History PuellaMagiMadokaMagica / TropesNToS

* SceneryDissonace: Many of the witches' labyrinths look as if they came from Wonderland -- they are collages of vibrant, bizarre, colorful elements. Some of the minions even go around singing and dancing. As a result, everything fits surreal and out of place (in a good sense) whenever an unsuspecting or mind-controlled civilian gets trapped or a magical girl goes hunting the witch and its minions down. It's made worse after TheReveal that the witches are [[spoiler: the corrupted versions of magical girls that fell into despair or ran out of magic and that the labyrinths are depictions of their broken mindscapes and unfulfilled wishes]].

** Mami's [[spoiler:final]] battle with the witch in Episode 3 may look familiar, and ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brkbyYPd_RE this]] [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion is why]]''. Somehow this just makes it [[UpToEleven worse]].

** It isn't the first [[Anime/OkusamaWaMahouShoujo unconventional magical girl series]] with a [[TaremeEyes tareme-eyed]], pink-haired protagonist, a [[RavenHairIvorySkin black-haired]], {{Meganekko}} sort-of friend with confusing allegiances, and a blue, [[BoyishShortHair short-haired]], {{Tomboy}} ActionGirl called Sayaka.

* RapunzelHair: [[spoiler:Ultimate Madoka has the longest hair in the series as part of her goddess elegance. A design note advises that except for the ponytails on either side of her head, the viewer should never see the ends of her hair.]]

* OneWingedAngel: Charlotte in Episode 3. [[spoiler: Starts off as a shout-out of [[TastesLikeDiabetes Pukka]] and becomes a supremely creepy Takashi Murakami-style thing that looks like what you'd get if you mated a clown with a {{Sandworm}}.]]

* SuicidePact: Episode/Chapter 4. [[spoiler: A witch trances a large group of people to gather in a warehouse and gas themselves to death.]]

** It isn't the first [[Anime/OkusamaWaMahouShoujo unconventional magical girl series]] with a [[TaremeEyes tareme-eyed]], pink-haired protagonist, a [[RavenHairIvorySkin black-haired]], {{Meganekko}} sort-of friend with confusing allegiances, and a [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue]], [[BoyishShortHair short-haired]], {{Tomboy}} ActionGirl called Sayaka.

* SchoolgirlLesbians: Invoked by Hitomi who is convinced that Madoka and Sayaka have the hots for each other. In her defense, Sayaka spent the first episode giving her that impression. [[spoiler: It turns out that Hitomi was aiming for the same boy Sayaka was aiming for, which gave her a reason to hope that Sayaka was a lesbian or at least lesbian-leaning bi or that she just preferred Madoka over Kyosuke, so they wouldn't have to "fight" for him.]]

** The incredibly ominous ending animation has the mask of Mephistopheles, from the 1981 movie ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mephisto_%281981_film%29 Mephisto]]'' (which while decidedly non-supernatural, is itself a Myth/{{Faust}}ian story).

* NeverFoundTheBody: [[spoiler: As Homura explains to Madoka, a magical girl who dies in a witch's barrier [[NoBodyLeftBehind does not leave a corpse in the real world]]. Thus, they will forever be "missing".]]
** [[spoiler: Defied in Episode 11 with regards to Sayaka. Kyoko makes sure to take her body out of the witch's barrier and place it in a hotel for it to be found by a {{muggle}}. ]]

* NewTransferStudent: Homura transfers at the start of the series. [[spoiler: In the original timeline, this is the cause of her meeting with Madoka.]]

* NotSoDifferentRemark: [[spoiler:Yachiyo ends up compelling Holy Mami from succumbing to the Rumor that is attached to her by remarking that they both are the [[BeneathTheMask same emotionally distant person who other girls are looking up to as paragons of virtues]] and making them especially susceptible to loneliness, something that Yachiyo found out previously with Iroha's help. Because of that distance, Yachiyo actually doubts that the other Mitakihara girls could reach Mami the same way Tsuruno was saved. Instead, Yachiyo offers Mami a camaraderie with her as fellow emotionally distant people. Mami accepts]].

