To Use or Not To Use the Doppel

Obviously, there was going to be a downside to using Doppels. On the surface, they’re too good to be true. You’re telling me that magical girls can get a crazy, temporary power boost and cleanse their soul gems at the same time without needing a grief seed? There had to be a catch.

Well, Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story 2nd Season Episode 4 (need to get the full title in there), finally revealed that the use of Doppels isn’t as safe as advertised. Who would have guessed? Apparently not a lot of magical girls.

At this point, we’re told that it’s only the overuse of Doppels that’s potentially dangerous. But, considering that information is also coming from the person who knew of the dangers and didn’t explain them earlier, I don’t think it can be fully trusted.

As we saw, Kaede was forcibly transformed into her Doppel form because she had used it too much/frequently. And it turns out that this is effectively the same as turning into a Witch. It’s technically not the same, but the immediate outcome is the same.

Now, Iroha has been suspicious of the use of Doppels from the start — as has Yachiyo. But they’ve both used their Doppels, still. I don’t think Iroha has done so on purpose, but Yachiyo definitely did just last week in Episode 3.

The big question right now is, how much Doppel usage is too much? Iroha wants Kuroe to stop using her Doppel form altogether. But at the same time, there are plenty of magical girls who have used theirs multiple times and are just fine.

Iroha, Kuroe, and Rena

I know the first season of Magia Record had some good animation. But I don’t remember it being anywhere near the quality of some of the animation from this season so far. Like, wasn’t there some awkward CGI animation used with Mami’s “ultimate form” or whatever that was at the end of the first season?

This week’s episode may have had the best animation of the series so far. There was that one Sayaka scene in Episode 1 of this season, but I’d argue that what we got from Episode 4 is even better.

My favorite scene of the episode, which is probably yours too, is the battle between Iroha, Kuroe, and Rena and the Doppel formerly known as Kaede. The animation was insane, and although I’ve seen some people who didn’t like the directing, I thought that was great too.

But, because the direction of that scene was a bit eccentric, allow me to explain what we saw just in case you missed it. We had Kaede attacking the other three girls with a bunch of arms coming out of her Doppel form. Meanwhile, Iroha, Kuroe, and Rena combined their attacks to subdue her.

Specifically, Kuroe destroyed the ground, causing a wave of rock to rush up behind Kaede. Then, Rena created a bunch of spears (or whatever her weapons are) that were combined together by a magical net. And finally, Iroha used her crossbow to launch Rena’s weapons around Kaede.

This resulted in Kaede being pinned between Kuroe’s rock wall and Rena’s magic net. If you couldn’t follow the scene, I recommend going back and watching it with that explanation in mind. I think you’ll find that it makes a lot more sense.

I’m really looking forward to the rest of this season now. I can’t wait to see what other great animation we get.

Doppel Quarantine

Moving back to the Doppel discussion, I previously mentioned that a forced Doppel transformation is effectively the same as transforming into a Witch. If we have a 1-10 scale with magical girls at 1 and Witches at 10, Doppels are somewhere around an 8 — they’re almost Witches.

So, when a magical girl is forced into a Doppel transformation that she can’t get out of, there’s not really all that much separating her from a Witch. The one difference is that it’s theoretically possible for a Doppel to be reverted back to a magical girl, unlike with Witches.

However, the problem is that no forced Doppel transformation like this has ever been successfully reverted. Instead, they’re all placed into quarantine bubbles that hold them until the day comes that they’re eventually able to be saved.

This all has to do with Wings of the Magius’ master plan. And honestly, as we learn more about their plan, I feel like I understand their end goal even less. They want to save all magical girls, but their methods are pretty confusing.

We know that all of the Rumors were created by Wings of the Magius — specifically Nemu Hiiragi. They’re using these Rumors to capture random people who are then fed to confined Witches to help them grow. Then what? Do they farm grief seeds from them?

Farming grief seeds like that could work in theory, but I wouldn’t call that “saving” magical girls. It also doesn’t explain how the Doppels will be reverted back to magical girls. Oh, and let’s not forget that they’re literally killing people en masse to grow these Witches.

I’m sure it’ll all make sense in the end. But for now, I’m having a hard time seeing the Wings of the Magius’ endgame unless they’re actually being manipulated by a Witch (which is entirely possible).

Conclusion

What do you think of Magia Record 2nd Season Episode 4? Are Doppels really safe to use in moderation? Did you find the fight between Kaede and her friends easy or hard to follow? And how do you think the Wings of the Magius are going to save all magical girls? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and Key Mochi~ for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika and Senpai tiers respectively. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 5 is available now.

