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Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Difference between revisions
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Things begin to change when, after school, Madoka hears someone's voice calling out to her. This voice belongs to [[Talking Animal|Kyubey]], a small cat- or [[Weasel Mascot|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 - [[Literal Genie|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 [[Deal
Bringing together an all-star staff, ''Puella Magi Madoka Magica'' has [[Studio Shaft]] animating, Shaft's primary director [[Sayonara, Zetsubou
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-Off|Spin Offs]]. ''[[
This series has a [http://wiki.puella-magi.net wiki] [[Troper Critical Mass|which is maintained and updated very efficiently]]. Therefore, proceed with caution as spoilers abound.
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A dub of the series [http://www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk/news/2011-07-29/aniplex-usa-to-dub-madoka-magica-into-english has been confirmed]. Aniplex USA's teaser page for the series can be found [http://madokamagicausa.com here], now updated with more information about the characters and the series itself. Yen Press has [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-10-14/yen-press-adds-madoka-magica-soul-eater-not-yuki-chan confirmed] that they will be publishing the manga adaptation of the series in English. Finally, [http://www.crunchyroll.com/puella-magi-madoka-magica Crunchyroll] and [http://www.hulu.com/madoka-magica Hulu] have begun streaming the series for free.
[[Namco Bandai]] [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2011-08-09/madoka-magica-gets-psp-game-with-gen-urobuchi is developing a video game] for the [[PSP]], ''[[
Plans to make a [http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2011/11/07-1/madoka-magica-film-trilogy-confirmed-by-newtype 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.
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Dojinsoft group Tasogare Frontier, aka Tasofro, [http://www.tasofro.net/mdk/ has released a Madoka fangame] entitled ''Grief Syndrome''.
Compare ''[[
Compare and contrast ''[[
For some of the inspiration of the series, see ''[[Faust]]''.
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** [[The Mentor|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]]: ''[[What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made
* [[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
* [[Adult Fear]]. Let's see, {{spoiler|Mami is missing, Sayaka is found dead}}, 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.
** {{spoiler|When Madoka does [[Abstract Apotheosis]], everybody except for her little brother and Homura forget her. That means her own mother doesn't remember her.}}
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* [[All There Is to Know About "The Crying Game"]]: Let's keep this ''as clear as possible'': the majority<ref>which would be anywhere between 50%-80%</ref> 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 [[Troper Critical Mass|size of this page]] and the [[Late Arrival Spoiler|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 [[Altum Videtur|their]] [[Meaningful Name|respective]] tropes.
* {{spoiler|[[And the Adventure Continues...]]: The series ends with witches being replaced with demons, so that Magical Girls still have something to fight. The very last scene shows Homura continuing to fight.}}
** [[Averted]] in the manga adaptation, {{spoiler|wherein after this, the final page has Ultimate Madoka taking Homura with her to the new plane of existence to be with her for all eternity.}}
* {{spoiler|[[Alternate Timeline]]}}: It is a [[Running Gag]] on the Puella Magi internet pages that you will see {{spoiler|''how many times is it now'' formatted like this in some kind of way}}. Detailed explanation:
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* [[Artistic License Physics]]: {{spoiler|(Fun fact: priority one for someone with an interest in extending the life of the universe would be ''shutting off all the stars,'' which throw away vast amounts of energy just to light up dust and dead rock.)}}
* [[Art Shift]]/[[Medium Blending]]: A witch and her barrier will employ one or the other.
** The third episode stops borrowing from the ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou
** 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. [[Backstory|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]]''.
* {{spoiler|[[Ascend to
** In the manga, {{spoiler|Ultimate Madoka takes Homura to be with her forever some unspecified time afterwards.}}
* [[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.
