I think The Price has to do more with how girls that make a contract have to give up their souls rather than what was marked with * in the translation. He felt shallow because of the difference between giving up your soul and giving up your existence He wasn't willing to pay the smaller price in the first place, thinking it was too much to give.
"I had watched it until then and I even thought despite all that, the situation was not bad. While giving my total approval of becoming magical girl and their fights, the price* is something that had overturned my conviction - it wasn't just some convenient excuses. Until I came to understand how Madoka's salvation is going to work"
should be something more like:
"I watched the show up until that particular point and had even thought that all was well, but then I came to the understanding that her becoming a magical girl, the gains of Madoka's redemption - while she did affirm all of their (all the magical girl's) wishes - were not so convenient that they outweighed the price that she paid."
At the middle of the story, when everyone had no doubt it would be a Bad End, I kept believing in a Happy End and I kept believing that the OP lyrics didn't lie.At the end of the story, at first sight it was an epic flip of tale. I had watched it until then and I even thought despite all that, the situation was not bad. While giving my total approval of becoming magical girl and their fights, the price* is something that had overturned my conviction - it wasn't just some convenient excuses. Until I came to understand how Madoka's salvation is going to work...
*Madoka's sacrificeFor "Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica", an anime that gave me such a tense feeling that felt so good, I would like to give the production staff my highest praise and thanks.The moment when Mami-san threw out the words "You are slow on the uptake", I thought, this anime is really something!In fact, this work had managed to converge everything that were building up all along without breaking anything, and finally reached a grand finale. I couldn't help but marveling at it when I noticed that. And it made me to realize my own shallowness*.
*He was talking about the late understanding of Madoka's sacrifice.Koyama Hirokazu