History Characters / PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaSayakaMiki

* CatchPhrase: In the English dub, "For reals."

** Trees are generally associated with witches in the series, especially [[spoiler:Walpurgisnacht]], and an offering to the gods is a sacrifice. So, Sayaka Miki is a "fresh sacrifice" whose very name foreshadows her [[spoiler:becoming a witch]].

* TearfulSmile: [[spoiler:Before she turns into a witch, and in the last episode, when she decides she simply wants Kyosuke to be happy.]]

* TemptingFate: "There's no way I'd ever regret this!" [[spoiler:Three episodes later: "I was such a fool."]]
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Played with. She saves Madoka from a witch's minions in her first fight by throwing swords, but the flying swords aren't visible. Then she fights a familiar by throwing swords at it... and would've hit and killed the familiar, if not for Kyoko showing up to stop the battle. After this, she only swordfights melee-style [[spoiler:but frequently injures herself in the process, contributing to her mental instability]]. Maybe she should have stuck with sword-tossing.

** In ''VideoGame/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaPortable'', [[spoiler:if Sayaka [[JustEatGilligan confesses to Kyousuke]] that she's a MagicalGirl, he'll actually believe her and [[EarnYourHappyEnding compose a song for her]], thus averting her tragedy all because she GaveUpTooSoon.]]
** [[spoiler:Due to Madoka's death at Oriko's hands, she's SparedByTheAdaptation in ''Manga/PuellaMagiOrikoMagica''.]]
* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler:This was Kyoko's intention. The manga makes it clear that, yes, they ''did'' meet again, but the anime does no such thing.]]

* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:It's one possible way of interpreting her refusal to be saved by Homura. After all, who cares if she isn't helping Sayaka especially for her, being helped still beats dying... but Sayaka foolishly refuses and sure enough dies soon later.]]

** She is much more powerful and generally more badass in ''Rebellion'' by virtue of [[spoiler:being a divine emissary of Goddess Madoka]], which notably gives her the ability to [[spoiler:summon her Witch to her side much like a Franchise/{{Persona}}]]. She also has the guts to stand up to [[spoiler:Devil Homura]] and chew her out, despite knowing that she's severely outmatched.

* TookALevelInKindness: In ''[[Manga/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheDifferentStory The Different Story]]'', [[spoiler:after Madoka wished her back from the dead]] she becomes more friendly towards Homura.

* TragicHero: [[spoiler:Her {{fatal flaw}}s were her nonexistent self-esteem and her sense of perfectionism. These, with her unrequited love for Kyosuke as a trigger, are what doom her into becoming the witch Oktavia von Seckendorff, a being who represents the warped desires of Sayaka's.]]
* TragicMistake: [[spoiler:Refusing to cleanse her soul gem leads to her becoming a Witch, and Kyoko's death. Although, part of it was done fully knowing that she would die. In a tragically ironic example, one of the first people she saves as a magical girl is her own romantic rival, which she realizes as she's talking with Madoka.]]

* UnrequitedTragicMaiden: She's got a crush on her childhood friend, Kyosuke, who fails to notice her even after she becomes a MagicalGirl and uses her wish to heal his arm. Even worse, [[spoiler:one of her best friends, Hitomi, has also told her that she plans to confess her own love to Kyosuke]], and Sayaka's lack of self-esteem and learning the truth of what she is prevent her from confessing. Eventually [[spoiler:Sayaka falls into despair and becomes a Witch]].
* WalkingSpoiler: An impressive feat, since she is one of the main characters present from the start.
* WarIsGlorious: Subscribes to a highly idealistic view of fighting and battles. [[spoiler:Needless to say, she does not take the reality that WarIsHell in this universe very well.]]
* WaterIsWomanly: Although her powers are not water-related, Sayaka has a water motif with a blue color scheme and her TransformationSequence incorporating water and bubbles. Although somewhat tomboyish with her aspiration to be a hero of justice, she's very caring, has an interest in classical music, and holds a very idealistic view of romance. She [[spoiler:falls into despair because of her failure in love and being a hero, becoming Oktavia von Seckenforff, the ''mermaid'' witch.]]
* WhatHaveIBecome: Sayaka eventually learns that [[spoiler:she's a lich and so technically no longer human. She did this for someone who didn't reciprocate her feelings. This is where her StartOfDarkness begins.]]
* WholePlotReference: To ''The Little Mermaid''. [[spoiler:Specifically, the original story, and the not the Disney version. In the story, the mermaid falls in love with a prince, saves him, makes a DealWithTheDevil to try to be with him, but the prince marries another woman because he thinks that woman was the one that saved him, dies because the contract she made states that, but gains a soul and ascends to heaven because [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy she wanted her beloved to be happy]]. As for Sayaka, she fell in love with Kyosuke, made a wish to save him/try and be with him, wasn't able to let him know about her wish, Kyosuke gets together with Hitomi, and Sayaka dies, but her soul is ultimately saved by Madoka. It's no wonder that Sayaka's witch is a mermaid!]]

