While I've already touched on art that touched me this year, I wanted to talk about some of the characters who I really resonated with. I am a character focused writer, I run character focused TTRPG sessions, I love characters. There is obviously a ton of characters I really loved in a year but I am keeping it to 10 because that is the list standard. Shoutouts to Bridget Guilty Gear who has brought me a ton of a joy in 2022 but doesn't have a ton narratively. Anyway, let's begin!
Zagan [Dead End: Paranormal Park]
Zagan may be a minor villain in Dead End but she stole my little lesbian heart right away. At the end of season 1 she serves as a great villain for a light hearted kids show raising the level of stakes while also not being jarring. Then in season 2 we get some Zagan queerness and we get some depth to her as we start to humanize the demons a bit more at the face of the actually evil angels. I think she is perfectly used and I would love to see her and Norma date.
Shirayui [Young Ladies Don't Play Fighting Games]
I like it when a girl can get a bit ugly, and Shirayui can get a little ugly in a delightful way. This passionate fighting gamer is a little gamer goblin, she is rowdy, loves destroying people at fighting games and wants a worthy foe. It's great seeing her maintain her image as a perfect lady while then going sicko mode whenever she gets a chance to do what she actually loves, playing a fighting game. Shirayui is charming and is a perfect example of portraying women in ways that just don't really happen in media. Like this kind of personality would normally either be a goof that she like "acts like a man" but she is toxic in lots of great ways that don't feel like a dude character. I love her and as far as I know she doesn't kill her rival and that is sad.
Ashuna [Executioner And Her Way of Life]
We love a jocky lesbian in this house and Ashua is peak shimbo material. She is shockingly smart when she needs to be but is otherwise all about battling and good fights and she is just fun. Sometimes a character is just fun to watch, every time she would show up on screen I'd cheer. Her blooming relationship with Momo is really good and I think it adds more to her character. Ashua isn't deep but she is perfectly executed in her own story.
Falis [Murder Princess]
This was a surprise hit of the year; when I was with April to jam about Thirsty Sword Lesbians: Falling Deeper and stuff we ended up watching this anime she remembered from when she was a kid and it was so much then I had expected and she remembered. Falis is just a very cool character, a woman who is just kinda badass but kind to her friends is rare. She is really well balanced in being a responsible person to having selfish desires to be a badass warrior to being a loyal friend in a way that makes her feel really human. It's rare for women to be written in the way Falis is and I really want to see more badass sword lesbian types in the future.
Also her stuff around the body swap with the princess is great and I think her coming into her own as a princess, kind of proving a commoner should be in charge is fun.
Rae Taylor [I'm In Love With The Villainess]
I thought I would hate Rae with her lack of boundaries but she's really captured me, as if I was a marriage candidate in a yuri dating sim. I think Rae may be on a list again next year, I own vol 3 of the manga and just need to read it, the anime is coming and there is just a lot that I'll be diving into for this wonderful lesbian. Rae went from a woman who didn't really get boundaries to showing her true emotional depths from a hint of her trauma from her previous life and to defining her sexuality and even challenging her crush Clair's homophobia.
Plus she has such a fun imagination watching her plans come out and either fail in funny ways or succeed in amazing ways is a really nice experience. I think she might be one of Yuri's best characters but I'll reserve my judgment until I read it all.
Poison Ivy [Harley Quinn Animated]
Poison Ivy is one of the best villains ever created because she is just a better person in every way then the hero in like 90% of stories the other 10% are like stories where they just decide she is a fash or wants to kill all humans for no reason. Ivy is a really fun character to have around and the more Daria esc version of Ivy works well for the show. Season 3 had her figuring out how she wants to define herself and coming into more of that big time villain side that I enjoy at the face of like the Super Heroes who represent the status quo.
I am really excited to see what Season 4 makes of her and where the future for her character in the best DC universe ever made stands
Sabi Mehboob [Sort Of]
Trans sapphics of color are so rare in basically all media but Sort Of gives of Sabi as the main character. We see a connection to Sabi's culture, to her former religion, her relationship to a family with considerably more wealth then her, her relationship to her best friend, her relationship to her ex, her relation to her own family, all in one season. I haven't started season 2 because I unsubbed from HBO Max but when I get a chance to watch Sort Of Season 2 I am really excited. Sabi is a deeply relatable character and seeing the start of a budding romance with another trans woman took her over the edge to being one of the most relatable characters I've ever seen.
As a trans lesbian of color myself, seeing other queer trans women on TV is basically a thing that never happens let alone a trans woman of color showing desire for other women let alone the glorious power of T4T romance. It is really nice and really great and Sabi is just an amazing mess and I hope her life turns around.
Monica [Fire Emblem: Three Hopes]
I'm a simple girl, I see a woman homosexually devoted to another woman and I stan. Monica is Fire Emblems second canon lesbian character. She is in some ways a character whose sexuality defines her but I really don't care. She is clearly deeper then that, she has her political position, her support for the revolution, her affection for Doretha, her rivalry with Hubert all of which make her a wonderful character. Plus she is just really fun to play as.
Úrsula [Los Espookys]
Ursula is a rare W for me where I see a character and go "She seems like she is a lesbian" and it is totally confirmed at some point. Ursula in season 2 of Los Espooky's is just like so many of my friends. Queer Latnix Zinester indie queer wanting to make the world a better place. Her subdued personality makes for some solid jokes and while she is often the "straight man" to a lot of jokes she is still funny in her own right from her utterly resisting brainwashing to her determination bouncing off the weirdos of the world, I love her.
Suletta [Gundam: The Witch From Mercury]
This little bisexual disaster is one of the most endearing characters ever written. She is so sweet, kind and has such a strong sense of justice. Her bound to Mio, her friends, her mother an Ariel are all extremally endearing and I just want to see her be happy. While we don't know where things will go for her in season 2, season 1 Sulleta brought me joy every single time she was on screen and in almost all her fan art. It's rare to see a darker skin sapphic character in fiction, in particular in anime and that's just a small extra part of the whole package which makes her so perfect. It's amazing to watch her battle and it'll be fun to learn more and more about her over time.
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Do you like top 10 lists, you want me to write some more, let me know what kind of top 10s you wanna see and hey, maybe I'll write some. If you want to see characters I write you can check out my Carrd.
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The new Gundam series "The Witch from Mercury" was my first encounter with this franchise and I really liked it. The characters of Sulleta and Miorine seemed very cute to me and I adore their ornate hair that reminded me of the tropical birds with their small and colorful crests. So I decided to make a version of these two lovebirds.
