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This {{Shojo}} series is one of the most popular creations of the creative collective known as {{CLAMP}}, blending MagicalGirl, HumongousMecha and high fantasy into a unique and entertaining mix.

Schoolgirls Shidou Hikaru, Ryuuzaki Umi and Hououji Fuu are visiting the Tokyo Tower with their respective middle-school classes when a mysterious force addresses them as "Magic Knights", begs for their help, and then transports them to another world. The three thirteen-year-olds find themselves in the magical world of Cephiro, brought there by a wizard named Clef. Cephiro, he explains, is held stable and safe by the constant attention of the Pillar, a princess named Emeraude. But Emeraude is now the prisoner of her former high priest, Zagato, and monsters have begun to overrun the countryside. Clef informs them that they are the Magic Knights of prophecy, who will save Cephiro from its impending doom. He gives them mystic armor and magical powers to use in their quest. But before he can explain how to use them, agents of Zagato appear on the scene, and the girls are dispatched on their mission with only the faintest idea of what they have to do.

In the course of their adventures, the three girls must discover their magical gifts and hone them while fighting their way across the countryside through hordes of monsters. They encounter Presea, the Master Smith, who sends them on a quest to find the materials for their magic weapons. And they learn that to accomplish the prophecy they embody, they must find and awaken the great ''Mashin'', the elemental god-creatures who sleep and waken only to protect Cephiro. In the process the girls, initially strangers, must learn about each other, and how to trust and depend on their teammates; they soon become fast friends. Dodging, defeating and even subverting the deadly agents of Zagato, they finally come to the point of fulfilling the ancient prophecy -- only to discover that what they must do is nothing at all like what they expected.

''MagicKnightRayearth'', despite its deceptively simple "schoolgirls on a quest" appearance, is a surprisingly complex 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 complex, 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".

One of the story's greatest strengths is characterization. The girls are unique and clearly drawn -- GenkiGirl Hikaru, snobby RichBitch Umi and the bookish, excessively-polite Fuu (who addresses every creature they kill as "monster-san") are about as disparate a trio as can be found; how they work through their differences and forge a determined and skilled team of fighters is one of the show's triumphs of character development. But even the villains are surprisingly complex and even sympathetic on some levels.

Although ultimately a drama, ''MagicKnightRayearth'' leavens its serious storylines with occasional mild doses of slapstick and SuperDeformed action. Much like the gravedigger scene in ''Hamlet'', this comedy doesn't detract from the story but instead throws its more serious aspect into sharper relief. Although supposedly targeted at young teen girls, it is easily watchable by adults of all ages.

There's also an OVA, which changes around the plot to be set in the real world, and the manga has a sequel. The second season of the anime was adapted from the manga sequel, which primarily dealt with the aftermath of the Magic Knights' actions in the first season.

There is also a video game adaption of it for a couple systems in Japan, with the Saturn version released in the United States by WorkingDesigns. This version is noteworthy not so much for the actual game, but for the DevelopmentHell that it went through.