* WrongGenreSavvy: No, Sayaka, you're not the main character of ''Anime/SailorMoon'', ''Anime/TokyoMewMew'', or ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure'' no matter how much you want to be. [[spoiler:You'll ''always'' be the modern day DarkerAndEdgier version of ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'' and nothing more, remember that.]]

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: In the end, she accepts that [[spoiler:Kyosuke and Hitomi are a happy couple (see HeroicSacrifice above)]]. While she ''is'' a little hurt, Sayaka decides to not hold it against [[spoiler:them]], and Kyosuke [[spoiler:later recalls her and may have felt her presence in his first recital after recovery]].
* JadeColoredGlasses: She at first believes she can be a "hero of justice", but her idealism is shattered after learning some [[AwfulTruth grave]] facts about becoming a magical girl the hard way before [[spoiler:becoming a witch]].

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:In the main series, she's the only one that stays dead.]]
* KillTheCutie:
* KnightInSourArmor: After learning [[spoiler:the first]] AwfulTruth of becoming a MagicalGirl and having a heart-to-heart with Kyoko who tells her that she is better off battling witches for her own rewards than to protect others, she still chooses to continue to stay a hero. However, when [[spoiler:her LockedOutOfTheLoop friend Hitomi admits to having also been in love with Kyosuke and gives her a day to admit her feelings, which she can't due to the nature of the truth,]] her ideals, self-esteem, and attitude begin to gradually shift more and more until [[spoiler:she becomes a Witch herself]].
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler:In ''[[Manga/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheDifferentStory The Different Story]]'', when Madoka's wish brings her back to life, she has no memory of becoming a witch, and instead believes that Madoka saved her just before she was killed by a witch.]]
* LastRequest: [[spoiler:She attends Kyosuke's latest concert with Madoka before the two go to Heaven together. Madoka sustains her long enough to fulfill that request.]]
* LaughingMad: Finding out [[spoiler:she is a lich, coupled with Hitomi telling Sayaka that she loves Kyosuke and is going to confess to him in 24 hours]] makes Sayaka go nuts.
* {{Leitmotif}}: ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcgEHrwdSO4 "Decretum"]]'' and ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSv72WXL4k8 "Conturbatio"]]''. [[spoiler:As Oktavia von Seckendorff, her theme is ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtY_RXoF1wA "Symposium magarum"]]'']].

* LoveMartyr: Albeit an unrequited love, [[spoiler:and even a cause of her fall into a witch,]] she is ready to give up her own life twice over for it.
* MadnessMantra: [[spoiler:One area of her barrier as a witch has runes reading [[http://wiki.puella-magi.net/File:Ep9_poster_back.jpg "Look at me"]] over and over again.]]
* TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife: ''[[Manga/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheDifferentStory The Different Story]]'' manga shows that even without [[spoiler:finding out that she's a lich]], Sayaka refuses to pursue a romantic relationship with Kyosuke because she thinks she doesn't have time to date now that she's a magical girl and her only duty is to protect innocent people from witches.

* MeaningfulRename: [[spoiler:Her witch name is Oktavia [[TheVonTropeFamily von]] Seckendorff.]]
* MentorsNewHope: To Mami in ''[[Manga/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheDifferentStory The Different Story]]'' [[spoiler:after Mami's falling out with her first student, Kyoko.]]
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:On the receiving end of one. Twice, if we count Madoka's wish. The first one was Kyoko's DyingMomentOfAwesome as well, but in the second, Sayaka talks to Madoka and dies in peace. We see her funeral in Episode 11, and she likely got a token funeral shortly after Madoka took her to Heaven following Kyosuke's latest concert.]]
* MurderTheHypotenuse: {{Downplayed|Trope}} in ''[[Manga/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheDifferentStory The Different Story]]''. [[spoiler:Sayaka sees Hitomi has been possessed by a witch and [[MurderByInaction deliberately turns a blind eye to it]] so Hitomi can't confess to Kyosuke later on. Although Hitomi was later saved by Mami, Sayaka feels absolutely disgusted at herself afterwards.]]

* NoBodyLeftBehind: [[spoiler:Averted in episodes 9-11 where her soul gem shatters but her body remains and played straight in Episode 12 following Madoka's wish where her body disappears along with her soul.]]

