Main DaCapo Page:

Maka History

 

The Maka are a race from the same-named planet of Maka. They are largely human in appearance (though they sometimes have more anime-esque features, such as large eyes). Female Maka, upon reaching girlhood, sometimes find themselves awakening to a mysterious magical power and receiving a magical companion known as a Tsukaima, commonly referred to as a Tsukai. This is a Japanese term for a familiar, to avoid confusion with Magi's Familiars. Shortly after awakening to their powers, they will go on a pilgrimage to help other worlds using their powers, although some are left behind as Protectors, dealing with Maka's own threats.

-- PLANET MAKA --

Maka, the world, is a world discovered long ago by a small expedition of humans. The planet trapped them, and they never returned. Records of the world, and the expedition, were redacted from all records, and the remaining families of those who had participated were never informed.
Ultimately, the members of the original expedition became the first Maka people, and began to populate the world.

Today, the world's populated areas resemble suburban Japan circa 2015 AD, though with hints of big city fare ala Tokyo. The technology level of the world resembles the same. As such, the Maka are not conventionally space-faring, as their travel to other worlds occurs through magic. They
have very little direct contact with other worlds.

At the core of their world lays a mysterious energy, existing long before the initial expedition arrived. This energy creates Magical Girls from the population's women. If a humanoid of other race arrives on Maka in its infancy, it may also be effected by the planet's energy, becoming
effectively Maka and gaining the potential to become a Magical Girl although retaining their original race's defining physical characteristics. This effect is permanent, but occurs only rarely.

The planet's energy sometimes also effects animals and other critters born on the planet, however. Makan creatures may be born into life as Daimons, evil and aggressive mutated creatures that take the form of twisted or evil magical monsters. Daimons feed on the energy of the non-magical Maka on the planet, although their biggest dream is to feed on the energy of a Magical Girl, or if somehow possible, the planet itself. An extremely large Daimon is known as a Kaiju. These creatures usually exist only on Maka unless they stow away on a shuttle from another world. However, they can exist on other worlds if brought or conjured by a Makai (see Makai section, further below).

-- MAGICAL GIRLS --

When the energy of Maka influences a child in infancy, it may plant what is known as a Soul Seed inside of them, consisting of a special kind of energy from the planet's core. A Soul Seed is the core of a Magical Girl's powers. If a girl has been blessed with a Soul Seed, then between the ages of 6 and 16, this Soul Seed will materialize from within the girl's body, becoming an egg. Within a week of materializing, this egg will hatch, becoming the girl's Tsukai. Tsukai most often take the shape of unique animal-like creatures that can speak, although they have been known to instead take the shape of a weapon or accessory. The Tsukai's speech is usually verbal, so
long as they took the form of a creature rather than an object. However, rarely or as accessories, they will have a form of telepathic speech.

After a Tsukai has hatched, the Tsukai becomes the Magical Girl's companion and is nearly always at her side. The Tsukai will quickly begin instructing the newly-awakened Magical Girl in her role and her powers, as well as teaching her how to manifest her Magical Girl outfit, a requirement for
using most of her abilities. Training will span between 1 week and 1 month, and after the training has completed, the Magical Girl will be magically whisked away to another populated planet where her powers may be useful to help others. Only rarely does more than one Magical Girl end up in the same region at the same time. The Magical Girl will not be able to return to Maka of their own volition for at least 4 years, but they usually would prefer to continue their journey of helping others, anyway.

A Magical Girl is most innately compatible with magical and weapon-based methods of fighting, but using their powers in ways that accentuate a talent for technology is not impossible (anime example: Sailor Mercury). Every Magical Girl's powers, Tsukai, and costume are unique only to them, although it is possible for multiple Magical Girls to form a fairly uniform team, and in that situation, their outfits may be modified to help them conform to their team. A Magical Girl's powers will not be drawn from their Tsukai personally, but some Magical Girls need their Tsukai to help
them transform into their Magical Girl form.

A Magical Girl's physical aging is slowed from the moment their Tsukai's egg manifests. From that day, they will age at a rate of 1/2 to 1/3 of a normal person's aging. However, when they reach a physical age of 21, they will lose their powers and will ordinarily be returned to Maka by their
Tsukai. Their Tsukai's speech may also become inaudible to them. This is a very sad time for a Magical Girl, leaving their life as a Magical Girl as a limited but sweet period in their life cycle. It has been said that there are ways for a Magical Girl to keep or regain their powers, but the methods are completely unknown. Most often, this has been seen in moments of desperation and great emotional need, or when their family is threatened.

Sometimes, a Magical Girl's Tsukai will instead assign them the role of"Protector". This means that they will not leave Maka, but will instead remain on Maka as defenders of the planet itself, helping out there much the way they would have helped on another world. Protectors are often
envied by those girls who were not granted a Soul Seed or have yet to have their Seed bloom. They are treated with high respect on average, but occasionally they are treated with disdain and jealousy by those who are less fortunate. Their limited time as a Magical Girl remains the same whether they were sent to another world or assigned as Protector.

