Gender equality: magical girls.

[Tympest]

I am The Compendium

Tympest

DarknessofHeavenandDreams

Tympest

One of the big things with the Magical Girl sub-genre is that it's made deliberately to appeal to girls, to give them a gender specific equivalent to Power Rangers or Fate/Stay Night or Ronin Warriors.

I don't think marketing remained at the forefront for both the creation or most of those that fall int he genre after it. To further your MLP example, just because it sells toys and has a large audience doesn't mean there wasn't effort to make it appealing on a craft level.

I was trying to say that, that it was marketed towards girls initially but became it's own thing afterward with the focus more on the story.

I was trying to add to your idea. Sorry it didn't come off that way.

I was trying to clarify my sleep deprivation post. I was agreeing with you though.

[I am The Compendium]

Tympest

I am The Compendium

Tympest

DarknessofHeavenandDreams

Tympest

One of the big things with the Magical Girl sub-genre is that it's made deliberately to appeal to girls, to give them a gender specific equivalent to Power Rangers or Fate/Stay Night or Ronin Warriors.

I don't think marketing remained at the forefront for both the creation or most of those that fall int he genre after it. To further your MLP example, just because it sells toys and has a large audience doesn't mean there wasn't effort to make it appealing on a craft level.

I was trying to say that, that it was marketed towards girls initially but became it's own thing afterward with the focus more on the story.

I was trying to add to your idea. Sorry it didn't come off that way.

I was trying to clarify my sleep deprivation post. I was agreeing with you though.

Ah. Cool.

[Tympest]

I am The Compendium

Tympest

I am The Compendium

Tympest

DarknessofHeavenandDreams

Tympest

One of the big things with the Magical Girl sub-genre is that it's made deliberately to appeal to girls, to give them a gender specific equivalent to Power Rangers or Fate/Stay Night or Ronin Warriors.

I don't think marketing remained at the forefront for both the creation or most of those that fall int he genre after it. To further your MLP example, just because it sells toys and has a large audience doesn't mean there wasn't effort to make it appealing on a craft level.

I was trying to say that, that it was marketed towards girls initially but became it's own thing afterward with the focus more on the story.

I was trying to add to your idea. Sorry it didn't come off that way.

I was trying to clarify my sleep deprivation post. I was agreeing with you though.

Ah. Cool.

Sorry about that.

[HydeBeserker]

Apparently women are the target audience.

[I am The Compendium]

HydeBeserker

Apparently women are the target audience.

Because they like rainbows?

How is that relevant? How is that proof?

[Mortok]

Well, any boy who transforms into a superhero and defeats dark forces with the power of love probably qualifies.

[Miramelle]

Cogent Dream

It's not that sexualisation is the focus of the show, it's just that it exists and you know somewhere there's otakus going crazy over these girls.

That same argument can be made for literally any show.
For example, 'Rescue Rangers', which was a Disney show about cute animals solving mysteries/having adventures, has one of the creepiest sub-fandoms in all of existence. Period. People will sexualize anything, and there is nothing a creator can do about it. A show having otakus doesn't mean that they are the target audience, at all.
"Short skirts" really isn't a sexual thing, unless they're being used for the sake of constant pantyshots or the like.

[marshmallowcreampie]

Miramelle

Cogent Dream

It's not that sexualisation is the focus of the show, it's just that it exists and you know somewhere there's otakus going crazy over these girls.

That same argument can be made for literally any show.
For example, 'Rescue Rangers', which was a Disney show about cute animals solving mysteries/having adventures, has one of the creepiest sub-fandoms in all of existence. Period. People will sexualize anything, and there is nothing a creator can do about it. A show having otakus doesn't mean that they are the target audience, at all.
"Short skirts" really isn't a sexual thing, unless they're being used for the sake of constant pantyshots or the like.

Gah, don't even get me thinking about that. cat_gonk But yeah, Rule 34 and all. Pretty much every show will have its characters sexualized.

[Miramelle]

marshmallowcreampie

Miramelle

Cogent Dream

It's not that sexualisation is the focus of the show, it's just that it exists and you know somewhere there's otakus going crazy over these girls.

That same argument can be made for literally any show.
For example, 'Rescue Rangers', which was a Disney show about cute animals solving mysteries/having adventures, has one of the creepiest sub-fandoms in all of existence. Period. People will sexualize anything, and there is nothing a creator can do about it. A show having otakus doesn't mean that they are the target audience, at all.
"Short skirts" really isn't a sexual thing, unless they're being used for the sake of constant pantyshots or the like.

