A long while back, I don't remember which post it was but I recall mentioning that the Madoka Magica franchise has an odd obsession with food and food motifs (and cooking, and eating, and even more broadly, consumption in general, but I'll mostly try to stick to food). I didn't have the time to get into it there, and I'm not intending this post to be a full analysis of that, but I do feel the need for now to demonstrate my point by showcasing examples of what I mean, and the main ways this is used throughout PMMM and it's many spin-offs.
• Madoka has breakfast and runs to school with toast in her mouth. Emphasis is put on the food in many ways, as we see her father cutting tomatoes in the garden, and then her younger is eating those same tomatoes, and drops one only for her mom to catch it.
• also in episode 1 the first of many instances of characters talking during mealtime occurs. While not too abnormal for TV and movies, other instances will soon become more significant
• one of Mami's most recognizable characteristics throughout the franchise is offering tea and cake when others come over to her home. This often serves as food over which to have conversation, but aside from hunting for witches, this is the only activity she really ever does with others during which friendly conversation is had. This habit is likely a combination of her hospitality due to her isolation and wanting to impress people, as well as having been friends with Kyoko for some time.
• Charlotte's labyrinth is sweets themed. And she eats Mami because she mistakes her blonde hair for cheese. Nagisa's wish was for cheesecake, and she seems to conflate cheese and unconditional love/affection.
• Mami suggests that if Madoka can't think of a wish, she should wish for cake. This is not the first time wishing for food has been suggested either. Sayaka did that earlier, mentioning a 108 course banquet of emperors. Wishing for cake also parallels Nagisa's wish.
• Mami drinks tea after killing Gertrude. After being killed by Charlotte, her teacup is shown again, now smashed.
• Madoka cries eating her fathers breakfast because she's glad to be alive, and the simple pleasure of food seemingly reminds her that she is alive.
• Homura pulls the lid off of a coffee cup during a conversation at what looks like a coffee shop or Cafe of some sort, and this action is indicated as a visual reminder of Mami's fate.
• Kyoko is constantly snacking, and has a whole complex about food. She will later be more associated with apples specifically, but any food goes. She also compares the magical girl system to the food chain. In a way, grief seeds could be seen as another kind of food, one that magical girls starve without. She also represents fire, which is constantly consuming.
•Kyubey eats grief seeds as well. Kyubey also eats the corpse of another Kyubey. Kyubey also has no problem snacking on human food when offered some, despite seemingly not needing to. This is likely to seem more harmless and cute.
• Witches are said to "eat" humans who get lost in their labyrinths
• Madoka's mom participates in social obligate drinking because of her work, and later has a conversation about adulthood with Madoka that involves explaining that being an adult sucks but that's why they can drink alcohol, and Madoka saying she can't wait to grow up so she can drink with her.
• Kyubey compares the magical girl system favorably to the consumption of livestock, though he also views consumption of livestock as ethical. It's more so brought up so he can call Madoka a hypocrite for viewing the system as bad.
• The Cake Song. Just all of it.
• some of the food in rebellion has Bebe's and Kyubey's faces.
• the sequence in the opening of rebellion, when dealing with their first nightmare, also seems to involve offering food as part of the process
• there are more instances of food coming up in relation to Kyoko and Nagisa that I could say more about but I think that's enough about them.
• Homulily is the nutcracker witch, and her labyrinth and familiars contain references to nutcrackers and teeth.
• Homura gets pelted with tomatoes by her familiars for her bad acting.
• Her drink is also seemingly overflowing when this happens
• in Kazumi magica food is a main theme, especially the process of cooking, which multiple characters partake in and which is directly compared to a love of life. Michiru herself had a wish involving this, opting not to unnaturally prolong her grandmothers life, instead just making her healthy until the end of her natural lifespan would come in a few days time. During this time she learned how to cook from her. This wish is never one shown in a bad light or one she regrets, and this time in her life is also when she got her bell earing, which is a plot important item later.
•Later, she witches out while cooking strawberry risotto with her friends.
•Her clone, Kazumi, is not only shown cooking food multiple times, and is very frequently hungry, and open to trying most foods, but she also believes that she can tell if someone is a bad guy based on how they eat; bad guys never finish anything. Presumably because they don't appreciate the food.
• another character in Kazumi, Umika, is also into cooking, and Kazumi is noted to especially enjoy hers.
• there is also cannibalism in Kazumi, as at one point Kazumi consumes a bunch of other clones to survive.
• in Oriko Magica, Kirika Kure has a notable sweet tooth, and will put so much jam in her tea that it's practically sludge. She has tea with Oriko multiple times, including in the middle of a labyrinth at one point.
•Oriko also tries to make a sponge cake at one point, just before everything goes to shit for them.
• also in Oriko we actually see another example of witches eating people, besides Charlotte.
• Kirika's familiars are "meatballs" according to Exedra and possibly other sources.
• Mabayu works at a cafe/cake shop run by her aunt (her legal guardian). This is the same place Mami gets many of her cakes from.
• Sayaka also gets a cake for Kyousuke from there and the hospital gets one from there for Homura to congratulate her after her surgery.
• in Scene 0, Amy is noted to be a picky eater.
• multiple characters from Magia Record work in the food industry, specifically cooking and/or baking. Tsuruno's dad runs a (canonically mediocre) Chinese restaurant. And she is a main character.
•And Manaka's whole gimmick is that she is a chef, a good one, and all her stories are about this.
• Kanagi works at a maid Cafe, though emphasis there is put pretty much exclusively on the maid part, so that one barely counts.
• Mitama, meanwhile, is a horrible cook but doesn't realize it. To the point multiple events exist about this point. She literally just mixes random stuff together, not all of which is safe to eat.
• A LOT of Record and Exedra side stories involve food as a plot point even besides all of that. Too many to list. But in Exedra it even lead to multiple event limited units. I think, with Record especially, much if this comes from slice of life aspects combined with the importance of food as a key aspect of real life culture (we do all need it to survive after all), and the fact that multiple characters are poor or are young people living basically on their own or providing for large families. And of course, most big events have food involved.
• arc 1 of record also shows that witches can eat other witches, and Alina in particular likes to intentionally make them do this to essentially breed new types of witch.
• Embryo Eve was created through such a process. This is also different from the creation of a Walpurgisnacht type witch (that is to say, Walpurgisnacht or Dawn of Hyades).
• similar to the Record and Exedra side stories, many of the comedy Manga are slice of life, and end up with food as a recurring plot point.
I could probably add more, but this is sufficient for now I think.
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