This is going to be a long review....
Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (hereafter abbreviated as PMMM), the so called "miracle work" of 2011 when the year has only just began. With a godly staff composed of Akiyuki Shinbou, Gen Urobuchi, Ume Aoki, Yuki Kajiura, and animation studio SHAFT to name a few of those behind this show, the possibility of this show being amazing is without a doubt. So why all the fuss? Well the main argument behind why many claim this show as a non-masterpiece is because of its lack of originality or creativity. With that in mind, I will go into how I viewed this show now that I've finally finished it.
Having seen episodes 1 through 10 at least 10 times each along with episodes 11 and 12 seen 3 times now, I can say that I have a firmer grasp of what the show is actually trying to pull. The first distinction to make is that originality and creativity are not synonymous. Originality means coming up with something new that has never been done before. PMMM is no original work and I agree with the critics out there on this point. PMMM's concepts and themes have been done countless times by many shows both magical girl theme and not including Yami to Boushi, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, Princess Tutu, Uta Kata, Revolutionary Girl Utena, and to some extent Kannazuki no Miko, etc... That said, it doesn't mean PMMM is a bad show for its lack of originality, it excels in creativity. Creativity is the ability to take elements, original or non-original, and mix them together. Whether or not it's new, old, successful, or a failure doesn't matter. The staff behind this show, particularly Urobuchi took the strong elements of the shows former shows and managed to weave them together in a masterful and more or less compelling manner. This is what truly made PMMM stand out and thus a successful piece of work. Rating a show simply based on its originality alone in this day and age is simply impossible. Creativity, on the other hand, is a whole new ball game. The staff managed to pull together what other groups have tried and failed and shown that it is indeed possible to make a so called "masterpiece" with this level of staff. However, PMMM's story isn't all fun and games. Setting aside my bias fora Ano Hana from this season, which is giving PMMM a potential run for its placement already, PMMM's story has a lot of holes that were unexplained. A simple 13th episode would likely have been helpful in explaining the details or cutting back on the slice-of-life aspect early on could have helped too.
The major flaw I saw in the finale is what exactly happened to Homura's magical powers, how did the existence of these new "shadow" creatures come about, and Mami. To start with the first point, we know that Homura originally had the power to transcend time. However, when Madoka redefined the laws of the universe, how does this imply Homura losing her ability to traverse time and acquiring Madoka's bow instead? Does this imply that Homura has now taken Madoka's place in the new world or have they become one entity where Homura now lives the life of both them by carrying on Madoka's memory? In addition, Homura's "wings" both angel and dark don't make much sense. Having seen the final episode 3 times, I still don't understand what they mean. For the second point, while Madoka managed to redefine the universe and the reason for magical girls, it doesn't make much sense as to how these new creatures came about. Were these shadows around in the original series, and if so, why fight them now? Saying that because there's no more witches for magical girls to fight is not a legitimate/convincing excuse. Finally, for the third point, since witches no longer exist, this means that Mami no longer died, which should therefore imply that Sayaka should not have become a magical girl. While this is debatable, it's difficult to justify as to why Sayaka should have died in the same spot especially considering that Mami would be the one to guide her through "training." In other words, Sayaka's death no longer makes much sense simply due to the fact that Mami lived.
Plot-wise, this show had a very strong premise, but the finale left a lot of questions to be answered. The main story concluded nicely, but the creation of the new universe opened up a lot of loose ends to the series. Providing Madoka the ability to transcend god is a very sensitive idea and while I thought Urobuchi did significantly better than most scriptwriters in execution, it certainly was not flawless as described above.
Animation...SHAFT! is all I have to say. "A-Level" shows from SHAFT is the reason why I like them. Shows like ef, Bakemonogatari, and PMMM is the reason why SHAFT is so successful. The ability to use imagery and metaphorical representations to open up for interpretations of the series's content. They really went all out on this show and it was certainly fulfilling. While some of the imagery did get repetitive at times, I'm sure they had a budget constraint at some point so I'm very satisfied with the quality put in. I can only imagine the Blu-Ray looking even more gorgeous though I imagine each file will rape my hard drive. Art...Ume Aoki is the original character designer, so if you've seen Hidamari Sketch, you've seen the characters for this show. There's actually a lot of debate as to the characters being too moe and not fitting the theme of the show....all I can say to that is it's Ume Aoki. Wide faces is what you should have been expecting since the show's announcement in October. On another note, the animation in episode 12 between Homura and Madoka was gorgeous. That yuri/shoujo-ai scene was fantastic and best non-hentai scene since Kannazuki no Miko.
