Puella Magi Madoka Magica/Analysis

Symbolism of the Witches

Note: a lot of this relies on All There in the Manual information I grabbed off the show's wiki.

• Gertrud: The witch in the first and second episodes. Her barrier is full of garden motifs- roses, vines, thorns, butterflies- and all of her minions have giant mustaches. The runes in the background mostly revolve around "presenting roses to the queen" and variations on "No Trespassing." In addition to her obvious obsession with roses and dislike of people trampling through her garden, her official profile also calls her "insincere" and notes that she put all of the mustaches on her minions herself. Perhaps she wished for a rose garden... or for someone to give her a rose (a man with a Porn Stache, presumably).
• Charlotte: The dessert witch in Episode 3, and an accomplished Knight of Cerebus. Her barrier is pretty much made entirely of food, especially cake, but according to her profile, her favorite food is cheese... which she can't make, since it's not a dessert. There's also a bit of a medical motif (pills, minions in nurse hats), and her Grief Seed was found stuck in a wall by a hospital. Her profile says that she wants everything and never gives up; this latter comes across in her second form, which just produces a new copy of itself when injured. Her real body resembles a doll, and even appears to be sitting and having a tea party. "Charlotte" is also the name of a kind of dessert. She almost certainly wished for cake;^[1] one theory is that she was an hospitalized Ill Girl, and wanted the food she couldn't have on a patient's diet, which would also explain the location of her Grief Seed. It's also speculated that, if she was an Ill Girl prior to becoming a Magical Girl and then a Witch, then her illness may have been cancer: Charlotte's profile says that her Trademark Favorite Food is cheese, and patients subjected to chemotherapy aren't permitted dairy products.
  • 'Tis also speculated that Charlotte is the green-haired girl from Oriko.
    • This speculation is Jossed, as Charlotte appears in witch-form in Oriko Magica. The green-haired girl is Yuma.
    • At the very end of the anime, a motif shot is shown with all of the magical girls seen in the anime, even those seen only as witches. One of the girls has hair similar to Charlotte's (first form); this is very likely to be her.
    • Link to said motif shot, please?
    • Here you go. Charlotte is the second one from the right.
  • Charlotte's worm form devoured Mami and attempted to devour Homura, indicating a gluttonus nature. Maybe Puella!Charlotte was a diabetic?
    • The diabetes theory seems plausible; she probably wished for her diabetes to be cured so that she could eat sweets, rather than just "wishing for cake."
    • Do diabetics also have to avoid cheese?
  • According to production notes in the show's guidebook, there's now a rather different theory: The human Charlotte's mother was dying, but Charlotte didn't use her wish to save her. The guidebook says that her mother wanted to eat cheesecake, but her daughter (whether out of either concern or petty greed) didn't share it with her. Using this, Charlotte's barrier is then modeled after Charlotte's own love of sweets and the hospital setting influenced by her mother's condition. The fact she didn't share cheesecake with her mother then affects how Charlotte can't make cheese as a witch. This also draws up an interesting parallel with Mami, who also didn't use her wish to save her dying parents.
• Kirsten/H.N. Elly: The witch in Episode 4 that almost killed Madoka. Her barrier is full of TV screens and pixel art, and her profile describes her as covetous and reclusive; it's pretty obvious that she has a Hikikomori theme. She's unusual in that she has two different names displayed; most likely, the "H.N." stands for "handle name" (Japan's Engrish equivalent term to "screen name") so "Kirsten" is her real name, while she would go by "Elly" online. However, it's also possible that it's a very roundabout Shout-Out: If the "HN" is instead combined with "Kirsten," that would make her initials "HNK," an anagram of NHK, which would be rather appropriate given the aforementioned theme. At one point, one of her screens displays a silhouette of a magical girl. In all likelihood, this was her original appearance. This magical girl appears in the ending shot that shows all of the magical girls who appeared in the anime (even as witches), adding credence to this theory.
  • Some also think that Kirsten may have been, or wished to be, a net idol. This is partly due to her silhouette having more than a passing resemblance to Miku Hatsune.
  • According to the official guidebook, the human Kirsten's wish was to preserve a memory forever.
• Elsa Maria: The witch that Sayaka goes completely nuts against in Episode 7. Her barrier is all in flat black and white, almost like a shadow play, and the background has geometric patterns reminiscent of stained-glass windows. She is kneeling on some sort of outcropping shaped like a hand holding either a torch or a Catholic monstrance, praying towards the object. She herself never moves; however, her minions form a Living Shadow of vines and roots that attempt to pull living things in. According to her profile, she considers this "being saved," and the minions are the remains of her victims, bound to blindly believe and search out new companions. The symbolism here is a lot clearer than most: the Church Militant theme is very strong, with the black-and-white symbolizing her simplistic view of morality. One popular theory is that she's Kyouko's younger sister, who Kyubey secretly contracted, though there's little to no evidence to support it.
