Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie -Rebellion- (Movie)

Note: This post is considered an episode review and it dives into spoilers for the movie.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie -Rebellion- is the third installment in the series and unlike Beginnings and Eternal, it’s an original work that continues off of the original story. Even though I consider the original TV show to be one of my favorite anime of all time, I never got around to watching Rebellion until now. Honestly, I never really wanted to see the movie. I’ve always felt content with the show alone and the original ending is very conclusive so the idea of a sequel seemed unnecessary to me (and it still does after watching this movie). I have learned a few spoilers over the years but they sounded so insane to me that I got even less interested in the movie. It’s all a knee jerk reaction, I don’t deny that, but that’s how I felt for the past decade since the movie came out. At long last, I’ve finally bit the bullet. I might as well do it for the blog and it can’t be worse than Magia Record Season 1 (which isn’t godawful but it is currently the low point in the franchise for me).

Before going over the story, I just want to say that if nothing else, this movie’s presentation is superb. Shaft is a very capable studio and they do not disappoint here. Rebellion has some of the best animated scenes I’ve seen in Madoka, especially in the action department, and there are a ton of imaginative shots to be found throughout the movie. You do have some of Shaft’s usual quirks such as the dramatic head turns and the frequent close ups and that’s an acquired taste but I personally don’t mind them and the plot of this movie does give the studio the perfect excuse to do all of that flair. The movie also has some new music to add to the show’s already great soundtrack. I’m particularly fond of the ED. As soon as I finished the movie, I started listening to it on loop. it might go down as one of my favorite theme songs in Madoka. All the main cast members reprise their roles and they do a solid job as always. Chiwa Saito especially kills it as Homura, even when I start to disagree with what the movie is doing with the character (more on that later).

As I had just mentioned, the show ended very conclusively so the first thing I had to wonder is how Rebellion would continue the story. Funnily enough, the movie begins with a setup completely different from where the story left off and it doesn’t explain anything about it for the first 25 minutes. Madoka (Aoi Yuki) is somehow back in the physical world and she works as a magical girl alongside Sayaka (Eri Kitamura), Mami (Kaori Mizuhashi), and Kyoko (Ai Nonaka), with Homura (Chiwa Saito) joining the team after a couple of scenes. Kyubey (Emiri Kato) can only communicate with grunts. Charlotte, the witch that killed Mami in the show, reappears as the latter’s familiar with a new name, Bebe. Instead of wraiths, the girls combat a new type of creature called “Nightmares”, which manifests when someone experiences an intense amount of strife. It’s all on purpose but suffice to say, it’s very baffling at first.

This first act does allow Madoka the excuse to indulge in some fanservice we couldn’t have gotten in the show. We get the first and only time all five main characters fight together as a team, dubbed “Holy Quintet”, complete with a group transformation sequence and a couple of combo moves involving different team-ups. I never minded the fact that the main cast never fought together before, that wasn’t what the show was going for, but it is cool to see it finally happen. Kyoko gets to interact with her co-stars some more, most notably Sayaka. It’s fun seeing Kyoko and Sayaka quip each off each other and it feels earned considering all the fighting and reconciling they did in the show. Definitely the funniest callback is seeing Hitomi (Ryoko Shintani) struggle with maintaining a steady relationship with Kyosuke (Seiko Yoshida). I don’t hate Hitomi but this comeuppance is a little satisfying after all the trouble she’s caused for Sayaka. The inclusion of Charlotte/Bebe is really strange. It can feel very unnerving seeing Mami be buddies with her murderer from another timeline, especially when Bebe assumes its giant form and opens up its jaws. That said, it is an amusing and effectively subversive route to take with one of, if not, Madoka‘s most iconic monsters.

Eventually, Homura starts to realize something isn’t right and she begins to investigate. With Kyoko’s help, she realizes that everyone is trapped in a fake version of the city created by a witch. Homura assumes Bebe is responsible for the domain but Mami stops her from interrogating the familiar, resulting in a fight between the two magical girls. This scratches another fandom itch. In the show, Mami and Homura threatened to battle each other as tensions between them began to rise but an actual fight never came to fruition due to Mami’s death. If you ever wondered how it would go down, this movie has you covered. Obviously, Homura could easily win by freezing time so in order for Mami to fight on even terms, the movie has her wrap one of her ribbons around Homura to maintain physical contact and nullify the latter’s magic (and force Homura to find ways to regain her advantage). Other than that issue, the two are evenly matched. Mami is more skilled and more powerful but Homura doesn’t know when to quit.

I knew from the start that Bebe isn’t responsible for the witch’s labyrinth. As iconic as Charlotte is, the idea that it’s the main antagonist in the big sequel movie would be very anti-climatic. That said, the movie does have a twist of some kind with the character by revealing that it can revert back to its human form, a magical girl named Nagisa Momoe (Kana Asumi). I’ll admit that it’s cool to see what a witch looked like when it was human and Nagisa’s ability to revert back is good foreshadowing to what is ultimately going on in the plot. That said, I feel that this character is completely wasted. After this reveal, Nagisa is absent from the movie until the final battle so she ends up having very little screentime in the movie, let alone time to establish her character beyond being Mami’s new best friend.

