My 10 Favourite Nice Girls

In this day and age, there's one thing I feel is gravely undervalued and looked down upon by society. And that's kindness. A lot of people see kindness as a weakness and that being nice to others is "naïve" or "idealistic" or some garbage like that. To those people, I say they don't know any better. Kindness is one of mankind's greatest strengths and we could achieve so much more if we were all nice to one another and focused more on uniting, not dividing, others together and prioritizing kindness to others above trying to be on top.

And so I'm making this list to celebrate niceness and why it's a strength and not a weakness. And who better to demonstrate that then a list about Nice Girls? It's a common trope in media and while it might seem a bit stereotypical to make the girl character in a story the nice one, it's still an effective trope that makes it easy to like a lot of these characters. And we do get Nice Boys as well so it's not like it's a gender exclusive trope. For now, this list is on the Nice Girls but I may do one for the boys in the future. I DO believe in gender equality unlike some people in the world today...

This list is in no particular order. Also there will be a strict "one character per franchise" rule for the countdown. I don't want too many characters from one franchise here. If I did, a majority of this list would be mostly Pokémon girls. XD

So without further ado, let's give credit and praise to the girls in media who are the biggest demonstrations of kindness and compassion to others and show why their nice traits are what make them as strong and likeable as they are. This is my list of 10 Favourite Nice Girls...

1: Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service

I only saw the movie for the first time back in 2023 and already she's become one of my favourite fictional characters PERIOD. Also a couple of weeks ago, I reviewed the movie and gushed about why this witch is so damn precious so you shouldn't be surprised I've got her on the list.

Kiki takes away a lesson from her mother that being a good witch means having a good heart, and you better believe she sticks to that lesson. Kiki is all round a very sweet and kind person, ignoring the way she's a jerk to Tombo for no reason, and it's so easy to see why the town of Koriko came to love her as much as we did when watching the movie. The first thing she ends up doing is offering to return a baby's pacifier after it was left behind at Osono's bakery. She didn't even know that woman or her baby and yet she used her flying powers to return the pacifier anyway, and of course didn't ask to be repaid for it. She was just happy to help out. And as the movie goes on, we see her helping Osono and her husband around the bakery, carrying out her delivery service and taking it very seriously to make sure the deliveries are done on time and nothing goes amiss, helps Madame get her pie baked, helps Ursula at her cabin and even models for her painting and to top it all off, she saves Tombo's life during the climax. This girl is just an absolute sweetheart and I love her for it. We should be more like Kiki and be as nice and helpful as she is. ^^

And while I said in my review that I didn't really get Kiki's problem with Tombo, even he isn't exempt from her niceness as despite feeling awkward about him, she does try to make it in time for the party he was inviting her to and was deeply apologetic about missing it and also missing him the day after due to being sick and later joined him for a test flight with his bicycle propeller. It was unfortunate that Tombo's friends had to give her that outsider feeling again otherwise we might've seen Kiki and Tombo bonding some more. Still, it says how nice this girl is when even if she doesn't particularly like someone she'll try and give them the time of day and eventually warm up to them. It really does feel like this girl couldn't ever hate any one no matter what they're like. Though I imagine even she can't have anything nice to say about Madame's ungrateful granddaughter...

As is, Kiki is on the list for what a nice and helpful person she is and how her kindness impacts the people she meets to the point they want to reward her in return even if she may not ask for it. Look at how Madame made that cake for her or how Ursula seemed to have a new drive after meeting her. This witch sure didn't need to cast any spells to earn her spot on the list. Her kind nature is her true power if you ask me...

