The Sometimes Necessity of the Mary Sue

One of the more problematic character types is the "Mary Sue". This is the protagonist who seems to be able to do just about everything, has mastered most of the important skills of the story, has one or two unique abilities only she has access to, and whose flaws are relatively minor. The standard anime schoolgirl is the typical Mary Sue; she is getting mostly high marks, is incredibly pretty, is the best fighter, and is able to educate her teachers. If she has a crush, he is the best possible boy and has a crush on her. However, as boring as this character may seem, she does have some use.

What Exactly Is a "Mary Sue"?

When it was originally defined, a "Mary Sue" was a female character who was not only the best in her area, but was as good as others if not better. She had all of the male characters in love with them, and generally had some sort of unique ability as well, such as photographic memory. The Mary Sue may have some weakness, but that weakness is usually easy to overcome or doesn't really affect the story, especially after the first act. In short, the Mary Sue is the most powerful entity in the story, sometimes even trouncing the originally more powerful antagonists.

[She was also usually a self-insert character; she was the avatar of the author in that universe. However, most have dropped the "self-insert" qualification.]

The problem is that she also doesn't really face a challenge; her only real challenge is that self-esteem and it is one she usually conquers every chapter. This is the defining difference between her and such characters as James Bond, Batman, ad Doc Savage; those characters screw up with disastrous consequences and face villains that can and do challenge them. Even Superman faces challenges on a regular basis and has even faced his death multiple times. This is not to say that there aren't Gary Stus out there, but they just seem to have become less popular in recent decades as audiences seem to prefer more grounded heroes.

Some Bad Examples

Contrast this with Rey of Star Wars and Galadriel of the "Rings of Power" series. Rey is the best pilot and marksman in the Star Wars saga. She also had access to Jedi abilities that required years of training and was able to fight a trained wannabe Sith with almost no problem. Not only is she able to get the wannabe to team up with her, they then take on an entire room of trained warriors. While her origin as the clone of Palatine gives her some leeway, having one character outshine all the characters, even those with decades of training and experience, is off, especially in an ensemble piece, feels way off.

Galadriel starts off with a lot of personal power and skill, but while her origin allows for it we rarely see her actually lose; when she does, the other person is shown to be in the wrong; note how the Numenoreans are against the trip back to Middle Earth and it takes Galadriel ignoring the regent and the laws of the land to change their minds. She is even able to ignore a volcanic blast. Of course, let's ignore that she led an army of charging cavalry precisely where they needed to be with no way of knowing the situation there. She is even able to defeat Sauron on her own and is the one to decide that there will be three rings. While there is some allowance given her origins, she just feels overpowered for the show.

But….

There sometimes you need a Mary Sue. In the "Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya", it's debated just how powerful Haruhi really is, and it works for the series: It allows for a deconstruction of the Mary Sue while asking some legitimate philosophical questions. For that matter, the powerful teenage schoolgirl, a staple of shojo manga and anime, can be a fun counterpoint to her isekai and tokusatsu brethren. Even in movies, there is nothing wrong with a woman who can kick some serious butt while looking awesome doing it; if that wasn't the case, Milla Jovovich wouldn't have a career.

In these cases, the writer recognizes that the Mary Sue is overpowered and is fine with it. Sometimes you need a character that overshadows the other characters and that's fine: It takes a powerful character to have fun with some concepts, especially when you need to take some shots at powerful characters. Sometimes you need an over-the-top character to just add the right cherry to your tart and sell the jokes you're trying to tell. It will always be fun to have a character just let loose and kick some butt.

However, if you're using her to sell some sort of political stance, it will almost always kick you in the face. This is not to say that writing should never be political, but you need to approach it with some sort of tact. Otherwise, all you're doing is preaching to the choir; the crowd you're actually trying to convince will have left early on. Just look at the effect Rey had on the profits of the sequel series or Galadriel had on the enjoyment factor of those who really wanted to get into "Rings of Power".

Use the Mary Sue if you want, just have some fun with her. Otherwise, she's just another cliché and you'll be seen as just another hack.