#cutey honey
I need to get this off my chest.
The evolution of the magical girl protagonist has baffled me so much. I have been watching various shows throughout the years with the magical girl theme and the female lead is ever changing and while some may complain that most shows are the same, I beg to differ.
If you compare Usagi Tsukino with every magical girl that came after, then that just makes you blind to the various girls that came before her like Cutey Honey! Or watch Precure if you want a different leader with a different struggle every season! My favorites are Tsubomi, Nodoka, Miyuki, Ichika, Hana, Natsumi, and Love! There’s also Madoka and Iroha from the Madoka Magica Series who I also love.
The French magical girls always seem to have the world on their shoulders continually. Iris from Lolirock was not the cliche princess I thought she was going to be. She took action and struggled with her identity and leadership. Marinette from Miraculous also surprised me with how mature she is becoming. I may have to make a separate post for her, but she has surprised me greatly.
Italian magical girls get the constant comparison game. Winx versus W.I.T.C.H is such an old debate that needs to die. I do, however, find it funny that both main leads are redheads. Bloom is a good protagonist, but she has flaws. Yes, she took up most of the show, but certain seasons like 2 and 3 really bring out her best qualities. I like how she had to discover her true power and grow alongside her friends. Will from W.I.T.C.H also was a strong female lead that struggled with a divorce and a move! Not to mention, her powers weren’t fully developed until season 2(unless you read the comics). The thing about Will is that her character embraces the fact that she is still a young girl trying to find her place.
Canadian magical girls are quite odd. I like the fact that they’re vastly different from American or Japanese magical girls with their premises, but are forgotten by the mainstream! Anybody remember Mysticons or Trollz? The main leader in Mysticons, Arkayna, has got to be one of my favorite leaders ever created. Born and raised to be a fighter, she was stubborn, strict, and had a burden on her shoulders due to her being the reason her parents were turned to stone. I do love the fact that she took the leadership role quickly, but still constantly bickered with Zarya, another girl on her team. For Trollz, Amethyst was my second favorite behind Onyx, but I loved how she cared for all her friends. When saving the world, she always puts them first.
Which leaves me to the American magical girls. Say what you want about them being copies of other great shows, I love the American ones! Star Butterfly was my favorite Disney girl for the longest time because I loved that we grew up with her. She went from reckless royal to a leader that puts her people first. Her character development was slow, but eventually she gained my love. The less said about She-Ra, the better since it disappointed me. I do, however, love Adora so much. The identity search aside, I liked how she was a reluctant to be the savior at first, but even she knew it was her destiny. Then she screwed destiny and did her own way!
I know other countries have magical girls, but I wanted to get these off my chest! I hope to find more people liking the lead girls more and maybe we can all agree that magical girls have gotten better too!
Cutie Honey A Go Go goes right into the pile of “Really awesome series that I can’t reread due to knowing how tragically short it was cut”.
