The golden age of female protagonists

[@wamaschawama5178]

Maomao and Frieren visiting us weekly back to back was a huge blessing

[@codysteele3499]

We were so spoiled in winter/spring this year

[@sekaihunter9378]

Maomao and Frieren are easily the top 2 anime female protagonists, no, female characters, period. Change my mind!

[@Ash_Wen-li]

​@@sekaihunter9378Nah there's tons of amazing female characters and protagonists in anime. They are top tier for sure. But they definitely aren't alone

[@FaunoAtelie]

And Coco is coming next year to join the big three

[@RoyalBlue-ge2oj]

fr fr i miss that a lot D:

[@MyActualThoughts]

I like MaoMao and Frieren because they arent trying to make women who act like men. But instead strong well written women.

[@rebeccab719]

EXACTLY! Let your strong women enjoy being women. 😭

[@sugarzblossom8168]

Unless they state theu are a tomboy or that they want to be like men then they don't act like men. I see people use this for characters that they don't think a feminine enough when in real life a lot of women would be basically acting like men regardless of how they see it

[@DKNguyen3.1415]

Mao Mao acts like a guy to me. Not a masculine guy but a dweeb.

[@thejudgingtrash]

I love Mao Mao so much. To see such a compelling character excel in a world where she’d naturally be in the bottom of the barrel (and she is in the beginning of the show) due to her gender to finally seeing her shine while being competent is so much fun.

[@gamesbyzeta1434]

I think my personal favorite female led anime is actually Ascendance of a Bookworm. Myne is one of my favorite female leads, entirely because she's the more relatable nerdy goofball of a goblin. While being very distinctly herself. Nobody could be her but herself. Both because of her flaws and her strengths are uniquely hers. She's like Maomao in that she's so overwhelming obsessed over her favorite thing, books. That it blinds her survival instincts to the extremes at times. But at the same time, it's not used for laughs, it's used to showcase her childish nature is still there even though she was previously a college aged woman before getting stuck in her new body. At the same time she's extremely competent in all things books and learning. She came from our world and had a full college education and was working to become a librarian. But ironically some of the first bits of competency she shows are actually not from that, but rather, the small things she took for granted like learning how to make her own hair soap with her mom because her mom wanted to bond with her. and now she's sharing that with this new world.

[@NeoZeta]

Speaking of detective like anime (in the video), it reminded me of Kotoko as well, from Kyokou Suiri. Though, technically, that anime has dual protags (male & female), well they are a couple, but still. I like her quite a lot, too.

[@Lom-Rom]

agree Rozemyne also my favorite female MC

[@cobyedwards2693]

Dude, I love ascendance of a bookworm! The author of the light novel thought out so many details of every character and aspect of the world they created. Truly a masterpiece

[@Anas-oo4ro]

I was just going to write about Myne but saw this and you've said it way better than I would have Myne is my favorite character of all time since I've watched the anime but I recently finished the light novel and it portrays her character in a way that's unlike any other It fully uses the medium of novels and we see every thing from her perspective Her thoughts feelings I've cried watching and reading ascendance of a bookworm more than any other thing It is my favorite series ever and I hope more people talk about it

[@gamesbyzeta1434]

@@Anas-oo4ro honestly I have to thank trash tier waifu here on KZbin for doing gods work. If it wasn't for him doing his deep dive videos I would have never dived into the LNs, and would have missed so much. And if you haven't see his deep dive content. Even having read it yourself his content is fucking amazing.

[@inakyu]

THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD VIDEO!! and thank you so much for the shout out 😂

[@rosealillys4874]

Collab when ?

[@andrecouture2061]

There's also Sawako Kuronuma from Kimi ni Todoke. Her character type's trope suggests helplessness in need of saving, but she was perfectly fine and capable albeit completely isolated and alone. While it took Kazahaya to draw her out, she rose up to the challenge and faced her weaknesses out of her own will. She looks helpless, but she's a heroine.

[@daishathttp3717]

seconding sawako, she has great development onward that really made me love the show/manga.

[@highwaytoheaven99]

I remember an episode in Frieren where she talks about how elves are going extinct because they don't reproduce much, then sometime later she enters a shack only to find a very handsome, very muscular and very shirtless HUNK of an elf. A bunch of alarm bells sounded in my head, I thought "Oh no, she's gonna blush, scream 'KYAAAA HENTAI' and slap him in the face, isn't she?'. But nope, she was like "Sorry, I didn't know it was occupied", and the elf dude was like "Oh, by all means come in! Just help me lit the fire". And there was no sexual tension, no blushing, no "will they wont they" through the whole episode. They just waited out the winter in the shack, like normal adults would. It was this moment that sold Frieren to me. Sure, it had great animation, beautiful art and fantasy worldbuilding, but we have lots of those already, its nothing new. But an anime where a female character acts... normal? Reasonable, even?? Without following overdone anime female tropes??? B*tch, count me in!

[@simangot400]

Frieren's always been a nonchalant character so i wasn't even worried when I saw that scene 😤 girlie's just gonna brush it off like it's a normal tuesday and we love her for that skjskdjsj

[@grimmturd]

The MCU could learn some things from anime about writing female leads. All of western media could, actually.

[@scottallen4569]

The MCU could learn a few things from High School level Creative Writing Courses.