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** Episode 11 reveals the reason why Madoka has so much power. {{spoiler|Time loops centered on her added to the power of each timelines' Madoka.}}
* [[Ax Crazy]]: A character becomes more and more [[Ax Crazy]] to show her descent into madness and despair. {{spoiler|Sayaka begins showing signs of this at the end of Episode 7.}}
* [[Bait and Switch Credits]]: The opening is something that would fit perfectly on any typical [[Magical Girl]] show, with [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] to [[
** [[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.
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* [[Blatant Lies]]: [[Manipulative Bastard|Kyubey]] does not, since he considers himself ''above'' lying, but [[Troll|Gen Urobuchi]] does. ''[[Lying Creator|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. {{spoiler|No wonder Mami got eaten by her; she wears all yellow.}}
* [[Blessed
** {{spoiler|[[Cursed
* [[Blonde, Brunette, Redhead]]: Mami, Homura, and Kyoko {{spoiler|are the only main magical girls still existing in the rewritten universe.}}
* [[Bloodier and Gorier]]: Where the anime avoids depicting gore, the manga revels in it. [[Gory Discretion Shot|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
** Strangely, the mangas reads like a bastard child of ''[[Elfen Lied]]'': extremely cute characters with a [[Fan Service]] [[Covers Always Lie|cover]], but [[Gorn]] all over the place. All we need now is an [[R-Rated Opening]]...[[Les Yay|oh wait]], that already happened in the original anime and ''[[Oriko Magica]]''.
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc_q5WNQ8uA 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.
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* [[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 {{spoiler|timeline}} shown, Sayaka is the weakest [[Magical Girl]] shown. {{spoiler|Even in the best-possible-timeline ending, she still dies, despite being partnered with Kyoko and Mami.}}
* [[Cash Cow Franchise]]: ''[[Wham! Episode|One episode]]'' was all it took for this series' (and the company's) popularity to go through the roof. Now [[Studio Shaft]] [[Bakemonogatari
* [[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, {{spoiler|the '''魔'''法少'''女''' ('''Ma'''hou Shou'''jo''') - magical girls - turn into '''魔女''' (Majo) - witches.}}
** {{spoiler|In the new universe, this is even more true -- when the soul gem runs out of power, Ultimate Madoka takes the despair -- and the soul gem -- away to the afterlife.}}
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** 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 [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica
* [[Combat Tentacles]]: Gertrud has this attack, as does Elsa Maria.
* [[Conspicuous CG]]:
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* [[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 {{spoiler|after having lost all of their own hopes as Magical Girls}}, and exist mostly to be destroyed by magical girls. Magical girls have their wishes fulfilled, got magic power and fancy costumes, {{spoiler|turned into liches, and}} must live a life of constant battle, where the tiniest mistake can be fatal, until they die {{spoiler|or become witches themselves}}. All of this is because {{spoiler|Kyubey's race, the Incubators, apparently want to counter entropy by using the souls of teenage girls as an energy source.}}
** 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
** {{spoiler|...but eventually subverted! Everyone gets a happy ending in the last episode, with the exception of Madoka and Sayaka, who get [[Bittersweet Ending|Bittersweet Endings]].}}
* [[Credits Running Sequence]]
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** Charlotte, which looks and acts like something from a goofy kid's cartoon, in a setting that is anything but {{spoiler|even after [[Mood Whiplash]] sets in}}. This {{spoiler|and speculations regarding what led to her fixation on cheese}} apparently inspired enough sympathy for Charlotte within certain elements of the fandom such that some began to think that [[Fix Fic|she would have made a good pet/friend/adopted-family for Mami]] while a handful of others even outright [[Crack Pairing|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 [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica
* [[Darker and Edgier]]: Expect no less from the author of [[
* [[Darkest Hour]]: Episode 11 {{spoiler|Walpurgisnacht has endured an army's worth of firepower from the lone Homura, who has finally given up hope of the [[Groundhog Day Loop]] ever saving Madoka, who steps up to make her wish...}}
* [[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.
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** The music in the scene near the end of episode 8. See [[Musicalis Interruptus]] below.
** The opening theme song {{spoiler|is sung by Homura in the post-Episode 12 world. The lyrics and symbolism make perfect sense once you realize this.}}
* {{spoiler|[[Deal
* [[Dead Person Conversation]]: {{spoiler|When Madoka was on her way toward goddess-hood, she met [[Heroic Sacrifice|Kyoko]] and [[Cruel and Unusual Death|Mami]] in... somewhere suspiciously similar to Mami's apartment. Chat and [[Brick Joke|cakes]] were had. For some reason, Sayaka was nowhere to be seen.}}
* [[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 Girl|magical girls]]. Now, a lot of these elements are merely [[Playing
* {{spoiler|[[Decon Recon Switch]]: Specifically, this series deconstructs [[The Power of Love|the power of heart]] often used in [[Magical Girl]] anime. The show does this by drawing attention to the fact that the power of what the girls wish for (the desires of their heart) are never as pure and noble as many shows often assume they would be (these are young girls after all). Tragedy ensues because of their often selfish and unclear desires. The ending, however, reconstructs the power of heart completely in that a wish made for all the right reasons can essentially become the most powerful force to ever exist.}}
* [[Death By Origin Story]]: Mami's and Kyoko's parents.
