#relationship by the end of this season just like they did last season with zakuro playing asupporting role to mint but the other way around

[mariautistic]

Still thinking about this gif

[xion92]

TMMN: Masaya/Ichigo relationship analysis, episode 7

Hi everyone! Before starting the analysis of this episode, I have a question for you all: do you have any contacts with the producers of the old anime? I’d kindly like to write to them, and say to sit down, watch this anime and learn from this series how to characterize a character.

Folks, this show is treating Masaya very, very well. It’s giving him a great depth, which even the manga didn't have. Yes, the scenes are mostly from the manga, but it adds a lot of little things that dig his character even deeper and give even more meaning to this couple's bond. I don't know if Ikumi is behind all this, but if this is the case I can only be immensely grateful to her. Let's start, then.

Let's start by saying that this episode actually combines the last chapter of volume 2 and the first of volume 3. Condensing two chapters into a single episode, you'd think: they cut things, surely there will be less depth, the dynamics will not be understood. But it’s not like this.

So it begins with the scene that alone gives 10/10 to the episode. Ichigo falling asleep in class and having a dream about Masaya. Note that here, unlike in the manga, he dreams of kissing him. As in episode 4, he goes much further than the manga. Among other things, we finish seeing her dream before she actually wakes up (”Aoyama-kun, you’re so bad”...lol 🤣 what are you doing with him in your dream?), at this point I wonder how much further she goes with him in her fantasies 😁

An aspect of Masaya's character that I’ve always appreciated: he also likes Ichigo's carelessness and jokes about it with irony, but in any case he always helps her to solve the problems she caused. Oh, another nice foreshadowing: the blue handkerchief!

Ichigo, what did you want to do here, crash into him and throw him to the ground to kiss him again by mistake? 🤣

And it’s wonderful that Ichigo has fantasies of him kissing her and leaning her against the wall and in real life holding his shoulders from behind is enough to get her excited up to this point.😆

This part is very important: in those days, between her who was chasing Zakuro and him who had training, they talked a little. Clearly they are not a couple yet, at least officially, since in my opinion the ending of episode 3 was quite eloquent in this regard. But that's okay, relationships need to be developed slowly and they'll probably get together at the end of the season. Masaya is busy with kendo these days, so for the moment she is content to give him her support in words and starts to walk away from him.

Masaya shows, again, his impetuousness which he has already shown before, but which over time he’ll show more and more. He doesn't ask her to wait, he actually stops her by taking her by her arm, again showing how he can't handle his actions when he gets excited. He too wants to go out with Ichigo again and spend time with her because he wants to get to know her better, admitting between his lines he likes her. And then something happens that I wanted so much to see but didn't really believe they actually would do: as far as possible, the authors let us hear his thoughts. I say "as far as possible” because with him they have to be careful. Just one word in excess, and you might understand that he’s no ordinary guy. But they give us as much as they can.

Oh, a tip to the animators: when you draw a new eyebrow to replace the wrong one, you should erase the wrong one. I hope this error is eliminated in the DVD. 😆 Anyway, here he thinks "if I know more about you ..." and I conclude it: "...I will be able to understand why I feel so weird with you." 

And in fact when she goes away he asks to himself "what is this feeling?" Poor darling. Again, he's in love with her but he doesn't realize it and he doesn't know how he feels about her. This scene is similar but also different from the manga: in fact, there we didn’t hear his thoughts and there was no torment of not understanding what the feeling he felt was. Of course, you could have arrived at it through reasoning, but seeing it on screen in such a blatant way is another matter entirely.

We then see a scene that we never saw in the manga: Masaya interacting with his training mates. Here they mostly talk about the Mew Mew, but from their lines, such as the fact that his mates know that he always talks to a girl but not her name, we understand that Masaya is very reserved, he doesn’t talk to them about his personal things (they know that he always talks to Ichigo only because they saw them together, certainly he didn't tell him about her) and he has no real connection with any of them. Masaya is a guy who until now has always been alone despite being always surrounded by people on a superficial level, Ichigo is the only one who has managed to get close to him on a personal level and to involve him with actual feelings.

Adorable that Ichigo, as in the manga, made for him a cat-shaped lucky charm, which here acquires a deeper meaning, since she learned in episode 3 that he has a soft spot for cats. Besides, she made it with the same color of her fur, and she put a red bell like hers, as if to say: with this lucky charm, you’ll always keep me with you.

