Anyone who’s ever watched anime long enough will encounter a random girl tasked with saving the world with magical powers. At its core,Magical Girl animedepicts seemingly ordinary schoolgirls balancing their daily activities at school and shenanigans with friends with the impending doom of the world as they know it.
However, just because the Magical Girl genre has a few tropes and cliches doesn’t mean each show is the same. Some of thebest Mahou Shoujo animeexpand these concepts further, subvert expectations, and tell some incredibly gripping stories. While not as popular as some other themes, this genre has produced plenty of greats over the decades, and that trend will hopefully continue indefinitely.
Kill la Killhas been left out since it is a borderline member of the Magical Girl genre. That said, Trigger’s series is awesome, and if it were to be included in this discussion, it would rank third.
Also,Gushing Over Magical Girlshas been left out for, well, obvious reasons. However, if somebody is looking for an ecchi comedy that leans heavily into fanservice, this show is an option.
Updated June 29, 2025 by Mark Sammut:Except for Witchy Pretty Cure!! Mirai Days,Winter 2025 mostly opted to skip over the Magical Girl genre, which is a shame as Fall 2024 had two decent shows in Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. and Acro Trip. As the current lineup has little to offer, two older shows have been added as recommendations for thebest Magical Girl anime: Sugar Sugar Rune and Magical Witch Punie-Chan.
Fall 2024 debuted two Magical Girl anime, both of which shake things up to mostly decent results. While neither show is incredible, they are both worthy additions to the genre.Acro Tripfocuses on a girl who joins an evil organization to provide the local Magical Girl with a challenge that allows her to shine. The latter mostly plays second fiddle to the protagonist and the male villain, but all three characters are quite charming.
The season’s other series,Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc., is the more memorable of the two, at least concerning its core premise. Rather than going down the “chosen one” route, the anime envisions a world where Magical Girls are another profession, effectively acting as exterminators whenever entities known as Kaii make an experience. After leaving college, Kana is kind of struggling to find the right job; however, that changes when she helps a Magical Girl named Hitomi solve a serious Kaii infestation. Before she knows it, Kana is riding a special broom, wearing cool outfits, and helping people.
Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc.gives the genre theTiger & Bunnytreatment, which is by far its strongest element. The characters are fairly traditional but also likable, particularly Hitomi. Even the action sequences are great. Admittedly, the anime loses steam as it goes along, but the journey is still worthwhile.
Here is something a bit different.Magical Witch Punie-Chanis, essentially, a Magical Girl parody that focuses on a Princess who is anything but valiant. In fact, she is prone to violence and, when threatened, will try her best to DESTROY her enemy. Honestly, the show is kind of similar toBludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan, where the jokes mostly revolve around undermining the innocent female heroine trope. However,Magical Witch Punie-Chanis nowhere near as grotesque as that show, and it mostly sticks to fierce slapstick without crossing the line into uncomfortable gore.
Magical Witch Punie-Chanis not going to hit the mark with everyone and is also quite difficult to track down in this day and age. Nevertheless, somebody craving a subversive Magical Girl anime that is not particularly dark might wish to check this series out. There is nothing else in the genre quite like it.
When anime fans hear Magical Girls, they often think of a trio of superpowered schoolgirls andMagical DoReMifits that description perfectly. Doremi Harukaze, a third-grader living in the fictional town of Misora, stumbles upon the magic shop named Mahodo. After she discovers that its owner Majo Rika, is a witch frog, the latter makes Doremi her apprentice to help her return to human form.
Doremi finds companions in the form of her best friends who also become witch apprentices. At first, the trio need to pass nine different tests to become full witches and break the curse on Majo Rika. However, the trio eventually faces various threats, including an evil witch apprentice, with the fate of the world at stake.
For the most part, Magical Boys anime have been left out of this discussion. While they tend to parody Mahou Shoujo stories, they are nevertheless in a separate subgenre, and they usually don’t incorporate girls that much. However,Is This a Zombie?is an exception since a Magical Girl, Haruna, is part of the main cast and central to the narrative. Admittedly, she does not get to take part in the action all that much since her powers are quickly taken over by Ayumu, amale zombiewho suddenly finds himself having to take up the responsibilities of a Magical Girl.
