Madoka: Rebellion (a must-watch for anyone who enjoyed the TV series; I am not certain in general what to make of it, and need to rewatch it. If you’re going to watch it at all, I recommend avoiding spoilers.)
Ayakashi (3-part anthology; skip the truly wretched first part, watch the second if you have time for a mildly-interesting metafictional kabuki play, and enjoy the third part which started Mononoke)
Frozen (unobjectionable for a Disney movie although not without flaws—slangy dialogue will date it fast, plot made characters unnecessarily evil, snowman was the most hateful character since Jar Jar Binks)
Madoka: Rebellion (a must-watch for anyone who enjoyed the TV series
I anti-recommend this. I loved the TV series, and think Rebellion ruined its perfect ending and makes me think less of the series as a whole. I am trying to forget its existence.
Agreed. It’s hardly a “must-watch” for fans of the oiriginal. It’s a “stay the hell away if you thought the original themes and character arcs were meaningful and well crafted”.
Because it’s what I call a Cannibalising Sequel: instead of easily flowing from, and enhancing the old story and making it better (think Godfather 2, or The Empire Strikes Back), in order to prop itself up a Cannibalising Sequel ruins the old story retroactively, taking away the importance of things that used to be meaningful (think Starcraft: Brood War, or Alien 3). Important sacrifices, past decisions which were supposed to have lasting repercussions, character arcs, lessons learned, and the prices paid for them… so much of that goes out the window in Rebellion.
It’s also poorly paced as a movie and sloppily told as a story. The original Madoka had more of interest to offer in its first 2 minutes than this thing has in its first 20. I’m not exaggerating.
I am ambivilent towards this. It had some clever bits, and I think I understand what Urobuchi was trying to do with the ending, but the overall execution did not live up to the standards of the orignial series.
I also enjoyed this. I thought the fake ending would have been more emotionally satisfying, but the real ending was more interesting and opens up more possibilities for the setting.
Animation:
Madoka: Rebellion (a must-watch for anyone who enjoyed the TV series; I am not certain in general what to make of it, and need to rewatch it. If you’re going to watch it at all, I recommend avoiding spoilers.)
Ayakashi (3-part anthology; skip the truly wretched first part, watch the second if you have time for a mildly-interesting metafictional kabuki play, and enjoy the third part which started Mononoke)
Frozen (unobjectionable for a Disney movie although not without flaws—slangy dialogue will date it fast, plot made characters unnecessarily evil, snowman was the most hateful character since Jar Jar Binks)
I anti-recommend this. I loved the TV series, and think Rebellion ruined its perfect ending and makes me think less of the series as a whole. I am trying to forget its existence.
Agreed. It’s hardly a “must-watch” for fans of the oiriginal. It’s a “stay the hell away if you thought the original themes and character arcs were meaningful and well crafted”.
Because it’s what I call a Cannibalising Sequel: instead of easily flowing from, and enhancing the old story and making it better (think Godfather 2, or The Empire Strikes Back), in order to prop itself up a Cannibalising Sequel ruins the old story retroactively, taking away the importance of things that used to be meaningful (think Starcraft: Brood War, or Alien 3). Important sacrifices, past decisions which were supposed to have lasting repercussions, character arcs, lessons learned, and the prices paid for them… so much of that goes out the window in Rebellion.
It’s also poorly paced as a movie and sloppily told as a story. The original Madoka had more of interest to offer in its first 2 minutes than this thing has in its first 20. I’m not exaggerating.
I am ambivilent towards this. It had some clever bits, and I think I understand what Urobuchi was trying to do with the ending, but the overall execution did not live up to the standards of the orignial series.
I also enjoyed this. I thought the fake ending would have been more emotionally satisfying, but the real ending was more interesting and opens up more possibilities for the setting.