Puella Magi Madoka Magica/Characters

This page lists tropes specific to characters of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Studio Shaft's first original series. The anime aired as part of the Winter 2011 lineup.

Late Arrival Spoiler Warning: Please take heed that approximately three-fourths of this page is spoiler-filled, due to Troper Critical Mass present ever since the first Wham! Episode. Please watch the anime completely before reading this page.

Madoka Kaname
"Voiced by: Aoi Yuki (JP), Christine Marie Cabanos (EN)"

A well-behaved and very average girl who doesn't consider herself to have any particular athletic or academic prowess. This lack of confidence feeds into a strong sense of selflessness that on some occasions is a positive thing but a negative one on others. After saving Kyubey from Homura, she considers forming a contract and becoming a Magical Girl, which she believes will finally allow her to help other people.

Kyubey is determined on contracting her, but Homura intends to stop this from happening. In a twisted way, Madoka is the most important person in the universe because  As a magical girl, she wields a bow resembling a rose branch that can shoot energy bolts.

"Question 8: Favorite animal? Madoka: I love anything that's small and fluffy!"
 * Adorkable
 * The Archer: In concept art,
 * Badass Adorable:
 * Big Eater: You wouldn't know it, but according to her 100 Questions, she thinks about food a LOT.
 * Big Fancy House: Madoka's home. Apparently, it was designed and built by friends of her parents.
 * Break the Cutie: To be expected, this being a Deconstruction. It even provides the image on the trope's main page.
 * The Chick: Compared to the other characters who have signed the deal. The pink hair and short(er) stature doesn't help.
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Crucified Hero Shot: Madoka gets one in the beginning of Episode 11, following, while Kyubey lectures her about . Fitting, considering
 * Cuteness Proximity: 100 Questions: (link has some spoilers)
 * Break the Cutie: To be expected, this being a Deconstruction. It even provides the image on the trope's main page.
 * The Chick: Compared to the other characters who have signed the deal. The pink hair and short(er) stature doesn't help.
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Crucified Hero Shot: Madoka gets one in the beginning of Episode 11, following, while Kyubey lectures her about . Fitting, considering
 * Cuteness Proximity: 100 Questions: (link has some spoilers)
 * Crucified Hero Shot: Madoka gets one in the beginning of Episode 11, following, while Kyubey lectures her about . Fitting, considering
 * Cuteness Proximity: 100 Questions: (link has some spoilers)


 * Desperately Looking for a Purpose In Life: Although not as severe as that other magical girl, Madoka has a shade of this... which irritates Mami. See also Heroic Self-Deprecation.
 * Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?:
 * Not exactly.
 * The Ditz: Well, maybe not a ditz, exactly, but she is certainly naive and altruistic to a fault. And boy, does she pay for it. To the point that after several Break the Cutie moments, she's more of a Broken Bird or Knight in Sour Armor than a ditz.
 * Energy Bow: Her weapon, if she became a Magical Girl.
 * Expy: A Distaff Counterpart to Kouta. She really wants to help others, but she has no idea how to do it. Unforturnately, she's not seeing the smoke behind the mirrors, and when Episode 3 pops around, she's unable to stabilize herself. Afterwards, she then justifies her actions by saying that she's trying to help others, even after the drastic revelations that have appeared in the other episodes.
 * Also is considered by some to be a Gender Flip of Shinji Ikari.
 * Which makes the Rei Ayanami Expy for Homura that much more brilliant.
 * Eyes of Gold: As.
 * Fan Nickname/Punny Name: for obvious reasons pertaining to the final episode.
 * Girl Has A Lot Of Stuffed Animals
 * Girlish Pigtails
 * Girly Run: In the OP sequence and the first episode.
 * The Heroine:
 * Heroic BSOD: hits Madoka HARD. She practically spends a good half of episode 4 crying and Angst-ing.
 * Gets hit with this again when she While Sayaka has gotten better thanks to Homura, the Angst will remain.
 * Gets this yet again when
 * And in reduces her to a sobbing wreck.
 * This is essentially, the breakdown of Madoka's psyche as the series has gone on. AND IT GOES ON FOR 3 MORE EPISODES!!
 * Kyubey goes for the kill when he  This may have been a mistake, though,
 * Heroic Bystander: She prevents.
 * Just the fact of her doing a possible contract with Kyubei can be considered
 * Heroic Self-Deprecation: Subtly, but still present. At one point Madoka says the following about herself: "I thought I had nothing good going for me. I thought I would continue on living until I died, never helping anyone, never being useful. That made me frustrated, and it made me feel alone. But I thought I couldn't do anything about it." And yet her actions over the series often contradict this self-characterization.
 * This extends to the people around her who question why she would want to become a Magical Girl. She has everything she would ever want,
 * Hidden Depths: Before Episode 10, she appears to be an average girl who at times behaves in a supposedly "stupid" or "cowardly" manner. Episode 10 reveals  all because of her love for her friends. Many fans' opinion of her improved after this episode.
 * Holy Child: Her potential power is so massive, Homura's (silent) fight against Kyubey over her drives the story.
 * Improbable Age: she's in eighth grade..
 * Leitmotif: "Clementia"
 * Living Emotional Crutch/Only Friend: Done for Sayaka. And, boy, does she need her.
 * The Load: Triple subversion. She's the only girl who doesn't become a Magical Girl but still tags along. And since Homura has tried to prevent her from turning into a Magical Girl  However, in the last episode,
 * : Exaggerated Up to Eleven. See the above. Episode 10 takes this to an extreme. Episode 11 subverts this, in which Episode 12 averts the trope.
 * Meaningful Rename: Interesting to note that this was not shown on the original broadcast. Oh and for the record,
 * Similarly, what fans call tends to go by the name Penitent Gretchen. Name Gretchen is self-explanatory even if you are familiar with the show. The title of Penitent isn't, which means "feeling or expressing humble or regretful pain or sorrow for sins or offences". It explains  Also, the full name is yet another reference to Faust...or more appropriately, how Gretchen saved him.
 * On official character sheets by Ume Aoki, she is referred to as.
 * Meganekko: Apparently, she has poor eyesight (1.5 in both eyes). Fans have taken it quite nicely.
 * The Messiah: The poor girl just wants everyone to be happy. Too bad the universe has other plans...
 * As a nice Hand Wave, the episode that showed this aired on Good Friday.
 * Moe Couplet: Initially her and Sayaka, and then her and Homura
 * Muggle Best Friend: This is one of the major subversions of the series; Madoka initially seems like she'll be the typical magical girl hero, but when the series was almost over Madoka still hasn't become a magical girl, instead trying to help the other magical girls emotionally and getting them to work together rather than against each other. It doesn't seem to be working all that well.
 * Naive Newcomer:
 * Nice Girl
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: To prevent Sayaka from fighting Kyoko, Cue Big Damn Heroes from Homura.
 * Even worse,
 * Earlier, she tried cheering Mami up with a You Are Not Alone speech. It results in
 * Ordinary Junior High School Student
 * Pimped-Out Dress: Her Magical Girl outfit is pink, very frilly and overall rather standard issue for a magical girl, which emphasizes her kindness, idealism and will to be bringer of hope.
 * Power Makes Your Hair Grow: gains extremely long hair  in episode 12.
 * Reality Warper: Kyubey claims she has this sort of potential if she were to become a Magical Girl.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: To Sayaka. Worth noting that Madoka's color motif is Pink, which is a combination Red and White. You should have a good guess where the White motif comes into play.
 * Rose-Haired Girl
 * Selfless Wish: A major premise of the series. When she learns that her wish has the potential of her becoming a god, she later makes it clear that.
 * She Cleans Up Nicely: Normal Girl Madoka falls right into Generic Cuteness and in-universe is considered fairly plain.  on the other hand, is achingly beautiful.
 * Signature Laugh: Wehihihi is an onomatopoeia of that little giggle of hers. Japanese fanworks naturally follow this and literally write it as ウェヒヒヒヒ.
 * Supporting Protagonist: Gen Urobuchi stated that actually, Sayaka is the central protagonist of his story, although Madoka is the main character originally planned by Ume Aoki.
 * Played With by Word of God. The primary character arc is basically the lead up to Sayaka's, however the actual plot itself turns out to revolve around Homura's attempt to stop Madoka or becoming a magical girl. Or both, really.
 * And
 * Story-Breaker Power: Is implied to have this. Soloing definitely counts as one.
 * Even more when It works and it's AWESOME.
 * Take a Third Option: If she doesn't become a Magical Girl, If she does,  What does she do?
 * Tareme Eyes
 * Tender Tears: Usually accompanied by Tears of Remorse.
 * Took a Level In Badass: Zigzagged. She spends most of the series as a Muggle, In fact,  Played straight
 * The Un-Reveal: The only looks we get of are a black, thundercloud-like entity mid-transformation  and a colossal grey silhouette  The witch's name, Kriemhild Gretchen, was originally this but was shown in a subsequent broadcast.
 * shows what Gretchen looks like here.
 * Useless Protagonist: In a series where the only way to be useful is to throw your entire life away, few can blame her for being hesitant to do just that.
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: She just wants people to be happy in this world. What's wrong with that?!
 * You Are Not Alone: Madoka says this to Mami. In a subversion, Mami usually fights coldly and calculatedly, but in that particular fight
 * Madoka also tells this to Homura . Homura seems a little receptive, but is soon back to warning Madoka about what could happen.
 * Also.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: Her normal attire is higher-grade than her Magical Girl outfit, though.
 * Played With by Word of God. The primary character arc is basically the lead up to Sayaka's, however the actual plot itself turns out to revolve around Homura's attempt to stop Madoka or becoming a magical girl. Or both, really.
 * And
 * Story-Breaker Power: Is implied to have this. Soloing definitely counts as one.
 * Even more when It works and it's AWESOME.
 * Take a Third Option: If she doesn't become a Magical Girl, If she does,  What does she do?
 * Tareme Eyes
 * Tender Tears: Usually accompanied by Tears of Remorse.
 * Took a Level In Badass: Zigzagged. She spends most of the series as a Muggle, In fact,  Played straight
 * The Un-Reveal: The only looks we get of are a black, thundercloud-like entity mid-transformation  and a colossal grey silhouette  The witch's name, Kriemhild Gretchen, was originally this but was shown in a subsequent broadcast.
 * shows what Gretchen looks like here.
 * Useless Protagonist: In a series where the only way to be useful is to throw your entire life away, few can blame her for being hesitant to do just that.
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: She just wants people to be happy in this world. What's wrong with that?!
 * You Are Not Alone: Madoka says this to Mami. In a subversion, Mami usually fights coldly and calculatedly, but in that particular fight
 * Madoka also tells this to Homura . Homura seems a little receptive, but is soon back to warning Madoka about what could happen.
 * Also.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: Her normal attire is higher-grade than her Magical Girl outfit, though.

