Forum - View topicShelf Life - QB of the Year
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Trypticon
 Posts: 80 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
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I think attack on Titan is a good series that can either be viewed as a straight up entertainment thrill ride, or a philosophical venture about people; both literally and metaphorically with how the characters, the story and concept are executed. With the people on the story safely hiding behind walls to keep titans out, this can be linked to how people as individuals sometimes put up psychological and emotional walls to keep themselves from being hurt; a pre-emptive defense mechanism. Understandably, even with these “walls” put up, outside aspects still do find their way in, regardless of how the individual feels about this and what measures they put in place.
There is also the idea of “playing it safe” as covered in the story; some characters want that cushy job within the inner most wall with the king. This is fine, after all, they’re taken care of and don’t have much to worry about, however; that’s all they can ever expect. For the scouts, and Eren, who want to see the world; yes, his path is one of obviously lethal amounts of risk and danger; the rewards that can be obtained are priceless. There is a lot more I can ascertain from this series in terms of meaning, but for now, I just leave those posted thoughts. Overall, despite a few issues with this series such as the pacing at times along with some oddly placed still frame and key animation components, I really like Attack on Titan and I look forward to watching the dub version of this second set when I get it in November (it’s on an order with Sailor Moon, so I have to be patient). Next up, I ordered that Madoka Movie pack a few months ago, but haven’t gotten around to watching it; it really doesn’t help when I watched the series for a fourth time front to back prior to the movie set release date. I agree that the package to it is splendid, and I do look forward to seeing how it all came out along with the visual enhancements people have been talking about. Also, I was actually talking to Cristina Vee when she came to the anime con up here and she had mentioned that there was some redubbing done on the Madoka movies; particularly in the first half of it, so I’ll try to keep that in mind when I do decide to watch it. @Bamboo – What I like about Art/Entertainment is that it different people will read the text in various ways; it’s the beauty of being an individual. The interpretation you have is an interesting one, and holds up well, I agree that there are some anime series I have encountered where the characters feel more like products or role models as opposed to actual, nuanced characters that I can empathize with. Understand though, I have been surprised when I found some extraordinarily well crafted, in depth characters in some of the most unlikely shows. The series is a mere twelve episodes; and in that time more ground is covered than in other shows I have seen that have over a hundred episodes. With a limited time frame, what we have with Madoka Magica is a more condensed story. Despite the fact that it’s out of necessity, what I find remarkable and considerably impressive is how the characters are generally well fleshed out and developed while also serving a functional role to the narrative goals of the story. Since some people are sharing their thoughts on Madoka, I guess I will share some of mine, particularly some of the character aspects; I do apologize for the length, however; if you decide to read it, I hope that you find it enjoyable. There are three or many major motifs/themes I want to bring up. The first can be summed up with a quote from The Dark Knight; “You either die the hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” The second one is the chess motif; note how often checkerboard floors come up in this series, then think about the characters. The third are the colors and what they represent to the characters. spoiler[First we have Mami, poor Mami, lonely Mami. While her character arc is the only one I can really criticise since her developmental change does feel somewhat abrupt and it would’ve hurt to have a little extra time; it was narratively established pretty well nonetheless. In her arc we found out her reasons for becoming a magical girl, that while she’s confident and seems very happy, that she’s quite lonely due to her lifestyle. She’s very noble, has a sense of justice and is usually concerned for those around her; she becomes the idol that Sayaka wants to emulate; but we’ll talk about her later. This is where her magical girl form has a bit of an elegant “western” sheriff motif to represent that nobility, selflessness and justice. A lot of her fleshing out and development is not spoon fed to the viewer but rather presented in an implicit fashion. Her change occurs when she learns Madoka will join her in her struggles; that assurance that someone will be there alongside, that she no longer has to endure loneliness; of course, those who have seen Madoka Magica know that it all comes to a