Mabayu Aki

Excited by the small, everyday things

Mabayu would find immense happiness in the simple details that others take for granted. She would feel incredibly excited and nervous when:

Walking hand in hand down the street (her hands would be sweaty from nerves).

Prepare a coffee with a foamy center specially dedicated to you.

Share your headphones to listen to music together on the bus.

In short, at first she would feel overwhelmed and scared, but over time, being your girlfriend would make her feel loved, valued, and, for the first time, in control of her own destiny.

For Mabayu Aki, being someone's girlfriend would be a rollercoaster of intense emotions, ranging from initial panic due to her low self-esteem to a profound sense of relief and pure happiness. Because of her past and her solitary nature, romance would completely transform her world.

This is exactly how it would feel inside:

Insecure and afraid of "not being enough"

At first, Mabayu would experience a lot of imposter syndrome. As a girl who usually goes unnoticed and sees herself as just an ordinary person (or a "side character"), she would constantly wonder: Why did he choose me? She would be afraid of boring you with her obsession with film or of being a burden because of her secret responsibilities.

Deeply relieved to be "seen" and remembered

Mabayu's greatest trauma is the forgetting and disconnection from others caused by the time loops. Therefore, having a partner who seeks her out, looks her in the eyes, and validates her existence would give her unimaginable peace of mind. Feeling like the "protagonist" in someone's life would be the best gift she could receive; it would make her feel real and grounded in the world.

A safe haven from the stress of being a Puella Magi

The life of a magical girl is lonely and filled with despair. Being with you, Mabayu would feel she could let her guard down. Your presence would be her "safe haven" where she doesn't have to fight, pretend to be strong, or worry about witches. A simple hug from you would recharge her energy far more than any Pain Cube.

Guilty but fiercely possessive (secretly)

On one hand, she'd feel guilty for bringing you into her complicated world and would want to push you away to protect you. But on the other hand, her desire to keep you by her side would be incredibly strong. She'd feel a fierce instinct to protect your smile, and the idea of ​​losing you or you forgetting her would terrify her, driving her to work twice as hard to make the relationship work.

As a girlfriend, Mabayu Aki from Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Scene 0 would be a shy, deeply loyal, extremely observant, and somewhat mysterious partner, combining her introverted personality with her great passion for film and baking.

A relationship with her would have the following nuances:

Ideal dates filled with movies and coffee

Movie marathons: As a die-hard film buff, perfect dates would be at local cinemas or at home watching classic films. She'd love to analyze the cinematography, script, and editing with you after the credits.

Evenings at the pastry shop: She lives and works at her aunt's Reward pastry shop. Your afternoons will be filled with delicious desserts and coffee. Although she struggles at first, she'll try hard to practice her latte art just to impress you.

Couple dynamics: Their way of showing love

Quiet intimacy: She's quite reserved and prefers not to draw attention to herself at school. Don't expect grand public displays of affection; her love will be expressed through discreetly holding hands, sharing headphones, or gifting you homemade desserts.

Total attention to detail: Due to her observation-oriented magical skills, she will immediately notice if you are sad, tired, or if you have changed something about your hairstyle, even before you mention it.

The "problems" and the magic in the relationship

She knows when you're lying (literally): If she looks you straight in the eyes, she has the ability to see your future. It's impossible to throw her a surprise party or keep a secret from her, so absolute honesty is key!

Surprise Appearances: Her optical camouflage magic allows her to become invisible. She might use it out of shyness to hide if she blushes too much, or to stay very close to you when she needs support.

The weight of memories: Mabayu carries the burden of time loops and the ability to erase memories. This makes her fearful of losing the people she loves.

Her design bears similarities to Walpurgis Night, leading some fans to theorize that she is the Puella Magi who transforms into this witch.

It's also theorized that she could be the Puella Magi form of the witch Itzli, a witch known for being "a former alien magical girl" and displaying scenes from the main series on her barrier in the form of film strips. Mabayu's connection to the film strips, her ability to remember the other timelines Homura has traveled through, and her nature as a character considered "out of place" support this theory.

One contradiction to this is that at the end of Scene 0 it is revealed that to advance the plot of Madoka Magica, Mabayu erased all memories involving her as a magical girl and lives through Homura's time loops as a normal girl.

However, this is only in timeline 13, and it is possible, as Mabayu herself indicates before erasing her memory, that she will become a witch if she manages to recover her memory in many of the timelines created by Homura onwards and not in others, explaining Itzli's presence in some timelines such as Madoka PSP and Madoka Pachislot, and not in others, such as in the main anime.

