Anime Discussion Thread - Page 726

likes the violin player kid which was made obvious by how she looked at jealous in the scene before

My point was that yes the whole soul thing was the obvious conclusion for why she thought that she couldn't do it, but as far as the anime went she never said that, nor why it would really even matter... Kyubey himself said she can go deeper (lulinception) into drawing her soul from the body, so why couldn't she conversely draw back from it? Also I totally disagree with whoever was saying the magical girls don't age and they're zombies and shit, there is NOTHING in the anime to support that theory. Idk if you're drawing conclusions from the manga or what but it ludicrous.

Would you date a zombie? ◕ ‿‿ ◕

Ok, random Madoka essay:

From Kyoko's conversation with Sayaka, I think it's fair to say that wishes are a zero sum game. Basically, for whatever benefits a wish produces, there is an equal offset of costs. This is why Kyoko says that Sayaka should have made a wish for herself, not others. In exchange for Kamijo's recovery, Sayaka will suffer as he would have. Kamijo would never have been able to do what he loved -- instead, Sayaka can never have the man that she loves. If she made a wish for her own benefit, someone else would have suffered instead.

So let's look at Kyoko. She seems to have realized this, and as a result has started acting for her own benefit. She certainly tries to give off the impression that she only cares about herself. This is why Homura says that girls like her are most suited to become magical girls. Girls who don't care about others, who get their own wishes fulfilled and uncaringly allow others to suffer. Those girls actually benefit from their wishes.

However, in ep. 7 it's pretty clear Kyoko doesn''t actually feel that way. She goes out of her way to help Sayaka out. Homura stops by to ask her why she's watching over Sayaka. Kyoko claims that this is just to snag a grief seed, but this is totally unconvincing and Homura knows it as well. Kyoko is trying to act in a way that allows her to get the most out of her wish.
Sayaka is a constant reminder of how Kyoko used to be, and the personality that Kyoko has been furiously trying to bury. Kyoko is trying to act selfish, and Sayaka keeps reminding her of her buried ideals of helping others. These reminders seem to be making Kyoko question her stony selfishness.

Ok, enough of Sayaka/ Kyoko. Let's talk about Homura-

Kyoko adapts to the curse in her wish by acting selfish and apart from others. Homura has adapted by abandoning her humanity altogether (as is noted in her conversation with Madoka). Sayaka seems to be going down this route. In the last fight she cannot feel pain, but one has to wonder how long it will be before she cannot feel any emotions at all. Homura seems to have isolated herself from any emotion, except in extreme circumstances (or when she's around Madoka, thinking naughty thoughts...mmm...) Interestingly though, she earlier said she must keep fighting to make up for her sin. What sin? Did she perhaps make a selfish wish, causing others to suffer?

Moving on to Mami, I think that her character actually appears more interesting now than back when she was still alive. It is becoming increasingly obvious that being a magical girl sucks. Why was Mami so willing to try to get Sayaka and Madoka to become magical girls? She must be either clueless or evil.

I'm inclined to go with "clueless". Mami after all did make a selfish wish. She wished not to die (or not to die alone). Since wishes are a zero sum game, her wish to remain alive had to either harm someone else, or make her life unhappy. It seems to have done the latter, which means that Mami was alive, but so lonely and helpless that she would have been just as happy dead. It's easy to imagine that she was unaware that this was the result of her wish thoughm and could have just guessed that this was the result of her unfortunate circumstances. As a result, she's the perfect lure - A kind, naive, person who doesn't realize that her wish has condemned her to suffer in solitude.

Finally, let's talk about Madoka. Oh wait, she's boring. I wonder what that cat is in the OP?