Got some time to spare, Homura? Support us on Patreon to improve our content: www.patreon.com/professorviral Hang out on Twitch: www.twitch.tv/professorviral Join our Discord for some more discussion: discord.gg/AfwXGKx Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date: twitter.com/Professorviral
No it isnt, she got the results she wanted and she is ok with it because as stated in the video she doesnt care if she becomes evil incarnate and Madoka is destined to slay her as long the cycle repeats itself and they meet each other over and over and over again - Madoka became a god but a god cannot exist without a devil so she became a devil to always be the polarity that attracts Madoka
I think that one of the things that aren't talked about enough is the fact that what initially caused Homura to start to see the cracks in her labyrinth was that she was happy. We know that a witch's labyrinth is made to torture the witch itself and the fact that Homura's Labyrinth was her idea of a perfect world filled with happiness says alot. For a person filled with as much self-hate as Homura the idea of being happy herself was unacceptable. It was so out of character for her that it almost immediately started to undo the brainwashing she had originally and that is important. We can see the very moment that Homura recognizes that she is happy is the very moment that the faces on the extra's disappear and the more and more she tears apart this reality full of happiness apart, the more and more the world starts to degrade. Even when Sayaka directly confronts Homura if she could accept this world, Homura doesn't even take it into consideration and instead just ends up attacking her. At the end of the day, she set her happiness ablaze before confronting Kyube. Ironically it's not her turning into a devil at the end of rebellion that's out of character for her, it's her being happy in the beginning that is by far the most out of character
You are missing something: It's not her 'being happy' she feels guilty about. It's 'being happy' when letting down what she felt was her responsibility to her friend. Until or unless Madoka is truly happy and safe, Homura can never rest. And the retreat (Don't forget the Incubators helped it along, those assholes are so utilitarian they went into downright evil mode in this movie) into being a witch just makes Homura feel weak and useless.
I've seen a lot of people believe Homura aged during her time jumps when that's physically and psychologically not possible, she just spent nearly 12 years stuck as a determined 14yr old girl resigned to an eternal loop if needed be. Repetition and being unwilling to move on and grow could pretty much explain part of her lack of creativity within her Labyrinth. And even though she accepted being the Evil to Madoka's Good, she clearly still hates herself for it as shown with the continued presence of her Familiars, the Clara Dolls, whose only purpose is to mock Homura (they even symbolically commit suicide!). Oh btw, Bebe's real name is Nagisa Momoe (age 8, at the time of death). I think the movie should've at least made that more clear outside of the credits.
Actually you forget about the sometimes considerable amount of time Homura spent in her "Time Freeze". She spies in that, she collects weapons in that, and she often fights Witches using that effect. She probably also TRAINS in Time Freeze so she doesn't have to waste time during the normal month learning to use a new type of gun or a mortar or whatever. She's probably spent at least a year or more likely two or three worth of time (she had to learn how to use all the single person weapons including the artillery and grenades, and how to operate or command the crewed things like the submarine with its gun batteries, she needs to constantly keep track of what the other girls are doing and what Kyubey is up to and this does not stay exactly the same from Timeline to Timeline cuz her actions CHANGE things and anyway all this stuff must take considerable amounts of time to learn, place, and spy). Add this to the possible twelve years and Homura gets even closer to a 30 year old knowledge base.
nearly 12 years of 1 months loops make about 144 loops, that is pretty crazy if you think about it, being able to do it again and again for so many times
she technically did "grow" psychologically somewhat during the 13-year time-loop, cant quote exactly where i read it, but supposedly, word of god has it that current evil homura, is basically the second oldest puella magi at being 27 in the body of a 14 year old, which is what eventually drives her to obsession and become the devil, something about her powers being entwinned with madoka's somehow
I sort of read Rebellion as Homura finally accepting that the loop that caused Madokami is the best one she'll get. Even if it's not what Homura wanted, she is willing to sacrifice some of her wish so Madoka can be what she obsessively fell in love with. Admittedly I've yet to read any of the other material, but contextually I think it's the end of the loops. This is kinda where I think Homura's obsession starts to fall away to a more acceptable form of love. Albeit she's still very much obsessed with her.
It could be more of an accepting love at the end, given she accepts, to a degree, that they'll grow apart and she can't control her. It's still forced by failure though, so I'd stress acceptance more so than love, but very fair
It's more of Homura recognizing that in order to protect Madoka, she'd have to fight Madoka, because she is too self-less for her own good. She's accepted that she's the Devil pinning the God down, so that she could live a normal life, so that everyone can live a normal live, so that she can save herself from insanity.
I notice that Homura kept her glasses and older hair style UNTIL she has to execute Madoka. The time reversal after that, she became a lot more cold. I think that traumatized her more than we’re outwardly shown tbh. I don’t think Homura did much different than most of us would in her position though honestly. It’d be natural to attach to someone when you’re lonely and they extend a hand of friendship. I can’t really blame her for the events of Rebellion because she just wanted to live with Madoka forever.
That's what I love about her, even if I can say she's evil; I don't hate her, and I understand it. I believe we'd all be capable of the same thing, given the means and situation
@@ProfessorViral It is interesting to me that the people who claim Homura did no wrong seem to be assuming that, if Homura had done (a big) wrong, this would destroy her as a character: she would just be 'evil' or something, as if things among humans weren't more complicated than that. In an anime so full of flawed characters with flawed emotions, isn't it funny to need Homura's actions to be pure in order to actually like/love Homura herself? To me, Homura did a very wrong and evil thing (I would stop before declaring her 'evil', because that would, I think, oversimplify her as a character; her personality is richer than just 'evil.' I'd say she is 'capable of evil', like pretty much all humans...). Homura is a character I will never forget, a character who even appeared in one of my dreams. She has in common with Sayaka the lack of perception that making a wish for someone else's sake cannot fail to include some element of selfishness (YOU want for that person to be happy -- because this makes YOU happy). In Sayaka's case, because she would hate herself for it; in Homura's, because she's too busy worrying about how to save Madoka to question herself and her own judgment about what's best for Madoka. If she can bring herself to say that she accepts the fact that maybe, someday, she and Madoka will be enemies... and not stop for a second to think about the implications... then she is indeed trying to delude herself. Which, again, is a very human thing to do. Isn't that the drama of Neil Perry in Dead Poet's Society -- that his father wants the best for him, but does not really know what the best for his son truly is?... Isn't that a tragic feature of humanity that wishing the best to those we love can lead to us hurting them, regardless of our best, most wonderful intentions?...
@@ProfessorViral I once heard a quote (idk who from though it's pretty obscure) that says something to the effect of "Most people do not do good out of any intrinsic quality they possess, but out of necessity". Essentially, it suggests that most people would, given the opportunity, do something considered bad on a moral level. It may be that Homura is an embodiment of this, but I feel that this quote is wildly appropriate and something similar should have been said in the anime.
@@Asehpe Personally, some of my absolute favorite characters are evil as fuck. Zaheer from Season 3 of Legend of Korra? PheNOMENAL. Zuko's arc was a lot better, but Zaheer's arc is really incredible in it's own right. I still think what Homura did was wrong, but also Madoka said she would never want to live without her friends, so she did the wrong thing for the right reason, partially. She knew that Madoka wouldn't wanna live without her friends, but Homura also just wanted Madoka to herself so to say that it was a PURELY selfish act is debatable. It's a bit hard to say if she didn't think about the implications of her and Madoka becoming enemies one day. Magical girls don't need to really do normal things most people do, so given that, who's to say that Homura hasn't already contemplated this? Who's to say she didn't cry and agonize over it for a long time? Time's really fucky in this anime so we can't make assumptions based on time like that because we could just be wrong. Since their soul was ripped out of their body, I doubt they would really feel the hunger a normal human would. I appreciate your viewpoint though that was genuinely interesting to read!
@@growingoaks To add to this, Homura didn't decide to rip Madoka out of the heavens until AFTER Madoka informed her she would never want to leave her friends, as depicted by the white flower garden being tainted with a shadowy purplish tint. Which implies if she hadn't said that, Homucifer would never have been born. EDIT: Also, every wish ever made was an act of selfishness, even Madoka's. Since every wish requires the wisher to desire it, meaning all wishes are inherently selfish. In Madoka's case, it's just the parties that benefit were on an unimaginably large scale, where as in Homura's, it's only Madoka who benefits.
Personally, I think Homura’s decision at the end of rebellion was what she felt she had to do. The incubators had found out how to capture Madoka and they would try and try again until they found a way to take her. And Homura made the decision to once again protect her, even if that decision made Madoka hate her. This take is also interesting and I’m interested to see both how the next movie goes and how Wraith Arc goes since it’s finally being released in English.
Yep, it's why many if not most (not sure which honestly) feel Homura did nothing wrong, or at least very little and that her love for Madoka is not a selfish one. If she wanted HER happy world under that scenario (Selfish Homura) she'd make Madoka forget all her other friends and possibly family and just focus on, ironically, the one person who needs Madoka the most but currently (to protect her) is cut off from her the most in many ways: Homura.
@@remo27 But, to me, that would be too obvious, and Homura needs to believe that she is being selfless, that she is doing this for Madoka, not for her own vision of what Madoka's life should be like. If she did what you suggest, she would not be able to live with herself; the damage done to Madoka would be too visible, too unavoidable. Doing things the way she did gives her a fig leaf -- and she needs all fig leaves she can find.
@@remo27 Its undeniable she is selfish but he also even jaded was shown as willing to help (if very jaded like ending sayaka before she became a witch) Granted he is traumatized fo livetimes alrady and th incubators did just stur that up, but she is probably the biggest victims, and kinda is right if predictable not very rational. Its not selfish, she loves madoka and madoka wa her anquor inth loop and th eincobators.. , good, not really but its neithr selfish, she is acting impulsive but notelfish. Not healthy thou.
It’s kinda ironic cuz in that one episode where Madoka and her mom were talking how we should always try to do the “correct mistakes” when we sense something is wrong with the people your close with, even if they’re gonna hate you for it.
that’s exactly why. that’s why she tried so hard to die or become trapped within her own labyrinth to prevent the reveal of madokami. since they insisted on a rescue, she took madokami and split her because kyubey already figured out how to interfere, so madoka would be living in space alone without any purpose.
4:52 I don't think it's that she was smiling because she didn't care, more so she was just trying to cheer Madoka up from what she had to do. Clearly, there are tears in her eyes, and yes, her one goal is to save Madoka, but it's clear she does care about the other girls
Yes! It's dumbfounding how many people assume she doesn't care about the other girls just because she's less concerned about saving them. Obviously she still holds Madoka's life above theirs and is still obsessed with her, but if she didn't care about then others at all then why would she bring the other girls into her labyrinth otherwise when she could have easily have had it been just her and Madoka together? Also, in the anime, Homura is genuinely upset about Kyoko's death, and not because she lost someone to help her fight Walpurgisnacht, as she flat-out says a few episodes later that she didn't actually need her (or she didn't think she did, at least).
@@multiplemysteries5242 And in both the movie and the TV series, when Mami dies, you can see Homura audibly gasp and look distraught. And when she was about to fight Mami in rebellion, she says that Mami, despite putting up a front, has the kindest and softest heart out of all of them. Homura says that it always broke her heart to have to reveal the truth to Mami, despite how much grief Mami gave her just because she didn't trust her. She apologized to Sayaka in the first few timelines for having to blow her up, and even shed a few tears. She apologized to Kyoko in rebellion for ever getting her involved. And outright says that she doesn't want to fight Mami. She threatened to kill Sayaka because at that point, Sayaka was always doomed to turn into a witch in every timeline, and death is infinitely better than turning into an eldrich horror being for the rest of eternity, unless some other magical girls kills you. After Kyoko dies after killing herself and Sayaka, Homura audibly says "Kyoko..." again, in a distraught voice. She repeatedly tells Kyoko not to get involved with Sayaka because she knew it would inevitably end with them both dying. She blames herself for not stopping Sayaka from becoming a magical girl, and outright says that she should've been looking out for Sayaka just as much as Madoka. She definitely cares about the other magical girls, but it’s asinine to try to protect one person from an inevitable fate, let alone four people and herself as well. That's simply way too much. And she can turn only turn back time as far as a month, meaning she can't do anything to save Kyoko and Mami who made their wishes years ago. How is she supposed to save those who are doomed to die no matter what?
@@MahouShoujo-Studios THANK YOU. SOMEONE FINALLY RECOGNIZES THIS! Also, this may not be anything, but if Homura only cares about Madoka then why the fuck would she invite _Kyosuke_ into her labyrinth? Sure, for Hitomi and Madoka's family you can make the argument that Homura brought them in because they're people Madoka cares about, and for the teacher you can make the argument that she helps add authenticity to the world created, but _Kyosuke?_ He doesn't play any significant role in Madoka's life whatsoever. Even if this isn't the case, we can't just completely rule out the possibility that maybe, just _maybe_ Homura brought him to her labyrinth for Sayaka.
@@multiplemysteries5242 Or even if she didn't, she still recognized the fact that Kyosuke was at least important to Sayaka, which led me to believe that Homura attempted to bring them together in one of the many timelines.
@@MahouShoujo-Studios An sayaka and mami, mami is to stubborn an sayaka too much of a relatable human disaster not to get themselves likely killed or witches. And homura is tired and broken as it is already. She probably cant act on care more anyomre and still cares when it happens.
Rebellion's ending is a bit of a hot topic and while I definitely do like it, I think this video really made me realize the big difference that makes a lot of people (myself included) find the original series' ending a lot more satisfying. Madoka's wish forces Homura to move on. It forces her to grow, to develop. To see more in the world. One of the things I love about the anime is how it shows you a world worth saving. A lot of the seemingly-unimportant moments, like Madoka being with her family, Sayaka and Kyousuke listening to music together, all show you what the characters have to fight for. They all have something to protect, and they all see the beauty in the world that makes them want to fight for it, Madoka most of all. She gives up everything because she loves the world so much and everyone in it. So when Homura suddently loses the one thing that matters to her and can't go back, she's forced to change. And just for a moment, at the very end, it seems like she might finally be able to move on and live. Rebellion is the unfortunate truth about Homura: That she can't do that. Really, you can see the difference between how she and Madoka view the world from one of her last lines in episode 12 - I believe she says something like, _"Although this world is filled with sorrow and hatred, it's still a place she wanted to protect. And that is why I continue my fight."_ She does not care about the world the same way as Madoka did, and she simply cannot continue to fight just for her. She's become so consumed by her love that she's just so utterly unable to change. In the end, she relapses back into the kind of situation Madoka gave up everything to free her from. It's like seeing a good friend going back to an addiction just when you thought they've finally made progress. It's truly saddening, but that's just how things are sometimes. Even though we don't want it to happen, the growth we look for can't come about until Homura changes. But with the lengths we see her go to in Rebellion, I can't help but wonder if she ever will.
She has a point thou, nothing would have hppened if the incubators didnt do incubator things, nor even in the first place, th ending of the series shows they didnt need witches, and yet thats the incubators did. Exoploit tenage girl and drive them in despair with th world at risk. And that homura is traumatized by trying to save madoka an even the others so much, can she move on?! With all the trauma shoen in the girls, homura has to live with livetimes of that. Did he overreact , yes but the incubators were at it again and i dont think she is wrong in principle.
@@marocat4749 but the problem is that like another comment said (in another video) informed consent is a very big theme in the series. It's what makes the incubators and kyuby especially so evil. Kyubi sells the idea of being magical as fun, exciting and easy, without actually telling them the horrors they will and that it's not reversible. Homura does the same but differently, she has no right to rip someone apart because of her own obsessive love. It is a repeated theme in the show that homura constantly makes decisions without madoka consent, most of the time she goes against her wishes. And I think a lot of the times fans forget that madoka saw all of the ramifications of being a magical girl, she was there to witness sayaka spiral into madness; heck, we literally see a cut scene of her talking to Mami about what godhood entails with Mami telling all the negatives. Out of the entire cast, madoka makes the most informed decisions. Not Sayaka who did it because of her romanticised view, not Mami who did to save her life, and Homura who did because of madoka. These 3 characters all became magical girls without knowing what it entails, this isn't their fault but because Madoka actually knows what will happen if she ascends to godhood. Homura has no right to reverse this decision because it's what she thinks is best. And mind you Madoka has never been shown to be unhappy, I would argue that she looks happier. The times Madoka expressed sadness were in Homura's own mind and a product of her own labyrinth, Homura is not in love she's obsessed with an image of madoka that doesn't allow to accept change and move on.
I think the detail that Madoka is also the only one who doesn't betray/try to kill Homura in any timeline is a big part of this too. Yes, Madoka was the most important one to her in the first and even second timeline, but the other girls were still her friends too. One, two or all three of the other three attempt to kill, stop or just hurt her in the various timelines in a way that goes against friendship while Madoka at least goes against Homura in ways that doesn't harm or invalidate the friendship. Obviously the biggest betrayals are technically from Madoka by making a wish, but it isn't done with the intent of directly hurting Homura, so Homura still values their friendship despite Madoka going against her. Maybe if the other three were similarly supportive, then Homura wouldn't have grown so cold to them as timelines occur and all of her affection wouldn't have been so densely concentrated into just Madoka.
It seems to me Homura's problem is less selfishness and more a great confusion about which of Madoka's wants and needs need priority. I mean, say someone you care about is locked into a job so demanding they can't ever see their family or friends. It hurts them very much, they as much say so to your face in an unguarded moment. Is it honestly selfish to want to see them relieved of that job... at least slightly? Wouldn't it be shocking and confusing if you manage to do so only to hear them grieve the loss of it? And don't forget she viewed Kyubey as such a great threat that she was willing to throw her chance at going to heaven... aka being with Madoka forever... to stop it from happening.
And if there are worse threats out there than Kyubey himself, then her selfishness saved the universe in a way keeping him alive in his own personal hell (himself with emotions and under control of someone else of another species) mostly to record and write about what she’s doing and helping her out rooting threats that aren’t witches, wraiths, or demons. (Though, the universe as a whole is still more unstable than before her reality warping but oh well, can’t have everything.)
@@orrorsaness5942 yes true!! Even on the home front, it seems to me like she represents an important kind of Rebellion. Madoka's wish isn't perfect because she takes girls out of the world when they have a bad breakdown. It's understandable why she did it of course but still, if there was a way to keep them from disappearing AND from turning into witches, wouldn't that be a worthwhile addendum to the rule, even if it requires breaking the rule as it stands? I think the true happy end will wind up having Madoka and Homura come to a place where they can balance each other like yin and yang. I hope that's what winds up happening in the next movie Maybe then the world will stabilize once they do :)
It definitely hurt Madoka to leave, but when she made her wish I'd argue she was also doing so to avoid pain. She felt worthless as someone who couldn't ease her friends pain, so she became someone who could. Either way, she would be in pain, she just made a choice to try and do what she wanted to. But, its true that Homura didn't understand this. She could comprehend that someone would make that sacrifice and live a life of that demanding work, and so she in part could be doing what she thought was best for Madoka, and was just wrong. So, a good point!
@@ProfessorViral That's an interesting point! Escaping pain is the entire concept of her wish... for everyone. Which kind of makes it funny to me how Homura is the one that gets accused of locking everyone in a "guilded cage". I mean, we know why Madoka made her wish, of course, I'm not putting her down for it, but I can't help but remember that, in real life, escaping to heaven to run from your troubles is considered "the easy way out" and I wonder if Madoka's wish can't be improved on? Remember how devastated Kyoko was when Sayaka vanished? How Happy Sayaka was just to hear her friends' voices even after chewing Homura out for how horrible what she did was? Like, maybe the ultimate best ending for everyone will actually wind up involving some kind of balance of both Madoka and Homura's wishes.
"Homura's lack of creativity" made me lol. I always took it as Homura trying to recreate the time she felt the happiest. I find that the stakes really change for her when she learns about witches: now she needs to save Madoka from not only dying fighting a witch, but becoming a witch herself. How does she do that? Protecting her from external threats is one thing, but how can she protect her from herself?
