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. . . There are anime which you will love, and then there are anime you will hate. At first glance this anime seems like it'll be Magical Girl, or lighthearted and or something else including average, this continues until we get QUICKLY thrown to the side when Ringo is introduced. In hind sight, that was the first sign of the train wreck that was to come. I'm not gonna sugar coat it, this anime is NOTHING like you might've thought it was and from the intro of Ringo, things only continue to get worse and worse. If you care about story, if you care ... about YOURSELF, you will stay FAR FAR AWAY from Mawaru Penguindrum. The ONLY WAY you could even remotely enjoy this is if you are/enjoy any of the following: Train wrecks, bad drama that betrays what you thought you knew about characters and or are a masochist OR if you like the theme of trying to overcome fate and don't mind that being made pointless by the existence of the Penguindrum itself which isn't even consistent in how it works either but I'll say no more other than this is what those who like the anime and claim its a masterpiece but ignore the fact the Penguindrum makes that theme and thus "message" pointless. Sure there will be moments when you enjoy the anime, but those moments will be swallowed up by how BAD this anime simply is, leaving you with a seething temper and hatred for this train wreck of an anime and its beyond me how anyone can say this is good, or a master piece because it is not, its utter garbage.

I might've only seen 20 episodes but I went onto the anime's wiki AND Wikipedia to read two different episode descriptions for the last 4 episodes I could not see, so I know the ending itself does not make this any kind of master piece but I won't spoil it nor comment further on it other than saying, whatever message (if any) it might be trying to tell (Something some fans claim is there but isn't really there especially thanks to the Penguindrum), is done poorly and badly and is done so much better by other anime IF there even is a message there in the first place.

I have only rated one other anime that I can recall a 1 at the time of this review, so I do not rate this train wreck lightly, it sadly deserves that 1, the only good thing its got going for it is the art style and the ending theme song but that's it. The rest of the anime is just bad.

With that all said, I'll end this review by saying these last words...

"Mawaru Penguindrum, I hereby inform you that you shall amount to nothing."

This actually could've been an ok and enjoyable anime, but its nothing too special and I assure you someone will make an anime with this type of setting that's better, one who also doesn't make fun of the transgender community. Yes, sadly that is why I cannot enjoy this because the creator or producer or whoever of this anime decided it was ok to make fun of transgender folk. This starts in episode 2 with Wolf-kun and each episode there after (I only saw 5 and dropped it) has at least one instance of someone making fun of AND disrespecting Wolf-kun with female pronounces, sexual ... harassment and the misuse of the Japanese honorifics system to boot. Maybe the Dub will handle this better (Doubtful for episode 2) but I somehow doubt it. If you're going to make someone whose transgender in your work, then you NEED to show them the PROPER respect they deserve, no matter what being you created them as, we ALL are beings who deserve respect! I will say the same thing for the LGB+ community too but especially the T community whose more at risk than any other group!

Now, as I said, this anime is nothing special but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its charm (Though kinda hard to like the charm given the above). Minus the instances of mistreatment of Wolf-kun, this anime is ok at best and its cool that it covers the process of monster making to take down sentai/power rangers. It incorporates real world stuff like schedules, deadlines, compromises, low budget, bosses you work for and more. The characters, minus any instances of making fun of Wolf-kun, are actually ok to good. Honestly though, there's nothing more to say about this anime without spoilers (Not that there are many if any that I could see) and no, I wouldn't consider Wolf-kun a spoiler, though I AM incredibly disappointed in Japan for oking this in 2022 and anyone who dubs this and doesn't correct it if that happens. Anyway, if the mistreatment of someone whose transgender wasn't mistreated, then this anime would most likely have been rated a 7.0 by me and not dropped, but it's not and I cannot overlook (nor should you) and move past this when it happens in each episode. Its a shame really. So I rate this anime a 6.0, it deserves less if Wolf-kun is mistreated even more.

I bet you thought this was just a recap like i did yes? In actuality, it is both a recap AND a sequel to the Chobits anime. (At the time of writing MAL has it listed as JUST a recap and nothing says its a sequel even though it is...)

There really isn't much to say about this since its mostly a recap with the start, middle and end all being the sequel. This sequel takes place 2 years later from the end of the Chobits anime. Its as good as the prequel imo, however, because the recap was completely unnecessary, this lowers the overall ... rating I have for it. If you liked the Chobits anime I'd recommend seeing this sequel/recap, you can just skip the recap parts but be careful you don't miss the new material being the sequel parts. For a sequel it would've been nicer to see more but its better than nothing I suppose. My Love Score is 7.0 but my rating for it is 6.0 due to the recap part being unnecessary.

Chocolat no Mahou or as it's known in English by the name of The Magic of Chocolate, is an anime that would've been nice if it'd gotten more episodes than it got at the time of this review. The anime isn't bad, its good and I would've liked to have seen more. That said it isn't without some flaws. I personally didn't like some episodes or did for others but not how Chocolat Aikawa handled wishes and payments but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Welcome to Chocolat Noir, a shop that's run by Chocolat Aikawa, a Witch that can grant your wish, but her wish granting ... chocolate doesn't come cheap and each customer must pay, not with money but something more personal. Each time it's always something different that she takes from her customers and it can be important to them or not but make no mistake, what's taken is always personal but most say they don't mind if something is taken from them even if they dunno what it'll be and will gobble down the magical chocolate that can grant them their wish...

