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Do you prefer male leads or female leads in anime?

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Jul 22, 2020 4:07 PM
#1
Émilia Hoarfrost

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Dec 2015
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Do you prefer anime with male main characters or female main characters?

I believe the answer will often make sense when knowing who answered what and what gender they were raised as.
The binary divide is in use here to target most anime. I do like androgynous or genderfluid characters, but it's not the topic at hand.

I tend to prefer female leads in anime, because it generally means the anime may target a female audience. Or at least treat its female characters somewhat humanly. And those anime also are those with the strong-headed female characters.
Ah! I forgot to add: Girls in anime really have the best character designs. Just look at Beatrice and Emilia from Re:zero. Or the main girl in Grancrest Senki, or Zero in Mahou no Sho.
EmiliaHoarfrostJul 22, 2020 4:11 PM



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Jul 22, 2020 4:15 PM
#2
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Jul 2020
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I don't particularly care about gender. I've watched anime with both male and female leads and I can honestly say I haven't ever considered it before, as long as the characters and/or plot are interesting to me I'm generally happy.
The criteria I use when rating shows is on my profile.
Jul 22, 2020 4:17 PM
#3
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Jun 2020
2643
Female since there's barely any of them.
Jul 22, 2020 4:18 PM
#4

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Jan 2009
101393
well its nice to have more female leads since they are like rare anyway especially for action genre

thats why Kill la Kill and Claymore are some of my favorites
Jul 22, 2020 4:22 PM
#5
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May 2020
44
I don’t have a preference. I just whatever anime that appeals to me.
Jul 22, 2020 4:25 PM
#6
Demon Venerable

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Lolsebca said:
Do you prefer anime with male main characters or female main characters?

I believe the answer will often make sense when knowing who answered what and what gender they were raised as.
The binary divide is in use here to target most anime. I do like androgynous or genderfluid characters, but it's not the topic at hand.

I tend to prefer female leads in anime, because it generally means the anime may target a female audience. Or at least treat its female characters somewhat humanly. And those anime also are those with the strong-headed female characters.
Ah! I forgot to add: Girls in anime really have the best character designs. Just look at Beatrice and Emilia from Re:zero. Or the main girl in Grancrest Senki, or Zero in Mahou no Sho.


I can't even enjoy anime, when there is female lead. I still dunno why though ^^
Jul 22, 2020 4:26 PM
#7

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Oct 2019
161
I dont really mind, not gonna lie..its always for me the plot and the way characters work on the anime im watching. A great example could be rimuru from that time i got reincarnated as a slime,he might have been a man in his previous life but in his new world he's sexless and of course he sounds like a woman but of course he has man features in his personallity
Jul 22, 2020 4:27 PM
#8
ᴛʜʀᴇᴀᴅ★ʀᴇᴀᴘᴇʀ

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Dec 2018
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I don't think I have a real preference, but a good amount of the anime/manga in my lists has female leads... and there's a lot of anime/manga on my lists.
Jul 22, 2020 4:29 PM
#9
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Jul 2018
564069
I don't really have a preference. I'm fine with either gender being a main lead as long as they can keep me invested in the show.
Jul 22, 2020 4:29 PM

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Sep 2017
4065
Man leads are more used and popular so I'll go with that
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Jul 22, 2020 4:32 PM
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IMustBeNumb said:
I dont really mind, not gonna lie..its always for me the plot and the way characters work on the anime im watching. A great example could be rimuru from that time i got reincarnated as a slime,he might have been a man in his previous life but in his new world he's sexless and of course he sounds like a woman but of course he has man features in his personallity


Just out of interest did you think of Rimuru as male, female, or genderless when watching it? I thought of them as male because they were a guy in their previous life but the show did give them a more female appearance, and made a point of saying that anatomically they were genderless.

