Magia Rekôdo: Mahô Shôjo Madoka Magika Gaiden

In 2011, there was an anime called "Puella Magic Madoka Magica". I have never heard of it because I was about 10 to 11 years old, until I saw it on Netflix. After watching the whole series, it was pretty great. The characters, the action, the drama, the story, all of it was amazing. But now, after a new decade hits, the spin-off series is here... "Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story" it features new characters who are desendents from the five main characters from the original show. I will be counting to watch more episodes of this glorious spin-off. I give this one a 9.5/10

First off, I'll mention what I thought when going into this anime. I was expecting this side story to be exciting and at least somewhat near the level of Puella Magi Madoka Magica. However, unfortunately it did not come close to reaching that level for me. I felt that the plot was quite random, and the central idea of the actual anime wasn't captivating and didn't make much sense. Throughout the anime there is barely any character development in any of the characters except in the last episode. Furthermore, there were so many new characters being introduced, in addition to some of the original ones, that I couldn't remember all of their names! This aspect was a little exhausting, especially because most of them didn't stay throughout the whole story and disappeared for some episodes and came back. The ending was also quite confusing for me as I didn't end up understanding it.

On the other hand, I enjoyed that the side story stayed true to the art style and made connections to the actual anime, Puella Magi Madoka Magica. The idea of witches still maintains throughout the whole anime and the soundtracks, particularly in the fights, were pretty good!

However, despite these positive aspects, I don't think they are able to make up for the lack of planning and plot of the side story, hence why I gave this 6 stars. Finally, I would recommend this anime if you really truly loved the original anime and would watch just about anything related to it, but if you aren't a superfan I would not encourage you to spend your time watching this side story.

Review of Season 1: Since the original Madoka Magica became such a success there were a slew of imitators that tried to do what it did but there can only be one as it often is. Despite being apart of the official franchise, Magia Record feels like one of those poor imitators often with a meandering first season of no thrills, no stakes, no suspense, no intrigue, nothing that made the original series so great in the first place.

The first major issue this show has is the bulky cast. Besides our main girl, Iroha we have so many other characters that come into play and the plot seems to just forget about most of them anyway. With so many characters to quickly introduce and quickly dump. None of the characters are interesting and all feel like the same stock characters in many shows. The good one, the stoic one, the hot head and the cheerful one. The rest are just uh?

The show is just as visually trippy as the original, with just as many odd designs and creative uses of Gekidan Inu Curry's art. But that's also to this show's detriment as the art just seems to be all over the place with no design purpose other than to look cool. This show follows Rebellion's act by constantly bleeding the unreal of the witches into the real so often it's hard to track what is what in this world. What is the world of magic that these girls are intended to fight (which this show surprisingly has very little of) and what is these girls ordinary lives.

The character art is still just as good with unique designs for all main girls, enough design variety that gives them all a place to be in this series. We're even treated to one full magical girl transformation sequence which was fun.

In the absence of Yuki Kajiura this show surprisingly still pulls out some good music by Takumi Ozawa and my hat goes off to them for that.

I'm extremely disappointed thus far with Magia Record. I had my doubts already going in and was already disappointed that the producers decided to adapt a side story based on a mobile game instead of the sequel to Rebellion they had been teasing these last few years. Poor choices have really dragged the first season with dull story telling and dull characters robbing the show of the excellent razor sharp tension set from the original.

Will season 2 be better? I don't know but my interest had dwindled as watching this was a chore. Too much emphasis on making crazy art and not enough on storytelling and that's a real shame.

Many anime fans and horror fans alike have universally considered Madoka Magica not only as an incredible piece of work, but I've met and seen a large portion of these two communities go as far as to say that Madoka Magica is one of the greatest anime's of all time, as well as one of the most disturbing.

I made a review on the show not long ago, and I have to admit, these claims aren't too far off as well, as I had very few faults with the original work, and I can definitely see why the show is as critically acclaimed as it is. Heck, the show was made all the way back in 2011, and even here nearly 14 years later and it still holds up.

Needless to say, it was a massive hit. But even with that in mind, many fans were-and still are shocked- that it was successful enough to get its very own spin off show. That brings us to Magia Record Side Stories, the prequel to everything that took place in the original Madoka Magica anime. That means we are now able to learn the origins of Magical Girls, the first ever occurrences of the witches, and past characters' wishes and intentions.

The thing that makes Magia Record Side Stories so much more interesting than Madoka Magica though, is the fanbases thoughts. With how influential Madoka Magica was to the entire "cute-to-scary" genre, it would be difficult for another anime to pull of something just as good. The overall view with this anime among fans is incredibly mixed, with the general opinion just being that the show is "mid".

While I've only watched the entirety of season 1 as of writing this review, I have to say... I was really surprised finding this out, but eventually also grew to understand where these fans are coming from. You see... Side Stories is a really strange prequel. It doesn't really feel like Madoka Magics, regardless with the numerous references and corelations with the original show.

