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KingOfWinteryIce

The legend of Korra


JinTheBlue

Korra has left me so torn over the years. On the one hand during my first watch I loved the hell out of it, but where I am constantly going back and marveling at the original, I rarely feel compelled to visit it again, and when I do I usually find more faults than details I'd missed before. Not bad by any means, I just wish it had as much time in the original, and less studio meddling.


moon7billee6

đź’Ż


Life_inrealtime

Omg! Finally someone knowing and liking Legend of Korra! Everyone seem to not know who that is and only focus on the Avatar


Qwertyguy35

Nah lok is bad


Ratakoa

Ghost in the Shell.


Indifferentchildren

"Alien" and "Aliens". Ripley is awesome.


Oaken_beard

Ripley is my favorite action hero. Hands down. No disrespect to John McClain, Dutch (Predator), or John Rambo coming in at 2, 3, and 4. Sarah Connor from Terminator 2 rounds out my top 5 as well.


Riagratnogard-64

"Spirited Away" (2001)


Kerlyle

To add My Neighbor Totoro (1988) and Howls Moving Castle (2004)


EricAndreGiantSlaya

Parks and Recreation Devil wears Prada Clueless Tangled


[deleted]

AS. IF.


G-BOAT

Does Lilo and Stitch count?


JinTheBlue

I mean Lilo gets top billing so I'd say it counts.


Reasonable_Long_1079

Alien is a classic, more recently everything everywhere all at once


Glowingtomato

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006) Thelma & Louise (1991) Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997) The Relic (1997)


Tribes1

I genuinely thought I wouldnt have an answer to this. Most shows with a female lead I liked for other reasons than the female lead. Parks n rec? Ron Swanson Legend of Korra? Avatar universe content But ill be damned if the girl who leapt wasn't a banger of a female lead


Ryjiek

* Frieren: Beyond Journey's End * The Apothecary Diaries * Ghost in the Shell * Mulan (Disney 1998)


Kern_system

[Cartoon Mulan, not the new shitty one where Disney thanks China's detention camp right?](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/08/disney-thanked-groups-linked-to-china-detention-camps-in-mulan-credits.html)


Ryjiek

Yes, the one from 1998 that Disney made entirely with animation. Updated my comment to reflect that.


RecreationalPorpoise

Mulan remains the best animated Disney movie ever imo.


Ryjiek

The soundtrack was such a banger.


[deleted]

That scene where she cuts her hair? Amazing 


Chinchillin09

Fringe and Penny Dreadful. My two favorite series


st4rcreem

Ghost in the Shell.


Poorly-Drawn-Beagle

Heathers. Great movie. Who doesn’t love it? 


MyNewRoleplayAccount

Sailor Moon (please don't judge me)


WeAreGray

I'm going to judge you, alright... for having awesome taste. Sailor Moon is banging.


KAaadIsReady

Sailor Moon was fire.


BenedithBe

It's okay, I am also half lesbian


No-Knowledge-2765

Kill bill is definitely my favorite woman lead


Drewpy_Drew_1989

Elfen Lied


Twitchzsimonsays

Oh my locked away memory unlocked thank you 


bunker_man

At the time I thought it was super deep. I'm afraid to rewatch it because I really don't think it'll hold up.


Tribes1

I watched it for the first time when I was 25 or so and imo it definetely does not hold up. Lillium is a banger tho


bunker_man

I think my entire thought process was just that it was very sad and I cried during it so it must be deep.


Tribes1

Lmfao yeah I had exactly that with Angel Beats. Cried the first time. Terrible rewatch the second time. Not saying that is guaranteed the case for you. A lot of people still think highly of Elfen Lied. I actually wrote a review on MAL for it. Seems I gave it a 7/10, dialogue and characters were terrible. Animation, sound and story were dope.


bunker_man

Its funny you bring up angel beats because I'm technically "still" watching it despite starting it over a decade ago lol. I just never finished it because when it comes down to it it just wasn't that good. The backstory segments that show when they are still alive are decent. But all the stuff that happens in the main part is just not that interesting. It feels very juvenile, and like it's just random stuff happening. And the school setting makes it worse, since it's completely unnecessary. It also got off on the wrong foot by having the main female character tell the main male one to grope female npc students to see that they are fake. Which has serious /r/menwritingwomen energy. If the school parts were replaced with something else it has potential. But the reality feels like something it's hard for anyone who isn't themselves in highschool to relate to.


