While the west likes to pretend like there aren’t many badass female heroes and female leads in movies, comic books and TV shows, anime has been creating amazing female leads for decades. If you look at the feminist movement in the west, many believe that there is not enough female representation in movies and TV shows or that there are not enough female leads.
Anime has many of the best female characters in entertainment history. Sure, in America we have Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Wonder Woman, Selene from Underworld, Storm from X-Men, Black Widow, Bat Girl and the list goes on. Most of these character are crime fighters.
the great thing about anime is that it shows how a woman can be strong with her feminine energy. She does not need to be muscular and beat up people, although that is awesome too. Anime has a variety of amazing female leads and even female supporting characters that are memorable and unforgettable and in this article we are going to talk it.
Anime is full of girl power and these girls don’t need to act or look like a man to be strong. They can be sexy, feminine and still be a hero.
Tsunade
Tsunade from Naruto is an unforgettable female and you know why. I am not just talking about the size of her breast, but like many anime girls, she is always kicking all the boy’s ass. Tsunade became the fifth Hokage in Naruto and showed her true power when the ninja war started. Is not just her strength that is amazing but her other ninja techniques as well.
Tsunade is based of a character from Japanese mythology. Tsunade the witch with snail magic.
Android 18
Android 18 was an unexpected addition to the Dragon Ball crew. She started out as a villain and because she was an android, back then, everyone thought that she was going to be destroyed. Not only that but watching her be spit out when Gohan punched the crap out of Cell it really reminded the fans how important she was.
Android 18 is a babe. She is not fully human and has infinite energy so she can keep fighting. Her character design shows that a strong female character can look sexy and kick ass. She decided to be with Krillin after he used the Dragon Balls to wish for her to be a real human (not sure how her android body works). She is a true lover. Some girls go for the money but she fell in love with Krillin’s and married the guy. Which is funny because she is stronger than him.
Yes, guys, these girls still exist.
Serena/ Usagi
Our favorite meatball head. In Japanese she goes by Usagi but in America, when the anime first came out she was named, Serena. I grew up with Serena. What about you?
Serena is a klutz. She is extroverted. She sucks in school but we still love her. Serena is that pretty blonde girl that all the boys like. You know that she is stupid and that she is probably going to embarrass you in public but you never deny her.
Serena/ Usagi embodies the female hero archetype. She puts people first and is always willing to dive in to save the innocent. Best of all, Serena is not a man hater. As a matter of fact, she has worked with Tuxedo mask many times. She knows when is time to fight and when its okay to talk about boys.
Misty
Misty is one of the guys. Our favorite water Pokemon trainer. It is said that red heads tend to be more aggressive. Red heads are not push overs and they fight back. Not sure how true that is but it is definitely true with misty. She is strong and can be independent but she loves being with her friends. She was the leader of a Pokemon Gym.
The way she takes care of Togepi shows how motherly and feminine she is. For the longest time she has been a girl’s cosplay favorite with the booty shorts and suspenders. We love Misty.
Videl
Gohan’s first girlfriend. Videl is a lucky chick. She ended up with marrying a super saiyan. It is true that girls go after the strongest guy. Videl is daddy’s little girl. She can get anything she wants and she knows it. She wanted Gohan and she got Gohan. She wanted to learn to fly and she learned to fly. She wanted to fight in the tournament and so she did (she got her ass beat real bad though).
Videl is the type of girl that you think would not find a man because she is so strong. Guys always wonder, “she is so physically strong. What kind of guy would want her?” The answer is, the kind of guy that is stronger than her.
Strong girls always want a man who are stronger than they are. Where ever Gohan went, Videl wanted to go. If Gohan dress up like Saiyaman, she dressed up like Saiyagirl. Strong girls just want a strong man. Like Android 18, Videl is an Anime favorite.
Chihiro
The little brat that learns her lesson. This is one little girl the world will never forget. Spirited Away is an iconic anime in the west. You can’t be an anime fan without watching Spirited Away. Chihiro was one of the first Isekai girls that we all fell in love with.
She was our little sister that always pissed us off but we love her anyway. Throughout the movie, we worried about her because she is alone. For a lone girl she sure is smart and has a lot of grit. Lets not forget she freed Haku from his curse. Her sweet innocent helped wake from his dragon form.
