Anime Feminist has been in operation since Fall 2016, which means eight years! We’ve written about hundreds of shows, and recommended plenty of them, and as the years go on it’s easy for some of the smaller titles to get lost in the shuffle. That’s why we decided to try out a “backlog” series. People are getting into anime for the first time or coming back to it from a long time away all the time, after all!
When putting together this list, we placed the cutoff at the end of 2020, just to really let comparatively older titles shine. Plus, it leaves some options on the table if decide to circle back to this topic in a few years! We also didn’t include any titles that are already on our pinned recommendation lists.
Have you seen any of these already, or plan to look them up now? Let us know in the comments, along with what you’d be interested in for future “flashback”-type articles–more stuff from the vaults? Staff picks by vintage year? We wanna know!
Snow White with the Red Hair (Spring 2016)
Recommended By: Dee
What’s it about? When her kingdom’s prince demands that she become his concubine due to her unusual red hair, herbalist Shirayuki leaves everything she’s known behind and flees. Upon reaching the neighboring kingdom of Clarines, her paths cross with its prince, who Shirayuki saves from a fatal poisoning. She finds a new home as Clarines’ court herbalist, but her past is not quite so easily left behind.
Content Considerations: depictions of forced marriages, misogyny, classism, kidnapping/attempted trafficking
I thought about this one for all of two seconds before I chose the cozy shojo fairy tale Snow White with the Red Hair.
A determined, capable female protagonist who’s constantly fighting assumptions based on her appearance or class status and defeats all naysayers with a combination of stubborn agency and compassionate empathy? Check.
A central romance that’s built on mutual respect and admiration where the couple communicates, supports each other’s goals, and trusts one another? Check.
A supporting cast featuring a variety of interpersonal relationships and female characters with diverse personalities and lifestyles whom the narrative happily accepts, regardless of how “girly” they are? Check and double-check!
I spent a lot of time writing about this show on my own blog, and its soothing tone and quietly progressive messages never failed to leave me feeling all warm ‘n’ fuzzy inside. The idyllic narrative and low levels of drama may come across as dull to some folks, so I can’t guarantee its relaxed tone is going to appeal to everyone. But if you’re looking for a smart, comfy, feminist-friendly anime to warm your heart on a cold winter night, I heartily recommend curling up with a cup of hot cocoa and enjoying this beautifully drawn and gracefully directed modern fairy tale.
—Dee
Princess Principal (Summer 2017)
Recommended by: Dee, Vrai
What’s it about? The city of London’s poor and downtrodden are cordoned off by a massive wall that divides the city in two. Four undercover spies infiltrate the palace in hopes of planting a replacement for the girl fourth line for the throne. But their target, code name Princess, offers a different suggestion: she’ll help them with their plans, if they’ll help her become Queen.
PrinPal is one of the summer season’s underrated gems. Being licensed by Anime Strike made it unfortunately inaccessible for a lot of folks, while others were put off by the moe sameface art design (a decision that, in the show’s defense, is an actual plot point).
But those who gave it a look were rewarded with a fantastic aesthetic, a jazzy soundtrack, and strong character writing about relationships between women—both platonic and romantic—while also providing very minimal fanservice (and even then, never from the underage characters). Dee wrote up a great encapsulation of the show at its episodic best, and the romance between Charlotte and Ange forms the heart of the overall series.
The show does suffer from biting off more than it can chew. While the characters all grow and have satisfying arcs, the actual political conspiracy trips on itself once it has to move into the forefront, introducing a new antagonist at the last minute and not actually wrapping up any of the larger concerns about the totally-not-Berlin Wall. It badly needs a second season for that element, and none has thus far been confirmed.
Still, if you’re all right with character building that comes at the expense of plot, I can’t recommend this more highly.
—Vrai
Since we wrote this, the franchise has started releasing a set of film sequels! So far, we have three of a proposed six. It’s also, thankfully, moved to HiDive rather than being stuck on Amazon.
Code:Realize ~Guardians of Rebirth~ (Fall 2017)
Recommended By: Dee, Vrai
What’s it about? Locked in a mansion her whole life due to her corrosive touch, Cardia’s solitude is broken by the intrusion of Royal Guards attempting to capture her. Gentleman thief Arsène Lupin intrudes to save her from their clutches, and she soon enlists his help to find her missing father, the only one who knows the origins of her mysterious condition.
In my premiere review for Code: Realize, I lovingly called it “the unicorn” because it was a rare, magical example of how to do a good otome visual novel adaptation, and that mostly held true for the entire series. The steampunk London setting continued to be ridiculous fun (so many unnecessary gears!), the horde of cute boys named after literary figures continued to be sweet and supportive, and the plot clipped along at a nice pace, taking the story in weird but entertaining directions.
Best of all, Cardia proved herself to be a compelling protagonist, as well as an example of how a character can be quiet and insecure without being a passive cardboard cut-out. She was driven and passionate, with personal goals and the talents to achieve them. Called “monstrous” all her life, Cardia (with the help of a supportive community) slowly comes to realize that she can make her own choices and is a person worthy of happiness. She also got to kick some bad guys’ butts along the way, which was pretty rad, too.
