Puella Magi
Madoka Magica is one heck of a mouthful for a movie name. Also known as Magical
Girl Madoka of the Magus, this movie is a retelling of the series of the same
name. It actually consists of two animated films which were released here in Japan one week
apart from each other because studios like money.
If you have
seen the series, there will be almost nothing new for you in this film. That is
somewhat disappointing, especially considering that they expect you to sit
through two halves of a movie to see what has already been released. Still, for
someone who does not have the will or patience to watch the actual series, it
can be an enjoyable cliff’s notes version.
The plot
centers around an ancient feud between Magical Girls who seek to protect the
peace and innocent, and Witches who seek to destroy whatever they please. On
the surface, it can seem like a fairly innocent children’s animation, similar
to Sailor Moon. In fact, many parents came to the theater with their children
in tow expecting such a film. Many of those same parents left in an indignant
huff when they realized that this was not a children’s movie (thank Japan
for a lack of movie rating system).
In reality,
these movies are quite dark and twisted, with a fairly complex plot (at least
complex for children) and fight scenes that seem to have been pulled out of the
tortured nightmares of an insane mind. Punches are not pulled. Heroes die in
horrible ways. Violence happens.
While this
film is far from as bloody as some anime out there, it is not something you
want to take your 5 year old to. (Well, -I- did, but my 5 year old is a little
bit crazier than most). But even taking the actual fighting aside, the plot
itself is very dark.
Girls with
the potential to become Magical Girls are approached by a mysterious cat-like
creature named Kyubey. It offers to grant them a wish in exchange for becoming
Magical Girls. Kyubey, while sweet and innocent in appearance, has all the
empathy for his Magical Girls as a farmer has over his cattle. The girls, who
must now battle the witches, find that they are now stuck in a job they can
never leave. Their souls are trapped within a gem which slowly grows ever more
corrupted. The process can be reversed only by killing witches and stealing
their Grief Seeds which provided the witches with their powers. This ensures
that the Magical Girls must spend the rest of their lives hunting these witches
or die. Being a fan of dark stories about deals with the devil, I found the
plot highly satisfying, especially as it comes full circle. I will hold my tongue to avoid spoilers.
Now I
touched on the fight scenes before, but I feel they need special note. When the
Magical Girls fight a Witch, they are brought into an alternate dimension based
on the powers of the witch they are fighting against. The things inside range
from cute to disturbing (usually a combination) and any hope of rules are thrown out the window. It is
like Alice in Wonderland if Alice were fighting the Red Queen with a
musket while the red queen attempted to strangle her with thousands of
clotheslines covered in sailor’s uniforms. Each fight is a glimpse into the mad
mind of the witch involved and is beautifully done.
This movie
is not a comedy. It is dark and gritty with a facade of cute. It takes the
normally child friendly “Magical Girl” genre and turns it into a delightful
nightmare. Overall I would say it does what it does very well without any sort
of apologies. There is a sort of confusing music video in the middle that
really was unnecessary overall, but it is brief enough to be mostly forgivable. I would give this film (well these films) a 4.5 out of 5. Go watch it you fool!
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