Speculah:Rebellion
Pre-release speculation
- Prior to the movie release, fan speculation is divided among different opinions as to what is happening in the third movie: it is an alternative universe, it is an alternative timeline, it is a dream.
- The very last part of the new ending animation for the first movie features an unknown pink silhouette - most likely that of Ultimate Madoka - with another silhouette that is somewhat smaller and floating inside its belly, or womb (?) The smaller silhouette appears to be regular Madoka in a fetal position.
- This has fueled speculation of a pregnancy. In Goethe's Faust, Gretchen was actually pregnant with Faust's baby and she was forced to murder her baby by drowning it.
- There have been hints that the witches will reappear in the new movie in some capacity.
- There have been hints that Madoka Kaname will reunite with Homura Akemi, which probably strengthens the speculation above.
- Homura is seen shooting with a gun, not a bow like Madoka's, in the trailer.
- It's the REBELLION story so maybe Madoka would have rebelled against Homura or vice versa.
- In the new trailer, Homura is wearing her usual black headband and not the red ribbons Madoka gave her. Could she have lost them somehow? Could they have been stolen or destroyed by something or someone?
- A flyer released in Japan on 9/26 hinted the movie will take place both before and after the end of the original series. Which would explain this.
- There are also mentions of Hitomi Shizuki and the word "nightmare" associated with her, implying that she will play a prominent role in the third movie. How this is related remains to be seen.
- Nightmares could be the result of wraiths possessing humans, this would make sense since Hitomi was possessed by a witch in the previous universe and this was changed to accommodate Madoka's wish.
- If monsters are now born out of ordinary humans rather than just magical girls then Urobutcher got Madoka's ass really hard.
- Nightmares could be the result of wraiths possessing humans, this would make sense since Hitomi was possessed by a witch in the previous universe and this was changed to accommodate Madoka's wish.
- It is speculated that the third movie could be taking place in a different universe. See here.
- The movie might also partially take place in the city of Kazamino.
- It seems likely that the movie will have "flashbacks" to alternate timelines.
- Kyoko is seen in the uniform of the school attended by the other girls.
- In recent footage, Kyoko was seen in the same classroom with Madoka, Sayaka and Hitomi (sitting in a desk by Sayaka). Both Kyoko and Mami are supposedly the same age, and Mami is in a higher grade than Madoka and Sayaka. It can be speculated that Kyoko was "held back" a grade, due to how little she attended school earlier.
- Across from Mitakihara's school, Kyoko (who is wearing the school uniform) and Homura are sitting together, in which Homura has glasses and braids again. Homura also has her hands on her knees and she is looking down, possibly to indicate shyness again.
- In the beginning of the first trailer, Homura's soul gem appears to be partially tainted on the close-up.
- It can be speculated that Homura and/or Madoka could somehow become a witch in the new movie.
- This whole new timeline, order of the universe with Ultimate Madoka, and the new system of magic could all even be an illusion. Madoka's ultimate wish could actually be turning out to be a disaster.
- Kyubey rebelling against Madoka.
- This whole new timeline, order of the universe with Ultimate Madoka, and the new system of magic could all even be an illusion. Madoka's ultimate wish could actually be turning out to be a disaster.
- The new trailer suggests that Homura could be losing her memory of Madoka, like everyone else has.
- The first trailer, which is shown clearer at the end of the second movie's Blu-Ray disc, reveals the silhouette of the mysterious magical hirl standing behind Mami in the below picture. On closer inspection, she has short hair (unlike the girl she's speculated to look like in the pic) and seems to be wearing something on her head, with two bun-like appendages at the top, curled side hair/side-bangs popping outward, and two flaps connected to a string with balls at the end. Where the silhouette is lit up on the bottom, she seems to be wearing fishnet stockings, or at least something with a crisscross pattern up to her thighs.
- Nagisa Momoe, the new magical girl, is speculated to be Charlotte the Dessert Witch as a magical girl. Nagisa's strawberry and chocolate color palette, pink candy bows on her shoes, yellow hair scrunchy, and polka-dotted theme can be matched to Charlotte's designs and color palette. If you look closely, even Nagisa's eyes which are yellow and orange-ringed can be compared to Charlotte's secondary form's eyes. Since Madoka's wish erased witches, this seems very plausible.
- However, it is also speculated that Nagisa may be an Incubator in human form or a manifestation of Madoka in the new universe. The latter is supported by the ending sequence of the first movie, during which the pink silhouette resembling Ultimate Madoka at the end had another silhouette resembling Madoka in its womb. In Goethe's Faust, Gretchen was actually pregnant with Faust's baby, which further supports this theory.
- Madoka's wish may have changed the fate of magical girls but not that of humanity, it could be that her wish only altered cause (witches) but not effect (disasters), meaning that catastrophes like Walpurgis Night attack or even Kriemhild Gretchen's apocalypse will still play out in a different form despite of Madoka's wish.
- In a bonus trailer from the Rebellion advanced ticket event, there is extra footage of Homura biting(?) and breaking her own soul gem.
- It is also speculated that it could be Madoka breaking Homura's soul gem, by either biting it or breaking it in her fist.
- Since the first release date of the Rebellion Story movie is on October 26th, it could possibly have a slight Halloween theme to it since it is only 5 days before the holiday. Though "witches" do not appear in this third film, the new nightmare creatures including the yellow and orange doll-like one and Charlotte (most likely also considered a nightmare now) apparently do appear in this new universe. The darker themes about Homura and her soul gem also contribute to the possibility of her become a "nightmare".
- Homura's witch form, Homulilly, is the only witch seen so far that looks like a classic witch.
- A flyer released in Japan on 9/26 included the following quotes hinting towards the plot of the new movie -
"Why am I… this…" - Speculated to be Hitomi
"If this is what you really feel… I’ve made a dumb mistake" - Speculated to be Sayaka
"Am I the only one who feels this way? - Speculated to be Homura
"Are you planning on running to your own time again?" - This line is said by Sayaka in the second trailer.
"Can you explain all of this to me?! What did that child say?!" - Speculated to be Kyoko
Flower speculation
Madoka
- In the language of flowers, the deep red rose and its thorns have been used to symbolize both the blood of Christ and the intensity of romantic love, while the rose's five petals are thought to illustrate the five crucifixion wounds of Christ.
Homura
A white daisy symbolizes common love.
- The daisy brings a message of innocence and purity, saying, "You have as many virtues as this plant has petals," or, "I will consider your request."
- In Victorian times, young, heartbroken women who wished to be loved began a custom using the daisy. A young maiden would pluck a daisy's petals, one by one, and sing, "He loves me, he loves me not," as she pulled each petal. The last petal plucked would be the future of her relationship. This custom is still in use today.
Mami
- Your friendship means so much to me.[1]
- In Ancient Greece, Iris, the Goddess of the rainbow, acted as the messenger between heaven and earth. Today, the flower named for her is considered a symbol of communication and messages. In the language of flowers, the three leaves of Iris represents faith, hope, and wisdom. Yellow Iris symbolizes passion.
Kyoko
- Craspedia represents good health.
- Commonly known as just billy balls or bilyl buttons, are cheerful, bright yellow flowers. The round pompom flowers are fairly inexpensive and a great accent flower when paired.
- Kyoko's transformation in Rebellion features flower of Epiphyllum, the Orchid Cactus. A lone blossom, fragile yet beautiful, despite one finds this flower of humble origin, harsh environment, and prickly exterior. A rather fitting tribute.
Sayaka
- Borage represents courage, bluntness, abruptness, and rudeness.
- An old adge, "I, borage, always bring courage." Since men who are civil and respectful when sober often become blunt and rude in manner when under the influence of warming cordials, this warming property may have led to borage being used as the emblem of bluntness and rudeness. It is indeed deemed a suitable representative of these characteristics on account of its rough and shaggy appearance the whole plant hanging loosely and being covered with rough hairs.
Nagisa
Has no associated flowers unfortunately.
Post-release speculation
- Homura becomes the opposite existence of Madoka.
- The new entity known as Homura is neither a magical girl nor a Witch. She is neither the product of hope/wish nor despair, she is the product of love.
- According with Homura, it was not grief that stained her Soul Gem, it was love, because her mind was always focused on Madoka.
- More precisely, Homura says that what tainted her Soul Gem changed from being a curse. It's possible that Homura's new power came from Kyubey's Isolation Field, which not only prevented Homura from being taken by the Law of Cycles but also prevented her despair from breaking out of her Soul Gem and becoming a Grief Seed. Unable to burst out of it's shell, Homura's grief entered a new state, like how carbon becomes diamond under high pressure.
- The new entity known as Homura is neither a magical girl nor a Witch. She is neither the product of hope/wish nor despair, she is the product of love.
- Some observers suggest that the ending theme "Your Silver Garden" (君の銀の庭 Kimi no Gin no Niwa) is about Homura and her reasons that she betrayed Madoka.
- "The guardian/of your young slumber—/The gateway to adulthood is tightly shut", this is interpreted as Homura's refusal to grow up and her attempt to her childish sleep.
- "Have you realized/that the truth/always lies in the past?/All futures and hope/are but a selfish story/envisioned by someone in a distant garden", this is interpreted to mean that the future is uncertain and unknown, that the past is much more pleasing.
- "Stay softly with me,/please don't leave me/Chirp your song by my window,/even in loss", this is interpreted as Homura telling Madoka not to go, even if she becomes her prisoner.
- It is speculated that even when a magical girl becomes a witch, she still has her consciousness, although such consciousness is distorted and has much difference from the reality.
