Magic Night Rayearth

To begin this review, I should say that I've perused some of the Manga in a Borders and find it intrigueing. That's where I first learned of it. I haven't read a lot of it, but I have read the first volume, so I know the backstory. It's on of those the main characters are taken to a mysterious other world and are bestowed with powers that turned them into essetially magic girls with swords. Similar to things like Twelve Kigdoms, El Hazard, Escaflowne, and Kyou Kara Maou.

The epsideo begins with the princes looking woman calling fourth the Magic Knights, which turns out to be 3 girls on a field trip in Tokyo tower from 3 different schools. After they are summoned, they land on the back of a HUGE flying fish. They're dropped pn the ground. A few minutes later, a fish is 'recalled' into the wand of a very, very small man. He's bishouen, so that's amusing, but he's like 3 feet tall and his clothes don't seem to have been made for him. He's a mage though, so he can fight the bad guys. He essentially becomes their guide and helps them learn the ropes. The villian is also introduced and his henchmen are women very much like those you'd find in Sailor Moon. Shoot back to the girls. The Mage bestows powers on each of the girls and they get some new additions to their wardrobe. The end up having to flee from villians, leaving Clef (the Mage) behind to fight them). So begins their quest to become the Mahic Knights.


The animation is very 80's/90's. Think the original Sailor Moon which was 80's Japan so 90's America. But that just means that the design is very close to the manga, which works. It's very detailed, so it seems a little overwhelming. The anime combines both some action and that classic middle school girl attitude. There's also magic, adventure, and a bit of idiocy. I'm still on the wall about the Anime, but I recommend the manga.