Remember Madoka Transgressing the Magical Girl Simon Gough, B.Comm (Media) School of Media and Communication RMIT University Remember Madoka: Transgressing the Magical Girl Simon Gough, B.Comm (Media) Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Communication (Media) (Honours) Supervised by Prof. Stephanie Hemelryk Donald School of Media and Communication RMIT University Australia October 2011 Remember Madoka 1 Table of Contents Statement of Authorship p. 3 Abstract p. 4 Acknowledgements p. 5 Notes p. 6 Chapters 1. Introduction p. 7 2. Animation, genre, and girls p. 13 2.1 Japanese animation p. 13 2.2 Genre and conventions p. 14 2.3 Shōjo and the magical girl p. 20 3. Magical conventions p. 25 3.1 Early magical girls p. 25 3.2 Contemporary magical girls p. 27 4. Two views of transgression p. 37 4.1 The fight against Charlotte p. 37 4.2 The girls’ nature revealed p. 46 Conclusion p. 59 Index of figures p. 63 References p. 69 Filmography p. 74 Remember Madoka 2 Statement of Authorship This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any tertiary institution, and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text of this thesis. Signed, ________________________________ Remember Madoka 3 Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how the Japanese anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica both confirms and transgresses the conventions of the magical girl genre. Genres shift as audiences, creators and critics develop, mature and reform. Texts that transgress established conventions within their respective genres in turn shift perceptions of the possibilities of the genre, and thus influence the development of future works. Through analysis of several contemporary magical girl series, conventions that are commonly found within the genre are established, and then used as points of reference for a deeper analysis of the series Puella Magi Madoka Magica. This series utilises many of the conventions within the genre, but also takes them further and transforms them. It is thus a profoundly important contribution to anime in Japan. Remember Madoka 4 Acknowledgements To my supervisor, Professor Stephanie Hemelryk Donald, for her constant encouragement and unfailingly helpful advice. To our honours program director, Adrian Miles, for his unique brand of tough love that has allowed our cohort to survive this year (relatively) unscathed. To my parents, Annette and Noel, for their love and support throughout my academic endeavours. To my peers in the honours program, for their hard work and camaraderie that pulled us all across the finishing line. Remember Madoka 5 Notes The Romanisation of Japanese in this thesis follows the Hepburn system, with macrons used to indicate long vowels. Japanese names have been ordered in the Western format, with surnames second. All films, series, and episode titles, unless otherwise noted, are identified by their commonly accepted English language titles within the text, with the original Japanese titles noted in the filmography. Remember Madoka 6 Chapter 1: Introduction The anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica appears, at first sight, to exemplify the conventions associated with contemporary narratives of the Japanese magical girl genre. This thesis explores the possibility that this series not only utilises these conventions but also transgresses them in ways that might be significant for the critical reception of future works in this genre. Debuting in January 2011 and running until April of the same year (including a delayed completion due to the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami), Puella Magi Madoka Magica presents the story of Madoka Kaname, an ordinary adolescent schoolgirl residing in the city of Mitakihara. In the first episode, Madoka and her friend Sayaka Miki are introduced to a small creature named Kyubey, who makes them an offer: if they agree to become magical girls, he will grant each of them a wish. Homura Akemi, who is already a magical girl, urges Madoka not to agree to Kyubey's contract, but Kyubey insists that by taking his offer, Madoka will become the most powerful magical girl of all time. Conflicting influences on her decision include her introduction to two other magical girls, Mami Tomoe and Kyoko Sakura, who offer different perspectives on being magical girls. Madoka is also troubled by the grim realities of the lives of magical girls, including risks of isolation and death, and she is especially disturbed by discovering that the monsters which the magical girls fight were themselves once magical girls. With all her friends becoming - and suffering as - magical girls, Madoka has to decide whether becoming a magical girl is worth the Remember Madoka 7 trouble it causes, especially after she learns the awful truths behind their powers. In the final episode of the series, Madoka agrees to Kyubey’s contract, using her wish to end the cycle of suffering for all magical girls, past