Timelines/Original

The original universe's timeline, which splits into multiple timelines and 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 heavily imply 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.

c. 73rd Millennium BCE - 38th Millennium BCE

• Around 75,000 years before the 21st century, Incubators find Earth and the Homo sapiens race.
• The Toba supereruption, a volcanic catastrophe at the site of present-day Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia, causes a global volcanic winter and pushed early human populations to the brink of extinction. The Homo erectus goes extinct due to this catastrophe.
• Incubators establish the Magical Girl system with Homo sapiens to harvest emotional energy and combat universal entropy. The first Magical Girl is born, using her wish to save humanity from the eruption.
• The "Cognitive Revolution" occurs. An evolutionary adaptation driven by the Incubators' selective pressure to create more efficient Magical Girls. The capacity for storytelling evolves as a mechanism to optimize human relationships for the generation of emotional energy. The narratives and fictions that Homo sapiens developed served to materialize and diffuse templates for relationships that were highly efficient at generating emotional energy. This evolutionary pressure ensured the dominance of a species whose social and cognitive structures were perfectly tailored for producing powerful Magical Girls.
• Around 40,000 years before the 21st century, Homo sapiens, equipped with Magical Girls, begin migrating out of Africa and into Eurasia, where they encounter Homo neanderthalensis. Their cognition was fundamentally rooted in the intuitive recognition of the laws of physics as defined by the theory of everything. As a result, they were incapable of perceiving magic at all. Meanwhile, Homo sapiens, whose cognition had been shaped by the Magical Girl system, could see and utilize these magical forces. The Homo sapien systematically wipes out the Homo neanderthalensis through this.

c. 38th Millennium BCE - 13th Century CE

• Pernelle is born in a cave associated with the god Hermes in Arcadia, a region in the central Peloponnese of Ancient Greece. She is likely born in Mount Kyllini to the Cult of Hermes, possibly as far back as 1 BCE, and at some point she makes a contract with Kyubey and becomes a Magical Girl.

• Pernelle creates the sword, Épée de Clovis, for Clovis I (c. 466-511), as well as weapons for his siblings, including Audofleda who was also a Magical Girl.

14th Century CE - 15th Century CE

• A Magical Girl in Kaffa, who wished to fend off the invasion from the Mongol Empire to protect her hometown, received the power of disease to do so. After the disease wiped her hometown as well, she became a Witch and caused an outbreak of the Black Death in mid-1300s Europe.
  • During this outbreak, Pernelle met Nicholas Flamel, who'd found the process for how to create a Philosopher's Stone.

• In 1385, at the age of fourteen, Isabeau de Bavière was sent to France to wed the king. There, she was approached by Cube to make a contract with him. After asking many questions about the Magical Girl System and the Incubators' very nature, she wished for everything Cube possessed and, among other things, gained the power to make contracts herself.
  • For the following decades, Isabeau makes contracts with many girls, causing them to lose their souls and become mindless servants to her. Isabeau's first victim was a servant, who was tricked by her to wish for her fidelity to Isabeau for as long as she lived.

• In 1393, Charles VI gets traumatized by a fiery incident at a masquerade ball orchestrated by Isabeau, becomes progressively more mentally unstable and unable to rule. This event is known as the Bal des Ardents.
• In 1407, Isabeau manipulates the royal family, leading to the assassination of the king’s brother, Louis I, and later John the Fearless.
• In 1420, Isabeau is involved in the Treaty of Troyes, eventually signing the treaty with England that disinherits her son, Charles, and cedes France to the English. Isabeau becomes known as "The woman who swore France away."
• Likely during this time, among the ones she contracts is her own daughter Corbeau, who wishes to become a Magical Girl specialized in fighting Magical Girls, so her sisters wouldn't need to fight.
• At some point, after 1422, Isabeau uses too much of her magic and becomes a Witch. Lapin overturns this process by making a wish to the Witch itself so that Isabeau would go back to how she was. This causes Isabeau's Witch mind to inhabit her human body and continue her plans.
  • Afterwards, an unknown amount of time after Lapin's wish, Minou makes a wish to Isabeau for Isabeau to not be defeated by any type of Magical Girl in existence, which made her invulnerable to any kind of attack from Magical Girls.
• Melissa de Vignolles is born to Milene, who kept her a secret from the father, La Hire. After Milene died of the plague when Melissa was young, La Hire arrives to her hometown and, after finding out she was his daughter, takes her along with him.
• Riz Hawkwood becomes a Magical Girl with the wish to be the one from whom a new, true hero would spring. Afterwards, she travelled Europe with Cube in search of this hero to fulfill her wish.
  • The first candidate she met was referred to as "Machete", with the same age as Riz. She would die in battle against a Witch after her Soul Gem broke.
  • The second was referred to as "Frusta", who was older than Riz. She would also die in battle against a Witch.
  • The third and fourth were twins, where one is referred as "Falce" and the other one "Lancia", who were younger than Riz. Lancia would become a Witch and afterwards, Falce believed Riz and Cube had planned this, so she turned against them, forcing Riz to kill her as well.

• Elisa Celjska, being the illegitimate daughter of the Holy Roman Empress and a member of the Order of the Dragon, was exiled by the court until she meets Pernelle and Cube and becomes a Magical Girl. She makes the wish for everyone to acknowledge her existence and her and her mother were forgiven and brought back to the court. Elisa then began to use her powers for the Emperor and being sent all over Europe in missions by the Order of the Dragon.

Tart Magica

• 1425: After prayers at the village church, Catherine chases a glowing fairy into the woods, and Tart follows. The fairy leads them to a Grief Seed, which hatches and pulls them into a Witch's Barrier. Inside, they are confronted by Witch-Kissed soldiers. Tart prays for Catherine's safety as Riz arrives and saves them to defeat the soldiers. Kyubey, or Cube appears, and Riz explains they were searching for Tart. The Witch, a bell-shaped creature with butterfly wings, attacks as well, but Riz defeats it. Tart mistakes Riz and Cube for angels, but they reveal that they sought Tart to make a contract with her. Tart writes her name as "Jeanne Tart," and Cube decides to call her Tart. Cube offers Tart a contract to become a Magical Girl, but before she can respond, her father and villagers arrive. Tart faints from exhaustion, and Riz carries her home, where she's invited to stay as a village guard.
  • Over the next three years, Riz trains Tart and Catherine in swordsmanship, though Tart struggles while Catherine excels, and Cube grows impatient as Tart still hasn't made a wish.

• 1428: One day, while Riz is away guarding a shipment, soldiers attack the village, killing Catherine and destroying the town. Tart blames herself for not protecting her sister, but Cube explains that even if she wished to restore her village, tragedy could strike again due to the ongoing war. Tart decides to become a Magical Girl, cutting off her braid and wishing for "the power to bring light to France." Her transformation bathes France in light, witnessed separately by Elisa, Melissa and Minou.
• January, 1429: Tart, Riz, and Cube travel to Vaucouleurs to seek an audience with the Dauphin. Upon arrival, they sense a Witch's presence, the town is in chaos, and the captain of the guard, Robert Baudricourt, is missing. Tart and Riz investigate the keep, which turns out to be the Witch's Barrier. They're separated, and with Cube's advice, Tart conjures a sword of light, and defeats the Witch. Riz reappears, and Cube explains that Tart's immense power drains her magic quickly, so Riz promises to protect Tart from becoming a Witch. Baudricourt and the squires, Jean de Metz and Bertrand de Pulengy, arrive, and Bertrand pledges to help Tart. Cube muses that Tart's fate may be greater than he initially thought.
• February 12th, 1429: Outside Orleans, the French and Scottish forces suffer a devastating defeat at the hands of Minou, Corbeau, and Lapin. Jean de Dunois, the commander, is injured, but La Hire rescues him.
• In Vaucouleurs, Lord Baudricourt informs Tart that her audience with the Dauphin has been approved but also reveals the crushing defeat at Orleans, caused by three girls. Tart, Riz, and Cube suspect these girls are Magical Girls or Witches allied with the English, so they decide to leave for Chinon immediately to meet the Dauphin, accompanied by Jean and Bertrand. In Chinon, Gilles de Rais, a nobleman, hears rumors of "La Pucelle" and prepares to meet her, while the Dauphin Charles remains despondent over the loss at Orleans.
  • Tart, Riz, Jean, and Bertrand travel 600 kilometers from Vaucouleurs to Chinon, facing English soldiers, bandits, and Witches along the way, even with Tart saving Jean from a crab-like Witch on one occasion.
• March 4th, 1429: Upon arriving in Chinon, Jean and Bertrand bid Tart farewell, and she and Riz enter the citadel to meet the Dauphin. Inside the palace, the Dauphin Charles, devises a test for Tart: Gilles de Rais sits on the throne, pretending to be Charles, while the real Dauphin hides among the courtiers. Tart, guided by Cube, correctly identifies Charles and kneels before him, declaring her mission to crown him king. Melissa is able to see Cube guiding her and Cube briefly takes note of her. Charles is convinced of her divine mission after she transforms into her Magical Girl form, and he announces to the court that Tart is a true messenger from God.
• April, 1429: Tart's fame grows after theologians in Poitiers confirm her purity and divine mission. Soldiers rally to her cause, and preparations begin for the march to Orleans to break the English siege. Melissa is assigned to serve Tart and quickly becomes her friend. As the army marches, they encounter a burned village, and Tart and Riz investigate, finding a Witch's Barrier. Inside, they battle a flower-like Witch and Melissa, guided by Cube, is revealed to have the potential to become a Magical Girl too. Pernelle appears and introduces herself, giving Tart the Epee de Clovis sword, which enhances her power. Tart, Riz, and Melissa return to the army, with Riz growing suspicious of the situation in Orleans. Meanwhile, at the fort of Saint-Loup near Orleans, Minou, Lapin, and Corbeau discuss their plans, and they leave Corbeau alone to await Tart's arrival.

• April 29th, 1429: Tart and the French army arrive at Orleans, and she displays her banner, which features angels and Cube, as they prepare to retake the city from the English. The French forces, led by Gilles de Rais and La Hire, begin their counterattack, successfully reclaiming several fortresses, including Saint-Loup and Saint-Augustine. During the campaign, Tart tries to dissuade Melissa from becoming a Magical Girl.

