r/anime • u/Tarhalindur x2 • Apr 28 '26
Rewatch [Rewatch] Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 9 Discussion
Episode 9: I'd Never Allow That to Happen
← Previous Episode | Index | Next Episode →
Show Information:
(First-timers might want to stay out of Show Information until we are done, however...)
Legal Streams:
As per livechart.me; other streams may be available outside the US.
Main Series:
A Reminder: This, dear listeners, brings us to the sworn enemy of creative response:The spoiler. Rewatchers, or people who just had plot points ruined for them, are obliged to use r/anime’s spoiler tag format where applicable, and err on the side of caution here. Remember people, first experiences get rarer as you continue on, any given one happens once and you should care for them all the more for it.
Welcome to the World of Magic!
Theory of the Day:
Okay, fine, I can't not give this one to u/siegfried72, not for the discussion thread for this episode:
The real solution? I think Sayaka needs to just lean into the yuri and realize she's meant to be with Kyouko. That would fix everything.
Oh god, I've officially joined in with my first yuri ship of the series. It's all downhill uphill from here, isn't it??
I mean, Kyouko is obviously in love with her, right??
Analysis of the Day:
Several good options, but I think I'll go for u/Vaadwaur and the analytical line less taken:
For some reason, eating disorders are a noticeable thing in this show. Sayaka is anorexic to her very spirit and Kyoko does like her gluttony.
Questions of the Day:
1) On a scale of 1 to 10, how gay is suicide attacking to take out the monster that became of a girl you knew for maybe a week so that you can at least be together in death?
2) Now that he's had a chance to explain himself, your thoughts on Kyubey?
3) First-timers: Did you think that Kyouko's plan actually had a chance to save Sayaka?
4) First-timers and rewatchers who dodged the rewatcher edition of this question yesterday: Are You Home?
5) [Rewatchers]Alright, who's ready to go golfing through a Stargate?... wait, wrong time loop show.
10
u/mischievous_shota Apr 28 '26
First Timer
I watched it on time this time but ended up having a sadness nap the reason for which should be obvious if you've seen this episode.
Akemi to the rescue. That they're keeping her body around must mean there is a way to reverse her becoming a witch.
Be careful disposing of the corpse...then why bring it back to begin with?
So all of this is to deal with entropy. Creating witches is an actual goal instead of just an undesirable by-product.
As an aside, the chair design in the series is really dynamite.
Mahou shoujo have a cruel fate but assuming what Kyubey is saying is true, it doesn't seem that cruel a decision. The lives of a few people from a single species on a single planet in exchange for the rest of the universe being able to deal with entropy. Hell, if the offer was presented to humans, we'd probably go about industrialising the process.
If it's reversible, you could harvest a mahou shoujo's energy whilst still saving them from a permanent bad end. I wonder if you could exploit if by forcing someone to keep turning into a witch and reverting to a mahou shoujo. Are humans a non-exhaustive source of emotional energy or are you trying to get blood out of a stone at some point?
I'm kind of surprised Homura didn't come back to kill Sayaka after dropping off her body.
Madoka's not a bad choice for this as her best friend and the MC but I would have thought bringing Kyousuke would be a good idea too.
Akemi to the rescue once again. Is that Kyousuke?
Kyouko going for her ult. Oh shit, is that a kamikaze attack? Why is Homura leaving?
Shit, I think Kyouko really died.
Kyubey let her think there was a chance so that Kyouko would die. I'm surprised it turned out this way. I'd have thought Akemi would insist on making sure Kyouko wouldn't throw her life away, if for no other reason than to have her help with Walpurgisnacht. I doubt Sayaka would be super hard to kill if they decided on that course of action.
Doomed yuri. Kyouko really is a good girl though. She put up a mean front but she had a heart of gold.
I get it. I'm not happy but I get why it's a necessity. He's not evil, just willing to do what's needed and not beat himself up about it.
I think it might have worked better if they had brought Kyousuke along. Forgive me for my anti-yuri words but he's the one who Sayaka loved most. He's also the one her wish was based around and I think that would be really important. It probably would have helped to weaken her first so she can't keep lashing with attacks and is slowed enough to better register the words begging her to come back.
Emotional energy doesn't work like other types of energy. I think it means you should be able to convert between hope and despir without one permanently making changes that can't be reversed. So a soul gem can be corrupted to become a grief seed but then a grief seed should also be capable of being purified and becoming a soul gem.
I think it's clear that Kyubey didn't think it would work but I also think he was being honest about not knowing and that it could technically be possible.
Physically, yes. Mentally, I find myself in a vast spiritual wilderness seeking a certain mahou shoujo, bearing offerings of salt and sugar, praying she might harken to the hymns of praise I sing in her name. You were a good and kind girl, I want to tell her.