Line #65 Main/MagicalGirlWarrior


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3	[[quoteright:300:[[Franchise/LyricalNanoha https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgln_rune_attack_366.jpg]]]]
4	[[caption-width-right:300:ThePowerOfFriendship [[DefeatMeansFriendship as delivered]] through a WaveMotionGun.]]
5
6	The intersection of MagicalGirl with {{Super Hero}}ine, and what happens when you combine MagicKnight with FrillsOfJustice.
7
8	The extended growth-to-maturity metaphor MagicalGirl archetype can mean a variety of things; some do more than use their powers to improve or complicate their lives. Some go out and battle [[BigBad Dramatic Evil]], usually with a lot of mystic power and weird outfits (usually a [[PimpedOutDress glammed-up]] MiniDressOfPower) and [[CallingYourAttacks called attacks]], and very prone to KickingAssInAllHerFinery.
9
10	The origins of this trope as a genre date to early manga, with Creator/OsamuTezuka's ''Manga/PrincessKnight'' generally regarded as the modern TropeCodifier of the genre's most basic defining trait: a cute and perky heroine defeating bad guys and engaging in magical adventures. Most series that followed it, however, focused on the magical part and avoided fighting, creating the more whimsical CuteWitch sister genre.
11
12	In the [[TheSeventies early '70s]], however, Creator/GoNagai created the groundbreaking ''Anime/CuteyHoney'', and in doing so threw the SliceOfLife plot of your typical Magical Girl series out the window. A parody of different HenshinHero series [[note]]most noticeably ''Series/WarriorOfLoveRainbowman''[[/note]], this series [[TropeCodifier codified]] many of the tropes associated with the Magical Girl Warrior genre to come: giving the heroine the ability to [[TransformationSequence transform into]] a powerful alter ego activated with a [[ByThePowerOfGrayskull magical phrase]] and/or a TransformationTrinket, an armory of weapons and abilities to use in battle, an evil organization to fight against, and a [[InTheNameOfTheMoon heroic introduction]]. In a notable example of an UnbuiltTrope, however, the show is about a RobotGirl, and all of her power relied on technology instead of magic.
13
14	The genre gained the remainder of its defining characteristics with Creator/NaokoTakeuchi's series ''Manga/CodenameSailorV'' and its MorePopularSpinOff[=/=]{{Sequel}} ''Manga/SailorMoon'', which took all these elements and blended them with classic MagicalGirl tropes and some {{Sentai}} characteristics like a team of different heroines with balanced abilities and personalities. The result was a series simultaneously aimed toward and empowering girls with large amounts of character building and storyline that still gave focus to the battles and allowed for fanservice. A virtually-unheard-of combination at that time, the series quickly attracted a rabid fanbase with a ridiculously-wide demographic. While many early anime and manga of the genre which followed were accused of being (and often were, at the start) rip-offs of ''Sailor Moon'' [[FollowTheLeader trying to repeat its success by copying the formula]], eventually they evolved into unique works and a novel hybrid genre.
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16	The action-oriented Magical Girl Warriors have the extra bonus of being marketed to male demographics, so they can be very lucrative; in this case, they often resemble {{Distaff Counterpart}}s of Japanese {{superhero}}es, particularly the male-dominated {{Sentai}} genre as well as other HenshinHero characters. This contributed significantly to the associated franchises being exported to the West. Due to sharing many of the [[SuperHeroOrigin typical]] [[WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld teenage]]-[[SecretIdentity superhero]] [[ComesGreatResponsibility tropes]], these characters ended up being much more representative of the MagicalGirl genre outside Japan, as opposed to, for example, {{Cute Witch}}es.
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18	Characters frequently appearing in this type of franchise include the DarkMagicalGirl and TheOneGuy in the ImprobablyFemaleCast, who is frequently a MagicKnight or BadassBookworm himself.
19
20	See also MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction, which is usually aimed at this specific subgenre. See also WarriorPrincess, which some Magical Girl princesses are from time to time.
21	----
22	!!Example Subpages:
23	[[index]]
24	* MagicalGirlWarrior/AnimeAndManga
25	* MagicalGirlWarrior/VideoGames
26	* MagicalGirlWarrior/WesternAnimation
27	[[/index]]
28
29	!!Other Examples:
30	[[foldercontrol]]
31
32	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
33	* In ''Animation/FlowerAngel'', starting in Season 2, Xia An'an and her friends form a team of magical girls who fight against the Dark Demon and his minions.
34	* The heroines of ''Animation/FloweringHeart'' are young girls who have been given the ability to transform into adults with a variety of magical powers to collect hope energy in order to stop the BigBad.
