Can’t Get Enough Madoka? Then Yuki Yuna is a Hero is the Anime for You!

Don’t let the name fool you: Yuki Yuna is a Hero is not the innocent magical girl show of your childhood. Thanks largely to the popularity of the psychologically thrilling Puella Magi Madoka Magica series the magical girl anime genre has taken a decided turn for the dark and edgy and I couldn’t be more excited for the levels of artistry this brings to the table. Get your cellphones ready because we’re about to talk gorgeous world-building, heart-warming friendships, positive depictions of physical disability, and the most hardcore transformation sequence since Dragon Ball Z… and that’s just episode 1.  

In classic bait-and-switch style we open with titular character Yuna and her three friends who are all members of their middle school’s Hero Club, a group dedicated to helping others in need (which can mean anything from finding homes for kittens to writing elaborate puppet plays for the local preschool). If you ended the plot right there you’d already have a pretty cool set up for a show, but of course it gets even better. Suddenly the four are transported to an other-dimensional forest that can only be described as being designed by the lovechild of Hayao Miyazaki and Lisa Frank.  They learn there that they have been chosen to defend the world as Heroes, beings with access to godlike powers through the aid of a smartphone app, and they must act quickly or else tragic disasters will begin occurring in the real world. Now, I know what you might be thinking at this point: ha…