• May 7th, 1429: The French army targets Les Tourelles, the most strategically important fort. Inside, the English commander William de la Pole is furious over their recent losses, and Corbeau kills Captain William Glasdale for questioning her authority. As the French attack, Corbeau confronts Tart and Riz, revealing her ability to transfer her magic consumption to nearby Magical Girls, making her nearly invincible. Corbeau and her servant, Fleche, overwhelm Riz and La Hire attempts to intervene but is also wounded, and Tart is also gravely wounded by Fleche protecting them. Melissa, desperate to save Tart and her father, contracts with Cube and becomes a Magical Girl, using her wish to heal both of them. As Tart and her father recover from their injuries, Melissa fights Corbeau with her weapon, while Riz analyzes Corbeau's powers and deduces her magic has a 50-meter range. Riz declares that they now have the means to defeat Corbeau. Riz pulls them briefly into her shadow, and explains the 100 meter range of Soul Gems, as well as the 50 meter range of Corbeau's magic. Due to their Christian faith, Tart and Melissa find the physical form of their souls a wonderful thing. Riz and Melissa confront Corbeau, with Tart keeping their Soul Gems safe while she takes on Fleche. Empowered by Melissa's wish that altered her destiny, she unleashes her ultimate attack, destroying Fleche's position and severely damaging the Les Tourelles fortress. Corbeau, realizing her Soul Gem is now polluted due to Riz's strategy, is forced to retreat with Minou, leaving Fleche behind as a Witch. Without her knowledge, Tart is helped by Elisa from afar to defeat the Witch.
• May 8th, 1429: The French and English armies face each other after the French victory at the Tourelles. Jean and La Hire prepare for battle, and John Talbot, the English commander, requests a parley with Lord Batard and Tart. Talbot admits the English cannot withstand Tart’s power and proposes ending the battle, citing the Sabbath as a fitting day for peace. Tart agrees, and Talbot departs as Elisa observes from a distance. Batard declares Orleans liberated, and the French army celebrates.
• May 11th, 1429: Tart and her retinue leave Orleans and meet Dauphin Charles at Chateau de Loches. Elisa reveals herself and confirms her role as the Magical Girl who aided Tart and Riz. Oswald pledges the Order’s support to Charles, and the Chamberlain arranges a council meeting to discuss the matter further. Elisa challenges Tart to a sparring match to test her power, and despite her shots Tart remains unharmed, but Elisa eventually disarms Tart and pins her, declaring victory. Elisa dismisses Tart as a disappointment, and Tart apologizes, but Melissa, angered by Elisa’s harsh words, challenges her to a fight. Melissa quickly overpowers Elisa, throwing her far into the sky and shocking everyone. Later, Elisa sulks in her room, frustrated by her loss to Melissa and her earlier victory over Tart. Oswald consoles her, and Melissa enters and apologizes to Elisa. Elisa forgives her, and Melissa explains that Tart was called to a strategy meeting, which Elisa prepares to join as well. In the meeting, Charles’ son, Louis, suddenly enters and urges Tart to ensure his father’s coronation, which inspires Charles to go to Reims.
  • The French army, led by the Duke of Alencon with Tart as his aide, begins the Loire campaign to reclaim territory from the English. They achieve victories in Jargeau, Meung-sur-Loire, and Beaugency.

• June 18th, 1429: The French face the English at Patay. Minou, Corbeau, and Lapin lead the English forces, while Tart, Elisa, Melissa, and Riz head the French. Lapin charges alone, but the group quickly overpowers her. As Lapin lies defeated, her Soul Gem corrupts, transforming her into a Witch with the power to control the weapons on the battlefield. Tart's team struggles to fight back as the Witch’s flashing eyes force them to revert to their human forms, and the Witch takes their weapons from them, with the exceptions of Elisa and Tart's enchanted weapons. Riz and Melissa face Corbeau, while Tart and Elisa deal with the Witch, and Minou observes from a distance. Elisa protects Tart from a distance with her weapon while Tart charges and strikes the Witch directly, defeating her and causing it to revert back to Lapin's Magical Girl form. Corbeau retrieves Lapin and instructs Minou to take her away, preparing to unleash her new power. She summons her new ability, "La Danse Macabre," which creates reaper-like skeletons and spreads an enhanced black plague across the battlefield. Both French and English soldiers, as well as the Magical Girls, collapse in pain as the plague takes hold. She attacks everyone on Tart's team and when she mocks Tart’s inability to save anyone, Tart's Soul Gem shines brightly, and she unleashes a powerful magic circle that bathes the battlefield in light. The plague is cured, and all the soldiers and Magical Girls are healed. Cube, observing with Pernelle from a distance, calls Tart an "irregular." Tart, who's now reached a new form, attacks Corbeau with full force and knocking her into the woods. Before Tart can deliver the final blow, Minou appears through a portal. Corbeau is initially relieved, but Minou coldly informs her that she is no longer needed because her loyalties lie with her sisters rather than Isabeau. Despite Corbeau’s pleas and declarations of love for her sisters, Minou shatters Corbeau’s Soul Gem, killing her. She then takes Corbeau's body with her, promising Tart a future confrontation.
• The French and English forces clash, with the French gaining the upper hand. John Talbot, realizing his troops’ morale is low after Corbeau’s plague and Tart’s subsequent healing, decides to lead a sacrificial assault. However, he is intercepted by Richemont, who arrives with reinforcements. Talbot surrenders himself as a prisoner to ensure the safe retreat of his remaining troops. With this victory, the French secure the path to Reims for Charles’ coronation. In the woods, Tart, Melissa, Riz, and Elisa hear the battle’s outcome, and Pernelle appears, mentioning a prophecy about a maiden saving France. Tart instead emphasizes that their victories are due to collective effort, not fate.
  • The victory at Patay leads to towns like Auxerre, Troyes, and Chalons pledging allegiance to Charles.
• July 16, 1429: Tart and her entourage arrive in Reims, and the coronation is held the next day at Notre Dame Cathedral. Charles is anointed with sacred oil, receives the symbols of royalty, and is crowned King Charles VII. During the celebration, Charles jokingly references the prophecy about France being saved by a maiden after being cursed by a certain woman. Suddenly, the lighting inside goes out, and several people start burning alive. Minou and Isabeau de Bavière, Charles’ mother who sold France to England, enter. Tart and her entourage transform to defend Charles, but Isabeau proves invulnerable to their attacks and easily defeats them. Minou declares that Tart will die within a year, and the two depart.
• The group discusses their next steps, with Tart advocating for the liberation of Paris. However, Charles, now showing signs of mental instability similar to his father, hesitates and eventually disbands the army. Tart’s comrades, including Gilles and La Hire, are dispersed, leaving her to fight alone for eight months. Despite the lack of support, they continue their quest, even though they're recognized as little more than a group of mercenaries.
• 1430: Four months into her eight-month journey, Tart is woken up by Melissa in her tent on the outskirts of Paris, with Riz commenting on her recurring dreams and Elisa urging them to hurry. A French soldier informs Jeanne and her companions that the English have a Sorciere (Witch) among their ranks, and the four of them ride toward the English fortress. They infiltrate it and defeat most English soldiers, until they encounter Minou, and one of her mindless servants. She turns the servant into a Witch and then vanishes, but Tart's team defeat the Witch together. The French soldiers celebrate La Pucelle's victory, and Cube appears, praising her.

• May, 1430: Tart and her friends arrive in Compiegne, a strategically important town. Minou confronts them and summons an army of mind-controlled Magical Girls, whom she transforms into Witches. The battle grows more dire as Lapin joins the fray, whose grown in strength and is seeking revenge for Corbeau’s death. Lapin’s new attacks force the girls to revert often between their Magical Girl and human forms, but Riz cleverly counters her by destroying her discs. She tries to tell her that Corbeau was killed by Minou, and then to destroy her Soul Gem, but this causes her to transform into a Witch again. As the girls struggle against Lapin and the Witches, Minou knocks away a Grief Seed meant for Melissa and transports her, herself and Elisa to another Barrier, where they face more Witches. Meanwhile, Tart and Riz continue to fight against Lapin, with Tart nearing her limit. Riz immobilizes both Lapin and Tart using her shadows and summons her ultimate attack, the "Gates of Hell," a massive doorway from which shadow hands emerge. They pull Lapin, the surrounding Witches, as well as Riz herself into the void, ensuring they will never open again. As the shadows envelop her, Riz bids Tart farewell despite her protests, telling her to save Melissa and Elisa and defeat Isabeau. The gate closes, and Riz disappears, leaving Tart alone and devastated. Meanwhile, Melissa and Elisa fight the horde of Witches in their Barrier, with Elisa taking a severe injury protecting Melissa. Minou appears and she's shocked to inform them that Tart alone survived the battle. As the Barrier begins to collapse, Minou teleporta away, leaving the two to fight the rest of the Witches. Tart, now alone in the castle courtyard, is surrounded by soldiers who recognize her as a Witch fighting for the Armagnac faction. They bind, blindfold, and load her into a wagon under heavy guard.
• May 23, 1430: La Pucelle is captured at Compiegne by the Burgundian faction, allied with the English. This marks the beginning of the final year of Tart’s life.
• After her capture at Compiegne, Tart is sold to the English by her Burgundian captors and taken to Rouen. King Charles VII, despite owing his throne to Tart, refuses to pay her ransom, influenced by his fear of his mother, Isabeau, and the manipulative advice of his chamberlain, La Tremoille. Minou appears, praising Tremoille for his loyalty to Isabeau and revealing their plan to have Tart tried and executed as a heretic and a Witch.
• February 21, 1431: Tart is put on trial for heresy by the English, who aim to discredit Charles VII by proving his savior was a heretic. The trial, led by the biased judge Cauchon, is a sham, with Tart denied legal counsel and forced to defend herself. Despite the unjust proceedings, Tart refuses to sign the articles of accusation, maintaining her innocence.

• In her prison cell, Tart lies shackled and despondent. Cube visits her, revealing that Riz’s wish was to be the source of a new, true hero, and now it would never be fulfilled. He explains Riz’s past and her belief that Tart was the hero she sought, urging her to fight Isabeau. Minou and Isabeau enter the cell, and Minou mocks and tortures Tart, as well as incapacitating Cube. Outside the prison, a large-scale French assault led by Lord Richemont, La Hire, Gilles, and others aims to rescue Tart. Minou confronts the attackers, while Melissa, Elisa, and Pernelle infiltrate the prison and find Tart in her cell. Tart refuses to fight until Elisa chastises her for undervaluing herself, reveals her past of being a fake princess and explaining how, unlike her, Tart’s genuine selfless actions have inspired countless people to fight for her. Tart, moved by their words and the cries of the soldiers outside, transforms into her Magical Girl form, vowing to continue her fight to bring light to France and the world. Pernelle stays behind to heal Cube while the three girls go to aid the soldiers. Isabeau arrives to Minou's side, and everyone's attacks phase right through her. Pernelle arrives to help them defend against Isabeau, and Cube explains that her invulnerability stems from a wish that made her immune to normal attacks. He reveals that due to her wish and becoming a Witch, Isabeau is now part Magical Girl, part Witch, and part Incubator. Lapin’s wish had partially resurrected Isabeau, leaving her in a dual state: a Witch controlling her human body. Isabeau transforms into her complete Witch form, Crepuscule de la Reine, summoning massive caterpillar-like creatures. Minou declares that no Magical Girl can harm Isabeau due to her own wish to make her invulnerable. Cube explains that Isabeau’s Barrier has engulfed France, and if it spreads globally, the world will lose its value to the Incubators. Tart, nearing her limit, hears Riz’s voice guiding her, and Riz’s Soul Gem appears, and she helps Tart wield her sword, declaring that Tart is now more than just a Magical Girl.
  • Tart’s Soul Gem, now blackened and corrupted, is stabilized by Riz’s Soul Gem, which encases her left hand in a black gauntlet. Tart’s new transformation allows her to harm Isabeau, using her new powers to slice through the Witch’s appendages. She summons the "Gate of Heaven," to destroy her, and Riz’s Soul Gem crumbles after the battle, with Tart thanking her for her protection. After the battle, Tart collapses from exhaustion, her Soul Gem having become something more akin to a Grief Seed. Minou threatens Tart but lacks her powers after Isabeau’s defeat. Tart offers herself as a prisoner to prevent her transformation into a Witch, which would bring disaster to Europe. Despite Melissa and Elisa’s protests, Tart insists on her decision, as her Soul Gem is now beyond purification. Pernelle uses her magic to teleport her friends, as well as the armies away, leaving Tart alone. Minou gleefully accepts Tart’s surrender, declaring to the English army that she will execute her.
• Tart is taken to Rouen, where she is sentenced to death by burning at the stake as a relapsed heretic. La Hire continues to fight to rescue Tart and leads attacks on Rouen until hes was captured twice. He is eventually released in a prisoner exchange for John Talbot, but despite his failures to save Tart, La Hire would become one of the most gallant generals of the French army, and a lifelong rival to John Talbot.

