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Anime characters broken down by various qualities, including personality, family role, career, and more.

Anime Characters

List of the best female anime characters. These are some of the most <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/most-powerful-anime-character/ranker-anime">powerful anime characters</a> who are attractive, intelligent, or simply formidable. <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/current-tv-shows-that-feminists-love/ranker-tv" target="_blank">Feminists will love </a>these strong anime characters. From ferocious females to lovely vampire anime&nbsp;ladies, they’re all here in this list of the best female anime characters found on TV and in film. Along with all of the anime girl names, you'll see which TV show or film they appeared in, their powers and abilities and the illustrator who created them.&nbsp;You'll find plenty of <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-red-hair-anime-characters/ranker-anime">anime&nbsp;girls&nbsp;with&nbsp;red&nbsp;hair</a>, <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/anime-characters-with-blond-hair/ranker-anime">blonde anime girls</a>, <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/anime-characters-with-black-hair/ranker-anime">raven-haired</a>, and even <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/anime-characters-with-blue-hair/ranker-anime">blue-haired&nbsp;anime girls</a>.Did you know that anime is a relatively old medium? It has, cool anime characters have been around since the early 1900s, although anime as viewers enjoy it today didn’t begin to hit the mainstream until around the 1980s. Some of the original anime programs, including “Dragon Ball” (which began airing in 1986), had more male leads than female, but they paved the way for the best anime women that you know and love today. One of the most popular anime programs, “Sailor Moon,” began airing in 1995, and it featured female anime leads almost exclusively.Today’s great female anime characters are known as such for a variety of reasons. Some, including C.C. from “Code Geass,” are mysterious and humorous. Others, such as Motoko Kusanagi from “Ghost in the Shell,” are powerful yet sexual. In fact, many of the sexiest anime characters are so hot because they are powerful. Whatever characteristics these best female anime characters have, however, they’re always one thing -- memorable.This list includes the best female anime characters in history. From the strong to the cool and the sweet, these anime female characters have earned their places on the list thanks to their long-lasting popularity. Which one of these popular anime characters are your favorite?&nbsp;&nbsp;

Mavis VermillionSearch ResultsWeb results

In anime, physical power isn't always everything. Very often brains will win over brawn, and because of that, we're ranking the smartest anime characters of all time. Do you have a favorite smart anime character? Now would be a good time to show it by voting up your top choices on the poll below. From master strategists like Shikamaru (Naruto) who plan one hundred steps away, to analytical geniuses like Death Note's L who can predict his opponents moves before he even makes them, these anime characters are much smarter than the average human.Vote up the intelligent anime characters that you believe to be the smartest, and downvote any that you don't think could hang intellectually with the top contendors on this poll.

Want to end the debate of who the strongest <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-female-anime-characters/ranker-characters?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">anime character</a> to ever exist is? You only have to do one thing...vote on the poll below! For this list we want to hear your opinion on who the most powerful anime character of all time. These guys probably beat up the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/smartest-anime-characters/ranker-anime">smartest anime characters</a> all the time in high school--if they ever went to one.&nbsp;Both heroes and villains are included below, so you can vote for everyone from Madara Uchiha to Ichigo Kurosaki. The discussion of the strongest anime character is always shrouded in controversey, so consider the following: just because a character is physically more powerful doesn't mean they are stronger than another overall. Take Light Yagami vs Monkey D. Luffy, for example. Obviously Luffy could gum-gum pistol him into oblivion, but what if Light wrote his name down in the death note? That's an instant death with just the stroke of a pen. <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/when-you-see-it-pictures/lauren-slocum?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">When you</a> see names like Vegeta below, assume that they would be fighting at their very highest potential.&nbsp;

Piccolo

What do Edward Elric and Naruto Uzumaki have in common? They both had an amazing sensei, that what. In honor of teachers everywhere, we're ranking the best anime teachers of all time, with the help of your votes. Who is your favorite sensei character in anime? For this list we are including anime teachers that might teach a class at a high school, and also sensei characters that teach outside of the classroom. From Junichiro Kagami to Aikuro Mikisugi, these are our favorite teachers in anime.Is your top anime teacher missing from our poll? Not to worry! You can add any character you want to this list, as long as they are known for being a sensei in the anime they're in. Vote up your favorite teacher characters in anime, and downvote any characters you do not like.

