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Revision as of 12:27, 26 March 2012

This section may contain major spoilers!

Please refrain from reading if you are not yet familiar with all the latest media released.

"Tomoe Mami here."
"A senior at Mitakihara Middle School, just like you two."

"And... I'm a magical girl that has made a contract with Kyubey." - Mami Tomoe, Episode 2.

Mami Tomoe
Mami Chara Sheet.jpg
Japanese Name 巴 マミ (Tomoe Mami)
Voiced by Japanese: Kaori Mizuhashi
English: Carrie Keranen
Italian: Maria Letizia Scifoni
Age 14-15(estimated)
Weapon Rifled Percussion-lock Muskets


Mami Tomoe is a magical girl who appears to Madoka and Sayaka as they are attacked by a Witch in episode 1. She is already contracted to Kyubey and offers to act as a mentor to the pair if they so chose to become magical girls themselves. She seemingly dies a gruesome death in the battle against the witch Charlotte in episode 3.


Official Info

"If you want to make a wish for someone else, then you really need to take the time to think about what you actually want."
"Miki-san, do you really want to make his dream to come true? Or do you just want to be his benefactor? The two may sound the same, but they are actually completely different."
- Mami Tomoe, Episode 3.

  • A ninth-grader who attends Madoka’s school. A kind senior to Madoka, she’s the helpful, sisterly type. However, the gun she wields contrasts with that image.
  • Ms. Aoki’s Design Check: Her twisty, curly hair and floral hairpin make her seem like a big sister. Also, I gave her pretty big boobs. {tl note: Never change, Ume-tentei.}
  • Magical girl outfit: Mami’s design was definitely centered around her image as a gunner. The second thing that stands out are her breasts. (Aoki)
  • Her bustier and boots give her a Western flavor which her cap accentuates.
  • School uniform: Her style stands out even in uniform. Just as Ms. Aoki says, her breasts are the largest of the four. She wears pure white tights. (However, in the final design, she's seen wearing dark color tights.)
  • Mami's height range, according to the Production Note, is 156-159cm. Her birthday, blood type and other biographical information is unknown at this time.
  • As revealed in episode 10, Mami has had multiple demises. Her first demise was when fighting Walpurgis Night. In a later timeline, Madoka kills a Mami who has fallen into insanity and despair in order to protect Homura.
    • In Oriko Magica, this is different. This is possibly the only timeline Mami stays alive and teams with Kyoko and Yuma against Oriko and Kirika.
    • She falls into despair after knowing the truth about witches but after a pep talk with Yuma, she accepts her fate and helps Yuma, Kyoko and Homura to fight against Oriko.
  • She was brought back to life due to Madoka's wish at the end of Episode 12. She now fights Demons with Kyoko and Homura.
  • Mami's teacup after a fight was an original idea added by Inu Curry.
  • According with a Magazine interview, Mami's wish has something to do with "To connect to life", so it gave her the power to "tie" and "combine" things together. Her ribbons can also produce guns and because she is a veteran her powers extend beyond her original powers.
    • For an interpretation regarding Mami's ribbon powers and her connection to her wish to live, see Observations.
  • Mami wears regular panties.
  • Mami's guns can only shoot one bullet, but the type of the bullet can also vary so it can shoot shotgun shells too.
    • Both Mami's guns and bullets are made of ribbons, her original given magical ability.

