Movie Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion was released 10 years ago, and even after all this time, it’s still considered one of the best anime sequels, if not the best. Puella Magi Madoka Magica seemingly became a worldwide phenomenon overnight, and the announcement of its official sequel naturally caused excitement and trepidation. It’s always interesting to see such a massive anime series continue, but as always with sequels, Rebellion risks tarnishing the original series, and since it’s just a movie, there’s also the possibility of Chances are it won’t have enough time to do everything that needs to be done.
Luckily, Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion lived up to all the expectations it had to live up to and more. Rebellion’s story not only follows the original anime in a natural and hugely satisfying way, but it does so with a level of sophistication through animation, voice acting, and comprehensive direction that makes the The anime is even better and more than holding up a decade later. Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion is just as valuable now as it was when it was first released a decade ago, and here’s a breakdown of everything as to why that is.
The story of Madoka Magica’s rebellion is a subversive masterpiece
One of the biggest things that Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion has going for it is how brilliantly subversive its story is. The film opens with what is clearly an in-universe deception by bringing back dead characters and plunging everyone into the cliché magical girl anime genre that Madoka Magica intends to deconstruct . That’s entirely to the film’s benefit, though, as not only is it fun to watch the cast in a more conventional setting, but it also helps emphasize the underlying sense of unease that something’s amiss, a feeling that the film captures so well. a change in score and lighting.
Once Homura realizes that they are trapped in the witch’s labyrinth, the story turns to unraveling the mystery behind it, most notably finding out how a witch can exist in Madoka’s reality right away. from the beginning. In the process, Homura becomes increasingly unstable until she finally reveals her sadness at not having Madoka in her life. Chiwa Saito’s incredible delivery does a great job of conveying Homura’s sadness and it continues leading up to the big reveal that the witch who has been trapping everyone is Homura.
The climax turns into a massive battle where Madoka and her friends must prevent Homura from falling into despair and committing suicide to protect Madoka from Kyubey, a battle that is accompanied by Kalafina’s always amazing singing. Madoka seems to have succeeded in reaching Homura, and the movie looks like it will end with a dark but sweet scene of Homura joining Madoka in the afterlife. However, all of that is immediately reversed, with a shocking twist being that everything that happens is a secret part of Homura’s plan to steal Madoka’s god and reshape reality. to her liking, most notably Madoka’s resurrection.
As sudden as Homura’s turn as a villain seems, it’s something that happened very naturally outside of her backstory. Homura has always been defined by her obsession with Madoka, so seeing her willing to become a literal devil if it means keeping her around is a natural progression in her storyline, and making her a villain for everyone to eventually defeat together is likely. countless creative and emotional stories. The various plots in Rebellion are both organic and interesting and they contribute to building a story that, even after a decade, still stands the test of time.
The animation and direction of Madoka Magica Rebellion is some of the best in all of anime
Another factor as to why Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion is how great its animation and direction is. As for the animation, the film takes advantage of anime’s penchant for further mixing in puppets and even more paper cutouts in a way that never feels out of place. Even the regular animation looks amazing as every scene is filled with life and choreography that most anime never even try to convey, and Homura and Mami’s fight and Homura turns completely witchy are two scenes in particular that stand out in particular for their awesomeness. they look.
Of course, beyond the animation is the overall direction of the film. The film’s use of color and music is always on point and whether it is something surreal or something ordinary, they are always used to maximum effect to accentuate the mood. The overall shot composition is also excellent, as every shot looks beautiful and perfectly conveys whatever current perspective the character is supposed to be feeling at the time. Akiyuki Shinbo and Yukihiro Miyamoto both returned from the anime to direct Rebellion, and it’s safe to say their work here is as good as there, if not better.
The cast of Madoka Magica has never been better than they are rioting
However, what ultimately makes Rebellion a great movie is how wonderfully written the cast is here. The backstory of Homura’s character and the story surrounding it has been discussed at length, but the rest of the cast is also handled well here; Madoka’s compassion becomes an even greater strength, as does Sayaka’s heroism, Mami’s leadership, and even Kyubey’s villainy. Kyoko had the least to do with the main cast, but she still added life to the film and the film wouldn’t have been as successful if the cast hadn’t been handled with such care.
The cast of Rebellion are all great individuals, but where they really shine is through their interactions with each other. The tenderness of Madoka and Homura’s relationship gets even more time to shine than it did in the anime, and it’s refreshing to see Homura interact with people without being antagonistic. It’s great to see Sayaka and Kyoko become real friends after not having the chance before, as well as seeing Mami make friends with people like a truly happy person instead of just pretending to be. They’re the kind of interactions the anime sadly lacks, and seeing them here helps elevate Rebellion even more.
Between its subversive story, great animation, dynamic direction, and creative character work, Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion is the perfect sequel to Puella Magi Madoka Magica and is easily one of The best follow-up stories in anime. Not only does the film stay true to the legacy of the original anime, and even though it took over a decade for its ending to be followed by Walpurgisnacht: Rising, its sheer quality more than makes up for it. Any fan of Madoka Magica would be remiss if they skipped this section Movie Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellionand it will be great to see what’s been done to try and get ahead of the curve with Walpurgisnacht: Rising in 2024.
