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View Poll Results: Madoka Magica - Total Series Rating
Perfect 10 176 57.89%
9 out of 10 : Excellent 83 27.30%
8 out of 10 : Very Good 27 8.88%
7 out of 10 : Good 9 2.96%
6 out of 10 : Average 7 2.30%
5 out of 10 : Below Average 0 0%
4 out of 10 : Poor 0 0%
3 out of 10 : Bad 0 0%
2 out of 10 : Very Bad 1 0.33%
1 out of 10 : Painful 1 0.33%
Voters: 304. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 2011-06-02, 06:06   Link #101
Jimmy C
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Once he facilitated the process of granting Madoka's wish, he couldn't halt it. And since it appears that he has to begin the process before Madoka states her wish out loud, he was in no position to refuse her after hearing her wish.
And listen to how... nonchalant Kyubei was when he told Homura that Madoka's Soul Gem contained enough despair to destroy a universe. All their efforts to put off entropy about to be for naught and he still sounds like he's delivering a bland weather report.
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Old 2011-06-02, 07:44   Link #102
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That's what I'm talking about. "I don't understand humans"? Look who's talking! Is chasing and contracting a girl whose witch transformation will save the universe from a very remote demise and then bring an immediate one to everything even worth the effort?
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Old 2011-06-02, 16:02   Link #103
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Is chasing and contracting a girl whose witch transformation will save the universe from a very remote demise and then bring an immediate one to everything even worth the effort?
Kyubey's a beaurocrat. He's doing his job, and that's it. Worrying about the demise of the universe is the job of his superiors. (Rukurey - Calculator )
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Old 2011-06-03, 04:15   Link #104
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Well, he's SO not getting a promotion for this one.
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Old 2011-08-03, 01:36   Link #105
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Welp, I finished up this apparent "godsend" of an anime several hours ago. This being the only the 3rd mahou shoujo series I've ever watched in my time as an anime fan, this may not mean much, but a lot of the time it didn't really feel like I was watching a mahou shoujo anime. It felt more like a shounen thriller than anything made for younger girls. I guess that's what they had in mind for this series though, and quite the experience it was.

I'm sure anyone who reads this is already aware of what I found good about this. The plot is well-constructed with many twists and shocking developments, It covers the emotional and psychological ramifications behind the duties of a Puella Magi and it answers practically every question that is presented throughout the course of it's running time. The fight scenes were very cool and intense to watch too despite how short they were.

SHAFT did it again with the animation this time. They never cease to put me in awe when it comes to their animating styles and this series is no exception. The times when the characters encounter a witch were really surreal and fit the gothic nature of witches to a T. I also like how witches are presented more as monsters rather than humanoids too.

Of course, as much as I enjoyed it all, it wasn't perfect. There were a few things that felt off to me...

First of all, the fact the titular character didn't even become a Puella Magi until the very last episode was rather silly. This series is called "Madoka Magica" and yet Madoka herself probably has the least involvement in anything (sans Mami since she dies early on) in the series until the very end. She doesn't even have a tragic backstory unlike any of the other characters. This could be nitpicking but this just seems silly to me.

Next was the ending. It was kind of confusing, bittersweet and left-open ended. Madoka wishes to erase the existence of witches so this ends up creating a whole new universe where she attains the status of a goddess. This is about all I could follow until I got lost on the rest of it all, and I'm not even sure I got that first part right. Anyway, after that's all done the only one left is Homura to fight against some new kind of foe that we aren't given any explanation on. Sayaka, Mami and Kyoko are nowhere to be seen so we don't even know if they were revived and Madoka is on some higher plane of existence or something watching over Homura. Not the easiest-to-follow ending I've ever seen, and since it's open-ended that means a possible future plotline could be made, but with the titular character gone how is something like that going to be achieved?

Lastly, and probably the biggest problem was the length. It was WAY too short for my tastes and all the developments seemed to come at too unnatural a pace. We hardly even get to know Mami before she is killed so the emotional trauma brought on by it seems forced, Hitomi's admittance of her love for Kyousuke was spontaneous and never even foreshadowed beforehand, Sayaka deciding that there was nothing worth fighting for in the world just because of two delinquents on a train was rather silly and the entropy plot device doesn't seem very well thought-out and tacked-on. I feel if this series had a least a 2-cour run a lot of the character's development would feel a little more believable.