Trivia

We suspect this is an accurate depiction
  • The character for her last name (巴) literally means "comma design," a Japanese swirl pattern. More info here.
  • Her last name can also be used as a first name.
  • Her first name is written in katakana, which has no particular meaning. When written in kanji, it can be read hundreds of ways, some of which are as follows:
    • graceful jewel (雅珠)
    • light of love (愛光)
    • true heart (真心)
    • truth (真実)
    • sea of the heavens (天海)
    • dancing beauty (舞美)
    • dancing light (舞光)
    • polished beauty (磨美)
    • sparkling purple (晶紫)
    • magical beauty (魔美)
    • magical charm/deceiving spirit (魔魅)
    • very flaxen (麻深)
    • beautiful jasmine (茉美)
      • Almost all the kanji examples above are not used commonly, and is unrealistic. One of the most commonly and traditionally used kanji for Mami is 麻美, used in the Chinese translation as shown below.
  • The official Chinese translation uses (麻美) "beautiful hemp" as the kanji for her first name. However, no official kanji of her name exists in the original Japanese version.
  • She is the only character whose first name is written in katakana (contrasting with Madoka, Sayaka and Homura, whose names are written in Hiragana). This can have several implications: firstly, that "Mami" has foreign origins (in line with the "Western flavor" Ume Aoki gave to Mami's magical girl outfit); secondly, that Mami is much, much older than the other girls (an unlikely possibility, considering that katakana was used for girls' names prior to the Asia-Pacific War; the cars in Mami's flashback in Episode 3 look fairly modern)..
    • It is fairly common to use katakana in first name, whether they are of foreign origin or not, especially in modern Japan. The name "Mami" is also fairly common, and it is unlikely that it is of a foreign origin. There is also no implication of Mami being "much older," the cannon information presented so far states that she is in 9th grade.
    • In Mami's case, it is not a traditional name, so that this discussion about naming rules prior to WW2 is not applicable directly.
    • Finally, the creators may simply have been referencing another "Mami" character whose name was written in katakana. For example, the protagonist of the famous magical-girl anime Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel has her name written in katakana rather than hiragana or kanji.
  • The finishing move Mami used on the witch Gertrud and later Charlotte voiced out as "Tiro Finale" which means "final shot" in Italian.
    • Which sounds suspiciously similar to "Last Shooting", the attack which the RX-78-2 Gundam used in the first Gundam anime after it... lost its head.
    • Another of Mami's special attacks is her "Tiro Volley" as heard in the Drama CD"Farewell Story".
    • The Reason Mami is hung up in naming her attacks is because she is trying to emulate the Mahou Shoujo from her childhood, it is her own way of gaining the courage to fight witches without feeling terrified.
  • During the Episode 3 Blu-ray commentary, Aoi Yuuki (Madoka), Chiwa Saito (Homura), and Kaori Mizuhashi (Mami) agreed that "Mami" is a very mahou shoujo name.
  • Mami won the 2011 Anime Saimoe.
  • Mami is one of two characters who have speaking roles in all three series in the franchise (the second being Kyubey).
  • In her short appearance in Kazumi Magica, Mami is shown wearing white tights instead of dark tights. This matches her original design by Ume Aoki, but not her finalized one from the anime.

