Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika - ep3 - continued

I was thinking of writing this post last night since it is easier to write long posts and organize my thoughts at the desk rather than on the milestone.  However, I got home really late after watching Carmen at the Esplanade and I'm partly noting this fact down so that I do not forget that I did watch Carmen at the Esplanade.  Last night, it took me forever to remember that the first opera I watched at the Esplanade was La Boheme, so I think it's best to note it down while I remember. :) [note: in the end, I only wrote part of this on the milestone, am finishing it up at my desk. :) ]

Okay, back to business... I had some thoughts on Mami Tomoe and her relationship with Kyubey  and other miscellaneous thoughts which didn't make it into yesterday's post.  I'll try and recall what they are now, although they are likely to change and develop over time since we're only up to Ep 3.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS...

It's in the first episode when Madoka and Sayaka first meet Mami.  They first meet her in the magical world after Madoka was lured there by Kyubey's cries.  Mami quickly takes on the role of a mentor of sorts.  She's been a magical girl for a while and she appears confident, beautiful and poise.  She seems to be working in tandem with Kyubey, a cute and hug-able talking soft toy of sorts.  I call him that because he is really not that different in appearance from the classic magical creatures that grant the girls their magical powers.  In one shot in Ep 2, we even see Kyubey seated quite inconspicuously among Madoka's collection of soft toys.  And to reinforce this creature's innocence, Kyubey is white, a colour often associated with innocence, and has what seems to be a permanent smile etched into his face.


In the beginning, in Ep 1, it seems like his relationship with Mami is no different from that of many other mahou shoujo series.  Like in other mahou shoujo series, he is the creature that grants the girls their powers and he is the agent that will open the doors to these powers.  However, by Ep 2, Kyubey's relationship with Mami takes on a more ominous tone, in part because of the scene where the contract is explained to the two younger girls and reinforced later by Goethe's Faust quotations on the walls.

From Coleridge Translation

Woe! woe!
Thou hast destroyed it.—
This lovely world
Thou but crushed into ruin!
It totters—reels—and falls:
A demi-god has crushed it.!
Mournfully
We bear its fragments oft to vacancy,
And weep
Over its ruined beauty.








 From Coleridge Translation

Son of the Earth!
As thou art powerful,
In splendour build
The fabric up again:
In thy own bosom build it up!
A renovated life
Begin with clearer sense,
And let new songs resound!

I'm not fully certain yet why they used this particular portion of Goethe's Faust.   The reasons may not fully present itself either till later in the series. What I think is certain is that they introduced Faust at this point in time to let the viewer know that the contract with Kyubey is not as innocent as it seems.  The contract will grant the magical girls untold powers, powers that will make her almost god-like but will also lead to destruction and ruin.  Very Faustian indeed because in Gothe's Faust, it is precisely because Faust sought the ultimate knowledge which would make him god-like and that led to his ruin.

The first section of the verse was introduced to us right after the woman who seems possessed stumbles pass that wall on her way to the top of the building where she will throw herself off.  The woman " totters—reels—and falls", making it kind of a nice visual match with the quotation.  The demi-god at this point in time is likely Mami Tomoe who will enter the strange and fantastical magical world and proceed to destroy it.  At this point in time, we do not yet know for sure if this magical world is a good place, a bad place or simply just a place but what is certain is that it is a fascinating place and way more beautiful in its chaos than the "real world". Mami with her super-human strength will enter this fascinating place and reduce it to ruins.

What I do find interesting thing is that the second half of the verse sung by the hidden chorus in Faust's study  appears at the point when Homura Akemi walks into the building.  The second half of that verse is clearly positive and talks about renewal and hope.  Perhaps Homura Akemi plays the role of the "angels" in Goethe's Faust.  It seems that currently Homura is there to act as a cautionary voice and to attempt in some way to prevent the girls, in particular Madoka, from entering into a contract with Kyubey.  What is likely is that Homura will become Madoka's mentor in the future.  Unfortunately, the cover to the anime version of Kalafina's Magia single release kind of gave it away.  Still, there is a lot about Homura that we do not yet know and we still do not have clue what her relationship is with Kyubey and why unlike Mami, she seems to function quite differently from them.  What I am curious about too is if Homura did enter into a contract with Kyubey too or did she do it with another magical creature?  There is no rule in a Faustian tale saying that there should only be one agent of the devil.  Of course, why Homura chose to become a Mahou Shoujo is of utmost interest and is likely to be crucial to the story.

Goethe's Faust is by no means the only version of the tale in existence.  Not all versions of the tale leads to redemption for Faust.  However, Goethe's version of Faust does have a happy ending of sorts even though the getting there is by no means easy and I'm not even certain that the ending is that "happy" an ending.  Perhaps, this verse is foreshadowing a positive ending for the magical girls?  That is certainly a possibility, although it is definitely not a certainty.

Gosh... I keep running out of time. :(  I need to sleep... I'm really feeling the effects of too little sleep and I know I need to try and rush one shot to send for approval by hopefully lunch, so tomorrow morning will be busy busy busy.

Hmmmm... maybe I'll just quickly outline what I think of Mami Tomoe and leave the other thoughts to another post or incorporate them into a later post or something.

What I find really interesting about Mami Tomoe is that it is not quite clear yet what her true relationship is with Kyubey.  In the beginning, it seems like Mami and Kyubey are working in tandem and that Mami, who has already sold her soul so to speak, has reached a level of corruption where she too wants to lead others into ruin.  She, like a good saleswoman, presents and represents all the positives of becoming a Mahou Shoujo and the two girls are fascinated.   However, in Ep 3, Mami talks about not pressuring the girls into a decision because she was not given the time to make her own decision when she entered into a contract with Kyubey.  While she lay mortally injured after an accident, Kyubey approached her and Mami had to make a very quick decision and obviously, she chose life and lost her soul.  This seems to cast Mami in a far more sympathetic light and the moment where she seems to reveal her true self to Madoka are likely calculated moves by the makers of this anime to give Mami's "demise" at the end of Ep 3 greater emotional impact.

By the way, don't you just love that screen capture of the moment Kyubey appears to Mami?  Very dramatic and symbolic of their subsequent relationship.  Kyubey is obviously standing over Mami which indicates a superior position, especially since Mami is also at the same time reaching out to him for help.  Kyubey's strong and clear shadow cast on Mami is perhaps also a nod to who is the true master in this relationship.  While it is Mami who appears strong, confident and in-charge to the girls and while Kyubey just runs around and looks cute, one must not forget that the key to this power is Kyubey and unlike other mahou shoujo series like Card Captor Sakura for example, he is no innocent and possibly the one who makes most, if not all, Mami's decisions too. 

I have my doubts about the true nature of Mami's death.  Did Kyubey allow Mami to "die" because he wanted to create a situation where Sayaka and Madoka are rushed into a contract with him?  Or was Mami an active agent and either allowed herself to be killed or has simply disappeared for now so that both Madoka and Sayaka will chose to enter into the contract with Kyubey.  If the series wants to play it out in a simpler manner, than Mami was a passive agent in this incident and she did not expect Kyubey to sacrifice her.  But if the anime wants to be sneaky, then Mami is like one of the witches in Faust, she is a temptress and deceptive and serves only one master and hence, she either allowed herself to be devoured or she has simply gone on a little hiatus till Madoka and Sayaka become mahou shoujos themselves.

All will be revealed soon though in the coming episodes but I am finding all this thinking and speculating fun. :)  Hopefully, I will get to writing down even more thoughts regarding this anime.  I do have a ton more stuff I would like to say but time will not allow it.  I'm not going to proof read this... at least not for now... for now... it's oyasuminasai. :)