2: Liko from Pokémon Horizons

Who's even surprised this sweetheart is on the list? Nobody following this blog should be at this point. XD

With Pokémon girls, there's A LOT of good choices for who to put on this list given Nice Girls a dime-a-dozen in that franchise. Dawn, Serena and Lillie are especially top contenders but in the end, Liko won by a slight margin and that's because I feel as the main character of the new anime, Liko's in a more interesting position than those before her and also I feel it's nice to give the new girl some spotlight, though no disrespect to Dawn, Serena or Lillie as I love them for their kind personalities too. As is, Liko makes the count and she more than deserves it in my eyes. Liko is an absolute sweetheart and it's precisely that as to why she's won me over like so and continues to do so as Pokémon Horizons continues. She always wants to help people and will show kindness to near enough anyone, even someone who's face she hasn't even seen like with Dot back when the show started. Over the course of the series she has proven to be reliable and hard-working to the point of doing all the chores on the airship by herself while the rest of the crew were out and about in town, thoughtful of others to the extent that she wanted to include Dot and Ludlow in the picnic her friends were hosting despite them not being the outdoors-y type and her greatest desire as a trainer is to understand the feelings of Pokémon. Nothing says kind like someone who wants to understand the feelings of others.

What also makes Liko interesting is how she can be nice to a fault and while the show kinda made it a personality flaw out of nowhere, it's still interesting that they're going in this direction with her and I think she's taken it to heart since in Season 2 she's become more confident and ready to fight since last time and hasn't thrown any battles in an attempt to be nice so good that her development's been sticking lately. But her kindness in the show is certainly nothing to fault her for as it inspired Dot to be more open and come out of her shell more, it led to her befriending and even catching a Hatenna for her team, she helped a trainer and her Oinkologne find a partner for a tag-team tournament, she helped Murdock and an old friend of his make up and settle old grievances and she's the one who can actually unlock Terapagos's capabilities. Her own grandmother couldn't get it to come out of the pendant she was given but Liko managed it! And when you consider how her grandmother passed the pendant down to her, it must say that even Diana can see what a kind soul Liko is where she'd give it to her in particular.

Liko keeps up the tradition of Pokémon girls being nice, friendly and lovable people to be around and I look forward to seeing what will result from her kindness in future episodes. Any Pokémon she catches is lucky to have her as a trainer...

3: Luz Noceda from The Owl House

I'd be crazy not to put this sweet potato on the list.

I think when it comes to Nice Girls, Luz is one of the most recent examples that people will bring up and you better believe that she captured our hearts with how adorable, geeky and sweet she can be. I like to imagine that Camila being an absolute sweet and loving mother might've played a big part in Luz's nice nature and it sure pays off throughout the show. Despite being in a world very different from her own, she doesn't judge or discriminate based on appearance of species, only by personality, and while in the Boiling Isles it's clear she'd much rather make friends than enemies. Even when Amity was in her bully phase, she was more interested in reaching out and befriending her even if Amity wasn't interested at the time. And yet eventually, Luz's kindness warmed Amity's heart to the point she became a lot nicer and friendlier herself and would eventually become Luz's girlfriend. To anyone that thinks being kind is a sign of weakness, I ask them to watch Luz and dare tell me otherwise. I mean her kindness got someone to stand up to their abusive mother and strive to be a better person! You dare tell me that's not a sign of true strength!

Of course, Luz isn't nice to a fault and she does have her limits as any normal person would. She doesn't tolerate bullies and she sure as hell isn't going to be sticking up for Emperor Belos anytime soon. But to those that deserve it, she is nothing but nice and supportive to them and seems to be a bright light that they really needed in their lives such as Gus, Willow, Amity and even Hunter. Well as Amity herself put it best, she does have a habit of sneaking into people's hearts. I know she's snuck into mine. ^^ And it's her kindness and desire to help others that ultimately drove her to taking action and aiming to save the Boiling Isles from The Collector and Emperor Belos. If anyone could prove to them not all humans are bad, it was easily her.

Luz Noceda was just the right human to end up in the Demon Realm and she sure sets a better example of our race than Emperor Belos ever did. Camila must he so proud to have a daughter like her.

4: Mulan from Mulan

My favourite Disney heroine naturally has to make the list. The Disney Animated movie canon has A LOT of great choices and if this list didn't have a one character per franchise rule, more of them would've made the cut with Belle, Anna, Pocahontas, Esmeralda, Cinderella and Snow White all being worthy contenders. But in the end, my favourite of them all has to take the top spot.

