Cross stitch pattern of Kyubey from Puella Magi Madoka Magica. You can also make this with Perler beads. Thanks to Random Talking Bush for the sprite. Download the PDF here: Kyubey Pattern

Grid Size: 53W x 62H

Design Area: 3.64″ x 4.29″ (51 x 60 stitches)

Colors: 8

Madoka Magica probably the biggest reason I got back into anime after I lost interest during college. I love the trippy art style during the witch hunt scenes. They remind me a bit of Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, an anime with an art style that no cross stitch pattern could ever do justice. I love Madoka Magica’s character designs. Each of the girls’ outfits are very different but still look cohesive in a group. Though I’ve never been a fan of color coded casts and pink heroines, I feel like a generic cast was an important choice here. I like how the author plays with expectations and expands on what the magical girl genre can encompass. Madoka Magica isn’t the first magical girl anime to explore dark themes. I mean, character death was a big part of what made Sailor Moon so impactful, so it’s hard for me to say that Madoka Magica is a subversion of tropes when it’s still pretty tropetastic. I’m just saying that it expanded my expectations of what a magical girl anime can pull off and made me think that perhaps I’ve been looking at anime in general in too narrow a light. Madoka Magica made me excited about the future of anime at a time when I had all but given up on it, and that’s worth a lot to me.