Quotes / Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Gen Urobuchi wants to write stories that can warm people's hearts.
Those who know about my creative history will probably furrow their brows and think this is a sick joke. Honestly, I have trouble believing it myself. For when I start typing out words on the keyboard, the stories my brain comes up with are always full of madness and despair.
The truth is, I haven't always been this way. I have often written pieces that didn't have a perfect ending, but by the last chapter the protagonist would still possess a belief that "Although there will be many hardships to come, I still have to hold on".
But ever since I don't know when, I can no longer write works like this.
I have nothing but contempt for the thing men call happiness, and have had to push the characters I poured my heart out to create into the abyss of tragedy.
For all things in the world, if they are just left alone and paid no attention, are bound to advance in a negative direction.
No matter what we do, we can't stop the universe from getting colder, either, and on the same principle. This world is only maintained in existence by a series of logical, common-sense processes; it can never escape the bondage of its physical laws.
Therefore, in order to write a perfect ending for a story you must possess the power to break the chain of cause and effect, invert black and white, and act in complete contradiction to the rules of the universe. Only a pure and heavenly soul, a soul that resounds with genuine praise for humanity, can save the story; to write a story with a happy ending is a double challenge, to the author's body as well as the mind.
At some point, Gen Urobuchi lost that power. He still hasn't recovered. The "tragedy syndrome" is still continuing within me. Is this a terminal disease? Should I give up on the pure "warrior of love" that I have longed for? Or mount a pallid battle steed and reincarnate into a bearer of the plague... could it be that I can only create pieces that give men courage and hope in my next life? (When I wrote this, I accidentally wrote "courage" as "lingering ghosts". I guess that's what I get for using IME — Ah, I just wrote "IME" as "hatred"... is there no way out of this for me?)

—Gen Urobuchi, Afterword to Volume 1 of Fate/Zero And with Madoka, he finally was able to write a heartwarming story in keeping with the above. Well... he's getting there.

A “magical girl show” is a work that allows miracles to be written. For me, I think by [writing] Madoka I was able to write a “heartwarming story.” To be able to put all these different emotions into a work... that truly owes much to this vessel called the “magical girl show”.
— Gen Urobuchi, DVD/BD Volume 6 Booklet.

Yeah, it's that kind of show.
— The little line that ends most Puella Magi Madoka Magica examples on trope pages, often potholed to Darker and Edgier.

"All I could think during these moments was THIS IS GOING TO END IN A DISASTER. It can’t end well! There’s no way the rest of this show is going to be a frolic through a field of pit bull puppies. This is verified science."

— Mark Oshiro, Mark Watches Puella Magi Madoka Magica

"You think you know magical girls? Fuck you."

— SF Debris sums up the show.

"I don't deserve it. You need a better role model. I just pretend to be cool. When I'm scared or hurt, there's no one I can talk to. All I can do is cry on my own. It's not fun being a Magical Girl."

— Mami Tomoe on her life so far as a Magical Girl

"A person becomes naïve if they're too kind. Careless if they're too bold. And no matter how hard you try to protect others, there's no gratitude. Those who can't comprehend such things aren't fit to be Magical Girls."

—Homura Akemi, summing up what entails the life of Magical Girls.

Sayaka: You tricked us, didn't you?
Kyubey: Not necessarily. I did make it perfectly clear I wanted you to become Magical Girls. I just didn't explain the exact form you'd be taking to do that is all.
(Beat)
Sayaka: Why wouldn't you tell us something like that?
Kyubey: Because you never asked. Besides, if you never found out, it wouldn't have bothered you one bit. In fact, Mami never found out, even at the end.

— Episode 7, reviewing the events so far.

Sayaka: "What is this? What are you up to?"

Homura: "Don't be stupid. You're in no position to question my help. Or do you just hate the idea of it?"

Sayaka: "Well, I'm gonna be a different kind of magical girl. That's what I decided. I'm not gonna screw anyone over or take anyone for granted. And I won't associate with anyone who does. I don't need anyone's thanks. I'll be the only magical girl around who doesn't use her magic for herself."

Homura: "Well, then, you are going to die."

Sayaka: "So what? If I'm gonna die, it's gonna be when I can't kill witches anymore. No one's gonna need me anyway, right? I'm okay with that."

Sayaka falls to the floor

Sayaka: "The world doesn't need a magical girl if she can't even kill a witch."

Homura: "Why are you doing this to yourself? Why won't you trust me? Can't you see I just want to help you?"

Sayaka: "Why don't I trust you? Maybe it's 'cause I can tell what you really are... Maybe I know you're lying. You look like someone who's given up on everything. When you talk, you use empty words. In fact, you're doing it now. You say you want to help me, but I know that's not what you're really thinking. You're not fooling anyone. Uh-uh."

Homura: "Do you realize that you're just making Madoka suffer more and more?"

Sayaka: "Madoka? This has nothing to do with her."

Homura: "You're wrong. Everything has to do with her."

Homura transforms into her magical girl form.

Homura: "You're sharp. Yes, you're right about me. I don't give a damn if you live or die, I don't care. I just don't want Madoka to see you like this as you destroy yourself. If you don't let me help you now, you're going to die either way. You see, if you make her suffer anymore... then I will... kill you right here, right now... Sayaka Miki!"

— Exchange during episode 8

"For all the happiness you wish for someone, someone else gets cursed with equal misery. That's how it works for magical girls and that's how it is for me... I was stupid. So stupid!"

— Sayaka Miki, moments before she became a witch in Episode 8.

"So if you ever feel like dying for the sake of the universe, call me. I'll be waiting."

— Kyubey

Kyoko: I know, Sayaka. It sucks to be alone. Believe me, I know. But it's okay now. 'Cause I'm here with you... Sayaka.

— Episode 9, moments before Kyouko's Heroic Sacrifice.

“I'll do it over, no matter how many times it takes... I'll relive it over and over again. I will find the way out. The one path that'll save you from this destiny of despair. Madoka... my one and my only friend. I don't care... because if it's for you, I'll stay trapped in this endless maze... forever.”

— Homura Akemi

"Do you feel any guilt or remorse for the livestock you consume? Have you ever thought about how those animals become the food you eat? ...Your reaction isn't very rational. If you don't like the things you saw just now, I'm afraid you're missing the big picture. Humans chose livestock to be food. In exchange, they're fed, allowed to reproduce and protected from predators all their lives. Cows, pigs, and chickens have a much higher rate of survival in captivity, more than they would in the wild. So you see, the relationship is mutually beneficial for both parties."

— Kyubey

"In that case, do you feel bad when a group of cattle is killed? Those who are destined to become food for humans are able to breed in an environment are safe from competition, don't you have the perfect symbiotic relationship with one another?"

— Kyubey in Hanokage's manga adaptation.

"You see, in our society, the phenomenon you call emotion is considered a mental disorder."

— Kyubey

"If someone ever tells me it's a mistake to have hope, well, then, I'll just tell them they're wrong. And I'll keep telling them 'til they believe! No matter how many times it takes." (After this, everything changed).

—Madoka Kaname

"You’re not just giving us back our hope. But you’re becoming hope itself!"

—Mami Tomoe speaking to Madoka.

"Even though witches aren't born into this world anymore, that doesn't mean the curses of the world have completely disappeared. They just changed their form is all. And now, they attack us from the shadows. This world isn't worth saving. Tragedy and sadness will never truly disappear. But even so, it's the place she once tried to protect. I remember that and I will never, ever forget it. That's why... I keep fighting."

— Homura Akemi, just before the series ends.

Don't forget. Always, somewhere, someone is fighting for you. As long as you remember her, you are not alone.