First Impression: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica

I’ve always found large doses of magical girl animes nauseating. The same rehashed sparkly plot was tedious after Sailor Moon and the typical bumbling airhead heroine gets on my nerves. Magicial girl genres tend to stress the importance of self belief during battle, perhaps a reflection of society in that young girls are more likely to be self conscious. I can’t help but wonder that portraying female cartoon heroines as riddled with self doubt, immature and fairly whiny does in some way contribute to this stereotype rather then dispense with it. Ultimately the magical girl requires confidence in herself in order to access that special secret innate power that she had from day one but was held back by her low self esteem, and save the day. And of course win her love interest.

Mahou Shoujo Madoke Magica is not your average magical genre. It has the basics covered, the talking animal sidekick, the multiple coloured transformations, and the main heroine is kinda wimpy. But I guess that’s kinda unavoidable. Madoke maybe dragging her feet a bit with becoming a Mahou Shoujo, but she has good reason. And here is where the similarities end. Mahou Shoujo Madoke Magica takes itself very seriously. The two main characters, Madoke and Sayaka are given the option to form a contract and become magical girls in exchange for one wish. However there are risks involved. As if to drive this part home, magical girl Mami dies during a battle in the third episode and has yet to return. Already some pretty prolific reality checks for a couple of young girls.

The action itself is staggering. The girls fight within a trippy labyrinth setting, a nightmarish wonderland that employs a surreal animation that is absolutely mind-bending. Our heroines themselves are also quite stylish, adorning different fashions from the trademark pink and girly Madoke, to the streampunkish Mami. They also use actual weapons; Mami is packing a couple of hundred guns, while Sayaka prefers a set of swords and Sakura has a scythe. I highly doubt these damsels are going to need a prince to save them when things get tough. In all, Mahou Shoujo Madoke Magica is surprisingly dark, twisted and very sophisticated. It’s managed to capture a depth to this genre while not trying to hard to think outside of the box. Wonderful job.

Rating: 8/10