Mahou shoujo Madoka magica isn't the typical mahou shoujo anime. Yeah I already knew that shit was supposed to take off after the third episode and I was still pleasantly surprised.
Story - (7) The plot is actually really basic. Girl tries to protect another girl from a bad guy. Nothing too special here to be honest. How it's revealed, is where things get clever. The show first starts of by placing Akemi as the antagonist and kyubey as a protagonist. Eventually their roles change. This also occurs with Sayaka and Kyoko.
What stems from this is one of my favourite themes; ignorance.
Not everything is as it seems and everything may be bit too rushed for the viewer to realize and take a grasp of the situation, but that all depends on someone's thoughts on pacing. I'm usually fast to pick up on things so I don't tend to find anything hard to follow. You probably shouldn't watch this if you find fast pace things hard to follow because this series tries to slip in a long story in 12 episodes.
Anyways, the true beauty of the plot development was very clear to me as I watched the entire series a second time out of boredom seeing as I had it installed and Cuba had no internet. It's almost like watching an entirely different show. Understanding what is going on completely changes the perspective and really tries to change the viewer's opinion. Even watching it for the first time, naivety is present in most of the characters.
Another theme is probably the obvious "be careful what you wish for" but what impressed me was that it didn't go for the "faults in humanity" (except for that one time on the subway). Instead, it focused mostly on "the things that make us human" and it really brought the ethics of morals into question especially with an antagonist such as kyubey who doesn't exhibit any emotion. Another book that does the exact same thing is Gullivers Travels - Part Four where of course morality is compared with logic.
Aside from themes, which there are definitely many, another thing to appreciate is the subtle things that occur throughout the franchise which the audience most likely won't pick up on. Such as that moment in the third movie, during the cake song where Mami says she is the cheese.
The plot twists do their job by shocking the audience and any mention of them will completely ruin the experience for people that are completely new to the show (I'd say that's the sign of a good plot twist).
Art - (5) The part that really stands out is the atmosphere, I felt the mood indefinitely.
However...
The character designs are horrendous. I just can't get over them and never will. The outside world is too abstract for my liking and the world of the witches is also too abstract. The only reason I was able to bear with most of the art was because I got used to it.
Music - (10) If there is anything this anime has above all else, it's the music. Even though I mostly listen to classical, the music was a treat.
Yuka Kaijura is a very talented composer and I enjoyed the orchestral OSTs, especially the ones with a choir. Many of the words are sang in German and it just sounds so right.
Characters - (4) What I liked about the characters was that each one had a different upbringing giving us a chance to see the difference between the privileged and the unprivileged.
Unfortunately, the majority of them are just there and don't really develop. The only one that really does is Akemi and she doesn't really make an appearance too often. It's great that she ends up basically having the entire plot revolve around her but that only really happens towards the end. This worked out perfectly for me because all I really wanted was to know more about her the entire time.
Enjoyment - (10) Loved it. For me, it was well worth watching. Gen Urobuchi generally makes fun stuff but this is really quite good. Love seeing people suffer. Definitely a unique concept not that I really care about originality. Ridiculous amounts of wasted potential. Pleasant to listen to the soundtracks. Not too interested in deconstructions or parody but I enjoyed this one.
Reached for the moon and landed on a cloud.
Overall 10/10