For all their&nbsp;reach and popularity, not all anime series follow lovable, or even likable, characters. Anime thrives by providing viewers with complex, difficult personalities, but even this jaded genre can't help but give the viewers beloved anime characters everyone loves. In a world of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/most-annoying-anime-kids/nida-sea" target="_blank">annoying kids</a> and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/unsettling-anime-antagonists/anna-lindwasser" target="_blank">truly loathsome villains</a>, the most universally liked anime characters bask in the love of legions of fans, who rarely if ever slander their beloved faves. Their attractive qualities make them excellent candidates for <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/anime-characters-that-deserve-their-own-show/ranker-anime" target="_blank">anime characters who deserve spinoff</a> series.Sometimes&nbsp;villains, sometimes the good guys, each of these well-liked anime characters are developed, nuanced personalities who can't be described with just one or two attributes. Even their flaws stand to make&nbsp;them all the more enjoyable. What truly makes a character great is when they feel like a real person – except, of course, when they're Pikachu. As always, be warned that this list contains SPOILERS.

How do&nbsp;anime characters learn the skills they need to achieve their goals? Often, up-and-coming protagonists require&nbsp;mentors to&nbsp;help them grow emotionally and unlock new powers. Anime mentors can impart all kinds of knowledge and abilities, ranging from cooking skills to fighting styles. They can be soft and kind, or they can have brutally high expectations;&nbsp;either way, they make their mentees work hard.&nbsp;There's no telling which anime characters will make good mentors, as even some teachers end up being totally lame advice-givers. Some of these mentors are <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/elderly-anime-characters/ranker-anime" target="_blank">elderly</a>, while others are closer to their protege's age. Whether they have greater life experience or a wider skill set, the best anime mentors make sure that the people who look up to them are well-equipped to handle whatever the universe might throw at them.&nbsp;

Foxy

It doesn't matter whether you watch your anime dubbed or subbed; sooner or later you're going to encounter that one character that you just can't stand. Below we rank the most annoying anime characters of all time, regardless of genre or language. One aspect that you're voting on is the voice. Annoying anime voices can be found in both English dubbed and subbed anime, but sometimes one version of a character (usually the English) is much more annoying than the other. For example, the English dubbed version of Naruto is generally considered to be way more annoying than it's Japanese counterpart.The best part about this poll is that it's open to additions, so if you have an anime character that you just can't stand, please add them to the list! These are the characters that non-anime fans hear and say &quot;wow that's why I will never watch anime. Think characters like Gecho Moria and his annoying laugh, or Shippo from Inuyasha.

Villains

Orochimaru

At long last, here's our list of the greatest anime villains of all time, including villains from every genre and demographic of anime out there. What would anime be without a great enemy for the heroes to fight with? Villains in anime can really make or break a series, as they are essentially the sole source of tension and conflict in any show. The protagonists of Dragon Ball Z are all amazing and loveable, but is Freeza not equally as crucial to the show's sucess and popularity? What would Fullmetal Alchemist be like without the Homonculi, or Inuyasha without Naraku? Yes, a great anime villain is equally as important as a show's hero, and the enemies below are a testament to that. Vote for the bad guy that you think deserves the title of the best anime villain of all time, no matter how powerful or strong they are. Sometimes a great villain can be a normal human being, like Gendo Ikari from Neon Genesis or Johan Liebert from Monster.

Contrary to popular belief, it&#39;s actually impossible to tell if someone is a virgin or not just by looking at them. There also aren&#39;t any personality traits that directly correspond to sexual experience. That being said, there are still some characters who viewers expect to be getting laid - or at least, the other characters in the show are.&nbsp;

Who are the anime characters you didn&#39;t know were virgins? Well, did you know that Cana Aberona, the hard-drinking hottie from&nbsp;Fairy Tail, has never actually gotten down and dirty with anyone? What about Issei Hyodo from <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/anime-like-high-school-d-x-d/ranker-anime?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">High School DXD</a>,&nbsp;a horny dude who wanted nothing more in life than to form his own harem and succeeded?