True, I didn't think about that shift after the "first timeline." Based on everything we've seen, there's no way to protect a magical girl from themself. Just to redo it so it never happens
If you're ever interested about covering Kyoko's character, I strongly suggest reading the first volume of the "Madoka Magica: The Different Story" manga, based off of the 3rd drama cd "Farewell Story" for a broader scope. It covers Kyoko and Mami's partnership prior to the start of the series. Hell, it even reveals Kyoko used to have a cloning technique!
@@ProfessorViral There's also the Madoka Magica Portable game for the PSP. It details how exactly Kyoko's father realized her wish essentially brainwashes people. Suffice to say, his reaction was not pretty.
@@ProfessorViral yeah you should read the entire madoka magica: the different story manga to see the relationship of mami and kyouko. also its not really that kyouko has a cloning technique but more that she has illusion magic.
@@wakamoon1910 yeah, I should've clarified it as illusion rather than cloning. I also recommended the first volume of Different Story instead of its entirety because only the first one is directly based off of an existing piece of media, the "Farewell Story" cd (dialogue being pretty much 1:1 with said cd and even recreated for the PSP game) while volumes 2 & 3 are a "what if Mami survived episode 3" story confirmed by the author. Btw, I do see Different Story as one of the many timelines Homura jumped to, spinoff or not.
@@MaxusFox23 well magia record is also that from what ive heard, its events happened in one of the timelines that homura looped at some point. the rest of the different story is still interesting to read to explore more of the character relations of the madoka magica cast especially how mami and kyouko would have interacted if they met during the anime.
I can't quite put into words just how beautifully tragic Homura's story feels. That pain of the thing that you love about someone, also being the main factor pulling you apart.
Yeah, she ends up loving the one person she could never have, but she can't deny that part of the person she loves, because it's a crucial aspect of Madoka
I have a moment in my life that relates to Homura in a small way. When i was a teen my sister introduced me to some friends. She was a social butterfly and I was social outcast. I made some friends for however long it was but there was a moment that I found to be a night i'd never forget. Ironically I can't remember too much of it now but it was a weekend I spent with my group of friends. They drank cold medicine to get drunk or high and i simply enjoyed their company. We talked, played video game and had deep conversations while listening to music. It was like a party i never wanted to end. So much that i tried to re-create it a week later. I tried to gather up everyone again but no one could make it. So much to the point where the week after my friends mother who owned the house got rather sick of me being there. I had to learn the hard way that time is precious when you spend it with friends, and you cannot re-create the same fun you had before. I think that's why Homura is relatable to people like me, the Desire to continue a feeling or a moment in time for as long as one can. But unlike Homura, I learned that time cannot be kept still or contained.
And, from that feeling she could be a lesson, that simply holding onto that feeling as something to be recreated, and not cherished for what it was, can only lead to ruin, although obviously not to such a grand scale. But, I feel that as well. I've only had one time in my life where I made an instant and amazing connection with someone. When you know instantly that someone will be your best friend. Eventually, that ended because of the people around us, and I haven't found something like it since. It's probably part of why I struggle to find it again, because it doesn't happen immediately. But, that's enough of a ramble about me!
It is so funny to me how much people can relate to Homura (myself included). I remembered when I first saw Madoka Magica and had this girl I had a massive crush on. She was my friend at one point and eventually did become my girlfriend later down the road, but she was just not good for me at all. In my life, I never really had anyone else that gave me the same kind of love and aspirations as she did. She finished my sentences, related a lot to what I felt, and felt like the completed half of what else felt empty in my life. Though I failed to see how bad my obsession was with her and the awful things she did to me. I didn't even realize it until about 5 years ago and finally cut her out of my life. During a lot of that time with her, I was right there rooting for Homura because I saw myself in her a lot. The girl I liked struggled and was doing her best to survive and I felt as though I needed to be like Homura and shield her just as Homura did to Madoka. I just wanted so desperately to keep that warm feeling and good image of this girl from ever ending just as how Homura did not want her time and relations to Madoka to end either. Thankfully I didn't rewrite the laws of the universe over this girl, but there is a lot to be said of just how many people may resonate with that idea of trying so desperately to cling onto a feeling/memory/moment/person and so forth and go to great lengths to keep that from escaping us.
I love Madoka Magica and seeing such recent video essays all about my favorite anime has been such a wonderful thing With such limited content one can pull out a lot of it but it has this entropic nature where there’s only so much you can discuss before repeating yourself Can’t wait to see essays on the new movie that might be coming out this year!
It's limited for sure, I wanted to address Rebellion more thematically, but it had a lot of overlap with the video on wishes, so I decided against it. I'm sure I'll have something to cover with the new move though!
It's a shame, but I feel like as is so common in the fandom, Homura's arc has been completely misunderstood and that the analysis is working backwards from Homura is evil and wrong and then working to justify it from that point. It couldn't be that Homura is concerned the person she cared about most took on a fate she admitted was worse than death. It couldn't be that she can't stand to see someone who was so good and kind suffer eternally. It couldn't be Homura is willing to sacrifice everything not for her own benefit, but to give Madoka a happy life - even if that meant becoming her enemy. Nope, it must be that Homura is obsessed and deranged and stupid. Like, for example, the implication she doesn't care about anyone or anything other than Madoka is contradicted in both the text and subtext of Rebellion. Talking about how cruel she felt it was to reveal the truth of the magical girl condition to Mami. How she went out of her way to give everyone, Mami, Kyoko, Nagisa, even Sayaka, and yes, Madoka happy lives. That she built her perfect world around the concept of all of them being friends and working together, not her being alone with Madoka. That she apologized to Kyoko and called her for that purpose before she decided to kill herself for their benefit. It is so tiring and so frustrating that so many people represent Homura as a one dimensional caricature of the rich and nuanced character she actually is.
Also: Hell, even the depiction of Madoka was incredibly off base. The idea Madoka's purpose is to fight evil is completely wrong. Madoka's purpose is to help others - when she finally understood, her approach was to take the burden of magical girls from them, to take their despair into herself. It was about releasing others from suffering, not fighting some vague concept.
Homura isn't stupid, but she definitely is obsessed. We can clearly see that she has no regards for herself, even to the point where her life means nothing to her. That's definitely not healthy, and it's not supposed to be. The problem is that Homura lacks self love and thus has to cling onto Madoka. Why? Because Madoka represents everything Homura desires: a good home, a good friend, a light in the darkness. Becoming that attached to someone you knew for a month to the point where you're willing to end yourself for their sake with no self worth in your self is anything but normal and healthy.
@@MahouShoujo-Studios You know, that's fair and I'll admit I was less precise in my language than I should have been. What I meant was the implicit assumption that Homura is obsessed with being with and/or possessing Madoka is badly evidenced and in places directly contradicted. Yes, she is obsessed with Madoka, but she is obesessed with saving her, with giving her a happy life - but she has no specific obsession with being a part of it. In the beginning of Rebellion, she was not part of their group. In episode 6, the clear implication was once Walpurgisnacht was defeated, she was going to leave Mitakihara, aka "go live in a farm upstate where she can frolic with other magical girls". In Rebellion, she announces her intent to kill herself if it means Madoka's secret would be safe. Finally, in the end, she will accept being apart from Madoka, being her enemy, as long as Madoka is happy. Being with Madoka was never the point - saving her, protecting her, securing her happiness were, whatever happened to Homura herself be damned. And I agree. It isn't healthy. It comes from having no love for herself (look up the names of the Clara Dolls, her most powerful familiars, if you want to know what she really thinks of herself). But that's a far cry from the idea being proposed here which seems specifically meant to shit on Homura than give an honest assessment of her character and motives.
@@RedTooth552 This video is sponsored by Homura Akemi and Incubator. Please pay up 15 dollars for Madoka to have a happy life, totally not a scam guys. (Those dollars are given to Madoka)
@@MahouShoujo-Studios Because she has trauma for lifetimes and all that kept her going was to ave madoka eventually. Of course that would make an unhealthy obsesion but one needed to cop so long with what she went through, ok that she did it willingly shows low selfworth, but the onbsesion comes from all the trauma likely. And she does help the other girls, she just has seen too much off them digging their own graves or ignore her inmy opinion to really try.
Mami didn't open to Homura, she just opened to Madoka and showed her weakness and loneliness when asking Madoka to join her Sayaka kinda just told her that she was useless in every timeline And Kyouko wasn't around them most times
You made a lot of great points!! True love does require the potential to be rejected or it’s not real love. I also think it’s interesting, Homura is the only MG we see who ever exists in that state of despair for an extended time and be able to choose how to move through it. In the real world, you can hit rock bottom and then move on. It’s so sad how the MG’s never get that chance. I like seeing Homura getting some agency over her own despair, instead of the incubators using it for their own purposes.
True, they never get a second chance. When they mess up once, or a few times in a row, thats it. We all hit low points like that, but we get to respond. Thanks for that perspective!
I'm just gonna come out and say it. Madoka Rebellion is easily one of my all time favorite movies period, right up there with The Matrix (which it shares many similarities to, what with its story of escaping an artificial reality, time-slowing gun battle, and overt religious symbolism). I'll even go so far as to say that it is better than several of the Evangelion movies, as it communicated many of the same themes and messages in a subtler and less overly obvious manner, alongside keeping the themes in the background, rather than having the story be dictated by them at the cost of narrative cohesion. I'd love to see you analyze this film more, as it is absolutely ripe with things to discuss. Maybe one on how it is influenced by philosophy like Plato's Allegory Of The Cave and Friedrich Nietzsche, is packed with religious symbolism ranging from Christianity, Gnosticism, and Buddhism, and uses many allusions to literary works such as The Nutcracker and Paradise Lost? It really is such a rich work of art, one that deserves to be analyzed more than it does. :)
Yes, Rebellion usurped the Matrix trilogy as my favorite movie! I am only somewhat familiar with paradise lost; I'm curious what the connection is that you see
@@stephenpriest Basically, Homura’s fall from grace and actions in the film have been noted by several to by similar to that of Lucifer’s turn to evil in that story, complete with the horrible decision that “it is better to reign in hell than serve in heaven”. While Homura is nowhere near as evil as the devil in that literary work, she still draws several parallels, and in some regards, contrasts the actions seen in that epic poem as well. Though, given the amount of religious symbolism present in the film (seriously, it does this sort of stuff even better than Evangelion), she could also be seen as similar to Mara or the Demiurge as well. And yes, for me, Madoka Rebellion is pretty much a magical girl version of The Matrix, and love it for many of the same reasons.
@@ldragon2515 There is definitely a lot in common between Rebellion and The Matrix (I see a lot of Reloaded in this film as well honestly), but I think that Rebellion is more strongly inspired by Dark City which came out a year before the first Matrix film. Right down to the fact that the looping bus line which Kyouko and Homura take to investigate the city only to learn that nothing exists outside of it, and Kyouko only vaguely remembers her past back in her home town beyond the Fake Mitakihara but not how she even ended up there, is literally a plotline between Murdoch and another character (I am forgetting the name) in Dark City. I'd highly recommend seeing that film, it and The Matrix took different approaches to the same concept and they're both extremely great pieces of sci fi maximalism about virtual realities and how memories affect our experiences and how our lives are dictated by the system we are forced to be a part of for its own benefit.
@@TruthinessChibiOtaku I’ve seen that movie. Definitely an underrated classic, and I also saw the parallels between it and Rebellion, especially the scene with Homura on the boat going down the cannel and thinking about the nature of the world. I just like The Matrix more, and see more in common with it and Rebellion thanks to the action scenes, philosophy, character development, and religious symbolism. All three films are masterpieces, I think we can agree on that. And they all share similar themes about false realities and how one is affected by them. Heck, in terms of that whole narrative, they are pretty much the top three, at least imo. :)
Thank you so much for this analysis! I feel like Rebellion is still misunderstood too often, but your analyses are always on-the-mark. I would, perhaps, add one level of interpretation that I saw in the movie, and if you have thoughts on it, I'd love to hear! As you said in this video, Homura wishes primarily to be with Madoka, whereas Madoka's primary wish is to help others. In this sense, while they sort of reflect the dichotomy of selfishness vs. selflessness, I find it more accurate to say that they represent the dichotomy between two parts of healthy love: Homura represents the desire for union with the beloved, while Madoka represents the desire for the good of the beloved. When either of these two is taken by itself, without the other, it can lead to, at best, bittersweet endings: Madoka sacrificed herself and her existence to save magical girls; Homura became a devil and destroyed the Law of Cycles in order to allow everyone to live their normal, happy lives again. (Homura also thus represents the philosophy of Nietzsche.) Both ascensions are, in that light, mistakes in one way or another - the kind that, normally, children would be able to learn from and move on, but, of course, the tragedy of magical girls is the inability to move beyond their wish/curse. All that to say, just as Sayaka and Kyoko learned that selfishness and selflessness must both be held together in balance, Madoka and Homura have failed to learn how the two aspects of love must go together in order for love to be complete. Hence the post-credit scene wherein both the heavens (the moon - Madoka) and the earth (Homura) are eerily split in two, with a soundtrack piece titled "not yet."
Honestly, this is amazing and I'm not even sure what to say. It's like an entire video boiled down into one paragraph I only wish I could have come up with! A great analysis that I'd fully agree with, thank you for the insight!
@mahoushoujo Yes, you are right, Homura didn't destroy the law of cycles, that was bad word choice on my part. "Split" or "severed" would be a better term. But I also think there is some degree to which the law no longer has its effect; my impression was that, by enveloping the whole universe in her new labyrinth/soul gem, Homura blocked it from having effect anywhere inside the universe (unless, in the coming movie, Madoka can remember and call the power back). Whatever we say about that, though, I think it's important to note that, as the professor said in the video, Homura's and Madoka's wishes (and personal natures) are opposites, and those wishes will always be in conflict. Homura was able to make the magical girls human again, letting them live their normal lives as before they fell into despair, and her endgame is eventually to destroy everything. Madoka had originally made it such that, just like her, magical girls would eventually be severed from the world, losing any ability to live their normal, corporeal lives, and her endgame was simply to do that forever, until even Homura eventually would have to leave existence. So, Homura didn't truly validate Madoka's wish, but took a directly opposing philosophy; the only part she really did validate was the wish to alleviate magical girls' suffering (which she did accidentally - the only person she was really trying to make happy was Madoka).
@mahoushoujo : Yeah, I get sick of these simplistic analysis of Homura's character that imply she only cares about Madoka. She has every reason to hate or at least dispise Madoka's 'bestie' (and not just out of jealousy) Sayaka: She always turns into a witch quickly no matter timeline, her and Homura's characters always grate against each other (they are hardly quick friends), she's foolish, Homura thinks she 'witchifies' due to stupid reasons and hence IS stupid and Homura has almost certainly tried and failed to change her fate multiple times (if nothing else to prevent Madoka suffering, Sayaka has caused ALOT of that over the various timelines and you know Homura hates that above all else) and yet what does she do to this girl who , presumably is basically an 'enemy', someone who thwarts her and Madoka (even though even Homie realizes its not mostly intentional on Sayakas part) so many times including EVEN in Homura's own Universe, where she tries to fight Homura? She heals the boy Sayaka cares for, makes her forget most of the traumas of the past, KEEPS her in Madokas life (closer than Homura for sure) and sets her on a course for what might be the normal life she would have had if Kyubey hadn't shown his head. Yes, Sayaka loses some character growth (though growth that occurred only after she died and Madokami gave her another chance to serve in Heaven) but she has a whole life to get that back and her friends and family to help her along the way. What an EVIL DEVIL of selfishness Homura is. I think people also forget that Eastern conceptions of the Devil aren't the exact same as Western ones. In some ways, Homura is like the Yang to Madoka's Yin, both necessary, neither wrong or evil in and of themselves.
@@ProfessorViral We'll all have a big party after it! (OMG, I'm sooo afraid they're going to screw it... It wouldn't be the first time in the history of art... the Matrix series comes to mind... but I'm going to be soooo damn happy if it turns out to be as good as the rest!)
I just realized that Homura's world is an opportunity. I hope in Homura's world, the girls get a chance to actually solve their own problems. Talk about them. Put them behind. Not...sacrifice their lives because they can't handle it anymore but they don't want to hurt people. P.S: I'm starting to understand the mindset behind the theory saying Madoka was actually planning to take her own life for a time now, and becoming a Goddess simply presented itself as an opportunity to do it and still be useful.
When it comes to puella magi madoka magica, one of the biggest problems I have with it is that Homura’s wish was never actually granted. Her wish was to; “Meet Ms. Kaname all over again but this time, instead of her protecting me, I want to be strong enough to protect her!” But when you look back across the series, never once was Homura able to successfully save Madoka. Kyubey said that he would be able to make any wish come true so I feel like this wish should’ve been granted because at that time, Madoka wasn’t the centre of karmic destiny. Despite the phrasing, I doubt Kyubey can read minds to sense the underlining goal of why a girl is making a wish. Even though we don’t hear Sayaka’s wish, it most likely just had something to do with healing Kyousuke and Kyubey did just that. But in Homura’s case, it’s as though he completely disregards the other half of the reason why Homura made her wish which doesn’t make sense. By all extensive purposes, if Kyubey HAD ACTUALLY granted Homura’s wish, she would’ve gone back to meet Madoka again but she should’ve been powerful enough to protect her (killing walpurgisnacht) and anything else that threatened Madoka and none of this would’ve happened. If anyone wants to discuss, feel free to
I'd say Kyuubey granted her wish exactly. She wished to be strong enough to PROTECT Madoka, which is exactly what she did... There's a difference between PROTECTING and SAVING.
I was a little nervous about how this would go after seeing your video on Mami. Those concerns were completely unfounded and this video was fantastic. Bringing up the idea that Madoka is drawn to fight evil, so the only way Homura can be with Madoka is to be that evil that She fights made me think of the paradox that prevents Homura from dying normally in the new world. Madoka comes to take the girls away when they fall into despair, and isn't needed when they already have hope. For Homura, nothing gives her more hope than the prospect of sunny Madoka again, which can only happen when in the pit of despair. Essentially, despair itself gives Homura hope, and hope itself gives Homura despair. Homura had already turned into a witch by the end of Rebellion, but seeing Madoka descend to take her away gives her more hope than Her actually doing Her job and taking her ever could.
Exactly, she's so hyper focused everything is paradoxical or backwards with her. It's oddly just complex enough a motivation, despite being as simple as "madoka" at its core
I also interpreted Homura harvesting energy from the entire Kyubey race asbeing an act of revenge against them (along with the obsession of keeping Madoka enslaved in an innocent stasis forever). Great analysis, I really enjoyed your video on Sayaka Miki’s character, too!
I literally get so excited every time you upload a video about madoka magica because I know you're going to deliver! I loved this! That line about homura not caring about what, why, when, or how just who was exactly what I've always thought about the show. I always felt like the essence of why this show and other shows like it (devilman crybaby) are so good is not just the apocalyptic world with dark themes, but the idea that an entire apocalypse can be centered around the relationship between two people. That "who" is so consuming that homura purposefully wants to come across as evil just to prove that madoka's goodness, it almost makes me think that she doesn't love madoka so much as she loves the feeling that someone so perfectly good/pure could love her back. Almost like she's addicted to the feeling of specialness madoka provides for her.
Thank you, I'm happy to be able to provide more videos! I think that's a good point of the feeling vs Madoka herself. It could be anyone, if they embodied that feeling for her. Madoka, as someone who found joy in being an agent of good, just so happened to be perfect. That would help to explain why she never as attached to Mami, who was there to save her as well
I like what you said -- especially this: "she [Homura] doesn't love Madoka so much as she loves the feeling that someone so perfectly good/pure could love her back." Can I use it? I soooo feel like stealing it! :-)
I just realized something a former catholic, we are put in this earth to suffer our sins away to be closer to god. If Modoka is god then it makes sense that Homura would suffer over and over to be closer to god.
