If you havent heard of Madoka Magica you might have suspected that it was a magical girl show. If you have heard of Madoka Magica you probably know that its a deconstruction of the magical girl genre... and a pretty damn grim one at that. Dont let the happy bubbly art style and cute little pinkhaired main character fool you because thats exactly what theyre made that way to do. This is not the feelgood series you may have been hoping for. Writing: Lets be frank. This series is written such that its supposed to regularly throw you for a loop. If not for Netflix tagging the show as dark and ominous I would have been rather surprised by the twists to say the least. The only reason I was able to consistently predict the story was because I jokingly started expecting the worst possible turn of events and was repeatedly proven right. ...of course now that Ive said that youll probably go through the same experience. But its still interesting to watch the deconstruction of a genre thats known for being totally feelgood and free of depression by nature. The plot is pretty wellwritten for the most part the characters are variedyoull probably end up liking some and hating others. All in all a damn strong showing in the writing department. Art: The shows art can be neatly divided into three categories: The characters the outer world and the labyrinths. The characters art style can be a little jarring at first due to the contrast between the supermoe babyfaced character designs and the dark colors that the plot often calls for but you get used to it. The characters also have their eyes drawn in such a way that they look perpetually glazed over and dead but thats just another artistic quirk. The setting of the outer world and its backdrops are very... surreal... but in a conservative sort of way. The world of Madoka is a very interesting one in its futuristic but totally inconsistent architecture. Its very fun and artistic priorities clearly placed high above its realism by the designers. If the design of the overworld were an artistic movement it might be Cubism or Bauhaus. By contrast the labyrinth areas alternate spaces created by witches in the series might be called Expressionism or Surrealism. Its in these witch encounters that the animation really shines. The setting changes drastically to a much grittier more abstract style without defined boundaries and the fluidity of the character movements doubles for the fight scenes... not a choice I particularly respect in anime production but admittedly fun to watch in action. Sound: The soundtrack ranges from ordinary to excellent in my opinion. Most of the music is fairly mundane and not something I would listen to by itself but every now and again youll get a track that stands above the others and really brings the series to life for a minute or twoin my case its a theme that sounds reminiscent of Susumu Hirasawas compositions Paprika Paranoia Agent Berserk. I havent spent any time with the Japanese dub of this series myself but the English is passable. Not fantastic but certainly not bad. Character voices are very stereotypically moe a choice made intentionally to mislead viewers on the nature of the show... and one that does bring home the point of how out of place the characters eventually find themselves in the situation theyve been placed in. If you like things that are dark and morbid with a stronglywritten storyline and a sound ending Madoka may just be worth your watch. If you like magical girl shows with bubbly heroines and lessons about love and friendship prepare to be let down. Perhaps my pointing out the shows dark nature has lessened its impact on some of you reading this but I hope you give it a chance regardlessthe plot is a spot above the rest and the ending is truly memorable.
80 /100
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