Magical girlfriend
Encyclopedia
A magical girlfriend is a female character often associated with romantic comedy
anime
series, and is sometimes considered a genre of its own, or as the leading lady
of the "fantastic romance" genre, which combines the fantasy
and romance
genres.
As Thomas LaMarre
states, "Anime fans become familiar with a whole range of female
figures that are either not really human (robots, aliens, deities, animals), or that possess extra-human powers of some kind or another (from cyborg enhancements to magical or psychic abilities), which take them beyond the merely human woman."
Magical girlfriends can be one or many in a single anime (always attached to the male lead). Because of the tendency for rivals to appear even when there is one female lead and because of the unnatural gender balance among the cast, magical girlfriend comedies are often conflated with harem comedies. A good example of this conflation is Oh My Goddess!
which is "one of the prototypical “harem” anime titles" despite the short-lived nature of most of the romantic rivalries.
. In many cases, this situation is repeated with other characters (Tenchi Muyo!
), overlapping with the harem genre of anime. However the male lead is often inexperienced with women despite typically being a "nice guy
". This situation often prevents the relationship from advancing beyond a platonic level throughout most of the series, as an ideal girlfriend doesn't come on strong herself and is generally passive in the relationship.
In parodies, the character may be too young (i.e. Nakahito Kagura in Steel Angel Kurumi
; Negi Springfield in Mahou Sensei Negima!) or otherwise have a more rational, ambivalent attitude towards women. A famous early reversal of the cliche occurs with the overtly lecherous Ataru Moroboshi
of Urusei Yatsura
), who is simply uninterested in monogamous relationships despite the fact few women besides his romantically-aggressive alien girlfriend find him attractive.
Another feature is that soon after the male and female leads begin to live together, other (usually female) characters from the female (or male) lead's origin appear (friends, siblings, relatives, rivals or even enemies), either becoming frequent visitors, cohabitors, or generally causing a disruption. or even moving in with the lead couple. Sometimes a character from the male lead's origin will appear. Examples include Ai Yori Aoshi
, where Kaoru's half-brother tries to take Aoi for himself, and Omamori Himari
, where demonslayer Kuesu Jinguuji appears in volume 3 to claim Yuuto Amakawa as her betrothed.
Even when there is one female lead, various rivals always threaten the relationship between the lead characters, often creating complicated "love polygons"
. These can vary from being from mundane characters such as men who fight for the affection of the female (and rarely male) lead, or rivals from the female lead's origins.
The romantic relationship(s) in magical girlfriend comedies tend to remain static and platonic throughout the series. Commonly episodes involve some sort of superficial threat to the static nature of the relationship (which could, and often is, the male lead or the girlfriends' desire to get closer), which is almost always resolved in some way that doesn't fundamentally alter
that relationship. Action plotlines are often introduced through some sort of threat from the magical girlfriends origins or through other means. If the romantic relationship(s) do move, it is very slow. For example, Oh My Goddess starts with Belldandy
contractually bound to Keiichi
and the other goddesses trying to separate them. After more than 100 chapters, Belldandy is no longer bound, but chooses to stay with Keiichi, and the other goddesses admit that Keiichi is worthy of a goddess' love.
-kind. This model of the ideal Japanese woman, the yamato nadeshiko
, is similar to that found in The Tale of Genji
. Ideal girlfriends are not necessarily magical in nature. Aoi of Ai Yori Aoshi
is an example of an ideal woman and girlfriend but is of mundane origin. Some "ideal" magical girlfriends may seem weak and emotionally needy, while others, such as Belldandy
of Oh My Goddess!
, may possess a godly power stemming from their feminine traits.
Ideal women have absolute dedication to whatever work they do and for whomever they have great affection, although depending on the character's actual talents this can make for anything from 'quite capable' to 'well-meaning klutz'. They usually have calm, gentle and demure personalities. They generally suppress selfish desires in favor of desiring good for others.
Ideal women are always naive or innocent, sometimes explained by the girlfriends origins which do not allow for much experience with mainstream life. Paradoxically, other characters of the girlfriend's origin tend not to be as naive (e.g. Belldandy
of Oh My Goddess!
is more naive than even her kid sister). Ideal women are emotionally insightful, seeing the good in others when most wouldn't and forgiving their shortcomings.
