Female characters have, time and time again, been misrepresented in not only books but also other forms of media. Be it historical figures or female leads, their sole purpose to exist was to either help the male protagonist to thrive or be a villainess.
Plus, if a female was different from the others, that difference was not celebrated but pointed out in shame. They were made an example of how not to behave in society or else you can be ostracized.
Thankfully, times have changed, and tides are shifting towards betterment, where we see a rise in female characters who are defying the norm. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and The Apothecary Diaries are great examples that showcase that females are also humans with personalities that cannot be categorized as they are their own persons.
We hardly get good portrayals of women
In portrayals of the past, female eccentricity was never something that was a good thing. It was mostly linked with manic episodes and bipolarity that showcased females in a negative light. One example of this is Ophelia from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, whose descent into madness became the blueprint for the trope of the manic pixie dream girl.
This trope characterizes a woman whose entire role is to have a quirky personality that her man would find interesting. She is ‘not like other girls’ and, thus, becomes the perfect romantic partner for the mostly introverted and brooding male lead. Here, Eru Chitanda from Hyouka is a fitting example. And though Chitanda is a very beloved character in the anime community, we can not deny her one-dimensional characteristics.
However, now we have eccentricities that do not fall under a label and are unique to that particular character, making them more human than ever. Maomao and Frieren both prove how females can be portrayed as unique individuals with personalities that do not necessarily match someone else.
Maomao and Frieren are new-gen heroines
Gone are the days when a person with a different outlook would be labeled as mad. Both Maomao and Frieren prove that unconventional is attractive, and it is very much a welcome change from what we usually see all the time.
Maomao from The Apothecary Diaries is a female character who barely gives attention to the male lead and drinks poison, not just for medical knowledge but sometimes because she likes it. She gives the unhinged mad scientist vibes that are so unlike a heroine that now she has become one of the most favored female leads in anime.
Just like her, Frieren from Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End has a tamed yet peculiar personality that is unique and refreshing. She has never been interested in humans because of her long life span and has only finally started to open up after witnessing personal losses. Frieren is also an exceptionally strong but detached adventurer who occasionally wants to buy weird things just out of impulse. But we also see her emotional growth when she remembers Fern’s birthday and gifts her a hair clip.
It is great to see two very distinctive female characters getting introduced almost at the same time, hinting towards a positive evolution in the narrative. Hopefully, we will get more characters like this who will etch their names in our memories with their personalities and not because of how they made their male counterparts look.
Watch all the episodes of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and The Apothecary Diaries on Crunchyroll.
Frequently asked questions
How do Frieren and Maomao break away from the ‘manic pixie dream girl’ trope?
The article traces the trope back to Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, whose descent into madness it calls the blueprint, and points to Eru Chitanda from Hyouka as a beloved but one-dimensional example. By contrast, Frieren and Maomao are written as their own people with distinct, quirky personalities that drive the story rather than existing to make a brooding male lead more interesting, which the piece sums up as proof that ‘unconventional is attractive.’
What makes Maomao from The Apothecary Diaries an eccentric character?
The article describes Maomao’s ‘unhinged mad scientist vibes,’ noting she drinks poison not only for medical knowledge but sometimes simply because she likes it, alongside her deep apothecary expertise. Crucially, she barely gives attention to the male lead, which the piece frames as personality-driven characterization rather than a woman written to serve a romance.
How does Frieren show emotional growth in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End?
The article says Frieren, an elf with a vast lifespan, has long been uninterested in humans and only begins to open up after witnessing personal losses. It cites the moment she remembers Fern’s birthday and gifts her a hair clip as a sign of that growth, while still being an exceptionally strong yet detached adventurer who impulsively buys odd things. The anime is produced by Madhouse.
