Madoka Magica - Overall Series Impressions & Total Series Rating

[sa547]

The biggest problem with Mr. Greece is the rose-colored glasses that he wears all too often... that is, he keeps on comparing old shows with new ones, and then concluding that old anime -- especially his favorites -- are superior and pioneering than new ones, which he thinks are derivative and junk-filled (looking at his MAL list alone makes you tell what kind of "critic" he is).

Going back to topic, 9/10 is a realistic enough rating for almost everyone, because though there are some technical errors, most viewers admit being moved emotionally, with some saying that they even shed tears.

[Sheba]

My 9/10 was because it met my expectations and then went way beyond them. And delivered. Of course a perfect delivery, where animation don't feel like they cut corners, where some parts of the story gets improved (Kyouko's last stand), would mean a 10. But for what it did, and how, in a short number of episodes, it delivered, it was intense and engaging. I am perfectly confident in my 9/10 and I don't feel like having to justify it against the Oldefags if they ever decide to go Spanish Inquisition on me, because I HAVE watched Sailor Moon, more like Filler Moon, and Princess Tutu. And Madoka stands the comparison very well against them.

[Paperplane]

If you guys are interested, you can roricon's review here for his analysis on the show and why the 6.5.

TL ; DR - The series is too convienient, 90% all shock effect and if you take that out, it's a story that's way too convienient and inconsistent in events like nothing ever happened, random broken powers like time travel, Deus Ex Machina Ending, . Sailor Moon is so much better blah blah blah

Also some big claims:

"Oh thank you Madoka; thanks to you many people will have a reason to pay attention to Tutu and Sailor Moon, shows far more well handled than you and your superficial scare tactics."

"And as for all of you who were trolled to believe Madoka is to mahou shojo what Neon Genesis is to mecha… wake up. Madoka is not the new thing after Haruhism and Lelouch is not the driver of the horse wagon. *flushes toilet* "

http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl...meatt&aid=8069

[Sheba]

The first claim is very flawed and delusional because by that reasoning shounen fans should be starting checking Jojo's Bizarre Advanture and Hokuto no Ken thanks to Naruto, Bleach and One Piece. It's not understanding how people tick, for it doesn't always work that way. You cannot scream your lungs out at people telling them they have bad tastes then expecting them to watch the anime/TV series/movies you want them to watch because you have played up the attitude of "You are young, you obviously just started the hobby and you should feel bad about it!". As someone said, you can bring a donkey to the well, you cannot force him to drink.

[kitten320]

I watched the whole show in one day since I had time and gave it 9.

The last show that got me so engaged was Shiki and I watched it several months ago and already had re-watched it too.

Usually I try to avoid popular stuff for as long as possible because in most cases I just end up being seriously dissapointed (Haruhi and Gurren Lagan are good examples of my dissapointment, not to offend anyone but those shows are crap...).

Back to Madoka, the reason why I finally decided to watch it is because I kept seeing it everywhere with high 8-10 marks and because it was said that the show is not all fluffy as it looks and actually has dark side to it. Being fan of dark stories I finally gave in... and don't regret one bit!

All the characters ares different and likeble, some had brought a lot of suprises. Kyubei happened to be more entertaining than I expected, he actually started to creep me out. But I don't hate him since I can't really call him cruel... clueless maybe?
Homura had the best excuse to her cold personality, usually it is something quiet cheap that makes you want to facepalm.
Kyouko was not an arrogant bastard after all who needed a smack to the head to wake up.
Sayaka though did start to annoy me... all this drama and witch transformation could have been easily avoided if she would shut her pride somewhere. Also the whole sould transformation is not that bad, like if that guy would notice the difference.

Was not big fond of cutely drawn characters and still think that slightly different style would make them look better, for example like in Mai HiME/Otome series. But you do get used to it eventually.

Music was the biggest highlight here for me, always liked Kajiura Yuki since Mai HiME series and she did not dissapoint here either.

Also quiet unique way of potraying witchses and their world, at first I was "WTF?!" but then I started to really like it.

So yeh I liked character interections, drama even though it was over used sometimes, action, mysteries...

And yeh, huge plus to Madoka for wishing what I've been thinking about "Why not remove withes and end this cycle already?".

So yeh, show deserves all the hype it has. And I'm also not huge fan of magical girl shows like Sailor Moon and so on but this works really well. Recommend to everyone who doesn't like Magical Girl theme.

