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The List - Top 5 Magical Girl Series


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Vanadise



Joined: 06 Apr 2015
Posts: 488
PostPosted: Mon Mar 02, 2020 3:33 pm Reply with quote
I think Symphogear is maybe still a little too new to say what it's lasting impact will be, but I think it's really notable for just how well it did for a series that came from nothing. It's an entirely original show that's not based on any existing manga or light novel properties and it ran for five seasons, and that's a pretty impressive achievement all on its own; it also managed to accrue a pretty significant fan base despite having English streaming availability issues.

I had trouble getting into it at first; I watched about half of the first season and stalled out on it just due to a lack of interest and being occupied with other shows, but I eventually went back to it, and I'm glad I did, and in retrospect, my opinion of it has improved over time. It's got a very different concept and sense of style than other shows on this list -- so much that you've got people here questioning whether it's really a magical girl show at all, and yet I can't think of any way to define the genre that would exclude Symphogear but not exclude other series people have listed. I've gotta give it respect for sticking to its guns (ha ha) and managing to make it big.
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#HayamiLover



Joined: 22 Jul 2018
Posts: 796
Location: Eastern Europe
PostPosted: Mon Mar 02, 2020 4:00 pm Reply with quote
@Vanadise The reason for this is the same as the current tendency to call any well-animated battle scenes "shonen elements". Some genres are so widely known that their achievements begin to be used to obtain the same effect in other genres or themes. For example, everyone knows how the authors of male-focused shows love to quote shoujo when creating female protagonists.

And in this case, the mahou-shoujo base has become the perfect set of tropes and themes for many all-female action shows. For example, Sailor Moon with their sentai theme, which, as I recall, Symphogear also uses to some extent. But in my opinion, this is not enough to call this show "mahou shoujo", just like we will not call PreCure "shonen" due to its huge emphasis on nakama-power and well-animated fights.

But then again, this is my personal opinion, so I don't pretend to it as some kind of truth or expert opinion.
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Raiyou



Joined: 01 Sep 2007
Posts: 32
PostPosted: Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:04 pm Reply with quote
Precure and Symphogear ahead of Nanoha? Uggghhh....
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Heishi



Joined: 06 Mar 2016
Posts: 1314
PostPosted: Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:46 pm Reply with quote
DavetheUsher wrote:
Heishi wrote:
While the best magical girl to me is both Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon, the truly best one would have to be one where it displays its yuri content unapologetically unlike many shows throughout its history.


Didn't both those anime heavily change and downplay a lot of content from the manga, or at least made it a lot more ambiguous? At least until Clear Card/Crystal came along.


I think they did. But from what I've heard, the CCS manga made it clear Tomoyo was in love with Sakura.

Anyway, I am willing to forgive both series for having subtext in their content because the shows themselves charmed me so much, but I would like a series that says "F*** the subtext BS, let's just go all out with the yuri", especially in the romance angle.
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nutmegknight



Joined: 02 Mar 2020
Posts: 14
PostPosted: Mon Mar 02, 2020 8:23 pm Reply with quote
Fushigiboshi no Futagohime is a cute magical girl series too but it’s a shame the sequel series isn’t fully subbed and is getting subbed quite slowly (but I suppose it’s better than nothing).
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Spike_2416



Joined: 31 Jan 2018
Posts: 4
PostPosted: Mon Mar 02, 2020 11:26 pm Reply with quote
I can't believe Re:Creators didn't make the list. It has at least two magical girls. 3 if you include Altair.
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#861417



Joined: 02 Mar 2020
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Tue Mar 03, 2020 5:29 am Reply with quote
Raiyou wrote:
Precure and Symphogear ahead of Nanoha? Uggghhh....


both better shows by a fair margin. see i can complain too if it were ranked higher than them.
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bleachfiend710



Joined: 02 Feb 2008
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Tue Mar 03, 2020 5:55 pm Reply with quote
Ok, soooooo where's Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha??!!!! That's WAY more magical girl than Symphogear. I mean, it's in the title, fgs!!!....lol!! I guess maybe because it's not mainstream?? But yea, that should have made this list

Last edited by bleachfiend710 on Tue Mar 03, 2020 6:02 pm; edited 1 time in total
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bleachfiend710



Joined: 02 Feb 2008
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Tue Mar 03, 2020 5:58 pm Reply with quote
Engineering Nerd wrote:
I am kinda sad that no one seems to remember Yūki Yuna is a Hero. That show and its spin-offs have some great writing and characterizations for the Mahou Shoujo genre, not
To mention how delicate they handle characters with disabilities.


Sad, isn't?? Not even Nanoha is on her list, like really??!! I hate to say it, but I think it's because they're not mainstream that they're not on this list because they both are more "magical girl" than Symphogear, although Symphogear was amazing, imho.
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harminia



Joined: 24 Aug 2015
Posts: 1987
Location: australia
PostPosted: Tue Mar 03, 2020 6:36 pm Reply with quote
I'm not sure if I'd say Symphogear is mainstream compared to Nanoha, Yuki Yuna or Precure.......
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gedata



Joined: 04 May 2013
Posts: 615
PostPosted: Tue Mar 03, 2020 8:44 pm Reply with quote
The rest are pretty standand fare but Symphogear makes this list based as heck automatically.
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TsukasaElkKite



Joined: 22 Nov 2005
Posts: 3945
PostPosted: Tue Mar 03, 2020 11:27 pm Reply with quote
Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura, Madoka and Precure will always be my favorites.
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mewpudding101
Industry Insider


Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Posts: 2204
Location: Tokyo, Japan
PostPosted: Wed Mar 04, 2020 1:43 am Reply with quote
I don't actually consider Madoka Magica or Symphogear magical girls series, but parodies of them.

My top picks are Sailor Moon, Tokyo Mew Mew, Mermaid Melody, Pretear, Sugar Sugar Rune, Ojamajo Doremi, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Saint Tail.
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ericarreza



Joined: 02 Jan 2018
Posts: 83
PostPosted: Wed Mar 04, 2020 7:43 am Reply with quote
#HayamiLover wrote:
Symphogear, really? No, I do not want to say that this is a bad show. But there are obviously plenty of good Mahou-shoujo shows in the Jaoan, so you don't need to fill the space with the near-science fiction action moe. Seriously, I don’t understand why suddenly it became so popular to call any fantasy female all-female action show "magic girls".

Then have you ever heard Sakura Wars? It looks like a Mecha/Magical girls to me. Rolling Eyes
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Kitsune_Kun



Joined: 29 Jul 2016
Posts: 19
PostPosted: Wed Mar 04, 2020 9:46 am Reply with quote
This list does not include Nanoha and is therefore not valid
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