Official Logo for RWBY
I’m too lazy to see if I did this one already, so let’s go. Anyway, I started watching the above show on YouTube, which is done by a site (or person?) called Rooster Teeth. I kept catching clips of this, so I gave season 1 a look and enjoyed it. I’ll put the trailer compilation after the questions if anyone is interested. Also tossed Saber Marionette J into the DVD player as background while I work this week. One of the first animes I ever owned and it’s been a while. To be honest, I was hoping to watch Flame of Recca, but I only have the subbed set and that means I can’t work. Too poor to get the dubbed set off Amazon. Not without guilt. Anyway, the high profile female characters has led me to these questions:
- Who is your favorite female protagonist and why?
- Who is your favorite female antagonist and why?
- Who was the first female protagonist that you remember being introduced to? If it’s Wonder Woman then who was the second?
Now for that trailer set:
Legends of Windemere 
I’ve been meaning to check out RWBY––I’ve heard that it’s good! In answer to your questions: 1. She’s not the main protagonist but I’ve always loved Annabeth Chase from the Percy Jackson series. She is just so smart and brave, but also realistically flawed. 2. I think my favorite female antagonist is Azula from “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” She’s downright crazy and scary! But I also like that the show doesn’t completely dehumanize her. 3. When I was a little kid I used to watch “Kiki’s Delivery Service” over and over again, so Kiki is one of the first female protagonists that I remember from my childhood. 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve been enjoying RWBY and am about halfway through Season 2. Been using the episodes as a break between scheduling posts and whatever else I’m doing.
1. Been a while since I read those books, but I do remember her being one of my favorites. Didn’t think much of her in the movie though because it felt ‘off’.
2. Azula ended up being my second favorite character next to Iroh. They did a good job making her dangerous, villainous, and not cartoony.
3. I keep meaning to check that one out. That’s Studio Ghibli, right?
LikeLike
Oh, don’t get me started on the PJO movies, haha. Annabeth is portrayed horribly; she’s just made into a bland love interest, which really pissed me off. 😛
Exactly! And yes Iroh is one of my absolute favorite characters on that show, too.
Yep, it’s Studio Ghibli. It’s a very sweet movie. When I was a kid I loved it because it’s cute and funny, but as I got older I’ve grown to also appreciate its subtleties––it’s all sort of a metaphor about creativity, about doing things for others vs. doing them for yourself, how overthinking things creates mental blocks, etc. I highly recommend it! 🙂
LikeLike
I remember liking the first one since I hadn’t read the books until after. Lost it’s luster on the second watch and the sequel . . . I think Desolation of Smaug is the only movie I’ve yelled at more than the PJ sequel.
I think part of my love of Iroh is that I remember him voicing Aku from Samurai Jack. So I was already a fan of the voice actor who just owned every scene in that show.
I’ll need to check it out. My introduction to Ghibli was Princess Mononoke, so I tend to forget they did stuff like Kiki.
LikeLike
I don’t really have one favorite protagonist. I love various ones for different reasons. Love Sabriel of Garth Nix’s Abhorsen series because of her willingness to do what was difficult. Love Galadriel of LOTR for her wisdom. Love Chihiro in Spirited Away, because she grew in character. Especially love Katara and Toph of Avatar. Same with antagonists. Azula is a great antagonist. But so is Queen Trinity. But the first antagonist I was introduced to was Malificent in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. As for protagonists, Wonder Woman was probably the second I was introduced, rather than the first. Supergirl was the first!
LikeLike
I wonder about Galadriel. She was rather minor in the books and acted more as a supporting character. Guess I should have been more specific with ‘main protagonist’ like Chihiro. Antagonists tend to be a little easier since they aren’t always working together if there is more than one in the first place. Wasn’t Malificent from Sleeping Beauty and Snow White had the Evil Queen?
Don’t remember when I first learned about Supergirl. Rainbow Brite and She-Ra came before all the others.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re right. I’m mixing up my fairy tales. 🙂 Too tired today.
LikeLike
Feels like it’s been a week like that.
LikeLike
I’m really struggling with these. My first one was probably Samantha Stevens from Bewitched. It was my mother’s favorite show. So many women are not purely pro or anti. Scarlet O’Hara was her own worst enemy, so she was the protagonist and the antagonist all at once. In The Exorcist, Regan was the victim, so how did she fit in? I tend to read or watch things that are male oriented. That means women are support characters. The billing was always John Wayne and Maurine O’Hara. MO filled a secondary role, even though her characters were always really strong.
I could say my favorite is Lisa Burton, but that would be cheating.
LikeLike
Can’t believe I forgot about her. Was more of a Gilligan’s Island fan when I was a kid, but Bewitched was on the watch list. They don’t make sitcoms like those any more.
