In exchange for the fulfillment of a wish, Magical Girls keep fighting, unbeknownst to the rest of the
world. But Iroha Tamaki can’t seem to remember her wish. A rumor begins to spread among Magical Girls.
“Magical Girls can be saved if they go to Kamihama.” Kamihama City, the city where Magical Girls and
Uwasa are gathering. The story of Iroha Tamaki, in search for her lost wish, begins…
(Source:
Aniplex of America)
~~~All of my reviews contain __spoilers __for the reviewed material. This is your only warning. ~~~ -------- img880(https://i.imgur.com/vfhRgz7.png) It feels fair to say that *Magia Record* is a bit of a weird thing. Nearly ten years out from *Puella Magi Madoka Magica*, the series has spawned a surprisingly large franchise. In this day and age, that means a gacha game. Thus it comes to pass that we have MagiReco, an anime adaptation of said game. It’s easy to be cynical about this sort of thing. Must be a soulless cash-grab, right? Well, nothing’s ever really that simple. Any franchise that lives long enough has to reckon with itself eventually in some way or another. *Madoka* was already doing this as early as *Rebellion*, but as much as the franchise itself, that was Gen Urobuchi and Shinbou codifying and modifying what they’d done with the series proper. Production-wise, the Magica Quartet is no more. Shinbou is gone, and Urobuchi is working on [some thing on youtube about robots](https://anilist.co/anime/111964/OBSOLETE/). This is not the first time *Madoka Magica* has been revisited or expanded upon. There have been manga, there have been books, there was, of all things, a roguelike for the PlayStation Portable. Nearly a decade later, *Magia Record* is a different animal. Even if the base parts that make something “Madoka” are all still here, they’re arranged differently. New characters form the bulk of the show’s cast, many of whom have similarities to the original Puella Magi. When old ones are reintroduced, it’s in an altered context. No one is quite who they appear to be, and the show itself by turns makes open nostalgia plays and is willfully cryptic. img880(https://i.imgur.com/T1Mk34y.jpg) To be very clear, this is *not Rebellion*. MagiReco is neither an obvious continuation of the franchise nor a radical departure from it. The patch of middle ground it seeks to farm is thus a tricky one. MagiReco seems to operate from a curious core thesis, which is that *Madoka*’s metatext has been so heavily mined by other stories that there’s little point in digging into it. Instead, MagiReco almost aggressively foregrounds this iteration of the *Madoka* universe as pure text before it does anything else, only approaching deeper themes through this odd backdoor route. It is a show with a keen interest in the mechanics and the aesthetics of “Madoka” as an idea. Before it is any other thing, it is a vehicle for telling “Madoka stories”, and sees that as a valid goal on its own. img880(https://i.imgur.com/w7Why4U.png) The show’s structure, which emphasizes smaller character arcs within a fairly large cast, somewhat ironically builds it similarly to the traditional magical warrior series to which *Madoka* is often (wrongly) cast as an antithesis. Add to this a bit of trademark SHAFT-y oddness, helmed by Gekidan Inu Curry (who both reprise their roles in the animation and now lead the series as directors), and you have a recipe for good solid fun. Which in some ways, is exactly what the show is. You may notice that I have danced around the issue of the series’ actual *quality*. To tell the truth, I think MagiReco’s odd priorities mean that even moreso than is the norm for this kind of thing, you will take away what you put in. Do you have an interest in *Madoka* more as a cool magical girl series (however dark it may be) or as a Faustian tragedy? MagiReco is not *solely* for the former crowd, but it is that mentality that the series is clearly written from first and foremost. In part, MagiReco seems to see iterating upon “Madoka” as an idea as an end unto itself in the same way that post-*Futari wa* Precure seasons have done to that franchise. This isn’t to say that it’s *shallow*. MagiReco’s habit of picking at the clockwork of the PMMM universe (or at least this version of it) means that it occasionally interrogates its own predecessor, sometimes to truly interesting effect, and sometimes not. The *way* that MagiReco interacts with PMMM is curious, often bordering on audience-antagonistic. Mami returns, but as a villain. Kyouko shows up only to dip for the finale, where she’s nowhere to be seen. Sayaka makes an appearance in the final episode where, while she *does* get to participate in one of the show’s highlights as far as fight scenes go, she does not actually *do* much. Of Madoka herself and the ever-divisive Homura, the former only shows up very briefly in a flashback. The latter, not at all. img880(https://i.imgur.com/kCvwUwF.png) Of the show’s original cast, its two leads Iroha and Yachiyo are clearly riffs, design-wise, *on* Madoka and Homura respectively, but they only broadly resemble those characters in writing. Iroha’s quest to find her disappeared sister is much more focused than Madoka’s broad love-everyone attitude (which is not to say it’s better or worse, but it’s distinct). Yachiyo on the other hand, is like Homura in her general lone wolfishness and status as a “veteran” magical girl, but the similarities don’t go much farther. Her own tragic past is of a very different kind. She loses friends and teammates to what she believes to be the results of her own wish--simply “to survive”--and in the show’s brightest spots, which it has a surprising