In a sense Homura walked the same path as Sayaka did only she did it god know how many more times in 12 years. Actually those god knows how many tries is the proof of her creativity. The reality is only the goal did not change, everything else did. You did not ask the most important question though: Why would give up on your goal, if you have ideas to solve the riddle? You wouldn't. Especially if this important of a goal as the life of your love. You'll continue as long as you have hope to succeed. She only gave up when she realized her best effort is not enough either, and she can't do anything. Again this is the same as Sayaka's path, just with a lot-lot more misery and despair. She had the worst and the most cruel magical power out of all of them: Hope. Yeah, I know it is reverse time, but that is equal with "I hope next time it will work". It was interesting concept that this nearly endless hope was able to create a godess (Madoka). So I do not think Homura did what she did because of the lack of creativity, but because she already tried everything else. This show is about the irreversiblity of the fate. One of them had to suffer to allow the other to be happy. Happiness cannot exists without sadness. Also the reality is Madoka failed to uproot all evil in the world. The existsence of the evil will in the form of the incubators is a proof of her failure. In my book it makes much more sense that Homura realized this, and accepted all the evil within herself and became the evil itself. This way at least she was able to save Madoka's dream. At least partially. So in the original series Madoka became the godess of the world, and in the rebellion Homura became the Saviour of Madoka's incomplete world. Also In the original series there is the important quote from Sayaka "For all the happiness you wish for someone, someone else gets cursed with equal misery." So either Homura cursed herself with endless misery to finish Madoka's dream, or the other interpretation is that Madoka's wish for a better world cursed Homura with endless dispair and misery and she was forced to became the evil itself because of the will of fate (or the price to pay for the wish). So in the end it is a self fulfulling prophecy, and begs the question: "What was first? The hen or the egg?" Madoka (good) created Homura (evil), or Homura created Madoka? My answer is: Neither of them, they both must exists, because one cannot be without the other, and the fate will find a way to balance the "karma" out.
I...I can admit I use to be this person. She resonates so hard with my past. I didn't care if I became an enemy..didn't care if I was a slave..I didn't care what .I life became..as long they were there...at the end of rebellion..she made the choice to go to extremist levels of obsession..as long as you are here..I don't care what I am.
Everything I say in these videos is in part influenced by myself and my own experience, so when I talk about these characters harshly, it's also me speaking on myself like that as well
Very interesting points on Homura and her lack of an imagination. Rebellions ending always made sense to me. I read some of the manga series and the ending is always either Madoka dying or becoming the law of cycles. Of course Homura would grab Madoka the moment she saw her.
My friend and I always come back to one point when it comes to to Homura: by the end she no longer loves Madoka but the idea of her. Homura doesn’t love Madoka for who she is but for what she represents.
I think its weird to say, because by the end Madoka is an idea, the goodness of the world. So, she does love the "idea" of Madoka, but Madoka fully embodies that idea. So, I would personally count that as loving Madoka, but Rebellion is such new territory for the series I won't claim to be fully right on this
@@ProfessorViral I actually think the original comment is not bad on this respect -- Homura loves HER idea of what Madoka represents, but that idea is not the same as Madokami, i.e. what Madoka herself wanted to become and represent, the concept that she actually did become. In fact, their different views of what Madoka should be or represent are the core of what makes their relationship so tragic.
I don't think many have read Kazumi but that manga introduces witch nuts created by "Juubei" that turns nightmares into budding witches. You see in Rebellion that Homura had a witch nut placed in her causing her soul gem to morph Into one that allows her Witch and her to unify. What Homura becomes at the end of rebellion seems to be exactly what the Magius were attempting to do in Magia record. I really hope the Walpurugis film explores how spirits can enter our dreams since Nagisa and Sayaka did it so easily.
What an outstanding video essay. I most loved the discussion about Homura becoming Evil of that meant Goddess would have to always be there to conflict with her. My words are sorely lacking, whereas your script was enlightening and enthusiastically enjoyable. Well done. I actually a more pensive outlook on this character and series again.
GREAT VIDEO! However I would like to also mention that at the end of rebellion when Homura has become a force called evil the scene where they’re alone In that hallway shows something that could be the biggest twist and of the movie. Madoka will eventually remember who she is. She says it herself “I should have a different form, I should have a different purpose here; so why?” All it takes is Homura grabbing on to her for her to snap out of it but her eyes change colour do her godly gold and her hair becomes free of the physics around her. At the end of rebellion Homura falls off a cliff. Ofc I don’t think she is dead but perhaps she knows that it is all over. It also seems that Homura can leave Madoka alone in her world but Madoka still seems to have her consciousness and perhaps will remember who she is one day and soon. Homura knows and accepts this because if she was still convinced she could keep Madoka down she wouldn’t ever leave her side quite literally. Madoka will prevail.
How you described Homura here reminds me of another character in a what if story, and that's IF: Pride Subaru from Re;Zero. A character that by the end of that what if story. He becomes the ultimate villain all so the person he cares about most can be the ultimate hero who stops him.
I think you can't take Homura's suggestion that they become witches together at face value. She does after all consent to killing Madoka herself rather than let her become a witch. It's more that she is bargaining with the world for some scrap of what she wanted to remain. Like some form of grief is sprouting inside her like some kind of seed... If you define a person entirely by the worst fantasy they have of themselves, then no one else in the show is any better as they all become violent destructive witches. Even Madoka. Instead, I see Homura's self hatred. Her wish was not to be near Madoka. It was to protect her. She's become so twisted inside because she's never stopped seeing herself as unworthy. Every failed loop reinforces this as she isn't good enough to protect even one person. And her obsession becomes not just an unhealthy behavior but a necessity for her own survival. If she lets go of Madoka then she accepts that she will never be good enough, and will sink into despair and will become a witch. She's pressed into a choice between driving herself insane or turning into a literal monster. And in spite of her own assertions that she doesn't care about the others, she never abandons them. She tries to fight alongside Mami when she knows it will end in tragedy. She runs after Sayaka's soul gem. She helps Kyoko try to reach Sayaka even though it actively puts Madoka in danger AND derails her plan to use Kyoko to defeat Walpurgisnacht. Homura's coldness is a mask carefully designed to keep her from breaking down. She has to supress her empathy, because she knows from lived experience that the people she wants to be her friends will turn on her. Sayaka self destructs in every single loop, so caring about her will only cause her more pain. The moment Mami comes to realize what their ultimate fate is, she loses her shit and starts kill her friends. It's no wonder she finds it easier to be more honest and direct with Kyoko. But Madoka is the only one who time and time again gives everything for her, and she can't give anything back in return. No matter how much pain and torment she subjects herself to, she firmly believes she hasn't done enough. When Madoka transcends, she dedicates herself to being a living monument to Madoka's sacrifice. She never believes herself to be worthy of having her own life. Trapped inside her own labyrinth, she's incapable of accepting a world where she gets what she wants. Confronted with the possibility of her dream harming Madoka, she seeks to end her own life to protect her. Still chasing that wish. Finally transcending to her full power, she can allow herself to despair. Even in her most perfect dream, Homura still believes that she doesn't deserve happiness for herself. She embraces what she's always believed about herself, that she is bad. So she puts on a new mask, full of mocking smiles and declares herself the devil. Now she can protect Madoka from her fate. She doesn't have to consruct a world with the others in it. Sayaka is physically dead and gone already, but Homura still wants her here. She crafts a world for ALL of them that is free of the supernatural horrors they were unjustly forced to endure. But even here, Madoka resists. And it's then that we can see what's behind the mask. She's not a devil, she's still a crying child afraid that she can't accomplish the one thing she valued her life against.
Wow. I've never heard it put that way before- that Homura only loves a Madoka that will reject her. It makes so much sense...That's why she'd resigned herself to the next best thing that is being with Madoka, but not being _with_ her. All the points about Homura's lack of originality and creativity- simply repeating things again and again. So good. "She simply meets Madoka again". Man, this whole video is such a good analysis. You truly get it. I've loved Madoka since it came out and I'm thrilled there's still brilliant discussion to be made, that says something new.
I don’t think homura was evil per say she just wanted Madoka safe with her and that just so happened to cause homura to become “ the devil”. Just like Madoka wasn’t planning on becoming godoka she just wanted to protect everyone.
This girls are the cycle of greif: Homura - denial Koyoko - anger Batering - Mami/Bebe Sayaka - Depression (NO NOT CLINICAL DEPRESSION!) Madoka - acceptence
It sucks cause if she had thought for a second, saving the other magical girls would probably have saved the day in the end. But she's so focused on keeping Madoka out she lets them die.
I've always had the headcanon that even though the other magical girls weren't her priority, based on the glimpses of the other timelines, she just grew to like them less and eventually hate them more (i.e. mami going batshit and madoka having to kill her, sayaka repeatedly berating madoka and becoming a witch, etc.) which eventually she gave up on trying to save them.
She tried to keep the entire Quartet alive to fight Walpurgisnacht in the PSP game bonus route, although I cannot remember if Madoka was allowed to contract in that situation. Needless to say it ended no differently for her. Everyone but Homura died once again, and she had to reset. It's so bad that even the perfect world where she gets along with all her friends in the PS Vita game Battle Pentagram is just that, a dream. Just like in the film. Madoka uses her wish to bring Sayaka back to life in The Different Story, and both of them still die. Kyouko got killed long before that and Mami committed suicide. Homura's Revenge ends with Kyouko being alive and Madoka having made a contract to fight Walpurgisnacht, and given that Homura sees Madoka making a contract as a dead end no matter what (as Madoka basically implicitly said when they made their promise she did not WANT to contract and be tricked by Kyubey), she abandoned that timeline despite how things were working out in her favor. But that ending seems like total bullshit so disregard that manga, it's just another example. Even Oriko Magica's first installment has Sayaka claim she gets along well with Homura and want to help her protect Madoka from Oriko and Kirika, but its not enough because Madoka still ends up dead in that timeline even after Oriko is defeated. Ironically, this is also the timeline where Madoka says that she is not worth being saved over all the people being sacrificed around her, and Homura doesn't take kindly to that. Magia Record seems to be the only timeline that Homura was able to keep the team together but by that point Madoka already was a magical girl and the reason for their success is well, teaming up with Iroha and the other Kamihama Magical Girls essentially (although that was in the mobile game, we don't know what the anime will do yet). Circumstances outside of her control are the only reason she ever has remote chances of saving people other than Madoka. It's not any wonder she'd get discouraged and stop trying to save the others when the few times she does make things work out are either delusions or all end in failure. Mami and Sayaka also have never been consistently nice to her, so while she did at one point love them, she has accepted that they're fated to die in every timeline and she's powerless to do anything about it. So she doesn't bother.
@@TruthinessChibiOtaku This comment deserves 1 billion more likes. As someone who has never played the games (watched ONE of them being played on YT), read any of the mangas, and has only seen the Magia Record Tv show the extra detail of the earlier (and I guess some might be alternate takes on Madoka that don't happen in main continuity but maybe I'm wrong) timelines in the mangas and games are both interesting and enlightening.
She does try even, she tries with kyouka, and even tries with sayaka despite sayaka near always jealous hating her, and of course wont listen becaus she is jealous of her being close to madoka.. And mami is waytoo stubborn for he own good and judgemental. Sh tried with kyouko thou a fair bit. and teamed up with her, just sayaka, ..
@@marocat4749 You have to think transparent dude. I don't wanna fight, Mami and Sayaka they're both holds the justice differently it's because they're personalities and also they had many flaws makes them both very complex to discuss, Sayaka is still unexperienced so she sees Homura and Kyoko are selfish from they're own. It makes her slipped into idealism. Also Sayaka had sense of justice too like Mami does originally strict moral code for herself, But sadly her self-idealism is part what makes her broken down/unstable after finding out the truth about Hitomi pursue about Kyosuke. Homura and Sayaka are exact both opposite care to someone what they loved. But In her human way that she can be Madoka's best friend rationally even without magical powers/least talented since they were so young, that's why she can understand other people's feelings. In Rebellion and episode 8 she acknowledge all of her mistakes from the past as a magical girl makes me a lot appreaciate her, She has an appreciation for anime While Mami is much more harder to explain but she was the longest time magical girls before her friends makes her got many experiences, also she's the great leader. I wouldn't say she's stubborn character to the girls. Before the event starts she teamups and befriends with Kyoko, they both became a great friends like a sisters until Kyoko's family was murdered by her father, she fell into despair and changed her idealism into nihilistic and decided to not saving other people only care for herself with her magic. Mami tried to consule her but Kyoko ignored Mami and pushed her away afraid became a burden since her magic led her family died, And they separated away it's not Mami's fault they're broken I can see that Sayaka and Kyoko both passionately later in rebellion. If Mami she was much different than the other girls, after she became a magical girls right after the accident. She making a wish to save herself in rash circumstances and later she regrets her wish that she made, she probably can save her both parents in the accident then she suffered from survivor's guilt and live in a long loneliness. Due to her defines herself saving other people's lives before and after she met all of her friends, she still bring hope to other people. She also knows the dangers about become magical girls so she tolds Madoka and Sayaka to make a decision before rushing into making a wish and shows them how dangerous it can be. Yeah the strong flaws is that she can't take the truth about magical girls like Sayaka. They're both didn't deal much better than other girls but probably Sayaka was in the anime, But Mami didn't change that much into a different person after she finding out the truth about magical girls. I can see that she also a very tragic character if you understands the circumstances she faces it after she losing her whole family in very human character, she just wanted to be loved again basically like a normal people do makes her so relatable. That's why Mami is a well-written character has a lot of depth as a human So I dare say Mami and Sayaka both holds a very human characters that's why they're both my favorites alonsgide Kyoko. I don't really judge about Homura's but I can tell that she refuses to not care about anyone if it means it will guarantee Madoka's safety but I understand why she did that, she's a goal oriented and individual person. I don't agree either she can be a hero or villain like what the fans says about her, but she's coolest anti-villain character I've ever seen. All of them are great likeable characters just don't look only in very bad perspective. I can understand why fans dislike Mami and Sayaka to be their least favorites
I disagree with Homura not caring about the others. There’s plenty of scenes on both the series and Rebellion that seem to disagree with that. It’s just that she can’t look out for 4 people all at once, and thus looks out for the one closest to her heart: Madoka. Other than that, nice analysis you never fail.
That is a great take!!! That Homura is not considering the two sides of Madoka for a lot of the plot and how the despite adoring Madoka she can’t even grasp her fully or what drew her to Madoka. Homura though in my opinion oscillates between wanting to die so she doesn’t bring harm to Madoka or be the selfish wretch that would disregard Madoka to have what they want from her. In the end it was her own scruples as the protective magical girl that died with the witch with the deranged and lonely adorer remaining and accepting whatever it takes to have the Madoka she desires, one untouched by her divine nature. But even that was a Madoka capable of leaving her as her being entirely inside her devil labyrinth(instead of being both inside and outside her witch one) seemed to cause her to not be affected by delusions that would be there to please Homura cause the second to see that she will not be able to get what she wants cause Madoka is who she ultimately became. The protective Madoka is essential to Homura instead of the nurturing Madoka(or at least only the nurturing is not enough) and while the human Madoka has seeds of that protective strain, her fully realized self in that category that is what seems to be the the factor that will trigger the next movie. There is an unknown magical girl that seems to be an amalgamation of the magical girl we know but that uses a bow(another UA-camr made this following amazing guess) that it is the law of cycles that wasn’t taken by Homura, she wanted the Madoka that would be together with her but she very much forgot that it wasn’t her nurturing pacifist nature that approached her and made the difference but her protective and proactive nature that always shone through to make her hope itself. That is both her past and future selves and Homura is now at least instinctively aware of that and will take a “the show must go on” approach and enjoy her time with Madoka. Lastly. Could this have been avoided? Maybe. If anyone OTHER than f’ing Sayaka Miki(nothing against her character just that they get along as well as water and oil) that Homura NEVER got along with as they’d likely just told her the truth openly Homura and how they can get her out of here Homura would have taken the option in which she would be together with Madoka in her Valhalla. But in personality aspects of immaturity Sayaka and Homura are opposites in which Sayaka has childish aspirations and proclivities and took the opportunity of handholding when it wasn’t her having the problem while Homura has very clear laser-focused goals that can border on cruel desperately trying to be controlled and adult-like that hearing that there was a plan in place would have given her endless relief in how newfound it’d be. If Oriko exists she would actually been the perfect vessel(she is even more of an awful creature than Homura and is likely killed by her every timeline if she is canon).
I think you're definitely right. Homura lacks originality, and creativity. She does the same thing over and over again because it's all she knows how to do. This was a really cool video essays! One of my favorites for Madoka Magica. I do think Madoka does on some level mean what she says in the flower garden, that it would be painful, and that she doesn't think she'd be able to do it-I do think it would be rather painful (if also rewarding) for her, and with this Madoka basically the Madoka we first meet-unconfident, self conscious, with a lot of self esteem issues-I genuinely think she thinks she couldn't do it. Of course, we know thats wrong, because Madoka is always stronger than she thinks she is, but this Madoka doesn't realize that. And I think that's the tragedy of Madoka and Homura's relationship. Homura tells a Madoka who hates herself to never change, and keeps resetting her back to zero to "save" her whenever she finds her resolve to change, take action, and become someone she's proud of being. In Homura's perfect world, Madoka is passive. Docile. Sweet, but not much else. Yet even Homura herself will never be satisfied with such an ending, because she fell in love with the Madoka that saved her. That Madoka found her confidence, her resolve. In her quest to save Madoka, she strips her of her agency, her choices, over and over again. I think Homura loves Madoka, but she doesn't respect her choices. Not fully. That's why she can undo them over and over again. Yet, the very thing she loves about her is her kindness, so it's kind of paradoxical for her to try and stop her self sacrifice over and over again in order to save her-because isn't that what she loves about her in the first place? It makes me think that Homura and Madoka will never truly work out. Because Homura can never truly get what she wants: the Madoka who saved her, and the Madoka who would never leave. Because they cannot exist together. And she's always just going to be repeating the same thing over and over again, just to be with Madoka.
4:56 LOOOVEE THE EMOTIONNS INN YOUR VOICE HONN--!! QWQQ-- THIS HAD ME GOINGG FOR A WIRLLLLLWINHHGGD OF FEELS AS IF I WAS WATCHINGG THEG SERIES FOR THE FIRST TIMEEE AGAINN XDD 🩷 🖤🐈⬛🐈⬛
I am so happy that I'm the only one who can't get over how good this series and it's franchise is. I would love an OVA of Oriko where we see what Homura has to do to prevent Kirika from sleath killing Madoka after fighting Mami How much Oriko is like a vilain akin to Kyubei is such an underused plot thread. If we had a "Ground Hogs day" 2nd season that is just Homura's failed timelines. It would actually maximize the variations of timelines
Ever since I saw Rebellion, I never could get over the ending. Maybe because it was a bit rushed, but I didn’t understand why the ending happened. It’s videos like this that allow me to better understand and appreciate it more. But also, makes me really want to see this story actually continue so we can get a definitive ending!
The ending is definitely a departure from everything else, I kept getting to that point and struggling to figure of the "why" of it. But, I'm happy I was able to find something in that, and pass it on as well!
@@ProfessorViral You and other analysts explained Homura’s motivation really well! The movie wasn’t bad, far from it! But unlike the TV series it did not leave off on a conclusive note. I really hope we get some finality with this story!
I honestly like the interpretation of Homura becoming an eternal evil to forever chase after Madoka since her final attempt at taking a part of Madoka was proven to be unstable and won't last long it makes Rebellion feel like a true ending for Madoka, since beforehand it never really felt like one to me it might be an ending where the story itself never ends but the character journeys find the path they will follow forever
Wow, this was a really great video. It made me realize about more aspects I didn't see before. However, this makes me love even more Homura as a character. I mean, Madoka was for sure the first person to truly appreciate Homura, this is where the obsession begins. The lack of self-love and self-esteem, how she focuses all her existence in just being together with Madoka and all the pain she suffered, at the point she even had to change herself drastically, simply makes me feel soo sad and heartbroken. Then, with Madoka's last wish, where all Homura's existence is now useless because there's no more Madoka and how she explains it, I can vividly feel every single word. I mean, Madoka sacrificed herself for others, but didn't think about the rest of Homura's life. At the end of the day, it does seem like, it does not matter how hard, painful, long, sad, alone, etc., the decision Homura has to take to be with Madoka is, she will make it...
