Madoka Magica Articles

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This page present fan-made theories. These are not considered as facts and should not be taken seriously. It is mainly the result of fans speculating

General Theories

This category is meant to discuss about general theories, i.e. theories explaining parts of the plot, or the setting in general. Due to their large size, they have been moved to their own pages. You can read about:

The Global Reset Theory

a theory stating that the world has been re-created at some point to avoid a fatal outcome

The Time Travel Theory

a theory according to which one of the characters may be a time traveller going back in time to stop Madoka from becoming a Magical Girl (yeah, seriously!)

More theories may have been discussed as of late, in which case you are very welcome to add them to the list above.

Characters Interaction and Relationships

Witches and Magical Girls

Episode 2 shows that witches and magical girls both possess some sort of gem, which is called Grief Seed in the former case and Soul Gem in the latter. We also know from Mami's explanations that people can become Magical Girls by exchanging a wish for a Gem, while Witches, on the other hand, originates from a curse. It has also been pinpointed that in a way, a curse is nothing else than a "negative wish", i.e. the wish to harm someone.

But the similarity between both gems owners is greater than that. As seen at the end of episode 2, a Grief Seed looks like a muddied Soul Gem. Furthermore, Mami states that by using magic, her Soul Gem became dirty, and that she can use the Grief Seed to absorb this "mud" and make it clean again, therefore restoring its magical powers. As a side note, we learn in the same scene that a Grief Seed can be used more than once (Mami gives hers to Homura stating that "it can still be used once").

Now, what we can infer from that is that witches may just be "fallen magical girls". Granted that using magic makes your Gem dirty, and the only way to restore them is to kill witches and steal their Seeds, there could be magical girls that used up all their powers without ever recharging them (because they weren't aware of it or because they refused to kill witches), and so became witches themselves. On the other hand, no explanation has been given so far (episode 2) as to whether a witch can clean their seed (and hence turn back into a magical girl if the aforementioned theory is correct)

Kyuubey is Evil Theory

This is one of the very first speculations that have appeared, and also one of the most commonly accepted. This theory states that Kyuubey isn't as cute and inoffensive as he looks. First of all, he seems a bit too pushy towards Madoka and Sayaka (for example, at the end of episode one, he says "I want you to become magical girls", which somehow shows his true intentions). All the more, it seems suspicious that he will grant wishes and turn people into magical girls without asking anything in return. So the theory is that Kyuubey either acts according to his own interest, or is the "messenger" of a greater entity that has its own whereabouts.

However, although it is commonly accepted that Kyuubey (and therefore Mami since they're allies) is evil, opinions differ as to what his goal are or what benefit he could make from turning people into magical girls.

In fact, this theory evolved with episode 2. We now think it is possible that Kyuubey (or whatever entity he is working for) may be interrested in Grief Seeds, or the "mud" that they contain. Moreover, if the "witches are fallen magical girls" theory is true, then it is possible that Kyuubey creates magical girls so that they supply him with "black mud":

1. Grant wishes and create magical girls
2. Wait for these magical girls to turn into witches
3. Create more magical girls to fight the witches
4. Collect the "black mud" the new magical girls have found
5. Repeat process

Please also note that in this theory, the dream shown to Madoka at the beginning of episode 1 may as well be a fake dream, created for the only purpose of making Madoka want to be a magical girl. That supposes Kyuubey can alter people's perception, which is also fairly possible since he's able to communicate by telepathy.

Who Is Kamijou?

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"Kamijou" as seen in the opening

Ever since he was mentioned by Sayaka in episode one, Kamijou has caught the attention of fans. Is he a relative of Sayaka? Her boyfriend?

We should also note that, in episode two (as well as in the opening sequence), there appears an unknown silver-haired boy. In the opening, he is seen in a suit playing the violin, while when Sayaka mentions their luck in episode two, he is seen bedridden in what looks like an hospital.

Now, if we put all those elements together, we can infer something of the like: Kamijou was a famous violonist that Sayaka admires. When she goes shopping with Madoka in episode one, she actually goes buying one of his disks (which could be explained by Madoka's line: "Kamijou-kun again?"). However, for some reason, he had to be hospitalized and probably either couldn't play the violin anymore or passed away. Upon getting her wish, Sayaka then feels guilty to be so lucky and thinks about him and his misfortune. If Kamijou did pass away, then that could explain why Sayaka didn't give him her wish (yet).

