This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Thimble: I have to question whether Card Captor Sakura is appropriate as a poster (or example) for this trope. While Sakura is a magical girl, and the romance is a significant plot point... - the romance is not the main plot (which is more of a Trial By Magic for the title character, with personal relationships thrown into the mix); - Sakura doesn't fit the 'docile, domestic girl head-over-heels for the dork' part of the trope; - Syaoran isn't a dork. A brat, yes, but competent and possessed of his own magic; - Syaoran doesn't even turn up in the series for several episodes; - the very last episode of the anime and of the manga has the pair of them just, maybe getting together. Before that they're rivals, then decreasingly oblivious...
Kuruni: And she's the main character.
Desertopa: Regarding the Neverwhere example. Door definitely fits, after a fashion, but there is no way Hunter is a magical girlfriend. The most romantic thing she does with Richard is give him a spear and tell him to stick it in a giant pig. Also she's possibly a lesbian; her attraction to women is mentioned in-story, whereas she shows no signs of interest in any male characters.
Keru: I have to question the inclusion of A.I. Love You, because it's manga-only, to the best of my knowledge. ANN doesn't have any listing for an animated version of it, either. (Of course, this makes it Akamatsu's only work now that hasn't been animated, since the recent OVA release of Itsudatte My Santa.)
Ununnilium: Eh, other-media example. ``v
Dark Sasami: Heh, not quite his only work that hasn't been animated...see Bleached Underpants.
Looney Toons: I see someone beat me to the punch on objecting to AI Love You. It's been moved and seconded, so I'm nuking the example. Sorry, U.
Ununnilium: Curse you! But eh, it's OK. `.`v
Later: I'm putting it back in, since our focus has expanded so.
Probably didn't originate in the West because said Magical Girlfriend is often a, well, Magical Girl, as in Extraordinarily Empowered Girl, and No Guy Wants an Amazon.
This feels like an attempt to shoehorn in a trope reference where it doesn't belong, frankly.
Twin Bird: Um...didn't Magical Girl kind of originate in the West? From a show that could be considered Magical Girlfriend, in fact...
Looney Toons: Hey, Osh, I don't mind most of your edits to my original text, but why'd you screw up the intentional alliteration of "dork and demigoddess"?
Looney Toons: I've been thinking about the Weird Science example — I'm not sure it actually belongs. Lisa is more of a summoned genie than anything else, and as the example actually points out, there's never anything romantic between her and the two nerds.
Malimar: How about Leeloo Dallas from The Fifth Element?
Ununnilium: Nah; they didn't really have a boyfriend/girlfriend thing going. There was definitely a relationship, but...
Dreamoflife: I don't really agree with the inclusion of Suzumiya Haruhi No Yuutsu: Haruhi doesn't fit the 'docile, domestic girl head-over-heels for the dork' trope at all, she's more of a tsundere than anything else; Mikuru fits the domestic-goddess bit better, but she and Kyon don't actually end up together even though the feeling seems to be somewhat mutual.
Lale: She's magical, she's a girlfriend (no matter what Kyon says), the story is adventures-of-a-painfully-average-guy-and-his-magical-girlfriend. Close enough IMO.
Rogue 7: I'm with Dream Of Life on this one. Haruhi doesn't fit what I see as the main point of the trope- barring the fact that she's good-looking, she's not what most people are really looking for in a girlfriend- she's a selfish, overbearing person who absolutely refuses to listen to what others have to say if she doesn't want to. Not that she's not awesome, but I don't think she fits.
Scud East: I'm trying to find a way to make a joke about Clarke's Third Law here. "Any sufficiently advanced relationship is indistinguishable from magic?"