* OvershadowedByAwesome: She comes off as weak in comparison to other magical girls, and is often dismissed as a weak magical girl by the fandom, even though she ripped H.N. Elly to pieces with ease and eventually managed to take down Elsa Maria, who seems to be in the upper tier of witches in terms of power. Note that the magical girls she is being compared to include Homura (who definitely won the SuperpowerLottery and has [[spoiler:multiple timelines' worth of experience]]), Kyoko (who also has years of experience and constantly keeps her Soul Gem clean, while Sayaka prefers to save innocents over cleaning hers), Mami (who is probably the most experienced out of all the girls minus Homura and can easily stand up to the latter in combat), and Madoka ([[TheChosenOne no comment]]). So the problem is not that Sayaka is abnormally weak and more that everyone involved in the story is very experienced and/or powerful. ''Rebellion'' and side materials [[TookALevelInBadass help establish Sayaka as a badass in her own right]].
* PatientChildhoodLoveInterest: She has loved her childhood friend Kyosuke for a long time, but she has never actively pursued him. Her lack of assertiveness, nonexistent self-esteem, and horror at [[spoiler:[[OurLichesAreDifferent the true nature of herself]]]], leads to [[spoiler:Hitomi becoming Kyosuke's girlfriend instead and this is one of the several reasons why Sayaka fell into despair and became a witch]].
* ThePerfectionist: Sayaka's biggest flaw: She has to be perfect. This is related to her self-esteem issues: [[spoiler:Mami died, and so she feels a responsibility of picking up the torch and being a true hero. When she feels extreme jealousy and snaps at Madoka, her sanity takes another hit. When she learns the truth behind her transformation, it takes another hit. When Kyoko offers her an apple, she refuses, twice, choosing purity and honor over selfish survivalism. She refuses to tolerate any sins, including her own. In short, she feels herself unable to live up to Mami's legacy due to her feeling certain things, without realizing that she can still be a hero without being perfect.]]
* PluckyGirl: At first she is an upbeat and positive MagicalGirl despite [[spoiler:witnessing Mami's death.]]

* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: [[spoiler:Her character arc in a nutshell; Starts off as an idealistic warrior of Justice, only to turn into a figure of tragedy and horror, with strong implications that she turned into a brutal, violent and possibly murderous vigilante even '''before''' all of her negative emotions are unleashed in the form of [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Oktavia von Seckendorff]].]]

* RightForTheWrongReasons: When Madoka says she dreamed about Homura before meeting her, Sayaka remarks that maybe the two of them met in a past life. [[spoiler:If by 'past life', you mean 'previous timeline'.]]
* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Main character and, according to WordOfGod, TheProtagonist, dies in episode 9.]]
* SanitySlippage: Kyubey's revelation that the Puella Magi are [[spoiler:technically liches sends Sayaka's sanity into a [[DespairEventHorizon downward spiral]] until she transforms into Oktavia]].

* SlasherSmile: While fighting Elsa Maria, and when [[spoiler:killing the two men on the subway in the manga]]. Both times it's a sign of her deterorating mental state.

* SuperheroinesWearCapes: Fitting with her "Magical girls are righteous superheroines" mindset. [[spoiler:When she [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie turns into a witch]], the cape stays.]]
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: [[spoiler:Her witch form, Oktavia, after succumbing to despair.]]
* SwissArmyTears: Inverted, as when she [[spoiler:becomes a witch, it is her tear that turns her soul gem into a grief seed.]]

* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: [[spoiler:In Episode 10, it seems that in every timeline where she creates a contract, Kyosuke doesn't return her affections and she becomes a witch. The poor girl can't win... even in Goddess Madoka's universe she dies...although, in that case, she ''chose'' to die.]]
* FairytaleMotifs: Parallels to the original "Literature/TheLittleMermaid" fairy tale by Andersen. Sayaka (the mermaid) falls in love with Kyosuke (the prince), heals his hand (saves his life) [[DealWithTheDevil and makes a contract with Kyubey]] (the Sea Witch) to become something she's not--a magical girl (a human) to win his love, only to [[spoiler:become a witch]] (die of a broken heart) when he falls in love with Hitomi (the neighboring princess). [[spoiler:The Little Mermaid was doomed and ThePowerOfLove was not enough to save her. What ''did'' save her was a literal DeusExMachina from Heaven that turned her into a benevolent spirit.]] The same thing happens here. [[spoiler:Also, Oktavia von Seckendorff roughly resembles an armored, three-eyed mermaid and the barrier has the bubbles and water theme.]]
* FallenHeroine: [[spoiler:After witnessing an apparently successful confession by Hitomi to Kyosuke, as well as the awful jealousy she feels as a result, as well as feeling shame and self-disgust at feeling said jealousy in the first place, she view herself as unworthy of life, becomes suicidal, and ends up refusing any grief seeds to rejuvenate her soul gem. As a result, the darkness swells up enough that the gem shatters, [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie turning her into a full-blown witch]]]].

