 If you liked
Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica
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 ...then you might like
Gakkougurashi!
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Both shows start very moe, but then the real drama comes out.
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Recommended by puccapardini
Both are initially seemingly relaxing and fluffy series about cute girls doing cute things. Then they suddenly make a full 180 and take a much darker tone instead
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Recommended by HaXXspetten
The anime both start out with cute, fluffy characters, but this is to mislead the viewer. Both of these anime are dark, with cute little girls having to suffer in an unfamiliar environment. Don't trust the description for either of them!
-Both are dark and traumatizing anime that are often mistaken as cute and light-hearted
-Gakkou Gurashi does have more comedic elements
Cutesy cutesy girls thrown into edgy mcedgemeister worlds and forced to endure the hardships that come with it. Psychological undercurrents are certainly present, and did I mention both shows are very edgy? All important characters are girls and males either do not exist in this universe or are so worthless they are not worth any screentime.
Gakkougurashi is focused more upon slice-of-life and showing how the girls live ordinary lives in a harsh world, while Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica has a focused story and more plot twists. Both are recommended for people who love moe but also love lots of edginess.
Both start off very adorable with moe highschool girls, however these two series take a darker turn and you soon realize nothing is as it seems...
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Recommended by Vernadromia
Both are prime examples of "don't judge an anime by its art style". Both seem like cute, moe anime at first until the plot sets in and it becomes the complete opposite.
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Recommended by tearbender
The perfect examples of 'don't judge a book by its cover'. They seem like anime about just cute girls doing cute things at first, but then they turn into something completely different; they take a much darker tone.
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Recommended by Avidreader123
Oh, look at those cute girls. Hahaha. They look so happy. They have su- No wait, what is happening? Oh my god, so sad. Sad. Sad. Sad. They tricked me!!!!
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Recommended by Steven15ify
This seems to be an obvious choice: both titles try their best to mislead their audience with cute themes and feel-good openings, only to create 'plot-twists' later on, deceiving the viewer.These plot-twists are both very dark in tone which naturally conflict with the original tone of the show.
Factual similarities: Both anime are about young girls. Both anime try to do something very different with their respective genres.
My opinion: Madoka seems to succeed in deconstructing its genre, unlike Gakkougurashi!. I think Gakkougurashi! didn't go far enough, it spent too much time in the middle, unsure of what it wanted to be. I think Madoka Magica was by far the better of these two.
Both anime start out with a cute, upbeat openings and are initially thought of as kawaii shows about moe characters... but it's all just misleading the viewer! They both take a huge turn for a much darker tone... nothing is as it seems.
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Recommended by AkameGaKillem
Cute start for both, supernatural events in the story and a group of high schoolers fighting a common enemy: In Madoka Magica's case witches in Gakkou Gurashi's case zombies. Every girl in both anime is mentally unstable or had problems in the past. Both anime have a cute animation that fits perfectly.
Both anime seem kind of cute, then change quite drastically at a certain point. Honestly, I can't really say much without using spoilers, but if you liked either of these anime, you might like the other.
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Recommended by usnb-bjuN-SU
-They both have cute art styles even if they are messed up and really dark
-The MCs are both good girls who get thrown to difficult and supernatural situations (Magical Girls for Madoka and a zombie apocalypse for Yuki)
-They are both series with dramatic plots were a group of girls have to fight for their lifes
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Recommended by You_Go_Now
They're both animes that lure you into a false sense of security about what you think the series is going to about only to completely throw you into a clusterfuck of psychological torture and inevitable dead ends. The only difference is that what madoka needed 3 episodes to do, it only took 1 episode for Gakkou
They have a very similar general premise - they're both shows that in a way advertise themselves with sweet character designs, colourful and cheerful openings, just cute girls doing cute things. But in both shows, things quickly get more serious and you can see the huge contrast between the inital moe and the later dark, horror-like reality of the world. Besides that, they are both interesting and original takes on their respective "main" genres - i.e. magical girls in case of Madoka, and zombies when it comes to Gakkougurashi.
Both animes look all cute and innocent but are actually pretty dark.
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Recommended by NerdyBirdyx
Gakkougurashi and Madoka Magica are heavily based off of this idea of cute girl deconstruction. Both feature a similar pink-haired lead who only wish the best for their friends. While Gakkougurashi and Madoka Magica appear happy at first, they are both rather dark and deal with depressing subjects. Both series value close friendship among a small group of girls.
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Recommended by Contaminated
Both shows are very moe. Both put together the slice of life and horror genre very well.
Both look like a common happy-go-lucky moe-anime turning out to be a dramatic anime with a dark backstory that pulls you into the story-line making you want to keep watching. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica is one of my favorites while so is Gakkougurashi!. If you watch Gakkougurashi! you should watch Madoka Magica. Both are really great animes. Must watch!
Very deceptive from the onset, every bit of promotional art and trailer pre-views hinted at an innocent Slice of Life type of show. Both are very character driven with many characters from both casts having psychological issues.
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Recommended by HarubaeSuzumiya
Cute girls living in kira kira and fuwa fuwa times but all of a sudden it became dark
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Recommended by Rock_Golem
It's hard to find anime which are extremely similar to Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, but there are some exceptions, and Gakkou Gurashi is one of those exceptions. Both Madoka Magica and Gakkou Gurashi start out cute and innocent, but before you know it everything you've seen is a lie. Both deal with younger girls suffering and trying to survive in their cruel worlds, while the main character tries to remain as positive as possible. Gakkou Gurashi may seem a little more lighthearted, but it can still be a great choice!