And here comes out what had already been glimpsed in the previous episodes: Ichigo's paranoia, which here compared to the manga has a different reason. In the manga, she is basically scared because she fears she is being discovered by him. In the anime, however, she feels terribly guilty because she lied to him, and she is sure that if he finds out the truth he’ll never forget her and he won’t speak to her anymore. She walks away like that because she feels like a bad person, she almost regrets letting their relationship go on like this, because it's hard to go back now, she knows that, if she continues to stay with him, she will have to keep lying to him and it doesn't make her feel good. Moreover, she knows that he, of all people, is the one who came closest to discovering her identity, and indeed it’s like this, even if Masaya at this point in the episode still has some doubts.

I loved this line, which wasn't in the manga: I didn't see you, but I felt you were there. He already has such a high connection with her that he feels her presence even if he can’t see her.

And he tries asking her: are you that Mew Mew? Because Masaya has no idea what Ichigo thinks about it, and surely there wouldn’t be any problem for him if she answered yes, so she asks her such a direct question. He loves her for who she is, she was the first person to make him feel real feelings, what does he care if she's a Mew Mew? But of course Ichigo doesn't know it, and such a question would be a big deal for her. I always wondered what she would answer him if he could finish the question.

The detail of this scene is beautiful: as soon as they perceive the danger, they instinctively go close to protect each other in case of need. And in fact the danger arrives. And here we have something great, which surpasses even the manga, in my opinion.

Remember this scene? Before watching the episode, I was a little worried about the lack of Quiche, because in this manga scene we have Masaya who openly stands up to him, and Quiche also compares him to Ichigo, because Masaya has a strong personality like her. And I thought, without Quiche there won't be this scene and something of Masaya's character will be lost. Instead, the anime also gives us something better. 

He doesn't just scream, he not only dodges Ichigo from the attack, he takes a stick and fights alone, when he's still just a normal boy, against monsters! Moreover, to protect Ichigo, which was not there in the manga because he was alone. What a man! It’s therefore not important Quiche’s missing, because the point of that scene in the manga wasn’t to show their interaction, but to show how strong Masaya was. And this is shown to us perfectly in the anime, in a different and better way, so once again, I totally approve of the change that has been made. Furthermore, Masaya manages to resist enough against monsters, taking advantage of the skills he has developed in kendo (in which he is skilled because he was created by a god who uses the sword as a weapon).

Ichigo then, even if at that moment she can’t transform because she’s with him, she doesn’t stay still, leaving him all the work, but she too takes a stick and tries to help him. Even from these signals, despite the misunderstandings that will constitute an obstacle for them up to volume 5, we can see how they are building a healthy relationship, made up of mutual help and support.

Only when Masaya is hit and the wasp is about to kill him, Ichigo decides to transform to save him, even if she’s there in front of him. And here we have something that wasn't in the manga. In the manga, Masaya at the end of the chapter is not sure Ichigo is a Mew Mew, and he says so in the last panel of the chapter: he is suspicious, but it can't be. Here, however, even if the lines the characters exchange are almost the same, from the shots and the tones of the voices we understand well that Masaya understands perfectly in this moment that Ichigo is a Mew Mew. Also because as she transforms, he sees her clearly and his suspicions are definitively confirmed.

The subs are inaccurate. He actually tells her “kimi wa Mew Mew”, "you are a Mew Mew", as in the manga, but in the manga the interpretation is deliberately ambiguous. He could mean "ou in a generic sense are a Mew Mew", or "then you Ichigo are really a Mew Mew". In the anime, on the other hand, you understand what he means by the tone of his voice, and it is very clear that it’s the second. He's clearly saying "Ichigo, you're a Mew Mew."

Poor Ichigo, crying ... it makes me really sad to see her like this. She understood what it actually happened, he know who she is. She’s desperate as she fights because she knows that this is the end of their relationship, as she’s sure he will be angry with her because she has been lying to him all that time. However, notice that it's all a film that she only made in her own head, because she has no idea how he thinks about it. He would accept her anyway and forgive her for lying to him, but she is instead convinced that he won't want to have anything to do with her anymore.

When the fight is over, we have another proof that Masaya has understood who she is. As she begins to walk away, he calls her by name, and not insecure, as a question, as if he was looking for confirmation. In the manga he calls her by name in the previous chapter, here instead, since they condensed the two chapters, they moved it here. In that scene of the manga, however, he calls her uncertainly, a sign that he is not sure. Here, on the other hand, he is sure and calls her without doubts in his voice.

