It's been awhile, but I'm back now! This time, I'm here to tell you about another popular genre of anime. It's the Magical Girl Show! What is the Magical Girl Show, you ask? Well, it's a show about a girl (or group of girls) who find out they have magical powers, and they go on to save the world, or at least their community. Pretty straight forward, don't you think? The most well known of all Magical Girl Shows is, of course, Sailor Moon. Some other good examples of the genre are Kamichama Karen and Wedding Peach, but my personal favorite is Cardcaptor Sakura.
5 Things To Know About Magical Girl Shows...
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They always transform into their alter ego. For some odd reason, any magical girl MUST transform into her alter ego by incanting some really inane magical words, and in a flash, their clothes disappear, they get bathed in light, and their new outfit starts appearing on them bit by bit. Of course, since they're bathed in light, you can't really see anything except their shape, so they're not REALLY naked, right? Of course, I'm sure this has many prepubescent boys watching, but what I read a few years back, is that young girls really liked watching it, too. Why? Apparently, they felt it showed them what they're going to look like in the upcoming years, since most magical girls are around 10 to 14 years of age. Cardcaptor Sakura is the exception to this rule, but Sakura does get to incant inane magical words and causes a flash of light when she catches a card, so we do get most of the same effect.
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They always wear flashy outfits. It seems that you can't become a magical girl, unless you wear an outfit comprised of tights or leggings, a really frilly short skirt, shoulder pads that extend about a foot from your shoulders, and a tiara or some other head ornament. You wouldn't think it would be good to fight evil in, but apparently, it kicks evil's ass. And of course, Cardcaptor Sakura is an exception to this rule, as well. Unlike most Magical Girl Shows, where they wear the same outfit every time (well, since they transform), Sakura actually wears a different outfit every time, thanks to her rich and talented seamstress friend, Tomoya. She's only an exception because she changes it up, but that's a good thing.
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They always have an animal sidekick. A must have for every magical girl. From Cerberos in Cardcaptor Sakura to Luna in Sailor Moon, every magical girl has to have a fuzzy sidekick, usually there to dispense advice and guide them on their journey to save the world. I guess if you had a middle-aged man doing it, it would be creepy, so a cute fuzzy animal will have to do the trick. That, and think of the Plushie sales!
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They always have a magical wand. Another must have for any magical girl. What else are you going to wave at your enemies when you're shouting something like "In the name of Love, you shall be defeated!" or some other ridiculous line (I completely made that line up, I think, but it sounds like something you would hear). Of course, the magical wand will mutate as the power of the magical girl grows, so it's like getting a new accessory every season!
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The male rival/side kick/mysterious savior always becomes the love interest. Well, girls wouldn't watch it if there wasn't a hunk that they know the magical girl will fall in love with. The rival (Syaoron from Cardcaptor Sakura, for example) will eventually become the side kick anyways, so you could combine those into the same thing really. In fact, sometimes, I think they are all three the same person, but I'm struggling to come up with an example.
On a side note, my wife pointed out something interesting. Negi Springfield from Negima?! actually fits a lot of the requirements for a magical girl, except, he's a guy, and he doesn't transform. Regardless, I hope now that you can enjoy the Magical Girl Show!