Peeling back the candy-colored wrapper: An examination of feminization, queer relationships, and localization in Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Sailor Moon

Abstract

This project examines three examples of Japanese magical girl (or "mahou shoujo") fiction - Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Sailor Moon - with the intent of exploring their relationships with feminization and queer and non-binary representation, and how those relationships intersect with the process of localization between cultural audiences. Sources examined include primary source material (magical girl anime and manga, both in Japanese and in localized English) as well as broader explorations of the history and mechanics of manga and anime, the history of shoujo as a genre, examinations of the genre's relationship to female empowerment, etc. through academic journals, dissertations, articles, etc. Though this project initially began as an exploration of feminist themes within the magical girl genre, feminist analyses have been a staple of countless other critical discussions of magical girl fiction, and so I have attempted to move beyond those questions into a new area of debate. These three examples of magical girl fiction have an immensely complex relationship with these topics - often, simultaneously projecting both progressive and regressive themes - but all have proven themselves to be thoroughly worthy of critical study.