Gah, don't even get me thinking about that. cat_gonk But yeah, Rule 34 and all. Pretty much every show will have its characters sexualized.

Exactly! Rule 34 is definitely one of the most traumatizing parts of the internet.You can't argue that a show is sexual because someone sexualized it in their own head. Brrrrrrrr. People oti scare me. eek

[marshmallowcreampie]

Miramelle

Exactly! Rule 34 is definitely one of the most traumatizing parts of the internet.You can't argue that a show is sexual because someone sexualized it in their own head. Brrrrrrrr. People oti scare me. eek

Agreed. If I leave Safe Search off on Google Images and decide to look for My Little Pony pictures, there's pretty much a guarantee that you'll find something mildly pornographic. cat_gonk Even when you look for a less popular character, IT'S THERE. And when you search pictures for any show or comic, you have to be on alert as you go down the list because as you keep going, chances of finding something nasty just increases.

[Tenko72]

Cogent Dream

3. Prepubescent girls usually/hopefully don't wear short skirts (although I'm beginning to see it more and more). Can't find specific picture of a CCS otaku, since any search involving the words "Cardcaptor Sakura" end up with too much other stuff. Nanoha (another magical girl) has quite the older male otaku following.

Nanoha was made for men and is actually a spin-off of an eroge series, Triangle Heart, which was also aimed at men. She isn't even a main character in Triangle Heart, her family is. Triangle Heart's not a magical girl series, it's an action/romance one, but there are some fantastic/sci-fi elements, like vampires and cyborgs. I don't think the people who made it expected it to get more popular than the original series.

I don't mind reading about magical boys, but there are few as main characters that are described as that who aren't genderbenders. Off of the top of my head, only the guys from Shugo Chara, Erio from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Strikers, Thomas from Nanoha Force, and Daisuke from DNAngel come to mind.

[Niamh the Fae]

I know of a magical boy webcomic, but the main character is an anomaly - there are several female characters that follow the magical girl trope, and it's implied that it's a common thing in that universe, whereas everyone thinks it's weird that Cherry is a boy. (The comic seems to be implying that he became a magical boy because he was crossdressing and the magic wand didn't realize he was a boy when it chose him to give the magic to.)

[Usaki Tsukino]

Yuuno Sukirai (sry spelling) in the Nanoha-movie is the first that comes to mind, and CSS/Syaoran Ri but even if those are magical girl-series, in my opinion these characters wont qualify to a magical girl-stereotype, rather they can be called "mages" and anyone that research the magical girl-subgenre will soon discover that the concept cant be easily converted to hold a male protagonist as an equivalent, unless you aim for something like power rangers. ^^

[Kita-Ysabell]

As Utena has been mentioned, I'm just gonna jump on that train and ride it to the station.

First off- I'm going off the anime here. I haven't read the manga or seen the movie. I'm pretty sure they're all pretty different: I've heard that the characters in the manga have wildly different personalities, and the character in the movie turn into transformers or something. Also subplots are missing, because it's shorter.

Utena is a deconstruction of the Magical Girl genre and it can be... a bit debatable as to whether it also fits inside the genre or not. (compare Madoka, which is definitely a Magical Girl anime as well as a deconstruction thereof) Two people transform, both girls (I don't think Touga got a transformation when he was engaged, but I'd have to re-watch to be sure) but everyone wears the characteristic outfits- aside from Utena herself, Anthy, and Akio, the outfits were customized school uniforms that they wore all the time.

That said, guys and girls participated equally in the questionably-magical battles. Actually, I think there might have been more guys than girls. Even if you don't count that one guy who may or may not have ever existed. Yeah, it's weird like that.

[Moral Gutpunch]

Kita-Ysabell

but everyone wears the characteristic outfits- aside from Utena herself, Anthy, and Akio, the outfits were customized school uniforms that they wore all the time.

Actually, no. Only the student council (who wore very different uniforms than other students) and Utena wore modified outfits. It could be presumed that they are always in their magical outfits and are just a 'different team' given the outfit patterns of them, the black rose duelists, Nanami not truly belonging to any group, and the roles or princes and princesses (one being support, the other being determination, which is symbolized by transforming into a car in the movie).