When a new girl joins her class, Madoka Kaname feels she recognizes the mysterious, dark-haired transfer student from one of her dreams...a dream where she is approached by a cat-like creature who offers Madoka an opportunity to change destiny. Madoka had always thought magic was the stuff of fantasy...until she sees the transfer student fighting with the very cat-being from her dream! And just like in Madoka's dream, the cat gives her a choice: Will Madoka become a Puella Magi in exchange for her dearest desire? What will be the cost of having her wish come true?
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About the Author
Magica Quartet is a team formed of members of anime production studios SHAFT and Aniplex who came together to create "Puella Magi Madoka Magica." Members include Iwakami Atsuhiro, Akiyuki Shinbo, Gen Urobuchi, and Ume Aoki, who was responsible for character designs and is also the creator behind popular 4-koma title "Sunshine Sketch."
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By Just~a~Dude
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
First let me say that I'm a huge fan of the anime, it's in my top 5 anime of all time. So this is my perspective in comparison to the show. If you haven't checked it out you definitely need to do yourself a favor and do so. Now on to the review.
Story
This volume is split into 4 chapters, each one covering an episode from the anime. I feel that they shouldn't have done so as it feels rushed. If they would have split each volume into 2 episodes it would have been more appropriatly paced. If you haven't seen the anime you may find yourself flipping back to pages to see if you missed something. It does stay true to the anime very faithfully it's just that everything is not as fleshed out. I'm mostly disapointed that they spent such little time on the witches and their "lairs" or "wards" as they are called in the manga. They are some of my favorite parts in the anime so a little bit of a letdown there. Overall i'm pleased but they could have done a better job with this in my opinion.
Art
This took a little bit to get used to as it's done by a different artist, and it shows. This is not necessarily a bad thing it's just that the unique animation in the show is one of the major draws for me. The eyes in the show are one of my
favorite part of the character designs so I did want to see that in the manga, but I was dissapointed. The characters have less wide and squared jaws, Madoka in particular. Mami's hair is more realistic, and I kinda like it this way a bit better. Homura looks pretty much the same as well a Sayaka. The artist made some changes in the characters weapons, Mami's "Tiro Finale" gun is just her regular rifle, which was pretty dissapointing and Homura's shield is a diamond shape. Their magical girl outfits are pretty much the same, no notable difference as far as I could tell. Kyubey is even more adorable and cute than in the anime which I did like. The witches "wards" are barely seen in the manga, maybe 8 pages total...really disappointing if you ask me. They also seemed to lack alot of detail. This is a different artist rendition of them but I personally didn't like what they did with Charolotte in particular. Charlotte's first form is pretty much the same but her latter is quite different, it looks much less cute and much more evil. I think the stark contrast of the cutesy design with the events that happen to be a big part of what the show is trying to convey so again I was dissapaointed. When not in comparison to the show the art is definitely good, it's just liberties that were taken that I am not too fond of.
Overall
If you haven't watched the series and want this to be your first Madoka Magica experience, I would say watch the anime first as it does a much better job of telling the story. If you have seen it and not really into collecting manga then I would give this a pass as well. I would really only get this if you have seen the anime and just want more ways to experience it. It's good but not as good as it could of been, namely with the pacing of the story.
Story
This volume is split into 4 chapters, each one covering an episode from the anime. I feel that they shouldn't have done so as it feels rushed. If they would have split each volume into 2 episodes it would have been more appropriatly paced. If you haven't seen the anime you may find yourself flipping back to pages to see if you missed something. It does stay true to the anime very faithfully it's just that everything is not as fleshed out. I'm mostly disapointed that they spent such little time on the witches and their "lairs" or "wards" as they are called in the manga. They are some of my favorite parts in the anime so a little bit of a letdown there. Overall i'm pleased but they could have done a better job with this in my opinion.
Art
This took a little bit to get used to as it's done by a different artist, and it shows. This is not necessarily a bad thing it's just that the unique animation in the show is one of the major draws for me. The eyes in the show are one of my
favorite part of the character designs so I did want to see that in the manga, but I was dissapointed. The characters have less wide and squared jaws, Madoka in particular. Mami's hair is more realistic, and I kinda like it this way a bit better. Homura looks pretty much the same as well a Sayaka. The artist made some changes in the characters weapons, Mami's "Tiro Finale" gun is just her regular rifle, which was pretty dissapointing and Homura's shield is a diamond shape. Their magical girl outfits are pretty much the same, no notable difference as far as I could tell. Kyubey is even more adorable and cute than in the anime which I did like. The witches "wards" are barely seen in the manga, maybe 8 pages total...really disappointing if you ask me. They also seemed to lack alot of detail. This is a different artist rendition of them but I personally didn't like what they did with Charolotte in particular. Charlotte's first form is pretty much the same but her latter is quite different, it looks much less cute and much more evil. I think the stark contrast of the cutesy design with the events that happen to be a big part of what the show is trying to convey so again I was dissapaointed. When not in comparison to the show the art is definitely good, it's just liberties that were taken that I am not too fond of.
Overall
If you haven't watched the series and want this to be your first Madoka Magica experience, I would say watch the anime first as it does a much better job of telling the story. If you have seen it and not really into collecting manga then I would give this a pass as well. I would really only get this if you have seen the anime and just want more ways to experience it. It's good but not as good as it could of been, namely with the pacing of the story.
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was very excited about this manga, because I really liked the anime series. I don't think it's a very good adaptation.
The volume itself is pretty thin, slimmer than most manga. It only has one color page, so it seems to be a bit pricy for what you get.
I liked most of the art. The character designs were very nice. There were several frames that portrayed complex emotions beautifully.