Where is Ui Tamaki?

The identity of Ui Tamaki has been a mystery since the start of Magia Record. And although we’re already on the 3rd episode of the 2nd season, we’re not really all that much closer to learning the truth. In fact, whether or not she ever existed at all is still a bit unclear.

When we first got to see “Ui” within Iroha’s dream world, my first thought was that Ui was never a real person to begin with. Perhaps Ui was actually a stand-in for Iroha herself. Or maybe Iroha simply made up Ui because she wanted a “real” younger sister, not just Nemu and Touka.

Both of those theories are still on the table at this point, but I don’t have much confidence in either of them. There was one detail shown in this episode that contradicts both of those theories. However, I think we have to take everything relating to Ui with a grain of salt at this point.

You may have noticed that we actually got a shot of Ui’s funeral in this episode. That seems to answer all the questions about Ui. Where is she? Dead. Why isn’t she in Iroha’s dream world? Only the living are present. Where does Iroha’s stress come from? Her suppressed memories of Ui’s death.

We also know that Ui has been living in the hospital since she was little. This implies that she had some sort of chronic illness, which is likely what led to her death. And, if the Eternal Sakura is where Iroha and Ui are going to be reunited, that seems to imply death as well.

But, as I said, we should take everything about Ui with a grain of salt. The shot of Ui’s funeral may have just been to illustrate that Iroha was afraid of losing Ui to her illness, not necessarily that it happened.

Iroha’s Dream World

Something that’s important to keep in mind is that the dream world featured in this episode was a product of Iroha’s Doppel. This wasn’t the Eternal Sakura that created the dream world. Within the Eternal Sakura, the real Ui is probably present.

Now, since it’s been a while since season 1, I don’t quite remember everything we’ve seen in the series regarding Doppels. But, I feel like this was the first time that a Doppel created a labyrinth as a Witch does.

Is this going to be something we see more of throughout the series? Can Doppel users learn to create their own labyrinth at will? Or was this merely the product of Iroha’s emotions becoming unstable and her soul gem getting too clouded?

I guess if magical girls are able to create labyrinths via their Doppels, it would be kind of similar to how domains work in Jujutsu Kaisen. But at the same time, this dream world created by Iroha’s Doppel didn’t give Iroha or her Doppel a distinct advantage.

It’s not like the fight against the Rumor we got in Episode 1 of this season, where the terrain within the “labyrinth” (I don’t know what to call it for a Rumor) gave the Rumor an advantage. The only advantage here was that the location of the Doppel was hidden.

I get the feeling that magical girls using their Doppels to create labyrinths isn’t going to be a thing, though. They tend to fight already within labyrinths of some kind. I’m not sure what the logistics of a labyrinth within a labyrinth would be anyway.

Welcome Back

At the end of the episode, Yachiyo and Kuroe rescue Iroha from the Eternal Sakura. This was probably my favorite scene of the episode just because the visuals were good. But, it also brought a few questions regarding Iroha’s time within the Eternal Sakura to mind.

For starters, she mentioned that she was waiting for Yachiyo to save her. So does this mean that Iroha was conscious or otherwise aware that she was within a Rumor? I had assumed the Eternal Sakura would have put her within a dream world much like what her Doppel did to her friends.

Also, if it did put her into a dream world, did she meet Ui there? Unfortunately, we don’t have any answers. If Iroha did meet Ui within the Eternal Sakura, in my mind that would confirm that Ui is already dead. Though, I guess she could simply be suspended within it, not dead.

If Iroha didn’t meet Ui within the Eternal Sakura, then it could mean either that Ui is still alive somewhere in the world or that she never existed in the first place. I don’t think we’re going to get an answer to those questions, though.

I get the feeling that Iroha wasn’t necessarily conscious, but that she could “feel” that Yachiyo was going to save her. She might not have understood what was going on or why she needed saving. But at the very least, she knew she was supposed to be waiting for Yachiyo.

And since she didn’t immediately mention that she did or didn’t see Ui within the Eternal Sakura, my guess is that she doesn’t remember what she saw. If she had a similar dream to the one Yachiyo and Kuroe were in and remembered it, she definitely would have commented on Ui’s presence or lack thereof.

Conclusion

What do you think of Magia Record 2nd Season Episode 3? Where do you think Ui is? Are magical girls going to start creating labyrinths to fight? And do you think this is the last we’re going to see of the Eternal Sakura? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and Key Mochi~ for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika and Senpai tiers respectively this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 4 is available now.

