✨Discovering China's MAGICAL GIRL GIANT Balala the Fairies✨

[@MythicalSubs]

THIS VIDEO IS SO AMAZING! ✨ I SIMPLY LOVE THIS CHANNEL 🩷🥹

[@GUAGA0612]

The first live action was originally a really small budget regional TV show, it was filmed within my hometown. Because of that, a lot of the actors had accents when speaking mandarins, especially the Prince, the red fairy and the Queen, which blew up in recent years and became huge memes on social media.

[@haileyrain9305]

Cool. If it’s okay to ask, What part of China was it filmed in?

[@askovtk4834]

​@@haileyrain9305 seem to be Guangdong, according to the wiki which is southern part of China

[@v.m.9198]

Whenever I hear about queens in alternate dimensions who'll die without a magic flower, I immediately get nurse angel ririka sos flashbacks

[@Icyangel10]

I dunno why but the concept of sisters doing magic exams to become fairies while an older fairy acts as their babysitter/big sister figure sounds cute. It's interesting to see show especially magic girl ones outside of Japan & Italy(since Italy from what I know seems to make a lot of magic girl shows too), the more you learn. I wonder what the future holds for this series & what new characters we might see at some point?

[@ramennsteak]

I’m Chinese and as a kid I used to be obsessed with this show😭😭😭 I even remember going to see the concert of the princess camellia actor from the 2015 movie bc she was a part of an idol group. This show is my Roman empire

[@catto5387]

I went to school with someone who was in the 2015 movies haha! Sometimes little kids would recognize her in restaurants and it was pretty cute.

[@sghope]

OMG that’s so cool!! 💕

[@GUAGA0612]

One really sad thing to mention, the original actor of Maggie unfortunately passed away due to heart attack in 2021 😢R.I.P

[@YanoLBP]

Damn...

[@kafuiwonu6744]

May she rest in peace

[@VinhDang-n6r]

What’s her name?

[@sadder_4434]

The 2008 live action, the actress who played the big sister role and as the blue magical girl, unfortunately passed away. Rest in peace to her and i hope she knows, how much impact she had on my childhood because of this show

[@Julius-O-Gram]

2:41 Just to clarify, the first live-action series is definitely canon. The current list of seasons was derived when a Chinese fan asked the company directly how the seasons were ordered. Here's the list: 1. Balala the Fairies (2008) [Live-Action] 2. Balala the Fairies: Rainbow Heart Stone 3. Balala the Fairies: Miracle Dance Non-Canon: Balala the Fairies: The Mystery Note [Live-Action] 4. Balala the Fairies: Finding Melody --- 5. Balala the Fairies: Over the Rainbow --- 6. Balala the Fairies: Ocean Magic 7. Balala the Fairies: Ocean Magic Season 2 Non-Canon: Balala the Fairies: Adventure on Planet Ao [Live-Action] (This one is more like a promotional mini-series done by an internet influencer brand than an official installment) --- 8. Balala the Fairies: Magic Star Fate Castle 9. Balala the Fairies: Star Fate Butterfly Awakening 1

[@mallomiyao]

it’s so fascinating to me that ocean magic got an english dub in africa of all places!! i hope the full dub gets unearthed eventually, i’m so curious to see it.

[@sghope]

IKR!!! Isn’t that so cool?? 🤩✨

[@mallomiyao]

@@sghope unexpected but so freaking cool!!!!

[@tiffany-chan1235]

I’m actually surprised you didn’t mention how Prince Noah became a bit of a meme on the Chinese internet mainly via Billi Billi (basically China’s answer to Nico Nico Douga)’s equivalent of Oto MADs from what I gathered, in fact I even heard the Balala theme in a few Billi Billi medleys so that’s neat

[@bingosadventures934]

I really hope a streaming service could localize balala or English sub the live action and English sub/dub all of the seasons (especially the ones that's harder to find) tbh the newer 2d animation for over the rainbow and ocean magic give winx club animation vibes. Like if the franchise was on disney plus or Netflix, it would give the series the proper love it deserves

[@Gracereza]

Thank you for this video! I'm an American who actually owned Balala merch from China; my sister got me some stuff as souvenirs because she knew I liked magical girls. I did not know what series it came from for years, and now I'm grateful for an English video covering it all. I think I would have loved this series as a kid, had it been more accessible of course.

