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4[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/angelmoxie.png]]
5
6''Angel Moxie'' is a black-and-white {{Yonkoma}} Webcomic AffectionateParody of {{Magical Girl}}s by Dan Hess, creator of ''Rebus'', ''Realms of Ishikaze'', and ''Webcomic/{{Weesh}}''. It mixes a sharp sense of humor with a fairly cut and dried magical girl plotline. What results is an overall charming teenage superhero romp that hits some surprising emotional depths along the way.
7
8On the night before her first day of junior high, Alex O'Connor has a dream in which a mysterious entity hands her a wand and proclaims that she will save the world from evil. Alex wakes up the very next morning with the rod in her hand and not a clue of what to do with it. By the time the day is over, she's killed her first monster and gained a talking cat as a mentor. Welcome to magical girl duty, Alex.
9
10The series ran from 2002 to 2006. Upon completion of the storyline, the series began rerunning with a new strip from the archives, though no new material has been written since.
11
12You can read the archives [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/0/0/001.html online]].
13
14----
15!!''Angel Moxie'' provides examples of:
16
17%%* AffablyEvil: Tsutsumu is this to a T.
18* AffectionateParody: Of MagicalGirl works.
19* AlliterativeName: '''R'''iley '''R'''osenbaum.
20* AllYourPowersCombined: Played straight [[spoiler:when Riley and Tristan channel their power into Alex so she can fight [[BigBad Yzin]] one-on-one, then deconstructed when it gets Alex killed]].
21* {{Animesque}}: The series mixes obvious Japanese references with American culture. And then there's the art.
22* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: "There's plenty to save the world from -- zealots, corruption, bigotry, disease, {{sitcom}}s..."
23* ArtEvolution: As the series progressed, the looser, scribbley art became much more refined, though it still kept its fairly simple art style. The format also started as very tiny panels in a horizontal format, as the artist had originally planned to stream the comic on cell phones. As this technology was too costly at the time of the comic's run, the author changed the format and slowly remade the older comics to match the Yonkoma format with larger art.
24* AuthorAppeal: An in-universe example: [[spoiler:Ms. Konk's creator, who is male, refuses Alex's and Riley's request that he build a really hot guy robot in favor of building a really hot girl robot.]]
25* BadassLongcoat: Riley and Tristan get individual ones when powered up.
26%%* BeautyBrainsAndBrawn:
27%%** Alex -- Beauty
28%%** Riley -- Brains
29%%** Tristan -- Brawn
30* BerserkButton:
31** As it turns out, [[spoiler:Tsutsumu]] has an extreme temper if provoked enough, leaving an opening for the girls to exploit.
32** Calling Vashi [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/5/5/554.html an old lady]] is not the wisest thing to do in combat.
33* BigBad: Yzin, whom [[TheDragon Vashi]] spends most of the series trying to revive.
34* BlandNameProduct: The [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/4/8/489.html McDonald's knock-off MacMucky's.]]
35* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Riley is the Brunette, and Alex is the Redhead. Tristan’s the odd one out, but even though her hair is naturally black (and is currently [[DelinquentHair dyed green]]) she dons a Blonde wig at one point when [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/3/5/352.html distracting a security guard]].
36* BlushSticker: Shugari sports a permanent set. [[spoiler:She later gives these to the girls as part of her [[PowerNullifier power-sealing makeovers]].]]
37* BookDumb: Alex. She's quite competent in situations involving quick thinking or reacting on the fly (like monster fighting), but struggles badly when studying is involved.
38* BookSmart: Riley, as {{Foil}} to the BookDumb Alex, is academically brilliant and enthusiastic about everything except gym class. She finds the MisplacedKindergartenTeacher Mrs. Merriwether [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/0/9/092.html particularly vexing]].
39* BoyBand: N'Tune, a new band enjoying a sudden surge in popularity. [[spoiler:In reality, they are servants of Candi Shugari that hypnotize their followers.]]
40* BrainyBrunette: [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/riley.html Riley]]. Loves school, programs computers, and builds her own weapons from scratch.
