Here is is. My top 5 female characters of 2017. These girls have personality, purpose, they entertain and I get where they are coming from. As such, it is a highly personal list and I understand that everyone is going to have their own opinion on this one. So please, feel free to share your top 5 female character list from 2017 in the comments below and check back next week for the top 5 male characters list.
Please Note – Some spoilers below.
Honourable mentions this week go to: Benten from the Eccentric Family season 2 (didn’t get as much of a showing as season 1) and Sasha from Attack on Titan (potato girl is awesome).
Number 5: Chito from Girls’ Last Tour
It seems a little mean to give this to Chito and not Yuuri, but of the two girls in Girls’ Last Tour, Chito was the one who I really connected with. Her love of books and recording what she had seen, her desire to take the safe approach and follow the marked path where possible, even her freezing when confronted with something unexpected or dangerous all just kind of clicked for me. It was a joy watching Chito each week and as one of only two characters that consistently appear in a show, she certainly held up her end as a draw card for the series.
Number 4: Morioka from Recovery of an MMO Junkie
Maybe it is because female characters in their thirties who are obsessed with gaming and suffer social anxiety are hard to come by, but there was something charming and very relatable about Morioka from episode 1. I particularly liked that she wasn’t actually inept but was a capable worker but she was juts worn down from trying to deal with everything. Watching her find her way back into the world through her encounters with Lily/Sakurai was truly enjoyable and she is a character I will hopefully remember whem someone asks me for an anime that doesn’t feature high school students.
Number 3: Ange from Princess Principal
The lying visitor from the Black Lizard Planet who works as a spy certainly earned her place on this list. Giving us a solid action sequence in the first episode and providing excellent character work through the majority of the season, Ange is a delight to watch as you slowly see what is underneath that tough and emotionless facade of hers. Much like Chito from earlier in the list, Ange is supported by a great co-lead in the Princess and even the other members of the team. Still, if you want to see someone who is committed to their goals, Ange is definitely going to show you how far you need to go sometimes.
Number 2: Phos from Land of the Lustrous
I really wondered about whether I could put Phos on this list given technically they aren’t female, but given I split my best character list male/female it was put Phos here or leave such a great character out and that didn’t sit well with me. Phos is awesome. Spunky and sarcastic early on, though weak and quick to give in, they are an interesting character to get to know. And that’s before they undergo an incredible transfomation throughout the series. Phos’ character journey is one of the best I’ve seen and if you haven’t watched Land of the Lustrous it is so worth the time just for Phos.
Number 1: A tie between Uraraka from My Hero Academia and Hina from March Comes in Like a Lion Season 2.
Wow, Uraraka finally topped a list. She keeps coming up number 2 on so many lists despite being an amazing character so I’m really glad that when I made my final decision she got to be number 1. Why is Uraraka the best female character from 2017? Because she is going through a character transformation (only not one as literal as Phos’). She’s acknowledged her weakness and her reliance on Midoriya that she’d developed in season 1 and actively works to overcome this and other perceived weaknesses in season 2. She makes her plan for facing Bakugou by herself, chooses an internship that will help her to develop and takes on every challenge that comes her way while still having words of support for those around her. Uraraka is an awesome character and one who continues to grow stronger even while she doesn’t lose sight of the person she wants to be. And, if you don’t think she’s awesome, just go and watch her fight Bakugou again. Seriously, she’s awesome.
However, Uraraka will have to share the spotlight with Hina from March Comes in Like a Lion. While Hina was cute and supportive in season 1, season 2 has seen her go through a fantastic arc and to echo Rei, Hina has become my hero. Asta might be screaming that not giving up is his talent in Black Clover but Hina lives this keeping forward on a path that isn’t easy but she isn’t going to back down. Part of me hopes reality doesn’t crush her in the end, because her actions are inspirational.
That’s my list done but please share yours in the comments below.
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I can’t really say if I agree with this list because I haven’t seen any of these (in fact most of these I don’t have access to) That said, I plan on watching Recovery of an MMO Junkie in anime month, as I have heard so many positive things for it 😊
I really liked Morioka from MMO Junkie, but the main reason I liked the show was probably because it reminded me of all those sweet rom-coms my mum and I would watch together. While we’re both into horror and action films, every now and then we’d pick out a sickly sweet romantic comedy and just chill out together and it was always fun because they all end the same way.
Haha…well confession time…I do that too from time to time.
I have seen a lot of pretty heavy Korean dramas this month…and I am now watching one that is the complete oppositie of that 😊😊
And now you have made me very curious for this anime…definitely looking forward to it! I wish it was March already (either that or more hours in a day uggghhhh 😂😂).
I have no complaints with this list. Phos is such a fantastic character, in my opinion, my favorite character of last year. The amount of character growth we get to see in just a 12-episode cour is amazing, and she’s so fun and spunky and just amusing to watch.
Phos was fantastic to watch grow and even after she had changed so much, there were still those moments that were pure Phos (like asking the jelly-fish if she should work with Bort).
I loved those introspective moments of Phos sitting there talking to herself. they gave us so much insight into the character and her motivations; they were just some really well-written character moments.
I have the same problem with Phos especially because like you said we often split our lists between female and male characters yet the gems are neither gender, but came to a similar point. Can’t just keep Phos off the list after all! Last year has certainly offered some great female characters.
I started thinking maybe I should just do a best character list but then the majority on it would always be male because while this year I did find a lot of great female characters, male characters still seem to outshine them season after season.