Wow. Thank you for all this support. I've been reading through the thread for the last half-hour, so I could take it all in. The Magical Girl Genre is a bit more diverse than I expected, and there's a lot of suggestions I want watch.


The Episode cap is a bit harsh, but it wasn't intended to be strictly followed. I'll amend it to thirty episodes in the OP.

Now to look through all these suggestions...

Sailor Moon is one of the shapers of MGs, so it's exactly what I'm looking for. I'm concerned that even with relaxed episode numbers, it's much too long, with over 300 episodes total. Even if I watch the first season, it still comes to 46 episodes which is definetly stretching things. The dub's also said to be atroctious, but I could just watch it subbed.
Quote Originally Posted by Closet_Skeleton
Sailor Moon (which actually has a high body count it just doesn't stick)
So it's DBZ for girls?

Princess Tutu has a lot of things I would like to see, and I certainly will watch it at some point. From what little I know (Set in a specific town/school, characters fighting their destinies, not many monsters of the week, Ballet instead of fighting), it doesn't seem like it will give me the conventions of the genre. I would like to know how good the dub is.

Just watch Puella Magi Madoka Magica. I've been told that it (and evangelion, which I'll have to think about) aren't as deconstructive as they appear, and it may be just a dark MG story. If that is the case, I may still decide I need a lighter introduction. How much can you tell me about how deconstructive it is, without spoilers? Also, what's the dub quality?

Magic Knight Rayearth is something I hadn't heard of before, but a quick look at wikipedia told me it was part MG, part Mecha. Does it lean more towards Magical Girl themes? If not, I'm torn between throwing it out as not something I want, or watching it because that sounds amazing.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nahona seems to be a popular series with beloved characters, but it's been described as 'James Cameron's attempt to write a magical girl show', which doesn't sound promising. Someone (was it Math_mage?) said it quickly dropped the MG angle and it's apparently got the kind of fanservice I didn't want.
Quote Originally Posted by Closet_Skeleton
Nanoha isn't the worst show for loli fanservice but its still a loli fanservice show
I think that says it best. I'm afraid MGLN is out on its ear.

Card Captor Sakura looks to be what I'm looking for: an opposite of PMMM. The length is a bit of an issue, especially as its contenders (sailor Moon and Precure) have self-contained arcs. The minor quibble is that I'll have to watch it subbed, but I can work with that.

Card Captors is only on the list because I vaguely remember an episode from when I was very young. How is it?

Pretty Cure/Precure looks like a good example of (what I think is) a magical girl show. Its biggest problem is its length as each season seems to last for fifty episodes. Does each season happen in the same continuity as the others?

Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne I hadn't heard of and had to look up. I was suprised at the Christian-inspired setting, although I have no idea how accurate it is. It looks interesting, but I'd like to know a bit more about it.



Right now, I'm leaning towards Sailor Moon's first season, Card Captor Sakura or just watching PMMM. I could go further into my reasons, but this thread's advancing so fast that we're probably on page three be now. Thanks the terrifying amount of suggestions!