A magical girlfriend, exotic girlfriend, monster girlfriend, nonhuman woman, or supernatural lover, is a female

stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a fictional character in a work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognize from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition. There is a wide range of s ...

often associated with

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

and

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

series, and is sometimes considered a genre of its own, or as the

leading lady A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typica ...

of the "fantastic romance" genre, which combines the

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

and

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

genres. As Thomas LaMarre states, "Anime fans become familiar with a whole range of female figures that are either not really human (robots, aliens, deities, animals), or that possess extra-human powers of some kind or another (from

cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

enhancements to magical or psychic abilities), which take them beyond the merely human woman." Magical girlfriends can be one or many in a single series (always attached to the male lead). Because of the tendency for rivals to appear even when there is one female lead and because of the unnatural gender balance among the cast, magical girlfriend comedies are often conflated with

harem Harem ( Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A har ...

comedies. A good example of this conflation is ''

Oh My Goddess! , or ''Ah! My Goddess!'' in some releases, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kōsuke Fujishima. It was serialized in Kodansha's Seinen manga, ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Afternoon'' from September 1988 to ...

'' which is "one of the prototypical 'harem' titles" despite the short-lived nature of most of the romantic rivalries.

History

Magical girlfriends initially derived from the US television series ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typ ...

'', which was dubbed for the Japanese market. ''

Sally the Witch , also known as ''Sunny the Witch'', is one of the popular anime magical girls of what would eventually become a genre in Japan. Due to its characteristics, it may be considered the first shōjo anime as well; while titles such as ''Him ...

'' was the first anime series inspired by ''Bewitched'', leading to the popularity of

magical girl is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy media (including anime, manga, light novels, and live-action media) centered around young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into which they can transf ...

s in Japanese anime.

Genre characteristics

Often series in the genre start with the male lead encountering the female lead either by pure chance or by an unusual event, after which the female lead somehow becomes bound or otherwise dependent upon him, often forcing a situation of

cohabitation Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increas ...

. In many cases, this situation is repeated with other characters (''

Tenchi Muyo! is a Japanese anime, light novel and manga franchise. The original series began with a six-episode OVA called created by Masaki Kajishima and directed by Hiroki Hayashi, and released in Japan on September 25, 1992. The series was ...

''), overlapping with the

genre. However, the male lead is often inexperienced with women despite typically being a " nice guy". This situation often prevents the relationship from advancing beyond a platonic level throughout most of the series, as an ideal girlfriend doesn't come on strong herself and is generally passive in the relationship. In parodies, the character may be "too young" (i.e. Nakahito Kagura in ''

Steel Angel Kurumi is a Japanese manga series created by Kaishaku (manga group), Kaishaku. An anime series adaptation directed by Naohito Takahashi, animated by OLM, Inc., Oriental Light and Magic, produced by Pony Canyon with character designs by Yuriko C ...

'';

Negi Springfield The ''Negima! Magister Negi Magi'' manga and anime series features a wide cast of fictional characters designed by Ken Akamatsu. The series follows Negi Springfield, a 10-year-old boy from Wales with magic powers, who becomes a teacher of a Ja ...

in ''

Negima! Magister Negi Magi ''Negima! Magister Negi Magi'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. It was serialized in Kodansha's '' Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from February 2003 to March 2012, with its chapters ...

'') or otherwise have a more rational, ambivalent attitude towards women. A famous early reversal of the cliche occurs with the overtly lecherous

Ataru Moroboshi is a fictional character and protagonist of Rumiko Takahashi's manga and anime series ''Urusei Yatsura''. Appearances In ''Urusei Yatsura'' Ataru is a 17-year-old student at Tomobiki High School, Class 2-4. Born during a major earthquake in ...

of ''

Urusei Yatsura is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from September 1978 to February 1987. Its 366 individual chapters were published in 34 ''tankōbon'' volume ...

'', who is simply uninterested in ''monogamous'' relationships despite the fact few women besides his romantically aggressive alien girlfriend find him attractive. Another feature is that soon after the male and female leads begin to live together, other (usually female) characters from the female (or male) lead's origin appear (friends, siblings, relatives, rivals or even enemies), either becoming frequent visitors, cohabitors, or generally causing a disruption, or even moving in with the lead couple. Sometimes a character from the male lead's origin will appear. Examples include

Ai Yori Aoshi is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kou Fumizuki. The manga was serialized in Hakusensha's '' Young Animal'' magazine from 1998 to 2005 and the chapters collected into 17 ''tankōbon'' volumes. It is a love story betwee ...

, where Kaoru's half-brother tries to take Aoi for himself, and

Omamori Himari , 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 t ...

