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Notes -
Magic Knight Rayearth is on Netflix! Now this is some serious nostalgia; Rayearth was one of the first animes I ever watched as a little kid living in Latin America in the 90s, right alongside Saint Seiya and Dragon Ball. Accordingly, I was shocked to see that it had been given a TV-MA rating, apparently for nudity? But it's tasteful, artistic nudity; no different from the transformations scenes in Sailor Moon. There is a stereotype out there that Americans are totally fine with blood and violence but God forbid that a kid might see a nipple, and damn if this doesn't lend credence to the allegations.
In any case, the story follows a trio of 14-year old girls consisting of the spunky Hikaru, the elegant Umi, and the nerdy Fuu (or Lucy, Anais, and Marina as they were called in the Spanish dub) after they get isekai'd to Cephiro, a generic RPG fantasy land, while on a field trip to Tokyo Tower and told to rescue Princess Emeraude (Esmeralda) from the evil Zagato. And I know that sounds like the most boring, cliche, and straightforward plot you could possibly think of, but there is a few things that make the show work.
First, the girls have great chemistry, playing off supporting characters and each other as they mature from three random schoolgirls into the legendary Magic Knights (Guerreas Magicas); watching them talk is as much fun as watching them step up to the challenges they encounter. Second is that the setting is not quite as cookie-cutter as it first appears; halfway through, it is revealed that their ultimate weapons are the Rune-Gods/Mashin (Genios), giant robots they must pilot into battle, so the series is actually something of a fantasy/mecha hybrid. And the third is that the show has a great sense of drama; some of the deaths are surprisingly heart-wrenching, and the ending drove me to tears.
So, overall, I recommend Magic Knight Rayearth. Netflix only has the first of two seasons, but that's OK; the first season tells a complete story with a very logical stopping point, and the second season reads like somebody wrote a fanfic sequel. At 20 episodes, it's a bit longer than a single-cour anime like Erased or Madoka but shorter than a double-cour like Evangelion or Cowboy Bebop. The original Spanish dub is there, for those who prefer that language. Or, if you don't have Netflix, you can also watch it on YouTube: English, Spanish.
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