History Characters / PuellaMagiMadokaMagica4

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[[folder:Kyubey]]
[[quoteright:314:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/coobie_1309.png]]
->Voiced by: EmiriKatou (JP), CassandraLee (EN)

A small, cute creature that communicates through telepathy. His duty is to form contracts with girls where they will become magical girls and fight witches in exchange for any one wish. He is intent on contracting Madoka due to her immense potential.

[[spoiler:He is an "Incubator" and a member of an alien race that seeks to use the thermodynamics-violating energy produced by the magical girl/witch cycle to counteract entropy and stave off the heat death of the universe. The greater the wish and the more important the contractee, the better the payoff, and several powerful historical women were, in reality, magical girls. He is also a HiveMind of sorts and can easily regenerate upon death.]]

Not to be confused with ''the'' [[{{Daria}} QB]].

* ArtEvolution: [[http://images.puella-magi.net/e/e4/Kyubey_Original_Design.jpg?20110120154733 Kyubey's original design]] gave him large pupils instead of small red eyes.
* [[spoiler:AdorableAbomination]]
* [[spoiler:AliensAreBastards: Holy shit they are. Even though they don't mean any malice, they'll still leave us to die if they meet their quota. So much for the relationship being mutually beneficial.]]
* [[spoiler:AntiHero: He's Type II at the end of the series, following Madoka's wish. Until then he was something of an AntiVillain instead.]]
* [[spoiler:BigBad: Ohhhhhh yes. Subverted (kinda) when Madoka rewrites reality and he doesn't ''have'' to be evil anymore, but that's at the very end of the series.]]
** [[spoiler:NonActionBigBad]]
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: It literally can not comprehend why [[spoiler:humans would care if their souls have been ripped out of their bodies or not.]] In Episode 7, Homura states that "human values don't mean anything to it". And then in Episode 9 [[spoiler:it reveals that "they", the heavily implied HiveMind, are actually aliens, and simply ''don't have'' emotions, bizarre alien ones included. Indeed, emotion is only considered to be a mental illness among his race]].
* CatchPhrase: "Make a contract with me!"
* CatsAreMean: His form is highly ambiguous, but his body and the way he moves seem to invoke a cat-like imagery (possibly a ferret instead - see WeaselMascot below), and the things he says and does... ''he'' may not think he's being cruel, but pretty much everyone else disagrees.
* CatSmile: It's creepy as hell -- mainly due to its face apparently being stuck semi-permanently in this expression. Whether this is its intention is a matter of much debate.
* CrossdressingVoices: Kyubey is considered to be male, but voiced by a woman since he has a high cheery voice. Granted, he's so inhuman he isn't really obviously either gender.
** In Drama CD 2, he claims to not see himself a male by human standards [[spoiler: after walking in on Madoka taking a bath]].
** In [[WordOfGod audio commentary]] to Episode 4, GenUrobuchi said that Kyubey is in fact genderless.
* [[spoiler:CuteIsEvil: Or rather, amoral and without empathy, more than evil.]]
* [[spoiler:DeadpanSnarker: In the alternate universe created by Madoka. At one point, he remarks that it'd be cool if magical girls could become witches, but even he has to admit that in that universe, [[NoBodyLeftBehind that's]] [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence not]] [[DiedHappilyEverAfter possible]].]]
* [[spoiler:DeathIsCheap: He has "many bodies" and can reincarnate himself almost instantly. The drama of him getting beaten up (and killed, then beaten up again) by Homura in the first episode was, presumably, just an act to get Madoka to empathize with him.]]
* DissonantSerenity: He always wears that creepy smile (although in all likelihood that's just his face being cat-like) in the anime. He almost always talks cheerfully in both versions (probably his face is more expressive in the manga to show this), regardless of context, only demonstrating any degree of distress a few times.
** Even better - being almost always cheerful is his functional equivalent of CreepyMonotone, almost certainly adopted to make him less suspicious. [[LampshadeHanging He recognizes]] that his voice should show distress in situations of obvious danger, like when he's running from Homura, and, as later revealed, can also sound surprised ([[MagnificentBastard although it's very rare for something to be truly unexpected for him]]), but more nuanced emotions apparently are too alien to him to mimic them convincingly.
* {{Emoticon}}: (/人◕‿‿◕人\)
** Combined with his CatchPhrase [[MemeticMutation ALL OVER THE INTERNET]].
* [[spoiler:EvenEvilHasStandards: Kyubey disapproves of Madoka killing Sayaka, be it ever so inadvertently, in her attempt to stop in-fighting amongst magical girls, and he even rebukes her for doing something "that's crazy."]]
** [[spoiler:Then again, at that point none of them even knew the true nature of the soul gems, so even if he was shocked by the action, Madoka had no idea in the first place that what she did could actually be fatal to Sayaka.]]
** [[spoiler:Besides, Kyubey probably only objected to Madoka killing Sayaka because it was a waste of a perfectly good Soul Gem. He has standards in the same way that a person who objects to throwing away a half-eaten sandwich has standards.]]
* [[spoiler:FauxAffablyEvil: Holy crap...]]
* FrozenFace: Kyubey's face ''does. Not. Move.''
** Averted in Episode 2 when Kyubey takes a bite of an omelette. It also closes its eyes at times, probably when it's supposed to be a smile.
** Also averted in the manga, where it has quite a bit more facial expression. And doesn't even try to hide his intentions.
*** [[NightmareFace You mean]] [[http://i55.tinypic.com/106kap5.jpg LIKE THIS?]]
** The DVD version sometimes even re-animates scenes with Kyubey, going great lengths to make his face even LESS expressive.
** It stays the same even [[spoiler:when he realizes what Madoka is up to, which he believes "violates the law of cause and effect".]]
* GlowingEyesOfDoom
* [[spoiler:HiveMind:]] Confirmed by WordOfGod. [[PuellaMagiMadokaMagica See the main page.]]
** [[spoiler:Does it count as HiveMind, if there is no "hive" part, just one mind driving a lot of replaceable bodies?]]
** [[spoiler: There ''are'' other incubators out there.]]
* InvisibleToNormals
* IronicEcho: When trying to persuade Madoka to become a Magical Girl, he often states [[spoiler:that her potential is so great that ''any'' wish could be granted, and that she could even become a god if she wanted.]] He even repeats this moments before [[spoiler:Madoka finally does make a wish, and is suitably horrified when she uses it to do just that]].
* [[spoiler:JackassGenie: "Want to become a magical girl and have your own miracle? Great! Make a contract with me. Oh, and, uh, it'll only cost you your soul and end with you [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie you becoming the very thing you fight]] [[DespairEventHorizon through sheer, eventual despair]]. Toodles!"]]
* JapanesePronouns: Kyuubey speaks in a rather tortured syntax, using only diminutive pronouns and entirely stripping out honorifics when talking to people. Its not so much disrespectful as it is just stilted, and gives the impression that he views people about the same way as he would furniture.
** [[spoiler:Or cattle. He even makes that comparison later on.]]
* [[spoiler:JustDesserts: [[BodySurf Does this]] [[{{Squick}} to himself]] in Episode 8 after Homura executes him by emptying a whole clip into him, even though it was not necessary, resulting in Swiss Cheese. She really hates the thing. And for a good reason.]]
* [[spoiler:KarmaHoudini: Along with the rest of the Incubators.]] At least, though, [[spoiler:he ends up giving Madoka an absurd amount of power to stop him with, and all of his mustache-twirlingly-evil actions were basically undone by the CosmicRetcon.]]
** [[spoiler: Interestingly, in the new timeline he's implied to be a much better terms with the magical girls, or at least his behavior is much more benign.]]
* [[spoiler:KickTheDog: Although it was pretty obvious that there is something fishy about Kyubey, the scene where he makes Sayaka "experience real pain" just to prove a point makes it clear that he is evil, or at ''very'' least completely lacking in empathy.]] Additionally, that action wasn't entirely necessary or relevant to his plans.
** From another point of view, it was entirely relevant to his plans. His entire goal is to [[spoiler:have the girls fall into despair so they can become witches. His KTD moment was his way of reinforcing leading Sayaka to thinking "I done screwed up!" and witchifying her.]]
* LackOfEmpathy
-->"You people are all the same. Every time I tell someone, it's the same response. I don't get it. [[spoiler:Why do humans care so much where their souls are?]]"
* {{Leitmotif}}: ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTNQNkQCoXA "Sis puella magica!"]]'' is generally considered one for him and the series as a whole.
* MakeAWish: Kyubey does not seem to have anything to do with how the wishes he grants carry out. He does not look for the worse interpretation. His explanation for bad things happening to wishers is that the power of the Wish creates equal parts despair and hope. (Like a magical version of two particles coming into being in vacuum fluctuation; both negative and positive) thus equaling zero. He cannot stop someone from making a wish that he wouldn't want them to make, and he can't force anyone to make a wish either.
