Oh yeah, this show exists.
Even though I had mixed feelings with Magia Record‘s first season, I did consider covering Seasons 2 and 3 in episode reviews. What stopped me was the fact that I was in the process of covering the original Madoka and I’ve now developed a guideline for myself where I have to finish one installment of a series before I move onto the next one. As you may have noticed, I only just recently finished covering the original Madoka so it’s taken me a long while to get back to the spin-off show. Technically, Magia Record isn’t topical anymore so I could abandon it but you know what, I’m two-thirds in with Madoka‘s anime. I might as well cover the rest.
Real quick: when I first covered Magia Record, I haven’t seen Madoka the Movie. That is no longer case now. After watching Rebellion, I realize now that Madoka has entertained the idea of magical girls summoning their witches before Magia Record. That’s my mistake though I will however say that this makes the Doppels less original and Rebellion has a better excuse than this show.
Season 2 begins in Mitakihara, the setting of the original Madoka. Madoka (Aoi Yuki) and Homura (Chiwa Saito) make their first appearance in the show, fighting against a witch that was previously seen in Madoka‘s tenth episode. In the original show, Mami was there to help but since Mami is now a cult member in Magia Record, the witch gives Madoka and Homura a difficult time. During the fight, Homura sees a vision of Ui, who tells her that magical girls can be saved at Kamihama City. Ui could not have picked a better person to pitch to.
Eventually, Madoka and Homura decide to retreat. Sayaka (Eri Kitamura) returns from Kamihama and assists Madoka and Homura with their escape. After the fight, she shares with them what happened to Mami and what she’s learned about magical girls, which Kyubey confirms to be true. Sayaka is mad, Madoka is horrified, and Homura doesn’t give much of a reaction because she already knew (which Sayaka calls her out on). It’s different from how it plays out in the original show but it’s otherwise the same song and dance with this reveal.
So just like in the original show, Homura has been traveling through time to save Madoka. Judging by her appearance, this version of the character has yet to become the hardened loner we’re more familiar with. I guess this is the same Homura from the original show and Magia Record is one of the many timelines she experienced before ending up in the timeline the original primarily takes place in. I can see Homura investigating the mysterious city of Kamihama and it ultimately not panning out, resulting in her reversing time again. If Homura really does press the reset button on this timeline however, that does undermine any investment you might have in Magia Record. Should I really care about these new characters if everything they do gets erased and it has no bearing in the grand scheme of things? Of course, it’s still possible that this is a different version of Homura and Magia Record is its own canon. I can’t deny that it’s easier that way.
To my astonishment, this entire first episode is dedicated to Madoka, Homura, and Sayaka. If you didn’t know any better, you could mistake it as an episode of the original show. On one hand, I get to spend half an hour on characters that I actually really like. On the other, it says something about this spin-off show that I’d rather watch the original cast instead of the new one. I don’t think even think the show is drastically better with the original cast. It is neat how in this timeline, Madoka wants to continue fighting in spite of what she’s learned and that snaps Sayaka out of her depression. That’s an interesting what-if scenario to how things could’ve played out in the original show. I’ll also admit that the rematch with the witch is a lot of fun (and always, Shaft’s animation doesn’t disappoint). But I don’t know, I feel this franchise has run these characters into the ground. I love the original cast but I was done with their story when the original show ended. Just move on already.
After the credits, and for better or worse, the show brings its attention back to its own cast. Fortunately for me, the first character that gets reintroduced is Best Girl Yachiyo (Sora Amamiya), who proceeds to interrogate a member of Magius on the location of the cult’s headquarters. I’m guessing after Iroha’s “death” (come on, there’s no way she’s actually dead), Yachiyo is out for blood. We then cut to the Magius’ HQ and we see an elite member ask Kuroe (Kana Hanazawa) about Iroha. I’m trying to remember if I actually brought up Kuroe before. She’s the magical girl who told Iroha about Kamihama back in the Season 1 premiere. It wouldn’t surprise me if I forgot to bring her up because she flat out disappeared from the plot after that episode and she didn’t reappear until a cameo appearance in the Season 1 finale. Maybe this season will actually give Kuroe some screentime. As for the elite member, I’m guessing that’s Nemu. The scene doesn’t refer to her by name but she looks very similar to how Nemu did in Iroha’s dream and it was likely that Nemu joined the Magius since Touka is a member of the organization. It’s a little curious that this character asks about Iroha. Perhaps the name rings a bell to her.
Watch Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Season 2 -The Eve of Awakening- on Crunchyroll and Funimation
Xenodude Scribbles 
I don’t think this counts as a spoiler because the anime never explains how these versions of the Mitakihara girls relate to the original series, but the gacha game is explicit: Homura’s timelines were a branching tree rather than a single linear progression, this Homura made a couple of different choices early on than the ones we saw her make in episode 10 of the original series, and so despite this Homura knowing where witches come from, she never experienced the timeline that ended with her promising to stop Madoka from being tricked by Kyubey. Which is why Magia Record Homura still has the braids and glasses, and why Magia Record Madoka is a magical girl. It’s a bit of a contrived retcon, and obviously derived from a mandate to have all five Mitakihara girls be both playable units and story-relevant characters (not just out-of-continuity “bonus units” like characters from a collab) in the game.
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That’s a bit of a grey area in terms of spoilers but I say it’s fair to share if the anime doesn’t bring it up. It doesn’t given away how the show ends anyway. Plus, I can’t check the game myself since it shut down in the US. What a weird explanation though. It doesn’t really line up with how time traveling is presented in the original show. I think it’d be easier to just treat Magia Record as a separate canon.
Also just want to say that I have read your comments in my other Madoka posts (thanks btw). You were not kidding about Magia Record reusing imagery from the compilation movies. I immediately noticed that in this episode.
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