Some scenes, however, weren't very good. There are parts in the anime that feature very surreal environments. The book didn't convey them well, at all. I know that it's a different medium and things have to be modified or cut short (like making a movie out of a book.) But the frames that show these parts wouldn't make sense to someone who has never watched the anime. They probably wouldn't be able to tell what was supposed to be happening, and they didn't make as much impact as I think they should have.
The action wasn't drawn very excitingly, either.
I was really looking forward to this manga because I heard that it had a different ending from the anime. I'll probably buy the other volumes. Unless you're a big fan it's not really worth it. If you haven't watched the animated version, don't even bother.
The volume itself is pretty thin, slimmer than most manga. It only has one color page, so it seems to be a bit pricy for what you get.
I liked most of the art. The character designs were very nice. There were several frames that portrayed complex emotions beautifully.
Some scenes, however, weren't very good. There are parts in the anime that feature very surreal environments. The book didn't convey them well, at all. I know that it's a different medium and things have to be modified or cut short (like making a movie out of a book.) But the frames that show these parts wouldn't make sense to someone who has never watched the anime. They probably wouldn't be able to tell what was supposed to be happening, and they didn't make as much impact as I think they should have.
The action wasn't drawn very excitingly, either.
I was really looking forward to this manga because I heard that it had a different ending from the anime. I'll probably buy the other volumes. Unless you're a big fan it's not really worth it. If you haven't watched the animated version, don't even bother.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Chi Yamada
Format:Paperback
This is the manga adaptation of the popular anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica. I'm going to assume that most people who are interested in this manga have already watched/heard of the anime, so you know the story. (For the record, I think the story is excellent)
This adaptation isn't bad, but I don't think it really does the anime justice. I believe that the chapters just don't capture the breadth of emotion portrayed in the original anime. A lot of the scenes are condensed down and it feels like the constraints really kill it. I personally feel that if I had not seen the anime beforehand, I would have been totally and completely lost. It feels like something you can only really enjoy after watching the anime.
I really, really wish they could've gotten Ume Aoki to do the illustrations! It would have been awesome to see the original concept artist for the anime working on the manga adaptation, but that is not to say I don't like Hanokage's artwork. :) That's just a personal caveat. The art is cute and very fitting for the (disconcerting) mood of this story. I will say this, though. There is one really important scene that was a bit difficult to understand because the artwork was too dark. You eventually understand it, but it was a bit confusing at first.
The book is really short (only 144 pages) and a tad bit expensive ($12 for 144 pages!) but I do like Yen Press's presentation. It's high quality, they include color pages, and they did a good job on the translations. No complaints with the presentation.
So, should you get it? If you're a fan of the anime, or its premise, yeah. Definitely. But if you don't know Puella Magi Madoka Magica already, then please watch the anime before you read this adaptation.
This adaptation isn't bad, but I don't think it really does the anime justice. I believe that the chapters just don't capture the breadth of emotion portrayed in the original anime. A lot of the scenes are condensed down and it feels like the constraints really kill it. I personally feel that if I had not seen the anime beforehand, I would have been totally and completely lost. It feels like something you can only really enjoy after watching the anime.
I really, really wish they could've gotten Ume Aoki to do the illustrations! It would have been awesome to see the original concept artist for the anime working on the manga adaptation, but that is not to say I don't like Hanokage's artwork. :) That's just a personal caveat. The art is cute and very fitting for the (disconcerting) mood of this story. I will say this, though. There is one really important scene that was a bit difficult to understand because the artwork was too dark. You eventually understand it, but it was a bit confusing at first.
The book is really short (only 144 pages) and a tad bit expensive ($12 for 144 pages!) but I do like Yen Press's presentation. It's high quality, they include color pages, and they did a good job on the translations. No complaints with the presentation.
So, should you get it? If you're a fan of the anime, or its premise, yeah. Definitely. But if you don't know Puella Magi Madoka Magica already, then please watch the anime before you read this adaptation.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good manga to read from time to time
I liked the series, will watch the movie. But I'm much more of a manga then an anime guy. So this is a good release IMO.
Published 1 day ago by Dęnio
5.0 out of 5 stars
And here I thought it was just another "Magical Girl" series. Was I...
I've been seeing things about both the anime and manga for quite some time, and for at least a year, I had been passing it up, thinking, 'Whatever. Read more
Published 27 days ago by Danielle F. Schef
1.0 out of 5 stars
Horrible
The artwork is different, the story is rushed, and they don't even come close to capturing most of the emotion felt in the show! Read more
Published 1 month ago by Joey Benham
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great series, Great price
The manga follows the anime of Puella Magi Madoka Magica almost exactly. Considering how insanely overpriced the anime is (good as it is) this manga tells the same story for far... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Shoujo Otaku since 1997
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book for fans of Madoka Magica
The artwork in this book is fantastic and the storyline is almost line to line with the anime's. What I am a bit disappointed with is the scantiness of the book. Read more
Published 2 months ago by v4vendetta
5.0 out of 5 stars
MADOKAAA
Coming from the anime first I was worried with the art style of the manga... Vol1 did not fail that in any sense! the art is fantastic. Read more
Published 3 months ago by PikKirby
5.0 out of 5 stars
great book
A great book to read , the translation was good and the mangá body is made with high quality paper . Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mayara
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love it
Awesome packaging when it arrived, books are in awesome condition, not a single crease. This is a must have for anime and manga lovers of Madoka Magica! :D
Published 4 months ago by Animegirl0091
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bible of the Church of Madokami Vol 1
The introductory volume to the Bible of the Church of Madokami is an important read. We are introduced to our Prophets and Madoka. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Gary Hays
3.0 out of 5 stars
Madoka Magica at a New, Low Price
If you heard about Madoka Magica, the chances are you've heard it is on of the best animes in recent memory. Read more
Published 8 months ago by A Man of Manga
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