- There were numerous references to a "black salamander/lizard" motive throughout the movie, with the most obvious being Homura's earring shaped as a black lizard.
- One of the most common myths about lizards is that they symbolize death and resurrection.
- In Christian ideology the lizard is a more ambivalent symbol. All reptiles can be viewed as paler versions of the potent symbol represented by the snake or serpent. Taken alone on it's own merits the lizard is said to represent "contemplative ecstasy"[2]
- The salamander represents those who pass through the fires of passion and of this world without stain. Therefore, it stands for chastity, loyalty, impartiality, virginity, courage, Jesus, Mary, and the faithful.
The salamander is also used to symbolize the flames, which it passes through, and so is a symbol of fire, temptation, and burning desire. It was considered the "king of fire" and as such was representative of Christ who would baptize with the flames of the Holy Spirit. Cloquet considers Christ the salamander king of fire because he passed through the fires of hell after his crucifixion without harm.[3] It should be noted Homura's name can be translated as "flame". - Some prevalent symbolism of the salamander include:[4]
- Energy
- Courage
- Renewal
- Determination
- Resurrection
- Balance
- Adaptation
- Spirituality
- The salamander gets it solar animal status from several sources. Primarily, we see this aspect in ancient alchemical illustrations where the salamander is depicted in flames. Alchemists held the salamander to be a fire-eater and able to quench fire with its cool, moist body. In the alchemical philosophy, anything that had the power to transform something into something else was hugely important.
- Furthermore, early Christianity held the salamander as a symbol of spiritual integrity, chastity, and righteousness. The sign of the salamander indicated true faith, and the ability to survive the “fire of temptation.”
- Medieval and heraldic art depicted the salamander as a symbol for bravery. It was often painted in the background of heroic portraits to indicate the mark of courage.
- Furthermore, early Christianity held the salamander as a symbol of spiritual integrity, chastity, and righteousness. The sign of the salamander indicated true faith, and the ability to survive the “fire of temptation.”
- The lizard may be a reference to the basilisk. When a serpent's egg is warmed by a chicken, the resulting creature gains some of its bird traits, but only as a deadly monster that exudes poison. Homura's corrupted Soul Gem was watched over by a goddess only to birth something horribly wrong. The basilisk is known as the king of serpents and the lizard wearing a crown in the second movie resembles its classic depiction. Once Homura completes her transformation, the lizard is shown again adorned with feathery wings but no crown... until you realize it is on the bottom of her new, crown-shaped Dark Orb.
- Remember Homura's original wish? "I want to redo my meeting with Madoka. But this time, instead of her protecting me, I want to become strong enough to protect her!"
- Originally it was interpreted as the wish that allowed Homura to travel back in time to redo her meeting with Madoka, it also meant that there was a role reversal with Homura becoming stronger and active while Madoka became a weaker character and took a more passive role. That was the original intent. However, with the new ending in "Rebellion", the meaning and purpose of Homura's wish takes a new role and it probably expands its meaning. If we consider the ending of the series, one can make the argument that Homura's wish was only partially fulfilled but that in the end it failed, because Homura failed to protect Madoka. Not only from stopping Madoka from becoming a Witch, but also from stopping her from taken the burden of becoming the concept of hope, as a result one can say that Homura's wish went unfulfilled and it was a failure. Until the end of "Rebellion" that is, in the movie we see that Homura's wish has finally come to its conclusion by allowing Homura to become a new entity whose role is to protect and guard Madoka's happiness, at the expense of the Law of Cycles and against Madoka's wishes. A clear proof that the role reversal is finally complete is when Madoka is introduced as a shy transfer student and Homura shows her around the school, a complete reversal from the original series.
- If one thinks about it, Kyubey has been done in not by one but by two wishes!
- You could say that Homura just did what Madoka asked her to do. The reason that Homura became a magical girl was because she wanted to protect Madoka. In the 2nd timeline, Madoka even asked her to stop her foolish self from becoming a magical girl. In the last timeline she failed, and Madoka became a god-like entity. At the end, Homura returns everything to 'normal' so she kept her promise, more or less. Whatever reality looks like, Madoka is now safe from QB and from despair.
- Originally it was interpreted as the wish that allowed Homura to travel back in time to redo her meeting with Madoka, it also meant that there was a role reversal with Homura becoming stronger and active while Madoka became a weaker character and took a more passive role. That was the original intent. However, with the new ending in "Rebellion", the meaning and purpose of Homura's wish takes a new role and it probably expands its meaning. If we consider the ending of the series, one can make the argument that Homura's wish was only partially fulfilled but that in the end it failed, because Homura failed to protect Madoka. Not only from stopping Madoka from becoming a Witch, but also from stopping her from taken the burden of becoming the concept of hope, as a result one can say that Homura's wish went unfulfilled and it was a failure. Until the end of "Rebellion" that is, in the movie we see that Homura's wish has finally come to its conclusion by allowing Homura to become a new entity whose role is to protect and guard Madoka's happiness, at the expense of the Law of Cycles and against Madoka's wishes. A clear proof that the role reversal is finally complete is when Madoka is introduced as a shy transfer student and Homura shows her around the school, a complete reversal from the original series.
- If the anime series was based on "Faust", then "Rebellion" could be based somewhat on "Paradise Lost".
- It is speculated that the reason Homura made Madoka human again is because Madoka was not happy with being the entity of hope, she only did it out of duty.
- Another possible explanation, is that Homura feared what would Kyubey do if he succeeded in capturing Madoka, the best way to deal with him was for Homura and Madoka to switch, taking Madoka's power and Making Homura the new ruling entity of the universe.
- It is also speculated that by making Madoka as transfer student, Homura may have a chance to get closer to Madoka more than Sayaka was. Remember, Sayaka and Madoka had been childhood friends long before in EVERY Timeline, and Homura was only a transferred student to Madoka.
- Also Homura may have tried to improve Madoka's English since she got bad grades in previous timelines.
- Since Madoka can see and know the past, present, and future, she should have known this was going to happen to her.
- That can't be true, because Madokami literally screamed and asked Homura to stop. And she would never try to reawake later. Madoka felt uncomfortable in Homura's world, because Homura supressed her.
- It is possible she allowed for things to unfold as it was predestined to happen.
- Another possible explanation is that perhaps Madoka really wanted to be a normal girl again.
- Or perhaps Madoka saw no other way to save Homura.
- It's also possible that losing her memories of the event right afterwards created a blank spot in her future sight.
- There's another possible explanation. Madoka exists at every point in space and time. However, the moment Homura grabs her breaks time and space and changes the past and future. In other words, even from Madoka's omniscient perspective Homura grabbing at the critical moment hasn't happened yet.
- That doesn't make any sense. If Madoka existed at every point of time, Homura, Mami, Kyouko would be already taken to the law of cycles somewhen in future. Homura, Kyouko would never be separated from Madoka, Sayaka. But they clearly aren't in the law of cycles yet. So that means certain future doesn't exist. And it perfectly explains why Madoka didn't see Homura's actions, and she was probably just trying to calm down Homura in 12th episode by stating that she would never be alone.
- Madokami and the Law of Cycles still exist. Homura only pulled Madoka's human "existance" out of the Goddess. Madoka was then re-written into the universe as a normal girl, but she is still connected to her true, Goddess form.
- Actually the truth is simple! Remember, Madoka is omniscient because she exists in all of space and time. Kyubey's Isolation Field actually blocked Madoka from reaching Homura's Soul Gem...but what the show doesn't say is that it also blocked Madoka's omniscience! Since Madoka can't enter Homura's Soul Gem, she does not have absolute knowledge of what will happen. And when she does enter the Soul Gem, she loses her memories, her powers, and she's not experiencing all of time at once; she appears in the form of a human, living time linearly. And when the Isolation Field is broken, Madoka regains her memories and powers...but not her omniscience because she's still in the form of a human, living time linearly! (That's why Mami and Kyoko could see her.) Thus, Madoka couldn't predict Homura's actions at all! And it was all Kyubey's fault! (Heck, he's the one who told Homura that if Madoka can be observed, she can be interfered with...)
- The children of the fake city repeatedly say "Fort! Da!" right before Homura realizes she's a witch.
- "Fort!" and "Da!" are exclamations that Sigmund Freud heard his grandson Ernst utter while playing. This pair of words—meaning "Gone!" and "There!"—has become shorthand for repetition in early childhood, and for the primary processes that such behavior mobilizes.[5]
- This is interpreted as the children of the fake city finding pleasure in making things go away and then finding them again, the Clara Dolls represent Homura's personality.
- "Fort!" and "Da!" are exclamations that Sigmund Freud heard his grandson Ernst utter while playing. This pair of words—meaning "Gone!" and "There!"—has become shorthand for repetition in early childhood, and for the primary processes that such behavior mobilizes.[5]
- Homura (Homulilly) maybe have a connection to Lilith, from the Old Testament[6].
- Lilith is a pre-Christian, Babylonian demon, the most powerful of all succubus, who seduces man, deceives women, and steals children. She, working alongside with the incubus, impregnates mortals to propagate a new race call cambion. Christianity identifies the Lilith with the snake of the Garden of Eden, and also as Adam's first wife in an effort to reconcile the two origin stories in Genesis.
- By making Madoka a transfer student, Madoka's and Sayaka's childhood friendship never took place to develop. How will this affect their current relationship is hard to say.
- Various materials have established that Sayaka and Madoka were childhood friends. While it's likely that they would have still been friends as children in Homura's new world, Madoka moving to America probably strained their friendship.
