Puella Magi Madoka Magica



""With kindness comes naïveté. Courage becomes foolhardiness. And dedication has no reward. If you can't accept any of that, you are not fit to be a Magical Girl.""

- Homura Akemi

Madoka Kaname is an Ordinary Middle School Student with a working mother, a stay-at-home dad and a close circle of friends. Other than a strange dream about a black-haired girl fighting off a huge monster in a ruined city, her life is a peaceful one. Then, one day, that black-haired girl, Homura Akemi, transfers to their class.

Things begin to change when, after school, Madoka hears someone's voice calling out to her. This voice belongs to Kyubey, a small cat- or ferret-like creature. She and her best friend, Sayaka Miki, then find themselves in a bizarre dream world where they witness an upperclassman, Mami Tomoe, transform into a Magical Girl and save them from otherworldly monsters. Kyubey then asks Madoka and Sayaka to become magical girls, too. The process is very simple - Kyubey will grant them a wish (any wish, no matter how small) and in exchange, they will sign a contract with him, which will allow them to become magical girls...

Too bad things simply are not as they seem to be.

Bringing together an all-star staff, Puella Magi Madoka Magica has Studio Shaft animating, Shaft's primary director Akiyuki Shinbo directing, Yuki Kajiura producing the music, Nitro+'s Gen Urobuchi writing and Ume Aoki designing the characters for Shaft's first original series. The show started airing in January as part of the Winter 2011 season, though it was put on a temporary hiatus due to the Sendai earthquakes in Japan. The final two episodes were broadcast back-to-back on April 21st; the initial announcement was met with much rejoicing. When it was aired on Nico Nico Douga, over one million people watched. Compare this to Lucky Star's similar stream, which had over half a million.

Initially, there were three manga series related to this anime. The first is a direct adaptation of the television series, under the same title. The others are Spin Offs. Puella Magi Kazumi Magica: The Innocent Malice focuses on a different cast of Magical Girls while Puella Magi Oriko Magica features characters from the anime as well as several new characters. For both of these series, it is strongly recommended to watch Puella Magi Madoka Magica first since they reveal critical plot elements from the anime. Some time after the anime ended, an official but noncanon manga anthology series was released.

This series has a wiki which is maintained and updated very efficiently. Therefore, proceed with caution as spoilers abound.

A dub of the series has been confirmed. Aniplex USA's teaser page for the series can be found here, now updated with more information about the characters and the series itself. Yen Press has confirmed that they will be publishing the manga adaptation of the series in English. Finally, Crunchyroll and Hulu have begun streaming the series for free.

Namco Bandai is developing a video game for the PSP, Puella Magi Madoka Magica Portable. It is slated to be released in March of 2012, and its gameplay is described as a Roguelike RPG. Odds are good that it will avert The Problem with Licensed Games because of heavy involvement of the anime staff -- Gen Urobuchi writing the scenario, and visual design by SHAFT and Gekidan InuCurry. An official iPhone game by Mobage featuring four new magical girl characters has also been released.

Plans to make a theatrical film trilogy have been announced. The first two movies will premiere on October 6 and 13. It has been revealed that another Spin-Off manga will be released simultaneously with the two films.

At some point a teaser website appeared playing voice clips from Madoka. It was eventually revealed to be for a Puella Magi online game.

Dojinsoft group Tasogare Frontier, aka Tasofro, has released a Madoka fangame entitled Grief Syndrome.

Compare Neon Genesis Evangelion, Bokurano, Narutaru, Alien Nine, Princess Tutu, and Digimon Tamers for similar top-down, no-holds-barred dark and edgy abstract works. See Revolutionary Girl Utena for the original Magical Girl (and then some) Deconstruction. Definitely contrast Cardcaptor Sakura, which serves as the show's most obvious antecedent.

Compare and contrast Claymore, Elfen Lied, Lyrical Nanoha and Black Rock Shooter which feature similar cases of specialized women fighting for survival.

For some of the inspiration of the series, see Faust.

/人◕‿‿◕人\ Anything is possible, if you make a contract with me!

Late Arrival Spoiler Warning: Puella Magi Madoka Magica is one of the most popular anime franchises in the anime fandom as of the Winter 2011 season. It also has a Wham! Line roughly every episode. In other words, there are a great deal of SPOILERS below -- most marked, some unmarked, but all of which will ruin your enjoyment of the story. 

A-H
"Sayaka: Hmmm... fabulous riches, eternal youth, Chinese delicacies...
 * Abstract Apotheosis:.
 * Accidental Pun:
 * Mami Tomoe's name "Mami" means Mommy in Spanish and other languages like German. Considering her mentor role it fits her.
 * On a slightly pervier note, her name's resemblance to the word "mammaries" has not gone unnoticed by the fanbase.
 * Acid Trip Dimension: Almost literally Invoked by the Witch's Realms, and implied by Homura's room. It does not help that most of it is symbolic.
 * Actor Allusion: Due to the all-star voice actors ensemble, we were expecting this.
 * Eri Kitamura voices Sayaka Miki, the blue-themed member of what amounts to Madoka's magical girl team. In Fresh Pretty Cure, she voiced Miki Aono, the blue-themed member of that show's team. Add also that she played Saya Otonashi from Blood Plus a sword wielder.
 * Junko Iwao plays Kazuko Saotome, Madoka's school teacher, who happens to be a scorned lover who can't keep boyfriends. Junko Iwao also plays every incarnation of Akane in the Mai-HiME metaverse, and most of that character's drama revolves around how she's constantly separated from her sole love interest, Kazuya, no matter what universe she's in. "Kazuko" is literally the feminine form of "Kazu," which is the nickname Akane always calls her boyfriend.
 * Adult Fear. Let's see,, and Madoka is troubled but refuses to share what had actually happened. Not to mention that with all the Witches, there must've been a whole lot of suicides, missing persons and who knows what else - which makes Madoka's behaviour all the more alarming in her mother's eyes.
 * Alien Geometries: The barriers around the Witches, and the Witches themselves, are this. A great example is the first witch we actually see in episode 2; it simultaneously is and isn't two-dimensional.
 * All There in the Manual: The official website and supplemental materials are quite interesting to read for the fan.
 * Technically the names of the witches appear in the episodes themselves (written in Cypher Language), but other things like the names of their familiars and their personality traits (such as they are) can only be found on the official website. In addition, this information includes witches that have not appeared themselves or only appeared in a Flash Back. Fortunately, they are translated on this page (spoilers, of course). Special note that the creators have left open the rest of The Un-Reveal to Wild Mass Guessing.
 * The black cat in the OP is explained in the drama CD 1 from DVD volume 1, but never in the show proper.
 * The third drama CD reveals Kyoko and Mami have a shared past, something that is only hinted at in the anime proper. However, this has somewhat taken form when Oriko Magica came around.
 * The concept art booklet in the sixth Blu-Ray volume reveals a character's name. . The name is never spoken or written in the show. However, since fans have been using Fan Nickname for it, it isn't such a problem.
 * The You Are Not Alone guidebook includes or alludes to other Magical Girls' wishes.
 * All There Is to Know About "The Crying Game": Let's keep this as clear as possible: the majority of these spoilers have circulated the internet five times over, and it would be impossible to not know about most of them. Even though the anime didt not have a proper English release until March 2012, a newcomer to the series will have to wonder about the size of this page and the rather large amount of spoiler tags. In other words, this page is Tempting Fate for anyone who reads it. You, on the other hand, have been warned.
 * Alternate Character Reading: Invoked. The kanji used for "Mahou Shoujo" can be rewritten to reveal multiple key plot points. Similarly, "Puella Magi" has multiple meanings, which are also key plot points. All of these are explained in the anime proper and their respective tropes.
 * Averted in the manga adaptation,
 * : It is a Running Gag on the Puella Magi internet pages that you will see . Detailed explanation:
 * Altum Videtur: "Puella Magi" almost, but not quite, translates to "Magical Girl".
 * All of the OST's track titles (save two) are in Latin and uses the correct translation for Magical Girl: "puella magica".
 * And Then John Was a Zombie:
 * Anthropomorphic Personification:
 * Anyone Can Die:
 * Apocalypse How: Any good show should have an apocalypse. Let's review the scale for this one:
 * Walpurgisnacht will cause a Class 0 that leaves, at a minimum, Mitakihara in ruins.
 * Apocalypse Wow:
 * Arc Words: Walpurgisnacht is used as some sort of omnious threat.
 * Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Second episode, discussing wishes:
 * Walpurgisnacht will cause a Class 0 that leaves, at a minimum, Mitakihara in ruins.
 * Apocalypse Wow:
 * Arc Words: Walpurgisnacht is used as some sort of omnious threat.
 * Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Second episode, discussing wishes:
 * Apocalypse Wow:
 * Arc Words: Walpurgisnacht is used as some sort of omnious threat.
 * Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Second episode, discussing wishes:

Madoka: I don't know about that last one..."

