Magical Girls

Magical Girls ( 魔法 少女 Mahou Shoujo) are girls with various unique magical abilities, titular the ability to "transform".

Magical Girls first appeared three years ago in response to the Disas invasion, these first eleven are deemed the "true" or "original" Magical Girls while the more recent ones are called "counterfeits".

Overview
A Magical Girl is a girl who has synchronized with a spirit/fairy and gained various magical abilities. The term can be deceptive as Magic is not something exclusive to Magical Girls specifically (although they do seem to be significantly stronger than the average mage) and what separates a Magical Girl from a mage appears to be their transformation. Magical Girls first came into existance in order to combat the Disas Crisis, via Earth Alliance with the Spirit World and General Tabira was apparently the one who approved them on their behalf. Post-Disas Crisis Magical Girls are seen as an invaluable military resource, one that cannot be expended unnecessarily to the point that Chisato Yonamine was excused of her past (and brief) terrorist activities to be recruited into M-Squad.

Second-Generation Magical Girls
There are also unknown second-generation magical girls from Denmark, Egypt, South Africa, Italy, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Ethiopia, China and Mexico, according to Chapter 47.

Illegal Magical Girls
Often called "Counterfeit Magical Girls" these are the magical girls illegally manufactured.