Over the past few years, media companies have made some improvements to get a higher number of female-centered shows especially in cartoons. This has led to the creation of shows like "Bee and Puppycat," "Star vs. The Forces of Evil," and "Miraculous: The Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir." In many of these shows, the female character is the lead and she has a male sidekick to work off of. The female-centered shows of the past often relied on a dumb or unreliable male lead to make the female protagonist seem more deserving of her role. I’ve noticed a change in this with the current generation of shows and I couldn’t be happier.
"Kim Possible," a cartoon about a teenager who fights crime when she’s not in school or cheerleading, was one of my favorite shows growing up. Kim was smart, talented, and strong and made for a great protagonist. However, her partner Ron did not share her strengths. He was dumb and uncoordinated and was the comedy relief of the show. The power imbalance in the show did make for great comedy, but after giving the show a second watch I wondered how truly empowering it was.
"Star vs. The Forces of Evil" centers around a young girl named Star Butterfly, a princess from the land Mewni who has to come live on Earth after recklessly using her magical powers. Yes, I know it sounds silly, but the show has a lot of heart and cleverness to it. Her uniqueness is paired with the show's second protagonist Marco, a clean-cut martial artist. What makes these two so different from Kim and Ron is that they balance each other out with their flaws and usefulness. Star may have powerful magic but sometimes she needs help ringing in her silliness. Marco is a skilled fighter but his awkward tendencies and constant rule following get pushed to its limits by Star.
Another show that was recently released in America earlier this year has a similar teamwork setup. "Miraculous: The Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir" is a French-Korean collaborative effort between Zagtoon, an animation company working with companies like Toei and Marathon. Its lead character Marinette is an aspiring fashion designer who, when the time comes, changes into a powerful superhero called Ladybug. Together with her partner Cat Noir, she is able to protect their beloved city of France. I will admit at times this show seems to fall into the trope of having the seemingly useless male sidekick but not fully. Ladybug and Cat Noir are represented by yin and yang and so are their personalities. Ladybug is more calculating but lacks strength. Cat has strength but tends to rush in without a plan, which leads to his capture a lot. However, this show removes away from the trope by showing just how important their opposite ways of fighting are to get the job done.
So while the trope might not be completely gone I do think we are moving in a good direction. Plus it’s never a bad thing to have many different interpretations of a female/male duo.