Thank you! It's honestly amazing that they took such a simple motivation, "Madoka," and turned it into a character as impactful as Homura. What they do with the concept, giving her actual agency and an impact on the world, and all for a simple desire, is amazing
We just got the poster and trailer for the sequel to Rebellion, and given the poster depicts Homura post series facing Homura post Rebellion suggests we may get to see a battle between a version of Homura who managed to move on and a Homura who couldn't.
I'm working my way through this playlist now, but your take on Rebellion is quite different from the ones I've seen before. That'd not bad, it's just interesting. I (and most of the videos I've ended up coming across) work from the subs, so I wonder how much of it may come down to that, or if it's really a difference of viewpoint. I feel like if good and evil have roles in this show, they are diminished ones simply because it's not a single parable. It's a complicated story intertwining complicated people, and the incubators are frankly just... set pieces. I feel they themselves are more order v chaos where they represent order, than a specifically evil thing going on. They are a force that needs to be contended with, but the story is in the people and how they interact with each other as they cope with the world that they live in. And just as frankly, the incubators are *so boring.* They make for little more than a briefly engaging philosophical discussion; once you recognize them as part of the backdrop of the setting, if you want to keep engaging with the story you need to start processing how the actions of the actual characters fit into it. When everyone has their own motivation, when everyone is working from the perspective of their own feelings, goals, and lived experiences, good and evil begin to feel like less useful qualifiers to me. I'm not sure I'll ever really be finished processing this show, but as I've grown as a person over time I've realized that "good" and "evil" are so subjective that they're effectively useless.
you had me until “homura didn’t care for the others but only madoka”😭😭 she clearly cares for them as well, but madoka is just her main priority. In Rebellion, Homura could’ve shot Mami’s souldgem and killed Bebe afterwards but didn’t. She hesitated and slowly lowered her arm to aim at Mami’s thigh. She cares for them enough to give them the chance to be human and regular girls again at the end of rebellion. Even in the series, she tries stopping Sayaka and Madoka from making a contract and getting involved in all of it. She warns them of kyubey and tried saving them all. When Mami tried killing them all, homura was caught off guard and only smiled to help Madoka get through what just happened. She cares for her friends and it sucks to hear people say she doesn’t.
In the original season she tells Sayaka word for word, ""I don't give a damn if you live or die, I don't care. I just don't want Madoka to see you like this." I'm always one to say I'm wrong, bt I stand firm that the only reason it looks like she cares for the others is because Madoka does.
@@ProfessorViral she says it for a reason. She says she doesn’t give a damn because she knows once someone becomes a magical girl, you can’t change their fate. Homura couldn’t care less because she’ll just keep time traveling over and over to save them again. It’s her saying she couldn’t care for the Sayaka in that specific time, not wanting Madoka to see and get influenced by it and trying to make a contract to save Sayaka. Even so, I don’t believe Homura is completely heartless. She’s only just a middle schooler and traumatized from everything.
@@DoomsBloodBathHomura is nuanced and does show a level of care, but her being indifferent to friends of a different time does show how heartless she can be I don’t say that as an insult since it how she mentally survived her journey, but I always felt homura fans sugarcoat her intentions when in reality she is capable of doing some bad things in order to make what she perceives as what’s best for madoka
@@MO-zk8qs haii i came back to update on this i completely get this and we have rebellion and the new trailers for this!! she quite literally took over the universe and ruined magical girls fate for the sake of madoka being happy. I still think she isn’t ENTIRELY heartless but she is during certain points, most of them being with sayaka. She definitely does NOT like her since sayaka was always the one turning into a witch in each timeline. Homura definitely grew frustrated and desperate and begged madoka not to bother with sayaka at all, which is definitely heartless. She even told kyoko to leave her corpse and kill the witch, which is crazy. During their fight with witch sayaka, she definitely cared for kyoko but it got drowned out by wanting to get madoka safe. She is most definitely does bad things but i still dont think shes ENTIRELY heartless since she gives them the chance at normal(ish) lives instead of getting rid of them.
I don't think she became evil. I think it's more like what happened in the original series. In the series, she took on a cold uncaring personality seemingly not caring about anyone but Madoka, but this is just a front. She clearly still has the same emotions she always did, and even though she acts as though she doesn't care about the others, she does. The cracks in this façade show up multiple times and I think it's just a coping mechanism. I think her being 'evil' is the same thing. In her conversation with Sayaka at the end of Rebellion, she's so over the top in terms of trying to seem evil that it almost comes off as cringe worthy, which makes me think it's an act like her cold uncaring personality was. She doesn't think a person who did what she did could possibly be good, so she acts like she isn't, just so she can sleep at night and shut out the guilt she feels for everything that has happened. What she did was evil but her intent was never malicious, almost like the Incubators. After all, if she truely was evil, would she have really let Mami, Kyoko, and Sayaka continute to exist in her world given the threat they could pose to it?
How, the heck, are there still community content, for this show, in 2022? Idk I always felt like beating a dead horse back to life when I think of madoka. But I guess it really is still very much alive. Also I know there will be a new movie.
It's one of the most lively communities I've found. At least for me, that and Black Lagoon have been the most active in discussing series that are a good few years back
that’s what it means to not become a seasonal anime. they’re shows that get remembered even if hundreds and thousands of new seasonal shows come out after it
I really feel like what she did in Rebellion made complete sense for her character and what she's had to endure thus far. Makes sense she'd be a bit crazy. Even so, think about it: Homura herself is the reason that Madoka became Godoka. Madoka didn't mentally have to go through 12 years of loops; Homura endured every minute of it, so why do people feel as if Homura is not at all entitled to that power or the decision she made? I was surprised it was considered so divisive.
Well said, sir. One thing I always liked about the Rebellion movie is how, much like the original series deconstructed the Magical Girl genre, the movie deconstructs the Fix Fic. If you aren't familiar with the term, a Fix Fic is a type of fanfiction made for series with sad or bittersweet endings in the fan's attempt to make a happier conclusion, either by following up the original ending or changing a few small details about the ending itself. And I love how it fits Homura's character so well that she did it twice herself in the movie. But it also notes how... those kind of fans may not have properly appreciated what the ending stood for and are more focused on their own biases ir interests. The fans who find some excuse for Lelouch to survive or can't stand to see Iron Man's fate, despite stopping Thanos. In essence, Homura becomes a mirror to fans to think whether the ending they got is actually fitting for the story or not. And in the case of Madoka Magica the anime, Homura couldn't while I can.
Say one wanted to have an actual 1:1 conversation in real time about, say, Rebellion into the rumored sequel. Where's the best places to have these? I prefer voice chat for in depth conversations around theory, character motivatino, etc.
There's a thing I wanted to ask but when we become a witch doesn't that mean the personality of the magical girl die? Because if you put Isabeau (magia record) when she became a witch and one of her daughter wished she came back to her human body, we can see that Isabeau True personality (old personality as a magical girl) disaspear and there's only her witch personality in her human body. So maybe Homura is actually dead and the Homura we see at the end of the film is Homulilly (her witch) in her human body.
Nah, she didn't stop existing inside her soul gem, also I don't like considering a parallel universe where the laws are different as something that happens just the same in the main one.
"No one can be with anyone together forever"...well, that's only if you forget about SOULS. Then it supposedly becomes possible at least. This is an anime with "life after death" after all, as we see with Bebe and Sayaka in Rebellion.
@@ProfessorViral : No , Mami says she vanishes when her power is used up which is the fate of every other Magical Girl ("Surely you knew this when you obtained this power"), which indicates (Same with Homura in Rebellion) that Madoka as The Law of Cycles collects each Magic Girls soul. It's sort of like "Magic Girl Heaven". What I'm trying to say is its never made explicit that Madoka is treating Sayaka any different than any other Magical Girl. They all have their Magical Girl bodies vanish apparently.
@@ProfessorViral That being said, people really really do not grok 'forever' or even the simplest 'smallest' infinity. I suppose if there is life after death the only way it's really bearable (after a really long time and I include even if you can explore not just the whole universe, but others as well if they exist) is that either you get to 'end yourself' permanently at some point OR you get to completely erase your memories and start over. Otherwise eventually existence itself becomes boring as you endlessly repeat the same events over and over again. If there really are no laws of creation, that is, if literally anything can be created somewhere (even if it violates normal logic in our universe) only then could I see creativity being infinite and making such an existence other than a burden (erasing one's memories might WORK but it's a coping mechanism for eternal boredom).
I have done a couple Fate/Zero videos before! They're standalone, so they only address Fate/Zero and none of the other Fate series, but I think they turned out well still
@@ProfessorViral thanks, i'll look for them. too much anime doesn't get a proper breakdown, real glad to see someone give Koko and other less know but great anime some good attention, thanks for your time.
I disagree that he doesnt care about sayaka and mami, an he did care abou kyoka, she just saw them die all the time and in former, sayaka is a tragic character that always seems to either hate her becaus she is too close to madoka and jealous or othe human flaws , or selfdestroys. And homura, was granting her wish giving her a fast death at least. And mami, she is very similar as she either killed kyoka even and refuses anytime help and runs into her doom on her own false pride. And kyoka, its love riight, kyoka seems to alway be dragged down with sayaka. Sayaka just refuses homuras help as does mami because of their very nature, and homura does try, Wvwn i it with the, you will e dificult again and not listen, eh, really only madoka listens. her love for hr is a factor, but she isnt dismissing th others, she just is that tired she just cant (and she allied with kyoka). I see it just as her, she cant car anymore about whats nessesary. Not that homura isnt really flawed, just she cared, she tried and was really rejected a lot there. We see how she gets more desperate . And its not evil, she even has a good point, and madoka is not herself as law. And homura is yeah getting really ambivalent and not great, but she is broken and ok the incubators ate the real evil.
Because their May be a sequel it makes me want to see the outcome of madoka finding out what homera did and see if she will really hate her and fight her.
This makes me wonder… what is the rest of the world doing??? Like does Homura’s new existence as evil change the whole “Labyrinth” thing? Everyone has free will…? It doesn’t seem like it. Homura could erase Sayaka’s mind with a clap of her hands. Unless her power only works on magical girls. Idk but I’m excited for the new movie lol
Oooh, I just got around to reading wraith arc, and honestly was somewhat frustrated at Homura's behavior in it. But with this in mind, that she is pretty much nothing outside of Madoka....... yeah, with this analysis I can see her actions a bit more clearly now (even if I'm still personally frustrated about Rebellion, she just couldn't die and be by Madoka's side). Also, I'm flabbergasted I never ended up hearing that the third movie eventually got dubbed? Wild.
Im for sure still a bit frustrated with Rebellion myself, it's a bit of a mess in areas, and it makes it hard to understand as much as the rest of the series. But, I'm happy I was able to figure out a bit of it, and share it here!
Imagine being so villain in anime that you don't even have a tragic backstory💀even villains from the older anime have a backstory but does Kyuubey have one? No, we only know he's an alien. Does Homura have one? The only thing we get from Homura(besides Madoka) about her backstory is the fact that she has a weak heart.
speaking about sayaka, you can really see the hypocrisy some fans are in how they label her and homura. both made a wish for the benefit of the other, yet generally sayaka gets labeled as the one who made a selfish wish one while homura's wish was selfless(or at least prior to the movie but there's still a number that will say it was selfless). in truth, homura was just lucky that madoka was generally concerned with everyone and didn't have someone she fancied or fancied her in return. if a similar situation with sayaka had occurred where there was a boy(or girl I guess) that seemed like would get into a relationship with madoka, I wouldn't disregard the possibility homura could have eventually darkened.
I didn't consider that, but one of the differences in their wishes is the object of their desire having different motivations. Madoka cares about everyone, and we can't say that for Kyosuke. And, that definitely changes how they end up. A great point!
She knows madoka returns th feelings because they had a relationship hinted, which kyosuke didnt. homura is at least smarter and know her hearts desire person better.
@@marocat4749 "returns th feelings because they had a relationship hinted" madoka only refers to her as a friend, or best friend if you want, while its homura who chooses to see it as love. homura's just lucky that madoka didn't find someone else she actually loves yet.
I don’t necessarily think that’s true. Whether it’s a form of emotional self harm is debatable but Homura doesn’t actually seem to want Madokas affection in the new world, she stays absent from her life.
Another great video with some great points! Conngrats, man! But I think the fact that you place too much emphasis on Godoka or Akuma Homura makes you ignore the actual god of this story: the Incubator. I also think you give Godoka too much credit and too much power: at the end of the series, Godoka is nothing but a phenomenon, a concept, or a natural process of the Universe. After Madoka made her wish, she didn't re-create the universe, the universe had to re-create itself to accommodate the existence of this new entity. Homura was there because her wish made her conscience exist beyond time and space - that is the reason Homura's conscience is present outside the re-writing of the universe and she is the only one to remember Madoka the person, while the others never get to meet Madoka in the re-written world. Godoka is nothing but a Soul Reaper - her "powers" allow her to be everywhere, anytime in the re-written world, and they manifest seconds before the a MG's Soul Gem turns completely dark and is about to turn into a Grief Seed. The Wraiths from the re-written world was the universe's way of giving Negative Emotions shape, so that the Incubator (i"m referring it with "the" since I perceive as more of a hive-mind with multiple bodies that lack individuality) can still collect Energy - in the re-written world, MGs are something like the Police or White blood-cells. The same thing applies to Akuma Homura - during the Void scene, when she plays with one of the Incubator's bodies (I like to think that is the form the Incubator's hive-mind conscience took shape there), since Homura herself is an existence that transcends time and space she can witness the re-writing of the previously re-written universe to accept Akuma Homura as the new existence. The universe is governed by it's own laws - it has always been there. It is on a scale that even transcendental beings like Godoka or A-Homura can't create or re-create it. They can only meddle with the laws of the universe, forcing change to a small degree. this is because their powers stem from the Incubator, a being that it itself cannot prevent the End of the Universe, only delay it. Because of the Incubator experiment at the end of Rebellion, I don't believe Homura is reborn as Ultimate Evil, just as I've never perceived Madoka to be the Ultimate Good. When Homura wakes up from inside the cage, she had become an existence that was outside The Law of the Cycle's power: Homura was already forced to become a witch inside her Soul Gem, Godoka tried to intervene, but the Incubator's Cage prevented that influence, instead, the human conscience of TLotC, Madoka, got trapped inside and forgot its purpose. After the Cage is broken, TLotC regains its conscience, but it can no longer affect Homura, since Homura has transcended beyond Godoka's realm of influence. Since everything happened within her own Soul Gem, Homura now know how to separate Madoka's human conscience from the Natural Phenomenon Godoka, and the Universe re-writes itself by giving a human body to Madoka's conscience that Homura tore away from the Natural Phenomenon. In the re-re-written world, TLotC still exists and prevents witches from being created, but it does so automatically, without a conscience. The Madoka we see in class is a being that is now aware of her own individuality but is in danger of re-merging with Godoka if she starts doubting she's an individual. The experiment has taught Homura that the Incubator is relentless - it is a being of pure rationality that has the intellect to understand and even meddle (to some extent) with the laws of the Universe. It will stop at nothing to bring back "The Witch system" since that was their most successful invention to gather energy - until Madoka changed it to be less efficient, but still good, nonetheless. In Rebellion, the Incubator does some backtracking, analyzes and finds ways to improve the Wraith System and identify TLotC as being the impediment to its previously more successful system. In Rebellion, the Incubator seeks to capture or even erase TLotC by means of catching it, studying it, understanding it and ultimately, eliminating it. In a post-Godoka universe, the Energy generated by Negative Emotion would almost double with the existence of both Wraiths and the return of the Witches. This is why A-Homura bluffs in the Void room by declaring herself as a Devil. The Incubator has no concept of Good and Evil. I like to believe that A-Homura is in fact new guardian of Madoka's human conscience that is now within a human body, but also the guardian of TLotC. Sure, she keeps Madoka's conscience inside the human body separated from Godoka because Homura wants a tangible being to interact with. Madoka's human body is now free to age, free to become an adult, and probably die (if Homura allows it). This is the ideal situation Homura can finally accept and be satisfied with: a reality where Madoka is human, where she has the the strength to protect both Madoka and Godoka and MGs don't suffer and become witches. I'm really curious to see if and how the 4th movie turns my conclusions against me. :D
Homura says this herself, but she caused her own corruption. Magical girls typically center around hope or despair, but not homura. Her clara dolls are Arrogance, Sadsack, Liar, Coldheartedness, Selfishness, Badmouther, Dunce, Jealousy, Lazybones, Vanity, Cowardice, Fool, Bias, and Obstinance, these are all the things Homura hates about herself. But a final clara doll is love, which is what Homuras magic operates on. I have the theory that the rest of the witches in the show are unhatched witches, but due to the nature of Homura fully maturing within her labarynth, like a chicken fully developing inside its egg instead of hatching, that Homura is the only fully developed witch. And so she has full control of her powers as a witch. I believe in the upcoming Walpurgisnacht rising movie, the curse of the world is actually love. Homuras love is a darker form of love which is obsessive, that’s why it’s one of her Clara dolls. There’s also been some clues that Homura won’t reset time ever again.
Just getting into this Fandom, about to watch madoka record and I keep seeing how disliked the ending was even though everyone likes it now? Did the wait for the continuation take so long the entire Fandom changed it's way?
Got some time to spare, Homura?
Support us on Patreon to improve our content: www.patreon.com/professorviral
Hang out on Twitch: www.twitch.tv/professorviral
Join our Discord for some more discussion: discord.gg/AfwXGKx
Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date: twitter.com/Professorviral
Lol
The fact we're still discussing Rebellion in 2022 tells me that, despite how divisive its ending was, it succeeded in what it was trying to do.
Came here to say that. It's been almost 10 damn years and we are still obsessed with this shit. Madoka is a masterpiece.
also could be because a new movie is coming out late this year/early next lol
@@lobsterfan Maybe but I've been seeing new videos several times a year for multiple years, so...
@@lobsterfan oh what i didnt know about this thats exciting
They sure as hell did something right, and in just 12 episodes and a movie. More depth than some 24+ episode anime even get close to
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results" feels like a perfect description of Homura
She clearly never played Far Cry 3
No it isnt, she got the results she wanted and she is ok with it because as stated in the video she doesnt care if she becomes evil incarnate and Madoka is destined to slay her as long the cycle repeats itself and they meet each other over and over and over again - Madoka became a god but a god cannot exist without a devil so she became a devil to always be the polarity that attracts Madoka
She’s crazy she’s insane, absolutely manic. Deranged.
Fr
@@123n704123I wonder if she just wants to see Madoka over and over, and that's why she does it
I think that one of the things that aren't talked about enough is the fact that what initially caused Homura to start to see the cracks in her labyrinth was that she was happy. We know that a witch's labyrinth is made to torture the witch itself and the fact that Homura's Labyrinth was her idea of a perfect world filled with happiness says alot. For a person filled with as much self-hate as Homura the idea of being happy herself was unacceptable. It was so out of character for her that it almost immediately started to undo the brainwashing she had originally and that is important. We can see the very moment that Homura recognizes that she is happy is the very moment that the faces on the extra's disappear and the more and more she tears apart this reality full of happiness apart, the more and more the world starts to degrade. Even when Sayaka directly confronts Homura if she could accept this world, Homura doesn't even take it into consideration and instead just ends up attacking her. At the end of the day, she set her happiness ablaze before confronting Kyube.
Ironically it's not her turning into a devil at the end of rebellion that's out of character for her, it's her being happy in the beginning that is by far the most out of character
This
You are missing something: It's not her 'being happy' she feels guilty about. It's 'being happy' when letting down what she felt was her responsibility to her friend. Until or unless Madoka is truly happy and safe, Homura can never rest. And the retreat (Don't forget the Incubators helped it along, those assholes are so utilitarian they went into downright evil mode in this movie) into being a witch just makes Homura feel weak and useless.
@@remo27 Not jut the movie, as kyubi doesnt orchastrate the end of the world or at leat happy watches.