The first two episodes are a two parter, after that it's only single episode stories but they work wonderfully despite being about 12-14 minutes long each. A few episodes could've used a bit more run time though. (Like 1 or 2 episodes) The ending songs are nice, nothing amazing imo but still nice. The art is imo really nice and detailed and I enjoyed seeing the various outfits and clothing we get to see including for some episodes for Chocolat herself. Even though most episodes are single story episodes, there is still a plot involving Chocolat Aikawa but you'll have to watch the anime to learn more about her.

At the end of the day, many of the episodes are for me at least, not good or could've been better. I found myself mad that Chocolat Aikawa was handling wishes and payments the way she was in some episodes. Like I get she isn't perfect but, some of these people whom she purposely gave a bad outcome too, didn't deserve the fate she dealt them. (particularly one at least, almost two) and I also didn't like some of the episodes where the outcome should've been better or I thought "Huh, why didn't you handle it this way instead if your magic can do so much it should've been possible to do it this way instead..." Also, make no mistake, Chocolat Aikawa doesn't just hand out bad wishes and outcomes, she hands out good ones too.

But on the bad side of it, if the anime had handled wishes and payments better then it's likely my rating for the anime would've been higher. It's also possible that some of these episodes I had a problem with were the anime only episodes I read is a thing in another review which would explain a lot if so. And on the good side of it, it does it nicely and make no mistake, though I mentioned some flaws, the anime is still good and worth seeing. Each story in each episode has its own moral of the story so there is value in each story and in every character too. I'd encourage you to give the anime a chance and you may not find much or any flaws with the anime in the places I found flaws with.

I give Chocolat no Mahou aka The Magic of Chocolate, a 7.0 out of 10.0.
"Welcome... to the chocolate shop that fulfills wishes, Chocolat Noir. I'm the Chocolatiere, Aikawa Chocolat. Do you have a wish? However... To fulfill a wish, I need something in return. My chocolate is an expensive treat."

Let me get this out of the way. This can be enjoyed, whether you'll enjoy it or not is not something I can say, however, there ARE better things out there to watch than what I have seen and I hate I continued it for so long and left disappointed. Some spoilers will be mentioned.

First off, I want to say this really isn't anything too different from your standard Isekai SoL anime. However the faults of this one outweigh any chance to truly enjoy it, or for me they did anyway. I've never seen an anime where magic looked so... unmagical. Its next to non ... existent here and by that I mean, people just put their hands over or on something and concentrate with their eyes closed. Thats really it. Healing spells just have them say heal or something along those liens to heal. Lightning attacks were the best since they LOOKED like magic and we saw it like once out of the 9 episodes I saw. Ice magic is also disappointing. Anything else is just them going about their lives touching/making stuff without their eyes closed and somehow the magic is just used...

The setting... not bad, but I find it insulting as a woman to see that Sei and the other girl are basically forced to conform to the living standards where women have to be careful with boys they interact with and have to be polite, and other victory times stuff that women had to put up with. If this were the past that'd be more acceptable (as it was the time but this isn't the past, its a different world they were summoned too! So it comes off pretty insulting especially when one of the girls who may be the Saint is being isolated, shunned and almost picked on by other girls when again, she is being called the Saint and they know this! (They also know she's not from their world)

Let's also address the prince, the jerk who shunned Sei and looked down on her just because of her attire. The anime explains why later so he's not as bad as he initially comes off, but all the same, he is still a jerk for how he treated Sei and he was making the other girl's life harder too even if he thought he was helping her. I also found it offensive he dismissed Sei when he talked so much about wanting to help the other girl. Again, all because he looked down on her for her appearance. Its also this that made Sei very angry at him, however, this gets played off and handled poorly in the 9 episodes I saw... which brings me to another issue I have with the story, any part that COULD be used to make the anime better, gets handled poorly so the anime doesn't get better as it should. Instead am left with disappointment as I said. Lastly, the title is misleading. The Saint's power is not limitless and it certainly isn't god like either.

As I said, this anime can be enjoyed, and it certainly has some episodes where you wanna know how this sitch is handled and what happens next, but it ends in disappointment and I don't need to see the last few episodes to know I won't change my mind. One final thing, Sei looked better WITH her glasses than without. I rate this anime a 6.0 out of 10.0, what an offensive disappointment.

There will be a spoiler mention later but I'll warn before we get to it. Also, this review can be read without prior knowledge of the Xros Wars (Fusion) series though it being the sequel to the 2nd season of Xros Wars, it will may have spoilers for the last season or two.

So, I'll be honest. I waited years to watch Seasons 1 & 2 of Xros Wars and right as i was about too, a Dub was announced for it, called Digimon Fusion. So, I watched it and it's 2nd season. The 1st season was not that good and got better around the ... half point, but I considered dropping it. Glad I didn't. The 2nd season was awesome and i waited years till recently hoping for a Dub but, the writing was on the wall, a dub was unlikely to happen especially given certain actors would need to be brought back. (In other words, would cost more to Dub) I also think (don't quote me) that Fusion did poorly in the US, which would further explain why Digimon Hunters (Xros Wars Season 3) didn't get a Dub. Maybe it will in the future but I doubt it but love to be wrong.

Anyway, that brings us up to speed with the series, now is Hunters any good? To my delight yes it is, very good in fact. While 2 or 2.5 episodes were stinkers for me, I enjoyed the majority. Does it have problems? Yes, it does, namely 1 thing goes unanswered involving someone who forgot the gang nor was it even brought up and the biggest thing you may've heard is, until the last 3.5 episodes, the plot revolves around the gimmick of hunting Digimon and the real plot is set aside with slight hints in a few episodes here and there (Emphasis on few and slight hints). BUT! Despite this, the "Digital Monster of the week" format worked really well. Some say there wasn't character development but that's not true. Its just harder to notice for some characters unless you're paying attention. Sure its not big or major character development for anyone but its there and each "Digital Monster of the week" episode we see has plenty of life lessons in it and more; over all it was enjoyable and a blast and one of the better Digimon anime out there if you ask me.

