Magical girl

Magical girls (魔法少女, mahō shōjo, also known as mahou shoujo or majokko) is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga which feature girls who use magic.

Genre history

Manga and anime historians regard the Princess Knight manga, released in 1953, as a prototype for the magical girl genre.Himitsu no Akko-chan, serialized in 1962 in Ribon, is regarded as the earliest magical girl manga. The Japanese dub versions of the American film Mary Poppins and TV series Bewitched became popular among Japanese girls in the 1960s and inspired Mitsuteru Yokoyama to create Sally the Witch, which was serialized in Ribon from 1966 to 1967. Sally was adapted into an anime in 1966 which is regarded by historians as the first magical girl anime. The Sailor Moon manga and anime are considered to have revitalized the genre in the 1990s and paved the way for later successful titles. Another notable example is Cardcaptor Sakura, with its manga and subsequent animated series being highly popular in and outside Japan.

Pretty Cure

Pretty Cure, PreCure, or Precure (プリキュア, Purikyua) is a Japanese magical girl anime metaseries created by Izumi Todo and produced by Asahi Broadcasting Corporation and Toei Animation. Beginning in February 2004 with Futari wa Pretty Cure, the franchise has seen many anime series, spanning over 500 episodes to date, as well as spawning movies, manga, toys, and video games. Its most recent iteration, Maho Girls PreCure!, began airing in February 2016 as part of TV Asahi's Sunday morning children's television block, following Super Hero Time. To date, two of the series have received English-language dubs.

Overview

Each of the series focuses on a group of girls, most commonly Japanese schoolgirls in their second year of middle school, who are granted special items that allow them to transform into legendary warriors known as the Pretty Cure (or Precure). With the assistance of creatures known as fairies, the Pretty Cure use their magical powers and enhanced strength to fight against evil forces and organizations who create monsters to bring misery to the Earth and further their plans. As these series progress and stronger enemies appear, the Cures gain new magical items, new abilities, and sometimes new allies to help them in their fight against evil.

Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon (美少女戦士セーラームーン, Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn, originally translated as Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon and later as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon) is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Nakayoshi from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 tankōbon volumes. The series follows the adventures of a young schoolgirl named Usagi Tsukino as she transforms into the titular character to search for a princess and an artifact called the "Legendary Silver Crystal" (「幻の銀水晶」, Maboroshi no Ginzuishō, lit. "Phantom Silver Crystal"). During her journey, she leads a diverse group of comrades, the Sailor Soldiers (セーラー戦士, Sērā Senshi) — Sailor Guardians in later editions — as they battle against villains to prevent the theft of the Silver Crystal and the destruction of the Solar System.

The 18 manga volumes have been adapted into an anime series titled Sailor Moon which was produced by Toei Animation. The series was broadcast from 1992 to 1997 in Japan over the course of five seasons along with three feature films, a television special, and three short films produced during the same period. A live-action television adaptation titled Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon aired from 2003 to 2004 and a reboot of the anime series titled Sailor Moon Crystal began simulcasting in 2014. Several companies have developed merchandising based on the series, including light novels, collectible trading card games, action figures, musical theater productions, several collections of soundtracks and a large number of video games. The manga series was licensed for an English language release by Kodansha Comics USA in North America, and in Australia and New Zealand by Random House Australia. The entire anime series has been licensed by Viz Media for an English language release in North America and by Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand.

Magical

Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to:

I Am

I Am may refer to:

Music

Albums

Songs