Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica – 11-12 [END]
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
Otaku everywhere went mental when they found out Madoka would be delayed indefinitely due to the tsunami in Japan. Really, you can’t blame them. It was a TSUNAMI. Finally, it was announced that episodes 11 and 12 would air together on the 21st, practically making it a newly established holiday with all the commotion. For some, the 2 episodes weren’t being aired until the 25th, so they just took a bus to the nearest place that was showing it instead of waiting 3 whole days. tl;dr, PEOPLE LOST THEIR SHIT OVER MADOKA.
Kyubei confronts Homura about her time traveling abilities, finally deducing that she has been rewinding time over and over in order to save Madoka. However, in doing this she has caused multiple parallel worlds to converge so that the fate of that world rests solely on Madoka. Since the power of a mahou shoujo is directly correlated to how much misfortune they can cause, Homura has only made Madoka into a stronger and stronger witch each time she repeats that same month.
With the weight of Sayaka’s death still hitting Madoka like a ton of bricks, she coops herself in her room where Kyubei makes her feel ever worse. He justifies his actions by comparing his actions to how humans slaughter cattle without thought, and then tells Madoka that he has been making pacts with girls since prehistoric times. Almost any famous female figure who died tragically was a mahou shoujo.
Madoka’s mom and her teacher are worried about Madoka, so they have a little talk in an empty bar. Meanwhile, aforementioned pink-haired good-for-nothing shows up on Homura’s doorstep to talk about Walpurgis. As much as Homura would like Madoka to believe she can do this alone, it’s pretty obvious she doesn’t stand a chance against a witch that powerful. She’s been seen through. Homura breaks down and finally explains everything to Madoka while sobbing in her arms.
A storm rolls in that’s so massive, civilians are being evacuated to shelters. The streets are empty and free for Homura to bust out an entire battlefield of explosives and firearms that would pt even Mami to shame. Walpurgis gets hit by every missile launcher, gasoline truck, tank and mine at Homura’s disposal…and is still unscathed. Homura gets knocked back by a sudden retaliation and as she lies amidst the destruction and chaos, she questions why she should continue if it means Madoka will just be an even more powerful witch. As her soul gem starts to fill up with darkness, Madoka tells her it’s okay…she’ll take the wheel from here.
Elsewhere, the army suddenly became very, very underarmed.
Madoka is so powerful at this point that even a wish as impossible as “I want all witches to die before they are born” can be granted. Madoka not only destroys the soul gems of every mahou shoujo before they become a witch, but she kills Walpurgis too. In a sudden jump to what I would assume is almost like a parallel world, Mami explains the connotations of her wish. She has to fight witches forever, in every single parallel world. O_O Have fun with that.
Convert to Madokaism!
Homura awakens in a void where Kyubei’s voice explains that Madoka is reorganizing space like you would organize your sock drawer. Her soul gem is a SHOOTING STAR surging with hope as well as despair. Despair almost wins out, until Goddess Madoka (seen in the OP song kissing Madoka’s forehead) shoots despair in the face and manages to create a world without witches. The catch? She won’t be remembered by anyone. Except maybe Homura, who got to see her naked, and won’t be forgetting THAT any time soon.
And thus the yuri tag on pixiv was never the same again
Madoka’s new universe is suddenly jolted into movement, and Homura finds herself clutching Madoka’s hair ribbons after Sayaka kills herself as a witch. Mami and Kyoko are still alive, and have no recollection of Madoka, unlike Homura who remember right away. Poor Sayaka gets the short end of the stick, but at least she gets to hear Kamijo play one more time (even if he did get with Hitomi).
No one else remembers Madoka except for Tatsuya and Homura…Homura sees the little moeblob drawing her in the sand and then talks to her mother a bit about this “imaginary friend” named Madoka. It’s rather sweet. Although Homura is still a magical girl, things are very different. Mahou shoujo don’t turn into witches, the mahou shoujo fight demons to get power for Kyubei’s world, and therefore everyone gets along more with the incubator. (He still has their souls though…right…? <_<) Homura uses Madoka’s bow now instead of time traveling, a representation of her ever close bond with her cotton-candy haired love interest in the sky.
