What makes a Magical Girl?
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- The subjectivity of the magical girl genre is mind boggling to me, let's discuss it!
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The first magical girl show I remember watching is Winx club. When I didn't know what a magical girl show was
Mine is Glitter forces-
my first magical girl show was winx. i loved its flashy transformation sequences
For me it’s Sailor Moon
I’m not sure if I ever had this experience. I watched magical girl anime with friends who were super otaku types. I mean, we were kids at the time, but they were really into anime. Knew where it came from and were able to get items sent from Japan. They were familiar with sites that will not be named that could be used to stream fansub anime content. So when they introduced me to Sailor Moon and Cardcaptors, I knew these shows were foreign. I also learned some of the shows I was familiar with on American tv were also anime from Japan. I never got into Winx Club or Totally Spies although I did adore some of the other anime inspired cartoons from my childhood.
Mine was lolirock
When it comes to Powerpuff Girls, I totally think that it is a magical girl show. People argue that the science aspect makes it not a magical girl, but Cutie Honey is considered an early staple magical girl show and she is created from science! PPG not only have magic powers, but are also girls. Plus like you said… it had enough magical girl elements for PPGZ to be made. I call it a non traditional magical girl show and idc what anybody says !
But their powers aren’t magical powers they’re superpowers. Just like Superman or Wonder Woman. Don’t you think that would make them just regular superheroes that just so happen to be girls. Would that make Supergirl a magical girl too?, since they have the same powers.
i feel like the science stuff can just be considered a different magic system
They aren't tho? They don't transform
@@reggielacey2235 Neither does Sakura Kinomoto
I do think Powerpuff girls is anime inspired definitely. Probably partly from magical girl and only done in a superhero fashion to convince Americans to love it. Still, I think by virtue of not being anime. The best it can be is anime inspired and only anime when you're talking about Z.
Edit: I agree with others (like S0apscrum, Loregb7, and matthewvalentyn) in the comments bringing up the presentation and how the show was marketed to audiences being important in classifying which shows fit the magical girl genre.
To me, Magical girl shows have to have 2 main components: some sort of magic, and a team composed mostly of girls, or at least the show is targeted at girls. If we take a look at the genre throughout the years, we can see just how different it's become. We started with the witches like Mahoutsukai Sally, the gradually moved onto fighters like sailor moon and precure, and then came the madoka craze that flipped the genre on its head. All of these different types of shows all fall under the same genre. You can have a non-magical girl show with magical girls present too, and I don't think that should diminish their status as magical girls.
The series is so cute I like it. I am planning to make my own one day.
@@angelsstories1530 Ooh that sounds interesting! Good luck creating your series whenever you get to it! 😄
☺️
Yeah the evolvement of the types of shows that have come out over the years has deffffinitely made it harder to define the genre as one thing
Also it has to be anime
I think The Owl House is more of a general Fantasy (and yes, isekai) genre more than magical girl. When i think of the magical girl genre, i think of a team of girls or mostly girls with magic powers fighting bad guys, and having a super hero like identity. Luz is a girl who uses magic, but she's not a Magical Girl. And she exists in a world where everyone is magical.
Edit: started watching you TOH review and i have to add: i think Steven Universe actually fits the magical girl genre a lot more than The Owl House!
Great Video!!! I definitely don’t see the PPG as magical girls, the same way I don’t see Supergirl or She-Hulk as magical girls. I think categorizing female heroines regardless of their powers or origins as magical girls takes away from what makes the genre special. But I love to hear everyone’s POV. Love your vids 💖💖
This is fair!! It's fun how differently people see it. and thank you! 🥰
Steps to be a magical girl:
1 - wear pink-purple-blue-yellow
2 - have a rainbow bead wand
3 - transform
Can I just say I love how intelligently you approach these videos about magical girls. There really is gap in the market for people to analyze and consider the cultural impact the magical girl genre and all of the 'girly' media of the last generation. And you really have that perfect combination of levity and well-read analysis.
