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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;

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;

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.

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.

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;

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;

Some anime characters are clever and cunning, but this list isn't devoted to them. These anime airheads are not the brightest in the bunch, and that's perfectly okay. Take Luffy from One Piece, for example, who doesn't really have much running through his head besides food and beating people up. Mugen in Samurai Champloo barely knows how to read&nbsp;and is constantly picking his nose with a blank look on his face. These anime characters aren't necessarily dumb, they're just space-cases who don't really have a deep intellectual side.Who is your favorite dumb anime character? Vote up the choices below, and add your own dimwitted anime characters to the list if they're not already here.

Kakashi Hatake

Which anime characters deserve their own show where they're the sole protagonist? Since there are so many worthy characters, we've decided to list them all and let you vote on the ones you'd want to see the most. Can you imagine an Initial D season that is all about Bunta's backstory as the fastest racer on the Akina Pass? What about Shikamaru from Naruto, using his logic to solve puzzles and defeat villains? There are so many great anime spinoffs that seriously need to happen, but we want to know what you'd like to see the most. Vote up the anime characters you feel deserve their own show, and add any characters to the list if they're not already here.The characters we've included for this poll are mostly good, but if there are any villains you'd want to see in their own show then please add them to the list. Who knows? Maybe a show about Orochimaru and his backstory would actually be pretty cool.

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;

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.

Shonen is one of the most popular anime genres out there, and there are plenty of great reasons for it. One of those reasons is the protagonists who drive the show.&nbsp;

Who are the best shonen protagonists? There are plenty to choose from. Some fit the typical hot-blooded hero profile: Naruto Uzumaki from&nbsp;Naruto,&nbsp;Natsu Dragneel from&nbsp;Fairy Tail,&nbsp;and Yusuke Urameshi from&nbsp;Yu Yu Hakusho&nbsp;are great examples of that - though of course all three are more complicated than that description. A shonen hero doesn&#39;t have to fit the mold to be great: Senku Ishigami from&nbsp;Dr. Stone&nbsp;would lose in a fist fight but dominate with his intelligence, while Chise Hatori from&nbsp;<a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/why-you-should-watch-ancient-magus-bride/anna-lindwasser?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">The Ancient Magus</a>&#39; Bride&nbsp;has to overcome her lack of confidence and emotional issues before anything else. Some shonen protagonists aren&#39;t even heroes: Light Yagami might be <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/movie-protagonists-who-arent-the-main-character/zack-howe?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">the main character</a>, but he&#39;s more of a villain.

Vote up the shonen protagonists you love, and vote down the ones you&#39;d rather see demoted to side character.

Suzaku Kururugi

When taking every sport into account, who do you think is the pound for pound greatest anime athlete of all time? That is to say, which anime sports character is the best at their sport more so than everyone else? Talent between multiple sports is extremely subjective and hard to measure, so use your gut based on your knowledge of these shows and vote up the most athletic anime characters on the poll below. For example, is Tetsuya Koroko better as basketball than Baki Hanma is at fighting? We have no idea, so we're leaving it up to you. You can add any anime athletes to the list if you feel theys hould be represented here, and you can also downvote any characters that you feel are outclassed by the top contenders of this list.Check out other sports anime lists on Ranker too, like the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-baseball-anime/reference">best baseball anime</a> and the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-basketball-anime/reference">best basketball anime</a>.

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.

There are plenty of anime characters who are widely beloved - but not all of them deserve that adoration. In fact, a significant portion of protagonists are unbelievably overrated. The buck doesn't stop at characters, either; there are plenty of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/completely-overrated-anime/david-lozada" target="_blank">overrated anime programs</a>, as well. Some overvalued&nbsp;heroes&nbsp;fit snuggly into established tropes&nbsp;without adding a new or interesting spin to them.&nbsp;Others are just compromised characters who did horrible things that were ultimately ignored&nbsp;by the fandom.Overrated doesn't necessarily mean bad. Actually, some of these characters are awesome. Overrated means&nbsp;they get more attention than they deserve, or that their flaws are overlooked. If you see <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/what-your-favorite-fictional-character-says-about-you/nathan-gibson?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">your favorite character</a> on this list, it doesn't mean you have bad taste or that you shouldn't love them - only that there are good reasons others may not feel the same way.&nbsp;

Falling in Reverse once asked, &quot;so why do good girls like bad guys?&quot; The pop-punk band&#39;s question missed the mark by a little - people of all genders and qualities love bad boys - particularly when they&#39;re anime characters.&nbsp;

Some anime bad boys are relatively harmless, but give off an aura of danger and mystique - either that or they aren&#39;t mysterious at all, but use anger and aggression to hide their deeper insecurities. A few aren&#39;t even &quot;bad&quot; per se - they&#39;re just rockin&#39; that wild aesthetic. Meanwhile, some of them are actually villainous - which is exactly what makes them so compelling. They&#39;re sexy, they don&#39;t play by the rules, and they&#39;re layered. Often, these characters have excellent motivations for their less-than-ideal behavior - but even when they don&#39;t, viewers still want to know what makes them tick.&nbsp;

Which of these characters is the best anime bad boy? That&#39;s up to you. Vote up your faves to let your voice be heard.&nbsp;

Just because an anime character is strong in one area doesn&#39;t mean that they&#39;re not weak in others. In fact, some characters who have amazing powers are majorly weak in other ways. One popular example is Zenitsu from&nbsp;Demon Slayer,&nbsp;whose cowardly personality belies the strength he can unleash after passing out from fear. There&#39;s also Eri from&nbsp;My Hero Acaedemia,&nbsp;a little girl with a powerful quirk she can&#39;t control.

Weak anime characters with incredible power are often some of the most interesting characters out there, because there&#39;s more to them than just the unbridled ability to kick butt. The seemingly contradictory parts of their personalities can sometimes be the most compelling things about them. Which ones are&nbsp;your favorites?