"Kyubey: Before you took up the burden of this fight, you had a wish you wanted to see fulfilled. And I did make that wish come true, didn't I?"
 * Artistic License Physics:
 * Art Shift/Medium Blending: A witch and her barrier will employ one or the other.
 * The third episode stops borrowing from the Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei opening and starts borrowing from cute 1980s-style cartoons.
 * Episode 4 has a strange, flat, Louis Vuitton-esque design to the witches dimension. In the witches' TV screens, one can see the same art style used for the Maria Holic ED.
 * Episode 5 features a realm that resembles an elementary school kid's drawings. Kyoko's explanation of her past is shown in a similar way.
 * Episode 7's realm is Deliberately Monochrome, looking like a shadow-play.
 * Art Style Dissonance: It uses characters done in the cute style of Hidamari Sketch to tell a story that can be accurately likened to Neon Genesis Evangelion.
 * In the manga,
 * Ascetic Aesthetic: For starters, the school building is about 90% glass. The utter sterility of the city itself makes a nice contrast against both the characters and the bizarre world of the Witches.
 * Asshole Victim: In Episode 8, Sayaka encounters two rude misogynists on a train.
 * Word of God on this is more like Flip-Flop of God: Shinbo says she didn't, the manga author says she did, and Urobuchi says he intentionally left it ambiguous.
 * Astral Checkerboard Decor:
 * Many of the witches have this motif somewhere inside their closed off worlds. The first few minutes of the opening episode is nothing but this.
 * The end of the manga takes place in a dungeon with a checkered floor. Acts as nice Book Ends.
 * Awful Truth: Coincides with Wham Episodes.
 * Episode 6, Kyubey reveals some disturbing tidbits about soul gems.
 * Episode 8 reveals witches' origins.
 * Episode 9 reveals why Kyubey is turning girls into magical girls.
 * Episode 11 reveals the reason why Madoka has so much power.
 * Ax Crazy: A character becomes more and more Ax Crazy to show her descent into madness and despair.
 * Bait and Switch Credits: The opening is something that would fit perfectly on any typical Magical Girl show, with Shout Outs to Cardcaptor Sakura, Sailor Moon, and Pretty Cure. The ending ... has distorted music, is nearly completely devoid of color, has creepy lyrics, and ends with Madoka floating in the fetal position in the eye socket of a giant skull. Prior to Episode 3, the anime avoids showing the ending, instead running the credits along the conclusion of the episode and using the song for fight scenes.
 * Subverted later, when it becomes clear just whose perspective the opening song is from.
 * The Blu-rays for the first two episodes have an ending theme which plays this trope straight as well.
 * Barbie Doll Anatomy:
 * For the briefest moment when Kyoko and Homura transform.
 * Madoka in the opening, also in a transformation sequence.
 * Also shows up in episode 12, during the encounter between Homura and Madoka
 * Batman Gambit: Kyubey's modus operandi is the Batman Gambit.
 * A specific example:
 * Batter Up: On her first witch hunt alongside Mami, Sayaka brings along a baseball bat to compensate for a lack of magical girl powers.
 * Be Careful What You Wish For: Played With. It's is sometimes Played Straight, sometimes surprisingly Subverted : the problem isn't in the literal granting of the wish, it's the fact that the wishers aren't asking for what they really want. The repeated warnings against making selfless wishes are there because there is no such thing as a selfless wish. Each wish was made in the hope that it would result in something the magical girl would ultimately benefit from, but since that result isn't what they asked for, that isn't what they got. This plays into Kyubey's plans rather nicely, since it means.
 * Be Careful What You Wish For: Played With. It's is sometimes Played Straight, sometimes surprisingly Subverted : the problem isn't in the literal granting of the wish, it's the fact that the wishers aren't asking for what they really want. The repeated warnings against making selfless wishes are there because there is no such thing as a selfless wish. Each wish was made in the hope that it would result in something the magical girl would ultimately benefit from, but since that result isn't what they asked for, that isn't what they got. This plays into Kyubey's plans rather nicely, since it means.


