it is SERIOUSLY pissing me off that people on here have the absolute nerve to call madoka magica mysoginistic. do you realize how stupid you sound?
yes, it's gendered a lot, but that's because it is based off of the magical girl genre. it subverts expectations, but in order to do that, it needs to uphold the facade of a regular magical girl anime. the magical girl genre came about to empower girls in times of extreme mysoginy, when girls were taught from day 1 that their emotions made them weak and they were inferior. magical girls instilled hope in girls being oppressed and told that they'll never amount to anything. magical girls showed little kids that it makes you stronger to wear your heart on your sleeve, that the most important values you can have is love and kindness, that you should never give up on trusting your emotions and being in touch with them.
as much as madoka magica is a psychological horror(and part of what makes it that way is how much it completely flips the magical girl genre on its head), it also still shares those same values. how can you argue that a series whose core message is to never let go of your hope, your dreams, your determination, your kindness and compassion?
yes, it's a dark anime. and yes, it depicts the suffering of teenage girls. but it also depicts the way trauma can affect them, and the way they're still good people with good hearts who care deeply for their friends and family despite everything they've been through. it may show suffering and anguish and death much more, and have much bleaker themes, but at the end of the day, it is still a magical girl show. and one of the most important parts of being a magical girl show is teaching that you must never let go of your compassion.