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An example of a magical girl.

Magical girls (魔法少女, mahō shōjo^?, also known as mahou shoujo or majokko) is a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga which feature young girl heroes with superhuman abilities who possess a secret identity and fight evil and protect the Earth,^[1] although the term also refers to series which follow a young girl who uses her magic for friendship, behavior and achieving goals rather than for attacking antagonists.^{[citation needed]} Sally, the Witch (1966) is considered the first magical girl anime.^[1] Over the years, the genre has influenced numerous non-Japanese magical girl-inspired cartoons such as W.I.T.C.H.,^{[citation needed]} Tenko and the Guardians of the Magic,^{[citation needed]} and Winx Club.^{[citation needed]}

General examples [edit]

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A general example of a magical girl is Sakura Kinomoto from the series Cardcaptor Sakura, a normal girl who gains magical powers and becomes involved in a quest for various magical objects. Another magical girl, Lucia Nanami from Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch, finds that her true identity as a mermaid princess prevents her from declaring love to a young surfer; she battles enemies using the power of her voice and songs with help from other mermaid princesses. Other magical girl subjects may appear in the guise of witches or psychics (such as Hailey from Queen Bee). Examples of archetypical magical girls include the protagonists of Princess Tutu, Sailor Moon, and Shugo Chara!.

Cute Witch or Wizard

The original magical girl archetype, where magic is mundane to the character. The original cute witch, Sally the Witch, was directly inspired by the American TV series Bewitched. Cute witches are sometimes thought to have influenced the rather benevolent image of witches in Japan; even the standard strange girl or goth girl will almost always wear a wizard robe and hat, and may or may not use a magic staff/wand. If she has a pet, it will likely be a cat. Sometimes the cute witch is from another dimension or otherwise a magical land, unless the whole show is in a magical setting. Magic study is often equated with higher education, and many characters are out getting their licenses — the origin of magic is implied to be genetic with training required to hone it. She may be an apprentice or a princess, who may or may not be visiting Earth as part of training to become to become a magister, or a queen; if so she may have to compete with rivals to the throne. She may or may not live with foster parents who may or may not know she is magical. She may or may not be actively fighting monsters. Usually it's a hard enough life just trying to get through the day, and she'll use her magic (often a non-flashy variety) to make things easier.

Idol Performer

Where her identity is an performing artist diva archetype. Either a girl who is already an artist/diva/idol gains the ability to fight crime/villains, usually with "magical music" via way of using their body or voice to convey artistic expression; or a girl who gradually becomes an artist/diva/idol through the use of magic. As with most junior idols in Japan, she is likely invested her career as a child actor, a model, a poet, a musician, a dancer, or a J-pop singer. Or she is a ballerina magical girl whose attends ballet school, although she is not very good outside of her transformation. Regardless of her style, she may use her talents and magic to teach villains the evil of their ways, and almost guarantee villains are compelled to act against her; or even participate alongside her choreographed routines. Even zombies will dance with her. May or may not have the ability to turn into a noticeably older counterpart of themselves; if so, it's surprisingly common for them to encounter rather awkward situations with boyfriends or girlfriends while changed. This type of magical girl exploits the wish fulfillment appeal of the genre the most; the wholesomeness of these ideas is its main feature. While the other archetypes uses her powers to do good deeds, steal from the bad guys, or fight the good fight, these bard-like magical girls are far more likely to use the powers they gain for her own benefit and to achieve their dreams of stardom and celebrity status; at least initially.

Warrior Woman

Mostly in a superheroine/martial artist role of fighting evil/saving the world; magical girl warrior archetypes arguably have the widest demographic appeal, and have become synonymous in the West with modern magical girls. The Japanese word for such figures is senshi. In Japan the extended growth-to-maturity metaphor magical girl/warrior archetype can mean a variety of things; some do more than use their powers to improve or complicate their lives. Some go out and battle dramatic evil, usually with a lot of mystic firepower, outfits and called attacks. This is not magic for magic's sake; the character rarely finds this enjoyable but gets morally cowed into it. She becomes essentially a fantastic expression of "girl power": independent and strong willed, but vulnerable. Most-often funded and affiliated with the military, NGOs, or an entire team of magical girls. The action-oriented magical girl warriors have the extra bonus of appeal to male demographics; in this case they often resemble the female counterparts of Japanese superheroes, particularly those of the Super Sentai franchise. Notable examples include Cutie Honey and Sailor Moon.

