Witches and Magical Girls - What's the Deal?

In the world of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, there are Witches and Magical Girls. Witches are the source of all evil hidden from the human eye, creating labyrinths that detrimentally disrupts an average person's mind into doing things that harm themself or others. Combating these forces of evils are Magical Girls, people who've made a contract with aliens (in this case Kyubey is our prominent alien in the story) to have their wish granted in return. Unlike average humans, they are able to see witches and kill them. Some become Magical Girls for their own benefit, some entirely for other people. This is an oversimplification of Magical Girls, and the best way of seeing and understanding its complexities is by watching the anime yourself.

Madoka in magical girl form

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Being the protagonist of the series, Madoka looks like your average magical girl, however she doesn't become one until later on in the anime. She has the average outfit that looks pretty, but generic enough that you can't tell what she truly is from it. Despite having a basic appearance, she makes up for it through her passion towards her friends and her will to make a positive impact on the world. She's very hesitant about becoming a magical girl, being told that she has plenty of potential by Kyubey but being warned not to become one by Homura.

My advice for people looking to watch the PMMM series for the first time is to not expect much from Madoka. Go into the series blind, without consuming any media from the fandom first. Spoilers can detrimentally affect your experience with PMMM.

My thoughts about Madoka (SPOILERS)

To be honest, I'm not a massive fan of Madoka as a stand-alone character. I like how calm she is compared to the rest of the cast, but even taking into account with the last episode, she doesn't win over my heart like the rest of the cast did. She only really shines when paired with the rest of the cast, especially with Homura, and Sayaka and Hitomi (underrated character!!). I like the contrast between Madoka's calmer and worrying attitude over Sayaka's and Homura's brash and emotion-heavy attitude, and how Hitomi is as calm as her, although her confidence and maturity becomes more upfront in the series sooner than Madoka's.

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For most of the series, Homura is viewed as the antagonist. She aims to prevent our beloved Madoka from reaching her ultimate potential - to become a Magical Girl. For a person who hasn't watched the entire series, it's understandable why people might hate her initially. However, Homura is much more than that. Beneath her cold demeanor lies passion and the will to disrupt the world itself in order to get what she wants.

My thoughts about Homura (SPOILERS FOR PMMM AND REBELLION)

Homura is one of my favorite characters of all time. Episode 10 of PMMM is one of the very few pieces of media that made me sob like an absolute baby. I relate so much to Homura's clingyness and the feeling that if she were to lose Madoka, she would lose so much of her self worth as well. Homura is so well written in my opinion and the fact that her primal aim is to be stronger than Madoka so Homura could save her and turn the tables, instead of simply wanting to be with Madoka makes her so nuanced and stands out from an average anime character. Also I just really really love yuri.