I've never written anime reviews since there are plenty of sites out there for that but OMFG, I had just watched one of the most awesome anime ever. Yes, you are not reading the title wrong, it is a Mahou Shojo/Magical Girl anime. My exposure to the genre before this has pretty much been the Sailor Moon live action, Cardcaptor Sakura and of course all the parodies that you get in anime.
Mahou Shojo anime are pretty much the same. Girl gets magical powers, has a cute animal companion, everyone dresses in outrageous costumes and they fight a magical villain of the week. I got interested in Madoka when I read that it was an anime made for the male audience and had lots of violence. Let me tell you that Madoka is good primarily not because of the violence nor because its made for an older audience.
Madoka IMHO, is the Watchmen of mahou shoujo anime. Not so much in the sense that its a deconstruction of the genre but but more in that Madoka has taken a lot of the concepts of the genre and turned them on it head. The distinct lines between good and evil. The idea that there is no price to pay for magical powers and that their lives are happy and bright.
The first two episodes play like your usual mahou shojo anime and the end of the third episode just had me immediately reaching out to start the next one. Trust me when I saw Madoka is a mindfuck not just because its a grittier mahou shojo story. There is actually a pretty awesome and epic story in there that will make you go 'woah' like Keanu Reeves. No stupid fillers and every episode is tightly packed with stuff happening and of course a cliffhanger at the end.
Can't really talk much about cause I don't want to go into spoiler territory but I am impressed that someone actually had the balls to defy conventions and push the envelope. Madoka is a work of art, from the awesome witch fights to the tight pacing. Just give it a try for 3 episodes and if the ending of episode 3 doesn't grab you, nothing will. You'll be watching Madoka thinking how mindfucked a little girl would be if she started watching it thinking it was your typical bright and happy mahou shojo anime.
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