And also you're just so cute and smart ffmfslfmgsglsf 👉👈
Omg thank you so much! since I sometimes worry that Im not going deep enough, this means a lot lol 😭💕
I call something a magical girl anime/ manga when the creators/ mangaka call it that & when it’s officially listed & marketed as such. I grew up with Totally Spies/ PowerPuff girls & with Sailor Moon & never saw any similarities with one another. I always thought Power Puff girls was a fun superhero show & Totally Spies was an action series like Charlie’s Angels. A lot of shows are heavily inspired by magical girl anime though. But I totally understand the confusion especially since the Madoka Magica deconstruction hype that has been going on for years now. I remember watching Granbelm a few years ago and when I looked for more info about it online, I was totally surprised that it was listed as a magical girl anime. Even though I already considered myself a huge fan of the genre for many years 😅. Each person has a different opinion about it, and there are so many shows to choose from. That’s what makes it so much fun 😊
i think what differentiates magical girls and girls who are magical is presentation. i mean, other parts of the magical girl genre are important too but its the presentation that matters most to me. its why we might call the ppg magical girls and not the owl house. its the difference between precure and more gritty shows about girls who fight monsters.
like to me i associate magical girls with my more girly parts of childhood like my little pony or doll dressup sites. magical girl shows i think are more aimed at girls than similar cartoons that have a more general audience.
Way too late to be on the main comment wave, interestingly for Ayu, she actually had a full formula on her 1st-2nd podcast ep for Magical Girls in the 80s from Studio Pierrot (Creamy Mami, 1983 - Pastel Yumi, 1986 + Fancy Lala in 1998) pretty much the de facto Magical Girl Idol craze of that era:
1. The Main Character (MC) is an Elementary School Girl
2. MC is a normal human girl who has magical powers bestowed on her [from beings from a fantasy world]
3. MC uses an incantation and want to transform into an adult
4. A [mascot character] from the fantasy world will advise the MC how to use her powers
5. MC's voice actor also sings the show's theme song
6. Episodic focus on more "mundane" problems for an ordinary girl
obviously a lot has shift in all the years and genre, but one of the bigger focuses much early in the genre is that the Magic was more-or-less a vehicle for a coming of age metaphor (especially in the early era where the transformations were non-battle oriented and usually had an aging up element)
Working backwards into older shows like Sally, it's actually worth noting that many of the early girls were pretty much witches right out the gate, fully able to cast their own spells and were the fish-out-of-water to our "normal" reality. This actually draws a lot more from older Fantasy brought to Urban Modern day tropeage (WAY too much to dig into) but it's kinda funny that we just don't really recognize any genealogy that Magical Girls are actually a Fantasy sub-genre so we don't pick up on why they NEED wands or mascot pets
another key factor was a lot of these elements actually had major merchandise + multi-media tie-ins, not just the wand and mascot as toy opportunities, but in the whole MC singing the main theme as an idol craze also coincides with a lot of Live Action Girl that helped launch their Main Girl's idol careers (Sukeban deka comes to mind)...which was also the same era as Toei's Tokusatsu Magical Girl trend...which got completely overshadowed by their animation section with Sailor Moon (and the rest is history)
But it's also worth mentioning here that our association of Sailor Moon as THE template for all magical girls forever actually doesn't recognize that SM draws a lot from Japan's Sentai/Super Hero tradition, so even more so what we in the west assume are standard tropes (transformation, Monster of the Week, just a whole section on action) are actually stemming from it mixing with the whole Henshin (transforming) Hero genre like Super Sentai (the original show Power Ranger's takes it's footage from) among others.
This actually retroactively colors OUR perception that we then assume either A) Magical Girls == Girl Super Heroes or B) Us getting REALLY specific on what constitutes magic than what the actual relationship relates to the MC (whether they naturally are magical or instead gain magic powers from some-where else).
It's also just really unhelpful that we automatically grouped Japanese and Western Magical Girl traditions so casually without trying to map out some sorta lineage so for some one like me who'se trying to connect some of the dots it really muddies the waters in assuming it's ALL THE SAME IN OVER 40 YEARS BETWEEN MULTIPLE COUNTRIES (and we don't even usually dive into French or Korean magical girls who have a much earlier and clearer inspiration from Japan to build into their own traditions)
I think about this topic a lot because one of my favorite shows is Waccha PriMagi, which in my eyes is 100% a magical girl show. Yet I often get in arguments with people who say it isn't because the characters don't fight monsters/there's no "bad guys". But by all the definitions you had here the show is a magical girl show, fighting monsters was never a requirement.
