Line #71 Manga/MagicKnightRayearth


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mkrposter_6551.jpg]]
2
3	->''Tomaranai mirai wo mezashite\
4	Hold on to that dream! Tomorrow knows where and when...\
5	A bold, daring dream. Built of hope, bound by chance.''
6
7	This [[{{Shojo}} Shoujo series]] is one of the most popular creations of the creative collective known as Creator/{{CLAMP}}, blending MagicalGirl, HumongousMecha and HeroicFantasy into a unique and entertaining mix. It was also the first of CLAMP's works to receive an full anime adaptation.
8
9	Three schoolgirls--[[HotBlooded the boisterous]] Hikaru Shidou, [[{{Ojou}} the graceful]] Umi Ryuuzaki, and [[SmartPeopleWearGlasses the bookish]] Fuu Hououji--are visiting TokyoTower on a class trip when [[CallToAdventure they are suddenly whisked away]] to the magical land of Cephiro. There, they discover that they have been summoned to become Magic Knights and go on a grand quest to save Princess Emeraude, [[BarrierMaiden whose prayers sustain the peace of Cephiro]], from the clutches of High Priest Zagato.
10
11	In the grand tradition of {{Eastern RPG}}s, the trio must travel across the land seeking out key characters to acquire their weapons, armour, upgrades and SummonMagic. Over the course of their journey, the three strangers gradually learn about each other and forge a true bond of friendship; a bond that is sorely tested as they approach the climax of the ancient prophecy and discover their ''true'' purpose as Magic Knights.
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13	''Magic Knight Rayearth'', despite its deceptively simple "schoolgirls on a quest" appearance, is a story with layers of motivation and [[BackStory backstory]] behind the events of Cephiro's crisis. What seems at first to be a simple, straight-line adventure/quest plot turns out to be darker and far more complicated, and the final revelation of the prophecy's true meaning forces Hikaru, Umi and Fuu to make mature, grown-up choices that belie the earlier impression of "fairytale fun".
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15	The first half of the manga ran from 1993 to 1995 in ''Magazine/{{Nakayoshi}}''. The manga would later receive a sequel that ran from 1995 to 1996, which deals primarily with the aftermath of the Magic Knights' action in the first half. The anime, directed by [[Anime/{{Dangaioh}} Tosh]][[Anime/{{Iczer}} iki]] [[Manga/VampirePrincessMiyu Hir]][[Manga/HadesProjectZeorymer ano]] [[note]]at the time of this series' production, he was going by his real name, Toshihiro Hirano, but later started going by his current stage name [[/note]] and produced by Creator/TMSEntertainment and airing from 1994 to 1995 on Creator/NipponTelevision, is split into two seasons, with the second season deviating more from the manga than the first.
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17	Other media include ''Anime/RayearthOVA'', a Platform/SuperFamicom game and two Game Boy games developed by Tomy, and a Platform/SegaSaturn version also developed by Sega and released in the United States by Creator/WorkingDesigns. The latter version is noteworthy not so much for the actual game, but for the DevelopmentHell that it went through - it was delayed for so long that it ended up as the final title ever released for the Saturn in the U.S. In 2019, it would become the first MagicalGirl[=/=]{{Shojo}} series to embrace the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' series (that [[OddballInTheSeries isn't]] ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsXOmega'') via ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsT''.
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19	----
20	!!This work provides examples of:
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22	* AbdicateTheThrone: [[spoiler:Hikaru]] in part 2, the moment she gets it.
23	* AccentAdaptation: The Swedish translation gave Fuu a speech pattern that hadn't been used since the 1940's to emphasize her excessive politeness.
24	* ActionizedAdaptation: The anime added many battles not in the manga, as well as extending existing action sequences.
25	* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: Not so much as in the OVA, but Hikaru is somewhat more melancholic in the second season of the anime series than in the manga, to the point that her personal issues became a major plot point.
26	* AdaptationExpansion: There's a lot of new content in the anime compared to the manga, where the girls progress in a straight line from weapons to Mashin to final battle. The anime shows the girls' travel in more detail, which is used to develop them and the people of Cephiro. The Sega game takes it even further, with multiple characters and villages added for mini-quests. The SNES game, while mostly sticking with the manga's plot, also adds new towns, expands upon the locations visited in the manga (adding new events, larger dungeons, etc) and most notably gives the Magic Knights many new spells that never existed in any other incarnation of the story.
27	* AdaptiveAbility: The monster Atalante from the anime can adapt to different attacks and abilities. After learning this, and it's adapted to many things, the girls try overwhelming force, which makes it even stronger.
28	* AdjectiveNounFred: This is the title's format, which is kept fairly intact in the English translation.
29	* AesopAmnesia: At the start of the Season 2, Clef is sincerely guilty over [[spoiler:having deceived the girls about their true purpose and says he should have told them the truth from the beginning]]. But at the same time [[spoiler:he concocts a new lie that Presea was resurrected, when it's really her twin sister. His reasoning? That doing otherwise would somehow break their hearts more, even though they had no reason to think Presea wouldn't still be dead and he could just tell them before they went in that she had an identical twin. The lie was for Ascot's benefit too, as his creatures killed Presea, but it it still goes against the lesson and hurts Sierra ''badly'', not to mention he isn't happy about it either.]].
30	* AfterBossRecovery: However bloody the preceding battle, the girls are usually restored afterwards (after the Spring of Eterna, for example).
31	* AfterTheEnd: The second half of the story. Without a Pillar, Cephiro has been reduced to a lifeless wasteland with dark skies. The only reason there's anyone still alive is because Clef created a crystal castle to hold all of Cephiro's inhabitants. Things get worse as the time passes, as the world degrades and falls apart, making the final chapters/episodes a RaceAgainstTheClock to stop Debonair (anime only) and choose a new Pillar before Cephiro dies completely and takes its people with it.
32	* AGodAmI:
33	** Subverted. [[spoiler:Hikaru actually becomes the Pillar of Cephiro, but immediately uses her powers to ''get rid of her status and the Pillar System'', and allow Cephiro to be shaped by all its inhabitants instead of one person]].
34	** Could be played straight with Debonair, though.
35	* AliensSpeakingEnglish: The girls take it for granted that the Cephirans are speaking Japanese, ''until'' they meet Caldina and her Kansai accent. Then they start wondering how two different worlds have the same linguistic history.
36	* AllTherapistsAreMuggles: When the second half begins, the girls' families (Hikaru's brothers, Umi's parents and Fuu's older sister) are deeply concerned over the mysterious depression they've developed since that class trip to Tokyo Tower. But even when Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu appreciate their efforts, they can't ''exactly'' say that they went to another world and [[spoiler:killed two people]].
37	* AllYourColorsCombined: The Magic Knights perform a spell called Rainbow Flash against Zagato.
38	* AlternateContinuity: The anime diverges a little from the manga in the first season but has a completely different path in the second, adding a new BigBad and a very different ending. The [=OVA=] is so different that [[Anime/RayearthOVA it has its own page]].
39	* AmazonBrigade: All of Chizeta's soldiers appear to be female and wear belly dancer-ish outfits like their princesses.
40	* AntiVillain: [[spoiler:Basically every single one of them aside from Lady Debonair. Zagato, Emeraude and Eagle especially.]]
41	* ArtisticAge: Apart from the fact that anyone in Cephiro can look whatever age they want, Umi and Fuu look a little older than 14. Hikaru looking like a grade-schooler is {{Lampshade}}d.
