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Wraith

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Puella Magi/Wraith
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“ Takes the form of a spindle. This witch connects all fates together with its threads, and anyone exposed to it suffers according to their fate. All love given will be weighed against all love recieved, while all the lives taken will be weighed against all the lives given, and all will return balance within the witch. „
~ Spindle Witch's description

Background

Wraiths are manifestations of grief in the new world recreated by Madoka Kaname. They replace the witches that magical girls must fight. They resemble tall, statue-like men wearing robes with no visible limbs (though concept art shows them as having hands that shoot thin lasers to attack). Their faces are partially covered by digital polygon-like shapes that appear to glitch out randomly on or around their being.

This dropdown contains the synopsis of Wraith’s story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

Wraiths first appear at the post-credits scene of episode 12 of the original anime after Madoka's wish erases all the witches and Homura Akemi is seen fighting several of them afterwards. It is shown that in the new world, magical girls now fight wraiths instead, which are merely a different form of curses born from humanity.

They appear to travel in large groups and do not reside in barriers, mostly appearing at night, unable to be seen by normal people. It is implied by Kyubey that they give off miasma in the air, which supposedly points to how many are in a single area. When defeated, wraiths drop (possibly several) small, cubic fragments of their grief similar to witches' grief seeds that can be harvested by magical girls to clean their soul gems and combat entropy (though Kyubey points out that this comes at the expense of energy efficiency).

Wraiths are mentioned but not seen nor focused on in Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion.

Wraiths feature prominently in the manga spin-off Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Wraith Arc, where they serve as the main antagonistic forces and sources of conflict in the plot, outside of the characters' interactions with one another. Wraith Arc also gives more information on the nature, behavior, and types of wraiths. Wraiths are shown to be able to affect soul gems (as performed on Sayaka Miki), steal away magic powers (as performed on Homura Akemi), take objects (stealing Homura's ribbons from Madoka), and even take on the forms (including memories and intelligence) of magical girls and possibly other human beings.

General Information

Name: Wraiths, Wraith (Normal), Aeolyte Wraith, Enlightenment Wraith, Deliverance Wraith, Giant Wraith, Mutant Wraith, Spindle Witch

Origin: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Organization Type: Despair born from humans, attempting to collect emotion

Gender: None

Age: Unknown

Members: Unknown (Wraiths constantly spawn from a magical girls strength)

Leader: None (Even the Spindle Witch isn't the "wraith leader" as the other wraiths do not follow it)

Hierarchy:

  • Wraith (Normal)
  • Acolyte Wraith
  • Enlightenement Wraith
  • Deliverance Wraith
  • Mutant Wraiths
  • Giant Wraith/Spindle Witch

Base of Operations: None.

Classification: Wraiths, Witch (Specifically for the Spindle Witch)

Status: Active

Alignment: Lawful Evil (Wraiths believe they must feed off the emotional energy of all humans and people to keep a balance, and as they believe emotional energy will cause the world and the heavens to flip, though through doing these they leave people as lifeless)

Codex Statistics

Key: Regular Wraiths | Kriemhild Gretchen Absorbed

Grade: A | S

Tier: Varies. Up to At least 5-B | At least 5-B, likely Far Higher. Would eventually become 2-C

Cardinality: Finite | Finite. Would eventually become ℵ0

Dimensionality: 3-D

Power Source: Emotions (Wraiths are able to absorb powers and magic from beings through emotions, badly damaging a magiacal girl's soulgem)