Doppel Witches

Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica 2nd Season Episode 2 was a lot worse than Episode 1. I don’t think it was a bad episode, but I’d give this episode a 6/10 while last week’s episode was a solid 8/10 at least. So, let’s quickly go over some reasons why there’s such a discrepancy.

The big thing I mentioned last week was that Episode 1 focused solely on the original cast of Madoka Magica. Episodes focusing on the Magia Record girls just aren’t as good because there are too many characters, so I don’t actually know any of them.

Of all the girls who appeared in this episode, the only ones I could name were Iroha, Yachiyo, and Kuroe (because her name is literally her color scheme). I don’t know any of the other girls’ names. And I barely remember how half of them are relevant.

Actually, I also think one of the “main” girls is named Kaede. She’s the maple tree (what Kaede means) girl. The Radagast the Brown of the series, if you will.

The other problem I have with Magia Record is the series’ defining feature: Doppel Witches. Even with Doppel Witches being somewhat explained in this episode, they still feel like they don’t fit in. Obviously, that’s because they don’t. They’re only included because they’re the “ultimate” abilities from the gacha game.

I think I could get behind the concept of Doppels more if they actually looked cooler. I have no idea what Mifuyu’s Doppel is supposed to be. And Yachiyo’s is extremely stupid. She turns into a scorpion with a human body and gains a hat.

The scene of Yachiyo transforming was cool — until you see what she transformed into. Compared to actual Witches, Doppels are just lame.

Wings of the Magius

The Wings of the Magius group is effectively this series version of what the Witches were in the original series. Witches are old news now. So instead, we have this mysterious group that we’re slowly learning about.

On the surface, I don’t have an issue with that. I like the Witches, but I accept that they wouldn’t be all too interesting as antagonists at this point. That’s why I originally hoped that Magia Record would take place during the Wraith arc.

Unfortunately, Wings of the Magius is what we get instead of Wraiths. So, what’s the goal of this group? They claim their goal is to save all magical girls. That may be true, but as we know, it’s not really that cut and dry. They’re going about achieving their goal in some shady ways.

Now, I have a few theories about what Wings of the Magius is really up to. Two things we know about them are that they use Doppels and they’re responsible for creating Rumors. The Doppels can be explained somewhat easily, but the Rumors less so.

The public reason for creating Doppels is as a way to prevent magical girls from becoming Witches. And they have the added bonus of giving them a power boost for a limited amount of time. But there’s bound to be a drawback associated with this.

I think that might be where Rumors come in. Rumors are effectively mini Witches that didn’t require a magical girl to fall to be born. So my main theory is that Wings of the Magius is attempting to create Witches via Rumors to fulfill the magical girls’ side of their pact with Kyubey.

If Witches can be created with Rumors, magical girls can be saved (or so my thinking goes). After all, we know from the Wraith arc timeline that eliminating Witches altogether isn’t a viable solution.

The Eternal Sakura

The new Rumor introduced in this episode is that of the Eternal Sakura, a cherry blossom tree that’s said to never lose its petals once it blooms. This is also the location where Iroha is supposedly going to be reunited with her sister and her sister’s friends from the hospital.

I honestly have no idea how this Rumor is going to play out. It sounds like this is an end game Rumor. After all, Iroha’s whole goal is to be reunited with her sister. But at the same time, it doesn’t feel like we’re close to that happening and it’s only the start of the 2nd season.

Maybe you aren’t aware, but a 3rd and final season has already been announced. So it seems a bit strange for Iroha’s main character arc to wrap up now. And considering how short all of the other Rumor arcs were in the 1st season, I don’t expect this one to be long either.

Let’s pretend that the Eternal Sakura Rumor does get resolved in the next few episodes and Iroha is reunited with her sister. How would that happen in a way that doesn’t feel cheap? Unless the Eternal Sakura is made of the souls of dead magical girls, I don’t see how it would work.

Nemu is about to die. So for her to also meet Iroha there seems odd. That’s what makes me think Iroha’s sister is already dead, Nemu is about to join her, and the third girl will at some point as well. I think the third girl is the leader of Wings of the Magius if I remember correctly.

I’m still not sure how all of this would work. And that alone isn’t a bad thing. But I’m just not really expecting whatever resolution we get to this Rumor to be all that well-written.

Conclusion

What do you think of Magia Record 2nd Season Episode 2? Do you like the inclusion of Doppel Witches? What’s your theory about the Wings of the Magius? And are you expecting the Eternal Sakura Rumor to be resolved quickly? Let me know in the comments.

