Alternative title: “Why I think Kyubey should find a new job.” This post is going to be one huge spoiler, so don’t read on if you haven’t watched up to episode 9 of Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

I’m sure the latest episode has blown a few minds here and there. I thought it was an interesting development, but I always feel that trying to stick a half-baked science-y explanation onto what is essentially a standard fantasy setting tends to open the writing to unnecessary critical analysis that distract from the actual storytelling. And as much as that is a bad thing, people like me can’t help but run with it. So here’s my take on the subject.

Entropy

Entropy is one of the basic tenets of modern physics and chemistry. Often called the “arrow of time”, it embodies the irreversible passage of time.

Water goes down, vapour goes up. Never a miscommunication.

The general idea is that all chemical and physical processes in the universe have a natural tendency to become more disordered over time. Order and complexity such as stars, planets and life require energy to sustain against the flow of entropy, and the total mass-energy in an isolated system (i.e. the whole universe) is constant but entropy is increasing continuously.

Eventually, the universe goes into heat death unless someone/thing figures out how to either reverse entropy or introduce a source of energy that exists beyond our universe, both of which are improbable within the frameworks of modern physics.

Isaac Asimov, one of my favourite authors ever, wrote a thought-provoking short story about entropy titled “The Last Question” in which he imagined humans of near and distant future pondering the question of entropy as each successive generation draws closer to the universe’s final deadline.

The Loli Solution

In Madoka Magica, the solution to the ultimate question is pubescent girls, whose oestrogen-fuelled emotional turmoils apparently draw upon energy from a source that lies outside the universe. Dozens of physicists commit mass suicide because the ultimate solution to one of the greatest questions of science apparently lies in Twilight novels.

Kyubey can be thought of as the intergalactic equivalent of an oil field surveyor. Magical girls are precious resources, more literally than lolicons think. The battle between Puella Magi and their elder counterparts can be seen as a refinery process in which the full energy potential of crude emo is realized after being subjected to pressure and heat.

Madoka Magica is really an allegory for the monolithic energy industry and its apparent contempt for, and inability to comprehend, all things good and pure. But I digress, if that is even possible in an analysis such as this one.

They should figure out how to harvest tsundere energy

In any case, Kyubey’s people aim to combat entropy not by reversing it but by introducing energy from an unspecified plain of existence (“emoland”) and the gateway to this magical energy happens to be (emo) little girls.

The Other Solution

However, at this point in the story it is quite clear that the technology to travel back in time is apparently within the capabilities of Kyubey’s people. I say this because Homura travelled back in time and this was performed by either future Kyubey or one of his peers. (If he has any. FOREVER ALONE.)

The problem with travelling back in time is that it defies the natural progression of entropy, which is to say that it suggests (or perhaps requires) that entropy can in fact be reversed.

Given that Kyubey’s people have the ability to travel back in time, it should be possible for them to reverse entropy without the need for an extra-dimensional source of energy. In fact, directly addressing the problem in this manner should prove to be much more effective than using little girls like AAA batteries.

Alternatively, just use magnets

We know for a fact that the extra-dimensional energy produced by each Puella Magi is of a certain finite amount because Kyubey is constantly on the lookout for new recruits. This means that the net amount of energy Kyubey can generate at any time is limited by the total population size of human lolis and those of other suitable alien species.

If however entropy can be reversed, then unlimited energy is one of the guaranteed outcomes. For example, a suitable star can be harvested for energy and returned to its prior more-energetic state for as many times as required.

If such local reversal is not possible, then instead of sending a little girl back in time, Kyubey’s people can construct giant hydrogen bombs capable of creating stars and send them back in time, then harvest the resulting stars for energy to create twice as many giant hydrogen bombs and send those back in time again. This should be possible given that the feasibility of sending matter back in time has already been proven. And if they can also create wormholes, then a more direct radiation-based energy feedback loop can be used in lieu of the matter medium.

The Power of Wishes

In my brainstorming of this subject, it was suggested to me that perhaps Kyubey’s people are not actually capable of time travel but merely possess the unspecific “power” to grant wishes. My immediate feeling is that this is a cop-out since it basically goes back to the “a wizard did it” explanation which defeats the point of even coming here, assuming that such a point exists somewhere in the space-time continuum.

