Finally decided to give it a chance because everyone told me it's good and I should watch it because I liked Nanoha...

Finally decided to give it a chance because everyone told me it's good and I should watch it because I liked Nanoha. 8 episodes in and it's really not good.

So far the plot could be summarized as "girl tells other girls to not do stupid shit because they'll die, but they don't listen, do stupid shit anyway and die". No real storyline to speak of, the drama isn't relatable in any way, all characterization is just "b-but I have to save my friends" and "muh nihilism", and the characters are not likeable at all . They keep dying one after another and I couldn't give less of a shit about any of them.

Why is it not good, Sup Forums? Should I even bother with finishing it?

People liked it because it went against expectations. Watching it knowing that it subverts expectations kinda ruins the point.

Episode 10 is the only good episode. At least make it to that since you're close.

I went into Nanoha fully aware it's an expectation subverting Maho Shoujo and still had a blast with it. What do you say to that?

That it had other things going for it? What do you have to say to that?

I have to say that it definitely had other things going on, but both Madoka and Nanoha were pretty similar in its premise - a Mahou Shoujo that wasn't afraid to play upon the formula in order to tell a darker, more dramatic story. How is it that Nanoha managed to do it so well (in the first two seasons at least), while Madoka struggles to even have a story at all?

Because Madoka is popular while Nanoha isn't and you're a contrarian that likes to make thinly veiled (You) farms by calling popular things shit.

its all about the last eps.

Nah, not really. Nice try, though.

>Nanoha isn't popular

It was pretty meh, I didnt get spoiled somehow but managed to finish it.Dope backgrounds on some of them though.Probably DUDE UROBUTCHER and SHAFT fags hyping it too much.

Remember that time Nanoha sold over 80000 bds in a year and became one of the most successful anime franchises of all time?

Nanoha ive never heard about this show but i watched madoka like 2 days ago and i enjoyed it the story was kind of meh till the end but i liked it it kept my intrest the hole cat part of the story was cool and the timetravel theme was cool homura was best girl this girl was trying her hardest to save her friend but she in the end had to be saved

sorry i rambled

Nanoha is dead. Vivid is pretty popular though.

Are you new to anime and Sup Forums?

>what is Reflection

If you don't like the first 8, why would you want to watch the rest? Are you a masochist? Never watch an anime where you have to wonder "does it get better?". The "3 episode test" is one thing, you are just hurting yourself.

While it is naturally pretty overrated, I liked the blue haired girls story (how she turned into a witch), and there's a line in there about doing someone a favor to help them, vs. helping them to be thanked. Its pretty good.
I also enjoyed Homura's devotion to Madoka, probably should have been the focus from day 1. I think around the place you are at you might get a flashback episode if you didn't already.

Those are the best and most memorable parts IMHO. The rest of it is just because they are some cute girls.

OP here. Obvious bait, but I'll bite.

No, I'm not new to anime. I have a fair share of anime watched, both old and new ones, both popular and lesser known ones. I'm not really trying to be a contrarian here, but in my history of watching anime most of the stuff that's been generally well-regarded by a lot of people turned out to be simply overrated and not nearly as good as people told me it is, sometimes even being outright bad, while the more obscure stuff proved to be better 99% of the time. Does the majority of anime fans just have bad taste or something?

Nice reddit spacing. Also you were fooled into thinking it was good.

If you don't emotionally connect with the characters then Madoka doesn't really work.
I know, because it didn't work for me either.

>Does the majority have bad taste
Yes, are you new to life or something? They're called plebeian for a reason.

Madoka was the least obvious trap that Sup Forums tricked me into watched. At least I could see the stink off of Haruhi and Fate.

>reddit spacing
this is my new favorite buzzword

>Nice reddit spacing.

So, not making a post into a jumbled wall of text and instead making it more readable = reddit? Nice logic there, user.

>Also you were fooled into thinking it was good.

That's the conclusion I've come too as well, unfortunately. It's not even the first time shit like that happened. The worst thing about it, though, is that you never know whether or not they're in the right or in the wrong about it being good because some shows that are generally considered good, like JoJo or Baccano for example, are actually good.

I see. I think I'm gonna pass on it, then, since, like I said, I couldn't give a flying fuck about any of those characters.

