Review of Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story

Magia Record is not what I would consider a continuation of the Madoka series and actually follows the same path of revelation from Madoka, sometimes making it feel like a path already taken. This isn't helped by the 2 main characters amounting to replicas of the 2 main characters from Madoka, from the character design to the personality's. The show begins interestingly enough with a good hook but quickly disappears underneath a cover of what felt like filler content. Content that was meant to get you closer to the characters but fell short. That's not to say story threads weren't introduced and curiosity's peaked but explanationsor reasons where left to the wayside. Maybe they will be answered in season 2, but season 1 as a standalone is left with a glut of story threads that lead to dead ends. There is barely any WOW factor as its bigger sister had in its story telling and really only begins to find some traction in the final few episodes as the story elements actually begin to move despite the Madoka retelling of some elements.

The promise that Magia Record makes though is a second season of story and plans coming together after the first seasons long introduction of set-up. An introduction that could have benefited from more interesting development from both past and present characters to better explain circumstances and reasoning.