Ideal women are examples of moe girls in anime. As such, ideal girlfriends are not overly independent. They are proper Japanese women who typically will not initiate romantic action themselves, except in a delicate or indirect manner (Aoi's romantic behavior might be considered clingy, even desperate at times, but is still done in a delicate manner, except in ecchi
dream sequences). However, numerous characters are so innocent as to not understand the nature of their actions. Independence and aggression (especially in sexual matters) is a trait of parodies of the ideal girlfriend such as Lum Invader
in Urusei Yatsura
, Kurumi in Steel Angel Kurumi
or Hazuki in Tsukuyomi -Moon Phase-
.
Parodies of the ideal woman are often selfish and become involved with the male lead because of their own selfish desires which are not (initially) shared by their mate. While the male lead usually has some sort of hold over his girlfriend (as "husband," "fiancé," provider, contract holder, client, creator, master, or even owner) the parody of the ideal girlfriend either succeeds in inverting the power balance of relationship or simply reverses roles.
Shōjo
artists have written another sort of parody of magical girlfriends. Shōjo writers put more emphasis on the girl. Examples include Absolute Boyfriend
, in which an ordinary girl gets a magical boyfriend, and Ultra Maniac
, in which a Middle School girl meets and becomes best friends with a magical girlfriend; followed by their misadventures at finding boyfriends.
Susan J. Napier
has described the popularity of the ideal magical girlfriend, for example, Belldandy
and Ai
to be a backlash against the "yellow cab"
social phenomenon, where some Japanese women were seeking out sexual relationships with non-Japanese men.
movies, classifies magical girlfriend movies with this template:
• Main protagonist is a loser who has no luck with girls or has a real girlfriend who doesn’t understand him.
• Main guy finds magical girlfriend (usually an angel, mermaid, or science experiment) and they fall in love.
• An antagonist lurks about, and its sole purpose is exposing the magical girlfriend.
• In the end, the protagonist and the magical girlfriend escape persecution, gain public acceptance, and spend the rest of their lives happy ever after.
A.E. Sparrow of IGN
, in reviewing Mamotte Shugogetten, also relates magical girlfriends shows to their western counterparts:
"She's completely devoted to protecting her new "master" from any misfortune, utterly oblivious to the ways of the modern world, and (in cute girl manga terms) a total knockout. If you're not completely immersed in the world of manga yet, think "I Dream of Jeannie
". If you are, then think "Oh! My Goddess!". Either one works if you're looking for a comparison."
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series, and is sometimes considered a genre of its own, or as the leading lady
Leading lady
Leading lady is an informal term for the actress who plays a secondary lead or supporting role, usually a love interest, to the leading actor in a film or play. It is not usually applied to the leading actress in the performance if her character is the protagonist.A leading lady can also be an...
of the "fantastic romance" genre, which combines the fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
and romance
Romance (novel)
Romance is a novel co-authored by Joseph Conrad and Ford Madox Ford. It was the second of their three collaborations. Romance was eventually published by George Bell and Sons in London and by McClure, Phillips in New York, in March 1904....
genres.
As Thomas LaMarre
Thomas LaMarre
Thomas Mark LaMarre is a Canadian academic, author, Japanologist and member of the faculty of McGill University in Montreal.-Education:LaMarre was awarded a Bachelor's degree in Biology in 1981 at Georgetown University...
states, "Anime fans become familiar with a whole range of female
figures that are either not really human (robots, aliens, deities, animals), or that possess extra-human powers of some kind or another (from cyborg enhancements to magical or psychic abilities), which take them beyond the merely human woman."
Magical girlfriends can be one or many in a single anime (always attached to the male lead). Because of the tendency for rivals to appear even when there is one female lead and because of the unnatural gender balance among the cast, magical girlfriend comedies are often conflated with harem comedies. A good example of this conflation is Oh My Goddess!
Oh My Goddess!