sudden end. ] spoiler[Which brings me to Mami’s role and function in the story; while her character is pretty well crafted in the allotted time, she does serve the purpose of exposition when she takes Madoka and Sayaka under her wing and “shows them the ropes.” It’s in these scenes that Mami is not just addressing Madoka and Sayaka, but the audience as well; this is something that Kyubey does as well throughout the series along with the scenes with Mami by further elaborating her points. The first narrative function of Mami is there to lay out the “rules” of the story for the audience while explaining them to the new recruits. The second is to show the true price young girls pay when making a contract with Kyubey; the isolation and loneliness they endure under such circumstances. This toll is presented in conjunction with the fact that what magical girls do is dangerous and that the life they choose to live doesn’t enable the luxury of friends, or a significant other. This is your basic Spiderman premise of making lifestyle sacrifices and the old saying of “with great power, comes great responsibility.” ] spoiler[This brings us to the third narrative function Mami plays; that being a magical girl is dangerous. While many contend that her death scene is for mere “shock value” I respectfully disagree; it’s a wakeup call to the viewer to illustrate that the danger is truly real and threatening with what these characters have gotten themselves involved in. Mami dies the hero. Mami is the Bishop, a piece that moves in a diagonal pattern across the chess board similar to Mami’s long range attack with her guns; even Mami’s silhouette in her Magical Girl form looks similar to a Bishop. Her color is yellow, which in context of her character signifies joy, happiness, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, philosophy, jealousy, hazard and friendship. ] spoiler[Next up, we have Sayaka the stubborn. Since her story arc is one of downfall, her tragic flaw is that she’s pretty stubborn and her naïve idealism which does ultimately lead her to her demise; however, I am getting way ahead of myself. Sayaka, Madoka’s best friend is portrayed as impulsive and quite headstrong; she makes a decision and goes full out, however; she doesn’t think things through as much as she should, she has a sense of justice and idealism which is what gives her magical girl form a knight motif with sword and cape. Combined with her impulsive and stubborn attitude, Sayaka’s hopeless infatuation with a boy serves as the primary motivator for her wish which could be questioned as; did she do it selflessly? Or did she do it to win his affections? As a character, she is one of the more fascinating of the cast, but that possibly might be the result of her outcome in the story. This is where her narrative function comes into play; her story arc has an added interest to convey to the viewer what happens when a magical girl succumbs to despair and how witches come into being. What I find interesting about this character arc are the factors that cause her to fall into despair; learning the truth that magical girls are vessels without souls somewhat similar to the homunculi from FMA, her strong idealism and stubbornness, or perhaps she feels guilt for her wish because of her own selfish desires to be entitled the boy she likes for helping him thus strengthening her resolve and idealistic sense of justice out of an obligation to rectify that guilt. Actually, it’s clearly apparent that she made her wish out of her own selfish desires to win the affection of the boy she likes; this is one part of how she fell into despair. The other part is that even if she wanted to attempt a relationship with him, she’s no longer human and she has taken on an enormous responsibility. With all her good intentions, her wish doesn’t bring her the happiness she wanted. Of course at the very end of the series, she doesn’t regret it, because she truly understands what it means to do something selfless. ] spoiler[As an aside, it has been said that Sayaka’s story arc is virtually identical to the Little Mermaid, even the imagery of how she goes underwater when she transforms to a witch, then her witch form has a mermaid tail. She becomes the villain, the monster magical girls hunt. Sayaka is the Knight wielding a sword, and the motif she has and her sense of justice and gallantry; the piece in chess that moves in an “L” shape on the board, this I noticed with Sayaka’s fighting style the way she leaps and jumps around while in combat. Sayaka’s color is blue which in the context of her character means; trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water (ah ha, aquatic mermaid), melancholy and depression. ] spoiler[Kyoko has a short arc, but she sure is well fleshed out and developed; I loved hearing her story about how she became a magical girl, and about her past along with the allegory and imagery of the apples and the church she hides out in. From her actions and behaviors it’s implied that she doesn’t really seem to care about anything, or anyone else but herself and the reasoning for it is well established in her backstory. She has allowed her experiences