As expected, after the first episode of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' aired, it did not cause any major uproar among viewers.
Madoka Kaname's inexplicable dream, combined with the anime's initially lighthearted and healing atmosphere, made 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' appear little different from an ordinary magical girl anime.
The biggest difference from typical anime was the exquisitely beautiful visuals inherited from Yosuganosora Animation Studio's signature style.
In particular, the collapsing dream world left many viewers shocked by its visual impact. The oppressive atmosphere of the crumbling world washing over the audience made viewers instinctively question:
Was this really an anime suitable for children?
When 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' began airing, a subtitle warning appeared:
"The following content may cause unease, fear, or shock. Viewers under the age of fifteen are advised to watch with parental supervision."
Most viewers found this warning rather absurdly amusing.
Had a magical girl anime actually been turned into a youth-oriented anime?
Wasn't the magical girl genre supposed to be children's animation full of embarrassing transformation sequences and heroines who forever defeated evil with the power of justice?
And, of course, the villains in those stories usually were not all that evil to begin with.
According to feedback rankings on the NICENICE website, 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' had risen to ninth place in popularity rankings, though audience satisfaction ratings were merely average.
"First Place: 'Adventure King'. A long-running hot-blooded shōnen manga adaptation serialized in Shueisha's 'Weekly Shōnen Jump'. It has already been serialized for over two years and accumulated unimaginable popularity, once being rated as one of the manga readers absolutely must not miss in the past decade. [Satisfaction Rating: 95%. Total Participants: 62,761 users.]"
"Second Place: 'Warlords of the Sengoku Era'. A large-scale original animation set during China's Three Kingdoms period, portraying Cao Cao as the main protagonist in an epic historical story. The director is the famous Muto Takashi, who previously directed the historical anime 'Burning Honnōji Temple'. Extremely popular among teenagers and adults alike. [Satisfaction Rating: 93%. Total Participants: 20,573 users.]"
"Third Place: 'Legend of the Hero from Another World'. Adapted from a long-running light novel series with astonishing popularity, having ranked on 'This Light Novel Is Amazing!' for three consecutive years. [Satisfaction Rating: 96%. Total Participants: 31,534 users.]"
"Fourth Place: 'Mobile Suit 007'. Part of the 'Mobile Suit' series, one of the founding representatives of mecha anime. It holds an irreplaceable position in the hearts of both adults and teenagers. [Satisfaction Rating: 91%. Total Participants: 28,164 users.]"
"Fifth Place: 'Sound of Symphony'. A symphony of music and romance, extremely popular among female viewers. [Satisfaction Rating: 97%. Total Participants: 19,274 users.]"
"Sixth Place: 'Grandpa Kippei'. A family educational anime whose subject matter alone qualifies it for prime-time television broadcasts. [Satisfaction Rating: 92%. Total Participants: 9,283 users.]"
"Seventh Place: 'Youth Soccer'. A youth-oriented sports anime is also one of the current mainstream anime genres. [Satisfaction Rating: 89%. Total Participants: 25,198 users.]"
"Eighth Place: 'No Longer Human'. Adapted from the most influential work by the famous Japanese author Dazai Osamu. [Satisfaction Rating: 82%. Total Participants: 18,293 users.]"
"Ninth Place: 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'. An original anime directed by Kamiyā Yuu, the youngest genius director in the industry, known for 'RWBY' and 'Magical Girl Nanoha'. [Satisfaction Rating: 90%. Total Participants: 15,927 users.]"
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"Neither the ratings nor the audience satisfaction feedback looks optimistic. Although the opening performance is much better than our company's previous work 'Magical Girl Nanoha', the ratings for 'Magical Girl Nanoha' consistently rose over time, while 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' is showing a downward trend."
Inside the conference room, Morishita Aoi stood while flipping through the report in her hands, frowning as she spoke.
As a veteran animation producer, if she herself had not participated in the production of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica', she too would probably have believed the anime's popularity outlook was bleak.
Everyone in Yosuganosora Animation Studio's upper management knew that the true change in the anime's reception and popularity would inevitably come at Episode Seven.
That was the story's major turning point.
Head of Sound Direction Shindō Tsukasa spread his hands and sighed, not sounding particularly nervous.
"Even though we know the later developments are amazing, isn't this kind of popularity trend pretty concerning?"
"What can we do? This year is packed with monsters. Every anime ranked in the top ten for January contains some kind of major popular element. Compared to them, while our work does have innovative aspects, it's still ultimately a 'magical girl' anime."
Yūki Chinatsu crossed her arms while leaning back against a chair far too large for her petite frame. She snorted unwillingly before glaring at Kamiyā Yuu.
"Seriously, why are there so many outstanding anime airing all at once this year? Even viewers' eyes must get tired."
Noticing Yūki Chinatsu's gaze, Kamiyā Yuu laughed helplessly and pointed at himself.
"You're blaming me for that?"
Uehara Etsuki sensed the serious atmosphere in the conference room and calmly said,
"I have confidence in the turning point at Episode Seven. It's a breakthrough for anime storytelling and a type of plot reversal rarely seen in animation history. If I hadn't participated in constructing the script myself, I would also have been shocked watching the Episode Seven twist."
Yūki Chinatsu's eyes suddenly lit up.
As though she had come up with an incredibly groundbreaking idea, she excitedly proposed,
"This is so frustrating. Why don't we just dump all the completed episodes at once? We can rush straight to Episode Seven!"
"Reckless."
"That's certainly a creative idea, but we still need to consider reality."
Shindō Tsukasa chuckled.
Kuroneko, dressed in a dark gothic dress, timidly raised her right hand.
Her beautiful eyes, wearing crimson contact lenses, looked toward Kamiyā Yuu as she softly said,
"Um... I think maintaining the current pacing is enough. The story progression may feel somewhat slow, but because of that, the changes in Episode Seven will bring an even greater surprise to viewers."
"Compared to 'surprise,' wouldn't 'shock' be a more suitable word?"
Yūki Chinatsu understood that her proposal was hopeless anyway, so she simply slumped weakly over the conference table and muttered.
Kamiyā Yuu shook his head thoughtfully.
"Our company hasn't experienced this kind of situation before, because the works we've created have always been excellent enough to immediately win viewers' affection from the beginning."
"I understand everyone's feelings. 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' really does appear somewhat weak in terms of story impact at first. But that's all preparation for the developments afterward."
"Let's endure until Episode Seven first. If the popularity still doesn't recover after that, then we can simply treat it as a valuable learning experience for our company."
"Hoh~ What a sly and meaningless way to put it."
Yūki Chinatsu curled her lips.
Morishita Aoi looked around at everyone seriously.
"Even if it sounds meaningless, it's still the truth. Our only real opportunity lies after Episode Seven."
Unlike Kamiyā Yuu, the other upper management members of Yosuganosora Animation Studio had never experienced the popularity reversal of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'.
Additionally, while Kamiyā Yuu's remastered version of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' was superior to the original, it also lacked the original's initial popularity foundation.
Given that, it was only natural for their confidence to waver.