“But this is no tragedy, your hope and subsequent despair allow us to extend the universe’s lifespan” Magia Records has finally come to an end and unfortunately outside of the beautiful visuals, it simply does not live up as a successor to the original series. But I am sure everyone expected that right? Madoka Magica was a masterpiece and there is no way some soulless gacha cash grab was ever going to reach the same heights and it would be ridiculous to even make the assumption that this was likely or possible. This review will instead focus more on Magia Records as a stand-alone series withlimited references or comparisons to the original series, essentially I will consider Magia Records on its own merits. In case you’re wondering why this review has a relatively alright score, my final explanation is at the bottom, you can skip to it if you like as it summarizes the overall review.
The story finally concludes on the previous seasons and most of what we wanted to know are largely revealed, explanations on what happened to UI, what the magical girl salvation system was and why everything about the city diverged so much from the original plot of the series. While the conclusion does not generally resolve every potential loose end, certainly not to my satisfaction at least, it does at the very least finally reveal most of what is going on. Essentially 2 girls who really looked up to iroha decided to make a special magical girl region where they would intentionally create and mass farm witches for their grief seeds such that the average magical girl will not have to worry about becoming a witch ever as long as they have a doppel. The drawbacks of this system, as Iroha points out, are obvious, the system sacrifices a massive number of innocent humans who are basically being put into the equivalent of chicken farms to be turned into fodder for witches to be raised and consumed by magical girls. This effectively destroys the entire reason for magical girls to exist, at least from the point of view of Iroha who wanted to save innocent people. I think this explanation is alright and for a spin off series it’s a satisfactory plotline. I actually liked who the final antagonist ended up being, even if it was obvious, it fits that a completely insane person took over and was responsible for most of their problems, a divergence from the overly rational Kyubey. If the incubators were utilitarian to a fault, enough that their ridiculous plans that imposed a great deal of suffering to a small number of sentient lives could be justified, insane magical girls are the opposite, they deal immense suffering on a widescale just so a few of them can live free.
While the execution could have been better in prior seasons and this specific season could have had a more thorough conclusion, it does fit the series to have the magical girl’s heroic deeds die in the background without anyone ever acknowledging them. Ultimately the story like the original is about hope in a situation of overwhelming despair and uncertainty, it can stand on its own feet and is generally watchable, I wouldn’t consider this story exceptional but stand-alone it’s at least a 7 out of 10. My single largest complaints would be the lack of properly cleaning up the ending and the very jarring flashback information dump transition between the ending of the prior season and the start the current one. I assume that they were trying to do an episode 10 from the original Madoka Magica, but this did not work very well due to the time gap between seasons and where the previous episode ended. In addition, I did not like that the entire battle with Walpurgis Night was basically skipped over, that Kuroe as a character was basically pointless, and while the final antagonist made sense, they got beat so quickly that it makes your head spin on how fast the pacing was. This finale really could have used just 1 or 2 more episodes to cover Alina and Walpurgis Night more thoroughly.
In terms of visuals, its similar in quality to the previous season with fewer over the top well animated scenes, there are some very stand out moments of animation but nothing to the level of Sayaka fighting Patricia or the team fight against the guard in the witch farm in the previous season. Shaft still makes very interesting visuals, some of the most unique out of any anime, I love these character designs and the futuristic look of the city along with all these interesting new witch designs and very graphic depictions of combat. In addition, the faces of despair with Iroha at the start were amazing, I loved characters reacting when they were confronted by each other and learning about what was really going on and the emotional struggles that were occurring. As for the witch designs, as previously mentioned they were interesting, I loved how exceptionally imposing this version of Walpurgis night looked with the approaching storm clouds at ground level, it perfectly captured the immense threat level they posed compared to every other witch. Some particularly beautiful scenes that stood out included the galactic rail reference with Yachiyo finally coming to terms with what happened with her friends, the backgrounds and the train flying through space were just so pretty to look at. Overall, in terms of visuals this anime was as expected and thankfully demonstrates that Shaft can still deliver beautiful and unique anime, overall, an 8 out of 10 for art and animation.
For sound, this season did not rely much on recycling the original series soundtrack which I thought was a nice touch. While yes, the current soundtrack does not come close to the masterpiece that Madoka Magica is known for, on its own it’s not really bad. The music adds appropriate emotional weight to scenes, especially scenes like the one where Iroha connects all the magical girls and the scene where they fight Walpurgis Night, ultimately the uplifting and epic moments alongside the intense combat moments are properly complemented. The sound effects for combat and the effects for magic use are solid, the ED at the end of the series is absolutely perfect to end the series with as well, I cannot complain about the sound design and while it’s not exceptionally good it works just well for Magia Records and was fairly original. I would give it a 7 out of 10, close to an 8 but not quite there.
