Right from the jump, Soushin Shoujo Matoi begins on an exciting, action-packed note. Our heroines are Matoi Sumeragi and Yuma Kusanagi. Matoi yearns for a stable, simple life, seeing that as a child, she moved from place to place through several households. Yuma and her family live at the Tema shrine where the two young ladies work at. Descending from a long line of Talmakou practitioners, which is a technique used to expel evil spirits, Yuma is expected to become the next Miko.

As Matoi and Yuma weather through countless middle school-aged experiences, a strange and exhilarating incident occurs at the shrine, greatly influencing their lives from that moment forth. When Yuma summons her talents to perform Talmakou, something strange happens to Matoi. Awakening this mysterious power and ability to exorcise spirits, she transforms into a magical girl. Consequently, Matoi’s longing for simplicity will once again be placed on hold.

In comparison, Matoi and Yuuki Yunna really highlight the joys and experiences of teenage life. Our young female characters have a positive outlook on everything, placing a great value on all the activities, people, and encounters in their lives so far. Holding each and every event close to their hearts, both anime address their sole reason in battling their opponents: to preserve and maintain their simple and meaningful lives.

Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku takes place in N-City. The popular RPG, Magical Girl Raising Project, is gaining popularity because of the chance to become a real magical girl. Our lead character, Koyuki Himekawa, gets this amazing chance. Koyuki and a group of other girls have been selected to help others in need. However, on one occasion, the game moderators decide to take things to the next level, announcing that they want to reduce the number of magical girls. Consequently, anyone who has acquired the least Magical Candies will lose their powers. Furthermore, the losses the girls experience are translated into the real world, exhibiting that their magical girl powers are not the only thing they will lose.

Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku and Yuuki Yuuna are both anime involving young teenagers searching for a purpose that goes well beyond what you would normally imagine from girls their age. Finding the goal of wanting to help others in order to make the world a better place is an objective many don’t realize until adulthood. Becoming a magical girl and a hero are admirable desires for our characters, portraying the slice of life, light-hearted components to a very fantasy centric storyline. Additionally, the style of magic they utilize is alike in many ways, such as transforming with their smartphones.

In Glass no Hana to Kowasu Sekai a.k.a. Garakowa -Restore the World-, we see an era devoid of mankind, destroyed by a program called “mother”. As “Viruses” infect their imaginary world comprised of data, two girls named Duel and Dorothy, the anti-viruses, are programed with the ultimate mission: to restore the world. In doing so, they must protect the “box of wisdom”.

In a lifetime, many of us are dealt loss and tragedy, often wondering why such terrible occurrences unfold. When questioning life’s mysteries, it is best not to ask such things, but to accept the situation head on, dealing with each circumstance in the most optimistic way. In Garakowa and Yuuki Yuuna, our characters may speculate the reasons why Viruses and Vertexes target their worlds, but are nonetheless empowered, mustering the courage to rescue the population. Therefore, in these titles and IRL, “light shall shine out of darkness”.

Vividred Operation takes place in the near future. Set in Oshima, a revolutionary and technological device called “Manifestation Engine” has finally resolved the global energy crisis by converting environmental surroundings into needed energy. One day, the engine is targeted in an unprovoked attack by alien beings called “the Alone”. Of course in this anime, the only force that can stop the Alone are magical girls. Equipped with “Palette Suits”, Akane, Aoi, Rei, Wakaba and Himawari embrace the power of friendship, a source of strength in their strike against this perilous enemy.

Besides the complicated issue of saving the world from a dangerous villain, Vividred Operation and Yuuki Yuuna share a lot of similarities. Enveloped in sharp and bright animation, which both anime display, all of the cute girls are highlighted with a special skill and color scheme. Executing a lot of great action sequences and intricate transformations, each character demonstrates an essential role to the whole collective. Furthermore, to lighten the serious mode, Vividred Operation and Yuuki Yuuna also contain a lot of comedy and fanservice.

Exhibiting another approach to the Fate/Stay and Fate/Zero franchises, Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya kicks it up a notch by adding the element of magical girls! Fate/kaleid takes place in an alternate universe. After the Holy Grail Wars have ceased, the characters from the prior mentioned anime have all changed dramatically. The main character of the story is Illya, your average, upbeat teenager who lives with her brother Shirou and two maids while her parents travel abroad. When a magical wand approaches her one day, Illya is offered the chance to become a magical girl. After making the decision to become a magical girl, under the guidance of Rin Toosaka, Illya is tasked to gather Class Cards. Class Cards are imbued with magic, holding special characters and abilities. While collecting all the cards, Illya must face and beat each and every opponent.

In comparing Fate/kaleid and Yuuki Yuuna, we have a group of young girls with magical abilities, fighting an enemy in an alternate universe. As both offer a great balance of slice of life and comedy, each anime also contains a lot of detail with the transformation and action sequences. Additionally, Fate/kaleid and Yuuki Yuuna demonstrate that no task is too large for our girls to handle, unveiling the normality of magic and fighting in a girl’s everyday schedule.

Despite losing her mother at a young age, Akari Taiyou is your average, cheerful teen, with her life heavily influenced on tarot cards and divination magic. Akari is well-versed in fortune telling, as she is an apprentice in a small and successful business. This all changes when she has a dream of being attacked by a plant monster, Daemonia. Further into this dream, she turns into a magical girl, with the tarot power of the sun, destroying the creature. When Akari wakes, she forgets the dream. Later on, another Daemonia attacks her, with three other magical girls coming to her rescue. Ginka Shirokane, Seira Hoshikawa, and Luna Tsukuyomi are their names, revealing that they use Elemental Tarot powers to fight off these evil beings. As she subsequently finds out that Daemonia are people that are possessed, Akari must decide whether to save them or destroy them.

A highlighting feature that marks both Day Break Illusion and Yuuki Yuuna is their amazing animation. The range and usage of colors are incredibly captivating, sparking illumination in these somewhat dark magical girl anime. Another comparison is the cause and effect scenario, where actions that occur in their alternate dimensions can have serious consequences in reality, making their fight all the more intense and powerful. Furthermore, our main characters share sufficient amounts of struggle and conflict within themselves, as they are tested, physically and emotionally, on how to save their closest friends and the world.