Homura Akemi
"Voiced by: Chiwa Saitou (JP), Cristina Valenzuela (EN)"

A new transfer student in Madoka's class and a highly stoic magical girl with unknown motives. For whatever reason, she will go to any length to prevent Madoka from striking a contract with Kyubey. She wields conventional weaponry such as handguns and explosives and carries a buckler. Her powers allow her to Flash Step.


 * Action Girl
 * Adorkable: No, really. In the manga,
 * Adrenaline Makeover:
 * Aloof Ally
 * Always Save the Girl: To extreme amounts.
 * Anti-Hero: Type III.
 * Byronic Heroine: She has conflicting emotions, she is isolating herself from others, has a troubled past, is cynical, arrogant, and self-destructive. And she doesn't hesitate to render her enemies full of holes, with real guns, when things call for it.
 * Attack Reflector: According to Word of God,
 * The Archer: Though that bow never seemed to get past the concept art point.
 * Badass: For taking Combat Pragmatism and running with it to levels never before seen in a Mahou Shoujo series: ramming it together with abilities and, as well as being entirely willing to just shoot.
 * Badass Adorable: Seriously. And due to her being the Defrosting Ice Queen, this get taken up a notch.
 * Badass Long Hair
 * Heartbroken Badass:
 * Bag of Holding/Hyperspace Arsenal: Either up her sleeve or just behind her shield; she uses it to store all her conventional weaponry.
 * Because You Were Nice to Me:.
 * Beneath the Mask: Despite pretending to be an Emotionless Girl, she has a soft side that she hides. Evidenced when she . Episode 10 confirms this: . Part of her new attitude is because she Took a Level In Badass, part because she is hiding the part of her that she considers "weak",
 * Berserk Button: If you mess with Madoka in any way, she will drop her cool to stop you. With lots of firepower.
 * Big Damn Heroes: Employs this with good measure. The most notable occasion is when
 * Blinded by the Light: Flashbangs are amongst her arsenal.
 * Braids of Action: Inverted; she becomes more badass after she removes them.
 * Break the Cutie: To the point that by the time we see her, she's not so much broken as emotionally numb. While things like certainly affect her, they carry less weight since
 * Broken Ace
 * Broken Bird: A complete loner, except for Madoka trying to approach her.
 * The Cassandra: Nobody is ever willing to listen to her warnings.
 * Catch Phrase: "That won't be necessary."
 * Combat Pragmatist: She employs a stun grenade, a handgun, pipebombs, and even military grade machine guns
 * Conveniently an Orphan: Heavily implied. We never see or hear of any parents, and the nameplate of her residence only has her name, much like Mami's. In episode 10, It's convenient because
 * Crazy Prepared: Know why Homura can summon conventional weapons apparently from nowhere?
 * It also helps that due to her special power as a magical girl  she retains her memories, which is why in the beginning she seems to know a lot about the school subjects, and seems to know a lot about Madoka even though they've never met before.
 * Crucified Hero Shot: With Madoka, after.
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: As a result of.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: It is hinted all along the series that her past was full of horrible moments, but it is not until episode 10 that we finally find out how deep in the shit she is. To summarize: The trauma she carries on her back is beyond what a normal human could endure. Not that she considers herself human.
 * Dark Is Not Evil: Despite the dark outfit, creepily sterile house, and aloof demeanour, she's not all that bad a girl.
 * Dark Magical Girl: Fits this character archetype quite well.
 * Determinator: After experiencing and not breaking down yet, she definitely counts.
 * It was not her as seen in the episode 10.
 * Dynamic Entry: Justified by . Usually combines this with Big Damn Heroes.
 * Emotionless Girl: She does show emotion occasionally, but it's usually kept under tight lock and key.
 * Averted in her first manga appearance. The rendition of Madoka's dream has her almost tearing up.
 * When Episode 10 arrives,
 * Actually it was as early as in episode 1. During a talk with Madoka, she makes this face. It's clear she's about to cry.
 * And after that, watch her CLOSELY when she turns away from Mami after Mami tells her to basically "leave before I kill you" in the first episode. As she's turning, she makes a pained expression about halfway through her turn.
 * Expy: Of Kiritsugu Emiya - cold and calculating Anti-Hero though not originally, usage of modern weaponry in magic fights, . May be intentional on the part of Gen Urobuchi, whose Fate/Zero was the reason for him being drafted to work with SHAFT on Madoka (by Word of God).
 * Or Rintarou Okabe - Using During White Day, the Steins;Gate anime's website has a picture of Rintarou
 * And Archer for both her path in her Unlimited Bazooka Works; and the long path she has to make
 * Also to Rika Furudae due to the.
 * Failure Knight:
 * Fan Nickname/Punny Name: Homerun-chan. This is derived from an Memetic Mutation in which "Homura" sounds very similar to "Homerun".
 * Faustian Rebellion: Almost literal considering the influences behind the story.
 * Flash Step: Can be considered, but not exactly.
 * Freudian Excuse: The reason why she changed her look was because  Hey, she looks good either way.
 * Full-Name Basis: For most of the series, toward most people, but refers to Madoka by her first name in particularly emotional moments toward the end. Kyubey tends to refer to her by her full name.
 * Girlish Pigtails: She used to have them, but after falling straight into AntiHeroine-dom, she removed them.
 * In the manga,
 * The Glasses Come Off
 * Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: The aforementioned Adrenaline Makeover also saw her Tareme Eyes changed to Tsurime Eyes.
 * Good Is Not Nice: A Magical Girl of the Anti-Hero variety.
 * Hammerspace: The circular buckler/shield on her arm can apparently store lots of big items, such as bombs, swords, and guns.
 * Hair Decorations
 * Hair Flip: To memetic levels.
 * Hidden Heart of Gold: Despite being a snarker and all, she actually cares about the well-being for everyone she knows. This is reinforced by the fact that she's an Dangerously Genre Savvy character.
 * Ice Queen: Justified due to having Seen It All. And as the series advances, she defrosts more and more.
 * Defrosting Ice Queen: Shows all the signs of this She finally defrosts around episode 11/12...mostly.
 * I Gave My Word/The Power of Friendship:
 * Ill Girl:
 * Ineffectual Loner: Especially evident.
 * Instant Expert: Averted. The flashbacks show that she needed a lot of time to find out how to make the best use of her powers.
 * Intelligence Equals Isolation: The school kids admire her for her good grades, beauty and athletic prowess, but she turns down any offers to spend time together.
 * Amusingly, . Justified since.
 * I Will Protect Her: She will protect Madoka at any costs.
 * I Will Definitely Protect You
 * Jade-Colored Glasses
 * Jerkass Facade: For the most part, acts like either a heartless bastard or otherwise obnoxious Jerkass, but it's all for the sake of protecting her beloved Madoka.
 * Kuudere
 * Lady of War: Emphasized by her Combat Pragmatist/Dark Magical Girl nature.
 * Large Ham: Despite being extremely reserved with her emotions, her penchant for flipping her hair with flourish and dramatically appearing out of nowhere qualifies her as one.
 * Last-Name Basis: On most people.
 * Leitmotif: "Puella in somnio".
 * Letting Her Hair Down: This is actually important to her character. Also, she's one of the few characters to have hair like that.
 * Lost Aesop/: The Aesop being: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
 * Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Subverted. Her "weapon" is a buckler, although she almost never uses it as a shield.
 * Magikarp Power: A good summary of how she became the Magical Girl she is now.
