Kyubey
Kyubey | |
---|---|
Puella Magi Madoka Magica character | |
First appearance | As If I Met Her in My Dream... |
Created by | |
Voiced by |
|
In-universe information | |
Gender | None (identifies as male) |
Species | Cat-like alien |
Alias | Incubator |
Kyubey (
Creation and design
Kyubey was created and designed by writer Gen Urobuchi. As one of the primary villains in the series, producer Atsuhiro Iwakami stated that "the mash-up of cuteness and darkness is the central theme to Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Kyubey is an epitome of that theme."[2] A central goal in Urobuchi's writing was to highlight the moral and ethical dissonance between Kyubey and the young girls, which was done through actions in the series such as Kyubey eating its own corpse in order to recycle energy.[3] Urobuchi compared Kyubey to monsters occurring in the works of horror fiction author H. P. Lovecraft, commenting of the character: "He is not evil, it is his lack of feelings that make him scary."[4]
Appearances
In Madoka Magica
Kyubey is sexless (though it apparently identifies as a male) extraterrestrial cat-like being posing as a familiar who can grant any wish to a certain girl, on the condition that she becomes a magical girl and fight against witches. When the chosen girl makes a contract with him, he extracts her soul and places it inside a soul gem, reconstructing her body into a shell that is more resilient in order to fight witches. He constantly tries to get Madoka Kaname to make a contract with him, as she allegedly possesses great magical potential within her that would allow her to become the most powerful magical girl. He can only be seen or heard by magical girls and those with "magical" potential and is able to communicate with them telepathically.
Kyubey is later revealed to be a member of a hive-minded race called the Incubators, who eat their dead and take their predecessor's place and identity. The Incubators developed the technology to convert emotions into energy, which they use to counter
In the side-story
In The Rebellion Story, which takes place after the series, Kyubey seals Homura outside the Law of Circles' jurisdiction to force Madoka back into the physical world in an attempt to restore the witch system of the previous timelines since his kind has been harvesting less energy in the new system. Unfortunately, his plan backfires when Homura ended up stealing Madoka's powers for herself, enslaving the Incubators to take Madoka's place in taking on the curses of the new world. In the post-credits scene, Kyubey is last seen lying on the ground, disheveled and shivering, mentally scarred.
In other media
A large amount of merchandise based on Kyubey has been created, such as a nendoroid figure by the Good Smile Company;[5] QB Sofa and Bath Set;[6] plush doll;[7] and a hugging pillow.[8]
Reception and legacy
Kyubey won the 1st
Andy Hanley from UK Anime Network initially described him as an "odd cat-like figure".[17] Gabriella Ekens of Anime News Network characterized him as "the alien embodiment of utilitarian logic."[18] Jacob Churosh of THEM Anime Reviews described, "Emiri Katou's contribution in the role of Kyuubey is also considerable; although he initially seems rather monotonously cheerful, Katou eventually manages to convey the relentless, strange rationality—what one might call the alien logic—that drives him."[19] EJ Rivera, marking specialist for the Aniplex of America, stated in 2012 that "Fans love to hate him."[20]
The Kyubey character, for his part, is a screenwriting accomplishment in and of itself. So fleshed-out and complete is his worldview that it's hard not to start (ironically) empathizing with how he sees things, and the reveal of exactly who and what he is—and how he sees the world—is executed so well it's thrilling in and of itself. As a result, Kyubey has all the best dialogue in the show, and some of it is laugh-out-loud hilarious near the end, putting a button on everything that's happening with a cold, calculating attitude. We don't see this kind of character writing often, and that it's accomplished so well here is a minor miracle. Simply put, it just shouldn't work as well as it does, but the proof is all there on screen.
— Zac Bertschy, Anime News Network[21]
Kyubey was listed by
References
- ^ a b 新房昭之×虚淵玄×蒼樹うめ×シャフト 1大プロジェクト始動 [Akiyuki Shinbo × Gen Urobuchi × Ume Aoki × Shaft: The Start of One Large Project]. Megami Magazine (in Japanese) (127). Gakken: 115. October 25, 2010.
- ^ Manry, Gia (September 7, 2011). "Interview: Atsuhiro Iwakami". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Ransom, Ko (January 29, 2012). "Report: Kazuo Koike and Gen Urobuchi Chat". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (April 6, 2012). "Gen Urobuchi, Katsushi Ota and Atsuhiro Iwakami Q&A". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ "Kyubey". Good Smile Company. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Loo, Egan (July 23, 2012). "Madoka Magica's QB Sofa, QB Bath Set Offered at Lawson". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (June 8, 2011). "Madoka Magica's Kyubey Plush Doll Offered at Retail". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Loo, Egan (September 15, 2011). "Madoka Magica's Kyubey Hugging Pillow Offered". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Loo, Egan (October 9, 2011). "Madoka Magica Wins 12 of 21 Newtype Anime Awards". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Loo, Egan (October 13, 2011). "Attack on Titan Wins Top Prizes in Newtype Anime Awards". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Cardine, Kyle (October 12, 2014). "Kill la Kill, Idolm@ster Movie Win Top Prizes in Newtype Awards". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Sherman, Jennifer (November 30, 2011). "Madoka Magica Catchphrase on Net Buzzword 2011 List". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ "日刊スポーツ東京本社版2012年3月26日宅配版「アニメ!!パンチ」面". Nikkan Sports. March 26, 2012.
- ^ Loo, Egan (March 1, 2012). "6th Annual Seiyū Award Winners Announced". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (December 8, 2015). "Japanese Fans Vote on Anime's Most Despicable Villains". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Schley, Matt (November 19, 2015). "Japanese Fans Rank Anime's Cutest Mascot Characters". Charapedia. Otaku USA. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
- ^ Hanley, Andy (October 22, 2012). "ANIME REVIEW: Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Complete Series Collection". UK Anime Network. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ The Anime News Network Editorial Team (February 3, 2016). "Your Most Memorable Anime Villain". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Churosh, Jacob. "Puella Magi Madoka Magica". THEM Anime Reviews. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Ohanesian, Liz (July 2, 2012). "Anime Expo 2012: Tiger & Bunny and Puella Magi Madoka Magica Draw Huge Crowds at AX". LA Weekly. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Bertschy, Zac (June 13, 2012). "Puella Magi Madoka Magica Vol. 3 Blu-ray". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Egan, Toussaint (November 28, 2017). "20 of the Greatest Anime Villains". Paste. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (January 26, 2013). "8 Shocking Betrayals Out of Left Field". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 15, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Glenn, Ashley (July 15, 2018). "The 20 Strongest Alien Species In Anime, Officially Ranked". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
- Game Revolution. Retrieved January 14, 2019.