showamagicalgirls - Tumblr blog

[showamagicalgirls]

@sailorfuncomics has been collecting Fun Kindergarten (たのしい幼稚園) magazine because of its Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon (美少女戦士セーラームーン) comics, which is a really interesting topic in and of itself because it's pretty wild that there's another manga of Sailor Moon the fandom never talks about. But this came to a particular intersection with my Showa era magical girl project because of the Magical Princess Minky Momo (魔法のプリンセス ミンキー モモ) manga they ran.

These images were featured in the May 1992 issue.

[showamagicalgirls]

I recently rewatched Mary Poppins (1964) because of its influence on the Showa magical girl genre. Here's what I wrote about it on Letterboxd:

I have been going deep on the various stories that make up Mary Poppins because the novels and the film had a major influence on Mitsuteru Yokoyama (横山光輝), one of the founders of the magical girl genre.  After reading about half of P. L. Travers’ book series, it’s funny to return to this film, which of course was what I was most familiar with before this journey. The main difference I detect in the characterization of Mary is how they downplayed her vanity. I had thought I might also find her way less harsh in the film, but she’s actually more stern than I remembered.  Also, this movie is longer than I remembered…

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Revue Starlight (少女☆歌劇 レヴュースタァライト), Episode 2

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Happy Lesbian Visibility Day!

in honour of lesbian visibility day please pay your respects to them

[showamagicalgirls]

I am so so so grateful for the connections that digital fandom spaces make possible. Today I am so excited to offer a chapter of Minky Momo manga that I didn't even know existed until very recently, and this would not be possible at all without @sailorfuncomics.

Please enjoy these scans they made of the Magical Princess Minky Momo (魔法のプリンセス ミンキー モモ) manga featured in the April 1992 issue of Fun Kindergarten (たのしい幼稚園) magazine.

[showamagicalgirls]

I have not yet seen the recording of Cutie Honey Climax, but I do own a souvenir program from the production because I’m obsessed with the wigs and the costumes.

[showamagicalgirls]

One image from each episode—Bewitched, S. 01, Eps. 23-28

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Niji no Toride (1956) by Osamu Tezuka

[showamagicalgirls]

I've started watching Revue Starlight (少女☆歌劇 レヴュースタァライト) because I was in the mood for a more recent show (and apparently for me that means the end of the Heisei era). Everyone's been talking about how much it was influenced by Revolutionary Girl Utena (少女革命ウテナ), though I'm not sure if I think it's a magical girl show yet.

[showamagicalgirls]

Magical Girls in Red

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I recently finished reading The Moe Manifesto: An Insider's Look at the Worlds of Manga, Anime, and Gaming by Patrick W. Galbraith. I was particularly interested in this book because it contains interviews with two creators involved with Showa magical girls -- Sato Toshihiko (佐藤 俊彦) and Nunokawa Yuji (布川ゆうじ). Nunokawa was involved with several shows in the Studio Pierrot Magical Girl Series, including Magic Angel Creamy Mami (魔法の天使クリィミーマミ), Magic Star Magical Emi (魔法のスターマジカルエミ), Magic Idol Pastel Yumi (魔法のアイドルパステルユーミ), Magic Stage Fancy Lala (魔法のステージ・ファンシーララ). Sato was among the creators of Magical Princess Minky Momo (魔法のプリンセス ミンキー モモ).

Both of them basically say that they never anticipated adult of male fans of their series, and were quite surprised. Nunokawa goes so far as to say that they didn't know how to make money off of the adult fans at first. Nunokawa also says that he believes the enduring power of the magical girl trope lies in its association with opportunities for peaceful change. I tend to agree with that, although I wouldn't want to limit the potential power of the archetype just to that.

Sato mentions Idol Angel Welcome Yoko (アイドル天使ようこそようこ), an early Heisei magical girl I don't hear about very often.

Overall, I enjoyed the bok, and I do finally feel like I understand what moe means which is nice. I do feel like Galbraith shrinks from the most intense question in that field, which is why there's so much focus on youth, but I do understand why.

[showamagicalgirls]

Interstitial image of Megu-chan

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One frame from each episode — Bewitched, S. 01, E. 15-22

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Lucky Idol Lyrical Lena (おまじないアイドルリリカルレナ) sticker

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The caption here says “Dress-up Megu.”

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Tissue packet given out by Nakayoshi to promote Sailor Moon. Scanned by me.

[showamagicalgirls]

Lucky Idol Lyrical Lena (おまじないアイドルリリカルレナ) sticker