Madoka Magica Episode 1: I First Met Her in a Dream… or Something.

"Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki, may I ask for a request from you?"
"I want you to make a contract with me and become magical girls." ~ Kyubey

As If We Met in a Dream… 夢の中で逢った、ような…
First airing	6 January 2011
Script	Gen Urobuchi
Storyboard	Yoshiharu Ashino
Episode director	Yukihiro Miyamoto
Animation Director	Ryouma Ebata

Summary

14 year-old Madoka Kaname has a dream in which a dark haired girl is struggling against an evil force.

As Madoka wakes up and goes to school that morning, the very same girl, Homura Akemi, enrolls in her class. Even stranger, Homura seems to know Madoka and later confronts her in the hallway about whether she cares for her friends or not, saying she should not try to change her life, lest she risk losing everything.

After school, whilst visiting a record store with her friend, Sayaka Miki, Madoka hears a voice calling for help. Following it to a floor under maintenance, she finds a small creature named Kyubey being attacked by Homura. As Homura insists that she hand Kyubey over, Sayaka helps Madoka and Kyubey escape by discharging a fire extinguisher on Homura.

While fleeing, they are caught in a strange illusion and approached by strange creatures. However, they are rescued at the last second by another girl named Mami Tomoe, who transforms into a magical girl and defeats the creatures, dispelling the illusion. After allowing Homura to escape, Mami heals Kyubey, who tells Madoka and Sayaka he intents to form a contract with them to make them magical girls.

Runes

See the Runes of episode 1 page for decryption of the messages the witch and her familiars wrote in runes.

Observations

These runes are an excerpt from "The Hexeneinmaleins" in Goethe's Faust.

References to Faust

The very first shot of the series after the curtains rise is a title card that reads (in runes) "Prolog im Himmel". This is the title of the Prologue of Goethe's Faust, in which Mephistopheles and God make a wager over the soul of Faust. The runes underneath the title read "2011".

After Madoka and Sayaka run away from Homura, four Anthonies are seen "speaking" or singing moving streams of runes which form a quote from "The Hexeneinmaleins" in Goethe's Faust. This quote is a basic magic spell demonstrated to Faust on his first visit to a witch. It describes a 3x3 numerical grid where each row and column adds up to 15. Here is a translation of the passage.

Original text	Translation
Die Hexe Du mußt verstehn! Aus Eins mach' Zehn, Und Zwey laß gehn, Und Drey mach' gleich, So bist du reich. Verlier' die Vier! Aus Fünf und Sechs, So sagt die Hex', Mach' Sieben und Acht, So ist's vollbracht: Und Neun ist Eins, Und Zehn ist keins. Das ist das Hexen-Einmal-Eins!	The Witch This you must ken (understand) From one make ten, And two let be, make even three, Then rich you'll be. Skip o'er the four! From five and six, The Witch's tricks, Make seven and eight, 'Tis finished straight; And nine is one, And ten is none, That is the witch's one-time-one!

Inside the witch's barrier, cut-out rings containing German text appear which can be assumed to be quotes from Faust like a similar ring in episode two.

Please also refer to the Madoka Magica and Faust page for in-depth analysis and speculation on references to Faust found throughout the series.

Math

During class, Homura is presented with advanced algebra problems and solves them in a seemingly effortless, well-practiced fashion. Mitakihara Middle School's coursework is well above the normal middle school level, and some even appeared on the prestigious Tokyo University's entrance exam. See the Mathematics of Madoka Magica page for details and solutions.

Madoka's House

Madoka lives in a futuristic house that features cutting edge architecture, a colossally spacious bathroom with digital screens that display currency exchange rates, and other high-tech amenities. See the Madoka's House page for details.

Revisions

Numerous changes were made between the TV and BD versions of the episode, as is common in SHAFT anime. See revisions for this episode for details.

Ending

In the original TV version, neither this, episode 2 or episode 11 have any ending. The BD version added the character song See You Tomorrow to fill this place.

Trivia

Episode 1 first aired on Thursday, January 6 2011 at 25:30 JST (Friday at 1:30AM JST) on MBS.

Slowed-down BGM

Many fans have noticed that in the original broadcast, all the background music (most notably, Magia played during the prologue scene) is played slower and at a lower pitch. In the AT-X version (and reportedly the webcast version, too), this was corrected, causing the need for the tunes to be edited differently to fit the video. Some fans prefer "Magia (slow version)" and have uploaded it to YouTube.

Checkerboards and Chains

Although it may be coincidental, "dark scenes" within Episode 1 include many chains and checkerboard patterns, symbols usually associated with Black★Rock Shooter.

Images

Official art

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  This official 4-koma by Ume Aoki comes with the Puella Magi Madoka Magica Vol 1 Blu-Ray. However, their faces are not wide enough…

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  Episode 1 end card, by Hanokage

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  The BD ending's artwork

Screenshots and crossovers

• Mariaholicalive ep4.jpg

  Madoka Magica parody in Maria Holic Alive episode 4

• Madoka sketdance parody.jpg

  Madoka Magica parody in Sket Dance.

Fanart

This section contains fanart images

Everything in the following fan gallery is created, or the comments accompanying them are created, for entertainment value and should not be confused with actual canon events of the Puella Magi franchise.

• Madoka Nanoha befriending.jpg

  The White Devil herself welcomes Madoka to the Mahou Shoujo genre.

• Madoka learning how to befriend.png

  Madoka learning from the master.

• Colonel aki - homurachan.jpg

  Say my name!

Analyses

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  Comparison between the dream and the fight scene

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  Sayaka may be the witch in the first dream.

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  Comparison between images in Alice Through the Looking Glass and the prologue of episode 1

See also

• Live watching threads featuring reactions to the episode as it aired: [1] and [2]
• More information about the link between Madoka Magica and Faust
• The math problems (with solutions) Homura solves in the episode.
• Translations of the witch runes appearing in this episode.
• Revisions made in the BD version of this episode.
• The ending sequence added in the BD with the song See You Tomorrow.
• The features of the house Madoka lives in.
• The anime's opening, Connect.

External links

• Madoka Magica Episode 1: I First Met Her in a Dream… or Something. summary at official website (Japanese)

Episodes
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-	Madoka Magica Episode 1: I First Met Her in a Dream… or Something. As If We Met in a Dream…	Episode 2 That Sounds Wonderful