#homura analysis

[kinuhanino]

No cuz you guys don't understand.

Homura rejected HER OWN PERFECT WORLD because it was trampling on the wish Madoka made for all magical girls.

She REJECTED the PERFECT MADOKA FOR HER because she knew that the Madoka she LOVED was a self-sacrificing idiot who would never choose herself over others.

Would Homura like it if Madoka stayed? Yes. Absolutely. That is literally her wish. For her to be with Madoka.

BUT! Would the real Madoka stay? No.

And that's the thing. Homura wants the real Madoka even tho she knows that she could never have her. She wants to be with Madoka but she knows that it would never happen even though that's what she wants.

The Madoka that would reject her is the one Homura loves.

And isn't that tragic?

That Homura put herself in such a horrible unending paradoxical cycle with feasibly no exits... And would do it all over again just for the sake of seeing Madoka just one more time?

Whatever Homura feels for Madoka is beyond simple words. It's an amalgamation of complex human nature that is so incomprehensible yet so understandable... It's honestly beautiful.

#musicallypan #homura analysis #homura #homura akemi #akemi homura #madoka kaname #kaname madoka #pmmm #madoka magica #puella magi madoka magica #madohomu #madoka x homura #homura x madoka #NO CUZ THEY ARE SO #GHKDJHNGKSJHRKSGBRJSG #i love homura guys #she is THE babygirl

[ravenclod]

one thing i find really funny about the pmmm community is how everyone has kind of grouped together in the opinion that homura isnt a bad person, that she has done no wrong

and i agree... somewhat

spoilers under the break!!

despite her being my least fav of the quintet (no reason, i just like everyone else a little bit more) she is probably my favourite in terms of writing, and i enjoy her character a LOT.

shes handled very well, and everything she does makes sense with the context provided. shes well rounded and well thought out, and as she is only 14* everything she did makes sense.

* [i know the timeskips in total are supposed to add up to 10ish years, but she didnt mature mentally/physically as she was simply living out the same month.]

shes not an adult, shes not fully developed, the events that she had to live through would scar and destroy anyone, let alone a girl who was already very unwell - physically and mentally

but a lot of her actions WERE wrong.

she did a lot of things wrong.

thats the whole point of the show.

every character (maybe excluding madoka?) did something wrong. they fucked up their wish. they were selfish. they didnt think about it hard enough. they didnt take enough care of themselves properly. they acted rashly.

because theyre children. because theyre immature.

the incubators specifically target those that are unstable, teenagers, as they generate the most emotional impact.

why do they make the biggest impact?BECAUSE they make the wrong decisions.

thats what madoka magica is about - facing the consequences of your actions, selflessness and selfishness, growing up, discovering the twisted nature of the world,

and making the wrong decisions.

#homura #homura akemi #madoka magica #pmmm #madoka magica analyisis #character analysis #right and wrong #homura analysis #this isn't hate or anything just my opinion cuz i keep seeing it #also would like to note wrong may not necessarily mean morally wrong #just simply a mistake or something similar #i find her so interesting #especially since she is shown as the devil #shes not portrayed to be a good person or someone whos made good choices #shes just a traumatised teenage girl #ravenclodarchive #ravens madoka thoughts

[silvermoon424]

The scene where Homura mercy-kills Madoka in one of her timelines is artistic perfection for a lot of reasons, but the way the two of them express different philosophies in it drives me insane with how amazing it is.

Faced with becoming a Witch, Homura tells Madoka that they should become monsters together and destroy the world until nothing bad or sad remains. But Madoka uses her very last Grief Seed to prevent Homura's transformation, telling her that even though there are a lot of awful things in the world, there's so much worth protecting too.

Madoka has seen the best the world has to offer and wants to sacrifice herself to protect it. Homura has seen the worst and her main priority is protecting the one person who gave her hope and warmth, even if that screws over other people. I fucking love these two so much.

#pmmm #madoka magica #puella magi madoka magica #madoka kaname #homura akemi #madohomu #analysis #my analysis #1k

[burnorgetburned]

EVEN MORE CLARA DOLL DETAILS:

So you know how the Dolls have their own distinctive clothes?

Guess who else has their own distinctive clothes!

That’s right. The multiple Homuras are actually Clara Dolls.