 * Meganekko: At first. But then The Glasses Came Off.
 * Magical Girl Packing Heat
 * Magic Skirt: In the last two episodes her skirt manages to stay down even as she takes hundred meter falls foot-first. Made all the more strange by the fact that she wears pantyhose.
 * Memento MacGuffin: In the last episode,
 * Mercy Kill:
 * More Dakka: And HOW! Those dakkas don't come from her magical power.
 * Muggle Best Friend: Madoka taking this role
 * My Greatest Failure:
 * My Greatest Second Chance: The aversion of the above.
 * Nerves of Steel: She doesn't need time to recover from any emotional impacts. It just bounces off all the time, and she always makes the logical decision. She does have emotions, such as frequently getting angry or horrified on Madoka's actions, but that never makes any difference.
 * Horribly averted when we see her back story. She developed those Nerves of Steel.
 * New Transfer Student
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
 * It's worse.
 * But it's ultimately subverted.
 * Nietzsche Wannabe: Defied! She did consider the option
 * No Kill Like Overkill/WAY More Dakka: Episode 11; you have to give her props for the show.
 * Goes without saying: DO NOT get her angry.
 * No Social Skills/What an Idiot!: She has no problem telling Madoka, the girl she's trying to convince, that she is an idiot. The way she addresses other characters isn't any better. Justified because
 * Older Than They Look: Depending on your point of view,.
 * Pimped-Out Dress: Her Magical Girl outfit averts this, which fits with her apparently cold, sober personality.
 * Poor Communication Kills: You would think that should she be more explicit on many of her warnings, most tragedies (and plots) would not happen, or at least that bad.
 * And yet, the one time she did try to explain everything, it STILL ended horribly.
 * Perpetual Frowner: Does she really have any reason to smile?
 * Pin Pulling Teeth
 * Proper Tights with a Skirt: In all her outfits.
 * Purple Eyes
 * Rei Ayanami Expy: Could count as a Deconstruction of the archetype. Look at all of the tropes that relate to it: most of them are either subverted or inverted.
 * Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: When a young girl vows for the sake of another girl that she has only known for barely a month, you have to wonder about their motivation.
 * Up to Eleven with the Faustian reference of Gretchen. Like Faust's lover.
 * And even more
 * Which practically dips into.
 * Seen It All: Fits this trope to a T.
 * Shell Shocked Senior: She even brushes off as an occupational hazard.
 * It's explained in episode 10 that
 * She's Got Legs: Her magical girl outfit combines pantyhose and highheels.
 * Shoot the Dog:
 * Slasher Smile: In manga version, . There's something frightening when this normally stoic and aloof girl suddenly breaks into a murderous glee.
 * The Stoic: At first. Her overall demeanor has the traits of a Stoic, but then later episodes give visual prompts which subvert this trope to...
 * Not So Stoic: During the dream in episode 1, when she sees Madoka she clearly calls out to her. Later in episode 1, while Madoka is walking with her to the nurse's office in the real world, she is seen clenching her teeth.
 * In episode 6, she looks kinda depressed when she
 * Again in episode 8, after
 * Episode 10. Let's just say it puts all these moments into context. This girl is crying inside.
 * Sugar and Ice Personality
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
 * Teleport Spam: Sort of. The distinction is important because it explains why she can't escape Mami's binding her in episode 3, or escape when Kyoko grabs her by the wrist.
 * Took a Level In Badass: After turning into a Magical Girl, she starts taking level after level. Unfortunately...
 * Took a Level In Jerkass: Going through has made her cold and bitter towards everyone except Madoka.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold/Jerkass Facade: Then again, she's really doing all of this for Madoka.
 * It's also implied that
 * Tragic Keepsake:
 * Troubled but Cute
 * The Unfettered: She'll do anything to save Madoka. Anything.
 * Unflinching Walk: To show how badass she finally became By tossing a grenade at a group of witches.
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid
 * Weak but Skilled: Word of God has stated that she possesses fairly little magical power, but relies on trickery, her rather exploitable ability and an unconventional arsenal of weapons to get the job done, with brio.
 * When She Smiles: She turns out to be quite softhearted, especially when truly happy; this comes out significantly in episode 10 and 12.
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Invoked when
 * You Are Not Alone: She recieves this repeatedly from Madoka, the most extreme instance being the last episode.
 * You Are Worth Hell: More like:
 * Zen Survivor: When the Zen Survivor is a Magical Girl, you know you're in for a wild ride.
 * Shoot the Dog:
 * Slasher Smile: In manga version, . There's something frightening when this normally stoic and aloof girl suddenly breaks into a murderous glee.
 * The Stoic: At first. Her overall demeanor has the traits of a Stoic, but then later episodes give visual prompts which subvert this trope to...
 * Not So Stoic: During the dream in episode 1, when she sees Madoka she clearly calls out to her. Later in episode 1, while Madoka is walking with her to the nurse's office in the real world, she is seen clenching her teeth.
 * In episode 6, she looks kinda depressed when she
 * Again in episode 8, after
 * Episode 10. Let's just say it puts all these moments into context. This girl is crying inside.
 * Sugar and Ice Personality
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
 * Teleport Spam: Sort of. The distinction is important because it explains why she can't escape Mami's binding her in episode 3, or escape when Kyoko grabs her by the wrist.
 * Took a Level In Badass: After turning into a Magical Girl, she starts taking level after level. Unfortunately...
 * Took a Level In Jerkass: Going through has made her cold and bitter towards everyone except Madoka.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold/Jerkass Facade: Then again, she's really doing all of this for Madoka.
 * It's also implied that
 * Tragic Keepsake:
 * Troubled but Cute
 * The Unfettered: She'll do anything to save Madoka. Anything.
 * Unflinching Walk: To show how badass she finally became By tossing a grenade at a group of witches.
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid
 * Weak but Skilled: Word of God has stated that she possesses fairly little magical power, but relies on trickery, her rather exploitable ability and an unconventional arsenal of weapons to get the job done, with brio.
 * When She Smiles: She turns out to be quite softhearted, especially when truly happy; this comes out significantly in episode 10 and 12.
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Invoked when
 * You Are Not Alone: She recieves this repeatedly from Madoka, the most extreme instance being the last episode.
 * You Are Worth Hell: More like:
 * Zen Survivor: When the Zen Survivor is a Magical Girl, you know you're in for a wild ride.
 * When She Smiles: She turns out to be quite softhearted, especially when truly happy; this comes out significantly in episode 10 and 12.
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Invoked when
 * You Are Not Alone: She recieves this repeatedly from Madoka, the most extreme instance being the last episode.
 * You Are Worth Hell: More like:
 * Zen Survivor: When the Zen Survivor is a Magical Girl, you know you're in for a wild ride.

Sayaka Miki
"Voiced by: Eri Kitamura (JP), Sarah Williams (EN)"

Madoka's best friend. She has an unwavering sense of justice. She forms a contract with Kyubey to heal the wrist of her childhood friend Kyosuke, allowing him to play violin again. As a side effect of her wish, she is afforded prodigious healing abilities and a musical motif. She wields cutlasses, of which she can conjure infinite amounts.