* FatalFlaw: [[spoiler:Her downfall comes from her inability to reconcile her [[HeroicWannabe desire to be a hero]] when she's anything but]].
* FateWorseThanDeath: This is how Sayaka sees [[spoiler:her magical girl form when Kyubey explains what her soul gem is for.]] Because of that, she gets pushed towards the [[spoiler:DespairEventHorizon very quickly]].

* FeelNoPain: [[spoiler:Since a magical girl's true body is their soul gem]], Sayaka only feels pain if she doesn't block it out. By distancing herself from her feelings, she can take a great deal of hurt without flinching. As for the ''other'' sort of pain...
* TheFettered: She knows how deep in the [[UnusualEuphemism latrine pit]] she is, yet she won't let go of her idealism [[spoiler:until the very bitter end]].
* GaveUpTooSoon: As [[VideoGame/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaPortable the PSP game]] revealed, [[spoiler:had Sayaka chosen to [[JustEatGilligan simply confess to Kyousuke]] that she's a MagicalGirl, he'd actually believe her and [[EarnYourHappyEnding compose a song for her]]. She comes ''really close'' to getting Kyousuke if it wasn't for her lack of confidence and her mental breakdown.]]
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Once Kyubey reveals that becoming a MagicalGirl [[spoiler:turns the subject into an undead body]], Sayaka does not take it well, [[spoiler:and she undergoes SanitySlippage that becomes worse on her thoughts that the boy she likes will never love her for what she's become, triggering her DespairEventHorizon]].

* HateAtFirstSight: She mistrusted Homura from the moment she saw her. Of course, this was after she saw Homura seemingly attack her friend, and [[spoiler:[[PoorCommunicationKills apparently leaving Mami to die against Charlotte]],]] so it's less "HateAtFirstSight" and more "You're a bad person so of course I don't trust you." Homura's refusal to explain herself also contributes to this. The only occasion where she is friendly to Homura is during [[spoiler:the First Timeline]], where she stole Hitomi's math homework and lent it to Homura.
* HealingFactor: By virtue of her wish involving healing she heals faster than other magical girls.
* HealingHands:
** Sayaka demonstrates the ability to heal Mami in ''[[Manga/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheDifferentStory The Different Story]]''. [[spoiler:It is unknown if she possesses this ability in other timelines]].
** Homura in the "Bonus" route of ''VideoGame/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaPortable'' suggests she has this ability. She may not be aware of it since [[MysteriousBacker Kyubey isn't much for explaining things]].
* TheHeroDies: Word of god describes her as the hero of the show, and [[spoiler:she dies and remains dead at the end]].
* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler:Goes through one when discovering the truth about Soul Gems]].
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:In the anime and manga. Ultimate Madoka says that she could have brought Sayaka back to life, but she'd have to undo Sayaka's wish and she didn't think Sayaka would want her to do that. Sayaka agrees, satisfied with the way things are.]]

* HeroicWannabe: Partly what drove her to the extremes is because of this persona. [[spoiler:It does not end well ''at all'']]. Sayaka wants to be an ally of justice, but is bad at it. This is mainly due to Sayaka's definition of "hero" being too impossible and inflexible for anyone to truly live up to, likely as a result of Mami's influence and [[spoiler:death]]. See HeroicSelfDeprecation for more info.
* TheHeroine: If [[WordOfGod Urobuchi]] is to be believed, she is the hero of this story. The statement is accurate [[spoiler:up until [[LyingCreator she dies]]]].
* HisOwnWorstEnemy: Sayaka's lack of internal self-confidence does her in. [[spoiler:When she learns that she has become a lich, she feels unworthy of Kyosuke's love, and cannot bring herself to confess her feelings to him before Hitomi does. She also starts hating herself when she can't live up to the image of the perfect magical girl and heroine of justice she wanted to be. Those things combined are why she descends into despair and becomes a witch.]]
* HonorBeforeReason: One of the reasons why Sayaka [[spoiler:becomes a witch so soon]]. While Sayaka may be right about having a moral high ground in many cases, her lack of pragmatism (sometimes crossing into HolierThanThou territory) drives her to do some stupid things, like [[spoiler:not caring if her soul gem gets too tainted]].

