Madoka Magica : The Magical Girls Inside the Witches

[@GrubbyGub]

I think the reason angels are used so much is because pop idols are usually seen as superior, they are idolized because they’re the perfect definition of beauty.

[@WildVee]

And idols are also often percieved as perfect beings with no flaws whatsoever, fans tend to forget that they are people too, so this might have affected her as well. Fans expectations for her to be something she isn't?

[@dustgraystone9448]

@@WildVee I think it also has to do with her being unable to date or see the one person she'll rather be with? As japanese idols are seen as virgins or something. So boxing that memory up... till it broke her.

[@WildVee]

@themesongfan I see the angels as a metaphor for herself, a half angel. An angel in public and a human being at home, which is why her familiars are angels with only one wing.

[@Shirlyswirly]

When she said her wish was that she wanted to forget, I think it was literal.i think she did something terrible and felt so horrible she wanted to forget she ever did it. Or something terrible was done to her and she wanted to feel pure again. Hence the angel symbolism, she wants to feel like she is a good person or a pure person. Perhaps she had some obsession with purity.

[@shadesofazalea]

maybe the angel wings represent wanting to be free of her idol status? since its mostly just the wings that show up

[@karak962]

The only thing I'd add is that I think Isabel turning into a witch spawned from her lack of natural talent. The trophy symbolises her desire to be the best, and the fact that her labyrinth is "filled with works you've probably seen somewhere before" gives me the impression she was unoriginal, or not really noteworthy. Perhaps she broke down up in realizing that ecen after wishing for her art to be famous, she wasn't really all that good, and her lack of originality failed the art she desired to produce.

[@theberrby6836]

Yes I agree. Was going to type it lol.

[@chunellemariavictoriaespan8752]

Why Triumphe d'Arc?

[@ClowneneArown]

Good theory I thought that was that she fell into despair realizing that her art came from her wish and not her

[@irisa198]

@@chunellemariavictoriaespan8752 Because it's a sign of glory and victory - literally the arc of triumph. The glory she wanted, but never got.

[@irisa198]

Thank you, I was thinking this as well! In fact maybe she wished for her art to be famous, but got the negative sort of fame instead - known by all as a hack or a thief. Basically, the court of public opinion was not a part of her wish, and it judged her harshly, causing her to fall into despair.

[@Ruyi_Moonlight]

My theory about Walpurgis is that she (her core, the "original" magical girl you could say) asked for the same wish as Madoka, but it ultimately failed because she didn't have all that karmic force Madoka has, so her soul gem couldn't handle that amount of despair and she keeps gathering witches because she's not able to stop herself.

[@APurpleFable]

That's exactly what I think as well. The way the notes about Walpurgis are written seems to directly reference the Incubators' game and how they trick magical girls in order to harvest energy. Seems Walpurgis was the result of a (or several) magical girl wishing to end the cycle, just like Madoka did. Ironically, in that sense, they succeeded, because it was their very existence that led Madoka to make her wish. For example, the idea of a never-ending witches' night might've originally been a wish for magical girls to always remain what they are, to always stay the positive force that they were. And eventually, it was twisted, corrupted.

[@Kairos_Akuma]

Might be but since Walpurgis is not a single Witch.. She is a conglomerate or fusion of none-knows-how-many- Witches. But the Original could have wished for friends. Not to be alone. Or yeah even for World Peace. I don't think that they would wish for the same as Madoka since Kyubey targets you when your low, so your wishes are always selfish in nature. Even if you think they aren't. So a lonely girl, wanting to have friends just to despair since there not real friends isnt out if the question. Or if it was World Peace she would despair over the fact it's not achievable.

[@tkjk0481]

My head cannon is that Walpurgis is a group of girls, and one of them wished “For us to be together always”, which in turn caused them all to become one giant witch upon witchification. Another might have wished for “Things to never change”, hence the whole play monologue thing.

[@wampra8609]

I was thinking the similar thing except I think Walpurgistnacht's wish was to unite all magical girls together to fight witches. This is because magical girls are supposed to be rivals so lets say there are 2 magical girls fighting a way stronger witch that they have a hard time killing, then a third magical girl shows up, way stronger than the 2 other girls, defeating the witch. So who gets the grief seed? It's true that multiple girls can use the grief seed, but i doubt it'd go to the third girl. The stronger magical girl ends up killing both girls taking the grief seed for herself. So, my guess would be Walpurgis didn't want magical girls to be rivals and wanted them to be equal battling witches without any consequences,such as killing each other etc. you get it. Walpurgis had to have loads of potential in order to make that wish. Uniting every single magical girl. Her potential surely wasnt as huge as Madoka's, considering Madoka took Walpurgis down with a single shot. It still doesn't change the fact Walpurgis was a strong magical girl. One of the strongest. I don't necessarily have any ideas as to why she succumbed to despair, (I didn't do my research on that, this is purely from my head). Now lets move on to her witch form, first thing that really struck me were her familiars, they look like magical girls wielding wands. Most likely representing her in her magical girl form or other magical girls she met along the way. Now her witch design. We can see that under her there's a spinning clockwork. This got me thinking, maybe she was an old magical girl? Roaming the earth for thousands of years possibly million(and yes Im aware when magical girls are in their witch form they begin to grow old). But since Walpurgis was a girl with utmost potential it granted her years to live even in her witch form. And now what i really wanted to talk about. There's a theory (possibly a true one), that Walpurgis goes round the earth uniting ALL witches together to join HER in her path to make Walpurgis STRONGER. In conclusion, she's pretty much doing the same thing like when she was a magical girl. Uniting all witches together. But then again people say Walpurgis was a being from the dawn of time, having nor male or female gender. Just a being roaming the earth for millions of years, destroying everything in its way and possibly uniting witches. I got this idea yesterday thinking about the fourth movie/series Walpurgistnacht's turning. I do hope to see something of her past, maybe how she was a magical girl hence she's famed by the fans including myself. She's got her name in the title also, we'll see. Thank you for reading.

[@taffiette]

my theory about the walpurgis is maybe she wished for infinite wishes, and that created infinite soul gems, and when she was filled with despair, because of all the soul gems, she became the ultimate witch

[@anneleighsme6079]

I think charlottes' plushie aesthetic could be explained by hospital gifts. stuffed animals are common hospital gifts so maybe that could have been the reason her witch form was like that.

[@Pastelclown525]

But i need it but it cost ??

[@rockhistoria2537]

Aww poor bebe :(

[@breadvsthewrld]

This actually lines up perfectly since we know Nagisa is Charlotte and I think she turned into a witch because she couldn’t save her hospitalized mother

[@laneyl2784]

That’s a nice theory. Maybe also because Nagisa is young and maybe likes plushies

[@eldritchcupcakes3195]

Theory: what if Elsa Maria found out how witches are made, after she’d killed a lot of them. If she was extremely religious, with thou shalt not kill, she would have viewed herself as a horrible sinner. Her grief seed may have hatched while she was praying for forgiveness. While that might not be the exact reason I do feel like she definitely sinned or had sinned and was praying for forgiveness. Maybe she feels like she was tempted as eve was.

[@doggo7078]

A tree comes out of here, so I believe that she considers becoming a magical girl the temptation she succumbed to Also, if she felt like a murderer we would see clues about it, like blood or corpse familiars

[@eldritchcupcakes3195]

@@doggo7078 yeah I agree, but I do think she definitely was “tempted” in some way.

[@eldritchcupcakes3195]

@@doggo7078 oh, also I feel like maybe the self righteous nature played into this. Maybe she believed she had some sort of right to kill witches/do something otherwise sinful, but during the confessional you theorized her grief seed hatched during she started to realize she had no high ground to do that thing.

[@zombinary3138]

The red sun altar type thing she’s praying in front of reminds me of depictions of the forbidden fruit of knowledge , and the tree could have been the tree of the fruit of forbidden knowledge, and with ElsaMaria being the tree herself, maybe she gave advice or did something that might have tempted someone to ‘sin’ . It could also be that the altar is a representation of the person she wishes to be happy but can’t bring herself to love , much like Sayaka with Kyousuke which I think would be really fitting. I personally like the theory of her being a combination of Tart and Liz’ corrupted soul gem because of the themes of self sacrifice, religion and devotion to the point of self-sacrifice.

[@arkbien9303]

​@@zombinary3138The red alter thing looks a lot like a Catholic Monstrance, an object that carries the holy communion wafer. It's an object that is considered sacred to many Roman Catholics.

[@shadoww4818]

I think it's implying Izabel committed art theft to win awards, maybe even erasing people's memories of the originals.

[@Alexander-vg5qf]

Well... the floor is "El guernica", a painting by Picasso (spanish cubist painter) during the spanish civil war(1931-1936) and shows the bombardment of the town "Guernica" (in in the north of Spain) which was completely destroyed by the German airforce The arc seems to resemble "Le Arc de Triomphe" (french arquitectural monument) built in 1806-1836 (in Paris) after Napoleon's military victories. So there seems to be a military theme conexion in the art there. Maybe it has some relevance? (Edit: the background seems like "The Starry night" by Van Gogh (modernist painter from the netherlands), in 1889. So perhabs the conexion is not the military theme, but european modern art? I don't know...)

