Wilderness: This represents Mado thoughts on socializing, specifically school. When it came to socializing with, well, anybody, she felt lost, trapped by her own inadequacies. This ties in with many theories of Madotsuki being outcasted or isolated. The toriningen party is, obviously, the most prominent example of this. She often felt so bad due to social problems that it was like being sick. In addition, she viewed herself as “sick” or wrong (towel effect).
Snow World: Pretty much the same as puddle world, Mado liked playing in the snow, the only difference being that she saw the snow as somewhat of a sanctuary, her own heaven on earth. The Yuki-onna is just that; Madotsuki’s classmates always talked of the Yuki-onna, spreading a rumor that one traversed the land in the winter when it snowed, subjecting unsuspecting travelers to horrific, snow based deaths. Mado believed in the Yuki-onna, seeing her as beautiful and misunderstood. She would dream of meeting the Yuki-onna, who was always kind in her dreams and allowed Mado to tag along with her and become like her, letting her live in a snowy paradise as a beautiful, graceful spirit.
The Pastel Shoal is another interpretation of perfection to Madotsuki. Imagining this beautiful, sparkling, colorful water world always filled Mado with joy (As you can probably tell by now, Madotsuki as a child was often in her own mind). Poniko takes this one step further; she is a resident of Madotsuki’s dreams who was the embodiment of beauty and perfection, being something of a goddess. In her dreams as a child, Madotsuki would often visit Poniko, taking comfort in knowing that this amazing woman was always watching over her, keeping her and her ideal world safe. Revisiting Poniko as an adult (kind of), Mado is relieved to see the same beautiful, perfect person there, until she realizes the light switch. She is not sure why, but she feels compelled to flick it, although she is still afraid of the dark. Subconsciously, she wants to know if Poniko will still be there protecting her in the dark. Flicking the switch, she comes across Uboa. Uboa is Madotsuki’s realization that nothing is perfect, that everything has a dark side to it The fact that she cannot escape indicates that she can’t escape this fact. The world Uboa takes you to is a corruption of the perfect Pastel Shoal.
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