Magical girl

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For the Spanish film, see Magical Girl (film).

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Magical girls (魔法少女 mahō shōjo?, also known as mahou shoujo or majokko) is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga which feature girls who use magic.

Genre history

Manga and anime historians regard the Princess Knight manga, released in 1953, as the prototype for the magical girl genre.[1]:77 Himitsu no Akko-chan, serialized nine years later (1962) in Ribon, is generally accepted to be the earliest magical girl manga.[2]:8 Sally the Witch is regarded by historians as the first magical girl anime.[1]:78[3] It was adapted from the Sally the Witch manga, which was serialized in Ribon from 1966 to 1967,[citation needed] which was inspired by the Japanese dub versions of the American film Mary Poppins and the TV series Bewitched, which were popular among Japanese girls in the 1960s.[4]

Mahōtsukai Chappy (1972) and Majokko Megu-chan (1974–1975) popularized the term "majokko" (little witch) 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.[5]

In the 1980s, Magical Princess Minky Momo (1982) and Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel (1983-1984) showed girls transforming into a "grown-up image of themselves". This has been linked to the increasing prominence of women at this time such as Doi Takako, as well as the girl band Princess Princess and idol Seiko Matsuda, and the passage of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act.[5]

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 Precure. He acknowledges that despite this and the childish plots, magical girl anime discuss gender roles and identities.[6]

The Sailor Moon manga and anime are considered to have revitalized the genre in the 1990s and paved the way for later successful titles.[2]:199[7] 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".[5] Another notable example is Cardcaptor Sakura, with its manga and subsequent animated series being highly popular in and outside Japan.[citation needed]

After 2003, magical girl anime marketed to male audiences such as Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha became a prolific trend alongside the traditional female-oriented works.[8][examples needed] The magical girl genre earned renewed popularity in the 2010s with the advent of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, whose mature themes and darker approach to the genre earned acclaim from viewers and critics outside the genre's target audience.[9]

After 2010, there was a notable increase in series portraying "magical boys" in protagonist roles instead of the traditional supporting roles.[citation needed] 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.[10] 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" (and thereby crossdress) in the process.[11]

In 2014, LoliRock debuted as a French anime-influenced animation series of the genre, and contains numerous references to Japanese magical girl franchises.[12] Girls of Olympus, a French series, portrays a trio of magical girlfriends as reincarnations of Twelve Olympians goddesses.[13] Miraculous Ladybug, another French series, blends magical girl conventions with modern superhero action and adventure storytelling.[14][15]

See also

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See also: Category:Magical girl anime and manga

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Further reading

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