Ask John: Why is Minky Momo so Respected?

Question:
I just watched Minky Momo episodes 8-9. I noticed the animators inserted a sexy bikini model poster in Momo’s room (so Momo is a 10-year-old lesbian?) and later drew Lupin, Fujiko, and Jigen as background characters in episode 8. Back in the 90s, I recall magical girl otaku regarding Minky Momo as the holy grail of 80’s magical girl anime, but now that I’m watching it I’m not exactly understanding why. Perhaps I lack the knowledge of other magical girl programs of the late 70’s and early 80’s to compare it to. Or maybe I’m too demanding that anime have internal logic. Minky Momo does seem to have an eccentric and increasing irreverent visual style. The plots are tending to have Momo transform into some kind of job professional to solve a simple problem, but she soon gets mistaken for a real professional and is needed to solve a much bigger problem. It’s kind of like a variation on Doraemon’s inventions always backfiring on Nobita. Or maybe Minky Momo’s claim to fame is that she’s the first transforming magical girl made for girls?

Answer:
I’m going to admit outright that my knowledge and familiarity with Minky Momo is limited. There are magical girl series such as Cutie Honey Flash, Fushigiboshi no Futago Hime, and the first two Pretty Cure seasons that I’ve watched in their entirety, then there are shows including Minky Momo that I’ve only watched a bit of. However, I do think that I’m familiar enough with the Minky Momo franchise to be able to pose a plausible explanation. I’ve never thought that Minky Momo had an especially eccentric visual style. It’s certainly not Princess Tutu, nor is it even quite as stylized as earlier shows like Mahou Shoujo Lalabel. However, narratively Magical Princess Minky Momo is rather unique even by present day anime standards. Magical girl anime as old as 1971’s Fushigi na Melmo included subject matter that seemed unconventional, unexpected, or even inappropriate for an anime primarily targeted at little girls, but the undercurrent of bizarre morbidity that runs through Minky Momo is unique in magical girl anime and may explain why the show fascinates adult viewers.

Magical girl anime including Fushigi na Melmo, Hime-chan no Ribbon, and Ojamajo Doremi have dealt with the concept of death, but I don’t know of any magical girl anime besides Minky Momo that has such a preoccupation with death. Note, the remainder of this paragraph refers to points well known to Minky Momo fans but which may still be considered spoilers. First series episode 33 revolves around a couple in love who commit lover’s suicide. In episode 45, an innocent bystander who tries to help Momo is shot and killed by villains who also destroy Momo’s magical pendant, robbing her of her ability to use magic. In the following episode Momo herself is killed in a traffic accident. When given the opportunity to resurrect, Momo refuses. Instead, a new Minky Momo is born nine months later when new human parents give birth to a baby girl possessing the spirit of the princess of the undersea kingdom of dreams. Second series episode 53 is particularly relevant to otaku because it revolves around Momo visiting an anime production studio. The episode also involves Momo meeting an animator who literally works himself to death. Demonstrating the show’s thorough meta-cinema, Minky Momo, an anime character, transforms herself into an “anime character” to fulfill the dying animator’s final wish. Finally, the series is a bit morbid because Momo ultimately fails her mission to restore the dreams of humanity. In the end of the second series the magic and fairy tail characters Momo has been trying to save vanish and leave Earth because humans no longer believe in them.

The Minky Momo anime is rife with anime and pop culture homage and weird developments that are probably more fascinating to adult viewers than children. The Lupin gang isn’t the only cameo in first series episode 8. Bruce Lee also appears momentarily in that episode. Episode 12 features Momo clothed in a sexy cat burgler costume that predates Michelle Pfeiffer’s costume in 1992’s Batman Returns movie. The costume was evidently popular enough to make a return appearance in episode 41. Episodes 21 & 22 are an extended James Bond parody. Episode 31 features the Minky Momo super robot. In episode 44 Momo transforms into Osamu Tezuka’s iconic surgeon Black Jack. In episodes 50, 55, and 61 Momo transforms into Snow White from Disney’s 1937 animated film. Countless episodes from both TV series involve sci-fi and fantasy, and both series are characterized by a provocative sexiness that seems far more appropriate for and targeted at older male viewers than the show’s core audience of preadolescent girls. The franchise’s weird approach extends into its OVAs as well. The 1993 Minky Momo: Bridge Over Dreams OVA is a wonderful drama, but it’s also a magical girl anime about a character who no longer has any magic. The 1994 “Station of Embarkation” OVA is simply weird and involves the two generations of Minky Momo meeting each other. (Second generation “umi” Momo also briefly met first generation “sora” Momo in episode 39 of the second TV series. Although not an especially weird episode, it did depict “umi” Momo nearly seeing her predecessor die.)

Minky Momo isn’t the first magical girl series for little girls that featured a protagonist who transformed into personas apart from just an older version of herself. Himitsu no Akko-chan did that at least as early as 1969. But unlike practically every other existing magical girl anime, Minky Momo is really a strange, morbid series filled with otaku fan service that’s disguised as a cute and happy anime for little girls. The undercurrents within Minky Momo may not be usually evident in single episodes or small doses, but a broad reflection on the series reveals how odd the show was, why it may hold so much mystique and fascination for adult viewers, and why it’s become so iconic in not only the magical girl genre but within the entire otaku perspective of anime.