* IAmAMonster: This is what she thinks of herself after she finds out [[spoiler:the AwfulTruth about being a MagicalGirl]], hence the reason she was unable to confess her feelings to Kyosuke.
* IdentityBreakdown: Learning the AwfulTruth about magical girls pushes her [[GoMadFromTheRevelation over the edge]], in part because it makes her season-long attempt to become a [[HeroicWannabe heroic ideal]] futile. Her eventual acceptance of this truth [[IAmAMonster hurts more than it helps]] and the resulting SanitySlippage, which includes LaughingMad and becoming AxCrazy, quickly brings her to the DespairEventHorizon, [[spoiler:at which point she turns into a witch and has to be put down by the other girls.]]
* IgnoredAesop: A non-comedic example. Sayaka hears and acknowledges Mami's warning that making a wish for someone else may not be as selfless as she thinks, and that it could have serious consequences. Kyoko even goes so far as to outline Sayaka's reasoning: basically, [[EntitledToHaveYou "if I save him, he owes me his love."]] The comment hits home, and after [[spoiler:Mami's death]], Sayaka seems to have taken the message on board, and agrees with Madoka that throwing away their lives for a wish that might be a double-edged sword is foolish. Unfortunately, Kyosuke has his meltdown shortly afterwards, and in the heat of the moment, Sayaka forgets everything she's learned.

* InsecureLoveInterest: Because of her unrealistic and idealized view of love and nonexistent self-esteem, Sayaka considers herself unworthy of Kyosuke's affections for even wanting to be loved by him. It only gets worse after [[spoiler:she learns the first AwfulTruth of becoming a MagicalGirl and comes to believe she's now a walking zombie that will never be worthy of being with Kyosuke. This insecurity leads to Hitomi becoming Kyosuke's girlfriend instead and poor Sayaka goes off the deep end.]]
* InstantExpert:
** Averted. Even when she gains MagicalGirl powers, she sucks in combat. She lacks so much skill and experience that she gets [[CurbStompBattle her ass handed to her by both Kyoko and Homura]]. Admittedly, that's less a point '''against her''' per se and more a point in [[OvershadowedByAwesome their favor]], as the former has years of experience and the latter, [[spoiler:'''several timelines'''. In fact, Homura started out '''far''' more helpless in combat than Sayaka was, although the DifficultButAwesome nature of her weapon likely had something to do with that.]] Add to that [[spoiler:[[SanitySlippage her slow descent into madness]] after finding the AwfulTruth about being a MagicalGirl, [[TheBerserker she ends up abandoning strategy altogether and simply takes Elsa Maria's attacks so she can kill her]]. If not for her HealingFactor, she would've died twice over.]]
** Played straight with her ability to throw swords, which she knows how to do right away.
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:In one of the timelines shown in Episode 10, Sayaka is reluctant to work with Homura because, as a melee fighter, she's afraid that she'll get caught in one of Homura's bombs. When she becomes a witch, she is killed by Homura's bombs.]]

* CannotSpitItOut: Sayaka cannot bring herself to tell Kyosuke how she feels about him. [[spoiler:Sayaka's inability to spit it out makes Hitomi confess to Kyosuke and they get together instead]]. However, she has her reasons since [[spoiler:she believes she now is a zombie and feels unworthy of Kyosuke.]]

* CorruptTheCutie: At the beginning of the show, she's a "Hero of Justice" but by the end of the show, she's become jaded and so despairing that [[spoiler:she becomes a witch.]]
* CosmicPlayThing: Nothing ever seems to go right for poor Sayaka. Over the course of the series, [[spoiler:her mentor is killed in front of her, she learns that she is hardly human anymore and effectively a zombie, and the guy she gave up her humanity for starts dating one of her friends. The endless misery wears her down so much that she succumbs to despair and becomes a witch. WordOfGod is that this is Sayaka's fate in any timeline she contracts, and of the main cast she's the only one who remains dead at the end (not counting Madoka's unique situation)]].

* DeathAmnesia: [[spoiler:In ''[[Manga/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheDifferentStory The Different Story]]'', she doesn't remember her time as a witch.]]
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:She has effectively become this. Grows increasingly apathetic with the thought of her own death, until her soul gem is completely corrupted and she finally becomes a witch. It could've been subconsciously a part of her character after she discovers the truth about Soul Gems.]]
* DecoyProtagonist: WordOfGod said she is TheProtagonist. [[spoiler:Then she dies two-thirds of the way through.]]