Just curious to see how someone else perceived the character as they were watching the show really.
The criteria I use when rating shows is on my profile.
Jul 22, 2020 4:34 PM

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Oct 2019
259
I would say male leads just because when female characters are in dangerous situations I find myself getting worried. Although Claymore would be the exception.
Hi :)
Jul 22, 2020 4:36 PM
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Apr 2017
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The large majority are male, so naturally I have a lot more male lead characters that I like, but would be great to see more female leads in the near future.
Jul 22, 2020 4:37 PM
Émilia Hoarfrost

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4317
Hughsie said:
IMustBeNumb said:
I dont really mind, not gonna lie..its always for me the plot and the way characters work on the anime im watching. A great example could be rimuru from that time i got reincarnated as a slime,he might have been a man in his previous life but in his new world he's sexless and of course he sounds like a woman but of course he has man features in his personallity


Just out of interest did you think of Rimuru as male, female, or genderless when watching it? I thought of them as male because they were a guy in their previous life but the show did give them a more female appearance, and made a point of saying that anatomically they were genderless.

Just curious to see how someone else perceived the character as they were watching the show really.

Psychologically, Rimuru acted in a male fashion, certainly a remnant of their past life. But once given its human appearance it acquired to me a more female than male quality.
Have to say it's sometimes the same feel I get from genderbender series.
Love those characters. Literally the kind of body I want to have. Well, that's the perception I got from Rimuru as a genderfluid/neutral and born male person.



Jul 22, 2020 4:38 PM

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161
Hughsie said:
IMustBeNumb said:
I dont really mind, not gonna lie..its always for me the plot and the way characters work on the anime im watching. A great example could be rimuru from that time i got reincarnated as a slime,he might have been a man in his previous life but in his new world he's sexless and of course he sounds like a woman but of course he has man features in his personallity


Just out of interest did you think of Rimuru as male, female, or genderless when watching it? I thought of them as male because they were a guy in their previous life but the show did give them a more female appearance, and made a point of saying that anatomically they were genderless.

Just curious to see how someone else perceived the character as they were watching the show really.

As a huge fan of the seiries that reads the light novels i always thought of him as a male (as u can already see im using the phrasing "him") its not that i cant see him as a female character its just the same way u see it he was indeed a male before losing his life...also he has alot of male features like when he gets excited by boobs xD
Jul 22, 2020 4:39 PM
Tail On!

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Aug 2018
2234
I greatly prefeer female leads since male leads have a tendency to be absolutely awful characters and I also have an easier time to care for female characters.
RoevhaalJul 22, 2020 4:43 PM
Jul 22, 2020 4:41 PM

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Aug 2019
138
As long as the main character interests me in some way, whether that may be their abilities/personality/characteristics, I don't really prefer a male or female lead.

However I believe there are exceptions to this rule. K-On, for example. There's no way I (or probably anyone) would watch that show if it were 5 males instead of 5 females. So ig certain shows need that differentiation? If that makes sense.
Jul 22, 2020 4:46 PM
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May 2015
2216
Either one's fine for me...

For isekai though, I'm starting to prefer having female protagonists. Isekais with male protagonist almost always ends up being a dumb harem male-fantasy bullshit.
jc9622Jul 22, 2020 4:50 PM

Jul 22, 2020 4:47 PM

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11638
I slightly prefer male leads since they are easier for me to relate to. There are cases of female mcs I really enjoyed like Utena, Sakura (Cardcapter Sakura), and Ange from Cross Ange.
Jul 22, 2020 4:49 PM

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Nov 2018
738
i prefer non. perhaps it also depends on which genre the anime is. but so far I don't find the MC gender would affect that much to enjoy the overall story
Jul 22, 2020 4:50 PM

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Dec 2015
7391
I really don't care about the gender of the MC, but about 60% of my favorite anime have a female MC.
Take that as you will.
Jul 22, 2020 4:51 PM

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Feb 2016
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I don't really have a preference, as long as the male isn't a pussy simp or a mary sue of a female protag I'm fine with both.

wape said:
Female since there's barely any of them.


You probably haven't watched that many shoujo anime then
"We could make the world better, but it's easier to just shut our eyes."
~Blackwall
Jul 22, 2020 4:53 PM

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I've related to a lot of female characters, so at the end of the day, a well-written character is a well-written character
Jul 22, 2020 5:10 PM
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AdolZeppeli said:
I don't really have a preference, as long as the male isn't a pussy simp or a mary sue of a female protag I'm fine with both.

wape said:
Female since there's barely any of them.