[@hackidreemurr]

Isabel is Nads6969 confirmed

[@calacalamari3977]

honestly i thought gertrude’s weapon was a pair of large scissors or a romantizied garden tool oh also you missed the big thing of walpurgisnacht’s design!! she looks like a jester because jesters are shown to be made the fool, showing how the girls were played as fools by kyuubey

[@Sunaki1000]

looks more like the hoods of medival Noblewoman rosaliegilbert.com/education/1445_MastersoftheGoldScrolls_Netherlands_prayerbook.jpg

[@teamlaaganph-usa6008]

Wow.....this comment is totally not copied

[@calacalamari3977]

Adela Tadena wha??? im just stating the info i know about the designs, relax a bit friend

[@teamlaaganph-usa6008]

Well sorry i thought it was copied bcs i see this comment on a lot of other videos

[@gamaliel5584]

what is romantizied

[@aceonlyone1800]

I always imagine Gertrude to be a child in a wheelchair, moving around with the butterfly wings because it's the only thing they can use. A wheelchair in an old house or maybe a very old mansion room on top of stairs or something, make it very difficult to move around without the help of anyone. The mustache guy may be the person taking her to the rose garden, that she can see from her room. Maybe a butler. For the mansion, the rings around her labyrinth look like wallpapers. A lot of different kinds of wallpaper and wall decoration around butterflies and some wood fences. The general theme seems to be worn out mansion. With all the mustache butlery familiar running around, some tools like a ladder, roses being uncared for, paintings, pillars. On the picture at 4:12, you can see all the wallpaper rings between Gertrude and the roses, on the ceiling. Gertrude is on a chair and doesn't seem to have legs. The different wall things are wallpaper, concrete, checkered thingies for kitchen, some exterior walls also (maybe). As for the reason of Gert going apeshit witchmode, we can imagine a lot of things. -She loved the butler person and either wished for her disability to go away and then her parents fired the person. -They fired them because they didn't want their vulnerable daughter to be with someone older and isolate her from them. -She was bullied at school and thought of herself as horrible(because of parents not being there or blaming her) and her only comfort (the garden) and the butler got taken away as she was made unable to walk. Her wish was to get her life back as it was before, (so still getting rid of the fact she cannot walk or some wounds that changed stuff for her) -She wishes from freedom and got it, but then realized that her freedom was just another form of emprisonnement (Kyubey and the fact she is a magical girl trapping her again, in another way)

[@jessfrisk3585]

the wallpaper reminds me of the “yellow wallpaper” book. maybe a girl in a mental ward? They can sometimes be confined to rooms and not be able to move about

[@Kairos_Akuma]

I say she was disabled and May be got forgotten when her parents got another healthy girl. She thought himself of beeing trapped and maybe saw herself as ugly and disfigured. maybe her parents or sibling told her - since the sibling was the golden child. Her butler was the only one taking care of her - and maybe her parents were so ashamed they hid her away not even letting her out in the garden.. so a she could watch it from her room..

[@starling1226]

@@Kairos_Akuma We don’t know if she had a sibling and nothing really leads to it

[@Explosher]

it makes sense there was someone important in her life that may had a moustache but the wheelchair thing doesn't make sense as we know what happens when a magical girl's wish is granted, her magic will heal any imperfections her body has, and she'll be able to walk naturally again.

[@cathygrandstaff1957]

Maybe it was a place she was sent to convalesce if she were sick with something. For example in The Wind Rises the protagonist’s wife is sent away to convalesce in a house in the countryside because she contracts Tuberculosis and that’s how it was treated in those days. If so perhaps she wished for her disease to be cured.

[@martianpudding9522]

I'm guessing Charlotte never transformed into a magical girl because she became a witch so quickly. That might be why she doesn't have an obvious magical girl power or weapon.

[@fernandocuauhshihuacarbaja3094]

She has a weapon, it's a bubble trompet, her magic it steal is a mystery...

[@jeshuarestituyo284]

They literally showed her weapon in rebellion 🙃 she has bubble powers and can eat familiars. She did turn into a magical a girl but didn’t know how to fight and almost got herself killed

[@bananasryummy]

@ILOVEWEAPONS :] ooo, mines either Nagisa (if she counts) or Kyoko!

[@breadvsthewrld]

@@jeshuarestituyo284they might’ve not had rebellion since the comment was two years ago to this one lol

[@mrs.cupcake_lilly9071]

I am German and Walpurgisnacht is also a way to call the apocalypse. So the "Armageddon" or simply apocalypse can be called Walpurgisnacht as well here.

[@schnabeltiertv]

I'm German, but I've never heard anyone use it like that. I tried to find a reference for the use of the word Walpurgisnacht meaning end of the world, but I could not find any. Not saying it's a lie, but ... it might be rather uncommon. Some interesting facts about Walpurgisnacht: Walpurgisnacht is usually depicted in media as a demented orgy, with naked witches dancing around bonfires, summoning the devil and having sex with him (or goats, since they are the devils animals). The *good* christian people in the villages would have bonfires (Maifeuer) and dances (Tanz in den Mai). It's still done all over Germany and it's a big party. The traditions vary, but they usually involve some way of cleansing and warding of evil spirits (apparently they really hate bonfires and hard parties with a lot of alcohol . loud music and dancing) Some modern witches meet up for Walpurgisnacht in the Brocken to this day to celebrate, without the devil and goatsex though. The area around the mountain is so commonly associated with witches, they even use it in advertisement for tourism and they can be found as a logo on local products.

[@gamernanami914]

schnabeltier I don’t know if this is true but I heard it could be called “The Witches Sabbath”

[@schnabeltiertv]

@@gamernanami914 yeah, the witches celebrate witches's sabbath on that day, while the celebration held by christian people is called Walpurgisnacht, after the Christian saint. It's the same day, just two different parties going on.

[@SingingSealRiana]

IS IT? Never heared of that and I am German and slightly obcessed with both witches and cultural practises. Walpurgis was the Name of a nun that was supposedly good at Holding her own against witches, so the day people believed all the witches would meet Up to celibrate got named after her in hopes of hindering them. Walpurgisnacht could If anything BE compared to the wild hunt or maybe them planing amagedon, but since ITS reacurring every damned year, it would Not make Sense to mean appolypse

[@tylerclapp9422]

Nagisa+Bebe was confirmed as canon, though Nagisa's story was rewritten with slight variations while keeling her wish consistent but for different reasons. In the notes it stated she wished for Cheesecake to share with her dying mother. When her mother passed, Kyuubey asked "why didnt you wish her sickness away?" Upon realizing she had failed to save her mother due to her not realizing even curing a terminal illness couldve been realized, she despaired and witched out immediately. In the new story written for the spin off mobile game: Magia Record, with supervision of witch creator+designer Inu Curry, Her wish for cheesecake was to commit a way of suicide, as she was the one to eat the cake alone. Her mother, though still dying, was very abusive to Nagisa despite her attempts to be a caring daughter to hopefully recieve care in return. One thing however is Nagisa didnt like cheese as much as her mother did, and in her decension to despair, she correlates her mother's love with cheese. After all she loved cheese, and what ever her mother loved, Nagisa loved as well. Thus began her endless search for cheese. Makes me glad that Nagisa got partnered up with a caring maternal figure like Mami.

[@fernandocuauhshihuacarbaja3094]

@@kami9143 No, it's true what he said. Nagisa wished for a cheesecake for her mom, her mom never loved her, and the cheesecake was a simbol for Nagisa, she wanted her mom to regret not loving her, that is why she didn't save her, the "cheese" Nagisa keeps looking for is her mother's love. Look into a channel named "Clione" and look for the story "Momoe Nagisa's wish was granted".

[@teoknowsbest2152]

@@kami9143 The 1st one was taken from the concept sheets. Not a fan theory.

[@r3zaful]

thankfully madoka choose her as her agent, the nagisa you summoned isn't came from magia record timeline, nagisa in magia record were long dead already. She is send by madoka to help you.

[@splendidsaplings3015]

Mami is pronounced like "Mommy" as well, Bebe (or Nagisa) was *EIGHT YEARS OLD* .

[@JayDee-oh8br]

Since mami was the new guardian figure for her, is that why in the cake song in the movie mami calls herself "the cheese"?

[@jennychan7778]

I think the "helplessness" nature of walpurgis (and its wish to bring in all of humankind into a play where everyone can be happy) doesn't have to do with the magical girls having been naive or party-loving... it's probably the despair of many magical girls realizing their inevitable fates (die or become a witch) and their desperation for an alternate, happy ending

[@blushblushbunny7512]

Haha, it's sort of silly, but I assumed the birdcage witch was Madoka's teacher from a doomed/alternate timeline, what with being older and fond of alchohol and the seeming hatred towards men.

[@LesbiansMarie]

That’s actually a really good theory

[@revolutionary_thoy]

as much as i would love to see the teacher as a magical girl, I think kyubeii only targets teenagers so i assume she made the contract when she was a teenager and managed to survive to her 30s

[@blushblushbunny7512]

@@revolutionary_thoy While it is true Kyubey does target teenagers and the occasional preteen, it is possible for magical girls to reach adulthood, as in the new side story game some of the magical girls have reached adult age. I think with that in mind, it's not completely out of the realm of possibility :0

[@jabberwocky3269]

She also always talks about eggs and roberta is a bird witch

[@pallascatsareawesome1213]

That is actually what happened to Roberta. She was stated to be in her 30s when she became a witch.

[@pallascatsareawesome1213]

I have some extra theories about Patricia. From her behavioural notes, I get a very strong impression that she was a girl who yearned to live a normal life, but couldn't, after she was the victim of a sex crime. My guess is that her wish was to transfer to another school, after she was sexually assaulted by a boy. This would explain why all of the familiars in her barrier are modelled after female students, as, after the assault, she might have developed a fear of boys her age, or even of men in general. The clotheslines in the barrier could represent how she was made to feel 'dirty' after the assault, and the White uniforms could represent how she was made to feel like her innocence and purity were stolen, leaving her with the feelings of being dirty and violated, as reflected in her black uniform. When Patricia transferred to her new school, she became popular, and made a lot of friends. She was the happiest that she had ever been when she was voted class representative, having finally found the happy, normal life that she wished for. However, word got out about her sexual assault somehow, causing her classmates to see her differently. They looked upon her, not as a friend, and fellow classmate, but as something to be pitied. Some even called her a slut, or blamed her for the assault. Patricia's popularity plummeted, and she steadily became an outcast. She finally fell into despair when the next class representative election happened, and her position as class representative was taken away and given to someone else. She likely became a witch after school that very day, while wishing for her happy school life to never have ended. Her familiars have no will of their own, because with Patricia controlling them, she can control what they think of her, too. They will never pity her, or think less of her for being sexually assaulted, because she will not allow them to think that. They will always love her and look up to her as their beloved class representative, unlike the classmates she had in life. The blue sky in the barrier I believe, represents the happy and normal everyday that Patricia wanted, and since the sky is always blue in her barrier, her happy, normal days never have to end. School, and her life as class president will continue, forever, in her barrier.

