So. Magical Girls. RTs welcome!

Before I start, know that while I'm coming from a background in cultural studies with a specialization in Japanese lit & media, there are folks who are qualified than me on this. This is a beginning of an exploration, not a comprehensive guide.

Before discussing this subgenre of shoujo anime (girl's anime, and before discussing shoujo itself, let's go a bit into how anime genres are organized. As perhaps a direct reflection of the rigid, binary gender structures of Japan, anime is categorized by audience and their age.

The themes, aesthetics, characters, and plotlines differ accordg to these categories. Typically, shoujo dwells on femininity and girl's realities, emotion, romance. And the series that set the tone for shoujo manga way back was the Rose of Versailles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rose_of_Versailles?wprov=sfla1

(At this point, Shoujo Kakumei Irena fans may draw the connections between Versailles & Utena, and the things Utena turned on its head. Good shit, I tell you. )

Folks may not realize this, but the "very Japanese" thing that is anime regularly draws inspiration from the West.

Shoujo is absolutely no exception. And neither are magical girls.

I found a really cool article that does a timeline of the genre. Legit stuff. Pls read, then get back to me here. https://www-nippon-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a03904/amp/?amp_js_v=a3&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D#

So as the article illustrates, Sailor Moon is the Queen of Shoujo. It gave us themes and aesthetics that succeeding shoujo series either affirmed, questioned, explored further, or satirized. I'd like to personally note that it was also well ahead of its time in a lot of ways.

Essentially, the magical girl draws power from becoming their true self, embodying the feminine, fighting for their own, and being proud of who they are. Transformation allows them to bridge temporal gaps between their current human selves and the heroine they're meant to be.

In the case of Sailor Moon, their idealized selves are strong, confident women with impeccable makeup and clothes that bring out their beauty.

Their idealized selves are also ones that closely mirror their past lives, from when they were galactic princesses.

This idea that a magical girl is reclaiming a lost legacy became the template for a lot of other magical girl stories. On a narrative level, this also has the potential to allow their creators to explore topics that would normally be taboo.

In Sailor Moon, for example, Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask does not, at any point, chafe at being second fiddle to a bunch of girls. He supports them - when they need it, which isn't often.

The original anime doesn't quite get this right. The manga and reboot tho.

The queerness of Haruka and Michiru is never questioned - a revolutionary thing to consider, given the social milieu that Sailor Moon was published in. Haruka tells Usagi that she is both male and female, and Usagi doesn't freak out.

The magical girl defies the conventions of society through existing. They are not part of the punishing social structures of mankind. And the more they accept this and become comfortable in their own skin, the stronger they become. The more they can fight their battles.

So as mentioned, some magical girl stuff pushes the themes Naoko Takeuchi put forward into new directions. Card Captor Sakura feels like an extended exploration of love and romance in all its shades, regardless of gender or age. The magical plot takes a backseat to this.

The aforementioned Utena gives us a girl who wishes to be a Prince, and takes us through a wild series of very Western style sword duels in an enchanted school. It similarly explores love, romance, desire, and gender conventions.

Puella Magica Madoka, on the other hand, attempts to completely deconstruct the magical girl. It is a mediation on power, the female body, on loss, and the crushing weight of a legacy you probably didn't ask for.

Also, it went full gay.

What does this mean in terms of designing magical girl games?

It depends on what you'd like to explore. Do you want to talk about what it means to be a girl? Or discuss legacies & how they empower/entangle women? Or love and intimacy through a femme/queer lens?

Contexts for girls around the world are different. It could be interesting to consider the questions above plus the themes of the genre from your own experiences. It's also good to keep in mind that magical girl anime has a lot of codified cultural things from Japan in it.

Like, it's not hard to miss the fact that the Idealized Feminine for Japanese magical girls is very, very trad feminine. They are all abled, young, slender, pretty femme bodies. Now, kawaii can be viewed as rebellion in their context, but outsiders may find this all alienating.

Where will your magical folks draw their power from? What is the face of their adversary - and do these enemies represent? Is your story one of magical girls who are coming into the fight for the first time, of generations of chosen ones, of retired heroines?

Designing with intent as best as we can always makes for a great game. We can extend the narrative that the magical girl genre put forward by being cognizant to where it came from - and also focusing on what we loved about the genre, or what interests us!

If you have questions, feel free to ask me! I'll try to answer them as best as I can. I love the magical girl genre as a whole, and the questions I posited here are ones I am considering for my own future magical girl games. (End)