Audience reviews
18 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
bossunhimeswitch
I don't normally enjoy movies that basically rehash the series, but it's been long enough since I saw the original anime that I didn't mind it this time. I thought that the movie did well pick and choosing how to pace the scenes and which major plot points to showcase. I'm glad that I chose to watch it before going to the third movie, which is a sequel to the original anime because it's a good refresher.
That said, I think that if I'd recently completed the original anime, this movie would have felt repetitive and unnecessary. So I would really only recommend it for those who either don't want to make the twelve episode commitment to the anime or haven't watched the anime in a long time.
However, I would recommend making the commitment to the original anime instead because I feel like…
Read at the sourceWSTAudrey
I went into watching this movie with as little information as possible. I regret that now because had I known this was a recap movie, I would have skipped watching it. This isn't to say that I thought the movie was bad by any means but if you're someone who's already watched the original series and was expecting this movie to be a new experience, I think you'll find yourself disappointed.
Now is the movie bad? No. It's the Madoka Magica story. Of course it was great. The art and animation were stunning as well.
I will say that I did miss the pacing of the original series when watching this movie. Key, impactful moments from the original series were sped through in this movie whereas I feel the slower pace of the show really allowed the viewer to sit and take in those moments.
If you hav…
Read at the sourceLottie3
Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Beginnings is a great alternative to watching the original TV series. This film version fixes any wonky animation errors that existed in the original, while also generally enhancing the art. The new character transformations are a highlight. Being an integral trope of the Mahou Shoujo genre, it was an excellent decision to amp up the dynamic movement and creativity in these sequences. Another noticeable improvement with the animation is the gorgeous backgrounds and establishing stills of Mitakihara City's skyline. The amount of detail, dynamic lighting and shading added here is a much welcome addition. There are many, many other small improvements and changes in the animation throughout the film that greatly increase the artistic quality of the original series, s…
Read at the sourceSachoza
I recommand watching the anime before the movies !
Tho is quite confusing. The movie one and two are basicly rip off of the anime. They contain some details which wasnt explained in the anime, but yet, not necessary information kinda. (felt more like; add this extra detail to the story, which wasnt explained in the anime).
due to this being a rip off of the anime, the cuttings between each screen felt very awkward and weird. cause they haver a different smoothness in the anime, and now they just made it awkward, which also makes the sounds in movie weird and awkward aswell.
So i recommand watch anime first and then movies, at least movie nr 3, that was worth it!
Read at the sourceApocriya
You don't need my review to tell you the story. I just want to tell you about my few gripes. Madoka Magica is my single favorite anime of all time. I believe it is perfect. I love the characters, I love the story, everything. It's my favorite media franchise, even outside anime. However, this movie removes TWO scenes that I think are incredibly important to character development, and thus, I believe you'll get a better experience of watching the series until episode 8, then switching to the second movie for the latter half of the series.
The two scenes take place fairly early on. One scene is in episode two, when Mami warns Sayaka to question whether or not she's making her wish truly because she wants to help the person, or if she wants it for their returned gratitude. After this, Madok…
Read at the sourcesailorvinicius
Mahou Shoujo anime have always been cheerful, bright and positive. In Sailor Moon, no matter how much sadness and grief Usagi goes through, she always make it in the end. Cardcaptor Sakura has no such principles and philosophy, being more of a TV series made for people to have fun and cherish.
Madoka Magica, however, is groundbreaking in the genre. If Sailor Moon changed dynamics in the genre by introducing a team of girls who fight together towards the same goal, Puella Magi Madoka Magica introduced these girls to real life suffering. It's not that the previous ones didn't suffer, they did, but here we're faced not only with ultimate grief and sadness, but also with values that make us rethink what we think it's right and wrong.
And we can also identify with these girls and how they "ma…
Read at the sourcemerb
Shaft always really does well with their art and sound, and it shines through in this movie. Music is between great and phenomenal, and it absolutely complements the themes of the show well. The art is very creative, and I haven't seen anything like it in any other anime. My only gripe is that some of the earlier labyrinth's art styles don't really mesh well with the art of the rest of the show. I'm glad to say that as the show progressed, the art styles melded a lot better.
