As this series begins protagonist Madoka Kaname is having a strange dream featuring a mysterious black haired girl; the next day at school a new student transfers into her class; Homura Akemi... the girl in Madoka's dream. Things get even stranger when Madoka and her friend Sayaka meet a strange cat-like creature called Kyubey; it makes each of them an offer; he will grant each of them any one wish in return for them becoming magical girls and fighting witches. These witches are unseen by ordinary people but their actions drive people to despair and suicide; only the chosen magical girls can defeat them. Madoka and Sayaka learn more about magical girls when they meet Mami Tomoe, a girl who has already become a magical girl. As they get to know her and understand what it means to be a magical girl they try to think what their wishes will be... one person is determined that they won't make a contract with Kyubey; Homura Akemi who is in fact a magical girl herself.
I had heard that this series was something special long before I watched it and feared the hype would be difficult to live up to; especially as I'm not particularly familiar with the magical girl genre. As it happened I was hooked from the start with the strange nightmare visuals in Madoka's dream which turn out to be those of the witches' dimension. I'm glad that I had followed the advice to avoid spoilers as the series evolves in a way that reveals much of what we have been told was misleading; this leads to a series of reveals as the true nature of the magical girls is revealed to us and them.
If you think the magical girl genre is just for young girls then think again as much of what happens in this series would give children nightmares; every day brings chances of death and despair; the cute art style just serves to amplify just how tragic things are at times. The story progressed nicely with the various reveals being spread through the series in a way that meant we'd just come to terms with what one meant for the girls when another was sprung on us. At only twelve episodes in length there is no time wasted on filler material. In case you haven't guessed I thought this was a really great series that every anime fan should watch.
These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.
I had heard that this series was something special long before I watched it and feared the hype would be difficult to live up to; especially as I'm not particularly familiar with the magical girl genre. As it happened I was hooked from the start with the strange nightmare visuals in Madoka's dream which turn out to be those of the witches' dimension. I'm glad that I had followed the advice to avoid spoilers as the series evolves in a way that reveals much of what we have been told was misleading; this leads to a series of reveals as the true nature of the magical girls is revealed to us and them.
If you think the magical girl genre is just for young girls then think again as much of what happens in this series would give children nightmares; every day brings chances of death and despair; the cute art style just serves to amplify just how tragic things are at times. The story progressed nicely with the various reveals being spread through the series in a way that meant we'd just come to terms with what one meant for the girls when another was sprung on us. At only twelve episodes in length there is no time wasted on filler material. In case you haven't guessed I thought this was a really great series that every anime fan should watch.
These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.