PshycoNinja
Member
I put a lot of time into writing that Madoka review. :,(
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Winter-Spring 2014 Anime |OT3| People incapable of guilt usually do have a good time
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Let's say I didn't like it, I was happy with the ending I got in the series, EoE kinda ruined it for me and showed things I didn't want to watch or think about.
There is a scene in the beginning that made me feel sick, among other things.
Psycho_Mantis
Banned
Put me out of my misery.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica Review
****Spoiler Warning****
Summary:
Puella Magi Madoka Magica (henceforth referred to as Madoka Magica) is a magic girl anime following the story of Madoka and the magic girls she meets over the course of the story. The anime is pretty deceiving with it's first episode and OP. This is not for the faint of heart. This is actually quite the dark anime and some would probably call it tragic. As you go through the anime you learn what the magic girls truly have to give up in order to poses the power that they have.
In this world magic girls fight witches. Usually born from familiars (but there are.... other ways...) witches are powerful beings who kill humans with their curses. It is up to magic girls to traverse these dangerous areas witches have created to find and destroy them. If they are destroyed a Grief Seed is dropped and these can be used to purify ones Soul Gem. A Soul Gem has to be purified so the magic girls can use their magic in battle to the full extent if need be.(and for other obvious reasons)
There are several points during the show were the creators felt like they needed to show you just how dangerous and dark this world really is and promptly start to do some quite horrific crap. I was quite surprised by some of the early ones but after those I was able to infer what would happen next. Time travel is brought in at the tail end of the anime but it was pretty obvious in this regard too given how the early episodes played out.
The Characters:
Madoka - The title character. A very sweet girl who actually doesn't know the horrors of being a magic girl and really doesn't understand until about mid way into the show. I actually really liked Madoka and like some characters in the show said, she was too nice for her own good. However, if she wasn't the way she was we wouldn't have got the ending that we did.
Homura - She is actually the second most important character to the show rivaling that of Madoka although you wouldn't know that if you watched the earlier episodes. She has some pretty coolthat she uses greatly to her advantage. She's actually kind of a badass and her evolution of a character is greatly expounded upon in episode 10. Her arc is probably the strongest of all the characters in the showTime Magic
Sayaka - Pretty much Madoka's best friend who just had the "luck" to become a magic girl before Madoka. Her story is more on the tragic side and I was legitimately sad by the end of her story. No tears but more of a "wow, this is a sucky situation". She is one of my favorite people in the show based on personality alone in the earlier episodes. The very ending to her story confused me a bit in episode 12 but we'll get to that.
Mami - Honestly, the most badass character of the show. She is actually quite the sweet girl. I wish we saw more episodes with her and saw her fight more because honestly her fight scenes were always the coolest to watch compared to everyone else. Her fights in the early episodes makes everyone else look comparably not as skilled and not as bad ass.
Kyoko - Last but not least we have this magic girl. Now while I don't think she was as cool as Homura or Mami, she was a skilled fighter in her own right. In the first episode we saw her I didn't really like her and by the end of her story I still didn't love her. However, they were able to redeem her character in such a short span of time that I came around to actually liking her. I just wish this show was just a bit longer to showmore of these last three characters because I feel they weren't around long enough to make their absence really felt. By the ending episodes you really weren't thinking about them.
Kyubey - This little F'er. Nothing else needs to be said about this thing other than I hated this thing throughout the series. Maybe that has more to do with the logic put behind the character but it still doesn't change the fact that these things basically have no soul.
The Story/Plot:
I explained most of the story and plot in the summary but I wanted to expound upon what I liked and didn't like. At the end of the day what they did to characters to create this dark world I liked. It really did a great job at making the viewer engaged and react in certain ways. It did this all throughout the anime from. This anime wanted to put a void in you. I admired that it tried and I am sure for some it did create "the void".Mami's death to Sayaka turning into a witch to Kyoko dying with Sakaya trying to bring her back to even Madoka's final wish
It didn't do that to me though for whatever reason. Actually it was probably the ending of the show that prevented me from feeling the void. Because of Madoka basically, it reverberated throughout the story and world. Now because of this and thebecoming a God and making a pretty crazy wishit made the last few scenes very confusing on several levels.alternate time lines created by Homura
With Madoka's. It was stuff like this at the end that made the show feel really inconsistent with it's planning at the end. This is a plot hole that Madoka Magica will have to deal with unless it gets retconned by a movie or second season.wish, soul gems no longer once tainted could turn people into witches. Therefore witches were replaced with wraiths. On top of this once a soul gem becomes too tainted it just shatters all the impurities and becomes pure again. This is explained after a scene in a different world thanks to Madoka where Sayaka still becomes a witch for whatever reason and is taken by Madoka up into a higher plane or whatever
The Music:
The ED Full
All the music for the show was very appropriately placed. Going with the tone of deception some of the music was peppy and lighthearted with some of the darker and best tracks of the show being played when entering into the witches world. The best track of the show though is the one in the link above.
