Sayaka Miki

This section may contain major spoilers for the anime!

Please refrain from reading if you haven't watched Episode 9 yet.

"Mami-san, my wish came true."
"There's no way I would regret this."
"I'm the happiest I could possibly be right now!" - Sayaka Miki, Episode 5.

Sayaka Miki
Japanese Name	美樹 さやか (Miki Sayaka)
Voiced by	Japanese: Eri Kitamura English: Sarah Williams Italian: Gea Riva
Age	13-14 (estimated)
Weapon	Cutlass

Official Info

"I, Puella Magi Sayaka Miki, will protect the people of Mitakihara Town, until the very end!" - Sayaka Miki, Episode 5.

• Madoka’s classmate and good friend. Energetic and lively, which is perhaps why her sword is the only melee weapon among the four.
• Ms. Aoki’s Design Check!: Her personality is so boyish that I had to be careful not to make her look too boyish too. So I gave her hair a diagonal line in back, to straddle the line between short and medium length.
• Magical girl outfit: Sayaka’s outfit is the closest to combat gear. Since her sword is a melee weapon, I paid attention to that while designing her clothes. (Aoki)
  • Her outfit features diagonal-cut skirt and shoulderless top for ease of movement. Add a cape, and she’s a picturesque swordswoman.
• Sayaka has powerful regenerative abilities, she can heal herself much faster than any other magical girls.
• Sayaka becomes a magical girl in Episode 4; Episode 5 details her debut as a magical girl, including the scene where she makes the contract with Kyubey.
• Sayaka turns into a witch named Oktavia von Seckendorff in Episode 8. While she has brought hope to others, the balance between hope and despair is then mitigated by an equal amount of despair appearing in Sayaka's soul. This despair eventually overcomes Sayaka, shatters her Soul Gem, and turns it into a Grief Seed.
• Her witch form was killed by Kyoko in Episode 9; Madoka and Kyoko attempted to bring Sayaka back to her normal form, but according to Kyubey that was impossible.
• Sayaka remains dead in the new timeline created by Madoka in the final episode, though Madoka grants her final wish to hear Kyousuke play violin. From Mami and Kyoko's perspective, it appears as though she sacrificed herself to destroy a Demon.
• Madoka and Sayaka are childhood friends, the NitroPlus novel goes into detail regarding their encounter and their friendship.

Trivia

"I have made up my mind to become a type of Puella Magi different than you all. I have decided that I won't associate myself with those who use and abandon others. I don't need to be rewarded for my work. I'll never use magic for my own benefit."
"I will die when I lose by witches. That's well, I'm not needed any more if I'm unable to defeat witches." - Sayaka Miki, Episode 8.

• The first character in her last name (美) means "beauty". The last character (樹) means "tree". Her name could also be written (幹) "tree trunk" or (神酒) "sake offered to the gods."
• Her last name can also be used as a first name.
• Her first name is written in hiragana, which has no special meaning. The word sayaka (さやか【明か／清か】, usually written in hiragana) can mean "clear", "fresh", or "bright" in Japanese.
• The official Chinese translation uses (沙耶香) as the kanji for her name. The characters also have no particular meaning (沙 "sand" 耶 "question mark" 香 "fragrant") and are used mainly for their phonetic value in Japanese to represent the word sayaka as a name. No official kanji of her name exists in the original Japanese version.
• She describes herself as having been born "petit bourgeois," which is French for "petty bourgeois." This would mean that her family is at least from the middle class, but is by no means from the upper class (despite the fact that, if Japan has even less living space in the future than it does now, her family's apartment is far larger than a normal middle-class family could afford).
• Although her character design depicts her with a two-edged sword she is seen using a katana with a saber-like guard in the anime. The manga uses the sword from her original design.
• According to recent interview, "Sayaka had her personality based on a 'Gen Urobuchi character'"
  • In episode 5, Madoka said she always act before thinking twice, and is easy to conflict with others. But on the other side, she is kind, courageous and willing to work hard for others. Homura commented her good side is fatal for a magical girl. Her kindness makes her ignorant, her courage makes her careless, and she'll get no return on her hard work for others.
• When Sayaka transformed in the train in Episode 8, the fate of the two hosts was open to interpretation in the original scenario by Gen Urobuchi. While Shinbo has recently confirmed that Sayaka did not kill the two men in the anime, they were in fact killed in the manga version.
  • The train conversation scene between the two hosts is actually based on a real event that Gen Urobuchi witnessed.
• Shinbo stated in an interview that he liked Sayaka and asked Gen Urobuchi if something could be done to get her back to life but Urobuchi said that was impossible.
  • It is unknown if Gen Urobuchi had a twisted smile while he answered to Shinbo.
• Sayaka's sword has a scabbard but was never used in the anime.
• Sayaka's hairpin disappears when she transforms into puella magi form.
  • According to Official Guidebook, both Shinbo and Aoki think it would be better to attach something instead. Aoki has tried adding another hairband with something in star or ball shape, but that would make her look like playing in a serious fight so she gave up such idea. Urobuchi said a cloak is flashy enough, however.
• Eri Kitamura (Sayaka) likes the company of other seiyuu, besides Ai Nonaka (Kyoko).
• According with Gen Urobuchi, even if Sayaka won over Kyousuke, she would never be happy with him.
  • This doesnt seem to bother the yurifan crowd.