Another theory states that Kamijou might be Sayaka's boyfriend or relative, but this interpretation isn't very popular because it isn't as consistent (and because it would remove the yuri undertone as a side effect).

What Is Lord Humungus doing at the ED?

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lord Humungus in ED and Mad Max 2

Lord Humungus from Mad Max 2. It has a post-apocalyptic setting and fighting over scarce resources as a main theme. As a furthur parallel, it's not just "a resource" that they are fighting over in both Mad max and Madoka, but "fuel". Petroleum to run their vehicles in Mad max, and grief seeds to fuel their magic powers in Madoka so it's a pretty apt comparison.

About the magic

Some anon posted the following theory on thread #27. As it is a nice speculation material, it has been copypasted "as is" here.

Here's what I think:

1. A human soul is actually capable of doing abnormal stuff like shitting rifles. at all times. You can't do it because it has a limiter, just like your body has a limiter that prevents you from using it's full strength in order to avoid harming youself.
2. Once a girl makes a contract with kyubey or whatever (do we even know for sure there are more contractor animals around?), her soul is like on steroids and the limiter disappears.
3. However, using magic would damage the soul (for example, it produces some dark energy, I mean come on it's basically witchcraft no matter how you look at it). This is why soul gems are needed - the damage is redirected onto the soul gem and it slowly dims, corrupts instead of the girl's soul.
4. Once a soul gem is completely black it no longer can absorb corruption and using magic begins to hurt the soul, turning her into a witch.
5. However, it will still absorb corruption if you "force" it to, and that's what they do to transfer it off their own gems onto the "grief seeds", which are actually completely corrupt soul gems.

There. the only inconsistency is the "grief seed cannot absorb corruption from your soul, but you can still transfer it from another soul gem"...

Madoka and German literature

Der Steppenwolf

this part will focus on hermann hesse's "der steppenwolf".

a short comparison between madoka and harry haller, the protagonist of "der steppenwolf":

harry haller's personality is torn between introverted/shy/well-adjusted (madoka in her daily life) and the "wolf" side, meaning fighting against the rules set by society (madoka will fight as a mahou shoujo against the rules of the witches; madoka in the underworld).

the first part of the book compares to madoka's school life, dinners with her family etc. it's a simple, level-headed report of his surroundings from his point of view.

the second part of the book is where harry makes contact with three friends (hermine, maria and pablo) who offer him opportunities and make him realize how he has been living his life up to this point. they talk to him about his wishes and desires, they present the antithesis to harry's perpective.

miki as well as mami and kyubey are the circle of friends. miki is the catalyst to madoka's transformation: on the rooftop, she tells madoka that her life is easy-going, meaningless and that other people would actually risk their lives just be offered an opportunity like this. mami is the mirror to madoka's soul: she helps the people in need and defeats the monsters of the underworld, madoka is fascinated by her. her life has meaning. she is the personification of her desires, just like hermine is to harry in "der steppenwolf" (albeit in a different sense).

now the third part, called "traktat des steppenwolfs". it is set in a "magic theater" (tanzpalast "= palace for dancing" in the underworld, which is in fact made to look like hell. it is an abstract world and induced by harry taking drugs (= madoka taking the gem). it is where harry faces his desires, the mirrors of his personality and where he can see where they lead, be it "negative metaphores" or "optimistic images". there are only pictures, there is no reality. what happens there is otherworldly, it's about death, killing, further self-realization and the transformation of his personality. there are enticing, trapping writings on the wall of the entrance to this theater, just like in madoka's underworld.

Faust

[TODO; Please write about all the references to Faust that have been discovered so far and how they could connect with the actual story (e.g. in >>44790618 and >>44797549)]

http://www.thatanimeblog.com/index.php/2011/01/mahou-shoujo-madoka-magica-2-when-did-mahou-shoujos-become-so-dark/

Mystlord Posted January 17, 2011 at 3:41 am | Permalink

I’m still uncertain as to the significance of the Faust passages placed throughout, and they make little sense when taken out of context, but the first major passage (when we see the woman cross the threshold) is decidedly a passage about the destruction of the world, while the second (which we see when Madoka + co cross the threshold) is about the reconstruction of the world. I’m simplifying it A LOT, but the message is more optimistic in favor of the magical girls. I dunno though, take from that what you will.