Are you enamored with the genre that is Mahou shojo? Well, it is easy to be; as the genre is filled with adorable characters, cute animal-like guardian spirits, magical powers, comforting storylines, and beautiful girls transforming into magical beings with mysterious and out worldly powers. It can be addicting. So, if you are looking for Mahou shojo anime series to watch, then this is the right place.

Here is a list of the top 30 best Mahou Shojo anime series of all time.

1. Sailor moon

Sailor Moon is one of the largest franchises in the Mahou shojo genre. It is not only a classic but also a pioneer in the Mahou shojo anime. The story revolves around a 14-year-old middle school girl Usagi Tsukino who meets a magical talking cat Luna who gives her a brooch providing her with a special ability to transform into Sailor Moon- a magical form in which she can use her powers to fight the forces of evil. She is tasked to locate The moon princess and battle the evil forces of the dark kingdom.

With the help of Luna, she accepts her fate and takes on the journey to find the moon princess and locate the silver Crystal. As she settles on her role and fights the evil forces, she is joined by other sailor soldiers as well, and later forms a team known as Sailor guardians.

The series is a masterpiece in Mahou shojo genre, earning a wast fanbase. There are several seasons to the anime, a live-action series, with 4 films, and one ‘Sailor Moon Cosmos’ that is going to be premiered in 2023. The plot development of this Mahou shojo anime is so entertaining that you would never get bored of it.

2. Pretty cure

Pretty Cure is a Japanese Mahou shojo franchise with a total of nineteen anime series in it. It all starts with Futari waa Pretty cure( We are Pretty Cure). The series revolves around two middle school girls, Honoka Yukishiro and Nagisa Misumi.

Unknown to others, they work as the “emissaries of light”  as Cure White and Cure Black to fight against the forces of the Dark Zone. They receive their power as emissaries after encountering Mipple and Mepple- The princess and the protector of Hope, from the Garden of Light that has been invaded by the dark zone. They have to find the seven Prism stones to restore the Prism Hopish to prevent the dark forces from taking over the Garden of Rainbow as well.

If you were to try and find any pair that is more dissimilar than them, it would be a hard nut to crack, really. But even then, they work pretty well together as the “emissaries of Light”. It is rather fun to watch the two work together. The pretty cure is one of the best Anime in the Mahao shojo genre. Adorable characters, magical girls, cute little creatures, a good story plot, light-hearted with a touch of comedy, just perfect to enjoy in the evening with your favorite snacks.

3. Card Captor Sakura

Do you like libraries? Have you ever found an unexpected but intriguing book there? Even if you did, it couldn’t be more intriguing than what Sakura found in her basement library. Sakura, a 10-year-old fourth-grader, finds a mysterious book in her family library and accidentally releases a dozen magical cards known as Clow Cards from it. These cards have their own personality and unique abilities. Only if this were all there was to it. But no, now Sakura has to collect all the cards she released in the world.

The guardian of the Clow Cards, Keroberos informs her of the magical power she is unaware of, and with the use of which she now has to fight the personified cards and seal them.

This Mahou shojo anime is a fabulous mix of fantasy and slice of life. But in the middle of all this, she doesn’t fail to enjoy her life and make friends that not only help with her homework but also support her while she deals with the disaster that is her magical powers. This Mahou shojo anime is a fabulous mix of fantasy and slice of life.

4. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

If the series were to be described in short, it can very well be covered under the story of a girl who gained a wish in exchange for a commitment to fight against a magical being whose soul has been tainted by darkness or creatures otherwise known as witches. But it is not that simple.

The series revolves around a 14-year-old Madoka Kaname, who after having a strange dream about a girl fighting a losing battle, encounters a magical cat named Kyube. Kyube offers Madoka and her friend Sayaka magical powers and a wish in exchange for contracting to dedicate their lives to fighting witches, the catalyst of despair where they reside. This is just the start of their new life of magic and incomprehensible circumstances.

The Puella Magi Madoka Magica is no doubt a Mahao shojo anime series, but its story plot is very different from the regular concept of the Mahou shojo genre. It sure has cute girls with magical powers but the anime is anything but fluffy and light-hearted. So, if you are interested in a Mahou Shojo anime with a deep and unique plot, then this is just for you.

