The Intergalactic Highway

Greetings everyone!

Welcome to a new series of threads, <X> Recommends!

The rules are simple. The OP (Me in this case) will write a recommendation on something that you absolutely, positively must watch in your lifetime and more importantly, why it must be watched without spoiling the plot or by judicious usage of spoiler tags as demonstrated below:
The idea is that you'll go out and watch the recommended item and post your thoughts about it as well, or, if you have already watched it, to post your thoughts straight up.

At the end of the month the OP selects an active poster that has participated in the thread to post their own recommendation. Said person will then post a <||Name Here|| Recommends!> with their own selected item along with a review. If you get selected but don't wish to participate, you can of course refuse and the OP can select someone new. In case the OP is unavailable for an extended period, I'll happily take on the mantle and post a new recommendation (Razor Recommends 2.0!) to get the ball rolling once again.

Let's put that in point form for simplicities sake.

• OP Writes Recommendation on something they like to watch
• Avoid spoilers where possible, use spoiler tags if you can't
• People read the thread, check out the recommended item
• Post thoughts about the recommended item, what they liked, what they didn't, where they think the OP faltered in their recommendation, etc.
• OP will select an active participant from the thread to recommend something they liked
• New Poster (NP) will post their own recommendation on something they liked and the cycle begins again

In short, these threads will be a bit like a movie club.

Because of the date this is being posted on and the relative newness this kind of thread entails, I'll be selecting someone to post their recommendation at the end of March rather than the end of February. This gives people a bit of time to get settled with the concept.

Also, spoilers will be enforced for this thread. If something gets posted up that's a potential spoiler, I will edit it so that it falls within spoiler tags.

Also also, I'll be writing up a more informal spoilery review that will be entirely enclosed by spoiler tags. It will be posted in the reserved post below.

So, now that introductions are out of the way, let's move on to the main topic at hand!

RAZOR RECOMMENDS

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Alternatively known as Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, or simply Madoka Magica, or even more simply, Madoka.

Have a relatively spoiler free trailer!



On to the review!

I seldom talk about anime I like. I know that not everyone on Earth likes anime and generally speaking the ones I like are odd, niche, or not for the general public. This is a rare exception.

If you haven't heard of Madoka Magica yet or are as yet unspoiled as to its plot and ending... I STRONGLY suggest watching this before looking it up on the internet. Seriously. While being spoiled won't necessarily detract from your enjoyment of the show, it is one where not being spoiled increases the impact.

Stop blathering Razor, start telling us why we should watch this already!

Ouch! Okay! Okay!

Let's all start with something we're all familiar with. Do we all remember Code of Hero? Do we recall the cinematography, tight script, excellent storyline, the crushing despair and the uplifting hope?

Good. That level of writing and involvement is present in Madoka Magica from Episode 1 to Episode 12.

Let's establish the basic premise.

The basic premise of Madoka Magica is the "Mahou Shojou" or "Magical Girl" genre. If you've ever seen Sailor Moon, you've pretty much got the premise of the show down in a nutshell.

Hold the phone Razor, this doesn't sound badass at all!

I'm getting to that!

Anyone who knows me knows I hate shows like Sailor Moon. Madoka Magica, whilst belonging to the same genre, is completely unlike Sailor Moon. You'll see why when you start watching it

The script is tightly written and the characters all have their roles and personalities well fleshed out.

Let's do a basic rundown of characters. This section has been spoilered to conserve the length of this post. There are no spoilers in this section.
The story is tough to do spoiler-free.

After experiencing a strange dream, Kaname Madoka and Miki Sayaka encounter a strange being called Kyubei who offers them the chance to realise one wish and gain magical powers in exchange for becoming magical girls and fighting invisible but malevolent beings called Witches. An Ally of Kyubei, Mami Tomoe, show them the life of a magical girl and all that it entails, but another magical girl, Akemi Homura, is determined to stop them from becoming magical girls for some unknown reason.

The art is... phenomenal to say the least. There is more artistic creativity in these twelve episodes of anime than I've seen in some museums, and I've been to quite a few of those!

Let's let the art speak for itself though. This section has been spoilered both to conserve post length and image loading.
With those screenshots out of the way, the art style of both the fore and background is one that I find to be made of win. The animation style is well done and fairly consistent in the real world but can change drastically when entering a Witches self contained reality.

The character designs in contrast are actually quite plain and bland... but I think that it's a style that works. The blandness tends to be restricted to the characters ordinary clothing, whilst their Magical Girl outfits tend to be unique and interesting and each prominent character has their own colour coding.

One thing that really stood out for me was the usage, or complete and total lack thereof, of stock footage. You read that right. One of my pet peeves when watching animation of any kind is the usage and over usage of stock footage that does little but showcase a transformation sequence with little to no advancement of the plot. Madoka Magica does have transformation sequences... and not a single one of them is stock footage. They're all unique. Every. Last. One. No footage is recycled. Ever.

One particular thing to note is that Shaft, the animation studio, went back and redid some scenes as well as fix up a few animation mistakes they made the first time... which is very rare if my understanding is correct. It also introduces a conundrum. Some of the visual style before the fixes went into place were actually quite important... how a particular room was furnished for instance, changed between the original broadcast and the re-airing. While this might seem unimportant, it conveyed a certain sense to the viewer about that particular characters room.

Even so, the animation, art style, and execution is lovely.

And then comes the music.

I've linked the music for Madoka Magica a few times over in the music thread in the past. I'd like to take this opportunity to rehash some of those selection in the spoiler below.
The music is composed my Yuki Kaijura, the same person who did the music for the trailer shown waaay up above. Though that track doesn't show up in Madoka, his work... is beyond phenomenal in this show.