And that’s why ‘Homura’ is smiling.

Here they are! The one with the striped hat is Nekura (Gloominess or Pessimism) and the one with the flower is Mie (Vanity).

Here’s their descriptions from the art book.

[The second one to come was Gloominess. Walking out with a tapping sound, she sneered at Good-for-Nothing. “This is Good-for-Nothing! How very unbecoming.” These dolls are only disciples of Freedom, and are devoted to their lust for it.]

[The tenth to come running is Vanity. She exaggeratedly avoids Good-for-Nothing's head and says a few words. “I wouldn't be able to bear dirtying my cape with that sticky blood!” These dolls make fun of the witch's self-mutilation.]

Good-for-Nothing is Homura, by the way, but the Clara Dolls seem to consider Good-for-Nothing to be good for something after all after she splits Madoka. She turns into the Devil, and the Clara Dolls are stated to be “okay” with the Devil. If the young voices in the trailer belong to the Clara Dolls, then they also call her “Akuma-sama” now. Something like Mistress Devil, implying a sense of respect.

[… if they are not summoned, they will simmer. There are orders they will comply with, and also orders they will disobey. What they are and the witch herself's own magic are not well understood.]

At the end of Rebellion, Homura gave Madoka her ribbon back. She declared that they might become enemies in the end. Honestly, I thought that Homura would try her best to avoid Madoka entirely. The trailer suggested that Homura was meeting Madoka, though. Here’s the answer: it wasn’t Homura herself, but Gloominess, who wants freedom.

Now, I’m not sure how this situation works out. Do Clara Dolls have free will? Are they obeying Homura’s orders? Acting out Homura’s true emotions? Is Homura perhaps directly puppeteering them in order to fulfill her goals, or do they act on their own?

I find it likely that it’s a mix of both: some of them obey her, and some of them will try and fulfill her (probably very conflicting) desires, as familiars usually do. Gloominess is likely part of Homura who wants the freedom to talk to Madoka, for example, but Vanity seems to me like a Clara Doll who is obeying Homura. After all, she still needs magical girls to fight wraiths, at least until she finds a way to wipe them out.

[I'm Vanity (Mie). I'm pushing myself to the limit for someone.] And she is, of course. All of the theatrics, the calls, the organization of magical girls. These are things that Vanity is shown to engage in. All of this is for Madoka.

We see with Gloominess, at least, that she seems to be fulfilling a specific desire: in the background are white spider lilies. Instead of the red spider lilies that mean death, final goodbyes, and lost love, white spider lilies mean a hope for the future and a fresh start. Maybe this really is the first meeting for these two in a while, and she wants to be friends again?

Or maybe, being Gloominess, she wants to warn her about something.

[I'm Gloominess (Nekura). Forcing smiles tires me out.]

Then there’s this Homura.

Nothing about her clothes is very different. She is wearing ribbons as Homura in the wraith universe does, but look closely: the ribbons are different. They have some wavy stripes on them, while Madoka’s ribbons are plain. She does not correspond to any known Clara Doll.

However, there’s mentioned to be a fifteenth Clara Doll that is not yet born: Ai, representing love. This could be her. Is it love for others? Or love for herself? I’m hoping it’s the latter, but very likely it’s love for Madoka and her friends. This would explain why she’s trying to fight Homucifer in the poster, as Homura believes that she’s a danger to everyone else.

How can this be? Well, here’s a few options:

- The Clara Dolls are grown-up familiars. They ate souls, and they became a copy of their witch. This is a process that was explained to us in the original series, where some magical girls are stated to farm familiars by letting them eat people so that they would grow souls/grief seeds.

- The Clara Dolls are not familiars, or wraiths, but instead a secret third thing. “What they are and the witch’s own magic are not well understood”, as said in the Rebellion art book. They could be magical constructs of a different kind, but I do think that this would get into overcomplicated explanations quickly, so I favor the familiar explanation.

- The Clara Dolls could be familiars, but instead of eating souls they’re simply powerful enough to change their shape. Their strength is equal to the strength of a magical girl…. when Homura was a witch, before Homura became something more. It could also be energy from the contracts making them stronger. Maybe it’s me being sentimental, but I don’t like the idea of Homura letting anyone’s soul be nommed on.

