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. [2026 List]
- 20. Meitantei Precure!
- 19. Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica
- 18. Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete
- 17. Mahou no Shimai Lulutto Lilly
- 16. Cardcaptor Sakura
- 15. Shoujo Kakumei Utena
- 14. Dokidoki! Precure
- 13. Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica Movie 3: Hangyaku no Monogatari
- 12. Selector Spread WIXOSS
- 11. Mahou Shoujo Site
- 10. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon
- 9. Katsute Mahou Shoujo to Aku wa Tekitai Shite Ita.
- 8. Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?
- 7. Kiratto Pri☆chan Season 3
- 6. Grisaia: Phantom Trigger - The Animation Stargazer
- 5. Heartcatch Precure!
- 4. Go! Princess Precure
- 3. Haiyore! Nyaruko-san
- 2. Shugo Chara! Party!
- 1. Little Witch Academia
20. Meitantei Precure!
The 23rd installment of the long-running Precure series.
Anna Akechi is a second-year junior high student living in Makoto Mirai Town. On her 14th birthday, she has a chance encounter with a fairy named Pochitan, and a magical pendant caused her to travel back in time from 2027 to 1999! In the Makoto Mirai Town 28 years in the past, Anna meets Mikuru Kobayashi, a girl her age who wants to become a great detective.
Meanwhile, people in town are in trouble as their prized possessions are being stolen from under their noses - the cause being a group of Phantom Thieves. To stop them, Anna and Mikuru turn into Pretty Cures! Maybe if they solve these mysteries, Anna can find her way back to her own time?
Meitantei Precure! is currently airing and will have 51 Episodes. It is also Known as: 名探偵プリキュア！, Star Detective Precure!, TanPre (たんプリ)
19. 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
18. 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
17. Mahou no Shimai Lulutto Lilly
Fuu and Rui, who used to be close, but have been a bit distant from each other recently. One day, Fuu encounters a mysterious spaceship and gains magical powers. At that same time, Rui also gains magical powers, and both transform into the adults they dream to be. The sisters' powers come with two conditions: their magic powers can only be used in one year, and no one must know about it. Unaware of each other's secrets, Fuu and Rui become active as idols.
Mahou no Shimai Lulutto Lilly is currently airing and will have Episodes. It is also Known as: 魔法の姉妹ルルットリリィ, Magical Sisters Lulutto Lilly
16. 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
15. 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
14. Dokidoki! Precure
Aida Mana is a girl who is always eager to do things for the sake of others.
One day, when she was visiting the Clover Tower during her school's orientation program, an enemy who called themselves "Selfish" appeared suddenly, and tried to manipulate her inner heart! To fight this enemy, she borrowed power from a magical fairy Sharuru to transform into Pretty Cure!
To protect the peace of the world, other legendary Pretty Cure soon joined her in battle! A mysterious baby also appears, making each day a "Heartthrob" experience! The 4 Cures, always holding "love" in their hearts, are battling for the world's fate!
Glitter Force: Dokidoki! has finished airing and it has 49 Episodes. It is also Known as: ドキドキ! プリキュア, Doki Doki! Precure, Doki Doki! Pretty Cure
13. 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
12. Selector Spread WIXOSS
Get ready for the thrilling second season of the WIXOSS series! Immerse yourself in a game where special cards called LRIGs—cards that possess personalities and wills of their own—can change your life forever. Teenager Ruko holds one of these rare cards, and if she wins, her wish will be granted. But what happens if she loses?
Selector Spread WIXOSS has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: selector spread WIXOSS, Selector Spread WIXOSS
11. 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
10. 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
9. 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 has finished airing and it has 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.
8. 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?
7. Kiratto Pri☆chan Season 3
Third season of Kiratto Pri☆chan.
Kiratto Pri☆chan Season 3 has finished airing and it has 51 Episodes. It is also Known as: キラッとプリ☆チャン シーズン3, Kiratto Pri☆chan 3rd Season
6. Grisaia: Phantom Trigger - The Animation Stargazer
While Rena and Maki recover from their injuries, the other SORD members jet off overseas for a school trip. Within moments of their arrival, though, the Mihama gang are pulled into a manhunt for a SORD deserter, assisted by student Sylvia and Velvet of St. Aile's International School. Tohka's the star of the show this time round, but she's wrestling with her own issues - old memories of her parents, and a promise to a friend that she wasn't able to keep...
Grisaia: Phantom Trigger - The Animation Stargazer has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: グリザイア：ファントムトリガー THE ANIMATION スターゲイザー, Grisaia: Phantom Trigger - The Animation Stargazer
5. Heartcatch Precure!
2nd year middle school student Tsubomi Hanasaki has just moved with her family to the town of Kibougahana to live with her grandma. She is shy and introverted, but is determined to start off her new school life at Myoudou Academy as confidently as possible.
Lately she has been having the same mysterious dream again and again, of Cure Moonlight's defeat at the Great Heart Tree. She wonders what it all means. Then suddenly, two fairies from the dream appear to her, and before she knows it, she is transformed into the legendary Pretty Cure, Cure Blossom!
Later joined by her high energy classmate and new friend Erika Kurumi as Cure Marine, the two girls vow work hard to protect everyone's Heart Flowers from the evil gang, The Desert Messengers.
Heartcatch Precure! has finished airing and it has 49 Episodes. It is also Known as: ハートキャッチプリキュア!, Heartcatch Pretty Cure!
4. Go! Princess Precure
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who desperately wanted to become a princess just like the ones in her picture book. Other children made fun of her childish wishes, but she never stopped believing. One day, a boy who looked like a prince appeared, asking her if she would like to be a princess. He gave the girl magical charm to make her wish come true.
That little girl, Haruka Haruno, is now a thirteen-year-old attending Noble Academy, a junior high boarding school. Her school life is interrupted by two fairies, Pafu and Aroma, who give her a Princess Perfume, which mysteriously matches the charm she was given eight years ago! Turns out, Haruka is one of the Princess Precures, and must team up with Cure Mermaid and Cure Twinkle in Go! Princess Precure in order to defeat the dark witch Dyspear before she brings the the Hope Kingdom and Haruka's world to a nightmareish end!
Go! Princess Precure has finished airing and it has 50 Episodes. It is also Known as: Go! プリンセスプリキュア, Go! Princess Precure
3. 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
2. Shugo Chara! Party!
Amu meets a super-peppy transfer student at Seiyo Academy Elementary School named Hiiragi Rikka at school one day. Not only can she see Guardian Characters, but it seems she has some other, mysterious powers as well. When she sees the work that Amu and the other Guardians do at school, she's awestruck.
Each 24-25 minute episode consists of a series of variety show style shorts (including Shugo Chara! Pucchi Puchi) totaling approx. 9-10 minutes, followed by the main 11-12 minute animation titled Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki which is the actual continuation of season 2 and comes with it's own opening animation. The remaining time is occupied by live action padding between each section and capped off with the opening/ending themes at the beginning and end of the episode.
Shugo Chara! Party! has finished airing and it has 25 Episodes. It is also Known as: しゅごキャラ！パーティー！, Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki, Shugo Chara! Third, Shugo Chara! Pucchi Puchi
1. 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
