Magical girl shows are usually exactly what they sound like - stories of otherwise normal girls who discover they have magical powers. Thanks to all-time classics like Sailor Moon, they have become an iconic part of the landscape of anime, lighting up the medium with sparkles and frills.
There's no doubt, though, that many anime fans have preconceived notions about the genre that stop them from ever checking it out. And that's a shame because it's one of the most fun and varied genres out there. Here are the most prevalent misconceptions about magical girl series and why they're far from accurate.
10 "Sailor Moon Was The First Magical Girl Series"
There's really no competition for the most iconic magical girl series of all time. Sailor Moon crossed international and generational borders to become one of the most popular anime series of all time regardless of genre. It's so synonymous with the term "magical girl anime" that many believe it was the first one.
In fact, magical girl anime have been around since Sally the Witch that aired in the 1960s. The manga precursor to Sailor Moon, Codename: Sailor V, was actually a parody of magical girl series, showing how prevalent the genre was even then.
9 "All Magical Girls Are Girly"
When people think of magical girl series, they usually think of frills, sparkles, and plenty of bows and hearts. But, while these might be stereotypically "girly" things, that doesn't mean that all magical girls are girly. Nagisa, the main character of the original Precure anime, is a total tomboy, for instance.
One of the defining themes of magical girl anime is that there's nothing wrong with being yourself. That's a valuable lesson not just for kids, but for everyone.
8 "Magical Girls Are All Kids"
When people think of magical girls, they usually imagine them as peppy tweenagers that have (for some reason) been chosen to save the world. That doesn't mean that these girls can't be interesting main characters, but it is understandable that some adults might be less interested in the genre.
Thankfully, there are series out there starring awesome adults with magical powers, too. Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, for instance, follows the titular mage and her peers into adulthood, with the later series showing her as the mother figure to another magical girl.
7 "All Magical Girl Series Are Shojo"
There's nothing wrong with the magical girl genre being aimed primarily at younger girls, but that doesn't mean that there aren't examples of the genre catering to other demographics. It would be a big mistake to show Magical Girl Site or Puella Magi Madoka Magica to kids, for instance, as these are seinen series that have an amount of violence typical for the genre.
These seinen series prove just how compelling the themes and motifs of magical girl series are, and they are now being experimented with in every corner of the anime world.
6 "Magical Girl Series Are All Filler"
Series like Sailor Moon and Tokyo Mew Mew might be nostalgic classics, but they also follow the pattern of having a few plot-important episodes surrounded by battles with episodic monsters-of-the-week. This means that a lot of people have an image of all magical girl shows as lengthy filler-fests.
But, in actual fact, there are plenty of magical girl series out there that are as short as they are sweet. Fan-favorite Pretear, for instance, has only 13 episodes, while Wish Upon the Pleiades has just 12. For viewers looking to get into the genre without investing a huge amount of time, these are great options.
5 "There Are No Such Thing As Magical Boys"
With the name of the genre being "magical girl," it's not hard to see why people might think that a boy being given a fancy outfit and a transformation sequence would only be the stuff of parodies like Is This A Zombie? and Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!.
Those shows might see the idea as inherently ridiculous, but magical boys have popped up in magical girl anime plenty of times: Shugo Chara has just as many boys as girls with Character Transformations, and Cardcaptor Sakura had a friendly rivalry with fellow magic-user Shaoran.
4 "Magical Girl Shows Are Poorly Animated"
Thanks to a combination of being aimed at children and having a lot of filler episodes, many classic magical girl shows suffered from limited animation; re-used transformation sequences and catchphrases, for instance, were everywhere. But that's led some people to associate the genre as a whole with poor art and animation, which is simply unfair.
Take for instance the gorgeous ballet-dancing scenes in cult classic Princess Tutu, or the lavish animation from the acclaimed studio TRIGGER that can be seen in Little Witch Academia. There's plenty of beautiful art to be seen in magical girl anime.
3 "Puella Magi Madoka Magica Was The First Magical Girl Deconstruction"
There's no doubt that Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a fantastic show, but it did lead to many fans treating a dark deconstruction of a magical girl show as a totally original idea. Shows like Princess Tutu dealt with similar themes, and non-fans of the genre might be surprised by just how dark even shows like Sailor Moon can get.
Madoka Magica attracted and introduced many new fans to the genre, but this resulted in many fans getting a wrong idea about the magical girl genre as a whole. It's no wonder long-time fans were frustrated.
2 "Action Scenes In Magical Girl Shows Are Boring"
More fans of shonen battle anime might watch magical girl series if it wasn't for the impression that their action sequences were a total afterthought. The defining image of a magical girl battle is lots of stock animation of the heroes calling their attacks, followed by some reaction shots from the villains.
That is far from all the genre has to offer, however. Fans of well-choreographed and creative action scenes will love the fistfights of Precure, the duels of Revolutionary Girl Utena, or the desperate battles in Princess Tutu, which take the form of ballet performances.
1 "There Are No Good New Magical Girl Shows"
The most famous magical girl series, such as Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Tokyo Mew Mew, are usually from the '90s and early 2000s. This can give off the impression that the magical girl genre is pretty much dead or, at least, that the classic series aimed at young girls had been killed off by edgy Madoka Magica clones such as Magical Girl Site or Day Break Illusion.
Luckily, that's not the case. Tropical Rouge Precure, the latest installment in the Precure franchise, has been received as one of its best series yet, and an upcoming remake of Tokyo Mew Mew proves that people are still very much interested in the genre.