Honestly I would've preferred a harem ending. And I never like those.
If best girl doesn't win, it'd be better if no girl won. That's the law of harems/romance triangles.
I'll give props to the manga though. At least they didn't settle for the 'first girl he meets' or the 'childhood friend' trope that just absolutely ruins a lot of cheesy romance anime for me. I'm waiting for the romance anime where the lead meets a bunch of people and among those he gets close to the girl he has the most in common or clicked with, not the one who is the most moe or he happened to meet first.
Kokoro Connect and Golden Time kind of did this but in both shows one or both of the people in the relationship started with feelings for somebody else and eventually developed feelings for the other.
In fact I can't currently recall a manga/anime I have read where the main character didn't fall for the first girl he met. Even if she is/was best girl. Actually no I take it back. I guess Shuffle counts, as meh as that was at the beginning.
I didn't say that. Art is important but if that prevents you from enjoying a well written story and great characters it seems shallow. Plus last I hear, people around here hold good story and characters in equal regard to the art and animation. If you have pretty art but a crap story and even crappier characters your not going to stay around very long. Conversely, if you have bad art but a good story and relatable characters then it's salvageable and can be enjoyable. Naturally we all want both great art and great story. But if I had to chose one, I could deal with a few art and animation issues if it has a story and characters I care about.
Like I also said, art is subjective and what you may hate before watching you can end up loving. Chihiyafuru and Baka & Test are good examples of anime that I was initially putt off of because of the art, but came around to because the characters were awesome in both series.
Now I want a Baka & Test and Chihiyafuru to both get renewed for a third season. :/
Honestly I would've preferred a harem ending. And I never like those.
If best girl doesn't win, it'd be better if no girl won. That's the law of harems/romance triangles.
I'll give props to the manga though. At least they didn't settle for the 'first girl he meets' or the 'childhood friend' trope that just absolutely ruins a lot of cheesy romance anime for me. I'm waiting for the romance anime where the lead meets a bunch of people and among those he gets close to the girl he has the most in common or clicked with, not the one who is the most moe or he happened to meet first.
Well that's why I see this as the best ending. I felt it was the girl he clicked best with, rather than just my favourite (who was either Kanon or Shiori). I felt his choice made a lot of sense to me.
They can send it as far down the rabbit hole as they want if it means things continue. To clarify,
my major sticking point isn't that Homura turned evil and took control of the universe, it's that she didn't go far enough. If she had completely taken over everything and it was 100% clear there was no way she could ever be overthrown, that's a straight up downer ending (sorry for using TVTropes terms) and it would suck but it would at least be closure and it would still fill your criteria that Homura and her goals had been changed by her time in the barrier. But what they did with Sayaka's statement that she'd still be able to remember Homura as a devil ever after getting hit with the amnesia stick (and that stick is still the part of the finale I'm most enraged about over everything else, btw, since she had accumulated so many badass points in this movie... but I digress), and that scene with Madoka almost activating her goddess powers, are just vicious cockteases without any indication they plan to eventually follow up on them, regardless if the future conclusion would be a happy or sad ending.
The thing I liked about it is that it is a representation of frustration, of delayed gratification, of potential intentions. It's a moment that is really only describable as hopeful despair, which captures Homura's state very well and also provides thematic closure for her arc. Unless they really turn her into a witch or a human QB or super satan, there's nowhere for her to go but to some kind of recovery or release. Now, if they actually killed her off (perhaps through suicide), then that might be something that can build off of the movie... but I can't imagine that they'd even try to go that dark with a series like that. I just don't think there's anything to be gained by having Madoka come back and have a showdown with Homura, other than yuri wankery that would please SDBurton. lol
Honestly I would've preferred a harem ending. And I never like those.
If best girl doesn't win, it'd be better if no girl won. That's the law of harems/romance triangles.