Now, before there’s a panic about how they’ll juggle fifteen extra characters, here’s a few thoughts:

- Just because they seem different doesn’t mean they’re actually different. It might be that the Clara Dolls are a way for Homura to present herself. As Vanity, she might show off more, or have dramatic flourishes like her throne and her dress. As Gloominess, it might be that she doesn’t believe that her plans will work, so she tries to do what makes her happy. It’s likely that the Clara Dolls are just extra ways to explore Homura’s character. They’re parts of her soul, after all, and right now she is extremely powerful. She might simply want to keep her true self away from humans.

- They could work like projections. Homura wants more bodies to work with, but she has to filter herself through the Dolls’ personalities. This could result in a lot of juicy character interactions, as the things she tries to keep hidden are closer to the surface.

- Will ‘Ai/Mystery Homura’ fight against Devil Homura? Very likely! How can this be when they’re the same person? Well, who hates Homura more than Homura? That’s right. Nobody. Anyone can fight and argue with their self, it’s just usually not on the level that a reality-warper like Homura can manage.

If this is true, there’s plenty of interesting directions they can take it.

- Because the Clara Dolls have a degree of separation from Homura, they can show other characters things that Homura herself has ignored or locked away. Bad memories, affection for her friends, the resentment she must feel - everything from concern to a cry for help can be plausibly shown through them as the actors.

- Manuke (Stupidity) is specifically more naive/sincere than the others. Maybe interacting with this Doll would show the Quintet that there’s something more going on than a Devil who wants to hurt other people.

- If Ai represents a love for other people, Ai can have a strange character arc where she learns to value Homura/herself, and become self-love.

- On the other hand, Ai can represent self-love from the start, and because Homura looks very fucking unhealthy in the trailer, she only wants to stop her because she’s hurting herself. This option plays into the themes of self-sacrifice and happiness, which I believe to be some of the major themes that they’re going for.

- The poster could be misleading and Ai ends up fighting everyone but Homura. I find this the funniest option.

- Homura can hug herself. It’s possible. In fact, every character can hug Homura 15 different times.

Smiles are a Clara Doll’s default expression. We have yet to see Homura smile for real.

Is this going to get very ambiguous and confusing? Probably. But rewatching for details was the fun part in Rebellion, so I’m looking forward to it!

#walpurgis no kaiten #walpurgisnacht rising #pmmm #homura akemi #madoka magica #puella magi madoka magica #Homura also looks like she’s coughing in that final shot but I can’t find a way to put it in coherently #the Homuras on the tower are too far away for me to look at. sorry. #please don’t start saying things like ‘Ai is SELFLESS LOVE who wants to free Madoka and Homura is ‘SELFISH LOVE who wants to keep Madoka’— #I… disagree. I’d be happy to debate with you but send a message please #pmmm analysis #pmmm rebellion #homucifer #clara dolls #long post

[jazzymusicorn28]

I love the stark contrast between these two shots of Homura and Madoka. Like look at the colors schemes and background details!

Rays of light are shining down on Madoka, symbolizing her positivity and energy. She’s surrounded by pink roses and daisies, corresponding with her joy, innocence, and purity. The background of the shot is very vibrant and full of life, like Madoka here.

Meanwhile we have Homura, who’s intentionally shading herself from the light with her umbrella, causing shadows to be cast across her face. This represents her keeping everyone in the dark about her plans, especially Madoka. The background of the shot is more monochromatic, corresponding with Homura’s uncertainty and secrecy.

#pmmm #analysis #pmmm analysis #puella magi madoka magica #madoka kaname #homura akemi #mahou shoujo madoka magica #Walpurgis rising #rebellion sequel #pmmm spoilers #pmmm rebellion sequel #madohomu #Walpurgisnacht Rising #my post #mine #500

[dittydipity]

characters that put up a front and a performance so constantly that they start to believe the caricature they've created of themself is more authentic than their core and/or elements of that fabrication start to become ingrained in their actual perception of self 🤌

#finding a throughline for characters i think about a normal amount. #bc i'm having a brainrot moment #.d #also back in my mp100 era so im cleaning up an analysis thing i wrote last year and having thoughts #it's not projection it's not i swear (sweating) #anyway some character tags for myself don't bully me #reigen arataka #shigeo kageyama #goro akechi #joshua kiryu #des #..... #pla volo #homura akemi #*