amount of, she actually comes across as rather motherly. If all of this seems a bit circuitous, it may be well because MagiReco’s biggest weakness is its lack of much of a unified core. That aforementioned structure means that the series lives and dies by individual arcs. Some are absolutely great; Rena Minami’s plumbs some truly moving depths of self-loathing, and you really feel for the character. Much later in the series, Sana Futaba’s absolutely wild arc about living inside a computer and how this relates to her (now bygone) home life, is also superb. On the other hand, some others are simply competent, and it’s here where the show loses points. img880(https://i.imgur.com/nzrWMnc.png) img880(https://i.imgur.com/jooZMha.png) How much worth you’re going to find in even the best arcs though does ultimately come down to whether you think any of this is worthwhile in the first place. This in turn is going to tie into how you feel about the original series and possibly *Rebellion*. For a show that is otherwise rather humble, there’s a lot of high emotion tied up in discussion of *Magia Record*. It is a series that is “post-Madoka” in a very different way than the numerous imitators--good and bad--that have tried to bite a piece of the PMMM pie since the early 2010s. This will doubtless be further exacerbated by the on-its-way second season, which promises to build up a stronger overarching narrative and to return Walpurgisnight, and possibly Madoka herself, to the show's universe. Longtime fans are as likely to love MagiReco as hate it. Personally, as a somewhat recent *Madoka* convert, I found every episode compelling and am thrilled to see what comes next. But even as I type that, it feels like trying to force clarity onto a series that continues to thrive best without it. The Less You Know The Better, and all that. MagiReco feels uncommonly like a series that will meet you halfway but no farther. *Puella Magi Madoka Magica* aired nine years ago. MagiReco, intentionally or not, seems to beg the question; are you the same person you were in 2011? Is anyone? img880(https://i.imgur.com/iwIitg3.png) ------
This review will have spoilers for the __anime__, but also some spoilers from the __game__; you have been warned. _____ img(https://i.imgur.com/Zw6Lyh1.jpg) So you've seen all those reviews coming from people who are long-time Madoka fans; but I'm also someone who's been interested in the MagiReco game as early as JP's first release back in 2017. The idea of a new Madoka game that would be more story-focused compared to anything that came beforehand was an absolute treat to me. Well of course a phone game wouldn't be able to outdo something like PMMM, but being someone who really liked Madoka; more Madoka is something worth paying attention to, no matter what it is. After a while, I got surprisingly into the story. Perhaps not perfect, but it does has its appeals thanks to how the format allows to tell several side stories which lets it basically do whatever it wants without being too out of place. When I heard of the anime coming around there was a feeling of constant skepticism. _"Will it aim to be different from the game?"_ _"How will it adapt the characters I like into the story?"_ _"Is 13 episode really enough to cover anything?"_ It was at this point I started wondering if it even should bother being faithful thanks to all the constraints laid out, and that thought lingered on for months. For a while I was very curious in not only how the anime would play out, but how the public would take it. I established all of this so you take this review with a grain of salt, this is coming not only from a fan of PMMM but also MagiReco for two years, being unbiased is very much impossible but maybe that'll be the appeal of this review. img(https://i.imgur.com/GB03hz9.png) The anime starts out establishing what are magical girls and it plays it off like it's just a rumor, nostalgically playing _Sis Puella Magica_ as if reintroducing the viewer into the world of Madoka and introducing us to our new pink-haired protagonist Iroha. It's easy to assume that our pink-haired protagonist Tamaki Iroha is a carbon copy of PMMM's pink-haired protagonist Kaname Madoka, except that's not really the case. While Madoka's character isn't really the core focus of PMMM, Iroha's character is spotlighted far more with the mystery of Iroha's wish and her (perhaps unintentional) aloofness towards her friends early on. Much of the main cast also has this level of seemingly superficial comparison to PMMM's main cast: Yachiyo having Homura's cold indifference and goes solo but filling more of a pseudo-mentor role more like Mami did, Felicia being similar to Kyouko but with an added sense of childishness, and so on. A large majority of the first episode focuses on Iroha and Kuroe, Kuroe's inclusion is a point of interest to many since she's an anime-exclusive character and was heavily marketed in the promo materials. However, an episode later she's been missing and doesn't really show up anymore. At best feeling like the writers forgot about her since her existence is barely acknowledged by Iroha later on, and at worst seems like a blatantly cynical move to interest the people who already played the game but might not want to watch the same story twice. img(https://i.imgur.com/mk9Kb4m.jpg) The first episode easily appeals with its overwhelming sense of mystery, the beautiful audiovisual combination, and to game fans one of the truly original anime content that establishes heavily on Iroha's life before the story begins. Around the time the second episode hits, the anime tries to fall into more of a monster of