And at this point, as the title of the episode also says, it is clear what she wants to do. Out of guilt and fear of how he might react, she is ready to say goodbye first, perhaps because it would be less painful than hearing him say goodbye. This is the first of two times in which she will say goodbye, moreover with the same phrase: “ima made, arigatou”, “thank you for everything”. This is the first time, absent in the manga, in which she only thinks it. The second time will be in the rain after the Tokyo Tower battle, probably in the end of the season, where she’ll really tell him, and it’ll be the exact moment when he’ll realize he’s in love with her.

And then she simply says "ja nee", which could also just mean "bye, see you later". But said with that expression and with that tone, it’s clearly a farewell, it’s clear that if she had left at that moment, she would never have approached him again. But then, the turning point: in the manga Masaya stops Ichigo because he actually wasn't sure of his suspicions, but here the things are different.

Masaya knows that she’s Ichigo, but realizing that he is losing her, he panics and first yells at her to stop, as to tell her “don't go away from me”. He then thinks about it for a couple of seconds and immediately makes up for having mistaken her for that girl he knows. He has no idea why she is keeping her identity hidden from him, but he knows that if he proves that he knows her, she will go away from him. So, if the condition for her to stay with him is to pretend he doesn't know anything, then he’ll play that part. She is too important to him, and he’s willing to do anything to keep her with him. From the tone of his voice while he’s saying it and the fact that he looks down, it’s clear he’s not sincere with what he says and that he is making it up. To reinforce what he said, he also asks her who she is and if she can at least tell him this. In the manga, his is a sincere question, because he’s not sure if Ichigo is really her. Here, however, he already knows, but he asks it to her to convince her even more that he knows nothing about her. In fact, before those further questions she’s still doubtful whether he knows or not, but after he asks her who she really is, she is convinced that he doesn’t know, and she’s relieved, because she has understood he hasn’t recognized her.

And at this point I wonder why the authors didn't give the warriors a completely different name to make them protect their identity, as they did in Sailor Moon. "I'm not Usagi, I'm Sailor Moon." It’s okay. Here instead ... "I'm not Ichigo, I'm Mew Ichigo." And she tells him even with a convinced tone! 😆 It’s like calling their secret base “Café Mew Mew”. Great coverage, guys, you really want the paparazzi around you.

However, Masaya already knows who she is, even if Ichigo had had a different superhero name it would have been the same. And at that point Ichigo says "ja nee" again, but in a completely different tone than before. She’s cheerful and happy, a sign that she no longer means it as a farewell. Masaya instinctively tries to stop her anyway, but he’s no longer in panic as before. He knows Ichigo will stay with him, but still that is a pretty shocking discovery. But in that moment it doesn't matter, his only thought is to find her again as soon as possible.

Another proof he has understood who she is, he immediately goes to look for her in the very place where Mew Ichigo has gone away. Can we dare a dubbing award to Yuuma Uchida? He already has a lot of them, I'm sure, but here he’s truly a monster. Even though he calls her passionately all three times, you notice the change in his tone when he sees her sitting against the wall. He first calls her loudly, but only to find her. As soon as he sees her there exhausted his voice becomes worried and agitated, and it’s agitated even when he asks her if she’s okay. Yuma Uchida… they couldn't find a better voice for Masaya!

In the manga at this point he lifted her torso off the ground, but here Ichigo is already leaning against the wall, so it wasn’t needed. And all the additions in the anime make up for that! Especially the scene now.

She manages to give him the lucky charm she had prepared, an indirect way of telling him she loves him and she supports him, and Masaya, unlike the manga, where in this scene he didn’t say a word, clearly shows his emotions, those emotions that only she is able to make him feel and that still he can’t explain. In the anime it’s him, and not Ichigo, who realizes that she has given him a gift. Surely it’s not the first gift that he receives in his life, but it’s the first gift he has received with feeling and from a person he loves in turn. In the manga, he didn’t even thank her, here instead, after gazing the lucky charm and realizing what it means, he blushes so much and thanks her warmly. A lot of feelings are shining through every action of him, in a way that he has never shown in any of his previous incarnations.

Awww, how adorable he is! Masaya is generally represented in two ways in this anime. Like a cool guy or like an adorable puppy. Here is the second. This is the same character who said at the beginning of the series that mankind is full of sins. And now he's all in love with a member of the species he hates so much.