The Animation/Art:
As you can see in the above gif, this show had some pretty wonderful action scenes. Abstract art was used extremely well when going into the witches world/domain. It was one of the few instances where I felt the abstract art worked within the context of an anime. The faces and dead eyes bothered me throughout the entire show but it wasn't a detriment to my experience. It was just something that nagged on me at least once or twice an episode. But again that was just me. Otherwise the art and animation for the show was pretty fantastic.
Conclusion Statement(s):
While I have a few gripes with the show (especially the inconsistency with plot elements at the end), Madoka Magica is a pretty wonderful show that is easy to watch because of it's short episode span. The characters are easy to get attached to and it tells it's story in an easy enough manner for most people to understand. The ending in of itself wasn't bad, it was actually quite the satisfactory ending, but as I stated earlier because of magic andit leaves some plot holes that shouldn't have been there after Madoka'stime travel.wish
-PshycoNinja
I'll quote it for you.
Noticed you spelt psycho wrong.
Jex
Member
Hey, I read it! I think the only thing I can add is that, as you hinted, the show is at it's worst when it moves beyond a simple fable and instead attempts to completely and utterly explain how everything in the show works when just saying 'its magic' would suffice.
Mekakucity Actors Episode 1:
Couldn't last more then five minutes watching this drek, though I am impressed that it managed to be pretentious and annoying in that span. Though now I know what would happen to Cortana if she were turned into an annoying teenage. Also, I am beyond sick and tired of shut-in otaku being the protagonist hero. Also, the metatextual commentary makes me hate you all that much more Mekakucity Actors. AVOID!
Couldn't last more then five minutes watching this drek, though I am impressed that it managed to be pretentious and annoying in that span. Though now I know what would happen to Cortana if she were turned into an annoying teenage. Also, I am beyond sick and tired of shut-in otaku being the protagonist hero. Also, the metatextual commentary makes me hate you all that much more Mekakucity Actors. AVOID!
PshycoNinja
Member
Psycho_Mantis
Banned
Wait I just realised why is my name spelt correctly? I am 100% sure I had it as Pyscho, when did it change 0_0
A mod doing god's work.
astrogamer
Member
Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou 2
This is progressing enjoyably. The main guy is quite stupid but humorous in that way. The new roommate looks to be fun
This is progressing enjoyably. The main guy is quite stupid but humorous in that way. The new roommate looks to be fun
PshycoNinja
Member
Well mine is spelt that way for more personal reasons. It involved a family tragedy and the name is a reminder of the person. It's absolutely purposeful.
Jex
Member
Perhaps there's a Pyscho out their waiting in the wings.
That's quite unfortunate.. I'm sorry if reminded you lol
But there's chance you may came around to it in future if you rewatch it if you still watching anime and passionate by it by then.
I also didn't know what to think about EoE and the OG series as whole until revisit it many years later, I could appreciate the craft behind it a little bit really helping, its something indeed.
Great Review! Madoka is the series that made want to know more about anime.
About the spoilers, duckroll made a great definition back then:
It´s not that she becomes a goddess, but a equation, a rule.
As as far as I remember, the thing was that they couldn't transform into witches, they just are taken by Madoka's rule and that's the end of their lifes, . I don't remember that scene of Sayaka transforming in witch in the end, I guess I have to rewatch it.
There is even a scene between Homura y Kyubei in the alternative reality where Kyubei explains how it works and that even if it would be more efficient to collect energy from the crystals in other way, it didn't work.
As as far as I remember, the thing was that they couldn't transform into witches, they just are taken by Madoka's rule and that's the end of their lifes, . I don't remember that scene of Sayaka transforming in witch in the end, I guess I have to rewatch it.
There is even a scene between Homura y Kyubei in the alternative reality where Kyubei explains how it works and that even if it would be more efficient to collect energy from the crystals in other way, it didn't work.