5. Yuuki Yuuna is a hero

Who is better to save the world than a person who is already dedicated to helping people. The story of this Mahou shojo anime revolves around the members of the ‘Hero Club’ of Sanshu Middle School, Yuna, Mimori, FU, and Itsuki. Yuna and her friends dedicate themselves to helping people. Their ordinary life changes when they suddenly find themself transported to a strange forest. They come across mysterious monsters named Vertex trying to destroy the Divine tree. They are given superpowers to transform into magical beings to fight these vertexes and save their world from the impending danger.

The girls now need to manage not only their school life, and charity life but also their new ‘hero life’ as well. Yuna and her friends now discover what it truly means to be a hero and the secret behind their powers. The series is a perfect mix of slice of life and superheroes for a Mahou shojo genre.

6. Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha as the name already says is another Mahou shojo anime. It is a Japanese anime franchise that consists of five anime series, four theatrical films, and drams adaptation. The story’s characters are as cute as they come in Mahou shojo genre. The series revolves around a kind 9-year-old girl Nanoha Takamachi, whose normal everyday life comes to an end when she helps a wounded ferret.

The ferret, she comes to know is actually an interdimensional shapeshifter wizard named Yuno, who has come to earth to collect 21 ancient dangerous artifacts called Jewel Seeds, but now since he’s stuck in the ferret form, he decides to take Nanoha’s help in gathering these artifacts.

Nanoha learns magic from Yuno and comes to realize that she actually has a great aptitude for it. If you are looking for a Mahou shojo anime that is easy-going and entertaining, then you might want to try it.

7. Shugo Chara

Many of the Mahou shojo anime has their own unique and original concept that the series revolves around. Sugo Chara orbits around the concept of manifesting one’s true self.

The story revolves around Amu Hinamori, who is considered ‘cool and spicy’, by her classmates because of her Punk rock style, but in reality, is a very shy person. One day she wishes to be able to show her ‘would-be-self’. And the next day she wakes up with three ornated eggs on her bed. The eggs are so-called Heart Eggs that house guardian characters ‘sugo-charas’, which are the manifestation of a person’s ‘would-be’ self and dreams.

With the help of these guardian characters, she can now manifest her true self. Not only that, but now, she also has to capture and restore ‘x-eggs’, heart eggs that turn dark due to resentment and resignation. With the help of her guardian characters, she can also transform and fight Easter, a mysterious organization that aims to capture a special egg named embryo by using the x-eggs. This is a Mahou shojo series that might just help you to acknowledge your own true self.

8. Flip flappers

Flip flappers is another Mahou shojo with beautiful worldbuilding and character concept. Not only is the anime style breathtaking, but the plot is entertaining as well. The story revolves around two girls Cocona and Papika. After joining the organization Flip Flap, their adventure in the mysterious world begins. They now have to collect a mysterious crystal known as ‘shards of mimi’ which can grant wishes from various dimensions known as Pure Illusion.

 After they complete their first mission, they are sent to a parallel world in a pure illusion where they encounter dangerous creatures. To defeat these creatures, they transform into Pure blade and Pure Barrier but before they can, three other Mahou shojo comes and kill the creature and take the ‘shard of mimi’ residing within it.

To collect the shards of Mimi, the two realize will have to work hard together while synchronizing their feelings to transform into their magical form better. Flip Flapper is an interesting and easy-going Mahou shojo anime that you can watch after a tiring day.

9. Tokyo mew mew

Tokyo mew mew is another Mahou shojo series with a free-flowing style and character design. Even though similar to other Mahou shoujo anime, it has its own unique signature. The story revolves around Ichigo Momomiya, who comes to find that she can transform into a cat-eared magical girl when her crush Masaya is attacked by a monster.

After she saves Masaya, she comes to find that she has been injected with the DNA of an iriomate cat to create a magical girl who can save the world from aliens. Now with her new identity as Mew Ichigo, she has to fight these monsters, which prove to be too hard for her alone. Fortunately, she comes to know that there are fur other girls like her too, she now has to find them soon before the aliens take over the whole planet. It is an interesting Mahou shojo series, to say the least.