And then we have a final exchange, also a nice anime addition. In the manga the two separate because he has to go back to training, but not here. She wants to be close to him while he trains, not just hope he wins like she said earlier in the episode. He’s obviously more than happy that she’ll stay with him during his training (he’s still blushed), and therefore from here on an issue that worried me a bit is resolved: in the manga, Masaya and Ichigo are together only a few more times before he declares himself to her (when they go out together, they meet Ryou and she turns into a cat, and when she feels sick and he takes her to the infirmary). They’re actually a very few meetings for such a declaration. Instead, here, with this little additional interaction, we have the confirmation that only some of their interactions, the most important ones, are shown to us, but they stay together and bond even off-screen. That's just great! They have every opportunity to stay together both before and after training and thus to bond even more.

And all ends with a vision of the sky with cherry petals, and Ichigo is very happy because she’ll be able to continue to be with Masaya. Keeping lying to him and feeling guilty about it, but right now she doesn't care. She just wants to be with him, the other problems are not important.

And with this episode 7 ends. Guys, during the first episodes I kept my expectations low because I didn't want to be disappointed, but after all things they gave us, and especially after this episode, my expectations are rising more and more . You can feel the difference with the old series, in which the authors seemed to have put this couple only because they had to do it. Here, on the other hand, you can feel how much love and care they are putting into characterizing both him and his couple with Ichigo. They are giving us so much, if you are a fan who loves Masaya and the canon couple, they are giving us a wonderful gift. It had always been my dream to see Masaya and this couple shine like a bright star in a new adaptation, and that's exactly what they're doing. I will never be grateful enough to Mia Ikumi, Reiko Yoshida and the creators of this anime for these characters, this couple and this huge gift!

Now, as the next one is the ship episode, I'm sure Masaya won't be there, so I'll gladly take break. See you again in episode 9!

[thefangirlrant]

We’re one episode away from the end 😭 (of season one, anyway)! Before this season wraps up, I have some thoughts on these last two episodes I wanted to throw out there. First, Seiji and Zakuro were in the same scene together!

My ghost ship lives! Well, until this scene happened, and I could hear all the Mint/Zakuro shippers scream through the airwaves. 😆

Not going to lie, I thought they were going to kiss too.

The Ryou/Aoyama meeting lived up to my expectations.

I love how Ryou was just joking with Ichigo like he always does, and doesn’t even bother to acknowledge Aoyama until Aoyama forces him to; and then he purposely ticks him off. 😆

The cat shenanigans was about what I expected, although I was a kind of surprised they kept the bath bit 😅

I found it awkward, mostly because of how unrealistically buff Aoyama is 😆 Moving on.

Kitty Ryou was absolutely adorable! I’m not a cat person, but he makes me want a cat 😻 I have mixed feelings about the scene in which Ryou finds Ichigo. I’ll start with what I liked:

I love that they kept the rants from the manga, and that after they both get what they’ve been holding in off their chests, they’re completely fine, and not mad at each other anymore (nothing like healthy relationship behavior to keep my ship afloat!); sometimes you just have to let it all out, and then move on, and that’s what they did!

I also love that Ryou brought her a sandwich! Not only does this make us come full circle from the time Ichigo brought Ryou a snack, but it shows how much Ryou cares about her; he was legit out all night looking for her, with a sandwich in tow, because he knew she would be hungry and need a snack when he finally found her! Ryou is best boy! Aoyama didn’t even bother to look for her. And don’t give me this, “he didn’t know she was in trouble!” He found his jacket, that Ichigo had run off with, in a RIVER! She could have been dead in that river! (Which is pretty close to the truth!) He should have been searching that river for her! Instead, he finds a cat, and takes it home all happy and giddy, not even bothering to even call Ichigo to make sure she was fine after he found his jacket she discarded. 😒 I was starting to like the new Aoyama, but I’ve gotta say, he really dropped the ball here. Short rant over, back to the original topic!

What I didn’t like about the Ryou/Ichigo reunion: they left out the follow up from episode two’s scene. 🥺

Now, I hope it’s not being omitted completely, and they just decided not to put it there because there was already a lot happening in this scene, and that they’ll have it either in the next episode (unlikely, I think), or in the next season. I wouldn’t be upset if the next season starts with Ichigo realizing how much Ryou cares about her 😏 The only problem is, the second half of that scene in the manga was already thrown into this scene!