- To protect Madoka and her secrets Homura wanted to die, so she tried to prevent Madoka from purifying her Soul Gem as it would mean that Kyubey would be able to observe and learn of Madoka's secrets and her powers so they could control her in the future.
- If Homura in her Witch form were to die inside the barrier, theoretically Homulilly's barrier would collapse and that would free Madoka and company from Homura's dream world.
- During the scene with the field of flowers, Madoka is trying to braid Homura's hair back into Homura's old hair style, perhaps an attempt to regress Homura back into her innocent and shy self.
- Homura gives back to Madoka her red ribbon, not only as a sign of returning something precious to her, but perhaps it is an attempt to reclaim back the old Madoka from the past, a regular and normal girl.
- In the ending scene, this gesture signifies Homura's realization that she cannot control Madoka regardless of whatever world she creates that they can be together and that her actions, which led to her descent into darkness, will inevitably lead to a struggle between them. This is a reverse mirror of the actions of Madoka trying to braid Homura's hair in the witch world, an attempt at conformity and acceptance of peace and harmony albeit constructed and false, except that with Homura tying Madoka's hair with the red ribbon she is restoring her true identity. Homura also acknowledges this by commenting that the red ribbons "really do look best on you" (a symbol of Madoka's true self) as compared to the yellow ribbons (her false identity created by Homura). Viewers should note that she cries when stating this, knowing that eventually Madoka will break away from the world and become her enemy. The final scene after the credits shows Homura smiling at her transformed Soul Gem (her new identity as an antithesis to Madoka) upon realizing that her wish to always be with Madoka has come true albeit in a cruel twisted fashion. Madoka who represents light and Homura who represents darkness are now natural opposing forces in the universe.
- Homura gives back to Madoka her red ribbon, not only as a sign of returning something precious to her, but perhaps it is an attempt to reclaim back the old Madoka from the past, a regular and normal girl.
- During the post-credit sequence the Moon is missing half of its part (notice the light of the stars shining where they shouldnt be), the moon is physically cut off somehow. Indicating that something is amiss.
- At the same scene, at the top of a cliff we see Homura sitting on a single chair, the scene is similar to the Opening of Madoka Magica movies (Luminous). But instead, just like the moon, we only see half of the field and only a single chair, with no Madoka next to Homura.
- While Homura was tilting her head in the chair, some fans suggest she was imagining Madoka was there, and then when she was looking behind her in the direction of the rustling grass, some fans suggest she was hoping to see Madoka approaching her.
- The moon represents Homura's love for Madoka. As seen in the intro, she falls towards the full moon, symbolising her literally falling in love after she meets Madoka. As noted above, the "complete" imagery is invoked with with Madoka sitting next to Homura on chairs. At the end of the movie, the literal half-moon cuts off where the cliff cuts off as well, and Homura is sitting on a chair leaning besides nothing, about to fall off. If the other half of Homura is Madoka and vice-versa, then this means that they complete each other. This symbolism of "completion" is further invoked by the fact that Kriemheld Gretchen is apparently supposed to look like the lower half of a sandtimer, and it has been stated that Kriemheld and Walpurgrisnacht's sillhoutte's are supposed to make a pair (you can see this imagery during the first few seconds of the first episode). Despite the fact that Homura is missing her other half, she still holds onto the delusion that Madoka is there. She falls into danger, believing that she's leaning on Madoka. This is why she kisses her new Soul Gem, as Madokami resides inside of it. As long as she remembers her, she is not alone...
- At the same scene, at the top of a cliff we see Homura sitting on a single chair, the scene is similar to the Opening of Madoka Magica movies (Luminous). But instead, just like the moon, we only see half of the field and only a single chair, with no Madoka next to Homura.
- Near the end of the movie, some Clara Dolls can be seeing jumping off from a cliff, close to its edge we can see a large row of scattered shoes around. It is speculated that this is a symbolic image for in Japan those that attempt suicide tend to remove their shoes first before jumping/hanging themselves. We saw the same thing happen in the Madoka series with the office lady when she took off her shoes before jumping from a building.
- You would notice the Clara Dolls are not wearing shoes when jumping.
- In the post-credits Kyubey emerges from some plants, looking healthy. Homura pulls out her gem and they start dancing. When we next see Kyubey he looks disheveled and even seems to be quivering, suggesting that Homura has somehow affected his mind. It's possible that Homura is actually placing all the curses and despair of the world onto Kyubey, both as revenge and to ensure that the curses cannot affect anyone else. One might say Kyubey is finally paying for all the things he has done.
- As Homura sat on the chair overlooking the cliff with the corpse of a Kyubey close to her, it invoked the imagery of the fool from the tarot cards. In tarot the fool is shown as a young man, walking unknowingly toward the brink of a precipice and he appears to be getting chased away by an animal, either a dog or a cat. According with the symbolism, "the fool is the spirit in search to a new journey and new experiences. He represents cleverness bereft of reason within us, the childlike ability to tune into the inner workings of the world. The sun shining behind him represents the divine nature of the Fool's wisdom and exuberance, holy madness or 'crazy wisdom'. On his back are all the possessions he might need. In his hand there is a flower, showing his appreciation of beauty. He is frequently accompanied by a dog, sometimes seen as his animal desires, sometimes as the call of the "real world", nipping at his heels and distracting him. He is seemingly oblivious that he is walking toward a precipice, apparently about to step off."
- It is speculated that the Clara Dolls are aspects and characteristics of Homura's personality. Love, the last of the Clara Dolls remains unopened in her package. It is speculated that the reason is that Homura wont let go of her love.
- It is possible that there is a similarity to the myth of Pandora's box. In the Myth "hope" is entrapped in a box, suggesting that either hope has been denied to humanity and made prisoner; or hope has been kept in the box as a way to retain hope for humanity. Similarly, "Madoka" has been kept a prisoner inside of Homura's world, some have interpreted this as a way to deny the world of Madoka's hope, but it can also be interpreted as Homura's way to safeguard Madoka's hope away from Kyubey's nefarious plans.
- It is suspected that if Homura hadn't interfere, the ending of the movie would involve MadoKami taking Homura to Heaven with her, similar to the manga.
- During the movie sequence the city's aqueducts are encircled to form what looks like the Tower of Babel.
Fallen Angel Homura
Since Homura declares to Madoka that they are enemies, this makes her her opponent as Homura opposes Madoka's will and her wishes. One can view this as Homura fallen into the role of the devil for going against what Madoka believes to be right.
Satan in Judaism: The original Hebrew term, satan, is a noun from a verb meaning primarily to, “obstruct, oppose,”. Satan is traditionally translated as “the accuser,” or “the adversary.” In Judaism, Satan is a term used since its earliest biblical contexts, to refer to a human opponent. Thus, Satan is personified as a character in three different places, serving as an accuser, a seducer, or as a heavenly persecutor who is "among the sons of God". In any case, Satan is always subordinate to the power of God, having a role in the divine plan.
Satan in Christianity: Christian tradition and theology changed "Satan" from an accuser appointed by God to test men's faith to God's godlike fallen opponent: "the Devil". Traditionally, Christians have understood the Devil to be the author of lies and promoter of evil'. However, the Devil can go no further than the word of Christ the Logos allows, resulting in the problem of evil'.
As Lucifer's or Satan's motive for rebelling and as the nature of his sin, Christian writers mention pride against God or, less often, envy of humanity created in the image of God. According to Tertullian the Devil was jealous of humans, created in the divine image and given authority over the world, and an 18th-century French Capuchin preacher, citing Tertullian and Augustine as giving envy as the motive for the fall, describes the Rebel Angel as jealous of Adam's exaltation, which he saw as a diminution of his own status.
Satan in Islam: In Islam the Devil is known as Iblīs or Shayṭān, it has no name corresponding in meaning to that of the Latin word lucifer. Iblis is banished from heaven for refusing to prostrate himself before Adam. Thus, he sins after the creation of man. He then swears revenge by tempting human beings and turning them away from God. While in Judaism and Christianity, Satan is a fallen angel, Iblis is a jinn. Muslims believe that angels are the servants of God and cannot disobey him, but jinn, like men, can choose to obey or disobey.
Satan in Luciferianism: Luciferianism is a belief system that venerates the essential characteristics that are affixed to Lucifer. The tradition, influenced by Gnosticism, usually reveres Lucifer not as the Devil, but as a liberator or guiding spirit, or even the true god as opposed to Jehovah.
Satan in Satanism: Satanic groups have various opinions about Satan, ranging from the conviction that he exists and ought to be worshipped, to Anton Szandor LaVey's symbolic interpretation, which emphasizes individual will and pleasure-seeking.
The Comparison to Lucifer
While the comparison between Homura and the devil/Lucifer seems inevitable, we have to avoid the temptation of falling into the false logic that the comparison is without its flaws.
Jealousy
In one story it is stated that Lucifer was jealous of the human race, that they were not worthy and undeserving of God's love.
The argument states that Homura has done a lot for Madoka, sacrificing so much for her, and helping her ascend into a higher plane existence. As a result, Homura should be worthy of Madoka's love and praise. The reason that Homura sacrificed so much for Madoka is because she loves her. Homura put ups with so much suffering because of her, yet Madoka, instead of reciprocating Homura's feelings, she cannot help but to love everyone equally. As a result Madoka avoids picking up favorites. The argument is that Homura was jealous of Madoka's unconditional love for everyone, and this lead us to assume that Homura believes herself to be worthy of being Madoka's favorite and explains the reason why Homura went against Madoka's wishes.
