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World Building: Specialists

What is a specialist? I recently watched a few early episodes of Winx Club, and they changed it to "wizard" in a few places, but the only student of Red Fountain I've seen to use magic is Nabu. I believe the headmaster, Saladin, also used some magic, but it seems like it is mostly a school for boys to learn how to fight with swords and become archetypical "knights".

In my opinion, this is lazy. They wanted a boy's school so the main female cast could have male love interests and they didn't want them to have magic, because of some unknown reason. From my perspective, this shows that the show didn't consider these characters as anything other than arm candy and drama fodder.

What I would have done is:

1) Allow boys to be fairies and witches and allow girls to be specialists. I genuinely can not understand why they separated them like they did. If it was to avoid having a boy as a part of the main squad, they already have the main team being suite mates and school dorms could still be split between the genders. And...

2) Give the Specialists their own role beyond "fairy's backup". If a specialist is a person without the ability to wield magic themselves, have them compensate by using and making magical artifacts. Have them brew potions and need a whole lot of spell components and a ritual to do the same thing a fairy or witch could do with the flick of a wrist. Make them be dragon riders. There are so many amazing feats available to a non-magical person in a magic filled world, so long as the world building takes them into consideration beyond "cute boy to cause drama."

Specialists have the unique ability to become anything they imagine for themselves, with the right tools. Let them have their own identity in a world that's supposed to be celebrating individuality.

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Character: Flora

I adored all the Winx girls as a kid, but I admit to having become a lot like Flora in my adult life because I really looked up to her. Her character, I feel, is one of the least complicated, least dramatic in the series and in a story with such a large cast in the lime light, I actually really appreciated that. She is a compassionate and empathetic character and a steady presence for the rest of the group when the going gets tough, both in their personal lives and in the greater context of the plot. My concern with her is how she has become more whitewashed over the years of the show and how the unnecessary softening of the art style effects how she is perceived.

In the original show, the angular art style and the rougher, more distinct, personalities of the other girls really allowed Flora's soft and gentle nature shine. However, over the years, as the art style softened and so did the other girls. They all moved to Earth and opened their little pet shop and formed a band, becoming more similar to each other in a way that wasn't beneficial to their individuality and made some of the characters with quieter personalities fade into the background, since now they're all softer and similar.

I feel like I rushed this, so I may come back to add more.

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Character: Tecna

Tecna, the Fairy of Technology.

Honestly, my biggest beef with Tecna is how her design changed over the years. When the studio that was originally producing it bought the rights to the show, they redubbed everything (as the cartoon was originally Italian), which was not a move I appreciated over all, but on of the more jarring differences I found was in Tecna's voice actor. Originally, or as close to original when you are watching an english dub of an Italian cartoon, Tecna had a British accent. I know it may seem like a small thing, but in my prepubescent mind, her accent helped cement that the fairies all came from different cultures. When they changed that, it was actually quite upsetting and part of the reason I struggle to watch the show anymore to this day.

There is also the matter of her design in the new animation style. Now, I get it, times change, animators change, times change... but beyond how overly cutesy the newer art style is, they made Tecna much more feminine, lengthening her hair and making her look softer. Now, I have an issue with how they made everyone seem softer, but Tecna, by design, was one of the least feminine and I liked that about her as it gave her character and set her apart from the rest of the Winx...

I guess my conclusion is that, I have no issue with Tecna. I do have issue with the animation art style changes and the voice acting, though and she's the character with the short end of the stick when it comes to those changes. Tecna deserves better.

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Magic System: Fairy Magic

I'm going to try to keep this simple, then go back to go more in depth.

There is a serious power creep problem in The Realm of Magix! The first three transformations make sense; you have the base transformation, Charmix, and Enchantix. Fairies go to school to earn these! Enchantix is when you earn your fairy dust and are considered a fully fledged Guardian Fairy (whatever that means...) so why are there twenty more transformations after that!?