10. Pretear

Pretear is another unique series in the Mahou shojo genre. The story orbits around a girl named Himeno Aewayuki. Himeno is a high school girl trying to adjust to life in her new home after her father remarries. She finds herself in a bind when she accidentally meets a ‘leafe’ knight Hayate while taking a shortcut to school. Later she comes to meet the other 6 knights who tell her about the reason behind the red snow that has been falling in the town.

The essence of life, ‘Leafe’ is being absorbed by the Princess of Disaster using demon larva, and to stop her, they need Himeno to become the Pretear and save the world by lending them her powers when there is not enough to fight the evil creatures. This is how Himeno’s life as a Pretear starts. A Mahou shojo series that is a wonderful mix of slice-of-life, superpower elements, humor, and romance.

11. Magical Witch Punie-Chan

Magical Witch Punie- Chan is a story about the princess of the magical world. Like other Mahou shojo animes, this series also spins around a cute character with magical powers. Punie Tanaka is the next heir to the throne of the magical world, but to become the queen she will have to first spend a year in the human world.

Punie transfers into a school in Japan and starts her new life there. But it is never that simple, is it? Due to her being the next queen, many of her enemies want to assassinate her. But these attempts turn into an act of comedy when Punie with her animal mascot Paya-tan, uses both her magical powers and martial arts to rain destruction on the people who displease her and try to cause her harm.

If you like characters in Mahou shoujo anime that are cute but volatile and outright brutal in the funniest way when provoked, then this mahout shojo series is just for you.

12. Sugar Sugar Rune

Sugar Sugar Rune is a story of two best friends who are also rivals for the crown of the queen of the magic world. What could better define magic than witches, right? This Mahou shojo anime revolves around the magical world resided by witches.

Chocolate Meilleure and Vanilla Mieux are two witches with the potential to become the queen of the magical world. They have to go to the human world and collect human hearts, whoever collects the most hearts will be the queen. It becomes more interesting as they have just started their school life as well, which proves to be a hazardous mix of literary two worlds. It’s a fun adventure nonetheless.

An easy-going, light-hearted, humorous Mahou shojo anime with an entertaining story plot. An adventure of two rivals who can’t stop being the best friend that they are to each other even in spite of the competition for the crown.

13. Kamichama Karin

Kamichama Karin is a Mahou shojo anime about a goddess with magical powers. The plot revolves around an orphan, Karin Hanazono, who recently lost her only friend, her cat Shii-chan. Sad and depressed, living with her cruel aunt, all Karin is left with to remind her of her parents is a ring that belonged to her mother.

Her life suddenly changes when she meets Himeki and her cousin Kazune, who are searching for a goddess. She comes to know that her mother’s ring is a precious artifact that holds the power of god, and she being its bearer is a goddess, they have been searching for. With the help of the ring, she can transform into a goddess and become smarter, faster, and capable of granting wishes.

But now that she has activated the power of the ring, she will also have to find mysterious enemies after the power of the ring. All this while still trying to get control over her newly acquired powers. The concept of a deity is a bit different for Mahou shojo anime, but it’s quite refreshing and fun to watch.

14. Houkago no Pleiades

Houkago no Pleiades, also known as Wish Upon the Pleiades is a Mahou shojo anime with a touch of space science. The story revolves around a girl named Subaro who loves space, especially watching stars and outer planets with her telescope. One day intending to watch a meteor shower, she goes to her school’s observatory, where she finds a strange blob-like creature, that leads her to the door of a club.

The weirdness of the day doesn’t end there for her as she opens the door to the club, she sees girls dressed in witches’ costumes, and one of those girls is her childhood friend Aoi. Further, she comes to know that the blob creature is actually an alien called Pleiadian and also the president of the said club. And now she is selected by him as the new member of the club to find the pieces of the engine of the spacecraft that the alien needs, to return to his home.

If you are looking for a Mahou shojo with a slow start but an emotional ending, then Houkago no Pleiades is the one for you.

15. Magical Girl Raising Project

This Mahou shojo series is a bit different from many other Mahou shojo anime as in this series, the girls acquire magical powers not from a magical creature or nature itself but from a game. The name of the anime is based on the game ‘Magical Girl Raising Project’. It is a popular social network game that gives a 1 in 10000 chance for a player to become a real-life Mahou shojo.

