“Why do humans care so much about where their souls are?”

みんな仲良しであれたら by 明

There have already been many posts about how Mahou Shojo Madoka Magica is subverting the magical girl genre and keeps shocking us with events completely unbecoming of what was originally expected of it. I was naive at first, believing that the series would follow the mahou shojo formula closely, with perhaps a slightly darker atmosphere, as it appeared to do in the first two episodes. But as we all know, by episode 3 the show has become something very different…

– “Bad guys?”

One of the first deviations that Madoka Magica presents is its antagonistic characters – if you can even call them “characters” – the witches. When we think of villains called witches, we think of cackling old ladies who cast evil spells, or, as is more typical of anime, mischievous girls in cute/cool outfits with magic powers. The witches in Madoka however, are something totally different – one can hardly even call them “creatures” as much as “enigmas” or “entities.” To me, the witches and their sequences in the show are like a trip through a nightmarish fun-house mixed with a museum of art that looks like it’s either made up of scribbles by very disturbed children or some horrifying twist on Takashi Murakami’s style.

Because of their atypical design, and the fact that all we know about them thus far is that they’re born from curses and cause people to die, it seems that the witches are meant to be “symbols” more than actual living beings. Symbols of what? The pain and darkness in the human world perhaps?

– Cute mascot?

First scene where I thought, “Geez, what a creeper.”

Magical girl shows are known for having at least one cute mascot animal character. At first, Kyubey seems to fit the role nicely. In episode 1, he’s presented as this cute little creature running scared and injured from Homura, crying out to Madoka for help. But…it’s not too long before we see that Homura has a good reason for wanting to be rid of the little guy. Once we find out that being a magical girl, at least in this show, is a depressing, dangerous, dog-eat-dog job, and Kyubey goes around quite contently pushing these life-changing contracts onto innocent young girls without telling them exactly what being a magical girl entails, even something important like moving their soul out of their body, how could you not think there’s something sinister there? His unchanging expression and matter-of-fact dialogue at even the most emotionally intense moments further pile up evidence for why many fans consider him “evil,” or at least “creepy.” Normally I like the cute mascot creatures, but even I’ll admit that there’s something not right about Kyubey. He would be more likable if he’d change that stuffed animal expression once in a while, or be a little more sympathetic and proactive when dealing with the girls he contracts.

I don’t get you.

“Why do humans care so much about where their souls are?” – for me, this has been the eeriest thing Kyubey’s said so far. The fact that I wanted to name the post after this line is proof of that. I also think this line conveys a good overall picture of Madoka Magica’s dark theme.

There’s still so much mystery surrounding Kyubey. What is he exactly? Is he serving someone by producing magical girls? If he does have a master, what is this master’s goal? If he doesn’t have a master, what motivation does he have for making these contracts? Are there others like him? I do hope we get more answers about Kyubey before the series is over. I wouldn’t call him “evil” just yet…”colorless” maybe?

– Love conquers all?

Finally, in addition to the freaky witches and shady mascot character, as far as dark and horrifying go, the events that happen in Madoka Magica are off the magical girl scale. What really makes it all the more horrific is seeing it through Madoka’s eyes, who’s not the typical Plucky Girl that many mahou shojo anime have. Again, it’s not until episode 3 that the show’s true colors are revealed.

Learning from Mami what a hardening and miserable job being a magical girl really is, was only the beginning for poor Madoka. Not long after she starts to form a bond with Mami, she promptly witnesses the latter literally get beheaded by a monstrous witch. Although Sayaka more or less gets over it quickly, Madoka is still clearly traumatized, lamenting throughout almost all of episode 4. Before she can even recover from this terrifying experience, she witnesses another one in the form of her classmate attempting a mass suicide with other people, and Madoka herself almost becomes a victim too! Fate continues to have no mercy on her as, not too long after that, she learns that her best friend has become a magical girl, only to get caught up in a bitter and violent dominance struggle with another magical girl. When we last left Madoka in the recent episode 6, she witnessed yet another death perhaps even worse because the victim was Sayaka, literally dying in her arms, and she was the one who caused it!

Was I the only one who thought at first that the truck actually ran over Sayaka’s Soul Gem? At first I was like “Holy crap, they didn’t just kill off another character?!” But I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that the Soul Gem was still intact. Thankfully the episode didn’t leave us hanging there and we see that Homura brought it back to Sayaka, reviving her.

Seeing Homura so intent on rescuing Sayaka’s Soul Gem made me like her a little more. I know deep down she has good intentions, she just doesn’t express them well.

So far Kyoko is too insensitive and arrogant for my taste. But her reaction to Sayaka’s “death” made her a bit more sympathetic – obviously she too doesn’t know all the horrifying details of being a magical girl.

Seriously, if Madoka doesn’t need some hardcore therapy after all this, I’ll be really surprised.