finished Madoka Magica

[chibichan]

I'm that weird mental state when you've just finished an anime and all you can think of is how brilliant it was and what an amazing thing you've just watched.

As the title of this entry says, I've finished watching Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Finally. I can't believe it took me so long, but I'm very glad I watched it. I wanted to watch it for a while now, then I started watching the first episode with Andrew and it quickly became "the anime we watch together". And yesterday we finished it together, thus becoming "our first anime". And I'm very glad this was the first anime we watched together.

So... what did I think of it? Well, I won't spoil the ending for anyone, but all I can say is... wow. The last three episodes were just so amazing. I didn't know exactly what to expect from this series or where it was going. Which made what happened even more shocking. The ending was just... so beautiful. It's just such a brilliant anime. I loved it and so did Andrew. The music was captivating and gorgeous, too.

I read the manga today, as well. I'm glad I did, because a few things got clarified. But in this case I'd advise to watch the anime first. The manga is only three volumes long and so I feel like some things happen too quickly. The anime might be slower at first, but the pace of the last 3-4 episodes is perfect, in my opinion.

I seriously don't know what else to say, other than it was great. I'll be writing a review on the whole series shortly in magazine format, so that I can put it into my "writing samples" for Neo, if they should ask.

So... who wants to fangirl about/discuss Madoka Magica with me? :D (If you're including spoilers in your comment, please put "spoilers" in the title of the comment. I don't want other people to be spoiled while reading comments for this entry in case they want to watch the anime. Thanks!)

Comments

[no_o_o_o_o]

Oooh, I'm really glad that you enjoyed it! I watched it a few weeks after it finished airing, and it was one of the few anime I was able to watch without having the ending spoiled. I honestly never expected the ending, it was so perfect and hhh I was upset for about a week afterward. x)

Have you seen the films yet? I got to see them in theaters, but I'm pretty sure that the first two have been released to DVD. They follow the same format as the television series, but the animation is updated and a few new scenes are slipped in!

[chibichan]

Yesss, the ending was just perfect. Just. There are no other words to describe it!

I haven't seen the films, but I'm really excited to see them! I especially can't wait for the third one! :D

[muladhara]

So would you recommend it, then? I'm not really into anime as much as I was (I have backlog of series to watch, but it's what I feel like at the time, you know?), but I still look out for good stuff. I know a lot of people I follow on tumblr were dead into it and, at one point, you couldn't move for fanart for it. (Now they're all into some...what I think? is a...fishing anime? I dunno).

It's probably easier to get into an anime once the hype's passed, I think. Even if it does end up being tx-ty years after it was shown (cases in point in my experience: Vision of Escaflowne, and Trigun (which I still haven't finished *shamed*) )

Also, I think watching something with someone is sometimes better than on your own? Does that make sense? (Possibly a reason why I don't get much watched - I don't have anyone to watch it with).

[chibichan]

Oh yes, I'd definitely recommend it! Just like you, I have a huge list of series that I need to watch, but I'm not so involved in anime as much (I was more into it when I was younger). I picked Madoka Magica because I knew a lot of people liked it and it's so short! Only 12 episodes. So yes, it's worth it in my opinion, and also the fact that it's not super-long is a plus! :D

(Yes, now they're in a swimming anime of some sort. I don't really understand the hype about it, to be honest.)

It's probably easier to get into an anime once the hype's passed, I think.
Yes, thats's what I think, too! Also, I don't have the time/patience to keep up with the Japanese releases of anime, I'd rather wait for a series to finish airing and then watch it at my own pace. Oh, and I want to watch Trigun and Escaflowne as well! :D

Yes, that does make sense. It's definitely more fun that way. :)

[muladhara]

Only 12 eps? Wow, that's definitely watchable :) (I just have no patience for anime that go on forever *cough*Bleach*cough*Naruto*cough*DragonBall*cough*) Excellent. Now I just have to find somewhere to watch it! :D

(Sports anime/manga totally confound me! I know they're really big in Japan, and I have no idea WHY. I suppose it's like being into a sport over here, but it's totally fictional and...nope, still no idea why).

I'd rather wait for a series to finish airing and then watch it at my own pace.

*nods* As Fujicori mentions below, there can be waits (sometimes of ridiculous lengths!) between eps if watching "live", as it were. And you can avoid the flame/ship wars and so on, and other ridiculousness if you're not watching at the same time as everyone else, imho.

Trigun is hilarious. I LOVE Vash. He's such an idiot, and such a...not-a-hero type at all. Escaflowne, I think, is my favourite anime. I went in for the tarot motifs (I have kinks about them), and came out thinking it was one of the best things I watched. I also think it's best to go into knowing nothing about it, and it's a nice short series, too (there are films, but I haven't seen any of those yet). So yes! Do watch both series! :D

[chibichan]

I just have no patience for anime that go on forever

I know how you feel! I don't have the patience either. If the anime goes on forever, I'm more likely to read the manga, because sometimes they stretch the anime with pointless filler episodes. (I've noticed this seems to happen especially to shoujo anime, but not only.)

(I can understand being excited about stuff that you like (I was excited about the new Sailor Moon anime, because, you know, Sailor Moon was a huge part of my childhood and I love the manga to bits), but sometimes it's just... weird. Like, when they announced the swimming anime, everybody was like, "OMG SWIMMING ANIME!!11!" and I was like, "Okaaaay... why are you guys going nuts over it?" Relax, it's just an anime, you know? The only thing that you know about it is that it's a swimming anime. Why are you getting hyped over it? Did I miss something? What's so great about swimming all of a sudden?)

