TOP 10 GIRLS OF ANIMATION (SPECIAL MENTION)

 

“Hellooo nurse!”

But wait – there’s more! Although counting down my Top 10 Girls of Animation was surprisingly challenging, there are enough candidates for my usual twenty special mentions I prefer for my top ten lists – with little tweaking of or eye for female figures in animation.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

But first a note on the visual images used in these special mentions. Given the copyright in such images, I only use a visual image as fair use for the purposes of comment and review in each entry – an iconic feature image to identify the character, either in general or in their most iconic version as I review it to be (or both), as excerpted from the animation itself.

Iconic perhaps, but not my favorite as I usually prefer the style of fan art or cosplay for the characters – although the girls of Western animation have nowhere near the prolific art or cosplay of the girls of anime, particularly in these special mentions, with the occasional exception. Hence as usual I also include a special section in each entry under the subtitle of art and cosplay – not for any actual art and cosplay as such but instead where I nominate my favorite artists and cosplay models depicting the character, which you can look up for yourself. For art, I award a special ranking for any art by my two favorite artists – the two freelance digital artists Sciamano and Dandonfuga. For cosplay, I award a special ranking for any cosplay by my holy trinity of models – my favorite model Yummychiyo with her insane figure in top spot, followed by Hane Ame and Helly Valentine.

As for the iconic feature image I’ve chosen for this page itself, I went with an excerpt from an animated series (and characters) that I am reasonably confident almost no one will identify (or instead misplace as from Archer) – the Australian animated TV series Pacific Heat (and its leading female duo, Maddie Riggs voiced by Rebecca Massey, and Veronica ‘VJ’ Delaney voiced by Lucia Manstrantone) in one of the screenshot excerpts used for its IMDB profile. That series was widely panned and has almost completely disappeared into the memory hole of popular culture…but I liked it as a guilty pleasure.

 

A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

 

 

(1) GIRLS OF ARCHER

(2009)

 

“(This) isn’t your own personal travel agency. It doesn’t exist so you can jet off to wh0re island”

“That’s not…a real place”…

“Sterling?!”

“Sorry – I was just picturing wh0re island”.

 

Lana Kane may be the top female agent in the animated series Archer, second only to the titular spy himself – as well as third place in my Top 10 Girls of Animation…but there’s many more girls in the animated series, from major or recurring characters to one-off episode appearances, more than enough for their own top ten and special mentions.

I mean, what do you expect for a compulsive womanizer like Archer – known for it among his “many weaknesses” (and one of the reasons he’s my spirit animal) – modelled on James Bond in a dysfunctional spy agency?

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

And what else but an excerpt from the pilot episode Mole Hunt which flashes back to Archer’s use of his operational account for personal expenses, foremost of which is women as featured in this excerpt. My feature dialog – with his mother reviewing his account as head of the agency – follows shortly afterwards. Also when he hacks into his expense account – “How?! How did I spend so much money?!”

 

 

 

 

(2) GIRLS OF AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER & LEGEND OF KORRA

(2005)

 

Water. Earth. Fire. Air.

And girls, not least of which is the narrator of that opening sequence, water-bender Katara.

 

A Western animated series sometimes mistaken for anime due to its style and depiction consistent with an Asian fantasy world setting, it’s still lauded as one of the best animated series, maintaining an active fandom despite the passage of time since it originally aired. The central premise is a world in which certain individuals can magically “bend” or manipulate the four classical elements, with one individual – the perpetually reincarnating Avatar – able to bend all of them as a cosmic peacekeeper to maintain balance in the world. Although the series plays fast and loose at times with the rules of what each element includes and what is involved in bending them.

One of its strengths is its characterization – particularly its female characters, of which there are enough for their own top ten. And yes – I’m also counting characters from the sequel series Korra.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Well you can’t go past the Fire Nation trio of Azula, Ty Lee and Mai as the signature girls of Avatar, rivalled only by Katara for top spot. My iconic feature image is from one of their classic scenes introducing them as a trio hunting the Avatar and his companions.

As I said, the girls of Avatar get their own top ten – in which I also feature the art and cosplay for individual entries (and in which they are usually aged up to adults).

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3) GIRLS OF RICK & MORTY

(2013)

 

I have to give special mention to the girls of Rick and Morty, given it’s my favorite animated series after Archer.

Hell, Hellraiser Beth probably deserves an entry of her own! Uh, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Anyway, the girls of Rick and Morty are prolific enough for their own special mention and top ten, albeit perhaps more by way of imagining them in a different art style than that of the series. Or like their voice actresses – as with Christina Hendricks as Unity. I’ll be absorbed into her hive mind any day!

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

My iconic feature image is a still image of Hellraiser Beth (and Rick) – that is, Beth in her Hellraiser Cenobite disguise from “Amortycan Rickfitti”, episode 5 of Season 5. There’s fan art and even cosplay out there of various characters, but sadly none from my favorites.

 

 

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

 

 

(4) WILMA FLINTSTONE & BETTY RUBBLE –

THE FLINTSTONES (1960)

 

Yabba dabba doo!

The first entry by chronology in my Top 10 Girls of Animation or special mentions – I did consider Betty Boop who would have ranked as even earlier given her first appearance in 1930 but thought that her animation style and profile just didn’t earn special mention.

The Flintstones proved surprisingly durable as a concept for an animated sitcom featuring archetypal American suburban family life from the 1950s (heavily inspired by The Honeymooners) transferred to the Stone Age, with animals substituted for the technological appliances or conveniences of modern life and the whole anachronism of it all being the running gag of the series.

Wilma Flintstone is the redhead wife of the titular married couple, while Barney and Betty Rubble are the married couple neighboring (and best friends of) the Flintstones. Wilma is “more intelligent and level-headed” than her husband Fred, serving as a “foil to his behaviour” and “a loyal wife to him” – while Betty in a similar role to Barney.

I’m going to give a shout-out to Pebbles Flintstone – who started off as Fred and Wilma’s baby daughter in the original series, but featured as grown up in spinoff series, obviously inheriting her redhead good looks from her mother (and exceeding them in my opinion, mainly due to the evolution of animation art style by the time of her spinoffs).

Speaking of which…

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Yeah – Wilma and Betty wouldn’t earn much of a place based on their original animation art style, which was pretty basic although it served its purpose for the series as animated sitcom. They earn special mention more from various adaptations in art or fan art since, notably when DC Comics acquired the rights to the Hanna-Barbera animated series and revamped them in comics – the source of my iconic feature image from cover art by Amanda Conner for issue 2 “Buyer Beware” in October 2016.

There’s also art of both Wilma and Betty by Nathan Szerdy and Elias Chatzoudis. They occasionally pop up in cosplay but not by my favorite models.

 

 

 

(5) JANE & JUDY JETSON –

THE JETSONS (1962)

 

Well, you should have been expecting this one after The Flintstones, as The Jetsons is essentially the Flintstones IN SPACE.

Well, in the Space Age at least.

Obviously there are some differences but once again it was an animated sitcom featuring archetypal American suburban life from the 1950s or early 1960s, this time in an idealized twenty-first century with flying cars, robot maids and so on. Not as durable or iconic as The Flintstones.

Jane Jetson is the wife of the titular family, while Judy is the platinum blonde daughter.

I’m going to give a shout-out to robot maid Rosie, who occasionally gets a s€xbot makeover in art.

