On the rewatch I almost think that has to be the message given how weirdly selective the show is with its meta. You can tell the people making this show definitely watched the mahoujo shows that Did It Wrong: they designed the girls to look like they were stepping out of a show that Did It Wrong, they cast seiyuu from shows that Did It Wrong (or general moe shows) as a hook for those fans. (The last seems like a cute play on Evangelion's strategy where they cast popular seiyuu to reel otaku in, but then put them in roles you would never have expected.)
At the same time, you can tell just as much that they are fans of shows that Did It Right. Someone definitely read the Jeanne manga, as the choice to make Jeanne D'Arc a magical girl again hardly seems subtle (I vaguely recall Jeanne did *~magical girls throughout history~* first too, though that was kind of a throwaway, plus the general themes of BEING A MAGICAL GIRL IS PSYCHOLOGICALLY DAMAGING SRS BUSINESS and IN THIS STORY WHEN PEOPLE DIE IT'S FOR REAL and the all-important DON'T TRUST THE CUTE MASCOT CREATURE). The surreal architectural designs of the school seem incredibly Ohtori, witches have signs in their designs that seem very Black Rose Arc, and Homura's apartment design is completely shameless in being a visual combination of the Utena movie's classroom rotating chalkboards and the tower paintings that change. Homura/Madoka can't not be a deliberate homage to Anthy/Utena between their pink/purple designs and the ending. I'm kind of fascinated at the idea that the show is designed to have these characters at total odds with their environment, with the girls themselves and the world they inhabit having their inspiration lifted from two totally different types of shows.
what makes me sad is the suggestion that the only way to change the system is to become superhuman, as opposed to "Let's all stage a revolution together!" XD Yeah, I get that. All of the girls clearly wanted so badly not to be alone, and it seemed kind of a waste that this didn't play into the solution more. I thought there seemed to be a disconnect between the girls didn't want to be alone, wanted to believe in friendship, but were isolated by the system, and then the show made it take only one person...so that the girls wouldn't be alone and could believe in friendship and could work as teams.
I agree that there's a limit to one person and that it does sometimes take a martyr, what I was going for was more that I find martyrs less compelling when the story doesn't really weigh their sacrifices, if that makes sense? Madoka's choice is tragic, but there isn't really any other alternative presented, either. Like, I get that she's mahoujo Jesus, but even actual Jesus had the agony in the garden? Madoka just sacrifices everything so readily and without second-guessing it that I find her sacrifice less affecting than I would otherwise. Granted, Homura is DO NOT WANT enough for the both of them, but still... When I'm crying at the end, I'm crying for Homura, because she's so human and it's so hard to watch her lose someone she loves that much. Madoka herself doesn't pull at my heartstrings.
Overall, Kyouko's death is really what rubs me the wrong way, I think. She is an amazing ordinary girl who starts out on the show as selfish, and then sacrifices herself because she wanted to believe in a world where mahoujo values are real, but it's all for nothing. She sacrifices herself for the same reasons Madoka does (she doesn't want to accept the system either when she decides Sayaka can be saved, she puts it all on the line for love and friendship), and her sacrifice gets to me because of how Kyouko is a selfish person who's been depicted as totally capable of walking away...and she tries to save Sayaka anyway knowing the risks. It just seems very unfair that Kyouko and Madoka both make that sacrifice but the ordinary girl just ends up dead while the god changes everything. I know that LIFE ISN'T FAIR, but this still bothers me given where the series ends up at the finish line. XD;
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2011-05-28 02:04 pm (UTC)At the same time, you can tell just as much that they are fans of shows that Did It Right. Someone definitely read the Jeanne manga, as the choice to make Jeanne D'Arc a magical girl again hardly seems subtle (I vaguely recall Jeanne did *~magical girls throughout history~* first too, though that was kind of a throwaway, plus the general themes of BEING A MAGICAL GIRL IS PSYCHOLOGICALLY DAMAGING SRS BUSINESS and IN THIS STORY WHEN PEOPLE DIE IT'S FOR REAL and the all-important DON'T TRUST THE CUTE MASCOT CREATURE). The surreal architectural designs of the school seem incredibly Ohtori, witches have signs in their designs that seem very Black Rose Arc, and Homura's apartment design is completely shameless in being a visual combination of the Utena movie's classroom rotating chalkboards and the tower paintings that change. Homura/Madoka can't not be a deliberate homage to Anthy/Utena between their pink/purple designs and the ending. I'm kind of fascinated at the idea that the show is designed to have these characters at total odds with their environment, with the girls themselves and the world they inhabit having their inspiration lifted from two totally different types of shows.
what makes me sad is the suggestion that the only way to change the system is to become superhuman, as opposed to "Let's all stage a revolution together!" XD
Yeah, I get that. All of the girls clearly wanted so badly not to be alone, and it seemed kind of a waste that this didn't play into the solution more. I thought there seemed to be a disconnect between the girls didn't want to be alone, wanted to believe in friendship, but were isolated by the system, and then the show made it take only one person...so that the girls wouldn't be alone and could believe in friendship and could work as teams.
I agree that there's a limit to one person and that it does sometimes take a martyr, what I was going for was more that I find martyrs less compelling when the story doesn't really weigh their sacrifices, if that makes sense? Madoka's choice is tragic, but there isn't really any other alternative presented, either. Like, I get that she's mahoujo Jesus, but even actual Jesus had the agony in the garden? Madoka just sacrifices everything so readily and without second-guessing it that I find her sacrifice less affecting than I would otherwise. Granted, Homura is DO NOT WANT enough for the both of them, but still... When I'm crying at the end, I'm crying for Homura, because she's so human and it's so hard to watch her lose someone she loves that much. Madoka herself doesn't pull at my heartstrings.
Overall, Kyouko's death is really what rubs me the wrong way, I think. She is an amazing ordinary girl who starts out on the show as selfish, and then sacrifices herself because she wanted to believe in a world where mahoujo values are real, but it's all for nothing. She sacrifices herself for the same reasons Madoka does (she doesn't want to accept the system either when she decides Sayaka can be saved, she puts it all on the line for love and friendship), and her sacrifice gets to me because of how Kyouko is a selfish person who's been depicted as totally capable of walking away...and she tries to save Sayaka anyway knowing the risks. It just seems very unfair that Kyouko and Madoka both make that sacrifice but the ordinary girl just ends up dead while the god changes everything. I know that LIFE ISN'T FAIR, but this still bothers me given where the series ends up at the finish line. XD;