* [[Department of Redundancy Department]]: The Latin title [[Covers Always Lie|reads as this]], but it's subverted in that there's an alternate, more accurate translation (based off of [[Altum Videtur]]): {{spoiler|''Girl of the Sorcerer: Magician Madoka''. Furthermore, "Puella" literally means "a young girl" but it's derived from "Puerulus", which means "a young slave". "Magi", depending on the context, can be used in two ways: "Magician" or "Deceiver", the latter of which is the closest derivation. The series' title can thus also be translated to "Slave to the Deceiver, Magician Madoka"}}
* [[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 [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica
* [[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 [[Level Ate|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.
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* [[Distant Finale]]: The last pages of the manga occur some unspecified time after the last scene in the anime.
* [[The Ditz]]: Madoka, and {{spoiler|In the first few timelines, Homura.}}
* [[Doing in
* [[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 {{spoiler|Mami's death, on the grounds that she didn't enter the fight until Mami was killed in order to take the witch for herself. However, both the audience and Madoka know that Mami had cast a binding spell on Homura, meaning that she couldn't have stepped in until it was too late.}}
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** The backstory of {{spoiler|Kyoko Sakura winds up with her father murdering the rest of her family}} once the truth is revealed to them.
** {{spoiler|Mami, in Episode 10, as a result of discovering the [[Awful Truth]] about becoming a witch. She was also going to take down everyone else, but Madoka stops her after Kyoko's fall.}}
* [[Due to
* [[Dull Eyes of Unhappiness]]: Magical girls get this after their {{spoiler|Soul Gem is taken away from them, due to them being effectively dead}}.
* [[DVD Bonus Content]]: The DVD / Blue Ray releases have soundtracks and audio dramas - at least two of the dramas can be considered canon, and [[All There in the Manual|reveal important backstory information]].
* [[Dying Alone]]: {{spoiler|Kyoko performs a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to kill Oktavia so that Sayaka doesn't have to die alone.}}
* [[Dying
* {{spoiler|[[Earn Your Happy Ending]]}}: The series' {{spoiler|[[Bittersweet Ending]]}} would not have been possible without {{spoiler|Madoka and Homura's sacrifices}}.
* [[Easter Egg]]: There's a ton of content in the series that is easy to miss at first, such as [[Freeze
* [[Eldritch Abomination]]: The true form of witches. {{spoiler|Kyubey can also be considered a representative of one too. He hails from a race that utilizes the emotions and souls of magical girls as an energy source that violates the second law of thermodynamics. Considering that Kyubey essentially kick-starts the process of creating Eldritch abominations known as witches, he is arguably the Eldritch abomination behind the Eldritch abominations.}}
* [[Eldritch Location]]: The barrier that surrounds each witch.
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** 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 [[Vagueness Is Coming|seems to imply]].
* [[Enhanced
* [[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]].
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** Similarly, each ending progressively becomes darker.
** The final image of episode 10's outro is changed from just Sayaka, Madoka, and Mami. This time [http://images.puella-magi.net/thumb/9/93/Ep10-ending-group.jpg/800px-Ep10-ending-group.jpg Kyoko and Homura] are in the picture, too.
* [[Exactly What It Says
** {{spoiler|[[Soul Jar|Souls are literally inside the Soul Gem.]] This is even more literal if one considers that [http://bit.ly/ft7koZ the Japanese word for "crystal" is also used to mean manifestations in general;] a "soul gem" would be a "materialized soul".}}
** {{spoiler|As stated by Kyubey, young growing females are called girls. So what do we call the girls that will grow up into a witch? Why, magical girls, of course!}}
* [[Expy]]: Mami has the same hair style as [[Rozen Maiden|Kanaria]], both with flower accessories.
** Madoka's [[Magical Girl]] dress (as shown in promo artwork and the OP) is suspiciously similar to [[Cardcaptor Sakura
** 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, [[Actor Allusion|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 [[Bokurano|Koyemshi]]...
