Magia Record: Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica Gaiden Final Season - Asaki Yume no Akatsuki

The final season of Magia Record was an emotional roller coaster that made a conclusion far more satisfying than the ending of the original Madoka Magica series. While the character development might not have been as good, Magia Record had an improved setting that expanded on more of the Puella Magi universe. While keeping most of the original darkness of Madoka Magica, it also incorporates many themes and feelings present in “original” magical girl series, such as friendship and hope.


It’s honestly crazy how one anime girl’s quest to find her sister led to a surreal rabbit hole of teamwork, chasing hope, meeting the original cast, ... and leading to an amazing, emotional battle against despair and a terrifying deathmoth (which somehow becomes even scarier).


Making the last four episodes into a single season might be irritating to some, but releasing them like this allowed the animators to fill these four episodes with astonishing and fluid animation which surpasses that of the previous seasons. The final battle is amazingly deep, as iconic characters experience and overcome past and present drama as they fight against a potential apocalypse.


Magia Record featured both losses and lessons that led to a bittersweet ending that somehow ends on a happier note. While we won’t spoil what happens, we can say that this story is better made then the original series (excluding Rebellion, which is still a masterpiece).


Watch the ultimate conclusion of the suffering of megucas. (At least until Walpurgis Rising)

It's not often that I give 10s to something, as I'm often very critical of most media I consume, but Magia Record's final season was so emotional and raw to me that I created an account for MAL to give my take on it.

I think Magia Record is a masterpiece. The anime has heavy emphasis on sociopolitical themes, capturing the rage of the last decade and really bringing it to life with characters I can really empathize and feel for. I also feel like it's very raw, emotional, and personal, and as a result, the vast majority of people who watch this anime probably don't ... get it. It's definitely not your wish fulfillment kind of anime, but it's more like End of Evangelion or Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0, which is to say, by nature, it's extremely polarizing, but some will think it's the best, while others will absolutely hate it.

If I were to describe Magia Record in one sentence, I'd say it would be a neo-noir turned action adventure anime featuring magical girls in a quest to find hope in a hopeless world.

Some things I'd say that are similar to it thematically are Drive (2011), Blade Runner 2049, Cloudpunk, or a lot of other related Cyberpunk fiction or just neo-noir fiction.

If you don't like any of the above, you should skip this anime and watch something else. Don't come expecting more Madoka Magica--Magia Record might as well be its own thing.

"Being a magical girl is suffering" has never been more true than with this final season of Magia Record. Following in the footsteps of Rebellion and fracturing its community irreparably. Despite the fact that the identity of the source material was built on optimism, where the weak Puella Magi of Kamihama shared their sufferings and supported each other in order to build a common future, DoroInu had the courage to attack us head-on with one of the most tragic finales. Yet sign of a new dawn.

This final season makes a point of revealing the cost of imposing an ideology without exploring the heart of the ... problem. Because in Magia Record, everything is a matter of perspective. The purpose isn't to know what is right, but for whom it is right. Keeping only the need to believe in something as its foundation. This work has always dealt with the notions of strengths and weaknesses with great sensitivity. For the Puella Magi, it is not their physical or mental condition that will define their ability to survive, but their ability to express themselves. Between those who are able to converge their hopes in the bonds they have forged, and the others trapped in their fears without anyone to listen to them. And it is with great bitterness that Magia Record will take this duality to its climax. Because the unfortunate ones, far from the spotlight or the slightest attentive ear, desperately seek a way to externalize their rage, their anxiety, their loneliness. Waiting for the people who will take the time to listen to them and understand the source of their discomfort, but paying the price of the ignorant who will condescendingly tell them that everything will be fine. If this fundamental notion of harmony is so convincing, it is precisely because Magia Record has the audacity to question the quality of its protagonists through failure.

What DoroInu wanted to do with this final season was to present a non-romanticized vision of the world of Puella Magi. To restore the tragic nature of the system in which they operate, with no miracle that will ultimately save them all. A fatalism emphasized by the recurrence of patterns related to the rails of destiny, especially for one of the heroines, and the testimony of a one-way journey to a destination to which she can only surrender. Her conclusion strikingly bring us back to reality, leaving no room for denial once the visuals and musical accompaniment reach their climax. It's a raw realization of the limits of the protagonist's ideals, who has no choice but to bear her responsibilities in the latent austerity of the world of the Magical Girls, without magic, without prayers. The story of Magia Record is a succession of failures that are the consequence of numerous misunderstandings, from the very beginning. Failing to save a loved one, failing to mourn, failing to understand one's weaknesses, failing to make the world a better place... failing to accept failure. This ambition to make each character revolve around this theme serves to blur the line that separates who is right or wrong. Because the antagonists are no longer justified by their place in the plot, but instead by their thematic opposition. Between those who refuse to admit their mistakes, and those who are capable of doing so.

