Why Miraculous LadyBug Is The Worst Thing To Happen To Magical Girl Genre in All Itâs History.
Hereâs the thing: Iâm a huge fan of Magical Girl animes. I love them and treasure them, so when this craze of westernization of the genre came, I was more than glad to welcome it.
And to this day Iâm happy about most shows that came out of this hybrid. I love SVTFOE despite its flaws, Steven Universe holds a deep place in my heart and She-Ra isâŠShe-Ra is the best to come out of it.
However, among all of these, thereâs a rotten apple. One that breaks my heart to see become nothing more thanâŠan insult to everything that came before it.
Listen, when I started watching Miraculous ladybug I was hopeful. Really hopeful. Excited and mesmerized.
The original PV was 2D animated and it had this vague Princess Tutu vibe that I couldnât resist. It was clear as day that it borrowed a lot of its inspiration from magical girls. The animation was beautiful, and the scene of Chat looking at Ladybug starry eyed under the Paris Moonlight was one that I will never forget.
I love Magical Girl Anime. Thatâs why, I think that I let some shows get away with more than others would. What I ask from a western show that borrows from it, is very little in fact. I still like Star vs, and I Can sit through hundreds of episodes for just one cute scene.
And when it first aired, I tried to be positive, to like even when it had all these massive red flags.
Iâve never been a big fan of 3D animation, and specially not how itâs used in Magical Girl animes. (We all know the disaster of Sailor Moon Crystal). But I swallowed it down. The characters were different from the original PV but I swallowed it down. The background scenery was bland and generic and hardly felt unique, but I swallowed it down.
I was here since day 1. I was here when Stormy Weather premiered. I was here before many of you were, and I swallowed it all down. All for one simple reason:
People who arenât as interested in Magical Girls as I am, specifically Magical Girl Animeâs with Romance, may not understand why the Love Square was such a big deal. Why it was the core; the life of the series.
Four before that, we need to cover:
The Alter Ego and Itâs Relationship To The Protagonist
An alter ego is the âalternative versionâ. The Superman to Clark Kent, the Spider-Man to Peter Parker, the Batman to Bruce Wayne. They represent the hero version, the other self, the better version if you will, of the character or protagonist were supposed to root for.
In magical girls, these better versions are key to understanding our Main Chatacter. While many magical girl animeâs like Sugar Sugar Rune or Sakura Card Captor donât place so much emphasis on the Alter Ego, thereâs many who do.
Thatâs it, because the Alter Ego is better. Brighter, happier, a sense of justice and able to confront the world. While our Main Character often times doesnât have these characteristics. The alter ego represent everything they wish to be, while the real them hides underneath.
Which, when you add romance has a very interesting dynamic.
Our main character falls in love with another, often times a prince or an idol, who everyone looks up to. And who does this Prince fall for? Our main character? Well⊠No. he falls for our Main Characterâs Alter Ego!
The reason why I find this fascinating is because in these situations, the Prince character isnât supposed to be the Male Lead. That honor instead goes to the Rebel character. You know who Iâm talking about. The Ikuto, the Kishu, the Fakir or even Mamoru of the story.
These are all fan favorite characters that fall under the âBad Boyâ or âRebel Characterâ those who arenât in love with alter ego, but instead feel attraction to the MC or the âreal oneâ
Shanespear has a great video where she details the reason why a lot of teenage girls feel attracted to this kind of character. A compulsion to be âgoodâ and âperfectâ brought for by society, and the only way for them to explore these darker and more dangerous fantasies of rebellion is through a âbad boyâ who pushes them out of their comfort zone.
May I mix then these two layer together? You have the MC in love with a perfect boy, a Prince if you will, who in turn is in love with the Perfect Girl version of the MC. And a Bad Boy who is in love with the Real Version of the MC, flaws and all. And itâs only through understanding both the real and idolized version on the MC that a man can âwinâ the love of our protagonist.
Itâs an interesting dynamic. With many different answers depending on how each show tackles itâs themes. Tokyo Mew Mew offers the idea that the Prince is the correct option, while Princess Tutu says itâs not. Then thereâs those with open endings such a Shugo Chara.
The interesting thing in Miraculous Ladybug was that it boiled down this interesting dynamic into the Love Square. The perfect and the real, the idolized and the true.