[evergreenalice]

in episode 10 we see this

elsewhere, we see this

I refuse to believe these are the same building, rather, I think only the first one is real

the second one is purely symbolic. A white minimalist void with floating stuff about witches and Walpurgisnacht and such, and a mechanism at the center that sort of evokes Walpurgisnacht's design

she lives in a white void because nothing matters but what we see, there are places to sit, a table, and information about Walpurgisnacht, her task has so wholly consumed her that she might as well live in a white void, nothing else matters but this

I've thought this before but idk if I ever put this on Tumblr

#puella magi madoka magica #madoka magica #pmmm #homura akemi #analysis

[atamascolily]

Thinking today about how Homura is often depicted with umbrellas/parasols... a shield-shaped object that protects its wielder from what they don't wish to experience.... essentially creating their own little world within.

This is, of course, not even going into the whole "sharing an umbrella as a symbol of romantic love" trope that so prevalent in Japanese media. The fact that Homura, who desires nothing more than to shield Madoka, is always alone is telling. She even has an empty chair set up at her table in this scene, as if she's waiting for someone to join her!

In general, umbrellas protect against rain, while parasols keep the sun off--thus allowing the person beneath to remain hidden in the shadows. It's hard not to look at this admittedly gorgeous shot and not feel a frisson of unease. I also like how the parasol focuses our attention on Homura as if it were a spotlight.

This use of umbrellas/parasols as a recurring motif in Madoka Magica is especially striking after watching the first season of Thunderbolt Fantasy (Gen Urobuchi's ongoing wuxia fantasy puppet epic), where the protagonist's acceptance of an umbrella is what kicks off the whole plot!

By the end, however, Shang Bu Huan has come full circle, and is explicitly defined by his refusal of an umbrella:

Even a storm that could ruin an umbrella is not enough to halt a man's journey. Should I come across murky waters on my travels, I shall continue forward unburdened by that which may hold me back.

Granted, Shang is older and more experienced than Homura, enough to know that umbrellas are often more trouble than they're worth, but the contrast is striking. And given that Urobuchi has said on Twitter that the script for Walpurgis no Kaiten was written immediately before Thunderbolt Fantasy S1, it's entirely possible he had Homura in mind when he was writing this scene.

#puella magi madoka magica #pmmm analysis #homura akemi #madoka magica #thunderbolt fantasy #wuxia fantasy puppet epic

[thefruitonyourfly]

Just read a comment under a magireco Madoka's magical girl sequence that said "now Madoka is a badass" and I was like HUH

Like did some of you watched episode 12 blindfolded and with ear plugs? Because I don't think you guys truly grasp the scope of what Madoka did that episode: The Incubator has been on earth for a MILLENNIUM, meaning that has been thousand of girls before Madoka who have tried to outsmart his system and met a terrible fate for their attempts, but only Madoka has been able to beat him, do you guys understand that? The smartest and strongest girls have tried, but something always thwarted their plans—be it their potential not being that high or Kyuubey twisting their words so it would be in his favor instead—But Madoka had something they didn't and it was her circumstances (Homura and the timeloops), Madoka knew her wish would come at a great sacrifice, but just like Homura said in Rebellion "She rose to the occasion" because she knew it was something only she could do; No one would ever have the perfect circumstances to make that wish like Madoka. So, she did it.

When Madoka made her wish and Kyuubey hesitated for the first time in the series because he understood the implication of it, Madoka said to him: "Now, grant my wish, Incubator." When Kriemhild Gretchen was born and Kyuubey thought he had the advantage back again because this witch could literally swallow a planet and Madoka killed her with one shot. Madoka won, essentially. Like her system isn't perfect, Kyuubey isn't dead, and there's still suffering, but it was the best wish for the magical girl kind as a whole, and all improvements are only possible by what Madoka did here. She played within the Incubator's system and rewrote it. She is the most powerful character in the whole franchise and arguably one of the most powerful characters in anime. "But didn't Homucifer defeated Madokami?" Well, sort of. Homura's win is, ironically, also due to extreme circumstances, only Homura could've done that and only within this one scenario: and even when she won it's heavily implied that if Madoka even has a slightly moment of deja vu it's over for her, she can't win against Madoka on fair terms so even Homura herself can't achieve that feat again. That's just how powerful Madoka is.

