#walpurgisnacht rising spoilers

[tothepointofinsanity]

God shattering star.

[Click for better quality.]

[wazzuppy]

i felt like we needed to officially commemorate the occasion

[aqours]

what really got to me in the trailer is how Homura looked so sinister, how genuinely happy she was to see Madoka happy without her being involved, and how. tired she was at the end.

the first real shot we get of her looking particularly triumphant, asking her opponent if they can shoulder what she now shoulders, immediately followed by a slideshow of Homura's trauma throughout the show and someone telling her (likely Sayaka as she refers to Madoka as "my best friend," or it could be Madoka herself addressing Homura, as she also calls Homura "her very best friend.") to release her as words float on the screen also making it clear how highly Homura thinks of Madoka.

"This world is for Madoka."

but she only looks. completely, genuinely happy the whole time in a way that isn't a look of triumph watching Madoka have fun. watching her genuinely enjoy herself in that gilded cage she created.

and by the end she looks so. tired. like she looks exhausted.

Homura is an evil demon. that's what she became when she committed an unforgivable sin: ripping off the wings of a goddess and dragging them down to earth.

and she did it all for one person and her happiness, even if its unwanted. she's happy when Madoka is happy in her cage, and wants to protect that cage at all costs: even her own happiness. she's clearly not happy with her own situation. being evil sucks. not being close to Madoka sucks. and the only way to ensure what she feels is Madoka's happiness is to be her enemy. it's so tragic, everything she does and ever will do is for Madoka's sake, no matter how twisted and warped it is. the only thing a child who was never allowed to grow up in 10+ years can think of.

the world is for Madoka. that's the crux of everything the devil called Homura Akemi does. it's for Madoka. it's absolutely not for her.

and it makes me. constantly think of that thing that Madoka's seiyuu once said in a Q&A:

no matter what happens, Homura is Homura, and Madoka will adore her, even if they're now enemies. this is the last thing in the world Madoka would want for her. Madoka would want to save Homura no matter the cost.

i think of Madoka fully realized what was happening, her greatest wish would be for Homura to just have the good night's sleep she clearly desperately needs.

"Falling in love with someone is wonderful, so don't call yourself the devil. I love you."

[daisukoth]

post

interesting...

[lulumiyu]

✨️ Legendary Bestie ✨️

[dreamerwitches]

Okay well I was feeling glum today so some new trailer stuff is super nice, let's goooo

Nagisa is with bear girl here. The fact her spoon has a bear on it and in the second shot you see the caged bear, yeah bear girl real. This is the same outfit for nagisa as the ballpit scene. Does the caged bear mean the girl is trapped somehow?

This sleeve is from the same arm that gets stabbed in the cafe. Have we seen this brown hairbow homura before? I dont know

The bit where her teeth are shown super realistically kinda got me, spooky.

These horses scream Elly to me, especially those cherubs in the bg geez. Also, i spot cupid bears in the bg at the top. I think bear girl's shoes match with bear girl's magi outfit

15, clara dolls. Their dresses are totally Princess Serenity to me. My thoughts are either, they're replicating Madoka (hair might be too short, too long for Sayaka too) or it's this girl

From the concept movie trailer. Is this maybe the original dolls Homura played with cause I'm pretty sure the Clara Dolls are based off real dolls. The fringe seems to match

You know, for a title like Walpurgisnacht Rising, we sure haven't seen any Walpurgisnacht..

[kyosaya-enthusiast]

Calling it NOW...

WITCHES🫵🫵🫵🫵!!!!!!

[jazzymusicorn28]

I love the stark contrast between these two shots of Homura and Madoka. Like look at the colors schemes and background details!

Rays of light are shining down on Madoka, symbolizing her positivity and energy. She’s surrounded by pink roses and daisies, corresponding with her joy, innocence, and purity. The background of the shot is very vibrant and full of life, like Madoka here.

Meanwhile we have Homura, who’s intentionally shading herself from the light with her umbrella, causing shadows to be cast across her face. This represents her keeping everyone in the dark about her plans, especially Madoka. The background of the shot is more monochromatic, corresponding with Homura’s uncertainty and secrecy.

[chaos-art-blog]

I had a bit of a manic episode last night and drew a bunch of homura lol

[tothepointofinsanity]

Packet hero.

Song: Yume Nikki - MOTHER Area

[wazzuppy]

SPOILERS FOR THE NEW WALPURGISNACHT RISING TRAILER!!!!!

More analysis here.

Okay. So in this clip with Madoka and Homura dancing, Homura's eyes are clearly pink— just like her devil form. Her eyes gained that coloring after she took Madoka's godhood and its a visual indication of her power.

But in this clip of her looking in the mirror, her eyes are purple again. And she looks shocked.

She looks confused, like this is something that shouldn't be happening.

Now, what does this mean? I don't know. We've not seen enough of the movie to properly theorize, but I do think there's at least something we can gather from this.