** Rather than exploit JerkassGenie, he simply gives them exactly what they asked for because [[spoiler: what they ask for is never what they actually want. The girls are never honest with themselves about their desires, every selfless wish has a selfish motive behind it, and the despair sets in when they realize that their selfless wish being granted did not guarantee their selfish desire being granted as well.]]
* ManipulativeBastard: ''Seriously.'' [[BlueAndOrangeMorality He may have trouble understanding human values and emotions,]] but he's very good at asking the girls to make a contract with him at the ''exact'' moment when they'd have the most difficulty refusing. And [[RegularCaller he will abusively call you,]] [[RefusalOfTheCall even if you do refuse his offer.]]
* [[spoiler:MeanCharacterNiceActor:]] [[spoiler: According to [[WordOfGod Gen Urobuchi]], EmiriKatou is a nice lady who loves the MagicalGirl genre and nearly had a HeroicBSOD when she learned just what sort of character she'd be voicing.]]
* MeaningfulName/[[spoiler:NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Incubator.]]
* MetaphoricallyTrue: More or less everything that comes out of his mouth. While never technically ''lying'', Kyubey makes it a point [[spoiler:to only speak in half-truths]]. When pressed, he responds with either confusion or incredulity; after all, [[spoiler:it's ''their'' fault for not asking him the right questions in the first place]].
** He eventually [[spoiler:tortures Madoka with the whole truth after Sayaka's funeral. Though it was probably not supposed to be torture but an explanation and a way to prove a point, from his point of view- being someone who wouldn't see why she would feel tortured by it.]]
* MentorMascot: [[spoiler:Subverted.]] At first he looks like your standard MagicalGirl cute critter mentor, [[spoiler:until we find out that he views the girls as [[LackOfEmpathy expendable power sources]] and it's in his best interests to make them as [[BreakTheCutie miserable as possible.]]... because it will mean gaining energy to save the universe.]]
** In other words, Kyubey looks like a Magical Girl familiar [[spoiler: but is actually a Magical Girl ''villain'', right down to turning humans into monsters to harvest their energy.]]
* MysteriousBacker: Just ''look'' at him and say that you trust him. Go on.
* [[spoiler:NiceJobFixingItVillain: Arguably, his InfoDump toward Madoka about magical girl's role in history of humanity and his own confirmation that any of Madoka's wish can be granted is the one who inspires Madoka to make her CosmicRetcon wishes.]]
* [[spoiler:NighInvulnerability: Of the ''Can Only Kill Part Of Him'' kind. An exact replica of it comes to [[JustDesserts eat its corpse]] after Homura riddles it with bullets in Episode 8. It claims it has unlimited number of substitutions. WordOfGod says he instantly creates a body from surrounding {{Mana}}.]]
* NoBiologicalSex: Most fans default to referring to Kyubey as "he", but the character actually doesn't have any physical sex.
** In the Japanese dub he [[JapanesePronouns refers to himself with "boku"]] so its safe to say that if he isn't male he is at least pretending to be for the sake of brevity.
* [[spoiler:ObliviouslyEvil: There's evidence to the idea that he has no idea that people would consider his actions wrong. See BlueAndOrangeMorality above.]]
** [[spoiler:He has the idea. He's far from stupid, after all. He knows exactly what parts of his deal he should conceal as long as possible. He just can't really comprehend ''why'' humans are so upset about them.]]
* OhCrap: [[spoiler:"That violates the laws of cause and effect! Do you really ''want'' to become a god!?"]]
* OmniscientMoralityLicense: [[spoiler:The Incubators and the race that created them use the powerful emotions given off by Magical Girls and witches to counter entropy and prevent the heat death of the universe. And note that they ultimately consider humanity expendable.]]
* {{Omniglot}}: Besides Japanese, Kyubey also speaks fluent French, English, Egyptian, Hebrew, Norwegian, Swahili and you-name-it-he-speaks it. [[spoiler: After all, known victims include Jeanne d'Arc, Cleopatra, Anne Frank, Viking and African children, not to mention countless others from presumably from every nation across our world.]] If ever he's forced to change careers, Kyubey would make quite a lucrative career as a Professor of Linguistics.
* PerpetualSmiler: And it's ''VERY'' creepy.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: [[http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/AthenAltena/kyuubeyaaah.png Eeep...]]
* RegularCaller: [[{{Metaphorgotten}} The call is on reversed charges, though.]] ''[[DealWithTheDevil With]] [[BreakTheCutie international]] [[GiftOfTheMagiPlot call]] [[DespairEventHorizon prices]]''.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: He looks like one, at least. [[spoiler:His cutesy appearance and placid temperament are only a façade to hide [[EldritchAbomination his true nature.]]]]
* SomebodyElsesProblem: And how. Something that doesn't involve magical girls hunting Grief Seeds? Then Kyubey doesn't have an opinion on it.
** [[spoiler:A massive Witch has been born and will destroy the whole earth in a matter of days?]] Good luck fighting it, [[spoiler:he just harvested enough energy to meet his planetary quota.]]
** [[spoiler: Making him a bit of hypocrite since he says to Madoka that his species treats humans with more respect than livestock and their relationship is mutually beneficial, but they abandon humans to their fate if they don't feel they need them anymore.]]
* StepfordSmiler
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Kyuubey, Kyuubee, Kyubei, and QB are also floating around out there.
** "Cubey" was also a short-lived proposal since [[WordOfGod producers said]] that the "kyu" is as in "cute".
** "Kyubey" seems to be the most official, though, since it has been used in official promo materials and moreover, most fansubbers and scanlators actually doing the show are spelling it like this.
** Its name is also [[MyNaymeIs spelled quite bizarrely in original Japanese]]. It's half in katakana, half in hiragana, with an additional bonus for an unconventional use of small-sized katakana.
** And it turns out that "Kyubey" is short for "[[spoiler:Incubator]]".
** The runes in Episode 11 spell it as "Qbey".
*** Which turns out to be completely accurate [[ManipulativeBastard due to his strange intentions.]]
* [[spoiler:StarfishAlien: It explains why his moral compass is [[BlueAndOrangeMorality completely out of whack]], his [[DissonantSerenity creepy cheerful expression]] and his [[MagiTek powers]].]]
* TheStoic: Of the "say something horrific without any emotions" variety. For example, his serene speeches in Episode 12. He calmly explains what's going on to Homura and seems to be more concerned about [[spoiler:Madoka's fate, even when the Universe ends around him and he's already figured out that very soon he will cease to exist, to be recreated as a quite different version of self.]]
* SuperEmpowering: This is its job. [[DealWithTheDevil It's quite pushy about that]].
** EnigmaticEmpoweringEntity: And it doesn't give you a run-down of your powers, either.
* [[spoiler:TheyKilledKenny: Homura has probably "killed" him dozens of times by now, but it never sticks.]]
* [[spoiler:TotalitarianUtilitarian: Kyubey's goal is to stave off the heat death of the universe, which he does by dooming teenage girls to lives of suffering (and eventual transformation into EldritchAbominations that kill plenty of innocent people -- and potentially entire planets -- in the process).]]
* {{Troll}}: Mainly due to the fact that he [[spoiler: knowingly withholds vital info about the contract involving soul sucking and corruption,]] and then acting all innocent about it.
* [[spoiler: VillainousBSOD]]: Occurs when [[spoiler: Madoka wishes to erase witches from existence. All the more poignant because Kyubey's race views emotions as a mental illness, so Madoka's game changing wish ''literally made Kyubey lose his mind''.]]
* WeaselMascot: And we do mean ''weasel'', in the figurative sense.
** [[spoiler:WickedWeasel]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:How [[BuffySpeak he... it... they... whatever]] view themselves,]] since the stated goal is to stop the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy entropy]] of the universe. How? Create magical girls [[spoiler:and witches]] to unleash energy, of course!
** Oh, and once he gets his quota, [[spoiler:Planet Earth and everyone on it becomes expendable.]]
** The irony is that MagicalGirlWarrior ''villains'' most often plot to ''consume'' magical energy/lifeforce with the end goal of [[OmnicidalManiac destroying the world]], [[ForTheEvulz often for no rational reason]]. Of course, [[GenreDeconstruction this is not a typical Magical Girl show.]] [[spoiler:It's also said that the more power a witch consumes, the more energy is released when it's destroyed by a Magical Girl and it's grief seed consumed by an Incubator. Also, in the case of Madoka, it empowers itself every time some DespairEventHorizon converges to it.]]
* WillNotTellALie: Kyubey never lies about anything and will happily cough up the truth if asked directly. It even seems offended at the mere idea that someone would accuse it of lying. [[spoiler:It ''does'' however leave out a lot of vital information that would be to its disadvantage to reveal, invoking YouNeverAsked to a ridiculous degree.]] It's not above speaking in half-truths either: when Kyoko asks [[spoiler:if there is any way to return Sayaka to normal]], Kyubey states that there's no precedent for it. It's an answer that is technically correct [[spoiler:but baits Kyoko into believing that there ''could'' be a way.]]
** Happens again in Episodes 9 and 10. [[spoiler:In 9 he states that his actions would preserve humanity's future among the stars. However, he phrases it in such a way that it doesn't reveal whether he actually cares if humanity goes to the stars or not. We find in Episode 10 that he does not care one bit about humanity or Earth, as long as his energy quota is reached.]]
* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: Gives a NiceJobBreakingItHero WhamLine on one occasion:
-->[[spoiler:"You've done great, Homura. You've raised Madoka to become the most powerful witch ever."]]