Phantom Thief

Particularly common in Japanese media, stemming from the popularity of Arsène Lupin in Japan. The Japanese word for it is kaitō. These "bad girl" magical girls are a special class of criminal; an elusive and fantastic (and stylish) thief who can be long gone before the victim even knows what hit him. Just as likely to be an antihero as a villain. Uses her supernatural abilities in concert with skills in parkour, acrobatics, and stealth. May be idolized as a hero by the girls or boys at school, but the police have an obligation to catch her, even if all she is doing is returning things to their rightful owners. There is no single set model of the magical girl phantom thieves, but they usually have some of the following characteristics: she steals fine art and valuable gems as a form of vigilante justice; leaves a calling card to the intended victim; is a master of disguise and uses trickery and illusions to escape undetected; relentlessly pursued by a renowned gentleman detective; competes against rival magical girl/boy thieves; has a strict thief's code of honor (i.e. refusing to commit murder).

Genre history [edit]

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In 1962 Secret Akko-chan introduced the convention that the magical girl gets her powers from a "special object".^[2] Paul Gravett regards Princess Sapphire as a prototype for magical girls.^[3] Born with two hearts, one of a girl and one of a boy, she must pass as a boy in order to save her kingdom from falling into the clutches of her evil uncle. In feminine guise (with aid of a blonde wig) she romances a prince.^[3]

The Japanese dub of the American TV series Bewitched became popular among young Japanese girls in the 1960s.^[4] This inspired Mitsuteru Yokoyama (best known in the U.S. as the creator of Tetsujin 28-go), to invent Sally the Witch,^[5] which aired on television in serial form in 1966.^[2]

Another important early magical girl show was Majokko Megu-chan in 1974.^{[citation needed]} This was the first show to be equally marketed to boys as well as girls, and featured a number of developments;^{[citation needed]} it was the first magical girl show to have a tomboyish heroine (all magical girls prior to this had been sweet, feminine girls); to feature a rival to the main character (Non, Meg's rival and the local dark magical girl); to include a really evil character (prior to this, there was a perception that young girls could not handle such things); to feature fanservice; focus on more serious social issues such as domestic abuse, extramarital relationships, and drug abuse; to have the heroine not only lose fights, but having to face serious consequences (deaths, injuries, humiliations, etc.)^{[citation needed]}

Originally, all magical girl shows were produced by Toei Animation, so "magical girl" was not so much a genre as a series franchise.^{[citation needed]} This lasted until Ashi Production's Magical Princess Minky Momo aired in 1982 — notable for being the first such show to feature talking animal sidekicks.^{[citation needed]} Followed by Studio Pierrot's Creamy Mami in 1983 — the first magic idol singer subgenre.^{[citation needed]} A one-shot OVA produced in 1987 featured a crossover between Studio Pierrot's four 1980s magical girl shows (Creamy Mami, Persia, the Magic Fairy, Magical Star Magical Emi, and Magical Idol Pastel Yumi) — this was the first instance of a magical girl team.^{[citation needed]}

Commentators^[who?] regard Cutie Honey, which began in 1973, as the prototype for the transforming magical girl genre.^{[citation needed]} Typically, such transforming sequences involve pirouetting, loss of normal clothes (usually censored) and the sudden appearance of a magical girl uniform and weapon.^{[citation needed]} This was essentially a combination of the earlier style shows with the Superhero genre, particularly the Super Sentai formula.^{[citation needed]} Sailor Moon was a huge hit, and naturally other shows were made in the same style, and some were even more divergent from the old-style shows.^{[citation needed]}

According to John Oppliger of AnimeNation, after 2003 magical girl anime — marketed (at least partially) to male audiences — has become a prolific trend alongside the traditional female-oriented works, coinciding with the rise of moe-genre popularity.^[6] As a prime example of this, note Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. The wave of shows made in Sailor Moon's wake eventually subsided.^{[citation needed]} Contemporary examples include Ojamajo Doremi, Pretty Cure, and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. In 2011, Puella Magi Madoka Magica was released to critical acclaim.^{[citation needed]}

Until the release of Sailor Moon, the term mahō shōjo in Japan referred primarily to girls who did not transform themselves and who used magic for acts of mercy and succor rather than for heroism against evil; for example, Mako of Mahō no Mako-chan. In fact, magical girl series such as Himitsu no Akko-chan and Fushigi na Merumo existed in which the heroines received the power to transform themselves into whatever they wished, not for the sake of fighting evil, but for the sake of adventure.^{[citation needed]} However, the term is generally used^{[by whom?]} in the west to refer only to evil-fighting magical girls.^{[citation needed]} The series Sally, the Witch and Minky Momo are hardly known in the United States^{[citation needed]} although they are popular works of magical girl series in Japan.

One series transcended^{[clarification needed]} these two cases: Akazukin Chacha, a Japanese mahō shōjo manga, portrayed the adventures of the protagonist Chacha and her friends. When Nihon Ad Systems and Studio Gallop adapted the manga into anime, Chacha became a "Magical Princess" in order to battle with villains. Another genre-crossing series, Majokko Megu-chan (Toei, 1974–75), sees the heroine, Megu, use her magic not only to fight villains but also to deal with everyday situations (such as teaching her younger brother to swim). In 2004, Pretty Cure and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha premiered, both shows featuring an emphasis on combat alongside magical girl based powers. Revolutionary Girl Utena incorporated psychological drama and Princess Tutu expounded upon elements of tragedy introduced by Sailor Moon, while introducing elements of metafiction.

Common themes and features [edit]

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Magical girls obtain their powers from an enchanted object, such as a pendant, wand, compact, or ribbon.^{[citation needed]} By speaking a special phrase, a girl undergoes a transformation sequence and changes to her fully powered form.^{[citation needed]} A major theme of magical girl stories involves learning to develop their powers fully.^{[citation needed]} Teams of magical girls often learn to combine their powers to perform super-charged attacks.^{[citation needed]} Powers or no powers, though, magical girls rarely suffer defeat even in normal form as they tend to learn how to cope with opponents in their powerless form as they might have learned some ordinary acrobatics, martial arts, or other offensive or defensive actions to supplement their supernatural talents.^{[citation needed]} Magical girls often obtain fighting powers after transforming into their fully powered form and tend to become more agile and aware of the situation as the story proceeds, but they generally live an ordinary normal life without having explicitly learned fighting techniques outside of battles.^{[citation needed]}

Some magical girls work in teams, occasionally receiving the help of mysterious, magical boys as well.^{[citation needed]} These boys sometimes disdain their female counterparts, but at other times they show romantic interest in one of the girls, or vice versa.^{[citation needed]} Magical girls receive the aid of a talking-animal sidekick who possesses magical powers of their own.^{[citation needed]} These pets rarely participate in combat and instead advice the magical girls and train them in the use of their abilities.^{[citation needed]}

However, because the function of magical girls is to harness and unleash their mystical powers, their ability to summon these powers depends on their state of mind, which, in turn, depends on various emotional factors such as combat awareness, sense of duty, realizing what they must protect, and so forth.^{[citation needed]} A magical girl may summon extraordinary new magical powers — powers previously unavailable to her — in the last moments of an epic battle, and such powers can serve as a deus ex machina to resolve the conflict in a climactic fashion.^{[citation needed]} Magical girls are generally peaceful and tend to prefer the normal way of life, so they tend to develop combat awareness along the way and experience an emotional upheaval during an epic battle, resulting in a dramatic power increase that might be repeatable only when the situation calls for it.^{[citation needed]}

Magical girls spend much of their time trying to keep their powers and identities secret.^{[citation needed]} The reasons for this vary, such as avoiding capture by the enemy, feeling embarrassed, and having received warnings not to let their friends and family know about their powers.^{[citation needed]} However, despite their best attempts to keep their normal and supernatural lives separate,^[7] strange events tend to occur to magical girls in normal life with alarming regularity, forcing them to transform and fight.^{[citation needed]}

Magical girl stories tend to be emotion-oriented, upbeat and cheerful.^{[citation needed]} Magical girls often represent that special time in a young, Japanese girl's life where she is free from adult responsibility and submission.^{[citation needed]} The characters fight for idealistic causes such as love, peace, hope, and beauty & rarely for revenge.^{[citation needed]} By forming teams, the heroines learn the values of friendship and co-operation.^{[citation needed]} Even the magical girls' enemies leave them alone most of the time; the girls need to pursue the enemies and to attempt to thwart their plans.^{[citation needed]}

Magical girls in non-Japanese media [edit]

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Magical girls in America [edit]

Tenko and the Guardians of the Magic was an American magical girl cartoon show produced by Saban that centered around the fictional adventures of Japanese real-life magician Princess Tenko, a.k.a. Mariko Itakura. Examples of conventional magical girls in America include the protagonists of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld, Lady Lovely Locks, Wildfire, and Wonder Woman and the Star Riders.

Magical girls in Europe [edit]

W.I.T.C.H. is an Italian fantasy magical girl comic, book adaptation, and animated television series created by Elisabetta Gnone, Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa. Examples of conventional magical girls in Europe include the protagonists of Angel's Friends, Winx Club and PopPixie.

See also [edit]

Anime and Manga portal

• Girl Heroes
• Sailor Senshi
• Super Sentai
• Superheroine

References [edit]

Further reading [edit]

• Yoshida, Kaori (2002). Evolution of Female Heroes: Carnival Mode of Gender Representation in Anime. Western Washington University. Retrieved 2007-09-22. 
• Napier, Susan J. (1998) [1998]. "Vampires, Psychic Girls, Flying Women and Sailor Scouts". In Martinez, Dolores P. The Worlds of Japanese Popular Culture: Gender, Shifting Boundaries and Global Culture. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-63128-9.