Waccha Primagi is listed as a magical girl anime on several sites & was also announced as one back before the episodes aired. So yea it’s one 😅. Many magical girls don’t fight monsters especially the shows from the 80’s didn’t have all of that. It was all about becoming an enhanced version of yourself.
the only qualification for me is if there’s some sort of transformation sequence, but maybe that’s a purist mindset
Magical girl show are shows
with girls
That are magical
This is a pretty difficult subject. I often say that not all magical girls are Mahou Shoujo, and not all mahou shoujo are magical girls. Basically, you don't necessarily have to use magic to be a mahou shoujo, but even if you *do* use magic that doesn't always mean you are a mahou shoujo. To me, there has to be a transformation of some sort, be it the outfits or weapons or whatever other options. Under this definition, PPG wouldn't count because they don't have transformations of any sort, however it is very Magical Girl adjacent (and that's why we got PPGZ, as you said lol). TOH felt like a normal witch show at first, but under closer inspection, the palisman do transform (from cute animal to cool staff), so I started to consider it a Mahou Shoujo too (plus, Luz does the whole "learning how to be magical" and/or "girl comes to another world to learn how to do magic" ⁽ᵗʰᶦˢ ᶦˢ ᵃⁿᵒᵗʰᵉʳ ᴹˢ ᵗʳᵒᵖᵉ, ˡᶦᵏᵉ ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ ᵖʳᶦⁿᶜᵉˢˢᵉˢ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᶜᵒᵐᵉ ᵗᵒ ᴱᵃʳᵗʰ ᵗᵒ ᵈᵒ ᵐᵃᵍᶦᶜ⁾ ). Now, here is where stuff gets difficult, what about Little Witch Academia? I'd personally say it isn't a Mahou Shoujo BUT it is really MS adjacent, so I can absolutely see how a lot of people consider it to be so. All in all, what is a Magical Girl show is ultra subjective, as I once heard: "any show you want can be a Magical Girl show".
It almost reminds me of the whole "watertok" thing except with magical girl shows. "Don't care about the logistics, I'm calling this a MG show" 😭
@@doreimani sometimes, we can only rely on the ✨vibes✨ lol
Once many years ago, I attempted to create a site listing every mahou shoujo media I could find and I stopped working on it for this exact same reason ;^^. The definition I go by now is 'A piece of media featuring a heroine who can use magic or has a extrodinary magic-like powers. The magic or magic-like system that the heroine uses must be noticeably different or stronger than the setting in which they reside.'
By doing this, it takes out generic fantasy and magical girlfriend shows while also keeping in shows like Corrector Yui who have explained powers that are all but named magic. Its not perfect and excludes a variety of clearly MG shows and also keeps in quite a variety of shows that I very much do not consider magical girl, but as far as harfast rules go, I think its generally a pretty good rule of thumb
This is pretty solid though I love the dedication
Oh wow! Yeah, I suppose I might do it by pure feeling. Like, I'd say Winx are pretty much magical girls, but not totally spies (as for the powerpuffs, I don't know the show well enough). I actually learned a lot from this video, the different genres were totally new to me! Can I say I thoroughly enjoy your video essays? They're amazing!
Based on experience, if the Magical Girl Wiki says a certain piece of media is Magical Girl, there's a 90% chance it is.
Of course, the remaining 10% isn't (e.g Love Live!, Toally Spies!), and some stuff that is MG isn't listed there (Kokoro Clover, Panic in Sweets Land, Moco Moco Friends etc), but overall, I think the Magical Girl Wiki is somewhat reliable.
To me, magical girl means you have to be able to transform. Or else we’d be calling Hermione a “magical girl” now
It’s called soushin shoujo matoi it’s a magical world series about this girl who wants to live ordinary life with her dad because her mother disappeared 10 years ago she stay with her childhood friend for those many years, but for a few months she decided to live with her father, and when her and her childhood friend went back to the shrine, there was a man attacking everyone and suddenly matoi suddenly had a strange transformation as she became what is known as a exorcists girl it’s different from your typical magical girl, but it’s still a good series
🫢 I'll take a look at it!
