Timeline/Original

The Original Universe's timeline, which splits into multiple timelines and, for the purposes of the Timeline articles, serves as the base for all the other timelines.

The Original Universe is the first Universe to exist in Madoka Magica, where Kyubey created the Magical Girl System, with Magical Girls turning into Witches. In the first timeline, Homura Akemi makes a contract to go back in time and creates many more timelines where she repeats the same month. It's ultimately unknown how many times she went back, but in Homura's last timeline in this reality, Madoka Kaname makes a contract to stop Magical Girls from becoming Witches across all time and space, rewriting the rules of the Universe in every timeline and reality within her reach.

Other media, including Magia Exedra and the Magia Record Anime confirm that the timelines Homura created keep existing normally after she goes back in time again. As the details of this first reality are unknown after that, this article only details up to those events.

For the historical events of this Universe, up to the moment Homura first goes back in time, see Timeline/Original/Historical.

For the events of the recent past, see Timeline/Original/Prelude.

For the first 13 loops Homura goes through, see Timeline/Original/Scene 0.

For the definitive, final loop Homura goes through before the Universe is rewritten, see Timeline/Original/Final.

For the rewritten universe, governed by the Law of Cycles, see Timeline/Law of Cycles.

For the Universe following that, which is governed by Devil Homura, see Timeline/Devil.

For the timeline hub, and the articles detailing Magia Record, see Timeline/Magia Record.

For the timeline hub, and the articles detailing Alternate Universes, see Timeline/Other.

Specifically for the alternate Universes greatly resembling the Original Universe, see Timeline/Original/Other. In the event that Homura's thirteenth loop is not the final one, a few of them could reasonably be placed as happening between them.

Timeline Split: Madoka Magica

Due to Homura Akemi's actions, the original universe splits into multiple timelines where she repeats the same month multiple times. Mabayu Aki is also caught up in Homura's time loops, though her influence between timelines varies. According to staff interviews, Homura's gone back in time probably around 100 times, but as the story has alternate universes, the exact number is unknown.

Split & Parallel Timelines

The following is a catalog of the known, documented timelines that have emerged from Homura's loops. This list compiles timelines as they are depicted in various official manga, video games, and other media, providing a directory to the specific iterations of the events outlined in the chart above. However, it should be clarified that it is ultimately unknown whether all the following timelines are in the same universe, or whether they're parallel timelines in a universe with Witches.

• For Homura's first thirteen loops depicted in Scene 0, the original Puella Magi Madoka Magica anime and its retellings, see Timeline/Original/Scene 0.
• For the definitive last timeline in the original universe, see Timeline/Original/Final.
• For the continuation, with the timelines under the management of the Law of Cycles, where Witches have been replaced by Wraiths, see Timeline/Law of Cycles.
• For the universe overtaken by Homura at the end of Rebellion, see Timeline/Devil.
• For the anomalous alternate universe of the Magia Record, where Witches are still present, while it is still within reach of the Law of Cycles, see Timeline/Magia Record.
• For the continuation of Magia Record, depicted in Magia Exedra, see Timeline/Magia Exedra.
• For the possible timelines depicted in various media, as well as events which have an unclear placement in any timeline or universe, see Timeline/Original/Other. In the possibility that Film 13 is different from the timeline of the original anime, then it is possible a number of these timelines take place between them. Otherwise, they're treated as alternate universes entirely.
  • Notably, this also includes The different story, Oriko Magica, Mobage and Portable.

Dating the Timeline Loops

The specific month and year in which Homura's loops occur is not definitively stated within the series, and the passage of time, especially in the original anime, is left vague.

In scene 0, a fixed duration is established for the timeline, placing Walpurgisnacht's arrival exactly one month after Homura wakes up in the hospital – a total of 32 days. Not all timelines are shown in their entirety, so it's unknown whether every timeline is exactly 32 days, but at the very least, the timing Walpurgisnacht's arrival is very consistent.