Observations

  • Mami always use honorifics and call people by their surname.
    • Given her status as a senior student and magical girl, both Madoka and Sayaka uses respectful tone when talking to Mami, and use the honorific '-san' with her first name (which is attributed to their close but respectful relationship). Both Kyoko and Homura has done the same in the past.
  • She lives alone in an apartment after her parents died in a car accident. She used her wish to save her own life from the accident and feels guilty for forgetting about her parents in that moment of desperation.
  • Mami does not regret making her wish, preferring life as a lonely magical girl to death. What she does seem to regret, however, is not having had more time to think over it. She tells Madoka to think carefully of her wish, as she wasn't able to; she also chastises Sayaka when she asks if the wish has to be for herself or someone else, asking her outright if she truly wants to help the other person (Kamijou) or wants him to be in debt with her instead.
  • When assaulting Gertrud's barrier, Mami fights in a very focused and disciplined manner, choosing her shots carefully and reacting quickly when she gets into trouble. When hyped up on the Power of Friendship in Charlotte's barrier, she jumps recklessly into battle and freezes up when Charlotte transforms, leading to her getting eaten. In the interviews, it was stated that Mami is "Extremely powerful when she is alone".
  • It's implied in the series that she knew Kyoko, and may have learned what her wish was. In Episode 2, Mami talks about how magical girls can view each other as competition. She displays hidden eyes when saying this, suggesting she had a very bad personal experience. In Episode 3, after Kyubey says someone had previously made a wish for someone else, Mami claims that the wish didn't have a happy ending and again seems to have a pained expression. It seems in both cases she is talking about Kyoko, who views other magical girls as competition and who also made a wish for someone else. The drama CD "Farewell Story" released with Blu Ray Volume 5 confirms these implications with Kyoko and Mami having had a master-disciple relationship prior to the events of the anime.
  • Her fighting style while fighting Charlotte's minions resembles the gun kata from the movie Equilibrium. Gen Urobuchi is a fan of the movie and has written a fanfic about it, called Jouka no Monshou.
  • The magic that Mami uses to summon muskets inside her skirt during her curtsy visually resembles the manner in which Roberta the Maid unloads grenades from her skirt in the manga/anime series Black Lagoon. In Bakemonogatari -- another anime by director Akiyuki Shinbo -- the heroine, Hitagi Senjōgahara, unloads office supplies from her skirt for use as weapons in much the same way. Mami's use of muskets may also be inspired by Roberta; Gen Urobuchi was the writer of the novelizations of Black Lagoon.
  • In episode 10, Mami from Timeline 1 seems to know that Walpurgis Night is coming. In episode 6, Kyoko implied that Walpurgis Night's approach cannot be predicted.
  • While she appears to be mentally strong, Mami is much more emotionally frail than she seems to. In episode 3 Mami admits it openly in front of Madoka, and in the manga rendition of said scene she even says that she cries a lot when on her own, thus declaring that she is no real role model for anyone before Madoka tells her she's not alone.
    • July's Megami acknowledges that the dependable onee-san image was a mask for Mami to get the courage to continue her role as a magical girl. It easily cumbled in episode 10.
    • July's NewType describes Mami's life to be a lonely one after losing her family and one of her choosing.
  • In episode 10, learning the awful truth about magical girls after fighting Sayaka/Oktavia makes Mami from Timeline 3 lose her mind, since her whole view of the world is shattered. She breaks down in tears, kills Kyoko by shooting her Soul Gem, then wraps Homura in vines and tries to kill her in a similar manner, genuinely thinking that she is saving them from a fate worse than death. Madoka, however, destroys Mami's Soul Gem with a beam arrow and kills her to stop her rampage, before she and Homura go fight in Walpurgis Night.
    • Mami may have been calmer than she first seemed, considering she did not despair and turn into a witch immediately. Her method of attack was also strategic, killing Kyoko, who is a close-range combat expert possessing high speed and agility first, tying up Homura so she cannot use her time manipulation, and leaving Madoka, who is timid and held much admiration for her (and thus was not expected to react so quickly), later.
  • Episode 10 and, even further, the Blu-ray edition of Episode 2, radically modify Mami's apartment. At first her apartment looked quite spartan reinforcing the idea that she is by herself with no one to support her (emphasizing her loneliness). Later revisions instead fill up her room with several items, beautifully decorated with nice furniture; the reason for this may be to display that she may come from a wealthy background.
    • It is possible she inherited her family's assets and probably insurance money. The way she dresses and talks indicates that she comes from a wealthy family. The decorations at her place are consistent with that image.
  • Mami and Madoka are the only magical girls known who are never seen having a mark on any of their fingernails (see a picture below). Homura, Kyoko and Sayaka all have marks on their left middle fingers, matching the shape of the emblem of their respective Soul Gem. The meaning of that is unknown, speculations range from a production error to a connection to their wishes.
    • It's a production error. Homura, Kyoko and Sayaka don't have their marks in every single shots showing that finger. Reading into it any more than that is silly.
    • In Puella Magi Production Note, Mami's character designs show that she does have a finger mark, so this can be confirmed as a production error.
  • One of Mami's special abilities is her power to link and tie up things, she uses ribbons as special tools to capture her targets and restrain them.
    • One possible explanation regarding Mami's ribbon powers is that it is related to Mami's original wish and its relation to Buddhist beliefs. One of the ideas in Buddhism is that the life we are living right now is just a temporary phase. Death is not the end, instead it's the time for your soul to begin a new journey. And thus "wanting to live" is equal to "have a lot of attachment to this world" in Buddhist expression, rather than "fear of dying". Mami's wish was generated from her strong attachment to life, and her power took the form of literal attachment: being able to tie things together.
  • Her friends and fellow magical girls like to make fun of Mami's naming habit of her attacks, specially Kyoko. The only one who thinks that is cool is Madoka and she wants to name her own attacks as well (but Homura will make certain that that doesn't happen, specially in "Sunny Day Life").
  • According to Mami, she regrets that she never thought her wish carefully as she was under duress at the time.
    • In the Drama CD "Farewell Story" she muses that it must be wonderful to make a wish for someone else's happiness.
      • It is suspected that Mami regrets her wish because she didnt think of saving her parents. Some suspect that she feels guilty about it because she was only thinking about herself.

