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madoka magica is one of the most creative series i've ever watched. it's a shame i couldn't have watched it blind, but i still don't feel like my experience was hindered in any way: it's still a very fulfilling watch even if you know the twists simply because of how brilliant is is in almost every aspect.

its visuals – one of the most unique and memorable aspects of the series for me – really do remind me of revolutionary girl utena (and not just with the primary coloured character designs that homage the magical girl anime that came before it) in that the everyday is just a little bit different from our own: the city's settings are quite futuristic but also empty and lifeless, which i'm glad isn't explained because the uncanniness of it hit me in the first episode with a sense that something is ever so slightly wrong, and kept me uneasy throughout the rest of the show.

there are also scenes like those in homura's apartment and sayaka on the train that felt so reminiscent of revolutionary girl utena (and even revue starlight although of course revue starlight would be the one taking inspiration there) in that they suspend some disbelief for the purpose of sharing information about the characters: homura's home doesn't even have a bed or a kitchen or anything that resembles the home of a human: just a white wall with a mess of pictures of information relating to walpurgisnacht, circular seating, and a shadow of a pendulum-like swinging blade. it shows what her priorities are, her connection to time, and her disconnection from her own humanity and desensitisation to violence straight away.

and the scene of sayaka on the train is completely black and white: of course a night sky wouldn't actually look like this, but it's there to show sayaka's complete despair towards the world she gave away her humanity to protect. a stark contrast to the colourful scenery on their walks to school where she puts on her brave face. aka the curtains aren't just blue!

the labyrinths are honestly what made me rewatch madoka magica: it was a brilliant idea to have gekidan inu curry work on them because their style is childishly whimsical and storybook-like with playing cards and sweets and butterflies, but also looks like paper cutouts grossly frankensteined together with things like barbed wire and realistic lips and fleshy materials and dark patterns in a way i can only describe as looking like sid from toy story's creations lmao. i also see a link with it and the the discordance of childhood trauma: having your childishly innocent worldview corrupted by the cruelty of the word is very in line with madoka magica and its themes. the imagery is also otherworldly compared to the simple anime illustrations of the characters, and makes the labyrinths feel scarily out of place

each arc also flows so well from one to the other that i almost didn't recognise when a new arc had even started (except for the obvious shock of episode 3). the characters are, of course, at the heart of these arcs and their development felt so natural: the way sayaka's increasing knowledge of the world challenged her saviour complex leading to her gradually declining mental state and complete loss of hope at the end of her life was the most powerful part of the show for me, and homura's complete reconstruction of her identity to centre madoka across episode 10 really cemented the tragedy of her character and was something i found really compelling.

to me, madoka magica is really an exploration of growing up and how we deal with learning about the cruelty of the world: how our sense of justice changes, how we can lean into complete selfishness or complete selflessness, how we can fall into complete despair in the knowledge that there is no simple answer or solution in justice. and so while i did find madoka's sacrifice at the end of the series interesting for her and homura's characters and a good setup for rebellion, i also found it, in isolation, to be quite a flimsy bandaid of a conclusion for the series's overall themes. (or at least the themes that i perceived it to have, so really this is just a personal gripe i have with the series)

however if i look at the series from a feminist perspective, i see the ending a lot differently: the system of the magical girls and witches, like the patriarchy, is a system that is treated by its upholders as a necessary system for the universe/society to function. a system that pits women against each other and discards the ones who no longer have use to the system away and brands them "witches" (a slightly dated real life example would be unmarried women who are punished with the label "spinsters", but even so the label of "witches" has a parallel to how women were scapegoated for the suffering of the community in witch trials) but through madoka's rewrite of the system (or deconstruction of patriarchy) it is proved to be something that isn't inevitable or necessary, but something that needlessly punishes women. (although this isn't my final interpretation and so doesn't change my opinion on the ending but rather just provides another perspective on it)

to conclude... despite not really liking the ending, i find madoka magica to be a wonderfully creative, emotionally powerful, and thought provoking series. the journey is more important than the destination after all!