While I do wish the final act had allowed her to exercise more agency, as it leans a little too heavily on the man being the active savior/protector figure (Cardia still makes choices, but they’re mostly passive and internal ones), her emotional arc is still a largely satisfying one. The friendships are sweet and the romance is cute and fluffy. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great example of how to play out the fantasy of the otome genre without the sexist pitfalls so often inherent in that genre. Here’s hoping future titles will follow its example and I can enjoy more active girls and good boys in the future.
—Dee
Girls’ Last Tour (Fall 2017)
Recommended By: Dee (and Chiaki and Vrai, belatedly)
What’s it about? Chito and Yuuri wander the remains of a dying land on their beloved motorbike, searching for connection, meaning, and small joys in a world that seems to be flickering out.
Content Warning: Mass death, apocalyptic imagery, non-sexual nudity (bathing), existential dread
This show was barely on my radar four days ago, and now it’s skyrocketed up my list to become not just one of my favorites of the season, but one of my favorites of the entire year. I’m still basking in the post-credits afterglow.
Despite the lack of a clear plot and some tonal dissonance in the first couple episodes, Girls’ Last Tour builds on itself beautifully, slowly creating a world and tone that is at once heartbreakingly bleak and warmly peaceful. In a kind of “road trip” format, the series uses its apocalyptic setting and characters (Chito and Yuuri, two girls whose squabbling but intimate relationship feels refreshingly realistic) to ask questions about life, death, and what it means to be human with an elegance that’s rare to find.
While it doesn’t provide much in the way of answers, it isn’t entirely void of hope, either. Neither optimistic nor despairing, GLT explores how people find meaning in their lives and does so beautifully, combining wistful music with melancholy backgrounds with character designs that seem as simultaneously fragile and resilient as the world around them. Don’t dismiss the blobs, folks—they’re part of one of the finest atmospheric stories of the year.
—Dee
Phantom in the Twilight (Summer 2018)
Recommended By: Caitlin, Dee
What’s it about? Inspired by the letters her great-grandmother sent home, Ton and her best friend Shinyao decide to study abroad in London. When Ton chases after a strange thief who’s stolen their luggage, she soon finds herself embroiled in a paranormal battle involving three young men who all work at a cafe founded by her own great-grandmother. What is this organization, and what did Ton’s grandma have to do with it?
Content Warning: Violence against teens; supernatural age-gap relationship
I don’t think anyone knew what to expect out of Phantom in the Twilight. A Chinese co-production with an original story that appeared to include otome and urban fantasy trappings, neither of which I’m particularly fond of? No thanks, I said. Actually, refusal would involve much more awareness than I had of the series, which barely registered for me at the start of the season.
I’m so thankful I have my Anime Feminist colleagues to steer me in the right direction, because otherwise I would have missed out on this truly great series.
Not long ago, I wrote an article about how Cardia from Code: Realize switching her gown out for pants symbolized a shift from passive to active that was rare for an otome-based show. Ton, on the other hand, is wearing shorts and ready to rumble from episode one. From the first moment the Umbra attack, she’s resourceful, scrappy, and absolutely refuses to let anyone stop her from being an active player in her own life.
Sure, Shinyao spends most of the series as a damsel, but this makes a great example of how having multiple female characters with different personalities can breathe new life even into cliche setups. Plus, she isn’t a damsel waiting to be rescued by a handsome hero (even though she certainly finds a cute wolfboy to fall for), but by her best friend.
But the boys… are they good, or are they as predatory as one would expect a vampire, a werewolf, a ghost, and a jiangshi to be? The answer is, THEY ARE SO GOOD. They are, for the most part, respectful to Ton as allies and associates. Even on the occasion they do object, Ton usually challenges them or proves their doubts unnecessary. The romance is largely understated, based more on occasional flirtation and loaded conversations than possessiveness or physical contact. Heck, I forgot there even was a romance angle for most of the series.
Even if it doesn’t sound like your thing, I seriously recommend checking out Phantom in the Twilight. It will probably surprise you.
Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan (Fall 2018)
Recommended by: Caitlin
What’s it about? Hisone Amakasu joins the Japan Air Self-Defense Force in hopes of finding something only she can do. When her superiors send her to Hangar 8, which doesn’t seem to exist, she discovers that the JSDF has a secret: dragons! And that dragon wants nothing more than to gobble her up… but maybe that’s the point?
Content Warning: Workplace sexism; gender essentialism; mild sexualization of adult women; death of a queer character
Man, I really wish Netflix had let us watch this series week to week. It’s a show that would have engendered some spirited discussion if a large portion of the anime community—myself included—hadn’t been waiting for the streaming giant to release the whole thing at once.