Koyuki is one of such girls, who one day suddenly receives a notification that she has been selected to become a magical girl. The terms are very simple, the players have to help people in need and receive magical candies in return. But it all changed when she receives another notification; that the admin has decided to reduce the number of the magical girls by taking back the power to the girls who collect the lowest magical candies.

That would have been ok too, if not for the deadly repercussions of losing one’s ability. Now, Koyuki has to fight a life-death battle with other magical girls to save her own life.

16. Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya

Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya is a great Mahou shojo anime with a refreshing art style and world-building, accompanied by a suspenseful story plot. The story depicts the sudden change in the normal easy life of one Illyasviel when a sentient magic wand turns her into a magical girl. This is not the end of the story.

A similar thing happens with another girl Miyu. But the thing is, the wands already have masters. The previous masters of the wands, Rin and Luviagelita, are not thrilled to find this development, especially since they are on a mission to find and retrieve seven magical artifacts known as Class Cards, that contains the essence of legendary heroic spirits.

To end this predicament, the mages decide to enter into a contract with the two girls to learn under them as the future master of the wands and collect the cards. If you like a suspenseful story plot with a comedy undertone then you are sure to enjoy this Mahou shojo anime.

17. Magical Girls Spec-ops Asura

Magical Girl Spec-ops Asura is a more mature Mahopu shojo anime with a mix of the military in it. When the extradimensional nether beasts invaded Earth, five magical girls, with Asura as the leader fought them off when the world’s military couldn’t do anything with all their weapons. After the fight ends, the girls go back to their normal life, but when has peace lasted for long?

Now after three years hailed as heroes, Asura wants nothing to do with it. But when the circumstances changes and the alien threat becomes apparent again,  she is forced to wield her magical powers again after not using her magical powers for a long time. Since its inevitable, now the Magical Girls Spec-Op consisting of these five magical beings with mysterious powers is back.

The anime shows a darker and apprehensive side of the Mahou shojo genre. If you enjoy action, military, psychological horror, and magical powers, then this Mahou shojo anime is perfect for you.

18. Uta kata

Uta Kata is another Mahou shojo anime that starts as a simple easy-going Mahou shojo show but takes a much darker turn in the further episodes. The whole series starts with a yin-yang charm gifted to Ichika Tachibana by her two friends, that she keeps on her mobile phone. On the last day of her school, she finds that her phone is on the other side of a mysterious mirror in the hand of a girl inside the mirror. And much to her further surprise the girl, Manatsu comes out of the mirror and claims to be a part of her.

In exchange for the charm, Manatsu asks Ichika to be her friend for the summer and learn magic from her. Offer to appear good enough, Ichika accepts it and starts her friendship with the mysterious girl. But it’s not so easy, she has to unlock the power of 12 djinns as a part of her training.

19. Magical Girl Ore

Magical Girl Ore is a high-quality, over-the-top parody of the genre that is Mahou shojo. It is a series that will keep you rolling on the floor in each and every episode of it. The story revolves around a 15-year-old Saki Uno, who loves spending time with her best friend Sakuyo and like any other girl wants to get closer to her crush, Mohiro.

 One day she unexpectedly comes to know from a thug-looking man, Kokoro-chan, that her mother was a demon-fighting magical girl and now wants her to be her mother’s replacement. Saki obviously stays unconvinced until Kokoro tells her that her crush is being targeted by squirrel-tailed demons. With her desire to protect  Mohiro, her power of love awakens and she transforms into a magical girl.

It does have cute girls transforming into magical beings with powers and fighting evil, but it is absolutely light-hearted without any angst or dark tone. If you are looking for a Mahou shojo anime to lighten your heart, then this might just be it.

20. Hina Logi: From Luck & Logic

Hina Logi: From Luck & Logic, a Mahou shojo anime that depicts the story of a simple pure princess Lioness Yelistratova from a small country, who joins a school to become a “Logicalists”. Logicalists are beings given a special power that allows them to transform into a magical form and enter into a trance with goddesses from another world. Liones begins her study at a school in Hokkaido that is a special faculty run by ALCA ( Another Logic Counter Agency) which trains logicalists to protect and maintain world peace.