Speculation

  • The exact phrasing of Mami's wish is currently unknown. It's possible that she wished not to "die alone", and thus died in episode three because the terms of her contract/wish were fulfilled. According to the manga, she simply asked Kyubey to "save her" during her car accident, but whether this is canonical for the anime is unknown. However, this is theory is called into question when she is shown alive and well in Time Line 3, when all of Madoka, Sayaka, Homura and Kyoko are her magical girl colleagues.
  • It is possible that Mami may be able to be brought back to life without a wish. This is due to the body of a magical girl merely being the "husk" and that the soul is what keeps them alive; as long as her Soul Gem can be found, her life may be able to be restored. There is a catch, however: Mami's soul gem takes the form of a hairpin, and it was the first thing to be crushed in episode 3.
  • While Mami does not appear in Timeline 4, circumstance seems to imply that she was killed by Charlotte. In both Timeline 4 and Timeline 5, Madoka does not immediately contract with Kyubey, and Homura in Timeline 4 was determined to battle the witches by herself. Without any meaningful back-up, Mami failed to realize that Charlotte made use of a decoy doll until it was too late. This may have been what Homura meant when she tries to warn Mami in Episode 3 that Charlotte is different from the witches she'd dealt with so far.
    • That does not explain how Mami was able to defeat Charlotte in Oriko Magica though.
      • It is speculated that the Oriko timeline is an anomaly and as such perhaps Mami's survival is also an anomaly as well.
  • Because Mami's death has such a big impact on Madoka and Sayaka, many fans speculate that Kyubey intended to have Mami killed in order to force Madoka and/or Sayaka to become magical girls. This is somewhat evidenced by the fact that Kyubey is later demonstrated as having a longer range of communication than Madoka and Sayaka originally think. That Kyubey figures Homura out so quickly (but never tells about it) reinforces this theory, as it is quite possible that Kyubey created a false rivalry between Mami and Homura to this specific end.
    • It is therefore possible (though not probable) that he may have done this to Mami from the very beginning. We never see the details of the car crash that almost killed her, and therefore the possibility arises that Kyubey deliberately left a Grief Seed somewhere close enough to the car to create the accident.
    • This isn't the only time that Kyubey would sacrifice a magical girl as a pawn to force Madoka's hand to make her wish. He uses his cunning again to get Kyoko killed to force Homura to fight Walpurgis Night on her own knowing that she would fail. Kyubey calculates that this will force Madoka to make her wish to save the city.
  • Mami can be considered to be the second most powerful magical girl in the mainline series, an observation which is easily backed up by the casual and cool attitude she adopts when engaging in witch hunts. This is also supplemented by her near perfect accuracy (scoring a perfect hit on Charlotte's small body at a distance), extremely quick draw (clearly shown when battling Charlotte's minions), the potency of her magical bullets (killing Kyoko with a single shot) and the sheer raw power of her signature Tiro Finale finishing maneuver. In fact, there is speculation that Mami could potentially be the most powerful magical girl to exist in the mainline series if not for Homura actively mucking around with time and giving Madoka a huge amount of cosmic karma in the process.
    • Interview with Urobuchi Gen, as well as the dialogue between Sayaka and Kyubey in the episode 6 of the anime and the manga seem to give support to the idea that Mami is the second most powerful magical girl in the main series. However, it should be noted that they only refer to each of the member's 潜在能力 (potentials), and thus it is possible that other members, through training and experience, may be more powerful.
    • The idea that Mami is the second most powerful is up to debate. In the Drama CD "Farewell Story" Kyoko displays a brutal strength superior to that of Mami (albeit one can argue that Kyoko's brute force makes up for her lack of style and strategy). While it is true that Kyoko was defeated in Episode 10 with one single bullet to her Soul Gem, we must take into account that Mami caught Kyoko completely off-guard. Such act would display that Mami is a skilled shooter and quick minded, but it says nothing regarding her measure of power or strength. Nor one can make an argument that the ease of destroying of a Soul Gem is evidence of superior power for there is not enough information to determine the fragility of Soul Gems. In fact a normal bullet from a normal gun can shatter a Soul Gem as demonstrated in the Oriko manga Volume 2. So it is possible to suspect that a Soul Gem will remain equally fragile to other soul gems regardless of the strength and power of the owner. It is suspected that Mami's laid back attitude and her friendliness can be attributed as a weakness that caused her defeated in Drama CD "Farewell Story" and her carelessness in Episode 3.
    • Given the situation, it is difficult to assess whether Mami has fought at her full strength in her battle with Kyoko. Also, a fight between magical girls may not be the best way to measure each of their strength, as their fighting style, abilities, and magics are diverse enough for it to give significant advantage/disadvantage depending on the match up. For example, Kirika's slowing abilities are devastating against Mami (see second volume of Puella Magi Oriko Magika), while Homura's time manipulation is useless when tied up in Mami's ribbon (episode 3 of the main series). It has also been noted that though Mami has great magical potential, the magical ability given to her by her wish (the ribbons) is not suited for combat as opposed to other magical girls (such as Kyouko's Rosso Fantasma, Homura's time manipulation, and Sayaka's super healing). Thus, she chiefly uses magic she attained later on, and may not have been as powerful of a combatant in the past.
    • Additionally, in episode 10, timeline 1, Mami herself says that Madoka may soon eclipse her as a Magical Girl. She could be trying to appear modest, but this is reinforced by the reality that Mami did not survive the initial encounter with Walpurgis Night, while Madoka did. Irregardless, Mami it is indisputable that Mami is one of the most seasoned / "elite" (Oriko Magica) of the Magical Girls encountered in the series.
      • There are degrees of strength and power that can't be easily measured given the diverse nature of magical powers in different girls. It would be more accurate to say that Mami is the most experienced magical girl, but not the most powerful.