  • According to the official guidebook, the human Elsa Maria wished for someone far away from her to be happy.
• Oktavia von Seckendorff: Hooo, boy, this is going to be a long (and spoileriffic!) one. This is the witch who appeared in episodes 8 and 9. A slightly different version appeared in episode 10. She also used to be Sayaka, which gives us a lot of extra insight into the symbolism behind her barrier and appearance. She appears as a mermaid with three heads and the upper half of her body clad in plate armor and heraldic symbols, wearing a cape and carrying a giant sword. The cape and sword are holdovers from her magical girl form, and the armor represents her Knight in Shining Armor tendencies. The mermaid tail, especially combined with her profile's description of her as "prone to falling in love," is probably in reference to Hans Christian Anderson's version of "The Little Mermaid." Sayaka's story, suffering to please the man she loves who ultimately rejects her anyway, closely parallels the original fairy tale. Coupled with the heraldry, it also brings to mind the myth of Melusine; it should also be noted that Goethe wrote a version of this story. Her barrier is full of music-related symbols, to the point where many of the runes are actually written in a variant font that resembles musical notes or instruments. The hallway that Kyouko first enters by is covered in concert posters,^[2] while the room at the center of the maze resembles a concert hall, packed to the roof and housing a ghost orchestra. This is, naturally, connected to Kyousuke and her wish for him to be able to play again. At one point, a figure that appears to be him can be seen standing in the center of the concert hall stage, holding a violin. Like most of the witches, she has a Madness Mantra written in runes throughout her barrier: "Look at me!" This comes from her frustration at Kyousuke ignoring her despite all her efforts to comfort and help him. She wants him to notice her, but he didn't even bother to tell her when he got out of the hospital. Her name also bears some analysis. "Oktavia" is derived from the Latin word for "eight," and is probably intended as another musical connection (an octave is an interval of eight notes). Her last name is likely a reference to the poet Karl Siegmund von Seckendorff, who wrote a novel titled The Wheel of Fate (which explains Oktavia's wheel attack) and set part of Faust to music. (Alternately, the wheels may be in reference to the Wheel of Fortune tarot card; it represents possibilities, opportunities, and sudden changes, which would certainly be appropriate. Or it could just be a reference to the train aboard which Sayaka crossed her Moral Event Horizon; it's implied that she murdered a pair of bartenders whom she heard spouting misogynistic sentiments.)
  • • The episode 10 version is, as mentioned, a little different; some of her minions, instead of all being members of the orchestra, are dancers that look a lot like Hitomi. Presumably this is either a manifestation of jealousy (basically, a wish to control her rival) or due to differences in the timeline that affected their relationship.
• Izabel: Briefly seen in episode 10; in an alternate timeline, she attacked Homura, who had to be rescued by Madoka and Mami. Her barrier is heavily art-influenced, with surfaces inspired by Picasso's "Guernica" and Van Gogh's "Starry Night." Odds are good that she wished to be a great artist.
  • Additionally, her witch card states that her nature is vanity and she is weak against criticism. Given her "familiar" barrier, she may have been a prideful but uncreative girl.
• Patricia: Also shown briefly in episode 10. Her barrier is full of clotheslines holding school uniforms, and she herself appears to be a ball of arms in a dress that eats via some sort of orifice in the middle. The more optimistic guess is that she wished to be pretty, fashionable, or, as per her Witch Card, class representative... the pessimistic guess is that she was sexually abused.
  • Another guess is that she wanted to live a normal school life. Considering how things are... well, it is really possible.
  • The official guidebook states that the human Patricia wished for a sunny day after a rainstorm, hence the blue sky in her barrier.
• Roberta: Another witch shown briefly in episode 10. Her barrier seems to be filled with colored squares that are crystals or candy. The floor of the witch's barrier, as well as the clothing of the witch itself, are filled with flower and gear symbols that alternate with each other (they seem to be the same symbol with the colors alternated). The witch is in a yellow cage, and she seems to be lacking a head and arms. As the witch appeared in an alternate timeline, it has been speculated that this is the witch form of Mami. On the other hand, if she didn't get her head eaten by Charlotte in that timeline, then why is the witch headless?
  • The witch's card suggests instead an attention-desiring party girl that played around with men's hearts.
  • Word of God confirms that this witch is not Mami: "A witch who lived for a long time as a magical girl. She is weak, as she was no longer a girl when she became a witch (mid-20s to 30s?). The form she takes in her barrier is how she would've turned out in the future (around 40s). What she desires is life. Enjoys alcohol and books."
  • Considering her nature is rage, perhaps she wished for revenge on an old boyfriend?
  • According the official guidebook, the human Roberta wished to have friends who wouldn't dislike her.
