She aspires to become a magical girl after witnessing her senior Mami Tomoe fighting against surreal monsters known as witches in order to protect people.

She appears in most Puella Magi Madoka Magica related-media, including manga, novels and video games.

In developing the character, writer Gen Urobuchi imagined the series' protagonist as being a girl with a "cheerful and idealistic" personality, in contrast to his usual writing style.

[12] In addition, the animation production team also tried to avoid some exaggerated expressions, such as broken clothes, huge sweat beads or emoticons.

[19] Averse to fighting, she hopes that the magical girls will support each other, sometimes even putting her own life at risk to help them, and is distressed by the infighting they often engage in.

[23] In previous timelines, Madoka became a magical girl in a pink dress wielding a rose branch bow and arrow.

However, every time, she was either killed or transformed into a witch named Kriemhild Gretchen, the Witch of Salvation, one that became ever more powerful with each time reset, as Madoka's power also increased and if created would, by the end of that same week, consume all life on Earth in order to create a paradise where there is no free will or individuality to cause strife or conflict.

In the first timeline, she still possesses a high amount of power, being able to defeat Walpurgisnacht (ワルプルギスの夜, Warupurugisu no Yoru), though dying in the process.

The laws of the universe are rewritten such that at the moment that a soul gem becomes black with anguish, Madoka appears and purifies it before the magical girl passes on.

[25] At the end of Rebellion, Ultimate Madoka was usurped by Homura and had her human selves split, with her role as a martyr being forced onto the Incubators.

[27][28] A drama CD written by Gen Urobuchi that explores other aspects of Madoka's life was released along with the anime series' Blu-ray disc.

She is a supporting character in the manga spin-off Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Different Story, with her role being very much the same as that in the anime series.

Rachael Verret of The Mary Sue praised Madoka's character development for changing from a "naive, noncommittal little girl to someone who recognizes the necessity of relying and trusting in herself, turning into a fully actualized woman taking the power back in a hopeless situation," and referred to her transformation as a "pretty jaw-dropping scene".

[64] Theorin Martin from Anime News Network listed Madoka making her wish as "Scene of the Year" of 2012, complimenting how her wish "was the culmination of everything that she had learned over the course of the series and everything that she was as a character", calling it "masterstroke".

[66] Juliet Kahn of Looper liked how Madoka developed "from a naive young girl into a terrified pawn" and praised the character for realizing her power and for changing the world from despair to a better place, stating that "the momentum this creates is felt on the most visceral level, catapulting the viewer from horror into awe within one episode".

[69] Zac Bertschy from the same site felt that Madoka "does not have that much to do" in first few episodes, and believed that she had played a bigger role in the rest of the story.

[70] Furthermore, he praised her "intense" transformation and characterization for the last episodes, stating "it winds up justifying all the self-doubt the Madoka character goes through in the episodes leading up to this and feels like an even bigger take (and gentle commentary on) the entire idea of a “magical girl” and called her the "very concept of hope itself" that was "immensely emotionally satisfying" to watch.

Jacob Hope Chapman from Anime News Network noted how more powerful became Madoka and Homura's relationship which he also considered one of the film's greatest strengths.

West wrote; "Far more complicated than merely turning friends into enemies, Rebellion takes their relationship and stands it in front of a funhouse mirror.

"[75] Kory Cerjak from The Fandom Post praised the work of Christine Marie Cabanos, Madoka's voice actress, noting that while it felt like "an adult playing a junior high school student" in the series' beginning, by the movies, it had become more appealing and suitable.

[78] Additionally, critic Tetsuya Miyazaki believes that Puella Magi Madoka Magica refers to the causal view of Buddhism and adopts the world setting of "hope is born from despair".

Madoka also takes on a role as a savior and protector, similar to that taken in Faust by the Marian, divine principle of the Eternal feminine, with which Gretchen is associated".

[82] Noelle Ogawa of Crunchyroll called her a "somewhat unconventional main character", and that she "never becomes the superpowered hero that fights monsters and villains.