[@chheinrich8486]

I wanted to make a comment like that😂

[@miceatah9359]

pls no anime is the worst place to learn how to write anything

[@Luigimaestro]

@@scottallen4569the mcu could learn from a middle schoolers fantasy

[@cobyedwards2693]

​@@Luigimaestro the mcu could take notes about compelling character arcs from "a very hungry caterpillar"

[@fanaticfrancis4163]

Watching Frieren and The Apothecary Diaries airing together at 24 and 28 episodes is like watching the Halley's Comet pass by close to Earth's orbit and never come back again for a lifetime. Just like how magically rare and beautifully long that anime season was. 🥺

[@twelfthknight]

I think that the introduction of streaming as a model in the anime industry has really pushed them to actively pursue works which might've been shelved a decade ago as risky investments when much of their profits were from Blu-Ray sales. That someone like Keiichiro Saito can go to a Madhouse or CloverWorks and propose adapting a female-led off-beat manga like Bocchi or Frieren and succeed I think is in part because these studios believe they'll likely find a place for it on a content-hungry streaming platform.

[@Serocco]

It isn't just Bocchi, Frieren, or Maomao either. Fuko from Undead Unluck, Ushio from Summer Time Render, the cast in Girls Band Cry, there's so many current shows with female main characters who carry the show or drive the story, and yet still don't get as much attention when they're in shoujo or josei

[@ThetaTuner]

“Only one..” THE number one has a female lead protag that’s AWESOME!!

[@weldy00]

We are truly in the golden age of anime, fullstop. We are constantly getting new and continued shows that blow my mind in quality, writing, animation, and CARE. Some days I watch an episode and wish I could send a big thank you card to the entire staff that worked on it simply because they have all had such a profound impact on me through their art...

[@AnnohaSF]

My favourite female protagonist will probably always be Kumiko from Sound Euphonium. There’s a perfect balance between her competency & her flaws, she’s deeply charming right off the bat, she’s so easy to route for to the point where it’s infectious, and while definitely not DEFINED by her gender given the nature of the story, she still feels like a distinctly female character. I’ve just never seen a more compelling example of a protagonist driving the narrative. She has such a great arc & affects those around her in such an interesting way. An incredible protagonist in every way. Also all the “Kumiko Noises” are so funny to me.

[@Akaipanda3]

I went through all the comments to see if anyone mentioned Sound Euphonium or Kumiko. She’s definitely one of my favourites too!

[@upg5147]

What's interesting to is that for most of the show, she is very passive and not the driving force of the series. The final season is all about her finally becoming that force for not just the story, but herself. Such a great series!

[@sooyster4033]

8:31 I can't not hear her singing "Now this hoard of treasure is Miiiiine!"

[@daydreaming5365]

If there is any one anime that I would like to point out with some of the strongest female lead(s) that I would seriously recommend anybody that is a fan of the music genre as a whole to watch, that would be Hibike! Euphonium. At the start of the series, the protagonist is (intentionally) not very likeable. She doesn't feel like a character who would be a protagonist. She's very flawed an indecisive and always very distant from everything. As you follow her journey throughout the story, you watch her change and become a better person and by the end of it, you're left with some of the most human feeling characters in a series. This is a show I'd recommend to anybody that's a fan of music anime and especially to Pey after seeing his top 10 favorite series, it really feels like a show you'd enjoy.

[@masterofpuppets5568]

I've been a fan of Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the shell for years.

[@LD-Orbs]

We remember the Major! 🦾

[@Pangora2]

We've been getting great leads for decades, I agree.

[@Totaraum]

These are four of my favorite shows from the last few years, it’s weird to see all of them talked about in one place lol. I really appreciate how succinct and thoughtful your scripts are. Thank you for the video!

[@ImtheRey]

you baited me into watching "skip and loafer" and "bocchi the rock"

[@NeoZeta]

They are both awesome really.

[@upg5147]

Best baiting that can happen ngl

[@OhmIsFutile]

Haven't watched Skip and Loafer myself but likely going to... and Bocchi the rock is amazing!

[@c0smo70]

same and now skip and loafer is one of my favourite pieces of fiction oat (both the anime and the manga)

[@qua_lap]

I think this is your strongest video ever. Thank you for this great work

[@Kiwi-Araga]

I like Maomao slightly more than Frieren. For the shows themselves it's vice versa, but again, I like one slightly more than the other.

[@samdoehart1333]

Your videos have really become a highlight of my weeks! Always so thoughtful and positive!

[@kcsupersonic1]

I would argue that the only major difference between writing a great female protagonist vs a great male protagonist is generally that a great female protagonist should lean a bit more into their strengths/competency and a great male protagonist should lean a bit more into their flaws. It is much easier to make a female protagonist compelling if their portrayal is one that highlights their capabilities or strengths before elaborating and expanding them with flaws that make sense based on who they are. It shows that this character is far from helpless in addressing whatever the central conflict of the narrative is, but also has things they need to overcome in order to get where they want to go. Conversely, it is easier to make a male protagonist compelling if we are shown their flaws right from the start, so we understand that this character will not be some kind of platonic ideal, and will certainly need to work through issues and personal flaws in order to become who they want to be. I'm definitely not saying this is a hard and fast rule, but it certainly is a general trend I have observed in good fiction over the years.

[@upg5147]

This works because of the perceived gender norms I believe most of society has, but even then I think more things are at play such as age. If the character is a child, we expect them to be rather weak or not very influential regardless of gender. Same is true of fantasy worlds where we aren't sure of their gender norms. Some series like The Wheel of Time make it where only females can do magic so they are far more powerful and influential than most males.

[@VelaiciaCreator]

That does imply some very not good things regarding gender/sex divide though, which is bad to keep up.