"Madoka:"
 * Action Girl


 * Attack! Attack! Attack!: Against Elsa Maria, the witch in episode 7.
 * Batter Up: Went for a bat as her improvised weapon for the moment in episode 2.
 * Berserker Tears of Blood: She cries these in episode 7,.
 * Blue Eyes
 * Bob Haircut
 * Break the Cutie: While this was expected, due to this being a Deconstruction, she still took up Kyubey's offer. It bit her in the ass HORRIBLY. THREE TIMES.
 * The Cape
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Cute Chick With A Sword
 * Detached Sleeves: In her magical girl form.
 * Determinator: Started as a Plucky Girl, but soon went soue and grim.
 * Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Grief Seeds? No thanks. Those are only for amoral Magical Girls.
 * Evil Laugh: During her Curb Stomp Battle against . And this was before.
 * Expy/Whole-Plot Reference/Does This Remind You of Anything?: Of Saya no Uta's (which is Gen Urobuchi's previous work) Fuminori Sakisaka. Once the comes into play, this Expy becomes more and more apparent. This may have been the reason why Urobuchi mentioned that Sayaka is the main character.
 * She is also somewhat similar to Archer, as both of them
 * Fashionable Asymmetry: Her skirt's hem is angled to one side. According to Aoki, this was to make it easier for her to fight.
 * Feel No Pain: That's what she says, anyway. Well, at least not physical pain...
 * The Fettered: She knows how deep in the latrine pit she is, yet she won't let go of her idealism. Which irritates Kyoko a lot.
 * Hair Decorations
 * Healing Factor: Apparently by virtue of her wish involving healing.
 * The Heroine: If Urobuchi is to be believed. The statement is pretty accurate up until.
 * Heroes Prefer Swords/Throwing Your Sword Always Works
 * Hot-Blooded: At first. Then the Deconstruction elements start showing up, her "courage turns to foolhardiness", and her Hot Bloodedness turns to grim determination.
 * Hyperspace Arsenal: She can summon more swords in battle with her cloak. Which she could throw.
 * Incoming Ham/Big Damn Heroes: Every time Sayaka comes in, she's always saying something about JUSTICE that would make even Snow facepalm. Her boasts, however, don't seem to work in this type of environment.
 * I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In the end, she accepts that  While she is still a little hurt, Sayaka decides to not hold it against, and Kyosuke later recalls her  in his first recital after recovery.
 * Knight Templar: Starts heading this way after she becomes a Magical Girl.
 * Leitmotif: "Decretum".
 * Love Martyr: Albeit an unrequited love, she is ready to give up her own life and fate for it.
 * Meaningful Rename:
 * Mercy Kill:
 * My God, What Have I Done?: "I made Madoka cry!"'
 * Naive Newcomer
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
 * Ordinary Junior High School Student
 * Pimped-Out Dress: Her Magical Girl outfit comes complete with a Badass Cape, which fits with her desire to be a selfless heroine of justice.
 * Plucky Girl: At first.
 * Poor Communication Kills: Her prejudice against other Magical Girls comes from misunderstanding Homura's intentions in episode 3. At this point, she likely wouldn't believe Madoka even if the latter tried to explain the truth.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: With Kyoko.
 * Say My Name: "Kyoko!"
 * Shipper on Deck: In the manga version, she imagines Homura and Madoka embracing while calling it "the mystery of the universe".
 * Shout-Out:
 * Superheroines Wear Capes: Fitting with her "Magical Girls are righteous Superheroines" mindset.
 * Swiss Army Tears: Inverted, as when she
 * Tareme Eyes: A Double Subversion. At first, her fiery and impulsive personality seem to run contrary to the personality one would expect of someone with Tareme Eyes eyes; however, as the series progresses, it becomes apparent that her most salient attribute is really her naïveté, which fits perfectly with the type.
 * Tearful Smile:
 * Technically a Smile: She can be seen grinning like this while furiously attacking the witch Elsa Maria at the end of episode 7, saying she can no longer feel any pain.
 * Tempting Fate: "There's no way I'd regret this."
 * Throw the Dog a Bone:
 * Tomboy: Especially when she was a first grader.
 * Took a Level In Badass: After making a contract with Kyubey. That was a bad idea though.
 * Unlucky Childhood Friend: She's got a crush on her childhood friend, Kamijo, who . Even worse, . Very unlucky.
 * And that's not even the worst part yet. The worst part?, she can only watch far away from him.
 * And in the end,.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Even before, she had shades of this.
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: Textbook example, complete with.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair
 * Zettai Ryouiki
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: With Kyoko.
 * Say My Name: "Kyoko!"
 * Shipper on Deck: In the manga version, she imagines Homura and Madoka embracing while calling it "the mystery of the universe".
 * Shout-Out:
 * Superheroines Wear Capes: Fitting with her "Magical Girls are righteous Superheroines" mindset.
 * Swiss Army Tears: Inverted, as when she
 * Tareme Eyes: A Double Subversion. At first, her fiery and impulsive personality seem to run contrary to the personality one would expect of someone with Tareme Eyes eyes; however, as the series progresses, it becomes apparent that her most salient attribute is really her naïveté, which fits perfectly with the type.
 * Tearful Smile:
 * Technically a Smile: She can be seen grinning like this while furiously attacking the witch Elsa Maria at the end of episode 7, saying she can no longer feel any pain.
 * Tempting Fate: "There's no way I'd regret this."
 * Throw the Dog a Bone:
 * Tomboy: Especially when she was a first grader.
 * Took a Level In Badass: After making a contract with Kyubey. That was a bad idea though.
 * Unlucky Childhood Friend: She's got a crush on her childhood friend, Kamijo, who . Even worse, . Very unlucky.
 * And that's not even the worst part yet. The worst part?, she can only watch far away from him.
 * And in the end,.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Even before, she had shades of this.
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: Textbook example, complete with.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair
 * Zettai Ryouiki
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: Textbook example, complete with.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair
 * Zettai Ryouiki

Mami Tomoe
"Voiced by: Kaori Mizuhashi (JP), Carrie Keranen (EN)"

A nurturing upperclassman at Madoka's school and a veteran magical girl. She wields an infinite number of magical flintlock rifles along with various ribbon-based binding spells. Her parents died in a car accident, and she lives alone.


 * Action Girl
 * Awesome but Impractical: In Grief Syndrome, her special, Tiro Finale, albeit the most powerful special in the game, has a gigantic blindspot about one third of the screen right in front of her, turning most of her healthbar blue, making her extremely vulnerable.
 * Badass Adorable: She's so badass, she pulls magic rifles out of her Nice Hat!
 * BFG: Tiro/Filo Finale, her finisher. It's a massive matchlock which can vary in size or form.
 * Big Fancy House: Her huge penthouse. Especially for someone who lives alone.
 * In the manga, her apartment is a little cozier but much smaller.
 * And later versions make it even cozier.
 * Big Sister Mentor: To Madoka and Sayaka.
 * Brick Joke: Her teacup.
 * Broken Bird: Does what she can to smile, but is pretty screwed up inside.
 * Bullet Hell: HOO BOY!!!
 * Calling Your Attack: "Tiro Finale!" (Italian: "Final Shot!")
 * The third drama CD has Mami
 * Cool Big Sis: She is the mature center that the other girls orbit around.
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Eyes of Gold
 * Expy: Plotwise, of.
 * Also, her design and personality seem to borrow from many other classical, traditional magical girl shows.
 * This is pretty much the beginning of this anime's true story.
 * Feminine Women Can Cook: The third drama CD reveals that she's a Supreme Chef.
 * Field of Muskets: Unlimited Musket works, indeed.
 * Finishing Move: Tiro/Filo Finale, a massive matchlock.
 * Friendly Sniper: Sorta. She's fairly pleasant toward Madoka and Sayaka, but admits that she has no real friends.
 * Gratuitous Italian: Tiro Finale!
 * The Gunslinger
 * Guns Akimbo
 * Gun Kata: The musket variant.
 * Small Girl HUGE Guns
 * Hair of Gold
 * Heroic BSOD:
 * Hey, It's That Voice! - ALL HAIL THE GREAT OVERLORD LAHAR-- MAMI!
 * Actor Allusion: Mami also wants you to HEY!! LISTEN!! whenever she's talking to you. Fridge Brilliance applies when you know she's the most annoying voice in videogame history, is the person that's helping the girls and act like a Big Sister Mentor, Yeah, SHAFT.
 * Hyperspace Arsenal: Quite literally in her case, as she can pull those muskets from her skirts and her Nice Hat. When she finishes off an enemy, she can also pull out a cup of tea from nowhere.
 * Lady of War: Complete with sipping tea after destroying the Witch in episode 2.
 * "I won't be made a fool of, especially not in front of my juniors!"
 * Last-Name Basis: Typically calls the other girls by their last name and the "-san" honorific.
 * Leeroy Jenkins:
 * Leitmotif: "Credens justitiam".
 * Macross Missile Massacre: Her choice of attack when she first shows up involves summoning and shooting hundreds upon hundreds of gigantic matchlocks.
 * Magical Girl: The closest thing this show has to a traditional one.
 * Magic Dance
 * Magic Skirt: Her magic is so awesome, it even holds her skirt up while she is dangling upside down.
 * Princess Curls + Girlish Pigtails = Mega Twintails
 * Mercy Kill:
 * My Greatest Failure:
 * Name's the Same: She shares her surname with another Darkhorse magical girl.
 * Nice Hat: Which also acts as Hyperspace Arsenal in the other world.
 * : Initially in Episode 3, and then It Got Worse.
 * An Offer You Can't Refuse: She could either take up Kyubey's offer to become a Magical Girl or
 * Oh Crap:
 * OOC Is Serious Business:
 * The Paragon: A paragon of Magical Girl-hood...
 * Sempai-Kohai: Sees herself as Sayaka and Madoka's senpai as a magical girl, and is a year ahead of them at school. They call her "Mami-san" rather than "senpai," though.
 * She even calls herself   senpai in the third drama CD.
 * Social Services Does Not Exist: Her parents are gone leaving her completely alone in their penthouse..
 * Spell My Name with an "S": The actual name of her finisher is unclear; we only know that its name in the anime is apparently different from the manga's and that the former is Italian while the latter is English. The popular interpretations are "Tiro Finale" for the anime and "Filo Finale" for the manga.
 * Spot of Tea: Immediately after killing a Witch, no less.
 * Stepford Smiler: And how.
 * The Stoic: Of the "say something horrific without any emotions" variety.
 * Not So Stoic:
 * Supreme Chef: According to  in the third Drama CD.
 * Theme Music Power-Up: This pretty much plays anytime she's transforming into her magical girl outfit, or when she's pulling a Big Damn Heroes moment.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Post-Heroic BSOD,
 * Word of God: Although the translation is unclear, her wish was something like "to connect to life" - Hence her ability to create ribbons.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko: She's feminine, polite, good at cooking, acts like a mother figure towards the other girls, and has a graceful fighting style. In one scene, she calmly sips tea immediately after a battle. Of course, she also has lots of issues under said pleasant facade.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: When she suits up.
 * Sempai-Kohai: Sees herself as Sayaka and Madoka's senpai as a magical girl, and is a year ahead of them at school. They call her "Mami-san" rather than "senpai," though.
 * She even calls herself   senpai in the third drama CD.
 * Social Services Does Not Exist: Her parents are gone leaving her completely alone in their penthouse..
 * Spell My Name with an "S": The actual name of her finisher is unclear; we only know that its name in the anime is apparently different from the manga's and that the former is Italian while the latter is English. The popular interpretations are "Tiro Finale" for the anime and "Filo Finale" for the manga.
 * Spot of Tea: Immediately after killing a Witch, no less.
 * Stepford Smiler: And how.
 * The Stoic: Of the "say something horrific without any emotions" variety.
 * Not So Stoic:
 * Supreme Chef: According to  in the third Drama CD.
 * Theme Music Power-Up: This pretty much plays anytime she's transforming into her magical girl outfit, or when she's pulling a Big Damn Heroes moment.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Post-Heroic BSOD,
 * Word of God: Although the translation is unclear, her wish was something like "to connect to life" - Hence her ability to create ribbons.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko: She's feminine, polite, good at cooking, acts like a mother figure towards the other girls, and has a graceful fighting style. In one scene, she calmly sips tea immediately after a battle. Of course, she also has lots of issues under said pleasant facade.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: When she suits up.
 * Word of God: Although the translation is unclear, her wish was something like "to connect to life" - Hence her ability to create ribbons.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko: She's feminine, polite, good at cooking, acts like a mother figure towards the other girls, and has a graceful fighting style. In one scene, she calmly sips tea immediately after a battle. Of course, she also has lots of issues under said pleasant facade.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: When she suits up.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko: She's feminine, polite, good at cooking, acts like a mother figure towards the other girls, and has a graceful fighting style. In one scene, she calmly sips tea immediately after a battle. Of course, she also has lots of issues under said pleasant facade.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: When she suits up.

