Best Anime Women of Spring 2021

As we dive into a new anime season (I know we’re well into it, but new series are still dropping), let us take one last retrospective, casting an eye upon the season just past to answer that all-important question: “Who were the best anime women of the spring 2021 season?”

Criteria

In my investigation, I hold to three criteria:

1. Candidates must be considered as individuals, not in groups.
2. Candidates must be relatively normal, not particularly super-powered or privileged. This is understood as relative to the context of the story: She must face the challenges of the story without extra substantial aid that would not be available to the average person.
3. Candidates must be women, not girls.

This is of course a purely objective set of criteria, and not merely an excuse to talk about the characters I enjoyed the most.

The “Close But No Cigar” List

There were a lot of characters who, while not fitting the criteria above, are definitely among the crème de la crème!

• Zombie Land Saga: Revenge

The girls of ZLS:R hit the stage to rousing applause this time! I say “girls”, but Tae and Yugiri are amazing women, and arguably would qualify if they went solo. Really hoping for season three, so that I can figure out what the “Independence Day reference” ending was all about!

• 86 EIGHTY-SIX

Vladilena is young, but she’s seen enough conflict to qualify as an adult by any reasonable measurement. Plus her name sounds cool. Having said that, she’s extremely privileged alongside most of the other characters in the series, and yet does not accomplish much. The struggle within her is real, and well-represented: What could she do in that situation? What could we do? Still, that’s not what this list is about.

• The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent

Sei, our beloved isekai heroine, is absolutely delightful and sweet. She would qualify except for being, you know, omnipotent.

• Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song

Vivy is strong and heroic. She’s also a super-powered robot. Sorry, Vivy.

• Shadows House

Kate and Emilico stole my heart! Kate, the Chessmaster, is capable, and yet by no means invulnerable. Emilico, the Queen of Hearts, goes above and beyond at every opportunity. They’re a little young for this list, but credit where credit is due.

2nd Place: Shirakawa from OddTaxi

Shirakawa’s presence on this list might require some justification, but any reason I might give is a spoiler. Anyway, she’s not entirely on the straight and narrow, stealing drugs from her employer to pay off a debt while sidling up to Odokawa and pretending to crush on him. Nevertheless, as she gets to know Odokawa, she comes to respect and then truly love him. And while Odokawa makes fun of her practicing capoeira, her martial arts ultimately allow her to pull of a last-minute rescue.

In short, Shirakawa is one tough-as-nails, down-to-earth woman.

1st Place: Mara from Megalobox: NOMAD

Speaking of tough-as-nails, down-to-earth women, Shirakawa has got nothing on Mara, the single mom and immigrant who crosses paths with Megaloboxing champion “Gearless” Joe. While the other anime women this season were painting their nails and getting perms, Mara was living in a trailer park, working to support herself and her shiftless teenage son, throwing hands at thugs who want to kick her community out, and shrugging off the harassment of the anti-immigrant white folks.

I confess, I really wanted to ship Mara and Joe. They just look like they’re made for each other.

But at the end of the day, they’re probably both too independent to be tied down like that, and Mara is doing just fine on her own. Not in a “nothing bothers me/I can do anything” sort of way, but in a very realistic, human way. Life is tough—just not as tough as Mara.

Ah, who am I kidding? I just wanted to talk about Mara, since nobody else is. She’s pretty and amazing! And so are lots of other anime women, so feel free to add to the list in the comments! 🙂