[@kcsupersonic1]

@VelaiciaCreator I don't think it implies anything at all. It is simply the result of the culture and tradition we exist in. I am not talking about the in-between areas between identification as a man or a woman. This is merely a general observation about making traditionally female vs. traditionally male main characters in fiction. If a creator's intent is to create a biologically female, heterosexual, non LGBT+ main character, then generally the most compelling characters in this mold tend to focus on establishing strengths and competencies before establishing their flaws or weaknesses. The reverse is often true for the male equivalent. Traditionally, male main characters are often more compelling if we clearly establish their weaknesses or shortcomings before fully building out their strengths. In basic terms, the general implication is that a compelling traditionally female protagonist establishes the idea that they are valuable and have something within their story to offer the audience while a compelling traditionally male protagonist establishes the idea that it is okay for them to be who they are flaws and all.

[@VelaiciaCreator]

@@kcsupersonic1 It implies that men have a default of strength and that women have a default of flaws. Implying a hierarchy or strong and weak between them. THAT is a bad thing to perpetuate when it is readily proven incorrect even at a surface look. It's just sexism.

[@kcsupersonic1]

@VelaiciaCreator No, it doesn't. It implies that there are false conceptions about what it means to be a man and woman based on the current society we live in, and compelling characters are such because they challenge and get people to think about old conventions about manhood of femininity and challenge them. This trend in writing doesn't imply hierarchy it SUBVERTS traditionally established historical hierarchies. It is subversion, not reinforcement.

[@micanikko]

Last time I was this early, Flammel was still alive

[@Stint45678]

Last time I was this early, Kraft was still a warrior

[@OhmIsFutile]

Yooo, that screen wipe at the beginning was clean. Anyway, I love how you broke this down into these pillars. I've seen other videos on the topic and few are able to clearly explain what sets good characters apart. You've also made me curious enough to watch Skip and Loafer. I've been bouncing from anime to anime and struggling to latch onto anything. One of those was Apothecary Diaries which I'm glad you mentioned. The characters did seem great even though I haven't finished it, but, as you mentioned, the episodic mystery nature of it didn't suit me well. Vinland Saga I put up with for longer, but is also starting to feel like there isn't really a clear thread other than following the life of Thorfinn... but I'm getting side-tracked here. This made me wonder how you feel about the females of more recent shounens. I think JJK has some really good ones, though they don't shine nearly as much as the ones you mentioned. Attack on Titan I'm a bit bitter about. The females in AoT get far more respect than in most shounens, but I also think that they weren't really able to be both deep and having leading roles except maybe Hange. And then My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer just make me sad with how they treat their female characters...

[@MrOXSX]

You should watch Spice & Wolf if you haven’t. Holo is genuinely my favorite character in any show and has all of these traits in spades.

[@artblob]

I have watched the first 3 episodes of the Spice and Wolf remake. And it made me uncomfortable, the way her body was presented and all. Didnt find the MC and her too interesting. I want to give this show a true chance, but I gotta know why. Like what is it about the show that people praise so much?

[@LamperougeCC]

@@artblob Just watch it and you'll see. One of the best character dynamics in all of Animanga. Moreover the fanservice you're talking about is only in the first few episodes

[@davidpotts7116]

@@artblob genuinely, the relationship between Holo and Lawrence is one of the best slow burns. It’s a story full of hope, happiness, heartache, and healing. It’s similar to Frieren, in the sense that you aren’t able to understand or connect to the characters until you’ve watched a few episodes in. But when you do find that point of connection the characters become incredibly charming and lovable, and you can’t help but root for them even if you know things may not always turn out all right.

[@MrOXSX]

@@artblob yeah what they said, their dynamic is unrivaled in my opinion, and the nudity does not feel very sexual to me, just like naturalistic I guess hard to explain. Just watch it!

[@DKNguyen3.1415]

@@davidpotts7116 I actually liked Holo considerably less after reading the LN, to the point of dislike. It explains too much which make Holo unintentionally toxic and petty when I think the author's intention was to make her haughty and endearing. The anime and manga doesn't have this problem because they can't explore as deeply.

[@kris1123259]

You can tell the author of Skip and Loafer has spent a lot of time observing people. There were several times I thought to myself "yeah, this is how people actually think and behave" while reading/watching it. All characters feel real and relatable

[@NeoSpira]

I wish men consumed more shoujo media :c the golden age of female protagonists have always been here, there's plenty of it in shoujo/josei...

[@spectris256]

Lets go new frieren reminder just dropped

[@danielarisa4902]

Awesome video as always thanks for sharing your thoughts, I have watched all the shows mentioned except skip and loafer, and I loved the shows because the characters were so good, I had no idea how much they all had in common and their differences, your video made me realize that I have just been consuming media without analyzing it, which is not a bad thing, but for me this is an eye opener. Gotta add skip and loafer to my watch list. Thanks for the video

[@Spirit_Chaser]

Bro first time watching anime with female protagonists.

[@Pangora2]

Yeah, I've been getting this feeling going through the comments. Everyone is mentioning leads from throughout the decades. Old guard fans thought we've just had good shows lately. Because we've been getting them for decades

[@Serocco]

​@@Pangora2especially shoujo and josei, or stories created by women (like Maomao and Bocchi) in general, have always been here, but male anime fans just kinda don't talk about them unless those stories get mainstream appeal

[@upg5147]

​@@SeroccoA lot of Shoujo and Josei, like Shounen, can be pretty generic and play into the troupes they are known for, so it makes sense that each keeps to its own bubble unless it does something worth spreading to the more mainstream anime sphere.

[@Nocturna.]

Most of these series are also written by women also, which can explain why they're so good!

[@Aaano]

Man... I'm going to be so distraught when This running series ends. It brings me so much joy hearing these well written and intellectual looks at such an amazing anime from someone who's voice is honestly so soothing. Please keep up the great work!

[@Joshi1i1]

Only Ogs remember the early thumbnail of this video.