I'll give props to the manga though. At least they didn't settle for the 'first girl he meets' or the 'childhood friend' trope that just absolutely ruins a lot of cheesy romance anime for me. I'm waiting for the romance anime where the lead meets a bunch of people and among those he gets close to the girl he has the most in common or clicked with, not the one who is the most moe or he happened to meet first.
Kokoro Connect and Golden Time kind of did this but in both shows one or both of the people in the relationship started with feelings for somebody else and eventually developed feelings for the other.
In fact I can't currently recall a manga/anime I have read where the main character didn't fall for the first girl he met. Even if she is/was best girl. Actually no I take it back. I guess Shuffle counts, as meh as that was at the beginning.
Well that's why I see this as the best ending. I felt it was the girl he clicked best with, rather than just my favourite (who was either Kanon or Shiori). I felt his choice made a lot of sense to me.
I'm actually not sure why I started arguing on the Madoka viewpoints since it's not like either of us was actually going to convince the other of anything. I think it was more to establish that I've now definitely taken the side of people dissatisfied with how it ended.
I'm actually not sure why I started arguing on the Madoka viewpoints since it's not like either of us was actually going to convince the other of anything. I think it was more to establish that I've now definitely taken the side of people dissatisfied with how it ended.
I think the ending is a clever way of turning the TV ending on its head, while also leaving room for further sequels. It's a good move, business wise.
Thematically, I had very little trouble with the ending, because of the great, great lead up. I loved Homura's subtle realization that her endless eighting (this is a term now) wound up transforming the Madoka she fell in love with (and the one she needed to save) into an entirely different Madoka (the one that saves Homura instead), and her rejection of such an conclusion. The way she hid her plot during the finale only to reveal her intent at the last second spoke to the depths that she fell, like Lucifer/the Devil. Furthering the parallel, her Fall owes its genesis to an overwhelming love of God, just like Milton's Lucifer.
In the TV series, Madoka exercises the ultimate agency in changing the laws of the universe, but Homura in the movie one-ups her, restoring the power dynamic between them (Madoka as victim, Homura as saviour). It's intensely selfish but also selfless at the same time, given the extent to which Homura is willing to go to fulfill the promise she made Madoka during the start of her endless eight.
Also transformation sequences and keki keki keki.
(The lack of closure rankles a bit but it's a minor issue to me. I view Madoka TV and Madoka Rebellion simultaneously as separate works and as one single canon, finding merit in both perspectives to justify this doublethink.)
I think the ending is a clever way of turning the TV ending on its head, while also leaving room for further sequels. It's a good move, business wise.
Thematically, I had very little trouble with the ending, because of the great, great lead up. I loved Homura's subtle realization that her endless eighting (this is a term now) wound up transforming the Madoka she fell in love with (and the one she needed to save) into an entirely different Madoka (the one that saves Homura instead), and her rejection of such an conclusion. The way she hid her plot during the finale only to reveal her intent at the last second spoke to the depths that she fell, like Lucifer/the Devil. Furthering the parallel, her Fall owes its genesis to an overwhelming love of God, just like Milton's Lucifer.
In the TV series, Madoka exercises the ultimate agency in changing the laws of the universe, but Homura in the movie one-ups her, restoring the power dynamic between them (Madoka as victim, Homura as saviour). It's intensely selfish but also selfless at the same time, given the extent to which Homura is willing to go to fulfill the promise she made Madoka during the start of her endless eight.
Also transformation sequences and keki keki keki.
(The lack of closure rankles a bit but it's a minor issue to me. I view Madoka TV and Madoka Rebellion simultaneously as separate works and as one single canon, finding merit in both perspectives to justify this doublethink.)
I think so, I might have to watch the ending again to be sure but she's clearly setup to be Madoka's mirror so it'd be strange if there was a power disparity between them.
Remember, her ascendance involved rewriting the laws of the universe yet once again.
pull the mortal essence of Madoka from the Law of the Cycle into an earthly vessel, the newly incarnated Madoka that can go to school and have a normal highschool life.
