As we reach the end of Madoka Magica, it’s useful to remember how Goethe’s Faust served as a major touchstone. We’ve touched on the show’s religious symbolism, which is easy enough to read into Madoka’s transcendence into Godhood or Buddhahood … Continue reading The Madoka Project: My Very Best Friend

After the last three episodes’ bombshells, Madoka Magica no longer has many secrets. As the endgame with Walpurgisnacht approaches, characters become unusually direct and honest in explaining their motivations and questioning the Magical Girl system. All that’s left is to … Continue reading The Madoka Project: The Only Thing I Have Left To Guide Me

Like everything about Madoka Magica, Homura Akemi defies simple analysis. Introduced as an antagonistic character, throughout the series she’s offered frequent, if fleeting glimpses behind her mask. She’s a mess of contradictions: claiming to be out for herself, she shows … Continue reading The Madoka Project: I Won’t Rely on Anyone Anymore

After eight episodes of playing its cards close to the chest, Madoka Magica explodes in a burst of sudden clarity. Exposition clears up loose ends, character motivations are revealed, subtext becomes text. It’s the show’s emotional low point, but it … Continue reading The Madoka Project: I’d Never Allow That To Happen

Before plunging into The Fall of Sayaka Miki, let’s take a moment to appreciate Kyoko Sakura. She has the least screen time of the main cast, barring Mami. Aside from Sayaka, her conversations with Homura and Madoka up till now … Continue reading The Madoka Project: Can You Face Your True Feelings?

Madoka Magica is a masterclass in character writing. If nothing else, Gen Urobuchi has a flare for creating casts whose traits clash and interlock in equal measure, allowing every interaction (if not every line) to have depth and meaning. It’s … Continue reading The Madoka Project: This Just Can’t Be Right

Crafting an ensemble cast within a limited series can be difficult. Madoka Magica pulls it off flawlessly by rotating focus among its main characters. Madoka is the ostensible protagonist, but she’s largely an observer for the balance of the series, … Continue reading The Madoka Project: There’s No Way I’ll Ever Regret It

If Episode 3 of Madoka proved shocking to viewers, Episode 4 is positively dour. This episode is a hard reset of the show that forces us to confront important questions about the show we’re watching. Questions like, “what’s the purpose … Continue reading The Madoka Project: Miracles and Magic Are Real

While preparing this article, I read and watched several essays arguing that Mami Tomoe is, in fact, the most important character of the series. This claim overstates things a bit, but I found parts of it persuasive. After all, Mami … Continue reading The Madoka Project: I’m Not Afraid of Anything Anymore

I’m tackling the first two episodes at once for a reason that Madoka fans will appreciate and newcomers will soon discover. There’s worldbuilding and stage setting and establishing the main cast (with one key exception), sure. But mostly because it’s … Continue reading The Madoka Project: I First Met Her in a Dream…Or Something/That Would Be Truly Wonderful

Anime fans need no introduction to Puella Magi Madoka Magica. One of the most popular and acclaimed anime series of the 2010s, it proved an instant hit, reviving the largely moribund Magical Girl genre and showing how dark, female-driven stories … Continue reading The Madoka Project: Introduction to Puella Magi Madoka Magica