A.

General part
Topics: How magical-girls-themed shows affect the way young children see
women and how we can mitigate their negative influence.
Research questions:
This paper aims to find out how magical-girls-themed shows affect the personal
values development of young children, particularly the way children see
themselves and women in our our patriarchal society. This paper also aims to
find out how adults can tackle problems these shows created to help children
which are the genre’s audience grow up happy and healthy.
Main arguments:
Argument 1: Magical girl shows promote feminism among children
Reason 1: The protagonists of magical girls shows are often depicted as strong
and independent girls who uses their magical abilities to fight villains. They do
not always need the help of men to achieve their goals.
Reason 2: Even though magical girls are described as strong, they are not
stripped of femininity. Femininity in magical girls shows is not considered as
weak and subordinate to masculinity.
Argument 2: Magical girl shows promote sexism among children
Reason 1: The images of the magical girls are subtly suggestive which indirectly
reinforce the sexual objectification of girls and women.
Reason 2: A large number of magical girls shows still emphasize traditional
womanhood.
Argument 3: Adults should mitigate the sexist elements of magical girls shows
as they are damaging towards the development of young children.
Reason 1: Concerning the sexist messages that magical girls shows convey and
the feminist messages they deliver, adults, including parents, animation
producers and social scientist, should actively tackle problems these shows
created to help children which are the genre’s audience grow up happy and
healthy.
Research result:
Even though magical girl shows often try to deliver positive feminist messages,
they also partly fuel sexism in our society. This calls for the cooperation of
parents, animation producers and social scientist to help children which are the
genre’s audience grow up happy and healthy.
B. Specific part:
Argument 1: Magical girls shows promote feminism among children
Magical girl shows have been around since the 1960s1. Magical girls show
features young girls or women utilize their magical powers to fight and save
people. These shows can be “a highly positive influence on young women that
emphasizes the importance of taking control of one’s destiny and overcoming
obstacles”2 . “The traditional audience of magical girl shows is pre-teen and
early-teen girls3. The fact that these shows are mainly consumed by children
means that they have notable influence on the development of children’s views
towards girls and women. One thing we can clearly see is that Magical girls
shows promote feminism among children.
First of all, the protagonists of magical girl shows are often depicted as strong
and independent girls who uses their magical abilities to fight villains. They do
not always need the help of men to achieve their goals. Before the birth of
magical girls shows, and even now, the animation industry lacks strong female
characters. The male characters will always be the ones who fight the villains
and save the girls, even when the stories do not focus on them. Some examples
are “Sleeping Beauty” or “The Little Mermaid”. And then there are magical girls
shows. The first magical girl animated series is “Sally the Witch”, which was
introduced in 1966 in Japan4. The story follows Sally, princess of the magical
world named Astoria, and Sally’s journey as she makes friends, uses magic for
good deeds, and tries to adapt to life on Earth. This story focuses on ““coming of
age” trauma (the transition from adolescence), and unique magical capabilities”5.
Bewitched, a popular American sitcom in Japan at the time, inspired the making
of Sally the Witch, according to author/artist Yokoyama Mitsuteru. It was not
until the 1990s that the genre saw the rise in girl power with birth of “Sailor
Moon” by Toei Animation. The animated series has gained global recognition as

1
Akiko, S. (2019). Children of Sailor Moon: The Evolution of Magical Girls in Japanese Anime. [online]
nippon.com. Available at: https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a03904/children-of-sailor-moon-the-
evolution-of-magical-girls-in-japanese-anime.html [Accessed 1 May 2019].
2
Chan, N. (2017). The Paradoxical " Magical Girl " - Female Empowerment in Magical Girl Anime.
3
Butler, C. (2018). Shoujo Versus Seinen? Address and Reception in Puella Magi Madoka Magica
(2011). Children's Literature in Education.
4
Akiko, S. (2019). Children of Sailor Moon: The Evolution of Magical Girls in Japanese Anime. [online]
nippon.com. Available at: https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a03904/children-of-sailor-moon-the-
evolution-of-magical-girls-in-japanese-anime.html [Accessed 1 May 2019].
5
Chan, N. (2017). The Paradoxical " Magical Girl " - Female Empowerment in Magical Girl Anime.
it is the first to have magical girls transform into magical warriors. Spanning
across five seasons (“Sailor Moon”, “Sailor Moon R”, “Sailor Moon S”, “Sailor
Moon SuperS”, and “Sailor Stars”), the anime maintains most of the original
material and storyline from the manga. The storyline itself follows the various
adventures and development of the series’ main protagonist Sailor Moon,
alongside her friends and fellow Sailor Soldiers, as they defend the planet – and
ultimately the universe – from an assortment of evil forces throughout the series.
The Sailor Soldiers are comprised of five teenage girls, ranging from around the
age of fourteen at the beginning of the series, to around sixteen at the close. They
possess the power of planets in the Solar system, which they use to fight villains
trying to harm the Earth and the universe. One of the male protagonists is
Tuxedo Mask. At the beginning of the series, Tuxedo Mask is the one who help
Sailor Moon and other Sailor Soldiers. But as the show progresses, Sailor Moon
has learned to overcome her fears and she no longer needs the the help of
Tuxedo Mask. In the reboot of the anime, ‘Sailor Moon” has a new theme song
which includes a line that really focus on the independence of Sailor Moon and
girls in general: “We are not helpless girls / Who need men’s protection.” Other
examples are “Cardcaptor Sakura”, “Tokyo Mew Mew” and the “Pretty Cure”
franchise. These shows all have female protagonists having immense magical
power and their male counterparts only play the supporting roles. These shows
have created the role models for young children. Many young girls can now
believe that they do not always need a Prince Charming in their lives and they
could do incredible things by themselves.
Secondly, even though magical girls are described as strong, they are not
stripped of femininity. Femininity in magical girls shows is not considered as
weak and subordinate to masculinity. As mentioned above, in the past, female
characters were mainly described “weak” or “helpless”. They often needed the
help of other male characters. Their feminine characteristics, such as wearing
feminine clothes or loving cooking or crying easily, are regarded as what make
them weak and subordinate to men. “In a lot of more typical superhero shows,
the token female character has to learn how to be “strong” in traditionally
masculine ways. While there’s nothing wrong with female masculinity, it’s often
framed as if successfully being “like the boys” is how these girls succeed at
anything else. Magical girl shows take a turn by giving magical girls feminine
outfits and often even girlier weapons or attacks”6. The Afictionado writes: “The
genre emphasizes the power of the young woman and shows the audience that
being a girl doesn’t make you weak. In fact, it’s what makes you powerful—

6
Rose, https://www.autostraddle.com/how-sailor-moon-made-me-a-feminist-an-ode-to-magical-girl-shows-
177393/
Sailor Moon features its girl team transforming into their flippy skirts and high-
heels with “make-up” in their battle cry, and the weapons they use come in the
form of winged wands and sparkly tiaras. That’s right, weaponized femininity.
Instead of shying away from the traditionally girly in order to give themselves
strength, the Magical Girls throw that very idea in the trash and face their
enemies down empowered with the feminine.”7 Young girls now know that they
don’t have to be like boys to be strong. They can confidently do what they want
to do, without worrying if doing so makes them inferior to their male
counterparts. This helps balancing the power of femininity and masculinity in
our society, in which being masculine is still widely perceived as superior to
being feminine.

7
https://theafictionado.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/frill-clad-warriors-of-justice-and-girl-power/