[[folder:Witches]]
Mysterious magical beings who feed on the despair of humans. They employ minions known as familiars, who, if left unchecked, can grow into duplicates of the original witch. It is a magical girl's duty to slay witches and collect the Grief Seeds they drop. All witches reside in private pocket dimensions known as barriers which reflect their broken psyches. The only known exception to this rule is the colossal Walpurgisnacht, who is powerful enough to simply impose barrier-like properties onto reality instead of retreating into an alternate space.

[[spoiler:All witches are either actually magical girls who exhausted their magical energies and succumbed to despair, or another witch's familiar that has evolved. According to WordOfGod, even Walpurgisnacht was once a single magical girl, but has combined with other witches over time to become more powerful.]]

* AllThereInTheManual: There is a lot of information about each witch that is only found on the official website. It also provides information for witches that haven't been seen in the show. The ''You Are Not Alone'' guidebook also alludes to or outright states several of the witches' [[spoiler:wishes]].
** Well sort of; it's clear several entries are for prototype witches which were changed significantly in the actual anime. As such, don't take it for granted.
* AlwaysChaoticEvil
* [[spoiler:[[AndThenJohnWasAZombie And Then The Magical Girls Were Witches]]: The fate of every magical girl not killed in battle is to be consumed by despair and turn into a witch. The blackening of the soul gems show how much time there's left before this happens. The only way to stop this is to spend the rest of your life battling witches to have a steady supply of grief seeds to siphon off despair into, or be killed by external sources like Cleopatra, Anne Frank and Jeanne d'Arc were.]]
* ArtShift: as per their [[EldritchAbomination lovecraftian vibes]], both the witches and their barriers are usually animated in a style that is completely different from the main style of the anime, to every witch her own style.
* [[spoiler: AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: This is presumably what happens to them all at the end of the anime, thanks to Madoka [[CosmicRetcon rewriting the universe.]] In fact, all magical girls (including ones in the past) never become witches in the first place...they just vanish instead, [[GoOutwithASmile smiling peacefully]], and possibly joining Madoka Out There.]]
* AsLongAsThereIsEvil: AllThereInTheManual example with [[spoiler: Kriemhild Gretchen. The witch desires to [[DarkMessiah create heaven on Earth]]. "The only way to defeat this witch is to make the world free of misfortune. If there's no grief in this world, she'll think this world is already a heaven."]]
* AssimilationPlot: Elsa Maria views [[ImAHumanitarian absorbing people]] as "saving" them. [[spoiler: Kriemhild Gretchen takes it to a global scale by absorbing all life into her barrier, which is described as her "heaven"]]
* AsteroidsMonster: The familiars are effectively part of the witch. If a familiar is separated from a witch, it can grow its own Grief Seed by causing suffering to other humans and become a copy of the original witch. [[spoiler:As magical girls need Grief Seeds to maintain their powers, some unscrupulous ones leave familiars alone to get more Grief Seeds.]]
* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: [[spoiler: Kriemhild Gretchen is a ''giant'' shadow. She may be based off the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brocken_spectre Brocken Spectre]]]]
** Walpurgisnacht is [[spoiler:a gigantic [[MonsterClown harlequin]] clockwork doll floating upside-down in the sky.]]
** Charlotte's true form may be partially based on caterpillars (specifically The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar), with a MonsterClown motive added to boot.
** Oktavia van Seckendorff, [[spoiler:Sayaka's witch,]] is a gigantic mermaid knight.
* BigBad: Walpurgisnacht. Her immense power is what causes [[spoiler:the GroundhogDayLoop, when she kills off everyone but Homura in the first timeline. In every timeline, the fight with her is the pivotal moment, that always ends with Homura having to reset time again. Either because Madoka is killed trying to fight her, or because the fight with her causes her to become a witch herself]]. Arguable, of course, because as a witch, Walpurgisnacht is less like a schemer, and more like a force of nature. [[spoiler:Kyuubey]] is the schemer, though not in league with Walpurgisnacht.
* ButterflyOfDeathAndRebirth: Gertrud and her familiars have butterfly wings. The "death and rebirth" part makes sense when you consider that [[spoiler: she was once human, and was reborn as a Magical Girl (a lich in this setting), then as a witch.]]
* ChurchMilitant: Elsa Maria from Episode 7 acts like one, praying to an object that looks a lot like [[http://wiki.puella-magi.net/File:Monstrace.png Catholic monstrance]].
* ClippedWingAngel: [[spoiler:Witches are usually less powerful than the magical girls they spawn from, judging by the fact that even a relatively weak magical girl like Sayaka can destroy a witch like Elly with ease. Usually, that is. Some witches, however, can pack an impressive punch - like Charlotte (who utterly destroys Mami, albeit that might have been due to the shock factor of her own OneWingedAngel), Elsa Maria (who almost kills Sayaka), Oktavia von Seckendorff, or ultimate witches the likes of Walpurgisnacht and Gretchen.]]
* CloningBlues: Familiars can become a copy of the original witch.
* CloudCuckooLander: Anja
* CombatTentacles: Gertrud
* TheCorruption: Inverted. Magical girls purify their Soul Gems by placing the darkness that grows inside of it into Grief Seeds. However, doing it too many times can allow the witch to regenerate. [[spoiler:The trope is then played straight when it's revealed that Grief Seeds are fully corrupted Soul Gems.]]
* CreepyDoll: The Klarissas, [[spoiler: Oktavia]]'s familiars in Episode 10. They're just there to cheerfully dance around the witch that commands them, with creepy smiles on their faces and possessing limbs that look like they can be snapped with a single touch...
** Also, Charlotte's original form.
** Not to mention Daniyyel and Jennifer, Kirsten's familiars.
*** Kirsten herself looks something like one, as we see when Sayaka sends her flying out of a computer monitor.
** Albertine, as revealed in the official PSP game, somewhat resembles a giant female [[MonsterClown clown]] doll.
* CurbStompBattle: Generally on the receiving end, but a few, such as [[spoiler:Charlotte to Mami and Walpurgisnacht to ''everyone except Madoka'']] give them.
* CypherLanguage: The odd runes appear to be messages from the witch or the familiars. Often they seem like a MadnessMantra. [[spoiler: Oh wait, they are]].
* DarkIsNotEvil[=/=]LightIsNotGood: Elsa Maria invokes both tropes to varying degrees; she is apparently a practicing Catholic and constantly prays for the salvation of everyone around her. She's also a LivingShadow and accomplishes said salvation by consuming and assimilating anyone who gets too close.
* DarkMessiah: [[spoiler:Kriemhild Gretchen, who wants to save everyone by absorbing them into her barrier.]]
** Elsa Maria seems to view herself as such, as she constantly prays for the world while sending out her shadows and familiars to kill whoever gets in her barrier.
* DoesNotLikeMen: Roberta, if something about her [[http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Gotz#Gotz Gotz]] familiars' [[UnfortunateImplications appearance]], [[AllMenArePerverts description]] and [[DoesNotLikeMen her own opinion]] about them is anything to go by.
* [[spoiler:DespairEventHorizon]]:[[spoiler: The key to becoming a witch.]]
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Kirsten.
* EldritchAbomination: All the witches. All of them.
* EmotionEater: Witches feed off human suffering.
* {{Expy}}: In the manga adaptation, Walpurgisnacht [[spoiler: summons shadow dopplegangers of Mami, Sayaka, and Kyouko.]] Combined with her [[LaughingMad general demeanor]] and the fact that AllThereInTheManual calls her the witch of stage construction, she may very well be a reference to [[{{Nasuverse}} Type-Moon]]'s similarly named [[MeltyBlood Night of Wallachia]].
* [[spoiler:EvilMakesYouMonstrous:]] And how!
* TheFairFolk: Some of them are described as acting in this fashion. [[spoiler:Ultimately averted.]]
* [[spoiler:{{Fallen Hero}}ine: Every witch who isn't a familiar-turned-copy was a magical girl who allowed her Soul Gem to fill up with TheCorruption, causing it to break and become a Grief Seed.]]
* [[spoiler:FromNobodyToNightmare: They're fallen Magical Girls who used up their Soul Gems or fell into despair.]]
* [[spoiler:FusionDance: [[AllThereInTheManual The website]] [[EpilepticTrees speculates]] Walpurgisnacht is this, but says nobody knows. WordOfGod confirms it, although adds that she started as a perfectly normal witch]].
* GirlishPigtails: Kirsten.
* GreenThumb: Gertrud's theme.
* HardDrinkingPartyGirl: Roberta likes alcohol.
* TheHeartless: Said to be born of curses. [[spoiler:The curses of magical girls.]]