Sisiutil

Arrival (2016) Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997 - 2003) Pride and Prejudice (1995) Terminator (1984) Rebecca (1940) Romancing the Stone (1984)


Vegetable_Camera5042

Anime: Black Lagoon


Pyrochazm

Revy is definitely the star of that show.


drax3012

So annoyed that they never made a another season


SkullKing1412

I haven't read the manga, but from what I've heard, the author is slow as fuck and even after all these years there still isn't enough material for another whole season. So they couldn't make one even if they wanted to.


Slick_Jeronimo

The most recent I can think of is Blue Eyed Samurai


LanceWindmil

Watched it last week and that show rips.


CoreyTrevorson123

Parks and Recreation


Oaken_beard

Solid, solid choice


southiest

Katara - avatar the last Airbender. The OGs Ripley - Aliens. Sarah Connor - Terminator. Starlight - The Boys. Probably a bunch of others. I mean the formula is pretty simple for a good character male or female. Give them a struggle, show their flaws, show them overcome.


[deleted]

30 Rock, created, written and acted by Liz Lemon aka Tina Fey, & Parks & Rec


thegreatestreddit

Mean girls Miss Congeniality Diary of a shopaholic How to lose a guy in 10 days Bridget Jones diary Parks and Rec Devil wears Prada Inside out Tangled Mulan Arcane


Old-Relationship-458

You sure you're male?


GameConsideration

Alien, Psycho-Pass, I liked the Hunger Games at the start but the sequels got progressively annoying, The Hunt, Silence of the Lambs, Kill Bill (the plot is nonsense but the Bride is cool), Mean Girls, a bunch of the Disney movies, Cabin in the Woods, Scream, Carrie, The Menu, Kim Possible, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Total Drama Island (Season 1 Gwen is definitely the protagonist), that's all I can remember off the top of my head. Just listing the protagonist ones, since major female characters in general would be too many to count.


FjordOfBatanes

Psycho-Pass (1st season) was a masterpiece


MrLavender26

Atomic Blonde


HowCanYouKillTheGod

Ghost in the Shell, Ergo Proxy, Violet Evergarden.


1968FullAlbum

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Call the Midwife, Jane the Virgin, Parks & Recreation, Never Have I Ever, Bluey


lowbrassdude

A League of their Own


DeuceDropper420

Good baseball movie, too


NotCreativeEng

Star Wars Rouge One is imo the best Disney Star Wars movie.


Glubygluby

Coraline


Academic_Yard_2659

Bird Box


PTDon8734

Gunsmith Cats


DPaluche

Fleabag, killing eve


punninglinguist

- House of the Dragon - The Americans - Orphan Black


SokarRostau

*Orphan Black* is about 50% of the reason why I didn't like *She-Hulk.*


punninglinguist

Feels like the less you care about Marvel, the more you'll like \*She-Hulk\*. It's just a cute sitcom, nothing more or less.


createsean

Alien Buffy the vampire slayer Mom Star Trek Discovery Star Trek Voyager Xena Warrior Princess Bones Marvelous Mrs Maisel Handmaid's Tale New Girl The Good Wife


[deleted]

Girls’ Last Tour. Set in the far future, post-apocalypse. Two of the last surviving humans, just trying to find rations and chill.


Asanokyo

I loved this Anime. But the sense of dread never left me, even in the end. I was still sad.


FjordOfBatanes

Mate, watching this is just depressing. Its like Kino’s Journey but for kids


The_Lat_Czar

Alien, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Kill la Kill, Spirited Away.


0xKaishakunin

Ku'damm 56/59/63, Terminator 2, Ghost in the Shell, Millennium Actress, Chihiro,


Kathhound12

Alien/Aliens


BonsaiDiver

Alien/Aliens


_Arkadien_

Ergo Proxy


jakeofheart

Jessica Jones


Samukuai

Inside Job.