Okay, so twenty is an exaggeration, however, according to the Winx Fan Wiki, there are ten to twelve other transformations, of which we have no in universe basis for outside of "The Winx Club need to power up, so here is a convenient means to do so!" The requirements for earning each power up make less and less sense as you go on as well, though I need to discuss that in a separate post out of fear of going on a tangent.

One of the big things about fairy magic that I would like an explanation on is what makes them different from the witches? I covered this in my post about the fairy-witch rivalry, but it bears repeating. If their magic is so different as to warrant different schools in such close proximity, what is the difference?

In universe, they say that fairies use "light magic" while witches use "dark magic" but in a world where there is a literal Fairy of The Sun (Stella) and Witch of Darkness (Darcy) there seems to be little sense in having light and dark magic be the distinction. And we already know how I feel about the Good vs. Evil dichotomy in this particular universe.

My solution is this: Fairies draw their powers from positivity and gain new abilities by overcoming hardships and sacrifice. It would fit in universe. That is canonically how they earn their Charmix and their Enchantix, after all. But drawing on positive emotions, memories, and experiences could be a reason why fairies are considered "good" and why witches consider them "weak". After all, it is difficult to draw on positivity when faced with hardship.

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Character: Musa

Musa of Melodie, Fairy of Music. Musa is the sassy musician with a particular fondness for hip-hop, but if it is music, she loves it. She was raised by her father after the death of her mother at a young age, and her dream is to be a famous singer like her mother.

I don't remember much else about her backstory, but what I do remember seems pretty solid. I do have a vague recollection of some conflict with her dad, who for some reason fears her following in her mother's footsteps, but all in all, her story lines are good, her character is distinct, and there's not much to criticize her about.

Much...

Her taste in guys is atrocious. A part of me wanted to mention her above average distain towards witches (as shown in season 2, when the Winx do an exchange at Cloud Tower), but that is something I think just needs a deeper look at, maybe even a backstory explanation and an arc for her to let go of that resentment.

However her obsession with Riven from Red Fountain was NOT healthy. Some of that is definitely on Riven for being an absolute tool, but I feel like Musa should have been given the opportunity to grow out of her crush on a guy who treated her like garbage, had an ego inflated far beyond reason, and literally drew Darcy's (Witch of Darkness and member of The Trix) attention and attraction because of his bad personality. (To be clear, I find Riven to be a victim in the situation with Darcy, but that doesn't make his actions before or after okay. More on that later.)

Now, this is a post on Musa, so let me refocus on her. Her attraction and faith in Riven is what allowed her to foil the Trix's plan, but I do believe that at some point, with the kind of support system she had, including multiple heathy relationships, she should have eventually been able to realize that Riven was no good for her and move on. Do I think it would have taken a season or two? Absolutely! That's some good drama and character development potential and it should not be taken lightly. Leaving a toxic relationship takes time. Let her eventually move on and eventually find someone who will treat her right instead of constantly trying to make things work with an arrogant, over-possessive pisswad. Musa deserves better.

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World Building: Sexism

Are boys not allowed to be magical? Canonically, that isn't true. We have Prof. Paladium, Prof. Whizgiz, Valtor, Nabu... there are many male characters that are able to use magic, so why are there no male fairies or witches? Why are they shuffled off to Red Fountain, a school for "specialists", where we don't see them train with magic, but with swords? We only see boys at the "school for jocks" where they seem to be learning how to fight? It never really gets explained and it is frustrating as all get out.

In my opinion, if they have the skills and inclination, boys should absolutely study at Alfea or Cloud Tower, and girls should be able to go to Red Fountain. I also feel like there should be a clearer goal for the school, but I am putting school curriculums in a separate post after I get into the magic mechanics... which will take a while.

