Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: What is a magical girl?
Magical Girl Apocalypse, known in Japan as , is a Japanese action-horror magical girl "shōnen" manga series written and illustrated by Kentarō Satō. It began publication in July 2012 in the manga magazine "Weekly Shōnen Champion", published by Akita Shoten, and has been compiled into sixteen "tankōbon" volumes . The series is published in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment. A spin-off series called "Magical Girl Site" was later made that shares the same themes.
The manga and anime series "Omamori Himari" features an extensive cast of characters by Milan Matra. The series' storyline focuses on Yuto Amakawa, an orphan who, on the day of his sixteenth birthday, meets Himari, a buxom sword-wielding girl and a cat spirit. Yuto later learns that he is a Demon Slayer and that his family is one of the twelve Demon Slayer families that had slain demons for hundreds of years, and that Himari had sworn an oath set by their ancestors to protect him until his powers awaken. Throughout the series, Yuto, along with his childhood friend Rinko, later encounter other girls who soon take a liking to Yuto: Shizuku, a mizuchi, Lizlet, an artifact spirit, and Kuesu Jinguji, an heiress to the Jinguji Family of Demon Slayers who is revealed to be Yuto's fiancée. are the demons and spirits based on Japanese mythology and folklore. They once coexisted with the humans until the Demon Slayers arrived and killed most of them. As a result, the surviving ayakashi bear a deep hatred towards the Demon Slayers. Some ayakashi, like Himari and Shizuku, can assume human forms to blend in with society (though Himari comments that most do not like human cities), and some ayakashi can cast barriers and spells using their .
, also known as for short, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Milan Matra. The story revolves around Yuto Amakawa, an orphan who, on his sixteenth birthday, meets Himari, a cat spirit samurai girl who has sworn an oath to protect Yuto from the various monsters and demons that are out to kill him.
The Seven Sisters—fictional characters of the "Forgotten Realms" campaign setting of the "Dungeons & Dragons" Role Playing Game. The sisters are epic level characters (characters possessing nearly super-human levels of skill and power) of differing abilities, most of which involve some form of spellcasting and use of magic. Created by Ed Greenwood, they have been featured in multiple novels, games, and officially created scenarios by an equally large number of authors/game-designers.
The Japanese manga series "Rosario + Vampire" features an extensive cast of characters by Akihisa Ikeda. The main character of the series is Tsukune Aono, a teenage boy who, after not getting accepted to any local high schools, enrolls in Yokai Academy, a boarding school for monsters. He meets Moka Akashiya, a vampire who soon takes a liking to the sweet taste of his blood, and throughout the series, befriends and attracts a variety of monster girls including: Kurumu Kurono, a succubus; Yukari Sendo and Ruby Tojo, who are witches; and Mizore Shirayuki, a snow fairy. While protecting Tsukune's identity as a human, they join the school's Newspaper Club; they wind up fighting a variety of monster gangs as well as some teachers. In the second manga serialization, the Newspaper Club faces more monster characters and a larger organization known as Fairy Tale, whose members include Moka's own family.
"Omamori Himari" is an anime series adapted from the manga of the same title by Milan Matra. The story centers on Yuto Amakawa, a boy who, on day of his sixteenth birthday, meets Himari, a cat spirit in the form of a beautiful young girl. He learns from her that he is the descendant of one of the twelve Demon Slayer families that had slain ayakashi since feudal times, and that Himari has sworn an oath to protect him from the ayakashi that are out to kill him until his powers awaken. He later meets other girls who start out as enemies, but later become rivals for Yuto's affection as the series progresses. The anime follows the first twenty-nine chapters of the manga, with moderate changes to the original's storyline.
Many critics have noted that Jill Murphy's "The Worst Witch" series (first published in 1974 by Allison & Busby), is set in a school for girls, "Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches", reminiscent of Hogwarts. The story concerns an awkward pupil at a boarding-school for witches, who faces a scheming rival student. Her professors include a kindly and elderly headmistress and a bullying, raven-haired potions teacher. Murphy has commented on her frustration at constant comparisons between her work and "Harry Potter": "It's irritating … everyone asks the same question and I even get children writing to ask me whether I mind about the Hogwarts school of witchcraft and pointing out similarities. Even worse are reviewers who come across my books, or see the TV series, and, without taking the trouble to find out that it's now over quarter of a century since I wrote my first book, make pointed remarks about 'clever timing' – or say things like 'the Worst Witch stories are not a million miles from J K Rowling's books'. The implications are really quite insulting!"
