#magical girl analysis

Greetings Miraculous fandom,

Season four has come and gone. We have confirmation of season five coming out this summer. I decided to start a small series analyzing the show and all the little bits and pieces that make it so unique.

In today’s breakdown, we will discuss the trope of the “rich kids that have problems” and apply them to the children of miraculous who fall under this umbrella. We’ll go over the personalities, motivations, characterization, and how I feel they are included in the show and their overall impact.  

Without further ado, let’s get started.

Adrien Agreste:

Here’s the secondary protagonist of the show and one whom everyone seems to worship the ground he walks upon. Adrien has shown himself to be a very compassionate boy with values and motives around pleasing people, making them feel good, and making allies and friends in order to not feel lonely. He follows every order his father or other parental like figures in his life tells him. When in his superhero alter-ego, he shows off his true feelings and isn’t afraid to flaunt his skills, flirt with his partner, and feel inferior whenever she includes other heroes. With the power of destruction, he is easily one of the most powerful miraculous users in the show.

So why does he feel so one-dimensional?

True, as a fandom, we speak so highly of Adrien and never want to place any blame on him. If Ladybug rejects him, we want to pet him and make him feel better. If he feels replaceable, then we point out how Ladybug made him feel this way. Any ill actions that Adrien has committed get swept under the rug in favor of blaming our true main character. Have we all been blinded by this so called “sunshine child” that we forget that we are supposed to see the faults in both of our mains? Now that we learn that Adrien is a sentibeing, we are more inclined to place our sympathy upon him since he was created to be perfect. 

Therein lies the problem; when you give so much to a character who never has to suffer, why should I, as the viewer, feel bad for him? Things are going to work out in the end, he’ll get the girl, he’ll save the day, and maybe the show will revive his mother or whatever. In another show, people would call Adrien a brat for some of the ways he’s acted around Ladybug/Marinette. Instead of fantasizing about what he could be, we need to take off those rose tinted glasses and face his flaws. 

Chloe Bourgeois:

Well…let me get this out of the way first; I didn’t want a Chloe redemption arc. I felt like every show needs a mean girl character type to bring balance with our main female lead. Chloe came from a household that is pro “spare the rod, spoil the child” method of parenting. It’s the constant coddling, constant praise, and constant attention seeking behavior that we’ve come to know with those kinds of characters. So when season two was building up for her to be a “good” girl, I merely rolled my eyes. I know Chloes in the real world and when you give them exactly what they want, they tend to either be better or get worse. A lot of people had issues when she became laughably evil in season four and then teamed up with Lila. 

Well what did you expect from a girl who’s never been told no for her own life?

I’m surprised to find how many people defend her toxic behavior and abhorrent relationship with others. Did they want Chloe to be a hero because it would “fix her attitude” or did they just want her to a hero cause of this new trend of redeemable characters? I dislike Chloe and her elitist views make for good commentary on behavioral development. Had she received the proper discipline and attention as a child, would Chloe be a vastly different character? Her bad traits outweigh her good ones though, making it hard for someone to feel bad for her. Sure, she can be self-less…when she wants to. She can think about others…when it benefits her. She’ll work on a team…if she doesn’t have to do work. How can I like someone who has the capability to show me she can do good, but continues to relapse into her old habits?

Kagami Tsuguri:

Kagami is an example of sheltered parenting and placing high expectations on children. However, unlike with Adrien where it feels like the usual, the show surprises me by adding her motivation to develop friendships and meaningful relationships. At first, Kagami came off as a rude individual with blunt remarks and gave everyone the cold shoulder. Then she started becoming an Adrien love interest and started a friendship with Marinette. I believe the relationship she had with Marinette to be better than the one she attempted with Adrien. There was no chemistry between the two. Her good traits, however, outweigh her bad ones. We’ve seen her get jealous, be opposed to lying, and hesitate to bond due to social differences. Going back to her home life, we only know about her mother and their family reputation for being swordspeople. Her superhero side is shown to be quite headstrong, but loyal to a fault and trustworthy. Even with little to no knowledge about her, Kagami comes off as one of the more likable rich kids.

How is it that a female who comes from the same background as Adrien be a more fleshed out character in civilian form? Is it her heritage? Is it her true friendship with Marienette? The way she puts herself out there to help others and improve her skills? Her impact, while just a splash in a larger puddle, made huge waves despite the hate she seems to get from the fandom.

Felix Graham de Vanily:

Here we reach the climax of the anti-hero. Felix was introduced to be the twin cousin of Adrien and shown to be somewhat of a sneaky person. He impersonates Adrien, figures out the secret identity of Hawkmoth, tricks Ladybug into trusting him, and beats all the heroes at their own game. Sure he’s snide, conniving, and tricky, but there’s some good underneath the layers. He adores his mother, does care about Adrien, and is even shown sympathizing when his fellow sentibeings are being destroyed.

I’m actually quite neutral to his character. I haven’t seen what he could do when he really lets loose and his motives are still foggy. Do I get angry at him for causing the end of the world without knowing? Do I cry for him because he’s a character under stress and circumstances that he’s trying to control? Felix is vague, not much to him and kinda underwhelming until something pops up later. Knowing him, there will be a lot of changes in the next season should he return in style. 

Please note that this is my critique on the characters and take it with a grain of salt. I love Miraculous and want to continue to look at some of the smaller details within the show. 

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!