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Ask any anime fan to define Sailor Moon, and the words “magical girl” are almost certainly going to come up. And for good reason: Sailor Moon and its multiple sequels and reboots are among the most influential anime of all time, and they have cemented many of the tropes associated with the magical girl genre in the minds of fans. However, according to the director of many of the early episodes of Sailor Moon and Revolutionary Girl Utena, neither anime should be considered “magical girl” at all.

During a podcast appearance last year (thanks to Automaton for the translation), Kunihiko Ikuhara delved into exactly what a magical girl anime really was. The director is best known for his work as episode director in Season 1 of Sailor Moon and series director in Sailor Moon Season 2, as well as his work as director of Revolutionary Girl Utena. His assertion was that the magical girl genre stems heavily from the American sitcom Bewitched, which turned the previously frightening concept of magic and witches into a light-hearted story. Sally the Witch came out a few years later in Japan and, according to Ikuhara, was an attempt to aim the subversion of magic as a source of joy at younger viewers. That really is the genesis of the magical girl genre in anime; the use of magic in “light, casual, and fun works aimed at girls.”

“What’s so great about the magical girl genre is that in it, girls can use otherworldly powers and take the spotlight in a similar vein to Superman,” Ikuhara explained. “It's about young girls being able to use mysterious powers, and the almighty feeling of possessing powers which even adults don’t have. Nowadays, there’s way more diversity in what kind of life path a girl can take on once she grows up, but in the 60s and 70s, when Sally the Witch and the magical girl genre started, I don’t think that was entirely the case. So, from that point of view, the idea that they could use magic was thrilling to young girls back in the day.”

But what about Sailor Moon, perhaps the most iconic magical girl anime of all time? Ikuhara doesn’t consider it a magical girl anime at all. He thinks it is closer to a 'henshin hero' show, which would put it in the same vein as Kamen Rider and the Super Sentai (Power Rangers in the West) series. “I often get called a director that’s good at making magical girl anime, but listen – I actually haven’t worked on a single one,” Sailor Moon director Kunihiko Ikuhara explained. “It’s a pretty rough generalization.” 

Each week, Popverse's resident anime expert Trent Cannon runs down the latest and, dare we say "greatest," in anime and manga in Popverse Jump. Some recent columns have included... 

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