Shockingly, both Issei and Cana are anime virgins - and so are the other characters on this list. Who is your favorite?

The <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-anime-world-to-live-in/anna-lindwasser?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">world of anime</a> boasts no shortage of powerful children, with characters like&nbsp;Sakura Kinomoto and Naruto Uzumaki&nbsp;holding the fate of the world in their adolescent hands. But for all the powerful child heroes of the anime universe there exist deadly anime kids with equally impressive, if dangerous, abilities. Anime never shies away from blessing young people with great power, and just like adults, anime children can let power go to their heads. Unlike the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/most-annoying-anime-kids/nida-sea" target="_blank">most annoying anime children</a>, many dangerous anime kids actually make compelling character studies.

Many of these&nbsp;kids are dangerous serial killers who easily hold their own against adults. Some possess formidable powers like&nbsp;Mariko Kurama from&nbsp;Elfen Lied, who uses telekinesis to&nbsp;rip&nbsp;apart enemies for fun. Maybe they&#39;re blisteringly intelligent like Johan Liebert of Monster, a child nihilist with plans to instigate the apocalypse. No matter what the reason for their brutality, adults are better off staying far, far away from the deadliest anime children.&nbsp;

Temari

For every great anime character, there is a mother behind the scenes who helped make that person who they are (for better or worse is neither here nor there). For that reason we're ranking the best anime moms of all time, with the help of your votes. Who is your favorite mother character in anime? Mother characters are typically very loving and nurturing, but in anime mothers can be very evil. Then there is the trope of the dead mother, seen in shows like Fullmetal Alchemist and Bleach. The mother in both of these shows drives the antagonist through a spiritual connection, as characters in anime are often motivated by their mothers.So who's the greatest anime mom of all time? Up vote your favorites below, and feel free to add any of your top anime mothers to the list if they're not already here. Check out some of our other lists too, like the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-fathers-in-anime/ranker-anime">best anime fathers of all time</a>, and the most <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/annoying-anime-characters/ranker-anime">annoying anime characters</a>.

Franken Stein

It's not good for you, but damn if these guys don't make it look so cool. Below we're ranking the greatest smoking anime characters of all time, including characters that smoke either cigarettes or cigars. Why do so many cool anime characters that smoke? There's Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop, who would smoke a cigarette with his last dying breath. Other <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/my-top-10-favorite-anime-characters?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">famous anime characters</a> that smoke include Asuma from Naruto, Shinya from Psycho Pass, Integra Hellsing, and of course Sanji from One Piece. Can you believe that 4kids actually edited his cigarette into a lollipop for their dubbed version of the series? What a joke.Show some love to your favorite anime smokers by voting them up on this poll, and downvote any characters that you don't like for whatever reason. Is one of your favorites missing from the list? Add as many people to the list as you want, as long as they're an anime character that smokes cigarettes or cigars.

Anime is filled with incredible fighters, but so far, the&nbsp;majority of them are male. To some viewers, this imbalance can really detract from the&nbsp;viewing experience. With that in mind, this list celebrates some of the strongest <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-female-anime-characters/ranker-characters?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">female anime characters</a>&nbsp;out there.&nbsp;

These strong anime women don&#39;t necessarily look the part - many of them are not&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/muscular-anime-women/anna-lindwasser?ref=profile_own" target="_blank">completely jacked</a>. What they lack in big beefy muscles they make up for in incredible supernatural abilities that range from moving at the speed of sound to transforming their own blood into a deadly force. You do not want to get on any of these ladies&#39; bad sides.&nbsp;

Akio Furukawa (Clannad)

Fathers in anime...they're wacky, overbearing, and sometimes downright evil. But hey, that's why we love them. For this list we're ranking the greatest anime fathers of all time, with the help of your votes. We're pitting funny anime dads like Ichigo's father Isshin Kurosaki against just plain badass dads like Bunta from Initial D (have you ever met someone so cool that they never even open their eyes?!). Upvote your favorite anime dad, regardless of good of a father they are.&nbsp;One common trope in anime is the villain dad, but we want you to vote for your favorite characters, regardless of whether or not they are evil anime fathers. Bad anime dads like Gendo Ikari and Yujiro Hanma are listed below, but just because someone is evil doesn't make them a bad character. If you really hate those characters, feel free to use that downvote button and send them to the bottom of the list.If your favorite father character in anime is missing from the list, you can add it and see if anyone else votes for your pick.

