Puella Magi Madoka Magica
What follows are episode-by-episode reactions to the show named in the title of this post.
They're not particularly well-written or even entirely coherent and they're a little shorter than I wanted (Facebook's word limit and all), but here they are because I want to be able to read them without scrolling through a month's worth of Facebook posts.
Starting episode 1 of Madoka Magica. If this all turns out to be some sort of elaborate prank to make me obsessive about avoiding spoilers for a terrible show, I'm going to be really annoyed.
Episode 1:
The trippy Satoshi Kon-esque bits and the epic soundtrack aside, it seems like a pretty standard magical girl anime. Then again, School Days started as a generic romance show. So far, so good.
Episode 2:
We're still in "pretty standard, but extremely well-executed" territory; from what I've heard, that isn't going to last long. In any case, where it's at now is really cool.
Also, I really like Mami, it's a shame that she's exactly the kind of character that dark deconstructive shows (which I've heard Madoka Magica is) like to make evil.
Episode 3:
Oh. I... was not expecting that.
So we're swimming into darker waters now, Kyubey's getting creepily pushy, Akemi's actually doing something other than being vaguely sinister, and Mami... well, she isn't evil.
I'm going to take a break now.
Episode 4:
Madoka Magica has moved completely away from "Trippy and slightly dark, but also fun and colourful" and now occupies the space of "Depressing as all hell".
And is it just me or is Kyubey becoming less Kero-chan and more Mephistopheles?
In any case, four episodes in, one of our two heroes has signed the metaphorical contract (in metaphorical blood, no doubt), this should lead somewhere interesting.
Episode 5:
Love, friendship, awesome fight scenes, and small moments of darkness. That's pretty much what a magical girl show should and, oddly enough, that's kind of what this episode was. I'm kind of confused, given how depressing the last two episodes were, but hey, I'm not complaining.
And now there's something resembling an actual villain (other than Kyubey, I mean), so that's pretty cool.
Episode 6:
This is what I'm talking about, love, friendship, all that jazz... at least for the first 15 minutes, those last 5 are kind of nerve-wracking. With the [spoilers] and everything, I thought Sayaka [spoilers].
Also, I'm calling it now, Kyubey is the devil, he created the witches as a ploy to trick people out of their souls.
Also also, Dog Drug Reinforcement is my new favourite game.
Episode 7:
More depression. Backstory for the villain (who, as it turns out, isn't really a villain). Magical powers corrupt magically. Not only is Kyubey the devil, he/she/it's also kind of a jerk.
Also, I'LL TAKE AN APPLE... AND EAT IT!
Episode 8:
More depression, more epic fights, the whole [spoiler] thing is kind of weird, but I'm sure it'll sort itself out. This show is certainly very good at being a dark magical girl show, but I don't see why it gets as much praise it does, I mean--
Wait, did that just happen?!
Akemi... and then Kyubey... and then Sayaka... I don't even...
So that just happened.
Now that's more like it.
Episode 9:
So Kyubey isn't the devil. It's still a jerk though.
More stuff happened that I have to be vague about, but at least it wasn't meaningless this time.
This show is amazing.
That said, I'm going to go watch/read/listen to something else so that the next episode's response will be more than just "ITHURTSITHURTITHURTITHURTS".
Episode 10:
Finally, backstory for Akemi, backstory that somehow manages to make her even more awesome while still being ridiculously depressing.
But no matter how crappy her life may be, Nerdy Akemi is adorable!
Also, Mami's [spoilers]! Granted, it's only for a little bit, but it's still pretty nice.
And that dream, I remember that dream, weird time for it to turn up.
Episode 11:
A few things.
1. Why isn't this show called Puella Magi Homura Magica?
2. So Kyubey is [spoiler] Space Odyssey?
3. Why does that bar have the Creation of Adam on the wall?
4. The writers need to work on that despair/hugs ratio, it's distressingly uneven.
Final Episode:
That was beautiful.
I mean, I'm always a sucker for a (minor spoiler ahead) happy ending (minor spoiler behind), but wow... that was just... awesome.
I'm not even really sure I can describe what this episode managed to do in the space of 20 minutes, so I'm just going to say this: all of the darkness and depression up until now was absolutely worth it.
Watch Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Just watch it.
"I have been entrusted with the formidable task of series composition and script for all episodes. Although having director Akiyuki Shinbo and Ume Aoki-sensei as teammates puts a great deal of pressure on me, I will do my best to deliver a heartwarming, happy story to our viewers!"
