Line #41 Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/madoka_magica_bd.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[[HopeBringer There is hope beyond despair.]][[note]]From left to right: [[KnightInShiningArmor Sayaka Miki]], [[WildCard Homura Akemi]], [[AllLovingHero Madoka Kaname]] (with [[MentorMascot Kyubey]] on her left arm), [[TeamMom Mami Tomoe]] and [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Kyoko Sakura]]. Not pictured: [[TraumaCongaLine PTSD.]][[/note]]]]
3	->''"A person becomes naïve if they're too kind. Careless if they're too bold. And no matter how hard you try to protect others, there's no gratitude. Those who can't comprehend such things aren't fit to be magical girls."''
4	-->-- '''Homura Akemi'''
5
6	''Puella Magi Madoka Magica'' is a Japanese anime aired between January and April 2011, created by Magica Quartet, a collaborative team of Creator/AkiyukiShinbo, Creator/UmeAoki, Creator/GenUrobuchi and Creator/StudioShaft. Its MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction theme made it one of the most famous animes of the 2010s, influencing many similar works released thereafter.
7
8	Madoka Kaname is an OrdinaryMiddleSchoolStudent with a loving family and a close circle of friends. One day, an enigmatic girl named Homura Akemi [[NewTransferStudent transfers into her class]], setting off a chain of events that will completely change Madoka's life.
9
10	For you see, [[EldritchAbomination bizarre creatures called “witches”]] have been attacking Earth, killing innocent humans. In the shadows of the city of Mitakihara, a war is being waged between the grotesque witches and the {{magical girl}}s who fight to limit their destructive influences. It is said that a mysterious witch, known only as [[BigBad Walpurgisnacht]], will appear and destroy the world. A small [[WeaselMascot cat-like creature]] called Kyubey appears before Madoka, and offers to [[MakeAWish grant a single wish]] in exchange for her services as a magical girl. It turns out that [[MentorMascot Kyubey]] has a plan to SaveTheWorld by destroying the witches, but the little creature will need Madoka’s help -- and Kyubey sees great potential in her. The idealistic Madoka wants to accept the contract so she can help people in need, but Homura -- who reveals herself to be a DarkMagicalGirl -- seems determined to stop Madoka for unknown reasons.
11
12	Who is Homura, and what is her deal? Just what are the witches? What is Kyubey’s plan, and why does it require Madoka specifically? And what is Madoka’s destiny -- can she truly save the world? Or will she fall to despair?
13
14	One thing becomes clear early on, though; things are [[GenreDeconstruction not as they seem]]. What appears to be a straightforward MagicalGirlWarrior tale becomes a twisted, morally complex, and [[DisguisedHorrorStory surprisingly terrifying]] exploration of concepts like hope, despair, entropy, utilitarianism, and the psychological issues of the Magical girls, and it does not pull punches in regards to the horror the girls have to endure. The series has, in fact, served as the primary inspiration for [[FollowTheLeader a whole slew of imitators]] which, by gradually putting their own spins on the concept, [[GenreTurningPoint spawned an entire magical girl subgenre]]. The full scope of this series' impact is extensive -- its influence has been observed in other anime and manga like ''Literature/MagicalGirlRaisingProject'', ''Anime/DayBreakIllusion'', and ''Anime/YukiYunaIsAHero'', {{toku}}satsu series like ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'' [[note]]which notably shares a writer with ''Madoka Magica''[[/note]], and even Western works like the American graphic novel series ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain''.
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16	Bringing together an all-star staff, ''Puella Magi Madoka Magica''[[note]]''Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica'' in Japanese, with "Mahou Shoujo" meaning "MagicalGirl"[[/note]] has Creator/StudioShaft animating, Shaft's primary director [[Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei Akiyuki Shinbo]] directing, Music/YukiKajiura producing the music, {{Creator/Nitroplus}}'s Creator/GenUrobuchi writing and Creator/UmeAoki designing the characters for Shaft's first [[AnimeFirst original series in a decade]]. The show started airing in January as part of the Winter 2011 season, though it was put on a temporary hiatus [[DistancedFromCurrentEvents due to the Sendai earthquakes in Japan]]. [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-04-10/madoka-magica-anime-to-resume-on-april-21 The final two episodes were broadcast back-to-back on April 21st;]] the initial announcement was met with much rejoicing. [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-06-21/1-million-stream-free-madoka-magica-in-japan-taiwan When it was aired on Nico Nico Douga,]] over one million people watched. Compare this to ''Manga/LuckyStar'''s similar stream, which was closer to ''half'' a million.
