One of the biggest staples of anime and manga is undoubtedly the magical girl genre. The fantasy elements and how often they intersect with themes of love and friendship and surprisingly great action have made the genre a hit with fans of all ages, and it’s long since become one of the most iconic genres of the medium.

Magical girl stories are a major staple of anime, and that’s not simply because of how old the genre is. Thanks to a combination of clever writing, engaging heroes and villains, and great artwork and animation complementing it all more often than not, many magical girl anime over the years have become incredibly well-regarded to the point that they’re often seen as some of the best anime of all time. A few magical girl anime stand out in particular, and each of them is an anime that fans old and new would be remiss to up.

10 Yuki Yuna Is A Hero

Anime Series By Studio Gokumi; Created By Project 2H

Studio Gokumi’s Yuki Yuna Is a Hero revolves around Yuna Yuki and the Sanshu Middle School Hero Club. While the club was originally centered solely around volunteer work, they get the chance to become real heroes when they’re recruited to become magical girls to protect their guardian deity from the monstrous Vertex, although there’s far more to it than they originally thought.

Between the great action and character writing and how well it balances its light and dark elements, Yuki Yuna Is a Hero does a great job of selling itself as a darker magical girl anime while still maintaining a great level of optimism in its narrative. Yuki Yuna Is a Hero was one of the first dark magical girl anime that tried to cash in on the success of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and it’s one of the few that did so while still having its own identity.

9 Symphogear

Anime Series By Satelight; Created By Akifumi Kaneko & Noriyasu Agematsu

Satelight’s Symphogear opens with the concert of the popular idol duo Zwei Wing interrupted by alien monsters called Noise and, surprisingly, Zwei Wing donning suits of armor to fight them. Zwei Wing, as it turns out, was chosen to wield mystical relics called Symphogears to protect the world from Noise, and when one half of Zwei Wing, Kanade Amou, tragically dies, it falls onto Hibiki Tachibana, accidentally given a piece of Kanade’s Symphogear, to step up and help protect the world.

With a combination of great dramatic and character writing and action reminiscent of Mobile Suit Gundam and tokusatsu shows, Symphogear is an incredible action anime in each of its five seasons that never abandons the core elements of the magical girl genre. Some of the best magical girl anime are the ones that don’t shy away from action, and Symphogear is one of the best examples of that.

8 Gushing Over Magical Girls

Anime Series By Asahi Production; Based On The Manga By Akihiro Ononaka

In Asahi Production’s Gushing over Magical Girls, ordinary middle schooler Utena Hiiragi is a major fan of her town’s magical girl team, Tres Magia, and she jumps at the chance to become a magical girl just like them. Unfortunately, Utena was recruited to become an evil magical girl, and whenever Utena fights as Magia Baiser, she can’t stop herself from indulging in her repressed sadist urges and subjecting them to BDSM-style torture, resulting in varying degrees of arousal from both parties every time.

Gushing over Magical Girls has a surprisingly thoughtful exploration into BDSM and sex positivity, two fields rarely ever addressed in media, and doing so through same-sex relationships adds an extra level of thoughtfulness to its writing. Add in stellar animation for the fanservice and fight scenes, and Gushing over Magical Girls is an incredible anime, despite its inappropriate nature.

7 Little Witch Academia

Anime Series By Studio Trigger; Created By Yoh Yoshinari

In Studio Trigger’s Little Witch Academia, Akko Kagari enrolls in the illustrious Luna Nova Magical Academy to become a witch like her idol, Shiny Chariot, despite being the only student born without magic. Akko is given a chance to prove herself, however, when she’s chosen as the next wielder of the Shiny Rod, and in addition to helping her become a witch, it sets her up to be the only one who can save all the magic in the world from disappearing.

In addition to its fluid and all-around gorgeous art and animation, Little Witch Academia’s fun cast and thoughtful narrative about self-worth make every episode great to watch and leave it as one of Studio Trigger’s best anime to date. The series plays into the more classic themes of the magical girl genre, but with how well it executes its story, it’s still plenty of fun to watch.

6 Cardcaptor Sakura

Anime Series By Madhouse; Based On The Manga By Clamp

Madhouse’s Cardcaptor Sakura stars Sakura Kinomoto, a young girl who accidentally releases a set of dangerous magical cards called the Clow Cards on the world. With the Clow Cards posing a threat to the world, Sakura teams up with their guardian, Kero, to tap into her latent magical ability and seal them up again, all while developing a complicated relationship with her rival, Li Syaoran.

