Revolutionary Girl Madoka

(NOTE: Before you begin reading, you gotta know that this entry contains HUGE SPOILERS on both Shoujo Kakumei Utena and Maho Shojo Madoka Magica. Consider yourself warned :))

Maho Shojo Kakumei Madoka

Lately, mi inner anime girl is a bit on the loose, so I decided to watch new stories. I finished watching Puella Magi Madoka Magica about 15 minutes ago, and I am psyched. To be honest with you I expected something a bit darker and more violent, yet I am not disappointed by what I watched. It was perfect in a weird way, but mainly because it reminded me of my favorite anime: Revolutionary Girl Utena.

Almost as I started watching I noticed the evident (yet, somehow subtle) parallelisms between both of these animes, a feeling that grew deeper as I continued to watch the story. For those of you who are familiar with only one of them, let me explain:

Asides from the Pink haired protagonist, both of the stories deconstruct their genres in their own way: Utena challenging the typical boundaries of hyper-shoujo animes while messing with the character stereotypes of the Prince, the Princess and the Witch; Madoka doing pretty much the same with the magical girl archetypes such as the transformation, the Purity of the characters, the nature of the villains and (in the case of both Utena and Madoka) the happy ending.

Is there really a happy ending for these stories? The two stories end, without really ending anything, Akio still has plans to find new duelists to bring the Revolution to the world, the Magical Girls still fight against new demons, instead of witches and both of the characters end up falling victims of their destiny, sacrificing themselves for a greater good and the freedom of their fellow protector/protegé, being pretty much erased from almost everyone’s memory yet not really gone and still existing somewhere.

Both of the stories deal with existentialism, and the characters doubts about their place and the role they should play in the stories, tormented by their own desires, wanting to free all the other characters’ from their pain, and (for most of the story) completely unaware of the real meaning each duel/fight.

Funnily enough, both stories have blue haired characters sharing the name "Miki"

I don’t want to go detail by detail on how both of them have similar religious plots, and the way they play with the fairy tale archetypes, cause these are easily spotted. Also I am well aware of the differences between these two animes, I wouldn’t dare calling one a rip off of the other, but there are things, even small little details about the way the stories are presented that could draw some parallelisms:

1. The visual motifs.
   Utena is known for her early 90’s use of surrealism, Art Nouveau and strong references to Charles Rennie Mackintosh, while Madoka borrows from Art Deco, modern takes of surrealism, and Jan Lenica‘s art.
2. Shadow/Non talking characters
   Remember those scenes where you could only see Utena’s character’s shadow and even though their lips were not moving, you knew they were talking? Well, constantly you can see Madoka and the other magic girls communicating without moving their lips.Besides there’s a scene which I suspect to be a direct reference to Utena, since you can only see on frame Homura and Madoka’s shadow  projected in the floor with color, patterns and not moving their lips in the same fashion of Utena’s Shadow Girls.
   
3. The Dueling Arena
   Utena’s always-changing dueling arena, only available for those who possess a dueling ring, is mirrored by the Witches barrier, both of them changing depending of the opponent’s wish (the duelist, in the case of Utena, and the witches/puella magi in the case of Madoka)
4. The rose.
   This may be something insignificant, however, roses are a huge motif on Utena hinting the subtle sexuality of the story, playing a huge role during duels. In Madoka, you don’t really get to see any roses until the very end, when she decides to become a magical girl, her weapon of choice is an arch with a blooming rose on top.
   
   
5. Glasses
   This is pretty much ridiculous, but, asides from the fact Utena and Madoka have pink hair, did you notice how Anthy and Homura wear glasses, which they take off as their true conflicted personality emerges? Same goes with their hair. These changes emphasize of the sacrifices they are making for the sake of their destiny.

If there's ever a Madoka movie, I really hope she's not turned into a car.

For the most of it, I enjoyed it. Maybe not as much as I enjoyed watching Utena, but it was good. And in case you’re wondering. Yes, Madoka, does bring revolution to her world.

Want to read more about it?

Aimless Anime compares the symbolism on both stories.