What is this genre all about? Magical girls (also known both in Japan and in the West as mahou shoujo, and in Japan as majokko) are young girls with superhuman abilities of magical nature. In the early years, magical girls usually used magic to solve everyday problems and often transformed into idols; nowadays, however, the term is most often used to refer to with girls who fight evil using magical powers, and, although transformations are still common, they tend to be more along the lines of a change of costume.
We present you the list of Magical Girl anime you should watch right now.
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Top 20 Magical Girl anime you should watch right now. [2024 List]
- 20. Acro Trip
- 19. Kabushiki Gaisha Magi Lumiere
- 18. Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica
- 17. Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete
- 16. Wonderful Precure!
- 15. Katsute Mahou Shoujo to Aku wa Tekitai Shite Ita.
- 14. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon
- 13. Cardcaptor Sakura
- 12. Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica Movie 3: Hangyaku no Monogatari
- 11. Sasaki to Pi-chan
- 10. Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?
- 9. Little Witch Academia
- 8. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Crystal
- 7. Mahou Shoujo Site
- 6. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S: Kaguya Hime no Koibito
- 5. Shoujo Kakumei Utena
- 4. Haiyore! Nyaruko-san
- 3. Kimi to Idol Precure♪
- 2. 6HP (Six Hearts Princess)
- 1. Princess Tutu
20. Acro Trip
Machiko, who lives in Sakai City, Niigata Prefecture, is an otaku girl who is a big fan of the magical girl Berry Blossom who protects the city against the evil organisation Fossa Magna. However, nobody was worried about the battle of the two anymore because, Chroma, the wicked evil villain, was too sloppy.
So Machiko decided “I want to make my magical girl shine more…!” That desire (?) Leads a shy junior high school student to a strange evil path…
Acro Trip is currently airing and will have 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: アクロトリップ, Acro Trip
19. Kabushiki Gaisha Magi Lumiere
Magical girls: strong, cool, the ultimate dream job. College student Kana Sakuragi is job hunting - without much luck! One day, she is caught up in an attack by a "Kaii." Fiesty magical girl Hitomi Koshigaya flies to the rescue, and Kana uses her excellent memory to help her take it down. Hired as a magical girl by Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc., Kana takes her first step into the working world!
Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. is currently airing and will have 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 株式会社マジルミエ, Magilumiere Co. Ltd.
18. Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica
Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki are regular middle school girls with regular lives, but all that changes when they encounter Kyuubey, a cat-like magical familiar, and Homura Akemi, the new transfer student.
Kyuubey offers them a proposition: he will grant one of their wishes and in exchange, they will each become a magical girl, gaining enough power to fulfill their dreams. However Homura, a magical girl herself, urges them not to accept the offer since everything is not what it seems.
A story of hope, despair, and friendship, Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica deals with the difficulties of being a magical girl and the price one has to pay to make a dream come true.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 魔法少女まどか★マギカ, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika, Magical Girl Madoka Magica
17. Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete
Hiragi Utena is a major fangirl of the magical girls protecting her city, so when she has the chance to become one herself, she leaps at the chance to join their technicolor ranks… but when she transforms, she learns she isn’t fated to be a daring do-gooder, but rather a villain on the side of evil! At first, she tries to quit her new gig as the leader of the local baddies, but she quickly realizes she enjoys it and is a total natural at tormenting the magical girls she loves so much. With both a bang and a whimper, Hiragi’s journey as a magical-girl-tormenting sadist has begun!
Gushing over Magical Girls has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: 魔法少女にあこがれて, I Admire Magical Girls, and..., Mahoako
16. Wonderful Precure!
The 21st installment in the Precure series.
Animal Town is a town where animals and people live together. Iroha loves animals and is good friends with her dog, Komugi! One day, a mysterious creature, Garugaru, wreaks havoc in the town! However, in order to protect Iroha, Komugi transformed into human form and became a Precure...! I have to save the child animal whose heart is being garugaru-ed...! Let's join forces and return the animals to Niko Garden!