Orihime Inoue

For many male anime fans, the thought of marrying your favorite anime woman is kind of the ultimate fantasy. For this poll we're asking you a simple question: which female anime character would you want as your wife? We're ranking the best potential anime wives, with the only criteria being that you think they would make a good life partner. What kind of criteria would you look for when choosing which female anime character you would marry? You might want a woman like Misa Amane (Death Note) or Orihime Inoue (Bleach) who will worship the ground you walk on for the rest of your life. Then again you might want a strong, independent, beautiful woman like Erza Scarlet, who can take care of you and protect you.&nbsp;No matter what your reason, vote for the women anime characters that you would want to spend the rest of your life with. If you add a character of your own to this list, make sure you include a good image to accompany it.&nbsp;

Whatever religious beliefs you subscribe to, you probably have an image in your mind about what God looks like. Even atheists have a mental picture that they can conjure when the topic comes up. Do you see God as an all-knowing, all-loving&nbsp;man in the clouds? What about as a supercomputer who is using you to test out a math equation, or a Japanese <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/tags/high-school?ref=internalCrossLinking_tag">high school</a> student who created the world and might destroy it out of boredom?

If you answered one of the latter two, you&#39;re probably an anime fan.&nbsp;That&#39;s because anime has its own unique ways of portraying God.&nbsp;What does God look like in different anime? Anything you can possibly imagine - up to and including the god of Hell spanking his son for misbehavior. Anime can be pretty irreverent when it comes to its take on God, but it can also be&nbsp;a lot of fun.

For all the brothers out there, we're ranking the best brother characters in anime. Who are your favorite anime brothers of all time? That's not an easy question to answer, considering that the theme of brotherly love (or hate) is very commonplace in anime. Your favorite brothers in anime don't have to get along to be on this poll. Take <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-itachi-uchiha-quotes/ranker-anime?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Sasuke and Itachi</a> Uchiha for example, who have an intensely hateful relationship for most of the Naruto series. On the other end of the spectrum you have brothers like Edward and Alphonse Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist, whose love for each other essentially drives the story forward the entire time.Let us know who your favorite anime brothers are by voting up your top choices below. Check out some of our other anime character lists, like the best <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/elderly-anime-characters/ranker-anime">elderly anime characters</a>, and the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/fat-anime-characters/ranker-anime">greatest fat anime characters</a>.

Anime is an amazing medium because artists have free reign to make the characters look like anything they want. There are some limits on that, however, including skill sets, budgets, and a tendency towards bad choices. For this reason, there are some characters who look absolutely horrendous.&nbsp;

Which anime characters suffer from <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/worst-anime-of-all-time/anna-lindwasser?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">the worst anime</a> character designs? While some of it is down to personal preference, some are almost universally unsettling. Karin&nbsp;Hanazono&#39;s wide-set eyes are so cringe-worthy that she could probably show up as an example in a Twitter thread&nbsp;about why anime should be abolished. Meanwhile, some people enjoy CLAMP&#39;s noodley character designs, but other people find them wildly unappealing.

Vote up the anime designs that made you gag, and vote down the ones that you think are being unfairly judged.

An anime protagonist should always have a full stomach, especially when their next opponent&nbsp;hasn't even shown their final form. From the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-shounen-anime-ever-made/felicia-miranda" target="_blank">best shounen anime</a> to the funniest <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-harem-anime/reference" target="_blank">harem anime</a>, there are always&nbsp;anime characters who eat way more than others. Some stuff their face with just sweets, while others demand meat or fine cuisines. In lots of anime, there are even filler episodes where the characters enter eating contests.Ever wondered who would win in an eating competition that spanned across multiple anime universes? Who would win&nbsp;between Natsu, Luffy, and Usagi&nbsp;Tsukino?&nbsp;It's time to find out once and for all which anime character has the biggest appetite!&nbsp;Vote up&nbsp;who you think has the biggest stomach&nbsp;and add any other eternally hungry anime characters to the list if they're not already here.