• Kriemhild Gretchen: Very little is known, but what is known is probably worth commenting on, given than Gretchen is the witch form of Madoka seen in one timeline in episode 10, who, according to Kyubey, is powerful enough that she will destroy the world within ten days. Gretchen is the name of Faust's lover; Kriemhild is derived from German words meaning "mask" and "battle," leading some to speculate that the mask at the end of the ED is her face. Although her exact form is unknown, we do know that she is massive. Like, mountain-sized. Her Grief Seed, incidentally, has Madoka's pink ribbon on it.
  • • Which is probably the cutest grief seed ever.
  • Considering she appears after Walpurgis Night, she may be based off the Brocken spectre.
  • With the release of her witch card, we know that she basically desires an Assimilation Plot for the purpose of creating heaven. It's Madoka's desire to save others but twisted into something wrong. Incidentally, a giant shadow that's very likely to be Kriemhild is seen after the runic text in the first episode that reads "Prologue in Heaven"; this was set up from the beginning.
• Walpurgisnacht: The most powerful witch until Kriemhild Gretchen, Walpurgisnacht is a looming threat throughout the entire series. In fact, she's so powerful that she doesn't need a barrier—she just floats straight into town and starts letting her familiars loose and throwing buildings around. She's also nearly indestructible, easily shrugging it off when Homura blasts her with enough weaponry to outfit a small army. Given her plot-critical nature, all sorts of crazy theories cropped up about Walpurgis, particularly theories that she was the witch form of a main character, usually either Sayaka (due to some details of clothing), Madoka (due to her immense power), or Homura (due to the gears). However, these particular theories were all Jossed eventually, leaving us free to speculate wildly about Walpurgis herself. There are a few major things to keep in mind here. One is her name—Walpurgisnacht, or Walpurgis Night, is a German festival in the spring which is also believed to be a night on which witches gather. It also features in Faust, when Mephisto takes Faust there to try to distract him from thinking about his lover Gretchen; when it doesn't work, Mephisto instead takes him to where a play is about to be shown. The second half of this is notable: Walpurgisnacht is, according to her card, the witch of stage settings. Another interesting detail is that some of her minions resemble the silhouettes of magical girls. All of this combined has led many to believe that rather than being the expression of one girl's despair, she's an amalgamation of many-- sort of a composite witch, which would also explain her incredible power. Another theory relies on the carnival theme that other of her minions seem to have, and theorizes that she is the green-haired girl shown in the montage of Madoka saving all the witches in the finale, based on the fact that maypoles and what seems to be part of a fair can be seen behind where she was dying, and the location may have influenced her witch form. And, last but not least, there's the simplest one: She started out as an ordinary magical girl that wished to join a theatre troupe, but in a time when theater was a male-only profession (thus her nature is inability). Since her fall into witchdom, she has been perpetually gathering other Witches as "actresses" for her "productions".. It is notable that she is the witch of stage machines, which in Greek theater was the "machina" part of Deus Ex Machina. This is appropriate as her appearance instigated Madoka's ascent to godhood. And yet another theory would be that Walpurgis was a lonely girl who was a victim of bullying and treated like a circus freak (hence the circus theme). She was helpless against it (hence the helplessness) and possibly wished to have friends (hence the mahou shoujo-like spectres; maybe said wish made her powers only fully workable when other mahou shoujo were near/being copied from other mahou shoujo, driving further the point of helplessness). She probably was curious and kept asking Kyubey about how the system worked (alluding to "The witch's mysteries have been handed down through the course of history" part; it could be referring to Walpurgis herself, or to how the system worked). Through years of loneliness, possibly coupled with some nerdiness, she treated life like a theater machine, where she just wanted to be the main character and see a happy ending. Her despair was that she ended up lonely again, because all of her friends became witches, but she couldn't do anything to help them. She became a powerful witch because she carried the burden of all magical girls who became her friends through the course of her history. There would be a chance of her being a Large Ham, given the witch's attitude (loud laughter and spinning around). The fact the witch tries to destroy the entire world as a "grand finale" might definitely confirm her hammish nature.
  • It is also speculated that since, in Oriko, Oriko sees Walpurgis in a vision, she may actually be Walpurgis.
  • Word of God has confirmed that Walpurgisnacht is a fusion of multiple witches (although she was originally a single witch). She's like a tornado that can come across other witches and absorb them, according to Urobochi. Her character card which states that her nature is helplessness and that she symbolizes the fool who continuously spins in circles is a borderline Tear Jerker when you remember how the Puella Magi system works and what Homura's situation is about.