I would have to rewatch it one of these days...
nintendoman58
Member
Great review! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it!
I love the way you did your impressions as you watched the show. It makes me all the more excited for your TTGL impressions when you get to it.
Now I understand what the hell that going on in back page.
Psycho_Mantis
Banned
Thank you nameless mod!
Is my entire life a lie? Now that my name is spelt correctly this changes everything. I'm virtually a new man.
hahaha, no worries! Maybe you are right, I was quite young back then (god, how much time has passed since then?) The thing was that I was happy of the normal ending even If I felt I missed something, and then I watched EoE and I was like, dunno, it felt dirty to me. I understand I'm rambling, sorry about that, don't take me too seriously, is complicated to express how I felt.
I'm following the movies (well, I'm buying the movies, I haven't watched them yet, I will some day). Maybe I will see it with other eyes.
PshycoNinja
Member
Thanks for the comment! In regards to the spoiler I will quote myself...
Sayaka disappearing should've never happened because of what was reveled in the conversation between Kyubey and Homura. When Soul Gems get to that point the person doesn't disappear but rather the impurities just shatter forming into cube like Grief Seeds. In which case it makes Sayaka's disappearance weird because if that rule had been altered why was Sayaka the exception
alternate timelines, magic and time travel
I still really enjoyed the show though.
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll be starting TTGL relatively soon. Although my friend who shares my CR account is already on (since starting two days ago) episode 5 so we are gonna screw each other up if I start now. So I will wait for him to finish it first.
AquaWateria
Member
By how much.
Psycho_Mantis
Banned
End of Evangelion made me appreciate how much sense episode 25 and 26 had previously contained.
Reminder that you guys can post Mahouka impressions in the Mahouka OT: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=797231
R_thanatos
Member
For me it would be the final scene of full moon wo sagashite.
It's kinda hard to explain why this scene got me but it left a mark in my mind.
Best good ending i could hope coming from a show that has a very ill heroine.
Noooo
Avoid.
I wish i could get my 12* 24 minutes of my life back.
There is ONE goof fight scene in this anime and it's between 2 characters you haven't met yet that are legitimately great but the show direction ruined what could have been a good moment.
They rushed the source material in half the time they should have taken to adapt all this source material.
I Just don't understand why this S.A.V.E thing exist ...it's ugly as hell.... Did nobody in the USA told them to change this ugly green design ?
You should really see the third movie.
Feel like a place where everyone can shit on mahouka rather than a place to discuss ..Subscribed for now.
AquaWateria
Member
Yeah your pretty much watching the enrollment arc which is basically an introduction.
Mekaku City Actors 1
I don't watch a lot of SHAFT shows; I watched Madoka, but that's the only complete SHAFT show I've ever seen (obviously I watched Petit Cosette back in the day but someone else animated that didn't they?).
Are they normally this vacuous visually? Madoka only really turned on the "style", it felt, during the Witch battles, where it felt earned; here we have split second creativity that is almost totally meaningless and adds nothing to anything. Sometimes everyone's coloured in like a Lichtenstein painting - and sometimes they're not - but it adds nothing save something different to look at. Maybe that's the point? Things like the head tilts are notable to me only because I know they're a SHAFT trademark - am I supposed to go "oh, look, it's a SHAFT show" and feel smug about my knowledge, or gain something else from them?
As for the rest of it, what is supposed to be the hook here? Presumably it's the rebels in hoodies with vaguely explained magic powers, but the show does its best to obfuscate that entirely (although why else would you watch this show? Isn't this the whole point, that it's about these mekakushi people?). Given that the rest of the episode is irritating hijinks with the AI from hell it's hard to tell what I'm supposed to gain from the rest of the story, despite the mysterious framing device at the start and end.
Perhaps if I stuck with the show I'd find something to entertain me here, but it annoyed me rather than entertained me (and having your grand denouement be
didn't really help matters). I love "mysterious" shows - most recently Penguindrum, but even totally weird things like Boogiepop Phantom - but this didn't work for me.
I don't watch a lot of SHAFT shows; I watched Madoka, but that's the only complete SHAFT show I've ever seen (obviously I watched Petit Cosette back in the day but someone else animated that didn't they?).
Are they normally this vacuous visually? Madoka only really turned on the "style", it felt, during the Witch battles, where it felt earned; here we have split second creativity that is almost totally meaningless and adds nothing to anything. Sometimes everyone's coloured in like a Lichtenstein painting - and sometimes they're not - but it adds nothing save something different to look at. Maybe that's the point? Things like the head tilts are notable to me only because I know they're a SHAFT trademark - am I supposed to go "oh, look, it's a SHAFT show" and feel smug about my knowledge, or gain something else from them?
