Children love stories of animated heroes that are easy to relate to, colorful, and fun. While Disney has become more progressive, many Disney princesses don’t give kids the right ideas about feminism and independence. There are a handful of exceptions (Mulan and Merida being two obvious ones), but the princesses often rely on men to rescue them. Instead of teaching girls to expect a savior and teaching boys that women need saving, give them more forward-thinking, progressive heroes through anime.
A Note of Warning: Anime isn’t just for kids, so parents need to be careful and screen or review titles before showing them to children.
Sailor Moon
When Sailor Moon first aired in the ’90s, it introduced a whole generation of Western girls to anime. Sailor Moon is incredible because it’s one of the few manga/anime that was created by a woman, and is for girls, about girls.
Whether or not Sailor Moon is a feminist series has been hotly debated, but it’s hard not to see the positive influences. The story follows a teenage girl, Usagi, as she fights for love and justice against the evil minions of the Dark Kingdom.
Usagi enlists the help of her friends, and the girls form the Sailor Senshi (“Sailor Warriors”). The warriors cover a broad spectrum of girls, including geeky Ami, sporty Makoto, and the more bubbly and air-headed Usagi. There are queer characters as well, at a time when the American dub had to remove episodes containing them.
While Sailor Moon explores feminist themes and tropes through its characters, it’s the relationship between Usagi and her primary love interest, Tuxedo Mask, that is really something special. Tuxedo Mask initially isn’t all that kind to Usagi, but the two eventually fall for one another.
Unlike many of his Disney hero counterparts, Tuxedo Mask supports Usagi at every turn and admits freely that she is stronger than he is. He’s often a bit of a dude in distress, needing Usagi or the other Sailor Scouts to rescue him. He also agrees to do most of the child-rearing of their daughter, Chibiusa, as he knows Usagi has enough on her plate with saving the world. Compare this to the Disney prince, who tends to be testosterone-driven and often reinforces traditional gender roles, and it’s easy to see why Sailor Moon can have a positive influence on a young feminist.
Ah! My Goddess
Like Sailor Moon, the women in Ah! My Goddess don’t fit into a one-size-fits-all mold. In the anime, a male college student named Keiichi accidentally dials the Goddess Help Line and is granted a wish. That wish? For Belldandy, who inspires him with her kindness, to live with him forever.
Wait a sec – how can an anime about a woman who is forced into servitude for a man be feminist?
Ah! My Goddess is feminist because Belldandy may be a Yamato Nadeshiko, which is a traditionally ideal Japanese woman, so it’s simply part of who she is. Feminism doesn’t mean that traditional roles have to disappear, as some women enjoy being domestic homemakers; feminism is about allowing women to have that choice. (Also: Belldandy happily agrees to the arrangement, and her consent is important here.)
Most importantly, Belldandy has a life that’s totally separate from Keiichi. She has superpowers and a job as a goddess and important relationships with her sisters. Other women in the series find fault with Belldandy’s “perfection” and her traditional ways, so the creator is clearly aware of the tropes at play.
Belldandy shows viewers a way to be feminist and still be yourself, even if that’s by following patriarchal traditions. Disney princesses, especially in older films like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty have no agency of their own. They exist to be pretty, to cook and clean, and to sing with animals. Their dreams and ambitions aren’t even mentioned. Characters like Snow White and Aurora are only cartoonish stereotypes of women, whereas Belldandy is a more honest representation.
Princess Jellyfish
Princess Jellyfish is a hilarious, adorable anime about Tsukime, a girl obsessed with jellyfish. Tsukime lives in an all-female apartment complex with five very different women, including one crossdresser. (The character isn’t coded trans*, he’s hiding from his political family by dressing in drag. That and he likes being pretty.)
There are women of all shapes and sizes in this anime, with more diversity than even Sailor Moon or Ah! My Goddess. The women are not defined by the men around them, and some even refuse to date because they’re not interested. This is a story about gender and sexuality and what it is to be a woman, and it’s all wrapped in bubbly animation with great humor.
While Disney has recently begun tackling issues of gender and sexuality, even small steps like a lesbian couple in Finding Dory have been met with backlash. It’s not likely we’ll see a Disney film as open about gender as Princess Jellyfish anytime soon.
Avatar: The Last Airbender & The Legend of Korra
Though anime is technically a Japanese genre, the American series Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel The Legend of Korra are so heavily inspired by their Japanese predecessors that they’re like honorary anime.
While The Last Airbender was great in its portrayal of several amazing female characters, including Katara, Toph, and Suki, The Legend of Korra, featured a female Avatar, Korra. Korra is a rebellious 17-year-old from the Southern Water Tribe. She’s hot-headed, bold, and seemingly fearless, but she has to grow up so she can serve as the Avatar.
Korra’s growth throughout the series translates directly to her personal relationships. The end of the series serves as a great queer pop culture touchstone and one that can be used to introduce kids to ideas about sexuality.
In The Legend of Korra, no one questions Korra’s gender (or that she’s a person of color) when she’s revealed to be the avatar. There are strong women in positions of power, including a no-nonsense police chief who serves as one of the series’ best secondary characters. The female characters are fully-fleshed out and given equal treatment to their male counterparts.
As the majority of Disney’s princess stories take place in a Western past, their worlds reflect our patriarchal histories. Even more enlightened stories, like Mulan, feature worlds where gender is an adversity to overcome. Korra has many things she must battle to fulfill her destiny as the avatar, but her gender plays no role.
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Revolutionary Girl Utena is a groundbreaking anime with its deconstruction of gender, sex, and tradition among the best in media. It is easily the most “feminist” anime on this list.
Utena was designed to pander to young girls, but it turns traditional tropes on their head from the beginning. This subversive anime focuses on themes of manipulation and the suppression of women’s voices. Every female character has an arc that, in one way or another, subverts the expected.
Utena herself is a bit of an oddball. She refuses to wear a girls’ uniform, plays sports with boys, and enjoys swordfights. She wants to be a powerful prince and rejects passive femininity. Even as she does this, she must examine what it means to challenge social norms and what impact that has on her personal identity.
Utena’s primary relationship in the series is with her Rose Bride, Anthy. Utena enters a sword-fighting competition where the winner receives Anthy’s hand. Though Utena hates the way Anthy is subjugated, she wants to defend and protect the more feminine woman. Utena eventually confronts her own hypocrisy, and the series’ ending is a brilliant twist on its complicated gender politics.
Utena is something that can only exist in anime because Disney wouldn’t touch this with a 50-foot pole. It’s a shame, too, as this kind of experimentation with storytelling and subject matter would be a refreshing boost to the tired princess formula.