The Power and Corruption of Love: Puella Magi Madoka★Magica

The world was built off the power of magical girls. It was the magical girls whose wishes shaped the world as it was, those wishes that granted power to the one who made them to fight off witches: evil monsters bent on spreading pain and darkness to all of humanity. But those witches were in fact magical girls, or rather the end result of a magical girl who had fallen into despair, letting their darkness consume them. A hopeless girl makes a wish with an Incubator, that wish creates happiness and a magical girl who fought the witches who spread despair only for themselves to fall into despair, girl, wish, magical girl, witch, over and over again the cycle repeated.

Until Kaname Madoka changed everything.

Madoka, this girl who made a wish not for herself but for the sake of the world changed its very nature. Rather than the cycle of despair, when a magical girl fell into despair they would instead disappear from the world, taken away by Madoka who became an all-knowing deity to save those girls. What she bestowed upon those girls was an unconditional love that saved each and every one of them.

Through the power of love was the world saved…but through the power of love was the world rewritten once again.

There is a common misconception that the wishes of Kaname Madoka and Akemi Homura were both made through selfless beliefs. Madoka wished to save the world at the expense of herself and Homura, selfless as she was, made a wish to protect Madoka at the expense of herself. Why then would this selfless Homura choose to keep Madoka, the one who saved the world, for herself? Was it insanity? Was it betrayal? Was it bad writing? Or perhaps…it was in line with what her wish was from the beginning.

Because the power of love is not solely positive. While it can save, it can easily corrupt those who rely solely on it. But to understand that, we must understand exactly what presence love has in the world of Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

The very first conversation that Madoka has in the current timeline is that of love. It’s a simple talk with nothing that big except for Madoka’s noticeable lack of understanding of the concept of love. She asks her mother questions that her mother answers, a simple back and forth but it highlights Madoka’s ignorance on the topic of it. But of the responses, there are a few things said by Madoka’s mom that stick out:

“A boy who doesn’t confess his feelings in person is worthless”

“You should go around as if you have secret admirers. That’s the secret to every pretty girl’s success.”

Both of these lines highlight the difference that exists between Madoka, who is shy and doubts herself, and her mother who she admires. Her mother, who understands love, expresses a mindset that love should have feelings be head-on and that as a person, mainly a girl, has the ability to gain admiration if only she herself exudes her self worth. This admiration for her mother, who is a hardworking businesswoman that has gained the love of a husband who is willing to put up with her and by other girls who point out how cool she is places her as the goal for the young girls of the series. Keep this in mind.

Madoka exhibits a noticeable lack of self-confidence throughout the series. She doubts herself, admires others yet doesn’t have any self worth and is noticeably uncomfortable in the presence of the far more confident Homura. Homura is outstanding. She’s beautiful, has a cool name, can do everything and do so with excellence. She exudes a confidence but also directs that intense energy towards Madoka. During their initial meeting, Homura asks her if she loves her friends, her family and the life she has. Madoka of course replies yes, to which Homura responds:

Though every character drives Madoka to become more confident, to come out of her shell, Homura instead expresses a desire for her to stay the same. As she finds out from Mami that magical girls are competitive and fight over territory and witch kills, this is seen as jealousy but as we find out later, it’s actually a desire to keep Madoka safe…because of her love for her.

Love’s presence is felt throughout Madoka’s narrative but nowhere is it more prevalent in the wishes that grant the power of a magical girl. Sayaka made her wish to give Kyousuke, the boy she’s loved forever, the ability to play the violin again. Kyouko made her wish to give her father’s church followers who believed in his words. They were wishes made for another; seemingly selfless acts. But Kyouko’s wish drove her father to despair and caused him to kill himself and their family, branding Kyouko as an evil witch. Though Sayaka made her wish for Kyousuke, it was Hitomi who reaped the rewards, claiming him as her boyfriend. Kyouko took this to mean that every magical girl should instead wish for themselves and do what they wanted, but there was one among them who had already done that. Tomoe Mami’s wish was the epitome of one made for the sake of herself–a wish for self preservation. It was made for herself, for her own life. But that wish too ended in Mami’s demise, for she still sought to be selfless and serve the world in her duties as a magical girl. She encouraged Sayaka and Madoka to make wishes they would give up their lives for, something she never had the liberty of doing. She wanted them to make a wish without regrets. Kyouko made a seemingly selfless wish and grew to desire self preservation ended up giving her life to save another from despair. Her wish ended in darkness. Mami made a selfish wish that she regretted for the rest of her life, working as a magical girl as if to find some sense of duty, some reason for being for the cost of self-preservation. But she too ended in demise as she found a comrade she could share her duties with…someone to love and who loved her. The end result for both was death.