[sa547]

Originally Posted by Paperplane

If you guys are interested, you can roricon's review here for his analysis on the show and why the 6.5.

Let's move to something worthwhile rather than wasting time with that elitist, attention-hogging prick; he did enough damage here and other fandoms, yet any statements he makes will not stop people from watching.

[Casshern]

Originally Posted by Sheba

The first claim is very flawed and delusional because by that reasoning shounen fans should be starting checking Jojo's Bizarre Advanture and Hokuto no Ken thanks to Naruto, Bleach and One Piece. It's not understanding how people tick, for it doesn't always work that way. You cannot scream your lungs out at people telling them they have bad tastes then expecting them to watch the anime/TV series/movies you want them to watch because you have played up the attitude of "You are young, you obviously just started the hobby and you should feel bad about it!". As someone said, you can bring a donkey to the well, you cannot force him to drink.

The fact that he loves Sailor Moon but hates Madoka makes all his claims flawed, since everything he hates about Madoka is even more blatant in Sailor Moon. Wether it's shock effect, time travel, broken wish system, last minute saves, inconsequential death etc etc it's all in Sailor Moon. Mentioning Dragonball in a Madoka review pretty much invalidates everything he said. Waste of time. Wish I had Homura's power.

I agree with sa547.

[Paperplane]

Originally Posted by sa547

Let's move to something worthwhile rather than wasting time with that elitist, attention-hogging prick; he did enough damage here and other fandoms, yet any statements he makes will not stop people from watching.

Indeed. Sorry to bring it up. And you know what's more interesting? He's watched over 4000 series and his average for votes of many shows is around 4-5. That guy is absolutely hard to impress really.

http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl...tes&uid=251338

[applejuice]

*Mentioning princess tutu or sailermoon before Minky Momo or Card-capture Sakura means he is in no place to actually discuss or judge about the genre.

Anyway, regardless of its genre, this was one of the most absorbing animation I've ever seen since Bakemonogatari (*shaft-fag banzai). Something that was interesting about this series was its concept was much more based on genre-novels or visual novel, than animation that we had before. A lot of scripts and scenes were very game-like. Especially ones from nitro+ like Sumaga or Saya no Uta. That's what made this animation very refreshing.

Spoiler:

For instance, Sayaka going crazy scene, Kyoko suicide scene was very visual-novel like. Most of all, Universe Mado-god scene reminded me a lot of Saya no Uta. I'm not saying it was rip-off. Those scenes have never been well shown in anime form before. Shaft successfully portrays it.

Of course, there was Urobuchi Gen behind all this VN-ish vibe and stuffs. He is really genius for able to write perfect scenario for three completely different media plat-form: VN, Animation and Genre-novel.

[sa547]

Well, the most heavy-handed criticism comes from those self-professed TLDR anime pundits who have seen all and done all that for almost 20 years (because they feel that older anime that predated PMMM were "superior" in many ways); those who expected too much; those who held grudges against Shaft, Shinbo and Gen; and those who expect the show to please them intellectually.

I don't care what they say. They're not going to stop me from buying PMMM once it gets licensed.




Addendum: I left the PMMM community at LJ; they think that opinions would bring harm to them than good.

[Lord of Fire]

The only 'bad' thing about the show is its animation, but this is Studio SHAFT we're talking about, not (for example) KyoAni, and Shinbou is known to make up for the most glaring flaws when the shows gets released on Blu-Ray. In that sense, the TV version merely serves as an appetizer for the home video version, but it's a very tasty appetizer nonetheless.

The voice acting was superb, each seiyuu gave it all they got. Chiwa Saito alone is usually enough to win an audience over, Eri Kitamura has become one of my favorites very fast an the same goes Aoi Yuuki, though that doesn't mean the other seiyuus don't deserve praise either. Each of them set the mood well and made their characters come alive.

What needs to said about the music, other than fantastic? Though I'm not a huge fan of the OP, I do think it helps to lure in fans of the Magical Girl genre and once you understand what the song is about, you can really feel what the characters have been through. The BGM is perfect in every battle scene and even aside from those, it continues to impress me. And the ED fits perfectly in my alley when it comes to musical taste, so it instantly 'clicked' when I first heard it.

