>this is the best mahou shoujo >I haven't seen any other mahou shoujo I'm not saying it's true of everyone but this seems to be a recurring theme when I talk about anime with people irl and across the net, plenty of people who talk about Madoka as a 'deconstruction' of mahou shoujo haven't even seen the most entry level traditional shows like Sailor Moon or CCS let alone the less popular Satou Jun shows or well established series like Precure.
What is it about Madoka that people were able to love and connect with, but didn't inspire them to explore further?
I have seen other mahou shojou but Madoka is still my favorite
Brayden Thomas
It's main demographic not being preteen girls probably
Mason Gray
That's fine, out of interest was it your first mahou shoujo or did you have a different start point?
Jordan Gonzalez
It still really blows my mind how people call Madoka a deconstruction and other crazy stuff like that. Normal magic girl anime is just superhero fiction for 6 year old girls. Madoka is almost every superhero fiction in the last 35+, because it has a serialized plot and darker themes, but people act like this is a bold move and not already an absolute standard for most 12+ action/adventure media.
Ryder Edwards
>What is Nanoha
Asher James
It's not even a deconstruction Mai-hime was more violent Nanoha had darker plot lines even if happier resolutions It's just normalfags trying to excuse liking something not approved by the normal collective
John Sullivan
Not something you mentioned at all in the OP in the slightest? Also it's pretty much a literally who series.
Joshua Williams
He's not the op, and is just highlighting a series that's not aimed at preteen girls but is equally unloved as some of the other named series.
Isaac Murphy
I have seen other mahou shoujo, like Vividred Operation and Strike Witches.
Gavin Perry
>Strike Bitches >mahou shoujo epic
Jaxon Phillips
Though it might not count as anime, Winx Club was my first. Other than Madoka, I've watched a little bit of the OG sailor moon and a couple seasons of sm crystal. I haven't watched CCS yet, though I really want to. Madoka is my favorite thing I've ever watched. It ticked all the right boxes for me. I don't think there's something that could top it as my personal favorite, though anything can happen.
Austin Torres
My problem with the deconstruction argument is that people act like it's the reason Madoka's good. There's so much more to Madoka than just the tropes it subverts. Like you said, the deconstruction argument is made so normies don't feel as bad for watching and liking an anime, but it's also made so they can feel smart.
Camden Long
>Winx Club God, I had a huge hateboner for that show when I was an edgy midschooler.
Cameron Cook
Madoka really is in kind of a shitty place, even worse than other good popular anime. I've seen quite a few mahou shoujos now like Sailor Moon, CCS, Tutu, Precure, and while I do like them, personally I think Madoka just is a better anime. But not because of deconstruction memes. So I hate casual anime fans having no idea of what they're talking about but it's also so often unfairly being trashed because of its reputation.
Mason Gonzalez
I love Madoka as much as the next guy but CCS is objectively better.
Leo Watson
CCS is boring and only gets a pass because muh nostalgia and because pretending to like it makes one seem more cultured, just like with Tutu (though that one is legitimately good).
Camden Carter
As much as I hate to say it, a lot of fans simply like it because it's edgy without overly relying on excessive violence or mass atrocities.
Isaiah Reed
Madoka is mahou shoujo for people who don't like mahou shoujo
Dominic Gutierrez
>only gets a pass because muh nostalgia As someone who watched it for the first time 3 years ago, you're full of shit.
Carter Miller
Nice nostalgia glasses, faglord.
Ryder Hall
More like muhdoka is so good even people that don't care about magical girls like it.
Oliver Adams
You are entirely correct. Madoka is entry level mediocrity.
I just prefer the type of show Madoka is. I like episodic anime with an overarching plot and the occasional emotional episode, but when it comes to rating I think a thriller-esque story that hits a lot of emotional beats in a more densely package is more impressive.
Nicholas Torres
Off the top of my head I've seen CCS, Tutu, and Madoka and think they're all good. I want to watch some Precure at some point.