, where demonslayer Kuesu Jinguuji appears in volume 3 to claim Yuuto Amakawa as her betrothed. Even when there is one female lead, various rivals always threaten the relationship between the lead characters, often creating complicated "love polygons". These can vary from being from mundane characters such as men who fight for the affection of the female (and rarely male) lead, or rivals from the female lead's origins. The romantic relationship(s) in magical girlfriend comedies tend to remain static and platonic throughout the series. Commonly episodes involve some sort of superficial threat to the static nature of the relationship (which could be, and often is, the male lead or the girlfriend's desire to get closer), which is almost always resolved in some way that doesn't fundamentally alter that relationship. Action plotlines are often introduced through some sort of threat from the magical girlfriend's origins or through other means. If the romantic relationship(s) do move, it is very slow. As stated by Annalee Newitz in 1995, ''

Video Girl Ai ''Video Girl Ai'', known in Japan as simply , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masakazu Katsura. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 1989 to April 1992. It was followed by a short seq ...

'', ''

'', and ''

'', magical girlfriends are akin to American television shows such as ''

'' and ''

I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon that starred Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually mar ...

'' as they portray women who are exceptionally powerful as well as traditionally feminine. Newitz again proposes that magical girl romantic comedies are the culmination between worlds of fantasy and reality. For example, in ''Oh My Goddess!'' Belldandy is a goddess who is accidentally summoned by college student Keiichi. Similarly, Newitz alleges that the idea that women “should conceal their power” is a common trope. This is because magical girls in the aforementioned shows almost exclusively use their powers in the home or in their private relationship, but not for power at work or influence outside the domestic realm.

The "ideal woman" personality, or ''yamato nadeshiko''

Many magical girlfriends are considered by both fans and critics of the genre to be idealizations of

woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

-kind. This model of the ideal Japanese woman, the ''

yamato nadeshiko ''Yamato nadeshiko'' ( or ) is a Japanese term meaning the "personification of an idealized Japanese woman", or "the epitome of pure, feminine beauty"; poised, decorous, kind, gentle, graceful, humble, patient, virtuous, respectful, bene ...

'', is similar to that found in '' The Tale of Genji''. Ideal girlfriends are not necessarily magical in nature. Some "ideal" magical girlfriends may seem weak and emotionally needy, while others may possess a godly power stemming from their feminine traits. Ideal women have absolute dedication to whatever work they do and for whomever they have great affection, although depending on the character's actual talents this can make for anything from 'quite capable' to 'well-meaning klutz'. They usually have calm, gentle and demure personalities. They generally suppress selfish desires in favor of desiring good for others. Ideal women are always naive or innocent, sometimes explained by the girlfriend's origins which do not allow for many experiences with mainstream life. Paradoxically, other characters of the girlfriend's origin tend not to be as naive (e.g.

Belldandy is a fictional character in the popular anime and manga series '' Oh My Goddess!''. She was created by Kōsuke Fujishima as one of three Goddesses who come to Earth to reside with Keiichi Morisato, and she serves as his love interest. She is ...

of ''

'' is more naive than even her kid sister). Ideal women are emotionally insightful, seeing the good in others when most wouldn't and forgiving their shortcomings. Ideal women are examples of '' moe'' girls in manga and anime. As such, ideal girlfriends are not overly independent. They are proper Japanese women who typically will not initiate romantic action themselves, except in a delicate or indirect manner. However, numerous characters are so innocent as to not understand the nature of their actions. Independence and aggression (especially in sexual matters) is a trait of parodies of the ideal girlfriend such as Lum in ''

'',

Kurumi is the Japanese word for walnut. It is also a given name in Japan, primarily for women (though occasionally for men, such as novelist Kurumi Inui). It may refer to: People Actors *, female child actress *, female voice actress *, female actress, ...

in ''

'' or Hazuki in ''

Tsukuyomi -Moon Phase- is a Japanese manga series by Keitarō Arima. The manga was serialized in the monthly manga magazine ''Comic Gum'' from March 2000 to March 27, 2008. The series spanned sixteen manga volumes that were published by Wani Books in Japan. The ma ...

''. Parodies of the ideal woman are often selfish and become involved with the male lead because of their own selfish desires which are not (initially) shared by their mate. While the male lead usually has some sort of hold over his girlfriend (as "husband," "fiancé," provider, contract holder, client, creator, master, or even owner) the parody of the ideal girlfriend either succeeds in inverting the power balance of relationship or simply reverses roles. Shōjo artists have written another sort of parody of magical girlfriends. Shōjo writers put more emphasis on the girl. Examples include ''

Absolute Boyfriend is a six-volume manga series by Yuu Watase, first serialized in '' Shōjo Comic''. Chuang Yi licensed it for an English language release in Singapore, with the first volume released in March 2005. Viz Media licensed the series for an Englis ...

'', in which an ordinary girl gets a magical boyfriend, and '' Ultra Maniac'', in which a Middle School girl meets and becomes best friends with a magical girlfriend; followed by their misadventures at finding boyfriends.