OK I really hope you like it because when I first saw it, it made me so happy
FIRSTLY i just wanna say ur shirt+earrings combo in this video is so cute SECONDLY back at the topic at hand, I've always kind of viewed what constitutes a magical girl the same why i view most genre categorization: kind of loosey goosey LOL since all attempts at strict categorization are mostly just coming from fans and scholars doing their best (especially in attempting to limit their scope in academics to make things more reasonable to study) theres not an easy way to reach any consensus.
I personally find as long as it meets Some criteria it's probably a magical girl show, I'm not super strict specifics. Like if a show is about girls with magical powers and it focuses on their adventures with magical powers and it focuses on classic magical girl show themes then i'll probably consider it a magical girl show even if no one transforms. OR if a girl is transforming into different forms in remarkable ways and the show is full of magical girl tropes and plot developments but the girl is technically not magical (maybe she's like a robot or something) I'll still consider it a magical girl show. I consider Tokimeki Tonight a magical girl manga because when i read it it walked, talked, and absolutely felt every bit like a magical girl manga, but I know thats definitely a contentious opinion LOL
I do struggle figuring out how to categorize some things though, like magical girlfriend shows? I still havent figure that out as someone who watched a weirdly large amount of harem anime as a kid LOL like 99% of them just dont feel like magical girl shows, even if the titular magical girlfriend is straight up a magical girl (vs a goddess or a demon or angel or whatever) but I dont have a problem with magical girl shows being aimed at men and boys (cutie honey was iconic after all) so maybe it has something to do with the perspective character rather than just target demographic? BUT i also find on occasion i dont need the perspective characters to be female exactly, like that one magical boy show cute earth defence club, like that is absolutely a magical girl show to me so maybe the gender aspect for me can get a little loosey goosey too? this is absolutely a topic that could end up with like forums of 10 million posts of debate spanning decades LOL
I love how much thought you've put into it though, it's absolutely more opinion-based than I realized before making this vid!
Here is my definition.
Length transformation and girl enpower. When it comes to the magic edge we have magical girls that uses technology so that's a mute point.
PPG is more of a superhero show then magical girl but it has bits and pieces.
Absolutely love the reactions! And I think magical girl sub genre is very subjective and shouldn’t be policed to a T. I personally think there’s a lot of overlap to that comes with other genres such as the superhero genre. Ladybug is something I view as having enough crossover qualities to be considered a magical girl series, but is specifically a superhero series, same as power puff. But Totally Spies feels like it’s just superhero/spy since it’s without magic. But then again, there’s a series like Nanoha that’s all tech but is considered a magical girl series bc of other qualities. In the end I’m not picky about most things be included but there are some ones I am weird about like Wonder Egg Priority and Gun Girl Online, neither of which I really have any desire to include in the categorization. But that’s just me.
It's so weird how many overlapping exceptions there are. I've heard good and bad about Wonder Egg Priority but I'm more curious to know how or why ppl call it a magical girl anime
@@doreimani The Anime man talked about it when only a couple of episodes aired before the hype and called it the next Madoka Magica , then some popular Tiktokers called it a magical girl series and now everyone thinks it’s one while it hardly has any of the tropes.. it’s just a psychological horror series like Madoka Magica.
@@doreimani In my opinion, Wonder Egg Priority fits neatly into the deconstruction category. It follows a color-coded (yellow for compassion, blue for analytical, green for the Sailor Jupiter equivalent, red for the troublemaker) team of 14-year-old girls. Each protagonist has a catchphrase.
They buy into (literally) a magical/pseudo-scientific system that allows them to transform objects from their ordinary lives with personal meaning (e.g., Ai's four-color pen represents her heterochromia) into fantasy weapons in order to protect dead girls who emerge from Wonder Eggs. The monsters-of-the-week are cartoony embodiments of the victims' traumas or obsessions. Instead of transforming themselves, our protagonists transform their weapons, sometimes even accepting aid from the girls they are protecting--two aspects of the show's exploration on mental health that I feel worked well (there is a lot of victim blaming).
