Magical girls are a staple in the manga and anime world, taking plenty of different forms through the years. Usually, they receive their powers from magical sources, but that isn't always the case. Many magical girl series with a sci-fi slant, from Tokyo Mew Mew's genetically modified, alien-fighting heroines to Cyber Idol Mink's future-technology empowered transformations.
Whether they are robots, androids or cyborgs, these powerful magical girls are each proof that you don't necessarily need a magic source to make a name for yourself. So taking an even more focused look within that sci-fi sphere, what are some notable magical girls with robotic origins?
Cutie Honey
Honey Kisaragi is the protagonist of Go Nagai's 1973 manga and anime series Cutie Honey and its many adaptations. She is an android who can transform into several different alter egos, the most prominent being the titular warrior Cutie Honey. While many magical girls existed before Honey, she was the first of the "magical girl warrior" subtype, predating Sailor Moon by nearly two decades.
Before Cutie Honey, magical girls occasionally faced more significant threats, but they usually used their powers to solve everyday problems or pursue glamorous careers as an older alter ego. Rather than solving daily life issues, Honey's goal is revenge against Panther Claw's evil organization, who killed her creator/father. Despite being a fanservice-filled shonen series, Cutie Honey established many of the tropes that would become common in the magical girl genre as a whole, making it all the more interesting that her "magic" is technological.
Limit-chan
Debuting the same year and month as Cutie Honey, Miracle Girl Limit-chan was a more traditional magical girl series -- being a more slice-of-life story dealing with everyday issues. Its protagonist, Satomi Nishiyama -- who goes by the nickname Limit-chan -- is a cyborg rather than a fully robotic android, with her powers mostly coming from her modifications. Even her dog Guu, the mascot character of the series, is a robot.
Limit-chan's backstory includes a tragic plane crash that should have killed her, but her scientist father saved her life with cybernetic modifications. Her abilities -- called Miracle Powers -- include super strength, super speed and transforming into other people. Plus, she also makes use of several "magical tools." Part magical human, part robot, Limit-chan is an exciting bridge between typical magical girls and entirely technological ones.
Magicaloid 44
Magicaloid 44 is another interesting case, being a human who transforms into a robot. In Magical Girl Raising Project, a magical girl's alter ego does not necessarily have to match her regular form, and characters have been known to change gender or even species when they transform. Makoto Andou created Magicaloid as her avatar for the in-universe Magical Girl Raising Project mobile game and was one of several girls granted the ability to transform into her character in real life. In her magical girl form, Magicaloid 44 is entirely robotic, and her unique power is to produce one random "tool from the future" from her backpack per day.
Uncanny Valley
Introduced in Miraculous's 2020 special "Miraculous New York," Aeon is an android girl created by the superhero Majestia -- whom she considers her mother. Aeon can switch between a human-looking form and her true robotic one, a magical girl named Uncanny Valley. Since her powers are technological rather than magic, she cannot see Kwamis but can see through a Miraculous holder's magical disguise and perceive their true identity.
Her abilities include flight, laser beams, scanning, creating holograms, hacking into technological systems, and altering her memory at will. Her being nonhuman also comes with weaknesses, including that Cat Noir almost accidentally deactivated her with his Cataclysm power.
Cure Amour
Lulu Amour -- an android created by Dr. Traum -- was first introduced in Hugtto Pretty Cure as an employee of the villainous Criasu Corporation. She infiltrates protagonist Hana Nono's home and school and develops emotions while interacting with the Pretty Cures and the civilian girl Emiru Aisaki. She is reclaimed by Criasu and reprogrammed to see the Cures as enemies again, but she eventually remembers them and turns against the corporation.
Soon afterward, Lulu and Emiru are each granted a PreHeart -- the device necessary to transform into a Pretty Cure --, and she becomes Cure Amour. Interestingly, this means that her magical powers have nothing to do with her being a robot since she transforms using the same "magical" item as the other girls. However, Lulu still occasionally uses her robotic abilities, such as scanning, in both everyday life and battle, so she still gets a nod.