Speculations and Observations

"Wishing for someone else's happiness means someone has to be cursed to suffer as much. That's what it means to be a Puella Magi." - Sayaka Miki, Episode 8.

• Many fans believed Sayaka is the witch in Madoka's dream at the beginning of Episode 1. However, this has been disproved by Sayaka's witch form hinted in Episode 8 and shown in full in Episode 9, which is entirely different in appearance from the witch Madoka saw.
• While using her magic, circles of notes are sometimes seen around or near her. This is believed to be related to her wish to heal Kamijou.
  • Due to the nature of her wish, Sayaka has self-healing abilities and great endurance. In battle, she can combine this self-healing special ability with magical techniques that detach her senses and block all forms of pain, becoming a nearly unstoppable berserker.
• School uniform: Her figure is flat and plain, but her chest is bigger than Madoka’s. Her hairbow is a stitched design. Below, she wears simple navy-blue high socks.
• Sayaka seems to have had an extremely black-and-white and idealistic vision of love, which seems to have contributed to her breakdown. She made a contract to heal the arm of the boy she has a crush on (Kamijou), but after learning the truth about the Magical Girl contract, she felt that she couldn't approach him, and this wasn't helped by Kamijou's obliviousness to her feelings and Hitomi's more assertive behavior that ended up with Hitomi becoming Kamijou's girlfriend, unaware of Sayaka's problem. This threw her in a self-destructive spiral, in which she refused help from others (especially Kyoko, Homura and Madoka), seeking to either die or kill to dull the pain.
• Sayaka is the only Puella Magi in the series to wear a cloak.
  • The cloak or cape could be symbolic to emphasize her ideal role as a knight of justice or a hero to the defenseless; a desire to become a role model just like Mami.
• The cutlass is a well-known nautical weapon for sailors and pirates, probably an attempt to connect Sayaka to the element of water.
  • Water is usually considered to be an element of healing and purification in religion and mythology. Major faiths incorporate ritual washing.
• The "C" Motif could relate to the link between her and music. In Medieval music, the Gregorian Chant system uses a C-like figure to denote a "Do" in a staff.
• It seem Sayaka does not always contract with Kyubey in all timelines. What happened to her if she does not contract is unknown. But once she get contracted, her fate is always becoming a witch.
• The grief seed, which Madoka used for purifying Homura's Soul Gem in Episode 10's Timeline 3, may be Sayaka herself (likely to be transformed from Sayaka's Soul Gem). This is because the 5 lines being seen on grief seed look like the musical Staff.
• The Blu-Ray version of Sayaka's transformation is accompanied with a display of musical scores and circles of notes.
  • It is suspected that the notes are from Tekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska's A Maiden's Prayer (乙女の祈り)
    • The irony wont be missed with those familiar with Kyoko's prayer in Episode 9.
    • The lyrics of the song could be interpreted as Sayaka's prayer for a miracle to heal Kyousuke's hand and the foreshadowing of her tragic ending with her wish.
• Sayaka calls other main characters their first names only, except Homura and Mami.
  • The way she calls Homura varies in every timeline. This reflects how she sees Homura.
  • In the novel, it is written that Sayaka is easy to get familiar with her classmates and talk to them.
• The Drama CD "Sunny Day Life" gives the impression that Sayaka is not a bright student.
  • It gets worse, even if Madoka's test scores are low, they are higher than Sayaka's.
    • We usually see Sayaka sleeping in class. No wonder she gets low scores.

Sayaka's Farewell

"It's fine. I just wanted to hear him perform one more time. I wanted many people to hear his violin. Just remembering that feeling is enough for me. I don't have any regrets left."
"But I am a bit upset about how things turned out. I can't help the way things went with Hitomi-chan. She's way too good for Kyosuke, but I am sure she'll make him happy, won't she?" Sayaka's last conversation with Madoka, Episode 12.