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?

If an anime character says, &quot;this isn&#39;t even my final form!&quot; you&#39;d better watch out, because their final form is probably something you don&#39;t want to face.&nbsp;

The character behind that quote, Frieza, isn&#39;t among the best final forms in anime, only because his continual power-ups mean that we don&#39;t really know what his final form is - however, Perfect Cell from the same series qualifies, as he seems significantly less likely to return with a superior form. Outside of the world of&nbsp;Dragon Ball,&nbsp;there&#39;s Madara Uchiha&#39;s stint as the Ten Tails Jinchuriki in&nbsp;Naruto,&nbsp;Father&#39;s godly form in&nbsp;Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood,&nbsp;and more.&nbsp;

Which final forms do you think are&nbsp;the most formidable? That&#39;s up to you.

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;

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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.

The 41+ Smartest Anime Characters of All Time

The Smartest Anime Characters of All Time

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AMAZON

Lelouch Lamperouge

Lelouch vi Britannia (ルルーシュ・ヴィ・ブリタニア, Rurūshu vi Buritania), whose alias is Lelouch Lamperouge (ルルーシュ・ランペルージ, Rurūshu Ranperūji), is the title character and Byronic Hero of the Sunrise anime series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. In the series, Lelouch is a former prince from the superpower Britannia who is given the power of the "Geass" by a witch known as C.C. Using the Geass and his genius-level intellect, Lelouch becomes the leader of the resistance movement known as The Black Knights under his alter ego Zero (ゼロ) to destroy the Holy Britannian Empire, an imperial monarchy that has been conquering various countries under control from his father. His Japanese voice actor is Jun Fukuyama, and his child self is voiced by Sayaka Ohara. His English dub voice is provided by Johnny Yong Bosch with Michelle Ruff doing Lelouch's child voice.
Lelouch was designed by the group of manga artists Clamp, who aimed to create a stylish and visually appealing character. The character of Lelouch has been recognized as one of Japan's most popular characters during the time Code Geass aired, appearing at the top of several polls. Publications for anime and manga saw Lelouch as an interesting character. Despite his ruthless methods to destroy an empire, he still has several strong relationships that made him a likeable character. His voice actors Fukuyama and Bosch have been praised for their work as Lelouch's voice.

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Light Yagami

Light Yagami is a fictional character and the protagonist of the manga series Death Note, created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. He is a bored young genius who finds the Death Note dropped by the Shinigami Ryuk by pure chance. Using the notebook, which allows its owner to kill anyone simply by knowing their name and face, Light becomes a mass-murderer known as Kira in an attempt to create and rule a world "cleansed of evil" as "the god of the new world".
In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Mamoru Miyano in Japanese, and by Brad Swaile in English; in the live-action film series, he is portrayed by Tatsuya Fujiwara.

Senku Ishigami

fejv10

L Lawliet

L Lawliet is a fictional character in the Death Note franchise. He is an eccentric genius and international private detective, reputed to be the world's greatest, who takes on cases that have stymied national governments and Interpol.

Kitty Bailey

Kiyotaka Ayanokōji

KylaPacina

Norman

xxgamershotzxx

Meruem

Nytefize

 Sora dan Shiro (Kosong)

srobinette09

Edogawa Ranpo

littlemissteapot0

Korosensei

Koro-sensei

Koro-sensei is a fictional character from the Assassination Classroom franchise. 

Pancakemix

Shikaku Nara

SageX4

Karma Akabane

violetblack

Shisui Uchiha

vinyl475

Yumeko Jabami

TravisHamiter

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji

Dachi Nho

Kyoko Kirigiri

despairito

Itachi Uchiha

Itachi Uchiha is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Itachi is the older brother of Sasuke Uchiha and is responsible for killing all the members of their clan, sparing only Sasuke. Though treated as an antagonist for much of the series, it is later revealed that Itachi slaughtered his clan in order to prevent a coup d'état which would result in a war, and that he had been acting in both Konoha's and Sasuke's best interests for the entire series.
Itachi has been featured in the Naruto films, has appeared once in an original video animation of Naruto, and is a playable character in most of the video games from the series. Itachi's character has been popular with readers of the manga, and has been positively received by critics. His appearance as an antagonist has been praised by several writers, although some have considered his initial appearance to be unsurprising. The gradual revelations of his past and its impact on the story has also received positive reception, and his fights were noted to be "one of the best" in the series.

shaurya-kapoor

Jabami Yumeko

OdaG

Kenma Kozume

Mark Angel Fadullan

Osamu Dazai

Osamu Dazai is a fictional character from the Bungo Stray Dogs franchise.

Merlin

Aizawa Shota

MakaErinMichaelis

Shikamaru Nara

Shikamaru Nara is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. In the anime and manga, Shikamaru is a ninja affiliated with the village of Konohagakure. He is a member of Team 10, a group of ninja consisting of himself, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, and team leader Asuma Sarutobi. Shikamaru is portrayed as a lazy character, unwilling to apply his prodigious intelligence; Kishimoto has noted that he likes Shikamaru due to his easygoing nature. Outside of the Naruto anime and manga, Shikamaru has appeared in four of the feature films in the series, as well as several other media relating to the series, including video games and original video animations.
Numerous anime and manga publications have commented on Shikamaru's character. Many reviewers commented on his laziness and intelligence, and noted his transformation into a leader; Anime News Network celebrated Shikamaru's emergence as "an unlikely hero" in the Naruto storyline. Shikamaru has also been highly popular with the Naruto reader base, placing high in several popularity polls. Merchandise based on Shikamaru has been released, including action figures, key chains, and patches.

Saiki Kusuo

strangeintoxication

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 ...