Ladybug represents the perfect version of Marinette. Adrienne represents the perfect version, while the real one is chat. Chat was both the âBad Boyâ and the âPrinceâ all in one. All in love with the âPerfectâ or Idolized version of each other
This was something never before seen. Finally, a story that would explore relationships and dynamics, of the different ways people act and who we are with people we trust and love-
Sorry, we. We didnât get that.
What we got was padded episode, new love interest that refused to deal with this complexity, and a stagnant rship that refuses to explore any of the flaws of their characters - why theyâre not perfect, or even a reason why they stay in love
This is why the Love Square fails. This, is the core of why and how it works. People can expand upon this in million different ways, but you inevitably come back to this.
The real and the idolized. The want vs the duty. The expectations and the responsibilities.
And one thing that the show refused to explore up until late into season 3 and start of season 4 was this specific parts of the Ladybugâs character
Quick question, what does ladybug (the superhero) represent?
Iâve seen people do this with superheroes, but I donât know nearly enough abt western superheroes to make an analogy so-
Princess tutu is the representation of Ahiruâs love for Mytho. Her purpose is to collect his heart shards to save him and make him happy. She desperately wants to make him whole again, out of pure devotion she has for him.
Sailor Moon is the representation of Usagiâs past as Princess Serenity. Her bonds that transcend space, itâs her duty to protect the earth like she couldnât protect the Moon Kingdom. By the end of the series, itâs her deep connections and love for the rest of the sailor scouts what drives her to bear the weight of saving the world.
Amulet Heart is the representation of Amuâs âI want to beâ self. Her desire to be sporty and happy, easy to mix with people. She has many others And through them all she aims to find herself. Who she really is, and where she fits in a school that idolizes a fake version of herself.
Pink Pearl Voice is representation of Luciaâs duty as a princess. She has seen her people be in distress and knows the weight her actions have on her nation. Her purpose is to fight those who want to hurt her kingdom. To return peace to the seven seas.
This is actually exemplified perfectly in Madoka, where all the girls make a wish. That wish is what fuels their heart, and if they lose sight of it - thatâs when their soul gems cracks.
Magical Girls are a wish. While they become magical girls to save the planet, thereâs something behind it that they guard deeply and wish to protect even more.
What exactly is ladybugâs purpose? What does she represent? Why did Marinette decide to become Ladybug?
Because of her sense of responsibility, you may say. But according to what weâve seen, where would that sense of responsibility come from? To protect her friends? Her country? Her school? Her family? Is it pressure from her parents? Or is it herself? Why pressure herself, and to this extend?
What exactly would have been her wish when she became Ladybug? Why would she have accepted a deal where her self is in jeorpardy, and continue to accept it as more and more burdens pile up on her ? Why when she has no real sense of duty?
In the case of chat Noir is easy to find. He wants to be free, wants to be able to escape his home that feels like a prison, but still craves a place that will welcome him as he is: a mischievous trickster who messes up sometimes.
He wants a place where to belong. And Ladybug offers that, while Chat Noir lends him the means to show that true self he canât allow to others. He would never give up his miraculous because it would mean loosing all that.
But Marinette doesnât have that. Whatâs stopping (in season 1-3) from ditching everything and asking Master Fu to find a new ladybug? Realistically.
This is why headcanons and fanfic do a better job than the series. Thereâs no clear answer. According to previous actions, we can speculate why. But we donât have a real reason.
We donât know what Ladybug represents. And if we donât know who Marinetteâs ideal self is, how can we know Marinette?
The closes thing we get to a âmotiveâ is the fact that as Ladybug she gets to be the leader and confident girl she always wanted to be, because sheâs clumsyâŠBut I have to say, that doesnât really make sense. And thatâs because
Right now, Marinette is an amalgamation of many different MC tropes all stitched together with the worldâs flimsiest needle. Itâs a poke away from entirely crumbling.
* I have a crush on my idol classmate
* I am clumsy and ditzy hehe sorry
* You cant bully people! Thatâs wrong and youâre a meanie!