Now the good news is, you can watch this by itself, no need to even see the first two seasons of Xros Wars before the third season being Hunters. YES there will be spoilers for the first two season if you do this and YES you will lose out on context and such for some things but the Hunters anime does a good job of mentioning what happened in the last two seasons when it brings up anything/someone from the past two seasons and something that happened in the past. By the way, it'd been maybe 5 years? years either way since I last saw Fusion (Xros Wars) and i finished both seasons and sadly forgot most of it (Can't say those seasons were memorable, but that doesn't mean they're bad and it's prolly the same for Hunters too given the format) yet despite forgetting most of it, I wasn't lost for long as Hunters explained most of what I forgot for the characters and plot it brought up. That said am sure it would've been slightly more enjoyable if I could've remembered the last two seasons better.

Now let me rate the Hunters anime... a solid 7.5 out of 10.0 and I really don't feel it deserves the low score on MAL that it has, especially if you don't worry about the plot too much and just enjoy the "Digital Monster of the week" format the Hunters anime has as you'll get to the plot at the end, until then, enjoy the anime for what it mostly is and yes, there is a reason why it's like this and is explained in the plot towards the end.
Oh and I forgot to mention but I LOVE the OP music and didn't skip it but like once or twice.
Also, out of the new human characters, Airu is my fav~

Now about that spoiler I mentioned, we're coming to it but know what I'm about to say has no bearing on anything I said already nor did it affect the rating as this is concerning the end of the anime plot and the rating stayed the same both before and after those 3.5 episodes. Alright, stop reading now unless you have seen the anime and thanks for reading, hope it helped you and hope you enjoy the anime if you watch it. :)


Ok so, having the old cast (Not all, but a good many) return was pretty awesome, sadly I was already spoiled on this years ago and never forgot it (and would've been reminded even if i had) so i knew it was coming. It was not only awesome to see them again but sweet speculating the plot of what was coming as the Watch Maker and his role is where you start speculating, especially at the point the old cast i mentioned are teased around the half point given what happened up to that point and in the episode. Also, even though I watched the entire Digimon series' anime up to this point English Dubbed, watching the Sub wasn't that bad nor was I confused by any name differences for the old cast. The Japanese Sub was really well done too. Double Kudos to the fact Taiki (Mikey) Kudou's VA is the same VA who plays Conan Edogawa aka Shinichi Kudou in Detective Conan. Guess one truth really does prevail ey you two Kudous? (They both have the same last name and voice in both their anime, coincidence or not? Who can say lol)
I really do hope someday we get a sequel to Hunters as it was clear they may've been setting up for a sequel with how the Hunters anime ended (It has an ending but more can be made given how it ended) and I'd love to see the cast again, especially Airu and her Digimon.

This review assumes you have seen Puella Magi Madoka Magica and or the first two movies, Beginnings & Eternal. If you have NOT seen it then please stop reading and go see it before reading this review, this series should NEVER be spoiled so please heed my advice. My review for Puella Magi Madoka Magica will tell you which of the two you should watch first if you're new to the series and wondering which to watch as your entry into the series. The Rebellion movie is the sequel to both, so as long as you watch either the original series or the first two ... movies then you can watch Rebellion but like I said, first timers are better off watching one of the two over the other as their first experience with the series; Reason being is explained in my review but to sum it up, spoilers in one vs. the other. Note that I plan to do a review for the first two movies in the future.

Lastly, The Rebellion movie is placed in a weird place. The 3rd movie Rebellion came out first, but timeline wise in the series, Wraith Arc comes before the 3rd movie, HOWEVER! If you read the Wraith Arc manga before seeing the 3rd movie, this majorly spoils a LARGE chunk of the 3rd movie while also spoiling nearly every twist the 3rd movie has. This also dulls and takes away the impact of the 3rd movie so I highly advice you to see the 3rd movie BEFORE reading the Wraith Arc manga. Both the 3rd movie and Wraith Arc should be watched and read respectively as the plot is not rehashed or the same between the two. Now that that's outta the way, onto the review of the Rebellion movie~

Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie 3: Rebellion is a work of art, a true master piece, and you'll either love it or hate it, however at the end of this review, in our usual fangirling station hour, it may help you to not hate the movie if you ended up hating it so be sure to read it after you see the movie or if you already saw the film then read it now. I remember when I first watched the movie I hated it, however that was my own fault as I realized I was the one wrong, after my perspective was changed, I realized just how brilliant the movie is! So I hope this review helps anyone who may not like the movie to like it, that and I just want to review the movie.

Rebellion opens up with a short summery of what magical girls are, their destiny, and, how Kaname Madoka paid the ultimate price to bring hope and salvation to all magical girls. It then starts the movie but something is off. For the first 28 minutes you the viewer will be confused, but I assure you, this is intentional, needed and well, everything will soon make sense so when you watch this movie, don't worry, you're not going crazy or misremembering the plot. In this movie, Wraiths are absent, magical girls now fight Nightmares and the usual cast returns, yup, even Sayaka and Madoka return and are right there fighting alongside Mami, Kyoko and Akemi Homura who just transferred to Mitakihara City. Let me say this, while this movie has some moments from the original series/first two movies, it is NOT a retelling nor is it a reboot, the Rebellion movie is a sequel and again, this will all make sense soon after the 28 minute mark.

