Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica

Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki are regular middle school girls with regular lives, but all that changes when they encounter Kyuubey, a cat-like magical familiar, and Homura Akemi, the new transfer student.

Kyuubey offers them a proposition: he will grant any one of their wishes and in exchange, they will each become a magical girl, gaining enough power to fulfill their dreams. However, Homura Akemi, a magical girl herself, urges them not to accept the offer, stating that everything is not what it seems.

A story of hope, despair, and friendship, Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica deals with the difficulties of being a magical girl and the price one has to pay to make a dream come true.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Akemi, Homura Main

Saitou, Chiwa Japanese

Kaname, Madoka Main

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Sakura, Kyouko Main

Nonaka, Ai Japanese

Miki, Sayaka Main

Kitamura, Eri Japanese

Tomoe, Mami Main

Mizuhashi, Kaori Japanese

Kyuubey Main

Katou, Emiri Japanese

Charlotte Supporting

Kaname, Junko Supporting

Gotou, Yuuko Japanese

Walpurgis Night Supporting

Mizuhashi, Kaori Japanese

Shizuki, Hitomi Supporting

Shintani, Ryouko Japanese

Iwakami, Atsuhiro Producer

Kananiwa, Kozue Producer

Mori, Yasunori Producer

Maruyama, Hiroo Producer

Reviews

Jul 23, 2013

Kalypze

Recommended

What does it take for a series to become a masterpiece? Take a look at Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, and you might find the answer to that question.

I'll start this review by pointing out that I was not expecting much from this show. I didn't really want to watch it, either. The Mahou Shoujo genre has never interested me, so when a friend of mine, who in the past suggested things like Mirai Nikki, Deadman Wonderland, Death Note and Psycho-Pass to me, told me to watch Madoka Magica, I thought he was kidding and I ignored the series for a while. Once a month had ... passed, my friend insisted, and I ended up watching the first episode with my sister.

Throwing all my prejucide aside, I sat quietly and watched the first episode. I found it oddly entertaining, so I proceeded to watch the 2nd episode, and then the 3rd. After the 3rd episode ended, I was completely hooked. And by the end of the 12th episode (or the last episode, if you prefer), I was blown away. Gen Urobuchi had done it again.

[Story]
– “Make a contract with me, and become a magical girl!”
The main character, Kaname Madoka, is a normal 8th grader. Albeit very shy, she is happy, and her family and friends love her exactly the way she is. However, her life takes a dramatic turn when, on a trip to the mall, she rescues Kyuubei, a cat-like being that was being chased by a mysterious black-haired girl. Kyuubei, as a reward, offers Madoka and Sayaka (one of Madoka's friends) a unique deal: he'd make any of their wishes come true, and in exchange, they would become Magical Girls. And that is how Madoka, and the viewers, are introduced to a world of magic and witches.

Not much else can be said about the story without spoiling anything. However, I have to point that this is NOT your typical Mahou Shoujo, and it's target audience is NOT little girls. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica is a very dark anime, please keep that in mind.

The way the plot begins to unveil is simply magnificent. The build-up of tension, the plot twists, the drama, the (really heavy) psychological atmosphere-- all contribute to create a story that will keep you on your toes at all times.

[Characters]
– “If someone says it’s wrong to hope, I will tell them that they’re wrong every time. I could tell them that countless times!”

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica has a pretty small cast of characters. Because of this, each relevant character grows and changes throughout the series in ways you wouldn't expect. We get to know a lot about the past of some characters, the reasons behind their actions, their feelings, amongst other things, and that makes each character feel unique-- they don't follow any usual patterns.

[Art & Sound]
– "Is she some kind of anime character or something?"

As usual with Shaft (Bakemonogatari, Maria Holic, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei), Madoka Magica has a very original/weird style of animation. The design of the characters is rather simple and features very light colors. However, the animations are good and fluid, specially during action scenes (more on that in a bit). Buildings, on the other hand, are very futuristic and look pretty cool. The use of glass and fluid decorations makes me think of a very peaceful futuristic world. Nature, on the other hand, doesn't stick out of the norm, but the mixture of green + the futuristic monochromatic buildings is a very neat contrast.

However, this wouldn't be one of Shaft's best works if they didn't add their “touch”. When Kaname Madoka and her friends enter the realm of the witches, one of the coolest styles of animation I have seen in anime to this day steals the spotlight. It's very hard to explain, since it varies from witch to witch, but it's definitly intriguing. And of course, Shaft's signature: weird cam angles during dramatic scenes. Both of these add to the overall chaotic feel of the series, so I have to applaud their use.