* But also Iâm kind hearted and will offer a helping to hand to those ostracized by society
* Except if theyâre the villain or the villainâs minions, theyâre bad
* I am a natural born leader and inspire others
* But also I have no self steem and constantly doubt myself
* But also I will be weird abt my crush
I liked Marinette from the PV. She reminded me a lot of Ahiru. A kind and cheery girl, with a golden heart, who secretly crushes on her idol prince. Probably someone who would be kind to a fault, trying to brefriending even the ultimate boss.
But Marinette right now wouldnt. Or at least I think she wouldnât. I mean, she hates cloe and Lila, and would never offer to help them. Never has opened to them, and has an antagonistic rship with them.
But she did help Ivan that first time. And we see her forgive people who arenât explicitly villains.
But she WAS really nasty towards Kagami when they didnât even know all that much about her.
âIt makes her a complex character-!â
It makes her confusing. You canât know how sheâll act, so you canât understand her and her actions. It alienates her
Unfortunately, at this point we only have one defining characteristic of her. The one thing youâre sure wonât change, the one thing you can trust her to be no matter the circumstances. Her defining characteristic:
Her feelings for Adrien are the only true constant.
We canât trust her to be kind, bcs maybe the girl is crushing on Adrien and weâve seen how she treat those girls. We canât trust her to put art before anything, bcs we rarely see her design. We canât trust her to be smart, clumsy, a good leader, a crybaby or happy.
The only thing we can trust about her, is Adrien
At the beginning of the series , Marinette was portrayed as a clumsy girl, that gets nervous around her crush easily but ultimately meant well. But that characterization didnât last long. Soon, with the Episode where they run for class president, Marinette is introduced as a natural born leader who easily takes charge in an emergency situation, when Adrien and her crush isnât involved.
And as we get to know more about her, itâs more obvious that - Marinette isnât clumsy. Not at all. She never messes up when it comes to her art. Or at schools projects. Doesnt forget stuff, or accidentally ruins smth bcs of her clumsiness. She only truly becomes a mess of mistakes whenever Adrien is around.
Which could work. Many other magical girls base their character around their love interest. Itâs not an automatic recipe for disaster. An MC with heavy focus on romance can work.
Ichigo Monomiya, for example, is someone whose crush is a big part of her character and motivation. She doesnât want Aoyama finding out about her, and her comedy and tragedy comes from how much she wants to spend time with him - but is unable to. But the reason why she canât confess, isnât because she gets nervous or canât seem to talk to him. Itâs because sheâs scared that when Aoyama finds out sheâs half-cat, heâll be grossed out and wonât want to date her.
And Ahiruâs entire wish is for Mytho to be happy at the cost of her own. For a while the only motivation she seemed to have was Mytho and we knew little abt her aside from that.
Marinette basing her entire identity around Adrien may not be a bad thing (writin wise) if the writers acknowledged thatâs what theyâre doing. If they allowed conflict to build upon it.
Maybe a explore who she is without Adrien, and how he affects the perception Marinette has on herself. Who does she become without him and more importantly
Why canât she get together with him?
Real, why canât Marinette get Adrien?
Well, the show has told us many times why. Awful consequences, the end of the world, etc etc.
But what Iâm asking is why Marinette canât get closer to Adrien?
what was stopping her from confessing? Being ladybug? Her own nervousness?
The first plot point doesnât get explored ever.
It only ever gets explored until season 4 and with /Luka/. That sheâll always be distant or unable to connect with someone because of how much she has to keep from him. And itâs also kinda weird, when you juxtapose Luka and Aoyama.
Aoyama is the main love interest in the anime Tokyo Mew Mew. He was often sad and disappointed that Ichigo couldnât put priority on him.
In one particular episode, he asked her out to go to the movies and was waiting for Ichigo, but a fight broke out and she was unable to go meet him. Mid-fight she does try to contact him but a jealous alien breaks her phone, making her unable to tell him sheâs going to be late.
The iconic scene where she comes late to her date, and Aoyama is still waiting in the rain, will always be ingrained in my mind. The music, the writing, it all builds up to this point. You can see how much they long to be together, but thereâs this impossible barrier for them. Cause entirely by circumstance. If Ichigo were normal, if she werenât a hero, if she were just like other girls, she would be with the man she loves.