Suguha ranked 6th, on a Japanese Charapedia poll of the "anime character they’d want as a little sister" the most. Another Charapedia survey where 10,000 fans were asked to find the most "charming busty characters" in anime and manga had Leafa placed 3rd with 409 points, though she came 2nd with 370 points for just the male respondents. Asuna, Kirito and Leafa appeared in a campaign by the "Manga Anime Guardians" project in combating anime and manga piracy, with the project being supported by 15 anime production studios and manga publishers. Leafa has also appeared in "Sword Art Online"-related video games, including crossover title "". A pre-release promotion by Bandai Namco for video game "" allows already registered users to be entered into a lottery where the winner receives a Leafa figure.
Taking place mostly in modern-day Japan, the story follows Kiyo Takamine, a 14-year-old boy in junior high school. His father, Seitaro Takamine, discovers an unconscious child named Zatch Bell while in a forest in England, and sends Zatch to live with Kiyo. Unlike the other Mamodo, Zatch lost his memory of the Mamodo world. Kiyo learns about the spell book when he reads a spell causing Zatch to fire lightning from his mouth (the spell is mentioned in the first episode). As Kiyo and Zatch begin to encounter different Mamodos and learn more about the Mamodo battles, they discover that there are those who do not wish to fight and there are those who fight for the wrong reasons. After meeting a Mamodo named Kolulu and seeing how this kind Mamodo was forced to fight due to the power of her spells, Zatch decides to become a kind king in order to stop the battle from ever happening again. As the story progresses, Zatch and Kiyo meet other Mamodos that share similar views to them and become allies. They meet allies such as Megumi Oumi and Tia in which they specialize in defensive spells such as different types of shields. Kiyo and Zatch meet Folgore and Kanchomé (Canchome) who are both comic relief characters and they only have transformation spells such as Kanchomé being able to turn himself really big. Zatch met Kafk Sunbeam and Umagon earlier in England. Umagon is a Mamodo who specializes in transformation spells that can put armor around his body. Shery (Sherie) Belmont and Brago who was originally Zatch and Kiyo's rival in the series later becomes their allies and he has gravity type spells.
Both major publishers began introducing new superheroines with a more distinct feminist theme as part of their origin stories or character development. Examples include Big Barda, Power Girl, and the Huntress by DC comics; and from Marvel, the second Black Widow, Shanna the She-Devil, and The Cat. Female supporting characters who were successful professionals or hold positions of authority in their own right also debuted in the pages of several popular superhero titles from the late 1950s onward: Hal Jordan's love interest Carol Ferris was introduced as the Vice-President of Ferris Aircraft and later took over the company from her father; Medusa, who was first introduced in the "Fantastic Four" series, is a member of the Inhuman Royal Family and a prominent statesperson within her people's quasi-feudal society; and Carol Danvers, a decorated officer in the United States Air Force who would become a costumed superhero herself years later.
Also common is the idea of soulmates, or couples tied together by fate. Syaoran and Sakura (featured in both "Cardcaptor Sakura" and "") are among Clamp's signature couples that best fits this representation. As also seen in "Magic Knight Rayearth", three girls are bound together by fate to save Cephiro. Fate is also the reason the three girls consider each other "sisters"; another idea that elaborates people being tied together (family cannot be chosen). Clamp also explores the idea of chaste or pure love (as in the manga "Chobits"). Clamp's disregard for sex or gender (or at times biological age) in these couples has led them to write same-sex couples into many of their manga in contrast to many other manga artists (for example, Tōya and Yukito in "Card Captor Sakura"). A number of such couples have been shown together across parallel dimensions in the Clamp multiverse. Although Clamp often writes romantic works, Ohkawa has mentioned that she feels that it is more putting one's life on the line than love that causes women to grow or change. Clamp never features love as a central theme; Ohkawa stated in an interview with Takeshi Oshiguchi in 1997 for "Animerica" that she is not "good at love stories" since her "idea of a relationship is different from that of a lot of other people".
Sailor Moon Crystal, known in Japan as , is a 2014 original net animation adaptation of the "shōjo" manga series "Sailor Moon" written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi and produced in commemoration of the original series' 20th anniversary. Produced by Toei Animation and directed by Munehisa Sakai (Seasons 1 and 2) and Chiaki Kon (Season 3-present), the series was streamed worldwide on Niconico from July 5, 2014 to July 18, 2015. Season one and two’s episodes were released twice a month. Instead of remaking the 1992–97 anime series preceding it, Toei produced "Crystal" as a reboot of "Sailor Moon" and as a more faithful adaptation of the manga by omitting much of the original material from the first series. The story focuses on Usagi Tsukino, who is a young girl that obtains the power to become the titular character. Other Sailor Guardians join her in search for Princess Serenity and the Silver Crystal.
Jagwar appears in the IDW comics as a female member of the Pantheon.
The are strongest order of Magic Knights, the selection of most of its members later revealed to have been part of Patry's design as a majority are reincarnated elves.
