This world is not worth saving — or the basic ontology / the Incubator

All of society is ran on magical girls.
All achivement is meaningless since progress is caused by magical girls - You would still be living in caves.
All disasters are caused by witches.
All past is misread and unknown.
All humans could be attacked at any moment.
All causes are unknown - You know nothing.
Humanity does not decide its own future.
Everything except magical girls has no effect.

Magical Girls are human sacrifices.
Magical girls suffer and die in a meaningless cycle.
Magical girls live in a dog eats dog world.
Magical girls in the end become witches and wreck havoc upon the world, thereby causing harm and suffering.

All humans are slaves of the incubators.
Human families are just breeding stock for magical girls.
Society exists solely as cattle to breed magical girls. And is allowed to exist only as an illusion: Because it produces energy.

Do you understand what that means? It is firmly established by Kyubey:

Madokia: What if you never came to our planet at all?
Kyubey: You would probably still be living in caves

Think about what he is saying right there, the absolutely terrifying implications beyond all reason. Everything you do, everything you think you archive, is implicitly secretly archived by the wishes of magical girls. The wishes of magical girls which come at the cost of their souls mind you.

You would probably still be living in caves

The earth in Madoka Magica has been in the energy generating business since humans used to live in caves. The statement that humans would be living in caves if it wasn't for it Inqubators is absolutely terrifying because this claims ALL of human progress and ALL of history on Witches and Magical girls.

Fire has been given to humans because of Magical girls. It is reasonable to assume that all or most inventions have been basically made because of magical girls. This implies that human understanding and potential is vastly miscalculated.

In the world of Madoka Magica humans are incapable of progress. And all of our supposed capabilities and all the things we are "human beings" are proud of are lies. We have never archived anyting. Every single thing is a lie.

History has been going from one bloodbatch to the next, from one disaster to the next. And here is what is fact in the world of Madoka Magica:

ALL the disasters and ALL mistakes of history have been caused by witches. ALL advancements of history have been caused by magical girls.

No one else changed the course of history. No one else did anything of importance.

do they look happy to you?

The earth is a cattle farm. All of that has been done in order to provide the Inqubators with energy. And they never ever cared about any of them. About humans or humanity, nor about magical girls.

And you aren't even the cattle. You are just fodder to the cattle.

Think about what this means.

A (physical) matrix

Have you seen a certain movie called "The Matrix"? Well in "the Matrix" the real world is a blasted ruin, devestated from the war against the machines. Most humans however aren't living in that real world, instead they live inside a simulated world; a fantasy world called the Matrix. It is a virtual world depicting humanity at the peak of their power as a species. Therein people live a life which is just like our well known mundane reality, some are happy some are sad. But all are none the wiser. A few humans however have escaped this simulation, they are living in the actual real world where nothing grows and the sun never shines. At some point it is said that the Matrix exists to generate energy for the machines by using humans as living batteries; but of course this is not really efficient. We never learn what the true purpose of the matrix is, it might indeed just exist as a way to allow humanity to continue existing inspite of the situation they brought uppon themselves. Perhaps the machines through some whim took pitty on their foolish creators, and decided to preserve them as an end in itself.

If morpheus shows you the 'real' by showing you a simulation of it - then isn't it fitting that the 'real' world can hide a false one all the same?

What the Matrix has in common with the world of Madoka Magica is that your actions as a regular citicen of the simulation in the matrix, and your actions as any person in the world of Madoka Magica are equally meaningless. In the Matrix the best you can possbily archive is getting freed or your children being freed. In the world of Madoka magica the equivalent would be becomming a magical girl. But we all know how that is no "best" or "good" thing either.
Welcome to the true desert of the real!

See, the difference between those two worlds is that the Matrix seems genuinely benevolent in some capacity. The architect has gone out of his way to design a system to keep humans living in a stable society.

Remember: The Matrix is simulating the peak of human civilization - after paradise was show to be lost due to human nature. It is the best possible world that humans could exist in.

