Character: Marinette Dupain-Cheng

From: Miraculous Ladybug

Representation: Racial (biracial; half-Chinese and half-Caucasian) and disorders (anxiety)

Their Importance: Marinette is kind, brave, and thoughtful. She concerns herself more with other people than herself, and she is a biracial Asian superhero (I believe the second to lead a show after Daisy Johnson). Her anxiety is never named, but it is clearly there. Her mind goes off on tangents that she cannot stop or even recognize is happening until someone else intervenes. On top of all this, Miraculous Ladybug is a children’s show and enables young people to see themselves on the screen, whether it be by the fact that she’s a woman, Asian, biracial, anxious, or a combination thereof.

Thanks to @squirrelstone for the write up! 

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts Triple Post

Character: Kipo Oak

Representation: Mixed race (Korean and black) 

Their Importance: She has a heartwarmingly close relationship with her father and there are also scenes focused on her grief over her mother’s passing, instead of it being brushed aside as is common in cartoons. She’s naïve at points but still manages to resolve a lot of situations with her compassion and she’s sharper than you’d expect when it comes to dealing with a diverse range of people- in a way that’s emotionally convincing rather than typical cartoon saccharine-ness. Plus it looks like the main myth arc is going to be centered on her mysterious powers and their as-of-yet unspoken origins.

Character: Wolf

Representation: Black, Abuse survivor

Their Importance: She’s the biggest badass in the whole series, never mind that she’s only eleven. She’s a skilled survivalist with an unflappable attitude and is the main reason Kipo’s still alive. She’s isn’t just a kid version of the stereotypical “strong black woman” though. We learn her tragic backstory later in the series and it’s made painfully clear how this still affects her and that she’s still a child in need of her friends’ support. Happily, she gets it. It’s still aggravatingly common for the suffering of black characters, in particular, to be glossed over and/or used as an opportunity for white savior-ism so her being comforted and supported by Kipo was beautiful to see.

Edit: Wolf is also an abuse survivor - she was raised by a pack of wolves who later were cruel to her and attempted to kill her. Although it has not been confirmed, she shows symptoms similar to PTSD; Wolf has shown to be triggered in situations and experience flashbacks, as well as having trust issues as a result of her experience. 

Character: Benson

Representation: Black, Gay

Their Importance: He’s a savvy survivor who still manages to be surprisingly kind-hearted, gives some good funny lines without being regulated to comic relief status and provides a bunch of the awesome songs on the absolutely astounding soundtrack. What’s really notable is how unambiguous his sexuality is in comparison with other recent attempts at LGBTIA+ rep in kid’s cartoon. He outright tells Kipo he’s gay when she attempts to flirt with him in episode 6 (a scene a lot of fans went nuts for) and it’s accepted with no comment. His sexuality isn’t a huge plot point but it’s not restricted to a single one-off reference- during an episode focused on the protagonists’ greatest fantasies he imagines being a musician with a crowd of admiring fanboys and in the season finale he falls in love with a burrow boy who complements him complete with sparkly visual effects.  

Thanks to anon for the write-up!

Character: Miko Kubota 

From: Glitch Techs

Representation: Biracial (half-Japanese), Disorder (ADHD) 

Their Importance: I don’t remember how many times I said “Oh I do that” while watching the show, but it was a lot because Miko reminds me so much of myself. It’s clear that the writers understand how ADHD actually works- Miko being unable to focus on things she isn’t interested in or doesn’t view as importat to her is clear throughout the show, so is her hyperfocusing on things she does like (like games). I found that very relatable, and it also feels important to mention Miko isn’t shamed for that and is still able to have awesome adventures and save the day. She and her friend High Five are both POC (she’s biracial and he’s Latino), which also felt pretty great to see since there still aren’t many shows with nonwhite main cast (and most supporting characters are also people of color).

Issues: I guess an issue could be that her ADHD is stated by one of the creators rather than in the actual show, but I’d say it’s still as clear as it can be without being confirmed (and as far as representation goes, this was well written and realistic).

Thanks to anon for the write-up!