** Or [[D
** 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... [[Yami to Boushi
** Homura's {{spoiler|[[Mental Time Travel]]}} ability, and {{spoiler|her unshakable determination on saving Madoka from her death?}} Oh, that's a {{spoiler|certain [[Steins
** {{spoiler|Past!Homura}} is somewhat similar to Miranda from [[D
** Kyoko looks like Yoko from [[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]], and has a similar name. She also bears more than a passing resemblance to [[Shakugan no Shana|Shana]] in both appearance and [[Tsundere|personality]].
*** She's a ''lot'' [[Chaotic Selfish|closer to]] [[Disgaea|Etna]], [[Deadpan Snarker|though]].
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* [[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
** [[Spoiler Opening|Kyoko appears in the opening credits long before making her first appearance in an episode proper.]]
** During a [[Freeze
** In the ending, {{spoiler|Sayaka's silhouette is facing away from Madoka. [[Start of Darkness|Guess what happens]] [[And Then John Was a Zombie|after she contracts?]]}}
** The conversation between Madoka, Sayaka, and Hitomi about {{spoiler|Homura}} in Episode 1. {{spoiler|In Episode 10 we find nearly all of it is relevant, even Sayaka's throwaway joke about "Is this moe?"}}
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** Doesn't hurt that a lot of it has shots that are [[Diebuster|visually]] [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|reminiscent]] [[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann|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 [[Faust|Faustian]] motifs and [[Gratuitous German]] are abundant?
* [[Ghost in
* [[The Glasses Come Off]]: Just before {{spoiler|the last "iteration" of past}}, Homura takes off her glasses and uses her powers to restore her eyesight.
* [[Gory Discretion Shot]]: {{spoiler|When Charlotte eats Mami in episode 3.}} Subverted, as afterward we see it {{spoiler|dive down and start tearing the corpse apart like a wild animal.}} It pans away again, to the {{spoiler|[[Heroic BSOD|disbelieving and horrified Sayaka and Madoka]] watching on}}, but ''[[Hell Is That Noise|the sounds continue]]''--this just makes it ''worse''.
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** Arguably a [[Deconstruction]] {{spoiler|of the [[Save Scumming]], showing that if someone were ''actually'' to try this sort of thing, it wouldn't have [[Break the Cutie|the best effect]] [[Broken Bird|on their mental state]].}}
** And even more so when it's revealed {{spoiler|it is Homura's looping which is making [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|Madoka and thus her Witch more and more powerful every time]].}}
* [[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
* [[The Greatest Story Never Told]]: {{spoiler|In the end, Homura remains as the only living witness to everything that has happened, and the new version of Kyubey says he'll have to take her word for it since no proof of it remains.}}
* [[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 [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica
* [[Guns Akimbo]]/[[Gun Kata]]:[http://sadpanda.us/images/423480-M5O6NMA.gif And how.]
** {{spoiler|Not that it helps...}}
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== I-Z ==
* [[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!" {{spoiler|[[Portal (
* [[I Know You Are in There Somewhere Fight]]: {{spoiler|Deconstructed. Kyoko and [[Talking the Monster
* [[Immortality]]: Magical girls have Types III{{spoiler|, V,}} and VII. {{spoiler|Kyubey}} has Type IV. Of all things, despite being [[Wrong Genre Savvy]], [[Arc Number|Type V]] is [[Lampshade|Lampshaded]] {{spoiler|in [[The Reveal|Episode 6]]. The immortality and effect of the magical girl transformation. Most girls turn into witches long before it becomes noticeable. Homura might be proving in [[The Stinger]] that you can theoretically live forever as a magical girl as long as you don't exhaust your magic and never give up hope.}}
** That last spoiler is played with in the manga. {{spoiler|The manga goes a bit further in the timeline, showing that eventually Homura does stop fighting and joins Madoka beyond existence. It is not shown when or how this happens.}}
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* [[It Always Rains At Funerals]]:When {{spoiler|Sayaka}}'s body is recovered and she is given a proper funeral in {{spoiler|episode 11}}, it immediately starts raining.
* [[It Got Worse]]: This is the premise of the series.
* [[It Sucks to Be
* [[I Was Told There Would Be Cake]]/[[The Cake Is a Lie]]: {{spoiler|In Soviet Russia, cake eats you}}.
