anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
series ''
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
, also known simply as ''Madoka Magica'', is a Japanese anime television series created by Magica Quartet, and animated by Shaft. The story follows a group of middle school girls, led by protagonist Madoka Kaname, who make supernat ...
''. Mami is a veteran
magical girl
is a Genre#Subgenre, subgenre of primarily Japanese fantasy media (including anime, manga, light novels, and live-action media) centered on young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into wh ...
and a third-year student at Mitakihara middle school. She acts as a mentor to
Madoka Kaname
is the title character of the 2011 Japanese anime television series ''Puella Magi Madoka Magica''. Madoka is a kind and gentle girl who initially lives a normal and happy life, but is then faced with the decision of becoming a magical girl. Sh ...
and
Sayaka Miki
is a fictional character from the 2011 anime series ''Puella Magi Madoka Magica''. A girl with a strong sense of justice and a classical music fan, Sayaka is the childhood and best friend of one of the series' protagonists, Madoka Kaname. She h ...
should they choose to become magical girls by making contract with
Kyubey
is the main antagonist of the 2011 anime series ''Puella Magi Madoka Magica'' and its 2013 sequel '' The Rebellion Story''. They are a "messenger of magic" that can grant any wish to a certain girl, on the condition that she become a magical g ...
. Mami plays a pivotal role in the first arc of ''
Magia Record
was a Japanese role-playing video game developed by f4samurai for Android and iOS, which was released by Aniplex in Japan on August 22, 2017. A North American version was available from June 2019 to October 2020. The game is a spin-off o ...
'', appearing as one of the primary
antagonist
An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Ume Aoki, Mami's color motif was initially red per
Gen Urobuchi
is a Japanese novelist, visual novel writer and anime screenwriter. He is known for being the co-creator of the highly acclaimed and commercially successful anime series '' Puella Magi Madoka Magica'', which earned him the Tokyo Anime Award for ...
's suggestion, but Aoki changed it to yellow; red was used instead for Kyoko Sakura. The color of her soul gem is orange, and when transforming into her magical girl outfit, her hair ornament is attached to the right side of her head.
Appearances
In ''Madoka Magica''
An experienced magical girl, Mami rescues
Madoka Kaname
is the title character of the 2011 Japanese anime television series ''Puella Magi Madoka Magica''. Madoka is a kind and gentle girl who initially lives a normal and happy life, but is then faced with the decision of becoming a magical girl. Sh ...
and
Sayaka Miki
is a fictional character from the 2011 anime series ''Puella Magi Madoka Magica''. A girl with a strong sense of justice and a classical music fan, Sayaka is the childhood and best friend of one of the series' protagonists, Madoka Kaname. She h ...
from a witch's barrier and decides to act as a mentor to them should they choose to become magical girls. She lives alone in an apartment after the death of her parents in a car accident, during which she was only able to survive by contracting with
Kyubey
is the main antagonist of the 2011 anime series ''Puella Magi Madoka Magica'' and its 2013 sequel '' The Rebellion Story''. They are a "messenger of magic" that can grant any wish to a certain girl, on the condition that she become a magical g ...
to save her own life.
Mami fights with the belief that she would protect others from the threat of witches and their familiars, and her appearance had a great influence on Madoka and Sayaka. However, although she appears as a reliable senior in front of them, beneath this facade is someone who deeply suffers from loneliness. Mami laments to Madoka that her job as a magical girl has left her lonely. Hearing this, Madoka confesses to Mami that she wants to become a magical girl like her and fight alongside her, making Mami feel joy and happiness. Mami then shows off by fighting the doll-like witch Charlotte only for the witch to suddenly transform into a huge caterpillar-like creature that kills Mami right before Madoka’s eyes.
As the series progress, it is revealed by Kyubey that Mami never learned the truth about witches and magical girls; as witches are the final forms of magical girls. Having been ignorant of the magical girls' purpose and the witches' true nature, Mami learned the truth in one of the previous timelines in Homura’s timeloops. Acting calmly and calculative upon learning this revelation, seeing it as the only way to prevent more witches from appearing, Mami murdered Kyoko and attempted to kill Homura before being killed by Madoka. Mami is later revived in the new timeline by Ultimate Madoka along with Kyoko as they support Homura.
'' Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion'' shows that Mami has the potential to become one of the most powerful magical girls if in peak form when she isn’t held back by her crippling loneliness (as a result of her becoming close friends with Charlotte’s original form Nagisa in the guise of Bebe). After Homura rewrites reality, Mami is seen saving Nagisa from falling packages of cheese, implying the two remain friends.