the week/occultic mystery format with the Uwasas, focusing less on the tragedy of the magical girl system of the Madoka universe; and more about the anomalies of Kamihama and its Uwasas. Whether you view this shift away as a good or bad thing, is largely what will make you stay and watch MagiReco. It has its dramas about its characters and their flaws, but never truly reaching the peaks of PMMM's. That's not to say the Uwasas don't have their appeals, but their debut episode struggles to properly interest the viewers in them. img(https://i.imgur.com/50t6m0v.jpg) In the climax episode of the Friendship Breaking Staircase arc, the concept of Uwasas was barely established in the episode we properly deal with one as they just vague the whole situation, they handwaved the fact that an Uwasa took someone despite that being how the last episode ended, Yachiyo showed up very suddenly and almost out of nowhere to help them, and a shocking amount of time was wasted on a transformation sequence. Rena's whole character arc of becoming someone else to avoid constant self-loathing; engaging and on some level relatable as it is, felt so out of place when structurally the whole episode barely tried to establish the foe they were dealing with and basically treated it as a joke since for the most part all it did was just gave everyone a minor inconvenience. Compared to the game where it also built up the mystery behind Momoko and Yachiyo's relationship and establishing the rules of the Uwasas. Uwasas at their most interesting appeals to some aspect of your humanity, not wanting to see someone you don't like, wanting to see someone you miss, wanting to have things go your way, wanting to relax and not deal with troublesome things and overall just seem genuinely mysterious with how anything can come true. Largely that episode's core flaws felt like a combination of having to fit a two hour story into a two episode anime and the bizarre priorities into what even should be in the episode. While nothing in the anime ever reached those lows ever again, this became a critical flaw soon. Many moments that have time to be properly fleshed out in the game, has a habit of feeling rushed and nowhere near as satisfying. img(https://i.imgur.com/jooZMha.png) The second worst offender of this case being the Radio Tower arc, her story of running away from a family that clearly hates her and finding an AI Uwasa that grows to love not only her and soon the world is very sweet and very touching; but her finale feels like it skipped a step or two, being angry at Iroha for not wanting to see the outside world again, but then immediately clinging onto Iroha after being taken in because "she called her name". img(https://i.imgur.com/ZlMbcU1.jpg) img(https://i.imgur.com/5woM0rP.jpg) Despite everything however, Sana's story actually remains mostly intact and still enjoyable. Iroha's whole character arc and her most important interactions with Sana on the other hand was left ignored so a psycho villain can make her dramatic entrance and leaving some incredible visual parallelisms with Iroha and Sana completely wasted. That psycho villain, Alina was also wasted; reducing her interesting views as an artist into a bumbling idiot of a loose canon that got disrespected by an underling who just joined a few days ago and nobody batted an eye. That's not to say some of the cuts aren't beneficial sometimes, much of the unnecessary fluff from the Seance Shrine and Lucky Owl Water arc made much of the arc flowed better. But the constant sense of rushing heavily devalues the characters you're meant to get attached to, as a result it becomes difficult to get invested into anything meaningfully, especially in Season 2 when that comes out. img(https://i.imgur.com/YTiiq3M.jpg) The anime also has a fond habit of showing off PMMM's main cast but not doing anything with them save for an exception, all of them show up in the opening but Madoka only appeared in a flashback and Homura didn't show up at all, Kyouko was utilized to foreshadow the main villain's plans but was largely unused later on, Sayaka showed up for what has to be one of the best animated fight scene in the anime but the door she came from might as well say 'deux ex machina'. Mami, the exception to this rule joined the main villains with a seemingly interesting motive; but how that holds up remains to be seen next season. On that topic, the finale deals with some very interesting implications about the magical girl system; but in the end boils down to an unnecessarily flashy shonen fight, and diverging from the game with several cliffhangers basically just screaming sequel bait. It feels so painfully blatant that it just feels annoying. Much of the story is actually surprisingly faithful, and much of it is actually to its detriment. Being stuck on a 13 episode anime means all you can do bare minimum is get to the midpoint of the story, its slow burn pacing is inherited by the anime while ending at what should be where the plot should start. ____ img(https://i.imgur.com/FHlxuh9.jpg) MagiReco is no Madoka sequel or Rebellion sequel, whereas Rebellion followed up the characters and their arcs; MagiReco shows more interest in developing its world with its series of monster of the week and occult mystery arcs. Madoka is no longer in the hands of Urobuchi, Doroinu who passionately creates the Doppels for the game and even wrote several side stories was assumed to be MagiReco's second best choice; but with how things panned out, there seems to be some doubt surrounding that. Currently the MagiReco series is facing a bit of a crisis, desperately needing to let go of their parent