By: Kaiya Irion

In my opinion, Madoka Magica is one of the most genre breaking animes of the past five years. When first aired in 2011, many thought it was a typical magical-girl anime until the anime took on a dark theme.

The show starts with a girl named Madoka who lives in modern Japan. One night she has a dream, seeing another girl her age fighting in a horrific battle. A creature, called Kyubey, asks Madoka if she would like to become a magical girl in order to save the girl in the battle. Madoka then wakes up and runs into that same girl, Homura, trying to kill Kyubey. As the series goes on, Madoka struggles to find the truth between what Homura and Kyubey tell her.

The characters in this show are well thought out, but I did not connect to them as well as I would have liked. But still, they were all entertaining and their histories were done with a good amount of detail; as was the plot. The story line took turns I never saw coming. At first I thought Madoka Magica was just going to draw people in with its genre-blurring settings, but then it also brought up questions that really intrigue the viewer. Another special thing about this show is that it answered nearly all the questions it raised; a rare and refreshing occurrence for anime.

The soundtrack for Madoka Magica is one my favorites of all time; on par with the Battlestar Galatica soundtrack (2003-2009). It really sustains the show and brings it to new heights. The animation style, on the other hand, is more debatable. Usually it’s normal but then it becomes very unique during the scenes with witches. It’s hard to describe, and it can turn some new anime watchers off.

The only thing that bugs me about Madoka Magica is that there are a couple of nude scenes that, thankfully, aren’t that graphic. Because of this and its dark themes, the show is rated TV-14. You can find out more at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1773185/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Madoka Magica is one of the better animes out there and I recommend it. I give 8.5/10 stars.