So, I saw this image on Twitter...
... and thought of the recent very small discourse around Mira that I've seen recently.
I think I know why these posts defending Mira are suddenly appearing, but I think they completely miss the point of the critique directed at Mira.
She's ASS. Her personality is ASS. Her leadership is ASS. Everything "cool" about her people insist she has is ASS.
Exactly bc she was written by a team of misogynistic writers.
I love Mira, she's a character I am fond about... but she IS ASS. She's only cool for like 2 episodes and then spends the rest of New Vestroia simping for her brother and putting her fucked family first, her actually noble mission second.
Do you know who is actually a cool leader female character in Bakugan? FABIA. FABIA SHEEN. FABIA THE NEATHIAN PRINCESS.
Fabia is literally everything Mira could have been if she was actually well written, and she's ignored at best, hated without reason at worst (and, usually, that "without reason" is actually misogyny), the complete opposite of what happens with Mira.
Mira is written horribly, but, hey, since she appears on the "popular" season and is the most sexualized of the girls, she gets a pass and is defended fiercely when someone points out she's horribly flawed. I see these posts arguing against a supposed Mira slander when the supposed Mira slander is... a fully objective view on her character and her flaws and miserably missed potential.
There's no Mira slander. There never was.
There is Runo and Fabia slander tho. Runo is hated for being a "hot-head" and, damn, do NOT get me started on the way she's painted as toxic in the DanShun fanfics when Dan was the absolute worst boyfriend anyone could have (even other men). And Fabia... Well, all the cool perks Mira defenders see in Mira are actually Fabia's. Fabia is the 16-year-old who freed a people (specifically, her people), Fabia is the character doing her literal best even when she's internally struggling, Fabia is the one who actually acts as a leader to her people and the liberation movement she's the head of. Fabia is everything people say Mira is. But does she get any recognition? I've seen more people shit on her and hate her than I have seen people unjustifiably hate on Mira.
Mira is an ass character, her role and potential reduced exactly because she was written by misogynistic writers. People pointing out she's shit and gets absolute adoration despite that when better written female characters in the Bakugan series itself get hate for less are not slandering her, they're addressing the elephant in the room.
You don't need to defend Mira. You don't need to justify why you still love Mira. Heck, I'm still fond of her because I really thought she was cool when I was 11 years old and was among the first female characters I've seen that motivated me to be more of a fighter. The one who actually solidified my desire to be a fighter was Fabia. But, in my own personal journey, Mira crawled so Fabia could run. And now that I'm an adult, I see Mira for who she actually is, for the real writing behind every action she takes. I can't see her as that strong female character inspiration that I used to see her as when I was starting to hit puberty, but I still appreciate her for what she sparked in me back then.
You can still love and appreciate Mira, but don't pretend she wasn't a horribly written character that doesn't get even an ounce of the criticism that other female characters in Bakugan get for less. And she deserves to be disseminated more through an objective lens.