42	* AsLongAsThereIsEvil: Is Lady Debonair's claim to immortality as TheHeartless of Cephiro. Averted, however, after [[spoiler:Hikaru pretty much rations out her godhood to everyone, and the CombinedEnergyAttack blasts her into ''true'' nothingness.]]
43	* TheAtoner: Several in Part 2, [[spoiler:but especially the Magic Knights themselves for killing Emeraude and Zagato. Hikaru is the most affected.]]
44	* AttackDrone: The FTO in the manga has these.
45	* AwfulTruth: The ''full'' legend of the Magic Knights. [[spoiler:They're a failsafe measure to kill the Pillar in case she ever turns evil.]]
46	* BackupTwin: [[spoiler:When Presea is killed in the anime, a HUGE plot hole appeared since she was alive in the manga. CLAMP fixed it by introducing Sierra, Presea's twin younger sister, who pretends to be Presea so she and Clef can keep the girls under a sort-of illusion that Emeraude revived Presea as her last wish, lest they'll be even more broken]].
47	* BadassAdorable: The Magic Knights, but especially Hikaru.
48	* BadassCape: The final evolution of the girls' armor, which dons itself whenever they fight in the Mashin, includes a very long cape. Lantis has one too.
49	* BaitAndSwitchCredits: The Season 2 opening features a scene of Rayearth and Regalia about to do battle in front of Tokyo Tower while Debonair watches. No fights ever take place on Earth.
50	* BarbieDollAnatomy: The first episode shows the trio like this when they're given magic (a shot that is also used in the first opening). The second opening has a similar scene that lingers the longest on Hikaru, who has a full-frontal shot with no nipples or genitalia.
51	* BeautyBrainsAndBrawn: Umi is Beauty, Fuu is Brains, and Hikaru is Brawn.
52	* BecauseDestinySaysSo: Once summoned, the Magic Knights ''have'' to awaken the Mashin and save Cephiro. No buts. It's given a dark {{Deconstruction}} at the end of the first half [[spoiler:with Emeraude, who believes that she has exactly two choices: love Zagato at the cost of her world, or die. At the end of Part II, Hikaru rejects this attitude and [[TakingAThirdOption takes a third option]] by saying "AGodIAmNot".]]
53	* {{BFS}}: Fuu's sword, especially near the end of the first season, is longer then she is tall. Lafarga and Zagato also have one.
54	* BigBad: Zagato in the first season (probably), and Debonair in the second season of the anime series.
55	** Justified with Debonair because [[spoiler:she is the manifestation of Cephiro's fear, sorrow, and despair after Emeraude's death]].
56	* BigFancyHouse: Umi and Fuu both live in one. Hikaru lives in a Big Fancy Kendo Dojo.
57	* BittersweetEnding: The ending of the anime series. [[spoiler:Cephiro is restored, the Big Bad (Lady Debonair) is defeated, but Eagle is dead and the three girls have to return home for good. However, in the last few minutes, the trio manages to get a glimpse on Cephiro being restored to its former beauty thanks to Hikaru abolishing the Pillar system, [[EarnYourHappyEnding and it's (vaguely) implied that they can now return whenever they wish similar to the manga]].]]
58	* BlindIdiotTranslation: The Brazilian translation is "Magic Knights ''of'' Rayearth", making it sound like Rayearth is the name of the setting.
59	* BodyguardCrush: One of the most tragic cases ever in CLAMP manga and anime: [[spoiler:Zagato and Emeraude]].
60	* BondCreatures: The Rune Gods/Mashin. Whatever injuries they sustain, the Knights will, too, albeit at a smaller scale. Rayearth getting his shield sliced in half results in Hikaru having a very nasty cut on her arm.
61	* BrainBleach: Chizeta's muscular ''djinn'' seem to cause a need for this in Umi and Aska. It's like [[DistractedByTheSexy Distracted By The Unsexy]] for Umi in particular. Aska got it even worse: Because she designed the archery targets to be like the Djinns as a TakeThat, she got distracted out of disgust so much that she lost her archery match against Fuu.
62	* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Lafarga, by hypnotic tattoos, while Caldina uses magical music to brainwash Hikaru and Umi. Alcyone as well, in the second anime season. [[spoiler:Ferio also falls victim to this in the Saturn game]].
63	* BreakingTheFourthWall: [[spoiler:Hikaru turns toward the reader on the final page of the second manga series and asks "you who have watched over us from the beginning" [[PleaseSelectNewCityName to write in what Cephiro's new name will be.]] ]]
64	* BrokenBird: [[spoiler:Emeraude in Part 1. The Magic Knights themselves become this in Part 2 as a result of what Emeraude forced them to do. Sierra also is one thanks to being the BackUpTwin for her dead sister in the anime rendition of Part 2... and ''where'' do we start with Alcyone's issues in the anime?]]
65	* BullyingADragon: Heroic instance: when [[spoiler:The [[{{God}} Creator]] takes away Hikaru and Eagle into the Pillar's Trial, Lantis flies up to it and shoves his sword up right at Its face, threatening to ''kill It'' if It doesn't bring them both back, unharmed, [[PapaWolf RIGHT NOW]]]].
66	* CallBack:
67	** Umi's worry over missing a fencing tournament becomes a plot point in episode 9.
68	** Early in season 1, Hikaru saves a young girl but all the other villagers are too terrified to thank her. In season 2, Hikaru meets the little girl again--she finally thanks Hikaru for saving her and gushes over how strong and brave she is.
69	* CallingYourAttacks: For magic spells. The first time the girls use magic, they say that they can feel the words coming to them.
70	* CallARabbitASmeerp: Cephiro's titles are non-Japanese, non-English words. In the English translations, Master Mage Clef is called "Guru", UltimateBlacksmith Presea is the "Pharle", MasterSwordsman Lafarga is "Dal", Summoner Ascot is "Palu", and High Priest Zagato's title is "Sol". The original Japanese has a consistent pattern of all Cephiran titles ending in "-ru", so "Pharle" is "Faru", "Dal" is "Daru", "Palu" is "Paru", and "Sol" is "Soru". Caldina also gives her title as "Raru" in the original Japanese.
71	* CaptainsLog: The Saturn game has each girl write illustrated journal entries about the various towns and perils they encounter (with some in-universe AlternateCharacterInterpretation and UnreliableNarrator in some entries). Innouva gets in on it, too.
72	* CatchAFallingStar: Both parts start with the girls appearing a good few kilometers above the ground in Cephiro. Both times they're caught by Fyula, Clef's giant flying fish. [[spoiler:At the end of Part II, they descend more sedately to earth after the Mashin disappear.]]
73	* CentralTheme: No person, no matter how powerful, can do everything by themselves.
74	* ChekhovsSkill: All three of the main girls, when they pick out their initial weapons. Hikaru's parents run a kendo dojo (broadsword), Umi was on the fencing team at her school (saber), and Fuu was on the archery team at hers (longbow).
75	* ChekhovsVolcano: Averted. While they travel to the volcano, it doesn't actually erupt, though there is a battle there, so Hikaru can prove her worth to Rayearth. The fact that it's Rayearth's personal shrine is probably why.
76	* ChromaticArrangement: Additive primary colors: Hikaru, Umi and Fuu have respectively red, blue and green uniforms and eyes. Their hair colors are subtractive primary colors with red, blue, and blonde.[[note]]But only in the manga; all adaptations make Fuu's hair light brown.[[/note]]
77	* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: This is how the whole world of Cephiro works. Several battles involve a willpower-off. And it works both ways--if people are afraid and think that bad things are going to happen, bad things actually happen.