to dictate her identity and as a result has become jaded and cynical. This changes when her mentality is challenged by Sayaka, and her development occurs on a gradual basis eventually causing her to cast aside her fears and cynicism. She dies the hero redeeming herself in the process. Her narrative function is that she’s a corrupted magical girl who has abandoned serving others but hasn’t given into despair. She is a survivalist; she doesn’t anything she can to ensure she continues on living, usually stealing food for example, or waiting for a witch to mature at the expense of some innocent human beings; one could say she’s something of an anti-hero. Kyoko is the rook, her lance has a long range capability as does the rook in chess being able to move in a straight pattern across the board, matching Kyoko’s personality and fighting style. Kyoko’s color is red, which indicates in the context of her character; Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence, and sincerity. ] spoiler[Homura, who’s seen as the antagonist earlier on is possibly one of the most dynamic characters on Madoka Magica. While this is mostly done with fleshing out, it is her developmental phase in a past tense. Of the characters on this series, she is the one who cares most deeply about Madoka; which is the catalyst for the events of Madoka Rebellion; but we’ll not talk about that now, and just so everyone knows; yes, I like it a lot; here’s hoping another one will come out to “finish” that story. Anyways, there’s plenty of foreshadowing and subtle hints dropped with Homura when she first comes on the scene actually giving a certain intrigue to the early episodes. With her development, I’d like to think that she was able to “let go” with Madoka to allow her to do what she must, of course, that would be all fine and dandy, however; movie three right (I still like it though). ] spoiler[Her story arc is in a way, a summation of Mami, Kyoko and Sayaka’s; she’s a somewhat jaded and cynical survivor, she’s lonely, and she could fall to the impending doom of despair at any moment. This is what makes this series so amazing; all the individual character arcs are great standalone short stories, however; they’re also a part of a whole to provide the viewer with relevant information to set up the climax. Homura is the Queen, in chess the Queen can go anywhere in any direction at almost any distance; this is identical to Homura’s time freezing technique that allows her to move quickly over great distances. The color for Homura is purple, which combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. When applied to the context of her character; Royalty, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, honor, arrogance, mourning, and temperance. ] spoiler[There’s Kyubey, and he can be compared to many things, a used car salesman, although, I like comparing him to a drug dealer myself: 
These are accurate analogies, but I’m more inclined to think of him as an elite architect of war. He practically engineers the wars fought between magical girls and witches in order to come along and reap the benefits; he is definitively a war profiteer. ] spoiler[While his overall design has elements of "cute," there is also something unsettling about his appearance. This comes through especially for scenes where "shadow puppetry" come into play, casting a more demonic appearance and creating a haunting imagery which reveals Kyubey's true nature and intentions. 
Upon examining the picture we see a blue and white background, keeping in mind what these colors mean, over top of that we see what appears to be a gritty black figure. This is merely Kyubey sitting on a plant, however the actual look alludes to something more menacing with sharp edges casting a dark shadow upon the wall making Kyubey appear as a devil. Understanding that black is generally associated with power, evil, death and mystery, this image is meant to evoke feelings of tension and anxiety in the viewer. ] spoiler[This is the Faustian bargain and contract allegory with how Faust, as represented by Homura on Madoka Magica, sold his soul to the devil for magic abilities to indulge in the pleasure and knowledge of the world by making a contract with Mephistopheles, who is Kyubey. Mephistopheles(Kyubey) helps Faust(Homura) seduce an innocent young girl named Gretchen, as represented by Madoka, and as a result, her life is destroyed. Gretchen's(Madoka) innocence saves her from damnation and is able to get into heaven. Depending on which version, Faust(Homura) is saved by god due to his constant striving along with Gretchen's(Madoka) pleading with God. In other versions, Faust(Homura) has submitted to being fully corrupted, his sins unforgivable; eventually the devil comes to collect him and takes him to hell. Aside from serving as an antagonist on Madoka Magica, he’s also a source of exposition; in many of the conversations between him and Madoka I feel as though he’s addressing the audience as well as Madoka. As is the case with Mami’s dialogue, I don’t feel that Kyubey addressing the audience is a bad thing since it doesn’t disrupt the narrative flow of the series, nor is it spoon fed