These battles take place in personalized dreamscapes reminiscent of Madoka Magica's labyrinths, sure, but also Yuki Yuna's Jukai and Black Rock Shooter's Hollow World. In effect, these teenage girls are heroes, but only they and the dead girls they protect (and are trying to bring back to life) know of their heroic exploits. That's one massive difference I've noticed between magical girl warrior and superhero works: the former's battles tend to go largely unnoticed by the general populace. Whereas superheroes achieve idol status, most civilians never know that magical girls exist.
Our protagonists eventually get jewelry that summon cute magical animal companions. Until then, I think that Acca and Ura-Acca work well enough as creepy power-bestowing mentor mascots.
Some of the aspects of magical girls Wonder Egg Priority subverts include what transforms, how mascots work, why the girls fight, and what coming-of-age means. Superficial magical girl aspects like gimmicks and transformations aside, Wonder Egg Priority explores many of the same themes as the classics: the power of friendship, different types of relationships, the struggles of adolescence, and figuring out one's identity.
Wonder Egg Priority is imo. It fits right in with all the other magical girl shows in the genre. At least the ones I’m familiar with. New and old ones. Kairu below has a great comment on Wonder Egg Priority that’s worth reading. I’m a little surprised about Gun Gale being brought up. I haven’t seen enough of it, I suppose, to have an opinion, but I never thought of it as magical girl at all. Not from the very little I’ve seen of it.
“I haven’t even finished all of PreCure yet”
Dude I was all set to cosplay Creamy Mami in April and I STILL haven’t gotten around to finishing the show (rn I have an excuse since my laptop is slightly broken and I don’t like keeping it on longer than an hour at a time)
For reference Mami has 52 episodes, an OVA, and two movies, the rest is kinda just fluff (music videos and stuff)
So pretty much one season of PreCure
ETA: RetroCrush has Mami, as well as other Pierrot Magical Girl classics like Persia and Pastel Yumi; Mami kinda revived the genre, and was pretty much the first Magical Idol type series (and the first Media Mix series, debuting an idol alongside the series)! It’s super light and the plot is kinda loose at times, so if you want something to be a palette cleanser, it’s worth a watch imo. ^^
I still feel so behind in my overall anime consumption I'm playing catch up to make up for it 😩
to me, a magical girl show involves transformation sequences with very high fantasy abilities and aesthetics that make up alter egos(generally) and with a generally stark contrast to the normal day to day lives the characters have outside of that.
I would say that excludes totally spies since that's pitched to us more as a techy spy show which imo is more of a high fem james bond style theme. I'd also say that excludes the original power puff girls because I personally classify them more with other super heroes like super man and stuff. I'm sure there is a conversation to be had about super heroes overlapping into magical girl territory but I am not familiar with enough super hero series to have it.
To me, magical girls need a transformation, otherwise it's fantasy. The first magical girl classified as such has a transformation (if I'm not mistaken), and it's a staple in the genre and every variation of it. In my head TOH wasn't a magical girl, it's a fantasy show, just like a metric TON of fantasy books with magic I read as a child (and still read, it's good ok? *doremi pout*).
Totally Spies is NOT a magical girl wth, who said that XD It's a sci-fi spy show, that according to the creators was supposed to be taken seriously like a girl James Bond. Yep, that means the superficial "we love fashion and boys" is how the creators think badass and independant women are. But that's another story lol
maybe "sequence" should replace transformation in order to include CCS 👀
@@doreimani oh yeah, absolutely! Some sequence of sorts, with repetition.
The fact that something can fall into more than one genre only complicates things more. Magic knight rayearth is a show with isekai, magical girl and mech elements. Kagome has magic powers but Inuyasha is more centered on shounen fantasy aspects.
"We arrive again at the CROSSROADS of subjectivity" - right after a Britney sound???
