This review contains spoilers for the second season of Magia Record
During the Winter 2020 season, I decided to watch Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Gaiden. My feelings toward it were mixed. It wasn't terrible by any means, but it certainly didn't measure up to its predecessor. There were certainly things I liked — the creepy atmosphere and art direction were both well-done. Yet the show was dense, it seldom lived up to its atmosphere, and most damningly, it was boring. Yet the ending showed promise and I considered myself a fan of the franchise, so when the second season quietly premiered over a year and a half later, I gave it a watch. Going into it, I tempered my expectations for once and approached with cautious optimism, hoping for something good, yet not expecting much.
Because of this, I was pleasantly surprised at Magia Record's second season. I'm happy to say that it's not only a notable improvement over the first season, but a good show in its own right. All of my problems with the first season have been addressed, resulting in an exciting, engaging show that lives up to its atmosphere and makes the most out of its characters.
Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Season 2 -The Eve of Awakening- (which I'll never refer to by its full title) picks up soon after where the first season left off, with Iroha having fallen down a chasm following the skirmish at the Memory Museum. Yachiyo, feeling responsible for Iroha's misfortune, grows increasingly aggrieved as she searches for her friend. All the while, the Wings of Magius move forward with their machinations which involve the legendary, abominable witch, Walpurgisnacht. While resisting this magical girl cult, Yachiyo is helped by new friends and familiar faces…
Since this is a direct continuation, you shouldn't watch this without having seen the first season. I'll take this a step further and warn that you shouldn't watch this without a solid grasp of what happened in the first season. Just remembering that Iroha supposedly fell to her doom won't be enough. Do yourself a favor and read episode recaps of season one (I recommend either the ones on Geek Girl Authority or the Puella Magi Wiki)to refresh your memory. It's also a good bet to read recap episodes after finishing season two episodes, as well. Unfortunately, Magia Record can still be pretty dense and there will be times when you'll be a bit lost. That said, I certainly didn't find myself as lost as I was during the first season. The episodes tended to be much more straightforward this time around. I appreciated the change, as it helped me understand ( thus enjoy) the show much more than I had before.
When I said that the second Magia Record would feature familiar faces, I meant that in terms of us viewers as much as I meant it in terms of the characters. You see, while Yachiyo runs into characters featured in season one, the viewers are treated to characters introduced before the first season.
Entering, stage right, I present to you, the OG gang in all their glory.
If you recall, Mami and Kyoko both play minor roles in the first season of Magia Record. In the second, Sayaka, Homura, and Madoka herself appear to round out the original magical girl cast.
There's a risk in featuring series veterans in sequels focusing on new characters. If handled poorly, their presence can feel like pandering, to the detriment of the story. Even if handled well, the veterans risk overshadowing the newcomers. Given that a big part of the discourse of the first season was fans wishing the show was more like the original, this seemed particularly risky.
The way they implemented Madoka was certainly surprising — there wasn't much indication she'd be in the show, then boom, the first episode deals with her, Sayaka, and Homura instead of addressing Iroha's fate. It was extremely nostalgic to watch the three bounce off of each other and work together once again. It resonated with me in a way that none of season one's episodes ever did. It was easily my favorite episode of Magica Record.
Given that the next episode jumps back to the cast of Magia Record, this didn't bode well. It seemed like, even with one episode to her name, Madoka would outshine Iroha in her own damn show.
Then another surprising thing happened.
Two episodes had passed since the first and I found that I had really enjoyed them. Not as much as the first (I still stand by it being the best episode of Magica Record, full-stop), but I did find myself enjoying them more than the season 1 episodes. I was consistently engaged in the plot and the characters felt more interesting to me, here.
And whaddya' know, something else surprising happened.
The OG cast showed up again then ended up linking up with the Magia Record group. Not only do more cast members of the original show appear, but they feature more prominent roles, to boot. The returning cast is handled really well. They're not prominent to the point of stepping on the newcomers' toes, yet are prominent enough that they don't feel inconsequential. They have their own plot going on that neatly intersects with the others and the finale has them making themselves scarce in time for season 3. They feel like a nice treat for longtime fans while not alienating new viewers.