41* CanisLatinicus: Alex, when trying to cast a (''Literature/HarryPotter''-inspired) invisibility spell [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/5/1/519.html on a reconnaissance drone]]. It doesn't work.
42* CallingYourAttacks: Alex tends to do this, usually in the format of "(adjective) Magical (element) (effect)".
43* CatGirl: Miya is normally cat-shaped, but has a humanoid form that retains the cat ears and tail.
44* CatsAreMean: Miya invokes this [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/2/7/279.html against a bulldog]].
45* CelestialBureaucracy: The realm of the Higher Authority, which the characters answer to, turns out to work like this. Appeals to the Authority are handled by a receptionist who manifests as a squirrel.
46* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Tsutsumu tries to recruit the girls as allies to defeat Yzin, then tries to turn on them once he's exploited them, and finally, [[spoiler:after they defeat him, arranges for them to inherit control of his company]].
47* DarkMagicalGirl:
48** Tristan at the start of the series, though this is resolved before Alex even realizes they're on opposite sides.
49** [[CuteIsEvil Shugari]] is a spin on this. While not sad, lonely, or dark (she's actually quite bubbly and sociable), she's still an evil baddie.
50* DeadpanSnarker: Tristan, fairly frequently.
51* DeathGlare:
52** Tears doesn't weaken at all the Death Glare [[https://redirect.viglink.com/?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_163184657060610&key=2fb71997bcb17ebf9a993e4e95e8886f&libId=ktnrazv70103eegs000DLcoey5xf5&loc=https%3A%2F%2Ftvtropes.org%2Fpmwiki%2Fpmwiki.php%2FDeathGlare%2FWebcomics&v=1&out=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.venisproductions.com%2Fangelmoxie%2Farchives%2F2%2F5%2F250.html&ref=https%3A%2F%2Ftvtropes.org%2Fpmwiki%2Fpmwiki.php%2FImageSource%2FWebComics&title=Webcomics%20%2F%20Death%20Glare%20-%20TV%20Tropes&txt=Riley%20gives%20to%20Shugari Riley gives to Shugari]]... just before [[spoiler: blasting her into pieces.]]
53** And Miya doesn't let looking like a cute cat stop her from [[https://redirect.viglink.com/?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_163184673372810&key=2fb71997bcb17ebf9a993e4e95e8886f&libId=ktnrcufl0103eegs000DLcoey5xf5&loc=https%3A%2F%2Ftvtropes.org%2Fpmwiki%2Fpmwiki.php%2FDeathGlare%2FWebcomics&v=1&out=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.venisproductions.com%2Fangelmoxie%2Farchives%2F2%2F7%2F279.html&ref=https%3A%2F%2Ftvtropes.org%2Fpmwiki%2Fpmwiki.php%2FImageSource%2FWebComics&title=Webcomics%20%2F%20Death%20Glare%20-%20TV%20Tropes&txt=death-glaring%20a%20bulldog%20into%20a%20whimpering%20mess death-glaring a bulldog into a whimpering mess.]]
54* DelinquentHair: The detention-prone, punch-happy Tristan keeps the front of her hair dyed green (it's naturally black), even though her school has uniforms and a fairly strict dress code -- the kind that usually comes with rules against hair dye.
55* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Shortly after freeing [[TheDragon the evil Vashi]], Tristan punches her out the window of her tower fortress. [[spoiler: Vashi eventually lands ''in China.'']]
56* DiedHappilyEverAfter:
57** Happens to [[spoiler:Mr. Kyokasho, who sacrifices himself to take out one of Shugari's monsters. He visits the heartbroken Riley in a dream to make sure she knows he's okay, and does the same for the earthbound Miya.]]
58** Later, towards the end of the series, [[spoiler:Miya [[BalancingDeathsBooks gives up her life to revive Alex]], but has time to make her farewells before passing fully on. The epilogue shows her reuniting with Mr. Kyokasho and them rekindling their old relationship.]]
59* DoppelgangerDating: Alex when telling Riley about how Kevin is really into things like science and math:
60-->'''Alex:''' I just realized I'm gonna be dating the male version of you.\
61'''Riley:''' That's a good thing, right?
