Magical girl retrospective - simulwatch starts 1st Feb 2025

[Dai]

Princess Tutu - episode 1

The story of a duck who became a girl, and a girl who became Princess Tutu.

What is it about dance-related stories that enables animators to bring their A-game? Whether it's Dance Dance Danseur, Welcome to the Ballroom, or Princess Tutu, the result always seems to be something special. In the case of this show we have the contrast between the personality-filled comedy antics of Duck set against the elegance of the dance scenes. Then there's the shadowy figure who seems to permeate this whole world, and the way we literally see the gears of fate turning.

For the first time since Princess Knight we're firmly back in fairytale land. More specifically we're in a fairytale ballet. Each episode highlights music from different ballets and weaves beautiful renditions of them throughout the score.

The opening narration tells us that a prince and a raven escaped from a story, but what becomes of fairytale characters in the 'real' world, and what part does the author play? Even this early on we're given reason to wonder if this is the world's natural state, since Duck seems surprised that her teacher is a cat (never mind a cat who keeps threatening to marry his students...).

 

[Dai]

Princess Tutu - episode 2

"Art is about making the audience surrender."
"Is that really your way of dancing?"

This episode establishes a few important aspects of the show. It confirms that we're in a world where reality and fiction are blending together. It explains how Duck goes back and forth between her animal and human forms. It lays out the structure of Princess Tutu's mission: to find and restore the fragments of the prince's shattered heart that have taken hold in the hearts of others. And it shows us how Tutu achieves this; not by defeating the episode's antagonist, but by helping them overcome their pain. Resolving conflict through understanding and catharsis is one of the aspects that makes this such a special story.

We also see how adept the animation is at conveying character through dance. The mid-episode dance challenge shows us this without the need for explanation. Both dances are about how the leader controls their partner, but with different intent. Anteaterina throws Mytho around like a disposable tool, her movements filled with anger and resentment. In sharp contrast, Rue shapes Duck's performance to present her in flattering light. At a glance these seem opposite, but both approaches boil down to control. When Tutu confronts Anteaterina later on, it's not with the intent to control her, but rather to set her free from her anger so she can find her own way of dancing.

 

[Professor Irony]

Fancy Lala ep3 - Powder In



‘Char’ is not a career path, Miho.

A few discomforting moments notwithstanding (putting your mentally 9 year old protagonist into a swimwear photoshoot is a lot to unpack) I’d be interested to see a bit more of this one. Given that this is ostensibly a show aimed at kids (although given the high production values, I do wonder if they’re beginning to acknowledge that adults watch these series too), I suppose there likely won’t be anything too weighty behind the benign (?) Mystery Man’s presence, but I am genuinely intrigued by the series and where it might go in the long term. In particular, I’d like to see how Miho’s art is going to figure into the plot, it seems to keep coming up, yet there’s not been much indication so far of how it might be significant. Maybe I’m way off, but it feels like there’s a bit more to this one than simple escapist fantasy.

Like Creamy Mami it seems it was supposed to be launch of her as a singer/idol, but unfortunately it didn't work out as well.

Given that Miho/Lala ruminates on her chances of success in the industry in the show, that does feel particularly poignant. To be honest, I don’t care for her singing in the OP, but she does fine as a VA. It’s a sad state of affairs if all it took to end her career with that agency was a few photos of her kissing someone, but from what you hear, it doesn’t sound as if things have moved on all that much even now.

 

[Dai]

Princess Tutu - episode 3

"The power to turn loneliness into strength."

The early part of this episode goes toe-to-toe with Sailor Moon for screwball comedy antics. It also highlights how hollow and easily manipulated the prince is without his heart. Also something I forgot to point out earlier is that this show is a rare case of the magical girl being her own animal mascot, since the duck is her natural state.

As we move into the second half of the episode, the story plays with our expectations. Duck is becoming accustomed to the idea of reality and fiction mingling. When she winds up trapped by an overzealous cook who wants to feed her endless (stone cold) meals, Duck assumes that she's wandered into Hansel and Gretel. She's mistaken though; this is a story about grief. Again we see Tutu help someone confront their pain, in this case stoked by the heart shard of loneliness.

