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jmdict 2209700 Active (id: 2144195)
魔法少女
まほうしょうじょ
1. [n]
▶ magical girl (in anime, manga, etc.)
▶ girl with magical powers
▶ young witch
Cross references:
  ⇔ see: 2061000 魔女っ子 1. magical girl (in anime, manga, etc.); girl with magical powers; young witch



History:
11. A 2021-08-12 07:49:02  Jim Breen <...address hidden...>
  Refs:
Wikip: Magical girl (Japanese: 魔法少女, Hepburn: mahō shōjo) is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy media (including anime, manga, light novels, and live-action media) centered around young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into which they can transform.
  Comments:
I'm not greatly fussed, either way.
10. A* 2021-08-12 07:23:43  Marcus Richert <...address hidden...>
  Comments:
I didn't realize it was a genre either, my bad. Maybe "(in anime, manga, etc.)" is better than stating specifically that it's "a sub-genre"? It 
seems to me it can refer both to the girl herself and the genre. (if not, the other 2 senses should probably not be in there, as I assume they 
are not recognized names for the genre)
  Diff:
@@ -13 +13 @@
-<gloss>magical girl (sub-genre in anime, manga, etc.)</gloss>
+<gloss>magical girl (in anime, manga, etc.)</gloss>
9. A 2021-08-12 06:12:35  Jim Breen <...address hidden...>
  Comments:
Maybe time to close this one.
8. A* 2021-08-05 05:36:22  Jim Breen <...address hidden...>
  Comments:
Fair comment, and matches the Wikipedia page Robin quoted. Maybe this works better.
  Diff:
@@ -13 +13 @@
-<gloss>young witch (stock character in anime, manga, etc.)</gloss>
+<gloss>magical girl (sub-genre in anime, manga, etc.)</gloss>
@@ -15 +15 @@
-<gloss>magical girl</gloss>
+<gloss>young witch</gloss>
7. A* 2021-08-04 17:19:08 
  Comments:
I just want to comment that "magical girl" should probably be the first gloss here. It is by far and easily the default sense as the word is used in in contemporary japanese. It's an entire codified archetype, not a "stock character"; and "magical girl" is the established and proper english term for referring to the same archetype.

In fact, I might go as far as to say that "young witch" should be a second, separate gloss (i.e. behind a [2]). Mahou shoujo are associated with witches (see: madoka magica, etc), but that association is auxiliary to the mahou shoujo archetype itself.
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