So the phenomenon that was Magical Girl Madoka Magica is finally over. From the start, many had compared it to Neon Genesis Evangelion with its genre subversion and psychological themes, and the ending provided plenty more fodder for this comparison. The final 2 episodes tried very hard to emulate great endings that had come before it, but, lacking the focus and cohesiveness of such works, it ended up merely stumbling its way across the finish line.
I was somewhat disappointed that Shaft didn’t take this opportunity to retool the 2 episode finale into a singular unit, as had been the case with the finale of Code Geass‘s first season. Episode 11 stood on its own with its own story arc, featuring some good action as Homura went all out against Walpurgis Night. And with the cliffhanger end, it was clear that these episodes were meant to be released a week apart.
But that’s not a knock against it. There’s nothing wrong with having the episodes structured like they were originally intended. It was just a missed chance for greatness. And so was the ending. Shaft was obviously swinging for the fences with this one, and though I wouldn’t say they struck out, at best, they managed a weak single.
A wholly unnecessary scene. This was about the point when Shaft's intentions became too transparent.
I have the belief that, for the most part, people are pretty good at telling when they’re being manipulated, and when one senses this, the compulsion is to push back. This is why people have a problem with melodrama – they don’t like it when they’re tricked into feeling things, instead of having the feelings come to them naturally. I know I don’t like it.
Instead of providing an ending that was simple and tightly held together, Shaft provided one that was a hodge podge of scenes clumsily thrown together, trying as best as it could to force its way to greatness. This is exactly what I meant when I wrote that Madoka Magica ran the risk of being crushed by the weight of its own narrative. Greatness comes effortlessly and naturally; it’s only after the fact that the viewer should be aware of how his emotions were toyed with.
A beautiful scene with which to close out the series. Homura's epilogue, I have absolutely no complaints about.
It was so obvious that Shaft was trying to make us feel a certain way, that, ironically, it achieved the exact opposite. This, despite that I liked most of what happened in the ending. Madoka’s wish of breaking the rules and going beyond the impossible (row row fight the power) was pretty cool. Was it a deus ex machina? Even though it literally introduced a god in order to tie things up, I don’t think it was, because it fit in well with the rest of the show. And the end result, with Madoka disappearing from existence, Homura the only one to remember her, still being a magical girl but fighting… things that aren’t witches, with the red ribbon in her hair and a bow as a weapon in remembrance of Madoka? Corny, yes, but also poignant and moving. Corny things became corny for a reason. The fact that the ending was not a perfect one, that magical girls still had to fight in order to save the universe from heat death, was much appreciated. It gave a happy but cynical end, by showing that Madoka couldn’t create a perfect world despite her godly power. She could only take away one specific source of despair in it. Yet destroying that one specific thing was something impossibly noble and beautiful.
But when it’s obvious that the events were there just to enable the Evangelion-esque conversation sequences, to bring back Kyoko and Mami for a final farewell, to bring back Sayaka to converse with Madoka, forgive Kamijou and Hitomi and to give her story closure, to have Madoka and Homura say goodbye half naked in the stars, there was an undeniable feeling of being manipulated. These scenes were supposed to be touching, but the smell of artificiality overwhelmed whatever goodness they had.
What a wonderfully moving scene... it would have been if it didn't seem completely forced. Again, unnecessary.
It certainly stole from the best, like Evangelion, Diebuster, and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann had done so before it. But those works managed to take what they stole and seamlessly integrate with their own identities. Madoka Magica‘s ending threw together all the great things it stole, with little in the way of order or sense, forming a messy jumble of would-be great scenes. It was completely transparent in what it was doing, resulting in something that so clearly was meant to be great but wasn’t.
In fact, “thrown together” is an appropriate phrase to describe the entire last 3rd of the show. Whereas everything up to episode 8 had been carefully and lovingly constructed, forming a slow but exciting magical mystery thriller, the rest of the show was messy and cluttered, a collection of nicely done scenes and story elements in search for a common thread to tie them all together.
The ending could have achieved greatness by tying everything together, a pretty standard way for endings to do so. But many things were dropped and introduced at the convenience of the story. Madoka’s mother’s earlier advice about messing up was one of them, with the conversation they had in episode 11 serving no useful purpose (other than to show that’s Madoka’s mother is a really bad mother! You don’t let your kid run out into a supercell!). Same goes for shoehorning famous figures as being Magical Girls, as well as the 2001-esque aliens-made-humans-evolve plot element.
It was messy, it was all over the place, it was manipulative. I don’t want to go as far as to say that it was outright bad; I’ve seen plenty of bad endings, and this wasn’t one of them. Neither was it good, though. It was passable. And that’s alright. But certainly not up to the standard set by the show.
Series End
Now that it’s over, what exactly was Magical Girl Madoka Magica? At its best, it was a mystery/thriller that kept us hooked, pulling us along for an unforgettable, intense ride where every move mattered. At its worst, it was a jumble of great elements that didn’t tie together in a meaningful way. It was a show that peaked at the 2/3 way point and then stumbled the rest of the way, through the climax.
