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. Sayaka has appeared in several Puella Magi Madoka Magica media, including manga, a novel adaptation of the series, and video games.
Writer Gen Urobuchi stated that he had created Sayaka based on an "Urobuchi character". He referred to her as his favorite character in the series and said her story was the most enjoyable to write. She was designed by Ume Aoki; due to the character's tomboyish personality, Aoki wanted to express both boyish and girlish qualities to the character's design. Sayaka is voiced by Eri Kitamura in Japanese and Sarah Anne Williams in the English version of the series.
Sayaka Miki is generally positively received by critics, who praised her tragic arc as well as her similarities and relationship with Kyoko Sakura. Her descent into despair was also praised, with critics expressing how effectively portrayed the struggle with her ideals was. Sayaka's character and the nature of her witch have also attracted critical attention. Sayaka has also been popular amongst fans, as she places high in multiple popularity polls. Many different pieces of merchandise related to her, such as figures, plush dolls, and keychains have been released.
Conception Creation and design Sayaka Miki's name was given by series writer Gen Urobuchi. Urobuchi created Sayaka and based her personality on an "Urobuchi character", unlike the series protagonist, Madoka Kaname, who is an unusual character for his writing style and follows the style of character designer Ume Aoki's characters. Urobuchi stated that Sayaka was his favorite character overall and that her storyline was the most enjoyable to write. Because of her grim fate by the end of the series, series director Akiyuki Shinbo asked Urobuchi if it was possible to change the plot so Sayaka could be spared. Urobuchi declined, saying it was integral for her to die "in order for the audience to really understand why Madoka became the ultimate magical girl at the end". Shinbo then asked if she could be brought back to life, saying he had become very attached to the character. Urobuchi again refused, saying this would be impossible because of the already-established rules governing the story. Shinbo acquiesced but said he believed there may have been too large a burden placed on the characters who were young, middle-school girls.
In episode eight of the series, the conversation Sayaka overhears on a train about women was actually based on a real event that Urobuchi witnessed, who said that he heard a similar conversation between two men on a crowded train. Urobuchi said that even if Sayaka confessed her love to Kyōsuke Kamijo, she would never have been happy with him. Nevertheless, he defended Sayaka's wish and choices in the finale, as she still decided to wish for him before disappearing with Madoka to the afterlife. Urobuchi said that the final episode is not about Sayaka is destined to die but about her giving her own life to help Kyōsuke play the music again so she could listen to him, and felt that the viewers misunderstood her wish. Another aspect Urobuchi wanted to develop in the series was the initial clash between Sayaka and her rival magical girl, Kyoko Sakura; where he stated that across the story, Kyoko kills herself with Sayaka because both of their mistakes are "completely the same".
Sayaka was designed by Ume Aoki. Her color motif is blue. In her magical girl outfit, Sayaka is designed to look like a knight that appears in a magical fantasy setting, and wears a cape and asymmetrical skirt. Urobuchi found her cape to be stylish. Because of the character's tomboyish personality, Aoki said that she wanted to express both boyish and girlish qualities to the character's design; as a result, she said that the design plan of the magical girl figure was not determined until the last few drafts. In order to express these traits, Aoki designed the length of her hair and skirt asymmetrically to contrast her femininity and masculinity on both sides of her body. Aoki originally added a simple yellow hairpin to the character, but it was left out in the series due to various animation issues. It was added in the compilation movies by Aoki's suggestion, and she changed the hairpin's shape into a fortissimo symbol. Aoki stated that the music motif design was inspired by the animation team from the TV series as they add music notes to Sayaka's transformation sequences and abilities.
For the 2013 sequel film Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion, Urobuchi said that he developed Sayaka's role as someone that knows "more [things] than Homura does for once". In an interview with manga artist Kazuo Koike, Koike asks if Sayaka might become the new protagonist in the future. Urobuchi replied that since Sayaka had a special role in Rebellion, there is a possibility of her being a "lone heroine in the future", and he believes that Sayaka might be the only person who can stop Homura Akemi. Junichiro Taniguchi, the film's character designer and animation supervisor, said that Sayaka's design changed the most, though he initially did not intend to change it. According to Taniguchi, Sayaka and Kyoko's roles are reversed in the film, as Sayaka appears to be the "mysterious one" while Kyoko "seems more upbeat".
