chibichan | finished Madoka Magica

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!)

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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?? ;) ).

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

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.

finished Madoka Magica

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