Just for Fun: Kamen Shoujo Madoka

In case you were wondering where I had been, I was taking my usual two month vacation. But in honor of Valentine’s Day and plenty of free time, I figured I should dust off my coat. This time I’m writing something more humorous (yes, humorous) that people can laugh at. Unfortunately it’s also something I should write a long disclaimer before.

-DISCLAIMER-
This article will contain certain massive spoilers concerning Kamen Rider Ryuki and the first five episodes of Puella Magi Madoka Madoka Magica. This will be divided from an early section that will only cover basic plot of both series. I will carefully separate these sections but if you go past that point of return DO NOT BLAME ME. I simply did not want to break this article into two, and I’ll make it near impossible to read past by accident. Just don’t be a scroll monkey and if you are a fan of either series and want to read past that point then feel free. I’m not sure how many Madoka fans will watch Ryuki and how many Ryuki fans will watch Madoka. If there are some of you out there that are well versed in both, we should sit down and talk.

-DISCLAIMER 2-
Due to experiences with Japanese Madoka fans, I KNOW this is a sensitive topic. Like I said, this is for fun. Don’t hate me for pointing these things out and don’t take anything I say as fact. I’m simply just reiterating a lot of discussion that’s happened elsewhere. Rider fans have noticed parallels with Mahou Shoujo forever and Madoka has been pushing a new barrier.

Update Notice
Since the conclusion of Madoka, I did an updated character summary and character summary only. The first section of this article (the plot comparisons) are exclusive to this article. So if you want to look at my character comparison analysis post finale then you should read it here.

And that’s about it. That covers my ass I hope. Spoiler free area start!

Mahou Shoujo and Riders

戦え・・・戦え・・・戦え！

In the worlds of Ryuki and Madomagi there are the Riders and Mahou Shoujo. These two classes aren’t too far from one another oddly enough. In both worlds there exists these warriors that are created by somewhat similar ways. For those who watched Ryuki, you know the basics. With a card deck you can form a pact with a monster and become a Rider. The ultimate prize for a Rider (in their respective war) is getting their one wish granted. Sound familiar Madomagi fans? You’re not too far from it. If you want to be a Mahou Shoujo, you must form a pact with a familiar. By doing this you will have one wish granted at the cost of fighting as a Mahou Shoujo.

So Riders have to work a bit harder, right? Well, in either case there is the ultimate catch. Those who choose these paths are not allowed to stop. For a Rider there’s not escape from fighting just as for a Mahou Shoujo. Both must stay the way without hesitation and keep fighting.

You must fight if you want to survive! It’s a phrase that surfaces in both these series.

So what does this all mean? Madomagi fans are probably thinking, “Well Kyuubei isn’t a monster!” Well, he’s not but as you learned there are familiars that exist elsewhere and it’s a topic I’ll get to later. But while Riders benefit from killing other Riders, do Mahou Shoujo benefit from killing other Mahou Shoujo? That question might be answered soon enough but it’s a plot point that isn’t as obvious as that of Ryuki.

The Mirror World, Witches, Monsters, Battle….

It’s the Mirror World…oh wait…

Let’s start with Madomagi viewers this time. We all know how it works by now. There are witches that mature in the parallel world. They simply attack from this parallel existence and take the lives of humans beings through various means. Mahou Shoujo can enter this realm to defeat the witches and thus save those targeted humans. Now, where does that leave Ryuki? Certain monsters existed in the mirror world that would feast on humans. By devouring humans they could receive power. Riders are able to enter this Mirror World and defeat these monsters, thus, saving any humans being targeted.

In both cases, anybody who was lost in the parallel existence was considered missing. And nobody in the real world had any clue as to what was causing these various deaths. Simple enough, right?

Grief Seeds, Monster Souls, and Power

Defeat the enemy and gain power…

Now for the last real plot segment to discuss. As of recent, we learned a bit more in Madomagi. There are grief seeds right? These come from full grown witches and allow for a Mahou Shoujo to restore her magical power. In other words defeating a witch is vital for the survival of a Mahou Shoujo. What would happen if this magical power were to be lost? Sounds like much of a dangerous predicament and thus fighting witches is important to survival. But as pointed out recently, there is a cycle taking place. Humans are eaten by witches and witches are in turn eaten by Mahou Shoujo. In other words, there is a food chain going on and thus Mahou Shoujo do rely on the death of humans for their existence.

Grief seeds may very well be taking the place of monster souls in Ryuki. A soul acts as a source of both food and power for the contract monster of a Rider. If a monster is not fed, then it will begin to turn on it’s master and thus collecting souls is vital to the survival of a Rider. And the existence of monsters is driven by what? Well monsters must eat humans to retain their life, the contract monsters must eat other monster souls to retain life, and Riders are at the top making sure these contract monsters are fed for their own sake. And thus a reliance on human sacrifice remains.

