It Dons The Air Of A Noble Swordsman To Mask Its Envious Nature.

It dons the air of a noble swordsman to mask its envious nature.

The apple scene between Kyoko and Sayaka feels both like "a proper introduction between enemies who no longer wish to fight" and "a final invitation to connect with someone and pull yourself back from the edge".

Sayaka tossing aside Kyoko's gifted apple feels like her making a conscious choice to fully go crazy and a denial of Kyoko's attempt to reach out to her.

Additionally, Kyoko giving away to Sayaka something that holds significance for her (food, which she considers incredibly precious) without any expectation of something in return aside from "connection" is an interesting moment for a character previously depicted as "selfish" and constantly against Sayaka.

Kyoko sharing her story TO Sayaka is a moment of vulnerability, later matched by her sharing her story WITH Sayaka by sacrificing herself when she likely could've defeated Oktavia without dying in a effort to ensure Sayaka wouldn't be alone anymore.

This is such a cool analysis and interpretation of Kyoko's character! I never thought about the Little Match Girl when it came to potential inspirations for Ophelia (too hung up over the Hamlet reference) but it makes alot of sense and is generally quite cool!

Dya ever wonder why Ophelia is a candle? Too fuckin bad, I’m about to tell you: it’s cause I think Kyoko is partially inspired by the little match girl.

Now I hear you dear reader, “what the fuck is the little match girl” and firstly I must say you are privileged to not have had your heart gutted from you watching the short film, however I am happy to summarize.

An impoverished little girl is huddled in an alley in the dead of winter with nothing but a box of matches she has failed to sell. She doesn’t go home, though wether she is orphaned or her father will beat her for failing to sell her matches varies based off the iteration. Never the less, cold and starving, she lights one of her matches and sees a beautiful feast and is warmed by the flame. Though swiftly the wind blows it out. So this continues, as one by one, she lights a match, sees a comforting vision, and the match is snuffed away. She then dies in the alley way.

Does that not sound like the story of Kyoko Sakura? An impoverished girl goes out to help her father, though what she does fails at pleasing him and thus can’t return to him lest she be harmed. So instead she indulges in fantasy after fantasy: living as a hero, living for her and her alone, and saving Sayaka Miki. One by one the flames are snuffed until she is left with nothing but the hope of a pleasant dream as she dies.

Also in terms of her powers, it’s notable that she had the abilities to create illusions, much like what the girl saw in the flames.

Doing a little more examination of Ophelia’s design, it’s noteworthy that she rides on a horse, as horse meat in Japanese is “Sakura.” Her riding on it could imply that she sees either her past life or her family as just a vessel that got her where she is, or perhaps that she thought she was destined to fail; just a lamb to the slaughter.

God for being my least favorite of the holy quintet, Kyoko is so fucking cool. Maybe meguca is just good actually and none of its characters are ba- oh right Kyubey, fuck Kyubey.

In a sense, Homura is the "audience" that dictates who gets the spotlight while the incubators are the "directors" who decide what that spotlight entails.

Madoka is the center of Homura's everything (time travel, attention, affection, ect) and therefore she becomes the center of the universe too.

Madoka being the protagonist of the story just further cements that Homura's timeloop could never have worked. No matter what, Madoka would always be in the spotlight, she could never be just a normal person, not after this.

Nagisa living long enough to form bonds with other magical girls presents two wildly different AUs:

1. She meets Mami and the two help eachother through their mutual issues (fluff-fix-it-fic style)

2. She's mentored by Yuu and becomes an assassin who gets you with the bubble blower and puts a slice of cheese on your corpse (fix-it-fic but alot less fluff)

Shortly after Madoka Magica released (to great success), everyone started trying to make the next big "magical girl misery" anime. I think the reason those ones didn't really take off is because they missed the point of Madoka: the love of others and self-sacrifice is center stage, and we only really feel bad for the characters of Madoka Magica because we see them happy.

Madoka Magica isn't just a misery fest; Mami's death matters because we understand Mami's dreams and struggles, Sayaka becoming Oktavia is impactful because we see her downfall that isn't her fault (or anyone's for that matter). Madoka (and to a secondary extent, Homura) never give up hope or trying.

Madoka isn't constantly victimised and abused (unlike some over-the-top edgy magical girl animes I know) she's in tragic circumstances and still tries her best; still WANTS the best for the world around her.

Making something sad isn't about how much we see a character suffer and struggle; it's about making the struggles and suffering they go through impactful through their story. Wants, relationships, traits, and flaws... That's what makes a character's pain painful for an audience.