Speaking of which…

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Yeah, again Jane and Judy wouldn’t earn much of a place based on their original animation art style, which was pretty basic although it served its purpose for the series as animated sitcom. They earn special mention more from various adaptations in art or fan art since, notably when DC Comics acquired the rights to the Hanna-Barbera animated series and revamped them in comics – the source of my iconic feature image from art by Amanda Conner for the comics.

There’s also art of Jane and Judy Jetson by Nathan Szerdy and Elias Chatzoudis – I haven’t seen them in cosplay.

 

 

 

(6) VELMA DINKLEY –

SCOOBY DOO (1969)

 

I can’t have Daphne Blake in my Top 10 Girls of Animation without special mention for the other female member of the Scooby Doo gang, Velma Dinkley.

Or perhaps I could have, if it was only a matter of her original animation design (or the infamous Velma animated series).

However, fortunately Velma as the brains of the Scooby Doo gang gets quite the makeover in art, cosplay and live action film adaptations, whether in a duo with Daphne or on her own, to the point that she, ah, equals or even out va-vooms Daphne at times.

Speaking of which…

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, I compiled a collage of her live action depictions as played by Linda Cardellini, including THAT suit. “Who’s your mommy?” indeed.

As for art, Velma has been depicted, either in duo with Daphne or her own, by Elias Chatzoudis and Nathan Szerdy among my favorite artists. She has also been depicted in some sizzling cosplay, albeit not by my favorite models.

 

 

 

(7) TEEGRA –

FIRE & ICE (1983)

 

A female character sadly overlooked in popular culture, as indeed is her animated film Fire and Ice or for that matter the works of Ralph Bakshi in general – but here it was Bakshi combined with artist Frank Frazetta and Teegra was nothing but an archetypal Frazetta fantasy bikini girl.  That’s a princess bikini by the way, although it might be explained by the heat of her father’s volcano kingdom.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For iconic feature image, I chose the cover art by Dan Panosian for the Dynamite Entertainment comic, a prequel to the animated film. Sadly, there’s not too much Teegra art out there – apart from Josh Burns and sketch art by Elias Chatzoudis – and no cosplay, a result of being sadly overlooked

 

 

 

 

(8) CHEETARA –

THUNDERCATS (1985)

 

I’ve never seen Thundercats – whether in its original 1980s incarnation, its short-lived 2011 reboot version, or the 2020 parody version Thundercats Roar. It always struck me as He-Man with cat-people – which appears to be reasonably accurate according to the TV Tropes description of the original series:

“Somewhere in the depths of space, a group of aliens with feline-patterned skin (who happened to look like ’80s Glam Rock stars with a cat-like theme) flee their doomed homeworld of Thundera. Pursued by their enemies, the Mutants, their ship crash-lands on the planet of Third Earth…And if you ever wonder about what the show was actually like, remember that this was the ’80s, a time of six-pack superheroes, magical weaponry that could do absolutely anything, and villains who shared their wardrobes with death-metal bands, all powered by the Rule of Cool, and ThunderCats was no exception.”

Cheetara was the girl of the gang – with a cheetah design as her name suggests.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For iconic feature image, I chose the cover art by Leirix for the Thundercats: Cheetara 3 comic by Dynamite Entertainment, adapted from the animated TV series, as it showcases her cheetah appearance (updated to the style of modern comics). She’s also been featured by Elias Chatzoudis, Nathan Szerdy, and Lucio Parrillo among my favorite artists.

 

 

 

(9) KIDA –

ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE (2001)

 

Yes – this is a film from Disney and from its animated canon no less, albeit often overlooked, including by me as I haven’t seen it. What people haven’t overlooked – and what I have seen – is Kida, as one or two of my favorite artists seem quite taken with her.

And yes – that’s Princess Kida from the titular Atlantis of the film, voiced by Cree Summer. Kida is short for Kidagakash Nedakh…I can see why she shortens it. Also, to be technical, she does become Queen of Atlantis.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, I chose a shot of her from the film, extracted from the gallery in her character profile in the fan wiki.

 

ART  – DANDONFUGA

 

Whoa! The first of my special mentions to score a Dandonfuga ranking for art of her. Neoartcore has also done some art of her.

 

 

 

 

(10) SAM, CLOVER & ALEX –

TOTALLY SPIES! (2001)

 

Yes, this entry is for all three protagonists.

But let’s face it, it’s really for Sam. As I said for Gwen Tennyson, It’s the red hair and those green eyes – a recurring feature of girls in visual media (comics, video games, animation, and anime) but not so much in real life. Note to self – compile a top ten girls with red hair and green eyes. (Beware! Beware! Those flashing eyes! That floating hair!).

They’re all pretty cute, though. I don’t know much about this series, but after looking it up, I’ve seen it was a French animated TV series that ran for seven seasons and acquired a cult following. Despite it’s French production, the three protagonists are girls from Beverly Hills, who work as undercover agents for the World Organization of Human Protection (WOOHP). WOOHP, there it is!

Clover Ewing or Clover is the blond in the red spysuit, Alexandra Casoy or Alex is the brunette (apparently of mixed Asian and Latin American descent) in the yellow spysuit, and as we’ve established, Samantha Simpson or Sam is the redhead in the green spysuit (to match her eyes)

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For my feature image, I’ve gone with standard seasonal promotion art.

Totally Spies came to my attention through Neoartcore artwork of Sam.

 

 

 

(11) KIM POSSIBLE & SHEGO (2002)

 

“It is impossible!”

“No—but real close.”

 

I haven’t seen Kim Possible – except in art and cosplay – so I’ll quote TV Tropes:

“Kim Possible is a Disney animated series that aired from 2002 to 2007. It features a redheaded action girl, her blond male sidekick, and a voice with an internet connection — they fight crime, mostly a sleek and s€xy woman with long black hair who turned to crime for the evulz…The premise is, at first glance, an interesting cross of Alias and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (with a little bit of Austin Powers — high school head cheerleader plus awkward male friend and naked mole rat stop global supervillains”.

Kim Possible is the titular heroine – as well as a green-eyed redhead rare in real life but beloved of comics artists and animators – and Shego is her green-themed raven-haired antagonist, nominally sidekick to the primary antagonist (Dr Drakken).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For their iconic feature images, I chose a shot from the animated series depicting the duo in one of their numerous fights.

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

That’s right – both Kim and Shego score Dandonfuga rankings, as well as art by Neoartcore.

 

 

(12) DR. GIRLFRIEND / DR. MRS. THE MONARCH –

THE VENTURE BROS. (2003)

 

Special mention has to go to the top girl of The Venture Bros, given that it is one of my favorite animated series – which started as a parody of the Johnny Quest animated series before evolving into a virtually encyclopedic parody of every superhero or pulp action hero trope there is.

As her villain moniker indicates, Dr Girlfriend is the girlfriend of the primary antagonist to the Venture family, the Monarch. She’s drawn as attractive, clearly in the style of former US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy – down to the hair and clothing, although she swaps out the latter for some pretty risque costumes, particularly upon becoming Dr. Mrs. The Monarch. Although…one of the gags of the series is her inexplicably husky masculine voice – not only is she voiced by male show creator Doc Hammer, but he lays it on thick with the deepest, huskiest voice he can muster, far more so than the male characters he voices.

I have to give a shoutout to their parody of the Black Widow Character, whose name I dare not feature here but is a play on Molotov cocktail.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature art, I chose the cover art from one of the DVD season collections (in her Dr. Mrs. The Monarch costume). Sadly, she has not drawn (heh) the attention of my favorite artists or cosplay models.