[[Characters/MagicKnightRayearth There's also the Character Sheets]].
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!!This show provides examples of:
* AdaptationDecay: Where does one start? The TV series created all kinds of crazy plot holes and {{Character Derailment}}s, which progressed further into the second season which had even less to do with the source material. The OVA had nothing in common with the manga, or even the TV series.
* AfterTheEnd (The second season. Cephiro has been reduced to a wasteland and a crystal palace filled with refugees.)
* AGodAmI: 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]].
* AllYourColorsCombined (a pair of attacks)
* AnimeAnatomy: The first episode where they get their magic.
* AntiVillain: Eagle Vision, oh so much.
* 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 combined SpiritBomb blasts her into ''true'' nothingness.]]
* 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]].)
* BecauseDestinySaysSo
* BigBad (Zagato in the first season (probably), and Debonair in the second.)
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The breast discussion in the second season.
* {{Bishonen}}
* {{Bishoujo}}
* BodyguardCrush (One of the most heartwretching cases ''ever'' in CLAMP manga and anime: [[spoiler: Zagato and Emeraude]].)
* BondCreatures (The Rune Gods. 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.)
* {{BrainwashedAndCrazy}}: Lafarga, by hypnotic tattoos, while Caldina uses magical music to brainwash Hikaru and Umi. Alcyone as well but only in the second anime season.
* 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]]]].)
* CallingYourAttacks
* CaptainObvious (Fuu. Sometimes on purpose.)
* 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).)
* {{CLAMP}}
* ChromaticArrangement (Additive primary colors: Hikaru, Umi and Fuu have respectively red, blue and green uniforms and eyes. Hair colors almost fit, but Fuu is blonde)
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Presea threatens to inflict this on Hikaru, Umi and Fuu in the first volume.
* CoolBigSis: Presea, Caldina (after her HeelFaceTurn.)
* CreatorCameo (Mokona is named after CLAMP artist Mokona Appapa.)
* CreepyChild: Ascot, before his HeelFaceTurn.
* CrossPoppingVeins (Umi, Clef.)
* CutesyDwarf (Clef.)
* DarkerAndEdgier (The second season, where Cephiro is mostly falling apart.)
* DarkSkinnedRedhead (Tarta and Tatra. If we count pink hair, Caldina.)
* DefeatMeansFriendship ([[spoiler:Caldina, Ascot and Lafarga]].)
* DemonicInvaders (roughly speaking.)
* {{Determinator}} (Hikaru, most of the time.)
* DistressedDamsel (Subverted: [[spoiler: Princess Emeraude could've escaped if she wanted, but she didn't because she actually loved her captor from before he imprisoned her... and because ''she was the true BigBad''. Sorta]].)
* DracoInLeatherPants (Okay, [[spoiler: Zagato]] ''had'' his reasons, but he ''was'' an asshole when necessary.)
* TheDragon (Alcyone (and in the anime, Innouva), for Zagato. Nova, for Debonair.)
* ElementalPowers (Check the [[Characters/MagicKnightRayearth character sheet]] for details.)
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt (What will happen if Cephiro doesn't have a Pillar.)
* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses (Emeraude's position is the protector of Cephiro, but she's called a princess anyway.)
* EvilMinions
* EvolvingWeapon (As the girls grow in skill and awake the Mashin, their weapons and armor also evolve.)
* ExtraordinarilyEmpoweredGirl (The three girls.)
* FacialMarkings
* FemmeFatalons (Alcyone.)
* FisherKing (The Pillar.)
* FrillsOfJustice (Justified, since their armor is made of escudo, and grows as their spirit grows stronger.)
* GenkiGirl (Hikaru.)
* GeniusDitz (In the anime, Princess Tatra of Chizeta is a [[SpotOfTea big fan of tea]] and a CloudCuckooLander. Who also happens to be quite the badass fencer with her WhipSword.)
** Not to mention that in the manga, she lasted the longest against Eagle when he tried to stop Chizeta and Fahren from getting to Cephiro.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff (Or should we say, Latin Americans Love ''Guerreras Mágicas''.)
* GlowingEyesOfDoom (Alcyone in her first appearance in the second season.)
* GodWasMyCoPilot (In the manga, [[spoiler:Mokona is revealed to be the [[{{God}} Creator]] of Cephiro, Earth, and the Three Countries]].)
* GoGoEnslavement (In the second season of the anime, when the girls are caught by their enemies, they're forced to dress up in their typical clothes. Fuu and Hikaru don't have much problems, but Umi (captured by Tarta and Tatra from Chizeta) has to wear an odalisque outfit and is ''not'' amused. )
* TheHeartless (Most monsters in Cephiro are created from negative emotions. [[spoiler: So is the BigBad of the second season]].)
* [[SheIsAllGrownUp He Is All Grown Up]] (Ascot, in the second season.)
* HellishHorse (Lantis' horse.)
* HermeticMagic
* HistoryRepeats (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 [[spoiler: the girl who would become Pillar, Hikaru]]. The irony was not lost on either.)
* HoYay / FoeYay (Eagle and Lantis)
**Not to mention Presea's attention to Hikaru early on, and Hikaru's practically drooling over Fuu for at first. CLAMP is well known for this, though.
* HugeGuyTinyGirl ([[spoiler: Lafarga and Caldina]], Hikaru and either Lantis or Eagle. Genderflipped (and the romance/platonic nature a bit more debatable) with Clef and either Umi and Presea [[spoiler: or Sierra]].)