Do I even need to go into detail at this point? Everyone knows what a kind and selfless person Mulan is. I mean in terms of good deeds, NOTHING can top willing to risk your own life by taking your father's place in a war just to save his own life and bring honour to the family! Keep in mind that at the time Mulan is set in, women weren't allowed to be soldiers and the penalty was death, yet Mulan was willing to brave that as well just to save her family! That's what happens when bravery drives you towards acts of kindness as big as this one, you do stuff like this that few others would dare to. And that for me is what makes Mulan such a great example of how kindness is a strength. If she wasn't as nice as she was, she wouldn't have ended up where she is now and China would've been doomed. And before anyone says anything, no, do NOT bring up the sequel and do NOT use that as a weapon against Mulan to discredit everything I've said. That did NOT happen! There is no sequel, you hear me?! X(

Mulan's niceness not only drove her to acts of pure bravery and showing off true courage amongst her fellow soldiers, but it also helped her befriend people she initially got off to a bad start with. Even when she was outed as a woman, Yao, Chien-Po and Ling were still on her side and have nothing bad to say about her. Talk about leaving a positive impact on people, am I right? And let's not forget how Shang was drawn to her in the end because of what a strong, fearless and compassionate warrior she is. The Emperor was right to tell him we don't find a girl like that every dynasty. Mulan truly is one of a kind and I think we can all learn something from her, to be as brave as we can and let our compassion for others bring out our true strength. Very inspirational if you ask me.

Mulan: a woman who's compassion and courage most certainly brought honour to us all...

5: Millie from Helluva Boss

I bet everyone reading this is surprised she's here since I probably don't come off as the kind of guy who would watch Helluva Boss. Well, I do and Millie's one of my favourite things about the show, as underdeveloped as she sadly is.

I imagine some might find it odd that Millie of all characters is on this list. I mean she works for I.M.P. and is an assassin for hire who can get VERY brutal in how she kills her victims. That doesn't sound very sweet or nice, does it? Well, yeah it doesn't but Millie is also notorious for being one of the nicer members of I.M.P. in spite of that. Yeah, when Millie's not busy ripping people apart, she's actually pretty sweet and friendly by nature and she displays that with her cheery attitude and of course, whenever she's with her ever-loving husband Moxxie. I kid you not when I say those two have most of the heart-warming moments in Helluva Boss. And if you want another example of what a sweet person Millie is outside of her work, her and Moxxie have the most stable relationship in all of Hell. All the other characters have strained or struggling relationships or some kind of drama weighing on them but not Millie and Moxxie. They're as lovey-dovey and saccharine as they can get and it's so wholesome to watch. It also says a lot about how nice Millie is when she's the one with the healthiest relationship of anyone else in Hell. Heck, even her family disapproving of her marriage with Moxxie doesn't ruin her mood any and she's still loving towards them. If you can still show love to your family even if they don't like who you're married to, that has to say how nice you are.

I think for many fans, Millie's ultimate display of kindness and how nice she can be is how she was the most willing to stand up to Moxxie's horrible father Crimson and how she tore through his forces to save her husband from a forced marriage Crimson tried to arrange with him. Nothing says nice like a girl who'll butcher others to save your life, am I right? XD But overall, if you want nice Millie to stick around then don't threaten or endanger her husband any, and especially don't try and steal her from him. As she makes very clear, this ass is HER'S! Oh and let's not forget how in the "Unhappy Camping" episode, she was such a nice and approachable person that she even managed to win over the humans at the camp while Moxxie couldn't. Yes it was all an act but given Millie's pretty nice by nature, it's not like she needed to put up much of an act.

Millie is one of those examples where even overly violent people can be nice and her friendly personality does make her pretty adorable, as does her relationship with Moxxie, and it's easy to see why he fell for her. Badass, nice and willing to do anything for her husband's sake, Millie sure makes for one hell of an entry on this list.

6: Téa Gardner from Yu-Gi-Oh!

No I'm not gonna make a "friendship speech" joke. That crap's been overdone already and besides, Téa doesn't actually do it THAT often. It's just a dumb joke that Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series started up. As is, Téa more than qualifies for the countdown.

