Shelf Life

QB of the Year

Like it, love it, or hate it, Madoka Magica is one of the most gorgeous and visually captivating pieces of animation that you'll ever set your eyes on. The sheer creativity and finesse with which the animators handle the mixed media components is worth the price of admission alone, and it single-handedly makes the witch battles as fantastical as they are. The films, despite their necessarily (but unfortunately) fast pacing, make beautiful usage of these moments. Every time witches appear and the series theme starts playing, it is a visual and auditory experience that makes your heart soar. Even as the fights get increasingly dark and depressing, their beauty is unparalleled. When tragedy strikes, you can't help but still admire the surroundings.

But with any film condensation of material, though, things are left out. With the first two Madoka Magica movies, this means that a lot of the emotional impact is ripped out of the story. The scene with Mami and Charlotte lacks any emotional punch (although it's still quite beautifully animated), the scene with Sayaka lacks gravitas, and even the entire relationship between Homura and Madoka, which is the crux of the series, feels impotent. While I can appreciate and admire the existence of Rebellion in the overall arc of the story, the first two movies feel like a paper-thin imitation of what the series represents.

That's not to say there aren't still some good moments. As I mentioned above, the movies are absolutely visually stunning in a way that few anime movies are (although in this case, it can thank the series for the source material and inspiration). And, as far as what to leave in or take out, Beginnings and Eternal make smart decisions. The small tidbits that make the series what it is are still there, just merely watered down. There's one conversation in particular that I love, which takes place between Madoka and her mom. Her mom mentions that as people get older, it's harder to make mistakes, because they have more responsibilities. It's a poignant message that would otherwise get buried between the witches and magical girls, but in a cumulative 231 minute run-time, it stands out perfectly. It fits in wonderfully with the themes of self-sacrifice as well, which permeate throughout the movies and ultimately clinch the story.

Still, it's hard to watch the movies and not think, "I wish I was watching the series instead." They're lovely to watch, to be sure, but they do lack the emotions of the series. So many of the characters' decisions are driven by their relationships with the people around them, that without those relationships, their actions are meaningless. As a deconstruction of the magical girl genre, it's not enough to merely have dark imagery and death (this is something that many copy-cats don't seem to understand). Without the impetus behind the girls' decisions, and the delicate balance between selfishness and selflessness, and the many elements that ultimately lead to the consequences of the girls' actions, the movies feel flat and empty. Incidentally, in their desire to create succinct movie adaptations, the creators have removed much of what made the series so groundbreaking.

At the end of the day, it really depends on why you would want to buy a particular piece of media. If you already have the series, I don't really see a reason to buy the first two movies, unless you're a completist. If your intention is to share Madoka with the world, though, I think the movies do serve as a tantalizing primer that might inspire your friends to ask to borrow the whole series. (In that case, though, I would only show the first movie, as having the "spoilers" from the second movie greatly damages the impact that watching the second half of the series would have on a viewer.) For me, personally, I could do without these first two movies. They're beautiful, to be sure, but they just don't quite encapsulate enough of the series to serve as an adequate replacement.[TOP]