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I gave Madoka Magica a 1 when I was 12 and, considering how positive its reception generally is, I thought that I must've been too young to understand the story. Thus, I decided to give it another chance, and... I still disagree with its popularity.

It IS different from the typical mahou shoujo genre and it is fairly enjoyable. The soundtrack is actually fantastic, and I liked the fighting sequences. Now that I've covered the pros, let me get to the issues I have with this anime.

The 12 episode format just doesn't work for me. The show starts slowly, and then picks up quickly, condensing a ... lot of plot in little episodes. That itself wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but Madoka Magica clearly wants the viewer to sympathise with the characters. However, there isn't enough time to develop any bond with the 5 heroines and simply showing their backgrounds doesn't do the trick.

*This part will contain some spoilers!*

Too much emphasis is put on the shock value and the contrast between "good" magical girls and "bad" Incubators who don't consider emotions whilst making decisions. Unfortunately, the latter is taken a bit too far - I don't side with Kyubey, but it was easier for me to like a rational albeit cold and calculating character than the heroines who often act in a completely irrational fashion.

The last thing is something that probably won't bother many people. Whilst I was happy that they didn't use "mystical" quantum physics to explain everything (unlike many sci-fi productions), as a Physics student, I can't overlook the way they handled entropy. I don't mind the energy production part - it's an anime about magical girls, after all - but it does bother me that they used an inaccurate description of an established concept, especially when said quantity is the main motivation for the antagonist.