Forum - View topicThis Week in Anime - What Happens When Magical Girls Grow Up?
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John the Dark Lord
Posts: 266 |
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I was pretty surprised to read that Gushing Over Magical Girls of all things started a discussion about how dark the genre has gotten since Madoka Magica, even if most people on the site have only watched the first episode. But after actually reading the article, I guess it is fair to expect the worst when dealing with new Magical Girl series nowadays.
But honestly, the mangaka of this work displays far more respect for traditional Magical Girl values than most of those poor Madoka clones even as he submits his characters to increasingly creative BDSM sessions. I mean, how else do you explain the fact the cast finds time to talk about how good must always triumph over evil even in the middle of that kinky parade? Or how good does triumphs over evil thanks to the power of friendship, love and self-acceptance (of one's own fetishes)? The impression I got reading the manga is that the author loves Magical Girls as much as Utena does. |
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cardkiing
Posts: 6 |
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on the topic of not judging a show by it 1st episode. I will drop most anime that fully introduced it main cast & main premise by the 1st episode (except for series with either a small cast, or a very simple premise) because 9 out 10 times it will be mediocre at best.
also I neither enjoy nor hate Ecchi, so I have no problem watching series like Gushing over magical girls, so long as it is well written. honestly, my main problem with Ecchi as a genre is that most series think they can get away with poor writing by simply upping the Ecchi element. |
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dm
 Subscriber Posts: 1480 |
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Minky Momo is another of those series where the OVAs took the series in a slightly different, and (to me) much more interesting route.
I'd love for Discotek to license Minky Momo and the Bridge of Dreams, for example, even though I've never been able to get through a single episode of the TV series. |
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FilthyCasual
Posts: 2419 |
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I'm reminded of Magical Girl Raising Project. It was an entertaining watch, and the following LNs ended up drastically expanding the world in interesting ways.
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Shay Guy
 Posts: 2349 |
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A little funny seeing it described that way -- I remember it came out in the era when a fair few otaku shows still weren't simulcast, and it was notably one of them. Aniplex didn't give it a streaming release until… I dunno, a year after it was done? Two?
This is a pretty standard narrative with Madoka, but it's also not how I remember it being received. Even from episode 1, people were saying "this is some wild-ass Shaft stuff, and it'll be interesting to see where it goes". There was already the ominous Kyubey imagery, the opening nightmare, the Faust allusions, the crazy set design, Homura being very suspicious, a beat or two that was very reminiscent of Nanoha's opening episode, and so on. Long before Charlotte happened, it was clear this was not a world where being a magical girl was fun and games. (For me, it's kinda like how people talk about the OP being misleading, to which I always say: It starts and ends with Madoka crying. How much more representative can you get?) Remember, Madoka already had a good amount of buzz before it aired, just from the staff. People already knew the Song of Saya dude was writing Shaft's first original anime since before the Shinbo era, just as they knew it had character designs by the Hidamari Sketch lady and the director of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei and Arakawa Under the Bridge would be directing. Nobody expected it to be typical Pretty Cure material. (Not that the then-current HeartCatch season was considered "typical Pretty Cure material" either, as I recall.) In the rest of the "magical girls but daaaaark" space, I've honestly been enjoying Magical Girl Tsubame: I Will (Not) Save The World! over on Manga Plus, but it's hard to see it ever getting an anime. So much of the appeal is Mapollo 3's wild-ass art, which I'm sure the eight other fans of PPPPPP out there will remember was also its strongest suit -- and I don't think it'd work nearly as well in motion. Last edited by Shay Guy on Tue Jan 09, 2024 3:26 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Cho_Desu
 Posts: 242 |
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Was intrigued by the title of the article, but it was mostly just about darker magical girl shows (a much more common topic), and about genre mash-ups and parodies. I guess there aren't really that many shows about magical girls growing up and living their adult lives. (Just the Precure Full Bloom show was briefly mentioned.)
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njprogfan
Collector Extraordinaire Posts: 1233 Location: A River Named Toms |
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When talking about dark Magical Girl series I'm surprised Uta-Kata wasn't mentioned. It gets pretty psychologically serious, drama-laden and downbeat at times and when I saw Madoka for the first time I recalled watching something similar but couldn't remember, (with that title you'd think it would have been easy). Every once in a while I go back to it, (it needs an upgrade, only being on DVD). It's so under-rated.
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Thespacemaster
Posts: 1173 |
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I mean we sort of got a bdsm fashioned magical girl with Penguindrum over a decade ago.
