Magical girl
Magical girl is a subgenre of primarily Japanese fantasy media centered on young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into which they can transform.
The genre emerged in 1962 with the manga Himitsu no Akko-chan, followed by Sally the Witch in 1966. A wave of similar anime produced in the 1970s led to majokko being used as a common term for the genre. In the 1980s, the term was largely replaced by "magical girl", reflecting the new popularity of shows produced by other studios, including Magical Princess Minky Momo and Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel.
In the 1990s, Sailor Moon redefined the genre by combining "transforming hero" elements from live-action tokusatsu hero shows. The growth of late-night anime in the early 2000s led to a demographic shift for the genre, where series with more mature themes such as Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha were created and marketed towards an older male audience.
Genre history
1953–1971: Early magical girl works
Despite no presence of magic, the manga series Princess Knight is seen as a prototype for the magical girl genre, as it set forth the appeal of girls who transform to do things they normally cannot perform. Himitsu no Akko-chan, serialized in the shōjo manga magazine Ribon, is credited as the earliest magical girl manga series. Sally the Witch followed in 1966, with a concept inspired by the American sitcom Bewitched. Its 1966 anime television adaptation produced by Toei Animation, is regarded as the first magical girl anime. This anime adaptation introduced the idea of using a compact to transform, a characteristic that is still present in modern series in the genre.1972–1979: series
Toei Animation produced most of the magical girl series of the 1970s, collectively known as the . This popularized the term for the genre, especially with Mahōtsukai Chappy and Majokko Megu-chan. Megu-chan has been noted in particular for its portrayal of multiple magical girls and the friendship between girls. Coinciding with the influence of the women's liberation movement in Japan, magical girls began displaying a "certain coquettishness" in the 1970s.1980–1989: Transition from to magical girl
In 1980, Toei released Lalabel, the Magical Girl, the first instance of the term "mahō shōjo " being used. In the following years, other studios besides Toei began producing magical girl anime series, such as Magical Princess Minky Momo and Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel, the latter of which was the first installment of Studio Pierrot's. A characteristic of Minky Momo and Creamy Mami showed girls transforming into grown-up images of themselves, which has been linked to the increasing prominence of women at this time including politician Takako Doi, the all-female band Princess Princess, and pop idol Seiko Matsuda, as well as the passage of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act in 1985. Yuji Nunokawa, the producer of both Minky Momo and Creamy Mami, noted that male fans of the magical girl genre increased after Creamy Mami due to the shows' use of transformations and they enjoyed watching girls using magic to solve their problems in ways men traditionally could not. Due to the popularity of Minky Momo and Studio Pierrot's shows, the term "majokko" had largely fallen out of use in favor of "magical girl".1990–1999: Transforming heroine and diversification
Sailor Moon, whose anime adaptation was broadcast from 1992 to 1997, revolutionized the magical girl genre by combining "transforming hero" elements from live-action tokusatsu hero shows like Super Sentai and Kamen Rider with traditionally feminine interests, such as romance and fashion. Up until then, magical girl series were comedic and the characters' use of magic only exacerbated social conflict. A key attribute of the transformations in Sailor Moon is that they focused on exaggerating the characters' beauty through make-up and fashion, negating the link between cuteness and weakness traditionally seen in women. In addition, unlike previous magical girl series, Sailor Moon featured a team of magical girls as the main characters, with male characters supporting them in battle. The format of using fighting, transforming heroines became popular and were used in other magical girl series following Sailor Moon. Series that attempted to capitalize on Sailor Moon success include Akazukin Chacha, whose anime adaptation created an original arc featuring "transforming heroine" characteristics; Cutie Honey Flash, a remake of the original male-oriented science fiction series Cutie Honey for a young female demographic; and Wedding Peach.In the following years, the magical girl genre became diversified. While Sailor Moon also drew in male fans, Cardcaptor Sakura was extremely popular among men in spite of its target demographic for including themes such as cosplay, boys' love, otokonoko, and Yuri. Cardcaptor Sakura was also one of the series that influenced the idea of Moe, which was integrated into later magical girl series aimed at an adult male audience. Likewise, Cutie Honey Flash also drew in a male audience who were fans of the original Cutie Honey series.
2000–present: Expanding demographic and parody works
After the end of Ojamajo Doremi, Toei Animation's first original magical girl anime series since 1985, Pretty Cure was broadcast in 2004, with new installments broadcast yearly. Similar to Sailor Moon, Pretty Cure drew influences from tokusatsu hero shows, but unlike the former, it was heavily focused on action and used the same talents who worked on Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. This helped the series achieve widespread demographic appeal outside of young girls.At the same time, the target demographic of magical girl shows expanded. With more late-night anime being produced in the early 2000s, magical girl shows aimed at an older male demographic were produced, a notable one being Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, a spin-off originating from the adult game series Triangle Heart. As the series were targeted towards older audiences, this allowed for dark and mature themes to be explored, including death and the price of magical power. The magical girl genre earned renewed popularity in the 2010s with the advent of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, whose mature themes and darker approach earned acclaim from viewers and critics outside the conventional audience group. Other examples of late-night magical girl anime include Day Break Illusion and Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya. Though transforming heroine shows remain popular, traditional magical girl series featuring witches demonstrating the importance of hopes and dreams, such as Tweeny Witches and Little Witch Academia were still produced.
In addition to late-night magical girl series, media exploring the idea of male characters as magical girls were introduced, most of them as comedic parodies. Kimagure Orange Road introduced audiences to the idea of a "magical boy" character. Cute High Earth Defense Club Love! features a cast of male characters parodying the magical girl concepts combined with growing interest in bishōnen shows aimed at a fujoshi audience. Other magical boy parodies include Is This a Zombie? and Magical Girl Ore.