Chihiro’s character development is one of the best. From the day she is thrown into the Spirit world to the day she is free and saves her parents. Studio Ghibli’s iconic female character and I dare say she over shadows in Nausicca and Kiki Delivery service in popularity.
Sakura Kinomoto
The one and only magical girl brought to us by CLAMP. Sakura card captors was one of the coolest anime to hit American television int he saturday morning cartoon block. Every episode she would face a different magical card creature with a different outfit.
The reluctant hero that did not ask to save the world but was perfect for the job. Sakura is like Serena for Sailor Moon, a klutz. while Sailor Moon was more of the crime fighter type, Sakura was more like Alice in Wonderland.
Sakura Card Captors was one of the first magical girl anime that was brought to the west during the rise of anime of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Hinata
Hinata is another cosplay favorite. Another strong female yet girly and shy. What many guys don’t want to admit is that they love a shy girl. That is why many boys have a crush on Hinata and the girls love her presence.
In the Naruto anime, Hinata was always crushing on Naruto. While it was creepy how she was always spying on him, it was also kind of cute. When a boy is creepy is never cute but it is more forgiven when a girl does it. One of the main reason’s why boys like Hinata is because they wish a girl at school would be stalking them liek Hinata does. It makes us boys feel important.
Hinata is very feminine and submissive but she is also very strong and strong willed. That is why Naruto married her.
Major Motoko Kunasahi
Major is what girls want to be. The iconic female from Ghost in the Shell. Much like Black Widow, Major has dedicated her life to her job so love and relationships are not a priority to her. The job always comes first but she can melt when she is with a man that she loves. She is intelligent and does not let her emotions get in the way of her job.
Kagome
LIke many anime girls, Kagome meets a super powerful guy that protects her. She is always fighting with Inuyasha. She is kind and caring and sometimes can be uncontrollable which strangely enough, is just like Inuyasha. As the main female protagonist, she always assist Inuyasha in battle. The difference is that while Inuyasha uses brute force and jumps into battle mindlessly, she analyzes the situation to find a solution.
Haru
So might be thinking that Haru from Beastars is not human but it is still an anime character. Haru is memorable because of her relationship with Legosi in the Beastars anime. No one would ever thought that a bunny could be so sexual. Actually, well of course, rabbits have a lot of sex (and thus the playboy bunny symbol).
In the anime, she was known as the school’s slut. She was sleeping with many boys in the school. She even got in trouble with some of the girls because they thought she was messing around with their boyfriend. Haru is a small dwarf rabbit and because she is so small she always believed that one day a carnivore is going to devour her. She knows that she is weak and one day she found out that she could be of great meaning to other people by given her body. That is why she sleeps with a lot of boys.
Eventually, she falls in love with Legosi.
I hate to say it, but even as an adult, Haru is one of my favorite characters because she is so well written. Some might say, “but she is just a slut.” Yeah and you are write but what amazes me is the psychology behind it. The creator of Beastars has done an amazing job.
Bulma
If it wasn’t for Bulma where would the Dragon Ball series be. Bulma is the one who told Goku about the Dragon Balls in the very beginning. Bulma is rich, she beautiful, she is intelligent and she is loud and sometimes obnoxious. But we still love her.
From the beginning, Bulma wanted to use the Dragon Balls to find her self the perfect boyfriend. As stupid as it sounds it goes to show you her character. Once she found Yamcha, she no longer needed the Dragon Balls. However, once Vegeta came into the picture, she left Yamcha because she wanted to have that Half Saiyan half human baby (trunks). Boys pay attention. Girls love strong men (in other words, be more like Vegeta).
Bulma supplies the entire Dragon Ball Z crew with all the tech stuff. If it wasn’t for her and her father’s company, Goku and the Gang would have never made it to planet Namek. Boys, listen up. If you found yourself a smart girl, keep her.
The great thing about Bulma is that, not only is she intelligent but she got style. She is always fixing her hair, changing into nice clothes. How often do you find a girl that is intelligent and beauty.
Nami
Another red head. Nami is the mischievous pirate girl who joins Luffy on his Quest. They say to watch out for girls with tattoos. Maybe they were right. But in all seriousness, Nami is the kind of girl you want on your team.
Nami is the seductress. Whenever she is in danger she knows how to use her femininity. When is time to be a badass she is a badass. Nami is sneaky and she knows how to get what she wants, mainly because all the guys are always looking at her boobs.
