Sunday, February 26, 2012

Death Note vs Death Note?

 VS  

I've always stood by the rather unpopular opinion that the Japanese made live action movie duology  "Death Note" and "Death Note: The Last Name" is by far the definitive version of the "Death Note" story.  The original manga was an excellently written crime/horror/psychological thriller story but it had it's bumps and got really lame at the halfway point and dragged out the story until the end because the mangaka wanted to end with a particular "ironic" number of chapters, but at least the ending to the story was immensely satisfying.  The anime adaptation, on the other hand, threw out all sense of dignified subdued plot action in favor of over-the-top, "What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?" theatrics and melodrama, including overwraught plot or characterization points made up for the anime to make Light and L come off as more sympathetic characters than they really were.  And the ending got outright tampered with so that Light could get a sadder, more dignified (though still pretty pathetic) send-off.  This made the anime sometimes enjoyable but othertimes unwatchable, and it led to many fans getting the wrong idea about what the series really was.  So I gave thought to the reasons as to why I think that from an adaptation standpoint, the live action movie handled things better than the anime, and from a storytelling standpoint, handled things even better than the manga!  I wrote a forum post on the matter, and here it is:

  • More subtelty than the anime's overdramatic-ness. Overdramatic only worked a few times like when Light was first writing names in the Death Note, or in the final episodes. The manga was never as narmy and melodramatic as the anime was. (Take Light's room for example; we never get a good sense of what it looks like in the manga and in the live action films, it's a normal room. But in the anime, it's constantly dark and dimly lit because Light is eeeevil.) We're not talking about "Code Geass" here, "Death Note" was not meant to be bombastic and hammy. The movies were more true to the manga in being more subdued.  Now it's fine for people to enjoy overdramatic hamminess if they like it, but I got annoyed with the overdrama after episodes of it simply because it got so gratuitous.


  • Light's fall from grace was more convincing and well done. It happens over the course of the first film. Even if he declares he'll become ruler of a new world early on, he's clearly of righteous intentions at the start and seeing how bad the criminals are, we sympathize with him. But then he kills Lind L Taylor out of spite. He later gets Raye Pembar to kill a bunch of FBI agents before killing him. Then there's the ending with Naomi Misora and his own girlfriend, Shiori, which is where he completely crosses the line into pure evil territory. And he just keeps going from there in the second film, even being willing to kill his own father for the sake of his plans.


  • L not being shown for awhile. In the manga and anime, we cut away to him at his computer a couple of times but never see his face until he's properly introduced to the task force. In the movies, we don't even see that. He's just a letter on a screen and a high pitched computerized voice until we meet him. I thought they made him alot more mysterious that way and gave his reveal more of an impact.


  • Raye Pembar and (especially) Naomi Misora were handled better. Raye wasn't a chauvinistic fool this time, and the imfamous sexist way they did in Naomi was avoided by changing the climax so that the circumstances of her death were beyond her control and she wasn't made to look like an idiot.  Okay, so she was kind of an idiot but I'd say the romance with Raye and devestation she felt when he was taken from her kind of rationalizes the foolhardiness. But even then, she only went as far as to shoot an innocent girl because Light manipulated the situation into happening because she let slip she was using a fake name, not knowing how smart Light truly was. And at the very least, her character was consistent, as opposed to the manga/anime Naomi being a strong, intelligent woman and as competent as L as tracking Kira only for her to be handed the Idiot Ball in order to do away with her. Naomi in the movies never got such Character Derailment.


  • The hidden cameras/potato chip scene being moved between Raye and Naomi's death. I liked that for some reason.


  • The "second Kira" incident being changed into a singular, terrifying event. It helped pick up the pace and made the idea of the second Kira as a threat more convincing.  In the manga and anime it went on for awhile and though the Second Kira was scary at first because h/she seemingly had no ideals and could kill a person more easily by seeing their name and lifespan, it became apparent all too soon that h/she wasn't truly as smart or dangerous as the one, true Kira. And we learn this before we know the identity. Here we're kept in the dark about what sort of trouble the Second Kira will be until Misa decides to meet Light in person and fess up.


  • Misa's character coming off as less shallow, mostly because her parents' murder was kept as a big aspect of her character. In the manga and anime, it's merely an excuse as to why she supports Kira when she first joins him. But since it's then never brought up again, her unwavering loyatly to Kira and Mad Love for Light came off as just her being a needy and irritating Fangirl. I mean, Misa's my favorite female character in the series but I was still often disappointed with the way she was handled from the Yotsuba arc and onwards. In the Yotsuba arc, she had no reason to be all clingy and say "I couldn't live in a world without Light" because the whole reason she was devoted to Light in the first place was because he was Kira and she didn't remember that!  It just made her seem too shallow and stupid.  But movieverse Misa was always fresh and well characterized.  I also like how she clearly sees what an evil monster Light is in the end but still says she loves him "no matter what he is." Very Harley Quinn-esque.