62* TheDragon: Vashi, for Yzin.
63* EvilIsNotAToy: With much LampshadeHanging. Tristan helps release Vashi on the promise that, when Vashi's boss Yzin takes over the world, Tris can rule France. Vashi lied. Tris got mad [[spoiler:and punched Vashi so hard she landed in China, before [[HeelFaceTurn joining the good guys]].]]
64* EvilMentor: Tsutsumu, one of the demon lords, takes the girls in after they have a falling out with Miya. [[spoiler:They turn around and defeat him with the skills and professionalism they've learned.]]
65* ExposedToTheElements: [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/2/6/266.html "Isn't there a winter costume or something?!"]]
66* EyesAlwaysShut: Grant Kyokasho. [[spoiler:He opens them precisely once: after he's absorbed an insane amount of magical power, which he proceeds to use to [[HeroicSacrifice blow up one of Shugari's monsters]] to save the girls.]]
67* {{Faceless Eye}}s: In the beginning, [[spoiler:before Tristan breaks all of the barriers sealing her away]], Vashi appears as just a glowing, floating pair of eyes.
68* {{Foreshadowing}}: When the second seal is broken, time slows for all non-magical entities. At this point, Alex is the only awakened magical girl, so Miya can't figure out why her "normal friend" Riley is unaffected. Tristan, the one who is actually breaking the seals, is also unaffected.
69%% * {{Geek}}: Deconstructed in [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/0/1/018.html two]] [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/0/1/019.html strips]].
70* GenderBlenderName: Alex, Riley and Tristan.
71* GenkiGirl: Shugari, the embodiment of CuteIsEvil.
72* GracefulLoser: [[spoiler:Tsutsumu]] becomes the epitome of this when [[spoiler:he leaves a [[VideoWills Video Will]] that not only congratulates the girls on their victory and tells them that he, as their EvilMentor, is proud of their skills, but also leaves them his business: a multi-billion dollar worldwide company]].
73* GradeSchoolCEO: ZigZagged. The girls [[spoiler:gain controlling ownership of Tsutsumu Corp after Tsutsumu dies, but they choose to have his henchwoman Ms. Elita appointed as temporary CEO while the board of directors finds a permanent one.]]
74* HairRaisingHare: [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/2/3/238.html "This is my servant, Cottontail. Cute, furry,... and evil."]]
75* HeroicBSOD: Riley, after [[spoiler:Grant Kyokasho's HeroicSacrifice, [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/2/5/252.html kills Shugari and breaks down into tears]]]]. It doesn't last too long, but it counts.
76* HeroicSacrifice: Multiple times. [[spoiler:Grant does this early on to defeat Shugari's demon minion. Later, at the end of the story, Alex does this to defeat Yzin, and Miya does this to save Alex.]]
77* HighClassGloves: Alex wears them during [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/4/8/487.html her date with Kevin]].
78* IThinkYouBrokeHim: Said by Alex after [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/4/8/486.html Tristan demonstrates her rules-fu to a professor]] about how the school's dress doesn't forbid her from wearing stockings.
79* JumpedAtTheCall: While the responsibility of saving the world makes her hesitate in the beginning, Alex promptly Jumps at the Call after her first TransformationSequence. Possibly because of the discovery that she had the power of {{Flight}}.
80* JuniorHigh: The story takes place over the course of the girls' 6th-grade year (and a little bit into the summer afterwards).
81* KilledOffForReal:
82** [[spoiler:Grant Kyokasho blows up his mortal self in a HeroicSacrifice. Fortunately, the higher-ups were so impressed with his bravery that they decide not to force him to [[{{Reincarnation}} reincarnate]] and he keeps his job in the CelestialBureaucracy]].
83** [[spoiler:Yzin kills Alex during the final battle. That's not the For Real one, since she comes BackFromTheDead...thanks to Miya [[BalancingDeathsBooks giving up her mortal life for Alex]]. It's [[DiedHappilyEverAfter still a happy ending]] as [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/6/0/607.html Miya is reunited with Grant]]]].