Symbolism in the opening and ending

• Opening lyrics: The lyrics of the opening theme "Connect" are about a Determinator who refuses to give up hope or stop trying to fulfill a promise they made. There's also a lot of references to time. After Episode 10, it became clear the song is written from Homura's perspective: She's in a Groundhog Day Loop, going through it as many times as she has to in order to protect Madoka and stop her from contracting with Kyubei.
• The black cat: In the opening there is a black cat that appears twice. In the group shot we are able to see that Madoka is with Kyubei while Sayaka has the cat. In the actual series, the cat doesn't appear at all. So why is it there? Black cats are often associated with witches. It was foreshadowing her eventual fate.
  • As it turns out, the black cat has another significance that is only revealed in the Drama CD accompanying the Blu-ray/DVD. You remember how every girl has to make a wish to become a magical girl? In Episode 10, we see several timelines, but until the forth, Madoka was already a magical girl when Homura arrived. So this raises the question: what did Madoka wish for in the original timeline? The Drama CD answers that question. The cat's name is Amy. He/she is Madoka's contract; she wished for the cat's well-being. This gives us a glimpse into another facet of Madoka that doesn't get much play in the series: despite her defining issues, she's an extremely kind Friend to All Living Things who will go to great lengths to help anyone, even a stray cat. Something that Homura points out at the time.
• The two Madokas: The opening theme has a brief section featuring Madoka's Transformation Sequence, where there appear to be two of her that ultimately merge into one. There are a couple of ways to interpret this, given the ending. It may represent the fact that Madoka's immense magical power comes from the fact that she has essentially absorbed all the "bad karma" from previous iterations of Homura's loop. Alternately, it may represent her ultimate fate-- the slightly older Madoka is the God!Madoka created when she Ascends to a Higher Plane of Existence at the end of the series, and the transformation sequence ending in the two merging is a representation of this transition.
• Ending postures: In the ending we can see the silhouettes of the girls. Several of them are clues as to their eventual fates: Mami is the only seated figure, in reference to her death (which occurs in the first episode to include the ending sequence); Sayaka is turned away from Madoka, perhaps symbolizing her future corruption into a witch; and Homura is the only character other than Madoka who is seen to move -- most tellingly, she reaches out as Madoka's silhouette runs past.
• Ending lyrics: Here. Very cryptic, and a bit on the creepy side, this lyrics of this song actually seem to be a tribute to Mami. She's urging Madoka to make a contract and talking about how she's wanted the power to fight the darkness since she read fairy tales as a child. However, the overall tone of the lyrics, especially combined with the melody of the song, suggest that this is a very bad idea. Given the Wham! Episode the ED was first played after, it's an appropriate tone for it to take.
  • The ending lyrics seem to fit Homura (again) even better- she references being a normal girl while Madoka has the power to protect people, and that this power isn't there anymore. ("Like the ancient magic /I saw in my dreams when I was young" and "The courage from the flower that was plucked/lays in my frightened hands." - she's even the one who plucked the flower.) And that speaker in the song seems to have wanted to desire power for someone else's sake, according to the full single ("Someday perhaps you, too, for someone's sake/will desire power"), which fits Homura much better than Mami.