 

 

 

 

(13) ASTRID HOFFERSON –

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2010)

 

Technically, Astrid should rank in my girls of (literary) fantasy, as How to Train Your Dragon is a franchise that began as a series of children’s books, written by British author Cressida Cowell, but the animated films are only very loosely based on the series – and Astrid is adapted from a different character (from Book 3 onwards) with a different name, Camicazi.

The protagonist of the film, as in the book series is Hiccup, is a young Viking on the island of Berk, who befriends one of the dragons that seemingly plague the village – hence the title. Astrid Hofferson is a female Viking warrior, initially rival to Hiccup as he threatens her status of ace of the next generation in training for dragon slaying, but adapts to his friendship with dragons – becoming his love interest, girlfriend and ultimately his wife (and hence “Chieftess” of Berk).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature art, I chose her profile image from the fan wiki – how she appears in the second film. Sadly, she has not drawn (heh again) little attention from my favorite artists – except Neoartcore – and none from my favorite cosplay models.

 

 

 

(14) MAVIS DRACULA –

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA (2012)

 

While the Hotel Transylvania film franchise is somewhat average fare (with diminishing returns), its leading female character – Dracula’s daughter, Mavis, voiced by Selena Gomez Adventure Time – stands out with her blue-eyed perky goth girl design, which has proved popular with fan artists and cosplay models.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, I’ve chosen an image of her in her standard costume design from the franchise. You can’t go wrong with a little black dress! The striped stockings are also doing it for me!

 

COSPLAY – HELLY

 

That’s right – she may not have art from my favorite artists but she scores a Helly ranking for Helly Valentine’s sizzling cosplay of her, literally down to those striped stockings…

 

 

 

(15) ANNA –

FROZEN (2013)

 

I suppose technically Anna should rank in my Girls of Fantasy & SF, like her sister Elsa does as an adaptation of the fairy tale Snow Queen. Where Elas combines the characters of the titular Snow Queen and the boy Kai from the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, Anna is adapted from Kai’s friend Gerda, who seeks Kai out to warm his frozen heart.

Of course, Elsa froze all our hearts in a good way – hence her top spot in my Top 10 Girls of Fantasy & SF – but Anna, voiced by Kristen Bell, is just adorable, much like her literary counterpart Gerda.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, I’ve chosen the promotional image of her with her sister Elsa from the Disney channel for the film.

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

Sadly, her art and cosplay is eclipsed by the far more prolific art and cosplay for her sister, but Anna does score a Dandonfuga ranking as Dandonfuga has done art of her as well as Elsa. Likewise for Neoartcore!

 

X-TIER (WILD TIER)

 

 

 

(16) THE WITNESS / THE WOMAN –

LOVE, DEATH + ROBOTS (2019)

 

Love, Death + Robots was and is something of a mixed bag, with standout episodes and episodes that, well, don’t stand out.

However the episode The Witness did stand out in the first season of the series, not least for its publicity. Surprisingly it’s not as short as I recalled it – twelve minutes or so – but boy did it have an impact, for its mind-bending twists, art and animation, the focus of which is the titular Witness, credited simply as the Woman. Despite her lack of a name and limited screen time (albeit as some sort of theatrical s*x worker), she also made an impact in art and cosplay at the time.

It was a close call between her and the siren in the third season – I saw art or cosplay of both – but the latter was just a little too freaky.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

What else but the iconic shot of the Woman (as she is credited) or the titular Witness from the episode itself? The shot that was most commonly replicated in art and cosplay, albeit sadly not by any of my favorites.

 

 

 

(17) KASEY –

SUPERCROOKS (2021)

 

Technically anime – “capepunk heist anime” – but as it’s based on a comic by Mark Millar (and a spinoff of Jupiter’s Legacy) adapted for Netflix, I’m putting psychic supervillain Kasey here, because I make my own rules and break them anyway.

Although supervillain is a somewhat inaccurate term – the titular supercrook is better. They’re decent enough people but down on their luck and hence “drum up huge heists”, with their last big heist against a deserving target.  Johnny Bolt – named for his superpowered control over electricity – is the protagonist who aspired to use his powers as a hero but luck was not on his side. Kasey is his more sensibly ambitious (and somewhat long-suffering) girlfriend. Her psychic power is the ability to implant illusions in people’s minds, akin to the power of suggestion and implanting false memories – which allowed the gang to escape failed heists.

The title sequence showcased both Bolt and Kasey dancing provocatively on the streets, albeit separately from each other.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

The Netflix series didn’t really have any impact in art and cosplay – it’s hard for animated characters to draw attention from the holy trinity of comics, video games and anime characters – so this entry only has my iconic feature image for her, in a scene from the series.

 

 

 

 

(18) MARTHA WASHINGTON –

AMERICA: THE MOTION PICTURE (2021)

 

Martha!

Why did you say that name?

This is why.

America: The Motion Picture may have been a decidedly average animated film on Netflix – although it had its moments – but its leading lady, a blonde buxom Martha Washington, definitely was anything but average.

It helps that she was voiced by Judy Greer – the voice of one of my favorite animated hot slices of crazy, Archer’s Cheryl Tunt. Martha has the hot but not the crazy – well, not before her brainwashed British version, although to be honest I kinda find her even hotter then. Well, with the exception of her Statue of Liberty form she has after that.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

The Netflix film just lacked impact in art and cosplay so this entry only has my iconic feature image for her, in a scene from the film itself.

 

 

 

 

(19) VEX & KEYLETH –

THE LEGEND OF VOX MACHINA (2022)

 

The best animated adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons – adapted from the first campaign of Critical Role, a weekly web video of voice actors playing the game – has a number of girls that could round out an entry for the Girls of Vox Machina, but lacks the profile for art and cosplay. So I’ll stick to the two leading ladies of the titular protagonist adventuring party (apologies to brash gnome cleric Pike) – insecure half-elf druid Keyleth and snarky half-elf ranger Vex (twin sister of rogue Vax).

Although it was a close call for their first season antagonist necromancer Delilah Blackwood – voiced by Grey DeLisle, who always does good villainess voice.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Another series that despite its quality lacks art and cosplay, at least from my favorite artists or models, so this entry only has my iconic feature image for her, in a clip from a scene featuring the duo together (with Vex reassuring Kyleth about the latter’s druidic spell).

 

 

 

 

(20) HAZBIN HOTEL / HELLUVA BOSS –

VEROSIKA MAYDAY

 

Who is the top girl of the Hazbin Helluvaverse and why is it Verosika Mayday?

Ah – she’s a literal succubus and you know they’re as hot as hell. I do like my devil girls and succubi tend to be the hottest of them.

Yes, yes – there are other female characters in the Hazbin Helluverse, not least the protagonist of Hazbin Hotel and Lucifer’s daughter, Charlie Morningstar.

It’s just that the art style of both series seems to favor the male characters, as do the creative teams and fans – the female characters, notably Charlie Morningstar, tend to be depicted better in fan art.

Verosika is the exception – “Verosika is notably well-endowed for the show’s art style” (with an impossibly hourglass figure) “which is fitting since she’s supposed to be attractive even by succubus standards, being a lust object in both Hell and Earth” (albeit in the latter she has a human form as a pop singer).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Despite a fandom that puts the fan into fanaticism, little of that trickles down to the mainstream popularity as a subject of art or cosplay by my favorite artists or models, so this entry again only has my iconic feature image using her profile image from the Helluva boss fan wiki.