I've seen a lot of people believe Homura aged during her time jumps when that's physically and psychologically not possible, she just spent nearly 12 years stuck as a determined 14yr old girl resigned to an eternal loop if needed be. Repetition and being unwilling to move on and grow could pretty much explain part of her lack of creativity within her Labyrinth.
And even though she accepted being the Evil to Madoka's Good, she clearly still hates herself for it as shown with the continued presence of her Familiars, the Clara Dolls, whose only purpose is to mock Homura (they even symbolically commit suicide!).
Oh btw, Bebe's real name is Nagisa Momoe (age 8, at the time of death). I think the movie should've at least made that more clear outside of the credits.
I didn't think about that with the dolls, but thats a great point that I missed! Thanks for pointing that out! : D
Not to mention she called herself a devil. That was a title she imposed on herself which is definitely an act of self hatred
Actually you forget about the sometimes considerable amount of time Homura spent in her "Time Freeze". She spies in that, she collects weapons in that, and she often fights Witches using that effect. She probably also TRAINS in Time Freeze so she doesn't have to waste time during the normal month learning to use a new type of gun or a mortar or whatever. She's probably spent at least a year or more likely two or three worth of time (she had to learn how to use all the single person weapons including the artillery and grenades, and how to operate or command the crewed things like the submarine with its gun batteries, she needs to constantly keep track of what the other girls are doing and what Kyubey is up to and this does not stay exactly the same from Timeline to Timeline cuz her actions CHANGE things and anyway all this stuff must take considerable amounts of time to learn, place, and spy). Add this to the possible twelve years and Homura gets even closer to a 30 year old knowledge base.
nearly 12 years of 1 months loops make about 144 loops, that is pretty crazy if you think about it, being able to do it again and again for so many times
she technically did "grow" psychologically somewhat during the 13-year time-loop, cant quote exactly where i read it, but supposedly, word of god has it that current evil homura, is basically the second oldest puella magi at being 27 in the body of a 14 year old, which is what eventually drives her to obsession and become the devil, something about her powers being entwinned with madoka's somehow
I sort of read Rebellion as Homura finally accepting that the loop that caused Madokami is the best one she'll get. Even if it's not what Homura wanted, she is willing to sacrifice some of her wish so Madoka can be what she obsessively fell in love with. Admittedly I've yet to read any of the other material, but contextually I think it's the end of the loops. This is kinda where I think Homura's obsession starts to fall away to a more acceptable form of love. Albeit she's still very much obsessed with her.
It could be more of an accepting love at the end, given she accepts, to a degree, that they'll grow apart and she can't control her. It's still forced by failure though, so I'd stress acceptance more so than love, but very fair
It's more of Homura recognizing that in order to protect Madoka, she'd have to fight Madoka, because she is too self-less for her own good. She's accepted that she's the Devil pinning the God down, so that she could live a normal life, so that everyone can live a normal live, so that she can save herself from insanity.
@@ronelm2000 sad
I notice that Homura kept her glasses and older hair style UNTIL she has to execute Madoka. The time reversal after that, she became a lot more cold. I think that traumatized her more than we’re outwardly shown tbh.
I don’t think Homura did much different than most of us would in her position though honestly. It’d be natural to attach to someone when you’re lonely and they extend a hand of friendship. I can’t really blame her for the events of Rebellion because she just wanted to live with Madoka forever.
That's what I love about her, even if I can say she's evil; I don't hate her, and I understand it. I believe we'd all be capable of the same thing, given the means and situation
@@ProfessorViral It is interesting to me that the people who claim Homura did no wrong seem to be assuming that, if Homura had done (a big) wrong, this would destroy her as a character: she would just be 'evil' or something, as if things among humans weren't more complicated than that. In an anime so full of flawed characters with flawed emotions, isn't it funny to need Homura's actions to be pure in order to actually like/love Homura herself?
To me, Homura did a very wrong and evil thing (I would stop before declaring her 'evil', because that would, I think, oversimplify her as a character; her personality is richer than just 'evil.' I'd say she is 'capable of evil', like pretty much all humans...).
Homura is a character I will never forget, a character who even appeared in one of my dreams. She has in common with Sayaka the lack of perception that making a wish for someone else's sake cannot fail to include some element of selfishness (YOU want for that person to be happy -- because this makes YOU happy). In Sayaka's case, because she would hate herself for it; in Homura's, because she's too busy worrying about how to save Madoka to question herself and her own judgment about what's best for Madoka. If she can bring herself to say that she accepts the fact that maybe, someday, she and Madoka will be enemies... and not stop for a second to think about the implications... then she is indeed trying to delude herself.
Which, again, is a very human thing to do. Isn't that the drama of Neil Perry in Dead Poet's Society -- that his father wants the best for him, but does not really know what the best for his son truly is?... Isn't that a tragic feature of humanity that wishing the best to those we love can lead to us hurting them, regardless of our best, most wonderful intentions?...
@@ProfessorViral I once heard a quote (idk who from though it's pretty obscure) that says something to the effect of "Most people do not do good out of any intrinsic quality they possess, but out of necessity".
Essentially, it suggests that most people would, given the opportunity, do something considered bad on a moral level. It may be that Homura is an embodiment of this, but I feel that this quote is wildly appropriate and something similar should have been said in the anime.
@@Asehpe Personally, some of my absolute favorite characters are evil as fuck. Zaheer from Season 3 of Legend of Korra? PheNOMENAL. Zuko's arc was a lot better, but Zaheer's arc is really incredible in it's own right.
I still think what Homura did was wrong, but also Madoka said she would never want to live without her friends, so she did the wrong thing for the right reason, partially. She knew that Madoka wouldn't wanna live without her friends, but Homura also just wanted Madoka to herself so to say that it was a PURELY selfish act is debatable.
It's a bit hard to say if she didn't think about the implications of her and Madoka becoming enemies one day. Magical girls don't need to really do normal things most people do, so given that, who's to say that Homura hasn't already contemplated this? Who's to say she didn't cry and agonize over it for a long time? Time's really fucky in this anime so we can't make assumptions based on time like that because we could just be wrong. Since their soul was ripped out of their body, I doubt they would really feel the hunger a normal human would.
I appreciate your viewpoint though that was genuinely interesting to read!
@@growingoaks To add to this, Homura didn't decide to rip Madoka out of the heavens until AFTER Madoka informed her she would never want to leave her friends, as depicted by the white flower garden being tainted with a shadowy purplish tint. Which implies if she hadn't said that, Homucifer would never have been born.
EDIT: Also, every wish ever made was an act of selfishness, even Madoka's. Since every wish requires the wisher to desire it, meaning all wishes are inherently selfish. In Madoka's case, it's just the parties that benefit were on an unimaginably large scale, where as in Homura's, it's only Madoka who benefits.
Personally, I think Homura’s decision at the end of rebellion was what she felt she had to do. The incubators had found out how to capture Madoka and they would try and try again until they found a way to take her. And Homura made the decision to once again protect her, even if that decision made Madoka hate her. This take is also interesting and I’m interested to see both how the next movie goes and how Wraith Arc goes since it’s finally being released in English.
Yep, it's why many if not most (not sure which honestly) feel Homura did nothing wrong, or at least very little and that her love for Madoka is not a selfish one. If she wanted HER happy world under that scenario (Selfish Homura) she'd make Madoka forget all her other friends and possibly family and just focus on, ironically, the one person who needs Madoka the most but currently (to protect her) is cut off from her the most in many ways: Homura.
@@remo27 But, to me, that would be too obvious, and Homura needs to believe that she is being selfless, that she is doing this for Madoka, not for her own vision of what Madoka's life should be like. If she did what you suggest, she would not be able to live with herself; the damage done to Madoka would be too visible, too unavoidable. Doing things the way she did gives her a fig leaf -- and she needs all fig leaves she can find.
@@remo27 Its undeniable she is selfish but he also even jaded was shown as willing to help (if very jaded like ending sayaka before she became a witch)
Granted he is traumatized fo livetimes alrady and th incubators did just stur that up, but she is probably the biggest victims, and kinda is right if predictable not very rational. Its not selfish, she loves madoka and madoka wa her anquor inth loop and th eincobators.. , good, not really but its neithr selfish, she is acting impulsive but notelfish. Not healthy thou.
It’s kinda ironic cuz in that one episode where Madoka and her mom were talking how we should always try to do the “correct mistakes” when we sense something is wrong with the people your close with, even if they’re gonna hate you for it.
that’s exactly why. that’s why she tried so hard to die or become trapped within her own labyrinth to prevent the reveal of madokami. since they insisted on a rescue, she took madokami and split her because kyubey already figured out how to interfere, so madoka would be living in space alone without any purpose.
4:52 I don't think it's that she was smiling because she didn't care, more so she was just trying to cheer Madoka up from what she had to do. Clearly, there are tears in her eyes, and yes, her one goal is to save Madoka, but it's clear she does care about the other girls
Yes! It's dumbfounding how many people assume she doesn't care about the other girls just because she's less concerned about saving them. Obviously she still holds Madoka's life above theirs and is still obsessed with her, but if she didn't care about then others at all then why would she bring the other girls into her labyrinth otherwise when she could have easily have had it been just her and Madoka together?
Also, in the anime, Homura is genuinely upset about Kyoko's death, and not because she lost someone to help her fight Walpurgisnacht, as she flat-out says a few episodes later that she didn't actually need her (or she didn't think she did, at least).
@@multiplemysteries5242 And in both the movie and the TV series, when Mami dies, you can see Homura audibly gasp and look distraught. And when she was about to fight Mami in rebellion, she says that Mami, despite putting up a front, has the kindest and softest heart out of all of them. Homura says that it always broke her heart to have to reveal the truth to Mami, despite how much grief Mami gave her just because she didn't trust her. She apologized to Sayaka in the first few timelines for having to blow her up, and even shed a few tears. She apologized to Kyoko in rebellion for ever getting her involved. And outright says that she doesn't want to fight Mami. She threatened to kill Sayaka because at that point, Sayaka was always doomed to turn into a witch in every timeline, and death is infinitely better than turning into an eldrich horror being for the rest of eternity, unless some other magical girls kills you.
After Kyoko dies after killing herself and Sayaka, Homura audibly says "Kyoko..." again, in a distraught voice. She repeatedly tells Kyoko not to get involved with Sayaka because she knew it would inevitably end with them both dying. She blames herself for not stopping Sayaka from becoming a magical girl, and outright says that she should've been looking out for Sayaka just as much as Madoka. She definitely cares about the other magical girls, but it’s asinine to try to protect one person from an inevitable fate, let alone four people and herself as well. That's simply way too much. And she can turn only turn back time as far as a month, meaning she can't do anything to save Kyoko and Mami who made their wishes years ago. How is she supposed to save those who are doomed to die no matter what?
@@MahouShoujo-Studios THANK YOU. SOMEONE FINALLY RECOGNIZES THIS!
Also, this may not be anything, but if Homura only cares about Madoka then why the fuck would she invite _Kyosuke_ into her labyrinth? Sure, for Hitomi and Madoka's family you can make the argument that Homura brought them in because they're people Madoka cares about, and for the teacher you can make the argument that she helps add authenticity to the world created, but _Kyosuke?_ He doesn't play any significant role in Madoka's life whatsoever. Even if this isn't the case, we can't just completely rule out the possibility that maybe, just _maybe_ Homura brought him to her labyrinth for Sayaka.
@@multiplemysteries5242 Or even if she didn't, she still recognized the fact that Kyosuke was at least important to Sayaka, which led me to believe that Homura attempted to bring them together in one of the many timelines.
@@MahouShoujo-Studios An sayaka and mami, mami is to stubborn an sayaka too much of a relatable human disaster not to get themselves likely killed or witches. And homura is tired and broken as it is already. She probably cant act on care more anyomre and still cares when it happens.
Rebellion's ending is a bit of a hot topic and while I definitely do like it, I think this video really made me realize the big difference that makes a lot of people (myself included) find the original series' ending a lot more satisfying.
Madoka's wish forces Homura to move on. It forces her to grow, to develop. To see more in the world. One of the things I love about the anime is how it shows you a world worth saving. A lot of the seemingly-unimportant moments, like Madoka being with her family, Sayaka and Kyousuke listening to music together, all show you what the characters have to fight for. They all have something to protect, and they all see the beauty in the world that makes them want to fight for it, Madoka most of all. She gives up everything because she loves the world so much and everyone in it. So when Homura suddently loses the one thing that matters to her and can't go back, she's forced to change. And just for a moment, at the very end, it seems like she might finally be able to move on and live.
Rebellion is the unfortunate truth about Homura: That she can't do that. Really, you can see the difference between how she and Madoka view the world from one of her last lines in episode 12 - I believe she says something like, _"Although this world is filled with sorrow and hatred, it's still a place she wanted to protect. And that is why I continue my fight."_
She does not care about the world the same way as Madoka did, and she simply cannot continue to fight just for her. She's become so consumed by her love that she's just so utterly unable to change. In the end, she relapses back into the kind of situation Madoka gave up everything to free her from. It's like seeing a good friend going back to an addiction just when you thought they've finally made progress. It's truly saddening, but that's just how things are sometimes.
Even though we don't want it to happen, the growth we look for can't come about until Homura changes. But with the lengths we see her go to in Rebellion, I can't help but wonder if she ever will.
Sad
I would recommend the wraith arc manga , it explains in more detail what before rebellion and whats leads up to it
Thing is, if she didn't do what she did, then Kyubei would've taken control of Madokami.
She has a point thou, nothing would have hppened if the incubators didnt do incubator things, nor even in the first place, th ending of the series shows they didnt need witches, and yet thats the incubators did. Exoploit tenage girl and drive them in despair with th world at risk.
And that homura is traumatized by trying to save madoka an even the others so much, can she move on?! With all the trauma shoen in the girls, homura has to live with livetimes of that. Did he overreact , yes but the incubators were at it again and i dont think she is wrong in principle.
@@marocat4749 but the problem is that like another comment said (in another video) informed consent is a very big theme in the series. It's what makes the incubators and kyuby especially so evil. Kyubi sells the idea of being magical as fun, exciting and easy, without actually telling them the horrors they will and that it's not reversible.
Homura does the same but differently, she has no right to rip someone apart because of her own obsessive love. It is a repeated theme in the show that homura constantly makes decisions without madoka consent, most of the time she goes against her wishes. And I think a lot of the times fans forget that madoka saw all of the ramifications of being a magical girl, she was there to witness sayaka spiral into madness; heck, we literally see a cut scene of her talking to Mami about what godhood entails with Mami telling all the negatives.
Out of the entire cast, madoka makes the most informed decisions. Not Sayaka who did it because of her romanticised view, not Mami who did to save her life, and Homura who did because of madoka. These 3 characters all became magical girls without knowing what it entails, this isn't their fault but because Madoka actually knows what will happen if she ascends to godhood. Homura has no right to reverse this decision because it's what she thinks is best. And mind you Madoka has never been shown to be unhappy, I would argue that she looks happier. The times Madoka expressed sadness were in Homura's own mind and a product of her own labyrinth, Homura is not in love she's obsessed with an image of madoka that doesn't allow to accept change and move on.
And people still think that Homura's choice was "off-character"
Did they really watched the same show we did?!
I understand it; Rebellion is more of a mess than the rest of the series, and it makes things harder to see clearly
@@ProfessorViral howwww. It's super straight forward
@@IchibanOjousama ikr lol
@@IchibanOjousama it ain't straight lmao
I think the detail that Madoka is also the only one who doesn't betray/try to kill Homura in any timeline is a big part of this too. Yes, Madoka was the most important one to her in the first and even second timeline, but the other girls were still her friends too. One, two or all three of the other three attempt to kill, stop or just hurt her in the various timelines in a way that goes against friendship while Madoka at least goes against Homura in ways that doesn't harm or invalidate the friendship. Obviously the biggest betrayals are technically from Madoka by making a wish, but it isn't done with the intent of directly hurting Homura, so Homura still values their friendship despite Madoka going against her. Maybe if the other three were similarly supportive, then Homura wouldn't have grown so cold to them as timelines occur and all of her affection wouldn't have been so densely concentrated into just Madoka.
It seems to me Homura's problem is less selfishness and more a great confusion about which of Madoka's wants and needs need priority.
I mean, say someone you care about is locked into a job so demanding they can't ever see their family or friends. It hurts them very much, they as much say so to your face in an unguarded moment. Is it honestly selfish to want to see them relieved of that job... at least slightly? Wouldn't it be shocking and confusing if you manage to do so only to hear them grieve the loss of it?
And don't forget she viewed Kyubey as such a great threat that she was willing to throw her chance at going to heaven... aka being with Madoka forever... to stop it from happening.
And if there are worse threats out there than Kyubey himself, then her selfishness saved the universe in a way keeping him alive in his own personal hell (himself with emotions and under control of someone else of another species) mostly to record and write about what she’s doing and helping her out rooting threats that aren’t witches, wraiths, or demons. (Though, the universe as a whole is still more unstable than before her reality warping but oh well, can’t have everything.)
@@orrorsaness5942 yes true!!
Even on the home front, it seems to me like she represents an important kind of Rebellion. Madoka's wish isn't perfect because she takes girls out of the world when they have a bad breakdown. It's understandable why she did it of course but still, if there was a way to keep them from disappearing AND from turning into witches, wouldn't that be a worthwhile addendum to the rule, even if it requires breaking the rule as it stands?
I think the true happy end will wind up having Madoka and Homura come to a place where they can balance each other like yin and yang. I hope that's what winds up happening in the next movie Maybe then the world will stabilize once they do :)
@@hrb9679 Maybe
It definitely hurt Madoka to leave, but when she made her wish I'd argue she was also doing so to avoid pain. She felt worthless as someone who couldn't ease her friends pain, so she became someone who could. Either way, she would be in pain, she just made a choice to try and do what she wanted to. But, its true that Homura didn't understand this. She could comprehend that someone would make that sacrifice and live a life of that demanding work, and so she in part could be doing what she thought was best for Madoka, and was just wrong. So, a good point!
@@ProfessorViral That's an interesting point! Escaping pain is the entire concept of her wish... for everyone. Which kind of makes it funny to me how Homura is the one that gets accused of locking everyone in a "guilded cage".
I mean, we know why Madoka made her wish, of course, I'm not putting her down for it, but I can't help but remember that, in real life, escaping to heaven to run from your troubles is considered "the easy way out" and I wonder if Madoka's wish can't be improved on? Remember how devastated Kyoko was when Sayaka vanished? How Happy Sayaka was just to hear her friends' voices even after chewing Homura out for how horrible what she did was? Like, maybe the ultimate best ending for everyone will actually wind up involving some kind of balance of both Madoka and Homura's wishes.
"Homura's lack of creativity" made me lol. I always took it as Homura trying to recreate the time she felt the happiest.
I find that the stakes really change for her when she learns about witches: now she needs to save Madoka from not only dying fighting a witch, but becoming a witch herself. How does she do that? Protecting her from external threats is one thing, but how can she protect her from herself?
True, I didn't think about that shift after the "first timeline." Based on everything we've seen, there's no way to protect a magical girl from themself. Just to redo it so it never happens
If you're ever interested about covering Kyoko's character, I strongly suggest reading the first volume of the "Madoka Magica: The Different Story" manga, based off of the 3rd drama cd "Farewell Story" for a broader scope. It covers Kyoko and Mami's partnership prior to the start of the series. Hell, it even reveals Kyoko used to have a cloning technique!
I definitely could use more info for Kyoko before covering her, so I'll keep that in mind!
@@ProfessorViral There's also the Madoka Magica Portable game for the PSP. It details how exactly Kyoko's father realized her wish essentially brainwashes people. Suffice to say, his reaction was not pretty.
@@ProfessorViral yeah you should read the entire madoka magica: the different story manga to see the relationship of mami and kyouko. also its not really that kyouko has a cloning technique but more that she has illusion magic.
@@wakamoon1910 yeah, I should've clarified it as illusion rather than cloning. I also recommended the first volume of Different Story instead of its entirety because only the first one is directly based off of an existing piece of media, the "Farewell Story" cd (dialogue being pretty much 1:1 with said cd and even recreated for the PSP game) while volumes 2 & 3 are a "what if Mami survived episode 3" story confirmed by the author.
