Puella Magi Madoka Magica (魔法少女まどか★マギカ, Mahō Shōjo Madoka Magika) is a 2011 original television anime series by studio Shaft, directors Yukihiro Miyamoto and Akiyuki Shinbo, writer Gen Urobuchi, and publisher Aniplex. The series first broadcast in Japan on January 2011 as part of the Winter season.
Brief Unboxing Redux Note:
So I first received Puella Magi Madoka Magica back in October 2013 and it was released as three individual volumes that were unboxed individually over on my Normanic Vault blog via Blogger. This post here is a remaster, but mostly a remake (or redux no pun intended) & revisit to these unboxings all in one place, with better photos, updated information and any added extras. Enjoy!
Background:
“Madoka Kaname is a typical eighth grader, living an average, ordinary life. One day, she encounters a girl who she previously saw in her dreams, and her life suddenly changes completely as her destiny awaits…”
Plot Synopsis via Aniplex of America, February 2012.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica is one of those anime shows that manages to subvert your expectations from its concept. What started off as a simple slice-of-life magical girl anime series, turns into a darker route where everything can go wrong for your main group of characters. A lot happens in this franchise and it did so well that it sparked a theatrical film series (two of the three films were compilations), a gacha game which received an anime adaptation (Magia Record), dozens of manga series and pretty much inspiring many anime shows ever since.
The staff who worked on Puella Magi Madoka Magica is quite note-worthy. You have the directors Yukihiro Miyamoto (Fate/Extra, Nisekoi Season 2) and Akiyuki Shinbo (March comes in like a Lion, Monogatari), the writer Gen Urobuchi (Fate/Zero, Song of Saya: Saya no Uta), and music composer Yuki Kajiura (Fate/Zero, Sword Art Online). And not to mention you have the animation studio SHAFT (March comes in like a Lion, Monogatari), who like to show off the animation a lot and provide neck tilt scenes whenever possible.
Licensing-wise, Aniplex’s US branch Aniplex of America acquired the English rights for the series and released it themselves in a controversial manner. Despite that it did sell well to the point where it got re-released and was also dubbed. Manga Entertainment had the UK & Ireland rights and released it as a complete series collection which pissed off Aniplex along the way.
Limited Edition Contents:
This is a very interesting edition for Aniplex as it was pretty much one of their first Blu-ray sets that were split into multiple volumes and had tons of goodies included. This approach was carried over throughout their later releases for about half a decade before they shifted towards more complete collections but have less physical content as a result.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica was released in three parts with each having roughly the same amount of physical contents and packaging. For each volume you have a cardboard box (not rigid) with two DVD cases housing the discs; one case for the Blu-ray & DVD, and another for the Original Soundtrack CD composed by Yuki Kajiura.
The other physical items included were a 24-page booklet with staff & voice actor interviews, character design artwork and exclusive art gallery by Inucurry, and a special 4-panel manga by Aokiume. Plus there’s a double-sided poster, “Preview Illustration” Post cards, and for the first volume you also have Kyubey stickers.
Each limited edition volume were priced at SRP $94.98 each (while the standard editions were $49.98) and sold out roughly around the end of 2013 so I actually got pretty lucky in that manner. It does sound really expensive but the currency exchange back then for the UK was a lot better than post-2016 so it was still affordable to import.
Physical Contents:
- Cardboard Box with two DVD cases packaging and clean artwork
- Info sheet for specification
- Volume 1:
- Original Soundtrack CD #1 from Yuki Kajiura
- 24-page Booklet
- Double-sided Poster
- 4 Post Cards
- Kyubey Sticker
- Volume 2:
- Original Soundtrack CD #2 from Yuki Kajiura
- 24-page Booklet
- 2 Double-sided Posters
- 4 Post Cards
- Volume 3:
- Original Soundtrack CD #3 from Yuki Kajiura
- 24-page Booklet
- 2 Double-sided Posters
- 4 Post Cards
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Aniplex of America
Released: 14th February 2012 (Volume 1), 10th April 2012 (Volume 2), 12th June 2012 (Volume 3)
The limited edition releases for Puella Magi Madoka Magica was split across three volumes, and there’s some slight tweaks between them. Volume 1 contains episodes 1-4 across a single Blu-ray and DVD disc, Volume 2 contains episodes 5-8 across a single Blu-ray and DVD disc, and Volume 3 contains episodes 9-12 across a single Blu-ray and DVD disc.
Aniplex of America encoded and authored all of these discs. The audio options available include Japanese with English subtitles and the Bang Zoom! English dub commissioned by Aniplex. The white subtitles are unlockable during playback, and the disc regions are playable on Region A, B & C for Blu-ray players, but are region restricted to Region 1 for DVD players.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English Linear PCM 2.0 Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 16:9 Aspect Ratio |
| Region | A B C |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 3 BD-50s |
DVD Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2.0 Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 |
| Video | Standard Definition in NTSC format 16:9 Aspect Ratio |
| Region | 1 |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 3 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
Volume 1:
- Ending Theme “MAGIA” Music Video
- Textless Opening “Connect”
- Trailers
Volume 2:
- Textless Opening “Connect”
Volume 3:
- Textless Opening “Connect”
DVD On-Disc Extra Features:
Volume 1:
- Ending Theme “MAGIA” Music Video
- Textless Opening “Connect”
- Trailers
Volume 2:
- Textless Opening “Connect”
Volume 3:
- Textless Opening “Connect”
Unboxing Photos:
Volume 1:
Volume 2:
Volume 3:
Final Notes:
Puella Magi Madoka Magica is licensed and released on home video by Aniplex of America. These limited edition volumes were released roughly a decade ago at the time of this post, and are no longer available to own. That being said, Aniplex of America have since re-released the series as a complete collection Blu-ray box set which are available to order exclusively through Rightstuf.
The Normanic Vault 
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