Bonus Medunka Mederpa:
You got to meet God? High five, bro.
brb, fixing universe
Mahou Shoujo Pedobait Sally, coming next winter
Followed by Mahou Shoujo WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU IN A VOLCANO Betty
End Thoughts: That was a nice, clean wrap-up to a great series. I would have felt wronged if they left us with a cliffhanger after building up so much tension. Madoka DID become a mahou shoujo, even if it was at the end of the last episode, and it was really worth the wait. I mean, she only saved every mahou shoujo ever and set the entire universe right again. She became an all-knowing GODDESS! Pretty epic, if you ask me. I would have never thought such a whiny kid could be so selfless and noble, but I guess she had a lot of time to think. To think Madoka would reach such a scale as RE-MAKING THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE…yep, it went there. Truly impressive. Well, now we know why no one wished for no witches in the first place…because their wish wouldn’t have come true unless they had an enormous amount of power.
Homura and Madoka’s fight with Walpurgis was amazing, but I still think episode 11 and 12 are a smidgen less shocking and mind-blowing than episode 10 was. The bomb was dropped in episode 10, and it must’ve been hard to go up from such a high point. They still revealed new pieces of information until the very end though, what with Kyubei’s explanation of how he’s been around forever. He really isn’t an evil person, his planet is just emotionless. Emotion is a mental disorder where he’s from. No matter how well he explains it, you can’t help but hate the little furball. Even when they’re killing demons instead of witches in the end of episode 12, I STILL hated him. I associate his face with blinding white fury. Not a lot can be done to change that, either. >_<
It could very well have ended with everyone dying miserably, but this sort of bittersweet ending is better. Everyone except for Sayaka and Madoka are alive, and mahou shoujo don’t turn into witches when they die. A pretty happy ending, I’d say. (Aside from Homura suffering miserably. and DAT RIBBON T.T) The only annoying thing about it was the ending was a bit dragged out. I didn’t care about seeing Sayaka have her little moment with Kamijo…They spent too much time trying to make us feel good about the ending, after jerking us around so much. It was a bit too much closure, and I would have liked a more swift ending instead of slowly trickling away.
I am VERY glad I got to blog about Madoka. I’m not the type to go forum-hopping for any sort of speculation or to talk about theories, so I wouldn’t have even THOUGHT of predicting anything ahead of time for Madoka if I hadn’t been writing about it. Writing about it forces me to think more critically about it and see things I would have otherwise missed. Whenever I blog about something, I tend to enjoy it a lot more for this reason, especially shows as multi-tiered as Madoka Magica. I loved discussing theories with ALL OF YOU and hearing everyone’s take on things as well as sharing my own. And that is the end of my posts on what could possibly be the most genre-defying mahou shoujo anime to be created.
There is no such thing as death; only change.
About Overcooled
A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
POWUH: iLurker with 9 comments
Hmmm when I first watched it I thought Madoka took out the dispair in their soul gems so they could die normally rather than destroying their soul gems. True the soul gem disappeared right afterwards but I just thought that was because they died.
But I agree, this kind of bittersweet ending was best. If they had a happy ending where Madoka was still human and Homura had succeeded in protecting her it wouldn’t have worked out, because Homura in the end would still become a witch and in the end Madoka would be alone.
The image of their backs at the end made me a tear up a bit though ;_;. One thing I really like about the show in general is that each character has a reason for being there and not a single minute is wasted…although some might have thought the scene with Sayaka and Kamijo was unnecessary, I don’t think so because without it the last memory of Sayaka we have is when she becomes a witch, and that wouldn’t be very satisfying if we didn’t tie up the loose ends in her character.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
She takes the despair out, but has to destroy the soul gem to actually kill them since it’s their soul. I don’t think it just disappears after the despair is gone without her destroying it.
A completely happy ending would need a LOT of stupid deus ex machina crap…it just wouldn’t work. o.o
That last image made me realize it was really over D: Everyone had their own role, and there were mahou shoujo everywhere that we didn’t even get to meet who were risking their lives. (I want to see mahou shoujo Cleopatra). I’m biased for kind of starting to dislike Sayaka, so I didn’t care about any closure for her…
POWUH: 800-899 and Self-proclaimed Manga Queen with 874 comments
~KYUBEI’S EYES FOREVER HAUNTING MY DREAMS….
I’m really glad I ended up watching Madoka. It was just…so dark, deep, and depressing; COMPLETELY different from what I had imagined, and I probably would have gone on forever thinking it was some lame show about cute magical girls and their powers. It’s one of the reason why I’ve come to love this so much.