Voice actresses
Sayaka is voiced by Eri Kitamura in the Japanese version. When Kitamura received the role, she was happy as she liked the character since the audition. Kitamura described Sayaka's character as more "honest than everybody else" but "also weaker than everybody else". She felt that Sayaka was like any young girl who faces difficult circumstances and does not think properly about what is right and wrong, and said that Sayaka "just faced it up with dignity, even though she got more downcast than any others". Kitamura said that she fell in love with Sayaka's character and that she is the "most realistic" character she has voiced, describing her as a magical girl with a "strong sense of justice". Kitamura acknowledged that while it was difficult to portray the character's emotional changes, it was "rewarding" and she "kind of enjoyed it". Shinbo stated that Kitamura's acting as a suffering girl was "really great". Shinbo also said that Kitamura was not convinced with Sayaka's death. For Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion, Kitamura said the scene between Sayaka and Homura opposing each other was the most memorable scene for her, stating that their dialogue "[has] a lot of subtle nuances", and expressed the difficulty in playing "a worthy character" despite being engrossed by the acting. In the English dub, Sayaka is voiced by Sarah Anne Williams. As a fan of the magical girl genre, Williams was surprised when she first watched Madoka Magica, recalling that the series is "not going to be a normal ride" and "it's probably going to hurt".
Williams characterized Sayaka's personality as "tomboyish, very cheerful and upbeat", and "a bit naive". She stated that she loved Sayaka's character because she feels "a little similar to her", and says "it's very much like kinda taking a part of [herself] and pulling in a different direction."
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, as well as a huge fan of classical music. After she helps Madoka rescue the messenger of magic, Kyubey, she is introduced to the world of magical girls by Mami Tomoe, an experienced magical girl who fights for justice and protects people from surreal monsters called witches, and Sayaka aspires to be like her. Mami offers to take both Sayaka and Madoka along on her witch hunts so they may learn of the responsibilities that come with being a magical girl. However, Mami gets brutally killed by a witch named Charlotte. After Mami's death, Sayaka makes a contract with Kyubey and becomes a magical girl by using her wish to heal the wounded hand of Kyōsuke Kamijo, a young violinist that she is infatuated with and visits daily in the hospital. She tries to assume Mami's role and believes that every magical girl should use their power to help people, and dislikes Homura Akemi and Kyoko Sakura due to their different views. She fights against Kyoko at one time due to the latter's ideals.
As a magical girl, Sayaka wears a blue skirt with a white cape and gloves. Her weapon of choice is a cutlass that she is able to produce multiple copies of at a time. She also has a strong regenerative ability due to the healing nature of her wish. Sayaka insists that her wish is selfless and feels that fighting witches to save people is a bonus, even after witnessing Mami's death.
Appearances Puella Magi Madoka Magica When Mami Tomoe saves her and Madoka from a witch, Kyubey explains that he wants to form a contract with Sayaka and Madoka and make them magical girls in exchange for granting them any wish. Mami then offers to take them with her on a witch hunt to determine whether there is a wish they would risk their lives for. After witnessing Mami's death, Sayaka becomes worried about becoming a magical girl, but later makes a contract with Kyubey in order to heal Kyōsuke's hands, a boy she has been infatuated with since childhood. She clashes with Kyoko Sakura over their ideals and they try to kill each other before being stopped by Homura Akemi. Sayaka resents Kyoko due her selfish outlook, and Homura for misunderstanding that she let Mami get killed by a witch. As Sayaka's ideals are confronted by the reality of her wish's consequences and the stress of fighting, her view of the world is slowly corrupted. She becomes hateful and distrustful towards others, including Madoka, whom she lashes out at and accuses of being selfish.
After learning that her soul is no longer in her body, but in her Soul Gem, Sayaka starts to believe she is a zombie; and when her friend Hitomi Shizuki confesses to her about her love of Kyōsuke, Sayaka falls into despair and refuses all help. She loses faith in her ideals and herself, which leads to her Soul Gem to corrupt and become a Grief Seed. She becomes the armored Mermaid Witch Oktavia von Seckendorff. Although Kyoko and Madoka attempt to communicate with Sayaka, they realize that she is beyond help. Kyoko then performs a powerful attack to finish off Oktavia at the cost of her life. It is later revealed that Homura is a time traveler, and in all of the timelines, Sayaka would always despair and turn into a witch when making a contract. Despite Madoka becoming an ultimate magical girl and reworking the world in the final timeline, Sayaka still makes a wish in the new world, and ends up disappearing after exhausting her soul gem. Sayaka does not regret her wish and hopes that Hitomi will make Kyōsuke happy.