• Sayaka still dies in the new world, but this time she passes without regrets from her choice.
• Even though Sayaka is the only supporting character of the series to remain dead in the new world created by Madoka (due to using all her magic), the fact that Sayaka and Madoka were able to meet up one last time to watch Kamijou's violin playing, along with the nature of Madoka's wish, has resulted in many fans suggesting that Sayaka's soul, although erased from the world, now resides in the same plane of existence that Madoka inhabits, where she will watch over all the other Puella Magi along with Madoka.
  • Of course, this could be because Madoka personally visited every Magical Girl in all of time before they turned into Witches and instead let them merely die, before she was erased from reality as a regular girl.. She could easily have taken Sayaka to see Kamijou perform Ave Maria during this brief meeting. She did become a goddess, after all.
  • According with Mami and her understanding of "The Law of Wheels", as a result of a Puella Magi having sought a wish brings despair into the world, her spirit disappears before that happens.
  • It is suggested that Madoka's presence is there to help Sayaka to move on, to help her ease her ending so she would have no regrets.
    • Madoka informs Sayaka that she could have changed Sayaka's fate but in doing so she would have interfered with Kyosuke's fate as well and he wouldnt be able to play the violin. So Madoka decided to respect Sayaka's choice and tearfully Sayaka is fine with it.
• In the new timeline created by Madoka, she is not only allowed to listen to Kyousuke's performance, but she is also given the choice to become a knight of justice to the very end, erasing her fate of becoming a witch, an enemy of her beliefs in her mind.
  • It appears that Sayaka also remembers who Madoka is in the new timeline created by the latter. This is due to Sayaka's choice of words when conversing with Madoka in episode 12; while watching Kamijou play the violin in a private session, Sayaka confesses to Madoka that she has caused her best friend a lot of trouble. This suggests that Sayaka is aware, or at least has some understanding of the emotional hurt she had inflicted on Madoka (and possibly her other friends) in the previous timelines because of her stubbornness to hold true to her own ideals, which led to her Witch transformation.
    • In that scene, Madoka says, "No, I have to apologize, too. To save you I had to erase it all. And this future will disappear, too." This suggests that the scene happens before the universe resets. The Miki Sayaka of the new world may not remember Madoka.
      • It's all metaphysics, who is to say at this point.

Sayaka in Oriko Magica

"Madoka, what are you going to do after you get there? [...] I don't know why Homura is fighting against those things. But there is no way you can help, Madoka. You'll just slow down Homura. That's why...I'll go help her!"

"We're friends, right? We can't abandon her." - Sayaka Miki, Puella Magi Oriko Magica, Chapter 7.

• Sayaka is mentioned in Chapter 3. She does not appear until chapter 4, however. Sayaka is also protected by Homura so that she never gets contracted there.
• Unlike the other timelines, she considers Homura as a friend, as she declared in chapter 7.
• She helped Hitomi to escape from familiars' attacks from chapter 5-7, when Mitakihara Junior High is covered with a witch's barrier. Madoka reunites with them, and together, they go to help Homura. Madoka is killed by Oriko, and Sayaka and Hitomi are seen mourning her just before Homura resets the timeline.

Sayaka in Kazumi Magica

Sayaka's and Oktavia's silhouettes appeared once during Umika's explanation about Witches, as she says that witches are the end state of magical girls.

Sayaka in Sunny Day Life

• The "Sunny Day Life" Drama CD depicts Sayaka checking Hitomi's panties with dubious interest. Making her look like some sort of pervert.
  • Even Madoka knows this is wrong.

Sayaka in the PSP Game

• There is a Sayaka route in the game, which is different from the anime. The scenario is supervised by Gen Urobuchi who wrote the script for the anime series. But there are multiple different 'if' developments. There is a different 'Sayaka route', in which it is possible to prevent Sayaka from becoming a witch. She may fight with other magical girls and enjoy a bitter-sweet event with Kyousuke.
  • But it is also possible to become more cruel than in the anime, depending on the player's choice.
  • It seems that Kyoko's existence is an important factor to prevent Sayaka from becoming a witch.

Magazine Articles & Interviews

• Eri Kitamura Data file
• Eri Kitamura February 2011 Radio Interview
• July's NewType article.

Gallery

Official art

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  Original character design by Ume Aoki

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  Sayaka as a child

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  sketches

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  Sayaka's cutlass

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  Ume 4-koma Megami Magazine

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  Ume Aoki's 4koma from the Madoka BD 2 fanbook

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  Ume Aoki's 4koma from the Madoka BD 4 fanbook

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  Ume Aoki doujin "RKGKMDK" from COMIC1☆5, under Apricot+ alias

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  Ume shipping Kyoko and Sayaka in her doujin

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  Fan translation of Kyoko x Sayaka page 1

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  Fan translation of Kyoko x Sayaka page 2

• 15.jpg

  Sayaka seems smitten

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  B.L.T. 2011-06

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  from the Blu-Ray Volume 3 Booklet.