[@TheTodesrolle]

great video like always

[@markbogdan2]

Damn how I've resonated with you at @9:12 . I love battle shonnens like any other, but I could never put in my top list AoT HxH or One Piece on top of let's say Apothecary Diaries or Frieren.

[@dianatoboso8311]

I love your videos, I've been eating them and leaving no crumbs for the past few weeks in a very delicate time of my life. I cry often watching them, which is something I love. I just want to add to this something about skip and loafer. I've watched all four of these anime, frieren is one of my two favorite anime of all time. And while all four make my heart warm when I watch them, skip and loafer is just top of the list in that regard (altho, my other favorite anime wins: welcome do demon school, Iruma-kun). It's so well made and it shows all the strength of a good slice of life anime. But there's something else I want to mention in a video that talks about gender. The first time mitsumi's aunt appears I thought "wait is this a trans woman?" and being a trans woman myself I thought " well, maybe it's just me looking for representation". But then the scene in the subway happens and by that moment I was convinced she was. And we finally get to see she's actually trans and not only that, but she's amazing, capable, human and loved. I cannot thank skip and loafer enough for that. In a media where trans people are usually the butt of the joke, they gave us a really compelling character. And it made me so happy.

[@PeyTalksAnime]

The subway scene and way they handled mutsumi's aunt as a whole was outstanding. Just seemed like a masterclass in thought out character writing

[@tobiasweber2517]

I’m gonna watch skip and loafer now since I enjoyed all the others you mentioned very much but haven’t heard of this one. My recommendation is for you would be “keep your hands off eizouken”. It fits here because of the cast of 3 female leads. all of which are very distinct and work together very well. Although truthfully the characters are almost secondary to my enjoyment of the show. Because its production as an anime is one of the best if not the best I’ve ever seen. The way animation interacts with the storytelling is just phenomenal

[@IamG_]

I’m glad you did a video covered apothecary diaries 🙏

[@valsoro9565]

I love both frieren and myne from asccendance of a bookworm.

[@VelaiciaCreator]

Myne, Mafia Boss Myne, or Darth Myne? Ooooh, or the Mynechant?

[@isabellepeterson329]

I love this video - you honestly never miss with the insightful and positive commentary. Your analysis videos are a breath of fresh air when so much more often I see rants and "XYZ sucks and here's why". Female protagonists are such an underused choice for writers - they can be so much more nuanced and thoughtfully written than they have historically been and it's great to see they're finally getting that. This video has successfully convinced me to watch Skip & Loafer finally, because I really want to fill that hole in my heart that so many other anime have left wanting. Keep up the great work. Your videos are an instant click for me.

[@maizeman90]

We were spoiled as hell with Frieren on Friday and MaoMao on Saturday for 20+ straight weeks.

[@Capodraste]

Just to point, what I felt, what I loved about Skip and Loafer, I felt it too in *Kimi no Todoke* I call these series "sisters in souls" for the fun because they are pure and passionate about what they talk and represent. I'm anime only in Skip so I'll see if the series set appart or not but yeah, I rank these two equally in my top 10 of all time too (expect I have another classement for movies animes, for me it's not the same media while being obviously the same but you know). And to quote you, I had a shift when watching these two series too. A comprehension that slice of life _is good_ even *excellent* and when your mood is there, that can be the most rewarding genre to watch :3

[@isto_inc]

Great video. YA LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY!!!

[@castergilgamesh1778]

Thanks Anders!

[@tennalist]

I don't know if you like reading as much as you like watching anime, but in case you do; I think you'd really enjoy "Your Throne". It is a webtoon series who's protagonist i consider one of my favourite written female characters. She is very different from the characters shown in your video, in a sense that she wants all audience to perceive her as 'perfect' and she is always several steps ahead of the reader mentally. She has much less flaws sawn at the beginning of the series, but as the story progresses you are sort of excited to see her missteps.

[@whatthehell932]

Cheers my friends. I love well writen character they really are nice.

[@BeaglzRok1]

Apothecary Diaries mentioned! I'll admit that the mysteries can often be fairly shallow in terms of needing the protagonist to explain the plot rather than having the information available to the audience to figure out, but the detective aspect is portrayed as effectively a convenient way for Maomao to appear useful and keep people from taking advantage of her in any other way. For her, it's relatively stress-free work that everyone appreciates, and when it does get to be a bit much people humorously bribe her with scooby snacks.

[@gespenst1329]

Best part of course is how no one made any noise one way or the other about it.

[@JavanAnime]

skip and loafer mentioned!!!

[@Noah_Boulter]

GREAT VIDEO, also just realized your the same guy as pey the musician

[@silvershades6689]

Meanwhile, the male protagonists of most isekai... speaks for itself really...

[@jpickens189]

I find it interesting how the modern female protagonist exists at the intersection between being built for consumption and subjectivity. It feels like there is a desire to present a subjectivity that people can latch onto, but does not assert itself so strongly as to undermine the "waifu" mode of consumption which dominates almost every sphere of anime production. This results in flaws that have to be tempered by overwhelming virtue and overwhelming appeal in other areas. Not that this hasn't kind of always been a major factor in how women were portrayed in anime, but there may have been times when it was more okay for them to have some appealing traits drowning in a litany of flaws, and still be considered empathetic and entertaining characters. Edit: Like, I am glad we don't have many Rudeus Grayrats among female protagonists, but perhaps we could stand to appreciate slightly messier women in our fiction, esp. as main characters.

[@sweetyboy8187]

The reason there are too few female protagonists in anime is actually the author, no the audience. The audience enjoys anime with both genders as protagonist but it is hard to write a good character of opposite character when you will mostly be telling the story from their perspective.

