Balsa is the best female protagonist in an anime, with very little competition.
![The Rose of Versailles - 40 [BDRip 1436x1080 x264 Hi10P FLAC].mkv_snapshot_06.54_[2015.07.22_10.35.19].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/pXfMAWi.jpg "The Rose of Versailles - 40 [BDRip 1436x1080 x264 Hi10P FLAC].mkv_snapshot_06.54_[2015.07.22_10.35.19].jpg")
>>139229383
No.
>>139229383
What about Ryougi Shiki?
>>139229383
Yes
>>139229549
>Muh super power void bullshit and nasu
not even a competition.
>>139229383
Nope. That title belongs to either Youko or Shuurei.
Major
>>139229383
Good.
Also,sequel never ever.
>>139229383
Not even close.
>>139229883
Very close second for me. Two major reasons I prefer Balsa are,
>Shirow's original Major is primarily a sex object, and while Oshii and Kamiyama handle her much more tastefully those roots never really disappear
>She's overpowered as hell, and totally outshines every other member in the cast simply because she's the Major. I love all of Section 9, but I feel like Balsa doesn't automatically steal the stage in as many scenes. The Major is still handled very well, and isn't close to being like Rey in Star Wars VII, but Balsa is just a little better.
The Major's major pitfalls for me are how sexy she is supposed to be, and how often she's the best just because she's the sexy femme fatale.
If you cut Balsa's ponytail and gave her a beard she could very easily be a male warrior, which I like a lot about her. She doesn't feel like she's there to exploit perverts, or to exploit muh feminism.
>>139229905
I just want translations past the second book.
>10 more books that I'll never get to have.
>>139229383
Misato, Yuuko Ichihara, Revy and Utena are better.
>>139229383
top 3 if not best easy
>>139229863
This desu. But we don't characters like Youko, Major & Balsa nowadays
After Erin of course.
>>139230729
etc...
>>139229383
Motoko Kusanagi /thread
>>139230919
aka Mary Sue imprersonated
i mean the Major is pretty amazing but she's too perfect at everything.
yes there is such a thing as too perfect
>>139230919
See, >>139230041
Basically sums up my feelings.
>>139229383
Those battle scenes still make me wet.
>>139229863
The fact that we will never see a conclusion too the main plot arc/mystery (Black Kirin) causes deep sorrow in my heart.
>>139229509
Reinhard was a fuck boy but he still wasn't female.
>>139231053
all of moribito still makes me wetI WANT TO SHIIIINE ON YOUAND ALWAYS LIKE THAT DAZZLING SUN
Arete was really well written but then the entire point of it was too be a feminist work.
>>139229383
Nah
>>139231199Hygogg get out.
>>139229863
>>139229383
Wrong.
>>139229946
Pretty good too.
>>139229383
>>139229509
>>139229946
The bestest
>>139229383
best main character IMO
>>139231429
>Mami
>main character
Huh?
>>139231450
Maybe anon hasn't finished the show yet? He should really watch ahead before making posts like that.
>>139231473
Yeah.
It is foolishness to dive head-first into discussion without knowing everything.
>>139231450
>Madoka
>main characer
Huh?
>>139231492
I watched it she was just my favorite.
>head first
>>139231527
She is at the center of everything.
>>139231558
What? Don't like where this is heading?
>>139229946
Overrated as shit. She hardly offers anything besides being cute and snarky at the same time.
>>139231611
>>139229383
>>139229863
>>139230736
Balsa, Youko, Erin and Shuurei are all great characters in great anime. I'd love to see more anime with settings like theirs.
Too bad the Madoka manchildren start coming to shit up the thread.
>>139231199
The only right answer.
Lets decide once and for all..
http://strawpoll.me/7208012
>>139231832
Welp, gg. Balsa wins. Poll is over.
Please.
>>139229383
Nope
>tfw moribito was one book of TWELVE and they'll NEVER animate the rest
It actually hurts
>>139229863
just started juuni kokuki now, looks interesting, ty
>>139229863
>>139231084
>>139232555
Still waiting for anime where MC gets transported into medieval/magical world and brings with him books and tools to start up scientific / industrial revolution.
>>139231084
> http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-01-01/fuyumi-ono-aiming-to-publish-new-twelve-kingdoms-book-in-2016/.97041
Or will we?
