Writing a Magical Boy story

I've started writing an experimental magical boy au. It is about a 'race' of senshi and the 'magical underground'. The main character is a teenage boy who who starts developing senshi powers at puberty. When he turns 14 he finds a strange animal in his room that claims it's part of his soul.

I have a lot of stuff figured out but i still need some help. Any suggestions?

Who are the villains?

Are you going to make it a standard Magical Girl story, except gender-switched? Or will you play with other parts of the genre too?

Also, he gonna be part of a team? And do they have a theme around them?

Sorta unlike Tokyo Mew Mew?

Wow, I was actually thinking of the idea of a Magical Boy a few days ago, before jumping to a more interesting idea. I bet it would be a very quirky story, considering there aren't really any Magical Boys out there at all.

EDIT: Now I want to write one. One of the questions is: What kind of outfit to use?

edited 27th Apr '11 2:40:18 PM by chihuahua0

I'm actually getting a DN Angel vibe from it, though minus the whole phantom thief aspect.

Yeah well I'm finalizing the idea. I'm reconsidering the animal and probably coming up with another idea for mascots. Maybe some creature they got from the magical world.

Coming up with the magical form was a bit hard because I had to think wish fulfillment for a boy and I'm not quite sure what a boy would be into. But I finally settled on a getup sort of like out of a video game.

edited 28th Apr '11 11:36:02 AM by JewelyJ

Maybe you should homage Kamen Rider stuff. That's pretty close to "Magical Man", especially considering how Magical Girl was once (and maybe still is) a genre dominated by Toei series, so Toei's male superhero franchise might be good study material for writing a magical boy. Also, see this thread on the manga and anime forum.

Hmm...do you mind if I hijack this thread?

I'm thinking of this as a Five-Man Band:

• The Hero: The fourteen-year old male protagonist, who is reluctant as a normal male teenager would be.
• The Lancer: A more cheerful female his age that is closer to the archtypical Magical Girl. Only a little reluctant, and grows into her duties more quickly.
• The Big Guy: An older woman in her late teens/early twenties.
• The Smart Guy: A semi-stotic thirteen-year old girl who sees her powers as an escape from reality.
• The Chick: A fourteen-year old boy that is a Keet. A Keet with a good heart, that is.

Oh, and obviously, there might be a love web involved. Guess which people.

The Hero and the Chick?

Just kidding. Hero and Lancer, right?

The Hero, with arrows pointing from The Lancer, The Smart Guy, and The Chick.

I wonder if it would be too cliche to put The Big Guy into it too and turn the team into The Unwanted Harem?

edited 30th Apr '11 6:18:15 AM by chihuahua0

There needs to be a trap somewhere.

No particular reason.

Interesting.

"Magical boy" is actually no as implausible as it may seem. Harry Potter, Golden Compass, etc. are really all the same story. Kamen Rider or Power Rangers that are seen as "manlier" are in fact only a few really insignificant steps away. There is possibility in bringing those and magical girl tropes closer. (There are also a fair share of male readers who can appreciate the "girlier" tropes, despite the prejudice.)

Team him up with a bunch of girls and make the powers different yet complementary.

I second the Trap.

Can I steal this thread?

I'm not sure if I want a Transsexual in my Five-Man Band. It could be The Smart Guy, but maybe I'll have "her" as The Sixth Ranger.

So, fourteen years old as the protagonist? Fairy tales and medieval fantasy as the motifs?

Sure, why not. Although I was thinking just now that Egyptian mythology is sadly underrepresented in stories like this, and it might be interesting to have that as the main motif. Or how about Sumerian Mythology? Now there's something that's pretty much non-existent in fiction.

I'd come up with some badass attack names, but there's a risk they'd all sound like spell cards.

edited 5th May '11 2:09:11 AM by RiotousRascal

Ohh and have a character who refuses to shout their attacks because they lose the element of surprise, even better if they get called out for it. lol

edited 5th May '11 3:06:58 AM by Vyctorian

So...is there going to be a short skirt-fanservice equivalent for said magical boys?

MG outfits are, essentially, pimped-out versions of female clothing and accessories. Hence, it follows that MB outfits would be pimped-out versions of male clothing and accessories.

So basically, waistcoats. Having a team of Dressed to Kill Kung Fu Wizards would be, to put it bluntly, totally fucking awesome. A Badass Longcoat would also be acceptable.

Or perhaps something like what the guys (and there's a lot of them) wear in Heart no Kuni no Alice? Nightmare's eyepatch is pretty sweet. Scaled down to kid-size, of course.

Or, for another idea, basically anything that Negi wears. Like that Chinese-esque outfit with the opera gloves he's been seen in recently.

edited 5th May '11 3:25:23 AM by RiotousRascal

I was also thinking about doing some sort of wizard or princes outfit. But the main goal is to have an outfit that doesn't look shonen, fits with the team's outfits, and look good.

Give the guy a 3-piece suit (and perhaps a nice walking stick with some fun extra functions, like a sword stick or a wand.) That's style!

Alternatively give him 18th century clothes, maybe Bling of War, and perhaps even a white wig. (Those tight knee breeches defenately counts as Fan Service.) Besides, A tricorne NEVER look wrong!

You could follow through on the Magical Girl aspect and put him in drag, though I'm not sure how the joke would translate if he was trans...

Surely it's possible to create a Magical Boy story without crossdressing?

No, no cross-dressing. That would be cheating.