To begin, I want to get out of the way the number 1 complaint the entire fanbase has towards this show... it's pacing. The way this show moves is MUCH faster than most things I have seen in shows before. Madoka Magica, while a short series, had this slow disturbing burns for viewers, which is what made so many scenes and moments incredibly shocking.

However, here, the shocking reveals happen in the span of 10 or so minutes per episode. Without spoiling, there is an episode that reveals certain characters for the very first time, and only around 15 minutes later, something alarming is found out about one of them. This can come off as incredibly strange more than anything, to reveal so much in such a little number of episodes.

Now, this is more of a personal opinion, but... I don't have too much of a problem with this. Yes, pacing can be a major problem in most shows depending on the situation, but the reason why I don't think the pacing in Side Stories is such a big problem is that fans should already have a good idea of what witches and Magical Girls are capable of.

We already know so much about Magical Girl powers, because Mami revealed so much during the first 3 episodes of the original show, and the true horrors of becoming a Magical Girl were extended upon during the last few episodes of the first show. If Side Stories were to go over this even more, it would feel like a tedious drag to hear something that your very much aware of.

Of course, I can understand the criticism that moving fast in the show can be seen as a major problem, but considering that we've learnt far beyond the basics of the lore, there isn't too much more that can be said when it comes to how daunting it is to be a Magical Girl. Maybe this depends on the person, and I can still see why you would disagree with this opinion, I just don't find it to be as big a deal as several fans have.

Then there's also the characters. As far as I'm aware, most fans don't necessarily dislike any of these characters, yet they don't seem to have any positive feelings towards them. Now, this is going to be an incredibly hot take, but... I actually prefer some of the characters in this show more than I do the original.

Reminder, I said "some". Mami, Madoka, and Sayaka are still the best characters in the entire franchise in my opinion still, but I'm shocked seeing how little Iroha, Tsuruno, and the two Amane twins are talked about. Not only do a lot of the characters add so much to the original lore that are necessary to the first anime, but I would go as far as to say the main characters in this series have a much stronger bond than the original.

I'll do my greatest not to spoil, but the original Madoka anime a lot of the time had the friendships become toxic, disturbing, and overall, the characters were overwhelmed with who should be trusted or not. When it comes to Side Stories, its so refreshing to see the main characters (Iroha, Yachiyo, Tsuruno) get along perfectly while still maintaining the anime's ominous genre.

Some fans may prefer the characters constantly anxious with having to build a strong bond while also not constantly fearing for their lives like in the original anime, but I personally prefer to see the characters have several wholesome moments as they each live together and even at points comfort them during difficult times (especially once finding out Iroha's intentions throughout the episodes).

Side Stories I feel as though shouldn't be swept under the rug, and should be watched by every Madoka fan who wants to know about much more lore, characters, and some of the first Magical Girls. But also... the hate seems very valid. It was really hard finding a verdict for this anime, because while I enjoyed it very much, it also made so much sense as to why so many fans have already forgotten about it despite the fact that it's still running.

It then made me realise something... Side Stories will never be Madoka Magica, it will never match a majority of what made the original one of the greatest anime's ever... but there's a good reason why. Side Stories is fun, its easy to understand, it can be enjoyed by almost anyone, even those who barley are aware of the original shows existence.

If you've never even heard of Madoka Magica, Side Stories feels like its own show, it doesn't feel at all the same as what it was extending upon. When comparing, the show really is just as "fine" and "okay" as most people point out. However, when really taking into account that the intention behind this anime was to have fans take a step back from several depressing scenes from the original, and instead focus on the friendships and trusts that come with sticking together as Magical Girls, then I genuinely believe its amazing.

Originally, I was going to give this show the same rating I gave Madoka Magica, but after a lot of thinking, I'm only going to give it one point lower. Because on the surface, this could be seen as a lot more soulless compared to the original, but that's what the problem is, it's the "comparing" that drives this anime away from fans seeing how great it is.

In another world where for some reason the original anime never existed, I truly believe this show would be rated much higher. The issue is just that since the original was such an influential masterpiece that is termed as one of the greatest shows of all time, this anime couldn't handle those same points. But on its very own, Side Stories is without a doubt one of the most enjoyable anime's I have ever sat through.

As the title suggests this is a side story to the 2011 series 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'; these comments assume you have seen that series but won't include any spoilers for it. This series is centred on Iroha Tamaki, a girl who has somehow forgotten the wish she made before becoming a magical girl. After meeting a small Kyubey she recalls that she healed her sister Ui... who is now missing. Hoping to find her she heads to Kamihama City where she meets many other magical girls. They are congregating there as they have heard a rumour that magical girls may be released from their duties there. Inevitably they find themselves battling several witches.

I wouldn't say this is a bad series but it doesn't stand up to the original. There are no major surprises and the sense of danger was somewhat lower. The characters are decent but there are too many of them. At times I was confused as to what was happening; something that never happened during the original. On the plus side it does look good with impressive backgrounds and character designs that were distinctive and in the same style as the original. Overall I'd still recommend this to fans of the original; just don't expect it to be in the same league.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.