As Sunday arrived, it was already mid-December, and the weather in Tokyo had turned icy cold.

Tonight was the final episode of Madoka Magica.

On his fend account, anticipation had already reached a fever pitch. Fans across Japan were flooding the Madoka Magica pages on every major streaming platform.

The entire anime community had their eyes on this show.

The twelfth episode of Madoka Magica was dropping tonight, and it had already surpassed 12 million total views. Into the Abyss had only just crossed 11.5 million, and that was after its finale aired.

There was no doubt. Madoka Magica was the undisputed hit of the winter season.

Critics and fans alike praised its dark, emotional storytelling, completely reshaping the "magical girl" genre for the modern era. What was once seen as cheerful and lighthearted had been transformed into something tragic and existential.

Some fans even said they couldn't go back to watching typical magical girl shows anymore. Everything else felt fake or hollow by comparison.

It was a testament to how deeply Madoka Magica had resonated.

At exactly 8:00 p.m., the final episode premiered.

Haruki took a deep breath.

Everything, the themes, the world-building, the characters, had built up to this moment. The final twist would either elevate the entire series or unravel it.

In Episode 12, the city lay in ruins. Against the impossible force of Walpurgisnacht, Madoka turned to Homura Akemi.

"Homura… I'm sorry. I want to become a magical girl."

The line sent a ripple of tension through the fanbase.

Again? Was she really going to repeat the same cycle Homura had fought so hard to break?

With only one episode left, how could this story resolve in a meaningful way?

Still, viewers watched, captivated.

After a heartfelt exchange between Madoka and Homura, the time came.

Kyubey looked up at her with that deceptively innocent face.

"At the cost of your soul, what is your wish?"

Madoka's voice trembled slightly.

"I… I want to erase every witch before they're ever born. All the witches across the universe, past and future, I want to take them into my own hands."

Kyubey's expression finally shifted. No longer smug or detached, he looked shocked, even frightened.

"You… You're going to become a god?"

The audience collectively gasped.

This was a real wish. Monumental. Divine. Insane.

And yet, watching Madoka on screen, her voice gentle and resolute, no one doubted her sincerity.

"I don't care about being a god," she said. "I just don't want anyone who's ever believed in hope to end in despair. I want everyone who fought to be able to smile in the end."

"The rules that make that impossible, I'll break them. I'll change everything."

"This is my prayer, my wish."

"Now, make it come true."

A brilliant light radiated from her body. The screen nearly went white.

And as that light lifted her above the world, a single thought echoed across the minds of every viewer:

A goddess is born.

In the finale, Madoka raises her pink bow and fires a single radiant arrow into the sky. That arrow fragments into countless streaks of light, piercing through past, present, future, and parallel timelines, intervening at the exact moment a magical girl transforms into a witch.

Before despair could completely consume them, Madoka appears and gently absorbs their suffering. Though these magical girls still meet their end, they are no longer doomed to become monsters. Instead, they are allowed a dignified farewell.

But in doing so, Madoka fundamentally rewrites the laws of the universe.

She becomes more than a girl, she becomes a concept, a divine force. As a godlike being, Madoka cannot exist as a person in the physical world. She becomes the universal principle that governs the magical girl system, a metaphysical law present in all realities.

And because of that, the world forgets her.

No trace of her remains. No one remembers she ever existed except one.

Only Homura, who bent time and reality across countless timelines to save her, retains her memory. The girl who fought fate now carries the burden of remembrance alone.

Homura can hardly accept such a cruel conclusion. But Madoka, now divine, simply smiles and says goodbye.

The audience, watching this scene unfold, felt the weight of it all crash down.

Two girls, bound by friendship and tragedy across infinite timelines, are now torn apart forever. One has become a god. The other remains human.

To save all magical girls from their doomed fate, Madoka gives up everything—her identity, her future, even the memory of her existence. She asks nothing in return, and calmly disappears into the fabric of the universe.

And then, in the afterlife-like space beyond time, she gently reunites with Sayaka, Kyoko, and Mami, those who had already fallen. Her final act resets reality's laws.

When Homura awakens, she finds herself in a version of the world where Sayaka has just fallen again, taken by the Law of Cycles.

Beneath that name hides Madoka, now the embodiment of salvation itself.

Mami and Kyoko mourn Sayaka's loss, but when Homura mentions "Madoka"...

"Madoka?" Mami tilts her head, puzzled. "Who's that?"

Not even her closest friends remember her.

At that moment, the audience's hearts broke anew.

Later, when Homura encounters Madoka's mother and baby brother, it's the same, no recollection at all. Only her infant brother, barely able to speak, seems to sense something missing.

So this is how it ends?

For many fans, especially those with softer hearts, this finale was emotionally devastating. And yet, compared to the original fate of magical girls—dying in despair and becoming witches—this new system was undeniably better.

Madoka sacrificed her very being to give others hope.

As the ending theme played, a heavy silence lingered across the fanbase.

Then came the tears.

"It's over… That's really the ending?"

"Unbelievable. That was incredible."

"Mizushiro-sensei is a genius. I doubted the show at first, but now, I was so wrong."

"That final episode wrecked me. I'm not okay."

"So in this new world, Senpai lives, Kyoko lives, and Madoka, she's gone but still exists. Compared to the previous episode, I didn't think we'd get this type of ending. This is a hopeful ending."

"No doubt, Madoka Magica is the anime of the year."

"I want more Madoka and Homura content! Mizushiro-sensei, don't just end it here!"

Just as fans were pouring out their emotions online, someone dropped a bombshell.

"Wait, don't close the episode yet. Did you catch the post-credits scene?"

"WHAT!? There's an easter egg!?"

Curious and excited, fans scrambled to replay the end credits of Episode 12.

Suddenly, the screen lit up with a roaring battlefield, mechas clashing, bullets flying, explosions everywhere.

A mysterious boy with violet eyes stood in the chaos, clad in sleek black armor. Beside him, a stunning girl with emerald-green hair.

It lasted barely ten seconds. But that was all it took.

One line of text appeared at the end of the promo:

"From one boy's command, the world was rewritten."

Mizushiro's new anime: Code Geass

Shout out to jajuan hearn, above heavens for joining my p-atreon! your support means everything to me.

(TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-a-t-r-e-o-n.com/Alioth23 for 60+ advanced chapters)