I couldn’t help but notice that the animation in this episode is unfinished. There are a lot of times where something clearly should be drawn in so that you can understand what’s going on, only it’s not there at all. Budget, mismanagement, and COVID are three likely factors here but it is baffling to see given Shaft’s pedigree and the fact that this season is 8 episodes long. Mind you, the dip in animation quality is only present in Crunchyroll’s stream, which I assume is using the TV version of the show. I looked up the Blu-ray version of this episode and that adds in the missing animation.
There isn’t much to say about this episode. It’s very plot driven and it mostly serves to set up Season 2’s final battle. Kuroe manages to defeat the jobbers and she heads off to find Iroha. Sana and Felicia learn more about what happened to Iroha and they convince Mifuyu to retrieve Tsuruno and return to the villa. Iroha finds herself in the Magius’ amusement park, Chelation Land, and receives some assistance from Kyoko. I don’t get why the Magius has an amusement park but a lot of stuff doesn’t make sense in this show so who cares. Yachiyo meets Madoka, Sayaka, and Homura and they carpool to the amusement park (I swear I’m not making this up). While all of this happening, we see the Magius fend off against all the different witches that have gathered around Kamihama.
Somewhat annoyingly, some of these threads gets shoved to the wayside. The show is hinting that Kuroe’s Doppel is going haywire but the character only gets one scene and she disappears from the plot again like it’s Magia Record Season 1. The last time we see Mifuyu in this episode, she fails to retrieve Tsuruno and gets rescued by Alina (Ayana Taketatsu). I have no clue as to what she’ll do next. I’m sure Sana and Felicia will meet up with Iroha and the others but that’s seemingly being saved for the next episode. Really, the spotlight is just on Iroha’s and Yachiyo’s groups. There’s a bunch of perspectives to jump around so someone was found to get the short end of the stick. Still, I think the show shot itself in the foot with how spread out everyone is.
I’m sorry but the big fight between the Magius and the witches looks really damn stupid. It feels like Magia Record is trying to one up the action from the original Madoka but it’s upping the ante so much here that it comes across as farcical. And like I said in the last episode review, how am I supposed to take Walpurgisnacht seriously again if there are this many magical girls and they’re all able to fend off a horde of witches? I have an easier time accepting Yachiyo driving some of the Holy Quintet to Touka Land and that’s a very silly image in and of itself (though the show does use it for a cool set piece).
You’d think Magia Record would make a big deal having Iroha meet Madoka for the first time. After all, it’s the show’s main protagonist meeting her predecessor, whom the entire franchise is named after. Hilariously however, Madoka just says “Hi” to Iroha and the show immediately begins what I assume is the final fight for the season.
To Magia Record‘s credit, this fight has some potential to it. You have members of both the original and the new casts teaming up together and their opponents are Mami and Tsuruno so both groups have a personal stake in the fight. I’m still not that fond of the new cast and while I prefer the returnees, they feel tacked on. Still, I’d be shocked if a crossover fight between the two casts isn’t entertaining to watch. I kind of wish Sana and Felicia got to Iroha and Yachiyo before the fight started but I’m sure they’ll join them in the next episode.
Watch Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Season 2 -The Eve of Awakening- on Crunchyroll and Funimation
Xenodude Scribbles 
Shaft is actually one of the more infamous studios for unfinished animation that gets fixed for disc releases. Madoka was surprisingly polished for a Shaft TV series, but the original TV version of Sayaka and Kyoko’s alley fight, for example, was noticeably unfinished. Some episodes of Bakemonogatari had segments of characters talking over a static image or a black screen in their original TV airing.
The Magius have an amusement park in order to harvest humans for energy. As for how a bunch of teenagers have a supervillain lair and the other facilities that they do, it’s a bit of Nemu’s magic and a bit of Touka’s family being absolutely filthy rich and owning a sizable portion of Kamihama (remember that the hospital is called the Satomi Medical Center)
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I’ve heard that Madoka had some changes for its disc releases so I was vaguely aware that Shaft has a track record for this. I’ve never seen any of the Monogatari anime so this episode of Magia Record is the worst instance I’ve seen. I still think Shaft can deliver really good animation so I’m keeping the pedigree comment but I did add in mismanagement as a presumed factor after reading your comment.
Thanks for clarifying on the amusement park and the HQ in general. I’d argue a more detailed explanation is needed in the show but it is my bad for not picking up on the name of the hospital.
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Oh, Inadequate exposition for viewers who haven’t played the game is definitely one of the worst problems with this anime. You could blame it on Shaft only adapting the main story and not the side events that delve into character backstories and relationships… except that the anime is already diverging hard from the game’s plot at this point (Kuroe is an entirely anime-original character, for example), so that doesn’t really work as an excuse.
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