Madoka Magica

Type: Anime - 12 episodes.

Genre: Tragedy, Deconstruction, Magical Girl.

Plot Synopsis: Madoka, a normal, slightly shy girl, finds herself dragged into the world of witches and magical girls. A weird cat like creature called Kyubey offers her the chance to become a magical girl so she too can fight. Transfer stubent Homura, has other ideas however.


Video Review:
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Story: 9/10
Madoka Magica has a superb storyline. It's an interesting tale that makes you want to keep watching until the end. The twists come off quite naturally. The only thing holding this back from getting a ten was some minor pacing problems near the end.

Characters: 7/10
Not the shows strongest point. Madoka doesn't get involved enough in the plot. Protagonists need to be proactive! A lot of the characters are based off common tropes from the magical girl genre. That's not to say the show doesn't handle them well because it does. The emo character Homura although seemingly bland to begin turns into a fantastic character late into the shows run. A key part of this show is the loss of the innocence of the main characters. This is done well.

Art/animation: 8/10
The normal world is rather bland and the animation, although never poor, never really excels much. When entering the witch's domains, things get a lot better. The fights are well done and fun to watch.

Voice acting, music rating: 7/10
A strong soundtrack. The music elevates the scenes, and definitely helps build emotion. The dub isn't the best. A few of the voices are pretty annoying. The sub is better but both are watch able.

Overall: 8/10