[@polo826]

your video essay stily gives me the same vibes as watching Frieren

[@Mizar007]

Just the year before we had Suletta from WFM, we have had consistently great female leads and it only seems to be getting better as we accelerate into the future. Im so happy with this golden age of storytelling

[@Ash_Wen-li]

Eh, Anime has always had great female leads. Some of my favourites include: The Rose of Versailles Akage no Anne Aria Series Chihayafuru Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex Kino's Jouney (2003) Apothecary Diaries Monogatari Series Frieren Land of the Lustrous Princess Tutu Psycho Pass (Season 1) Gunbuster Fruits Basket A Place Further Than the Universe Nana Onisame e... 86 Spice and Wolf Hibike Euphonium Twelve Kingdoms Shinesekai Yori Kemono no Souja Erin Katanagatari Kaguya Sama Love is War Yona of the Dawn Ya Boy Kongming! Serei no Moribito Black Lagoon Ergo Proxy Galaxy Express 999 Haibane Renmei Heike Monogatari Made in Abyss Madoka Magica Revolutionary Girl Utena Honourable mention to Glass Mask which I've heard great things about but haven't seen yet

[@OhmIsFutile]

I don't entirely disagree, but I think you gotta stop and think about how popular most of the anime you've mentioned have been even at their peak. Some of the titles you mention are also questionable imo and/or have good females but still have them viewed from a deeply male perspective. For example, I love Motoko "Major" Kusanagi from GitS, but she's barely female or even human, which made for interesting philosophical exploration and an interesting character overall, but the extent of her femininity stops mostly with Batou's interest and her very mild teasing of secondary characters. I thoroughly enjoyed Psycho Pass (season 1 only, very important lol), but I can't even remember the main character's name. She was fine and certainly female, but she's not particularly memorable. She's more like a very good instrument to a great plot. So yes, we've always had great females in anime, but how many were great females as opposed to great characters and how good and popular were those anime in the grand scheme of things? That's without getting into how many were tastefully looked at versus plainly objectified, which people can never agree about...

[@Ash_Wen-li]

​​@@OhmIsFutileI'd still put a lot of these up against Frieren or Mao Mao. Sure they aren't as mainstream but they are written just as well. My list was definitely aimed at how good the anime were not necessarily the female protagonists themselves that's why Kusunagi and Akane are there despite not being the most rounded characters. But even then, I don't think there's anything inherently special about the female protagonists were getting today compared to the past

[@OhmIsFutile]

​@@Ash_Wen-li That's fair. Part of my point is that some of the females are just good characters that happen to be female as opposed to good female characters... which is certainly a thin nuance but a nuance nonetheless.

[@Ash_Wen-li]

​@@OhmIsFutileYeah that's could be a whole discussion in and of itself which would be very interesting.

[@skyhook8822]

I watched Bocchi just last week. Loved it

[@I_Am_Lewa]

I hope you keep up the great work!

[@wolfVFV]

i dont think this is anything new. Kino's Journey features Kino, a very competent lead with Flaws and ideals. less focused on her gender (its never really mentioned or relevant during the story). the anime came out in 2003 then there is also Carole and tuesday(2019),Kill la kill and Violet Evergarden(2019) and the girl that jumped torugh time (movie). (probably more) furthermore lots of animes with a strong second lead like angel beats (2009), Eureka 7,Konosuba,Kakegurui,elfenlied,Death parade etc. i do think boochi, Apothecary and Frieren have a different writing style then the ones i mentioned earlier but lots of the points you mention you can find in the animes i mentioned

[@NeoZeta]

Same. I like the video a lot, but it isn't really anything new in the world of anime. I was thinking this the whole time throughout the video. He is just referring to the most currently popular shows and attributing that. But those shows would be as popular regardless of the gender of the protagonist. It's not the gender that is setting them to that tier. It's just what the modern audiences (of MAL) like.

[@wolfVFV]

@@NeoZeta i am not sure i agree with that, my point was this trend existed already. both bochi and Apothecary use female characteristics for the character identity a lot. In apothecary there is also sozial commentary about ancient japan and how they treated woman which is a huge part of the show/story

[@NeoZeta]

@@wolfVFV Hm, yeah, there are other shows that do the same social commentary about ancient Japan and women, with female leads too. I can't remember all the names, but Apothecary is just one more. And my point is: that the female lead thing has always been a thing too. I can't say 100% sure, but I partially believe that it'd not change in popularity if those shows had the main character being of the opposite gender. Thing is, those shows would make the personality of the character as a female not be the same as if they are male. And if you notice the list he showed, most of them are just Shonen. It's just easier to have the protag as male for the KIND of character they want to write for those particular shows. Because just grabbing male characteristics and shoving it into a female is usually not ideal (aside for specific cases). That's why I believe they are mostly male protags in THOSE particular shows. Otherwise, why don't we have more male protags in Shoujo anime? It's self-explanatory. lol That's what I mean by popularity putting them there. And the sort of arc those shows tell are easier told from a male protag POV with the characteristics they want them to have. But they could be adapted if they wished so, and nobody would care. Many anime viewers already root for female chars anyway. Most people don't care the gender of the char, just make them good and realistic-enough.

[@fanaticfrancis4163]

It can be summarized as make a character who is capable of many things, chasing a goal, give relatable quirks, but struggling with personal flaws . . . who just happens to be female. - Bocchi has an ambition to gain recognition as a guitarist but ironically made an obstacle out of her character is her struggle with social anxiety, but made friends along the way. - Maomao's intelligence is finally recognized by those of positions of power, solved many mysteries, created many connections, despite being oppressed by the hierarchical world around her for being born of the peasant class. - Frieren as the best medium for the audience's lens to understand how immortality numbed her to feel relationships of anyone with a limited lifespan than her, is changing herself to be meaningful around people. What these three have in common is their own unique personalities, abilities, and struggles versus themselves to overcome, creating an interesting universal storytelling theme that is relatable by everyone and appreciated even by the male fandom as characters to aspire to. Not as the next waifu material, and are not lecturing anybody centering on the fact that they are female like Hollywood does with its shitty movies today.

