___Madoka Magica_ is the greatest work of fiction ever conceived__
Madoka Magica will not leave my mind. Where nearly every other piece of media failed to find me, this anime did it. I think about it every day. Everything clicks. Everything. In 12 episodes, this anime did for me what only a 160 hour long visual novel has been able to. I couldn't possibly trust myself to do it analytical justice but if absolutely nothing else I hope I can convince you to watch it and I hope it does for you what it did for me.
> Always, somewhere, someone is fighting for you. As long as you remember that, you are not alone.
Plot: 10/10
Completely spoiler free explanation: just trust me and watch it
If you know the spoiler:
Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide
So yeah. It's dark. Crazy! I went into the show honestly expecting it to be nothing special at all; I thought it would rely almost entirely on its gimmick to sell itself, DDLC style. I was... SO wrong. I can't even begin to explain how wrong I was. I think the best way to explain what this show really is isn't to say "it's a magical girl anime that turns dark" but rather "a dark, urban fantasy action thriller that happens to have magical girls in it". It uses its time incomparably well; I genuinely cannot believe how dense this story is while always remaining easy to follow. There came a point where every single episode had some sort of twist or revelation that I genuinely just never saw coming and couldn't believe, but everything felt so meticulously crafted that it never felt like an asspull. Things I questioned in episode 1 and thought were weird come full circle in the most natural ways possible in such quick succession- it's genuinely storytelling perfected. I couldn't nitpick it if I tried.> I think the only people who should fight for their lives are those who have no other choice.
Themes: 10/10
Full spoilers for the whole show this time~
Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide
I mentioned above that this anime resonates with me like no other. Well, if I had to put the "why" into words, I'd say it's because it finds a middle ground. It's not baselessly optimistic, but it's not hopelessly cynical either. Like yeah, the world is fucked up, BUT there is still reason to believe. I put it right there in that first quote. There is ALWAYS someone out there who cares. Sometimes it's hard to fight, and that's okay. Because there's always someone for you to believe in in the meantime. It's about the effect we have on the people around us and how making change requires sacrifice and decisiveness. It's about the sheer wonder of humanity and our capacity to transcend logic. It's about the beauty of the world around us and the need to be human in order to see it. I could go on, and on, and on, and on...> I get to have a wish. But you know, there're other people out there who deserve it a lot more.
Characters: 10/10
This is my favorite cast of anything ever. The whole cast is magnificent. Every character has their own set of values, ideals, and approaches toward magical girl-dom that get explored extremely thoroughly and challenged by the plot in thought provoking ways. The common criticism I have heard of them is that they feel less like characters and more like personifications of these ideas, and while I can see why someone would think that, I wholeheartedly disagree. It's called being symbolic, people. Like of course the characters' conflicts and arcs are going to represent the flaws of their ideals. That's... how writing works????
More interesting than the individual characters themselves though is probably how these characters clash and interact, and how they change each other over the course of the show. I mentioned that a central theme of the show is the profound effects we all have upon each other, and the character interactions absolutely drive this home with flying colors. The way these girls' ideals clash and change is incredibly engaging, believable, and meaningful.
> The motive behind a wish is what matters the most.
Visuals: 10/10
This is the most visually creative anime I have ever seen and it competes with Everything Everywhere All at Once for most visually creative thing I've ever seen. That movie is kino peak too btw, watch it. Anyway
The fact that this is Studio Shaft's premiere work (because after all, Monogatari doesn't exist) should speak volumes. Their cinematography and direction chops are completely unparalleled, and the animation itself is nothing to sneeze at. More than anything else however I love how this show experiments with unorthodox and abstract animation styles in ways that perfectly blend into its world. There is absolutely never a single dull moment or a single directing choice that isn't deliberate and symbolic.
> If anyone ever tells me it’s a mistake to have hope, well then, I’ll just tell them they’re wrong. And I’ll keep telling them till they believe! No matter how many times it takes.
Sound: 10/10
From the voice acting to the soundtrack, it's perfect. Every character's voice performance absolutely nails it ~~though I can't speak for the dub~~, the sound design is crisp and sells every aspect of this magical world beautifully, and most of all, that FUCKING SOUNDTRACK. The way it weaves in and out of scenes as needed, the way it crescendos in just the right ways, the meanings behind the instrumentations and the emotions that its motifs evoke aaaaaghbnrevsftdunvostcjm
I'm no musicologist or whatever but holy hell I just can't with this, even thinking about it now makes me want to go look up one of those "MuSiC tEaChEr ReAcTs To AnImE sOuNdTrAcK" videos and gush about it. Don't take my word for it; watch the show!!!
> I might not be good at anything, but If I can help people out like you, then I can be proud of the way I live.
Conclusion
You know what they say. Nothing is perfect.
Wanna know what I say? I say Madoka Magica is perfect. I know I'm not the first person to say so. I'm sure I won't be the last, either. I hope I'm not the last. I hope that others can find what I found in this show too. That maybe it'll spread some more positivity around the world. And that it's right.
I love everything about this show. I'd do things for this show I'd never do for any other piece of media. I could rewatch it until the day I die. I bought the manga despite already having seen the anime. I have plans to dive into the entire rabbit hole of side material. I even bought my first fucking anime figurines; they're Madoka and Homura! I highly doubt that I will ever find a piece of fiction that I love more than this. And I hope that I've convinced you to check it out, if you haven't already.