Attack Potency: Varies (The strength of the wraiths is proportional to the power of the magical girl facing them, due to people like Homura Akemi's massive power, the wraiths were drawn by this and caused a massive spike in activity). Up to At least Planet level (Potency) (Even prior to absorbing some of Ultimate Kriemhild Gretchen's energy, the Giant Wraith was capable of overpowering and defeating Homura Akemi, whose power of magic was so strong she completely defeated the Giant Wraith a wraith that was fueled by the negative power of Ultimate Madoka's witch that was within Homura's shield, with it carrying enough power to bring an end to all life on Earth, due to its sheer power, it should be superior to Madoka Kaname from the previous timeline at the end of the original series[1], who took down Walpurgisnacht with a single shot[2]. Walpurgisnacht upon merely waking up destroyed a huge portion of the city[3]. Due to her sheer strength she should be far above the fusion of Walpurgisnacht and a witch which was noted that it would destroy the entire city from the shockwave alone[4]) | At least Planet level (Potency), likely Far Higher (Absorbed all of the magic from Homura Akemi, which fuels them with all of the negative power from Ultimate Madoka's witch that was within Homura's shield, with it carrying enough power to bring an end to all life on Earth, due to its sheer power, it should be superior to Madoka Kaname from the previous timeline at the end of the original series[5], who took down Walpurgisnacht with a single shot[6]. Walpurgisnacht upon merely waking up destroyed a huge portion of the city[7]. Due to her sheer strength she should be far above the fusion of Walpurgisnacht and a witch which was noted that it would destroy the entire city from the shockwave alone[8]). Would eventually become Universe level (Buster) (Noted that due to it absorbing Kriemhild Gretchen, it will cause the world to end the same way the old world would've ended if Ultimate Madoka didn't stop her witch)

Durability: Varies. Up to At least Planet level | At least Planet level, likely Far Higher. Would eventually become Universe level. Their witch physiology makes them incredibly difficult to kill

Striking Strength: Varies. Up to At least Planet Class (Potency) | At least Planet Class (Potency), likely Far Higher. Would eventually become Universe level (Buster)

Lifting Strength: Varies. Unknown: True Class | At least Class Y (Absorbed from Ultimate Kriemhild Gretchen, who was so large, it was going to envelop the entire planet[9])

Travel Speed: Varies. Unknown: True level | Unknown: True level. Would eventually become Unknown: Undefinable

Attack Speed: Varies. Supersonic, Speed of Light Attack Speed (Basic wraiths use lasers to attack) | Supersonic, Speed of Light Attack Speed. Would eventually become Unknown: Undefinable

Reaction Speed: Varies. Supersonic (Can tag Sayaka Miki, who was able to block hundreds of bullets from Holy Mami[10]) | Supersonic. Would eventually become Unknown: Undefinable

Stamina: Superhuman+, possibly Limitless

Range: Unknown (Its sheer size is incredibly hard to tell), Planetary with attacks (Their tentacles were reaching all across the entire Earth). Would eventually be Universal

Intelligence: Unknown Intelligence (All that's directly noted from it is that it has the bloodlust to end all life)

Knowledge: Unknown level

Powers and Techniques

Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Inorganic Physiology (Non-living Object; Each Wraith's bodies are not fully formed and seem to lack organic composition), Invisibility (Wraiths are unable to be seen by humans), Aura (Wraiths are noted to have a tainted and corrupt aura), Corruption & Empathic Manipulation (Wraiths fill the world with corruption and consume emotions), Sealing (Can seal one within a box), Power Absorption & Soul Manipulation (Wraiths are able to absorb powers and magic from beings through emotions, badly damaging a magiacal girl's soulgem. Absorbing all of a persons emotions will make them become a frozen soul)

Transformation (Shapeshifting) & Mimicry (Physiology Mimicry; Mutant Wraiths are able to take the forms of different people from the memories of others), Air Manipulation (Mutant Wraiths have attacks can cut without being visibly seen), Time Manipulation (Mutant Wraiths have Homura Akemi's time manipulation ability, allowing them to stop time), Telepathy (Mutant Wraiths can telepathically speak with people, such as False Madoka speaking with Homura Akemi), Curse Manipulation (Mutant Wraiths have the curse energy of witches in them), Memory Manipulation (Mutant Wraiths have Homura Akemi's memory manipulation magic that allows people to erase one's memories)

