Sailor Moon vs. Winx Club vs. W.I.T.C.H.
Which show between the three is the best?
shareSailor Moon
W.I.T.C.H.
Winx Club
Taking off my nostalgia glasses, I have to admit that W.I.T.C.H. is a VERY,VERY close second to Sailor Moon. The characters were dynamic, the plot was on-going with splashes of much appreciated filler, and EVERY Guardian was useful. In other words, it succeeds where Sailor Moon fails.
While Sailor Moon wins for being more iconic and influential to the Magical Girl genre as a whole AS WELL AS being able to entertain for multiple seasons, it wasn't without it flaws. For one, while the show had many characters who all had their use, it can't be denied that is was Serena/Usagi's story. The other Sailors were there for support. Further, while the first 3 seasons of Sailor Moon handled filler and on-going plots well, SuperS was.....eeeh. StarS felt like it was trying to recapture the magic but it too had it's pace issues. Finally, outside of character dynamics, we also can't deny that many of the Sailors were useless compared to Sailor Moon. Battles were rarely won without her finishing the job. By StarS, the others were kinda just....there. Only the Sailor Starlights could support Eternal Sailor Moon.
W.I.T.C.H., on the other hand, managed to improve on what Sailor Moon lacked buuuut also failed in some areas. While the series began with Will being the primary character, the other Guardians quickly stepped into the spotlight. I particularly enjoyed how Cornelia (the Sailor Mars of the series) felt just as important as Will (the Sailor Moon of the series). Will's love story was great but it was Cornelia's that really took the spotlight, which was a huge change from the usual Magical Girl theme. Further, I enjoyed how the plot was so important to the show while filler took a backseat. We had A LOT of episodes that were continuations of the Guardians protecting Meridian and then taking on Nerissa. Finally, I never felt like any one Guardian was more important than any other. While Will held her own version of the Silver Crystal, it was stated that ANY Guardian could hold it. Heck, when Nerissa became too corrupt, Cassidy took on the Heart of Kandrakar without fail. Further, remember how the ONLY thing Will was good for was transforming the Guardians and opening portals? She didn't get an offensive power until WELL into the show and, by then, the other Guardians were already so powerful and skilled.
Still, W.I.T.C.H. had its flaws too. For one, it wasn't nearly as long as Sailor Moon, only lasting 2 Seasons each with less episodes. My reasoning behind this is the show relied TOO heavily on plot for a kid's show. Filler allows casual fans to catch up and "jump on the train" easily. But, a purely plot-driven show forces casual fans to attempt to figure out what the heck is going on. Season 2 itself is based largely upon what occurred in Season 1. Likewise, while each character was distinct, each was....bland to me. I can't explain it but the characters just didn't POP like the Sailors did. For that reason, I find it hard to be a major fan of any of them. I enjoy them but...they're all very forgettable.
So, to me, Sailor Moon wins by a SMALL margin. It just has that special flair. Meanwhile, W.I.T.C.H. excels but not enough to be iconic.....Oh, and Winx gets by on sparkles, cute shoes and nothing else.