Canon Point: Episode 11, as she waits for Walpurgisnacht. History:stuff Personality:
When we first meet Homura Akemi, she's your standard mysterious transfer student - fairly polite, if cold, skilled at everything from homework to sports, and has an eye out for the protagonist, Madoka. She asks - more like demands - Madoka walk her to the nurse's office, then tells Madoka that the only way not to lose everything is for her to stay herself. It's all very dramatic and, once Kyubey shows his face on the scene, unsubtle; she wants to oppose his desire to make Madoka - specifically Madoka - into a magical girl. She doesn't entirely tell Madoka why, nor does she warn Madoka of Mami's death even if it was apparently an inevitable conclusion, nor does she mention the little secret about Soul Gems. Obvious questions arise, such as why not, if she's so intent to keep Madoka from becoming a magical girl?
As it turns out, she's already tried that. Homura was once, and is at heart, a shy, lonely, and emotional girl, placing her value in the things she can accomplish for others. She used to be an average student as well as physically weak due to a heart condition that kept her in the hospital for some time, and so thought herself rather useless. Madoka became her first friend, giving her confidence and letting her into the world of the strong and beautiful magical girls, and so she was naturally crushed when Madoka was killed by Walpurgisnacht, after Homura had begged that they just run away from the horrifying witch. Kyubey - is it any surprise? - capitalized upon this and made Homura a magical girl with the ability to manipulate time, granting her wish to return to her first meeting with Madoka and saving her life.
...over and over and over again.
Her instinct, especially apparent in the earlier timelines where her optimism was at its height, was to be completely forthright, introducing herself to Madoka as an overeager magical girl and wanting to work with the group to get past this month with Madoka - perhaps her aspirations even, to some extent, included everyone at first - in one piece. But as the girls mistrusted her more and more before succumbing to darker and darker fates, that optimism quieted, giving way to coldness and the pragmatism that came with the knowledge that the only thing she really was fighting for - had any power to protect - was Madoka's life. She couldn't rely on anyone. She became more and more ruthless with Kyubey, interrupting his efforts to turn Madoka into a magical girl at any turn, having learned in yet another timeline that he could strike even at the last possible moment - as Homura fought Walpurgisnacht yet again.
Homrua's personality is a culmination of these experiences. She doesn't go out of her way to ingratiate herself to anyone, knowing that doing so will still lead to failure. She instead shapes her plans around how to best keep Madoka from needing to become a magical girl and how to keep Madoka - perhaps not happy, but at the least how to keep Madoka's suffering down to a bare minimum. Despite her unwillingness to include people unnecessarily, in battles or in knowledge, she knows when to accept help, recruiting Kyoko's help with fighting Walpurgisnacht in the most recent timeline. Indeed, she does seem to still have some compassion for her fellow magical girls, desperately warning Mami that Charlotte is a much stronger witch than any Mami's faced before, despite surely being aware that she can - as she does - get to the deepest part of Charlotte's barrier and destroy her before the witch can do anything to Madoka or Sayaka.
The most crucial part of Homura's personality is her tenacity and - maybe surprisingly, given her tendency to fatalistic statements - optimism. No matter how many timelines happen in which Madoka dies or becomes a witch, Homura refuses to give up, nixing them all until she finds one where the combination of factors align perfectly to allow Madoka to live as a normal girl. As Kyubey points out, this is certainly influenced by her knowledge of the nature of Soul Gems; if she ever gives up hope or lets her despair overcome her, she'll become a witch and everything she's done will have been for nothing, giving Kyubey the final victory and depriving Madoka of the future she asked Homura to make for her.
Powers: Her primary ability is time manipulation - though, more specifically, unless she's rewinding the entire month to try again, she mainly just stops time in intervals so she can attack by more mundane means. The magical girl weapon that manifests on her arm can also act as a shield, presumably from her wish to be able to protect Madoka.
no subject
DW Journal: locketries
Contact: asterismic - aim
Current Characters: n/a
Character Name: Homura Akemi
Canon: Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Age: 14
Gender: Female
Canon Point: Episode 11, as she waits for Walpurgisnacht.