and after all, the characters are still talking to each other.] spoiler[Kyubey is the King on the opposing side. His colors are red and white and when applied to his character; red; aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence and malice. White; is considered to be the color of perfection, purity and is associated with hospitals, doctors, and sterility; angels are usually imagined wearing white clothes. Other attributes that white lends to Kyubey is simplicity, cleanliness and precision. His white body color gives a person a false sense of security while his red eyes are a definitive warning. With art/entertainment in general, when there’s impending danger, the color red comes up in some way, this is not just for Madoka; on both Fullmetal Alchemist series the philosopher’s stone is red in color and gives a red glow; it’s also made by killing people, then there’s the Sith lords in Star Wars with their Red lightsabers. Kyubey has red eyes and looking at how they’re used with the cinematography is brilliant; you see Kyubey talking about making Madoka a magical girl and the entire frame is his eye with her face reflected on it; meaning she’s in danger, this occurs a few times throughout the series. Then there’s when Kyubey is talking about livestock and the entire screen is red with his eyes over top creating a haunting atmosphere. This is just a few examples of how red is an indicative warning to the characters and viewer watching at home when stepping into the world of Madoka Magica. ] spoiler[Lastly Madoka, she has so much to her character; her implicit fleshing out and obvious development and her functional role in the story. Her fleshing out is achieved through her behaviors and interactions with the other characters; her mother for example tells Madoka how good a person she is, that she practically does no wrong; implicitly saying that she is pure. This not only fleshed out Madoka’s character, but also serves to set up the final outcome of the story. When we examine how Madoka behaves during confrontative scenes we can see that she desires peace asking everyone to quit fighting. We also see that she is pretty indecisive, unable to make choices easily, which contrasts Sayaka’s impulsive behavior. Madoka is somewhat shy, but still friendly and welcoming to everyone. Essentially all of her fleshing out portrays Madoka as a Zion of sorts which foreshadows coming events. ] spoiler[From a narrative function view, Madoka does fill the role of giving the viewer a first person perspective on the events; the reason for this, aside from serving the narrative, is to establish how Madoka makes the ultimate wish in the end. Everything Madoka sees, from Magical girls’ fighting each other, losing their lives to witches, becoming witches, hearing what Kyubey has to say and his motives allow for her to piece all this information together to come up with a solution. We all know Madoka becomes a god; and this is narratively earned with Madoka’s fleshing out pointing towards her being a Zion and Kyubey coming right out and saying that Madoka could be a god; the series practically spells it out and lays it one the table for the viewer. ] spoiler[There’s even some good religious allegory thrown in throughout the series, and I’m not talking about surface level stuff like Neon Genesis (another great series) I’m talking about this allegory being well integrated into the series and contributing to the narrative in so many ways. Let me show you. 
“And I saw the seven angels which stood before god; and to them were given seven trumpets.” -Revelation 8:2 In Revelations, the trumpets are sounded one at a time to cue apocalyptic events, in Madoka, considering that impending doom and despair await, these trumpets have relevance. Notice how the background is a nice clean white and blue; think about what those colors represent, then the trumpets are black, which is indicative of death. ] spoiler[To hammer this point down there’s: 
“Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." --Revelation 8:15 Now, I’m not a religious person, I just happen to know the relevance of it to this particular series. The fact is, after Madoka becomes a god; she rewrites the fabric of reality. ] spoiler[Anyways, Madoka is the King in chess, she’s the one Homura so loyally protects, and when Madoka makes the right wish against Kyubey; checkmate. Madoka’s main colors are pink and white; pink symbolizes love and romance, caring, tenderness, acceptance and calm. White for her; reverence, purity, birth, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision, innocence, youth, and is associated with safety, hospitals, and doctors. ] Anyways, for those who read through this; I hope you enjoyed it. I am more than aware that there is much more symbolism and imagery that greatly contribute to the narrative. |
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Aylinn
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How is Kyubey similar to Mephistopheles? They have totally different aims. Kyubey’s aim is good, wanting to save universe from heat death. His means to an end are objectionable, but that makes him Machiavellian, not diabolical.