[@bulbageprek]

THIS IS WHAT IT'S CALLED? Growing up as a wee chinese indonesian girl, my grandma would buy me random VCDs of cartoons she thought i would like, but everything would be in mandarin. So my first memory of Sailor Moon, they were speaking in mandarin. I've seen these live action films but I always thought it was just a spinoff of Sailor Moon. They also have an entire live action music video of the sailor moon op theme in mandarin sung by a kid singer. My childhood was a wild ride

[@RosieSievers]

I always wanted to learn about magical girl shows outside Japan, this may have caught my attention ^^ I definitely watch the original seasons, Over The Rainbow and the Ocean themed season ^^ I approve of you using Jewelpet gifs, so cute ^^ I love Jewelpet ^^ Great video as always ^^

[@sparklecat60]

OH MY GOD!!! FINALLY SOMEONE IN THE WEST ANALYZES BALALA!!! I GREW UP ON THE 2011 AND 2013 ANIME EDITIONS OMGGGG I USED TO WATCH THEM ON OLD CHINESE STREAMING SERVICES (they’re all rebranded now for some reason and deleted a lot of their old videos and shows off the platform :()

[@aleksandarbubanja6422]

Update on the eng dub of ocean magic: 2 mobths ago someone uploaded the first 6 episodes in good quality of the eng dub to yt

[@kajibojki1369]

Balala the faries despite being chinese perfectly shows evolution of the technology or animation. Surely it had liveaction seasons. But still all of these are quite unique. The transformation sequences might be the best examples of the animation evolution. Because.. really first animated transfortmtions were a little clunky... And now? I think they have probably the best Transformation sequences made with CGI of all the shows. So much detail, so much effects (but not too much) and really cool direction in that department.

[@aishichakraborty1881]

I AM LOSING MY HEAD OVER THIS!!!!! Fun fact the kid who plays Maggie in Magic Trial is now considered one of China's most popular young actresses and she was in Wandering Earth, Highly recommend watching it

[@Draikinator]

OMGGGGG you are my hero! my students all loved this show when I lived there, i constantly saw drawings and costumes and toys from it but I couldn't figure out the name of it. I have a DVD from the 2011 series somewhere. What a relief to finally know more

[@rankapetrovic-ru3oe]

Hope, I remember watching Balala the Fairies in 2016. I watched the live-action seasons and the animated seasons. My favorite season is Rainbow Heart Stone because it features my favorite character Sandy and I also love how the characters turn chibi in some scenes! X3 Also I love different shows from different countries!🎉

[@foxycritter]

Ocean-themed magical girls and settings are the best!! I think if there's any that I want to watch in full, it would be Ocean Magic!

[@fluffcake]

What a sweet review! I do think this series is really mainstream over there but has barely been touched by the west. I think it’s adorable and I like its cute premise.

[@cinnimani]

pausing the video just to say: people hate happiness charge ?! i dont watch many precure series (literally never have till this year, ive been ignoring them lol) but i enjoyed that season.. i love the series with duos! 😭💀

[@CocatGaming]

I really want the transformation watch and pallet wand from Over The Rainbow.

[@cottoncatpersonal]

The 3D looks so good wtf!!??

[@Bradbowllama]

Omg I'd that a saint tail reaction gif 💀 literally never hear anyone talk about that one

[@MIKO_roma]

AHHHHHHH!!! This is already my favorite magical girl show. I think my most favorite is Ocean Magic because of its message of ocean conservation.

