Puella Magi Madoka Magica/Nightmare Fuel



Considering the pedigrees behind Puella Magi Madoka Magica, some creep factors are to be expected. However, the sheer level of Nightmare Fuel to be found in the series's life has been rather terrifying. Do NOT be fooled by Ume Aoki's Tastes Like Diabetes character design, this show is basically "Neon Genesis Evangelion with Magical Girls; a Tear Jerker with tears made of pure Nightmare Fuel. Yeah, it's that kind of show.

Episode 1

 * While most remember the nightmare fuel from episode 3 onwards, the Nightmare Fuel was there as early as episode one, with the Anthonies. See how freaky those things are? Now look at them in action--the animation for them is deliberately jittery, and their babble translates to planning to cut Sayaka and Madoka up and present them to Gertrud.

Episode 3

 * It's worse in the manga. Warning: Do NOT read that page if you are squeamish.
 * The first two episodes interlaced the credits with the action. The third had a ending theme song and a video. Just in case you weren't paying attention during episode 3... lets just say it would probably fit in with the Higurashi crowd. (High note: Madoka, floating in a fetal position... which is revealed after the camera zooms out to be taking place inside the eye socket of the Mephisto mask from a Nazi-era stage production of Faust.)
 * The first two episodes interlaced the credits with the action. The third had a ending theme song and a video. Just in case you weren't paying attention during episode 3... lets just say it would probably fit in with the Higurashi crowd. (High note: Madoka, floating in a fetal position... which is revealed after the camera zooms out to be taking place inside the eye socket of the Mephisto mask from a Nazi-era stage production of Faust.)

Episode 4

 * Episode 4 feature Madoka being drawn into a witch's barrier...by being torn apart and drawn into the barrier piece by piece through several monitors before being reconstituted within. If that wasn't enough, the witch/familiar preys on Madoka by to convince her to give up as she's nearly stretched and torn apart for good. Lovely little Body Horror there. Although, for a change, all of these horrors are strangely absent from the manga.

Episode 6
"Kyouko:"
 * Episode 6 proves itself as a Wham! Episode by turning the whole premise into Nightmare Fuel: And if the hints weren't already there, the revelation turns  into this personified.
 * To clarify and emphasize, sees absolutely nothing wrong with this, because  Considering what Magical Girls go through, he's probably right. Whether that makes it more or less horrifying a subjective issue.
 * In another moment in the episode, Sayaka has discovered that Kyousuke was discharged early from the hospital and neglected to tell her. While she is standing heartbroken outside his house, Kyouko shows up and taunts Sayaka, saying that if she really wants Kyousuke to be hers, then she's got an idea for her...

Episode 7

 * In episode seven, Sayaka is informed by Hitomi that she, too, has feelings for Kyosuke and plans to confess the next day. After she has a good cry about it, Sayaka takes out her frustration on a Witch...whose silhouette makes her look vaguely like Hitomi. (Fortunately, it's NOT her), Sayaka just keeps beating the Witch with a ferocity that has never been seen before, laughing maniacally all the while. Much like, this is also worse in the manga.
 * And in the DVD version of the episode, she bleeds.
 * At the beginning of the episode, Kyubey was torturing Sayaka and then pushing her towards the berserker rage she uses to attack Elsa Maria. That much cruelty to someone who's that vulnerable is unbelievably repulsive. This is even worse when you remember that she is only 14 years old. We are talking a fourteen year being subjected to the pain of impalement. Some would still get shivers watching the scene where Sayaka crumbles down to the floor gasping for breath while Kyubey sits there smiling as though the whole thing was no big deal.

Episode 8
In General: Episode 8. Dear god, episode 8. "Kyubey:"
 * After  If that didn't frighten you, then Kyubey's last line of the episode should.


 * Absolutely terrifying. It also borders on Tear Jerker because of the events leading up to it.
 * Once again...the manga is no better.
 * Seeing Kyubey  wasn't exactly fun either.
 * When he returns from the above, he's shown solid black with glowing, evil red eyes, a-la Irisu Syndrome. You could build a house with the number of bricks that were suddenly created.
 * When he returns from the above, he's shown solid black with glowing, evil red eyes, a-la Irisu Syndrome. You could build a house with the number of bricks that were suddenly created.

Episode 9

 * Kyubey's line to Madoka. "When you're ready to call me. I'll be waiting." also counts.
 * Kyubey's line to Madoka. "When you're ready to call me. I'll be waiting." also counts.

