Magi Madoka Magica Vol.3 by The Magica Quartet, Hanokage(illustrator)
Series: Puella Magi Madoka Magica #3
My rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Genre: Magical Girl, Urban Fantasy, Seinen
Publisher: Yen Press
Release Date: December 11th 2012
Synopsis: Madoka is horrified to learn the true nature of the witches she and her friends, the Magical Girls, have been fighting-and the terrible fate that awaits any Magical Girl who accepts Kyubey’s offer of power. Having watched countless Magical Girls sacrificed for the larger aims of his people, Kyubey is only interested in securing more girls to that end, and Madoka is left with his chilling reminder that she too is destined to be a Magical Girl of incredible power… Can Madoka and her friends escape this tragic fate?
My thoughts: The end of this amazing manga is here…and I am extremely depressed. I have already watched the anime and even as a write this review I am listening to the kick butt ending song of the anime. And now that the manga is over I don’t know what I am going to do with myself!
I have learned very early in the reading of this manga series is that Puella Magu Madoka Magica is not just an interesting read but an experience. It changed how people looked at the magical girl genre. I am sad to see the manga(and anime) end but I don’t think it could have ended any better.
In the final volume of this manga many things are revealed. What exactly Kyubey is and why he is on earth. Some interesting information about Homura. Why the Magical Girls are needed. And more.
I also liked the relationship between Sayaka and Kyouko in this volume. It was bittersweet, heartbreaking, but it was oddly positive. It is kind of funny since they tried to kill each other the first time they say each other.
Towards the end of this volume things get a little confusing. There are a lot of time skipping and such. It is not difficult to keep up but it can be tricky.
The ending of the final volume of Puella Magi Madoka Magica is not exactly happy but not sad either. It is in between. Madoka and her kindness really shines in this volume. I recommend having a box of tissues ready when you start getting near the last chapters. I had tears rolling down my cheeks.
The manga does the anime (the original source material) justice. I believe that both the manga and anime are worth diving into. There are so many things that the anime has that the manga lacks. A great soundtrack but Yuki freaking Kajiura, the characters are even more fleshed out, the animation is unbelievably amazing, and there is more focus on showing the surreal worlds that the girls fight witches in. But the manga is a great experience in its own right.