As previously mentioned in the Genre Origins post, magical girl is one of the many sub genres of anime. Within this sub genre in particular, it has its own unique conventions: a love interest, cute outfits, female protagonists, magic weaponry and superpowers used to help other people (and sometimes for the protagonist’s gain), and an evil entity hellbent on stopping the protagonist(s) due to a backstory of his/her own. However, out of all of the tropes listed, the most iconic trait of this sub genre is the transformation sequence. Before you learn why transformations are a key element in this sub genre, the playlist below will break down and highlight the series in chronological order that paved the path to the most popular, iconic shows that people and new generations of anime fans grew to adore.

***Note: The closed caption feature is highly recommended for the this video playlist below (stop after video # 17)

As for the next video, another anime expert breaks down the reason for transformation sequences.