Well, you're close to one of the interesting parts, and you've already watched more than half of it. Personally, I would just finish it, but you do you.

Putting a space between every sentence or two is what dumb ESL or reddit shits do.

>Jojo and baccano are actually good
Yeah, you have shit taste. I hope you're talking about the jojo manga at least.

>I hope you're talking about the jojo manga at least.
Ah, shitting on people for liking anime adaptations instead of the source material. Good 'ol Sup Forums.

The only jojo experience I found enjoyable was the OVA movie as it didn't overstay its welcome unlike the awful ass TV anime.

Imagine watching Avengers for the first time, today, alone, and on Blu-ray.

I kinda agree. JoJo 2012 I found great, but Stardust Crusaders I couldn't bear to watch because of its awful pacing and bazillion baddies Jotaro had to fight every episodes.

fate/stay night is the tits
the entire rest of the franchise and also the adaptations are shit because it only works as a VN
but it works as a VN

>while Madoka struggles to even have a story at all?
madoka doesn't have a story because that's how urobuchi operates
he works in... impressions, or imagery, much more than actual plot
The yuyuyu people might pillory me for making the comparison but I feel like that story is what madoka would have looked like if it were written by a normal person and not urobuchi

>but it works as a VN
From what I've gathered from lurking Fate for years is that it is all shit and I am not committed enough to read the VN just to say "yeah, it is shit". Saying that though, I probably would've watched Prisma Illiya had it not been so yuri filled.

>he works in... impressions, or imagery, much more than actual plot
So basically, his work is more or less a trap for plebs who think that pointless symbolism and cryptic imagery = deep?

it has also been done since the inception of this website. you are simply being a contrarian
as I said, my new favorite buzzword

>contrarian
Funny, I have been called that for saying Madoka and Haruhi were shit quite a few times in the past.

>had it not been so yuri filled
What are you, a faggot?

I actually do not care. I only came here to laugh at your inane use of the latest buzzword to spam without regard for history

>faggot for not liking yuri
I'll never understand this sentiment. Yurism is gross to watch. A dude needs to save these girls.

>a dude needs to save these girls
A majority of the "yuri" in anime is girls who are close enough to be down for a threesome but not too close so that they'll reject males. You're supposed to imagine yourself having a threesome with them.

Avengers sux though. Watching Madoka on blu-ray, 1080p 20 inch 60fps screen with expensive $500 headphones by yourself in the dark is the way to go

Not only do the unlikeable characters keep dying, they're all alive by the end, so it doesn't even matter. It's liked because it's usually one of the first 10-20 anime people watch when they're really "getting into anime", and it has some unique direction and artstyle which makes plebs overlook the gaping plot holes.

>be down for a threesome
That's disgusting, sex should be a one on one thing and only for procreation. Also self inserting is for pathetic shits.

>makes plebs overlook the gaping plot holes.
OP here. What gaping plot holes? I haven't really noticed any. The writing isn't good by any means and I'm not defending it, but logic-wise everything makes sense - a really badly written, pretentious sense.

Maybe you should finish the show before making this thread

Vanilla is for faggots.

Anything besides Vanilla is for disgusting deviates. No wonder yuri is popular when it is only for truly the lowest of the low. I bet you think Welcome to the NHK is good too.

Yeah, you're probably right. I made it mostly to get info if it's a show worth finishing, though, and so far it proved to not really be such.

>Implying Sup Forums didn't enjoy it back in the day and became a Sup Forums classic

>Sup Forums classic
Classic trash. I don't know how anyone could feel any pity for the main guy.

It's not self-inserting because you're not projecting yourself onto a character.

>I don't like it
>I can't sympathize with war trauma and existential dread
>My apathy towards the series causes me to gloss over it
FTFY, and why have you even bothered watching so far?

So you use your imagination that you're undyking these yuri stricken girls? You're just facilitating them to make more gay shit just because you can imagine yourself pounding both of them. It really can't be the reason people like this gay shit.

>I don't like it
True.
>I can't sympathize with war trauma and existential dread

It's not war trauma. It's just a bunch of stupid girls crying over the fact they can't be whimsical magical superheroines and that their actions actually have consequences - a concept they didn't realize until a second before their death.