All previous Mutant Wraith abilities, Possesses the ability of Magical Girls, which includes: Multilingualism (Magical Girls are able to understand Bebe, who speaks in only gibberish[11]), Pain Tolerance (The bodies of a Magical Girl experience far less pain than a normal human would. This ensures that they can fight at peak performance despite receiving fatal injuries. Kyubey also states that they can completely block out the pain from their body[12]), Immortality (Immortal Metaphysical Aspect; Magical Girl’s bodies are stated to be like zombies or an empty shell for their souls to possess, where there body can take lethal blows without them dying[13][14]), Magic (As noted by their name, Magical Girls are able to use magic, with in some cases their miracles being strong enough to form their magic as other versions of themselves that can converse with them and plan out ideas[15]), Dimensional Storage (Magical Girls are able to store weapons in their soul gems or other parts of their bodies[16]), Healing (Mid; Kyubey states that if all of the organs in one's body get destroyed and every last drop of blood escapes one's body, Magical Girls can heal themselves to continue fighting[17]. Magical Girls can heal their body parts with magic[18]. Magical Girls can heal injuries on people such as when Mami healed Kyubey's injuries[19]), Extrasensory Perception (Magical Girls can see witches, who are invisible to normal people[20]), Telekinesis (Magical Girls are able to take control of and move objects with their magic[21]), Flight (Magical Girls are able to fly[22]), Clairvoyance (Magical Girls are able to see other Magical Girls through their soul gems[23]), Absolute Access & Non-Standard Interaction (Dream Interaction; Magical Girls are able to go into dreams and interact with them[24]), Limited Avatar Creation (Magical Girls are able to possess fake bodies that are much stronger than their normal bodies[25][26]), Limited Telepathy (All magical girls are able to use telepathy in order to communicate with other people around them[27]), Limited Enhanced Senses (Magical Girls are able to pick up the magic trail of a witch with their soul gems[28]), Henshin Transformation (Magical Girl Henshin), Cloth Manipulation & Transformation (Partial Transformation; Magical Girls are able to create cloths to transform and can use these cloths in order to attack or restrain opponents[29]. Transformative Arsenal; Magical Girls through not purifying their soul gem can become corrupted and turn into witches[30][31]), Nullification (Curse Nullification; Magical Girls can negate curses placed by witches[32]), Power Bestowal (Magical Girls can give magical powers to regular objects, amplifying its normal properties[33]), Weapon Creation & Summoning (Magical Girls can summon multiple weapons from their bodies[34]), Restoration (Magical Girls are able to use their magic in order to keep their or another person’s body from decomposing[35]), Dimensional Travel (Magical Girls are able to open up portals that send them to different locations or into labyrinths[36]), Self-Destruction (Magical Girls can overload their soul gem to self-destruct[37]), Forcefield Creation (Magical Girls are able to create forcefields to protect themselves from attacks[38]), Limited Wish Granting (Through forming a contract with Kyubey, one wish can be granted from him[39]), Limited Law Manipulation & Reality Warping (Magical Girls can cause miracles that overcome the laws of the world, with their desire taking form, allowing things such as Homura to remember Madoka even after she became a concept and has been conceptually erased from the entire multiverse[40]), Spatial Manipulation (3-D; Magical Girls are able to break open an isolation field, which is created by isolation a soul gem in a separate space so that the Law of Cycles can’t enter[41]), Hair Manipulation (Magical Girls are able to change their hair style with magic[42]), Subjective Reality (Magical girls are able to create things that they want, like when everyone created a fruit that they wanted to be. Sayaka was also able to pull a violin from a piece of paper and give it form[43]), Battlefield Removal (Application Based; All magical girls can put objects and people inside of their soul gems and trap them there forever[44]), Purification (Magical Girls can create Doppels that completely purify the user’s soul gems and give them an enormous power boost[45]), Statistics Amplification (Magical Girls can create Doppels that completely purify the user’s soul gems and give them an enormous power boost[46]. Magical Girls can connect with other magical sources, to greatly boost their magical powers and combine different properties to their abilities[47]), Fusionism & Statistics Boost (Magical Girls can do a combined attack through forming in a line and holding up their soul gems), Pocket Reality Manipulation (3+1-D; Magical Girls have an entire pocket reality inside of their soul gem where they can directly speak with their magic[48]).