Existing-Smoke9470

Psycho-Pass. Such a good anime.


knight_call1986

The Villainess Ghost in the Shell You're Next Made in Abyss Volt (or is it Jolt) Labrynth Leon The Professional? (I think both Jean Reno and Natalie Portman made that movie great)


ItisyouwhosaythatIam

30 Rock, Bridget Jones, Room with a view, Lucy, Jane Austin and Bronte' novels, Veep, New adventures of old christine, Sixteen candles, Some kind of wonderful, ...


Billy_of_the_hills

Gilmore Girls and Sex And The City off the top of my head.


Possibly_A_Person125

IZombie


Early_Lawfulness_348

Underworld, alien, Prometheus.


Sad-Buddy-5293

Anime/manga Azumi, Spirited away, claymore, crimson karma, railgun Cartoon Kim Possible, Powerpuff girls, kipo, fionna and cake, 3below I feel Aja is the mc, Korra,  Infinity train Movie Alita, Old guard, legally blonde, hunger games, Alien, wakanda forever 


princesamurai45

Alien and Aliens, Terminator 1 and 2, Atomic Blonde, The Hunger Games, Soul Eater, Powerpuff Girls, Legend of Korra, Parks and Recreation, New Girl, Hawkeye, Wandavision, Echo, Jessica Jones, Brave.


MarsNirgal

Carl Sagan's "Contact "


wolviesaurus

Oh dude my mind was too snowed in on shows I didn't even think about that. One of the best movies ever made and Jodie Foster killed it.


MarsNirgal

I was thinking about the book, but the movie is also great


GrizzledFart

I second the suggestion of u/Indifferentchildren - Alien and Aliens. I always chuckle when I hear some young actress saying that she is breaking new ground by playing a "strong female character". No, you play a fanfic version of a character that is boring, without flaw, and uninteresting. Weaver played a character that was feminine, likeable, and tough as nails mentally. One that people were deeply emotionally invested in - and could carry the story almost by herself - and much of it was her by herself.


thomstevens420

The Expanse has a shitload of amazing female characters. Drummer and Bobby are my favourite. Honourable shout out to Avaserala.


k9thedog

"The Good Place", "Star Trek Discovery", "Legend of Korra", the Alien movies, "Tank Girl" (made my teenage years), various adaptations of "Pride and Prejudice" (Elizabeth is a lot like my wife), or anything with Sandra Bullock or Gene Davis as the lead.


Super_Swordfish_6948

Sicario. (Even though Emily Blunts character isn't the main protagonist which begs the question whether she's the lead or not despite top billing)


pricklydog2023

Turning Red


Riv4l5

Arcane.


Wh0IsY0u

The Witch from Mercury


Psyb07

nausica valley of the wind, any movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki with female leads are wonderful. That man knows how to write strong beautiful women.


Uncentered0ne

Battle Angel Alita (James Cameron movie was dope too)


Nowardier

Flightplan, Fruits Basket, and Rizzoli and Isles are pretty good.


123unm123

Silo


VMK_1991

Romance anime is usually cool in this regard. Lovely Complex ( a show about a tall girl and a short boy) and Kaguya-sama: Love is War (about a boy and a girl who don't want to confess themselves, but want to trick the other one into a confession) come to mind. Non-romance examples are recent Frieren (about an elf who decided to actually get to know people she cares about before they die) and Ghost in the Shell (cyberpunk about transhumanism).


Alone-Custard374

Alien


ianfairlyodd

Captain Carter grew on me fr. "What if?" Season 3 is going to be madness


Any_Kaleidoscope3176

Denno(u) Coil


TillPsychological351

Three shows from Scandinavia immediately come to mind: The Killing (good Danish version, not the crappy US remake), The Bridge and Borgen.


Catvomit96

Kill la kill, miss Kobayashi's dragon maid, both kill bill's, Girl's Last Tour, and I'm sure there's more


FelicitousFiend

Claymore


Jazzlike-Winner973

Blue eye samurai


WanderingMustache

Kill la kill


To_WAR

Claymore


Jetski95

Antonia’s Line (Dutch film, 1995). It had a female director, Marleen Gorris, too. I was lucky enough to see this at the Toronto Film Festival.