Wonderful Precure! is currently airing and will have 50 Episodes. It is also Known as: わんだふるぷりきゅあ！, Wonderful Precure!
15. Katsute Mahou Shoujo to Aku wa Tekitai Shite Ita.
The story centers on Mira, the clever brains behind an evil organization that invades and destroys everything in its path. One day, a magical girl named Byakuya Mimori decides to stand up to the organization, and Mira falls in love with her at first sight.
The Magical Girl and The Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies is currently airing and will have 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: かつて魔法少女と悪は敵対していた。, This is the first, and probably final, loose hostile relation.
14. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon
Tsukino Usagi is a 14-year-old girl in junior high. She's ditzy, whiny, and a crybaby. She often flunks her tests, and she is always scolded by her family. However after a bad day, Usagi is surprised to encounter a black cat that can talk! The cat, Luna, grants Usagi the power to transform into Sailor Moon, a fighter who is to save the world against the Dark Kingdom and its evil ruler, Queen Beryl.
Of course, Usagi can't do it alone, and there are others who will help her on the way...
Sailor Moon has finished airing and it has 46 Episodes. It is also Known as: 美少女戦士セーラームーン, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon
13. Cardcaptor Sakura
Sakura Kinomoto is your garden-variety ten-year-old fourth grader, until one day, she stumbles upon a mysterious book containing a set of cards. Unfortunately, she has little time to divine what the cards mean because she accidentally stirs up a magical gust of wind and unintentionally scatters the cards all over the world. Suddenly awakened from the book, the Beast of the Seal, Keroberos (nicknamed Kero-chan), tells Sakura that she has released the mystical Clow Cards created by the sorcerer Clow Reed. The Cards are no ordinary playthings. Each of them possesses incredible powers, and because they like acting independently, Clow sealed all the Cards within a book. Now that the Cards are set free, they pose a grave danger upon the world, and it is up to Sakura to prevent the Cards from causing a catastrophe!
Appointing Sakura the title of "the Cardcaptor" and granting her the Sealed Key, Keroberos tasks her with finding and recapturing all the Cards. Alongside her best friend Tomoyo Daidouji, and with Kero-chan's guidance, Sakura must learn to balance her new secret duty with the everyday troubles of a young girl involving love, family, and school, all while she takes flight on her magical adventures as Sakura the Cardcaptor.
Cardcaptor Sakura has finished airing and it has 70 Episodes. It is also Known as: カードキャプターさくら, CCS, Cardcaptors, Card Captor Sakura
12. Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica Movie 3: Hangyaku no Monogatari
The young girls of Mitakihara happily live their lives, occasionally fighting off evil, but otherwise going about their peaceful, everyday routines. However, Homura Akemi feels that something is wrong with this unusually pleasant atmosphere—though the others remain oblivious, she can't help but suspect that there is more to what is going on than meets the eye: someone who should not exist is currently present to join in on their activities.Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica Movie 3: Hangyaku no Monogatari follows Homura in her struggle to uncover the painful truth behind the mysterious circumstances, as she selfishly and desperately fights for the sake of her undying love in this despair-ridden conclusion to the story of five magical girls.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 劇場版 魔法少女まどか☆マギカ 叛逆の物語, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika Movie 3, Magical Girl Madoka Magica Movie 3
11. Sasaki to Pi-chan
Tired and unfulfilled by his dead-end job, Sasaki decides to adopt Peeps, an adorable pet Java sparrow. Peeps, however, is really Piercarlo, a powerful sage from another world! After Peeps bestows Sasaki with magic and the ability to cross worlds, the two decide to export household items for profit in pursuit of a leisurely lifestyle. But when Sasaki’s new magic gets him mixed up in a whole other kind of supernatural struggle back in Japan, will it destroy his chances at realizing the relaxing life of his dreams?
Sasaki and Peeps has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 佐々木とピーちゃん, Sasaki to Pi-chan
10. Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?
Not every zombie is the monstrous, brain-eating type.