[@F1areon]

I think in the production notes it says the blue sky in that Labyrinth is bc her initial wish was for “a sunny day after a rain storm”.

[@darkartsninja]

Damn, if this were canonized, then Patricia's eventual death by Homura makes things all the more tragic

[@jacobo6652]

@@F1areon maybe she wished that after one of her friends ( boy or girl ) got s**ually assaulted by someone and got away with it. And she got so angry that she should have wished something to take revenge but she wasted her wish on a sunny day. It explains why she has this spider form with the skirt as she got so angry and the offender that she probably thought that she wasted her wish on something that she would not know would happen to her friend

[@honestlyboringperson]

I imagine instead of her being the victim, it was a friend who was sexually assaulted. Her nature is “onlooking” after all. It means she was a bystander in it all. I imagine to preserve her “perfect” school life, she didn’t say anything in fear she would end up expelled from school. It’s why Patricia lacks a head. She acted if she didn’t see or hear anything and said nothing about it.

[@pixelpudding3914]

What if Elsa Maria was a very religious girl who grew up in a catholic household? She then did something that is considered sinful in catholicism. This made her fall into despair and she turned into a witch. I think maybe she was confessing her sins to a priest and as she was remembering what she did she despaired and turned into a witch. The witch itself is her praying in front of a priest, the Red Cross in front of her, and her minions are her sins represented as dark demonic creatures.

[@chunellemariavictoriaespan8752]

Or just maybe lusting for someone she shouldn't be with... Or the idea of lust itself is already sinful in our religion...

[@monicaangel3499]

Or maybe just by becoming a magical girl herself. Since magic is considered demonic and sinful. Like Kyoko's story.

[@amouramarie]

Her tree weapons could be that she despaired in the forest? Or maybe they're meant to be outgrowths of wooden crucifixes...

[@shadoww4818]

I think her classification as the Shadow Witch relates to her desire to not be known by the person she was wishing happiness to. Like Sayaka she was probably aware of Mami's advice that a wish used on someone else is likely because you want their gratitude. She seems to have fought against this and wished for them hoping they'd never know about her, perhaps even giving her invisibility with a large crucifix as a weapon. However the person she was wishing for found out and was "dragged into her shadow"

[@TheCardboardStarship]

It's possible that the person she loved married someone else, that might explain the "wishing for your happiness" bit and the church motif

[@greenteacake9949]

I had an idea for Gertrud's wish. I think she maybe wished for beauty, but noticed that people would either not be friends with her or be friends with her for her looks, and maybe she had a rose garden which made her feel better, but maybe they were going to built over with apartments? Maybe since all of the people not being her friends and insulting her made her personality went down hill, which could be represented by the witch's ugly like appearance and the roses in her "hair" could represent her "Beauty". This could also be reflected in her butterfly wings because Butterfly wings are normally seen as beautiful (again this could also be symbolism of her shielding her ugly personality away from other people). I think her weapon could be scissors aswell, as her minions use scissors most of the time.

[@lordweebus4367]

That’s a really interesting take. It also makes sense because the classic red roses are often called “American Beauty” roses.

[@OneManCast]

This is why Kyubei's form of enforcing the law of entropy so brilliant. He's basically the ultimate loan shark. He can grant wishes because he inevitably gets a larger form of loss. Grants wish>Creates Magical Girl Who Kills Wishes>Magical Girl Becomes Witches Who Also Gets Their Wishes Killed. Kyubei is a true sadist.

[@Cyclamenz]

Not a sadist. Kyubei has no emotion, so there is no way for it to gain pleasure from the girls' pain.

[@nomblob5592]

Melting Feathers He is. When Homura ask why Kyubey want to change Madoka Law of Cycle he stated that he collect witch because they are "like tasting nice cakes"

[@shadesteel9247]

@@nomblob5592 He compared it to that, what he meant was, "why should I settle for just enough energy, when I could just get infinite energy from the witch theory you told me about." Kyuubi are willing to sacrifice few for many, they literally sacrifice themselves multiple times throughout the series.

[@Jafs]

@@nomblob5592 I'm pretty sure it's because magical girls give off far more energy when they become a witch as opposed to killing wraiths.

[@thelittleredhairedgirlfrom6527]

It’s like a payday loan but way worse

[@hotmess_express5060]

There are a few production notes about HN elly that I think you missed: HN stands for handle name, as in like a username on the internet which goes in part with her computer like design. We also know that HN Elly’s real name is Kirsten My interpretation is that HN Elly or Kirsten was a reclusive person who spent all of her time alone playing games and such. Maybe one day she had a really nice time for the first time in a while and she cherished that moment so much that that she made a wish to materialize it into an actual object so that she could view it whenever she wants, like a snow globe. Idk how she would have become a witch though, maybe her snow globe broke one day or she realized she still doesn’t have any friends. Perhaps she just wasn’t fit to be a magical girl because of her stationary lifestyle, idk

[@xn9716]

Or maybe simply because she wants to be internet famous and idolized but then turned into despair cuz she got harassed by fans, overwhelmed by the fame or something

[@МиланаЛитвиненко-ь6ф]

By the way, her minions carried a monitor on which the silhouette of a girl is visible. Perhaps this is H. N Elly. You can even guess how she looked. A girl with long hair(many tend believe that her hair was dark) tied in ponytails with puffy bows.Dressed in a dress with a fluffy skirt with frills and a collar(the collar could either be part of the dress , or was separated and hung lika a necklace) And shoes with the same bows.

[@PlagueBunny]

Charlotte wishing for cheesecake reminds of that one tweet. Genie: “And what will be your third and final wish?! Me: *Finishing my 2nd slice of cheese cake* Me: “Take a wild fucking guess.”

[@defunctaccount9803]

Yes

[@justaseapigwithinernetacce2562]

In heaven (or hell) “What’d you wish for?” “A cheesecake,” “Oh same here, i found a genie and got some cheesecake!” “Do you still have some?” “Nope” Bebe just starts crying them just randomly stops

[@gokbay3057]

I love the implication that you wished for slices of cheesecake rather than whole cheesecakes.

[@jackbelmont4389]

I find this too funny i dont know why

[@guinealover6674]

@@gokbay3057 Or a lifetime supply of cheesecakes.

[@valarieg.w4288]

Moral of story: *Being Meguca is suffering*

[@supershirikibros1389]

I mean you're not wrong

[@LeSparkleChild]

I mean a girl suffered And another girl suffered They all suffer

[@lextatertotsfromhell7673]

@@LeSparkleChild I mean, there was that one girl who got to bring h e girlfriend to magical girl heaven. Until her girlfriend was over come with the power of gay love and brought her back to earth. So being meguca is no longer suffering. Being meguca was suffering

[@yumeotome3337]

Meduka... Rabu

[@Universe_SHOW]

*Being a Magical girl is a suffering*

[@adoellex8000]

Gertrude used scissors at some point and due to the rose garden theme her weapons might have been shears. I actually think that in the Magia Record game Gertrude is a playable character named Konomi Haruna Edit: Her name is Konomi Haruna not Konomi "Haruka".

[@lazersfixall3939]

No in the game her doppel isnt gertrud

[@senpajishere6203]

@@lazersfixall3939 i dont think she has her doppel form yet

[@adoellex8000]

Sure she doesn't have a dopple yet.

[@fernandocuauhshihuacarbaja3094]

@@adoellex8000 I'm sure It's not her 😢, even thought she has scisorss like many belive Gertrude has, she doesn't have roses or butterfly simbols, her simbol is other type of flowers.

[@adoellex8000]

@@fernandocuauhshihuacarbaja3094 Roses and butterflies are both related to flowers so just because it focuses on an exact type doesn't necessarily mean it's not her. Candeloro (Mami's witch form) is the dress up witch although we've never seen her play dress up or anything.

[@kykycupcake1]

I have a theory that Gertrude was sick Maybe she was in the hospital and not allowed to visit a Rose garden she loved Maybe she saw herself as disgusting because being sick made her wither away Maybe the man with a mustache was actually a doctor? The familiars also have cotton balls for heads Something commonly used by doctors (Like to stop bleeding after drawing blood) Butterflies often also symbolize healing

[@mcdonaldsenjoyer1709]

Ik this is 4 years late but the whole drawing blood thing actually makes sense because I saw on the wiki that her blob body was described to be made out of blood and fat. The more you know

[@TackyAnimootions]

I think I can explain Izabel's story, it's not perfect but I think I have it figured out for the most part. THE ARTIST WITCH : Her nature is described as VANITY- someone who thinks extremely highly of themselves to an unhealthy and unnatural degree. They go out of their way to show off how 'great' they are, and often put others down in the process to elevate themselves further. While they have a false sense of reality about themselves and their accomplishments, they can see themselves that they aren't as talented as they let on in things they brag about, which sometimes causes them to cheat to get ahead in life. This girl, as a narcissist, truly believed herself to be superior to others as narcissists do. (HENCE the trophy on her grief seed, she viewed herself as 'number one' in ALL things, weather it was true or not) She had a genuine love and appreciation for art, but alas did not have the talent to produce her own to the level she wanted. So when the description says ' she often interferes with the human world', it's referring to her still as a girl who had her superiority complex stepping down from her self made pedestal to steal other peoples art work and claim it as her own. Hence the wording in her description; ' However within her barrier only exists work that you have probably seen somewhere before.' She must of done this often, and had even collected a following online for 'her' art. ( HENCE her familiares looking like humanoid people in silhouette) However, I think things finally turned on her when when someone stepped forward and exposed her for being a fraud, most likely someone she stole from. Causing her followers to turn on her (AGAIN, HENCE the familiars being humanoid, but very distorted inside the silhouette symbolizing anger and hostility) Witnessing thousands of people condemning her, a 'blessed existence' of a 'perfect' girl calling her anything but caused her soul gem to fill with grief, turning her into the Artist Witch Izabel. 'To defeat this witch, just bring a well known critic with you' is how she became like this in the first place. A deluded girl who lost her way... As for her wish, this is hard for me to say. It could have been anything related to her inflated ego and superiority complex, as people like these issues tend to believe they are good at EVERYTHING. She could have wished 'I wish to be the best runner at track!' 'I wish to past every test with perfect marks!' 'I wish to be the most popular girl in school!' while art was something she thought she could be recognized with through fraud. Thats just my thoughts though. Thanks for reading through this huge mess haha

[@kaiyodei]

oh. if the magic girls didn't get her, the phantom theives would of

[@tinyghoul6598]

@@kaiyodei WE ARE THE PHANTOM THIEVES

[@PrincessLioness]

What are “Phantom Thieves”?