It's alright man. Art, art styles and animation is all subjective. One mans trash is another mans treasure.
People here always make fun of Psycho-Pass, Clannad and Angel Beats art all the time but that's their opinion and taste. At that point there really isn't any conversation to be had. Just like if we were to say that we don't like the style employed in Ping Pong. No one can really attack us for that. Some styles and animation just don't work with everyone.
The real sign of a person willing to see the good in something is to look past what one may see as faults and really find what others like about it. I am going to guess people like Ping Pong for more than just it's art style. Otherwise this really is just a shallow debate.
For instance, I hated Baka & Test's art style at first and didn't watch the show because of it. After getting past my own preconceived notions on the show I ended up loving the show. I've meet many people who didn't want to watch Death Note, Clannad and multiple other shows because of art. True you may not enjoy the show as much as others because of the art but that would be a pretty shallow reason to hate the show.
Personally I don't like Ping Pong for several reasons beyond its art style. I personally don't like sports anime. First episode did a bad job at drawing me in. I didn't care a lot about the characters and yes I didn't particularly love the art. Art is just one facet to an anime. If people drop an anime for one thing it does wrong then they are shallow.
No worries. Ping Pong has a particular style. One I find quite awful actually, but I like stuff like Mindgame which warps the look of people as well in favor of wild exaggerated animation. Its just a matter of opinions and regarding this one I side with yours.
I'm gonna be honest before I ask this. I have had no love for anime for over 10 years now. I used to love it, but now I honestly cannot stand it. There are various reasons, but those reasons aren't why I'm here. I saw a gif, and immediately liked the look of the animation and character designs. There's only so much a gif can tell so...
Is Ergo Proxy as good as this gif makes it look? Or is it one of those animes where all the good looking style and substance is rare and relegated to a very small amount of scenes from a few episodes? If it's a good and meaty anime with a minimum of fan service junk, I wanna watch it.
I know I'm late but I'll say, sorta! Like, I think one of the middle episodes, Busy Doing Nothing, is one of my favorite episodes of any TV show and nothing even happens. But the show's pretty uneven, pretentious, and a little more obtuse than it should be. But I like it, Re-l's a great main, Pino is a comedy loli that doesn't suck, Vincent, well, like many male protagonists in anime he sucks, the story kinda sucks but I really like the setting . the op is amazing too.
I think you should give it a go.
I know I'm late but I'll say, sorta! Like, I think one of the middle episodes, Busy Doing Nothing, is one of my favorite episodes of any TV show and nothing even happens. But the show's pretty uneven, pretentious, and a little more obtuse than it should be. But I like it, Re-l's a great main, Pino is a comedy loli that doesn't suck, Vincent, well, like many male protagonists in anime he sucks, the story kinda sucks but I really like the setting . the op is amazing too.
I think you should give it a go.
Both wonderful shows. I love the way everything is conveyed without words in both shows to leave it up to the viewer to be keen enough to get the most enjoyment out of them (mostly).
The dystopian environments always have high mileage when it comes to settings I love.
I don't know. I just never got into anime where sports were the main focus. Yeah I know they usually center around someone who is weak and wants to become better and stronger and it's that evolution that makes it "worth it". That's not my thing though. The closest I came to liking a sports-like anime was Chihiyafuru.
Place me firmly in the "that was a damn good movie" faction. Up until the final big twist, it was pretty much the perfect standalone follow-up to the franchise in my opinion. Since the TV series tied itself up pretty damn effectively and its plot and major themes didn't need revisiting or expanding on, a follow-up needed to come up with its own new angle to explore using the same world and characters, and I think this movie pulled that off beautifully.
Setting the movie almost entirely inside a Witch's labyrinth was a really good move, since it allowed for even more of the cool surreal visuals that are one of the biggest hallmarks of the series, and at the same time allowed for a lot of freedom in setting up a new mystery, new dynamics and new conflicts with the same characters - including characters who were "gone for good" at the end of the TV series but clearly couldn't be omitted from the movie because that would be awful.
