Fun Stuff: My Top Ten Favorite Anime Ladies

I may be all about the bishies, but I've definitely got a lot of love for some of the leading ladies of anime, too! As someone who likes to take the feminist perspective when digesting literature, film, etc, the subject of the role women play in anime is of particular interest to me. Several anime titles (especially those geared towards young men) tend to disappoint me with women whose characters are entirely dependent on fanservice and their physical appearance or otherwise dependency on the male lead(s) without any other driving purpose given, but several shows have developed fantastic heroines who have brains, guts, and emotional depths to go along with their looks. 

Here are my top ten anime lady crushes and the reasons why I love them:

10. Kaname Chidori (Full Metal Panic)

If you're going to be paired up with a dense-in-the-ways-of-love type man like Sousuke Sagara, you've got to be sharp and on your game, and Kaname Chidori is all of these things and more.  Though both a high school girl and slight tsundere, Chidori avoids the negatives of these tropes by being in many ways smarter and more emotionally on point than the majority of the characters surrounding her, even those who are prodigies when it comes to war games. Like most tsunderes, she does have issues with being up front about her personal life- particularly her growing feelings for Sousuke-- but she doesn't allow her tsutsun side to keep her from actively making sure he is safe, even from himself.  Quite a few anime ignore the fact that most real life high school girls are no longer in their "cute" phase, but are in actuality struggling the most with their relationships at this time-- first loves, the drama laden tensions of female friendships, rebelling against family, figuring out self-identity, etc- and I think Chidori felt true to the kind of girl who is not fully developed inside yet. I really enjoyed watching her come into her own and fight strongly for what she wanted in FMP's conclusion, during which shined even more brightly than Sousuke, the leading man!

9. Homura Akemi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Homura is a tricky character to get a hold of at first, because the cold young lady she pretends to be at the onset of the series is a carefully placed cover to protect Madoka from becoming a magical girl. Who Homura is in reality is one of the most inspiring young female anime characters I have ever had the pleasure of watching. The magical girl genre can be hit and miss with me; I love titles like Cardcaptor Sakura which gives the leading lady some agency in a world where she wouldn't normally have much of a place (which Cardcaptors limited, much to my disgust), but titles where the female is stuck in the same fan-service geared, charmingly helpless rut she is in her every day life hit a bad note with me. However, Homura (and most of the girls of Madoka Magica, for that matter) takes her role very seriously, and understands the risks to the point where she will do anything in her power (which pretty much entails dragging herself through a living hell time and time again when she fails) to protect the person she cares about the most because of how much respect she has for the part Madoka played in her life. It is perhaps one of the most beautiful friendships in anime out there, and Homura's courage and determination isn't something I'll soon forget.

8. Blue (Wolf's Rain)

Though Blue spends the majority of the series in dog form and we don't actually find out that she is a wolf-dog half breed who can transform into a human woman until much later in the show, I grew to love her pretty quickly when she joined Hige, Toboe, Kiba, and Tsume on their journey to find paradise. The immediate concern when a woman joins a traveling part composed of males is that the series will take a dip into reverse harem territory, but Wolf's Rain is a title which focuses on the man vs beast dynamic as well as what happens when society and mankind turns on itself, so Blue's unique experiences with humans instead bring a much needed new perspective to the plot. I loved how she was able to see both sides of the equation in the conflict between wolves and humans, and was capable of falling in love with a wolf (Hige) while still maintaining her respect and adoration for the human who raised her (Quent). And even though she served as a bridge between humans and wolves, she never allowed either side to tell her how to think or feel after she learned her identity. In the end, I think she served as a turning point for several characters- Hige and Quent especially, but Hubb and Cher as well. An overall delightful character. 

7. Kurisu Makise (Steins;gate)

Three cheers for intelligent women! The focus of time traveling drama Steins;gate is on mad scientist Okabe Rinatrou, but Kurisu Makise was just as fascinating of a lead as Okabe's unwilling assistant and eventual love interest. Though Kurisu's attitude is often cold, her iciness is what keeps her safe in the man's world of scientific study. Shunned by her father for outperforming him in his own field, Kurisu still loves and wants to excel in scientific research, even though her talent is often rejected by the people she most wants to please. Throughout the series, she time and time again shows her wisdom and strength even when faced with inconceivable challenges, and the scene in which she urges Okabe to reverse a world line even if it means they can't be together anymore is one of the bravest, most poignant moments to bring a tear to my eye.

