Review of Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story

WARNING I’m going to SPOIL the Hell out of this anime, talking about each episode and scenes that left an “impact” on me and I’m going to judge this with the game in mind as I have played it and the OG Madoka Magica as most people watch Magia Record because they’ve watch Madoka Magica. And be also prepared for A LOT of reading. If you want a spoiler-free recommendation all I can say is... If you are a Madoka Fanatic like me and will sink your claws into anything MM I highly recommend you watch MR, it gives you what you love from the OG,dark magical girls, dark themes, visuals that were drawn by someone high as Hell, spine tingling music and a finale that I can only describe as Chef’s Kiss. However if you’re looking for the same quality of MM that is a compelling story, deep complicated characters, with thought provoking themes and messages then you will only get a fraction of that in MR. So it’s up to you whether to listen to the fan girl side of your brain or the intellectual side of your brain, now let’s Spoil the shit out of this

Episode 1
Serves as a good reintroduction to the world of MM and our MC Iroha who we’ll be following. It also gives us the overarching mystery and story of the whole anime which is finding Iroha’s missing sister. Watching this definitely brings back your nostalgia of the first MM and gets you excited to return to a world you haven’t seen in 7 years (Yeah it’s been that long), it’s like watching The Force Awakens or Fantastic Beasts after years of no SW and HP, it just so nostalgic. Solid start and since the first episode introduces this sister plot then this will be what the anime focuses on right? 10/10

Episode 2-3
Team KMR was a delight in the game and the anime I think was better but I’ll get into it in the last episode. However their arc was incredibly rushed, Rena and Kaede’s fight in the game took time to built up to but in the anime they break up 9 minutes after they’re introduced. Also in the game the the friendship Uwasa didn’t need name’s written to attack broken friendships so having Rena write down the names knowing the consequences made her seem like a bitch. And to add to the rushed pacing, after the cliffhanger of Kaede’s kidnap the next episode starts as if nothing happened. We don’t get to see how Rena and Momoko react to their friend being taken away right in front of them, they just TELL us what happened instead of SHOWING.
But there are still highlights like the transformation sequences. This is one of the moments they clearly put the budget in (I like how Momoko kicks a hole in her sword) and I love how each sequence matches each character like with Rena’s theme being mirrors and idols. I even love an anime only scene where Rena talks about how her wish was being a different person because she hated herself and even though she can now become any person she wants, who she is inside will never change. It’s one of the genuinely good scenes in the anime but it’s cut short. If they could have more episodes and a proper resolution to that scene this would’ve been my favorite arc. However that tease with Mami was amazing, in MM episode 3 she loses her head and dies but in MR episode 3 she comes back and we lose our heads 6/10

Episode 4-5
There isn’t anything to talk about the Shrine arc as in both game and anime it’s only purpose is to introduce Tsuruno and nothing else. It’s the arc that I hate the most as it’s only just setup for future events like Mifuyu and Doppels, which could be done in any episode. There are cool battles like Iroha vs Mifuyu and the fight with the Uwasa which has a cool redesign switching from an elephant car into a shrine dragon. However it’s still nothing but filler and is time that could be used for more important things.
So I’ll just talk about my least favorite character, Tsuruno (I’m already hearing the pitchforks and torches). So let’s go down her positives first, Tsuruno is nice, she’s hilarious and is a ball of sunshine... And that’s it, in the game she shines more and there will be more of her in season 2 but I’m talking about Tsuruno IN SEASON 1 and there is nothing complex about her IN SEASON 1. I don’t hate Tsuruno I just don’t remember her as again there isn’t enough time to develop her. She will get her own proper arc in season 2 about her in The Magius that will also be rushed but as of right now she’s just Waifu bait imo 3/10

Episode 6-7
The Owl arc is a mixed bag as it changes a lot from the game, some I like, some I don’t. Felicia Mitsuki is my favorite of the new Holy Quintet in the game and in the anime they don’t do her justice but they do enough. She still has a fun personality and I like her breakdown at the end, she’s one of the best characters imo (Did any of you mobile players recognize that Witch that killed her parents). Changes I do like was the functions of the Misery Water, in the game it’s 24 hours then you die it’s a boring idea but in anime after 24 lucky things happen something very unlucky will happen to you. This makes things fun as it’s not a simple countdown to death and it’s consistent with the Rumor called Lucky Owl Water. I mean drink this water then you die, what kind of rumor is that?
However some of the changes were still pretty bad, like how in the game it was Iroha working together with Felicia and Kyoko to defeat the Uwasa which makes more sense than her just one shotting it or how the flute sisters were shown to be a formidable tag team and their Doppels being a force to be reckon but in the anime they’re just brushed aside. I mean they didn’t even have the infamous leg breaking scene where Yachiyo got so pissed she broke the older sister’s leg. So again because of the fast pacing there’s not enough time for characters and even battles to shine but still a semi-solid arc 6/10

Episode 8-10
This is by far my favorite arc in the anime as like my second favorite arc they dedicated 3 episodes to it. Which is weird because in the game this was my second least favorite because it was too slow but ironically the anime’s fast pacing made this arc more bearable. They did cut out a lot of stuff like how Madoka was supposed to appear but if they had kept this AND MORE nothing would have been done justice especially Madoka, and nobody wants that.
Sana imo is actually the best character in the anime, they give enough time to establish her backstory, personality and motivation making her not so one-dimensional and forced like Tsuruno and Yachiyo. The conversation she has with Ai in the game is just two people sitting in a room talking (Yeah the SAO way of explaining things, GOOD LORD) but in the anime because they’re walking across different landscapes and accompanied by amazing visuals, it makes the conversation somewhat fantastical, this was one of the rare times being an anime helped the story. Even the finale between Sana and Ai was more touching, in the game it was just another boss battle so the player could do more button mashing but in the anime it was one final conversation before Sana was forced to stab Ai, much more heartbreaking then a big monster battle. And we even got to see Uwasa Sana, a little fan service for Mobile players and shows how Ai’s whole identity was based on Sana. And her whole arc comes to a close with her visiting her family in a scene which my sister described “that was so artistic it was unnecessary.”
This segment is getting too long so I’ll wrap up the negatives. Episode 8 was the WORST episode as it was just setup and more explaining and Alina was highly underutilized as she’s one of the best crazy bitches, making her one-dimensional but still pretty great. Props to her voice actor, Ayana Taketatsu FREAKING NAILED IT 7/10