 * Played Straight for Mami's wish.
 * Subverted for Sayaka's wish: She wished for the boy she loved to get better; he did, and no bad consequences came from it, but what Sayaka didn't wish for was for him to fall in love with her, which was what she really wanted. Kyoko pointed out that what she should have wished for was for him to never recover and become completely dependent on her.
 * Played Straight for Kyoko's wish:
 * Played Straight for Homura's wish.
 * And finally Averted for
 * Being Good Sucks:
 * Sayaka's attempt at being a moral crusader backfires.
 * The ending also qualifies,.
 * Berserk Button:
 * Kyoko doesn't like it when people waste food.
 * Don't mess with Madoka in any way or form if you want to stay on Homura's good side.
 * Better to Die Than Be Killed: Arguably
 * In Episode 10,
 * Beyond the Impossible: As noted above, WhamLines lines are frequent and rules can be rewritten.
 * Big Damn Heroes: Is done frequently, usually by Homura. It's eventually subverted when Kyoko tries to step in for, who refuses Kyoko's help, gets back up and defeats the witch she was fighting.
 * Big Eater: Kyoko rarely appears without some kind of snack food in hand.
 * Madoka herself comes off as this in the 100 Questions.
 * Bigger Is Better: Not enuff dakka? Try bigga shoota!
 * Bilingual Bonus: The German graffiti in Episode 2 are quotes from Faust.
 * Homura's wall is decorated with a full transcription of "Das Hexen-Einmaleins" (Counting with witches basically), which reads like a nursery rhyme, but again origins from Goethe's Faust.
 * The Anthonies in Episode 1 chant a series of phrases in German.
 * "Tiro Finale" is Italian for "last shot". It was originally supposed to be "Filo Finale".
 * Madoka's homework in Episode 6 is apparently to translate the English nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle." To see her word processor giving a closely translated suggestion to the words "Hey diddle diddle" in Japanese is quite an amazing feat.
 * Graffiti on the wall shown right before says "Love Me Do".
 * Black and White Magic: Magical girls are powered by wishes, while witches are powered by curses.
 * Black Box: Magic is impossible to figure out even to Kyubey, but it seems to work and its better to think that a black box that involves the transformations of adolescent girls is just fine.
 * Black Comedy: The official franchise has a lot of fun making fun of Mami . For instance, when about to air episode 3, an official broadcast tweet said something along the lines of "This episode features Mami - ". Aniplex of USA got in on the fun as well when they uploaded Mami's voice actress' interview.
 * In a meta-example overlapping with Misaimed Marketing, we have this promotional wishboard. Either the ones behind this idea were oblivious to what making a wish with Kyubey entails, or they really do have a warped sense of humor.
 * Black Speech: Shown when the art shifts and the witches come out.
 * Bland-Name Product: Kyoko offers Homura some Rocky . The Dog Drug Reinforcement dancing game she's playing in the same scene is another one.
 * Blatant Lies: Kyubey does not, since he considers himself above lying, but Gen Urobuchi does. A lot.
 * Blessed Are the Cheesemakers: Well, according to Charlotte the dessert witch. She can create any dessert in the world, but she can't create her favorite food, cheese.
 * Blessed with Suck: In exchange for putting their life on the line, a magical girl will have any wish of theirs granted. Of course, there are a few things in the fine print Kyubey "forgets" to mention. Like
 * Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Mami, Homura, and Kyoko
 * Bloodier and Gorier: Where the anime avoids depicting gore, the manga revels in it. Gory Discretion Shots are frequently averted. Blood is added to scenes that didn't originally have it, and characters are drawn with Nightmare Face expressions that give Higurashi no Naku Koro ni a run for its money.
 * Strangely, the mangas reads like a bastard child of Elfen Lied: extremely cute characters with a Fan Service cover, but Gorn all over the place. All we need now is an R-Rated Opening...oh wait, that already happened in the original anime and Oriko Magica.
 * Here's a comparison of Sayaka's fight with Elsa Maria in the TV and BD version. (spoiler warning) The BD version adds more blood to the scene.
 * The BD release keeps better consistency with Kyoko's injuries.
 * Blue and Orange Morality: Kyubey, who is apparently gathering energy to stave off entropy. It just so happens that having teenage girls  is a very efficient way to do so, and he doesn't understand how anyone who knows the whole story could object to the plan.
 * His consistent reply to the girls' protests is "I don't understand what you mean," which has become a Memetic Mutation associated with him in Japan.
 * In the epilogue
 * Bright Is Not Good: A Talking Animal, colored Puella Magi Madoka Magica white and pink? How dangerous could it be?
 * Body Horror: Episode 4 features a witch that kills its victims by stretching them until they tear apart. The effect is exaggerated by the art style used for it.
 * Bolivian Army Ending:
 * Sequel Hook:
 * Book Ends: The very beginning and the very end of the series are set to the sound of a projector running, and then the sound of it abruptly shutting off.
 * Boss Subtitles: Every witch has one written in Cypher Language.
 * Bread and Circuses: The modus operandi of the series. See the trope page for the explanation. Almost taken literally with  witch realm, which is represented like a operatic cinema/three-ring circus.
 * Break the Cutie: To be expected:
 * Madoka, who over the course of the series is forced to suffer through.
 * Kyosuke is revealed to have been on the fence for some time, since his injuries meant he would never be able to play the violin again.
 * Breather Episode: Episode 5 is much lighter in tone compared to the previous two episodes, which dealt with (Episode 3) and the effect it has on the characters (Episode 4).
 * Broad Strokes:
 * The author of the Madoka Magica manga has stated that the anime and manga are based on the same scenario, but has implied that the manga could be very different down the road. This is completely false; the manga is based on the exact same script as the anime, and is simply a Bloodier and Gorier Compressed Adaptation. The closest it gets to diverging from the anime is the addition of a short, highly ambiguous, epilogue.
 * Kazumi Magica appeared to be this in the first three chapters, but the fourth chapter ultimately explained most of the inconsistencies. On the other hand, the soul gems and grief seeds look different until the third chapter, where they suddenly look like the ones in the anime. This was fixed in the collected edition.
 * : For the most blatant one out there: . The series' ending was obtained because Homura's Aesop Amnesia actually caused it.
 * Call Back/Brick Joke: We have a separate page for this.
 * Calling Your Attacks: Mami calls out the name of her final attack when she's fighting witches.
 * Canis Latinicus: Though the song titles are real Latin, the lyrics to songs such as "Sis puella magica!" and "Credens justitam" are not (composer Yuki Kaijura apparently does this often enough that fans call the "language" Kaijuran). Latin with Italian pronunciation and word construction, with Japanese grammar, would be as good a guess as any.
 * Can't Catch Up: In every  shown, Sayaka is the weakest Magical Girl shown.
 * Cash Cow Franchise: One episode was all it took for this series' (and the company's) popularity to go through the roof. Now Studio Shaft is rolling in money. Maybe. (NSFW?)
 * Cast From Lifespan/The Corruption: Using magic of any kind, as well as experiencing negative emotions (especially despair and Angst) dims your soul gem. When it's completely dark,
 * Censor Steam: Madoka and Homura  Adds 100% pure liquid Les Yay.
 * Cessation of Existence: Kyubey implies this is what happens to human souls after their receptacle is destroyed. However the wish-magic of the setting, render this less than certain.
 * Cheeky Mouth: Madoka displays a very wide one during the first episode, when she's talking about her dream.
 * Chekhov's Gun:
 * Homura's original art featured her as the one with a bow. Then there was the later illustration of her and Madoka holding the bow together in what looked like a disguised spoiler for the last battle. They left guns outside the Fourth Wall.
 * Chromatic Arrangement/Power Trio: Done brilliantly throughout the series. Genius Bonus if you can figure out how this applies to the series itself. May also explain the reason why Gen Urobuchi is such a Lying Creator.
 * For the main Power Trio, we have Madoka, Sayaka, and Hitomi. This represents the Red-Blue-Green, or what we see personally.
 * For the second Power Trio, we have Madoka, Sayaka, and Mami. This represents the Red-Blue-Yellow, or what the artist sees.
 * Class Is in Room X-01: Mami is briefly shown to be in class 3-A (at least, in the manga).
 * Combat Pragmatist: Homura. The justification, however is explained on the character page.
 * Combat Tentacles: Gertrud has this attack, as does Elsa Maria.
 * Conspicuous CG:
 * The train tracks at the beginning of Episode 9 are quite obviously a flat CG surface.
 * also uses copious amounts of it, though this was likely intentional.
 * Cosmic Balance: Everything revolves around this.
 * Cosmic Retcon:
 * Cool Big Sis: Mami. Though it's also deconstructed in While she's still acting perfectly in line with her protective, motherly archetype, she's clearly out of her mind and few people would argue this action exemplifies "cool" qualities.
 * Cool Guns: Homura mainly uses guns and explosives to deal with witches. Her primary weapon in Episode 10 is a Desert Eagle.
 * Costume Porn: The magical girls have beautiful battle outfits.
 * Covers Always Lie: Played with. Official artwork for the series constantly shows Madoka in full Magical Girl attire. She doesn't make the contract Aside from that, the bow and arrow Homura is shown with in one piece of official artwork is actually.
 * Crapsack World: Just wrap your mind around it:
 * Crap Saccharine World: Everyone in the world of Madoka gets a raw deal. Muggles, despite living in a nice city with advanced technology and apparently quite nice welfare system, are either killed by witches or branded with their "kiss", filling them with despair and brainwashing them into committing suicide. Witches can creates world fit to their preferences inside the barrier, spread despair and grief in process, and exist mostly to be destroyed by magical girls. Magical girls have their wishes fulfilled, got magic power and fancy costumes,   must live a life of constant battle, where the tiniest mistake can be fatal, until they die . All of this is because
 * This is visible even in the artwork. Check out most of the environments: Everything in the foreground is bright, clean, sterile and lifeless. Everything in the background is dark, and largely consists of black skeletons of buildings under construction.
 * Creator Breakdown: Gen Urobuchi's self-confessed "tragedy syndrome" from his afterword to Fate/Zero (see the Quotes page) is in full play here.
 * Credits Running Sequence
 * Cry Cute:
 * All of the main characters.
 * Just about every past and future magical girl as they hit their Despair Event Horizon.
 * Cryptic Background Reference: Mami states that witches cause all sorts of bad things to happen with their mere presence, but we're only shown two attempted suicides. Walpurgisnacht's true nature and name are also never divulged, even in the manual.
 * Cryptic Conversation: Somewhat justified. The last time Homura tried to explain everything,
 * Curb Stomp Battle:
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Cute Is Evil:
 * Charlotte, which looks and acts like something from a goofy kid's cartoon, in a setting that is anything but . This apparently inspired enough sympathy for Charlotte within certain elements of the fandom such that some began to think that she would have made a good pet/friend/adopted-family for Mami while a handful of others even outright crackshipped the two of them together.
 * Cyberpunk: While it uses magic rather than technology, and the city is much cleaner than in usual works, the show's hints at transhumanism and, to a lesser extent, Kyubey's mottos and personality could feel right at home in a Cyberpunk series.
 * Cypher Language: The runes. They are not just a substitution cypher, they are also in German. See the Trivia page for the translations. The Wiki Rule, however, is filled to the brim with the translations.
 * Darker and Edgier: Expect no less from the author of Saya no Uta.
 * Darkest Hour: Episode 11
 * Dark Reprise: Somewhat. "Magia", the ending song of the series, made its appearance in the first scene of the first episode. There, the song is slowed down quite a lot, giving it a much darker atmosphere than it already had.
 * Which turned out to be a production error as all of the music in the first episode was slowed down and it was back to its normal speed and pitch in later airings.
 * The Day the Music Lied:
 * The music in the scene near the end of episode 8. See Musicalis Interruptus below.
 * The opening theme song
 * Kyubey will give them anything they want, but in exchange, they will have to fight witches.
 * Dead Person Conversation:
 * Deconstruction: The director has outright said he is aiming for this while still maintaining some traditional Magical Girl elements. this is a Deconstruction of certain aspects of magical girls. Now, a lot of these elements are merely subverted or toyed with in various ways, rather than deconstructed outright; see the Darker and Edgier entry above. However, the "sending young girls out to fight monsters of the week" aspect is played straight, but with the potentially horrific and traumatizing consequences of it allowed to realistically play out. Also, even though many of the Darker and Edgier elements aren't necessarily deconstructive in themselves, it does draw attention to the fact that the sort of creature who sends young kids out to fight would turn out to be rather morally skewed.
 * Death By Origin Story: Mami's and Kyoko's parents.
 * Department of Redundancy Department: The Latin title reads as this, but it's subverted in that there's an alternate, more accurate translation (based off of Altum Videtur):
 * Deranged Animation: For example, [[media:sweet-dreams_3701.jpg|the Anthonies']] South Park-ish appearance (read: reminiscent of that series' cutout style), as well as how it doesn't match the art style of the other characters, is already bad enough for them to deserve to be the page image for the HONF tab, but their laggy animation really drives the point home.
 * Design Student's Orgasm: The witches' mazes. The first witch, Gertrud, is a gardener, so the maze is covered in roses and thorns, with floating scissors and butterfly- and puffball-themed familiars. The second, Charlotte, has a maze made of cake and sweets with syringes and bottled body parts everywhere. Charlotte herself looks like a children's cartoon from the 80s.
 * A certain aspect of Charlotte takes heavy inspiration, too, from Takeshi Murakami's Superflat artwork.
 * As noted below, if you're into architecture, this is the series for you.
 * Despair Event Horizon: For magical girls, this is more than a metaphor: it's an actual, literal point of no return that has tangible consequences. Sayaka starts heading towards it when Kamijo hits it, gets really close when Hitomi confesses that she wants to ask Kamijo out (going Ax Crazy in the process), and
 * In Episode 10,
 * Divided We Fall: One of the major subversions of this series: the magical girls are not working together. In fact, there are reasons for them to not work together, because they're competing for the same resource (the witches' grief seeds). At the same time, the girls are clearly inclined to help one another, and yet are also unwilling to accept the others' help. The results are sadly unfortunate.