On QB’s planet, this is their version of Where’s Waldo?

After some thought, my refined conclusion is that Kyubey’s people are not capable of granting wishes; they merely possess advance technology capable of performing deeds that fulfil the requirements of the wishes requested by the girls.

For example, they have the ability to remotely manipulate matter, which they used to provide medical treatment to Mami and that guy whom Sayaka likes. They also have a sufficient understanding of human neurology to brainwash people into listening to Kyoko’s father speak.

Therefore, they must already be in possession of time-travelling technology or they would not have been unable to grant Homura her wish of having hawt yuri sechs with saving Madoka in the past.

The reason why I came to this conclusion is very simple. If their wish-granting ability were truly magical, omnipotent and capable of accomplishing deeds they themselves are not capable of performing, then it ought to be trivial for them to convince a random pubescent human girl to wish for a device capable of reversing entropy at the operator’s will or a truly limitless source of extra-dimensional energy. QED.

The Farm

Finally, if for some really good explanation I cannot think of there is a perfectly rational reason why harvesting lolis is a more effective solution than my proposed alternatives, then it stands to reason that it should be conducted in the most efficient and organized manner possible.

I am, of course, speaking of loli farms. Think Matrix but with arrays of lab-grown lolis instead. This can be done at a far lower unit cost than having Incubators finding and harvesting lolis in the wild, as demonstrated by humanity’s early and rapid transition from nomadic hunter-gatherer to agricultural and finally industrial societies.

An artist’s depiction of such a loli farm

Conclusion

The solution employed by Kyubey and his advanced intergalactic civilization, which I estimate to be at least Type III on the Kardeshev scale, appears to be ad hoc, rudimentary and a mismatch to the level of technological sophistication they have demonstrated.

Instead of addressing the issue of entropy directly, the use of extra-dimensional energy merely delays the eventual inevitability unless the supply of energy is limitless. Given that the nature of this mysterious energy source is unknown, it is entirely possible, if highly improbable, that this is true, in which case the solution may in fact work indefinitely with continuous eternal maintenance.

But if such is the case, reliance on a ready supply of young pubescent girls is nevertheless dangerous due to falling birthrates, erratic biological behaviours that may lead to species self-destruction and unpredictable cosmological extinction level events.

If alkaline batteries had feelings

It is recommended that Kyubey’s people explore a non-biological long-term solution based on the exploitation of either localized reversal of entropy or the feedback nature of time travel that is within their scientific capabilities. Should a biological solution be unavoidable due to other circumstances, a more scalable and systematic industrialized loli farm would be a more suitable alternative to insure against market fluctuations and sudden spikes in demand.

I submit this to the Internet for its kind consideration. Please forward any honorary doctorates and Nobel Prize nominations to my email. Thank you.

If anime were a religion, magical girls would be one of its Five Pillars, along with shounen battle, love comedy, mecha and sports. Friendship, courage and cuteness are the fundamentals of the classic mahou shoujo. Implied yuri and teenage angst come optional in contemporary interpretations.

It’s a genre that is really easy to understand and that’s why I’ve never really been a huge fan of it. It’s like watching the latest Hollywood adaptation of yet another Marvel superhero — mildly entertaining with few surprises.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is different. I am not ready to declare it the best show this season after three episodes, but I will say that it definitely stands out.

Story

Madoka Magica has a typical story. Madoka Kaname, a normal and klutzy heroine who is not very confident about herself, finds herself caught in the midst of a supernatural battle between “Puellae Magi” (magical girls) and “Witches”.

Stare into its eyes…

Kyubey, the obligatory magical mascot creature, wants to recruit Madoka to fight the Witches and offers to grant her a single wish of her choice in return.

Homura Akemi, a transfer student with an unfriendly demeanour who turns out to be a Puella Magi herself, cryptically warns Madoka not to get involved.

Mami Tomoe, a Puella Magi fighting for Kyubey, gives Madoka some friendly advice and teaches her what being a Puella Magi entails.