 

 

“I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way”.

Counting down my Top 10 Girls of Animation – which was surprisingly challenging as the pool of choice is reduced by the number of potential entries that I feature in other top tens. As a rule of thumb, I’ve given priority to their medium of origin.

For example, female characters from comics adapted to animation were among the leading potential entries but I’ve given priority to their entries in my Girls of Comics. Although ironically Harley Quinn should feature in my Girls of Animation for my rule of thumb of medium of origin – as she originated in an animated adaptation of Batman but proved so popular, she was then introduced into the comics (and also she arguably has arisen to new prominence with her current animated series). But I make my own rules and break them anyway – and she just seemed misplaced anywhere else than in the Girls of Comics.

Similarly, the Disney princesses were also among the leading potential entries, but I’ve given priority to them as Girls of Fantasy & SF for their fairy tales of origin (with the occasional exception in special mention for those characters that are essentially new or substantially adapted from their fairy tale origins).

And finally, this is for Western animation, so does not include any entries for the girls of anime – which has its own Top 10.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

But first a note on the visual images used in this top ten. Given the copyright in such images, I only use a visual image as fair use for the purposes of comment and review in each entry – an iconic feature image to identify the character, either in general or in their most iconic version as I review it to be (or both), as excerpted from the animation itself.

Iconic perhaps, but not my favorite as I usually prefer the style of fan art or cosplay for the characters – although the girls of Western animation have nowhere near the prolific art or cosplay of the girls of anime, with the occasional exception. Hence as usual I also include a special section in each entry under the subtitle of art and cosplay – not for any actual art and cosplay as such but instead where I nominate my favorite artists and cosplay models depicting the character, which you can look up for yourself. For art, I award a special ranking for any art by my two favorite artists – the two freelance digital artists Sciamano and Dandonfuga. For cosplay, I award a special ranking for any cosplay by my holy trinity of models – my favorite model Yummychiyo with her insane figure in top spot, followed by Hane Ame and Helly Valentine.

As for the iconic feature image I’ve chosen for this page itself and girls of animation in general, I went with Erin Esurance, the spy girl animated mascot of American insurance company Esurance that featured in commercial shorts from 2005 to 2010. They ‘retired’ her in 2010, which some attributed to the zeal of fans making inappropriate art of her, and others to her not being a fit for the ‘brand’ of Allstate, the company that acquired Esurance.

 

X-TIER (WILD TIER) – BEST OF 2025

 

 

 

 

 

 

(10) RUMI –

KPOP DEMONHUNTERS (2025)

 

Given my tenth place wildcard entry for Top 10 Animated Films went to Kpop Demon Hunters, who else could be the corresponding entry here but its lead girl with dark secret, Rumi?

“KPop Demonhunters is a 2025 American animated musical urban fantasy film…The story follows a K-pop girl group, Huntrix, who lead double lives as demon hunters. They face off against a rival boy band, the Saja Boys, whose members are secretly demons.”

And really it had to be Rumi, not only as the leader and lead vocalist of Huntrix (whose voice literally saves the world), but also as the film’s protagonist with the film’s defining story arc

It also had its tongue firmly in its cheek with its story. Even the demons laugh at the idea of a demon boy band until the latter strikes a pose – “oh yeah, totally gonna work”.

Also, you gotta love her impossibly long legs and hair in that distinctive braided style.

 

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

 

 

 

(9) GWEN TENNYSON – BEN 10 (2005)

 

What can I say? It’s the red hair and those green eyes. (Beware! Beware! Those flashing eyes! That floating hair!)

There certainly is a high representation of redheads in animation and comics (albeit not so much in their adaptations) – there’s two other redheads in this top ten (indeed, in the top three) – For that matter, there’s a whole trope in TV Tropes named for red-haired green-eyed girls.

Admittedly, I am not overly familiar with the Ben 10 franchise, having seen the occasional episode here and there in passing, apparently in the later series. It has five different incarnations – Ben 10, Ben 10 Alien Force, Ben 10 Ultimate Alien, Ben 10 Omniverse, and Ben 10 again – which they missed the chance to call just that, in 2016. However, it is an intriguing concept. The series follows a boy named Ben Tennyson who, on a summer road trip with his grandfather Max and his cousin Gwen, stumbles across an alien device known as the Omnitrix which bonds itself to his wrist like a watch. Ben finds that the device has alien DNA encoded in it, which allows him to transform to a variety of alien species – which he uses to take on any threats that come his way – usually other aliens. As he grows as a hero, Ben learns that he didn’t gain the Omnitrix by coincidence and finds that his family has been involved with aliens long before he has.

Gwendolyne “Gwen” Tennyson – as the Tennyson family obviously likes to rhyme – is Ben’s aforementioned cousin. At the start of the series, she is the same age as Ben (ten years), albeit much more capable than he is – a child prodigy, who can instantly master anything, be it athletics (including martial arts) or academics (and even the Omnitrix itself in an alternate universe). However, the series sees both of them mature into young adulthood (and a less antagonistic familial relationship between them), with Gwen attending college. It also sees Gwen acquire superpowers of her own, through – uh – magic? She discovers her own magical aptitude, which allows her to manipulate energy and be as formidable a hero as Ben himself.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, I used a clip of her from the Ben 10 Ultimate Alien series used as a feature image in the Ben 10 Ultimate Alien fan wiki.

She has also caught the attention of one of my favorite artists – Neoartcore.

 

 

 

 

 

(8) FOXXY LOVE – DRAWN TOGETHER (2004)

 

A sassy “1970s-style mystery-solving musician who parodies the Hanna-Barbera teen sleuth characters seen on Josie and the Pussycats and Scooby-Doo.”

Cult classic Drawn Together was a reality show parody (initially of The Real World), where eight cartoon characters from different animated genres – parodying both a specific style of animation or animated character and of the stock characters usually put together in reality shows – were forced to live under the one roof in the titular pun of being drawn together.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Yeah – there’s some but not too much art or cosplay out there, certainly none from my favorites. As usual for my girls of animation, my iconic feature image is a clip from the cartoon.

 

 

 

 

(7) STRIPPERELLA (2003)

 

Stripper by night. Superhero later at night”.

As its title might suggest, Stripperella was an “adult-oriented animated television series” created by none other than Marvel Comics doyen Stan Lee.

The title character was the superheroine or secret agent alter ego of stripper Erotica Jones, voiced by none other than Pamela Anderson – and essentially an animated version of her as well, down to the tattoos. (So much so that she also played herself in the series, visiting Stripperella’s club Tender Loins with Kid Rock. Needless to say, Stripperella is a big fan and gushes how people compare them in appearance).

Clearly, the series had its tongue firmly in its, or at least someone’s, cheek, as a parody of the superhero and spy fiction genres. I particularly liked the recurring villain, Cheapo – the world’s cheapest supervillain.

As for Stripperella herself, she not only relied on her spy gadgetry, but also a number of inexplicable superpowers (including her luxuriant hair, which also doubled as a parachute) – “she has strength and agility far beyond that of a normal human, she is impervious to all temperatures and weather conditions, and her breasts have the ability to detect when somebody is lying”.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Yeah, again – there’s some but not too much art or cosplay out there, certainly none from my favorites. Disappointingly, not even any cosplay from Pamela Anderson herself. As usual for my girls of animation, my feature image is a clip from the cartoon.

