In my panel on heroism and compassion, I look at the various ways the heroines and heroes of Revolutionary Girl Utena and Puella Magi Madoka Magica try to reach out to others, and try to be a hero. Sometimes, though, they fail; sometimes, you know they will keep on trying, and even if they have succeeded, what they might have lost along the way.
With that in mind, the North American film showing of Puella Magi Madoka Magica ~Rebellion~ is of special note. This is the third film in the series, which tells a different story leading from the other two (which seemed to encapsulate the TV series).
Homura Akemi, from Madoka Magica series. Art by Mitsu (Illustration ID 40042564)
Some have already looked upon the idea of ‘love’ in Puella Magi Madoka Magica – in fact, here’s a good analysis from a Christian perspective – but I see a continuation of my notes on compassion.
Throughout the films, we see Madoka try and reach out and understand those around her. But we also see (especially in the second movie) what Homura has done: we understand then why she seemed so cold, why she seemed to be nothing but doom and gloom. She wants things to be better, she wants Madoka to just stay a regular girl as much as possible – even to the point of seeing magical girls die, and Madoka herself die, in many timelines. Yet she still tries.
And that, I think, is important. Maybe she thinks she is a demon in the third film; maybe she knows she has given up and sacrificed so much. But we as viewers now know her struggle. We may not like the outcome of her decisions. But we understand her a little more. She is more complicated than black or white, or even order or desire. We can’t demonize her, as much as she might demonize herself, as much as she may grow to despise what she has done.
So it seems the third film – Rebellion – invites us to take part in this compassion, this understanding. And may we be heroes of our own story.