[@eusociality]

i was NOT expecting brando sando to be mentioned in this video

[@namikkou]

I will say a caviate for Apothecary Diaries is that the first season only covers the first two books, while I'm pretty sure in Japanese they're up to like, book 14. There's a lot more of the story left to be told that is slowly revealed over time as Maomao and Jinshi age and find themselves encountering different situations. She (and Jinshi) have a lot more character development left to go from where the first season. Though I think it applies to other shows at well, TAD is just a notable example in that it's set up is fairly quick, but the plot is on the slower side as the world expands more and more

[@yeetmeister3055]

I think what makes a lot of these characters great as well is that they aren't only defined by their general category. Bocchi being an extremely shy introvert, Frieren being a kuudere, going a bit outside of this realm you have Harry potter being the chosen one, Luke Skywalker also simply being the bright eye'd kid who seeks adventure, etc. A lot of these characters can be defined by their traits, but they aren't the only things defining them which is a problem I see in a lot of stories, especially modern stories. A damning example would be Mr.Krabs from spongebob, originally he was a money loving crook but he was also a huge father figure to spongebob; however as his writing got worse he was then later confined ONLY to just a money loving crook who sold spongebob for 62 cents, while it is easier to write someone like this it diminishes their value immensily. Cosmo from Fairly odd parents is another damning example of tropes completely defining a character. Originally he was a bit of a goof ball but he carried much street smarts, sass, and wiz with him, if you saw the original odd parents pilot yeah he was a bit of an idiot at times which made him endearing but he was also extremely quick thinking, very unorthodoxed, and very intelligent as well which honestly made his character so much more likable and understandable. Now he's completely defined as just "the idiot" only ever doing stupid stuff for amusement or simply to move the plot which assassinates his character. Moving forward to talk about those that break that "trope defines character" mold would be, as previously stated, Luke Skywalker, defined by the Luke Skywalker character trope (fitting name). Where people think of him as the hopeful naive protagonist who's going to go out on an adventure to save the world, or Galaxy. While he does do that and is that, confining him to that trope misses his greater character growth, if you watch the Empire Strikes back he's not just a hopeful naive kid, he's brash, impulsive, impatient, and in return of the Jedi he's incredibly cunning, smart, and compassionate with his father, while also being incredibly sassy with the Empoeror. It makes him a more rounded, relatable, and more humanlike character. Leia Organa is also a character from the same story who also breaks the confined to one role mold, and as a plus she's a female protagonist. Initially she follows the "damsal in distress" trope, a princess always needing saving, but ironically the minute the crew get the doors open Leia IMMEDIATELY takes charge of the situation and gets the two knuckle heads out of firing range from storm troopers and into a safe spot while also getting them off the death star. This happens a lot throughout the original trilogy where Leia is more than the damsal in distress, the princess, the one they need to save. More than half the time it's the other way around Leia is usually the one doing the saving while also taking charge of the situation, she isn't perfect either she makes mistakes, in a new hope she makes a blunder that leads the death star to Yavin IV, in Empire her enacting her revenge on Lando lost crucial time in needing to save Han Solo from Boba, and in Return of the Jedi her rescue attempt does cause her to get captured by Jabba. However these failures don't define her either, in Empire she makes up for her failure to not save Han by sensing Luke needed to be saving, and in Return of the Jedi she returns the favor back to Jabba by choking him to death with the very chain he used to hold her down. Yes she has trope like attributes and she has her flaws but neither of these define her, ironically it enhances her character further. Honestly I like this new wave of characters and people are focusing more on writing geniunely good and likeable characters rather than confining people to a trope to appease the masses, a lot of these new gen anime and some modern media feel like we're following the journeys of actual peoples rather than cash grabs or watered down versions of tropes so no one gets offended. I dig it and I hope it gets expanded upon further and we get more stuff like that.

[@AchanCham_]

Well said!

[@qtastically5747]

While it definitely had it’s problems, the female characters in my first ever manga, Inuyasha are still some of my favourites. Kagome, who is def the protagonist in spite of the title, feels like a genuinely relatable, real teenage girl. Strong ≠ Good character. I like characters that are unapologetically women, they can be insecure, girly, emotional.. hell, they can have crushes!!?. Real women do too and achieving things despite having actual flaws and challenges is just much better than being overpowered and perfect

[@deeplymoans]

holy shit he did it

[@suzukininja24]

Only one I haven’t watched yet is Skip and Loafer, now it’s in my must watch list

[@estelle6008]

I would also recommend undead unluck the female protagonist goes through a lot of development and imo she’s well written

[@pyeitme508]

YES!

[@rebeccab719]

Have you seen Ascendance of a Bookworm? I think you would enjoy it. Also, Haikyuu literally got me into anime. So nice to see it mentioned again, if only briefly.

[@uraveragehoovy]

I think that Fuuko from Undead Unluck also deserves to be on this list of revolutionary female characters in modern Japanese media

[@-Raylight]

MaoMao and Frieren are our -heroes- heroines. Why are they not real 😭😭🤣 Yep we don't really care about character's gender. They just happen have a very good and interesting protagonist that happens to be a female. Wish some writers would understand this Baby Steps and Skip&Loafer?? Wow, no one ever talks about these anime. Love them too especially Mitsumi!!