* [[I Will Definitely Protect You]]
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** 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 ([[Snark Bait|there's a lot of them]]), you've seen the series properly. Otherwise, good luck.
* [[Laughing Mad]]: {{spoiler|Sayaka, at the end of Episode 7 and the beginning of Episode 8.}}
* [[The Law of Conservation of Detail]]: Done straight, but with consequences. This trope was one reason why the storyline was predicted [[First Episode Spoiler|ahead of time]], mostly due to the numerous [[Faust]] references ([[Snark Bait|again, there's a lot of them]]). Lists are on [[The Wiki Rule]] ([http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Main_Page here]), [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica
** {{spoiler|She's shown wearing only one of them, which makes sense, since the ribbon is a precious memento from Madoka, Homura probably has the other locked up in a safe somewhere. That's probably why Homura offered to give one of the ribbons to Madoka's mother.}}
** {{spoiler|In the manga, Homura wears her hair in pigtails in the new universe, using both ribbons.}}
* [[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo]]: ''[[Dance Dance Revolution|Dog Drug Reinforcement]]'' makes its debut! Supports up to three players!
{{quote| WASSYOI WASSYOI WASSYOI WASSYOI}}
* [[Leaning
* [[Leitmotif]]: Each of the six main characters has one. [[Friend to All Living Things|Madoka]] has [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvzp1ZgE5TA&feature=related Sagitta Luminis] (Arrow of Light), [[Knight Templar|Sayaka]] has [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX5kJ11Mdbs Conturbatio] (Disorder) and later [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yXUjLjO2X0 Decretum] (Decision) (same motif, different arrangements), [[The Obi-Wan|Mami]] has [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iutt7mdLeCk Credens Justitiam] (Believing in Justice), [[Determinator|Homura]] has [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpX9RBDsOGs Puella in Somnio] (The Girl in the Dream), [[Fallen Hero|Kyoko]] has [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHxdIa6RTCs Anima Mala] (Evil Soul), and [[Manipulative Bastard|Kyubey]] has [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrKelyhkbqU Sis Puella Magica] (You should be a Magical Girl).
* [[Light Is Not Good]]:
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* [[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 {{spoiler|Ultimate Madoka is seen with a more complex uniform.}}
* [[Literal Genie]]: Seemingly averted in the few instances Kyubey is seen granting wishes.
** {{spoiler|Probably a case of [[Zig
* [[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]].
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** {{spoiler|Episode 12 suggests that this was later averted due to the major [[Retcon]] done by Madoka.}}
* [[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''. {{spoiler|It's a bit of [[Lost in Translation|Japanese wordplay]]: In written Japanese "magical girl" contains the characters for "young girl" and "witch" - "magical girl" can then be read as "[[Tomato in
** also the name Madoka can be written with the character for "circle"or "round" in Japanese reflecting the {{spoiler|cyclical nature of the magical girl,witch,incubator relationship}} as well as the {{spoiler|circular repetition of timelines that revolve around her.}}
** 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. {{spoiler|Walpurgisnacht is a fusion of many different witches.}}
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* {{spoiler|[[Mental Time Travel]]: The mechanics behind the fulfillment of Homura's wish.}}
* {{spoiler|[[Mercy Kill]]: Sayaka receives one from Kyoko. Homura to Madoka in one timeline.}}
** {{spoiler|At the end of the anime, Madoka performs a [[Cosmic Retcon]] that basically does this to every magical girl that is about to become a witch (including ones that existed in the past). Though they may actually [[Ascend to
* {{spoiler|[[Meta Twist]]: Bacause of Gen Urobuchi's [[Saya no Uta|previous]] [[Fate
* [[Million-to-One Chance]]: What Kyubey says about {{spoiler|Kyoko's desperation move}} -- 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. {{spoiler|The show promptly goes on to subvert the trope: it's completely illogical, so ''of course'' it doesn't work.}}
* '''[[Mind Rape]]''': This happens to Madoka, when she {{spoiler|got caught in the witch Kirsten's barrier. The witch then uses her powers to torture Madoka by re-playing Mami's death over and over while subjecting her to [[Body Horror]].}}
** {{spoiler|Kyubey}} is not above doing this. {{spoiler|He shows Madoka how the world has been affected by his [[Deal
* [[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.