For characters, I think there isn’t much to write about here, most of the main characters had their loose ends tied up and they had their final growth moments or explanations on their motivations, I do feel like Touka and Nemu were a bit unrealistically smart for preteens but given how much information they had access to it fits that they figured out Kyubey in advance. I think if you enjoyed the characters from the previous seasons, there isn’t any particular out of character behavior that would turn you off at this point. Some things I really enjoyed was Yachiyo finding closure, the reveal of UI and understanding why the original Wings of Magius leadership went through with their plan. Additionally at the start of the finale episode I thought it was hilarious how Iroha wasn’t a marshmallow like Madoka and just repeatedly popped Kyubey when she realized what the incubators were using magical girls for. Though I do wonder what exactly happened with the main cast after their appearance, feels like a good portion of their appearance from the previous season was skipped over which was a bit disappointing, seems like the implication is that this timeline is a dead end as well since Homura would have to reset it.
Overall, I think this spin off was a solid 7, this might come as a surprise to the reader if you made it this far given my introduction at the start, however I would like to explain my reasoning as follows. My enjoyment for it Magia Records was fairly high due to the good production, satisfying, even if rushed, tying up of the plot and enjoyable side characters. I did state this series is a cash grab gacha game adapt that won’t ever match the original. however, it’s important to remember that THIS IS NOT THE ORIGINAL and that you should not hold it to the same standard as Madoka Magica. If you try and compare this series to Madoka Magica, you will always be disappointed because Madoka Magica is a masterpiece that stands above the vast majority of all anime ever made. If you keep your expectations in line and watch this series as a stand alone piece that has references to the original, then it’s a fun series with a weak first season that gradually got better over time and comes with some excellent visuals and nice new side characters. Essentially Magia Records will never match the original and if you had such expectations, you will be in despair, but it’s a fun enough watch otherwise unless you have very high standards.
Mixed Feelings
I want to start this review off with that I believe that Record gets an unfair wrap, as if it should be AS good as the og Madoka series. But because it's not, it's deemed bad as a result. Which is very unfair on the product itself. If you expected Record to be a standout, like how you would view Madoka, and because it's not, it's deemed as a failure in your eyes, that's not on Record, that's on you. While I'm not saying Record isn't flawed, there are many flaws. Even I who enjoyed it at first, have gotten somewhat tired of it'splot, and how it's progressed. But even then, it's not a bad show as one makes it out to be.
Story and characters: 6-5.
This can really be a it or miss. While there are some interesting and fun characters throughout the story, with complex backstories, that really push it. There are also blank pieces of paper, that just become overbearingly boring by the end of it. Which can be said about the same with it's on going plot. It reminds me of GT in a sense. Instead of getting to a point, it'll drag on, and on, and on, when really, they could've cut out certain things, and it would've made for a better viewing experience. It's not beyond bad, but could've been way better.
Art and sound: 7
Most likely the main highlight. You know what you are getting when it comes to te Magica series. Visuals will look stunning, crazy, weird, all of the above. Along with a fitting track that makes, or tries to make things seem tense. There is a lot to appreciate about it, and love. If any detail that deserves praise about it, it's these two parts right here. Cannot fault the product for that.
Record was an interesting series, that'll sadly get unwanted hate because of it not being on par with Madoka. Wich is unfair for so many reasons. Wile Record has dragged on by the end, it doesn't deserve the bad press it gets, while it's fine to criticize it, but if one expected it to be super amazing like the og, then thats on them. Record can still be a good watcoverall, so you should watch it.
shshih_sakura
April 15, 2022
Recommended
It's not often that I give 10s to something, as I'm often very critical of most media I consume, but Magia Record's final season was so emotional and raw to me that I created an account for MAL to give my take on it. I think Magia Record is a masterpiece. The anime has heavy emphasis on sociopolitical themes, capturing the rage of the last decade and really bringing it to life with characters I can really empathize and feel for. I also feel like it's very raw, emotional, and personal, and as a result, the vast majority of people who watch this anime probably don'tget it. It's definitely not your wish fulfillment kind of anime, but it's more like End of Evangelion or Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0, which is to say, by nature, it's extremely polarizing, but some will think it's the best, while others will absolutely hate it.
If I were to describe Magia Record in one sentence, I'd say it would be a neo-noir turned action adventure anime featuring magical girls in a quest to find hope in a hopeless world.
Some things I'd say that are similar to it thematically are Drive (2011), Blade Runner 2049, Cloudpunk, or a lot of other related Cyberpunk fiction or just neo-noir fiction.
If you don't like any of the above, you should skip this anime and watch something else. Don't come expecting more Madoka Magica--Magia Record might as well be its own thing.