 

 

 

(6) HOLLI WOULD – COOL WORLD (1992)

 

HOLLI WOULD IF SHE COULD
…AND SHE WILL!

I do like my bad girls and Holli Would is the bad girl at the center of Ralph Bakshi’s 1992 film Cool World – a fantasy film combining live action and animation.

Center? Let’s face it – the only thing anyone ever remembers (or is aware of) from this movie is Holli. To be honest, I’m only aware of the film through my interest in the animation of Ralph Bakshi.

As for the film itself, similar to another more famous film (that just might happen to feature in this top ten), it involves the intersection of our real world with the eponymous animated ‘toon’ world, with the inhabitants of the latter known as ‘doodles’ (while humans are ‘noids’). In a nutshell, a cartoonist finds himself in a cartoon world which he thinks he created from his dreams, where he is seduced by the comic strip vamp Holli – all part of her plot to become a real human (including the inception of the dreams in the cartoonist). Of course, being a bad girl, she doesn’t flinch at murder – or the potential destruction of both worlds – to realize her aim.

It’s even messier than it sounds and gets messier – the film was a commercial and critical failure, although it subsequently achieved something of a cult following.

But who cares? It’s all about Holli! Voiced by Kim Basinger, she was also drawn to resemble her voice actress (not surprisingly, given that Kim Basinger also played her in human form in the film). Her dancing scene was particularly notorious. Speaking of which…

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Yes – I used a clip from that notorious dancing scene in the film for my iconic feature image. Sadly, although there is art and cosplay of her, there’s none I could find from my favorite artists or models.

 

 

 

 

(5) CHEL –
THE ROAD TO EL DORADO (2000)

 

Perhaps the most preeminent pre-Columbian pinup girl of popular culture – with the possible exception of Pocahontas – who throws her lot in with the protagonist Spanish con artist duo in the 2000 Dreamworks film The Road to El Dorado. And yes I know neither is technically pre-Columbian as both are set during European conquest or colonisation but close enough. I’ve certainly had a soft spot for Meso-American girls since – as well as that meme depicting Spanish colonialism being particularly…horny.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For my iconic feature image, I’ve chosen one of her more expressive clips from the film (helping the protagonist duo cheat at the native American ball game).

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

And finally we get to a girl of animation represented among my favorite artists, not least Dandonfuga – hence she scores my Dandonfuga ranking. There’s also art by Logan Cure, Neoartcore and Elias Chatzoudis.

 

 

 

 

(4) SHE-RA (1985)

 

She’s got the power!

“I am Adora, He-Man’s twin sister, and defender of the Crystal Castle. This is Spirit, my beloved steed. Fabulous secrets were revealed to me, the day I held aloft my sword and said, ‘For The Honor Of Grayskull! I AM SHE-RA!!!’

As TV Tropes notes, She-Ra Princess of Power is the sister series (literally) to He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, presumably because She-Woman and the Mistresses of the Universe sounds a little silly (or kinky). As noted, it is literally the sister series as the titular character is Adora, the twin sister of He-Man or Prince Adam of Eternia. Adora was apparently kidnapped as an infant to the planet Etheria and is subsequently given the power to become the superheroine She-Ra in order to form the planetary resistance against Etheria’s tyrannical ruler Hordak (although by invoking the honor rather than power of Greyskull, which sounds a little off to me).

Yeah, I’m not really up with the backstory of this one – or He-Man for that matter. I mean, come on – they were basically toy commercials! Not to mention vaguely fascistic…

However, they certainly were iconic figures, not least because the animation was to market the toys or so-called action figures for the Masters of the Universe.

Of course, She-Ra was designed to extend the market to the female demographic. To quote TV Tropes – “She-Ra was made specifically to appeal to girls, which explains the large number of mentally and physically strong female characters, like Adora, Glimmer, and Madame Razz, not to mention the vivacious, Zsa Zsa Gabor-like nature of several of them, daaaaaarling — and quite a number of female villains like Shadow Weaver, Scorpia and Catra” (the latter essentially a dark action girl version of She-Ra herself).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For my iconic feature image, I chose She Ra as she appeared in her original 1980s cartoon (from the feature image of the Grayskull fan wiki). There is a surprising amount of art and cosplay out there for her – including art from Nathan Szerdy and Elias Chatzoudis, as well as cosplay from another of my favorites, Tabitha Lyons.

 

 

A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

 

 

(3) LANA KANE – ARCHER (2009)

 

“LAAAAAANAAAA!” Well, it was either that or Sterling Archer’s other favorite quote to her – “Danger zone!”.

Lana Kane is the top female agent in the animated series Archer, second only to the titular spy himself (although a large part of that is due to his mother running the agency), with whom she has a complicated love-hate relationship. She is also the most competent agent, although Archer tends to excel at the stereotypically active role of an agent, killing people and so forth (although a large part of THAT is due to his reckless childlike joy and disregard for his own mortality). However, she is not too different from Archer in that her competence is undermined on occasion by her own emotional or psychological insecurities – she just has less of them than Archer (and a large part of THAT is his mother Mallory).

In appearance, she is statuesque, both in height (six foot or so) and figure, and she dresses to accentuate the latter – her signature style consists of short turtleneck sweater dresses (in various colors but typically white) and thigh-high stiletto boots. Indeed, she always seems to wear heels, even in space. For that matter, even when not wearing outfits tailor made to accentuate her figure, she’ll almost invariably end up in a situation where she’ll be stripped down to her underwear.

Archer even comments on her stripperiffic wardrobe, when he finds himself distracted by her impressive, ah, jiggle physics in the middle of a gunfight, in an example of their characteristic repartee:

Lana: Now?! Really?!
Archer: Oh, right! Because you walked into Strippers Discount Warehouse and said “Help me showcase my intellect!”
Lana: Discount?! This is Fiocchi.

In fairness, every major character in the series commonly ends up in situations where they’ll be stripped down to their underwear or naked. It’s that kind of agency.

Indeed, her memetic attractiveness in the series is such that even the girls want her (most notably her fellow female employees, although they are not the most emotionally balanced individuals). Even the gay guys want her, as when her gay colleague Ray Gillette literally takes a number with the rest of her male employees for the opportunity to bed her – “Girl, please. Nobody’s THAT gay”.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

I was tempted to use the promotional beach shoot art for her but I just had to go with her iconic mini-sweater dress appearance for my feature image – which I believe to be from her very first appearance in the first episode. There is Lana art and cosplay out there but none from my favorite artists or models. AI shoutout to Naughy Neurals featuring her as a recurring subject.

 

 

 

(2) DAPHNE BLAKE – SCOOBY DOO (1969)

 

We all know Scooby Doo, that enduring animated franchise centered on four teenage hippies and the titular talking Great Dane driving around in their “Mystery Machine” van, getting high and hallucinating monsters (not to mention their dog’s speech). “And I would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for you meddling kids!” (Not likely, since the villainous plans always involved impersonating a supernatural being with basic special effects). It’s a cultural icon, man! Even the infamous Scrappy Doo couldn’t kill it, although he came close and became the ultimate archetype of unlikable characters in the process.