History: stuff
Personality:
When we first meet Homura Akemi, she's your standard mysterious transfer student - fairly polite, if cold, skilled at everything from homework to sports, and has an eye out for the protagonist, Madoka. She asks - more like demands - Madoka walk her to the nurse's office, then tells Madoka that the only way not to lose everything is for her to stay herself. It's all very dramatic and, once Kyubey shows his face on the scene, unsubtle; she wants to oppose his desire to make Madoka - specifically Madoka - into a magical girl. She doesn't entirely tell Madoka why, nor does she warn Madoka of Mami's death even if it was apparently an inevitable conclusion, nor does she mention the little secret about Soul Gems. Obvious questions arise, such as why not, if she's so intent to keep Madoka from becoming a magical girl?
As it turns out, she's already tried that. Homura was once, and is at heart, a shy, lonely, and emotional girl, placing her value in the things she can accomplish for others. She used to be an average student as well as physically weak due to a heart condition that kept her in the hospital for some time, and so thought herself rather useless. Madoka became her first friend, giving her confidence and letting her into the world of the strong and beautiful magical girls, and so she was naturally crushed when Madoka was killed by Walpurgisnacht, after Homura had begged that they just run away from the horrifying witch. Kyubey - is it any surprise? - capitalized upon this and made Homura a magical girl with the ability to manipulate time, granting her wish to return to her first meeting with Madoka and saving her life.
...over and over and over again.
Her instinct, especially apparent in the earlier timelines where her optimism was at its height, was to be completely forthright, introducing herself to Madoka as an overeager magical girl and wanting to work with the group to get past this month with Madoka - perhaps her aspirations even, to some extent, included everyone at first - in one piece. But as the girls mistrusted her more and more before succumbing to darker and darker fates, that optimism quieted, giving way to coldness and the pragmatism that came with the knowledge that the only thing she really was fighting for - had any power to protect - was Madoka's life. She couldn't rely on anyone. She became more and more ruthless with Kyubey, interrupting his efforts to turn Madoka into a magical girl at any turn, having learned in yet another timeline that he could strike even at the last possible moment - as Homura fought Walpurgisnacht yet again.
Homrua's personality is a culmination of these experiences. She doesn't go out of her way to ingratiate herself to anyone, knowing that doing so will still lead to failure. She instead shapes her plans around how to best keep Madoka from needing to become a magical girl and how to keep Madoka - perhaps not happy, but at the least how to keep Madoka's suffering down to a bare minimum. Despite her unwillingness to include people unnecessarily, in battles or in knowledge, she knows when to accept help, recruiting Kyoko's help with fighting Walpurgisnacht in the most recent timeline. Indeed, she does seem to still have some compassion for her fellow magical girls, desperately warning Mami that Charlotte is a much stronger witch than any Mami's faced before, despite surely being aware that she can - as she does - get to the deepest part of Charlotte's barrier and destroy her before the witch can do anything to Madoka or Sayaka.
The most crucial part of Homura's personality is her tenacity and - maybe surprisingly, given her tendency to fatalistic statements - optimism. No matter how many timelines happen in which Madoka dies or becomes a witch, Homura refuses to give up, nixing them all until she finds one where the combination of factors align perfectly to allow Madoka to live as a normal girl. As Kyubey points out, this is certainly influenced by her knowledge of the nature of Soul Gems; if she ever gives up hope or lets her despair overcome her, she'll become a witch and everything she's done will have been for nothing, giving Kyubey the final victory and depriving Madoka of the future she asked Homura to make for her.
Powers: Her primary ability is time manipulation - though, more specifically, unless she's rewinding the entire month to try again, she mainly just stops time in intervals so she can attack by more mundane means. The magical girl weapon that manifests on her arm can also act as a shield, presumably from her wish to be able to protect Madoka.