You probably haven't watched that many shoujo anime then
Have some but I don't like THAT kind of FL.
I'm more inclined to characters like Balsa.
Jul 22, 2020 5:16 PM

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Feb 2020
763
I don't really care, but it's always nice to see a strong female lead.
There are a lot more male leads, so also naturally all my favourite anime got male leads and they're great and all. So yeah whatever
Both's good.
Just could use more female leads cause there are close to none when we're *not* only talking shoujo




tysm iva-🐢💜


Jul 22, 2020 5:32 PM

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All my favorites have male leads. But I don't really watch the anime because of the main character, so whatever.
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Jul 22, 2020 5:37 PM

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Lolsebca said:
I believe the answer will often make sense when knowing who answered what and what gender they were raised as.

I tend to prefer female leads in anime, because it generally means the anime may target a female audience. Or at least treat its female characters somewhat humanly. And those anime also are those with the strong-headed female characters.
Ah! I forgot to add: Girls in anime really have the best character designs. Just look at Beatrice and Emilia from Re:zero. Or the main girl in Grancrest Senki, or Zero in Mahou no Sho.


I do agree that the gender of the lead can cater to a specific demographic, but I tend to ignore that when I watch anime. I just judge the lead for how well they were written regardless of gender.

With that said though, I prefer female leads because the lead characters that I thought the writing was a total home run just happened to be female. Examples would consist of: Kaguya from Kaguya-sama (one of the most complex characters I've seen, particularly in the manga), most of the girls in the Monogatari Series (since the show really focuses on specific character moments that make them feel like actual people), Violet Evergarden (her emotional growth was powerfully written), and Ryuuko from Kill la Kill (fan service aside, she is a total badass).
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Jul 22, 2020 5:47 PM

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i dont mind- i like them equally- but its sometimes nice to see a female lead as it feels like theres so little of them, especially in anything that isnt shoujo/sol
Jul 22, 2020 5:49 PM
Émilia Hoarfrost

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henri___ said:
most of the girls in the Monogatari Series (since the show really focuses on specific character moments that make them feel like actual people),

Ah yes, I understand, the wholesome toothbrush



Jul 22, 2020 5:52 PM

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Lolsebca said:
henri___ said:
most of the girls in the Monogatari Series (since the show really focuses on specific character moments that make them feel like actual people),

Ah yes, I understand, the wholesome toothbrush


Lmao, the combined feeling of repulsion and intrigue made it quite memorable. Jokes aside though, I felt Karen was one of the weaker characters of the series. Hanekawa, Senjougahara, and Shinobu are just too good.
it's over | we're so back | don't take this too seriously

Jul 22, 2020 5:53 PM

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Even though I feel as though I can reals to female leads more than male leads (since I am a woman), I don’t really have a preference. I just really like well-written lead characters.
Jul 22, 2020 6:03 PM

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Oct 2017
757
i like when the main character is an egg yolk that really does it for me
Jul 22, 2020 6:18 PM

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I really couldn't care less. I can get behind any MC if said MC is well written and interesting. Gender doesn't matter in anime and TV, if the writing's good then the character's good.
Jul 22, 2020 6:21 PM

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Bishie of course. Because bromance and bishies.

If strong female lead, I don't mind though. Like in Claymore.
Jul 22, 2020 6:30 PM

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I'm a girl, so I identify more with a female main character

it would be great if there were more female protagonists


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Jul 22, 2020 6:32 PM

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27110
Since I'm a man, I prefer male characters.
Jul 22, 2020 6:33 PM

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I couldn't care less about the sex of the character. They just need to be likable or at least interesting.
"The name's Gambit. Remember it."
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Jul 22, 2020 6:36 PM

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I prefer male main/supporter characters, because simply I'm a male. I am Luffy. I am Saitama. I am Goku. etc. I am that character and that character is me. I wanna be a hero and anti-hero. I wanna be that badass character. In fact, most of us males who watch anime been influenced by anime and video game characters.