[@doreimani]

This was so nice to just watch after a long day 😭 Balala seems so cute!! After this I realized I may have been confusing the characters with Catch Teenieping over the past year whoops. But this in depth history gave me much better context heheh another great video!! 💕

[@sghope]

The 3D seasons look VERY similar to Catch Teenieping, so I totally understand. 😂 Glad you enjoyed the video!! 💕

[@Sweet_Moon-I]

You two interacting is the best thing I could have seen today; it truly is a community (^-^)

[@kukuandkookie]

Smashing that door down like Big Bird in that one gif because ahhhh this is so exciting!! I have a _huge_ soft spot for _Balala the Fairies,_ partly due to having fun with it when I discovered them when I was younger, but also just because I’m a huge donghua nerd. 💖 I did find some fun merch in China a few times when I went back, such as _Balala_ being used to promote restaurants, and various toys-I was so tempted to get the _Rainbow Magic_ figurines of the fairies ahaha. (And the prince basically being a magical boy is amazing; I also really love his relationship with Shirley.) _Finding Melody_ is my favourite season, and the animation studio behind it is the one that became B.C. May, which has gotten really good at animation. They’re actually behind hit series such as _Mo Dao Zu Shi_ and _Quan Zhi Gao Shou_ and a lot more now. I do find it funny since some _Precure_ designs have ended up similar to the _Balala_ ones. 😆 And continuing on, I do think it sucks you have to put the disclaimer about xenophobia in the beginning… People are so casually sinophobic nowadays it’s really frustrating, especially when a lot of it shows people’s lack of understanding of China-many treat China like this shadowy, evil entity, but that isn’t the case. I do like that more people are enjoying donghua and manhua and other Chinese media. I hope it helps normalize Chinese people as just…well, normal people. It’s why I’ve made resources for people who want to get into Chinese media. ^^ Anyway, I’m looking forward to the _Balala the Fairies_ content, but also to more Chinese magical girls in general (I saw some people live-blogging the newest seasons of _Flower Fairy_ on Tumblr, and I haven’t watched that show but I was intrigued by what was in it haha). ♥️ I did miss the original cast when they began switching casts, but I do think it was a good time to have a change-especially since the continuities got confusing for the original ahaha. (I do wonder about the hair dye story since so many other donghua still have multi-coloured hair, but maybe it’s because those series aren’t targeted at kids? But then again China’s government censorship can be quite the enigma and it often ends up a spectrum. 🤔) I’ve actually found a few reuploads of _Ocean Magic_ on KZbin, so it seems there’s at least _one_ person who’s recording it. :oooo And on _Ocean Magic,_ I did sort of miss the 2D animation when they switched to 3D CGI, but both forms of animation have their own merits. I hope _Balala_ can keep improving, especially since the company behind it has another amazing, popular show called _Xi Yang Yang_ (《喜羊羊与灰太狼》) and it’s gotten _really_ good in the latest seasons and I love it a lot. So I have my fingers crossed for China’s magical girls to keep growing and improving!

[@NoobGamer64-gj4ic]

I know Balala the Fairies because thanks to TV Tropes Wiki (alongside Homestar Runner, Freakazoid! Noonbory and the Super Seven, BoBoiBoy, Simple Samosa, Nu Pogodi, Wakfu, Kaeloo, Code Lyoko, Penny Arcade, El Goonish Shive, MST3K, Bionicle, Crayon Shinchan, Doraemon, FLCL, Epic Battle Fantasy, Touhou, KanColle, Neptunia, Disgaea, Puyo Puyo. And many many more that I can found on TV Tropes Wiki)

[@xina9032]

You just opened a huge childhood obsession of mine! I really loved the first live-action show and even got my parents to buy a few DVDs. I've heard of one animated serie, but not much of the other incarnations. Thanks for this fantastic video!

[@yoongiyuu3086]

“but no happy ending yet because….. BIRDDDDDD😣🗣️👉 🦅(!)” maybe i’m delirious bc i’m sleep deprived but that was so funnyvnskalskf

[@mushslayer4097]

There’s slight mistranslation on balala 2008 Shirley wasn’t trapped in the box, the box is what they use to transport to the human realm.

