This show has gotten recommended to me more than a couple of times, and while the genre is a bit off putting, I'm willing to give it a fair shake. After watching the first episode subbed and dubbed, I've decided to do this one dubbed. The English VA's for Sayaka and Homura were really what sold me on it.
A Dream... Or Something
The first scene isn't really what I was expecting, but it's got some neat visuals going on. It does take it's time getting to any actual content, really accenting the stylized world. Something's clearly wrong with where Madoka finds herself, and I think it ties in with the weird psychedelic trip her and Sayaka take later on. The music playing during this scene is on point, though the fight doesn't have much going for it. It's kind of flashy but we just don't see much. I guess it accents that whatever Homura is fighting, it's pretty powerful. I'm also pretty interested in Kyubey. It's not clear how he grants girls their powers, and the idea of a “contract” feels weird, but I definitely want to see more from him. We also get to see a bit of what Madoka is all about in this scene, and it feels kind of bland. She comes off as timid, lacking confidence and generally uninteresting. It's also setting up the pretty uninspired idea that the true power comes from the heart and anyone can be a hero, which I'm not liking. Also, me literally last week:
I think if I just try to forget about it being a “magical girl” anime and treat it as just another show about people with magic powers things will run smoothly enough
Kyubey in the first scene:
Make a contract with me, and become a magical girl!
So we'll see how that goes.
Opening
The songs pretty dope. Really like it. The opening also contrasts hard against the darker color palette of the first scene, which was actually pretty jarring. I'm assuming the short slide show of misadventures is roughly what I can expect in the future. Notably, both Sayaka and Mami are shown also being Magical Girls there, and at the end, so I'm assuming Sayaka will be joining Madoka in becoming one down the road. I'm not a big fan of the nudity in the opening. It's just an odd inclusion, and if I have to deal with a lot of it in the show I'll probably drop it. Otherwise the visuals are pretty solid.
Morning
This really feels like it's just filling time. Maybe the goal is to get the viewer to care about Madoka's family a bit, but at this point I don't. I assume they're nice people and all, but nothing here really captured my attention. We do see that Madoka isn't quite as timid around her family as she is elsewhere, so I guess there's hope. Also, what's with the massive bathroom? It just seems excessive.
Hitomi and Sayaka
I don't know why, but I instantly like Sayaka. She just seems to have a lot of personality, where Hitomi and Madoka just aren't that interesting. Looks like we're going to be getting some slice of life/romance stuff happening on the side of the Magical Girl stuff. It's not overly interesting yet, but I'll give it some time. I did note in this scene in particular that sometimes the animation just feels weak. The characters are shown too far off, and this leads to rough looking art. Kind of annoying.
Transfer Student
I'm not a fan of the teacher. Hopefully the difficulties of her personal life don't become a recurring joke. Homura's appearance isn't particularly interesting, but she is clearly aware of who Madoka is. She immediately comes off as cold and hostile (to Madoka at least, she seemed fine with the other students, if a bit introverted), though there doesn't seem to be any justification for it.
Homura's Warning
Using the convenient excuse of going to the nurses office, we get some time to learn a bit about Homura. While she comes off as cold and gets visibly annoyed at Madoka commenting on her name, she immediately wants to be on a first name basis, which strikes me as bizarre. Her warning to Madoka to “stay as she is” is pretty clear as far as I'm concerned. She doesn't want Madoka to become a Magical Girl, and it borders on threatening. Hopefully the why of that will get clarified, because right now she's sending some really mixed signals. Madoka is uncomfortable from start to finish. Seems to be a combination of the “dream” and Homura's intimidating presence.
Your Inner Anime Character
You know, I'm never sure what to think about lampshading. Just saying, “this is so ridiculous isn't it ;)” doesn't stop it from being ridiculous, and in this case really draws attention to how silly things are. That being said, there is enough suggesting the “dream” not actually being one (just judging by the episode title). I think that Madoka somehow got some kind vision of the future and Homura received it as well. Odds are, we'll wind up in that exact scenario soon enough. Since she hadn't become a Magical Girl in the vision, I'd put it before the halfway mark, and probably around Episode 3 or 4. And what the hell are tea ceremony lessons?
Meeting Kyubey
I'm not really sure how Kyubey is able to communicate with Madoka, but it's pretty convenient for him. Also, apparently Homura can fire lasers, which is pretty dope. I'm a bit curious about her. She really doesn't want Madoka becoming a Magical Girl, but she still hasn't given any reason for this. Kyubey isn't exactly fighting back, but she's definitely shooting to kill. Based on all of that, it almost feels like Homura is supposed to be the antagonist of the story, though that seems to conflict with the “dream” sequence. “Now she's attacking you in cosplay, what's her problem,” is absolute gold and solidifies Sayaka's position as my favorite character.
The Acid Trip
And I'm thoroughly confused. The visuals of the opening scene were jarring, but this is next level. The whole thing has a really abject feeling that left me a bit unsettled. Like, I think if I saw this as a kid I'd actually be kind of spooked. It also sounds like the cotton balls are speaking German, which is unexpected. Homura doesn't really do anything to help out, but we have a new girl show up to deal with whatever is going on. The whole transformation sequence was really girly (which I guess is probably the point), but unleashing a full arsenal of muskets wasn't something I expected. The fight was short lived, but I could definitely see them becoming very action spectacle in the future based on the over the topness.
The Debrief
And with that all said and done, Homura decides to show up again (was she fighting elsewhere, or was she fine leaving Madoka and Sayaka to those creatures?). Looks like Homura and Mami know each other, but damn if there isn't a lot of tension. Mami comes off as much more experienced, with Homura not wanting to get into a fight. It'll be interesting to see more between them, because it feels like something happened before the show started. Kyubey is back to talking about the contract, and already knows who Madoka and Sayaka are. I guess he was creeping on gym class as some kind of research, though I doubt he would have seen anything worthwhile there. Anyway, he looked cute as hell when he did the little head tilt at the end.
Ending
The ending is really dull. I haven't seen many shows that just use one picture, and it feels kind of lazy here. There's no presence from Homura, Kyubey or Mami, so maybe it will change each episode depending on who the focus is on. Hard to say. The song itself is alright, just sort of bland.
Other Thoughts
Future
The opening sequence showed both Madoka and Sayaka as magical girls, so I'm assuming they'll both make contracts in the next couple episodes. We'll probably need to get a better idea of what a contract is though, because just hearing it referred to as a “contract” makes it sound sketchy. Once that all gets cleared up though, I imagine things will settle into a sort of episodic routine of fighting whatever those creatures are, and probably eventually having the last two or three episodes on a particularly major enemy. There is still the matter of that vision, which I'm expecting to see wrapped up in the next few episodes (I'm guessing Episode 4). It's going to be the point where Madoka makes her contract, and if things are going as poorly for Homura as they look to be going then she'll probably have to save her, which could be the turning point for Homura's relationship with the other girls. With that tension between Homura and Mami, if these girls are going to be a team (I assume that's where things are going at least, based on my minimal experience with the genre) then they'll need to straighten that out.
Final Thoughts
I'm not thrilled about Madoka Magica just yet. It's not that it's bad, it just feels kind of, I don't know, bland I guess. I think the best comparison is A Certain Magical Index, which is fairly popular, and wasn't really bad or anything, but it didn't really wow me. We're only one episode in, so there is still plenty of time for that to change, but that's just what it reminded me of.