• May 30, 1431: Tart is tied to a stake in a public square, and Melissa and Elisa, still recovering from their wounds, rush to the scene but are held back by soldiers. Tart communicates telepathically, urging them not to save her, as her transformation into a Witch would bring catastrophe. She shares a dream of returning to her family in Domrémy, and the flames consume her. Pernelle and Cube observe Tart’s execution, with him acknowledging that not attempting to turn her into a Witch was his form of gratitude.
• Days after her death, Melissa and Elisa, riding through the countryside, vow to visit Tart's hometown and hold onto the hope that her soul will find peace.
  • In the following years, the two would work together with Pernelle to hunt Witches across Europe, growing up and becoming Magical Girl veterans.
• 1435: Isabeau's death is recorded in 1435, her funeral going almost completely unattended and unnaturally subdued for a queen.
• 1440: Gilles de Rais is brought to trial for the serial murders of young boys from his fiefdom in attempts to perform occult rituals. He was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging, with his body later cremated.
• 1453: Richemont eventually wins a political battle at court, leading to the banishment of the chamberlain La Tremoille. Richemont goes on to guide France to many victories as the overall commander of the French forces, playing a key role in the eventual French victory in the Hundred Years’ War.
• 1453: Charles eventually wins the Hundred Years’ War, earning the title “Charles the Victorious.”
• 1456: After Tart’s death, Charles VII convenes a new church trial to revisit her case, restoring her reputation and clearing her name.

The Recent Past

As most of the backstories for the different spinoffs take place during the same times as each other, discerning when specific events take place is not possible. For this reason, most have been delegated to their own sections based on where they happen, with exceptions to certain events which have taken place further in the past compared to most others.

• Around fifteen years before present day, Remi Shiina makes a contract with Kyubey and becomes a Magical Girl. At some point, her little sister either witnessed, or was told of this. Eventually Remi disappears, likely dying in battle, or becoming a Witch herself. Her sister tells this to Remi's friend, Misako Ishijima, who would later on in life grow up to be a detective and find other evidence of Magical Girls.
• For her third birthday, Satomi Usagi receives a cat named Sare.
• As a child in California, while playing cowboy Niko Kanna was playing with a loaded gun with her neighbors' kids. The gun accidentally fired, and the bullet ricocheted off a vase, killing her neighbors. This incident would haunt her for the rest of her life.

• During a festival night, Tsubaki Mikoto loses her parents to a Witch that sings nursery rhymes while engulfing them in flames. Though Tsubaki makes her contract as a Magical Girl with the wish for the power to defeat Witches, which grants her fire-based powers, she is unable to do anything to save them and the Witch escapes. She is then taken in by a distant relative Yoriko Yanagi, a housewife and kendo instructor at her family's dojo in the town of Sazanka. Yoriko raises Tsubaki like her own daughter and trains her in kendo for physical skill and mental discipline. Tsubaki herself trains with the purpose of defeating the Witch that killed her parents.
  • Tsubaki also meets and trains alongside Ichika Kasumi, another student at the dojo who becomes her first Magical Girl companion and self-proclaimed rival. Their relationship starts rocky, but with kendo practice and Magical Girl battles, they grow to respect and motivate each other, becoming true friends and rivals who push one another to improve. When Tsubaki tracks down the Witch that kills her parents and enters its Labyrinth for revenge, Yoriko follows out of concern, but Tsubaki and Ichika are so focused on defeating the Witch that they cannot protect her. While they do defeat the Witch, they are unable to retrieve Yoriko's body from the Labyrinth before it disappears, but Ichika manages to bring back Yoriko's bell charm as a keepsake for Tsubaki, which Tsubaki even knew the the "stay together forever" chant for.
  • What became of Ichika is unknown, but it is likely that she died in battle, or became a Witch while Tsubaki wasn't there to witness it.
• Chisato Shion's father writes children's books, but they fail to reach a wide audience or success, and he starts to physically abuse his wife.
• After their mother's death, Tsubaki is hired as a nanny by their father for Matsuri and Kagari. She takes care of them, catering to Matsuri's special needs due to her blindness, as well as Kagari's emotional needs. One of the stories she read them, about a kind-hearted witch chastised by villagers, was written by Chisato's father.
• Michiru Kazusa's grandmother Maia, named after the eldest Pleiades sister, who had married a Japanese man, had stayed in Japan after his death, and lived next to Michiru's Italian-food-and-soccer-loving parents. Overjoyed at Miciru's birth, Maia adopts her after her parents' fatal accident when Michiru was five. On the funeral night at their vacation home, Maia shows Michiru the Pleiades as "her sisters' stars," revealing she was the eldest of seven and now the last alive. Michiru cries jealously that she can never have sisters, but Maia comforts her that family is made by connected hearts, not just blood, and invites Michiru to live as her child. They hug tearfully and Maia gives her rosetta bread, said to have fallen as the Rosetta Meteora. They share it in the kitchen, and Maia hopes Kazumi finds trustworthy friends, her own Pleiades.
• Suzune Amano and her parents are caught in a Witch's Labyrinth, and Tsubaki manages to save her. Afterwards, Tsubaki takes care of her, and Suzune makes a wish to Kyubey to be a Magical Girl just like Tsubaki.
• Tsubaki quits her job as a nanny in order to take care of Suzune, and after many battles, she turns into a Witch and Suzune is forced to kill her.

• Kyubey approaches Matsuri and Kagari, and Matsuri makes a wish to be able to see, and the two go outside to look for Tsubaki. They find Suzune wearing Tsubaki's charm and Kyubey tells them that she turned into a Witch and Suzune killed her. While Kagari isolates herself, Matsuri goes and befriends Suzune.
  • Later on, Kagari makes a wish to make Suzune suffer, and rewrites her memories to make her into a Magical Girl assassin, as well as erase her and Matsuri's memories of each other. She also makes a deal with Kyubey to let her complete her plan by having her hunt Witches full-time to make up for the loss of energy for losing Suzune, so she erases herself from everyone's memory and leaves town as well.
• Haruka, due to feeling overshadowed by her older sister, Kanata, she makes a wish to erase her from existence, leaving only Haruka to remember her.
• After her mother died, Chisato's father started getting drunk and abusing Chisato, so she wished for him to change him into a proper father. This causes him to no longer abuse him and to start working as a police officer.
• Arisa Narumi is bullied at school, especially by a girl named Mika Nishinaka. When Kyubey approaches her, she wishes to become strong so she could stand up to them. After gaining her new strength, she becomes a bully herself, until she's confronted by Chisato, who challenges her to a fight as Magical Girls. After losing, Chisato offers Arisa her friendship and invites her to join the other Magical Girls in Hohzuki.
• Around two years from present day, Yuuri Asuka's class runs a café, and she handles the menu due to her love of cooking. After tasters fall ill, devastated Yuuri discards everything and isolates herself at home. Days later, on a rainy day, Airi Anri sits outside Yuuri's door all day begging her to come out. At sunset, Yuuri opens the door slightly and asks why Airi is there. Airi asks for food since she has not eaten, but Yuuri refuses until Airi confesses she ate all the discarded dishes because they were delicious, and the illness claims were lies from jealousy. Airi explains she saw Yuuri's careful hygiene and knew the food could not be bad. She dreamed of being a detective, inspired by Gourmet Detective Neko Ururu, and needed a chef partner, so she staged the day to befriend Yuuri. Airi then drags Yuuri out to cook dinner, with the spoon pendant that was given to Yuuri as a child by Slice Akiyama glittering.
• Mami Tomoe is involved in a car accident which kills her parents, and she makes a wish with Kyubey to survive.
  • At some point after she has recently started her Magical Girl duties, she tries to save a mother and her son from a Gisela Witch. She is only able to save the mother and this incident leaves a deep emotional scar on her.
• After Kyoko's father started preaching stuff that wasn't in the bible, people stopped attending his church and their family ended up in poverty. Kyoko Sakura makes a contract with Kyubey in exchange for people frequenting his church again and listening to him.