[@Grim_Bud]

I was not expecting baby steps in the list. Not many people talks about it.

[@artblob]

On this note, I wanted to recommend Wotakoi It is a slice of life But the catch is: The characters are adults. Like working in a society adults. And acting as ... well, normal people.

[@upg5147]

Something to note, these traits are things ANY character should have, not just female characters. I've always thought it's as easy or hard to write a female protagonist or character as it is a male one. You can usually write your character as neither and add in the gender later UNLESS the story being told is directly involved and affected by the gender of the character (like MaoMao). I think the other three characters mentioned in this story could easily be males and work just as well from a purely writing perspective.

[@LoLTuglowOP]

I’ve noticed myself watching a lot of your videos and it’s started with your frieren videos. I enjoy the pacing and editing and the script and all that you put behind it. One thing I really enjoy the most is that you don’t use the same handful of scenes over and over and over in your videos and that to me helps me stay engaged if I have a lapse of not focusing on what you say then it’s bc of something on screen caught my eye and vice versa. One thing that I’m very curious to know is how do you manage your time between watching anime (maybe reading also?) and other hobbies vs being able to sit down and write your script/edit/come up with topics etc. do you just sacrifice one in order to do the other? Do two things shine while one falters? Is there a possible system? Apologies if this is such a random question. I’ve been struggling with this after attempting my first video like this and would love some insight or help if possible! Thanks for the wonderful videos I’ll be looking forward to more of them 🫶🏽

[@pattonfordo]

An interesting anime I can recommend is Macross 7, It has a main character who is to me a pacifist done right and in a Mecha Anime with grandiose battles he never felt out of place and I feel you would have alot to dissect with a show like that. This video reminded me what I feel is good writing in general.

[@s.a.okirito701]

thank god somebody actually realizes how bad Apothecary Diarie's mysteries are. im a huge fan of Hyouka and seeing Replay Value making a video praising Apothecary Diarie's mysteries felt like a betrayal. and although Maomao is an interesting character, her motive and character development are quite poorly written. she always wants to keep a low-profile (because apparently that's what all the cool kids do) so why does she keep solving these mysteries again and again? to save people, obviously, and she uses that as an excuse to keep involving herself in these "puzzles" dispite the fact that kinda go against her wish to not be stand out so much. but gradually we realize she becomes obsessed with these puzzles which has noting to do with her other obession, being an apothecary, and we dont even notice when she develops this obsession, because unlike other shows where characters have to go through a whole character arc to discover their real motive behind their actions, like when dr.Watson realizes he doesnt have ptsd after the war, he just misses it, which explain why he want to be Sherlock sidekick dispite him being a total dick. we dont have that with Maomao, she just develop her obsession with solving mysteries out of nowhere. and this kind ruined the character for me.

[@DKNguyen3.1415]

The mysteries are by FAR the worst part of the series. This is exacerbated by the way Mao Mao praises her father's problem solving abilities. I don't know how it comes across in the anime since I started reading the LN rather than watching the anime after the first few episodes, but it's so bad in the LN and it only gets worse later on. Only a handful of mysteries are integrated naturally into the storyline and only near the beginning. I also wasn't a fan of Hyouka because of the mysteries but the way Hyouka jumps from mystery to mystery actually makes sense since it's more like a detective agency setup so the mysteries didn't need to be well-integrated into a larger plot, because there wasn't really a larger plot. In The way mysteries in Hyouka are introduced don't feel forced or distracting from anything else, unlike Apothecary Diaries.

[@anonemoose7777]

In the dark age of quality nonfiction females we have a golden age of quality fictional female characters to see us through. ☕️🇰🇿

[@spacefighter4938]

I feel like you would enjoy either hyouka or how to become ordinary if you haven't already watched them,

[@swtormadness]

It's a bs that manga / anime has "predominantly male audience". Even shounen that is dedicated to boys ages 12 - 18 is no longer reflective of its own demographic as half of the people reading and watching shounen are women. Same for any other manga / anime targeted at specific group. People who say this argument are most probably westerners who have no idea that manga and anime have demographics in the first place. Anyway, I feel like before manga and anime were heavily limited due to weird ideas of editors, especially those that get serialized via Shounen Jump. Female characters were rarely allowed there to be well-rounded and often felt like afterthoughts, like one dimensional cardboard figurine. Good writing in regard to women could be only expected from mangaka who themselves were women like Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist). Ofc it's still true for modern manga and anime (like Frieren), but I feel like more male mankaga finally learned how to write female characters as people. And let's not forget about other manga magazines and manga directed at different demographics. Shoujo and Josei are also evolving albeit I can't really compare due to my lack of insight. But it'd be foolish to assume that shoujo and josei didn't change with time. Though it's definitely true that shounen manga needed the most in regard to maturing and still need a lot of work, but with authors who care I can see it happen very quickly.

[@Glyn-Leine]

good morning! this is a nice breakfast surprise xD

[@VelaiciaCreator]

You may change your opinion on Apothecary's mystery subplots come season 2. Season 3 will hammer all that home even more.

[@paulocezardinizjunior346]

Traits don't make a character charming. Writing does, Freiren is the example of that, she doesn't really have any charming traits, but she is still extremely charming.

[@soggycracker5934]

Brandon Sanderson is 100 percent the poster child of the old saying, 'Those who cannot do, teach'. His books are some of the most boring drivel I have ever read. I never thought any author would disappoint me more than George 'loves incest' R. R. Martin. But Sanderson taught me differently.

[@PeyTalksAnime]

While you have every right not to enjoy his books. He is literally the poster child for being one of, if not the most successful modern fantasy writers. By like literally every metric in which you can measure an author (outside of just a subjective opinion) he is overwhelmingly successful

[@soggycracker5934]

@@PeyTalksAnime He certainly is successful, but I feel like the bar is much lower today.

