Let's All Be Magical Girls!

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Elephant Parade: Jan 20, 2018

Larryb posted:

In that case, I’ll probably stick with the anime then as that appears to contain all of the story but none of the fluff.

Do we know if this is getting a dub as well? Madoka is one of the few anime where I really liked both the Japanese and English casts.

The subplot Endorph was talking about is a side story, so it probably won't be adapted. I don't think that character has shown up at all in the main story, unfortunately.

e: also, the anime looks to be pretty different from the monage story-wise, though that might be a good thing

# ¿ Dec 21, 2019 21:49

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 23:45

Elephant Parade: Jan 20, 2018

Endorph posted:

Its an alternate universe and, at least in the game, none of the original cast is really relevant to the main ploy.

Well, they're kind of relevant; they show up here and there in the main story. They're supporting characters, really.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2020 16:36

Elephant Parade: Jan 20, 2018

Larryb posted:

The first episode of Magia Record is out now, has anyone checked it out yet? If so, how is it?

It's pretty solid. Some weird grammar errors in Funimation's script, but nothing experience-destroying. The visuals are outstanding, but it's hard to say whether it'll end up doing anything meaningful with them.

# ¿ Jan 4, 2020 21:26

Elephant Parade: Jan 20, 2018

Larryb posted:

Which makes me curious if this series is going to last a bit longer than Madoka did in that case (since as you mentioned it mainly exists to promote the game).

~~I mean, it's listed as 26 episodes and Madoka was 13, so~~

Wikipedia says it's 13. Anichart says 24, but Anilist says 13 too, so I don't even know

Elephant Parade fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Jan 5, 2020

# ¿ Jan 5, 2020 16:03

Elephant Parade: Jan 20, 2018

Larryb posted:

Why are we using spoiler tags for a 6 year old movie?

Related, the second episode of Magia Record is out. We meet some new characters and get a lot more story information. Out of curiosity, is most of the anime’s plot pulled directly from the game or did they add some stuff?

Basically everyone seems to do it, possibly because it's harder to (legally) get a hold of than the series.

The overall plot remains unchanged, but the cafeteria scene might've been new? It's been six months since I started plaing the game. Kuroe is 100% new.

# ¿ Jan 12, 2020 00:07

Elephant Parade: Jan 20, 2018

Larryb posted:

Did Rebellion not get a home release over here or something (or get put up on Funimation�s website for that matter)?

A quick google search suggests that it isn't up on Funimation, meaning that to watch it, you need to go out and get it on DVD (whereas the series is available on both major streaming services). That isn't a huge barrier, but it is a barrier. Personally, I don't think it's necessary to spoiler tag Rebellion stuff at this point, but I can understand how some people might disagree.

# ¿ Jan 12, 2020 00:37

Elephant Parade: Jan 20, 2018

Terry van Feleday posted:

I need to jump back to Madoka Rebellion for a sec because it suddenly occurs to me there's one thing about the ending I'm not clear on. To what extent is the Law of Cycles still operational in Homuraworld? I figured the closed-window symbolism meant she was totally locked out and out of commission, but Homura talks specifically about all the Wraiths having to be destroyed, which suggests Witches still do not exist. Does that mean Godoka's remaining half can still function just fine (which would sure take a lot of edge off the ending in a way that doesn't quite sit right with me) or is the implication that Homura has found some kind of temporary workaround by loving around with the universe's laws herself?

(Spoiling this because it costs nothing and even though the movie's old there might still be people in this thread who haven't seen it, like me just a few weeks ago.)

it's ambiguous

# ¿ Jan 18, 2020 02:12

Elephant Parade: Jan 20, 2018

the ED (which you should listen to with subtitles, if you haven't already) makes it sound like Homura has turned the world into a fairyland where she, Madoka, and all the rest can live indefinitely without growing up (i.e. dying/turning into Witches/living forever as conceptual laws). I can't find a good translation of the lyrics online, but there are lines about "hope and the future" being crap, among other things.

but there's no objective answer as to the physical reality of Homura's world because we see it for like three minutes at the end of Rebellion and, outside of the concept trailer, it hasn't been revisited since

# ¿ Jan 18, 2020 02:17

Elephant Parade: Jan 20, 2018

is it really devolution when minigame collections are something the primary target audience likes

# ¿ Jun 2, 2020 16:54

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 23:45

Elephant Parade: Jan 20, 2018

(rebellion spoilers ahead)

The lyrics and visuals of Rebellion's ED give us a look into what Homura's world looks like in the long term, so I think it's deeply important context if we're going to talk about the ending:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgiNwzfNGcc

Contrary to the rest of the ending, the ED is actually pretty uplifting. Beyond the soft tone, you have verses like

quote:

Let us play some more until we are called
Let us repeat our days like a flower reborn

which suggest that Homura's world is a space where, for the first time in an eternity, Madoka and the rest can just have fun and chill out. Obviously it isn't a perfect world�a few bits of the song get at the issue of whether Homura has effectively just frozen everyone in place... but then another lyric talks about "flying towards the true end", which goes against that. And at the end of the animation, Madoka and Homura join hands and run into the distance. Taking the ED into account, Rebellion's ending lands on the hopeful side of melancholy, at least for me.

surf rock posted:

Reading this and sitting on it a little more, I think that's a fair and plausible reading of her character in the show, and that it's not insane where the movie went with her. But I don't think it's the only reasonable interpretation, and it wasn't mine. The show ends with her talking about fighting to protect Madoka's dream, seemingly having made peace with what happened. Trying to continue on someone's legacy is a super normal thing to do when you lose someone you love, so it made sense for that to be her reaction. Maybe the writer was forced to add that rather than leave her finale more open-ended since it was the finale, but that's the show we got and it's all I can go off as a viewer as to where her character's headspace was at.

I would feel much better about the movie if it wasn't the end of the story, but... apparently it is? So, even if it's a reasonable character beat for Homura, ending the story there is a real downer. Madoka has been pulled from happy godhood and is suffering an epic identity crisis with universes and poo poo appearing, Homura has gone insane and is already talking about Madoka becoming her enemy before possibly committing suicide, Sayaka is also furious about what happened before getting memory-wiped (indicating that she wasn't upset about how her life had turned out before). If this was the launching point for more story, that would be rough but a potentially amazing setup. But that's it. My concern with the show when I started understanding how it was subversive was that it was just going to be misery porn, and I was so thankful that the show was more than that. But that's what the last twist felt like to me.

Madoka's godhood isn't exactly happy, going by her character song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__q9fsZa5vk

quote:

Saying "see you later", whilst waving my hand
Forcing a smile, yet I'm feeling lonely

She's obviously willing to become a god if that's what it takes to break the cycle of tragedy, but she isn't actually happy, just pretending to be. And then as the song describes all these mundanities,

quote:

People climb up the pedestrian bridge whilst carrying their bicycles
Someone gossiping at the convenience store
Sounds of faraway horns at the crossing traffic lights
and the sounds of strangers laughing together

you get the sense that she really, really misses all these things she's no longer a part of�she misses being human. So Madoka really might be happier as a (fake) human than as a goddess, just as Homura believes.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2021 00:08

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > VEGETA > Let's All Be Magical Girls!