But she canât. So she has to hide. Hide parts of herself, and her life. Even as she confesses that she loves him, sheâs hiding her tail and ears. Worried that heâll hate her but still trying to reach out.
And Aoyama forgives her. He says âI love you tooâ
It truly showed how they canât be 100% together. That thereâs a gap they can never truly fill.
And Aoyama /tries/. He doesnât break up with her, doesnât get angry, he hears how truly sorry she is and sees how anxious sheâs getting - and accepts it. He forgives her. Because thereâs things they still donât know about each other, and neither are ready to share.
Thatâs why Lukaâs reaction Is weird. Wanting the whole truth from your gf is strange. And yes, Marinette is an asshole for still crushing on Adrien - but Luka knew !! And he still accepted her. But he draws the line at Marinette having a secret he wonât tell her 2 month boyfriend and not even her closest friends KNOW??
So a fundamental part of Marinetteâs struggles were shoved into a padded 30 min episode. Where the blame is placed entirely on her.
And this still doesnât impact her rship with Adrien or Chat
Their relationship stays static. Never changing. Marinette is still a mess whenever he is on screen with him, and is helplessly in love with him.
Which bring us to point two: her nervousness.
This worked on the first few episodes and even seasons. But by this point, her nervousness is just not realistic, and it falls to the point of annoyance and even blatant fetishization by Thomasâ part.
Lets take it back to Princess Tutu. Also a shy clumsy girl who gets even worse when her crush is involved.
However, Ahiru gets competent the more time she spends with Mytho. By the end of it, even if sheâs scared or nervous, she jumps head first into danger to protect him. Sheâs able to have conversations with him, and even gets close to his friends. She breaks out of her crush so much, that sheâs willing to accept that Mytho is not meant for her.
But even so, she fights. Not to save Mytho, but to fight against a destiny she believes is unfair. She defies the destiny assigned to her, and fights even at the expense of her own dreams.
But Marinette stays the same. In recent episodes weâve seen her battle with the expectations of being responsible of, well, everything. But it all stays the same.
The love square that was the foundation of the story, never progresses. It never changes. They stay static. They donât talk about their feelings or are pushed to acknowledge that one is more or less important that the previously thought.
The reason for this I can only expect late. I believe, while I canât be 100% certain, that the creators of the show didnât want to continue developing the Love Square because they thought either one of two things:
âą developing this dynamic would mean changing dynamics, ending the status quo morphing the story into something they didnât want yet
âąThe dynamic can only change when the show is about to end, because thatâs when theyâre gonna get together. And thatâs the endgame
Which just proves to me a flawed writing and lack of direction from part of the creator. That resonates especially true when *furious* Thomas *furious* created various Cloe centric episodes, even though he never intended to give her a redemption arc for her.
Which is plain bad writing. Changing stuff doesnât necessarily mean an endgame is near. It just means things are changing.
Okay, maybe youâre having a hard time understanding what I mean. Imma be real mean to this series and compare it to the Magnus Opus of Magical Girls: Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon got together with Tuxedo mask in the first season, yet the writers were able to up the steaks of their relationship through its 5 season run- through memory loss, distance, anxieties of hurting one another, or simply developing their relationship.
In the very last season, Usagi is in a long distance rship with Mamoru. We see through bits and pieces that she misses him, and sheâs dealing with the turmoil of him not answering her messages. Sheâs lonely, and sad.
We see her reminiscent of her time with him. We see her break down and cry because he hasnât called her. We see her thinking of him when sheâs with Seiya. We see her be in love with him and we see how much it affected
And by the last few episodes, we get a payoff. We find out Mamoru is dead, and that he died confident that Usagi would be strong enough to protect the earth in his stead. That he believed in her, and he thought of her until the moment he died.
And when Sailor Moon defeats Sailor Galaxia, we get the payoff.
Itâs a very simple but powerful story, packaged in 45 episodes. With enough room to breathe, digest it, but not drawn out enough for it to be annoying.
All this, when the relationship was already stablished. We could have had something like this, if the writers WERENT drawing out the reveal and get together until the very last second
Because, apparently, thinking of love post-reveal is too much. Instead we watch them run and run in circles. Which just cheapens what was an iconic dynamic.
