magical girl

English

Etymology

Calque of Japanese 魔法少女 (まほうしょうじょ, mahō shōjo).

Noun

magical girl (plural magical girls)

1. In Japanese anime and manga, a young girl with superhuman abilities who is called upon to fight evil.
   • 2013, Christopher Hart, Magical Characters, Watson-Guptill Publications, →ISBN, page 17:

     The magical girl starts out as a typical schoolgirl. Her transformation—via a glamorous costume, and amplified by special powers—gives her a new identity.

   • 2014, Lien Fan Shen, “The Dark, Twisted Magical Girls: Shōjo Heroines in Puella Magi Madoka Magica”, in Norma Jones, Maja Bajac-Carter, Bob Batchelor, editors, Heroines of Film and Television: Portrayals in Popular Culture, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 183:

     Contrary to conventional magical girl anime, in which protagonists happily accept their superpower, shōjo heroines are reluctant to become Magical Girls in Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

   • 2015, Deborah Shamoon, “The Superflat Space of Japanese Anime”, in Lilian Chee, Edna Lim, editors, Asian Cinema and the Use of Space: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Routledge, →ISBN, page 98:

     The magical girl genre was originally aimed at girls: series like Sailor Moon were first serialized in shōjo manga (girls' comics) magazines and contained many traits common to that genre.

Translations

stock character in Japanese media

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 魔法少女 (mo¹ faat³ siu³ neoi⁵)

  Mandarin: 魔法少女 (zh) (mófǎ shàonǚ)

• French: magical girl (fr)
• Japanese: 魔法少女 (まほうしょうじょ, mahō shōjo)