Headscratchers / Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story

As a Headscratchers subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

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• So, did Homura just forget about Walpurgisnacht? Am I missing something here?
  • Given that the OP has her standing in front of Walpurgis Night, I'm pretty sure it just hasn't come up in the story yet.
• Is there some kind of limit in place for three characters from each installment beyond Madoka itself? I know Oriko, Kirika, and Yuma were the only three to appear in the original Oriko Magica, and Kazumi, Kaoru, and Umika were always treated as the "core" members of the Pleiades Saints, but Suzune and Tart Magica both had tight-knit groups of four, the former which didn't include Suzune herself. I know Pernelle played second fiddle, and Kagari is evil, but are there any plans in place for Eliza, Haruka, and Matsuri? (I understand Sayaka was planned for a proper appearance all former absence long, so what about them?)
  • There was something mentioned about rerunning events during Howa Howa event, so it's possible they're trying to save other girls for the re-runs by applying Rule of Three (there's also speculation of uncapping existing spinoff girls during reruns, and possibly even Oriko event).
    • Well, turns out that at least Matsuri and Haruka have in fact appeared in the game, even if they still aren't playable.
    • As of October 2019 Matsuri and Haruka are playable in the JP servers as part of a second Suzune event, so it isn't out of the question for other spinoff girls to make it into the game.
• Why are some of the girls' ascended, chibified, or swimsuit forms treated as separate characters? Couldn't they have been separate skins or second forms for the same characters in question?
  • The chibified forms (Madoka-senpai as well as related Felicia and Iroha) are treated as separate characters because they are. Ascended, depends; Ultimate Madoka is technically Madoka only on some level, the other don't have that excuse. Swimsuits... Well, it's gacha. Just look at Fate Grand Order.
• Why do the Black Feathers (or even the White Feathers) of the Magius have the same weapon/magic? Surely each individual have their own wish and motivation in becoming a magical girl, which would make them have their own distinct magic.
  • Maybe a Underground Monkey case, but there might be an explanation about this. It's been establish that one's magic isn't static. As a member of a magical girl cult, the feathers likely rejected their original wishes along with their individuality for the Magius cause. This lead them to develop identical magic and weapons.
  • It is explained; the Feathers use the same weapons to keep their anonymity. The weapons are mass-produced constructs (implied to be created by Nemu), so they won't out themselves using their unique weapons against other magical girls who know them.
• How does the dev team choose whom of the Monogatari girls becomes a Puella Magi? I mean, I get the pattern at first, some of them wield animal motifs based on the pattern of their original episodes, but there were no episodes titled "Shinobu Bat", Mayoi has bunny faces on her skirt despite the original snail and cow motifs, and Nadeko doesn't wield any animal motif. Conversely, there are a few episodes titled "Karen Bee", but Karen didn't become a Puella Magi. (Or would this all make sense if I actually watch the original anime, which I actually am planning to now.)
  • The information was actually featured earlier in a less known crossover event, which was part of SHAFT's 40th anniversary. (Notably enough, it's the one place where the names of Ophelia's and Candeloro's familiars are mentioned.)
• This is more a general question about the franchise than anything, but here it is: What the hell is up with the naming scheme in this series? I'm not talking about the Witches and Doppels, but the girls' names. First off, no character has a surname that's longer than three syllables, like Takahashi or Kanemoto or anything of the like. Second, for some reason, first names are being used as last names, and vice versa. Some make sense, such as Madoka Kaname and Nemu Hiiragi, since Kaname and Hiiragi are common surnames, but others flat out baffle me, such as Touka Satomi (Satomi is more known for being a first name than a surname), Mitama Yakumo (I know the latter can be used as both a first name and surname, but isn't Mitama more of a surname than a first name?), and Tsuruno Yui. Yui is usually used as a first name, and Tsuruno is a surname (There's a real life seiyuu named Kyoko Tsuruno, natch), so to switch them around like that just seems really bizarre.
  • In case you missed an information from years ago; every characters in the series, even from back in the original series, have Theme Naming in that their first and last name are both first names. In an interview, Urobuchi says that he deliberately named them such because it would be eye-catching and the name would be easier to be found in search engines. There's a bunch of people with Takahashi as a surname, but there's only little Akemi - that's how the logic goes. Magia Record simply follow this theme with its characters. The reason why it seems that no one have more than 3 syllables in their name is because Japanese first names are rarely long without having resort on suffixes (like -maru for boys and -hime for girls), and having too many names with similar suffixes just for sake of having long names is detrimental to the reason why they made the Theme Naming in the first place.
• The Summer with Mikazuki Villa event has a secret ending, unlockable after the main ending. It feels like an odd Continuity Snarl that the secret ending takes one of the bad endings into account; Felicia has to lose against Ria at one of the possible games in front of a viewing audience just so she can make a present for Iroha based on that experience; there was no chance of a do-over in the main story.