But times have changed since those days long past. Now women are getting leading roles, and female characters are being allowed to shine. Heck some movies, like Sucker Punch, are all about women being the heroines. Disney sort of crippled the female character by introducing the idea of the princess, which is "I don't have to do anything but be pretty and the male will eventually come swoop me off my feet" until movies such as Mulan, Tangled, and most recently Frozen mocked this idea and empowered their female characters...often literally giving them powers.
Female characters, in the world of the super-hero, have also taken great leaps. Storm, a woman, is a primary leader of the X-Men. Wonder-Woman can make both Batman and Superman bend to her will and even the more minor characters such as Katana have proven themselves to be fierce warriors.
So how come the title of this blog post isn't "Top 10 Heroines?" Well because some of these characters are not out right good guys. Some of them have their good virtues and some of them are just straight up psychotic. Not that their feminine touch weakens them. In fact, in most cases these girls are stronger, smarter, and better than their male counterparts, particularly once we get to the top of the list. And that's what I find awesome about how female characters are treated nowadays. Before they were either placed in a story for the role of a damsel in distress or to just be a romantic love interest. Now? Now they're kicking butt with dragons and ice powers and taking over far-off lands and blowing stuff up.
Sounds cool to me, so let's get started with
Honorable Mentions
Lord Frieza, Dragon Ball Z: Nah, just kidding. Frieza's not a girl. But it would be easy to mistake him as one.
Princess Leia, Star Wars saga: Technically one of the newest additions to the Disney Princess gallery, Leia was at first introduced as a damsel in distress yet at the same time she was one with great diplomatic prowess as well as some fighting capability, as shown in Return of the Jedi. She's not afraid to do what's necessary for the sake of the galaxy and for her close friends and family. Not only that, but, she is a Jedi, so that automatically brings her up a matter of pegs.
We're short on the Honorable Mentions, but that's okay, as now we can jump straight into the Top 10!
10. Seras Victoria, Hellsing, Hellsing: Ultimate: A former police girl turned vampire after nearly being killed by a vampiric priest, Seras at first proved a bit of a nuisance to Alucard and Ser Integra until she found her grove fighting the evil Nazi regime, Millenium. For the most part, Seras played a smaller role in the series but still proved to be a great asset when assets were needed. By the time she fully unlocked her powers in Hellsing: Ultimate, she proved to be a force not even one of Millenium's greatest soldiers could stop. Empowered by a last-second lover, Seras lost her arm but regained strength to almost rival that of Alucard and eventually became Ser Integra's new personal vampire until Alucard returned. Seras is also very loyal, as she knows that Alucard, Walter, and Integra saved her life and want what's best for her, even if she may disagree with it a little. She's also good for Alucard to have around, as he can have unnecessary back-up that makes missions go by exponentially quicker.
9. Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson & The Olympians Saga: Considering how I haven't yet read the Heroes of Olympus follow-up series, I can't speak for how Annabeth works in that series but speaking from the original five books, I really found Annabeth's character enjoyable. It was pretty obvious from the start how her relationship with Percy was going to end up, but she was also a great contrast throughout the series for him. He was rash and impulsive, she was collected and thoughtful. Not one to pick a fight before finding a solution, Annabeth's mastery of strategy proved helpful on more than one occasion. When she was often from the story, as in The Titan's Curse, I felt the story was sorely lacking, because Annabeth brought some fun and some thought to the story rather than just rushing into fights. And yes, she is a bit of a lesser Hermoine as their roles are basically the same, but at the same time Annabeth is a bit more of a warrior.
8. Hermoine Granger, Harry Potter series: And speaking of the young witch, here we have Hermoine, whose role was not as obvious as Annabeth's. Sure, she was to be the female lead of the story, but, not Harry's love interest. Though that has nothing to do with her character as much as the author's choice, I do like how Hermoine put romance behind her priorities, focusing on the mission rather than the social context at stake. Hermoine is also a very powerful witch capable of probably defeating Harry should it come down to it, and she is a very good student, thus she is a great role model for most young girls. Not like, you know, most other female characters in teenage books (Teresa, Bella). Hermoine also stands by her own beliefs, going to great lengths in the books to free the elves throughout the series. Her plans, too, often have a much higher success rate than her two counterparts and she is often the one early on to get the three of them out of sticky situations. Plus she always happens to have the right tools or spells at the ready when needed.
7. Akiza Izinski, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's--Playing the part originally as an antagonist, the Black Rose, Akiza was a powerful Duelist who could nearly rival her soon-to-be-mentor Yusei in skill. Her psychic powers to turn the Duels they were in real also made way more sense of the whole "ow I've been hit by a hologram" thing. So Akiza was literally one of the strongest duelists. Most of her interesting material comes in the second season of the show, from the beginning of the Cup to the end of the Earthbound stuff. Throughout that period Akiza is struggling to get a grip on her powers and even with the people who claim to have helped her, when really she has been on the wrong side all this time. She had an interesting back story, sort of like Carrie, how she was bullied and would use her powers to cause those who wronged her harm, including her parents. Her character weakened up a little in the third and fourth season once she learned how to Turbo Duel and she sucked up to Yusei, but, it's the Black Rose stuff that sticks out to me. Akiza, when she's not going crazy with her powers, is a very kind and thoughtful person, uncaring of how they relate to her. And when she does join the Signers, she does everything in her power to help save the world that once thought she was a freak. Good stuff.
6. Queen Elsa of Arendelle, Frozen--It should have been obvious that Elsa would wind up on this list seeing as how Frozen is my favorite Disney movie. And while Elsa is not the main reason behind it, Elsa is one of the reasons behind it. First of all, Elsa is I believe the first Disney animated Queen not to be evil, though she serves as the contrasting role for our main heroine, Anna, throughout the film. Second, her scene on the mountain is a quick but powerful scene that really speaks wonders to people today. It doesn't matter what other people think, just be yourself and you can create great things. In her case, a giant snow castle as well as a bunch of snow men for an army. You know, typical Tuesday. Elsa was an empowering female who did not need a man to save her. In fact, she needed family, and I really think that says a lot about her and the kind of character she is. Elsa's trial throughout the film held the biggest lessons. But let's also not overlook her awesome ice powers, that kind of helps out a lot for her. And though she was stubborn, she was stubborn with good intentions. There really isn't much for me to say about Elsa that either I've already said or millions of people haven't already said. She's awesome. Boom.
5. Asuna Yuuki, Sword Art Online--Similar to Akiza, Asuna's character sort of got weakened after we got to know a majority of her past and it seemed like she had been kind of used up. In a way, she was, as she was replaced by Leafa as the main female character in the Alfheim arc. But when they were in Aincrad, Asuna was a force to be reckoned with. Second in command of the Knights of the Blood Oath, the fastest sword skill in all Aincrad and one of the greatest cooks, Asuna was what made SAO bearable for our main hero Kirito. But on her own, she was something else. After meeting Kirito once or twice over the two years before they finally got married, Asuna learned the rules of how to survive in the death game and how to move up in the world. She was feared throughout the game and nobody wanted to mess with her, not even the best player, Kirito. She was tough, she was basically unbreakable unless you really pushed her to her edge. She was willing to do anything to save the people she loved and she was also a wonderful mother to Yui (still breaks my heart every time I think about it). Asuna may have started off as a scared little girl but proved that Lightning Flash Asuna would soon become nobody you wanted to mess with.
4. Mikasa Ackerman, Attack on Titan--Just a girl living in a lonely world, Mikasa quickly had her life ripped away from her when her parents were murdered right in front of her eyes without mercy. She was scarred and nearly killed until the fateful day that Eren came and saved her, and since then she has lived her life in his debt and has become the second strongest Titan-slayer in the kingdom to defend him. Mikasa may be quiet and cold, but she is nothing short of awesome. Even when her resources were essentially completely empty, she was able to take out three Titans like it was nothing, something barely anyone can do. She is very loyal to Eren, obviously, but also her friend Armin. Like Asuna, everyone fears what Mikasa is capable of. And when she snaps, she snaps, taking down almost anything in her path. Though that does make her a little irrational, it proves that she will do anything to save her friends and help them out of their situation. She's willing to go against the order if it means saving Eren and Armin. Her being a prime Titan-slayer also helps out big time as well, gaining the respect quickly of many cadets and officers.
3. Daenarys Targaryen, Game of Thrones--Since I have not read the books, I can't give too many examples from there, but just from the show, I know that Dany is a force no nation will ever wished they'd reckoned with. Freer of slaves, Mother of Dragons, Dany has essentially done it all. After losing everything from her first love to the respect of her people, Dany has managed to multiply her army with the help of her dragons and the respect of several others. Really she is a master tactician. Where she travels, slaves are great in number, far greater than that of those who rule. She has rarely ignited a battle, but has started many uprisings. If I'm not mistaken she has yet to be a part of a full-scale battle, rather she has a large army that can take down an entire city or she can just send a small team in to usurp the city from the inside. It all plays on her strategy. Is she a just ruler? Eh. Is she tough? Unbreakable. Even when she saw her dead husband and unborn baby, she continued to travel on as a hardened person to take down those who would dare to stop her. She also has very high ambition of reclaiming the Iron Throne, something I can very easily see her getting the chance to do.
2. Arya Stark, Game of Thrones--Yet despite Dany being a conqueror, Arya is a messed up little girl who deserves justice and in my opinion to sit on the throne. Most of her family is dead, she's seen more people die than most common folk in Westeros, her enemies are ruling the land, she's traveled and worked under murderers and she knows how to fight. What's that made her into? A warrior. Learning from a master assassin and several other warriors, Arya now sees the world as it is but is not willing to let it slip out of her grasp, often trying to be fair to people, since she was raised that way by Ned, her father. Also her list of people she'd like to take out she recites every night is kind of awesome. Arya's list of enemies basically contains all of the same people the viewer hates, minus the Hound, so she's in one way our little way into the show. She's the main person I root for, to be honest, because she's really one of the most broken characters. She's almost always there when something tragic has to happen on the show, including two of their most surprising and greatest tragedies, but always keeps walking after it. Her brokenness empowers her, though, to new heights and makes her one of the strongest characters on the show.
Now interestingly enough, number 1 is one of the main reasons I made this list and is the most recent female characters I've come to watch. She's not a hero, which is another main reason I could not call this a heroine list. So here she is:
1. Revy, Black Lagoon--A potty-mouthed gunslinger with almost no regard to anything but money, Revy is without a doubt my favorite female character. Of course, definitely not someone I admire, but, when she can make a show so awesome just by being in it, you know she's something special. Most of the humor, action, and interesting little tidbits come from her. She's got the darkest past out of all the Lagoon company, and she's their best fighter. Revy is essentially the perfect mercenary. Known as Two-Hands for her mastery of using a gun in both hands, Revy has taken down entire camps of trained men. Though not entirely loyal to those who may stand in her way or wrong her, she does have a connection with all of them that she appreciates, such as with her counterpart and contrast in Rock. A little insecure but also very uncaring about how she acts, Revy will say what she wants but does not always get what she wants. Despite that, she usually doesn't do the whining thing as she sees life as something worth enjoying. She isn't one to cry over spilled milk, basically. Revy is the most fun character I think I've ever had the pleasure of getting to watch. Her interaction with every single character is great and when she's faced with a tough situation she is often able to even make it kind of funny, as she is rarely ever afraid and is always confident. Revy is basically a mix between if a cowboy and a girl pirate had a love child. She's quick to the trigger and has a smile on her face to get the job done. Money might for the most part be everything, but she has morals deep down that keep her from losing her humanity entirely. Revy is just all-around fun and totally awesome.
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