Intro
I love magical girls. I love the shows. I love the extensive and concerning lore. I love the transformations and body horror. I love it all. Magical girls are a subgenre of superheroes. Those in the magical girl genre are generally girls who have magical powers, and they must defeat some great evil. Something to note is that magical girls do not have to be girls at all. There are some magical girl shows and manga that have men, nonbinary people, and trans folk. The magical girl genre is fascinating because each piece of media that comes from it builds on its predecessors. The first magical girl show that I watched was the iconic Sailor Moon from the 1990s. I did not finish the show (it has over 300 episodes), but I did get halfway. This show sparked my love for the genre.
Magical Girls History
Magical girls got their start in the 1960s. These shows were usually about young girls with witch-like powers. Some of these early magical girl shows were influenced by the U.S. show Bewitched (1964-72) (Crunchyroll, 2020). Over time, the style of the shows evolved to have girls and women gain magical abilities through an outside force, allowing them to change into their magical form. The magical girls series that we see today usually pull inspiration from the hit show: Sailor Moon which debuted in the 1990s (Martin, 2022). This iconic show from Naoko Takeuchi showed people everywhere that girls can be superheroes too. This piece of media also set a precedent that other shows would follow. There is a formula to many magical girl shows today. First, we meet a girl who is in school, and she encounters a magical being. Next, the magical being gives her powers and the ability to transform into a magical being. Then, the girl finds other girls who also possess an innate gift for this magic. Finally, these girls team up to fight the looming evil that threatens their planet and other planets (Shinozaki, 2021). There are some notable exceptions to this formula including Madoka Magica, Princess Tutu, Magical Girl Ore, and others.
My Magical Girl-sona
One of the reasons for writing this essay is to pitch myself as a magical girl character. I would make an awesome magical girl. I have not seen many Black queer magical girls, so I could diversify the genre a bit. In my ideal setting, I would be a magical girl in a TV show that is set in the southern part of the U.S. This group of magical girls would be college-aged, so we would still have to balance school and our duties like the middle school girls. In this show, I am not the main character. The main character will be awoken by a strange being from another world that will give them powers to defeat an evil that just overtook a different planet. I would be the third person to be recruited by the main character. This group’s outfits in and out of our transformations will reflect our personalities. Furthermore, our weapons would express a part of ourselves that we do not share with the world.
My Backstory
My character in this hypothetical television show would be a Black 23-year-old gender-fluid person who is tired almost all of the time. My character’s name would be KJ. They study history and music at the college. They come from a middle-class family that does not believe in magic. They meet the other magical girls through a small music club on campus. When they are not in class, they are asleep. KJ will sleep anywhere. Importantly, KJ always walks around with a bass guitar on their back.
My Weapon
My weapon of choice would be a bazooka. A huge weapon that fires out waves of sleepy energy. When KJ transforms, she swings her bass guitar forward and it becomes a bazooka. The weapon would be a soft mauve color with white stars and clouds decorating it. When she shoots at an enemy, the device sends a glittery, purple cloud their way. The cloud has a sleeping agent in it that knocks the enemy out. She has to be careful when shooting it to make sure that she does not get her friends. The reason that KJ’s weapon is a bazooka is that she feels powerless in her everyday life. This weapon symbolizes power and control over other people, but it is temporary because she does not want the responsibility that goes with controlling people. She secretly thinks that life would be easier if everyone just took a long nap, and woke up refreshed.
My Transformation
KJ would transform into his magical girl form by swinging his bass guitar case over his shoulder. Then a purple cloud would envelop him, and he would start levitating. A plush star would hold up his body like a pillow as he sleeps through the transformation. The main parts of the outfit include: silvery slippers, black glittering wide-legged pants, a blue to black ombre top, fingerless gloves, and a silvery durag. When KJ comes out of the cloud, his eyes are droopy and his mouth is in a slight smile.
Conclusion
The magical girl genre is one of my favorite things to watch. There is something quite beautiful about the way these shows uplift friendships. It is also nice to watch a show that I usually know will end with the good team defeating evil. Right now, I need the hope that these shows provide. The world is not perfect, and the evils in the world are generally preventable if people were kinder to each other and nature. Magical girls remind me that all that is necessary to defeat evil is a cute outfit, friends, and the power of love. If you don’t have any of those, then getting magical powers from a cute creature can also help.
References
Crunchyroll. (2020, Jul. 15). History of magical girls (Sailor Moon, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Cardcaptor Sakura + more) [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/VtFR8o9n4LA?si=51g_gnNRpofon8wM.
Martin, E. (2022, Mar. 8). The evolution of the magical girl in manga and anime. BookRiot. https://bookriot.com/evolution-of-the-magical-girl/.
Shinozaki, A. (2021, Dec. 18). The many faces of the magical girl: A breakdown of types and subgenres. Anime Herald. https://www.animeherald.com/2021/12/18/the-many-faces-of-the-magical-girl-a-breakdown-of-types-and-subgenres/#h-the-battle-heroine.
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