[@Catsarecute231]

Cool! I’ve always wanted to watch Balala (might do it soon) I love fairies! such as Tinkerbell (the pirate fairy is still my favorite tinkerbell movie) I’m obsessed with magical girls too (even making my own comic which is coming out soon)

[@Catsarecute231]

The ocean season reminds me of Winx Club season 5

[@wobblebubbeeakasham8118]

Omg I was gonna binge watch the entire series before you made this vid and my god thank you for making this video. As a Chinese person with a sister who obsessed over this show, I watch it along side her and it became my childhood classic. Thank you for making this video (Also btw the dancing one was my favorite of the show because of the introduction of Emma, a green fairy, and my favorite color was green. But also the overarching plot really kept me engaged)

[@peeweeallen517]

Holy shit I completely forgot about this show. I remember playing charades with my cousins as a kid and trying to act out Balala. I held up the number 8 and then made pulling motions lmaooo

[@CyprusBeyblade]

As someone finally figuring out Auldey's Infinity Nado Sword, to watch this will be an amazing ride. Imma watch this fully!

[@zynclori]

The nostalgia watching this video brought me was insane! I was obsessed with the first live action season when I was a kid so seeing it pop up on my KZbin feed was such a pleasant surprise! I actually didn't know there were more seasons so this vid was very educational to me haha

[@earthbornparanian6252]

Oh nice to see some English Speakers talk about this show. I wonder if you could eventually look into Taomee's Flower Fairy/Flower Angel some day though I think that would require a deeper dive considering how it's quite an interesting case with it originally one of those early Chinese online RPGs (similar to a lot of those famous apps we see today) yet the donghua adaptation ended up making it more into a magical girl show just to appeal to an younger audience for some reason and eventually became it's own thing despite having a few characters from the game appear once in awhile. Overall I noticed it seems like a lot of Chinese magical girls in the format of them being fairies, which I myself admit I kind of like.

[@brxkenhalo]

i just found out about this from shining nikki's collab

[@mysticloverfairy1]

I’ve heard about but the Shining Nikki collab has peaked my interest, I’m watching the newest series on KZbin.

[@asifadnan6362]

I've been craving balala lore since I first found Pretty Cure. I love this. Also you are cute and I love your presentation. this is the 1st vid I watched on your channel and you have a new fan.😄😄😄😄😄😄

[@glitteremm]

You dropped this 👑😊

[@sghope]

You’re the best 👑💕

[@somniphobiaanderraticism]

omggg i used to watch balala the fairies in like 2015😭😭 i still rly wanna cosplay one of the girls tbh

[@qtheplatypus]

I miss understood your title and thought that the girls became giants when they transformed.

[@sghope]

Lol 😂

[@thepeternetwork]

How come Asian countries like China and Japan have better live-action versions of animated media? I ain't knocking the MCU, but this Balala show here looks more appealing than Endgame. Or is it more on the level of the Barbie movie which I'm kicking myself for not catching in theaters?

[@oguubear]

My childhood, I live for this stuff. Even though Yan Lili was the villain, I loved her outfit too much but anyway good show! ❤❤

[@c.lineofficial]

Hello, Hope! I love it when you post because it's so fun and comforting watching your content! I love discovering different shows like this from different countries! 🎉

[@sghope]

💕💕💕

[@JuanGomez-ke5py]

@@sghope keep on the good I am still learning learning all about all about magic girls

[@Snickers2024]

@@sghope❤️❤️❤️

[@hanamitakarin8221]

As a human that grew up with the series, the original live action is my favourite… but I’m absolutely biased

[@aspennotdental]

44:45 nahh why are they dancing with the Truffala tree background 😭

[@paperdolles198]

MAGIC STAR FATE AND BUTTERFLY AWAKENING ARE MY FAV SEASONS

[@Amanda-zn7ox]

Ah! Magic Star Fate Castle came out on my birthday! I believe that was the year that had a literal dumpster fire across the parking lot from the apartment building I was living in at the time. Thankfully, no buildings or cars were close enough for the fire to spread, but it still wasn't pleasant.

[@Light15XV]

Dang Balala the Fairies I discovered when I was still into Pretty Cure and I had shipped the yellow fairy with the prince LOL

[@djm334-goomodding]

If you ever cover more of Alpha’s shows, they actually have two other magical girl shows, those being Nana Moon and Vary Peri/Sweets Fairies, the former is actually based on a virtual pet of the same name, and the second is based off of a toy line. They do have magical girl elements, but they are seen later on. Those shows are also not dubbed or subbed as of now, except for Nana Moon, since it has one episode dubbed.

