Magical girl is a subgenre of Japanese fantasylight novels, manga, anime, and video games which features girls who use magic or possess magical powers. Magical girls transform to unlock their powers and are often accompanied by an animal mascot, using wands or scepters as a weapon to fight monsters and the forces of evil. Notable examples include Sailor Moon, Sally the Witch and Cardcaptor Sakura.
Genre history
Anime and manga
Manga and anime historians regard the Princess Knight manga, released in 1953, as the prototype for the magical girl genre. Himitsu no Akko-chan, serialized nine years later in Ribon, is generally accepted to be the earliest magical girl manga. Sally the Witch, adapted from the manga of the same name, is regarded by historians as the first magical girl anime. Sally the Witch was inspired by the Japanese dub of the television series Bewitched. Mahōtsukai Chappy and Majokko Megu-chan popularized the term "majokko" as a name for the genre. Megu-chan has been noted for its portrayal of multiple magical girls and the friendship between girls. Due to the women's lib movement in Japan, magical girls began displaying a "certain coquettishness" in the 1970s. In the 1980s, Magical Princess Minky Momo and Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel showed girls transforming into a "grown-up image of themselves". This has been linked to the increasing prominence of women at this time and the passage of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act in 1985. Yuji Nunokawa, the producer of both Minky Momo and Creamy Mami, noted that male fans of the magical girl genre increased after Creamy Mami due to the shows' use of transformations and enjoyed watching girls using magic to solve their problems in ways men traditionally could not. Kumiko Saito argues that magical girl anime is best understood as "twenty-five-minute advertisements for toy merchandise", highlighting the high production costs and the involvement of Bandai in Sailor Moon and Pretty Cure. She acknowledges that despite this and the childish plots, magical girl anime discuss gender roles and identities. The Sailor Moon manga and anime are considered to have revitalized the genre in the 1990s and paved the way for later successful titles. A key feature of the heroines of Sailor Moon is that their transformations make them look more feminine, as well as make them stronger. The romantic relationship between Usagi Tsukino and Mamoru Chiba and Usagi's care for her future daughter, Chibiusa are seen as points of difference between Sailor Moon and "typical Western superheroines". Another notable example is Cardcaptor Sakura, with its manga and subsequent animated series being highly popular in and outside Japan. The magical girl genre earned renewed popularity in the 2010s with the advent of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, whose mature themes and darker approach earned acclaim from viewers and critics outside its target audience.
Live-action
Along with anime and manga, live-action magical girl series were produced as a female counterpart to tokusatsu series aimed at young boys, such as Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, and Ultraman; however, interest in the genre declined in the early 1990s due to competing toy sales with Sailor Moon and other magical girl anime. Tokusatsu magical girl series were revived with the Girls x Heroine! Series, beginning with Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes! in 2017.
Magical boy works
Some series are notable for portraying magical boys as protagonists instead of the traditional supporting roles. Cute High Earth Defense Club Love! is a 2015 television magical boy anime series created by Kurari Umatani and produced by Diomedéa, which parodies tropes and cliches common to magical girl anime. Magical Girl Ore features magical girls who transform into manly-looking forms. In Is This a Zombie?, a zombie is resurrected by a necromancer after being killed by a serial killer, inadvertently gains "magical girl" powers, and is forced to become a "magical boy" in the process. In Shugo Chara!, released in 2006, half of the series' main characters are males that possess the same powers as their female counterparts. In Magical Trans!, main character Maki was assigned male at birth and presents masculine before joining the magical girl club at their high school, subsequently becoming more and more comfortable with exploring their gender identity and expression as a magical girl.
In non-Japanese works
In Asia
Chinese animated series like Balala the Fairies, Flower Angel, Sweets Fairy and Rainbow Ruby have been influenced by and make reference to Japanese magical girl franchises.
In Europe
The Italian animated series Winx Club uses the magical girl concept for their main characters, including transformations for each character. This concept also appears in the Italian comic book seriesW.I.T.C.H. and its animated adaptation, featuring five teenage girls with powers over the five classical elements. In 2014, LoliRock debuted as a French anime-influenced animation series of the genre, and contains many references to Japanese magical girl franchises. blends magical girl conventions with modern superhero action and adventure storytelling. Ragazze dell'Olimpo, an Italian series by Elena Kedros, portrays a trio of magical girls who are reincarnations of the Olympian goddesses.
In America
American cartoon series such as Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Bee and PuppyCat and Steven Universe use the magical girl concept as a sub-theme. Characters in are described as "full-time students and part-time magical pony girls".
