All the Best Nerds

I haven't even started writing yet, and I'm already afraid that this is just going to be me talking about nerdy characters. 

At first I wanted to say that I was glad that there are some great nerd heroes now (me being the nerdy bookworm I've always been). But then I realized that I just have a certain definition of "nerd" in my head. A long time ago, their equivalent of a "nerd" would have been something very different. Maybe bookworms like Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables), Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Shizuku (Whisper of the Heart), Bastian (Neverending Story) and Hermione (Harry Potter). 

Of course writers love to write about bookworms. And yet when I think of them, I don't think they're nerds. Maybe a character needs to be a little more quirky? I don't even know! 

These are characters that I do consider nerds. And many of these guys are among my favorite characters! 

Connie (Steven Universe)

Hiro Nakamura (Heroes)

Kipo, Lio, and Song (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts)

Flick (A Bug's Life)

Hiccup (How to Train your Dragon)

Dave (Sorcerer's Apprentice)

Peter Parker (Spiderman - the Toby Maguire Version)

Honeylemon and Wasabi (Big Hero 6)

Twilight Sparkle (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)

Tombo (Kiki's Delivery Service)

Onoda (Yowamushi Pedal)

Riley (National Treasure)

Many of these characters are from very popular movies or shows. Disney, Steven Universe, Ghibli, etc. When I was a kid, there weren't really any nerd heroes (at least not the kind I include on my list). I think the oldest character is Flick, who was more of a quirky inventor. It sort of makes sense, since what makes someone a "nerd" would evolve over time, so I'm thinking of the current type. 

I'm just glad that there are so many great nerd heroes now (as I've said before, I relate to Connie more than I have to any other fictional character). 

And this doesn't even count scholars or scientists like Grace Augustine (Avatar), Casey Newton (Tomorrowland), Emmett Brown (Back to the Future) or Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist). Though Dr Alphys (Undertale) and Milo (Atlantis) are pretty nerdy too.