[@lamorthonyfairyfriend4082]

This was my childhood fr fr.

[@Valentineatelier]

The best part about Balala is seeing the animation evolution

[@djm334-goomodding]

It’s always a good day when SGH uploads ‼️‼️‼️🗣️🗣️🗣️

[@Egalemanly]

Speaking of Tokusatsu, have you seen Magiranger ? It's the Sentai season with Magic , it's very good or The Anime series Saint Seiya ? It's basically Magical boys good video by the way ✨

[@therubyminecart5291]

I want to watch these now becauase they look adorable!!!! And also for the cute looking guys like jeez louise

[@danielgudinojuarez6729]

This was quite an interesting series review, keep up the great work Hope!!! 😍😍😍🧡

[@Miracleshining]

This video was amazing! There is such a wonderful series of Magical Girl ideas and I may be a Balala fan now

[@Bleu7_]

THIS WAS MY CHILDHOOD . THE PINK GIRL WAS MY FIRST COSPLAY. I LOVE THIS SERIES STILL

[@angelsstories1530]

They’re so pretty ❤❤❤

[@Mcpollo_Justdonalds]

This is my favorite channel! It’s so comforting ✨

[@sghope]

You’re too kind! 🩷

[@mylifeasconnor123]

I am a huge fan of your channel and this is gonna be amazing. Thank you so much. Will keep in touch. Keep up the good work.

[@factoringpractice]

OH MY GOD YES SOMEONE FINALLY COVERS THIS

[@notashowo7442]

OMG WAIT FINALLY SOMEONE MADE A VIDEO ON BALALA IM SO HAPPY WHEN I WAS LITTLE I REMEMBER I WAS INVESTED LIKE I HAD THE WHOLE ASS PURPLE GIRL VIOLIN TOY OMGGG I HAVENT WATCHED THE VIDEO YET BUT IM DEFO WATCHING IT LATER WITH SOUND OMG OMG THANK YOU

[@chloehoang7755]

i had shirley wand and the pink pendant necklace from 2008

[@notashowo7442]

@@chloehoang7755 omggg so iconic🔥🔥 my older sister had that and i remember i used to get so jealous so when i got the violin i kept bragging about it😭😭

[@xinyili3319]

Omg I used to love this show as a child! ❤❤

[@laurenregnier3710]

I guess the company is the Chinese equivalent to Toei in Japan . Sailor Moon has animes and a live action , all Toei . 😊❤🎉

[@magicalamber6657]

Omg I didn't know there were live actions!! Tha ks for the video! Now I know before I start watching! 😅🎉

[@standarshie]

IM CHINESE AND THIS WAS MY CHILDHOOD SHOW OMG I WAS SEARCHING FOR THIS EVERYWHERE

[@ameeribrahim7244]

Thank you for bringing back memories

[@yoongiyuu3086]

i saw the second balala movie at a friend’s house when i was little and watching the segment about it made me so nostalgic😭 back then, angel zhao truly made me a blue magical girl stan

[@jiazhang281]

OMG THIS SHOW WAS LIKE MY CHILDHOOD THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME REMEMBER

[@SofiaPreCure]

Ooh! I watching remember Balala the Fairies on KZbin it's pretty!

[@kisesakusaku]

Oh wow! I saw Balala merch when I was on a tourist vacation set by my parent, and I was very close to buying the toys... But nope...! I think it was in 2012, when I’m still on the Madoka and Smile Precure Fever! Only thing I’m able to get is the OG Balala the Fairies... Fan. It’s super cheep so yea.

[@RockyThe3rd]

I’ve actually started, but quickly forgot, season 1(animated) cuz I’m running out of Magical girl anime and I saw how many iterations Balala had. I gotta get back into it cuz I’ve never seen live action MG and it looks interesting to say the least. Yippee

[@dewdropmushroom]

This was soooo interesting! You clearly put so much effort into it as well, you did a great job :)

[@shandyshu1088]

I can’t wait for your review of Flower Angel 😊

[@alinaballerina27]

Hi, dear! Where is your Sailor Moon poster from? It's absolutely adorable!!

