Puella Magi Madoka Magica has made shout-outs a plenty.
Anime and Manga
- In the OP while Madoka is reflecting on her adventures as a magical girl, Madoka is seen striking three
◊ famous◊ poses◊. - Episode 9: When Kyubey explains the purpose of magical girls and witches, along with his real role in it to Madoka, several chairs similar to those on which characters from Bokurano sit while piloting Zearth can be seen in her room. Even more of these chairs are added in certain locations throughout the series in the DVD version.
- You know these famous shots of Kyuubey where all you see are his eyes and the white skin of his face? This type of scene was actually famous first as being used for Kero in Cardcaptor Sakura.
- Mami Tomoe, as well as Kyoko Sakura, share their names with three protagonists from famous Magical Girl series. Coincidence?
- Mami's Macross Missile Massacre looks like Gates of Babylon. Also Justified, since the scriptwriter worked on Fate/Zero.
- The fight between Sayaka and Kyoko in Episode 5 is reminiscent of Saber and Lancer's first fight in Fate/Zero, another of Urobuchi's works. Though the sword-wielder puts up a valiant effort, they lose the fight's advantage due to the spear-wielder's craftiness with their weapon, and are ultimately saved by a Big Damn Heroes moment from another fighter.
- Elsa Maria, the witch from Episode 7, has some similarities with Pride. Seeing that both are carnivorous shadow monsters with a thing for Combat Tentacles, the comparison aren't that off.
- Mami's association with guns and Italian plus the fact that she became a magical girl directly after becoming an orphan is reminiscent of the protagonists of Gunslinger Girl.
- Madoka picks a red ribbon over a yellow one in the first episode. Taking this as a reference to the yellow-ribboned Haruhi Suzumiya might seem like a stretch, until Madoka becomes a nearly-omnipotent Reality Warper and attempts to recreate the entire universe...just like Haruhi. The red ribbon also achieves similar iconic status when Homura wears it.
- Episode 12: Ultimate Madoka, aka Godoka/Madokami has a rather interesting similarity to the Mugen silhouette albeit more powerful. The similarities between the two are made obvious in this fanart◊.
- Homura's usage of her powers is reminiscent of a certain character able to stop time but more specifically during her battle against Walpurgisnacht she rams an exploding tank lorry into it during the time stop.
- The plot of the first episode up until, as one fansubbing group puts it, "Madoka is attacked by the SZS opening", is extremely similar to the first episode of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. But then again, it is the same director and Nanoha's English voice actress voiced Homura.
- Episode 12: Madoka gives Homura her hair ribbons. This has been used as symbolic bonding between magical girls in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.
- Sayaka Miki's name is a reference to the main character's love interests in Go Nagai's two biggest works, Sayaka Yumi from Mazinger Z and Miki Makimura from Devil Man.
- Mami's final battle with the witch in Episode 3 may look familiar, and this is why. Somehow this just makes it worse.
- Kyoko's first name calls back to another redhead with family issues (who showed up about a third of the way through the series). What was her mother's name again?
- In the final episode, when Madoka goes around purifying all of the magical girls who are about to die or become witches, the way that she appears in front of them and makes them fade away, taking them with her is awfully similar to the Instrumentality sequence in End Of Evangelion (Everybody Hugs and Turns Into Tang). Similarly, Madoka's wings when she takes out her witch are somewhat like Reilith's wings.
- It isn't the first unconventional magical girl series with a tareme-eyed, pink-haired protagonist, a black-haired, Meganekko sort-of friend with confusing allegiances, and a blue, short-haired, Tomboy Action Girl called Sayaka.
- Homura's Fallen angel form's outfit in the end of the the third movie resembles Princess Kraehe's.
- Episode 9: Aspects of Kyoko's fight with Oktavia are reminiscent of Revolutionary Girl Utena, mainly the red and blue silhouettes of Kyoko and Sayaka melting together. Kyoko kissing her soul gem in a prayer position before her suicide attack is a more subtle one.
Art
- Episode 12: Madoka's speech as she tells off Kyubey for trying to renege out of fulfilling her wish ends with three sentences that are almost word-for-word from Sadako Sasaki's Memorial Statue.Madoka: That's the only thing I want. It's what I wish for. Now grant my wish, Incubator!
- In the episode "I Won't Rely On Anyone Anymore". Izabel, the artist Witch, has her Barrier's surfaces plastered with all sorts of (distorted, wavering) paintings, including Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night, Edvard Munch's The Scream, and Pablo Picasso's Guernica. Their inclusion makes sense because she attacks the first timeline's Homura, who is plagued with suicidal thoughts.
Literature
- One of the wall displays in Homura's room has the phrase "1914_Bücher" (German for "books"), apparently referring to the 1914 Bram Stoker short story "Dracula's Guest", which is set during Walpurgis Night.
- One of the images in the OP appears to be Madoka controlling a sandworm-like creature.
- Episode 12: Homura's wings is one to Good Omens Death.
- Sayaka's witch form is a knight-mermaid. Can you think of another story involving a young girl who trades her original body for the guy she loves only to lose him to someone else? The original does not end well.
Live-Action Film
- By saying that it would be a John Woo-styled work if the Magical Girls are replaced by Cantonese men, the producer implies that this show is inspired by his movies.
- The Guest Artwork at the end of Episode 2 features Lord Humungus from Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. Just because.
- The incredibly ominous ending animation has the mask of Mephistopheles, from the 1981 movie Mephisto (which while decidedly non-supernatural, is itself a Faustian story).
Music
- On the roof, Kyousuke plays a violin version of Ave Maria by Johann Sebastian Bach and Charles Gounod, who also wrote a Faust adaptation (an opera).
- In Episode 9, Kyouko jams a spear in some graffiti that says ''Love Me Do".
Theatre
- Faust:
- The title card at the very beginning of the first episode is "Prolog im Himmel", the name of Faust's prologue.
- "The Hexeneinmaleins" appears in episode 1 as Witch runes coming out of the Anthonies' mouths and in episode 8 in one of the portraits in Homura's place.
- In episode 2, Madoka initially thinking the whole thing is All Just a Dream until she sees Kyubey is similar to Faust's encounter with Mephistopheles in Faust I.
- In episode 2, lyrics from Faust I appear in an abandoned building near Gertrud's barrier.
- In episode 2, there are Faust I quotes in cut-out rings inside Gertrud's barrier.
- In episode 4, one of the phrases on Elly's monitor, "Ich mag keine Narren", refers to Narrenwelt, a word Mephistopheles calls humanity.
- Both parts of Faust have a scene called "Walpurgisnacht", the name of the show's powerful witch.
- In episode 4, one of the phrases on Elly's monitor, "Ich will nicht arbeiten", is from John Gabriel Borkman.
Others
- Episode 12 also gives one to Fantasia with Kyosuke's music piece being "Ave Maria" - which the "Walpurgisnacht" sequence in Fantasia segued into.
- A wall in the abandoned building in Episode 2 has graffiti of text lifted verbatim from the original German edition of Faust. Creepy.
- On Madoka's shelf lies a Freya Chocolate doll.
- If one was to compare the characters of Kamen Rider Ryuki, they might be convinced that the entire show is one huge reference to it. See here for more details.
- The cover◊ of volume two of the manga is a homage to Saya no Uta.
- Mami's surname is probably a reference to Tomoe Gozen, a famous female samurai from the late twelfth century who supposedly fought in the Gempei War. Doubles as an Ironic Name, since Gozen is also supposed to have survived that war.note