The prince thanks Tutu for returning another heart shard, but up to this point the only emotions she has gifted him are resentment and loneliness. Is she really doing the right thing? We also discover that Tutu will vanish if she ever confesses her love for the prince. Fairytales don't guarantee a happily ever after.

Tomorrow we duck out of dance class and pirouette to 2004 for a one-episode glance at Pretty Cure.

 

[D1tchd1gger]

I've seen Princess Tutu before (although 5 years ago already!) so I took the opportunity to have a break. Here's my mini review I wrote after finishing it:

Dance till you can't dance no more.
Excellent finish to this tale. The first half was a bit slow with its episodic nature and the more lighthearted side with the slapstick and the gossiping friends got a bit annoying and yet another perverted Sensei who threatened marriage as punishment! But the final two arcs with the characters either discovering their role and/or revealing their past were darker than the stuff that went before and thus were much better and they lead to an emotional climax.
The art and animation were very much of their time, late 90s/early 00s which seems to be a bit dated, but not quite in a cool retro way. The ballet segments were good, but not that long.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Princess Tutu episodes 1-3

Or as its light novel title would go: Magical girl provides psychotherapy through the medium of classical ballet in fairytale land.

Now this one I've been wanting to watch for a good while, but only recently finally imported a US copy, and even more recently joined hidive. I had assumed it was going to be like Black Swan: The Anime and had no idea that it was a magical girl show, so imagine my surprise to see it on this list! Whilst the transformations and the superficially/metaphorically-apparent magical abilities are there, this seems more a drama on resolving psychological ailments akin to shows like Monogatari. Lots of comedy again helps keep the tone light, at least in these initial episodes. The music is great, especially in the first episode with some of Tchaikovsky's wonderful orchestral pieces and I especially love how the op track segues into his Waltz of Flowers.

Another likeable airheaded protagonist, whose VA does a good job of getting her voice to subtly resemble a duck's. Commando prince seems to epitomise a battered wife, with complete shutdown/loss of all emotion, in an abusive relationship/s with gaslighter boy +/- star girl (I don't really have a read on her in these episodes), with the latter two having something to do with the raven presumably. The author's omnipresent portrayal within what is supposedly his fairytale creation is nicely done, though his character is suitably creepy and exactly the sort you'd warn children away from. His sinister beckoning at the end of each episode I found rather disconcerting. Very interested to see how this slow develops and a handy excuse, now that I've started, to finish watching this classic.

What is it about dance-related stories that enables animators to bring their A-game?

Then there's the shadowy figure who seems to permeate this whole world, and the way we literally see the gears of fate turning.

I did really like the animation of the dances in this and likewise all the ways the creepy author was inserted into this world.

(never mind a cat who keeps threatening to marry his students...)

This character was funny and came across too pathetic to be a scary lech, but did seem to represent the misogyny of male authority figures.

Both dances are about how the leader controls their partner, but with different intent. Anteaterina throws Mytho around like a disposable tool, her movements filled with anger and resentment. In sharp contrast, Rue shapes Duck's performance to present her in flattering light. At a glance these seem opposite, but both approaches boil down to control. When Tutu confronts Anteaterina later on, it's not with the intent to control her, but rather to set her free from her anger so she can find her own way of dancing.

Very nicely put analysis!

but up to this point the only emotions she has gifted him are resentment and loneliness

I did wonder if this would be balanced out with some positive emotions in later episodes. Found that interesting as usually would have expected a lighter start with the positive emotions being in play, before taking a turn for the darker side as such series usually do.

 

[Dai]

Pretty Cure - episode 1

Until recent years, Precure has been something of a blindspot for the western anime community. Like Shinkalion it's a hugely successful, decades-spanning franchise aimed at a young audience, but which has mostly remained unlicensed in the west. The last few years have seen that start to change in Precure's case, but only in the sense of streaming exposure; there still hasn't been a physical release for these shows, and the franchise certainly isn't the merchandising juggernaut that it is in Japan. So for those of us coming to this show fresh after it's already had 1,000+ episodes, can the first episode give us any hints about how it achieved such lasting success?

We start with familiar scenes of a sporty but academically-challenged girl (Nagisa), and a serious, bookish girl (Honoka). So far these could be CCS's Sakura and Sailor Moon's Ami with the serial numbers filed off. Nagisa even has fangirls trying to turn her into a yuri protagonist, like Sakura.

