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EP. REVIEW: Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story


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jr240483



Joined: 24 Dec 2005
Posts: 4448
Location: New York City,New York,USA
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2020 4:18 pm Reply with quote
the end credits of ep 3 and other points might have hinted that it might be connected to the ending of rebellion.

especially considering that the most hated mascot is there in tow!
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kawaiibunny3



Joined: 10 Aug 2008
Posts: 534
Location: Houston, Texas
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2020 4:46 pm Reply with quote
I've been playing the game since it came out in Japan so I'm mostly looking forward to it as an adaptation of the game story vs. as a continuation of PMMM. (I promise I'll be nice and wont spoil anything. But I will say that the timeline of the game story & how it relates to the main one is almost immediately clear in the tutorial phase if anyone is really that curious)

The world of PMMM and how anyone can be a magical girl was really my favorite aspect of it so that's what makes me love the game so much. It's like a secret society of magical girls and I think that's neat.
As an adaptation of that story I think it's really been a big improvement to me. There's also been little details that are different from the game that I know Inu Curry's taken in consideration on purpose - so really there's a mystery in how everything will unfold for me too, it could go in a completely different direction than what I'm thinking! And I think that uncertainty is still a big strength that remains from the original PMMM too.

But anyway, I'm looking forward to the rest of these reviews!
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maximilianjenus



Joined: 29 Apr 2013
Posts: 2902
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2020 4:51 pm Reply with quote
I have avoided the mobile game and information about it as much as possible to do without avoiding the overall franchise. So, it's pure speculation.

The ui thing strikes me as not as simple, because either iroha had a pretyt weird wish where ui does not really exist or someone else (including ui) wished ui out nof existence; in episode 3 it also bothered me that iroha hasui's memories. (and thanks to k-on I feel very tempted to call iroha "yui").
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3450
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2020 5:20 pm Reply with quote
I imagine teh final answer is going to be that Ui became a witch so Iroha wish was for her to disappear so she stop hurting people or something like that.

As for the show... it's decent. It thread well the line between being its own things while alos being obviously related. I gotta say none of the character are particularly interesting as of right now but they're not annoying either.
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db999



Joined: 23 Dec 2017
Posts: 332
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2020 6:18 pm Reply with quote
I'm really enjoying this series. I wasn't sure I'd watch it, given that Madoka is one of my favorite anime, not to mention that it's a mobile game adaption which typically don't have very good stories, but I'm glad I did. I have a guess as to what happened to Ui based solely on a scene from the opening sequence. In the opening sequence, we see two pink-haired girls wearing different outfits, combine in a flash of light and turn into a magical girl. This leads me to guess that for some reason the wish that Iroha made, rather than curing Ui's illness, actually combined the both of them into one entity, hence why at the beginning of the series Iroha had forgotten her. I could be wrong, but if I'm not that's one huge spoiler in the opening sequence.
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Everlasting Coconut



Joined: 22 Jul 2019
Posts: 316
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2020 7:09 pm Reply with quote
"Rena, you're selfish, irritable, socially anxious, and our relationship is pretty toxic, but maybe we're fine as is and we shouldn't do anything to better ourselves."

Yeah, I didn't like the resolution in episode 3, and so far I find the show to be pretty boring. I agree that they totally nailed the Witch Labyrinth aesthetic, and the city backgrounds are gorgeous, but everything else is kinda lacking. The direction in particular leaves a lot to be desired: never mind the CGI, the decision to start off episode 3 with a flashback to Ui's time at the hospital was really disorienting considering how episode 2 ended.

I'm gonna keep watching 'cause I wanna see what Yachiyo has to bring to the table (and 'cause I'm a slave to this franchise), but I hope the show gets better now that the first arc is done. Also, less sitting around talking, please.
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TD912



Joined: 28 Nov 2010
Posts: 274
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2020 8:10 pm Reply with quote
Does anyone find the translation kind of rough? It generally makes sense, but just feels kind of wordy at times. Maybe it's an Aniplex thing?

I started playing the game a few weeks ago and the dialogue there seems more polished and easier to follow than the anime series.
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killjoy_the



Joined: 30 May 2015
Posts: 2475
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2020 8:11 pm Reply with quote
Everlasting Coconut wrote:
"Rena, you're selfish, irritable, socially anxious, and our relationship is pretty toxic, but maybe we're fine as is and we shouldn't do anything to better ourselves."