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18	The series has been dubbed and released in North America by Aniplex USA and Manga Entertainment in the UK. The series was aired on Australian TV on Creator/{{ABC3}} starting on June 29. The series is available for streaming both subbed and dubbed on [[http://www.crunchyroll.com/puella-magi-madoka-magica Crunchyroll]], [[https://www.hulu.com/series/085f5007-1b32-4dd7-9aea-41397554fb9b Hulu]], and [[https://www.netflix.com/title/70302572 Netflix.]]
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20	In November 2011, a [[http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2011/11/07-1/madoka-magica-film-trilogy-confirmed-by-newtype theatrical film trilogy]] was announced. It is composed of the following:
21	#''Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Beginnings'': Part one of a CompilationMovie, released on October 6, 2012.
22	#''Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Eternal'': Part two of the CompilationMovie, released on October 13, 2012.
23	#''[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion]]'': Part three of the movie trilogy, released on October 26, 2013. A true sequel to the anime, originally intended to be its second season. The movie also introduces a new magical girl, Nagisa Momoe, to the team.
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25	In December 2015, [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-12-08/madoka-magica-concept-movie-will-be-core-of-new-project/.96224 a trailer]] for a new ''Puella'' "project" was released. Because of [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-10-16/new-madoka-magica-show-considered-after-3rd-film previous announcements]] that the studio was considering making a ''Rebellion'' sequel, this may be confirmation of such a sequel. After an over 4 year long period of total silence regarding a potential continuation of Madoka's story, a new movie titled ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieWalpurgisnachtRising'', set to continue the story after the ending of ''Rebellion'', was teased on April 25th, 2021, as part of the franchise's [[MilestoneCelebration 10th anniversary celebration]]. On September 10th, 2023, it was announced that ''Walpurgisnacht: Rising'' would release in Winter 2024. See the official trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGxyrO-27dQ here]].
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27	In October 2016, it was revealed that the anime will be crossing over with ''[[VideoGame/TheBattleCats The Battle Cats]]'', featuring characters from the anime as Cat units and enemies. It has not yet been revealed what content will land on Madoka Magica's side.[[labelnote:Note]]This is far from the series only collab, as over the course of its life, Madoka has collaborated with certain games, including but not limited to ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' (''VideoGame/MonsterHunterFrontier'' and ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterExplore''), and many mobile games such as ''Valkyrie Connect'', ''Kurokishi to Shiro no Maou'' or ''The World of Mystic Wiz''.[[/labelnote]]
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29	The anime has several spin-offs, such as manga and games, which can be found in detail on the [[Franchise/MadokaMagica franchise]] page.
30
31	Compare ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}'', ''Manga/ShadowStar'', ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'', and many other no-holds-barred {{Genre Deconstruction}}s of Japanese media. Of particular note is ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'', a deconstruction of {{toku}} heroes which [[WordOfGod explicitly]] inspired many elements of ''Madoka''.
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33	Contrast ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', which serves as the show's most obvious antecedent; ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'' and ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' which are examples of relatively adult and drama-laden treatment of the genre that are, however, played straight; and ''Anime/KillLaKill'' for a series that is the SpiritualAntithesis to this show, as well as ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt'' for the comedic version of this show.
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35	'''NOTE:''' Please put tropes for ''[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion Rebellion]]'' and ''[[Manga/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaWraithArc Wraith Arc]]'' on their own pages.
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37	----
38	[+ '''''LateArrivalSpoiler Warning:''''' ''Puella Magi Madoka Magica'' is one of the most popular anime franchises to come out of the 2010s. As such, there are a great deal of spoilers. Most of them are marked, while others aren't. ''Avoiding these pages is highly suggested for those who have not seen the series.'' +]
39	----
40
41	!!This anime series provides examples of:
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43	[[index]]
44	* PuellaMagiMadokaMagica/TropesAToF
45	* PuellaMagiMadokaMagica/TropesGToM
46	* PuellaMagiMadokaMagica/TropesNToS
47	* PuellaMagiMadokaMagica/TropesTToZ
48	[[/index]]
49
50	----
51	->Don’t forget.
52	->Always, somewhere,
53	->Someone is fighting for you.
54	->As long as you remember her,
55	->{{You are not alone}}.

Context Anime / PuellaMagiMadokaMagica