Do you guys understand that?

And here's the thing: my problem with that statement isn't even that I don't think magireco Madoka isn't as cool as Madokami, I think she's badass too. Is just like, I thought we all thought Madoka was cool as herself?? Like even without being a magical girl or a fucking godess, Madoka was cool as shit. When Madoka risked her own life to save the lives of her friends and strangers at the warehouse? She had no powers, no backup, and had just watched Mami die to a witch and yet she still followed Hitomi. But people only want to see Madoka's character as what the witch showed her afterwards, her own survivors guilt and perceived weakness and cowardice over wanting to live and not be a magical girl despite what she promised Mami, and yet the scene prior to this conflicts with this idea. Madoka not only can risk her life for others and save them when the need arises, but she already has. Even without being a magical girl. It's just who she is. This, to me, is one Madoka Magica's core strenght as a show that Madoka spent the majority of it being the most "powerless" in almost every scenario and yet she still tried her best to overcome things, even when it didn't work It was never worthless, if anything it proved her own strenght of character and without it she would've never gotten as powerful how she is today.

If Madoka hadn't been kind to Homura on her first day of school, if she hadn't done the simple act of reaching out to someone she thought was kind shy, none of this would've have happened. Her kindness did this, not any other power.

My favorite thing about Madoka's character arc is that Madoka starts as a very naive opmitimisc girl and with a somewhat sheltered view of of the world, then she goes throught horrors few can understand and while she could (understably) become bitter with the world and grow to despise it, Madoka comes of it realizing...she was right. Madoka has felt the pain the world could give her in her own skin, has literally died, and she now thinks Hope is needed more than ever. And it saddens me a lot when people don't understand how strong and cool she is because of that, to be hurt and choose to be kinder and more understanding to yourself and the world in return, because the world can be better we just can't give up...

Basically what I'm saying with this that if you don't like Kaname Madoka, fuck you—

#*sees one negative comment on madoka* *snaps and writes an essay at 1am* #guys i am so normal about kaname madoka #this probably has a lot of typos but i'm gonna sleep right now and fix em in the morning #kaname madoka #madoka kaname #madokami #madohomu #akemi homura #pmmm #madoka magica #long post #pmmm analysis

[sasupark]

Homura Akemi is Selfless and Here's Why!!!!

I've thought for so long now that Homura did all the sacrifices she did in order for her to BE WITH madoka but actually?

I'm starting to change my mind.

In the anime, when Kyoko asked her what she wanted to do when they killed Walpurgisnacht, all she said was that she's "going to leave the city". Considering her history of sui**de ideology, it was a little unnerving for her to say that. Moreover, she doesn't make any attempts to look redeemable in Madoka's eyes either, which means she has little to no interest in involving herself directly with Madoka even if she survives.

Additionally, when Madoka became a God, she was heartbroken about it, but she ultimately respected her decision, even if she can't feel Madoka there most of the time (so much that she started doubting her memories of madoka). It's why she was so mad in Rebellion and insistent on finding and ending the witch that trapped them in the barrier, because they were "disrespecting Madoka's sacrifice" by existing.

Also, her witch's labyrinth in rebellion revealed that she'd always wanted to have a fun and normal life with all her fellow magical girls, living out their days in perfect harmony with them, not just Madoka. Sayaka and Kyoko who are complete opposites of each other are simply bantering, sayaka herself doesn't seem to hold anything against homura either (which its more than implied that sayaka hated homura in many timelines). Homura had always cared about all of the girls in varying degrees, as she'd always done something to try and save them from their fate, although all of them were futile. But since she had always seen Madoka as the person who cared about her the most, when the other girls started to pose a problem for her safety, she will set them aside in order to prioritise Madoka.

Anyway, when Homura finds out she was experimented on by kyubei in order to one day gain control of Madoka, she curses herself into becoming a witch. When she was saved, she knows that Kyubei are now 100% sure of Madoka's existence and it wont be long before she's controlled.

Homura became a "demon" in order to prevent Kyubei from rendering Madoka's sacrifice useless.