 * Did Not Do the Research:
 * When, what you actually hear is a viola.
 * The description of "entropy" in episode 9 is a bit off.
 * Homura's explosive and flash grenades seem to have been mixed up. Odd when you consider how much care they put into detailing her other weapons.
 * Died Happily Ever After:
 * Distant Finale: The last pages of the manga occur some unspecified time after the last scene in the anime.
 * The Ditz: Madoka, and
 * Doing in the Wizard: Sort of. Magic is still magic, though.
 * Downer Beginning: The curtain rises with Kaname Madoka dreaming of a mysterious black-haired magical girl battling giant falling pieces of buildings in a grey, war-torn world.
 * Dramatic Irony: Sayaka blames Homura for
 * Dreaming of Things to Come: Madoka's dream at the beginning of Episode 1.
 * Driven to Suicide: People affected by the witches, who radiate despair.
 * The backstory of once the truth is revealed to them.
 * Due to the Dead:
 * Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Magical girls get this after their.
 * DVD Bonus Content: The DVD / Blue Ray releases have soundtracks and audio dramas - at least two of the dramas can be considered canon, and reveal important backstory information.
 * Dying Alone:
 * Dying as Yourself: Arguably,
 * : The series' would not have been possible without.
 * Easter Egg: There's a ton of content in the series that is easy to miss at first, such as Freeze Frame Bonuses, hidden phrases in a Cypher Language, and more information about witches on the official website.
 * Eldritch Abomination: The true form of witches.
 * Eldritch Location: The barrier that surrounds each witch.
 * Homura's Apartment: Word of God is that "the white walls, floating texts, and clockworks are all a holographic projection superimposed on a more mundane setting. At the same time, there is the suggestion that Homura's residence was intentionally drawn to resemble a witch's barrier."
 * Emotion Eater:
 * Emotions vs. Stoicism: Most of the girls (Sayaka especially) are often hindered by their emotions, and are always being rescued by the more stoic Homura, who advises that they not let their feelings get the better of them.
 * This is a running argument throughout the series.
 * Empathic Environment: The barrier seems to work this way. When Madoka says that she will become a magical girl and fight alongside Mami (who, at this point, is bitter from all the fighting but hides it well), medicine capsules fall from above and then warm, fuzzy-looking wispballs float from below.
 * Episode 8 has Madoka and Sayaka at a bus stop in the rain. The rain gets more intense to match Sayaka getting more riled up.
 * The End Is Nigh: Apparently, this is what Walpurgisnacht will entail, or at least that's what Homura seems to imply.
 * Enhanced on DVD: The DVD / Blue Ray releases have fixed up a large number of Off-Model shots, added additional details to the backgrounds, and fixed one lingering question --
 * Environmental Symbolism: Due to the classrooms looking like cages, there has been speculation by fans that the school (lots of glass, generally futuristic) was based on Justice Center Leoben, an Austrian prison with a similar design.
 * Equivalent Exchange: Vaguely, this is how having a wish granted is related to being a Magical Girl.
 * Interestingly, it's possible that the implication that Equivalent Exchange is being strictly enforced (or is inherent to the process) may well just be a masterful piece of misdirection on Kyubey's part.
 * Essence Drop: A defeated Witch usually leaves behind a Grief Seed, which a magical girl can then pick up and use to refill her lost Mana and thus restore the brightness of her Soul Gem --
 * Evolving Credits:
 * If you watch closely, you can see the OP change slightly from episode to episode.
 * Similarly, each ending progressively becomes darker.
 * The final image of episode 10's outro is changed from just Sayaka, Madoka, and Mami. This time Kyoko and Homura are in the picture, too.
 * Exactly What It Says on the Tin:
 * Expy: Mami has the same hair style as Kanaria, both with flower accessories.
 * Madoka's Magical Girl dress (as shown in promo artwork and the OP) is suspiciously similar to Sakura's, including the frills.
 * Thanks to Ume Aoki's Signature Style, many of the characters bear a resemblance to those from Hidamari Sketch. Madoka is pink Yuno, Sayaka is swordsman Nori, Madoka's mom Junko is the office-version of the landlady, and Mami has the same voice actress as Miyako.
 * Considering the results of the whole Magical Girl deal, Kyubey is starting to look and act a lot like Koyemshi...
 * Or The Millennium Earl.
 * A Tall, Dark and Bishoujo girl who is aloof, is determined to protect the timid main character, and doesn't give a damn about the lives of others... yeah, where have we seen someone like that?
 * Homura's ability, and  Oh, that's a.
 * is somewhat similar to Miranda from D.Gray-man.
 * Kyoko looks like Yoko from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and has a similar name. She also bears more than a passing resemblance to Shana in both appearance and personality.
 * She's a lot closer to Etna, though.
 * Eyes of Gold:
 * Failure Is the Only Option: Once you become a magical girl, that's it. There's no way back.
 * The Fair Folk: Some witches behave like this. Gertrud is focused on her(?) roses; while Charlotte is fixated on cheese and will be caught off-guard if one throws her(?) some. It's also a tantalizing irony for Charlotte: despite being able to make candies out of nothing, she can't create cheese.
 * Kazumi Magica refers to contract-making creatures like Kyubey as fairies.
 * Fairy Tale Motifs: Sayaka's storyline has paralells to the non-Disneyfied The Little Mermaid.
 * Fan Nickname:
 * "Moemura" for pre-Adrenaline Makeover Homura.
 * Fan Service: The nude transformation scene with two Madokas in the OP.
 * Fate Worse Than Death: Arguably for any girl
 * Faustian Rebellion:
 * Fear Is the Appropriate Response: Type 1, and is consistent throughout the entire series, including Kazumi Magica and Oriko Magica. Can be considered a Mythology Gag (although a very Nightmarish one) for the series due to Every time a character performs this trope, something bad happens directly next to it.
 * Field of Blades:
 * Of course, this too would be subject to fan videos comparing
 * Mami is capable of creating a field of rifles, but it's not quite as impressive. That's more a testament to  than a dig against Mami, though.
 * The Film of the Series: The anime will be adapted into three movies, the first two being recaps of the show, and the third expanding the plot after the anime's ending.
 * Finger-Twitching Revival: Inverted by . Her entire body twitched except her fingers.
 * Five Moves of Doom: Anime example, and an Oh Crap moment. Crosses over with Arc Number.
 * Flash Step: One application of Homura's power looks very similar to this.
 * Fluffy the Terrible: The witches' names, barring a few examples.
 * Food Chain of Evil: Magical girls need Grief Seeds, which witches leave behind upon death, while familiars don't. Familiars need to eat (figuratively or literally) weak people to grow into full-blown witches. Kyoko wholeheartedly embraces the necessary philosophy of it.
 * For Doom the Bell Tolls: "Magia" by Kalafina plays during fight scenes and Madoka's dream at the beginning of the first episode. It's also the regular ending song.
 * Foreshadowing:
 * In the form of a Freeze-Frame Bonus when Mami and Madoka enter Charlotte's maze: "Caution" with.
 * Kyoko appears in the opening credits long before making her first appearance in an episode proper.
 * During a brief moment in Episode 7, when Kyoko and Sayaka are in the church,
 * In the ending,
 * The conversation between Madoka, Sayaka, and Hitomi about  in Episode 1.
 * Sayaka's own narration moments before the opening credits of Episode 4.
 * Also in episode 4, Homura and Madoka's conversation about.
 * Meta example: "Puella Magi" was initially thought to be a botched mistranslation of "magical girl".
 * According to the website,
 * Frozen Face: Kyubey's face in the anime is always frozen in an intense stare, and his mouth never moves since he talks telepathically. This makes him extremely creepy to look at face to face. However, this is averted in the manga, where Kyubey uses normal facial expressions.
 * In the first few episodes, however, Kyubey's expression does change. He has several expressions of pain when Madoka first meets him and has a different expression when one of the girls is feeding him.
 * Gainax Ending: Episode 12 is really weird.
 * Doesn't hurt that a lot of it has shots that are visually reminiscent of Gainax endings.
 * German Expressionism: Borrows a lot from it, especially the witches' barrier. Even during real world sequence, the atmosphere feels dark and surreal. Have we mentioned that Faustian motifs and Gratuitous German are abundant?
 * Ghost in the Machine:
 * The Glasses Come Off: Just before, Homura takes off her glasses and uses her powers to restore her eyesight.
 * Gory Discretion Shot: Subverted, as afterward we see it   It pans away again, to the , but the sounds continue--this just makes it worse.
 * Completely averted in the manga.
 * Gotta Catch Them All: The grief seeds, the source for the strangeness in the town.
 * Gratuitous French: The themed cafe that will appear in Matsudo, Chiba is called Cafe du Madoka Magica (Cafe of the Madoka Magica). "Du" (de + le) is masculine; it should be Cafe de la Madoka Magica.
 * Gratuitous German: The language of choice for the bizarre creatures at the end of the first episode. They speak in a highly disturbing, screechy and somewhat childlike voice, which is arguably even scarier if you can understand bits of what they're saying. Let's just say those flying scissors aren't just for show...
 * In Episode 2, there is some German scribbled on the wall. It is a quote from Faust. Specifically about a destroyed world being rebuilt...
 * Translating the runes scattered around also yields up a few more Faust quotes.
 * Grey and Grey Morality: Just about everyone in this series seems to have a little good and bad in them. Even Kyubey has an understandable reason for what he does, and . Madoka is an exception, being the only 100% good character.
 * Arguably a Deconstruction
 * And even more so when it's revealed
 * Green Lantern Ring: Generally, a magical girl's abilities and signature attack will remain the same, but they seem to be able to use it for minor things on the fly; this generally adheres to New Powers as the Plot Demands meets Mundane Utility. For example, Mami mostly sticks to summoning enchanted muskets, but can enchant a bat to harm familiars and can create a barrier using a length of chain as a boundary and conduit. Homura once used her powers to fix her eyesight, despite that her main gimmick is totally unrelated.
 * The Greatest Story Never Told:
 * Guest Strip: PMMM continues the recent trend of inviting talented semi-pro and Pixiv artists to draw eye catches and end-of-episode preview art, something that has been traditionally done at the last few pages of Doujinshi for decades. The full list of ending cards can be found in trivia.
 * Guns Akimbo/Gun Kata:And how.
 * Gut Punch:  in episode 3 is something of a shock to the system. Every episode after that is arguably more of a Gut Punch.
 * Hair Decorations: All of the magical girls have some form of this.
 * Hammerspace: One of Homura's abilities. It's shown that she's got an entire armory hidden literally up her sleeve. Mami also has the ability to summon muskets from under her hat and skirt and Sayaka once summons swords from her cape. It's not entirely apparent where Kyoko stores her spear because it sometimes vanishes between shots with no evidence of her dispersing it (episode 8).
 * Heroes Prefer Swords: Played with but probably subverted. Sayaka is the only one to use a sword as her weapon. Although her outlook and motivations fit the classic hero mold, she is far and away the weakest of the magical girls and.
 * Heroic Sacrifice:
 * He Who Fights Monsters: . is a more specific example.
 * Gory Discretion Shot: Subverted, as afterward we see it   It pans away again, to the , but the sounds continue--this just makes it worse.
 * Completely averted in the manga.
 * Gotta Catch Them All: The grief seeds, the source for the strangeness in the town.
 * Gratuitous French: The themed cafe that will appear in Matsudo, Chiba is called Cafe du Madoka Magica (Cafe of the Madoka Magica). "Du" (de + le) is masculine; it should be Cafe de la Madoka Magica.
 * Gratuitous German: The language of choice for the bizarre creatures at the end of the first episode. They speak in a highly disturbing, screechy and somewhat childlike voice, which is arguably even scarier if you can understand bits of what they're saying. Let's just say those flying scissors aren't just for show...
 * In Episode 2, there is some German scribbled on the wall. It is a quote from Faust. Specifically about a destroyed world being rebuilt...
 * Translating the runes scattered around also yields up a few more Faust quotes.
 * Grey and Grey Morality: Just about everyone in this series seems to have a little good and bad in them. Even Kyubey has an understandable reason for what he does, and . Madoka is an exception, being the only 100% good character.
 * Arguably a Deconstruction
 * And even more so when it's revealed
 * Green Lantern Ring: Generally, a magical girl's abilities and signature attack will remain the same, but they seem to be able to use it for minor things on the fly; this generally adheres to New Powers as the Plot Demands meets Mundane Utility. For example, Mami mostly sticks to summoning enchanted muskets, but can enchant a bat to harm familiars and can create a barrier using a length of chain as a boundary and conduit. Homura once used her powers to fix her eyesight, despite that her main gimmick is totally unrelated.
 * The Greatest Story Never Told:
 * Guest Strip: PMMM continues the recent trend of inviting talented semi-pro and Pixiv artists to draw eye catches and end-of-episode preview art, something that has been traditionally done at the last few pages of Doujinshi for decades. The full list of ending cards can be found in trivia.
 * Guns Akimbo/Gun Kata:And how.
 * Gut Punch:  in episode 3 is something of a shock to the system. Every episode after that is arguably more of a Gut Punch.
 * Hair Decorations: All of the magical girls have some form of this.
 * Hammerspace: One of Homura's abilities. It's shown that she's got an entire armory hidden literally up her sleeve. Mami also has the ability to summon muskets from under her hat and skirt and Sayaka once summons swords from her cape. It's not entirely apparent where Kyoko stores her spear because it sometimes vanishes between shots with no evidence of her dispersing it (episode 8).
 * Heroes Prefer Swords: Played with but probably subverted. Sayaka is the only one to use a sword as her weapon. Although her outlook and motivations fit the classic hero mold, she is far and away the weakest of the magical girls and.
 * Heroic Sacrifice:
 * He Who Fights Monsters: . is a more specific example.
 * Heroes Prefer Swords: Played with but probably subverted. Sayaka is the only one to use a sword as her weapon. Although her outlook and motivations fit the classic hero mold, she is far and away the weakest of the magical girls and.
 * Heroic Sacrifice:
 * He Who Fights Monsters: . is a more specific example.
 * He Who Fights Monsters: . is a more specific example.
 * He Who Fights Monsters: . is a more specific example.
 * He Who Fights Monsters: . is a more specific example.
 * He Who Fights Monsters: . is a more specific example.


