Being a meguca fan really must've been suffering. But like a god coming down to lead her devoted follower to salvation, Madoka Partners and Shaft have finally blessed fans with the announcement of Walpurgisnacht -Rising-. Wait, how'd we get to this point again? Something about overthrowing God? Right?
Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica: Rebellion follows Magical Girl Homura Akemi. She, alongside her friends, are recruited by a being calling itself Kyubey to fight Nightma- Wait, something's definitely wrong with the way things are. Magical Girls don't fight Nightmares. They've fought Wraiths ever since the Law of Cycles herself begun saving Magical Girls from a fate worse than death; witchhood. This realm of Nightmares and old friends is but a facade.
The strengths of the TV Anime Series are back in full force, save one little part at the beginning. Back when I mentioned in my TV series review that I don't enjoy the tropes that defined the Magical Girls of a time long past, one of those tropes were overly-long transformation sequences that just feel like padding. Rebellion has FIVE OF THESE. BACK TO BACK. It's a nitpick, I know, but I have to mention it. The beginning is pulling the Madoka Magica beginning section tradition of trying to sell a facade. Despite the same idea, the form of the facade is moreso that some time after Madoka just ditched Homura to go be God, what's being shown is just the new norm for Magical Girls. Truly a happy alternative to the whole becoming a monster that other girls have to put down and cope with the fact they'll become one. Of course, someone's sticking out like a sore thumb. Now, let's take that and make this shit get real.
Homura vs. Mami is definitely a huge step up from the fights of the TV anime. Most witch fights and even Sayaka vs. Kyoko or Mami vs. Charlotte were, despite being used effectively for story-telling purposes, didn't last that long and lacked the punch and spectacle that is on full display in Homura vs. Mami. The character movements are fluid and have a sense of weight to each and every one. The visual of the tracers in stopped time and subsequent clashing of both magical and cartridge-based ammunition perfectly portrays the competence of both combatants in a awe-inspiring way. The expressiveness in certain shots still displays the obvious fact that these two friends don't want to fight each other, despite having to (only to further be solidified by Homura's attempt to end the fight with a non-fatal injury). Debatably the best fight scene of the franchise, even if Magia Record anime might have a horse in the race from a visual standpoint. And on top of all of that, the comparison to Mami vs. Charlotte becomes more apparent upon realization that this is the first Point of No Return heel-turn type scene in the movie.
One of two, actually. The second coming upon getting an earful from a literal angel, Homura getting a nice huff of copium off of Madoka, and some creative abuse of soul separation.
It ALWAYS comes back to Kyubey. I'm not gonna be surprised if in Movie 4, we end up seeing Kyubey ride in on the titular Witch to End All Witches. Back to Homura's reaction to news of the Incubators attempting to control Ultimate Madoka, though. While other witches in the series conveyed an unsettling aura with the sorrow bleeding through via context, Homulilly wears that sense of sorrow on her sleeves. What comes of its existence is an expansion of a concept dabbled with near the middle of the TV series, an interesting setpiece of the horde fight between Homulilly and Oktavia von Seckendorff's Familiars, and the true introduction of one Nagisa Momoe. My main gripe with this section is Nagisa. Due to the amount of time she spends in the movie as the unintelligible Bebe, she doesn't get the time to actually have much of a character aside from "cheese". What's her background? Why did Madoka choose her to accompany her and Sayaka? Why'd she take the appearance of First Form Charlotte, something that could (and did) make for an easily avoided misunderstanding? If this review was written before the announcement of Walpurgisnacht -Rising-, Nagisa would definitely be more of a problem than she is now.
And with this section ending in Homura achieving the highest K/D in the franchise with Madoka's help, now comes the ending and the debate Madoka Magica has left to the fans since 2013.
"Is Homura evil or has Homura done nothing wrong?"
I'm going to be blunt.
Homura fucking overthrows God.DISCLAIMER: This is where we're gonna get into my personal viewpoint. You may disagree, and that's okay. I'm just voicing how I see things here.
Sayaka, in Homura's new reality where Madoka can finally be safe from her sacrificial fate (For real this time, becoming God still constitutes as "sacrifice"), refers to Ultimate Homura as a "devil". Now, let's be real. The entire situation is a grey area of Madoka continually throwing herself in fate's line of fire and Homura trying to course correct for Madoka's sake. While her obsessive love harbored throughout repeating a month over and over is a catalyst for Homura having something to gain from splitting Madoka from the Law of Cycles, this is just Homura repeating her cycle of trying to make things the best for Madoka. It's for her, but Homura's love makes her unable to see that being Ultimate Madoka is what Madoka wanted. It's a mistake, but not evil.
Homura is a "devil" in the sense that her end goal is the opposite of God.
Homura did nothing wrong.
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