- So all of the screencaps/fanart I've seen of this series promised cutesy anime girls squabbling amongst each other and some personifiction of "fate" or "destiny" or somesuch, and that they would do so against a backdrop of Cabinet of Dr. Caligari sets. Episode seems to validate that impression, but the backdrops are even better.

- Great art direction in the first two or so minutes. A synthesis of postcyberpunk and Alice in Wonderland, imo.

- Oh, and dotHack. Half-expecting Skeith to show up here and gank Orca. I mean Black-Haired Girl. But she's supposed to be the senpai or something, right? Or Madoka's girlfriend, again going by all the fanart.

- Kyubey's voice doesn't fit its appearance at all. Asphodel disapproves -10

- I actually find that the imagery in the Mami scene later on reflects the dream-state far better than the opening scene (where Madoka makes the contract).

- Adnarel made a good call on not watching the opening.

- So this takes place way further into the future than I thought. Well, maybe not -way- further, but it does allow space for some pretty cool aesthetics and settings.

- She lives in a Pokemon protagonist's house.

- This is one young-looking family.

- Her brother is terrifying.

- Her mom is going to die.

- I think those two observations are related.

- Why don't the anime shows I like look this good? Setting-wise, I mean. >:(

- This teacher has it out for that one kid.

- "Wow, she's gorgeous!" Blue-haired girl pls.

- Music is on point during Homura's introduction. I may seek out the OST at some point. Nice and minimalist.

- Madoka and Homura are blatant ship bait.

- *Removes yuri goggles* Nope, still ship bait.

- They're probably sisters.

- I'd like to think that the "rough" shading in Homura's eyes signifies something. The effect gives her dead stare a certain shallowness. Or maybe it's hyperopia ahahaha*

- Madoka's little movements in this scene are probably my favorite bits of animation in this episode. Such a great way to portray her anxiety.

- *although other characters exhibit this, too. Oh well.

- This Homura-is-perfect-at-school-and-sports montage is a little much. Assigning that "senpai" designation a little too quickly after her introduction, imo.

- Madoka's little friends put me to sleep.

- "You're acting like an anime character, too!" Oh god. These characters can't get away with that kind of self-awareness, sorry. At least not yet.

- Kyubey is like a Pokemon with that voice. Jesus.

- Its voice pierces even J-Pop? We're dealing with some real Cthulu shit right here.

- Ahahaha this surreal butterfly scene that I was talking about earlier. Right before Mami enters. Pretty cool.

- Dig the mustachioed cotton balls. They're probably relevant. Kind of like how Kyubey is a sentient cotton balloon-animal.

- Like I said, this makes for a better dream-sequence than Madoka's actual dream at the beginning.

- Homura's like HAND OVER THE CAT

Yeah, this ain't bad. Going by Adnarel's thread (and the character designs in general) I was expecting this to be unbearable. I admit to being pretty soured on anime as a whole these days, but the presentation and subdued tone of this episode did a lot for me. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised. I just hope the characters can develop in such a way as to mirror that presentation (or at least keep up with its ambition), but again that's just a matter of watching the damn show instead of complaining about a shallow cast after only one episode.

It gets all super serious as a departure from the Magical Girl genre, blue-haired girl dies, time travel is somehow involved

- I like how Madoka's stuffed rabbit has Kyubey's face. :3

- In fact holy shit all of her stuffed animals have Kyubey faces. And I thought Homura was supposed to be the token eerie girl here.

- Oh, he's right there, sitting amongst them. And I thought that observation was going to bear fruit way later in the show. =(

- Watching the opening this time; does she have a massive banana pillow? It's probably relevant.

- How old are these characters? I'd look it up but I kind of want to keep the element of surprise there so I can be all WHAAAT when she's like "hi, I'm Madoka and I'm 18."

- Mami has such fantastic feng shui for someone with such impossible hair. Digging her apartment quite a bit.

- Mom is so Machiavellian.

- I like how "no, no" is pronounced "yeah, yeah." Japanese. I don't even.

- Loooooove the backdrop to this scene. Evening settings win me over every time.

- "In other words, the subject of the sentence is the recipient of the verb..." Wow, this isn't foreboding at all. Even if it winds up amounting to background noise, the teacher's active voice/passive voice spiel is a nice touch.

- Blue-haired girl is worried about the risking-one's-life aspect of forming the contract. Do I detect a death flag? Although I'm not entirely convinced many of these characters are going to die, going by this artstyle. Wouldn't be the first time, though!

- "Homura, what did you wish for when you became a magical girl?" She wished for that swagger, of course.

- Madoka and Sayaka's olive-haired friend can just whine her way out of the show, thank you very much.

- Oh my god she brought a baseball bat to the coffee shop. I think I know who the best girl is.

- "How about you, Madoka? Did you bring anything?" If she pulls out a revolver this show will win my heart on the second [radio edit]ing episode.

- Nope. Seems Mami's the only one into the concealed carry thing.

- THIS SHOT.

- Love how something as simple as a change in color scheme can turn a previously utopian cityscape into a dystopia. Fantastic. The dead trees are a nice touch.

- Her bat transmogrified into a [radio edit]ing cudgel-scepter. "Sugoi" indeed.

- Ooo, another labyrinth scene! Salvador Dali confirmed for final boss.

- The witch's disjointed animation kicks all kinds of ass. I was expecting a traditional anime-styled character design, but this mish-mash of photographic cut outs fits the labyrinth's aesthetic so much better, and contrasts perfectly with the cutesy style used for the primary cast.

- "It would be so cool if I could go around helping people!" Aw man, and she says it just as she finishes that doodle of her as a magical girl. This is going to get so grimdark.

- Yeah, it's like Sayaka said, anyone else would have jumped at the chance to become a magical girl in order to solve one problem or another. These two are indecisive and have no real wishes to consider. I was half-expecting the girl who attempted to commit suicide to be Madoka's mother, just to give her the emotional push she would need to form the contract. In that case it would have been more justifiable than "man, I would look/be so cool if I formed that contract!"

Although there's still time for that kind of twist to occur. ;D

The banana will be Madoka's first witch.

I knew it.

Why did I rewatch this???

I knew Misterioso played during the bit where they break Homura out of her labyrinth!

Seriously, this movie is a trip and a half, even when you know what's coming.

Need to watch it with a copy of the runes on hand and translate all the little things.

I think we get some foreshadowing of Homura going cray cray when she's talking to Madoka just before they get out her labyrinth, and she's like, "I knew I could shoulder any sin if you would be by my side," and I guess that's sort of leading up to her deciding to go against Madoka's wish and make this new world, because she can bear the sin of doing that to Madoka if she at least has Madoka with her. Also, I was in equal turns horrified at just how far Homura goes and really heartbroken for her. Like, seriously, Homura, can you get yourself a good therapist in this new world of yours? This is, like, serious PTSD or something.

They need the incubators to deal with curses. Homura broke off a part of the law of cycles. I'm still trying to figure out what actually happened in the end. For a while before rewatching I wasn't sure if it wasn't just an even deeper, bigger labyrinth, but Homura and Kyubey say, in their talk, that Homura's rewriting the universe. (Which is a pity, because I liked the labyrinth again idea.

Also, Sayaka was pretty sympathetic to Homura in her labyrinth at the beginning, so why is this time any different? And if Homura did recreate the world, why's it still so glitchy?

Dang, poor girl, she's still trying to do what she thinks is right/best, but she's just so totally warped by this point.

This movie was just really good and I'm gonna watch it again next weekend kthxbai