Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica Movie 3: Hangyaku no Monogatari

Spoiler warning! I can't make this review without spoilers. Please don't read the review and blame me for spoilers. You've been warned.

I was pretty excited about seeing this movie at first. I figured that since the series was pretty good, I could trust the makers of the movie to not screw up. But what I did not expect was to see an incredibly boring movie that served only to ruin the great Madoka series.

Art: I think they really improved on this aspect compared to the movie series. I still have some issues with the art style--I think the characters have football heads--but other than that ... the style is pretty great. I thought the creepy witch art was needlessly excessive, though. Still, I'll give this an 8, with two points subtracted for the aforementioned reasons.

Sound: I'm not sure how to rate this because I don't really pay attention to background music while watching a movie. But the music was very nice, so I'm going to give this an 8 as well.

Character: This is where everything starts to go downhill. Characters like Kyouko, Sayaka and Bebe didn't even need to be around--especially Bebe. What on earth did she even do in the movie? Absolutely nothing. They could have thought of some other reason to make Mami and Homura fight very easily instead of wasting money on a pointless voice actor. I don't think anyone can deny the fact that she's out of place and useless.

Madoka and Mami were okay, but by far the most important character in this movie is Homura, and they completely destroyed her. She acted way out of character. Why would you become the embodiment of evil and become the foe of the person you love just so you can be together with them? If she really were in love, I think she wouldn't want to fight the person she loves. Also, it's quite selfish and inconsiderate of Madoka's feelings. I really liked her before seeing this movie but now she's easily one of my least favorites. 5 points off for Homura, 3 for Bebe and 1 for Kyouko and Sakura not being around much.

Story: I think the story was interesting up until the part Homura became evil, and I think I explained why Homura becoming evil is out of character and not necessary for the story. But there are a couple other issues with the story that stand out. For example, Homura's quest to find out who is creating a witch's labyrinth is honestly a little boring, and it takes most of the movie. Not much happens. Why didn't they just go with the movie trailer they showed at the end of the TV series? They decided to do something completely different instead.

Also, there are a few unanswered questions. Why did Homura consent, if at all, to Kyubey's experiment? If she didn't consent, then how did they get her? What happened to Kyouko and Mami during this time? What happened after the end of Madoka? What exactly is the Madoka in the witch's labyrinth? And so on. The creators just totally skipped over these questions and we aren't going to get an answer in the future. I'll give this a 2, with 1 point given for the witch's labyrinth thingy being slightly interesting.

Enjoyment: I liked to look at the cute art, but that's pretty much all I enjoyed. As mentioned before, they totally destroyed Homura and the future direction of the Madoka series. I can't possibly enjoy that. I'll give this the same point as the story for the same reason.

Overall: This movie is incredibly overhyped by, in my opinion, rabid fanboys who are just excited to have another Madoka thing to watch. The hype will die down and people will eventually start seeing this movie for what it is. 2/10

Let's just rip this bandage off right from the get-go: I am NOT a fan of Madoka Magica in the slightest and the entire franchise makes my skin crawl for reasons I'd rather not get into at the moment. With that said, the TV series was fair enough and most importantly, it ended on a note that millions of fans found to be quite satisfying. Unfortunately, SHAFT in their infinite wisdom decided to slap on a feedbag and start milking the hell out of this franchise because it's the biggest cash cow they've had since the Monogatari series. In late 2013, SHAFT and Aniplex released ... a sequel movie, and this movie just irks me on so many levels to the point where I can't even think clearly. This movie manages to evoke so many reactions out of me, but the biggest one would have to be disgust.

I see so many people comparing this movie to Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion, but I just want to make this perfectly clear: Rebellion is NOT like End of Evangelion in the slightest and anyone who earnestly believes this to be the case is a complete and total moron. Whilst I'm not gonna go into a whole spiel about End of Evangelion, I can safely say that it was actually NECESSARY. The TV series suffered from so many production problems and the entire budget was exhausted before the final two episodes even hit the drawing board in the first place. Madoka Magica had no such production problems whatsoever. It had a proper budget to work with and with the exception of the earthquake in Japan that delayed the airing of the final episode, it had a proper conclusion and a rather airtight one at that.

If I really had to say what kind of a sequel Rebellion is, I'd say it has a lot more in common with Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. I mean, both Final Fantasy VII and Madoka Magica ended on such a note where our lead characters learned to move on from the past at the end of their respective romps now that their journeys finally came to an end. Of course, that little development didn't last long as their respective sequel movies had them do a complete 180 and they're back to square 1. Instead of learning to live a life without Madoka, Homura's back to having an unhealthy obsession with her. Honestly, I can understand missing Madoka quite a bit since Homura was stuck in that time loop trying to save her for however long, but the end of the TV series made it clear that Madoka wanted Homura to move on and by the end of it all, it really did look like Homura was gonna keep moving forward. Why then SHAFT decided to nix the idea of showing Homura actually trying to move forward is beyond me.