Solid Snake
Dante
Chris Redfield
Leon S. Kennedy
Zero (Megaman X)

I wanna be that character and more.
Jul 22, 2020 8:05 PM

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Depends on the genre. Prefer female leads in slice of life. Prefer male leads in more action or sci-fi oriented stuff. Just a preference though. Both genders have had amazing leads in practically every genre, so it's not something I give much thought to. I'm satisfied as long as any lead or character is well written.
Jul 22, 2020 8:26 PM

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Depends. Females in anime hardly get any development and just get turned into a codependent and whiny character, that literally depends on the male character for any character growth. So I have yet to see a lot of female leads be developed properly. But I'd welcome it if they did.

So it's kinda hard to pick female because they're all kinda bad
Jul 22, 2020 8:26 PM

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Depends. Females in anime hardly get any development and just get turned into a codependent and whiny character, that literally depends on the male character for any character growth. So I have yet to see a lot of female leads be developed properly. But I'd welcome it if they did.

So it's kinda hard to pick female because they're all kinda bad
Jul 22, 2020 8:29 PM
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IHateKpop said:
Depends. Females in anime hardly get any development and just get turned into a codependent and whiny character, that literally depends on the male character for any character growth. So I have yet to see a lot of female leads be developed properly. But I'd welcome it if they did.

So it's kinda hard to pick female because they're all kinda bad


You clearly haven't seen Revolutionary Girl Utena or Rozen Maiden.
Jul 22, 2020 8:31 PM

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Young_Carti said:
IHateKpop said:
Depends. Females in anime hardly get any development and just get turned into a codependent and whiny character, that literally depends on the male character for any character growth. So I have yet to see a lot of female leads be developed properly. But I'd welcome it if they did.

So it's kinda hard to pick female because they're all kinda bad


You clearly haven't seen Revolutionary Girl Utena or Rozen Maiden.


That's just two anime though, so that tells you the state of things if you can only pick out two anime.
Jul 22, 2020 8:31 PM
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IHateKpop said:
Young_Carti said:


You clearly haven't seen Revolutionary Girl Utena or Rozen Maiden.


That's just two anime though, so that tells you the state of things if you can only pick out two anime.


There are tons I just gave you two good examples to see.
Jul 22, 2020 8:32 PM
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male but all my favourite animes have female leads.
Jul 22, 2020 8:42 PM
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564069
I prefer male. I need someone to lust over.
Jul 23, 2020 1:30 AM

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1407
It depends on the anime, for shounen I would prefer a male lead. Shounen is aimed at a male audience so obviously the answer will be male lead. To be honest I'm okay with any gender, because this is god damn anime, that's the best part about anime! We love everything. Now for an example, how would I like an anime like K-on or Love Life but with male leads? Disgusting. How would I like Naruto or DBZ with a female lead? No... just no. That's why I said it all depends on the anime. To be honest, I wouldn't mind an anime with a toaster as it's main lead, as long as the anime is good, we are all good.

Now, for everyone in this thread. Shounen is for a younger male audience. It will obviously give more time, development and focus to it's male lead more than the female characters, it doesn't mean that they treat the female characters inhumanly, that's a stupid thing to say. There are countless anime with a male and female lead both where the female lead just steals the show. Anime has been like that since ages. Black Lagoon is a good example, the female character is just so badass.

So the bottom line is that gender in anime doesn't matter at all. Just like I said before, I'm okay with a refrigerator being a main lead in an anime as long as it's good.




I said keep your hands on the table
Jul 23, 2020 1:32 AM

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37038
I'm fine with both, it always depends on the execution. Female protagonists are not as common though, so I hope the will make more of that.
Jul 23, 2020 1:35 AM
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Sep 2017
815
Depends but when im watching a Female lead i tend to feel safe from fetish then Male lead Animes.

Jul 23, 2020 1:36 AM
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Jan 2012
2782
If the lead character is actually done well then I don't really care, but if the lead character is done really poorly then I'll prefer female. I'm just so sick and tired of all the shitty and bland, spiky haired male protags with a personality that would get soggy when wet, that with female leads even if they're shitty it at least feels like they're trying. That has less to do with the actual show and more to do with what I've been exposed to though, I've seen too many shit male protagonists.
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