Nami gets away with many things mainly because no man can look pass her boobs. It is an advantage that she always takes.
Asuna
Asuna from Sword Art Online is the type of girl that does not know how to express herself sometimes and it comes out in the form of aggression. Like many warrior women, she is waiting for the right guy to sweep her off her feet.
She is always showing how much she cares about Kirito with anger because she does not know how else to show it. That is how warrior women are. Kirito softens her up and that is why she is with him. She might be bossy but really she just loves Kirito.
Misa Amane
The submissive girlfriend from Death Note. Misa Amane. Every guy wants a girl like Misa. After Kira brought justice and killed her abuser, Misa committed herself to Light Yagami.
If you like Goth girls, then this is the girl for you. Much like videl from Dragon Ball, Misa follows Light Yagami because Light has a purpose. She feels guided by the all powerful Kira.
Revy
Revy is that one girl who went the wrong way and did not forget it. Revy is that girl that sign up to be a porn actor and does not think it is a big deal. As a matter of fact she thinks that everyone should try being a porn actor at least once (of course I am use porn as an example).
Revy from Black Lagoon is the badass chick you dont want to mess with. Whenever I watch Black Lagoon it feels as though she is happy living in hell. She much rather shoot people than to settle down with her boyfriend and be happy.
Danger is her happiness. Revy is one of the guys. We love having her around but we are not sure if we want her as a girlfriend. That being said, Revy is one of the most iconic females in Anime.
San
The queen of wolves. San from Princess Mononoke has to be one of the most important female characters in anime history. Princess Mononoke was a huge influence in western animation. The first time you see her you are frightened. Not because she is scary but because of her presence. She was raised by wolves and fights like a wolve.
Like many strong independent anime female characters, San blushes and melts when she is around Ashitaka. San is to Ashitaka what Tarzan is to Jane. Ashitaka knows how to tame her. No matter how wild she gets, Ashitaka knows how to melt her with his masculinity.
San is as powerful as the wolves that raised. It is understandable why she hates humans but she is very aware that she herself is human.
Ryuko Matoi
Ryuko is that girl that got tire of being pushed around. Forget about waiting for her knight in shiny armor. She decided to take destiny in her own hands. Ryuko is that girl that had leaked naked photos of herself online and all the guys at school got to see everything. Despite of the fact that she is embarrass she still walks around head high, chin up and ready to punch somebody in the face if they get on her way.
Ryuko does not like looking like a “ho” wearing her Kamui outfit but she does anyway to take her enemy. She is not exactly the type to wear a V-neck shirt that shows a lot of cleavage but she might do it if it gets the job done.
Ryuko is the type of girl that was abandoned by her father and so she decided to work at McDonalds to pay her bill and she is not embarrassed by it. Gotta love her determination and her grit. She has a “don’t back down” attitude and that is why we love her.
Casca
Casca from Berserk is the girl that decided to go to the military and be tough like the boys but dreamed of one day finding the right man that will love her and give her children.
She is tough, she went face to face with Guts, she has many men under her command and yet she melts in the arms of Guts. She thought Griffith would take her as his lover but that never happened and she sure as hell was not going to settle for some common soldier.
Casca is the girl who is as tough as the boys with an army behind her but is screaming on the inside to for a strong man to hold her and ravage her (as we saw in Berserk). You cant deny, she is one of the most loved character in Berserk. Even after the events of the eclipse when her mind is no longer working properly, we still love her character.
Schierke
Schierke is the smartest girl in class that everyone looks up to. Whenever you struggle with your homework, she is the go to girl to get good grades. Everyone loves witches. The girls from Little Witch Academia got nothing on Schierke.
Where would Guts be without Schierke. Seriously, she is a life saver. She is the little sister that you love so much. You know that she will grow up to be a great woman and make her parents proud. That is the vibe Schierke gives.
Schierke is like Katara from Avatar The Last Airbender. After every arc and every little adventure, she grows stronger. Her magic improves more and more and you see her perform more powerful spells. One of the coolest things she has done is summon a water spirit during the attack of the trolls. One of the most important things she has done in the manga was help Guts gain consciousness from the rage of the Berserk armor, which is the power of the feminine. Only the feminine can bring a man back down to earth from his rage (girls pay attention, use your sweetness).
Schierke is my favorite witch.
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