Story (3/10):
The plot of madoka magica is considered by many a subversion of the genre for being a much more mature anime than others of the genre, which I think is false, the reason is simple, Madoka Magica explores her themes in a not very subtle and immature way, it's funny how other mahou shoujos for all ages like "Ojamajo Doremi" or "Sailor Moon", manage to be more subtle and have more depth than Madoka. Maybe some do not understand what I mean so I will explain it better: Having death, depression and other themes that only edgy people consider mature DOES NOT make an intelligent anime, actually things like this have a name which is torture porn. It is full of these attempts to make its viewers believe that they are watching something smart and mature having misery and the characters suffering in incredibly convenient ways when in reality the themes are explored in an immature and unsubtle way.
Another negative thing about this anime is its ending. The ending is super childish and ruins this anime even more, I can understand that an anime for children has an ending like that, but in an anime that pretends to be mature it is a complete contradiction.
Art and sound (7/10):
The visuals are quite successful, there are some details that I do not like, such as the character designs, but in general it is a good job in terms of productive values.
But remember my golden rule: "If an anime has a shitty plot, then the visuals don't matter to me" Ahiru229 1924-2012.
Characters (2/10):
Undoubtedly the worst aspect of this anime are the characters.
Madoka: The protagonist is one of those characters that during most of the anime, do not contribute anything to the plot, Madoka remains a "peaceful spectator" for more than three-quarters of the anime. Another negative aspect of the protagonist is her way of solving the conflict, becoming a goddess sacrificing her life just to help others (being that these never gave a fuck for Madoka). Altruism for save people you don't care doesn't exist.
Mami: Tomoe is a plot device that only serves for a desperate attempt of the series to completely change the tone of the anime and generate a shock to the viewer (which does not happen because I do not give a fuck for a character that I hardly know).
Sayaka: Sayaka is not such a bad character since at least she has a motivation and desires, even so the deepening of these is almost nil leaving this character as wasted potential. In the first episodes her character development are handled well but ends up throwing all this away because Sayaka begins to suffer from the "character rewriting syndrome" her personality constantly changes making it impossible to take the character seriously.
Homura: Homura is a shitty character too, he achieves everything he sets his mind to, characters like Homura are what is known as "Mary Sue". She becomes obsessed with Madoka for just a few interactions that can be summed up in 5 minutes. During the first half of the anime, she is a mysterious character who only appears to help them at the last minute (as in chapter 3).
Kyouko: Kyouko is an archetypal and boring character, like Sayaka she also has a bit of development and deepening that is never fully explored.There is also a kind of lesbian love between Kyouko and Sayaka that is also not explored.
Kyuubey: If we talk about plot devices, Kyuubey is the easiest example that comes to mind, their existence and their motivations don't make a shit of sense.
Enjoyment (2/10):
Almost all the time I spent watching this anime made me want to fall asleep.
Overall (3/10):
In conclusion, Madoka Magica is an anime that completely fails in what it proposes and that in the end ends up being more immature and childish than other mahou shoujos for all ages. It could have been a really good story but it just ended up being wasted potential.
If you want a Mahou Shoujo with mature themes and a good deepening I recommend "Princess Tutu"
With that said i end this review.
