Madoka Magica Trivia
This page is about facts and various trivia spotted through the episodes.
General
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
"Puella Magi" is not Latin for "Magical Girl". This actually translates to "Girl of the wiseman".
The intended latin, considering the translation of "Mahou Shoujo" in japanese, is likely "Puella Magica."
Family Name
All Magical Girls have personal-name-sounding family names, although this is not particularly uncommon in anime.
Witch's Labyrinth
The labyrinths consist both of elements from their locations in reality and of allusions to the witches that create them. Deeper within the labyrinth, more references to the witch will be seen and fewer elements from reality show up. For example, in episode one, the labyrinth is set in a floor waiting for refurbishing, and it was fulfilled with 'under construction' signs and barriers of a construction site. In episode two, the labyrinth is set in an abandoned concrete building, thus the rooms in the labyrinth are made of solid concrete, making its appearance differ from episode one even though the owner is the same. As the protagonists approach the the final room, elements of a rose garden start to dominate the construction elements. In episode three, the labyrinth is set in a hospital, therefore surgery signs, needles, gallipots and wards are presented first, but deeper in, those are replaced by various kinds of desserts. The barrier can also be influenced by the strong emotions of the people within them, as seen in Episode three when Mami and Madoka make their promise.
Death of Cyrus Hamlin
The editor of the Norton Critical edition of Goethe's Faust, Cyrus Hamlin, passed away on January 19, 2011, the day before the third episode of Puella Magi Madoka Magica aired. While entirely a coincidence, it is nevertheless a mildly eerie coincidence.
- "I do not expect to attempt yet another revision of my notes to 'Faust' -- for that, alas!, life is too short, as both Wagner and Mephistopheles knew -- but I hope on the basis of what is now nearly four decades of work on Goethe's drama to continue indefinitely my exploration into the riches of this unique and inexhaustible masterpiece of our culture." - Cyrus Hamlin, January 2000
If only he could have watched Shaft's exploration.
Soul Gem and Grief Seed
The pin on top of both soul gem and grief seed is also the emblem of the holder, although Witches have a second symbol used for their witch's kiss and barrier. The seed Gertrud holds has a butterfly emblem, which is shown on her minions and her face when she attempted to attack Mami.
Gertrud's Grief Seed
Gertrud's face.
Charlotte's seed has a emblem containing concentric circles with ribbons, representing a strawberry. This is also shown on her minions and the other doll sitting at her table which is stomped on by Homura and may have been Charlotte's true body.
Charlotte's Grief Seed
Note the similarity of the pin and the doll sitting on the left.
The soul gem Mami holds has a flower like design, which is the same as her hair accessory and transformation effects, as well as the gem's shape when she is transformed.
Mami's Soul Gem
Note the design of the hair accessory.
While the emblems on the grief seeds are the actual "faces" of the witches, the ones on soul gem could resemble accessories such as swirls and capes. Also note that the soul gem can abbreviated as SG, while Grief Seed is GS.
Architecture
See Architecture in the Anime versus Real-Life Architecture.