  • Kiyomi Takada is a better character in the movie. Easier to sympathize with despite her fall into becoming a selfish murderess.  As someone else put it "Takada in the original canon is bladness incarnate, if blandness incarnate purveyed propaganda".  Yeah, I mean, aren't propaganda spouters supposed to have charisma?  Not to mention I hate killer sympathizing, propaganda spouting liberal media people to begin with, so being bland on top of that wasn't winning me any love for her.  When she died in the original, I was only saddened by the circumstances rather than the loss of her as a person.  Not so in the movie, where I was actually kind of outraged that she got offed while that annoying slimeball Demegawa was never shown meeting his demise. 


  • Heck, the whole thing's less sexist in general. Naomi, Misa, and Takada are much more than what they were in the manga/anime, Shiori's a major character in the first film, and there's even a female member on the Task Force this time, and she doesn't feel tacked on at all.  The original creators of "Death Note" have some form of chronic sexism, as their later work like "Bakuman" showcases.  So, when it comes to female characters, things work out better for them in more caring, capable hands.


  • Souichirou Yagami keeping more character focus. In the anime and manga, I felt like he lost a good deal of importance once Light joined the force and L was there in person. He never fades into the background here.


  • Souichirou finding out that Light is Kira! Seriously, that he never found out in the manga/anime disappointed me to no end, since it ruined all the potential set up with the character and his relationship with his son. And I also liked that he lives in the end. I personally felt that the Yagami family losing BOTH men of the family was a bit much. I know the point is that Light brings tragedy upon his family, but don't push it.


  • The entire ending. L finishes the job himself by taking advantage of a Death Note rule and ensuring that he dies after Kira is brought down. Having L do it and finally confront Kira was much more satisfying than Near doing the job that L could've done anyway had he not died, and the way he did it was both brilliant and more simple than Near's way of catching Kira. And Light actually loses by getting outsmarted in this little chess match, not because of a fluke with Mello taking action that inadvertedly causes Mikami to slip up and give Near the opportunity to set up his plan to catch Kira. (I'm also perfectly fine with L outsmarting Light as opposed to the other way around because I always thought L was smarter anyway and the way he died was bullshit). We also get the same ending from the manga rather than the anime's one (thank goodness) but with L instead of Near and an extra level of tragedy added by having Souichirou there in the final confrontation and Light dying in his arms while STILL justifying his actions as Kira. Lastly, the self-sacrificing nature of L's actions and his acknowledging where he went wrong at times means that he finally got to be truly moral before he died, as opposed to being self centered to the end. His last talk with Soichirou was very moving, too.


  • And of course, the fact that the Mello/Near arcs get ommitted and the story ends at the point where it should. The only reason it got so stretched out in the first place was because the manga creators wanted a specific number of chapters, which led to a really crappy storyline that suffered greatly from Ending Fatigue.

There are things I didn't like or found inferior to other versions (Matsuda never really developed as a character, Rem's sex change was pointless, I miss some of the stuff that happened in the Yotsuba arc, and I miss Mikami) but overall, I think the movies' strengths over the other versions of  "Death Note" far outway the weaknesses. Look beyond the production value: beyond the movies' tacky looking appearace, wooden lead actor, and the CGI Shinigami, people. This is "Death Note" distilled to it's purest core.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

The Best Spoiled Bitches

I have, and always will have, a soft spot in my heart for Rich Bitch/ The Libby/Lovable Libby/Spoiled Sweet/The Ojou /Material Girl tropes. "Spoiled Bitches" as I call them; I love this type of female character.  I don't quite know why: maybe it's because the idea of a girl who has it all is interesting to see how they handle themselves in such a lifestyle, or maybe I have a secret attraction to girls with money and power. Whatever the reason, I made a list of some of my favorite examples of this archetype and came up with 60 characters.  Here I list them and what my specific reasons for loving them are: 

  London Tipton (The Suite Life):  This teenage Paris Hilton parody really owes her appeal to the actress, Brenda Song.  I never saw all too much of this show but I do know that while the character was a hyper-energetic, stuck up, not too bright ditz in the first season, she wasn't a total idiot like they'd start writing her as later down the road.  But when she became a brainless moron who should be unbearable and obnoxious, Brenda Song still played her in a way that made her cute and endearing.  She loved playing the character and knew how to give her depth, charisma and lovability. Plus, Brenda's a fine young lady, so she's pleasing to watch in whatever she's doing. So...yay her!

 Charlotte Lebouff  (Disney):  Tiana's BFF in "The Princess And The Frog", and poster child for "Spoiled Sweet".  She's a southern belle who has her rich daddy wrapped around her finger and he spoils her with whatever she wants. She's ditzy, self absorbed, and hyperactive to the extreme.  She's so animated that it's always hilarious to watch.  But she's not a shallow or mean spirited person at all; she's very nice and sweet to the people she likes, especially her poor friend Tiana.  Lottie always dreamed of being a princess, finding true love, and living out a fairy tale, but when she sees that Tiana's found that, she's willing to help her get it with no strings attached.  Now that's a good friend. 