I love it so much hahaha Imani you're a legendddd
OMG..... you're absolutely right, this accidental slay 😭
Eryn cerise talked about this in her major profile series (RIP) but I feel like there are so many exceptions it hard to make a rule. It like defining what makes a women a women without excluding anyone while not including non-women. Hard
I'm learning as much as i can about magical girls to write my own comic about magical girls and there's so little essays about them! They influenced girls from all ages and they are still not studied in depth! Your video is so so helpful and you're beautifully expleaning the world of magical girls. Thank you so much!
In my opinion, Powerpuff Girls is strictly a superhero show, while Owl House is a cute witch/neoclassical show mixed with isekai.
The Powerpuff girls fly and use super strength rather than magic. They are more like DC superheroes, especially Supergirl.
I love this video!! I’m the same person who asked about the ranking precure endings and I am so happy the 2nd ending of hirogaru sky came out! I am very excited to watch your video and I can’t wait for you to post it!!! Your videos keep me so entertained!!!!
It's a complicated subject, since there doesn't seem to be a single set standard for Magical Girls - they tend to fall under the category of 'you know them when you see them', even if they technically shouldn't qualify at all. For example, Cutie Honey is generally considered to be one of the all-time most iconic and influential Magical Girls, but by the standard definition, she's really not one - she's a shapeshifting android, so no magic there; her standard adventures seem to be more James Bond-ish, if anything, and there's a complete absence of talking animal sidekicks or magical transformation doodads. Yet she DOES transform, in lengthy, elaborate sequences complete with catchphrase; she's girly and cute, if a touch (OK, a LOT) more on the sexy side than is standard for most MGs these days; she has prominent iconography of hearts and pink and so forth - it's pretty hard to read her as anything BUT a Magical Girl.
If I were to break down what a Magical Girl actually is (and mind you, this is coming from someone who is somewhat of an outsider to the genre, so take my opinions with a grain of salt), it would probably be something like the following:
Is a girl. (Duh.) There are a few 'Magical Boy' shows, but they're usually more parodies than anything else.
Is empowered by an outside force, usually either magic or some sort of super-science, to achieve her ends. You can't qualify as a Magical Girl if you're just, like, a ninja.
Usually (but not always) gains access to said force in the form of elaborate transformation sequences.
Has a (generally) magical word or catchphrase that she always or frequently uses.
Usually (but not always) depends upon some sort of empowering trinket used in conjunction with the above two.
Usually (but not always) has a mentor/sidekick in the form of some sort of cute animal or odd creature, often being responsible for empowering her in the first place.
Usually (but not always) fights some variety of monsters/aliens/criminals, if she fights anyone at all.
Has to balance out her duties as a Magical Girl with those of regular girlhood - friends, school, etc.
Is, in some way, conspicuously and noticeably 'girly'.
If a character checks at least three of these categories, she's probably a Magical Girl. If she checks all of them, she definitely is. If she checks one or two of them, but there are other factors involved, then it's borderline, depending on which ones they are, and how conspicuously she checks them. If she checks NONE of them, then no.
I mean their are magical girl ninjas so lol
@@MarchingBand3699 Yes, but the key difference is the 'magical' - if they don't have that, it doesn't matter what else they are. A magical girl may be ALSO a ninja, but they can't be JUST a ninja.
I know you haven’t seen this but recently Dreamworks Animation the same studio that made Antz, Shrek and the How train your Dragon original trilogy did made one that is closer to what you were talking about in this video and that’s “Ruby Gillman the Teenage Kraken.”
It’s kind of like Squid Girl or Splatoon and those Kaiju films meets Turning Red but with the elements, tropes, themes and influence from Magical Girl media and other media you mentioned in the video Doreimani. When I heard about Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken from the trailer it was going to be like a satirization of Disney’s live action retelling of The Little Mermaid because it was releasing around the same time because the character “Chelsea Vanderzee” looked like Ariel if she became a Gyaru. I saw the movie on release day and not only I saw the satire, themes of generation trauma and being a teen I started to see some familiar themes and elements of what you were talking about in this video through out the film.
