Your thoughts on Magical girl anime?

[Innocynce]

Personally, I think too many are obsessed with being "edgy"; of the ones I watched.. There's only one who tried go for their own thing... most copied another unapologetically..

[LunarScyphozoa]

They are extremely fun, especially when they don’t just copy another thing. The edginess problem is not one I’ve encountered, but I haven’t seen any magical girl anime (or really any anime) that came out even sorta recently.

[ButterflyEmpress]

My favorite genre growing up, which sucked due to how underrated it is. Most anime fans are only aware of Sailor Moon and Madoka

[AmysGames]

Despite currently working on a magical girl comic, I have actually not watched that much magical girl anime, haha. I've seen Powerpuff Girls Z (which is what originally inspired my comic), Sailor Moon of course, and maybe half of Cardcaptor Sakura. I should remedy this and watch more!

But yeah, I obviously enjoy the genre, at least on the wholesome side of it. It tends to strike a perfect balance of epic action and wholesome slice-of-life, which is my bread and butter. There's also a certain optimism in the genre that sparks joy like few other things can, which might be why it's become a common target for edgy subversions as of late.

(My own comic does lean a bit toward cynical, but not nearly as grimdark as what I've heard of series like Madoka Magica, haha.)

[DokiDokiTsuna]

I still love the magical girl genre, deep inside my heart. But I must admit I've been 3rd-degree burned by every magical girl show I've tried in recent years:

Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru-- has a bad habit of retconning problems out of the plot instead of actually solving them??
Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight-- shallow characters and nonsensical stakes...
Pretty Cure-- Star Twinkle was so aimless and awful from start to finish, since then I've been afraid to touch any of the modern seasons. o_o I tried to watch Hirogaru Sky, but the first episode was really dull and repetitive, so I decided not to risk it. Is this series still accessible to viewers over 5...?
Magia Record-- a series that feels scared to flesh out its own characters, to the point of making them appear more shallow than they are in the mobile game it's based on. Clearly values empty drama over character interactions that matter...

All these shows had some good things about them; I loved YuYuYu until the last episode (and I would still recommend it, despite it all)...but they all had deep, fatal flaws that just ruined my experience every time, to the point where I'm now losing faith in the magical girl genre. I just can't anymore. ^^;

I think too many are obsessed with being "edgy"; of the ones I watched.. There's only one who tried go for their own thing... most copied another unapologetically..

I once heard someone say that Madoka Magica unintentionally ruined the magical girl genre, and as odd as that statement is, I kinda have to agree. ^^; 3/4 of the shows I mentioned were so busy trying to chase the dramatic twists and turns that MadoMagi is famous for that they ignored their own selling points, and half the time they weaseled out of the grimdark endings anyway. If this is how 'normal' magical girl shows handle their writing, I don't want to see what kind of nonsense happens in magical girl shows that are actually advertised as dark and edgy...

Like, when even a show set in the same universe as MadoMagi (Magia Record) falls into the 'empty copycat' trap, I feel like that's a pretty dark omen for the whole genre. ._. Even people who worked on the definitive 'dark magical girl' of the 21st century now apparently can't see beyond "duhhhh make the cute girls kill each other idk" and it makes me want to scream...

EDIT: I just remembered the one modern magical girl show that I actually liked, and I feel it wouldn't be fair to not give it a shoutout: Release the Spyce!
I honestly thought it was just okay, a solid 7/10. But at least the characters had chemistry! At least they committed to the bittersweet ending they set up! And at least it has one of the most incredible power-packed soundtracks I've ever heard...!

[NickRowler]

I have seen a few that I like, Cardcaptor Sakura was my favorite as a kid. And I thought Sasami: Magical Girls Club was cute. I do also like Winx which is a Western version of magical girls.

Tho generally I don’t like most of it, not my cup of tea, but that is OK. It’s a genre that is created by women for girls that is unapologetically girly and feminine. And I feel like media like this is important. Yes, it can get campy and be a bit over the top, but that is part of the escapism of it. It’s similar to Barbies or Bratz, it’s just supposed to be fun.

I do feel like some adults, many of them men but some are women, feel the need to made things targeted at young girls more serious or edgy so that it has wider appeal to adults or to men. And people will claim it makes it better while missing the point of the genre.

Unrelated but maybe somewhat related, but that was sort of my criticism with the Barbie movie. I felt like the film ended with saying that we need to fix Barbie to make her more “real”. No, let Barbie stay campy.

[thepenmonster]

For the most part the genre is very much the "Sentai For Little Girls" it was intended to be. A wire hangar of a story meant to show off the latest toys they want to sell. Pretty Cure is pretty blatant about this. It's not really something intended for anyone who has hit puberty.

As for Madoka Magica and other edgy takes... Well...