Comedy

With all the fighting that goes on in shonen anime, it's sometimes refreshing to have a characters offer up some laughs. Who are the best comic relief characters in anime? It's a tough line to tow sometimes when going back and forth between <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/list-of-all-comedy-drama-movies/ranker-film?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">drama and comedy</a>. The funniest anime characters offer you just enough comedy where you can still take what's going on seriously. If a character has too many goofy lines during a serious scene, it can take you out of the moment. For example, Buggy the Clown gets a lot of screen time during the Marineford War Arc in One Piece, which can get annoying when there is so much serious stuff happening in the story.Vote up the funny anime characters below that really make you laugh, but also aren't extremely annoying. Add your own comedic anime characters to the list too if they're not already here, and see how many other people think they're as funny as you do.&nbsp;

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You should always respect your elders, and in the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-anime-world-to-live-in/anna-lindwasser?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">world of anime</a> that saying is no exception. The usual portrayal of old people in anime is that of the sagely, still powerful fighter who the antagonist learns all his skills from, especially in Shonen anime. Elderly anime characters like Master Roshi (DBZ), Jiraiya (Naruto), and Genkai (Yu-Yu-Hakusho) all exemplify this. Then there are the old anime characters that are still more powerful in their old age than most other characters in the show. This is best demonstrated by the great Whitebeard in One Piece, who at 72 years of age showed the world why he was the strongest man in the world.Who is your favorite anime geezer? Let us know by voting up your favorites on the poll below. Anime grandpas and grandmas are fair game, as long as they are elderly looking.

Old Anime Characters | The Best Elderly Anime Characters in Anime

The Best Elderly Anime Characters of All Time

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Whitebeard

Edward Newgate

Zeff

Master Roshi

Master Roshi is a fictional character from the amine series Dragon Ball.

Monkey D. Garp

Monkey D. Garp is a fictional character in the anime and manga series One Piece created by Eiichiro Oda.

Hiruzen Sarutobi

Hiruzen Sarutobi is a fictional character in the anime and manga franchise Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto.

Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai

Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Bleach.

Makarov Dreyar

Netero

John Francis

Silver Fang

shaurya-kapoor

Onoki

Son Goku

Chiyo

Chiyo       is a fictional character in the anime and manga franchise Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto.

Hagoromo Otsutsuki

Silvers Rayleigh

sudaixi

Orochimaru is a fictional character from the Naruto universe created by Masashi Kishimoto and developed into a media franchise, which consists of a series of manga, anime, soundtracks, OVAs, movies, video games, and other collectibles. He was created as one of the series' main antagonists, and intended to represent the opposite of the protagonists' morals and values.
In the anime and manga, Orochimaru is a former ninja of the village of Konohagakure who is known for his abilities. However, creating his ninja village Otogakure as means to perform inhuman experimentation, Orochimaru sought a means to gain power and cheat death. In the latter, Orochimaru obtained a means for immortality by transferring between different host bodies which became one of his driving motivations throughout the series as he targets Sasuke Uchiha for his genetic heritage. While the main antagonist in Part I of the series, Orochimaru's role became overshadowed by the Akatsuki prior to the Fourth Ninja War arc. Orochimaru has appeared in media outside the Naruto anime and manga, including several video games.
Several anime and manga publications have praised and criticized Orochimaru's character.

Genkai

King Bradley

King Bradley is a fictional character from 2009 anime series Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Shannibal23

Sophie Hatter

Sofi is a fictional character from the 2004 film Howl’s Moving Castle.

BrightEyesx

Madara Uchiha

Madara Uchiha is a fictional character in the anime and manga franchise Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto.

Zeniba

Kaede

Kaede is a fictional character from 2000 TV anime series Inu Yasha.

Kami

Kami is a fictional character from the 1989 film Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone.

Porlyusica

Recovery Girl

William Hakes

Joseph Joestar

Yubaba

Yubaba is a fictional character from Spirited Away.

You should always respect your elders, and in the world of anime that saying is no exception. The usual portrayal of old people in anime is that of the ...