The world of Madoka Magica is no such place.

Magical Girls are human sacrifices

What is valuable to you? Your life? Everything you really did was move arround numbers, the heavy lifting was planned and payed for by magical girls. This is basically an ironic twist on full automatization, or on the matrix. You are living your life, thinking you are contributing, but you are just living in an illusion. More to the point, this illusion is not even as morally neutral as the matrix where the machines genuinely tried creating a world which ballances human nature. This is a full blown lie. It is ran on human sacrifices.

It is comparable to a mayan society which offered their children up to the rain gods to ask for a plentiful harvest. But there is no offering, there is no harvest. It is happening unknowingly. What is valuable to you? Your family? Your daughter may just end up as a human sacrifice. Is it stability? All human affairs and wars and peace are dictated by the whims of witches and magical girls, all means of controlling disasters are just lies made to make you feel comfortable and sleep quietly without noticing anything wrong.

And the people arent aware, they are blinded to the truth. Their children are sacrificed to an alien god which never cared, and they do not notice - what good could any comfort or illusion be in light of this? What reason could there be to possibly entertain the notion?

Nothing – NOTHING – you do matters. The only thing in this world that has any meaning at all are the actions of magical girls and whatever affects them. This is true absolute nihilism, the existencial horror of inability. You are nothing, you are just cattle and you amount to nothing.

Seems fun? Well you just do not know, because you know nothing.

So what has meaning in such a world? What would you do? Or rather: Isn't the world meaningless anyway?

Well, I would argue that the meaninglessness in the absence of god is the same one as the one in madoka magica, as - and here is the thing - if you look beyond all the fantastic concepts, you will soon notice that all of them are just metaphors for real things: For the real horror of absolute reality.

Conclusion to Part 1

Behold the world of Madoka Magica with its total absolute beauty:

• Nothing you do matters except if you are a magical girl.
• Nothing which happens to you is in your control, the world is a caotic cosmic horror story, you do not have free will, you have no influence over society at large. You can not affect anything, humanity can not affect anything. You are not in control of your own destiny, nor your families, nor can you help anyone you care about except if you are a magical girl.
• Nothing you think to know has any resenmblence to reality: Everything you know is mere conjecture, the true fundamental ontology of your reality is the magical girl system. Your life is irrelevant to this system, your perception, your hopes and dreams are irrelevant to this system. You know nothing, you amount to nothing.
• Impotent and blind, you are offered as a sacrifice to the witches which will then become "energy".
• Even if you are a magical girl your will still just become a witch so nothing changes; the system is inescapable.

Ignorant and blind as you are you continue on, living without purpose, suffering meaninglessly until your soul finally fades away into oblivion. Such is the world of the Inqubator; Such is the world of the ruler of this world.

This is our world — or why this is important / Mami looked away

Have you ever heard the phrase: "Don't think about it"? This is the gemstone of Mami the ignorant. The willfully blind, who can not bear the horrible reality that she is a part of. To whom disclosing reality has always seemed the most cruel.

The reality of this world is as it was described. It truly IS as it has been described. Do you think all of what was said before is just a fiction, a fiction which has no baring on reality? Something made up, less then a joke, an idea of a sick mind. A twisted fiction, a needlessly cruel world, something which has no relation to reality.

Well actually, what you have witnessed IS reality. OUR reality. The actual real world.

No I am not talking about aliens; don't take me for a babbling shizophrenic, I am not that easy to dismiss - though demons are very real.

How the ontolgy of madoka magica is isomorphic to the real ontology of the actual real world

• Magical Girls are people who matter (Soylent green are people)
  • Some people are chosen based on talent (Charmic weight) others never ever have any impact and are just fodder to them
  • Magical Girls become witches because of Sin, because "no one is just not even one"
• Witches are Ideas
  • Most disasters happen because of ideas (Fascism and communism)
• We fundamentally have no knowledge of epistemology
  • Our own knowledge does not create our worldview, wie view the world through our lenses and can not escape
  • Most people are simply ignorant (Heraclitus: They are at day as if they sleep at night)
• Kyubel is a Leviathan, he is the state
  • People are sacrificed to the state - LITERALLY for energy
  • The state lies to people in order to harvest them
  • Of course he is also Satan, duh.