I think a lot of characters have that pro/anti thing. Heroes tend to be self-destructive at times. I was going more for ‘focus of the story’ than actual heroic intents. So I’d put Scarlet as a protagonist, but that does make me wonder about Regan. Victim sounds right since she isn’t the on controlling her actions.
Would that be cheating or promoting yourself?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Elizabeth Burton’s Cleopatra is a memorable one too. The story covered a lot of ground, but she never faded into the background.
LikeLike
Not sure I’m familiar with that one. I never really got into the Cleopatra stuff.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Huge Hollywood classic by Cecil b. deMille. Cast of thousands, big stars, etc.
LikeLike
I’ve heard of Cecil b. deMille. The actress wasn’t familiar. I never got into a lot of the black and white movies outside of the comedies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I suppose I should have paid more attention. This was where she met and married Richard Burton, but her name was Elizabeth Taylor.
LikeLike
Oh! Now I know what you’re talking about. Still haven’t seen it though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You really should. The scene where she enters Rome is epic.
LikeLike
Fav Protagonist: I loved Rowan in The Witching Hour. She was smart, attractive, tough, compassionate and a neurosurgeon who used her magic to do good for people and heal.
Fav antagonist: Catwoman in Batman. I just thought she had a lot of cool factor that day and time. I think batman had a secret crush on her.
First…gosh, you know us old people may not be able to think that far back. It had to be in a cartoon of some sort. The Perils of Penelope Pitstop was one of the two spin-offs of Wacky Races. (The other being Dastardly & Muttley in their Flying Machines.) Every episode, The Ant Hill Mob (Clyde, Dum Dum, Softy, Yuk Yuk, Snoozy, Zippy & Pockets) must protect Penelope from ‘The Hooded Claw’ and his henchmen, The Bully Brothers. ‘The Hooded Claw’ is really Penelope’s guardian (Sylvester Sneekley) in disguise and wants to wipe out Penelope so that he can have her inheritence. This is one of those cartoons in the late 60s and early 70s that were short-lived, but was one of the best spin-offs created by Hanna-Barbera. I liked her because she did things that weren’t girly girl things. She was a tom-boy, like me, loved and raced cars.
LikeLike
1. I keep hearing about that story, but never looked at it. Although, I could simply be thinking of the term.
2. Catwoman is a great antagonist/protagonist since she’s played the role of both over the years. Her interactions with Batman definitely hinted at there being crushing on both sides.
3. I wonder if female protagonists are more common in cartoons than live action stuff. At least the older stuff because I remember a lot of animated heroines from my childhood.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I recall several woman coming out in the 70s TV shows putting more female leads on the screen with their own shows with the liberation movement. Charlie’s Angels, Mary Tyler Moore, Rona, Marlow Thomas with That Girl. More leads than protagonists, but that was when women became more than ancilary characters on shows. Nancy Drew mysteries. Now we have shows like Bones where women are portrayed as leaders rather than damsels.
LikeLike
I always thought leads and protagonists were the same thing, but the former was more for TV and movies. I remember there being Buffy, Xena, and Dark Angel when I was younger, which was where the action heroine seemed to be starting up. At least on TV.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My son was in love with Xena. Hahaha…you inadvertently make me feel old. 😉
LikeLike
I was actually a bigger fan of Gabrielle. It’s funny that I always seem to become more interested in sidekicks and other supporting characters.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Who is your favorite female protagonist and why? Sigourney Weaver in the first Alien. She was hot, didn’t wear a lot, was killer when it came to facing the alien “Take this bitch.”
Who is your favorite female antagonist and why? Cat woman (Julie Newmar) Oh come on why? Just think of the suit and the seduction.
Who was the first female protagonist that you remember being introduced to? If it’s Wonder Woman then who was the second? I have to think Lucille Ball or Natalie Wood in West Side Story.
LikeLike
1. Sigourney Weaver is always badass. She was one of the first big action heroines, right? At least it feels that way since I’m a kid of the 1980’s.
2. Always a great choice.
3. Ah, Lucille Ball. I watched the show when I was a kid and had no idea what was going on. Now, I’m older and get it, but it’s rarely on.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was little older and Lucille used to crack me up.
LikeLike
In books only…
Protagonist — Lessa, from Dragonflight. She was so sneaky and relentless. People were trying to control her by keeping secrets, and she had none of that! I was sad that McCaffrey used her less after the first two books.
Antagonist — not so specific, but I enjoy seeing any sort of Fairy Queen in a story. They’re powerful and focused on what they want, and I have to say they always have the most amazing wardrobe!
First Character I Remember — In one of the Narnia books there’s a young woman named Aravis who is a noblewoman among the Calormen. Her family promises her in marriage to an awful person and she escapes along with some Narnians.
LikeLike
I vaguely remember Aravis since it’s been nearly 10 years since I read those books. Want to say it was from the story with the horse. The Fairy Queen reminds me of Mab from the Merlin TV movie with Sam Neil.
LikeLiked by 1 person