* [[spoiler:HeroKiller: Charlotte and Walpurgisnacht. The former kills Mami, and the latter is apparently strong enough that no Magical Girl except Madoka can defeat her alone.]]
* {{Hikikomori}}: Kirsten
* TheHyena: Walpurgisnacht. She doesn't even stop laughing [[spoiler: as Madoka is shooting her out of the sky.]]
* ImmuneToBullets: {{Averted}}. As [[CombatPragmatist Homura demonstrates]], military-grade firearms are enough to destroy them.
** [[spoiler:Played semi-straight with Walpurgisnacht, as Homura throws what basically amounts to enough firepower to destroy the city (in fact, her salvo is responsible for most of the initial property damage in Episode 11) and it doesn't even have a scratch afterwards.]]
* ImprovisedWeapon: Walpurgisnacht uses pretty much every object, even entire skyscrapers, in battle.
* InvisibleToNormals: Witches and their familiars apparently cannot be seen by people who haven't been "chosen" by Kyubey to become Magical Girls.
* IronicHell: A witch's personality, powers, and barrier often combine to form a sick subversion of her [[spoiler:magical girl counterpart's wish.]] For example, Charlotte loves sweets and can create any sweet she likes save for her favorite (cheese), and lives in a cross between a candy shop and a hospital. [[spoiler:Her wish is implied to have been for cheesecake, when she could've wished for her mother's disease to be cured]].
* KillerRabbit: Charlotte
* [[spoiler:KnightOfCerebus: Charlotte. Unusually for this trope, she's killed off at the end of the episode she appears in.]]
* LevelAte: Charlotte, being the witch of desserts, has a barrier mostly made of sweets.
* LivingShadow: Elsa Maria and her familiar, Sebastian.
* LonelyDollGirl: Kirsten is a {{Hikikomori}} witch with two doll familiars.
* [[spoiler: LosingYourHead]]: [[spoiler:In Sayaka vs. Elsamaria's fight, Sayaka actually chops Elsa's head off. It's still not enough to kill her, so she goes AttackAttackAttack on her until she dies. It's even creepier in the Blue-Ray version, since Elsa actually bleeds in that one.]]
* LotusEaterMachine: [[spoiler:Kriemheld Gretchen is said to absorb all of the planet's life into her personal "heaven", her barrier. What this implies is unknown, but it's likely to be something like this.]]
* MagicSkirt[=/=]TrouserSpace: Patricia
* MeaningfulName: Several of the witches have names that relate to themselves. Charlotte is a type of dessert. Elsa Maria brings to mind a biblical prayer. Kirsten resembles a computer monitor, and so she has an "online handle": H.N. Elly. And Walpurgisnacht is the name of a real-world European festival during which legends state that witches gather together.
** The biggest one though? In written Japanese, [[spoiler:the characters for "witch" (魔女, phonetically pronounced "majo") are found in the characters for "magical girl". (魔法少女, phonetically pronounced "'''ma'''hou shou'''jo'''"). Put another way, "magical girl" can be read as "young witch".]]
* [[spoiler:MeaningfulRename: The witches have different names than the magical girls they came from.]]
* MentalWorld: A Witch's Labyrinth very much reflects the persona and psyche of the witch who makes it her home.
* [[spoiler:MercyKill: To kill a witch is to let a poor and broken girl die in peace. Madoka does this on a cosmic scale by making them AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence; witches are still created when a Magical girl loses her will to live and is consumed by darkness, but nobody understands where they go or what happens]].
* {{Mook}}: Their familiars.
* MindControl: Shown by the "witch's kiss", a mark that appears on a human who is being controlled by a witch.
** BrainwashedAndCrazy: The effects of the kiss.
** PsychicAssistedSuicide: The intended result, from the two times that the effects of a kiss have been seen.
* MindScrew: all of the witches and their barriers and minions take this to an absurd level.
* MonsterOfTheWeek: A much DarkerAndEdgier version. [[spoiler:Until Madoka rewrites the system to make sure this won't happen anymore.]]
* MultiArmedAndDangerous: Patricia, though the extra arms are for creepyness rather than combat.
* NonstandardCharacterDesign: While every Witch and everything associated with them is drawn in a different art style from the rest of the show, Charlotte does double duty by having the Witch herself drawn in ThickLineAnimation, while everything else in her barrier is constructed out of paper cutouts.
* OneWingedAngel: Charlotte does this. [[spoiler:Arguably you could consider witches as this to magical girls.]]
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Amazingly enough, even [[AllThereInTheManual the website]] doesn't reveal [[spoiler: Walpurgisnacht's]] name, just listing it, and her familiars, as "?????".
* PlayingWithFire: Walpurgis Night breathes fire. Excluding [[StoryBreakerPower her power]], it suddenly [[FridgeBrilliance makes a lot more sense]] for [[spoiler:Homura's artillery attacks]] to have [[NoSell no effect on her.]]
* PocketDimension: Witches can create these; they're bizarre areas, to say the least, and it keeps the more elaborate fights out of view of normal people.
** EldritchLocation
* PornStache: The Anthony and Adelbert familiars have these. In the case of the Anthonies, Gertrud puts these 'staches on them.
* [[spoiler:RetGone: Madoka's wish in the finale makes it so that the witches are deleted from existence and replaced with a different kind of monster altogether, so that the Incubators can still gather energy for their mission while not bringing misfortune to the girls.]]
* SirensAreMermaids: Oktavia von Seckendorff is the mermaid witch and her familiar, Holger performs music which steals the souls of the audience.
** [[spoiler:Oktavia is the mermaid witch because the story of her Magical Girl (Sayaka)'s downfall has parallels with the original Little Mermaid.]]
* SlidingScaleOfVillainEffectiveness: As mentioned under ClippedWingAngel, witches can appear anywhere on the scale. [[spoiler:Most fall under the Inadvertent category, but the stronger witches - such as Walpurgis Night or Kriemhild Gretchen - can fall under the High or even Infinite levels.]]
* SongsOfSolace: [[spoiler:Oktavia has an orchestra of Holger familiars (who look like Kyousuke and play the violin). She won't allow anyone to disturb their playing.]]
* SoulJar: The witch's Grief Seed, left behind after their death. A Grief Seed is capable of regenerating the witch, [[spoiler:which is why Kyubey devours them before they reach that point.]]
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Walpurgisnacht or Walpurgis Night; both are equally valid in referring to the stage-constructing witch. The Hulu subs go with Walpurgisnacht, as does the English dub.
** As an aside, one of the songs relating to this witch is named "Nox Walpurgis", which of course is simply Latin for the same.
* StellarName: All the witches and familiars appear to be named after celestial objects found in the solar system. [[http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Madoka_Magica_and_Science Take a look]].
* [[spoiler:TomatoInTheMirror: Witches ultimately originate from fallen magical girls, though as familiars can become a copy of the witch there might be some degrees of separation.]]
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Charlotte loves cheese, but is sadly unable to create it.
* [[spoiler:TragicMonster: All of them, really.]]
* TheUnreveal: [[spoiler:AllThereInTheManual example. Three of the witches described on the website are never seen in the series, and it doesn't show Walpurgisnacht's name.]]
* TheVonTropeFamily: Oktavia von Seckendorff.
* [[spoiler:[[WasOnceAMan Was Once A Girl]]: Well not ''all'' of them, but...]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Elsa Maria, who absorbs people in order to "save" them, and [[spoiler:Kriemhild Gretchen, who wants to create heaven on earth by absorbing all life into her barrier. Oktavia von Seckendorff ''could'' count, seeing that in-series, she only goes after the morally bankrupt, also including on her headcount all those who would interfere in any way (i.e. the magical girls)]].
** [[spoiler:Well, that depends on whether or not you believe Sayaka killed those guys on the train (and whether you want to count it towards Oktavia's death's). Also, just because we don't see the death doesn't mean Oktavia didn't lure people into her barrier before Kyoko and Madoka came back.]]
* WitchSpecies: [[spoiler:Ultimately averted.]]
[[/folder]]

* TakeAThirdOption: Attempted when [[spoiler: instead of either renouncing to Kamijou or talking to him behind Sayaka's back, Hitomi tells Sayaka to confess first and adds that ''she'' will do it if Sayaka refuses]]. Needless to say, [[spoiler: ItGetsWorse]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mami Tomoe]]
[[quoteright:319:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mammies_1838.png]]
->Voiced by: KaoriMizuhashi (JP), Carrie Keranen (EN)

A nurturing upperclassman at Madoka's school and a veteran magical girl. She wields an infinite number of magical flintlock rifles along with various ribbon-based binding spells. Her parents died in a car accident, and she lives alone.

[[spoiler:She falls to the witch Charlotte in Episode 3, making her the first casualty of the penultimate timeline.]]