Leo Robinson
>3 years is nostalgia I'm sorry that a good fourth of your life seems like such a long time for you.
Jacob Stewart
It's a good show in itself, and the extent to which it's a magical girl show isn't really sufficient to suggest people that like it would like other shows of the genre. Probably more likely with Tutu, but I don't know if that did to any great extent either.
That’s because it’s a shitty, trope-filled, flawed genre. It can only be good when deconstructed, like in Madoka.
Josiah Carter
Pretty much. Same reason why Eva fans don't like other mecha.
Nolan Rogers
>Sailor Moon or CCS let alone the less popular Satou Jun shows or well established series like Precure Why would I watch literal garbage only purpose of which is to sell overpriced merch to smelly otaku?
Brayden Harris
Madoka is the best anime. Period.
Kayden Robinson
It always seemed like a natural step rather than a deconstruction to me. Going from stuff like Creamy Mami and Hime-chan no Ribbon, to Sailor Moon and Precure types, to shows like Nanoha and Mai-hime, and then Madoka.
Joseph Ramirez
>normies Stop posting normalfaggot.
Levi Carter
I don't know, why do you watch Madoka?
Kayden James
>deconstruction We've already had this discussion. It's not a deconstruction, it just adds Grimdark to the Magical Girl formula rather than commenting on the formula itself.
Camden Davis
utena isn't magical girl lol
Charles Davis
The biggest sign of a retard is somebody who implies that pre-Madoka mahou shoujo couldn't be dark or tragic or that pre-Madoka mahou shoujo was primarily aimed at little girls. I mean, there's 80s magical girl OVAs where innocent school girls get graphically beheaded.
Ryder Baker
or that all pre-Madoka mahou shoujo was aimed at little girls*** I worded that wrong.
"Primarily" is entirely correct though. There are a few hentai OVAs, a few wacky comedies, and a couple of shows like Nanoha.
Gabriel Foster
Madoka is as much of a shoujo as Evangelion is a mecha.
Isaac Miller
I have seen other Mahou shoujos but it's really difficult to compare Madoka to them i mean specially the ones that are long as fuck and full of filler episodes, Madoka is something really different from them.
Brody Richardson
If you hear someone refer to anything as a "deconstruction of x genre" and they don't seem competent enough to explain why, just assume they're either pretentious posers or just parroting what someone smarter than them said at one point.
Ayden Parker
Madoka is a very tight package with all the thrilling parts of mahou shojo condensed. In a 12 episode format you get all the wild parts of a more traditional mahou shojo and then some. Also Urobuchi writing it meant all stakes were real and nothing could be taken for granted. Every time Madoka tried to become a magical girl, or every time someone fought, the outcome was unpredictable.
Madoka > Tutu > Ojamaho > CCS > Utena > some of precure > shit > literally every other mahou shoujo
Dominic Bennett
CONTENT THIEF
Jaxon Hughes
I'm not much of an anime person and this is like only my 2nd time on Yea Forums, but can people recommend me some nice fun magical girl shows? I just want something bright and cheerful to entertain me while I deal with university stress. And if it has some romance plot between one of the heroes and villains that actually goes anywhere and isn't a 1 sided obsession, then that's like bonus points.
Kevin Evans
you're not really meant to ask for recommendations on Yea Forums maybe try cardcaptor sakura
Brandon Wright
YuYuYu Mahou Shoujo Site Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku all very fun and very happy
Aaron Rodriguez
I hace seen ccs, tutu, doremi, sailor moon, Tokyo Mew, mermaid melody, not Yea Forums related witch, winx and miraculous and I have to say that Madoka Is still my favourite, not that the others are bad but sometimes the others drag their stories and drama for too long
Robert Anderson
>anime aimed at little girls >sell overpriced merch to smelly otaku you only have a point with Precure since it has merch aimed at adults, but its still a show intended for little girls
Mason Jones
Card Captor Sakura is obligatory watch
Gabriel Davis
Who does homura have the best chemistry with? Do not say madoka.