78	* ClassTrip: Three separate schools are having a field trip to Tokyo Tower at the start of the manga, one public school (Hikaru's) and two very posh private ones (Fuu's and Umi's).
79	* CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds: The anime resolves the Hikaru/Lantis/Eagle LoveTriangle by [[spoiler:having Debonair kill Eagle]].
80	* ColorCodedElements: Red for fire, blue for water, and [[WindIsGreen green for wind]].
81	* CombiningMecha: [[spoiler:Rayearth, Celes, and Windam combine into one being to defeat Emeraude.]]
82	* ComingOfAgeStory: More so in the anime than the manga, especially for Hikaru.
83	* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Presea likes to threaten these against anyone who annoys her, particularly Mokona.
84	* CoolBigSis: Presea. Caldina is one to Ascot in the anime [[spoiler:and the Knights in the second half]].
85	* CoolShip: The invading countries in the second half each come with one.
86	** Autozam has the ''NSX'', which is a standard space battleship with missiles and HumongousMecha on board.
87	** Fahren has the ''Dreamchild,'' an enormous dragon-shaped vessel.
88	** Chizeta has the ''Bravada,'' which is shaped like a genie's lamp and has gardens on its deck.
89	* CosmicKeystone: The Pillar of Cephiro is a living one. The anime adds the Pillar's crown as an inanimate one--it's kept in a room that can only be entered by the person able to wear it due to a magical field, and Debonair tries to steal it in order to become the Pillar herself.
90	* CreatorCameo: Mokona is named after CLAMP artist Mokona Appapa.
91	* CrossPoppingVeins: Umi and Clef both have these, often caused by each other.
92	* CueTheSun: In the last episode of the anime, the black clouds that had covered Cephiro's sky since near the end of the ''first'' season finally part and let through glorious columns of sunlight.
93	* CuteGiant: Great Sanyun, one of Aska's illusion spells. Everyone who sees it, however, is very weirded out.
94	* DarkerAndEdgier:
95	** The Saturn game [[DeathByAdaptation kills off several characters]]. It also depicts only the first half, [[spoiler:though the ending is somewhat different of the one from the first season of the anime series]].
96	** The second half of the story, where Cephiro is mostly falling apart and there are invasion forces from another world, and each of them are not exactly cookie-cutter MonsterOfTheWeek, instead having their own justified reasons why they wanted to invade (mostly for the betterment of their own homelands). The anime version ups the darkness by adding the sadistic villains Nova and Debonair (Which didn't exist in the manga), causing more moments of angst and despair for Hikaru. The anime version also showed scenes of innocent civilians in danger, including ''small children'' and even [[spoiler:kills off Eagle Vision]].
97	** Of course, the first season already has a few moments that were darker than anything in the first manga series such as Alcyone manipulating and betraying Ascot even though they are ''on the same side,'' and Caldina trying to force an entire village to kill the Magic Knights.
98	** The O.V.A. is also darker than both the manga and anime. [[Anime/RayearthOVA Has its own page for more details]]
99	* DeathByAdaptation:
100	** In the anime, [[spoiler:Presea]] dies shortly into the first season as a SacrificialLamb, and the second season has [[spoiler:Eagle]] killed by Debonair.
101	** In the Saturn game, [[spoiler:''every'' minor villain the girls face ends up dead]], sometimes as a YouHaveFailedMe punishment from Innova.
102	* {{Deconstruction}}: Of the SaveThePrincess genre of Heroic Fantasy. The Princess, by her prayers and will, supports the entire land, so her rescue is imperative for Cephiro's survival. However, [[spoiler:as it turns out that the real reason Princess Emeraude summoned the Magic Knights to Cephiro was not to rescue her, but to ''kill'' her. This is due to her massive inner conflict between her role as Cephiro's Pillar and her love for Zagato, her supposed kidnapper]].
103	* DefeatMeansFriendship: [[spoiler:Caldina, Ascot and Lafarga]].
104	* DeflectorShields: Clef places a magic one around the castle in Part II, which gives him a PowerStrainBlackout when they're attacked by the ''[=NSX=]''. The ''[=NSX=]'' itself also has the typical technological kind.
105	* DemotedToExtra: [[spoiler:Mokona is not the creator god in the anime, which leaves him just kind of there for almost all of season 2.]]
106	* DiabolusExMachina: Happens in the anime's second season. [[spoiler:Having defeated Nova and rescued Lantis, the Magic Knights and Eagle return to Cephiro. And then Debonair shows up out of ''nowhere'' to kill Eagle. This is also the first time that Debonair directly attacks anyone and marks the beginning of the final battle.]]
107	* DiedHappilyEverAfter: [[spoiler:At the end of part 1, Emeraude and Zagato are finally together after the Magic Knights have killed them both.]]
108	* DistantFinale: The final moments of the final episode are set one year later. In English translation of the manga it's clear that some time has passed, but it's not said how long. The original Japanese gives the year of the manga's epilogue as being 1996, which, if you assume that the series happened in the year the first chapter was published in (1994), would mean approximately two years have passed.
109	* DoItYourselfThemeTune:
110	** In the anime, all of the English dubbed songs are performed by Creator/SandyFox, the voice of Aska.
111	** As for the video game, Jennifer Stigile (aka Umi Ryuzaki) sings the opening song.
112	* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:The end of Part I, both manga and anime. The girls are forced to kill Emeraude after she fights them in a LastStand, leaving Cephiro without its Pillar and seemingly dooming the world and its people to a slow and agonizing death. Hikaru, Umi and Fū are utterly devastated over Emeraude and Zagato's tragic fate and break down when they return to Earth.]]
113	* TheDragon: Alcyone (and in the anime, Innouva), for Zagato. Nova, for Debonair in the second half of the anime.
114	* DubNameChange: In the Portuguese version: Hikaru to Lucy, Umi to Marina, and Fuu to Anne. Other international dubs (Italy, Latin America, Philippines) used these names or a variation on them, such as "Anemone" for Fuu in the Italian dub or "Anais" in the Latin American Spanish dub. "Luce" (still pronounced "Lucy") and "Marine" were variations for the other two that popped up in dubs. [[note]]"Luce", "Marine", and "Anemone" were the suggested names long given by TMS for localized versions of the series. At least 13 episodes were dubbed in English with these names, but the project fell through due to the lack of network interest. Media Blasters eventually acquired the license for the series and went with retaining the original Japanese names.[[/note]]
115	* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: What will happen if Cephiro doesn't have a Pillar.
116	* EndOfTheWorldSpecial: [[spoiler:When Hikaru becomes the Pillar, she immediately divests the power to every individual in Cephiro so that the world is no longer dependent on a single person who can have no wishes for herself. This restores the world and prevents the tragedy of Emeraude and Zagato being repeated. On the last page of the manga, Hikaru turns to the reader and asks them to come up with a new name for the place.]]
117	* ElementalPowers: Check the [[Characters/MagicKnightRayearth character sheet]] for details.
118	%%* EvilIsHammy: Debonair, nuff' said!
119	* EvilerThanThou: Season 2 of the anime has the invading nations battling each other for control of Cephiro, {{Anti Villain}}s though they may be, and they're all overshadowed by Debonair.
