The mildly average love story of a spectacularly boring heroine

The heroine archetype-

How can we write an interesting main character? What makes them interesting? And why has shoujo manga been using the same character model in every new work? I think you know what I’m talking about, it’s the naïve, shy, soft-spoken female that seems to set my nerves aflame every time I come across them. I mean seriously, could they be more infuriating?!

I’ve tried to understand just what makes this over-done half baked character so popular amongst mangakas, but I’ve come to a standstill, they’re uninteresting, cringey and I’m sick and fed up with them.

I’m sure a lot of shoujo fans will disagree with me here but I wasn’t a fan of Sawako from Kimi no Todoke nor Uka from Honey Lemon Soda. But to every rule, there are exceptions.

Every now and then I do find myself liking characters that follow this archetype (though not completely) such as fan-favourite Tohru Honda (Fruits basket) and Kaoruko (The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity) because aside from their relentless kindness that we see in a lot of other plain jane FL’s, I love that they don’t give into prejudices about others and go along with the flow of the general public and they each have no problem standing up for their own beliefs and defending others under criticism.

Moreover, I love that Kaoruko is given a really healthy appetite in comparison to a lot of early shoujo works where all the female characters are obsessed with their weight and refuse to eat sugary foods. It’s also nice to see a lot of characters in more recent times being shown with bodies that defy social expectations in places like Japan (where clothing sizes are already mocked by westerners). Just because you don’t have a stick figure doesn’t mean your not healthy or good-looking.

But getting back to interesting main characters in the shoujo genre- I wonder if anyone thought about Hikari (Special A) or Misaki (Kaicho wa Maid-Sama) because while I do admit they’re miles more interesting than the dull, naïve type I can’t exactly call it a win for feminism.

Both girls feature overwhelming strength, independence (often to the point of exhaustion) and athletic talent which is nice to see in a female main character, but I think we should also admit that at the start of their retrospective works, both characters are just female males. Their females given male characteristics to stand out. And let’s not forget both are overshadowed by the superhuman-to-the-point-of-perfection male classmate that beats them in any chosen category.

 The men have won yet again.

But its important to also give praise where its due. Some of my favourite FL’s are Yona (Akatsuki no Yona) and Yoshino (Yakuza Fiance) because it’s just impossible not to fangirl over how cool they are! The authors take time to develop the characters throughout the series and it’s hard not to get attached to them.

I also love Haruhi (Ouran High School) who needs no introduction, because who hasn’t heard of her? She’s cool, collected, capable and doesn’t fall in love easily. I think she’s also super  popular among fans because she’s just so darn relatable! Who hasn’t been broke before?

Overall, it’s nice to see an upwards trend in interesting female characters during recent years and I can only hope this is replicated in the future and approved upon because often a main character can either make or break a story.

Ps. Just because I may have issues with a character, doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the story.