12.12
Before we begin, it’s my civic duty to inform you that this review does not contain any spoilers. However, you probably won’t get much out of this movie if you haven’t seen the Puella Magi Madoka Magica TV series. So, if you’ve yet to experience it, go watch it right the heck now, because you missed out on one of 2011’s best anime! You can read the review afterwards. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.
Relax, Homura, this is a good movie!
Picking up right where the TV series left off (though perhaps not in the most obvious way), Rebellion is a direct continuation of everyone’s favorite (the only?) story about suffering magical girls fighting cotton balls with mustaches. All the puzzle pieces and themes expected of Madoka Magica are present in this two hour extravaganza, except this time Shaft actually has money, so it looks and moves every bit as well as it deserves to. The colors pop, the labyrinth scenes are a magnificent feast for the eyes, and the animation quality is consistently fantastic. It looks good. Really good. A lot better than I ever expected from this studio, to be honest.
While it can be tiring at times, I’ve always been a fan of Akiyuki Shinbo’s unique method of direction. Some have tried to cop his style, but his work is practically inimitable; it always treads a fine line between bizarre and nonsensical, and thankfully Rebellion lies firmly in the former camp. The weird camera angles and bits of experimental art/animation fit perfectly in the context of the movie, and work far better here than anything else I’ve seen from him of late. However, his directing also shines during more conventional scenes, such as a breathtaking duel roughly halfway into the movie that I’d personally consider among the absolute best fights in anime, if not film in general. Throughout the entire movie – but especially here – an incredible sense of kinetic energy can be felt from just passively watching the screen. Every scene is expertly framed and full of eye candy in a way quite unlike any recent animated feature I can think of. The new transformation sequences given to our five heroines are beyond wonderful, a sublime blend of nonstandard animation and themed musical composition. And keep on the lookout for a sign welcoming you to the cinema at the film’s outset along with another one asking if you’re enjoying the film later on.
I think what really makes Shinbo’s direction succeed here is that Rebellion is very much an art film, similar to 1997’s excellent End of Evangelion, which it has been compared with by nearly everyone. These comparisons are apt, as the two movies serve similar functions; both are extended followups to finished TV anime that focus just as much on surrealism and eye-popping imagery as they do on continuing their respective stories. That said, Rebellion is more plot-oriented and much easier to understand than EoE. It’s a lot more insane and unfiltered than someone who’s just finished watching the 2011 series might expect (even taking me by surprise), but it never goes into full-on French arthouse cinema mode either (probably for the better).
Speaking of the story (you thought I forgot, didn’t you!?), it’s airtight and very well-written. In fact, the more I think about the plot, the better I find it – a rare occurrence. Despite how weird it is, I struggle to think of any glaring holes or issues I have with it. There’s a lot of foreshadowing throughout, and even the most minor events often end up becoming important, thus tying everything together in a big bow that only gets tighter the more I rack my brain attempting to find problems I may have overlooked. While it does lean a bit too heavily towards exposition near the beginning of the third act, the information provided therein is necessary for the audience’s understanding, and the dialogue never feels unnatural or overwrought. Gen Urobuchi has always been excellent at writing expository scenes, especially in comparison to other anime and visual novel authors, and that still rings true here.
Rebellion is structured similarly to the original series. The first bit is relatively normal magical girl fare, but after a certain point, something changes, and it starts to get increasingly darker and more depressing with each passing scene. Fans of the show will no doubt have feelings of discomfort from the very beginning, and whether or not they’re warranted will only be known by those who see the roller coaster all the way through to its conclusion. The hard to anticipate plot twists arrive fast and furious, constantly taking the film in different and unexpected directions, eventually leading to its highly divisive conclusion that almost no one could possibly see coming. Despite the aforementioned exposition, the pacing is consistently excellent, and the two hour runtime flies by in a flurry of candy-colored visuals and impressive cinematography. Wait, does an animated movie even have cinematography? Ah, whatever. The “camerawork” is great.
It’s impossible to review Rebellion without discussing the ending, but there are no spoilers here, I promise. The TV show ended on an uplifting yet bittersweet note, but this movie takes Madoka Magica in an entirely different direction. While its intention is apparently to set up for another sequel (think Middle of Madoka rather than End of Evangelion), I personally feel that it could serve as a logical and satisfying ending to the story on its own. It’s characterized by a deliciously mean-spirited sense of irony, a conclusion that turns everything about the original ending on its head while still being believable in the context of the film. Everything – and I mean everything – in this movie is nothing but buildup to its final ten minutes, and while some will undoubtedly disagree, I feel that they are perhaps the finest ten minutes of any 2013 anime.
When you think about it, Rebellion is a pretty unnecessary sequel. Of course, “unnecessary” doesn’t always have to mean “bad,” and when it comes to the latter, this picture is anything but. Regardless of how one feels about its ending, fans of both Madoka Magica and film in general will find a lot to like in this movie. The superb direction, fantastic animation, and excellent writing ensure that Shaft’s first true feature film will go down as one of the finest this decade.
10/10
(Okay, yeah, it’s not perfect, but I think it fully deserves that score.)