In Magia Record, however, there is a certain beauty in tragedy. The whole story is the result of a genuine and eternal love that four young girls shared. Bonds of rare authenticity that unfortunately propelled them into despair despite all the kindness of their actions. A drama treated with maturity, without psychosis, without madness, and always justified with a certain rightness. The many farewells that punctuate this final season come to perfect the melancholic and dreamlike mix unique to this work, taking inspiration from Kenji Miyazawa's stories to offer us sumptuous visual and auditory compositions. An omnipresence of the afterlife magnified by the numerous starry sky backgrounds that make it a resting place for willing souls. Each leaving a precious legacy in the acceptance of their destiny. Each completing their existence by now shining brightly alongside the other stars. Guiding the new generation and giving them a hope to cling to. So that all are capable of moving forward with confidence towards their future, however painful it may be. Perpetuating the memory of their elders and sharing, united, a new breath in the acceptance of their regrets, in their mourning, or in the influence of their past failures and mistakes.

By facing their destiny, that of disappearing and being forgotten, the Magical Girls of Magia Record put an end to their own chronicles, ignored by all. It may not offer the most optimistic resolution, but there is a certain charm to be found in this raw and authentic portrayal. Despite an absolutely disastrous production and a tone opposite to that of the source material, the anime succeeds in being thematically coherent. I don't particularly agree with the many changes made, but I respect this adaptation for being one of the rare typical works of its director.

But it would be dishonest to conclude this review on such positive notes. In reality, Magia Record struggles to deliver its message. This is due to numerous questionable choices resulting from the change in direction that occurred with season 2. One problem arises from the justification of certain tragedies, primarily packed in those four unfortunate episodes. Another, a recurring symptom of the adaptation, is the uneven pacing that leaves little time to digest the numerous important subplots of the anime, ultimately depriving us of a true epilogue. After being led in all directions, without returning to the foundations that had been slowly laid out during the first season, the conclusion of Magia Record lacks authenticity. What makes me doubt this ending is the imbalance between the theme of family and that of failure, between hope and despair.

A final season that closes the curtain on this whole story in a myriad of emotions. Benefitting from exquisite visual and auditory narration to convey its messages of understanding others and accepting failure. Special mention to Midori Yoshizawa, who is a true maestro and to whom I owe the best episodes of the series. My only hope is that Shaft gives her the opportunity she deserves. I do regret, however, the clumsy execution that tarnishes the conclusion. Nonetheless, Magia Record remains an experience with a strong identity and one that I am proud to have witnessed. I will never thank DoroInu (and their team) enough for working tirelessly on this adaptation and thus allowing fans of the side story to have proof of its existence.

This whole series was so good! I rated all of them a 10/10 by how good it was. But these 4 episodes really did the series justice! It's perfect. I cried so much though. I love this series since I was a kid. So good! I was mad for a second at the end but I'm so glad I just let it happen. The more I thought about it the more I realized it all made sense. I loved the last part of episode 4. It was so wonderful. When I first watched 2 episodes when this series first came out I didn't care and ... couldn't get into it. But now that it's over I'm so so happy with it. I'll definitely rewatch it sometime in the future. Since I do that with the original. I love magical girl shows.

Magia Record is by all means a disaster in terms of plot, yet I can’t bring myself to hate it.

The writers tried to do so many things at the same time, and they all ended up coming out as one big and confusing plot. However, there’s something so charming about Magia Record - they really tried.

The writers could have taken the easy route and just done Madoka Magica 2.0, but instead they tried their best to make Magia Record its own separate thing (aside from the needless inclusion of the original 5 Madoka Magica girls, but I’d prefer to forget that part since I feel ... as though they were forced to include them due to the game).

Magia Record is disorientating at times, but somehow it seems to work to its advantage. It’s as if the writers are trying to show the viewers how truly chaotic and tragic the lives of Magical Girls are - how everything can change in an instant.

The actual premise of the finale is really cool, I just feel as though 4 episodes wasn’t nearly enough to get the story and messages across. (Spoilers for episode 4) The final scene of Madokami holding the Magia Record book sums it up perfectly - This might not be the main story, this might not be the best story, but it’s still a story that holds worth, it’s still their story. (End of spoilers)

Magia Record is a perfectly imperfect spin-off show, and I’m fine with that. Being forced to use an ongoing gacha game as the base of your story can’t possibly be easy, but the writers still did a good job all things considered.

As chaotic and unpolished as it was, I enjoyed watching Magia Record, and I’ll definitely be rewatching it in the future.