Today I’m going to write just a quick and focused article in the world of Mahou Shoujo.  I’m going to be focusing on the idea of a magical item.  These items are those that give the magical girls their powers, usually the trigger for their transformation.  These items are typically granted to the girl by their guardians, but this is not always the case.  (I have not yet written anything on Guardians.  For more information on them, you can check out Henshin until I get a chance to write something.  http://henshin.anime-myth.com/companions.html)  Also, important note:  I did not reference Henshin for information about Magical Items.  I will be reading the Henshin description after this is written in case I want to add anything at a later time, but these are my original thoughts.

In the case that no magical item exists, one of the following reasons are usually the cause:  Magical girls who have inherent powers (usually referred to as witches) and an example could be the Studio Ghibli film Kiki’s Delivery Service (note: I wouldn’t really call Kiki a mahou shoujo.  While she does fit into the little witch category which is loosely connected, many of the common features are absent).  Another example of this type might be Himeno in Pretear.  She had inherent powers that allowed her to merge with the Leafe Knights.  Himeno is very similar to the second type I will describe, but I feel that she deserves to fall into the first category.  The second type is a direct transformation by the Guardian as seen in such shows as Full Moon wo Sagashite.  In this case, the Guardian itself is needed in order to trigger the change.  Without the Guardian, the mahou shoujo is just an ordinary girl.

Most mahou shoujo do in fact have a magical item that helps them to transform.  There are multiple types of items, I will name a few and break them down into 2 fundamental groups.  The first item I will mention is the Staff of Sealing from Card Captor Sakura.  Usually in the show, the Staff is in the form of the Key of the Clow (see below).  When Sakura invokes the key it expands to become the Staff of Sealing (or Sealing Wand, either could be right).  The invocation of a magical item is very important in Mahou Shoujo.  It can be of any length, but it is always used before transforming.  In the case of Sakura, the common translation is:  “Key which hides the power of darkness, show your true form before me!  I, Sakura, command you by our contract!  Release!”  In Sakura’s case, the “Release” is the important part and appears in almost every episode.  In later episodes, the transformation begins with Release in order to speed it up.  For Sakura, the magical item does not change her outward appearance or clothing (her best friend Tomoyo takes care of that ^_^).  However, in many cases, clothing will transform.  This was the case in Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon.  Invocation of a magical item for them meant their appearance would be changed (and no one else would recognize them, even though they looked identical except for their costume… ^^;).

The second type kind of item is less common, but equally important.  The example I will use is from a more recent show that I particularly enjoyed.  The example I chose is the computer that Nina uses in Ultra Maniac.  (I had to open up my brand new DVD to take the screencap below, so I hope you guys enjoy it >_<)  Nina is a witch with inherent powers.  However, since she is immature in using those powers, she has to use the computer in order to transform or to cast magic spells.  Nina’s word to invoke the power of the computer is “Practice”.  In this case, the item serves more to channel power then to create it as was the case with Card Captor Sakura or Sailor Moon.  (note: it could be argued that this was the case with Sakura’s Key.  The difference is, while with time Nina could learn to use magic without her computer, in the Card Captor Sakura universe, wands or other magical tools were necessary in using magic.  This is the fundamental difference I want to illustrate.)  The main point with these items is that the user is meant to outgrow them and eventually learn to use magic on their own.  With the first type of item, transformation is nearly impossible (I say nearly, because, let’s face it, this is anime, anything is possible, even breaking said rules).   

That’s all for now about magical items.  Hope you enjoyed it.  

(This review & Pictures were made by throughhim413)