I imagine some Yu-Gi-Oh! fans might look down on Téa as she kinda started the whole trend with Yu-Gi-Oh! being unable to write female characters that aren't damsels in distress, brainwashed minions of the villains, useless cheerleaders or all three at once but I think while Téa falls in the useless cheerleader category, I still really like her regardless. Also she's one of the only characters in the franchise to have 100% win rate so she's clearly not THAT useless. XD Anyway, Téa is an example of how you don't have to be a badass and win duels all the time to be likeable for even if she doesn't play with the big boys so to speak, she's still a valuable member of the team with her kind nature and big heart making her the voice of reason among Yugi and his friends. She's usually the one that can keep the team together even during bad times and is the most level-headed compared to the boys, even if she can have her moments of hot-headedness too. No joke, angry Téa's a hoot to watch let me tell you. XD

To give you an idea on what a kind soul Téa is, she was willing to try helping out the mysterious Pharoah inhabiting the Millennium Puzzle even if she's not really sure how to. The episode where she and Atem go out and about on the town and face Johnny Two-Steps was a good showcase of her nice personality and seeing her and Atem together was quite wholesome. No I don't mean that in a shipping way. =P Téa was also there to keep Atem's spirits up during the Waking the Dragons arc when his actions caused Yugi to lose his soul, which was also nice to see. And let's not forget how during the time Joey was possessed by Marik, Téa was so concerned for Joey's sister Serenity that she tempted her to keep her bandages over her eyes so the poor girl wouldn't end up seeing her brother corrupted by evil. If that's not nice, I dunno what is. Also keep in mind that out of Yugi's friends, Téa was the only one who wasn't a jerk originally. Joey and Tristan were bullies who would pick on him and would become friends with Yugi when he stood up for them against another bully but Téa was never like that. I like to think it was her nice nature that caused Yugi to befriend her in the first place.

While she wasn't the most useful character in terms of duelling skills in the original series, Téa was more useful than people gave her credit for as the heart of the team and I guarantee the group would've fallen apart without her. It's no wonder Yugi, Joey and Tristan have her as part of the team. Who wouldn't want to hang out with a woman as kind and loving as Téa?

7: Wonder Woman from the DC Universe

How can THE quintessential heroine who's known for being nice and loving miss out on this countdown. She's also my favourite superhero so she had to make the count.

Wonder Woman is the most famous superheroine ever created and a lot of that comes down from her iconic design, her strength and power, her ties to Greek heritage and how she's a feminist icon who has inspired many over the years. But while all of those things are noteworthy traits about Wonder Woman and what makes her as famous and recognizable as she is, one of the things that truly makes Wonder Woman's character is how she's one of the kindest and most loving heroes in the DC Universe. While modern interpretations of the character sadly forget that aspect of the character and make her more colder and cynical in nature (looking at you current comics and the DCAU) and she is one of the Justice League members most willing to kill (only if necessary), Wonder Woman was noteworthy for being a very nice by nature. It's to the point where she'll often try to redeem and befriend her enemies, more so than the likes of other heroes like Superman, Batman and others. Heck, she once befriended a tree. No I'm serious! She's the Goddess of Truth and the embodiment of love in the DC Universe (when writers actually remember that aspect of her character) and you can see as such with how she'll show kindness even to her worst enemies. Though I doubt she'll ever show any of that to people like Ares, they're kinda below any niceness from her. XD

Still, Wonder Woman's kind nature is to the point that the first thing she does when a man crash-lands on Themyscira is to save his life and tend to him as seen in 2017's fantastic Wonder Woman movie. Man is forbidden on Themyscira and yet here she is saving the life of one and not judging them just by their gender as her fellow Amazons would most likely do. And when she comes to Man's World, her kindness is so absolute that she becomes a superhero just as people like Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, The Flash and many more have and her acts as a superhero only show just what a generous soul she is from looking after animals to working at a Taco Bell (yes that really happened) and not seeing the work as beneath her, becoming an ambassador for peace between Themyscira and Man's World, saved the world from the most evil of Gods numerous times, participated in WWI against the Nazis and helped to take them down and much more. Wonder Woman truly is an example of how true strength doesn't come from having the biggest muscles or being the most powerful being in the universe, but from having a lot of love and kindness in your heart, strong moral values and tremendous compassion for others.