Mami refuses to admit that the world IS this way. Mami is putting her head in the sand

Mami believes in justice. Mami believes in humans being mostly good. Mami isn't evil but she is ignorant. Mami literally looses her head because she gets careless. Blinded by emotions and ignorant to the truth.

She is careless because she does not know the true nature of the world.

The cake witch Bebe looks innocent and harmless. But Mami does not know what she really is - Bebe represents her entire understanding of the world. Because she does not know she becomes a giant witch and eats her head. Homura tried to warn her, but she didn't listen. Here in this irredeemable world, which we do not know to be irredeemable just yet, we meet Mami:

Infinitely lonely and suffering quietly inside, with a smiling face, a responsible adult. Mami is inherently someone forced to live in a world too horrible for her to even begin to understand. In Rebellion Homura later recounts how cruel it felt to reveal the truth to her. And let’s not forget the loop where Madoka has to put her down because Mami goes postal after having seen just a tiny sliver of reality for what it is. Mami represents the normal person. And to her credit Mami perhaps is the best normal person: Mami for all her weakness and pain, hides it inside. Tries her best for her juniors - while she herself has nothing. Mami lives alone because her parents died in a car accident. Mami fights witches every night. She is incredibly lonely, incredibly hurt and she longs for one thing more then anything: a tiny bit of human warmth no matter where.

There's NO Such Thing as Bebe

So why does Mami believe in justice? Mamis conventional world is full of darkness, it is awful. Mami says it herself: I always cry alone. She has no one and no hope of finding anyone, she just expects to hang on for a bit and then die alone. Through strength she manages to remain standing and put on a smile. But in order to stand one needs a ground to stand on. If even that was taken from her; she would definitely fall and drown in the abyss. This is why it is cruel to tell her the truth, because she more then anyone else needs this illusion. Of course Mami is a hypocrite because she tries seducing Madoka and Sayaka into becoming magical girls just like her, and tells herself the excuse that she suficently warned them, even though she knows full well that this warning is going to fall on deaf ears. She as someone with experience should know that Sayaka and Madoka are mistaken about their desire to become magical girls and that they should be prevented from doing so. But of course because she believes in a larger system of „Justice“ their individual fates become second order entities to it. Justice is at the end of the day a convenient tool when it aligns with your own interests.

The cake witch is a metaphor for the world. Bebe the cake witch: In appearance a harmless little doll. But inside a vicious giant snake. Homura knows the truth, but Mami arrogantly ignores her. And yet her arrogance is based on her faith in the illusion that is foundational to her being.

Conclusion to Part 2

Mami died because she couldn't bare the truth

The existencial consequences of this situation – the tragedy of Sayaka and Kyouko

Now that we know that Madoka Magica (and actually fiction in general) is non fiction we can read it as an actual existential confrontation in the real instead of as a merely fictional hypothetical. The difference right here is tremendous and can not be overstated:

What we are considering is not even a hypothetical confrontation in the real, but an actual immediate confrontation in the immediate real which at all times is present in the actual lifes of every single one of the readers. We often create distance between the "self" and "character" or "reality" and "fiction" by considering the characters as different entities from a different reality. However all fiction is speculative philosophy, and all characters are archetypes:

All situations are abstractions to our own situations - and more often then not to our own situation, i.e. the current actual situation not just potential future.

All characters are abstractions and represent facets of people - and more often then not explicitly ourselves.

Therefore all stories are hypothetical meta truth in so far as them being candidate solutions to the claim of being actual meta truth - which means: a hypothetical implied ontological meta reality.