When you combine the music, the story, the artistic genius and animation style, you get a truly phenomenal piece of work. This show has so much atmosphere you'll need a chainsaw to cut through it. I heartily and absolutely recommend that you do yourself a favour and watch all twelve episodes at least once.

I'm going to further recommend that you need to watch this at least three or four times to pick up on some of the nuances and hidden references to future events in some of the early episodes.

If this review has convinced you I'm full of slag... I'm going to say that you should at least give it until episode 3 at the bare minimum. If you still hate it at the end of that episode, feel free to slap me upside the head

My Ratings*

*Note: All ratings are arbitrary.

Story: 10 / 10. It moved me where many a story fails to do so.
Animation and Art: 9 / 10. Almost perfect. The characters were a bit too plain at times though. The rest was... flawless.
Music: 10 / 10. Not just great music, but flawlessly woven into each scene to add to the emotion and impact.
Impact: 10 / 10. If you feel nothing after watching this, you're not human.

<<Reserved>>

Uh.. you might be going a little overboard there Razor, but considering I could only sit through one episode which caused motion sickness and a headache.. I'm not in the mood to subject myself to another two episodes of the Flavor of the year anime. All I'll say is the music IS good, the art is well done but the backgrounds are so twisted and surreal it reminds me of the awful Black rock shooter anime, but Madoka is better then that. However on the other hand.. I still rather dislike it. But then again.. I haven't seen an recent anime in years that I really felt any impact for..Last one probably being Tokyo Godfathers since it's a rather nice christmas film, specially since i was watching it on christmas..

It'll probably be popular sure, like Haruhi, K-on, Lucky star, and any other moe blob anime that has come out lately. But I can't just help seeing this show as a twisted rival to Nanoha series, or get over either one's creepy fanbase which often can ruin a perfectly good show.. specially with all the Mami Tomoe jokes. Ug.

Motion sickness and a headache? That's odd, though it does happen. I know I feel motion sick every time I play Portal... it usually takes care of itself once my brain readjusts though. In any case, every witch tends to be rendered differently. If one drives you to motion sickness, it's a fair bet that others probably won't. Speaking of witches, I think that twisted surrealism was part of the intent with regards to witches in order to highlight their otherworldly and, frankly, monstrous nature.

I also think you're probably doing yourself a disservice by stopping at only one episode. I make the claim that the bare minimum to make a call as to whether you like it or not at three episodes for a very good reason. Most series have turning points that make or break the show and can occur at varying points throughout... it's essentially unfair to say that a show is good or bad without making it to that point in my view and any viewing that falls short of such turning points generally falls to "Didn't give it the chance it deserved" in my book. For Madoka, that's episode 3. For Beast Wars it's Chain of Command (Episode 5). Babylon 5 hits its stride around episode 8, whilst Farscape hits at around Episode 7 with PK Tech Girl.

Lumping the series with K-On and Lucky Star is also a mistake I think. Lucky Star had zero plot and wasn't very entertaining at all. It was most entertaining when they were doing Lucky Channel, imho, and that was mostly because of the character interaction. K-On... has no plot as far as I can tell, other than "Cute girls doing cute things" which isn't a draw for me. I can't really comment as far as Nanoha is concerned as I've never watched it and it didn't pique my interest when I looked it up.

Haruhi is a better comparison, but is still a bit off as far as comparing them goes. Haruhi is good science fiction and is well written, but lacks the emotional weight that Madoka can throw around. It's a bit like comparing Dracula Dead and Loving It with Interview With a Vampire. Both good flicks about vampires, but entirely different in terms of aim and execution.

And as far as creepy fanbases go... you'll find them everywhere. Transformers included, if you know where to look. Hell, you'll find creepy fanbases for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I am not joking there. There are places on the internet that cannot be unseen.

Because I don't wish to end this post on that particular note, I'll take the opportunity here and now to admit that I am biased towards this series because I regard it highly. I won't say that it's perfect however as it does have its flaws... the problem of course is highlighting those flaws without giving away the plot. With luck the spoilery review I'm writing up will add a bit of balance to the glowing review above.

If I do go overboard though, it's because I genuinely think it's an excellent show. It's currently ranked #26 on Anime-Planet, which puts it on par with Spirited Away, the Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and Death Note. It is ranked below Haruhi, which has had longer to build it's fanbase, and Steins;Gate, which is hands down better than Madoka in terms of story telling.

Sorry, Razor, but I just don't think this is the show for me.. I've never been a fan of Japanese anime, but some are worse than others.

Stein's gate is good, though.. the girl who leapt through time.. I sat through that expecting it to get better, it didn't. I used to do that you know, sit through waiting for the series to get better, but over time.. it just isn't worth it. Never got into Deathnote either since the idea of killing people by writing their names down was too Emo and lazy for my tastes. And yes I know the transformers fanbases can be creepy.. I've been part of it for over 12 years.. I know some pony fans too, through my girlfriend or old friends.. one of which had a character for our D&D session with Rainbow colored hair inspired by one of the horses..

As for comparing it to K-on and Luckystar, I wasn't comparing based on writing, storyline, or anything else. Every year, there are animes that just become popular above the other series, kinda like a "Flavor of the month" Song on the radio. Madoka is like that.

As for Nanoha.. imagine Hot blooded Passion story with Magical girls with strange technical elements.

Ug.. maybe I'm just too jaded to enjoy anything anymore.