Speculah:Paralleling Madoka Magica and Kazumi Magica
This section may contain major spoilers for the anime!
Please refrain from reading if you haven't watched the latest episode yet.
After the Madoka anime series ended and the manga of Kazumi Magica was publishes it was obvious that the Kazumi events parallel most of the events in the Madoka universe. Here is a description of these similarities.
Character roles
Kazumi has a number of similarities to Madoka. Both are the main character in their respective series, they are friendly, self-sacrificing, gentle and they want to be helpful to other people and can fell easily into depression if they feel useless. Psychically both girls have childish tastes (Madoka’s room is full of stuffed animals and Kazumi likes childish clothes) and bodies (both girls are flat-chested compared to their friends) and when they transform into magical girls, both wear cute clothes. And they were both initially average magical girls who died and became "special" as a result of their friends' actions. While Homura resets time in order to save Madoka, the Pleiades (mostly Saki, who is considered a Homura-like character) make clones of the original Kazumi in order to revive her. But such actions make worst the fate of Madoka and Kazumi, who might become witches.
- Both girls have a connection to a black cat. While Amy was a cat who was hit by a car and Madoka wished to revive her in the first timeline, Kazumi owns a black cat named Toto.
- Kazumi has a close relationship to Tachibana, despite they aren’t related. It’s quite similar to Madoka’s relationship with her mother Junko.
- After both girls found out the truth about magical girls and that certain persons were trying to save them from their inevitable fate, initially they were deeply hurt by it but then they have the maturity to understand it rather than fall into despair and tried to resolve it.
- While Madoka becomes the Embodiment of Hope and disappears as a result, it’s probably that in the new world created by Madoka, Kazumi won’t exist either, since she is created of witches and witches do not exist in the new world.
Saki is a Homura-like character. Both girls have a tough appearance, competent, totally willing to sacrifice herself for another girl and wear glasses (although Homura used them when she was Moemura). Homura has the ability to rewind time, something that helps her to create timelines to save Madoka, while Saki (whose wish was for her sister's flowers to bloom forever) apparently has the ability to preserve things, since she preserved Kazumi's previous clones in the Freezer. Saki and the Pleiades are forced to clone Kazumi's witch form again and again in order to revive her, much like Homura, who resets time in order to save Madoka.
- One of Homura's pre-design magical girl clothes resembles Saki's magical girl outfit.
- Also her surnames (Akemi and Asami) sound similar.
- Airi Anri/Yuuri is another Homura-like character. Like Homura, she was a former hospital patient, she was motivated to contract by the death of her best friend, she had significant changes in personality and appearance, and they use guns as weapons.
Mirai can be considered a Sayaka-like character. Both girls are impulsive, hotheaded and not afraid to speak what’s on their minds but at the same time they are good-hearted girls. When they are magical girls, both girls use swords (although Mirai uses bears, she uses a swords as her ultimate weapon). They also call everyone without suffixes but they use suffixes on themselves (Mirai calls herself “Mirai-sama” and Sayaka calls herself “Sayaka-chan”). And they have unrequited crushes on a certain person who is completely oblivious to their advances.
- Yuuri Asuka is also another Sayaka-like character. Both girls were friends of the main character and wished to heal another person, gaining healing powers as a consequence, and suffered the same tragic fate of becoming witches after they found out the truth about magical girls (when the Pleiades reach Yuuri, she is seen crying as her Soul Gem is completely tainted, so it is implied that she found out the truth and fell into despair).
Satomi is the Mami-like character. Both girls are quiet, reserved and tried to help others. Also they both considered the Incubator in their respective series as their friend (Satomi is very fond of Jubey, in the same way Mami was with Kyubey). However, they both seem to have a fragile mind and an unstable attitude, as shown by Satomi's suggestion at the end of Chapter 12. In Chapter 13, Satomi says that it's better for Kazumi to be killed than become a witch, paralleling Mami's breakdown in an alternate timeline. Both died as a result.
- In a comic way, both are paired with anyone and they are often alone in fandom (with the KazuXSaki/KazuXNico/SakiXMirai/UmikaXKaoru fans growing, leaving little to no room). Also both girls have the most developed bodies of their respective groups.
