In mid-February 2018, the January anime series had basically all aired five or six episodes, and the popularity of each show had more or less stabilized.
Episode 5 of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' had finished airing. Although it had not become a huge hit, its consistently high production values still gave its popularity a steady, modest boost. At the very least, it sat firmly in eighth place on the January anime popularity rankings, only one step away from the seventh-ranked 'Grandpa Jihei.' Viewers who liked Kamiyā Yuu's works or magical girl anime rated it very highly. Although so far, aside from its usual big-budget production quality, there had not been any breakthrough in the plot, many viewers inferred from the story's progress that 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' might have some godly twist coming.
The anime had clearly only reached Episode 5, yet the protagonist team had already gathered together to subjugate the nominal final boss, Walpurgis Night? How were the remaining nineteen episodes supposed to continue?
Twitter, anime forums, and the comment sections of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' were filled with all kinds of "god-tier" analyses. Tech geeks from various fields used their specialties and transformed into famous detectives, analyzing every detail of the anime. Many correct analyses even surprised Kamiyā Yuu himself.
[Speculation Regarding That Cute Creature Kyubey in the Anime
Although magical girl anime usually come with mascot characters, I don't know whether this mascot Kyubey was deliberately arranged by Great God Kamiyā, but it gives me an inexplicably eerie feeling. Usually, mascots serve as cute characters, and their art style changes along with their emotions. But this QB hasn't shown the slightest change in expression from beginning to end, and it also isn't treated as an enemy by those bizarre witches. It moves freely within witch domains.
Is there really nothing suspicious behind such a strange creature? It grants magical girls special powers and Soul Gems. At first glance, the Soul Gem's abilities seem quite good, but in reality, they're extremely strange. Several close-ups show that when magical girls use their powers to fight witches, or when their emotions experience negative fluctuations, the Soul Gem darkens slightly. What would happen if this beautiful Soul Gem turned completely black?
From Homura Akemi's attitude toward Kyubey, we can also discover some unusual points...
...
—Mingxiu]
[Why Homura Akemi Chooses to Hide in the Shadows and Protect the Magical Girls
Why the anime created such a character is still a mystery. Her attitude toward the protagonist Madoka Kaname's team is very strange, yet she also seems to understand them extremely well. Her attitude toward Madoka Kaname in particular appears cold on the surface, but in reality, it's a concern like that of a personal bodyguard, right? When the witch appeared in Episode 2, she was always able to calmly walk out from the shadows and save Madoka and the others. Why does she choose to fight silently alone? Does she have some incomprehensible past like Fate-chan?
...
—Yamaguchi Jisuke]
[An Analysis of the Existence of Witches
We find that every witch's existence carries hidden meaning. When entering a witch's domain, all kinds of scenes bury ambiguous clues that leave people confused. Even now, the anime has not explained the origin of witches. Honestly, I think this anime is more suitable for young adults to watch, and its target audience rating also indicates that. Since there is an age warning, that means later developments may become very bizarre and bloody! Looking forward to it~ Looking forward to it!
...
—Kiku-ichimonji]
On any online platform related to 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica,' analyses like these, almost mystical in their detail, could often be seen. Ordinary viewers read them with great interest, then forget what they had read after finishing.
Some viewers scoffed at them, believing that analyzing anime was just like studying Japanese class: an act as pointless as taking off one's pants to fart. Seeing a certain haiku and then having to consider the poet's mood? Absolute nonsense!
······
In Kamiyā Sora's classroom, during lunch break, the boys gathered together and excitedly discussed the popular anime topics of the moment.
"You watch anime like you're in a Japanese class? Who do you think you are, some famous detective?"
When Andō Shū told his hobby friends about his analysis, 'An Analysis of Hidden Foreshadowing Clues in Witch Domains,' he was mercilessly mocked. Andō Shū sulkily watched the small group of boys in front of him discussing anime topics. But unlike his beloved 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica,' what they were talking about was the plot of the hot-blooded shonen anime 'Adventure King.'
Andō Shū curled his lip and said, "Haven't you already read the manga and known where the story goes? What's even good about watching the anime?"
"Yes, yes, we all know what you like is 'Magical Girl.' Ma! Ho! Sho! Jo! Andō, who has the heart of a girl, couldn't possibly understand our men's romance!"
One boy deliberately emphasized the pronunciation of "magical girl," drawing laughter from the other boys. After speaking, he also deliberately glanced at Kamiyā Sora in the distance. As immature boys in their chuunibyou phase, they naturally had thoughts of attracting girls' attention. By now, the class basically all knew that Kamiyā Yuu was Kamiyā Sora's older brother, and that Kamiyā Yuu had made 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica.'
Kamiyā Sora calmly flipped through the math textbook in front of her, preparing for the exam afterward. Whenever she encountered a difficult problem, she picked up her pencil and applied formulas in her exercise book to solve it. She gave no extra reaction to their mockery of Kamiyā Yuu's work.
A trace of disappointment flashed through the speaking boy's eyes. Andō Shū, however, frowned unhappily.
"What are you talking about? Last time, you all discussed 'Magical Girl Nanoha' so intensely. Besides, Director Kamiyā is Kamiyā-san's older brother, known in the animation industry as a genius director. Men's romance? What kind of men's romance are the half-baked fight scenes in 'Adventure King'? 'RWBY' is what you call real impact in every punch!"
Another boy whispered, "Unfortunately, the work by that so-called genius director you mentioned is currently ranked eighth on NICNICE's online popularity rankings. Meanwhile, 'Adventure King' is more than ten times as popular as 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica.' And never mind 'Adventure King'—it's still far behind 'Mobile Suit 007,' the work Director Kamiyā mentioned on Twitter as his popularity comparison target. Well, I don't watch 'Mobile Suit 007' anyway."
"Ah, I remember. It was that joke bet on Twitter between Director Kamiyā of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' and Director Kitagawa of 'Mobile Suit 007,' right? The loser has to treat the other at Sukiyabashi Jiro."
"'Mobile Suit 007' is currently ranked third in popularity, right? Does 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' still have any chance of turning things around?"
Andō Shū was full of anger, but he did not know what to say in rebuttal.
Kamiyā Sora, who had solved the math formula, glanced at them and added "childish" to their existing label of "idiots."
The joking bet between Kamiyā Yuu and 'Mobile Suit 007' animation director Kitagawa Shūichi had been explained on both of their Twitter accounts and had sparked great interest among their fans. The incident itself was not some deliberate publicity stunt, but merely an industry joke. It also showed that Kamiyā Yuu and Kitagawa Shūichi had a good relationship.
The plot of 'Mobile Suit 007' told the story of various countries using Gundams to wage space wars. Its story, similar to 'Gundam SEED,' caused quite a stir in the animation industry, and its overall popularity continued to rise, surpassing 'Warlords of the Sengoku Era' and ranking behind only 'Adventure King' and 'Legend of the Hero from Another World.'
Kitagawa Shūichi was also a capable animation director. When Kamiyā Yuu watched 'Mobile Suit 007,' he felt the same kind of interest he had once felt following weekly anime in his previous world.
The story of 'Mobile Suit 007' could make him feel interested. At the same time, this anime had the fiercest promotional campaign among the January series. It had partnered with a major toy manufacturer, seemingly intending to turn the anime into a famous IP. When the anime aired, there had even been an exhibition event featuring a 1:1 scale giant Gundam over ten meters tall.