84* MassHypnosis: The N'Tune Boys concert.
85* MeaningfulName:
86** Alex, Riley, and Tristan all have gender neutral/masculine names. [[spoiler:They are the female reincarnations of three male heroes.]]
87** Miya's last name "Gato", which is Spanish for "cat". She takes the form of a feline on earth to mentor the girls. Her first name, Miyaneko, also counts: "Miya" when spoken sounds like "meow", and "neko" is Japanese for "cat."
88** [[CuteIsEvil Shugari's]] name sounds a lot like "''sugary''". The name she uses while posing as a student is Candi Shugari.
89** Grant Kyokasho spends his time on Earth disguised as a teacher. His surname is Japanese for "textbook".
90* MentorMascot: Miya, though she's a bit snarkier than usual.
91* MinidressOfPower: Alex's transformation outfit.
92* MisplacedKindergartenTeacher: Mrs. Merriweather. Then there's the whole [[spoiler:really an evil demon]] thing.
93* MoveInTheFrozenTime: When Tristan breaks the second seal on Vashi's prison, time slows for all non-magical entities, though magical beings remain fully mobile. As this includes both Tristan and Riley, this serves as {{foreshadowing}} to their true nature.
94* MundaneUtility: [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/3/5/355.html "How to use disappearing magic", by Alex.]]
95* NerdsLoveToughSchoolwork: [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/2/7/278.html Riley actually cheers when being told the class was stepping up the calculus lessons]]. This is at least partly due to the previous teacher [[MisplacedKindergartenTeacher treating middle schoolers like a kindergarten class]] and teaching them the most basic of basics, which drove Riley up the wall.
96* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Miya]] gets an epic one at [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/2/9/290.html one point]] when she [[spoiler:summons a demonic army to challenge the girls and hammer home the importance of training... nearly getting the power trio killed in the process.]] Leads to a major WhatTheHellHero with ramifications lasting the rest of the strip.
97* NothingNiceAboutSugarAndSpice: As a thoroughly evil demon general who adores pink, bunnies, and cuteness, Shugari embodies this trope.
98* NonUniformUniform: Thanks to Tristan exploiting a loophole in the dress code.
99* NoodleIncident: [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/1/5/153.html "I hope you didn't find out about that incident with the water hoses and the ketchup in St. Louis."]]
100* TheNoseless: Just about every character.
101* ParentalAbandonment: Alex's parents are mentioned but never seen, we see Riley's father but not her mother, and Tristan's mother but not her stepfather.
102* ParentalObliviousness: Riley's father has this to a severe degree, to the point that the girls can [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/4/0/407.html openly discuss a battle plan in front of him and he assumes they are discussing a surprise party]].
103* PhysicalMysticalTechnological: While they all have magic, their strengths break down as such:
104** Tristan -- Physical
105** Alex -- Mystical
106** Riley -- Technological
107* PinkMeansFeminine: Alex's costume is primarily pink (with touches of white and light blue).
108* PowerGivesYouWings: Alex's magical girl form.
109* PowerTrio:
110** Alex, ''the Magician'' -- Ego
111** Riley, ''the Scholar'' -- Superego
112** Tristan, ''the Warrior'' -- Id
113* PunnyName: Shugari has a rather sugary personality.
114* PurpleIsPowerful: Tristan wears a dark violet BadassLongcoat in her powered-up form.
115* RageAgainstTheMentor: After the defeat of Shugari, Miya gets obsessed with training the girls harder and harder, to the point that Alex snaps at her. Miya gets angry enough at her that [[spoiler: she summons an army of demons to attack the girls, nearly killing Tristan and hurting Kevin, an innocent and powerless friend. Alex completely turns against Miya, leading to an arc where Miya leaves the strip until near the very end of the Tsutsumu arc.]]
116* RashEquilibrium: In [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/3/4/342.html this]] and the two following strips, [[spoiler:the girls decide to outwardly take Tsutsumu up on his [[EvilMentor offer of information]] so [[WeCanRuleTogether they can help him overthrow Yzin]], but plan to double-cross him once they've learned enough to defeat Yzin. Tsutsumu, meanwhile, plans to use them should they accept his offer [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness before discarding them once he has achieved his goals]].]]