My own pet theory is that Fuyumi Ono is using the situation with North Korea as a mould and source of inspiration for Tai. Expecting everything to come down in the ten years she didn't write anything. Sadly it didn't so I don't think Taiki will have a very happy ending.
Sorry it's been twenty years since.
>>139230041
I agree. Always have loved Balsa but I do remember her being fairly overpowered and stronger than almost every character in her series. It's been a long time but I don't remember anyone being on her level.
Balsa is fucking boring. She is a "solved" character, as in we start the series with her in already a developed stage. There is no struggles for her to go over internally, no meaningful changes she has to do or any internal conflict. The most we got was when she almost killed that guy and broke her promise.
She is just a badass who excels in combat with a very difficult task to perform. How does that make her a good character?
>>139232908
In terms of combat sure, she's intelligent, stoic, and a skilled fighter. But she never comes off as completely perfect, like Motoko often does.
You rarely ever see anyone manage to go toe to tow with Motoko in combat, unless they're 4x the size of her in a mech of some kind. While Balsa always wins, she's often challenged by enemies that can actually stand against her.
>>139233172
Didn't she fight off two highly skilled warriors while she was drunk in that tiger episode?
>>139233100
I disagree. She struggles with her role as a mentor/mother figure and seems to be constantly comparing herself to her own mentor/father figure.
Development doesn't always have to be a coming of age drama, you don't hit 20 and never have any emotional growth or struggles ever again.
>>139233453
I'm getting real sick and tired of this "no character development" thing in plots where the protagonists are already adults. I blame anime for being about teenagers so much.
Everyone wants to see a character go from useless rookie to seasoned veteran, like Psycho-Pass.
I hear LoGH and GitS get shit for it all the time. No character development, no character development. Like every story needs to end with the main character being a radically different person than they started. They'll completely disregard a well written and well fleshed out character just because they don't have a revelation halfway through that totally changes who they are as a person.
>>139229383
Balsa is pretty fucking based.
>>139233453
Hum, she always seemed perfectly able to raise the prince to me. Like that scene in which he runs and she slaps him in the face. IIRC there was a flashback showing why she came to that decision but it's not like she didn't knew what to do then. I'm not accusing Balsa of being perfect, just saying that she is boring to watch because she barely changes as a character from episode 1 to final episode.
I'm not asking for coming of age either, people here are posting LoGH characters as joke but at least some of they, as adults, had meaningful developments.
There are much worse female protags than Balsa but not in a million years she deserves the title of best female protag.
>>139232447
>>139233610
It's worth noting that the anime only covers the first book of a ten volume series.
>>139233764
And each book is meant to be semi-standalone. Balsa is a wandering bodyguard, going from adventure to adventure. She doesn't develop a lot because that isn't really the point.
It's like saying Ginko didn't develop a lot over the course of Mushi Shi.
>>139233833
That's fine, it is perfectly OK to have stories like that, but to call characters like that "best protagonists" is just wrong.
Unless you want to debate what truly makes a protagonist good.
>>139233874
>but to call characters like that "best protagonists" is just wrong
Why? Is a protagonist's value primarily determined by change? No character growth or change can be bad, but it's no universal marker of good characters either.
>>139229383
You mean one of the more bland and boring.
Just because she can fight and acts like a man doesn't make her a good female protag.
A female can can be well written and interesting despite acting like a "woman" or not being physically or mentally strong.
>>139234045
What is acting like a man or women?
>>139234037
Growth or change gives a character depth and makes them more interesting. It makes them more human and helps you care more for them.
For example, do I like Ginko? Sure, but would I put him in my top 50 best protags list? Not at all.
>>139234037
Good protagonists usually have good character arcs. As in the character goes through ordeals, is challenged by the situation they are in (mentally, but can be physically too), have to solve the main plot at the end and finish the story by making a change.
This is story-telling 101. Some of it happens in Murabito but not enough to make it 9/10 or 10/10. When a character goes through an adventure like that and comes out the same it either means something bad about the character or the adventure.
Again not every story needs to be the same, Murabito is perfectly fine the way it is. But don't parade Balsa as a model protagonist because she definitely isn't one.
