Many anime are tearjerkers, many anime make you feel empowered, and many anime deliver satisfaction through feelgood stories. Madoka could be considered all of those things, but more than any of those other feelings I just felt awestruck. I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed or how a show whose main characters are middle school magical girls had just forced me to stop and consider serious philosophical questions.
The above is all I can tell you about the content of the story. Even the slightest bit more specific would be massive spoilers. All I can say is you MUST give this show a few episodes. Don't judge it based on the first episode or two alone.
Along with the story, the characters are perfectly written. No character is unnecessary. No character feels flat. All major characters have some sort of arc that is intricately and purposefully woven into the plot for a specific purpose. Empathizing with all of our magical heroes was very easy for me.
As far as execution, this is studio SHAFT to a T: striking visuals, surrealist styling, and an amazing use of imagery to convey tone, theme, and emotion. In the TV version some early art feels a bit rushed or lacking a budget, but SHAFT always cleans up the art for the BD release, so if you're watching that you shouldn't notice any of those problems. It feels like the art only gets better as the show goes on too.
As for sound, I watched the Japanese dub with English subtitles and the voice acting is strong and all of the characters feel unique and well acted. I didn't notice any errors, so there were none so egregious as to pull me out of the story.
The music is composed by Kajiura Yuki and it is simply amazing. The BGM is so hauntingly beautiful it stayed in my mind for hours after I had finished the series. Her ability to create exactly the right tone to convey the message of every scene left me breathless. In particular the track titled "Credens Justidiam" is so amazing that I can't stop listening to it.
In summary:
Enjoyment: 10/10.
Overall: 10/10.
There's too much to say about this show in a review. The themes explored, the powerful nature of the work, and the brilliant execution deserve much, much more analysis and praise than I could possibly express here. My only goal in writing this is to convince you that you MUST go watch it. I hope I have succeeded.
