While Mirei was still reeling from the third episode of Magical Girl, unable to pull herself away from what she'd just seen, the anime world had already erupted.
This time, the discussion about Madoka Magica buried every other anime release of the fall season. Reactions, debates, and hot takes, everything was about Madoka Magica episode three.
And it wasn't just the shock.
compare to original world Haruki had made changes for sharper pacing, tighter direction, and more aggressive emotional control.
Which meant Mami's death hit that much harder.
Dark. Hopeless. Unnerving. That's what fans were calling it.
As a result, Haruki's fend account had turned into a central war zone for live reactions to episode three.
"Yo, did you watch Madoka Magica today? That third episode? I'm shook."
"I dropped it after episode one. What happened in Madoka Magica? It's not my genre, but did he change things? He said he would, but I didn't see it in the first episode."
"Person above me, are you an idiot? You think someone can change the whole genre of a show in a single episode? If it changes in episode one, that's not a change in style—it's just a different show. What kind of attention span do you have?"
"I don't have time for some mid show. I have a life outside, so I can't waste time on it."
"If you don't have time to watch, why even watch anime? A story takes time to tell. Why not watch reels? That's probably all your brain can comprehend."
"Honestly, that ending? It's peak Haruki. Feels just like his old stuff. I don't even know where episode four's gonna go now."
"Man, I was watching that heartfelt conversation between Madoka and her senpai, Madoka getting inspired, senpai crying because she finally found a companion. I thought this was gonna be a feel-good show about magical friendship… Then Haruki roundhouse-kicked me in the face two minutes later."
"Wait, hold up! Who's the senpai? That blonde from episode one? Wasn't her name Mami something? What happened to her??"
"I hate spoilers, so I'll just say one thing: Mami-chan just became Mami-chan."(Madoka meme: "Mami-chan" = sudden, brutal death)
"What does that even mean? Are you trying to do a tongue twister?"
"Fine, I'll explain. In episode three, a new magical girl shows up—says she's Meiko Honma's soul, trapped in this world. She needs to defeat a hundred witches to reincarnate with jinta. That's the plot now. Go watch it."
"Wait, are you serious? That's actually the story?!"
"Spoiler guy, I hope you step on a Lego barefoot."
"Whatever, since it's already spoiled—MEIKO IN EPISODE THREE IS TOO CUTE."
"WHY are y'all like this?? Can't keep anything to yourselves, huh?"
"Mami was such a good girl… and she got a bento just like that. I seriously thought she was gonna be the second main lead."
"I only started watching this because my sister loves magical girl anime. She was sitting with me during ep three, saw the ending, and started crying. Said, 'This isn't a magical girl show! Magical girls don't DIE!' Then she ran to our dad crying that I made her watch a horror anime. RIP me."
"Now I'm thinking back to what Haruki said in interviews—'this show will subvert the magical girl genre.' I thought it was just PR nonsense. But no. He really meant it. Was this the beginning of the twist? Or just the appetizer?"
"You notice how after episode three, the ED changed? Straight-up dark visuals now. Creepy as hell. The happy scenes from the OP? Almost none of them have happened in the actual episodes. It's all misdirection. This is just like Haruki's old tricks… He's starting to get serious."
"Nah, I still don't buy that he'll go full tragedy. Sure, the senpai died in battle—tragic, yeah—but that's not enough to make this a full-on depressing anime. It's just one shock moment."
Haruki's feed was buzzing today like it hadn't in weeks.
Major forums lit up. Fan groups exploded. The whole scene was locked in on one thing:
What the hell is happening in Madoka?
Even animation industry critics had started writing posts and making videos about whether the magical girl genre had finally been subverted.
And technically, episode three wasn't even that graphic. No bloodbath. Nothing explicit.
It was the contrast.
The style, the tone, the character designs—it all looked like a kid-friendly show. But episode three blew that illusion to pieces in just two minutes. It said one thing loud and clear:
Being a magical girl? It's a death sentence.
That twist alone stirred up a storm, but for a show to last, it needs more than shock value. If Madoka Magica doesn't keep escalating, this buzz might vanish as fast as it started.
So now, everyone was asking:
Is this just a one-time bait and switch?
Or is Haruki about to go full demon mode with the rest of the plot?
Even people inside the industry weren't sure how fans would react to this kind of genre subversion. But one thing was certain: this was going to be Haruki's most talked about work.
Saya, at the studio, slouched back in her chair after watching episode three.
Her stomach twisted with a feeling she hadn't had in a while: dread.
So that's what this show really is… and it took three episodes to show its hand.
Wasn't Haruki afraid viewers would drop it before the payoff?
Or maybe… he was confident that even if some left early, the story would be strong enough to bring them all back.
Saya sighed and brushed her bangs behind her ear.
Sure, her own show into abyss was ahead by three million views in the rankings. Bigger studio, bigger promotion, better market reach.
But for some reason, she couldn't shake the thought, this was a very controversial work. Magical girl fans might not like it, and people who weren't into the character designs wouldn't be pulled in… so did Haruki really have that much trust in his story?
Is this what Haruki's old rivals felt like?
Knowing they had the more popular genre, yet still feeling like he might catch up, despite being at a disadvantage.
She smiled to herself, then shook her head.
What am I even afraid of? I beat him last year. I've got the lead now. Nothing's changed.
Don't panic.
Shout out to Rich Boy Winston, Juan Flores for joining my p-atreon! your support means everything to me.
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