A lot of this can be chalked up to the fact that the first 2/3s of the movie consists of nothing more than SHAFT violently masturbating in front of my face with that gargantuan budget of theirs. Yeah, I get it: your production values are great, now can I please get *something* of a plot? There's no story here whatsoever, no symbolism of any kind, nothing deep or significant going on at all. All I see is a company going out of their way to pander to fans in the worst ways possible. Now, the final 1/3 of the movie actually DOES try telling a story but it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever since everything is just crammed into that little section of the movie. It's like someone on team reminded the writers that this movie had to have something of a plot so they just went on FanFiction.net and ripped off the first thing they saw (why does that make so much sense?).

Now, I could go on and talk about the ending that managed to enrage a LOT of Madoka fans, but let's be real here: this was an Urobutcher project from the get-go. Gen Urobuchi is known for fucking with his characters in any way he can. What I take umbrage with is the fact that Gen Urobuchi said that it wasn't his idea to end the movie like he did and that it was a last-minute decision. Now, I can give him the benefit of the doubt and hope for the best but like I said before: this is the Urobutcher we're dealing with. Rebellion isn't exactly THAT much of a departure from what he does to his characters, especially given how he handled shows like Psycho-Pass and Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom. To me, it felt as if Gen Urobuchi was just trying to save face by saying that the ending was a last-minute change because the ending evoked that much of an outrage from fans of the franchise.

Now, my biggest problem with the ending of the movie is that it leaves room open for more Madoka movies. Seeing as how Madoka's been going strong in Japan for the last few years, it's highly unlikely that SHAFT and Aniplex will stop milking this franchise any time soon. Hell, I can practically smell another sequel movie given the fan reaction to Rebellion. If there's one practice that really gets under my skin, it's when companies overextend their franchises. It's the reason why I have a deep-seated disdain for almost anything related to Dragon Ball and it's also one of the MANY reasons why the Madoka franchise as a whole makes my skin crawl. Rebellion is proof enough that SHAFT and Aniplex don't give a shit about quality and only care about your money.

To all the fans that praise this movie as a masterpiece, I ask only one favour from all of you: please, stop lying to yourselves. This movie is appalling and you all know damn well that's true. Stop trying to look too deep for meaning that just isn't even there. The desire to like every entry of the franchise you're a fan of is understandable, but you have to come to terms with the fact that not every instalment of your favourite franchise will be up to par with what made you a fan in the first place. There is nothing redeemable about Rebellion in the slightest. At best, it's popcorn material and at worst, it's nothing more than SHAFT's way of extorting more money out of their fans.

Tl;dr version? Rebellion is a shitty movie, don't watch it unless you're in the mood for brainless entertainment, something that's so outrageously bad that it's actually funny, or an unfulfilling entry to your favourite franchise that'll make you question why you're a fan in the first place.

Anyway, that's all for now. Feedback is always welcome and with that, I'm out. Peace :)

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica is easily one of my favourite anime. For that reason, I was super excited to see the third movie. My friends warned me it was confusing - I was sure it wouldn't be too bad. I ended up putting it off... Until last night. Needless to say, I was even more excited when I finally got to watch it.

Right from the start, I found it a little confusing, but that cleared up later on, more or less. I loved how I got more of Sayaka, Kyouko, Mami and even Bebe. The art was depressing, but apart from scenery it wasn't ... too bad. However, once we approached around the midway point, things just went haywire and I struggled to make sense of it all. Concepts which were introduced and built on in the tv show (and, I presume, the first two movies as well) were discarded.
The ending left me feeling confused, cold, and wishing that I hadn't watched this.

The characters were generally the same, though some went through inexplicable changes. The prime example of this is Homura Akemi. Once my favourite character, this movie stuffed up her character to the extreme - so much that I found myself incapable to like her anymore.

I did like the art in Madoka Magica, but in this movie the colour scheme and the repeated cutscenes just became more and more depressing. I certainly did not enjoy it as much as in the t.v. series.

I don't know why they even bothered with this movie. Except for the music, everything just went downhill. I suppose that a continuation of the story was a good idea, but this simply changed everything - and not in a positive way, I might add.

I honestly don't know what do say, perhaps why this review is so short. I simply cannot express my disappointment enough.

Hugely disappointing. Madoka Magica was exquisite - a deconstruction of a genre and a meditation on hope and selflessness vs. selfishness. The plotting was brilliant because despite tackling abstract ideas, it was firmly anchored in the emotional reality of the girls. It was both a breathless ride and a fascinating philosophical exploration. It was brilliant.