Resistance to Cold Manipulation (Magical Girls can function around the Wariths, who passively make the air so cold that it begins to freeze everything), Curse Manipulation & Empathic Manipulation (Magical Girls are unaffected by a Witches curse, which is noted by Kyubey that their curse causes people to commit suicide and fall to despair[49]), Mind Manipulation (Magical Girls are unaffected by the witch’s kiss, which mind controls people to try and kill themselves[50]), Memory Manipulation (Magical Girls can still remember the magical girls killed in the world of the witches, where no one else remembers their existence[51]), Lifeforce Absorption (Magical Girls are unaffected by Witches ability to drain the life force out of the people who are weak minded[52]), Soul Manipulation (They are able to survive having their souls ripped out of their bodies. They are also able to survive having their souls be apart from their bodies[53][54]), Physics Manipulation (Magical Girls are not bound by the laws of thermodynamics[55]), Body Puppetry, and Fusionism (Magical Girls can connect with a person’s mind, which makes them snap out of the trance and possession that they were under[56]), Corruption & Empathic Manipulation (Magical Girls resist the wraiths ability to fill the world with corruption and consume emotions[57])

All previous powers and abilities, Homing Attack (The Wraith automatically goes around hunting life on the world), Life Manipulation, Metaphysics Manipulation (Soul Manipulation), & Air Manipulation (The moment its tentacles touches someone, it takes away everything, their life, soul, and their ability to breathe), Heat Manipulation & Cold Manipulation (The witch's magic is noted to balance the scales of temperature, living things that are touched by this witch's power immediately become as cold as ice, this is through it subtracting all heat that the living thing has taken from all other living things), Creation & Mimicry (Physiology Mimicry; The witch created mutant wraiths that have the same black arrow attacks as Homura Akemi), Fate Manipulation (Noted that it connects all fates together with its threads, and anyone exposed to it suffers according to their fate, all love given will be weighed against all the love recieved, while all the lives taken will be weighed against all the lives given, and all will return to balance within the witch). Noted to be a witch by Homura Akemi, giving it:


Limited *Resistance to

Equipment

Nothing notable.

Notable Techniques

  • Wraith (Normal): Basic wraiths. They grow like weeds and appear in hordes, using laser beams to attack magical girls.
  • Acolyte Wraith: Slightly stronger than normal wraiths. They're burning hot ones. They generate swords that they throw from their palms or attack with flaming spears.
  • Enlightenement Wraith: Stronger than acolyte wraiths. Uses block-shaped organs to crush things. When one appears, it changes the terrain - metal errodes, machines become useless and it really dries one's skin out.
  • Deliverance Wraith: Stronger than normal acolyte, and enlightenment wraiths. The most powerful wraith (sans mutant wraiths). They're really cold and spread frigid air.
  • Mutant Wraiths: Wraiths formed from absorbing Homura Akemi's magic in her shield, causing them to be able to take human forms and have memories from those forms, far stronger than any other wraith.
    • Mutant Wraith (Homura Model): A mutant wraith that's mass-produced by the incomplete Spindle Witch. Attacks with the same black arrows as Homura.
  • Spindle Witch
    • Fate Manipulation: Takes the form of a spindle. This witch connects all fates together with its threads, and anyone exposed to it suffers according to their fate. All the love given will be weighed against all the love received, while all the lives taken will be weighed against all the lives given, and all will return to balance within the witch.
    • Temperature Manipulation: This witch balances the scales of temperature. Living things that are touched by this witch's power immedieatly become as cold as ice. That's because although the witch returns the heat the living creature has given, it subtracts all heat that living thing has taken from other living things - by having consumed them as food, for example.

Other

Standard Tactics: Wraiths will try to feed off of the emotions of the target, with each wraith employing other battle strategies:

  • Wraith (Normal): They will employ shooting lasers to attack opponents.
  • Acolyte Wraith: They will generate flaming swords and spears to attack opponents.
  • Enlightenement Wraith: They will change the environment around them and use block shaped organs to crush opponents.
  • Deliverance Wraith: They will spread frigid air to try and freeze the opponent.
  • Mutant Wraiths: They will take whatever form of the various magical girls and use their powers against the opponent.
  • Spindle Witch It will try and use its tentacles to grab and absorb all lifeforce from an enemy, evidently it can also manipulate the fate and temperature of the opponent with a touch.

Weaknesses: Wraiths can be corrupted by witches curse energy as they are not able to nullify it as they are able to nullify other emotions.