>My apathy towards the series causes me to gloss over it

Wrong. It's just unrelatable and poorly written. Nanoha, although in a weird, anime-y way, touched upon subjects hitting much closer to home, such as child abuse, depression, suicidal thoughts and tendencies, and life with a permanent disability.

>because I liked Nanoha

There is your problem.

In what way exactly? In a way that Nanoha raised my expectations too high, or in a typical "I'm gonna shit on your taste just because" Sup Forums way?

I heard Nanoha is good until she stops being a loli. Also all the gay shit after.

>after
She's gay when she's a loli too.

Yeah, pretty much. The first two seasons are really good, but with the third one the series falls flat on its face and never recovers.

>She's gay when she's a loli too.
Oh, I guess it was shit all the way through then.

Lol. The most "gay shit" you're going to get though are some subtle implications that you don't even have to interpret as yuri if you don't want to. It's not even close to the level of Prisma Illya where they straight up make out with each other all the time.

>teenage girls act like teenage girls
>this is bad writing

>Lol
Fuck off

>Why is it not good, Sup Forums? Should I even bother with finishing it?

You should put more effort in your bait.

In what world is calling someone "my love" a subtle implication?

>teenage girls act like teenage girls

Except they don't act like teenage girls. They act like anime teenage girls, which is cringy as fuck since they basically speak in melodrama all the time.

Alright. Kek. We good now?

>Kek
Dumb crossboarder.

>please reinforce my pleb tastes so I can personally justify them

These are almost as bad as recommendation threads

>depression, suicidal thoughts and tendencies, and life with a permanent disability.

All of this shit was touched in Madoka. Good job.

When did ever Nanoha call Fate "my love" during the time they were lolis (so the first two seasons)?

This is an obviously complaining about shitty anime traps thread and no I'm not talking about dudes that look like ladies.

Yes, it was. As a plot device to tell why the big bad witches are evil(TM). It was used for nothing else apart from that.

>speak in melodrama all the time
Seems like a teenage girl to me.

Except raise the cringe factor by a tenfold. Then you get Madoka.

During the second season's ED.

Huh. Must have missed it, then because I was overwhelmed with all the space military shit all of the characters suddenly joined. Still, that's only one line. There aren't any other "in your face" yuri fodder scenes or pieces of dialogue in those seasons.

>a plot device to tell why the big bad witches are evil.

What are you even talking about? How is that related to a character being depressed after her friend's death, another going full kamikaze on enemies or that guy with the traumatized arms that also tried to hurt himself.

>psychological instability from being constantly subjected to life-or-death combat isn't war trauma

And you try to claim that you have been paying attention to the series.

I somehow associated it only with the mass suicides and people suddenly becoming depressed caused by the witches.

Still, while Madoka touches upon those topics, somehow I feel they aren't given enough time and exposure for the viewer to truly sympathize with the characters and matters at hand. I mean, when Mami dies, you've only known her for 2 episodes and she got barely any backstory. You can't sympathize with Madoka's grief because you didn't care for Mami as a character.

Same goes with that disabled guy. He gets, like, 15 minutes of total screentime while he's disabled to serve as a background as to what would Miki use her wish for, and the poof, he gets cured and his subplot doesn't matter anymore, while in Nanoha, the disabled girl was one of the main characters and her backstory and personality were both fully fleshed out. Do you get what I mean now?

>not episode 10 yet
keep watching fucko

Well, I think I'm going to finish it regardless since, as others in this threads have said, I'm really close to the end and I wouldn't have spent this one and a half hour any better, but at this point I doubt my opitnion of it is going to change, since it didn't really establish anything by this point, so no matter if it pulls a plot twist or not, the ending is most likely gonna suck donkey dick.

This, keep watching, then watch all 3 movies

Are the 3 movies gonna fix the mess the terrible pacing of this show has made so far and provide any closure that the show most likely will not? Because if not then I'm not gonna bother.

No, the pacing is worse and the last movie gets rid of any closure episode 12 had.

You are already so close so you might as well. I know people that love this show and rewatched it several times already.

I'll probably never rewatch it because I wouldn't be able to enjoy it as much as I did the first time. Sup Forums alone was 90 percent of the fun of madoka

>Sup Forums alone was 90 percent of the fun of madoka
So just trash threads like most garbage anime?