However, this argument has a terrible flaw. It assumes that Homura's actions were driven by jealousy, yet there is no indication that this is the case. While is true that Madoka loves everyone equally, and perhaps Homura wished for Madoka to be a bit more selfish and stop thinking about others at the expense of her own self, there is no indication of jealousy against anyone. Homura didnt expect special treatment from Madoka, she was quite happy with Madoka's relationship already (except when there was a distance between them that took place because of the time reset in the anime series). If anything, Homura wanted Madoka to be able to live happily for her own sake at the expense of abandoning her duties and obligations toward others.
Pride
Lucifer was the first of Angels and chief among them, Archangel Michael was only second to him, Lucifer's devotion to God was not only driven by love but also by pride. God's love for humanity was troubling for Lucifer, for he couldnt comprehend why such an inferior creature should receive such equal love and worthy praise from God, as if making them equals to him. As a result of this friction Lucifer rebelled.
However, just like the jealousy argument the pride argument falls flat. While is true that Homura became stronger to please Madoka, she also did it to help her out of pure devotion to her, not out of pride. Not only that, but Homura's devotion for Madoka never turned her into an arrogant or prideful character. There may have been moments of something like pride and moments of stubbornness, but nothing to indicate to be egotistical in nature. When Homura's goal felt short, she did not despair out of arrogance nor she boasted hubris in her accomplishments. Instead she was too focused on Madoka and her well being.
Disobedience
This argument seems to fit with the Lucifer argument, that Lucifer went against God's wishes, that he went against God's plan for humanity, so did Homura and as result it makes them to be the same. But this argument seems to overlook motive behind Homura's actions. Lucifer's actions were driven by personal ambition, pride, or even jealousy, as stated previously. But Homura's motives behind her actions are the opposite, she did it because she cared for Madoka too much, she wanted to free Madoka from the burdens of being a prisoner to her duties and her devotion and love for others. She also did it to protect Madoka from Kyubey, the complete opposite of Lucifer's intentions. The only reason Homura is Madoka's enemy is because of their opposite views about what is best for Madoka.
Devil's advocate
Homura's motivations and beliefs don't demonstrate a pattern of similar behavior to that of Lucifer's. Lucifer was jealous of humans; Homura wasn't jealous of anyone. Lucifer was boastful, prideful, and arrogant; Homura was stubborn, and she never surrendered under pressure but only because she did it for Madoka's sake, not for her own interest. Homura disagreed with Madoka's plan because it came down to sacrificing Madoka's happiness for everyone else's. The problem with the Lucifer comparison is that the concept is too broad with some of the elements. It has similarities but the minor details tells a different story. Lucifer was a selfish and jealous angel/demon, and he wanted to take God down so he could rule in his stead, "Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven." God's happiness was never a factor. Other than dethroning Madoka, going against her wishes, and perhaps loving her too much, the comparison seems to be a bit unfair but understandable.
- We know from the series that the power of the wish and it's intent slowly turn on you, like Sayaka's love for Kyousuke eventually twisting her love into hating everything. If we look at Homura's love for Madoka to repeatedly go through hell to try and save her, only to lose her completely eventually, the love she had would twist into everything said here. The understanding that Madoka sacrificed herself to save everyone turns into Jealousy that she can't have Madoka to herself, that she has enough pride in herself to think she can do things better by lying to everyone fits and same with the disobedience. But we're not really talking about Homura anymore, Homura has been corrupted into a vastly different God-Witch version of Homulilly, who see's everything as being wrong and deciding to change things.
Homura's State of Mind
Homura's personality and mental state has radically changed by the end of the film. There are several speculations as to why or how it happened.
Corruption of the mind: During the transition process from a human/magical girl into what it is now a new entity, Homura's mind became corrupted or altered during the transformation process. Homura is not human, she is not a magical girl, she is not even a Witch, she something completely different, as a result this is a different Homura.
Mental Stress: Considering Homura's mental state prior to the movie, it is surprising that she hasn't suffered from a complete mental breakdown before. Homura saw her friends die countless times, had to repeat an endless nightmarish cycle through time and space, almost lost her life countless times, and then she was forced to part away from Madoka, the person she sacrificed everything for, let us not forget prior to being a magical girl Homura was riddled with insecurities, (possible) family abandonment, a weak physical body, and being bullied in school. Add that with the torture she had to go through under Kyubey's experiment, and it becomes clear that it was probably too much for an already fragile mind.
Homura's Insecurities and fears: While Homura presents herself to be strong and compose, inside she is still that weak and insecure little girl, she always was. Homura was always wearing a mask to keep the appearance and impression that she has things under control. In the anime series we saw moments when Homura's strong exterior felt apart momentarily. It is those fears that are driving Homura to take drastic measures, the fear of losing Madoka again and she believes that the only way to guarantee Madoka's happiness is by taking control of the situation.
Natural Progression: Homura is a survivalist, she adapts to the situation as it suits her, when she was weak she looked up to Madoka for inspiration and help, when she lost Madoka she tried to become stronger to protect her. Now that she is a powerful entity, she believes it is her responsibility and duty to take matters with her own hands.
The Real Homura all along: Rather than power corrupting one person, it is suggested that power actually reveals ones true self. Perhaps what we are witnessing is Homura's true nature. Homura used to be a weak girl, bullied by classmates and dependent on the kindness of others. Now that she is an all powerful being, unrestrained by human weakness or limitation, she is allowed to do anything she wants, and probably what she always wanted to do but was afraid to do so.
Gone mad from the revelation?
Another possibility is that Homura is not really evil but actually found something about Madoka that drove her off the deep end.
If you remember clearly, Madoka's wish was to erase all witches from existence before they're even born, in the universe, from the past and the future, with her own hands. Hence Madoka became an entity who removed from existence all magical girls who became witches and placed them in another dimension of her own.
There is a catch, however, Madoka never wished she would take their souls to another dimension.
This whole movie took place inside an entire reality created inside Homura's soul gem, a barrier which reflected her ideal world where everything happened in the way she dreamed of and which began to crumble once she realized she had been living a farce threatening her friends. In other words, Homura experienced what it's like to be an oblivious god living in a world made by your wishes until you realize your own folly and crumbles in despair.
This is where things get worse, the moment Madoka was restored and came to take her soul, Homura realized that Madoka wasn't just erasing witches, she was absorbing the souls of all witches into her barrier HEAVEN and living in her own fake world rid of misfortune. This is why all witches in the movie could retain their consciousness and switch into magical girls, because their grief was erased by Madoka's barrier which gave them an "afterlife" free of suffering.
It was that cruel realization, that Madoka's wish of hope only trapped her in a false happiness of godhood, which broke Homura utterly and made her change into a dark deity hellbent on suppressing Madoka's wish.
If Homura could remake the MORTAL WORLD into something free of witches and suffering, then Madoka would think that Homura's world was already heaven and wouldn't try to become a saviour at the expense of her own sacrifice.
Considering the lengths Homura goes to protect Madoka, it would make perfect sense if she was willing to trade Madoka's love for her ire and disapproval if that meant not letting Madoka ever realize she became a lotus eater machine for every magical girl who died.
- this would imply the entire post-series pre-rebellion universe is Madoka's barrier, for her to be able to take the despair of magical girls despite being outside of her heaven.
- However Madoka destroyed her witch self, as her wish to erase all witches includes herself, this theory would depend upon a God's haven working in a similar way to a witches' barrier or Homura believing they do. Sayaka seemed to remember exactly what happened to her where as Homura's lotus eater machine messed with people's memories.
- So far there was no evidence of witches erasing the memories of people who came to their barrier at any point until Homulilly, even then so, Ultimate Madoka is clearly something else than a witch, like Homura she is something above witches and magical girls but instead of creating a barrier geared towards making reality her playground she made her "space" outside the real world for the sake of giving rest and healing to the soul of all meguka. What drives the corrupted Homura insane is the fact Madoka is not aware she makes this heaven regardless of her own personal happiness, she is being driven by her merciful nature to guide all of these souls to her blissful barrier were they no longer suffer, unaware if that's her personal choice or just a cursed existence ignorant to her self-imposed enslavement.
- Just a point. When Madoka make her wish, she was aware all magical girls eventually die, as all living things do. So maybe, she just goes as thing went normally, sending their souls to her "heaven" (It can't be named "Barrier" because it is exclusively for Witches/Nightmares, and Madokami ins't a witch/nightmare). Or according a Buddhism, she start a reincarnation cycle.
- So far there was no evidence of witches erasing the memories of people who came to their barrier at any point until Homulilly, even then so, Ultimate Madoka is clearly something else than a witch, like Homura she is something above witches and magical girls but instead of creating a barrier geared towards making reality her playground she made her "space" outside the real world for the sake of giving rest and healing to the soul of all meguka. What drives the corrupted Homura insane is the fact Madoka is not aware she makes this heaven regardless of her own personal happiness, she is being driven by her merciful nature to guide all of these souls to her blissful barrier were they no longer suffer, unaware if that's her personal choice or just a cursed existence ignorant to her self-imposed enslavement.
Is Homura selfish?
Well, it's complicated.
Selfish can be defined as "concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself: seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others".
In the movie it becomes clear that Homura's philosophy is the opposite of Madoka's. Whereas Madoka believes she should sacrifice herself for the world, Homura believes the world should sacrifice itself for Madoka. That Homura is willing to sacrifice herself for Madoka is laudable, that she is willing to sacrifice others is not. That Homura is willing to become Madoka's enemy, to kidnap and imprison Madoka in order to make a world where Madoka can be happy, is disturbing.