The story itself was good as well, with it starting off as a cliche "cute girl" anime show with some magical elements. The movie eventually evolved to have much darker themes and motifs, and it was really enjoyable to watch this transition. Although, the cliche "cute girl" part did get a little insufferable at times.…
Read at the sourcektulu007
Madoka was one of my early reviews. And it's a series I still have a great fondness for. That being said, I never watched the films because they seemed like retreads of the series. But it's been long enough since I last saw it that I might as well delve in. Plus I'm watching something fairly long for the last review of January so I need something shorter.
Story:
Kaname Madoka is an ordinary enough girl. She hangs out with her best friends, Sayaka & Hitomi. She goes to school, has chats with her family and just has a bogstandard normal life. That is until her school gets a new transfer student, Akemi Homura. Homura gives Madoka a vague warning about not changing and, shortly afterwards, Madoka encounters Kyuubey. This strangely creepy looking "cute" character offers contracts to both her…
Read at the sourceNadimi
Having never been a fan of recaps (nor a hardcore fan of Madoka), I have always wondered why anyone would think that making movie recaps was a good idea. While it may mean an improvement in terms of animation quality, is it really necessary? Are any other successful series ever this lazy? Heck, even 90s Sailor Moon had a different plot for each one of its movies, but I digress.
Although I was happy to see the girls return, cramming 8 episodes into a 2-hour movie often felt like watching the series while pressing the "fast-forward" button. I was further confused by the fact that the second movie would be a recap too, but this one would only have 4 episodes in it... Would it really have been so difficult to divide the story evenly and use 6 episodes for each part? Anyway...
Another thing…
Read at the sourceWanTaisho
I highly recommend newcomers to Madoka Magica to watch the regular anime series first before watching the movies. (Spoiler-free review)
Okay, now that I've said that let me explain. If you haven't already heard, the first two Madoka Magica movies are mostly recaps of the regular t.v. series with some added/modified scenes. I recently finished the series subbed and re-watched it dubbed. Before watching the 3rd Madoka movie which continues the story, I decided to watch the first 2 movies to avoid missing anything (I know, I'm crazy). The recap movies are great in their own right, but I would argue that it is mainly because it adapts an already great series. Other than the upgraded art and animation, I would argue that the t.v. series is superior in every way. The first two movies are great,…
Read at the sourceratchet573
Foreward
I started watching anime religiously three years ago. Upon entering the world of anime, I was introduced to Puella Magi Madoka Magica, an unassuming magical girl anime that gradually loses all the fun and cuddliness of typical shows of the genre, opting instead for vast quantities of depression, sadness, and depravity. At the time, I thought it was the best fucking thing I’d ever seen. It combined cute girls with a horribly dark story and setting thaI rated as damn near perfect.
As the years have gone by, I’ve tried desperately to repress my love for the series as I see more and more wrong with it and try to avoid it if only because I hate being sad. Other reasons may include the fact the series doesn’t have the same impact the second time around, the characters being kind of lam…
Read at the sourceplatinumSKIES
I don't think that I'm lying when I say that Puella Magi Madoka Magica is one of the most prolific series to have premiered in the 2010's, and here in compilation form it doesn't disappoint. With the third movie (and true sequel) coming out in 2013, I figured that it was high time to watch these.
(Much like every other review here, I'll put up a disclaimer: I'm going to avoid spoilers, but take into account that if you're reading this, you have enough familiarity with the original anime to know exactly what you're getting into. And since I really don't want to rehash how I feel about the TV show, I'm just going to put down my impressions from the movie itself.)
Story (9/10): It's amazing that they were able to cram 8 very detailed episodes into this movie. Honestly, it doesn't feel like…
Read at the sourceSavepoints
Disclaimer: Have you not seen the series nor movie I heavily advise you not to read this, as even without spoilers it could very well more or less ruin the experience for you.