Cardcaptor Sakura is one of the most iconic works of the creative group Clamp, and while its age is a big part of that, Cardcaptor Sakura’s great characters and romance writing, combined with engaging action, make it one of the anime that best embodies classic magical girl tropes. There are few anime as iconic as Cardcaptor Sakura, and with its sequel story, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card still in full swing, there’s even more reason to get invested.

5 Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha

Anime Series By Seven Arcs; Created By Masaki Tsuzuki

Seven Arcs’ Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is a long-running magical girl franchise centered around Nanoha Takamachi, a young girl who awakens to magical abilities after an encounter with a talking alien ferret named Yuno Scrya. Nanoha starts off helping Yuno retrieve powerful and dangerous artifacts called Jewel Seeds, and as the series evolves, with Nanoha aging alongside it, she constantly takes on bigger responsibilities in the wider universe, all with her partner, Fate Testarossa, by her side.

Not only do the ever-escalating political elements make for a wholly unique narrative for a magical girl anime, but the way Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha continually escalates its action and drama as the characters grow into adulthood is always fun to watch and adds an extra layer of investment to watching every season. Nanoha might only be popular in Japan, but it’s still a great anime that anyone can enjoy.

4 Revolutionary Girl Utena

Anime Series By J.C.Staff; Directed By Kunihiko Ikuhara

In J.C.Staff’s Revolutionary Girl Utena, the princely Utena Tenjou enters her school’s dueling tournament and unexpectedly wins the hand of the Rose Bride, Anthy Himemiya. From there, Utena must constantly take on new challengers to protect their engagement not just because of their blossoming relationship, but because of Anthy’s enigmatic power as the Rose Bride to revolutionize the world, as well.

Revolutionary Girl Utena’s unique narrative and themes of LGBTQ+ romance make it one of the most unique anime of the past 30 years, magical girl or otherwise, and with how surreal it tends to get with its writing and animation, there’s plenty of fun to be had in all the different ways to interpret the series, as well. Few anime are as iconic or influential in the worlds of magical girl anime or LGBTQ+ stories as Utena, and it’s easy to see why.

3 Kill La Kill

Anime Series By Studio Trigger; Directed By Hiroyuki Imaishi

Studio Trigger’s Kill la Kill stars Ryuko Matoi, a troubled girl who enrolls in Honnouji Academy to uncover the truth about her father’s murder. While initially powerless against student council president Satsuki Kiryuin and the superhuman abilities of the student body’s Goku Uniforms, Ryuko evens the playing field with a sentient Goku Uniform named Senketsu, and together, they’re ready to beat down anyone who gets in their way as they search for answers.

Kill la Kill is far from a traditional magical girl anime, but in addition to Kill la Kill's many magical girl themes and tropes like friendship, family drama, and over-the-top transformation sequences, Kill la Kill’s great character writing, combined with its creative and all-around gorgeous animation, make it an incredible anime to watch. Kill la Kill was the debut series of Studio Trigger, and over a decade later, it’s still one of the best anime to watch.

2 Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Anime Series By Shaft; Created By Gen Urobuchi

In Shaft’s Puella Magi Madoka Magica, after a chance encounter with a monster called a Witch, Madoka Kaname learns of the existence of magic and, of course, magical girls. Kyubey, the creature who oversees the magical girls, offers Madoka a chance to become one, herself, and help protect her home from Witches, and as Madoka ponders over the decision, she quickly discovers that being a magical girl is nowhere near as good as Kyubey first made it out to be.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica’s dark and deconstructive story makes for poignant and all-around excellent writing from start to finish, and even after over a decade, it still features some of the most creative animation of any anime. The story is continued in a sequel film, which is set to have another sequel in 2025, but the anime, by itself, still works as an incredible standalone story that everyone should watch.

1 Sailor Moon

Anime Series By Toei Animation; Based On The Manga By Naoko Takeuchi

Toei Animation’s Sailor Moon stars Usagi Tsukino, a crybaby of a girl who learns that her world is under attack from monstrous creatures from space. To combat the threat, Usagi gains the power to become the eponymous Sailor Moon, and it’s up to her and Luna to find the other girls destined to Usagi as the Sailor Scouts so they can save the world from one threat after another.

Sailor Moon is one of the most iconic and influential anime of all time for its great writing and clever fusion of magical girl and Super Sentai tropes, with it being one of the first anime to do so, and it still holds up incredibly well after over 30 years. Whether its the original anime or the Sailor Moon remake, Sailor Moon Crystal, there’s plenty to love about the series, and Sailor Moon is easily the best magical girl anime someone can’t afford to miss.