In other words, Homura only cares about her own desire, which means she is selfish. However, her own desire is the happiness of another person - and she is willing to sacrifice her own life, happiness, and morality to achieve that. Thus, Homura's selfishness almost seems paradoxical. It is a self-denying selfishness, a selfishness where one desire is placed above all others. One could say that in the end, Homura is practicing absolute selfishness, sacrificing all to achieve her one desire.
Homura's behaviour refers to "Solipsism"
- Not quite. Another thing to note is that Kyubey's original plan relies on Homura being selfish. His plan relies on Homura finally giving in and acceitng her fate to be with Madoka. Kyubey is only capable of being selfish due to his lack of emotions and thus predicts that Homura will act the same. Instead he gets a different result with Homura willing to kill herself for Madoka even if that means they shall never meet again. Kyubey is unable to understand this as he is only able to operate for his own self-gain, unable to comprehend emotions such as compassion or caring. So when he sees Homura's total selfless act to kill herself to protect Madoka he is flabbergasted She would risk her own life for Madoka. There is also the scene at the end where Homura tells Madoka that is matters not if she loves or hates her: she'll always want for her to be happy. It could then be implied that she is selfless.
Junko's Words of Wisdom
In Episode 6 of Madoka Magica, Madoka has a problem. She wants to help Sayaka, but she doesn't know how. She believes Sayaka is on the right, but the more Sayaka tries to do the right thing, the worst it is for her because it doesn't cause her happiness. When Madoka confides this to her mom, Junko advices Madoka to "do something wrong" to balance things out. According with Junko, someone needs to be in the right, and someone needs to be in the wrong.
If we take Junko's words at heart, the heart of the matter in "Rebellion" reveals itself. Madoka as the concept of hope is burdened with responsibilities that go beyond for a little girl to handle, Madoka is separated from her family, she is not allowed to grow up normally into healthy adulthood. Instead she is forced to accept adult responsibilities at such a young age, and she must carry the burdens of the whole universe by herself, alone. But Madoka wont abandon her new role nor will she allow the universe to be in a chaotic state. As a result Madoka is, rather than a savior of the universe, a prisoner to her responsibilities, or at least that seems to be how Homura sees it. It is possible that Homura wants to give a happy ending to Madoka, "but you can't expect a happy ending just by doing what's right all the time."
Homura realizes that in order to protect Madoka, and the world that she loves, Homura must act in a way that is not nice/pleasant to outside observers, "even if it's not the nicest way to do it." Since Madoka wont abandon her duties as Ultimate Madoka and her role within the universe that she watches over, she will never experience a normal life as long as she is bound by duty and her noble sentiment. This is the source that causes Madoka to sacrifice her life and her happiness for the greater good, a noble act but one that Homura understands doesn't bring happiness to Madoka, even if Madoka wont admit it herself. Homura "has to be in the wrong to balance out [Madoka's] need to be in the right." It is for this reason that Homura takes such a treacherous and drastic action against Madoka, realizing that there is no other way to help her.
Homura warns Madoka that they may become enemies someday because she doesn't know if Madoka will ever come to understand Homura's choice. "She may or may not. Especially at first. [...] it might not be the nicest way to do it. But would [Homura] rather give up on her, or give [Madoka] the wrong idea about [her]?" Homura would never give up on Madoka, so she accepts the latter as a possible consequence of her actions.
In conclusion, Homura acted out of selfish desire to make Madoka happy, because Madoka's was trying to make everyone happy but herself.
Alternate, Non-Dualist Theory
It is possible that the focus on dualism and the idea of Homura becoming a Lucifer-like figure is fundamentally misunderstanding what happened in the ending of The Rebellion Story. There are somewhat obvious problems with the idea of dualism- for one, in the new universe, Madokami doesn't appear to have any real power. In order for dualism to truly exist, both opposing forces must have equal power, this is clearly not the case. Akuma Homura essentially just overthrew the existing order, but absorbed Madokami within her, imprisoning her along with the entire universe in her witch's barrier, which really ceases to be one once it covers the whole universe.
First, we need to step back and look at what Homura actually did. She created a new world that was presumably peaceful and stable, there are no magical girls who fight endlessly into inevitable despair, and presumably she can twist the world to eliminate the curses that need to be fought. She takes all the despair into herself. Recall that Homura's first real questioning of her own fake Mitakihara was "can we really continue fighting forever?" That world is how it is because endless fighting is all Homura really knows, and by questioning it she ultimately questions all she's ever known. She constructed the fake Mitakihara as an ideal world initially- one where magical girls could continue to fight evil with no real negative consequences, thus still giving them their wishes and purpose. She then rebels against this notion, tearing down her own vision of utopia because she no longer sees it that way, she wants a world without magical girls.
Now we can go back farther before the movie and look at what Madoka actually did. She never pursued or was granted the powers of an actual omnipotent god, she never looked to rewrite the entire universe. Technically, she doesn't even fully gets rid of witches, she just absorbs the despair into herself and allows the magical girls to pass away peacefully without becoming monsters and corrupting others. But that is the extent of her power, and even she is not immune from despair and corruption, indeed we see Madokami's witch attempting to devour the world, but Madokami was able to save herself just as she was able to save everyone else. Curses and negative feelings still exist at the same levels they did before, they just now manifest into Wraiths, which can be interpreted as the raw manifestation of negative feelings rather than corruptions of magical girls. The most important thing here is that all the laws of the universe that existed long before Madokami are still intact after Madoka's wish.
Now recall perhaps the biggest revelation in the new movie: the Incubators were obviously unsatisfied with the power attained from the wraiths, and after seeing the truth about witches within Homura, it was the Incubators thirst that sought Madokami's power, either to take her power or destroy her so they could go back to the more lucrative witch system. This is the detail that makes Homura's decision-making much less confusing, and in fact, completely understandable. As she breaks out of the prison with the help of the others, and Madokami comes down to take her to Valhalla, she knows she cannot let that happen. Why? Because she knows what they don't: the Incubators are after Madoka. They will continue to experiment and to pervert existing magical girls as they did with her in order to find a way to destroy Madoka. So, she uses her last remaining strength to usurp Madoka, take her power, and imprison her. Why? It's quite simple, and Homura states it explicitly: love.
The one constant throughout the entire series is that Homura loves Madoka, and her wish was one that ensure that she would be able to protect her. Indeed, that is her singular purpose in life to protect Madoka at literally any cost- even if it means becoming the demon that usurps her power, even if it means becoming her enemy. She had to find a way to end the Incubators and their schemes once and for all, even if it meant having to hurt Madoka and imprison her in the new universe, which bends to no rules but Homura's. And, recalling Sayoktavia's words from earlier in the movie: is an entity which creates a paradise like this truly one that is bad, and should be opposed? Homura sees herself as a devil-like figure, and of course she would, doing what she did despairs her greatly, but it needed to be done in order to protect Madoka. But is she truly bad, or Devil-like for creating a world without curses? Was it truly madness or insanity that drove her to do it, or was she thinking more clearly and logically than anyone else?
Ultimately, it brings us to one thesis: Just as Madoka had to become a magical girl to reach her ends of eliminating the suffering and corruption of magical girls, Homura had to become a witch to protect that system, to suffer forever for the sake of keeping the universe stable. There is dualism, but yet there is not, there is only Homura, using the power of Madoka's sacrifice to finally stabilize things and create her own true vision of utopia.
Where it goes from here depends on whether a sequel eventually will come. It could end in that state, with Homura maintaining the universe in her order. It might end in a way that allows both the existence of Madoka and Homura to merge- or perhaps they will both finally be able to pass and have their existences end, as all things do.
"Gott ist tot" and Nietzsche [7]
Homura: "Escaping into this impossible world. Abandoning the responsibility to fight wraiths. Such weakness... I'll never be able to forgive. Magical girls... Have no choice but to continue fighting. That is... The price we pay for our miracle. It was for our sakes that... She... Sacrificed herself to try to save us.
WER TRÄUMT?
Homura:This farce... Is just making light of Madoka's sacrifice! I won't forgive this!"
Clara Dolls: "Gott ist tot! Gott ist tot! Gott ist tot!"
Friedrich Nietzsche is known for what some consider to be his controversial philosophy. He called himself an "immoralist" and harshly criticized the prominent moral philosophies of his day: Christianity, Kantianism, and utilitarianism. Nietzsche was also known for being very critical of the Western belief in egalitarianism and rationality.
Nietzsche saw nihilism as the outcome of repeated frustrations in the search for meaning. He diagnosed nihilism as a latent presence within the very foundations of European culture, and saw it as a necessary and approaching destiny. Nietzsche argued that Western culture must face and transcend in the wake of the irreparable dissolution of its traditional foundations, moored largely in classical Greek philosophy and Christianity.
GOOD AND EVIL
In Beyond Good And Evil and On the Genealogy of Morality, Nietzsche's genealogical account of the development of modern moral systems occupies central place. For Nietzsche, a fundamental shift took place from thinking in terms of "good" and "bad" toward "good" and "evil."
Nietzsche argued that two types of morality existed: a master morality that springs actively from the "noble man", and a slave morality that develops reactively within the weak man. These two moralities do not present simple inversions of one another. They form two different value systems: master morality fits actions into a scale of 'good' or 'bad' whereas slave morality fits actions into a scale of "good" or "evil".
