Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Original title: Mahô shôjo Madoka magika: Puella Magi Madoka Magica
A creature named Kyubey offers Madoka and Sayaka a wish if they agree to become 'magical girls' and fight abstract beings called 'witches'. However, a magical girl named Homura is, for uncer... Read allA creature named Kyubey offers Madoka and Sayaka a wish if they agree to become 'magical girls' and fight abstract beings called 'witches'. However, a magical girl named Homura is, for uncertain reasons, determined to stop this agreement.A creature named Kyubey offers Madoka and Sayaka a wish if they agree to become 'magical girls' and fight abstract beings called 'witches'. However, a magical girl named Homura is, for uncertain reasons, determined to stop this agreement.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 2 nominations
Browse episodes
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaProducers considered hiding the credit for series screenwriter Gen Urobuchi as red herring to audiences regarding the true nature of the show, however the plan was foiled due to a premature staff leak. Urobuchi is noted for writing dark stories.
- GoofsWhen Kyubey explains entropy, he says it involves the net loss of energy, which is not possible in physics. What the term actually describes is the decay of energy to its base form - which is heat - and its subsequent scattering through space, until the system reaches equilibrium, at which point all energy conversion ceases until further external energy input.
- Quotes
[repeated line]
Mami Tomoe: Tiro Finale!
- ConnectionsFeatured in JesuOtaku Anime Reviews: Madoka Magica (2012)
Featured review
A horrifyingly dark retelling of 'Faust' and an exploration of friendship, suffering, fate and sacrifice.
The trailers and posters of this show are practically false advertising: When all they show is cute girls with wide eyes and colourful hair smiling and having fun, the show looks like it could be a shoddy clone of Sailor Moon. In reality, beyond the physical appearance of the characters Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a psychological-horror style genre deconstruction that has more in common with 'Faust' or 'Requiem for a Dream' than it does with anything else in the Magical Girl genre.
Like the other infamously existential anime 'Neon Genesis Evangelion', Madoka Magica starts out with the pretension of being representative of its genre so it can tear down those assumptions and tropes moments later. The first two episodes are a brilliant but not entirely out-of-the-ordinary set-up for a magical girl anime. By the end of the third episode it is made abundantly clear that things do not go according to plan. The remaining 9 episodes cover a nightmare-inducingly fatalistic and hopeless series of events that rank this show as among the emotionally darkest works of fiction I've ever seen.
There are no monsters that jump out at you, and there are no gruesome character deaths to make you cringe. Make no mistake, this is definitely horror - but it's horror in the sense of total and utter despair, regret and hopelessness in the face of the inevitable. The juxtaposition of the impossibly grim storyline and the overly cutesy visuals leaves a constant feeling of nausea and unease, such as how Kyubey keeps his cute-but- cold smile even as the story descends into hell. The casting of well-meaning and naive 14 year old girls as the tragic heroes only adds to this contrast.
The plot will surprise you at every turn - even if you're a savant at foreseeing twists, I can guarantee you that you will be caught of guard at more than once. I really can't say anything about the plot except the obvious, which is that there is more than meets the eye in the world of magical girls - but keep in mind that just as you think you understand what's going on, you don't.
My single problem with the show is that the ending felt rushed and incomplete, and the set-up for the 'Rebellion' movie at the end seemed a bit forced. I think the last episode or two should have been an entire movie, like 'End of Evangelion' - squeezing such apocalyptically dramatic events into a 20 minute episode was bound to leave things undercooked. Otherwise I have no complaints. This is, without a doubt, one of the best made stories in any medium that I've ever seen. It's arty but not pretentious, emotional but never clichéd, action packed yet thoughtful. It manages to hit hard without losing subtlety. Every character is believable, interesting and necessary. The art switches between clean and conventional scenes of the real world to portrayals of psychedelic lovecraftian destruction with total fluency - Madoka Magica is at every point incredible to look at. The soundtrack is well produced, emotionally versatile and never boring.
Even if you don't like anime or have never seen it before, if you like stories with originality, intellectual and emotional depth, themes of cosmic significance and painfully human characters, watch Madoka Magica. You will enjoy it.
Like the other infamously existential anime 'Neon Genesis Evangelion', Madoka Magica starts out with the pretension of being representative of its genre so it can tear down those assumptions and tropes moments later. The first two episodes are a brilliant but not entirely out-of-the-ordinary set-up for a magical girl anime. By the end of the third episode it is made abundantly clear that things do not go according to plan. The remaining 9 episodes cover a nightmare-inducingly fatalistic and hopeless series of events that rank this show as among the emotionally darkest works of fiction I've ever seen.
There are no monsters that jump out at you, and there are no gruesome character deaths to make you cringe. Make no mistake, this is definitely horror - but it's horror in the sense of total and utter despair, regret and hopelessness in the face of the inevitable. The juxtaposition of the impossibly grim storyline and the overly cutesy visuals leaves a constant feeling of nausea and unease, such as how Kyubey keeps his cute-but- cold smile even as the story descends into hell. The casting of well-meaning and naive 14 year old girls as the tragic heroes only adds to this contrast.
The plot will surprise you at every turn - even if you're a savant at foreseeing twists, I can guarantee you that you will be caught of guard at more than once. I really can't say anything about the plot except the obvious, which is that there is more than meets the eye in the world of magical girls - but keep in mind that just as you think you understand what's going on, you don't.
My single problem with the show is that the ending felt rushed and incomplete, and the set-up for the 'Rebellion' movie at the end seemed a bit forced. I think the last episode or two should have been an entire movie, like 'End of Evangelion' - squeezing such apocalyptically dramatic events into a 20 minute episode was bound to leave things undercooked. Otherwise I have no complaints. This is, without a doubt, one of the best made stories in any medium that I've ever seen. It's arty but not pretentious, emotional but never clichéd, action packed yet thoughtful. It manages to hit hard without losing subtlety. Every character is believable, interesting and necessary. The art switches between clean and conventional scenes of the real world to portrayals of psychedelic lovecraftian destruction with total fluency - Madoka Magica is at every point incredible to look at. The soundtrack is well produced, emotionally versatile and never boring.
Even if you don't like anime or have never seen it before, if you like stories with originality, intellectual and emotional depth, themes of cosmic significance and painfully human characters, watch Madoka Magica. You will enjoy it.
helpful•678
- john-f-d-hartman
- Sep 11, 2014
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Дівчинка-чарівниця Мадока Маґіка
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime24 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
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