 * Hope Spot: And an in universe example in
 * It could be argued that the entire  is one giant Hope Spot.   It takes the events of Episode 12 to pull everything out of the tailspin.
 * Humans Are Flawed: One of the main themes.
 * Humorless Aliens:
 * Hurting Hero: Every Magical Girl, but especially Homura.
 * Broken Hero: Mami.
 * Hyperspace Arsenal: Especially Homura.
 * Hurting Hero: Every Magical Girl, but especially Homura.
 * Broken Hero: Mami.
 * Hyperspace Arsenal: Especially Homura.

I-Z
"WASSYOI WASSYOI WASSYOI WASSYOI"
 * Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each episode title is a line of dialogue from the said episode.
 * If We Get Through This: "...we're all going out for cake!"
 * I Know You Are in There Somewhere Fight:
 * Immortality: Magical girls have Types III and VII. has Type IV. Of all things, despite being Wrong Genre Savvy, Type V is Lampshaded
 * That last spoiler is played with in the manga.
 * At the end of the anime, gets Type I.
 * I'm a Humanitarian:
 * Improbably-Female Cast: Considering the storyline...
 * In Medias Res: Depending on how you view the anime, it can either be Double Subverted or Played Straight.
 * In Spite of a Nail:
 * Likewise,
 * It Always Rains At Funerals:When 's body is recovered and she is given a proper funeral in, it immediately starts raining.
 * It Got Worse: This is the premise of the series.
 * It Sucks to Be the Chosen One: Takes it and runs with it.
 * I Was Told There Would Be Cake/The Cake Is a Lie:.
 * I Will Definitely Protect You
 * Jedi Truth/You Didn't Ask:
 * Jerk Justifications: Homura is mostly Type 3 ("That's the way I am, I can't fix it") while Kyoko is type 1 ("Kindness is weakness").
 * Jerkass Has a Point: Both Homura and Kyoko tried to snap Sayaka out of her Sanity Slippage--Homura violently so--in Episode 8..
 * Killer Rabbit: The witch Charlotte starts off looking like an adorable little stuffed doll.
 * Knight in Sour Armor: Madoka and Homura both exemplify this, but especially Madoka.
 * Knight Templar:
 * Late Arrival Spoiler: seems to be one now, due to fan-reactions, blogs, and especially 4chan mentioning it everywhere.
 * The reason why the headline at the top exists. If you did not know that Episode 3 was a Wham! Episode and did not decide to look at the spoilers (there's a lot of them), you've seen the series properly. Otherwise, good luck.
 * Laughing Mad:
 * The Law of Conservation of Detail: Done straight, but with consequences. This trope was one reason why the storyline was predicted ahead of time, mostly due to the numerous Faust references (again, there's a lot of them). Lists are on The Wiki Rule (here), the Trivia page, and the Fridge page. There is, however, one notable one that is very easy to pass off:
 * Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: Dog Drug Reinforcement makes its debut! Supports up to three players!
 * Knight Templar:
 * Late Arrival Spoiler: seems to be one now, due to fan-reactions, blogs, and especially 4chan mentioning it everywhere.
 * The reason why the headline at the top exists. If you did not know that Episode 3 was a Wham! Episode and did not decide to look at the spoilers (there's a lot of them), you've seen the series properly. Otherwise, good luck.
 * Laughing Mad:
 * The Law of Conservation of Detail: Done straight, but with consequences. This trope was one reason why the storyline was predicted ahead of time, mostly due to the numerous Faust references (again, there's a lot of them). Lists are on The Wiki Rule (here), the Trivia page, and the Fridge page. There is, however, one notable one that is very easy to pass off:
 * Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: Dog Drug Reinforcement makes its debut! Supports up to three players!
 * Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: Dog Drug Reinforcement makes its debut! Supports up to three players!
 * Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: Dog Drug Reinforcement makes its debut! Supports up to three players!
 * Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: Dog Drug Reinforcement makes its debut! Supports up to three players!

