Serving as a spin-off to the Puella Magi Madoka Magica anime, the art was done by Masugitsune, who also did Puella Magi Tart Magica.
Beginning in the latest failure of her fight against Walpurgisnacht, Homura wonders if travelling back in time would be worth it because it would only cause Madoka's powers to amplify once more. Just as Madoka says she'll become a magical girl, Homura gets the simple idea of grabbing hold of Madoka and then travelling back in time, with her best friend by her side.
Now with Madoka remembering the events of the previous time-loop, she and Homura think of altering things and work on keeping their fellow magical girls safe. Not only preventing their deaths, but also having more than just one magical girl around to fight Walpurgisnacht.
But it turns out that Kyubey remembers the previous events, too! He claims to be joining their mission, but Homura remains suspicious of his ambiguous ways.
The manga was released in two volumes in 2013 in Japan, and in 2015 in the US.
Contains Examples of the following Tropes:
- Adapted Out: Sayaka's character arc focusing on her love for Kyosuke and heading into a love-triangle with Hitomi are completely removed, instead focusing on her bitter feelings towards Homura and blaming her for Mami's death.
- Bittersweet Ending: Kyoko has survived, and while Madoka became a magical girl and fought Walpurgisnacht, Homura took on some of the burden and prevents Madoka from overusing her powers and turning into a Witch. But as happy as it seems, Homura still chooses to time-loop again because her real wish hasn't come true. She turns back time, ready to repeat the events as often as necessary, but with the knowledge that there's at least one timeline where Madoka survived.
- Cassandra Truth: Homura specifically tells Madoka to not mention she's from the future, as Homura knows from personal experience that nobody will believe her.
- Doomed by Canon: Since this manga depicts one of Homura's previous time loops, it's inevitable Madoka will either die or become a Witch. She does contract and becomes a magical girl, but manages to destroy Walpurgisnacht without becoming Gretchen. Homura still goes back in time because she failed to prevent Madoka from becoming a magical girl.
- Point of Divergence:
- The manga begins at the final scene of the anime's penultimate episode: Homura begins to despair and Madoka shakes her out of things, only to say that she'll become a magical girl. Then Homura simply grabs Madoka and travels back in time with her.
- Discussed by Homura and Madoka. When it turns out that Madoka remembers everything, she suggests using the knowledge of the previous events to prevent the deaths of the other magical girls. Homura notes that this means they have to avoid altering things too much by acting differently from before, so that those events come to pass.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Homura and Madoka decide to use the knowledge of the previous loop to alter events in this one to prevent Mami, Sayaka, and Kyoko dying.
- What If?: The premise of the plot, wondering how the events of the anime might change if Homura and Madoka knew ahead of time, trying to prevent the canonical deaths.
- You Can't Fight Fate: Despite their best attempts, Mami and Sayaka still die while fighting Charlotte and turning into a Witch, respectively, like they did in the anime.
