SHAFT, the studio behind this anime, really need to be congratulated. One of the best anime I have seen to date, Madoka Magica explores the idea of being sent back in time to re-do your mistakes and to save one's life to no use, as the past can no longer be changed. How determination can't be everything you need and that great sacrifices must be made in cases that warrant it. I came for a mahō shōjo, I left with a shattered heart and nine gallons of tears.
[STORY] (contains one ridiculously major spoiler)
In short, it's about an asshole cat-like creature called (In)Kyubey(tor) who persuades some high-school girls to become Magical Girls for the reward of being granted one wish. This, however, turns out to be miles short of a worthy reward, as the pain of being a magical girl is nothing but pain and desperation until you die. The story has various plot twists, intense moments, side stories, and incredibly well-executed events that made me feel ridiculously "in the world" and concerned for all of the characters' (besides Kyubey, fuck Kyubey) well-being. One bit that made me lose my (emotional) shit was when in the last episode (SPOILER!!!) Junko asks Homura "Who is Madoka? Is she some sort of cartoon character?" after Madoka's little brother draws her in the ground. That gave me a feeling that I can only describe as "Oh my Jesus stop or I think I might jump out of the ninth floor window".
[ART]
Extremely well-done animation on SHAFT's part, Madoka Magica doesn't fail to please with it's unique style of animating battles that remind me of coloured paper cut-outs, and the way that characters are drawn is a unique and enticing aspect of the art for me. It's a break from the usual style (think Azumanga Daioh) of drawing. The style is captivating and unique, and I found it to be an important part of the series. +5 points for the epic animation of the Walpurgis Night and +20 points for the death animations. The art in MSMM is nothing to be laughed at, and nothing short of perfection in the genre.
[SOUND]
The BGM is badass, character voicing extremely well done, and I went as far as to purchase ClarIS - Connect, the OP. Each piece fits the situation the characters are in and the tone expresses how they are feeling. I didn't really pay an incredible amount of attention to the sound when watching, as I was too focused on the gripping story and unbelievable animation rather than sound, however I did note it was of a very high quality, just like the entire anime itself.
[CHARACTER] (Has super major spoilers, don't read if you don't want 99% of the series spoiled)
All of the characters in Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica are characters that I enjoyed and would like to see more of. All of them are largely original, and don't really follow a set pattern (e.g. I would classify Kyoka as a tsundere if I had to, but she's not even that, she's more of a protective but always initially hostile character), which I appreciated when watching. A large amount of them die, however. And you would think that it'd just give you the feeling of "Oh, they're gone. Well, shit.", but it didn't. For me, it was much larger, for the reason being that I developed some sort of strange emotional bond with the characters. I understood what they were going through and, as the internet would say, "felt for them". When any of the characters died, I usually locked myself within my room for a day and spent it in a miserable mood knowing the character wouldn't be there anymore. And when [censored] died, I literally spent an entire school week crying - I have, by the way, cried about seven times after the age of seven as of writing this review - and didn't talk to almost anyone for said week. That's a major feat for an animation if you ask me. Kyoka's sad past also had an impact on me.
[ENJOYMENT]
0/10. But I wrote 10/10 for the reason that this is by no means an anime meant to be enjoyed. This is an anime that's supposed to make you cry a river (as it did), not make you proclaim your love for the in-series ships. It's supposed to make you shut yourself in your room for a week (as it did), not go out and tell all your friends to watch this when they're sad. And it succeeds in every last inch of that. It entices you in with a cover and song suited for a happy schoolgirl Mahō Shōjo, and leaves you wondering how you fell for this trickery, when it's not even the 1st of April. A masterpiece among quite a few masterpieces, MSMM includes such intricate detail and gripping story that I honestly think that it was created over the span of 20 years.
[OVERALL]
Do you like happy schoolgirls?
Do you like the Mahō Shōjo genre?
Do you like cute kittens with ear-rings?
Do you like magical battles that always result in a win for the main character?
Well, look no further, because you've gone about as fucking far from that as you can.
Do not watch this if you're feeling down.
Do not watch this if you can't take a sad anime ending.
Do not watch this if you like your characters to stay alive.
Do not watch this if you're normal, watch this only if you're sure you can take the 300 minutes of emotional rollercoaster that Madoka Magica is, and even then come prepared.
Rated "K" for "Kyubey should be burned at the stake - even if he's invincible".
