Even though most of the people involved in this anime screening were staff members who had worked on 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' and knew the story by heart, when the finished product truly appeared before them, they still found it unbelievable. Key animation, animation, sound, special effects—the finished product formed by combining every part was what people called anime. Episodes 6 and 7 of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' gave them a feeling completely different from before. Even as creators, they could not help being drawn in by the work itself.
After the episode finished playing, in the suffocating atmosphere, Gogyo Ruri and the others nervously watched Kamiyā Yuu's thoughtful expression, waiting for his conclusion.
Under everyone's gaze, Kamiyā Yuu waved his hand and smiled.
"It passes. Thank you for your hard work, everyone."
"Hmph, of course it does."
Yūki Chinatsu crossed her arms and snorted, unable to hide the relieved smile at the corners of her mouth no matter what.
—This is... really... wonderful...
Gogyo Ruri's small face had been flushed with excitement from the very beginning. Sitting in her chair, she played with her small hands at a loss. 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' was the first work she had truly participated in producing. She had also noticed that many parts of Episodes 6 and 7 were the result of her own revisions. The incomparable satisfaction of completing her debut work filled her thoughts, and the excitement and happiness nearly overflowing from her heart made her unable to stop herself from blooming into a radiant smile.
Uehara Etsuki, who noticed Gogyo Ruri's excited expression beside her, covered her lips and chuckled. Compared to the joy of completing a work, she preferred seeing other people's smiles.
"Kuroneko."
"Hm?"
"You worked hard. This is your reward."
Uehara Etsuki smiled softly and placed a piece of candy in Gogyo Ruri's palm.
Gogyo Ruri stared blankly at the candy in her hand. Then she clenched it tightly with both hands, stood up, and solemnly bowed to Uehara Etsuki.
"Yes! Thank you for taking care of me during this time!"
"Ah~ I feel so tired. There's nothing for the sound department today, so I'll go back and rest first."
Shindō Tsukasa stood up with a smile, gave a greeting, and left the screening room. He arrived at the outdoor stairs of the office building, lit himself a cigarette, and began smoking thoughtfully.
"Shindō, the animation screening is done?"
Gatte, dressed in casual clothes, came to his side and asked with a smile, resting both hands on the stair railing as he looked at the night scenery of the bustling city.
"Pretty much. Kamiyā said it passed. For some reason, I feel like everything's complete now, even though production isn't even halfway finished."
Shindō Tsukasa took the cigarette from his mouth, looked back at him, and laughed. The two had already known each other, and Shindō Tsukasa himself had been the one to introduce Gatte to 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio.
"The production time for Episodes 6 and 7 was too long. Two or three times that of an ordinary anime, right?"
Gatte summarized after recalling the production progress at 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio.
Shindō Tsukasa said with interest, "Well~ even I, as the sound director, could feel how important these two episodes were. The OP, ED, BGM, and character theme songs were all changed once. It was practically like making a new anime. Without Kamiyā's help, you wouldn't be seeing me leisurely smoking here right now. Tomorrow is your war. It's my turn to get some proper rest."
After speaking, Shindō Tsukasa somewhat tiredly rolled his shoulders.
"We're only handing the anime over to the TV station. The production cycle has gone smoothly, so there basically won't be any omissions on our side."
Gatte laughed heartily. Most of a line producer's work was very relaxed. In truth, he was equivalent to the animation company's public relations officer.
After looking Shindō Tsukasa up and down, Gatte shook his head and smiled.
"You've changed quite a lot, too. You used to look like a sloppy uncle who never cut his hair and kept a beard. Even when it came to music, you only composed when inspiration struck, never mind working until night. Haven't you become quite the qualified company employee now?"
Shindō Tsukasa exhaled a cloud of white smoke. After putting the remaining cigarette into a portable ashtray, he smiled.
"No choice. It's rare to find such an interesting team. The president is capable and full of drive. If I don't follow closely, I'll be left behind by the main group. But what about you? Are you satisfied with the work environment here?"
"The treatment is beyond imagination, and I also like the company atmosphere. The only thing that feels strange is having to call someone younger than me 'President' every day."
"Oh?"
Gatte spread his hands helplessly.