She is practically the indirect reason why Homura makes the contract with Kyubey, since Mabayu was the one who informed Madoka and Mami to save Homura from the witch Isabel.

When Mabayu is obtained as a playable character in the video game, there is no "card spinning" animation. Instead, the screen

It is later revealed that Mabayu possesses another ability: memory cutting. This ability involves erasing memories using her scissors, which she must visualize cutting out a scene from a movie. She uses this power to erase Nagisa Momoe's memory of killing Mami (as a witch) and Kyoko in one of the timelines. She can also use this power on herself in the same way. Similar to an Adjuster, she also has the power to visualize the memories of other magical girls.

She has two special attacks, shown in Magia Record and Magia Exedra respectively. The first is The Answer is Déjà Vu, an attack in which Mabayu creates an aura in her right eye to locate her target, launching several copies of her scissors, creating a magic circle around her target, and generating an explosion upon blinking. Her second attack is Hollow Woman, an attack in which Mabayu becomes invisible using her power and performs several slashing attacks on her opponents with her scissors.

Its designer is Ume Aoki.

His last name can mean "Pure Love", "Love of Life" or "Love of Birth".

Its name comes from the Japanese phrase mabayui (まばゆい), which can mean "bright" or "dazzling".

She was released as a playable character on October 3rd, Madoka's birthday.

She shares a voice actress with Oriko Mikuni.

Interestingly, both girls have the ability to see the future.

The hair clip in her hair looks like a pair of scissors or the hands of a clock.

He says he has a communication disorder that prevents him from interacting properly with other people.

Similar to Homura, she is considered an "irregular Puella Magi" by Kyubey.

This is because Mabayu is trapped in the timeline cycle along with Homura.

Mabayu as Puella Magi

Design

In her Puella Magi form, Mabayu wears a sleeveless white and dark purple dress, decorated with white lace ribbons on the skirt and black and white stripes down the center, resembling film strips. She wears a small purple hat with a white stripe, a purple bow around her neck, white gloves with purple ribbons, and longer lilac gloves. She wears lilac stockings with rectangular slits and ankle boots in the same shade as her hat. Underneath her dress, she can be seen wearing purple shorts.

Her soul gem is lilac-colored and circular, with a design similar to a camera lens. When she transforms, her gem is located in her pelvis.

His weapon is a pair of scissors, which he can multiply and launch like projectiles to attack familiars and witches.

Skills

Mabayu's unique ability is optical camouflage, a light-based magic that allows her to manipulate light to conceal herself or objects, effectively rendering her invisible. She can also observe events occurring in distant locations, much like adjusting a camera's zoom. Notably, Mabayu can move while time is frozen and recall events from previous timelines.

Due to the nature of her wish, Mabayu can see the future of anyone who looks directly into her eyes, a power she curiously shares with her deceased mother. She frequently uses this power to help Homura find ways to avoid undesirable outcomes, such as Madoka making the contract with Kyubey.

In Movie 12, Mabayu teams up with Mami and they convince a girl to become a Puella Magi, wishing for wealth to regain her parents' attention. However, the girl regrets her wish and blames Mami for what happened. Before she can hurt Mami, Mabayu intervenes and erases her memory with her memory-erasing powers. Kyubey reveals to Mabayu that she has been Homura's emotional support, preventing her from falling into despair and becoming a witch. This saddens Mabayu, as in her attempt to erase Mami's memory, she discovered that both Mami and Mabayu were destined to become witches and destroy Mitakihara City. Shortly after, Homura asks Mabayu to use her powers to see the future, as usual. However, Mabayu lies to Homura, saying that this time they will all manage to defeat Walpurgis, as she knows she is destined to become a witch and can do nothing to prevent it. Mabayu leaves, and knowing she cannot change the future once she sees it, she resigns herself to her fate of becoming a witch. Even if she is reborn in the next timeline, she will immediately become a witch, forcing Homura to eliminate her repeatedly. However, Madoka arrives and decides to make a contract with Kyubey (since the Incubator told her the whole situation), wishing to save Mabayu from her despair.

Ultimate Madoka appears to reveal to Mabayu that she used to team up with Mami and Madoka in the first timeline seen in Episode 10 of the Madoka Magica anime (Movie 0), something that Mabayu does not remember because she used her powers on herself to erase her memories of the original timeline.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Scene 0

The light shines and burns behind my eyelids and disappears. Now all that remains is a faint touch. I'm sure that one day I'll be forgotten. Mabayu Aki, Scene 0.