Urobuchi did a swell job writing the story. Hardly anything major was left untouched, and the show had a nice, though bittersweet conclusion. Any details missed were most likely left for fans to speculate over, which makes it possible for this show to be talked about for quite some time. Plus, in a 12-episode show, there's only so much you can fit in without sacrificing the major plot. The other strong thing about it is that you had to look at all the past episodes to tie stuff together. The events in episode 12 were foreshadowed time and again, but it still managed to catch people by surprise, giving them the (false) impression that it came out of nowhere.

A 10 for me is usually reserved for shows that had the most emotional impact on me, whether it was drama, comedy or whatever, and the more I enjoyed a show, the more I could overlook any flaws present (be it animation, or otherwise). The same thing goes for Madoka, which, despite its (relatively minor) flaws, had me glued to the screen whenever I watched an episode. For most of the time, it was fun to follow speculation and sometimes even seeing theories come true, even though eventually lost track of the numerous theories that arose (though that can be considered a strong point as well, as it kept people talking about the show, especially during its one-month absence due to the Sendai Earthquake and tsunami).

So yeah, 10/10 for me, too. Good music, good voice cast, story was good and any animation flaws (that aren't fixed on Blu-Ray) didn't stop me from highly enjoying this show.

[Snork]

(*shaft-fag banzai)

*high-fives Applejuice *

Well, the most heavy-handed criticism comes from those self-professed TLDR anime pundits who have seen all and done all that for almost 20 years

Anime is mostly a thing of enjoyment. It's pop culture, not any less than Hollywood. There are good things, there are masterpieces, there are many that fall flat. But being a sceptical critic (or posing as one) never really benefits the viewer. If new shows have no chance to surpass the superior old ones, then why even bother watching anime anymore?

As to animation, I grew up on Disney features that sport significantly higher frame rates, so I can't say I usually expect astounding animation in anime. But I appreciate good animation it when I see it, and I respect studios like Bones and Ufotable for their animation quality. Shaft, of course, has never given off an impression of a studio that places bets on frame rate - Shinbo's style is more about visual effects of all kinds. Then again, they do produce impressive sequences where they see fit to put effort. In Madoka, some sequences may be a bit rough, but who'd say anything against WN battle or Mami's gun kata?

[sa547]

If this was a dinner table, and we're all around it... Let's share that bottle of vodka (and I think you do have the finest Belarus has to offer ) and pass around the glasses and then we raise our glasses, because this show did the best it can; it defied criticism, errors, disasters and logic; it gave studios, directors and writers much to think about; and hopefully Shinbo might make true on his pledge to create new worlds for Madoka and her friends to exist and to seek adventure...

Будем здоровы! To our health... and to the health of our six ladies! Cheers!

[serenade_beta]

Forgot about the final impressions thread... ( -_-)

Anyways, well, as far as Shaft goes, it feels like it has been a while since they made something that was actually interesting.
Though as always, not really for the better, they love showing how "amazing" their art sense is and doesn't match with the other art designs around them.
As far as this anime goes, the dark atmosphere and all of the craziness actually fits, but the main problem is the character designs. If there is one problem I can find with this anime, it is the character designs. Horrible! I never felt this way with Hidamari, but this manga-ka's designs do not match the atmosphere in this show.

The other problems would be...
Mainly, Shaft-quality. They might love using fancy art, but the quality of the actual art isn't all that good. I still remember the episode revealing Homura's past and how her face got flatter and flatter and pancake-like everytime she returned to the past.
Some connection with Steins;Gate?

Also, while the story was interesting, I guess it is a bit... meh(?) that it was all about some girl with a crazy obsession towards another girl.
Kind of reminds me of Iriya no Sora, with how aliens and outer forces move the story but only play as a background while the main focus is on a certain character and in the end, the background is never explained completely... which is okay, I guess, since the focus wasn't on that background anyways.


But all in all, it was very interesting (though not to the "OMG, I can't wait for next week!"-level), and it was one of the very few shows of its season that was decent at all.
Before the season, I knew it was going to be one cold season, but I'm glad there was a surprising flame in the shape of this anime.

[sa547]

1.) IMHO they chose to use Ume Aoki's character designs to be different and distinctive, eschewing the usual cutesy template that's been around for more than a decade (if SHAFT were to use stereotypical and traditional character designs, well, PMMM may not make it to the top today). In other words, anyone watching a show with Aoki-designed characters must get used to the pancake look.

At least the advantage, IMHO, is that it permits for more facial expressions and changes in their eyes.