35	* Tee Yang in ''Animation/KungFuWa'' finds a kung fu master [[ForcedTransformation turned into a sock]] and by wearing him transforms into a magical martial artist to stop and seal evil spirits called Kwei.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Comic Books]]
39	* The title character of ''ComicBook/AmethystPrincessOfGemworld'', as ''WesternAnimation/DCNation'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKdBcTOsTe0 demonstrates]]. Interestingly, most of the comic runs after the first maxi-series go out of their way to avoid the concepts, such as the original ongoing being a horror title and the most recent miniseries being a political thriller.
40	%%* The crystal-wielding heroines of the ''Crystal Cadets'' comic book series.
41	* Possibly [[UrExample originated]] with ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'' superheroine ComicBook/MaryMarvel in 1942.
42	* ''[[ComicBook/SuicideSquad The Enchantress]]'' (not the one from Marvel comics) can be considered a prototype - the heroine, June, goes to a party in a haunted castle, stumbles into a secret chamber, and is given a [[ByThePowerOfGrayskull transformation word]] by a mysterious being, which transforms her into a blonde witch so she can battle a MonsterOfTheWeek.
43	* ''Comicbook/{{WITCH}}'' was inspired by these kinds of stories. A group of teenage girls are granted the ability to transform into superpowered versions of themselves called the Guardians of the Veil and are tasked to protect the universe. Unlike what the series name suggests, they are not technically witches; that's simply an [[FunWithAcronyms acronym]] made from the first letters of their names.
44	* Franchise/WonderWoman has resembled this at times, with her magic origins, TransformationSequence, and such. Most especially in the early [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]], when she was depicted having adventures as ComicBook/WonderGirl, just as Superman was once Superboy. Later, a separate Wonder Girl character, [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Donna Troy]], was introduced.
45	** The promotional comic ''ComicBook/WonderWomanAndTheStarRiders'' for the TV show that never came to be showed a version of Wondy that took this concept and ran with it. She was dressed in more frills than normal and lead a group of girls in similar but different colored get-ups who rode winged horses and used magical crystals.
46	%%* ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}, especially in later years.
47	* ''ComicBook/ZodiacStarforce'' is an American take on a Magical Girl team. Artist Paulina Gauncheau is a huge fan of the genre (and especially ''Manga/SailorMoon''), and it shows.
48	* ''Goddess'' is this kind of story, with its heroine being one of the divine spirits of the planets, appointed to defend it from evildoers. And it was written by ''Creator/GarthEnnis'', of all people.
49	* ''ComicBook/GoodbyeBattlePrincessPeony'' is a somewhat gothic take on the trope, with Peony and the other Battle Princesses being magical girls in all but name.
50	[[/folder]]
51
52	[[folder:Fan Works]]
53	* Since ''Fanfic/{{Archetypal}}'' has Magical Girl as a possible Archetype, and most of the Archetypes with superpowers are known to be frontline fighters, this trope pretty much applies.
54	* Gender inverted in the ''Fanfic/CardinalKing'' series, where [[Franchise/SailorMoon Mamoru Chiba]] is the magical ''boy'' warrior.
55	* The concept behind the FukuFic SubGenre is turning [[Manga/RanmaOneHalf Ranma Saotome]] into one of these, usually a Sailor Senshi.
56	* ''Fanfic/ICantBeAMagicalGirlYouAMagicalGirlSay'': [[Manga/MyHeroAcademia Izuku]] becomes a dress-clad magical warrior instead of gaining All Might, although he retains his gender.
57	* In ''Fanfic/KyonBigDamnHero'', Nonoko temporarily acts as one, equipped with Kyon's {{Badass\|Longcoat}} [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman Longcoat]] and {{Morph Weapon}}s.
58	* ''Fanfic/NotTheIntendedUseZantetsukenReverse'': There is an unnamed organization made up of Magical Girl Warriors which operated by posting bounty hunts on monsters and other being and paying the girls accordingly after checking their memories to see if they're stealing credit. One of Mina's roommates is a member, and she has a FlamingSword and FrillsOfJustice.
59	* ''Fanfic/SailorHellblazer'' makes ''[[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} John Constantine]]'' of all people, into a Sailor Senshi.
60	* [[Literature/{{Worm}} Taylor Hebert]] in the fanfic ''Fanfic/ASkitteringHeart'' acts as near the epitome of a Magical Girl Warrior. Wielding a [[Franchise/KingdomHearts Keyblade]] Taylor is perfectly happy to mix it up in melee combat, augment herself and her allies with defensive and healing magic, or go on the attack at range with a variety of [[Franchise/FinalFantasy Black Magic spells]].
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Literature]]
64	%%* Most mages from ''Literature/AvalonWebOfMagic'', but Adriane (the designated "warrior mage") especially.
65	* The ''Effigies'' series by Sarah Raughley is a Western take on the concept, inspired by a mix of ''Sailor Moon'' and ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.
66	* Asha of ''Literature/TheLicaniusTrilogy'' plays this straight by the end, albeit of the sword-and-armour variety of warrior rather than just plain spells.
