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After more than a decade of waiting, the impossible has finally happened: Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Walpurgisnacht: Rising is here. The direct sequel to 2013’s Rebellion \u2014 the movie that left an entire generation of anime fans staring at their screens in stunned silence \u2014 has finally hit the big screen, and the internet is nowhere near ready for what it means.
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This isn’t just another sequel. Walpurgisnacht: Rising is the conclusion to a story that has haunted the fandom for over thirteen years, and the first full trailer alone sent fan theories into a frenzy. If you thought Rebellion’s ending was a masterpiece of cruelty, buckle up \u2014 because the theories about this movie are darker, weirder, and more heartbreaking than anything SHAFT has ever thrown at us.
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Where We Left Off: A Quick Rebellion Recap
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Let’s be honest \u2014 you need the reminder. At the end of Rebellion, Homura Akemi didn’t just defeat the system. She tore reality apart for the girl she loves. Realizing that Madoka’s divine sacrifice as the Law of Cycles would erase Homura’s own memories of her, Homura made the ultimate selfish decision: she rewrote the entire universe so Madoka could live as a normal girl again.
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In doing so, Homura became something the series had never dared to define: a demon \u2014 a being of pure, twisted love who bent creation itself to her will. The Madoka Magica franchise ended with one of the most debated finales in anime history, and fans have spent thirteen years arguing over whether Homura was a hero, a villain, or a girl who simply loved too hard.
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Walpurgisnacht: Rising doesn’t run from that question. It runs straight into it.
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What Walpurgisnacht: Rising Is Actually About
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As the title suggests, the great witch Walpurgisnacht \u2014 the towering, festival-dressed abomination that loomed over the original series \u2014 is at the absolute center of this film. And that’s not a coincidence. The Walpurgisnacht isn’t just the most powerful witch in the franchise. It’s the one Homura could never beat in any timeline, the wall she hit again and again across her hundreds of time loops.
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In Rebellion, Homura’s entire fake paradise was consciously constructed around her greatest trauma. She rebuilt Mitakihara to replay the day Walpurgisnacht descends \u2014 the day she could never win. So when the movie title promises the Walpurgisnacht is rising, fans are reading it as the return of Homura’s oldest wound in the most nightmarish form imaginable.
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The Biggest Fan Theories (Ranked by How Much They’ll Break You)
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Theory 1: Walpurgisnacht Is Homura’s Own Witch
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This is the theory the fandom has obsessed over since the concept was first teased. Walpurgisnacht is described as \”a stage constructed by witches that circles the world\” \u2014 an amalgamation of the grief of countless souls. Some fans now believe the Walpurgisnacht is actually the crystallization of Homura’s own curse, an entity born from her endless despair rather than an external threat. If true, the movie’s climax isn’t a fight against a monster \u2014 it’s a confrontation with the ugliest part of Homura’s own soul.
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Theory 2: Madoka Is About to Remember Everything
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In Homura’s rewritten universe, Madoka lives happily without her powers or memories. But every trailer shows Madoka’s eyes flickering with something ancient \u2014 glimpses of her life as the Law of Cycles. The most popular theory is that Walpurgisnacht: Rising is the story of Madoka’s memories violently returning, and with them, the impossible choice she has to make: stay human with Homura, or become the god the universe still needs.
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Theory 3: The \”Demon\” Was Never the Endgame
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Some theorists argue Homura’s transformation was never meant to be permanent. The Sight imagery \u2014 a glowing red bird that appeared around Homura \u2014 has been read by fans as a symbol of the series looping back on itself. The theory: Walpurgisnacht: Rising will see Homura’s demonic existence collapse under its own weight, forcing a final reckoning where every version of reality collides at once.
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Theory 4: Everyone Comes Back (and It’s Not a Happy Ending)
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Rebellion ended with Homura isolating herself from the entire crew \u2014 including Kyoko, Mami, and Sayaka \u2014 to protect her fragile paradise. Trailer frames show all of them returning, but with expressions that scream \”betrayal\” rather than \”reunion.\” The theory that cuts deepest: this universe is about to tear itself apart because love isn’t enough to hold reality together.
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Why This Movie Matters So Much
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Madoka Magica didn’t just deconstruct the magical girl genre \u2014 it redefined what anime could be. It turned bubbly, sparkly childhood fantasy into a story about sacrifice, grief, and the terrible cost of hope. For an entire generation, Homura Akemi’s tragedy became a touchstone \u2014 the example fans point to when they argue that animation can tell stories as devastating as any live-action drama.
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Walpurgisnacht: Rising carries the weight of that legacy. It’s not just a movie; it’s the answer to a question fans have carried for over a decade: what happens when the girl who loves you most in the universe is also the one who broke reality for you?
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The animation, as expected from SHAFT, is a visual feast \u2014 kaleidoscopic, disorienting, and gorgeous in the way only this franchise knows how to be. The soundtrack carries that signature blend of hopeful innocence and creeping dread. But make no mistake: this is a film that wants to hurt you, and it knows exactly how.
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Our Take
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Walpurgisnacht: Rising is everything the fandom feared and hoped for in equal measure. It honors the legacy of Rebellion while pushing the story into territory that feels genuinely new \u2014 and genuinely terrifying. Whether you’re a longtime fan or someone who just fell down the Madoka rabbit hole, this is a film you need to see blind, with no spoilers, and then spend the next week arguing about online with strangers.
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It’s the kind of movie that reminds you why anime can be the most emotionally punishing medium on Earth \u2014 and why we keep coming back for more.
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Love deep-dives into the anime that shapes us? Check out how Chiikawa’s movie made millions of children cry, or why Frieren’s film concert is making history in Carnegie Hall. And for a theory rabbit hole with a completely different flavor, don’t miss our breakdown of One Piece Chapter 1192’s biggest twist.
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So \u2014 which theory do you believe? Is Walpurgisnacht really Homura’s own curse, or is this a love story that refuses to end? Drop your predictions in the comments \u2014 the fandom needs all the brains we can get on this one.
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