 Princess Morbucks (Powerpuff Girls Z):  Princess Morbucks in the original show was a hilariously over-the-top spoiled brat supervillainess, but didn't have much of a developed character.  Her anime counterpart (named Himeko Shirogane in Japan) is actually quite different and a good deal better, actually; she's a spoiled, haughty and self-centered middleschooler who always wants to be the center of attention. But for good reason, seeing as her mommy and daddy often neglect her and give all the praise and attention to her talented older sister instead.  This makes Princess the brat that she is and she's actually very adorable and likable in spite of it.  You really "get" why she's the way she is rather than just being a sociopath like the original version. And with lots of redeeming qualities to her too, she's a very appealing character.
 Duchess Morbucks (Powerpuff Girls Z):  Princess' older sister that I mentioned above (called Miko Shirogane in Japan). She's a total Parody Sue; talented in many areas, always succeeding, never being outshined. And she's very pretty, too. But though she's Princess' greatest envy, Duchess totally loves her little sister and Princess loves her too.  She's one of the few who does pay attention to Princess, so the two sisters are very close. Duchess' personality is actually pretty nice and polite, but press her berserk button (like the Powerpuff Girls Z) and she'll show what a ruthless, diabolical, evil genius super-bitch she can really be.  And she's damn awesome that way!  It's a shame she only appeared in one episode but at least she got to shine and totally own the Powerpuffs in the end.

 Veruca Salt  (Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory):  This one's like the original Princess Morbucks except without any supervillain powers or any fear of her daddy.  Veruca is a great spoiled bitch character because she is so totally over-the-top and utterly relentless in how she whines and screams at everyone until she gets what she wants. She holds nothing back; she's a spoiled rotten brat and she doesn't care who knows it.  And I'm referring to the Veruca from the original, not the nasally voiced and far too restrained one from that shitty Tim Burton remake.

 Dylan Schoenfield  (Geek Charming):  From the book and Disney Channel Original Movie based on it (which was surprisingly good for what it was), Dylan here is a poster child for "Lovable Libby" (I refuse to call it "Alpha Bitch".)  She's shallow, she's a complainer, she's rude, she's spoiled, she's melodramatic, she's popular and looks down upon those not in her crowd, and....she's not a bad person at all.  She used to be geeky herself and beneath her surface, she's a sweet, funny, vivacious, understanding and cool girl.  She's got layers to her that film geek Josh Rossen discovers when doing his documentary on the popular crowd, and helps her bring out the "real her" because of it.  Dylan is just plain lovable and Sarah Hyland nailed that perfectly when playing her in the movie.  I loved seeing her develop and earn her happy ending, not to mention see her heartwarming friendship with Josh grow.       She's a very inspirational character, really.  One of my newest favorites of her kind.

  Cho Chang  (Harry Potter):  Sweet popular girl from the Ravenclaw house in the "Harry Potter" series.  Being smart and pretty may be her best features but also...I feel so sorry for this poor girl; the guy she was dating and was in love with gets murdered, she's constantly on the verge of an emotional breakdown afterwards, she tries to fill the void when going out with Harry but it keeps not working out, her best friend betrays Dumbledore's army and is branded a sneak for it, and when she tries to stand up for her, Harry acts like a total jerkass towards her and causes them to break up. Not only that, but the narrative even has a bias against her at times, usually when dumping on her in favor of shilling Ginny as Harry's one true love. Blech!  Cho will always be cool in my book, though.

  Asuka Langley Sohryu  (Neon Genesis Evangelion): One of the all-time great bitch characters ever, Asuka's not as much spoiled as she is proud but I figured she counts for this. She's mean, arrogant, insulting, bratty, sardonic, self absorbed, and obnoxious to the extreme but it's all part of her complex psyche. She wants attention; to be recognized as something great, while at the same time she uses her act as a bitch to mask her insecurities and weaknesses. It's tragic, but at the same time, the bitchy way she expresses herself is often very amusing and her hidden depths make her very likable.  She softens up and goes through mental breakdowns as the series goes on, but seems to end up a much better person afterwards.  I freaking love this character so much, particuarly how she's portrayed in the manga adaptation of the series.