Deconstructed tropes

• Selfless Wish/Be Careful What You Wish For: Remember that here we will talk about "deconstruction" as "exploring the real-life implications of the trope". Kyubey grants wishes in exchange for the wishee becoming a Magical Girl and fighting monsters for him. The problems that arise from the granting of the wish aren't exactly because of the wish itself, or from Kyubey—while he's not exactly trustworthy, he has no incentive to screw with people's wishes. The problem is that the person making the wish is almost never honest about what she really wants. Veteran Magical Girls repeatedly warn potential ones against the perils of a selfless wish, and that's part of what makes it so tragic: there is no such thing as a selfless wish. Every supposedly "selfless" wish has a selfish motive behind it (case in point: Sayaka's wish to heal Kyousuke), and seeing the chance for that selfish desire slipping away with the rising happiness of someone else sends a Magical Girl deeper into despair...
• With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: In this series being a Magical Girl isn't a synonym for being a heroine. As Kyoko shows, some people would actually use that power simply for the perks.
  • Mami takes the concept of "pre-teen young girls with magical powers fighting monsters to save people daily" to its most logical conclusion; what she demonstrates is the true effect of taking that great responsibility and choosing to be a heroine, especially a middle-schooler who essentially had it forced on her because she had no other choice at the time. As she said herself- being constantly busy with hunting Witches leaves little to no spare time to have fun or make friends, leading to her becoming an incredibly lonely Stepford Smiler who latches onto the one chance she gets to make friends. She pushes herself too hard and desperately tries to hold herself together under those conditions- there's nothing actually good about being a magical girl, she tells Madoka. Living the life she does, even if she does help people at her own cost, leaves an effect of her mental and emotional state that is only reinforced by her loneliness. She breaks down crying when Madoka tells her she'll fight beside her. Simply put, her lifestyle is hardly a healthy one. And that isn't just because she's a magical girl—again, being a magical girl doesn't automatically mean being a heroine- but because she plays this trope as straight as possible by acting as much as a selfless heroine as she can. And when we first meet her, that's indeed what she seems like—enough that Sayaka tries to take after her.
• I Just Want to Be Special/Jumped At the Call: Deconstructed with Madoka. She feels she isn't special and constantly makes remarks about she wants to make a difference by becoming a Magical Girl. However it is made clear in the show that Madoka's life is already great and she really doesn't need to be "special" because she has a loving family with enough resources to live very comfortably. And as episode 10 shows, becoming a Magical Girl actually ruined all the happiness she already had and couldn't appreciate. This is reinforced by the fact that, as opposed to the other girls, she isn't even able to think of a wish to ask Kyuubey. She really doesn't need a wish, she just wants to feel self-fulfilled.
  • However, what episode 10 demonstrates is slightly Zig Zagged. During the first timeline- right before going to stop Walpurgisnacht, knowing that she was going to die, she freely admits to having no regrets and says that it was really worth it; the Drama CD reveals, it helped her build her self-confidence and become a much more headstrong girl, curing her inferiority complex. She eventually sacrificed herself by launching a suicide attack against Walpurgisnacht and saving everyone this way. In other words, she died happily, with no regrets, knowing that she saved others through it. But it also meant leaving Homura behind, who couldn't accept this ending. So was becoming a magical girl ultimately good or bad, and should have she? This question is left unanswered. However, perhaps this is to further deconstruct Homura's time-traveling- by proving how it actually made things worse for Madoka, as in every other timeline, either she didn't become a magical girl and kept on being the confidence-lacking girl she is, or did become, but paid a much higher price and suffered a lot more for it.
• Monster of the Week: The Magical Girl Warrior genre has a long tradition of monsters that a) resemble everyday things twisted into something you'd see on a bad LSD trip and/or b) are Powered by a Forsaken Child in some way or another. Heartcatch Pretty Cure, for example, had Monsters Of The Week made by ripping out human souls and inserting them into objects, with the victim's consciousness eternally reliving the state of misery and despair that made them vulnerable in the first place. This show demonstrates how horrifying on all levels opponents like this would actually be if the plot did not mandate that they be ineffectual Mooks.
• The Power of Love, Love Martyr, and/or other tropes connected to the idea that love must be completely selfless: In normal series, the Magical Girl Warrior is extremely devoted to her friends and love interest, placing their well-being as well as the world's over her own needs and pretty much beating herself up if she has to do otherwise. Likewise, Sayaka thinks that it's okay to use her wish in benefit of the injured and despaired Kamijou, but when she says it out loud, Mami doesn't seem convinced and even asks her if she's actually doing to have Kamijou owe her. Later she uses her wish anyway for him, but while he DOES heal, he doesn't run into her arms for comfort and moves on so fast that he doesn't even tell her he's leaving the hospital. That gets her mocked by Kyouko, who even says she should've broken his limbs to force him rely on her. And as time passes, she learns that in this show, being "completely selfless" in regards to those she loves simply doesn't work: love does involve at VERY least a part of selfishness. (And her friend Hitomi proves it right: she's selfless when she gives Sayaka the first shot at confessing to Kamijou and by actually telling her instead of doing so behind her back... but being selfish in regards to actually confessing when Sayaka doesn't take the chance is what works, and she becomes Kamijou's girlfriend instead.) This causes Sayaka to progressively break down, which shows via her: going Ax Crazy on Elsamaria out of frustration, refusing to use Grief Seeds because "it's what others do", snapping on the Jerk Asses that show her exactly what they think of fully selfless persons (that they're extreme doormats to be used and thrown away - and specially if they're women), and finally becoming a witch. Her last words before she crosses the Despair Event Horizon and has her Face Heel Turn are "I'm such an idiot", acknowledging how wrong she was before she definitely loses it.
  • Did you miss the whole ending'? Puella Magi Madoka Magicas plot is all about Power of Love and Power of Friendship. Madoka's complete selflessness and Homura's incredible devotion were the keys to breaking the Vicious Cycle. But this overwhelming importance of Power of Love and Power of Friendship is exactly the reason why the series judge those who use love and friendship to mask their selfish desires for gratitude and approval so harshly. Mami dies because she placed having friends over the safety of said friends and because she didn't saved her parents with her wish{ Sayaka tries to cast herself as a Love Martyr, but fails horribly because she actually isn't. Homura had to go through hell to prove the purity of her intent to protect Madoka and is saved only when she stops caring how Madoka views her in the process.
  • This is reinforced by the fact that the version of Madoka that ultimately triumphs Is the one that is fully aware of the consequences but makes the sacrifice regardless of them including losing everything.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: When attempted on Oktavia/Sayaka, it works about as well as you'd expect talking to an Eldritch Abomination killing machine to work. The fact that Kyouko wasn't fighting to kill also made the fight much harder than it would otherwise have been, which ultimately led to a Heroic Sacrifice that probably wouldn't have been necessary if they had accepted that Sayaka was gone.
• Reset Button Ending: In a normal Magical Girl show (say, Sailor Moon, for example), when the button's pressed, everyone resumes their lives not being a Magical Girl or they are simply alive or something that is positive. In Madoka, when it's pressed, everything is pretty much the same, except for the fact that Magical Girls fight demons now, and that instead of becoming Witches, they are whisked away by Madoka. Note that when the button's pressed, only three of the main Puella Magi remained, with the two missing being Madoka and Sayaka.