The common criticism that it suffered from underdeveloped characters was very true, and that was the issue that came to define the show’s success and failure. When it really delved into a character, her feelings, and her motivations, as in the case of Sayaka, it was a success, a sublime combination of writing, directing, and pacing into which you simply couldn’t help get sucked. But when it tried to force drama with characters with whom the show had not allowed you to form a connection, as in the case of Homura or the eponymous Madoka, it faltered.
At least the art was great throughout, even though even that weakened a bit in the last third, with the craziness of the witches’ realms not being as prominent or as crazy. The cinematography, though, I have no complaints with. Same goes for the music which, even though it took me a bit to warm up to, was perfect for setting the mood of this dark and somber show. Too bad Claris’s opening theme Connect and Kalafina’s ending theme Magia, along with their respective animation sequences, were just passable.
Now this was a good scene, both emotionally affecting and visually stunning.
Greatness, Manufactured
Perhaps it’s a shame that the end is so much more important than the middle or the start, but that’s simply the nature of the beast when it comes to fiction. And Madoka had a start and middle that was about as good as it comes in the world of TV anime. But it could only do so much in the face of the weight of the disappointing final third.
It will rightfully be remembered as the incredible phenomenon it was, and for the absolutely thrilling ride it provided. But, years from now, will it sit at the same table as the rest of the greats? Well, that sort of greatness must come naturally; it can’t be manufactured.
Though the show ended on a low note, it's hard not to feel emotional seeing this, knowing that it's all over. It certainly did many things very well.
Sorry man… but it’s kinda hilarious that you list endings which were merely pretentious, chaotic and convoluted like Eva as having supposedly “worked” while Madoka’s ending, which is limited, logical and completely coherent as “tumbling”. Gives me the feeling that you simply failed to comprehend it, a suspicion which is also increased by the myriad of inaccuracies in your summary (e.g. there is no “god”, the MGs do NOT fight against heat death (they never did, the incubators only tried to exploit them as such), etc…)
Madoka managed to explain 95% of all open questions in the end in a satisfying and consistent way, which is pretty much an exceptional feat for a story-heavy show like this. Compare this to the Eva ending, which tried to do the exact opposite: Confuse instead of explain, spouting pretentious pseudobabble trying to fake depth for what is in fact an unfinished story collapsing on itself.
Well, more power to you. I opt to disagree.
Really? You’re going to quibble over tiny things like that? Really? No, much like in Evangelion or Diebuster, there was no “god.”. But just as Shinji and Nono did in their respective shows, Madoka achieved something sufficiently divine as to label her a “god.” That was kinda the whole point of the ending. And no, the magical girls never fought heat death, but that was the end goal for which Incubators created magical girls. So that’s what they’re fighting.
As for comparisons to Evangelion, I’m not going to pretend Evangelion had some great ingenious ending. So much has been written about it that there’s nothing I could add, anyway. But what it did do was create an ending that was its own, uniquely tied to its identity. That’s what Madoka’s ending failed to do, bringing together great elements but never making any of them its own.
I actually found Madoka’s ending fairly coherent. The truth about Homura in episode 10, trigger in episode 11, and the final ascension of Madoka all follow a set path, and a pretty unique path in its treatment of that Dharmic ascension. I also thought the resolution of that is not that messy. Instead, it’s so meticulous that it answers a lot of the questions set up before, like why things would finally change in this particular timelines… etc.
I do agree that there is a little bit of that manufactured/ manipulative feel. The whole using little girls to tell the story seems more for “shock” value in distorting audience expectations of the genre.
I wouldn’t say it was incoherent, and I think your post about the ending and Buddhism is a quite fascinating take on it. And plot-wise, I really think the ending was pretty cool.
But the scenes meant to tug at the heartstrings just didn’t work. And with the lack of the emotional connection in such important scenes, the ending overall didn’t accomplish what it should have.
I agree with the emotional aspect. As much as I felt for Homura, I feel almost nothing at all for all the other characters. Certainly not Madoka. And my emotional attachment to Homura’s despair is pretty shallow at that. It quickly dissipated once the series on hiatus.
Very interesting thoughts. I just finished watching the series, and ironically also just watched NGE, since I had the DVDs and am suffering through ISP troubles. I think comparing the two is valid, because both did a good job of appropriating and twisting about previously established genres. The two shows also had a thematic touch-point in that the issue of being manipulated into fighting for completely unanticipated reasons was raised in both. As to lasting value, it certainly is too early to make definitive pronouncements, but, despite the rich viewing experience, I’m not sure that Madoka delivers the lasting impact that a show like NGE (or any other show truly deserving of the “Classic” label) has. Beyond the spectacle, and beyond the story, I think classics need to have some meaning to which people can relate. Since I’ll never be asked to become a magical girl, Madoka needed to supply something deeper. NGE can be criticized for a difficult ending, but the theme of broken relationships and the distance between people was developed throughout the series.