6. Ayumi Yamada (Honey and Clover)

If taken at face value, Ayumi Yamada from Honey and Clover doesn't appear to be much of a strong female character. In fact, she spends a significant portion of the series crying over the fact that her male friend Mayama is in love with another woman and has rejected her several times. But honestly, whether you're a woman or a man, if you've been in unrequited love before, you'll know how hard it is not to be terribly upset over it. Yamada has a long and winding grieving process, but the ways she views and internalizes her problematic love during this time is so magnificent and true to life that I wished that I had known about Honey and Clover the first time I fell in love. Hanging everything you are on the shoulders of someone else is rarely a good idea, but Yamada isn't quite like that. She understands and tries to respect herself as much as she can; she simply can't change the way she feels, which is something we are often told to do for our own sake, but don't actually have to do if we make that choice. She does eventually begin to reconcile herself to the fact that Mayama will never love her, but I've always been an advocate for moving on at your own speed and deciding your heart for yourself. She's by far and away one of the most impressively real characters of slice of life anime.

5. Arashi Kishu (X)

It's always a bad idea to get too attached to X characters given that the majority of them end up dying on you, but I just couldn't help falling a little for Arashi Kishu, one of the Dragons of Heaven fighting to prevent the end of the world. As somewhat of a kuudere, she doesn't talk or express herself all that often, but her heart awakens when she is forced by fate into an impossible decision. The person she falls in love with is destined to die on her behalf, and in the ­X-verse, changing predetermined fate is nigh on impossible. One of CLAMP's main theories on destiny is that the power of the human heart, manifested through wishes, is stronger than the notion of fate itself, but unfortunately for Arashi, she is unable to realize her wish before it unfolds just as foretold. Even so, her resolve is something spectacular, much like Ashura's in Tsubasa. Even if she has to sacrifice something precious to have her wish granted, she stills sees enough value in the thing she wants the most to pay any price for it. Sometimes this isn't always the right choice to make, but as in all CLAMP works, there is quite a bit of dignity to be found in choosing for yourself even if that choice comes with its own set of consequences.

4. Faye Valentine (Cowboy Bebop)

Faye Valentine is hot. She is also one of the bad-assiest females of anime, even though her bounty hunter skills are far from perfect. These days, a lot of busty action girls are turned into jokes complete with a special soundtrack for their jiggling chests, but while Faye does have her moments, she is still a very serious character with a very serious history, just like male leads Spike and Jet Black. Even though her plans don't always work out, she has enough spunk in her to last long-term alongside Spike (who has lone-wolf coming out his ears) and gives the hard hearted boys reason to care about her, even though she starts off as an interloper. She was also one of the first anime heroines I actively wanted to be like. Growing up with two older brothers, I wanted to mimic the way she stood up to them and became one of the team without giving up being feminine. Learning how to be your true self among members of the opposite sex is something that it takes many years of acting stupid for some of us to learn.

3. Winry Rockbell (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)

I actually can't think of anything I don't love about Winry. Like Faye, I respect how she's one of the team-- and a mechanic to boot-- without sacrificing her femininity  but I think more than anything else, I respect how she was able to retain her sense of self despite living through horrors-- confronting her parents' killer, learning of the death of a man she looked up to, having her very existence turned into a blackmail tool against Al and Ed, etc. From the beginning to the very end, no matter what kind of grief she suffered, she was able to pick herself back up and fight for the people and world she loved with all her strength. I also loved her for her adorable nerdy side which sparked up whenever automail technology was nearby. In fact, Fullmetal Alchemist is simply rife with women I have a lot of respect for: Lt. Hawkeye, Lan Fan, Mei, and so on.