Madoka Magica did not need a sequel, but because Money Must Be Made, there is of course a movie. The Rebellion Story does many things right - the production values are large, evidenced by the mind-bendingly creative, surreal, detailed, heavily stylized animation. The music's good too - it ranges from creepy ... to pulse-pounding (nothing less should be expected from Yuki Kajiura). But there is no real STORY. The first hour is fan-pandering (the girls are running around fighting together! as a team! yaaaay!) and the second hour is Homura angsting about nonsensical existential tripe and then a random plot twist which tears up the structure of the entire movie and shocks you into watching the second movie. The whole thing is so incongruous to the original series I'd be laughing if I weren't crying over what could have been.

If you liked girls themselves in the original Puella Magi Madoka Magica, then do not watch this one.

It just ruins everything there is to love in the original, undoing the whole sacrifice of Madoka as well as ruining Homura's character beyond repair.

As one guy on this forum put it: 'it spits on everything Puella Magi Madoka Magica is. This is a good example of how you do not make a sequel.

i gave it 4 instead of 1 because plot is still somewhat reasonable. Unique art style and feel of Madoka Magica is as present here as well.

As to people who can watch it without ... hatred, then perhaps if you do not feel much about these poor girls in the original, you will not find this one too bad.

Overall this is another disappointing sequel of a show that deserves way better than that.

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAIN SPOILERS

I watched this movie telling myself what's the worst that could happen, and this movie surpassed my expectations, however, not all is bad in this life, at least it gave us a lot of material to analyze together in this review. So, let's begin:

1. The first part: The movie start like a generic episode of the original series, even they put an opening. The magical girls had to face a generic witch. Am I watching a movie or an extension of the original series? I don't know. The worst part of this first minutes is that at the end they defeated ... the witch singing and dancing with her, which is contradictory with the presented in the original show. Was the existence of this first part of the movie really necessary? What do you guys think.

2. Kyubey plan: What was the need for this plan? Why did it catch Homura? No fucking idea. Madoka was ubiquitous, so using Homura and any other character was a nonsense. Additionally, Madoka was omniscient, so, it was supposed that she in advance knew this and any other plan that Kyubey tried to use. How is possible that this plan have worked knowing all of this? Mystery. What was the purpose of this plan at the end? I don't know. It was never explained if we analyze this.

3. Witches: How it's possible that the witches exist in the period of the franchise? No fucking idea, because it was supposed that, thanks to Madoka wish in the original show, the witches aren't allow to exist anymore. It means that all this movie didn't have a real reason to exist if you ask me.

4. Sayaka reasons: Why Sayaka wanted to stay in this alternative reality? I don't know. Is like the movie, also, wanted to promote the escapism in this part and how did her noticed that she was in a fantasy world? Mystery. Is like she was rewritten in that point of the movie.

5. Kyoko and Mami plan: If they didn't know, or at least the movie makes it so, that they were trapped in this alternate reality, how could they possibly have created a plan to escape from it? No fucking idea.

6. The final battle: The first part is basically random explosions and tools that came out outta nowhere, what's the logic of this first part? Mystery. If we watch again the original show, most of the abbilities used here didn't have show there.

7. Witch labyrinth: Once it's destroyed, Homura was rewritten outta nowhere and proceed to defeat the onmipresent and omniscient Madoka and took her powers. Why was Madoka in the witch labyrinth? Mystery. Is there an humanly form to explain how she was able to defeat Madoka? I don't know. And the worst is that the author tried to represent her as a demon in her transformation after take the powers, however, how is possible that she turned into a demon? It's all a fucking nonsense. Additionally, it wasn't supposed that she was 100% loyal to Madoka? No fucking idea.

8. Ending: What happened to Madoka and the rest after the transformation of Homura? Mystery. What was the purpose or message of this movie? I don't know. Why this movie was created? No fucking idea.

In addition, there was an exposition that consisted in the characters talking and talking without any type of substance. It was really boring if you ask me.

I was, initially planning to put this movie a score of 3, however, with all the nonsense presented and the fact that this movie doesn't have a real reason to exist, it deserves a 2 from my part. At least, the retarded aspects made funny the realization of this review.

WHY.

We were given such a nice conclusion (however melancholy it was) to the original series, and now have this to change things... for the worse. It's like ripping open a wound after having surgery. Rebellion could have been something great, but instead it falls flat due to rather horrible writing. (Spoilers roam free beyond this point.)