Feminism, and Reconstructing Magical Girls and Witches

• Madoka Magica deconstructs the Magical Girl genre by having a Magical Girl being the immature form of a witch. How does one reconstruct that? To answer that, first we must ask, what does a witch represent? One could say that the fairy-tale witch demonizes the idea of a woman having power. A potential reconstruction could involve the idea of witches being "evil" and "abominable" as either propaganda designed to keep girls under control, or what an empowered female looks like from a sexist perspective. The heroine's journey would be finding out that the witches are not, in fact, as evil as she has been led to believe, and her maturing and awakening to her true power as a witch as she struggles for freedom from those who would control her.
  • Interestingly, Strike Witches follows a somewhat similar matter, except in a much more Moe manner and produced by a completely different company. Compare and contrast the two's general concepts of feminism in a male-run environment. Also, Madoka happens to almost follow the exact concept on how the girls in Strike Witches get their powers. See the Black Cat entry up in the Symbolism section for more information.
  • Another possible reconstruction is to keep the ideas of witches as Eldritch Abominations, and that all magical girls have to eventually become witches...but it turns out that Eldritch Abominations are not evil. Suddenly becoming a witch is like growing up - it seems scary at first, but then it's not bad at all, just different.

The Extent of Goethe's Influence on Madoka

• It has been said by some that Madoka Magica is a dead ringer for Goethe's tale but to what extent is that really true? We can safely assume that Kyubey is our Mephistopheles because, well, he hands out contracts in return for peoples' souls. Naturally, he never actually lies but actively tries to manipulate girls into contracts in order to accomplish his aims. But we can't say that Madoka is our Faust since she has not exactly made any contract as of yet. It could be said that Sayaka is a closer match; she does go through with the contract and uses Kyubey's power to fulfill her heart's desire without ever truly considering the implications, eventually losing sight of her good intentions after realising that even though she got what she wanted, she can never truly have it. Or perhaps Faust is Homura, making the deal, again, for love.
• The problem is, the context is completely different. Mephistopheles gives Faust an infinite amount of power and an indefinite amount of time to use it in hopes that it will corrupt him utterly and allow him to win his wager with God. A better metaphor would be that Kyubey cuts out the middleman and simply gives the girls their moment of happiness that they wish would be prolonged forever, at which point they die and their souls are his. From that point on they are doomed and not one of them will earn redemption which was one of the major themes of Faust; because he used his power to benefit his fellow man in the end he was able to escape his bargain whereas a Magical Girl never will.
• Faust was a man who had everything he wanted (knowledge) and was offered something that he could not achieve through mortal means, thus giving him a choice and making it clear that he chose damnation willingly in order to satisfy his desires. Several of the girls never got the chance to make a choice and Kyubey engages in some rather bald-faced manipulation in order to push the rest over the edge. None of the main characters really get to make a choice from a position where they have everything, making their situations much more sympathetic in the interest of storytelling. Additionally the story of Faust is underpinned by the notions of God and the Devil, the Judeo-Christian idea of good and evil, but the question still remains as to how evil Kyubey really is. His race does not have emotions and doesn't share the same value system as humanity, so is what he is saying really evil? Utilitarians might argue otherwise.
• The Faustian bargain is a very powerful part of pop culture that underpins the entire series, but the direct comparisons are a little more difficult to make. The series is very heavily influenced by imagery from Faust but comparing any characters directly is like comparing Saito and Dorothy simply because neither of them are in Kansas anymore.
• There are a lot of similarities in the relationship between Faust/Homura and Gretchen/Madoka. Faust/Homura brings Gretchen/Madoka in trouble then desperately and hopelessly tries to save her. In the end it is this effort mixed with Gretchens/Madokas purity that saves Faust/Homura. In both stories the happy end is achieved trough "cheating." Both last scenes from each part of Goethe's Faust have equivalents in Madoka Magica: The prison scene from the first part several times in the tenth episode after the walpurgisnacht; the ascension scene from the second part in the the last episode.

Episode Positions/Timeline, Character Outline, and Faust

There is a special area that is within Episode 1 that takes a direct excerpt from Goethe's Faust. This picture from the wiki has been translated and allows for a complete understanding of the anime itself and possibly why their positions were chosen. This is also a case of Shown Their Work, since this direct from the original material. Here is the translated version (numbered lines as a reference).

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NOTE: Beyond this point, this will be an extremely spoiler-filled section, and, due to this nature, spoiler tags will kept off. You have been warned.