Madoka Magica's opening is “Connect”, by ClariS. Although it's nothing out of this world, I feel that it fits the “Mahou Shoujo” theme perfectly. The show has 4 different ending songs, but “Magia”, by Kalafina, is regarded as the “real” ending, since it plays in the most episodes, and denotes the dark nature of the anime. As for the background music, everything fits right into the scenes; whether it's to add intensity to fights or dramatic moments, the music helps and doesn't feel out of place.

[Overall]

– “With kindness comes naïveté. Courage becomes foolhardiness. And dedication has no reward. If you can't accept any of that, you are not fit to be a magical girl.”

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica has got to be the best anime I have ever watched. The way the producers trick the viewers into thinking that this anime is just another Mahou Shoujo is simply brilliant. The characters are interesting, the art managed to catch my attention, and the music is good, but this series' biggest selling point is definitly the plot. Plot twists, drama, heartbreaking AND heartwarming moments... all of these converge into a brilliant plot with a really good ending.

PS: Do not judge a book by its cover!

[Final score: 10/10]

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Apr 25, 2011

ryu2k2

Mixed Feelings

Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica wants be an outstanding show, something that wasn't delivered before, but fails at this feat in pretty much all departments of animation.

It's commonly conceived as a deconstruction of the mahou shoujo genre. However Madoka Magica merely twists some aspects of the mahou shoujo genre to give them a dark edge, but does not critically point out any potential flaws of the genre to make its audience question the genre's substance.

Starting off with the most obvious aspect, the visuals, Madoka Magica presents us with a lot of dark alleys and conversations without much animations going on. The few battles going on during ... the show do provide us with some rather good animations, although the many immersion breaking paper cut-outs are rather forgettable in those scenes.

The plot of Madoka Magica really wants to be a strong point for the series, often creating a feeling that "something interesting may happen sometime" to the audience. The problem is that nothing out of the ordinary actually ever happens. Virtually every single part of the show's story is forseeable, to an extend that a lot of people had actually thought up the show's major plot points much earlier before they had come up during the original airing.
For an ending that feels like the author was not exactly sure on what it should be like, while not delivering anything new or exciting, Madoka Magica also does not deserve much credit.

Having spawned dozens of character fan arts, the characters should be the shows strong point, but even here it is lacking substance. Over the course of all 12 episodes, the characters are very hesistant on making decisions and moving on, reducing the show's story to a few stretched out, sometimes very forced key plot elements. Due to this behavior the characters appear very one-dimensional, although the writer's intend on making these characters feel like actual people does shine through occasionally.

Taking all of its flaws in consideration it, I find Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica to be a rather boring show to watch. The action is good and enjoyable, but the characters talking and bitching about the same problems for episodes, and not coming to any interesting conclusions, really wears down on the enjyoment of this anime.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Dec 22, 2014

defunctmaluser

Not Recommended

I feel like I'm in the minority here on MAL, and that's kinda depressing. Madoka Magica by and large is one of those programmes which receives no shortage of praise that I simply can't agree with one way or the other. I wouldn't mind it so much were it not for the fact that any sort of valid criticism or complaints anyone has with this series is instantly lost in a sea of downvotes and angry rants made by rabid fans who're breathing heavily whilst typing on their keyboards rapidly. Regardless, I'll make a feeble attempt at getting my voice heard. Will it work? Probably ... not, but it's still worth a try.

What really baffles me is how Madoka Magica is a moe drama along the lines of Elfen Lied and yet people praise Madoka ad nauseum whilst talking shit about Elfen Lied at every available opportunity. Even people like JesuOtaku who generally have no patience for moe dramas ended up giving this programme a glowing review despite the fact that Madoka Magica and Elfen Lied end up trying to accomplish similar goals. It's amazing as to how much the power of emotions can override one's better judgement but then again, maybe that's why I couldn't get into it in the first place.

Let's just get this out of the way first: moe drama by and large is an extremely manipulative genre at its core that's rather poorly written in general. Why is this the case? Well, the writers know all too well that most viewers will gladly put up with all this shit so long as they get their cute girls in anguish that they can fantasise about consoling and/or fucking. Obviously, Madoka Magica has quite a way's worth of better writing put into it than Elfen Lied does but it still falls prey to the same traps that plague moe drama when it comes down to the writing.