-- MAKA CULTURE --

Maka culture resembles stereotypical anime Japan. There is less concern about levels of respect than in the real Japan, and less of a sense of duty. They do not believe much in the idea of "it can't be helped" that is prolific in Japan. As a result, they are largely happy and easygoing, like
you would expect from anime characters.

Households are usually fairly ordinary, most frequently consisting of one husband and one wife, along with their children, and possibly a grandparent. Couples most often have only 1 or 2 children, and large families are almost unheard-of. Children are raised to be able to fend for
themselves early on, due to the understanding that they may have to from an early age, depending on if/when they bloom as Magical Girls. Children are, however, male just as often as female, despite the lack of potential for a male to become a Magical Girl.

With regards to religion, Maka mostly celebrates a form of religion that resembles Shinto in its temples and its manner of practice, although rather than worshipping gods, they worship the planet and ask for its blessings. In households where the man is the homemaker, the woman will often choose to become a shrine maiden (miko) later in life, especially if they were formerly a Magical Girl.

With regards to rulership, Maka is ruled by an Emperor. The Emperor is a single man who is celibate and does not take a wife. Emperors are not of a lineage, but are chosen by the previous Emperor from a pool of men who have spent their lives working to train themselves for a government position. This is often seen as a way of filling the void in the lives of the world's
men, as they can go into government positions, while women, at current, may not. Although an outsider would realize this to be sexist, the people of the world see this as a balance, as men cannot become Magical Girls.

Magical Girls are seen as something normal by this culture, but seeing one on the planet itself is considered as uncommon due to the low amount that become Protectors. As a result, they are still seen with some sense of awe and reverance. Magical Girls usually only return to Maka after they have lost their powers, as well, making a non-Protector Magical Girl appearing
on Maka especially rare other than those who become extremely homesick.

-- MAKAI --

When a Magical Girl of the Maka falls into despair and accepts the darkness in her heart, the power inside of her will begin to amplify considerably, proportional to the darkness of her emotions. If she is filled with hatred, despair, and heartbreak, her power will become terrifyingly immense. This feeling, however, is also "poisonous". It creates incredible physical pain
within the Magical Girl.

Once a Magical Girl has fallen into this state, there are no known ways to bring her back into the light, even if her power is reduced. In time, the pain begins to drive them insane and destroy their senses of guilt and empathy. Once a Magical Girl has passed this threshold, she is no longer
known as a Magical Girl or a Maka. Instead, she is now a Makai, generally known by other cultures as a Hexer. This is only an informal term that is often used; Makai is the formal term used in Maka culture and taught to Magical Girls.

A Makai may command a level of control over Daimons. A particularly powerful Makai may even learn to create them from existing creatures and people through use of her magic, building up an evil army of thralls. In other words, it is very possible for a former Magical Girl to become an
evil ruler who would easily be a nemesis to other Magical Girls. Their motives would likely depend on the events that led them to become a Makai.

-- MAGICAL BOYS --

Although it is extremely rare (1 in 1,000,000,000 or even less), occasionally a male will be blessed with a Soul Seed, possibly by some sort of cosmic accident. They will have a more masculine outfit and will usually accept their role only reluctantly, as this is not what males grow up
expecting. Magical Boys can be expected to act more mysteriously than Magical Girls. They often team up with a Magical Girl and show up to save her at convenient moments. For a good example of a Magical Boy, see Syaoran Li from Card Captor Sakura. However, they are sometimes known to work alone. Seeing two Magical Boys in the same place is unheard-of, as there are incredibly few Magical Boys in existence at all. Magical Boys are never asked to become Protectors.

-- MATSUKAI --

Similar to Magical Boys, on extraordinarily rare occasion, a Tsukaima may be born that lacks normal sense of emotion and empathy. This creature will lead its Magical Girl astray and will actively try to lead the Magical Girl to become a Makai. Their reasons are usually driven by a twisted sense of 'justice' that only they understand, or similar goals of 'achieving good in
a way that disregards all feelings and human rights'. This kind of Tsukaima is instead known as a Matsukai. Obviously, one of the most noteworthy anime examples of a Matsukai style familiar would be Kyubey from Madoka Magica.

-- MAGICAL GIRLS' POWERS --

Magical Girls' powers are ultimately drawn from the intensity of their positive emotions and willpower (exception: Makai), although someone very perky and strong-willed will only be 'above average' in their power. Moments of intense willpower and determination can bring about amazing boosts in power. However, unlike Makai, these will only be momentary. Magical Girls are not incredibly strong on their own. Worse, they become weaker when they lose hope and joy (again, Makai are the exception to this rule).

As such, while Magical Girls are remarkably able to do things that an ordinary person would not, they are not stronger in raw power than a trained soldier, although an experienced and confident Magical Girl could easily stand beside a trained soldier as an equal, and would be able to
fight them effectively. Each would be capable of things that the other would not. Of course, there are occasionally exceptional Magical Girls brimming with magical energy, but there are exceptional people among any group, after all.

 

TAW is © 1997-2018 Kevin T. Bell

TAW6 Special Thanks: Sara
Special Thanks: In Memory of Ryan Cross