#why does every anime protagonist have autistic vibes

[tsunflowers]

anime featuring adult women

there are a lot of great female characters in anime, but sometimes it feels like they’re all supporting characters in shows about men or they haven’t graduated high school yet. I wanted to compile a list of some anime with adult women front and center

kidou keisatsu patlabor on tv:

in the sci-fi future as imagined in 1988, human-piloted robots called labors are used regularly by all kinds of people, including criminals. to combat labor crime, the police develop a special unit of patrol labors—patlabor. instead of following the prestigious division one, we follow a cast of quirky characters in second-string division two, as they solve cases ranging from mundane to dangerous to paranormal

izumi noa, and why I love her:

she’s incredibly strong-willed and stubborn. she’ll stand up to anyone. she’s obsessed with labors, not just piloting them herself but repairing them and learning about new developments in the field. even though division two is primarily men and there is the “men at work” vibe of so much military and police fiction, noa fits in easily with the guys and no one excludes her. the few times people do question her skills bc of her gender, they’re immediately shut down

other women in the cast:

nagumo shinobu, the captain of division one. we never actually see her or her unit at work, but they have a great reputation. I just love her bc she’s very funny always shutting down the captain of division two and I like that in-universe there are women in leadership roles like this

kanuka clancy, a visiting cop from new york. her relationship with noa is very strong, definitely shippable. she’s adept with a gun, a sword, and a giant robot. she’s the serious member of the team who yells at the others for being dumb but there are still times where she goes completely off the rails and ignores the law to do what she knows is right

wotakoi: love is hard for otaku:

momose narumi is an office worker and a fujoshi. she wants to keep the fujoshi part a secret this time around because things went south for her at her last job once people found out she was an otaku, but it turns out several of her new coworkers are fellow nerds. most importantly, her game-loving childhood friend hirotaka works at the same company, and the two of them reconnect as friends… and soon more than friends. it’s a romance drama involving only nerds

momose narumi, and why I love her:

she’s a lot like your standard high school girl protagonist who runs out of the house because she’s late for school, but this time she’s late for work. she’s really funny and straightforward, except she thinks she has to hide that side of her at her job. she and hirotaka have a great childhood friends to lovers relationship. she’s kind of rude to him but he adores her (though he’s kind of bad at showing it). I love a cheerful girl/serious guy romance that’s done well and I think this one really is

other women in the cast:

koyanagi hanako, narumi’s new coworker who’s a fellow fujoshi. she’s also a cosplayer, specifically a crossplayer who specializes in cosplaying as handsome guys. she and narumi only met each other under their fandom nicknames before, but they were big fans of each other and hit it off instantly when they meet at work. they’re cute friends even if they always argue about who tops in their ships

psycho-pass:

in a futuristic society, people’s mental health is constantly measured by “psycho-pass” readings which track their emotional state and judge the likelihood that they will commit a crime. naive rookie cop tsunemori akane leads a team of enforcers, people who are considered “latent criminals” too dangerous to live in normal society but who are still useful to the police. akane develops a close relationship with enforcer kougami shinya in particular, but kougami has his own intense relationship with the elusive criminal makishima shogo. as the team of detectives investigate him, they uncover secrets about the system they never wanted to learn and their fates become entwined with makishima’s

psycho-pass is written by urobuchi gen (madoka magica, fate/zero) and if you’re familiar with him you know what to expect. the show is pretty grim and gory. content warnings for rape, violence, gore, body horror, police violence, the predatory lesbian trope, forced institutionalization, and probably a lot of other things I can’t remember. not a light watch, is what I’m saying

tsunemori akane, and why I love her:

she’s incredibly principled. she sticks to what she believes is right despite immense pressure. it’s precisely because she’s naive and doesn’t understand the system that she is able to fight against it. she grows a huge amount over the course of the series but she never loses her compassion or her sense of right and wrong. she’s pretty badass too

other women in the cast:

karanomori shion, a lab analyst at the public safety bureau. she’s your typical sexy and flirtatious anime character but I think her position within the setting is interesting. although she’s categorized as a “latent criminal” unfit for society, she seems to be valued more than the enforcers. she’s also bisexual and dating a woman, though she plays into the “bisexuals can’t settle down” trope a little. she is not actually the best character or peak representation but I’m pretty attached to her and a certain type of woman will be too

kunizuka yayoi, a lesbian former musician and the only female enforcer. she’s shion’s girlfriend. there is a predatory lesbian character in this series, but it’s not kunizuka. I think her being a lesbian is handled pretty well. she has romantic and sexual relationships with women that are important to her, but she doesn’t hate men or flirt with every woman she meets (traits I hate to see in lesbian characters written by men). she’s really serious and calm but still cute and I love to see her growing respect for akane over the course of the show

death parade:

two people wake up in a strange bar with no memory of how they got there. a mysterious man with white hair named decim and his assistant, a woman known only as “the black haired woman,” ask them to play a game. the games are both absurd and dangerous, and as the contestants play them dark sides of themselves are revealed. decim’s job is to judge them based on their behavior while playing the games, but the black haired woman’s influence causes him to wonder if he’s doing the right thing

like it says in the title, the anime deals with the topic of death, and death by suicide comes up as well. I don’t remember everyone’s backstories but I think violence and abuse come up several times. there are also mannequins that move around on marionette strings which is kind of freaky

the black haired woman, and why I love her:

it might be wrong to say that she’s the main character when she isn’t introduced until the end of the first episode and her name isn’t revealed for half the show but listen. she’s the emotional core of the show and the person who sets the events in motion. she’s a very emotional person and that’s her strength. her relationship with decim is the classic “woman teaches cold-hearted man to feel” trope but I think it’s an outstanding example bc it centers her emotional experience and the two of them are not explicitly in a romantic relationship. I’ve been trying to avoid spoilers but for her it’s almost unavoidable. I love the way that her story is slowly revealed over the course of the show culminating in an incredible sequence in episode 11. I think her depression is handled so well too. it’s heartbreaking

other women in the cast:

nona, the boss of the arbiters. she’s a schemer who knows a whole lot of things she’s keeping from everyone else. I really like her outfit above all else. baggy pants with suspenders… a great look

mayu, a high school girl who is a contestant in one of the games. she tries to be cutesy but is prone to anger and makes incredible faces. I like that she’s an obsessive fangirl character who’s played for humor but is also shown as being noble and sympathetic

sakura quest:

koharu yoshino is a woman who moved to tokyo to find a job but has no luck. when she finally gets a job offer, it’s to become “queen for a day” of rural manoyama village. upon arriving in manoyama, she learns that she was only hired because they thought she was someone else but they still want her to work there for an entire year. now she lives in a small town and is tasked with both revitalizing the citizens and drawing tourists in, along with the help of four friends. it may not sound funny and heartwarming but it really is. it’s a good story about connecting and reconnecting and also the head of the tourism board wears a chupacabra mask sometimes

the main characters, and why I love them:

koharu yoshino, queen of manoyama. her struggle in the job market is unfortunately relatable to many people today and I love that she wishes she could have a job as a queen. she’s great and she really comes to love the town despite everything

shiori shinomiya, a very sweet manoyama native. she’s almost too nice but it makes it all the funnier when she gets intense

maki midorikawa, an aspiring actor who is famous among manoyama citizens for a small role she played in the past. she’s serious about acting but her family wishes she would get a more stable job. she can be kind of rude but she does love her friends and her town

sanae kouzuki, a web developer who moved to manoyama to escape the intensity of city life and the negative effects it had on her mental health. the problem is she hates rural life and is afraid of bugs but is too proud to admit it on her blog. the only true city girl among the five

ririko oribe, my favorite of the five. she’s shy but loves cryptids and the occult. it’s very easy to read her as autistic and the other characters affirm her interests and behavior. her love of cryptids even helps the town out when Spanish tourists come in search of a local legend. her relationship with her grandma is really good as well, with the two coming to understand and love each other over the course of the show

[noddytheornithopod]

So, Star Wars Resistance... I saw the premiere and the subsequent two episodes that Disney put online. I’ll discuss my thoughts under the cut (expect lots of Autistic feelings on Neeku :V).

I don’t know if I’m just getting older and would’ve felt the same about Ahsoka and Ezra’s first appearances, but I’m kinda finding Kaz annoying for now. I’m sure he’s going to develop and get better at... everything, but for now I’m finding him kinda grating. Like, he’s got the immaturity those characters had, but he’s more obnoxious about it especially since he’s such a try hard and his awkwardness with everything got annoying for me quickly. But of course, the massive idiot always ends up being right or fixes the problem of the episode. Makes me wonder how he even is a good pilot and flying T-85 X-wings in the New Republic navy. :P The most interesting thing about him so far is how sheltered he seems with his parents doing everything for him until now.

Oh yeah, Kaz saying the New Republic is all he’s ever known and he wants to fight for it... can’t wait to see how he’s going six months later. :P

We got a little bit of information about the Republic and Resistance relationship actually stated in visual media, namely how they weren’t allowed to engage Vonreg and Kaz had to get rid of them, and how the New Republic isn’t a fan of the Resistance even if they’re kind of necessary to keep an eye on the First Order. I can’t help but wonder if Kaz’s dad is secretly a First Order sympathiser, given the novel Bloodline indicates a lot of the “centrist” (as in, they want to centralise power) senators were secretly FO sympathisers. We don’t know much about Kaz’s dad besides him being a wealthy senator, heck we didn’t even see him when he talked with Kaz.