One night while walking home from the convenience store, regular high school boy Ayumu Aikawa is killed by a serial killer, and is just as suddenly brought back to life by a necromancer named Eucliwood Hellscythe. One small caveat: he's now a zombie. Things get even weirder for him when he accidentally steals a magical girl's uniform, and thus her powers! Haruna, the ex-magical girl, orders him to fight evil creatures known as Megalo in her place until they can figure out a way to get her powers back to her.
It seems that life is just going to get stranger and stranger for poor Ayumu from here on out in Kore wa Zombie desu ka?.
Is This a Zombie? has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: これはゾンビですか?, Koreha Zombie Desuka?, Kore ha Zombie Desu ka?, Kore wa Zombie Desuka?
9. Little Witch Academia
For young witches everywhere, the world-renowned witch Shiny Chariot reigns as the most revered and celebrated role model. But as the girls age, so do their opinions of her—now just the mention of Chariot would get a witch labeled a child. However, undeterred in her blind admiration for Chariot, ordinary girl Atsuko Kagari enrolls into Luna Nova Magical Academy, hoping to someday become just as mesmerizing as her idol.
However, the witch academy isn't all the fun and games Atsuko thought it would be: boring lectures, strict teachers, and students who mock Chariot plague the campus. Coupled with her own ineptness in magic, she's seen as little more than a rebel student. But when a chance finally presents itself to prove herself to her peers and teachers, she takes it, and now it's up to her to stop a rampaging dragon before it flattens the entire academy.
Little Witch Academia has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: リトルウィッチアカデミア, Wakate Animator Ikusei Project, 2012 Young Animator Training Project, Anime Mirai 2012, LWA
8. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Crystal
Though a little clumsy and easily brought to tears, Usagi Tsukino is a typical 14-year-old girl in her second year of junior high. However, all of that changes when an encounter with Luna, a mysterious talking black cat, whose head bears the mark of a crescent moon, results in the animal bestowing a magical brooch upon her. Now Usagi can transform into Sailor Moon, a magical girl in a sailor uniform who protects love and peace!
Usagi is appointed as a guardian of justice and is tasked with the search for the legendary Silver Crystal, a magical artifact that holds immense power, as well as finding the other Sailor Guardians and the lost princess of Luna's home, the Moon Kingdom. Her mission isn't without opposition, however; Queen Beryl, ruler of the Dark Kingdom, wants to claim the Silver Crystal and take its power for her own.
Though she still has to worry about her school, family, and love life, it is up to Sailor Moon and the other Sailor Guardians to save the day!
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: 美少女戦士セーラームーン Crystal, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon (2014), Sailor Moon Remake, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon (2014), Sailor Moon Crystal
7. Mahou Shoujo Site
Asagiri Aya is a young girl who has fallen victim to bullies at her school. Looking for a way to escape her troubles, she looks to the internet for distraction, when a mysterious website called "Magical Girl Site" appears. Simply viewing the page is all it takes to hurtle Aya headlong into the deadly world of the Magical Girl Apocalypse. There, it’s fight or die, against a seemingly endless array of savagely adorable, frilly-skirted killing machines, each armed with magical powers and an unquenchable thirst for blood and chaos.
Magical Girl Site has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 魔法少女サイト, Magical Girl Site
6. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S: Kaguya Hime no Koibito
An unusual snow storm hits Tokyo and the Sailor Senshi discover that an evil snow queen Kaguya, wants to freeze the entire earth. It's up to the Inner Sailor Senshi along with the Outers, to defeat the Queen. Meanwhile, Luna falls in love with a human astronomer named Kakeru whose girlfriend is an astronaut about to take a space shuttle mission. Kakeru becomes ill and Luna wishes she could be a human to help him.
Sailor Moon S Movie: Hearts in Ice has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 美少女戦士セーラームーンS かぐや姫の恋人, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S: The Movie, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S: Kaguya-hime no Koibito
5. Shoujo Kakumei Utena
"Never lose that strength or nobility, even when you grow up." When Utena was just a child and in the depths of sorrow, she found salvation in those words. They were the words of a prince, who wrapped her in his rosescented embrace and bestowed upon her both a ring and the promise that it would lead her to him again. She never forgot the encounter. In fact, she was so impressed that she aspired to be like the prince and also help those in need. Now a spirited teenager, Utena attends the prestigious Ohtori Academy. However, her strong sense of chivalry soon places her at odds with the school's student council and thrusts her into a series of mysterious and dangerous duels against its members.
