The most crucial moment was left hanging, catching all the viewers off guard. When the episode ended, the audience was seething with frustration, some even resorting to outright cursing:
"Damn you, Lin Zhiyan! Don't you dare cut off at such a critical point!"
"I want to see the Main Character become a magical girl!"
"You damn old thief Lin! Couldn't you have waited until she became a magical girl in Episode 11? Are you not afraid of being beaten to death for deliberately teasing us like this?"
"The original version must be finished. Anyone want to form a group and storm the LSP servers with me?"
"How am I supposed to sleep tonight without seeing the final episode? Damn it! This is too much!"
"Tired of misleading advertising? Now you're playing the 'cliffhanger' game?"
"That's it! Tonight I'm taking out my Kyubey doll on him. After all, Old Thief Lin's profile picture is Kyubey, and he's just as detestable!"
The animation was already a massive hit, and then they had to cliffhang at a crucial moment—and for a whole week! It was enough to make fans want to "kill Old Thief Lin."
In this regard, the audience of Puella Magi Madoka Magica in the other timeline had it much easier. Although the original broadcast was delayed by two weeks due to the earthquake, with the final two episodes postponed from mid-March to late April, they were eventually aired back-to-back.
Episode 10 didn't have that frustrating cliffhanger, and the final two episodes aired consecutively, so fans didn't have to wait a whole week. Compared to that, they were practically living in paradise.
But for Lin Zhiyan, there was no help for it. He wasn't a true god, after all, just called "Lord Hayashi" by his adoring fans. He couldn't control when earthquakes happened.
Without special circumstances, television stations schedule their programming months in advance. They couldn't just move up the broadcast of Episode 12 and air it with Episode 11 as a two-episode special.
It just wasn't possible.
Even if the TV station could accommodate him, he wouldn't adjust it anyway.
The anime was already so depressing. What was wrong with a little cliffhanger at the end?
They'd been calling him "Old Thief Lin" so fiercely, it would be a disservice to the title if he didn't actually do something a real old thief would do.
He had to cut it off!
He had to leave the audience hanging!
He had to make them wait a whole week!
Of course, this was just Lin Zhiyan's internal thought process. Even though he'd been feeling bold lately, he didn't dare say it out loud, fearing someone might actually try to assassinate him. After all, this was Japan—anything bizarre could happen. It was better to be cautious.
Besides, he'd already promised not to post on the Forum again. He had to keep his word.
The audience was naturally furious about the cliffhanger at the end of Episode 11, but it didn't diminish their overall affection for the animation.
Serious discussions about the plot still dominated:
"That Kyubey is truly insidious. If it hadn't said what it did, Homura Akemi might not have fallen into despair so easily, even if she couldn't defeat Walpurgisnight. She would have entered the next cycle without hesitation. It's all because of Kyubey, because this thing is single-mindedly determined to make the Main Character the strongest magical girl, only to transform her into the most evil Witch."
"That guy is truly detestable, but from its perspective, its words are actually quite reasonable. Besides, it said itself that Incubators don't possess emotions, otherwise it wouldn't be using magical girls on Earth to collect energy."
"Who should get credit for the character design in this animation—Aoki Ume or Old Thief Lin? I have to say, Kyubey's mouth shape is just too mocking. The more I look at it, the more I want to kill it."
"Through endless cycles of reincarnation, its emotions gradually deviate, its words become increasingly incomprehensible. To save the Main Character, Madoka, and become the only beacon Homura Akemi has left—seeing that part was truly moving. My heart aches for Homura Akemi; I hope there's a happy ending, even though the probability is very low."
"The Main Character will make a wish and become a magical girl—that's already a certainty. Whether the ending is good or bad hinges entirely on the nature of her wish."
"I can't wait to see the scene where the Main Character becomes a magical girl."
The Main Character's wish was crucial to the final outcome of the series.
Once many viewers realized this, a large group of fans immediately began speculating and discussing what her wish might be, both online and offline.
Some believed she would wish for the resurrection of the deceased—Senior Mami, Sayaka, and Kyoko. Others thought she would wish for all future magical girls to remain hopeful and never fall into despair. Still others suggested her wish might be to make the powers of all magical girls and Witches vanish forever.
The speculation ran wild.
Despite the frustration caused by the cliffhanger, most viewers were generally satisfied with the content of Episode 11.
When the ratings for the next day were released, they showed a significant increase compared to Episode 10, even surging to 7.0% and breaking another record for late-night animated television.
Unless the final episode of Puella Magi Madoka Magica set a new record, it was unlikely any other animation would break this record before the second season of Nodame Cantabile "Paris Arc" aired.
Whether the final episode could set a new record remained uncertain until its broadcast, but Lin Zhiyan was taking it very seriously.
During the interval between the broadcast of Episode 11 and the premiere of Episode 12, they poured even more money into promotion. They even managed to get GG featured on the front page of Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's top newspaper with a daily circulation exceeding 14 million copies. The GG advertisement completely dominated the entire newspaper page.
The hype was immense.
The anime's audience was equally enthusiastic. When fans discovered that Yomiuri Shimbun was running a preview of the final episode of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, many who had never subscribed to the paper rushed to buy a copy. The result? The day's edition sold out completely.
Furthermore, the main visual for the final episode of Puella Magi Madoka Magica appeared everywhere—on train stations, street corners, and in public spaces—with even greater frequency than before. As always, the artwork was personally drawn by Lin Zhiyan.
Major anime magazines either collaborated with Lin Zhiyan or tried to capitalize on the trend, with nearly all of them featuring characters or scenes from Puella Magi Madoka Magica on their covers.
Even a news report on a television channel mentioned the anime.
GG was everywhere.
Then, amid the anticipation of millions of viewers, March 26th arrived, and the final episode of Puella Magi Madoka Magica finally aired.
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