The Case for Magical Boys

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The idea of anime “magical boys”—male counterparts to the “magical girls” seen in Sailor Moon, Magic Knight Rayearth, or Revolutionary Girl Utena—isn’t really new. Since the first Japanese animated girl got her hands on a mystical item that granted her enhanced strength, special attacks, and the ability to change clothes in public without getting arrested, there have been supernatural guys assisting magical girls on their journeys. Syaoran Li from Cardcaptor Sakura, the male cast of Shugo Chara!, and even Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon (whose psychic powers become more important to the story later in the series) are all examples of magical boys.

And yet, “magical boys” never took off as their own anime genre. The likely reason is that Japan believes it already has a male equivalent of magical girl anime: live-action tokusatsu shows such as Kamen Rider and Super Sentai (the latter of which western audiences may know best as the inspiration for Power Rangers). But that equivalence is primarily based on both franchises featuring transforming characters opposed to more meaningful similarities. While magical girls embody a wide variety of types and personalities, there’s precious little variety in the tokusatsu portrayal of male characters, especially in their latest incarnations.

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