The Worst Witch is a British-Canadian ITV television series about a group of young witches at a school for magic. The series stars Georgina Sherrington and Felicity Jones, and is based on "The Worst Witch" books by Jill Murphy (published from 1974 onwards). It aired for a total of 40 episodes spread over three series between 1998 and 2001, before being followed by "Weirdsister College." Most episodes revolved around the school, following the adventures of Mildred and her friends. The series was later followed by "The New Worst Witch", which ran for two series and chronicled the experiences of Mildred's younger cousin Hettie as she attended the school.
The Wicked Witch appears as the main antagonist of the second half of Season Three of "Once Upon a Time" played by Rebecca Mader. This version goes by the name of Zelena (which means "green" in some Slavic languages). Zelena is discovered to be the daughter of the Queen of Hearts/the Miller's Daughter/Cora (Barbara Hershey/Rose McGowan), making her the older, long-lost half-sister of Regina the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla). Zelena visited Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) and learned from him how to control her own powerful magic. Her storyline revolves around her efforts to create a time-travel spell that will allow her to go back and prevent the birth of Snow White's mother, Ava, who informed Prince Leopold (Cora's fiancé) that Cora was with child to sabotage Cora's attempts to infiltrate the royal family (before she can ruin Zelena's life, and thus Zelena would be raised as royalty. But despite Zelena's efforts to create the deadly time portal Emma Swan (supposedly the only wielder of light magic powerful enough to oppose her) her plans are halted when the Evil Queen masters light magic in time to oppose her (although her time-travel spell is completed, it takes effect after her presumed death, transporting Emma and Captain Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) back to before the original curse was cast). She was later thought to have been killed by Rumpelstiltskin.
The first known female superhero is writer-artist Fletcher Hanks's minor character Fantomah, an ageless, ancient Egyptian woman in the modern day who could transform into a skull-faced creature with superpowers to fight evil; she debuted in 1940 in Fiction Houses "Jungle Comics".
In the 1939 version of "The Wizard of Oz", Margaret Hamilton plays the Wicked Witch of the West as a green-skinned witch dressed in a long black dress with a black pointed hat. She does not wear an eye-patch like in the novel. This representation of the Wicked Witch has become a standard for what witches resemble and an archetype of human wickedness. While this relationship is not mentioned in Baum's books, in the movie, the Witch is the sister of the Wicked Witch of the East. The movie makes her even more of a primary antagonist, and consequently she appears in the film much earlier (and more often), than in Baum's original novel. She demands the Munchkins reveal who killed her sister, not long after Dorothy's arrival in Oz. She is described by Glinda the Good Witch of the North, not the South as in the book, as "worse than the other one". She actively seeks revenge against Dorothy for killing her sister, even though it was "accidental". However, as soon as the Witch is reminded of the ruby slippers, all interest in her sister's death vanishes and all she cares about are obtaining "her" slippers, which will enable her to conquer Oz. She is more menacing than her literary counterpart, making Dorothy too afraid to ever lose her temper with the Witch. She makes sure that Dorothy knows her power when Dorothy meets the Scarecrow by throwing a ball of fire at them. Before Dorothy and her friends get to the city, the Witch casts a sleeping spell over a field of poppies through which the group must pass. Glinda remotely counteracts the spell with a snowfall. The Wicked Witch then flies on her broom over the Emerald City, demanding that the citizens of the Emerald City surrender Dorothy to her, and the Wizard demands the destruction of the Witch, with her broom as proof, in exchange for granting the wishes of Dorothy and her companions. Unlike Baum's original depiction, the Wicked Witch sends the Winged Monkeys as the first wave of attack. The Golden Cap is not mentioned but, after the failure of her poppy spell, the Witch does hold and then angrily cast away a costume piece that could be considered the cap (It greatly resembles the Cap in depicted in W. W. Denslow's original illustrations for "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz") and was mentioned as her "wishing cap" in the original shooting script. She is killed when Dorothy throws a bucket of water on her, in attempt to put out a fire the witch bestowed on the Scarecrow. In the novel, Dorothy simply throws it on her in a fit of anger. There is no prior mention of the Wicked Witch's vulnerability to water in the movie, save for a split-second before the water actually douses her when she screams "Don't touch that water!" (this line does not appear in the film's shooting script). After the Wicked Witch of the West is dead, her soldiers are glad to be free of her power, and quote "Hail to Dorothy! The Wicked Witch is dead!" The character ranks No. 4 in the American Film Institute's list of the 50 Best Movie Villains of All Time, making her the highest ranking female villain, as well as placing 90th on "Empire" magazine's "100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time".
Batgirl is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts to the superhero Batman. Although the character Betty Kane was introduced into publication in 1961 by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff as Bat-Girl, she was replaced by Barbara Gordon in 1967, who later came to be identified as the iconic Batgirl. The character debuted in "Detective Comics" #359, titled "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!" (January 1967) by writer Gardner Fox and artist Carmine Infantino, introduced as the daughter of police commissioner James Gordon.
