i was farely suprised by how this anime was actualy more mature and dark. It only strikes you once more that you must not judge a book by its cover.

this anime doesnt take long to chow you that its not gonna be a prety magical girl anime and its prety mutch the only reson i started to watch it

i saw this anime become popular and i wondered why. first of i cheked some amv based on it and i got supresed... and intrested.

so far i got to episode 9 and i dont really regret it. the animation is difrent ( in a good way) the dialog are instresting and you keep learning stuff all along bits by bits.

basicly i suggest you at lest check the first episode it gives you a glips of the style and what kind of anime its gonna be. it doesn't waste time on useless stuff

get stangely suprised by the new "mature" magical girl type of story

ps: dont expect any fan service if you see any its because you made it up in your head.

on this note have a nice time watching this and i hope my review guided your choice of anime (show less)

When I first looked at this I thought it was just going to be another magical girl anime - not that i'm complaining, I love magical girl anime. However you begin to see that this is a much deeper anime as you get past episode three, and from there it just goes beyond all expectations.
The story is just plain brilliant, the character and costume designs are beautiful and the animation is so gorgeous and also kind of doesn't let on to it's darker undertones.
Madoka Magika is amazing on every level, it's been a long time since I've enjoyed one as much as this, you're missing out if you think it's just another prototypical magical girl sparkly anime. (show less)

Animes of late have fallen into a mould. A loveable mould we've all come to love.

For people who don't know, Japan's anime industry has suffered a serious blow since 2006 and currently only half the amount of new shows are produced today in comparasin.
Because of that, true originality has become somewhat rare. Studios have resorted to making anime which they know will be popular. They shouldn't be blamed for it either. At the end of the day the bottom line is what really matters.

So why did I elaborate on that?
Because Madoka took a popular genre and with careless abandon turned it upside down.
This isn't your typical Mahou Shoujo anime.
Don't expect the light and fluffy fun of Magical Lyrical Girl Nanoha, Precure or Sailor Moon. This anime is mature and dark like no other. By episode 3 the smile was smacked off my face as one of my favourite characters was brutally killed. Each episode onwards from leave you and the characters deeper in despair. Oh such delicious despair! This anime holds nothing sacred, and twists in the plot abound.
To make comparasins, this is what would happen if you combined the themes of Gantz with any typical Magical Girl anime. And just to let you know, they are trying to BAN this anime in Japan for being too mature.

Visually the anime is beautiful. I'm normally used to Shaft making somewhat cheap but in enjoyable animes. But the studio has gone all out on this anime. The style is completely unique; the characters seem like sketchbook drawings but after awhile you agree with the studio's decision.
It just works.
Also the animation changes completely to fit the mood it is presenting. Absouletly stunning at times.
Think what Gainex did with FLCL and kick it up a notch.

Overall this is anime is a new favourite of mine. Waiting a week for each new episode is like some hellish punishment. It's truly original and hopefully it'll be appreciated by a larger audience. (show less)

As of viewing episode 8 I find myself compelled to write a kinder review of this show than the earlier guys have done. What happens when the comical villains in Sailor Moon get serious and cause death and mayhem? Something like Magical Girl Madoka Magica. We get all the cute trappings of a magical girl anime but very harsh realities (sur-realities) where choosing to become a super soldier of love and justice may be the worst mistake you ever made. I'm very much anticipating/dreading episode 9. If you found Evangelion to be a thought-provoking series then this may be the show for you. (show less)

Out of all the series of this season this one, even though we are only half way through still stays near my top of the season list. What Evangelion was to the Giant Robot genre, Puella Magi Madoka Magica is to the Magical Girl Genre. A deconstruction... Power of love, Gone per Cannon, Fighting for Justice, mocked. What you are left with is a emotionally driven dark take on a genre overwhelmed with sparkles and rainbows. ((and the occasional giant magical wave motion gun *coughs*nanoha*coughs*))

Story: As stated before the story is a bit of an emotional trainwreck, but its gripping you know things are just gonna get worse, but you can't look away, character wise... yeah the main is a bit whiny, (hell as of ep 6 she still hasn't actually become a MG yet(not that I blame her)) and the magical granting pet character.... CREEPY AS HELL.... course as he deals in Faustian bargains, thats to be expected. 5/5

Dialogue: I always hate writing this part of the review, having to rely on the subtitles I can't always get a clear view of what is being said, but the VA's have the emotion behind what they are saying... and I suppose I had better include this in this section.... ask someone who can read German what the writing on the wall is in the first episode. 4/5

Animation: The real world is a pastel paradise set in a city only a architect could lust over, beautiful scenery all told... and then we go into the nightmarish realms of the witches, which is pure High Octane Nightmare Fuel... Unleaded, possibly even premium unleaded all told a damn good bit of animating 5/5

Entertainment: Awsome animation, great story, and leaves you wanting more... what else can a person ask for in an anime... a happy ending *Evil laughs* I make the prediction that its not gonna happen here... but I will watch it anyways 5/5

All told a great addition to the series... even if it does make me want to go find a happier MG series just so I don't get horribly put off on the whole idea.... Oh yeah, and watch out for the end of ep 3... its a doozy (show less)