It's at that mark that Akemi Homura begins to wonder if this is how things have always been and she sets out to find out the truth of the matter. From there the movie's real plot begins to unfold, and in a brilliant and masterful way at that! Like the original series/first two movies the twists and turns are a plenty and you're not likely to see what's coming.

The Art's score I had to rate a 9.5 out of 10, reason being is because while the art is MUCH better and near perfect, sadly there are a few (not many) places where I noticed the art was not as high quality as the rest of the film. That said it is MUCH better than the original series' art but that's to be expected since this is the 3rd movie and the first two movies redid and improved the art. The result is this movie's art looks modern and it looks gorgeous. The only art style I didn't like here was the new transformations, it's not that it was bad per se, as the concept was nice, sadly the visuals were trippy to look at and I personally feel the poses they made could've been better done to say the least, or maybe that's just me. That's why I am sad to rate the art score below a 10, however make no mistake the art here is still near perfection, if you loved the art of the original series/first two movies then you'll love it here too. The story, music, VA for both the Japanese Dub with English Subs and the English Dub, the characters and everything here is just perfection. No one is one dimensional, everyone still feels alive just as they always have with this series. You can legit do a character study for every character in this franchise, even the spin offs, that's how alive they are!

I rate, Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie 3: Rebellion, an 11.0 out of 10.0. This truly is a work of art and a true master piece and is as great as the original series/first two movies and the Wraith Arc manga. I truly love this series and this movie.

Mitakihara Fangirling Station!
Welcome back minna to the Mitakihara Fangirling Station hour! In this radio segment we fangirl over parts of the Puella Magi Madoka Magica the movie 3: Rebellion anime! As such THIS segment WILL contain spoilers! Please stop reading right now and come back to this station (review) after you've seen the movie as this station might be able to change your entire perspective on the movie! Seriously I recommend coming back to this part of the review after you finish the movie, I can't stress this enough as its vital you do so.

In addition to the returning cast, we also get to see them fighting alongside Bebe, or better known as Charlotte, the Witch that killed Mami in the original series/first two movies. She's also known as Nagisa, a girl that loves cheese and I love how she came back just to eat cheese again. Ruined moment Sayaka? Ha! I think not, it made the moment cheesy and more better and yes, pun intended!

Speaking of cheese though, let's not forget Mami, who herself said she's the big cheese in that song. Fitting since Charlotte loves cheese and is the one who ate her in the original series/first two movies. Also fitting given her hair's style and color.

Ok, now we come to the reason you might have hated this film... what Homura did at the end of the movie! This was the entire reason I hated the movie when I first watched it, not satisfied with it, and wanting answers to WHY she did that, I went searching and came across two things. Forum posts explaining her actions, and a YouTube video going over Homura's character. With these combined, I understood, I thought I knew Homura but I didn't, I wrongly put my beliefs of WHO she is onto her and the result? I hated the movie because I thought the movie betrayed her character... it did not. But that's not enough to explain, in short, the reason she did what she did is due to her personality (Obsessed with Madoka, wants Madoka to be happy but also wants to be with Madoka too) and because of something that Madoka herself said to her when she didn't have all her memories in the movie here. Yes that was foreshadowing to the BIG moment and soon as Madoka said that, Homura realized she screwed up. She said it herself, she should've never allowed her to make her wish and take that form. She should've continued to rewind time until she found the end she was fighting so long for. She was weak, she gave in and allowed Madoka to sacrifice herself. Yup, this is the entire reasons behind why she did what she did at the end of the movie.

At the end of the movie, Homura says to Madoka when she almost regained her true form, "Even someday you might become my enemy" but when she says that I'd argue, was she saying that to Kaneme Madoka, or the law of cycles part of her that was split off from her? Even if it WAS Kaname Madoka, Homura is ok with that as long as Madoka has a place she can be happy in, even if it means Homura is her enemy, that's how much she loves Madoka and that love is what helped her to take on that new form at the end of the movie, Homura herself said so. As for the rest of the ending you may've not liked, now that you know WHY Homura did what she did, put yourself in her shoes, how do YOU fix your mistake and give back someone's existence? There really wasn't another way, now was there? Further more, had the movie ended with Kaname Madoka taking Akemi Homura as the law of cycles, rest assured Kyubey would've eventually found a way to imprison the law of cycles, Kaname Madoka that is and use her to bring about Witches and curses again and that's something Akemi Homura would never allow to happen. So given these factors, while it's not the ending most are satisfied with, it really was the best and only ending possible.

I sincerely hope someday they make a proper continuation to Rebellion as the story isn't really finished and I'd love for a proper resolution where everyone is happy. I know that's unlikely but hey, we're magical girls, we make hopes, dreams and miracles come true and wouldn't that be great if a miracle such as this came true? Let's believe! X)

This next part involves spoilers for the Wraith Arc manga, please see my review of it and read the manga and come back to this part of the review afterwards and yes this involves movie 3, Rebellion and a potential plot hole am going to say isn't a plot hole.

So in the movie Homura has her shield and time stopping magic back. I don't believe she can rewind time anymore (Why not go back in time to before Madoka became a goddess if she did instead of doing what she did at the end of the movie?) however I believe she may have time stopping magic still, but not her shield or the power to rewind time. The shield was just part of her Witches' Labyrinth inside her, it was never real. If you notice she doesn't have it in the real world, including not even at the end of the movie. Of course that's natural, she couldn't, it was destroyed at the end of the Wraith Arc manga and yes the manga IS canon, see my review of the Wraith Arc manga if you didn't for how and why.

