Magical girl5/7/2023 ![]() ![]() Several people I have talked to believe Sailor Moon to be the original Magical Girl series… and while this is incorrect, it does have a grain of truth. Probably the most popular Magical Girl manga in Western culture is Sailor Moon – and it can be argued it is perhaps the most popular Magical Girl series of all time. ![]() This assistance comes in the form of massive team attacks, emotional support, or a great plot twist fueled by jealousey or indignation for a friend. Magical Girls rarely act alone – although there is generally a "main" Magical Girl major themes in the show are friendship and teamwork, so other Magical Girls (and occasionally boys) crop up to offer assistance. Occasionally the magical girl will just encounter an object and somehow knows to focus her attention on it and chant a special mantra that unleashes her power. Usually someone comes to the magical girl – like a talking animal – and informs her of her sudden plunge into "witch girl"-dom. Magical girls have many different plot devices, but the two most common is that they areĪ) chosen to fight "evil" or the main antagonistsī) use their powers in the pursuit of friendship or love. She generally has a special transformation sequence (it usually involves nudity and panty shots – I told you so!) and for some reason no one can recognize her when she is in this form even though she is still herself except wearing a frilly and colourful outfit. The change that occurs is that she suddenly gains incredible powers, transforms into a girl wearing beautiful clothing and fights evil (or wins love). She is "chosen" or stumbles upon the object that changes her, depending on the series. Hapless young schoolgirl with a lackluster life but a good group of friends and a subtle love interest suddenly encounters an object or a person that transforms her life (and her appearance). If you're unfamiliar with the sub genre, it goes a little bit like this: However, I will refer to it as "Magical Girl" in this article since we aren't in Japan. The first thing you need to know about the Magical Girl genre is the proper Japanese name for it: the most common being "Mahou Shoujo" or "Majokko". So allow me to school you! Sit down, shut up, and get to reading about all things sparkly and lovely… rife with panty shots! (I had to keep the boy's attention somehow, right?) After living in Japan in highschool and consuming most things Japanese like a ravenous beast who hasn't eaten in a year, I would call myself a LITTLE bit of an expert (I'm not certified or anything, though if anyone wants to make me a bright pink certificate to display above my desk…) If two of the geekiest ladies I know didn't know the origins of such a prominent genre of anime and manga, what about the more casual consumer? We know all about the history of Superman or Wolverine but manga is not as culturally engrained into our lives. Puffed up and vehement, I began to school my friends on the true origins of Magical Girl anime and manga – a road that did NOT begin at Sailor Moon. This segwayed into a conversation about MAGICAL GIRL anime, and how the particular anime we were talking about was a "direct rip off" of Sailor Moon. One of my friends, Chelsea, was telling me how she had been at the thrift store and acquired a 50 cent plushie of a character from a retro anime all three of us had watched when we were teenagers. Our topics are generally of the variety that most "normal" people would cock their head like a confused puppy if eavesdropping, and this particular instance was no exception. Recently I was riding in the passenger seat of the car with two of my closest lady friends, who also happen to be quite geeky (as if I would hang out with non geeks, pfft). ![]()
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