* ActionGirl
* AwesomeButImpractical: In Grief Syndrome, her special, Tiro Finale, albeit the most powerful special in the game, has a gigantic blindspot about one third of the screen right in front of her, turning most of her health bar blue, making her extremely vulnerable.
* [[spoiler: BackFromTheDead: In the GrandFinale, Madoka is able to revive her with her wish.]]
* BadassAdorable: She's so badass, she pulls ''magic rifles'' out of her NiceHat!
* {{BFG}}: Tiro/Filo Finale, her finisher. It's a massive matchlock which can vary in size or form.
* BigFancyHouse: Her huge penthouse. Especially for someone who lives alone [[spoiler:after her parents died in the same accident that Kyubey uses to make her a MagicalGirl]].
** In the manga, her apartment is a little cozier but much smaller.
*** [[http://twitpic.com/4q3mal/full And later versions make it even cozier.]]
* [[BigBrotherMentor Big Sister Mentor]]: To Madoka and Sayaka.
* BrickJoke: [[SpotOfTea Her teacup]] [[spoiler:in [[WhamEpisode Episode 3]], [[NightmareFuel broken to further symbolize]] [[TearJerker her death]]]].
* BrokenAce
* BrokenBird: Does what she can to smile, but is pretty screwed up inside [[spoiler: and ends up ''dying'']]. [[spoiler:To put her broken-ness into perspective, in one timeline, upon finding out that Magical Girls turn into witches, she gets so broken that she ''very quickly'' resolves to commit triple-murder-suicide.]]
* BrokenHero
* BulletHell: HOO BOY!!!
* CallingYourAttack: "Tiro Finale!" (Italian: "Final Shot!")
** [[AllThereInTheManual The third drama CD]] has Mami [[spoiler: insisting Kyoko call her attack too -- and she even picks out a name for it.]]
* CoolBigSis: She is the mature center that the other girls orbit around.
* [[spoiler:CruelAndUnusualDeath: If the events in Episode 3 are anything to go by. Getting decapitated and then eaten by a creepy clown-faced caterpillar-like witch DEFINITELY counts. [[NauseaFuel It doesn't help that you can see her decapitated body fall to the ground and hear the crunching]].]]
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow
* [[spoiler:DeadStarWalking]]
* [[spoiler:DeerInTheHeadlights: In her fight with Charlotte in Episode 3. It does not end well.]]
* [[spoiler:DespairEventHorizon: In a previous timeline, after learning the AwfulTruth about Kyubey's contract.]]
* [[spoiler:DiedHappilyEverAfter: Her eventual fate, following Madoka's wish. However, like Kyoko, that probably won't happen until after Homura is reunited with Madoka in Heaven.]]
* [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide: In "The Different Story" manga.]]
* EyesOfGold
* {{Expy}}: Plotwise, of Marimo Jinguuji, from ''MuvLuvAlternative''. Ume Aoki also said she shares many traits with Hiro from HidamariSketch.
** Also, her design and personality seem to borrow from [[SailorMoon many]] [[TokyoMewMew other]] [[OjamajoDoremi classical]], [[FreshPrettyCure traditional]] [[MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch magical]] [[MaiHime girl]] [[MaiOtome shows]]. [[spoiler:This makes her death all the more poignant.]]
* [[spoiler:FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: Being eaten alive and decapitated, then having your remains chewed on even more.]] This is pretty much the beginning of this anime's true story.
* FeminineWomenCanCook: The third drama CD reveals that she's a SupremeChef.
* [[FieldOfBlades Field of]] ''[[FieldOfBlades Muskets]]'': [[MemeticMutation Unlimited Musket Works]], indeed.
* FingerlessGloves
* FinishingMove: Tiro/Filo Finale, a ''[[{{BFG}} massive]]'' [[{{BFG}} matchlock rifle]].
* [[spoiler:FreakOut: After Sayaka's death in another timeline. She kills Kyoko and would have shot Homura too if Madoka hadn't killed her (Mami) first.]]
* FriendlySniper: Sorta. She's fairly pleasant toward Madoka and Sayaka, but admits that she has no real friends.
* [[spoiler:GoMadFromTheRevelation: Episode 10 reveals that this happened to her in at least one timeline after being forced to fight and kill Sayaka(from her point of view) and discovering that everything she believed in was a lie, to the point where she starts [[CruelToBeKind killing her friends to save them from]] a FateWorseThanDeath.]]
* GratuitousItalian: ''[[CallingYourAttacks Tiro]] [[FinishHim Finale]]!''
* TheGunslinger
** GunsAkimbo
** GunKata: The musket variant.
** [[SmallGirlBigGun Small Girl]] '''[[{{BFG}} HUGE]]''' [[SmallGirlBigGun Guns]]
* HairOfGold
* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler:In one of the alternate time lines. She doesn't cope with learning what magical girls become very well. This unfortunately causes her to kill Kyoko and die at the hands of ''Madoka'' because [[WellIntentionedExtremist she thought this would be the best way]] to prevent becoming a Witch.]]
** [[spoiler:She had another, though probably a tamer one, in the 3rd Drama CD when Kyoko left her embittered due to their ideals becoming wholly different, lamenting that she's alone... AGAIN.]]
* HeyItsThatVoice: [[{{Disgaea}} ALL HAIL THE GREAT OVERLORD LAHAR--]] [[KaoriMizuhashi MAMI!]]
** Shes Also [[MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha Yuuno Scrya]], which is Kyubey's equivalent in that series.
*** ActorAllusion: Mami [[ExpositionFairy also wants you to]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime HEY!! LISTEN!!]] [[StopHelpingMe whenever she's talking to you]]. FridgeBrilliance applies when you know she's the ''most annoying voice in videogame history'', is the person that's helping the girls and act like a [[BigBrotherMentor Big Sister Mentor]], [[spoiler:[[PlayingAgainstType but gives off some of the most dubious information]] and [[CruelAndUnusualDeath gets killed first in the cruelest way imaginable.]]]] [[DramaticIrony Yeah]], [[WhatTheHellCastingAgency SHAFT.]]
* HyperspaceArsenal: Quite literally in her case, as she can pull those muskets from her skirts and her NiceHat. When she finishes off an enemy, she can also pull out a cup of tea from nowhere.
* [[spoiler:JustDesserts: Not because she was ever evil, but because she was [[LeeroyJenkins unusually reckless]].]]
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal: ...In every timeline. Then again, apart from Homura and Kyubey, who wasn't? She does come back to life at the end of Episode 12, though.]]
* LadyOfWar: Complete with sipping tea after destroying the Witch in Episode 2.
** "I won't be made a fool of, especially not in front of my juniors!" [[spoiler:A meal, on the other hand...]]
* LastNameBasis: Typically calls the other girls by their last name and the "-san" honorific. The dub changes it to FirstNameBasis.
* LeeroyJenkins: [[spoiler:This is the very trope that turns her into an item on Charlotte's menu.]]
* {{Leitmotif}}: ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1MDyecckpk "Credens justitiam".]]''
* MacrossMissileMassacre: Her choice of attack when she first shows up involves summoning and shooting [[MoreDakka hundreds upon hundreds of gigantic matchlocks]].
* MagicalGirl: The closest thing this show has to a traditional one.
* MagicDance
* MagicSkirt: Her magic is so awesome, it even holds her skirt up while she is dangling upside down.
* MegaTwintails
* [[spoiler:MentorOccupationalHazard: Alas, poor Mami!]]
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:She at least believes she is doing it. In one of the alternative timelines, after Sayaka's death, she kills Kyoko and tries to kill both Homura and Madoka (and probably would commit suicide if she succeeded), because she [[GoMadFromTheRevelation has gone insane]] and thinks that is best for them to die right there than [[FateWorseThanDeath to become witches and start killing humans.]]]]
** That said, [[spoiler:the order she picked in mercy killing her allies makes a lot more sense when you know that her and Kyouko used to be good friends before the death of Kyouko's family. Mami ''knew'' Kyouko had been living on the edge of despair since said incident, and knowing what would happen if she'd truly go over the edge and her attachment to Sayaka, it would be easy for her to see that she would turn into a witch next, something she really did not want to see, especially after what happened to Sayaka]].
*** [[spoiler: There's also the fact that as a hardened veteran Kyoko would've reacted alot quicker to Mami's MurderSuicide attempt and put up a decent fight which is why Mami didnt finish Homura off right after tying her up but shot Kyoko dead next while probably not expecting Madoka to try to kill her.]]
* MyGreatestFailure: [[spoiler:Using her wish to live, but not to revive her parents as well. She doesn't ''openly'' regret making her wish since it saved her life, but actually asks Madoka to think carefully of hers and lectures Sayaka when she learns that she wants to heal Kamijou, implying that she feels guilty anyway.]]
* NamesTheSame: She shares her surname with another [[EnsembleDarkhorse Darkhorse]] [[SailorMoon magical girl]].
* NiceHat: Which also acts as HyperspaceArsenal in the other world.
* [[spoiler:NoBodyLeftBehind: Her ultimate fate eventually, due to Madoka's wish. She and Kyoko will probably survive longer than Homura, who gets a BolivianArmyEnding in the final scene.]]
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: She could either take up Kyubey's offer to become a MagicalGirl or [[spoiler:die alongside her parents]].
* [[spoiler:OffWithHerHead]]: Initially in Episode 3, and then ItGotWorse. [[spoiler:Thanks to that, [[MemeticMutation the Japanese fans now associate her name as a verb of the trope]]]]
* OhCrap: [[spoiler:Before she gets eaten.]]
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: [[spoiler:And, if OOC equals recklessness, you're going to end up on a witch's menu.]]
* TheParagon: A paragon of MagicalGirl-hood... [[spoiler:[[MentorOccupationalHazard for all that it entails]].]]
* ProperTightsWithASkirt: In her normal attire.
* [[spoiler:SacrificialLamb: Zigzagged.]]
** [[spoiler:In alternate timelines, she wavers between this and a SacrificialLion. While she does survive much longer in Homura's previous loops, until just before Madoka's battle with Walpurgisnacht, her screentime is often scarce and, with the exception of her FreakOut, her death is merely a background event.]]
** [[spoiler:Averted in ''Oriko Magica'', where she's MUCH more careful against Charlotte. She even makes a remark about how she could have easily died.]]
* SempaiKohai: Sees herself as Sayaka and Madoka's senpai as a magical girl, and is a year ahead of them at school. They call her "Mami-san" rather than "senpai," though.
** She even calls herself ''[[spoiler: Kyoko's]]'' senpai in [[AllThereInTheManual the third drama CD.]]
* SocialServicesDoesNotExist: Her parents are gone [[spoiler:who were killed in the same accident that Kyubey used to get her to become a magical girl,]] leaving her completely alone in their penthouse. [[spoiler:Kyubey may have also had something to do with the lack of social services]].
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The actual name of her finisher is [[{{Mondegreen}} unclear]]; we only know that its name in the anime is apparently different from the manga's and that the former is Italian while the latter is English.[[http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Translated_Official_Documents#Mami.27s_special_move]] The popular interpretations are "Tiro Finale" for the anime and "Filo Finale" for the manga.
* SpotOfTea: Immediately after killing a Witch, no less. [[spoiler:After her death, the cup lies on a table shattered by a Grief Seed among what's left of Charlotte's remains.]]
* StepfordSmiler: And how.
* TheStoic: Of the "say something horrific without any emotions" variety.
** NotSoStoic: [[spoiler:When she has an HeroicBSOD and confesses to Madoka that she's far more frail that she lets her see. Also the revelation that MahouShoujo can transform into witches, which in an alternate timeline, makes her [[FreakOut flip out.]], and in ''OrikoMagica'' almost makes her fall into catatonic despair.]]
* SupremeChef: According to [[spoiler: Kyoko]] in the third Drama CD.
* ThemeMusicPowerUp: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QEa4TiHDBA&feature=related This]] pretty much plays anytime she's transforming into her magical girl outfit, or when she's pulling a BigDamnHeroes moment. [[spoiler: Too bad it doesn't save her in Episode 3...]]
* [[spoiler:WalkingSpoiler: Because of her gruesome death a quarter of the way in the series, it's hard to discuss Mami in a spoiler-free way without bringing it up.]]
* [[spoiler:WeHardlyKnewYe: Even in the alternate timelines.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Post-HeroicBSOD, [[spoiler:she kills Kyoko because she thought she was saving them. She unfortunately gets killed by Madoka.]]
* WordOfGod: Although the translation is unclear, her wish was something like "to connect to life" -- [[spoiler:presumably her own life.]] Hence her ability to create ribbons.
* [[spoiler:TheWorldsExpertOnGettingKilled]]
* YamatoNadeshiko: She's feminine, polite, good at cooking, acts like a mother figure towards the other girls, and has a graceful fighting style. In one scene, she calmly sips tea immediately after a battle. Of course, [[StepfordSmiler she also has lots of issues under said pleasant facade.]]
* YankTheDogsChain:[[spoiler: After making a contract with Kyubey, Mami finds herself experiencing loneliness as her parents are dead & is prevented from having a social life due to her MagicalGirl lifestyle. She finds Kyoko another MagicalGirl whom she takes under her wing and becomes friends with putting an end to her isolation until Kyoko grows bitter from her PaterFamilicide, breaking up her partnership with Mami and leaving her all alone again. Some time later, she saves two girls Madoka & Sayaka who are discovered to have magical potential and Madoka tells Mami she intends to become a MagicalGirl and find alongside her which fills Mami with glee. Unfortunately, this turns out to be a HopeSpot and Mami is killed gruesomely moments later.]]
* ZettaiRyouiki: When she suits up.