The difference between Madoka and others is basically Madoka is Mahou Shoujo but it's a shounen, and nearly everything else is Mahou Shoujo and actually a shoujo. Other series that fall into this category for example is Mahou Shoujo Site. Now I won't even mention terms like "shounentards", "cancer", "Dragonball Super", "niwaka" or even phrases like "get your underage asses back to MAL and Reddit and stay the fuck there".
But it's just a little thing worth noting when you see someone say they like it THE MOST out of all the mahou shoujo series they've seen.
Gavin Smith
wrong
Jayden Davis
It's not a shounen, it's a late night anime.
John Williams
If you really want to put it in one of those categories it's probably closer to seinen
idk still waiting for someone to post one im too nervous
Brandon Miller
The only other character she has chemistry with is Kyouko, but their relationship is basically business only.
Blake Bennett
Princess Tutu was shonen (the manga was serialized in a shonen magazine). Madoka is a late night series and more akin to seinen. But those descriptors are only for manga and don't apply to anime even if they can sometimes be used for it. The shojo in mahou shojo is not the same as the demographic term shojo.
>didn't inspire them to explore further Most people are finding this show on Netflix these days, and the only other mahou shoujo on netflix are two bastardized dubs of pretty cur- excuse me, Glitter Force®
Dylan Brown
CCS and Tutu are my favorite, Syaoran and Fakir are god tier tsundere.
Madoka was my first MS. I've seen quite a few since but it's still by far the best. I don't care about deconstruction or the impact it had on the genre, it's just a damn good show.
>>What is it about Madoka that people were able to love and connect with, but didn't inspire them to explore further? It's simple. Madoka is short. That may not be the only reason but I presume that most people just can't be bothered watching even more than 30 episodes so they stay entrylevel.
Jose Cook
Creamy Mami, Sailor Moon, Precure, Cardcaptor etc. >For little girls
Madoka, Nanoha, Rayearth, Wixoss, Symphogear etc etc. >Seinen
Jose Sullivan
I literally blame all the edgy Magical Girl shows that came out after Madoka for opinions like OP.
Faggot I was watching Sailor Moon when it was originally airing and saw dozens of MG shows after, and I still think Madoka is the best anime in the genre.
CCS has remained my favourite but Madoka is very good. I’m probably a weirdo though, because I found myself more emotionally invested in Sayaka and Kyouko than Madoka and Homura.
Lincoln Cruz
You obviously haven't seen much. Come back when you have.
Oliver Jackson
I don't think that's weird. Sayaka's arc is very emotional and personal (as is the case with the rest of the girls), and some people very understandably find her and Kyouko more relatable and compelling than Madoka or Homura. People are different. I myself was the most emotionally invested in Madoka. I found her very compelling.
Oliver Adams
What about Futari wa?
Mason Perry
Reminder that Nanoha > Madoka
Gabriel Nelson
Magical girl shows I've seen.
Cutie Honey (also my first) Creamy Mami Minky Momo Nanoha Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne Wedding Peach Magical Doremi About 8 seasons of Pretty Cure Sailor Moon Saint Tail Shugo Chara Jewelpet Twinkle Cardcaptor Sakura Fushigiboshi no Futagohime Ask Dr Rin
Hold on I need to look up a list Devil Hunter Yohko Day Break Illusion Fairy Musketeers Full Moon o Sagashite Twintail ni Narimasu Lilpri Magica Wars Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Magical Girl Ore Magical Girl Pretty Sammy Matoi the Sacred Slayer Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Nanatsuiro Drops Pretear Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream Sugar Sugar Rune Kaito Tenshi Twin Angel Twin Angel Break Uta Kata Wish Upon the Pleiades Yuki Yuna is a Hero and yes Madoka Magica
I thought Madoka was pretentious garbage
Anthony Long
I suppose you are right.
