator issue, but that's more of my opinion. Excellent video.
I really enjoyed this analysis and I think the way you talk about capatalism and your light hearted tone is reminiscent of contrapoints and philosophy tube.
I feel like all of these things chould just be pushed away, from just bringing up the fact that incubators have no emotions. "oh well, its humanities fault" Any creature without emotions and are bigger life forms then humans would say that. "Basic human decency" They are not human, they dont feel humans emotions, they feel nothing. His tone is not "Arrogant" his tone is just straight forward and empty. Cause like i said, they dont feel any emotion.
I don't believe that the Incubators are truly emotionless. I rather believe that they, or most of them at least, feel only a limited range of emotions (such as a heightened sense of pride, arrogance, superiority, and occasionally shock/surprise when their schemes do not go as planned) and because they don't have any interest as a culture in understanding whatever emotions they may in fact feel, they dismiss the concept of "emotion" altogether (and, as implied by Kyubey's line about them believing emotions to be a "mental disorder" on their planet, shun those of their race who do not conform to this social profile) as they (wrongly) believe they are above such feeble things.
Much as Kyubey and his race seem to think this makes them superior to other races and thus rightfully entitled to take charge of the universe, I believe that this quality is more accurately a show of weakness and a strong case for why they should not be trusted.
@@joycestick That would kinda explain why the baby Kyubey in magia record seems to be more softer then madoka's kyubey. Though i feel like, them having no emotion just makes more sense.
I needed closure in this film ending, and I think i found a little bit of it in this ending.
Of there was a sequel then I'll watch it. It still leave me a lot of questions.
This is my favorite video on Madoka+Rebellion.
10/10 would make contract again
I hope you are right. I love PMMM with my whole heart and I need a true Queer Commie Space Paradise for all magical girls.
It was there wishes that made us move forward in this universe
Yo, I haven't thought about digibro in forever, I completley forgot I watched that old video of his.
Digibro's rightful place is the deepest memory hole.
@@Furore2323 accurate
It stinks that Netflix pulled Rebellion.
A lefttuber??? Talking about shoujo??? I love this video so much!!!!! I’m so glad I found this channel!
I actually liked rebellion. It was an interesting take on the story.
I love that u have a different and maybe truer view on my girl Homura
u ever look at a yt channel n realise u hit a goldmine. bc thats me rn. good job
My new favorite anitube channel. The bar isn’t that high for me
We love our glorious revolutionary comrade Homira
That still doesn't excuse fuckin Homura Akemi for starting that unnecessary gun fight with Mami Tomoe! !!+
Well now there’s a sequel coming up it seems
This video was so good, oh my god, probably the best Madoka video I’ve seen after Meguca, because obviously it carries the entire fandom.
Though I have one question about the system, would Homura’s new system be Monarchy, Communism or Anarchy? And if so what would Madoka’s system be? What about Kyubei’s? And if the new system is similar to the one you mentioned, what would that system without magical girls be as well?
honestly with the fourth movie and the potential of a complete abolition of the system, it is important to remember that the incubators didnt invent magic, they discovered that humans had magic, and then created the system as a way to harness and then control the humans abiligy to do magic
The contracts they make with the Magical Girls are 100% good for humans as well. It's not good for Magical Girls specifically of course, but Kyuubei explains that his species sees the sacrifices of the few magical girls as worth it for the whole of the universe. And they wouldn't go to another species when "done" with the humans, Kyuubei specifically says that the adolescent girls of the Human Race are the only ones that his species were able to find that generates the amount of energy that is needed.
I genuinely don't know why anyone thinks Kyuubei would lie. He has no emapthy so he doesnt care how they feel or what they think of him. He's a manipulator for sure and he leaves out information to manipulate, but nothijg in the series suggests he's lying at any point. He just has no empathy and cannot understand why humans get so upset when they were the ones that didnt ask the right questions.
Kyuubei is a monster, but hes a monster because he manipulates to get what his species wants and has no empathy. Not because he lies to the girls.
Love your videos tho! Always great
what a lovely video. i really like the little music video segments and the music choice throughout, beautiful attention to detail. honestly...from the capitalism reading, rebellion's ending is a Hell Yeah. bring down our billionare overlords and put them through the same suffering we go through! but the problem is that there's too many damn readings.
31:07 to be fair, most things in madoka are given their explanations and reasons, even if they are magic. madoka didn't become a goddess because It's Magic Bitch I Ain't Gonna Explain Shit
that being said............still waiting for that rebellion sequel.