, also known as Ah! My Goddess!, is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Kōsuke Fujishima. It premiered in the November 1988 issue of Afternoon where it is still being serialized. Every few months, the most recent chapters are published in tankōbon volumes by Kodansha...
which is "one of the prototypical “harem” anime titles" despite the short-lived nature of most of the romantic rivalries.
Characteristics of the genre
Often series in the genre start with the male lead encountering the female lead either by pure chance or by an unusual event, after which the female lead somehow becomes bound or otherwise dependent upon him, often forcing a situation of cohabitationCohabitation
Cohabitation usually refers to an arrangement whereby two people decide to live together on a long-term or permanent basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship. The term is most frequently applied to couples who are not married...
. In many cases, this situation is repeated with other characters (Tenchi Muyo!
Tenchi Muyo!
, is a Japanese anime, light novel, and manga series created by Masaki Kajishima and Hiroki Hayashi.The generally accepted translation of the title is No Need for Tenchi or Useless Tenchi, though at the time of its appearance it was also translated variably as No Heaven and Earth and This Way Up...
), overlapping with the harem genre of anime. However the male lead is often inexperienced with women despite typically being a "nice guy
Nice guy
Nice guy is a term in the general public discourse and in popular culture describing an adult or teenage male with friendly yet unassertive personality traits in the context of a relationship with a woman. A typical nice guy is perceived to put the needs of others before his own, avoids...
". This situation often prevents the relationship from advancing beyond a platonic level throughout most of the series, as an ideal girlfriend doesn't come on strong herself and is generally passive in the relationship.
In parodies, the character may be too young (i.e. Nakahito Kagura in Steel Angel Kurumi
Steel Angel Kurumi
is a manga and anime series following the adventures of its titular character created by Kaishaku. Directed by Naohito Takahashi, animated by Oriental Light and Magic and produced by Pony Canyon with character designs by Yuriko Chiba and Yuji Ikeda and music by Toshihiko Sahashi, it has been...
; Negi Springfield in Mahou Sensei Negima!) or otherwise have a more rational, ambivalent attitude towards women. A famous early reversal of the cliche occurs with the overtly lecherous Ataru Moroboshi
Ataru Moroboshi
is a fictional character and the main protagonist of Rumiko Takahashi's manga and anime series Urusei Yatsura. He is sometimes considered a teenage version of the character Nobita Nobi from Fujiko Fujio's popular manga Doraemon by many anime fans.-History:...
of Urusei Yatsura
Urusei Yatsura
is a comedic manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi that premiered in Weekly Shōnen Sunday in 1978 and ran until its conclusion in 1987. Its 374 individual chapters were collected and published in 34 tankōbon volumes. The series tells the story of Ataru Moroboshi, and the alien...
), who is simply uninterested in monogamous relationships despite the fact few women besides his romantically-aggressive alien girlfriend find him attractive.
Another feature is that soon after the male and female leads begin to live together, other (usually female) characters from the female (or male) lead's origin appear (friends, siblings, relatives, rivals or even enemies), either becoming frequent visitors, cohabitors, or generally causing a disruption. or even moving in with the lead couple. Sometimes a character from the male lead's origin will appear. Examples include Ai Yori Aoshi
Ai Yori Aoshi
is a Japanese seinen manga written and illustrated by Kou Fumizuki and serialized from 1998 to 2005 in Hakusensha's Young Animal. It is a love story between two characters who haven't seen each other in years but were once childhood friends....
, where Kaoru's half-brother tries to take Aoi for himself, and Omamori Himari
Omamori Himari
, often abbreviated as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Milan Matra. The manga began serialization in the May 2006 issue of Fujimi Shobo's manga magazine Monthly Dragon Age, and the first tankōbon was released by Kadokawa Shoten on February 7, 2007...
, where demonslayer Kuesu Jinguuji appears in volume 3 to claim Yuuto Amakawa as her betrothed.
Even when there is one female lead, various rivals always threaten the relationship between the lead characters, often creating complicated "love polygons"
Love triangle
A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
. These can vary from being from mundane characters such as men who fight for the affection of the female (and rarely male) lead, or rivals from the female lead's origins.
