A teenage girl is approached by a cute talking animal, told she is special and given magical powers. How many anime fitting this bill have I watched while growing up? Tons. And I gobbled them up. I loved them. ey were sweet, cute, easy going fantasy which was very reassuring and joyous. We all know the drill.

Then came Puella Madoka Magica. As usual, we had a pink haired, or pink dressed cute girl. As usual she meets a lovely magical animal/plushie/creature. And as usual, it offers her fantastic magic powers.

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But, there's a catch. More than one actually. And, as we watch more and more episodes, we realize that it was not accidental that the cute creature 'forgot' to tell the girl about them. In fact, there's actually nothing worthwhile in doing a contract with the plushie-looking mysterious being. Throughout the years, so many girls did such 'contracts', becoming 'Magical Girls' and battling 'Witches'. And so many of them disappeared into nothingness. There are only two endings for 'Magical Girls'. You are killed, or you become something far far worse than death.

Before one signs a contract, one usually knows what they are actually signing for. Not in this case. Kyubey, the magical 'whatsit', that cute sweet pink-eyed 'friend', never really explains what 'Magical girls' actually are. What the 'soul seed' is. What 'witches' are. Nothing. And it is only later, that Madika's friends, the ones who already did the contract, start realizing what this means. But once the contract is signed, there's no going back. It is too late. And this is why Madoka is cautioned again and again by Homura, the 'new girl', to think well and hard about it. What wish is worth loosing your very self for?

This anime totally turns our usual pre-conceived notions of magical powers given to 'special' people, on their heads. It takes a very well-used trope and twists it into something incredibly new, to send us a message. Beware - not all is as it seems - think well before deciding something important, and of course, NEVER TRUST EASILY, no matter how cute someone looks.

Of course, friendship is another major issue. Those we think are our friends, may be enemies in disguise wanting to use and manipulate us, like Kyubey, who is a sinister alien being with hidden intent manipulating others. On the other hand, those we thought were enemies may in reality be friends we didnt know we had, such as Homura and Kyouko, who seem cold and wild when Madoka meets them for the first few times, but whose perspective we finally start to understand, and agree with, later on.

This is, in my opinion, a really ground-breaking anime and one very well thought out. The art itself is a mixture of the 'usual' girl anime but also Picasso-like impressions. Like the story itself, it reveals hidden depths and is nightmare-like in its familiar otherness.

What I liked the least, strangely enough, was the ending. Madoka makes her wish, which, instead of solving everything, leads to even more complications (these are even more apparent when one watches the movie 'Puella Maadoka Magia: Rebellion). And this is why I did not award the anime full marks. In other words, the journey (the main narrative from beginning to the penultimate episode) was better than the destination (the ending).

The anime is actually followed by three movies, the first two are like a summary of the main series, while the third movie (the one I mentioned above) is a continuation of the anime. There's also a 'side story' with two seasons which I haven't watched yet, but will soon.