She did do it for love as she claimed, and maybe to an extent, yes, she is controlling madoka, but it is to ensure that she does not endanger herself again. She doesn't even bother making herself look good in their eyes after she's rewritten the timeline, she embodies her role as "the villain" much as she had back in the anime when she ended up looking like a psychopathic weirdo.

TLDR; Homura's main goal is not to Have Madoka, its to Let Madoka Exist, even at her own expense.

And that's how it always has been.

#pmmm #puella magi madoka magica #homura akemi #madoka kaname #madohomu #madoka magica #madomagi #madoka magica rebellion #rebellion #character analysis #can you tell ive loved homura akemi for more than half of my lifespan #shes so morally grey but also. i love her

[akiizayoi4869]

Just had a thought about Homura. About how in the flashback episode for her character, as well as in the movies, she starts out as this shy and innocent girl. She's happy with her friends. And as time goes on (or in her case, as time pretty much stops) we see that innocence slowly slipping away from her. The happiness slowly begins to fade, because she's constantly living the same nightmare on repeat: watching her friends die, and she can't do anything to stop it no matter how hard she tries. Her eyes, which used to look so vibrant and full of life, eventually begins to dull little by little, until they eventually look like how they did at end of the Rebellion movie:

Her eyes look dead in this picture. Which exemplifies perfectly how Homura herself must have been feeling at this point. Dead inside.

#puella magi madoka magica #homura akemi #character analysis

[kinuhanino]

Homura is so silly

She really went "wait... I'm happy. Something is very wrong here."

love her honestly.

*side note: i also love the fact that Homura knows Madoka so well that hearing Madoka say that she'd never leave them even if she had to only confirmed her suspicion that the Madoka she was talking to was influenced by her delulu headspace

#musicallypan #homura akemi #akemi homura #pmmm homura #pmmm #madoka magica #puella magi madoka magica #madoka magica rebellion #madohomu #madoka x homura #she is so silly #and obsessed #and gay #homura analysis

[aceptical]

I love the parallels between Homura and Sayaka. In a lot of ways, they’re complete opposites. Homura (at least appears) to be colder, to think with her head rather than her heart, etc. Sayaka’s headstrong, impulsive, and goes with her guts first reaction most of the time.

But then, we see just how similar these characters are. How both of them gave up everything for someone they loved. How neither of them love in parts. When they love someone, it’s an obsessive sort of love that goes on for years, the love that’s enough to sell your soul away. For all they’re different, for all they hate each other, they made the same “mistake” in the end- sacrificing themselves for someone they loved through making a wish.

#puella magi madoka magica #sayaka miki #homura akemi #analysis #character analysis

[silvermoon424]

I've always thought it was really interesting that this scene was changed in the manga.

In the Rebellion movie, Homura acts as if she's going to commit suicide in order to get the edge on Mami during their fight. She actually does shoot herself in the head, because she knows it's not fatal (she knows that, as a magical girl, she's only truly susceptible to death if her Soul Gem gets damaged). The bullet then severs the ribbon tying her to Mami.

But in the Rebellion manga adaptation, Homura just fires onto some glass which shatters and severs the ribbon. She is injured, but it's not as blatantly suicidal as the movie is.

It's possible that this was in the original movie script before being changed. Hanokage, the artist, made the original series manga adaptation off of scripts and not the anime itself (which resulted in some differences from the source material). I'm wondering if Hanokage did the same thing for Rebellion? I believe the movie and manga adaptation were released pretty much around the same time so it's possible. It doesn't feel like a case of censorship.

#pmmm #madoka magica #puella magi madoka magica #pmmm rebellion #homura akemi #mami tomoe #analysis #my analysis #anime vs manga

[burnorgetburned]

okay. OKAY. I JUST WANT TO SAY.

NEW MUSIC STYLE. NEW ART STYLE. NEW MAGIC SYSTEM, NEW GIRLS, MORE CLARA DOLLS, MORE HOMURA OUTFITS, MORE EVERYONE OUTFITS, and AAHAHAHAHSGH.

Homura wins by style points alone.

Anyway. Choice screenshots and my thoughts on them. Plus a few wild theories. Replies, tags, and your own reactions are VERY welcome.

(You're doing great, sweetie!)

