Literature Atlas

How Stories Are Told
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Genre

Magical Girl

Speculative and Fantastic Fiction

Magical girl is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy media centered on young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into which they can transform.

Facts
Place of Origin
Japan 1
Notable Example
Sailor Moon (1991), whose 1992-1997 anime adaptation redefined the genre 1
Defining Trait
Centers on an ordinary girl who transforms, often using a compact or sceptre, into a more mature costumed alter ego with magical powers to fight evil 1
Origin Year
1962 2
Defining Trait
Character Focus 2
Connections

Form Of Genre

Fantasy, Genres

Subgenre Of

Fantasy, Genres
Source Magical girl (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Originated In

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia
  • Place of Origin: Japan
  • Notable Example: Sailor Moon (1991), whose 1992-1997 anime adaptation redefined the genre
  • Defining Trait: Centers on an ordinary girl who transforms, often using a compact or sceptre, into a more mature costumed alter ego with magical powers to fight evil
2. Magical girl (Wikipedia)
  • Lead paragraph
    The genre emerged in 1962
  • Lead paragraph, defining sentence
    Magical girl (Japanese: 魔法少女, Hepburn: mahō shōjo) is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy media (including anime, manga, light novels, and live-action media) centered on young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into which they can transform.
  • Wikipedia: Magical girl, lead section
    is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy media (including anime, manga, light novels, and live-action media) centered on young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into which they can transform.
  • Wikipedia: Magical girl, Genre history 1990-1999 section
    Sailor Moon (1991), whose anime adaptation was broadcast from 1992 to 1997, revolutionized the magical girl genre by combining "transforming hero" elements from live-action tokusatsu hero shows like Super Sentai and Kamen Rider with traditionally feminine interests, such as romance and fashion.
  • Wikipedia: Magical girl, Concepts and themes - Heroine elements section
    The transforming heroine features an ordinary schoolgirl who changes into an "adorable" costume with "cute" accessories; she then uses a sceptre (or a similar weapon) to channel magical energy in order to fight against the forces of evil.
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.

View At A Past Year

Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.