History YMMV / PuellaMagiOrikoMagica

* MagnificentBitch: [[AntiVillain White Magical Girl Oriko Mikuni]] uses a series of manipulations and distractions in order to murder Madoka Kaname to prevent her from inevitably becoming the witch Kriemhild Gretchen and destroying the world. Using the Black Magical Girl Kirika Kure to keep the heroines and even the cunning Kyubey busy, Oriko personally proves a match for the time-travelling Homura Akemi and manages to kill Madoka in one timeline while faking an attack at Kyubey. [[NecessarilyEvil Wracked with guilt by what she must do]], Oriko nevertheless [[TheUnfettered stops at nothing]], determined to save the world while outplaying everyone around her.

* EvilIsSexy:
** Yuma's mother Mako seems to have a nice figure, large breasts and subjects her daughter to vicious physical and verbal abuse (and in an official spin-off of the spin-off, [[spoiler:she even ended up ''killing'' Yuma in one of Oriko's visions]]).
** There’s also Oriko herself, who is quite beautiful and has a good rack herself despite her murderous scheme.

* HarsherInHindsight:
** In a flashback, after a young Oriko pledges her efforts to help her father, he offers her a reward, and she says, "Daddy, you can't give out bribes!", to which he laughs and says she "got (him) there". [[spoiler:Taking money that doesn't belong to him, on the other hand...]]
** Quite a few things from ''Oriko'' are reminiscent of things from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion'', even though it's accidental. The things include '''*WARNING ''REBELLION'' SPOILERS*'''[[spoiler: one of the mains taking someone under her wing, a witch barrier being created before the magical girl becomes a witch, and [[EvilCounterpart almost everything]] about [[{{Yandere}} Kirika Kure]].]]
-->''It is human emotion that created the gods [[spoiler: and created the demons.]]''

* MoralEventHorizon: Oriko [[spoiler:releasing witch Kirika in Madoka's class, whose familiars [[NauseaFuel proceed to make a snack of Kazuko]]. And that's not mentioning how many innocent students die in that attack]].

* HeartwarmingInHindsight; Mami and Kyoko's interactions in Oriko Magica can be seen as this after listening to the 3rd drama CD and/or reading ''The Different Story'' spin-off. Despite their partnership ending sourly in the past, the two manage to interact in civil terms, in contrast to ''The Different Story'' and the PSP Portable game, where their reunions were more hostile. When Mami meets up with Kyoko, she warns her about the Magical Girl killings, and Kyoko doesn't hesitate to bail Mami out when Oriko and Kirika take over the school. Then there's their victory fight against the witch [[spoiler:Kirika]], which is more poignant if you consider this is their first witch fight together in a long while.

** Quite a bit of things from ''Oriko'' are reminiscent of things from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion'', even though it's accidental. The things include '''*WARNING ''REBELLION'' SPOILERS*'''[[spoiler: one of the mains taking someone under her wing, a witch barrier being created before the magical girl becomes a witch, and [[EvilCounterpart almost everything]] about [[{{Yandere}} Kirika Kure]].]]

* DracoInLeatherPants: Following ''[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion Rebellion]]'', "ORIKO WAS RIGHT" ended up becoming something of a meme due to Oriko predicting that [[spoiler: Homura would despair, and finally go to insane/irrational lengths to protect Madoka]]. However, Oriko was trying to kill [[spoiler: Madoka (who quite literally made the world a better place in the anime)]] while viewing [[spoiler: Homura]] only as an obstacle to that goal and not a danger in and of herself. Even Oriko acknowledged in ''Sadness Prayer'' that her cause was not morally good.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Following ''[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion Rebellion]]'', "ORIKO WAS RIGHT" ended up becoming something of a meme due to Oriko predicting that [[spoiler: Homura would despair, and finally go to insane/irrational lengths to protect Madoka]]. However, Oriko was trying to kill [[spoiler: Madoka (who quite literally made the world a better place in the anime)]] while viewing [[spoiler: Homura]] only as an obstacle to that goal and not a danger in of herself. Even Oriko acknowledged in ''Sadness Prayer'' that her cause was not morally good.

** Just how justified Oriko was in her actions remains a topic of debate, particularly given that she's viewed as something of a martyr by people who dislike Homura. Her portrayal in fanfic varies between ALighterShadeOfGrey to a cackling murderer. Her design gets some of this as well; some find the PimpedOutDress and nice hat to be probably the most beautiful outfit of any series, others think it looks silly and refer to her as "buckethead." Much of it also ranges in terms of people who see her as a VillainProtagonist, an AntiHero, or just plain unlikable.

** Yuma is either viewed as TheWoobie and Kyouko's necessary surrogate sister/adopted daughter, or a BrattyHalfPint who should have been cut out of the story. While her situation is undoubtedly horrible, whether you find her cute seems to vary from person to person. Her RousingSpeech is either her crowning moment or bizarrely out-of-character.

* LoveToHate: Mako Chitose, given her abusive personality. Many viewed her as an even worst character than [[TheScrappy Kyousuke Kamijou]].

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: In a flashback, after a young Oriko pledges her efforts to help her father, he offers her a reward, and she says, "Daddy, you can't give out bribes!", to which he laughs and says she "got (him) there". [[spoiler:Taking money that doesn't belong to him, on the other hand...]]
* HarsherInHindsight: Quite a bit of things from ''Oriko'' are reminiscent of things from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion'', even though it's accidental. The things include '''*WARNING ''REBELLION'' SPOILERS*'''[[spoiler: one of the mains taking someone under her wing, a witch barrier being created before the magical girl becomes a witch, and [[EvilCounterpart almost everything]] about [[{{Yandere}} Kirika Kure]].]]

** Just how justified Oriko was in her actions remains a topic of debate, particularly given that she's viewed as something of a martyr by people who dislike Homura. Her portrayal in fanfic varies between ALighterShadeOfGrey to a cackling murderer. Her design gets some of this as well; some find the PimpedOutDress and NiceHat to be probably the most beautiful outfit of any series, others think it looks silly and refer to her as "buckethead." Much of it also ranges in terms of people who see her as a VillainProtagonist, an AntiHero, or just plain unlikable.

* UncannyValley: Kyubey is drawn like a plush toy with a fish-like face, instead of his usual body shape, making him look downright deformed-looking.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: After the RousingSpeech by Yuma, Mami promised that they will make Kyubey pay for tricking them after they beat Oriko. But then Homura [[spoiler:rewinds time before that happened because Madoka died]]. Dammit, Homura.