120	* EvilMinions: Zagato has a small troupe of them and sends them out one at a time. (In the anime, they team up a few times on their own.)
121	* EvolvingWeapon: As the girls grow in skill and awake the Mashin, their weapons and armor also evolve.
122	* ExactWords: Princess Emeraude, Clef, Presea, and the Rune Gods repeatedly insist to our summoned heroes that they need to "Save Cephiro." [[spoiler:None of them say anything about "saving Emeraude."]]
123	* ExpansionPackWorld: Rayearth II not only deals with the fallout of Rayearth I, it also reveals that Cephiro is one of several planet-countries previously separated by the Pillar's barrier.
124	* FacialMarkings: Lafarga has tattoos on his face. [[spoiler:They're a tool of hypnotic control and gone in part two.]]
125	* FamilyThemeNaming: Hikaru and her brothers Satoru, Masaru and Kakeru; also Fuu and her sister Kuu.
126	* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Autozam is the United States of America, Chizeta is India (and/or the Middle East), Fahren is China.
127	* FeministFantasy: Mainly by way of having many female characters in powerful/important roles, like the protagonists themselves, their UltimateBlacksmith, and [[spoiler:Princess Emeraude]].
128	* FetchQuest: The search for Escudo.
129	* FireWaterWind: The heroines' powers. Hikaru has the power of fire, Umi has the power of water, and Fuu has the power of wind. Earth is only lightly represented through LandSeaSky overlap — Hikaru and her mecha Rayearth's powers are drawn from volcanoes.
130	* FirstChurchOfMecha: It's unclear to what (if any) extend the Mashin/Rune Gods are regarded as such, but they occupy isolated shrines and figure prominently in the legends.
131	* FisherKing: The Pillar. The state of her heart is reflected in Cephiro. The {{Deconstruction}} starts happening when it's revealed that the Pillar is not some sort of immortal goddess but a fallible human with real emotions.
132	* FloatingContinent: Windam's shrine is a single airborne mountain.
133	* FluffyTheTerrible: Used as a disguise by one of Ascot's monsters.
134	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
135	** In the anime, [[spoiler:an illusion of Princess Emeraude tries to kill the girls]]. Also, in Episode 20 of the second season, there's a scene that shifts between shots of Hikaru, Eagle, and the changing Proof of the Pillar several times.
136	** Bucketloads in the Rayearth II manga. Pay attention to Mokona's facial expression. And [[spoiler:the paneling whenever Hikaru talks about the Pillar System.]]
137	* {{Forgot About Her Powers}}: Tends to happen a lot in the anime. The trio will wail on a monster ineffectively with either swords or magic for a while before remembering they can do both, or use only one of their multiple spells. In one instance, Umi is grabbed by a flying monster and Fuu stops Hikaru from using a fire spell, but doesn't even think about using the spell she created ''specifically'' to harmlessly restrain an enemy. Often done in combination with TheWorfEffect.
138	* ForgottenFallenFriend: Eagle Vision is killed in the second-to-last episode but gets nary a mention in the finale.
139	* FreudianTrio: Hikaru is the Ego, Fuu is the Superego, and Umi is the Id.
140	* FrillyUpgrade: The girls' armor, which is magical in nature and evolves as they do.
141	* GaidenGame: The first Platform/GameBoy title is a sidestory set in the anime continuity shortly after the anime begins. The girls are traveling through a forest when they're sucked into a magical painting, and separated in different locations.
142	* GenderBlenderName: Rune God [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Selece/Celes]]. Clearly has a deep baritone voice in both versions, and referred as 'Rune God' instead of 'Rune Goddess'. However, that name is mostly used for females.
143	* GenreMashup: A blend of MagicalGirl (the protagonists are {{Ordinary High School Student}}s who transform into magical warriors) and HumongousMecha (they do so alongside their Rune Gods, giant mechs) and HeroicFantasy (the magical land of Cephiro has the trappings of one).
144	* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Alcyone, in her first appearance in the second season.
145	* GodInHumanForm: The Pillar is basically a god thanks to the power s/he has over Cephiro.
146	* GoGoEnslavement: In the second season of the anime, when the girls are captured by the invading countries, they're forced to dress up in their typical clothes. Fuu and Hikaru don't have a problem, but Umi (captured by Tarta and Tatra from Chizeta) has to wear an odalisque outfit and is ''not'' amused.
147	* GratuitousEnglish: Actually becomes a small but significant plot point in Rayearth II, where Fuu contrasts the English title "Magic Knight" against Dal, Pharle, etcetera. [[spoiler:It's because Mokona, the Creator, made Earth before Cephiro and decided that the self-destruct mechanism for the Pillar would come from Earth.]]
148	* GreyAndGrayMorality:
149	** In Part I, Alcyone and Innouva follow Zagato out of love, Ascot because Zagato promised his monsters would no longer be persecuted, and Caldina for money. Zagato himself [[spoiler:is trying to prevent Emeraude's death at the hands of the Magic Knights, which is why he's trying to kill them despite their young age]]. Clef, while a good guy, [[spoiler:obscures the truth about Emeraude's situation and the girls are left shattered when they're forced to kill her]].
150	** In Part II, the invaders have understandable motives. Eagle wants to transplant the Pillar System to his polluted country [[spoiler:and save Lantis from killing himself by trying to end the Pillar System]]. Tarta and Tatra want to colonize Cephiro because their country has no room. Aska is a capricious child who thinks Cephiro would be a great toy. None of them (barring Eagle) understand the full implications of becoming the Pillar, but they still do things that hurt each other and the Magic Knights. The only truly evil character is the anime-only Debonair, [[spoiler:who is a personification of Cephiro's despair]].
151	* GoodWingsEvilWings:
152	** The Mashin have good wings--Seles has dragon wings, Windam has bird wings, and Rayearth has [[HotWings fire wings]]. Their combined form has bird and bat wings.
153	** The Mashin used by [[spoiler:Emeraude]] has demonic wings, as does Nova's Regalia in the anime.
154	* GrandFinale: The ending of Part I, which was supposed to be ''the'' end until fan outcry resulted in the sequel. The second half ends with either [[spoiler:a confrontation with God and the reshaping of the world, or a battle against Debonair to save the world from destruction... and reshape it]].
155	* HappyEnding: [[spoiler:The second half of the manga. EverybodyLives, the Pillar system has been altered so that Magic Knights won't be needed again, Cephiro has been restored to its former beauty, and the girls get to visit whenever they like.]]
156	* TheHeartless: Most monsters in Cephiro are created from negative emotions. [[spoiler:So is the BigBad of the second season]].
157	** This causes a nasty positive feedback loop in one episode: people are frightened, so monsters appear in the castle, so people get ''more'' frightened, and even ''more'' monsters show up.
158	* HellishHorse: Alcyone and Lantis can both summon these.
159	* HermeticMagic: Clef, Zagato, and Ascot's magic often takes this form--powerful, time-consuming, and with big magic symbols.
160	* HeroicSpirit: The more of this you have, the more powerful you will literally be in Cephiro. The Mashin also consider it a prerequisite for the worthy.
161	* HistoryRepeats: [[spoiler:High Priest Zagato fell in love with Emeraude, Pillar of Cephiro. {{Tragedy}} ensued. In the second season, Zagato's younger (but identical) brother Lantis falls in love with the girl who would become Pillar, Hikaru]]. The irony was not lost on either.
