
I held off for nearly a month on writing this review because I forgot was thinking deeply about what to say. Madoka by far was the most popular show of the spring season, and with good reason. For me, the best part of the show was all the twists and turns in the plot— it really kept you coming back for more, wanting to know what would happen. Madoka was the show I looked forward to each new episode of the most since Code Geass aired. I won’t spoil any of the plot twists, but will just say that many were shocking and unexpected. Everything is wrapped up in the end, although the ending for Madoka was kind of silly.

Madoka also stands out for its excellent cast of characters. The weakest is the titular Madoka, but her indecisiveness serves as the main driving force behind the show. The villain, Kyuubey, will be remembered for a long time. This is how you make a great villain – not someone who cackles evilly while destroying the world, but someone who considers what they’re doing good. Sayaka, Kyoko and Homura also turned into detailed, sympathetic characters.

Shaft went all out on the production for this, and it shows. The battle scenes especially are spectacular. Shinbo needs to do more shows like Madoka and forget about all the crap sequels and moe shows that SHAFT has been churning out lately.
Anyway, don’t be deceived by the title— Madoka Magica is a show about magical girls, but it isn’t a show for little girls. Expect something dark and violent.
- Plot / Script – 9 / 10 – Plenty of twists and turns, great mystery development.
- Characters – 9 / 10 – Excellent, especially for Sayaka, Kyoko and Homura
- Production – 10 / 10 – Beautiful, especially the fights and witches’ worlds
- Overall – A-
Recommendations – Noein, Mai-HiME, Narutaru