Huh!! Magical girl contracts sound like MLMs💀
Only thing I can say. Is that the energy wasn't good enough. We can see entropy degrading the environment at the end. So that's why incubator wanted the old system
she’s spitting straight facts so far
I finally found my stance on this show after seeing tons of video like this. People either love or hate this show and I do love it but you can easily view it either way which I love. I have stopped loving it for the show and started loving it for what people say and the debate about it.
While this is a four year old video, I do want to give my personal two cents.
A lot of this video is a very logical argument, and one that works perfectly for the analogy of Madoka & capitalism. The thing that strikes me however is I don't think Homura was doing this to save magical girls, she was doing this for Madoka and Madoka alone. While she did oppose the Incubators actions, she didn't do it because it would damn other magical girls (after all, we know how much she cares about Sayaka living or dying). Rather she does it because it would undermine Madokas sacrifice.
One big moment to me is Maoka's reassurance that she wouldn't have done what she did if she had the choice. The big asterisk of that scene is that this is _Homuras_ Labyrinth, meaning that even if unconsciously, she has an effect on the things inside, Madoka included. This isn't to say it's fully incorrect, but rather that in this moment, Homura is hearing what she wants to hear. She wants to be told Madoka wouldn't leave her unless forced.
I believe Homuras actions were entirely selfish... but that in that selfishness, she tore down a system that would have been much worse off in the long term if she hadn't.
Either way, stellar video! Great AMV at the end too!
We could've done more to underline that Homura's actions were almost entirely selfish even if they may have happened to benefit others and that her solution was imperfect even if preferable.
how do you have so few subscribers? Your channel is an absolute discovery, I'll marathon all your videos today
So basically, in the post-rebellion universe, Homura is Josef Stalin. This actually kind of tracks!
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1: I'd like to congrat you and thank you for your exceptional work on anime analysis and essays, I didn't watched all alreadye becouse *spoilers* but I loved this One, promare and re:creators, I'll watch The other main sources first before get back onto ur chanel, I hope u can do more of this content and will share ur content with friends to help ur chanel grow up n.n
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3rd. I Will check ur other social media to contact u soon for some partnership I'd like to pay
In truly in absolute fucking awe that your videos are not more widely known I don’t understand someone please explain and change this immediately
This slaps hard
Wow, an actually interesting analysis of this series! Did not pick up on the anticapitalist undertones at all. Have you any thoughts about the Magia Record anime so far?
Who would take advantage of cHiLdReN?!
I love Homra!
If a other movie is coming out I hope they stick with the idea of God vs devil.
Saying that its "a few billion years" is an understatement
Its 10^100 years
We are not even 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of 1%
Of the way through the universes natural lifespan
*Subscribed to you 3 times*
So this means magical girls, soul gems and incubators are unable to go from the universe? Is Madoka not able to play the role of the incubators instead herself? Then the incubators would not be exploitative and Madoka could pursue her new Cycle undisturbed, right?
The idea is that, in my understanding, under Madoka's system the incubators are given a new energy-source opportunity that doesn't involve magical girls necessarily dying. But if we understand that incubators wouldn't back away from exploitation, would the other strategy of Madoka be to just have everyone forget about her so that no one will remember or know how the universe came about?
Because if that is so, Homura would be the key to the incubators to destruct the universe.
But I also don't think that's quite true. Could it be that Homura was enclosed by the incubators before she even told them about the Law of Cycles? Maybe there was some other odd 'energy connection' thing going on that they could sense but not explain.
Also, even without that, we've discussed before that the incubators use the strategy of 'keeping their cattle ignorant', and that in the end it didn't work (causing the magical girls to rise up and exploit loopholes). So if the magical girls were able to understand through themselves and exploit loopholes, the incubators (with their high tech and constant experiments) will eventually find traces in the universe (through scientific method of trail and error etc) that will enable them to figure it out and exploit it once again.
So it's similar to an economic theory of, for example, monarchy/capitalism, that you can try modifying it and changing the ruler class/dominion as much as you want, eventually within the system, change can happen enabling it to the risk of turning into it's worst form (which, with the incubators interest, is that of magical girls/witches. And the incubators seem indispensible, meaning that the system has to go (unless we find a substitution for incubators)). Therefore, Homura enslaved the incubators and played the part of the devil.
But what else did Homura do?