Witch's one-time-one (or Das Hexeneinmaleins)

1 This you must ken (understand)!
2 From one make ten,
3 And two let be,
4 Make even three,
5 Then rich you'll be.
6 Skip o'er the four!
7 From five and six,
8 The Witch's tricks,
9 Make seven and eight,
10 'Tis finished straight;
11 And nine is one,
12 And ten is none,
13 That is the witch's one-time-one!

Analysis (when I say "reference," I mean how the above is a cross-comparison to Puella Magi Madoka Magica):

• First line: It's a Meta line, showcasing how all of the episodes are intertwined with each other. It's just that the initial episodes are obscured from the real truth, and how the characters don't even know what they got themselves into. Note how every episode begins and ends with the same one as before it, so all of these episodes are Book Ends of each other. Finally, Kyubey is Dangerously Genre Savvy because of this line, because he knows exactly how to manipulate others without violating his own morals, even if he doesn't have any.
• Second line: Episode 10. A Start of Darkness, if you would like to assume this, due to how Homura wanted to go back in time, and because of how Madoka will always follow her fate of death. It's also a recursive line, showcasing how Homura is trapped within the April, the month before Walpurgis Night.
• Third line: Episode 1. Note in the beginning when Sayaka and Madoka are together, walking over to school, but Hitomi is separated. Subtle Foreshadowing, indeed.
• Fourth line: Episode 2. Madoka, Homura, and Sayaka meet with Mami. Homura, however, is discouraged by Mami. Homura is Genre Savvy, Mami does not know anything, despite what she says, and Sayaka is Wrong Genre Savvy at this point. Madoka has no idea which person to choose.
• Fifth line: Episode 3. Mami dies, and its back to the fourth line, which would be Episode 4. This is a subtle way of showing Four Is Death, but it is done one point ahead of time. However, in the real timeline, this is the perfect place to insert Four Is Death, because Episode 10 comes before Episode 1. The "rich" portion is Kyubey tempting her with dreams of power after Mami, the only good Big Sister Mentor she thought she had.
• Sixth line: Episode 5. An intermission episode, showcasing Madoka deciding between becoming a Magical Girl and not. Interestingly, this line is the exact inverse of what happens in the episode. Finally, this episode is also when Kyoko comes in, and when Sayaka becomes a Magical Girl.
• Seventh line: Episode 6. Again, it references Kyoko and Sayaka, this time not because of their differences, but because of their similarities.
• Eighth line: Episode 7. The first thing Sayaka thinks is how Kyubey tricked him. It is possible she was extremely Genre Savvy to know what went wrong, but fell on the wrong ideals due to Mami. On the other hand is her Relationship Values, which falters by the end of the episode. The exact same thing, word for word, happened to Kyoko's father. This makes Sayaka's role in the anime even more interesting, because she is the ideal character for Faust.
• Ninth line: Episode 8. Combine Episode 6 and 7 in a nutshell, and you have this episode. Combine their Wham areas, and you have Episode 8's revelation that the Magical Girl's contained power can force them to become a Witch. Surpringly, this takes One-Winged Angel and Clipped-Wing Angel to a literal level.
• Tenth line: Episode 9. References the deaths of Kyoko and Sayaka. Metaphorically speaking, Kyoko was reminded of her father (and herself) by Sayaka, so it's only proper that they would die together. This episode is the last of the Wham Lines.
• Eleventh line: Episode 12. This line means to throw sense and nonsense out the window (first line) and continue as usual. From a troper's perspective, this line references the Gainax Ending, the Bittersweet Ending, the Broken Aesop, and the Lost Aesop all at the same time. Could also be referencing Episode 9, at the end of which all of the current Puellae Magi are dead, except for Homura, the only one left.
• Twelfth line: Technically speaking, Episode 10 is actually Episode 0, or the Zeroth Episode. Also, Episode 11 is exactly the same as the third timeline in Episode 10.
• Thirteenth line: Episode 12. Title Drop. Sequel Hook. A lot of other things. Including the forgotten.
  • "[E]very episode begins and ends with the same one as before it". What does that mean? With the same what?

Madoka Magica is about female sexuality.

Becoming a Mahou Shoujo represents losing virginity.

Wishes, represented by QB, are the desire. It makes you a Mahou Shoujo, and you can't kill it. Mahou Shoujos turn into Witches. Witches represent perversion/whoredom.

You lose your virginity (become a Mahou Shoujo) due to desire (making a wish), then eventually you maybe are consumed by the socioemotional problems of such (Hope to Despair) and thus turn into a pervert (Witch).

The fact that Mahou Shoujos kill Witches represents the fight against perversion once you know how good sex is.

Every single girl in the show represents a girl's sexual situation.

Madoka: She is the girl afraid of losing her virginity. She sublimate her desires through trying to do good, which only makes her feel even more depressed. She doesn't feel prepared and is insecure, meanwhile she sees all her friends losing it. But once she becomes honest about her true self and decides to be a Mahou Shoujo, the world around her becomes perfect, and it feels like nothing bad ever happened, the liberation of that weight makes her feel like God.