As for her time stopping magic, it's possible that also was another part of her labyrinth however she may still have it. Witches tend to have some of the magic they had when they were magical girls after all. So it's natural Homura would somewhat have her time magic here but she's no longer a Witch either so it's plausible she doesn't have it at all, given she's a fusion of a Witch and a Magical Girl. Lastly, how did Mami know to touch Homura in order to not have her time stopped? Watching the scenes that played she CLEARLY knew, it wasn't a coincidence or mistake. The answer is Mami saw it and knew it because they fought together and or because the knowledge was implanted into her memories. So, again, Rebellion and Wraith Arc are both canon and have no plot holes. I wanted to say this in my review for Wraith Arc but felt it best to do so here since it was plot involving Rebellion.

A few things to get out of the way first.

1. This review assumes you have seen the anime version of Puella Magi Madoka Magica (The original series and or the first two movies) as well as the 3rd movie, Rebellion. If you have NOT seen them then please stop reading and go see them before reading this review, this series should NEVER be spoiled so please heed my advice. I have not read the manga version of the series, only the ones that sadly don't have an anime adaptation such as the Wraith Arc, the very manga I'm about to review with this review.

2. The ... Wraith Arc manga is placed in a weird place. The 3rd movie Rebellion came before it, but timeline wise in the series, Wraith Arc comes before the 3rd movie, HOWEVER! If you read the Wraith Arc manga before seeing the 3rd movie, this majorly spoils a LARGE chunk of the 3rd movie while also spoiling nearly every twist the 3rd movie has. This also dulls and takes away the impact of the 3rd movie so I highly advice you to see the 3rd movie BEFORE reading this review and before reading the Wraith Arc manga. Both the 3rd movie and Wraith Arc should be watched and read respectively as the plot is not rehashed or the same between the two. While I won't mention the 3rd movie anymore in this review, this may still have some details that could potentially spoil parts of the 3rd movie.

3. Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Wraith Arc, is a manga that some people believe is a spin off but I assure you it is not, it is entirely canon to the story of the series. So, yes, you SHOULD read the manga if you wanna know the full story. With that outta the way, onto the review~

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Wraith Arc starts off with... Homura oddly absent, later explained why when she arrives but till then, the plot focuses on Mami, Sayaka and Kyoko's relationship, them fighting the Wraiths, explaining what they are and the dangers that come with fighting them. Magical girls fight Wraiths in exchange for their wish in this world which Kaname Madoka gave her life to protect. While I personally feel the reason for why Homura was absent for nearly the entire first book out of three books was rather weak, it still makes some sense, still weak but good enough for an explanation. Putting Homura aside for now though, the plot as I said focuses on Mami, Sayaka and Kyoko and if you weren't a fan of any of those three, good news, Wraith Arc shows the better sides of these girls and shows more of their personality too. I found it really hard to like Sayaka in the anime, after all, the anime went out of its way to show us most of her faults and the few good parts it showed us, were easily manipulated, twisted and so on all to give us the big twist in the original series and to advance the plot. However, here I liked Sayaka, as the manga focused more on a world where she wasn't manipulated, wasn't made to feel as though she was inhuman and so on and instead she was able to shine clearly as the water and march to the musical notes of her heart. (Just a lil Sayaka reference there, given she's water themed and her love of music and it being part of her design and such)

Mami sadly is the one who got the least development here, but even then you may come to like her just from that alone. Kyoko who butted heads with Sayaka, ... still butts heads with her but hey, the two are friends now, even if they both won't admit it for a while. Kyoko's development is seen more on her good sides as well as how quickly she lets go of how stubborn she was in the original series. As for the story for these three, some of it is a retelling of a few events from the original series while showing them in a new way and different light which also gives some closure to events we didn't get in the original telling of those events. You might find yourself asking "why are they retelling this? What's the point?" But I assure you, this is needed, not just to improve these girls and maybe even your perception of them but, also for the plot itself. For you see, this is merely setting the stage for what's to come. Like the original series, the twists are a plenty and the turns are a big. If you saw the original anime or the first two movies then you know what will become of one of these girls, as parts of the Wraith Arc manga were shown at the end of them. Every scene shown will connect to this manga's story but even then you have no idea what you're in for if you read the Wraith Arc.

And that brings us back to Homura, for you see, when she finally arrives, that's when the TRUE plot and meat of the story begins and what a story it is. We see how Homura is coping with the absence of Madoka, her struggles with herself, the Wraiths and the world she lives in, a world, without Kaname Madoka. If you didn't like Homura before, you'll most likely love her here. But, we also see more than what I've just said, I'd love to go over the plot points but those are spoilers so I can't, all I can say is, the plot and world setting of the Wraith Arc is a master piece, much like the original is. I highly encourage you to give this a read.

I give, Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Wraith Arc an 11.0 out of 10.0, once again not a typo. If you read my review of the original series, you know the art I couldn't rate a perfect 10 and instead rated it a 9, however this manga's art is perfect, so I was able to rate the art a 10 this time. The manga as a whole though is of course, an 11.0.

Mitakihara Fangirling Station!
Welcome back one and all to the Mitakihara Fangirling Station hour! In this radio segment we fangirl over parts of the Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Wraith Arc Manga! We'll be doing a numbers system this time to make it easier to follow along, and with that outta the way, let's begin!

1. At the time of this review, the manga does not have an official English translation and is only available to read online via fan translation in at least 2 different places, one is missing the last Volume of the 3rd book, but has the rest, while the other place has the entire Wraith Arc. If you're waiting or hoping for an official translation before reading, you might as well stop waiting, it's not likely to happen, same deal with the Wraith Arc manga ever getting an anime adaptation. Why I'll never know nor understand why this was treated so poorly and why the anime is missing a CORE part of the series' history and timeline, it deserves just as much love as the series gets!