-- Gen Urobuchi
They're not particularly well-written or even entirely coherent and they're a little shorter than I wanted (Facebook's word limit and all), but here they are because I want to be able to read them without scrolling through a month's worth of Facebook posts.
Starting episode 1 of Madoka Magica. If this all turns out to be some sort of elaborate prank to make me obsessive about avoiding spoilers for a terrible show, I'm going to be really annoyed.
Episode 1:
The trippy Satoshi Kon-esque bits and the epic soundtrack aside, it seems like a pretty standard magical girl anime. Then again, School Days started as a generic romance show. So far, so good.
Episode 2:
We're still in "pretty standard, but extremely well-executed" territory; from what I've heard, that isn't going to last long. In any case, where it's at now is really cool.
Also, I really like Mami, it's a shame that she's exactly the kind of character that dark deconstructive shows (which I've heard Madoka Magica is) like to make evil.
Episode 3:
Oh. I... was not expecting that.
So we're swimming into darker waters now, Kyubey's getting creepily pushy, Akemi's actually doing something other than being vaguely sinister, and Mami... well, she isn't evil.
I'm going to take a break now.
Episode 4:
Madoka Magica has moved completely away from "Trippy and slightly dark, but also fun and colourful" and now occupies the space of "Depressing as all hell".
And is it just me or is Kyubey becoming less Kero-chan and more Mephistopheles?
In any case, four episodes in, one of our two heroes has signed the metaphorical contract (in metaphorical blood, no doubt), this should lead somewhere interesting.
Episode 5:
Love, friendship, awesome fight scenes, and small moments of darkness. That's pretty much what a magical girl show should and, oddly enough, that's kind of what this episode was. I'm kind of confused, given how depressing the last two episodes were, but hey, I'm not complaining.
And now there's something resembling an actual villain (other than Kyubey, I mean), so that's pretty cool.
Episode 6:
This is what I'm talking about, love, friendship, all that jazz... at least for the first 15 minutes, those last 5 are kind of nerve-wracking. With the [spoilers] and everything, I thought Sayaka [spoilers].
Also, I'm calling it now, Kyubey is the devil, he created the witches as a ploy to trick people out of their souls.
Also also, Dog Drug Reinforcement is my new favourite game.
Episode 7:
More depression. Backstory for the villain (who, as it turns out, isn't really a villain). Magical powers corrupt magically. Not only is Kyubey the devil, he/she/it's also kind of a jerk.
Also, I'LL TAKE AN APPLE... AND EAT IT!
Episode 8:
More depression, more epic fights, the whole [spoiler] thing is kind of weird, but I'm sure it'll sort itself out. This show is certainly very good at being a dark magical girl show, but I don't see why it gets as much praise it does, I mean--
Wait, did that just happen?!
Akemi... and then Kyubey... and then Sayaka... I don't even...
So that just happened.
Now that's more like it.
Episode 9:
So Kyubey isn't the devil. It's still a jerk though.
More stuff happened that I have to be vague about, but at least it wasn't meaningless this time.
This show is amazing.
That said, I'm going to go watch/read/listen to something else so that the next episode's response will be more than just "ITHURTSITHURTITHURTITHURTS".
Episode 10:
Finally, backstory for Akemi, backstory that somehow manages to make her even more awesome while still being ridiculously depressing.
But no matter how crappy her life may be, Nerdy Akemi is adorable!
Also, Mami's [spoilers]! Granted, it's only for a little bit, but it's still pretty nice.
And that dream, I remember that dream, weird time for it to turn up.
Episode 11:
A few things.
1. Why isn't this show called Puella Magi Homura Magica?
2. So Kyubey is [spoiler] Space Odyssey?
3. Why does that bar have the Creation of Adam on the wall?
4. The writers need to work on that despair/hugs ratio, it's distressingly uneven.
Final Episode:
That was beautiful.
I mean, I'm always a sucker for a (minor spoiler ahead) happy ending (minor spoiler behind), but wow... that was just... awesome.
I'm not even really sure I can describe what this episode managed to do in the space of 20 minutes, so I'm just going to say this: all of the darkness and depression up until now was absolutely worth it.
Watch Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Just watch it.
"I have been entrusted with the formidable task of series composition and script for all episodes. Although having director Akiyuki Shinbo and Ume Aoki-sensei as teammates puts a great deal of pressure on me, I will do my best to deliver a heartwarming, happy story to our viewers!"
-- Gen Urobuchi