This Mahou shojo series tells the journey of a sweet small country princess on the road to becoming a logicalist while meeting interesting classmates and making new friends. If you are looking for a Mahou shojo anime with a stunning art style, fabulous world-building with adorable characters intent on revolving the world into a better place, then this may be just for you.

21. Cosmopolitian Prayers

The Cosmopolitan Prayer is another short Mahou shojo anime consisting of just 7 episodes. It is a bit different from the general concept of the Mahou shojo genre but still orbits around cute girls with magical powers to save the world from evil.

The anime revolves around a 17-year-old Koto Hoshino who wants nothing else but to be courageous like her favorite character Misuzu. On her school field trip to Izumo temple, she accidentally performs a magical ritual sealing the Sun Goddess Amaterasu and somehow gets teleported to a parallel world where Earth has no living soul.

The daughter of Amaterasu tells her that her mother has been imprisoned with the help of the dark towers scattered all around the world. Now, Koto with the Cosmopolitian prayers, a team of beautiful girls, skilled in spiritual power must purify the dark towers to free the sun goddess. The anime has a unique Mahou shojo plotline that you can enjoy and finish in one sitting.

22. Mai-Otome Day Break Illusion

This Mahou shojo anime follows a group of schoolgirls who transform into Mahou shojo deriving their powers from the Major Arcana. The story starts with Akari, who is an apprentice fortune teller living with her aunt after the death of her mother. One day after having a weird dream of fighting and killing a plant monster, she discovers upon waking up that the monster was actually her aunt’s daughter who is now forgotten by everyone but her.

After another encounter with a similar monster, she is saved by three magical girls, who belong to the Fiore organization which uses Tarot Power to fight these evil monsters called Daemonia. Akari discovers that she is one of the magical girls as well and has inherited her mother’s power of the Sun Card.

 The basic concept of this Mahou shojo series is dark, which can be seen from the very beginning of the story. So if you are into more mature and darker Mahou shojo anime plots, then you might want to try this one too.

23. Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch

Another Mahou shojo anime with an original and free-style story plot. The story plot presents a beautiful mix of magical girl and mermaid, well, mermaids are magical, but it doesn’t disappoint in any criteria of the Mahou shojo genre.

The story revolves around the mermaid princess of the North Pacific ocean, who saves a boy when he falls over the ship due to a fierce storm and gives him her peal. Now after seven years, she needs to find him and reclaim the pearl back to protect the mermaid kingdoms. With the help of her magic, she transforms into a human girl and goes on the search for the boy in the human realm. She can also transform into a magical form and use her power of singing to defeat water demons.

This Mahou shojo series is quite refreshing and fun to watch with many emotional events that keep you stuck to it.

24. Princess Tutu

Can you imagine a duck turning into a beautiful princess with amazing ballet talent that can relieve sorrow and hurt from one’s heart? Maybe you can, after all, anything is possible with magic. This Mahou shojo anime has one of the most unique and entertaining story plots.

Ahiru is a 14-year-old ballet student in Gold Crown Town, Germany. But the thing is, she is not human at all, but rather a duck who has been morphed into a girl by mysterious Drosselmeyer to help a prince get parts of his broken heart back. With the help of a magical pendant given to Ahiru by Drosselmeyer, she can transform into Princess Tutu, who performs magical dances to purify the dark feelings in the people’s hearts in her town and collect the lost shards of the prince’s heart that were shattered in order to seal an evil raven.

The story plot of this Mahou shojo is quite original and refreshing and surely will not disappoint you. If you like trying new Mahou shojo animes then you should give this a try too.

25. Magician academy

Macademi Wasshoi is an easy-going fun-loving anime. The story of this Mahou shojo anime revolves around a boy Takuto Hasegawa, who studies in a magic academy that apparently exists nowhere. But life is good, studying as one of the very few male students surrounded by magical girls. But his life becomes a bit more complicated when he accidentally creates a magical girl during one of his summoning spell exams.

The now-created Mahou shoujo Tanarotte happens to hold power more than Takuto can even think of. If she wishes she can very well destroy a whole country but thank God she has professed her love and undying loyalty for her creator, Takuto. The Mahou shojo series is full of action, comedy, magic, Gods & demons smuggling human goods, adorable magical girls, and wrong going spells. It’s a very light-hearted series with an interesting world-building, that you can enjoy without giving too much thought to it.