162	* HoldingHands: Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu hold hands with each other a ''lot'', usually after something big (like when they emerge from the Spring of Eterna), after having survived some danger, or expressing worry.
163	* HoneyTrap: Seen in episode 15 with Sarah, who turns out to be [[spoiler:a disguised Inouva]].
164	* HopeSpot:
165	** In the first part, it's [[spoiler:after the girls kill Zagato. They fly on to the dungeon, assuming that the only thing left to do is rescue the princess. It's ''not.'']]
166	** In the anime's second season, [[spoiler:rescuing Lantis and defeating Nova. Things are looking up, right? No, now Eagle is dead and Debonair is ready to claim Cephiro as her own.]]
167	* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: In episode 12 of the anime, the girls are "attacked" repeatedly with unsteady ground, falling boulders and trees, etc. They quickly conclude that the dangers are illusory, which Hikaru proves by allowing a large tree to fall on her unscathed. When they duck into a cave for shelter, they see... Clef! Who was [[TakenForGranite petrified in the first episode]]! Now telling them that he rescued Emeraude himself and she's a-ok! This despite the fact that people have repeatedly told them they need to resurrect all three Mashin first and how the Magic Knights will be the ''only'' people able to save the princess, because all the Cephirans who have tried it failed miserably. And the girls... believe him with just the slightest hesitation. Fuu is the only one to suggest that his story is fishy. Cue shock from Hikaru and Umi when--''once again''--Clef and Emeraude turn out to be illusions and attack them.
168	* HugeGuyTinyGirl: [[spoiler:Lafarga and Caldina]], Hikaru and either Lantis or Eagle, Ascot and Umi (though Umi is quite tall, Ascot towers over her.) Genderflipped (and the romance/platonic nature a bit more debatable) with Clef and either Umi and Presea [[spoiler:or Sierra]].
169	** [[http://i.imgur.com/5CV6bmC.jpg The male and female cast all lined up together makes it clear how blatant this setup is in Rayearth.]]
170	* HumongousMecha: The Rune Gods/Mashin. Autozam also uses conventional, mechanical mecha.
171	* IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight:
172	** Fuu tries to reach Hikaru and Umi when Caldina hypnotizes them into attacking her and implores them to dodge when Caldina starts puppetmastering ''Fuu''. It doesn't work, but she manages to break it by attacking Caldina herself.
173	** The FinalBattle [[spoiler:against Princess Emeraude is like this. Emeraude ''is'' in there, somewhere, but she implores the girls to finish it now before that part of her vanishes into her grief for Zagato]].
174	* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: Well, it's Creator/{{CLAMP}}.
175	* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: The swords, and the way they ensure only their users can wield them.
176	* InformedAttractiveness: Hikaru's schoolmates gush about how gorgeous Umi and Fuu are at Tokyo Tower. But this is [=CLAMP=], so ''everyone'' is gorgeous. The worst you could say for any character (including the anonymous schoolgirls) is that they're merely pretty rather than stunning.
177	* InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: The battle with Caldina (or the last battle with Caldina in the anime). She tells Fuu that at least the Magic Knights have a goal--compared to Zagato, whose reason for this hullabaloo is basically unknown. Until then, the three girls had genuinely thought that Zagato was simply out to take over Cephiro. This doesn't come back until the WhamEpisode.
178	* InstantAwesomeJustAddMecha: The Rune Gods could have just bestowed powers to the girls, but making them mecha was just cooler.
179	* {{Joshikousei}}: Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu are all eighth-graders from different schools. Most iterations of their armor preserves the appearance of their school uniforms.
180	* KissingDiscretionShot: Caldina holds a sash in front of the camera just before she and Lafarga kiss in the anime.
181	* LandSeaSky: The main characters and their Mashin: Hikaru/Rayearth (Land), Umi/Selece (Sea), Fuu/Windam (sky). Note that Hikaru's attacks use fire, but as Rayearth's shrine is a volcano, it's derived from the earth's magma.
182	* LaserGuidedTykebomb: When you get down to it, the Magic Knights are middle schoolers who've been summoned to kill someone, even if he does look like the final boss of a video game. [[spoiler:But it really comes into play when they realize that they have to kill Princess Emeraude.]]
183	* LadyOfWar: Umi, Fuu, and [[spoiler:Princess Emeraude]].
184	* LampshadeHanging: When Aska summons her ninjas to stop Fuu, Fuu comments on how ninjas are Japanese and don't fit in with Fahren's China theme.
185	* LockedOutOfTheLoop: [[spoiler:Clef gives an incomplete (or false, depending on translation) version of the legend of the Magic Knights to the girls, as well as to their UltimateBlacksmith Presea, so that they won't hesitate to fulfill it. He's sincerely regretful, so they don't hold it against him.]]
186	* LotusEaterMachine: Umi enters one in Episode 9 that she accidentally created; she's able to leave by realizing she can't abandon her friends and Cephiro.
187	* LoveMakesYouEvil:
188	** [[spoiler:Princess Emeraude]] and Alcyone, both for the same person.
189	** [[spoiler:Zagato too, for that matter. Sending vicious assassins after teenagers isn't going to win the Good Guy of the Year award.]]
190	* LoveRuinsTheRealm: [[spoiler:Princess Emeraude]] again.
191	* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler:Ferio, Princess Emeraude is your older sister]].
192	* MagicKnight: The TropeNamer - it's even in the title!
193	* MagicSkirt: Although the edge of a slip can occasionally be seen during dramatic winds.
194	* MagicalGirl: Magical girls ''with giant robots.'' Also borrows a lot from HeroicFantasy quest stories.
195	* {{Magitek}}: Autozam is a technological world run on "[[LifeEnergy mental energy]]". This caused a pollution crisis and overuse can also kill the people operating it.
196	* TheMaker: In Part II, manga only. [[spoiler:It's Mokona. Turns out that ''It'' created the Pillar System for Cephiro because It was displeased with the strife on Earth and wanted a land that would remain peaceful.]]
197	* MarryThemAll: Hikaru decides she's going to marry Lantis ''and'' Eagle in the manga.
198	* MeaningfulName: Hikaru = Light, although she has flame magic; Umi = Sea, Fuu = Wind.
199	* AMechByAnyOtherName:
200	** The Mashin (a PunnyName that can mean both "demon-god" and "machine", rendered as Rune God in the anime). They're living beings, but entirely controlled by what the girls do.
201	** Subverted with Autozam's mecha: they're simply called FTO and GTO, and Fuu calls them robots when comparing 'em with both of Chizeta's Djinn.
202	* MedievalEuropeanFantasy: Played straight in the first half with Cephiro. The invading countries in the second have real-world counterparts (see above).
203	* MeleeATrois: The scuffle between Ceres and Windam[[labelnote:*]]Rayeath has been taken out of commission two episodes ago.[[/labelnote]], Tarta and Tatra's Djinn, and Aska's giant Sang Yung illusion summon. Though it ends pretty quickly when each non-Cephiro side ends up seizing one Rune God each and both withdraw.
204	* MementoMacGuffin: Lantis' necklace in the anime, a gift from his mother which he later gave to Hikaru. It even [[ChekhovsGun plays a role in the final battle]].
205	* MindControlEyes: Hikaru and Umi's eyes go blank when Caldina hypnotonizes them to kill Fuu.
206	* MirrorMonster: In episode 45, as Hikaru looks into her mirror, the thoughtful expression on her reflection changes into a SlasherSmile, and her reflection emerges as none other than Nova, who then remains in the castle; after being repelled by Hikaru's amulet, Nova decides to seek out Lantis, leaving Hikaru with one of her minions.