"The worst part is that I have no choice but to admit President Kamiyā really is exceptionally capable. All the women in the company are staring at that prime cut of meat called President Kamiyā. If not for the circle of outstanding women around him that makes people feel ashamed of themselves, he would have been devoured long ago, bones and all. Ahh~ now that I think about it, I used to be pretty popular with the female employees too."
"Young, rich, capable, kind to others, good personality, no bad habits—is he the perfect protagonist from a shoujo manga or what?"
Shindō Tsukasa laughed.
"He should be the second male lead type. The male lead is usually full of personality, but not perfect. I personally hate male lead types. Kamiyā's type is much easier to get along with."
"Then the protagonist type from a shonen harem manga?"
Shindō Tsukasa decisively shook his head again.
"You can't see that whole bunch of flaws on him. Rather, Kamiyā is very good at handling interpersonal relationships, and he's smooth in how he deals with things. He should be the protagonist of a youth career manga."
Leaning against the stair railing, Gatte looked at the empty staircase.
"Ah~ this is what they mean by comparing people only makes you angry. It's not good to keep gossiping about President Kamiyā behind his back either. In short, I'm very satisfied with the current environment. I'm especially looking forward to the company's new work, 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica.' Even someone like me, who's outside the production chain, knows that Episodes 6 and 7 are the turning point of the anime's story. I wonder what kind of change it will bring to the anime when it airs the day after tomorrow."
"Kamiyā wouldn't care about little gossip like this."
Recalling the days he had spent with Kamiyā Yuu, Shindō Tsukasa laughed. After they became close, he had often joked around with Kamiyā Yuu, too.
"Ah... choo!"
Kamiyā Yuu, who was returning to his office, sneezed, completely unaware that he had been labeled as a perfect second male lead and an atypical harem manga protagonist.
Episode 6 of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' had already begun officially unfolding the story, pushing what was originally a healing-style anime into an abyss of depression, along with all kinds of unexpected divine developments. The first five episodes were the calm before the storm. Episode 6 was a sky covered in oppressive black clouds, an unfolding that anyone could sense was wrong. After that came a downpour no one could react to in time, until finally a flood rose and drowned the entire world.
Everything proceeded smoothly. 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio handed Episode 6 to Tokyo TV, and Tokyo TV aired the anime in its late-night slot, as though nothing had changed at all.
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In the dark city, eerie black clouds covered the entire metropolis.
"That's right. I absolutely won't let you have your way. Kyubey—No, I should call you Incubator."
In a dim alley of the city, Homura Akemi's eyes turned cold as she stared at the white catlike creature before her. With a raise of her hand, a handgun gleaming with metallic light appeared. Its sights locked steadily onto the forehead of the strange white creature Kyubey. The hatred in her gaze left no doubt that she would ruthlessly pull the trigger.
Kyubey's expression showed no surprise. Its red bead-like eyes held not the slightest emotional fluctuation. Its calmness before the gun barrel made one shudder.
"It seems you really do know my true identity, Homura Akemi. But at this point, what else can be said?"
"Bang!"
The bullet pierced the Kyubey's head, instantly taking the cute creature's life. Along with it came Homura Akemi's hysterical growl.
"You deceived me. You deceived everyone."
"Ah, you've done something unnecessary. Although the existence of my individual body is meaningless, preparing another body is still somewhat troublesome."
Another Kyubey leapt out from a shadowed corner. Aside from lacking the bleeding bullet hole on its forehead, it looked almost identical. It devoured its own "corpse" in just a few bites, then calmly continued speaking to Homura Akemi.
It tilted its head and looked at Homura Akemi.
"I really don't understand. Deception? Even from the human perspective, my actions don't count as deception. Hope and despair are equivalent. If I grant the power of hope that can create miracles, naturally, I must collect an equivalent price. That is an obvious principle, and also an unchanging truth of the universe. Longing only for miracles without paying a price—isn't that quite a cunning idea? I merely granted you the right to use the power of miracles. That price will also be borne by you yourselves."
"You grant us hope, then make us fall into despair and become witches? That's the so-called price? Ridiculous!"
