This tenth episode from Puella Magi series recounts Homura's struggle to save Madoka, and it reveals much of the unexplained parts from the canon.
OK, here's the spoiler in short:
Before she became a puella magi, Homura was a sickly girl. It happened one day, shortly after her discharge from the hospital and her transfer to Madoka's school, she was rescued by Madoka from a witch's attack. Homura was very grateful, and she adored Madoka, being a strong fighter who protects the world from evil beings. Sadly, Homura witnessed Madoka's death after battling a witch (maybe in Walpurgisnacht event). Wanting to save Madoka, she wished that she could go back in time, to fight alongside Madoka, to save her from her death. She leap back through time, over and over again, never succeeded in saving Madoka. Even she learned the bitter truth of being a puella magi (guess you should know what it is already, if not, better not reading this post). She resolved to prevent Madoka from being a puella magi (which explains, why, in this story Madoka hadn't became puella magi so far).
Certainly Magica Quartet did a good job for the flashback. It was an excellent breakdown, explaining some unanswered questions in a breathtaking way. It also washed away the horrible 'Archer Hypothesis' (this is a bizzare speculah that says, Homura is a future version of Madoka, much like Archer and Emiya Shirou).
The most memorable part is Homura's evolution here. She was not a strong puella magi to begin with, outperformed by Mami and Madoka in every occasions. But she had a strong will, and seemed that she was a geek too. She began to learn to make improvised explosive devices, which she would insert into her time-frozen targets, or firing assault guns. This is something that makes her unique, while other puella magi relies on their magical attack, she uses standard military armaments (although on her character design, she is depicted as an archer with a black bow).
As she went over the time loops, we see the weak, clumsy girl transformed into an elite commando with plus time manipulation ability. The emotional pain she went through forged her into a steel-cold girl, almost never showing her emotions, although deep inside, she truly cares about everyone around her.
Just can't wait the next episode.