Sayaka: She becomes a Mahou Shoujo for the one she loves. Then she was betrayed and becomes a Witch. As in losing your virginity for your loved one, then he betrays you and you go full slut due to emotional damage. She is a good friend of Madoka (the girl who is afraid of losing virginity likes the idea of losing it to the person she loves).

Kyoko: Her family being religious made her hungry, so she becomes a Mahou Shoujo to satisfy her hunger. As in sexual hunger. And then her religious dad found out she was a Mahou Shoujo and commited suicide with her family and she had to live alone (as in the dad kicked out the daughter from home for being a slut).

Homura: Represents the girl who was raped. She desires to change the past, but she can't no matter how much she tries, and has a cold, pessimistic attitude to hide how in the inside she is fragile. Both Madoka and the über-witch Walpurgis Night are projections of herself, she tries to save the virgin girl she was from such a pinnacle of perversion, while Walpurgis Night's nature itself is helplessness, as in helplessness from how rape is the original Fate Worse Than Death.

Mami: She is the experienced girl, the one the other girls admire, especially Madoka (the girl afraid of sex), she eventually loses her head to perversion.

Also, Kyubee is shaped like a uterus, and is an "incubator",

Judgment Ethics vs Ethics of Care

Judgement Ethics is the school of thought that regards an ethical decision as the one with the best outcome for all concerned, delivered impartially. Emotion is considered an impediment to this impartiality, and therefore emotional reactions should be excised from the judgment made. Kyuubei epitomises this school of thought - from his point of view, the suffering and deaths caused are a small price to pay for preserving the universe.

Madoka, by contrast, represents "Ethics of Care". Care ethicists hold that emotion and empathy are of vital importance in moral judgments, and that special consideration should be given to those who are directly affected by the decision, particularly those most vulnerable (such as the girl making the contract). Madoka, having seen and empathised with the human consequences of Kyuubei's system, made her wish as an ethical decision based on her compassion.

Madoka, the Incubators, and Utilitarianism

Related to Judgement Ethics versus Ethics of Care above. For utilitarians, the most ethical decision is that which brings the most amount of benefits, and the moral worth of an action is determined only by its resulting outcome, and that one can only weigh the morality of an action after knowing all its consequences. For Happiness is one such example of utilitarianism, however this seemingly idealistic rule can be very easy to screw up, as shown by the Totalitarian Utilitarian. Act utilitarians are those who follow this and nothing more.

The Incubators are act utilitarians taken to the extreme: if saving the universe brings the greatest benefits, and if saving the universe means the suffering of a few, then this suffering of this few must lead to the greatest benefits. A similar situation happens in Warhammer 40000: brutal regimes like the Inquisition are not just important, but necessary, because the universe there is so damned dangerous and humans are the brink of extinction. As someone else put it: "if you let me put my thumb on the utilitarian scales, I can get you to agree that you have an affirmative moral duty to torture a three-year-old child to death." Made worse by the fact that the Incubators, having a psychological structure different from that of humans (remember that in Incubator society emotion is considered a mental disorder, but they imitate human emotion in order to manipulate them), have no concept of such things like privacy and sanctity of life.

Now, Madoka is being driven further into this conflict between her own conventional morality (e.g., things like "love thy neighbour as thyself") and the Incubators' utilitarianism. Everyone around her is suffering, but the problem is that this vicious cycle of utilitarianism also makes sense, and thus she cannot argue against the Incubators' position. But if she cannot argue against, why not compromise? At the end of the series, she gets an opportunity to change the Powered by a Forsaken Child-based universe and create a new one which also fits in with her morality that is based on rule of compassion. Thus Madoka adopts Rule Utilitarianism: she can still preserve conventional rules that allow a comfortable life for everyone in this universe (like for example the necessity for Incubators and Magical Girls to fight entropy and ensure the prosperity of human civilization), while dumping those conventional rules that are unnecessary and harmful (like for example having magical girls fall to despair and become Witches).

Incubators, their role as Ancient Astronauts, and the Garden of Eden.

In one scene, Madoka comments that it would be better if the Incubators had never come to Earth. Kyubey's response: "Your people would still be living naked in caves." The implication being that a majority of human civilization is due to the advancements that came from wishes, and curses, that Magical Girls have made since before history. Rather, we see the metaphor in civilization itself. Like Wishes, every discovery that mankind has made can (and has been) used for both good and ill. Fire brings warmth, energy, and destruction. Science Fiction portrays a hope in acquiring knowledge, and Lovecraftian Fiction warns how it can drive us to despair (Witchdom) instead. Here we see Kyubey claiming that his race was the Serpent/Lilith that gave mankind the Forbidden Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.

1. ↑ Puts an even nastier spin on Mami's wish suggestion, don't it?
2. ↑ Although most of them actually just say "Look at me"; I'll get to that in a minute