Btw, I do see Different Story as one of the many timelines Homura jumped to, spinoff or not.
@@MaxusFox23 well magia record is also that from what ive heard, its events happened in one of the timelines that homura looped at some point. the rest of the different story is still interesting to read to explore more of the character relations of the madoka magica cast especially how mami and kyouko would have interacted if they met during the anime.
I can't quite put into words just how beautifully tragic Homura's story feels. That pain of the thing that you love about someone, also being the main factor pulling you apart.
Yeah, she ends up loving the one person she could never have, but she can't deny that part of the person she loves, because it's a crucial aspect of Madoka
I have a moment in my life that relates to Homura in a small way. When i was a teen my sister introduced me to some friends. She was a social butterfly and I was social outcast. I made some friends for however long it was but there was a moment that I found to be a night i'd never forget. Ironically I can't remember too much of it now but it was a weekend I spent with my group of friends. They drank cold medicine to get drunk or high and i simply enjoyed their company. We talked, played video game and had deep conversations while listening to music. It was like a party i never wanted to end. So much that i tried to re-create it a week later. I tried to gather up everyone again but no one could make it. So much to the point where the week after my friends mother who owned the house got rather sick of me being there. I had to learn the hard way that time is precious when you spend it with friends, and you cannot re-create the same fun you had before. I think that's why Homura is relatable to people like me, the Desire to continue a feeling or a moment in time for as long as one can. But unlike Homura, I learned that time cannot be kept still or contained.
And, from that feeling she could be a lesson, that simply holding onto that feeling as something to be recreated, and not cherished for what it was, can only lead to ruin, although obviously not to such a grand scale. But, I feel that as well. I've only had one time in my life where I made an instant and amazing connection with someone. When you know instantly that someone will be your best friend. Eventually, that ended because of the people around us, and I haven't found something like it since. It's probably part of why I struggle to find it again, because it doesn't happen immediately. But, that's enough of a ramble about me!
It is so funny to me how much people can relate to Homura (myself included). I remembered when I first saw Madoka Magica and had this girl I had a massive crush on. She was my friend at one point and eventually did become my girlfriend later down the road, but she was just not good for me at all.
In my life, I never really had anyone else that gave me the same kind of love and aspirations as she did. She finished my sentences, related a lot to what I felt, and felt like the completed half of what else felt empty in my life. Though I failed to see how bad my obsession was with her and the awful things she did to me. I didn't even realize it until about 5 years ago and finally cut her out of my life. During a lot of that time with her, I was right there rooting for Homura because I saw myself in her a lot. The girl I liked struggled and was doing her best to survive and I felt as though I needed to be like Homura and shield her just as Homura did to Madoka. I just wanted so desperately to keep that warm feeling and good image of this girl from ever ending just as how Homura did not want her time and relations to Madoka to end either.
Thankfully I didn't rewrite the laws of the universe over this girl, but there is a lot to be said of just how many people may resonate with that idea of trying so desperately to cling onto a feeling/memory/moment/person and so forth and go to great lengths to keep that from escaping us.
I love Madoka Magica and seeing such recent video essays all about my favorite anime has been such a wonderful thing
With such limited content one can pull out a lot of it but it has this entropic nature where there’s only so much you can discuss before repeating yourself
Can’t wait to see essays on the new movie that might be coming out this year!
It's limited for sure, I wanted to address Rebellion more thematically, but it had a lot of overlap with the video on wishes, so I decided against it. I'm sure I'll have something to cover with the new move though!
It's a shame, but I feel like as is so common in the fandom, Homura's arc has been completely misunderstood and that the analysis is working backwards from Homura is evil and wrong and then working to justify it from that point.
It couldn't be that Homura is concerned the person she cared about most took on a fate she admitted was worse than death. It couldn't be that she can't stand to see someone who was so good and kind suffer eternally. It couldn't be Homura is willing to sacrifice everything not for her own benefit, but to give Madoka a happy life - even if that meant becoming her enemy. Nope, it must be that Homura is obsessed and deranged and stupid.
Like, for example, the implication she doesn't care about anyone or anything other than Madoka is contradicted in both the text and subtext of Rebellion. Talking about how cruel she felt it was to reveal the truth of the magical girl condition to Mami. How she went out of her way to give everyone, Mami, Kyoko, Nagisa, even Sayaka, and yes, Madoka happy lives. That she built her perfect world around the concept of all of them being friends and working together, not her being alone with Madoka. That she apologized to Kyoko and called her for that purpose before she decided to kill herself for their benefit.
It is so tiring and so frustrating that so many people represent Homura as a one dimensional caricature of the rich and nuanced character she actually is.
Also: Hell, even the depiction of Madoka was incredibly off base. The idea Madoka's purpose is to fight evil is completely wrong. Madoka's purpose is to help others - when she finally understood, her approach was to take the burden of magical girls from them, to take their despair into herself. It was about releasing others from suffering, not fighting some vague concept.
Homura isn't stupid, but she definitely is obsessed. We can clearly see that she has no regards for herself, even to the point where her life means nothing to her. That's definitely not healthy, and it's not supposed to be. The problem is that Homura lacks self love and thus has to cling onto Madoka. Why? Because Madoka represents everything Homura desires: a good home, a good friend, a light in the darkness. Becoming that attached to someone you knew for a month to the point where you're willing to end yourself for their sake with no self worth in your self is anything but normal and healthy.
@@MahouShoujo-Studios You know, that's fair and I'll admit I was less precise in my language than I should have been. What I meant was the implicit assumption that Homura is obsessed with being with and/or possessing Madoka is badly evidenced and in places directly contradicted. Yes, she is obsessed with Madoka, but she is obesessed with saving her, with giving her a happy life - but she has no specific obsession with being a part of it.
In the beginning of Rebellion, she was not part of their group. In episode 6, the clear implication was once Walpurgisnacht was defeated, she was going to leave Mitakihara, aka "go live in a farm upstate where she can frolic with other magical girls". In Rebellion, she announces her intent to kill herself if it means Madoka's secret would be safe. Finally, in the end, she will accept being apart from Madoka, being her enemy, as long as Madoka is happy.
Being with Madoka was never the point - saving her, protecting her, securing her happiness were, whatever happened to Homura herself be damned. And I agree. It isn't healthy. It comes from having no love for herself (look up the names of the Clara Dolls, her most powerful familiars, if you want to know what she really thinks of herself). But that's a far cry from the idea being proposed here which seems specifically meant to shit on Homura than give an honest assessment of her character and motives.
@@RedTooth552 This video is sponsored by Homura Akemi and Incubator. Please pay up 15 dollars for Madoka to have a happy life, totally not a scam guys. (Those dollars are given to Madoka)
@@MahouShoujo-Studios Because she has trauma for lifetimes and all that kept her going was to ave madoka eventually. Of course that would make an unhealthy obsesion but one needed to cop so long with what she went through, ok that she did it willingly shows low selfworth, but the onbsesion comes from all the trauma likely.
And she does help the other girls, she just has seen too much off them digging their own graves or ignore her inmy opinion to really try.
Mami didn't open to Homura, she just opened to Madoka and showed her weakness and loneliness when asking Madoka to join her
Sayaka kinda just told her that she was useless in every timeline
And Kyouko wasn't around them most times
You made a lot of great points!! True love does require the potential to be rejected or it’s not real love.
I also think it’s interesting, Homura is the only MG we see who ever exists in that state of despair for an extended time and be able to choose how to move through it. In the real world, you can hit rock bottom and then move on. It’s so sad how the MG’s never get that chance. I like seeing Homura getting some agency over her own despair, instead of the incubators using it for their own purposes.
True, they never get a second chance. When they mess up once, or a few times in a row, thats it. We all hit low points like that, but we get to respond. Thanks for that perspective!
I'm just gonna come out and say it. Madoka Rebellion is easily one of my all time favorite movies period, right up there with The Matrix (which it shares many similarities to, what with its story of escaping an artificial reality, time-slowing gun battle, and overt religious symbolism). I'll even go so far as to say that it is better than several of the Evangelion movies, as it communicated many of the same themes and messages in a subtler and less overly obvious manner, alongside keeping the themes in the background, rather than having the story be dictated by them at the cost of narrative cohesion.
I'd love to see you analyze this film more, as it is absolutely ripe with things to discuss. Maybe one on how it is influenced by philosophy like Plato's Allegory Of The Cave and Friedrich Nietzsche, is packed with religious symbolism ranging from Christianity, Gnosticism, and Buddhism, and uses many allusions to literary works such as The Nutcracker and Paradise Lost?
It really is such a rich work of art, one that deserves to be analyzed more than it does. :)
Yes, Rebellion usurped the Matrix trilogy as my favorite movie!
I am only somewhat familiar with paradise lost; I'm curious what the connection is that you see
@@stephenpriest Basically, Homura’s fall from grace and actions in the film have been noted by several to by similar to that of Lucifer’s turn to evil in that story, complete with the horrible decision that “it is better to reign in hell than serve in heaven”. While Homura is nowhere near as evil as the devil in that literary work, she still draws several parallels, and in some regards, contrasts the actions seen in that epic poem as well.
Though, given the amount of religious symbolism present in the film (seriously, it does this sort of stuff even better than Evangelion), she could also be seen as similar to Mara or the Demiurge as well.
And yes, for me, Madoka Rebellion is pretty much a magical girl version of The Matrix, and love it for many of the same reasons.
True dat
@@ldragon2515
There is definitely a lot in common between Rebellion and The Matrix (I see a lot of Reloaded in this film as well honestly), but I think that Rebellion is more strongly inspired by Dark City which came out a year before the first Matrix film.
Right down to the fact that the looping bus line which Kyouko and Homura take to investigate the city only to learn that nothing exists outside of it, and Kyouko only vaguely remembers her past back in her home town beyond the Fake Mitakihara but not how she even ended up there, is literally a plotline between Murdoch and another character (I am forgetting the name) in Dark City.
I'd highly recommend seeing that film, it and The Matrix took different approaches to the same concept and they're both extremely great pieces of sci fi maximalism about virtual realities and how memories affect our experiences and how our lives are dictated by the system we are forced to be a part of for its own benefit.
@@TruthinessChibiOtaku I’ve seen that movie. Definitely an underrated classic, and I also saw the parallels between it and Rebellion, especially the scene with Homura on the boat going down the cannel and thinking about the nature of the world.
I just like The Matrix more, and see more in common with it and Rebellion thanks to the action scenes, philosophy, character development, and religious symbolism.
All three films are masterpieces, I think we can agree on that. And they all share similar themes about false realities and how one is affected by them. Heck, in terms of that whole narrative, they are pretty much the top three, at least imo. :)
Thank you so much for this analysis! I feel like Rebellion is still misunderstood too often, but your analyses are always on-the-mark.
I would, perhaps, add one level of interpretation that I saw in the movie, and if you have thoughts on it, I'd love to hear! As you said in this video, Homura wishes primarily to be with Madoka, whereas Madoka's primary wish is to help others. In this sense, while they sort of reflect the dichotomy of selfishness vs. selflessness, I find it more accurate to say that they represent the dichotomy between two parts of healthy love: Homura represents the desire for union with the beloved, while Madoka represents the desire for the good of the beloved. When either of these two is taken by itself, without the other, it can lead to, at best, bittersweet endings: Madoka sacrificed herself and her existence to save magical girls; Homura became a devil and destroyed the Law of Cycles in order to allow everyone to live their normal, happy lives again. (Homura also thus represents the philosophy of Nietzsche.) Both ascensions are, in that light, mistakes in one way or another - the kind that, normally, children would be able to learn from and move on, but, of course, the tragedy of magical girls is the inability to move beyond their wish/curse. All that to say, just as Sayaka and Kyoko learned that selfishness and selflessness must both be held together in balance, Madoka and Homura have failed to learn how the two aspects of love must go together in order for love to be complete. Hence the post-credit scene wherein both the heavens (the moon - Madoka) and the earth (Homura) are eerily split in two, with a soundtrack piece titled "not yet."
Yes. I agree. I’ve always read Homura as a Nitzchean character.
Honestly, this is amazing and I'm not even sure what to say. It's like an entire video boiled down into one paragraph I only wish I could have come up with! A great analysis that I'd fully agree with, thank you for the insight!
@@ProfessorViral madoka is the ideal of Kantian ethics
@mahoushoujo Yes, you are right, Homura didn't destroy the law of cycles, that was bad word choice on my part. "Split" or "severed" would be a better term. But I also think there is some degree to which the law no longer has its effect; my impression was that, by enveloping the whole universe in her new labyrinth/soul gem, Homura blocked it from having effect anywhere inside the universe (unless, in the coming movie, Madoka can remember and call the power back).
Whatever we say about that, though, I think it's important to note that, as the professor said in the video, Homura's and Madoka's wishes (and personal natures) are opposites, and those wishes will always be in conflict. Homura was able to make the magical girls human again, letting them live their normal lives as before they fell into despair, and her endgame is eventually to destroy everything. Madoka had originally made it such that, just like her, magical girls would eventually be severed from the world, losing any ability to live their normal, corporeal lives, and her endgame was simply to do that forever, until even Homura eventually would have to leave existence. So, Homura didn't truly validate Madoka's wish, but took a directly opposing philosophy; the only part she really did validate was the wish to alleviate magical girls' suffering (which she did accidentally - the only person she was really trying to make happy was Madoka).
@mahoushoujo : Yeah, I get sick of these simplistic analysis of Homura's character that imply she only cares about Madoka. She has every reason to hate or at least dispise Madoka's 'bestie' (and not just out of jealousy) Sayaka: She always turns into a witch quickly no matter timeline, her and Homura's characters always grate against each other (they are hardly quick friends), she's foolish, Homura thinks she 'witchifies' due to stupid reasons and hence IS stupid and Homura has almost certainly tried and failed to change her fate multiple times (if nothing else to prevent Madoka suffering, Sayaka has caused ALOT of that over the various timelines and you know Homura hates that above all else) and yet what does she do to this girl who , presumably is basically an 'enemy', someone who thwarts her and Madoka (even though even Homie realizes its not mostly intentional on Sayakas part) so many times including EVEN in Homura's own Universe, where she tries to fight Homura? She heals the boy Sayaka cares for, makes her forget most of the traumas of the past, KEEPS her in Madokas life (closer than Homura for sure) and sets her on a course for what might be the normal life she would have had if Kyubey hadn't shown his head. Yes, Sayaka loses some character growth (though growth that occurred only after she died and Madokami gave her another chance to serve in Heaven) but she has a whole life to get that back and her friends and family to help her along the way. What an EVIL DEVIL of selfishness Homura is. I think people also forget that Eastern conceptions of the Devil aren't the exact same as Western ones. In some ways, Homura is like the Yang to Madoka's Yin, both necessary, neither wrong or evil in and of themselves.
I CANT WAIT until the new movie comes out
Same here!
@@ProfessorViral We'll all have a big party after it! (OMG, I'm sooo afraid they're going to screw it... It wouldn't be the first time in the history of art... the Matrix series comes to mind... but I'm going to be soooo damn happy if it turns out to be as good as the rest!)
I just realized that Homura's world is an opportunity. I hope in Homura's world, the girls get a chance to actually solve their own problems. Talk about them. Put them behind. Not...sacrifice their lives because they can't handle it anymore but they don't want to hurt people.
P.S: I'm starting to understand the mindset behind the theory saying Madoka was actually planning to take her own life for a time now, and becoming a Goddess simply presented itself as an opportunity to do it and still be useful.
When it comes to puella magi madoka magica, one of the biggest problems I have with it is that Homura’s wish was never actually granted. Her wish was to; “Meet Ms. Kaname all over again but this time, instead of her protecting me, I want to be strong enough to protect her!” But when you look back across the series, never once was Homura able to successfully save Madoka. Kyubey said that he would be able to make any wish come true so I feel like this wish should’ve been granted because at that time, Madoka wasn’t the centre of karmic destiny. Despite the phrasing, I doubt Kyubey can read minds to sense the underlining goal of why a girl is making a wish.
Even though we don’t hear Sayaka’s wish, it most likely just had something to do with healing Kyousuke and Kyubey did just that. But in Homura’s case, it’s as though he completely disregards the other half of the reason why Homura made her wish which doesn’t make sense. By all extensive purposes, if Kyubey HAD ACTUALLY granted Homura’s wish, she would’ve gone back to meet Madoka again but she should’ve been powerful enough to protect her (killing walpurgisnacht) and anything else that threatened Madoka and none of this would’ve happened.
If anyone wants to discuss, feel free to
I'd say Kyuubey granted her wish exactly. She wished to be strong enough to PROTECT Madoka, which is exactly what she did... There's a difference between PROTECTING and SAVING.
I was a little nervous about how this would go after seeing your video on Mami. Those concerns were completely unfounded and this video was fantastic.
Bringing up the idea that Madoka is drawn to fight evil, so the only way Homura can be with Madoka is to be that evil that She fights made me think of the paradox that prevents Homura from dying normally in the new world. Madoka comes to take the girls away when they fall into despair, and isn't needed when they already have hope. For Homura, nothing gives her more hope than the prospect of sunny Madoka again, which can only happen when in the pit of despair. Essentially, despair itself gives Homura hope, and hope itself gives Homura despair. Homura had already turned into a witch by the end of Rebellion, but seeing Madoka descend to take her away gives her more hope than Her actually doing Her job and taking her ever could.
Exactly, she's so hyper focused everything is paradoxical or backwards with her. It's oddly just complex enough a motivation, despite being as simple as "madoka" at its core
I also interpreted Homura harvesting energy from the entire Kyubey race asbeing an act of revenge against them (along with the obsession of keeping Madoka enslaved in an innocent stasis forever).
Great analysis, I really enjoyed your video on Sayaka Miki’s character, too!
That's true, I didn't think about that. Thanks!
I literally get so excited every time you upload a video about madoka magica because I know you're going to deliver! I loved this! That line about homura not caring about what, why, when, or how just who was exactly what I've always thought about the show. I always felt like the essence of why this show and other shows like it (devilman crybaby) are so good is not just the apocalyptic world with dark themes, but the idea that an entire apocalypse can be centered around the relationship between two people. That "who" is so consuming that homura purposefully wants to come across as evil just to prove that madoka's goodness, it almost makes me think that she doesn't love madoka so much as she loves the feeling that someone so perfectly good/pure could love her back. Almost like she's addicted to the feeling of specialness madoka provides for her.
Thank you, I'm happy to be able to provide more videos! I think that's a good point of the feeling vs Madoka herself. It could be anyone, if they embodied that feeling for her. Madoka, as someone who found joy in being an agent of good, just so happened to be perfect. That would help to explain why she never as attached to Mami, who was there to save her as well
I like what you said -- especially this: "she [Homura] doesn't love Madoka so much as she loves the feeling that someone so perfectly good/pure could love her back." Can I use it? I soooo feel like stealing it! :-)
I just realized something a former catholic, we are put in this earth to suffer our sins away to be closer to god. If Modoka is god then it makes sense that Homura would suffer over and over to be closer to god.
I'm very ignorant of religion on the whole, so I didn't consider that, but it's a fair point!
In a sense Homura walked the same path as Sayaka did only she did it god know how many more times in 12 years. Actually those god knows how many tries is the proof of her creativity. The reality is only the goal did not change, everything else did. You did not ask the most important question though: Why would give up on your goal, if you have ideas to solve the riddle? You wouldn't. Especially if this important of a goal as the life of your love. You'll continue as long as you have hope to succeed. She only gave up when she realized her best effort is not enough either, and she can't do anything. Again this is the same as Sayaka's path, just with a lot-lot more misery and despair. She had the worst and the most cruel magical power out of all of them: Hope. Yeah, I know it is reverse time, but that is equal with "I hope next time it will work". It was interesting concept that this nearly endless hope was able to create a godess (Madoka).
