Underplayed Gems

Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica poster
Original title
魔法少女まどか☆マギカ
Directed by
Yukihiro Miyamoto, Akiyuki Shinbo
Genre
magical girl, mystery anime, supernatural anime, horror anime and manga, drama anime and manga, coming-of-age anime and manga
Country
Japan
Length
1 season, 12 episodes
Rated
TV-14
Rating
8.0 of 10 from 376 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A group of middle school girls are offered the chance to become magical girls through a contract. They face dangerous enemies called witches and learn the dark costs of their new powers.

melancholicdarkpsychologicalunsettlingtenseslow-burnbleaksurreal

What happens

Puella Magi Madoka Magica (Japanese: 魔法少女まどか☆マギカ, Hepburn: Mahō Shōjo Madoka Magika), also known simply as Madoka Magica, is a Japanese anime television series created by Magica Quartet, and animated by Shaft. The story follows a group of middle school girls, led by protagonist Madoka Kaname, who make supernatural contracts to become magical girls. In battling surreal enemies known as "witches", they learn of the anguish and peril associated with their new roles. The first ten episodes of the series aired on TBS, MBS, and their affiliates between January and March 2011, while the final two episodes were delayed until April of the same year due to the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. A manga adaptation of the anime and various spin-off manga have been published by Houbunsha and licensed in North America by Yen Press. A novelization by Nitroplus was released in August 2011, and a dedicated magazine, Manga Time Kirara Magica, was launched by Houbunsha in June 2012. A video game for the PlayStation Portable was released in March 2012 and another for the PlayStation Vita was released in December 2013. A mobile game, Magia Record, launched in August 2017, and a three-season anime adaptation produced by Shaft aired from January 2020 to April 2022. An anime film series, beginning with two films recapping the television series, was released in October 2012. A third film featuring an original story, Rebellion, was released in October 2013. A sequel film to Rebellion, titled Walpurgisnacht: Rising, is set to be released in August 2026. Puella Magi Madoka Magica received widespread critical acclaim, with praise for its complex narrative, visuals, themes, and soundtrack, as well as its unconventional approach to the magical girl subgenre. It became a commercial success; each Blu-ray Disc volume sold more than 50,000 copies in Japan. The series garnered a variety of awards, such as the Television Award at the 16th Animation Kobe Award, as well as 12 Newtype Anime Awards and the Grand Prize for the Animation Division at the 15th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2011. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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