DESCRIPTION

CAST

ANIME DramaMagia Record: Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica Gaiden 2nd SEASON - Kakusei Zenya
MANGA ActionMagia Record: Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica Gaiden

REVIEWS

• 

  EXistential

  70/100
  Have You Heard? The Rumor of the Magical Girl Forever Lost!

  THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRETY OF THE MAGIA RECORD ANIME AS WELL AS THE GAME AND THE PARENT SERIES, PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA

  ---

  After Eve of Awakening left the anime looking like it gave up being an adaptation and decided to pursue being a do-over instead, we reach the finale. How much more could the bois at SHAFT possibly cha-- a lot. A fucking lot.

  IN-DEPTH OVERVIEW

  "The three of us will save her." -Tamaki Ui

  First things first. Episode 22 is a backstory episode. It goes through a few changes, by far one of the biggest being that instead of Touka finding out about Magical Girls and Incubators on her own and coming to the others with this information, they sneak into a Labyrinth to see Iroha hard at work. Someone, quick, add another tick to the "Iroha getting her ass kicked" counter!

  The other major change being how we got this exposition to begin with. Nemu just remembers everything. While an odd change, the removal of the personification of the Eternal Sakura from S2 kind of necessitated it.

  Ui being the Magical Girl of the Witch that would be known as Embryo Eve is an okay twist, and it provides a decent enough explanation to the mystery of the Small Incubator.

  "So it was better for you if I didn't remember." -Satomi Touka

  Episode 23. Now out of the backstory, and with the original ideals of the Magius in shambles, a new light is shed on the salvation of Magical Girls. Despite the revelations put on the table and a lot of tears put on Iroha's shoulder, the Eve is still Awakening. Promises are made to be fulfilled, and the smaller Magius girls know very well that what they're doing is a necessary evil towards their goals.

  The Eve awakening does something unique to the anime that only really serves to guide the story to the main event of the episode. The girls still going through with using Ui's Witch Body for liberation causes sudden Doppel Syndrome to a ton of Magical Girls, and someone's gotta deal with it.

  "What about your promise to take care of me forever?" -Yakumo Mitama

  The sacrifice of Azusa Mifuyu and Togame Momoko is... interesting. Coming out of source material where death was minimal, dropping the leader of the Feather and the Adjuster's Right Hand was an unexpected direction. Oh, yeah, by the way, they stay dead. Mentioning that doesn't involve these two, but keep that in mind for later. If they die in the anime, they aren't coming back last second.

  My issue with this is not the scene itself, but moreso just its existence. It may free the afflicted girls at Fendthope's ruins from their Doppel Syndrome, but those girls don't really achieve much from here on. Most they do is make a combo plane and tie down a moth. That's really it.

  Episode 24 may start with Alina watching the world burn to the ground, but it's very obvious who this episode really belongs to.

  "How long do I have to keep being a Magical Girl?" -Kuroe

  Kuroe's finale is nigh, and the cracks are just too big to seal. Iroha literally being like "You should totally be a Magical Girl with me." is kind of a dick move considering she should know how rough the whole bit is. And besides, this is sort of reused in the sense of Iroha isn't the first in the franchise to want a Magical Girl buddy (even if we don't know if Iroha was struggling to cope with the job as badly like the one who came before).

  Anyways, Kuroe may have taken Tomoe Iroha up on the idea, but she...does not cope with it well. To the point that in Episode 23 she experiences the sudden Doppel Syndrome and essentially kills herself by breaching Alina's Doppel Barrier and fully transforms. Iroha putting down the newly-born Ichizo is painfully to watch, even if the fact we don't get much in the way of knowing her before Ep24 does bog it down a little.

  "You should care about yourself more." -Hiiragi Nemu

  Episode 25. End of the line. Firstly, after a sharp bullying from both Kyubey AND herself, Iroha's buddies come to pick her up from the sky and she moves on uncomfortably quick. I find this more to be a pacing issue as the series doesn't even have 30 minutes left at this point. After hitching a ride on a magic makeshift plane, she FINALLY gets another chance to talk down the girls. But when all seems to end well, who'd be willing to interrupt but a GENUINE PSYCHO?!

  "Alina will turn EVERYTHING into art!" -Alina Gray

  This insane bitch has decided to fuse herself with Eve, consume Walpurgis, and force all of humanity to fall to and understand the turmoil of the Magical Girl. Her transformation for this final exciting show is, and I shit you not...

  Neo Dorthy Motherfucker

  I'm not kidding, that's what the ruins in her Witch introduction come out to say. And the best (or worst) part? It's perfectly in character for Alina. God, I actually don't think I've expressed in any of my MagiReco reviews until now that I love Alina as a character. Crazy bitch is just so entertaining to watch.

