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The expansion of Haruto's fame within the light novel industry had very little immediate impact on the world of animation.
Two days later, on Thursday night, the seventh episode of Puella Magi Madoka Magica aired as scheduled. After a week of intense word-of-mouth marketing, the series had become an absolute phenomenon within the anime community.
The bizarre and shocking developments of the third episode, famous for the fate of the "Headless Senpai" Mami Tomoe, and the sixth episode, which revealed the horrifying truth that a magical girl's soul is literally housed in a gemstone, had piqued the curiosity of countless viewers.
Thanks to the cooperation of TV Channel, the earlier episodes had been rebroadcast during various off-peak time slots. This allowed many new fans to catch up on the first five episodes and join the massive army of viewers following the weekly broadcast.
Goro was one of those new converts. To be honest, three weeks ago, he had already seen people all over the internet discussing Mami Tomoe, but he hadn't paid it much mind at the time. He felt that he had long since "graduated" from the magical girl genre. It wasn't until last week, when the sixth episode went viral and the forums were flooded with people cursing the "Warrior of Love" pen name while wailing over the tragic fate of the girls, that he finally decided to dive in.
He caught the late-night reruns throughout the week. After marathon-watching the first six episodes, he found himself completely unable to stop. He was right there with everyone else cursing the creator, but he had fallen head over heels in love with the show.
"I just hope this week isn't as depressing as the last," Goro whispered to himself. He took a deep breath, centered his focus, and fixed his eyes on the television screen. The atmosphere of the seventh episode was incredibly oppressive.
Having discovered that being a magical girl meant discarding their humanity and becoming a mere soul gem destined to fight witches, Madoka had developed fear for the profession.
Meanwhile, Sayaka's entire value system and worldview were beginning to crumble into dust. However, an unexpected connection began to form between the fiery redhead Kyoko and the blue-haired Sayaka.
While there isn't a specific proverb for it, every veteran anime fan knows the unspoken rule: red and blue are the ultimate pairing. When a creator chooses those colors for two characters, they are already dropping heavy hints about their dynamic. Because the dark truth of their existence had been exposed, Sayaka and Kyoko found themselves sharing a sense of shared misfortune and mutual understanding.
Under the orange glow of a setting sun, in front of a dilapidated old church, Kyoko took the initiative. She offered an apple to Sayaka, only for Sayaka to slap it away. The two nearly came to blows over the gesture, but then Kyoko began to tell her own story. She opened up about her past, explaining how her father was a religious man and how she had become a magical girl to help his ministry.
She had wished for people to listen to her father's sermons, but that wish had backfired. When her father discovered that his success was the result of "magic" and saw his daughter as a monster, the family was destroyed, leaving Kyoko entirely alone in the world. Because of this tragedy, she swore she would never use her magic for anyone but herself ever again.
As Goro watched this unfold and connected it to previous scenes, he finally understood why Kyoko was always picking fights with Sayaka. Kyoko had once wished for the sake of others and had been betrayed by reality. Seeing Sayaka make the same mistake by wishing for Kyosuke's recovery made Kyoko feel a reflection of her own pain and anger. Kyoko had been constantly telling Sayaka to live for herself and be selfish because he didn't want the girl to repeat her own tragic history.
After realizing this, Goro's perception of Kyoko changed instantly. She was the classic "sharp tongue, soft heart" character. Perhaps she had truly intended to kill Sayaka during their first fight, but since then, she had been trying to warn Sayaka away from the path of tragedy.
"I'm sorry. I apologize for what I did. But I don't regret wishing for someone else's sake. To make sure that feeling doesn't become a lie, I've decided never to regret it. I don't think I paid too high a price, because if this power is used correctly, it can create wonderful things. The reason I didn't take your apple earlier was because you stole it, right? I'm going to keep fighting in my own way."
Under the sunset, in front of the church, the blue-haired girl spoke with a stern and dignified face before turning to walk away.
The scene of the red-haired girl shouting at her for her stubbornness, accompanied by a tragic yet beautiful musical score, made Goro's heart race. Both Kyoko and Sayaka were written with such incredible depth.
However, the "depressing" content that Goro had been dreading appeared just a minute later.
Madoka and Sayaka had another close friend at school named Hitomi. The three of them were childhood best friends. But Hitomi decided to lay her cards on the table. She confessed to Sayaka that she liked Kyosuke and intended to confess her feelings to him.
Hitomi gave Sayaka a one-day grace period to make her own move, essentially challenging her to either confess first or step aside.
But for Sayaka, this head start was meaningless.
She felt she no longer had the right to tell Kyosuke how she felt.
She could only wait, knowing that in twenty-four hours, Hitomi would confess, and Kyosuke would likely accept. Kyosuke was going to be taken away by one of her best friends, and this looming reality caused Sayaka's fragile mental state to collapse.
All the brave words she had said to Kyoko were based on the idea that her sacrifice had meaning. She became a magical girl to save Kyosuke in the hopes of having a romantic future with him. But now, even though she knew her two friends were likely to become a couple, what could she do? Could she compete with Hitomi? How could she?
She wasn't human anymore; she was just a stone. She was a soul gem that Kyubey had used to manifest her spirit.
