You better look out below!

30 Days Of Female Awesome Meme, Day Five: Favorite Female Character Characters On A Male-Driven Show

Sora Takenouchi, Hikari Yagami, Mimi Tachnikawa, and Miyako Inoue 

Cheating! But whatever. Can you get any more male-driven than a shounen anime? Well, you can, kinda. Digimon picked up the slack a little in later seasons, but season one was very Why Come Only Two Girls? Kari didn’t even show up until things were winding down. And then season two introduced…only one more.

Despite their scarcity, though, all Digiladies are super awesome and well-drawn. I love that they’re not carbon copies of each other - no two of them would react in any way the same in any situation. Sora is responsible and athletic and nurturing, Team Mom all the way who forgets to look out for herself sometimes too. Mimi starts out a bit of a spoiled brat, but grows into a fiercely loyal and generous person who knows how to have a good time (and a killer sense of style!). Miyako! There are not enough ladies like Miyako out there, still. She is such a huge, unabashed nerd who wears her emotions totally on her sleeve and is very intelligent but also totally gregarious and silly. 

And Kari. OH KARI. My forever girl. Quiet and wise, with a snarky sense of humor and the biggest heart. I LOVE THEM ALL. I love that they have interests and hobbies and stuff that they get up to, that they are all kind of big dorks (like all Digikids) and super good friends. 

Especially that last part. They each have unique relationships with each other, in every combination, that have nothing to do with dudes whatsoever! AMAZING. I know some so-called “adult” shows that could learn from this. 

I ain’t even ashamed I still love Digimon. It’s fun and delightful and sweet, and makes me feel good, like these ladies here. 

(Tragically, after much searching, I could not find a picture that wasn’t terrible with all four in the same frame. I’M SORRY, MIYAKO.)

30 Days Of Female Awesome, Day 4 (skipping the one about “female character you hated” because ehhhh): Female Character You Relate To

Sophie Hatter

Haha, well, this feels a little redundant after my post about Ami, but whatever! (talking about myself too much, ugh, vomit) Sophie Hatter: practical and determined and down-to-earth, reserved at first but passionate when provoked, kind and loyal but sometimes sarcastic, hater of bullshit. Caring about people a lot, and willing to go to great lengths for the ones she cares about the most.

I’ve always felt a kinship to Sophie, the aforementioned good parts but also her crippling fear of predetermined failure, her constant self-sabotage, and her misplaced anger and insecurity. I see myself in Sophie’s comparing herself to others, her guilt over doing wrong, and needing the extra strength that comes from forming important relationships to see her own self-worth. 

But I also hope that someday, I’ll be able to blossom even further as she did - to learn to trust myself more and speak my mind even when I’m most afraid to. To be stronger.

And maybe also to talk magic into inanimate objects and marry a charming wizard, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up. 

30 Days Of Female Awesome Meme, Day 2: Favorite Supporting Female Character

Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury

When I think “supporting”, I think reliable back-up and valuable behind-the-scenes assistance, someone who is there to help our hero but doesn’t lose herself in the process. 

All of that sums up Ami pretty well, I think. She’s not physically the strongest of the senshi, her powers are mostly defensive, and as the brain of the team she can be overlooked. There’s a reason, though, why she’s so popular, and so formative not just with me but with so many girls who grew up watching Sailor Moon. Sailor Mercury gave us a cool, smart girl to look up to who was quiet, and tough in a different and more subtle way.

Ami knows who she is and, 99% of the time, she’s comfortable with it. Her role is one that fits her personality and skillset, the sort that doesn’t often get represented in superheroics. She’s wonderfully interesting: patient and wise and sometimes too serious for her own good. Without her, tiny!me would never have been as comfortable in my own personality and nerdiness. 

There aren’t nearly enough fictional ladies like Ami out there. I hope that more and more appear, kicking ass in their own way, for each generation of girls who need them.

30 Days Of Female Awesome Meme, Day 1: Favorite Lead Female Character

Leslie Knope

Honestly, I wasn’t sure at first how to answer this question. What constitutes favorite lead female character, exactly? Can she be a co-lead, sharing the meat of the story with someone else? Does she need to be the namesake of her piece of media? Should be someone who doesn’t fit into any of the other categories on the list, who wouldn’t be mentioned otherwise? And how do I even begin to narrow down the hundreds of ladies that run through my head when asked this?

I decided to go with someone who fit a few of these bills, and who I was thinking about today anyway. 

Leslie Knope! How do I begin to describe Leslie Knope? She inspires me to work harder and with more dedication and be a better person, she is hilarious and full of affection, she constantly makes mistakes but doesn’t let them get her down! Leslie is flawed and human and always learning, but always EXCITED that she is. 

I’m so grateful that she is on my tv, because she could so easily not have been. Instead, here she is, a lady-shaped ray of sunshine and delight and kindness. In a television landscape that is so full of grumpy people who hate their jobs, their lives, who seem to actively dislike their friends, here is this person who makes other people believe if we try hard and work together, it will all be pretty okay in the end. I really appreciate that.