[[folder:Kyoko Sakura]]
[[quoteright:313:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kyoko_1734.png]]
->Voiced by: AiNonaka (JP), LaurenLanda (EN)

A veteran and morally ambiguous magical girl. Her view of a magical girl's duties are ruthlessly utilitarian; for example, on her first encounter with Sayaka, she suggests allowing a familiar to feed on humans and mature into a witch so as to ultimately gain a Grief Seed from slaying it. She wields a halberd whose shaft can split into chained-together segments, giving her weapon dangerous flexibility and reach. [[spoiler:Her wish was to make people listen to her father's unorthodox preachings. This arguably mind-controlling wish afforded her illusory powers, but she lost them due to the trauma of her father killing her sister, mother, and himself.]]

[[spoiler:Despite her initial antagonistic behavior toward Sayaka, Kyoko sees a bit of herself in her and begins to warm up and reach out to her, but not in time to save her from becoming a witch. Kyoko eventually takes out Sayaka in a suicide attack so the latter wouldn't have to die alone.]]
----
* {{Adorkable}}: In the Drama CD with her and Mami.
* [[EvilRedhead Amoral Redhead]]
* AntiHero: Arguably Type V at the start (letting familiars kill people so they can become Witches with grief seeds) and moving up to Type II [[spoiler:by the time of her death]].
* ([[AntiHero Anti]]) HeroesGoneFishing: Homura once meets up with Kyouko while she's playing a dancing game in an arcade.
* [[spoiler: BackFromTheDead: In the GrandFinale. Since she had died fighting a witch, Madoka is able to revive her with her wish.]]
* BerserkButton: Do ''NOT'' waste food in Kyoko's presence if you value your life.
* [[spoiler:BetterToDieThanBeKilled: After finding out the whole AwfulTruth and unable to save Witch!Sayaka, Kyoko felt like she basically had two choices: To destroy her Soul Gem in a final attack to put Sayaka out of her misery and die together, or win the fight the usual way and still become a Witch sooner or later and be killed by a Mahou Shoujo and die alone. Considering her past, guess which one she picked?]]
* BigDamnHeroes: GenUrobuchi ''loves'' to play with this trope. In Kyoko's case, [[spoiler:Homura saves Sayaka from her. And then she saves Sayaka from Elsa Maria. And then she saves Sayaka ''from a very pissed-off Homura''. And then she tops it off by protecting Madoka and Homura's escape from Witch!Sayaka... By going out with a bang.]]
* BigEater: ''Not'' PlayedForLaughs, as there ''is'' a FreudianExcuse for it.
* BladeOnAStick: Uses a spear.
* BloodKnight
* BrokenBird
* CallingYourAttacks: She never does this in the anime, but [[AllThereInTheManual the third drama CD]] reveals that [[spoiler:in the past, Mami insisted on calling her DoppelgangerAttack "[[GratuitousItalian Rossa Fantasma]]" - literally "Red Phantom". Kyoko actually ''does'' say it once during battle, but then breaks out laughing afterwards because she can't take it seriously.]]
* CatchPhrase: "You want some?"
* ChekhovsGunman: Appears in the title and credits sequences before actually appearing in the series. It's also implied that she's [[spoiler: the magical girl that Kyubey and Mami talk about in Episode 3, who made a wish for someone else.]] This is all but confirmed in the [[AllThereInTheManual third drama CD]].
* ClusterFBomb / ObligatorySwearing: In one translation of the manga, on a few occasions.
-->(to Sayaka after injuring her in their first fight) "What the '''fuck''' was that about? You'd better get your shit together, '''fuckhead'''."
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow
* CuteLittleFangs
* DarkActionGirl: Though mixed with DarkMagicalGirl, too.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: [[spoiler:Her father was a priest, but he was excommunicated for "heresy" and the Sakura family fell in poverty as he couldn't support them anymore. Kyoko used her wish to get more followers for him...but when he found out it was just magic and not his ideas and words, he went crazy and killed himself and his entire family, leaving Kyoko as the only survivor.]]
* DeadLittleSister: [[spoiler:Although she does literally have one, this trope applies to her entire family, who died in her DarkAndTroubledPast.]]
* [[spoiler:DeathEqualsRedemption: Part of the reason of her (slow) HeelFaceTurn is the realization that {{Magical Girl}}s are essentially [[strike:zombies]] liches, and that she might as well do something to [[IncrediblyLamePun remedy]] [[TheAtoner this situation, even a little]]. Culminating in her HeroicSacrifice to give the bewitched Sayaka a MercyKill. She even gets her final [[ObiWanMoment moment of clarity]], where she realizes that [[IWillProtectHer she has always been wanting to protect someone.]]]]
* DefrostingIceQueen
* [[spoiler:{{Depower}}: [[AllThereInTheManual The third drama CD]] reveals that Kyoko could originally create illusory copies of herself, but she lost this power when her family died. It's implied this was because of the trauma she experienced.]]
* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:After becoming the sole survivor of a PaterFamilicide committed by her father. This trope ultimately gets subverted when Kyubey lets slip the AwfulTruth, after which she shows more and more humanity.]]
** [[spoiler:Potentially played straight in the PSP game, however, if Homura defeats Oktavia before she has a chance at trying to save what is left of Sayaka, removing the very last trace of hope and idealism she had left, triggering her transformation into Ophelia.]]
* DetachedSleeves: In her magical girl form.
* [[spoiler:DiedHappilyEverAfter: Her eventual fate, following Madoka's wish. However, like Mami, that probably won't happen until after Homura is reunited with Madoka in Heaven.]]
* [[spoiler:DoppelgangerAttack: [[AllThereInTheManual The third drama CD]] reveals that Kyoko's original power was to create decoys of herself. She lost this power when her family died.]]
* [[spoiler:DyingMomentOfAwesome]]
* ElegantGothicLolita: Her fighting outfit looks a little like this.
* [[spoiler:FaceDeathWithDignity: Her last moment is her praying to her God.]]
* {{Fallen Hero}}ine: She was literally a ChurchMilitant, sort of. And she acknowledged how stupid heroism is. [[spoiler:But not even she can help feeling a little sympathy for Sayaka's broken state, leading her to a HeelFaceTurn.]]
* FieryRedhead
* [[spoiler:ForgottenChildhoodFriend: The third drama CD shows that she and Mami knew each other when they were younger and were friends, until the PaterFamilicide happened.]]
* FreudianExcuse: Her love of food comes from [[spoiler:the fact that her family was impoverished after her dad was excommunicated for "heresy" and they barely had anything to eat; a scene in the manga shows Kyouko getting punished by her mother for wasting food]]. Her selfish and {{Jerkass}} nature comes from [[spoiler:the fact that her wish led to [[GoMadFromTheRevelation her maddened dad]] [[OffingTheOffspring killing the whole Sakura family]] except for her]].