The identity of the culprit isn’t actually that crazy of a twist (it’s certainly not the big twist of the movie). You can figure it out on your own if you pay enough attention to the lore. That said, it’s still very clever. Since the fake city was created by a witch, the culprit automatically has to be someone who knows about witches. And by the end of the series, the only one who remembers them is Homura. As for how Homura can become a witch when the Law of Cycles is in effect, this is where Kyubey comes into play. Right when Homura’s Soul Gem cracks, the Incubators trap her in a pocket dimension so that they can observe the Law of Cycles and find out if Madoka is real or not. If Madoka is real, they would then try to control her so that they can remove the Law of Cycles and bring back the original, more efficient magical girl/witch system. Since her corruption is allowed to grow, Homura creates the labyrinth and unintentionally traps various people from Madoka’s past life such as Mami and Kyoko. Madoka did arrive to purify Homura but she accidentally fell into the labyrinth and became a regular girl again, with no memories of the past.

While I do think this twist is clever, I also find it a bit silly. Thing is, this reveal and the entire plot of Rebellion pretty much hinges on the fact that Homura spilled the beans about Madoka and witches to Kyubey in the TV show’s finale. Had Homura not mention any of this, she’d be allowed to die peacefully and the Incubators would never look into Madoka. I don’t know if this was planned from the beginning or if this is just an oversight that the staff decided to take advantage of for the sequel. Either way, I can’t believe that scene factors so much into this movie and I say this as someone who found that scene suspicious to begin with.

Enraged at Kyubey’s plan, Homura allows herself to become a witch to kill every Incubator from the labyrinth and prevent them from getting Madoka. Just as Homura resigns to her fate, Madoka arrives with the others to rescue her and destroy the barrier. Both Sayaka and Nagisa are revealed be some sort of guardians who help Madoka with fulfilling the Law of Cycles, hence their appearance in the movie. Apparently, they can summon their witches at will (and I’m realizing now that Magia Record is even less original than I realized). The gang succeeds after a climatic action scene. Madoka regains her memories and goddess powers so that she can help Homura move on as per the Law of Cycles.

Honestly, I’d be more than content if the movie ends here. You got Homura trying to save Madoka and Madoka coming to rescue her again, just like in the show. You have the big, flashy final battle involving all main characters and Kyubey getting his ass kicked to boot. Everyone gets to show off some moves and share some last minute banter with each other. Even though Homura is about to die, she finally gets to reunite with Madoka. It feels redundant when the show already offered a great conclusion but other than that, this is still a solid note to end the story on.

Unfortunately, this is not where the movie ends.

So rather than accept the invitation into the ether, Homura unleashes the corruption in her Soul Gem and she grabs onto Madoka, separating the latter’s humanity from her omnipotency. In doing so, Homura transcends the physical plane and she becomes a “demon” opposite to Madoka’s role as a goddess. With Madoka’s powers suppressed, Homura proceeds to rewrite reality, making her friends forget what happened and resume their lives as ordinary people. She also punishes the Incubators by making them bear the curses created by people’s negative emotions.

I knew about this scene before watching Rebellion and it always made not want to watch the movie. Now that I have seen it with my own eyes, I’m extremely conflicted on it. I can see Homura pulling this stunt if she had the chance. Looking back at the show, Homura has always had a dour view on things, even before her time traveling escapades broke her, and she’s clearly willing to do whatever it takes to save Madoka. Thematically, this scene is an interesting contrast to Madoka’s sacrifice. Whereas Madoka used her powers for the sake of everyone, Homura uses hers for the one person who matters most to her.

One thing that I am perfectly okay with is the fate of Kyubey and the Incubators. Seeing Kyubey beaten up and mentally broken is a very disturbing sight but I can’t say I feel bad for him. He does deserve this after all the lying he’s done and all the troubled he’s caused. I can buy Homura punishing the Incubators like this. She always hated Kyubey and she’s certainly tried to kill him multiple times throughout the series, including this movie. Madoka would never do such a thing but the same can’t be said about Homura.

That said, this scene happens after the TV show. In that context, it’s a massive betrayal to a really great ending and it contradicts and muddles with the show’s theme. At the end of the show, Homura decides to honor Madoka’s wish by continuing to fight as a magical girl and protect the world she cherished. Here, she has no problem going against Madoka’s wish and rewrite reality as she pleases. Maybe she changed her mind over time or maybe Kyubey’s experiment messed with her head but that’s very contrived if either is the case. I don’t even get the point of this ending. I mean, Homura had the chance to move on and be with Madoka in a higher plane. She could probably become one of her guardians much like Sayaka and Nagisa. Why throw all of that away?

Actually, I take it back. There is a point to this ending and it’s to open the door for yet another sequel. Rebellion does leave a couple of hooks. Madoka almost remembers what happened and regains her powers and while Homura manages to stop her, it’s clear that the former is a ticking time bomb that could oppose and reverse what the latter has done. Sayaka also remembers for a little bit and even after Homura wipes more of her memory, she still has her magical girl powers. Evidently, Homura can only do so much to secure her “happy ending”. Should a downfall happen, it’ll be of her own doing. I’ll admit that I am interested to see what happens next but that’s only because the ending bothers me so much that I’m morbidly curious to see how the staff can rectify it. It’s hardly the best reason to want more but then again, the staff didn’t have the best reason to make more.

We are finally going to get a continuation to Rebellion with a new movie titled Walpurgisnacht: Rising. I’ve heard it’s coming out in Winter 2024 but an exact release date hasn’t been announced. Either the movie has been delayed (again) or the marketing actually meant late 2024 and not Winter 2024 in the traditional sense when it comes to anime. It’s possible that the new movie is still a ways away. For now, I end these episode reviews off with Rebellion. It’s a far more captivating movie than I expected, except for the ending which is as frustrating as I had feared it to be.