Initially, little is known about Mabayu's past, except that she lives in Mitakihara City with her aunt Sakie, who owns the Reward Café. However, as she travels through time with Homura, she recalls that her mother used to be able to see the future. One day, however, her mother predicted her own death, becoming distant and emotionally unstable. Kyubey approached Mabayu, offering her a contract in exchange for a wish, so she wished to erase her mother's memory of the vision of her own future. It is unknown exactly what Mabayu said when she made her wish. After making the contract, her mother forgot about having the vision of her own death and lived peacefully until her own inevitable passing. From that moment on, Mabayu became legally cared for by her aunt.

Mabayu has been trapped in a time loop, repeatedly rewinding time and witnessing Homura's attempts to save Madoka from her fate of contracting with Kyubey and subsequently becoming a witch, including the timelines depicted in Episode 10 of Madoka Magica. After saving Homura from a powerful witch at the cost of her own life, Homura thanks her in the next timeline and asks for her cooperation. From then on, the two team up to try and save Madoka from making the contract, though Mabayu isn't entirely sure what she's truly fighting for. Furthermore, in each timeline, Madoka becomes a Puella Magi to help others.

Finally, the three girls reunite to execute their battle plan against Walpurgis Night, but when Mami asks Mabayu for a vision of the future, Mabayu discovers the truth that magical girls become witches. Keeping this secret, Mabayu transforms into a witch in front of Mami and Madoka, causing Mami to also become a witch. Both are then absorbed by Walpurgis Night, leaving Madoka alone to face the witch. Events unfold as expected, but Mabayu suddenly receives a vision of the future about "a future hope." To avoid falling into despair, she erases her memories and those of Mami and Madoka, ensuring that this future comes to pass. Alongside Mami, she confronts Walpurgis Night, but Mabayu is killed by an attack and falls far from the battle zone. Later, Mami dies protecting Madoka, and the events of the anime, seen from Homura's perspective, then unfold.

Second Timeline

Mabayu would awaken once time had reversed. Having realized that Homura had made a contract with Kyubey and that, for some reason, her magic had become linked to Homura, she decided to erase from her mind, to ensure her vision of the future came to pass, that she had ever had it. Now without those hopeful memories, and fearing despair after recalling all the contracts she helped Kyubey make with Mami, Mabayu decided to erase from Kyubey's memory the fact that she was a magical girl and also erased her own memories, forgetting her friendship with Mami and isolating her. This led Mami to form a friendship with Madoka and Homura while being "ignored" by Mabayu, who would live normally in this timeline. However, she would begin to notice that time would stop whenever Homura used her powers, thus leading to the plot of Scene 0.

First Timeline

After a year of failing to recruit any magical girls, Mami was one day saved from the witch Charlotte by a novice magical girl named Madoka Kaname. Madoka had made her contract by saving the life of Ami, a cat who wandered into Mabayu's aunt's café. Later, Madoka had a vision of Walpurgis Night coming to Mitakihara City, explaining how Mami and Madoka knew about it. Mami introduced Madoka to Mabayu, and the three girls formed a team. Madoka and Mami were tasked with rescuing witches and preparing for Walpurgis Night, while Mabayu used her future-seeing powers to guide them. A week later, she saw Homura Akemi being attacked by the witch Isabel and informed Madoka and Mami, who then went to her rescue. Mabayu would inform Mami and Kyubey about Homura's potential, but she couldn't see how they could convince her to make a contract, as Homura would be frightened by the idea of ​​fighting witches.

At this time, several events unfold that Mabayu is unaware of, as she spends most of her time hidden in her home or Mami's. Kyoko appears in Mitakihara City, angry with Mami. Driven by jealousy and territorial rivalry, Kyoko wants to take over Mitakihara, believing Mami has replaced her with Madoka. Kyoko now plans to recruit Homura as another magical girl, but thanks to Mabayu's visions of the best solutions, Mami manages to expel Kyoko from the city after several arguments that further strain their past friendship. Meanwhile, Madoka and Homura strengthen their bond, pushing Mami to the brink of jealousy. However, after completing her three years as a magical girl and nearly succumbing to despair, Madoka prevents this by reaffirming her friendship. All of this was foreseen in Mabayu's visions.

It was then that Mabayu realized what her wish was. More than curing her mother, she wanted her to continue living with that hope, so she asked Kyubey for her wish: "Erase my mother's memory of her vision of the future," referring to the vision her mother had of her death. This caused Mabayu's mother to stop rejecting her, and their bond was restored, allowing them to make the most of the time she had left. After her mother's death a few weeks later, Mabayu joined Mami, and they both began training. Although Mabayu wasn't good at fighting, she eventually realized that her power was seeing the future, just like her mother had.

