Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011) 魔法少女まどか★マギカ

after having a strange dream, Modoka met with a magical creature name Kyube. Madoka n Sayaka was offered the opportunity by Kyube to obtain magical powers if they agree to form a contract with it. in return of risking their lives to fight witches, Kyube will grant them each one wish. the witches were invisible to human, the Puella Magi (magical girls) had to invade the alternate realm to fight them. Kyube had recruited other Puella Magi as well, Mami, Homura n Kyouko. Homura was determined to prevent Madoka from accepting the deal; Kyube however convinced Madoka that she will become the most powerful Puella Magi.

unlike common Mahou Shoujo (魔法少女) series, this anime felt a lot more matured n abstract instead of blindly filling the show with exaggerated cuteness. the alternate reality space where the witches lived was dark n unknown, with buildings n objects floating around, ready to come crushing in any minute. the space would melt away, returning them to the normal world once the battle ended. the story behind Homura's cold attitude n how it linked to Madoka's past was so filled with pain n agony that it was extremely heartwrenching to watch. it turned out she did it not because she was a busybody as we would have thought otherwise, but out of love n a promise to a dying friend. the anime felt fresh n original, n sort of having a split image of Bakemotogari (2009) n Hidamari Sketch (2007), with an additional portion of pain.

some background on the anime:
- episodes: 12
- director: Yukihiro Miyamoto (宮本幸裕)
- released: 2011
- language: Japanese
- genre: Adventure/Psychological