Pseudomé Studio Projects

[Pseudome]

I doubt that there will be many takers for such an obtuse discussion, but I was idly wondering what you all believe are the core elements that make a magical girl story, well, a magical girl story?

Funny outfits? Transformation sequences? Evil baddies with questionable sexual preferences? Talking cat side kicks? Non-connecting line art? What?
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Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much... - Teddy Roosevelt

[liquidhands]

[ActionJackal!]

Just a hunch, but to really understand this, you have to understand what it's like to be a girl growing up in Japan. A lot of shoujo is really sort of escapist fantasy for young girls, who are expected to go through the highly-competitive motions of getting into a good school or eventually becoming somebody's wife (or both). A lot of the more successful magical girl shows had a more metaphorical transformation taking place that was as simple as growing up.

Probably the most well-known example would be Sailor Moon. Usagi is just a normal junior high girl. She's clumsy, late for class, irresponsible...but as Sailor Moon, and moreso as the queen/princess/whatever, she has to be a responsible adult, making decisions that ultimately affect her entire world. It's not just a physical change that takes place. Over the first season (I don't really count any of the other seasons as valid because they make me go WTF and aren't as good), Usagi grows quite a bit as a person. It's not the same girl that quivered at Jadeite that stands up to Queen Beryl in the end, because she's grown and changed through the experiences she faced.

There's also the whole facet of girls' entertainment that involves "dress-up" and being somebody else, but that's hardly limited to Japan. Jem and She-Ra are two local examples; these were shows about ordinary women who would put on a costume and become somebody completely different...glamorous, powerful. It could be argued that boys' entertainment uses this sort of vehicle, too (like Superman/Clark Kent), but Superman was always super. He had to pretend to be somebody else to protect an identity. Also, nobody sane could call what he chose to wear "glamorous."
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"See? That was stupid. Now I have to kill you."
--Genjo Sanzo, Saiyuki

MOD SQUAD

[IronMouse]

SailorMoon definately started the warrior-magical girl genre and turned it into a prominent sub-genre. The "warrior" part is important, because before that, magical girls tended to morph into either older, more sophisticated versions of themselves rather than into evil-fighting soldiers. Creamy Mami is a good example of an 80s magical girl show - the tomboy 10-year old girl, with the help of a few odd creatures and a magical make up box, transforms into a beautiful 15 year-old who then becomes an idol singer. It's actually quite a good show, with emphasis based on her difficulties in balancing her double life. Therefore, the basis of magical girl shows lies in being able to lead an alternate double life where you are infinitely more glamourous than you are now.

But then that was before warrior-magical girls sort of took over the air-waves... now we have stuff like "Wedding Peach" where the emphasis is on the villain-of-the-episode. I guess girls were tired of not being able to save the world AND get the guy. Unfortunately, this also means that the warrior-magical girl has turned into a rigid formula, like Disney cartoons.

Most warrior-magical girl shows have:

1) Dumb and klutzy heroine. Can sometimes be a tomboy.
2) Group of supportive female friends who may/may not have similar powers
3) Beautiful androgynous male villains, and some creepy female supervillains
4) Some sort of cute creature that gives the girl magical powers
5) Magical item and then a transformation sequence and elaborate outfits (wings are VERY "in")
6) "Bad guy" of the week
7) Ordinary life scenes
Resident bishonen who is also the love-interest, who may or may not know the heroine's true identity. Cast usually often includes a dork or geeky guy who likes the heroine too, but she doesn't like him.

Ya know, this list isn't complete, but I can take all this and drop it into a shonen story-line, tweak a few things and it'll be the same thing except with more masculine trappings. IMHO, magical boy/girl shows have since, in the 90s, gone the way of the Disney cartoon.

