I don't have anymore creators to highlight but I wanted to finish with a big title so bring on Sailor Moon.
Anyone who cares about anime should know this series but for those who may have missed it. Sailor Moon is about a bunch of magical girls reincarnated from princesses of various ruined Kingdoms. With evil on the horizon, Luna the cat finds the reincarnated Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts to fight evil by moonlight sometimes aided by the mysterious Tuxedo Mask.
I don't need to tell anyone that this series put magical girl shows on the map and it's nostalgia value and appeal has transcended beyond 20 years. Although I've not seen the new dub of this series, I have fond memories of the first dub which is very hit and miss.
But it's not aged well. In fact everything that's followed Sailor Moon is better than Sailor Moon especially in characters.
Sailor Moon herself is infamously unlikable and she's the lead character making the supporting cast better in comparison.
The length of the series while okay for a monster of the week show can become exhausting after a while as key moments are dragged out worst than DBZ.
It's story can pull through during it's worst moments and crystal really tidies up the weaker aspects of the franchise, but overall if I watched it today, I wouldn't enjoy it.
Final Verdict: Nostalgia is the only reason to enjoy this series but that can only last so long as newer generations switch to newer shows with better written characters and it's fair to say that Precure has long since taken it's crown for best magical girl franchise.
Final post of the day. Stay tuned in the next days for the final forty.
45. Sailor Moon
The most famous magical girl series of all time. It still holds up well, mostly thanks to a redub and reboot. The moon has never looked so bright.
44. Arakawa Under The Bridge
Let it be said that the most interesting people can come from anywhere, even under a bridge in a make shift shanty town that makes FLCL look tame in it's surreal.
43. Ancient Magus Bride
This has all the dramas you could associate with such an intriguing series based on British Folklore but it's real selling point is it's incredible accuracy with it's portrayal of Britain. As a Brit myself that really makes a difference.
42. Moldiver
A geeky way of making superman, mixed in a universe that idolizes the 20th Century. It's rare to see a short series showcase so much in it's limited run but by the end of it you feel satisfied.
41. Summer Wars
The only other movie on this list. An online world is at risk and it's up to Kenji along with Natsuki and her extended large family to stop this threat before it becomes a global catastrophe. Very heartwarming, emotional and a warning of what might happen if we go too digital.
Time to look at a major list as we come to the Top Ten Best Magical Girls, to make this list, you need to have a few qualities, you must promote benevolence, have a memorable look and stand out among others within a team should they be part of one; a cute mascot helps to. Without further delay lets begin.
Honorable Mentions
Any Student from Aikatsu
The cast of Aikatsu certainly are memorable with their revolving door wardrobes but none of the cast standout on their own.
Ichigo Momomiya from Tokyo Mew Mew
The pink haired Catgirl was one of the major Magical Girls that bridged the gap between Sailor Moon and Pretty Cure, sadly the show is a casualty of 4Kids and never recovered.
Nanoha Takamachi from Magical Lyrical Nanoha
It's difficult to really call this show a proper Magical Girl show as it's closer to Mai-Hime rather than the norm, while that's not a bad thing it just makes this show a little too serious.
10. Yui Kasuga from Corrector Yui
The Magical Computer Fairy is the most forgettable on this top ten but as a Magical Girl she suits her role better than many of the higher ups on this list.
9. Akane Isshiki from Vividred Operation
Akane suffers from Miracle Rookie syndrome so isn't as high up as she should be but she's on this list anyway for her awesome fusion forms which are some of the best in the Genre.
8. Meimi Haneoka from Saint Tail
The result of a Reformed Thief and a Stage Magician creating the Magical Girl equivalent of Robin Hood with the additions of being blessed by god as her best friend is a nun. Horribly underrated but she's a little too close to a certain higher up Magical Girl on this list.
7. Momo from Minky Momo
One of the so called originals of the genre, Minky Momo's task was always solving problems rather than fighting the forces of evil, doing so in an older form created by Magic. Would be higher except that during her era there were several shows like hers competing for ratings.
6. Miyuki Hoshizora from Smile Precure
There are enough Precures now in the franchise to compete with Power Rangers for numbers so finding one to fill this list wasn't easy until I came to Smile Precure, arguably the best team of the franchise and leading them was Cure Happy Miyuki Hoshizora who should really be the poster child for the franchise.
5. Usagi Tsukino from Sailor Moon
The most famous Magical Girl of all time but not the best as anyone with a long memory remembers how Sailor Moon used to be which is a whiny teenager, which the Crystal series seem to forget. Nevertheless Sailor Moon has achieved more than most Magical Girls in the same position.
4. Momoko Hanasaki from Wedding Peach
Yeah, Sailor Moon's closest rival is better than Sailor Moon herself, surprised? Well I'll explain, Wedding Peach is still the only Magical Girl show to fully promote love as a core part of the genre without losing it's focus, it knows what it is and it's headed by the perfect character in Momoko.
