Miki Sayaka

Miki Sayaka is a major character in the 2011 anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica and its subsequent multimedia franchise. Along with her friend Kaname Madoka, she is a second-year student at Mitakihara Middle School. As a magical girl, she seeks to uphold her romantic ideals of heroism and justice.
==Fandom==
===Reception and Popularity===
Like other members of the Mitakihara Five, Sayaka is generally liked by fans, many of whom appreciate her design, power set, idealism, determination, and relationships with Madoka and Kyōko. Many also found her spiral into despair and self-destruction to be moving and sympathetic. 
However, some have felt that Sayaka is unappealing as a bullheaded, self-pitying brat who lashes out at her friends while being obsessively consumed by a petty crush. In an poll conducted on 4chan's /a/ board after the airing of the tenth episode, fans ranked Sayaka as the least popular of the Mitakihara Five.Puella Magi Madoka Magica Popularity Chart (as of Episode 10 posted to /a/ in 2011. (Accessed October 2020.)
Sayaka's reputation may have improved after the airing of the last episode, in which she peacefully accepts her fate and moves on to the afterlife. Fans have generally praised her appearance in Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion (2013), where she appeared as a powerful, confident magical girl working as an agent for the Law of Cycles and capable of commanding her own witch incarnation. In a 2016 poll of r/MadokaMagica, Sayaka narrowly edged out Madoka as the third most popular girl in the series (including Rebellion).gfdt. Best Girl Statistics and More Giveaway Information! posted to r/MadokaMagica on 23 August 2016. (Accessed October 2020.)
In a 2012 BIGLOBE poll, Sayaka was voted as the second most tragic female character in anime,Flanagan, William. "POLL: Who Is the Most Tragic Heroine Character in Japan?", posted to Crunchyroll on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2018. and took eighth place in a 2015 Charapedia poll for the same category.Cadorniga, Carlos. "Anohana, Madoka Magica Characters Rank in Most Tragic Heroine Poll", posted to Anime News Network on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2018. In another 2012 BIGLOBE poll, Sayaka ranked 18th in the category "Anime Girl that Attracts the Most Desperate Fanboys"."信者が必死なアニメキャラランキング", posted to BIGLOBE (in Japanese) on 22 April 2012. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2020. Sayaka took second place for "Top 7 Blue-Haired Anime Heroines" voted by fans asked in Akihabara in 2014.Loveridge, Lynzee. "Akihabara Fans Vote For Favorite Blue-Haired Heroine". Anime News Network, 2 June 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2018. In a 2014 Anime News Network (ANN) poll of "Who is your favorite blue-haired character?", Sayaka placed fifth with 8.5% of votes.Loveridge, Lynzee. "7 Incredible Geniuses", Anime News Network on 21 June 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2020. In a 2015 Charapedia poll, Sayaka ranked 17th among "Characters who deserve their own anime".Green, Scott. "Japanese Fans Name the Support Characters Who Deserve Their Own Anime Series", posted to Crunchyroll on 16 January 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2020. Sayaka was also voted as the eighth most popular SHAFT heroine in 2016.Green, Scott (May 12, 2016). "MadoGatari Nagoya Exhibit Announces Results Of Top Ten (Plus Two) Favorite Shaft Anime Girls". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 9 December 2018. That same year, in a Charapedia poll asking fans to list the "best anime magical girls", Sayaka placed 9th with 226 votes.Baseel, Casey. "The 20 best anime magical girls, as chosen by 10,000 Japanese fans", posted to Charapedia on 14 May 2016. SoraNews24. Retrieved 9 December 2018. In a 2018 ANN poll, Sayaka's witch form was voted as the second coolest monster form in anime.Loveridge, Lynzee. "7 Notorious Animation Meltdowns", posted to Anime News Network on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2019. That same year, in a Manga.Tokyo poll, Sayaka's line "I… am so stupid" was voted as the eighth most famous premortem line in anime.Kvasnovski, Tea. "Survey Results: Which Anime Character's Dying Line Is The Most Famous?" posted to Manga.Tokyo. Retrieved 24 May 2020. In a 2020 Ani Trending News poll, Sayaka was also voted as the eighth best female anime character of Winter 2011."DECADE AWARDS: Puella Magi Madoka Magica wins Winter 2011 Run-off Polls", Ani Trending News on 5 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020. That same year, Sayaka was voted the 14th best magical girl character in a poll by Anime! Anime!."アニメに登場する、好きな魔法少女キャラは？「CCさくら」木之本桜を抑えたトップは…" posted to Anime! Anime! (in Japanese) on 8 February 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
===Fanon and Tropes===
Fan works focused on Sayaka often emphasize the motifs associated with her in canon, such as water, music, mermaids (particularly the classic tale of "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen), swords and knights, and her own witch form, Oktavia von Seckendorff.
The fact that Sayaka and Madoka were able to meet up one last time to watch Kyōsuke's violin playing, along with the nature of Madoka's wish, has resulted in many fans suggesting that Sayaka's soul, although erased from the world, now resides in the same plane of existence that Madoka inhabits, where she will watch over all the other magical girls along with Madoka. Alternatively, some have speculated that Madoka was simply fulfilling her role as a psychopomp in the same way she would for all other magical girls, ensuring that Sayaka could peacefully pass on from the world.Puella Magi Wiki. Sayaka Miki - Sayaka's Farewell. (Accessed October 2020.) Either way, Sayaka is a common subject of speculation regarding the afterlife in post-series fics.
The fandom has commonly believed Sayaka to have the lowest potential as a magical girl out of the Mitakihara Five in the original 2011 series—weaker than veterans Mami and Kyoko, the battle-hardened Homura, and the peerlessly powerful Madoka. However, fanon assessments of her capabilities may have changed after she went toe-to-toe with Homura in Rebellion, and successfully fended off Holy Mami’s Tiro Finale in Magia Record.
In the humorous Meduka Meguca memes, Sayaka is commonly referred to as "Seyiku".
===Shipping===
KyōSaya, the pairing of Sayaka and Sakura Kyōko, is considered the juggernaut pairing for Sayaka, and perhaps second only to Madoka/Homura in terms of popularity within the PMMM fandom. A smaller following see romantic potential between Sayaka and her close friend Madoka, especially since they were canonically separated from the rest of the cast in the series finale. After Rebellion, Homura/Sayaka gained some popularity as an enemyslash pairing. Comparatively few fans ship Sayaka with her childhood friend and crush, Kyōsuke, and they often do so in the context of an AU in which he is more considerate of Sayaka and her feelings.
====Notable Pairings====
*Sakura Kyōko/Miki Sayaka (KyōSaya 杏さや)
*Kaname Madoka/Miki Sayaka (MadoSaya)
*Akemi Homura/Miki Sayaka (HomuSaya or SayaHomu)
*Kamijō Kyōsuke/Miki Sayaka (KyōSaya 恭さや)
==Fan Works==
===Fan Fiction===
===Fan Art===
===Ask Blogs===
*Ask the Hero of Justice
===Memes===
*Zannen Sayaka-chan
*That Wasn't Very Cash Money of You
===Meta===
==Links==
===Archives and Communities===
*Miki Sayaka tag on Pixiv
**#さやかわいい ("Sayakawaii" i.e. "cute Sayaka") tag
*PMMM stories and crossovers featuring Sayaka M. on FanFiction.Net
*Miki Sayaka tag on Archive of Our Own
*r/Sayaka on Reddit
===Resources===
*Wikipedia
*Puella Magi Wiki
*TV Tropes
==References==
Category:Puella Magi Madoka Magica Characters