When the mascots show up, it's sadly with the kind of verbal tics that increasingly become a staple of the genre. They're embedded in one of the most blatantly toyetic transformation devices we've seen yet. It has Collectable Card Game written all over it. It's also the first transformation device we've seen that mimics design elements of mobile phones; another thing that becomes a trend for a while.

The transformation scene shows a touch of self-awareness with Nagisa wondering why she's suddenly shouting catchphrases. Once they start fighting we see a major departure from the magical girls we've watched so far. Combat magical girls have gone up against brawler-type enemies as far back as the sub-genre's origin, but the girls themselves have tended to be pure mages, creating a fighting style mismatch. It's why Usagi transforms, poses, and then runs away; she dumped all her stats into MAG (definitely not INT). In Precure, we see the girls opening with melee combat and only pulling out magic for the finishing move. It's interesting to note that Honoka's body looks like it's on autopilot while she's kicking the enemy, like this fighting style is part of the magic and is puppeteering her. I don't know if this was the first post-Cutie-Honey show to have brawler-type magical girls, but it certainly became the trend from this point on.

So what can we take from this glimpse of PreCure? The shift in fighting style is interesting, but what enabled this to become a decades-spanning franchise? PreCure came along around the time that some other magical girl shows were beginning to court older audiences. If it increasingly became the only game in town for magical girl shows still aimed at young girls then that might explain it, but I don't know if that was the case. Maybe it was more down to the companies involved managing to hit the right elements for the show's merchandising potential, but without watching full seasons of this franchise I couldn't tell you if it has more to offer on its own strengths as a story.

Tomorrow we charge our primer and step into our time-travelling storage locker for a jump forward to 2011, when I'm sure everything will be fine.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Don't have much to add to the first episode of precure apart from agreeing with you on the design elements clearly having merchandising in mind. Feels like it did for girls, what voltran did for boys. I would have said transformers, but I guess that was far more global a phenomenon than the other two. I'm guessing then that it was primarily merchandising that was the key to its success? Still very interested in what they do with the series at the end of the simulwatch following girls that have grown up - that reminded of an indie game on Steam that I bought previously (and am yet to play), which revolved around the lives of retired heroes/magical girls?

 

[Dai]

Feels like it did for girls, what voltran did for boys. I would have said transformers, but I guess that was far more global a phenomenon than the other two

In terms of the approach to merchandising, I think the closest comparison would be Super Sentai. Each year's season wipes the slate clean with a new cast of heroes and monsters to turn into a fresh wave of toys/cards/etc, and a new transformation device for the kids to buy. It's planned obsolescence.

hat reminded of an indie game on Steam that I bought previously (and am yet to play), which revolved around the lives of retired heroes/magical girls

Sounds interesting. What's that one called?

 

[D1tchd1gger]

Pretty Cure ep 1
I think the only new element was it was a duo from the beginning, obviously Sailors were added as that went along. Other things I noticed were that the transformation was probably the most elaborate so far and, yes, a bit of physical combat, although Sailor Moon had a bit of physicality to it.
There wasn't too much in the way of humour here though, only the odd quip by Nagisa. Definitely don't really feel I'm missing out by stopping here.

 

[D1tchd1gger]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica eps 1-3
Be careful what you wish for!

I thought this was supposed to be moe until there was a twist, but the cold open tells you it's not going to be your typical magical girl show. I'm trying to remember if Yuki Yuna tipped it's hand straight away? I think I remember them doing their Hero Club stuff in school before the reveal, there is a certain other anime that definitely starts as your regular CGDCT show before the twist reveal at the end of the first episode, thing is to name it is to spoil it, but equally I quite liked it so I would recommend it!

Certainly this ups the stakes from the, mostly, no stings attached magical powers of previous shows, only the Sailor Moon R movie brought any serious threat to the girls in the stuff we've watched in action magical girl shows genre and in the idol/dress up genre nothing life threatening happens at all. Not only are the enemies tougher, but you can't even rely on those who are in the same position as you! And Kyubey is a little s*** trying to egg them on into choosing to become a magical girl. The enemies are called witches, that term has been used for both the good guys and bad guys in other shows. Interesting choice here as witches are essentially magical women in other stories.