[@F1areon]

Yep, P5 reference

[@GE-0530RN]

shes somewhat similar to alina gray...but alinas witch form is old dorothy so lets nae nae that away

[@scottgray3513]

Timestamps: 2:49 Gertrude (Also known as "The rose garden witch.") 5:38 Charlotte (Also known as "The witch of sweets.") 7:51 H. N. Elly (A.K.A. Hana Nushiru Elly) (Also also known as "The box witch.") 10:30 Elsa Maria (Also known as "The shadow witch.") 12:22 Isabel (Also known as "The artist witch.") 13:15 Patricia (Also known as "The class representative witch.") 14:32 Roberta (Also known as "The bird cage witch.") 15:41 Walpurgisnacht (Also known as "The stage construction witch.") 18:09 Kriemhild Gretchen (Also known as "The witch of salvation.")

[@vicenteisaaclopezvaldez2450]

Also, Gretchen's "skirt" is like a tornado inside, where chairs fly and rumble around, madoka's room (or her mother's) seems to be full of chairs, and chairs seem to represent people or rescue/mercy, as in rebellion we see Nelly's familiars transporting the humans trapped inside homura's labyrinth safely in chairs, so maybe this is the way Gretchen gives salvation, by storing each person's soul under her dress, as in hiding them from something or someone.

[@piss7610]

Hiding them from...incubatorrrrs?

[@libraeevee9467]

Wait whose Nelly? I’m just curious here

[@stonks3507]

@@libraeevee9467I think they mean H.N Elly

[@libraeevee9467]

@@stonks3507 ooh okay that helps

[@dinkusoninkus]

Okay but the note about how walpugisnacht and Gretchen make an hour glass is the coolest thing I’ve heard all week

[@galaxeonart9338]

I’ll add these tidbits, Charlotte, in Rebellion she is seen using an air horn looking device that blows bubbles it’s also confirmed her mother was sick and miserable so wanting to make her happy she wished for the cheesecake , H.N. Elly’s teleportation could be linked to screens and how fast information travels through the internet and she could have been a famous internet idol, Walpurgis may be link to Madoka more than we think as her familiars resemble to the fairies Madoka interacts with in the atonement trailer. Also I believe you missed Alberta, the witch Sayaka tries to fight but is stopped by Kyoko when they first meet. She’s the scribble witch who endlessly plays hide and seek with her familiars who forget they’re even playing. And does anyone notice how witch’s forms change due to circumstances or timelines. Not just homulily but oktavia and even Walpurgis?!

[@inhale2851]

the atonement trailer was a joke trailer

[@pichufan101]

And also..the witch Sayaka was fighting when she met Kyoko wasn’t exactly a witch. It was Albertine’s familiar named Anja. But I would like to see a theory for that witch

[@hanfulz]

Elly’s could also be that light travels faster than sound. So whilst someone saw this happy idol, she was in-fact screaming for help.

[@literallyasuka2996]

Homura literally represents PTSD itself. She's PTSD in character form.

[@filsanmohamed2438]

fr

[@v4mpb3rry]

The cheesecake theory makes a lot of sense-- even Charlotte's theme song points to it. In the background of the song, you can hear voices chanting in German-- "Käse, Käse, wo ist die Käse?", which means "cheese, cheese, where is the cheese". Edit: I always wondered why they were singing that. But thanks to this video, I get it now.

[@무의-t8q]

69 likes. nice.

[@lol-je3kh]

where is the fucking cheze

[@malloryvolker6718]

It also implies she is younger I think since it has a grammar error kids usually do

[@abimbolacoker2865]

Could it also refer to money as probably her family was not rich enough to afford treatment that could have possibly saved her mother

[@misamagica]

Actually... Charlotte's mom got mad at her because she was sick and couldn't eat sweets. That influenced her grief, then Kyubey told her that she could have saved her mom by wishing she could have been healed, and thus waisted her wish. And thus, Witch Charlotte was born.

[@rainierdanredondo1278]

*It was at this moment Charlotte knew... she fucked up.*

[@estrelladml5882]

@@rainierdanredondo1278 *Fucked up really really bad.*

[@I_love_dr_stone]

What if "Box Up" actually referred to her wanting to forget something? Perhabs she was a victim of trauma and wished to forget it? That could still tie into the idol aspect aswell, maybe she was afraid of speaking out about what happend to her. As for why she didn't just wish it never happend, maybe she was convinced it was inevidible, and thus, chose to just not remember rather than risk it happening at another point instead.

[@SingingSealRiana]

Yeah, could BE fleeing into a good memory by boxing the Bad ones in or out! My First thought was hidi g a Bad one away

[@NyanCatHerder]

I think it's worth pointing out that HN Elly has several odd design choices (including the design of her Grief Seed, which includes an altered yet recognizable checkerboard pattern) that appear to reference an influential but somewhat obscure RPG Maker horror game called "Yume Nikki". Her apparent Magical Girl name looks like the main character, Madotsuki, and her reclusive nature also reflects the behavior of the game's main character. Madotsuki also has a close association with television, with the only interaction possible in the real world being with her TV until the end of the game. If this was the inspiration, there are several indications that Madotsuki had some kind of traumatic experience. Characters in her dreams reject her, and there are some sexual themes which are presented in such a way that they appear to suggest discomfort or violence. I think the idea that HN Elly actually wanted to forget something horrible, or alternately to live in the memory of one of the few good days of her short, tragic life, is probably correct.

[@hekilledthecat2151]

I think Gertrudes wish was about changing herself (physically) for some male figure- (possibly to be the perfect daughter or some man she liked) the butterfly wings represent change, roses are a symbol of beauty and the way she looks represents like you said how she felt about herself looks wise-

[@Project32HMT32]

Walpurgis being made up of several witches/girls explains why her laugh sounds like it's many voices laughing at the same time!

[@SingingSealRiana]

And Walpurgisnacht IS literally about witches coming togeather

[@karak962]

This video is so engaging!!! Your analysis is so cool and this is precisely the kind of stuff I nerd out about. Also I wheezed at "HOMULILLYS 800 DESIGNS"

[@thejudgmentalcritter6584]

:D Yay! thank you so much!

[@fernandocuauhshihuacarbaja3094]

@@thejudgmentalcritter6584 your right she is the witch who has more versions of herself!!! 1.-Homulilly witch of the mortal world with a nature of a Closed Circuit (the one that appears at the bad end of the Madoka PSP Game) 2.- Homulilly, witch of the mortal world with nature of Karma (the form Homura will take in the series after Kyubey explained her what Karmic efects she was causing on Madoka, this version is literally the mash up appearence of her first mortal world witch form and the nutcracker witch form 🤨) 3.- Homulilly the Nutcracker witch with an self-suffency nature. And 4.- Homulilly the Nutcraker witch 2.0 (the same as the past one but creepier)

[@thegaminginkling6470]

I’m actually planning a fanfic series showing the origins of every single witch that’s never explained. I’m writing the first draft of Gertrud’s story. In my story the girl was sheltered for almost her entire childhood. When she finds Kyubey in her rose garden in the backyard, she wishes to be free from her sheltered life and explore the outside world. She hoped it would be a fun happy place but she couldn’t have been more wrong. As the story progresses she begins to experience how evil the real world can be. She falls under despair and begins to not trust anyone and anything, filling her soul gem with grief. The final straw would be her new best friend accidentally crushing the flowers in her rose garden. I also picture her weapon to be a whip of some sort. Her magic can also be related to butterflies as well.

[@aceaw1393]

Um. Hi. This sounds really interesting and if you've finished writing it I'd be interested in it. If that's cool.

[@turiniti]

This was so fascinating! As a Madoka fanatic myself, this was really interesting especially when discussing Gertrud, Elly, and most definitely Roberta. Older magical girls with more experience peak my interest considering I signed a silly little Kyubey contract I found off the internet and printed. Since I was fourteen then and now nineteen, I always wondered if magical girls lived up till that point. Because of Magia Record (there are numerous magical girls who are at least nineteen), and the historical magical girls that were shown in the anime, and of course Roberta, it's very likely more magical girls in the past have grown past teenage years to become adults. Although they don't last too long and most likely become miserable. Anyway, I love the video and you should do more! I like the Sailor Scouts as Walpurgis. It was a nice touch!

