My favorite thing about most magical girl anime isn’t just that they’re like “we’ll kick butt and look cutesy while doing it,” but the fact that most of them are like “we’ll kick butt with the power of shameless, unabashed, cutesy femininity.”
I sometimes see “girly” things be put down or seen as weak, and some girls will push away these things because they don’t want to be underestimated by society (though this isn’t always the case. Some girls just don’t like that stuff because it doesn’t suit their personal tastes). But with magical girl anime, this style of femininity isn’t a setback, it’s actually a form of empowerment. They are powerful because of their ‘girliness’, not despite it. And as a not particularly ‘girly’ person, I really like that.
Sparkles and glitter and frilly dresses and excessive amounts of pink are just as cool and powerful as robots and big swords, and I honestly love that.
I remember, watching My Little Pony as a kid, the most powerful weapon they had to bring to bear was the Elements of Harmony, a set of matching necklaces which output a magical rainbow beam, literally powered by friendship. And this cheesy, girly Rainbow Beam of Friendship is treated with all the seriousness of any other superweapon.
I love that energy.