And I really appreciated that the movie didn't stop there and make those characters "just a part of the dream", which would seem the easiest way to bring them back, but instead went the extra mile and created excellent plot justifications for them to really be the same characters. The way Madoka in particular was brought back felt absolutely perfect. Sayaka and Charlotte/Bebe were a bit more of a stretch, since the original series left the impression that the magical girls purified by Madoka were simply "gone", but then again, judging from the scene at the end of the original series where Goddess Madoka speaks to the dead Sayaka about why she didn't save her, I think it seems reasonable enough to imagine that they could live on in the same "higher plane" as Madoka.
Then there was the final part of the movie, and I suspect this is where most of the controversy and split opinions are coming from. I daresay a lot of people might have taken issue with
Homura ultimately turning into a villain, since it runs pretty counter to her role in the original series
, but I didn't have a problem with that. If the rest of the movie was the perfect standalone follow-up to the franchise, the last part felt like an excellent setup for a potential second season.
It felt like a great way of following up on the "sequel hook" at the end of the original series, which hinted at an inner turmoil within Homura that could cause further problems, and it also felt like a natural progression of the original show's themes, with perfect happiness being unachievable, positive emotions and good intentions inevitably giving rise to negative ones, and the strength of these emotions being a source of unfathomable power the limits of which even the Incubators can't fully comprehend. Homura's obsession with saving Madoka to the exclusion of all else has always been both her defining positive trait and greatest character flaw, so it makes perfect sense that when her Soul Gem did finally blacken, it would be the negative side of that obsessive love that defined her nature as a witch. Or a devil, as the case may be.
Oh, and I liked
the Incubators' role in the movie. Just goes to show that even in a world specifically designed to give them no reason to screw anyone over, you can't trust those little bastards any further than you can throw them.
So yeah, the only actual issue I have with the ending is the fact that we don't know for sure that there will actually be a second season to follow it up yet. It was clearly designed as a sequel hook, and
Homura turning into a devil and trapping Madoka and the whole world within her spell
is certainly a great setup for a new story and a new conflict, but it would be rather awkward if a sequel never actually happened and that was the last thing we saw in the franchise. So I hope a second season materialises sooner rather than later.
Other random thoughts:
- Delicious
KyokoxSayaka shipping
is delicious! =D
- The new character is cute.
Even if she's not strictly new. I always knew Charlotte was moe! =p I was a little disappointed that she got so little to actually do, though. Hopefully she'll be more prominent in a second season if and when one comes to pass.
- Yes, the
cake song sequence
was pretty adorable. Hnnnnnng at literally all the animations.
That glorious song ♥
I felt like it was a really great movie and a quite possible direction that fit with the nature of the series. The eventual ending wasnt at all unexpected and I would even say inevitable were the show to actually continue. Also it would make for one hell of a nice figurine that I really hope gets made!
this is perfectly ok. People are not forced to watch sequels or movies. Continuing a story is good for fans who wish to continue and it creates new marketinv opportunity.
It wasn't even a win of anything it was like the mangaka wanted to shut people up ans rolled a dice lol.
Read the first few chapters of mahouka. These LNs are always so weird. One page it's kinda interesting lore stuff and class commentary, next is THIS IS NOT INCEST jokes. Then the next is about my sisters shapely legs out of her short skirt.
Both wonderful shows. I love the way everything is conveyed without words in both shows to leave it up to the viewer to be keen enough to get the most enjoyment out of them (mostly).
The dystopian environments always have high mileage when it comes to settings I love.
What I liked most about the show was how just broken all the humans were and in Busy Doing Nothing
Re-l's like the least human person there despite being the only actual human in the group. Her journal's funny because she's making them out to be crazy when it's really her that's being a stick in the mud and the other two are acting fine.