Consider that, while the wishes of Sayaka and Kyouko seemed selfless, they both desired something in the end. Kyouko wanted to help her struggling father, but rather than do so by her own efforts and expressing that to her father, she instead made a wish to have the world hand it to him. “He can save the world from the light and from the shadows, as a magical girl, I would fight.” But what consideration did she give to her father? Her father wanted followers who joined him of their own accord, who genuinely and firmly believed in him, but Kyouko’s wish had not taken those feelings into account and instead of the feelings of joy and happiness that she desired, she instead received contempt and despair. What kept her holding on was simply that she had no other choice but to fight for herself and her own self preservation, but she gave her life for another who made her mistake.

Sayaka had an unrequited love for Kyousuke, but rather than express those feelings head-on, she made a wish for him to be happy. If Kyousuke’s happy, that should be enough. But that’s not what she really wanted. She wanted Kyousuke to be indebted to her, to adore her for giving him back what he longed for. She wanted him to be by her side forever because if he was happy and she gave him that happiness, she should deserve it, but it was Hitomi who ended up with Kyousuke simply because unlike Sayaka, Hitomi expressed her emotions regardless of the pain she could possibly face if rejected. What right did Sayaka have to get angry at the sight of Hitomi by Kyousuke’s side?

Mami’s wish of self preservation led her to have only her duties as her sole driving force. To make up for her selfishness, she had to be selfless if she wanted to have a purpose. But her behavior as a magical girl showed otherwise. She let crying, traumatized bystanders cry in her arms, desperately clinging to her and thanking her. She allowed two girls who admired her follow her into the middle of a warzone. She acted cool in front of those juniors and when one of them expressed that she would join her, Mami lost her edge. That duty that kept her so sharp was no longer her focus. What she desired was no longer out of reach: she had a comrade who loved her and admired her and didn’t leave her alone. And in the end…she was as alone as she was from the start. These wishes were made to be selfless, but their intent was wholly selfish and in the end, a selfless wish with selfish intent only ends with despair…with nothing of benefit to the one who made the wish. 

But Kaname Madoka was different.

What Madoka wished for was the salvation of the world; of every magical girl in existence who had ever made a wish and fell into despair. Madoka herself would take on the despair of those wishes, paying the price that they could not. Nobody would remember her, not her loved ones, not her friends, absolutely no one. Her existence as Kaname Madoka would be removed from this world and this world would be saved, a world where everyone but Kaname Madoka would be saved. This was the ideal selfless wish. There was no benefit given to Madoka and all of the benefit would be given to those who faced the pain of falling in despair. No one would suffer, no one would face the fate desired by the Incubators. This was the wish that changed the very nature of this world…so why would Akemi Homura ruin it? Why would Homura, who loved Kaname Madoka with all of her heart, ruin this perfect world that had saved all magical girls. Why would she betray the friend who she gave everything for? 

What was Homura’s wish?

Akemi Homura had nothing. She missed school due to her illness and thus returned without any friends or confidence to speak of. She was a shy girl with glasses that was too afraid to interact with anybody, she was behind in school and struggled with simple problems that the others were capable of dealing with. She couldn’t do any physical activity due to her weak physique and had a name that means “burning passion” but none for herself to speak of…but there was one girl who gave her life meaning. A girl with pink ribbons in her hair named Kaname Madoka gave her a light in her life that she never had before. This one girl chose to interact with her, pointed out that she should have confidence in herself because she’s beautiful and was blessed with such a wonderful name, but Homura couldn’t do that. She wasn’t confident, she was nothing. There was no future for someone like her, nothing awaited her in this world except pain and despair. All that was left for her was darkness…

That light once again dispelled her darkness, for Kaname Madoka came to her aid in an outfit that radiated how bright she was. Kaname Madoka was a magical girl, and Homura watched in admiration as this ray of light protected this world against the darkness. Homura watched her and Mami from afar as they saved the world and fought against the despair of the witches until the strongest witch of all crushed them in one fell swoop. Homura’s light in the darkness was gone and all that remained was despair…until Homura made her own wish, a wish that would bring that light back into this world no matter the cost. If Madoka, the light that saved Homura when all was dark was gone, what point would there be in living? So Homura’s wish was to save that light, to go back in time and save Madoka.

