Before I officially begin, I'm going to mention is that I went into this movie with incredibly minuscule (but not entirely nonexistent) prior knowledge. I was aware that it was going to avert the bittersweet ending of the anime into one that was pretty much entirely bitter. Specifically, I already knew Homura's excessive adoration for Madoka was going to turn into something ferocious in this movie, as well as that Homura was going to transform into a "Lucifer" figure to counteract Madoka's "God"/"Jesus" figure. I did not know anything about Rebellion other than that.
I'm going to start with talking about two very specific aspects of Rebellion that are quick and easy to go over: the animation and the soundtrack.
I gave the animation (listed as "art") a 9/10. The animation was spot-on, much better than the original anime's (which was already quite good). It was extremely detailed and fluid, a feast for the eyes, and perfectly displayed the atmosphere of Madoka Magica as a whole--surreal, stunning, ominous, off-putting.
Then there's the soundtrack (listed as "sound"), which I gave a 7/10. I absolutely love Yuki Kajiura, who composed the music for everything Madoka Magica, and she always shocks me with the ardent emotion present in all of her pieces. The music in this movie was very nice, but I had to admit it did not connect with me the same way the music from the original anime did; perhaps this is because it conveyed the atmosphere of the movie perfectly, and I'm not sure if I like the atmosphere of the movie. However, I will say I have a soft spot for the piece "I Was Waiting for This Moment", which is both beautiful and grimly condemning.
But ultimately, I must confess I'm rather upset with this movie. When I mentioned the things I already knew about Rebellion before watching it, I'd like to address how I knew those things. I knew those things because I had watched a single scene of the movie beforehand, that scene being the "plot twist" one, in which it's revealed Homura has become something of a yandere and that the new universe Madoka created wasn't enough for her after all. I thought this scene was amazing and still do, which drove me to be fascinated as to how they would bring about this side of Homura.
I probably should have gone into Rebellion with no expectations, but admittedly, I did have one. I was kind of expecting, with far too much exhilaration, that it would expand on what the events of Homura's life did to her and show us the extent of the psychological damage that had been inflicted upon her. Then, I thought she would go through something equally or even more painful than what she'd already gone through, and only then would she become "unstable Homura."
I was completely wrong, and even if I think back on the movie without those expectations, I'm still extremely disappointed with what they did end up doing with Homura.
The main cast was portrayed decently, although the "real" main cast didn't get much screen time at all. They were kind of boring in this movie, which was disappointing, but also to be expected since it was so drastically focused on Homura and Homura alone. I didn't have much of a problem with them besides the fact that they were truly just side characters here, but again, that was to be expected.
Long story short, I don't understand why they would include Bebe in this movie other than to make a new character to refresh themselves or lure in fans. She's adorable, sure, but she serves basically no purpose the entire movie other than to be cute, as well as to be a "red herring" for Homura. I don't think she was necessary to include.
The movie itself started out pretty well, and it definitely lured me in. Fans can tell something is wrong immediately because, even if Rebellion took place in Madoka's new universe, Madoka herself would not be present as anything other than a god, and the rest of the Magical Girls other than Homura would not remember her. Strangely, wherever Rebellion takes place, it's some alternate universe that still has Madoka in it as a human being (or so we thought at this point), with the rest of the Magical Girls aware of her existence.
I was lured in even more when we found out Homura was trapped in a labyrinth, in spite of the fact that we as fans were aware no present universe should have labyrinths or witches present within them. I thought it was a good choice and a greatly interesting one to do the minor plot twist: Homura was trapped within her own labyrinth.
(To be continued)