On paper, this anime sounds excessive and exhausting, almost like it is trying to do way too many things at once. Although scattershot at times,Is This a Zombie?is pretty darn hilarious and features a strong cast of characters. As long as a viewer does not mind a harem, this unique Magical Girl anime is well worth checking out.
Fatetranscends medium, producing visual novels, action games, manga, light novels, and (obviously) anime.Fate/ZeroandFate/stay nightare the most popular series in this universe, but they are far from the only worthwhileFateanime. For example,Fate/kaleid Liner Prisma Illyahas been nothing short of a massive success, with the manga spawning an anime adaptation with four seasons and two movies, and there is still more to come. At its peak, this series representsFateat its best, delivering fantastic action, decent humor, and conflicts largely driven by conflicting ideologies.
The thing is,Fate/kaleid Liner Prisma Illyais arguably the hardest anime in the series to wholeheartedly recommend, mainly due to the fanservice in the first two seasons.Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya 2wei!is particularly annoying in this area, and these moments can detract considerably from the overall package. That said, the positives shine bright enough to warrant giving this series a mention, even if it is primarily for die-hardFatefans rather than people into Magical Girls.
Producing three main seasons,Yuki Yuna is a Herohas proven to have quite a bit of staying power. The Magical Girl series tends to be compared toPuella Magi Madoka Magica, albeitYuki Yunais a less bleak show overall. Set in a world with deities, a school’s Hero Club members are charged with protecting the world from monsters.
Yuki Yuna’s characters are its strongest point as the anime dedicates a great deal of time to exploring the girls' lives outside their heroic duties. It develops them as people, making it quite easy to relate to or at least like these characters.
Most commonly known asShakugan no Shana, this anime envisions a realm that exists alongside Earth, one defined by an endless war between people who seek personal gain at the expense of balance and those who try to stop them. One day, Yuuji is saved by a mystery girl he calls Shana, and the former is informed that he is no longer alive. Joining Shana in her fight to preserve both worlds, the two steadily form a relationship.
Shakugan no Shanahas a weak opening arc, but the anime picks up considerable steam as it goes along. The Magical Girl anime focuses heavily on Shana and Yuuji’s romance, so much so that it serves as the story’s heart.
Amu Hinamori ofShugo Chara!is recognizable for her iconic pink hair and punk-ish attitude. What her classmates think is a “cool and spicy” look hides her rather introverted self. When she wishes to gain the confidence needed to fulfill her popular exterior, she finds three eggs that hatch as three Guardian Characters — Ran, Miki, and Su. As a Guardian, Amu can beseech the help of Ran, Miki, and Su to help her discover her true self.
As the anime evolves, Amu also encounters other Guardians, each with their own Guardian Characters and abilities. And whileShugo Chara!has its own blend of unique action, its greatest strength lies in its story about self-discovery.
Since around the ’90s,mahou shoujo animehave generally stuck to a standard aesthetic and structure, with some variants on it. Consequently,Sugar Sugar Runeis at odds with genre-setters likeSailor MoonandCardcaptor Sakura, to the point that it almost seems to belong to another theme. For example, the main “magical girls” areanime witches, and they very much lean into that look and vibe. Vanilla is, admittedly, a bit more of a conventional mid-2000s shojo protagonist, but Chocolat is far more loud and abrasive than the usual MC. They both have awesome fashion senses as well.
While not necessarily groundbreaking, the story is a nice departure from all the “world-saving” premises that have come to dominate the genre. Chocolat and Vanilla are sent to Earth to collect hearts, with the winner becoming the queen of the Magical World. They set up shop at a school, and quickly set out to ensnare the guys, all the while dealing with threats (and magical boys) that force them to work together.Sugar Sugar Runeis a blast and a refreshing take on Magical Girls.
What if there existed a school that teaches girls how to become Magical Girls?My-HiMEexplores this concept in detail. The story centers are HiMEs, or girls with the ability to materialize photons, that reside in Fuka Academy for a secret purpose. Protagonist Mai Tokiha soon discovers she’s a HiME and bonds with a Child, a mecha with spiritual properties. Mai, alongside 11 others, are tasked to save the world from Orphans, creatures with abilities similar to the HiME’s children.
My-HiMEhas a lot to do with the complex personalities of each character. As other HiMEs manifest around Mai, their various goals affecttheir desire to protect their world. In the end, Mai and the others become entangled in a fate tied to their very nature as HiMEs.