Episode 11-13
Like Rogue One being mediocre but the climax being freaking awesome, This is clearly the episode where Shaft concentrated the budget. Episode 12 is the 2nd worst episode as it’s just recapping information which we the viewers already know. Instead of having both a speech and flashback to give the same info how about it’s just the flashback to not waste time. Yachiyo in the anime is a hollow copy of Homura. Her backstory, motivation, wish, ability to survive any battle by sacrificing a friend, which led to her cutting all relationships to protect others, is explained to us in 4 minutes (I’ve counted). Because of the rushed pacing and how we have five more stories to tell, they don’t have time to properly develop her character nor is there any emotion inside. So instead of characterization its info dumping.
There is however an anime only scene I really loved, the conversation between Iroha and Tsukuyo is short but great as it’s two older sisters talking. This was probably the only time Iroha shined as a character and sister as she tells Tsukuyo how she would do anything for her younger sister Ui, even if it means hurting her sister. This two minute scene said so much about Iroha. And of course the finale.
MOTHER OF ALL THAT IS HOLY MAMI, this finale was so amazing I thought I was watching a different show. Mami has definitely earned her title of War Goddes, The Woman Army. And Sayaka’s cameo is my favorite among the OG cameos as she actually has relevance. It wasn’t just a forced 3 second fight like Mami and Kyoko, this was her fighting a mentor and friend turned evil so it actually has emotional weight behind it. It also shows how truly powerful Sayaka is with her deflecting a nuke, showing off a healing factor that makes Wolverine look like a pussy and how she adapts and works well with people she just met. The large scale, choreography, smooth animation, the creative fights between Doppels and emotions, it’s all there and comes to close with an Empire/ Infinity War style Cliffhanger. Episode 13 fired all the cylinders. I want to give this arc a 12/10 just for the last episode but because of the other two episodes which are a hard watch 7/10

My biggest problem with this anime which I had with the game and hoped they got rid off is... sigh, Brainwashing. It feels cheap, especially Mami who has been done a disservice. Mami was already emotionally weak so she didn't need to be brainwashed and it would've been really interesting when Madoka and the rest have to fight their friend because of different ideologies. It would also ask a good question, was Mami selflessly strong or selfishly weak for resorting to such extreme measures to save her friends and herself.
Wouldn't it have been cooler if every member including our main cast joined of their own volition, that way we could understand and sympathize with our villains and not be so black and white. Imagine how cool it would’ve been when Iroha and Yachiyo fights Tsuruno, Felicia and Sana because of their different ideologies. It would make for a more emotional climax as it’s a break up of friendships, something MM got right but now it’s just a third party bad guy that’s forcing them, it’s not relatable nor thought provoking.
It even makes Touka and Alina one-dimensional. If they had instead shown us how Touka and the Magius genuinely believe what they’re doing is right that would make for really good antagonists but since they use brainwashing and are clearly shown to only care about themselves, instead of a Thanos we got a Lex Luthor

The change with Kaede and Momoko joining Magius and Rena being against them, I loved. I was surprised by this change from the game as again makes for a good clash of ideals between former friends. It has us question and gives more insight on characters, especially Kaede and Momoko who you wouldn’t expect to turn evil. I’m hoping Season 2 will deliver on an emotional heartbreaking climax between these characters and not chicken out.

Iroha isn’t a good MC as again there’s not enough time. Her goal of trying to find her missing sister is sidelined if not forgotten in order to make way for more story and characters. This isn’t a major issue as MM MCs are not interesting nor the point of the story, it’s the world and other characters that are the focus, the protagonist is actually just an insert for us, at least from my POV. I know people will argue there’s more to Madoka and Iroha than I think but it’s the true that among the main cast they are the least interesting, I mean Madoka was pretty bland until she really shined in the ending.

Ok so I need to talk about the character which people seem confused about and that is Kuro. If you don’t know Kuro is actually an NPC in the game, she was originally just a one time character in the Valentines event but because so many loved her she was made playable (however she’s made just a one star and is useless in battle). Because of her popularity in the game she made it into the anime as a cameo appearance for the first and last episode. So basically she’s just fan service for the mobile players, she might have a bigger role in season 2 due to her connection with Iroha but I’m not holding on to that

Magia Record is complex. It helps expand the World of MM, gives intriguing storylines and characters, fixes many problems from the game, still retains the high level of art and music and has a finale that you will never forget.
However The story is all over the place and has no focus, characters are fun but not memorable nor deep as the OGs and they've not only kept a lot wrongs from the game but also added their own. MM had a lot of plot but it knew how to properly tie it all together and thanks to the small cast there was plenty of time given to each character for them to properly develop, for the most part (Mami). Unlike the game which problem is that it’s so slow dying of old age is faster, the anime doesn’t take enough time and is too rushed. MR isn’t bad it just needs to slowdown and show instead of tell, time will tell with Season 2 if all this was worth it. Until then, if you’re looking for more MM, MR is perfect for you but if you’re looking for what makes MM great, READ THE MAMI/ KYOKO SIDESTORY