* HumongousMecha (The Rune Gods; there's also several mechas from Autozam.)
* ICannotSelfTerminate ([[spoiler:Emeraude; the girls thought she was the DamselInDistress and wanted to rescue her from Zagato, but then turns out she summoned them so ''they could kill her'' because she wasn't fit to be the Pillar anymore and only death would release her]].)
* ImpossiblyCoolClothes
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon (the swords, and the way they ensure only their users can wield them)
* IncurableCoughOfDeath (Eagle Vision in the anime.)
* InstantAwesomeJustAddMecha (The Rune Gods could have just bestowed powers to the girls, but making them mecha was just cooler.)
* {{Joshikousei}}
* KansaiRegionalAccent (Caldina, Tatra, and Tarta)
* KikukoInoue (Tatra)
* KingOfAllCosmos (The manga version of [[spoiler:Mokona]]. Really.)
* LadyOfWar (Umi, Fuu)
* LoveMakesYouEvil ([[spoiler:Princess Emeraude]] and Alcyone, both for the same person.)
* LukeIAmYourFather ([[spoiler:Ferio, Princess Emeraude is your older sister]].)
* MagicKnight (the TropeNamer - it's even in the title!)
* MagicalGirl
* MartyrWithoutACause (Hikaru.)
* MeaningfulName (Hikaru = Light, although she has flame magic; Umi = Sea, Fuu = Wind)
* MedievalEuropeanFantasy
* {{Meganekko}} (Fuu.)
* MementoMacGuffin (Anime-only: Lantis' necklace, a gift from his mother and which he later gave to Hikaru. It even [[ChekhovsGun plays a role in the final battle]].)
* MoralEventHorizon (Alcyone was crazy and probably psychotic, [[spoiler:but did she really deserved death at hands of Zagato when all what she was trying to do is make him happy?]])
* MrFixit (Presea.)
* {{Narm}} (We get it Debonair, you're evil... You can stop [[EvilLaugh laughing now]].)
* NiceHat (Ascot)
* NietzscheWannabe (Debonair.)
* NonHumanSidekick (Mokona.)
* NoodlePeople (Especially evident when Eagle or Lantis shed their armor and stand around in standard uniforms.)
* TheOjou (Umi and Fuu, each in their ways.)
* 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 [[{{Pettanko}} underdeveloped]] even though they're all the same age.)
* {{Omake}}
* {{Otaku}} (Fuu sure loves her {{RPG}}s.)
* PersonalityBloodTypes ([[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when Fuu introduces herself to Hikaru and Umi.)
* {{Pettanko}} (Hikaru)
* PlanetOfHats: Cephiro has a relatively varied environment and culture for a fantasy-RPG world, but the ''Invading Countries''...
** Autozam: Dedicated to [[MagiTek high-technology based on mental power]]. Its primary exports are HumongousMecha, [[CoolShip interstellar warships]], and [[{{BFG}} ultra]]-[[FrickinLaserBeams advanced]] [[WaveMotionGun weaponry]].
** Fahren: An entire world dedicated to [[AncientChina Chinese motifs and mythology]], with a few concessions to Japanese {{Onmyodo}}. Makes abundant use of the AsiaRuneChant, [[InstantRunes magic circles]], and [[SummonMagic paper doll summoning]]. And, [[InstantAwesomeJustAddNinja for some reason, ninja]].
** Chizeta: An oddly-shaped world with a teeny-tiny habitable biosphere, inspired by 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.
*** Possibly justified in Chizeta's case, due to its small size.
* ThePowerOfFriendship (Pretty much the point of the series, this is what saved Hikaru from being [[spoiler:[[FateWorseThanDeath dissolved]] when she insisted on saving Eagle from the Pillar's Trial]] in the manga.)
* PowerGivesYouWings (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.)
** The [[spoiler:[[{{God}} Creator]]]] also [[AGodAmI gains angelic wings]] (and a halo) when it [[TheReveal reveals itself]] to the cast.
* PowerTrio
* PsychoLesbian StalkerWithACrush (Nova.)
* PsychopathicManchild (Nova, again.)
* PunnyName (Eagle Vision.)
** Even if it wasn't intended as that (See ThemeNaming below)
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Clef.
* ReverseShrapnel (Nova uses them.)
* {{Samurai}} (Loosely speaking; all three girls are accomplished swordswomen by the end of the show.)
* SecretTestOfCharacter (That's how you obtain both your Phebotinum and your Power Upgrades.)
* SchrodingersCat (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. [[WallBanger There's just one problem]]...[[UniverseBible it goes against CLAMP rules, you know]].)
* {{Shojo}}
* ShouldersOfDoom (Zagato, Lafarga, Lantis, [[spoiler:evil]] Emeraude, Debonair, Nova, the three Rune Gods...)
* ShowgirlSkirt (Alcyone)
* SpiritAdvisor (Clef.)
* SpotOfTea (Tatra loves drinking her tea.)
* StraightArrow (Fuu, at first.)
* SuicideByCop
* SummonEverymanHero
* SuperDeformed
* TeenGenius (Fuu.)
* TenchiSolution (Hikaru decides she's going to marry Lantis ''and'' Eagle in the manga.)
* TheSweatDrop (Several.)
* ThemeNaming
* TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse
* TokyoTower (It's CLAMP, dammit.)
* TookALevelInBadass (After Hikaru's sword --and [[HeroicBSOD confidence]]-- is [[WreckedWeapon shattered]] by Nova, and 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.)
* TrappedInAnotherWorld
* VisibleSigh
* WellIntentionedExtremist (Zagato, maybe Lantis.)
* WhamEpisode (The end of the first season. Maybe one of the best plot twists CLAMP has ''ever'' used.)
* WhiteHairedPrettyBoy (Eagle Vision.)
* 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.)
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair (Umi with blue hair, Ferio with green hair, Caldina with pink hair)
* YouShouldKnowThisAlready (the ending of the first series)