  Mimi Takichawa  (Digimon Adventure):  Another "Spoiled Sweet" confider. Mimi's a pretty girl with an obsessive love for fashion who lived a very spoiled and sheltered life.  She's not too bright and often thinks with her heart rather than her head. She actually comes off as a whiney brat in the beginning but that's only because she's been taken out of her environment and doesn't know how to handle herself there.  She's actually a very pure, sweet, thoughtful and generous girl who likes to help her friends, and she has an endearingly ditzy, perky and energetic attitude about her too.  Mimi has to grow up and grow into her role and when she does, she does it beautifullly, especially considering that it was preceeded by emotional turmoil.  She was a very well developed character and though the english dub exaggerated her ditziness alot, her sweet sounding vaguely southern/valley girl voice by Philece Sampler was well performed.
  Ranamon  (Digimon Frontier): And here's another spoiled brat from "Digimon", this one actually being a digimon and an evil one to boot.  I've mentioned her in two of my previous entries but it bears repeating; Ranamon's vain, stuck-up, bitchy behaviour actually makes her very endearing and she's a cooler, cuter, and more lovable character than her enemy Zoe, the so-called heroine. Her southern belle dub voice by Peggy O'Neal actually adds to this.  She, like the group she belonged to, was one of "Frontier"'s few highlights and she deserved better than what she got overall.
  Airu  (Digimon Xros: Young Hunters): The final example from the "Digimon" franchise.  Sort of a reincarnation of the Mari character from the "Digimon: V-Tamer" manga, Airu is your typical spoiled diva; mean, shallow, ditzy, whiney, manipulative, and full of herself.  She loves to wear her girly fashion sense and adores cute digimon, which she's always hunting after.  She seems to be a dumb blonde but on the inside, she's got hidden smarts and uses them to her full advantage.  Similar to Ranamon's case in "Frontier", she and the group she belongs to are one of the only highlights in an otherwise dreadful Digimon series.

  Sissi Delmas  (Code Lyoko):  Though she starts the series as a mean, catty, self absorbed bully of a girl, Sissi ended up being one of the most lovable of all Libbies. The spoiled daughter of Kadic Accadamey's headmaster, she's very pretty and hot in spite of that large forehead. Despite her prissiness and vanity, she actually started out as a sweet and helpful girl but got shunned by the main characters due to something that idiot Ulrich percieved as a betrayal of trust. Afterwards, all she really wanted was to see what the gang was up to and be friends with them again, the rejection turning her into a more bitter person. She likes to flaunt herself and is rude to others, but she's really a good person and does her best to help whenever it's needed of her. Jody Forrest's voicework made her very likable and adorable, too. Sissi got some of the best character development in the series along with Aelita, Jeremie, and XANA, and her efforts were rewarded when her friendship with the others was renewed in the end.

  Princess Ayeka  (Tenchi Muyo!):  Pompous and self-important princess of Jurai from the Tenchi series.  She's proud, prissy, and tempermental but also kind and good-spirited for the most part.  Her arch rival Ryoko is usually the one who brings out her more vicious side.  I like this character because she's so nice but just a total bitch when she lets loose, that's what makes her funny.  It baffles me that there are alot of people who hate her and take Ryoko's side over hers; aside from being a princess vs a pirate, the two of them aren't so different.  You shouldn't be on either side!  Their antics are just for entertainment, which they often were, especially in the original OVA. (And personally, I think Ayeka's cuter than Ryoko. There, I admitted it!)

  Sharpay Evans  (High School Musical): The blonde drama queen diva from the High School Musical movies and the star of the show, really. Another incredibly Lovable Libby. She's potrayed as a spoiled, selfish, arrogant, devious, evil little primadonna of a girl who wants to remain the ruler of the school and it's drama club.  She's a bitch, but such an entertaining bitch that we love her anyway.  The always cute and sexy Ashley Tisdale plays her to perfection and it helps that she always came off as more sympathetic than the so-called heroes.  The second movie tried to make her more dislikable but the attempt fell very flat, especially seeing as "Fabulous" became an incredibly popular, fun song.  In the third movie, she literally graduated to almost heroine status, which she reinforced when she got to star in her own movie, which made full use of her likable and sympathetic side and gave her a well deserved happy ending.  I love almost everything about this character; her looks, her fashion, her style, her dog Boi, and especially her relationship with her twin brother, Ryan.  The two of them are really best friends and perform so well together, too.  Her popularity is totally well deserved.

  Cordelia Chase  (Buffy The Vampire Slayer): Our next Lovable Libby is Cordelia Chase, queen bee of Sunnydale High School.  Like Sissi Delmas, Cordy's another bitch with a heart of gold deep down who stops being so mean as the three seasons of High School progressed and she grew closer to Buffy and her friends. Charisma Carpenter played her with, well, charisma and managed to make her likable and fun even when she was being a bitch.  She always kept a bitchy edge to her that made her a very cool character.  She finished her development when she moved to "Angel" but then her character just got too nice and dull and eventually got unceremoniously offed.  But I'm not going to acknowledge that. 

  Cornelia Hale  (WITCH): A popular girl with a similar sounding name as Cordelia up there, the Guardian of Earth is a vain, arrogant, spoiled girl who is also smart, friendly, and tough.  Cornelia didn't always get along with her friends at first, particularly Will or Irma, but she was always there for them and they were able to warm her initially cold exterior.  She's a very cool character who's also very beatiful and very strong.  Makes it more of a shame what they did to her in the cartoon series, turning her into a vapid, ditzy, whiney, shallow immature, and unentertaining Libby With A Heart Of Gold as opposed to the smarter and more mature Spoiled Sweet character she was in the comics.  Poor Corny didn't deserve that treatment at all...

