Magical Girls

Chosen Heroines With Special Powers and Special Outfits

Magical girls have a nearly infinite spread of roles, abilities, and functions. It is difficult to pin down a general description, except there are common traits:

1. Girl - There are no "magical boys" -- the reason for this is unknown
2. A patron - The magical girl receives her abilities and mandate from some powerful entity.
3. Powers - The patron bestows certain abilities on the magical girl.
4. A mandate - Every magical girl has a mandate or defined mission.
5. Costumed by Transformation - There is a changing process or sequence when a magical girl switches from her "civilian" identity into her role as an agent for the patron.

Girl

Magical girls are always, well, girls. At least by some stretch. Most patrons have a liberal understanding of what a girl is. Men who dress in what is considered "women clothes" have, on occasion been selected. There are at least three documented cases where a boy in civilian identity had his sexual organs changed every time he did transformation (see below). Transgender girls are universally seen as potential candidates, and often nonbinary persons are chosen (which, of course, raises it's own questions as to the appropriateness of the "girl" part of "magical girl" -- a few scholars argue that because of this gender identity issue, a more accurate name would be "magical non-male."

Patron

The power given to a magical girl has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is some sort of entity that possesses power and can delegate it to others. How this power is transferred is varied. Many magical girls are given a token (for example, Summer Knight's patron gave her a glove with a badge on it. Without this glove, she is unable to summon the shield or armor that make her costume and are the source of her powers. Mystical Twilight Duchess Moondrop , on the other hand, was given a slow loris named Carlotta as a companion. Carlotta cannot weild the power herself, but without her present, Moondrop cannot use her powers. Floofy Paws was simply passed the power through arcane means, and she can use her power at will.
Using a token is generally seen as a way for the patron to control the use of the power, though the obvious problem with this though is that a token can be stolen and used by someone else. An animal companion is often seen as adding a mentor, and not usually considered a control on the power (even though a companion can leave just as easily). The truth is that a patron decides their own means of choosing how to endow the magical girl with power, and does it for their own reasons.
Magical girls are also selected by whatever method the patron deems best. In many cases, the patron appears to the selected girl (or sends an authorized messenger). and offers the choice to become a magical girl. There is at least one example of a patron who gives tokens in the form of jewelry to a selected agent, who then finds girls who are "worthy" and distributes the token. There is, however, no actual requirement that the recipient get a choice in the matter. Often finding a token not in use and touching it are enough to grant the role, or the patron simply passes the power to the girl, without asking for permission.

Powers

A patron grants powers to the magical girl. This seems to be straightforward, but raises some questions. There doesn't seem to be a pattern other than most powers are thematically appropriate to the girl's mandate (see below), costume (see belower), or the patron. Power may relate to or be controlled by elements of the girl's costume. The power may be innate. The girl may be told their powers (by the patron, by their companion, in a set of instructions, or instinct) or the girl may be left to discover their powers on their own. The implication of this is that no one can know exactly what a magical girl can do other than possibly the patron. They may always have some unrevealed ability.

Mandate

Every magical girl has a mandate the patron wishes to accomplish. A mission. This can be as simple as "punish evil" or "defend those who need defending." However, as many limitations or conditions as seen necessary can be imposed. A mandate could be as limited as "protect this object from the villain Flesh-Rotter." Whether the powers will work when not engaged in the mandate is also up to the patron, as is how loosely the magical girl is allowed to interpret the wording of the mandate. Someone told to "help the defenseless" may be allowed to decide exactly what counts as "defenseless" -- complete inability to act or lacking an army to command?
The mandate may require the magical girl to travel, or to take action even when it is inconvenient -- or even when it's not the best option, strategically. Mandates are generally benevolent, though there are definitely cases when ones political or ethical concerns could determine whether the mandate is benevolent or not.

Transformation

Being a magical girl is almost inherently theatrical. Nearly all magical girls invoke the transformation process and then lights and some movement, accompanied by unusual sound effects -- sometimes even a musical soundtrack, creating a distracting spectacle for all nearby. This transformation usually involves spinning (or at least rotation in place) and/or focus on various parts of the magical girl's outfit where costume changes are taking place. The transformation universally affects the clothes the girl is wearing, usually replacing them entirely, so that the girl is left in whatever "uniform" the patron decided for them. In most cases, the transformation alters the girl's hair as well, restyling, growing, and/or coloring it. In less common cases, the girl's body can also be altered, for example, providing muscle mass, facial feature changes, or growing extra limbs (wings, usually, but sometimes arms).
A strange phenomenon that accompanies this transformation is that no matter how antagonistic, any opponent the magical girl faces is unable to do anything relating to their encounter (threaten, attack, retreat, even talk) . This applies to all magical girls. The effect is localized but it's exact range depends on the dramatic staging of the encounter, even if it is not violent. It affects anyone capable of directly intervening or acting in the encounter, but only insofar as they are aware of and intend to intervene. This is, of course, a very fuzzy line and those who study magical girls frequently find themselves frustrated with attempting to discover or define the phenomenon with any precision. Generally it is said that "One cannot mess with a magical girl while transforming."