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5842 Location: Virginia, United States |
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But it wasn't Homura's desire, it was Madoka's desire. By calling Homura obsessive, you seem to be punishing her for honoring her friend's dying request, but at the same time, if Homura didn't honor Madoka's request we would be punishing her for being a faithless friend. |
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Akane the Catgirl
Posts: 1091 Location: LA, Baby! |
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It's a reference to Goethe's Faust, which is about a man who makes a contract with the devil. I haven't read the play myself, but I know the basic story beats. Basically, Kyubey is Mephisto in that he tricks humans (specifically girls) into handing over their souls in exchange for something said humans want. Yes, Kyubey's goal is benevolent, but the ends don't justify the means in this case. He's still a sociopath. He still does horrible, horrible things to innocents in the name of the universe. It's made clear that what he's doing is Not Okay. |
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Aylinn
Posts: 1684 |
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Well, I have read Goethe's Faust and this similarity is superficial. In both Faust and Madoka there is a contract, but there the resemblance ends. Mephistopheles makes a wager with God that he will corrupt the protagonist, so there are no good intentions on his side, even though he ultimately proves to be the force of good. Just like he says in his famous lines: I am part of the power which forever wills evil and forever works good. Secondly, Mephistopheles doesn't trick Faust. Faust enters the bargain knowing that he is selling his soul for the fulfilment of his desires.
But what is most important I don't see any thematic similarities to Faust. Madoka also isn't a polemic. I often see Madoka referred as a good coming of age story, with which I disagree, but that's beside the point now. What is more important is that Faust is not a coming of age story, for the simple reason that Faust is an old man when the play begins. |
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Akane the Catgirl
Posts: 1091 Location: LA, Baby! |
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^ Which is funny because, according to other people who have actually both seen the anime and read the play, HOMURA is Faust and Madoka is his lover, Gretchen. It's even reflected in her Witch portfolio. And who said that the show had to be about one thing, anyway?
Look, would you please stop being antagonistic towards the other forum posters in regards to this anime? You literally had no reason to be so rude when you were questioning Juno016 over the themes in the first place. Because, yes, you were being rude and confrontational and condescending towards him. All he did was post his opinion, and rather than, I don't know, stating you disagreed with him, you went ahead and ridiculed him. And that's all that will be said. It's almost midnight where I am, and I really should have called you out on your behavior towards Juno016 earlier. Good. Effing. Night. (And don't you dare say it wasn't intentional, because that's what it looks like. And I'm already crabby from PMS. Yay.) |
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kotomikun
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Overhyping is a problem with just about any popular franchise. That's one of the main reasons I didn't like Attack on Titan all that much. It seemed that everyone was outright demanding that I had to love it before it had even started airing, and I went into the show expecting to find all sorts of reasons to dislike it. And, well, if you look for something hard enough, you can always find it. But the characteristics of the hype are different. Again, it feels like an extrovert vs. introvert situation. AoT practically generated a meme of shouting incessantly about how awesome and edgy it was and how you had to watch it and adore it if you're a real anime fan (many reviewers literally said that), and this annoyed me so much that I couldn't enjoy the show at all until the hivemind quieted down and moved on to something else (Kill La Kill, probably). What I usually see Madoka fans do is a little different-- they tend to talk about how much they loved the show, rather than declaring that absolutely everyone obviously must love it. "Rerverent" is pretty accurate, because that's not an extroverted sort of response, is it? But some people find this creepy or obsessive and feel like they don't want to be that sort of person, so they're predisposed to dislike the show. The same people are likely to find the outwardly excited AoT fans much more acceptable. |
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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@trypticon - Thanks for sharing your thoughts; I enjoyed reading them!
I think Madoka is rife with imagery, which makes it a fun series to pick apart, for those that enjoy such things. I've seen so many different interpretations of the series over the years, and I always enjoy reading them. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on Rebellion, as they pertain to your thoughts about Homura and Madoka. You hinted at it in one of your comments. When I first saw Rebellion, I disliked it. I still dislike the first half of the movie. But after rewatching Madoka, I appreciate the movie much more, and I do think the last act does wonders in extending Homura's character and motivations. I have mixed feelings sometimes about the third Madoka movie. I think (the first half of) it treads dangerously close to being the otaku-baiting, consumerism fluff that I (personally) feel like they set out to tear down. But I only watched it that one time in the theaters; I'm looking forward to watching it again now that I've rewatched the first two movies. |
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Trypticon
Posts: 80 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
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You’re welcome; I’m happy to hear that you liked reading my brief analogy.
