The 1990s brought some of the most iconic and well-written female characters in anime history. Sailor Moon became the defining work of the magical girl genre, Neon Genesis Evangelion dived deeply into the backstory of its cast, and Studio Ghibli produced masterpieces centered around female leads. However, the ’90s also saw the development of many harmful tropes surrounding poorly written female characters that still plague the medium today. Manga and anime have always been male-dominated fields, with many creators lacking the ability to give depth to the female characters in their stories. These characters were among the worst-written of the decade. Related: 10 Worst-Written Female Characters From Classic Anime Relena Peacecraft (Mobile Suit Gundam Wing) For a conflict-based show like Gundam Wing , a pacifist character like Relena Peacecraft would theoretically have a lot of room for development. However, Relena comes across as more tone-deaf and one-dimensional than anything else — which would be forgivable if not for her obsession with a character who actively tries to kill her. Relena’s behavior borders on stalking, and there’s a very infamous scene where Relena calls after the protagonist to come kill her. Relena’s part of a disturbing trend of female characters following violent romantic interests. Tea (Yu-Gi-Oh!) The original Yu-Gi-Oh! series, colloquially known as Season Zero, had more dark overtones than its successor series. Tea, Yugi’s love interest in both shows, plays the consistent role of damsel in distress, with the typical villain of the week either targeting or being obsessed with her. As a result, Tea lacks any real agency as a character. Furthermore, her crush on the iconic Yami Yugi goes as far as her purposefully endangering herself just to entice him to switch places with Yugi. It’s another character-defining crush that comes before any sense of self-preservation. Related: 10 Anime So Good They Ruined Their Franchise Yukina (Yu Yu Hakusho) Yukina has a fascinating backstory and an interesting ability, but in a show filled with strong independent female characters across several different age groups, her character stands outs as lacking any depth. She’s used as a damsel in […]
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Kiersten White is the #1 New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning, and critically acclaimed author of many books for
Kelsey Rae Dimberg is the author of Girl in the Rearview Mirror. She received an MFA from the University of
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