First of all, I’ve already said this, but Homura has usurped Kyubey. She is the contractor in this new system. She calls magical girls and asks them if they can bear the responsibility of fighting (LEAGUES better than Kyubey's misleading BE A HERO language), using a magical lizard phone. She knows better than anyone else how heavy this is.

And she looks amazing while doing it. Look at that outfit! Look at her steampunk-esque aesthetic! Her throne. Which, notably, has glowing magenta eyes and her wings as a backrest.

The moon is either actually, physically repurposed, or she’s made something that looks like it. Not only that, but the pins going into the moon are exactly like the pins that went into her soul gem when she was being experimented upon in Rebellion. Those pins, according to the artbook, are for draining her gem of grief to keep her just before the point of witching.

Well, here’s my first wild speculation: Homura has not only taken over Kyubey’s job as a contractor but also its job of disposing of grief. That moon steampunk device is maybe for collecting, concentrating, and distilling grief into energy - hence the strange tesla coils connected to red liquid in the second screenshot above. She's doing what Kyubey says it's doing - turning the grief of people into energy to prolong the universe's lifespan.

I for one support her reality-warping shenanigans.

Here are some voices over a phone, sometimes speaking over each other, sometimes together. They call Homura “Akuma-sama” (!!!) which is a distinct upgrade from calling her Good-For-Nothing. They say “Just bring hope” like a mission statement. Are these her contracted girls? Or her Clara Dolls? They seem to show her a lot of respect.

I’ve also said this, but I strongly feel that this and the girl shown later are some of Homura’s new contractees. Their magic is darker. It warps the world around them, even. Their outfits incorporate black a lot more, too, though that might be the lighting.

Look at the little sigil on the top left-middle! Looks a lot like Homura’s lizard sigil shown when she was consuming the universe, just with a longer lizard.

And, of course, the image of Madoka throwing herself off of a building. “Wraith” and “Legend of Bestie” (lmao) show up here. I’ve actually been really looking forward to seeing what they’ll do with Madoka’s… self-sacrificial tendencies, so this might be part of that. Or, because of “Wraith”, it’s… well, I’ll get to that later.

On the other hand, it might not be Madoka. It might be the girl who the speaker in the phone call calls her "best friend", jumping to her death because of a wraith, and Homura saving her to fulfill a wish.

So glad that the insane architecture from Rebellion is making a comeback. Love what you’ve done with the place, Homura. Look at all those cranes!

The outfit changes are very cool to me. I honestly don’t have speculation for why Sayaka is covered in bandages, but I do have speculation for the changes!: they’re older. Years have passed. Since they’ve changed and grown, their outfits have changed, too. I don't have proof of this - I just like the idea.

Light shines down on Madoka. Petals fall towards her as flowers bloom above. Behold, Homura's extremely subtle and inscrutable feelings. (Sorry for the blurry Madoka, but I am not going through the ordeal of uploading screenshots to my computer again because Tumblr does not like mobile users).

Homura is apparently waiting for Madoka here. She's standing right in the fountain's water and holding a Victorian umbrella like a vampire. Right now we can see that the visuals of this movie will not miss.

Is this a routine thing for them or is Homura just showing up to greet them this one time, for some reason? No clue. Madoka's expression as she notices Homura could indicate either.

Eagle-eyed people on Twitter noticed this, but in these shots, Sayaka already has her bandages.

Aside from the multiple and/or teleporting Homuras, there's also a Clara Doll in a ballerina dress and a cute Clara Doll peering over the side of the tower like a little kid.

The tower is interesting. It appears to be made of books or pages, and there's chains throughout it. More notably, it's in the shape of a helix - infinity symbols on top of each other.

Please appreciate these Clara Dolls. I'm sure they're working hard.

But seriously, those Clara Dolls' details. One has a witch's hat. One has an apple on its head. And the one with a teacup appears to have not only a lizard's tail but a replica of Homura's Devil outfit. Appreciate them!

Here is Homura(?), lounging or trapped on a chair filled with even more of those pins. Look at her closely. She's wearing a strange combination of her magical girl outfit and her Devil outfit - her shoulders are bare, and she has... feathers? She's sitting on a bunch of nails. But she also has two soul gems - one in her hand, and one hanging from her neck.

