Puella Magi Madoka Magica/Tropes P-T

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. 

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"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!"
 * 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.
 * Pietà 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.


 * 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:

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 * 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.
 * Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory:
 * Rule of Symbolism: Everything references Faust. Everything.
 * The Right of a Superior Species: Kyubey plays with this trope.
 * Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory:
 * Rule of Symbolism: Everything references Faust. Everything.

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"Madoka:"
 * 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 21. 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 --
 * 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.
 * 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.

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 * Taking You with Me: Although
 * Technology Porn: Everyone seems to be using the very latest pieces of technology, like interactive whiteboards in Madoka's school and a 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.
 * (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
 * Twelve-Episode Anime: Including two movies, Puella Magi Madoka Magicka: The Movie and Puella Magi Madoka Magicka: The Rebellion.
 * Puella Magi Madoka Magicka: The Movie contains all the twelve episodes combined into one movie.
 * 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.
 * Two First Names: See Theme Naming above.
 * Two-Teacher School: A second teacher aside of Kazuko didn't even show up until episode 9.