While Gen Urobuchi attempted to mislead the audience that the show overall has a heartwarming story, there are heartwarming moments here and there so he wasn't trolling us completely. In retrospect, he didn't lie that much.
As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy, and there are many early-arrival spoilers here. You Have Been Warned.
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Episode 1 - As If I Met Her in a Dream...
- Simply put, Madoka is a nice, kind girl with good friends and a wonderful family. If you've watched the show before, just watching Madoka go about her normal, daily life is heartwarming by itself.
- Madoka saves Kyubey from Homura. Even though she doesn't understand the situation, Madoka is willing to risk her life to save a total stranger.
- Madoka's mom pushing the towel into her reach, while her eyes are closed.
Episode 2 - That Would Be Truly Wonderful
- Mami is the best big sister to Madoka and Sayaka. She protects them, encourages them to take their time to think about their wishes, and always helps others when she can. Even if she doesn't think of herself as a role model, Mami still does her best to be a supportive figure in the girls' lives.
- The poor woman who almost jumped that Mami saves wakes up after the fight with the witch. Horrified over what she did, she cries into Mami's shoulder.
Episode 3 - I'm Not Afraid of Anything Anymore
- Madoka helps her dad bring in her drunk mother from the front door. Afterwards, they have a nice chat where Madoka's father expresses how he admires his wife's dedication to her work and her drive. The minor characters may be less important once the meat of the story comes into play, but you can't help but go "aww" at that moment of cuteness.
- Madoka promising to fight alongside Mami. Mami's reaction to this is so heartfelt and happy that you just know something bad's about to happen to her.
Episode 4 - Miracles and Magic Are Real
- Homura mentions how, because magical girls' bodies disappear when they die in a labyrinth, they are considered missing people, and that they will eventually be forgotten by others. Madoka states that she will never forget Mami- or Homura.
Episode 5 - There's No Way I'll Ever Regret It
- Madoka expresses concern about Sayaka becoming a Magical Girl particularly after what happened to Mami. Sayaka brushes her off saying that if she hadn't then she would have lost Madoka and Hitomi which she finds to be even scarier and assures Madoka that she wont need to contract because she will protect the city now. It's a Heartwarming moment since it shows just much Sayaka values her friends and ideals that she was willing to sign on to what she knew was a dangerous job.
- Sayaka bringing up the newly-healed Kyosuke up to the roof for a impromptu concert. Kyosuke's parents, nurses, and doctors are all there to see him play his violin again, and you can tell that everyone present knows that they're in the presence of a true miracle. Putting aside her friend's rescue, this one event convinces Sayaka that "There's no way I'll ever regret it".
Episode 6 - This Just Can't Be Right
- Madoka having a talk with her mom over drinks, where her mother tells her that if a friend won't do the right thing, then Madoka should do the wrong thing in order to get her friend to wake up and see the error of her ways. This backfires horribly for Madoka, but it's good to see her mother giving her daughter advice, albeit unconventional advice.
Episode 7 - Can You Face Your True Feelings?
- Kyoko takes Sayaka to her family's old church and tells Sayaka her backstory and why she became a Magical Girl. She wanted to cheer Sayaka after she learned that her soul gem is a Soul Jar and to give her advice on being a magical girl. While Sayaka does decline her offer of becoming more selfish, she does apologize for judging her earlier.
- Regardless of how you feel about her, it is pretty sweet of Hitomi to give Sayaka a chance to confess to Kyosuke before she does. She obviously values their friendship and doesn't want to do anything that could potentially hurt her. Granted, it only makes things worse in the long run but hey, it's the thought that counts, right?
Episode 8 - I Was Stupid, So Stupid
- Kyoko saves Sayaka from Homura even though it goes against her policy of helping people. Later on, both of them meet up in the subway station and Kyoko's line implies that she went through the trouble of looking for Sayaka all over town. It seems that Kyoko considers Sayaka her friend.
Episode 9 - I'd Never Allow That to Happen
- When Kyoko calls out Homura for the rather tactless way in which she explains Sayaka's situation, her main reason for her outrage is that Sayaka was Madoka's best friend and is heartbroken by seeing Madoka cry over Sayaka's lifeless body. For someone who claims to care about only herself, Kyoko clearly was mainly thinking of Sayaka and Madoka during the trainyard scene.
- Kyoko performs a Mercy Kill on Witch!Sayaka, along with a Heroic Sacrifice. Not because Sayaka couldn't be defeated without one, but because she didn't want Sayaka to die alone.
- In a bittersweet way, Kyoko's speech to Sayaka during their final battle, as she understands why Sayaka is so angry and would never forgive those who hurt her badly enough for her to transform into a witch, but gently asks Sayaka to come back her and Madoka when she's gotten over everything. For someone who usually comes across as rather brash and inconsiderate of others, Kyoko in this moment really shows how empathetic and understanding she is deep down, and reflects how much she has come to adore Sayaka.
- Kyoko and Madoka's talks give the girls some sweet bonding time. As opposed to her usually brash personality, Kyoko is very gentle with Madoka and even explains some of her past, it's lovely to see that they keep up each other's morale as they prepare to save Sayaka.
- In the end credits, the dark and ominous "Magia" is replaced by the bittersweet "And I'm Home
" which is sung by Sayaka and Kyoko's seiyuus. The lyrics perfectly describe their relationship as they sing about how despite being in a rough and lonely place, they find happiness in being together and how they are there for each other.- Even more depressing is that the song is accompanied by an image of the two drowning with Kyoko smiling sadly and gently holding Sayaka close to her.
