All tagged magical girls
When Puella Magi Madoka Magica exploded onto the scene back in 2011, it shook up the entire magical girl genre by deconstructing its usual tropes and telling a surprisingly dark, insightful tale about what would really happen if young teenage girls were forced to fight monsters every day. It spawned many manga and game spinoffs, perhaps chief among them being the mobile gatcha game Magia Record and its anime adaptation that began airing this season.
Briana Lawrence (Brichibi Cosplays) and Jessica Walsh (SnowCosplays) are a cosplaying and writing couple known as Sewn Together Reflections. Briana is perhaps best known for her magical girl novel/comic hybrid MagnifiqueNOIR, which had its second book release recently, and Jessica spends much of her time creating cosplays to flatter all figures. They’re also freelance non-fiction writers as well as advocates for diversity in media and self-esteem with cosplay. We caught up with Briana and Jessica at Ohayocon 2020 to discuss how they met, how they get inspired, and much more!
If there’s one anime genre where girls can shine as strong, capable protagonists, it’s the realm of magical girls. Here, even the youngest heroines can save the world with kindhearted determination and the power of friendship! More mature shows will work with struggles like overcoming grief, fighting against a prescribed fate, or maintaining hope in a hopeless situation.
Today, we’re taking a closer look at our Top 10 Female Leads in Magical Girl Anime, covering over 40 years of anime history and every flavor of subgenre from magical girl classic to surrealist deconstruction. Transform into your frilliest costume and join us!
In Part 1 of this series, we took a brief look at how mahou shoujo (magical girl) anime grew from its cutesy, harmless origins into a full-fledged genre about realistic girls who kick ass and control their own destinies. But even though certain anime like Mai-HiME (2004) and Heartcatch Precure (2010) incorporated some very dark subject matter, it wasn’t until the release of Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (2011) that the magical girl genre got its big gut-punch deconstruction.
When you think of kid-friendly anime, mahou shoujo (translated as “magical girl”) shows are probably pretty high on the list. They’re all about young girls conquering evil with sparkly magic and the power of friendship, right? Well, not so much anymore.
Mahou shoujo anime in the classic style still exist, of course, but the staggering impact of shows like Princess Tutu (2002) and Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (2011), among others, has blown the door wide open for deconstructing the typical tropes and expectations of what once was once viewed as a genre strictly for young girls. In this two-part series, we’ll explore how mahou shoujo grew and changed over time, and how certain influential shows turned the entire genre on its head.
The long-running Precure franchise has been a staple of Japanese children’s programming since 2004. It’s less well-known in the West due to its lack of quality English releases, but this sparkly magical girl show is well worth seeking out. Along with its adorable costumes and cutesy themes, the Precure series stands out from the pack because of its heartfelt character moments and its surprisingly hardcore fight scenes.
So you want to check the franchise out; but there’s a problem. Even though you can jump in at any point (since each series stars separate characters in different universes), how are you supposed to know where to start? Well, join us today as we run through some of the best Precure series to get you started on the sparkly path to Cure fandom!
![[Honey’s Anime Interview] Sewn Together Reflections, the Intrepid Writing and Cosplaying Duo!](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594f053cbf629a4fd216a1b2/1579719888961-8C0RNYZFZ9W2QLVVB5SI/82631440_1662777313864870_5692924815216738304_n.jpg)