"I can't do anything. I'm already dead. I'm just a zombie. I can't say things like 'please date me' or 'please hold me' or 'please kiss me' to Kyousuke anymore." That night, the scene of Sayaka breaking down and sobbing in Madoka's arms made Goro's nose tingle with sadness.
Perhaps Sayaka truly wasn't afraid of dying in battle against a witch.
But how could she accept that her sacrifice only served to pave the way for a romance between Kyosuke and someone else? She couldn't even convince herself to fight for him because, in her eyes, a non-human entity had no right to interfere in human love.
"How can you be so cruel to Sayaka? You bastard 'Warrior of Love,' are you just picking one girl to torment repeatedly?" Goro shouted at his empty room.
Sayaka's final mental state was revealed through her next battle. Her theme music began to play, and the entire atmosphere became hauntingly epic.
The dark silhouettes and her fearless, reckless attitude showed she no longer cared about her own safety. She fought the witch inside the barrier without any regard for injury. She traded blows, using her magic as if it were disposable.
When her chest was pierced by the witch, she ignored the pain and lunged forward with her sword. When her stomach was impaled, she didn't flinch, driving her blade deeper into her foe.
Kyoko couldn't stand to watch and tried to help, but Sayaka refused. She laughed a broken, hollow laugh as she engaged in a brutal struggle with the monster. Blood sprayed everywhere as fatal wounds appeared one after another, but she just kept laughing, biting, and clawing.
She used her magic to instantly heal her physical body, ignoring the fact that her soul gem was turning pitch black. She welcomed the physical agony of battle because it helped numb the much sharper pain in her soul. She no longer cared about death.
"It's true. If I want to... I can just turn off the pain!"
Sayaka stood before the corpse of the witch, wearing a smile that was both shattered and pitiable. Seeing this, Goro could no longer hold back the tears that had been welling in his eyes. This show was too much. How could it be this hopeless? How could someone take the concept of a magical girl, which had represented love and justice in the anime industry for decades, and turn it into such a miserable existence in just seven episodes?
Goro was completely broken. But across Japan, there were millions of people feeling the exact same way. During the seventh episode, even as the ending credits rolled, the viewership ratings for Tokyo TV showed no sign of declining. Very few viewers usually stay tuned for the post-credits preview, but Madoka Magica managed to keep over 3.4% of the audience glued to their screens until the very last second.
The despair and anger of the audience were simmering, finally reaching a boiling point when the preview for the eighth episode appeared. It was only ten seconds of footage.
"I've decided to become a magical girl who is different from all of you."
Sayaka's blue hair fluttered as the light of conviction in her eyes shattered, replaced by a sorrowful smile.
"I really am a fool."
Based on the preview, it was impossible to guess where the story was headed next.
Once the millions of fans had seen what they needed to see, they knew exactly where to go next. Starting at 9:25 PM, the account for "Warrior of Love" was flooded. Hundreds of thousands of people poured into the comments section.
"Take a punch from me, you bastard!"
"Warrior of Love, show your face if you have the guts! Are you even human, hiding like a coward after writing this?"
"Are you even a person? To come up with a plot like this, you must be sick. I'm giving you one week. Just one week to make Hitomi and Kyosuke break up and have Kyosuke confess to Sayaka. I don't want to see her sad for even one more second!"
"Stop hurting them! If you keep this up, the fans are going to find you and mail you real kitchen knives!"
"On the surface, Sayaka's tragedy is caused by her own naivety. But she could have been smarter if the writer let her. It's all the creator's fault for giving her that personality. He is the real reason for her suffering."
"Girls, this is the first time I've cried at an anime this year. I really can't accept this kind of ending for Sayaka. I could handle Kyosuke not liking her, but letting Hitomi take him away is too much!"
"Is this why they say wishing for someone else brings misfortune?"
"Basically, there's no such thing as a miracle wish. A magical girl's wish is more like a curse. Whatever you gain is balanced by a price you have to pay. It's that kind of twisted logic."
"Sigh, I'm just numb at this point. I don't know if I'll have the courage to watch the eighth episode next week."
"This is so depressing. But surely episode seven is the peak of the despair, right? Next week things have to turn around. Things have to get better after hitting rock bottom!"
"True. The story is so negative right now that it's physically impossible for it to get any worse next week."
"So... does everyone still remember the name of this show? It's Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Before, we were all anxious because Madoka was taking too long to transform. Now, I'm praying she never transforms!"
"The creator really knows how to play with us. For the first six episodes, we were begging for her to transform. Now, we have to beg him not to do it."
"This is all his fault. Warrior of Love, I hope you stay hidden for the rest of your life!"
Haruto's account was blasted with insults from 9:00 PM until the following morning. The wave of anger showed no signs of stopping. Even the next day, fans who had just woken up went back to the comments to vent their frustration. In terms of pure traffic and engagement, Haruto's fan base was perhaps the most "dedicated".
As for the ratings...
The seventh episode of Puella Magi Madoka Magica achieved an average viewership rating of 3.39%. When this number was released, many people in the industry felt their minds reel.
Just last week, the show was averaging around 2.7% and only spiked to 3% after multiple reruns. But this week, it hit 3.39% on the first airing. The ratings were practically taking flight.
This anime was becoming utterly ridiculous.