Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica might not be the next Evangelion & Utena, but it certainly creates the same impact to the industry in the same way that Evangelion & utena did. With great critical reception and high sales in DVDs and Blu-Rays, Madoka Magica exceeded it's expectations as a deconstruction of the Mahou Shoujo genre.
The story is about a middle schooler named Kaname Madoka who is torn between two choices: to either be a Mahou Shoujo in order to prevent an apocalyptic event called Walpurgisnacht or to not be a Mahou Shoujo in order to save herself from the impending despair befalling her.
In the midst of these two choices are two people who wants her to decide: Kyubey, a cat-thingy who wants her to be a Mahou Shoujo and Akemi Homura, a Mahou Shoujo who doesn't want her to be a Mahou Shoujo.
Now, the story starts off basically as that, but as it progresses it becomes more of a Faustian retelling than a simple Mahou Shoujo story. As the anime goes on, her friends and family members became torn as she sees her friends die, her colleagues becoming witches and the suffering Madoka endured. We get to see the true nature of Kyubey, and why Homura does not want Madoka to be a Mahou Shoujo. It's gets sadder, and in the end you can feel the sadness going into your heart.
The thing that sets Madoka Magica apart from other Mahou Shoujo anime is that not only it's a deconstruction, it's also a more Evangelion-esque take on the genre. This is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo who's known for directing not only SHAFT's greatest works, but also anime masterpieces like Nanoha and La Petite Cosette, so you get alot of influences from Nanoha, Cosette and other SHAFT works in this. It's also written by Nitroplus's gen Urobuchi, known for writing mangas like Saya no Ueta and Fate/Zero along with Nitoplus's games like Steins;Gate and Chaos;Head. So unlike Utena, Tutu and other Mahou Shoujo deconstructions, Madoka Magica makes itself way more darker ala Narutaru or Bokurano. Urobuchi was a fan of Mohiro Kitoh, and thus you can see some influences from Kitoh's works in this.
The art and animation is pretty good. Now, SHAFT is also known for being experimental so they also include lots of stop-motion and retro-European animation style. But due to this, you can see QUALITY animation which became the product of 4chan memes. Still, it's nice to look at and it doesn't have "stop text" like Shinbo's other anime works.
The characters start off generic like other Mahou Shoujos, but as the story progresses they become much more interesting. Especially Akemi Homura, where later in the series you get the suffering she endures just to prevent Madoka from being a Mahou Shoujo. Her story is just heartbreaking. Madoka's friend Miki Sayaka also has a good side story, seeing her becoming a Mahou Shoujo because of a promise and getting broken after that. it's mean and sad at the same time.
Speaking of characters, the seiyuus in this are really good. Yuuki Aoi does a good job as Kaname Madoka, whereas SHAFT queen Chiwa Saito is amazing as Akemi Homura. Eri Kitamura does a great job as Miki Sayaka and Kaori Mizuhashi is also good as Mami Tomoe, a blonde but more refined version of her character from Hidamari Sketch. Nonaka Ai (Another SHAFT seiyuu) also does a great job as Kyouko Sakura. But one surprising casting is none other than Emiri Katou as Kyubey. Yes, it's Kagami from Lucky Star doing a role that is definitely different from her Lucky Star days. Holy damn i was surprised and disturbed at how good she is as Kyubey. I'm surprised.
The sound is great. Yuji kajiura's wonderful music creates this magical atmosphere that is present throughout this series. The OP is wonderful, i love listening to the OP. It's beautiful but as the series progressed, you actually feel sadder listening to it. It's one of the saddest OPs i've listened to in a while. But i don't like the ED. It felt more like a rip-off of a System of a Down song. Seriously, Kalafina's singer sounds like a Japanese high school girl trying to sing like Serj Tankian. I'ms erious. I don't get why people actually like the ED. But in the end, it didn't affect my enjoyment of Yuki Kajiura's music as a whole, so therefore with the exception of the ED, the music and sound of this is amazing.
Oh and if you really want to enjoy watching this, do not judge this series from its first episode. Watch until episode 3, and after that you will get to know this series better.
Overall, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica is a well made anime that does the same impact as EVa or Utena. Whereas Utena deconstructs the Sailor Moon style of Mahou Shoujo, this series deconstructs the Nanoha side of Mahou Shoujo, and in the end it's great. It gets into your heart and you'll love it in the end.