Kyoko Sakura
"Voiced by: Ai Nonaka (JP), Lauren Landa (EN)"

A veteran and morally ambiguous magical girl. Her view of a magical girl's duties are ruthlessly utilitarian; for example, on her first encounter with Sayaka, she suggests allowing a familiar to feed on humans and mature into a witch so as to ultimately gain a Grief Seed from slaying it. She wields a halberd whose shaft can split into chained-together segments, giving her weapon dangerous flexibility and reach.

"(to Sayaka after injuring her in their first fight) "What the fuck was that about? You'd better get your shit together, fuckhead.""
 * Adorkable: In the Drama CD with her and Mami.
 * Amoral Redhead
 * Anti-Hero: Arguably Type V at the start (letting familiars kill people so they can become Witches with grief seeds) and moving up to Type II.
 * Berserk Button: Do NOT waste food in Kyoko's presence if you value your life.
 * Big Damn Heroine: Gen Urobuchi loves to play with this trope. In Kyoko's case,
 * Big Eater: Not Played for Laughs, as there is a Freudian Excuse for it.
 * Blade on a Stick: Uses a spear.
 * Blood Knight
 * Broken Bird
 * Calling Your Attacks: She never does this in the anime, but the third drama CD reveals that
 * Catch Phrase: "You want some?"
 * Chekhov's Gunman: Appears in the title and credits sequences before actually appearing in the series. It's also implied that she's  This is all but confirmed in the third drama CD.
 * Cluster F-Bomb / Obligatory Swearing: In one translation of the manga, on a few occasions.
 * Chekhov's Gunman: Appears in the title and credits sequences before actually appearing in the series. It's also implied that she's  This is all but confirmed in the third drama CD.
 * Cluster F-Bomb / Obligatory Swearing: In one translation of the manga, on a few occasions.


 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Cute Little Fangs
 * Dark and Troubled Past:
 * Dark Action Girl:
 * Dead Little Sister:
 * Despair Event Horizon:
 * Detached Sleeves: In her magical girl form.
 * : The third drama CD reveals that
 * Elegant Gothic Lolita: Her fighting outfit looks a little like this.
 * Fallen Heroine: She was literally a Church Militant, sort of. And she acknowledged how stupid heroism is.
 * Fiery Redhead
 * Freudian Excuse: Her love of food comes from . Her selfish and Jerkass nature comes from.
 * Heel Face Turn: Cements this with a near-Precision Bitch Strike as soon as She then dedicates herself to
 * (Anti) Heroes Gone Fishing: Homura once meets up with Kyouko while she's playing a dancing game in an arcade.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: She's dealt with crazy-ass random patchwork images before.
 * In English, perhaps she has smaller boobs than Mami now, but give it some years and she'll outboob everyone else as Boobie Lady.
 * Hot-Blooded
 * How Do You Like Them Apples?/Brick Joke: During her explanation of her backstory, she has a bag of apples. The symbolism is probably intentional.
 * It's All About Me: This is what she claims to be her philosophy; that a magical girl should only use her powers to benefit herself. However,
 * Japanese Christian: Her father was a priest. She seemed to have been observant when she was younger but now... not so much.
 * On one hand, Mr. Sakura was most likely a Protestant minister; Catholic priests aren't supposed to get married but ministers generally can. On the other hand, this might be a case of a gender-flipped Nuns Are Mikos.
 * Maybe Mr. Sakura was a catholic priest and one of his doctrinal changes was to allow priests to get married
 * Could be an Orthodox priest; they are allowed to get married. There are also some Protestant denominations that call their ministers priests and even have them wear the white collar.
 * It's eventually implied that
 * Japanese Honorifics: Doesn't use any.
 * Japanese Pronouns: Uses "Atashi" for herself.
 * Jerkass: Justified by her backstory. Which still doesn't justify her horrible treatment of
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Her latter interactions with Sayaka show that, Jerkass as she is, Kyoko is still not completely heartless.
 * Kleptomaniac Hero: Implied that she stole most, if not all, of the food she was eating.
 * Lady in Red: Kyouko's Magical Girl outfit.
 * Leitmotif: "Anima Mala".
 * Mercy Kill:
 * Neck Lift: Performs one on Sayaka when she throws her apple to the ground without eating it
 * Noble Demon: Acts like a Card-Carrying Villain at first, but it turns out she hasn't completely abandoned her ideals.
 * Oral Fixation Fixation: Always has something in her mouth.
 * Pimped-Out Dress: Her Magical Girl outfit is bloodred to symbolize her aggressive nature
 * Playing Against Type: Ai Nonaka is normally cast to play cutesy characters and nice girls... but here, she plays a character who is very rough around the edges.
 * Preacher's Kid: Was apparently an angelic Knight Templar before things went bad. When we meet her, she's well over on the cynical side.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: With Sayaka.
 * Say My Name: "SAYAKAAAA!!!"
 * She's Got Legs
 * Sir Swearsalot: By Japanese-standards, her vocabulary is quite filthy, and at best is inappropriately masculine.
 * Sweet Polly Oliver: In a gag image Kyouko decides to disguise herself as a boy in order to become closer with Sayaka.
 * Sweet Tooth: She's constantly munching on kind of sweet, even during battle.
 * Tomboyish Ponytail
 * Tomboy
 * Took a Level In Kindness: After starting as a big bitch, Sayaka's and Madoka's suffering soften her up little by little. This culminates in episode 9 with her.
 * Tsundere: Has these tendencies towards Sayaka.
 * Tsunshun
 * Tsurime Eyes
 * Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid
 * Variable-Length Chain: Her spear can segment into parts separated by chains. Her spear's shaft length also changes between scenes.
 * What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic: The resident Japanese Christian
 * And there is more where that came from.
 * Whip Spear: Her spear is capable of splitting into chains, but it also appears to be able to curve in a whip-like fashion.
 * Who Wears Short Shorts?
 * Zettai Ryouiki
 * Sir Swearsalot: By Japanese-standards, her vocabulary is quite filthy, and at best is inappropriately masculine.
 * Sweet Polly Oliver: In a gag image Kyouko decides to disguise herself as a boy in order to become closer with Sayaka.
 * Sweet Tooth: She's constantly munching on kind of sweet, even during battle.
 * Tomboyish Ponytail
 * Tomboy
 * Took a Level In Kindness: After starting as a big bitch, Sayaka's and Madoka's suffering soften her up little by little. This culminates in episode 9 with her.
 * Tsundere: Has these tendencies towards Sayaka.
 * Tsunshun
 * Tsurime Eyes
 * Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid
 * Variable-Length Chain: Her spear can segment into parts separated by chains. Her spear's shaft length also changes between scenes.
 * What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic: The resident Japanese Christian
 * And there is more where that came from.
 * Whip Spear: Her spear is capable of splitting into chains, but it also appears to be able to curve in a whip-like fashion.
 * Who Wears Short Shorts?
 * Zettai Ryouiki
 * Who Wears Short Shorts?
 * Zettai Ryouiki
 * Zettai Ryouiki

Kyubey
"Voiced by: Emiri Katou (JP), Cassandra Lee (EN)"

A small, cute creature that communicates through telepathy. His duty is to form contracts with girls where they will become magical girls and fight witches in exchange for any one wish. He is intent on contracting Madoka due to her immense potential.