But Homura failed. She had the power to warn them, she had the power to no longer watch from afar but rather fight by their sides, she had the power to rewrite the sins of this world, but still she was powerless to save that light…but that was fine because at least she was by Madoka’s side. Even if they died, at least this time she was by Madoka’s side-

That kindness only brought about even greater tragedy. Once again, Homura was alone. Once again, that light was gone. Once again, Homura lost her reason for living, but this time…

It was by her hands that Madoka died. And once again, Homura was alone.

Go back, warn her, fight Walpurgisnacht, fail, Madoka dies. Go back, warn her, fight Walpurgisnacht, fail, Madoka dies. Go back. Warn her. Fight. Death. Go back. Warn her. Fight. Death. Again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again. Failure after failure after failure, there was no way out, no way that Madoka could live. It was hopeless, there was no way out, no amount of time resets could possibly bring her light back, and worse, with every reset, more and more karma was tied to her, a greater burden, a darker despair that would await her. There was nothing she could do.

Madoka changed the world, she changed the rules of the Incubators that stated that all Magical Girls must turn into witches. She saved the world…but in doing so trampled upon the wishes of Akemi Homura. 

All Homura wanted was to be by Madoka’s side, whether dead or alive. But Madoka refused to do that, even worse removed any trace of her existence and memory. Homura was the only one who would remember her, the only one who knew of the sacrifice that Madoka made for the world and carried that burden or her memory, leaving the series off with Homura’s hopeless battle against the Wraiths, the threat that existed in place of the Witches. But where Rebellion picks up is not Homura’s hopeless battle but rather in what seems to be a new world where all five are still alive. A world that was merely a cage built by the incubators as Homura, the last remaining memory of Kaname Madoka, fell into despair knowing that her wish would never come true, a reality that led her to her decision that if her death would mean Madoka’s safety than so be it. She would never reach the Law of Cycles, but that’s fine. So long as the Incubator never harmed Madoka again.

And once again, Madoka trampled on the feelings of Akemi Homura.

Madoka desired among anything else to save anyone so long as that salvation came at the expense of herself, but that wish again was against that of Akemi Homura. “I want to save her.” But Madoka saved everyone except herself. “I’ll die in order to protect her.” But Madoka saved her despite that wish. And in Homura’s words, she finally decided that even if she betrayed that wish, she wanted to see Madoka one last time.

Madoka’s wish to save the world was an act of pure selflessness, a wish made with the only cost being that of herself. She gained nothing in return, but she saved the world. To this end, and even before that, Homura wanted nothing but Madoka’s happiness. Everything she did was out of consideration for Madoka, never doing anything to directly hurt her. Her selfless acts for Madoka’s benefit only done so out of consideration, but consideration didn’t grant her wish. Selflessness never gave her Madoka, because what Homura desired wasn’t to stay by her side…

It was to possess the one she loves.

Homura’s wish was far from selfless, and as a devil is the opposite of a god, if Madoka’s wish was an act of pure selflessness, Homura’s was an act of pure selfishness, a selfish love of desire, no, an emotion stronger than desire, stronger than even hope or despair. What tainted Homura’s soul was love. The power of love corrupted her. While Madoka’s universe was that which created hope, it trampled on the feelings of Akemi Homura, so the end result was still despair. Homura’s universe was the embodiment of that labyrinth, a word of endless happiness where everything was the same, how Homura believed it should be. The Law of Cycles was still intact, it was merely split in two because while the Incubator would take on the despair in place of Madoka, the memory that Homura desired that was previously out of her reach had returned…but as Madoka’s world was rejected by the wishes of Akemi Homura, Homura’s world was rejected by the wishes of Kaname Madoka. Though both were made in love, that Love only served to continue a cycle on a larger scale, as though they both loved each other, they did not see the worth that the other saw in them that drove them to make their decisions. Homura’s love for Madoka could not coexist in a world where Madoka was no longer there, but Madoka’s love for everyone except herself could not coexist in a world that was only made for her. Both Madoka and Homura made wishes of love, but because they did not love themselves, how could they possibly understand why the other rejected their love?