The first biggest problem that Madoka Magica has is the fact that the pacing is horrendously rushed. I don't care what you have to say about the pacing, because quite frankly... it's shit. The 12 episodes we were given did not allow for the events taking place in the story to flow naturally and instead make this programme come off as a rather forced melodrama. Something is horrendously wrong with your programme if I cannot bring myself to feel even the slightest modicum of emotion for what transpires despite the characters making a big deal of it all.

Aside from the rushed pacing, another glaring flaw that Madoka Magica suffers from is the fact that it's heavily reliant on shock value, which is probably another big reason as to why this anime is so lauded in the first place. Shock is a powerful emotion indeed and it can definitely work to great effect to further strengthen the writing whenever necessary. The problem is that Madoka Magica goes out of its way to shock the viewer and then ultimately relies on manipulating your emotions to keep you invested and distract you from the flaws in the writing. People are definitely going to disagree with me on this one but please hear me out.

The way Madoka Magica's been marketed in the past by Aniplex is a dead giveaway that shock value is a major cornerstone of Madoka Magica as a whole. The trailers, the OP, and even the blurb on the back of the Aniplex DVD release basically paint this show out to be your typical magic girl show despite the fact that it couldn't be further from the truth. Granted, a lot of the punch has been taken out of that sort of marketing tactic given that Madoka has become so popular to the point where it's essentially common knowledge that this is a dark, angst-ridden magic girl melodrama but the point still stands.

It seems like Madoka Magica was fundamentally designed to be a smash hit. The very combination of shock and moe drama has been a proven formula for success (look at Elfen Lied if you want an example). However, Madoka Magica takes this a step further by being a magic girl show. Magic girl programmes (and battle shonens to a similar extent) suffer from this "image" that exists in the minds of most people as nothing more than childish drivel about friendship and idealism that can't grow the fuck up. Given the fact that Madoka Magica is a shocking moe drama as well as a magic girl show, the end result is basically having thousands of fans saying that Madoka isn't like other magic girl shows and is a definite must-watch.

Yes, Madoka isn't like most other magic girl programmes but then again, neither is Kill la Kill or Princess Tutu. A series doesn't automatically become a masterpiece just because it "breaks the mould" as the saying goes. If that were the case, films like "The Room" would have to be considered masterpieces of drama despite evidence to the contrary. Don't get me wrong: individuality in anime is a good thing, especially given all the repetition going on in the industry. What isn't good is relying on being different to be your main selling point. This isn't to say that Madoka doesn't have any other merits to stand on, rather the very merits it does have are flawed to high heaven.

Madoka Magica is often praised to no end as a deconstruction of magic girl anime. Yeah... I don't buy it. You mean to tell me that all it takes to be a deconstruction is psychologically torturing your characters whilst going out of your way to be as dark and edgy as possible? I thought there was more subtlety involved with the writing when it comes down to deconstructions. Say what you will about Evangelion, but one thing that Gainax has that SHAFT lacks in its entirety is tact. Don't get me wrong, subtlety isn't exactly Evangelion's strong suit either but it certainly has more than Madoka does, that's for sure.

We got to spend a good deal of time in our typical mech setting before shit got morbid and we realised that being a mecha pilot in the world of Eva isn't a walking sex fantasy. Sure, Evangelion sends us flying head-first into the plot like Madoka does, but once again: we're given time to actually connect with the characters which is something that Madoka's 12-episode runtime simply doesn't allow for. I understand that the length of a show isn't necessarily indicative of whether or not the characters are good because there definitely are 1-cour programmes that deliver quite a bit on the character front (i.e. White Album 2, OreGairu, Usagi Drop, etc). At the same time, this story contains far too much content for it to actually work with the 1-cour length.

I know that some people like to tout this 12-episode length as a strength, saying that it's free from all the unnecessary bullshit that plagues other magic girl shows and goes straight into the good stuff. While I can certainly reciprocate that praise to a certain degree (especially given that Madoka Magica is far more engaging than Sailor Moon is), people fail to understand that without the boring parts of a show, the good bits wouldn't be nearly as good and would instead become mediocre. Princess Tutu understood this concept quite well as it was able to balance out the otherwise boring bits about ballet with the deliciously macabre moments involving Drosselmeyer. Madoka has no such balance.

Another problem that the 1-cour length brings up is an over-reliance on plot twists. Now, plot twists aren't inherently bad and can definitely work to the show's advantage if it was given proper foreshadowing. Unfortunately, the short length doesn't allow for foreshadowing of any kind to really happen so they just take you by surprise (oh look, more shock value!). I don't know about you, but these plot twists don't do much of anything for me. In fact, it made me question the logic behind this show even more. I'd question why shit had to constantly get worse for the characters in every episode, but then I remember that this is moe drama and that it doesn't matter how nihilistic the world actually gets so long as we still have our cute girls writhing in anguish.