""You people are all the same. Every time I tell someone, it's the same response. I don't get it."
 * Blue and Orange Morality: It literally can not comprehend why In episode 7, Homura states that "human values don't mean anything to it". And then in episode 9
 * To put more emphasis on this,.
 * Catch Phrase: "Make a contract with me!"
 * Cats Are Mean: His form is highly ambiguous, but his body and the way he moves seem to invoke a cat-like imagery (possibly a ferret instead - see Weasel Mascot below), and the things he says and does... he may not think he's being cruel, but pretty much everyone else disagrees.
 * Cat Smile: It's creepy as hell -- mainly due to its face apparently being stuck semi-permanently in this expression. Whether this is its intention is a matter of much debate.
 * Cross-Dressing Voices: Kyubey is considered to be male, but voiced by a woman since he has a high cheery voice. Granted, he's so inhuman he isn't really obviously either gender.
 * In Drama CD 2, he claims to not see himself a male by human standards.
 * In audio commentary to episode 4, Gen Urobuchi said that Kyubey is in fact genderless.
 * Dissonant Serenity: He always wears that creepy smile (although in all likelihood that's just his face being cat-like) in the anime. He almost always talks cheerfully in both versions (probably his face is more expressive in the manga to show this), regardless of context, only demonstrating any degree of distress a few times.
 * Even better - being almost always cheerful is his functional equivalent of Creepy Monotone, almost certainly adopted to make him less suspicious. He recognizes that his voice should show distress in situations of obvious danger, like when he's running from Homura, and, as later revealed, can also sound surprised (although it's very rare for something to be truly unexpected for him), but more nuanced emotions apparently are too alien to him to mimic them convincingly.
 * Emoticon: (◕‿‿◕﻿)
 * Combined with Catch Phrase and Memetic Mutation ALL OVER THE INTERNET.
 * From a Certain Point of View: More or less everything that comes out of his mouth. While never technically lying, Kyubey makes it a point . When pressed, he responds with either confusion or incredulity; after all,.
 * He eventually
 * Frozen Face: Kyubey's face does. Not. Move.
 * Averted in Episode 2 when Kyubey takes a bite of an omelette. It also closes its eyes at times, probably when it's supposed to be a smile.
 * Also averted in the manga, where it has quite a bit more facial expression. And doesn't even try to hide his intentions.
 * You mean LIKE THIS?
 * The DVD version sometimes even re-animates scenes with Kyubey, going great lengths to make his face even LESS expressive.
 * It stays the same even
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom
 * Confirmed by Word of God. See the main page.
 * Invisible to Normals
 * Ironic Echo: When trying to persuade Madoka to become a Magical Girl, he often states He even repeats this moments before.
 * Japanese Pronouns: Kyuubey speaks in a rather tortured syntax, using only diminutive pronouns and entirely stripping out honorifics when talking to people. Its not so much disrespectful as it is just stilted, and gives the impression that he views people about the same way as he would furniture.
 * Additionally, that action wasn't entirely necessary or relevant to his plans.
 * From another point of view, it was entirely relevant to his plans. His entire goal is to
 * Lack of Empathy
 * You mean LIKE THIS?
 * The DVD version sometimes even re-animates scenes with Kyubey, going great lengths to make his face even LESS expressive.
 * It stays the same even
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom
 * Confirmed by Word of God. See the main page.
 * Invisible to Normals
 * Ironic Echo: When trying to persuade Madoka to become a Magical Girl, he often states He even repeats this moments before.
 * Japanese Pronouns: Kyuubey speaks in a rather tortured syntax, using only diminutive pronouns and entirely stripping out honorifics when talking to people. Its not so much disrespectful as it is just stilted, and gives the impression that he views people about the same way as he would furniture.
 * Additionally, that action wasn't entirely necessary or relevant to his plans.
 * From another point of view, it was entirely relevant to his plans. His entire goal is to
 * Lack of Empathy
 * Additionally, that action wasn't entirely necessary or relevant to his plans.
 * From another point of view, it was entirely relevant to his plans. His entire goal is to
 * Lack of Empathy
 * Lack of Empathy


 * Leitmotif: "Sis puella magica!" is generally considered one for him or the series as a whole.
 * Make a Wish: Kyubey does not seem to have anything to do with how the wishes he grants carry out. He does not look for the worse interpretation. His explanation for bad things happening to wishers is that the power of the Wish creates equal parts despair and hope. (Like a magical version of two particles coming into being in vacuum fluctuation; both negative and positive) thus equaling zero. He cannot stop someone from making a wish that he wouldn't want them to make, and he can't force anyone to make a wish either.
 * Rather than exploit Jerkass Genie, he simply gives them exactly what they asked for because
 * Manipulative Bastard: Seriously. He may have trouble understanding human values and emotions, but he's very good at asking the girls to make a contract with him at the exact moment when they'd have the most difficulty refusing. And he will abusively call you, even if you do refuse his offer.
 * Meaningful Name/
 * Mentor Mascot: At first he looks like your standard Magical Girl cute critter mentor,
 * Mysterious Backer: Just look at him and say that you trust him. Go on.
 * No Biological Sex: Most fans default to referring to Kyubey as "he", but the character actually doesn't have any physical sex.
 * In the Japanese dub he refers to himself with "boku" so its safe to say that if he isn't male he is at least pretending to be for the sake of brevity.
 * Oh Crap:
 * Omniscient Morality License:
 * Omniglot: Besides Japanese, Kyubey also speaks fluent French, Egyptian, Hebrew, Norwegian, Swahili and you-name-it-he-speaks it.  If ever he's forced to change careers, Kyubey would make quite a lucrative career as a Professor of Linguistics.
 * Perpetual Smiler: And it's VERY creepy.
 * : A sublime example of just how far someone can be willing to go, simply to meet a quota for their job.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: Eeep...
 * Regular Caller: The call is on reversed charges, though. With international call prices.
 * Ridiculously Cute Critter: His cutesy appearance and placid temperament
 * Somebody Else's Problem: And how. Something that doesn't involve magical girls hunting Grief Seeds? Then Kyubey doesn't have an opinion on it.
 * Good luck fighting it,
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Kyuubey, Kyuubee, Kyubei, and QB are also floating around out there.
 * "Cubey" was also a short-lived proposal since producers said that the "kyu" is as in "cute".
 * "Kyubey" seems to be the most official, though, since it has been used in official promo materials and moreover, most fansubbers and scanlators actually doing the show are spelling it like this.
 * Its name is also spelled quite bizarrely in original Japanese. It's half in katakana, half in hiragana, with an additional bonus for an unconventional use of small-sized katakana.
 * And it turns out that "Kyubey" is short for "".
 * The runes in episode 11 spell it as "Qbey".
 * Which turns out to be completely accurate due to his strange intentions.
 * The Stoic: Of the "say something horrific without any emotions" variety. For example, his serene speeches in Episode 12. He calmly explains what's going on to Homura and seems to be more concerned about
 * Super Empowering: This is its job. It's quite pushy about that.
 * Enigmatic Empowering Entity: And it doesn't give you a run-down of your powers, either.
 * Troll: Mainly due to the fact that he  and then acting all innocent about it.
 * Weasel Mascot: And we do mean weasel, in the figurative sense.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: since the stated goal is to stop the entropy of the universe. How? Create magical girls  to unleash energy, of course!
 * Oh, and once he gets his quota,
 * The irony is that Magical Girl Warrior villains most often plot to consume magical energy/lifeforce with the end goal of destroying the world, often for no rational reason. Of course, this is not a typical Magical Girl show.
 * Will Not Tell a Lie: Kyubey never lies about anything and will happily cough up the truth if asked directly. It even seems offended at the mere idea that someone would accuse it of lying. It's not above speaking in half-truths either: when Kyoko asks, Kyubey states that there's no precedent for it. It's an answer that is technically correct
 * Happens again in episodes 9 and 10.
 * Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Gives a Nice Job Breaking It, Hero Wham! Line on one occasion:
 * Troll: Mainly due to the fact that he  and then acting all innocent about it.
 * Weasel Mascot: And we do mean weasel, in the figurative sense.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: since the stated goal is to stop the entropy of the universe. How? Create magical girls  to unleash energy, of course!
 * Oh, and once he gets his quota,
 * The irony is that Magical Girl Warrior villains most often plot to consume magical energy/lifeforce with the end goal of destroying the world, often for no rational reason. Of course, this is not a typical Magical Girl show.
 * Will Not Tell a Lie: Kyubey never lies about anything and will happily cough up the truth if asked directly. It even seems offended at the mere idea that someone would accuse it of lying. It's not above speaking in half-truths either: when Kyoko asks, Kyubey states that there's no precedent for it. It's an answer that is technically correct
 * Happens again in episodes 9 and 10.
 * Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Gives a Nice Job Breaking It, Hero Wham! Line on one occasion:
 * Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Gives a Nice Job Breaking It, Hero Wham! Line on one occasion:

Junko Kaname
"Voiced by: Yuko Goto (JP), Carrie Savage (EN)"

Madoka's mother and the main breadwinner in the family, who works as an executive for a famous company.