Asurano

• While studying abroad, Michiru Kazusa's grandmother became very ill and in critical condition. While running home, she was caught in a Witch's Barrier but was quickly rescued by Mami. A doctor explains that Maia didn't have long to live unless she received life support, but she had rejected it by her own accord. Later, Kyubey approaches Michiru and she makes a contract to return her grandmother to normal for as long as she has left to live. Michiru spends the day learning cooking skills from her, including strawberry risotto, and the next day, her grandmother died.
• At some point, Michiru saves Yuuri from a Witch and her and Kyubey explain Magical Girls to her.
• Around the same time in Asurano, Yuuri and six other girls go through difficult times.
  • Umika Misaki writes a novel draft, but her editor steals and publishes it under the name of a famous idol, earning widespread praise. When the editor calls to ask if she’ll write another story, Umika drops the phone in grief.
  • Kaoru Maki suffers a severe injury during a soccer match, leaving her on crutches. The girl who caused the injury was later rushed to the same hospital where Kaoru was recovering, and Kaoru overhears that the girl was bullied for ruining her career and attempted suicide.
  • Satomi ignores Sare’s protests and leaves her cat alone at home while she went out. When she returns, Sare is taken to the vet's office where she's confirmed dead and the staff mention that the cat would have survived if brought in sooner.
  • Mirai Wakaba is regularly ostracized by her classmates as weird, and she makes teddy bears as to be her friends. On this particular day, when she's made her 666th friend, she breaks down in tears and admits to wanting real friends.
  • Kanna Hijiri reminisces about the friends she'd accidentally killed and cries over it at school.
  • Saki Asami and her sister Miyuki are involved in a car crash, where Miyuki dies from a piece of glass lodged in her throat. Miyuki Asami used to dream of growing flowers for her wedding bouquet.
  • Having been diagnosed with a terminal illness and given three months to live, Airi is devastated. Yuuri visits her and insists Airi's life is not over and that she will support Airi with everything she has if Airi chooses to live, but will not help if she gives up. Tearfully, Airi pleads for help, saying she wants to live, so Yuuri removes her spoon pendant and gives it to Airi, telling her to hold onto it until she returns. As she leaves, she passes a nurse exiting Miyuki Asami's room, where Saki weeps over her.
    • Yuuri walks the streets at night, recalling first learning of Magical Girls when Michiru saved her from a Witch. Michiru reappears with Kyubey, both agreeing Yuuri's wish is fantastic. That night, Yuuri contracts as a Magical Girl for Airi's sake.
• Yuuri visits Airi in the hospital, and Airi is overjoyed to have been cured, and believes the spoon Yuuri gave her was magical.
  • She would then continue to use her power of healing to help children with terminal illnesses in hospitals, though this would be very taxing for her.
• Overwhelmed by despair, Umika, Kaoru, Satomi, Mirai, Kanna and Saki are marked by a Witch's Kiss and attempt suicide by jumping off a building. They are saved by Michiru, who stops their fall with ribbons and throws them into the Witch's Barriers where they're attacked by Familiars. To prove they want to live, she gives them firearms she conjured and they fight back and protect each other. As they're about to be killed by the Witch, Michiru saves them and takes them to her house. She shares her wish with them and Kyubey tells the other girls that they have the potential to become Magical Girls as well. Inspired by Michiru, in order:
  • Mirai wishes for a big museum for her teddy bears, with Michiru naming it Angelica Bears.
  • Satomi wishes for the power to talk to animals so she could help them.
  • Kanna whispers in his ear and wishes to create a copy of herself which didn't have the memories of her accidentally killing her friends.
    • Afterwards, she gives up the name Kanna Hijiri to her replacement, and introduces herself as Niko Kanna to the others.
  • Saki wishes for her sister's flower to bloom forever.
  • Umika wishes for an editor who values her work.
  • Kaoru wishes to help those who were injured due to her soccer injury.
  • The six of them become Magical Girls, and Michiru names their group the Pleiades Saints.
    • The new Kanna Hijiri, replacing the one now known as Niko, lives a normal and happy life without any memories of the accident.
  • After the Pleiades' first Witch battle, the group rests in a meadow and Kazumi points to the Pleiades constellation. Saki notes its location northwest of Taurus, around 444 light-years away. When Saki asks why the team name, Kazumi shyly explains how 8 years ago, when she was five, her grandmother took her in after her parents' deaths and told her her life story. She explained her grandmother was named Maia after the 7 stars, and now was the only one left alive. After telling her she could make her own family by connecting through their hearts, the two had Rosetta Meteora together.
  • The Pleiades Saints gaze at the sky and Michiru says her grandmother, Saki's sister, and Satomi's cat watch from above. A shooting star passes and Michiru leads them home for a shared meal.
• The newly formed Pleiades fight a Witch and Michiru insists everyone name their attacks in Italian, even planning to record them in a book. She admits she is imitating the mysterious girl who saved her, Mami Tomoe, and threatens not to cook for them unless they comply. Saki notices Michiru's earrings are missing and Michiru assumes they were lost in battle but says it is fine, as her grandmother will never disappear from her heart. Later, Kaoru reveals that Saki asked her father to obtain a new pair of identical earrings during a business trip. Michiru thanks Saki warmly, while Mirai watches with an angry expression.
• At some point, Michiru finds out that Magical Girls become Witches. Feeling guilty due to having convinced 7 girls to make contracts, she overworks herself and goes out hunting Witches on her own. It is likely that during this time, Yuuri would have a hostile encounter with Kyoko, which Michiru would help break off.
• While preparing strawberry risotto for the Pleiades eating dinner, Michiru turns into a Witch, revealing the truth to the others as well. Kyubey delivers his cold explanation of the Magical Girl system and in fury, Umika slams him against the wall and impales him with her spear. However, a new Kyubey body appears behind them, explaining that killing him is pointless, but Niko decides to take the terminal Umika just killed for testing, since he no longer has any need for it. Saki takes Michiru's Grief Seed and encases it within metal, shaping it to the shape of one of Michiru's earrings. The girls later read Michiru's diary and learn of what she'd been through trying to protect them, and the girls decide they will reject the Magical Girl system entirely.
• Yuuri enters a cooking contest with Slice Akiyama, and Airi promises to treat Yuuri to bucket parfait if she wins. Airi also returns the spoon to Yuuri for good luck, vowing to protect her.
• Yuuri goes missing during the contest’s final round, and while searching for her, Airi is caught in a Witch's Labyrinth. The six Pleiades Saints arrive and destroy the Witch, warning her to forget what she saw. Airi finds Yuuri’s spoon dropped by the Witch, and Kyubey reveals the Witch was indeed Yuuri. He explains Yuuri's wish and how she overused her powers to save other terminal patients until she became a Witch in front of the Pleiades. Airi, devastated, curses herself for thanking Yuuri’s killers and vows not to forgive them. Kyubey offers to grant her wish, and Airi wishes to become Yuuri, taking over her life, memories and appearance. She transforms into a new form of the original Yuuri and declares her intent to kill them all.
  • Kanna is also witness to this fight, shocked at seeing the Witch, as well as a girl who looked like her fighting it. Kyubey approaches her and explains the details of Niko's wish, as well as Kanna's own creation to her. After researching the incident, Kanna as an emotional breakdown upon finding out she isn't a real human. Seeing herself as Niko's puppet, she makes a contract with Kyubey for the power to "connect" and use others' powers without their knowledge, intending to cause Niko's downfall herself. She would then use her powers to observe the Pleiades, and then even create Evil Nuts by mixing Niko's and Umika's magics.
• Umika conducts intensive research on her computer and discovers a theoretical method to resurrect Michiru using a Witch's "Heart," which she termed a Cuore Maleficus, as the core component. Umika presents the idea to the Pleiades and leaves the final decision to them. Saki strongly supports it, reminding them that Michiru saved them multiple times by purifying their Soul Gems.
  • The Pleiades would then start to use their joint powers, as well as the flesh of Michiru's Witch to create clones of her. Some of these clones turn out better than others, which they would judge by the similarities of their cooking to the real Michiru's, however when they were given Michiru's memories by Umika, they'd go berserk as the fighting instincts took them over. The Pleiades make 12 of these clones until they come to the conclusion that it was Michiru's will to remain dead. While Saki was supposed to get rid of the clones, she keeps them in stasis as she couldn't bear harming anyone who looked like Michiru.
• Niko conducts her own research on the captured Incubator body using her computer and Soul Gem. She successfully creates a new, dependent type of Incubator. Presenting him to the other Pleiades, she introduces him as "INCUBATOR VER. DEPENDENT. Sub-or-din-at-ed (Juu-zoku-su-ru) Incubator," abbreviated to "Juubey," who is able to absorb Grief Seeds as well as cleanse Soul Gems himself.
• In their next meeting with Kyubey on top of Asurano tower, the Pleiades bring Juubey along, informing Kyubey that his services for Grief Seed disposal are no longer required and demonstrates his ability to cleanse Soul Gems. Umika declares she will never allow him to make another contract in Asunaro City, but instead of repeatedly killing him, they will erase his existence entirely. Umika leads the Pleiades to cast a powerful spell that renders all Incubators except Juubey invisible to everyone in the city and rewrites the memories of all Magical Girls to remember Juubey in Kyubey's place. Their own memories of performing the spell are also erased.
• For the thirteenth clone, the Pleiades decide to not give her any of Michiru's memories and to call her by Michiru's nickname, Kazumi. Mirai plans to take Kazumi as her apprentice and she's crafted a special teddy bear adorned with a cat-charm necklace bearing Kazumi's name for the occasion. Satomi intends to give Toto, Michiru's cat to Kazumi, noting that Toto had begun warming to humans despite once scratching Satomi's hands. Umika plans to let Kazumi read her next novel before anyone else, while Kaoru wants to gift her an official All-Japan soccer uniform. Niko promises to take the group to America to view the Pleiades Star Cluster at the Grand Canyon and perhaps finally share her own story with them. Saki declares she would give Michiru's earrings to Kazumi, not to make her a replacement, but to pass on Michiru's wishes so the earrings would truly become Kazumi's.
• Souichirou is tricked by the owner of the shopping mall into selling his store. As revenge, he plans to detonate a bomb inside the shopping mall.
  • After Kazumi is created, Yuuri manages to kidnap her and places her in a suitcase, likely to take her to Kanna. However, at the same mall Souichirou intended to blow up, the two mix their suitcases with each other's, with Yuuri receiving the bomb and Souichirou receiving Kazumi.

Kazamino & Mitakihara

• Mami and Kyoko meet and form a partnership to fight Witches.
• Kyoko's father would soon see her fighting a Witch and would later kill his entire family as well as himself, leaving only Kyoko behind. This trauma blocks Kyoko's unique magic and afterwards, thinking she'd be a liability for Mami, Kyoko breaks her partnership with her and decides to live only for herself.

• Mami and Kyubey spot Mabayu Aki as a potential Magical Girl. After Mabayu's mother, who had the inexplicable power to see the future, foresaw her own death, she became deathly terrified. With her low potential, Mabayu wished to erase her mother's memory of her prediction and became a Magical Girl.

• Mabayu and Mami form a partnership, and even convince other candidates to become Magical Girls. To make this happen, Mabayu uses her powers of predicting the future and wiping the memories from the girls. These girls would shortly after disappear, likely due to dying in battle or becoming Witches themselves.
  • One day, Mabayu uses her future-seeing ability and hesitantly reveals to Mami that she saw her working as a waitress at Récompense in uniform. Mami is shocked at this supposed destiny, but later indeed begins briefly working at Récompense. Sakie and Mabayu are delighted with her natural customer service skills, noting she surpassed Mabayu's two-week training period in no time.

Present Day

The events of Puella Magi Madoka Magica and some of its related media take place. See Timelines for more details. In Magia Record, the events of Suzune Magica take place slightly before the events of Madoka Magica, while Kazumi Magica happens a bit later, followed by Oriko Magica, which takes place during the same time as Madoka Magica. The same framework has been adapted for this article.

• This information may be considered incongruent with many Madoka Magica media, but the original Puella Magi Oriko Magica claims that these, and thus most other events of the Madoka Media, take place during 2011, with Kirika Kure being born in 1997 and dying in 2011. This detail has intentionally been excluded from retellings and adaptations of the story since the first version of the Oriko Magica story.