I applaud Dreamworks for making a piece of original content that has the tropes, elements, influence and themes from Magical Girl and other female focused media and made it so unique with comedy and satire with the themes we have seen in Turning Red. I don’t blame Dreamworks for Ruby Gillman’s horrid box office performance (because Universal was too focused on the animated Super Mario Bros movie) I think it did pretty well. As much as Dreamworks is making so much better film’s with better storytelling than Disney these days I find Ruby Gillman the Teenage Kraken to have potential in the future, Ruby Gillman’s theme’s and elements as I mentioned is enough to become Dreamwork’s answer to a magical girl character or something like The Powerpuff Girls. Now that Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken is one of everyone’s favorite movies to watch on Netflix we might see a Ruby Gillman TV show with the elements and themes that was seen in the movie either on Peacock or Netflix it can be adventure, comedy, slice of life with episodes with certain themes and subjects. It might have the potential to be the next My Little Pony Friendship is Magic.
I think magical girls are girls who use gadgets that are magical powers to transform into a more perfect version of themeselves and fight monsters. (Or supervillains)
I wouldn't say the Powerpuff girls are a magical girl show because they don't use gadgets. They have superhuman powers like super strength or fast speed and these powers aren't really prescribed to be "magical" in the traditional sense.
Back then magical girl shows weren't about fighting monsters, they were about becoming a more perfect version of yourself(while also just doing witchy things). As seen by shows like creamy Mami or magical emi. And even tho this isn't case for modern magical girls anymore there's still that element of transforming into a more glorified version of yourself in modern shows.
In Revolutionary Girl Utena, the gadget (rose ring) doesn't give her special powers, it only marks her as a duelist. Yet it's very much a magical girl show.
Honestly, I think the answer to this is less of a list of well-defined magical girl tropes/expectations and more just vibes. Powerpuff is a magical girl show because it feels like one. Totally spies isn’t because it doesn’t feel like one
Yeah I love the thought of a magical girl vibe check haaaa
I feel like a Magical Girl show has got to have an adorable intelligent animal/magical companion. Sailor Moon's got Luna, Madoka's got Kyubey, and Sakura's got Kero. So I agree, Owl House is a Magical Girl show. Luz has King!
I'm making my own Sentai/Magical Girl show, but with Metalhead Tomboys with their own band
Shes wearing a huipil! 🇲🇽💖💖💖🌟
Great video!~ I did a panel recently with a friend about a checklist of magical girl qualifications, and it was a fun discussion! If I ever get access to it (not aired yet), I’ll hit you up. 👀
definitely send that my way! 🫡
okay but you nailed that disney wand finish fr!!
😭😭😭
Hi, just came here from your Madoka reaction... nice thoughts on what make a MG show. I agree a lot that a lot of shows are subjectively MG shows, I think it depends on how many elements of the genre it contains, the focus of the show and the overall feel of it. Cardcaptor Sakura did have transformations, just not magical ones unless you consider Tomoyo's ability to make and deliver countless theme-appropriate outfits magical. Reminds me of Punchline that has a magical transformation sequence play out only to cut to a real world view of the girl struggling to put on the outfit.
For me Powerpuff Girls was more a superhero show than an MG show, they are very similar genres but what distinguishes them is missing from the Powerpuff Girls; except in general theme and feel - that was more MG than superhero.
Consider something like 'Supergirl', lots of 'almost MG' elements and similar themes but not enough to consider it an MG show.
But to take the origin route - Bewitched inspired the creation of Mahoutsukai Sally (considered the start of the MG genre, although not the first such manga)... is that an MG show? No transformations, no magic jewelry, no magical companion, no friendship will prevail theme... so probably not.
But The Matrix? Lots of pseudo-magic, transformations of outfit and physical appearance, use of ordinary items with magical results (phones to exit Matrix), strong themes of love, mutual friendship and self-belief overcoming the odds often beyond rational explanation... far more an MG show than Bewitched, though I don't want to imagine Keanu in a frilly pink dress waving a star wand!
No I think I DO want to imagine Keanu just like that 😌 Ahaha thank you for sharing your thoughts on this!
There is also shows like limit and cutie honey are magical girls with a focus on technology.
omg the ive plushie in the back is so cute😭😭
she's a paid actor 🐥
Magical Girls shows needs mostly girl team who have a full makeover type of transformation. Not just the abilities, but the hair, the clothes, the lipstick and makeup and yeah besides fighting to save the world they usually fight for love.
