Homura becomes the sole main protagonist of the 2013 sequel film Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion, where she fights with her fellow magical girls against surreal monsters called Nightmares, but after some time, she realizes something is wrong with her memories and then tries to investigate.

Homura has appeared in most Puella Magi Madoka Magica related media, including manga, novel adaptations of the series, and video games.

Homura is a character who stops at one place and is unable to move forward because of her time-loop, where she constantly turns back time to save Madoka from her fate.

[8] In an interview with mangaka Kazuo Koike, Urobuchi said after developing the Rebellion film he had a stronger impression of Homura in the movie than he imagined before.

For the school uniform, she had Homura wear black tights that provide the same feeling as her magical girl outfit, and said the character "gives off the air of a silent beauty".

[10] The anime staff designed Homura's weapons, while her bow, used in the final episode, is based on an illustration drawn by Ume Aoki.

[19] For Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion, Saitō recalls that she was very tired when she first read the film's script, saying that the number of details overwhelmed her.

She also said it was one of her "first very meaty roles" and that she was still "very young" when she voiced the character, and continues saying "it was like the Olympics of acting, because of all the changes and transitions, and all the emotions that are shown, but not really, because she plays it cool".

Vee believes her role as Homura is "going to live on for a very long time", explaining "this franchise ... it's so powerful, and in a lot of ways very real, if that makes sense".

[26] It is revealed that Homura is a time traveler; she was originally a meek, timid, shy second-year student with low self-esteem, suffered from heart disease and did not have any friends.

[27] After Madoka makes her wish and transcends into a cosmic phenomenon called "Law of Cycles" (円環の理, Enkan no Kotowari), that appears to all magical girls at the moment before they become witches, she rescues them by taking them to a heavenly paradise.

[30] In Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion, Homura fights with her fellow magical girls against new monsters called "Nightmares" (ナイトメア, Naitomea).

A post-credits scene shows a weary Homura seated in a chair watching over Mitakihara with a badly beaten and mentally scarred Kyubey nearby before she leans over a cliff and falls.

They encounter the magical girl Alina Gray, who reveals she defeated Mami and fed her to one of her "grand masterpiece witch[es]", angering Homura and Madoka.

However, when Homura is informed that Walpurgisnacht will be heading to Kamihama city due to the guidance of Magius, she thinks it would be better to stay at Mitakihara as she is afraid of facing it with Madoka.

Together, they face the Magius at Hotel Fenthope to stop them from sacrificing innocent people to achieve their goals in liberating magical girls.

[42] A drama CD written by Gen Urobuchi that explores other aspects of Homura's character was released along with the anime series' Blu-ray disc.

[43] On the drama CD, Memories of You, it was revealed that Homura was the target of a bully in school due to her low self-esteem and fragile personality.

[73] Homura was originally a weak, shy and timid girl who suffered from heart disease; she did not have any friends after being constantly in the hospital and has very low self-esteem.

Blue also observed that despite Homura's cold behavior and her determination to save Madoka at any cost, she "usually avoids hurting humans or magical girls and instead focuses on fighting witches and Kyubey",[77] and is shown to care about people around her, such as Mami and Kyoko, "whom she ultimately trusts to kill Homulilly, come to respect and possibly even like them, as well".

[89] In 2014, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) customers ranked Homura as their fifth-favorite black haired female anime character.

He added "the story can be looked at as Homura being the only sane person in an insane world" and noted that "many of her lines have double meanings that can only be appreciated" with a second viewing.

[125][122] Richard Eisenbeis said "it must have been hell for her" to experience all of this,[122] and Toshi Nakamura also pointed out the character's "psychological state" and the "Incubators using Homura as a lab rat" leading her to become a witch.

If Homura can be faulted for inadvertently creating the situation she hopes to prevent, she can also be credited for destroying the system of despair magical girls were trapped in.

"[130] She also included Homura second in a special article list, comparing the character's selfishness and her rebellion against Madoka to that of Paradise Lost's Lucifer.

[135] Writer Bryan J. McAfee also shared a similar opinion and found Homura suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of her failed attempts to save Madoka as well as killing her to prevent her from becoming a witch and for experiencing cruel realities in her time loops.

However, Blue says that Homura actually suffered from trauma before even becoming a magical girl, having been hospitalized for heart disease for half a year.She has spent six months helpless, afraid for her life, probably in a great deal of pain, being subjected to who knows how many invasive, frightening tests and procedures.

That's a lot for anyone to handle, let alone a 14-year-old girl, so it is unsurprising that Homura already shows a number of trauma symptoms from the start: she is anxious and shy, socially withdrawn, and struggles with self-worth issues, which morph quickly into suicidal ideation when she wanders into a Witch's labyrinth.

"[139] Additionally, when Homura turns into a demon and rewrites the world, she "serves only to deepen her suffering: where once, in the grip of a Witch, she contemplated suicide, in the stinger of Rebellion she actually attempts it, throwing herself off a cliff".

[150] Other merchandise based on Homura has been released that includes plush dolls,[151] perfumes,[152] mugs,[153] posters,[154] headphones,[155] keychains,[156] clothing items such as T-shirts,[157] high heels and shoes,[158][159] Lingerie[160] and glasses.