and present. However, this does not end the fighting for the magical girls; rather, it removes the threat of them turning into monsters, with their ultimate destination being a new afterlife, over which Madoka reigns as a goddess. The title of this thesis, “Remember Madoka”, is inspired by one of the final sequences in the series. After the credits have rolled on the twelfth and final episode, we see the character Homura striding across a barren wasteland, with the following words (in English) superimposed across the screen: — Don’t forget. Always, somewhere, someone is fighting for you. — As long as you remember her, you are not alone. By themselves, these words are standard magical girl fare: despite the evil forces that exist in the world, you are protected by a heroic maternal figure. But these words also stand in stark contrast with the relentlessly dark narrative of Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Throughout the series, we witness the girls being beaten, crushed, decapitated and otherwise destroyed, both emotionally and physically. It is only in the final episode that hope emerges as a possibility for these girls and, even then, they still must fight on behalf of everyone else. In my mind, this postscript epitomises the Remember Madoka 8 key achievement of Puella Magi Madoka Magica: despite utilising and transgressing the key recognisable characteristics of the magical girl genre as it moves toward a ruthlessly grim conclusion, it still manages to conclude on a hopeful note, typical of the genre and fulfilling the audience’s expectations for a happy, even hopeful, conclusion. Origins and motivations My motivations for writing this thesis arise, in part, from my personal history of involvement with Japanese popular culture in general and with anime in particular. My engagement with anime in any serious sense began in 2001, when I watched the series Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 as it was broadcast weekly on SBS. Although I had previously watched Dragon Ball Z and Pokémon, they had always appeared to me to be cartoons, albeit visually distinctive and idiosyncratically Japanese. Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 introduced me to a world of new terms, new concepts and ideas that drew me more deeply into the cultural milieux of anime and manga. I became one of those boys who watched Sailor Moon without any sense of irony; I debated with friends regarding the differences between the original Japanese Cardcaptor Sakura and the American version that was edited and rebranded as Cardcaptors; I began to identify with fans who sneered at those who insult a work by watching versions dubbed into US English, rather than listening to the Japanese original. Although I am now somewhat loath to admit it, I was very much what Antonia Levi (2006) refers to as a “Japanophile” (p. 57), complete with an active resentment towards the Americanisation of anime and manga. While I never delved deeply into fan communities, such as those overviewed by Susan Napier (2001) or Dunlap and Wolf Remember Madoka 9 (2010), my interaction with these groups nevertheless influenced my then and current interest in anime. My enthusiasm for anime peaked in 2007 when I became a member of the organising committee for the Melbourne Anime Festival, then one of the largest anime conventions in Australia. However, I resigned from the committee in 2008, in part because I found myself no longer enjoying anime, or identifying with the local fan community that supported it. I continued to read popular and academic literature on Japanese culture writ large, but beyond this level of amateur research interest I became somewhat detached from anime as a genre. This connection is important to establish because, as noted by Henry Jenkins (2006), it is good research practice to establish any potential bias a researcher may have if they are both a fan and utilising fan community resources as part of an investigation. Despite this thesis not being a direct investigation of fan communities, some fan resources are used as part of the analysis and argument. These are taken directly from their sources, in order to eliminate any potential bias that could be found. Three years later, I was introduced through my internet friends to Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Despite only five episodes having been released at the time I heard of it, the internet anime communities were talking up the series as the next big thing, with blog posts describing the series as “a magical girl cartoon that’s dark, gritty and unpredictable” (Martin 2011). The intensity of these discussions intrigued me enough to begin watching the series myself, albeit with some hesitation. The fact that I have progressed to writing a thesis about the series is testimony to how powerfully this Remember Madoka 10 series has engaged me, and has revitalised my interest in anime as both a fan and an aspiring academic researcher.