When Puella Magi Madoka Magica aired in 2011, it was a phenomenon. The dark deconstruction of magical girl anime captured the attention and imagination of anime fans worldwide. In just 12 episodes, the show solidified its place as one of the great works of the medium.
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Posts 3Though the series is slow-moving as a multimedia franchise, it receives new entries every so often, most notably a film trilogy, but also a mobile game in 2025. The show's roster cast a spell on its audience, and here are all the main characters, ranked.
8 Nagisa Momoe
Wish: A Cheesecake For Her Mother
Japanese Voice Actor
Kana Asumi
English Voice Actor
Xanthe Huynh
Nagisa Momoe's appearance in the original anime series is short, but shocking. She is the witch Charlotte, and her violent murder of Mami Tomoe is one of the starkest tonal shifts in any anime.
Though an antagonist in her first appearance, Nagisa's story is tragic; she had a sick mother, and her wish was for a cheesecake that her mother would think was the best. This shows that Nagisa is still just a child, and rather than wishing for her mother to get better, she wanted to share her love of sweets.
7 Mabayu Aki
Wish: Erasing Her Mother's Memory
Japanese Voice Actor
Saori Hayami
English Voice Actor
None (no English dub)
Mabayu Aki does not appear in the original anime or animated movies, rather, she's the main character of the Scene 0 chapter in Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story: Magia Record, a mobile game based on the anime.
Stuck in a time loop, Mabayu is stated to have been forgotten by the characters in the TV show. Her mother is a fortune teller who predicted her own death, leading to her being incapacitated. When she's not visiting her mother at the hospital, Mabayu spends her time watching movies alone.
As Magia Record ended its service in 2024, the only way to experience Mabayu Aki's story now is to watch the movie compilations of her scenario on the sequel's official YouTube channel.
6 Kyubey
Wish Granter
Japanese Voice Actor
Emiri Katou
English Voice Actor
Cassandra Lee
Kyubey is an enigmatic figure and the mascot of Madoka Magica. This strange, cat-like creature can grant one wish in exchange for a magical contract. Girls who take this contract have to defeat witches, and it's not as fun a job as it sounds.
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PostsWhat makes Kyubey interesting is his moral ambiguity. Though he looks cute, he lacks sympathy and compassion to the point of being cruel. It can also be argued that he's tricking the girls, because no wish ever seems worth the price. However, Kyubey doesn't exhibit any emotion because he can't. As an incubator, his only role is to preserve the entropy of the universe. Right and wrong don't figure into his calculations.
5 Madoka Kaname
Wish: Changes Depending On The Timeline
Japanese Voice Actor
Aoi Yuuki
English Voice Actor
Christine Marie Cabanos
As the main character of the series, Madoka evokes a certain sympathy. Like us, she's drawn into the world of magical girls by her fascination with the concept. She imagines it to be fantastical and filled with adventure.
Early in her magical girl career, she's told the harsh truth that she'll hurt, she'll bleed, she'll cry, and no one will care. This fails to smarten her up, as she only internalizes the terrible truth when a fellow magical girl gets killed in front of her. Thereafter, Madoka relies on her kindness to set the world right and it's revealed that every incarnation of her formed a contract out of kindness, ranging from saving a cat to taking away her friends' grief.
4 Mami Tomoe
Wish: Unknown
Japanese Voice Actor
Kaori Mizuhashi
English Voice Actor
Carrie Keranen
Mami Tomoe was taken away from us too soon, but her sacrifice is one seared into the memory of many anime fans. Originally appearing as a happy-go-lucky mentor figure, Mami is actually rather inexperienced herself.
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Posts 3Believing herself to be invincible because of the power of friendship, Mami Tomoe throws caution to the wind and is killed by Charlotte. Her death serves as a wake-up call to the other magical girls. If they thought it would be all fun and games, they're in the wrong anime.
3 Sayaka Miki
Wish: Healing Her Friend
Japanese Voice Actor
Eri Kitamura
English Voice Actor
Sarah Williams
In a kinder, gentler anime, Sayaka Miki would be the heroine. She is sweet and caring, but it doesn't help her one bit. Her contract comes about when she wants to heal her childhood friend, whom she has a crush on.
After she finds out how harsh the life of a magical girl is, Sayaka withdraws into despair. Unable to talk to her crush anymore, she throws herself into her work as a witch hunter. By her own admission, her kindness will get her killed one day, and she knows no one will be any the wiser.
2 Kyoko Sakura
Wish: More Followers For Her Father
Japanese Voice Actor
Ai Nonaka
English Voice Actor
Lauren Landa
Kyoko Sakura is a preacher's daughter; her poorly worded wish that everyone would listen to her father causes him to go mad. Thereafter, Kyoko hides her anger towards the world by having a fiery temper.
A veteran magical girl, Kyoko mocks her juniors and focuses on the simple pleasures she has left, namely, arcade games. Although she initially sneers at Madoka's desire to be a magical girl, she eventually sacrifices herself to save the latter, showing she had a heart after all.
1 Homura Akemi
Wish: Protecting Others
Japanese Voice Actor
Chiwa Saitou
English Voice Actor
Cristina Vee
Homura's got a lock on what it means to be a magical girl. She's the first to clue Madoka in to the fact that their adventure won't be a happy one. She may not be as gentle a mentor as Mami is, but you can see for yourself which character survives longer.
This character ended up being the fan favourite for many: a mixture of stoicism and cynicism, borne of having suffered so much, Homura represents the message of Puella Magi Madoka Magica very well.
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