Kara Dennison
August 24, 2021 
Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya is preparing for a new chapter with the film Licht Nameless Girl. Originally created as yet another Fate alternate universe, the series has gained a major following of its own. And it’s not the only time that’s happened!
Lots of magical girl series have spun off from existing properties — anime, games, and even toys. Here are just a few. Which have you seen?
Magical Girl Pretty Sammy
Prisma Illya still keeps one foot in the Fate-verse (just) — but our first entry goes completely elsewhere. Magical Girl Pretty Sammy features familiar characters from Tenchi Muyo!, but in completely new roles. Sasami, for example, is the younger sister of Tenchi. The cabbit Ryo-ohki is her familiar. And Tsunami gives Sasami her magical powers. Initially an OVA, it was expanded later into a TV series.
Sasami had another chance at mahou shoujo fame in 2006 with Sasami: Magical Girls Club. The two-season series overhauls the concept, with Sasami and a new group of friends as a magical girl team.
Lyrical Nanoha
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha became a massive hit when it aired, and continues to wins fan over with new seasons. TV series and films follow our heroines through years of magical girl action, even up to them training the next generation of mahou shoujo. But this highly popular show, like Prisma Illya, has its roots in a visual novel!
The Triangle Heart eroge series focuses on love triangles and supernatural forces. Triangle Heart 3 starred Kyouya Takamachi: heir to an ancient sword style and focal point of supernatural happenings. But it was his little sister Nanoha — a minor character — who fans cared about. So she got her own magical girl epic full of explosions, highly-advanced tech-magic, and people named after cars.
Super Doll Licca-chan
America has Barbie — Japan has Licca! Designed in 1967 with the help of shoujo manga artist Miyako Maki, Licca is a highly popular dress-up doll. She’s also the inspiration for Super Doll Licca-chan, a 1998 magical girl anime from the man who brought us Night on the Galactic Railroad.
Grade-schooler Licca is, as her fashion doll inspiration might suggest, the princess of the Doll Kingdom. That means she’s a moving target for evildoers. Fortunately, her grandmother gifts her with three Doll Knights, who will grow to human size and protect her whenever needed. The 52-episode anime inspired a manga and a film as well.
Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya: Licht Nameless Girl opens in Japan this week, and will come to North America in the near future.
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