Hidamari Sketch
"Puella Magi Madoka Magica" began development after Akiyuki Shinbo expressed his desire to work on a new magical girl series to producer Atsuhiro Iwakami while they were working on "Hidamari Sketch" and "Bakemonogatari". During the early planning stage, Iwakami decided not to adapt an existing work in order to give Shinbo more freedom in his direction style. Gen Urobuchi and Ume Aoki then joined the project as scriptwriter and character designer respectively. The series was announced in a commercial slot during the anime series "Togainu no Chi". Subsequently, more commercials were shown in the same slot revealing the characters and cast.