[@fatalframe95]

THing with Izabel, is we can see her Magical girl appearance on the side of the arches, as well as a small female silhouette within Gertrude when she opens her goo when she almost kills Mami. Each witch seems to have a kind of play back to what they were or used to be like- We can see a lot of Scissors in Gertrude's labyrinth, so we can probably jump to that being her weapon. In the case of Albertine, she wanted to turn liars into toys- so we can make the jump that her breaking was due to lies- maybe even from her parents. For Gertrude, there is a theory that a character from the game might be her, as she has been around since launch in Japan but still has no Doppel but Gertrude was an event and we still don't see anything. The themes of "Flowers" "Butterflies" "Scissors" and happiness/wilting is heavily saturated into both Konomi Haruna and Gertrude. Konomi works as a florist for an elderly woman who was dying. Konomi wished to cure someone related to the Shop she worked for- I can imagine if something happened to that shop, Konomi would probably shut down. then with Walpurgis Nacht, we did get confirmation that she is a joining of witches from Gen Urobuchi himself. From what Kyubey says that "by defeating the most powerful witch, one must become that herself" we can imply she started at one Witch and then started eating many. Gen's words were that "she's like a tornado that meets another". That wording is fascinating to me, because that means that her "helpless Nature" could be depending on others and needing others all the time. With that witch, it is heavily implied that the doll hanging underneath isn't the original witch, but a decoy and the cog (which cogs can't turn on their own without help) is the ACTUAL witch. Her familiars are cutesy, darkened versions of the witches she "ate". We did get confirmation from the PSP game that Walpurgisnacht has her own Grief seed, which does have a symbol and design on it similarly to all the others. To add credence that Walpurgisnacht started as one witch, there is a picture of a silhouette in Homura's room that actually looks like one of the end seen Silhouettes. My only gripe with the end seen is that Nagisa's magical girl design was changed before the Rebellion movie released. Nagisa's information was finally confirmed which makes her powers about.. well. Food and childhood. She blows bubble candy, eats monsters and beats the shit out of monsters with shear brute rage, like a tantrum. The Glyphs in her Labyrinth also talk about Mami, which would mean to some degree, she already knew her. It has never been discussed if the Witches are aware of the timeloops, but if so, that would explain why Charlotte knows her- she'd of killed her before. If not, it just adds to the dark overcast feeling the anime glosses over at first about witches being SOMEWHAT still conscious of what they are doing but are blinded by pure primal rage and instinct. The predominate theory with Kirsten/H.N. Elly was that maybe she wanted to be able to hold onto a memory and wanted to keep it safe, maybe even to watch it over and over again. Her covetous nature could be about protecting it or even something to do with her doll like familiars. The Screen though always gave me the Hikikomori vibe, maybe she was just wanted to be like the girls in pop groups/Hatsune Miku (based on thematics here) when she is broken open, it reveals she is a doll/fake/ hiding behind her screen. That could imply VARIOUS things. Maybe she was a keyboard warrior? Who knows? it definately gives me the impression that she might have been an internet troll and maybe didn't have the courage to go out maybe when she probably needed to. I mean, if you strip away her design and look at how it's presented, we get a pretty grim look not only on her lifestyle, but her personality. Looking at all the girls, especially like Kyouko/Sayaka, they aren't all soft spoken little angels, no. We can look at how they correspond between their witch form and what broke them. For Kirsten, we don't know enough. Maybe she just broke in her home, online. I think you nailed Patricia spot on though. Wishing to be the class rep. could mean pulling strings and I can very well imagine that she wanted the position more than anything based on how she seemed to think she was incredibly unlucky. Being able to control people and getting the lead position was probably what lead to her eventual breaking point as, hands coming out of her skirt and shooting mindless drones from herself actually is some pretty Silent Hill Level symbolism. Maybe she really wasn't cut out for the position or something she did directly lead to an assault. Either way, it's very depressing but all we get is the impression that the uniforms were washed (probably after her assault) and it's a clear day in there, so we can look at that a few ways. One being that it happened in broad daylight, or Two, she finally accepted that it isn't always a "Woe is me" kinda like how Sayaka admitted that she knows she was wrong all along but couldn't admit to it before she turned. This became a lot longer than I wanted and ooomg I am sorry for the walls of text.

[@rosemary3029]

Here in 2024;Konomi isn't gertude it's heidisommer

[@WickedBlondie]

popstar girl, hot take: she might have already been a popstar, and wished to forget the time where she wasn't one because she was feeling awful(boxing it up could also mean hiding it away, I guess)

[@oriaan5217]

I personally think gertrud’s weapon was a whip resembling a vine as she uses vines to attack

[@asteriskwashere]

Same honestly

[@deepstrike9750]

Oh no a witch that's a v-tuber

[@pixelpulse0755]

I have a different theory for Gertude. I always thought she was a girl who was forced to work in a textile factory because furniture and shoes drop out of no where and the industrial like things in the background. In addition the familiars have cotton for heads. I also agree that the mustache on the familiars could symbolizes a male figure. Either her father or the man ruining the factory. I also agree that she had a butterfly design because she wanted escape. She also wanted nothing more than being in nature and owning a garden, than being trapped in an industrial city.

[@Mad_Rabbit69]

I think Elsa Maria’s powers was shadow or invisibility, since shes the “Shadow witch” and the line “ I wish to you although not seen from me,to be happy” could be implying she worked from the shadows. I Think she was similar to sayaka and mami A magical girl fighting for truth and justice from the shadows. She probably was religious or had a holier then thou mentality, and thought she was doing gods work and spreading hope by killing witches, Perhaps her beliefs were challenged and refusing to accept or change her ideals she turned into a witch. Maybe this world shattering news was the truth about magical girls and witches making her hard work all for nothing.

[@revriee]

An idea about Gertude: I'm pretty sure the nature is how you turn into a witch, so she actually wished to be free, but being trapped for so long made her lose hope in going back and she lost trust in her wish, making her into a witch.

[@m.v.gonzalez5575]

I enjoyed your in depth analysis ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Gertrude could also have been a boy that wished to be a girl : the butterflys : metamorfosis Roses : usually represent boys' love in anime In the coments someone said that her weapon were sisors: her wish to get rid of *you know* The minions: a father figure/love interest Grief: rejeted by her love interest and/ir father figure (also her ugly witch form: maybe she was told to be discusting by then)

[@holyshard530]

Maybe gertrude's wish was to be with somebody, Someone she fell in love with. Roses can represent love and maybe beauty, so she might've wished to not only be with said boy but to be beautiful. The wings on her grief seed might have a connection but i dunno, and the idea of her weapons being scissors is honestly pretty weird but maybe it represents her cutting down the ugly parts of herself. Her grief seed could have hatched when she got rejected or when she realized she made herself flawless for nothing. "But her labyrinth is closed off so how does that add up?" her labyrinth can represent her being trapped in her own sadness, her witch design is hideous and quite ugly so it adds up to the wanting to be beautiful, she thought of herself as ugly before she became a magical girl so maybe her witch form reflects that.

[@honeybeeami2654]

M. V. Gonzalez I actually really love the tragic concept of that

[@skabo__o]

No degeneracy please. Have a nice day

[@honeybeeami2654]

skabO__O wait what did we say?

[@chichi77tim]

@@skabo__o The only degeneracy is your comment.

[@inhale2851]

Nagisa’s backstory is revealed in Magia Record Her power is also seen in Rebellion. You can look for clips! But you don’t have to look if you wanna evade spoilers.

[@KittyKatt_Luna80s]

She was abused by her mother, I read about her elsewhere. The cheesecake was wished for out of spite. It was true that her mother was very ill - the illness made her turn nasty and Nagisa wished for the cheesecake for a comfort, rather than the cure for her mother. After that, her mother died - and Nagisa realised that she could have used the wish to cure her mother and stop her abuse.

[@KittyKatt_Luna80s]

Was that correct?

[@inhale2851]

@@KittyKatt_Luna80s yea

[@alchemysaga3745]

@@KittyKatt_Luna80s Yes but no. Nagisa actually wanted to wish for the cheesecake as a 'fuck you' to her mother. That she had the opportunity to cure her mother and chose not to because her mother had treated her so poorly. Unfortunately, another Magical Girl got involved and took away the ability for Nagisa to do that in the way she wanted. So Nagisa didn't get the love from her mother that she wanted or the opportunity to defy her mother and be the one in power.

[@ExceptionalOneStandAlone]

20:11 she looks like Madoka right here 18:32 maybe that witch was symbolizing that she was trapped in a time line

[@inactive_ina]

the one at 20:11 is fanart I think.

[@r3zaful]

@@artheclownn madoka only have 3 witch form if you includes madokami.

[@meticulouslymindless]

~This comment contains light spoilers, so if you haven't seen the series, now is your chance to skip it ~ 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . Another thing I noticed is that some of the witches we know of are linked to fairytales. For example sayaka became a mermaid because her story shares similarities with the story of the little mermaid: Both fell in love with a guy and endured a lot of pain to save him and be close to him but he ended up having a romance with another girl/woman. Another example would be the nutcracker witch aka Homura. At the beginning of the series she is 'broken' (sick) and gets 'saved' by a young girl (Madoka) and goes on to protect this girl from the mice king ( Homura refers to kyubey as the 'white rat', and she tries to protect madoka from making the contract with it).

[@nicolehamilton2747]

I think we see quite a lot of these magical girls in the japanese mobile game , there’s a class president magical girl by the name of Ryou Midori, A girl with a nun theme called Umika Misaki, either Mayu Kozue or Alina Gray could be Isabell, The rose garden wicth is probably Konomi Haruna ...

[@nicolehamilton2747]

I don’t know about the others thou. Also to note, they all lack Dopels soo

[@slayeulgi]

Alina's doppel is old Dorothy not isabell

[@fernandocuauhshihuacarbaja3094]

And Mayu Kozue's Doppel name is Naomi and Umika's witch (this is known by some edits) is some kind of Butterfly or Moth, so she is not Elsa Maria (besides her wish It's not related to help or make other people happy)

[@LesbiansMarie]

You have introduced me to Umika Misaki so thank you for that

[@pallascatsareawesome1213]

Umika's wish was for an editor who would give her the credit she was due for her books, in the manga. And she wasn't Christian...

[@chunellemariavictoriaespan8752]

9:49 =The girl might have been sufficated by her role to always be a role model to many, thus the angel motif in a snow globe. You are stuck in this space. You see everything around you but you can't move or go anywhere. For visual reference of this idea, you can watch Lindsay Sterling's "Shatter Me" MV... The witch's story reminds me of that... Izabel features Triumphe d' Arc.... Wow even in Witch form, she really wants to be a winner, though she always ends up always being the one that puts the ideas into art... Nothing she makes is in fact hers, and that might be frustrating, being a cog on the wheel.. For a girl who always wants to be in the spotlight for something she makes, its gonna be frustrating...