Strong, powerful, beautiful and incredibly loving, Wonder Woman is a true wonder to behold and she's more than worthy of calling herself a hero...

8: Mrs. Brisby from The Secret of NIMH

How could I possibly not include one of animation's best mothers on this list? She went through hell and back to save her sick son! If that doesn't say "Nice Girl", I dunno what does!

For those who many not know, Mrs. Brisby is the main protagonist of Don Bluth's animated masterpiece, The Secret of NIMH, and even to this day many media enthusiasts, animation fans and movie buffs cite Mrs. Brisby is among the strongest female characters in all of media. I'm inclined to agree on that part and all because of how she's written in the movie. Mrs. Brisby isn't some badass superheroine or snarky tough-talking Action Girl, but she's just an average mother living an average life and is easily scared of just about everything. So yeah, she's very much in the everyman category (or should that be everymouse?) and as a result, it only makes her achievements in the story that much more impressive. At first, Mrs. Brisby is shown to be a meek and easily frightened mother who clearly cares for her children to the point where even when scolding them, she's still patient and gentle with them. And then you take into account her entire motivation is to save her sick son whose bed bound with pneumonia. She says "I'll do anything to save Timmy. ANYTHING." and that's no exaggeration.

To recap, she tries to stop the farmer's tractor from destroying her home, she goes to the Great Owl despite worrying he'll eat her, she braves the strange and mysterious territory of the Rats of NIMH to meet with Nicodemus, she volunteers to drug Dragon the Cat so he can't interfere with the mission to move her home and then to top it all off, she's able to activate the stone's power and save her family from drowning in mud in the end. Someone give this mouse the "Mother of the Year" award already, she more than deserves it!

Thank you!

Mrs. Brisby is the personification of motherly love and what it's truly like to be a parent who truly loves their children. While there are plenty of mothers in media who are clearly as loving as she is, her achievements stand out all the more because of how she's such an easily frightened mouse and yet she doesn't let that get in her way or stop her from saving her son. I think I can see why Jonathan Brisby married this girl, he was clearly attracted to her for her kindness and sweet nature. Needless to say, he couldn't have asked for a better wife. I like to think he's looking down on her now and thinking to himself "That's my girl..." after all she's done...

9: Cosmo from Sonic X

I'll never understand why the writers thought it was a good idea to kill Cosmo off at the end of Sonic X. With how sweet and nice she is, who would possibly want to kill her off? I'd have spared her, no doubt about it but that's neither here nor there.

Sonic X is a mixed bag to be sure with its confusing story-telling priorities, questionable handling of its adaptations of the games and how Sonic himself feels like a side-character in his own show but Season 3 of the show was when it improved a lot for me thanks to ditching Earth, giving Chris less screen-time and focus, having a darker tone, having a more serialized story and giving us more threatening antagonists in the form of the Metarex. But of course, one of the best things Season 3 gave us was Cosmo, this precious little alien plant girl whom I want to protect at all costs because she's so darn sweet. If you have anything bad to say about Cosmo then you have no soul, simple as that. I was always drawn to Cosmo thanks to her sympathetic backstory and unique design that made her stand out from other Sonic girls but it was her sweet personality and how she interacts with the cast that really made her enjoyable for me. She's such a kind and loving soul that even someone as grumpy as Knuckles is able to get on with her. Hell, even Eggman seems to have developed a soft spot for her because he scolded Black Narcissus for hurting her and Chris...despite being the same guy who once threatened to crush her in his mech's hand so yeah, what the hell Eggman? =P

Still, Cosmo makes fast friends with Sonic and the others and nobody is able to say anything bad about her because of what a nice girl she is. She's so nice that she tried to throw a surprise party for everybody as a token of thanks for how nice everyone's been to her. And it's especially admirable that she's as sweet as she is because remember, she's the lone survivor of the Seedrian race (not the name of her species, the fans made it up) after the Metarex wiped them out and she has tremendous survivor's guilt as a result. Yet despite all she's been through and how she's lost so much, she remains as gentle and kind as she is and is even able to smile in spite of everything. Anyone who sees Cosmo as "weak" doesn't know what true weakness is. If you can go through losing everything and still be a nice person, then Cosmo might actually be one of the strongest characters in all of Sonic X. I admire Cosmo for that and I think others should give her more credit for how strong she really is.