Music...Yuki Kajiura. This was godly. After hearing Kajiura's works in a lot of sub-par/fail-tastic shows lately like Ookami Kakushi, I'm finally glad to hear Kajiura's works put to good use again and this certainly did not disappoint. After over a decade, Kajiura is still as spectacular as ever. The composition for this show is a masterpiece and I cannot wait to get my hands on the OST for this show. While the show used a lot of re-hashed music, it was nonetheless well done from beginning to end. Magia by Kalafina was also a solid song as a TV version (not so much in the full single). Connect by junior high school pair ClariS is also another masterpiece. While not as good as Irony from OreImo back in Fall 2010, for a junior-high duet, it's a gem to be treasured. In fact, I'm very surprised to see Shinbou and staff pick them for this project. This must have been one heck of a surprise for them considering that makes them 2 for 2 in successful singles during their first year debut. Seiyuu wise was a bit odd. The main cast (Kyubey + 5 main girls) is composed of less experienced or underrated seiyuus. While each of them have had their fair share of main roles, most of them didn't really receive much recognition until recently so it's a very interesting choice that the staff went with when picking the cast for this show. Nevertheless, while the cast was certainly solid, I felt it could have been better, but that goes to show how difficult is to truly get a "perfect" project when money is involved.
Character development...this show really did not skimp on this. With 5 heroines, the show did not skimp. Each character was dedicated at least half an episode of background story...that is except for the titular character, Madoka. Whether or not the staff purposely did this to portray Madoka as the "ordinary" girl that suddenly becomes the strongest magical girl and thus the strongest witch will never be known. Homura receiving the most amount of background (1 full episode) was definitely satisfying and emotional to no end. Considering how much of a mystery Homura was at the beginning of the series and how well of a secret they kept it up until that point was absolutely fantastic. It truly showed why Homura became the person she was and most importantly, IT WAS CONVINCING! Many shows fail in this aspect and say "accept and move on" but PMMM provided enough dedicated evidence to provide such a justifiable conclusion and I praise this show for doing so.
Enjoyment? This show was certainly a wild ride. Episodes 1 and 2 made it seem like a cross between your typical magical girl show and Hidamari Sketch. That all changed with the biggest plot twist of the year in episode 3. While it should have been anticipated given Urobuchi's dark themes in stories, it was hidden very well. However, while PMMM was certainly enjoyable to watch as a whole, it was very dialogue heavy. While I liked the constant "food for thought" in each episode that leaves me pondering about the remainder of the series, once solved or broken down, the show loses rewatch value. The biggest weakness in PMMM is its rewatch value. Once you manage to deduce the information PMMM, most of the story becomes crystal clear as to why events happen as the should (barring the finale) since the show focuses greatly on the theme of temporal manipulation. While PMMM is still rewatchable presently, I find it difficult seeing myself 5 years from now want to rewatch PMMM. Putting the bias aside that there may be "better" shows then or shows of higher caliber and simply looking at PMMM as a 2011 show, it loses rewatch value not because it will be "old" but rather there's no more "fun" left in it compared to say Serial Experiments Lain, Ergo Proxy, or Neon Genesis of Evangelion, all of which have ridiculously difficult mysteries still hidden within them.
Overall, PMMM is a wonderful show and definitely a great way to start off the 2011 year. It's a show that will certainly be missed and it also shows that the anime industry does still have steam in it such that a successful show can be done when the proper management is there. While it remains unclear as to whether there was an "alternative" script that was lost due to the March 11 earthquake will never be known since most 12 episode shows are recorded and made 3 weeks in advance of its airing...in the case of SHAFT, it's usually 1 week. For better or for worse, the show ended on a relatively conclusive note. While a number of questions do remain as to what happens in the final minute of the show (after ending credits), the possibility of a "true" sequel is likely zero. In addition, Shinbou did claim plans earlier this year on a "second Madoka" series where it focuses more on the lighter aspect rather than the dark aspect we saw. I personally think it would be detrimental franchise and hopes Shinbou chucks it out the window. There's no use in beating a dead horse. While it would be an interesting project, I can't see it be more than another Hidamari Sketch with magical girls, which in that case would be better to just to make a fourth Hidamari Sketch TV series.
tl;dr, this show is a shoujo-ai/yuri magical girl show.
On an unrelated note.....I knew that Homura was going to be awesome in some way, shape, or form, and I'm glad it delivered. Homura with Madoka's ribbons is amazing
needs more of this artwork now.
Preliminary Score: 8/10
Final Score: 10/10