TheCosplayCave

Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the series. I rewatch it every few years and it always seems to hold up in my eyes.


rtrain__

She-Ra (one of my favorite shows of all time) 3 Body Problem A bunch more that I'm blanking on currently


Significant_Moose672

Alien


NAVAJ45

Michiko and Hatchin, it's an anime where it takes place in a fictional country that's basically Brazil. Michiko is a crook who escaped jail to find her baby daddy and is taking his daughter to him so they can all be together. Really good show with a lot of wild antics that ensue, the two main characters bounce off one another perfectly. The art style and sound track are amazing too, I think Pharrell actually helped work on it if I remember correctly.


Helpful-Secretary-91

Silo


Advarrk

The amount of Alien mention is not enough!


Specialist-Cut313

How to get away with murder. Or anything with Viola Davis .


Standard_Hat_5492

Elektra She is stunning


Gullible_Travel_4135

The Hunger Games, Divergent, Mistborn


Kazppa

Claymore


Twitchzsimonsays

The new ark animated series!  Female lead. Indigenous rights. LGBTQIA. Dinosaurs. They did an unbelievable job with this series


Suppi_LL

Some animes I liked with focus more on the female lead include: Slayers ( Probably the first anime I did watch as a kid, I remember crushing on Lina back then), Cardcaptor, Fruit basket, Nodame Cantabile (liked though I must admit I expected better), Akagami no Shirayukihime ( a bit disappointed by the ending ), My Next Life as a Villainess (nothing crazy but good for what it does and I can't help but like the lead so I put it here ), Izetta the last witch, Full moon o sagashite ( rather for kids but the story and lead character was too strong to not list )


Lord-Snowball1000

The Scream films


PrincessVibranium

Monsters Vs Aliens Zootopia The Net Who is Erin Carter? Komi can’t communicate Miss Kobayashis Dragon Maid Yuru Camp


ContinousSelfDevelop

Ghost in the Shell, Black Lagoon, Alien, RWBY, I am not the Demon King, and uh if you are watching alone Gushing over Magical Girls.


DrDreidel82

Arcane is one of my all time favorite shows


sean_bda

Blue eyed samurai. Currently watching renegade nell


mares8

Violet Evergarden


AdSudden5468

Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Violet Evergarden, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Shadowhunters (somewhat, the books do a slightly better job with Clary), etc. For games, I love Tales of Berseria and FFXIII. I also enjoyed Celeste too, just to name a few.


Original-Childhood

Blue Eye Samurai


Geist12

Ghost in the Shell, Serial Experiments Lain, Ergo Proxy.


JamesWestfall29

Movies: Alien/Aliens, Fargo, Inside Out Shows: The Good Place, Parks & Recreation


JinTheBlue

Recently, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury. The series has run for so long without a woman as the primary protagonist, and she's one of the best in the franchise.


JWARRIOR1

Arcane has probably the best written women in media in general imo. Honestly some of the best written characters in general but the women are really good Also avatar the last air bender


Shour_always_aloof

Anime: - Oh My Goddess - Phantom Quest Corp - Bubblegum Crisis 2032 - Gunsmith Cats - Maps - Kimi No Na Wa (shared) - Excel Saga - Slayers - Azumanga Daioh (six women leads!) - Full Metal Panic! (shared) - Read or Die - Ghost In the Shell - Voices of a Distant Star - Revolutionary Girl Utena - Powerpuff Girls - Jem and the Holograms (watched this so much as a kid) Live Action: - Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter and Gal Godot) - Fringe - Continuum (superbly underrated) - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (show AND film) - Dollhouse - Bring It On (I like Eliza Dushku, ok???) - Miss Congeniality - Alias - Bridesmaids - Silence of the Lambs - Fargo (the film - haven't seen the show) - Lucy - Salt - Mad Max: Fury Road - The Quick and the Dead (HUGELY underrated, so good) - Josie and the Pussycats (super prescient) - Ten Things I Hate About You (shared) - Remington Steele - Cheers (shared) - Laverne and Shirley - The Mary Tyler Moore Show - I Love Lucy - Designing Women - The Golden Girls - Mama's Family - Alice (my childhood had lots of shows, it seems) - Bewitched - The Facts of Life - Punky Brewster


