 Urobuchi attributed his past experience working on projects with screenwriters Ichiro Itano and Yōsuke Kuroda as a major influence in his writing for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and has referred to both of them as his mentors. To set the initial pacing of the series, Urobuchi used a technique he credited as originally from Kuroda. The first episode would throw the viewer into a specific part of the story with unknown context, the second episode would then define the particular rules governing the story's setting, and the third episode would be responsible for divulging the revelation in the plot so as to hook the viewer. The twist in the third episode was determined during the project proposal stage and involved the death of Mami, a main character figure. This decision was controversial, and Urobuchi recalled production staff members continually approaching him and asking him to reconsider due to their own fondness for the character. However, he refused and the plot remained unchanged during production. Nevertheless, Urobuchi realized that this progression could be very hard for viewers to accept and might hurt the overall series' success with some audiences, commenting: "I always thought this is an age where entertainment basically is about soothing and healing, like adopting a style where unchanging day-to-day life is to continue forever."