I know I'm late but I'll say, sorta! Like, I think one of the middle episodes, Busy Doing Nothing, is one of my favorite episodes of any TV show and nothing even happen
I think I've agreed with you about this before, but Busy Doing Nothing really is an excellent episode. If I were to pick any episode of the show to rewatch, it would be that one.
Netflix seems to have the highest quality apps so I do favor watching there if I can help it. I know Crunchroll has hiccups and gets real weird on PS4 after binging, extremely laggy in using the UI so I need to restart it, and Hulu has ads so no matter how good it works that's a perpetual black mark.
Netflix seems to have the highest quality apps so I do favor watching there if I can help it. I know Crunchroll has hiccups and gets real weird on PS4 after binging, extremely laggy in using the UI so I need to restart it, and Hulu has ads so no matter how good it works that's a perpetual black mark.
I sometimes have a problem with anime on Crunchyroll's app looking kinda dull unless I crank up the contrast on my tv.
.hack is the first anime I have seen on Netflix but damn is it clear and vivid without changing settings.
Netflix seems to have the highest quality apps so I do favor watching there if I can help it. I know Crunchroll has hiccups and gets real weird on PS4 after binging, extremely laggy in using the UI so I need to restart it, and Hulu has ads so no matter how good it works that's a perpetual black mark.
I did 2 full days of anime locations in Kyoto/Osaka and 2 full days in Tokyo.
I also visited some other locations on the way to other places in the other days. A lot of the tourist spots I visited in Kyoto were also places that have been seen in various animes, and I visited the Ghibli Museum and saw that Gundam statue in Tokyo so that's anime related too.
The stuff I've posted on the blog so far is from the first day. Visited both the Kanon train station and all the Haruhi locations I had time for/bothered to walk to in one day. Also managed to spend a few hours in Den Den Town after all that so it was a hectic day.
I did 2 full days of anime locations in Kyoto/Osaka and 2 full days in Tokyo.
I also visited some other locations on the way to other places in the other days. A lot of the tourist spots I visited in Kyoto were also places that have been seen in various animes, and I visited the Ghibli Museum and saw that Gundam statue in Tokyo so that's anime related too.
The stuff I've posted on the blog so far is from the first day. Visited both the Kanon train station and all the Haruhi locations I had time for/bothered to walk to in one day. Also managed to spend a few hours in Den Den Town after all that so it was a hectic day.
No worries. Ping Pong has a particular style. One I find quite awful actually, but I like stuff like Mindgame which warps the look of people as well in favor of wild exaggerated animation. Its just a matter of opinions and regarding this one I side with yours.
CR gave me a lot of problems on PS3. It crashed a lot. PS4 has resolved a lot of the PS3 apps problems. The only problem I have ever run into is when you leave it at the main menu for longer than 20 minutes it can get laggy. At that point it's just a matter of restarting the application which takes all of 10 seconds and it's good to go again.
All the Haruhi ones were in Nishinomiya close to Osaka. Nagaru Tanigawa who wrote the LNs grew up in the area and actually went to that school I think. And the Kanon train station was in the Osaka prefecture. The K-On school is 'near' Kyoto and all the Tamako Market and The Eccentric Family locations I saw were in Kyoto of course.
But other than that, the others were in Tokyo or near Tokyo in the Kanto area.
I have no idea why they chose that train station for Kanon though, since all the other Kanon locations I visited were near Tokyo.
All the Haruhi ones were in Nishinomiya close to Osaka. Nagaru Tanigawa who wrote the LNs grew up in the area and actually went to that school I think. And the Kanon train station was in the Osaka prefecture. The K-On school is 'near' Kyoto and all the Tamako Market and The Eccentric Family locations I saw were in Kyoto of course.
But other than that, the others were in Tokyo or near Tokyo in the Kanto area.
I have no idea why they chose that train station for Kanon though, since all the other Kanon locations I visited were near Tokyo.
