Animated
Utena Tenjou
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Utena is, in my opinion, one of the greatest characters and shows of all time. She's deep, complex, charitable, brave, and the kind of person most people want to be more like. She defends people weaker than her, she's not afraid to take chances, and she does everything with dignity. even in the episodes where she deals with personal struggle, she only becomes vulnerable, never weak.
Mulan
Mulan (1998)
Mulan's onscreen struggle to try (and fail) to live up to patriarchal expectations is a highly relatable one pretty much everywhere, especially to young tomboys as I once was. The songs Reflection and I'll Make a Man Out of You still make me weep. The movie never tries to depict Mulan as able to fight men one-on-one, rather she uses her intelligence to strategize and gain the advantage in combat situations.
Daria Morgendorffer
Daria
Daria shook my world the first time I watched the show when I was in fourth grade. She's sarcastic, intelligent, resisted femininity, and has no problem telling everyone around her how dumb they are. The show's politics are still very relevant in a time when feminism in the US seems to be moving backwards.
Sailor Jupiter / Makoto Kino
Sailor Moon
Sailor Jupiter aka Makoto Kino was tall, tough, and unafraid to fight. For a girl in school, this tends to hurt one's popularity, and this was the case for Makoto. I related to this a lot. Her tendency to completely obsess over attractive guys she didn't know was also, sadly, very relatable.
Princess Bubblegum
Adventure Time
Despite her initially sweet (harhar) appearance, Princess Bubblegum is very much a morally grey character. She used her self-taught knowledge of science to make her own kingdom of living, sentient candy people. She preemptively attacked other kingdoms she thought might pose a threat to her own. She created a mass surveillance system and experimented on living beings. But she also created order and prosperity in a world that was just a wasteland.
Katara
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Katara is the unsung hero of Avatar: The Last Airbender and one of the most iconic overtly feminist characters in recent fiction. Her advocacy for her sex is never framed as a bad thing by the show. On the contrary, if it weren't for her angry rant at her brother for not appreciating her domestic labor, they never would have found Aang in the iceberg and freed him. She is very much the heart of the show. And her greatness goes beyond that - she keeps the group together through hard times, she's determined, and she's unafraid of standing up for what's right even if she knows she'll be maligned for her efforts.
Toph
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Toph's introduction to the series, beating up a large man in a Pro Wrestling-style match, is everything you need to know about her character. She's laid back, she's tough, and she's that rare kind of arrogant that has been fully earned.
Korra
Avatar: Legend of Korra
Korra is the opposite of her monk predecessor - she's cocky and hot headed. And after being raised in isolation, her cockiness gets constantly tested by reality. Her journey of ups and downs is a particularly brutal one. I didn't not fully appreciate the show and her character on my first watch through, but upon rewatches I think Legend of Korra surpasses The Last Airbender in its depth of exploration of spirituality and morality. Korras story is all about changes and how she deals with them.
Azula
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Azula is a perfect tremble-before-me kind of leader. She rules everyone through fear - her subjects, her friends, and even her brother. She isn't distracted by frivolities, her only real interest is power. Even her relationship with her father is mostly concerned with how she will wield power through him.
Princess Mononoke
Princess Mononoke
As someone who resents civilization and questions the wisdom of our ancestors in leaving the forests to live in cities, Princess Mononoke has a special place in my heart. I also obviously fell in love with the idea of living in the forest and being best friends with wolves, only worrying about what I need to eat and if anyone is fucking with my forest home.