Review of Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story

Now, this isn’t going to be a very thorough review, I just wanted to point out a couple of things that I think are important. The biggest problem with Magia Record is that it assumes you’ve already played the game. Now, I’m not saying that shows can’t be made fore people who have already played a game, but the way Magia Record is advertised makes it seem like the this anime is self-contained, which it definitely is not. One example of something they don’t bother explaining (at least, not until the end of season 2, I’m pretty sure) is an ability called ‘connect’, which was not seenin the original Madoka Magica series. They don’t bother explaining it, magical girls just randomly use this connect power, and you’re expected to know what’s going on.

Another is how the characters just suddenly start saying the word “Uwasa” and you’re supposed to know what that is, no explanation. It becomes obvious from the context, but it would still be nice to have a formal explanation.

Finally, sometimes characters just show up and act like you know who they are. Alina Gray is the best example of this. You’ll know who she is and details about her if you’ve played the game, but just watching the anime alone will leave you thinking “who even is this girl and why should I care?”.

Not to mention how how certain important details of Felicia’s wish are left out in the anime, leaving her as a very mundane and one-dimensional character. To be fair, they might add this in Season 3, but that’s still far too late for one of the main magical girls.

((Bonus: I personally think it would have been so much better (at least worthy of a 9/10) had they not brought over the cast of the original Madoka Magica series, and instead just left it as a completely seperate series (you could easily set it a few years before Madoka made her wish so it didn’t conflict with the main plot). Though, I’m aware the creators didn’t have much freedom on this part, as that is a major part of the game they were adapting.

It just kinda feels like, at least in my opinion, that the inclusion of the original cast makes you remember that Magia Record isn’t as good as the original, taking away from the experience. Not only that, but I already know these character arcs and how they end up, so it feels really pointless to be watching something I know is irrelevant (also, I’m still very confused about how this fits in with Homura’s story but ok).))

Overall, Magia Record season 1 was pretty good. It’s no Madoka Magica 2.0, but it’s still a show that managed to hold my attention throughout the course of all 13 episodes.

I know I went on about all of the game to anime adaption issues, but that’s honestly my only real complaint about it, everything else was pretty good (I mean, there were a couple of ‘meduka meguca’ moments in the animation, but I’ll let those slide).

So yeah, if you’re a fan of Madoka Magica, I’d recommend checking this out. It’s not perfect but it’s still definitely worth a watch!