= Story =
Starting off with nearly the same exact premise as the original series, we're thrown for a loop when there are some changes made to what we're familiar with. However, Homura senses these changes and knows something's wrong; she eventually realizes what's going on, and that's when the shit ... hits the fan. Throughout her trying to "escape" the world that she's created where everything is perfect... and that's where it lost me. Everything feels way too rushed, and relies on dumping information again and again and again just to get by. We even have about 15 MINUTES of exposition by Kyubey who tries to explain what the hell is supposed to be happening in the film. This poor writing leads to a very muddled ending, which sadly overlays the despair that Homura is feeling. It's initially hard to pinpoint WHY she turned into a demon and absorbs Madoka's power. Even if you do go for the whole "Homura has been through so much" card, it still doesn't explain how she managed to absorb the powers of a despair-absorbing goddess. Inserting this 180-degree "twist" into her character is a corruption of the values Homura had from the original series, and furthermore discards her previous efforts to save Madoka just for some sudden and lack-luster attempt at blindsiding.

= Character =
The cast feels very two-dimensional. Everyone seems to exist only to serve Homura's story, and nothing more. Now, granted Homura herself is the main character of this piece, and it's (supposed to be) a commentary or study on how she would have felt once Madoka re-wrote the universe and disappeared. BUT, again, the writing totally inhibits this by dumping boatloads of information onto us and then giving us barely enough time to recover before revealing something else. The characters don't have FEELINGS; everything feels driven simply by trying to move the story along. There's nothing more to them, and they feel devoid of personality and development (besides Homura). They lack the depth and focus that the writing from the first series allowed them to have, and I think that's a total waste... and shame.

= Animation =
The level of detail put into the animation, unlike the writing, is stellar. Backgrounds and color shadings greatly reflect the tone that is attempted to be conveyed. It's very clear that the production of the movie wasn't rushed at all, unlike the original show -- there is meticulous and gorgeous animation.

My only complaint is the heavy-handed witch-themed imagery used. Now, granted, they are in a witch's labyrinth, but it felt forced and over-exposed at times. A lot of the symbolism used was never developed, and felt like it was just there to be there. Unlike in the show, where there were controlled scoops of witch-esk animation, it's ever-present in this movie, and I feel that it desensitizes the view to its meaning and absurdity.

= Sound =
The soundtrack, composed by the great Yuki Kajura, continues off of the style she utilized for the show. It fits very well, and she even explored some new avenues of utilization, breaking out of her comfort zone a few times, like the use of the electric guitar in a few tracks. However, I can't say that as a whole the soundtrack tops the original work she did. The opening song, "Colorful" by ClariS, is addicting as all hell. I love it -- something about it just screams "Madoka." The ending song, on the other hand ("Kimi no Gin no Niwa", performed by Kalafina) fell flat to really stand out on its own, and certainly didn't live up to "Magia" from the series.

The Japanese voice acting is good as a whole, but (as stated earlier,) somewhat muddled the already lacking writing for me as a native English speaker. The English dub made up for that in regards of comprehension, with also a strong cast voicing.

= Enjoyment =
I wish I could praise this so much more. Really, I do. The original Madoka Magica series is one of my top favorites to date, and having this slapped onto it makes things worse, rather than better. I've had to watch this three times to even start to comprehend what I watched. Watching in dub made things a little more understandable, being a native English speaker, but even at that it can't make up for the simply awkward and bad writing that makes up this movie. It's such a shame that it turned out this way; a little more thought could have allowed it to be leaps and bounds ahead of itself. It was a great concept, I'll give you that, but was executed poorly.

= Verdict =
Some might argue that I'm being way to hard on the movie and shouldn't be comparing it to the show. But why shouldn't I? This movie and everything it's made up of are supposed to be a continuation of the show, and should add on to the story therein.

Rebellion falls short in writing and character, which quickly lead to it being a chaotic, lackluster story. The animation and sound, while good, can't pick up the slack of the hole in the film, and all in all, leave much more quality work to be desired.

A summary of my opinions, if you don't want to read the actual review:
-The plot is either nonexistent or straight-out dumb
-The characters are even flatter than they were in the original
-Homura, the only half-decent character, becomes an utter ideological shitstorm
-Shaft has a giant fucking budget and really wants you to know
-The art is not as cool as it should have been because it lacks thematic/symbolic backing
-Rebellion is a pretentious acid trip of a movie



... Plot

To be completely honest, Madoka Magica has never quite had a conventional plot. Instead things are stringed together with bits of loose thematics and messages that, at times, encapsulate well the insanity occurring. Rebellion spends no such effort, either on an overarching story or on themes.

The vast majority of the movie presents no apparent storyline or structure to follow. Instead it flaunts its prodigious budget with meaningless scenes. Several moments could be considered ‘climactic’ or monumental to the story’s and characters’ progressions, but with so many happening they become drawn-out and bland. Instances do not relate and cannot be cohesively connected. Rebellion awards nearly every frame with some sort of immense philosophical translation, therein forming an unintelligible array of alternate meanings that don’t adhere to anything in particular.