[@laconejitadelcorazoncristiano]

Well I don't speak English but I am a Spanish speaking person and I was surprised that I met you through a KZbin recommendation and i like your video (Sorry i use traductor)

[@KevinEontrainer381]

Hey SG! I'm wondering if u could cover Magical Girl games? Cuz I struggle to find a one that isn't for little girls (not saying its bad or anything). Thanks! I love ur videos

[@The_Milkyz]

i got stickers with them! i bought stickers in bulk of random ones so i got them

[@MacyChan422]

the actress of the first Balala（who plays as Maggie,the blue fairy）has died at years ago.

[@Definitely_human_lol]

As I kid I LOVED 2008 BALALA FAIRIES France never had those but in China with my maternal grandparents I WOULD JUST RE-WATCH IT WHENEVER I COULD. I just always loved the story no matter how cringe it can sound now. The little models (cats, the bees etc) all kind of suck and I never understood that but I still loved it in the way it gave a sort of cartoon style which made me SURE there would be a cartoon one day. I kind of feel like crying learning it had so much adaptations and was loved and discovered by others. And fun fact! I have the pink wand of theirs ;) (and yes I do not remember their name 😂) Flower fairy is another one I love. I do not wish to spoil the others it but I definitely recommend watching it to the others even if you might think you're too old for it. Did I say that I only know Balala 2008, Miracle dance and Mystery Note/Finding Melody? I myself was unaware of so much of those other series and movies 😂

[@Minnee545]

My parents told me that I used to eatch this with much enthusiasm when I was a child

[@magicalgirlanime_and_bfdi4ever]

Lil question, whats your fav Magical Girl series? Mines is Ojamajo Doremi and Sailor Moon! I also made my own (its The Powerful Pals), but all the magical girls appear later, with only my Yellow one rn that showed, unfortunately-

[@Eepop_stuffs]

I want the dolls so bad theyre so cute

[@sparklecat60]

also I haven’t gone far into the video yet but Maggie’s original actor died in January 2021 at age 25 due to heart failure that was allegedly caused by drinking too much at a new year’s celebration party :(

[@skullytrickybonez700]

Oh my goodness gracious This video is so very good and it's very amazing and it's one of the best videos I've ever seen and I've just want to give kudos bc you did an wonderfully job on the editing bc this is by far the absolute best video's that you've doneand I've absolutely positively love your channel so very much keep it up the fantastic work bc you are the best sailor guardian hope bc you are an amazing person and I've hope that you will have a great yet super fantastical day and take good care of yourself and best wishes!!!

[@doodlingualsplus]

I managed to get all of the dubs from Startimes and they're currently all being uploaded on my channel if you want to check them out!! 💗 Love this video

[@NiGHTS4life]

There used to be building block sets of this series.

[@that0negoldfish]

this really itched my curiousity. I saw a toy for this series in my local miniso and was curious but didnt bother to look it up, and then this vid pops up!!?? im so annoyed Finding Melody isnt fully subbed bc it actually looks so good?????

[@katelynruth31]

People actually hate happiness charge precure because they handled the whole "precure around the world" reeeeeeaallly badly Also this series has MANGA!!!????😮😮😮😮😮😮

[@QieQieQuiche]

I feel old whenever I remember this show 😭 I used to watch this as a kid n I had some toys for it but i left them in china i think?

[@pointseventhree]

Does anyone know where I can watch Magic Star Fate Castle? It's okay if English subtitles aren't available. ^^ Amazing video, btw! Thanks for introducing us to the franchise!!

[@MatthewMerengue]

Ahhh I’ve been waiting for Balala to get more recognition! Thank you! 🙏🏻 ❤

[@applesartpalace6755]

When I was little I watched shining star and it wasn’t a magical girl show it was a idol show. Following the pink girl becoming friends with the blue and yellow girl and the purple one was a redeemed villain. It was so good but after a while I think they stopped making episodes. The songs in the show were all K-pop songs that were covered so maybe that’s why they stopped making the show but idk 🤷‍♀️.

[@angelsstories1530]

Could you watch an anime called? Soushin shoujo matoi into a anime review on it. Sorry about asking this out of the blue so suddenly.

[@Zirichan]

this was my childhood oh my gosh