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From all the trailers and ads that Aniplex and Shaft released for Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica, it seemed that it would be your typical magic girl show, a show along the lines of Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura. However, this had to be purposely orchestrated, as the show is nothing like that and it is clear from it's marketing that Aniplex wanted to surprise people with it, and they did a hell of a job.

This anime takes everything you know and love/hate about the magical girl genre and flips it 180. The plot starts off with your typical 'Magical Girl' traits and cliches, but soon takes ... a turn for the dire. This anime's story is dark, really dark. It tackles issues and questions that should, but never really do, arise in other magical girl anime. Though previous magical girl anime have had dark aspects to them, all in all those aspects have never been dark to this extent. The darker than average plot comes as a shock to the viewer that was expecting another cutesy moe anime, but got something totally different. The story is rather complex, and the answers are not given to you. Meaning that you have to figure everything out for yourself, this might be a good/bad thing, depending on your taste. I personally found the story very enjoyable and intriguing. I was not all that fond of the ending mind you and I felt that they could of done a better job with it, but I think that's up to personal preference if nothing else. And it did not break my experience.

The characters are arguably the show's weakest aspect. They get plenty of development, but as the show goes on, their actions just become more and more unrealistic. I personally liked all the characters, and didn't find anyone annoying or not needed. I also liked their development, and didn't really care for their unrealistic actions. This again depends whether or not you let this kind of thing affect you. Seeing as I'm a sucker for messed up characters, I found Miki Sayaka to be highly enjoyable, and definitely my favorite character of the series.

The animation for Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica is great, studio Shaft did a splendid job with the character design and how they contrast the otherwise dark story. Although for some it might be the total opposite, and the characters might reduce your enjoyment of the show. This again is up to personal preference though. The anime gets really gorgeous if you watch it in BD quality. Shaft are known to rush out their products, but they are also known for polishing them up for the Blu-Ray release. So, if possible, do try and watch this show on Blu-Ray, as the animation is vastly improved and adds a lot to the anime.

The music is composed by none other than the masterful Yuki Kajiura. It contains pieces that range from cutesy moe-like themes, to intense battle choruses. And the ending song in particular is very memorable. One thing to note though is that parts of the OST sound really similar to other Yuki Kajiura works. So for instance if you've watcher Kara No Kyoukai, you will hear a lot of similarities, to the point where you can replace songs with one another from both shows, and it wouldn't matter. A minor nitpick.

All in all Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica is a great anime, and a must watch for anyone that is interested in the psychological genre. It's not the best at what it does, but it comes close to the heavy hitting contenders.