  Rosalie Hale  (Twilight): A beautiful blonde girl with the same last name as Cornelia up there, she's part of the Cullen "vampire" clan and one of the few decent characters in the ungodly shitty "Twilight" series.  She's shallow and flippant at school, cold and aloof when she's at home, has a pretty interesting backstory, learns to be more warm hearted, and has a disdain for that loathsome sociopath Bella Swan.  Aside from underutilization, what's not to like here?

  Kitten  (Teen Titans): Bratty teenage daughter of the loser superviallin, Killer Moth. Like Veruca, she's an over-the-top example of a spoiled brat and is not portrayed in a positive or sympathetic light at all; in fact, she's downright evil!  But what saves her and puts her here are...1) Her whiney and obnoxious bitchiness is treated as just that in-universe. Everyone, even her own father, hates having to put up with her, so if you dislike her, then that's the intent. In that light, she's rather entertaining. And 2) Though she's many bad things, shallow actually isn't one of them!  She's in love with a boy with a spider for a head, something most girls of her kind (or anyone for that matter) would be freaked the fuck out by, but she's perfectly fine with it! And even though they're non-canon, she shows some hidden depths in the "Titans Go" comics.  Also, she's a pretty cute blonde with the voice of Tara Strong; that counts for something. 

  Toph Bei Fong (Avatar: The Last Airbender):  A blind rich kid, she's on here for being absolutely nothing like the typical spoiled rich girl.  She HATES living a sheltered life and being pampered because of her wealth or her blindness.  She just wants to go out and kick some ass with her earthbending, which of course, she does.
  Ty Lee  (Avatar: The Last Airbender):  A more typical spoiled and shallow character but a cute one who's very perky and upbeat.  Part of a trio of friends with her, Mai, and Azula, Ty Lee's been trained in a martial arts style that lets her cancel out bending powers and used her acrobatic skills in the circus she'd joined and when fighting for Azula.  Ty Lee's ditzy, hyperactive, and impulsive but has some depths of her own.  She wants to be the way she is to stand out and not just be part of a matched set. Her personality is more endearing than Mai's and Olivia Hack gives a perfect performance in the role. The fact that Mike and Bryan didn't really care about her, gave her the shaft in Book Three and ended up putting her in a matched set in the end really upset me. Ty Lee deserved better.

 Princess Ruto  (The Legend of Zelda): Princess of the Zora race in the best video game ever, Ruto's your typical spoiled brat princess and one who's also tomboyish, feisty, independant, stubborn and wreckless to a fault.  These traits got her lost in Jabu Jabu's belly and caused much pain for Link, but she still managed to be amusing in spite of this.  She grows to appreciate Link in the end and even declares herself his fiance! Personally, I liked child Ruto better than her adult counterpart.  She just lost a good deal of her charm as her sexed-up grown up self.

 Liz Allen  (Spider-Man): Pretty, popular blonde girl at Peter Parker's high school, Liz Allen has usually always been playing the role of a Lovable Libby. Though she grew to really like Peter, Peter never showed much romantic interest in her. At least she would've been a better pick than Betty Brant. Aside from the original comics, I like the renditions of Liz in the "Spider-Man loves Mary Jane" series, and in the "Spectacular Spider-Man" TV show, despite some shortcomings.  HATED the "Ultimate" and 90's cartoon series version of her, though.  Those didn't do Liz any justice.
  Felicia Hardy  (Spider-Man): True identity of the Black Cat, a lovely rich girl with platinum blonde hair. Though Liz was no good in the 90's series, Felicia kind of made up for that.  She was a total snob and pretty self absorbed most of the time, but a good person and one who always helped others in need.  She was also a sympathetic character, attracting trouble from the likes of Michael Morbius and Jason Macendale and suffering for it.  She was much prettier, more likable, and more interesting than this show's Mary Jane too.  Jennifer Hale provided a good voice for her character.  All this makes it all the more infuriating that when the time for her to become the Black Cat came, they fucked it up royally. Super Soldier Black Cat sucked. Oh well, poor Felicia...

  Alexis Luthor  (Legion Of Superheroes):  From one episode of the flop that was the "Legion Of Superheroes" animated series, I've talked about Alexis before but I'll say it again; she had lots of potential and deserved more than what she got.  But as my brother put it, her spirit resurfaced in other characters like Nastalasia Luthor and Lori Luthor.
  Phantom Girl  (Legion Of Superheroes): Also from the same series, Phantom Girl was the spoiled daughter of an important politician but one who didn't let her status affect her life too much and get in the way of having fun. She was cute, upbeat, supportive, and likable. One of the series' better characters.  Amusingly enough, she considered Alexis Luthor a rival for some reason or other in that one episode, probably because she had more than her.

  Emma Frost  (Wolverine and the X-Men):  When done right, Emma Frost can be an interesting and entertaining rich bitch.  "Wolverine and the X-Men" was one of the series that did it right.  I didn't care much for the faux Brittish accent that Kari Whalgren used for her, but her character was developed so well that it should've really been called "Emma Frost and the X-men!"  She's super sexy too, as Emma Frost should be.