Besides Kaz being too much of a doofus for my liking, my other big issue was... Neeku. I’ve discussed before that his Autistic coding is pretty blatant, and these episodes pretty much confirmed he’s quite stereotypical there. I want to like him, but I feel really uncomfortable watching him. I’m not sure if it’s just me being overly weary and internalised ableism talking, but the whole literal minded thing got old fast. Like, if the character had more nuance at this point I might find it funny and relatable (think PnF or MML in this regard), but Neeku is so stereotypical (right down to the fucking Sheldon style voice - wait what do you mean his voice actor was also on The Big Bang Theory) that it just leaves me feeling second hand embarrassment. I thought they were going to be more introspective when he gets upset and talks about how he finds it hard to get others... but nah. Speaking of which, I kinda feel really weirded out at how they basically used his literal mind and naivete to basically get Kaz into conflict with everyone by taking his boast literally? Like great job guys, I sure feel so much better about myself right there. :/ I also feel weird because they make him seem really childlike and really emphasise it, and people talk about how cute and adorable he is. It’s just uncomfortable. Also, Kaz taking advantage of his literal mind to deceive him and sneak off from work? I literally said “you dick!” out loud to Kaz there. So yeah, Neeku isn’t really working for now. I hope they develop him more because my gosh I don’t want to watch Star Wars Sheldon every episode.

Yeager is probably the best character so far. I like how he’s a wise old mentor type but he also already showing his more flawed side in how he���s trying to avoid any of the First Order conflict. I also want to know more about his time in the Rebellion, how he knows Poe and what happened to his family (don’t you DARE tell me his kid was kidnapped by the First Order). Also, him being more grounded I think really helps in the face of doofus pilot and space Sheldon.

Tam is good. They haven’t really done much with her yet, but I’m sure that will change eventually since she has expressed her own ambitions. Also I definitely feel bad for her since she’s genuinely hardworking and committed to her jobs only for that doofus Kaz to show up and fuck up everything. I kinda get vibes of the whole “loser male protagonist overshadows actually competent female supporting character” thing here, to be honest. Like obviously Kaz has to grow as the protagonist but wow, I feel bad for Tam (though I guess we’re supposed to).

BB-8 is cool I guess, always there to pull off nifty stuff to help. I guess Poe is using Kaz’s astromech for now while BB-8 has Kaz on the mission? Bucket is okay I guess, nothing too special yet, his intro felt very Chopper though.

Haven’t seen much of the aces yet besides Torra, she seems nice and I’m definitely curious to see how her relationship with Kaz develops as they become friends. Also wow Kaz, you definitely underestimated her, just because she’s the youngest and newest doesn’t mean she’s easy, she’s an ace for a reason you ding dong. :P

The other denizens of the colossus are fine, at least the location is well thought out and the world building is there. Nobody I’ve really gravitated towards yet.

Torra’s father seems creepy. I can’t help but wonder if he’s a First Order sympathiser, or will at least be a total pushover in the face of them. I think I heard something about taking control of the Colossus but I’m not sure if it was about him or I misheard, I doubt it would be so vague though.

Dammit, I wanted a sympathetic Neimoidian, but the dude has to be in league with pirates and by extension the First Order. Also why does he have to be so fat, why do the villains have to be fat (yeah you know why but meh)?

Elijah Wood’s character was something for sure. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of him, I won’t be surprised if he ends up being a thorn in Kaz’s side in racing and mechanics or even works with the First Order.

The racing parts were pretty good, actually.

I want more of Vonreg. Of course we have to start small with those pirates being hired to do shit for the First Order, but he seems interesting. Also he’s got a cool voice, but it’s Lex Lang, of course I’m happy to see Dr Neo Cortex as the First Order’s top pilot.

Phasma is here, woo! Hope she is able to satisfy her fans here where she couldn’t in the movies. :P Also Commander Pyre is the gold stormtrooper, I wonder where he sits among the First Order if Phasma is always around for the important stuff?

Poe was cool, and Leia’s appearance was nice.

Why do the First Order want control of the Colossus? It seems pretty insignificant, but I guess we’re going to find out why it’s so strategically important with time. Definitely curious to the strategy at play.

OH YEAH also the racial diversity among the humans is pretty good too from what I can tell.

Overall, I’d say it was an okay start. It hasn’t got me fully into it like The Clone Wars movie or Rebel’s Spark of Rebellion did when they first came out, but IDK if it’s because I’m older or Resistance is aiming slightly younger. It has a lot of promise and I’m curious to see where it goes especially in regards to Yeager and the First Order’s plotting, but my gosh do Kaz and Neeku need development. I’m sure it will come since these Star Wars animated shows do show that patience pays off, but yeah. For now, not too into Kaz’s goofy antics. :P

#star wars resistance #swr spoilers