So I do not think Homura did what she did because of the lack of creativity, but because she already tried everything else. This show is about the irreversiblity of the fate. One of them had to suffer to allow the other to be happy. Happiness cannot exists without sadness. Also the reality is Madoka failed to uproot all evil in the world. The existsence of the evil will in the form of the incubators is a proof of her failure. In my book it makes much more sense that Homura realized this, and accepted all the evil within herself and became the evil itself. This way at least she was able to save Madoka's dream. At least partially. So in the original series Madoka became the godess of the world, and in the rebellion Homura became the Saviour of Madoka's incomplete world.
Also In the original series there is the important quote from Sayaka "For all the happiness you wish for someone, someone else gets cursed with equal misery." So either Homura cursed herself with endless misery to finish Madoka's dream, or the other interpretation is that Madoka's wish for a better world cursed Homura with endless dispair and misery and she was forced to became the evil itself because of the will of fate (or the price to pay for the wish).
So in the end it is a self fulfulling prophecy, and begs the question: "What was first? The hen or the egg?" Madoka (good) created Homura (evil), or Homura created Madoka? My answer is: Neither of them, they both must exists, because one cannot be without the other, and the fate will find a way to balance the "karma" out.
I...I can admit I use to be this person. She resonates so hard with my past. I didn't care if I became an enemy..didn't care if I was a slave..I didn't care what .I life became..as long they were there...at the end of rebellion..she made the choice to go to extremist levels of obsession..as long as you are here..I don't care what I am.
Everything I say in these videos is in part influenced by myself and my own experience, so when I talk about these characters harshly, it's also me speaking on myself like that as well
Homura has every right to be a a villain.
Very interesting points on Homura and her lack of an imagination. Rebellions ending always made sense to me. I read some of the manga series and the ending is always either Madoka dying or becoming the law of cycles. Of course Homura would grab Madoka the moment she saw her.
After watching her die again and again, and only caring about her, I definitely understand it somewhat haha
My friend and I always come back to one point when it comes to to Homura: by the end she no longer loves Madoka but the idea of her. Homura doesn’t love Madoka for who she is but for what she represents.
No because this makes sense on so many levels.
I think its weird to say, because by the end Madoka is an idea, the goodness of the world. So, she does love the "idea" of Madoka, but Madoka fully embodies that idea. So, I would personally count that as loving Madoka, but Rebellion is such new territory for the series I won't claim to be fully right on this
@@ProfessorViral I actually think the original comment is not bad on this respect -- Homura loves HER idea of what Madoka represents, but that idea is not the same as Madokami, i.e. what Madoka herself wanted to become and represent, the concept that she actually did become. In fact, their different views of what Madoka should be or represent are the core of what makes their relationship so tragic.
I don't think many have read Kazumi but that manga introduces witch nuts created by "Juubei" that turns nightmares into budding witches.
You see in Rebellion that Homura had a witch nut placed in her causing her soul gem to morph Into one that allows her Witch and her to unify.
What Homura becomes at the end of rebellion seems to be exactly what the Magius were attempting to do in Magia record.
I really hope the Walpurugis film explores how spirits can enter our dreams since Nagisa and Sayaka did it so easily.
What an outstanding video essay. I most loved the discussion about Homura becoming Evil of that meant Goddess would have to always be there to conflict with her. My words are sorely lacking, whereas your script was enlightening and enthusiastically enjoyable.
Well done. I actually a more pensive outlook on this character and series again.
GREAT VIDEO! However I would like to also mention that at the end of rebellion when Homura has become a force called evil the scene where they’re alone In that hallway shows something that could be the biggest twist and of the movie. Madoka will eventually remember who she is. She says it herself “I should have a different form, I should have a different purpose here; so why?” All it takes is Homura grabbing on to her for her to snap out of it but her eyes change colour do her godly gold and her hair becomes free of the physics around her. At the end of rebellion Homura falls off a cliff. Ofc I don’t think she is dead but perhaps she knows that it is all over. It also seems that Homura can leave Madoka alone in her world but Madoka still seems to have her consciousness and perhaps will remember who she is one day and soon. Homura knows and accepts this because if she was still convinced she could keep Madoka down she wouldn’t ever leave her side quite literally. Madoka will prevail.
How you described Homura here reminds me of another character in a what if story, and that's IF: Pride Subaru from Re;Zero. A character that by the end of that what if story. He becomes the ultimate villain all so the person he cares about most can be the ultimate hero who stops him.
I think you can't take Homura's suggestion that they become witches together at face value. She does after all consent to killing Madoka herself rather than let her become a witch. It's more that she is bargaining with the world for some scrap of what she wanted to remain. Like some form of grief is sprouting inside her like some kind of seed... If you define a person entirely by the worst fantasy they have of themselves, then no one else in the show is any better as they all become violent destructive witches. Even Madoka.
Instead, I see Homura's self hatred. Her wish was not to be near Madoka. It was to protect her. She's become so twisted inside because she's never stopped seeing herself as unworthy. Every failed loop reinforces this as she isn't good enough to protect even one person. And her obsession becomes not just an unhealthy behavior but a necessity for her own survival. If she lets go of Madoka then she accepts that she will never be good enough, and will sink into despair and will become a witch. She's pressed into a choice between driving herself insane or turning into a literal monster.
And in spite of her own assertions that she doesn't care about the others, she never abandons them. She tries to fight alongside Mami when she knows it will end in tragedy. She runs after Sayaka's soul gem. She helps Kyoko try to reach Sayaka even though it actively puts Madoka in danger AND derails her plan to use Kyoko to defeat Walpurgisnacht. Homura's coldness is a mask carefully designed to keep her from breaking down. She has to supress her empathy, because she knows from lived experience that the people she wants to be her friends will turn on her. Sayaka self destructs in every single loop, so caring about her will only cause her more pain. The moment Mami comes to realize what their ultimate fate is, she loses her shit and starts kill her friends. It's no wonder she finds it easier to be more honest and direct with Kyoko. But Madoka is the only one who time and time again gives everything for her, and she can't give anything back in return.
No matter how much pain and torment she subjects herself to, she firmly believes she hasn't done enough. When Madoka transcends, she dedicates herself to being a living monument to Madoka's sacrifice. She never believes herself to be worthy of having her own life. Trapped inside her own labyrinth, she's incapable of accepting a world where she gets what she wants. Confronted with the possibility of her dream harming Madoka, she seeks to end her own life to protect her. Still chasing that wish.
Finally transcending to her full power, she can allow herself to despair. Even in her most perfect dream, Homura still believes that she doesn't deserve happiness for herself. She embraces what she's always believed about herself, that she is bad. So she puts on a new mask, full of mocking smiles and declares herself the devil. Now she can protect Madoka from her fate. She doesn't have to consruct a world with the others in it. Sayaka is physically dead and gone already, but Homura still wants her here. She crafts a world for ALL of them that is free of the supernatural horrors they were unjustly forced to endure. But even here, Madoka resists. And it's then that we can see what's behind the mask. She's not a devil, she's still a crying child afraid that she can't accomplish the one thing she valued her life against.
I am so interested in this anime i have never watched before because of you dude. I absolutely love your channel of video essays
Wow. I've never heard it put that way before- that Homura only loves a Madoka that will reject her. It makes so much sense...That's why she'd resigned herself to the next best thing that is being with Madoka, but not being _with_ her.
All the points about Homura's lack of originality and creativity- simply repeating things again and again. So good. "She simply meets Madoka again". Man, this whole video is such a good analysis. You truly get it. I've loved Madoka since it came out and I'm thrilled there's still brilliant discussion to be made, that says something new.
I love watching analysis videos on rebellion to see what different perspectives there are on the movie
Happy I could provide one here!
Me too! :-)
I don’t think homura was evil per say she just wanted Madoka safe with her and that just so happened to cause homura to become “ the devil”. Just like Madoka wasn’t planning on becoming godoka she just wanted to protect everyone.
This girls are the cycle of greif:
Homura - denial
Koyoko - anger
Batering - Mami/Bebe
Sayaka - Depression (NO NOT CLINICAL DEPRESSION!)
Madoka - acceptence
It sucks cause if she had thought for a second, saving the other magical girls would probably have saved the day in the end. But she's so focused on keeping Madoka out she lets them die.
I've always had the headcanon that even though the other magical girls weren't her priority, based on the glimpses of the other timelines, she just grew to like them less and eventually hate them more (i.e. mami going batshit and madoka having to kill her, sayaka repeatedly berating madoka and becoming a witch, etc.) which eventually she gave up on trying to save them.
She tried to keep the entire Quartet alive to fight Walpurgisnacht in the PSP game bonus route, although I cannot remember if Madoka was allowed to contract in that situation.
Needless to say it ended no differently for her. Everyone but Homura died once again, and she had to reset. It's so bad that even the perfect world where she gets along with all her friends in the PS Vita game Battle Pentagram is just that, a dream. Just like in the film.
Madoka uses her wish to bring Sayaka back to life in The Different Story, and both of them still die. Kyouko got killed long before that and Mami committed suicide.
Homura's Revenge ends with Kyouko being alive and Madoka having made a contract to fight Walpurgisnacht, and given that Homura sees Madoka making a contract as a dead end no matter what (as Madoka basically implicitly said when they made their promise she did not WANT to contract and be tricked by Kyubey), she abandoned that timeline despite how things were working out in her favor. But that ending seems like total bullshit so disregard that manga, it's just another example.
Even Oriko Magica's first installment has Sayaka claim she gets along well with Homura and want to help her protect Madoka from Oriko and Kirika, but its not enough because Madoka still ends up dead in that timeline even after Oriko is defeated. Ironically, this is also the timeline where Madoka says that she is not worth being saved over all the people being sacrificed around her, and Homura doesn't take kindly to that.
Magia Record seems to be the only timeline that Homura was able to keep the team together but by that point Madoka already was a magical girl and the reason for their success is well, teaming up with Iroha and the other Kamihama Magical Girls essentially (although that was in the mobile game, we don't know what the anime will do yet).
Circumstances outside of her control are the only reason she ever has remote chances of saving people other than Madoka. It's not any wonder she'd get discouraged and stop trying to save the others when the few times she does make things work out are either delusions or all end in failure.
Mami and Sayaka also have never been consistently nice to her, so while she did at one point love them, she has accepted that they're fated to die in every timeline and she's powerless to do anything about it. So she doesn't bother.
@@TruthinessChibiOtaku This comment deserves 1 billion more likes. As someone who has never played the games (watched ONE of them being played on YT), read any of the mangas, and has only seen the Magia Record Tv show the extra detail of the earlier (and I guess some might be alternate takes on Madoka that don't happen in main continuity but maybe I'm wrong) timelines in the mangas and games are both interesting and enlightening.
She does try even, she tries with kyouka, and even tries with sayaka despite sayaka near always jealous hating her, and of course wont listen becaus she is jealous of her being close to madoka.. And mami is waytoo stubborn for he own good and judgemental. Sh tried with kyouko thou a fair bit. and teamed up with her, just sayaka, ..
@@marocat4749 You have to think transparent dude. I don't wanna fight, Mami and Sayaka they're both holds the justice differently it's because they're personalities and also they had many flaws makes them both very complex to discuss, Sayaka is still unexperienced so she sees Homura and Kyoko are selfish from they're own. It makes her slipped into idealism. Also Sayaka had sense of justice too like Mami does originally strict moral code for herself, But sadly her self-idealism is part what makes her broken down/unstable after finding out the truth about Hitomi pursue about Kyosuke. Homura and Sayaka are exact both opposite care to someone what they loved. But In her human way that she can be Madoka's best friend rationally even without magical powers/least talented since they were so young, that's why she can understand other people's feelings. In Rebellion and episode 8 she acknowledge all of her mistakes from the past as a magical girl makes me a lot appreaciate her, She has an appreciation for anime
While Mami is much more harder to explain but she was the longest time magical girls before her friends makes her got many experiences, also she's the great leader. I wouldn't say she's stubborn character to the girls. Before the event starts she teamups and befriends with Kyoko, they both became a great friends like a sisters until Kyoko's family was murdered by her father, she fell into despair and changed her idealism into nihilistic and decided to not saving other people only care for herself with her magic. Mami tried to consule her but Kyoko ignored Mami and pushed her away afraid became a burden since her magic led her family died, And they separated away it's not Mami's fault they're broken I can see that Sayaka and Kyoko both passionately later in rebellion.
If Mami she was much different than the other girls, after she became a magical girls right after the accident. She making a wish to save herself in rash circumstances and later she regrets her wish that she made, she probably can save her both parents in the accident then she suffered from survivor's guilt and live in a long loneliness. Due to her defines herself saving other people's lives before and after she met all of her friends, she still bring hope to other people. She also knows the dangers about become magical girls so she tolds Madoka and Sayaka to make a decision before rushing into making a wish and shows them how dangerous it can be. Yeah the strong flaws is that she can't take the truth about magical girls like Sayaka. They're both didn't deal much better than other girls but probably Sayaka was in the anime, But Mami didn't change that much into a different person after she finding out the truth about magical girls. I can see that she also a very tragic character if you understands the circumstances she faces it after she losing her whole family in very human character, she just wanted to be loved again basically like a normal people do makes her so relatable. That's why Mami is a well-written character has a lot of depth as a human
So I dare say Mami and Sayaka both holds a very human characters that's why they're both my favorites alonsgide Kyoko. I don't really judge about Homura's but I can tell that she refuses to not care about anyone if it means it will guarantee Madoka's safety but I understand why she did that, she's a goal oriented and individual person. I don't agree either she can be a hero or villain like what the fans says about her, but she's coolest anti-villain character I've ever seen. All of them are great likeable characters just don't look only in very bad perspective.
I can understand why fans dislike Mami and Sayaka to be their least favorites
i'm a big fan of your analysis, thank you for doing the lord (godoka)'s work in keeping the word alive!
Hey, no problem 🤣 Thanks for watching!
I disagree with Homura not caring about the others. There’s plenty of scenes on both the series and Rebellion that seem to disagree with that. It’s just that she can’t look out for 4 people all at once, and thus looks out for the one closest to her heart: Madoka.
Other than that, nice analysis you never fail.
I thought the ending was great. It really illustrates how admiration can become obsession and obsession leads to the destruction of one's self
That is a great take!!!
That Homura is not considering the two sides of Madoka for a lot of the plot and how the despite adoring Madoka she can’t even grasp her fully or what drew her to Madoka. Homura though in my opinion oscillates between wanting to die so she doesn’t bring harm to Madoka or be the selfish wretch that would disregard Madoka to have what they want from her. In the end it was her own scruples as the protective magical girl that died with the witch with the deranged and lonely adorer remaining and accepting whatever it takes to have the Madoka she desires, one untouched by her divine nature. But even that was a Madoka capable of leaving her as her being entirely inside her devil labyrinth(instead of being both inside and outside her witch one) seemed to cause her to not be affected by delusions that would be there to please Homura cause the second to see that she will not be able to get what she wants cause Madoka is who she ultimately became.
The protective Madoka is essential to Homura instead of the nurturing Madoka(or at least only the nurturing is not enough) and while the human Madoka has seeds of that protective strain, her fully realized self in that category that is what seems to be the the factor that will trigger the next movie. There is an unknown magical girl that seems to be an amalgamation of the magical girl we know but that uses a bow(another UA-camr made this following amazing guess) that it is the law of cycles that wasn’t taken by Homura, she wanted the Madoka that would be together with her but she very much forgot that it wasn’t her nurturing pacifist nature that approached her and made the difference but her protective and proactive nature that always shone through to make her hope itself. That is both her past and future selves and Homura is now at least instinctively aware of that and will take a “the show must go on” approach and enjoy her time with Madoka.
Lastly.
Could this have been avoided?
Maybe.
If anyone OTHER than f’ing Sayaka Miki(nothing against her character just that they get along as well as water and oil) that Homura NEVER got along with as they’d likely just told her the truth openly Homura and how they can get her out of here Homura would have taken the option in which she would be together with Madoka in her Valhalla. But in personality aspects of immaturity Sayaka and Homura are opposites in which Sayaka has childish aspirations and proclivities and took the opportunity of handholding when it wasn’t her having the problem while Homura has very clear laser-focused goals that can border on cruel desperately trying to be controlled and adult-like that hearing that there was a plan in place would have given her endless relief in how newfound it’d be. If Oriko exists she would actually been the perfect vessel(she is even more of an awful creature than Homura and is likely killed by her every timeline if she is canon).
I think you're definitely right. Homura lacks originality, and creativity. She does the same thing over and over again because it's all she knows how to do. This was a really cool video essays! One of my favorites for Madoka Magica. I do think Madoka does on some level mean what she says in the flower garden, that it would be painful, and that she doesn't think she'd be able to do it-I do think it would be rather painful (if also rewarding) for her, and with this Madoka basically the Madoka we first meet-unconfident, self conscious, with a lot of self esteem issues-I genuinely think she thinks she couldn't do it. Of course, we know thats wrong, because Madoka is always stronger than she thinks she is, but this Madoka doesn't realize that. And I think that's the tragedy of Madoka and Homura's relationship. Homura tells a Madoka who hates herself to never change, and keeps resetting her back to zero to "save" her whenever she finds her resolve to change, take action, and become someone she's proud of being. In Homura's perfect world, Madoka is passive. Docile. Sweet, but not much else. Yet even Homura herself will never be satisfied with such an ending, because she fell in love with the Madoka that saved her. That Madoka found her confidence, her resolve. In her quest to save Madoka, she strips her of her agency, her choices, over and over again. I think Homura loves Madoka, but she doesn't respect her choices. Not fully. That's why she can undo them over and over again. Yet, the very thing she loves about her is her kindness, so it's kind of paradoxical for her to try and stop her self sacrifice over and over again in order to save her-because isn't that what she loves about her in the first place? It makes me think that Homura and Madoka will never truly work out. Because Homura can never truly get what she wants: the Madoka who saved her, and the Madoka who would never leave. Because they cannot exist together. And she's always just going to be repeating the same thing over and over again, just to be with Madoka.
Lol
I love how you you English dub for these videos. I listen to this like a podcast while at work. It's super convenient 😁👌
4:56 LOOOVEE THE EMOTIONNS INN YOUR VOICE HONN--!! QWQQ-- THIS HAD ME GOINGG FOR A WIRLLLLLWINHHGGD OF FEELS AS IF I WAS WATCHINGG THEG SERIES FOR THE FIRST TIMEEE AGAINN XDD 🩷 🖤🐈⬛🐈⬛
I am so happy that I'm the only one who can't get over how good this series and it's franchise is.
I would love an OVA of Oriko where we see what Homura has to do to prevent Kirika from sleath killing Madoka after fighting Mami
How much Oriko is like a vilain akin to Kyubei is such an underused plot thread.
If we had a "Ground Hogs day" 2nd season that is just Homura's failed timelines. It would actually maximize the variations of timelines
Mk I’m starting the video if I hear a “they were just such good friends” I will combust.
I leave it just as unlabeled as the series itself haha
Ever since I saw Rebellion, I never could get over the ending. Maybe because it was a bit rushed, but I didn’t understand why the ending happened. It’s videos like this that allow me to better understand and appreciate it more. But also, makes me really want to see this story actually continue so we can get a definitive ending!
The ending is definitely a departure from everything else, I kept getting to that point and struggling to figure of the "why" of it. But, I'm happy I was able to find something in that, and pass it on as well!
@@ProfessorViral You and other analysts explained Homura’s motivation really well! The movie wasn’t bad, far from it! But unlike the TV series it did not leave off on a conclusive note. I really hope we get some finality with this story!
Lol it wasn't rushed
And it is a definitive ending
Not gonna lie his voice is so good for stuff like this
I've been working on it for a while 😎 (not really I have no idea what I'm doing)
Madoka: One for All
Homura: All for One
They’d be on opposite sides if they were in My Hero Academia
I do have a Madoka and All Might face swap 🤣
I honestly like the interpretation of Homura becoming an eternal evil to forever chase after Madoka since her final attempt at taking a part of Madoka was proven to be unstable and won't last long
it makes Rebellion feel like a true ending for Madoka, since beforehand it never really felt like one to me
it might be an ending where the story itself never ends but the character journeys find the path they will follow forever
I just found your channel through your Modica Magica videos, so excited to see another!!!! 💕💕
Hey, thanks for checking out the channel and sticking around! : D
Wow, this was a really great video. It made me realize about more aspects I didn't see before.
