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| such as swirls and capes. Also note that the soul gem can abbreviated as SG, while Grief Seed is GS. | | such as swirls and capes. Also note that the soul gem can abbreviated as SG, while Grief Seed is GS. |
|
| |
|
| ==Episode 1== | | ==Observations by episode== |
| [[File:Ep2 Goethe Quote 2.png|thumb|300px|These runes are an excerpt from "The Hexeneinmaleins" in Goethe's Faust.]]
| | *[[Episode 1#Observations|Episode 1]] |
| ===References to Faust===
| | *[[Episode 2#Observations|Episode 2]] |
| The very first shot of the series after the curtains rise is a title card that reads (in runes) "Prolog im Himmel". This is the title of the Prologue of Goethe's Faust, where Mephistopheles and God make a wager over the soul of Faust. The runes underneath the title are assumed to say "2011".
| | *[[Episode 3#Observations|Episode 3]] |
| | | *[[Episode 4#Observations|Episode 4]] |
| After Madoka and Sayaka run away from Homura, four Anthonies are seen to be "speaking" or singing moving streams of runes which are a quote from "The Hexeneinmaleins" in Goethe's Faust. This quote is a basic magic spell demonstrated to Faust on his first visit to a witch. It describes a 3x3 numerical grid where each row and column adds up to 15.
| |
| Here is a translation of the passage.
| |
| {| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="1" style="width: 640px; border-collapse: collapse; border-color: #ddd;"
| |
| ! style="text-align: right; width: 50%; background: #efefef;"|Original text
| |
| ! style="text-align: left; width: 50%; background: #efefef;"|Translation
| |
| |-
| |
| | style="text-align: right; line-height: 160%;"|Die Hexe<br
| |
| /><br
| |
| />Du mußt verstehn!<br
| |
| />Aus Eins mach' Zehn,<br
| |
| />Und Zwey laß gehn,<br
| |
| />Und Drey mach' gleich,<br
| |
| />So bist du reich.<br
| |
| />Verlier' die Vier!<br
| |
| />Aus Fünf und Sechs,<br
| |
| />So sagt die Hex',<br
| |
| />Mach' Sieben und Acht,<br
| |
| />So ist's vollbracht:<br
| |
| />Und Neun ist Eins,<br
| |
| />Und Zehn ist keins.<br
| |
| />Das ist das Hexen-Einmal-Eins!
| |
| | style="text-align: left; line-height: 160%;"|The Witch<br
| |
| /><br
| |
| />This you must ken (understand)<br
| |
| />From one make ten,<br
| |
| />And two let be,<br
| |
| />make even three,<br
| |
| />Then rich you'll be.<br
| |
| />Skip o'er the four!<br
| |
| />From five and six,<br
| |
| />The Witch's tricks,<br
| |
| />Make seven and eight,<br
| |
| />'Tis finished straight;<br
| |
| />And nine is one,<br
| |
| />And ten is none,<br
| |
| />That is the witch's one-time-one!
| |
| |}
| |
| | |
| | |
| While inside the witch's barrier cut-out rings containing German text appear which can be assumed to be quotes from Faust, although only a few are identifiable. See episode two.
| |
| | |
| Please also refer to [[Speculah:Madoka_Magica_and_Faust|This page]] for speculation on references to Faust found throughout the series.
| |
| | |
| | |
| ===Checkerboards and Chains===
| |
| Although it may be coincidental, "dark scenes" within Episode 1 include many chains and checkerboard patterns, symbols usually associated with Black★Rock Shooter.
| |
| | |
| | |
| ===Architecture===
| |
| See [[Mitakihara_Town#Architecture_in_the_Anime_versus_Real-Life_Architecture|Architecture in the Anime versus Real-Life Architecture]].
| |
| | |
| | |
| ==Episode 2==
| |
| [[File:Ep2 1.jpg|thumb|300px|Goethe's Faust quote in episode two.]]
| |
| [[File:Ep2 2.jpg|thumb|300px|The second half of this quote.]] | |
| ===References to Faust===
| |
| The texts on the abandoned building's entrance wall in episode two are quotes from Goethe's [[wikipedia:Faust|Faust]]. Here is a translation of the portion that is quoted.