While Rebellion was supposed to have ‘tied up loose ends’ for Madoka’s unsatisfactory ending, in truth it complicated the situation with the lacking plot of the final section of the movie. Homura discovers that she in reality is comatose, the new Mitakihara City an alternate universe she had created. Yes, it does attempt to shove down your throat a ridiculous story, and one that doesn’t exactly add any sort of precision. An absurd quantity of bizarre visuals pertain to this one fragmented plot point? Seriously? It tries, but doesn’t succeed, to create relevance for the previous events of the movie.

Characters

Yay. Another horrible aspect of Madoka Magica; Rebellion.

Evidently Homura is the main character - the movie is shown entirely through her perspective. This is to say, she’s the one who first realizes that shit is going on, and she’s the only one who actually aims to resolve the issue. All other characters are, while present, completely useless.

Poor Homura endures something of a development, beginning as a naive, sensitive girl to the terror she ends up as. This is reminiscent to her progression during one specific episode of Madoka Magica, though executed far worse. Her entire character arc comes across as choppy; it doesn’t retain any of the same, well, sense. Homura constantly makes frenzied and downright awful decisions that never seem to reflect her strategic intelligence. Instead, her inconsistency contributes *shock factor* that doesn’t refer to her personality in the slightest, only the pretentious air Rebellion is determined to sustain.

What about the other protagonists? Well, there’s an irrelevant Madoka, a violent Mami, a watered-down Kyoko, an especially incompetent Sayaka, and best of all, a random witch-girl who fulfills no legitimate purpose. To sum it up, all other characters are oblivious, shallow, and utterly futile. They exist only to perform exaggerated transformation scenes and gape in shock at all the bullshit Homura does. It really is impossible to ascertain what the girls know and don’t know, as Rebellion likes to ‘keep you on your toes’ with their motives. Even though it’s safe to assume that they realize absolutely nothing, being the most impervious 14 year-olds on the face of the planet.

Animation & Sound

Well gee. If it isn’t something positive I can say concerning this trainwreck. Shaft, surprisingly, did take advantage of one of its many assets and utilized their gargantuan budget once every 0.05 seconds. This is to say that Rebellion is incredibly appealing, as far as animation and art go. Visuals are fluid to a ludicrous degree, making action scenes remarkably interesting, even if nobody really cares how they end.

Madoka Magica’s intriguing use of symbolism amidst witch labyrinths is lost, but optically mirrored, in Rebellion. It possesses the same, if not higher, level of asinine graphics. Coupled with the unabridged void of plot, characters, and general sense, one intense acid trip of a movie is formed. Basically, Shaft has the resources and lack of care to do whatever it wants, and does it.

The sound isn’t especially noteworthy. It’s on par with the original Madoka, hence enticing, dark music and squeaky loli voices. Decent enough sound effects and background noise.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie - Rebellion, as a direct follow-up to the series of the same name, tarnishes its legacy by completely overturning the series' conclusion, themes, and characterization. It doesn't even respect the original work enough to devote the majority of the film's runtime to that purpose, as more than half of the movie is essentially revealed to be irrelevant filler once the central plot finally begins to reveal itself.

The film's biggest problem, besides the horrendous pacing and allocation of time, is the completely unwarranted about-face of Homura and Sayaka's motivations and personalities. As the most compelling characters in the series by ... far, it was incredibly disappointing just how incongruent their personalities in the movie were with prior established developments. The way Sayaka and Kyouko were suddenly treated as a romantic pairing without any pretext or build-up was extremely distasteful and inconsiderate of the emotional depth and complexity of their (decidedly non-romantic) relationship in the series. The implied in-universe justification that "things change with time whether it happens on screen or not" was decidedly unconvincing, especially considering how much screentime was wasted on shallow popcorn content instead of justifying such a significant change.

As for Homura, her "descent" into becoming Devil Homura is conceptually interesting. There are certainly ways that such a transformation could have been introduced in a manner consistent with Homura's character, and could have been used to establish an obvious foil relationship with Goddess Madoka. The movie certainly does not pursue any of those possibilities. By the end of the series, Homura had developed and repeatedly demonstrated incredible determination and tenacity. The reveal which "cracks" her in the movie is something that probably should not have even fazed her current self, given her prior experiences. It's almost comical how easily she folds under the pressure and tosses her carefully cultivated ideals and perseverance to the wind. Perhaps her internal conflict might have been more believable had it been more thoroughly expounded upon instead of immediately resolving itself as quickly as it began, thanks to the limited remaining runtime. Despite being the purported main event, it comes off as an afterthought.