The irony of this chapter is that this first and final point is infinitely more important then the finer details of the archetypal characters themselves, yet they are nessecery to bring home the point of them being real. This point I have made right here will be to foreign to the uninitiated mind, too radical a thought to embrace if yet alone to fully comprehend. We will not go from the concrete - meaning the actual situations of the actual characters - and demonstrate how their situation and experience in the fictional setting is not only a hypothetical but a nessecary and immediate part of human experience.

Sayaka

Sayaka more then anything is just human; a sinner. Sayaka is deeply humanly flawed. But through Sayaka we see something for the first time: A human journey through the life of a magical girl. Sayaka is not the best human, she is a normal human. Someone who society considers to be decent and good. Someone who has flaws but learns from them. Someone who eventually matures and … And?
Well that’s exactly it: And what?
And the wheel just continues turning. Endlessly grinding everything that is good into dust, until nothing remains.

Sayaka starts out as a deeply flawed idealist, who thinks that through her toil something good will come about. Who thinks that things are simple, who does not understand evil. Who just thinks that evil people are evil just like that, randomly. That she herself is good because - that’s easy, right? Well it’s only easy until things get complicated or until pressure builds. The biggest sin is pride, and to think that you are basically good is the height of pride.

Sayaka makes a contract because she thinks that she can do something good, but most importantly because she thinks that doing something good selflessly is a good thing which she ought to do unconditionally. She says: I will never ever regret this.

What Sayaka will soon learn is the concept of resentment.

Resentment

Resentment always arises out of a perceived personal injustice: I myself haven’t been treated right, therefore I hate the person who mistreats me. But most of all resentment arises when someone receives that which he does not deserve in our own eyes, better yet that which we ourselves deserve. Sayakas story is probably the most perfect example of pure resentment. Sayaka helps Kyosuke as a price which she does not even understand herself at the time. And in return she gets nothing except having to look on as someone else steals away that which she gave everything for. But: there is no fault with the other people for doing what they do. If you help someone out and give them everything, tolerate all the injustice and all the pain then they still owe you nothing. Because your gift has been free. However the price is still to be paid.

That price is resentment. The person who profited from our work even if they were free to use it, they earn our resentment. We expect gratitude. But even more: we expect them to stay down as they are. To never rise above us. "What injustice", we think. If only they weren’t here! if only we hadn’t been kind then WE could have profited. We have done the good deed, and now we are being punished for it by loosing our own relative status. All status is relative. So when the poor weak person is below us, and we help them out. Then it is natural - oh how good we are! How everyone praises us for it! Oh how we praise ourselves. But now that the person we helped is out of the hospital and does not need us anymore, does not exist in context to ourselves. And our status is no longer elevated in contrast to him, then what good was our help? We have made ourselves obsolete. No it’s even worse, we could have gotten something for ourselves instead of giving anything freely.

The good deeds are coming back to haunt us - and twice so because now we understand that they were never good in the first place. So we wasted our time for a person we now hate. And we wasted our time to prove something true which is disproven. Therefore once the resentment begins it never stops, it’s a self perpetuating system which gives rise to more and more resentment. Until we finally snap and start projecting our own resentment into the lives of other people who have nothing to do with us. We become an avatar of resentment, and avatar of hatered and destroy everything which was once held dear. And even the good times that we used to have are now just a faint memory.

Well, this is the story of Sayaka in an abstract. Sayaka first makes a wish. Then she learns how high the price she paid was and starts regretting it - while resenting the fact that she regrets. Then Kyosuke starts dating Hitomi which makes her the beneficiary of her wish, making her resentment even stronger. Driven by resentment Sayaka loses herself in battle. She hardens herself to her ideals - to maintain the illusion of her „good self“ as that is all she has left. She rejects help from others - this too is driven by resentment and pride. As by receiving charity she would prove that she is now truly the lower person. Finally she takes on the cause of her own resentment: she murders people who she percieves to have perpetrated the same injustice as the one as she was „subjected though“ - conveniently forgetting that she was the one who brought it upon herself. And then finally she turns into a witch of resentment which is her final - irreversible - damned form, where she only wrecks havoc upon the earth until her physical form expires. Ironically her resentment at this point transcends the physical body and becomes are purely abstract evil spirit.