Ryou asking to kiss... I like the genuine look of curiosity on his face, like he is actually thinking about it in a logical way 😆 But the actual question, just doesn’t feel right, and he immediately says he’s joking. I feel like there should have been more of a pause in between him asking, and then saying he was joking. Whether he’s serious or actually joking, the response still felt too quick either way. Maybe he’ll ask again in season two? (I can dream 😝)

One last thing, after my annoyance with him in episode 9, Keiichiro has redeemed himself:

He is team Ryou! Although, Keiichiro, maybe if you actually said what you were thinking out loud to him, he would be more likely to say his own feelings out loud 🙄

[stardustizuku]

well i guess we’re doing this

@skating-jellyfish @scintillant-h @quasargirl

ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE  

The Westernization of Magical Girl Genre

By StardustIzuku aka me 

AKA the 2k magical girl essay people wanted me to talk about.

A lot of people were asking about this, wow.

Magical girls. Glitter, cutesy names, stuffed animals, and puns. What is there not to love about them?

It was only bound to happen for it to be tried in the west. Much like transformers, which were a westernization of gundam, Magical Girls are going through their rocky paths to that idolized version of Magic targeted towards small girls.

There are a few shows that are borrowing these themes today in children’s cartoon, so I wanted to talk about them. How they managed to miss the mark with some fans, and why their following is significantly smaller of the likes of Sailor Moon.

Here you have today:

The Westernization of Magical Girl Genre

The thing about Magical Girls is that the plot is often very predictable. It, quite frequently, does not have that much of a great romance, and its villains are basic to the core.  

So, why do we like them if they’re, supposedly, so shitty?

Well…The answer is

Two Things:

The feeling. 

The message.

This is the core of the Magical Girl’s success. If it has a nice feeling but no good message, you get things like kamichama Karin. If it has a bad feeling but a good message, you get things like Madoka.

(Which are in my opinion the two worst things that could have happened to Magical Girl genre)

And having said this, there’s two shows I wanna talk about today. One is SVTFOE and the other is Miraculous Ladybug. Two westernized versions of the Magical Girl genre…And both fail to recreate the very specific beauty of Magical Girls. As they struggle with its own voice, they get something that feels genuine but ultimately disassociated from the genre.  

I will first start with the easiest to tackle.

Miraculous Ladybug;

It does everything right in the regard of plot, romance and villains. It’s a real classic of Magical Girl storyline that could be easy to get behind.

And while I do watch it, I do not feel the love I know I could for it.

The reason is simple: because of the feeling it gives off.

I think the biggest mistake Miraculous did was making it 3D. This means it’s technically easier to make, yes. But it also deteriorates the very particular aesthetics Magical Girls have. And this makes it drop quality.

It feels less magical, and more real. Less sparkles, more concrete. And taking into a count the fact that it’s set in Paris? This show should be looking ethereal. But instead it looks very plain. It feels…wrong even.

There’s also a very key aspect that I think it’s missing: the team. It’s taking them way too long to form the team. Time that could have been spent making the team -Ayla, Chloe etc- feel closer and work through their difference is instead focused on them individually.

And that’s good, since it has a “Monster of the Week” narrative. But it lessens the impact. We are two seasons in, and we have a very lacklustre incomplete team.

By episode 43 -the time im writing this- Sailor Moon was already meeting Sailor Venus -the last Sailor Scout- and heading to the final battle. Sakura was friends with Meilin and biding goodbye and saying thanks for the memories. In Tokyo Mew Mew Zakuro and Mint -the closest girls on the team- were having one of the most emotional fallouts in anime history. Even Amu had finally unlocked her god damn Amulet Diamond and was essentially already friends with the “evil” Utau.

But 43 episodes in Miraculous ladybug and we have three out of the supposedly five characters of the team, queen bee is loosely alluded to, and we haven’t seen Ayla interact with them as superheroes that much.

Its strange, if you ask me, for a team to be presented this way. When are we going to see them start trusting each other? When are we going to see them work together? Ladybug and Chat are good, but how could the team as a whole even remotely begin to feel so close?

Ladybug has the heart and the intention to be a good Magical Girl adaptation…but it simply lacks the resources to make it actually work. It’s wasting so much time in stuff that does not advance the plot, or round up the characters. It has more useless filler than sailor moon.

And that’s not even kidding, because by this point, may I remind you, Sailor Moon is like two episodes away from ending its first season.

Over all, it just feels a bit plastic and stiff.

However, credit where credit is due.

They nailed the romance.

