Madoka Magica is a smart and yet cursed show. Many including myself have applauded the show for being a brilliant take and twist on the magical girl genre, a genre that is usually meant to be an inspiration to kids. Madoka Magica changes this concept of Magical Girls by making it realistic. Fighting monsters (or witches in this case) would be a dangerous task in our reality and that is the case in point Madoka Magica tries to bring forward. A great idea on the part of the creators but unfortunately some great ideas can only go too far and the story suffers a bit as a result.
Thankfully, it is the characters that are the best part of the anime. Sayaka, Homura, Mami, and Kyoko are all fascinating to watch and each have their own layered characterization and moral philosophical themes that drive the story forward. Themes such as individual dreams, wishes, societal views and conflicts, relationships, etc... It's all so fascinating and brilliantly told. What is even more amazing about the characters is that they develop not only through great dialogue but also through visual means as well. Characters will change stance and opinions but the audience needs to pay attention to facial expressions and character actions throughout the show in order to determine where and when these amazing characters grew. The main protagonist Madoka is probably the most straight forward character of the bunch. She's definitely less fascinating than the rest of the cast but she is still fun to watch due to her kind nature and expressive personality. She believes herself as being a coward who can't help people, but low and behold she ends up being the smartest, wisest, and bravest of the show. She's a fine character and role model, but not a very deep one. Another little problem I had with the show is the adults of the world are all morons. How come the teenagers are the ones talking smart and philosophical while the adults are the unbalanced irresponsible weirdos who have no clue about anything? Also, there is some questionable character morals that will make you scratch your head and wonder if it is a legitimate reason to be frightened/traumatized, but they are still interesting to ponder about none the less.
*MINOR SPOILER*
Finally we must talk about Kyubey, who is probably one of the greatest villains ever to appear in an anime. This little cat like alien is fascinating in so many ways. He deceits, plots, scams, and lies all the way through the entire series all the while always having a permanent smile on his face (creepy). He tortures and plays around with the lives of these little girls all to further his plans, plans that are a bit understandable but completely unacceptable in the method that he's doing it in. He is the stark contrast of the usual talking cat side kick character found in magical girl shows which is once again the writers trying to play with our expectations. I love this villain yet hate him for being such an awful manipulator. This is exactly how amazing villains should be written.
*END OF MINOR SPOILER*
But now unfortunately we must talk about the curse of the show and how the magical girl theme while being its strength is also its weakness. The reason the Magical Girls genre is targeted to kids is because the premise is meant to make kids feel like they can be heroes with good moral values, but in a realistic premise it is simply ridiculous and implausible. It is also at points very silly because intricate plot details and philosophy concepts are being discussed by teenage girls, girls who have probably only recently been through puberty. There are many times when I simply laughed at serious smart plot discussions because I couldn't believe little girls were talking about such things. Just the concept of Magical Girls itself is ludicrous and yes, the story does try to explain why an alien cat would give little girls powers of incredible strength but it unsurprisingly doesn't make any sense and feels forced. The conclusion as well is a very lame and predictable anime plot ending. I don't want to spoil it but all I got to say is, "I bow down to our lord and savior Madoka, the perfect moral being!".
A part from these main gripes in the story, the rest of it is very good. The plot moves along with the character development very well and the main themes of the story are well handled. Themes such as natural order, space and time, etc.. all come together exceptionally well with the themes of the characters in order to create a very fascinating 12 episode anime series. The art is also very good but nothing too exceptional. It does its job well by showing us the character feelings and expressions, but it never "wowed" me in any way. I also never got used to the casts chubby looking faces (but that's just a bias opinion). I will say that the art style works well in order to create a magical girl feeling and the action was very well handled. The sound was also amazing in the show. The openings and endings of Madoka Magica worked in with the themes and moods of the series, and I found it very intelligent in how they used it. For example, the ending song of the first two episodes are very happy sounding melodies, which fit in with the happy magical girl mood the show first puts on. But then the third episode is where the series becomes serious and violent, thus it plays with the audience by having the ending song sounding dark and depressing as if it is stating, "prepare yourselves people because things are about to change". I like it when shows play around with music like that.
I definitely recommend Madoka Magica to any anime fan. It is a brilliant and adult like take on the magical girl genre. It takes the stereotypes and reverses it. As I explained before, there are limitations to the reversing of this genre, but it is none the less a brilliant effort that deserves praise.
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