Susan J. Napier Susan Jolliffe Napier (born October 11, 1955) is a Professor of the Japanese Program at Tufts University. She was formerly the Mitsubishi Professor of Japanese Literature and Culture at the University of Texas at Austin. She also worked as a vis ...

has described the popularity of the ideal magical girlfriend, for example,

and Ai to be a backlash against the "yellow cab" social phenomenon, where some Japanese women were seeking out sexual relationships with non-Japanese men.

Examples of "magical girlfriend" characters

of ''

'' * Lum of ''

'' (a parody of the ideal girlfriend) *

Lala Satalin Deviluke is a fictional character and the main female protagonist of the manga series ''To Love Ru'', created by Saki Hasemi and Kentaro Yabuki. In the series, Lala is an alien princess from the planet Deviluke who, to avoid marrying one of her marriage ...

of ''

To Love Ru is a Japanese manga series written by Saki Hasemi and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine from April 2006 to August 2009, and the chapters collected into 18 ''tank� ...

'' * Chi of ''

Chobits is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the Japanese manga collective Clamp. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Young Magazine'' from September 2000 to October 2002, with its chapters collected ...

'' * Saati Namba of '' A.I. Love You'' * Haruko of '' FLCL'' * Shaorin of ''

Mamotte Shugogetten is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Minene Sakurano which was serialized in the monthly magazine '' Shōnen GanGan'' from 1996 to 2000. A continuation was published in ''Comic Blade'' titled from 2002 to 2005. The manga ...

'' *

Night Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends ...

of ''

'' (male equivalent of magical girlfriend) * Sun Seto of '' My Bride Is a Mermaid'' - "The plot and situations are cribbed from any number of magical-cohabitating-girl anime" *

Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997: ...

of ''

UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie is a Japanese manga series created by Kaishaku. The series was adapted into a 32-episode anime series and one specially released OVA episode by TNK. Seasons 1 and 2 were broadcast in Japan on Kids Station between 2002 and 2004. The anime ...

'' - "Another Magical Girlfriend anime coming out this fall." *

Phryne Phryne (; grc, Φρύνη, Phrū́nē, 371 BC – after 316 BC) was an ancient Greek hetaira (courtesan). From Thespiae in Boeotia, she was active in Athens, where she became one of the wealthiest women in Greece. She is best kno ...

of ''

Fractale is an 11-episode Japanese anime television series created by Mandelbrot Engine, an artist collective consisting of critic and novelist Hiroki Azuma, screenwriter Mari Okada, and director Yutaka Yamamoto. The anime aired in Japan between ...

'' - Zac summarizes "let's just call it 'mildly interesting, competently made magical girlfriend show'" *

In Western media

Tiffany White of

Pop Matters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fil ...

, in her review of the ''

Mannequin A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. ...

'' movies, classifies magical girlfriend movies with this template: * Main protagonist is a loser who has no luck with girls or has a real girlfriend who doesn't understand him. * Main guy finds a magical girlfriend (usually an angel, mermaid, or science experiment) and they fall in love. * An antagonist lurks about, and its sole purpose is exposing the magical girlfriend. * In the end, the protagonist and the magical girlfriend escape persecution, gain public acceptance, and spend the rest of their lives happy ever after. A.E. Sparrow of IGN, in reviewing ''

'', also relates magical girlfriends shows to their western counterparts:

"She's completely devoted to protecting her new "master" from any misfortune, utterly oblivious to the ways of the modern world, and (in cute girl manga terms) a total knockout. If you're not completely immersed in the world of manga yet, think "
I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon that starred Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually mar ...
". If you are, then think " Oh! My Goddess!". Either one works if you're looking for a comparison."

Examples of magical girlfriend in Western media include: Lisa from '' Weird Science'', "Angel" in ''

Date with an Angel ''Date with an Angel'' is a 1987 American romantic fantasy comedy film starring Emmanuelle Béart, Phoebe Cates and Michael E. Knight. The film was written and directed by Tom McLoughlin. The original music score was composed by Randy Kerber. ...

'', and Madison from '' Splash''. For science fiction, girlfriends can also be labelled as "algorithm-defined fantasy girl" and range from robots such as Ava in '' Ex Machina'' to artificial intelligence systems such as Samantha in ''

Her Her is the objective and possessive form of the English-language feminine pronoun she. Her, HER or H.E.R. may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Music * H.E.R. (born 1997), American singer ** ''H.E.R.'' (album), 2017 * HIM (Finnish ...

'' and Joi in ''

Blade Runner 2049 ''Blade Runner 2049'' is a 2017 American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. A sequel to the 1982 film ''Blade Runner'', the film stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magical Girlfriend Female stock characters in anime and manga Girlfriend Women in fiction Paranormal romance

History

Genre characteristics

The "ideal woman" personality, or ''yamato nadeshiko''

Examples of "magical girlfriend" characters

In Western media

See also

References