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  Sayaka as she appears in Oriko Magica.

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  Early production sketch of Sayaka.

• Nitroblog sayaka kyoko comiket.jpg

  art from Nitroplus blog

Screenshots

Sayaka as a regular girl

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  Protecting Madoka in episode one.

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  the moment Sayaka swung the bat it turned into a spiked bat.

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  Sayaka is not the tallest of the three. Picture shows that.

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  Sayaka & friends.

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  Madoka Sayaka Hitomi playing

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  Sayaka having lunch with friends.

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  Sayaka "put out" Homura by using fire extinguisher.

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  Sayaka laughing.

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  Sayaka pointing madoka face

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  Sayaka crying.

• Sayaka feels happy.gif

  Sayaka feels happy.

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  Sayaka sleeping during lesson.

Sayaka as a Puella Magi

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  Sayaka becomes Puella Magi

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  Sayaka screenshot on BD_DVD.

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  The music circles that appear when Sayaka heals herself.

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  Embarassed Sayaka

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  Sayaka's transformation sequence

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  Change in transformation scene on BD/DVD

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  screenshot

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  Sayaka fighting with Kyoko

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  Sayaka fighting with Kyoko

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  Sayaka knocked out by Homura

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  Sayaka and Kyoko

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  Sayaka get mad

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  Sayaka in despair

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  Sayaka's ring

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  A view of her soul gem

Sayaka as a witch

• Sayaka transformation witch.gif

  Sayaka's transformation sequence ... In a way

• Sayaka grief seed.gif
• Sayaka witch.PNG

  Sayaka's witch form - front view

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  Sayaka's witch form - side view

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 sayaka children happy.jpg

  Madoka and Sayaka are childhood friends.

• Madoka sayaka children protective.jpg

  Sayaka, acting as Madoka's protector.

• Little Sayaka.gif

  Fan made young Sayaka gif.

• WitchSayaka1.jpg

  Fan redrawing of Sayaka in witch form.

• WitchSayaka2.jpg

  Annotated fan redrawing of Sayaka in witch form.

• Fan artwork oktavia.jpg

  A fan's illustration of Oktavia

• Fanart sayaka magica.jpg
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  Fan coloring of Ume's work

• Fan creation Sayaka Soul Gem Jewelry.jpg

  Fan jewelry cretion of Sayaka's Soul Gem with a musical note.

• Sayaka alt hairstyle glasses.jpg
• Fanwork sayaka @nisiedas.jpg

  Nishida

• Hanaharu kyouko sayaka.jpg

  Artist: Hanaharu Naruko

• Sayaka oktavia sword blood.jpg
• Puella magi sayaka magica.jpg

  Sayaka is the real heroine of the show!

• Older sayaka oktavia.jpg

  Oktavia the hawt mermaid witch.

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  The TRUE Dark Knight.

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  Movie voice guy: In a world where... Puella Magi are now free. In a world where... Witches are now gone. There are still sins to be undone. As one redeemed by Madoka, Sayaka could have spend all eternity blissfully in Mahou Shoujo Valhalla. But instead she chose to atone for her sins. In order to become one of MadoKami's angels she will have to face her enemy within... without the Goddess' help

• Sayaka fan rpg.gif
• Sayaka pixel mugen.gif
• Kyosaya I am such a fool comic.jpg
• Sayaka growing up fanart.jpg

  Growing up, sucks.

• Sayaka soul gem grief seed tranf pic.jpg
• Miki Sayaka Crossing the Alps fanart.png
• Badass sayaka swords rift fanart.jpg
• We are such fools.jpg

  An artistic dramatization of Sayaka's school life.

• Sayaka bat animated fan creation.gif

Miscellaneous

• Sayaka-symbol.png

  Her gem has a c-shaped(?) motif.

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  Sayaka's transformation into a witch.

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  Screenshots off which the redrawings are based on.

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  The grief seed, which Madoka used for purifying Homura's Soul Gem in Episode 10's Timeline 3, may be Sayaka herself(transformed from Sayaka's Soul Gem). It is because the 5 lines being seen on grief seed look like the musical Staff.

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  Sayaka turns into a witch in manga. (Turned 90 degrees)

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  According to the Puella Magi Production Note, Sayaka's sword is similar to Kyoko's spear in which the blade can break in linked pieces. It could be use to wrap an enemy with it.

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  According to the Guidebook, Sayaka's sword may be used as a dynamite projector. This looks more like the way in Kamen Rider than in Mahou Shoujo.

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  Sayaka's room from production notes.

External links

• Sayaka Miki at Pixiv image repository (Japanese)
• Sayaka Miki at Danbooru image repository (NSFW)