Puella Magi Madoka Magica Volume 3
Studio: SHAFT
Publisher: Madman
Format: DvD (Reviewed), Blu-Ray Disc
Release Date: Out Now
Price: $29.95 (Buy Here)
Overview
The third and final volume in the Magical Girl series Puella Magi Madoka Magica is quite easily the best portion of the three parts of the series. However if you haven’t yet seen the two previous discs you may get incredibly lost in the story.
This final volume is definitely worth a purchase and you’ll find out in the rest of the review as to why this is the case.
Story
Puella Magi Madoka Magica follows the story of Madoka who wants nothing more than to become a Magical Girl. But to do this, she must first come up with a wish to exchange for this gift. However, by this point in the story, we learn that being a Magical Girl is more of a curse than it is a gift.
What was really interesting about this disc was that the story was finally interesting enough to pay attention to. I noted that towards the end of the last disc was where the show was starting to become entertaining and interesting but it’s definitely here where it’s at it’s best.
I actually really liked how personal this story was towards one of the coldest characters in the entire series, Homura. We know from earlier on that she is a time-travellor that wants to end Kyubei’s scheme and defeat the Walpurgisnacht witch. But what makes this set of episodes interesting is that we find out her reasons for wanting to do these things and we see her transformation into this cold character we have today. These few episodes also have a plethora of feels that you can’t help but have. There is so much more to Homura than initially meets the eye.
I suppose what grabbed me the most about this shows ending, I mean besides all them feels, was how much an ending the last couple of episodes were. We’re talking meta-physics, world ending monsters and the like. Honestly, the best way to put this is that it is the kind of ending one would usually attribute to a Gainax production, like Evangelion, instead of a Magical Girl show. And for this shows concept, it works incredibly well. I remember when Kyubei asked Madoka for her wish (the wish that started all of the metaphysical nonsense) and I thought that I had the perfect wish for that scenario. But no, the writers gave Madoka a superior wish to even my own. This is definitely a good thing for a series to do.
Overall the story in Madoka Magica disc 3 redeems the entire first disc and the first few episodes on the second. If you haven’t yet picked this series up, or have only watched the first disc, I’d definitely recommend picking this disc up alongside the second disc. Mainly for continuity.
Visuals
Visually, the strongest point in Madoka Magica is its unique scenery when the cast are fighting against witches. The battles shown on this disc are incredibly well done and have obviously had a great amount of attention shown to them.
However, I am not a fan of the way the characters are drawn at all. There’s just something amazingly off about all of the characters in the series and I think it has a lot to do with their proportions and facial structure. However, each Magical Girl has an amazing costume and I will definitely admit that Homura looks so incredibly cute while wearing glasses in one of the episodes on this disc.
What was actually quite interesting visually was a connection with Walpurgisnacht and Homura visually. I’m not entirely sure if this was meant to be the case, but they both seem to have a gear and cog theme going which made them seem like they were connected somehow. Like, Homuras power is time-manipulation and watches have both cogs and gears… I think. This may have been a case of accidental connotations, but it still worked.
Audio
Does this show have separate opening and ending themes? Did it have different ones initially? I have no idea anymore, I’m sure I heard that one song playing in both the openings and endings for this disc. This was disappointing in a way, because it felt really lazy and distracting. Why not use that awesome battle theme, Magica, they have playing sometimes? I love that tune.
Once again, the Japanese dub annoyed me to death. I think this show really overdoes the cutesy shrieking asian girl thing. I am incredibly glad the English dub dials it down an incredibly large notch. While I can understand how some people prefer to watch shows in their intended language, I’d definitely recommend listening to it in English if you’re not one of those people.
Considering that this is a more personal tale aimed at Homura, it means that the background score had an opportunity to really get in there and bring out all the emotions in each scene. I think that it achieved this and did so quite well. As I said before though, wish they would have played Magica just a little more.
Extras
As a standalone disc, this really doesn’t have any extras of note. I would have liked to have seen more than just the clean opening and some Madman trailers. Even if the feature itself does more than make up for this lack of extras, it would have been nice if there was a commentary or something. However, the cover does open up to some brilliant artwork. I want that picture as a wallpaper.
Overall
Overall this final disc in the Puella Magi Madoka Magica series is the one that makes the rest of the series worth watching. If you’re someone that has seen the first disc and not bothered to continue, or someone interested in checking out the series but haven’t yet. Let me tell you. You must watch the two before this and yes the payoff is worth it.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica disc 3 is a must own disc for any anime fan, even those that have been turned off by the first two discs.