The initial form of morality was set by a warrior aristocracy and other ruling castes of ancient civilizations. Aristocratic values of "good" and "bad" coincided with and reflected their relationship to lower castes such as slaves. Nietzsche presented this "master morality" as the original system of morality—perhaps best associated with Homeric Greece. To be "good" was to be happy and to have the things related to happiness: wealth, strength, health, power, etc. To be "bad" was to be like the slaves over which the aristocracy ruled, poor, weak, sick, pathetic—an object of pity or disgust rather than hatred.
"Slave morality" comes about as a reaction to master-morality. Here, value emerges from the contrast between good and evil: good being associated with other-worldliness, charity, piety, restraint, meekness, and submission; and evil seen as worldly, cruel, selfish, wealthy, and aggressive. Nietzsche sees slave morality as pessimistic and fearful, values for them serving only to ease the existence for those who suffer from the very same thing. He associated slave-morality with the Jewish and Christian traditions, in a way that slave-morality is born out of the ressentiment of slaves. Nietzsche argued that the idea of equality allowed slaves to overcome their own condition without hating themselves. And by denying the inherent inequality of people (such as success, strength, beauty or intelligence), slaves acquired a method of escape, namely by generating new values on the basis of rejecting something that was seen as a perceived source of frustration. It was used to overcome the slave's own sense of inferiority before the (better-off) masters. It does so by making out slave weakness to be a matter of choice, by, e.g., relabeling it as "meekness." The "good man" of master morality is precisely the "evil man" of slave morality, while the "bad man" is recast as the "good man."
NIHILISM
When Nietzsche says that God is dead, what he means is that our entire concept of “God” is dead. The Christian concept of God as an all-powerful, all-knowing, morally good, caring, Supreme Being is dead, according to Nietzsche. But God no longer listens to us, nor knows how to respond. This lack of communication between us and God is the cause of the decline of theism (Beyond Good and Evil, Sec. 53). New forces have taken the place of God in our lives, forces such as money and science have provided a new faith for us in an increasingly materialistic society. We have become religious atheists, we no longer have God, but we practice religion. But religion involves sacrifice, and that is why God is dead.
Nietzsche was concerned that the death of God has lead to a pervasive state nihilism. By sacrificing God in the name of asceticism, asceticism has lost its purpose and meaning to life. Nietzsche argued that one way in which we attempted to fill the space left by God’s death is through secular science. Since we have traded God for science, we now worship science as our new God. Science has occupied the throne on which God used to sit. Science has become the new ascetic faith, populated by theoretical entities and forces. But unlike theism, science ascribes no meaning to life’s happening. It only provides the means by which life happens; it provides the how, not the why.
For Nietzsche, the alternative to nihilism and asceticism lies in the positive affirmation of life.[8]
WILL TO POWER
A basic element in Nietzsche's philosophical outlook is the will to power (der Wille zur Macht), which provides a basis for understanding human behavior — more so than competing explanations, such as the ones based on pressure for adaptation or survival.
In presenting his theory of human behavior, Nietzsche also addressed, and attacked, concepts from philosophies popularly embraced in his days, such as Schopenhauer's notion of an aimless will or that of utilitarianism. Utilitarians claim that what moves people is mainly the desire to be happy, to accumulate pleasure in their lives. But such a conception of happiness Nietzsche rejected as something limited to, and characteristic of, the bourgeois lifestyle of the English society, and instead put forth the idea that happiness is not an aim per se — it is instead a consequence of a successful pursuit of one's aims, of the overcoming of hurdles to one's actions — in other words, of the fulfillment of the will.
ÜBERMENSCH
Nietzsche's Zarathustra ties the Übermensch to the death of God. While this God was the ultimate expression of other-worldly values and the instincts that gave birth to those values, belief in that God nevertheless did give meaning to life for a time. 'God is dead' means that the idea of God can no longer provide values. With the sole source of values no longer capable of providing those values, there is a real chance of nihilism prevailing.
Zarathustra presents the Übermensch as the creator of new values. In this way, it appears as a solution to the problem of the death of God and nihilism. If the Übermensch acts to create new values within the moral vacuum of nihilism, there is nothing that this creative act would not justify. Alternatively, in the absence of this creation, there are no grounds upon which to criticize or justify any action, including the particular values created and the means by which they are promulgated.
In order to avoid a relapse into Platonic idealism or asceticism, the creation of these new values cannot be motivated by the same instincts that gave birth to those tables of values. Instead, they must be motivated by a love of this world and of life. Whereas Nietzsche diagnosed the Christian value system as a reaction against life and hence destructive in a sense, the new values which the Übermensch will be responsible for will be life-affirming and creative.
Homura's Will to Power
When Homura discovers that she is actually trapped within a Witch's barrier, she despair not because she is trapped, but because she was allowed to be easily influenced and be deceived by such a pleasant trap or dream. The dream makes a mockery of Madoka's sacrifice, making her victory to ring hollow as Homura has chosen a dream over reality. We have to remember that within this dream, it brings the fulfillment of all of Homura's friends. Mami is not alone as she combats Nightmares not by herself, but with a team in a manner resembling typical magical girls. Kyouko and Sayaka rather than being antagonists they are close friends and are even living together. Madoka is back in the real world as a magical girl, she is back to her friends and her family, but not only that she is also happy. The Dream is not only pleasant for Homura (having Madoka back and being friends with the girls), but it is also a vehicle for the personal fulfillment for the girls as well. Yet the dream is a lie, hence why Homura is angry with herself. Perhaps the dream reminded Homura how much she misses Madoka, her absence in Homura's life is deep and profound. Perhaps Homura at that moment grew disillusioned with the MadoVerse. The only reason Homura endured so much suffering was the promise that they would meet again when Homura's Soul Gems were to be tainted, the promise of paradise drove her to continue her journey, and yet the dream shattered Homura's conviction possibly at that point. At that moment it is possible to suggest that Homura realizes that she is a prisoner of a dream that is also a lie, and as a result perhaps Homura comes with an actual self realization that she actually liked the dream more than her reality, a reality where there is no Madoka, only Ultimate Madoka. We can suspect at this moment that Homura lost faith on Ultimate Madoka, not on Madoka herself, but on the concept of Ultimate Madoka. In the MadoVerse Sayaka became friends with Kyouko but she is dead, the girls fight together as a team but against dangerous Wraiths not silly creatures like Nightmares, the fate of Magical Girls does not lead to tea and cakes, but being taken away by the Law of Cycles, and Madoka is a separate entity from the MadoVerse. It is during this self actualization that the Clara Dolls cry, "Gott ist tot". Perhaps it is during this moment of crisis of faith that Homura has doubts about the system. We have to remember that Homura's Witch's Barrier creation of such dream is no accident. After all, Kyubey states that Homura's barrier would only allow a specific target or person to be allowed to enter; it is speculated that the Clara Dolls probably even kidnapped the specific targets. As a result, we can speculate that deep down, Homura wished for a better world than of the MadoVerse.
But there is another possibility that perhaps pushed Homura to her new conviction, the flower bed scene. It is stated that Homura is talking with the real Madoka, but this Madoka has no recollection of her previous life. As a result of their conversation Homura is convinced that Madoka would never abandon her family and friends knowingly or willingly. Madoka's amnesia is convenient enough to convince Homura to take a different path. Homura is convinced she must save Madoka from her foolish self. It is possible that during the flower bed scene, those may have been Madoka's true feelings at the time, but those are the result of Madoka's lost memory. Homura probably knows that that Madoka given the choice she may decide to become Ultimate Madoka given the circumstances, but this doesnt matter. To Homura, she decides that she has the conviction to pursue her original goal, which was to become stronger enough to protect and save Madoka, even if it means having to go against Madoka herself. Homura knew she had to end the Law of Cycles to free Madoka from herself.
Given Homura's epiphany and the events in the flower bed scene, it is easy to figure out what drove Homura to change the system and "rescue" Madoka from herself. Not only did Homura changed the world, but one could agree she did for the better regardless of Madoka's wishes. In the HomuVerse Sayaka is alive, Nagisa meets Mami, Madoka is back with her family, and everything seems to be for the better (as we know for now). The HomuVerse is almost similar to the Dream World that Homura created in her Witch's barrier. In a way Homura is trying to recreate the world from the Dream World. A clear indication that perhaps Homura was not happy with the conditions in the MadoVerse. Homura has become the Übermensch, for she has changed the rules of the universe and created new values. But more than that, she has defeated, tamed, and contained Madoka's biggest threat, Kyubey's race, something that Madoka has not done in the previous reality.
Rebellion and Nietzsche
The following interpretation is an attempt to observe rebellion through the eyes of Nietzsche. It is open to interpretation and it is not the final authority regarding the body of work in Rebellion.
It is possible that Homura realized that the New World, while better than the Old World with its cruel system, had some problems, problems that Homura couldnt overlook after her moment of epiphany. It is perhaps of this reason that Homura decides to rebel against Madoka. Homura is trying to liberate Madoka from an oppressive cycle that makes her not just a prisoner, but also a slave to her conviction and sense of goodness. When Homura is given the choice to free herself from her torture by allowing Madoka to spirit her away, she proclaims to Kyoube that she would prefer to become a Witch and fall into despair forever, rather than allow Madoka to fall into his trap. Homura is not ashamed that she became a witch, it is possible that she was ashamed that she failed to meet Madoka's expectations, that she fell into a dream and chose the dream over Madoka's salvation. But once Homura overcame her fears and doubts she became resolute to rescue Madoka from herself, from her bondage to the Law of Cycles.