[@CaseNumber00]

I have heard this twice from professors, one way to write a good female character is write a male character. Thinking about it, its it is 90% true. I can switch the gender of Frieren and Maomao and their gender 99% doesnt matter. I will also say this advice from professors was not the end all be all to write a female character, just one avenue.

[@GloriousSwordHorse]

Sort of. for Maomao she is in her situation because she is female. If Maomao was male the story would not have happened at all.

[@faiziskandar7364]

@@GloriousSwordHorse Yh, and the character dynamic in Frieren would change if Frieren is male. Not to mention, the overarching romance b/w her and Himmel, a lot of moments; both comedic and heart-warming ones were built off her identity as a female. It would be different otherwise. Would it make the story worse? Maybe not so much. But I disagree with the statement of "one way to write a good female character is write a male character". What would you end up with that formula is a Marvel Superheroine instead of a truly good female character. No offense to Marvel fans.

[@CaseNumber00]

You guys are nit picking and being contrarian. I guess trying to get in several hours of their lectures into a 30 second read would come to this. I think they gave that advice out loud to help some of the other students who really sucked at writing female characters- boy I remember reading some of my peers stuff and it was like their only interaction from women was thru porn. Anyway, I said it was not the end all be all, you dont have to follow this exactly, the point is, for Maomao and Frieren they do act more like traditional male characters than female character. Not the macho and testosterone ones. There is not much femininity for them and they speak and mannerisms are rather direct- which is often how men are written. They are not cutesy/kawaii or use feminine whiles. I was trying to get thru, which I was hoping you would see, write them as a general persons, and fill out the blanks later. With the examples you have given, thats where you interject some of the characteristics and unique problems of being a women, like be kidnapped and sold off. Generally, its some solid advice to fix or avoid bad writing but a good writer can easily use their imagination and work with this template. Of course, there is more to say about this but its just a general rule or practice, there are always exceptions and alternatives. And it does take a lot more than that to write a good female character.

[@BT10e]

Im a simple man, i see mao mao i click

[@malikusman7027]

Now wait for the Witch Hat Atelier

[@wongpentelglobal]

I cant believe i be able to see the start and rise of female characters. Damn that makes maomao another gem . I have high standards because i don't spend much time watching anime .

[@xwrestling]

"The golden age of female protagonists", no mention of Violet Evergarden 🤨

[@PeyTalksAnime]

Haven't seen it yet. Plan on doing something on it specifically going in blind

[@DavidKAnderson]

Skip and Loafer has always been more than a little under the radar, but even for a slice-of-life junkie like me, it was a game-changer. It pushed character interaction in the high school romance sub-genre into newer, vastly more sophisticated territory. Instead of a bit of minor awkwardness driving multiple episodes, making the characters seem unrealistically obtuse even for hormone-addled teenagers (o hai there, Kimi ni Todoke....love ya, but FFS), in Skip and Loafer they figure it out and move forward. It's a bit of realism that just makes the characters that much more believable and immersive.

[@IcyNinjaJ]

Hey really good video once again, like every time. another good female protagonist anime is Girls Band Cry and im curious if you watched it.

[@johnfsenpai]

I think the reason why there are so few female shonen leads isn't quite that the reader demographic is mostly male, though there is still a connection with the real reason: the _author_ demographic is mostly male, and they tend to be males who can't write female characters

[@runawaythoughts5183]

Frieren, Apothecary diaries, bocchi the rock, AND skip and loafer? Is this a dream?

[@DC-rb3uz]

There are some more shows tho Undead Girl Murder Farce Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night Girl band cry Shadow house Weakest tamer

[@Buridan84]

Princess Mononoke ❤ (even if it is only 6th in your ranking)

[@PeyTalksAnime]

No particular order!!! Idk how I'd rank the top ten but mononoke has been my favorite movie of all time for awhile. Not sure if I still think that but I love that story

[@samk9632]

​@@PeyTalksAnime San is also a very good female protagonist

[@JavanAnime]

Brandon Sanderson Mentioned!!!

[@EmperorOfApathy]

Only to comment on the end point of the video, cause I agree with all other points, I don't think that the quality of anime, their characters, and media like these in general should become the norm. It's because things like these are such a rarity that we can truly appreciate that THESE are exceptions and that they truly are great. I'm not saying that seeing an influx of remarkable female leads and protagonists isn't amazing, but we also need some characters with bad or even just unremarkable writing/performances to balance it out so we can continue to notice that the former is actual greatness. Like for example, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Everyone was talking about, still some are, and love the movie because it was an exception in the line of mid to awful films that have been coming out, not mention its predecessor which came with incredibly mixed views.

[@laioren]

You're 26, so maybe you're not aware, but I think the "golden age of female protagonists" started in anime in like... the 1970s. Maybe earlier? Yuki Mori, Sailor Moon, Motoko Kusanagi, Winry Rockbell, Faye Valentine, Kagero, Setsuko from Grave of the Fireflies, Misa Hayase/Lisa Hayes, Claudia LaSalle/Claudia Grant, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Soryu... okay, just every female character in Evangelion. Every female character in any Miyazaki film. Every female character, and Ranma, from anything Rumiko Takahashi made. Like.. there's never been a bad time for female anime characters. I'm not saying ALL of them in every anime is great, but the percentage of well-written anime and manga characters, male or female or other, is generally well beyond what passes for "good enough" in modern American storytelling.

[@itstomatopuree]

Rings of power should take note

[@kurokun07]

female protagonist is just one of my favourite subgenre ever, to see it is thriving now is a satisfying feeling