First of all: her outfit is completely different. In the dancing scene, she has a black collar and black headband (one that's distinctly not the black one she usually has— note the silver stripe in the middle). But in the mirror, she has a white collar and is wearing Madoka's ribbons. She wore those ribbons after Madoka ascended to godhood, and also after Homura rewrote the world. When she and Madoka met again at the end of Rebellion, she gave her the ribbons back and doesn't wear them in the final few minutes of the movie.

So I think mirror scene may take place right after Homura reset the world, when she's becoming accustomed to her new powers and how they affect her. Maybe the beginning of the movie will show Homura's process of creating the new world?

Secondly, the hand mirror she has does not at all look like something she'd normally use. She's never been associated with the beach, ocean, or seashells before. But you know who has? Sayaka. Her witch form is based on a mermaid and her attribute in Magia Record is Aqua (water). So this is could be Sayaka's mirror and Homura somehow got her hands on it.

Next, the text surrounding it. "Dumme" is a German word that translates to stupid, and Venus is the Roman goddess of love. Regardless of if the mirror belongs to Sayaka or Homura, the message is the same— they're being called a stupid goddess. Stupid for loving.

Both these girls have a complicated history and relationship to their romantic feelings. Sayaka's reason for becoming a magical girl and eventual transformation into a witch were both kickstarted by her feelings for Kyosuke. As for Homura, she's pretty blatantly coded to have internalized homophobia and she views her feelings for Madoka as being evil.

I have no idea if this mirror or Homura's eye color will have any real significance, but I find it fascinating nonetheless.

[burnorgetburned]

okay. OKAY. I JUST WANT TO SAY.

NEW MUSIC STYLE. NEW ART STYLE. NEW MAGIC SYSTEM, NEW GIRLS, MORE CLARA DOLLS, MORE HOMURA OUTFITS, MORE EVERYONE OUTFITS, and AAHAHAHAHSGH.

Homura wins by style points alone.

Anyway. Choice screenshots and my thoughts on them. Plus a few wild theories. Replies, tags, and your own reactions are VERY welcome.

(You're doing great, sweetie!)

First of all, I’ve already said this, but Homura has usurped Kyubey. She is the contractor in this new system. She calls magical girls and asks them if they can bear the responsibility of fighting (LEAGUES better than Kyubey's misleading BE A HERO language), using a magical lizard phone. She knows better than anyone else how heavy this is.

And she looks amazing while doing it. Look at that outfit! Look at her steampunk-esque aesthetic! Her throne. Which, notably, has glowing magenta eyes and her wings as a backrest.

The moon is either actually, physically repurposed, or she’s made something that looks like it. Not only that, but the pins going into the moon are exactly like the pins that went into her soul gem when she was being experimented upon in Rebellion. Those pins, according to the artbook, are for draining her gem of grief to keep her just before the point of witching.

Well, here’s my first wild speculation: Homura has not only taken over Kyubey’s job as a contractor but also its job of disposing of grief. That moon steampunk device is maybe for collecting, concentrating, and distilling grief into energy - hence the strange tesla coils connected to red liquid in the second screenshot above. She's doing what Kyubey says it's doing - turning the grief of people into energy to prolong the universe's lifespan.

I for one support her reality-warping shenanigans.

Here are some voices over a phone, sometimes speaking over each other, sometimes together. They call Homura “Akuma-sama” (!!!) which is a distinct upgrade from calling her Good-For-Nothing. They say “Just bring hope” like a mission statement. Are these her contracted girls? Or her Clara Dolls? They seem to show her a lot of respect.

I’ve also said this, but I strongly feel that this and the girl shown later are some of Homura’s new contractees. Their magic is darker. It warps the world around them, even. Their outfits incorporate black a lot more, too, though that might be the lighting.

Look at the little sigil on the top left-middle! Looks a lot like Homura’s lizard sigil shown when she was consuming the universe, just with a longer lizard.

And, of course, the image of Madoka throwing herself off of a building. “Wraith” and “Legend of Bestie” (lmao) show up here. I’ve actually been really looking forward to seeing what they’ll do with Madoka’s… self-sacrificial tendencies, so this might be part of that. Or, because of “Wraith”, it’s… well, I’ll get to that later.

On the other hand, it might not be Madoka. It might be the girl who the speaker in the phone call calls her "best friend", jumping to her death because of a wraith, and Homura saving her to fulfill a wish.

So glad that the insane architecture from Rebellion is making a comeback. Love what you’ve done with the place, Homura. Look at all those cranes!

The outfit changes are very cool to me. I honestly don’t have speculation for why Sayaka is covered in bandages, but I do have speculation for the changes!: they’re older. Years have passed. Since they’ve changed and grown, their outfits have changed, too. I don't have proof of this - I just like the idea.

Light shines down on Madoka. Petals fall towards her as flowers bloom above. Behold, Homura's extremely subtle and inscrutable feelings. (Sorry for the blurry Madoka, but I am not going through the ordeal of uploading screenshots to my computer again because Tumblr does not like mobile users).