  Anyway, time for what may be the scene closest to its equivalent in the source material. Nemu's sacrifice against Alina. Just...let's not kind ourselves. NDM is a form completely unique to the anime and Touka joins in the sacrifice. And just to fuck with Iroha even more, let's sprinkle in Ui (whose soul in still in the small Kyubey, by the way), jumping onto the highway to hell alongside her two buddies. So that's Alina, Nemu, Touka, AND Ui gone in one fell swoop.

  Two things about the Magius sacrifice.

  • Only Nemu sacrifices herself to take down Alina (who in the game has a completely separate "Holy Alina" form). Even if it was a necessity for Touka to go with, Ui had no reason to jump in with them aside from, idk, fuck it why not?
  • Remember how I said characters don't come back in the last minute in the anime? Yeah, this is why I brought it up. Unlike in the game, Nemu isn't coming back in an epilogue. They are all GONE! In Nemu and Alina's case, this is a good change. They never should've come back after Last Magia.

  And now, for something different.

  "Why does everyone leave me?" -Tamaki Iroha

  Yachiyo and Iroha are finally allowed to get their respective closure with Yachiyo's old crew and Ui respectively. This is also when Yachiyo's true ability is revealed: Hope Inheritance. Now, when I first read that shit in Last Magia, my instant reaction was "Okay, hold on, bullshit. Yachiyo isn't GOD HERSELF! This game just shat the bed in the final stretch, fuck this!". But now I think I was wrong, kind of. From how I understand it now, she can take whatever hope a girl has, like she's a bowl or jar, and convert it into power. Basically what I'm saying is that Nanami Yachiyo is a walking talking Magical Girl Spirit Bomb!

  Iroha doesn't get something cool like that. She just gets the good ol' "I'll always be with you." given to her by Ui. Because Iroha is just getting given the shit end of the stick here.

  "Let me hear your voices!" -Tamaki Iroha

  And using that power, Yachiyo and Iroha materialize the Due Anima! I must say for the magia record that this attack is used to kill WALPURGISNACHT in Last Magia, as opposed to it being used on Neo Dorthy Motherfucker in the anime. Speaking of, that bitch stood no chance face-tanking the Due Anima. She is NO MORE! Dead! Reduced to atoms! Taken by the Law of Cycles! She no longer exists! Even in her last moments, Alina just had to take someone's spotlight. Bah, Holy Quintet has all 5 members this time. They can handle Walpurgis all together...right?

  "Then in the end....everything I've done...." -Akemi Homura (Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Episode 11)

  Yeah, no, this timeline was just another failure to throw in the ever-growing list. Kind of ironic, really. Not only does Homura take another loss from Walpurgis, but it's in the series where the original version had her take part in the final shot that killed Walpurgis. Just another day at the worst office in Magical Girl history.

  

  ---

  FINAL STRETCH & SERIES THOUGHTS

  
  Here's the thing with Dawn of a Shallow Dream. I gave up on it being a faithful adaptation early into Season 2, so I came in not expecting much aside from them somehow getting the Due Anima in.

  I'm left mixed on this ending. It comes a lot closer to the feel of the parent series than either season before it. That's not entirely a good thing, though. It's TOO close to the parent series. It stopped feeling like a spin-off and started being a copy of the original 2011 TV series, and MagiReco (TV) ended up failing to meet the standard it placed on itself. You shouldn't always be like your parent, even if they're a masterpiece. Spin-offs, in my opinion, should be a balance of what worked about the franchise's history and something to make it unique. In that sense, I have to say that Magia Record peaked in Season 2. For most of Season 1, it felt like any generic episodic Magical Girl show. In Season 3, it felt too much like MaMadoka. Season 2, while still straying away from the somber and hopeless main plot that defined the main series and the final minutes of Magia Record (TV), slipped in more of the character specific suffering of the 2011 series through edits to the game's character backstories. Season 3 strays too far into the hopelessness that defined its parent, to the point they killed 11 characters in THREE EPISODES! Magia Record Season 3 has a higher kill per minute than some slasher flicks (assuming all ambiguous characters are dead by the end of the post-credits scene).

  Speaking of,
  let's see just how hard of Ls everyone took in the anime:

  Iroha: Debatably the worst off. After travelling all the way to Kamihama in search of her sisters, ends up being there to WATCH as they all (her blood-related sister that has been missing from reality as well) sacrifice themselves in a futile attempt to kill Alina Gray. Oh, also, literally right before, her friend witches out while driving it in that it's her fault, AND she had to put that friend down. All in, at most, the span of a few hours.

  Homura: Debatably the worst off. Has been jumping through time countless times by now, finally arriving in a timeline where she might have a chance to finally finish her eternal cycle of suffering. However, Walpurgis ends up going back to Mitakihara where Madoka gets killed again and the others end up MIA. Her cycle of torment continues with no end in sight.

