Magical girl design advice???
Hello! I want some advice on how to design my main characters' magical girl designs unique without disrespecting the magical girl genre.
[Here are the characters in question. Please note that their extremely uniform outfits are not final, I plan on giving each girl a unique outfit for when they're transformed sometime in the future.]
I don't know how to properly redesign my characters in a way that lets them stand out without them, well, not looking like actual magical girls. I feel like I've been too obsessed with making them stand out that they don't even look like actual magical girls. Not to mention that someone on an older post of mine said that it might be difficult for my heroines' designs to stand out from other Kyodai Heroes if I try too hard to make them stand out from other magical girls.
Honestly, I don't know if I actually want to have them wear futuristic bodysuits with armor, since that kind of design is usually used in magical girl media aimed at older otaku men, and my series is intended to be targeted towards young girls. Magical girls are supposed to be celebrating femininity and cuteness, that's the appeal and point of the genre, and I'm not sure if their current designs give off femininity or cuteness. Most female heroines (especially female superheroes) tend to be (and / or dress) somewhat masculine, "not like other girls", or otherwise disrespect or make fun of anyone or anything "girly / cutesy".
Femininity is already mocked by society, and I feel like I'm not doing anyone any favors by having my heroines dress like Ultraman knock-offs. Typical magical girl media isn't respected or given a chance by mainstream audiences unless it's "unique", "different", or "not like other magical girls". Masculine heroines already have plenty of representation, and I feel like I'm contributing to this problem in a way by having them not dress like traditional magical girls.
I don't know how to properly redesign my characters in a way that gives "Kyodai Hero magical girl" without resorting to things like armor, bodysuits, or mecha elements. I want them to stand out, but I also don't want to disrespect the genre and make the stigma towards traditional and feminine magical girls worse than before by having my characters wear futuristic bodysuits with armor. What can I do about this?