"Homura: Repeat. I'll repeat it no matter how many times. I'll live through the same events again and again. Until I can find the only way out. The way to save you from despair. ... My only friend. If... if it's for your sake... I don't mind being locked in this eternal maze!"
 * Leaning on the Fourth Wall:
 * Leitmotif: Each of the six main characters has one. Madoka has Sagitta Luminis (Arrow of Light), Sayaka has Conturbatio (Disorder) and later Decretum (Decision) (same motif, different arrangements), Mami has Credens Justitiam (Believing in Justice), Homura has Puella in Somnio (The Girl in the Dream), Kyoko has Anima Mala (Evil Soul), and Kyubey has Sis Puella Magica (You should be a Magical Girl).
 * Light Is Not Good:
 * The witch from Episode 7, Elsamaria, was Catholic, apparently.
 * Invoked with the, according to a concept art sheet.
 * Lighter and Softer: The second drama CD (appropriately named "Sunny Day Life") is probably the closest we will get to a canon depiction of the show as a conventionally cute Magical Girl series.
 * Limited Wardrobe: Every girl is shown with two outfits each: her school uniform (Madoka, Homura, Sayaka, Mami)/one casual outfit (Kyoko) and her magical girl costume. A slight subversion in the last episode when
 * Literal Genie: Seemingly averted in the few instances Kyubey is seen granting wishes.
 * The Little Detecto: Soul gems, in addition to everything else they do, also function as handy witch detectors.
 * Live Action Adaptation: Apparently, there's going to be a comedic one, courtesy of Nico Nico Douga.
 * Lock and Load Montage: Homura
 * Love Makes You Evil: Played with in regards to Sayaka.
 * Love Triangle: See also the above trope.
 * Lucky Charms Title: 魔法少女まどか☆マギカ, Mahō Shōjo Madoka ☆ Magika.
 * Lying Creator: So much. Gen Urobuchi enjoys teasing the fans.
 * Claiming that the "kyu" in "Kyubey" comes from "cute" . Technically he wasn't lying. The 'Kyu' in 'Kyubey' really did came from "cu-" of "cute". Just without the "-te" part.
 * Before Episode 3, he made a point of complaining about fans speculating as to when the show was going to get really dark: "Come on, we still haven't shown even a single scene with bloodshed yet!"
 * He also claimed that
 * Lyrical Dissonance: The opening may have an irritatingly cute demeanor, but the lyrics are so sad.
 * Made of Iron: Justified.
 * Made From Real Girl Scouts:
 * Magical Girl: It's half of the title, duh.
 * Magical Girl Warrior/Five Woman Band: An archer, a gunner , a swordswoman , a polearm user , and a modern weapons user.
 * Magic Skirt: Madoka's magical girl skirt is basically justified since there are a lot of frills underneath. The other skirts are rather short and the show has a tendency to show a lot of leg, but never more. Especially apparent when is carrying  in her arms in episode 9. There is a side shot with  leg conveniently in the way.
 * Magical Underpinnings of Reality
 * Magitek:
 * Manipulative Bastard:
 * The Masquerade Will Kill Your Dating Life: Being a magical girl is a lonely job.
 * Meaningful Name: There is a freakin' good reason they are called magical girls. . Also,
 * also the name Madoka can be written with the character for "circle"or "round" in Japanese reflecting the  as well as the
 * The final and most powerful Witch seen in the series is Walpurgisnacht. This is the name of spring festival in Central and Northern Europe, and tradition dictates that it is a time that witches would gather together.
 * Mean Character, Nice Actor:
 * Meganekko: Surprisingly enough,
 * Memento MacGuffin: In the last episode,  weapon of choice changes to
 * Million-to-One Chance: What Kyubey says about -- it's never been tried, it's completely illogical, and even he doesn't think it'll work -- raises all the flags for this trope.
 * Mind Rape: This happens to Madoka, when she
 * is not above doing this.  She did not enjoy it.
 * Mini-Dress of Power
 * Mistaken for Gay: Madoka and Sayaka in the second episode by Hitomi, since Sayaka did spend some time flirting with Madoka in Episode 1.
 * Mood Whiplash: People were trying desperately to figure out where exactly the Deconstruction lay in this series. Episodes 1 and 2 were fairly tame, although ominous. Then came Episode 3, complete with new ending.
 * Monster of the Week: The witches. Subverted in that they're not harmless mooks, and that fighting them is actually an emotionally scarring experience. It is even more scarring when.
 * More Dakka: In one scene, Mami briefly manages to achieve this trope using only an unlikely number of single-shot rifles. Also, in Episode 11
 * More Hero Than Thou: Every magical girl or magical girl candidate is adamant about being the only one who will have to throw herself on the blade for the sake of somebody else. As they all get in each other's way doing this, it causes an amount of conflict that would be downright ridiculous if it weren't so depressing.
 * Morning Routine
 * Morton's Fork: On Walpurgisnacht, Homura's choices are:
 * or
 * or
 * Mundane Wish
 * of all people attempts this when she finds out.
 * Musicalis Interruptus: In episode 8, Kyubey finally manage to convince Madoka to make her wish while the overly optimistic music is building up in the background. However,
 * My God, What Have I Done?: Several examples:
 * Sayaka after her Despair Event Horizon where events just keep giving her one Gut Punch after another.
 * Kyoko perhaps felt this way due to her telling Sayaka her backstory, and why she's such a Jerkass who only cared about herself. Which helps explain why Sayaka began to care less and less about the reason why she became a magical girl in the first place. As well as finding out more about their roles and the gems. This may be one reason why she seemed to be trying to hard to help Madoka save her later on.
 * My Greatest Second Chance:
 * Mythology Gag: That black cat that keeps on popping up in the opening? Okay, it doesn't show up in the anime proper, but you can interpret it entirely differently. A black cat is normally associated with witches (you know, the one on a broomstick, casting spells, wearing a pointy hat, and so on). Now think about this for a moment: what was one of the biggest Wham Lines that Kyubey mentioned?
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast:
 * Negative Space Wedgie: When you stop to think about it, a witch's maze is nothing but a big entropy sphere that houses an alternate dimension, something that wouldn't be too unfitting in a sci-fi series.
 * Never Found the Body:
 * This trope's straight version (someone's not really dead unless you see a corpse) seems like it may be coming into play with the revelation about, until you realize that
 * Never Trust a Trailer: The way the previews for the series were set up, the series looked to be rather average and normal as a Magical Girl series.
 * New Transfer Student: Homura.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Almost. In Episode 6, Madoka nearly . To her credit, this actually worked, and to be fair she didn't know the consequences of such an action.
 * Episode 10.
 * Episode 11 drills it in:
 * In Episode 12,
 * Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
 * No Body Left Behind:
 * No Conservation of Energy:
 * When Kyubey explains entropy, he says it involves the net loss of energy, which is not possible in physics. What the term actually describes is the decay of energy into internal energy (associated to its temperature) and its subsequent scattering through space, until the system reaches equilibrium, at which point all energy conversion ceases until further external energy input.
 * No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Double Subverted, Discussed, Exaggerated, and Defied.
 * Kyoko tells Sayaka that
 * Sayaka responds that she disagrees, and will continue to fight in her own way, set to the series' main theme, "You Should Become A Magical Girl".
 * A single episode later,
 * Madoka is nauseated by this system and.
 * No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: goes into one of these against a witch to show how badly she's been broken.
 * No Ontological Inertia:
 * Non-Indicative First Two-and-a-Half Episodes: Be careful of these episodes, as they make the series billed as a Magical Girl series with Slice of Life. That's half-correct, as the second half of Episode 3 demonstrates.
 * Normally I Would Be Dead Now: Subverted with
 * Not So Different:
 * The Obi-Wan: quickly becomes this.
 * Official Cosplay Gear: There are official soul gem necklaces. However, they aren't cosplay gear as such -- they're smaller than the canon Soul Gems -- and are more intended as, well, jewelry. Still really nice, though.
 * Official Couple:
 * Off-Model: Really doesn't have that much of a problem with it (and the instances tend to be from distance shots), but it's absurdly popular so it's a meme anyway. (Spoilers for the entire series!)
 * Oh Crap:
 * Omniscient Morality License:
 * One Degree of Separation: The third drama CD reveals that This was subtly hinted at in the anime proper. But then it further reveals that  This was not hinted at the anime - although to be fair,
 * One Magical Girl Army: With the exception of, Homura is able to defeat literally every witch she encounters by herself.
 * One-Winged Angel: Charlotte in Episode 3.
 * Origins Episode:
 * Our Liches Are Different:
 * Our Souls Are Different
 * Our Witches Are Different: They are reality-warping Eldritch Abominations with more specific powers that seem to be based on a combination of the location they were born at and whatever they were feeling at the time..
 * Out-of-Clothes Experience:
 * Out of the Inferno:
 * Parental Abandonment: Subverted with Madoka who actually has a nice happy family, but played straight with every other magical girl.
 * Mami's and Kyoko's
 * Homura appears to live alone; the nameplate of her residence only has her name,  The implication is that she's Conveniently an Orphan.
 * Sayaka presumably has them, but the only mention they get is when we hear Madoka talking to one on the phone in episode 8.
 * Parody: Meduka Meguca
 * Phantom Zone: The nightmarish other world where Witches hide.
 * Pieta Plagiarism:
 * Pimped-Out Dress: The magical girl outfits, of course. Also,.
 * Pin Pulling Teeth: When Kyoko grabs Homura to keep her from Flash Stepping, Homura pulls a flashbang grenade out of her Bag of Holding and pulls out the pin with her teeth, forcing Kyoko back.
 * Pink Girly Girl And Blue Tomboy: Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki.
 * Plot-Based Voice Cancellation: Homura yells some things to Madoka in the prologue scene in episode 1, but we don't hear it -- and neither, apparently, does Madoka. We learn in episode 10 that.
 * Post Modernism: The witch barriers include many references to both Faust with the runes and writing, and classical artwork. Meanwhile the plot bears many similarities and even several Shout Outs to other anime such as "Evangelion", "Utena", and "Bokurano".
 * Power Crystal: Soul gems.
 * Power Dyes Your Hair: More or less. While the color doesn't change, the cast's hair colors become more vibrant in their Magical Girl forms (in Homura's case, it gets darker).
 * Power Glows:, in Episode 12. In one particular shot you might be tempted to wonder "Why is the sun "?
 * Power Source: Inverted with grief seeds: magical girls shove their corruption into it to prevent their soul gems from dimming.
 * Powered by a Forsaken Child:
 * The Power of Friendship: Episode 10 shows this being played straight, in as much as the series can play it straight.
 * Sayaka presumably has them, but the only mention they get is when we hear Madoka talking to one on the phone in episode 8.
 * Parody: Meduka Meguca
 * Phantom Zone: The nightmarish other world where Witches hide.
 * Pieta Plagiarism:
 * Pimped-Out Dress: The magical girl outfits, of course. Also,.
 * Pin Pulling Teeth: When Kyoko grabs Homura to keep her from Flash Stepping, Homura pulls a flashbang grenade out of her Bag of Holding and pulls out the pin with her teeth, forcing Kyoko back.
 * Pink Girly Girl And Blue Tomboy: Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki.
 * Plot-Based Voice Cancellation: Homura yells some things to Madoka in the prologue scene in episode 1, but we don't hear it -- and neither, apparently, does Madoka. We learn in episode 10 that.
 * Post Modernism: The witch barriers include many references to both Faust with the runes and writing, and classical artwork. Meanwhile the plot bears many similarities and even several Shout Outs to other anime such as "Evangelion", "Utena", and "Bokurano".
 * Power Crystal: Soul gems.
 * Power Dyes Your Hair: More or less. While the color doesn't change, the cast's hair colors become more vibrant in their Magical Girl forms (in Homura's case, it gets darker).
 * Power Glows:, in Episode 12. In one particular shot you might be tempted to wonder "Why is the sun "?
 * Power Source: Inverted with grief seeds: magical girls shove their corruption into it to prevent their soul gems from dimming.
 * Powered by a Forsaken Child:
 * The Power of Friendship: Episode 10 shows this being played straight, in as much as the series can play it straight.
 * The Power of Friendship: Episode 10 shows this being played straight, in as much as the series can play it straight.

