Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica Blu-ray Media Review Episode 12

A world without Madoka?

Without a hint of hesitation in her voice, Madoka’s wish left her lips. In exchange for her soul, she has become a law of the universe. All past, future, and present witches have been written out of history. When a magical girl reaches her limit, they will naturally disappear. However, such a world came with a price. Madoka must now fight despair till the end of time. Her battle won’t be one known to mortal eyes, but Homura will never forget her best friend. As the universe rewrote itself, Madoka gifted Homura with her red ribbon. Though she may be gone physically, she’ll always be watching over her friends.

Once the space around Homura settled down, she was returned to a world where magical girls simply fade away. Those that form a contract with Kyuubey may pass on with a smile on their face. Even with witches taken out of the equation, negative human emotions have found another way to manifest. While Madoka’s Law prevents magical girls from turning into witches, they must still fight. Despite having to fight off a constant new threat, Homura continues to look out into the distance for her dear friend, Madoka.

Story: 9.5/10

This is one of the few times you’ll ever see me rate a story so highly. What I truly appreciate about this plot is that it doesn’t cut corners. It may be heart-wrenching at times, even a bit too real, but that fact made Madoka Magica memorable. A near perfect mixture of action and drama was poured into this one. Things may start off light, yet the further one goes down this hole, the more you’ll find yourself gripped by despair. Honestly, this is one of the few titles that deserves to be tagged as a thriller. There’s no turning back once you experience episode three.

Art/Animation: 8.5/10

Animation wise, this was top of the line for a televised anime. Shaft loves to animate, and it really showed during this production. It’s exceptionally rare to see a show with so few panning shots. Now, we had the luxury of covering the blu-ray version of this show. If you’ve seen the TV version, then you may know it contained some not so great character art. While the blu-ray version made many fixes, it can still be seen in a few places. Even with that in mind, Shaft knows how to keep your eyes entertained. A few pieces of derpy art hardly takes away from this magnificent piece.

Enjoyment: 9/10

This was my third completed viewing of Madoka Magica, and the magic hasn’t faded one bit. Due to paying closer attention to everything, some of Kyuubey’s statements are questionable, but it’s a solid story nonetheless. On top of that, I’ve long been a fan of darker shows. As I’ve said previously, this show doesn’t cut corners. You won’t find any comedy breaking suspenseful moments in this one. There is no happy end for those that walk this path.

At this point, the success of Madoka Magica is well known. Even to this very day, it remains as one of the best-selling anime titles of all time. A handful of preceding shows even drew inspiration from it. And best of all, we’ve even got more Madoka being animated currently. There are very few originals that can pull off what this show did, and I’m glad I got the chance to cover it. If you haven’t given Madoka Magica a chance, then know that you’re missing out on a game changer. Anyhow, I reward this show with an overall score of 9. Enjoy witnessing the birth of a god!

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Could it really end like this? This may be it for us here, but Homura isn’t done just yet. There’s no happiness until Madoka is returned to her side.