Puella Magi Madoka Magica Concept Movie

Concept movie poster from Newtype's January 2016 issue.

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Concept Movie (コンセプトムービー, Konseputo Muubii) is a short four-minute concept film unveiled in surprise at Studio SHAFT's 40th anniversary event in winter 2015, Madogatari. The first animated Puella Magi Madoka Magica work since Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion, it featured the return of the full Madoka Magica cast and staff. According to SHAFT CEO Kubota, the concept movie is the core of a new Madoka Magica project, and serves as its trailer.

Presently, the concept movie remains officially unavailable to the public outside of the screening at Madogatari, and no announcement has been made of a streaming/home video release. However, the B-Type Concept Movie is available to watch on YouTube with English subtitles.

On April 25th, 2021, during the tenth anniversary of Madoka Magica, a sequel movie to Rebellion was announced. Called Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Walpurgisnacht Rising, it seems likely that the Concept Movie became Walpurgisnacht Rising.

Chronology

• 2015/11/26 - A surprise press release states a new Madoka Magica short will be screened at the Madogatari event: Tokyo 11/27 to 12/02, Osaka 12/22 to 12/27, Sapporo 2016/02/09 to 2016/02/14.
• 2015/11/27 - The concept movie premieres at 3331 Art Chiyoda.
• 2015/12/08 - An interview in the January 2016 issue of NewType clarifies that the concept movie leads to a new Madoka Magica project.
• 2015/12/22 - The Osaka Madogatari stop reveal an updated "Type-B" Concept Movie with new visuals.
• 2016/04/10 - Manga Time Kirara Magica Vol.25 is released, featuring Concept's ballerina Madoka on its cover
• 2016/09/22 - A Bluray featuring content from the MADOGATARI exhibition, including the Concept Movie, is released. [verify]

Speculation

The theories below have not been proven yet.
Please keep in mind that they are fanmade theories, and not official material.

• Mami features heavily in the concept movie, possibly hinting towards her reprising Madoka's protagonist role in the new project.
• Fan speculation about the plot goes as follows: Homura lied to Kyubey at the end of Rebellion as she didn't actually create a new universe - she simply used the stolen part of the Law of the Cycles to expand her witch barrier to encompass the entire universe. However, this seemingly requires an insane amount of energy to maintain and once the maze collapses, Madoka will return to being a cosmological principle, and Homura's efforts will be for naught. Knowing this, Homura aims to trick Mami into becoming the goddess of justice, effectively replacing Madoka's soul with Mami's so that the former could remain in the world once the devil loses her grip on the universe.
• The live and dead cats talked about in the dialogue may be referring to Kyubey.
• The magical girls shown in the trailer may be magical girl forms of witches already seen in the anime and other media.
• Based on dialogue, Hitomi could play a bigger role in the movie. She could already be a magical girl or become one.

The Blurry Still

Inside of both the A-Type and B-type Concept Movies is the existence of a blurry still showing what appears to be a production note for the concept movie, and potentially the film that was announced in Walpurgisnacht Rising. Over the years, multiple attempts have been made to unblur the still and reproduce the original underlying katakana.

In 2021, one such attempt surfaced on the site Bilibili, resulting in stills suggesting the existence of a character named "Wasu". Another attempt circulated in the /r/MadokaMagica Discord in 2025, later percolating to Tumblr. The discoveries in both spaces spurred discussion on the mention of "Margerita" in the unblurred still being a coarse read of "Margaret", the lover of Faust in the story of the same name.

This section may contain major spoilers for Walpurgisnacht Rising!
Please refrain from reading if you are not yet familiar with it.

Consistent between both translations is the existence of "three sides"; the left column (Madoka's Side), the center column ("Homura's Side"), and the right column ("Wasu's Side"). This further aligns with the split visual of the three-part moon seen at other parts of the concept movie.

Side Madoka

When she first met Wasu: "Homura-chan, did you cut your hair?"

Side Homura

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Side Wasu

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  Blurred still of what seems to be production media.
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  One such attempt to unblur the still using wavelet unblurring.
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  deltaruiner’s attempt to translate the present JP text to English.