Ok granted it was nowhere near this level but im just saying, i have seen a lot of shows over the years and this one is not that out of the world bonkers for the magical genre, at least in terms of other stories we got. Even more so if you read certain manga series out right now that makes this look tame in comparison. |
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Joe Mello
 Posts: 2317 Location: Online Terminal |
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I've already had one mutual throw a content warning to another about the opening episode of Gushing. While I personally try to keep an open mind, I have definitely noped out of series on the 1st episode after the show said what it was going to be. There is literally too much anime out in the world, and most of it isn't good enough to earn the benefit of the doubt. Dark series will never go away--there will always be teenagers and young adults who'll feel the need to demonstratively reject their childhood--but as Western fandom continues to age and gentrify, one would think the desire to do a sincere show for adults is there. I do wonder if a "Magical Girls for adults" series is just Charmed... |
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encrypted12345
Posts: 728 |
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Nice to see some love for Granblem. The chibi mecha take some time getting used to, but it's definitely a series worth watching. That's even if some elements were clearly there just because "we want the Madoka audience".
As a fan of the manga of Gushing over Magical Girls, I'd say it starts getting good once the MC starts getting comfortable in her role by the end of volume 1 (probably around episode 3) and really gets going once by the end of volume 2 (probably episode 5) when it's obvious that the series intends to flesh out its characters, as absurdist as they are. The degeneracy will always be there, and boy does it get degenerate, but it's pretty obvious the mangaka is a fan of the genre and does a decent job on making something that could stand its own as an affectionate magical girl parody despite the lewd. |
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AnimeFan188
Posts: 11 |
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I'm surprised the article never mentioned Shamanic Princess, which had a darker, more
grown-up magical girl vibe before it became fashionable: anime#730 |
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Vaisaga
 Posts: 13242 |
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Grown up magic girls and no mention of Nanoha StrikerS? When magical girls grow up they become even more Gundam than they were before!
But if we're talking more mature stuff, I'd give a special shout out to a certain manga that unambiguously ended with the main girls becoming a couple. Magic girl stuff is always full of yuri bait but few rarely commit. I'm not talking about hand holding or looking longingly into each other's eyes. I'm talking a full on confession and a big damn kiss. That title is spoiler[Magical Spec ops Asuka.] |
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harminia
 Posts: 2064 Location: australia |
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MGRP is really good. The first book/series, and the second arc too are more standard "dark magical girl!!!" type stories but after that point it starts getting really interesting. Even the end of the second arc shifts the tone a lot. It's genuinely a good series with really great world building. You can tell it's been really thought about, because characters from one book will either show up later or be mentioned and play much bigger parts, even if they were just killed off in their story. Also you can tell the author loves magical girls and respects them and the overall concept. As someone up to date with the official english translations, I just want to say it's not a madoka clone or whatever. It actually becomes more of a political intrigue story with fascinating world building. I said it in another thread (Because I'll take any chance to promote MGRP) but it's honestly more of a magical girl mafia story.
I watched Uta-Kata a couple of years ago and it was quite surprising in its themes, especially one bit that I feel got brushed over a little too quick but was kinda an oh shit moment. I would've liked a manga version that expanded on some points or something, but overall it was a pretty good series that did some very different things.
You've just reminded me that one day I need to go and finish that series. |
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MarshalBanana
 Posts: 5525 |
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I find Magical Girl most enjoyable when it is either Echi(Cutie Honey, KIll La Kill), Dark(Princess Tutu) or bizzare(Galaxy Fraulein Yuna).
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aereus
Posts: 576 |
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Granbelm vaguely reminds me of an obscure series Sunrise did in the late 90s called Seraphim Call. Was an all girls cast, maybe even all princesses, and each one controlled a mecha or something I want to say? It was a long time ago.
https://myanimelist.net/anime/2245/Seraphim_Call Then I dunno if it's magical girls so much as a bunch of princesses that each had their own special powers around the same time: Himiko-Den. Not sure which one was more disapponting, but it definitely had a banger OP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxRmm9osB8k I will throw my vote in for watching Daybreak Illusion if you haven't. Yes, it's one of the slew of dark magical girl series to come out in the years following Madoka, but the art style was unique and it didn't dwell on the misery as much as series like Magical Girl Site or Magical Girl Raising Project. Definitely a step below Yuuki Yuuna, however. Daybreak was another one with a really banger OP song as well. |
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