  Whitney Stane  (Iron Man: Armored Adventures):  One of the only standout characters in this rather lame Iron Man show, along with her father Obadiah, Justin Hammer, and Gene Khon. Making Whitney the teenage daughter of Obadiah Stane was a move of brilliance and it makes for a very interesting and appealing character.  She initially acts like a cold, snobbish rich girl but is actually a very lonely person with a good heart.  She's smart, supportive, and nice to the friends she grows close to, particularly Tony.  Whitney also has issues with her father and this causes her to adopt the identity of the vigilante Madame Masque.  As this, she shows how skilled she is and how much ass she can kick. Sometimes a good guy, sometimes a bad guy, but always an infinitely better female character than Pepper Potts on this show.  I just hope and pray she doesn't go too "Harry Osborn" on us when she gets her memory and thirst for vengeance back in the future...

  Galinda  (Wicked):  The good fairy-to be in the musical "Wicked".  If you've seen it or heard of it's story, you should know the reasoning for this one. She's yet another Lovable Libby who grows into a nicer person over the story's course and the friendship that develops between her and Elphaba is a very touching one indeed.  She's good reason to be  pop-u-lar.

  Amber Von Tussle  (Hairspray):  Teenage daughter of the vain, greedy, prejudiced, almost megalomaniacal Velma Von Tussle.  Amber was as flat and unlikable as damn near every other character in the original "Hairspray" movie, but like the rest, was given much more depth, likablity, and entertainment value in the musical adaptation.  She's shown there to be a rather dense and immature but ambitious girl who wants more than just what her mother is providing for her.  But she's also shallow, arrogant, and mean towards others due to how she's been brought up.  But she's really funny in being so.  In the end, she changes her ways and becomes friends with Tracy, Penny, Seaweed and the rest.  I hated that she got the shaft in the film adaptation of the musical where her role as her mommy's minion and Link's "girlfriend" was greatly reduced, but I did like Brittany Snow's performance in the role.

  Muffy Crosswire (Arthur): Rich daughter of a sleazy businessman and Francine Frenski's best friend. She's a hit-or-miss character, really. Sometimes she's too much of a vapid, spoiled snobbish twit, but most other times she's actually rather nice and less bitchy than Francine can often be. Her many talents, marketing skills, shopahollicness, rich lifestyle and close relationship with her butler Bailey is enjoayble to watch.  Props must be given to Melissa Altro, who gives her an infectiously cheerful sounding voice.

  Beebe Bluff  (Doug): Similar to Muffy, Beebe's also the rich daughter of a corrupt businessman and attends a regular school.  Though spoiled, bossy, and bratty, she's a reasonably nice girl who will be understanding once something is made clear to her. She was a good supporting character in Nickelodeon's "Doug" and while in the Disney series, naming and modeling the middle school after her was a bit too much, I enjoyed the rivalry she had with Roger over which rich bitch had the better stuff. 
  Rhonda Llyod  (Hey Arnold!): Yet another wealthy girl at a school setting, Rhonda was often very spoiled, snarky, immature, and rude towards others.  She'd have to learn to be less self centered and be a nicer person...repeatedly. Yeah, learned lessons never seemed to stick for this girl but whenever she was in focus, she was a pretty likable and entertaining character. Her voice actor was Olivia Hack, who would later do Ty Lee, in one of her earliest roles, so that just adds to Rhonda's coolness.

  Misa Amane (Death Note): Your typical spoiled teen celebrity and certified ditzy blonde, Misa's actually a cute, sweet, vivacious and outgoing girl with a perky attitude and a clever sense of career management. She's got a pretty face, sexy body, and an equally sexy wardrobe too. But she's also very messed up in the head and is a murderer. Yyyyeeeahh, moving on....

  Bulma Briefs  (Dragon Ball): Rich daughter of Dr. Briefs, head of Capsule Corp., Bulma is a bossy, selfish, tempermental, and willful girl who nevertheless has a good heart and will come through when she's needed.  She's also ingenius, inventive, and a little eccentric too. When she completely grew up and stopped being interesting, she and Vegeta concieved a daughter....
  Bura Briefs  (GT):  We see this daughter at the end of "Z" but in "GT" she's a hot-as-hell teenager and one of the best characters in the series.  She doesn't do much in the show but her personality shines whenever she's on-screen; she's as smart, spoiled, bossy, and whiney as Bulma was as a teenager but has the pride, temper, forcefulness and devilish side of Vegeta! She's also flirtatious and a major shopahollic. She was damn cute, likable, and interesting, and I would've rather we seen more of her than Pan.

