Madoka Magica is one of those franchises built around “the twist”—or rather, a constantly building series of them. What starts with the brutal death of a main character is followed by numerous revelations: the relationship between Soul Gems and Magical Girls, how Witches are created, Homura's backstory, Madoka's wish, the Incubators' new evil plan, and, finally, Homura's secret trap. Of course, Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Walpurgisnacht: Rising is no exception to this pattern. So, unfortunately, to really talk about the film, you've got to dive headlong into the spoilers. If you're just wondering if, as a fan of the series, you will enjoy this film, the answer is almost certainly yes. You may now close this review (though, please come back after you've seen the film). As for everyone else, let's get into it.

**Spoilers Begin**

Despite its title and the time focused on developing the rest of the main cast, Madoka Magica is, and always has been, Homura's story. It's the tale of a girl who turns her admiration into friendship, friendship into love, and love into obsession. That obsession drives her to do the impossible—to lose again and again and keep on fighting. But by the end of the series proper, Homura is left without a victory she can accept. Though it was Madoka's earnest choice to resolve things as she did, deep down, Homura can't help but feel that she failed—that her war is not over. Her entire sense of self was forged with the idea of doing whatever it took to save Madoka, and so she uses her own impending death as a trap to separate Madoka's sense of self from the Law of Cycles—both rewriting reality and evolving herself into something beyond magical girl or witch as she does so. However, as the previous film's ending made clear, Homura's patched-together world was destined to fail.

Walpurgisnacht: Rising is about Homura facing off against her own arrogance. She truly believes she can maintain her new status quo, but with the arrival of three new magical girls that she had no hand in creating, she is forced to admit that she doesn't have total control as she originally believed—that her choices in the previous film have had massive consequences that threaten to undo not only Homura's actions but also Madoka's wish.

And through this adventure, Homura reaches the end of her character arc. She finally comes to accept that her obsessive love is not true love—that a big part of love is respecting others' choices even when they directly contradict your own. Then she is left to make the choice a final time: to let Madoka go or to double down on her goal once again.

The other character to receive substantial development is Sayaka. Among the original group of magical girls, she is the only one who can tell that something isn't right. As reality has been warped again and again, she has been everything from a Magical Girl to a Witch to a part of the Law of Cycles. She is still all of these things—and at the same time, not. She is left to grapple with not only what she is but also the state of the world. After all, the fact remains, in Homura's world, artificially altered as it may be, she and all her friends are safe and happy—happier than they've ever been before. Doesn't that count for something?

With the three new magical girls, we have a trio looking to shatter Homura's world—and having the power to do it. As the title of the film is there for all to see, the movie makes little pretense about who the leader of these three is—though her history and motivations remain a mystery for much of the film. The question that looms is, in a world without Witches, how can the most powerful Witch to ever exist still be around? The answer to this is a fantastic bit of world-building that redefines all we thought we knew about Magical Girls.

Despite her name right there on the poster and her looming presence over both the original anime and Magica Record, Walpurgisnacht isn't actually the big bad of the film. Rather, it's one of Walpurgisnacht's companions, Selma Terez.

Selma is a fascinating character and a Magical Girl unlike any we've seen before. While most magical girls are shocked and horrified about learning the fate and nature of magical girls—and that they're basically just a renewable energy source for aliens—Selma was 110% on board with their plan. After all, what's the premature deaths of a few girls when compared to the lives and countless beings across the known galaxy? She's the kind to want to make as many witches as possible to help the most people possible. Selma creates an insane amount of tension in the film's final act as everything that has come before hangs in the balance. It's fantastic.

As good as the story is, the animation is even better. With the sole exception of the fight between Mami and Homura in the previous film, this is the best Madoka Magica has ever looked—and that is saying something. With its mixture of highly detailed traditional animation, well-placed CG animation, unnerving scrapbook animation, and psychedelic rotoscoping, it's safe to say there is nothing out there that looks quite like this film. The art design is likewise fantastic with surreal locations and clever directing that keeps the film visually interesting even when the characters are just sitting around talking.

The music is no slouch either. Themes both new and familiar permeate the film—accentuating everything from haunting unease to triumphant joy—and the new theme song from FictionJunction fits the musical styling of Madoka Magica so well, you may not notice it's not a ClariS song (I certinly did not).

But as much praise I have for Walpurgisnacht: Rising, there is one thing I have to admit after rewatching the TV series and previous film for this review: this is the weakest entry in the main series to date. It never quite hits either level of surreal mystery seen in Rebellion or the level of soul-crushing drama seen in the TV show. Worse still, it ends with an ambiguous conclusion—which is more than a bit unsatisfying after waiting so many years for this film.

However, while Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Walpurgisnacht: Rising doesn't surpass what came before it, that doesn't mean it isn't a great film. We get satisfying character arc conclusions for both Homura and Sayaka. Selma is a terrific villain, and the expansion of the lore really adds to the greater Madoka Magica story. And then there's the fact that this film is a visual masterpiece. If you're a fan of Madoka Magica, you have no reason not to watch this film. Oh, and do yourself a favor and rewatch both the series and Rebellion before you do. It really maximizes the impact.