series' quintet and its roots; but still heavily relying on them for attention as the OP has shown. The anime plays an important role in seeing how the more casual fans would catch on to the new faces, and whether that's been successful or not remains to be seen until Season 2 airs. As for what that means for Madoka as a series, well who knows. Constantly promising the Rebellion sequel every year while bleeding talent left and right _and_ Urobuchi, one has to wonder how that herculean process would even be done; or even if it should considering Rebellion's ending reception. MagiReco in that sense is its cries for help, wanting to free itself of the shackles of PMMM while not even entirely knowing how; becoming the despair to PMMM's hope. img(https://i.imgur.com/3Pu0CQK.jpg) I believe Doroinu can still follow up MagiReco, but perhaps not as a director. Having Shinbo remain as director and Doroinu in scriptwriting perhaps might help seeing as Shinbo has more of an experience directing than Doroinu, but under the clutches of a gacha game and being forced to advertise it; perhaps it's doomed from the start. The failures in the MagiReco anime adaptation is a lesson of how hard it is to adapt a game's story that's allowed to run for almost as long as it wants to into a one cour anime, and what losses you should or shouldn't make when doing it; or perhaps in this case what you shouldn't even add. Understanding what's truly best to fit into a limited 22 minute anime is by no means easy, and understanding what the whole series should end up achieve by the end is an even harder task. img(https://i.imgur.com/OaHHULw.jpg) I hope this review doesn't sound like a "they change the thing I like so I hate it" review, but if you're still somehow interested in how the MagiReco universe develops; I do implore you to play (or watch) the MagiReco game. Its latter half may be a mess, but the first half and some of the side story holds many interesting stories. This score is one I don't give lightly, and mostly out of how much I want to see it properly become its own than living off the shadow of the PMMM franchise.
img500(https://images.puella-magi.net/thumb/d/df/Magia_record.PNG/500px-Magia_record.PNG?20170723183317) I feel that this review warrants a brief explanation of my decision-making process when it comes to choosing what to review. Simply put, there __is__ no process. Almost three years ago, I decided that I was going to write a review of every [novel](https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31478727?shelf=reviewed) and manga that I read and every [anime](https://anilist.co/user/Pockeyramune919/reviews) that I watched. I don't just review things that seem interesting to review, nor do I seek out things that I think I'd be particularly *good* at reviewing. I arbitrarily review _every_ anime that I decide to watch. I only say that because I'm not sure I'm personally equipped to review _Magica Record_. Towards the end, I realized that maybe I'm just not the person to "get" the show, through not much fault of its own. But the show, as they say, must go on, and I won't let Madoka, er, Iroha, be the one to break my resolve. Besides, my review could still prove helpful to someone. I actually have a history with the Madoka franchise, albeit not a particularly rich one. Part of this is because I only watched its most famous entry, _[Puella Magi Madoka Magica](https://anilist.co/anime/9756/Mahou-Shoujo-MadokaMagica)_. I remember enjoying it well enough when I watched it four years ago. I had basic knowledge of the show, so I already knew about the "twist," but that didn't make the anime any less impactful for me. It was tense, unsettling, yet still emotionally poignant. While the show isn't one of my favorites (though that "10" I gave it implies otherwise), I still thought it was great. So great that I didn't really want it ruined in light of the mixed reception I heard regarding the movies. But still, I'll watch them eventually. My lack of investment probably keeps me from being a Madoka "fan," but the interest was there if a new anime cropped up. And lo-and-behold, soon, that anime was on the horizon. I didn't know much besides it being the adaption of a phone game, but I was optimistic that it would be as good as the original. img520(https://images.puella-magi.net/thumb/e/e4/Episode_11_Gertrud_7.png/275px-Episode_11_Gertrud_7.png?20200316161731) _Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story/Gaiden_ (commonly shortened to either _Magia Record_ or _Madoka Gaiden_) centers around Not-Madoka, Iroha Tamaki, who cannot recall the wish that facilitated her transformation into a magical girl. Until recently, she also lost her memory of her ill younger sister, Ui. In the current day, Ui has disappeared and Iroha seems to be the only person in the world who is aware she existed. Iroha catches wind of a rumor that magical girls can be saved if they go to Kamihama City . When she arrives, she bonds with other magical girls, fights monsters known as the Uwasa, and finds herself wrapped up in a mysterious group, Wings of Magius, whose goal is to liberate all magical girls... The art direction is as beautiful as ever. Transformation sequences are amazingly animated and the fight scenes are fluid to the point of hecticness. I enjoyed the show's linework. The uwasa's labyrinths are as trippy as the witches of the past and I'm so for it. Dramatic lighting also goes a very long way in setting up a tone of dread. And speaking of "tone," another thing that I can commend this show for is its mood. It is in some ways similar to the original show and in others a departure from it. _Madoka_ did a chillingly good job of fostering a sense of creepiness and dread due to the horrible things that we witnessed. MagiReco, takes a different approach in fostering unsettling feelings. Nothing quite as gruesome happens in this show as OG Madoka, but fans of the original will come to _expect_ there to be, and thus will be on guard the entire time. Don't let this fool you into thinking _Magia Record_ lets its predecessor do all of the work, however. _Magia Record_, while not quite scary, can be creepy with its monsters and the psychological effects they have on the characters and their relationships. No principal character meets a grim demise like in _Madoka_, but because of that, you're left asking “_when_”? Like Madoka, the anime uses a grim fantastical setting to raise unsettling psychological questions. I'm impressed that _Magia Record_ managed to capture the creepy essence of _Madoka_ while very much doing its own thing with it. It still _feels_ like Madoka without being a retread. img500(https://images.puella-magi.net/thumb/0/04/Episode_4_Candy_2.png/800px-Episode_4_Candy_2.png?20200125210118) Unfortunately, I think my problem is that I wish it was more like Madoka in some regards. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not the type of person who feels a sequel should be the same as the [original](https://anilist.co/review/4178)l, but I just didn't find Magia Record as compelling as the original show for a myriad of reasons. First of all, while I didn't _dislike_ the characters, more often than not, they didn't resonate with me. They have interesting backstories — Felicia's desire to kill all witches because they're responsible for her parents' deaths and Yachiyo's wish to advance her career are just two examples. These backstories are the strongest things these characters have going for them, for they’re what tether us to them and make us care. Unfortunately, my interest didn't extend much past the backstories. It seems like the characters are given the briefest moment to shine before being shooed away to make room for whatever monster-of-the-week the cast will be dealing with next. While the characters are still _around_, they feel more like setpieces. It feels like characters drop out of the show when in reality, they drop out of importance and focus. I can tell you their background, I can tell you _some_ of their personalities, but I could not, for the life of me, tell you what most of them *do*. img500(https://i.imgur.com/XlAWHX1.png) As indicative of this, when episode three aired three months ago, I wrote, "Rena doesn’t deserve Kaede." From this it's clear that _Magia Record_ __can__ make me feel things and its characters _can_ rope me into their dramas. But if you told me that Kaede and Rena dropped out the show after this episode, I'd believe you. If you told me they were there but didn't do anything, I'd also believe you. Maybe they continued to do things, but their actions were so small that I forgot in the time between watching the show and writing this review. It's a very minor point but what’s up with Iroha's partner, Kuroe? She appears in the first episode and is seemingly _never_ acknowledged again. I don't know why but this has really irked me since episode two. img500(https://images.puella-magi.net/thumb/7/7f/Episode_1_Boxwood_37.png/800px-Episode_1_Boxwood_37.png?20200317151237) Nevermind, she apparently reappeared in episode thirteen, so this particular critique is borne from my own idiocy, but more on that briefly (though, in my defense, her reappearance was as unacknowledged as her disappearance). img500(https://i2.wp.com/doublesama.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Magia-Record-Episode-13-4.jpg?w=640) Another minor point, but I enjoyed it when characters from the OG Madoka popped in from time to time. Unfortunately, these tend to err more on the side of cameos (though Mami's shaping up to be pretty prominent). I guess this is to theoretically let the new characters shine, to mixed results, as detailed above. img500(https://images.puella-magi.net/thumb/5/52/Episode_5_Mami_confrontation_11.png/800px-Episode_5_Mami_confrontation_11.png?202002072359550) And as I hinted before, a personal problem with this show isn't so much a problem (which implies fault) but more a barrier to entry: I'm not the most astute of animegoers. Subtleties seem to evade me. It can be hard for me to grasp the bigger picture. Subtitles, which tend to demand a high amount of focus, aren't my preferred mode of watching, though I manage. All of this is simply to say that I might struggle with a complex show. And that isn't to say I haven't dealt with obtuse shows before: for one, I just finished [Kaiba](https://anilist.co/review/6224). When I didn't understand something, I'd consult a discussion thread. Generally, I'd underestimate my intelligence and I'd find I'd the meaning without needing to read the thread. That wasn’t the case with this show. I was very, very lost while watching _Magia Record_. I swear, every time I blinked I’d miss crucial information. Recaps (such as [PlanetJane's](https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/magia-record-recap-s01-e03/)) and [discussion threads](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/f0twpc/magia_record_mahou_shoujo_madokamagica_gaiden/) were my lifeline. If you're anything like me, you'll absolutely need them to parse through what you just watched. I'm glad that these resources exist, but I dislike that it felt like I _needed_ them. And I dislike even more the fact that I can't quite articulate _why_ I felt the anime was so confusing. Was it just dense? Was it very subtle? The