Newspaper Interviews: Difference between revisions

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Source: Yomiuri Shimbun, Mar. 4, 2011. [http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/T110302007121.htm]
#REDIRECT [[Newspapers]]
 
'''THROUGH OTAKU EYES / There's something magical about 'Madoka''''
 
''Makoto Fukuda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer''
 
One of the latest anime series to cause a stir on both TV and the Internet is the new Puella Magi Madoka Magica. At first glance, it appears to be just any old anime populated with young, pretty girls. Yet it is the unforgiving storyline in which girls fight each other that has left many fans astonished and hooked. I'm no different: I wait each week for the next installment with baited breath.
 
As soon as I realized the appeal of this series, I immediately set out to interview Gen Urobuchi, the man responsible for its scripts and story arc.
 
The show starts the way any other so-called magic girl story would begin: A middle-school girl named Madoka and her friend Sayaka are approached by a strange creature named Kyube, who offers them magic powers, which they must use to battle evil witches.
 
In exchange, each new magic girl will receive a single wish. Bewildered by the prospects, the two girls decided to accompany an experienced magic girl named Mami on a witch hunt.
 
After learning that the characters were designed by popular mangaka Ume Aoki (Hidamari Sketch), I immediately jumped to the conclusion the show would be pure moe--fetishistic cuteness. But in Episode 3, however, the story took a shocking turn when Mami was slain by a witch.
 
At this point, a number of other magic girls enter the picture, including Homura, a transfer student who tries to stop Madoka from making her witch deal, and Kyoko, who tries to take Mami's place. Sayaka decides to join the battle to obtain a wish to heal her childhood friend, with whom she has fallen in love.
 
"I wanted to catch viewers off guard and then reward them," Urobuchi said.
 
As a game scenario writer, Urobuchi is noted for heavy, often gruesome, storylines and a devoted following. I have been unable to tear myself away from this story of young girls facing hardship. Urobuchi said he was tasked with creating a serious anime that contained an element of surprise. He decided to apply his usual style to the often cliche magic girl genre.
 
Proving popular with anime fans is the eerie Kyube and the expressionless countenance the character has when pressing these girls into service. In any other series from this genre, Kyube likely would have been the show's mascot. Many fans on the Internet see the mysterious character as an evil salesperson who reveals the price of wish fulfillment only after these girls agree to become magic girls.
 
These same fans, however, are convinced Kyube does not mean to harm anyone, but merely has a fundamentally different set of values than humans. They see Kyube as an embodiment of the manga, which has its own approach to dealing with things that are alien.
 
The anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, whose works include Hidamari Sketch, So long, Mr. Despair and Bakemonogatari. He is known for his distinctive direction, characterized by the inclusion of small surprises throughout his work. The witch and space design is by the Gekidan Inu Curry art duo.
 
By Episode 8, mysteries had begun to unveil, including those about the relationships between the magic girls and the witches, as well as Kyube's true identity. The series is scheduled to end in about a month, and I am very curious about how it will conclude. Personally, I'm anxiously awaiting Madoka's transformation into a magic girl.
 
Urobuchi would not say any more about where the series was headed, except that it is a story about dreams and hopes. He added, however, "I'm not sure if the viewers will agree with me about that."
 
Fukuda is a Yomiuri Shimbun staff writer specializing in anime and manga.

Latest revision as of 10:47, 11 March 2013

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