When Owl House is then Amphibia is too.
8mins spent well!!! You earned my sub girl. I'll probably binge your vids in one day.
Omg thank you 🫶🏾🫶🏾
@@doreimani whats your opinion on the symphogear franchise?
This rlly opened my mind wow lol😭
Also YES I'd love for you to post reactions!
This was a very enjoyable video! Keep it up! 👏
thank you so much!! 💖💖
Btw I really like the reaction type videos!
I think Owl house falls more under the Isekai Genre than Magical girl. Luz only really gets 1 power up transformation and it only comes up at the series finale.
awesome video 😊
The thing is if you telling me owl house is an American magical Girl show I have no problem with it. :)
the way I clicked on this video SO FAST ❤
🥹💕💕☁️
ohhhhhh you are in for a treat when you watch the toh finale :D
🥹🥹 I'm loving it sm I can't even imagine what it'll be like
honestly i think a magical girl show just has to be a girl main character with abilities that appear magical. simple as that.
i’m cool with reaction vids too
I think magical girls are shows that have girl or group of girls with magic/superpowers. That would be the most basic definition. But then what is "magic"? Are superpowers/mutations magic? Is technology magic?
If technology is magic we can add stuff like Jem and the holograms and totally spies as magical girls. If not, sorry corrector Yui, you aren't a magical girl.
If super powers are magic, the Powerpuff girls and even Wonder woman (the old tv show had a transformation secuence lol) are magical girls.
I don't think target audience is a factor, because then stuff like lyrical nonoha, cutie honey wouldn't be magical girls, even the new adult Precure movie (?) Wouldn't be a magical girl. But then stuff like Kill la Kill and panty and stocking would be considered magical girls.
I like the TV tropes approach to defining the basic concept and adding sub categories better.
Ohhhh yes very very true it could have a lot to do with people's perception of what "magic" is. I think I almost came to that reasoning in this video but I really didn't think about it until your comment ahahah
Imo Powerpuff girl's are more superhero while the owl house is more witchy
Magical girls are strong,cool and does not demonise femininity and more recently including boys in the genre.
I would personally say that Powerpuff Girls isn't a magical girl show. The Powerpuff girls got their powers through science, not magic, and the girls don't transform. I see it as more of a girly superhero show. Just having the themes themselves, or complicating their lives, don't count as a magical girl show.
Cardcaptor Sakura gets a pass because Sakura does have magic, and while she doesn't transform with it, she does do costume changes. And every other trope is there, so one requirement can be forced and still call it a magical girl.
why not both reaction and essay also I love the channel thank you
Oh yeah, I know that you’re talking about magical girls but there’s a magical girl show that you never knew about if you want me to I can give you the name of it
Hot take: miraculous is a magical girl show
More reactions please
Cute-witch refers to the majokko right?
Yep yep
The main char of the owl house isn’t a magical girl because she can’t actually DO magic. when you reach the end you’ll understand it, that the power she uses isn’t her own power.
Princess Tutu
💕
owl house takes more from action and slice of life shows than maho shojo doe
So first, the definition of isekai in the west is not the definition of isekai in Japan!!
Isekai means other world. While it can feature a character from our world, it does not have to. Lord of the Rings is isekai.
That being said, it’s silly to say the Owl House can’t be magical girl because the Boiling Isles are not earth bc Magic Knight Rayearth is another magical girl series not set on Earth!!
Anyway love the video as always, happy to have contributed to the discourse with that silly tweet because the responses were so fascinating as to what people’s personal definitions of magical girl are.
I would love if you did reaction videos!
Thank you for this added insight!! I considered going back to do a "TOH magical girl show" but your tweets made me realize it was bigger than that ahahaha
Winx Club ✅✅✅✅✅✅
Hm •3•
I was like, the owl house isn't a magical girl show cuz they should have a team divided by color a la power ranger
And then I remember Sakura card captor existed lmao
You could make a division in that, a magical girl show must be anime, but that gets into the "is anime japanese, a style, or just any cartoon" debate
*Sigh*
Like with video games, I think genres are very much a loose classification, it is a magical girl show if you want it to be üvü💅