As if knowing that everything she did was futile, Homura Akemi left those words behind, then turned and walked deeper into the alley. Before long, this place would be swallowed by the descending Walpurgis Night. What she needed to do was destroy Walpurgis Night, allowing her—allowing Madoka Kaname and the others—to break free from this cycle of despair.
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The Inner World.
A blazing white space. Here, it was as though only light and heat remained. Even if a piece of steel fell into this place, it would likely evaporate from the extreme temperature within seconds. But the blazing white did not last long. Ominous black smoke was born from an unknown corner, like thick ink dripping into clear water, instantly swallowing the blazing white clean. In the distant sky, the strange puppet holding a parasol continued dancing gracefully as the gears turned.
This was the domain belonging to the witch. Before long, it would materialize and descend upon Mitakihara City, where Madoka Kaname lived. To prevent this from happening, Homura Akemi had entered this world that existed on the boundary between illusion and reality ahead of time.
"Tch!"
Homura Akemi clenched her silver teeth and once again activated her magical girl's special ability, freezing this entire space. Then she threw down giant cylindrical objects that had already been set up one after another. Each cylinder displayed a countdown, with only the final 0.1 seconds remaining.
If a nuclear weapons expert were here, they would immediately recognize that the giant cylindrical objects Homura Akemi was continuously throwing out were ultimate weapons with destructive power at the megaton level or above—nuclear bombs and hydrogen bombs. If these nuclear bombs detonated at the same time, they could instantly reach the temperature of the sun's core.
In truth, Homura Akemi had been repeating this since just now. But even humanity's strongest forbidden weapons could not injure Walpurgis Night in the slightest.
Time restarted once more. The nuclear bombs exploded once more, and once more, they were destroyed by Walpurgis Night.
Kyubey walked slowly out of the shadows and said, "How astonishing. Just how many nuclear bombs did you transport? But even this level of power is futile. No matter how powerful nuclear bombs are, they are insignificant before the entropy of the universe. If magical girls are born from wishes, then witches are beings born through curses. Just as magical girls spread hope, witches spread despair, unease, suspicion, excessive anger, and hatred, bringing the seeds of these disasters into the world. The emotional power formed from despair surpasses entropy."
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In the surface world, the power of the witch's domain eroded reality, and Mitakihara City fell into despair and collapse.
Skyscrapers began to collapse. Panicked pedestrians fled, only to be eroded by a strange force and driven insane. Bizarre monsters that seemed to have walked out of oil paintings rampaged through the streets, spreading despair and madness.
High above the city, two girls moved swiftly between collapsing buildings. Wherever they passed, the miracle power they triggered cleared away the familiars on the city streets.
"How strange. Mami-senpai should have arrived before us. Forget it! Madoka, I'll leave the east side to you. I'll handle cleaning up the familiars on the west side!"
Sayaka Miki spoke urgently. With a swing of the longsword in her hand, countless different swords formed in midair like a rainstorm falling. Waves of familiars on the street were eliminated, yet their numbers showed no sign of decreasing.
"Yes! Sayaka-chan, you be careful too."
Madoka Kaname, who was using a longbow to shoot magical arrows, nodded firmly. After speaking, she hurried anxiously toward the eastern part of the city.
However, in the area near the center of Walpurgis Night's mark, a girl with long golden hair was pinned beneath the ruins of a building. Blood seeped out. The beautiful eyes of the blonde girl had lost the light of the living. In her hand, the gem was completely dyed black, slowly cracking into powder and scattering away.
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"WTF!?"
On this day, similar cries of shock rang out in the hearts of viewers around the world who watched 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica.' Episode 6 unveiled an astonishing hidden truth, making the plot direction of this magical girl anime even more confusing and unpredictable. At the same time, discussions related to 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' exploded overnight. Every anime-related discussion platform began buzzing with debate about 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica.'
['Puella Magi Madoka Magica's story takes a shocking reversal!? Mami-senpai is suspected of being dead! —NICENICE hot review.]
[Dark story development! What exactly is the fate of magical girls? —A viewer's comment on Twitter.]
[Kyubey's true identity revealed. Its name is Incubator. The specific meaning still requires further plot development for analysis. —Love Anime website.]
[An expected direction, an unexpected development! —Hot review from the "Fake Book" animation board.]