Review of Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story

This anime is a prime example of a monkey paw effect. The community wanted more Madoka and they got it, except the wish was twisted just like Kyubey's wishes. I knew once a Madoka spin-off was announced, it wouldn't end well, unfortunately it has proven to be the truth. I have to start this review with stating the fact that I don't write reviews on MAL. This will probably be my first and last review I write, MagiReco was so atrocious that I simply couldn't stay silent. This review will contain spoilers. So let's start with the positives, because there's way less positive to say about thisshow than negative.

1. Gen Urobuchi is not involved with this project, which means nothing what you see in the show is canon and no way is tied with the original Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica and Rebellion.

2. The art direction is still fantastic.
All environments still look beautiful, however the animation looks really off at times.

3. The soundtrack is great as well. (Aside from the part where they reuse some songs from the original series for the nostalgia effect).

That's as far as positive things go.

Now let's cut the chase and get to the actual review:

This is honestly one of the worst anime I have ever seen, not just because it tries to be what it is not, but also because it tries to tie with the original PMMM series.
I went completely open-minded into watching this series. I thought "if they want to make a spin-off instead of a sequel to Rebellion, that's completely fine as long as they don't try to tie it with the original series and characters", but what did they do? They did exactly that. They wanted to bring more money out of the fans by cashing in for the gacha by making this glorified ad for the gacha.

Imagine if PMMM was a regular magical girl show where the characters have absurd plot armor, no consequences for their actions, no danger what so ever, hell I don't even want to talk about the "despair part" of being a magical girl, because that is non-existent in this show. This is exactly what MagiReco is. A tasteless, seasonal anime that nobody will remember, because it cannot stand on its own without relying on the achievements of the original series.

They could've done a excellent spin-off if they tried, but they didn't. They have gone the easy route - by simply going along with gacha storyline that makes 0 sense outside the game.

The pacing of the show is so off balance you feel like you're riding a roller coaster. First thing the girls are having a tea party and the next thing you know, they're fighting the elite illuminati group. You're well aware of the 3 episode rule in anime, but MagiReco takes it to another level. Instead of it having 3 episode rule, apparently it has one season rule. Where most of season 1 is nothing but filler and all the "good parts" if you can call them that, are saved for season 2.

But mentioning 3 episode rule, I have to say, that at first I thought "Hey, this isn't so bad, perhaps there's a chance that this show won't suck." Oh how naive was I.
Episode 2 is where MagiReco starts to show its true colors with how poorly the show builds up to action.
The Staircase Rumor(yes, in this universe rumors are apparently more dangerous than witches) is said to be very powerful, and it has been hyped throughout the episode and especially the ending of it. And what happened next? It was destroyed in a blink of an eye in the next episode, as if it was nothing to worry about... Seriously? Expect this to happen a lot by the way.

However Episode 5 is where my patience has reached its limits. I have never wanted to drop the show so badly before. That's where MagiReco has crossed the line of throwing the original plot device into the garbage can. You see, apparently there is no more danger of being a magical girl and turning into a witch when your soul gem is tainted with despair, in fact turning into a witch is a positive in MagiReco universe, you get to have "Stand Powers" from JoJo. And the best part? After reverting from the so called "Doppel" form your soul gem is purified! Wonderful! So what is the negative of being a magical girl you might ask? There is none here! You can basically ignore all witches, use magic all you want and when your magic reaches its limits, simply turn into a doppel and then revert as if nothing happened!

Oh, and from this point on, original cast start to appear to "save the situation" so to speak. They serve absolutely no purpose other than fanservice. Nothing that the new cast couldn't have done themselves. They appear and disappear without a second notice.
Iroha's doppel gets blasted by Mami's Tiro Finale and apparently she's fine. It has to be a running joke about plot armor in anime and games but MagiReco breaks all standards.

Just when you think the situation is about to get interesting, you will once again get disappointed because god forbid something "bad" happens to the new cast. God forbid they will have to pay the consequences for their stupid actions. I am referencing Episode 6 and 7.

Kyouko mentions her famous quote - "The balance between hope and despair comes out to zero." Apparently not. Not in MagiReco anyway. Here you can have all the luck in the world with nothing bad happening to you.

I'm not going to describe every nuance and stupidity that this show brings because there is no end to it. But I do have to mention that apparently in MagiReco, some magical girls have learned to control witches. Yes, the uncontrollable force of nature that seeks to destroy everything it sees and traps within its labyrinth. Witches are reduced to a joke at this point.

Also, apparently Iroha is a gacha master because she knows what she shouldn't. When Alina uses her "paint", Iroha states that "it makes you go crazy", when she had zero way of knowing that. This is her first encounter with Alina, Iroha had absolutely no testimony for that.

Again in Episode 10 and 11 MagiReco shows how horrendous its pacing is. First thing you see is magical girls "fighting for their life" versus their arch nemesis and minutes later they're buying cute mugs and coasters as if this is some slice of life anime, I think this has to be on purpose, a running gag among the team who is responsible for this anime.

But you know what's the best part about this anime? I have never in my life seen any anime skip a battle after making an epic introduction to the enemy. But long and behold, MagiReco is here to solve that problem.

The last episode of this show is a trainwreck of its own, I don't even want to talk about it.
Fun fact: One of the translators for the game refused to translate the story after reading the script. That's how bad it is.

To cut chase, I want to advise you to never watch this show under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. If you like what original series and Rebellion is, and treasure those series, then do yourself a favor and stay away from this burning dumpster as far as you can. However, if you hate PMMM for some reason and wanted a generic slice of life magical girl show, then you're in luck! Go ahead and have fun!

There is nothing but regret after watching the show. And they're already planning for Season 2 as I type this review. And let me tell you, after some friends explaining what is to come, you better stay as far as you can.

I have to disclose again that this is show is nothing but an ad for the gacha game. They didn't want to make a good Madoka sidestory, they wanted to rack as much money as they could. To lure people into buying "gems" or whatever they're called in the game so you can spend them all trying to obtain the character you like. It is upmost disgusting behaviour from Shaft and whoever is associated with this show. I hope I never have to hear about MagiReco in my life again.

Story - 3/10
Art - 7/10
Sound - 6/10
Character - 2/10
Enjoyment - 2/10
Overall - 3/10