It's no wonder Tails fell in love with this girl. With how kind, loving and sweet she is, Tails would've been crazy not to have her. It's too bad the series finale ruined all that but again, that's neither here nor there. Cosmo is an absolute bundle of preciousness and anytime I watch Sonic X Season 3, I'm always in it for her. She may have died at the end of the series, but she'll always live on in our hearts. We'll never forget you Cosmo...

10: Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender

One of media's greatest female characters, Katara would easily qualify for a best Strong Female Characters list and she easily qualifies for this one too.

Katara sure went through a lot over the course of the series, starting off as the easily annoyed younger sister of Sokka who struggled to master the basics of Waterbending to becoming a powerful Waterbender who was able to succeed where many others failed: actually being able to defeat Princess Azula in a fight. It's incredible how the one who didn't use to fight much at the start became powerful enough to defeat someone as untouchable as Azula. But it isn't just her power as to why Katara was such a great character. Her kind nature in spite of her short temper was also what made her massively appealing to me. Throughout the series, she's pretty much the heart of the team and is like the one person who can motivate Aang to move on from his past grief more than anyone else. Given she lost her own mother to the Fire Nation years ago, it's no wonder she sympathizes with him and yet she doesn't make it about her in these situations, which further shows what a compassionate soul she is. And similarly to Cosmo up above, Katara is another example of what true strength is for despite her rough childhood as a result of the Fire Nation's attacks on her village and the death of her mother, she sticks true to her morals and remains a kind person in spite of all her hardships. Hell, when confronted with the man who killed her mother, she SPARED him in the end. I doubt I could've done that if I were in her shoes, thus Katara is easily a stronger person than I ever could be.

Katara's compassion for others doesn't stop at just the Gaang. Throughout the show we've seen her take action and save the lives of many others while refusing to leave injustice unanswered such as when she got herself arrested to help some Fire Nation prisoners escape a prison from out at sea or when she masqueraded as the Painted Lady to help out a struggling village. It really is like no matter where the problem is happening, who it's happening to and how dangerous things may get, Katara will stick her neck out for them and do what she can to save everyone. While she is one to hold grudges against those that betray her and break her trust, her nice nature will make it so even with some time, she can eventually forgive those that have wronged her like Zuko and again, she even spared the man who killed her mother despite having the perfect opportunity to do it. You know you're a compassionate person when you can eventually forgive Prince Zuko of all people for everything he's done. If Katara hadn't been on the team, I doubt they'd have coped as well as they did.

Katara is as strong as she is due to her skills in Waterbending, her indomitable will but most importantly, her kind heart which makes her a valuable member of the team as the voice of reason and the one that holds everyone together. It's no wonder Aang found himself attracted to her. How could he say no to someone as strong, brave and compassionate as her? Katara is one of the best characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender and her kind, compassionate nature is a very big reason as to why she is...

And that's it for this list. I hope you enjoyed it and like my choices I picked for the countdown. Which Nice Girls would make your list if you were to make one? Do let me know in the comments below. Next week I'll be reviewing the sequel to my friend's novel The Solitale Vampires: The Child. See you then media fans!

Honorable Mentions

Helena Hawker from The Solitale Vampires

The 13th Doctor from Doctor Who

Cinderella from Cinderella

Sash Lilac from Freedom Planet

Charlie Watson from Bumblebee

Dawn from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

Lillie from Pokémon Sun and Moon

Alexis Rhodes from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Starfire from Teen Titans