Puella Magi Madoka Magica Manga: Why did it end the way it did?

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Manga:

Why did it end the way it did?

(This blog post is intended for people already familiar with the series since it is an analysis of what happened as opposed to a summary, therefore if you haven't read the series/seen the show I strongly suggest you do that first)

    Tired of reading books with similar styles, this past month I looked into a genre that I had only briefly read before: Manga. Personally, I really enjoy watching anime, and with mangas being similar to that, I decided to give them a try. After looking into what series to read I stumbled upon Madoka Magica. Having been recommended the show itself several times I thought it would be fun to give the manga version of it a try. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and despite being very similar to the show, as soon as I was done I watched the whole thing alongside the movies. However, something that I would come to know about Madoka Magica is that even when you've finished it so much has occurred that it takes a while for everything to set in. So after multiple hours of processing and watching youtube explanations of what happened in this series, I came to a conclusion as to why Madoka Magica ended the way it did.

    To be able to analyze the very ending of the series, Rebellion, we need to go back to the first ending in Volume 3 of the original series. Madoka Kaname goes through with the ultimate selfless wish, she wishes for the salvation of the world and takes all the grief of past, present, and future magical girls onto herself, ultimately erasing her from existence and turning her into a god that no one will remember. She creates a world where absolutely everyone but herself will be saved. This ideal world she creates, although leaving her with a tragic end, is in a way the closest thing to a perfect ending we could get, no more witches, no more grief, nothing. The story ends here, or so it seems, as we are later introduced to the sequel of this original trilogy, Rebellion. In which Madoka's wish is betrayed and ruined by none other than Akemi Homura. This is where things get complicated. Why would someone who cares so deeply for Madoka ruin her only wish? It is obvious that Homura, being the only person in the entire universe to remember Madoka's existence is heartbroken by her loss, but is destroying this perfect world that Madoka gave everything up for what she truly would've wanted? Opposite to Madoka, Homura's wish is made out of pure selfishness, willing to do anything and everything, no matter the consequences, to get Madoka back. Even if that means disregarding her only wish. However, at the very root of it, that selfishness is not what brought upon this ending in which Homura's one desire of being by Madoka's side is granted via the destruction of Madoka's, it was neither Madoka's selflessness nor Homura's selfishness which brought upon this ending. It was something else, something much much greater.

"It's the pinnacle of all human emotion. More passionate than hope, far deeper than despair. It's love"-Homura Akemi. 

    The abundance of love towards the other is what drove the wishes from both sides and the lack of self-love from both is what made them impossible to co-exist. You see, Homura only wanted to protect Madoka, and Madoka only wanted to protect the Magical Girls, with the exception of herself. There is no way that these two wishes can be granted without contradicting the other. If Homura had valued herself just as she valued Madoka, and Madoka had valued herself like she valued Homura, then maybe the series would've ended differently. In a way where both were happy. But this lack of self-love exhibited from both parties since the beginning of the series is what led to their tragic fates, both times. Madoka never truly loved herself. This can be traced all the way back to when she is considering becoming a magical girl, saying she wishes to do something useful for once in her life, and that she has always felt as if she had no purpose. When given the opportunity, Madoka does not hesitate to sacrifice herself for the wellbeing of everyone else, not stopping to think about herself in the slightest. Homura never truly loved herself. All she ever wanted was to possess Madoka, the one who had protected her since the very start, the one she had sworn to protect in return. Before Madoka, Homura's life was meaningless, but it was she who brought the meaning and life into it. In one of the timelines, there is even a moment where both Madoka and Homura are about to die, and she is okay with that, as long as they are together. Homura never treasured herself, willing to end her own life or even have Madoka hate her, if it meant that she would be hers. And that is ultimately what leads to the end result. Homura's soul was corrupted by love and the fact that her wish had time and time again failed to come true (due to Madoka's). This selfish love and denial of her wish are what turned her into the Demon she became, the very one who separated Madoka from the Law of cycles. When no love is directed inwards, the love given outwards will only cause corruption, and we can see this clearly shown in both alternate endings of Madoka Magica. This makes the only way to have a truly happy ending to be that both girls value themselves, and only in that way and form will they then be able to accept the other's love.

Thanks for reading, hopefully this theory/analysis made sense! Here is a cookie, have a good day 🍪

-Fabi