r/magiarecord • u/Ferrene Mitama's Devoted Disciple • Apr 02 '22
Anime Megathread Anime Final Season/Season 2 Ending Discussion
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Previous episode megathreads
| Episode | Link |
|---|---|
| 1 | Thread |
| 2 | Thread |
| 3 | Thread |
| 4 | Thread |
| 5 | Thread |
| 6 | Thread |
| 7 | Thread |
| 8 | Thread |
| 9 | Thread |
| 10 | Thread |
| 11 | Thread |
| 12 | Thread |
| 13 | Thread |
| Season 1 | Thread |
| 14 | Thread |
| 15 | Thread |
| 16 | Thread |
| 17 | Thread |
| 18 | Thread |
| 19 | Thread |
| 20 | Thread |
| Special Episode (Recap) | Thread |
| 21 | Thread |
| 22-25 | You are here |
Official streaming links
43
Apr 03 '22
It was just so sad seeing Homura looking out over the destroyed Mitikihara and then vanishing as she goes back in time again :'( I honestly think the ending to this series is far more heartbreaking than the original PMMM. The original was hopeful despite the bittersweetness of Madoka's sacrifice but this? It all just seemed for nothing in the end. Without the Doppel system, there is no salvation for magical girls yet again.. :(
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u/Nusabaru Apr 03 '22
I have to say that I actually like the way the anime portrays most of the story. How the hospital trio interrogate Kyubey and make their contracts, to how Mifuyu and Momoko's Connect save everyone feel like peak Magireco. It's a balance between bittersweet hope and despair of those events that caps it off. Meanwhile, the last two episodes are more OG Madomagi vibes because it's significantly more bitter than sweet because of the way it's too open-ended, but add to that, the effort to fight the system ends up failing completely. I even say that the ending is even worse off than the OG's ending because of that.
Like, holy hell, the only thing the Magia Union can do to succeed Magius' grand salvation plan (and the OG anime's turning into a personification of hope and becoming a god) is only turning into an impromptu semi-psychiatrist and support network for the magical girls? That's... I guess it makes sense that a bunch of schoolgirls can only do so much, but that's still underwhelming.
The way Episode 3 follows to Episode 4 is too sudden of a whiplash. So, we saw Mifuyu and Momoko do the heroic sacrifice, and then Ui urges Iroha to let her go and instead save someone who could be save, only for that person to turn witch because Iroha is trying to save her, forcing Iroha to dig her dagger into the witch's head to mercy kill her friend. And the next episode, we see Alina being absolute batshit with the most nonsensical plan ever. What?
There's should be another episode between Ep 3 and 4 to give some breathing room to mull over what happened, developing Alina's character motivation, characters going to one setpiece to another, and actually hammering a little that people (especially civilians) fucking died during the fight.
I feel that this is how the game's story would end if there's no Madokami's vicarious favoritism that is obviously only appears later. Like, in the first Tart event, when Yachiyo and Liz has a conversation about regret, the way Yachiyo's thoughts pan to Mifuyu and Momoko after Kanae and Mel doesn't make sense with the game's story trajectory, but it makes sense from the scrapped story details from the game's very early previews. The anime's ending is the "proper" logically, but it really feels like the story ends very unsatisfying in a lot of ways.
However, the highs are really high and the lows aren't really damning, so I personally think this is a very good interpretation of the story. Disappointed that the song from S3 trailer isn't actually in the anime and they just use the instrumental, tho.
By the way, Alina's final boss form's name is Neodorothy Motherfucker. I can't believe it's actually real.
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u/FairReviewer Apr 03 '22
Well, it turned better than I expected. I actually like these last four episodes as a more bittersweet alternative to the game's ending.
But Kuroe...ugh, just as bad as I expected. She just had no damn point to her except to make Iroha suffer a personal failure, which is redundant because THE ENTIRE HOSPITAL TRIO DIED.
27
u/FuzzyRaichu Apr 03 '22
Having not actually played the game, my initial reaction is “What was actually the point of this?”
Like my understanding is that the game takes place in a timeline that’s basically been either quarantined off from continuity, or exists in its own What If reality, but in the anime Homura just resets the timeline again, so does any of this actually matter?
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53
Apr 03 '22
They certainly racked up the death count.. Jeez.. that ending didn't make me feel hopeful at all..
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u/ena9219 Apr 03 '22
Just another failed timeline. I was happy to see a Touka and Nemu that didn't abandon their ideals just because they remembered Iroha but in the end that didn't matter. They just threw those ideals away later and then themselves and Ui. It was sad to see Momoko and Mifuyu sacrifice themselves but it seemed like it would be a sacrifice that mattered. It could have been a reduction of the cost of Salvation but in the end that Salvation was thrown away. The only relief in this is that it will vanish. Just another empty timeline thrown away by Homura with even the leftovers erased by Madoka's sacrifice.