And Daphne Blake has been an enduring childhood crush within that franchise. It’s not hard to see why – with her shoulder-length red hair (once again demonstrating the striking prevalence of redheads in animation or comics), blue or violet eyes, hourglass figure – not to mention her distinctive purple skirt and pink tights. On second thoughts, her fashion choice was questionable, but then, so was that of the rest of the cast. I mean – who wears ascots, Fred? Although maybe there’s something in wearing an ascot after all, as Fred always seemed to end up with the girls or at least Daphne herself whenever the group split up to investigate (while Shaggy would invariably end up with Scooby as comic relief, like the sad dog food-eating hippy he was).

Of course, Daphne’s role within the group originally tended to be more decorative than functional – most likely to end up as damsel in distress, often while bound and gagged to boot (because, well, who wouldn’t?), and even nicknamed danger prone Daphne as a result. Fortunately, her character has become somewhat more developed over time – becoming more competent and even badass in various incarnations (interestingly, often in direct contrast to a converse decline in Fred’s competence or badassery).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

As usual for my iconic feature image, I chose a clip image of her appearance in the animation.

The standout Daphne art from my favorite artists would be by Nathan Szerdy, Elias Chatzoudis, and Neoartcore. As for the standout cosplay by my favorite models, I’ll award that to Tabitha Lyons.

 

X-TIER (GODDESS TIER)

 

 

(1) JESSICA RABBIT – WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988)

 

“I’m not bad – I’m just drawn that way”

Like Wonder Woman for my Top 10 Girls of Comics, could there have been any doubt for the top spot? The top position has to go to THE animated sex symbol, even though her exposure is primarily limited to the animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (and a few other shorts – notably as nurse and park ranger). I only vaguely remember the plot and characters of this film (including Roger himself) – but everyone remembers Jessica.

That is because she is designed as the ultimate fantasy figure drawn as a pinup cartoon – green-eyed and red-haired in that irresistibly rare combination (even more so in her signature pose of hair worn over one eye) and an impossibly accentuated hourglass figure in a slinky red dress. Indeed, she was modelled on classic screen sirens Lauren Bacall, Veronica Lake and Rita Hayworth – apparently face and voice (voiced by Kathleen Turner) on Lauren Bacall, hair on Veronica Lake and dress on Rita Hayworth (in the film Gilda).

As her name indicates, she is the human ‘toon’ wife of the titular Rabbit. Although she is a sultry nightclub singer literally drawn as a femme fatale of noir, she actually plays against the type in film (as opposed to the original book) – she is indeed a good girl deeply in love with her ‘honey bunny’. Why? He makes her laugh. (She also proudly lets slip that he’s a much better lover than driver).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Of course for my iconic feature image, I chose an image of her from her animation – in perhaps her most iconic appearance and pose (although I was tempted by her nurse or park ranger costumes).

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

And not surprisingly for my top spot we get to a girl of animation represented among my favorite artists, not least Dandonfuga – hence she scores my Dandonfuga ranking. There’s also art by Elias Chatzoudis, Sun Khamunaki, J. Scott Campbell, Logan Cure, and Neoartcore. AI shoutout to Naughty Neurals.

 

COSPLAY – HELLY

 

And also for my top spot we finally get to a girl of animation represented among my holy trinity of cosplay models, hence she scores my Helly ranking for cosplay by Helly Valentine.

 

 

 

 

 

GIRLS OF ANIMATION: TOP 10 (TIER LIST)

 

S-TIER (GODDESS TIER)

(1) JESSICA RABBIT – WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT

 

A-TIER (TOP TIER)

(2) DAPHNE BLAKE – SCOOBY DOO

(3) LANA KANE – ARCHER

 

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

(4) SHE-RA

(5) CHEL – THE ROAD TO EL DORADO

(6) HOLLI WOULD – COOL WORLD

(7) STRIPPERELLA

(8) FOXXY LOVE – DRAWN TOGETHER

(9) GWEN TENNYSON – BEN 10

 

X-TIER (WILD TIER – BEST OF 2025)

(10) RUMI – KPOP DEMONHUNTERS

 

 

 

 

“I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way”.

Counting down my Top 10 Girls of Animation – which was surprisingly challenging as the pool of choice is reduced by the number of potential entries that I feature in other top tens. As a rule of thumb, I’ve given priority to their medium of origin.

For example, female characters from comics adapted to animation were among the leading potential entries but I’ve given priority to their entries in my Girls of Comics. Although ironically Harley Quinn should feature in my Girls of Animation for my rule of thumb of medium of origin – as she originated in an animated adaptation of Batman but proved so popular, she was then introduced into the comics (and also she arguably has arisen to new prominence with her current animated series). But I make my own rules and break them anyway – and she just seemed misplaced anywhere else than in the Girls of Comics.

Similarly, the Disney princesses were also among the leading potential entries, but I’ve given priority to them as Girls of Fantasy & SF for their fairy tales of origin (with the occasional exception in special mention for those characters that are essentially new or substantially adapted from their fairy tale origins).

And finally, this is for Western animation, so does not include any entries for the girls of anime – which has its own Top 10.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

But first a note on the visual images used in this top ten. Given the copyright in such images, I only use a visual image as fair use for the purposes of comment and review in each entry – an iconic feature image to identify the character, either in general or in their most iconic version as I review it to be (or both), as excerpted from the animation itself.

Iconic perhaps, but not my favorite as I usually prefer the style of fan art or cosplay for the characters – although the girls of Western animation have nowhere near the prolific art or cosplay of the girls of anime, with the occasional exception. Hence as usual I also include a special section in each entry under the subtitle of art and cosplay – not for any actual art and cosplay as such but instead where I nominate my favorite artists and cosplay models depicting the character, which you can look up for yourself. For art, I award a special ranking for any art by my two favorite artists – the two freelance digital artists Sciamano and Dandonfuga. For cosplay, I award a special ranking for any cosplay by my holy trinity of models – my favorite model Yummychiyo with her insane figure in top spot, followed by Hane Ame and Helly Valentine.

As for the iconic feature image I’ve chosen for this page itself and girls of animation in general, I went with Erin Esurance, the spy girl animated mascot of American insurance company Esurance that featured in commercial shorts from 2005 to 2010. They ‘retired’ her in 2010, which some attributed to the zeal of fans making inappropriate art of her, and others to her not being a fit for the ‘brand’ of Allstate, the company that acquired Esurance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(10) RUMI –

KPOP DEMONHUNTERS (2025)

 

Given my tenth place wildcard entry for Top 10 Animated Films went to Kpop Demon Hunters, who else could be the corresponding entry here but its lead girl with dark secret, Rumi?

“KPop Demonhunters is a 2025 American animated musical urban fantasy film…The story follows a K-pop girl group, Huntrix, who lead double lives as demon hunters. They face off against a rival boy band, the Saja Boys, whose members are secretly demons.”

And really it had to be Rumi, not only as the leader and lead vocalist of Huntrix (whose voice literally saves the world), but also as the film’s protagonist with the film’s defining story arc

It also had its tongue firmly in its cheek with its story. Even the demons laugh at the idea of a demon boy band until the latter strikes a pose – “oh yeah, totally gonna work”.

Also, you gotta love her impossibly long legs and hair in that distinctive braided style.

 

RATING:
X-TIER (WILD TIER)

 

 

 

(9) GWEN TENNYSON – BEN 10 (2005)

 

What can I say? It’s the red hair and those green eyes. (Beware! Beware! Those flashing eyes! That floating hair!)