207	* MoneySpider: The Super Famicom game tries to lampshade this the first time the girls walk into a store, where they realize they don't have any Cephiran currency. The shopkeeper then says sure they do; the stuff monsters turn into when they die, and that the girls were picking up and carrying around despite not knowing what it was, is money![[note]] Which wasn't even necessary; Caldina's first episode in the anime shows Cephiro's money is gold coins[[/note]]
208	* {{Mordor}}: The Cephiro of Rayearth II is bleak, lifeless, and inhospitable.
209	* MotionCaptureMecha: All Rune Gods/Mashin, plus the Djinn from Chizeta.
210	* {{Mukokuseki}}: A [[SignatureStyle CLAMP staple]], though it's a bit oddly used here. Despite the "big eyes", all of the girls do have a characteristic "slant" to their eyes that many of the Cephirans don't, marking their ethnicity, and Hikaru's complexion is typically depicted as pretty standardly Japanese. However, none of the girls dye their hair, so they ''are'', apparently, a natural fire red, a natural blue and a blonde, and both Umi and Fuu have skin lighter than most caucasians... yet they're still meant to be totally Japanese with no ancestry oddness. Obviously doesn't apply to any of the Cephirans, since they're technically ''aliens''.
211	* MultipleEndings: The Super Nintendo game had two endings in them.
212	** DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Zagato and Emeraude are killed and the three girls are transported back to Tokyo Tower, only for them to be too shocked and Hikaru insisting that they '''have''' to go back to Cephiro.]]
213	** BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Zagato and Emeraude are killed and the girls are teleported to Emeraude's palace. There, they apologize to Clef and Presea, as well as Ferio who reveals himself to be the prince. While the girls are torn with grief, Emeraude and Zagato's spirits appear in front of them and [[DiedHappilyEverAfter thanking them for allowing them to be together now]], before transporting the girls home with less guilt.]] This ending was only available [[GuideDangIt if the player managed to get certain items from the]] [[GuestStarPartyMember Guest Star Party Members]].
214	* [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg My Enemies and Zoidberg]]: Near the end of the first season as the Magic Knights reflect on the foes they have faced, none of them mention Innouva even once, despite his defeat in the previous episode.
215	* {{Narrator}}: Creator/SaekoShimazu narrates the anime's first season.
216	* NegatedMomentOfAwesome: In the final battle with Debonair, the NSX, the Dome and the Bravada arrive to help the Magic Knights. Debonair easily defeats all three of them with one attack.
217	* NightmareFace: Vigor (one of Ascot's monsters that can take on a cuter, smaller form) gets a very creepy face when he starts turning back into a monster, with his eyes glowing, his head slowly tilting, and his fur all wild.
218	* NoBodyLeftBehind: Perhaps as a nod to the series' JRPG influences, monsters vaporize into ash when killed. Stronger "boss" monsters like Ascot's summons, the light monster and [[spoiler:Inouva]] get [[TechnicolorDeath more elaborate death animations.]]
219	* NoblewomansLaugh: Done by Presea and Fuu (believe it or not) in the anime.
220	* NoLongerWithUs: In the third bonus comic, Hikaru says that "I don't have dad around anymore" when the three of them compare their families. Umi and Fuu are shocked and saddened, until Hikaru blithely continues that her father's been on a training journey since she was in kindergarten.
221	* NoodlePeople: Especially evident when Eagle or Lantis shed their armor and stand around in standard uniforms. [[SignatureStyle Hey, it's]] ''Creator/{{CLAMP}}'', [[ForegoneConclusion what did you expect?]]
222	* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: [[spoiler:Hikaru risks her life to bring Eagle back from the Pillar's Trial, even though Mokona states that only one may leave and Eagle says that he's dying anyway. The other two Magic Knights risk the same when they reach in to pull them both out.]]
223	* NotDrawnToScale: Hikaru is precisely 1.5m (five feet) tall. Judging by that, Lantis is 3m--about ''nine'' feet.
224	* OlderThanTheyLook: Anyone in Cephiro can invoke this trope. But poor Hikaru is mistaken for a ''grade schooler'', both by her schoolmates as well as Umi and Fuu when they first meet her, because she's so short and innocent. [[spoiler:Princess Emeraude's childlike appearance fools the audience just as much as it does the heroes; who would guess that an apparent "little girl" would fall desperately in love?]]
225	** Lampshaded in Rayearth II, when Eagle reminds [[KidAnova Zazu]] that just because Hikaru ''looks'' his age doesn't mean she really ''is''.
226	* {{Omake}}: Generally covering the quieter aspects of the girls' journey, like the "tent" that Mokona generates and discussing their families. Most of this was integrated into the episodes of the anime.
227	* OneHeadTaller: Taken to new heights. The adult men are usually one head taller (at least) than the women, as well as some of the other men, and the women [[ShortTeensTallAdults already tower over the girls]]. Which means that in Part II, Hikaru barely even comes up to the waist of either of her love interests.
228	* OneGenderSchool: Hikaru, Umi and Fuu all attend different all-girls schools.
229	* OneWomanWail: Happens during the girls' discussion about their reasons for fighting for Cephiro in Episode 6 of the second season.
230	* OnlyTheChosenMayWield: After bonding with the Magic Knights, the Escudo weapons fall under this rule, going as far as to activate its measures even when ''other'' Knights are holding them.
231	** Umi's in the hands of another will melt into water before reforming once it's out of their hands.
232	** Fuu's in the hands of another becomes so heavy that it can't even be held, creating a sword-shaped crater in the ground.
233	** Hikaru's in the hands of another sets the violator ablaze. It also has the side effect of dispeling brainwashing magic. Lafarga learns this the hard way.
234	* PersonalityBloodTypes: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when Fuu introduces herself to Hikaru and Umi--she says it's in case they need first aid.
235	* PetTheDog: Umi thanks Mokona for helping them reach the Rune Gods, and says he did a great job helping them.
236	* PlanetOfHats: Cephiro has a relatively varied environment and culture for a fantasy-RPG world, but the ''Invading Countries''...
237	** Autozam: Dedicated to [[MagiTek high-technology based on mental power]]. Its primary exports are HumongousMecha, [[CoolShip interstellar warships]], and [[{{BFG}} ultra]]-[[EnergyWeapon advanced]] [[WaveMotionGun weaponry]]. Stands for the USA.
238	** Fahren: An entire world dedicated to [[ImperialChina Chinese motifs and mythology]], with a few concessions to Japanese UsefulNotes/{{Onmyodo}}. Makes abundant use of the AsiaRuneChant, [[InstantRunes magic circles]], and [[SummonMagic paper doll summoning]]. And, [[GratuitousNinja for some reason, ninja]]. Stands for China.
239	** Chizeta: An oddly-shaped world with a teeny-tiny habitable biosphere, inspired by Literature/ArabianNights motifs. Even the Princessess' starship is shaped like an oil lamp, and, true to form, two muscular and unsettling djinn burst from its spout at their masters' command. Stands for [[ArabianNightsDays the Middle East]].
240	* PlotBasedVoiceCancellation: Zagato tells Emeraude [[spoiler:that he loves her]] in the final episodes of season 1, but the viewers don't get to hear it--though Alcyone does.