The romantic relationship(s) in magical girlfriend comedies tend to remain static and platonic throughout the series. Commonly episodes involve some sort of superficial threat to the static nature of the relationship (which could, and often is, the male lead or the girlfriends' desire to get closer), which is almost always resolved in some way that doesn't fundamentally alter
Status quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
that relationship. Action plotlines are often introduced through some sort of threat from the magical girlfriends origins or through other means. If the romantic relationship(s) do move, it is very slow. For example, Oh My Goddess starts with Belldandy
Belldandy
is a character in the popular anime and manga series Oh My Goddess!. She was created by Kōsuke Fujishima as one of three Goddesses who come to Earth to reside with Keiichi Morisato, and she serves as his love interest. She is depicted as a beautiful and powerful young woman, with strong nurturing...
contractually bound to Keiichi
Keiichi Morisato
is the major character in the popular manga Oh My Goddess! and in the anime of the same name and is voiced by Masami Kikuchi. His name is often abbreviated as "K1" .- Description :...
and the other goddesses trying to separate them. After more than 100 chapters, Belldandy is no longer bound, but chooses to stay with Keiichi, and the other goddesses admit that Keiichi is worthy of a goddess' love.
The "ideal woman" personality, or yamato nadeshiko
Many magical girlfriends are considered by both fans and critics of the genre to be idealizations of womanWoman
A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
-kind. This model of the ideal Japanese woman, the yamato nadeshiko
Yamato Nadeshiko
is a Japanese term meaning "personification of an idealized Japanese woman", "ideal" in the historical context of the patriarchal, traditional culture of Japan...
, is similar to that found in The Tale of Genji
The Tale of Genji
is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first psychological novel or the first novel still to be...
. Ideal girlfriends are not necessarily magical in nature. Aoi of Ai Yori Aoshi
Ai Yori Aoshi
is a Japanese seinen manga written and illustrated by Kou Fumizuki and serialized from 1998 to 2005 in Hakusensha's Young Animal. It is a love story between two characters who haven't seen each other in years but were once childhood friends....
is an example of an ideal woman and girlfriend but is of mundane origin. Some "ideal" magical girlfriends may seem weak and emotionally needy, while others, such as Belldandy
Belldandy
is a character in the popular anime and manga series Oh My Goddess!. She was created by Kōsuke Fujishima as one of three Goddesses who come to Earth to reside with Keiichi Morisato, and she serves as his love interest. She is depicted as a beautiful and powerful young woman, with strong nurturing...
of Oh My Goddess!
Oh My Goddess!
, also known as Ah! My Goddess!, is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Kōsuke Fujishima. It premiered in the November 1988 issue of Afternoon where it is still being serialized. Every few months, the most recent chapters are published in tankōbon volumes by Kodansha...
, may possess a godly power stemming from their feminine traits.
Ideal women have absolute dedication to whatever work they do and for whomever they have great affection, although depending on the character's actual talents this can make for anything from 'quite capable' to 'well-meaning klutz'. They usually have calm, gentle and demure personalities. They generally suppress selfish desires in favor of desiring good for others.
Ideal women are always naive or innocent, sometimes explained by the girlfriends origins which do not allow for much experience with mainstream life. Paradoxically, other characters of the girlfriend's origin tend not to be as naive (e.g. Belldandy
Belldandy
is a character in the popular anime and manga series Oh My Goddess!. She was created by Kōsuke Fujishima as one of three Goddesses who come to Earth to reside with Keiichi Morisato, and she serves as his love interest. She is depicted as a beautiful and powerful young woman, with strong nurturing...
of Oh My Goddess!
Oh My Goddess!
, also known as Ah! My Goddess!, is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Kōsuke Fujishima. It premiered in the November 1988 issue of Afternoon where it is still being serialized. Every few months, the most recent chapters are published in tankōbon volumes by Kodansha...
is more naive than even her kid sister). Ideal women are emotionally insightful, seeing the good in others when most wouldn't and forgiving their shortcomings.