And everything because the writers donât actually know what they want to do with the love square. So they add new rivals, new teams, new accessories, side plots - all to avoid touching the actual core of what made the series great.
It strongly reminds me of Star vs. in that scenario the creators also werenât sure where to take the show. It wasnât until season 2 where they started the subplot of Star realizing Mewni colonized Monsters that it started having a sense of self. And it showed in the romantic subplot, which was all over the place. They didnât know what they wanted, so The romance in that show was a mess. Lack of direction and intention, aside from the knowledge that Star and Marco were the end game
I personally donât hate Star vs. I donât like how it handled romance but I will give it much leeway because the actual plot of Intergenerational conflict and coming to terms with the harm your ancestors have done to others - is quite compelling and not something I see tackled often.
But Miraculous does not get that. Itâs plot is simple and refuses to get into the murky waters of its own premise. Because, once again, the creators think that getting into them means the endgame is nearby.
So what did they do to artificially give the viewers a sense of progression?
All the emphasis on the story right now, is put instead on the new Miraculous Team. Which, is probably the worst thing to ever happen to the show, and the actual reason why I dropped the series.
Before we continue, quick question
What genre is ladybug borrowing from?Super hero? Magical Girl? Sentai?
Knowing the genre is knowing the story. And knowing the story, you have expectations and themes that the writers are expected to tackle. I mean, you expect science fiction to talk about computers and if their impact on society is good or bad. Same with these genres. Thatâs why itâs important to know
What genre are they trying to emulate??
Yeah I donât know either. It seems like a mix of all three, but these three genres are widely different. Itâs like trying to combine Fantasy, science fiction and Isekai, just because theyâre all fiction. Yeah theyâre a bit similar, but each has a theme and dynamic that fans are expecting to see.
But if what you know itâs a superficial level understanding of those genres, you may come out with something that everyone hates.
And thatâs what happened with ML. The initial focus on two superheroes is, again, complete magical girl territory. The monster of the week format that gets repetitive to a point, also is. So I didnât mind that. I was fine with little to no progression in certain episodes because I knew it came with the magical girl territory.
But things started to get weird, at episode 45 with the introduction ofâŠSighs, Rena Rouge.
I knew the moment Rena came that this was gonna get bad. I felt it in my bones that THIS was the sign of something insidious and awful boiling in the back of the show. This character marks the beginning of everything downhill in the show - itâs a glaring reminder of how awful the writing in this show is.
Donât get me wrong I love Alya. I love the character design of Rena and I donât think that - on a vacuum - her existing is bad. But her appearance signified that something even more rotten had happened behind the scenes.
They were trying to add more heroes. Heroes we didnât need, and breaking the delicate balance of Chat & Ladybugâs dynamic. Because they were never planned to be there. High chance it was just a cheap way to add filler and sell toys no one will buy.
The team is bad. They ditched the âMagical Girlâ formula and decided to go for a bit of a setain feeling. But they did this, so into the show that we ALREADY had a sense of their character as side character - bringing them to the spotlight was uncomfortable. Like suddenly making Molly a sailor scout, or giving Tomoyo clow cards in the middle of the second season.
Thatâs not their purpose in the story.
And theyâre introduced so haphazardly that thereâs hardly any time for them to hang out with each other
Since they donât GET to keep the kwamis, they donât get to participate on every chapter. Which means thereâs no sense of a âteamâ. Which makes you wonder why theyâre even considered a âteamâ
This is such a horrible decision it genuinely makes me wonder if these people KNOW how to create ANY story !!!
I feel like I keep comparing MLB to many decent and genuinely good magical girls animes. Which feels unfair, EVEN THO IT ISNT, because these are iconic animeâs that have left a print in media
So fine, letâs get this show to a level you all can understand how bad it is
The point of the show is a slice of life, and itâs GOOD, check it out if you can. Itâs something to turn on and enjoy, with little overarching plot.
But get this, the entire focus is to watch the team girls Interact. A lot of the comedy comes from watching these girls having fun and watching them come to terms with their own super powers. Watching them get in trouble as they hide their identity, and how they bounce from one another. Who helps who, who are besties, who kinda hate each other, who brings them together and who keeps them strong.
