Review of Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story

Let me make this clear. Despite being apart of the same universe and franchise, MagiReco is not a Madoka sequel nor does it offer the same type of story and deconstruction of the genre like its predecesor. MagiReco is very much its own story, driven by character interactions and development rather than shock value and fear like Madoka. That doesn’t mean it’s not as good, it’s just a different type of story. Do not come into this expecting people to lose their heads. Despite the differences, I enjoyed this more than the original. MagiReco and FGO both aired during the same time and provided verydifferent examples of how to adapt mobile games. FGO’s amazing story and fight scenes earned it a lot of attention, whereas MagiReco flew very much under the radar, which is really a shame.

Despite being based on the mobile game, there’s no need to have played it or have any exposure to the story before coming into the anime. The anime does a pretty good job of adapting the story and adding in anime original scenes to flesh out or give context to certain events.

Again, I emphasise that this is very much a character driven story. There’s quite a bit of slice of life moments that are done in an effort to characterise the girls. I enjoyed this a lot and found it to be the main thing that separates the series from the original. However, these may not be for everyone.

Technically, you know what to expect from SHAFT. Great visuals, direction, OST and when needed, good fight scenes. MagiReco follows through on all of those expectations. I will add a slight critique to the animation in fights, which at times, I found to be a bit lacking. A minor complaint really.

Overall, I really enjoyed MagiReco and found it to be a nice mix of the themes we saw in Madoka and more typical Mahou Shoujo series. The characters all were well developed and added to the story in one way or another. They all felt important and I appreciated that. Combined with the story, which is well written and the direction, and you’ve got a solid show that I enjoyed more than the original. If you’re into Madoka or Mahou Shoujo in general, give this a watch.

MagiReco gets 9 grief seeds out of 10 from me.