What really surprises me about Madoka is the fact that despite being a sadistic viewer who loves seeing cute things being crushed by nihilism, this show was enough to make *me* do a double take on what's being shown. Make no mistake: I couldn't find myself feeling any modicum of emotion (not even pity) for Madoka, Homura, Sayaka, Kyoko, and Mami but at the same time... there was just something rather unnerving about how their circumstances just kept getting worse by the minute. It doesn't help that the short length also brings up stuff that may very well qualify as fridge horror or unfortunate implications (I don't know which trope it is, so bear with me).

For example, the fact that magic girls have to be adolescents because apparently, they're emotionally volatile at that age range brings up so many questions that just don't get answered. For one thing, does this mean that boys that are of the same age don't go through emotional turmoil like teenage girls do? What of teenage girls who happen to suffer from psychological disorders/trauma? Why does Kyubi opt to only focus on teenage girls when there are many other people of both genders across all age ranges that are just as emotionally volatile if not moreso? There's also the concept of power with a price.

The whole "power with a price" concept is not uncommon in TV, film, manga, comics, literature, etc and there have been many twists on the same formula. Madoka tries to do this concept but it doesn't go all the way with it because of the lack of world-building. Because of that, it would seem that the price the girls have to pay is unending psychological torture which is all somehow the girls' faults by the end of it all. Basically, Madoka's flat-out telling you that you're fucked if you decide to remain a Muggle because you're going to die regardless and yet you're fucked if you become a magic girl because it means you'll go through continuous psychological torment. At the same time, it's also telling you that you'd be much better off as a Muggle because of the fact that you're going to die a lonely, merciless death where nobody's going to remember you if you choose to be a magic girl.

Now I could bring up the whole wish fallacy argument that plagues other shows that involve wishing, but then you have to remember that all the wishes that the girls made in Madoka horribly backfired because apparently, the wishes that the girls made were really selfish even though they seemed selfless at first. Even if Madoka herself was to make a wish like being able to grant her own wishes exactly as she intends for them to come out, there's no telling how horribly it can backfire because the world this show takes place in is an extremely cruel and nihilistic one. This actually brings me over to another problem I have with the show: how sexist it actually is.

I don't consider myself a feminist of any flavour, nor can I say whether or not a specific programme is female-positive media because I'm a guy. At the same time, I don't understand how people can just let all this bullshit slide. Have people forgotten that women have been pressured for millennia to be as selfless as possible and to put their own desires to the side? What's so wrong about wanting to be with the person you love? What's so wrong about not wanting to die or to actually eat something for dinner? Madoka's logic in and of itself is something that really just doesn't sit right with me one way or the other.

Am I reading too much into Madoka? I don't even know at this point, but there's no denying that there are many fundamental flaws that exist within Madoka Magica as a whole. However, there's this one aspect of Madoka that never ceases to piss me off more than anything else and that's how it ends. For a show that spends 11 episodes psychologically torturing its characters, I'd expect for the show to at least end on a downright depressing note but that's not the case at all. In fact, Madoka Magica's ending couldn't be happier. Fans like to say that the ending wasn't completely happy, but we all know that the circumstances the ending presents to us are infinitely better than what Homura et al had to put up with for the bulk of this show's run.

I don't understand how a show can simply spend 11 episodes saying that ideals will only result in permanent suffering only to do a complete 180 at the final episode and say that hope, happiness, and whatnot will always prevail. Then again, Madoka Magica IS a moe drama and we all know that moe dramas wouldn't be as successful if they don't end on *some* semblance of a happy note (I'm looking at YOU, Clannad: After Story!). One thing's for certain though, this ending is something that I take umbrage with on so many levels because it just forces a happy ending out of nowhere, which is the kind of ending that I really just can't stand.

All things considered, Madoka Magica is certainly an interesting beast to tackle indeed. I wouldn't call it average in the slightest because it managed to evoke this much of a reaction out of me and it's definitely a cut above the more typical entries of the magic girl genre. At the same time, this show gets far too much praise than it actually deserves. I'm not saying it's terrible, because it really isn't and I suppose you'll have a good time watching it if you don't read too much into the story. Regardless, I don't think Madoka Magica is a "good" show. Feedback is always welcome, so with that... I'm gonna start barricading my house so that you rabid Madoka fans don't come at me with the intentions to kill me. Peace.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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