That night, many people were destined to remain awake.
In the original work, the plotline involving Sayaka Miki and Kyōko Sakura basically served only as a transition. Many viewers were not even sure why Kyōko Sakura would be willing to give her life for Sayaka Miki, and Kamiyā Yuu was one of them. He believed it might have been because the limited runtime of the anime did not allow for too much characterization of secondary characters, so part of the character-building plot had been sacrificed and turned into a transitional storyline used to reveal the cruel truth behind the magical girl system.
Whether due to limitations or because it was originally intended that way, such an approach was definitely a flaw in the overall narrative structure of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'.
For that reason, Kamiyā Yuu's remake of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' greatly increased the screen time of the red-blue CP, making that portion of the story more complete and more emotionally infectious. The vague relationship between the red-blue CP in the original received a full explanation in the remake.
To Kyōko Sakura, Sayaka Miki was not only an important companion, but also a pitiful girl who was repeating her mistakes and walking the same path she once had. All kinds of emotions are intertwined. Kyōko Sakura wanted to save Sayaka Miki, but also to make up for the regret in her own heart.
That was why, when she killed Sayaka Miki after she had turned into a witch, Kyōko wore such a happy smile. At the very end, what Kyōko Sakura probably saw was the scene of her family reunited. She had never become a magical girl, and her family had always remained by her side.
What was, in Kyōko Sakura's heart, a happy ending became, in the eyes of the audience, a complete and utter tragedy.
A twisting, bizarre plot and successful character writing—achieving either one would already be enough to call an anime excellent. Yet when the two were combined and influenced each other, then unveiled together with all the prior foreshadowing, the effect was far more than simple addition and subtraction.
The earlier plot of Episode 17 was merely the calm before the storm. The gloomy sky and oppressive air made it hard to breathe. Only when the storm truly arrived did the audience realize what terrifying tempest they had been swept into.
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Andō Yuri considered herself a rational woman.
When other women shed sorrowful tears watching so-called romance films, she would only feel bored. Toward those childish love stories, she held thoughts far more mature than her age.
At the same time, she preferred the science fiction or horror films that men generally liked. Those kinds of movies gave her a greater sense of novelty. That was probably why she liked the anime 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'.
She had accidentally learned of this anime from her younger brother, Andō Shū. Originally, she knew nothing about anime and thought only children and disgusting anime otaku would like it. Because of her younger brother's unusual behavior, she noticed the existence of this anime. After watching one episode and finding it fairly interesting, she casually caught up on the other recorded episodes out of boredom.
Unexpectedly, that act made her fall deeply into it.
Starting from the first episode of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica', she watched all the way to the latest episode in one sitting. Then she searched for related comments online, learned about the animation director Kamiyā Yuu, caught up on Kamiyā Yuu's other works, 'Magical Girl Nanoha' and 'RWBY', and after doing all of that, she actually began doing the same thing as her younger brother: watching the latest episode of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' on her phone every late Friday night.
'Magical Girl Nanoha' and 'RWBY' also gave her quite a few surprises, but perhaps because of first impressions, she liked 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' more. She looked forward to this anime's plot giving her a completely different experience.
In fact, 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' had indeed done exactly that.
Every episode aired after she noticed the anime had been extremely interesting to Andō Yuri. The character writing was woven into the plot, then the plot completed the characters in turn, while also undergoing an unbelievable elevation. This narrative technique was fully displayed in Episode 17 of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'.
🎵"Rust-covered heart,
In a soundless world, what are you looking at?
I search for the face that says goodbye,
Yet only repeat it over and over.
When I notice it, it's in that place,
Is the back of someone crying all alone?
······
Even if I'm mistaken, I don't care, as long as you are by my side.
The sound of tears, the color of sighs,
Now, I confirm where I am.
Every day feels like a joke.
I want to see, want to see, the future.
Even the strong voice finally grows hoarse,
And falls into a dream.
Holding my knees,
When I lower my eyes,
It feels as though I will collapse at once.
Just like this, just like this,
The two of us run toward the distant exit,
Still holding on to hope.
Come,
Let us smile and gaze at each other.
······"🎵
The sorrowful singing of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica's new ending theme, 'And I'm Home', began to play. As though to match this storyline and make up for what the plot lacked, every scene in the ending showed beautiful memories from Sayaka Miki and Kyōko Sakura's past. The art style of those memories was warm, and each of their smiles was happy and content.
At the end of the ending theme, the scene returned to Kyōko Sakura just before she vanished in the main episode. Unlike the actual animation, this time Sayaka Miki's phantom appeared, embracing the disappearing Kyōko Sakura and gently whispering into her ear until the image vanished completely.
As mentioned earlier, Andō Yuri considered herself a "cold-blooded" woman.
Even so, she could not withstand the nuclear explosion of Episode 17's plot.
Through the development of the story, she had faintly anticipated the ending of Kyōko Sakura and Sayaka Miki. Yet she had never imagined that the anime would present it in a way beyond her expectations.
A week had already passed, enough for Andō Yuri to forget the gloom and depression brought by the previous episode.
That should have been the case.
Yet for some reason, after seeing Kyōko Sakura's smile, every emotion in her heart surged violently at once.
Kyōko Sakura's previous experiences appeared vividly in her mind. All the clues connected into one complete line. Then that beautiful thing exploded right before her eyes.
Andō Yuri only reluctantly put down her phone after watching until the very end. She had not wanted to miss a single scene of the anime.
When this episode ended, she felt all kinds of emotions mixed in her heart. Clearly, she had only been watching a story completely unrelated to herself, yet her supposedly "cold-blooded" heart beat uncontrollably. The dampness in her eyes told her that she could not control her emotions at all.
Andō Yuri could not describe her current complicated feelings.
She only knew that her heart truly had been moved by this story.
"What a good anime."
Andō Yuri threw herself onto her bed, buried her face deep into the blanket, and mumbled. Even though she knew no one would see her, she still did not want to show such an expression.
In the living room of this household, after Andō Shū finished watching Episode 17 of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica', he turned off the television and immediately returned to his room.
Recalling every scene he had just watched, his heart likewise could not calm down for a long time. Even the sleepiness he had felt while waiting for the anime to air had been drowned out by the enormous rise and fall of his emotions.