Writing Traditional Magical Girl Genre

[Arch9CivilReactor]

I’m been trying to find a good base for my story to work off of, but increasingly found that a good number of Magical Girl shows adapted these days are of a darker and gritty variety. Those that are not are kids shows so it’s hard to dissect.

If I remember it right: Tokyo Mew Mew (the show I’m using as a base for my Magical Girl story) is more about the romance with the magical girl aspect focused on secondary. There are love interests everywhere and relationship building.

If I take out the ‘romance’ aspect, you have a story where the main character goes through your typical gets powers > transforms > creates a team to fight bad guys > defeats the big bad and gets their happy ending. It is pretty simple.

So how can I use the tropes that are ‘traditional’?

My first idea is focusing on the transformational aspect of the powers. The female lead may be a tomboyish girl, but even she gets scared of ghosts and ghouls. Being guy-like and actually having a guy mindset to stuff is different.

She hates getting hurt, and doesn’t have courage.

However, she finds her personality being changed upon transformation. Like she is being possessed. This grants her power, but also makes her wonder if it’s really her who is the hero or the transformed persona she takes on.

In order to make an action-centric magical girl story, this is the first idea I have. Rather than focus on the inherent girly power fantasy nature that sells merchandise, this idea strips away the complicated and makes her a Henshin Hero.

The standard hiding of identity being added too.

My second idea is pretty vague compared to the first one. I initially was going to make the platonic male friend and love interest separate characters in the story, but now feel like maybe a story similar to ‘Twin Exorcists’ would benefit me.

The only difference is that this would be primarily an exorcist story with a ‘magical girl character’ in the cast. Rather than it being a story focused on magical girls in their genre. Like how every student in ‘Blue Exorcist’ had their own powers.

My feelings are torn because it’d be the first time trying out an exorcist story. I’m also interested in making a traditional magical story without all that baggage (but for an older audience). Thus the focus on Henshin Hero aspect of her powers.

Some of my notes have some ideas adding different Henshin archetypes (like Jewel Power Rangers and one Kamen Rider dude). I find it insanely cool when a Henshin transformation goes wrong and they go into this berserker rage.

Will be looking up what that trope is but I remember an anime where the main character’s initial transformation was going berserk, and needed help to ‘correct’ his power into your typical transforming hero who saves people.

I feel like I’m almost at a very fun idea, but I’m missing something. Maybe making it so this is a female version of that anime where her powers are evil in nature, and needs holy techniques to subdue and bring out a Henshin Hero power.

I’m just trying to find the thing that impassions me the most out of these many ideas right now.

What do you guys think is a fun idea?

 

[Daitengu]

To me, magical girl shows were always darker than expected. Like Sailor Moon or Utena. With the more lighter kind like Pretty Cure, and Card Captor Sakura came later.

But now that I look at a list, it started rather light with Sally and Tutu. So I suppose it's just a generational cycle between light and dark.

 

[Cipiteca396]

Wiki says that one of the inspirations for one of the first magical girl shows was Bewitched. Similar shows would be Sabrina the Teenage Witch or Charmed.

Those shows have 'magical girls', but the focus is more on their lives than on their jobs/witchy stuff.

I don't think its wrong to look at magical girl shows that way, either. Characters try to use their powers for their own convenience, and often create problems that they have to solve before someone notices and scolds them. There are serious moments, of course, where they are doing their jobs, or where something bad comes out of nowhere and they help out.

With the way you've set things up, I imagine the character would be left to her own devices a lot of the time. So creating tons of mischief, either intentionally or on accident, would be super-natural.

Don't know if that helps, but it's more than I thought I was going to say.

 

[ThrillingHuman]

The first MG genre movie I watched was winx. I don't remember anything of it and it isn't relevant but I felt I'd share.

 

[corruption]

I don't follow the genre much, but here are two nice facts:
The Mane Six from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic can be considered a Magical girl group, and their fandom is mainly in the overlap between fans of that, and furries.
If they get their power from an outside source, like the Spirit of the Moon, or whatever, they would count as Warlocks in D&D. It would be amusing to run one in a campaign.

For a nice parody of the genre, I recommend the webcomic: To Prevent World Peace.

I think part of the original appeal of the genre is a power fantasy where the girls can imagine they are bold and powerful. The main characters are rarely the popular girls, but the shy and/or clumsy ones. Suddenly they get the magic and are important, they can make a difference, and some handsome guy is interested in them.
The confident and popular girls may be included as support for them, but may also be antagonists.

