This is the novelized version of THE anime series of 2011. I actually purchased the limited edition set (both parts + a small artbook).
For some reason, these are not released as books, so they do not have ISBNs (International Standard Book Number). I had to list their JAN (Japanese Article Number) instead. In fact, Amazon.co.jp will not ship these overseas. Thankfully, I had no trouble getting them from www.MangaOh.co.jp. I generally don't buy books from Amazon.co.jp anyway, so whatever.
The story is basically the same as the anime. However, almost the entire thing is told from Madoka's point of view, so there are expanded scenes where we get to learn more about Madoka's thoughts. Also, if you're familiar with the story, you'd be wondering how they manage scenes where Madoka wasn't present. Believe or not, they manage just fine. Lots of clever tricks, plus very very few changes where they could not get around the problem.
Because the story is told from Madoka's point of view, it reads more like a diary of a Jr. High level child. One of the negative reviews on Amazon.co.jp complains about the writing style, and I'm not so sure that is a valid criticism. I'm too old and out of touch to know how Jr. High grade level girl would write, but this didn't feel particularly off. But then, I'm not even a native Japanese speaker, so what do I know?
Anyway, this volume lines up with the first 6 episodes of THE anime.