The Wicked Witch of the West is one of the most iconic villains of modern times. However, the iconic version of the Wicked Witch is Margaret Hamilton's portrayal in the 1939 movie, which is copyrighted. The character of the Wicked Witch from the book is in public domain, but that version of the Wicked Witch is not even green. Most modern portrayals of the Wicked Witch of the West do make her green, because that is how the public thinks of the Wicked Witch, but they all strive to make her appearance somehow distinctive.
The Wicked Witch is not given a name in the books, so subsequent authors gave her their own names. All of these names are protected under copyright as part of their respective works, which means new creators have to keep coming up with their own version. Some of the most well-known incarnations of the Wicked Witch of the West are "Elphaba" ("Wicked"), "Theodora" ("Oz the Great and Powerful"), "Zelena" ("Once Upon a Time"), "Evillene" ("The Wiz"), and "Azkadellia" ("Tin Man").
There are similar issues regarding portrayals of the Wicked Witch of the East, but she is not as prevalent in the public conscious as her Western sister.
Karai is a fictional character in various installments of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" ("TMNT") comics and related media, where she is usually a high-rank member of the Foot Clan outlaw ninja organization. She was originally introduced in Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's comic book series "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" in 1993. Since then, she has appeared in several different "TMNT" comics, cartoons and films, as well as in about a dozen video games (including as a playable character in "", "" and "").
Luis (played by Luis Bermejo), an unemployed literature teacher, tries to fulfill the last wish of his 12-year-old daughter Alicia (Lucía Pollán), who's terminally ill of cancer: owning the official costume of anime series "Magical Girl Yukiko". The elevated price of the costume makes Luis get into an unusual and obscure chain of blackmails that involves Damián (José Sacristán) and Bárbara (Bárbara Lennie), to changing their lives forever.Carlos Vermut states that there are some little parts in the movie influenced by the popular magical girl series "Sailor Moon". However, in terms of story and dark style, they were highly influenced by the anime "Puella Magi Madoka Magica". Carlos stated he liked the story in Madoka, where there is no reward but punishment. He noted "I received inspiration from the dark part of that "Madoka Magica", not just imitating, but matching it with the image I was thinking and putting it in "Magical Girl"."
Some series are notable for portraying "magical boys" as protagonists instead of the traditional supporting roles. "Cute High Earth Defense Club Love!" is a 2015 television magical boy anime series created by Kurari Umatani and produced by Diomedéa, which parodies tropes and cliches common to magical girl anime. "Magical Girl Ore" features magical girls who transform into manly-looking forms. In "Is This a Zombie?", a zombie is resurrected by a necromancer after being killed by a serial killer, inadvertently gains "magical girl" powers, and is forced to become a "magical boy" (and thereby crossdress) in the process. In "Shugo Chara!", released in 2006, half of the series' main characters are males that possess the same powers as their female counterparts.
With her 2016 single "Blk Girl Soldier" and its accompanying video, singer, songwriter, and poet Jamila Woods centers Black Girl Magic. Woods draws on the popular understanding of Black Girl Magic as a quality of power and perseverance in Black women and girls that people "don't understand," but she further enriches the concept by centering the historic contributions of Black female revolutionaries such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, Ella Baker, Audre Lorde, Angela Davis, and Assata Shakur. With footage of a contemporary #SayHerName protest, Woods draws a line from abolitionism through the civil rights movement and Black feminism to modern day political activism, linking these movements as expressions of Black Girl Magic. With lyrics such as "she scares the gov'ment," and the inclusion of a quote from Black Liberation Army member Shakur to bookend the song, Woods posits that Black Girl Magic is not only about a celebration of Black women, but also their radical and uncompromising fight against oppression. Speaking about the song's video, Woods states "The goal of the ‘Blk Girl Soldier’ video is to lift up the black women throughout history and today who inspire me and who are doing brilliant artistic and activist work. Knowing my history and what my people have survived before me has made me stronger.” In 2018, "NPR" ranked "Blk Girl Soldier" as the #144 greatest song by a female or nonbinary artist in the 21st century, writing that the song is "tinged with sadness about injustices committed ‘last century, last week,’ but infused with the beautiful power of those who fought and keep fighting."
Magical girls are unfortunate girls who are chosen through Magical Girl Sites. The managers of the sites give them weapons, known as . The usage of these sticks could shorten their lifespan. Initially, the magical girls are created to fight among each other and collect negative energies with their stick, in order to survive "Tempest". The more magical sticks they used, the more negative energies collected. These magical girls would have physical changes while using their stick, such as hair colour change, emblems appear on their eyes, lifespan emblem on their skin, and blood flowing out of their body part.