But because they all have to hide in miraculous ladybug, you donât see this. Which, btw, THIS is the foundation of both Magical girl GROUPS and Seitan. And I would argue you would get more leeway abt secret identities to one another in MG that Seitan. Seitanâs bread and butter IS team dynamics. The fact that we donât know how two superheroes that arenât ladybug and chat would behave around each other is an INSULT to the genre.
And the fact that Marinette is allowed to CHOOSE who is part of the team probably even a worst decision.
Most teams DONT get to chose who their partners are, and thatâs what makes it amazing.
Because itâs a bunch of people who are forced to be together, slowly learning to open up and depend on one another. Which creates amazing and profound bonds that one originally wasnât expecting.
Take for example Usagi. She didnât CHOOSE her team. Instead, she found it. They found her. While Ami and Makoto are kind to her, sheâs always butting heads with Rei, and playfully competing with Minako. They donât all coddle her, or think sheâs amaZing. They see her as a friend. A crybaby, clumsy but with a good heart who will help them out.
Tokyo Mew Mew has the same. Ichigo isnât in perfect terms with Mint and they butt heads. Zakuro is a loner that isnât integrated fully even in later episodes. But theyâre a team. They work together.
The fact that Marinette gets to pick, creates issues likeâŠQueen Bee. Who she kicked out (mostly) because sheâs not someone Marinette trusts. Even though time and time again Chloe showed she is very willing to help. In a GOOD series, this is a way of proving the MC that not everyone who is annoying or a missy, or has a different attitude than Hers, is a bad person. That are people who are willing to do good, if given the chance to do good.
But this it not a good series.
Thomas claimed in various tweets that âbullies can never be heroesâ and thatâsâŠ.insulting.
Never mind that Chloe is an neglected teen, this is show inspired by magical girls. Name ONE magical girl anime where the girl whoâs kinda mean to the MC but WANTS to do better - is shown to actually be cruel.
None. Princess Tutu has Rue. Shugo Chara has Utau. Sakura Card Captor has Mei. Sailor Moon has - well not girl but Fisheye -. Mermaid Melody has Sara. Mermaid Melody PURE has Michelle. Madoka has Homura. Lyrical Nanoha has Fate. Pretear has Mayune and Mawata. Tokyo Mew Mew has Mint AND Zakuro-
Magical girls are about forgiveness. Theyâre about kindness and the power of perceived feminity. Itâs about offering a helping hand, when the world is cruel to you. A magical girl doesnât raise her sword first. She talks. She asks. She feels. And only after all has been exhausted, she fights.
If a girl wants to be better, it doesnât matter what she did before. She is allowed a second chance.
Even Madoka, the âdarkestâ magical girl - she saves every girl who wanted to do better. She stopped them from becoming witches, because they didnât want to. But they were forced to. Forced to become horrible monsters, until someone killed them. But Madoka saved them.
The fact that Thomas spat on the very core of THE Magical Girl Genre. Shows what he is. An old dude, who THINKS he knows what little girls want. Who thinks a woman who was mean, is an evil creature that knows no remorse, and deserves to be hated forever. Not forgiven, or handed a second chance. But despised.
He is the type man that pollutes the genre. Who thinks he knows, but really no one wants him here.
ML is bad. For a number of reasons. But it fails to be what it promised to me. It failed me on the first day. And I still stuck with it. Because a lot of western series failed me on their initial take of a Magical Girl.
Star Vs wasnât best. Steven Universe didnât borrow enough. She-Raâs transformation left much to be desired.
But they all gave me something. And whatâs most important, it held its core belief.
âWomen can help one another. And kindness isnât weaknessâ
Miraculous isnât that. It disappointed and hurt me, because it believe the exact opposite. Marinette only cares about Adrien, and cares little for other women. She is antagonistic for any girl who shows interest in him.
In her eyes, kindness isnât a priority. Her friends and teammates, are all people she chose, not those who she had to learn to love and fight along side with.
If She-Raâs last season is the culmination of everything a Magical Girl should be in the west. Miraculous is the exact opposite.
It doesnât only fail as a show. It doesnât only fail as a Magical Girl show. It borrowed every last thing it had from the genre.
And once it was popular, it spat on it
Miraculous ladybug hates magical girls. And honestly,
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