Anywho, despite all that this was a very cool series and I can definitely see why people like it so much now. If there's ever a continuation of this series I'd love to see it.~


TL;DR: I found it just as great as a lot others have, but it still isn't without imperfections, mostly in it's length.
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Old 2011-08-03, 03:15   Link #106
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Originally Posted by SilverSyko View Post
Anyway, after that's all done the only one left is Homura to fight against some new kind of foe that we aren't given any explanation on. Sayaka, Mami and Kyoko are nowhere to be seen so we don't even know if they were revived
Well on the first point:while Madoka managed to get rid of witches,she didn't get rid of despair,all the despair in the world still exists and manifests itself in the form of those monsters.

You might have missed it but we were shown what happens to the other girl,Kyoko and Mami have been revived and fight the monsters alongside Homura and Sayaka but Sayaka still "disapears" because she uses too much magic.
There's a whole scene where Madoka comes to "greet" her as she takes her away.
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Old 2011-08-03, 21:17   Link #107
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Checked the polls. Someone decided to hate the show because the characters are tops in this year's Saimoe competition.

Haters will hate.
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Old 2011-08-06, 14:18   Link #108
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Sarcasm aside, why not? We ARE talking Ume Aoki designs here.
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Old 2011-08-07, 09:03   Link #109
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Storyline = 10 of 10
Voice Acting = 10 of 10
Artwork = 8 0f 10
Script = 9 of 10
Music = 8 of 10
Enjoyment = 10 of 10
Emotional Involvment = 10 of 10

Overall Score = 9 of 10


Pros = This anime is very interesting. One hundred percent full of surprises and overturning of existing concept of Magical Girl so far. Here we will be invited directly to see the transformation device called "Soul Gem" in which the object is a substitute for Puella Magi body itself. While the user is actually locked themselves inside the Soul Gem. Not to mention the Witch is the adult form of Puella Magi. So his friend who became Witch has it's own dilemma, so there is no other way to save him, but to perform euthanasia, just like Kyouko did to Sayaka.

Cons = Too many tragedies and drastically change the mood becomes darker and sometimes scenes that quite disturbing.
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Old 2011-08-13, 16:57   Link #110
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A decent start, solid middle with only a few hiccups and a strong finish make this show a winner in my books. It basically paved new territory in how dark a Magical girl series is allowed to be and I look forward to seeing what doors it opens and what series will try to build on it or not.
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Old 2011-08-22, 13:56   Link #111
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Pretty story, a sort of cliche ending(The good guys always win eh?), and overall good change from the usual Magical Girl.

The Mami scene made it clear that this wasn't going to be the same old MGs we usually see and I think it was foreshadowed that it wouldn't be during Madoka's dream near the beginning. And Kyuubey, that is the symbol of evil lol.

Though one problem I did have was how short this series felt. Though dragging out an anime out too long isn't a good idea I felt some parts could have been extended a bit, like Mami. She lasted like, 2 episodes and the end of the first?

Overall, a good anime, 8/10.
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Old 2011-08-25, 23:57   Link #112
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Quote:
First of all, the fact the titular character didn't even become a Puella Magi until the very last episode was rather silly. This series is called "Madoka Magica" and yet Madoka herself probably has the least involvement in anything (sans Mami since she dies early on) in the series until the very end. She doesn't even have a tragic backstory unlike any of the other characters. This could be nitpicking but this just seems silly to me.
That's part of why this series is a deconstruction. The person the series is named after isn't the protagonist, but is just a plot device to distract us from the real hero of the story, Homura.

Quote:
a sort of cliche ending(The good guys always win eh?)
You say that like this series had bad guys, or that the victory obtained isn't Pyrrhic. :3
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Old 2011-08-27, 03:26   Link #113
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You say that like this series had bad guys, or that the victory obtained isn't Pyrrhic. :3
Haha, I was hoping for an ending similar to say School Days where everyone basically loses. But I guess I shouldn't expect that, especially from this genre if anime lol.

