the Rebellion Story (Madoka Magica) - Transformation Sequence

I love these girls so much. The audio is pitched so if it sounds higher, that's why. If it wasn't pitched it wouldn't be allowed on YouTube, so bear with me and enjoy! I plan to upload more clips, so if you have any special requests for what I should post first, let me know in a message!

[Merrsharr]

It's impressive how they make all of the transformations creepy on some level
Being Meguca is suffering

[MaiAriSquee]

i love how Madoka's transformation subtly suggests her divine nature.

[emilysfunnyzone]

I've never seen Magical Girl transformations like these before. The music and animation's beautiful, but at the same time, there's something really twisted and unsettling throughout each one. I can't put my finger on it, but I guess that's the art of Madoka Magica.

[Sasscat]

Wow I just got why modoka has a circle rainbow behind her. It represents her endless hope. Rainbows usually symbolize hope, but because it's a circle it represents how she will never give into sadness and depression because she always has hope.

[Okuni]

Can we take a moment to appreciate how completely crazy and creepy and beautiful and 1000% unique these transformations are? Also, this is the only time I've seen them as a full team. Ever.

[yoseisovereign]

Princess Tutu taught me what the "death" pose in ballet looks like, so I knew to be very concerned by its appearance towards the end of Homura's transformation.

[Andalynnia]

Runes appear three times during Homura's transformation sequence.

The first ones at 1:36 say "Zu meistern wir sind gelargweilt." which translate to "To master we are bored."
The second ones at 1:41 "Ich töte mich." which means "I kill myself."
And the third ones at 1:52 say "Sie verherrlichen den tod" which means "They glorify death."

[OrcaThoughts]

After all these years no one’s really commented on how each of the transformations end with the girls “bursting/ripping” through something.

Mami bursts out of her own silhouette. Kyoko rips through the screen towards us. Sayaka tears through herself. Homera bursts through repeating footage. Madoka breaks through the screen.

[ChaoticInferno]

If only getting dressed was as magical as this...

[SweetestSweden]

Mami: Ice-skating. Practiced, traditional, charismatic, tightly controlled movements, requires exact timing and precision. Requires years and years of dedication to perfect, and raw talent to make it shine. Motivation can be personal as well as audiance-driven, with special attention given to judge or authority figures.

Kyuuko: Tribal/Trance. Erratic, down to earth, uncontrollable and unpredictable, intimidating to some. Can be as frightening to watch as it is hypnotic and luring, and while it may look improvised and pattern-less to an outsider, the dancer themselves is in full control. Motivation can be to a higher power or for performer's own ends.

Sayaka: Breakdance. Strong, forceful body movements, youthful, wild, energetic, often improvised. The strength and flexibility of the body is on full display, a whirling dervish, motion flowing easily from one action to the next. Action is done on the spot, whatever 'feels right'. Motivation can be both competitive as well as for audience appeal.

Homura: Interpretive/Modern. Carefree but with purpose, seemingly erratic, unpredictable motion placed with careful thought and planning, done with as much thought for channeling the dancer's wishes as it is for the sake of the performance. Motivation is mostly personal.

Madoka: J-pop/Idol. Simple, rigid, innocent, cutesy, focus is simplicity of movement for the sake of the audience rather than artistic expression. Person is dancing for audience's sake rather than her own. Motivation is entirely geared towards audience appeal and entertainment.

[Blackmage]

i remember seeing this in theaters in NYC, and it was funny to see how crazy everyone got after the transformation was over lol.

[harujion]

In the end, the reason why Mami was in the middle of the "Puella Magi Holy Quintet" line was because she is the oldest (not to mention she even ACTS like the most maturest out of the magical girls) and she has the most qualities to be their leader.

[madelinee]

1:16 - 1:23
I love this shot SO much. Sayaka's role in Rebellion is about showing how she's been able to overcome her past and become stronger. In the original series, Sayaka grew to regret making a contract but now, her sprinting eagerly towards her Magical Girl form shows she's accepted what and who she is focusing on the present and future instead of her past.

[thebingus]

interestingly, i think homura's dance style changes halfway through. she goes from ribbon dancing to instead performing ballet. A good representation of how becoming magical girl literally changed who she was as a person.

[ash]

I just noticed how the music plays so well into this.

Mami's music kind stops before her transformation finishes so all we have are sound effects, nothing to play into.

Kyoko's music blends and continues into sayaka's kinda eluding to their closeness (coughshipcough)

Homura's music can't continue from Sayaka's so it kinda shifts into her theme. Her music blends into madoka's though.

It's just so amazing how this one transformation sequence can tell you so much about these 5 characters.

[ipiggies]

JESUS CRIST HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO ANIMATE THIS SHOW

[nonenone]

Each song is a version of a song from the original soundtrack:
Mami: Salve Terrae Magicae
Kyoko: Venari Strigas
Sayaka: Decretum
Homura: Inevitabilis
Madoka: Sagitta Luminis

[Temstar]

I quite like Rebellion's depiction of Sayaka, starting from here. Having being to heaven and back she's grown from the crying, regretful girl at the end of the TV show to someone who's much closer to the idealised version of herself that she always aimed for. She's gotten over losing Kyosuke, can now openly admit her feelings to people she love and now has a much more nuanced world view. It was her of all people to try to soften the impact for Homura when she was close to uncovering the truth about the dream world.

"Is the heart that wished for that so sinful that it needs to be destroyed?"

That's something that the original all human Sayaka would never say. So it totally makes sense that this reincarnated, wiser Sayaka would have a transformation sequence radically different from her original one. It even shows the symbolism of her running towards and reaching the ideals of a better person.

If I was direction a post-Rebellion Madoka series or movie Sayaka would totally be the main character. After all she was the one closest to Madoka back in heaven and the only person still with some memories of the old universe before Homura changed everything.

[Thatlittlewitch]

Watching these back you can really see all of the hidden meaning buried even in the transformations. It's especially great how the rest of the transformations have the girls having to break through something to become a magical girl, but Madoka's hand expands because hers is a true extension of herself. And how Homura keeps falling and bursts through herself like she can't catch up to something. Mami literally shatters herself and her collected image, Kyoko violently tears through the screen, and Sayaka runs towards being a magical girl without looking back, (at which point her entire dance style changes and tries to mimic mami's)

All in all this is brilliantly done. Just chock full of character insight.

[Aishin]

mami- figure skating (elegance)
kyouko- tribal (animalistic)
sayaka - hip hop (free spirited)
homura - ballet (SYMBOLISM)
madoka - pop idol (cute and innocent)