"Madoka:"
 * Subverted hard in Episode 3. When Mami gets hyped up on the Power of Friendship during the battle with Charlotte,.
 * The Presents Were Never From Santa: Sayaka (and Mami) falsely believe that their Magical Girl powers are righteous in nature, and people like Homura and Kyoko are misusing their powers for selfish interests.
 * The Promise: In Episode 12,
 * Psychological Horror: The city is cold and sterile. An unspeakable atmosphere of alienation and helplessness permeates it. The witches are completely incomprehensible. Something about the supposedly-helpful mascot is very, very off. Magical Girl meets The World of Darkness ; indeed.
 * Puni Plush: The characters are designed by Aoki Ume, the mangaka of Hidamari Sketch.
 * Pyrrhic Victory:
 * Rain of Arrows: In the final episode, uses this twice, and both were awesome rains of arrows indeed!
 * First time -
 * Second time -
 * Rapunzel Hair:
 * Read the Fine Print:.
 * Real Place Background: Madoka's town is basically a hodgepodge of famous architecture.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: Kyubey.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: initially it seemed Madoka and Sayaka, but later episodes have clearly made it Kyoko and Sayaka. Madoka and Homura fit the bill as well.
 * Red Right Hand: Magical Girls have unique marks on the fingernail of their left middle finger. It can most prominently be seen on Homura and Kyoko in episode 7.
 * Red String of Fate: Fans have interpreted as a variation on this trope.
 * Refusal of the Call:
 * Madoka and Sayaka are at first hesitant to make a contract with Kyubey, which is only worsened after they witness . Sayaka doesn't become a magical girl until Episode 4, and Madoka is a plain Muggle.
 * In Episode 10, it turns out that what is actually going on is that
 * Regular Caller: In the form of Kyubey, who tries to get Sayaka and Madoka to make wishes at least once an episode, often in the most pushy, manipulative manner possible.
 * He finally succeeds in the latter
 * Relationship Values: Crosses over with The Masquerade Will Kill Your Dating Life. A very good premise of the plot is the questioning of why Madoka wants to become a Magical Girl, or why anyone would want to do so. Homura brings this topic up so much, it's almost her Catch Phrase whenever you see them together. and  learned this the hard way, and suffered because of their misunderstanding.
 * Resurrective Immortality:
 * Retconjuration/RetGone:
 * The Right of a Superior Species: Kyubey plays with this trope.
 * Rule of Symbolism: Everything references Faust. Everything.
 * Sanity Slippage:
 * Say My Name: Particularly in Episode 8. Homura for Madoka. Then, at the end of the episode, ! This is notable for the fact that Homura just showed a Not So Stoic moment and that never calls anyone by name, but then proceeds to spend a good deal of Episode 9 calling for.
 * Scenery Gorn: During Madoka's dream in Episode 1.
 * The majority of Episode 10 . Makes it hard to watch later, because later on the very same day that episode aired, a catastrophic tsunami hit Japan following a severe earthquake, leaving many coastal areas resembling the destroyed city.
 * Scenery Porn: Everywhere. Including the above.
 * Schedule Slip: After the 2011 Sendai earthquake, SHAFT announced first that episodes 11 and 12 would be delayed a week, then upped that to "will air some time before April is over." Episodes 11 and 12 were eventually scheduled to air together on April 21st. The last volume of the manga adaptation, and the manga spin-off Oriko Magica, have also been delayed.
 * The cut segments of the anime were later revealed, which explains the delay --
 * Schoolgirl Lesbians: Invoked by Hitomi who is convinced that Madoka and Sayaka have the hots for each other. In her defense, Sayaka spent the first episode giving her that impression.
 * School Uniforms Are the New Black: The Mitakihara Junior High girls are rarely ever seen in something other than their uniforms and magical girl outfits. Partially averted in the manga, where Sayaka is shown in 'casual' outfits on several occasions.
 * Science Fantasy:
 * Screening the Call: Homura is actively trying to prevent Madoka from becoming a magical girl.
 * Screw Destiny: Homura's primary goal is to save Madoka from dying horribly.
 * Screw Yourself: In the Bait and Switch Credits, we see a pair of naked Madokas doing a very touchy-feely Transformation Sequence together.
 * Screwed by the Network: Until April 21, MBS (The station broadcasting Madoka) refused to air the final two episodes, citing the images of destruction in light of the Sendai Earthquake as the reason.
 * Second Episode Morning: Madoka awakens to find out the first episode was not a dream.
 * Seinen
 * Senseless Sacrifice:
 * Sequel Hook: The leaves room for a possible sequel. It helps that even Word of God admits that they would like to make a second season.
 * Specific ones from the last episode are:
 * Debatable, but All There in the Manual
 * And last, but not least, Goethe's Faust, which this show references, has two parts.
 * The third movie of the upcoming film trilogy will be a continuation of the story. Word of God has stated that it began as a plot for the second season that simply wasn't long enough for a Twelve-Episode Anime.
 * : The nature of Homura's powers and apparent goal, as of Episode 8. (Later expanded on, in Episode 10.)
 * Deconstructed as well.
 * Serial Escalation: While the whole anime decides to do this from the get-go, especially after the first Wham! Episode, a specific mention should go to the first Drama CD: The wiki's page on it (has spoilers) decides to explain that Episode 10 was light when comparing the versions of Homura's Dark and Troubled Past. This is extremely appalling after you have watched said episode and Lighter and Softer would be the last thing you would ever want to describe it, since it was one of the Darkest ones in the entire series.
 * Shoot the Dog: In Episode 10,
 * Shout-Out:
 * Episode 12: This has also been used as symbolic bonding between magical girls in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.
 * Another one in 12 --
 * Serial Escalation: While the whole anime decides to do this from the get-go, especially after the first Wham! Episode, a specific mention should go to the first Drama CD: The wiki's page on it (has spoilers) decides to explain that Episode 10 was light when comparing the versions of Homura's Dark and Troubled Past. This is extremely appalling after you have watched said episode and Lighter and Softer would be the last thing you would ever want to describe it, since it was one of the Darkest ones in the entire series.
 * Shoot the Dog: In Episode 10,
 * Shout-Out:
 * Episode 12: This has also been used as symbolic bonding between magical girls in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.
 * Another one in 12 --