2. Yuuko Ichihara (xxxHolic/Tsubasa)

I can't think of an anime character I quote more often than I do Yuuko. Of course, Yuuko has a built in bonus of being one of the ones "who know the world," meaning that she's privy to knowledge of the dimensions and how the multi-world universe operates to the extent that your average civilian wouldn't understand. That being said, she has her own unique base of knowledge gleaned from witnessing many lifetimes of human behavior that makes her one of the most intelligent and emotionally wise characters of anime. She provides numerous insights into subjects that affect us all-- self-sacrifice, wanting to be considered special, pride, the desire to break the rules and lose control, revenge, envy, the limitations we put on ourselves using words-- and all of it hits at the heart of the matter that we often overlook. In spite of having an endless amount of perceptiveness, she's also simply fun to be around, and is at her heart an incredibly caring person towards those who truly matter to her. My only regret is that we don't really get a glimpse of her when Clow is alive; I really think there's an amazing backstory there that we don't know about.

1. Hitagi Senjougahara (Monogatari)

When Bakemonogatari was first recommended to me, I was not very interested even though I love supernatural anime. I had just been burned by several harems in a row where the male lead had no personality and the females obsessed with him were all stereotypes, and I simply just wasn't interested in yet another harem-type story. Luckily, the person who recommended it to me assured that the script would make the literature lover in me jump for joy, and that turned out to be the absolute truth. I was surprised by the fact that I could not get enough of the first lady introduced to the story: Hitagi Senjougahara. Male lead Araragi was enjoyable, and so were the other females who made up the sort-of harem who fortunately were not unbearably consumed with fighting over him. But Senjougahara was something else; shrewd, honest, perceptive, and incredibly self-aware. She easily narrows down the shortcomings of Araragi that tend to get brushed over in other harem titles, and knows herself well enough to where she can be upfront about what others may be perceive to be her own shortcomings. In the second season of Monogatari, she's already singles out the things that made me not as big of a fan of fellow character Hanekawa Tsubasa, and her insight has helped me learn how to appreciate her as a heroine (although she simply cannot usurp the awesomeness that is Senjougahara. Amen.)

Theme Spotlight: Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari

Is there anything Supercell doesn't do perfectly when it comes to anime music? The only correct answer here? NO. From Magi to Guilty Crown and Bakemonogatari to Black Rock Shooter, every one of their anime singles have been stunning works of art. Ryo is a brilliant music producer, and with the vocal talents of Nagi Yanagi, Koeda, and Chelly on his side, the lyrics soar to angelic heights. Bakemonogatari had a number of lovely themes since each heroine opened with her own character track, but nothing beat out the closer "Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari" and Nagi Yanagi's divine delivery. Let's see how the new season of the Monogatari series compares!

As far as Bakemonogatari epicness goes, Araragi's cowlick is in a close second

Fun Stuff: Words of the Wise III

Time for part III of Words of the Wise. For part one and two, click the links!


1. "Shu suffered, and doubted, and made mistakes, and was ashamed of his heart's own ugliness. But the reason I love him is that Shu's human. He's heartbreakingly human."- Inori from Guilty Crown

Why it rules: Guilty Crown as an anime has its share of critics, and rightfully so. It borrows heavily from the similarly themed Code Geass, but fails to inspire the fascinating character study made possible with Geass's Lelouch vi Britannia in the series' comparable hero Shu. That being said, I was intrigued that many reviews cited Shu's internal weakness as the reason he was unlikable, with one reviewer going so far as to say that many people don't have that kind of weakness and doubt inside themselves, but are rather confident and self-satisfied. As a fellow human being, I would like to call into question that reviewer's assessment of the human condition. Even when we are at our happiest and most confident, rarely a moment goes by when we aren't troubled in some form or another by our natures, moments of doubt, and regrets for mistakes made in the past. These weaknesses are what makes us who we are, and though we are able to recognize them as such and value them, that doesn't mean they aren't capable of turning us dark from time to time. There's nothing wrong with being "heartbreakingly human" as such, so don't fall in to the same trap as the Guilty Crown reviewer who has chosen to ignore the complex and multi-faceted dynamics of his own human heart.

Shu may have his share of character flaws, but honestly, don't we all?