I’m pretty satisfied with the ending. If they made it a happier ending, it would have most likely lost that dark impact. I actually got a bit confused with the Sayaka part. They didn’t really need that in my opinion, but then again it did make me tear up |’D Speaking of tearing up, I did the same for the part when Tatsuya was drawing Madoka ;A; -SOB-
POWUH: 600-699 and Romance Expert with 652 comments
I disagree with the part of sayaka. she was needed to be shown since she is a main character. she drove most of the plot and was stated by gen urubochi that she was actually the protagonist.
she also was the most deserving to live since she fell into despair and became a witch. kyouko and mami were able to cope since they didnt know the truth and had no one to care for while sayaka still had her family and friends.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Haha, my excitement got more people to watch it, I’m glad! I figured it would be my fluffy show to blog about, but it turned out like THIS. Talk about a pleasant surprise.
My dislike for Sayaka’s bonus scene really just stems from the fact that I started to dislike her as time went on. She’s a main character and probably deserves the special treatment, but personally I didn’t care about seeing her find fulfillment.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 209 comments
It was a incredible ending to a epic series that many didn’t expect to be so grand. While Magical Girls are still, in a way, fighting some new evil. They are not in despair no longer, allowing for Madoka sacrifice to still have meaning. I do wonder what was the deal with Homura new powers but I can assume it was the left over energy from Madoka.
Kinda wish what really happen to Mami and Kyouko. I just imagine that they had tea after that point 😀
Anyway, Join the Church of Madoka now.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 209 comments
I would like to add this post explaining some finer details: http://imperialx.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/madoka-doesnt-need-a-sequel-to-explain-itself/
POWUH: 600-699 and Romance Expert with 652 comments
actually(this is just my guess but) I believe kazumi magica is the sequel to madoka magica.
just the manga check out and see for yourself.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
That post is so convenient. The only thing I really didn’t get was Homura’s powers, which I only assumed she got from Madoka. It really was a nice ending that explained everything (aside from that).
I will be checking out that manga now~
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 83 comments
This was truly a great end to a great series. Madoka becomes the shining hope that will always wipe out the despair of Mahou Shoujos. Now, these mahou shoujos are risking their lives for a worthy cause, not to be turned into the end of others of their own kind. I really like the incorporation of advancement of society and history with mahou shoujos. Joan of Arc and Cleopatra as Mahou shoujos seems to make a lot of sense.
Awesome post! I LAWL’ed at all of your captions xD
Brb, building a Madoka shrine in my room.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Madoka become a goddess…what else could I want? XD The mahou shoujos from history was a nice touch, although it was introduced a bit late in the game for it to have a big impact.
After all these months at Metanorn and I’m finally getting the hang of captions! *egoboost* >w<
POWUH: 400-499 with 428 comments
Madoka is a big deal for otakus! Although they must have been shocked by Kyubei’s eyes when they were staring at the screen from three centimetres away 🙂
Brilliant ending to a brilliant anime, another great anime by SHAFT and Shinbo. Tips when facing Puella Magi; never try to outgun Homura and never try to force Madoka into despair Show ▼
The entire two episodes were just wonderful, though I agree, I wish there was something more to Mami and Kyoko. Sakura I understand her passing on after her wish being granted, even if it was bittersweet, with that Hitomi girl…grr…and the whole history arc thing is becoming quite popular, though I very much enjoy these kind of things (such as conspiracies. I’m a bit of a sucker for them :))
The ending was a little open-ended since Homura, Mami and Kyoko are technically still mahou shoujos so maybe a future season to follow? I don’t particularly see how it could happen (especially after the great finale after Madoka’s sacrifice…any Lelouch vibes here?) but there is always the possibility 🙂
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Kyubei is the most terrifying villain ever. When he used that eye hypno-beam on Madoka to show her the past, I was scared <_< The future season would be weird since they don't become witches and they're fighting demons...if anything, they'd have to do a prequel or an alternate story not related to this one. It's fine ending where it is now :3
POWUH: 600-699 and Romance Expert with 652 comments
madoka magica gets my vote for best anime this year.
I got really teary eyed when sayaka still didnt get to live. her true intentions, to heal kyousuke so others could listen to his music and for him to be happy, was clouded by her love for him. madoka showed sayaka the future of her decision to heal him, so that sayaka would at least die happy knowing that she managed to make him happy even if she didnt get him in the end.
and I rarely get teary eyed.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
So far it’s my favourite of 2011, that’s for sure.
