This third and final installment in the Madoka trilogy might seems to live up to it's predecessor at first glance but in the end it is a total disappointment. This review will not be without spoilers so may whoever that read it be warned.
I'll start with the good points of this movie and will slowly bring the main problems with this movie.
Let's start off with the art. While it may not please everyone, the art has been quite faithful to the actual series. The animation is actually one of the show's strong point, some fight were actually well coordinated even though it came at the
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cost of a lot of 'quality' shots.
I am no good judge when it comes to music so instead of trying to write a bunch of technical nonsense I'll just say that like the first two movies, I enjoyed that aspect of the movie. The sound aspect is pretty faithful to the last two movies as well so if you enjoyed them, you probably will also enjoy this.
Now let's start with the actual problem of the movies: It destroyed whatever sense the first two movies made. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of Homura becoming an existence that contrast Madoka's, the problem doesn't lie here. The problem is not the end goal of the movie but the path they took to reach it.
The movie start in a weird world where we can easily associate elements that were present in the two others installments. Characters that shouldn't be there are there, things that should have happened didn't happen (and vice versa)... this world is a complete mess. It doesn't make sense for a while until we learn that this world was a labyrinth, we then learn that Homura created that world. That part of the story actually made a lot of sense.
Homura, more than anyone, wished for a world where she could live happily with Madoka and, additionally, their other friends. She is the person that rewind-ed time so many time while enduring so much pain in order to save her friend. Even if she wanted to uphold Madoka's laws it would be easy to see how she could desire such a world.
By the time we learn about these fact there was already an element that didn't quite make sense: Sayaka's and Bebe's existence. Madoka's wish as a magical girl was to erase every witch before they 'hatched' be it in the past or the future or even in a complete different dimension, nothing less but nothing more. That request created a paradox that rewrote the world's rules and gave form to Madoka's wish as a system. Technically Madoka's existence became close to a 'god' but she isn't a god. She isn't supposed to be an omnipotent being that can decide to send some follower at her whim. She became a system which can only destroy witches before they hatch, a system that lost it's individuality and it's will.
It would be one thing if Sayaka and Bebe were created from Homura's labyrinth but they are following straight order from Madoka and that is outside her actual capacity, but that's the less important problem.
The main problem is Homura suddenly being able to rewrite the laws Madoka made. It can hardly be said to be anything else than an asspull.
Homura's desire to save Madoka created many different timeline in which Madoka was the center. The reason for these world to exist to begin with is Madoka and nothing else. That's why every time Homura rewind-ed the time, Madoka's latent potential as a witch grew since a witch's power is representative of it's importance in the world. Madoka being the reason of many world's existence possess a power with no precedent, at least nothing that Homura should be able to interfere with.
That's when, on the premise of love, the show destroyed whatever little sense it made.
I doubt I need to explain myself over why this doesn't make any sense. One isn't able to do whatever he wants simply because he wants to. The first two movies clearly expressed that there are thing that people are helpless against, a world where despair exist. The storyteller created a world where things are tied together and make at the very least some kind of sense. Homura couldn't suddenly defeat Walpurgisnacth because she wanted to. Once turned into a witch, there is no way to save a girl. Someone will not necessary return your kindness because you decided to be kind to him. It's not One piece where people can become stronger out of willpower alone, power and will are two completely separate entities. Yet they decided to take the route where Homura could do whatever she wanted because 'power of love'.
It's disappointing to see the story ending this way, it could have been handled much better than that. The movie in itself was enjoyable to watch but as a piece in the trilogy it is a huge disappointment.
Dec 20, 2014
This third and final installment in the Madoka trilogy might seems to live up to it's predecessor at first glance but in the end it is a total disappointment. This review will not be without spoilers so may whoever that read it be warned.
I'll start with the good points of this movie and will slowly bring the main problems with this movie. Let's start off with the art. While it may not please everyone, the art has been quite faithful to the actual series. The animation is actually one of the show's strong point, some fight were actually well coordinated even though it came at the ... Mar 2, 2012
What the hell?
That was probably the first impression that most people got when they watched this movie, especially with all the hypes it had before it went out. There will be spoiler in this review and I beleive that with the pathetic story and directing it had this shouldn't affect your enjoyment. The movie start with near ending scene from the Mahou Sensei Negima's mahou sekai arc manga. To start with, there were already some modification to the original plot before the alternate ending switch had been turned up such as Fate dying. Not that bad I guess I could still buy it but here's the catch. We ... |