I like how the characters are handled in general. I found myself caring about individual characters more than I did in the first season. Perhaps it’s simply because the cast feels smaller. Perhaps it's because everyone feels utilized more. Unlike the first season, where they felt like setpieces, each character plays important an important role in the plot. Whatever the reason, I hope the showrunners keep it up for the next season.
As a testament to the improved character use, I found myself honest-to-God caring about Kuroe who was so out-of-focus last season you'd swear she was a product of your imagination. She has an active role here, a nice bit of characterization, and a sad ending with a nice bit of metatext. "You don't belong in this story", the embodiment of her depression tells her, not only pointing out how out-of-focus she was last season, but also pointing out her status as a link canon foreigner.
The plot has also improved from the last go around. While Magia Record Season 2 still has its moments of denseness, by and large, it’s much more straightforward, much less impenetrable. It's crazy how much more I can enjoy something when it doesn't make me feel like a moron watching it. The plot is also more engaging this time around. The first season felt extremely listless to the point of boredom. Now, things are a lot more focused, with characters constantly working towards a goal and that goal consistently carrying over from one episode to the next.
It's also less boring because of the amazing fight scenes. We're treated to beautiful animation and choreography thanks to Shaft. As per usual, the series features a good amount of action setpieces to chew on.
While Magia Record does a lot to improve upon its predecessor, it still has issues. They're not glaring issues, by any means and I don't really think they factor into my score much, but they still should be acknowledged.
Besides the aforementioned density that occasionally rears its ugly head, we have the increasingly evil depiction of the Wings of Magus. I'm not going to pretend there's anything wrong with having villainous antagonists, but I can't help but feel that the Wings of Magius feel a bit too evil, too un-nuanced. They feel like a mismatch for the show they're featured in. I think the point is that they're supposed to be well-intentioned extremists; taking drastic measures to save magical girls from the grim path they're on courtesy of the adorable, sinister Kyubey. That said, it's hard to find them well-intentioned or sympathetic when they summarily screw over the magical girls they're supposedly being extreme for. And I get this isn't a problem endemic to the second season. In the first season, there was an air of mystery to the Wings of Magius, perhaps once we learned more about them, viewers would struggle to write them off as bad. But no, come the final episode, they're characterized as pretty one-note, card-carrying villains that have the benefit of having really really good PR (though a good amount of that PR is probably just giving magical girls literally any other option other than the shit cards they've been dealt). In season 2, we're bludgeoned over the head with their evilness as they manufacture a witch and uncaringly store dopple-fied magical girls in containers. I can certainly see how someone could feasibly join them (by being absolutely broken inside and hey, whaddyaknow, if nothing else, magical girls in Madoka are depicted as being wrecks more often than not for very understandable reasons) but I just can't help but find it disappointing.
The show does a good job of highlighting real human emotion. Depression (and the masking thereof) is depicted compellingly via Kuroe and Tsurano. The power of friendship is depicted in a way that feels more real and heartfelt than what I usually see in anime dealing with similar topics. A highlight of the socio-emotional focus occurs in the penultimate episode, "You Don't Know Anything." We learn to save magical girls from their Wings of Magius-induced mind control (I told you they were evil, didn't I?) their friends must initiate a combination attack called "Connect" with them, the success is predicated on their knowledge of their friends. Yachiyo attempts to connect with Tsurano, sure that she knows her friend well. Much to her (and our) shock, she fails. I thought this was a damn good metaphor for the fact that even friends close off their private selves from one another. There seemingly wasn't a way to find out what was ailing her mind at this point...until an episode later where there is. They easily dive into her mind and are able to have a heart-to-heart, easily freeing her and Mami. I couldn't help but find this unearned and anti-climatic. It seemed to walk over what was done so well in the previous episode.
But perhaps this just points to a softer side of magical girl anime compared to Madoka, being a bit more uplifting. That said, Magia Record still remains darker, harder than something like Symphogear.
Last time, I said the only thing carrying Magia Record was largely the atmosphere, and even that felt mishandled.
That isn't the case anymore.
The plot and characters both bring their A-game here and the atmosphere feels more earned than it did before. Magia Record has come into its own to an extent that honestly shocks me — I didn't expect such a big jump in my score. While I still want to remain cautious, I'm definitely excited to see what the final season of Magia Record has in store.
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