  Mitama: Lost both Mifuyu AND Momoko (Momoko and Mitama having been heavily connected through their Magical Girl lives AT THE VERY LEAST)

  Yachiyo/Tsuruno: Lost Mifuyu, another of their old friends (Yachiyo: another one of her crew dying while she lives on - Tsuruno: among the girls saved by the sacrifice)

  Sana/Felicia: No notable change, might be a bit down after the high of victory ends

  Momoko/Mifuyu/Touka/Nemu/Ui: Sacrificed self

  Alina: Vaporized by Due Anima

  Kuroe: Witched out, put down

  Madoka: Killed by Walpurgis (this is not up for debate, Homura wouldn't go back AGAIN if Madoka lived)

  Sayaka/Kyoko/Mami: Presumed dead

  Kyubey: Gets to keep its system of exploiting young girls and their unstable emotions (BONUS: biggest threat to established system taken out)

  Yeah, Kyubey is the only one in the anime to take a straight W. Fuck's sake, dude.

  Continue on AniList
• 

  C00kieMaster

  90/100
  A spinoff that manages to capture the magic of the original while being unique at the same time

  Madoka Magica side story just like its the original Madoka Magica is about magical girls and how they come to realize the cruel reality of becoming one after being deceived by an inhumane entity (Kyubey) to become one. We follow these magical girls relying and supporting each other to make most out of their grim situation.

  Magia Record primarily follows Iroha, a magical girl is introduced at the very beginning of the story has this feeling that she is missing something in her life until she comes in contact with an unusual Kyubey that is tiny and could not speak. After touching it she realize that what was missing from her life was her beloved little sister. In her efforts to find her missing sister she stumbles across a conspiracy that draws out magical girls by a mysterious entity. This mysterious voice promises to end the cruel fate of being a magical girl once and for all.

  Akiyuki Shinbo the director of both the original and this spinoff really shines in his artistic and surreal approach to presenting exposition. The usual tropes of character flashbacks in the middle of tense moments never felt jarring and always felt like they are a built up in harmonic synergy with the action. The animation feels like a step up compared with the original and there is a lot of quality and detail that is consistent even in slower parts of the story. The surrealist chaos and horror of the evil creatures and the world where these girls face is unique, beautiful and terrifying which makes for an amazing viewing experience.

  The cast of Magia Record is large and this really feels like a detriment to the series because it is impossible to really give proper depth and development for everybody. Most of the main protagonists and antagonists in the story do get quality development but that cannot be said to a significant number of the side characters which do play important parts in the story but fail to be memorable because of the lack of attention that was given on their motivations and goals. This is because Magia Record in reality is an adaptation of a video game story that is much more bigger than this anime adaptation. So in a way there seems to be quite a lot of cut content in order to fit this epic story into virtually 2 seasons. Nonetheless the few character that matters does have solid development and seeing them interact and caring for these side characters with less development still makes me want to root for them in a way I would be more inclined to like a friend of my best friend.

  Due to reasons stated before as an adaptation of a much larger story, the plot seems very convoluted and many things seems to happen with really rushed and hard to follow explanations. This problem pretty mild in season 1 but is really prevalent in a huge portion in the middle of season 2 which really sets a quite a poor stage for the last season to shine. (I must note that season 2 is 8 episodes and season 3 is 4 episodes which is pretty dumb to separate as such? I know its released on separate times but come on it's 12 episodes).

  Despite the really convoluted plot I can follow the main goal and motivations of Iroha which is clear: To reunite with her sister and save her friends. The side characters goals and motivations are clear and simple too: to support and protect one another. The mystery of the huge conspiracy and the promise of saving all magical girls all tie up and is explained clearly in the final episodes. There will be heartbreak and things do not always go the way of the good guy. Magia Record just like the original is not afraid to play with our emotions by depicting a grim story about conflict and how sometimes realistically in situations of high stakes and dangers there will be sacrifices, there will be compromises and despite the desire of the individual to 'do the right thing' the outcomes will not be what they expected or wanted.

  Magia Record spinoff definitely captures the magic and emotional highs that make the original so well loved and remembered but suffers due to the ambitious task of adapting such an epic story into virtually 2 seasons. One could only speculate if given more time and budget could Magia Record surpass the already critically acclaimed masterpiece if lets say there are 4 seasons? Nonetheless, a great spinoff that really captures the positive qualities of the original despite suffering some major writing issues. Definitely recommend to fans that regards the original as a masterpiece.

  Continue on AniList

SIMILAR ANIMES YOU MAY LIKE

• ANIME

  ActionFutari wa Precure
• ANIME

  ActionMahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica
• ANIME

  DramaMagia Record: Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica Gaiden
• ANIME

  ComedyKamichama Karin
• ANIME

  ActionHeartcatch Precure!
• ANIME

  ActionYuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru