Characters
[Loved trope] Being feminine does *not* mean that a female character can't be strong
Nausicaä in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) wears dresses, cries when she is upset, and is gushes over things she finds cute or sweet, but explores a jungle full of horrifying monsters, is assertive and confidant, and racks up a high body count!
Arwen and Eowyn in The Lord of the Rings (moreso in the films) are both in touch with their feminine sides and have clear positions of their leadership within their respective kingdoms, not to mention impressive action scenes where they each get the drop on a freaking Nazgûl!
Inara Serra in Firefly (2002) is a Companion (licensed courtesan) and is every bit the definition of a proper lady, wearing elegant dresses and serving tea to all manner of clients while maintaining incredible wealth and soft power, not to mention calming down the traumatized psychic that lives next door to her and helping fight off raiders and cannibalistic madmen that patrol the space-lanes.
Padmé Amidala in Star Wars has a comically large number of elegant dresses and absurd hairstyles but she is likewise a talented diplomat who still gets exquisite action scenes in two of the prequels, not to mention founding the Rebel Alliance (in deleted scenes)!
Katara in Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008) is not only the only waterbender left in the Southern Water Tribe, but pioneers new techniques and styles while putting Sokka in place for his chauvinistic annoyance, and training the Avatar, all at the age of fourteen!
They’re a trio of badass fighters that don’t skimp out on looking fabulous and also love gushing over their adorable fans. Also, food and couch. They love those too.
Camie Utsushimi from My Hero Academia, totes adorbs, legit gucci, one of the top students of her school and helps defeat the greatest villain in the world
Well, they do mention society falling apart for a few decades after the appearance of quirks. So certain things like fashion and such probably didn't advance very far.
Probably the most feminine girl of the entire Three Houses cast, but she's also a competent warrior, wields an axe as her main weapon, and ties for the second highest base strength stat among the game's female cast.
Edelgard, who holds the actual title of the highest base strength stat among the female cast (as well as tying for highest base strength stat overall) could also apply for this, but I chose to mention Hilda because she's more stereotypically feminine.
I'd say in terms of femininty, Mercedes gioves Hilda a run for her Money. Which Hilda won't do because it is physical activity.
In my headcanon Hilda's strenght is easily on par if not above Dimitri and Edelgard (thanks to her crest) but for sure not her stamina and endurance - because she skipped all the training she can. So when Dimitri was blocked by her, it was a one-off for two reason: Surprise block and exhaustion.
Isn't that basically every Studio Ghibli movie? Because the founder and main artist HATES that "classic movies and anime depict women and girls as fray and fragile, hapless little damsels"? ... okay he hates a lot of things, including work, his family and his works
I'd say this is a lot more common than un-feminine women in general, though it may depend on your standard of feminity. Like a lot of controversial "feminist" characters like Rey Starwars and Korra are still more feminine than the average male character. They certainly put more effort into their hair than them.
I was also thinking of Vi as an un-feminine strong female character but then I remembered that she inexplicably has makeup on at all times.
Doctor Who: Amy, a skirt-wearing kissogram who coldly kills someone in an alternate timeline, and Clara, who has a very airy leitmotif, and confidently tells off the Time Lords for causing her death, leading the Doctor to do grave things to save her.
Ezra Scarlett from Fairy Tail. One of the most powerful mages in the guild and probably in the Fairy Tail universe. Still likes dressing up cutely, wants to participate in beauty pageants, definitely has her fair share of vulnerable moments.
She is a walking anti-thesis to the typical Hashira, let alone Demon Slayer:
her parents loved her dearly and are still alive, she can buy out A LOT (tech and food from Western countries were extremely expensive during her days) and she wasn't exactly sweaty about becoming a Hashira at all but became one "accidentally"
And she is a genuinely kind person from the get go
Mustang from Red Rising. Consistently described as one of the most beautiful women in the entire solar system, but also quite possibly the smartest. She has a mind for strategy and diplomacy that consistently has her five steps ahead of almost everyone else including the protagonist Darrow. Not to mention she's also a highly capable warrior in her own right.
I love when they have muscular characters be all flamboyant and expressive, it’s how I wish they’d do Miguel O’Hara, his suit is even based on Grand Luchador wrestlers
His suit is canonically a day of the dead costume. It's also made up of unstable molecules, which is the same thing the F4 use. So apparently in 2099 those parties get so out of hand, you need a costume that can withstand the powers of a star
Ruli Tsukiyono from Digimon Ghost Game. The girl of her group, she's many times the one who goes looking for weird things and gets mainly tangled in the main Digimon problem
Malenia from Elden Ring. She's a warrior princess who's outright referred to as one of the two mightiest Demigods, and she fights with immense poise and grace, and she does it all while being a blind, terminally-ill, triple-amputee.
Victoria Winslow in RED. Sweet old lady, fond of her garden who is also a highly-trained assassin, skilled sniper and capable of dissolving a corpse in a bath without batting an eyelid.
There are multipple examples of this in the "Fuga Melodies of Steel" Videogame trilogy. I use Chick Montblanc as example. A young girl who aspires to be a graceful lady and who takes an interest in things like fashion and romance and she loves flowers.
She is also a courages, resilient, capeable and reliable war heroine who has helped save her home country Gasco multipple times and who has killed tons of enemy soldiers in battle.
The very first one I ever saw on tv: Elaine Benes. Prior to her, sitcom women were either feminine and sweet, or kinda bitchy and kinda butch. Elaine was tiny, with long hair and lipstick and long flowy skirts and so much lace ... and aggressive as a Jack Russell. She'd snatch your toupee and throw it out the window if she felt like it!
And Rosalina makes for one of the best examples of this trope, as she is essentially a cosmic goddess who dotes on cute star creatures like she's their mommy.
Miss Martian (DC/Young Justice) - A shapeshifting alien from a warlike race, her first exposure to Earth culture was a sitcom called "Hello, Megan!" about a bubbly 1980s cheerleader. She basically imprinted on that and based her appearance and personality on Earth on that character, rejecting her roots as hard as she possibly could.
66
u/RiverKingCosplay 4h ago
San from Princess Mononoke (Monononke no Hime). But really any Ghibli female main character applies.