Yes, those are definitely great pros of not watching anime "live". :)

Ohh, now you've really got me curious about Escaflowne! :D I know absolutely nothing about it, so I'm ready to be amazed! Also, I read a bit of the manga of Trigun and yes, I loved Vash as well! He's an amazing character!

Oh, I almost forgot! I watched Madoka Magica online on Anime Season, so you could watch it there, if you want to. :) Hope that helps!

[muladhara]

That's true, although sometimes the manga can be as bad ;) (I think, and I certainly have experience of it, that some manga-ka/anime creators feel the pressure to carry something on if it's successful, not stop it where it should be stopped/whatever. Also I bet the Japanese are as bad about milking a franchise as the rest of us).

I have never seen Sailor Moon, you know! I was too old for it when it finally got to Britain, and I've never been interested, really. But I must admit I'm getting a little intrigued because of the remake (but I'd still watch the original in all likelihood).

One word of advice re: Escaflowne - DO NOT WATCH THE ENGLISH DUB. I haven't seen it myself (I watched Japanese with English subs, but I have a friend who tried watching the English dub and said it was awful). Um. I don't know if there are Italian versions (more than likely by now, right?)

Oooh, thanks for the link! I was thinking about Hulu, but I honestly have no idea how that place works (seriously, where is my "what does it do?!" button?? ;) ).

[chibichan]

Oh, definitely. Although I don't think it's the fault of the mangaka, it's more the bosses at the Japanese magazines (like Shounen Jump, etc.) that want the manga to keep running as much as possible. I've heard that Masashi Kishimoto (the mangaka of Naruto) would really like to end the series, but the people at Jump (or whatever magazine it's being published on) won't let him, simply because it's a popular series. Hence why he's starting to kind of butcher it, much like Kubo Tite, the mangaka of Bleach.

Ohh, I think you'd enjoy it! But yes, word of advice here as well: do not watch the English dub. It's terrible. So many things were censored and butchered, like Haruka and Michiru's relationship (that's the lesbian couple in the series). In general, it's just bad. I grew up with the Italian dub (it was censored as well in some parts, but not as much), so it wasn't as bad... and at least we got the last series with the Sailor Stars, whereas a lot of other countries didn't get that one. (The reason? Japanese animators decided to turn girls into boys. That's right. They were Senshis, so they were female, but they were disguised as boys as part of the plot... but Japanese animators actually gave them boy body parts as well. It's just... weird. Oh, and, best part: in the Italian dub these "boys" would call their "twin sisters" to fight as Senshis, rather than transform into Senshis themselves. And that's how Italy dealt with the problem and was able to broadcast the last series. Ah, Italian dub, you never cease to amuse me.)

Oh yeah, there is an Italian version! It should be okay, I think, as it aired on a channel different from the Sailor Moon one. (Different channels made a difference back then. Sailor Moon was on a popular, kid-friendly channel, so it had to be censored; whereas the more "mature" anime would be aired on MTV, for teenagers and grown-ups.) I will watch the Japanese one regardless! :)

Haha, you're welcome! :D

[muladhara]

Bosses and fans, I'd say. Fushigi Yuugi got continued on past its best because of the fan outcry when Yuu Watase said she was going to finish it off (admittedly it wasn't for as long as any of the series we've mentioned, but it certainly suffers/shows she ran out of ideas once the main plot was done). I think that's hilarious that those mangaka have started wrecking their stories. Maybe the bosses will get the hint, finally?

Mmm, I knew they mangled the English version of Sailor Moon, and someone I follow on Twitter occasionally watches it as voluntary torture ;) so I know to avoid it. Also that about the Sailor Stars - oh Japan, you wacky, wacky country :D

Excellent! I'm really pleased. I hope you like Escaflowne, but if you don't, well that's OK too.

[fujicori]

Ah dang it I love this show so much but I'm getting ready to go out to dinner QUICK FUJI THINK OF SOMETHING.

... so who was your favourite? And will you be watching the Rebellion Story (upcoming movie, probably post-canon) when it's out?

I stuck to watching the show on Hulu as it came out there in the US, and the multi-month wait between episodes 8 and 9 was the worst. (It started being released there shortly after my anime club voted against watching it, much to my disappointment, so I figured I might as well stick with that. OTOH, I ended up being glad they voted against it in the end, because I would have been really annoyed by the people trying to MST3K it as they try to with everything.)

[chibichan]

Who was my favourite character? That's hard to say... I loved all the girls, really. :D And yes, I will definitely be watching the third movie when it comes out! I'm so excited about it!

I watched it in Japanese online with subtitles way after it was finished airing, so I didn't have to wait for the episodes to be released. I'm kinda curious if there's an Italian dub of it now!

By the way, I love your Madoka icons! Do you have an iconjournal by any chance?

[fujicori]

I know I've seen an Italian VA list (I think fans could vote between potential VAs, or that might have been for another dub), so I think there is!

Ah, thank you so much! I don't have an icon journal, but I do love making the things.

[chibichan]

I will definitely check out the italian dub then!

Aw, to be honest, I'm a bit sad you don't have an icon journal, because I wanted to use some of your Madoka icons (with proper credit, of course)... but if you don't want others to have your icons, that's fine too! :) (I know I've made icons that I don't want other people to use.)

[fujicori]

Honestly it's more than I'm having a hard time finding an image host that I like than that I'm opposed to other people using my icons. Everything keeps upgrading to some kind of cluttery, script-heavy UI that doesn't work properly for my computer, or starts there in the first place. I'd kind of like to do icon posts someday. orz

[chibichan]

Agreed about the image hosts. I still use Photobucket because it still works, but the UI is just terrible now.

If I do end up using your icons, I'll credit you! :)