241	* PoorCommunicationKills: If anyone had told the girls [[spoiler:the truth about Emeraude and Zagato]], they might have been able to figure out another course of action. In Rayearth II, they do their best to stop a repeat of this trope by finding out what the invaders want and [[spoiler:telling them what the Pillar System really means]].
242	* PoweredByAForsakenChild: [[spoiler:The Magic Knights and Cephiran characters come to regard the Pillar System as this.]]
243	* PowerGivesYouWings:
244	** All Rune Gods change into HumongousMecha forms with themed wings. The Knights, who had traversed the whole of Cephiro on foot, even comment on how this allows them to reach the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon at the end of the first season.
245	** The [[spoiler:[[{{God}} Creator]]]] also [[AGodAmI gains angelic wings]] (and a halo) when it [[TheReveal reveals itself]] to the cast.
246	* ThePowerOfFriendship: The whole story is built on this. It's how the girls manifest their most powerful spells, defeat their enemies, and convince their enemies to quit fighting. This is what also saved Hikaru from being [[spoiler:[[FateWorseThanDeath dissolved]] when she insisted on saving Eagle from the Pillar's Trial]] in the manga.
247	* PrecisionFStrike:
248	** The English dub of the anime "cleans up" most of the profanity used in the subtitled version, but there were two specific exceptions in the second season. The first was in episode 35 when Tarta still calls Umi a "jackass" and the second was in episode 47 when Geo shouted, "Are you trying to piss me off or something!?"
249	** At one point in the Saturn game, Hikaru called Innouva a "bastard" after he [[spoiler:killed Caldina]].
250	* PromotedToLoveInterest: There is very little romance at all in the manga compared to the anime, most notably, there is no relationship between Umi & Clef.
251	* [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil Promotional Art Always Spoils]]: If you haven't finished the first half, don't look at the art of Emeraude and Zagato.
252	* PunnyName: Eagle Vision.
253	* ReadingsAreOffTheScale: When Eagle returns Hikaru's clothes to her (she was currently wearing local attire), he mentions that when they tried to measure her glove's mental energy, it went off the scale.
254	* ReasoningWithGod: In the manga, [[spoiler:this is how Fuu and Umi convince Mokona to let them and Hikaru bring Eagle back alive from the Road of the Pillar. They appeal to the evidence that he had some real affection for them in their travels, rather than an unsympathetic God figure. It works.]]
255	* ReReleaseSoundtrack: The original English release only featured covers of openings 1 & 3 and endings 1 & 2 respectively due to the price of paying licenses to cover the rest. Both Media Blasters's remastered DVD release[[note]]using the R2 DVD masters[[/note]] and [[Creator/DiscotekMedia Discotek]]'s Blu-ray (and DVD) release has all 3 openings and all 3 endings intact.
256	* RescueArc: Anime second season. Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu get captured by Autozam, Chizeta, and Fahren, respectively. Two or three episodes are devoted to them getting to know the invaders while their {{Love Interest}}s back home prepare to bail them out.
257	* RescueRomance: Ferio does this in season two of the anime when Fuu is held captive by Fahren. Even though she was overcoming all of Aska's obstacles on her own. (He even [[DefiedTrope defies]] the BattleCouple trope by stopping her from casting a spell and then giving her a BridalCarry out.)
258	* {{Retcon}}: In the episode where [[spoiler:Presea dies]], Fuu seems to have ForgotAboutHerPowers and doesn't attempt to heal the mortal injury. Early in the next episode, they discuss the death and state that Fuu ''did'' try Healing Wind, but that it didn't work.
259	* SaveThePrincess: The Magic Knights were summoned to Cephiro to rescue Princess Emeraude. Since the world of Cephiro is already a lot like an RPG (as frequently lampshaded by Fuu), it's not surprising. [[spoiler:Subverted since Emeraude imprisoned herself willingly, and she actually summoned the Magic Knights [[SuicideByCop to kill her]] since she's so conflicted between her duty as the Pillar and her love for Zagato.]]
260	* SceneryPorn: At first, Cephiro is always in daylight and has beautiful scenery, but as time progresses earthquakes are more frequent, storms spring up, and the sun stops shining, becoming SceneryGorn.
261	* SecretTestOfCharacter: In the manga, Rayearth tells Hikaru to abandon her friends and save herself from Lafarga, who she can't beat. Her refusal proves that she's worthy of being a Magic Knight.
262	** In the anime, Selece tells that to Umi as well, to save herself from a monster that broke out of Ascot's command, and again, she too refuses and is again confirmed worthy of Magic Knighthood.
263	* SendMeBack: Anime-only. [[spoiler:After wondering how they got back to Cephiro, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu eventually figure out that they willed ''themselves'' back there, wanting to fix what they did in the first season. In the manga, Mokona summoned them.]]
264	* SchrodingersCast: Some characters who the anime killed off but were alive and well in the manga had to be "brought back" in the second season because they were needed for the plot. There's just one problem... [[UniverseBible it goes against CLAMP rules, you know]]. [[spoiler:And some of these resurrections turned out to be complete lies.]]
265	** SparedByTheAdaptation: And some were killed in the manga but not in the anime. [[spoiler:Until much later.]]
266	* {{Shojo}}
267	* ShootTheDog: Played completely straight with [[spoiler:the Magic Knights themselves. They aren't here to save the Princess, they were summoned to destroy her because since she had fallen in love, she could no longer function as the Pillar.]]
268	* ShortTeensTallAdults: The girls don't even come up to the chests of the adult male cast (barring Clef and Ferio, who appear younger than they are) and just barely do for the women.
269	* ShouldersOfDoom: Zagato, Alcyone, Lafarga, Lantis, [[spoiler:evil Emeraude]], Debonair, Nova, the three Rune Gods, and eventually the Knights themselves.
270	* SicEm: Zagato has a big, dramatic chamber he uses to summon his servants and send them out, one after the other, to crush the Magic Knights, in order of Alcyone, Ascot, Caldina, and Lafarga. (And Innouva, in the anime.)
271	* SickeninglySweethearts: Umi is embarrassed by her parents' "eternal honeymoon" even when they're at home.
272	* SkywardScream: Courtesy of Ascot after one of his summoned monsters is killed.
273	* SlowMotionFall: When Alcyone ambushes them outside the Forest of Silence, the camera goes almost still when Umi is slashed in multiple places by the ice beams.
274	* SneezeCut: In the anime, Tatra sneezes when Aska starts talking about Chizeta, which Tarta immediately comments on. Tatra sneezes again, and Tarta (correctly) takes the meaning that someone is saying bad things.
275	* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: Zigzagged with Zagato and more pronounced in the anime. Alcyone ''is'' a high-powered opponent (which Fuu directly lampshades by saying they haven't leveled up enough) and she nearly kills Umi on the second encounter, but the girls still manage to dispatch her. The next one is Ascot. In the manga he summons monster after monster during their single battle. In the anime he attacks them on their travels with powerful monsters that have [[AchillesHeel one easily-exploitable weakness]], then monsters that can go toe-to-toe with the Mashin. Caldina is strictly a hypnotist whose control was broken as soon as she tried to puppetmaster a ''conscious'' foe. Zagato is unquestionably the most powerful of all, but he doesn't properly fight the heroes until the FinalBattle. [[spoiler:He seems to be spending most of that time trying to somehow demonstrate to Emeraude why she should give up on the Magic Knight suicide instead of just squashing them from the off.]]