There certainly is a high representation of redheads in animation and comics (albeit not so much in their adaptations) – there’s two other redheads in this top ten (indeed, in the top three) – For that matter, there’s a whole trope in TV Tropes named for red-haired green-eyed girls.

Admittedly, I am not overly familiar with the Ben 10 franchise, having seen the occasional episode here and there in passing, apparently in the later series. It has five different incarnations – Ben 10, Ben 10 Alien Force, Ben 10 Ultimate Alien, Ben 10 Omniverse, and Ben 10 again – which they missed the chance to call just that, in 2016. However, it is an intriguing concept. The series follows a boy named Ben Tennyson who, on a summer road trip with his grandfather Max and his cousin Gwen, stumbles across an alien device known as the Omnitrix which bonds itself to his wrist like a watch. Ben finds that the device has alien DNA encoded in it, which allows him to transform to a variety of alien species – which he uses to take on any threats that come his way – usually other aliens. As he grows as a hero, Ben learns that he didn’t gain the Omnitrix by coincidence and finds that his family has been involved with aliens long before he has.

Gwendolyne “Gwen” Tennyson – as the Tennyson family obviously likes to rhyme – is Ben’s aforementioned cousin. At the start of the series, she is the same age as Ben (ten years), albeit much more capable than he is – a child prodigy, who can instantly master anything, be it athletics (including martial arts) or academics (and even the Omnitrix itself in an alternate universe). However, the series sees both of them mature into young adulthood (and a less antagonistic familial relationship between them), with Gwen attending college. It also sees Gwen acquire superpowers of her own, through – uh – magic? She discovers her own magical aptitude, which allows her to manipulate energy and be as formidable a hero as Ben himself.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, I used a clip of her from the Ben 10 Ultimate Alien series used as a feature image in the Ben 10 Ultimate Alien fan wiki.

She has also caught the attention of one of my favorite artists – Neoartcore.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

 

 

(8) FOXXY LOVE – DRAWN TOGETHER (2004)

 

A sassy “1970s-style mystery-solving musician who parodies the Hanna-Barbera teen sleuth characters seen on Josie and the Pussycats and Scooby-Doo.”

Cult classic Drawn Together was a reality show parody (initially of The Real World), where eight cartoon characters from different animated genres – parodying both a specific style of animation or animated character and of the stock characters usually put together in reality shows – were forced to live under the one roof in the titular pun of being drawn together.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Yeah – there’s some but not too much art or cosplay out there, certainly none from my favorites. As usual for my girls of animation, my iconic feature image is a clip from the cartoon.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

 

(7) STRIPPERELLA (2003)

 

Stripper by night. Superhero later at night”.

As its title might suggest, Stripperella was an “adult-oriented animated television series” created by none other than Marvel Comics doyen Stan Lee.

The title character was the superheroine or secret agent alter ego of stripper Erotica Jones, voiced by none other than Pamela Anderson – and essentially an animated version of her as well, down to the tattoos. (So much so that she also played herself in the series, visiting Stripperella’s club Tender Loins with Kid Rock. Needless to say, Stripperella is a big fan and gushes how people compare them in appearance).

Clearly, the series had its tongue firmly in its, or at least someone’s, cheek, as a parody of the superhero and spy fiction genres. I particularly liked the recurring villain, Cheapo – the world’s cheapest supervillain.

As for Stripperella herself, she not only relied on her spy gadgetry, but also a number of inexplicable superpowers (including her luxuriant hair, which also doubled as a parachute) – “she has strength and agility far beyond that of a normal human, she is impervious to all temperatures and weather conditions, and her breasts have the ability to detect when somebody is lying”.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Yeah, again – there’s some but not too much art or cosplay out there, certainly none from my favorites. Disappointingly, not even any cosplay from Pamela Anderson herself. As usual for my girls of animation, my feature image is a clip from the cartoon.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

(6) HOLLI WOULD – COOL WORLD (1992)

 

HOLLI WOULD IF SHE COULD
…AND SHE WILL!

I do like my bad girls and Holli Would is the bad girl at the center of Ralph Bakshi’s 1992 film Cool World – a fantasy film combining live action and animation.

Center? Let’s face it – the only thing anyone ever remembers (or is aware of) from this movie is Holli. To be honest, I’m only aware of the film through my interest in the animation of Ralph Bakshi.

As for the film itself, similar to another more famous film (that just might happen to feature in this top ten), it involves the intersection of our real world with the eponymous animated ‘toon’ world, with the inhabitants of the latter known as ‘doodles’ (while humans are ‘noids’). In a nutshell, a cartoonist finds himself in a cartoon world which he thinks he created from his dreams, where he is seduced by the comic strip vamp Holli – all part of her plot to become a real human (including the inception of the dreams in the cartoonist). Of course, being a bad girl, she doesn’t flinch at murder – or the potential destruction of both worlds – to realize her aim.

It’s even messier than it sounds and gets messier – the film was a commercial and critical failure, although it subsequently achieved something of a cult following.

But who cares? It’s all about Holli! Voiced by Kim Basinger, she was also drawn to resemble her voice actress (not surprisingly, given that Kim Basinger also played her in human form in the film). Her dancing scene was particularly notorious. Speaking of which…

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Yes – I used a clip from that notorious dancing scene in the film for my iconic feature image. Sadly, although there is art and cosplay of her, there’s none I could find from my favorite artists or models.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

 

(5) CHEL –
THE ROAD TO EL DORADO (2000)

 

Perhaps the most preeminent pre-Columbian pinup girl of popular culture – with the possible exception of Pocahontas – who throws her lot in with the protagonist Spanish con artist duo in the 2000 Dreamworks film The Road to El Dorado. And yes I know neither is technically pre-Columbian as both are set during European conquest or colonisation but close enough. I’ve certainly had a soft spot for Meso-American girls since – as well as that meme depicting Spanish colonialism being particularly…horny.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For my iconic feature image, I’ve chosen one of her more expressive clips from the film (helping the protagonist duo cheat at the native American ball game).

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

And finally we get to a girl of animation represented among my favorite artists, not least Dandonfuga – hence she scores my Dandonfuga ranking. There’s also art by Logan Cure, Neoartcore and Elias Chatzoudis.

 

COSPLAY

 

Chel is also represented in cosplay – with cosplay by Nami, due to fan demand given her resemblance to Chel.

 

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

 

(4) SHE-RA (1985)

 

She’s got the power!

“I am Adora, He-Man’s twin sister, and defender of the Crystal Castle. This is Spirit, my beloved steed. Fabulous secrets were revealed to me, the day I held aloft my sword and said, ‘For The Honor Of Grayskull! I AM SHE-RA!!!’

As TV Tropes notes, She-Ra Princess of Power is the sister series (literally) to He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, presumably because She-Woman and the Mistresses of the Universe sounds a little silly (or kinky). As noted, it is literally the sister series as the titular character is Adora, the twin sister of He-Man or Prince Adam of Eternia. Adora was apparently kidnapped as an infant to the planet Etheria and is subsequently given the power to become the superheroine She-Ra in order to form the planetary resistance against Etheria’s tyrannical ruler Hordak (although by invoking the honor rather than power of Greyskull, which sounds a little off to me).

Yeah, I’m not really up with the backstory of this one – or He-Man for that matter. I mean, come on – they were basically toy commercials! Not to mention vaguely fascistic…

However, they certainly were iconic figures, not least because the animation was to market the toys or so-called action figures for the Masters of the Universe.