One could suggest that perhaps the Law of Cycles did not liberate the magical girls at all, but instead made them prisoners into a new "slave system", for these girls still met a terrible (but less horrible) fate in the end. Rather than becoming witches, they are spirited away to some paradise, a reward for their personal sacrifice, yet they are still obligated to fulfill their contract by making them unable to escape from their ultimate fate. The Law of Cycles was the result of Madoka's sacrifice. The fulfillment of a promise that the suffering of magical girls would end. What Madoka has done was to change some of the rules of the old system to make the lives of magical girls more pleasant and lessen some of its horrifying aspects, but she also inserted an incentive to reward these magical girls for their deaths. Yet this fulfillment is not based on personal accomplishment but based on sacrifices. As a result Nietzsche would point out that the suffering of these girls did not lead to personal growth or allowed them to overcome their suffering, but instead they were cheated by giving them bribes to ease their pain. There is no affirmation of life, they overcome nothing.
Since these magical girls cannot overcome this ultimate fate, one can argue that they all failed to fulfill their potential. Except for Homura, she overcomes the ultimate fate by not dying, by not becoming a Witch, by not being taken away by Madoka. Perhaps making Homura the Übermensch. It has to be pointed out, that Homura was the first person to realize that the girls were trapped inside a Witch barrier (with the exception of Nagisa and Sayaka), Homura was possibily awakening from the dream before the other girls did, a self actualization that there was something possibly wrong with the order of the world. It is possible that Homura's struggles started to manifest "her will to power", her transformation into the Übermensch to overcome her personal struggles. According with Nietzsche, human suffering is necessary for personal growth as well as for their potential for one to attain one's goal by overcoming such obstacles. Homura's endless suffering, doubts, fears, as well as her will allowed her to overcome her obstacles. Homura explains to Kyubey that the reason she didnt become a Witch, was because of her love for Madoka, because Madoka was always on her mind. One can interpret this as saying that Homura's mind was always obsessing with her goal or objective, which happens to be Madoka's safety. Her will to overcome her weakness to save Madoka was driven by her ambition and goal, and Homura needed to overcome her long and almost endless struggle to obtain it. Homura overcame her obstacles not through Kantian means like a noble self-sacrifice, nor by a base selfish means like utilitarianism. Instead, Homura obtained her fulfillment by overcoming her struggle, even if it meant being hated by Madoka.
Perhaps Goddoka had to "die" in order to break the new cycle that was less horrifying but smothering, a confining system based on Madoka's values like goodness and sacrifice. Goddoka also had to die so she could live as an ordinary human girl in the Homuverse, so she could reaffirm life as an ordinary person, rather than as a divine being trapped within the system. A system that tried to alleviate suffering at the expense of personal growth and strength, strength needed to overcome personal obstacles. The values in such a system do not only deprived Madoka from fulfilling her full potential without restrain, but were obstacles to her personal happiness.
As a side note, Nietzsche's idea of the Eternal Return is eerily similar to Homura's endless time travel in the series. It is a concept which posits that the universe has been recurring, and will continue to recur, in a self-similar form an infinite number of times across infinite time or space. Nietzsche contemplates the idea as potentially "horrifying and paralyzing", and says that its burden is the "heaviest weight" imaginable ("das schwerste Gewicht"). The wish for the eternal return of all events would mark the ultimate affirmation of life, a reaction to Schopenhauer's praise of denying the will‐to‐live. The purpose is not only for an eternal struggle, but also for the eternal overcoming of the struggle of life, and its celebration.
Madoka overcame her personal struggles with a noble sacrifice, she became a magical girl, transformed into a witch, and then she transcended into Ultimate Madoka but at a cost. Nietzsche would deny that Madoka overcame anything at all. But Homura did overcame her struggles by actually overcoming them, by suffering, by growing, and by sheer personal will. As Homura stated, she is neither a witch, nor a magical girl. She is something more.
At the ending when Homura was dancing and then jumped from the cliff, one can interpret it as Homura reaffirming life.
Buddhism and Mara (with a bit of Gnosticism)
The original Madoka Magica anime had Buddhist themes that might be missed by any viewers that are unfamiliar with the concepts presented.
In Madoka Magica Portable, Homulilly is described as the witch of "Shigan". Shigan is a Buddhist concept that basically means the mortal world humans live in. It's opposite is Higan, which represents the afterlife or Enlightenment. In other words, Homulilly is an existence opposed to Madoka (who represents salvation from suffering).
In Buddhist mythology there is a deity named Mara. Often described as a devil or demon, he is closer to the Demiurge in Gnostic Christianity. Mara represents temptation and desire - in other words, anti-enlightenment. (On a possibly not so coincidental note, Mara is also the name of a creature from Germanic folklore that is the origin of the word "Nightmare".) In Rebellion, Homura evokes Mara when she creates an illusory, perfect world out of her own desires that traps others within it (following the Buddhist concept of the world as an illusion). Then, at the end of the movie, Homura absorbs Madoka and remakes the world, with Madoka reincarnated as a normal girl. In a Buddhist interpretation, Homura took a Bodhisattva away from Enlightenment and trapped her in the mortal world. Not only is this really bad by Buddhist terms, but Homura also did it out of her selfish desire for Madoka. In Buddhism, desire is one of the sources of all suffering.
To summarize, Homura is Mara (or the Demiurge) keeping Madoka - who is more or less Buddha (or the Gnostic Sophia) - trapped in the mortal world, where is she ignorant of her true nature. As the Mara figure, Homura will do whatever she can to keep Madoka in the mortal world, but the only way for anyone to achieve true salvation is if Madoka awakens and breaks Homura's illusion.
Sayaka and the comparison to Archangel Michael
- In Hebrew, Michael's name means "who is like God?". In a literal way, Sayaka's nature is like Madoka's: a being that exists on a different plane of existence.
- Through the ages, Michael is always armed with a sword (Sayaka's weapon badge).
- Sayaka's last name (Miki) it may be a derivation of the arabic word Mikhail.
- Michael is always portrayed to be the opposite of Lucifer, either for the love of God or conflicts in their ways of thinking; in almost all media published in Madoka Magica series, Sayaka and Homura are shown in conflict with each other, primarily in regard to Madoka' safety.
- Further more sayaka does not act alone in this movie but is partnered with Nagisa another magical girl turned witch who later died and did not make it to the new universe. Thusly so is The Archangel Michael usually set next to the Archangel, Gabriel.
- Like Sayaka's sword, Nagisa's trumpet bears resemblance Gabriel's signature horn.
- Gabriel is usually tasked as the messenger of God descending directly to Mary, the mother of God, While Nagisa has many explanotory roles and is the first to reveal the secret of the fake city to Mami, Madoka's sempai, (although this happens off-screen)
Attack on Fandom (Or Fanwork Creators are Evil)
There have been many accusations that Rebellion is primarily about pandering to the fanbase. Indeed, much of Rebellion's story reflects common trends in fandom. However, are they pandering to the fans, or are they parodying them?
Consider that the movie opens with a world common in fanworks (and some officially published material). The five magical girls are working together without suffering. Kyubey has been rendered harmless. Even Charlotte is there as the second mascot. It is the world depicted and desired by fans.
And it's all an illusion. No matter how many fanworks are made, it doesn't change the events that happen in the original series. They are as illusionary as the world of Homura's witch barrier.
Then there's the end of the movie. Again, it is an ending common in fanworks. Madoka is alive. Sayaka is alive. Even Charlotte has been brought back to life and returned to her human form. And Kyubey is paying for all his crimes. The ending people wanted to see.
But there's a price. It's Madoka Magica, there's always a price. The price is that Homura is now made the villain, and she has trapped the characters in this happy ending against their will. Instead of the joy of witnessing a happy ending, the viewer is made to feel horrified and confused.
One might even consider Homura to be a stand-in for fanwork creators. It is Homura that creates the illusion at the beginning of the movie, and it is Homura that creates the ending where everyone is brought back. It says something that the person who makes fanworks come true is the person that becomes the devil itself. But hey, you got your happy ending, right?
We have found the enemy and it is us. Be careful what you wish for.
Madoka's Omniscience
Many viewers have pointed to an apparent plot hole in the movie: Why didn't Madoka foresee Homura's actions if she is an omniscient god? This is in fact a trick the movie pulls on viewers; it expects them to remember that Madoka's omniscience isn't just because she's a god, it's because she's a concept that exists in all of space and time. As Madoka says in episode 12 "I will be everywhere at every moment from now on". In other words, Madoka is omniscient only because she is omnipresent. If something were to interrupt her omnipresence, then she is no longer omniscient.
Indeed, this does happen during Rebellion. Kyubey's Isolation Field specifically blocks Madoka from entering, which means Madoka is not omnipresent anymore. We know the Incubators can see into the Isolation Field, which suggests Madoka can see into it too...but that means she only knows what the Incubators do.
Before we continue, we need to ask if the future of the Madoka Magica setting is predetermined. In other words, is the future set in stone? If it was predetermined, than Madoka could still know in advance how long the Isolation Field would last and what would happen afterward.
However, there is evidence to suggest that the future is not predetermined in the setting. Certainly Madoka changes the future with her wish, and later tells Homura that she sees all the universes which may one day exist. In Rebellion itself, Kyubey says Madoka does not exist in the past or in all the possibilities of the future, which suggests that as far as Kyubey knows, the future is not predetermined.