  Platinum Berlitz  (Pokemon Adventures): The central heroine of the "Diamond/Pearl/Platinum" arc of the manga. Often called "Lady" or "Little Miss", she's a pampered rich girl who goes on a quest to fulfill a coming-of-age family tradition. She's kind hearted and energetic, always wanting to try new experiences in the outside world of Sinnoh that she never had in her sheltered life.  She's also very smart and wise, knowledgable of many things that she's studied about.  Though she comes off as a proud, snobbish bitch towards "commoners" at times, she really means no harm and her maturing, as well as the bond she forms with Dia and Pearl, is a compelling and endearing part of the story.  Also, she totally kicks ass in pokemon battle.  And she's overall a way better and more developed heroine than her anime counterpart of Dawn, a female lead character who fell horribly, horribly flat.
  Giselle  (Pokemon: The Indigo League):  A one-shot character but a very memorable one-shot character.  Top honors student and student council leader at Pokemon Tech, this schoolgirl was a haughty, condescending, insulting, snobbish bitch who was very confident in her knowledge and smarts on pokemon. She came, she battled, she won, she boasted, she battled and lost, and she learned a good lesson in the end and showed her sweeter side in becoming friends with that loser Joe.  She was such a bitch but seemed to enjoy it so much that she ended up being a very entertaining and interesting character for it. Also, she's every bit as hot and pretty as she says.
  Whitney  (Pokemon GS): Another Whitney on this list, this one being the Goldenrod City gym leader and heiress to the Moomoo Farms too. She's fairly ordinary for a rich girl  and is ditzy, clumsy, immature, and shallow, only getting into pokemon because her friends did. She ended up having a natural talent at it and is actually one tough gym leader to beat.  Ignoring her less-than-faithful portrayal in "Pokemon Adventures", she's quite a cool celebrity in the world of Pokemon.
  Lady Venus  (Pokemon Colosseum): Speaking of Pokemon celebrities, there's this chick from Orre. A superstar idol who voices her propaganda in the Under, Venus is also one of the administrators in the evil Cipher syndicate. A sexy young woman with an interesting fashion sense. Though she's a spoiled and ditzy primadona, she's actually very competent and devious at what she does. She's selfish and only in the dark conspiracy for her own personal gain. However, she proves to be a whiner and a coward who very easily calls it quits once things become too hard for her. 
  Lovrina  (Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness):  Another spoiled brat Cipher administrator from the sequel game.  Though the sequel sucked, Lovrina was an even better villainess character than Venus.  She had Venus' attitude and battle style but was carrying out Ein's role in experimenting with shadow pokemon.  Her personality is stuck up, whiney, cutesy, and ditzy, with the valley girl speech pattern of putting "SO" in every sentence. Her charisma, cute looks and hotness got her an in-universe fan club. But, being a scientist, she's actually a very smart evil genius who hides her true brillaince beneath her "Brainless Beauty" demeanor. Her cuteness and affection for cute pokemon also hides the fact that she's a callous sociopath who's willing to commit attrocities without a second thought; unlike Venus, this girl is truly evil at heart. She's funny and frightening, but is at least nice enough to let you into her fan club in the end.  Thanks, I guess?

  Ino Yamanaka  (Naruto):  My favorite female character from this series. A bitchy ninja girl from the Kohona Leaf Village, Ino owes alot to her sexy good looks, likably arrogant personality, amusing antics, and the history she shares with her best friend turned greatest rival Sakura Haruno.  She's also the leader among the loser team of her, Shikamaru, and Chouji and the three of them have some funny interactions.  Beneath her attitude, she's a nice and friendly person and unlike most Nartuo girls, she's one of the few who flat out kicks ass and looks good doing it!

  Ami Kawashima  (Toradora):  A very Lovable Libby. Ami is both a complex character and the only great character on the show. As a hot teen idol, she first comes off as a mean, manipulative, obnoxious bitch posing as a cute, clumsy girl.  But she's actually hiding the real her due to the pressures that life has put on her and learns to come out of her shell with help from Taiga and Ryuji.  Thus a third personality takes shape; while sly, devious, teasing, and snarky, Ami is also friendly, outgoing, helpful, and eager to have a good time.  She's also one of the smartest and wisest characters, having a better understanding of what's going on than anyone else and wanting to move things towards a result.  In the end, Ami really wanted to be special in the hearts of others, and she is, to people in-universe and outside of it.  What a great bro she is!

  Karen  (Metabots): I'm forgetting most of this old, cheap anime but she was your typical Spoiled Sweet rich girl who could also kick ass as both a healer and a fighter in Medabot battles. That warrants her some appreciation.

 Princess Marie Louise  (G Gundam):  Young princess of Neo France who is madly in love with George and he in turn devoted to her.  She's a very cute and sweet girl even if she is a bit of pompous brat, and she's also a tomboy who is more than willing to go out and do things herself if she wants to.  One of my favorite supporting characters in the series.
  Relena Peacecraft  (Gundam Wing): Wealthy rich princess who's also smart, resourceful, strong willed, and always struggling in her quest to make peace in the world and win the heart of Heero Yuy, a guy who, quite frankly, she's way too good for.  She may not be a fighter but she's strong and knows where and when to take innitiative and kick ass.  Poor Relena unfairly recieves rabid hate from the fandumb when really, she's one of the best developed characters in that series.  She later got a successor in Lacus Clyne, who was pretty okay but ultimately inferior for a number of reasons.
  Flay Allster  (Gundam SEED):  Daughter of a wealthy politician and a first class manipulative bitch.  The most I remember about this one is that she recieved a great deal of character development before she was pointlessly killed off in the end. 
  Louise Halevy  (Gundam 00): First season only. Louise was a vapid, immature, but pretty rich girl who formed a sweet and touching relationship with a middle-class boyfriend.  In short, this cutie was MUCH better before she got broken.

