“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.

 

 

(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 role model and 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…

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

 

(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).

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

 

 

 

(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.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

A-TIER (TOP 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.

 

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

(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.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

(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.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

 

(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

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

(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 and Nathan Szerdy among my favorite artists.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

 

(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.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

 

(10) 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.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

(11) 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.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

 

(12) ERIN ESURANCE (2004)

 

Animation girl business mascot that the business had to abandon after the internet had its way with her. No, seriously – the internet got so horny for Esurance’s animated action girl heroine, a secret agent or spy character similar to Sydney Bristow from the contemporary Alias TV series, by reproducing her in, ah, pictures not safe for work, that it was a large part of abandoning her.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

So obviously there’s art of her, but none to which I can refer here – nor any by my favorite artists. There’s also cosplay of her but again none by my favorite models. So I’ve just gone with one of her most famous shots from the original advertising.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

(13) PRINCESS BUBBLEGUM & MARCELLINE THE VAMPIRE QUEEN –

ADVENTURE TIME (2010)

 

While Adventure Time – essentially Dungeons and Dragons on acid in a post-apocalyptic setting literally after nuclear war in our world – was something of an animation juggernaut for a younger audience through the 2010s, its art style does not at first glance lend itself to a special mention for the girls of animation, although the characters do have a distinctive visual design. So this special mention owes itself more to the fan art and cosplay inspired by that visual design – and of course the subject of special mention is its two leading female characters, Princess Bubblegum and Marcelline the Vampire Queen. Both are humanoid as partly human – Princess Bubblegum is somehow a hybrid of human and bubblegum DNA (despite bubblegum not having DNA), while Marcelline is a child of a demon father and human mother (as well as acquiring her vampire powers through her demonic power to absorb souls when defeating vampires).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For their iconic feature images, I’ve chosen cover art from the Adventure Time comics – Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time Volume 4: Bitter Sweets (I believe by the volume artist Zachary Sterling) in November 2014 (although she usually wears a dress), and Marcelline the Vampire Queen from Adventure Time: Marcelline and the Scream Queens 6 by artist Camilla D’Errico in December 2012.

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

That’s right – Marcelline at least scores a Dandonfuga ranking for some sizzling art of her.

Princess Bubblegum scored cover art by Artgerm.

 

COSPLAY

 

Marcelline was probably more popular with cosplay models, including the queen of cosplay herself, Jessica Nigri – but Princess Bubblegum scored the cosplay by the models I like most of the cosplay on offer, Octokuro and Nami

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

(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…

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

(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!

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH 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.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

 

(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.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

 

 

(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.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

 

(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).

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

 

 

 

(20) MAVKA –

MAVKA: THE FOREST SONG (2023)

 

Essentially a Disney princess but by a Ukrainian film drawing from Ukrainian folklore – not least the titular Mavka. A mavka is a forest spirit, combining traits of nymph (or dryad) and siren, the latter as temptress luring men to their deaths in the forest. Naturally in this family-friendly film, she’s more Disney princess than siren, although there are siren-like undines in the film.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Not surprisingly, there’s no art or cosplay from this niche Ukrainian film. So for my iconic feature image, I just have some promotional title art for her.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

X-TIER (WILD TIER)