Amu Hinamori is a girl known for her "cool and spicy" attitude, although her true personality is far from that description. One night she prays to her Guardian Spirit to become the girl she wants to be. The next morning she meets three eggs –a red one, a blue one and a green one–. From these eggs, the Chara Guardians: Ran, Miki and Su, will rise. Later, she will meet other children with guardians and together, they will fight against the X eggs (eggs that turn evil when the owner falls into despair or denial).

Shugo Chara! has a pre-teen protagonist who suddenly gets involved in constant fights against evil beings. Amu’s real personality is very similar to Ichigo’s. Both are shy, hyperactive, and joyful characters almost all the time. On the other hand, there are several physical similarities, especially if we compare Amu with the feline transformation of Ichigo.

Amu is a typical Mahou Shoujo heroine that is supported by a group of friends with similar powers. We will regularly see her trapped between lots of feelings about other characters, but the constant appearance of Ikuto Tsukiyomi will be a romantic touch to the story. This anime is more modern than Tokyo Mew Mew, it was also translated to several countries and it’s recognized by many fans of this genre. For this reason, if you haven't seen it, you should give it a try. Surely you'll love it!

The story begins when Usagi Tsukino meets a black cat, Luna. The animal, far from being another feline, can speak and reveals to her that she is a magical guardian. Later, Usagi transformed to a Sailor Moon and, with her teammates, must fight against beings who want to get the Silver Crystal, a gem that has a great power.

Possibly almost all anime fans have seen Sailor Moon in their childhood, but we have two factors to take into account. First, this series could not be forgotten if we speak of the Magical Girl genre; and second, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Crystal came out recently and is still in progress. To compare the two anime, at first, Usagi is a 14-year-old girl very active and innocent –although both moaning–,while Ichigo is 13-years-old and has a similar personality.

This show touches themes like friendship and love, like Tokyo Mew Mew. Usagi falls in love quickly with Mamoru Chiba (like Ichigo and Masaya), the male protagonist that always manages to help her. Her fellow Sailors will appear in the story, one by one, with a short presentation about their life, like the Mew Mew heroines. If the Mahou Shoujo genre gets you excited, you should watch this anime.

When they were kids, Lucia Nanami, a mermaid princess, saved Kaito Doumoto from drowning in the sea and left him a pink pearl. Years later, Lucia must become human and live on the surface to find that important pearl. There she will meet Hanon and Rina, other mermaid princesses who will help her to face the aquatic devils that cause disturbances in the ocean.

In this anime we will find a group of not-so-human Magical Girl heroines, led by Lucia, a 13-14 years-old teenager. She will show a personality similar to Ichigo: energetic and charmed to her first love. The difference between them is that the mermaid will be less shy and won't have problems on a date.

Like in Tokyo Mew Mew, this story presents us each protagonist, gradually integrating the most during the first episodes. In both anime, some of the heroines are followed by a cute animal (like Ichigo and Masha): Lucia companion is Hippo (a talking penguin), and Hannon's is Purachan (a really cute jellyfish). In this show, the protagonists will live romantic experiences, but –as a novelty– we will find that the romantic situations not only happen to the main heroine. Being the oldest in the list, this anime has been translated to several countries and has achieved popularity among viewers. Possibly, if you like the romantic Magical Girls, this original story managed to grab your attention.

Miyuki Hoshizora is a 14-years-old girl who loves to read books and dreams of her own adventure. One day he meets Candy, a being that falls from the sky in search of the Pretty Cure. Later, Miyuki and her friends will be transformed into magical warriors of the Märchenland realm, and will try to stop evil creatures who want to wake up its emperor, Pierrot.

This anime lacks the romantic feeling that others have, but has several similarities with Tokyo Mew Mew. Miyuki is a vigorous girl (the most hyperactive on this list) that recently moved to the city, starts to make many friends. She has an adorable companion, Candy, that cute animal which usually appears in the Mahou Shoujo series (remember that Ichigo has Masha).

On the other hand, each of the teenagers will have a –typical in this genre– marked personality. Miyuki is the main character, energetic and cheerful all the time (just like Ichigo); Akane, the athlete; Yayoi, sentimental moaning (like the shy Lettuce); Nao, as the responsible elder sister (who is similar to Pudding’s personality); and finally there is Reika, who is calm and rational (like Zakuro). Following a storyline, quick and innocent, this series meets all the prototypes of the anime style Magical Girls.

We will follow the story of Subaru, a girl who loves to stare at the stars. One day, she decides to use the Observatory at her school to watch the shooting stars, but she’s surprised to find the other side of the door is a greenhouse. There she meets Minato, a mysterious young boy who will appear regularly to help her. The magic is in the air in her college… and when Subaru entered in another classroom, she sees a group of girls dressed very oddly.

Houkago no Pleiades has a more mature way to face the Mahou Shoujo genre. With a calm rhythm –and not-so-bright colors– we will follow a group of magical heroines that touch themes, such as friendship. You may not find the typical showdown against "the evil that wants to destroy the world", but the action and the “bad boy” are going to be there, in a different and innovative approach.

Something different that you can discover in the series, is that the heroines will not appear one by one, episode to episode, as usual. Subaru is like Ichigo, a naive and clumsy girl, who slowly fall in love with Minato. She cares about her friends, especially Aoi and the party is united like the Mew Mew magical girls. Also, the club president has a little and cute alien creature, much like Masha from Tokyo Mew Mew. For those interested in this type of anime, but get annoyed by the childishness surrounding the story, you may possibly find Houkago no Pleiades pleasant and bearable. With a few episodes, it’s not a waste of time to see this wonderful anime.

Komugi Yoshida is a student and idol –public figure related to music–. On the way to her recital, she meets Usa-P, a pretty small being who wants to recruit her to be a "legendary girl" with magical powers. Komugi and her idols friends will fight evil beings that are possessed by cards.

The magical heroine’s group is made up of 3 teenagers, each one with its respective companion –those adorable creatures that almost always appear in this kind of anime, like Masha of Tokyo Mew Mew– Usa-P (a kind of rabbit), Tanu-P (a look alike raccoon) and Neko-P (a fluffy small cat). By transforming, the girls take characteristics of their animals. For example, Tsukasa Kisaragi has cat’s ears and a tail, like Ichigo.

This anime makes a little parody of the Magical Girl genre. For this reason, it has a soft mood during its episodes. Komugi and Ichigo have many similarities, both are high school students who get involved in many troubles, but with their positive and active personality, they will get over it.For a modern short version of magical heroines with animal features, this is a very good option.