“Watashi... Honto Baka...” - Miki Sayaka
As the first and second movie pretty much exactly follows the story and events of the original series, (which I’ve already written a review of) this review will more or less consist of comparisons between the series and movie, with some added thoughts.
Story: (9 / 10)
The story of the first movie is basically a “recap” of the first 8 episodes of the series, with some added scenes. Though obviously, because this movie is about 40 minutes short of the original screen time, and has new scenes, some other scenes would have to be cut. This results in a slightly faster pace, whic…
Read at the sourceVeronin
A number of things come to mind when thinking of the mahou shoujo genre. Friendship, frilly dresses, cute young girls, and equally cute mascots ... what more could a young female audience ask for?
All of these of these things are prevalent within Madoka★Magica. And yet there's no anime quite like it.
Back in 2011, Madoka★Magica took the anime industry by surprise with a decidedly mature take on an otherwise lighthearted genre. Important characters die in brutal fashion. They struggle with the concept of right-and-wrong, that 'justice' is arbitrary and often fanciful. The villain is driven not by greed or vengeance, but by rational motives, occasionally making you wonder if the girls are the ones you should really be rooting for. It was dark and twisted - it took the tropes of the genre…
Read at the sourceStark700
Well, by this time, most avid anime fans probably heard about a series that debuted in 2011 known as Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica (Puella Magi Madoka Magica). It features the traditional theme of magical girls which is nothing new to the anime industry. However, what it presents is something far beyond that after a second look for its presentation of the magical girl theme like never before. It's dark. It's twisted. It's Madoka.
For a movie to be adapted for another run (especially in terms of story retelling), popularity and revenue often comes as one of the reasons. In fact, anime that have been revived in recent years for a remake or rerun are not new such as Hunter x Hunter, Gurren Lagann, Berserk, Evangelion, and so on. When that comes to the equation, Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica also…
Read at the sourceSeibaaHomu
Note: This is a review for both part one and two.
Airing in the Winter 2010 Season (Starting in January of 2011), Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica was met with critical acclaim and gained a lot of popularity in the west and Japan due to its ambitious and thought provoking storyline hidden behind its frilly pink dresses. Shaft were a very popular studio before hand with hits like Bakemonogatari and Hidamari Sketch. But Madoka Magica's popularity exceeded even them. Because of it's success, Shaft decided to expand upon it by creating a trilogy of movies based on the series. The first two movies (Which I'm reviewing) are a recap of the series with new animation, re recorded dialogue and some new scenes. I've already reviewed the series so this review will be about the differences between both vers…
Read at the sourceAeroblip
The Puella Magi Madoka Magica franchise is a juggernaut. When it first aired in 2011, the series quickly became popular, appealing to fans around the world with its amazing visuals and suspenseful story. Riding on the success of the original series, Shaft decides to expand on the franchise with a movie trilogy.
Yet, was it needed?
Let's set the record straight: the first two movies cover the same story of the original series. However this is not a simple rehash of the original. It's a bit unfair to use the term "recap" simply because most fans know the story; the movie contains the same events, but everything in the film has been revamped. Newcomers will be treated with an amazing experience, and fans will be delighted by the subtle changes. Mostly.
After the first few seconds, it becom…
Read at the sourceGuitarklutz
I had already seen the original 13 episode anime series for Madoka Magica. It was pretty good (I'd give it an 8) and was expecting to see pretty much a re cap of the series for the movie. The movie blew me away! The main reason why the movie was so good was because of the art style. The artistic rendition of the witches' labyrinths were amazing! You could tell that the animators really put a lot of work into the remake of this series. They really upped the art to a really fantastic level! As well, I feel like the movie built up some of the characters more then the anime did. You were able to see a additional scenes that were not in the anime that gave some of the characters, such as Akemi, some more screen time. The music was great. The music was great in the anime, but it was well utilize…
Read at the source