2. My guess as to why some people say its a spin off is because Gen Urobuchi is supposedly not involved in the story? Let's back up. The story for the Wraith Arc manga is credited to Hanokage and to Magica Quartet, which is a group consisting of multiple people including Gen Urobuchi. Does that mean they were involved? I can't say, but what i CAN SAY is they would've had to approve the story so that's proof it's canon and on top of that the anime version came first as it was (still is) an original series and was the first in the series' history. Magica Quartet by the way, was also involved with the anime. Magica Quartet are also the ones who a month later would make the manga of the series and like the Wraith Arc, are credited for the story. Further more the manga version of the original series has a sequel, which is, you guessed it, the Wraith Arc manga itself! What this means is, they did both the story of the OG and Wraith Arc for the manga as well as had involvement to some extent with the story of the anime and manga versions. Sure, Gen may not be credited solely for the Wraith Arc, but neither are they credited solely for the original manga either.

We've seen it doesn't matter if the original author of the story didn't have a hand in the story of something else in the series, that does not mean what was made is not canon. Of course it might matter for whatever was made, it might suffer a drop in quality for example, but that doesn't change the fact it doesn't mean it isn't canon to the series and thankfully, the Wraith Arc manga's story doesn't suffer any drop in quality at all, if anything, it helps fix problems with characters you may not have been fond of in the original series while expanding on lore and the world that Kaname Madoka gave her life to protect which till this manga, was sadly never explored. The story itself is also why I can say it's canon if that all wasn't enough proof, combine that with no plot holes and the fact we SADLY don't have this in anime form, would mean if this wasn't canon then the 3rd movie has MAJOR events and stuff that won't and can't be explained without this manga. Lastly, as was said, the Original series' manga and this manga were done by Magica Quartet themselves, that alone is reason enough to say, it is canon, backed up by the other stuff i just said and there shouldn't be room for debate of if it's a spin off or not. Like it or not, yes, the Wraith Arc manga IS canon, and honestly, I dunno why anyone WOULDN'T be happy about that.


3. Sadly for me there was a bit of a disconnect for how and when Homura shows up. This I believe is due to the panels of the manga and location not looking like the train station even though it was. (Ironically when she shows up it now suddenly looks like the train station again) That and suddenly Homura is just there, explained later on of course but a few more panels and pages would've made a big difference. That's why there was a disconnect and when it soon after she got there, explained how she got there, it all made sense, so I blame the panels and location not looking like the train station most of the time for this disconnect and the rest of what I just said too. Thankfully that aside, the rest of the manga had no problems.

4. This review was posted on Jan 7th 2021 (Japan and US date there) and that means it's the birthday and 10th anniversary of the Puella Magi Madoka Magica anime! Happy Birthday! :)

5. I really liked how the Wraith Arc explained Homura's new power that you see in Movie 3. I remember thinking Homura gained that power in that movie but that was far from the truth and this manga really should've gotten an anime adaptation for that reason alone, but of course for the fact it deserves to have one too.

6. I dare not spoil this manga, so that's the end of the Mitakihara Fangirling Station hour, see you in the next review which will be, Puella Magi Madoka Magica Movie 3: Rebellion!

Note: I plan to rewatch Movie 3: Rebellion and do a review for it, if anything in this review was incorrect then I'll edit this review to correct it. (This sentence will be edited out after my review for movie 3 is up and after I fix anything incorrect, assuming there is anything incorrect of course)

This review assumes you have seen seasons 1-3 and may reference some or all of my past reviews for the entirety of this series. This review WILL contain spoilers for Season 4.

Let me start off by saying I love/really like The Familiar of Zero series, if i didn't i wouldn't have watched the entire 48 episodes worth of it + the OVA and the other stuff in this series such as the 7 short episodes of the Tristain Love Theater. Side note, that's prolly canon, when and where and why it takes place no one can say, my review on it wasn't sure if it's ... canon and pointed out something but given what S4 did, i feel its prolly canon. Anyway, with that outta the way let's start the review...

The Familiar of Zero F (F for final because it's the final entry in the series) for me was a let down, and its ending was incredibly rushed. I've heard the manga for the series is much better and the anime changed up a lot, especially with people's character growth/personality, namely Saito, I'm unsure how true that is as I only saw it in a review and i ahve no intention of reading the manga (I'm not into reading books so its rare when i do) The The Familiar of Zero series itself has some contradictions and plot holes in its story and also after S1 changes how characters' personalities are. Whats more it pretends certain events never happen just to keep the characters mostly the same so yes, sadly there is little character growth for everyone which is a HUGH disappointment. For example, at the end of S2 Saito saves everyone by sacrificing himself. When he's brought back to life (Which the anime doesn't give much of an explanation involving how that ring did that and plot hole Giche cus he was revived too by that same person but that was never mentioned again), he returns to Louise, whom at the end of that anime has more or less admitted she loves him and can say such. In comes S3 and we're back to Louise: SAITO! YOU PERVERTED HORNY DOG! *EXPLOSION* Saito: AHHHHH! And this continues even through season 4... LOOK! I don't care WHO made this, or was responsible for crap like this. He gave his freakin LIFE for them, Louise KNEW this, was told HARD it was HER FAULT and SHE got him killed and NO ONE who actually LOVES SOMEONE that much would sit there and revert back to as if he didn't give his life and yes S3 confirms he did.