When it comes to romance in MG it falls under two categories:

1.- The straight forward plot with pinning girl. (eg. Sailor Moon, Mermaid Melody)

2.- The dreaded love triangle between the bad guy and the nice guy. (open a shoujo manga)

And Miraculous Ladybug did a pretty interesting thing, fusing the “bad guy” with the “good guy”, in chat and Adrien.

It’s like telling you Ikuto and Takase are the same person. Or Kishu and Masaru are the same guy.

Pretty crazy, if you ask me.

It also solves the “who will she chose” narrative that drives everyone insane. Instead it’s replaced with a slow burn that makes you keep watching. You know they’ll end up together, but you want to know how.

It also keeps the “he’s in love with my alter ego” trope that to this day is a MUST in any magical girl, just because its super fun and never gets old.

So Miraculous Ladybug is very close to becoming the true magical girl adaption we all wanted. I would say it could be better, but there’s a reason why it has a large following.

It did many, many, things right. It just needs a push. I’d rank it number two in Magical Girl Goodness.

Now, let’s jump to a more difficult thing to tackle.

Star Vs The Forces Of Evil;

At first glance, you’d think SVTFOE is a love letter to classical Magical Girls. And while it does borrow a lot of aspects from animes like Sailor Moon and Sakura Card Captor... The more I look into it, the more I see it as faulty westernization of it.

As I said before there are a few things that make a Magical Girl show shine.

The feeling, and the message.

And while Star certainly has the feeling, making it feel crazy but fun and cutesy, the message is…

Very different.

As a matter of fact, I don’t think SVTFOE has a bad message. On the contrary, it’s a pretty damn good one…But the thing is…It’s not one MG often have.

Magical Girls messages are one of two things -although they sometimes mix:

Finding yourself, and the power of girl’s friendship.

Messages that are really cliché, but they thrive because in a society where girls are shamed for being who they are, Magical Girls encourage them to be brave. To seek solace and friendship in one another.

SVTFOE is…different.

Something that really pisses me off, is how Star’s only female friend is Ponyhead, someone who doesn’t really give emotional support.

Girlfrienship is being thrown away, shown as toxic. While Marco and Star’s relationship is put in a high pedestal. Despite being clearly a romance.

Star’s message is nice in a superficial level. Fight racism and stand your ground.

But, it’s also about doing it alone. That no other girl will support you, and that even your mother sometimes will leave you alone. In recent episodes, even Eclipsa left Star.

This is teaching girls to be brave on their own.

The antithesis of typical Magical Girls.

But, we as girl are stronger together. We are not alone, we shouldn’t have to fight alone.

It also shows that fists are more powerful than kindness. It’s kind sad, from my point of view.

The message in SVTFOE is ultimately flawed.

There’s no team. It’s just Star and Marco.

Which brings me to another point:

The plot is good, the romance is the worst I have seen in my life, and the villains are very complex.

Nothing like a sample MG anime.

The romance specially, has jumped through a lot of stages. First being the straight forward pinning girl narrative, then switching to the bad guy vs nice guy (tom vs marco), then switching the roles of the good guy vs the bad guy…And honestly who knows what comes next.

SVTFOE has thrown away any pretence of being a magical girl adaptation long ago. Nothing it has comes remotely close to what a magical girl storyline is. For fucks sake, she doesn’t even have a stick now.

WHEN HAVE YOU SEEN A MAGICAL GIRL WITHOUT A STICK THINGY.

It’s, overall, a very individualistic tale. As a westernization of the genre…it speaks more about the culture we live in than the concept.

I’d place it right below Miraculous Ladybug as an adaptation, maybe 3rd place.

But there is one cartoon that is a neo Magical Girl I love.

The first seasons of Steven Universe;

It has everything, from the healthy girl’s friendship message, to the aesthetics, the kindness on its core, to the monster of the week formula.

Early seasons of steven universe did this phenomenally. Capturing the true essence of Magical Girl. And even then, I would not be able to tell you when exactly it stops being a westenazation, to when it is its own thing.

The actual lesbian romance is without a doubt the best adaptation they could have done, since there’s obvious subtext in early magical girl’s.

But even in episode that are relatively new, you see the contrast. Escalating villains, healed with compassion and offering a hand (Blue and Yellow Diamond), and a Big Bad Villain (white diamond) that needs to be stopped. Not to mention Rose being the Pink One™ and having an alter ego, which was the one Greg fell in love with.

There’s an ethereal beauty that followed Steven Universe during its earliest seasons and that’s why I do think it’s the best westernazation of Magical Girls so far.