!!''Rayearth'' OVA provides examples of:
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Eagle has gone from trying to save his country to being willing to destroy Earth to save Cephiro. He's also Emeraude's brother instead of [[spoiler:Ferio]]. Hikaru has gone from a GenkiGirl {{Determinator}} from a kendo family to a particularly [[BreakTheCutie Broken Cutie]] in the gymnastics club.
* AlternateContinuity: This is described as a shortened retelling of MKR. That is really inaccurate. There are so many changes to the plot, it's another story entirely.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: The girls attend the same school and don't want to be separated after graduation. They wish to stay friends forever, and this story really tests that wish.
* BondCreatures: Even ''worse'' than in the mainline series. Physical injuries while in Rune God form translate directly on the summoner's body.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Cephiro is dying; Zagato sacrificed his life in a vain attempt to avert this. Emeraude is alive, but is clinging to a dream that Zagato is with her. The actual story has more violence, some blood, and about half the characters from Cephiro are killed off ([[spoiler:although Emeraude lives]]).
*EnfantTerrible: Ascot isn't in to save his friends in this version. He just wants to kill everyone.
* FamilyUnfriendlyViolence: The Rune God battles are bloody and nasty.
* FanDisservice: As mentioned below, the Magic Knights appear naked within their mecha. But add horrible bloody injuries and it quickly becomes {{Squick}} of the highest caliber.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Lantis sacrifices himself to empower his sword]], to be used by the Knights. Doesn't make much sense.
* HopeSpot: Oh, so many times.
* HumongousMecha: Again, the Rune Gods.
* ItGotWorse: The DarkestHour keeps getting darker far past pitch-black.
* NightmareFuel: [[spoiler:Emeraude pines for and throws herself at the feet of a dead Zagato, who still sits on his throne]]. Emeraude's castle is filled with the dead souls of Cephiro, who scream and lash at anything living.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Averted. There is no mention of appearance-changing in this story, so Clef looks like a grown man, and Ascot is actually a young boy.
* OutOfClothesExperience: While "piloting" the Rune Gods, the girls appear entirely naked (their foes are never shown, however.) Also, their invocation of the final attack starts with them floating naked in the void.
* {{OVA}}
* PimpedOutDress: Emeraude's dress is far fancier than in the main story.
* ProductPlacement: There is a Subway restaraunt, but it's actually used for an important scene in the story.
* TheTokyoFireball: Large sections of Tokyo receive a pretty thorough trashing in the duration of the OVA.
* TrappedInAnotherWorld: Inverted. Instead of being sent elsewhere, the girls are the ''only'' living things on Earth after Clef whisks everyone else to another dimension, for safekeeping.
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