Majokko Megu-chan

Majokko Megu-chan
Title screen from episode 1.
魔女っ子メグちゃん
Genre	Magical girl
Anime television series
Directed by	Yugo Serikawa
Produced by	Eisuke Ozawa
Written by	Hiroyasu Yamaura, Masaki Tsuji, Shun'ichi Yukimuro et al.
Music by	Takeo Watanabe
Studio	Toei Animation
Original network	NET (TV Asahi)
Original run	1 April 1974 – 29 September 1975
Episodes	72

Majokko Megu-chan (魔女っ子メグちゃん^?, lit. Little Meg the Witch Girl) is a popular magical girl anime series. The manga was created by Tomo Inoue and Akio Narita, while the 72-episode anime series was produced by Toei Animation between 1974 and 1975. This series is considered an important forerunner of the present day magical girl genre, as the series' characterization and general structure exerted considerable influence over future shows in the same genre. Most notably, several of the show's recurring motifs were recycled in Toei's Sailor Moon, AIC's Pretty Sammy, and (to a lesser degree) Wedding Peach.

Megu-Chan follows the experiences of a powerful (but accident-prone) young witch who comes to Earth as part of her initiation into larger society. Megu is a contender for the throne of the Witch World but knows very little of human relationships. Sent to Mid-World (Earth) in her early teens, she is adopted by Mammi Kanzaki, a former witch who gave up her royal ambitions to wed a mortal. Mammi bewitches her husband and their two children, Rabi and Apo, into believing that Megu has always been the eldest child of the family (the concept of using magic to alter memory would turn up again in future magical girl series, such as Majokko Tickle and Sailor Moon). Under Mammi’s tutelage, Megu learns to control both her abilities and impulses in order to prove her worthiness for the crown.

This rite-of-passage subtext is continued throughout the series. A free spirit in the purest sense of the word, Megu-chan discovers emotions she’d never known existed – loneliness, compassion, grief, love, desperation, and (perhaps most importantly) self-sacrifice. As the story progresses, she proves the nobility of her character through the various trials and tribulations of youth, evolving from a willful and rather selfish little girl into a kind, generous, loving young woman. She battles monsters, demons, and rival sorcerers (including her nemesis, Non), but quickly realizes that her true enemy is the darker side of human nature.