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* [[Power Glows]]: {{spoiler|Madoka}}, in Episode 12. In one particular shot you might be tempted to wonder "Why is the sun {{spoiler|pink}}"?
* [[Power Source]]: [[Inverted]] with grief seeds: magical girls shove their corruption into it to prevent their soul gems from dimming.
* [[Powered
* [[The Power of Friendship]]: Episode 10 shows this being played straight, [[Deconstruction|in as much as the series can play it straight]]. {{spoiler|The reason Homura keeps repeating things is because she wants to save Madoka. She outright says so at the end of her [[Day in The Limelight]] episode.}}
{{quote| '''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. {{spoiler|Madoka}}... My only friend. If... if it's for your sake... I don't mind being locked in this eternal maze!}}
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* [[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. {{spoiler|Of course they are wrong, their powers have nothing to do with morality. Not at all.}}
* [[The Promise]]: In Episode 12, {{spoiler|Madoka promises Homura that she will see her again someday. It's insinuated that all magical girls will be with Madoka after they run out of magic; she is shown collecting their grief and taking their soul gems.}}
* [[Psychological Horror]]: The city is cold and sterile. An unspeakable atmosphere of alienation and helplessness permeates it. The witches are [[You Cannot Grasp the True Form|completely incomprehensible]]. Something about the supposedly-helpful mascot is very, ''very'' off. [[Magical Girl]] [[X Meets Y|meets]] ''[[
* [[Puni Plush]]: The characters are designed by Aoki Ume, the mangaka of [[Hidamari Sketch]].
* [[Pyrrhic Victory]]: {{spoiler|Any timeline where Walpurgisnacht is beaten ends up with Mitakihara in ruins and the combatants either dead or having used so much magic that they'll shortly become witches themselves.}}
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* [[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. {{spoiler|Kyoko}} and {{spoiler|Mami}} learned this the hard way, and suffered because of their misunderstanding.
* [[Resurrective Immortality]]: {{spoiler|Kyubey can come back every time he's killed and devours his old body. }}
* [[Retconjuration]]/RetGone: {{spoiler|Madoka's wish causes Witches to cease to exist, by Madoka causing magical girls to vanish before becoming witches. This also makes her [[Ascend to
* [[The Right of a Superior Species]]: Kyubey plays with this trope. {{spoiler|He turned vunerable teenage girls into magical girls in order to fight witches, but doesn't tell them that he does so by turning them into [[Our Liches Are Different|Liches]]. Then the girls find out that if they don't keep their [[Transformation Trinket|soul gem]] pure, they become witches too, and it '''then''' it turns out he's doing all this to collect energy to fight the heat death of the universe. He justifies it by wanting to prevent said heat death, and by the fact that his kind has been assisting humanity since the stone age. All this while subtly implying that his race regards humanity the way humanity regards cattle. However, Kyubey doesn't have emotions, so he doesn't do this because he thinks he superior to humanity (or at least that's not the most important reason). He does it because they need to prevent the universe ending, and this is the most efficient way to do it.}}
* [[Rule of Symbolism]]: Everything references [[Faust]]. Everything. {{spoiler|In a subversion, Madoka wasn't the Faustian character. Sayaka was. Thanks to the Gretchen symbolism with Madoka and Homura's desire to protect her, Homura may represent Faust as well. Since different interpretations of Faust include both redemption and doom, one could argue both Homura and Sayaka are Faust.}}
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** {{spoiler|Madoka's wish is essentially this codified.}}
* [[Screw Yourself]]: In the [[Bait and Switch Credits]], we see a pair of naked Madokas doing a very touchy-feely [[Transformation Sequence]] together.
* [[Screwed
* [[Second Episode Morning]]: Madoka awakens to find out the first episode was not a dream.