>>139234156
But growth or change is not the only way to have a character have depth. Even if a character doesn't change, it's not like you get every single detail about them from the first episode either. Characters can behave differently in different situations, have conflicting drives, histories beyond the story they're currently in. None of this requires a character to "change" within the confines of a single story. Different facets of them become apparent as the circumstances themselves change.
>>139233610
I'm not saying she had a big dramatic breakdown over it or anything. But I definitely got the impression that she wasn't super comfortable in the role. It's admittedly been a while since I watched it, but I recall a scene where Tanda mentions that she is acting like Chagum's mother and I at least got the impression that she wasn't entirely comfortable with the comparison.
Contrast this to the way she treats him later on and I think that the relationship sees a lot of growth and that this shows some growth in her as a character as well. That's just my opinion though, and like I said it's been a while.
>>139229383
>Balsa is the best female protagonist in an anime, with very little competition.
Birdy
Robin Sena
Pai
Allison Whittington
Re-l Mayer
Maetel
Shiki Ryougi
Lia de Beaumont
Ein
Lina Inverse
>>139233874
>Unless you want to debate what truly makes a protagonist good.
I actually want to go eat breakfast, but I do disagree. I don't think development is an integral part of a good character. I think character development has more to do with the plot, than the characters themselves.
>>139233540
this
>>139234298
I didn't say it was the only way to give a character depth, but it is an effective way and contributes greatly to making a character more interesting and human.
Everyone goes through change, a character not doing so makes them much less human.
In any case, Balsa isn't even close to being amongst the best and most interesting protags, female or not.
>>139234396
How does not going through radical change make her less human? Your logic is fucked.
You sound like one of those mouthbreathers who think a tsundere is a pinnacle of good character because she goes from being tsun to dere.
>>139234598
>How does not going through radical change make her less human? Your logic is fucked.
Why do you keep putting words into my mouth? I didn't even bring up the word "radical" or go to extremes. Now you also insult me and accuse me of being a "mouthbreather" and shit.
It's clear you're not a reasonable unbiased person and I'm just wasting my time here.
Have fun with a dead thread then.
We as human beings don't change much so I'd argue it's more realistic and human for characters not to undergo any radical change.
>>139235381
Basically. It only makes sense in coming of age dramas about teenagers and kids, which many anime are about.
It's certainly possible to do with adults to great effect, look at Breaking Bad for example. But it's not a necessary part of making a good character.
>>139229383
>>139229509
>>139229863
>>139229946
>>139231199
Great picks, but Ryougi is unparalleled in character development.
>>139235632
>Ryougi
>character development
am i missing something here? she has just a multiple personality disorder
![[SS]_Kemono_no_Souja_Erin_-_18_(1280x720_h264)_[51B87D26].mkv_snapshot_04.45_[2013.09.30_19.13.09].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/ogRuAwO.jpg "[SS]_Kemono_no_Souja_Erin_-_18_(1280x720_h264)_[51B87D26].mkv_snapshot_04.45_[2013.09.30_19.13.09].jpg")
>>139229383
May I interject?
>>139235632
>>139235877
Yeah, she didn't even cut her hair or anything.
![[A-F]_Twin_Spica_-_02.avi_snapshot_01.59_[2013.09.11_20.32.03].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/9AaUBTe.jpg "[A-F]_Twin_Spica_-_02.avi_snapshot_01.59_[2013.09.11_20.32.03].jpg")
I would also like to nominate the Rocket Driver
>>139235632
>being TMfag
>>139232511
There's a live action adaption airing right now that is suppose to cover all the books
>>139235877
You're missing a lot. The entire story is centered around Ryougi and her wish to have a life of normalcy, something that is ultimately fulfilled. The antagonists are all reflections of her innate desires some way, and the series' conclusion takes place in her mindscape. Also technically speaking her personalities are not the result of Dissociative Identity Disorder even though it is a dual personality.
>>139237731
well i should go rewatch KnK then.
>>139234341
>Ai
Man she deserved a better ending than what she gets. Not that the show was flawless to begin with but it turns into a complete mess once the whole "journey to Jupiter" thing is introduced.
>>139230736
Oh god I need to rewatch this. So does anyone who hasn't.
>>139231429
>Dayman.jpg
Fighter of the Nightman?
>>139229383
I respectfully disagree.
>best female protagonist
You called?
>>139237653
Neat! Time to look for raws.
>>139244967
yona was alright but i mean come on... yona?
