One night, 14-year-old Madoka Kaname has a terrible nightmare - against the backdrop of a devastated city, she witnesses a girl fight a losing battle against a dreadful being lingering above, while a cat-like magical creature tells Madoka the only way to change such tragic outcome is for her to make a contract with him and become a magical girl. The next day, the teen's dream seemingly becomes reality as the girl she saw in her dream - Homura - arrives at Mitakihara Middle School as a transfer student, mysteriously warning Madoka to stay just the way she is, but when later on she and her best friend Sayaka encounter the same cat-like magical creature from her dream - who introduces himself as Kyubey - the pair discovers that magical girls are real, and what's more, they can choose to become one.
What defines it
Puella Magi Madoka Magica starts with classic magical-girl trappings and then reframes them into a bleak, philosophical inquiry. Stylish direction and compressed, surreal sequences amplify dread even as the show retains fairy-tale motifs. The series layers mystery, tragedy and moral quandaries over battles with abstract, unsettling foes, creating an atmosphere that is both dreamlike and deeply disquieting.