     

2. "There's nothing I can do if I just envy another person's world. I have to change my own world with my own two hands." - Shinichi Chiaki from Nodame Cantabile
Why it rules: Nodame Cantabile's Chiaki is constantly billed as arrogant at the start of the show, which is certainly true considering that his high opinion of his talents keep him from humbling himself and slaving over making it big. At one point, he even considers giving up music, first because he's assigned one of the lower quality professors at his prestigious music schools, and then because his fear of flying will keep him from traveling from Japan and pursuing a career in Europe. Working with the haphazard and secretly brilliant Nodame quickly changes his world view, as does meeting a real life musical conductor Stresemann, which at last encourages him to confront his own arrogance. Yes, he's talented, but no, he can't have what he wants if he simply eyes greedily what successful people have. To take it for himself, he's going to start at the bottom, work his way up, and change his world little by little. And that's how you become great, people. Riding someone's coattails will take you so far, but working for what you want and creating change for yourself and others is what brings results.

   

Chiaki is alluring as a character due to his ability to work through setbacks and his own temperamental personality to reach for the heart of music 

 3. "Miracles don't exist in this world. There is only inevitability, coincidence, and what you're going to do." - Yuu Himura from ef: A Tale of Melodies
The odd thing about me including this quote is that Yuu's anti-miracle stance is effectively disproved by the presence of Yuuko in his life, especially after tragedy strikes and his life is changed forever as shown in the second season of ef. I also believe in miracles, in the sense that there are things in this world that defy explanation. However, what I love about this quote from Yuu is the last item on his list: what you're going to do. So much agony in life stems from thoughts along the lines of knowing how to proceed or cope or move on after a particular event or impending change. This is often followed by the desire to make time stop, or to somehow make things stagnant so the feared moment of choice or action never comes. It's so difficult for us to admit that there is no such thing as a frozen moment, and time comes and goes regardless of our desires and fears. In life, both bad things and good things happen, and while you can't control all of it, the one thing you can control is your own course of action. Or, as Yuu puts it, what are you going to do? 

He doesn't always choose wisely or rightly, but Yuu does his best to atone for the mistakes of his past with Yuuko

  

4. "If someone tells me having hope is a mistake, I will reject that statement every time." -Madoka Kaname from Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Why it rules: Madoka Magica did anime viewers a favor by reminding them that while the magical girl genre looks moe moe moe, its original intent is rooted in giving female characters agency and power in a world where they are born into very little. The magical girls of the series are thrust into a dangerous world where their own safety and well-being are at risk, and learn at a price how to value and protect that which is most important to them, even when the odds and chances of survival are against them. Homura in particular is time and time again thrust into a seemingly hopeless situation that seems inescapable, but the words of Madoka still ring true. Having hope is never a mistake. Is the thing you want impossible? Some things in this world are, but hoping for change is not always about the results, but the journey you take inside when you desperately wish for something good in the future. As Chiaki says in quote two, if your world isn't as you want to be, it's up to you to change your world with your own two hands. And when it comes to doing that, hope is what more often than not spurs on action.

Homura's hopes for Madoka and vice versa have far reaching consequences for the world around them

 5. "Being kind to everyone simply means there's no one special." - Hitagi Senjougahara from Bakemonogatari
Why it rules: If I have any complaint about harem series or anything with harem elements, it's this. If you have a hero or heroine willing to extend his or herself equally for everyone around them, how is that supposed to make a single person feel special? In Bakemonogatari, Senjougahara is just one of the few women Araragi goes above and beyond to help, and though she's the one he's in love with, she questions his intentions in showing equal kindness to classmate Tsubasa, who harbors feelings of love which Araragi does not return. A similar sentiment is echoed in A Certain Magical Index, when several of the people around main character Touma become "just another girl he's saved," with many of the female leads including Index and Misaka never knowing where they stand with him because he's kind to every single damsel in distress that has ever existed. There's nothing wrong with being nice to people, but if you never differentiate your kindness, the people who love and care about you are going to wonder if they matter as much to you as you do to them.

Things work out for these two, but Araragi takes moments like these to show her exactly why she's special