Puella Magi Madoka Magica

aka Mahō Shōjo Madoka Magika, Magical Girl Madoka of the Magus

Number of Episodes: 12

What Wikipedia says: "In this world, there exist strange creatures who have the power to grant one wish to a chosen girl. However, in exchange, that girl must then become a magical girl and use her powers to fight against witches, evil creatures born from darkness that are responsible for murders and suicides.

In the city of Mitakihara, a schoolgirl named Madoka Kaname and her friend Sayaka Miki are approached by a familiar named Kyubey, who offers to grant each of them one wish in return for making each of them a magical girl. Another magical girl named Homura Akemi tries to prevent Madoka from making such a deal, while Kyubey urges Madoka by telling her she will become the most powerful magical girl. However, contrary to the glamorous notions one would expect, a magical girl finds herself dealing with death, isolation, loss of humanity, agony over the value of her wish, and existential crisis. Madoka, following her friends, soon sees the darker side of being a magical girl, and because of knowing the truth about being a magical girl, she questions if she should become one as well."

What tTPO says: Holy crap. Just finished this and my mind is melting with the goodness of this series. For tTPO anything this good crammed into 12 episodes where the pacing never faulters is a great start. It seems that each episode has a reveal of some sort that changes the direction of the whole series and to keep this up for the whole series is just amazing. It really is a masterclass in pacing. 

Some anime series leave a lot to the imagination and for the viewer to do the work (see Mawaru-Penguindrum). This is not one of those series and it goes to great lengths to make sure (maybe with the exception of the last episode) the viewer knows what is going on. Usually not at the time you see it, so you still have time to puzzle it out yourself, but eventually most things are explained well. And boy does the plot all tie together nicely. Even the 'physics' of the show. I liked that. 

The animation of this was also facinating. On one hand you get the impression that the budget for this show was not a lot (I have no idea if this is the case or not) but what they did with artistic vision and imagination was just stunning, making this (in my limited experience) a unique visual presentation for the genre and anime generally. 

Lastly there is the feel of the show. Many other reviews talk about the deconstructive nature of this series and it is just so true. It really does dismember the magical girl genre in the face of 'reality' methodically and brilliantly. For me it ended up with the same sinking feeling as Watchmen when I first saw (then read) it. I am guessing the core themes of the superhero genre and the magical girl genre are not so far apart. 

How About the Music? The OP (Connect by ClariS, and while a video is hard to find this one is particularly awesome) is a fully serviceable bit of J-Pop that I think is improved by the series it fronts. Usually its the other way round but I do like this song. While on that note the opening credits are amusing in that they are typical for the genre but really only serve to lead the viewer astray as to the direction of the series. ED1 is a light J-pop song but only last 2 episodes before the series and the EDs tread a darker path. The ED2 (Magia by Kalafina) is a lot more epic in an emo-rock kind of way but did not work quite so well for me. ED3 (And I'm Home by Ai Nonaka & Eri Kitamura) only lasts a single episode (#9) but for me is the pick of the EDs. And then someone slowed it down by 8 times thus producing shoegaze epic which sounds even better (and uncannily like Slowdive). Who would have thought?

So how does it end? (Spoiler Free):  I did wonder how the hell this was going to end and they managed to do it on an epic scale in a way that actually made sense within the context of the story, and was not just a big hit of the reset button. In a strange way it ends up establishing the typical ground rules for the genre it deconstructs. If I had a complaint though it would be that the epic nature of the ending made it just a little less personal and consequently less involving with the characters we knew and loved. But that is a very minor complaint.

Overall Grade: Grade A. Ignore that fact this seems to be a show about magical girls. Just watch it. I'm talking to you Beukesy and Koanman. 

Addendum by Koanman:  Every now and then, a series provokes genuine thought, and this series is one of those.  It is nothing short of majestic in its scope.  It challenges the idea of universal morality, or confirms natural amorality, depending on your stance.  This series was riveting from start to finish, with interesting new additions to the plot constantly keeping things on the move.  The visual effects are second to none, at times disturbing, and yet appear fashioned from the simplest animation techniques. 

Madoka Kaname and her side-kick Sayaka Miki are super-sweet personalities, luckily balanced by some sincerely dark undertones.  Which brings us to Homura Akemi, who is a more interesting character that really does take the entire series to fully develop.  This is a real personal-power story, incorporating beautiful images at some times, and superb portrayals of anger at others.  There is a lot that one can associate closely with in this series.  It gets an A.