Ideal women are examples of moe girls in anime. As such, ideal girlfriends are not overly independent. They are proper Japanese women who typically will not initiate romantic action themselves, except in a delicate or indirect manner (Aoi's romantic behavior might be considered clingy, even desperate at times, but is still done in a delicate manner, except in ecchi
Ecchi
is an often used slang term in the Japanese language for erotic fantasy and sexual innuendoes. As an adjective it is used with the meaning of "dirty", "naughty", "frivolous"; as a verb , with the meaning to do something dirty, naughty, frivolous or to sleep together; or as a noun, to describe...
dream sequences). However, numerous characters are so innocent as to not understand the nature of their actions. Independence and aggression (especially in sexual matters) is a trait of parodies of the ideal girlfriend such as Lum Invader
Lum Invader
is a fictional character and the female protagonist from Rumiko Takahashi's manga and anime series Urusei Yatsura. She is often believed to be the main protagonist of the series due to her iconic status. However, Takahashi has stated that Ataru Moroboshi is the main character. She is named Lamu in...
in Urusei Yatsura
Urusei Yatsura
is a comedic manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi that premiered in Weekly Shōnen Sunday in 1978 and ran until its conclusion in 1987. Its 374 individual chapters were collected and published in 34 tankōbon volumes. The series tells the story of Ataru Moroboshi, and the alien...
, Kurumi in Steel Angel Kurumi
Steel Angel Kurumi
is a manga and anime series following the adventures of its titular character created by Kaishaku. Directed by Naohito Takahashi, animated by Oriental Light and Magic and produced by Pony Canyon with character designs by Yuriko Chiba and Yuji Ikeda and music by Toshihiko Sahashi, it has been...
or Hazuki in Tsukuyomi -Moon Phase-
Tsukuyomi -Moon Phase-
is a manga series by Keitarō Arima about a young vampire girl named Hazuki and a Japanese freelance photographer Kouhei Morioka whom Hazuki attempts to make into her servant....
.
Parodies of the ideal woman are often selfish and become involved with the male lead because of their own selfish desires which are not (initially) shared by their mate. While the male lead usually has some sort of hold over his girlfriend (as "husband," "fiancé," provider, contract holder, client, creator, master, or even owner) the parody of the ideal girlfriend either succeeds in inverting the power balance of relationship or simply reverses roles.
Shōjo
Shojo
The term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...
artists have written another sort of parody of magical girlfriends. Shōjo writers put more emphasis on the girl. Examples include Absolute Boyfriend
Absolute Boyfriend
is a six volume manga series by Yuu Watase, first serialized in Shōjo Comic. Chuang Yi licensed it for an English language release in Singapore, with the first volume released in March 2005...
, in which an ordinary girl gets a magical boyfriend, and Ultra Maniac
Ultra Maniac
is a manga series written by Wataru Yoshizumi. The romantic comedy series features 8th grader Ayu Tateishi, a tennis club member, and her transfer student friend, Nina Sakura, who is actually a trainee witch from the magical kingdom. It premiered in Shueisha's Ribon manga magazine in February 2001...
, in which a Middle School girl meets and becomes best friends with a magical girlfriend; followed by their misadventures at finding boyfriends.
Susan J. Napier
Susan J. Napier
Dr. Susan Jolliffe Napier is Professor of the Japanese Program at Tufts University. She was formerly Professor of the Japanese Literature and Culture at the University of Texas at Austin, and a visiting professor at the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University...
has described the popularity of the ideal magical girlfriend, for example, Belldandy
Belldandy
is a character in the popular anime and manga series Oh My Goddess!. She was created by Kōsuke Fujishima as one of three Goddesses who come to Earth to reside with Keiichi Morisato, and she serves as his love interest. She is depicted as a beautiful and powerful young woman, with strong nurturing...
and Ai
Video Girl Ai
is a manga series created by Masakazu Katsura and published by Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump. It also has an anime adaptation. The manga is published in English by Viz Communications...
to be a backlash against the "yellow cab"
Yellow cab (stereotype)
is a term referring to an ethnic stereotype of Japanese women, and by extension other Asians, suggesting that they are sexually available to foreign men...
social phenomenon, where some Japanese women were seeking out sexual relationships with non-Japanese men.