But what’s done is done, and Dragon Pilot is now out and available for everyone to watch and digest at their own pace. And maybe that’s a blessing in disguise, because the plot takes a turn where I almost certainly would have dropped the show in disgust, until the characters come out and say: “No, this is wrong.” I’ve had to talk others into continuing when they almost did the same thing. All I can say is that, by the end, it’s mostly worth it.
I say “mostly” because make no mistake, Dragon Pilot is a messy show. It portrays the kind of workplace sexism that happens in a traditionally masculine, male-dominated field matter-of-factly, without offering solutions or catharsis. The main characters cope with sexist comments and harassment, but never strike back or even really comment on it. It also has tragic lesbians, with one member of the couple falling to the “bury your gays” trope.
The second half, however, is far more ambitious with what it wants to say, although mixed in whether it can be considered totally successful. It directly confronts not just sexism but full-on gender essentialism… and it seems to agree with it for a while. I don’t want to say too much for risk of spoiling things, but the wonderfully off-kilter heroine Hisone kicks that essentialism in the face. Imperfections and all, that makes this a series I want to recommend to others.
GRANBELM (Summer 2019)
Recommended By: Peter, Vrai
What’s it about? A thousand years ago, seven powerful mages sealed away the world’s magic in order to keep humanity from destroying itself. Since then, the descendants of those mages have battled in the Granbelm to see which among them is the strongest. One fateful night, a seemingly average girl named Mangetsu is drawn in and becomes the Granbelm’s newest combatant.
Content Warning: Queerphobic stereotypes; minor nudity (nonsexualized); existential dread.
This one was a rollercoaster all right, though not quite in the way I expected. GRANBELM began as a character-focused series that seemed like a straightforward magical girl series (give-or-take a few giant robots) only to reveal its dark magical girl roots about halfway through. But unlike almost every other series in the subgenre I’ve seen since Madoka Magica made a very particular brand of it fashionable, it still managed to tell a basically hopeful, if wistful and melancholy, story that wasn’t choked out by suffering porn.
GRANBELM’s most successful moments aren’t its grand tragedies. On the contrary, it lives and breathes in its character moments. For every declaration about a generations-long curse, there will be a grounded scene or two about personal anxieties or the small, fleeting joys of daily life. GRANBELM picks the hardest sell of all—trying to convince the audience that the mundane world is preferable to the magical one—and it actually succeeds.
Like Madoka Magica (which it’s quite deliberately evoking, right down to casting Yuki Aoi as the show’s antagonist), the relationship between GRANBELM’s two protagonist is heavily romance-coded and drives the plot, with the word “friend” pulled out once as the flimsiest sort of shield. And as is so frustratingly often the case in this kind of show, overt queerness only appears when it is tragic or villainous. Antagonist Suisho is a walking stack of predatory lesbian tropes, and it’s confirmed that gifted mage Shingetsu had feelings for her childhood friend Anna only after the latter is a lost cause.
That said, between the show’s beautiful production values and lack of a leering camera, plus an ending that genuinely impressed me with its boldness, this one has lingered in my mind much longer than I’d ever expected.
—Vrai
Princess Connect! Re:Dive (Spring 2020)
Recommended By: Caitlin, Chiaki, Dee
What’s it about? In a far off fantasy world, a young man named Yuuki awakens with memory of little other than his name. He awakens to a beautiful maiden who calls herself Kokkoro and tells him that she has been tasked with protecting him on his journey to see Princess Ameth. However, this will be a difficult journey, since Yuuki lacks understanding of even the most basic things.
Content Considerations: Bug eating, light consistent fanservice
Turns out this show isn’t actually about Yuuki, so much as the adventures of the Gourmet Edifice guild he and his friends start up. While Yuuki remains integral to the crew throughout the whole season as “the hero,” he is definitively a support character in the narrative. Instead the story focuses on Kokkoro, Pecorine, and Karyl as they meet with other adventurers and eventually become entangled in a bigger evil plot endangering everyone in the kingdom.
Most of the show is light-hearted and just fun. Taking the best Kanasaki Takaomi had from KonoSuba, PriConne distills its comedy sans the biting “meanness” KonoSuba had and replaces it with an overabundance of earnestness among supportive companions. PriConne ultimately tells a story of a group of isolated kids coming together to find their own happiness among friends away from abuse or neglect.
As noted, PriConne features some consistent fanservice, primarily focused on ample chests. That fanservice, however, is not overly emphasized nor is it particularly leery. Though, at times distracting, it’s nothing too out of place and most of the story remains just cute.
Cygames Pictures also has a penchant for being pretty gay, if a little guilty of overbearing shipteasing. Pecorine is only a few months away from presenting Karyl a Ring Pop on one knee, but honestly, gals just being pals isn’t all that bad either especially when the cast are such good kids.
The show’s ending feels a little lacking, blatantly telegraphing for a second season that promises to tie up the story. Wrapping up its final arc, PriConne introduces so many more aspects of the story that begs to be addressed in a second season. And I do hope that happens sooner rather than later.
Please, I love Karyl so much. I need more screenshots of Karyl.
This one got a second season! We liked it too!
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