girl power

"Before I am your daughter,

your sister,

your aunt, niece, or cousin,

I am my own person,

and I will not set fire to myself

to keep you warm"

I was looking at the new lineups for the upcoming anime season and I had the sudden realization that I am so sick of the 'loser protagonist has special power' trope. It's so prevalent in anime and I am so done with it. It's those shows where the protagonist is average but he still has this unique skill. This part I'm okay with. It's the next part, where it gets him a harem of disposable female characters with informed powers who have the same six faces and cookie cutter personality traits. And all of them would be introduced as being far superior to the male protagonist, yet they'll all inevitably be saved by him at one point or several. There'll be at least one tsundere, one childhood friend type, one flat-chested, one with a physically impossible chest, and whose chests will be the source of many jokes.

Or there'll be a show featuring a girl with a mysterious power, but who basically acts as a plot device for the male hero's development. Or a show who focuses on the 'average high school boy' occasionally being protected by a stronger female 'lead' but when it comes to the climax, she's always incapacitated in some way. Sure she's gotten out of the way so that the protagonist can have his moment of glory but here's an idea, why not just make her the protagonist? 

But wait you might say, there are plenty of shows with strong female characters as leads! And most of those are shoujos. Mahou shoujos. The one type of show where the girl finds a mysterious power is the one with frills and sparkles and targeted towards elementary kids. Don't get me wrong, I love magical girl shows. I love the romance stories that define 'shoujo' or 'josei'. I also love many of the shows that feature a good male protagonist. Indeed, many shows also have well-rounded, fun to watch female secondary characters. 

But what I really love is to see the girls go on adventures and fight hardcore battles (instead of being relegated to fighting with the secondary female villain). What I want to see are girls with hopes and dreams and lives that don't center on a male protagonist. What I want is a shounen series with a female lead, what I want are stories where both the male and female characters save each other, what I want...is apparently Ghibli movies. Welp. Now I can really relate to Hayao Miyazaki on his views towards the anime industry. 

To combat the depressing reality that is female representation in media, I went through my anime list to find some shows with some strong female leads taking charge and saving the world.

Akatsuki no Yona: Instead of waiting for a knight to save her, the sheltered princess in her tower cuts her hair and climbs down herself. She refuses to be gratified with lies and illusions so with her own hands, seeks out the truth in order to save her country. Now that's a ruler. 

[You could be the King but watch the Queen conquer]

Binbougami Ga!: It's weird, and fanservicey, and crude at times but at the heart of it is a story about a girl who is saved by her friendship with a goddess, and a goddess who is saved by her friendship with a girl. They save each other, and in doing so, save the world too. 

[I am their fury, I am their patience, I am a conversation]

Glass Mask: An below average protagonist with one special power, a rival who fights against and with them, and their story of growing up and maturing. It sounds like your everyday shounen show, but the 'fighting' is the vicious world of acting. The protagonist is just a girl with a passion.

[You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug]

Skip Beat: The Glass Mask for the modern shoujo reader. This protagonist is one who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to fight for it. She starts off her journey with a break-up, but as we follow her path to her dreams, we get to tell her 'it's okay, love doesn't make you weak'.

[I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive]

Hatenkou Yuugi: I like this series because the protagonist role is split between the male and female leads. They save each other in times of trouble and they spent arcs apart from each other developing on their own as well. And what's even more extraordinary is that they're not in love with each other. It's more like they're...more than friends but less than lovers.

[I've been numbed, I'm revived, can't say I'm not alive]

Horimiya: This is a romance shoujo series but I'm putting it here because the relationship it features is just so nice and healthy and equal. And let's be real, the boys in this series all need their girlfriends to save them.

[Yeah my boyfriend's pretty cool but he's not as cool as me]

Kamichu: Instead of the friendship between a girl and a goddess, it's a series about a girl becoming a goddess. It's not as glamorous as you might think. She doesn't suddenly acquire superpowers and heads off to save the world. Instead it leans towards a quiet slice-of-life feeling, following a girl as she grows up and does the best she can.

[Why would I want to be anybody else but me?]

Kamisama Hajimemashita: It starts off as your regular fantasy romance shoujo story but as time goes on it's pretty clear that the one who needs saving is the tough fox protector. The story lets the girl take the spotlight in her own adventures and she becomes the princess who saves the prince.

[I'm not drowning, there's no one here to save]

Kanata Kara: I wrote a whole entry for this girl. She takes it slow and steady and instead of worrying what her love interest thinks about, she knows to put herself first.

[My knight in shining armour is me]

Medaka Box: If ever there was a series that fits the bill for 'shounen series with a female lead' this would be it; over the top battles and gratuitous fanservice and all. Although rather than being a loser protagonist, she's more of a god mode Sue. What can't she do? But it's refreshing, and the harem of boys (and girls) she gathers is...interesting to say the least.

[If I have to fall then it won't be in your line]

Soul Eater: This series isn't a typical shounen, not least of which because it features a female protagonist. A true partnership between their male and female leads, and it flips up the formula even more when the guy becomes the more passive 'weapon' and the girl gets to be the one in the action as the 'meister'. She's born with a special rare type soul, takes on all the main antagonists, befriends her rival/enemy, and takes levels in badass. This ain't no boys club.

[Tell 'em winning is my motherfucking protocol]

Red River: Who says a girl can't fight? Who says a girl can't lead an army, can't win a war, can't succeed at politics, can't rule a country, can't do anything alone, and can't do all that while managing the household and having a family? What is this, 1300 BC? Because here is a girl who will do that and more.

[She's got lions in her heart, a fire in her soul]

Yume no Shizuku Kin no Torikago: Who says a girl can't fight? Who says a girl can't win a war, can't succeed a politics, can't rule a country, can't learn, and can't do all of that while not once setting foot outside her palace? What is this, the 1500s? Because here is a girl who fights with what she has and does it well.

[My persuasion can build a nation]

Saiunkoku Monogatari: A girl enters a harem to act as an imperial concubine. It sounds simple enough, but somehow not only does she gather a reverse harem of her own, she leaves the palace only to enter it as their first female scholar. Can I get a hell yes?!

[There's a glass ceiling to break, there's money to make]