Absolutely, and this post I have is just a quick brush over focused on the characters; my original intent with it is pretty much a rebuttal to people who say there’s a lack of characterisation in Puella Magi Madoka Magica, that the characters are plot devices as opposed to actual characters. I wanted to convey that they are characters first, but at the same time, their story arcs are used to feed the narrative and plot by incorporating their individual experiences with the exposition and world building. 
This frame here is another great reinforcement of Kyubey’s character; those eerie red eyes. There is obviously way more about this series I’m aware of such as the significance of the empty chairs, how the color palette is very simple and background colors are not only meant to set an atmosphere for a particular scene, but to convey meaning and transition tone; particularly when it’s well integrated into the cinematography at times. I just want to bring up an example or two; first, obviously being aware of the sky or floor colors during certain parts since it has scenes where it’s a red haze, or blue flooring or an unsettling night sky. 
spoiler[ I particularly like how this is also applied to inanimate objects throughout the series; one of my favorite examples is at the beginning in Madoka’s “dream” when Kyubey proposes making a contract with him and at that instant the frame has a busted traffic light that has the red light violently flicker which is indicative of an inevitably regrettable and dangerous decision on Madoka’s part. ] As for more about intimate objects, besides chairs; mirrors are also of great importance, and don’t seem to get spoken about too often, at least in my travels. spoiler[ One piece of allegory worth pointing out in the context of Homura’s time travelling is near the beginning of the series when Madoka and her mother are in the bathroom and one frame has Madoka near a mirror and we see the infinite reflections of Madoka’s face in the mirror which alludes to the various world lines Madoka is a part of.  ]
Okay, I’ll quickly share some thoughts on Rebellion; please note that it’s been quite some time since I’ve watched it, I believe it was last December I went to see it after work one day. So, this will be more opinion based as opposed to analytical; which is why I hope Aniplex gets it dubbed and released on Blu-ray with a fancy box and booklet; yes, of course they will, we just need to wait. spoiler[ First off, I like the movie; I enjoyed it from start to finish and I look forward to watching it again sometime. There were some subtle aspects artistically I had noticed that worked well to present Homura’s inner struggles and helplessness trying to cope with Madoka’s decision and the burden that decision carries with it. Madoka made her wish out of a selfless care for everyone to be happy and peaceful; not for her own personal satisfaction knowing the price she was going to have to pay. Whereas with Homura, she cared so deeply for Madoka, loved her as a friend, she did everything in her power to ensure her survival and happiness. While this is all true, unfortunately it came from a place of personal desire, she also loves how Madoka makes her feel. From this it gives way to a desire to never lose that feeling, a fear of losing it, which leads to insecurity which leads to possessiveness; she wanted Madoka all to herself. Homura played god with her time travelling and as a result; Madoka became a god. Ultimately, at its core, that’s what this movie is; a character piece on Homura, her obsession and her inability to let Madoka go and the impending physiological and emotional agony that comes as a result of it. The movie is loaded with scenes that have allegorical properties, but I’m not going to get into the intricate details right now; bubble-gum Madoka, Homura coming right out and speaking her mind to having multiple panic attacks, her decent into despair and ultimately; becoming Madoka’s negative; an Anti-Christ. A being so terrifying that even Kyubey runs in fear; which was nice by the way considering that he’s a repulsive, obnoxious, arrogant and smug little shit. I loved it when Homura literally toyed with him poking him with her finger in such a taunting manner, serves the little prick right.]
