M A G I C

People shouldn't go too far to explain magic. For one it only creates plot holes, for another it's usually tedious and boring, and for a third the point of "magic" is that it's strange and not entirely logically fathomable.
What rules are established about it should be adhered to.

>>150222956
It depends. I dont really have only a single type i like.
What i hate though is when they use magic but then go on to explain it in so much great detail and break it down to physics and elementary forces so every use of it following that is either doing things that can be done in the real world or abuse physics and everything ends up as nukes or molecule deconstruction or something like that.

I like the good ol' mana bullshit.

>>150223055
I love when a series gives magic rules and the characters work within its confines like a puzzle.
Sort of like many shounen before power creep starts bringing out deus ex moves that overpower everything.

>>150223303
This. Nothing brings down a story more for me than a character explaining that Einstein predicted magic years ago and magicians are essentially physicists.

I prefer magic to have some consistent mechanics and limitations but I don't give a fuck about where it comes from. Having some restrictions on it makes for better stories as it gives the MCs an opportunity effectively do creative puzzle solving. Having too much explaining turns to boring and lazy exposition dumps, though.

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Does Madoka count as physics route? Magical girls are energy source for other dimensional aliens.

>>150223651
In Madoka, magic comes from human emotion and the human soul.

>>150223651
>Does Madoka count as physics route?
No.
Their magic is literally described as miraculous.

>>150222956
mana is the best explanation, with quantum mana mechanics at second
all others are kinda dumb

Never explain magic. Just make sure it never becomes convenient to the point where everything could be solved with it. Any series that goes in depth about interworkings of magic is shit. Just take any Fate for example. Hours of infodumping rules and limitations for all of them to be broken at some point and not being that relevant anyway.

Fate/Stay Night VN is an example of something having a long boring explanation on how magic works.

I'd rather it just be "we have mana" or "magic ain't gonna explain shit" and be done with it.

>>150223055
Basically this.
Explain some basics but don't go too overboard otherwise it
1. Chews up the scenery
2. Limits the author and eventually they end up having to explain their way out of literally every decision they make which almost always ends up with an inconsistency at some point

>>150223594
>>150223918
Should just be explained as it goes? Ends up gaining more rules as show goes on.

>>150224344
>Should just be explained as it goes?
Be careful with that. Unless you have it all planned out from the beginning, this is very likely to lead you into inconsistencies.

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>World where magic exists
>Somehow knights are able to compete with fireball wizards

>>150224395
Ya would need an authors bible beforehand detailing all the rules and then let them come out rather than infodumping.

Sacred Blacksmith handled it pretty well.

>>150222956
Depends. If you explain something with physics it becomes physics. It should be atleast balanced. Also magic is fun because it is a mystery. Like you could have magic in modern world with mana accelerators and plants full of raging demons, but it would be just physics of other *verse.

>>150224626
That's because the knights also know fireball magicks. The only way that footmen would actually exist en masse is if wizards are hard to come by.

>>150224626
Sir knights can eat fireballs for breakfast if they have enough faith. Don't forget they are very popular amongst goddesses. And there are lots of stinky wizards that never leaves their mother's tower trying to conjure succubus

>>150223495
>onii-chan pls

Sanderson's Laws of Magic
1. An author's ability to solve conflict with magic is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to how well the reader understands said magic.
2. The limitations of a magic system are more interesting than its capabilities. What the magic can't do is more interesting than what it can.
3. Expand on what you have already, before you add something new.

>>150222956
Witchery is witchery, explaining shit kill the magic.

>>150227217
Bullshit, I'd take Bewitched over any RPG-like magic system any day.

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>>150227217
>What the magic can't do is more interesting than what it can.
Wrong.

The limitations of magic just feel interesting if you have already established magic as fantastic and powerful. For example, Sally The Witch's "Magic can't heal" episodes were good because typically the MC was able to do anything she wanted, so a terminally ill little girl that can't be healed showing up is a big issue. If she always failed and she show focused too much on what she can't do, nobody would care.

>>150222956
they explained that it mostly comes from the philosophers stone in LWA. That's honestly more than enough explanation. Anymore shit would probably make it shit.

Think HunterxHunter could have gone without the Nen explanation shit. It's the same thing as dbzs Ki, but toriyama wasn't an autistic about it.

>>150227606
I'm in support of magic feeling magical and not line over line of the author tipping his fedora.

>>150227498
I literally don't see how that contradicts the law. Not being able to heal is more interesting than being able to because it creates conflict. It's not about failing all the time, it's about not poofing all your problems away with magic.

>>150227677
But in that case, it's writing 101 and is not related only to magic.

>>150222956
I dislike magic being explained like science and shit.

I prefer magic being magic like Lord of the Rings style etc.

What I fucking hate more than anything though is "magical girl" shows that aren't actually magic but are technology, whether futuristic or from aliens or whatever.

>>150227799
So... Nanoha and what? Madoka? Everything else isn't magical girl.

>>150227925
That's more of a modern age problem, there's lots of older series that are more magical.

It's only lately that there's been so much more technology based shit like Symphogear, Pleiades, and Vividred.

But back in the 90's there was way more real magical girl stuff like Akazukin Chacha, Nurse Angel and Fancy Lala. Nowadays Precure is still magical too.

>>150228093
To be honest, Pleiades was legitimately magical with its science stuff, in fact, I consider it to be closer to classical majokko stuff than a lot of the shows with "actual fantastic magic" that is reduced to just an excuse to punch a monster of the week.

>>150228221
I liked Pleiades but it still doesn't change that the being that gave them their power was not magical but just an advanced alien with a really advanced spaceship. Even their "brooms" were magical and had engine sounds. It still was all done in a very traditional magical girl style though.