Kaede waited for Rena to (finally) apologize. I also didn't like how she didn't fully commit to it (saying 'servant' instead of 'friend' because I guess that's what an asshole who's also shy does?), but Kaede and Rena seem to fully intend to get better at their dynamic, if with baby steps.
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kotomikun



Joined: 06 May 2013
Posts: 1205
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:24 pm Reply with quote
killjoy_the wrote:
Kaede waited for Rena to (finally) apologize. I also didn't like how she didn't fully commit to it (saying 'servant' instead of 'friend' because I guess that's what an asshole who's also shy does?), but Kaede and Rena seem to fully intend to get better at their dynamic, if with baby steps.


Also, as I seemingly must constantly remind people for this franchise, they are, at most, fourteen. And they were recruited by a scheming alien specifically for their immaturity and emotional instability. I don't know why people keep expecting these kids to be wiser and more rational than the average adult.

I'm sort of confused by how the review acknowledges that since this is a Madoka show, it's bound to have unexpected twists and turns, but also doesn't see any reason to think that Ui will be one of them. Maybe I'm misremembering, but didn't the anime already show her spoiler[appearing to magical girls in a Christmas Carol ghost sort of way, to invite them to Kamihama?] That, on top of how only Iroha remembers her, certainly seems suspicious. There's a scene in the game where she spoiler[infiltrates Homura's time-stop field], which will probably come up in the anime eventually. I don't think the English version of the game has explained Ui yet, but she's clearly got some Stuff going on. spoiler[Most likely she's one of the Magius, if not their overlord.]
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Everlasting Coconut



Joined: 22 Jul 2019
Posts: 316
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:58 pm Reply with quote
killjoy_the wrote:

Kaede waited for Rena to (finally) apologize. I also didn't like how she didn't fully commit to it (saying 'servant' instead of 'friend' because I guess that's what an asshole who's also shy does?), but Kaede and Rena seem to fully intend to get better at their dynamic, if with baby steps.


Yeah, the "servant" thing ticked me off too.

And I'm sure they'll get better cause that's what the ending of the episode was trying to imply (I guess?), it just failed to make me like these characters or want to follow their journey.
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Nate148



Joined: 24 May 2012
Posts: 509
PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 2:07 am Reply with quote
spoiler[ Momoko and her team are side characters]
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BSW



Joined: 22 Jun 2012
Posts: 116
PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 8:20 am Reply with quote
Does anyone being side character even matters in this title?
It's not like we're gonna have fully fledged characters, everyone in the series is completely shallow, since they expect you to play the game for getting to know about the characters.
The adaptation is dry, as it's only meant to please the players, and provoke some interest among those who don't, so they'll try the game too.
But really, it isn't working, if nothing else then solely because aside from being pretty, this series has nothing to offer to someone not familiar with the games.
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ALuizCosta



Joined: 21 Jan 2020
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 9:13 am Reply with quote
In my opinion, the series is made for those who know the lore of Puella Magi, but not necessarily for those who play Magia Record. The problem with the review is not only to avoid the game to avoid spoilers, but to ignore that lore. The opening scene of episode 3, for example, is very significant for those who saw the original series (perpetual motion! entropy!), but the review only mentions it in a footnote and for the aesthetic aspect.
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ALuizCosta



Joined: 21 Jan 2020
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 9:40 am Reply with quote
Additionally, as with the original series, this is not a "slice of life" or character building story. It is not to be expected fully fledged characters from the beginning, but misteries, surprising revelations and plot twists. In the original series, it was only possible to understand who Homura really was in the tenth episode and Madoka in the last.spoiler[ For those who do not know the game, Ui and the two friends who appear at the beginning of the third episode will be even greater surprises.]
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BSW



Joined: 22 Jun 2012
Posts: 116
PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 9:41 am Reply with quote
I think knowing PMMM lore isn't enough to enjoy what we're seeing, it might be enough to understand it, but the characters will still be ultimately unlikable and shallow, because as I stated above, it relies on you knowing them, and their circumstances, the anime never shows us anything of those. When it's so obvious they're checking boxes of what they need to adapt instead of focusing on making the anime enjoyable in itself too, it becomes dry like this, or you could call it "soulless".
Thing is, Magia Record is a pretty bad series because of this, and almost a sacrilage on the franchise.

There's a difference in being slice of life, and giving us a minimal amount of information to care about characters and the world they're living in - PMMM did the latter, whereas Magi Reco fails at it.
No mysteries or revalations make any impact if you don't have a solid footing.
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