Mahoutsukai Sally, or Sally the Witch, was the first of Toei's Showa Majokko series, or Magical Girls. The manga by Tetsujin 28-go's Mitsuteru Yokoyama started in June of 1966, and the first episode of the anime premiered that December, before running for a total of 109 episodes. A sequel anime aired in 1989, and Sally impact on anime, particularly ones aimed at young girls, can still be felt to this day.
The series saw a Japanese DVD release around 2006 for its 50th anniversary. While it began in black and white, the show was produced in color by the end of its run. It also has an eyecatch!
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| Episode 1 |
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| Episode 17 |
The series follows the adventures of the princess of a magic kingdom during her time on earth as she grows as a person and improves her magic, mostly through silly antics.
The animation is a bit stiff, but the humor is solid, and comes from the character's actions making situations silly, rather than characters ending up in humorous situations without reason as we have mostly seen in these Showa comedies. Episode two does keep up the trend of bad stereotypes, with local boys playing 'cowboys and indians', but at least none of the humor is derived from this.
The backgrounds range from simplistic to lovely, and the theme song is catchy. Any fan of magical girl series, Yokoyama, or classic humor, should give the show a chance.
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