Dictionary

magical girl en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. In Japanese anime and manga, a young girl with superhuman abilities who is called upon to fight evil.
   • 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. 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 starts out as a typical schoolgirl. Her transformation—via a glamorous costume, and amplified by special powers—gives her a new identity. 2013, Christopher Hart, Magical Characters, Watson-Guptill Publications, →ISBN, page 17:
   • 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. 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:

Forms

Translations (6)

vi ma pháp thiếu nữ (stock character in Japanese media) · fr magical girl (stock character in Japanese media) · ja 魔法少女 (stock character in Japanese media) · yue 魔法少女 (stock character in Japanese media) · cmn 魔法少女 (stock character in Japanese media) · th สาวน้อยเวทมนตร์ (stock character in Japanese media)