As evening approached, Zhongxia TV's weekly spectacle began once again.
During the early evening news slot, ratings had been hovering around 3%.
The moment the clock struck seven, they shot straight toward 4%.
Across Su Yan's major fan groups and forums, message traffic was several times higher than usual.
[I have a feeling tonight's episode will bring a huge turning point.]
[I spent the whole week rewatching on ZhongxiaNet. Finally sorted out all the early foreshadowing.]
[I've got to hand it to Su Yan. Even a pure "girls' show" like this has me, a guy, completely hooked.]
[Story is king. Doesn't matter if the lead is male or female.]
[If you check overseas forums, you'll see tons of foreign fans emotionally wrecked by his works too. They're just a few days behind because they need subtitles.]
[Yep. I browse foreign forums all the time. Episode six broke a bunch of them.]
[Honestly, overseas, Su Yan's most popular work is probably 'Rurouni Kenshin'. They love his action scenes.]
[I heard foreign companies invited him to shoot action films abroad, but he turned them down.]
[Of course, he did. What could they possibly offer? He's his own boss, making billions a year. Who can match that?]
[Such a pity. After 'Rurouni Kenshin', he hasn't really done pure action scenes again.]
[Doesn't 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' count?]
[That doesn't compare. David was just shooting guns. Nothing like 'Rurouni Kenshin'.]
[If this show had been called 'Magical Boy Su Yan' instead of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica', maybe we'd get epic fight scenes. Everything's great about this series except how depressing it is—and the close-combat choreography feels limited. Even though one episode of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' costs more than a dozen episodes of 'Rurouni Kenshin', the fight scenes aren't on the same dimensional level.]
[Sayaka and Kyoko's actresses were a singer and a romance-drama actress before this. Cut them some slack.]
[You guys are so relaxed. Am I the only one still wondering if Madoka will become a magical girl?]
[The show's literally called 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'. Of course she will. The real question is what wish she'll make.]
That night, Yu Xinxin rushed home, chatting wildly in a fan group on her phone while sprinting inside. She turned on the TV just in time—
The opening theme of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' had just begun.
Episode eight's title: "My Very Best Friend!"
No hesitation. No filler.
Faced with Madoka's unwavering resolve to become a magical girl, Homura finally revealed everything—including the truth that she was a time looper.
She embraced Madoka.
"Just to find that answer, I started over countless times. To you, I'm just a transfer student you've known for less than a month. But to me, you are…"
Yu Xinxin's eyes were already moist at the opening scene.
She was immersed deeply in stories. Episode seven had nearly broken her.
And now—
["How much more is this show hiding? I heard it has over ten episodes. What more can it possibly tell?"]
The scene shifted.
Homura bid farewell to Madoka.
The city lay under suffocating darkness.
All magical girls were dead—only Homura remained.
Above the city loomed a massive silhouette.
Walpurgis Night. The same monster from Madoka's dream in episode one.
["So that dream… was her memory from the previous loop before she died?"] Yu Xinxin realized.
No wonder Madoka had dreamed of Homura before she even transferred.
What followed was pure spectacle.
Homura's time-stop arsenal versus Walpurgis Night.
Blinding flashes. Artillery fire. Bullets. Rockets. Corrupted energy beams.
With explosive production values, it felt like a theatrical film. Yu Xinxin was completely absorbed.
Meanwhile, Kyubey tempted Madoka again.
This was a trap with no escape.
Would you watch your friends and family die?
Or become a magical girl now—save them—and someday become a witch who destroys the world?
Sometimes, humans are only given two choices.
A bad one. And a worse one.
The world isn't black and white. Often, there is no white.
Madoka made her choice. Even as her mother sensed something was wrong and desperately tried to stop her, Madoka stepped out into the storm.
On the battlefield, Homura exhausted all her power.
She failed.
Now she had two options.
Die here.
Or rewind time once more—return to before meeting Madoka—and repeat the tragedy.
Maybe this time, she could save Mami.
Maybe she could reconcile Sayaka and Kyoko.
Maybe the five of them together could defeat Walpurgis Night.
But would it matter?
A thousand loops. Ten thousand loops.
An ant cannot defeat an elephant.
Homura had simply refused to admit that.
Yet now—
Her Soul Gem darkened rapidly.
She no longer believed she could save everything.
And when a magical girl begins to doubt her own wish—
That is when she becomes a witch.
["No… don't tell me…"] Yu Xinxin's heart tightened.
Would Homura fall in episode eight?
["Su Yan, don't you dare!"]
Madoka approached the bloodied Homura, smiling gently.
Homura understood immediately.
"Homura… I'm sorry. I'm going to become a magical girl."
Yu Xinxin's eyes turned red.
She didn't know how to judge Madoka's decision.
She only felt moved.
This series was cruel.
But within the cruelty, there were always glimmers of humanity.
Mami's joy at finding companions before her death.
Sayaka's regret—yet unwavering resolve to protect others.
Kyoko and Sayaka's journey from enemies to shared death.
And now—
Madoka, fully aware of the cost, still chooses this path.
"I finally understand. I've found the wish I want to make. So I'll use my life for it."
"No—if you do that, then I—" Homura's voice broke.
Her wish had always been to save Madoka.
But Madoka's wish… was to save her.
The two girls embraced amid the ruins.
"I won't let your efforts be in vain!"
"You who have become a singularity of karma across countless worlds… any wish can be granted. Now, Madoka Kaname—what is your wish?" Kyubey whispered temptingly.
Shut up, you shameless creature.
Yu Xinxin stood up from the sofa.
Then Madoka spoke.
"I want to erase all witches before they are born. In every universe, past and future. With my own hands!"
Yu Xinxin froze.
Could that even be granted?
"If such a wish were fulfilled… it would be a rebellion against causality itself. Are you trying to become a god?"
Pink light enveloped Madoka.
Her wish took effect.
Her potential could bear it.
Her light stretched across time and space.
The narrative turned abstract.
Mami appeared, discussing what this wish meant.
To fulfill it, Madoka would have to transcend causality—become a god.
And in doing so, she abandons her human existence.
Her past, present, and future would be erased.
Her parents would never remember her.
She would become a law of the universe—fighting endlessly until the cosmos ended.
Then—
Madoka, clad in radiant pink, appeared.
Countless arrows shot into the sky, piercing every universe, every timeline—destroying witches at the moment of their birth.
Magical girls would no longer end as the monsters they fought.
The despair lifted.
Madoka sacrificed herself—
Or rather, ascended into law.
She protected everyone.
Tears streamed down Yu Xinxin's face.
["Su Yan… this is the story I wanted."]
The episode showed how Madoka's law erased even planet-destroying witches effortlessly.
Homura, the only one who remembered her, wept in farewell.
Then—
Sayaka. Mami. Kyoko. Their consciousnesses appeared.
["So this is what he meant when he said they'd appear again? This is the happy ending?"]
She suddenly blinked.
["Wait. Ending? This is only episode eight!"]
Because witches were erased before birth, those killed by witches revived.
Kyoko. Mami.
But Sayaka—who became a witch through despair—could only be purified.
In the new world, no one remembered Madoka.
Only Homura did.
Kyubey still existed.
Curses now take another form: Wraiths.
As the ending theme played, Yu Xinxin felt as if she'd crossed lifetimes.
["It's over…"]
["…Wait. Why does it feel over? This is episode eight!"]
Her eyes were still wet with tears.
It truly felt like a finale.
Looking back at the entire story—
She exhaled deeply.
["Su Yan, I forgive you. After this, anyone who curses you—I'll curse them."]
Then she paused.
["But… what on earth is episode nine going to be about?"]