It really sucks that Sayaka had to die while everyone else could live on. Well, at least Kamijo remembered her for everything she (secretly) did for him.
POWUH: 1100-1199 and Meta's Evil rice-flour Product with 1137 comments
neeeeeeeeeeed suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuubs D:
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Why can’t you find them? D:
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 131 comments
Homura just got friendzoned by God. lol.
I couldn’t resist… I watched the live stream!! 8DDDDD I don’t have words to describe how my face was like when I was watching it (again)… dammit, Madoka wasn’t uselless after
homura’s wishall! But, serious, Am I the only one that really liked Madoka right from the start? I mean, she is… well, she WAS just a normal girl. So “selfless and noble” that became a GODDESS just like that. I’m so Madokist right now.And fuck, Sayaka didn’t even mentioned Kyoko in the end lol. I feel bad for that red-haired miss. And DAT POEM. ;_______;
I would not give a shit about this show 4 months ago… but now. That was the frist time I followed ALL episodics (and actually made comments) of something. Thanks to that, now I know things like pixiv, /a/ (DAT SPECULAH), Shinbo, Gen, Bokurano (Uninstall *-*), Saya no Uta, SHAFT
IS GOD… it was really fun. (:Tatsuya is DA BEST lil’ brother ever. Also, 21/04, never forget. ‘Cuz Madoka died for our SOULS. D:
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Haha, I was tempted to, but it was the day after exams so I went shopping with my friend XD Watched it the morning after.
I didn’t really like Madoka too much, especially for throwing away Sayaka’s soul gem. Ugggh. Well, now that she’s a GODDESS, it’s fine now, I guess. Can’t really call her a whiny little girl anymore.
Haha yes, it was nice to see you so active here ^o^ MADOKA CHANGED YOUR LIFE! (Good thing I watched Bokurano before watching this, heh).
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 99 comments
I’m actually not sure of what I thought of the ending. It was very good, but I feel it could have been better. It didn’t ruin the series though, so in that aspect, it was a huge success.
I hated QB (like you) until the last scene where he played Homura’s pet. For once, I thought he was cute. 0.o But for most of the series he was pretty insufferable.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yeah, it didn’t make me want to cry or go “OH SHIT” but it was definitely good. XD
I STILL hate Kyubei. I can’t erase my conditioning at this point…no matter how cute he is perching on Homuhomu’s shoulder >_<
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Ah the final episodes! So good! I loved the reaction Kyubey had to Makoka’s final wish he was all NOOOOO MY PLANS RUINED!!! Hahahaha sucks to be him! Anyway seeing that there always magical girls in all the different eras was so badass! I was happy that they actually showed it.
Course Madoka’s giant form has been done several times in other anime, however I always like that! And yes OC there will be much fanart coming out of Homura X Madoka artworks.
I shall miss this show! Was a thrilling and fun show to get people talking 😀
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Kyubei got owned for sure. All the magical girls in the world can finally rest in peace.
I’ll miss the RIDIKURUSS hype surrounding Madoka every week. Oh well, there’s always C to speculate over for now. XD
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 88 comments
I don’t see how anyone could hate QB lololol
There was quite a bit of HomuraxMadoka moments (naked hugging!!!) so I AM HAPPY yaaaaaaaaaaay
It was a little weird that Homura actually told QB about the witches though, I was like, “NOOOO DON’T TELL HIM ABOUT IT!” Next thing you know his race goes off to design witches again haha. Just kidding, it doesn’t really work that way anyway XD
http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lk38jomzIZ1qbtv98o1_500.jpg
The Japanese magical girls always get cool screentime. I want to watch Puella Magi Joan of Arc yo
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yes, how could we hate……WAIT.
Apparently it’s more efficient the way he’s doing it now in this universe, so it’s a good thing he can’t change his plans XD He might not even believe Homura, she sounds crazy afterall.
Seriously, everyone would watch a mahou shoujo cleopatra or joan of arc…COME ON SHAFT. DO IT. (and make history actually interesting)
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 33 comments
Hell of a ride, eh?
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Hell of a ride, indeed.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
I finally watched this and ah well, at least the whining stopped! Madoka as a series redeemed itself for me in the last three episodes. I was missing the epic and the point of it all. The Goddess card worked and SHAFT did their thing with the animation and typical angles. The only thing I will wait for now is the OST of this.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
lol, I know, you hated her whining XD The last 3 episodes were the best ones!