Rebellion gives the overall impression that it was conceptualized as a fanservice movie with the ultimate intention of marketing paired Sayaka/Kyouko and Goddess Madoka/Devil Homura merchandise, and was developed backwards from there. The end result is a disconnected first half that feels more like a sakuga clip show (the longwinded magical girl transformations, the Homura fight scene, etc) than a story, and a second half that scrambles as fast as it can to reach an endgame where Sayaka x Kyouko and Devil Homura are justified. Despite being a direct sequel, critical developments from the series are treated as mere guidelines, resulting in the perversion of a respected and highly regarded series in the pursuit of mass appeal and merchandise marketability.

This movie could've been a 10/10 if it weren't for the ending. As it stands, no movie, animated or otherwise, has ever incited such intense feelings of rage, betrayal, and disappointment in me quite like this movie did. Even though the first 95% of the movie was absolutely amazing, I legitimately wish I had never seen it solely because of this ending, which is why I have no choice but to give it a subpar score.

The original Madoka Magica series is quite possibly my favorite anime of all time. As such, when I realized there was a movie, I was absolutely ecstatic. This ecstatic feeling ... lasted through almost the entire movie, and I was certain that the movie was going to trump even the series itself in terms of quality. Which it almost did, until the ending, but I'll shut up about that for a little bit to talk about the rest of the show.

The plot in Rebellion, sans ending, is gripping, intense, and well-paced. Without spoiling anything: for the first ten minutes or so, the movie completely ignores the massive elephant in the room, and the viewer is led to just accept it and move on. Then, when the elephant is addressed, it's amazingly well-executed; the audience is in constant suspense, wanting to know what's going on, but it never gets too tense or vague. The plot twists, none of which I will spoil, are all executed equally well, except for the ending, which I'll address later.

Rebellion has all the same characters as the show before it, but I think they're far stronger here than they were in the show. Don't get me wrong; the characters were great in the show, but the biggest issue was Madoka herself, who didn't get a lot of characterization or development -- and what she did get was very basic "self-sacrificial kind to a fault martyr" stuff. This show allows Madoka, as well as all the other characters, room to breathe and show their personality in a way that the original show just didn't have the time or patience for. All of the characters feel natural, and their actions make sense (up until the ending at least).

The movie, even more show than the show, is absolutely gorgeous, and the soundtrack is amazing. There's not much else to say. I would happily buy the soundtrack to this movie if I had more money.

But here's the thing. The ending absolutely destroys all of those aspects, save for the art and music.

I won't spoil any of the plot details, but here's a little analogy: picture if you watched an entire movie in which a character suffered immensely striving towards a goal, and, at the end, they finally get to rest and are given what they've wanted all this time. Sounds great, right? Now imagine if that character did something that they, as a character, would never do, and that action resulted in not only the prolonged suffering of all the characters but also the complete reversal of all the good things that happened in the movie and the series preceding it. Sounds absolutely awful, right? Well, that's the gist of what happens at the end of this movie.

Which is why, in the end, I have to give this movie a relatively low score. The ending, which essentially retconned the entire series and turned my favorite character into the almost literal antichrist, made me so upset that I couldn't stand to even think of the franchise for weeks afterwards, because all I could think about was this awful, awful ending. This movie almost ruined my favorite show of all time for me, and, for that, I can never forgive it.

Shaft, need I say more? Just kidding, but not really. Shaft is a very famous studio that made some anime that became very well known, using their unique formula to create them. This formula they make sure to repeat in absolutely every anime they produce. Madoka is no exception to this pattern, an anime with all the elements present in Monogatari, some more, some less, like all the rest of the studio's works. Just as it copies what is considered right, mistakes come along: the lack of a gradual approach to any of the cast, being replaced only by cool phrases and personalities far beyond ... what one would consider "human" without prior development, mannerisms that cause the dissociation of what could be innovative and throws everything into a repetition of features, and other things.

This film by itself didn't even need to exist, that's the truth. In order not to stop profiting from a franchise, anything goes, including reviving it with an already incredibly hackneyed idea in a very artificial way, the idea being "world reconstruction". Madoka had already messed with time travel in that, shall we say, cowardly ending of the anime, so it would be a good idea to mess with it again now, right? Honestly, I don't see this as smart, nor valid, since starting the franchise over from the point where the anime left off is already pretty lame from the beginning, since we had ended everything with the supreme victory of the new entity Madoka. It's even worse if we take into account that this return is an attempt to rebuild the world, but that it brings such an idea by clinging to things that are contradictory in themselves, like Madoka not having prevented all this with her powers. It's not, I don't know, like in Haruhi no Shoushitsu, where the world is rebuilt from something new being discovered (Nagato's failure), and a solution is involuntary (Haruhi's powers), because in Madoka, the eponymous character is fully aware of her abilities. And the excuse given by the movie is that the reconstruction inside Homura was able to "make her forget she's god", very clueless, this simply ignores Madoka's omniscience, it's incredibly convenient. Not to mention, going back even further into Madoka's events (by playing Homura), the fact that she became god, by itself, doesn't make much sense anymore.


