Ask John: How Influential Was Minky Momo?

Question:
I saw someone say that Minky Momo was popular at its time but wasn’s a unique, influential anime. I think he’s wrong. If I recall correctly, Cutey Honey was the first magical girl with a nude transformation sequence (who also could transform into anything), but Minky Momo was the first that applied that concept for an anime made for a young female audience. Minky Momo also was the first anime in which the girl transformed into a teenage version of herself, which Studio Pierrot used for their four magical girl anime of the 80s: Mami, Pelsia, Emi, and Yuumi. Was Minky Momo also the first magical girl to use wands and be surrounded by dozens of talking animal characters? Seems to me that Minky Momo pioneered most of the staples we associate with modern magical girl anime.

Answer:
To be honest, when it comes to vintage magical girl anime I’m not quite as knowledgeable as I’d like to be, but I have watched episodes of numerous magical girl anime from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. I don’t know for certain exactly how influential Magical Princess Minky Momo has been in the years since its 1982 premiere, but the series has had more animation and remained more popular than many of its contemporaries. Regarding the innovations that the Minky Momo anime introduced, I’d say that both perspectives are correct.

The Minky Momo anime does inherit numerous influences from earlier magical girl series; however, it also introduced (if I’m not mistaken) certain conventions which are now commonplace. Early magical girl anime including Mahoutsukai Sally (1966) and Mahou Tsukai Chappy (1972) depicted young witches using magic wands. But the wands these girls used were simple, undecorated rods. 1980’s Mahou Shoujo Lalabelle may be the first magical girl anime to introduce the “cute” fancy magic wand or baton. Although Minky Momo’s magic wand was not the first of its kind, it may still have been influential, as Punie’s magic wand in Dai Mahou Touge (2006) appears to be an almost identical recreation of Minky Momo’s first wand. Magic Girl Lalabelle also had a cute cat pet mascot, but Minky Momo may be the series that introduced the supporting cast of cute, talking, magical animals that characterize later shows including Creamy Mami (1983), Magical Emi (1985), Hime-chan’s Ribbon (1992), Full Moon wo Sagashite (2002), and Pretty Cure (2004).

The 1971 Fushigi na Melmo television series may be the first magical girl anime that prominently involved the heroine transforming into an older version of herself. But Melmo transformed by merely eating magical gumballs. Minky Momo may be the first series that prominently featured its heroine chanting a spell and using her magic wand to transform into an older version of herself – an action later seen in anime such as Creamy Mami, Magical Emi, Magical Fairy Pelsia (1984), and Magical Stage Fancy Lala (1998).

Apart from introducing cute magical animal sidekicks, the biggest impact attributable to Minky Momo may be its transition from the character design style of tall and thin magical girls to younger, shorter and cuter magical girls. The magical girls prior to Minky Momo, including Lunlun, Limit-chan, Meg-chan, and Tickle, to name a few, typically resemble average, slender teen girls. Minky Momo and magical girls that immediately followed her, including Magical Emi, Pastel Yumi, Creamy Mami, Pelsia, and more contemporary magical girls including Potpourri, the Ojamajo Doremi witches, Comet-san, and Moetan are smaller, shorter, younger, and simply cuter than their ancestors. It could be said that Minky Momo introduced the “moe” magical girl appearance.