fact that I can't quite place my finger on it causes me to believe I'm just dumb. This conclusion isn't born completely out of self-loathing, however. When I commented on a discussion thread to state I didn't get the significance of the numbers in episode six, I was accused of either trolling or not paying attention. I guess I'm just too dumb for this show. Again, maybe I’m just not the type of person to “get” _Madoka Record_. img500(https://images.puella-magi.net/thumb/9/94/Episode_6_Symbol_Witch_3.png/800px-Episode_6_Symbol_Witch_3.png?20200208180752) Then there's the main, fatal flaw that I found; the cardinal sin of any form of entertainment: I found this show kind of boring. It would be disingenuous to state that I found it _all_ boring. there were certainly interesting parts, but overall, I found it kind of listless. I somewhat attribute this to the very thing I praised before: its tone. While it does a very good job of creating dread without things getting _as_ dark as its predecessor, the flipside of this is that, a lot of the time, it feels like we're building up to something that never comes. There's a distinct feeling of tension that's unresolved. It's like a balloon that's being continuously being pumped. It's dangerously close to popping but then it's allowed to deflate. This continues to happen and soon, you've come to expect it and thus it offers no excitement. It doesn't feel like anything _really_ happens in this show and that's supremely frustrating given the tension. Humorously, my younger brother refused to watch this show due to finding _Madoka Magica_ too creepy, but the reaction is largely unwarranted in regards to _Magia Record_. In the final episode, when something substantial finally _does_ happen, I was so desensitized by _Magia Record_'s goading that my reaction was an unenthused, "yeah, that's kind of cool." img500(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z4DgoQkXby8/maxresdefault.jpg) I know this can come across as me being upset that this isn't _Madoka Magica_. I'm fine with a [follow-up](https://anilist.co/review/3555) not being the same as the original. My problem is that _Magia Record_'s difference, its lack of payoff, makes for a somewhat lackluster story in _general_, not specifically in the context of the series. In a vacuum, all of this would probably amount to me giving _Magia Record_ a six at _best_. But then came the announcement: _Magia Record_ would be a split cour show, with the second half presumably premiering next year. This revelation forced me to recontextualize the show and reassess it in light of it. The lack of payoff could be due to this being only the beginning of the story; the exposition and the beginning of the rising action. Presumably, the crap would only start _really_ hitting the fan after the first season. In light of the second season, my biggest gripe can be justified fairly well. The characters should have more of a chance to shine, as well. But the fact that this is the first half of a story can only help*so* much. Ideally, the first half of a story isn’t a snore. Ideally, the characters will still be engaging. Ideally, you have more than atmosphere to carry you through. I acknowledge that I watched the show somewhat incorrectly due to thinking it was supposed to be self-contained. However, I also acknowledge that even as the set-up to something larger, this still has some big issues. Yet, these issues aren't enough to deter me from watching the second season. If I hated the show, I wouldn't look forward to its continuation. Even if it was sparse, there was _something_ that I enjoyed in _Magia Record_. While it might be naive, while it might lead to disappointment, I'm optimistic that I'll enjoy the conclusion to _Magia Record_ even if I didn't enjoy the first all too well. Wow, looking forward to the next entry even after the previous one burned me? Maybe I really am a fan. 6.7/10 D+ img500(https://i.redd.it/tsjf97o9g9r51.jpg) Though I’m going to have to do a lot of studying to be prepared for my second go of _Magia Record_.
~~~_Iroha is a magical girl, fighting witches in exchange for having a wish granted. But things are
weird: she can’t remember the wish she made, there’s a feeling like something tangible is missing from
her life, and now there’s a weird rumor going around: “Magical girls can be saved if they go to
Kamihama City…”_~~~
# ~~~__THIS REVEAL CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA (TV) AND MAGIA RECORD (ANIME & GAME[Ch1-6])__~~~ ## ~~~__THIS REVIEW IS FOR MAGIA RECORD ON ITS OWN MERIT. COMPARISONS TO THE PARENT SERIES WILL BE MINIMAL__~~~ August 2017. Puella Magi Madoka Magica has been dormant for what's about to be 4 years. But who's in the distance but f4samurai, coming through with a Madoka Magica Gacha Game. And only about half a year after the game's story wraps up, here comes an anime adaptation. Now the question is, as with every adaptation...does it hold up? __ ~~~PREMISE~~~__ Magia Record follows Magical Girl Iroha Tamaki. Someone's gone missing. Someone VERY important. After a strange dream involving her missing sister leads her to the city of Kamihama, where Witches are gathering en masse and Magical Girl can supposedly be freed from their curse. During her search, she forms a group comprising of "A single mom and her four adopted Magical Girls" and kind of maybe sorta uncovers a cult using new entities known as "Uwasa". __ ~~~IN-DEPTH OVERVIEW~~~__ This has to be said now, Magia Record keeps its messed-up stuff more on the down low than its parent series. It's not as in your face about it, and at times, it can feel like a fucking slice-of-life. Trust