* HeelFaceTurn: Cements this with a near-[[PrecisionFStrike Precision Bitch Strike]] as soon as [[spoiler:Kyubey lets slip the AwfulTruth.]] She then dedicates herself to [[spoiler:preventing her friends from suffering Sayaka's fate before being forced to shatter her own Soul Gem after evacuating Homura and Madoka from the vicinity so they don't get caught in the resulting blast that takes her and Sayaka.]]
* [[spoiler:HeroicSacrifice: She does this to MercyKill on Sayaka, as well as so Sayaka does not die alone.]]
* HeyItsThatVoice: [[AiNonaka She's dealt with]] [[SayonaraZetsubouSensei crazy-ass random patchwork images before]].
** In English, perhaps she has smaller boobs than Mami now, but give it some years and [[BlazBlue she'll outboob everyone else as Boobie Lady]].
* HotBlooded
* HowDoYouLikeThemApples[=/=]BrickJoke: During her explanation of her backstory, she has a bag of apples. [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic The symbolism]] is [[JapaneseChristian probably intentional]].
* [[spoiler:ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: In the manga, during her fight with Oktavia von Seckendorff.]]
* ItsAllAboutMe: This is what she claims to be her philosophy; that a magical girl should only use her powers to benefit herself. However, [[spoiler: she says this to Sayaka because she thinks she would benefit from that philosophy, [[{{Hypocrite}} and then she tries to help Sayaka against a witch]]. It's an interesting dichotomy, to say the least.]]
* JapaneseChristian: Her father was a priest. She seemed to have been observant when she was younger but now... not so much.
** On one hand, Mr. Sakura was most likely a Protestant minister; Catholic priests aren't supposed to get married but ministers generally can. On the other hand, this might be a case of a gender-flipped NunsAreMikos.
*** [[FridgeBrilliance Maybe Mr. Sakura was a catholic priest and one of his doctrinal changes was to allow priests to get married]]
*** Could be an Orthodox priest; ''they'' are allowed to get married. There are also some Protestant denominations that call their ministers priests and even have them wear the white collar.
**** It's eventually implied that [[spoiler:she'll [[DiedHappilyEverAfter go to Heaven when she eventually dies for real]] in the current timeline, due to Madoka's wish.]]
* JapaneseHonorifics: Doesn't use any [[spoiler:but early on in her career, she actually called Mami "Mami-san"]].
* JapanesePronouns: Uses "Atashi" for herself.
* JerkAss: Justified by her backstory. Which still doesn't justify her horrible treatment of [[spoiler:Sayaka, before the AwfulTruth happened.]]
** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Her latter interactions with [[PetTheDog Sayaka]] show that, JerkAss as she is, Kyoko is still not completely heartless.
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal: ...In all timelines she has shown up, though she comes BackFromTheDead at the end of Episode 12.]]
* KleptomaniacHero: Implied that she stole most, if not all, of the food she was eating.
* LadyInRed: Kyouko's Magical Girl outfit.
* {{Leitmotif}}: ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYlrQvKaoMQ "Anima mala".]]''
* [[spoiler:MasterOfIllusion: Formerly.]]
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Gives one to Sayaka that doubles as a TakingYouWithMe]]
* NeckLift: Performs one on Sayaka when she [[BerserkButton throws her apple to the ground without eating it]]
* NobleDemon: Acts like a CardCarryingVillain at first, but it turns out she hasn't completely abandoned her ideals.
* [[spoiler:NoBodyLeftBehind: Her ultimate fate eventually, due to Madoka's wish. She and Mami will probably survive longer than Homura, who gets a BolivianArmyEnding in the final scene.]]
* OralFixationFixation: Always has something in her mouth.
* [[spoiler:PaterFamilicide: In her backstory, her father killed her entire family save her before killing himself.]]
* PimpedOutDress: Her Magical Girl outfit is bloodred to symbolize her aggressive nature [[spoiler:[[NiceJobBreakingItHero and the blood that was spilled]] [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor as a consequence of her wish, as well.]] It is also adorned with the symbol of her father's church.]]
* PlayingAgainstType: AiNonaka is normally cast to play cutesy characters and nice girls... but here, she plays a character who is very rough around the edges.
* PreachersKid: Was apparently an angelic KnightTemplar before things went bad. When we meet her, she's well over on the cynical side.
* [[spoiler: PsychosomaticSuperpowerOutage: She's been unable to use her MasterOfIllusion powers ever since the PaterFamilicide incident.]]
* RapunzelHair
* [[spoiler:RedemptionEqualsDeath]]
* RedEyesTakeWarning
* RedOniBlueOni: With Sayaka.
** [[spoiler:And previously, with Mami.]]
* [[spoiler:SacrificialLion]]
* SayMyName: '''"SAYAKAAAA!!!"'''
* ShesGotLegs
* SirSwearsALot: By Japanese-standards, her vocabulary is quite filthy, and at best is inappropriately masculine.
* SourOutsideSadInside
* [[spoiler:SuicideAttack]]
* SweetPollyOliver: In a [[{{omake}} gag image]] Kyoko decides to disguise herself as a boy in order to become closer with Sayaka.
* SweetTooth: She's constantly munching on kind of sweet, even during battle.
* [[spoiler:TogetherInDeath: With Sayaka.]]
* TomboyishPonytail
* {{Tomboy}}
* TookALevelInKindness: After starting as a big bitch, Sayaka's and Madoka's suffering soften her up little by little. This culminates in Episode 9 with her [[spoiler:actually ''bonding'' with Madoka, then sacrificing herself to save Madoka from a bewitched Sayaka, and putting Sayaka out of her misery]].
* TroubledButCute
* {{Tsundere}}: Has these tendencies [[LesYay towards Sayaka]].
* TsurimeEyes
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:Had Kyouko not picked fights needlessly with Sayaka, Madoka wouldn't have snapped and thrown Sayaka's Soul Gem away, thus TheReveal would have happened later.]]
* UsedToBeASweetKid
* VariableLengthChain: Her spear can segment into parts separated by chains. Her spear's shaft length also changes between scenes.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: The resident JapaneseChristian [[spoiler:performs a HeroicSacrifice to save someone from their sin. [[{{Jesus}} Hmm]].]]
** And there is more where that came from. [[spoiler:Right before she sacrifices herself to kill Oktavia, her soul gem and her hairpin meld into something resembling a key. Notice that Oktavia looks like a mermaid. The Melusine, a creature from European folklore, similar to a mermaid in some versions, holds a key in her mouth. The one who takes the key from her will earn her love. [[LesYay What are you trying to tell us, Urobuchi/SHAFT?]]]]
* [[WhipSword Whip Spear]]: Her spear is capable of splitting into chains, but it also appears to be able to curve in a whip-like fashion.
* [[spoiler:WhatHaveIBecome: Not even ''she'' could stay indifferent to the AwfulTruth.]]
* WhoWearsShortShorts
* ZettaiRyouiki

* [[spoiler:DoppelgangerAttack]]: [[AllThereInTheManual The third drama CD]] reveals that [[spoiler:Kyoko's original power was to create decoys of herself. She lost this power when her family died.]]

