Sayaka Miki
A magical girl who wished to heal, then fell into despair.
Sayaka Miki is a fictional character and the supporting protagonist 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 highly respects and admires her upperclassman Mami Tomoe, an experienced magical girl that fights for justice, and aspires to be like her. Sayaka makes a contract with the messenger of magic, Kyubey, and becomes a magical girl to heal the arms of Kyōsuke Kamijo, a boy she has been infatuated with since childhood.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Puella Magi Madoka Magica
- First
- "As If I Met Her in My Dream..."
- Creator
- Akiyuki Shinbo
- Gen Urobuchi
- Ume Aoki
- Designer
- Ume Aoki; Takahiro Kishida
- Voice
- Japanese: Eri Kitamura, English: Sarah Anne Williams
- Portrayed by
- Miku Kanemura (Magia Record stage play)
Facts from the source article.
Conception
Gen Urobuchi gave Sayaka Miki her name and based her personality on what he called an 'Urobuchi character', contrasting with Madoka Kaname, who followed the style of character designer Ume Aoki. Urobuchi stated that Sayaka was his favorite character in the series and that her storyline was the most enjoyable to write. Series director Akiyuki Shinbo asked Urobuchi if the plot could be changed to spare Sayaka from her grim fate, but Urobuchi declined, saying her death was integral for the audience to understand why Madoka became the ultimate magical girl. Shinbo then asked if she could be brought back to life, having become attached to the character, but Urobuchi refused because of the established rules of the story. Shinbo acquiesced but felt there may have been too large a burden placed on the young characters. The conversation Sayaka overhears on a train in episode eight was based on a real event Urobuchi witnessed. Urobuchi said that even if Sayaka confessed her love to Kyōsuke Kamijo, she would never have been happy with him, but he defended her wish and choices in the finale. He felt the final episode was not about Sayaka being destined to die but about her giving her life to help Kyōsuke play music again. Urobuchi also wanted to develop the initial clash between Sayaka and Kyoko Sakura, stating that Kyoko kills herself with Sayaka because both of their mistakes are 'completely the same'.
Character
Sayaka Miki is Madoka Kaname's best friend since childhood and a second-year student at Mitakihara Middle School. She is a blue-haired lively tomboy with strong ideals of love and lawfulness, and a huge fan of classical music. After helping Madoka rescue Kyubey, she is introduced to the world of magical girls by Mami Tomoe, and aspires to be like her. She tries to assume Mami's role, believing magical girls should use their power to help people, and dislikes Homura Akemi and Kyoko Sakura for their different views. As a magical girl, she wears a blue skirt with a white cape and gloves, and wields a cutlass she can produce multiple copies of. She has strong regenerative ability due to the healing nature of her wish, and insists her wish is selfless.
Appearances
Mami takes them on a witch hunt to help them decide, but after witnessing Mami's death, Sayaka worries about becoming a magical girl. She later makes a contract to heal Kyōsuke's hands. She clashes with Kyoko Sakura over their ideals, and they try to kill each other before Homura Akemi stops them. Sayaka resents Kyoko for her selfish outlook and Homura for misunderstanding that she let Mami die. As her ideals confront the reality of her wish's consequences and the stress of fighting, her view of the world becomes corrupted. She becomes hateful and distrustful, lashing out at Madoka. After learning her soul is in her Soul Gem, she believes she is a zombie, and when her friend Hitomi Shizuki confesses love for Kyōsuke, Sayaka falls into despair. Her Soul Gem corrupts into a Grief Seed, and she becomes the armored Mermaid Witch Oktavia von Seckendorff. Kyoko and Madoka try to communicate with her but realize she is beyond help, and Kyoko performs a powerful attack to finish off Oktavia at the cost of her own life. Homura is revealed to be a time traveler, and in all timelines Sayaka would despair and become a witch. In the final timeline, Madoka reworks the world, but Sayaka still makes a wish and disappears after exhausting her soul gem, not regretting her wish and hoping Hitomi will make Kyōsuke happy.
Cultural impact
Critical response to Sayaka Miki has generally been positive. Kory Cerjak from The Fandom Post praised her tragic arc and downfall, finding her similarities with Kyoko interesting and describing both as 'tragedies'. Michael Pementel of Bloody Disgusting commended her struggle as she begins to realize what she has lost and questions her actions, praising her descent into depression. Josh A. Stevens of Anime UK News said that when he thinks of Madoka Magica, he thinks of Sayaka, noting her forced questioning of selfless acts and how kindness can lead to greater tragedy. Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network noted that Sayaka and Kyoko serve as mirror characters with similar wishes and results, but found Sayaka arguably brings her own problems down on her head with her attitude, and called her tragic arc disturbing for its apparent inevitability. Jacob Churosh of THEM Anime Reviews commended her Japanese voice actress Eri Kitamura. Dan Barnett of UK Anime Network enjoyed Sayaka's interaction with Kyoko in Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion, calling it one of the truly joyous moments in the film. James Beckett of Anime News Network described her appearance in the Magia Record anime as fanservice and called her one of his favorite Madoka Magica characters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who plays Sayaka Miki?
Sayaka Miki is portrayed by Miku Kanemura (Magia Record stage play).
Who voices Sayaka Miki?
Sayaka Miki is voiced by Japanese: Eri Kitamura and English: Sarah Anne Williams.
Where did Sayaka Miki first appear?
Sayaka Miki first appeared in "As If I Met Her in My Dream...".
More in Fictional Superhuman Healers
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced