Magic Knight Rayearth

Hikaru Shidou, Umi Ryuuzaki, and Fuu Hououji are strangers brought together by fate when they meet during a seemingly normal field trip to Tokyo Tower. Accompanied by a great flash of light, they hear a mysterious woman's plea to save "Cephiro," and the junior high heroines are suddenly swept away by a giant flying fish. Afterwards, they arrive in an unknown land, where they encounter a man called Master Mage Clef.

Clef informs the girls that they were summoned by Princess Emeraude to fulfill their destinies as Magic Knights, restoring peace and balance in Cephiro. The formerly lively and peaceful land has been in disarray ever since High Priest Zagato imprisoned the princess, who acted as Cephiro's pillar of stability. The Magic Knights reluctantly accept Clef's words as truth and embark on a journey to save Cephiro from the clutches of evil.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Shidou, Hikaru Main

Shiina, Hekiru Japanese

Ryuuzaki, Umi Main

Yoshida, Konami Japanese

Hououji, Fuu Main

Kasahara, Hiroko Japanese

Mokona Supporting

Shiratori, Yuri Japanese

Ferio Supporting

Yamazaki, Takumi Japanese

Zagato Supporting

Kosugi, Juurouta Japanese

Clef Supporting

Sasaki, Nozomu Japanese

Emeraude Supporting

Ogata, Megumi Japanese

Ascot Supporting

Takayama, Minami Japanese

Presea Supporting

Shinohara, Emi Japanese

Iwata, Mikihiro Producer

Hirano, Toshiki Director, Storyboard, Chief Animation Director

Urakami, Yasuo Sound Director

Oobari, Masami Episode Director

Reviews

Dec 30, 2024

Dompa112

Recommended

This is as 7/10 as they come for me. Enjoyable show that never really goes above and beyond that. Or below for that matter. Its very safe and standard as they come. Very typical both CLAMP aswell as mahou shoujo stuff.

The old isekai magical girl show. Unlike the higher rated in my book escaflowne and Inuyasha for example Rayearth lacks in story and lore. Its very by the book stuff. Not bad but not something that gets you hooked. Its good enough though for enjoyment.

Its also very by the book Clamp stuff. Lacking a bit in comparison to X and Tsubasa which had ... more story going on but has the usual Clamp charm with its likeable cast of characters. Good music. Fantasy setting. And ofcourse their art style which i always enjoy. Deserves a special mentioning of its great OP also.

So easy to recommend/not recommend. You like Clamp and old Mahou shoujo one cant really go wrong with Rayearth. 7/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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May 31, 2025

k-0da

Mixed Feelings

Magic Knight Rayearth is a fun magical girl romp and most assuredly crack cocaine for any girl under the age of 13--but it leaves a bit to be desired.

The animation is beautiful, with CLAMP's iconic character design shining proudly. Rayearth is incredible at showing the beauty of animation, even in small scenes like environment details or impact frames. The team clearly had some great direction, as everything *moves,* especially in the action scenes. It's a far cry from what shoujo fans get today in terms of animation quality. The soundtrack is serviceable, with some of the tracks having english editions via the dub, if ... that's you're cup of tea.

The main trio, Hikari, Umi, and Fuu, are serviceable as protagonists. They're charming, have distinct personalities, and serve as great role models for young girls. The lessons they learn throughout the series, while simple, are good for the age demographic the writers are aiming at. This is a great anime for young girls, if you're looking for recommendations for a daughter, niece, or sister.

The trio starts to suffer from their lack of suffering; the girls don't really butt heads or argue with each other, and get along very well from the outset. While this may be music to the ears of someone sick of shoujo bickering, I found that it hindered a lot of my investment in the girls' relationships. Yes, they very rarely made stupid decisions or fell to misunderstandings, but the lack of growing pains made the power of friendship feel all to easy.

That lack of conflict is often brought in by the show's monster of the week formula, which it does well. The monsters tend to blur together, but as I said earlier, the problems brought upon by the monsters force the girls to think on their feet and grow. The rouge's gallery the girls face are probably the best parts of the show--they all have great designs, they're all incredibly charming, and most importantly, they have flaws that cause conflict which results (usually) in growth. They're campy, evil, and really flashy. My one grip is that the supporting cast basically is the rouge's gallery, minus Feiro, who shows up every once in a while. The girls are mostly on their own, so you end up with no one for them to bounce off of, because they don't really bounce off of each other. Feiro is nice, but he becomes friends with the girls really quickly, and while there's no immature drama--there's no drama period.

The show really gets interesting lore wise in like, it's final episode--while the environment is beautiful and there are some notes here and there of a deeper story, the lack of a true supporting cast (as the members of the rouge's gallery tend to vanish after their three or four episodes) hinders Cephiro's believability as a world. I'm one episode into the second season, which seems to start to remedy this, but that's the second season of Rayearth--not the first.

To speak on problematic themes, the show's older female cast were basically all villianized/sexualized, which isn't the most progressive thing in the world. A very young girl has a romance with a much older man towards the end, and while its a bit vague of what her actual age is, or what parts of her are an adult, it's still there, it's still offputting, and it may be a reason for you not to enjoy the show.

I would still recommend the show to shoujo fans, and I thoroughly enjoyed it myself, and will be tuning in to its second season. Despite it's flaws, Magic Knight Rayearth is incredibly charismatic, and a cute watch through with your friends.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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May 15, 2020

Hyouron

Not Recommended

Ahhh, Magic Knight Rayearth. Reeking of nostalgia, when magical school girls were all the rage and believing in the self and one’s will, against all logic, was all a heroine needed (never mind the will of the antagonist). Way back, even prior to the establishment of stereotypical characters. Have to give it some credit for being those foundational series before the importance of character growth and narrative became as established as it is today. It’s also so difficult to be harsh on the loopholes, flatness of characters, and inconsistent storylines when it was a children’s show. Though it was there when anime had just started ... to boom, it had some good plot twists given the monotony.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Magic Knight Rayearth Episode 19 Discussion YukiPwns00 - Jan 5, 2011	14 replies	by egokid »» Nov 14, 4:49 PM
	Poll: Magic Knight Rayearth Episode 18 Discussion YukiPwns00 - Jan 4, 2011	16 replies	by victoria00000000 »» Oct 9, 8:13 AM
	Poll: Magic Knight Rayearth Episode 6 Discussion philautia_ - Sep 28, 2009	22 replies	by nonaloth »» Sep 7, 5:39 PM
	Poll: Magic Knight Rayearth Episode 20 Discussion YukiPwns00 - Jan 5, 2011	27 replies	by Dogstideta »» May 23, 6:14 PM
	Poll: Magic Knight Rayearth Episode 16 Discussion YukiPwns00 - Jan 3, 2011	14 replies	by LaShoujo »» Apr 1, 7:37 AM

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