And here we go for the rewatch of Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica! I'm a rewatcher and I watch the show some weeks ago and tbh I was not expecting to rewatch the series so soon, except for the movies, which I watched at the beginning of the week. I didn't watch the movie, Rebellion, yet, so I'll take this chance to try to comprehend the story before I watch Rebellion at the end of the Rewatch. I will write basically an essay about the episodes, analyzing a lot of things I think it's important for the comprehension of the characters and plot. Also, this is my first time writing this type of thing, so I'm not sure if this is the correct or good format for an analysis text. Any advice is welcome!
Just a tip, but refrain for searching anything about Madoka Magica in the rewatch period to not get spoilers unintentionally. It will be worth!
After thinking a little more, I think the first Rune gives away too much of the plot of the show, so I'll keep it tagged.
Madoka is running through a very Shaft place, with patterns in black and white. She goes outside and an insert song starts to play, Magia by Kalafina. - It's one of my favorite songs in the show. The song has an eerie vibe that sets the mood of the destructive battle Homura is facing off. - While Madoka is watching the battle, concerned about Homura, Kyubey suggests for Madoka to become a Magical Girl to help Homura in her fight. Madoka shows a sign of not believing in herself, in her potential to outcome this fierce battle. The scene ends with Madoka waking up and realizing that that was just a dream. In Japanese, she says 夢オチ (Yume Ochi), which is a concept for stories that end in a dream. Then, the Opening begins, Connect by ClariS. The song, as you maybe wouldn't expect, has a melancholic vibe in it, at least in my interpretation. We don't have enough information to analyze the lyrics yet, even so, because it gets more clear later in the show.
In an interesting setting for Madoka's family, the roles for the mom and dad are reversed, with dad being the housedad and mom being the businesswoman. The conversation between Madoka and her mom sets up a little Madoka's character, in her not being too confident in herself, which is signaled by their talk about Hitomi, Madoka's friend, receiving some love letters from guys and later, her mom pointing out, after Madoka chose the ribbon, that she would receive love letters too, which Madoka lightly denies it. Then, Madoka leaves for school. Running for school she met her friends, Hitomi and Sayaka. How they greet Madoka shows their level of intimacy with her. Hitomi greets Madoka politely and Sayaka already scolds Madoka for her being slow for school. They bring up again the talk about the love letters and Sayaka plays around with Madoka, showing again Madoka's lack of confidence in herself and the intimacy between them.
Now, in school, a mysterious transfer student appears, but for Madoka's surprise, it's the same girl of her dream, Akemi Homura. Homura has a cool and fierce look, and it seems somehow that she knows something about Madoka, because of how she looks at her, kinda irritated, which is later addressed by Sayaka. Homura needs to go to the school's infirmary and goes directly to Madoka, to guide her (Homura) there. Walking to the infirmary, Madoka is a little, I'd say, scary and kinda curious of the whole situation, because of the odd interaction they had in class, and in how Homura already knew that Madoka is the health officer, but Homura explains she heard about that from the teacher. Madoka points out that she seems to know the location of the infirmary, in which Homura remains silent. Madoka tries to chit-chat with Homura, first calling by her surname, Akemi-san, which seems to irritate Homura a little bit, responding to Madoka that only Homura is fine. Madoka decides to call her Homura-chan and says that Homura is a cool name and that, it seems, irritates Homura even more. Homura then proceeds to tell Madoka to not change herself if she loves her family and friends because it could lead to Madoka losing them. Homura leaves and a montage of scenes plays with Homura showing her intelligence and prowess. At the end of the scene, a shadowy Kyubey is shown.
Madoka explains the whole situation that happened with Homura for Hitomi and Sayaka and the latter freaks out thinking that Homura is a weirdo and question if she is what a moe character is - she's wrong because Madoka is the definition of a moe character. Homura is more like a tsundere. - Hitomi asks Madoka if she already met Homura before. Madoka says that she dreamed about Homura. Hitomi and Sayaka laugh and joke about it. Madoka emphasizes she's not playing around and Hitomi tries to explain the weird dream, that, basically, the people we see in our dreams are people we met in real life, even if we don't remember them at all. Hitomi then needs to leave, for her tea ceremony practice. Sayaka says that she's glad for been born as a lower-middle social class person, and then she asks Madoka if she can go with her to the CD shop to buy something for maybe a friend or crush, we don't know exactly yet.
In the next scene, Kyubey is running in the darkness, being shot by a purple energy and we get a glance that who is shooting at him is Homura. Now in the shop, Madoka hears a voice in her head calling for help and she goes after it, trying to find the source of the voice. She finds an injured Kyubey and Homura appears, demanding Madoka to let go of Kyubey. Madoka denies it, saying the creature called for her help. Sayaka appears with a fire extinguisher, helping Madoka escaping from Homura. Homura is surrounded by something otherworldly - the special effects used to represent that it's really unique. It's a collage art illustrated by Gekidan Inu Curry, the same duo who did the Rune's art. It really draws out a feeling of eerieness. - In their escape, Madoka and Sayaka are surrounded by that as well. While fearing for their lives, Mami appears, dissipating the creatures that were surrounding Madoka and Sayaka. Mami seems to recognize Kyubey and then thanks Madoka for protecting him. Madoka explains that Kyubey called for her help. Before Mami introduces herself, the creatures are ready to attack again. She transforms into a Magical Girl and in a savage way, she exterminates the creatures with a fucking barrage of guns! Homura appears again and Mami tells her that the Witch ran away and if Homura wants to get her, it's better to chase her quickly. Homura refuses and Mami rephrases herself, in a more aggressive way, saying that it's better to Homura to leave the place, and she does. Mami heals Kyubey and he proceeds to thanks her, but Mami says that it's better to thank the girls for saving him. He does, then Madoka asks him if he was the one who called her for help and he confirms it. Finally, Kyubey proposes a contract with Madoka and Sayaka, a contract for them to become Magical Girls. The Ending rolls in and it's sung by Yuuki Aoi, the VA for Madoka.
The Endcard is illustrated by ハノカゲ (Hanokage), the illustrator of Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica's manga.
Now, spoilers for rewatchers.
In this first episode, we had the introduction of our heroines, with a little characterization for them but also, a little world-building. I think, for now, it's important to keep in mind the protagonists and antagonists personalities and their relationships.