Suzune Magica

• While Witch-hunting at night, Suzune saves Kanami, another Magical Girl, from a Witch in an abandoned factory. However, after Kanami thanks her and introduces herself, Suzune kills her by slashing her Soul Gem.

• The next day, Suzune transfers to Akanegasaki Middle School, which Matsuri, Chisato, Arisa, and Haruka also attend. At school, rumors of a "Ripper girl" circulate, and Suzune writes Kanami's name on a piece of paper. Matsuri tries to befriend Suzune, but their conversation is interrupted when Haruka calls Matsuri for a meeting. The Hohzuki quartet discusses the Ripper rumor, suspecting a Magical Girl is behind the murders, as all the victims were Magical Girls.
  • That night, while patrolling, Chisato encounters Suzune, who kills her. Arisa arrives too late and attacks Suzune but is also overpowered. Haruka and Matsuri rescue Arisa, and Kyubey reveals Suzune is a Magical Girl assassin.
• Haruka confronts Suzune at school, accusing her of the murders, but Suzune dismisses her. Matsuri visits Suzune at her home at Yunagi Newspaper, and offers her friendship despite Suzune's threats.
• Chisato's funeral is held, and tensions rise between Arisa and Haruka over Chisato's death. Haruka, distracted by guilt, accidentally enters a Witch's Barrier. Meanwhile, Arisa and Matsuri search for Haruka and encounter Suzune. A battle ensues, with Suzune declaring her intent to kill Haruka. In the Witch's Barrier, Haruka reflects on her wish for her sister to disappear while fighting the Witch.
  • Suzune uses her power to teleport away and she quickly finds Haruka, preparing to kill her. As Arisa and Matsuri arrive, Haruka's Soul Gem fully corrupts, and she transforms into a Witch. Suzune battles Haruka's Witch and reveals that all Witches were once Magical Girls, and their Soul Gems are their true selves. Suzune demonstrates this by stabbing herself, while blocking out the pain and healing, showing their bodies are mere shells. Kyubey confirms Suzune's claims, leaving Arisa and Matsuri in shock.
  • Suzune, who has been killing Magical Girls to prevent them from becoming Witches, walks away, refusing to explain her actions. Kyubey then shows Arisa and Matsuri Suzune's past of being raised by Tsubaki after her parents were killed by a Witch, until Tsubaki eventually turned into a Witch herself, forcing Suzune to kill her, so Suzune vowed to end the cycle of Magical Girls becoming Witches. Arisa, furious at Kyubey for deceiving them, destroys one of his bodies and later reflects on her own wish for strength, and regrets becoming a Magical Girl. Meanwhile, Suzune contemplates her actions, questioning whether she is doing the right thing.
• Suzune has a nightmare about Tsubaki and the Witches she has killed. At school, Arisa becomes increasingly aggressive, vowing to kill Suzune, while Matsuri tries to reason with her. Matsuri explains that she doesn't regret becoming a Magical Girl because her wish allowed her to overcome her disability, but Arisa still refuses to drop her vendetta against Suzune and leaves. Matsuri begins to have flashes of memories involving Tsubaki and a young Suzune, and that night, Kagari returns to Hohzuki and watches Suzune from afar.
  • Suzune and Arisa confront each other in an alley, and Suzune explains that killing Magical Girls is no different from killing Witches, as both are destined to become monsters. Arisa, fueled by rage, attacks Suzune but is unable to defeat her. Meanwhile, Matsuri, sitting on a park bench, begins to remember her past with Tsubaki and Suzune, triggered by Kyubey's sharing of Suzune's past. When she remembers everything, Kagari approaches her. She reveals that she erased her memories and manipulated Suzune into becoming a Magical Girl assassin to make her suffer. Before Matsuri can go and warn them, Kagari knocks her out with her magic and takes her home.
  • Kagari then interrupts Suzune and Arisa's fight as Arisa is about to kill Suzune, killing Arisa by stabbing her Soul Gem. Suzune, shocked, demands to know who Kagari is. Kagari shows her visions of her, Matsuri and Tsubaki, explaining how she made a wish for revenge, altering Suzune's memories to turn her into a killer. Suzune breaks down, realizing the extent of Kagari's manipulation and the lives she has taken. Kagari taunts Suzune, urging her to turn into a Witch. Meanwhile, Matsuri awakens from a dream, now fully remembering her friendship with Suzune and Tsubaki.
  • Suzune attacks Kagari but is easily outmatched. Kagari continues to taunt Suzune, pushing her closer to becoming a Witch. As she's about to kill her, Matsuri arrives, tending to Suzune with a Grief Seed and confronting Kagari. Kagari decides to no longer spare Matsuri and instead kill both of them. Kagari uses her magic to disorient and taunt them, but Kyubey reveals to Matsuri how Kagari's magic works, and Matsuri uses her own magic of detection to help Suzune gain the upper hand by revealing Kagari's movements to her. The two win the fight and Matsuri pleads with Kagari to drop her vendetta, but she refuses and rewrites her own memories to create a terrible story for herself and turn into a Witch. As a Witch, Suzune's initially unable to attack her effectively, and Kagari's Witch consumes Matsuri.
  • Suzune uses her full power by using the charm she's made, and enters the Witch's body and destroys her from the inside. After the battle, Suzune finds Matsuri unconscious and Kagari's Grief Seed. Kyubey informs Suzune that both she and Matsuri are near their limits, so she copies Kagari's magic and uses the Grief Seed on Matsuri, leaving her home. Matsuri wakes up and chases after Suzune, who threatens to rewrite Matsuri's memories. Matsuri tells her that she will always be her friend and comforts her, and Suzune crushes her own Soul Gem to prevent herself from becoming a Witch.
• The following days, on the school rooftop, Matsuri vows to continue living, and puts on a charm similar to Tsubaki's and Suzune's.