Examples of "magical girlfriend" characters
- BelldandyBelldandyis a character in the popular anime and manga series Oh My Goddess!. She was created by Kōsuke Fujishima as one of three Goddesses who come to Earth to reside with Keiichi Morisato, and she serves as his love interest. She is depicted as a beautiful and powerful young woman, with strong nurturing...
of Oh My Goddess!Oh My Goddess!, also known as Ah! My Goddess!, is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Kōsuke Fujishima. It premiered in the November 1988 issue of Afternoon where it is still being serialized. Every few months, the most recent chapters are published in tankōbon volumes by Kodansha... - Lum InvaderLum Invaderis a fictional character and the female protagonist from Rumiko Takahashi's manga and anime series Urusei Yatsura. She is often believed to be the main protagonist of the series due to her iconic status. However, Takahashi has stated that Ataru Moroboshi is the main character. She is named Lamu in...
of Urusei YatsuraUrusei Yatsurais a comedic manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi that premiered in Weekly Shōnen Sunday in 1978 and ran until its conclusion in 1987. Its 374 individual chapters were collected and published in 34 tankōbon volumes. The series tells the story of Ataru Moroboshi, and the alien...
(a parody of the ideal girlfriend) - ChiChi (Chobits)is a fictional character in the manga series Chobits, and its anime adaptation. She is a Chobit, a type of persocom that is far more technologically advanced than regular persocoms, and who are said to possess true machine intelligence rather than relying on the execution of pre-loaded software...
of ChobitsChobitsis a Japanese manga created by the Japanese manga collective Clamp. It was published by Kodansha in Young Magazine from February 2001 to November 2002 and collected in eight bound volumes.... - Saati Nanba of A.I. Love YouA.I. Love Youis a Japanese manga series by author Ken Akamatsu. First released in the mid-1990s in Japan, an English translation of the series was published by Tokyopop; the Tokyopop version of the manga is out of print as of August 31, 2009....
- Haruko of FLCLFLCLis an original video animation series written by Yōji Enokido, directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki and produced by the FLCL Production Committee, which included Gainax, Production I.G, and Starchild Records....
- Shaorin of Mamotte Shugogetten
- Night of Absolute BoyfriendAbsolute Boyfriendis a six volume manga series by Yuu Watase, first serialized in Shōjo Comic. Chuang Yi licensed it for an English language release in Singapore, with the first volume released in March 2005...
(male equivalent of magical girlfriend) - Sun Seto of My Bride is a Mermaid
- Valkyrie of UFO Ultramaiden ValkyrieUFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie, aka UFO Princess Valkyrie, is an anime series based on the manga of the same name, which has run for at eleven volumes, and still seems to be continuing...
- Phryne of FractaleFractaleis an 11-episode Japanese anime television series produced by A-1 Pictures and Ordet and directed by Yutaka Yamamoto. The story was developed by Hiroki Azuma and the screenplay was written by Mari Okada, with original character design by Hidari. The anime began airing in Japan in January 2011 on...
- Zac Bertschy of Anime News NetworkAnime News NetworkAnime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
states: "let's just call it 'mildly interesting, competently made magical girlfriend show'"
Magical girlfriends in Western media
Tiffany White of Pop Matters, in her review of the MannequinMannequin (1987 film)
Mannequin is a 1987 romantic comedy film, starring Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, Meshach Taylor, James Spader, G. W. Bailey, and Estelle Getty...
movies, classifies magical girlfriend movies with this template:
• Main protagonist is a loser who has no luck with girls or has a real girlfriend who doesn’t understand him.
• Main guy finds magical girlfriend (usually an angel, mermaid, or science experiment) and they fall in love.
• An antagonist lurks about, and its sole purpose is exposing the magical girlfriend.
• In the end, the protagonist and the magical girlfriend escape persecution, gain public acceptance, and spend the rest of their lives happy ever after.
A.E. Sparrow of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, in reviewing Mamotte Shugogetten, also relates magical girlfriends shows to their western counterparts:
"She's completely devoted to protecting her new "master" from any misfortune, utterly oblivious to the ways of the modern world, and (in cute girl manga terms) a total knockout. If you're not completely immersed in the world of manga yet, think "I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
". If you are, then think "Oh! My Goddess!". Either one works if you're looking for a comparison."