* {{Fallen Hero}}: She was literally a ChurchMilitant, sort of. And she acknowledged how stupid heroism is. [[spoiler:But not even she can help feeling a little sympathy for Sayaka's broken state, leading her to a HeelFaceTurn.]]

* LastNameBasis: Typically calls the other girls by their last name and the "-san" honorific.

* FreudianExcuse: Her love of food comes from [[spoiler:the fact that her family was impoverished after her dad was excommunicated for "heresy" and they barely had anything to eat]]. Her selfish and {{Jerkass}} nature comes from [[spoiler:the fact that her wish led to [[GoMadFromTheRevelation her maddened dad]] [[OffingTheOffspring killing the whole Sakura family]] except for her]].

* {{Expy}}: Plotwise, of Marimo Jinguuji, from ''MuvLuvAlternative''.

** ActorAllusion: Mami [[ExpositionFairy also wants you to]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime HEY!! LISTEN!!]] [[StopHelpingMe whenever she's talking to you]]. FridgeBrilliance applies when you know she's the ''most annoying voice in videogame history'', is the person that's helping the girls and act like a [[BigBrotherMentor Big Sister Mentor]], [[spoiler:[[PlayingAgainstType but gives off some of the most dubious information]] and [[CruelAndUnusualDeath gets killed first in the cruelest way imaginable.]]]] [[DramaticIrony Yeah]], [[WhatTheHellCastingAgency SHAFT.]]

** And there is more where that came from. [[spoiler:Right before she sacrifices herself to kill Oktavia, her soul gem and her hairpin meld into something resembling a key. Notice that Oktavia looks like a mermaid. The Melusine, a creature from European folklore, similar to a mermaid in some versions, who holds a key in her mouth. The one who takes the key from her will earn her love. [[LesYay What are you trying to tell us, Urobuchi/SHAFT?]]]]

A veteran and morally ambiguous magical girl. Her view of a magical girl's duties are ruthlessly utilitarian; for example, on her first encounter with Sayaka, she suggests allowing a familiar to feed on humans and mature into a witch so as to ultimately gain a Grief Seed from slaying it. She wields a halberd whose shaft can split into chained-together segments, giving her weapon dangerous flexibility and reach. [[spoiler:Her wish was to make people listen to her father's unorthodox preachings. This arguably mind-controlling wish afforded her illusory powers, but she lost due to the trauma of her father killing her sister, mother, and himself.]]

* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal: ...In all timelines she has showed up, though she comes BackFromTheDead at the end of Episode 12.]]

* TheBigGirl: Can be considered if we are to see this as a FiveManBand.

* TheLancer: If a FiveManBand is to be called, she can be if we count Sayaka Miki as TheHero.

* [[BigDamnHeroes]]: GenUrobuchi ''loves'' to play with this trope. In Kyoko's case, [[spoiler:Homura saves Sayaka from her. And then she saves Sayaka from Elsa Maria. And then she saves Sayaka ''from a very pissed-off Homura''. And then she tops it off by protecting Madoka and Homura's escape from Witch!Sayaka... By going out with a bang.]]

* [[BigDamnHeroes Big Damn Heroine]]: GenUrobuchi ''loves'' to play with this trope. In Kyoko's case, [[spoiler:Homura saves Sayaka from her. And then she saves Sayaka from Elsa Maria. And then she saves Sayaka ''from a very pissed-off Homura''. And then she tops it off by protecting Madoka and Homura's escape from Witch!Sayaka... By going out with a bang.]]

* {{Fallen Hero}}ine: She was literally a ChurchMilitant, sort of. And she acknowledged how stupid heroism is. [[spoiler:But not even she can help feeling a little sympathy for Sayaka's broken state, leading her to a HeelFaceTurn.]]

* [[spoiler:GoMadFromTheRevelation: Episode 10 reveals that this happened to her in at least one timeline after being forced to fight and kill Sayaka(from her point of view) and discovering that everything she believed in was a lie, to the point where she starts [[CruelMercy killing her friends to save them from]] a FateWorseThanDeath.]]

[[spoiler:She falls to the witch Charlotte in the third episode, making her the first casualty of the penultimate timeline.]]

* AwesomeButImpractical: In Grief Syndrome, her special, Tiro Finale, albeit the most powerful special in the game, has a gigantic blindspot about one third of the screen right in front of her, turning most of her healthbar blue, making her extremely vulnerable.

* BrickJoke: [[SpotOfTea Her teacup]] [[spoiler:in [[WhamEpisode episode 3]], [[NightmareFuel broken to further symbolize]] [[TearJerker her death]]]].

** [[AllThereInTheManual The third drama CD]] has Mami [[spoiler: insisting Kyoko call her attack too - and she even picks out a name for it.]]

* [[spoiler:DeerInTheHeadlights: in her fight with Charlotte in episode 3. It does not end well.]]

* [[FieldOfBlades Field of]] ''[[FieldOfBlades Muskets]]'': [[MemeticMutation Unlimited Musket works]], indeed.

* FinishingMove: Tiro/Filo Finale, a ''[[{{BFG}} massive]]'' [[{{BFG}} matchlock]].

* HeyItsThatVoice - [[{{Disgaea}} ALL HAIL THE GREAT OVERLORD LAHAR--]] [[KaoriMizuhashi MAMI!]]

* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal: ...In every timeline. Then again, apart from Homura and Kyubey, who wasn't? She does come back to life at the end of episode 12, though.]]
* LadyOfWar: Complete with sipping tea after destroying the Witch in episode 2.

* {{Leitmotif}}: [[http://youtu.be/p9-cETV8xYQ "Credens justitiam".]]

* MercyKill: [[spoiler:She at least believes she is doing it. In one of the alternative timelines, after Sayaka's death, she kills Kyoko and tries to kill both Homura and Madoka (and probably would commit suicide if she suceeded), because she [[GoMadFromTheRevelation has gone insane]] and thinks that is best for them to die right there than [[FateWorseThanDeath to become witches and start killing humans.]]]]

* ThemeMusicPowerUp: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QEa4TiHDBA&feature=related This]] pretty much plays anytime she's transforming into her magical girl outfit, or when she's pulling a BigDamnHeroes moment. [[spoiler: Too bad it doesn't save her in episode 3...]]

* WordOfGod: Although the translation is unclear, her wish was something like "to connect to life" - [[spoiler:presumably her own life.]] Hence her ability to create ribbons.

* ChekhovsGunman: Appears in the title and credits sequences before actually appearing in the series. It's also implied that she's [[spoiler: the magical girl that Kyubey and Mami talk about in episode 3, who made a wish for someone else.]] This is all but confirmed in the [[AllThereInTheManual third drama CD]].

* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal: ... In all timelines she has showed up, though she comes BackFromTheDead at the end of episode 12.]]

* {{Leitmotif}}: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV5ZEa9mzTI "Anima Mala".]]

* SweetPollyOliver: In a [[{{omake}} gag image]] Kyouko decides to disguise herself as a boy in order to become closer with Sayaka.

* TookALevelInKindness: After starting as a big bitch, Sayaka's and Madoka's suffering soften her up little by little. This culminates in episode 9 with her [[spoiler:actually ''bonding'' with Madoka, then sacrificing herself to save Madoka from a bewitched Sayaka, and putting Sayaka out of her misery]].

* DarkActionGirl: [[spoiler:Though mixed with DarkMagicalGirl, too.]]

* [[spoiler:ForgottenChildhoodFriend: The third drama CD shows that she and Mami knew each other when they were younger and were friends, until the PaterFamilicide happened.]]

* ([[AntiHero Anti]]) HeroesGoneFishing: Homura once meets up with Kyouko while she's playing a dancing game in an arcade.

* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: She could either take up Kyubey's offer to become a MagicalGirl or [[spoiler:die alongside her parents]].

* [[spoiler:WalkingSpoiler: Because of her gruesome death a quarter of the way in the series, it's hard to discuss Mami in a spoiler-free way without bringing it up.]]
* WordOfGod: Although the translation is unclear, her wish was something like "to connect to life" - [[spoiler:presumably her own life.]] Hence her ability to create ribbons.

* PrincessCurls + GirlishPigtails = MegaTwintails

* SourOutsideSadInside

* {{Tsunshun}}

* {{Expy}}: Plotwise, of [[spoiler:Marimo Jinguuji, from ''MuvLuvAlternative'']].