The entire story of Madoka Magica is totally unlike any other magical girl show that I've ever seen. While most magical girl shows have the principle dilemma of the heroine as "how can I balance my life as a normal girl while living up to my responsibilities as a magical girl", the question the girls in Madoka ask themselves is "how can I not die while doing this?" For the most part, mortality is an issue that is not even touched on in other series, but Madoka has it as an ever-present force. Not only that, but other heavy subjects such as morality and the essence of human nature are standard fare for this series.
The art style is stunning, though it may not sit well with everybody. The most notable aspect of Madoka's art resides with the witches. The enemies of the series reside in pockets of space-time that are adjacent to but separate from our own, and have a visual style of a surrealist nightmare, or perhaps a bad acid trip would be more apt. This juxtaposition of girls in cute outfits in a more traditional anime style fighting in this twisted netherworld add not only a unique touch to a rather common genre, but also help foreshadow later themes in the series.
The soundtrack of the series is stellar. This extends not only to the catchy opening, the dark rock closing, but also to individual character music and battle themes. In fact, Mami's theme is an interesting coupling with a battle scene, due to it's uplifting chorus and accompanying orchestral score, but it works surprisingly well.
The characters are well done, as each character has a personality that is easy to identify (the shy one, the athletic one, etc.), but what's more is that each character has a unique back story internal conflicts that are laid bare to make give them depth and round them out as a whole. Each of the magical girl has a unique outfit, weapon and fighting style that provide some relief from the standard magical girl wand. One of the more interesting powers is that one magical girl has the ability to summon a seemingly infinite number of magical flint-lock rifles. The most mold-breaking character that is presented in this series is Kyubey, the "mascot character". Without wishing to spoil anything, he has an agenda and his smiling face may haunt you.
If I had to criticize the series at all, it would have to be that there are no significant male characters (the only two are Madoka's father and little brother), and that the main cast seem more introspective and emotionally mature than their age would suggest, but even these quibbles are minuscule in the broad scope of the series. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica is a deep series that feels like a mix of Shakespeare and Faust, and should not be dismissed as "just another magical girl show". Madoka is a prime example of how good anime can be, and is a great addition to anyone's list.
