Anime recommendations with a progressing female lead
April 28, 2019 2:42 PM   Subscribe

I am looking for anime shows which follow that common formula where the lead character is a young cadet/apprentice/outsider/beginner who turns out to be surprisingly good at fighting/piloting/whatever and progresses through a series of increasingly difficult challenges/opponents over the course of the story. But with a female lead.

Male examples I've happened to watch recently, with the sort of character/progression I mean, would include:

- Ichigo Kurosaki in Bleach.
- Kirito in Sword Art Online.
- Nagate Tanikaze in Knights of Sidonia.
- Eren Yeager in Attack on Titan.
- Inaho Kaizuka in Aldnoah Zero.

I want examples like this, but with a female lead. The only one I can think of offhand is Revolutionary Girl Utena which I saw some of perhaps 15 years ago.

I have found lots of lists of Strong Female Characters in anime but most of the entries don't fit what I'm looking for.

Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell usually tops these lists, but does not really fit the trope I'm thinking of, because she is always presented as already having fully developed, expert skills from well before the beginning of the story. I'd be happy to watch more characters like that, but I'm looking in particular for the zero-to-heroine plot.

Some supporting characters also show up a lot in these sorts of lists, e.g. Mikasa Ackermann in Attack on Titan and Asuna in Sword Art Online. Both somewhat have this sort of character progression, but still end up taking secondary roles alongside a male protagonist who ultimately always outclasses them. I'm looking for examples where a female protagonist takes the leading role.

The examples above are predominantly action/combat orientated but that doesn't have to be the focus activity.
posted by automatronic to Media & Arts (28 answers total) 21 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Violet Evergarden
posted by QueenHawkeye at 2:58 PM on April 28, 2019 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Yona in Yona of the Dawn fits this bill in some ways (she becomes more competent as a fighter and a leader as the story goes on) but I'm not sure if she would fit your criteria of "starting from zero" because she's a princess fallen from power. She starts out spoiled and naive and ends up working to win back her (formerly) unearned role/influence with action and becoming an impressive force to be reckoned with.
posted by space snail at 2:59 PM on April 28, 2019


Best answer: A few things came to mind, in no particular order:

Little Witch Academia maybe, although starting closer to zero than "surprisingly good" (at least by the conventional definition of good).

Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan though if you're looking for good female characters you might be bothered by some of the treatment of women pilots there.

Gunbuster if you're ok with older anime. It's been a long time since I saw it, but I think it might be the closest I can think of for this archetype.

Serial Experiments Lain - pretty big stretch as it's more philosophical, but technically it does have a female lead who progressively learns new skills.
posted by sleepy_fork at 3:18 PM on April 28, 2019 [3 favorites]


Best answer: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Kick ass first, make friends later.

Aria. Starts as apprentice ends up being one of the best.

Uma Musume Pretty Derby. The horse-girl one... After the first three or four episodes turns into a fine and decent sports anime of ever increasing accomplishments on the way to being the best in the world.

Most of the others that come to mind tend more towards the"powerful from the start" or team effort (always has the trio or quintet of types).
posted by zengargoyle at 3:39 PM on April 28, 2019


Best answer: The Ancient Magus Bride comes to mind, but it only has one season. The manga is still ongoing, however.
posted by Young Kullervo at 4:03 PM on April 28, 2019 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Sailor Moon seems to fit. Both the main character and the villains she fights get more powerful over the course of the story. It's very similar to shows like Bleach in that respect, with the character going through a series of power-ups as villains get more powerful. But it's not as irritatingly drawn out.

You probably already know there's a new and old version. If you're only interested in recent anime, then there's the new version, but it doesn't have the same charm as the original IMO.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 4:30 PM on April 28, 2019 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Lain of Serial Experiments Lain

Kiki of Kiki's Delivery Service

A-ko of Project A-ko
posted by nickggully at 4:43 PM on April 28, 2019 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Sora no Woto (Sound of the Sky, link is to ep1) might be worth checking out.
The first half is slice of life but the action picks up after that.

Puella magi madoka magica (link to trailer) Might also scratch this itch, though it’s a bit more dark.
posted by forforf at 4:55 PM on April 28, 2019


Best answer: Land of the Lustrous! Please try this one; I'm trying to figure out how to convey how good this is without giving anything away. It's not the best, but it's in maybe the top twenty or thirty best narrative objects I've every experienced. It's very, very good and it fits your criteria. The first few episodes might be a little annoying, and I don't want to say anymore so you can experience this thing. There's only one season out so far, I think. Amazon Prime, atm.
posted by zeek321 at 5:00 PM on April 28, 2019


Best answer: I was thinking about suggesting Madoka as well. The titular character's power level graph is more of a hockey-stick than a ramp-up, although I guess that's subject to interpretation. Regardless, it is really good. A brilliant deconstruction of the Magical Girl genre.
posted by glonous keming at 5:11 PM on April 28, 2019 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Soul Eater! The first episode has way too much fanservice but after that it's a great shonen starring a female protagonist.

IDK if land of the lustrous counts because all the gems are non-binary. Different translations will use different pronouns for them.
posted by storytam at 5:58 PM on April 28, 2019


Best answer: After posting that last comment I just remembered Chihayafuru, which is about a girl getting really good at a traditional Japanese card game, and Skip Beat! which is about a girl getting really good at acting.
posted by storytam at 6:01 PM on April 28, 2019 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Sakura Quest - the protagonist battles to revitalize a rural village!

Shirobako - the protagonist battles to get an anime produced!

Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu - the protagonist battles social anxiety! (OK, this probably isn't really what you're looking for but Bocchi is one of my favorite manga and the anime adaptation is just too good)

Girls und Panzer - the protagonist starts off slightly skilled but has to face tougher and tougher opponents.
posted by ralan at 6:12 PM on April 28, 2019 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Legend of Korra is American anime, but it’s VERY much the “jock progresses through skill levels of x athletic/combat skill” shounen paradigm.
posted by moonlight on vermont at 6:19 PM on April 28, 2019


Best answer: Bodacious Space Pirates mixes “girl at a fancy private school” and “girl inherits her father’s spaceship to fight space battles” with surprisingly good results.
posted by catalytics at 6:22 PM on April 28, 2019


Best answer: The best answer I can come up with that isn't already listed above:
Kill la Kill

Good matches:
Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online
Inu Yasha
Akame Ga Kill
Magic Knight Rayearth
Fairy Tail (though it's arguable whether Lucy is the main character, or Natsu)
Psycho-Pass

Good matches if the challenges don't have to involve fighting:
Yumeiro Patissiere has cooking school challenges of increasing difficulty.
Battle Athletes has sci-fi athletic contests.
Ouran High School Host club
Moshidora about a girl managing a high school boy's baseball team.

Not actually anime, but good matches:
RWBY is American, but very good, and otherwise a good match for what you're looking for.
Manga and live action TV series, but no anime: Liar Game
posted by cruelfood at 7:05 PM on April 28, 2019


Best answer: Two more: Angelic Layer
Cardcaptor Sakura (also known as Cardcaptors)
posted by cruelfood at 7:35 PM on April 28, 2019 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Battle Athletes! totally this.
posted by evilmonk at 8:13 PM on April 28, 2019


Best answer: Someday's Dreamers - The lead character is a high school girl who is going through her summer internship to become a licensed magic user for the Bureau of Magic. The show is ostensibly about the lead character becoming better at magic, but I would say the main theme (and main progression) is more about social interactions and understanding one's self and one's place in the world. It's very low key but quite lovely.
posted by rakaidan at 9:26 PM on April 28, 2019


Best answer: Glass Mask is a classic example.
posted by Standard Orange at 10:19 PM on April 28, 2019


Best answer: Claymore is a good shonen anime about an organization of super-powered swordswomen fighting monsters. The anime only got one season and ends rather abruptly, but if you like it, definitely check out the manga.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 11:26 PM on April 28, 2019


Best answer: I would second Kill la Kill; the gender politics are, uh, all over the place, and there's a lot of fanservicey outfits, but I think it's an interesting example in that it's a very rare case where the female protagonist has exactly the hot-blooded personality you normally see in the male protagonists of shounen anime like Bleach or Naruto.
posted by waffleriot at 1:22 AM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]


Best answer: The Twelve Kingdoms.
posted by TheLinenLenin at 5:30 AM on April 29, 2019 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Hibike! Euphonium is this with a middle school wind ensemble, with the central improving character being a girl who gets serious about playing the euphonium.
posted by tchemgrrl at 6:04 AM on April 29, 2019


Best answer: Gunbuster fits your criteria quite well and I remember liking it a lot. I also remember a lot of gratuitous nudity, if that's an issue.
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:24 AM on April 29, 2019


Best answer: Not sure how I forgot to mention it since I'm in the middle of my third or fourth rewatch of the series, but Encouragement of Climb (Yama no Susume) would probably fit. The main character goes from being a shy and timid high school girl who rarely goes outside to be an active mountain climber with the encouragement of her childhood friend. There are three seasons - the episodes for season 1 are only three minutes each, and the episodes for seasons 2 and 3 are only 13 minutes each, so it's a quick watch.
posted by ralan at 3:05 PM on April 29, 2019


Response by poster: Thank you, everyone! This is the first time I have actually used Ask Mefi for a question and I am blown away by the response.

I've struggled with which answers to mark as best because all of them were helpful and on-point. It looks like I have my viewing cut out for me for quite some time. Pretty much everything people have suggested looks interesting.

A few specific comments:

- I caught a very little bit of Kill la Kill at a friend's place once, and it was introduced to me as a show concept basically created around fanservice, which did put me off paying any attention to it. But waffleriot's comment in particular really caught my eye: "a very rare case where the female protagonist has exactly the hot-blooded personality you normally see in the male protagonists of shounen anime like Bleach or Naruto". My question was broader than that, but I had been wondering whether a direct parallel to this sort of character even existed, and that was much of my initial motivation for the post. So that was very helpful and I'm going to give this a proper watch, thank you.

- I am particularly intrigued by Gunbuster because it does sound like it's a very direct match with a female lead in a usually male-led genre. And aside from the gender side of things, having watched Evangelion I'm also very curious to see what an earlier, more conventional mecha anime from Hideki Anno & Gainax looks like.

- Sword Art Online: Alternative Gun Gale Online also particularly caught my attention because I gather it's a female led parallel story in the existing SAO/GunGale setting where I've already seen the initial male-led story. So it will be very interesting to see how that compares.

For all of the other suggestions I feel like there's little I can say until I've sat down and watched them. But I have looked up all of them, and will try to check out as many as possible. Thanks again everyone.
posted by automatronic at 7:37 AM on May 1, 2019


Possible match: Nodame cantabile has two protagonists, one male and one female. He conducts and she plays the piano, and they both (separately or together) perform in progressively more high stakes and prestigious exhibitions.

Also, it's wonderful. The live action adaptation of the Manga is, imo, better than the anime (not my usual opinion of these matters, but they did a fantastic job with the music and really captured the emotions so well)
posted by Cozybee at 9:07 AM on May 1, 2019


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