 * Alcoholic Parent - Bottle Fairy
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Drowning My Sorrows: She does this with Kazuko.
 * First-Name Basis: Refers to Madoka's teacher by her first name, and implies that she's known her for a while.
 * Good Mother: She advises Madoka when she's worried about, notices if her daughter is unhappy, and is generally cool. Plus there's her conversation with Madoka in the final episode, in which she sternly tells her daughter to look out for herself and not be selfish, but listens to Madoka's arguments
 * And don't forget how she's seen at the border of an Heroic BSOD when  Junko blames herself heavily for that, and Kazuko has to talk her out of it.
 * Hot Mom
 * Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Masculine Girl to Tomohisa's Feminine Boy.
 * Not a Morning Person: It takes her children a fair amount of effort to wake her up.
 * Office Lady
 * She's Got Legs: She is sometimes seen wearing a mini skirt.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: She and Kazuko are the grown-up version.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: She and Kazuko are the grown-up version.

Tomohisa Kaname
"Voiced by: Tetsuya Iwanaga (JP), Kyle Hebert (EN)"

Madoka's dad, as well as the one taking care of the house and the kids.


 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Good Father: Like his wife.
 * Hot Dad
 * House Husband
 * Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Feminine Boy to Junko's Masculine Girl.
 * Nice Guy
 * Satellite Character: In relation to the rest of his family. He does get one heart-to-heart talk with his daughter, concerning Junko.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko
 * Yamato Nadeshiko

Tatsuya Kaname
"Voiced by: Kaori Mizuhashi (JP)"

Madoka's three year-old younger brother.


 * Blush Sticker
 * Cheerful Child
 * Children Are Innocent:
 * Curtains Match the Window

Hitomi Shizuki
"Voiced by: Ryoko Shintani (JP), Shelby Lindley (EN)"

Madoka and Sayaka's classmate and friend. Often walks to school with them, and while she cares for her friends she sometimes feels left out of their deals.


 * Brutal Honesty: In regards to
 * Class Representative
 * Cram School: Goes to after-school classes for piano and Japanese arts. She laments that it leaves her less time to study or be with her friends.
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Distress Ball: In episode 4 she catches one, and
 * Green Eyes
 * It's All My Fault: According to Kazuko, Hitomi blames herself for . However, From a Certain Point of View,.
 * Japanese Honorifics: Somewhat more formal than Sayaka and Madoka, both of whom she addresses with "first name-san".
 * Keigo: Not normally, but in episode 4 she lapses into a weird bout of extremely formal speech, even calling Madoka "Kaname-san."
 * Locked Out of the Loop: In episode 9, she asks Madoka what is going on with her and Sayaka, concerned about Sayaka and wanting to reconcile with her. Madoka refuses to tell her.
 * Nice Girl: Most of the time. This goes out the window in the bonus route of the PSP game.
 * Not What It Looks Like: She thinks that Madoka and Sayaka have "progressed" after a certain something happened in the mall, and seems to be hilariously excited about it.
 * The Ojou: A Type 1 (Spoiled Sweet and Yamato Nadeshiko type). She's skilled in piano playing, Japanese dance and tea ceremony, aside from being very ladylike and softspoken and coming from a rich family.
 * Plucky Girl: Explicitely referred to as such by Ryoko Shintani. Aoi Yuki and Chiwa Saitou agree.
 * Princess Curls: More like Princess Wavy Hair.
 * Take a Third Option: Attempted when . Needless to say,.
 * Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
 * Wham! Line:
 * You Gotta Have Green Hair
 * You Have 48 Hours: More exactly:  It does not end well.
 * You Gotta Have Green Hair
 * You Have 48 Hours: More exactly:  It does not end well.

Kyosuke Kamijo
"Voiced by: Seiko Yoshida (JP), Marianne Miller (EN)"

Sayaka's friend and her crush. A wrist injury he received in an accident left him unable to play his beloved violin, and he drudges through a barely-hidden depression as he rehabilitates at the hospital.


 * Alliterative Name
 * Berserk Button: Hearing "music (he) can't play" is a sore spot for him, to the point at which he accuses Sayaka of wanting to torture him.
 * Bishounen: Kyosuke is a fairly young example, in particular in the anime, where his voice is actually more fitting for a younger boy.
 * Break the Cutie: One of the first signs in the series. How much more redundant can you get with a violinist whose hand is broken?
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Disabled Love Interest
 * Disabled Means Helpless: This is pretty much what drove his mental state pre-healing.
 * Values Dissonance: The "you're helpless and a load on others if you're physically or mentally disabled" mentality is much stronger in Japan than in America. See Angelic Layer and how  for another example. And not to mention, well, he's a violinist with an injured wrist...
 * Episode 4 shows him in rehab. His hand wasn't the only part of his body injured, judging by how he has difficulty walking as well.
 * Good Scars, Evil Scars: We get to see his injured hand in the manga. It's not pretty.
 * Gray Eyes
 * Ill Boy
 * Mean Character, Nice Actor: Yes, this applies to him as well (though he's more oblivious and flawed than evil or deliberately cruel). Seiko Yoshida has commented that "The dialogue by Sayaka: "I cannot ask him to embrace this body... I cannot ask him to kiss this body..." I heard it directly spoken to me in the studio, and it just came to me with this feeling of the pain and sadness coming from someone who has fallen in love with a person who she is certain will and I remember crying because of that. I was really hoping that Kyosuke and Sayaka could have  and my heart was left with a sad memory."
 * Oblivious to Love: Sayaka didn't have time to get his side of the story, but the fact that he didn't bother to tell her says a lot.
 * Confirmed by the staff. He did care for Sayaka, but considered their relationship as Platonic Life Partners as much. The whole was less Jerkass behavior and more genuine obliviousness.
 * Pet the Dog: Though he's not a villain, Kamijo can be quite unknowingly cruel. The scene from the PSP game where he shows Sayaka how to hold a violin after his accident shows just how someone like him could have, though.
 * Kick the Dog: In Sayaka's own route, however, he sees
 * Stepford Smiler: He pretended to be more or less fine at first, but in episode 3 we start to see how badly damaged he is in the mental sense.
 * There Are No Therapists: Double subverted--looking at the poor guy's mental state, it doesn't seem that the therapists are at all effective.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy
 * There Are No Therapists: Double subverted--looking at the poor guy's mental state, it doesn't seem that the therapists are at all effective.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy

Kazuko Saotome
"Voiced by: Junko Iwao (JP), Karen Strassman (EN)"

Madoka's homeroom teacher. She has trouble with men and is a perennial drinking buddy of Junko.


 * Christmas Cake: Much to her own dismay, and her bemoaning this often comes up during her lessons. The fact that her long time friend Junko already has a daughter (Madoka) old enough to be her student isn't helping either.
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Drowning My Sorrows: With Madoka's mother Junko, after
 * First-Name Basis: With Junko.
 * Meganekko
 * Older Than They Look: If she and Junko are not that apart in age, this means Kazuko is at very least in her late twenties / early thirties. Yet she looks like a college-student, while Junko still looks young but a little more grown up.
 * Running Gag: Kazuko's failed relationships, and her warnings to the class about becoming like the people involved.
 * Sensei-chan
 * Two-Teacher School

's family
""He was too honest. Too kind. Every morning reading the paper, the worries of the world brought him to tears(...)""
 * Japanese Christian
 * Kikuko Inoue: 's mother in the drama CD.
 * No Name Given: But the third drama CD reveals that
 * Pure Is Not Good <- -> Too Good for This Sinful Earth: describes her father in these terms  Confirmed in the third Drama CD, where he's portrayed as basically a Nice Guy
 * No Name Given: But the third drama CD reveals that
 * Pure Is Not Good <- -> Too Good for This Sinful Earth: describes her father in these terms  Confirmed in the third Drama CD, where he's portrayed as basically a Nice Guy
 * Pure Is Not Good <- -> Too Good for This Sinful Earth: describes her father in these terms  Confirmed in the third Drama CD, where he's portrayed as basically a Nice Guy


 * Theme Naming: The third drama CD reveals that
 * Third Person Person: in the third drama CD.