67	%%* All of the magical girls in ''Literature/MahouShoujoTheGlowing''.
68	* In ''Literature/PrincessHolyAura'', five magically super-powered teenage girls battle Lovecraftian monsters and still have to go to high school.
69	%%* A very dark take on the subject in ''Literature/SailorNothing''.
70	%%* Keeah of ''Literature/TheSecretsOfDroon''.
71	%%* Sophie of ''Sophie and the Shadow Woods''.
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
75	%%* ''Animation/BalalaTheFairies''.
76	%%* ''Series/BishoujoKamenPoitrine''.
77	* ''Series/CutieHoneyTheLive'' is a {{tokusatsu}} LiveActionAdaptation of the ''Manga/CutieHoney'' series. Since it's aimed towards men, expect a lot of MaleGaze and FanService.
78	* The ''Franchise/GirlsXHeroine Series'', created by Creator/TakashiMiike, is a {{tokusatsu}} series centered on middle school {{Magical Girl Warrior}}s.
79	** ''Series/IdolXWarriorMiracleTunes''
80	** ''Series/MagicXWarriorMagiMajoPures''
81	** ''Series/SecretXWarriorPhantomirage''
82	** ''Series/PoliceXHeroineLovepatrina''
83	** ''Series/BittomoXHeroineKiramekiPowers''
84	* The heroines of ''Series/YuugenJikkouSistersShushutorian''.
85	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' could almost be a complete example, with a high school girl who is enlisted to fight supernatural forces of evil, possesses an alter ego ("The Slayer"), and has a magical mentor who aids her. Really the only difference is that Buffy doesn't have a TransformationTrinket and dresses in casual clothing. Fran Rubel Kuzui, who directed the original [[Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer movie]], worked in Japan for many years, and was quite possibly inspired by popular anime when creating Buffy.
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Podcasts]]
89	* The ''Podcast/{{Sequinox}}'' girls are all magical girls chosen by Gaea to defend the Earth from the invading Stars.
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
93	* ''TabletopGame/BigEyesSmallMouth'': creating a MagicalGirlWarrior is part and parcel of this system. The first worldbook for the system was a licensed ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' [=RPG=].
94	* The Princess Race in ''TabletopGame/BleakWorld'' is all about this. They are an alien race of [[GratuitousPrincess Princesses]] whose [[DoomedHometown homeworld was destroyed]] by [[EldritchAbomination The Darkness]]. They now protect the Milky Way Galaxy with a giant force field made of hope and fight back BrainwashedAndCrazy dark princesses who are in service to the darkness.
95	* In ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} Wizards'', one of the worked examples of the superhero-mage template is an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent with a magical sceptre (the Sun Wand) which transforms her into Bright Sun Angel, who fights evil with the assistance of her talking cat.
96	* ''TabletopGame/HighSchoolGirlsRPG'' has the MagicalGirl extension, allowing you to play just that type of character.
97	* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'':
98	** Regardless of how well they'll ultimately fit, the Magical Child archetype for the Vigilante class is [[WordOfGod explicitly]] ''meant'' to cover the MagicalGirl trope (the switch between the public and secret identities becomes a TransformationSequence that is much faster, but also flashier and louder, for instance), and being in a system like Pathfinder it'd be hard to avoid fights being a fairly large part of their repertoire. Regardless of how the archetype will turn out, it is, of course, possible to build towards this trope with the right other magic-using classes.
99	** The third-party feat Incredible Hidden Power allows a kineticist the identity-changing abilities of the Magical Child, allowing a heroine to switch from an ordinary girl into a mystical elemental heroine.
100	* ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful'', a ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'' fan supplement, adds magical girls to the mix. No [[MagicalGirl Princess]] is going to last too long without being able to survive a fight, but the [[{{Splat}} Calling]] of Champion has an extra dose, as their purpose is literally to fight evil. There is also an extra emphasis on this style in the [[{{Splat}} Courts]] of Swords (as heroic larger-than-life figures), Storms (as an AxCrazy version), and Hearts (with an emphasis on noble traditions, which includes warrior traditions).
101	* ''Magical Burst'' is a mahou shoujo game that takes primary inspiration from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''. Magical girls in this game are tasked with killing enough youma to collect 13 Oblivion Seeds so that they can make a wish. But as in ''Madoka'', things are not always what they seem, and the {{Mentor Mascot}}s known as Tsukaima keep horrible secrets from the Magical Girls they give power to.
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder:Web Comics]]
105	* The eponymous ''Webcomic/AgentsOfTheRealm'' fight less with magic and more with {{BFS}}s, [[CarryABigStick giant hammers]], glaive or bow and arrows. The [[OurMonstersAreDifferent bleeds]] are hard to beat otherwise.
