Production
Development
Magical Girl Friendship Squad was created by Kelsey Stephanides, who is also the showrunner, and is inspired by anime, riffing off the magical girl genre popularized by Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura.[33] The show was made, according to Stephanides, between the end of 2019 to August 2020, after it was pitched to Syfy, which wanted a polished reboot with "longer episodes."[34] In January 2020, TZGZ, Syfy's new adult animation block, ordered six 15-minute episodes for the series.[2] At the same time, the short form version, Magical Girl Friendship Squad: Origins, began airing on Syfy's late-night block.[35][36] Also anime-inspired like the main series, this pilot series was written by Diana McCorry, who created Human Kind Of and features show's two same protagonists.[14]
Stephanides stated that she was influenced by series such as The Simpsons and Futurama but that they had mostly male casts, making her think about "what a show with a mostly female cast would look like" beginning in 2015.[37] She then decided to make a parody of the magical girl subgenre, using Rick and Morty and Archer as a basis. In the same interview, she stated that the themes of the show are about what it's like "to gain and hold power as a woman today" without losing a part of yourself, building upon the setup of the characters in the pilot series. Furthermore, she stated that the themes of friendship and honesty are key to the series, as is the message that people are stronger when they are "more open" and connect with others. She also hoped that the series expands the "types of new animated stories" with more variety in adult animation.[b] She also noted that the show is anime-inspired, not anime itself, despite the number of anime references in the show's backgrounds, while hoping for "different ways" to do adult animation in the future.[34]
In February, all the voiceovers for the show's six episodes were recorded, resulting in Akana getting "really, really sick after recording everything," with Daisy's voice not in her "natural register," making it rough.[11] Some of the recording was finished up in early March just before the pandemic hit.[38] Months later, in early September, Stephanides made similar points as she had in the interview with Comics Beat but added that she wanted to make a "genderbent" version of previous adult animations that was more feminine in its themes, leading her to the magical girl genre, specifically a genre parody.[39] She further noted that because of the show she is getting back into watching anime like Kill la Kill, One-Punch Man, and Mob Psycho 100 and stated that the show is trying to modernize the magical girl genre. Additionally, she commented about how it was easy to work with Brunson and Akana, that the red panda was chosen to differentiate from a cat as a magical familiar, the "adjustment period" that Daisy and Alex have to go through before they become magical girls, and the experience of having Stephanie Sheh do voice work on the show. She hoped, at the same time, this would encourage more networks and platforms to create adult animations like it, while inspiring others to make their own unique shows. The next month, Marika Cowan, character designer of the show, shared her designs for the No Tattoo Barista and her form as the CBD Monster from the show's first episode, noting the fun in designing the character and saying she "referenced a LOT of Sailor Moon monsters when developing her look."[19]
Crew
The show is produced by Cartuna, a New York animation studio, with each producer having their own style.[40][41] As Stephanides put it, the show would have been "totally different" if another studio produced it. Erica Perez is the animation director for episodes 1, 3, and 5. Krystal "K" Downs is the animation director for episodes 2, 4, and 6.[40][c] Cartuna worked with over 100 artists on the series.[42] The animation is done on Adobe Animate, the backgrounds done in Adobe Photoshop, and character design done in both.[43]
Hallie Cantor is the lead writer[44] and co-executive producer with James Belfer,[45] Adam Belfer[46] and Max Benator.[47] The two Belfers are also executive producers on the pilot series. Additionally, Marika Cowan is a character designer.[19] Before the show's official release, the show's writer, Cantor described the show as featuring "dangerously horny teens," "snake demon ex-girlfriends," and other aspects, while noting that all six episodes of the show will be available on Syfy's website with a login, while the first episode will be free to stream on the same website.[48]
In February 2022, Downs described their work on Magical Girl Friendship Squad as "a huge highlight" of their career and a "really fun project" she worked on with her friends.[49]
Casting
In May 2020, it was announced that Quinta Brunson and Anna Akana were leads of the show's ensemble cast.[2] As Stephanides explained it, Akana voiced Daisy in the pilot series, but that in the main series they wanted to "do a bit more character development," whereas for Brunson it was different.[40] Instead, in the words of Stephanides, she "added a new layer to Alex's personality." Brunson stated that she joined the cast because representation in anime as a Black woman was the reason to join in, and that she agreed with all of the material, especially the content about "outrage culture."[38] In September, Matteo Lane said he loved playing a villain like Corvin, noting the magical girl anime influences, and said that a lot is packed in each episode, even saying the character has a "gay voice."[50] He even speculated what totem would allow Corvin to transform if he could do so, while saying that people should take away that there can be diverse representation among superheroes. He also revealed that he had done recordings of his lines three times because of the pandemic and ambient noses in New York City, while hoping that in a possible Season 2 his character would get a boyfriend. The following month, Brunson said that she enjoyed playing the character, calling it a lot of fun, and about the transition from stand-up comedy to voice acting.[51] She also stated that the voice of Alex was not the far removed from her actual voice, while trying to make her more optimistic rather than deadpan, and noted that she was sent an offer to voice this character and didn't have to audition for any others.