276	* SpoilerOpening: The first opening combines this with BaitAndSwitchCredits, as it briefly but prominently features the first season's HumongousMecha showdown with Zagato, and the first indication that there are any mechs only happens when Umi meets hers.
277	* StandardBleedingSpots: Typically, the girls get wounded on the cheek first, and maybe on the arms so they can clutch them. (They do get more serious wounds, but it always starts there.)
278	* StarCrossedLovers: [[spoiler:Emeraude and Zagato.]]
279	* StevenUlyssesPerhero: The three protagonists have some complex name meanings:
280	** Hikaru Shidou: Light of the Lion Shrine.
281	** Umi Ryuuzaki: Sea of the Dragon Blossom.
282	** Fuu Hououji: Wind of the Phoenix Temple.
283	* SuicideByCop: [[spoiler:The real reason that Emeraude summoned the Magic Knights]].
284	* SummonEverymanHero: Someone needs to battle Cephiro's most powerful sorceror [[spoiler:and Pillar]]--quick, find some schoolgirls!
285	* SuperDeformed: The main characters sometimes take this gag farther.
286	** An embarrassed Hikaru becomes a CatGirl.
287	** Umi attempts to punish Mokona with a HyperspaceMallet.
288	** Fuu switches to NerdGlasses mode, or has a flash of ScaryShinyGlasses when making an uncharacteristically snarky comment.
289	* {{Synchronization}}:
290	** Fuu's battle in the Spring of Eterna involves this, since her opponent is a doppleganger--the injuries it inflicts on her are reflected on itself, and vice-versa.
291	** The Mashin reflect the movements of their Knights. Any damage the Mashin incurs will be reflected on the girl inside--and if the Mashin's giant version of the Escudo sword is broken, so is the normal-sized one.
292	* ThemeNaming: Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu's given names relate their respective elements, and their family names relate to their Rune Gods in some way. Virtually everyone else in the series is [[VehicularThemeNaming named after a car]].
293	* ThisIsReality: By the end of the first season, the girls learn the hard way that Cephiro isn't exactly like an RPG.
294	* TokenRomance: In one episode, Caldina and Lafarga confess their love for each other. Their relationship is then never mentioned again.
295	* TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse: Subverted; it's only a jumping-off point.
296	* TokyoTower: It's CLAMP, dammit.
297	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Tomboy Tarta and Girly Girl Tatra.
298	* TookALevelInBadass: After Hikaru's sword --and [[HeroicBSOD confidence]]-- is [[WreckedWeapon shattered]] by Nova, she undergoes a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind to recover. Her willpower shoots through the stratosphere... with all that it implies in a world shaped by one's will.
299	* TrappedInAnotherWorld: The plot kicks off when Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu, three ordinary schoolgirls from Tokyo, are suddenly whisked away to the fantasy world of Cephiro. They can't get back until they fulfill the conditions of the quest they were summoned for.
300	* TrailersAlwaysLie: Promo art for the second half of the story frequently puts Lantis with the antagonists. It's even worse with the anime, where he's included with Debonair and Nova. (It shows all the ''new'' characters together, but everyone but Lantis and Primera are villains--and Lantis' allegiance is initially ambiguous.)
301	* TransferStudentUniforms: Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu continue to wear their school uniforms throughout the story, even though Mokona could conceivably create new clothes for them.
302	* TransformationSequence: Downplayed. There's a big deal when Clef first gives them magic (and the sequence is used in the anime's opening), but the armor evolutions don't take up a huge amount of pages or screentime. Similarly, a big deal is made when they first enter the Mashin, but after that it's just a beam of light.
303	* {{Troperiffic}}: A lot of the first season is full of RPG tropes and cliches, including a fantasy land in danger, a captured princess, fetch quests to obtain powerful weapons, and a wise mentor figure, which serve to make [[spoiler:the twist ending where they have to ''kill'' said princess on her own request hit even harder]].
304	* TrueCompanions: Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu start calling each other sisters almost immediately. Lampshaded when Caldina assumes that they must have known each other for ages for Fuu to be so protective, only to be corrected.
305	--> "Time means nothing to the heart."
306	* TwistEnding: The end of Part I.
307	* VehicularThemeNaming: Every character not named Hikaru, Umi, Fuu, or Mokona takes their name from car models, such as (Mazda) Clef, (Nissan) Primera, (Honda Civic) Ferio, (Toyota) Windom, and so on.
308	* VisibleSigh: Done by multiple characters.
309	* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Zagato]], and the invading countries from the second half.
310	* WhamEpisode: The end of the first half, when the Magic Knights find out what their duty fully entails.
311	* WhamLine: When The Magic Knights finally meet Emeraude, a single line from her turns the entire story on its head:
312	-->'''Hikaru:''' Then tell us why you summoned us to Cephiro!
313	-->'''Emeraude:''' I summoned the Magic Knights to Cephiro...[[spoiler:so that you could kill me]].
314	* WhatYouAreInTheDark: In order to gain escudo, the girls must face visions of their loved ones attacking them; who they see reflects who they are as people.
315	* WhiteAndGreyMorality: The {{Magic Knight}}s themselves [[KidHero are definitely good guys]], but [[spoiler:Season 1 BigBad Zagato is an Anti-Villain]]. Plus, the Autozam, Chizeta, and Fahren factions are {{Anti Villain}}s as well. And in anime season 2, Nova is also a more sympathetic character. The only completely villainous villain is the anime-only Debonair.
316	* TheWorfBarrage: Autozam's ''[=NSX=]'' launches everything they've got against Great San Yung in episode 42--MacrossMissileMassacre, MoreDakka, BeamSpam, and its two {{Wave Motion Gun}}s. None of it works.
317	* WorfEffect: Whenever one of the knights is conversing with a Mashin, the other two are always one-shotted by the villain sent to stop them that time.
318	* WorfHadTheFlu: With the Ascot battle at the Water Shrine. While Umi is entranced, he summons a fire-based monster against Hikaru and Fuu. Naturally it absorbs her fire magic, and Fuu notes that ''her'' magic would also make it worse since it would add oxygen to the mix. It's only when Umi comes out of it and can use her water magic that it can be fought, and by that time the other two are down.
319	* WorldOfBadass: Particularly in the manga, where they meet no "civilian" citizens. Everyone they meet is a swordmaster, a wizard of some kid, or an AcePilot, and their opponents in the sequel are mainly {{Warrior Prince}}s (or First Children).
320	* WorldOfTechnicolorHair: Many characters have hair in unusual colors, and no one comments on it. Not only is this present in the fantasy world of Cephiro, but Hikaru has bright red hair and Umi has blue hair despite both being from Earth.
321	* WorkOffTheDebt: Fuu was afraid she and her friends would have to do this for the weapons Presea made for them.
322	* {{Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe}}: The English dub is usually not filled with this but when the Rune Gods themselves speak, they use the words "thee", "thou", and "thine".
323	* YearInsideHourOutside: The girls are whisked away by Emeraude's prayer in a flash of light. They have adventures spanning several weeks, probably months, then they return to Earth ''at the exact same moment they left''. Even their schoolmates are still blinded by the light.
324	* YouShallNotPass: Hikaru does this once in the manga, twice in the anime. In both instances, she stands directly between the enemy (Lafarga and Zagato, respectively) and her incapacitated friends, despite being severely outmatched and injured by their repeated attacks. This proves to Rayearth that her heart is strong enough to be a Magic Knight.

Context Manga / MagicKnightRayearth