Anime series such as Toradora, Komi can't speak, Anohana and Monthly Girls Nozaki clearly portray the "ideal" romantic relationship every heterosexual teen is looking for. However, fans cannot elude the fact that these anime aren't empowering women more than the 1950s ideas around women. The female characters in the anime series are often depicted as feeble-minded, vivacious, empty-hearted, and clingy. Most of them rarely have any sense of maturity or independence. These female characters rarely have an identity of their own except for infatuating men. These female characters cannot be alone; they're so desperate that they would love other men if their boyfriends are away.
Most anime girls are nowhere near the age they behave. Most of the female characters range from 15-to 18 years old, yet they speak and behave resembling that of 10-year-old girls. Most of them rarely have much self-control, loyalty, or a sense of fixing problems themselves. Their weak personalities depend on men to be their saviors. Anime females often behave recklessly impulsive, out of their strong personal feelings, and they get themselves into trouble. Their "boyfriends" are often like their older brothers, constantly picking bits after them.
Now, these depictions of women are not empowering nor inspiring women to be themselves. Female anime lovers may naturally find themselves more drawn to that type of personality, given it is "attractive". The truth is, women are not capricious, feeble-minded, and immature like the way those anime present.
Characters like Taiga and Chiyo create nothing more than a false schema about women. Girls don't need to be 1.5M tall, blonde, light-headed, and thin to have a boyfriend. Women nowadays are more independent and disciplined than ever before. However, these anime never get it right.
Another thing that cringes me about many, not all, female anime characters' voices. Clearly, anime exaggerates female emotions and voice. The reality is, that not all, most women don't have voices that thin or childish. Many women are fairly emotional, but we're not exhibited in ways that come out like that. Not all of us, probably most of us don't express our emotions in such intense and unhealthy ways. When we're mad or upset, most of us don't get up and start hitting our boyfriends while saying "I hate you, I hate you!"
Despite the unfair exhibition of women as "weak", anime also depicts men in unhealthy ways as well. Anime males are almost always 6 foot tall, short-haired, and intensely inhibited in their emotions. They're like the robots picking after the girls. The males rarely show emotions, and they're always holding back. The reality is, that some males are naturally more expressive and that shouldn't be a stigma.