[@noirelune1229]

I think it was because Romans used to pass through the Triumphe d' Arc to celebrate victory

[@reptiliano3924]

Maybe Gertrude was abused by that father figure, which made her feel trapped and gross. That's also why she wants to be free and fly away from that father figure

[@evangelinemcdowell8114]

"Maybe she was lactose intolerant" made me die of laughter

[@noviceworks1503]

Thanks so much for this essay, and your GENIUS formula! I got to think harder about this series than ever! Your closed off garden made sense to me with Gertrude, but coupled with her posture and her kind of oozy nature, my take is that she's grieving, and the roses are a memorial garden around a grave specifically. Butterflies are associated with death in Japanese culture, and with the theory that witch familiars are someone/thing they resented in life makes me think her dad was trying to remarry and erase her mother's presence/memory. Cotton balls are used to clean off makeup, but it could also be a reference to brains like cotton meaning a feeling of numbness--she doesn't think her dad was sad ENOUGH. Meanwhile, we see the walls of a house with...GASLIGHTS. If we take the meaning from the original story the term gaslighting comes from, maybe dad's convincing her that she's crazy to be sad about her mother's death. The accordion structures behind her reminded me of the kind of baby cage you set up in a doorway--maybe she became a witch when her stepmother got pregnant? Imagine her dad maybe turning her mother's sewing room into a nursery... I can't make out the picture on the stool she's knelt in front of (looks like a horse?), but they way it's set up reminds me of someone crying over a last photo/portrait of someone they loved. It never occurred to me that Charlotte might have turned RIGHT after she was made a witch. Imagine Kyubey being at her mother's deathbed with her and going 'Oh yeah...I could have totally cured that disease. A wish like that might have made you more powerful immediately. You're going to have to work REALLY hard now because it was such a piddly simple thing you wished for. ' I wonder if rather than being unable to make the cheese because it's beyond her power...it's more like she can't BRING herself to make cheese. Like she can't bear to be reminded of what a HUGE opportunity she missed, so this thing that she loved is now just closed off to her. I kind of assume she was like me as a kid--always smiled at by adults for wanting things that are simple to the point where you internalize the idea that only wanting small things is a big part of what makes you good. But the ONE time she could and should have wished big, she blew it. So the rage made her that much more powerful as a witch. It makes the transformation of her forms from unassuming to all-consuming really tragic. HN Elly being an idol makes perfect sense! Her one-winged angels look like puppets, just like how idols are treated. They're angels....but totally at the mercy of fan perception. They can't gain weight or find love without huge, ugly backlash. I'd be willing to bet the day she wanted to box up was a fairground date...but of course, an eagle-eyed stalkerass fan saw her having ONE day of fun, took pictures, and it blew up on the internet--with all the rape and death threats that would entail. The duality of being an idol would mean being seen by EVERYONE, yet having to hide when not onstage/doing meet and greets/practicing. It makes sense that she'd be very jealous--If I got judged for putting on a few pounds as harshly as an Idol, I'd be a WRECK. The line about her prisoners: One can strike her without thought without problems makes me think of fans for sure. How long does it take to write an awful tweet about someone? And what consequences to those people face? I'm thinking in the reverse from you, that she was already an idol and wanted a break from it...except being a magical girl ALSO means being a soulless puppet who's never thanked for their hard work. I think Elsa Maria's grief seed has a general depiction of the Christian Trinity on it. Her familiars being called Sebastians led me on a hunt for more about SAINT Sebastian, despite the fact that their photo makes them look like The Beast with many heads in Revelations. Saint Sebastian was martyred twice--the first time he was "killed" for his beliefs, he didn't ACTUALLY die. He was nursed back to health from arrows only to be killed for real with clubs. Because the many headed beast is ridden by the 'Whore of Babylon', my guess is that she was slandered in her real life...maybe taking the fall for someone when she shouldn't have, whether it was romantic or not. Izabel the art witch was, I'd bet, what people would call a hack. Looking at the production note about critics, and the Arc De Triomphe and Guernica in her labyrinth, all her work was probably derided as derivative. Looking at her familiars, I'd bet she resented people whose 'scribbles', in her mind got more recognition than her own art. The issue there is that while her own art was probably TECHNICALLY good from a skillset standpoint..she just didn't have any original thoughts--she couldn't 'steal like an artist', only make easily recognized copycat works. Then again, it might be inferred that she was a BAD artist on a technical level, wished to be "a great artist LIKE Picasso, Von Eyck, etc'...but her wish backfired in that once she got past a non-art historian's praise of her work...it was immediately recognized that she had no style of her own once she left the small pond to swim with bigger art fish. Patricia, I thought was an interesting case. It's her 'onlooker personality' and puppet-like classmate familiars that make me wonder if sexual assault is what's meant by the hands on her. I think it's likely that she wanted to be class rep in order to be 'hands ON'--ie, direct every aspect of everything, have everyone do as she said and respect her opinions. However, if she only wished for the position without the respect of her peers along with it...she'd be facing cruel mutiny, with the added responsibility of 'Well you wanted to be captain' on top. I think she resented that class reps are the popular kids because that's the only way the position will work...it's just that she found that out too late. The rain and laundry-line theme of her quote and labyrinth make me think that she needed to wash/hide some kind of evidence...but can't due to the weather. Maybe it was suspected that she tampered with the votes...or she put together some kind of scheme to turn people's attention against another classmate, and it backfired because she didn't check the forecast. Roberta being a full adult when she got her wish is telling. Kyubey says that it's teen girls' giant emotions that fuel things, but to have those kinds of huge feelings into your 30s is frowned upon. I'm guessing she was kind of a femcel--an angry lady who hated men for not being attracted to her, even though she was really immature herself. I bring up men specifically because of her familiars being dumb, shallow dudes with hard abs. She probably lasted an extra long time as a magical girl BECAUSE she did have some adult coping mechanisms but as a magical girl, the only friendships you can really maintain are with other magical girls. And now that she's a grown woman, even if the usually territorial girls wanted to band together with her...now she's group mom or big sis among a bunch of 'dumb teenagers'. Fun for a while, but doesn't provide any emotional support (it shouldn't, teens can comfort adults but it shouldn't be an expectation like it is with friendships in your own age group). Walpurgisnacht's naivete strikes me in a different way. I think she recognizes suffering...but she wants the catharsis of it without the permanent consequences. In a stageplay world, kind of a theater kid Vallhalla, everyone would suffer, but there are no scars from it. And then everyone CLAPS. I didn't mean to write a book, but...here we are. XD

[@barclinxox]

It is absolutely mind boggling how much dept they added to the witches that went over my head. This series is so deep.

[@phr0w0g84]

I know you said that you're trying to ignore Nagisa/Bebe, but in Magi Record it is said that she wanted to cure her mothe, but her mother was verbally abusive and (probably) both mentally and physically ill, so she wished for a cheesecake that her mother would've liked, so that Nagisa would basically be the reason her mom wouldn't live, however another magical girl killed Charlotte's mom, and she watched her die, and shortly after, she became a witch

[@machipoiyo1220]

In Charlotte's case I think it was more of shedding than duplication as she can be seen as a very hungry caterpillar (hungry for affection and sweets?) but anyways the story was revealed in the Madoka Mobile game Magia Record

[@_sushirolled_]

damn this was amazing! holy crap you're super underrated dude this was a unique and interesting topic from PMMM and also encourages to think internally on the meaning of a design and its purpose more the witches feel more like fleshed-out characters after your analyses especially

[@thejudgmentalcritter6584]

Thank you! i'm glad you liked it so much!

[@inhale2851]

fancy seeing u here

[@beefnoodles3941]

What if I wished for kyubey to feel emotion so he could feel the pain of other magical girls because of him ,what type of witch would I turn into?

[@ayumikamukura1041]

A motherly type of witch?

[@kittykatdrawz6956]

Someone or something that inflicts a lot of pain. You tried to make someone understand, but you only brought them pain and sorrow. I believe you would have sharp objects coming from your limbs and that would be how you attack. Your labyrinth may have things around symbolizing that you believed to be right or thought you were doing good when you were actually doing something awful to someone else. What comes to mind when I think of this is human test subjects (this may just be me) so maybe you’re labyrinth would show human like figures being held down to be tortured and experience an awful pain. I don’t know, I’m not very good at this.

[@bookmew1081]

Kyubei would never be able to truly grant that wish with no knowledge of human emotions other than that they can be manipulated. Besides you would need a lot of Karmic Destiny in order for it to even consider accepting such an insane wish. As for your witch I think it would depend on your preferred appearance, how you gave into despair, & even your location. I think since Kyubei was the target of your wish you would develop features resembling Kyubei turned giant with an overwhelming desire to seek out people who harm others & force them to feel the suffering they inflict.

[@lol-je3kh]

@@kittykatdrawz6956 not very good at this???? YOU ARE FUCKING BRILLIANT

[@beefnoodles3941]

@@kittykatdrawz6956 Ok, so i figure i would be a very TERRIFYING witch, good to know-

[@cherrrymilk]

I felt like a boxed up memory would be one you put away, and want to forget? Idk

[@Crystal_digitalstar]

When I saw Walpurgisnacht I thought it was Madoka, I mean, IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE

[@Miaw_Miaw8765]

Yea i thought that when i fisrt saw the series

[@smokeman2645]

I think if you consider that the top of Elsa Maria's grief seed is mistletoe and add the her somewhat saviour like nature into the mix based on how she prays like a maiden you might get a reading closer to European mythology. She reminds me of a princess or queen in peril praying for her kingdom to be saved. I just don't know how relevant time is here. Can witches just survive for houndreds of years? Was it maybe someone who was in a similar predicament like said princess (kinda like sayaka being associated to music in its grandest of forms being a concert) Sayaka does in a way feel betrayed and having her slay 'a fairytale" or something which hanged on a belief like she did would be fitting. Just some thoughts.

[@Xdylan3131]

I think that for Gretchen, her weapon was a pair of scissors/garden sheers. We see her as well as her familiars using them and it would make sense given her gardener theme. Also, my guess is that her wish was to become beautiful. I agree that her witch appearance comes from her lack of self esteem, and the butterfly motief could be the metamorphosis from ugly (catapillar) to beautiful (butterfly)

[@puellamagiholyquintet]

Gertrude* not Gretchen! That's Madoka!!

[@bakutuube]

I feel as if Elsa Maria may have wished for something along the lines of “world peace” or “for everyone to be happy” based on the production note’s description. It sounds like a very spiritual wording for such a concept. Knowing Kyubey though this wish probably backfired or didn’t last long which may have lead to her corruption.