And I found it cliche the moment Madoka said, "I'll always be watching over you." I guess I just don't like these kinds of endings.
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Old 2011-08-27, 04:24   Link #114
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That's part of why this series is a deconstruction. The person the series is named after isn't the protagonist, but is just a plot device to distract us from the real hero of the story, Homura.
I love Homura, and I would love her to be the protagonist, but you're wrong. The protagonist is the character who resolves the main conflict, it doesn't matter how much screen time she gets. In this series such character is Madoka, hence she's the protagonist.
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Old 2011-08-27, 17:25   Link #115
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The protagonist is the character who concerns the conflict, really. Otherwise that would mean that every deus ex machina-as-character that resolves a conflict is the protagonist, and that's clearly not the case. The protagonist is the person the conflict revolves around, and for who the audience identifies with. Madoka doesn't fit this description because she's, in a sense, the 'prize' that everyone plays around, being the goal of Homura and Kyubey and such. Homura fills the position because her struggles cause the series to happen, and it is her devotion to suffer hell to save a loved one that we are expected to empathize with.

Madoka would be a deuteragonist.
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Old 2011-08-27, 17:41   Link #116
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The protagonist is the person the conflict revolves around, and for who the audience identifies with. Madoka doesn't fit this description because she's, in a sense, the 'prize' that everyone plays around, being the goal of Homura and Kyubey and such.
Madoka isn't a prize because the decision is up to her. Homura isn't really confronting Kyubey, but rather Madoka, who wants to be a magical girl (this is even stated by Gen himself!). This series is about the confrontation of two different world views, represented by Madoka and Homura. Homura is the kind of hero that would sacrifice anything (herself, and maybe even the world) for a personal goal, something that it's dear to her. Madoka on the other hand is the kind of hero that would sacrifice herself and her personal attachments for a general, "altruistic" goal. Gen wanted to confront this two types of heroes and wanted to make a story in which the Madoka-like hero would "win" over the Homura-like hero. He set things this way because it was how he was feeling at the time regarding his writing.

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Homura fills the position because her struggles cause the series to happen, and it is her devotion to suffer hell to save a loved one that we are expected to empathize with.
No, because you can't identify with a character if you don't know their motives, and we don't learn about Homura's motivations until episode 10. During most of the series we identify with Madoka, who is motivated by her desire to help people at large, and we learn the secrets of the plot along with her.

In any case, the protagonist is Madoka.
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Old 2011-08-27, 18:07   Link #117
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Madoka isn't a prize because the decision is up to her. Homura isn't really confronting Kyubey, but rather Madoka, who wants to be a magical girl (this is even stated by Gen himself!). This series is about the confrontation of two different world views, represented by Madoka and Homura. Homura is the kind of hero that would sacrifice anything (herself, and maybe even the world) for a personal goal, something that it's dear to her. Madoka on the other hand is the kind of hero that would sacrifice herself and her personal attachments for a general, "altruistic" goal. Gen wanted to confront this two types of heroes and wanted to make a story in which the Madoka-like hero would "win" over the Homura-like hero. He set things this way because it was how he was feeling at the time regarding his writing.
I worded things poorly. While what you said is correct, on another narrativistic level, Madoka is basically the wild card that Homura and Kyubey, as fundamentally opposed forces, are both vying for. Homura may be combatting Madoka's predisposition to sacrificing herself, but Kyubey as a character is the plot device that allows the conflict to exist. He is the antagonist (which is different from "villain").

Quote:
No, because you can't identify with a character if you don't know their motives, and we don't learn about Homura's motivations until episode 10. During most of the series we identify with Madoka, who is motivated by her desire to help people at large, and we learn the secrets of the plot along with her.