I’ll also end this review by mentioning two things I liked about this episode. First, I liked how the way we see Iroha within the Eternal Sakura was a reference to Madoka at the end of the Madoka Magica ED. And Second, the music in this series is phenomenal, as expected.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and Key Mochi~ for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika and Senpai tiers respectively this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 3 is available now.

Alternate Timeline, Not Alternate Universe

I need to start off this review of Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica 2nd Season Episode 1 by stating that I don’t really remember where the 1st season left off. I also forget a lot of details from that season. But for the most part, I don’t think that will matter too much for this review.

With that said, let’s get into one of the most important parts of this episode. Back in the 1st season, it became clear that the story of Magia Record is separate from the original Madoka Magica series. By that, I mean it doesn’t occur alongside or even after the original story.

Effectively, it appeared to be an alternate universe. The main cast we know and love from Madoka Magica still exist in this world, but events are different. Now, we know it’s not an alternate universe. It’s actually one of the many timelines Homura created in her attempt to save Madoka.

Okay, technically that may not entirely be true. It may be one of the timelines created by Homura within an alternate universe. We have no way of confirming nor denying that. So for now, I’m going to say it’s the same universe, but an alternate timeline.

Why does this matter, though? Because it means that either this timeline or the timeline that continues on into Rebellion is destined to fail. There can’t be two “good” timelines. Once one “good” timeline happens, there’s no reason for Homura to create another.

Unrelated, I really liked how Sayaka was the one to re-explain how witches are just corrupted magical girls. You know, considering that she was the only one of the main group to become a witch in the main timeline.

The Power of Friendship

Something we didn’t really see in the main timeline until the start of the Rebellion movie was the original group of magical girls working together as a team. The closest we got was Madoka, Homura, and Kyouko going to fight against Sayaka’s witch, but I wouldn’t really count that.

Remember, magical girls were generally loners since other magical girls are their rivals. They’re all fighting over grief seeds. But in this episode, we get to see Madoka, Sayaka, and Homura working together and agreeing to save each other.

According to Madoka, she’s going to save Homura, Sayaka is going to save her, and then Homura is going to save Sayaka. I’m sure she didn’t realize how literally that would play out. But the idea was basically that as long as they work together they’ll survive.

Of course, this episode only includes Madoka, Sayaka, and Homura. What about Mami and Kyouko? Well, here’s the part where my hazy memory of the 1st season gets in the way. Based on what Sayaka says in this episode, it seems like Mami is still in Kamihama city and in need of saving.

I’m interested in seeing how they go about saving her. Although she’s clearly being controlled, her actions do line up with the Mami we know. Remember, in the original series she went crazy after learning the truth about magical girls as well.

I’d imagine that this timeline won’t end with Homura killing her again.

As for Kyouko, I really have no idea. I don’t remember if she made an appearance at all in the 1st season. But, we do get to see Kyouko briefly in a flashback in this episode. Based solely on that, it’s unclear whether or not Kyouko is even alive anymore in this timeline.

Move Over, Iroha

I know there are a lot of people who really liked the Magia Record game (and fewer people who really liked the 1st season of the anime). But I’m going to say that the series is actually better when it doesn’t involve any of the Magia record girls.

This first episode of the 2nd season was honestly the best episode of Magia Record so far. I hope that’s a sign that this season will be better than the first. However, I also can’t help but notice it was the first episode of the series to focus solely on the original Madoka Magica girls.

Sure, you can argue that the writing for this episode was just better than the others. Or you could argue that the insane animation by Hiroto Nagata for Sayaka’s part of the fight carried the episode. I would agree with both of those statements.

But, I would also say that the original characters are better and that their interactions with each other greatly added to my enjoyment of the episode. I’m just not invested in the new characters in the same way. They feel shallow, regardless of whether they really are.

I can’t look at Iroha without thinking of her as a bootleg Madoka. And the same goes for Yachiyo basically being Magia Record’s Homura. They don’t feel like unique characters. I really do believe that Magia Record would be better if it just focused on the original group.

Now, I know there are going to be plenty of people who disagree with me on that, and that’s fine. If you played the Magia Record game, you’re probably much more familiar with the new characters than I am. Maybe I’ll learn to like them more. For now, though, I’m not a huge fan.

Conclusion

What do you think of Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica 2nd Season Episode 1? Do you think this alternate timeline is also an alternate universe? Do you prefer groups of magical girls or lone wolf magical girls? And who’s your favorite magical girl overall? Mine is Kyouko Sakura — my first ever figure was of her.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and Key Mochi~ for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika and Senpai tiers respectively this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 2 is available now.