** In Episode 8, [[spoiler:Hitomi confesses to Kyosuke and becomes his girlfriend. With this, Sayaka sees she essentially gave up her humanity for a guy that she can't get and all her self-sacrificing gestures have gone unrewarded, which forces her to recognize she's just been selfish all the time despite denying it. Concluding she's a failure both in love and in being a hero of justice, Sayaka succumbs to despair and becomes a witch.]]
** In ''[[Manga/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheDifferentStory The Different Story]]'', [[spoiler:Sayaka starts to break down when she feels obligated to tell Kyosuke the truth about her becoming a magical girl to heal his hand and how she basically left Hitomi to die so he wouldn't be stolen away. Mami comes to rescue her when Sayaka is about to let a witch kill her and confesses what she really wants is not to fight for justice, but not be alone anymore. While Sayaka does feel glad that Mami needs her, she can't take learning there's no such thing as the perfect magical girl and turns into a witch.]]
* DestinedBystander: [[spoiler:In every timeline in which she contracts, [[WordOfGod she will die]]]].

* {{Determinator}}: [[spoiler:A DeconstructedCharacterArchetype. One of the rare character cases in fiction where determination, and the resolve to continue her mission, doesn't make everything alright in the end. Sometimes when people tell her to stop, it would have been better if she'd listened]]...
* DetrimentalDetermination: She wants to prove herself a hero so she decides to ask a wish from Kyubey to restore the health of her crush, Kyosuke Kamijo, which in turn would turn her into a MagicalGirl. However, hunting and battling against witches ends up taking a toll on Sayaka's mind, not helped by the fact that the death of a fellow magical girl, Mami Tomoe, had already left her scarred. [[spoiler:Despite her need to be a hero, Sayaka's reasons behind it are because of a selfish desire, one that would not be reciprocated as Kyosuke doesn't reciprocate Sayaka's romantic feelings for him, further worsening her mental state and making her susceptible to succumbing to despair and becoming a witch, which she does.]]
* DidNotGetTheGuy: [[spoiler:Kyosuke hooks up with Hitomi instead of her because she felt unworthy of confessing her feelings.]]
* DiedHappilyEverAfter: [[spoiler:Madoka takes her to {{Heaven}} after fulfilling her last wish to see Kyosuke in concert one last time.]]

* DoomedProtagonist: [[spoiler:WordOfGod states that Sayaka is the protagonist and that she is preordained to die in every timeline in which she contracts, and cannot be saved.]]
* DueToTheDead: [[spoiler:Her funeral is held in Episode 11, and it's a real TearJerker. Since Madoka rewrites the rules in the final timeline and Sayaka as such does not turn into a witch, she AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence after Kyosuke's latest concert and [[NoBodyLeftBehind left nothing behind in her wake]].]] A token funeral was still likely held.

* EntertaininglyWrong: PlayedForDrama. After [[spoiler:Mami's death]], Sayaka assumes that Homura is a selfish bitch like every other magical girl, Mami being a rare exception. It's hard to blame her, since Homura did conveniently [[spoiler:show up to kill the witch once Mami was already dead]], and Homura's aloof and mysterious attitude does her no favours. However, Sayaka didn't see that Homura actually tried to team up with Mami and desperately warned her about the danger, but was ignored and tied up, only getting free [[spoiler:once Mami died]].
* EvilLaugh: During her CurbStompBattle against Elsa Maria. This was ''before'' [[spoiler:she became a witch]].

* CannotSpitItOut: Sayaka cannot bring herself to tell Kyosuke how she feels about him. Sayaka's inability to spit it out makes Hitomi confess to Kyosuke and they get together instead]]. However, she has her reasons since [[spoiler:she believes she now is a zombie and feels unworthy of Kyosuke.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Sayaka has a crush on Kyosuke, but she sure does joke about Madoka being her wife a lot.

* TheBigGirl: She has this role on TheTeam [[spoiler:during the third timeline when Mami creates a magical girl team]], since she's a close-quarters fighter with a HealingFactor.
* BlackAndWhiteInsanity: [[spoiler:Has shades of this as the series goes on, continually trying to convince herself that as long as she blocks out the pain, it doesn't hurt. The fight against Elsa is even framed this way to highlight her descent into madness.]]

* BloodKnight: Averted, then [[spoiler:horribly, horribly [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructed]]. If she wasn't so obsessed with Kyousuke, maybe she would have realized she was breaking down. Although, since it came from love, it's more of a consequence than a cause.]]

* BreakTheCutie: She took up Kyubey's offer and it bit her in the ass ''horribly''. [[spoiler:It starts with her soul trauma, goes through crush despair and then witchification.]]

