Puella Magi Madoka☆Magica (Anime)

Puella Magi Madoka☆Magica (魔法少女まどか☆マギカ, lit. Magical Girl Madoka☆Magical^?) is an original anime installment by Magica Quartet. It can be watched on Hulu.

Directed by Akiyuki Shinbou and produced by SHAFT, the series premiered on TBS on January 7^th, 2011.

Media[]

Puella Magi Madoka☆Magica (Manga)
Puella Magi Madoka☆Magica (Novel)
Puella Magi Madoka☆Magica episodes
Puella Magi Madoka☆Magica movies
Puella Magi Madoka☆Magica Merchandise

Plot[]

She has a loving family and best friends. She laughs and cries from time to time...

Madoka Kaname, an eighth grader of Mitakihara Middle School, is one of those who lives such a life.

One day, she had a very magical encounter.

She doesn't know if it happened by chance or by fate yet.

This is a fateful encounter that can change her destiny.

This is the beginning of the new story of the Magical Witch Girls.

Characters[]

Magical Girls[]

Madoka Kaname (鹿目まどか, Madoka Kaname^?)
An ordinary 14-year-old middle schooler who is surrounded by her loved ones. After meeting Mami, she is eager to become a Magical Girl. She's kind and cheerful but doesn't have a lot of confidence in her actions and thinks she has nothing to offer in the world. After becoming a Magical Girl, she retains her original personality but has a lot more confidence and wishes to save people in need. Her theme color is pink and she's based on Cherry blossoms and ribbons. In episode 12, she transforms into her goddess form, Ultimate Madoka (アルティメットまどか, Ultimate Madoka^?).

Sayaka Miki (美樹さやか, Sayaka Miki^?)
Madoka's best friend and classmate. She is childhood friends with Madoka and Hitomi. After meeting Mami, she is eager to become a Magical Girl. She's very energetic and has a lot of confidence, though she doesn't think twice before acting and comes in conflicts with others easily. Despite that, she has a strong sense of justice and acts very heroic. Her theme color is blue and she's based on music and water.

Mami Tomoe (巴マミ, Mami Tomoe^?)
A veteran Magical Girl in Mitakihara City and also a third-year student in Mitakihara Middle School. She meets Madoka and Sayaka after saving them from a Witch. She is kind and gentle even though she feels lonely and wants Madoka and Sayaka to become Magical Girls so she won't be alone anymore. She is confident for her ability to protect civilians from harm. Her theme color is yellow and she's based on flowers.

Kyoko Sakura (佐倉杏子, Kyoko Sakura^?)
A Magical Girl from Kazamino City. She is introduced as an aggressive and self-centered Magical Girl who cares only for herself. Throughout the series, she becomes sympathetic. She is always seen eating something or playing arcade dance games. Her theme color is red and she's based on flames and fruits.

Homura Akemi (暁美ほむら, Homura Akemi^?)
A mysterious and cold Magical Girl who transfers to Madoka's class. She is cool, athletic and intelligent but her cold personality makes her distant from others. Later, it is revealed that she has gone through multiple timelines to save Madoka, who, in the original timeline was a very dear friend of hers. She cares deeply for Madoka and sees her as her very best friend. Her theme color is black.

Supporting Characters[]

Junko Kaname (鹿目盾子, Junko Kaname^?)
Madoka's mother. She is a successful businesswoman and also a great make-up artist. She loves her family and is a caring mother to Madoka and Tatsuya. She likes chit-chatting with her daughter and often gives her advice. Later, it is revealed that she's friends with Kazuko Saotome.

Tomohisa Kaname (鹿目知久, Tomohisa Kaname^?)
Madoka's father. He is a stay-at-home dad and usually cooks or spends time in the garden. He loves his family and is a caring father to Madoka and Tatsuya. Madoka loves her dad's special hot chocolate.

Tatsuya Kaname (鹿目タツヤ, Tatsuya Kaname^?)
Madoka's three-year-old brother. He goes to kindergarten. In the finale, it is shown that he has a special connection to Madoka, as he remembers her.

Hitomi Shizuki (志筑仁美, Hitomi Shizuki^?)
Madoka and Sayaka's childhood friend and classmate. She is popular among boys and comes from a rich family. She is gentle and kind and takes up a lot of lessons such as Piano, Japanese clasical dance or tea ceremonies lessons. She later reveals that she has a crush on Kyosuke Kamijo and confesses him.

Kyosuke Kamijo (上条恭介, Kyosuke Kamijo^?)
Madoka and Sayaka's childhood friend and classmate. He's a violinist who was involved in a tragic car accident and got his left arm heavily injured and doctors told him he would never recover enough to play again. Sayaka often visits him in the hospital bringing him CDs of clasic music. Both Sayaka and Hitomi have crushes on him, though he sees Sayaka as a friend and had only feelings for Hitomi. Upon Sayaka's wish, he becomes healthy again and returns to school and in the finale, he has become a violinist again.

Kazuko Saotome (早乙女和子, Kazuko Saotome^?)
Madoka, Sayaka and Homura's homeroom teacher. She teaches Japanese in Mitakihara Middle School. Her relationships with boys don't last for long. Many of her classes involve her complaining about them. She is later revealed to be a friend of Junko Kaname.

Kyubey (キュゥべえ, Kyubey^?)
A white cat-like creature that has come from a distant corner of the universe. Kyubey is responsible for making contract with teenage girls and transforming them into Magical Girls. It's later revealed that Kyubey actually creates Magical Girls to expand the universe's life.

Locations[]

Mitakihara City (見滝原市, Mitakihara City^?): The city that the series takes place.
Mitakihara Middle School (見滝原中学校, Mitakihara Middle School^?): The school that most of the main characters attend.
Labyrinth (結界, lit. Barrier^?): Otherworlds that Witches or Familiars hide themselves in.

Trivia[]

All of the series's episode titles are actually speaking lines that have happened in the respective episodes.
In-universe, the series takes place from March 16^th, 2011 to May 1^st, 2011. A pair of Runes confirms that the anime takes place in 2011 and a calendar shown in Homura's room in episode 10 indicates that the 25^th of a month in 2011 is Friday. The only month in 2011 that had Friday 25^th and 31 days is March. Because Walpurgisnacht is named after the real-life event that occurs every year on May 1^st, it is certain that all events take place within the pre-mentioned timeline.
- Furthermore, during the third Drama CD, it is stated that Walpurgisnacht arrives at Mitakihara City in a weekend, where coincidentally Walpurgisnacht in 2011 also occurred in a weekend.
According to Megastore June 2011 issue, it was the stuff who asked Gen Urobuchi to make a plot where each characters would die once every two with three episodes.
According to Febri vol. 5, released March 28^th 2011, Gen Urobuchi wished to have made the ending for the series more light-hearted after watching Heartcatch Pretty Cure!.
In the Otona Anime 2012 Annual issue, Puella Magi Madoka☆Magica ranked as the first top anime of the year 2011.