Review: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica 6

How the hell do I know YOU'RE not planning something?!

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica is certainly a unique show with interesting characters. Good writing, too. It's not afraid to kill off characters, as demonstrated by episode 3. Now, what I wonder is this: will another one get killed off? If so, will it be Kyubey? God, I hope so. Damn thing never stops staring at you. More importantly, can this show make a statement at the halfway point of the season? Shall we find out?

Review: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica 5

It's my destiny to have you stare me down 24/7? No, thanks.

Continuing from last week's drama surrounding Madoka, we find ourselves in the cycle of grief.  That, and Sayaka's apparently made her wish already, judging by her Big Damn Heroes moment in last week's episode. In fact, that's my chief issue with the show right now.  It's showing us events and not explaining them well enough.

Wishes and more after the break!

Review: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica 4

Sayaka contemplates what to do, knowing they could die.

After last week's not-terribly-shocking twist, I was left no choice but to keep watching.  Yes, it depressed me a bit. But after Ruiko Saten's emo moment in Railgun, I'm used to depressing backstories and the angst that comes with them.  What will Madoka do with her wish, and will Kyubey twist it to benefit himself?

The episode opens with Sayaka going to visit Kamijo, who's moved to rehab. Umm, what happened to the witch? Where the hell is Mami's body and head?  Such unexplained changes...  Ah, well. Seems as though Sayaka's still unsure about her wish.  Madoka, meanwhile, is in a state of pure depression.  Mami's death hit close to home for Madoka, it seems. 

More angst after the break!

Review: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica 3

After last week's preview of what it means to be a Puella Magi, I felt compelled to continue with the series, in the hopes we would see Madoka get in on the action. Would I be granted this hope? Or would my hopes be crushed?

Lesbainism and more after the break!

Review: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica 2

The cliffhanger from last week's episode left me intrigued about Madoka's fate. As such, I'm hoping said cliffhanger will get resolved this week. After all, I was kinda expecting some mahou shoujo action last week and didn't get any, so I'm hoping I can get said action this week.

This week, we get an explanation, a la Yuki Nagato dragging Kyon to her apartment. Madoka goes to Mami's apartment, where she gets told everything she needs to know about Puella Magi. Apparently, "Soul Gems" are proof of a contract with Kuybey, or however you spell it. They're also the apparent source of a magcial girl's power. They must fight witches of some kind, and it is evidently extremely life-risking. Oh, and it apparently must be kept a secret that you're a magical girl. Geez, someone get me my list of magical girl tropes.

The episode struck a nice balance between the school life and explaining Puella Magi. The animation was very crisp, as expected from Studio SHAFT. The dialogue wasn't filled with technobabble, and it got straight to the point. There was also a rather amusing scene revolving around an apparent yuri fangirl.



The balance was nice, but the fact that it kept flipping back and forth between school and apartment was rather distracting. Once the exposition finished, however, the episode was pretty smooth sailing.

Other than the heavy exposition, this was another plain episode with little to no mahou shoujo action scenes. Quite frankly, it's starting to irritate me. I imagine this is a 12- or 13- episode series, so the fact that we're almost a quarter of the way done with few transformation sequences is very discouraging. I hope the show can focus a bit more on actual magical girl work now that the expostition's out of the way.

Madoka Magica 2:

Plot Advancement: 2.5/5
Comedy: 4.5/5
Characters: 4/5
Episode Plot: 3.5/5
Animation Quality: 4/5

Overall: 3.5/5

Review: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica 1

It's no secret that I like magical girl shows. So when I saw such a show on the season chart, I was thrilled. That show is Puella Magi Madoka Magica. A story regarding a girl who can grant wishes through magic, it looks interesting on paper. Was it interesting in application?

Well, first impressions are important. The art style, which almost looks hand-sketched, was unique, in an age where computer-generated images are commonplace. The show doesn't appear to follow the standard magical girl formula, which is: Monster of the Week appears, magical girl transforms and fights it, friendship speech, happy end. Granted, it's the first episode, so I'm not expecting immediate action.