Homura is apparently waiting for Madoka here. She's standing right in the fountain's water and holding a Victorian umbrella like a vampire. Right now we can see that the visuals of this movie will not miss.

Is this a routine thing for them or is Homura just showing up to greet them this one time, for some reason? No clue. Madoka's expression as she notices Homura could indicate either.

Eagle-eyed people on Twitter noticed this, but in these shots, Sayaka already has her bandages.

Aside from the multiple and/or teleporting Homuras, there's also a Clara Doll in a ballerina dress and a cute Clara Doll peering over the side of the tower like a little kid.

The tower is interesting. It appears to be made of books or pages, and there's chains throughout it. More notably, it's in the shape of a helix - infinity symbols on top of each other.

Please appreciate these Clara Dolls. I'm sure they're working hard.

But seriously, those Clara Dolls' details. One has a witch's hat. One has an apple on its head. And the one with a teacup appears to have not only a lizard's tail but a replica of Homura's Devil outfit. Appreciate them!

Here is Homura(?), lounging or trapped on a chair filled with even more of those pins. Look at her closely. She's wearing a strange combination of her magical girl outfit and her Devil outfit - her shoulders are bare, and she has... feathers? She's sitting on a bunch of nails. But she also has two soul gems - one in her hand, and one hanging from her neck.

Is she cleansing them? Eating them? Holding people hostage? I don't know, but I support her completely.

She looks so tired.

So: here's some of what I think might be going on.

Homura is using wraiths to repress her worst memories. We know already that wraiths take memories and emotions from their victims. Well, there's no reason it can't be used as extremely terrible coping! Homura actually does this in the Wraith Arc, too - she lets a wraith take her feelings for Madoka.

If it is Madoka, it explains the shot with Madoka throwing herself off a builing - what if Homura has seen this happen in the loops, and out of pain lets a wraith pull it right out of her? The shot says "WRAITH" and billows with smoke. A wraith could have taken Madoka's form to act out this memory. And it doesn't need to be a memory - it could also represent Madoka's self-sacrifice and almost suicidal tendencies. This, too, would explain the multiple Homuras. All wraiths using her form.

This puts forward powerful enemies for the plot, as well as an interesting point of literally fighting Homura's demons. Most importantly, this lets everyone see Homura's pain.

Other wild dartboard speculations:

Homura will try and present herself as a villain. This is, honestly, kind of guaranteed, but it bears mentioning that her magical girls will be very likely to try to defend her.

Kyubey may appear to try and turn the girls against Homura.

Homura made the new magical girl who is drawing a bow. She has a lot of design choices from the Quintet, and people have already noticed how much she looks like Madoka. This new girl plays a role of the hero to Homura's pretend-villain, eliminating the risk that her friends will get seriously hurt.

The new magical girl is actually Madoka. Or the Law of Cycles. Or Kriemhild Gretchen.

The girl who jumps from the tower is a contractee being asked to take a leap of faith. She does so, and Homura rewards her with magic.

[aqours]

[tfoscans]

[TFO Scans] The Clone Arc Attacks by 775azami

[wazzuppy]

i've been thinking much the same thing! the labyrinth (? or wherever sayaka is) reminds me a lot of a library or a giant filing cabinet, and the various pictures on them make me think of labels.

also, i noticed this bizarre pattern in the statue. i initially thought it was alluding to okavia, but they didn't match up. then i thought they might be stylized intestines, but the texture and curliness made me doubt it. then i realized: "holy shit, those are phone cords." and you who we've seen with a phone in all the other promo material so far? homura.

so... maybe this is something of a stronghold for homura, where she stores everyone's past memories? and what we see in this shot is sayaka infiltrating it?

so i did have a suspicion but on zooming closer i realized the girl in this scene

is indeed sayaka

everything we know about her in wnk has been worrying so far. and now seeing her in this place?? does any smart pmmm fan have any theories as to what this could be?? pls

[dreamerwitches]

My screenshots, I'll put them under the cut if you don't want spoils

I'll put some notes

The Homura at the beginning is deffo not Devil Homura which is interesting. Though she has the lizard of her..? Maybe she just altered her appearance as a disguise

The bow wielding girl seems like a new magi but the Homu similarities are there. I dunno but she kinda looks like a fusion of Madoka and Homura

The girl jumping off the roof definitely looks like Madoka, that or the new girl

The new uniforms are cute, and yay Hitomi!

Idk why but the magi girls look kinda off? Like, they don't look like they're in the pmmm style and it weirds me out... But I like how Mami's outfit looks. Sayaka though... you going to a Halloween party..?

The final tower is definitely on the school roof PLUS fucking finally some witch content, the Clara dolls are on the tower and at the base

The Soul Gem on Homu's hand seems important cause it's different

I feel like this world is an alternate one made by Devil Homura, but better than she did in Rebellion hence the minor differences in uniforms and such. I wonder if a regular Homura (or more?) are going to invade to stop her schemes. How? Beats me... I'm kinda sad this doesn't seem like the concept movie though... also where's Nagisa you fucks