But just because the future is not predetermined doesn't mean you can't know what's going to happen. As an omnipresent concept, Madoka is basically Laplace's Demon. She knows what is going to happen in the future because she exists everywhere. In other words, she can tell the actual future from a possible one. When Kyubey introduces the Isolation Field, it introduces chaos into Madoka's perceptions, preventing her from being able to tell which future will actually occur.
To Madoka, the Isolation Field is a little like a Schrödinger's catbox. Until we open the box, we can't tell if the cat will be alive or dead. Similarly, Madoka can't tell what will happen to anything that is inside or enters the Isolation Field, including Homura's Soul Gem, the victims of Homura's barrier, or even the future of Sayaka, Nagisa, and Madoka herself when they are "invited" inside.
Presumably, Madoka could have chosen to ignore Homura's invitation and wait to see if the Incubators would drop the Isolation Field, but Madoka would never abandon anyone, least of all Homura. So she enters Homura's barrier and takes the form of a human.
Since she is in the form of a human, Madoka is not omnipresent even when she enters Homura's barrier. She experiences time the same way the other characters do - linearly. She has no way of knowing what the future will hold, even after she suppresses her own memories and powers. Finally, when the Isolation Field is destroyed, Madoka regains her memories and powers...but she does not return to being an omnipresent and omniscient concept. She is still in the form of a human, which is why the other characters can see her. It's suggested Madoka can't return to being a concept until she deals with Homura's Soul Gem, in accordance with her wish to erase all witches before they are born with her own hands. Madoka has to purify Homura's Soul Gem before she can move onto the next potential witch.
But since Madoka had no way to determine which potential future would actually happen, Homura's actions catch her by surprise. (Not to mention that before the Isolation Field was destroyed, Homura told Madoka that she wanted to be by her side; clearly Madoka thought Homura meant she wanted to be with Madoka forever.)
AI YO
Perhaps the most contentious part of the movie is the reveal that Homura's Soul Gem is not tainted by curses, but by love. This comes out of nowhere and appears to contradict the original anime. However, given that Rebellion is a movie that invites thought, it is not unreasonable to assume that there is an answer hidden in the movie. (For example, while the movie does not say that Kyubey's Isolation Field was blocking Madoka's omniscience, it is logical to conclude that anything that prevents Madoka from existing in all of time of space would interfere with her omniscience.)
Here is a potential explanation for how Homura receives the power of love, one that does not contradict anything that occurred in the anime or movie. This is, admittedly, pure fan wank - but one with support. Consider what happens when Ultimate Madoka comes down to pick up Homura's Soul Gem.
First, Madoka is observable. We know this because Homura, Mami, and Kyoko can all see her. Remember what Kyubey tells Homura - if they can observe the Law of Cycles, which is embodied in Ultimate Madoka, then they can interfere with it, and magical girls will turn into witches once again.
Then, just before Madoka touches Homura's Soul Gem, Homura grabs Madoka's hands. Homura is doing...exactly what it looks like she's doing. She is preventing Madoka from taking her Soul Gem anyway. In other words, Homura is interfering with the Law of Cycles.
At this point, Homura's Soul Gem turns pure black. Darkness begins spilling from it. Obviously, by blocking the Law of Cycles from affecting her Soul Gem, Homura is becoming a witch.
Except she doesn't become a witch. A "color worse than curses" appears inside her Soul Gem. Where did it come from? Why isn't Homura turning into a witch? After all, Kyubey said that if the Law of Cycles is interfered with, magical girls will turn into witches again.
And that's just it. What if Kyubey was wrong?
Remember Madoka's wish? "I wish to erase all witches before they are born...All the witches in all the universes, both past and future...With my own hands!" If a witch was ever born, then Madoka's wish would not come true. Of course Kyubey wouldn't remember Madoka's wish, and it's unclear how much Homura told him about it.
So, even if the Law of Cycles was blocked from reaching a magical girl, the magical girl would still not become a witch. But what happens if it is blocked? If Madoka can't erase a witch before it's born, how can her wish remain true?
If Madoka can't reach a magical girl before they become a witch...then maybe the magical girl becomes something else instead.
A new color fills Homura's Soul Gem, a color that has never appeared in a Soul Gem before. This may be the result of Madoka's wish asserting itself over reality. One might call it an act of self-preservation. Homura then continues to hold on to Madoka, preventing Madoka from moving on to the next potential witch. With Madoka trying to move somewhere else and Homura holding onto her, Madoka is split apart so that her wish can remain true. Homura then creates a barrier that engulfs the universe. Her Soul Gem shatters and reforms into something never seen before. Homura is now a being that has rejected the Law of Cycles, and is possibly empowered by that rejection. Through rejecting hope, she gains the power of love. And by rejecting god, she has become the devil.
As for how Homura could intefere with the Law of Cycles, it's likely related to her wish to protect Madoka. If Madoka is now a concept, then Homura can only protect Madoka by interfering with said concept.
Homura did mention "love" as an emotion "far passionate than hope, far deeper than despair". Since soul gems are tainted by despair and love is deeper than despair, soul gems should be able to be tainted by love that has desperation. Since Homura's gem is tainted with "love" and not despair, she doesn't turn into a witch but something similar. Thus with Madoka wished to erase witches with her own hands, Madoka would appear before Homura who is turning into something similar to a witch, but won't be able to erase her since what she's turning into is not technically a witch. And you know how warped the contract works.
On Madoka's Afterlife
Rebellion actually clarifies the nature of Madoka's afterlife. It's not some separate dimension, it's Madoka herself.
Consider what Madoka does to a Soul Gem in episode 12. She places her hands over a Soul Gem, the corruption inside of it is drained away, and finally the Soul Gem vanishes. Rebellion makes it clear that the corruption and the Soul Gem does not disappear. Rather, Madoka absorbs them both into herself.
As seen in Rebellion, witches are born from inside the Soul Gem. When Madoka absorbs a Soul Gem's corruption, she is absorbing the unborn witch. Similarly, by absorbing the Soul Gem, she absorbs the magical girl's soul. One might say that the magical girls and witches are now in Madoka's own soul, similar to how Homura's pulled people into her own Soul Gem in Rebellion.
Thus when Madoka entered Homura's barrier, she basically split Sayaka and Nagisa from herself. She also split Oktavia, Charlotte and the familiars from herself too. Technically, Oktavia and Charlotte are now part of Sayaka and Nagisa, the same way that all of them were part of Madoka.
Interestingly, at the end of the movie, Madoka is split from the Law of Cycles. Homura claims that this Madoka is a piece of the Law of Cycles - the part that was Madoka before she became a concept. One could say that in order to escape Homura, the Law of Cycles separated Madoka from itself the same way it split Sayaka and Nagisa from itself. (This would make Madoka an "angel", similar to Sayaka and Nagisa.)
Symbolism
- During the scene where Homura talks to Sayaka, after the latter saves the former from Mami, they come to a 4 way intersection, and stand across from each other. Sayaka is in front of the area that is blue, while Homura is in front of the area that is red. While inbetween them on the other intersection is the color green. The blue likely represents law & order, while the red represents chaos, and the green represents balance between the two. Red, green, and blue are also the colors your eyes use to see, and it could be a representation that Homura wasn't seeing clearly as she was only looking at it from one perspective.
- A pretty obvious one is during the scene where Homura discovers she's a witch, and in the bakcground kids seem to be shouting Homura. It also is referring to fire, which is commonly associated with Satan.
- The blimps likely symbolize Homura's search for the truth, as they start appearing a little before she begins to doubt this world, and more pop up over the course of the movie, until they come crashing down after she discovers the truth. Their color schemes also match Homura's too.
- During the bus ride scene Homura leaves behind her Soul Gem to test her suspicion, realizing she can still move after ridding away more than a 100 meters, a flock of owls can be seeing landing on the rail of the bus. In prehispanic cultures the owl (Tecolotl) was a messenger of death and bad omen rather than a bird of knowledge as in Greece/Rome. It's possible that the owls were used as a sign of death or a bad omen, but the symbolism of 'knowledge' is still applicable due to Homura gaining the 'knowledge' that she is a witch.
Speculation Gallery
mysterious shadows from the movie's ED.
Pregnant Madoka from the movie's ED.
for an unkwnown reason Mami is holding Charlotte
Nagisa Momoe speculah as Charlotte
Hitomi has become a witch!
Oh, God. Why?!
Red text rough translations:
"Why am I… this…"
”If this is what you really feel… I’ve made a dumb mistake”
"Are you planning on running to your own time again?"
"Can you explain all of this to me?! What did that child say?!"
Hitomi's nightmare?
Japanese fans think there are space ships in this still
The background of this scene with Nagisa is different in the second and third commercials.
- Butcher Bingo.png
I told you bro
Homura's arsenal of weapons:
What Mami's room looks like in Rebellion
Halfmoon and Gretchen
The moon missing half is part, you can notice the light of stars where it should be the dark side of the moon.
Hitomi's phone calendar
Mami's bookshelf is filled with cook books to make Bebe's sweets
Hints that they were in Homu's Labyrinth - also resembles other witches
Lizards can be seen in the screen. The number 8 can also be taken as an inverse ∞.
Homura's dark orb looks like the crown of a King from a chess set. Madoka's Eternal Feminine emblem looks similar to a Queen's crown.
Homulilly's rune has also a Queen's crown.
these dancing figures are reminiscent of Walpurgisnacht's minions.
The highway/road merging with the moon, at the center the structure that made the city's aqueducts. The shape resembles an hourglass.
The Tower of Babel.
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