Once upon a time I
dreamt of becoming a Magical Girl. I wanted to save the world, have a talking
pet and of course, return to bed before my parents suspected a thing.
For the uninformed, allow me to explain the philosophy of the Magical Girl.
Magical Girls, (also known as mahou shoujo or majokko in Japan) are part of a sub-genre of fantasy anime and manga. They are girls, and sometimes boys, with magical capabilities such as black magic, wand powers and special gifts. For the protagonists of Magical Girl anime and manga, it's all about destiny and fate. They are sworn to protect the Earth from danger whilst often balancing a busy school life and hectically hiding their true identity. The Magical Girl genre makes up a large section of popular anime and manga.
The Magical Girl
influence has been staggering. Even non-anime fans are likely recognise the name of the
most famous magical girl of them all: Usagi Tsukino (English: Serena) a.k.a Sailor
Moon. However earlier productions paved the way
for the 1992 smash hit Sailor Moon. These
include Cutie Honey (1972) that
introduced the captivating idea of transformations. Followed by Magical Princess Minky Momo (1982) which created the talking animal side-kick, used in various anime genres
today.
I love the Magical Girl genre. I believe it can inspire young girls to be independent little heroines. I owe a lot in my life to Sailor Moon. She brought me into a world of pop-culture that keeps me sustained every day. Of course it hasn’t been an easy road. Take twelve year old me. One sunny Saturday I plucked up all my courage to purchase the first ten episodes of Sailor Moon Season One on VHS. I clutched it tightly as I made my way to the checkouts at my local Target. Of course, at that moment I had to run into the class clown who teased me something terrible for years. All the way through high school, he never let me forget that day. But through endurance I was able to find my way back to the Japanese sub-cultures I adore.After all, you can take the girl away from the magic, but you can never take the magic away from the girl.
For the uninformed, allow me to explain the philosophy of the Magical Girl.
Magical Girls, (also known as mahou shoujo or majokko in Japan) are part of a sub-genre of fantasy anime and manga. They are girls, and sometimes boys, with magical capabilities such as black magic, wand powers and special gifts. For the protagonists of Magical Girl anime and manga, it's all about destiny and fate. They are sworn to protect the Earth from danger whilst often balancing a busy school life and hectically hiding their true identity. The Magical Girl genre makes up a large section of popular anime and manga.
I love the Magical Girl genre. I believe it can inspire young girls to be independent little heroines. I owe a lot in my life to Sailor Moon. She brought me into a world of pop-culture that keeps me sustained every day. Of course it hasn’t been an easy road. Take twelve year old me. One sunny Saturday I plucked up all my courage to purchase the first ten episodes of Sailor Moon Season One on VHS. I clutched it tightly as I made my way to the checkouts at my local Target. Of course, at that moment I had to run into the class clown who teased me something terrible for years. All the way through high school, he never let me forget that day. But through endurance I was able to find my way back to the Japanese sub-cultures I adore.After all, you can take the girl away from the magic, but you can never take the magic away from the girl.
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