The Dumb Heroine
Tamahome and Miaka from Fushigi Yuugi
As if by clockwork, the dumb heroine will present herself by reviewing her failed tests or by tripping over nothing and then promptly laughing about it. This stereotype is one of the more over used of them all. The heroine is usually not intellectually bright and is often very clumsy but makes up for her short comings by being a loyal friend. She is also, usually, the leader of her group or the only one capable of using a magical power.
An example of this stereotype is Serena from Sailor Moon. Personally, I cannot stand this character. She is whiney, boy crazy, ditzy and dumb. She frequently gets below 50s on her tests and is more concerned about getting a boyfriend than anything else. Her one saving grace is the fact that she is a loyal friend and would do anything to help someone in need. Even if it is a stranger, she would go to extreme lengths to save them.
That being said, she does have to be saved by other people a lot. Darien, who is disguised as Tuxedo Mask, frequently comes to save her. If she is in constant need of protection, then why was she not placed in that category? The simple reason for that is she is dumb. This is a main focus of her character, she is alway failing her classes and griping about going to summer classes.
Many readers/viewers can forgive her shortcomings because she is a good person and is always willing to save the day. She is a favorite among anime/manga lovers and is usually the first that girls are introduced to.
Another example of this type is Miaka from Fushigi Yuugi. Miaka is introduced by coming awake from a dream where she is eating and hits her teacher in the head with her desk. Miaka, like Serena, isn’t the
smartest character in existence. She fails her tests and her teachers do not believe that she will make it into an acceptable high school. She always misunderstands situations and gets herself into more trouble than others. She also needs to be protected. Tamahome is always coming to her rescue because she cannot protect herself. Again, like Serena it was a tossup as to which category she belonged, but her stupidity made her a shoo in for this category.
Miaka is friendly and trusting of people. She would go to great lengths to help her friends in need and tries her best, when she’s not being lazy. She and Serena can be seen as a matching pair. They are both whiney, dumb, need to be saved, but also have hearts of gold. These types of girls make for sympathetic heroines because the audience wants them to preserver over their troubles. They want these characters to mature and want to be along for the journey as they do so.
An example of this stereotype is Serena from Sailor Moon. Personally, I cannot stand this character. She is whiney, boy crazy, ditzy and dumb. She frequently gets below 50s on her tests and is more concerned about getting a boyfriend than anything else. Her one saving grace is the fact that she is a loyal friend and would do anything to help someone in need. Even if it is a stranger, she would go to extreme lengths to save them.
That being said, she does have to be saved by other people a lot. Darien, who is disguised as Tuxedo Mask, frequently comes to save her. If she is in constant need of protection, then why was she not placed in that category? The simple reason for that is she is dumb. This is a main focus of her character, she is alway failing her classes and griping about going to summer classes.
Many readers/viewers can forgive her shortcomings because she is a good person and is always willing to save the day. She is a favorite among anime/manga lovers and is usually the first that girls are introduced to.
Another example of this type is Miaka from Fushigi Yuugi. Miaka is introduced by coming awake from a dream where she is eating and hits her teacher in the head with her desk. Miaka, like Serena, isn’t the
smartest character in existence. She fails her tests and her teachers do not believe that she will make it into an acceptable high school. She always misunderstands situations and gets herself into more trouble than others. She also needs to be protected. Tamahome is always coming to her rescue because she cannot protect herself. Again, like Serena it was a tossup as to which category she belonged, but her stupidity made her a shoo in for this category.
Miaka is friendly and trusting of people. She would go to great lengths to help her friends in need and tries her best, when she’s not being lazy. She and Serena can be seen as a matching pair. They are both whiney, dumb, need to be saved, but also have hearts of gold. These types of girls make for sympathetic heroines because the audience wants them to preserver over their troubles. They want these characters to mature and want to be along for the journey as they do so.