5 Female Anime Characters I Look Up To
Recently I have been watching a lot of different anime and it’s reminded what wonderful life lessons I learned from the shows I was watching from a very young age. My life’s journey has been inspired and in some cases totally changed by these incredible leading ladies who have captured the hearts of many!
So today I want to introduce you to the five anime heroines that have shown not only me but young girls across the world that we can do anything we set our minds to!!
Zoey (Mew Mew Power)
It’s no secret that I loved this show as a little girl and I’m definitely not ashamed to say I used to climb trees, fight sea monsters in the pool or jump off from the top of our dollhouse trying to save the world, just like Zoey would.
Growing up I was always a little shyer and definitely on the quiet side. I would stay out of trouble and keep my eyes to the floor. I never spoke up unless asked a question and I never stood up for myself, maybe not as much as I should have, not even today. It was my little sister who had to look out for me since I was too scared to hurt others feelings. Conflict was not something I dealt with well and I tried to avoid it at any cost.
Watching Mew Mew Power and seeing Zoey, an ordinary girl who never asked to be a hero, stand up and try and do her part to help protect others was just the kick I needed to start my dreams of someday helping others. She was the complete opposite of me. She was brave, fearless, goofy, and cheery. Plus she had the cutest boy in school falling for her without her knowing it! Without me realizing it she was everything I wanted to be.
She taught me about friendship and compassion, about how we must always do what is right and live life to its fullest (and maybe try to maintain good grades haha).
Watching her deal with her everyday struggles was inspiring because she made everything look so easy and simple. She had no time to sit and second guess herself. Like her Mew Mew Power, which was that of a very rare mountain cat, she was quick on her feet and was always the first to jump into action when someone was in any kind of danger.
She was everything I wanted to be when I was little.
Hinata Hyuga (Naruto)
Hinata as a character has been with me from a really young age. She was the girl who never gave up and tried her hardest to prove that she was good enough. Her character arc and how she developed will stay with me forever, because despite being the ‘failure’ of her family she still managed to prove that, with kindness and the will to try, anyone can do anything. For those of you who don’t know Hinata had a crush on Naruto from the very first moment they met. To her, he was strong, kind, and never gave up. As they grew older her small crush blossomed into her falling in love with him. Naruto on the other hand had his eyes set on another girl who was in love with someone else… confusing, yes I know, but Naruto never looked at Hinata as someone he could be with, she was always overshadowed by someone else.
If that happened in the real world they would have already gotten the hint and moved on. But not Hinata, she believed that he was worth the fight and time. Throughout the series, she is his biggest supporter and always believed in him, at one point she put herself at great risk which nearly cost her life to try and save him.
I feel like she did not get the recognition she deserved as a character because she is an incredible role model for little girls. Proving that determination, a kind heart, and the will to keep trying to better yourself even if others believe you’re a failure is what makes the difference in winning against any struggle life throws at you.
Juvia Lockser (Fairy Tail)
It’s been quite some time since I last watched Fairy Tail but without a doubt, I can say that Juvia Lockser is by far my favorite character from the series. When she was introduced she was shown as a cold-hearted, uncaring, character and I really disliked her for what she and her guild did to our beloved Fairy Tail members.
However, as the series continues and Juvia joins Fairy Tail we get to see this sad and gloomy water mage, who always brought the rain with her, turn into a smiling giggling goofball who got to share the sunshine with her friends. Juvia is an S-rank Mage which makes her incredibly strong but it’s not something you would expect when you look at her or the way she acts when she is with her friends.
She always refers to herself in the third person and it somehow adds to just how cute she is. Her obsession with Gray is what makes her so funny because anyone that gets close to him or just smiles at him becomes her rival. Sometimes she can be a bit awkward but it shows off her personality well as she adapts to her surroundings and the people around her.
Throughout the series, it’s shown that she still carries all the wrongdoings she has done with her and tries to make up for it by protecting the people she cares for and helping out others as much as possible.
Misaki (Kaichou Wa Maid-sama)
Maid-Sama is an anime I literally never get tired of! It’s a rom-com anime that tells the story of the student council president Misaki, who also happens to be a poor school girl who works as a cafe maid in order to help her mom and little sister get by.
At school, she enforces the rules to ensure the school is a better place for the female students and the boys hate her for it. One afternoon Misaki’s rival walks past the cafe and sees her in her maid uniform leaving her mortified and ashamed. Soon they go on an unexpected adventure of romance and some slice of life girl drama.
Being the first female school council president puts a lot of pressure on Misaki especially since it was an all-boys school that recently became co-ed. As the series continued I witnessed her breaking down the walls she had built so high up for herself, showing me that it’s okay to sometimes ask for help or lean on others for support. The entire series was a learning process for both her and myself.
This was a character who wanted to help girls in her school and felt that it was important to have their voices and needs heard. I’m sad they never continued with the anime as I would have liked to see her achieve other goals she had set out for herself. At least we have the manga to tell us the rest of her story.
Sawako (Kimi Ni Todoke)
This show is definitely on my top 10 list of romance anime! The story follows Sawako who is feared by others in her school because she resembles the girl from the horror movie ‘Ring’. As the new year starts she finds herself making friends with the hottest guy in school as he felt sorry for her being bullied all the time and ignored by her classmates. His reason for supporting her was that he can’t imagine himself having to go through all of the loneliness and hardship she’s been getting and decided that nobody has to do it alone.
It’s a really sweet anime that would make any person hopeful for a brighter tomorrow. As someone who didn’t always fit in, I could really relate to Sawako because I felt different for liking other things than most of the girls in my class.
By watching her win over the hearts of each classmate through her very rare smile, kind nature, and the need to always want to help others, this anime has shown me that it’s okay to be different and to just be yourself. If you do that then the right people will find you in life and accept you for who you are. Sawako might have been the quiet, shy girl but she always spoke her mind and if something was misunderstood she tried to fix it the best way she knew how.
I don’t think I will ever stop watching anime, not only because I love the art style and stories they tell, but also because it teaches me how to be a better person. There are so many reminders in the series I love to watch that tell us to be kind and caring in everything we do.
Just like movies, music and storybooks do for others, anime will always be my way to escape a really long day.
Lots of Love
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Nice, Hinata is definitely one of my favorite anime characters of all time. Good read.