When you think of a magical girl show, a surreal opening scene rarely comes to mind. That was different with this series. Even though it was a dream, such a dark opening scene might turn genre fans off to the series. And while a unique style is good, I think the animation staff could have put a bit more effort into this episode.

I do have high expectations for my favorite genre of anime. As such, this episode didn't quite live up to those expectations. While the art was unique, it left a lot to be desired, as I couldn't feel much depth in the animation. The dialogue was okay, but the script writers could have done better. I'll keep watching, but if the overall quality of the episode does not improve, I may not finish this series.


Madoka Magica 1

Plot Advancement: N/A
Comedy: 2.5/5
Episode Plot: 3.5/5
Characters: 3/5

Overall: 3/5

Fall 2010 Season Review

I won't lie. I had really low expectations for this season after the crapfest known as Summer 2010. As such, I wasn't expecting much from the fall shows. Man, oh man. I would be proven wrong in a heartbeat. I ended up finishing 4 series this fall, out of 7 that I started. Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

It was certainly progressive, but I initially picked up a single show: Shinryaku! Ika Musume. I think I can safely say it was the best show of the season. The mix of gag comedy and heartwarming moments created a unique show, without creating extreme mood whiplash.



The other 2 shows I picked up shortly after starting Ika Musume were MM! and The World God Only Knows. I would be sorely disappointed by MM! in the end, but TWGOK was a unique show with a character-heavy plot. That is, it was divided into "character arcs" of 2 to 3 episodes each.

The last show I picked up, about halfway through the season, and finished was Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt. This show was... unique, to say the least. The characters were bizarre, as was the premise: a sex-craving slut and a sugar-addicted goth loli come to the surface world to fight Ghosts. Did I mention that these two are angels?

As great as this season was, there were a few disappointments. One was My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute, or OreImo for short. A mid-season pick up, I enjoyed the show at first, before one of the characters started to get on my nerves. I ended up not finishing OreImo, dropping it after 10 episodes.

Another disappointment was the aforementioned MM!. A show about sadomasochism? Well, I like twisted humor, so sign me up! This was another show I enjoyed at first. Unfortunately, the show started to derail into a cliched romantic comedy, even putting in the Pocky kissing game.



There were 2 other show I started, but did not finish: Star Driver, and Princess Jellyfish. I didn't watch enough to really get interested, so I can't give an honest opinion here.

All in all, a great season. Winter looks to be pretty good. Expect reviews of Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica throughout winter season, as well as a review of Dirty Pair Flash, when ever the last tape decides to come.

Winter 2011 Season Preview

Well, fall season's already almost over. Guess time flies when you're actually watching anime, eh? Of course, the end of fall means winter season's right around the corner. Let's see what's in store for the holidays!

Winter seems to be a mix of new shows and continuing shows. Among the continuing shows are Kimi ni Todoke (2nd season), Suite Precure (8th season in the franchise), and Mitsudomoe (2nd season). New shows include Beelzebub, Is This A Zombie?. OVAs and Specials include Queen's Blade, and MM!: SS!, a set of 6 DVD specials that I had considered watching initially, but given the recent developments, or lack thereof, in the MM! anime, I will not be watching them.

Wandering Son, looking at the description, looks rather interesting. A feminine boy sits next to a boyish girl. Sounds like a comedy to me, so I'll add it tentatively. Another interesting (for me, at least) show is Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, a magical girl anime about a girl who can grant wishes. Hmmm... Animated by Studio SHAFT...

Speaking of Crunchyroll, I'll wait to see what they pick up. After all, they have 3 of the 4 shows I'm watching this fall.

I have Dirty Pair Flash coming on VHS by the new year. I'm likely to review it, so stay tuned!

Otaku in Review
Winter 2011 chart