Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Season 2 - The Eve of Awakening (which I'll refer to Magia Record Season 2) continues our story when Touka, the leader of the Wings of Magius, basically gathers up all the magical girls in the area, and unveils her grand plan. When we notice not just Iroha's group, but also Madoka's group get mixed into this mess, audiences should be intrigued. The original characters from Puella Magi Modaka brings much hope, after what was a pretty mediocre showing in the first season of this alternative world. Story: Magia Record Season 2 actually starts us offwith Madoka's crew, off on a journey to find Mami, after we, as the audience, realize something's very off with her after what we saw of her from the end of the first season of Magia Record. What's causing her to relentlessly attack other magical girls and how are our original crew linked to all this? This are questions that are asked, especially after someone from Iroha's group starts succumbing to similar symptoms.

Magia Record Season 2 answers are a lot of unanswered questions from season 1, many of which in a pretty interesting way. It's very clear that the objective of this season is to shore up what's going out with the two magical girls that our group is now trying to save, and this season does that very well. With season 1 basically being all about setup, I'm actually pretty happy with what they did with much of those in this season. There are some pretty long-winded explanations going on that could bore audiences, but most of the series is just action, action and more action. One of the explanations that I appreciated was regarding the girls' doppels, which felt almost necessary because of how important to the girls' actions they are. Also included in this season was a brand new way for the magical girls' to use their abilities, and I really enjoyed watching the interesting combinations that arose from those.

There are still some holes here though. For starters, Iroha's sister's plotline is still barely touched. It's actually pretty obvious that they're planning to address that in the next season - or it better anyway - so leaving that entire plotline to the side seems like a bit of an unusual choice. Another problem, that's consistent with the previous season, is that many of the characters introduced in the first season are still kind of pointless. Giving us long character backstories in the first season makes us care more about them, but it still feels like they added way too many of them. The final point I'll make here is that while it's absolutely amazing that they integrated Madoka's group here, it's pretty obvious that it's just for added fan-service. Cool? Yes. Central to the plot? Probably not. (6/10)

Characters: Our same characters are still present, and still rocking together like glue. They're in this thing together, and when questions are asked about certain characters, it is often addressed. One character near the end clearly has doubts about her role, but this gives us a nice teaser about what could become of her next season. Iroha is much less central to this season than before, but rather the spotlight is shared among the rest of the magical girls. Yachiyo does get a bit more of the spotlight here because of her connection to another girl, but for the most part, no one character is risen above the rest. Madoka's crew is indeed back, and still amazing. Using this incarnation of Homura makes a lot of sense, seeing as how the one we saw in the original is pretty unique to her timeline.

I'm on the fence about our antagonists here, as it doesn't feel like they do much more than observe. Touka simply watches and makes comments as the series plays out, the Amane sisters and Alina barely make an appearance, and Nemu mostly tries to encourage Touka one way or the other. It's clear the latter will have a bigger role when the next season roles around, but I'm a little disappointed that we didn't see these magical girls do much, even if we know their grander plan now. (7/10)

Art: I don't recall Magia Record having this level of polish in the previous season, but I could be wrong. Regardless, this is a really nice series from an animation standpoint. Fights just look much more crisp, and it is nice that they gave us way more action than the previous season to capitalize on that. Much of this season takes place in one spot, but I enjoyed the entire setup and thought it felt pretty appropriate. (9/10)

Sound: I really enjoyed the OST here once again, and I'm pleased to say that it fits so well here. Both OP and ED are fantastic fits here, especially with how the ED starts - it just sounds so ominous when you hear it. VO cast remains a strong point for the series, with Erika Harlacher-Stone (Yachiyo) and Michelle Marie (Touka) leading the way here. Kira Buckland (Iroha) and Christine Marie Cabanos (Madoka) are still fantastic and are still the cheerful leaders that we know and love. (9/10)

Overall: This is a decent step up for Magia Record Season 2, answering many questions that were left unanswered from the first season, while also leaving us breadcrumbs about what could come in the next season. I'm a little worried because it feels like there's a lot left to go over with only four episodes in the final season, but only time will tell. This is a strong effort for the middle season and I hope the final four episodes shores that up. (7/10)