(Splitting from Magical Girl as discussed in TRS)

Ahem. Don't suggest examples unless they aren't already on the current Magical Girl page!

The genre, born out of Manga and Anime, which features the Magical Girl as its main protagonist(s). While it's rare for Magical Girls to appear outside the Magical Girl Genre, it does happen, and the genre follows many conventions besides simply having Magical Girls in it. These include:

• Episodes focused on a Monster Of The Week and/or a race to collect Plot Coupons, with an overall Plot Arc and/or Myth Arc tying them together.
• A Talking Animal mascot aiding the heroes - cats, weasels and ferets, furry alien creatures, etc.
• A Dark Magical Girl, often The Dragon to the Big Bad, serving as The Rival and a likely target for a Heel Face Turn and a Rivals Team Up with the Dark Magical Girl becoming a Sixth Ranger.
• An Aloof Ally, often male, serving as a Mysterious Protector. They may also formally join the team later as a Sixth Ranger.
• Important plot points tied to The Power Of Love and/or The Power Of Friendship. The "Power" part of them may even be literal, fueling the Magical Girl's powers, Finishing Move, Empathic Weapon and/or ultimate attack.
• Liberal use of Stock Footage for the Transformation Sequence, called attacks and In The Name Of The Moon speeches delivered in a Super Sentai Stance.
• An occasional tendency to be Merchandise Driven.

While this is the standard blueprint of the modern Magical Girl series, when the genre was first starting out, "mahou shoujo" in Japan actually meant something more akin to Cute Witch. The characters in these early show just as often had to solve mundane life problems with their magic as much as or more than fantastical challenges or dastardly villains. It wasn't until after Sailor Moon became a smash hit in Japan it became the modern Trope Codifier and shifted the trend to Magical Girl Warrior characters. The Magic Idol Singer shares Magical Girl Tropes with the genre including the transforming girls (usually an Older Alter Ego) but is more of a cousin than a direct descendant and are better covered on their own page.

For more common factors, see Magical Girl Tropes.

Examples

Proto-Examples

Two series claim the title of being the first Magical Girl series, and both of them actually claim inspiration from the American live-action Sitcom, Bewitched. Both of course were of the Cute Witch variety.

• First, Mitsuteru Yokoyama's Mahotsukai Sally (Sally The Witch, 1966-1968) which was an explicit adaptation of the Bewitched concept for a younger audience.
• Second, Akatsuka Fujio's Himitsu No Akko-chan - it was broadcast in 1969 (and remade twice), but its manga predates Mahotsukai Sally. The main character, Atsuko, is given a magical mirror by the Queen of the Mirror Kingdom, which allows her to transform into anything or anyone she wants.
• Cutey Honey is a debated example as to whether it's true Magical Girl or more standard superheroine fare (as it was aimed decidedly at the Fan Service-loving older male audience and her powers are explained as science-based Applied Phlebotinum), but it's the closest thing to a Magical Girl Warrior series up until Codename Wa Sailor V and used many of the same tropes. Honey Kisaragi is an Artificial Human Henshin Hero who takes on a secret identity as an Ordinary High School Student and fights the criminal organization Panther Claw, who killed her father and want said Applied Phlebotinum.

Cute Witch Style

• Majokko Meg Chan (1974) was the first show to incorporate many of the common Magical Girl Tropes into one package - marketed to both boys and girls, with a Tomboy heroine instead of a sweet, feminine girl, a Dark Magical Girl rival and a truly evil Big Bad (prior to this, there was a perception that young girls couldn't handle such things). It was also the first to incorporate more adult themes, serious consequences and bits of Fan Service.

Magical Girl Warrior Style

• 1991 saw mangaka Naoko Takeuchi introduce Codename Sailor V, the first "official" Magical Girl Warrior story. Minako Aino finds a talking cat, Artemis, with a crescent moon on his forehead, who reveals that Minako is a sailor-suited magical soldier of justice with a connection to the planet Venus. If this premise sounds familiar, it's because the series led to Toei Animation commissioning the More Popular Spinoff...
• ...Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon. In which Usagi Tuskino finds the talking cat with a crescent moon on its forehead named Luna, who reveals she, and the rest of the Five Man Band to follow, are the reincarnations of soldiers of the ancient Moon Kingdom. Sailor V joins the team partway though the series as Sailor Venus. The manga and anime totaled five seasons, spawned a host of adapatations and in spite of often Bowlderized localization, was a Gateway Series for many international anime fans.

Parody

• The Pretty Sammy series is an Alternate Universe Spin Off of the decidecly non-magical girl show Tenchi Muyo and was a gentle parody of Sailor Moon.
• Puni Puni Poemi is a Magical Girl Gag Series which viciously satirizes magical girl shows and was made by the creator of Excel Saga...which should tell you most of what you need to know about it. True to Nabeshin style, it's also very racy up to Refuge In Audacity levels.

Deconstruction

• Puella Magi Madoka Magica, another for the Deconstruction team, a very brutal one. It is often considered to be the Magical Girl Neon Genesis Evangelion (in terms of Genre Deconstruction).
  • Puella Magi Kazumi Magica is a Lighter And Softer spin-off for the first three chapters.
  • Puella Magi Oriko Magica is another spin-off, and is either a prequel or interquel (it's not very clear which).