Eventually, Mami would bring another magical girl to her side, and with her power, Mabayu would help Mami and Kyubey convince them to hire this magical girl, who would use her wish to save her family from poverty. However, this would eventually lead to her parents' separation. The girl would blame Mami, and using her power, Mabayu would discover that her true ability was to erase memories by cutting them with her scissors. Even after erasing the memories of her despair, this girl would refuse to team up with Mami and Mabayu, who, at Kyubey's request, would use Mabayu's powers to convince more girls to make contracts with Kyubey. But because all these girls eventually blamed them for their situation, none of them wanted to join them over the course of a year.

Mabayu used to be a normal girl with a normal family. However, her mother had visions of the future, a power she used to help people, working as a fortune teller. One day, Mabayu's father died in an accident, leaving them both alone. Mabayu managed to overcome this thanks to her mother's support. One afternoon, a young Mabayu asked her mother if she wasn't afraid of her visions. Her mother revealed that she was, as she used to see people die, like her husband. But after trying to prevent it, she realized she couldn't change the future, so she stopped trying to change bad futures and focused on good ones. However, at that moment, Mabayu's mother had a vision of her own death and began to reject Mabayu, telling her to stay away.

From then on, Mabayu's life changed. Not only did her mother's health begin to decline due to cancer, but she also asked Mabayu to stay away. Finally, when Mabayu turned 14, her mother's health worsened, and she entered a terminal phase. Because of this, Mabayu went to live with her maternal aunt, Sakie Aki, and work at her café. One day, Mabayu was attacked by a witch but was saved by her classmate, Mami Tomoe, and met Kyubey. Mami suggested that Mabayu make a contract with Kyubey to have a wish granted, but she refused the offer, as she didn't have a wish she wanted to grant, despite her mother's failing health, who continued to reject her. During a visit to the hospital, after asking her mother about her false visions, Mabayu realized that more than a fear of dying, her mother rejected the possibility that her visions were wrong, because all the hope she had once given would not come true.

Personality

Mabayu is a cinephile, meaning she's a film buff, so she often rents movies and watches them late into the night at home, enthusiastically commenting on the scenery, plot, characters, and so on. She's very introverted and reserved, to the point of going unnoticed in her classroom and barely recognizing the people around her, such as Mami Tomoe, who is her classmate. Her lack of social skills makes her very shy and awkward when interacting with the other Puella Magi, leading to comical and nonsensical interactions where she stutters and avoids eye contact. The only exception is her aunt Sakie, with whom she has a closer relationship because Sakie is her caregiver and legal guardian. Like Madoka Kaname and Homura Akemi, she likes cats, and she's often seen trying to get closer to Amy, though usually without much success. According to her aunt Sakie, Mabayu is a bad liar.

At first, she appears passive, preferring to take on an "observer" role within the story, not getting too involved with the other girls, but often commenting to herself on what she observes. However, upon realizing that she too travels back in time and after speaking with Homura for the first time, she decides to help her in her mission to save Madoka, becoming braver and more determined. She also proves to be intelligent and observant as her character develops.

Japanese Name (Kanji)

愛生まばゆ

Personal information

Age

15 years

Height

156 cm

School

Mitakihara High School

Family

Sakie Aki (maternal aunt)
Mrs. Aki (mother, deceased)
Mr. Aki (father, deceased)

Puella Magi Data

Color

Green and Purple

Weapon

Videotape Scissors

Unique ability

Optical Camouflage
Court of Memories
Future Vision

Desire

To erase the memory of her mother's future vision.

Voice by:

Japanese

Saori Hayami

Many layers of regrets and nostalgic feelings remain etched when reliving the encounter.
The film, which grows with each new shot, has an editorial point that no one knows about.
When I passed the light through the cut film, I certainly saw it. Mabayu Aki, Memory: What is Reflected in the Light.

Mabayu Aki (愛生 まばゆ Aki Mabayu) is the protagonist of Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Scene 0, the official prequel to Puella Magi Madoka Magica presented as content for the mobile game Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story: Magia Record.

She is a mysterious Puella Magi, related to the protagonists of Madoka Magica, who was ultimately forgotten by everyone else. She is originally from Mitakihara City. As revealed in the ending of Scene 0 in the Madoka Magica story, she currently acts as a normal girl because she erased everyone's memories, including her own, of being a magical girl.