File talk:Aniplex Episode 8 Kyubey Magical Girls Lost in Translation.jpg

terrible... there are so many other ways to say it... --Mutopis 09:58, 6 April 2012 (UTC)

I don't really see a difference SPDUDE48 16:05, 6 April 2012 (UTC)

See the explanation on the trivia page. I don't see a way it can be properly explained in English, due to the play in Japanese. It plays on the similarity between "mahou" (magical) and "majo" (witches) which as you can tell sound similar and have only one character difference. For magical/mahou it's (法) which means or principle, law, or method and the character used for witches/majo is (女) which means woman or female, which is also shared by shoujo (少女). So to say girls become "majo" (witch) can wordplay as "become women," as well as "become witch/demon/evil" which is the meaning of (魔) in majo. And the principle/law/method meaning of the character in "mahou," seems very appropriate for their transition phase. This is more difficult than I thought to explain, let me try with breakdown of character meanings. Now is it clear?

Girls/shoujo (少女) = little + woman becoming Witches/majo (魔女) = witch/demon/evil + woman would in transitioning to it be called magical girls (魔法少女) = witch/demon/evil + principle/law/method + little + woman'. --randomanon 04:16, 7 April 2012 (UTC)

Well it's only a sub. How do you think they would say it in the dub?

I don't see it possible either way. I could only see something of the idea coming across if they used the terms "mahou shoujo" and "majo" so you get at least the similarity in sound, although the meaning is lost. It's very clever and even more appropriate if you know about the history of mahou shoujo in Japan. Mahou shoujo literally were friendly witches at the beginning of the genre (think "Sally, the Witch" or "Majokko Megu-chan"). Madoka Magica takes that and runs with it literally for a dark conclusion, sort of like how they dealt with soul gems literally holding the soul. There are just some things that can't be explained in translation. On a personal note, maybe if people understood that, they would appreciate it more than "puella magi." There's a constant use of simple terms used in the anime with great effect, like soul gem for holding one's soul. Not using the terms erases the impact, imo. --randomanon 04:16, 7 April 2012 (UTC)