So are all these familiars and contract monsters any different? Going back we know that there are familiar that are evil just like there are monsters that are evil. But some familiar are controlled and like a Rider’s contract monster are generally obedient. But will we see a rampaging Kyuubei at some point in time and what is it that familiar get out of a contract. Just like Ryuki, it can’t just be something that benefits merely the one who starts the pact.

So what really does separate Madomagi and Ryuki? The major plot points are rather interestingly parallel from that standard alone. For those who know Ryuki well, I’m sure there are interesting thoughts banging around in your head. But let’s get away from it. Because it’s time for the fun but spoiler filled continuation.

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See this is the part where you start scrolling back up…

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if you keep scrolling down then you’re sure, right?

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You’re getting one of your last warnings here…

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Well, alright. Welcome to the spoilers.

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Character Parallels, Predictions, and all that fun stuff

In this section, I talk about more of the fun conversation that took place. Upon deciding that Madoka was indeed Kamen Rider Ryuki’s new retelling, we started drawing lines. But since we found that matches weren’t perfect in all aspects, we broke things down into three features. The first feature you’ll see is personality. This is simple as it’s the personality that matched the character most. The second feature is battle style. This is based off of abilities and fighting style of each character. The last is probably the most fun, which is death. Here not only do we get to parallel how people might die, but when and the impact.

Madoka Kaname

Personality

Oddly enough, Madoka’s personality was easy to match with that of Shinji Kido of Ryuki. Both represent the somewhat oblivious and innocent main character. While Shinji is doing his best to stop the Rider fight and focus on saving people, Madoka is doing her best to make sure each Mahou Shoujo is safe and happy. Both suffer from easy to crack resolves and thus are often showing weakness and rely on the strength of others. The only real difference is that while Shinji grows the resolve to fight early on, Madoka is far from it. Despite that, we know Shinji cracks on more then a few occasions and must recover.

As with Shinji, Madoka struggles to find her true “wish” just as Shinji has no reason to be in the Rider fight. Because of this, it’s easier for the others to push them down as not worthy of their position. Just as Shinji finds his reason to fight later on I’m well assured that Madoka will be the same. What does that translate to? Probably that Madoka won’t be seeing any real power for awhile. Not as long as she has others to rest her back on.

Battle

Not odd is that there’s no real choice for Madoka yet in terms of battle. Even speculation is a little hard with how unique certain aspects are. Because of this, you would want to assume that Madoka will take a very general source of power like Ryuki. Ryuki didn’t have any real focus aside from raw power and it will most likely be the same for Madoka. And just as how Ryuki was one of the few Riders to gain the “Survive” card, Madoka with her “high magical potential” is likely to have her own power that puts her above other Mahou Shoujo. In other words, we can expect Madoka to be just as overpowered as Ryuki Survive was but mostly suffer from a lack of skill.

Death

Keeping with our main character guesses, it is very likely that Madoka could die like Shinji. This was the highest prediction hit on by the Ryuki knowing Madoka viewers. Or, at least, it was the one fact that people kept raising. Well, if Madoka is the main character is she going to not be the last one standing? With Madoka’s personality it is entirely possible she won’t. Whether anyone will outlive her is questionable at best. I can very well see the series beginning to deviate more and more at the end but I see it a very valid option to kill off even the likes of the main character. This more or less will rely on what the true causes of these problems are and whether they are linked with the pure existence of Mahou Shoujo.

Homura Akemi

Personality

If there were any character you could lay right next to their counterpart, it’s Homura. Homura plays the part of Ren Akiyama so hard that it hurts. Aside from stealing half of his lines, Homura acts perfectly as the cold ally who refuses any friendly advances. Just as Ren held most of the truths of the Rider battle, Homura appears to hold many of the secrets as to what it really means to be a Mahou Shoujo. Parallels only go on with the flat out idea that Homura continues to discourage others from becoming Mahou Shoujo. Ren’s continuing anger at other Riders popping up is continually reflected in this respect. At the same time, both appear experienced and received their power well before the start of the series.

So, yes, Homura’s negative attitude towards Madoka is just the same as Ren’s attitude towards Shinji. But at the same time, both know that they are trying to discourage the greater person from danger. In both cases, they try and talk about the horrors of what is really going on and can only break the often cold truth of the situation. Though there is the constant wish for their ally to keep their ongoing optimism as both are burdened by their respective pasts.

If nothing else to divide the two, at least Homura isn’t a complete ass. Well…not Ren level anyway.

