Whoa.
Remember when I reviewed Volume 1 and Volume 2 of the manga, and I said it was not great? Well for Puella Magi Magica Madoka Volume 3, they took the blinders and fetters off the artist and the speed and tension of the story works. I mean..it *works.*
I’m basically re-experiencing this story for the third time. To be honest, I’m getting pretty done with it and I wasn’t looking forward all that much to re-living Homura’s transformation again. But hot damn if this volume didn’t totally take the reins in hand and run away with me. I was caught up all over again in Homura’s story and in what I still consider to be one of the best resolutions I’ve ever seen in an anime/manga.
The artist, freed of the constraints of the first two volumes (as stated in the artist’s note) did a really good job. It was a pleasure to look at the art this volume.
Ratings:
Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 3
Service – 1
Overall – 8
And for good measure, at the very end, we get Homura and Madoka walking off together hand in hand. ^_^
For as much as chapter 10 has to compress what was already a staggeringly busy 22 minutes of television, chapter 9 somehow has enough room to show us something new: a scene suggesting that Kyoko was able to befriend Sayaka at the end of their climactic battle, perhaps in the afterlife.
Do give “The Different Story” a try. You’ll see an even bigger improvement there.
@Hatou – If you’d consider doing a review, that would be swell.