Magical Girls in Western Culture – Guest Post by Lisa Dawn
Hi Jewel Fans! We’re back with another amazing post from Friend of the Archive Lisa Dawn! She’s the go-to for all things Princesses over at her site The Princess Blog, and we’re so excited to share another Jewel Riders post from her with all of you!
The first American magical girl who wasn’t a witch or an elf was Rainbow Brite, whose self-titled series premiered in 1984. Rainbow Brite lived in a magical world with her colorful friends and possessed rainbow-related powers. Her stories were simple since she came out during a time when cartoons were not expected to have complex characters or backstories. Though magical by nature, Rainbow Brite did not possess the most common trait of the magical girl archetype–an ordinary girl using a magic relic to transform into a pretty soldier. The first American magical girl to introduce that concept was She-Ra.
She-Ra: Princess of Power was created as a spinoff of He-Man, who also underwent a magical transformation, which could qualify him as a magical boy. She-Ra: Princess of Power told the story of Adam’s twin sister, Adora, who discovered that she possessed similar powers to him and chose to abandon her evil upbringing to fight for the forces of good. She had many magical princess friends who fought with her and were marketed as dolls simultaneously to the show’s release. In 2018, She-Ra was reimagined for modern audiences in the Netflix series, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, which fully fleshed out the motivations and personalities of the characters that were introduced in 1985.
Many magical girls are princesses, but it is not a requirement. It makes sense that a princess would be the one entrusted with protecting her kingdom. Jem, one of the most popular magical girls of the ‘80s, was not a princess, but a pop star, which was practically the same thing during the era that her show took place. There was a lull in magical girl shows from the mid ‘80s to the mid ‘90s until Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders premiered in 1995, the same year that Sailor Moon was dubbed for western audiences. Princess Gwenevere was a classic magical girl who used her powers to transform into an armored knight and protect her kingdom alongside her friends. It contained hints of She-Ra and Sailor Moon as well as nods to the King Arthur tale in a high fantasy setting where anything was possible.
The mid ‘90s mark a peak in western magical girl content, possibly due to the growing popularity of anime. It was a peak era for toys as well. Dolls were selling more than ever, and it was hard to go anywhere without seeing a piece of Jewel Riders paraphernalia. Tenko and the Guardians of magic, inspired by the life of a real magician, premiered alongside Jewel Riders but didn’t enjoy the same level of popularity. Sky Dancers, based on the popular ‘90s dolls that fly into the air when you pull a string, premiered in 1996 and introduced the story of a queen from a magical kingdom who worked as a dance instructor on Earth. Unfortunately, that was the last American magical girl show we would see for quite some time.
In 2004, Italy provided their take on the magical girl genre with the popular Winx Club series and less successful W.I.T.C.H. It took nearly two decades for the genre to catch on with Disney, the most successful animation company in America. Disney Junior introduced the first preschool-oriented magical girl in 2012 with Sofia the First, who possessed a magical amulet that was similar to the Jewel Riders’ enchanted jewels. Instead of a single transformation sequence, Sofia learned about the amulet’s powers over time and picked up the ability to turn into a mermaid, a fairy, a unicorn, and other creatures throughout the course of her adventures. Sofia the First’s 2016 spinoff, Elena of Avalor, introduced an older Disney Princess possessing a magical staff. Disney Channel released a lesser known magical girl show in 2015 called Star vs. the Forces of Evil, but it was presented as more of a deconstruction of the genre that mirrors the anime Madoka Magica.
Nickelodeon tried and failed to compete with Disney’s magical girls with the preschool-targeted Nella the Princess Knight and the tween-targeted Mysticons. Both of these shows suffered poor ratings and runtimes. Mysticons was unique in that it was inspired by Dungeons and Dragons and was originally created as a boys show until creator Sean Jara switched directions halfway through production and turned it into a story about magical girls (led by a princess of course). It may have become more of a cult classic if Disney hadn’t already gotten their hands on the genre with Sofia and Elena. Sadly, there is no competing with the house of mouse.
The history of magical girls in American may not have been as consistent as Japan, but the ones that we have seen over the years are just as beautiful as they are relevant to our culture. The ‘80s introduced a time when women could fight beside their male counterparts instead of being boxed into the role of the submissive love interest, and this feminist movement has only grown stronger. Magical girls show us that girls can be just as pretty as they are powerful, a balance that is perfectly maintained in the world of Jewel Riders.
To learn more about Tenko, Sky Dancers, and Dragon Flyz, check out our page Contemporary Magical Properties to learn about these “sister” and “brother” shows to Jewel Riders.
What are you planning to do this? Did they have any idea about the theories of “Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders” to do in anime or reboot without going to make a third season to continue the original that already completed the first and second seasons as it was a book?!
They need Stella and her friends to return with their new armor, Tamara apologizes to three babies when she scolded on the sea ship, new characters, they meet King Arthur who met Merlin, new villain, Lady Kale’s son wants to fight against his cousin Stella and Kale returns. Yes, I think they will make a third season to continue and this is wish!!!.
What are we going to do? What are we going to do? I’m tired of trying to be something that disappoints.
I grew up on Sailor Moon and Princess Gwenevere, but I also love Jem and Rainbow Brite.