Nathan Morris
A shit
Owen Kelly
How was Saint Tail? I've been meaning to look at that a while now
Cameron Sanders
They're girls, they use magic, and they transform before fighting.
Hunter Jackson
It's hard to classify it as a magical girl show because there's 0 magic. It's just a girl wearing a magician's outfit running around doing card and smoke tricks but it's okay. Her nun friend finds out about 'jobs' for Saint Tail based on what she hears in confession then Saint Tail goes out and steals the art piece or object (but let's be serious, it's always art) to give it back to the true owner.
It's repetitive 'monster of the week' formula but with bad guys that steal things and you may start getting sick of it always being about someone who stole X artwork and Saint Tail has to go get it back. At least 'monster of the week' formulas of other magical girl shows are actually monsters and allow for some creativity but it has its charm.
Mason Wilson
>i have the most surface level understading of the genre >btw Vividred Operation isn't mahou shoujo because they don't actually use magic and CCS isn't mahou shoujo because she never actually transforms EPIC
Andrew Howard
>Spending time of your life watching filler garbage okay
Justin Peterson
So, I'm an avid magical girl fan and what I think is going on is this:
I watched about 30 magical girl shows before Madoka. I saw nothing in Madoka that hadn't been done many times before. All Urobuchi did was add a few beheadings to typical magical girl tropes and get praised for being innovative when all he was doing was being shocking.
If it was your first (or lets be honest, at most 3rd with Sailor Moon or CCS) magical girl show you may have thought it was amazing and cool because you weren't exposed to all that many magical girl shows while someone who has seen dozens of them won't be impressed.
Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne did Madoka better than Madoka and 15 years earlier. You've been suckered.
It's almost like normalfaggots don't know shit about the magical girl genre so they don't know these things aren't new.
Luis Ramirez
>"I am an elitist oldfag and everything new and critically acclaimed is bad" posts #14629~ I get preferring other shows, but saying this type of person on makes the most shallow arguments.
>Vividred Operation isn't mahou shoujo because they don't actually use magic and CCS isn't mahou shoujo because she never actually transforms Never said mahou shoujo NEEDS all three of these things
Parker Price
i found it got stale pretty fast, has a pretty great henshin sequence and a few other things going for it though
Ryder Thompson
Oh, I was expecting or at least hoping for a kind of shoujo Lupin lite.
Nathaniel Murphy
>What is it about Madoka that people were able to love and connect with, but didn't inspire them to explore further? Most of the iconic ones of the genre were episodic.
Blake Young
You really need to watch Madoka last to understand what I'm saying. If you watch Madoka first (or nearly first) then watch Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne you'll be seeing Jeanne through the lens of Madoka and you'll find it less interesting because Madoka IS more shocking. Instead of seeing Madoka through the lens of Jeanne.
But being more shocking isn't being innovative (it can be, like George Romero's Night of the Living Dead) so the terms aren't mutually exclusive. However in this case it's still derivative because there's nothing else Madoka brought to the table.
So when you've been watching Jeanne and realize you've been watching a magical girl show through the villain it will be less impactful or seeing Full Moon o Sagashite where the magical girl fails in her mission and tries committing suicide, or Wedding Peach realizing the big bad is the boy she's in love with and trying to come to terms with murdering him or letting the world end. You're not as impacted by these stories because Madoka informs your understanding of these shows instead of the other way around.
Sailor Moon was innovative because it brought magical girl shows to magical girl teams. Magical Project S is innovative because it introduced a dark magical girl. Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne is innovative because it introduces an evil cute pet partner. Nanoha was innovative because it turned magical girls into Gundams.
Madoka really did nothing new and you would realize this if you watched dozens of magical girls first. But go ahead and say I'm just being an elitist oldfag, I'll just cite Dunning-Kruger
Ayden Howard
I thought Madoka was a Kamen Rider rip off. Some guy was posting a pasta about tha all the time for a while.