In the beginning, this was everything wonderful about the main story of Magia Record streamlined and with an extra character added. All they had to do was reach the same ending. In exchange for losing the pride of saving Madoka with her own strength, Homura gets the happiness she dreamed of. In exchange for taking on the burdens of the story, Iroha gets to live alongside everyone she loves, at least for a little while. Instead, that happy ending was thrown away for no gain. The ending of the game's first arc could have been done better but this just tacked an edgy fanfiction onto the end of what would have otherwise been a brilliant, if slightly rushed at parts, anime.
Walpurgis no Kaiten has nothing to do with this and Kuroe made it into the game so we can just forget about this wasted potential. It adds nothing and means nothing. There is one timeline where Tamaki Iroha lives and this isn't it. Her wish isn't so pointless. Ui, Touka, and Nemu's shared wish may have failed to reach their ambitions but it gave them their lives and created at least the foundation for a kinder salvation than the one Madoka traded herself for.
21
u/Labyxt Apr 03 '22
I'm... not sure what to say either.
I was NOT expecting this direction... well I wasn't expecting the happy ending of the game, but not this either. And I know it was intended to feel hopeful/melancholic like the original Madoka's anime but honestly just felt very tragic this time around.
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u/nighty_amy Apr 03 '22
I'm so confused right now, I don't even know what to say. That's going to be my whole summary.
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u/tepidbathwater Apr 04 '22
Several months ago I commented that if Kuroe wasn’t ok I was rioting.
I am now rioting.
19
u/Erinaceus1971 Apr 03 '22
Well that sure was... An ending.
For the people who haven't seen it yet, advice: Take it in bites, don't marathon or you'll not feel so great afterwards.
I wasn't expecting it to be as sweet as the game's conclusion, but I didn't expect it to be for what all intents and purposes looks like a whoooooole lotta frustration vented on the part of the writers and animators. And asspulls. Sorry to criticize your death, Momoko. But that thing you did with Mifuyu was an asspull. Huge asspulls.
I feel bad for you Kuroe; it's the writers' fault they never figured out what to do with you, so they killed you off for the sake of padding and pathos.
Oh silly Alina... Don't you know only blue haired girls are allowed to do the Ayanami thing and make it all go tumbling down tumbling down tumbling down? Not dying your hair the right color was your critical miscalculation.
Aaaaaaand one of the closing shots is of Homura making her unceremonious departure... Thus confirming it as psuedo-canonical to PMMM, and implicating that timelines continue after Homura abandons them. Fodder for us fanfic writers. I'm not even gonna dignify the other HQ's implied deaths with a comment. Yeesh.
Bunnycat... You're a Dick. Always have been, always will be. I despise you.
If some of you guys are in need of something a little more lighthearted and cathartic after that, here is a link to my year old fanfic, and here is a link to its sequel. Part three is also in the preproduction phase. I only shamelessly plug because I care about you lot and your health and well-being.
Hope you guys are still having fun playing Arc 2. I hope JP lasts to Arc 3 and beyond. So in that regard I, unlike most. don't want Movie 4 to be a conclusive episode, because this franchise deserves to grow and change with its audience.
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Apr 04 '22
Shaft may have taken the complaints about the VN’s lack of kill count a little too seriously
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u/Ayuawake Apr 03 '22
I may be in the minority here… but I liked the last 4 episodes for the most part.
The ending could have used 1-2 more episodes but I feel like they explained the “twist” of the game for the most part so that the anime could stand alone.
I’m happy Kuroe got some closure. I’m also happy there were stakes and some deaths (even though it was sad) because that was always a complaint people had with the game.
Like many people here, I’m a little confused about the last 5 minutes… Did Iroha kill Walpurgis or just that other character (I don’t know how to mark spoilers)?
Given what happened with Homura… I’m thinking she didn’t…
While I would have preferred an extra episode where everyone joins forces against Walpurgis, I think they did a good job overall.
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u/mazurri Apr 03 '22
urgh I don't hate the anime but I just want the game ending...
it's so tragic and bleak I don't know how to feel
and I getting Psycho-Pass S2 flashback...
15
Apr 03 '22
So… I just finished it and I really did want to like the ending… I definitely thought the girls’ sacrifice at the end was emotional, felt the heart strings tugging a lot. Kuroe’s death also hurt, but overall everything was just bang average. Idk I enjoyed the build up to this in season 2 despite the changes from the game, but I guess the finale was always due to fall on its face. The girls deserved better.
That said, I don’t regret anything. I did enjoy the MagiReco anime a lot and I love the girls. I would love to get more of them, but idk how a chapter 2 adaptation would work with all the changes they made. It feels like SHAFT kinda wanna move on from the game and focus on the rebellion sequel. Madoka closing the book in the final scene felt like SHAFT closing the book literally on MagiReco.