I think this was a good, yet bold move on their part; they gave everyone a small glimpse of what Madoka would be like if it was a “regular” magical girl anime. Not that something that “panders” is automatically bad. I’ve seen anime that have really impressed me with narrative and thematic consistency, strong characterisation and well executed storytelling despite being a sequel to milk the cash cow or a series with an abundance of ecchi thrown in. Some of these shows have real characters; not products, role models or generic stand ins, but real characters with story arcs that involve overcoming their flaws which feeds back into the theme and narrative of the series. All I can say on this is that I no longer prejudge any series, but, that’s another discussion for another time. On topic though, I liked that Rebellion gave us this glimpse of what the world of Madoka would be like if it was a run of the mill magical girl anime (done with avant garde art compliments of SHAFT). Only to tear that idea down; things aren’t this peaceful, they can't remain this peaceful; it’s Madoka, of course there’s more. During the first bit of the movie, I knew what was being done narratively and I knew what was coming; like a heavy weight just looming overhead to be dropped at a moment’s notice. I felt the movie transitioned from this quite well with the narrative focusing more around Homura and her suspicions and how that aspect is gradually developed and builds as the movie progresses leading Homura’s course as a character. With the animation, this movie is worth watching just for the visual orgasm that fills the screen for most of its duration; I can tell that this movie was an opportunity for SHAFT to flex their muscles in terms of what they could pull off with animation and at times, it does feel more like an “art show” than an actual anime. The animation ranged from conventional to avant garde/abstract which appeared to include some stop motion animation at times, while other scenes blended shadow puppetry with vibrant, surrealistic, and from what I recall, hallucinogenic CG sequences. As much as I enjoyed watching this movie, something feels incomplete about it; I had this “okay, and then what happened?” Perspective when the movie ended. So, what I’m saying is that there needs to be a fourth movie to wrap this all up, then after that; put the series to bed, otherwise run the risk of fan over exposure and then everyone will get sick of it and never want to hear about it again. To sum up, I don’t think Rebellion is as tightly written as the original TV series, which is damn hard to beat, but Rebellion is still a pretty amazing ride on various levels. Lastly, as for the Faust allegory, I kind of elaborated on this in the write up in good detail; it primarily translates to the character dynamic between Kyubey, Homura and Madoka. Despite Kyukey’s apparent good intentions; the way he goes about it is the problem; the fact is that he stalks young girls, cons and manipulates them by avoiding the fine print of his contracts; I think it’s fair to say he’s one of anime’s biggest dickheads. The road to hell is paved with good intentions; not just for Kyubey, but a strong concept in this series. Let’s not forget how he’s presented throughout the series as well, many of the frames with him in them allude to him being more demonic and alien rather than cute and cuddly. Of course, as I say, the beauty about art/entertainment is that it can mean many different things to different people. It’s not what a person watches that makes them mature or intelligent; it’s what the individual gets from it and how they read the text is what ultimately matters. Last edited by Trypticon on Mon Dec 15, 2014 7:12 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Aylinn
Posts: 1684 |
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I understand that Kyubey’s action to achieve his goal are a problem, but in my opinion, it doesn’t make him similar to Mephistopheles. Also, I wouldn’t call dynamics between characters similar, since Faust is never manipulated by Mephistopheles. In the play Faust knowingly and willingly sells his soul and strikes the bargain with the devil to gain fulfilment, power, knowledge, etc. (Mephistopheles has no interest in hiding the truth, after all he wants the protagonist to agree to everything consciously and be condemned) that doesn’t resemble the situation of the girls who were ignorant of consequences, nor Madoka’s situation, who knew them, but who didn’t abandon moral principles to gain some benefit for herself.
I am not trying to be mean or anything like that. I was just trying to have a little discussion to entertain myself, because I was ill and had to sit at home. And while it’s true I don’t like Madoka, I like literature and I have read Faust, so I find discussing about it interesting. |
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Hiroki not Takuya
 Posts: 2528 |
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I can't add to trypticon's masterful analysis but to say that I am waiting for the fourth Madoka Movie as I think the series told one complete story and the "Rebellion" movie mucked with it and didn't even really complete it's own addition. They had better tell one epic-ly interesting story in #4 or I am done (stopping at Movie2). BTW, yes, everything comes back to oppai and I love it! Mami "fulfilled expectations" and the female Titan has got to set a record for "hot-ness". Even your fellow columnist this week "touched" on it.
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Akane the Catgirl
Posts: 1091 Location: LA, Baby! |
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Then you ought to use different words because you DID come off as condescending and you DID come off as mean. The power of language and all. |
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Ali07
 Posts: 3333 Location: Victoria, Australia |
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Perception. I've been quietly reading along, as I've no seen (and don't intend to see) Madoka, but have found some of the discussion interesting. Didn't think that Aylinn came off as condescending or mean. |
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