Review of Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story

I remember when I saw that this was coming out. I was like “Whoa, can’t believe Madoka Magica gets another series.” I was underwhelmed. Even after looking at the MAL score and a few reviews. If I were to explain this in relation to the original, I’d say it’s like meeting a friend of a friend: you just sorta know you can’t exactly get along despite similar qualities as your friend. Review start: I’m pretty sure that the story is that the MC Iroha wants to find her sister. I stress pretty sure because there is a lot of stuff going on. The story loses abit of focus here and there. Sometimes the detours make up for it but sometimes not. I feel that the pacing can be good most of the time but bad other times. The events and details aren’t completely explained, which made for some confusing scenes. Thankfully, I always read the comments after each episode so I was able to understand what was going on. The problem is that the anime doesn’t explain much until the very end. I mean, usually you explain it all a bit of time before the end. Also the anime had several moments that doesn’t reach its full potential. I noticed that some parts of the story is similar to that in the original, but not as well done. I couldn’t truly immerse myself into the story as I did with the original.

The art is beautiful. I love how they kept the abstract yet detailed witches as well as how the eerie scenes were directed. Camera angle is super important and this anime executes it very well, just like the original. However, it is not completely perfect and had some awkward transitions here and there. The background and scenery art is beautifully done, with the colors and shading and intricate details.

The sound is fantastic. I love how they kept one of the most prominent OST from the original. It truly brought nostalgia and a sense of eeriness. The other soundtracks are nice and fit in nicely with the mood, enhancing the experience. I would also like to point out that the silence was well done. Having control over sound and silence truly shows expertise with the audio. However, there are a few spots where the music just doesn’t seem to feel right. I don’t know what it is about but I think that’s just me.

The characters aren’t really good. I didn’t really like most of the characters. I also felt that some of them are thrown in there, just to be pushed aside later. The characters seem a bit one dimensional and there isn’t much change with them I believe. The character interactions seem well enough. The backstories are explored, but I sometimes get a feeling that backstories are there just so it checks off the box. I also can’t help but compare some of the characters to the original’s cast, which lowered my character appreciation even further. The inclusion of some of original cast was interesting but it seemed the be one of the few factors that kept me going. After all of that negativity, I want to say something positive: the character designs are cool and unique. They are all easily recognizable and they all are differentiable.

The enjoyment went up and down, and it slowly went down and down as it neared the end. In fact, I considered multiple times to drop this at the last episode but I continued due to sheer loyalty to the original. It’s not that it’s bad but that I just can’t seem to enjoy it as much as I wish to. Referring back to earlier, it’s like meeting a friend of a friend. I will probably watch the second season if it comes out, probably enthusiastic about it too (false hope that it will be great), but as of right now, I would take a hard pass.

I expected better. I wanted better. This was just too confusing here and there. It was a good series but it isn’t a Madoka Magica level series. Whereas the original was an experience, this was a presentation of the experience, but with many differences.

I will still be looking forward to see how things play out. In the end, look at the score, not the review.