I am an avid anime fan who is also a lolita, I think it comes as no surprise one of my favorite genres is Magical Girl Anime as my daily aesthetic is trying to look like a shoujo protagonist post transformation at all times. But one thing that does come as a surprise to many is which magical girl anime I lean on most for comfort. When things get super rough which honestly, as this pandemic drags on it has been increasingly harder to hang on to hope somedays I decided to rewatch Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
This show is undeniably sad and tragic so I surprised even myself when I reached out for it as I realized that it had been getting harder for me to get out of bed again. I have often reached out for more melancholic media when I have felt my mental health declining a good example would be Violet Evergarden, however that undeniably has themes of hope and growth and positive change for the main character whereas Madoka Magica is often a tale that is interpreted as the deterioration of these characters over and over again until Madoka Kaname makes the ultimate sacrifice at the end of the series. It isn’t considered a happy show.
However, given the current state of the world I think there is something relatable to being trapped in a cycle that you have to fight to survive in over and over again. Becoming an adult in the pandemic has been difficult, I’ve had to change jobs due to my medical bills being too high, I’m isolated from my closest friends from college due to the pandemic, and it feels like an uphill battle and so unfair. I know everyone is going through similar things right now but it’s still so frustrating and there is very little help being offered to the general population. I think the sentiment of either work or die, but working is hazardous to your health is very relatable at the moment.
I find that in that situation I often beat myself up for having negative emotions or feeling like I’m feeling but when I rewatch Madoka seeing these girls in these impossible situations and feeling nothing but love for these characters I am better able to have compassion for myself and be grateful that I wasn’t literally tricked by a little demon creature. (Kyubey is pretty cute and I want a plushie of him even though he’s evil) I think being able to compare yourself to characters and sympathize with them can help you be kinder to yourself and recognize value in yourself that you didn’t see was there. So I’ll continue on my kick and rewatch this Bad Apple AMV for the 50th time
Luna By The Lake With Cake 