"I'll take a look. The late-night Tokyo TV anime 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' achieved a viewership rating of 6.9% for Episode 7, an increase of 0.8% compared to the previous episode. Hmm~ this is only the popularity boost brought about by Episode 6. The impact caused by Episode 7 won't be reflected until Episode 8 airs. Considering the huge buzz these two episodes have generated online and the popularity accumulated over the past two weeks, just how high will Episode 8's ratings climb?" Kamiyā Yuu was practically beaming with delight. A difference of a single episode had resulted in a 0.9% swing in ratings. That alone was enough to demonstrate the astonishing potential of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'.
"NICENICE Anime Information Station:
1. Famous anime blogger [Miko-san] published a 5,000-word article late last night expressing her views on the anime 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'. Clicks: 628,176 — Replies: 27,163
2. 'Warlords of the Sengoku Era' Story Satisfaction Survey Results. Clicks: 529,187 — Replies: 20,193
3. Complete Collection of Foreshadowing and Clues in 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'. Clicks: 502,938 — Replies: 18,273
4. 'Adventure King' Setting Collection. Clicks: 459,183 — Replies: 13,928
5. 'Mobile Suit 007' Mecha Design Sketches. Clicks: 301,938 — Replies: 18,273."
On NICENICE's largest online discussion platform, two of the top five daily trending topics were discussions about 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'. Five of the top ten topics were related to it. One had to remember that before the rise of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica', the hottest anime of the season, 'Adventure King', had occupied at most three trending spots.
"NICENICE Second Audience Satisfaction Survey Report:
First Place: 'Adventure King' — Adapted from the long-running hot-blooded shōnen manga serialized in Shueisha's 'Weekly Shonen Jump'. It has been running for over two years and has accumulated unimaginable popularity, once being rated as one of the must-read manga of the past decade.
[Satisfaction Rating: 94%, with 302,761 users participating in the poll.]
Second Place: 'Mobile Suit 007' — Part of the 'Mobile Suit' series, one of the founding representatives of the mecha genre, holding an irreplaceable position in the hearts of both adults and teenagers.
[Satisfaction Rating: 93%, with 178,164 users participating in the poll.]
Third Place: 'Legend of the Hero from Another World' — Adapted from a long-running light novel series whose popularity is equally astounding. It appeared on the annual 'This Light Novel Is Amazing!' rankings for three consecutive years.
[Satisfaction Rating: 96%, with 171,534 users participating in the poll.]
Fourth Place: 'Warlords of the Sengoku Era' — A large-scale original anime production set during China's Three Kingdoms period, depicting Cao Cao as its central figure. The director is the renowned Takashi Mutō, famous for directing the historical anime 'Burning of Honnōji'. It is highly regarded by both teenagers and adults.
[Satisfaction Rating: 94%, with 170,573 users participating in the poll.]
Fifth Place: 'Symphony of Voices' — A symphony of music and romance that is extremely popular among female viewers.
[Satisfaction Rating: 97%, with 169,274 users participating in the poll.]
Sixth Place: 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' — An original anime directed by Kamiyā Yuu, the industry's youngest genius director, known for directing 'RWBY' and 'Magical Girl Nanoha'.
[Satisfaction Rating: 93%, with 65,927 users participating in the poll.]
Seventh Place: 'Grandpa Jihei' — A family education anime whose subject matter alone is enough to earn a prime-time television slot.
[Satisfaction Rating: 92%, with 50,283 users participating in the poll.]"
Thanks to the popularity growth brought by Episode 6 and the explosive discussion generated by Episode 7, 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' successfully overtook the family-oriented prime-time anime 'Grandpa Jihei', which had previously held sixth place in popularity rankings.
Because of the astonishing plot reversals in Episodes 6 and 7, although a small number of viewers had given it zero-score reviews, those were completely drowned out by the overwhelming number of high ratings. Its audience satisfaction score jumped from the previous passing line of 90% all the way up to an excellent 93%.
From a popularity standpoint, however, the gap between sixth-place 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' and fifth-place 'Symphony of Voices' was enormous. Kamiyā Yuu's sixty thousand votes were barely a fraction of the latter's support. Even so, he was highly confident that 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' would cross this watershed within the next three episodes.
And although it might sound somewhat disrespectful, 'Mobile Suit 007' was not his true target.
Kamiyā Yuu wanted to recreate the same sales miracle from his previous world. During this January season, packed with monster-level titles, he wanted to defeat every one of them—including 'Adventure King', which currently sat atop the popularity rankings thanks to years of manga readership accumulation—and let the entire industry know that making anime was freaking awesome!
"Episode 7 is both the story's turning point and the true beginning. The content of the next seventeen episodes is where the essence of this work will really be unleashed."
That thought filled Kamiyā Yuu with confidence. The snowball had already started rolling. As long as it stayed on course, it would continue gathering more and more snow as it moved forward.
"The overall quality of this January anime season is pretty high. Not to mention, 'Adventure King', 'Mobile Suit 007', and 'Legend of the Hero from Another World' already possess the quality of excellent works from the golden age of the anime industry in my previous world.
'Adventure King' is a traditional hot-blooded shōnen manga adaptation, almost like a fusion of 'One Piece' and 'Hunter × Hunter'. Even its straightforward story manages to remain exciting.
Director Kitagawa's 'Mobile Suit 007' goes without saying—it's practically a replica of 'Gundam SEED' from my previous world. Looks like I'll need to revise my future Gundam trilogy plans. I could produce 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion' first, or perhaps another original anime. Maybe 'Fate/Zero' or 'Fullmetal Alchemist'.
As for 'Legend of the Hero from Another World', it's one of those overpowered-protagonist light novel adaptations. Unfortunately, it doesn't reach the level of Bone Daddy when it comes to showing off. The female character designs aren't particularly distinctive either. It only barely stands out thanks to the advantage of being adapted from a popular light novel and the novelty of its premise."
Kamiyā Yuu had watched almost all of the anime in the top ten rankings. Aside from 'Adventure King', 'Mobile Suit 007', and 'Warlords of the Sengoku Era', he had mostly skimmed through the others using the fast-forward bar.
Those three were the only titles he acknowledged as truly outstanding works capable of transcending their era, and they were his genuine competitors. Moreover, all three were directed by famous veteran directors within the anime industry.
If 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' could achieve first place in popularity rankings, Kamiyā Yuu's status within Japan's anime industry would finally be firmly established. Setting aside the overseas impact caused by 'RWBY', he would become one of Japan's truly renowned anime directors.