Hidden identities with their outlandish hair styles (Like Sailor Moon) would make Clark Kent call them out for being obvious. . . . . Maybe if part of their magic was to prevent people associating them with their normal identity . . .
It would be interesting to see what genre style overlaps they have with shows like Power Rangers.

 

[ArlindoFrancisco]

Humm... well.
The idea of a tomboy MG would be coll but to be different but staying traditional would be she being brutal when she transforms, not in a sadistic way but real street fight brutal if she gets a weapon and normally the special move would be used in a way and all the sequence... like a Sailor Uranus special attack... but instead she used in the middle of the fight grabbing the guy by the collar or neck and exploding into the ground. This kind of approach would work on the girlly girl turning MG and her personality changing; it doesn't make the story dark.

And the fact her personality changes is because she doesn't want to get hurt so her personality matches one that would finish the fight at all costs, having a street fight aspect, which is completely brutal to enemies; she could even have the moment of "am I the bad guy?" because of how she fights in a nontraditional way using her moves.

Again using Uranus special attack, but she is on top of the guy with her knees loocking his arms so she uses the special move on his face with no exitation what so ever.

The kamen rider aspect of the story could be like kamen rider decade when he uses different moves of past riders, but in a MG setting, you need to give back ground of past MGs that she is getting from; at that point, just make a new power or transformation; that would be traditional; upgrades are too.

If it is multiple characters, they could exchange what gives them power, and it would be different for each one, like if the red MG gets the blue cristal, her personality and moves completely change, not even the same as the blue MG... just different. That can be a development.

I think a light magical girl take it would be if sakura card captors MC being that kid, not sakura. That is why I think you kind of need to change the personality if you transform because, like in the other post on this forum about magical girls, the majority of people that would be a candidate to MG couldn't fight a cat, let alone a demon. That is why the majority of older shows had long-range special moves. The new ones, to me, the personalities don't match... Madoka is different because the type of girl that is chosen matches... they are not cute and shit; the majority are fucked in the head if you think about it.

The idea is fine but what is missing is the middle; you can't be dark but can't be light; realistic is not the word for it either.
That is why I think going for a henshin hero was the path you chose and is the right one, How would you right a kamen rider girl? That would be closer to what you want.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

The first MG genre movie I watched was winx. I don't remember anything of it and it isn't relevant but I felt I'd share.

Saw about four episodes of the cartoon - enough to recognize but be completely lost by the Netflix live action sequel. And THAT is all I know of it... Though the first MG genre I saw, unless Project A-Ko (it is similar ... and parodies EVERYTHING but probably not) or the original 1980s She-Ra count - was the American watering down of Sailor Moon.

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

I like the second idea. You've got a few cool ideas there with two henshin heroes, one an exorcist and the other a magical girl, two different kinds of heroes fighting evil/crime/whatever. It kind of reminds me of Twin Star Exorcists and Kekkaishi, both shows featuring a girl and a guy as heroes. Heroic Complex is a more comedic take on what you're talking about; it's a 4-koma manga featuring a girl transforming into a kamen rider and a boy transforming into a cross-dressing magical girl. Twin Star Exorcist and Heroic Complex have the MCs use different power styles, while the MCs in Kekkaishi use the same kind of power (kekkai / barriers) with the male MC emphasizing power and longevity of use against lower accuracy and the female MC emphasizing accuracy and speed against a lower power output. Of course, there's also Cardcaptor Sakura, where Syaoran starts off as a rival to Sakura before they team up to capture the Clow Cards. There are so many ways you can go about this.

With all that said, maybe one of them goes into berserk mode, b/c one of the MCs can't control his/her power yet and requires the other one to help him/her control it (similar to how the female MC helps the male MC with his power control in Kekkaishi). Going into that dynamic would add another dimension to the platonic friendship dynamic between the two.

As for the magical girl teaming up with an exorcist in an exorcist-centric angle outside of the expectations present in the magical girl genre, there are many ways you can take this. From what I remember in Cardcaptor Sakura, Syaoran uses talismans like that of an exorcist (onmyouji), and Sailor Mars incorporates similar talismans in some of her attacks. So maybe mix it up a little and have one of your MCs in your story learn or at least be familiar enough with each other's powers to take advantage of them in a team fight. Like, for instance, if the magical girl MC in your story is having a hard time controlling her powers and goes into berserk mode when she transforms, then have the male exorcist MC save her by performing an exorcism on her (via talisman or exorcism seal on the ground or whatever) to help her control her powers, and then have him teach her exorcist techniques to help the magical girl MC improve her control of her powers. Your mention of the magical girl's evil powers fixed with holy techniques (exorcist techniques) can work in this regard.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

 

[Arch9CivilReactor]

To me, magical girl shows were always darker than expected. Like Sailor Moon or Utena. With the more lighter kind like Pretty Cure, and Card Captor Sakura came later.