106	* The heroines of ''Webcomic/AtArmsLength'' are basically magic-powered superheroes, though they're a [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld couple centuries older]] than most examples.
107	* ''Webcomic/ApricotCookies'': Fighting shadowy enemies as a magical girl is something nearly every youth in Japan experiences. The only exceptions to the rule are [[VirginPower non-virgins]], who immediately become {{Office Lad\|y}}ies when they lose their virginity, [[GenderRestrictedAbility boys]], who get a deck of magical cards to fight with instead, and Apricot, who mysteriously can't transform at all.[[spoiler:..but only because she was born with DarkMagicalGirl powers she hates.]]
108	* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': In the later comics, [[spoiler:Elliot]] gains a superheroine spell after already having the ability to shapeshift into virtually any conceivable female human form including transformation of clothes. The spell comes with three "secret identities" that shift the user's personality somewhat to help with staying under the radar.
109	* ''Webcomic/LastRes0rt'' includes a faction known as the Galaxy Girl Scouts, which seem to be a cross between [[Franchise/SailorMoon the sailor senshi]] and the Franchise/GreenLantern Corps (i.e., alien girls in whatever the alien version of "schoolgirl" happens to be). Daisy, one of the protagonists and a CondemnedContestant on the titular game show, is suggested to have been a former member turned [[VillainProtagonist supervillain]], and a squad of Galaxy Girl Scouts out to kill her and whoever stands in their way form the opposition for the second episode. [[spoiler: It doesn't end well for them.]]
110	* ''Webcomic/MagicalBoy'': A more {{Coming of Age\|Story}} take, as main character Max is a trans boy from a family that transfers powers to genetic females only. While the experience starts out giving him major dysphoria, the powers learn to adapt to his identity as he comes into his own.
111	* ''Webcomic/MagicalGirlNeil'': The only child of a woman descended from a long line of magical girls gets stuck with the job despite being a boy.
112	* ''Webcomic/MagickChicks'': Teenage witch Melissa Helrune, the daughter of a former Magical Girl Warrior and her former EvilOverlord archnemesis, ends up literally torn between the good and evil sides of her heritage.
113	* Emi Arai, the deuteragonist of ''Webcomic/{{Metacarpolis}}'', is a former Magical Girl Warrior who became a MagicIdolSinger after her team defeated their big bad and eventually burned out when she got tired of being NotAllowedToGrowUp. She moved to the titular CityOfAdventure because the WeirdnessCensor there allows her to live a quiet life off her residuals and a job as a cleaning service maid.
114	* ''Webcomic/MisfitsOfAvalon'' is a European take on the genre; the heroines' powers derive from Celtic mythology, their costumes are based on Catholic schoolgirls instead of Japanese ones, their MentorMascot is a large wolfhound rather than a cute little cat and there is much less focus on prettiness and feminity.
115	* ''Webcomic/PrincessChroma'': A parody of the genre in which the magical girl is most definitely the hands-on type. She prefers fighting giant monsters with a mace over resorting to spells, despite magic being the more effective, easier way to end a fight.
116	* ''Webcomic/ShatteredStarlight'' is about a former magical girl struggling to hold down a job and trying to get her life together a decade after the breakup of her team.
117	* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': a nameless city is defended by Magical Girls from the monsters that stalk it during the night. The girls earn fame, fortune, and the admiration of their city, but this is war... and war has casualties.
118	* ''Webcomic/SparklingGenerationValkyrieYuuki'' is an AffectionateParody of the genre with a Myth/NorseMythology theme. It also is a GenderBender series, like the ''Literature/{{Kampfer}}'' example above.
119	* ''Webcomic/SweetDreams'' follows a trio of magical girls fighting the physical manifestations of people's nightmares, which take the form of goopy purple monsters. Some of them are much larger and more dangerous than others, even to an experienced adult magical girl.
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Web Original]]
123	* Most of the cast in ''Literature/JakeAndTheDynamo'', particularly the titular character Magical Girl Pretty Dynamo.
124	* The Spirit Guard in ''Literature/MagicalGirlPolicy''.
125	* [[Website/SCPFoundation SCP]] [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2006-j]], which is apparently a female EldritchAbomination from another dimension. Who is a magical girl. Yes. A magical tentacle monster.
126	* ''Literature/SagaOfSoul'' is a [[RationalFic rationalist take on the premise]].
127	%%* Princess Oishi of ''WebAnimation/ShutUpCartoons''.
128	* The [[Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn AO3]] series ''Characters/StellarRangerDarkStar'' features a few combat-oriented magical girls on the team.
129	* ''WebAnimation/TokyoMagicStar'' combines this trope with MagicIdolSinger.
130	* Fey of the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', who has an ancient Faerie riding along in her head, an ability to summon armor magically, and a magical battle in Boston in which she and The Necromancer spent most of the fight trying to intimidate each other by calling their attacks.
131	[[/folder]]
132

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