Puella Magi Madoka Magica is one of the more notable magical girl anime series to have been made in the 2010s. It is centered on a girl named Madoka Kaname, who possesses enormous potential for becoming one of the titular magical girls. However, a mysterious transfer student named Homura Akemi is a very important character as well, so much so that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she can even compete with Madoka for the status of main character to some extent. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Puella Magi Madoka Magica:
1. Magical Girls Have Existed for Centuries and Centuries
Magical girls in the Puella Magi Madoka Magica setting are not a new phenomenon. The anime series doesn’t go into the topic in great detail, but even here, it is clear that magical girls have been created for centuries and centuries. In fact, there are strong hints that a number of historical figures were magical girls, which are further supported by secondary material.
2. Magical Girls Become So By Contracting with Kyubey
In Puella Magi Madoka Magica, girls become magical girls by making a contract with Kyubey, which is a cute animal mascot that has sometimes being described as a “bunny-cat” by the fans. In exchange for becoming magical girls with super-human powers, the girls get to make one wish, which tends to have a strong impact on their powers.
3. Kyubey Is Not the Being’s True Name
It should be mentioned that Kyubey is not the being’s true name. For that matter, while it isn’t uncommon for animal mascots in magical girl series to withhold information for one reason or another, Kyubey is particularly notorious for this.
4. Magical Girls Are Obligated to Fight Witches
Magical girls in the Puella Magi Madoka Magica setting are obligated to fight Witches, which are surreal monsters that hide themselves in Labyrinths but can predate upon humans through various means. Even if they don’t want to, this is necessary because Witches are the ones that drop Grief Seeds, which are used to keep the magical girls going in the long run.
5. Magical Girls Have to Keep a Watchful Eye on Soul Gems
Upon contracting with Kyubey, magical girls will gain something called a Soul Gem. Whenever they use their super-human powers as well as when they meet other conditions, their Soul Gems will accumulate Grief, which must be cleansed using a Grief Seed before it builds up to the point of no return. As for the true nature of Soul Gems, well, suffice to say that they are exactly what they sound like.
6. Different Girls Possess Different Potential
Magical girls are not created equal. This is because different girls possess different amounts of potential, which determines their power upon contracting with Kyubey. It is interesting to note that a person’s potential can change for a number of reasons, which plays a critical role in the series.
7. Wishes Can Backfire
The wishes that magical girls make can backfire. For example, it is speculated that one magical girl wished for a cheesecake, which presumably caused her a great deal of Grief when she realized that she could have wished for her mother’s terminal illness to go away.
8. Some Witches Can Be Much Stronger than Others
Speaking of which, it should be noted that some Witches can be much more powerful than others. For example, some Witches are limited to predating upon a small number of humans through subtle means. In contrast, others are city-destroying disasters.
9. Homura’s Actions Have Double Meanings
It is interesting to note that there is a major spoiler towards the end of Puella Magi Madoka Magica that puts Homura’s actions in a very different light. As a result, what she says as well as what she does over the course of the series can have very different meanings in the context of that knowledge.
10. Written By Gen Urobuchi
The writer for Puella Magi Madoka Magica is Gen Urobuchi. He isn’t quite as bad as what the fans would make him out to be, but Urobuchi has earned the nickname “Urobutcher” with excellent reason. Puella Magi Madoka Magica wasn’t exactly aimed at children in the first place, but interested individuals should know that it can get very dark indeed.
Follow Us