Kazumi Magica

• Kazumi wakes up inside a suitcase with amnesia, only remembering her name. She is found by Souichirou Tachibana, who explains he bought a bomb in a similar suitcase to destroy a mall for revenge, but the suitcases were switched after he bumped into a mysterious girl. He receives a call offering to trade Kazumi for the bomb at the mall, and she agrees, hoping to find her kidnapper. During the trip, she pleads with him not to use the bomb, insisting he is good.
  • At the mall, Umika and Kaoru open the bomb case, activating its timer. A police squad led by Misako Ishijima arrives to arrest Souichirou, and Kazumi breaks free to defend him. As the bomb is about to explode, Kazumi’s earrings glow and she wishes for it to stop. Umika passes it to Kaoru, who kicks it into the air, but Kazumi had unknowingly turned it into harmless confetti. Umika and Kaoru reveal they know Kazumi and take her to their home.
  • Kazumi had been missing since the previous day. After resting, she wakes to a note saying Umika and Kaoru have gone to meet the detective. Kazumi cooks a large meal, and when the detective arrives alone, Kazumi accuses her of orchestrating the bomb plot for recognition and of coming to kill her. Misako admits this, stating she has the power to kill without evidence, then transforms into a monster and attacks Kazumi, triggering flashbacks.
  • When Misako grabs her earring-bell, Kazumi breaks her wrist and transforms into a Magical Girl. Using her new powers, she defeats the monster, which reverts to human form. Umika and Kaoru rush in to find the battle over; Kazumi tells them she can use magic. She collapses from exhaustion, while Umika and Kaoru find a Grief Seed-like object on the unconscious detective. Unbeknownst to them, Yuuri watches.
• Kazumi wakes up, encounters the cat Toto in her room and joins Umika and Kaoru downstairs. After eating, Umika takes Kazumi and Kaoru shopping at the mall to overcome her writer's block. There, Kazumi senses something wrong and runs off to find a monster attacking people. She transforms into a Magical Girl, and the monster recognizes her. Kazumi struggles in the fight, prompting Umika and Kaoru to reveal they can transform as well. Kazumi recalls their usual strategy but attacks too early, nearly hitting Umika and allowing the monster to escape.
  • As a playful punishment, they take her for a haircut. Umika explains that a sprite scouts and contracts with Magical Girls, granting wishes in exchange for their powers. Kaoru says she wished for a healthy body to play soccer, while Umika wished for an editor who appreciates her novels. Kazumi wonders what her own wish was, but they say she never told anyone. They confirm the monsters are a new type of Witch unfamiliar to them.
  • Kazumi’s haircut is messy and when Umika tries to fix a stray lock, Kazumi calls it her "Witch sensor," which helps them identify the half-Witch as a cosmetic saleswoman using harmful foundation. They confront the Witch, but the mysterious girl from earlier appears, reveals herself as a Magical Girl, and leaves. They defeat the Witch, turning her human and obtaining an Evil Nut.
  • That night, while fighting a proper Witch, Kazumi hesitates due to her earlier mistake. The Witch devours Umika and Kaoru and escapes, leaving Kazumi with only a Witch's Kiss. Four other Magical Girls arrive: Satomi, Mirai, Saki, and Niko, revealing they form a seven-member team called the Pleiades Saints.
  • Kazumi receives a call from Umika and Kaoru, trapped in a Barrier Umika created. She says she can only maintain it for five hours and instructs Kazumi to find the Witch with the others. The five use their Soul Gems to locate it, though Kazumi notes her hair detector isn’t working. Satomi reveals her wish to communicate with animals, and a cat tells her the mark on Kazumi’s hand has appeared around the city. Niko introduces a smartphone app that tracks Witches by converting wavelengths into Soul Gem signals.
  • The group splits up. Yuuri, disguised as Satomi, lures Kazumi away, reveals herself as the one who put her in the suitcase, and declares her intent to kill her. She summons a giant bull named Cole and pins Kazumi to a wall, but the other Saints arrive and save her, allowing Yuuri to escape.
  • Back at the house, Saki discovers the Witch's Kiss matches a bookmobile’s schedule. After Kazumi cooks a large meal, they rush to confront the Witch, with Kazumi bringing candy for Umika and Kaoru. Their plan has Kazumi wait outside the Barrier and fire in on a signal. When Niko’s communicator breaks, Umika uses flute candy from Kazumi’s bag to signal instead. Kazumi destroys the Witch. Saki finds it used an abandoned car for its Barrier, and Niko collects a proper Grief Seed.
  • Juubey approaches and reveals he contracted the Pleiades Saints. He purifies their Soul Gems and devours the Grief Seed. When presented with the "Grief Seeds" from the half-Witches, he rejects them as fake "Evil Nuts." The Pleiades deduce Yuuri is behind them, when Yuuri suddenly appears, incapacitates the group, kidnaps Kazumi, and leaves a letter demanding they come to Asunaro Dome at midnight. They regroup to figure out her motivations.
• At midnight, the Pleiades arrive at Asunaro Dome, where Yuuri awaits with Kazumi trapped in a chair. When the Saints attempt to rescue her, they are blocked by a force field which damages them upon contact. Yuuri announces her plan to plant an Evil Nut into Kazumi’s forehead. Removing her hat, she is recognized by Umika and Yuuri declares her desire for vengeance and forcefully inserts the Evil Nut into Kazumi's forehead.
  • A burst of energy erupts from Kazumi, who breaks free to fight Yuuri but is again overpowered. Yuuri accuses the Pleiades Saints of killing her, claiming they are a group that murders Magical Girls. She reveals the Pleiades took away what was most important to her, so she plans to take Kazumi from them. As Yuuri’s blackened Soul Gem cracks, Saki instructs Juubey to cleanse it, but Yuuri shoots him. Her Soul Gem hatches into a Grief Seed, turning her into a Witch.
  • Her Barrier ties the Pleiades to crosses and projects Airi's memories, showing how she became Yuuri to enact revenge. Kazumi pleads with Airi to stop, but the Witch attacks, seemingly crushing her head. Kazumi bites the attack, and the Evil Nut’s influence mutates her body, allowing her to break free until her earring's bell restores her.
  • Kazumi tries to use her magic to revert Airi to human form, but Airi’s body emerges from the Witch, still attached. Saki frees her teammates. Kazumi protests killing Airi, but the Pleiades explain Witches cannot be saved. They destroy the Witch with Kazumi ultimately joining the attack. The Barrier collapses, and Kazumi picks up Airi’s spoon, vowing to share the Pleiades’ pain.
  • Later, Kazumi encounters Souichirou Tachibana, now a store manager. She makes "Bucket Parfait," a dessert Airi and Yuuri longed to share. Souichirou initially refuses to add it to the menu, but as Kazumi eats, she breaks down, realizing they never got to enjoy it together. She falls asleep gripping their spoon, and Souichirou covers her with a blanket, later adding the parfait.
  • That night, the rest of the Pleiades confront a Magical Girl named Sumire Akane, who used to play with Kaoru. As she pleads, Kaoru uses Tocco del Male to take her Soul Gem. Another Magical Girl, Ayase Souju, watches from afar, interested in collecting the Pleiades’ Soul Gems.
    • Likely during this time, Kanna approaches them and supplies them with Evil Nuts to use against the Saints.
• The next morning, Kazumi thanks Souichirou for the food and is delighted when he adds Bucket Parfait to the menu. She leaves upon spotting Niko and Juubey and joins them on patrol at La Vie Land amusement park. They encounter Ayase Souju, who introduces herself as a collector of Soul Gems, accuses the Pleiades of the same, and reveals her intent to add theirs to her collection. Niko battles Ayase and uses Tocco del Male on her, but Ayase's body continues moving, retrieving her Soul Gem and revealing that she shares her body with Luca, possessing two Soul Gems.
  • Kazumi and Niko fight Souju, countering their synchronized fire and ice magic by mixing Kazumi's destruction with Niko's reformation. As Ayase/Luca prepares to use Evil Nuts on them, the other Pleiades arrive and intercept them. Souju accuses the Pleiades of being Magical Girl hunters, shocking Kazumi. Kaoru retrieves their Soul Gems as they reach their limit. Kazumi demands an explanation, and Umika agrees to reveal the truth. Suddenly, Niko collapses as her Soul Gem turns into a Grief Seed, transforming her into a Witch.
  • The Pleiades are shocked until Kaoru blocks the Witch's attacks. When Saki is harmed, Mirai summons an army of teddy bears and cuts the Witch in half. The Witch drops a Grief Seed, leaving Niko's body lifeless. As they mourn, another Niko appears.
    • In this moment, Kanna takes Niko's identity and pretends the original Niko is a "spare" she created with her wish, having likely rewritten Juubey's memories to confirm this.
  • Niko explains the body was a "preliminary" from her contract, causing mixed reactions. They take Kazumi to a hidden facility under Mirai's museum, called the Freezer, where they store the bodies of Magical Girls whose Soul Gems they’ve taken. Umika explains this is their way of rejecting the Magical Girl system, preventing Witch transformations while searching for a way to cleanse Soul Gems.
  • Umika reveals that Witches are the ultimate fate of all Magical Girls and admits they lied about Soul Gems merely "going out of control." Juubey reveals Soul Gems contain the extracted souls of Magical Girls, making them akin to zombies. Kaoru argues this is better than dying instantly to a Witch. Umika describes their method: captured Magical Girls are placed in a specialized barrier that isolates them from their Soul Gems, inducing suspended animation. Kaoru states their goal is to avoid becoming Witches and restore the girls to normal life. Niko transfers Ayase and Luca's Soul Gems and body into new containers, declaring they will wait for revival.
  • Kazumi asks when they learned the truth. Umika touches her forehead to Kazumi's, stating they must now restore her lost memories.
    • Kazumi is shown an alternate past where Michiru's name was changed to Kazumi and Kyubey is replaced with Juubey.
    • She relives memories of how each member fell to despair and how "Kazumi" saved them from suicide under a Witch's Kiss. After forcing them to fight, she told them of her grandmother and her own contract. She then sees them make their wishes to Juubey, forming the Pleiades.
    • The next memory shows the Pleiades waiting for Kazumi, who was to bring a new friend. Juubey alerts them to a nearby Witch's Barrier at Asunaro Dome, where they witness Yuuri Asuka transforming into a Witch. After the battle, Satomi asks if Magical Girls turn into Witches. Juubey explains the process and his role in collecting energy from hope's conversion into despair. Kaoru grabs him in anger, but Umika seizes him, slams her head against his, and rewrites his memories to prevent further contracts and make him work for them.
  • In the present, Kazumi says she remembers hunting Magical Girls after Yuuri's transformation, but collapses as the Evil Nut symbol flashes in her eyes. Satomi looks on in shock as everyone decides to rest, and Umika and Kaoru lead Kazumi away.
  • Later, as Saki lingers in the Freezer, Satomi approaches and asks if they can kill Kazumi, arguing she will inevitably revert to her Witch form and endanger everyone. Saki refuses, declaring her love for Kazumi. Satomi then uses her magic to compel Saki to go to the Misaki residence and kill Kazumi.
  • At the residence, Kazumi sleeps while Kaoru and Umika discuss her condition. Kaoru confesses she had Umika fabricate details about her own wish during Kazumi's memory restoration. Saki arrives and asks if they understand the Evil Nut's effects. Umika theorizes someone else created the Evil Nuts and supplied them to Yuuri and the Souju twins, so finding that person may reveal the truth. Umika and Kaoru reassure Saki that things are progressing well "this time," but Saki panics at the mention of another repeat. She points out that even Niko's clone body transformed despite having a clear Soul Gem, suggesting they are all nearing their own transformations.
  • Umika notices Saki referring to Kazumi with an honorific typically used by Satomi. Saki suddenly kicks Umika across the room. Through Saki, Satomi declares they cannot allow Kazumi to live and that it would be kinder for Saki to kill her now. Kaoru tries to restrain her, but Saki incapacitates her with a chandelier. Saki advances on Kazumi but breaks free of the brainwashing and stabs herself in the leg. Kazumi wakes, but Satomi forces Saki to grab her, and using Saki's magic, they vanish and reappear in the Freezer, with Saki's hair now much longer.
  • Saki collapses from blood loss and urges Kazumi to run. Satomi appears and reveals that the restored memories were fabrications. The Pleiades already knew the truth about Witches because Kazumi's original self, Michiru Kazusa, had previously become a Witch and died. The Pleiades have been attempting to revive Michiru by cloning remnants of her Witch form and transplanting them into clone bodies, a process called Malefica Farce ("Witch Stuffing"). The current Kazumi is the thirteenth clone, and exposure to Evil Nuts is accelerating her reversion. Satomi intends to kill her before the transformation completes. She summons the twelve previous failed clones from beneath the Freezer and commands them to destroy Kazumi.
  • She also reveals that Yuuri's transformation was a false memory implanted by Umika; it was Michiru's Witch transformation that first exposed them to the truth. Satomi explains that their attempts to revive Michiru using combined magic created imperfect clones with witch-like traits. She notes Saki was supposed to dispose of the clones but couldn't due to her love for Michiru. Outside, Mirai spies on them, while Niko and Juubey observe both parties.
  • Satomi possesses Kazumi using her magic and forces her to fight the clones. Kazumi begs her to stop, but Satomi refuses. Under control, Kazumi wields the unique magics of each Pleiades member, convincing her she is composed of their magic fragments. She even absorbs the defeated clones' remains, repairing her own increasingly witch-like body. Satomi observes that Kazumi is "cannibalizing" them and brands her a monster.
  • The battle continues until only Kazumi and one clone, marked with "IV," remain. As they clash, the clone pleads with Kazumi to kill her. Kazumi hesitates, but Satomi drives her staff through Kazumi's back and into the clone's chest. Satomi apologizes, then mutters she has finally eliminated all the clones.
  • In her final moments, Kazumi grasps the clone's hand, absorbing its essence. Satomi prepares another attack, but her Soul Gem suddenly cracks and shatters without visible corruption, transforming her into the Witch Ritterrüstung von Heulsuse. Kazumi dodges the Witch's assaults while her own body mutates into a tentacled, Witch-like form. She redirects the Witch's Familiars against it using Mirai's "La Bestia" attack. The Witch's armor detonates, exposing a vulnerable core. Kazumi seizes it and smashes it against a wall, killing the Witch and reverting Satomi to her lifeless human form.
  • The remaining Pleiades arrive and Mirai wakes Saki. They witness Kazumi savagely attacking Satomi's corpse. At Saki's voice, Kazumi snaps back to her normal appearance, horrified. Saki gently reassures her and calls her "Michiru." Kazumi pushes Saki away in distress, demanding to know if she is truly just a clone. Met with silence, she panics and uses Saki's magic to escape.
  • Umika, Kaoru, Saki, Mirai, and Niko regroup. Niko attempts to track Kazumi but fails due to her using cloaking magic unconsciously. Saki apologizes for not destroying the clones, though the others don't blame her. They discuss their next steps, now that Kazumi's reversion is progressing and they lack Satomi's magic. Niko holds a container with Satomi's shrunken body and Grief Seed, calling them ingredients for revival. In a vote, everyone except Kaoru agrees to kill Kazumi and resume reviving Michiru and Satomi as many times as needed. Kaoru argues they cannot eliminate Kazumi now that she is beyond control, but Saki produces Michiru's diary and challenges her on whether she'd be willing to give it a bad ending.
• Saki and Mirai depart on patrol. Saki thanks Mirai for excusing her earlier actions, but Mirai responds coldly that the current Kazumi is not the Michiru they once knew, only a Witch with a human appearance.
  • Meanwhile, Kazumi hides alone in a lighthouse atop a cliff, tearfully staring at a group picture of the Pleiades on her phone. As she weeps, Misako Ishijima grabs her shoulder. She shows no memory of the bomb incident or her transformation. Misako urges Kazumi into her car to escape the rain.
  • As they drive, Misako explains that over twenty young girls have vanished in Asunaro recently, including Yuuri. Fearing Kazumi could be next, she approached her. The only lead is that several victims' phones contained deleted texts from an anonymous address labeled "Hyades," with no trace on phone company servers. She asks if Kazumi has regained her memories, but Kazumi bursts into tears, prompting Misako to pull over at Souichirou Tachibana's cafe.