Battle

I chose not to pick out Homura due to the fact that she’s shown very little battle abilities yet. Much like Madoka though, it is highly possible that she holds a higher power then the other Mahou Shoujo. If anything, you’d want to stick the idea of Kamen Rider Knight to her but it’s hard to say. While I know that she is most likely to be the partner of Madoka in battle, I highly doubt that she’ll fight anything like Knight. More or less, she is likely to be more like Kamen Rider Odin or even Ryuuga who, like Ryuki, are simple and lack any real specific traits. I would only rule Ryuuga in as it feels like Homura and Madoka may fight very similarly albeit Homura is just a darker color swap.

Death

Filling in Ren’s spot personality wise, Homura may very well be the last person standing. Having seen so many deaths in her life, it’s very easy that she’ll be the one digging Madoka’s grave. Can I see Homura giving her life for Madoka’s sake? Easily. I’m fairly sure that Homura has a death date written above her head though as she’s just that one character you know will not survive to the end. If it turns out to be total annihilation like Ryuuki then I could see her as the last to go. And to be honest, I’d like to see that.

Sayaka Miki

Personality

Sayaka is a character that is harder to pick a certain person to. Regardless, I still felt her as a good parallel to Miyuki Tezuka. While Sayaka isn’t exactly sitting out on a street corner giving fortunes, she still acts as a good parallel. Tezuka’s main feature was to support Shinji and help him in his endeavors to stop the fighting between Riders. Tezuka often supported Shinji when he was down on account there was truly no other close ally that he had. While Mami might have fit this bill, she was instead the first to go and could only give so much moral support.

Sayaka’s real parallel is in accordance with her wish. Tezuka’s main reason for becoming a Rider was because of his friend. His friend and original Rider was injured in an accident. Being a piano player he was prevented from further playing and thus was forced to give up. Tezuka saw his friend suffer this fate and eventually his friend’s life was taken due to being a Rider. Tezuka decided to avenge his friend and bring a stop to the fight. While this wasn’t exactly parallel to Saya, it’s close. Saya became a Mahou Shoujo and used her wish for the sake of another. And in this case you just swap out a piano for a violin and it’s essentially the same story (albeit without the death of a friend). But in both cases, each was taking on a responsibility and giving their life for the sake of their friend.

Along with Madoka and Homura, Sayaka also forms what is the three Mahou Shoujo that have a bit of a pact. And this is no different from the pact that was retained between Shinji, Ren, and Tezuka. Sayaka also retains the idea that fighting monsters takes precedence over all else. So, like Tezuka, she is on no real quest for power but merely to protect lives.

Battle

Sayaka, since recently showing off her abilities, has to take the place of Kamen Rider Knight. With her cape, quick flight abilities, and sword, she essentially fits the role of Knight. While it is likely that Saya won’t achieve the power that Knight could, her fighting style is too similar to group with anyone else. You could say she looks more like Femme, but overall the flight abilities, speed, and use of a blade made her seem more like Knight. Of course we could see later that she has other tricks up her sleeve. Unlike Mami, we haven’t seen her using any specific finisher that may resemble something from Ryuki. Whether she’ll be pulling out Knight’s infamous Final Vent though is beyond prediction.

Death

Retaining her role as Tezuka, I can see Sayaka going out the exact same way. Since she is not one of the real main pair of the series, Sayaka is most likely to lose her life soon. Will it be to a witch? I really doubt it. I can see her life being claimed by another Mahou Shoujo and acting as a strong reality to Madoka. While there has been a recent failed attempt, this is no different then in Ryuki. Tezuka as Raia had his life under threat numerous times before he was finally taken and it could only be a mater of time before another attack takes Sayaka.

Most likely due to this, we might see some realization among fights between Mahou Shoujo. And it’ll be a big crack towards Madoka to try and find a way to end everything.

Mami Tomoe

Personality

Mami was a character that ran a few parallels. Regardless, I chose to stick her primarily to the lovable Shuichi Kitaoka. I’m pretty sure some of you are giving me strange looks from across the internet right now. But just hear me out a bit. I didn’t say they were parallel but they are better then just attaching certain traits from everybody to Mami.

First, let’s start with desires. As we know, Mami used her one wish to save her life and thus allow her to live longer then she should have. This isn’t too far form Kitaoka’s own desire. Being diagnosed with a deadly disease, Kitaoka’s only real desire was to live a full life, even if his intents were originally out of greed to continue his lavish lifestyle.

While Kitaoka was a villain for a large portion of the series, he did turn ally eventually and his ally spree is where Mami matches up. In the end, they were someone who was generally living in their own solitude and merely refused the company of others. Kitaoka never truly hated anyone but tended to distance those around him because of his disease. Mami lived in solitude due to her own work. Upon receiving their ultimate company (Kitaoka with Reiko and the others) both began to get a new resolve and decided to make the most out of their life. Unfortunately for both this happiness was cut a bit short but nonetheless neither died alone like they would have without meeting the other characters.

