While Puella Magi Madoka Magica follows the Magical Girl side of the coin, the Witches' stories are just as compelling.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is considered one of the darkest magical girl series for its approach to the idea of how a magical girl's mission might take a toll on her mentally and physically. What casual fans may not have noticed, though, is that the stories of the Witches the girls fight in the first series are told through their domains, or Labyrinths.

A Witch is created when a magical girl's Soul Gem darkens and becomes a Grief Seed, which is what the girls use to keep their own Soul Gem from darkening. Each Witch has a domain she lives in called a Labyrinth, or Barrier, that reflects the Witch and what her powers may have been before her death. During the time of airing, the studio released digital "Witch Cards" that explained more about the Witches while not outright stating who they once were. Excluding Sayaka and Madoka's Witches, here are the tragic stories of the Witches in Madoka Magica.

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The first Labyrinth viewers are introduced to belongs to Gertrud. Known as the Rose Garden Witch, she bares a pair of butterfly wings on her back and her minions, Anthony and Adelbert, help her tend to her garden. It's not known who Gertrud was in her previous life, but there are hints of what her wish and powers were. As a human, her wish was most likely related to gardening and her weapon may have been a pair of garden shears, much like Haruna Konomi from the Magia Record mobile game. When she attacks Mami, her thorny vines have what appear to be scissors at the ends.

The next Witch introduced is Charlotte, who was Nagisa Momoe in the Rebellion movie. She loved cheesecake and her wish was to share the best one in the world with her dying mother one last time. However, upon realizing she could have wished for her mother's illness to be cured, she fell into despair and her Soul Gem became a Grief Seed, turning her into Charlotte, the Dessert Witch.

This love of desserts can be seen throughout Charlotte's Labyrinth, with even her head being shaped like a piece of candy. Her minions can be heard chanting "Cheese, cheese, where's the cheese?" in German and have nurses hats, reflecting how she transformed at the hospital. As a magical girl, she uses a bubble trumpet that can produce bubbles so strong, they can crack the walls of a Witch's domain.

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Kirsten (H.N. Elly), the Box Witch, has merry-go-rounds and computer monitors everywhere in her Labryinth. The screens show the victim's memories, which could be tied to what the Official Guidebook says Kirsten's wish was: "to box up that memory." Her wish could either mean she wanted to forget a horrible memory, or to keep a happy one safe. Kirsten's Witch Card says she is reclusive and that she locks things away behind glass. She could have been an internet idol, as hearts are in the background when her silhouette is shown on a computer screen. The merry-go-round could have been in the area when she transformed into a Witch or a general place of happiness for her. Her powers as a magical girl could have been defensive, possibly producing shields of some kind. It's also possible she was able to trap other beings in computer screens.

Elsa Maria is the Shadow Witch that leads to salvation. Her Labyrinth in Madoka reflects this shadow, with everything being shrouded in darkness because of her domain's walls, which resemble stained-glass windows. With her Labyrinth's religious undertones, one can assume she was extremely devout in life and that her wish reflected this. The Guidebook says her wish was, "I wish you, although not seen from me, to be happy." As a magical girl, she could have taken on a supportive role, granting others boosts to their own abilities through prayer or healing others. Elsa also may have been able to manipulate shadows as she does as a Witch. Her Witch Card says that only someone who knows "the blackest anguish" can defeat her.

Gisela is shown in a flashback fighting Kyoko, and little is shown of her Labyrinth. What can be seen are white stripes like those on roads. She also has handlebars on her head that look like the ones from a motorcycle, while speedometers can be seen in the background. From this, one can assume Gisela loved motorcycles and riding, meaning she could have been in a gang. The Guidebook and other media say that she could even turn into a motorcycle before she became rusty, and that her Labyrinth travels along overpasses. Her wish could have been related to speed or to the freedom motorcycles can represent. As a magical girl, she was probably extremely fast and used that speed to her advantage.

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Izabel was the first Witch Homura encountered. She's clearly based around art, as the sky in her Labyrinth resembles that from Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night and the portraits on the ground look like something from one of Pablo Picasso's works. Her body is based on the Arc de Triomphe in France. This hints that Izabel was inspired by famous works but probably couldn't come up with anything herself, which is reflected in her Witch Card. Her wish was likely related to wanting to be a famous artist, and her powers were probably art-based. She could have fought with a giant paintbrush like Magia Record's Kozue Mayu or some other art supply.

Patricia was Madoka Magica's Class Representative Witch, and her wish could have been to become that representative. Her Labyrinth is filled with school uniforms and desks, meaning she probably took school very seriously. Because she creates the threads that she crawls along, her magical girl powers were likely based around this idea as well. Her Witch Card states that she's an onlooker, meaning she probably didn't stand out much in life.

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The final and most powerful Witch in Madoka Magica is Walpurgisnacht, the Stage-Constructing Witch. She is made up of multiple witches rather than just one, most likely by consuming others. Her real name is unknown, but her Witch Card says she "represents the fool who continuously spins in circles." The card also states, "The witch's mysteries have been handed down through the course of history," meaning Walpurgisnacht could be centuries old. It's possible she was a girl who made a wish similar to Madoka's, which resulted in magical girls turning into Witches upon death.

Madoka's wish resulted in Wraiths, so this girl's wish could have resulted in Witches. This could be why it forms an hourlgass shape when combined with Madoka's Witch. Many believed, and still do, that she was Homura's Witch, but this was revealed to be Homulilly in Madoka Magica's Rebellion film.

Molly Kishikawa is an American artist living in Japan. Starting with the original broadcast of Sailor Moon on Toonami, she has been an avid anime fan since. Living in Japan for two years, she has seen first-hand how the country views anime and manga. She also enjoys video games, Dungeons & Dragons, and J-Rock.

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