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Best Girl Winter 2020 (Sunday Sevens)

The Otaku Author Sunday Sevens Best Girl Winter 2020

Well, it looks like it’s time for me to reveal my favourite female characters from Winter 2020, or for the most part, my favourite characters period. The girls were far more interesting than the boys!

Best Girl Winter 2020

So, last Sunday I ran down the best boys from Winter 2020 and other than the top two it was fairly uninspiring. Let’s see if the girls can fair any better. I tend to write a lot of female characters so this category is of particular interest to me. It was also nice to see that a lot of the girls weren’t just eye candy or damsels in distress. In fact, most of the girls on this list would beat the boys, and it wouldn’t even be a contest.

7. Kotoko Iwanaga (In/Spectre)

InSpectre Episode 8 Kotoko

I’ll be honest here. After the first three episodes of In/Spectre, I started to dislike Kotoko. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly where it went wrong for me, but the series, on the whole, became very boring and that didn’t help any of the characters. Kotoko, however, was at least an interesting character, if only for the things she’s been through. Her confidence and wordplay at the beginning were one of the highlights of the show. I just think they overdid it and got stuck in what is possibly the most infuriating collection of talking heads episodes.

6. Liu Xuelan (Darwin’s Game)

Darwin's Game Episode 9 Liu Xuelan Joins Kaname

Xuelan was only in Darwin’s Game for an episode and in that brief moment, I found myself wishing for a second season so that we could see more of her. I even felt the need to use her as the inspiration for one of my Saturday Spin-off posts. The episode she appeared in was insane and had one of the most exciting fights of the season. She’s the heir to an assassin guild and the number one player in D-Game. On top of that, no one even knows what her Sigil is, presumably because the only time she’s used it no one has lived to tell. She should be higher on this list but with just one episode, I felt like I had to hold her back.

5. Koharu Hondomachi (ID: Invaded)

ID Invaded Episode 10 Hondomachi Finds Narihisago

I really enjoyed ID: Invaded and admittedly, Narihisago and the ID Wells were a large part of that. That said, the story of Hondomachi was a great thread that flowed through the entire series and showed just how important she was to the overall story. We saw her go from the rookie to the brilliant detective and I loved how she complimented Sakaido. Without her, they would never have found out who John Walker was, but it was undoubtedly a team effort. She had some great moments in the series and I hope we get to see more of her in a second season.

4. Rein Kashiwagi (Darwin’s Game)

Darwin’s Game gave us a lot of fun and interesting characters, but Rein has to be the most mysterious. She’s a thirteen-year-old middle school student but has not only survived in D-Game, but made a name for herself as the broker of information. So, you might think she’s a bit of a nerd that hides behind her computer screens and makes the other players do as she wishes. Well, part of that is right, but she’s also able to take care of herself. She’s quite the marksman with her rifle and her Sigil, Laplace’s Demon allows her to see the future. Rein was integral in making Kaname into the person he became.

3. Shuka Karino (Darwin’s Game)

Darwin's Game Episode 1 Shuka the Undefeated Queen

And we’re back with Darwin’s Game. This time, it’s Shuka, the Undefeated Queen. Shuka burst onto the screen in the opening double-length episode and while she continued to remain in our minds, it wasn’t until the final episode that she really came to life. She is unbelievably strong and doesn’t flinch at anything. Seeing her go head to head with Wang was insane and she’d beaten him long before he’d realised it. She’s another that has shaped Kaname and is definitely his right-hand girl. If anything, he’s lucky she decided to take his side, because no one would want to be her enemy.

2. Sally/Risa Shiramine (BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense)

BOFURI Episode 10 Sally and Oboro

Sally didn’t start playing NewWorld Online from the beginning because she had to study for exams, but she is integral in getting Kaede to play. There’s no way she could have foreseen how that would work, and ultimately, I think it worked out for the best. Sally is an experienced gamer and would no doubt have guided Kaede into balancing her stats and gone with a more considered approach. The best thing about the way it worked out was that Sally didn’t stick with the standard method of playing. Once she had seen how Kaede had set up Maple, she built her character to complement it. Together they are an unstoppable force, but alone, Sally is terrifying. Their friendship made this series.

1. Maple/Kaede Honjō (BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense)

BOFURI Episode 1 Maple with One of a Kind Equipment

Maple is simply a legend. Her desire to have fun and explore the game as she choices is possibly the greatest advert for NewWorld Online. I’m glad that the developers realised it in the end and decided to just see what happens. Of course, Maple is at her best when she’s just goofing around with her friends or seeing how she combine her abilities to make new terrifying and ridiculous skills. Her curious nature often sees her going where others wouldn’t and reacting to things in a way that a seasoned gamer wouldn’t Her naivety was a blessing for this series and it all worked perfectly.

So, there you have it. BOFURI takes the top two spots and Darwin’s Game gets three in the top seven. I would have loved to include one of the characters from My Hero Academia but they were all criminally overlooked in my opinion. Nejire could easily have swooped in here had she been featured a little more. Even with the festival arc, they ignored all of the girls despite them being the driving force for the performance. A very odd decision. Anyhow, next week, I’ll be looking at my favourite villains from the season, so that should be entertaining.

Obviously, these are just my opinions and I didn’t watch everything that was released. So, would you agree or disagree with my selections? Which were your favourite female characters from Winter 2020? Thanks, again for reading.

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8 Comments

    • Even if she didn’t, she’d find a way to win it anyhow. That said, Maple deserves to win everything.

    • Thanks, and yeah, Shuka was incredible in the last episode. Wang didn’t even see it coming!

  3. Maple and Sally deserve those spots! I’d have snuck in Kasumi, Jiro (Earphone Jack), and probably Chihaya and Kanade as well.

    • Kasumi was similar to Xuelan in that I would love to see a lot more of her.

      I felt like while Jiro was excellent in the concert performance, although she really wasn’t used much otherwise. That whole arc would have benefitted from her being much more involved.

      I haven’t seen any of Chihayafuru, but I have got it on my to watch list.

      And Kanade from what series? Hopefully not Bofuri. He might have some issues with being on the best girl list!

    • Kanade is also from Chihayafuru, and you should watch it soon! The just completed S3 was the best yet.

      Agreed, Jiro was underused in an arc she should have been the star of… For some reason I’ve had a soft spot for her ever since the internship episodes.

    • Awesome, I’ll try to move it up the list.

      And it’s Momo Yaoyorozu for me. I’d watch any arc with her as the lead.

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