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http://www.queeniechan.com/

[Rivkah]

I think Jackal took the words out of my mouth on my perspective on the better magical girls shows. You might check out the last season of Sailor Moon (Sailor Stars) if you can; honestly, that was one of THE best seasons and played more into her emotional development than just good guys vs bad guys. Plus the animation for that arc kicked butt, especially when compared to the sub-par animation for the rest of the series. Same goes with the original manga series (read in Japanese, not TP's current translations which butchered the series nearly as much as DIC screwed the dub). It actually turned out to be a series with some very adult themes, even if they all revolved around relationships and friends. In the long run, I think the original, undubbed Sailor Moon sent a very positive message about standing up for yourself and your friends, teamwork, and empathy for your enemies (which Sailor Moon certainly had a lot of). Unlike a lot of manga I see today, Sailor Moon lacked one thing: Angst. And I love that. There's this angsty trend in modern manga that makes if very difficult to stick to a series without getting thoroughly sick of it. Sailor Moon was about helping other people, not about feeling sorry for herself.

However. . . everybody forgot the "Magic Attacks Stupid Names" rule. "Honeymoon Kiss," "Star Gentle Uterus," and "Love (-a) Me Chain" take a place on my "Worst Attack Names" list.

And "Wedding Peach". . . *shudder* I think that's the series that started to show the downhill trend in magical girl's manga/anime. That series has no redeeming value whatsoever.


edit: If there's one major theme I could find consistent in magical girl's manga, it's 'Sacrifice.' The main character is always so freakin' willing to give her own life up for others, or throw themselves in front of the bullet aimed at her love interest. Some series make it an angsty kind of sacrifice--usually protecting the guy she hopes will get her laid--while others do a better job at making it a more selfless sacrifice committed out of less self-serving desires. . . oh, like protecting the billions of people in the world.

Pseudome, this is an excellent topic. Honestly, I shudder to think of any American manga artists picking up this theme for their manga since it's been sooooooooo overdone. However, despite it's 'overcooked' status, I can still see it succeeding with girls under 10. It's a good kid-friendly medium that I think a lot of parents would be willing to buy their children. . . if the parents even know what manga is, that is. My parents STILL don't get what it is, even after giving my little brother a load of all my shonen manga.

[Bewildered]

The one element I'd see as irreplaceable is transformation, both physical and symbolic. (This is actually an element found in most other genres of manga, and comes from the ancient roots of the Japanese dramatic tradition in Shinto "kagura" rituals... But I digress ) Most of the rest is just the decoration, and comes with the territory.

If you've got magical powers, you need enemies, or there's no story. If you've got enemies, you need a lead character who's willing to fight them with all her might. If you're a young teenage girl, romance is part and parcel of the age.

I wouldn't declare the MG genre "dead," any more than you can declare the romance novel market "dead." Not much new and exciting is coming out, but it's still a viable product, and occasionally something comes out that transcends the genre. I'd actually like to do manga for a younger audience, especially young girls - "young adult" may not be a genre that often contains genius, but it can definitely make a difference to a new generation. I still have favorite YA books that I pull out and read on occasion.

Bridget
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Bridget E. Wilde
http://www.bewildered-art.com/

[Pseudome]

So has anyone given any thought to the concept that the magical girl genre (or, as IronMouse put it, the warrior-magical-girl genre) is actually disturbingly similar to American superhero comics?

A person with "super powers" who dresses up in a funny costume in order to protect the identity of their alter-ego, who goes around thwarting evil-doers?
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Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much... - Teddy Roosevelt

[Rivkah]

[Aimi]

i think the main girl trying to die (or actually dying) is part of "sacrifice" that was mentioned. And for some reason many Japanese people belive that death is a beautiful thing, especially if it's very emotional. (i do too.) i have often come across characters dying in not only anime, but in dramas too.

i miss Creamy Mami; that was one of my favorite animes from when i was growing up. i don't think i even see magical-girl shows anymore where the girl does not fight to defend their loved ones and/or significant other.

oh no, i'm going to be late for class (x.X;

i will be back ^^;
-Aimi
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[liquidhands]

[IronMouse]

[Pseudome]

[Rivkah]

[Pseudome]

[IronMouse]