Oh man, that OST…can’t wait. <3
POWUH: 600-699 and Wingman with 655 comments
Good Friday – She died for your sins
Unexpected ending from Urobuchi, but considering his works getting milder on TVA, i guess that copes 😛
Madoka left a legacy, especially in the genre of Magical Girls, but in a different form from Nanoha
From SHAFT’s art Urobuchi’s plot and Ume’s art they were able to create something that would last in the hearts of the audience for a long period of time
many discussions would be made in the near future of what had to be done and what shouldn’t have, but that wont change the fact that this anime left something in the history of anime
so……………….where’s the second season?
POWUH: 600-699 and Romance Expert with 652 comments
its just my guess:
from what ive read in the kazumi magica, it seems to be set after madoka made the wish. so it could be considered a sequel.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
It wasn’t the “everyone dies” ending I expected, but I think this might be better XD The ending worked, thankfully not undoing the amazing progress Madoka Magica has made for the mahou shoujo genre. I really really hope more mahou shoujo along these lines start coming out.
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
man, the ending was perfect. not happy, not tragedy, just bittersweet.
i still want to know how homura get her guns though. and gosh, Madoka needs to work on her Goddes costume better. She obviously took that from Lady Moon of Sailor Moon.
oh well, madoka is a good change for the mahou shoujo genre. all right, not a change. more like the dark side of mahou shoujo, since lots of mahou shoujo are all happy and sparkly.
and what the fuck is sayaka doing in the last scene? she was totally not needed
POWUH: 600-699 and Wingman with 655 comments
i thought it was pretty much a happy ending considering Urobuchi
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Homura stole them from the army or something but…that is…a lot of stealing. <_< How did no one notice? Madoka was so refreshing. I would watch more mahou shoujo if they promised to be dark and twisted like this. I can only handle so much sparkles. Sayaka was dying in the last scene lol, you're even more harsh towards her than I am.
POWUH: 1100-1199 and Meta's Evil rice-flour Product with 1137 comments
what…the heck…was that at the end? with homura and the black wings of awesome awesomeness?
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Either Homura got even more badass powers, or she was dying. Her wings were white before, and in the end part they were tainted as if she was going to become a witch (which can’t happen because of Madoka’s new rules). I’m not exactly sure though, it’s the one thing they don’t explicitly explain >_<
POWUH: 1100-1199 and Meta's Evil rice-flour Product with 1137 comments
WHY ON EARTH DIDNT YOU SCREEN CAP THIS?!??! http://images.4chan.org/a/src/1303650296332.jpg
POWUH: 1100-1199 and Meta's Evil rice-flour Product with 1137 comments
aha…gotta use internet explorer to open that image…:(
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
There’s already a gif of it too! You have no idea how hard it was to choose screencaps without spamming everyone, although that picture is definitely a winner right there XD
POWUH: iLurker with 3 comments
repost image plz? ;_; it’s not working anymore.
POWUH: iLurker with 3 comments
i think the ending sequence and the opening sequence has some major significance. If you noticed, the op has the runes and the old reel movie motif and the ending also has the reel movie motif. if anybody translates the opening sequence, the there might be some meaning to it.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Most likely. And I’ll bet someone has already translated those runes somewhere out there. I think there’s even a wiki page for it.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 305 comments
Awww man, how can you hate Kyuubey? XD He’s just so delightfully evil <3
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
No, not DELIGHTFULLY evil, just DOUCHEBAG evil.
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 24 comments
You did this series justice, Overcooled. Reading your reviews made me want to go rewatch the entire series. I’ve noticed that you’ve referred to the girls as ‘Kyuubey’s slaves’ multiple times, and I had to laugh. You see, the first part series’ name, Puella Magi, can be read in two ways. It can be read as ‘magical girl’, but that’s a bit awkward. A much easier way to read it is ‘slave of the magi’ with Kyuubey being the magi. Did you know about this?
POWUH: 700-799 and Parkouring Fanboy with 776 comments
Puella magi would correctly be “girl of the magician” in Latin. Puella being in the nominative singular form, “girl,” with “magi” taking on “of the magician” for being 2nd declension genitive, since it can’t be an adjective describing “puella” for their cases don’t match.
Thus it could be construed as implying a girl who belongs to a magician, but it the word “slave” isn’t actually in there.