Puella Magi Madoka Magica has received widespread critical acclaim, with praise for its complex narrative, visuals, themes, and soundtrack as well as its unconventional approach to the magical girl subgenre.

[7] Kyubey reveals to Madoka that they are of an alien race that has been harvesting the emotions of magical girls for centuries to use as energy to counteract the spread of entropy, and thus stave off the heat death of the universe.

The paradoxical nature of her wish causes her to transcend into a psychopomp form, called the "Law of Cycles" which is a new rule of the universe where magical girls are purified and disappear into a higher plane instead of becoming witches.

[8] While collaborating on Hidamari Sketch and Bakemonogatari, Akiyuki Shinbo told Aniplex producer Atsuhiro Iwakami he wanted to create a new magical girl series, beginning the development of Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Because Puella Magi Madoka Magica is an original series rather than an adaptation of an existing work, his main goal was "coming up with a high-quality piece of entertainment".

He decided to mix the cute characters of Hidamari Sketch with the "disturbing" and "mysterious" atmosphere of Le Portrait de Petit Cossette together in writing the series.

[14] He also stated the plot development was heavily influenced by the character drawings by Aoki, and credited horror fiction author Stephen King and Shinbo's previous aforementioned projects.

[20] Urobuchi attributed his experience working on projects with screenwriters Ichiro Itano and Yōsuke Kuroda as a major influence in his writing for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and has referred to both of them as his mentors.

Urobuchi realized this progression could be very hard for viewers to accept and might hurt the overall series' success with some audiences; he said, "I always thought this is an age where entertainment basically is about soothing and healing, like adopting a style where unchanging day-to-day life is to continue forever".

[17] In an interview with Ultra Jump Egg, Urobuchi gave insight into his writing philosophy, stating that he believed the overarching plot of a story was more important than its characters.

[18] He compared the character to monsters in the works of horror fiction author H. P. Lovecraft, commenting of Kyubey: "he (sic) isn't evil, it is his lack of feelings that make him scary".

[23] Urobuchi also remarked upon the moral ambiguity the series displays in an interview with Asahi Shimbun, stating "Al-Qaeda brought down the Twin Towers due to their self-righteousness.

Shinbo had previously worked with Kajiura on Le Portrait de Petit Cossette; Urobuchi told of the inspirational effect the music from that series had on him while writing parts of the script.

[27] Action director Tomohiro Kamitani noted difficulty in understanding Shaft's general style, as well as the "strange" structure that the anime's production had due to the involvement of Gekidan Inu Curry's material.

[30][31] Urobuchi apologized to viewers for the delays; he also said the postponements could be viewed in a positive light because they alleviated some production pressures on animation studio Shaft because of the tight broadcast schedule.

[65] Shaft representative director and president Mitsutoshi Kubota later confirmed in an interview in Newtype that the concept film will launch a new Puella Magi Madoka Magica project.

[80] Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Different Story, another manga by Hanokage, was published in three tankōbon volumes between October 12 and November 12, 2012,[81][82][83] and was licensed by Yen Press in 2014.

[85] Puella Magi Homura Tamura (魔法少女ほむら☆たむら), which was written and illustrated by Afro, is serialized in Manga Time Kirara Magica; its first volume was released in October 2013 and was licensed by Yen Press.

[88] A book titled Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Beginning Story, which is based on Gen Urobuchi's original draft treatment for the anime, was released in November 2011.

[93][94] The game features an original story that was created with guidance from Urobuchi in which all five magical girls team up to defeat a powerful witch called Walpurgis Night.

[95] Upon release, a limited edition version that included codes for additional in-game costumes and merchandise such as a CD copy of the game's soundtrack and an art book, was also on sale.

He further praised the series for offering "unique, grim twist that not only seeps the show in despair, but subverts the subgenre", concluding that Madoka Magica "stands as one of the best works of anime horror, presenting characters that must strive to find hope through profound darkness.

[116][117][118] Awarding the series five stars out of five, Common Sense Media wrote that the "animation style is full of fluid motion and attention to detail that makes it a uniquely pleasurable experience to watch" and "the main characters [are] well developed and its hard not to get attached to them as the story progresses".

[120] Liz Ohanesian of LA Weekly attributed the series' popularity with older, male audiences—an otherwise unusual demographic to the genre—to the genre deconstruction of Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

[122] According to Sara Cleto and Erin Bah, the subversion of the magical girl genre "draw[s] attention to the question of narrative power"—particularly in the use of alternative timelines—as the characters fight for their survival.

[124] In issue 103 of Neo, journalist Matt Kamen wrote, "With its daring approach to a dated genre, Puella Magi Madoka Magica essentially does for magical girls what Neon Genesis Evangelion did for giant robots".

[125] Writing for Kotaku, critic Richard Eisenbeis hailed the series as "one of the best anime" and wrote, "It deconstructs the magical girl genre and builds an emotional narrative filled with memorable characters".

[120] Bertschy concurred, writing that the "limited episode count and high price of entry make the show inaccessible to an audience unwilling to shell out".

[134] Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Puella Magi Madoka Magica had grossed over ¥40 billion ($400 million) from the sales of related goods within two years of its release.

[160] Toussaint Egan of Paste magazine stated that the series was "widely celebrated by fans and critics alike" upon its release and that the show is "a postmodern reconfiguration of genre tropes rife with plot twists and existential malaise on a cosmic horror level".