Revolutionary Girl Utena has finished airing and it has 39 Episodes. It is also Known as: 少女革命ウテナ, Shoujo Kakumei Utena
4. Haiyore! Nyaruko-san
Mahiro Yasaka is just an ordinary high school student, until one day he is suddenly attacked by a dangerous monster. Just when everything seems to be lost, he is saved by a silver-haired girl named Nyaruko, who claims to be the shape-shifting deity Nyarlathotep from horror author H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, sent by the Space Defense Agency to Earth. She explains to Mahiro that the creature chasing him was an alien called Nightgaunt, who had planned on abducting and selling him as a slave.
After rescuing him from the alien, the Lovecraftian deity falls madly in love with Mahiro and forces herself into his household, much to his chagrin. Moreover, they are soon joined by two others from the fictional universe: Cthuko, a girl obsessed with Nyaruko, and Hasuta, a young boy easily mistaken for a beautiful female. Together, the three eccentric aliens protect Mahiro from the various extraterrestrial dangers that threaten both his and Earth's well-being, all the while making his life a living hell.
Nyaruko: Crawling With Love! has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 這いよれ！ニャル子さん, Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos, Haiyoru! Nyaruko-san
3. Kimi to Idol Precure♪
The 22nd installment in the Precure series.
You and Idol Precure♪ has not yet aired. It will air on December 31, 2025. It is also Known as: キミとアイドルプリキュア♪, Kimi to Idol Precure♪
2. 6HP (Six Hearts Princess)
Haruka Hani is a second-year junior high school student who goes to a school called Hinomori Gakuen. A member of the school drama club, she has been working on the script for a play the club plans to put on at the upcoming school festival. She’s been having trouble finishing it, and her childhood friend Tamaki Teijou has been urging her to hurry up. All in all, she seems to be enjoying her life. From time to time, monsters called Zaiju (Beasts of Sin) appear and attack Hinomori, the town where Haruka lives. But the Heart Princesses are there to fight the monsters. Haruka looks up to these princesses who protect the people of Hinomori from the Zaiju, wishing that she too could be a princess someday. Then one day, when she is working on the script at home, a mysterious cat named Jin comes to her and says, “You seem to have the right qualities to be a princess. What do you think? Would you become a princess?”
Note: In December 2022 Studio PONCOTAN announced that production of episode 8 had resumed after a 3 year hiatus.
6HP (Six Hearts Princess) is currently airing and will have Episodes. It is also Known as: 6HP(シックスハートプリンセス), 6♥Princess, 6 Princess
1. Princess Tutu
In a fairy tale come to life, the clumsy, sweet, and gentle Ahiru (Japanese for "duck") seems like an unlikely protagonist. In reality, Ahiru is just as magical as the talking cats and crocodiles that inhabit her town—for Ahiru really is a duck! Transformed by the mysterious Drosselmeyer into a human girl, Ahiru soon learns the reason for her existence. Using her magical egg-shaped pendant, Ahiru can transform into Princess Tutu—a beautiful and talented ballet dancer whose dances relieve people of the turmoil in their hearts. With her newfound ability, Ahiru accepts the challenge of collecting the lost shards of her prince's heart, for long ago he had shattered it in order to seal an evil raven away for all eternity.
Princess Tutu is a tale of heroes and their struggle against fate. Their beliefs, their feelings, and ultimately their actions will determine whether this fairy tale can reach its "happily ever after."
Note: Princess Tutu aired in two parts. The first part included 13 25-minute episodes, while the second part consisted of 24 12-minute episodes with a 25-minute final episode.
Princess Tutu has finished airing and it has 38 Episodes. It is also Known as: プリンセスチュチュ, Princess Tutu