But now that I look at a list, it started rather light with Sally and Tutu. So I suppose it's just a generational cycle between light and dark.

I like the second idea. You've got a few cool ideas there with two henshin heroes, one an exorcist and the other a magical girl, two different kinds of heroes fighting evil/crime/whatever. It kind of reminds me of Twin Star Exorcists and Kekkaishi, both shows featuring a girl and a guy as heroes. Heroic Complex is a more comedic take on what you're talking about; it's a 4-koma manga featuring a girl transforming into a kamen rider and a boy transforming into a cross-dressing magical girl. Twin Star Exorcist and Heroic Complex have the MCs use different power styles, while the MCs in Kekkaishi use the same kind of power (kekkai / barriers) with the male MC emphasizing power and longevity of use against lower accuracy and the female MC emphasizing accuracy and speed against a lower power output. Of course, there's also Cardcaptor Sakura, where Syaoran starts off as a rival to Sakura before they team up to capture the Clow Cards. There are so many ways you can go about this.

With all that said, maybe one of them goes into berserk mode, b/c one of the MCs can't control his/her power yet and requires the other one to help him/her control it (similar to how the female MC helps the male MC with his power control in Kekkaishi). Going into that dynamic would add another dimension to the platonic friendship dynamic between the two.

As for the magical girl teaming up with an exorcist in an exorcist-centric angle outside of the expectations present in the magical girl genre, there are many ways you can take this. From what I remember in Cardcaptor Sakura, Syaoran uses talismans like that of an exorcist (onmyouji), and Sailor Mars incorporates similar talismans in some of her attacks. So maybe mix it up a little and have one of your MCs in your story learn or at least be familiar enough with each other's powers to take advantage of them in a team fight. Like, for instance, if the magical girl MC in your story is having a hard time controlling her powers and goes into berserk mode when she transforms, then have the male exorcist MC save her by performing an exorcism on her (via talisman or exorcism seal on the ground or whatever) to help her control her powers, and then have him teach her exorcist techniques to help the magical girl MC improve her control of her powers. Your mention of the magical girl's evil powers fixed with holy techniques (exorcist techniques) can work in this regard.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

Thank you that has given me so much inspiration.

I was originally going to make the Magical Girl part of an experiment by a guy trying to find successors to ‘Blessings’ his fallen organisation still houses. Mr Mascot (a priest wearing a stuffed bear head) finds her talent and offers her the chance to fight ‘Apparitions’. Her backstory and connection to them making her agree to it.

The male character is different. He is from a completely different yet similarly fallen exorcist organisation. His method of fighting being ‘evil techniques’ rather than holy techniques. Fighting evil with evil. Apparitions with their own kind,

Maybe her teaching him ‘Holy Techniques’ could work, but now I’m thinking if I need them to be similar. I thought having the male ‘someone who never saw the light’ and a normal life would make them too different with no common ground.

It’s only after reading your comment did I remember that common ground should not be so easily found. The only thing I’m unsure of now is who to put the ‘main focus’ on. Who will be driving the story and being the main character.

Gonna go with the male in this first draft.

Will see how that goes.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

It’s only after reading your comment did I remember that common ground should not be so easily found. The only thing I’m unsure of now is who to put the ‘main focus’ on. Who will be driving the story and being the main character.

Gonna go with the male in this first draft.

Will see how that goes.

If you like both characters equally, have them take turns being the focal character. Can have a lot of fun leading to a cliffhanger from one character's POV, then backtracking to the other character and seeing how they got to the same point and work their way out of it together (though, from comments I've seen, the writer often has more fun with this than the reader).

 

[Arch9CivilReactor]

If you like both characters equally, have them take turns being the focal character. Can have a lot of fun leading to a cliffhanger from one character's POV, then backtracking to the other character and seeing how they got to the same point and work their way out of it together (though, from comments I've seen, the writer often has more fun with this than the reader).

Yeah I get bored by backtracking in general so I try to write straight progression of events.

Right now I’m going with the male exorcist not knowing what a ‘school’ is and him learning the value of a normal life (the thing he is protecting with his heroism). From there I’ll just go with the flow of introducing new characters with events.