Otona Anime Vol.21

All translations courtesy of symbv from evageeks forum.

Kitamura Eri on Sayaka

To think about [doing something] for somebody” – from a human point of view this is a stance that deserves much respect, but we must not let the idea that I myself can save the whole world get into our heads. The weakness of Sayaka, who can get carried away easily but is also kind and cares about her friends, is that even though she scores herself pretty low in self-evaluation, her ideals are placed much higher than others.

One must not think that just because she was born a girl, she had to get to use magic (mahou), and aspire to become a heroine of justice. It is because for a girl who cannot even make herself happy by herself, the burden of the whole world is just too heavy. For such a role, it is best left to the type of a shounen manga protagonist, like Kyouko, who possesses the toughness where no matter what kind of suffering she came across, she could still believe in “a story where love and courage will triumph at the end”.

I am sure the reason why I got irritated whenever I saw Sayaka is because I found myself being forced to face up the weak and inept parts of this living being that is “woman”. I may say “I am really stupid”, but I believe it is precisely those girls who call themselves stupid and do not believe in themselves that are really stupid. The “Grief Seeds”, that link the hope of a mahou shoujo to the despair of a witch, are all inside every girl from the beginning. And precisely because of that I feel so much “pain” in my heart whenever I see Sayaka.

(Written by Sayaka's seiyuu - Kitamura Eri)

Niiya Ryoko on Hitomi

The world as reflected in the eyes of Hitomi – is this the final hope?

By self-practice she improves her charm as a female. Although she is popular with boys she chooses the boy she wants to love by herself. While she may look a bit sulky as she feels she is being excluded from the group of Madoka and Sayaka, on the subject of love, she combines both wisdom as well as kind consideration regarding Sayaka. I wonder what kind of mahou shoujo Hitomi might become, being such a dignified lady she is. (Written by Hitomi's seiyuu - Niiya Ryoko)

Interview with Gen Urobuchi

Ｑ：　作品がひとり歩きしているようなご印象をもたれている？

Q: Do you have an impression the work has taken on a life of its own?

Urobuchi：　それはもう大いに。とくにキャラクターの掘り下げとかは完全にひとり歩きというか、予期せぬ方向へそれぞれのキャラが進んでいるなと、ＰＩＸＩＶなんかを見ていても思います。ちらちらとしかのぞいていませんが、そのたびにビックリしまって。

Urobuchi： – Oh, very much indeed. Especially on drill-down of the characters it has absolutely taken on a life of its own. When I look at sites like Pixiv each of the characters went to directions that I did not expect. Although I only checked from time to time, every time I looked I was startled.

Ｑ：　マミはすっかり「友達がいない」キャラになってしまって。

Q: And Mami has completely become a “friendless” character.

Urobuchi：　自分のなかでは、魔法少女なんかやってなければ、ちゃんと普通の女の子として暮らせていたという位置づけだったですけどね。せいぜいがスパイダーマン程度の、自分がヒーローだと他人に言えない程度の苦悩のつもりで。残りのキャラがほかの相手と心の深いところで交流するシーンがあるなか、早々に退場してしまったことが大きいんですかね。

Urobuchi： – Within myself, I would put her to be living normally like ordinary girls if she had not worked as mahou shoujo. At most, I think she would just have some anguish of not being able to tell others that she is a heroine, like Spiderman. I guess the impact was just big as she was retired from the series so early while later there are scenes of the remaining characters getting to communicate on a deeper level with each other.

Ｑ：　あとマミは中二病キャラというイメージも広まっていますね。

Q: And then the image of Mami being a Chuunibyou character is also spreading. (Editor's note: Chunnibyou means "Eighth Grade Syndrome,” the desire to be seen as more knowledgeable, mysterious and/or special from other people.)

Urobuchi：　「ティロ・フィナーレ」はさておくとして（笑）、「円環の理」については、あの書き換えられた世界で、魔法少女たちのあいだに口伝されている伝承という設定なんです。だからあの場でいきなりマミが思いついたわけではないんですね。たぶん、さやかも杏子も知っているですよ。あのシーンでは、別の時間軸からきたほむらだけが初耳なんです。

Urobuchi： – First let's skip “Tiro Finale” (lol) Regarding “the Truth of the Circle Ring” (enkan no ri), it is a settei (design) in the world that had been reconstituted, where it was a legend that got passed down orally among the mahou shoujo. So it is not like Mami suddenly came up with that phrase on the spot. Probably Sayaka and Kyouko would have known about it too. At that scene, it was new only to Homura as she had come from another time line.

Ｑ：　改変後の世界では、魔法少女のシステムがある程度明らかになっているわけですね。

Q: So the mahou shoujo system is a little clearer [to the girls] in the reconstituted world.

Urobuchi：　そうです。「呪いを貯めこみすぎると、いずれこの世から立ち去るハメになります」という情報も伝わっていて、それを引き受けたうえで契約が交わされている。希望を叶えたあとは戦い続けなければならないことも彼女たちは知っているんです。

Urobuchi： That's right. Information like, “if you store up too many curses, before long you will hit the end and depart from this world”, will be first disclosed, and if you accept that then you make the contract. The girls would also know that after the wish is granted they have to keep fighting.

Ｑ：　世界の改変のお話でいうと、なぜまどかは特異な存在になったのでしょう？

Q: As we are on the subject of the world reconstitution, how come Madoka had turned into such unique presence?

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