Tags: Manga.
Sally the Witch (魔法使いサリー Mahōtsukai Sarī) is the first magical girl genre anime in Japan. This may (even more broadly) be the first shōjo anime as well. The first magical girl manga was Himitsu no Akko-chan but it took longer to be adapted into an anime. Both series deal with henshin style transformations (such as Sailor Moon) but neither is the first anime to feature this. Another henshin magical girl anime that aired between the two anime was Princess Knight.