Episode 10

 * Guh.
 * To elaborate: To make things even worse, take a look at  . That thing? That giant, mountainous thing?
 * And her idea of "mercy" is strongly rumored to be something like Instrumentality or even worse, a Matrix-style Lotus Eater Machine. Yeah, worldwide happiness is just so much easier once you remove that pesky "individuality" thing, right? Perhaps it's not such a big step from a Wide Eyed Optimist who just wants people to be happy to Omnicidal Maniac.
 * Homura's fate also worths some mention. Specifically, she
 * Homura's fate also worths some mention. Specifically, she

Episode 11

 * Kyubey talks with Madoka about the relationship between incubators and mankind through history. Its Eyes. ITS FUCKING EYES. When asked about why he has no feelings to the girls' tortures...
 * "You don't feel sorry for cows, do you?" Then they show quick shots of farm animals in pens, done in that creepy "stained glass" art style.

Episode 12

 * Episode 12 was mostly just awesome. However, . OH MY LORD!!! Yes, that thing  sees her  meaning that each time,   is bigger and stronger -- way beyond   could ever hope to be. And there have been , although   And the wish that created that ... thing was   There's a reason that version of   is using celestial objects for eyes.

PSP Game

 * in the PSP version is certainly creepy, if not terrifying. Just from the way it looks like the grief seed is splitting  body in half, and the silhouette of  ... -shudder
 * Also in the PSP game, there's an event that happens if We learned in Episode 6 that   Add that to the fact that   and that's pretty creepy on it's own. But, no, they had to make it even creepier by adding that   You can guess what happens next.

Uncategorized

 * Hey, you know how Kyubey's Frozen Face freaks us out? Well guess what? Kyubey does show different expressions in the manga! Expressions just like these!
 * What's scarier? A Kyubey that can't feel emotion with an unchanging face, letting you know that something's off with him, or a Kyubey that can't feel emotion, but knows how to fake it?
 * From chapter 9 on, his eyes maintain the frightening tone except from the flashback chapter before returning in the same chapter and onward.
 * Emiri Katou, who played Kyubey, was supposedly brought into a Heroic BSOD by the character according to the Trivia section. Same with her co-star Aoi Yuki.
 * Some people saw these "Nightmare Faces" more as Narm than as horror. Just because he can feign emotions doesn't mean the faces he uses to do so can't be seen as way too overdone than truly scary sometimes.
 * Made even better/worse/whatever by how from then on, Kyubey has Black Eyes of Evil. It's so stupidly and ridiculously Anvilicious that it seems he's constantly tripping balls, or that the manga author thinks the readers are complete idiots who need to be constantly told how eeeeeeevil he's supposed to be.
 * Sayaka is alone in a train compartment with two men who are badmouthing the girlfriend of one. She gets up and, in a scene that wouldn't be out of place in Higurashi, asks them to tell her about the girl, then suddenly wondering why she should even protect guys who act the way they do. She transforms into a magical girl and...nothing. The two men are gone -- it is heavily implied that Sayaka killed them. And the fact that we don't see anything... What's worse, there're multiple Gods in this work, and each have completely opinion on this issue. Producer Shinbo said Sayaka . Hanokage says in the manga, and writer Urobuchi says.
 * It's even creepier when you pay closer attention to the center panel. . Yeah...
 * Also a remainder to those who think of MagicalGirls as cute and pretty, being warriors their magic is aimed at KILLING, not just being flash and entertainment... also the target doesn't necessarily have to be other magical beings..
 * There's something seriously unsettling about the ED. The flickering silhouettes of all the girls is really creepy, but the last one, with what seems like a naked Madoka running hysterically into the darkness and slowly disappearing is just...damn.
 * And it's just disturbing with her in a fetal position in an almond-shaped thing that looks like something's eye... we never see its whole face.
 * Oh, that thing? That's the mask of Mephistopheles. The anime is directly comparing making a contract with Kyubey to being a Deal With the Devil.
 * While  never shows up in the anime, what few things we see of her are freaking terrifying
 * It can't be just me who thinks the whole concept of Kyubey the stuff nightmares are made of.
 * It's not just you. Kyubey is fricken terrifying. However, what makes him even worse is that his utilitarian philosophy is no different from that of several leaders throughout history. In other words, we are more alike to him than previously though. That alone makes for serious Fridge Horror.