Magia Record takes a note from Rebellion’s surreal plot to give a horror twist around Iroha’s disappearance.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica first took the anime world by storm with the darkness of the magical girl genre. Fans were reeling after the end of Rebellion in 2013, and Magia Record 2020 managed to fill the hole left by seven years of silence. The newly released anime is an adaptation of a popular phone game. and while it didn’t grow to the heights of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, fans were tantalized with glimpses of the original Holy Quintet.
Season 2 of Magia Record quietly returned to the scene in August 2021, but its return was overshadowed by the concept teaser from the fourth Madoka Magica movie. The Magia Record sequel picks up on the mysteries from the first season and, more surprisingly, paints an icon that parallels Rebellion’s themes. It may be a coincidence that Magia Record’s switch to Rebellion is so close to the fourth movie trailer, but the similarities are still striking.
The similarities begin at the end of Episode 2 and continue throughout Episode 3. Directed by Nemu Hiiragi, Yachiyo and Kuroe search for Iroha in Rumors of the Endless Sakura Tree, where they enter a Uwasa barrier. Things take a turn for the worse when the two Magical Girls find themselves trapped in Iroha’s happy dreams. However, those idyllic dreams are a fragile shell for the sinister, too colorful but writhing malicious scenes. Yachiyo later discovers that Iroha’s Doppel has trapped them in a Labyrinth of Witch-like Dreams, and when Kuroe and Yachiyo confront Iroha, the two must battle their friend’s Doppel to free them. she.
Magia Record subtly leans on Rebellion by bringing Madoka and Homura back to the early episodes. These two Magical Girls shaped the karmic fate of the franchise’s universe. These cameos tell us that in this timeline/universe, Homura is still trying to save Madoka from her fate as a magical girl. The Magia Record subconsciously reminds the audience of their cyclical struggle for salvation in Rebellion.
Both Iroha and Homura experience idyllic dreams that match their deepest desires. Yachiyo and Kuroe couldn’t help but worry when they entered the barrier and found themselves living in the Mikazuki Mansion with the other Magic Girls in a happy home. Mikazuki and his team work together for the Seed of Grief, setting off beautiful fireworks that rarely argue and co-exist, with their real-life flaws erased. This is almost defeated with the introduction of Rebellion, where the Holy Quartet fights the Nightmare harmlessly and co-exists happily without any issues resulting in their deaths in the timelines. before. This narrative mechanism is used to express Iroha and Homura’s pure intention of making people happy, but with a gloomy tone.
Episode 3 recreates the crazy visuals and haunting music of the Rebellious Age at its best. Rebellion used textile patterns, stop-motion animation, and 3D objects to create an edgy atmosphere, and Magia Record also matched some of the most unique visuals to date. From the field of vibrant flowers to the red stop-motion sequence, the anime pulls in all the artistic stops to take the viewer into perspective. Both anime use their unique style as a dark accent to saccharine dreams to herald the turning point of the story. The sound production of Magia Record is equally excellent, music reference Rebellion. The bells of discord refer to the corruption of innocence along with sound cues for the Witch’s Labyrinth.
For those who have seen Rebellion, the ending of Magia Record is not a surprise. Yachiyo is rooted in truth in a similar way to Homura, where the two use a key figure to unlock the mystery. For Iroha, it was Ui Tamaki and for Homura, it was Madoka Kaname. Their love for a missing character helps to shatter the illusion, and the world undergoes a disturbing devastation as the truth draws nearer. In the end, we learn that each respective magical girl created a Maze that shields them from reality with sweet dreams. Both Homura and Iroha’s darkest selves, their Witch/Doppel, fight to stay in their fantasy world, and their friends are forced to fight to bring them back to reality. This repeated deconstruction throughout Madoka Magica is about the dangers of not confronting one’s emotions and the harms of burying negativity behind a mask.
Magia Record and Rebellion tell different stories, but both cast a bleak light on the state of the Magical Girls. Many of these characters are manipulated to become Magical Girls, and the two anime show the audience their innocence. Both Iroha and Homura, and many others, aspire to live a fulfilling life by bringing happiness to others. However, as the Magical Girls, they became hardened veterans who learned the erroneous coping mechanisms that led to tragic deaths.