However, this makes me love even more Homura as a character. I mean, Madoka was for sure the first person to truly appreciate Homura, this is where the obsession begins. The lack of self-love and self-esteem, how she focuses all her existence in just being together with Madoka and all the pain she suffered, at the point she even had to change herself drastically, simply makes me feel soo sad and heartbroken.
Then, with Madoka's last wish, where all Homura's existence is now useless because there's no more Madoka and how she explains it, I can vividly feel every single word. I mean, Madoka sacrificed herself for others, but didn't think about the rest of Homura's life.
At the end of the day, it does seem like, it does not matter how hard, painful, long, sad, alone, etc., the decision Homura has to take to be with Madoka is, she will make it...
Thank you! It's honestly amazing that they took such a simple motivation, "Madoka," and turned it into a character as impactful as Homura. What they do with the concept, giving her actual agency and an impact on the world, and all for a simple desire, is amazing
i love your madoka vids, i saw the notif and ran so fast to watch it.
Thank you, I appreciate that! No rush though : D
I love seeing the improvements in your videos! This is beautifully written video!
Thank you : )
5:22 Such a good catch! It's not about saving Madoka, it's about having her. Great breakdown and editing! Keep it up :D
These madoka mágica videos are amazing
Wow perfect timing! I just finished the show!
I'm good at what I do 😎
We just got the poster and trailer for the sequel to Rebellion, and given the poster depicts Homura post series facing Homura post Rebellion suggests we may get to see a battle between a version of Homura who managed to move on and a Homura who couldn't.
I'm working my way through this playlist now, but your take on Rebellion is quite different from the ones I've seen before. That'd not bad, it's just interesting. I (and most of the videos I've ended up coming across) work from the subs, so I wonder how much of it may come down to that, or if it's really a difference of viewpoint.
I feel like if good and evil have roles in this show, they are diminished ones simply because it's not a single parable. It's a complicated story intertwining complicated people, and the incubators are frankly just... set pieces. I feel they themselves are more order v chaos where they represent order, than a specifically evil thing going on. They are a force that needs to be contended with, but the story is in the people and how they interact with each other as they cope with the world that they live in. And just as frankly, the incubators are *so boring.* They make for little more than a briefly engaging philosophical discussion; once you recognize them as part of the backdrop of the setting, if you want to keep engaging with the story you need to start processing how the actions of the actual characters fit into it.
When everyone has their own motivation, when everyone is working from the perspective of their own feelings, goals, and lived experiences, good and evil begin to feel like less useful qualifiers to me. I'm not sure I'll ever really be finished processing this show, but as I've grown as a person over time I've realized that "good" and "evil" are so subjective that they're effectively useless.
you had me until “homura didn’t care for the others but only madoka”😭😭 she clearly cares for them as well, but madoka is just her main priority. In Rebellion, Homura could’ve shot Mami’s souldgem and killed Bebe afterwards but didn’t. She hesitated and slowly lowered her arm to aim at Mami’s thigh. She cares for them enough to give them the chance to be human and regular girls again at the end of rebellion. Even in the series, she tries stopping Sayaka and Madoka from making a contract and getting involved in all of it. She warns them of kyubey and tried saving them all. When Mami tried killing them all, homura was caught off guard and only smiled to help Madoka get through what just happened. She cares for her friends and it sucks to hear people say she doesn’t.
In the original season she tells Sayaka word for word, ""I don't give a damn if you live or die, I don't care. I just don't want Madoka to see you like this." I'm always one to say I'm wrong, bt I stand firm that the only reason it looks like she cares for the others is because Madoka does.
@@ProfessorViral she says it for a reason. She says she doesn’t give a damn because she knows once someone becomes a magical girl, you can’t change their fate. Homura couldn’t care less because she’ll just keep time traveling over and over to save them again. It’s her saying she couldn’t care for the Sayaka in that specific time, not wanting Madoka to see and get influenced by it and trying to make a contract to save Sayaka. Even so, I don’t believe Homura is completely heartless. She’s only just a middle schooler and traumatized from everything.
@@DoomsBloodBathHomura is nuanced and does show a level of care, but her being indifferent to friends of a different time does show how heartless she can be
I don’t say that as an insult since it how she mentally survived her journey, but I always felt homura fans sugarcoat her intentions when in reality she is capable of doing some bad things in order to make what she perceives as what’s best for madoka
@@MO-zk8qs haii i came back to update on this
i completely get this and we have rebellion and the new trailers for this!! she quite literally took over the universe and ruined magical girls fate for the sake of madoka being happy. I still think she isn’t ENTIRELY heartless but she is during certain points, most of them being with sayaka. She definitely does NOT like her since sayaka was always the one turning into a witch in each timeline. Homura definitely grew frustrated and desperate and begged madoka not to bother with sayaka at all, which is definitely heartless. She even told kyoko to leave her corpse and kill the witch, which is crazy. During their fight with witch sayaka, she definitely cared for kyoko but it got drowned out by wanting to get madoka safe. She is most definitely does bad things but i still dont think shes ENTIRELY heartless since she gives them the chance at normal(ish) lives instead of getting rid of them.
@@MO-zk8qs i forgot to add in bandaged sayaka from the trailers.. whooppshh
I don't think she became evil. I think it's more like what happened in the original series. In the series, she took on a cold uncaring personality seemingly not caring about anyone but Madoka, but this is just a front. She clearly still has the same emotions she always did, and even though she acts as though she doesn't care about the others, she does. The cracks in this façade show up multiple times and I think it's just a coping mechanism. I think her being 'evil' is the same thing. In her conversation with Sayaka at the end of Rebellion, she's so over the top in terms of trying to seem evil that it almost comes off as cringe worthy, which makes me think it's an act like her cold uncaring personality was. She doesn't think a person who did what she did could possibly be good, so she acts like she isn't, just so she can sleep at night and shut out the guilt she feels for everything that has happened. What she did was evil but her intent was never malicious, almost like the Incubators. After all, if she truely was evil, would she have really let Mami, Kyoko, and Sayaka continute to exist in her world given the threat they could pose to it?
Great analysis. Really enjoyed this one.
Thank you!
Question...if the incubators were planning to control the law of the cycle didn't Homura save Madoka by separating Madoka from the law of the cycle?
How, the heck, are there still community content, for this show, in 2022?
Idk I always felt like beating a dead horse back to life when I think of madoka. But I guess it really is still very much alive.
Also I know there will be a new movie.
It's one of the most lively communities I've found. At least for me, that and Black Lagoon have been the most active in discussing series that are a good few years back
that’s what it means to not become a seasonal anime. they’re shows that get remembered even if hundreds and thousands of new seasonal shows come out after it
I really feel like what she did in Rebellion made complete sense for her character and what she's had to endure thus far. Makes sense she'd be a bit crazy. Even so, think about it: Homura herself is the reason that Madoka became Godoka. Madoka didn't mentally have to go through 12 years of loops; Homura endured every minute of it, so why do people feel as if Homura is not at all entitled to that power or the decision she made? I was surprised it was considered so divisive.
Well said, sir.
One thing I always liked about the Rebellion movie is how, much like the original series deconstructed the Magical Girl genre, the movie deconstructs the Fix Fic. If you aren't familiar with the term, a Fix Fic is a type of fanfiction made for series with sad or bittersweet endings in the fan's attempt to make a happier conclusion, either by following up the original ending or changing a few small details about the ending itself. And I love how it fits Homura's character so well that she did it twice herself in the movie. But it also notes how... those kind of fans may not have properly appreciated what the ending stood for and are more focused on their own biases ir interests. The fans who find some excuse for Lelouch to survive or can't stand to see Iron Man's fate, despite stopping Thanos. In essence, Homura becomes a mirror to fans to think whether the ending they got is actually fitting for the story or not. And in the case of Madoka Magica the anime, Homura couldn't while I can.
I love romance doomed by the narrative!!
Very excited to see Homura be right and perfect about everything for 2 hours
Say one wanted to have an actual 1:1 conversation in real time about, say, Rebellion into the rumored sequel. Where's the best places to have these? I prefer voice chat for in depth conversations around theory, character motivatino, etc.
There's a thing I wanted to ask but when we become a witch doesn't that mean the personality of the magical girl die? Because if you put Isabeau (magia record) when she became a witch and one of her daughter wished she came back to her human body, we can see that Isabeau True personality (old personality as a magical girl) disaspear and there's only her witch personality in her human body. So maybe Homura is actually dead and the Homura we see at the end of the film is Homulilly (her witch) in her human body.
Nah, she didn't stop existing inside her soul gem, also I don't like considering a parallel universe where the laws are different as something that happens just the same in the main one.
Now just to wait for the third and final instalment of the anime to come out so you can disect this ones plot
Indeed!
"No one can be with anyone together forever"...well, that's only if you forget about SOULS. Then it supposedly becomes possible at least. This is an anime with "life after death" after all, as we see with Bebe and Sayaka in Rebellion.
Is that only due to Madoka's wish though? I always figured they were brought by her as specific helpers, and didn't receive rest as such
@@ProfessorViral : No , Mami says she vanishes when her power is used up which is the fate of every other Magical Girl ("Surely you knew this when you obtained this power"), which indicates (Same with Homura in Rebellion) that Madoka as The Law of Cycles collects each Magic Girls soul. It's sort of like "Magic Girl Heaven". What I'm trying to say is its never made explicit that Madoka is treating Sayaka any different than any other Magical Girl. They all have their Magical Girl bodies vanish apparently.
@@ProfessorViral That being said, people really really do not grok 'forever' or even the simplest 'smallest' infinity. I suppose if there is life after death the only way it's really bearable (after a really long time and I include even if you can explore not just the whole universe, but others as well if they exist) is that either you get to 'end yourself' permanently at some point OR you get to completely erase your memories and start over. Otherwise eventually existence itself becomes boring as you endlessly repeat the same events over and over again. If there really are no laws of creation, that is, if literally anything can be created somewhere (even if it violates normal logic in our universe) only then could I see creativity being infinite and making such an existence other than a burden (erasing one's memories might WORK but it's a coping mechanism for eternal boredom).
Would neat if the professor did a deep dive in to fate/ zero, but that is a big task cause fate vers is big and confusing
I have done a couple Fate/Zero videos before! They're standalone, so they only address Fate/Zero and none of the other Fate series, but I think they turned out well still
@@ProfessorViral thanks, i'll look for them. too much anime doesn't get a proper breakdown, real glad to see someone give Koko and other less know but great anime some good attention, thanks for your time.
I disagree that he doesnt care about sayaka and mami, an he did care abou kyoka, she just saw them die all the time and in former, sayaka is a tragic character that always seems to either hate her becaus she is too close to madoka and jealous or othe human flaws , or selfdestroys.
And homura, was granting her wish giving her a fast death at least.
And mami, she is very similar as she either killed kyoka even and refuses anytime help and runs into her doom on her own false pride.
And kyoka, its love riight, kyoka seems to alway be dragged down with sayaka.
Sayaka just refuses homuras help as does mami because of their very nature, and homura does try, Wvwn i it with the, you will e dificult again and not listen, eh, really only madoka listens. her love for hr is a factor, but she isnt dismissing th others, she just is that tired she just cant (and she allied with kyoka). I see it just as her, she cant car anymore about whats nessesary.
Not that homura isnt really flawed, just she cared, she tried and was really rejected a lot there. We see how she gets more desperate .
And its not evil, she even has a good point, and madoka is not herself as law. And homura is yeah getting really ambivalent and not great, but she is broken and ok the incubators ate the real evil.
Because their May be a sequel it makes me want to see the outcome of madoka finding out what homera did and see if she will really hate her and fight her.
"What is the life of one ordinary girl against a universe?"
Everything
This makes me wonder… what is the rest of the world doing??? Like does Homura’s new existence as evil change the whole “Labyrinth” thing? Everyone has free will…? It doesn’t seem like it. Homura could erase Sayaka’s mind with a clap of her hands. Unless her power only works on magical girls. Idk but I’m excited for the new movie lol
6:02 I know this two year but this is not sayaka but te witch sayaka beacause the real sayaka never compliment homura
Oooh, I just got around to reading wraith arc, and honestly was somewhat frustrated at Homura's behavior in it. But with this in mind, that she is pretty much nothing outside of Madoka....... yeah, with this analysis I can see her actions a bit more clearly now (even if I'm still personally frustrated about Rebellion, she just couldn't die and be by Madoka's side). Also, I'm flabbergasted I never ended up hearing that the third movie eventually got dubbed? Wild.
The third movies out?
Im for sure still a bit frustrated with Rebellion myself, it's a bit of a mess in areas, and it makes it hard to understand as much as the rest of the series. But, I'm happy I was able to figure out a bit of it, and share it here!
Imagine being so villain in anime that you don't even have a tragic backstory💀even villains from the older anime have a backstory but does Kyuubey have one? No, we only know he's an alien. Does Homura have one? The only thing we get from Homura(besides Madoka) about her backstory is the fact that she has a weak heart.
Madoka and Homura talking:
Really feelling like Lulu talking to Riven XD
It is funny that I saw the Japanese version, so you talked a lot about Monika and i was thinking "who the hell is Monika?" Until I realized.
bro have you watched Monster it's a horror and detective I definitely recommend it
I will watch it some day, but I have to get ahead of schedule first to account for its longer run time
speaking about sayaka, you can really see the hypocrisy some fans are in how they label her and homura. both made a wish for the benefit of the other, yet generally sayaka gets labeled as the one who made a selfish wish one while homura's wish was selfless(or at least prior to the movie but there's still a number that will say it was selfless). in truth, homura was just lucky that madoka was generally concerned with everyone and didn't have someone she fancied or fancied her in return. if a similar situation with sayaka had occurred where there was a boy(or girl I guess) that seemed like would get into a relationship with madoka, I wouldn't disregard the possibility homura could have eventually darkened.
I didn't consider that, but one of the differences in their wishes is the object of their desire having different motivations. Madoka cares about everyone, and we can't say that for Kyosuke. And, that definitely changes how they end up. A great point!
She knows madoka returns th feelings because they had a relationship hinted, which kyosuke didnt. homura is at least smarter and know her hearts desire person better.
@@marocat4749 "returns th feelings because they had a relationship hinted"
madoka only refers to her as a friend, or best friend if you want, while its homura who chooses to see it as love. homura's just lucky that madoka didn't find someone else she actually loves yet.
I don’t necessarily think that’s true. Whether it’s a form of emotional self harm is debatable but Homura doesn’t actually seem to want Madokas affection in the new world, she stays absent from her life.
Whatever Homura did, she did nothing wrong 🤫😔
The Madoka Magica can of worms 🤣
Another great video with some great points! Conngrats, man!
But I think the fact that you place too much emphasis on Godoka or Akuma Homura makes you ignore the actual god of this story: the Incubator. I also think you give Godoka too much credit and too much power: at the end of the series, Godoka is nothing but a phenomenon, a concept, or a natural process of the Universe. After Madoka made her wish, she didn't re-create the universe, the universe had to re-create itself to accommodate the existence of this new entity. Homura was there because her wish made her conscience exist beyond time and space - that is the reason Homura's conscience is present outside the re-writing of the universe and she is the only one to remember Madoka the person, while the others never get to meet Madoka in the re-written world. Godoka is nothing but a Soul Reaper - her "powers" allow her to be everywhere, anytime in the re-written world, and they manifest seconds before the a MG's Soul Gem turns completely dark and is about to turn into a Grief Seed. The Wraiths from the re-written world was the universe's way of giving Negative Emotions shape, so that the Incubator (i"m referring it with "the" since I perceive as more of a hive-mind with multiple bodies that lack individuality) can still collect Energy - in the re-written world, MGs are something like the Police or White blood-cells.
The same thing applies to Akuma Homura - during the Void scene, when she plays with one of the Incubator's bodies (I like to think that is the form the Incubator's hive-mind conscience took shape there), since Homura herself is an existence that transcends time and space she can witness the re-writing of the previously re-written universe to accept Akuma Homura as the new existence. The universe is governed by it's own laws - it has always been there. It is on a scale that even transcendental beings like Godoka or A-Homura can't create or re-create it. They can only meddle with the laws of the universe, forcing change to a small degree. this is because their powers stem from the Incubator, a being that it itself cannot prevent the End of the Universe, only delay it.
Because of the Incubator experiment at the end of Rebellion, I don't believe Homura is reborn as Ultimate Evil, just as I've never perceived Madoka to be the Ultimate Good. When Homura wakes up from inside the cage, she had become an existence that was outside The Law of the Cycle's power: Homura was already forced to become a witch inside her Soul Gem, Godoka tried to intervene, but the Incubator's Cage prevented that influence, instead, the human conscience of TLotC, Madoka, got trapped inside and forgot its purpose. After the Cage is broken, TLotC regains its conscience, but it can no longer affect Homura, since Homura has transcended beyond Godoka's realm of influence. Since everything happened within her own Soul Gem, Homura now know how to separate Madoka's human conscience from the Natural Phenomenon Godoka, and the Universe re-writes itself by giving a human body to Madoka's conscience that Homura tore away from the Natural Phenomenon. In the re-re-written world, TLotC still exists and prevents witches from being created, but it does so automatically, without a conscience. The Madoka we see in class is a being that is now aware of her own individuality but is in danger of re-merging with Godoka if she starts doubting she's an individual.
The experiment has taught Homura that the Incubator is relentless - it is a being of pure rationality that has the intellect to understand and even meddle (to some extent) with the laws of the Universe. It will stop at nothing to bring back "The Witch system" since that was their most successful invention to gather energy - until Madoka changed it to be less efficient, but still good, nonetheless. In Rebellion, the Incubator does some backtracking, analyzes and finds ways to improve the Wraith System and identify TLotC as being the impediment to its previously more successful system. In Rebellion, the Incubator seeks to capture or even erase TLotC by means of catching it, studying it, understanding it and ultimately, eliminating it. In a post-Godoka universe, the Energy generated by Negative Emotion would almost double with the existence of both Wraiths and the return of the Witches. This is why A-Homura bluffs in the Void room by declaring herself as a Devil. The Incubator has no concept of Good and Evil. I like to believe that A-Homura is in fact new guardian of Madoka's human conscience that is now within a human body, but also the guardian of TLotC. Sure, she keeps Madoka's conscience inside the human body separated from Godoka because Homura wants a tangible being to interact with. Madoka's human body is now free to age, free to become an adult, and probably die (if Homura allows it). This is the ideal situation Homura can finally accept and be satisfied with: a reality where Madoka is human, where she has the the strength to protect both Madoka and Godoka and MGs don't suffer and become witches.
I'm really curious to see if and how the 4th movie turns my conclusions against me. :D
WOOOO MADOKA MAGICA
Homura says this herself, but she caused her own corruption. Magical girls typically center around hope or despair, but not homura. Her clara dolls are Arrogance, Sadsack, Liar, Coldheartedness, Selfishness, Badmouther, Dunce, Jealousy, Lazybones, Vanity, Cowardice, Fool, Bias, and Obstinance, these are all the things Homura hates about herself. But a final clara doll is love, which is what Homuras magic operates on. I have the theory that the rest of the witches in the show are unhatched witches, but due to the nature of Homura fully maturing within her labarynth, like a chicken fully developing inside its egg instead of hatching, that Homura is the only fully developed witch. And so she has full control of her powers as a witch. I believe in the upcoming Walpurgisnacht rising movie, the curse of the world is actually love. Homuras love is a darker form of love which is obsessive, that’s why it’s one of her Clara dolls. There’s also been some clues that Homura won’t reset time ever again.
This is the moment that Homura became Heisenberg
Madoka: "...I gave the wish to Kyubey."
Homura: *laughs crazily*
Just getting into this Fandom, about to watch madoka record and I keep seeing how disliked the ending was even though everyone likes it now?
Did the wait for the continuation take so long the entire Fandom changed it's way?
Pre video: oh s*^% here we go again lmao
Whether thats for me and this anime, or just Homura, it's still fair lol
@@ProfessorViral Madoka the anime and Homura, and that's in no bad way. Keep Em coming!