Well if you had paid a bit more attention to the last scene with Sayaka and Madoka, you might understand better why Madoka made the wish she did. She believed in the wishes that all the other girls had made, even if some of them were misguided or naive, because they still fought, sacrificed and died for those wishes. By not wishing magical girls away completely, she honored their sacrifices and also ensured that their souls are not corrupted into violent monsters.
Just because I didn’t screen cap or comment on every moment doesn’t mean I didn’t see it. I paid attention to Madoka reassuring Sayaka that she believed in her and respected her wish. Believe me, I was invested in the last Sayaka scene while it was happening. It was a very beautiful moment, but I didn’t have much to add to it that I didn’t already say and wanted to keep moving.
I’m sorry if anything I said seemed as though I was making fun of Madoka’s wish. That wasn’t my intention. I hold by that it reduces their suffering, but they suffer greatly nonetheless in the new world she has created. I do kind of enjoy the idea that she didn’t want to see magic gone from the world, but the cost seems too great imo. (I actually rather enjoy this post’s take on the matter, generally speaking.)
But I will go back to what I’m fairly certain I said before: Madoka is practically still just a child. All things considered, that makes what she did truly heroic and beautiful, but it is the wish of a child. I think (hope) any adult would look at the tragedy laid out for these girls and admire their nobility to make the wishes they did but still feel the need to stop their suffering. And therein lies my critique. It’s tragic in large part because these problems—far too huge for a child to work out—are being dealt with by children.
It doesn’t make the ending bad, because again, the setup is that all of these decisions are in the hands of children. They’re doing the best that they can. But watching this as someone nearing her 30s, yeah, I might not be as thrilled. And that has to be okay. I don’t need to believe that Madoka made the best decision to result in an ending in which female children sacrifice their lives for others and endure horrific pain and brutalization in the process.It’s not her fault, but I can acknowledge the reality of that horror. If I had first watched the show at a younger age, it is very likely I would feel differently, but I didn’t. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
