"Make a contract with me. Become a Magical Girl!"
"Are you using your wish on someone else for their happiness, or for their gratitude?"
I can't gush enough how much I adore this manga. I've watched and loved the anime beforehand, so I knew I had to read this adaptation.
'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' is my second favourite anime of all time (the first being 'Fruits Basket'). It is an exploration and deconstruction of the Magical Girl genre. The 12 episode series is adorable - with deceptively pretty art - yet very sad and horrific. If you don't like 'Sailor Moon' or any other entries in the genre that followed it, 'Madoka Magica' is sure to surprise you by how dark it gets as the story goes on. It's not the pink and sparkles and the power of love that make the Magical Girl here. It's set in a world where the power of friendship doesn't always save you, where love can destroy you, and where the enemy isn't obvious and whose source may be closer than you think.
The story of Madoka is a tragedy, with a silver lining of hope that makes it all the more beautiful. That and the wonderful and complex characters.
So how does the manga hold up in comparison? Based on the first volume alone, I think it does its job very well. It covers the first four episodes of the anime, and it doesn't miss out any important details and the artwork is great to look at. Though manga Kyuubey is definitely drawn as being cuter than his anime counterpart.
The childlike innocence of the beginning of the story before the shocking end of the third chapter is indeed a shock, especially since you have gotten to know and already adore these characters whom you want to see safe and become triumphant.
And while Homura Akemi is and always has been my favourite character, I must say that Mami Tomoe is awesome in this. So kind yet so badass, while also occasionally letting her human vulnerability and loneliness show.
Of course, being the first volume, it doesn't quite get to its zenith level of how dark it can be. Not yet. Also I can't say whether or not the people who have not seen the anime first will like the manga. I saw the anime first and I still love this, though I'm not sure if that's only because I already knew where 'Madoka Magica' was heading.
So don't be fooled by the Magical Girl cuteness, as like Madoka's concept of a Magical Girl, there is more to the contract than appearances suggest.
Final Score: 5/5
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