>when Mami dies, you've only known her for 2 episodes and she got barely any backstory
Everything that is necessary is given. She's a side character anyways. Her parents were killed in a car accident, and would have died if not for her wish. I forget she explicitly stated that she could have wished to save her parents, but if you using an iota of brain power, you would have realized that the fact that she didn't translates to mounds of survivor guilt beneath her heroics. Her isolation is made explicit, as she has zero emotional support; she spends all her free time studying and witch hunting, and has no friends; even if she did, it's not like she can talk out her problems without sounding delusional. When Madoka and Sayaka show up, she finally gets relief from her isolation, however, she loses focus on her target and gets blindsided and killed as a result. You either glossed over this or didn't care; in either case, the show clearly isn't for you, particularly when you do this for every single character.

The thing is, the stuff about her you've written would've been fine in a case where she got more screen time and I got to know her better through some "show, don't tell" sequences, or even more interaction with Madoka and the other girls. That way, all of the stuff about the isolation, lack of emotional support etc. would've hit me more because I would've cared about her as a character more than not at all. But in current state, though, it feels extremely rushed. It's basically the anime telling you "look how sad and emotionally traumatised this character is! feel sad for her! FEEL SAD FOR HEEEEERRRR!!!!1111oneoneone"

OP here. Just wanted to continue my previous post.

It also feels the same for every other character. Their character development feels extremely rushed. All of the important events happen way too quickly, and then the grief after every sad, important event is way too long. It's like they want you to empathize with those characters, while hastily giving you a reason to 5 seconds earlier. That simply does not work.

Arguing with the brain addled madoka fanboys is pointless. The pig likes the mud and you just get dirty.

>8 episodes in and it's really not good.
>They keep dying one after another and I couldn't give less of a shit about any of them.

Only one character dies in the first 8 episodes. You're a troll.

nice blog

no your blog is nice

>the anime telling you "look how sad and emotionally traumatised this character is
Except it does the exact opposite of this. It does exactly "show, don't tell" because it doesn't dedicate half an episode to Mami angsting over her situation. It illustrates the context, and the audience can easily understand to how it translates into Mami's actions and character. Just because it's presented in a condensed manner, doesn't mean the substance is lacking. Again, Mami is minor in regards to the main plot, so dedicating more screetime to her would simply be bloat. The series is paced in a way so that one major event happens every episode.

>All of the important events happen way too quickly, and then the grief after every sad, important event is way too long
Bullshit. The grief after Mami's death lasts for less than half an episode, for example. You're saying that there should be more time between important events but that time shouldn't be spent grieving. The reason things happen so quickly is because there is no filler; the consequences are addressed and the next big thing happens. Even though the character development occurs swiftly in response, the substance is presented effectively if you bother to pay attention and understand what the characters are thinking and why.

ugh. Look how deluded madokafags are.

Bad bait

Yes, this must be the real problem with Madoka, there's just too much symbolism and obtuse imagery. I swear some of you guys just dropped half your brains on the floor. Go watch NGE or Utena and actually witness what symbolism overload looks like.

Actually paying attention or reading between the lines? You're expecting too much from Sup Forums.

what's good about madoka: good pacing, strong sense of mood and consistent mood/tone, has a focus on certain aspects of the story it wants to tell and doesn't get distracted, has interesting plot development, plot development at the right times (pacing) and actually HAS plot development (unlike lots of cute girl shows), doesn't sexualize the little girls, has a good understanding of the anime and manga it's influenced by and makes sense in relation to those other works

downsides: dialog only exists to drive the plot and doesn't have much flavour or humour, really melodramatic, visually all over the place (sometimes great, sometimes terrible)

overall it has the reputation it deserves, especially if you go into it not really knowing what to expect the entire thing is full of curveballs and it leaves you wanting to know what will happen next, a feature shared by just about all anime that's popular outside of Japan and outside of the weeb core audience.

>pay attention and understand what the characters are thinking and why

Asking way too much of OP here. If a character has flaws they "aren't likable" and are by definition shit characters. They should be more perfect and crack some jokes and nice memes so that the audience can like them more, that's how you're supposed to do characterization.

Yes, keep watching it. You might like it, or you might not. Make up your own mind. All I can say is that it struck a chord with a lot of people, even if it is a bit overexposed.