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






ABOUT

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.