At that point character growth SHOULD have happened but NOPE! In comes plot points that are mostly or entirely just there to add to Saito's growing harem. In S3 Saito legit cheats on louise and i called him cheating scum. S4? He redeems himself somewhat, I won't call him scum but i will call him a cheater and an idiot. (It happens twice) Further more if that wasn't bad enough, the villains behind everything are just, treated as if they are a side plot. That was SERIOUSLY disappointing and they went out with such a whimper it was sad and yes they did die, I kept expecting em 9and another character that died this season) to return but nope, they're dead... not to mention the motive and reason behind why the king did all these terrible things was so bad and sad and just, cheap. He has no reason besides he wants to feel sadness and emotion. His title clearly proceeds him, what an idiot king.

As if THAT shit wasn't bad enough, let's tack on a world ending event plot that's shoe horned in in S4 and make it very cheap, pathetic and sad. Not to mention the final showdown was just, rushed. (I mean last we saw the elves' race was trying to KILL Saito and co, why are they now helping them? This is never sad and i DOUBT that world ending event would actually end the world once it gets what it wants...) This was just poorly done, as was the explanation for WHY Elves hate humans and why humans are scared of elves. Its never really explained properly and when it is somewhat explained, its only for the elves' side, not the human side (Theres a conspiracy/contradiction here)

Let's also not forget the promise Saito made tot he water spirit to return her ring is never kept. Yeah, I seriously was on the look out for that as I had a feeling it wouldn't happen when it got stolen. In S4 its never shown that i noticed, certainly not used or mentioned. So maybe he returned it to her off screen but nothing shows this or confirms this. Maybe it was done in the manga? Either way, it didn't happen in the anime. Further more, last we saw of Louise' parents her father was trying to kill Saito, why is he now ok with them marrying each other? This and the wedding/honeymoon was SO RUSHED it hurt that it wasn't done properly, we need 2-3 more eps, maybe 4-5 for getting the ring back to the spirit... Side note really quick, I guess the wedding Saito & Louise has in S2 wasn't legit, since they mention getting married here in S4. Gotta love dem plot holes and retcons even though it was never actually retcon'd :P

The characters that DO GROW significantly are done mostly off screen. E.g. Why was Zerbert no longer attracted to Saito and why is she now all over and only about Colbert Sensei? How and why did whats his name (The familiar to his holiness) have interest in others and became friends with Saito (To him, to Saito to an extent he still didn't like the guy early on here) and ofc his holiness himself, WHY the frick did he sit there and not help Saito and Tiffa when they were abducted? That's never explained. So many plot holes and shit not explained or properly shown.

I could prolly go on and on about this series many faults, but I won't. I won't explain what i did like about S4 either, but I did still enjoy it, however its faults seriously weigh it down and made it less enjoyable as a result. I rate, The Familiar of Zero F, a 6.0 and give it a Love score of 6.5, both out of a 10.0. I'm glad Saito and Louise finally got some actual character development in S4, even if it should've happened long ago. Ultimately I enjoy the characters and to an extent the world itself, but aside from that i can't tell you why i like this series, it certainly isn't for everyone and is certainly frustrating at times, but for some reason still enjoyable.

Bonus: My most fav moment in this series was seeing Louise in a catgirl outfit and saying she'd be Saito's familiar for the night while saying meow at the end. That pose, reaction and words were just so CUUUUTE!

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a series about girls who become magical girls and fight witches that spread curses and disaster. That premise sounds rather cliche but this series is anything BUT cliche. Let me ask you this question. If someone offered you a single wish, what would you wish for and, would you be willing to make that wish? In exchange for being granted that wish, magical girls must fight witches, but would you be willing to risk your life for the very wish you would want granted? Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a series that shows the hardships and struggles that come with ... every day life, especially as a magical girl, but if that's all this anime had to offer, it'd be far too simple and far too cliche. Ladies, magical girls and gentlemen, let me just say, you have no idea what you're in for should you watch this anime.

So, you're prolly asking, why should you watch this anime, especially if you don't like magical girl genre? Well, why not? Some of the best things in life are decided on a whim, but to give you a more serious answer, here is some of what you're in for if you watch this anime.

1. Don't like Magical girl genre? Not a problem! Everyone can enjoy this anime even if you don't like the genre, what this series has to offer is the reason for that, but those are spoilers so I'll say no more.

2. Characters that are alive. I mean that in every sense of the word. When a character is angry, you feel it. Sad? You'll feel it. Happy, ya get the picture lol You WILL bond with these characters and come to love them, though some you may not like or even hate. Repeat watches will show you more to each character's personality that you may've missed on your first watch! and yes, the anime is still very enjoyable to watch even if you do miss something about a character. It also goes without saying but no character is one dimensional, they're all filled with personality and act just as we would.

3. A series that withstands the test of time and is well beloved by nearly everyone who watches it. I don't believe there's anyone who hates this anime, maybe there's a few that dislike it but the odds are in your favor that you'll either love it or at the least like it. There's a reason why it's so beloved the world over and praised even to this day, ten whole years later! (Note: The 10th anniversary of this anime/series is/was on January 7th 2021)

4. The music and sound is amazing. Did I mention the VA for both the English Sub and English Dub are also amazing and the VA sound close to the VA for both versions of the anime? (E.g. Madoka in the English Dub sounds close to the Japanese VA, the same is true for the other characters too) The OP Connect is simply amazing and well loved, you'll understand why if you hear it. The ED songs are all nice too, but Magia is what truly stands out amongst the three and is the most praised of the ED songs, understandably so. Disclaimer: When I was younger for some dumb reason I disliked it, what a baka I was lol I love it now. I'm mentioning this because when you get older you also might love it like I now do. (Assuming you didn't already)

5. The art while not perfect, its very good, while its a bit dated now a days (Mostly the first half or so) it still has it's charm, that and it has for the witches, their familiars and their labyrinths, it's own original style which you'll most likely love. (or at least dig it) Also, maybe it was just me but I believe the art gets much better either towards the half point or towards the end. Disclaimer: When this first aired the art was riddled with bad art, since the 2016 BD release the anime has been made to look significantly better and that's the version of the art I am reviewing here. There are still a few low quality arts but I'm glad those were left in as they're part of the original style it had when it aired. This is also why the art's score I rated lower than the others score, though the art is still very good.

