Credit: Kiana Khansmith
Pretty Pretty Please, I Don’t Want to Be a Magical Girl will speak to any Black girl and girl of color who always wanted to see themselves at the center of a magical girl story.
I grew up watching Sailor Moon, and I was always entranced by their transformations, power sets, and cool arsenal of magical tools. Like many kids my age, I created my own versions of magical girls–mine were anthropomorphic planets who were magical girls by night.
Even though I was busy creating planet girls, I still wondered what it would be like to see a girl who looked more like me in one of these magical stories. Pretty Pretty Please, I Don’t Want to be a Magical Girl gives my younger self that opportunity.
Created by Kiana Khansmith, the series focuses on Aika, a magical girl who hates her job and longs to be normal once again. Her friend, Zira, is obsessed with magical girls and loves the fact that her new friend is what she always dreamed of. The story, art style and humor hit multiple buttons–cozy, nostalgic, modern, and unique, since Aika is jaded about her destiny, unlike other magical girls, who view their duty as honorable.
When I talk about seeing yourself in media, this is what I mean. Not only does the show rep the Black diaspora and a cultural cast of characters, but from Khansmith’s Instagram, it seems there is LGBTQ representation as well. I can’t wait to see what else Pretty Pretty Please, I Don’t Want to Be a Magical Girl gives us.
Watch Episode 1 on Khansmith’s YouTube channel.