Speculation Gallery

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  A shot of Mami strongly resembles Madoka transitioning into her god-like status from the original series
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  Frame breakdowns by Candy Cashmoney
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Trivia

Production Note, Image Note, page 115

• Studio SHAFT often begin an anime production with a single "image board" to capture the mood and atmosphere of an anime. Kubota describes this concept movie as an "extravagant" animated image board for the future Madoka Magica project.
• All original magical girls will appear in the project. Nagisa and Hitomi will also have important roles. Mami is also singled out as important as Mitsutoshi Kubota states and the movie will apparently strengthen the image of Mami as a "God of Battle,"
• Madoka's ballet solo seems based on "The Dying Swan," originally choreographed by Mikhail Fokine in 1905. This performance is often cited as inspiration for what would become the role of Odette in Swan Lake.
• When interviewed in NewType, Kubota compares Mami's role to that of Guan Yu from The Romance of Three Kingdoms.
• The Witch of Despair was a planned form of Kriemhild Gretchen in the original TV series.
• Designs for the Wraiths seen in the trailer seem to come from Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Wraith Arc which were designed by Gekidan Inu Curry and used first in the Wraith Arc manga.

Credits

Cast

• Aoi Yuki as Madoka Kaname
• Chiwa Saito as Homura Akemi
• Kaori Mizuhashi as Mami Tomoe
• Eri Kitamura as Sayaka Miki
• Ai Nonaka as Kyoko Sakura
• Emiri Kato as Kyubey
• Kana Asumi as Nagisa Momoe
• Ryoko Shintani as Hitomi Shizuki

Staff

• Original Creator: Magica Quartet
• Chief Director: Akiyuki Shinbo
• Director: Yukihiro Miyamoto
• Storyboard: Akiyuki Shinbo
• Alternate Space Design: Gekidan Inu Curry
• Animation Director: Junichiro Taniguchi
• Sound Director: Yota Tsuruoka
• Sound Production: Rakuonsha, Inc.
• Music: Yuki Kajiura
• Production: Studio SHAFT

Gallery

B-Type Offical Art

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  Original reveal visuals
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  NewType article visuals
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  Type-B visuals
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  Type-B visuals
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  Type-B visuals
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  Type-B visuals
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  Kirara magica cover

Screenshots

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  A giant head of a statue that resembles Mami falls onto the city
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  Madoka performing a ballet
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  Homura watches Madoka dance
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  A blurry, obscured rendering of what appears to be a script.
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  Mami with a Wraith
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  Art of Wraiths
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  Wraith, school badge and salamander
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  Homura seems to wear Madoka's ribbon on her school uniform
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  A new magical girl
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  A girl that resembles one of the magical girls Madoka saves from Episode 12, the Bear Girl
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  Another new magical girl
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  Kyoko versus what is most likely a witch
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  They resemble a cockatiel with horse legs
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  Nagisa with the face of Charlotte
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  A creature that may be a witch or familiar
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  A close-up of Sayaka's torso, showing what look like bones dangling
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  Oktavia and a Satori Wraith
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  Sayaka, held in place amidst a battlefield, frozen lightning (?) targeted to her
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  A sign with Ultimate Madoka's symbol on it
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  Hitomi in the trailer
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  EIEN NI SITE MAHOU NARU KOTOWARI NO MOTONI KONO MONO WO JIYUUTO AI WO UBAU (Forever, under the principle/law of magic, this person's freedom and love will be deprived)
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  Close-up shot of a muzzled/masked Sayaka
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  Kyoko and Bona, familiars of the witch Paola
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  Devil Homura and her Clara Dolls. This form resembles Homura's doppel
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  A witch or familiar fighting versions of the Clara Dolls
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  Mami seems to be using Sayaka's swords
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  Homura and Madoka on a staircase of some kind, pixelation like Wraiths visible off of Madoka.
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  A tower in the trailer that resembles Charlotte
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  Devil Homura
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  Art for a new dress Madoka wears
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  Figures from the trailer that seem to be referred to as fairies
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See also

• Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie
• Transcript of the Concept Movie
• Runes in the Concept Movie