- Even more depressing is that the song is accompanied by an image
Episode 10 - I Won't Rely on Anyone Anymore
- Homura swears to repeat her time-travelling 'eternal maze' as many times as it takes to save Madoka, her only friend. This is after you see what led her to be so cold in this version of the timeline...
- In the original timeline, as Madoka prepares to make one final, hopeless attack on Walpurgisnacht, she tells Homura that she doesn't regret becoming a magical girl - because doing so allowed her to save Homura's life."I made it there just in time when you were attacked by that witch... I'm still proud of that."
- Timeline 2 starts off as a series of these for Homura. In her second introduction to Madoka, she expresses joy at seeing her friend alive again, she's accepted into Mami's Magical Girl team and then she kills her first witch. Until the last episode, they show the few moments Homura is truly joyful.
- In the original timeline, as Madoka prepares to make one final, hopeless attack on Walpurgisnacht, she tells Homura that she doesn't regret becoming a magical girl - because doing so allowed her to save Homura's life.
Episode 11 - The Only Thing I Have Left to Guide Me
- Madoka talks her mother into letting her out into the storm and her mother understands her and trusts her enough to let her out.
Episode 12 - My Very Best Friend
- The Compilation Movie version of Episode 12 adds a brief scene where Madoka whips out a handkerchief and cleans the blood off of Homura's face while she apologizes to her for deciding to become a Magical Girl. It's both adorable and sad.
- Simply put, this quote.
- Madoka gives hope to other magical girls (including the ones from history like Anne Frank, Queen Himiko, Cleopatra, and Joan of Arc), and makes sure the ones who can't be saved will pass on smiling peacefully instead of despairing and being bewitched.
- The scene where Madoka goes up against Walpurgisnacht, telling the colossal witch, "That's enough. It's alright now. You don't have to hate anyone anymore and you don't have to curse anyone anymore either. I'll go back before you turned into this and take the burden of all your pain."
- That little moment when Madoka pets an Anthony◊ is very touching.
- Madoka calls Homura her very best friend and giving her a heartfelt goodbye before she Ascends to a Higher Plane of Existence, leaving her with her ribbons as proof that she existed.
- The whole scene where Madoka visits Mami and Kyoko in Mami's apartment. The way they are encouraging her to go on...
- After learning about Mami and Kyoko's past together before the show started, it's also heartwarming to see positive interactions between the two of them, and in the final timeline they (along with Homura) are seen working as a team.
- Afterwards, Sayaka and Madoka being able to share one last talk before passing on (or ascending to a higher plane of existence depending on how you look at it), which makes Sayaka's fate a little less bitter. (Thank God Kyosuke is shown later recalling her when he's back to music.)
- Madoka's little brother Tatsuya loving his sister enough to remember her, despite the fact that he's barely a toddler and hadn't been at all involved in the Magical Girl stuff. That's right, his love for his big sister is powerful enough to survive a complete and utter rewrite of the world—just because she was his sister.
- The fact that Tatsuya's "imaginary" friend is a goddess. Think about that for a minute. Aww.One hopes that as he grows, Tatsuya and Homura become close, and can share memories of Madoka... together.
- The fact that Tatsuya's "imaginary" friend is a goddess. Think about that for a minute. Aww.
- Homura, near the end: "You can have it if you want." With everything that ribbon must have meant to her, she still offers it freely and happily, with the most gentle smile. After all the horror and anguish she struggled through, Homura Akemi finds peace.
- The fact that Homura is willing to hang out with and talk to Kyubey in the new timeline, since he honestly doesn't remember the horrible things he had done.
- In the final scene just before the credits, Homura steps up to fight a horde of Wraiths, and she pulls out a bow. Madoka's bow. She doesn't have the time-changing shield anymore. She doesn't need it anymore.
- Her monologue that shows her Character Development. To sum it up, it shows someone who is a borderline nihilist who doesn't care about anything else but her goal, acknowledge that, while the world is far from perfect, she's still willing to protect it, and won't stop doing that."Even though witches aren't born into this world anymore, that doesn't mean the curses of the world have completely disappeared. They just changed their form is all and now they attack us from the shadows. This world isn't worth saving. Tragedy and sadness will never truly disappear, but even so, it's the place she once tried to protect. I remember that and I will never ever forget it. That's why... I keep fighting."
- Her monologue that shows her Character Development. To sum it up, it shows someone who is a borderline nihilist who doesn't care about anything else but her goal, acknowledge that, while the world is far from perfect, she's still willing to protect it, and won't stop doing that.
- The whole series can be summed up into one quote:Don't forget.
Always, somewhere,
someone is fighting for you.
As long as you remember her,
you are not alone.
Miscellaneous
- The end of the Madoka manga. After the normal ending, there are a few extra pages; Madoka and Homura, who is once again bespectacled and twin-braided, implying all her mental trauma is a thing of the past. Homura apologizes for being such a gloomy friend, and Madoka laughs, assuring her that the two of them will be friends forever.
- The Golden Ending in Puella Magi Madoka Magica Portable. Everybody Lives, they come to terms that they're liches and will make the best out of it, Madoka doesn't become a Magical Girl, and everyone has one big final tea party. It can happen, you just gotta earn it. In one of the extra routes, if Sayaka confesses to Kyousuke that she's a Magical Girl, he'll actually believe her and compose a song for her, thus averting her tragedy in the canon once and for all.
- Don't forget.
Always, somewhere,
someone is fighting for you.
As long as you remember her,
you are not alone.
