Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Episode 2: "That's Really Nice of You"

Madoka and Sayaka enjoy a snack with Mami and Kyuube while they are educated on the life of a magical girl.

Episode two already?!?!

Whoah snap, crackle, pop!

Hahaha

It's hard to believe we're already 1/6 of the way done with this series

Well whatever - onto the review!

Kyuube teaches Madoka and Sayaka about how magical girls and witches are born.

~story~

As suspected, the situation is pretty well explained to the girls. We learn all about the world of "Puella Magi" (whatever the hell a "puella" is, I have no clue) and as Mami takes Madoka and Sayaka on their first real fight against a witch we learn of the Grief Seeds and what-not. While fighting this witch Mami pulls out something not usually seen in magical girl series - a gun. She fights these things with guns. Most magical girl series you see them pull out a wand or some magical powder dust, but no - not Mami. She pulls out a gun. Very original and actually works very well and makes the series seem less of a girl-oriented series (even though it obviously is. A male character besides Kyuube is yet to appear).  Due to these events, this episode is obviously a great improvement over last episode. Many of the questions from last episode have been answered and more questions have been opened for future episodes to answer. The fuse to this story has been lit and I'm excited to see what kind of "bang" goes off at the end. 

Madoka, Sayaka, and Kyuube learn they can speak telepathically with each other.

~art~

Unfortunately, the creepy art used from the previous episode rears its head again during today's battle scene - and it is even more prominent than before. There is undoubtedly a contrast between the normal art and the creepy art which is great because that's what the creators were going for. Unfortunately, for some this art just doesn't seem to fit and makes these fight scenes almost unbearable to watch. Some may love it for that fact - others may hate it. It's all up to your own personal preference. The art during the regular part of the episode varies drastically. Some parts look vibrant with color and is very pleasing to the eyes while at other times it looks very dull and rushed and looks almost amateur. This inconsistency may be what leads to the downfall of this series. 

Mami's Soul Gem lights up when it locates a witch.

~sound~

The opening theme remained the same but just isn't that good. It was nice the first listen - almost painful the second. Maybe it's a grower? Hopefully. We've still got quite a few more episodes of hearing it. Besides that, the OST is still the highlight of the episode. It really does a wonderful job setting the mood and everything just sounds great. The only mistake that was made was placing the ending theme during the battle and just playing music for the end credits. While the music was nice, it was awkward hearing the ending theme used as an insert song. It seems very old-fashioned and out of place. Hopefully they don't stick to this style for very long and the ending theme gets put back in it's rightful place - the end of the episode.

Mami finishes the witch with her "Erupt Finale" attack.

~character~

This episode pretty much solidifies the personalities of all the characters. Madoka is the cute and innocent girl, Sayaka is the strong-willed girl, Mami is the mother and guide of the group, Homura is the mysterious girl with an obviously troubling past, and Hitomi is the annoying comic-relief character that is more stupid than funny. Oh and there's Kyuube. And the victim of the day. And that's really basically all the characters. Next episode it is hinted that somebody's sad past will begin to unfold - which is great. Deep character development this early on is always a good thing. It's terrible when things take too long to get started.

The group's reaction to Homura's rejection of Mami's Grief Seed.

~overall~

This episode receives an A. It still has its flaws but this is still much much greater than the previous episode for many reasons. It's looking like next episode will be just as great. This promising series is definitely living up to the hype (: