{"id":72179,"date":"2026-09-09T22:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=72179"},"modified":"2026-09-09T18:20:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T09:20:49","slug":"gen-urobuchi-says-he-wouldnt-be-able-to-write-madoka-magica-today-as-he-struggles-to-understand-what-the-smartphone-generations-fear-and-desire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/gen-urobuchi-says-he-wouldnt-be-able-to-write-madoka-magica-today-as-he-struggles-to-understand-what-the-smartphone-generations-fear-and-desire\/","title":{"rendered":"Gen Urobuchi says he wouldn\u2019t be able to write Madoka Magica today as he struggles to understand what the smartphone generations fear and desire\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After a series of delays, <strong>Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Walpurgisnacht Rising<\/strong> has finally premiered on August 28 in Japan. Coming to theaters after an almost 13-year-long gap, the film is a direct sequel to 2013\u2019s Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part III: Rebellion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie -Walpurgisnacht Rising- | MAIN TRAILER\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rSe4mqP1Mj0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To commemorate the long-awaited premiere, Japanese media outlet <a href=\"https:\/\/times.abema.tv\/articles\/-\/10271958?page=1\">Anime Freaks<\/a> interviewed Gen Urobuchi of Nitroplus, the main writer behind the original Puella Magi Madoka Magica series, who also returned to write the script for the new movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Looking back at the original Puella Magi Madoka Magica, which premiered over a decade ago, Urobuchi says he was only able to write it because, at the time, he empathized with the magical girls\u2019 inner struggles and was deeply concerned about their issues. \u201cI earnestly don\u2019t think I would be able to write it now. And it\u2019s not just because I\u2019ve grown older, but because the times have also changed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBack then, I could imagine what young people were afraid of and what they were looking for. However, I\u2019ve now found myself unable to understand what brings joy or suffering to the newer generations that have grown up with smartphones and social media,\u201d Urobuchi comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u5df4\u30de\u30df\uff3b\u30ad\u30e3\u30e9\u30af\u30bf\u30fcPV\uff3d\uff5c\u300e\u5287\u5834\u7248 \u9b54\u6cd5\u5c11\u5973\u307e\u3069\u304b\u2606\u30de\u30ae\u30ab\u3008\u30ef\u30eb\u30d7\u30eb\u30ae\u30b9\u306e\u5efb\u5929\u3009\u300f\u5927\u30d2\u30c3\u30c8\u4e0a\u6620\u4e2d\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4CyBRPWtV5Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Interestingly, Madoka Magica was Urobuchi\u2019s first time writing an original anime, but also his first time writing a work in the magical girl genre. Coming from a visual novel background, he says that he didn\u2019t really know how to go about the theme, but a part of why he was so on board with it was his \u201cadventurous spirit.\u201d \u201cI was just happy to be given the opportunity to try out something I\u2019d never done before, and the fact that I thought being confused about it is also a part of the experience proves how young I was at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a fun side note, as references for \u201chow to write a magical girl story,\u201d Urobuchi says he was shown Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and Le Portrait de Petit Cossette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/saya-no-uta-author-gen-urobuchi-thinks-audiences-no-longer-crave-poison-from-fiction-but-an-antidote-to-reality\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Saya no Uta author Gen Urobuchi thinks audiences no longer crave \u201cpoison\u201d from fiction, but an \u201cantidote\u201d to reality<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Walpurgisnacht Rising writer Gen Urobuchi reflects on the magical girl series&#8217; beginnings. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":72187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2","date":"2026-09-09T13:30:10+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mv3ngusb2v2g","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mv3ngusb2v2g\",\"cid\":\"bafyreia22rbklhm3iwqfd2d3a27kvoi377oxdnprfzs4eqciqs5nxtidda\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreiedxdhpm656n6yhztnh3s4un63qoltb2oa454cgdfockfvspacaaa\",\"rev\":\"3mv3ngushvn2g\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,65],"tags":[73,17,66],"class_list":["post-72179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-nongaming-news","tag-anime","tag-japan-related-news","tag-non-gaming-news"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - 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