  • Inside, Kazumi eats a meal and falls asleep from exhaustion. Souichirou prepares coffee for Misako with butter stirred in, a recipe from a popular manga. Misako shows a photo of a girl named Remi Shiina, her close friend from middle school who disappeared. Remi's little sister later told her Remi had been a Magical Girl, and Misako has encountered evidence of Magical Girls in her detective work. When Souichirou asks why she shares this now, Misako notes Remi loved the same manga the coffee recipe is from. He interprets the coincidence as proof that miracles and magic exist. Kazumi spends the night at the cafe.
• Six days after Detective Misako Ishijima brought a starving, soaked Kazumi to Café Le Pa Machuca, the rain has continued, and Kazumi has remained upstairs. Near midnight, Souichirou Tachibana pauses his work to watch the unrelenting downpour. He sees her near-total loss of appetite as a sign of more than a simple runaway but respects her wish not to contact family. A small thump from upstairs breaks the quiet; when he checks, Kazumi is sleeping soundly but with fresh tear tracks on her face. He sighs, resolving to make irresistible food for her tomorrow.
  • While descending the stairs, a piece of luggage collapses and a notebook falls out. He recognizes it as his late father's guestbook from Bistro Tachibana, now around fifteen years old, filled with joyful customer notes. Pausing at one particular page, he decides on a dish for Kazumi and begins cooking it in the empty café.
• Early that morning, Kaoru arrives and hands Souichirou a scorched diary for Kazumi, with a personal letter tucked inside. She says she has no home left and flees crying. Souichirou sets the diary aside and continues cooking hotcakes. Soon, Misako enters and he serves it with chocolate art, calling it "magical cooking to turn tears into smiles." He shows a guestbook entry from Remi, Misako's missing best friend from 15 years prior, who described the same "hotcake" with a chef's drawing and the pun "A girl's tears are hotcake." Misako eats tearfully, smiling at the memory. Souichirou decides this will be Kazumi's breakfast, the rain now seeming gentler.
  • Alone, Kazumi opens the diary and reads entries detailing Michiru's life: her bond with her grandmother, her early encounter with Yuuri Asuka, her joyful time with the newly formed Pleiades, and her despair upon learning Magical Girls become Witches. Kaoru's letter pleads with Kazumi to flee before the others find and kill her, promising to protect her at any cost.
  • Kazumi and Souichirou prepare one last meal together, which is strawberry risotto, following Michiru's grandmother's recipe from the diary. After eating, Kazumi thanks him and departs. She goes to the Freezer beneath Mirai's museum and uses telepathy to broadcast her location to the remaining Pleiades. She declares she will not run and demands they meet her to settle everything, warning that if they do not come, she will deactivate the facility's barrier, allowing the stored Soul Gems to hatch into Witches.
  • The Pleiades arrive at the Freezer. Kazumi greets them, revealing she placed magic circles that will break the seal on the Soul Gems if they detect anyone's magic but her own. She says she has read Michiru's diary and pieced together the truth. She demands to know why they never gave her Michiru's actual memories. Saki explains that every prior clone given the full memories lost their sanity to fighting instincts and became mindless killers. Umika adds they interpreted this as "Michiru's will" and stopped attempting memory transfers, creating a new Magical Girl with a different personality instead.
  • Kazumi declares she will not permit Magical Girls to perish from despair. She demands the Pleiades swear never to abandon efforts to revive Michiru and Satomi, no matter the failures, as it is their responsibility for rejecting the system and creating her. As her body begins transforming back into a Witch, she urges them to kill her. Kaoru objects, but Kazumi pleads with them to end her suffering. Holding up a group photo, she asks if they'd be friends if she were a normal human, which Kaoru affirms. Kazumi thanks them tearfully, consumes two Evil Nuts stored in the Freezer, and begs them to kill her.
  • Kazumi lashes out with a tentacle, slamming Kaoru into a wall and paralyzing her. Her expanding Barrier warps the room. Umika tries to rouse Kaoru but fails. Mirai tells Saki they must kill Kazumi to save her from torment. Saki transforms, steeling herself to kill every iteration of "Kazumi" until the true Michiru is restored, and Mirai pledges to share that burden. Kazumi blasts Niko unconscious. Saki and Mirai unleash a combined attack, Episodio Incrocio, manifesting a massive energy teddy bear that charges toward Kazumi.
  • Umika continues calling for Kaoru until she notices Kazumi's magical symbol appearing on Kaoru's cheek. She uses Carcere Pausa on Kaoru, freeing her. Kaoru awakens to see the battle and rushes forward as Saki attacks, leaping in front of the strike. She pulls Saki close and argues that Kazumi is forcing herself to act as a Witch to make them kill her. When Kazumi's expression proves Kaoru right, Saki relents and breaks down.
  • Kaoru declares she will be the one to kill Kazumi, but Mirai suddenly leaps behind Kazumi and slices her body in half. The Barrier collapses, and Kazumi's form reverts to a doll-like decoy identical to Niko's clones. The unconscious Niko is also a decoy. The real Niko emerges, revealing she has the true Kazumi sealed safely inside one of her containers.
  • Mirai turns to see Saki's Soul Gem on the verge of hatching. Niko uses Prodotto Secondario to create a clone beside Saki. The clone calmly tells Saki she will put her to rest, then presses an Evil Nut into Saki's forehead. Saki screams as a pillar of lightning erupts around her, annihilating the clone. Niko, smiling, tells Kaoru she could never let humans hurt Kazumi.
  • When Kaoru presses for an explanation, Niko declares that she and Kazumi are the only true composite Magical Girls. Mirai rushes to Saki's side as Saki begins transforming into a Witch and begs Juubey to cleanse her Soul Gem. He says it is too late and urges her to flee, but Mirai refuses.
  • Mirai notices Saki's Soul Gem has fully become a Grief Seed. She professes her love to Saki's Witch, and the Witch decapitates her, killing her. Niko shouts "Connect" and uses her magic to restrain the rampaging Witch-Saki, claiming her revenge is nearly complete. She recounts a childhood gun tragedy where the sole survivor and the one who pulled the trigger was Kanna Hijiri. Consumed by "what if" thoughts, she imagined an alternate version of herself who never experienced the tragedy. Umika realizes the girl before them is not the original Niko, but Kanna Hijiri herself, created by Niko's wish.
  • Kanna explains that she saw them battling Yuuri Asuka's Witch form and was horrified by the monster and a girl who looked identical to her. Juubey appeared and explained that the girl was her original self and that Kanna was created as a duplicate from Niko's wish. This led to her breakdown and desire for revenge. She wished for the ability to "connect" to others without drawing attention, to use their powers. She then created the Evil Nuts with Niko and Umika's magic, supplying them to Yuuri (Airi) and the Souju twins. Her goal is to eliminate normal humans and replace them with composite beings like herself and Kazumi, to be called the Hyades.
  • Inside the Barrier of Saki's Witch, Kanna urges Kazumi to join her, offering to heal her impending Witch transformation. Kazumi refuses, declaring she wants no part of a world without her friends. She bursts free from the container and collapses next to Umika and Kaoru. Umika attempts to reason with Kanna, insisting that both she and Kazumi possess genuine human hearts. She admits the Pleiades' fear of becoming Witches drove them to try saving themselves, but Kazumi chose to confront the truths head-on. Enraged, Kanna commands Saki's Witch to attack. Before it can strike, teddy bears under Mirai's previous "La Bestia" spell breach the Barrier, arriving with the Soul Gems of the Souju sisters and other captured Magical Girls. The Gems immediately corrupt into Grief Seeds and hatch into Witches that rally to defend Saki's Witch. Umika casts Rosso Fantasma on Kaoru, who sends spectral clones toward Kanna. Umika sneaks behind Kanna and uses Tocco del Male in an attempt to extract her Soul Gem. Kanna reveals it was a decoy and strikes them both down.
  • Kazumi prepares to fully transform, instructing Umika and Kaoru to kill her if she becomes a Witch and thanking them. Her Soul Gem rapidly corrupts. Juubey attempts to purify it, but his body begins disintegrating. With a final goodbye, Juubey breaks apart completely. Kyubey appears and explains that Juubey was an incomplete Incubator, incapable of full purification. Umika and Kaoru recall that standard Grief Seeds can cleanse Soul Gems. Kazumi faints, the sound from her earring bell echoing. This causes Saki's Witch to turn against the other Witches defending her, prompting them to overwhelm and destroy her. As Saki's Witch is defeated, she drops a Grief Seed, which Umika and Kaoru use to purify Kazumi's heavily corrupted Soul Gem. Her Witch-like markings fade, and she is restored to normal.
  • Kazumi wakes up and swiftly defeats all the Witches except the combined Witch form of Souju, which is more resilient. Umika and Kaoru express regret, lamenting they wanted Kazumi to experience joy, not this confrontation. Kazumi finally destroys the Souju Witch, also wounding Kanna. Saki's Grief Seed is about to hatch, and a massive barrier spell bearing Umika's magic circle shatters above the city. Umika and Kaoru recall the one entity capable of consuming Grief Seeds and call out to Kyubey, who appears and eats the Grief Seed before it releases the Witch again.
  • Kyubey states he never left Asunaro City and directs Umika for the full explanation. Kaoru and Umika recall that it was Kyubey who made their contracts and explained the truth about Witches after Michiru became one. In fury, Umika impaled him, but a new Kyubey body appeared, explaining Incubators share a collective consciousness and have countless terminals. Niko took the dead Kyubey and placed it in a container. After research, she used its body to purify her Soul Gem and created a new, dependent type of Incubator, presenting him as "Juubey." In their next encounter with Kyubey, the Pleiades brought Juubey, who informed Kyubey his services were no longer needed and demonstrated his ability to cleanse Soul Gems. Kyubey argued they should simply use Grief Seeds, but Saki stated no one wanted to sustain themselves on the remains of friends. Kyubey admitted he did not understand, and Umika declared she would never allow him to make another contract in Asunaro City. The Pleiades cast a spell rendering all Incubators except Juubey invisible to everyone in the city and rewrote memories to replace Kyubey with Juubey. Their own memories of the spell were erased. Kyubey complimented Umika's thorough plan.
  • Kyubey notes that using modified Incubator bodies as a cleaning system was not a bad concept, but theorizes it failed because they could only "polish" Soul Gems superficially, not truly cleanse them. This is why the Pleiades gradually became Witches despite their Gems appearing untainted. Additionally, Juubey needed actual Grief Seeds to keep the cleaning function operational. Kaoru and Umika's Soul Gems are now darkened. Kazumi begs Kyubey to cleanse them, but he replies only Grief Seeds can perform true purification. The sole remaining Witch is the combined Souju form, pinned to the wall alongside Kanna. Kazumi kills the Witch, but no Grief Seed appears. Kyubey explains not every Witch produces one. Kazumi panics and rushes to her friends' sides, grasping their hands.
  • Umika and Kaoru firmly reply they will never allow themselves to become Witches, their stomachs growling as they share weak smiles with Kazumi. Kazumi tearfully asks them to eat strawberry risotto together when they return home. Suddenly, her left earring-bell rings out, detaches, shatters open, and reveals Michiru's Grief Seed hidden inside. While her right earring held Kazumi's "Soul Gem," the left held Michiru's Grief Seed, which Saki had sealed in the form of one of Michiru's earrings when they killed Michiru's Witch.
  • Kazumi realizes Michiru still wants to help and presses the Grief Seed to Umika and Kaoru's darkening Soul Gems, cleansing them completely. Meanwhile, Kanna escapes to the top of Asunaro Tower with the Soul Gems from the Freezer. Using her "Connect" magic, she links them as they turn into Grief Seeds and fuse into a single colossal Witch entity. Kyubey briefly mistakes it for Walpurgisnacht before recognizing Kanna's handiwork and names it "Hyades Daybreak." Umika and Kaoru instruct Kazumi to stay back, warning that further magic use will push her over the edge. Kazumi calmly explains she has never made a contract with Kyubey and can make one now, claiming she will never fall into despair.
  • Kazumi makes her wish: to become a real human. Kyubey warns the wish is futile, as she will immediately become a Magical Girl upon its granting, thus undoing it. Kazumi counters that she needs a body of her own to move forward. She emerges with a new transformation, her hair long and free, wearing an entirely new, white costume.
  • Her magic radiates outward, triggering an "upgrade" in Umika and Kaoru's costumes, enhancing their designs and magical potency. As they attack, Kanna is stunned that Kazumi made a contract. Kazumi gently tells her they are not so different, as composite beings who made contracts, they are both real Magical Girls. Kanna's rage and despair reach a breaking point, and she resolves to destroy Kazumi's world along with all ordinary humans, refusing a future where she remains a mere copy.
  • Harnessing their upgraded powers, Kazumi, Kaoru, and Umika launch a coordinated assault on Hyades Daybreak. The combined attack overwhelms and defeats the entity, severely weakening Kanna and pushing her Soul Gem to the brink of hatching. Kazumi approaches the collapsing Kanna, takes her gem, and uses what's left of Michiru's Grief Seed to cleanse it as much as possible. She consoles her, understanding her fear that her loved ones might only see her as a reflection of the original Niko. Kazumi reassures her that everyone truly loved Kanna for who she was. While admitting she cannot save Kanna, she promises to watch over her loved ones. Tearfully, Kanna remarks that Kazumi's words are always heartrending, thanks her sincerely, and leaps from the building's edge. With a quiet "Ciao," she detonates her Soul Gem mid-air, ending her life. Kazumi kneels and finally cries. Umika and Kaoru embrace her, and the three gaze at the clear sky.
• The next morning, Kazumi wakes to the sounds and smell of cooking. Umika prepares breakfast normally and Kaoru pours tea. Over lemon pie, Kazumi asks about Niko and Kanna, worried about how to explain Kanna's death to her family. Kaoru reveals they plan to use Umika's magic to make Kanna's death appear as the result of a witnessed serious illness, rather than erasing her entirely. Kazumi then suggests they visit Kanna's house together.
  • At the Hijiri home, Kanna's father, mother, and twin brothers greet them with suspicion. When asked how they knew Kanna, Kazumi blurts out that they were Magical Girl teammates and shows a photo of the Pleiades. She explains they met at the hospital, formed a team to cook for and cheer up unwell children, describing it as a secret activity with a "don't-tell-family-or-get-a-ladle-whack" rule. Kaoru and Umika back her up. Kanna's mother tears up, touched by her daughter's seriousness.
  • Kazumi conjures ingredients while chanting "Chi-chin purin!", delighting the twins. They prepare Kanna's favorite dishes, ending with strawberry risotto, her top dish, described as a "magical risotto that makes everyone smile." They name it Niko Risotto after Kanna's gentle smile (a play on "niko," meaning smile). Together, all seven of them share the meal.
• Sometime later, Kazumi attends school in Asunaro City. During introductions, she chooses the surname "Subaru," meaning "Pleiades." Meanwhile, Umika and Kaoru confront Kyubey privately, asking if he is pleased by their supposed failure. Kyubey replies he feels no emotions but has obtained valuable data and a highly potent Witch in Kazumi, so he should thank them. Umika and Kaoru firmly declare they will never abandon their quest to find a way to reverse Witch transformations and restore Magical Girls to human life. Their conversation is cut short when Kyubey senses a Grief Seed beginning to hatch into a new Witch.
  • In the middle of class, Kazumi senses the emerging Witch and bolts from the room. On her way, she encounters Souichirou Tachibana, Officer Misako Ishijima, Kyouka Shida (the former cosmetics pseudo-Witch), and Slice Akiyama (the chef who hosted the cooking competition where Yuuri Asuka was last seen). She reunites with Umika and Kaoru, and the three transform into their upgraded Magical Girl forms, with Kyubey accompanying them.