As for the rest of it, what is supposed to be the hook here? Presumably it's the rebels in hoodies with vaguely explained magic powers, but the show does its best to obfuscate that entirely (although why else would you watch this show? Isn't this the whole point, that it's about these mekakushi people?). Given that the rest of the episode is irritating hijinks with the AI from hell it's hard to tell what I'm supposed to gain from the rest of the story, despite the mysterious framing device at the start and end.
Perhaps if I stuck with the show I'd find something to entertain me here, but it annoyed me rather than entertained me (and having your grand denouement be
plugging in your iPhone to open some window shutters
He's a nice guy.
Dedication Through Light
Member
The Irregular at Magic High School Episode 2 Enrollment Part II (mahouka)
There were lots of nice little scenes to see animated. A few of the things that I thought hard to visualize from the novel to seeing on the screen were clarified, especially the magic experiment they have to do to test their speed of activating magic to make an object accelerate and decelerate. I didnt know it was a huge floor model device.
Conversation scenes were often hilarious in either the way they were done (erika and the groups awkward silence when she explained her CAD and its engraving spell type feeding psions in a manner similar to helmet splitting followed by Mizuki's comments. Then in the stuco room Mari's lines and Mayumis's, and lastly blushing Hattori.
I think they are still a bit targeting ln readers much with that swift throwing of the heavy magic, little to no explanation of differences between the generalized CADs and specialized ones. Though I thought it was quite well done and pleasing, especially that Silver Horn.
Oh well, character drama and the final two minutes were excellent, kind of wanted it to go a bit further than that but next week should be good
There were lots of nice little scenes to see animated. A few of the things that I thought hard to visualize from the novel to seeing on the screen were clarified, especially the magic experiment they have to do to test their speed of activating magic to make an object accelerate and decelerate. I didnt know it was a huge floor model device.
Conversation scenes were often hilarious in either the way they were done (erika and the groups awkward silence when she explained her CAD and its engraving spell type feeding psions in a manner similar to helmet splitting followed by Mizuki's comments. Then in the stuco room Mari's lines and Mayumis's, and lastly blushing Hattori.
I think they are still a bit targeting ln readers much with that swift throwing of the heavy magic, little to no explanation of differences between the generalized CADs and specialized ones. Though I thought it was quite well done and pleasing, especially that Silver Horn.
Oh well, character drama and the final two minutes were excellent, kind of wanted it to go a bit further than that but next week should be good
Poor Hattori being wiped out instantly and brutally without any knowledge of what went on 
AquaWateria
Member
What's the point of this if all people do is shit on it.
Welcome to BONES Mecha.
Please listen to this man.
dakkumauji
Member
Atelier Escha & Logy 01
I'm honestly surprised. A good game adaptation. Not even one that is held completely on my love of the base material but one that is actually pretty good.
I liked it. I was worried that it was going to be a cute girls does cute things as the promos were leading me to believe but it actually looks like it's going to go through the game's plot. I liked the world building that actually showed how the world was reaching its end which wasn't really shown in the game. The gathering was actually gathering, the battles could be better and the alchemy was as you expect alchemy to be.
Hopefully this doesn't disappoint me in the second episode on.
I'm honestly surprised. A good game adaptation. Not even one that is held completely on my love of the base material but one that is actually pretty good.
I liked it. I was worried that it was going to be a cute girls does cute things as the promos were leading me to believe but it actually looks like it's going to go through the game's plot. I liked the world building that actually showed how the world was reaching its end which wasn't really shown in the game. The gathering was actually gathering, the battles could be better and the alchemy was as you expect alchemy to be.
Hopefully this doesn't disappoint me in the second episode on.
Sorry, Team Onodera here.
Altough when it comes to Nisekoi, I like every girl in a way. There are all cute, nice and deserve to be happy.
Dedication Through Light
Member
MEKAKUCITY ACTORS Episode 1 Artificial Enemy
After many months of waiting and following all the promo material, and the week to week CMs and voice actor reveals, and a pv last week its finally here and it exceeded all expectations I had for it just like Haikyuu. Easily second best start to the season for an anime. The opening discussion to pull us in, internal Shintaro dialogue with the visible genjutsus present all throughout his room to make us envious of it, and even Ene's witty commentary always, just really surprisingly entertaining.