This is Sayaka and her resentment: I was so stupid - her last sane words. Having driven herself down to hell was a product of her initial constitution.

The explicit story is one which is oddly specific. However the motive of falling into resentment is intriguingly familiar.

Real resentment

Make no mistake: this is not fictional nor arbitrary. Resentment is a real and damaging force in the world with all the consequences which are described aptly in Madoka Magica.

And do not make the second mistake either: Resentment is not an arbitrary problem, it is not a small problem either. It is THE central problem of our society. Fiction does not just lay out hypothetical problems or even applicable helpful information - it addresses the absolutely most central and crucial issues in ways which can not be so easily expressed in non fiction: How do we deal with resentment?

Much of Nietzsches work is dedicated to this problem, the problem of Slave and Master morality, the problem of creating stable society. All of it is critically tied to this very issue. Things are not just „mere entertainment“ they are crucial and without alternative. They are talking about the most important problems of our time.

The inescapable prelevance of the existencial crisis

The second problem of Sayaka besides resentment as her driving force, is that she lacks a stable ontological foundation. It does not have to be a consciously aware ontological foundation - it is fully enough to have a subconscious intuitive sense of direction in order to navigate the world. In abscence of a philosophical or theological foundation which sufficiently encompasses the totality of the encountered situation one is automatically thrust into an existencial crisis in order to produce a new foundation to better cope with the situation at hand.

behold the chart. Sometimes in the past I used to find it usefull.

But one thing that is missing within is "Truth".

What actually IS the answer? The chart starts with an implicit assumption: That there IS no answer, that you can do whatever you want. The essential postmodernist idea: Everything goes. Well: everything goes where?

This fundamentally shows the problem of handling the unknown in an ordered and capable fassion. Ironically the ontological framework whose dessolution has thrust the indivitual into the existencial crisis IS postmodernism itself - as that is what is ingrained into our subconscious in society today. BY DEFINITION this means that a chart which is fundamentally based on the postmodernist grand narrative - of there being no grand narratives - can not overcome its own premise. Thus all conclusions which can be arrived at by following the chart will nessecarily yield no solution. Unless of course the indivisual in question overcomes the premise of the chart itself: That a chart exists at all. And instead accepts the conclusion as the only possible real conclusion, and all others (and the chart) as merely illusions and roads to hell.
(For completeness sake I must admitt that this does not hold true for all possible conclusions of the chart, just for some - when indeed I do not consider those for whom it isn't that case to be viable alternatives in the first place and therefoere they are self defeating on different grounds indeed)

Point is: Sayaka takes the advice of this chart. Which is: just follow your nature to the course of action which fulfills your heart. (And so did Kyouko as well actually but I digress)

The conclusion that Sayaka arrives at is Kantianism.

Slave morality

A classic ciritque of Christianity is that it is inherently a manifestation of Slave Morality. However this critique while truthfully applicable to much of historic Christianity is misplaced on the Christian spirit. There is no better point of focus for this contrast and duality then Kants philosophy.

Kant truly IS a slave moralist. Absolute and complete slave morality in all its perfection - this is the Categorical imperative.

Yet, and this is what's especially interesting: Kants morality is an attempt to derive Christian morals through pure reason. In other words - Christianity wihtout Christ. Or even more aptly named: The slave morality of historic Christianity of Kants time.

Kantian slave morality is as Nietzsche correclty concludes the rise of degeneracy and the beginning of the end for western civilization.

For Sayaka Kantianism is the conclusion that her heart desires: Slave morality - resentment made manifest.

As it is written:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

–– Jeremiah 17:9

Kantian slave morality seems clean and good, but it is a wicked as the heart that is drawn to it. Indeed for sayaka it is the postmodernist idea which liberates her heart to be guided towards this manifestation of resentment. No longer drawn towards it by the preasure of society and its foundation but by her nature itself. How wicked it is!

