Puella Magi Madoka Magica and its spinoff, Magia Record, are famous for their dark interpretation of the magical girl genre and are not for the faint of heart. What starts off as an apparently light-hearted show soon takes a well-hidden deadly twist, shocking viewers.
While the battles against the witches and the dark tone may be considered by some as the "worst" aspects, they're also Puella Magi Madoka Magica's biggest draw, as the magical girls fight against hope and their own bodies to save the world. From protecting their souls to witchy transformations, these magical girls have a lot on their plate and some unique physiologies.
What Are the Madoka Magical Girl's Soul Gems?
Whether it be a wand, mirror or pen, every magical girl needs a flashy transformation sequence, but for the Madoka girls, their Soul Gems might be too aptly named. The Soul Gem is not only the source of their transformation, but all their magical power and weaponry as well. Taking the form of a small crystal when in their civilian forms, each soul-gem houses its respective magical girl's actual soul, meaning that should they be separated too far from it, their body will essentially "die" until it is returned to them. Turning into a limp ragdoll is not fun and not a good thing in battle, so it's in these girls' best interests to keep a firm grasp on the whereabouts of their soul at all times.
Torn from their bodies by Kyubey while the creature grants their wish, the newly created Soul Gem is both terribly powerful and fragile. It requires a constant stream of Grief Seeds harvested from witches to retain its shiny luster, as use of the magical powers within darkens the once bright gemstone, and once completely dark, there is a horrific transformation one cannot return from.
Why Can Madoka Magical Girls See Witches?
The adversaries that magical girls face are not only deadly witches -- rogue magical girls who care little for anyone aside from themselves -- but also rumors and the wish-granting Kyubey itself! With a rogues gallery like this, it's a wonder the Madoka universe isn't in more disarray, but there is an explanation.
Simply put, only magical girls can see the chaos. With few exceptions, normal people walking down the street don't notice the witch's den, and while they may hear whispers of the rumors, they don't give them any stock, unaware of how their lives have been affected. By agreeing to become a magical girl, Kyubey opens the eyes of its prey to the unseen world of witches and magic.
Are the Madoka Magical Girls Witches?
In Japanese, the word for "magic" and "witchcraft" share common kanji, resulting in a double meaning for "maho shoujo," which can be translated to either magical girl or witch girl. Sadly, it's the second that proves to be true in Madoka.
Kyubey's species is emotionless and rational, opting for the easiest way to prevent the end of the universe as they know it, and unfortunately for the young women of this universe, that's through the creation of magical girls and their subsequent transformation into witches. What makes it even worse is that in order for a magical girl to merely delay her own witchy transformation, she needs to defeat other witches and collect their grief seeds -- aka the remains of their Soul Gems.
What Are the Doppels of Magia Record?
First revealed in the yet-another-timeline spin-off, Magia Record, Doppels are basically the same as witches -- with one key difference: a magical girl can come back from being a Doppel. Similar to witches, a Doppel forms when a magical girl hasn't cleaned her Soul Gem, resulting in it turning black. However, in Kamihama City, should this happen, the magical girl will not turn into a witch, but take on her Doppel form.
With time and practice, a magical girl can not only learn to intentionally summon her Doppel form for a power boost, but control it as well. Still, it's something that the show hints should be saved for a last-ditch effort, and there's no telling what would happen to a magical girl should she try to summon this form outside of Kamihama. At least when she does power down, all the darkness of her Soul Gem has been wiped clean, giving her a fresh start.
What Are the Madoka Magical Girls' Abilities?
Each magical girl's powers in Madoka are unique and relate back to their wish in some way. This is most apparent with Sayaka's wish to heal her violinist friend's fingers, and as a result, she gains regenerative abilities in addition to the standard weapon-summoning and increased physical capabilities. Another example would be series darling Homura, who in wishing to protect Madoka gains the ability to time-travel.
Understandably, this connection has lead to much speculation as to what wishes were made by which magical girls, but even if that weren't the case, these magical girls also have the ability to heal their own bodies, as proven by Homura when she fixes her eyes, removing her need for glasses at the start of each new timeline.