Adventure Shows for Girls

JGray

I'd like to take a moment to think about animated adventure shows that had female protagonists. For a while, it seemed like girl power was a major force but I've noticed that, in recent years, female characters have fallen to the back again. So, I thought I'd celebrate some of the great animated adventure shows with female leads from the past.

Kim Possible: Maybe the very best of them. A world trotting teen who could do anything. In a twist on a familiar trope, the girl is the hero while the boy is the bumbling sidekick.

My Life as a Teenage Robot: XJ9 (aka Jenny) is trying to be a normal teen while at the same time she's a robot built to save the world from... pretty much everything.

The Powerpuff Girls: One of the foundation blocks of modern girl power, the Powerpuff Girls are made from sugar... spice... everything nice... and CHEMICAL X!

She-Ra: Princess of Power: During the 80s, the toy companies saw great success with product/show combos such as He-Man and Transformers, so they tried to duplicate that success shows and toy lines targeted to girls. She-Ra was He-Man's sister. In some ways, she's the mother of the modern animated female.

Jem and the Holograms: Like She-Ra, Jem was as much a toy commercial as a show. It is classic, bad 80s glam rock but the theme song gets stuck in your head like nothing's business. Find the cover by Freezepop sometime. It is fab!

Recent shows seem to be returning to the two boys for every one girl formula. Young Justice has four male heroes (Robin, Aqualad, Superboy, and Kid Flash) and two female heroes (Miss Martian and Artemis). Zevo-3 has two boys, one girl. And the new power rangers? Three boys, two girls with the girls being pink and yellow. Once again, the red ranger's a white guy.

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Fairportfan
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Guest post by "Fairportfan"
Peter David's original "Young Justice" comic had three guys (Robin, Superboy and Impulse) and three girls (Wonder Girl, Arrowette and Secret). Later they added Slobo (a teen-age Lobo) and Empress.

Submitted March 10, 2011 at 12:37AM

Ayshara
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Guest post by "Ayshara"
Actually the two girls, three guys combo started with the original MMPR but the suits and stock footage used was from Zyuranger and that team was 4 guys and 1 girl. (The difference between the two was yellow)

Submitted March 10, 2011 at 7:21AM

JGray

Ayshara - Indeed, Power Rangers is limited by the show it takes footage from. Still, there's no reason the red ranger can't be someone of color. It has been done in the past (Mystic Force).

Fairportfan - Whatever other problems I had with the Young Justice series (it got a little too silly at times and I've never been fond of Impulse as a character) gender balance was not one of them.

Submitted March 10, 2011 at 7:54AM

Ketira
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Guest post by "Ketira"
....and this is why I've gone over to Japanese animation: they have a whole genre not only for girls, but usually has a girl leading them. I first got hooked on Anime with such a show: Sailor Moon --and I haven't regretted it. I've also liked Ghost in the Shell and the stand-alone series as well (yes, they're on my wish list).

Of course, my favorite among the American types is Wonder Woman.... although The Powerpuff Girls are cute too. (There's a doujinshi on the web of them at www.snafu-comics.com , containing many characters from Cartoon Network.)

So why do I like strong female types? It's because I am not that athletic, and sometimes not that strong either. But I try to emulate them when the situation calls for it.

Submitted March 10, 2011 at 11:58AM

ericthetolle
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Guest post by "ericthetolle"
Here's a couple more series you might be interested in, if you like strong female protagonists:

Cyber-6: A short yet beautiful French series with a plot remniscent of Cyborg 009, and artwork influenced by Aeon Flux. Our superheroine is the last of an army of cyborgs created by a mad scientist. In order to survive, she has to fight his minions, while at the same time, getting involved with a local teacher. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3TWKNurt1M&feature=related

WITCH: At times silly, it still has well developed and strong characters, and one of the smartest villains around- the kids don't simply win because he's stupid. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIBq-z7vdMo&tracker=False&NR=1

Serei no Morbito: Basara the spearwoman, in order to atone for the deaths of eight people has vowed to save eight people; but can she really save a prince without killing anyone? This series breaks a huge number of fantasy anime tropes, and not just by having an older woman as a protagonist. As the series progresses, you realize nobody really operates on "anime logic". One of the best anime series I've seen in the last few years. http://www.anime-sub.com/watch/moribito-guardian-of-the-spirit.html

Anyway, I've been enjoying the comic, and I'm glad that you seem to be in it for the long haul. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes up next.

Submitted March 10, 2011 at 12:39PM

Ayshara
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Guest post by "Ayshara"
Cyber 6 was a good show, it's a pity it got cut short at 13 episodes. I know there's a comic out there but it's not in English nor at this time will it be localized.

Submitted March 10, 2011 at 1:13PM

Ayshara
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Guest post by "Ayshara"
Also the cartoon itself was produced in Canada, though it has strong anime undertones due to a partnership with an animation team - the comic itself was made and produced in Spanish I believe (go ahead and correct me if I'm wrong).

Submitted March 10, 2011 at 1:16PM

JGray

I should have remembered to include WITCH. I specifically avoided Japanese shows or would have included Sailor Moon.

Submitted March 10, 2011 at 1:41PM

ericthetolle
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Guest post by "ericthetolle"

Quote from Guest:

The comic itself is actually Argentinean, not French-duh me. Which makes me think once again on all the neat international comics that Americans miss out on. *sigh*

Submitted March 10, 2011 at 2:02PM

ericthetolle
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Guest post by "ericthetolle"

Quote from JGray:

I should have remembered to include WITCH. I specifically avoided Japanese shows or would have included Sailor Moon.

I would have avoided any Japanese shows, but well, Morbito is so different, it's almost like it's in a different category. And the books are pretty good too.

Submitted March 10, 2011 at 3:16PM

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