Celebrating Women’s History Month with Inspirational Female Characters

March is a month to celebrate all the amazing women from history and society who have contributed in a significant way. Women’s History Month honors women from all walks of life, and this month we are highlighting the variety of content with strong female characters selected from some of our colleagues from Ellation. Let’s see who they find to be an inspirational figure and why:

Crunchyroll

Yona of the Dawn — Tiffany Chen — Brand Manager

After witnessing her childhood friend betray and murder her father, Yona goes from a somewhat spoiled, naive, princess, to a strong warrior princess fighting for the sake of her people and restoring her kingdom to its rightful rule. It’s great to see an anime really develop a female lead in this direction and to see Yona not give up in despair, but use her feelings to drive her further and improve herself not just for her own sake, but for her kingdom as well.

THE PROMISED NEVERLAND — Christie Leu — Brand Manager

Despite being one of the smartest kids at the Grace Field House, Emma is not afraid of doubting herself and showing her weakness as long as she can guarantee the safety of her “family”.

Through her love and compassion, Emma is the reason that brings hope not only to her family but also to humanity.

FLIP FLAPPERS — Peter Fobian — Associate Producer

Flip Flappers has been one of my favorite anime of the past few years. In particular, I connected with the lead Cocona in a way I haven’t with a character since Shinji from Evangelion. Through her surreal adventures in the worlds of pure illusion, Cocona struggles with more mundane but no less serious issues. Nearing the end of high school, she has her whole life set out before her but no direction she wishes to take it. Learning to take steps forward even if you don’t know quite where you’re going yet is something I think many of us struggle with and watching Cocona learn to trust in herself was just as gratifying as each of the vivid fantasies crafted by studio 3Hz

Rooster Teeth

RWBY — Christina Pham — Product Designer

While I love many of the female characters in RWBY for expressing strength both physically and emotionally, I felt an immediate connection to Pyrrha Nikos above many others. She looked out for others selflessly and worked incredibly hard to be the best and fulfil her duties as a huntress. And although everyone admired her strength, she expressed a lot of emotional vulnerability and softness around those she cared deeply about. Seeing her be a part of team JNPR and succeed while being a model of strength and kindness to others has been an inspiration to me in my everyday life. It’s thanks to her that I know I can succeed without bringing down others around me.

HIDIVE

Made in Abyss — Kim Koob — Graphic Designer

Riko is an energetic 12-year-old orphan girl who finds a robot companion and then embarks on a journey descending into the Abyss to find her mother. I think she is inspirational because although she is fragile and not much of a fighter, she has the ability to keep a cool head under pressure and therefore makes rational decisions allowing her to tackle the Abyss. She is a strong female figure in that she plans using her scientific and analytical mind to help her team. She is also joyful in the midst of their constant hardships.

NickSplat

Rocket Power — Tylor Starr — Events Project Manager

As a kid, there were so many empowering women on Nickelodeon that I looked up to! My favorite, though, has to be Reggie Rocket. As someone who has always challenged gender-norms, watching someone like Reggie on TV was important to me. Growing up in the 90s in a small and conservative city, I looked up to Reggie’s “tomboyish” nature and how she didn’t want to conform to the traditional ideals of being obsessed with fashion and how she hated being called a girl. Not to mention, I was obsessed with roller skating when I was younger and having Reggie be the one in the quartet who was on blades made me love her even more!

Boomerang

Josie and the Pussycats — Nikki Fish — Content Operations Associate

I really enjoyed watching Josie and the Pussycats when I was little. Josie, Valerie, and Melody helped inspire self-confidence in different ways: Josie with her boldness, Val with her wisdom and level-headedness, and Melody with her fun and whimsical personality. These girls showed me that you can rock out and have fun with all different kinds of characters and personalities.

VRV Select

HarmonQuest — Adrienne L. — Associate Manager, User Acquisition

One of my favorite shows on VRV is HarmonQuest because I love the guest stars that come onto the show. My favorite guest and episode was the one with Aubrey Plaza, who plays April in Parks and Recreation. She really took over the narrative of the episode and her sarcastic, dry humor made it amazing. Aubrey is especially inspirational because of her success as a female comedian in a primarily male-dominated industry.

Shudder

A Discovery of Witches — Hilary Levi -Creative Executive, VRV

Diana Bishop is far and away my favorite character on A Discovery of Witches. She’s first and foremost a historian; she’s incredibly intelligent and passionate about her work. It takes a while for her to discover just how powerful of a witch she truly is, but once she does, she is an unstoppable force. She’s not the scared, helpless victim — she’s a warrior. However, she knows when to ask for help and surrounds herself with other strong women like her aunts, Sarah and Emily Bishop, and Matthew’s mother, Ysabeau. These women lift her up when she needs it, and they fiercely defend not just Diana, but all those in need. A Discovery of Witches is a series that highlights the power of women and the necessity of the female community. And that’s one of the most powerful forces in the world.

Our winter simulcast series are still premiering on Crunchyroll with new episodes every day. Here’s the schedule by day:

Monday

• Saint Seiya Saintia Sho
• That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
• Mob Psycho 100 II
• Kemono Friends 2

Tuesday

• Black Clover
• Shonen Ashibe GO! GO! Goma-chan
• WATATEN!: an Angel Flew Down to Me
• Rainy Cocoa sideG
• Rinshi!! Ekodachan
• Run with the Wind

Wednesday

• Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
• Meow Meow Japanese History
• The Rising of the Shield Hero
• Meiji Tokyo Renka
• My Roommate is a Cat
• VIRTUALSAN — LOOKING

Thursday

• Anisong Station
• Girly Air Force
• THE PROMISED NEVERLAND
• The Quintessential Quintuplets

Friday

• Boogiepop and Others
• Date a Live III
• A Certain Magical Index III
• The Price of Smiles
• Hinomaru Sumo
• Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind
• B-PROJECT-Zeccho * Emotion-
• Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka
• Future Card Buddyfight Ace
• BONO BONO 3rd Season
• Grimms Notes The Animation

Saturday

• Monster Strike the Animation
• Ace Attorney Season 2
• RADIANT
• CARDFIGHT!! VANGUARD
• The Morose Mononokean II
• KAGUYA-SAMA: LOVE IS WAR
• Sword Art Online Alicization
• ENDRO!
• Katana Maidens ~ Mini Toji
• Fairy Tail Final Season
• One Piece: Whole Cake Island
• GeGeGe no Kitaro

Sunday

• BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS
• MYSTERIA Friends
• Tsurune

VRV has an array of content for all types of fans and here is VRV’s Must Watch List for Women’s History Month highlighting female-centric shows and characters:

• Boomerang — Josie and the Pussycats
• Shudder — Revenge
• Cartoon Hangover — Bee and Puppycat
• Mondo — Chickfigures
• Crunchyroll — ZOMBIE LAND SAGA
• HiDIVE — Real Girl
• NickSplat — Zoey 101
• Geek & Sundry — Relics and Rarities
• Nerdist — Fangirling
• VRV Select — Living Rooms
• Curiosity Stream — No Ordinary Women
• Rooster Teeth — RWBY