Witches
Mysterious magical beings who feed on the despair of humans. They employ minions known as familiars, who, if left unchecked, can grow into duplicates of the original witch. It is a magical girl's duty to slay witches and collect the Grief Seeds they drop. All witches reside in private pocket dimensions known as barriers which reflect their broken psyches. The only known exception to this rule is the colossal Walpurgisnacht, who is powerful enough to simply impose barrier-like properties onto reality instead of retreating into an alternate space.


 * All There in the Manual: There is a lot of information about each witch that is only found on the official website. It also provides information for witches that haven't been seen in the show. The You Are Not Alone guidebook also alludes to or outright states several of the witches'.
 * Always Chaotic Evil
 * Art Shift: as per their lovecraftian vibes, both the witches and their barriers are usually animated in a style that is completely different from the main style of the anime, to every witch her own style.
 * As Long as There Is Evil: All There in the Manual example with
 * Assimilation Plot: Elsa Maria views absorbing people as "saving" them.
 * Asteroids Monster: The familiars are effectively part of the witch. If a familiar is separated from a witch, it can grow its own Grief Seed by causing suffering to other humans and become a copy of the original witch.
 * Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever:
 * Walpurgisnacht is
 * Charlotte's true form may be partially based on caterpillars (specifically The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar), with a Monster Clown motive added to boot.
 * Oktavia van Seckendorff, is a gigantic mermaid knight.
 * Bottle Fairy: Roberta likes alcohol.
 * Butterfly of Death and Rebirth: Gertrud and her familiars have butterfly wings. The "death and rebirth" part makes sense when you consider that
 * Church Militant: Elsa Maria from Episode 7 acts like one, praying to an object that looks a lot like Catholic monstrance.
 * Clipped-Wing Angel:
 * Cloning Blues: Familiars can become a copy of the original witch.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Anja
 * Combat Tentacles: Gertrud
 * The Corruption: Inverted. Magical girls purify their Soul Gems by placing the darkness that grows inside of it into Grief Seeds. However, doing it too many times can allow the witch to regenerate.
 * Creepy Doll: The Klarissas, 's familiars in episode 10. They're just there to cheerfully dance around the witch that commands them, with creepy smiles on their faces and possessing limbs that look like they can be snapped with a single touch...
 * Also, Charlotte's original form.
 * Not to mention Daniyyel and Jennifer, Kirsten's familiars.
 * Kirsten herself looks something like one, as we see when Sayaka sends her flying out of a computer monitor.
 * Albertine, as revealed in the official PSP game, somewhat resembles a giant female clown doll.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: Generally on the receiving end, but a few, such as give them.
 * Cypher Language: The odd runes appear to be messages from the witch or the familiars. Often they seem like a Madness Mantra..
 * Dark Is Not Evil/Light Is Not Good: Elsa Maria invokes both tropes to varying degrees; she is apparently a practicing Catholic and constantly prays for the salvation of everyone around her. She's also a Living Shadow and accomplishes said salvation by consuming and assimilating anyone who gets too close.
 * Dark Messiah:
 * Elsa Maria seems to view herself as such, as she constantly prays for the world while sending out her shadows and familiars to kill whoever gets in her barrier.
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Kirsten.
 * Eldritch Abomination: All the witches. All of them.
 * Emotion Eater: Witches feed off human suffering.
 * Expy: In the manga adaptation, Walpurgisnacht  Combined with her general demeanor and the fact that All There in the Manual calls her the witch of stage construction, she may very well be a reference to Type-Moon's similarly named Night of Wallachia.
 * And how!
 * The Fair Folk: Some of them are described as acting in this fashion.
 * Girlish Pigtails: Kirsten.
 * Green Thumb: Gertrud's theme.
 * The Heartless: Said to be born of curses.
 * Hikikomori: Kirsten
 * The Hyena: Walpurgisnacht. She doesn't even stop laughing
 * Immune to Bullets: Averted. As Homura demonstrates, military-grade firearms are enough to destroy them.
 * Improvised Weapon: Walpurgisnacht uses pretty much every object, even entire skyscrapers, in battle.
 * Invisible to Normals: Witches and their familiars apparently cannot be seen by people who haven't been "chosen" by Kyubey to become Magical Girls.
 * Ironic Hell: A witch's personality, powers, and barrier often combine to form a sick subversion of her For example, Charlotte loves sweets and can create any sweet she likes save for her favorite (cheese), and lives in a cross between a candy shop and a hospital..
 * Killer Rabbit: Charlotte
 * Level Ate: Charlotte, being the witch of desserts, has a barrier mostly made of sweets.
 * Living Shadow: Elsa Maria and her familiar, Sebastian.
 * Lonely Doll Girl: Kirsten is a Hikikomori witch with two doll familiars.
 * Lotus Eater Machine:
 * Magic Skirt/Trouser Space: Patricia
 * Meaningful Name: Several of the witches have names that relate to themselves. Charlotte is a type of dessert. Elsa Maria brings to mind a biblical prayer. Kirsten resembles a computer monitor, and so she has an "online handle": H.N. Elly. And Walpurgisnacht is the name of a real-world European festival during which legends state that witches gather together.
 * The biggest one though? In written Japanese,
 * Mental World: A Witch's Labyrinth very much reflects the persona and psyche of the witch who makes it her home.
 * Mook: Their familiars.
 * Mind Control: Shown by the "witch's kiss", a mark that appears on a human who is being controlled by a witch.
 * Brainwashed and Crazy: The effects of the kiss.
 * Psychic-Assisted Suicide: The intended result, from the two times that the effects of a kiss have been seen.
 * Mind Screw: all of the witches and their barriers and minions take this to an absurd level.
 * Monster of the Week: A much Darker and Edgier version.
 * Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Patricia, though the extra arms are for creepyness rather than combat.
 * Non Standard Character Design: While every Witch and everything associated with them is drawn in a different art style from the rest of the show, Charlotte does double duty by having the Witch herself drawn in Thick Line Animation, while everything else in her barrier is constructed out of paper cutouts.
 * One-Winged Angel: Charlotte does this.
 * Only Known by Their Nickname: Amazingly enough, even the website doesn't reveal  name, just listing it, and her familiars, as ?????.
 * Playing with Fire: Walpurgis Night breathes fire. Excluding her power, it suddenly makes a lot more sense for to have no effect on her.
 * Pocket Dimension: Witches can create these; they're bizarre areas, to say the least, and it keeps the more elaborate fights out of view of normal people.
 * Porn Stache: The Anthony and Adelbert familiars have these. In the case of the Anthonies, Gertrud puts these 'staches on them.
 * Sirens Are Mermaids: Oktavia von Seckendorff is the mermaid witch and her familiar, Holger performs music which steals the souls of the audience.
 * Sliding Scale of Villain Effectiveness: As mentioned under Clipped-Wing Angel, witches can appear anywhere on the scale.
 * Songs of Solace:
 * Soul Jar: The witch's Grief Seed, left behind after their death. A Grief Seed is capable of regenerating the witch,
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Walpurgisnacht or Walpurgis Night; both are equally valid in referring to the stage-constructing witch. The Hulu subs go with Walpurgisnacht, as does the English dub.
 * As an aside, one of the songs relating to this witch is named "Nux Walpurgis", which of course is simply Latin for the same.
 * Stellar Name: All the witches and familiars appear to be named after celestial objects found in the solar system. Take a look.
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Charlotte loves cheese, but is sadly unable to create it.
 * The Un-Reveal:
 * The Von Trope Family: Oktavia von Seckendorff.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Elsa Maria, who absorbs people in order to "save" them, and.
 * Witch Species:
 * Sirens Are Mermaids: Oktavia von Seckendorff is the mermaid witch and her familiar, Holger performs music which steals the souls of the audience.
 * Sliding Scale of Villain Effectiveness: As mentioned under Clipped-Wing Angel, witches can appear anywhere on the scale.
 * Songs of Solace:
 * Soul Jar: The witch's Grief Seed, left behind after their death. A Grief Seed is capable of regenerating the witch,
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Walpurgisnacht or Walpurgis Night; both are equally valid in referring to the stage-constructing witch. The Hulu subs go with Walpurgisnacht, as does the English dub.
 * As an aside, one of the songs relating to this witch is named "Nux Walpurgis", which of course is simply Latin for the same.
 * Stellar Name: All the witches and familiars appear to be named after celestial objects found in the solar system. Take a look.
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Charlotte loves cheese, but is sadly unable to create it.
 * The Un-Reveal:
 * The Von Trope Family: Oktavia von Seckendorff.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Elsa Maria, who absorbs people in order to "save" them, and.
 * Witch Species:
 * The Von Trope Family: Oktavia von Seckendorff.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Elsa Maria, who absorbs people in order to "save" them, and.
 * Witch Species:
 * Witch Species: