I personally suggest:

Hagio Moto: she helped pioneer the shoujo and science fiction genres
---> Marginal explores gender roles in a single gender society and (spoiler: in the end a girl rejoices at not being reduced to her uterus)
---> Matt Thorn (v. respected manga academic/translator) gushes on Hagio's works on his blog

Gals! by Fujii Mihona
- this was my girl power bible. there is also an anime supergals!, but it can be annoying whereas the manga is always incredible. you should also check out the mangaka's other works.

also, anything by Yazawa Ai should fit your bill, particularly:
I am not an Angel (Tenshi nanka ja nai) --> (possible spoiler) main character tells friend to not give up her dream for her boyfriend

Kodomo no Omocha by Obana Miho
- very strong female lead

Sailor Moon
- manga makes the girls much stronger than the anime. also, see ---> Sailor V

Shimura Takako: Wandering Son (Hourou Musuko) and Aoi Hana and other works

• While wandering son doesn't have a female lead, due to the premise of exploring gender roles (main character occasionally dresses as a girl), tends to focus on other cast members to highlight differences

Mori Kaoru's works feature strong chracters: Emma and Otoyomegatari
---> her work is quite slow compared to most manga

Avatar: The Last Airbender
- while not the lead character, very strong females in the main cast

Tips:

• Search through all of an author's works who you've liked
  +search suggestion list for similar stories on work's mangaupdates page

• Check out older/classic manga titles in shoujo/josei

• In fact, check out josei titles --> they tend to be more complex than shoujo titles

• Look for manga that have a plot beyond winning a guy's heart

• Look for award winning manga, as they tend to be more complex.

Interesting Articles/Blogs on Gender roles in manga/anime/Japan:

http://www.mit.edu/~rei/manga-gender.html

http://gaggingonsexism.wordpress.com/
---> reviews works for strong female characters: books, manga, cartoons, etc.

Great Book (nonfiction):

• How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
  --> humorous, feminist (gender equality) book. you can check out youtube for clips of her reading/explaining what the book is about

I could keep going on and on, but I'm sure you have plenty of recs to get started on.

Oh yeah I'd go with The Dresden Files for a strong female lead but I wouldn't recommend for the OP it since it's mostly focus on the main character (a guy). It's a pretty good series if you want to get out of girls' romance and pick up something more guys' stuff in urban fantasy. Codex Alera series from the same author, Jim Butcher, is probably a better one with strong female lead. Even though this series has the protagonist as a guy, you can still say that there are 2 other protagonists with different story lines in there and both of them are pretty strong will. I haven't read many novels yet but Jim Butcher knows how to brew a passionate/wild/lustful romance moment and sometimes he uses it at the right time.

I have only read maybe a dozen other fantasy novel series and I wouldn't recommend them for female leads since most of them are just 'average girl trying to live in an insane world using her not-so-average abilities'.

Quote from Oddwaffle

Oh yeah I'd go with The Dresden Files for a strong female lead but I wouldn't recommend for the OP it since it's mostly focus on the main character (a guy). It's a pretty good series if you want to get out of girls' romance and pick up something more guys' stuff in urban fantasy. Codex Alera series from the same author, Jim Butcher, is probably a better one with strong female lead. Even though this series has the protagonist as a guy, you can still say that there are 2 other protagonists with different story lines in there and both of them are pretty strong will. I haven't read many novels yet but Jim Butcher knows how to brew a passionate/wild/lustful romance moment and sometimes he uses it at the right time.

True about the Dresden Files~I kind of just thought of that before I read the bold letters that it needs to be focused on a girl 🤣
Hmm...I only read the first book of Codex Alera. How are the other books in the series?

Quote from Oddwaffle

I have only read maybe a dozen other fantasy novel series and I wouldn't recommend them for female leads since most of them are just 'average girl trying to live in an insane world using her not-so-average abilities'.

I agree that many fantasy novels lack good female leads. They often get on my nerves...like the last book I read, Runelords by David Farland. Girl protagonist is so annoyingly useless besides her "political power" which she will probably push onto her lover in the near future (easy to tell it's going that way). Brandon Sanderson sometimes makes me want to bash my head open on some of his novels/scenes too lol. At least Vin from Mistborn was plain uber in battles. She was definitely not an average girl...way beyond average. 😎

However, I wouldn't give up on fantasy novels. There are some gems out there~many of them written by women and are easily relate-able. I believe Robin Hobb did just that in her Liveship series. Main protagonist, Althea, may come off as a slightly annoying...headstrong girl. But she is perfectly capable (even excels) in fulfilling her role as a ship crew member...and eventually captain. She is in fact going against the established custom of her country-males man/captain the family merchant ships while women stay at home and handle finances.
Hobb tries to portray women in her novels (well, in Farseer, Liveship, and Tawny Man) equivalent or even better than men who hold the same positions. They are people who excel as soldiers, officers, powerful wizard things, etc.

sorry...I just fan-gushed. I'll try to stop hijacking this thread 🤢

[img]http://myanimelist.net/signature/BlueHaro.png[/img] [img]http://www.squiby.net/view/2309690.png[/img]

If you're looking for novels, I recommend the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, starting from Magic Bites. It's fantasy with a very strong and likable heroine.

Quote from BlueHaro

However, I wouldn't give up on fantasy novels. There are some gems out there~many of them written by women and are easily relate-able.
...

You made me think of some. 🤣

The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold. Fiesty teenage heroine wants to carry on her father's legacy as a goldsmith/magic user. Set in more or less Florence of the 16th century (as I recall). There is a sweet moment when the reader knows she will have her romance even as she thinks she has missed it. Bujold is most known for her Miles Vorkosigan series of science fiction. The first in the series, Shards of Honor, a sort of prequel, introduces the very strong Cordelia Naismith - the romance curls my toes even yet.

Piratica by Tanith Lee. A girl living in a school for proper young ladies hits her head, and 'wakes up' to the realization that she is the daughter of a pirate queen, so promptly reassembles the old crew to go adventuring. However Art has made a mistake... The romance is beautiful. There is a sequel, though I have not read it.

I used to read quite a bit of Barbara Hambly. All her women are strong. Some of the ones with a female protagonist and a romance that I recommend:
Bride of the Rat God - fantasy/mystery set in Prohibition-era Hollywood
The Windrose Chronicles, 3 in the series, starting with The Silent Tower
Stranger at the Wedding, Gothic romance / fantasy
Sun Wolf and Starhawk series, starting with The Ladies of Mandrigyn. The woman Starhawk is a co-protagonist, and is the mercenary captain Sun Wolf's second-in-command.
Dragonsbane features an already-together couple. I did not like what Hambly put them through in later follow-up volumes, but Dragonsbane is IMO one of the best dragon books ever.

Anime too. huh?

Canaan
Mouretsu Space Pirates Marika is cool but dat PRESIDENT
Michiko to Hatchin
Ergo Proxy
Rinne no Lagrange because Madoka is so MARU~

[img]http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q554/Tallyhoo7/1328594175117.gif[/img]

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. BRS might work too, but while BRS kicks ass - Mato not so much,

So no one has noticed that the last relevant post before today's happened almost a year ago, I guess. In any case since it is on the front page again, now, my recommedations.
Princess Nine
Twelve Kingdoms
Seirei No Moribito
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Michiko to Hatchin
Tsukikage Ran

Battle Angel Alita
Hayate x Blade
Cross Game
Over Rev!
Pumpkin Scissors
Appleseed
Itsumo Misora
Murder Princess
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
and anything Boogiepop

Sarcasm just doesn't work over the internet.

For Anime:
Cross Game
(Its A Baseball Focused Kinda Anime) (Has Romance and Smart Female Lead) ( The Female Lead is In The Boys Baseball Team)
[Since its Baseball Focus The Games Tend To Last 4 Episodes] [Since its A Sport I Hope U Wouldn't Mind The Anime]

For Manga:
Beauty Pop
(A Strong and Blunt Female Lead) (Romance) XD
[A manga Focusing into Hair Cutting)

Beauty is the Beast
(Strong Female Lead) (Lovable Female Person) (Romance)
{Although the Ending its Unsatisfactory}