  Milly Ashford  (Code Geass): The hot, radical student council president at Ashford Accadamey.  Her wild, wacky antics caused many school fillers but her character was amusing and likable enough that they were endurable.  She's also a very nice person towards others, even when everyone else are a bunch of morally ambiguous assholes.

  Anemone  (Eureka Seven): I talked about her already in my "Super Villainesses" entry but I'll reiterate: Anemone was an engaging, interesting, entertaining, and lovable character. Along with her eventuall boyfriend, Dominic, she was one of the few great characters in that series. I loved her spoiled bitchy attitude and her all-over-the-place personality, her face is adorable, her pink hair and body are hot, her pet animal Gulliver is amusing, and her relationship with Dominic evolved into one of the most heartwarming things in the show.  She was also a total badass who defenitely deserved more time to shine in battle, and more screentime period.  Screw Eureka, I wanted more Anemone; she's waaaay cooler.

  Sherry Belmont  (Zatch Bell): An 18 year old girl from the wealthy Belmont family in France, she's Brago's human partner in the battle to become demon king.  She's also one of the most interesting characters to come out of the series. Cold, cunning, determined, and tough, Sherry endured an abusive childhood and now lets nothing get in her way as she strives to save Koko, her best friend whom she's indebted her life to, from Zofis' control.  She and Brago make a powerful team but strangely, she's be shown to be physically strong enough to kick ass on her own.  Either she took self defense lessons as a kid or her drive is so fierce that she's the female Bruce Wayne!

 Anette and Kathryn  (Cruel Intentions): Two wealthy catholic schoolgirls: Anette (played by Reese Witherspoon) is the bright, pure hearted, firm-willed daughter of the new high school head master, while Kathryn (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) is the intelligent, devious, and manipulative stepsister of Sebastion.  I enjoyed both characters and honestly, I really would've much rather the movie kept it's original ending in which the two of them "ended up together."

  Regina George (Mean Girls): The quintissential high school Libby, Regina is a well portrayed character due to good writing and supberb acting by Rachael Mcadams.  As leader of the "Plastics' clique, she's mean, pushy, petty, stuck-up, shallow, and a total bitch all the time but she still comes off as a character with some depth, even when she's crossed the Moral Event Horizon and torn apart her entire school!  She ends up losing her power in the end but might be better off for it, especially considering where Lindsay Lohan has ended up in real life. \

  Princess Jasmine  (Disney):  The radiantly sexy princess of Agrabah.  She was originally going to be a flat-out spoiled brat character but this was thankfully changed and now she's much sweeter but has a sharp, sly, not-so-nice edge to her that just makes her even cooler.  Jas was a great heroine  in the movie and was well characterized in the spin-off series too.  Why is it that she got such a shaft in the "Kingdom Hearts" series?

  Angelica Pickles  (All Grown Up):  Thanks to her friends, Angelia actually didn't grow up on the road to villainy and was quite the likable, self-centered spoiled teenage girl with a heart of gold in the "All Grown Up" spin-off series.

  Courtney  (Total Drama):  How she was portrayed in "Island" and the first 13 episodes of "World Tour", as opposed to the crazy, bitchy brat that she is everywhere else. When written in-character, Courtney's a smart, nice, cute, helpful good girl who just happens to also be spoiled, uptight, ultra competetive, and arrogant over her status as a SIT. But she's coming from an understandable position and at least doesn't threaten to call her lawyers and sue anytime she doesn't get her way.  Her relationship with Duncan was also perfectly well done in "Island" before it got fucked up to Hell and back in the following seasons.
  Lindsay  (Total Drama): A spoiled ditz who's usually sweet and innocent but has her own devious side to her. She was often very funny and very likable, even if her intelligence was inconsitently portrayed.
  Heather  (Total Drama): And lastly there's Heather.  She may not be too spoiled, but man is she a bitch.  But she became a lovable, respectable one as of "World Tour."

  Daphne Blake  (Scooby Doo):  She's more portrayed as spoiled in "A Pup Named Scooby Doo" and "Mystery Incorperated", but in both she's endering and amusing.  She's very good looking, too, and her and Fred have one of the best character relationships in the series.

  Kimmy  (Sym Biotic Titan):  The show didn't get far but this Kim Possible expy developed nicely as a character for the time she had.  Starting off as a stereotypical high school villain, she actually revealed she had depths to her and grew close enough to Octus to accept going out with him. She was quite likable and also gave us the most fanservice-y scene in the show.

 Tammy  (The Amazing Spiez):  I don't actually know alot about this one, but she gets here 'cause her character design and Stephanie Beard's voice are adorable.