Another thing we must discuss at this point is the question of why we are ascribing Kantian Morality to Sayaka in the first place. There is no reason for it as Sayaka never quotes Kant directly. So why are we even drawing this conclusion?

Kantian slave morality is not an arbitrary thing, on the opposite it is a nessecary conclusion. All Conclusions which had historically been drawn and lead to huge waves have always been nessecary. Had Kant not come up with it, it would have been someone else. It is a manifestation of the spirit of the time which is made manifest in the individual philosopher.

This is the reason why Sayaka is Kantian - through fulfulling the considions of emergence, the concept emerges organically and unavoidably because it is nessecary. As all things are.

The end of Sayaka

Sayaka represents the naive idealist confrontation with the truth. Whereas Kyouko is the jaded pragmatist who has already integrated it into her being in some capacity. Where as Mami and Sayaka can not keep themselves alive when faced with reality, Kyouko can. Her world view is at least self sustaining and stable. As it is said: cynicism is preferable to naitité. The character of Sayaka in the series has the following central characteristics and themes which shall be mentioned:

• The little mermaids tale
• Jealousy and Pride
• The philosophy of Emanuel Kant
• Salvation through works
• Yet most of all Sayaka is naivité confronted with reality.

One more thing which Sayaka represents is: Salvation through good works (TODO)

• Sayaka is quick to judge
• Sayaka is self richeous
• Sayaka considers herself to be good
• Sayaka thinks she is selfless
• Sayaka refuses help out of pride
• Sayaka becomes a witch of resentment - yet she always was what she became

Kyouko

TODO

We can not just be pragmatic about it, how Kyouko was right but wrong.

In a world where all principles have failed, where justice amounted to nothing. What is left to hope for? Will you endulge in pleasure and drink your days away?

In the end Kyouko was more human then she thought

What will you do if there is no salvation

Conclusion to Part 3

• There is no salvation through ignorance
• There is no salvation through good works
• There is no salvation in cynicism
• There IS no salvation.

Mundane everyday life and its death. Or Madoka

Madoka dies in every loop.

Madoka sacrifices herself every single time.

How are you going to face the consequences?

How will you live your life knowing that everything is bleak? Knowing that nothing you do matters? A common question which is far too often regarded as a joke. And even worse are the answers which pretend to give you an answer. In truth we haven't really shown more then the absurdity of existence. And how one faces this absurdity is the marking of a man.

Many paths and many philosophies have been devised for such cases. Incidently Madoka Magicas characters in turn follow different philosophies, and we shall soon see how they fare in a world like this. In a world like ours.

There is a shadow looming over everything

You can try killing the thought. You can try to save yourself. You can try to accept it.

If all fails what remains?

There is a shadow looming over everything. If you do not think about it you will die like Mami. If you try to resist it you will die like Sayaka. If you accept it and try getting what you can, you will end up like Kyouko.

What good is there in your peace of mind?
What good is your pride?
What good is your happiness in the presence of this dreadfull, all engulfing abyss?

Madoka's sacrifice

Why does Madoka die? Is it just a karmic law which causes her death or is it something more? This is actually the same question as the nessecity of the cross. Why do we even need a cross? What IS the cross of Christ?

Now, you would be forgiven to think: Am I making the point that Madoka IS Christ? I am not.

This right here is the most difficult part to understand in Madoka Magica and I have struggled for years trying to understand it. How can Madoka fullfill the function of Christ in Homura's life but herself be so insufficient? Do you even understand what it would mean for Madoka to ACTUALLY be Christ?

This is not such a trivial matter.

It is written:

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

– John 14:6-7 New International Version

Madoka is not the truth, and not the way and not the life. Madoka however still sacrifices herself for others.

This is one of the most central points. A sacrifice is not what a Christ makes; An innocent Lamb is not a God; and Madoka is not Sinnless. Madoka doubts, Madoka is afraid, Madoka struggles but at the end of the day she does the right thing.