But OK, let's say that the movie's existence is, yes, more than just fanservice and cashgrab and that its existence is important for the story to be good (which is difficult with the 35-minute prologue of magical girls acting like magical girls, right KKKKK). Homura's character serves, again, as a character who suddenly takes over as the main character, I don't know what term is used for this, but that's what she is in the franchise. Homura is very cool and all, she moves her hair around a lot and says a few catchphrases, but what is she, really? A transfer student, a mahou shoujo, a renegade, the cold and calculating? Homura is always changing positions, none of them seem to be her for real, and none of them leave what I consider to be a base, already weird in itself. She is always being affected by the chaotic environment around her, and this is always reflecting in her personality, but what is her personality anyway? I don't think the franchise has ever been concerned with that. The shaft is too concerned with creating the next catchphrase with the ideal pose to think of a palpable characterization or an ideal that is not only based on idealistic and utopian love. Very weak character, she has no root that makes her a person, everything she does and doesn't do revolves around her feelings for Madoka, and when the other girls question her, it's all about her powers and the memories that only she can have. Nothing relates to a bitter past or a relevant Homura event from before. She was only born and only exists to drive the plot, there is no Homura outside of the events of Madoka Magica.

Otherwise, very good animation and soundtracks that match its moments. The rest of the cast I don't even want to mention, the girls are just puppets for not having their memories, but that they always were, and Kyuubei is the most idiotic villain that exists, it was easier to accept defeat in the anime and the movie wouldn't even exist KKKKKKK anyway, I think this movie will work very well for those who are inconsequential fans of the work, as well as the movies 4, 5, 6 and 7 will also work, but for those who are not attached to this silly cast or the dramas ignored by the time reset shameful of the anime, will notice how this story is covered with contradictions and problems more common, like a bad cast. It's commendable that it's made such a success and is even praised by a lot of opinion-forming people out there, being quite problematic. But it's not bad at all, you can delight in the above average animation.

It's a stained glass piece that looks pretty until you adjust it and it falls to the ground. Still somehow in one piece, someone comes along and smashes the hole thing with a hammer, then walks along on their merry way. Unsatisfied with the metaphor? That's how I felt this entire film.

I'd heard from others that I shouldn't see this, whether or not I liked the anime. That, if I really wanted, I should watch the first two films and just leave it at that. They were artistic enhancements for the anime series in the first two films that are worth looking at. The third ... film is a no. I'm used to bad endings. I'm used to bittersweet endings. I even enjoy a number of them. I'm used to characters in pain, characters going bad, the rules getting turned on their heads. But this just doesn't work for me. And I keep "xxxHolic" on my desk.

Metaphor and such aside, this film is almost entirely nonsense. There are a few cute shippy and plot moments, fragments of an ending I would have been less than happy with but sure, whatever, and a character development that comes so far out of left field that I think the meaning of the term "left field" has ceased to exist or matter.

The first 2/3s of the film is basically art barf. Which is expected, given that this is PMMM, although this film, with its higher budget, takes even the worst art barfy aspects of PMMM to new heights. Thrown on top of PMMM's tendency for random, nonsensical plot, blink-or-you-miss-it references, fights that look pretty but don't make sense, apparent teleportation all the time and WTF backgrounds where you have no idea what's going on but people are talking to each other and walking in a general kind of void so clearly the story is advancing somehow.

I respect that there is, in fact, a plot, although we have to get through most of the story to figure it out. That feeling you get when you wonder whether this is like an extra anime episode in a parallel dimension or you're missing something is really there to remind you that this is a mystery, not an adventure story. Okay. That's fine. I get that build-up. I would have been fine with that, if the build-up had resulted in the ending we looked like we were getting. Upsetting, sure, but sometimes upsetting things happen. But the plot twist doesn't make any sense. And that ruined the bizarre plot we were given.

I'll give it credit for a few cute things: the girls together at school, Charlotte as a human and Charlotte the chibi with more animation where she's kind of like a kitten, the girls working together as a team, and two scenes where pairings are more confirmed. The best part has to be where Sayaka has a heart-to-heart with another character near the end, which was quite touching. I love that pairing but when you think about it, it doesn't really make any sense with how the characters left each other in the series, although maybe Sayaka has simply been watching events in the real world from afar (there's a lot of editorializing in this film). I also like the way the Law of the Cycle was developed. It's better than how the series left it. The music was basically what we've heard before. I like the music from the anime and didn't like most of the remixes and additions to familiar tracks in this film, but that was probably because the tracks were purposefully made more jarring. It works for the scenes, but I'll stick with the series music.