 * Episode 9,, several chairs similar to those on which characters from Bokurano sit while piloting Zearth can be seen in her room. Even more of these chairs are added in certain locations throughout the series in the DVD version.
 * Mami Tomoe and Kyoko Sakura have some very familiar names.
 * Kyoko's first name calls back to another redhead with family issues (who showed up about a third of the way through the series). what was her mother's name again?
 * Episode 9,
 * Something of a stretch, but Mami's association with guns and Italian  is just a little reminiscent of the protagonists of Gunslinger Girl. Which honestly tells you all you need to know about this series.
 * Episode 12:
 * Episode 12 also gives one to Fantasia with
 * Skyward Scream: When Homura sees Madoka next to Kyubey in the very first scene of the series. It's either a Big No or a Say My Name moment.
 * Slasher Smile: Almost everyone except Madoka has one in the manga. Kyubey is no exception.
 * Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Mostly pretty far on the cynical side. The finale moves things a bit closer to the idealistic side.
 * Shown Their Work: In regards to, which are not only real-life weapons but also are drawn properly to detail.
 * Soundtrack Dissonance: In Episode 9, we're treated to soft, relaxing violin music as the magical girls fight  Justified as
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Runes in the last episode spell the anime's title as Puella Magi Madoka Magika. (However, the original Latin adjective is indeed "Magica", so this isn't very much debated over.)
 * Also seen with Kyubey, who can be Kyubey, Kyuubey, Kyuubei, Kyubei, Kyuubee, or even Cubé.
 * Rarely with Kyouko versus Kyoko.
 * Spinoff Babies: The novel features a kindergarten-aged Madoka and Sayaka meeting for the first time.
 * Spiritual Successor: Arguably, of Fate/Zero, of which Gen Urobuchi was also the author. Specifically, he wrote in his afterword to the first volume his wish to write a "heartwarming story" (the exact words he used to describe what he wanted to bring to viewers with Madoka before it aired), and  The first half of the afterword itself is essentially a blueprint for Madoka, in terms of "What are the things that will allow Urobuchi to write a happy ending?"
 * For Bokurano, so very much.
 * Spoiler Opening: The cover art (as seen in the picture above), and the opening prominently feature Madoka as a magical girl. However,
 * Standard Female Grab Area:  and it works!
 * The trope is then completely subverted when the 'victim' drops a live stun grenade on the floor and easily escapes in the panic.
 * Starfish Aliens:
 * Stealth Pun:
 * Fans have noticed that the 魔法少女 (mahō shōjo, "magical girl") kanji in the title are stylized enough to make 廃怯少女 (haikyō shōjo, "faltering girl") a valid interpretation.
 * More important and lampshaded later:
 * This gets even more interesting and treads into Meaningful Name territory when you consider "廃怯少女": . Right, then:.
 * witch is named Oktavia von Seckendorff and fights by summoning giant wheels. The German poet Karl von Seckendorff wrote The Wheel of Fate.
 * Stealth Hi Bye: Homura's modus operandi.
 * The Stinger:
 * There's also
 * Stock Footage: A couple of Kyoko's moves in Episode 5 are repeated via this method. There are problems with them meshing with surrounding footage.
 * Fixed for the DVD version.
 * Stock Sound Effects: Though not of the usual sort. If you've watched both series you'll notice this anime shares a lot of sound effects with Bakemonogatari.
 * One of the explosion sounds from Mami's final attack hitting Charlotte in Episode 3 is the same as the sound of a warship exploding in Freelancer.
 * Suicide Pact: The one in Chapter 4.
 * Taking You with Me: Although
 * Technology Porn: Everyone seems to be using the very latest pieces of technology, like interactive whiteboard in Madoka's school and projection keyboard for her home PC.
 * Well, almost everyone.
 * Thanking the Viewer: The final still in the final episode.
 * The Movie: An upcoming trilogy. The first two will be a retelling of the original series, and the third will be a continuation.
 * Theme Naming: Each of the main protagonists has a surname (Kaname, Miki, Akemi, Tomoe, Sakura) that can also be used as a given name.
 * Doubly so in Homura's case--her last name is usually a first name, and vice versa.
 * Theme Tune Cameo: Madoka listens to "Connect", the opening theme, at the record store in the mall in episode 1. Episode 6 also features Kyoko dancing to a techno version of the song on a DDR stand-in.
 * There Are No Therapists: Well, there are, but when witches are involved...
 * Episode 10 reveals.
 * Also.
 * The Four Loves:
 * Becoming a Magical Girl automatically detaches the girl from their loved ones. Though all girls seen so far have phileo love (friendship) as a main motivation.
 * Madoka almost  to rescue her friend.
 * And in the last episode, Madoka demonstrates Agape love in.
 * Sayaka Miki became a Magical Girl because she wanted Eros (romantic) love.
 * Mami Tomoe despised being alone, and wished phileos love from Madoka.
 * Kyoko's That, and
 * Episode 10 reveals that phileos love is Homura
 * Throw-Away Guns: Part of Mami's modus operandi.
 * Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Tried in Episode 5 by Sayaka. Hard to tell if it would be really successful because the fight got interrupted.
 * It worked against the witch in the previous episode.
 * Time Stands Still: Homura's power.
 * Timey-Wimey Ball:
 * (Episode) Title Drop: Each episode's title is a line spoken in that episode. The person who speaks it is the same person to speak the final line of the preview in the previous episode.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl:
 * Sayaka and Madoka fit this respectively.
 * And then Sayaka was the girly girl to Kyoko's tomboy.
 * Too Happy to Live: The creators did this with . Don't go thinking they won't have the guts to do it again.
 * Took a Level In Badass:
 * Too Hot for TV: Said Too Soon sequences below have aired on Internet broadcasts and presumably will be on the DVDs.
 * Too Soon: Suspected to be the reason for why the Schedule Slip is more than the one week of most other shows. Episode 10 shows ; after the 2011 Sendai earthquake (and resultant tsunami), SHAFT apparently re-animated some sequences.
 * Tragic Hero: does everything in her power to be a force of good, but collapses when she couldn't forgive wrongdoings of others as well as her own.
 * Transformation Sequence: While this is a Magical Girl show, these sequences are done in very sparse quantities, very quickly, and for each girl the sequence appears perhaps once or twice in the series (most "transformations" are simply a more realistic rendition of the girl briefly glowing and reappearing in new clothes). They are also not done consistently, averting Stock Footage, and are very rare; for a while, only Mami's, Sayaka's, and Kyoko's could be found.
 * Transformation Trinket: The girls use their soul gems to transform into magical girls.
 * Troper Critical Mass: The page was scroll-worthy as of Episode 3.
 * Troperiffic: It sure did take a while to get down here, huh? Then again, it was scroll-worthy enough to read all that.
 * Trope Overdosed
 * Twenty Minutes Into the Future: There really isn't anything in terms of technology that isn't possible in this day and age, but things like motion-activated lamps, the architecture, and an extremely stylized CD player lend things a futuristic vibe.
 * Two First Names: See Theme Naming above.
 * Two-Teacher School: A second teacher aside of Kazuko didn't even show up until episode 9.
 * Undead Children:
 * Unflinching Walk: Due to a combination of her weapon of choice and her ability, Homura is a master of this and demonstrates exactly how it's done in episode 10.
 * Unreliable Narrator:  may be one.
 * Vagueness Is Coming: The lyrics of "Magia".
 * The event known as Walpurgisnacht.
 * Vicious Cycle:
 * Villainous Breakdown: A very minor one from the resident stoic, but still,
 * Doubles/works better as an Oh Crap,
 * Visual Pun: Minor, possibly unintentional example: in the first episode, Sayaka uses a fire extinguisher on Homura.
 * Walking the Earth:
 * We Have Reserves:
 * Vicious Cycle:
 * Villainous Breakdown: A very minor one from the resident stoic, but still,
 * Doubles/works better as an Oh Crap,
 * Visual Pun: Minor, possibly unintentional example: in the first episode, Sayaka uses a fire extinguisher on Homura.
 * Walking the Earth:
 * We Have Reserves:
 * We Have Reserves:

"Kyubey: That was very bad, Madoka.
 * Weird Moon: The moon phases consist of either dramatic crescent or completely full moons.
 * Wham! Episode: Episode 3. You will NOT be ready.
 * To recap -- the first few episodes were ominous, but mostly standard Magical Girl show fare, leading to lots of fan theories. They had no ending credits montage nor ending theme, relying on the credits showing as the story continued. After the events of Episode 3, we have a fairly good idea where the deconstruction elements lay, and the show now officially has an closing-credits sequence. It's creepy as hell.
 * Another one happens in Episode 6.  Ouch.
 * Another one happens in Episode 8.
 * Why don't we just go ahead and call this a Wham Series while we're at it?
 * In episode 9
 * In episode 10  On that note,
 * Episode 11 sees
 * And in Episode 12, we see
 * Wham! Line:

Madoka: What?

Kyubey: Even on this world, something like, that is crazy."

"Kyubey:"
 * Episode 8 spoilers:

"Homura: I will not allow your plan to succeed, Kyubey... no,."
 * From Episode 8 as well:

"Kyubey You'd all still be living in caves, I think."
 * Episode 11

"Madoka:"
 * And in episode 11:

"Kyubey You've done great, Homura."
 * Also from episode 11:

"Madoka
 * Episode 12:

Kyubey"

"Madoka Hang in there."
 * And finally from Episode 12

"Kyoko: You son of a... Give me a break!"
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: In Episode 7, after having her advice rejected by Sayaka, Kyoko is shown furiously taking bites out of an apple.
 * What Have I Become?: Kyoko's reaction . Her previous arrogant nature is completely dropped, and she's openly horrified.


 * What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic: There is no way that Homura could be, Madoka couldn't possibly be  , and Kyubey representing  ? Patently absurd.
 * What Is One Man's Life in Comparison?:
 * A Million Is a Statistic: It gets worse..
 * Where On Earth Is Mitakihara?: The city has a German shopping mall, the school building is an Austrian prison(!), and the tallest man-made structure is the Burj Khalifa; there is even an oil refinery. Yeah.
 * White Void Room: Homura's room; she puts holograms of her memories over the walls.
 * Also in the manga
 * Whole-Episode Flashback:.
 * Whole-Plot Reference: While it isn't obvious at first, the plot is essentially
 * To an extent,
 * The Wiki Rule: Includes an enormous amount of speculation, a translation of the weird runes, as well as translations of All There in the Manual and Word of God. Can be found here.
 * Wind Turbine Power
 * With Great Power Comes Great Insanity:
 * With Great Power Comes Great Perks: This is Kyoko's attitude after becoming a Magical Girl.  Yet another reference to Faust...
 * Also, insofar as Kyubey is concerned, the "become a magical girl" process involves a lot of this.
 * With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Deconstructed. Is getting your wish granted (which can be as small as [ wishing for a cake) worth having to fight Eldritch Abominations for the rest of your life?
 * Worf Effect: Two examples in Episode 3:
 * The second example is Homura, showing up seconds later (Mami had used magic to subdue her) and beating the witch effortlessly.]] Justified in a later episode when it's revealed that
 * Worf Barrage: Mami's Tiro Finale easily finishes . When Episode 3 comes along, it did little outside of making.
 * Episode 11 shows Homura hammering Walpurgisnacht using rocket launchers, artillery, a couple towers being collapsed on top of her, a lit tanker truck to the face, getting hit by a guided missile, and landing in a pit with a few thousand bombs. Walpurgis just gets right back up as if nothing ever happened.
 * The World Tree: An enormous tree appears post- in the Niconico stream of episode 10.
 * Wounded Gazelle Gambit: pulls this off in the first episode while being chased by.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy: A lot of this goes around but particularly Kyoko in episode 9.
 * Sayaka seems to think that being a seigi no mikata (warrior of justice) in a Gen Urobuchi work is a valid life choice.
 * In most other Magical Girl series, trying to reason with the remaining human part of would probably have worked.
 * X Meets Y: has been described in some circles as Sailor Moon set in The World of Darkness.
 * Yakuza: Homura raids a Yakuza group's locker for small arms after the other magical girls became uncomfortable with things randomly blowing up around them.
 * You Are Not Alone:
 * You Didn't Ask: Kyubey's response to Sayaka regarding why he didn't bother mentioning that becoming a magical girl involves.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: The colors span the rainbow.
 * Your Size May Vary: In the broadcast versions, soul gems vary in size from egg to pear. They're more consistent in the Blu-Ray versions.
 * Kyubey mentions that the size of a soul gem can depend on the magical girl's potential power.
 * Kyoko's spear seems to randomly change length between shots. In a zoomed out shot, the spear is twice her height. When the shot changes immediately afterward, the spear is a more manageable length for her to spin around. There's nothing to really suggest that she can change the number of segments in the spear.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: Madoka in her school girl outfit and Mami, Sayaka and Kyoko in their magical girl outfits.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: The colors span the rainbow.
 * Your Size May Vary: In the broadcast versions, soul gems vary in size from egg to pear. They're more consistent in the Blu-Ray versions.
 * Kyubey mentions that the size of a soul gem can depend on the magical girl's potential power.
 * Kyoko's spear seems to randomly change length between shots. In a zoomed out shot, the spear is twice her height. When the shot changes immediately afterward, the spear is a more manageable length for her to spin around. There's nothing to really suggest that she can change the number of segments in the spear.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: Madoka in her school girl outfit and Mami, Sayaka and Kyoko in their magical girl outfits.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: Madoka in her school girl outfit and Mami, Sayaka and Kyoko in their magical girl outfits.