Also, Taylor Ortega and Daisy Hobbs voiced characters in the show.[17]
LGBTQ representation
When the series appeared on September 26, named Magical Girl Friendship Squad, with some new cast members and longer episodes,[52][53] there were LGBTQ characters, like in the pilot series. Daisy is unambiguously queer as she has slept with "every barista" at the local coffee shop.[54] In the second and third episodes of the main show, "The Cool S" and "Agony Solstice", a sticker with the transgender pride flag is shown on Daisy's laptop. She is later shown to have an ex-girlfriend in the fourth episode, "Anti-Fungal Spit Skanks," a classic-style anime character, named Yolanda,[24][25] who works at urgent care center in the city. In the episode "The Real World," Pansy, who calls herself Daisy's "monogamous live-in girlfriend" is introduced, but she only exists in the dimension created by Nut's sister, Gloriana. On November 1, 2020, Hallie Cantor, a writer for the show, responded to a question on whether Daisy is trans, stated that they hadn't yet "identified her as trans or cis,"[55] implying that she could either be a cisgender lesbian or trans lesbian. Later, Krystal Downs, director for Magical Girl Friendship Squad, said that Daisy is lesbian in a tweet.[56] However, Anna Akana, who voiced Daisy, said that Daisy is a cisgender bisexual woman like herself, and added that those who called Daisy trans were incorrect.[57]
In 2021, the series was also nominated for "Outstanding Animated Series" category at Autostraddle’s 4th Annual Gay Emmys.[58]
Release
On July 24, 2020, members of the show's cast and crew talked about the show in a panel for Comic Con.[59] A number of sneak peeks of the show were also shown at the time. Two months later, on September 16, an exclusive sneak peek of the series was uploaded to the YouTube channel of Syfy.[60][61]
The series premiered on September 26, 2020, alongside the network's other animated series debut Wild Life.[3][62] GLAAD, before the series released, stated that the cast included "out actors Anna Akana and Matteo Lane," with comedian Patti Harrison as a guest star.[63]
Reception
The series received mostly positive critical reception. Complex called the series a cross between Sailor Moon and Broad City, and commented on the "satirical diatribes on internet outrage culture and celebrity."[38] By contrast, The A.V. Club was more critical. They stated that the series spins touted aspects of millennial culture with "anime-inspired lore and imagery," even as it relies on some tropes, and praised the charm of cast, along with the "faintest promise of adventure."[18] However, they stated that the show functions best when lingering "on the show's core friendship," while it does not, in the end, become an animation which is "something special." This contrasted with the assessment by CBR. Their reviewer said that the series shows "plenty of promise," praised the "distinct art style," saying it feels like a "webcomic come to life," with occasional stiff (and jerky) movement.[64] Even so, they argued that the vocal talents of Brunson and Akana, complement each other well in this comedic series which has a "mature sense of humor, drug use and language." On the other hand, Charles Pulliam-Moore of Gizmodo reviewed the series much more positively. He wrote that the series is "equal parts Broad City and Sailor Moon," presenting the heroines (Alex and Daisy) as an unlikely and mismatched duo, even having similar influences to Craig of the Creek or She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, even though it has a different audience.[65] He also writes that the show is adult not because of its "mature content" or humor, but rather because the story's protagonists see their adventures as a way to escape the stress of everyday life, "not just a responsibility they were fated to take up." He concludes by saying that the series makes clear that Alex and Daisy always have a connection to their normal lives where problems await them, with the idea that being an adult is the "singularly most soul-draining thing" that people have to do, something the viewers will have to confront eventually. In addition, Marley Crusch argued that the series protagonists "discover their true power is friendship" and that the series "manages to make a tried and true approach feel new and fun, and boasts the sparkly, colorful visuals to match."[66] She also called the series a "strong contender" for her favorite show of 2020, adding that while the series is a "product of its time," it will remain one of her "favorites for years to come," although saying it is very short. Jesse Schedeen of IGN called the series a "love letter" to magical girl anime like Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura, as it is steeped in references and tropes to anime, remixing it through a "distinctly 21st century American pop culture lens."[67] He added that this means that if you don't have some appreciation or are familiar with the anime a bit, the show might not "entirely click" while noting that the two protagonists lampoon and defy Millennial stereotypes, and has a positive animation style. He ended by saying that the show resembles a grown-up "anime-influenced Steven Universe" and that the show makes a case for "switching over to Syfy for 15 minutes every Saturday night."