In any case, the protagonist is Madoka.
That's really entirely irrelevant, because what defines a character's role in a work is the finished product as a whole. Madoka is a "Decoy Protagonist" (the deutertagonist), and Homura is the proper Protagonist. This sort of bait-and-switch tactic is fairly common in literature. Another contemporary example would be the film Sucker Punch, where
Spoiler for spoilers for the film:
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Old 2011-08-27, 23:54   Link #118
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I worded things poorly. While what you said is correct, on another narrativistic level, Madoka is basically the wild card that Homura and Kyubey, as fundamentally opposed forces, are both vying for. Homura may be combatting Madoka's predisposition to sacrificing herself, but Kyubey as a character is the plot device that allows the conflict to exist. He is the antagonist (which is different from "villain").
This is just an interpretation based on one of many possible narrative structures. Madoka as series is not about Homura trying to save Madoka, but about Madoka herself trying to figure out what she should do. Homura allows the story to play out as it does, but the focus of the story is Madoka's internal conflict. That's why it's only when Madoka resolves her internal conflict that she realizes how to resolve the external one.

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That's really entirely irrelevant, because what defines a character's role in a work is the finished product as a whole.
That doesn't change the fact that you can't identify with Homura before episode 10 because you don't know her motivation. Up to episode 10 the series is Madoka's journey of self-discovery, and after episode 10 the series comes to its climax when Madoka finally knows what she should do. That's the story. Homura's story is just background. She's a plot device. The plot device that allows Madoka to resolve the conflict. But the decision is still up to Madoka because this is her story.

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Madoka is a "Decoy Protagonist" (the deutertagonist), and Homura is the proper Protagonist. This sort of bait-and-switch tactic is fairly common in literature. Another contemporary example would be the film Sucker Punch, where
Spoiler for spoilers for the film:
If you want to believe this, be my guest, but no one in the production team thinks that way. I don't see it either.
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Old 2011-08-28, 00:19   Link #119
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This is just an interpretation based on one of many possible narrative structures. Madoka as series is not about Homura trying to save Madoka, but about Madoka herself trying to figure out what she should do. Homura allows the story to play out as it does, but the focus of the story is Madoka's internal conflict. That's why it's only when Madoka resolves her internal conflict that she realizes how to resolve the external one.
Madoka as a narrative is about Homura trying to rescue Madoka, and it is also about Madoka trying to come to terms with her internal conflict and find self-satisfaction. But because Homura's actions are what causes the narrative to exist in the first place, and gives birth to Madoka's dilemma due to Homura's interventions, Homura is the proper protagonist.

Quote:
That doesn't change the fact that you can't identify with Homura before episode 10 because you don't know her motivation. Up to episode 10 the series is Madoka's journey of self-discovery, and after episode 10 the series comes to its climax when Madoka finally knows what she should do. That's the story. Homura's story is just background. She's a plot device. The plot device that allows Madoka to resolve the conflict. But the decision is still up to Madoka because this is her story.
"Main Character" and "Protagonist" are not synonymous. This is where your misunderstanding lies.

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If you want to believe this, be my guest, but no one in the production team thinks that way. I don't see it either.
Sorry, but I don't really have much respect for Gen Urobuchi's knowledge of narrative structure, given his previous emotional breakdowns over dissatisfaction with it.
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Old 2011-08-28, 00:38   Link #120
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But because Homura's actions are what causes the narrative to exist in the first place, and gives birth to Madoka's dilemma due to Homura's interventions, Homura is the proper protagonist.
This doesn't make much sense. There is a fuck-ton of stories in which the conflict is brought about by forces external to the protagonist. From the top of my head I could name Jaws (Spielberg). The conflict in this movie comes from the fact that the damn shark wants to eat all the people of town. Martin Brody, the protagonist, needs to decide what to do about it. The need to take this decision creates the internal conflict, which is exacerbated by Brody's fear of the sea. Madoka is this kind of protagonist: she got caught in the middle of a conflict brought about by forces external to her (QB and Homura) but it's up to her to decide what to do about it.

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Sorry, but I don't really have much respect for Gen Urobuchi's knowledge of narrative structure, given his previous emotional breakdowns over dissatisfaction with it.
I fail to see how being dissatisfied with your own writing means you lack knowledge of narrative structure. But whatever, to each its own.
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