3. Honey Kisaragi from Cutey Honey
Cutey Honey invented the Transformation Sequence, an element that all Magical Girl shows have relied on since this show's creation, and to think this show was created by Go Nagai, an artist more famous for Devilman and one of the main people behind the ultra violent 80s era.
2. Amu Hinamori from Shugo Chara
If you want a character that's just right for it's audience and suits the attitudes of the current era then look no further than Peach Pit's pink heroine Amu Hinamori, with this girl you get a choice in style that will suit all types of interests as well as a storyline that suits a slightly older audience.
1. Sakura Kinomoto from Card Captor Sakura
But the most perfect Magical Girl ever created is Clamp's Card Captor Sakura, she's not perfect so her achievements are more believable when she accomplishes them, she has a revolving door wardrobe actually made for her by her stalker, I mean best friend Tomoyo, and you get more out of an episode as it replaces transformation sequences with Magical Incantations which suit the show more and you have a cute mascot that becomes awesome later. I have my reservations about the way Clamp operate but Card Captor Sakura is their best.
Continuing straight away from the last entry we cover those we'll miss who passed on from April-June
Kirsten Bishopric 1963-2014
Veteran Canadian Voice Actress whose credits include Zoicite from Sailor Moon among many others.
George H. Heilmeier 1936-2014
Pioneer of LCD which revolutionized television of whom without would not have gotten close to the HD era.
Bob Hoskins 1942-2014
British Actor whose roles included Eddie Valiant from Who Framed Roger Rabbit as well as the live action Super Mario among many other roles.
Efrem Zimbalist Jr 1918-2014
Veteran actor & voice actor whose roles included Alfred from a number of DC universe cartoons as well as Dr Octopus in the 90s Spiderman among hundreds of other roles.
Kouji Yada 1933-2014
Veteran voice actor whose credits include Dr Gero from the Dragonball universe among many others including Zeff from One Piece.
Eric Hill 1927-2014
British Children's Author of Spot the Dog.
Francis Matthews 1927-2014
British Actor who provided the voice of Gerry Anderson's Puppet character Captain Scarlet in the series of the same name.
Casey Kasem 1932-2014
Radio Broadcaster and voice of Shaggy from Scooby Doo, a role he played for 40 years among other voice works including Transformers.
Steve Viksten 1960-2014
Writer for Rugrats, Hey Arnold (as well as voice of Oskar Kokoshka), Recess, Duckman and the Simpsons.
I knew I was going to come round to this remake eventually, especially when the franchise in question is so high up in the anime hierarchy, yes it's Sailor Moon.
For those who are new, Sailor Moon is a Magical Girl franchise about Usagi, a princess reborn on the Earth following the destruction of the Moon Kingdom, but when the same evil threatens Earth, Usagi is given the powers of Sailor Moon, and along with her fellow Sailor Scouts, set out to stop the evil of Queen Beryl and her henchman. Also that this franchise is 20 years old and is the first choice Magical Girl and Shojo series of many Generation X anime fans.
From an opinion of a Generation X fan like myself, the remake is absolutely beautiful, it's clear the amount of care was taken to make the show standout and how closely it follows the Manga plot instead of recycling the long 200+ episodes of Monster of the Week. Four episodes in and already it's made a decent impression on it's fanbase.
So why does it feel so underwhelming?
Well for many reasons.
1. The Legacy of the original series despite it's flaws, still holds a special place in the hearts of it's fans and still holds up very well despite looking somewhat dated.
2. The Market is saturated with Magical Girl shows including the powerhouse Precure, Aikatsu and Pretty Rhythm franchises.
3. The format chosen to release the episodes is twice a month which isn't ideal when rival shows release every week.
4. Early showings relegated the Male fanbase within it's native Japan which makes up a surprising amount of the fanbase.
5. The show is a little too well done, which makes it too safe.
The hype generated by the Marketing for Sailor Moon Crystal didn't produce the same level of hype upon release; the same issues befell Dragonball Z Kai which came out to huge praise but disappeared very quickly afterwards, and unless Sailor Moon Crystal picks up a momentum later in the series it's going to face the same fate and we may not find that out for well over a year.
Finally the format of release is not ideal, no fan wants to wait too long for their favorite character to appear on screen and considering the target audience which would consist of young girls and preteen girls as it's primary focus, it doesn't take very long for an episode to lose impact during a two week gap.
Word of mouth within schools is how a show becomes popular but it doesn't take long for an episode to lose impact and if you're the unfortunate kid who missed the episode, by the second week your school friends will be talking about Precure or Aikatsu instead of the episode you've only just caught up with, this is especially important for a female audience who can switch focus onto another product very quickly; the format isn't as bad as Gundam Unicorn's whose air times were random, but bad enough that it can't hold it's fanbase for very long.
Final Verdict: It's strikingly beautiful but struggles to maintain a solid fanbase among a sea of strong rivals, legacies and poor format choices. It still has time to fix these issues but for now it doesn't do enough to keep my attention as well as it's millions of viewers.
