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Female Protagonists in Isekai Anime

If I had a nickel for every time an isekai (or isekai-adjacent) anime was hated because the protagonist was female, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.

When you think of anime like Sword Art Online, Arifureta, The Rising of the Shield Hero, or Mushoku Tensei, what do they all have in common?

They’re isekai anime and have a male protagonist.

They’re all very popular anime and is received well both in Japan and internationally.

The male protagonists are also very well-liked (except for Rudeus from Mushoku Tensei, which has a more mixed reception)

But, what if the main protagonist was a girl?

Would they get that same treatment? I say, no.

I’m going to introduce 2 isekai anime with a female protagonist that premiered this year.

I will be giving slight spoilers for the first episode of: The Executioner and Her Way of Life.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life

When interdimensional travelers from an otherworldly land known as “Japan” appear, they often bring death and destruction. It’s up to Executioners like Menou to track and exterminate the Lost Ones before they wreak havoc. When Menou encounters a beguiling Lost One named Akari, it’s bloody business as usual… until Menou discovers Akari can cheat death, that is. Even so, Menou has a job to do, and she is committed to her executioner’s mission come hell or high water — provided her newly stirring feelings don’t get in the way (Spring 2016, HIDIVE)

From the pronoun, "her," and the anime visual that showed no signs of a male character, you may think that a lot of people knew or at least deduced that the main character is going to be a girl.

Nope. In the first episode, you meet this guy who recently isekai-ed from Japan and automatically assume that this guy is the protagonist and we're about to see him becoming OP by the end of the season.

NOPE.

The first female character that we meet, Menou, kills him shortly after him getting his power, revealing that she was the main protagonist.

The reception for this was very mixed. And I wish it was just because of the premise. It was not.

There were many people who were upset that the main protagonist was the girl, who in my opinion, was much more interesting than the typical Japanese male high school student.

"Im done I wanted him to be mc would have been fun but oh well"

"female mc??? ehhhhh"

These two comments are just one of the many negative comments (and these are some of the more tamer ones I saw).

There were so many people thinking that had the male character been the protagonist, the anime would go in a much better, more interesting direction.

I call bullshit.

It would have gone the same exact way any other isekai would have gone. The male protagonist meets the girl, gets betrayed by said girl, survives the attack and swears to get revenge, meets a bunch of women who all fall in love with him, gets OP, and demolishes the big bad.

If Menou was a guy, I can also guarantee those people that dropped for being a female protagonist would have still watched.

Management of a Novice Alchemist

Orphaned Sarasa just graduated from the Royal Alchemist Academy, and that means her longed-for life of elegance and riches is close at hand! As a graduation gift, her teacher gifts her a house to set up shop — but Sarasa’s dilapidated new digs are beyond far-flung. What’s a novice alchemist to do when they're stuck in the middle of nowhere with a business to run and supplies to gather from a very dangerous natural world? Whether it’s facing down frightening fantasy creatures or finding creative ways to attract customers, Sarasa has her work cut out for her as she achieves her dream of becoming the greatest alchemist around!

"i see female main character i evacuate."

"why is there not a single male in this god forsaken alchemy academy or whatever it is ......"

Like The Executioner and Her Way of Life, Management of a Novice Alchemist had a female protagonist that not everyone was happy that there's no male character in sight.

However, unlike The Executioner and Her Way of Life, this anime is purely slice of life. Literally, nothing would change no matter the gender.

So, why exactly the hate?

Sexism. I see no reason to voice a disdain for a protagonist because of their gender. If it’s just not your preference just silently drop it.

Lack of projection. A lot of people watch isekai for escapism. And sometimes they project themselves into the main protagonist. So when, they see someone they can’t project themselves onto (typically an average-looking man who has no dating experience before being isekai-ed), they end up hating the show for not having a “vessel” to escape to.

—-

I really wanted to write more, but I feel like I would go off on to many tangents.

I really wanted to include Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie, but that wasn’t an isekai and tbh I could probably make a whole post about that.

I wrote this on a whim so it’s not exactly well-written, but these were all I had to say on this topic