However, the timing of the original anime is decidedly less clear. From dedicated analysis of the scenes, fans came to the conclusion that each timeline must be between 39 and 46 days (with the assumption that all of them are the same length). Though this appears to contradict scene 0, it is possible that fans were overly generous with some of the unknown time gaps, so 32 days may still barely be able to fit the events of the original anime.

Thus, for the purposes of this article, a timeline of 32 days will be assumed, unless there are specific timelines where that can't possibly fit.

The only canonical clues to the identity of the months are that the first month must have 31 days and that Homura transfers to Mitakihara Middle School on the 25th of the same month around springtime, at least in the original timeline where she wasn't a magical girl. This has led to two primary theories: the loop spans March 16th - April 16th or May 16th - June 16th.

The May-June dating is supported by the following considerations:

• School Calendar: Homura transfers to Mitakihara Middle School on the 25th. The Japanese school year begins in April, making a mid-term transfer in late May more logical than a transfer in late March, which is the end of the academic year before the student body proceeds to the next one.
• Environmental Evidence: Scenery in the series, particularly the state of plants in Madoka's garden and the deliberate change from cherry blossoms to bare branches in the Blu-ray release, suggests a late spring or early summer setting, which aligns with May and June.
• Narrative Consistency: Other media, such as Magia Record, often place summer events shortly after the main story's conclusion, also supporting a late spring setting for the loops.

Despite this evidence, the conclusion is not absolute. The alternative March-April theory is supported by the real-world Walpurgis Night being on April 30th/May 1, and it also aligns the timeline with the anime's original broadcast period in early 2011. Supporting evidence includes the initial TV version depicting cherry blossoms (consistent with late March in some regions) and characters often wearing long sleeves or coats. A significant counter-argument is that the Japanese school year ends in March, making a transfer at this time unusual, and that cherry tomatoes in Madoka's garden would be out of season. Given the near-future setting though, perhaps some of these counter-arguments would be mellowed out by the effects of global warming.

Ultimately, while the dates in the table below are presented with the May-June framework in mind, they should be understood as a well-supported fan calculation rather than a canonical fact. Thus, every date could possibly be exactly two months earlier than noted in the table.

Since the exact mechanics of how Homura's time travel works are not yet fully understood, it is unknown if there is any room for variance in the length of different timelines. The two leading theories are that she can jump back to a fixed point in time, or that she can jump back by a fixed duration, but few scenarios exist to distinguish the two. There is an implication in Oriko Magica that she may have reset time before the 32 day limit passes (due to Madoka's premature death), and it is unknown if she could reset time to the same point if she were to wait more than 32 days.

In any case, the only true fixed point is Homura's awakening on day 1, the 16th of the month. Walpurgisnacht's arrival, while not completely fixed, appears to occur on the same day in every timeline at least in Scene 0 and the original anime. Given Scene 0's timeline, that makes it a second almost-fixed point on day 32, the 16th of the following month. Thus, to keep things simple for this article, the 32-day cycle from awakening to Walpurgisnacht is the consistent framework in use.

Meanwhile, assigning a specific year to the events is considered impossible due to conflicting evidence. While the original Puella Magi Oriko Magica explicitly uses the year 2011, other media directly contradict this and Oriko retellings such as Puella Magi Oriko Magica: sadness prayer intentionally lack this clarification from the original. For instance, dialogue in Magia Record references events and discoveries that would place the story closer to the time of its release. The technology depicted is also more advanced than that of 2011. Therefore, the year is best treated as an unspecified "near future" or as a narrative element where a consistent year was not a priority for the creators.

Trivia

• In Chapter 19 of Kazumi Magica, it is hinted at that Kyoko had at some point encountered the Pleiades Saints, or at least Umika herself, as Umika was able to copy Kyoko's power of Rosso Fantasma and later utilize it to make clones of Kaoru. While it is possible that Umika copied the power from another Magical Girl with similar magic, seeing as Masaki Hiramatsu had also written the script of The different story, this article is constructed with the assumption that Umika had encountered Kyoko before she'd lost access to this power.