The wishes of the magical girl are made with the intent of love, as are their actions. Sayaka loved Kyousuke and wished to give him happiness. Kyouko loved her father and wished to make his dreams reality. Mami had no one to love and worked to find others to share her love with. Madoka made a wish for her love of the world. Homura made her wish for her love of Madoka. But Sayaka fell into despair, growing to hate what she had become, no longer even human. She did not love herself. Kyouko’s wish destroyed everything she loved, and the end result was blame that she placed upon herself. She did not love herself. Mami’s sole desire to find meaning in her life from others ended in her losing it all time and time again because though her wish gave her a second chance at life, it was a life that was meaningless unless there were others in it because Mami did not love herself, no one left even to remember her. Madoka’s wish, not just in this timeline but every other timeline was never made for herself. The wish was an excuse to gain power, and in every other timeline Madoka used it for someone else because what mattered was that she could help others. Her life didn’t matter because she was just little, worthless, unexceptional Madoka. She would never forget anyone, but in exchange everyone would forget her, the exact fate that she lamented in the face of Mami’s death, yet it was fine so long as it was only her who would never be remembered. She did not love herself. Homura from the beginning had nothing but contempt for who she was and time and time again was willing to destroy herself if it meant the only person she loved could be hers. Even if it meant Madoka hated her, even if it meant that they would be enemies, that didn’t matter so long as Madoka was hers because Homura didn’t love herself and only loved Madoka. This cycle continues over and over again, love granting power but always destroying because without love directed inward, the power of love only has the potential to corrupt. The Incubators, who have no knowledge of love, are able to exploit this system for they are not beings of either love or hate but merely indifference. Apathy. Humanity is just a resource for them, not even that important either. Even the Grief Seeds and the labyrinths of a witch that is the fate of every magical girl is a hell of despair, the embodiment of that self-hate and dread. So if the answer is not simply selfless love, selfish love or even indifference, what would it take to save the world?

Magical girls are just that: girls. They know not the meaning of this world and only see everything black and white. It’s either right or it’s wrong. You either do something for yourself or you do it for others. In their inexperienced view of the world they were given power by a species that were apathetic and were willing to utilize their limited and skewed perception of the world that only existed in monochrome, but it is only adults that understand that this world is not black and white. Homura was never a “good person,” but neither were any of the others. Each of these girls had wishes and actions that trampled on the feelings of another and were justified for the sake of that black and white viewpoint. Duty, justice, good and evil, all of those were merely rationalization for the actions they took, and to view Homura or any of the others as good people or bad people is, ironically, missing the point. For the world to be saved, the answer is not selflessness or selfishness, not god or demon, not magical girl or witch, not Madoka or Homura. The answer is compromise and understanding. The greatest representation of this, Madoka’s mother, began the series with those words to Madoka:

Unless feelings are expressed wholeheartedly, they are worthless. The wishes made by the magical girls were made in a roundabout way to gain something, to avoid expressing something to someone rather than facing the pain of those feelings. Homura wanted to save Madoka but didn’t want to hurt her. Sayaka wanted Kyousuke’s love but was afraid of rejection. Kyouko wanted to support her father but did so from the shadows. Mami wanted someone to support her but put on a front as a strong, mature leader. Madoka didn’t value herself, but thought she could make up for that by making herself useful. If those feelings, if that love is meant to be acknowledged, what point is there in holding them back?

“You should go around as if you have secret admirers. That’s the secret to every pretty girl’s success.”

Without self worth, without love directed inward, how else is anyone meant to understand another’s feelings of love? What room is there for you to love another of you never give any for yourself? 

The wishes of a magical girl are made by those who love another, but as the power of love can only corrupt if it is never directed inward, the solution presented is as such:

This cycle known as the magical girl will only end when the selfless love of Madoka and the selfish love of Homura reach a compromise and learn to love not just one another but also themselves and express their feelings without relying on the power of a wish.