The contract you make in episode one isn't the story, it's the trap. Madoka Magica systematically dismantles everything you think a magical girl show is supposed to be, then rebuilds it as something harder and more honest about what it costs to save people. By episode three, the genre's sweetness curdles into dread, and the show never stops asking you what you would sacrifice, and whether the person asking is even telling you the truth.

Madoka Kaname is an ordinary second-year middle schooler until a nightmare about a devastated city seems to come true. A cat-like creature named Kyubey offers her and her best friend Sayaka a bargain: sign a contract, receive any one wish, and in return fight the beings called witches that spread despair among humans. Homura, a new transfer student and a magical girl herself, urges them not to accept and insists that things are not what they appear. This psychological fantasy thriller about hope, despair and friendship asks what price comes with making a dream real.