Thoughts

Madoka Magica’s art style instantly stands out. The background illustrations, whether indoors or outdoors, are expansive and untamed, very unlike the claustrophobic Japanesque settings usually found in anime. Every scene in the anime feels surreal and somehow magical for reasons I can’t quite put into words.

Classroom without desks

Such rooftops have never been seen on an anime school building

The railings are straight but the street lights are caught in a fish-eye lens

The fight scenes take place in some kind of alternate dimension created by the Witches. The background animation in this alternate dimension features a cut-out visual style I can only describe as “Monty Python”. There is something mildly disturbing about the little creatures(?) scurrying around this alternate dimension. I would describe these sequences as visual manifestations of nightmares.

What is this I don’t even

The stuff dreams are made of

Maybe this is just a cunning plan to cut animation budget

The start of the first episode is somewhat reminiscent of Black Rock Shooter.

The score composed by Yuki Kajiura and the ending song by Kalafina are amazing as usual and Kajiura’s style is really a perfect match for the animation. The combination sends chills down my spine.

Okay, I realize I am just writing in random disjointed sentences. This show is really messing up my mind. Let me try to collect my thoughts…

*Deep breath*

I think the most enjoyable part of Madoka Magica is the way it manages to capture exactly what I think magical girls should feel like.

Beneath the cutesy surface, there is an unspoken air of uncertainty, paranoia and even fear. There is a subtle hint that something dark and horrible lies just out of sight and things are not as simple as they appear to be. Refuge from the unknown is only temporary and peace can at any moment be replaced by chaos. The music and the otherworldly art style bring that message home perfectly.

You can frame this and hang it on a wall

Imagine, a weird talking creature appears one day to tell you to risk your life fighting unknown monsters. There is nothing magical or happy about that picture. Unlike most titles of the genre, Madoka Magica tells it as it is. I really, really like that.

Penetrating stare…

The fact is that magical girls in anime are never truly in danger. Fear and despair always come across as a transparent performance seeking to accentuate the ultimate triumph of love, hope and all things pure and good. The presentation in these shows never matches the supposed gravity of the situation — little girls fighting for their lives against great evil. The heroine may be torn and tattered, but the audience is never really forced to leave our comfort zone.

Madoka Magica on the other hand makes me feel very uncomfortable. It feels like there are no safe assumptions to be made and everything can and will fall apart at a moment’s notice. I have no idea where the story is going and I am dying to find out. This is a good thing.

Step 1 to fighting Witches

Own, like, a billion guns

For example, Kyubey looks like a stereotypical magical companion, but I find his unchanging expression, adorable as it may be, rather disturbing. When he offers Madoka a wish in return for her becoming a Puella Magi, the first thing that came to my mind was that it sounds like a deal with the devil. The fact that Homura appears to be very bitter about being a Puella Magi and wants to stop Madoka from becoming one further foreshadows the nature of this Faustian bargain.

Kyubey’s eternally frozen :3 expression looks downright unhinging if you pay attention. It cannot be unseen.

Your soul in exchange for anything you wish and powers beyond your imagination

Similarly, there is thus far no real explanation for why Puellae Magi are fighting the Witches. Interestingly, Witches drop a “Seed” when they die, which can then be used by a Puella Magi to recharge her magical powers. This frankly sounds like a predator-prey relationship more than a fight for love or justice. It seems to hint at something darker and more sinister about the unexplained relationship between the two.

Of course, it is possible that I am over-thinking this whole thing. Perhaps it will turn out to be nothing more than a completely generic mahou shoujo story with funkier art.

But the fact that the show makes me wonder at all is probably testament to its uniqueness.

Usually I only spend one post on every show I blog about, either a first impression or a full review. I think this may turn out to be one of the few exceptions. We shall see.

More screencaps

Madoka’s mother is, dare I say, a MILF

This is totally getting banned in Tokyo

This supporting character reminds me of someone but I cannot quite come up with a name

I guess Homura is Fate to Madoka’s Nanoha…

Sayaka is Madoka’s good friend

She’s kind of a main character but seems redundant

Weird structure on top of the school building

Classy

It’s some kind of monster chicken

Someone should introduce Mami to guns that can hold more than one round

Or I guess one huge round would do…

The hidden camera view…

Sweet dreams are made of this

I am suddenly reminded of this.