I don't usually like to quote long posts, but I'm going to this time because I want to respond to everything you said in here.

Unlike some posters who only come on here to post Masaru gifs and beg for translations of Instagram--looking at you, zenskate

--you always have kind, informative, well thought out posts.
About Madoka, I was thrilled when I saw the Madoka ad starring Alina. I saw this
interview they did with her about Kyubey, and it made goosebumps rise on my arms. For those of you who don't know, Kyubey is the spawn of Satan who tricks innocent young girls into giving him their souls. I know that Kyubey isn't real, but I was still getting scared for Alina because she is exactly the kind of girl Kyubey targets. Whoever thought Alina would make the perfect Madoka was a genius.
Though that pink wig from the Japanese show...
Alina is usually very reserved in interviews, she even says so herself, but that doesn't mean that parts of her character don't shine through it all: her caring heart, her thoughtfulness, her humility. Because she is so reserved, her joy shines brighter when she shows it. I first became an Alina fan not when I saw DQ, but twenty minutes later when I saw her reaction to coming in first. It takes tremendous strength of character to be gracious in defeat, but I can't help but think that takes equal strength to be gracious in victory, when it's so easy to forget about everyone else's feelings because YOU WON THE OLYMPICS!!! And at age fifteen, too. I admire many skaters for their skating, but Alina is the one of the few who, even if she was a perfectly ordinary girl who couldn't step on ice without slipping, I would still admire.
Lastly...I wanted to say, Alina got Eteri to take her back. That's a feat worthy of Olympic gold in of itself, and it says everything about what kind of person Alina is.