| |
| {| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="1" style="width: 640px; border-collapse: collapse; border-color: #ddd;"
| |
| ! style="text-align: right; width: 50%; background: #efefef;"|Original text
| |
| ! style="text-align: left; width: 50%; background: #efefef;"|Translation
| |
| |-
| |
| | style="text-align: right; line-height: 160%;"|Weh! Weh!<br
| |
| />Du hast sie zerstört,<br
| |
| />Die schöne Welt,<br
| |
| />Mit mächtiger Faust;<br
| |
| />Sie stürzt, sie zerfällt!<br
| |
| />Ein Halbgott hat sie zerschlagen!<br
| |
| />Wir tragen<br
| |
| />Die Trümmern ins Nichts hinüber,<br
| |
| />Und klagen<br
| |
| />Über die verlorne Schöne.<br
| |
| />Mächtiger<br
| |
| />Der Erdensöhne,<br
| |
| />Prächtiger<br
| |
| />Baue sie wieder,<br
| |
| />In deinem Busen baue sie auf!<br
| |
| />Neuen Lebenslauf<br
| |
| />Beginne,<br
| |
| />Mit hellem Sinne,<br
| |
| />Und neue Lieder<br
| |
| />Tönen darauf!
| |
| | style="text-align: left; line-height: 160%;"|Woe! woe!<br
| |
| />Thou hast it destroyed,<br
| |
| />The beautiful world,<br
| |
| />With powerful fist:<br
| |
| />In ruin ’tis hurled,<br
| |
| />By the blow of a demigod shattered!<br
| |
| />The scattered<br
| |
| />Fragments into the Void we carry,<br
| |
| />Deploring<br
| |
| />The beauty perished beyond restoring.<br
| |
| />Mightier<br
| |
| />For the children of men,<br
| |
| />Brightlier<br
| |
| />Build it again,<br
| |
| />In thine own bosom build it anew!<br
| |
| />Bid the new career<br
| |
| />Commence,<br
| |
| />With clearer sense,<br
| |
| />And the new songs of cheer<br
| |
| />Be sung thereto!
| |
| |}
| |
| | |
| | |
| [[File:Ep2_Goethe_Quote_3.png|thumb|300px|The text in this screen references a passage from Faust.]]
| |
| As in episode one, cut out rings containing Faust quotes in German can be seen within Gertrud's barrier. One of these is legible, referencing a passage where several things are cursed.
| |
| Here is the full passage and translation:
| |
| {| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="1" style="width: 640px; border-collapse: collapse; border-color: #ddd;"
| |
| ! style="text-align: right; width: 50%; background: #efefef;"|Original text
| |
| ! style="text-align: left; width: 50%; background: #efefef;"|Translation
| |
| |-
| |
| | style="text-align: right; line-height: 160%;"|Verflucht voraus die hohe Meinung,<br
| |
| />Womit der Geist sich selbst umfängt!<br
| |
| />Verflucht das Blenden der Erscheinung,<br
| |
| />Die sich an unsre Sinne drängt!<br
| |
| />Verflucht was uns in Träumen heuchelt,<br
| |
| />Des Ruhms, der Namensdauer Trug!<br
| |
| />Verflucht was als Besitz uns schmeichelt,<br
| |
| />Als Weib und Kind, als Knecht und Pflug!<br
| |
| | style="text-align: left; line-height: 160%;"|Cursed be, at once, the high ambition<br
| |
| />Wherewith the mind itself deludes!<br
| |
| />Cursed be the glare of apparition<br
| |
| />That on the finer sense intrudes!<br
| |
| />Cursed be the lying dream's impression<br
| |
| />of name, and fame, and laureled brow!<br
| |
| />Cursed, all that flatters as possession,<br
| |
| />As wife and child, as knave and plow!
| |
| |}
| |
| | |
| | |
| [[File:Madoka Sketch.jpg|thumb|250px]]
| |
| ===Madoka's Sketches===
| |
| Madoka's sketches of her magical outfit were done by [http://anidb.net/cr1625 Aoi Yuuki], her voice actress. She is [[:File:Aoi_Yuuki_Credits.jpg|properly credited]] in the ending.
| |
| | |
| {{-}}
| |
| | |
| ==Episode 3==
| |
| | |
| [[File:Ep3_Caution.png|thumb|250px|There are headless figures along the top of the screen.]]
| |
| ===Caution sign===
| |
| When Sayaka first goes into Charlotte's world, there's a single frame that seems to foreshadow what's to come. Additional macabre hints are provided by the cereal box which is shown just before Charlotte appears. See [[Runes:Episode 3]]
| |
| | |
| {{-}}
| |
| [[File:Charlotte_aux_fraises.JPG|thumb|250px|A real-life strawberry Charlotte (Charlotte aux fraises) -- pic from Wikipedia]] | |
| | |
| | |
| ===Witches and desserts===
| |
| The witch's name is [[Charlotte]], which is also a [[wikipedia:Charlotte_(dessert)|dessert]]. It can be served hot or cold. Classically, stale bread dipped in butter was used as the lining. The filling may be covered with a thin layer of similarly flavored gelatin.
