Magical Girl
Magical girl (mahō shōjo) is a genre about girls who gain magical powers, usually transforming into a costumed form to fight evil while living ordinary school lives.
Where the word comes from
Japanese 魔法少女, mahō shōjo, "magic girl".
In depth
Magical girl stories began in 1960s Japan with witches and girls with magical items, such as Sally the Witch (1966). Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi, serialized from 1991, made the team-of-transforming-heroines version the genre's best-known form and an international phenomenon.
Common elements
A schoolgirl receives power, often from a talking animal companion or a magical object; she transforms into a costumed identity; she fights threats with friends while keeping her secret. Cardcaptor Sakura by CLAMP is a classic of the gentler, collecting-and-friendship side.
Darker turns
Later works subvert the formula. Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011) treated the bargain behind the powers as a tragedy, and much recent magical girl manga plays with that darker reading.
Magical girls for older readers
Alongside the classic shōjo stories, a branch of magical girl manga aimed at older readers deconstructs the genre, asking what the powers cost and what happens to the girls who fight. These works keep the costumes and transformations but use them for darker drama.
Where to start
Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura remain the usual starting points and are available in complete English editions. Readers who know the anime will find that the manga versions are often shorter and move faster.
Where it appears
Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi. the defining team magical girl series
Cardcaptor Sakura by CLAMP. classic magical girl manga
What it means today
The genre is shōjo in origin but read across all ages; the darker modern versions are often seinen.
