100 Kick-Ass Female Characters: #68
68. Jane Lane, as seen on Daria, voiced by Wendy Hoopes
Oh, the amount of hours I spent watching Daria as a teenager (and, later, as an adult once I purchased the complete series on DVD.) Like most burgeoning misanthropes, I related to Daria, who often felt out of place among her perkier classmates, who would look at things and see the reality rather than what people told her to think. Daria always had a retort, was always certain even when she was wrong, and no one got one over on Daria, which were qualities I wished to have when I was a particularly angsty 13-year-old. But the truth was, as much as I felt like Daria and adored Daria, she was also not that well-rounded of a character. That particular title goes to Daria's best friend.
Jane Lane is the youngest child in a family of hippies. A talented artist, Jane spends her days in her bedroom painting and avoiding human interaction before Daria moves to Lawndale. She's close to Trent, her slacker, musician brother who still lives at home, and deeply dislikes her other three siblings, all of whom are equally as flaky and ridiculous as her parents. Whereas Daria and Quinn are constantly at odds, Jane and Trent are always there for each other. Must like Daria, Jane is sarcastic, cynical, and is already planning life beyond high school. The only true, prolonged conflict she ever has with Daris is when her boyfriend Tom breaks up with Jane and begins to date Daria, and even that conflict is eventually resolved because Jane realizes her relationship with Daria is infinitely more important than a temporary relationship with Tom.
What I most love about Jane is, unlike Daria, Jane does not confine herself to near social isolation. She tries new things, makes friends with new people, and dates, and, while these aren't always successful ventures and she often ends up back at Daria's side, Jane doesn't stop experiencing the world. Sure, some of the things are ridiculous (swing dancing boyfriend) but Jane realizes it's easy to bitch about the world when you don't make any effort to be part of it. Jane even joins the track team at one point, and, while it horrifies Daria, it gives Jane a sense of accomplishment. Jane doesn't necessarily want to be a "typical teenager" but she also doesn't always like her social outcast label. Ultimately Jane ends the series headed to art school, off to explore the world further, and, while she is unlikely to leave her cynical world view behind, she isn't unopposed to a challenge. Jane showed teenagers (like misanthropic me) that you can still take part in adolescence ridiculousness without losing who you are, and, when it doesn't fit with who you are, you can tap out.
And there should be more characters who kick-ass that way.
Oh, the amount of hours I spent watching Daria as a teenager (and, later, as an adult once I purchased the complete series on DVD.) Like most burgeoning misanthropes, I related to Daria, who often felt out of place among her perkier classmates, who would look at things and see the reality rather than what people told her to think. Daria always had a retort, was always certain even when she was wrong, and no one got one over on Daria, which were qualities I wished to have when I was a particularly angsty 13-year-old. But the truth was, as much as I felt like Daria and adored Daria, she was also not that well-rounded of a character. That particular title goes to Daria's best friend.
Jane Lane is the youngest child in a family of hippies. A talented artist, Jane spends her days in her bedroom painting and avoiding human interaction before Daria moves to Lawndale. She's close to Trent, her slacker, musician brother who still lives at home, and deeply dislikes her other three siblings, all of whom are equally as flaky and ridiculous as her parents. Whereas Daria and Quinn are constantly at odds, Jane and Trent are always there for each other. Must like Daria, Jane is sarcastic, cynical, and is already planning life beyond high school. The only true, prolonged conflict she ever has with Daris is when her boyfriend Tom breaks up with Jane and begins to date Daria, and even that conflict is eventually resolved because Jane realizes her relationship with Daria is infinitely more important than a temporary relationship with Tom.
What I most love about Jane is, unlike Daria, Jane does not confine herself to near social isolation. She tries new things, makes friends with new people, and dates, and, while these aren't always successful ventures and she often ends up back at Daria's side, Jane doesn't stop experiencing the world. Sure, some of the things are ridiculous (swing dancing boyfriend) but Jane realizes it's easy to bitch about the world when you don't make any effort to be part of it. Jane even joins the track team at one point, and, while it horrifies Daria, it gives Jane a sense of accomplishment. Jane doesn't necessarily want to be a "typical teenager" but she also doesn't always like her social outcast label. Ultimately Jane ends the series headed to art school, off to explore the world further, and, while she is unlikely to leave her cynical world view behind, she isn't unopposed to a challenge. Jane showed teenagers (like misanthropic me) that you can still take part in adolescence ridiculousness without losing who you are, and, when it doesn't fit with who you are, you can tap out.
And there should be more characters who kick-ass that way.