I've given five reasons right there but I'll give another, the story is perfection. These are just some of the big points for why you should watch this anime, there is certainly more here than what I've mentioned, but now the choice is up to you, I can only hope my review has helped you to watch this amazing series, should you choose not too, you have no idea what you're missing out on and that'd be a real shame. So, will you make a contract with Kyubey and become a magical girl? The decision is yours to make...

Luckily at the time and date this review was posted you can legally watch this anime here on MAL! Both the Sub and Dub are available to watch for free! :)

I give Puella Magi Madoka Magica an 11.0 rating out of 10.0. No, that's not a typo and yes it goes beyond the rating limit and I have only ever (as of the time and date this review was posted) given only one anime a rating higher than a ten and that is this one and movies 1-3.

If you're wondering if you should watch this version of the anime or the first two movies, it's this version of the anime. The first two movies were made FOR the fans of the Madoka series. Can you watch the movies first? Most likely, but you'll most likely run into a few major spoilers as well as lose a few things that the first two movies did not include that they absolutely should've but that's for my future reviews of the movies as I plan to review the movies (all three) as well as the Wraith Arc manga in the future, please look forward to those reviews. Disclaimer: It's been years since I last saw the three movies, so my memory is a bit fuzzy on certain details involving if movie 3 is the one with the spoilers or if it was movies 1-2, I'll update this review after I see those three movies again.

I'm going to be upfront with you, I personally believe no review of this anime can ever do it justice much less without spoilers but I tried my best to do the series justice with this review. I also believe this is a series that should not be spoiled for anyone, so I did my best to review Puella Magi Madoka Magica as best I could without spoilers. I say this to everyone, please watch this anime and please give it to the end of episode 3 before you decide on if you wanna continue or drop it, it also gets really good as it goes on so consider even to the end of episode 3 as just the warm up to the greatness this anime has to offer you.

Mitakihara Fangirling Station!
Welcome one and all to the Mitakihara Fangirling Station hour! In this radio segment we fangirl over parts of the Puella Magi Madoka Magica anime! As such THIS segment may contain some spoilers! Please stop reading right now and come back to this station (review) after you've seen the anime as this station may be able to answer some stuff, in particular one thing, that you might not have understood, maybe even thought was stupid.

One of the things that fans may not understand is the whole thing about the bodies of magical girls. People think their reaction to what was done is stupid, understandably so but not really. In Japan a girl's appearance is very important to them. (I mean, a girl's appearance is important to us anyway but more so in Japan) E.g. Often you hear the joke "I can't get married anymore" or other stuff indicating about their bodies/beauty/pureness and such. Add in that we're talking about girls who're still teens, aka a time when we humans have the most shifts in our bodies and personalities than most/any other and its understandable for why they have that kind of reaction and take it so harshly. I hope this explains this for why its not actually stupid, even if you still think it is, to others, especially the girls in this case, it is not. If you want you can think of this as a culture difference if that helps you to accept it for what it is and why it was such a focused on point at that point in the anime.

She's such a Tsundere! Yes our redhead Kyoko is a Tsundere, didn't notice? That's ok, she hides it well! But there are moments throughout the anime that prove she is one. Rewatch with this knowledge and watch what she says but then what she does and how she acts contradicts her words. Side note: Something you most likely won't pick up unless you read the spin off manga, she has history with Mami, the two were once friends believe it or not! I won't say much more but didn't you find it strange how she knew Mami, even at one point dodging something that was said to her about Mami? That's because of this connection the two have, which was sadly barely shown in the anime itself and even when it was, it was super easy to miss and even then it's not showing their past when it does show it. You most likely won't see this either unless you've read the manga Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The different story. By the way, it goes without saying but that manga should be read only AFTER you finish watching this anime and no it's not necessary to read that manga but I HIGHLY recommend it, especially if you love the anime and want more.

Did you know every witch in the anime has a name? While in the anime the name was shown on screen, it was in an unreadable language, but from what I've heard its written in another real life language; while I forget which one, you can find that out and the witches' names out by googling them. Due note however, you'll run into spoilers for stuff in this anime and it's series so only do so when you feel you're ok with being spoiled or have caught up with everything in the series.

Speaking of witches, their design, familiars and labyrinths all share themes. I can't say more than this but you'll understand soon enough (Assuming you don't already and yes I refuse to spoil this) It's a nice attention to detail that this series has. In fact, practically everything has attention to detail in this series.

This anime has a sequel. Its the Wraith Arc manga and followed by the 3rd movie. I recommend watching the 3rd movie first though and then going and reading the Wraith Arc manga due to spoilers for the 3rd movie being ruined if you read the manga first (BIG spoilers and the manga also came AFTER the 3rd movie I should mention) Sadly the manga does not have an official English release/translation but is at the time of writing, still online to read in English via fan translations. You'll have to google it but it's available in at least two places online to read.

If you found my review helpful or it got you to watch the anime, you have my thanks and thanks for reading my review as well. :)