Juubey
Juubey | |
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Japanese Name | ジュゥべぇ (Juube) |
Character Designer Primary Artist |
Takashi Tensugi |
"Playtime is over, you know."
— Juubey, chapter 4.
Juubey (ジュゥべぇ Jūbē) is a character in Puella Magi Kazumi Magica: The Innocent Malice. He is an incubator that works alongside the Pleiades Saints.
Personality
Despite being an incubator, an emotionless race, Juubey has displayed more emotion throughout the manga than his colleague Kyubey has in the entire anime. He has displayed annoyance/embarrassment when he was violently hugged by Satomi, disgust when he was fed an evil nut instead of a grief seed and fear when he sees Yuuri’s sigil form beneath the Pleiades. He also expresses distaste in being called “Bey-chan” by Satomi.
Notably, Juubey appears to understand the concept of deception: when asked, Juubey says he doesn’t know why soul gems turn into grief seeds and claims that it only happens sometimes. He appears to outright lie to Kazumi and the Pleiades about Niko’s preliminary actually being Kanna Hijiri, the product of her wish, something Kyubey never does. He also appears to be sad when he tells Kazumi that returning a grief seed back into a soul gem is impossible. When describing the difference between Niko and Kazumi’s magic, he calls Kazumi’s magic “sacrilege” but quickly corrects himself saying “destruction” instead (Japanese version only).
While around the Pleiades, Juubey behaves akin to that of a usual magical girl mascot and provides information when necessary, though in some circumstances he has been shown looking down on them with an evil grin, especially when he explains the details of the Freezer to Kazumi.
Another trait that separates Juubey from Kyubey is that while the latter stays completely neutral when magical girls turn on each other, Juubey openly speaks out and offers his assistance, such as in chapter 8 with Kazumi and Niko on the best strategy to neutralize the Soujus and appears worried when they are clearly outmatched by them. Overall, his actions are contradictory to his function of being an incubator that harvests emotions.
Story
Juubey in Kazumi Magica
Warning, this section contains spoilers. |
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Juubey in Magia Record
See Magia Record Story The Cuddly Despairs
Powers

Like Kyubey, Juubey also possesses some of the same abilities that all incubators have. Juubey mainly uses them to assist the Pleiades Saints.
- Grief seed consumption: As Kyubey consumes used grief seeds through the hatch on his back, Juubey does the same through the circle on his forehead. While Kyubey’s acts like a simple receptacle, Juubey’s is more akin to an actual mouth as it can be seen clenching just like one’s mouth does while eating and munching sounds can be heard.
- Soul gem purification: Unlike Kyubey, Juubey has the ability to clean and remove the grief from soul gems, allowing the girls relief from having to compete with others for grief seeds. In chapter 21, it was revealed that Juubey was imperfect in this ability, as it is implied that cleaning the gems would only be effective if he had consumed a grief seed beforehand. Instead, he was only able to polish the surface of the gem so it appeared to be clean while the grief accumulated inside.
- Telepathic communication, invisibility, and teleportation: It is assumed that Juubey had these abilities as well due to being an Incubator. It was thought that he could also grant wishes, create soul gems, and replicate, but chapter 21 reveals that Umika’s magic made him appear to have these abilities when it was actually Kyubey performing them. It is also notable that whenever Juubey was injured, he never showed any replication abilities, just recovery (possibly due to the Pleiades’ magic keeping him going).
Observations
- It appears that he absorbs the grief from the soul gems onto his skin, which is appropriately pitch black. On the other hand, he is seen making a gulping noise and licking his lips afterwards, suggesting some sort of consumption.
- The original series proposal for Madoka Magica referred to the contract-making creature as a fairy. Juubey being called a fairy may be a reference to that.
- Whenever Juubey cleans the girls' soul gems, he spins quickly in the air, resembling a black hole.
Etymology
In chapter 21, it is revealed that Juubey’s name (Jūbē) is short for "Dependent Incubator" (Jūzoku suru inkyubētā) — an incubator under their jurisdiction.
Gallery
Warning, this section contains spoilers for Kazumi Magica |
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