The labyrinths of the witch sure are unique like a Terry Gilliam Monty Python animated section on acid! I saw GoHands in the credits and wondered if they were responsible seeing as most of their own animes look like nightmare fuel, but it was done by a duo called Gekidan Inu Curry, and influenced by Czech and Russian animation. It's certainly very effective.

Also there is the strange dichotomy of the world being near future with computer screen white boards and the strange architecture of the school, etc and the fact magic exists too.

 

[Dai]

Madoka Magica - episode 1

The show has a striking design sense. Locations and lighting feel influenced by the Adolescence of Utena movie, but different enough to reflect its own artistic intent. In daytime scenes the indoor locations are made up almost entirely of windows and mirrors, like this world is fragile and insubstantial. At night it's all concrete slabs, chains and wire, like a prison. Then the witch's realm is a completely alien art style, like something from Terry Gilliam or an east European animation from the 80s.

Spoiler: Foreshadowing spoilers

More specific design elements play into the foreshadowing, especially at Madoka's home. Opposing mirrors show us multiple iterations of Madoka. Her mother's makeup has numbered labels next to it like evidence from the scene of a murder. There's a lot of push and pull to the foreshadowing. There are the ominous things like the nightmarish dream sequence, Kyubey's unusually formal mention of a contract for becoming a magical girl, or the way its nonsensical anatomy (ears coming out of other ears) suggests it doesn't understand life on Earth. Something I only noticed rewatching it now is that Mami's soul gem has flowers floating around it that look like the art style for witches. There are also subtle trope subversions that lower our guard, like Madoka having a fully intact family, or the way she runs with toast in her mouth but finishes it without incident. At one point Sayaka correctly guesses the connection between Madoka and Homura, but frames it as a joke, the writing leaning on the plot expectation that a character making an early, uninformed guess at a mystery will be wrong.

The opening and ending also play into the bait-and-switch, though again there are subtle hints that prevent it from feeling like a cheat. The opening, full of events we never see, presumably depicts the original timeline. Meanwhile the seemingly cosy end song has mournful lyrics about someone lying that they'll see a friend again tomorrow.

 

[Dai]

I'm trying to remember if Yuki Yuna tipped it's hand straight away

Yuki Yuna's foreshadowing is much subtler early on. I'd say perhaps too subtle. I originally dropped the show after one episode when it was simulcast because it looked superficially generic at first, and the way the first episode integrated smartphones into the magical girl lore so heavily rubbed me the wrong way. It was only when the show grew such a positive reputation that I gave it another chance and loved it. The only real foreshadowing in the first couple of episodes is the Divine Tree religion that's a normal part of daily life, and that Togo has more fairies than the others. As for the smartphones, that only stops feeling out of place once you realise that smartphones have been around for centuries by the time of this story, so it wouldn't be unusual for them to be part of religious ceremonies.

there is a certain other anime that definitely starts as your regular CGDCT show before the twist reveal at the end of the first episode, thing is to name it is to spoil it

I presume you mean School Live?

Not only are the enemies tougher, but you can't even rely on those who are in the same position as you!

Sailor Moon had rival magical girl factions in seasons 3 and 5. The newcomers could be quite cold-hearted in what they were willing to sacrifice to meet their objectives too. There are a surprising number of the darker elements of Madoka Magica that Sailor Moon did first, but Madoka does feel tonally darker overall since it's aimed at an older audience.

The enemies are called witches, that term has been used for both the good guys and bad guys in other shows. Interesting choice here as witches are essentially magical women in other stories.

It's always bugged me that the word play of majo being part of maho shojo doesn't translate. The way they attempted it in the Manga blu-ray subtitles just didn't work.

 

[D1tchd1gger]

I presume you mean School Live?

Yeah.

 

[Dai]

Madoka Magica - episode 2

Almost this entire episode is about unpacking the signifiance of what Madoka learnt in the previous one. It's heavy on exposition as we follow Mami through a day in the life of a magical girl. Of course, while Kyubey hasn't lied to the girls, it hasn't been completely honest with them either, so even the more experienced Mami isn't fully aware of what's happening and why. As we find out later, Kyubey is willing to answer honestly, but the girls need to know the right questions to ask. By that point it's too late.

