Extra Credit Reading #003 - I DON’T WANT TO BE A MAGICAL GIRL (if you haven’t seen it already!)

And why you need to be paying attention to indie animation if you want to know what the next trends in media are

Hello hello,

Late afternoon/pre drinks is the time of day when I’m at my most useless. Maybe you also never recovered from your post-lunch food coma, or you just escaped from a bunch of back-to-backs. Please allow me to treat you to the perfect pick-me-up: a fun brain snack that you’re getting delivered to you in your Outlook inbox, so technically watching it still counts as working. ⭐️

This week’s Extra Credit Reading was supposed to be all about how indie video games are influencing some of the biggest shows on TV right now (more on that later), but then I was absolutely blown away by this hilarious and adorable new animatic pilot, I DON’T WANT TO BE A MAGICAL GIRL:

Here we follow Aika, a bright 15-year-old girl with a double life as Star Guardian, the strongest Magical Girl (™️) in the world. While most teenage girls would do anything for the power, romance, and outfits that come with such a title, Aika is ready to take this job and shove it - if only she can figure out how.

If you’re an anime nerd, this pilot has everything - it’s full of fun references to other magical girl shows, and includes voice actors from SAILOR MOON, MADOKA MAGICA, and DAN DA DAN. If you’re just a normie, I think it’s still abundantly clear why it’s amassed millions of views in just a few days.

Creator Kiana Khansmith is a storyboard artist and director at Disney Television Animation, with previous work on BIG CITY GREENS. She began I DON’T WANT TO BE A MAGICAL GIRL as a series of character designs and comics posted on her tumblr account in August 2024. (Cultured readers will remember that Oscar-nominated NIMONA also began on Tumblr) The project quickly took off, and fans met and surpassed a November fundraising goal in just a few hours. Khansmith completed and posted the animatic pilot on February 28th, and in addition to its 2.5 million views, it’s also received accolades from Crunchyroll, Polygon, and more.

Khansmith had stated that she wasn’t sure where the project would go after completion - maybe she would shop it around, maybe she would just keep making comics on her own. But according to her more recent posts, it sounds like she might be in conversation with a few potential buyers already.

I think the main takeaway for us email warriors is this: Despite massive budget cuts and the traditional showmaking pipeline feeling like it’s all but rusted shut, creators are alive and well on social media - with millions of fans avidly following their work and hungry for more. We saw it before with HAZBIN HOTEL, we’re seeing it again now, and there are certainly more to come.

If you’re interested in indie animation and its many talented artists and writers, the best way to get the lay of the land is to hit the bricks and follow people on tumblr, YouTube, instagram, Bluesky, etc. (My trick is to pick a creator you like and follow all the artists they follow - that usually kickstarts the algorithm.) Expos like CALA and SPX are also great events to track, and if you want to meet people face to face you can support organizations like Women in Animation.

Okay! Infodump over. I’m late for my drinks at All Seasons, where we’re going to whip skee-balls at all those cars running red lights at 8th and La Brea.

Best,

TIP