Battle

They got big guns, oh yes they do. Mami’s battle techniques were the early sparks to incite most of the Ryuuki and Madoka comparisons. By obliterating nearly all her enemies with an onslaught of bullets, Zolda’s End of World was the first thing to come into people’s mind. Mami’s infamous finisher was highly close to Zolda’s Shoot Vent that was often used for the precision over his Final Vent. So due to their trigger happy natures, the two of them went hand in hand. Now if only her death was more like Zolda’s….

Death

Unfortunately, Mami’s death didn’t match up with her other personality points. Instead, Mami went the way of Kamen Rider Scissors. The first to lose his life in the series, Scissors was surprised to be devoured by his own monster. Mami, in her bout of confidence, was devoured quite simply by the witch she was fighting. So because of this, it was hard not to compare the two for dying so early and due to a bit of ill confidence. And, needless to say, both deaths were just as traumatizing. Seeing a man devoured alive by a crab or a girl munched down by an overgrown sushi roll doesn’t set well with viewers. Granted, I would vote Ryuki as worse merely because a larger fraction of the audience was probably innocent kids. Also, yellow might just be a really unlucky color.

More or less, the deaths had similar impacts. While Scissors was a villain, it was meant to teach the others the heavy truth of the situation. Death was inevitable for both and the ways you could die were far from glorious.

Kyoko Sakura

Personality

While this is more of a prediction, I hope to god that it’s right. If there is any character that Kyoko screams right now, it is none other then the great Takeshi Asakura. Both rather violent and power stricken, the two are most likely the main antagonist of their respective series, despite their potential role to be just. Kyoko hasn’t had enough time to show the kind of anger and rage of Asakura, but she’s sure shown quite a bit of anger problems. To match the two more directly, both use humans as bait in an attempt to achieve their power.

What does this mean anyway? I can see Kyoko continuing to target Sayaka out of her own quest for doing something fun. Just like Asakura, she’s likely to intervene and only worsen situation so that she can be the one to obtain power. It’s also very likely that she won’t be directly interacting with the others outside of battle and other bad confrontations.

In other words, I’m writing villain all over Kyoko. And I’ll be happy if that’s the case because just putting the two together already looks good. If Kyoko can get anywhere to be half as evil and psycho as Asakura then I will be a happy man.

Battle

From the one episode we got to see Kyoko fight, I still want to pair her with Ouja. Why? Well not merely based on weapon but she already showed a more barbaric form of fighting style.

Weapon wise there’s the fact that she possess a large halberd (more akin to Knight’s Strike Vent) but that it can segment itself and act as whip (akin to Kamen Rider Raia’s Strike vent). But these factors aside we could see her Halberd more like Ouja’s strange sword or even Kamen Rider Gai’s rhino horn styled Strike Vent. This is what truly made me want to say Ouja just merely because both Raia and Gai’s monsters were taken in, ultimately, by Ouja. So due to the combination of these other traits, I’d would merely say Ouja.

Now let’s just hope that Kyoko can do something akin to Doomsday or Venom Crush.

Death

In a tic-tac-toe victory, I feel that Kyoko can fit Ouja/Asakura all the way. Consumed by her own power, greed, and willingness to fight others, it is likely that Kyoko will begin to lose herself to her vices. Whether it be a witch, one of the other Mahou Shoujo, or an incident in the real world, Kyoko will die due to her own workings. She is merely the character building up the bad karma to lead to her ultimate demise.

And will anybody mourn it? No. It’s most likely that Kyoko will take Saya’s life and then ultimately be killed shortly after by some means. If I had to predict an exact scenario it would be something like this. I can see Madoka fighting back in revenge but in hesitation (much like Shinji did when fighting Asakura). Upon all the fighting, it could very easily lead to a nearby witch being the one to actually take Kyoko’s life, perhaps upon being left in injury. I simply don’t see one of the others taking her life but I see them lending a hand in the ultimate demise.

Conclusion
In the end, it was kind of funny looking at parallels. I could never say whether any of these predictions are right and whether you can keep using Ryuki as a ruler for Madomagi’s plot. I see a lot of it as plausible and I see this as hitting the character limit already from Ryuki’s plot.

As most Ryuki fans might see, these are already the main characters by the end of Ryuki and thus covering the final Riders (at least personality wise). So because of this, I don’t see them adding any more Mahou Shoujo but running the rest of the main plot. But, rest assured, if they add any more characters then I will be interested to see if there are any more parallels run. I’d love to see more assholes like Kamen Rider Imperer or Tiger showing up.

And with that, it looks like you managed to survive till the end.