The information that the girls have by the end of this episode is internally consistent and is about the extent of all the explanation that some other magical girl shows would give their premise. It's only later that the show delves deeper into why things work that way. This is the key difference between genre subversion and genre deconstruction. Subversion is about playing against tropes; deconstruction is about giving convincing in-universe explanations for why the tropes exist. Madoka Magica doesn't subvert that many magical girl tropes; if anything it plays into a lot of them. It's the exploration of why those tropes work as they do that makes the show stand out, because the why tends to be horrifying.

 

[D1tchd1gger]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica (complete)
Welp after finally getting round to it, I'm not sure what to think about it. On the one hand it was quite intriguing and the art and animation excellent, but on the other there's plenty of mumbo jumbo and psycho-babble, right up there with Evangelion. Once everything is revealed you begin to wonder how all this hadn't been discovered before and why all the girls throughout history were so naive as to not ask questions before making their wishes. The middle part wasn't as tight as it could be with Sayaka getting all depressed and turning into a witch too quickly, I didn't really feel she had as stronger bond with Mami as Madoka to actually affect her in that way. Obviously I got the stuff with Kyousuke, but it still seemed a little rushed. The last part which revealed Homuras story was very good, and the ending was very beautiful, but bittersweet, if a little disappointing that they didn't win in a more conventional way and not only killed the big bad, but ended Kyubey and his species plan and live happily ever after!

 

[Dai]

Madoka Magica - episode 3

And so Madoka Magica shows its teeth. The death of a mentor is a pretty standard plot beat for adventure stories, but not in magical girls shows, and the mentor in question isn't usually a 15-year-old girl. I'm not sure if the way this witch's design is more traditionally cartoony than the other iron curtain nightmares is intended to take the edge off how disturbing Mami's death is or amp it up.

Elsewhere, this episode gives us musings on the various ways people try to cope with how life turned out for them. For Sayaka's injured 'friend', it's a fresh and unhealed wound that's easily opened by Sayaka's ill-considered attempt at kindness. For Madoka's mother it's something she drowns in alcohol, despite her father's insistence that everything's fine...really...honest. And Mami puts up a stoic front about being resigned to the necessity of her fate, though that facade cracks when she starts to think that she won't have to bear that weight alone anymore.

We also get some more overt hints at Kyubey's callousness in the flashback where it appears before Mami only at her most desperate moment. As it said in the previous episode, it's unusual for anyone to take the time to think about becoming a magical girl, and this flashback gives us an idea why; it preys on people who are backed into a corner. The only reason it's taking its time with Madoka seems to be because of her unusually high potential power. If it ever moved its lips, you could picture it licking them in anticipation. Sayaka seems to just be a convenient bonus dish it wants to gobble up while trying to talk Madoka around.

It all leads into the show's true ending sequence as we see Madoka running naked and alone into the darkness.

Tomorrow we move on to 2013 and flip the script for a magical girl parody from a franchise not often known for its giggles.

Once everything is revealed you begin to wonder how all this hadn't been discovered before and why all the girls throughout history were so naive as to not ask questions before making their wishes.

As mentioned in my notes above, the show implies that Kyubey usually preys on girls when they're desperate. As for why no one knew the truth, we never meet a magical girl older than high-school age, suggesting that they don't last long before turning into witches. And if a magical girl did discover her inevitable fate, what better way to make her immediately succumb to despair?

 

[D1tchd1gger]

Kyubey usually preys on girls when they're desperate

I know she appears in the next episode and not really covered by this simulwatch, but I don't recall Kyouko's reason/wish. And Madoka in previous lifetimes was already a magical girl when Homura shows up and doesn't seem to have an more motivation other than really wanting to be a magical girl! Which I suppose is enough for Kyubey to get her to sign up.

 

[Dai]

I don't recall Kyouko's reason/wish

Spoiler

It's been a while since I last watched the rest of the series, but IIRC her family were starving outcasts because her father had been branded a heretic by the church, and her wish was for people to believe in him.

 

[D1tchd1gger]

Spoiler

It's been a while since I last watched the rest of the series, but IIRC her family were starving outcasts because her father had been branded a heretic by the church, and her wish was for people to believe in him.

Yep, now I recall. Sometimes binging is detrimental to me remembering stuff. Still not quite as desperate as Mami and Homura.