As was shared with the previous Madoka Blu-ray volume release, a side-by-side comparison is made between the televised airing and “high definition” Blu-ray flavor of Mahou Shoujo Madoka Majika.
One of the expected and obvious differences is the fact that the colors are much more vibrant and engaging than the TV version. It is almost as if the TV release is a resolution slightly lower than 720, up-scaled and shaded over with grey. Lines appear far finer in the Blu-ray, meaning they boast a lot more detail and show off some other unseen smaller intricate designs as can be seen in the stained glass windows of the church.
Certain things have been redone entirely such as the floor Sayaka prostrates on in the church – the flooring was rearranged and has much more of an impact as Sayaka stands out heavily. The panels now run opposite the direction Sayaka is facing and perhaps intentionally showcase an uneven total of seven floor segments. Odd numbers are typically much more appealing by nature than even numbers.
The intensity of the value and shading on certain objects has also been refined – it can be seen particularly in the surrounds of Madoka and HomuHomu as they stand outside in the night. The moon’s radiance has been adjusted to fade into the night and the skyline seems to have been replaced with some all new buildings entirely or is victim to a strange angle shift.
The passing train is quite clearly far more detailed as it simply shows a blur in the TV rendition of the scene. These have to be the most interesting changes made to the series thus far as some leave the viewer wondering why the alteration was made. It almost all feels like a mystery.
Most notably, Kyubey’s face and head shape has been changed as can be seen in the first two images below. The side-by-side comparisons of Blu-ray (2nd and 4th from the left) and basic (1st and 3rd):