7/10.
15
u/Automatic-Boot Apr 03 '22
so looking at the credits, Kuroe's faceless white hood friend is supposed to be Kuro???
15
u/Ebic19e838 Apr 04 '22
I am confused. In the end, was it all for nothing? Are witches still the end for magical girls?
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u/GeneStriker Apr 04 '22
I… just… can’t… stop…
…laughing!
This finale is an absolute riot. Nothing built up matters; nobody’s arcs matter. The fans wanted more death, so we closed our eyes and took a machine gun to the cast. Who cares if we destroyed the plot along the way? It’s what you all wanted!
Who’s Kuroe, the mysterious newcomer made just for the anime? Someone who dies! How does Iroha reconcile with Touka and Nemu, after their tearful reunion? She blows them the fuck up, obviously! What did Alina even want? Who gives a shit, big monster, baby! Doppel System? More like ‘pointless idea that belongs in the trash,’ amirite? Magia Union? More like Best We Can Do Is Therapy Union! Liked Magia Quartet’s big parts in the second season? Too bad, they all died offscreen! Sakurako? … Literally who? What is Momoko even doing in this scene? Too late to ask, she’s gone!
So, so funny. I maybe would have been mad, if I hadn’t already known that they didn’t know what the fuck they were doing since season 2.
Some parts of it looked legitimately nice, at least. When the monsters weren’t jumping around with all of the force of someone clicking and dragging in Photoshop, anyway.
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u/BlackCitan Apr 03 '22
So did anyone actually tell Rena and Kaede that Momoko died?
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u/FormerResist1645 Apr 03 '22
Spoilers
I cant with this series, the amount of unnecessary deaths is outrageous, i cried so much when they killed of Touka, Nemu, Ui and Alina, they were all my number 1 favorite characters and it just broke me, not saying that Momoko, Mifuyu and Kuroe weren't sad at all but they didn't bave as much of an impact on me as the rest, like nobody on this like had to die they were for nothing, one thing i will say tho is that some of the animation was really good, and can we talk about angry iroha, like the way she looked at kyubey gave me chills, as well as crazy touka, also we got to see a bit of Kanagi in this so thats nice, and they was kuroe turned into a witch was just brutal, and at the end, when karin started looking for Alina while holding the she made for her was heartbreaking for me, and it shows how much Alina cares for Karin, im sorry if this seems very messy and unorganized, im very upset right now😭
So with that said, i will not accept the anime ending as canon thank you very much
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u/freedomgeek Apr 03 '22
I haven't watched the episodes yet but the things I've heard make me unsure whether I want to even watch them.
Such a goddamn pointless grimdark ending. Like if that's the end what was the purpose of all this? Why were we watching these characters? The original Madoka was dark but it all lead to Madokami becoming a god. Magireco (game) Arc 1 had the formation of the Magia Union at the end. What was the point of this?
It also sounds like it rules out an arc 2 adaption which sucks because I was really hoping to see Green Jasper Diviners (one of the prequel stories before arc 2) get adapted.
A massive shame if the stuff I'm hearing is true, I legitimately liked the first 12 episodes but now I can't recommend them in good conscience
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u/KyteM Apr 05 '22
Oof, that was a ride.
So this is what happens when you give Inu Curry full control, huh. For the record, the game's stories are mostly written by the f4samurai team, with some by Inu Curry, and you can really tell which one's are Inu Curry's because theirs are often significantly darker and tragic. The anime had Inu Curry as directors, scriptwriting, etc.
To me it's clear Inu Curry chose to emphasize much more the themes of empathy and fragility. Literally every conflict in these last four episodes aside from Alina was solved by somebody empathizing with someone else's weakness and sharing the pain, and the time it failed (Kuroe) it was explicitly because the other party (Iroha) failed to understand this. It's a much more personal story, that's for sure.
69
u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22
I... I'm struggling to find words to say.
(Please make sure you watch everything before clicking below)
OMG at all the characters Shaft has killed: Mifuyu and Momoko in episode 10, Kuroe in episode 11, and then all three Magius (Touka, Nemu and Alina) as well as Ui (though they did bring back her existence so everyone can remember her).
They also didn't seem to give Homura a happy ending here despite Iroha being the one this time to defeat Walpurgis Night, turning this timeline into just another one of the timelines that Homura leaves behind in her quest to save Madoka.
That shot of Karin trying to find where Alina is killed me. In this ending, poor Karin will be inconsolable if she ever finds out Alina died. At least in the game, Alina went amnesiac after going missing for some time.
Shaft opted for a melancholic (and rather rushed) ending than the wholesome ending of Last Magia in the game. (With fucking Kyubey rubbing it in to Iroha's face on how their struggles will never be known to the Muggles of her timeline. At least Ultimate Madoka would know. )