Tomino, bless him, set the standard with Mobile Suit Gundam. Thirty-five years on they are cliches, but for 1979, his female cast was "progressive" in a good way. Sayla Mass had a good dramatic role, became a fighter pilot, and didn't need rescuing every other episode. Mirai Yashima was the helmsman for White Base, not just a bridge bunny. Matilda Ajane was a Feddy officer who had a serious role as liaison officer. Lalah Sun was the pivot role for the hero and the villain! Kycilia Zabi led her own fleet and had enough younger studs seeking her patronage to make Joan Collins jealous. Only Fraw Bow was the traditional nurturing type that seem mandated by Tokyo Hollywood for the hero's girlfriend....and she was promptly ignored by Amuro for Matilda, Sayla, and Lala in that order. So after that story, every future Gundam series knew they had to do something to make the ladies stand out.
Now, as for my own nominations for "best female cast", I should like to present the following series.
Zeta Gundam: Alright, so nearly all of them died. Tomino's story had a lot of female characters doing a lot of things, and all having some impact on the story and the adventurous life of Camille Vidan. Special mention goes to Emma Sheen, Lyla Mira Lyla, Four Murasame, and Haman Karn.
0080: War in the Pocket: OK, there's only 1 important female character, but if Christina MacKenzie had been weak, the story would have failed. Christine also scores points for being the first female Gundam pilot in her own right, without it being a hand-me-down from the main hero.
0083: Stardust Memory: I know Nina turned out to be the Scrappy for lots of folks, but she had a real career at AE, as one of its Gundam-building technomancers, no less! Cima Garahau was the most complex character in the story, hands down, especially once somebody translated "The Mayfly of Space" for us.
Gundam Wing: I have to admit it, the ladies really helped drive the story, and had a role beyond bishonen-hero cheerleader. Without Relena, Noin, or Lady Un I fear the story would have been less interesting, and would have had less stakes involved in the end.
Gundam SEED: Murrue gets Bright Noah's role as the accidental captain, and does a darn good job of it. Natarle is a real pro as an officer. Lacus-sama is a clever yet compassionate political player disguised as a Disney princess. Cagalli is a runaway princess who can back her talk with a rifle if necessary.
Gundam Unicorn: Marida Cruz is the butt-kicking Puru-chan who grew up, but without her Gundam hero. Minerva Zabi is more than a runaway princess too; she has her family's strength of character, but doesn't want to join them in building Paradise on a mountain of skulls.
Ecole du Ciel: Asuna goes from being a crybaby leftover of Zeon to a strong Gundam pilot for AEUG. Keep sending 'em to us Mikimoto-sama!
After all that, I choose Zeta Gundam & Gundam SEED as the best UC & Best AU respectively.
