I'm suffering @megucaaaa - Tumblr Blog

Thank you to everyone who got me to 100 likes!

I got a notification recommending me to make this post. I haven't used any sort of social media in many years at this point, and I've had severe anxiety issues making the concept of posting content which people can interact with too terrifying to be a realistic possibility; the fact that I've managed to post some screenshots and a post talking about my thoughts on Madoka in general is a significant achievement for me personally, and shows the progress I've made in regard to my mental state lately.

I didn't really expect there to be any interaction, I like Madoka, and I like talking about it, despite me never really having had anyone with whom I could discuss and analyze it; I like thinking and writing about things—even if nobody reads them—and this page was meant mostly as a replacement to me writing down my thoughts in text documents which I promptly delete without saving, since the act of putting things into words itself was rewarding to me.

The fact that there has been interaction is nice, and while it is a bit scary, it's also something I—at this point in time—feel is positive as a whole as opposed to simply being too anxiety-inducing to endure. I'm proud of myself for having had the courage to share screenshots of scenes I like, and put my thoughts out on the internet, and I'm happy others have enjoyed them. The very concept of this blogpost feels a bit strange to write; I've posted so few things so far, and I somewhat feel as though the way I'm describing said posts make them seem more plentiful than they've actually been, but that—to some extent—is also the reason I saved the draft of this recommended post instead of clicking it away. I got to a point at which Tumblr recommended thanking those who had liked my posts before I had personally imagined I'd even get a single interaction, and that feels quite significant.

I'm very shy and socially anxious; I struggle to talk to people, and Madoka is the one topic I'm wholly comfortable with and could talk about endlessly. It truly is an amazing show.

#100 likes #tumblr milestone #thank you

#pmmm #puella magi madoka magica #magia record #being meguca is suffering #mitama yakumo #madoka magica #mahou shoujo madoka magica #madoka magika

The rise of overly dark Magical Girl shows, which contain suffering for no other purpose than to display said suffering, largely stems from a complete misunderstanding of what Madoka was, and what made it great.

Madoka spends two and a half episodes setting up a happy, cheerful, Magical Girl show, and then spends eight and a half episodes rejecting that premise, showing that hope only leads to despair, that a wish will lead to a curse, that things cannot fundamentally improve, and that trying to make things better will only bring suffering upon yourself and others. This is what derivative "tragical girl" shows were about; the suffering of young women for its own sake, as if that was the point of Madoka, as if the suffering was the entire point.

The last episode, however, has Madoka herself rejecting the show's entire premise. She's told hope leads to despair, and exclaims "If someone says it's wrong to have hope, I will tell them they're wrong every single time.". She's told that the very foundation of the universe leads to suffering being inherent, constant, and that the only thing one can do is to endure said suffering as long as one can bear, before falling to despair and inflicting the suffering one has experienced unto others; she's told that any wish will become a curse, yet ends the show saying "All those Magical Girls who held onto their hopes and fought against witches, I don't want to see them cry—I want them to stay smiling until the end. If any rule or law stands in my way, I will destroy it. I will rewrite it. That is my wish, that is my prayer.""

Walpurgisnacht had been set up as the most terrible witch to ever exist up until that point, and the viewer had been led to believe they'd fight to the death against it, and inevitably lose—as a Magical Girl seemingly always does in the Madoka universe. Madoka does not fight her, Madoka shows compassion, simply stating "It's okay. It's okay now, you don't have to hate anyone anymore, you don't have to curse anyone anymore. I'll go back, before you took that form, and shoulder that burden for you". There was no fight, and Madoka simply took on her despair, as she took on everyone else's, allowing them to once again have hope.

That's why the ending of that silly meduka meguca copypasta does make me cry every time; we pray, never to forget, that being Meguca was suffering. It's not anymore, there are struggles, but there always are in life; the Magical Girls who held wishes in their hearts prevailed against the very concept of the show, with the ending showing that you can make the world a better place through love, compassion, and the power of a wish. The twist in Madoka Magica isn't episode 3, where the first explicit death is shown—it's in episode 12, in which it shows itself to have been a completely normal Magical Girl show all along.