Of course, She-Ra was designed to extend the market to the female demographic. To quote TV Tropes – “She-Ra was made specifically to appeal to girls, which explains the large number of mentally and physically strong female characters, like Adora, Glimmer, and Madame Razz, not to mention the vivacious, Zsa Zsa Gabor-like nature of several of them, daaaaaarling — and quite a number of female villains like Shadow Weaver, Scorpia and Catra” (the latter essentially a dark action girl version of She-Ra herself).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For my iconic feature image, I chose She Ra as she appeared in her original 1980s cartoon (from the feature image of the Grayskull fan wiki). There is a surprising amount of art and cosplay out there for her – including art from one of my favorites, Elias Chatzoudis, as well as cosplay from another of my favorites, Tabitha Lyons.

 

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

(3) LANA KANE – ARCHER (2009)

 

“LAAAAAANAAAA!” Well, it was either that or Sterling Archer’s other favorite quote to her – “Danger zone!”.

Lana Kane is the top female agent in the animated series Archer, second only to the titular spy himself (although a large part of that is due to his mother running the agency), with whom she has a complicated love-hate relationship. She is also the most competent agent, although Archer tends to excel at the stereotypically active role of an agent, killing people and so forth (although a large part of THAT is due to his reckless childlike joy and disregard for his own mortality). However, she is not too different from Archer in that her competence is undermined on occasion by her own emotional or psychological insecurities – she just has less of them than Archer (and a large part of THAT is his mother Mallory).

In appearance, she is statuesque, both in height (six foot or so) and figure, and she dresses to accentuate the latter – her signature style consists of short turtleneck sweater dresses (in various colors but typically white) and thigh-high stiletto boots. Indeed, she always seems to wear heels, even in space. For that matter, even when not wearing outfits tailor made to accentuate her figure, she’ll almost invariably end up in a situation where she’ll be stripped down to her underwear.

Archer even comments on her stripperiffic wardrobe, when he finds himself distracted by her impressive, ah, jiggle physics in the middle of a gunfight, in an example of their characteristic repartee:

Lana: Now?! Really?!
Archer: Oh, right! Because you walked into Strippers Discount Warehouse and said “Help me showcase my intellect!”
Lana: Discount?! This is Fiocchi.

In fairness, every major character in the series commonly ends up in situations where they’ll be stripped down to their underwear or naked. It’s that kind of agency.

Indeed, her memetic attractiveness in the series is such that even the girls want her (most notably her fellow female employees, although they are not the most emotionally balanced individuals). Even the gay guys want her, as when her gay colleague Ray Gillette literally takes a number with the rest of her male employees for the opportunity to bed her – “Girl, please. Nobody’s THAT gay”.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

I was tempted to use the promotional beach shoot art for her but I just had to go with her iconic mini-sweater dress appearance for my feature image – which I believe to be from her very first appearance in the first episode. There is Lana art and cosplay out there but none from my favorite artists or models.

 

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

(2) DAPHNE BLAKE – SCOOBY DOO (1969)

 

We all know Scooby Doo, that enduring animated franchise centered on four teenage hippies and the titular talking Great Dane driving around in their “Mystery Machine” van, getting high and hallucinating monsters (not to mention their dog’s speech). “And I would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for you meddling kids!” (Not likely, since the villainous plans always involved impersonating a supernatural being with basic special effects). It’s a cultural icon, man! Even the infamous Scrappy Doo couldn’t kill it, although he came close and became the ultimate archetype of unlikable characters in the process.

And Daphne Blake has been an enduring childhood crush within that franchise. It’s not hard to see why – with her shoulder-length red hair (once again demonstrating the striking prevalence of redheads in animation or comics), blue or violet eyes, hourglass figure – not to mention her distinctive purple skirt and pink tights. On second thoughts, her fashion choice was questionable, but then, so was that of the rest of the cast. I mean – who wears ascots, Fred? Although maybe there’s something in wearing an ascot after all, as Fred always seemed to end up with the girls or at least Daphne herself whenever the group split up to investigate (while Shaggy would invariably end up with Scooby as comic relief, like the sad dog food-eating hippy he was).

Of course, Daphne’s role within the group originally tended to be more decorative than functional – most likely to end up as damsel in distress, often while bound and gagged to boot (because, well, who wouldn’t?), and even nicknamed danger prone Daphne as a result. Fortunately, her character has become somewhat more developed over time – becoming more competent and even badass in various incarnations (interestingly, often in direct contrast to a converse decline in Fred’s competence or badassery).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

As usual for my iconic feature image, I chose a clip image of her appearance in the animation.

The standout Daphne art from my favorite artists would be by Nathan Szerdy, Elias Chatzoudis, and Neoartcore. As for the standout cosplay by my favorite models, I’ll award that to Tabitha Lyons.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

(1) JESSICA RABBIT – WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988)

 

“I’m not bad – I’m just drawn that way”

Like Wonder Woman for my Top 10 Girls of Comics, could there have been any doubt for the top spot? The top position has to go to THE animated sex symbol, even though her exposure is primarily limited to the animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (and a few other shorts – notably as nurse and park ranger). I only vaguely remember the plot and characters of this film (including Roger himself) – but everyone remembers Jessica.

That is because she is designed as the ultimate fantasy figure drawn as a pinup cartoon – green-eyed and red-haired in that irresistibly rare combination (even more so in her signature pose of hair worn over one eye) and an impossibly accentuated hourglass figure in a slinky red dress. Indeed, she was modelled on classic screen sirens Lauren Bacall, Veronica Lake and Rita Hayworth – apparently face and voice (voiced by Kathleen Turner) on Lauren Bacall, hair on Veronica Lake and dress on Rita Hayworth (in the film Gilda).

As her name indicates, she is the human ‘toon’ wife of the titular Rabbit. Although she is a sultry nightclub singer literally drawn as a femme fatale of noir, she actually plays against the type in film (as opposed to the original book) – she is indeed a good girl deeply in love with her ‘honey bunny’. Why? He makes her laugh. (She also proudly lets slip that he’s a much better lover than driver).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Of course for my iconic feature image, I chose an image of her from her animation – in perhaps her most iconic appearance and pose (although I was tempted by her nurse or park ranger costumes).

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

And not surprisingly for my top spot we get to a girl of animation represented among my favorite artists, not least Dandonfuga – hence she scores my Dandonfuga ranking. There’s also art by Elias Chatzoudis, Sun Khamunaki, J. Scott Campbell, Logan Cure, and Neoartcore.

 

COSPLAY – HELLY

 

And also for my top spot we finally get to a girl of animation represented among my holy trinity of cosplay models, hence she scores my Helly ranking for cosplay by Helly Valentine.

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GODDESS TIER)

 

 

 

 

GIRLS OF ANIMATION: TOP 10 (TIER LIST)

 

S-TIER (GODDESS TIER)

(1) JESSICA RABBIT – WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT

 

A-TIER (TOP TIER)

(2) DAPHNE BLAKE – SCOOBY DOO

(3) LANA KANE – ARCHER

 

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

(4) SHE-RA

(5) CHEL – THE ROAD TO EL DORADO

(6) HOLLI WOULD – COOL WORLD

(7) STRIPPERELLA

(8) FOXXY LOVE – DRAWN TOGETHER

(9) GWEN TENNYSON – BEN 10

 

X-TIER (WILD TIER – BEST OF 2025)

(10) RUMI – KPOP DEMONHUNTERS