Back to the matter at hand, I think the problem with Red Fountain and The Specialist's portrayal is because, in the end, they are only there to give the girls boyfriends. At least that is how they are written. I feel like their relationships would feel far more natural, if they were written like they were their own people, not eye candy to induce drama (looking at Prince Sky, season 1)

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Character: Stella

Princess Stella of Solaria, Fairy of The Sun and Moon and the poster child for spoiled rich girl. I actually have no problems with her character. Yes, she can be whiny and clueless and very demanding, but at the end of the day, she is there for her friends and is willing to lend a helping hand. I feel her personality reflects her upbringing as a wealthy princess whose divorced parents gave her everything and anything she asked for in order to make up for what was likely a very messy separation while also one upping their ex. Brilliant parenting? No. But, plausible.

My primary conflict with Stella is actually her magic. She is apparently the Fairy of The Sun and Moon and yet I don't recall a single instance where she uses lunar magic. Or if she does, it isn't differentiated from her solar magic. There's also the fact that no other fairy or witch has multiple domains like that. It would not hurt her character or the story if she was only the Fairy of The Sun. Maybe even give her a sister who is the Fairy of The Moon who isn't at Alfea (either due to being too young, or having graduated already) but she has a close relationship with. This could also give her an avenue for advice and enrich her character by giving her a relationship outside the Winx and her boyfriend, Brandon.

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World Building: Fairies vs Witches Social Dynamics

The vicious rivalry between Alfea School for Fairies and Cloud Tower School for Witches is the source of much of the drama in the show. I personally believe that a little rivalry between the schools is essential to the plot and I wouldn't want them to be perfect friends. What I can't stand is the blatant discrimination towards the witches.

Now, I do acknowledge that in the early 2000s, it was very easy to write a whole group of people as evil, we see that same villainization in Harry Potter in the form of Slytherin House. However, I feel like most media confronts that bias at some point, creating allies in the "other group" and we get something close to that when the witches join the fairies in fighting off the Trix in season 1, only for there to be no social change in season 2.

These days, media tends to reflect that conflict is not black and white and so we cannot write off witches as if they are all Evil. The Trix? Absolutely. Those girls where plotting world domination. But there are a lot of witches in this show and having a publicly known school for a group labeled as "Evil", which people still enroll at, knowing the reputation seems highly suspect. It does not help that it comes off as more that just a school rivalry, but a discrimination held by those not affiliated with the school. Let there be good witches doing good things being loved and appreciated by the community. We already see plenty of antagonistic fairies.

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Character: Bloom

Bloom. Fairy of The Dragon Flame. Leader of The Winx Club. Lost Princess of Sparx (or Dominoe, depending on when you began watching.) Her origin story is fairly standard. As a baby, her kingdom was under attack, so the nymph Daphne placed the greatest power in the universe, the Dragon Flame, into baby Bloom and sent her to Earth where she was found and raised by a fire fighter and his florist wife in Gardenia. There, she was raised lovingly, but never felt she fit in, until she came across a fairy (Stella) fighting a troll. She helps, discovers she has magic, and is whisked off to magic school.

I actually have zero problem with this. Her back story makes sense and is easy to follow. My primary issue is with how her character is portrayed. Bloom, after the first episode, isn't really shown to have a life outside The Winx. We have glimpses of a personal life in the first 5 minutes, where she has hand drawn artwork on her bedroom wall and she has a clear love for fairy tales, but it is never shown after that. She is never her own person once she meets Stella, Sky, and The Winx.

I feel like Bloom's character can benefit from rediscovering herself after she discovers magic. Her hobbies and interests can of course fall to the wayside when she is discovering something as life-altering as magic, but allow the girl some downtime between homework, friends, and plots from The Trix.

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My Story

I remember adoring Winx Club as a kid. I would watch it on early YouTube, before it had pay walls or the ability to support videos longer than 5 (maybe 10) minutes. My very first email address even reflected my regard for this show.

Like all children do, however, I grew out of it. I never got around to seasons 5 and beyond. I discovered books, a love for writing, and I moved on. However, Winx Club was still a formative part of my childhood, so now, at the age of 27, nearly 15 years after my last watch through of my beloved cartoon, I tried to rewatch it for nostalgia's sake. This blog is for me to detail how I think the show could have done better.