3) Emilia (Re:Zero) - I can probably never do my Emilia justice in the eyes of Shade, but I can sure as hell try. Emilia is great, and definitely best girl in Re:Zero. But it's not like she had any competition except Crusch (will not so subtle Rem hate appease you Shade?). Regardless, Emilia stands in 3rd place for good reason. She is by all means, kind of perfect, at least on the surface. She's always willing to help others, she's humble, she treats others as equals,, and need I mention that impeccible fashion sense. She however is still portrayed as a complex and strong character in her own right. And unlike a certain other character, *cough*Rem*cough* it's not shoved in our face constantly. Emilia was already destined to be best girl upon her introduction. She saves Subaru from thugs, downplays her own kindness, and then later goes on go out of her way to bring a child back to her parents despite not seeing any immediate benefit for it. Even by the end of Arc 1, she proves herself to be likable, and gives us a smile worth protecting, something that we recieve from no other character in the show. Even after that, the more we find out about Emilia, the better she ends up being. She's got a lot of discrimination against her because she looks like the Witch Satella, but even with that kind of disdain against her, she still tries her best. She still tries to help others, even if they hold disdain for her. She still strives to win the Royal Election, and wants to improve the lives of those in the world of Re:Zero. This is some true strength, because despite having every reason to hold a grudge towards others, she doesn't, and tries to act selflessly and gain the trust of others that way. If that doesn't say best girl, I don't know what does.
4) Hardgore Alice (Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku) - This girl was a real surprise. At first it's easy to judge her as trying too hard to be creepy, but the more you think about her character, the better she becomes. Despite initial impressions, she is consistently one of the nicest characters in MGRP, which means a ton considering how the most stand out characters in Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku are entirely unlikable. Alice on the other hand doesn't even do anything wrong, and actively tries to help people with her powers. She's just midjudged due to her appearance and poor communication skills, but to me at least, this endears me even more to her character. She's about breaking through initial impressions, and it's clear from people's reactions to her, that the show succeded at that. Things don't just stop there, because when all is revealed about her including backstory and identity, everything begings to make a ton more sense. Her existence doesn't just stop at the awkward girl who is obsessed with Snow White. Her purpose ends up feeling greater than that, and helps to push the themes of the show, as well as to create an overall very well rounded character.
5) Freyja Wion (Macross Delta) - It's hard for me to explain what makes Freyja so great, since to be honest, I don't remember a lot about Macross Delta, since it mostly ended up being an unmemorable show. But what I did remember were two things mainly. One is that the insert songs were amazing, and the other was that Freyja was without a doubt best girl. She's a very easy character to like in the beginning, with her being adorable, and having a goal that you can't help but root for her in. She achieves this goal rather easily though, but that doesn't hurt her character in the slightest. Admittedly, I'm at a bit of a loss for what to talk about with Freyja, other than she's just very likable. She doesn't even do that much, and around the end, she begins to become defined by her relationship with Hayate. She's more a character that you have to watch to like, rather than having it be explained to you (you're just making excuses for not being smart enough to convey your point, and because you're too tired since you held off this portion of the awards for last). Eh, I'll just leave the legendary clip of her singing Rune ga Pikatto in Episode 5 to help prove my point.
Also, that rune. It does things to me.
6) Tamaki Ako (Netoge) - I find it funny how the biggest criticism of her character I find among people is "Yeah, like a gamer who sits in front of their computer all day would look like her." Yeah, people who judged her like that are idiots, because what we get with her is a very good understanding of what a person who is disillusioned by fantasy would end up like (if there's anybody you can trust on this subject it's me). Of course there's some things that are taken too far like how she is a bit too unaware of social cues, but when we get right down to the emotional aspect of her character, she's quite well written. I remember the show explaining that one of the reasons Ako is the way she is, is "because she's tired of a reality that isn't going her way," and that hits home. When you have expectations about the real world, and how it will go, when those expectations are shattered, retreating into you own bubble (in Ako's case, net games) to get away from that reality. The show did a great job at digging into this part of her character, and making me empathize with her all the way. Ako is also rather unique. She ends up being the clingy girlfriend type character, but seeing her logic from being on the internet (which was realistic as well) being applied in discussion with others in real life was something that I didn't tire of. The only problem with her character is that she could have been so much better. I still think they did a good job with, hence why she's on this list, but if Netoge was a much more serious show, and not a generic romcom with Ako as the gimmick, then I think Ako's characterization and development could have made her so much better.
7) Hifumi (New Game) - I've come to realize that I would prefer not to have characters I only like for reasons like "she's cute" or "she's funny" (one of the reasons why I didn't include Aqua from Konosuba). It makes me feel smarter to look at characters mainly for how well written or complex they are. But, Hifumi is just so adorable (I blame New Game!'s amazing art). I know I trashed on shy girls earlier, but Hifumi is an exception. It's even worse because Hifumi doesn't even get a large amount of focus in her own show. She's usually in the background, but any time she does get a level of focus, she steals the show. Her character makes for some really good jokes, and has an anime_irl factor to her at times. She also has a fun thought process that makes me like her character even more. So, yeah, Hifumi is hilarious, and she's adorable. A truly menacing combination.
8) Kamiya Agari (Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume) - Agari had some fierce competition from others in her own show, like Kururi and Hokuto. I know there's a joke I can make about how it's fitting that she won here, considering her strong desire for the spotlight, but I'm going to stick to the acknowledgement of the non-existent possible joke as I not so cleverly reveal what her character is about through it, and then continue to endlessly ramble to get myself out of my transparent attempts at humor. Bleh. Anyway, Agari is best scorching ping pong girl. She's was the easiest to get attached to in the beginning, as the first 3 episodes are about her, as she struggles with having her spot as the best player on her team threatened. Her struggles were handled in a realistic way, and I had no problem sympathizing with her. But even past the first few episodes, I still found her to be very compelling. From the show, I can infer that she's the one who improves at ping pong the most throughout the series, and you can actively see the trials she faces in her playstyle and how she overcomes them as she adapts to her opponent and changes her mindset. This isn't done with any of the other characters, or at least not to the extent that is done with her. Agari is also a tsundere, and as expected she's great in the role. She's honest enough with her feelings so as to not be irritating, and her tsun moments always feel well meaning. There's also more to her than just tsundere, so she doesn't just feel like an archetype.
9) You Watanabe (Love Live! Sunshine!!) - [Insert jab at the rest of Sunshine!!'s cast here]. You was definitely best Love Live! Sunshine!! girl. It was apparent from episode 1, when she joined Aquors just to be there for her friend. As the show went on, it becomes increasingly clear how awesome she is. She's one of the more competent members of the group, and is easily likable due to her sociable and friendly nature. She doesn't actively cause trouble, create drama, or have any kind of lame gimmicks. The closest thing that she has to a gimmick is her salute, which is kind of cool, and I find hard to even call a gimmick. The only problem with her is that when she does briefly get a lot of focus in Sunshine!!, it's underwhelming, but as a character she's still great, and that's all that matters.
Also, need I mention, Glasses You is a thing. You and glasses, they just go together too well.
