Week 7: Madoka Magica

Madoka Magica puts a really dark twist on the magical girl anime stories. In the end, the hero doesn't end up really winning, and there's a lot of sadness and touchy subjects like depression which contrast the fun and colorful set or character designs. On the surface there's a lot of relationship and boy romance stuff on the top but the that wasn't the main focus. behind the scenes the girls in the show are fighting for their lives in an endless loop, each monster they kill is one of their past friends who were consumed by the "darkness" which is an allegory to the depression within young girls who are transitioning to adulthood. The witches in the show are magical girls of the past who were once like the protagonists full of spirit. Madoka on the hand was something special. The art style of madoka is very cool because they use multimedia in their fights. A lot of the witches have themes, and through the use of stop motion and cutout images and patterns they show themes of chaos and disorder. That is why I think it stands out comparatively from other shojo magical girl shows, is because it uses a unique art form to japanese anime.