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Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011)

#favorites #magicalgirl #tragedy #genurobuchi

I really loved Psycho-Pass- it was one of the first anime I seriously watched. Its criminological ideas, philosophical asides, and tech-noir aesthetic really drew me in. But what really struck me about it were its moments of deep tragedy. When Psycho-Pass gets dark, it backs it up with severe political and social implications. It’s one of the only shows that has ever managed to put a pit deep in my soul. The other show to do so is Madoka Magica.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is my favorite show. It is my favorite despite the fact that it actually took me a few attempts to get into. I tried it once but didn’t continue after the first episode. I tried again and got to the second episode. It wasn’t that the show was boring me- it was that, at some level, it kind of frightened me. You can tell from the composition of the first two episodes alone that it has a sinister kind of undercurrent. The monsters are grotesque and the patchwork papier-mâché labyrinths evoke a darker imagery than the magical girl aesthetic portends at.

At some level I was primed for it to get dark- its writer, Gen Urobuchi, wrote the aforementioned Psycho-Pass and became known for his use of dark, tragic narratives. But the magical girl genre is one meant, at some level, to empower. Its themes are usually about hope and friendship and their narratives usually follow the good-guys-beat-bad-guys story beats. Madoka Magica flips it all on its head in a way that, while subversive, does pay great respect to its forebearers. I’ve read a lot of commentary about the show and they tend to miss that. It is a subversion of the genre, but it’s also a celebration. I don’t think someone who hates the genre could write this show. They could write some of the “subversive” magical girl shows that came later though…

When Madoka Magica does reveal its hand, it goes to some pretty strong extremes without ever feeling gratuitous. You feel the tragedy without it ever becoming an exploitation show. Its narrative highs are also higher than any other show. One episode in particular felt like a tour de force from start to finish- never letting the viewer look away for even the briefest of seconds. That episode is also the one that generated the second pit in my soul.

Madoka Magica is one of the easiest recommendations I can make to someone who can handle narrative intensity. This is the type of show that requires its audience to pay attention and to dwell in discomfort. It doesn’t pull its punches and you wouldn’t want it to because those punches make the highs that much more impactful. There’s so much depth to its characters, its world, its music, its art, its writing that you could get lost in analysis forever. It is one of the greatest shows ever made.

Screenshots

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