26. The Demon Girl Next Door

A super-duper adorable anime under Mahou shojo tag that you are just going to love. The story plot is a beautiful mix of the Mahou shojo genre and the demon world. The premise of the plot orbits around a newly awakened weak demon girl who has to defeat a magical girl to end a curse. It sounds serene but the anime is anything but.

Yuuko Yoshida, a high school girl one day wakes up to find that she has grown horns and a tail. That is when she comes to know about her family’s secret ancestry of the dark clan, who has been banished to the mortal realm. And the only way to break the curse is to find and kill a magical girl. Well, she does find one, Momo, one of her classmates, but Yuuko comes to realize very soon that she is much more stronger and powerful than her.

They establish a strange friendship when Momo decides to train Yuuko, her assailant, to unlock her dormant powers. If you are looking for a fluffy Mahou shojo anime with an original and unique storyline, then this one should satisfy you.

27. Magical Knight Rayearth

Magical Knight was an attempt at a fresh approach to the female warrior-cum-Mahou shojo style in the 90s, but it is still a refreshing contribution to the Mahou shojo genre. The story revolves around three schoolgirls from different schools who go on a field trip to Tokyo tower and find themselves drawn to another world called Cephiro.

Cephiro is a world influenced by one’s will and is maintained by a pillar-a princess, through prayers. The current Pillar has been kidnapped by a traitorous priest and the girls cannot go back to their world until they rescue the princess back.

Magic Knight Rayearth is one of the best isekai Mahou shojo anime, that has been popularized again by anime like Sword Art Online. The anime is a fantastic mix of Mahou shojo, mecha, and isekai. It is one of the animes that pulled the three amazing genres together quite fantastically.

28. Magica Wars

Magica War is a short Mahou shojo anime that depicts the tale of 47 magical girls originating from the 47 prefectures of Japan who have been given magical powers by God to protect their respective localities.

There is a dragon who when sleeps gives an abundance of harvest on the land, but every decade it moves, causing distortion and creating impurities, these impurities manifest in the form of magical beings called Magatsuhi. With a huge outbreak of magatsuhi, God seeing the harm that might befall Japan divides His power and decide to give it to mediums known as magic to fight the evil.

If you are looking for a short Mahou shojo anime, then this one fills the criteria. The series consists of 26 episodes which run around 5 minutes approx. If you are craving to watch a Mahou shojo anime in your break, you can take this on.

29. Urahara

Urahara is a science fiction Mahou shoujo anime series that depicts the story of three girls Rito, Mari, and Kotoko, who try to save their favorite city from the invasion of extraterritorial aliens. The three girls decide to establish a short-term shop called ‘ Park’ in the fashion district of Japan Harajuku. One day, aliens invade the earth to eat the cultural heritage of the district, and along with them comes a mysterious girl. the three friends decide to club together to defeat these aliens and save their beloved Harajuku. The anime focuses on letting the girls be girls and act like the teenagers that they are, even after the post-apocalyptic world.

The series is a mix of action, fantasy, comedy, friendship, magical girls, science fiction, and psychology. It is a Mahou shojo anime that you must at least try once. It is an easy-going fun anime that will keep you entertained and leave you wanting more.

30. Maerchen Maedchen

Maerchen Maedchen is another Mahou shojo anime that will keep you entertained with its adorable characters and good storyline. The story orbits around a lonely school girl Hazuki Kagimura, who loves to spend time with books and stories. Her lonely life takes a turn for the better when one day one of her library bookshelves sends her to another world where there is a magic school that teaches one to wield their magic power.

She comes to know that only a few selected girls can attend the school. These girls are chosen by the old fairy tails to wield their magic, and the school teaches them how to do so. Hazuki is selected by the Cinderella story.

This is the start of her new life at the magical school to learn to wield her magic and make new friends. The anime series has an interesting plotline giving Mahou shojo genre a new dimension, becoming a must-try Mahou shojo anime series.

So, these are 30 best mahou shoujo anime series. How many of these have you watched? Is any of your favorite in there? Do comment below and let us know your favorite mahou shojo anime series.