At first, I thought that this anime was going to be something like Sailor Moon or Pretty Cure, since the artwork and the characters designs looked cute and colorful...However, against everything that I was expecting, this series was actually pretty dramatic, having several dark plot twists (At least in comparison with what normally could be expected from a magical girl series)
Fortunately, this series is also very interesting and well made, having an unpredictable plot, good action sequences and excellent animation (Being the most impressive aspect of it the strange and surreal appearance of the witches and the witches "otherworld", which apparently had some inspiration from Russian and Czech animation, giving it an appropriately nightmarish appearance)
The contrasts between the cute aesthetic used for the characters, with the darkness of some of the sceneries (and several parts of the plot) is pretty effective, keeping a good level of mystery during the whole series. The plot moves very fast, avoiding any kind of shallow or filler material, something that helps very much to the overall rhythm of the story.
In my opinion, the conclusion was satisfying enough, fitting with the overall mood of the series, giving an appropriate glimpse of optimism without being something corny or patronizing.
Even if "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" isn't the best anime ever made, I appreciate as a different kind of magical girl series, which is able to use some of the most common archetypes from the genre in order to create a fascinating and unique series, which was surprisingly much better than I was expecting.
Fortunately, this series is also very interesting and well made, having an unpredictable plot, good action sequences and excellent animation (Being the most impressive aspect of it the strange and surreal appearance of the witches and the witches "otherworld", which apparently had some inspiration from Russian and Czech animation, giving it an appropriately nightmarish appearance)
The contrasts between the cute aesthetic used for the characters, with the darkness of some of the sceneries (and several parts of the plot) is pretty effective, keeping a good level of mystery during the whole series. The plot moves very fast, avoiding any kind of shallow or filler material, something that helps very much to the overall rhythm of the story.
In my opinion, the conclusion was satisfying enough, fitting with the overall mood of the series, giving an appropriate glimpse of optimism without being something corny or patronizing.
Even if "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" isn't the best anime ever made, I appreciate as a different kind of magical girl series, which is able to use some of the most common archetypes from the genre in order to create a fascinating and unique series, which was surprisingly much better than I was expecting.