Pluto worked as a dark interpretation of Astroboy because Uraswa is one of the best writer/artists working in manga and he knew how to thread that needle. Very few writers are as good as him and it often shows.

[Stargazer31]

Glitter Force and Mew Mew Power are a guilty pleasure of mine. Yeah, they're sickly sweet, but I love 'em.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Pretty Cure is pretty blatant about this. It's not really something intended for anyone who has hit puberty.

I don't know if you'd say that if you'd seen the earlier seasons. ;_; Like many series originally intended to sell toys, it USED to have a soul and actual entertainment value in its own right. Conflict, character development, redemption arcs, even character deaths and tragedy...once upon a time, each season was written with a decent amount of maturity and care.

Having a helium-voiced MC hold various plushies and merch items while screeching about friendship for 22 minutes wasn't always the modus operandi of Precure...it's honestly really sad what's happened to it. =(

[Chronomel]

@DokiDokiTsuna The thing about alot of dark magical anime is that it feels like they're just making fun of the genre for no reason, and it makes me feel like "if you hate magical girls so much, why are you trying to write a magical girl show?" (In a way that makes them feel more childish than normal magical girl shows, which is why they appeal to people much older, they are unapologetically girly, wholesome and cute, and not a 13 yr olds idea of dark and deep)That's why I think Madoka Magica sticks out, because it is as much a magical show as anything else, and it's elements are taken seriously within it's universe. I think it actually reads better when you imagine that way, since most of the time it isn't necessarily trying to make cristisms of other shows, it's just being its own thing. Similarly, I think Magia Record is alot better when you aren't expecting Madoka Magica. I also didn't like it at first, but I appreciated it alot more after replaying it

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Similarly, I think Magia Record is alot better when you aren't expecting Madoka Magica. I also didn't like it at first, but I appreciated it alot more after replaying it

Wait, are you talking about the game or the anime?? Because I actually liked the main story of the Magia Record game. I thought it was interesting how it turned the MadoMagi formula on its head by creating a situation that allows magical girls to be mundane rather than tragic, almost like how Homura imagined them in the Rebellion story.
The depth and strength of the MCs' characterization gave the audience something engaging to watch while they unraveled the mystery, and the larger stakes slowly worked their way back into the story. I also liked how they involved the original Quintet in the plot, but kept them in the background, keeping the focus on our NEW main characters.

...Unfortunately, the anime version of the story did the exact opposite of all of that, in my opinion. =/ I didn't expect Madoka Magica; I expected an updated version of the shaky but decent story from the game. But by Season 2 Episode 2, I gave up...

[igneriss]

I used to love magical girl anime! (used to, as the only thing I watch nowadays are youtube videos ). I like how it often focuses on friendships, teamwork, believing in yourself and overcoming hardships, all with cute frilly aesthetics. And usually they have a nice mix of light-hearted scenes and more serious topics (at least ones I've watched).
I think my favourite would be Princess Tutu!

[NickRowler]

Pluto worked as a dark interpretation of Astroboy because Uraswa is one of the best writer/artists working in manga and he knew how to thread that needle.

I feel like Pluto is a dark story made darker and more "realistic". The original story isn't really cutsey, it's sort of depressing and Pluto just amplifies that. The stuff about robots facing discrimination was in the original series.

[Chronomel]

Oh I was talking abt the game, sorry. Is the anime really that much of a downgrade?? That's insane. I have to wonder why they bother to retool it so much when it'd be easier and more cost effective to just, you know, adapt it? Lol

[kalmia]

Madoka was the very first anime I watched aside from Aot when I was 12 LOL, so it holds a special place in my heart, I think all magical girl animes do. Even if they’re cliche, I think it’s a fun little fantasy to indulge in. If I could be a magical girl I’d do it in a heartbeat lol.

[DiegoPalacios]

I like the genre, but i'm kinda picky on which shows i watch.

As a teen i loved Sakura Card captors. hillariously, all my friend group enjoyed the show but were all too ashamed of admitting it ........

i enjoy lighthearted takes and darker takes on the genre as long as they are well made. I loved Madoka Magica but didn't follow other darkest takes on the genre.

[TheYaoiEmpire]

Aside from Mew Mew Power, the only magical girl anime I've ever seen is Magical Girl Raising Project, it's messed up and I love it

[JoshRaed]

Yeah I think that there's definitely too much dark magical girl fiction and it's not a subversion after so many times being done.

[Innocynce]

Can't agree more, I'm actually surprised when it's not dark..

I remember specifically looking for one with a original idea-ish, and going through a list of anime that had generally summaries like this:
"Some girl gets magical powers, but there's a DAAARRRRK twist to her, and the other girls! Oooooh!"

[Innocynce]

One of these days: I'll have wifi, nothing else to do/no distractions and finally watch Card Capture Sakura! Every time I tried to watch, something came up, but I'm gonna finally see what she's about!