The next show is Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica/Puela Magi Madoka Magica (I don’t know why there are two different names in use, but a friend of mine suggested that the Puela one might be spanish. Then again why Spanish?)
The story revolves around Madoka, getting drawn into a contract making her a magical girl, and her friends who all get drawn in before her and are suffering. Homura attempts to stop Madoka from becoming a MG whereas Kyubey (think of him as the contractor) attempts to draw her in. The MGs have to fight witches to continue to survive and get one wish granted. The story culminates towards the walpurgis night, which is the turning point (and pretty much ending) of the series.
Beside it’s solid story, this series offers again a great animation work, memorable music and a great set of characters. They all blend in together perfectly, and captivate the viewer until the ending. While the general make-up of the show appears to be all-age contemporary fantasy, I personally would put it into the seinen/yosei category.
The animation consists of weid looking buildings (almost everything takes place in high places and with lots of glass around), weird looking magical spaces for the antagonistic elements (the witches) and the rather cute-looking characters.The action scenes use a drawing style that appears to be hand-drawn, leaving a heavy impression on the viewer.
The music is memorable and does stir emotions alone, without the tragic turns of the story. The characters are all unique, which is ensured by the small cast, and their decisions can’t be fortold easily. If the did the things I guessed beforehand, the series would’ve ended with the second episode^^. Each tragedy stirs you up emotionally. The dialogoues are great, but not as captivating and humorous as in Dance in the Vampire Bund or Bakemonogatari. Still you get to know each character well enough to feel with them.
This show is again a very good show, in my opinion only surpassed by Bakemonogatari. The story ends with the last episode (at least the story of the protagonist, although one could continue with the deuteragonist and a new aim for the show) and it ties all loose ends into a rope. That being rare nowadays is a huge plus for the series.
Download Link: here
P.s.: I will refrain from using many pictures to show e.g the animation style, since I’m to lazy to upload each of them (some might’ve noticed the fail a while ago XD). It was pretty hard to find a non-offending picture of Dance in the Vampire Bund.