What Madoka IS, is not Christ himself, but she is an image, a true image which truly represents Christ. This distinction removes the nessecity of having the true attributes of Christ himself in her. Ironically it is said that a Christian through sanktification shall be transformed into the image of Christ. However Madoka is not sanctificed, but by nature she is conformed to his image. Madoka has never heard the gospel, but the truth of the word is written onto her heart. And therefore her fate conforms to the fate of the Lord himself.

To die for others sins, and to suffer innocently for others - such are the privileges of the saints. And as a Saint Madoka is an image of Christ on earth. To clarify this in further detail: When we see Madoka in the Series, what we see is a Simulacrum of a higher order: Madoka is am image of a Saint, who is the image of Christ.

The image of the Saint is the image of the martyr. And this is a world where martyrdom is the fate of all saints. Madoka's fate is not just tied to her Fate or Karma, it is a natural property of the world. Just how the conclusion of being stoned and crucified is a natural conclusion to the sinnless life of Christ, so is Madoka's inevetable death a conclusion to her saintly nature.

Madoka will always sacrifice herself, and therefore she will always die. In a world without God, this sacrifice is pointless, meaningless and wasted. In every prior loop after Madoka dies nothing changes. Thew world is not changed it is just the wheels of the world grinding forward ever more. What? She saved her family? She saved her people? Yes, she saved the cattle on the farm and their fodder so that they may be slaughtered another day - congratulations!

Conclusion to Part 4

TODO: this is still open and needs to be decided.

This topics are good to cover in Part 4:

• The death of everyday life in light of the existencial crisis
• Homura's time travel and her covenant with Madoka - WITHOUT reaching too far into Rebellion
• Madoka's continuous sacrifices as a sign for salvation and meaning for Homura
• Madoka and Homura as an existencial exercise in contrast to the existencial quest of Sayaka and Kyouko

Homura's world is STILL not worth saving

I dream of the morning.

Homura's hopes and dreams

Homura’s lowest point in the series was when she was lost. That is exactly right. Homura was lost and wondered into a witches labyrinth. However under the arc of triumph there she met Madoka. Why arc of triumph? Because right here Homura was saved, by grace alone. Homura was a good for nothing who would have given herself over to despair. She would have perished without amounting to anything. But now she was found. As it is written:

„Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I am found, was blind but now, I see“

At this point Homura was not yet fixated on Madoka. It is a common misunderstanding that Homura from the first moment unreasonably fixated on Madoka. What saved Homura was genuine love, which she experienced for the first time in her life. Someone who cared about her. When Madoka died she wished to be the one to save her. She was secretly joyous that this time around she could repay the Madoka who had done so much for her. Nothing but just pure love for her friend drove her. This second loop was Homura’s shining hour. She could relieve her meeting with Madoka, could save her like a true hero. This is everything that Homura ever wanted and the height of her naivité. But moments after winning, Madoka turns into a witch and everything is ruined.

Trying to warn everyone reveals the structure of the world for what it is. The true covenant between Madoka and Homura was made in loop 3 where Madoka did not want to become a witch and asked Homura to prevent her from ever becoming a magical girl.

This is referred to in connect by „the promise we made“ I will never forget the promise we made. This is the first declaration of connect. It is the first of many of Homura’s songs. Almost all songs in Madoka Magica are from Homura’s perspective.

This is why after the end of the flashback the song plays. Others have pointed out the exact mechanics of the loops and what happens, so I won’t overdo the details. What is important however is the existential component: what is Homura’s relationship with the time loop?

Homura journeyed through time and space to save the one she loved. But the future refused to change - for now.

Conclusion: A godless world without salvation

• A comparison between the ontology before and after
• Madoka's final sacrifice and the lost meaning for Homura

Epilogue: Do not give up!

Why does Madoka whisper to Homura?
WHY Does Homura smile when all is lost?
Is there hope? Is there salvation after all? Yet ngiht falls as I ponder - and for now it is still night.

For now we do not know, we can only guess what is inside of Homura's soul.
For that we will meet again in Rebellion.