* BungledSuicide: [[spoiler:Sayaka assumes that if her soul gem grows fully corrupted, she'll simply die, which she doesn't mind at this point. Unfortunately, the fate in store for her is ''far'' worse]].
* CannotSpitItOut: Sayaka cannot bring herself to tell Kyosuke how she feels about him. Sayaka's inability to spit it out makes [[spoiler:Hitomi confess to Kyosuke and they get together instead]]. However, she has her reasons since [[spoiler:she believes she now is a zombie and feels unworthy of Kyosuke.]]
* TheCape: She follows a classical "hero of justice" belief as a MagicalGirl, [[spoiler:as she considers herself to be Mami's successor after the former kicks the can]], and her outfit even sports a white cape. [[spoiler:According to Homura, this is why she turns into a witch in the timelines where she makes a contract; because she's unable to live up to this ideal, she falls into despair.]]

* ChildhoodFriends: With Madoka. It's why [[spoiler:Sayaka's death hits her especially hard.]]
* ClassicalAntiHero: She's determined to be a hero, but she's barely decent at fighting, extremely angsty and emotional, and mostly unable to gain the attention of her love interest. She eventually breaks down completely and [[spoiler:becomes a witch.]]
* ConspiracyTheorist: She thinks Homura is against her, and is very distrustful of her in general. She blames her for [[spoiler:Mami's death]] and refuses her help. [[spoiler:How Homura ''conveniently'' arrived right after Mami's death]] is suspicious. Of course, Homura had been prevented from helping by Mami herself, but since she never bothers to explain, it only made thing worse.

* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler:After a TraumaCongaLine, she becomes the first magical girl the audience sees transform into a Witch]].
* AntiHero: [[spoiler:While she starts out very traditionally heroic and maintains her heroic goals to the bitter end, the revelation that she is effectively a zombie with no future prospects other than fighting witches forever, plus the realization that her wish was AllForNothing, makes her a ''lot'' more brutal in her methods. It is also strongly implied that she killed two normal humans, though not confirmed. Very ironic, in a horribly tragic way, since it all happened because she wanted to become a straight-up hero.]]
* AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler:At the end of the anime, her soul is taken by Madoka to retroactively save her from becoming a witch. She is last seen watching Kyosuke's concert along with Madoka, before leaving for whatever comes next.]]

** [[spoiler:Progressively she becomes a more violent person. She gleefully hacks a witch to pieces without any regard for her own safety, as seen in the above entry, and is hinted to have done... something to a pair of men for spouting misogynistic rants.]]
** [[spoiler:In the manga, she ''does'' kill them, confirmed by manga artist Hanokage. In the anime, however, it was left unclear. Akiyuki Shinbo outright stated she doesn't kill them, but Urobuchi prefers to leave it ambiguous.]]
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Madoka's wish in ''[[Manga/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheDifferentStory The Different Story]]'' is to bring Sayaka back to life, though that timeline was reset by Homura.]]

* AllForNothing: [[spoiler:Her entire journey through magical girlhood. She initially becomes a magical girl to heal her crush, Kyosuke, but even after that she can't bring herself to confess. After discovering [[OurLichesAreDifferent what she really is]], she had hoped Kyousuke's love would be her redemption. It was all rendered moot upon him falling in love with Hitomi]].

* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:Played with. First she turns into a witch and then she's killed.]]

* UnrequitedTragicMaiden: She's got a crush on her childhood friend, Kyosuke, who fails to notice her even after she becomes a MagicalGirl and uses her wish to heal his arm. Even worse, [[spoiler:one of her best friends, Hitomi, has also told her that she plans to confess her own love to Kyosuke]], and Sayaka's lack of self-esteem and learning the truth of what she is prevent her from confessing.

%%%%%% This trope is already present as "The Heroine" a little down the page
%%%%* TheHero:

* BatterUp: Went for a magical bat as her improvised weapon for the moment in Episode 2.

* BlackAndWhiteMorality: A slightly more mild one.
** She reasonably distrusts Homura, due to last seeing her fighting with Mami, and then coming off to finish off the witch that ''killed Mami'' only ''after'' she dies, and Homura never bothers to explain.
** She also distrusts Kyoko due to her intentionally ignoring Familiars who kill innocent humans, for the sake of conserving energy to fight Witches for her own survival.

* EvilLaugh: During her CurbStompBattle against [[spoiler:Elsa Maria]]. This was ''before'' [[spoiler:she became a witch]].

** MeaningfulRename: [[spoiler:Her witch name is Oktavia [[TheVonTropeFamily von]] Seckendorff.]]

* SlasherSmile: While fighting Elsa Maria, and when [[spoiler:killing the two men on the subway in the manga]].