Is she cleansing them? Eating them? Holding people hostage? I don't know, but I support her completely.

She looks so tired.

So: here's some of what I think might be going on.

Homura is using wraiths to repress her worst memories. We know already that wraiths take memories and emotions from their victims. Well, there's no reason it can't be used as extremely terrible coping! Homura actually does this in the Wraith Arc, too - she lets a wraith take her feelings for Madoka.

If it is Madoka, it explains the shot with Madoka throwing herself off a builing - what if Homura has seen this happen in the loops, and out of pain lets a wraith pull it right out of her? The shot says "WRAITH" and billows with smoke. A wraith could have taken Madoka's form to act out this memory. And it doesn't need to be a memory - it could also represent Madoka's self-sacrifice and almost suicidal tendencies. This, too, would explain the multiple Homuras. All wraiths using her form.

This puts forward powerful enemies for the plot, as well as an interesting point of literally fighting Homura's demons. Most importantly, this lets everyone see Homura's pain.

Other wild dartboard speculations:

Homura will try and present herself as a villain. This is, honestly, kind of guaranteed, but it bears mentioning that her magical girls will be very likely to try to defend her.

Kyubey may appear to try and turn the girls against Homura.

Homura made the new magical girl who is drawing a bow. She has a lot of design choices from the Quintet, and people have already noticed how much she looks like Madoka. This new girl plays a role of the hero to Homura's pretend-villain, eliminating the risk that her friends will get seriously hurt.

The new magical girl is actually Madoka. Or the Law of Cycles. Or Kriemhild Gretchen.

The girl who jumps from the tower is a contractee being asked to take a leap of faith. She does so, and Homura rewards her with magic.

#pmmm #pmmm analysis #puella magi madoka magica #madoka magica #walpurgisnacht rising #walpurgis no kaiten #pmmm 4 #please tell me what tags to use for spoilers! #pmmm specuation #homura akemi #long post

[jazzymusicorn28]

Just thinking about the brilliantly crafted yet subtle symbolism with the seasons in the Rebellion OP, and how the seasons present perfectly coincide with their respective characters and their wishes.

Like, we start off with Madoka in the spring. This definitely correlates with her wish to reset the corrupt system of magical girls and witches. She creates a new design for the system and gives herself and the other magical girls hope with the new start, heavily leaning into the themes of rebirth and hope tied to spring. Spring also represents transformations, and it nicely conveys Madoka using hope as a propelling force to her becoming a goddess.

When Sayaka enters the scene, it's summer. It represents her initial hopes and optimism toward becoming a magical girl, and her overall innocence. Her desires for romance and passion tied to her wish to be with Kyosuke also embody some of the core symbolic ideas associated with summer.

Now Mami enters the scene in the fall, which is often associated with themes of adulthood, maturity, and death. This pertains to her resourcefulness and maturity that stems from her dealing with the aftermath of her parents dying in the car crash. Mami also made her wish to avoid death.

Next we have Kyoko, with some of the most blatant symbolism with her ties to winter here. Kyoko made her wish to prevent her family from living in literal squalor, and the foundations of her wish were based upon her not wanting her family to have to endure such hardships and tough times, which winter is commonly connected with. After her father went ballistic, Kyoko was able to survive and live through the most difficult times in her life while sustaining herself as a magical girl and person. She also adopted the "survival of the fittest" mindset too, further representing her ties to the winter imagery shown here.

And lastly we have Homura entering in the spring! Her wish is based on saving Madoka and her initial hopefulness in doing so. She wanted to have a fresh start, a chance to redo her meeting with Madoka, which became the driving force of her life. Spring is heavily tied to new beginnings and transformations, which certainly embodies her change in personality and demeanor with all of the timeline resets.

Homura entering during the spring also foreshadows her transformation into a literal devil; this significantly parallels when Madoka enters in the spring, which is representative of her transformation into a goddess. Currently obsessing over these parallels btw.

#pmmm #madoka magica #puella magi madoka magica #homura akemi #madoka kaname #sayaka miki #mami tomoe #kyoko sakura #madohomu #long post #longish post #analysis #pmmm rebellion #madoka magica rebellion #madoka rebellion #pmmm analysis #my post #mine #mahou shojo madoka magica #500