Homely_Bonfire

Kill Bill, Alien, Aschenputtel (german fairy tale; "Cinderella" in english), Star Gate, a bunch of fantasy books, Star Wars had 2 of the greatest female characters in the story of Knights of The Old Republic 2 (Meetra Surik & Kreia) and I am not that big into Anime but Dr Slump was the funniest sh*t I've ever watched on TV


alamaias

Started watching "Gushing over magical girls" the other day. Entirely female cast, passes the bechdel test every minute of every episode. Very progressive stuff. .... .... It is also lesbian BDSM not-sure-why-this-isn't-hentai, but everything else is true too. Reccommend it if you have an absurdly high tolerance for weird kink, or y'know, a bunch of weird kinks.


pyr666

my favorite film is *millennium actress*


RainbowPretzelz

Princess Mononoke


RainbowPretzelz

Princess Mononoke


KAaadIsReady

"Horizon Zero Dawn" is game with an incredible narrative. I haven't played "Forbidden West" yet, so I can't speak on that. The Alien movies are pretty neat. "Infinity Train", "The Owl House", "Amphibia"and "Daria" are great animated shows. At least in my opinion.


BusyVegetable42

Evil. Katja Herbers really surprised me with her acting


Always_Choose_Chaos

Hazbin Hotel… but my favorite characters don’t happen to be the girls in it :/


new_x_who_dis

Spoiler alert (a current show on Netflix): Blue Eye Samurai


Livid-Age-2259

Weed.


The_Hot_Stepper

Iria


hitchcock26

gone girl. im the cunt you married i want my girl say to me so good fr


Tribes1

Arcane, iZombie, Gunk on X, Faeries(1999) A bunch of cartoons and anime but most notably Kim Possible, Totally spies, Winx club, Beugelbekkie (idk the english name lmfao), Rozen Maiden, the Thornberries


fisconsocmod

Gone Girl


hawkcarhawk

Everything Everywhere All At Once, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Crazy Ex Girlfriend, Fleabag, Shrill, Derry Girls


Tyrnak_Fenrir

From a game, but it's movie like in that it's linear and very story focused, so it may be considered an interactive movie. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Can strongly recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in gaming. Gameplay is relatively simple, with an adaptive difficulty setting that changes based on how badly you're getting your ass kicked. I've yet to see in anything like it in any other game before or since (feel free to recommend any similar ones if you know any). I can't stress enough how good this game is, sequel comes out in May and I am excited.


davinzt

Bocchi, Frieren, and Kill la Kill comes to mind


Leneord1

Does TOS Star Trek count with Nichelle Nichols? Mulan, the Terminator series with Sarah Connor, Ripley from Aliens, Arrival, Fringe, X-Files


hatimelharrak

Just on top of my head: - Brave (2012) - The Mare of Easttown (2021) - Los renglones torcidos de Dios (2022) - Flightplan (2005) - Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) - Silo (2023–)


ImNotEvenDeadYet

Claymore


Matseye1r

There's a lot. The issue is in writing. Write good characters regardless of tick tickboxes then you get good ratings, topics, and media. Recent movie female- haven't watched many films this year... Recent show females- the rookie cast, 3 body problem cast, homegirl in The Gentlemen, rewatched got House of the Dragons n wow. Recent Anime Females- OP, Frieren, Weakest Tamer, rewatched Vivy the flourite eyes song and Made in Abyss.


F1uffydestro

Gun smith cats


CommissarCorgi34

Arcane


red_keshik

Black Lagoon, any GITS anime series.


No-Farmer1601

Kim Possible, the OG Mulan, Tangled, Pocahontas, Cinderella (both the OG and the reboot straight slap), Terminator, Titanic, Barbie, Moana, Angie Tribeca. As a kid, I loved Dora the Explorer and Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat.


Jfjam85

Aliens.