2.) You can't blame SHAFT for rushing things or being sloppy at times, as it has become habitual for the studio to fix those errors as they move from broadcast versions to streaming video to permanent BD media, despite widespread criticism of such practices.

3.) Shinbo is eclectic, and weirdness is his signature.

[BaKaBaKaOtaKu]

LOL. i was once a sunrise-fag since almost all of my favorite and shows that i'd watched are from sunrise. but after seeing madoka magica, i'd moved to the shaft camp (urobuchi is the main reason why i'm thinking highly of shaft now. I want to see MAGICA QUARTET work again)! lol.
although i think i might return to sunrise in the near future. XDD

as for those who bash Madoka, they're just bitter that their favorite shows don't get as much attention as this. LOL.

and btw, Madokaism has taken over haruhiism! XDDD MADOKAISM FTW!!

[Paperplane]

Originally Posted by BaKaBaKaOtaKu

LOL. i was once a sunrise-fag since almost all of my favorite and shows that i'd watched are from sunrise. but after seeing madoka magica, i'd moved to the shaft camp (urobuchi is the main reason why i'm thinking highly of shaft now. I want to see MAGICA QUARTET work again)! lol.
although i think i might return to sunrise in the near future. XDD

I just watch whatever peaks my interest or is highly talked about to see if the series/movie lives up to it's reputation.

as for those who bash Madoka, they're just bitter that their favorite shows don't get as much attention as this. LOL.

Even if someone were to bash Madoka, at the end of the day, it's just their informed opinion but I do agree that some people like to go over the board with this like Roriconfan for example. For Madoka, with most of the votes at 9-10, it certainly has succeeded in terms of being great at what it does with the genre.

and btw, Madokaism has taken over haruhiism! XDDD MADOKAISM FTW!!

I'll leave that for the community to decide. I like both shows a lot in terms of content but I'm not a guy who'd go crazy over them. I'm sold on them but don't expect me to go nuts on it xD

[applejuice]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

The other problems would be...
Mainly, Shaft-quality. They might love using fancy art, but the quality of the actual art isn't all that good. I still remember the episode revealing Homura's past and how her face got flatter and flatter and pancake-like everytime she returned to the past.

Blame Miyamoto Yukihiro for that. I personally dislike he's direction, particularly when he completely destroys character sakuga. But of course, he learnt it from none other than 'SHINBO'.

Needs more Oishi Tatsuya direction. His one is simply the best (eg. 1st episode of Bakemonogatari = God like).

[Kyuu]

OK. I finally decided to start watching this series. And here's my first impression:

WTF am I watching? But this looks different and interesting.

That is all I have to say for now.

Anyways, well, as far as Shaft goes

Oh, it's a Shaft series... ok. That makes sense now.

[jeroz]

Prior to this show, never been there a series that kept me captivated and wanting for more each week. From the solid tried-and-proven first episode the story just builds up to something of a grand scale.

There are just too many amazing memorable moments in this series. From something as exhilarating as Homura's fight with Walpurgisnacht, to the little touch in ep5 where she popped open the cap while talking about Mami's death, to the perfect execution of the final scene in ep8, PMMM is just excellent in its presentation in so many levels.

People might argue that it's not the first mahou shoujo series that's twisted. However, it's the first one that does things brilliantly and not felt gimmicky. The emotional impact is still strong during rewatch (think I watched ep10 at least 10 times during the weekend after the episode came out because it's just so good).

It's the first series that I highly anticipate the release of each episodes, rewatch them several times, spend hours on various forums to absorb everyone's opinions, and do weekly episode review with average of 700+ words. The time I spent on this series was enormous, and in my opinion every second is worth it. The collaboration between Urobuchi's script + Shinbo's unorthodox direction + Kajiura's great scores just make this series so good in many levels.

It's a toss up between 9 or a 10, and in the end I decide that it's too good at the moment to not give it a great score of 10/10. (though if we have to break it down I might give it like 9.5 or something :P).

P.S Although it's entirely subjective, personally I would also add the community's contribution to my appreciation of the series. The amount of creations from the fans are just enormous, and just to show you how much potential the set up have. I really enjoy my time here in this subboard.

Off Topic a bit here.
I can't wait to see how Fate Zero will turn out. We already know how good Kajiura's music compliments Urobuchi's story, add in the high quality of ufotable and one great director in Aoki Ei, that series has the potential to equal if not surpass Madoka just based on the quality of the people behind it.