Why is this show so enjoyable?!?!? I feel like it shouldn't but it is! Why was there a random horse in that last segment? Why is my heart bursting with joy and laughter? The scene where everyone was freaking out about the Love Live but with Honoka sitting in the foreground not participating until the end was really well done. The musical bit at the beginning made me think an anime should even try and be a musical! It's really benefiting from just having the whole gang together right from the start.
If you want to watch it, intersperse with something really lighthearted such as....hidamari sketch for example. That way you can take an emotional break (and even form a list of stuff to visit in Hokkaido)
Then there was the final part of the movie, and I suspect this is where most of the controversy and split opinions are coming from. I daresay a lot of people might have taken issue with
Homura ultimately turning into a villain, since it runs pretty counter to her role in the original series
, but I didn't have a problem with that. If the rest of the movie was the perfect standalone follow-up to the franchise, the last part felt like an excellent setup for a potential second season.
It felt like a great way of following up on the "sequel hook" at the end of the original series, which hinted at an inner turmoil within Homura that could cause further problems, and it also felt like a natural progression of the original show's themes, with perfect happiness being unachievable, positive emotions and good intentions inevitably giving rise to negative ones, and the strength of these emotions being a source of unfathomable power the limits of which even the Incubators can't fully comprehend. Homura's obsession with saving Madoka to the exclusion of all else has always been both her defining positive trait and greatest character flaw, so it makes perfect sense that when her Soul Gem did finally blacken, it would be the negative side of that obsessive love that defined her nature as a witch. Or a devil, as the case may be.
So yeah, the only actual issue I have with the ending is the fact that we don't know for sure that there will actually be a second season to follow it up yet. It was clearly designed as a sequel hook, and
Homura turning into a devil and trapping Madoka and the whole world within her spell
is certainly a great setup for a new story and a new conflict, but it would be rather awkward if a sequel never actually happened and that was the last thing we saw in the franchise. So I hope a second season materialises sooner rather than later.
They better freaking make a second season or something because if they don't then I will remain pissed off at this movie. You don't just drop the bomb that
Homura is now a devil and Madoka may in fact get her memories back culminating in a galaxy sized final battle with magical girls only for a sequel to never happen.
Also, I hate the movie even more for
showing all that damn suffering Homura is going through only for that to happen at the end. I mean good lord. The movies OP, the witch transformation scene, you can't not feel sorry for this person. Then they turn her into freaking Lelouch Vi Britannia. Which you'd think would be awesome, but no, it's infuriating!
But yeah, I can't fault anybody for liking it as it has a lot of things the fans like and I can't expect the things I don't like to affect everybody. And for what it's worth, it is a very well done movie with a lot of things that fans can enjoy. I just hate it for that last stunt, as I've said before.
At least them making a sequel isn't out of the question at all, since this movie did very well. Also, thank God that Urobuchi himself said he was done writing Madoka and that whoever writes the next one won't be him. I'm sure whoever takes the wheel from here will be able to drive this story to more satisfying places.
Mekaku City Actors 2
Quite interesting. This just made the plot a bit more confusing. I have no idea how this story will go. Shaft probably had a lot of fun with this episode though
nintendoman I hear you bro. That's the main reason I refuse to watch the movie. I don't want to end the series on more of a downer than the tv series ending. Therefore I refuse to watch until another movie with my god damn puppies and rainbow ending is made.
Pretty average for me. The visuals look nice enough although the story is not that interesting at the moment. Fanservice is a slight annoyance but it's not as bad as I was expecting it to be.
Pretty average for me. The visuals look nice enough although the story is not that interesting at the moment. Fanservice is a slight annoyance but it's not as bad as I was expecting it to be.
I think my biggest issue with the fan service, and the one grossing me out the most is the fact they seem to always go for low angle shots on the sister and lingering there for a while. And since the sister acts like an 8 year old it's especially worst.
