Around 12:30 AM, after the seventh episode of Puella Magi Madoka Magica concluded, the internet exploded with discussion:
"Who was it that said it wasn't dark enough before? That level of despair was just a warm-up! Damn it! Happy now?"
"I love Kyoko and my heart aches for Sayaka. They're both so tragic."
"In the first episode, Homura was chasing Kyubey, and I thought she was the villain. Then in episode four, Kyoko showed up and immediately said she'd deal with Sayaka, and then kept causing trouble. I thought she was the villain! Turns out, only Kyubey and the Witches are the true antagonists."
"Kyubey isn't really a villain, is he? But that guy is so detestable. He hid so many crucial details. It reminds me of Old Thief Lin during the Gurren Lagann promotional period. When asked if the Male Lead would die or if the story would be tragic, he gave evasive answers, telling everyone the new animation would subvert expectations, misleading us into thinking it wouldn't be depressing."
"Now that you mention it, Old Man Kyubey and Old Thief Lin really do have a lot in common. Kyubey looks so cute and harmless, but he's dark inside. Lin is the same—he seems so handsome and approachable, but he's actually so ruthless."
"First, they give us the 'magical girl is a zombie' setup, then the 'best friend steals her love interest' plot, which makes Sayaka too embarrassed to confess. Ugh, they really put Sayaka through hell. I used to think death was the ultimate tragedy, but now I realize there's something even more devastating—being alive and suffering. I was so naive."
"Despite the torture, this anime is genuinely amazing. The plot is god-tier, and the storyboarding and direction are explosive. Especially the scene in episode 7 where Sayaka fights the Shadow Witch—the intensity is unparalleled, truly a masterpiece."
"Sayaka must be regretting everything right now. I'm pretty sure she'll die in the next episode, consumed by her despair, in a battle against some Witch. But even knowing how painful it will be, I can't stop watching. This anime is just so addictive—I can't even bring myself to drop it."
Lin Zhiyan had posted that since everyone liked "heart-wrenching" anime, he had no choice but to steer the plot in that direction.
Of course, that was impossible.
No one actually enjoys purely heart-wrenching anime.
However, there are many animations that, despite being incredibly heart-wrenching, are so brilliant and captivating that viewers can't stop watching, even when they know it's a heart-wrenching series.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica is one such example, and arguably the finest.
Starting from the third episode, the series became explosive with nearly every installment. Even when the seventh episode was even more heart-wrenching than the sixth, and many viewers had already guessed that Sayaka was about to meet her end, they could only continue watching, alternating between curses and expressions of love for the series.
Instead of dropping, the ratings steadily rose.
And unlike the Puella Magi Madoka Magica in another timeline...
The original broadcast aired at 2:45 AM, too late to attract a large audience. Despite its explosive popularity, the ratings for the early episodes remained stuck at around 1.x%. The tenth episode barely reached 2.1%, still not impressive.
The final two episodes, influenced by the Great East Japan Earthquake and boosted by a massive promotional campaign, finally surged to 6.7%. Many viewers exclaimed that even God seemed to be favoring Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
Lin Zhiyan's Puella Magi Madoka Magica aired at midnight. Although the broadcast ended at 12:30 AM, it wasn't considered too late, especially since it was a Saturday with no work or classes the next day, encouraging many to stay up and binge the show.
The ratings for the first two episodes were rather modest, but they surged dramatically after the third episode went viral. By the sixth episode, the viewership had climbed to nearly 6%, and the seventh episode surpassed 6%.
The ratings were expected to continue rising in the following episodes, potentially even breaking the record for late-night anime viewership.
However, before the animation could break viewership records, its DVD pre-order numbers shocked many.
After only seven episodes had aired, with the rest of the story still unknown, the first volume of the Puella Magi Madoka Magica DVD had already secured over 29,000 pre-orders, approaching 30,000.
This was just the pre-order count. The actual sales upon release would far exceed this figure. With five more episodes remaining until the finale, and assuming the quality remained high, the DVD pre-order numbers were certain to continue climbing.
A DVD sales figure of over 10,000 copies was already considered a success for a popular anime. A figure around 30,000 indicated truly exceptional popularity. What was terrifying was that Puella Magi Madoka Magica's pre-order numbers after just seven episodes had already reached this level.
Naturally, related topics quickly exploded online, sparking heated discussions among netizens:
"[ Puella Magi Madoka Magica ] has only aired seven episodes, yet its DVD pre-orders have already surpassed 30,000. Once it officially releases, wouldn't the sales easily exceed 100,000?"
"What are Lelouch and Gundam SEED? They're nothing compared to this. The true 'anime of the century' is clearly Puella Magi Madoka Magica."
"This is insane! If they maintain this quality, hitting 100,000 copies per volume will be child's play."
"Other directors' anime make you worry about whether they'll maintain quality later on, but with Lord Hayashi's works, that's never an issue. His animations are all legendary for a reason—this one will definitely end on a legendary note."
"I wonder what the other supervising directors think of these DVD pre-order numbers. They must be seething."
"Let them seethe. If they're so capable, let them make something this amazing."
"Honestly, even if they could make something equally amazing, it probably wouldn't get this many DVD pre-orders. It's all about Lord Hayashi's track record. He's never failed—every single one of his works is a legend. Even with the same level of quality, another director wouldn't get this many pre-orders before the show even finishes."
Unstoppable!
However, some netizens were right: this pre-order quantity was a testament to the audience's unwavering confidence in Lin Zhiyan. With any other supervising director, such high pre-order numbers would have been impossible.
Moreover, the most crucial factor was that this animation was produced in high-definition.
Although it was broadcast in HD on television, not all viewers' TVs supported high-definition resolution, and many still watched the standard-definition version.
In this context, DVDs remained a worthwhile purchase.
They could be watched on computers, which nearly all supported HD resolution.
Plus, they could be kept as collector's items, to be rewatched later when the owner upgraded to an HD-capable television.
In short, various external factors contributed to these numbers, not just the animation's inherent quality.
Regardless, the pre-order quantity was truly terrifying. In January, nearly all other animations' DVD pre-orders didn't even reach one-tenth of this number, failing to even qualify as competition. The consensus was that it was simply unbeatable.
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