Reviews Anime / Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Completely unlikable and flawed beyond reasoning? well you are entitled to your opinions, but that just sounds so extreme and illogical. The show did have some issues with regards to it's characters (I blame the length, a few more episodes would have helped that a little better) I wouldn't say any of them are that flawed or unlikable. In fact I have to wonder what you where focusing on if you feel this way since it just makes no sense at all.

I also have no idea what the hell you are talking about when you make that worm metaphor, a strange metaphor doesn't really explain anything at all, especially if you don't even really say what makes you feel this way.

The worm is definitely a reference to something that happens in the series. Episode 3, to be specific.

"And speaking of characters, they are all completely unlikable and flawed beyond reason"? They're middle schoolers. What did you expect?

"It defies standards and does absolutely everything wrong." How so? Would you care to tell us what the "right" way would have been?

"They're middle schoolers. What did you expect?" — middle schoolers can be portrayed in any number of ways in anime. They can be likeable or unlikeable, flawed and not. For not flawed or unlikeable middle schoolers, watch Kamichu for example. For more flawed but likeable middle schoolers, watch Evangelion. For something similar to Madoka, watch AlienNine, and that's just a few examples. I expected a bit more stable and logical characters, that's it. Also, I changed my opinion on them for the better after watching the finale.

The "Right way"? Of course. MaiHiME, only with a different ending. Pretty explosions, cool monsters, clean design, psychological torment underneath. But that's only my opinion, nothing more.

Trolls will troll. None of the characters are unlikable. They all have good reasons for what they do, and most people find it easy to sympathize with them. They're flawed, but in ways that are very easy for people to relate to. If you didn't like them, you're in a very small minority. And, actually, the story structure and narrative aren't atypical. There are twists, but the themes and use of foreshadowing are carefully calculated.

It all makes sense, of course, when you realise that Kyuubey is hardly going to be targeting paradigms of stability and rationality. He's sort of like the ultimate cosmic salesman - and he's selling the equivalent of the sort of dubious financial instruments that sunk our economy.

I mostly liked the series, but it certainly takes a special kind of deconstruction to imply that comforting someone and reassuring her that she's not fighting alone will get her killed. There’s more than a few cases when The Power Of Friendship is not enough to win (for example, in Naruto, Hinata vs. Pain), but it seems to go too far to suggest that it’s a bad thing. Rather than offer a more realistic take on tropes like some Deconstructions do, this seems to go so far as to suggest that they’re bad. I thus agree that occasionally, the deconstruction went too far, to the point at which the show was declaring itself above such tropes while mocking them (a complaint I have about most sufficiently intentional Deconstructions).

Other than that, I found the characters generally well-meaning but flawed, and ultimately quite human (for example, Hitomi made a reasonably fair decision based on what she knows- and more importantly, doesn't know- and thus doesn't deserve the hate she gets). Sayaka's angsting about her body seemed somewhat strange, though, compared to practical worrying that she would end up dead like Mami or lose her soul forever, thus leaving Kyosuke alone. I can also see how Madoka accomplishing nothing positive for 11 out of 12 episodes in the current timeline (except maybe preventing Hitomi and the others from gassing themselves to death) can grate on some viewers. While Episode 10 does a good job of exploring Homura's development, she should also have shown a little more tact and honesty about how she feels about Madoka, especially in the wake of Mami's death. The fact that Kyubey comes off as nicer than Homura for the first half puts her at a severe disadvantage in dealing with him.

So while the review touched on some of the complaints I had about this show, it didn't explore them in enough depth or clarity, and seemed overly harsh. I'll post a review of my own to discuss my perspective.

Might I ask who you're thinking of with your Power Of Friendship example? Because I never got the impression that they were trying to imply that it was a bad thing as such. Less that was needed to win, yes, but actually hindering victory? Maybe I'm recalling the series wrong, but I can't think of a moment that fits that description, at least not in my interpretation of the series.

I'm thinking of Mami. To quote the example from You Are Not Alone, emphasis mine

"Invoked earlier in the series in episode 3 where it is brutally deconstructed. Madoka promises to become a Magical Girl and fight beside the desperately lonely Mami from now on, telling her "You aren't alone anymore!" Mami's subsequent euphoria causes her to enter the ensuing battle somewhat more recklessly than she otherwise would have, to horrific consequences. Unfortunately, The Power of Friendship proved to be a deadly distraction in this case."

That's just one small example though, the entire show is about how the Power of Friendship can in fact be a very powerful force for good just as it can lead to bad things. Homeura's friendship with Madoka causes her to repeat Hell for countless times until she saves her friend from a terrible fate. It's thanks to this Power of Friendship that Madoka is able to re-do her wish and create a better world for all the Magical Girls and people alike.

Actually Sayaka's whole character contradicts the whole power of friendship. When she makes her wish, it is about a powerful attraction and connection to the boy, forgive me for names slipping. This actually proves to be her downfall. It causes her so much grief she ends up changing, and then in an attempt to bring her back Madoka and Kyōko attempt to bring her back with power of friendship. That also fails, and not to mention that due to Homura's friendship led to the destruction of various time lines. Lastly the end doesn't seem to be a power of friendship. It is one girl making a truly selfless wish. She didn't do it because her friends believed in her, or because they supported her. She did it for EVERY magical girl. Friendship was a part but not the main cause.

I feel that this show is needlessly defended. People have their own opinions, Personally, I like Madoka Magica because I like magical girl shows. What it thought it did for the genre was nothing serious. Previous magical girl series did the same thing and this constant thing of ("Oh it's a masterpiece" or "Oh my God! This show is a deconstruction of the magical girl genre. So thought provoking!") is not true. They overloaded the show with symbolism that doesn't even help the show. The whole death and despair thing has been done. Sailor Moon did the same things.