Suggestion: Black Magician Girl

This is a absolutely great image, but this one is fanart that was taken from ZeroChan, based on this previous thread. Original source image here by aoi, but I'm fairly sure no permission was obtained since I'm not entirely sure what the policy was at the time and how much has changed between then and now.

In any case, suggesting the following images, trying to capture the trope of "cheerful, powerful, mage that specializes in black/offensive magic":

1.1 Lysithea from Fire Emblem: Three Houses (art from Fire Emblem Cipher)

1.2 Sanaki from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (art also from Cipher)

1.3 Megumin from Konosuba (Volume 17 Ch 1 illustration)

Edited by taotruths on Apr 16th 2024 at 11:25:52 AM

I love 1.1

1.3 is fun

1.1

I like 1.1 I know Black Magic can mean any sort of destructive magic (especially in video games) but I like that the one in 1.1 is casting some sort of inky energy thing. Just gives it a bit extra.

Though if we wanted to play up the "small, slightly tomboyish" (the Twintails are usually a sign of less girlyish-ness and more snark):

I still like 1.1 though.

Edited by GracieLizzy on Apr 16th 2024 at 12:39:05 PM

1.1

Now that you bring that up, I also got Mae from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia if that's one angle we want to skew

Delthea from the same game might also be an option

Most of the images are admittedly pretty good, but I also need to note that most of them also fall into Playing with Fire while Mae's image seems more like a case of Shock and Awe.

This is subjective on my end, but I do prefer having either Sanaki or Delthea over Cole's image for Video Games as while Cole's image is decent, it's more of a secondary power for him and the image quality isn't exactly the best IMO, plus there's a larger emphasis on the flames regarding Sanaki and Delthea's image.

Edited by CrimsonShark on Apr 17th 2024 at 2:44:12 PM

I don't like 1.1 because in this context "black magic" means offensive spells, not magic that's literally black or evil or something. The other suggestions are all good, I personally prefer 1.2.

She looks young and energetic enough, uses lightning magic, has dark clothes, you can tell she's magician from the tome on her hand and is not busy or distracting like the other suggestions.

I also thinks it's charmingly old school and shows how old the trope truly is.

I think my biggest problem with 1.1 is that the character doesn't look "spunky" enough. She just looks calm and collected. 1.3 is actually the best in the OP.

Edited by Drope on Apr 17th 2024 at 3:07:16 AM

Okay that one is better

Though I wish there was a way to make it a little more clear with the bolt on her finger like the original card, something like this:

Edited by taotruths on Apr 17th 2024 at 7:08:06 AM

to 1.1.

Black Magician Girl specifically mentions the following:

She may be small, but don't underestimate her. This spunky little thing is packing enough heat to take down a Swiss Bank, and that's just with the spells she learned in kindergarten.

The Black Magician Girl is a character type frequently found in fantasy that is primarily an offensive magic user. In personality, she is likely to be immature and outgoing, frequently a Genki Girl and Tomboy. This is carried over to her design, which is far less likely to be as elaborate or impractical as the Lady of Black Magic. She's also far less likely to be Ms. Fanservice than the Lady.

In short, a spunky, black mage with an attitude, and seemingly the Tomboy equivalent to Lady of Black Magic's Girly Girl. 1.1 leans more into Lady of Black Magic, with the more elaborate clothing, and her seemingly calm and collected attitude. The other images do a better job of showing the spunky part.

Personally speaking, I like 1.3, 5, 7.2, and 10 the best. With my thoughts leaning toward 5 for the emphasis on the small and tomboyish parts.

Edited by Tylerbear12 on Apr 17th 2024 at 4:16:48 AM

Ah, now I see your point. In that case, I'll rescind my vote and place my bets on 10.

5.1 looks representative.

If it's important for the trope to be tomboyish, then 1.3 and 7.2 are the best.

I don't like 10/11, it focuses much more on the character's appearance than her magic.

Edited by petersohn on Apr 17th 2024 at 4:52:20 PM

To 1.1

It's a character archetype trope. How the characters looks should be the most important part.

The specific magic they use is only part of the whole deal.

Edited by Drope on Apr 17th 2024 at 7:58:12 AM

I would feel bad if I didn't pitch my personal favourite Rita Mordio (from Tales of Vesperia though these images from official spin off games) or cameos in other games:

Edited by GracieLizzy on Apr 17th 2024 at 3:59:18 PM

Here's a different take on 1.1 from Lysithea's FE Heroes artwork [1]

The pose implies the magic is offensive in nature.

Regardless, 10 and 11 are weaker in both the tomboyish part and the energetic part, she just looks happy. That said, even the offensive magic is more obvious for a large flashy fireball than a tiny arc.

Those are also weak in the offensive magic, though good in the other aspects of the trope.

Still voting for 1.1. She looks young enough to be this trope rather than Lady of Black Magic, and being a tomboy is not a hard requirement.

Veronica from Dragon Quest XI [1]◊

(She's technically of the "actually 1000 years old" variety of magical little girl but I won't tell if you won't tell)

Edited by Stage7-4 on Apr 17th 2024 at 8:17:41 AM

Okay, I was looking for good images of Veronica before I proposed this one. This is better than one in her character folder on the Dragon Quest 11 page.

Art is from Dragon Quest Rivals.

Edited by taotruths on Apr 17th 2024 at 8:22:19 AM

This one is from Dragon Quest Rivals, a mobile spin-off fyi. I think the character page from Dragon Quest XI wants to use it's own assets.

Nevermind

Edited by Stage7-4 on Apr 17th 2024 at 8:22:22 AM

Bumping