Anime women then and now - breaking the stereotypes gradually

A woman with a weapon is inspiring and unique - disrupts the stereotypes of girls being as fragile as a flower. However, only wielding a sword does not suffice if a fighter relies on their counterparts at times of importance. 

Unfortunately, a lot of the anime portrays the female characters almost as unimportantly as classic authors of ancient times who were not accustomed to considering women as equal beings to men. 

The female characters of one of the most popular anime, Naruto, are disliked among the fans to some extent. However, that is not because they are pure evil and antagonistic, but more because they are considered to be ‘useless’ and at times, hindrances. 

Sakura Haruno makes it to countless lists of ‘most hated anime characters of all time’ even though she is the female lead of the series. 

Although her ninjutsu is parallel to her master’s, her role in the storyline is at times an embarrassment to all girls who would want to idolise a female character from a shounen series. The only few female characters who are loved among the fans, especially male fans, are mostly because of their character designs or their flimsiness. 

However, even when a female character is popular, she barely fits into any admirable or heroic standard in the plot. 

For example, Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan. She is considered one of the strongest female characters in the anime world. Men and women are head over heels for the beauty who can wield weapons as if they are parts of her limbs and take on hoards of titans all by herself. 

But how inspiring is she as a character when she does not have a strong contribution to the story, does not have an independent resolve, and acquired her inborn strength only because of the Ackerman clan? She can be considered as a strong warrior, but it cannot be denied that she is designed to be passive and lesser than her male and other female counterparts.

The same spectacle is seen in other popular anime women who are considered powerful. They either have no strong role to play or have no independent purpose as a character. They mostly rely on the male lead but are considered powerful solely because they can be warriors. 

Most of the time, female characters with admirable qualities are later reduced to a passive, helpless ‘waifu’ that magically loses her self-esteem. 

However, anime of the new generation are gradually bringing a change in such culture. For example, one of the reasons Jujutsu Kaisen is equally loved among male and female audiences is that the female characters are just as inspiring as the males.

They contribute to the storyline with strong presence, thoughtfulness, and are equally on par with the boys. They not only have fighting skills but also have independence and imperfections. 

The same is true for any Ghibli movies where the women have been brave, self-sufficient girls that don’t think twice about fighting for what they believe in with all their heart. 

Hayao Miyazaki also comments on how he believes that - “any woman is just as capable of being a hero as any man.” Perhaps that is one of the main reasons why watching a Ghibli movie is the epitome of peacefulness to any anime fan.

With all the extra standards being put on women to be considered admirable, one has to keep in mind that at the end of the day, fictional characters inspire a child. 

Just as the females in Disney movies are gradually growing from Sleeping Beauty to Encanto, anime producers have started to focus more on their strong persona than their skill sets, beauty and fragility. 

Encanto’s Luisa figurines getting more sales than Isabela’s shows how children have been starving for strong and relatable characters than plain outward perfection.

Mehenaz Sultana Tisha is a student of English at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology.

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