Scene 0: Film 0

These are the events that happen from Homura's release from the hospital, until she creates the first loop with her wish to save Madoka. This timeline is depicted in:

1. Episode 10 of the original anime
2. Film 0 of Scene 0
3. The Main Story of the Artist Witch's Memory Window in Magia Exedra
4. The Magia Exedra event Memories of You Part I
5. The Magia Exedra event Memories of You Part II

• Day 1 - Tuesday, the 16th: Homura is discharged from the hospital after a long absence from school due to a heart condition. She feels anxious about starting school and making friends.
  • Mami decides to return the bomb manual book to Mabayu.
• Day 2 - Wednesday, the 17th: Madoka, Sayaka, and Hitomi search for their missing friend, a black cat named Amy. Madoka briefly sees a strange white creature, Kyubey.
  • That night, Madoka meets Kyubey on her windowsill, who prompts her to make a contract and become a Magical Girl.
• Day 3 - Thursday, the 18th: The next morning, Madoka discusses dreams and wishes with Sayaka and Hitomi on the way to school.
  • After school, she finds Amy injured by a car near Récompense. Kyubey appears again and Madoka makes a contract to save her, becoming a Magical Girl. Amy being miraculously saved amazes Sayaka and Hitomi later.
• Day 4 - Friday, the 19th: Mami meets up with Madoka and takes her on her first patrol. Madoka successfully defeats a Familiar under Mami's guidance.
• Day 6 - Sunday, the 21st: During a school field trip to a car factory, Madoka leaves Sayaka alone to go fight it.
  • Mami is prevented from killing the Witch by Kyoko, who claims the territory as her own. Madoka enters the Barrier to kill the Witch, during which Kyubey asks her about contracting Sayaka, but she refuses. Madoka is overwhelmed, but the Witch is eventually defeated by Mami or Kyoko.

• Day 10 - Thursday, the 25th: The following week, Homura attends school and befriends Madoka. On her walk home, she's lured into an Izabel's Barrier, but is rescued by Madoka and Mami, who reveal they're Magical Girls.
  • At the same time, Sayaka becomes lost in a Witch’s Barrier where she is killed by an Anthony Familiar.
• Day 11 - Friday, the 26th: Hitomi informs Madoka and Homura that Sayaka has gone missing.
  • At Mami's apartment, Mami and Madoka explain Magical Girls to Homura and even mention Walpurgisnacht. Mabayu observes them in camouflage and hopes Homura will join their team.
  • Mami and Madoka take Homura on a Witch hunt to show her the ropes, but Homura is terrified and feels like a burden. After the hunt, Homura confesses her insecurities to Madoka, explaining that she is too scared of death to become a Magical Girl, despite the offer of healing her heart. She decides against making a contract.
  • Madoka comforts her, promising to protect the town and people like Homura. Despite Homura's decision, Madoka reaffirms their friendship and continues to include her in the group with Hitomi.
• Day 16 - Wednesday, the 31st: Madoka and Mami save Hitomi and other people from H.N. Elly. Afterwards, Madoka expresses her worries to Mami about people they can't save in time, specifically mentioning the still-missing Sayaka.
• Day 20 - Sunday, the 4th: That week, Kyosuke is discharged from the hospital and Hitomi gives him a congratulatory cake. They meet Mami, who is working part-time at the bakery Récompense.
  • Homura, remembering Madoka's warnings about windy days, researches Walpurgisnacht and realizes the great danger Madoka and Mami are facing.

• Day 32 - Friday, the 16th: As Walpurgisnacht approaches, a storm triggers an evacuation in Mitakihara. Mabayu foresees their future against Walpurgisnacht and finds out Magical Girls become Witches and sees their loss in the battle. However, Mabayu hides the true, morbid prediction of how the fight would go to inspire hope.
  • During the fight with Walpurgisnacht, Mabayu admits to lying about her prediction, but cuts out the memory of the future she saw so that the end result of the battle would be different. Homura arrives at the battlefield and both Mabayu and Mami die in battle.
  • Madoka goes to fight against Walpurgisnacht alone and also dies. Homura laments her death and is then approached by Kyubey. She becomes a Magical Girl with the wish to go back in time and save Madoka, thus creating the second timeline.

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 the fourteen timelines depicted in Scene 0, the original Puella Magi Madoka Magica anime and its retellings, see Timelines/Original/Scene 0.
• For the definitive last timeline in the original universe, see Timelines/Original/Final.
• For the events depicted in Null Magical Girl, which are unrelated to the characters or events of other timelines, see Timelines/Null.
• For the continuation, with the timelines under the management of the Law of Cycles, where Witches have been replaced by Wraiths, see Timelines/Law of Cycles.
• For the universe overtaken by Homura at the end of Rebellion, see Timelines/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 Timelines/Magia Record.
  • Notably, the present day of this universe is separated into Timelines/Magia Record/Arc 1 and Timelines/Magia Record/Arc 2.
• For the continuation of Magia Record, depicted in Magia Exedra, see Timelines/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 Timelines/Miscellaneous. 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.
  • Notable for the Original Universe, this also includes The different story, Oriko Magica, Mobage and Portable.
  • Notable for the Magia Record Universe, this also includes the Magia Record Anime and the different Mirrors of many Magia Record Events.
  • Notable for the Magia Exedra Universe, this also includes the many Alt-Universes depicted in Magia Exedra and the relevant Nightmare Stories from the Memory Windows in Exedra.

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 Episode 11, it is hinted that Cleopatra VII and Himiko were Magical Girls.
• 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, and 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.