[@raw6668]

I think I got the reference for the "Cheese That She Loves" in Charlette the Sweet Witch. If she was young as you believe, then she may have been trying to make the treat her mother with something she loves to cheer her up but could not make or get a specific cheesecake she loves. Then the Incubator came to say she will grant her wish, and she wishes for a cheesecake. Maybe thinking the incubator could not do it, or if the girl was really young, may even think it would make her mother happier, which translates to a young child as making them better. Only to realize later her mistake and fall in depression when her mother died to her disease. As for her weapon, I think it was a bladed weapon like a sword, daggers, a katana or knives. This is mainly due to the fact her primary attack strategy was is to bite and chew through targets, and in folklore, a fang from a ferrous beast is often to create a bladed weapon, and standard description for monsters is that "It teeth are a sward as blades."

[@rand0md00d3]

For Patricia maybe in order to get the class rep position she had to sleep with the teacher or smth???

[@galaxywish7212]

RanD0M D00D This makes sense! So maybe :0

[@theletterj4397]

I’m assuming Patricia is the bird rage witch but actually she was a magical for a long time and when she was an adult she felt like she was still a girl and she became a witch as no longer being normal at all

[@imsohappy303]

@@theletterj4397 The Birdcage witch is Roberta, Patricia is the spider like witch with a school uniform

[@fernandocuauhshihuacarbaja3094]

Actually I think Patricia was not the one that suffer harassment but rather her classmates, her nature is onlooker, maybe she knew some of her classmates were harassed by male classmates, but she never do something because she didn't wanted to lose her potision as the class president, maybe she pretended everything was fine when it wasn't, that will explain why her familiars only look like legs, because It's what she saw in her classmates for being harassed, and her convincing them to not perturbe their perfect school days is like she was controlling them, this might be reflejed in why her familiars are literally like puppets. This maybe is what brought her in depression or guilt, becoming a witch. Also if you notice her grief seed also has eyes symbolism (I thought about this theory a long time ago).

[@tvboxmimic7887]

Fernando Cuauhshihua Carbajal Mejia Patricia’s familiars’ thighs are bruised, so maybe she either was or aware of a girl getting sexually assaulted. Her onlooker nature suggests she didn’t do anything if someone else was assaulted. Patricia might have become a witch because she regretted no doing anything.

[@anjealousanaconda9692]

I think Gertrude’s weapon were scissors as when she tried to kill Mami her face opened up and multiple black scissors appeared. Also her familiars are all seen using scissors as well

[@CrimsonAlice]

you're the first person I've come across to try and decipher these, and I love it. If you ever return to it, I might humbly input the idea of also taking into consideration the way the wish had been twisted, as from my viewing, they all are or will be (hence usually why the grief starts). You do hit close to this I think when you mention charlotte having wished for a cheesecake, as it was her mothers dying wish (and to a Childs mind might then be construed as "if she wants this, it must be the best thing"), having that, and in time she might have realized the folly of such a wish and its immediate gratification, as opposed to what good she might have done. Another way the grief could spread would be, even though she may have wished for a cheesecake for her mother, and gave some to her, her mother still died. In that, would a child come to realize that a cheesecake would in fact do nothing, be nothing, in absence of the mother. Satisfying the immediate want did not make her happy. As a witch who could make any sweet but cheesecake, I suspect it is because her inner self sees it as the absence of her mother and hates it, whilst also relating it to the last moment with her mother and therefore also craving it. in truth, the repercussions of these wishes seems to stem from the immediate gratification they seek, as opposed to the message of the harder road to take of "trying to be ones best self". The wishes are either tainted from the self interest of desire, or twisted from kyubei (as many wish masters are prone to do). Say with Kyoko wanting for others to listen to her dad. it started off great but once her dad realizes it wasn't from his own work he shuns her, goes mental and kills the rest of the family. Sayaka is a prime example of the former. She "selflessly" wishes for her crush to be healed, because she cares, but it seems obvious that she had it in her mind that she expected a grand understanding of her gesture, that he would be grateful and see her love and so return it back. that starts the resentment, but honestly kyubey didn't have to twist it himself. once she realizes the truth about her soul outside her body, she can no longer see herself as human, and shuns herself away from him. this grief will pile on the resentment until she breaks. She could have tried to be there for him during his pain, enduring the long road, but she chose to end his misery quickly, and no one seems to think that will come with a cost. (EDIT) I think I found your other magical girl parts to the witches, but I'll wait and see if part two mentions anything

[@LoraCoggins]

While watching this video, I realized that the magical girls in this series are basically Ghostbusters.

[@kitkatsmol6375]

I’m over a month late, but It’s possible Izabel could have been some kind of tracer or art thief, tying in the whole “within her barrier only exists works that you have probably seen before.” My theory is she was one of the infamously entitled artists you see either recoloring, tracing or outright stealing other’s hard work without giving credit. Her wish could’ve been something pertaining to her wanting others to like the art she makes without question, if not something else that’s similar. “To defeat this witch, just bring a well-known critic with you” would go to show her vanity was put on display when someone calls her out. Her familiars look like botched sketches, possibly reflecting that she didn’t improve that much despite any tracing or recoloring(which i have to say, i used based in the beginning and it helped a lot with certain anatomy tricks back then, so her not improving could imply she outright stole art from good, lesser-known artists or just got good at shamelessly recoloring). Her witch form being simply an arch could just be where she hatched? Perhaps near the entrance of an art museum? The orange background makes it seem more open, perhaps at dusk or dawn, but the marble-like floor covered in what i assume was her art suggest somewhere indoors. Perhaps it hatched after closing hours at the art museum, either having been chewed out by the owners or being stood up by them saying they’d think about putting her art in display? Or maybe she did get “her art” up, but saw the true artists of the pieces viewing their uncredited work, and felt guilty? Any number of related things could be what caused her grief. The lack of much being there could mean that in spite of her vanity and “holier-than-thou” nature, she wasn’t the most powerful of magical girls, so whatever caused her to become a witch could have been as short-lived as a single bad review. This weakness is reflected at the short amount of time and energy it takes to defeat her. As for her weapon.. I have no clue, and there’s not enough information lol But anyway, that’s my two cents on it. I just thought maybe it’d be interesting if that were the case! :0

[@zilaalapsablue7228]

I adore this theory, wonderful job

[@dreaming4ffr]

i loved this T_T I wish they made a series for the girls who became witches.. like a pre-quel.. they were the first witches and all

[@Alistair-The-Grox]

Quick correction: Charlotte's magical girl form is named Nagisa. Bebe is a nickname given by Mami because magical girls can't read runes. Anyways, great video!

[@kittykatdrawz6956]

At the end of the anime when Madoka is taking away grief, you see a girl running into a large area of grass with clothe lines in it. I believe that this is Patricia and she was in fact being harassed/molested. I believe that it either 1: broke her and made her run into her yard only making her realize that not everything can be great and she is filled with grief knowing that her wish to be class president/help people brought this upon her (a teacher assaulted her and she blamed herself) or 2: A teacher continuously assaulted her and made her feel helpless and it eventually broke her and, not being able to take it any more, ran into her back yard with the dirty uniforms and she was filled with grief.

[@Meowie171]

I honestly think that Patricia wish with something along the lines of “I wish to be the one in control” which would make sense seeing the thing of her being unlucky because the rain and all the imagery of like the molestation and the general vibe of like the class rep all that is like people who are either in control or being forced to bend to the will of the person in control

[@drainedclouds2799]

I come back to this video way too many times for my own good

[@honestyprofessorcaesarreal5091]

My guess is that the magical girl Oriko Mikuni is the witch "Gertrude" and I also have an interesting theory that Kazuko Saotome was originally supposed to be the witch "Roberta" (Yes I know it sounds crazy, but listen to Roberta's description and tell me that doesn't fit Kazuko, lol) and one note on "Bebe": that is in fact Charlotte herself. Mami made up the name "Bebe" for her since she (and the other main characters) can't read the runes that appear above witches, Gen Urobuchi confirmed all of this in an interview; that is in fact Charlotte and thus Nagisa Momoe back in the original Anime.

[@fernandocuauhshihuacarbaja3094]

Oriko is not Gertrude (many fans thought this, me too). Oriko's witch form name is Sotria, the witch of balls and her nature is anguish. It's confirmed in Magia Record, even Kuroe Mura (Oriko Magica creator) design Sotria.

[@claribelmartinez6750]

Please to a part 2 i what to see how you describe the witches from the other manga and games pretty please

[@hkazu63]

I suspect Elsa Maria’s wish is to do with charity. “Although not seen by me” implies that she cannot meet the person - or people - she is wishing for. Perhaps she wanted for people to no longer be forced to suffer in poor circumstances, but realised that her wish was hollow as it did not fix the actual problem and the realisation caused her to despair that people were still suffering. Wishing them happiness over respite from their suffering also feels like a mistake that a young girl might make.

[@vokkagirl]

i wonder if ellie’s wish about boxing up a memory could have been related to something traumatic/disturbing she saw in a movie or a show, and that’s why her maze has lots of film/tv motifs?

[@庫倫亞利克]

There's a really compelling fan-made manga on Charlotte's life prior to being a witch. It features Charlotte, as a cancer patient, being unable to eat cheesecake (which is her favorite) because it messes with her medication. The nurses tell her that she needs to endure since she'll need the medication to fight the "worms" inside her that makes her sick. In pain and not even being able to sooth the pain with the comfort of her favorite treat, her sorrow draws Kyubey near, and she makes a wish of becoming better. Fighting witches is hardly a chore to her since now she can enjoy cheesecake all she wants. However, the remission is temporary and soon the symptoms resurface, forcing her to be hospitalized again. Kyubey taunts her that she should have wished for something like a body impervious to all diseases and such. He also reveals to her that her being unable to feel the pain of cancerous tumors eating away at her is due to her subconsciously numbing the pain with magic, which she barely has any now (due to a shortage on witches recently). Charlotte feels it and writhes in pain. Kyubey disappears as the nurses rush to her, as she begs and cries that she want some cheesecake but the nurses decline, saying that it'll prevent the "worms" from dying. Falling prey to the excruciating pain, Charlotte's gem breaks, and her second form (the one that kills Mami) emerges from her lifeless body and swallows the nurses whole. The now witched out Charlotte muses happily on how her "worms" will not disturb her anymore, as they're now a part of her. She also indulges in an endless supply of sweets that's created by her witch powers, but is baffled and disappointed that however hard she tries, the only kind of sweet she cannot conjure up is cheesecake. She decides to take a nap and try again after she wakes up, and becomes a grief seed once more...the same grief seed that Sayaka sees in episode 3 that's embedded in the hospital wall. The end.

