Anime has a long history of portraying the majority of its female characters as weak, or worse, useless. Most of them are based on being the male protagonist’s love interest or some cute character people can simp on but have no real purpose for the plot. This has reinforced stereotypes and contributed to the idea that women need men to protect them. Or that they’re incapable of doing anything useful except being the pretty trophy waiting at home. And even when they’re not, female anime characters are often mistreated and aren’t given a great storyline or background that could allow viewers to relate to them.