Other appearances
Mami has appeared in several manga related to ''Madoka Magica''. She is the main protagonist alongside Kyoko Sakura in the '' Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Different Story'' manga, which reveals that Mami had previously been Kyoko's partner but was left alone after they fought over their ideals. She also appears in the '' Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Wraith Arc'' manga, set between the ''Eternal'' and ''Rebellion'' films, where she fights the wraiths with Kyoko and Homura. In '' Puella Magi Oriko Magica'', Mami investigates the magical girl killings then she encounters a girl named Kirika Kure, who is revealed to be killing magical girls as per Oriko's requests. The two engage in a battle. She also appears in a novel adaptation of the original series written by Hajime Ninomae, illustrated by Yūpon and published by
Nitroplus
Nitroplus Co., Ltd., currently styled as NITRO PLUS, formerly stylized as nitro+, and formerly known as "OKStyle", is a Japanese visual novel video game developer that has developed a number of visual novels, including eroge. They have also coll ...
. She also appears in manga adaptation of the anime series, written and illustrated by Honakogae, and published by
Houbunsha
is a Japanese publishing company founded on July 10, 1950. It is based in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo.
History of Houbunsha
In 1946, the founder, Yoshichika Koso, proclaimed the vision of establishing Shobunkan to provide entertainment through publishi ...
.
Mami is a
playable character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
in every ''Madoka Magica'' video game, including ''Puella Magi Madoka Magica Portable'' (the 2012
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...
action game
An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, rhythm games and ...
developed by
Namco Bandai Games
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher, and the video game branch of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. Founded in 2006 as it is the successor to Namco's home and arcade video game ...
) and the 2013
PlayStation Vita
The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...
game ''Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Battle Pentagram''. Mami also appears in many ''Madoka Magica''
pachinko
is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Gambling in Japan, Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of l ...
games, including ''Slot Puella Magi Madoka Magica'' (2013), ''Slot Puella Magi Madoka Magica 2'' (2016), ''CR Pachinko Puella Magi Madoka Magica'' (2017), ''SLOT Puella Magi Madoka Magica A'' (2017), and ''Slot Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion'' (2019). She has also appeared in several
crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Music
Albums
* ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue
* ''Crossover'', an album by ...
games, such as ''Kaden Shoujo'', ''
Chain Chronicle
is a tower defense role-playing game developed and published by Sega for iOS, Android, and PlayStation Vita. It was released in Japan on July 26, 2013, for iOS, August 1, 2013, for Android and on July 16, 2014, for the PlayStation Vita. T ...
Mami has been popular in Japan. In 2012, her death was voted the most memorable anime death by BIGLOBE users. In another poll of "Which Anime Character They Wish Hadn’t Died", had Mami placed second. In a 2014 Charapedia poll, Mami’s death took third place that left the biggest impact. In another 2015 Charapedia poll, Mami was voted second character “Who Deserve Their Own Anime Series”. Mami is also one of Shaft’s most popular heroines, placing ninth on its 2016 Top 10 Shaft Heroines list. Mami placed 6th, with 277 votes, in a Charapedia poll asking fans to list the 20 best anime magical girls. In 2017, “GooRanking” voted Mami’s death as the second most shocking anime death. In 2020, Mami was voted the 9th best magical girl character in a poll by ''Anime! Anime!''.
Kory Cerjak of ''The Fandom Post'' said Mami's death "hits hard" and praised her English voice actress,
Carrie Keranen
Carrie Keranen is an American voice actress. Her roles include Misato Katsuragi in the Netflix dub of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Satsuki Kiryuin in '' Kill la Kill'', Casca in '' Berserk'', and Alya Césaire in '' Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug ...
, for providing "a voice that sounds at once young-ish and motherly", stating that "it's comforting just to listen to her speak because of the parental demeanor in it." Mami's character in the spin-off manga ''The Different Story'' was praised by Rebecca Silverman from ''
Anime News Network
Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...
'', who called her a "fascinating" character and liked her connection with Madoka, stating that "Mami could have been Madoka as she has the requisite selflessness that all true magical girls exhibit." Silverman enjoyed the manga for exploring Mami's guilt and for knowing "Mami as a character rather than a tragedy", and stated that her story "is perhaps a way to see what happens when being human wins out over being a magical girl."