Puella Magi Madoka Magica, one of modern anime’s most popular magical girl series, turns seven this year.
In fact, the final two episodes of the series aired on April 21, 2011, exactly seven years ago this Saturday.
The moment was marked by a fan on Twitter, who posted a picture of a newspaper advertisement for the final two episodes from the time. The tweet struck a nerve with other fans: as of this writing, it has 12,000 retweets and 17,000 likes.
まどか☆マギカの最終回放送日
2011年4/21から7年が経ちました。 pic.twitter.com/bHi8gmKXpj— えこ (@ecotomagia) April 20, 2018
Aside from being an excellent series in its own right, Madoka came at a tragic and surreal time in Japan: the March 11, 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster occurred while the series was on-air. (In fact, the disaster forced the delay of the 10th episode.) It’s probably not a stretch to say some people found a point of connection with the emotions they were feeling during that time and the complicated and sometimes dark series.
Madoka was followed by a pair of compilation films and a sequel, Rebellion, in 2013.
Since then, there have been drama CDs, manga and games, but will we ever see another Madoka anime? A short concept film released in 2015 was said to be the basis of a new project, but we haven’t heard much since.
If the reaction online to Madoka turning seven is any indication, the fans are ready and waiting.
Source: Otakomu