Mark Watches ‘Puella Magi Madoka Magica’: I’m Such a Fool

In the eighth episode of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, bury my body in these words. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Madoka Magica.

I CAN’T. You’re kidding me. I’ve been fooled, and I fell for it, and HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WRITE ABOUT THIS?

Sayaka’s character development has taken a dark turn, and the worst part about it is that Kyubey knew this could happen and still lied about it. Why wouldn’t he tell the magical girls that they could become Grief Seeds/witches if they didn’t cleanse their Soul Gems? Why would he hide that fact from them? I DON’T UNDERSTAND KYUBEY. I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT HE IS OR WHERE HE CAME FROM AND HE MAKES ME SO ANGRY.

That idea of universal balance comes to fruition when Sayaka believes that her wish for Kajimo’s wellness means that she’s cursed with loneliness. The boy she loves is talking with another girl. Note that we never get any on-screen confirmation that Kajimo is happy with Hitamo; that’s important, as I think Sayaka’s descent is more about her perception of reality. She thinks she is being punished. She thinks she has hurt Madoka because she’s being cursed. And once she accepts this theory, that her life is balancing out the wish she’s made, she lets herself go. She rejects the Grief Seed from Homura, continuing to mistrust her. Not only that, she says she wants to be different from other magical girls, implying that she’s chosen a path that… oh god. She’s going to refuse to cleanse her Soul Gem, isn’t she? What does that do? Does it affect her judgment?

I’m pretty sure that the show heavily implies that in the scene following this, Sayaka murders to the two misogynist men on the train. Like, PRETTY SURE THAT JUST HAPPENED. Even if it’s not confirmed, it seems that Sayaka wants to use her magical abilities in ways to “good” that other magical girls do not. She wants to change the world around her, but she does this through murder. This is a sign that her desire to do good has become more fatalistic than ever before. She wonders aloud why she ever cared about a world that isn’t worth saving. This scene could be taken either way, I admit. She could have murdered those men, or she could have just confronted them. The end result is the same, though: Sayaka becomes darker than she ever has before. (I actually like that they leave this scene up to your imagination. This show is so good.)

“I’m Such a Fool” gives us this story of wanting to belong, and the end result is intense loneliness, and this is destroying me.  And here we’ve got Madoka, desperately trying not to get left behind by her friend, and Kyubey MANIPULATES HER INTO NEARLY MAKING HER WISH SO HE CAN CONTRACT HER AS A MAGICAL GIRL. You son of a waterless melon, WHAT THE HELL. You can’t just do this because it’s so fu–

oh

wha

waht the

the

oh my god

OH MY GOD HOMURA JSUT SHOT HIM OH ASDF A; A;ASDLKF A

ASD;LKFJSADF;K

AS;LKFJASDL;KFJASDFLKJASDF

HOMURA JUST MURDERED KYUBEY SO HE COULD NOT COMPLETE THE CONTRACT

how

HOW DOES THIS SHOW KEEP SURPRISING ME LIKE THIS.

Wait. What? How could Madoka have ever met Homura? That doesn’t even make sense. Is this related to the dream she had in the premiere episode?

WAIT! HOW IS KYUBEY BACK? HE HAS “COUNTLESS” FORMS? OH MY GOD, WHY IS HE EATING THE REMAINS OF HIMSELF IS NOTHING SACRED ON THIS SHOW???

Wait a goddamn minute. Did he just say

did

“You’re from another timeline.”

did that just

did that just happen

ARE THERE PARALLEL UNIVERSES ON THIS SHOW

IS THIS REALLY WHAT’S HAPPENING

I need to use this. It was made by the lovely trenchcoatwarfare on Tumblr, and it is the only way to properly express my emotions right now.

help me

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About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
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