it, it gets a little odd. img500(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/496844005523456000/947409247489122304/vlcsnap-2022-02-27-02h18m16s361.png) The first episode is really just there to set up the plot and also introduce a character that wasn't AND STILL ISN'T in the game. f4, where's our Kuroe banner? The whole thing with Iroha forgetting her wish is actually an interesting hook to differentiate the spin-off and grab attention. Boy, I sure hope they don't forget about the premise for half of the fucking season. Also smol Kyubey. They're there, I guess. To be fair, it's not really the most important in this part even in the game. img500(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/496844005523456000/947412340633120798/vlcsnap-2022-02-27-02h35m29s938.png) The Friendship Ending Staircase, on the other hand, is the first arc of the season to show how episodic this season's gonna be. None of Team Momoko is really much of note (except they manage to actually make Rena hateable), though the Adjuster Mitama will become more important later. But at least in Season 1, she's just what can be boiled down to "Magical Girl Therapist". Anyways, if there's any positive, it's the innate connection to human emotion and desire the Uwasa of this season have and the Staircase is one of the better one. We've all had that friend we can't fucking stand, and turning that idea into the center of a short story works as well as it probably could for it only being 2 episodes covering one chapter. Time for me to break my "avoid comparisons" rule, though. I didn't like the back to back transformation sequences in Rebellion, and the only way it's any better here is that there's one less Magical Girl to run through. Also, surprised they didn't just reuse the game's summon animations. Still a waste of time in a series already strapped for time, though. img500(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/496844005523456000/947418680965353482/vlcsnap-2022-02-27-02h58m21s262.png) The Rumor of the Seance Shrine lends into the feeling of wanting to see the ones you miss (the perfect trap for literally the entire main team except Snaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa). The Seance Shrine Arc introduces Tsuruno Yui, my personal favorite character of the MagiReco crew. What can I say? I like my genki girls to be held together by fucking duct tape. We'll get to that, but now's not the time. This arc, like Tsuruno's 5-star art (seriously f4?), is a lot more stacked than the one that came before. Between our first main team addition, it being the first (and one of the only in S1) lead on Ui, and the reveals of both Mifuyu and what will later become known as a Doppel make this Uwasa of the Week actually feel like the series is starting to build toward something. More than I can say for seasons of some of the most critically acclaimed anime out there. This is the first arc to include a main series character as well. It's Mami, as well, the only one to kind of matter. So keep that...in your head. But there is one small change out here that makes something else awkward at the end of the season. ~~~ (Credit to MuffinRecord on Youtube for the NA server archive this screenshot is from)~~~ img500(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/496844005523456000/947418681925845012/Screenshot_from_2022-02-27_03-00-53.png) This is a line from the game. The entire exchange is along the lines of "You're not as bad as I thought, but you've gotta be even better if you want to bring your sister back.". They cut the entirety of Yachiyo acknowledging Iroha, that small little bit. Two lines going missing takes away what ends up being a midpoint for their dynamic's development in S1 and makes things feel that bit forced later on. img500(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/496844005523456000/947422216918814720/vlcsnap-2022-02-27-03h17m11s659.png) The Lucky Owl Arc is, well, it has Felicia. Implusive, emotional, and fucking tragic, I find Felicia to be about on par with Tsuruno is terms of quality. Sadly, we don't really get her full backstory in the anime, so that's kind of rough. It's also serves to introduce us the the Wings of Magius properly, along with Mifuyu's connection to the org- it's a fucking cult. All this arc shows us is that they wanna get rid of the Witches. The how and why? We'll get to that. I also appreciate how it opens on part 1 of Felicia's character story of the game. Sadly, this is also the first arc to focus almost exclusively on the new Magical Girl, putting the preexisting team members to the side. Keep note, it'll be important here in a bit. Also Kyoko's here. No reason, she's just chillin'. img500(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/496844005523456000/947425701051637780/vlcsnap-2022-02-27-03h30m51s937.png?width=813&height=457) The Rumor of the Anonymous AI reflects a desire to run from all of life's problems. The Eternal Solitude Arc is honestly the best episodic story of Magia Record. Way to end on a higher note, but it's not perfect. An entire episode is just the crew looking into Iroha's problem with the Uwasa spamming the shit out of her phone. Episode 9 picks up the slack with its focus on Sana and Ai, but it caps off with the worst possible reveal they could have given to our first full Magius, Alina Grey. She just rolls in and interrupts the end of a story on its way out. And while psycho bitch Alina is an entertaining villain to watch, her insane artistic views are cut in exchange for getting clowned on by a newbie Wing of Magius. Granted, that "newbie" is fucking MAMI, but still. Thankfully, Episode 11 