Otherwise, I don't get it, biblical metaphors out the wazoo don't cut it, and I'm gonna pretend this doesn't exist.

Ok, so I have a lot of mixed feelings on this movie, but I was overall disappointed. I love the Madoka Magica franchise and I felt the ending was very good and satisfying. Without spoiling the movie, it starts out as an interesting new scenario, and ends by completely destroying everything I loved about Homura as a character. If you want to experience this story, please stick to either the TV show, the first two movies, or the manga. You'll get all the gorgeous artwork and interesting characters out of that alone. These spin-offs and extended stories haven't been worth my time so far.

Honestly Rebellion is a absolute cluster fuck. It ruined the perfect ending of the original anime.

Story: 3

The story is okay honestly. If this took place in a Alternate Universe I wouldn't mind the five girls and their mascot Bebe going around hunting monsters like a normal magical girl show.

But it turned out to be kinda confusing.


Art: 10
...
The art as always was beautiful.

Sound: 10

Even if Rebellion was a cluster fuck the sound was great! Thanks Yuki Kajiura.

Characters: 3

The biggest problem I have when it comes to character is Homura. What the actual fuck! What made you want to do the plot twist? What kind of development was that? The plot twist that you did ruined the perfect anime ending!

Second problem with character is Sayaka and Kyoko. Why the hell is Kyoko suddenly Sayaka's "biggest regret" when you never gave shit about Kyoko in the anime? They barely developed in the anime where the the "biggest regret" come from? This is just fanservice to the shippers.

Last is Nagisa. I just wished she had more lines.

Enjoyment: 4

Although I did enjoy the battle scenes and the visuals, I found it boring and confusing. Especially the plot twist at the end. The plot twist was unnecessary.

Overall: 2

Rebellion is an unnecessary addition to the Madoka franchise. They could've use the budget to adapt the manga spinoffs!

This film is a insult to fan of madoka
The serie of maddoka was almost perfect and was close. The end was best ending we need to finish the story.
This film was just made to milk some money and by doing it they soil the ending and the theme of the story.

Overalll the story of the film is a destruction all the serie was etablishing.

The character are the worst version of themselve all the good developement we made beford is send to the garbage bin.

The film is not ending probabily because they have no idea how end it and so fat ( 10 year after ... ) they still not end it.

If you want to seen a intersting take on the madoka universe better watch the gaiden.

I am personaly decide to considerate this film as never hapening.

--The review contains spoilers--


I wouldn't watch that movie without a second though.
Okay, Im making these review for myself to remember what Ive seen and what was my current state of mind, also, not to change my given score unintentionally.

Ive mixed feelings on the ending of the sequel which intended to finish Original Magica series.

Firstly, I would like to begin with looking at plot development: movie starts with vague storyline which we haven't seen before, futuristic world, mixed with imaginary creatures. My first thought was are we seeing one more restart of Homura’s time machine? or world was rewritten by madoka’s trial? , Nah soon it ... gets clear that Idea behind it is totally different.

Secondly, Cuuby intended to control madoka, of course it was obvious that high race of aliens which might live in different dimensions and see us as monkeys didn't like born of god among us who could not only change current reality but also affect other universes by utilizing tremendous size of energy. But leave this thing aside.

Rebellion, this is action which Homura chose to finish her final emotional advancement, which was derived from Unconditional love and selfishness demand to have Madoka, a holy grail, desirable object which was providing essential source of live for her.

Is that love which made Homura into evil, shows her as a servant of darkness ? No, of course, she examined despair at its best while rewinding time again and again, and the result, changing of fate couldn't overcome the suffering which she faced time by time. Its not worthy to forget the importance of her words when she said Im not human, nor magical girl (In 2011 series), she lost her soul and in the end choose the worst possible outcome.

How would i describe the movie? Meaningless story where whole self-sacrifice and heroic spirit fades away. Author with Homura’s actions erased original series Greatness and choose the pass where evil wins (Im no opposite of this but it had to be justified) Even left many questions, how madoka with her god like powers forget who she really was and how she let Homura to fell in despair. also madoka lost her human form and become spirit, no, energy. thus, it presents as a hole in the plot for me.

Many people here compared Magica series with Evangelion, Its a terrible mistake to make, even full destruction of the earth Neon genesis refers society problems and giving us bittersweet ending. on the other hand, Magica has plot-twist how all effort of the series could be lost in 20 min.

This is not masterpiece as others claim. This is the anime which failed to defend its greatness. However, because of its unique animation style and eye candy fight scenes, Movie is watchable.