[@SonodaSymphony]

Where can I read this manga? :0

[@庫倫亞利克]

@@SonodaSymphony kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGSTY4mcj6mjjqs Here you go. There are no English subtitles, but combined with what I posted in the comment you should have a pretty good grasp on what's going on.

[@theblackcatgirl7013]

Gertrude probably wished to be beautiful like the roses she was around. The Butterfly symbolism checks out as her changing from an ugly caterpillar to a gorgeous butterfly. Her Witch design being despresso-espresso with its hair down could also back this up. It being able to fly was probably one of her powers. She probably had Mariposa wings.

[@sofiarodriguezsantiago5403]

I have multiple theories about them but one I really want to mention is Izabel: Maybe Izabel wished to be a famous artist, but the wish didn’t change her skills. Once she realized she started coping and stealing other people’s work and someone called her out on it. That caused her carrier to be destroyed which caused her to fall into deep depression and you know the rest.

[@purplepop1495]

Something I noticed: The image on the front of the grief seed may have to do with who the wish effected? Sayaka wished to heal Kyousuke, and the image on the front of her grief seed looks like a music note. On Madoka’s grief seed, It looked like that moment when she shot her arrows into the sky after wishing that witches never existed, which saved all magical girl through history.

[@titanqueen7217]

More specifically, I think Sayaka’s soul gem shape resembles a four beat note (And four and death are pronounced the same in Japanese), possibly symbolising that she was doomed from the beginning

[@darkartsninja]

I second this theory because (according to the hidden lore & spin-offs) Sayaka is doomed in every single universe that she makes a contract. Either she dies or becomes a witch. The only exception is in Oriko Magia, because she ends up not making a contract.

[@L3onking]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's into the witches history

[@Mathee]

Concerning Izabel; the notes saying that everything in her barrier are things you've probably seen before, makes me think that her wish backfired in the sense that it only made her able to copy already made works of art; wouldn't surprise me if the incubators didn't know what differentiated great art from bad, and therefore just gave her the ability to copy art. This is probably also what led to her becoming a witch; at first, maybe she thought she could use the copying abilities as training to hone her original skills and becoming a better artist that way, but that most likely didn't work out. Her familiars, the scribbly human-looking ones, might have been what her original art looked like, or even how she felt they looked like

[@singularity1130]

Bento girl sounds like some who never knew socialization because of her occupation and got it for 1 day. She ran into a wonderful group of people and during their short time spent with them learned about how it feels to be genuinely cared for. However due to her schedule she was forced to leave them and in response wished to always remember their one off day out together forever. I assume boxing it up is about her having ownership over her own happiness so no one could take it from her unlike the unfortunate nature of a pop star where everything, even your own thoughts, feelings and body... are dictated by others. Poor thing had a nagisa moment.. could wished for something more tangible instead of that quick wish.

[@pitsmik362]

I have a theory about Elsa Maria it may seem far fetched but maybe she knew kyoko before she became a witch. she could of went to her father's church before her parents stopped coming because of kyokos dad preaching. so when she wished for happiness it could be for kyoko and instead of kyubey just making her life better they take the opportunity to make a contract with her. how she ended up in mitekihara (sorry if I spelt that wrong) witches labyrinth can move from place to place. and how Elsa thought she would be anonymous maybe she had a crush on kyoko and with most crushes she felt like kyoko would never love her back.

[@crazyeeveelady3636]

This video is a year old but I kept thinking about Izabel. Her vain nature, the design on her grief seed, and the brief description of her labyrinth lead me to believe that she probably wished to be a talented artist in hopes of winning some major competition for glory, attention, fame, maybe money. But she probably made art that was too similar to other works, or perhaps she straight up plagiarized, which would have disqualified her and denied her the fame she wanted, leading to her soul gem hatching.

[@thelegion8604]

Dang, just spoiled one of the biggest plot twist with no warning in the first minute

[@Patadude100]

"I can't figure out what weapon Gertrude had" *Proceeds to use a clip of a whip-like tail*

[@Maridoesntlikestairs]

Personally, I think that Walpurgisnacht is the holy quintet from across the timelines. This timeline is different though, since Madoka is stopped from becoming a magical girl until Walpurgisnacht arrives. Madoka was prevented, and thus her potential and karma were out off until the apocalyptic force that is Walpurgisnacht. This leads to the said potential and karma interacting not only with Madoka’s wish, but also Walpurgisnacht. This is what, in my opinion, triggers the event that makes this timeline a landmark.

[@Sabbathtage]

Great job. I really loved this. I'm with you on the story for partricia and wanted to add that I think she was washing her school uniform. If she had been molested at school than washing her clothes might of been something she had to do often or to cope with feeling dirtied. If it's raining the clothes would have difficulty drying.

[@iamlordapollo]

maybe ellie wished to forget instead of remember. "box up that memory" to me implies running away from some traumatic memory. and her power would then be exactly like yatsuhashi's semblance in rwby. the ability to make an opponent forget things. also have you considered the possibility that walpugisnaught is all 5 of the girls together, but like from the future or a different timeline? you said gretchen is tied to time, but also related to the hourglass with walpurgisnaught. maybe it can hop timelines since homura is part of it. thats my prediction for rebellion pt2 ps, its not that rebellion isnt canon, its just canon to the "movie timelines" which are independent of the main 12 episode anime.

[@nocturnal1097]

There's only one wing on H. N. Elly's stuff, what if it's not Angels at all but rather a reference to Hermes' winged shoes? That would tie in to the theme of televisions and information being brodcasted!! Then her power could have had something to do with speed? But the black hole spaghettification is still there... also I think that Walpurgisnacht is more like the embodiment of despair as it's talked about in the series. Like she absorbs witches over time, and wasnt just created all at once I don't think.. Like, All of the wishes made by magical girls, no matter if it was for cheesecake or to save their loved ones, the wish ultimately boils down to the wish to be happy, and not have to live in a painful world, whereas Walpurgisnacht symbolically represents the ultimate realization that everyone has to have, that no matter how hard you try, and no matter how big or small of an impact you have, there will always be pain in the world, and that can never change. (and then goddoka would symbolically represent the fact that even if it is true that the world is painful, it's worth it to try and make even a small change, and to not let regret of failure eat you up inside because even a little happiness a little bit of change is better than giving up all together) at least I think that's what the series is trying to say on a big picture level

[@Himitsu_Murasaki]

This is the first of your videos I watch and hearing the phrase "Madoka Magica is my favorite anime of all time" made me hit the subscribe button faster than Charlotte chomping a certain Cheese's head off.

[@weirdo5933]

It took me watching this video like 10 times to have this epiphany but, and hear me out, what if H N Elly was a child star? My theory is that she was forced to be a star at a young age or as a teen when she didn’t want to (which would line up with her reclusive nature even though she’s depicted as an idol) and something happened while she was auditioning or singing. Maybe she was harassed by an older man like a producer which unfortunately happens in that industry, or she got stage fright and messed up the production. I imagine that after the incident Kyubey shows up and she either wishes to “box up” that bad memory to bury her feelings and keep the show going, or boxes a good memory from before she was a star to “keep it safe”, reminiscing on a fonder time. And the emotional weight of being a star, the feeling of not being able to be a normal girl, or rediscovering the memory she wanted to box up, the finally consumes her and she become a witch.

[@tkjk0481]

Here’s my theory for HN Ella (Kirsten) I think she might have been a victim of cyber bullying. The ‘box up that memory’ doesn’t mean she wants to remember something, It means she wants to keep a memory hidden. The witch covets things, and hides them/preserves them, and her victims have their thoughts broadcast on screens fir all to see. I think she might have had a secret exposed online, which utterly ruined her reputation, and thus became a witch that causes her victims to suffer the same thing.

[@rawlahiabetes6969]

Flight might be because she couldn't walk? A beautiful young girl who escaped in her garden. But her father refused her to go outside.

[@DelusionalGoldfish]

I kinda also think that the reason why the Rose's meant so much to Gertrude may have been because it was her only oasis, and the only place she felt safe and as if she belongs (maybe she had no control over her life, and raising roses became the only thing she could control and nurture), so she may have always had an inkling of wanting to be one of the roses or to live amongst them; and that's why her witch form is less humanoid and more fleshy tree flower. Also for Elsa Maria, I feel like the reason she may look anonymous is maybe she burnt herself out trying to help everyone that she loses herself and her own self-identity (kinda like overworking and focusing on that till its your personality. So I'd imagine she so faithfully dedicates herself to saving everyone that she loses any opportunity to have uniqueness individuality or a hobby). And maybe she experienced some kind of grief where while trying to save everyone one of her close ones got killed. Or maybe at one point she decided to try and be selfish a little and prioritize herself or a loved one and then ending up caused more harm than good to the general public say if a group got attacked and she was distracted trying to save someone she prioritizes. And so that would be why she so faithfully stays in one place in prayer because she regretted from that moment on that she wasn't treating everyone equally and this strong emotion ending up takes over her. Also her minion goon ppl animal looking thing reminds me of that one story where Moses (??) has to put every single animal, two of each, on a boat

[@kibaliziosa483]

Oh shoot, I totally misinterpreted Elly . I thought that “boxing up” meant that she wanted to forget something. Put the memory in a box so that she would never remember it again. I thought that the other comment was the memory she wanted to forget up to the point where something horrible happens and she wants to hide that memory away.

[@redwillow311]

These videos are super helpful as my ADHD brain can never process or comprehend what the hell is going on in anything Madoka related. 😅 I've tried for YEARS to make myself understand it and like it but all my brain computes is "Bad show. All girls must die. Lots of Gore. Why is there no plot? Wait I thought they died?!?!?" Thank you for taking the time to go indepth and explain things. I sincerely appreciate it! ❤

[@theletterj4397]

Also you are so close to Gertrud reason for despair

[@minnienish]

Maybe Gertrude's weapon was a whip? Seeing as she can extend her tendrils to fling Mami around? Or like a thorny vine whip