* [[Seinen]]
* [[Senseless Sacrifice]]: {{spoiler|Kyoko's. Subverted, from Kyubey's point of view.}}
* [[Sequel Hook]]: The {{spoiler|[[Bittersweet Ending]]}} 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: {{spoiler|Madoka says (as she [[Ascended to A Higher Plane of Existence|Ascends To a Higher Plane Of Existence]]) that she is going to meet "everyone", and will meet Homura again one day. Madoka's little brother still seems to remember her. The ending is basically [[And the Adventure Continues...]], and then there's all of [[The Stinger]], including a scene which shows in silhouette what are presumably the human forms of the witches.}}
** Debatable, but [[All There in the Manual]] {{spoiler|gives a potential prequel hook by describing three witches that don't appear in the anime, and leaving several aspects about Walpurgisnacht [[Only Known
** And last, but not least, [[Goethe]]'s ''[[Faust]]'', which this show references, has two parts.
** [[The Movie|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]].
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{{quote| Madoka: {{spoiler|This is my prayer. This is my wish. Fulfill it, Incubator!}}}}
** Episode 9, {{spoiler|When Kyubey explains the purpose of magical girls and witches, along with his real role in it to Madoka}}, 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.
** [[Creamy Mami|Mami]] [[Sailor Moon|Tomoe]] and Kyoko [[Cardcaptor Sakura
** Kyoko's first name calls back to another redhead with family issues (who showed up about a third of the way through the series). [[Evangelion|what was her mother's name again?]]
** {{spoiler|Madoka's appearance to the magical girls in the past is more than a little reminiscent of [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|the "Everyone gets turned into Tang"]] sequence.}}
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** Something of a stretch, but Mami's association with guns and Italian {{spoiler|plus the fact that she became a magical girl directly after becoming an orphan}} 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: {{spoiler|1=Ultimate Madoka, aka [[Fan Nickname|Godoka/Madokami]] has a rather interesting similarity to the [[Heartcatch Precure|Mugen silhouette]] albeit somehow even ''more'' powerful. The similarities between the two are made obvious in [http://www.gaycork.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=279&pictureid=2596 this fanart]}}
** Episode 12 also gives one to ''[[
* [[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.
** {{spoiler|It turns out to be a [[Big No]], since Madoka accepting the contract will end with her death and cause Homura to repeat the timeline ''again''.}}
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** {{spoiler|On a smaller note, the grief seed of the witch is exactly the same thing.}}
* [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]: In Episode 9, we're treated to soft, relaxing violin music as the magical girls fight {{spoiler|Sayaka's Witch form, Oktavia von Seckendorff.}} Justified as {{spoiler|it's a [[Songs of Solace|Song Of Solace]] for Oktavia.}}
* [[Spell My Name
** Also seen with Kyubey, who can be Kyubey, Kyuubey, Kyuubei, Kyubei, Kyuubee, or even Cubé. {{spoiler|The fact this comes from "incubator" does not help.}}
** 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 ''[[
** 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, {{spoiler|we don't see her as one until episode 10, as part of Homura's backstory, which makes sense as she was actively trying to dissuade Madoka from becoming one in the first place.}}
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** 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
* [[Technology Porn]]: Everyone seems to be using the very latest pieces of technology, like [[wikipedia:Interactive whiteboard|interactive whiteboard]] in Madoka's school and [[wikipedia:Projection keyboard|projection keyboard]] for her home PC.
** Well, [http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Poorfag almost everyone].
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* [[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 {{spoiler|became a magical girl (thus accepting a [[Deal
** And in the last episode, Madoka demonstrates Agape love in {{spoiler|her wish to rewrite the laws of the universe so no magical girl will have to suffer turning into a witch ever by [[Heroic Sacrifice|absorbing all of their despair]]}}.
** Sayaka Miki became a [[Magical Girl]] because she wanted Eros (romantic) love. {{spoiler|Not getting it drove her to her [[Start of Darkness]] and then to a [[Face Heel Turn]].}}
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** It worked against the witch in the previous episode.
* [[Time Stands Still]]: Homura's power.
* [[Timey-Wimey Ball]]: {{spoiler|Homura's time travel is specifically creating alternate quantum universes, mostly divergent upon if/when Madoka becomes a magical girl, and just how powerful she is. Then she [[Ascend to
* (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]]:
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* [[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 [[Talking the Monster
* [[X Meets Y]]: has been described in some circles as [[Sailor Moon]] set in ''[[
* [[Yakuza]]: Homura raids a Yakuza group's locker for small arms after the other magical girls became uncomfortable with things randomly [[Stuff Blowing Up|blowing up]] around them.
* [[You Are Not Alone]]: {{spoiler|[[The Stinger]] after episode 12: "Don't forget. Always, somewhere, someone is fighting for you. As long as you remember her, you are not alone."}}
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