Magical Girl Lalabel is an early Magical Girl series, airing from 1980 to 1981. It was also the last Magical Girl series made by Toei Animation until the 1988 remake of Himitsu no Akko-chan, as other studios (most notably Studio Pierrot) picked up the slack during the eighties.
Lalabel is a Magical Girl living happily in the magic world, until the day she catches the thief Biscus stealing her magic tools. Startled by her sudden appearance, Biscus swings his magic wand around and accidentally transports the two of them into the human world. Lalabel is taken in by an elderly couple, the Tachibanas, and she attends school with their granddaughter, Teko, learning about human beings and their world in the process, while continuing to chase after Biscus and foil his further attempts to swindle people.
Magical Girl Lalabel provides examples of the following tropes:
- Brought Down to Normal: Lalabel and Biscus lose their magical powers and become human in the final episode.
- Cats Are Mean: Biscus has a grey cat who's just as nasty as him.
- Cute Witch: Lalabel is a very cute-looking girl with magical powers.
- Cute Kitten: Lalabel has a pet kitten named Vanilla.
- Dastardly Whiplash: Biscus definitely has the look and attitude, although he's fatter than most examples.
- Does Not Like Magic:
- Grandpa Tachiban starts the story disapproving of magic. He does get used to Lalabel's antics, however. It probably helps that she used magic to save him from drowning during their first meeting.
- Toko's parents, who are intellectuals, don't believe in magic.
- Fat Bastard: Biscus is plus-size, and the main villain of the story.
- Fish out of Water: Lalabel takes some time adjusting to the human world.
- Granny Classic:
- Granny Tachiban. She's the sweetest lady in the show, and actually made Lalabel's pink dress.
- She likes playing volleyball and tennis with the girls, however.
- Heel–Face Turn: Biscus and Hokiba become good at the end of the series.
- Magic Wand: Lalabel has one that resembles a toy, and is one of the first magical girls to actually use a wand.
- Muggle Best Friend: Toko and Teko have no powers, and are Lalabel's dear friends.
- Muggle Foster Parents: The Tachibanas, who have no magic, allow Lalabel to stay with them.
- Pink Means Feminine: Lalabel's main dress is pink, as are most of the clothes she wears.
- Raised by Grandparents: Teko's parents work overseas, so she lives with her grandparents.
- Short Film: Magical Girl Lalabel: the Sea Calls for a Summer Vacation, which is only 15 minutes long.
- Sidekick: Hokiba, a noodle cart owner Biscus meets in the first episode, eagerly works for Biscus and is just as nasty and greedy as the man himself.
- Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: Lalabel's kitten wears a pink hairbow.
- Trapped in Another World: Lalabel and Biscus get stuck in the human world and are unable to return home.
