Gekijouban Mahou shojo Madoka magika Shinpen: Hangyaku no monogatari

Well, it isn't. We return to the Madokaverse to find a world that's not quite the same as we left it, making us ask ourselves, is this the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning? The beauty of the Madokaverse keeps growing, and I can't wait for the future of this Puella Magi Madoka Magica!

I first watched this film in theaters and after receiving the bluray yesterday and after watching it a second time, I feel like I can say that this is an exceptional film. Same with before, the music is excellent and the animation is dazzling. It's avant-garde style make it really look unique, almost like an a bad LSD trip. The production values are high to say the least.

What I really like about this movie is how the main focus is on the most interesting of the magical girls in the series, Akemi Homura. I can't go into any real detail about the story other than this. It starts out in a world that is too good to be true. Then Homura starts getting suspicious of it. This movie really explores her character and never feels forced. Given her past actions and her mental state, everything she does feels organic and like a natural continuation of the series. Granted, some say the series didn't need a continuation, and in some respects they are right, but it doesn't take away from this at all.

It may not be the story you want, but at the very least, it makes perfect sense and is a great exploration into the tragic character that is Homura. It also opens the door to more entries in this series and as long as the quality stays consistent, that's not bad at all in my book.

"Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part III: Rebellion" is a movie sequel for popular "Madoka Magica" anime series. It is preceded by two movies which retell the events of the anime. "Rebellion" is a first proper sequel with new story.

All sequels following a successful work of art are automatically suspicious of being blatant attempt on cashing in on the previous achievements. The creators may run out of ideas, get lazy or just lose interest in continuing story at original level of creativity. This is absolutely not the case with "Madoka Magica 3". I'm still surprised how good this sequel actually was.

Everything what TV anime series was praised for is present in the sequel. Soundtrack is equally good and animation style is even better - while equally imaginative it's even more psychedelic, more detailed and more stunning. The storytelling is as brilliant as it was in original series. It gradually reveals the new mysteries of the (now slightly different) world and is meant to surprise the viewers and to shatter their expectations. And yes it does shatter them! At least one of major plot twists (there are many) is of the category "Absolutely didn't see that coming!". And yet it isn't some random event pulled out of thin air - immediately after re-watching one will definitely see why it made perfect sense.

This particular plot twist is a reason why not everyone liked the movie, there were even accusations of "ruining the franchise". I can't delve into details why I find these accusations unfounded. If you like the original series you must watch the sequel to see for yourself.

The original series and the movie duology that retold it ended with a finale that was heart-rendingly bittersweet yet incredibly positive, but also had a slight note of dissatisfaction. Rebellion seeks to rectify that and just... doesn't?

From a technical standpoint, the movie is fabulous. The soundtrack is lovely, and the visuals are gorgeous. What surprised me even more was the imagery: Where I found the abstract depiction of the Witches odd and jarring in the series (and to a lesser extent also in the duology), I found it absolutely beautiful in Rebellion.

But as fantastic as it looked, it could not hide some problems with the pacing I feel this movie has. A runtime of almost two hours certainly isn't short, so I wonder if it was truly necessary to spend five minutes on a fairly silly 'magical transformation' sequence that is meant to be partially satirical. Similarly, there were two quite long fight scenes that just dragged on where nothing really mattered. IMHO the pacing is one if this movie's biggest flaws; I was never quite bored but I certainly came close occasionally.

The biggest flaw, however, is the plot, or rather its conclusion. I love the premise, I love how it is revealed, I love how it is concluded. I don't love what happens after the conclusion of the premise. Similarly, I love how all our favourite characters are there, and I love how the writers managed to unify their tragic fates with the positive premise (particularly Sayaka). I don't love what they did to Homura at the end.

All in all I find the final choice the maker's did to be a questionable one. They did not want to conclude their movie trilogy with a clichéd, super sappy, overly perfect ending. Turning clichés around is one of the most beloved and major themes of Madoka Magica, so I suppose it fits the modus operandi. But the series and duology are also so beloved because their final message is so utterly positive, and the one of Rebellion just isn't. I don't really see why.

It's a bit similar to the duology, where Beginnings ended with horrible revelations and Eternal tried to fix anything, only that there is no fourth movie to fix Rebellion's ending. Which is so weird because the movie had its perfect ending, and then threw it away for another dramatic twist that just didn't get fixed in the end.

From a theatrical standpoint, I guess this is excellent. From a personal standpoint I find this fairly unsatisfying. Still an amazing movie, though. You just might want to replace the last ten minutes with 'And then they lived happily ever after' in your head.

Where I've had points to argue in the previous 2 entries, in this film, I have zero problems with anything. I can easily suggest that the "adaption" is over with now and we're into original content territory now, with the problems of the series no longer hanging over the films head, we can completely focus on this as the movie plot and get the character development we need.

Everything is done masterfully in this, from the animation and character development to the addition of previously unknown people in the story that act as easter eggs for fans of the series and the story behind it, while not detracting from the overall plot.

Everything in this movie is done to perfection with glorious animation and set pieces, to one of the best character writing points I've ever seen in fiction. The character development works so well in this, so much that I think it has effected the industry to a degree with some series and their attempts at a shocking revelation. Its to be expected though, as there will always be people who see a trope and think its good to copy, but sometimes not putting in the work necessary to make it good for them.

But in this movie, it does everything as well as I'd want.