Trivia

  • Early fansubs of the anime called wraiths "demons". The name of "wraith" comes from the official translation of the anime.
    • The official translations of the manga versions refer to them as "magical beasts". It should be noted, however, that the official manga translations are already inconsistent with the official anime translations.
  • Because Madoka's wish only erased witches, grief was not removed from the new world as Madoka didn't change human nature. As a result, the wraiths are distortions of Madoka's cause and effect of her wish, and give magical girls other means of obtaining grief seeds to clean their soul gems and combat entropy.
  • Wraith types are named after Buddhist levels of enlightenment.
    • Shugen is a Buddhist term referring to a form of asceticism that involves becoming one with nature/kami/the Tao (the practice tends to be syncretic)
    • Satori refers to spiritual awakening and is often translated as "enlightenment", but it's different from Buddhahood. It's more about understanding one's own nature, which is just a step towards complete enlightenment.
    • Moksha means emancipation from earthly desires. It's like nirvana, but not quite, since a person undergoing moksha hasn't died yet.
  • The wraiths seem to resemble "moirae" from Greek mythology, beings that personified the inescapable destiny of man.

Gallery

Official Art

Screenshots

Manga

  • An explanation of mutant wraiths from the Wraith Arc

    An explanation of mutant wraiths from the Wraith Arc

  • A giant wraith, note its appearance is different from a normal wraith

    A giant wraith, note its appearance is different from a normal wraith

  • Mutant wraith taking Sayaka's form

    Mutant wraith taking Sayaka's form

  • Mutant wraith taking Kyoko's form

    Mutant wraith taking Kyoko's form

  • Mutant wraith taking Mami's form

    Mutant wraith taking Mami's form

  • Mutant wraith taking Madoka's form as seen by others. Note the third eye and magic symbol on her chest not present in other mutant wraiths

    Mutant wraith taking Madoka's form as seen by others. Note the third eye and magic symbol on her chest not present in other mutant wraiths

  • Giant Wraith transformed

    Giant Wraith transformed

  • Mutant Wraiths taking on the role of the transformed wraith's familiars

    Mutant Wraiths taking on the role of the transformed wraith's familiars

References

  1. ↑ Note: While Ultimate Madoka's witch was going to eventually become 2-C, the initial form of the witch just massively upscaled from Madoka Kaname from the previous timeline
  2. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 10
  3. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 11
  4. ↑ Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Season 2 Episode 12
  5. ↑ Note: While Ultimate Madoka's witch was going to eventually become 2-C, the initial form of the witch just massively upscaled from Madoka Kaname from the previous timeline
  6. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 10
  7. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 11
  8. ↑ Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Season 2 Episode 12
  9. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 12
  10. ↑ Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Season 1 Episode 12
  11. ↑ Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Movie 3 Hangyaku no Monogatari
  12. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 7
  13. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 6
  14. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 7
  15. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Wraith Arc Chapter 9
  16. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 10
  17. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 6
  18. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 10
  19. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 1
  20. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 2
  21. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 11
  22. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 11
  23. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 12
  24. ↑ Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Movie 3 Hangyaku no Monogatari
  25. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 5
  26. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 6
  27. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 1
  28. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 2
  29. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 1
  30. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 8
  31. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 9
  32. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 2
  33. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 2
  34. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 2
  35. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 9
  36. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 9
  37. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 9
  38. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 10
  39. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 2
  40. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Wraith Arc Chapter 9
  41. ↑ Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Movie 3 Hangyaku no Monogatari
  42. ↑ Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Movie 3 Hangyaku no Monogatari
  43. ↑ Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Movie 3 Hangyaku no Monogatari
  44. ↑ Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Movie 3 Hangyaku no Monogatari
  45. ↑ Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Season 1 Episode 12
  46. ↑ Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Season 1 Episode 12
  47. ↑ Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Season 2 Episode 8
  48. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Wraith Arc Chapter 9
  49. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 2
  50. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 4
  51. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 4
  52. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 2
  53. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 5
  54. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 6
  55. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 9
  56. ↑ Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Season 2 Episode 8
  57. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Wraith Arc Chapter 1
  58. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 1
  59. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 2
  60. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 3
  61. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 1
  62. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 2
  63. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 2
  64. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 4
  65. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 2
  66. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 2
  67. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 3
  68. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 3
  69. ↑ Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 4

Explanations

For any further questions regarding some other popular Puella Magi arguments, read this blog.

Battle Records

None.

None.

None.

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