The main cast of Gen Urobuchi’s Puella Magi Madoka Magica is very young and impressionable. The series centers around the struggles of five young girls trying to balance the confusion of adolescence alongside the weighty responsibility of protecting others.
While some of them might appear to have a good head on their shoulders, they’re still growing children who are prone to making mistakes. Many of them attempt to be good role models for others, but it’s only natural that a lot of the decisions they make are questionable at best.
This article will contain spoilers for anyone who has not watched or read Rebellion or The Different Story manga.
9 Sayaka Sacrifices Herself For The Fantasy She Built In Her Head
Notably, Sayaka is the only character who falls into despair and becomes a Witch in every single timeline. This is understandable, as she always builds herself up based on a “defender of justice” persona that she wants to emulate, partially because of her childhood fantasies and partially due to Mami’s influence.
Sayaka wants to be a strong knight who can defeat evil all on her own, but the reality of the situation doesn’t match up with her personal ideals. When combined with the fact that Sayaka makes her wish for Kyosuke, who ends up inadvertently breaking her heart by dating Hitomi, her tale always ends in tragedy.
8 Mami Puts On A Brave Front Despite Being The Weakest Emotionally
Mami is a character who appears incredibly mature and level-headed at first. She lives on her own in a gorgeous apartment and presents herself as an elegant role model to Madoka and Sayaka, inviting them over for homemade snacks and tea and giving the two girls life advice.
At her core, though, Mami’s still a growing young girl just like them, and Mami doesn’t have the support of a family like Madoka and Sayaka do. She’s incredibly lonely, and her strong, brave mentor front is only so others will hopefully look up to her and want to be around her.
7 Kyoko’s Father Can’t Handle The Truth About Magical Girls
No one handles the truth about magical girls particularly well, but Kyoko’s father is unable to cope with even their mere existence. He’s a deeply religious man with radical ideas that caused him to be outcast by others. Since no one would listen to his preachings, their family ends up incredibly poor and are barely able to keep food on the table.
Kyoko becomes a magical girl, wishing simply for others to listen to her father. But when her father finds out her secret, he brands his own daughter as a witch who manipulated people into listening to him. He falls into a deep depression and ends up killing their family — except for Kyoko herself.
6 Homura Is Willing To Kill If She Thinks It’ll Guarantee Madoka’s Safety
Homura starts out as a soft-hearted, mild-mannered girl who can’t even stay active long enough to participate in gym class thanks to a heart condition. Once she’s moved by Madoka Kaname’s kindness and courage, she begins to change and makes her contract to go back in time to protect her.
Fans are well aware of just how tumultuous this journey ends up for her, and it’s not even Homura in the end that frees Madoka from this cycle. Along the way, Homura makes many questionable decisions, such as threatening to kill Sayaka or even Mami if she thinks it’ll guarantee Madoka’s safety.
5 Kyubey Arms Madoka With The Knowledge She Needs To Permanently Destroy Witches
Kyubey spends a majority of its time on-screen attempting to convince Madoka to make a contract and become a magical girl. He’s able to sense how much innate magical potential she has but can’t understand why. The audience later learns her potential is a result of Homura’s repeated influence.
Kyubey attempts to pressure Madoka into making a contract that will satisfy his needs by coming to her and attempting to fill her with despair. His parting words in this scene are especially chilling: “If you ever feel like dying for the sake of the universe, call me! I’ll be waiting.”
4 Homura Keeps Madoka Trapped Inside A False Reality
Just as Madoka sacrificed herself to become the savior of magical girls everywhere, Homura underwent her own transformation that allowed her to finally get her hands on Madoka for good. After realizing she’s become a Witch herself, Homura pulls Madoka down from her God status.
By doing so, Homura claims she transformed herself into a demon and decides to keep Madoka and the others trapped inside a false reality. Madoka almost realizes it, but Homura purposefully keeps her from finding out.
3 Kyoko Abandons Her Only Remaining Support System After The Loss Of Her Family
In The Different Story manga, a different timeline is explored where Sayaka contracts in time to save Mami from being killed by Charlotte. This manga also finally delves into Mami and Kyoko’s backstory. The two were quite close in the beginning, with Mami even going over to Kyoko’s house for dinner.
That is, until the night that Kyoko lost both her home and her family to her father’s drunken inability to accept the existence of magical girls. Mami attempts to console her, but Kyoko pushes her away out of fear of being a burden since most of her powerful magic had been tied to her wish involving her family, who no longer existed.
2 Madoka Is Always Willing To Throw Away Her Own Well-Being For Others
Wanting to help others as long as it’s possible is a noble goal, but Madoka takes things way too far. She states that she’s a girl who lacks confidence and doesn’t believe she has any special talents but feels like she’d be content as long as she can help others.
Her desire to help is why Madoka’s so willing to become a magical girl in moments where people are in danger, even after learning the dark truth behind the entire magical girl system. Homura even scolds Madoka for her sacrificial nature by asking why she can’t think about the people who love her and would be greatly affected by her death.
1 Hitomi Goes After Sayaka’s Longtime Crush When She’s At Her Lowest Point
Sayaka falls into an unstoppable downward spiral when she realizes that her fantasies involving Kyosuke can never come true. This is partly because of her transformation into a magical girl since she later learns that her soul is no longer housed in her body, making her feel more like a zombie than a human.
Making matters worse, Sayaka’s longtime friend Hitomi chose to pursue Kyosuke when Sayaka herself is at an incredibly low and unstable point. It breaks something inside her, and though Hitomi doesn’t know since she’s oblivious to the existence of magical girls, she’s a large contributor to Sayaka’s despair.