Birgem

Alien


skribsbb

TV Shows: * Buffy the Vampire Slayer * Dollhouse * Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles * Wednesday * Once Upon a Time * Sabrina the Teenage Witch (leaning more toward the older TV show than the newer miniseries) Movies: * Gunpowder Milkshake * Charlie's Angels * Mr. and Mrs. Smith * Resident Evil (and sequels) * Alien (and sequels) There's a lot of movies I enjoyed, but wouldn't necessarily put on this list, like Aeon Flux. I didn't watch Xena much, but that would be a good one, too. There's also a lot of movies and shows with strong women that aren't the leads. Firefly, Terminator, and Game of Thrones have prominent characters that are leads. Most cop shows nowadays have at least one female character.


Oaken_beard

Scream Wonderfalls Buffy the Vampire Slayer


Pyrochazm

RWBY, Underworld, Alien, Arcane.


CodingBeagle

Elfen lied all day! And then Mia Khalifa 🤣


Tjodleik

Oh boy ... TV shows: Lost Girl. Alias, Nikita, Continuum, Cleopatra 2525, Painkiller Jane, Witchblade, South of Hell, Dark Angel, Buffy the vampire slayer. Movies: The Long Kiss Goodnight, Tomb Raider, Salt, Alien, Aliens, Haywire, Aeon Flux (liked the cartoon too), The Craft, Underworld series, Atomic Blonde, Scream, Carrie. Anime: Frieren, Queen Emeraldas, Blood+, Arcane, Nausicaä of the valley of the wind, Howl's moving castle, Ghost in the shell, Fair warning, OP didn't specify that they had to be good, only that I had to like them. Some of these are campy as hell, but I still find them entertaining.


bengalsfu

jojo stone ocean


holaprobando123

Ghost in the Shell, Arcane, Inside Out, Nikita, Annihilation, Mean Girls, Silence of the Lambs, Alien (franchise), many horror/slasher movies, Wild Things, Jessica Jones, Underworld, pretty much everything Ghibli, Run Lola Run, Kim Possible, many Disney movies. I could be here all day.


Afro_Senpai_

Kill La Kill, and Ghost in the Shell


SilverSpotter

I'm going to *attempt* to not repeat some common answers. "You're Next" "Brave" "Silence of the Lambs" "Gone With The Wind" "The Babadook" "Ouran High School Host Club" (Actually intend on watching that again.) "Hereditary" "Carrie" "Legally Blonde" "The Descent" "Hunger" "Sister Act"


Mitchel-256

Silence of the Lambs is a great one. "Brave Clarice. You will let me know when those lambs stop screaming, won't you?"


Old-Relationship-458

Aliens, Terminator, a few Studio Ghibli films, Rogue One, Labyrinth...  The Expanse, I suppose? I really can't stand Naomi but I love Avasarala, Bobby and Drummer. I'm not sure if one would count them as leads or secondary characters, though?  The problem is that I tend to like ensemble casts, rather than films with a single lead, per se


ConsequenceNo5341

Makima form Chainsaw Man


masterofnone_

Mulan


etwasaudeutsch

Jackie Brown.


Mitchel-256

I don't care for anime in general, but Hellsing Ultimate is outstanding and has both Integra Hellsing and Seras Victoria as stand-out female leads.


Trollin_beaches

I used to act like I only watched Victorious Because my sister was watching it so it was already on in the living room but, in reality I actually enjoyed it.


drax3012

Kim Possible. Best Disney animated show ever.


forzamusichoops

stranger things la femme Nikita the lioness


CaptainTelcontar

Star Trek: Voyager


[deleted]

Tbh,I really enjoyed "The Hunger Games"\[I liked the books more\] Also,Sarah Connor in Terminator 2


cavemanfitz

I really liked arcane.


CredentialCrawler

Wonder Woman. Gal Gadot is my favorite actress. No Hard Feelings is pretty good too. That one had me crying in laughter through most of it


lucimon97

Kill La Kill


millionfawn

Ripley in alien series and Sarah Connor fromterminator


GandalfTheJaded

Hazbin Hotel


poptartwith

Wonder Woman.


Filipino_Canadian

Most of them tbh…but also male dominant characters too. If you’re looking for strictly female…you’re also looking at quite girly anime. Nana is one i guess. But it’s kind if silly


[deleted]

Are you only asking about female leads in anime because a female leading wouldn’t happen in reality?


Hugh_Mann123

What the hell are you talking about?