Without spoiling either one the plot twist in the first episode of "Gakkougurashi!" (School-Live) contains a similar twist to episode 3 of Madoka. If you like one chances are pretty high you will like the other. Just my two cents here, take it or leave it.
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Recommended by Mithlandirr
Both look innocent and cute. Yet, are subversive and psychologically dark. Revolves mainly around school life, secrets, survival horror, and teamwork. Emphasizes the importance of close friendships and the fragility of life.
Both of these anime have a cute art style and look pretty innocent but when watched, they fuck you up with dark shit. Also the main cast includes females who fight off "evil"
○ Cute, young girls as the main characters
○ Psychological/emotional elements
○ Starts cute, then turns dark
Both shows focus on the juxtaposition of cute and happy girls being in a darker and twisted situation. Madoka is more supernatural and magical while gekkou is set in a zombie apocalypse.
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Recommended by Randy_Cannon
Both anime start very cutesy and end up not so nice. Madoka Magica has more of a psychological turn while Gakkougurashi has a horror spin and less psychological elements.
I enjoyed thoroughly the plot twists in both of these anime, so if that is also something you'd like, watch this :)
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Recommended by felixthesloth
Both anime start out very moe-esque, but turn out to not be what they same. Best watched blind for either anime.
-Both anime tell about cute girl doing cute things, oh wait... , unexpected event happened in the middle story that make both anime tell about cute girl doing dark things, i think.
-Both anime characters are student from middle-school (Madoka) and high-school (Gakkougurashi!).
-The psychological element in both anime is very strong, so prepare yourself if you think both anime will tell only about cute girl doing cute things.
-The sequence of plot for both anime are like this: CUTE - CUTE REDUCED - LITTLE DARK - DARK - DARKER - guess yourself...
These shows both start off looking like a fun anime about cute girls doing cute things, but these are amazing examples of "don't judge a book by its cover." They both have supernatural elements, though Gakkougurashi! is more of a slice-of-life anime.
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Recommended by ArtisticBliss
These two serious are great for short anime. Great plot, character development and unsuspecting turns. The art style of both anime is cutesy and bright. Though the plot of the two are very different, If you enjoyed one I guarantee you'll enjoy the other.
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Recommended by SynTheOtaku1
You thought it was some cute girls doing cute things, but you were wrong. Gakkou Gurashi! fools you until the end of episode 1 while Madoka Magica, it's episode 3. Also, Madoka Magica is darker than Gakkou Gurashi!.
The similarities (may contain spoilers):
- Looks cute, but it's not.
- Young girls trapped in a dark situation, and nobody knows about them.
- The main character is a cute pink-haired girl who seems useless, but actually solves some big problems.
- Heavy psychological atmosphere.
- Plenty of drama, sad moments.
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Recommended by ayanami_sayuri
Cute style, great characters and dark story, tragic twists, great op that need to be analysed
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Recommended by Pumpkinyaaan
Both are slice of life with innocent(?) and pure(?) attributes.
Both are better off if watched not knowing anything.
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Recommended by raccoon_mask
Both of these anime look very cute at first sight but the more you watch, the darker it gets
Both seem like they're your typical Moe girl shows, but then get really dark. Both also have an incredible soundtrack that really set the mood of the show, and of specific scenes. If you've seen Madoka Magica and liked it, Gakkou Gurashi is a great show to watch next.
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Recommended by SpicyCinnabun
Shows start out looking innocent and happy but are darker than they seem.
both show's start off with the kind of 'Moe and cute' vibes, before long however they start to show signs of going in the opposite direction than originally predicted
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Recommended by MocaFestival
School-Live and Puella Magi Madoka Magica are very similar in the fact that they both seem like cute little from the start but later on turn out to be psychological and messed up.
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Recommended by Reapercodbo3
There both are psychological shows....and non of them is cute as you will expect in the poster...there both going to blow your mind.....the posters or the characters or even the stories are simple and not complicated....but the episodes tells another story...first..you start to see some cute girls..then you are going to say : isn't that show supposed to be cute?....then....you will be in love with every singe thing in these shows.
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Recommended by M7MD_MNS_115
Both of these series present themselves on the outside (animation wise) as your typical cute girl show but are actually both dark shows with a particular focus on the psychological horror element.
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Recommended by Turkmenbashi
Both start with lighter plots surrounding school aged girls, then the show gets significantly darker with heavier themes.
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Recommended by momotarotea
Both begin of simple with the concept of cute girls doing cute stuff but progressivelly both get darker and darker to the point where you basically have sold you soul to to demons
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Recommended by OneTrickIronias
In my opinion, both anime is the classic “Don’t Judge a book by its cover”
Both Anime start like a typical moe SoL anime, where everyone seems to enjoy their school life and nothing bad will happen to them. Right? Wrong.
Both Anime tones shift drastically after the first few episodes and it shows the viewer that life isn’t as fun or as uneventful as it seems. If you love one of them, then I will strongly recommend you to watch the other.
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Recommended by TheRockzSG
for the love of god please go into these shows blind and avoid spoilers, it enhances the experience 1000%. without going into spoilers both of these shows are filled with twists and turns, emotion and is honest to god the best definition of ' dont judge a book by it's cover '.
CGDCT gone wrong
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Recommended by MahoShojoEnjoyer