Mami in The New World

"She is gone. Guided away by the "Law of Cycles"." - Mami Tomoe, Episode 12.

  • Little is known about Mami in the New World, but she is aware of something called "Law of Cycles", a suggestion that she is aware of the facts and consequences of becoming a magical girl.
    • Gen Urobuchi explains that the "Law of Cycles" is a legend that got passed down orally among the magical girls. Urobuchi states that Mami would not be the only one who knew about it; Kyoko and perhaps Sayaka knew about it as well. The only know who wouldn't know about "The Law of Cycles" would be Homura, since she comes from a different world/time line.

Mami in Oriko Magica

"That was close... It would've gotten me if I had let my guard down." - Mami, Puella Magi Oriko Magica, Chapter 3.

Mami first appears in the third chapter of Oriko Magica.

  • In the third chapter, Mami fights Charlotte again, this time surviving the battle. She learns of the recent deaths of magical girls from Kyubey. He tells her that these deaths were caused by a black magical girl, not a witch. Mami decides to investigate, and she asks Kyoko for information. Kyoko doesn't know much more than Mami, but asks her about a white magical girl named Oriko. Mami doesn't know her, but when she probes for more information, Kyoko rebuffs her. Yuma believes the blonde is bullying Kyoko, and flips her skirt in retaliation, making Mami cry. Mami later crosses paths with Homura and tries to warn her about murders, but Homura tells her to stay away from "us" (presumably Homura, Madoka and Sayaka). She then meets Kirika Kure, who has lost a precious stuffed toy given to her by someone important. Mami finds the toy and returns it to Kirika, who claims that Mami is her savior and treats her to crepes. Mami accidentally sets Kirika off by saying that she must "be affectionate" towards the person who gave Kirika the doll. A witch appears, surrounding Kirika. As Mami is contemplating how to kill it without hurting Kirika, the girl destroys the witch herself. Kirika, who turns out to be the black magical girl, attacks Mami to prove her devotion to her love.
  • Chapters 4 details the fight between the two further, with Mami coming out the victor. Kirika is saved by Oriko before Mami can kill her, however.
  • In chapters 5 to 7, Oriko and Kirika set familiars in Mitakihara Middle School. Mami tried to stop them to save students but got into their trap. Fortunately Kyoko and Yuma saved her. The three then fight against Kirika. The fact that a magical girl will become a witch made her despair, but Yuma's words unite them again and they finally defeat Kirika's witch form.

Mami in Kazumi Magica

"Being a magical girl isn't easy, huh?" - Mami, Puella Magi Kazumi Magica, Chapter 11.

  • Mami made a brief appearance in chapter 11 of Kazumi Magica. She appeared in Kazumi's flashback while apparently on vacation in Asunaro city. She saved Kazumi from a Witch's attack by protecting her with her magical ribbons, attacking the witch with her smaller guns and finishing it off with Tiro Finale. The reasons are unknown, but she was with Jubey instead of Kyubey at the time, and consequently was the reason Jubey met Kazumi.
  • Mami made a brief, one-panel cameo in chapter 12, showing that her daring rescue inspired Kazumi to name all the Pleiades' attacks in Italian.

Mami in the PSP Game

  • In Mami's route, Madoka becomes a magical girl. We also see information about Mami's past, extending as far back as her time with her family, before the accident that left Mami an orphan.
  • Mami becomes the witch Candeloro.
  • It is possible to save Mami in the Homura route of the PSP Game.
    • In the Bonus Route Mami becomes a magical girl idol.

Gallery

Official art

Screenshots

Mami as a regular girl

Mami as a Magical Girl

Mami as a witch in the PSP game

Fanart

This section contains fanart images

Everything in the following fan gallery is created, or the comments accompanying them are created, for entertainment value and should not be confused with actual canon events of the Puella Magi franchise.

Miscellaneous

Blu-Ray versus TV broadcast

Madoka Anthology

Analysis

Others

Videos

Videos regarding Mami's musket replicas:

External links