117* RobotGirl: Ms. Konk, though she's initially a bit of a subversion due to looking and acting like a scary old lady. Her creator later makes some drastic changes, revamping her into a [[TheDitz bubbly ditz]] with a body like a supermodel.
118* SealedEvilInACan: All the villains start out like this, but Tristan releases [[TheDragon Vashi]], who then proceeds to unleash the rest of them. It's later revealed that [[spoiler:one minion escaped being sealed by the heroes' predecessors and was working on freeing Vashi all along]].
119* SheCleansUpNicely: Tristan, to everyone's surprise.
120* SkyFace: [[spoiler:[[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/6/0/605.html Miya and Mr. Kyokasho's farewell]]]] at the end of the story.
121* TheSlacker: Tristan's approach to school.
122* TheSnarkKnight: Tristan. A pretty cynical youth — especially of anything she perceives as "girly", thanks to her extreme tomboyishness. Her mother is utterly desperate for Tristan to display even average teenage behavior.
123* TheSmartGuy: Riley
124* TakingYouWithMe:
125** In the final battle, Yzin attempts this. [[spoiler:He fails. Sort of]].
126** When [[spoiler: both Yzin and Alex survive, Alex then pulls this, too. [[BalancingDeathsBooks Sort of.]]]]
127* TeacherStudentRomance: The one-sided "crushing on a teacher" version: Riley's crush on Mr. Kyokasho.
128* TrainingFromHell: A bunch of high-level literal demons get released for our heroes to practice on.
129* TransformationIsAFreeAction: With LampshadeHanging.
130-->'''Riley:''' You know, by the time you transform, the world could already have been destroyed.\
131'''Alex:''' It's my moment. Let me have it.
132* TransformationSequence: Also {{Lampshaded}}.
133* TroubledFetalPosition:
134** Parodied. [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/4/9/492.html "Study paralysis"]].
135** [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/4/9/497.html And then again...]]
136* UnfazedEveryman: [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/0/7/074.html Dom]], who Tristan hangs out with sometimes. He occasionally provides her with "supplies" and gives no hoots about whatever weird stuff happens around him.
137* UpdatedRerelease: The whole series was re-published with a different panel arrangement and new caption font, though the storyline remains the same.
138* VictorGainsLosersPowers: As Alex defeats monsters of various elements, [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/0/4/040.html she gains the ability to use those elements]]. She takes advantage of this early on [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/0/6/061.html by defeating several shadow monsters]] in order to gain the ability to [[{{Teleportation}} teleport]].
139* WaifFu: Tristan, though she would object to being described as a "waif."
140* WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld: The comic's {{tagline}} is even "It's magic monsters & Junior High". Alex freaks out about exams and has middling to poor grades. It doesn't do every aspect of the trope, as dating isn't much of a problem for her.
141* WebcomicTime: "[[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/0/7/075.html Wow. It feels like it's been months]]."
142* WeCanRuleTogether: Tsutsumu proposes this to the girls.
143* WingedHumanoid: Alex, in magical girl form.
144* WreckedWeapon:
145** Parodied. When Riley initially tries to figure out how the wand works, [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/0/0/006.html she accidentally breaks it]], but it instantly [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/0/0/007.html rebuilds itself]]. [[spoiler:The trope returns in deadly earnest near the end of the comic, when [[BigBad Yzin]] damages the wand beyond repair]].
146** Also, the EvilMinions have the bad habit of destroying Riley's [[RayGun laser guns]], but [[GadgeteerGenius she's good at building new ones]].
147* WritersCannotDoMath: In-universe example: Grant Kyokasho's faked birthdate is in 1971, but the date on his teaching degree is in 1983. Luckily, the only ones who notice are the heroines.
148* YinYangBomb: Alex takes out [[spoiler: Tsutsumu]] by [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/4/4/443.html combining all her magical elements into a single destructive blast]].

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