* Main/SekaikeiGenre: The fact that magic is dependent on Emotional Powers is the perfect fuel for a world whose fate is ultimately dictated by a key relationship between two otherwise normal people. In this case, [[spoiler:Madoka and Homura's status as either StarCrossedLovers or star-crossed close friends (depending on your perspective)]] eventually has cosmological implications. By the time of The Movie's conclusion, [[spoiler:both characters have taken a stab at rewriting the laws of reality for the greater good, tragically pushing their partner away in the process.]]

* SekakeiGenre: The fact that magic is dependent on Emotional Powers is the perfect fuel for a world whose fate is ultimately dictated by a key relationship between two otherwise normal people. In this case, [[spoiler:Madoka and Homura's status as either StarCrossedLovers or star-crossed close friends (depending on your perspective)]] eventually has cosmological implications. By the time of The Movie's conclusion, [[spoiler:both characters have taken a stab at rewriting the laws of reality for the greater good, tragically pushing their partner away in the process.]]

* {{Seinen}}: It looks like shoujo but in reality this is what happens when you place magical girls in a CosmicHorrorStory.

* {{Sentai}}: Although they're never all together as a team, the girl's costumes do fit the formula: Pink Madoka, Black Homura, Blue Sayaka, Yellow Mami and Red Kyouko.

* NotSoDifferent: [[spoiler: Episode 7 implies this between Sayaka and Kyoko; both of them made selfless wishes for the sake of a higher ideal and were eventually broken by their wish backfiring. The only difference is that Kyoko became jaded instead of a monster.]]

* RealityEnsues:
** Magical girls aim to kill Witches. However, as is the case with fights, one mistake can be lethal even if the person who made it was previously winning the fight, as [[spoiler:Mami]] found out- and there's no second chances or miraculous saves at the last moment.
** Sayaka becomes a magical girl and gets powers and the ability to summon weapons. But what she doesn't automatically get is the knowledge of ''how'' to fight, which puts her far behind all the other magical girls, especially since they all had a lot more experience.

%%* SceneryPorn:

** This is somewhat toyed with since [[spoiler:this raises the audience's expectations that Madoka will be a magic girl for most of the show and so spend the entire time expecting her to be one and are then caught off guard when it only happens so late in the show]].

** In regards to the series as a whole: Some people have called ''Puella Magi Madoka Magica'' the Anti-''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Evangelion]]'', as the philosophy is entirely different. Whereas in ''Evangelion'', the main character transforms from a depressed boy who hates himself to a happy boy who appreciates his shitty life [[spoiler:in the last episode, while preventing the AssimilationPlot]], Madoka transforms from a girl who hates herself to[[spoiler:…a happy girl who essentially kills herself and disembodies her spirit in order to create a new system where all [[MagicalGirl magical girls]] are saved while the Energy system is not compromised. Madoka let the Kyubey exist to prevent entropy and give humanity civilization, only now the worst and unnecessary waste products of the Puella Magi system (witches) are gone.]]

** By saying that it would be a Creator/JohnWoo styled work if the Puella Magis are replaced by Cantonese men, the producer implies that this show is inspired by his movies.

** By saying that it would be a ‘’Creator/JohnWoo’’ styled work if the Puella Magis are replaced by Cantonese men, the producer implies that this show is inspired by his movies.

** By saying that it would be a [[Creator/JohnWoo]] styled work if the Puella Magis are replaced by Cantonese men, the producer implies that this show is inspired by his movies.

* RealityEnsues: Magical girls aim to kill Witches. However, as is the case with fights, one mistake can be lethal even if the person who made it was previously winning the fight, as [[spoiler:Mami]] found out- and there's no second chances or miraculous saves at the last moment.