| |
| | |
| The relationship between the cake and the witch is emphasized in the Witch World (just like [[Gertrud]] and flowers in the previous episode)
| |
| | |
| [[File:VeryHungry.jpg|thumb|250px|The Very Hungry Caterpillar teaches basic concepts such as counting to five which may be referenced by the numbers scattered around Charlotte's Labyrinth.]]
| |
| Additionally, Charlotte's second form may have been inspired by [[wikipedia:The_Very_Hungry_Caterpillar|The Very Hungry Caterpillar]]. An immensely popular children's tale.
| |
| | |
| {{-}}
| |
| [[File:Giftwrapped Homura.png|thumb|250px|Mami, Madoka and Homura soon after entering Charlotte's labyrinth.]]
| |
| | |
| | |
| ===Homura's Appearance===
| |
| Near the end of the episode, neither Kyubey or Sayaka knew that Homura: a. was inside the labyrinth and b. had been restrained by Mami. Keeping this fact in mind may aid in understanding their reactions to the situation.
| |
| | |
| {{-}}
| |
| | |
| | |
| ===Production errors===
| |
| | |
| In the original airing of this episode, after the fight with Charlotte, Homura jumps down and reverts back to her schoolgirl clothes. But then there is a single shot of her wearing her magical girl costume again, before she's back in her school uniform.
| |
| | |
| Outside the hospital after the Labyrinth disappears, the bike rack layer is underneath the garden bed's and there are few, if any, shadows.
| |
| | |
| <gallery captionalign="left" position="center">
| |
| File:Ep03goof_03.jpg|Just a little glitch in the matrix.
| |
| File:Ep3 Goof02.png
| |
| | |
| </gallery>
| |
This page is about facts and various trivia spotted through the episodes.
General
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
"Puella Magi" is not Latin for "Magical Girl": the adjective does not agree with its noun. It should be "Puella Maga."
However, "Puella Magi" could be interpreted as "the girl of the wizard," with two nouns: a separate girl and wizard.
Last name
All Magical Girls have first-name-sounding last names (although this is not particularly uncommon, either, in anime.)
Witch's Labyrinth
The labyrinths consist both of elements from their locations in reality and of allusions to the witches that create them.
Deeper within the labyrinth, more references to the witch will be seen and fewer elements from reality show up.
For example, in episode one, the labyrinth is set in a floor waiting for refurbishing, and it was fulfilled with 'under construction' signs and barriers of a construction site. In episode two, the labyrinth is set in an abandoned concrete building, thus the rooms in the labyrinth are made of solid concrete, making its appearance differ from episode one even though the owner is the same. As the protagonists approach the the final room, elements of a rose garden start to dominate the construction elements.
In episode three, the labyrinth is set in a hospital, therefore surgery signs, needles, gallipots and wards are presented first, but deeper in, those are replaced by various kinds of desserts.
Critical Edition of Goethe's Faust
The editor of the Norton Critical edition of Goethe's Faust, Cyrus Hamlin, passed away on January 19, 2011, the day before the third episode of Puella Magi Madoka Magica aired. While entirely a coincidence, it is nevertheless a mildly eerie coincidence.
- "I do not expect to attempt yet another revision of my notes to 'Faust' -- for that, alas!, life is too short, as both Wagner and Mephistopheles knew -- but I hope on the basis of what is now nearly four decades of work on Goethe's drama to continue indefinitely my exploration into the riches of this unique and inexhaustible masterpiece of our culture." - Cyrus Hamlin, January 2000
If only he could have watched Shaft's exploration.
Soul Gem and Grief Seed
The pin on top of both soul gem and grief seed is also the emblem of the holder, although Witches have a second symbol used for their witch's kiss and barrier.
The seed Gertrud holds has a butterfly emblem, which is shown on her minions and her face when she attempted to attack Mami.
Charlotte's seed has a emblem containing concentric circles with ribbons, representing a strawberry. This is also shown on her minions and the other doll sitting at her table which is stomped on by Homura and may have been Charlotte's true body.
Note the similarity of the pin and the doll sitting on the left.
The soul gem Mami holds has a flower like design, which is the same as her hair accessory and transformation effects, as well as the gem's shape when she is transformed.
Note the design of the hair accessory.
While the emblems on the grief seeds are the actual "faces" of the witches, the ones on soul gem could resemble accessories
such as swirls and capes. Also note that the soul gem can abbreviated as SG, while Grief Seed is GS.
Observations by episode