** Her hair is also [[OffModel usually]] longer on the right.

* HotBlooded: At first, she's gung-ho about her magical girl duty. Then her "[[WrongGenreSavvy boldness turns into carelessness]]", and her [[HotBlooded Hot Bloodedness]] turns to [[{{Determinator}} grim determination]].

* FairytaleMotifs: Parallels to the original "Literature/TheLittleMermaid" fairy tale by Andersen. Sayaka (the mermaid) falls in love with Kyosuke (the prince), heals his hand (saves his life) [[DealWithTheDevil and makes a contract with Kyubey]] (the Sea Witch) to become something she's not--a magical girl (a human) to win his love, only to die of a broken heart ([[spoiler:become a witch]]) when he falls in love with Hitomi (the neighboring princess). [[spoiler:The Little Mermaid was doomed and ThePowerOfLove was not enough to save her. What ''did'' save her was a literal DeusExMachina from Heaven that turned her into a benevolent spirit.]] The same thing happens here. [[spoiler:Also, Oktavia von Seckendorff roughly resembles an armored, three-eyed mermaid and the barrier has the bubbles and water theme.]]

* FairytaleMotifs: Parallels to the original "Literature/TheLittleMermaid" fairy tale by Andersen. Sayaka (the mermaid) falls in love with Kyosuke (the prince), heals his hand (saves his life) [[DealWithTheDevil and makes a contract with Kyubey]] (the Sea Witch) to become something she's not--a magical girl (a human) to win his love, only to die of a broken heart when he falls in love with Hitomi (the neighboring princess). [[spoiler:The Little Mermaid was doomed and ThePowerOfLove was not enough to save her. What ''did'' save her was a literal DeusExMachina from Heaven that turned her into a benevolent spirit.]] The same thing happens here. [[spoiler:Also, Oktavia von Seckendorff roughly resembles an armored, three-eyed mermaid and the barrier has the bubbles and water theme.]]

* HisOwnWorstEnemy: Sayaka's lack of internal self-confidence does her in. [[spoiler:When she learns that she has become a lich, she feels unworthy of Kyosuke's love, and cannot bring herself to confess her feelings to him before Hitomi does. She falls into despair and becomes a witch.]]

* BungledSuicide: [[spoiler:Poor Sayaka, thinking that she'll simply die if she never purifies her Soul Gem. If only she knew that letting her Soul Gem become fully corrupt will only turn her into a witch...]]

* ActionGirl: DualWielding swords and slashing witches.
* AllForNothing: [[spoiler:Her entire journey through magical girlhood. After discovering [[OurLichesAreDifferent what she really is]], Sayaka had hoped Kyousuke's love would be her redemption. It was all rendered moot upon him falling in love with Hitomi]].
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler:And Then Sayaka Was A Witch.]]
* AntiHero: [[spoiler:Falls all the way from TheCape to VillainProtagonist - and what a hard fall it is. Very ironic, in a horribly tragic way, since it all happened because she wanted to evolve into a straight-up hero.]]
* AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler:This is what happened at the end of the anime, but not before she and Madoka attended one last concert by Kyosuke.]]

* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:This is Madoka's wish in ''[[Manga/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheDifferentStory The Different Story]]'', after which Homura resets the timeline.]]
* BadassCape: As a classic superhero she wears a cape.

* BeingGoodSucks: Her desire to be a great hero puts her on a downward spiral that ends in [[DespairEventHorizon the worst way possible]].
* BerserkerTears: In Episode 7, during her fight with Elsa Maria the witch.

* TheBigGirl: She has this role on TheTeam [[spoiler:during the third timeline when Mami creates a magical girl team.]] Because she is a knight that fights on the front lines.

** One wonders if she ever said [[VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance "MY SWORD IS A TOOL OF JUSTICE!"]] [[spoiler:in a previous timeline.]]

* IgnoredAesop: A non-comedic example. Sayaka hears and acknowledges Mami's warning that making a wish for someone else may not be as selfless as she thinks, and that it could have serious consequences. Mami even goes so far as to outline Sayaka's reasoning: basically, [[EntitledToHaveYou "if I save him, he owes me his love."]] The comment hits home, and after [[spoiler:Mami's death]], Sayaka seems to have taken the message on board, and agrees with Madoka that throwing away their lives for a wish that might be a double-edged sword is foolish. Unfortunately, Kyosuke has his meltdown shortly afterwards, and in the heat of the moment, Sayaka forgets everything she's learned.

* HyperspaceArsenal: She can summon more swords in battle with her cloak [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks which she could throw.]] In a way, this could be her homage to Mami, who summoned guns from her NiceHat and MagicSkirt.