Second half with the colouring employed for the key scenes, Kano's voice actor having a mighty fun time and even kano the character himself just being all around lovable and hilarious with his comments and looks, with Seto chiming in too, kind of got to me to rewatch it a second time.
Good start with emotional ED. Also want the soundtrack as well, rivals Mahouka in that area for best mix of songs for this season.
After many months of waiting and following all the promo material, and the week to week CMs and voice actor reveals, and a pv last week its finally here and it exceeded all expectations I had for it just like Haikyuu. Easily second best start to the season for an anime. The opening discussion to pull us in, internal Shintaro dialogue with the visible genjutsus present all throughout his room to make us envious of it, and even Ene's witty commentary always, just really surprisingly entertaining.
Second half with the colouring employed for the key scenes, Kano's voice actor having a mighty fun time and even kano the character himself just being all around lovable and hilarious with his comments and looks, with Seto chiming in too, kind of got to me to rewatch it a second time.
Good start with emotional ED. Also want the soundtrack as well, rivals Mahouka in that area for best mix of songs for this season.
The problem with the other BONES shows weren't that they were complicated but rather that the writers didn't know what they were doing and making it more complicated for the sake of being complicated. It's definitely ambitious as fuck but we'll see if they can actually deliver.
I'm gonna have to rewatch the episode later.
People are going to post their honest impressions, positive or not.
Basileus777
Member
Captain Earth 2
Technobabble, silly terms, secret conspiracies, and agendas from every direction and from way to many characters with no real flow between scenes. This deluge of self-indulgent nonsense might just be too much for me. If you want to tell this overly complicated story, perhaps try with starting out with a narrower focus and give us a reason to care by developing the main character and his situation before going crazy with this stuff?
Sarcastic anime OTs are the best.
AnathemicOne
Banned
Nice review/synopsis. Like others you wish there was more time dedicated to fleshing out characters (like Mami and Kyoko) but instead the series put plot in priority which is a good thing. However there is Madoka: Rebellion... which brings further character development/closure to those two characters I just listed.
But anyways onto your actual review. I am in the same camp that the series didn't bring me into bawling my eyes out like animes such as Anohana or Clannad: AS but I do put this one above them (imo) due to how compact the plot is and the mindfucks/twists it pulls on you (though some can be inferred if you paid close attention). While Neon Genesis Evangelion sort of succeeded it its goal, Madoka Magika absolutely fulfilled it and that is the deconstruction of a genre.
R_thanatos
Member
Neptunia the Animation Oav (ep 13 ? )
After managing to do a very good video adaptation during the Tv airing , Neptunia comes back do emulate the True end every fan deserved.
Nothing else to be said , if you liked neptunia in anime , this is the same thing , and this oav won't change your mind... I did like the alternate godesses.
Verdict : Pretty good
After managing to do a very good video adaptation during the Tv airing , Neptunia comes back do emulate the True end every fan deserved.
Nothing else to be said , if you liked neptunia in anime , this is the same thing , and this oav won't change your mind... I did like the alternate godesses.
Verdict : Pretty good
To varying degrees, depending on the content, but you are pretty much on point - a lot of the time Shaft shows have a habit of looking weird just for the sake of looking weird. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, though you won't often get agreement on such things. In some ways, they're actually a bit more restrained in recent works compared to something like PaniPoniDash, but even shows like Nisekoi and Hidamari are full of peculiar cuts (though in Hidamari's case, it is a show about art students, so I guess it get's more of a pass).
Also, Madoka semi-frequently looked pretty weird outside of the witch battles as well, though to such a lesser degree compared to the witches labyrinths that it was somewhat forgettable in comparison.
And, yeah, Cossette was before Shinbo took up residence at Shaft.
AnathemicOne
Banned
No that was intended as can be seen from Madoka's
wish taken into effect. Madoka wished to be there personally to save magical girls from despair/turning into witches. Therefore at the end of each magical girl's runtime she appears and takes them up with her (see the unnamed magical girls dying after Madoka comes). I don't recall whether they dissapear but Sayaka's disappearance is to be assumed further detail in what happens when a magical girl's soul gem goes bad. This phenomenon is known as the Law of the Cycle and gets further elaborated on in Madoka: Rebellion.
Admiral Woofington
Member
So does this have any romance? I ask because I notice there's a male and female lead and usually anime can't have that without romance.
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