What's your understanding of a strong female lead in otome games?

[nekoky]

For example, whether she has high combat ability or high intelligence, or perhaps none of that matters. What matters is whether she has a firm inner core.

 

[satory]

I don't think physical strength matters. Imo strong lead should have her own opinion and not be easy influenced. Not go "Oh, LIs/random person/antagonist say so, then it must be true!" without any checking or thinking. She shouldn't stand as a tree, while action happens around her, or sit and wait for the rescue. She should be able to stand for herself and not by fighting with her fists (or at least should be able to run into a safe place, or ask for help).

It's rare to see this type of MC in otome. Maybe if MC leads where strong, most of the stories wouldn't happen at all, so it's hard to write

 

[nekoky]

I don't think physical strength matters. Imo strong lead should have her own opinion and not be easy influenced. Not go "Oh, LIs/random person/antagonist say so, then it must be true!" without any checking or thinking. She shouldn't stand as a tree, while action happens around her, or sit and wait for the rescue. She should be able to stand for herself and not by fighting with her fists (or at least should be able to run into a safe place, or ask for help).

It's rare to see this type of MC in otome. Maybe if MC leads where strong, most of the stories wouldn't happen at all, so it's hard to write

Yes! At the very least, a strong heroine should have independent thinking ability. I'm not saying she has to be able to solve everything on her own, but I hope she has the wisdom to survive and her own code of conduct. When facing a problem, she should first think for herself and do her best. If she can't solve it on her own, she should be good at using the help around her, rather than waiting like a imprisoned princess for a prince to rescue her. And she shouldn't be a physical giant but a mental dwarf. However, I've noticed that many times when the heroine's combat ability is raised, her range of action becomes wider and she has more options. So I think combat ability is also important. It's good to raise it first.

But more importantly, it depends on the writer's ability to shape characters. Some writers try to highlight the male lead's charm by putting the heroine in danger and having him rescue her. That largely blurs the heroine's moments of brilliance and fundamentally contradicts the idea of a strong heroine.

 

[totallyamanda]

i agree! ٩(•̤̀ᵕ•̤́๑) physical strength is often overlooked as pure muscle but i think it lends to the development of the heroine actually trying or defending something. just because she can't lift a car doesn't mean she's not strong to withstand standing up to someone or some oppression. i love to see when a heroine knows her weaknesses and how to circumvent them with either tools or intelligence to prevent her from being viewed as lesser than her male counterparts. ˙˚ଘo(∗ ❛ั ᵕ ❛ั )੭່˙

i LOVE what some consider headstrong heroines who form a thought for themselves rather than blindly believe any whispers or rumors. if a heroine has a healthy level of skepticism, i'm completely heart-eyed for her. (♡´𓋰`♡)

don't get me wrong, sweet/kindness is a strength in itself but a heroine who is willing to defend her own self is so charming to me and is a breath of fresh air to the overly naive, gulliable type.
(o˘◡˘o)

 

[plumtree]

For me, a strong female lead in otome should have her own distinct goals and motivations rather than being helplessly dragged along by the LI's motivations. (Aprose from Mistonia's Hope, Felicita from Arcana Famiglia etc). E.g. Something like revenge, uncovering the truth, becoming the "best" at something

Bonus points if MC has her own friends and hobbies outside of the LIs.

Pet peeve: I feel like otome games focus on having MC "heal" the LIs' trauma/achieve the LIs' dreams rather than having a more balanced relationship or having MC as the real "main character" with the LIs as her cheerleaders.

 

[nekoky]

i agree! ٩(•̤̀ᵕ•̤́๑) physical strength is often overlooked as pure muscle but i think it lends to the development of the heroine actually trying or defending something. just because she can't lift a car doesn't mean she's not strong to withstand standing up to someone or some oppression. i love to see when a heroine knows her weaknesses and how to circumvent them with either tools or intelligence to prevent her from being viewed as lesser than her male counterparts. ˙˚ଘo(∗ ❛ั ᵕ ❛ั )੭່˙
i LOVE what some consider headstrong heroines who form a thought for themselves rather than blindly believe any whispers or rumors. if a heroine has a healthy level of skepticism, i'm completely heart-eyed for her. (♡´𓋰`♡)

So I think a character's traits should complement their actions, but most heroines end up having these traits as just background details that don't actually affect the story ( ﾉД`). If the male lead has to rescue her every single time, then don't give her a strong combat setting in the first place. On the other hand, if she's set up to have no combat ability, then it's perfectly normal for the male lead or others to save her.

I also like heroines who have a clear understanding of themselves, and those who are even more self centered stand out even more. Players definitely know the heroine very well, and if the heroine also knows herself, players can empathize even more with her situation. Even if we sometimes think her actions are a bit clumsy, it feels like watching a child or a good friend, and we can understand (≧◡≦).

 

[nekoky]

For me, a strong female lead in otome should have her own distinct goals and motivations rather than being helplessly dragged along by the LI's motivations. (Aprose from Mistonia's Hope, Felicita from Arcana Famiglia etc). E.g. Something like revenge, uncovering the truth, becoming the "best" at something
Bonus points if MC has her own friends and hobbies outside of the LIs.

Yes. The heroine is the soul of the game. The more three dimensional and vivid she is, the easier it is for players to invest their emotions in her.

Pet peeve: I feel like otome games focus on having MC "heal" the LIs' trauma/achieve the LIs' dreams rather than having a more balanced relationship or having MC as the real "main character" with the LIs as her cheerleaders.

I'm also getting tired of the trope where the heroine is always on the path of healing the male leads' hearts. The writers focus so much on developing the male leads that they neglect the heroine's own growth. It's as if the male lead won't fall for her unless she heals his trauma. Why can't they fall in love through the process of the male lead participating in the heroine's own story and helping her achieve her goals?(>人<)

 

[nerim-w]

There is only one single thing that determines a female leads strength and that is AGENCY!! She has to be able to move the plot forward because of the decisions SHE makes, not the LIs or other characters. She isn't a passive character that just sits on the sidelines letting the LIs figure out all the problems.

She doesnt have to make amazing, carefully planned out decisions but she has to atleast make decisions! Obviously if its glaringly stupid decisions then we have a problem, but she just has to be able to positively contribute in some way to the plot. Maybe her decisions pan out poorly and she learns from that, thats also fine too!! The decisions she makes can be because of her physical strength or her determination or her intelligence but it just has to be SOMETHING tangible

That said, an FL who is constantly touted as super gifted and smart but actually does nothing to move the plot forward is a bad FL. An FL who is your average Joe who does her best to contribute to situations and find a solution is an amazing FL!!

 

[fasdfsda5235]

I agree with satory. It's not about the physical strength.

Strong female lead= she has her own personality, can think/decide on her own and she is not gullible. I don't see why this is a problem to have better MC in otome games but it is what it is... In Asia, at least in Japan, this kind of character is not ''sexy'', it's the opposite, so...

 

[arson194835798]

A strong female lead might be someone that pushes the story forward actively, rather than get led along the way by the love interests?

Of course, this does not mean that passive, or reactive heroines are weak.

The female lead doesn't need to be physically strong, or even super smart. It could be a silly female lead that's mentally resilient, or at least has a good cry before trying to solve whatever issues that are thrown at her. She doesn't need to do it alone, and it feels more genuine if she has people supporting her along the way, but that support cannot be holding her hand or carrying her to the finish line.

 

[bravelyflee]

I agree with most people that a strong heroine is one with her own personality, opinions, goals, etc.

BUT a heroine who has a lot of physical strength sounds fun too!