Both Kyubey and Jubey are emotionless Incubators. They also tricked the main characters to make a contract with them and dispose of Grief Seeds by eating them. Both have been killed before, they posses multiple bodies and they are able to show memories inside other's minds.
Chapter 1
Kazumi awakens inside a suitcase and she realizes she has no memories of her past life and she is confused about it. It parallels Madoka's dream in Episode 1, that lefts her confused about it. After the bomb incident, she meets Umika and Kaoru, two magical girls who seem to know her. It is similar as when Madoka (and Sayaka) was saved by Mami, a veteran magical girl.
Chapter 5
The story focuses on Yuuri Asuka, a girl who made a contract with Kyubey in order to save her friend but later meets the consequences of it. It parallels Sayaka in Episode 5, who is revealed that she made a wish to cure Kamijou and later fights against Kyoko, experiencing the dark side of being a magical girl.
- Ironically both Yuuri and Sayaka fought against Kyoko once. Yuuri does this in Chapter 16.
Chapter 6
After Airi turns into a witch, Jubey tells Kazumi that magical girls turn into witches, much like in the anime, when Madoka throws Sayaka's Soul Gem, causing Sayaka to suddenly become lifeless. Kyubey then tells Madoka that the Soul Gem literally contains a Puella Magi's soul. At the end Kazumi has a brief conversation with Tachibana, while in the anime Madoka has a conversation with her mother.
Chapter 7
Ayase Souju appears. She is a Kyoko-like character because both are cheerful they spy on her future opponents with enchanted binoculars, wear similar casual clothing and have similar hair-styles. They also collect magical items (Ayase collects Soul Gems while Kyoko collects Grief Seeds). Ayase uses Italian names to her attacks while Kyoko did it just once in CD Drama 3.
Chapter 8
In the end of the chapter, one of the girls turns into a witch, in this case Nico, while in Episode 8, it was Sayaka who turned into a witch.
Chapter 9
Mirai was enraged after seeing Saki get hurt and killed the witch by slashing it (similar to the way Sayaka killed Elsa Maria). The witch in the last chapter dies and the Pleiades are forced to tell Kazumi the truth about themselves, much like when Homura tells Madoka and Kyoko that magical girls turn into witches.
Chapter 10
Both Chapter 10 and Episode 10 of Madoka Magica are essentially flashbacks from the persons who are trying to protect the main character. Episode 10 of Madoka focuses on Homura's past, her wish and her motivation to save Madoka. While in Chapter 10 of Kazumi focuses on the Pleaides's past, their wishes and they encounter with Kazumi
Chapter 11
Kazumi saves the Pleiades who were attacked by a witch. At that time the Pleiades were not magical girls yet until Kazumi convinced them to. It is similar as when Madoka saved Homura from the witch Izabel.
Chapter 13
Satomi has a mental breakdown after realizing that Kazumi might turn back into a witch again and decides to kill her. Satomi says that it's better for Kazumi to be killed than become a witch, paralleling Mami's breakdown in an alternate timeline of Episode 10. Mami breaks down and attempts to kill all the magical girls, including herself, in order to prevent their eventual transformation into witches.
Chapter 15
it is revealed that Michiru Kazusa, the original Kazumi, turned into a witch and died, paralleling Madoka's death in the first timeline and triggering the events of their respective series. Homura bows to reset time over and over in order to save Madoka, while the Pleiades have cloned Kazumi more than once.
Satomi (now transformed into a witch) is killed by Kazumi, paralleling Madoka in the third timeline, who was forced to kill Mami in order to save Homura. Satomi's witch form vaguely resembles Candeloro.
Chapter 16
Kazumi, after reading Michiru's diary, knows the truth about herself and the Pleiades. At fist she is scared but has the maturity to understand it. Her friends are trying to redo what they did wrong by killing Kazumi and making another clone, such as when Homura was tempted to make a new timeline after being defeated by Walpurgis Night. Kazumi has an emotional goodbye with Tachibana (the bond between Kazumi and Tachibana was similar to Madoka and Junko) and finally decides to end the problem for once and for all, paralelling Madoka's actions in Episode 11 (except that she found out the truth because Kyubey shows Madoka the "common history of mankind and Incubators").
Chapter 18
After Saki becomes a witch, she bites Mirai's head off, which is exactly what happened with Mami and Charlotte.