ends the arc on a decent note with a bittersweet scene of Sana saying her goodbyes to the family that didn't love her. img500(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/496844005523456000/947428569120899082/vlcsnap-2022-02-27-03h42m13s258.png?width=813&height=457) Memory Museum, dear god. Okay, first of all, I want to punch Touka in her dumbass face. If you thought Rena was annoying, Touka'll have you pulling your hair out. It's that signature look of superiority and the way she talks like everyone else is a fucking brainlet that makes her more puntable than a football. Also, let's not ignore the fact she just expedition-dumps shit anyone watching should know going in. TWELVE EPISODES IN. The only thing worthwhile about this is an exploration into the exactly brand of PTSD that plagues Yachiyo, Mifuyu, and in a different way, Tsuruno. Three cheers for Survivor's Guilt! Anyway, it takes 18 minutes for the episode to finally move on to explaining the Doppel. At this point, it raises a question for every answer. This is how Magius plans to free Magical Girls? Okay, so the question becomes "What's causing it?". It keeps the mystery of Doppels going, which will be a bigger factor moving forward. A number of changes happen in the final episode, so let's start from the top. At the beginning of the episodes, everyone on the Gondala are already gone with the only explanation being "Magius up and left with them". In the game, it's explicitly shown that they were brainwashed. I reserve judgment as of now since this change really only affect S2. The ending is also changed, but first, let's talk about Sayaka vs. Holy Mami. img500(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/496844005523456000/947432689475125268/vlcsnap-2022-02-27-03h56m47s790.png?width=813&height=457) img500(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/496844005523456000/947432689861013544/vlcsnap-2022-02-27-03h57m51s771.png?width=813&height=457) This is the first real "spectacle" fight of the MagiReco anime, and while flashy, the substance isn't all there. There is almost no narrative weight to the outcome of this farce, and hell, Sayaka gets sidelined the second Iroha and Yachiyo summon their Doppels. However, if there's any visual I can appreciate, it's the more in your face application of Sayaka's superior regenerative ability. Girl just straight loses her arms and grows it back in a split second to go back to throwing back a magical blast so powerful it BROKE the cannon that fired it. Now, the ending. img500(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/455435043297427467/944091118302269480/vlcsnap-2022-02-17-22h37m53s671.png) Yeah, this is not how Iroha gets kidnapped in the game. It's also VERY early. Everything else in regards to this change will be covered in the S2 review, so let's discuss the weird way they handled Yachiyo. __ ~~~RUSHING RELATIONSHIP~~~__ Yachiyo and Iroha's dynamic takes a disgusting backseat after Seance Shrine in order to focus on the new arrivals. This compounds on top of the change to one important interaction in the Shrine arc to make Yachiyo's attachment to Iroha seem way more forced, sudden, and unearned on both ends in Episode 13. Especially with how Season 2 starts, it's far too extreme of a 180 on Yachiyo's end to be okay. __ ~~~OVERARCHING ISSUES~~~__ Firstly, the series feels slightly disconnected due to the episodic nature of a lot of Season 1, but that's not exactly that big of an issue or one unique to MagiReco. Backstory is something the anime can't decide whether to have or not, and how much. Tsuruno's story of wishing for money only to it to be wasted by her dickhead mother and grandmother is completely missing. Meanwhile, Felicia gets the part where her parents die in a fire, but lacks how it was her fault and she then wished to "make it to where it never happened", leading to memory manipulation. Sana, however, gets a very good chunk of her backstory and it caps off an arc tied for longest in the season. Yachiyo's only gets a pass since 1. It's integrated into Touka's info dump in Episode 12, which while problematic as a needless exposition dump, does lead into the reveal of some of the logistics of Doppels. and 2. It applies to more characters than just her, justifying its high screentime. There's Connects to talk about, as well. In the game, all they are are buffs that one unit can pass to another after attacking three times. What Connects are in the anime can described simply as "Combo Magia" (Magia just being a super attack). The anime loves these, to the point it starts relying on them too much to wrap up fights. Finally, only 13 episodes...to cover 6 chapters. Of 10. The show can feel like it's going at blazing speeds in order to fit what it does into the short runtimes. Yet somehow, it still feels like some episodes could be cut down even more ~~12~~. __ ~~~CONCLUSION~~~__ If you were expecting the same depression fuel this show is a spin-off of, look elsewhere. You won't find it here. On average, it's not as hopelessly tragic as its parent, and it can seem like it's going in circles at times (new girl, fight uwasa, oh hey there's the cult again, repeat), but it trades the incomprehensible horror for a more traditional mystery story. The main cast, while having their flaws, are still enjoyable enough to warrant their inclusion. The Uwasa lend themselves well to being manifestations of things most people have felt in some form at some point. Don't get used to that. But the overly fast pace (a byproduct of the allotted runtime) and odd handling of Yachiyo's character bog Magia Record Season 1 down to not being anything more than mid.