The shonen genre in the anime and manga world hosts some of the most popular franchises to date.Full Metal Alchemist,Bleach, andNarutohave characters who are so iconic that their reputations reach across generations. With somany series under the shonen umbrella, fans often create subcategories to further classify shows. Battle shonen is one of those subcategories, featuring high amounts of action and characters who find competitive solutions to any problem.
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Though shonen anime typically features male protagonists, the female characters can often carry the series. Well-written and powerful female characters within the genre resonate with fans for generations. However, not all female characters are treated equally by fans or critics. This often leads to some phenomenal characters being overshadowed and needing more love.
Updated on June 27, 2025, by Rhenn Taguiam:There’s no shortage of battle shonen anime regardless of the era - as proven by the likes of SPY x FAMILY and Attack On Titan Final Season Part 2 that rank among the best of 2022’s action anime. However, while male protagonists often take the lead in these action experiences, there are a lot of instances where female characters deserve a lot more attention with their impact on the story and even sheer combat prowess. Among these characters is a martial artist in a comedy anime, one of the most powerful pirates out there, a blind strategy prodigy, and even someone people usually think is a damsel in distress.
15Morgiana - Magi: The Labyrinth Of Magic
Considered the tritagonist ofMagi: The Labyrinth of Magic, quiet and eccentricMorgianaends up being one of the most compelling characters in the series. Known to be much emotionally and physically tougher thanher comrades Alibaba and Aladin, Morgiana possesses a naturally-strong personality that helps her two friends keep their faith in even the toughest of times. However, inside her tough exterior is a rather meek and insecure girl who struggles with her weaknesses.
Her only wish is to repay the kindness her two friends have extended to her, which ties well into her abilities - superhuman strength, advanced intelligence, and her Battle Cry ability that allows her to scare most opponents and even evolve it into echolocation. TheMagicharacter is also popular for her Amol Selseila Household Vessel, from Amon the Djinn, which takes the form of chains she can manipulate into various uses.
14Kagura - Gintama
Although a bit odd to include a character fromGintamawhich is primarily a parody of shonen anime,Kagurahas proven to be quite an attractive and compelling character in the rather gimmicky comedy series. Although naive to some extent, Kagura is known for her strong love for eating and maternal instincts, making her one of the more youthful yet equally-mature characters in the series. Similar tocharacters inGintama, Kagura is no slouch either.
Aside from being one of the most skilled hand-to-hand combatants in the series, her Yato heritage allows Kagura to tap into Yato Mode - a monster capable of wanting to kill anything that incurs her wrath. Outside these abilities, Kagura has unique healing abilities to the extent of being able to change her age.
13Big Mom - One Piece
Charlotte Linlin, also known asBig Mom, is one of the most interesting side characters inOne Piecedue to her unique status. Serving as the leader and matriarch of the Charlotte Family, Big Mom heads the Big Mom Pirates and is one ofthe New World’s Four Emperors- making her one of the most powerful pirates around. Despite her scary appearance, Big Mom is crazy influential and crazy powerful.
Serving as one of the long-time antagonists of theOne Pieceseries, Big Mom is calculating and tactically capable, being able to read steps way ahead of her compatriots. Such is her power and leadership skills that she’s transformed Totto Land into a utopia, as well as having created the Homies - a unique race of creatures happy to serve her.
12Orihime Inoue - Bleach
Originally serving as Ichigo Kurosaki’s primary connection and love interest in the Human World,Orihime InoueofBleachhas become one of the more interesting characters in the series. Although initially sidelined as simply a damsel in distress,Bleachfinally gave Orihime a chance to become a part of the spotlight courtesy of her Shun Shun Rikka, a unique manifestation of her psychic abilities in the form of six spirits that endow herwith unique abilities.
Despite these things, however, Orihime remains rather ignored throughout the series due to the arrival of other more plot-related characters and arcs. Not only that, but Orihime’s constant presence as simply Ichigo’s “potential love interest” didn’t leave much room for Orihime to try showcasing how humans can become a more active part in the conflicts surrounding Soul Society.
11Komugi - Hunter X Hunter
Sometimes,even the strongest of individualsdon’t necessarily have to be skilled in combat - they simply need to know how to interact with others. Such is the nature ofKomugiofHunter X Hunter. Despite being blind and frail, her skill with the game Gungi has earned her a spot that the likes of Netero have died after achieving - a seat next to Meruem, the King of the Chimera Ants.
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Impressed with her intelligence and lack of fear in the face of death, Komugi has become a constant companion of the Chimera Ant King, often becoming a source of “entertainment” through Gungi matches that Meruem can’t seem to win. However, their constant games soon develop into a friendship, with Komugi teaching Meruem the merits and what it means to be human. Despite her short stay in the arc, Komugi’s influence on Meruem remains an integral part of his development.
10Lara Tybur - Attack on Titan
Attack on Titanis full of well-crafted characters, though some may havevery brief moments on the screen. The constant battle against the ruthless titans andeven more deadly humanscreates constant conflict. Lara Tybur is the younger sister of Willy Tybur and the former inheritor of the War Hammer Titan. Lara’s titan abilities were amazing compared to the other titans that had been introduced.
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Remote operation allows the titan body to emerge from different locations and removes the weak spot on the neck. Structural hardening is possibly the most unique, and its use is one of the reasons Lara deserves a lot of credit. With the War Hammer Titan’s hardening ability the user can create various types of weapons from the signature war hammer to a functioning crossbow. Considering that the War Hammer Titan had not seen a battlefield in generations, Lara was able to demonstrate near expert levels of combat strategy as well as weapons expertise. Noting that unlike a bow and arrow a crossbow is not as simple of a weapon to craft, to manifest it out of thin air the user would have to fully understand how it works and is assembled.
9Yoruichi Shihoin - Bleach
Bleachhas been a fan favorite for years and it features a wide range of characters and high-action combat sequences.With so many characters and plot points on the screen at any given time, there is no shortage of underappreciated characters, especially female characters. Yoruichi Shihoin is one of those characters who deserve a lot more love than they are given.
Former captain of the second decision and former commander of the stealth force she is also the only known soul reaper who can transform into an animal. She was the first woman to hold the position of head of her family. Yoruichi also mentored two of the most lethal present captains Sui-Feng and Byakuya. Unlike the other captains, she relies on mele combat rather than sword fighting and is still able to overpower or at least be on par with captain-level soul reapers and enemies.
8Deneve - Claymore
TheClaymoreseries premiered in the May 2001 issue ofMonthly Shonen Jump. Though the anime series only covered the first eleven volumes of the series, the majority female cast and high fantasy setting made the anime an often overlooked gem. Though each character in theClaymoreseries had unique backgrounds and motivations, Deneve is often overshadowed by the other claymores. As a young girl, her family was killed by Yoma, and she vowed to avenge them.
However, her strong will to live causes her to become a defensive type of claymore. Deneve views her abilities as a manifestation of her own cowardice and fights recklessly until she meets Helen. After her encounter with Undine of the Twin Swords, she takes up Undine’s sword and adopts her dual-wielding practices.
7Chris Mustang - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Known as Madame Christmas, Chris is the owner of a hostess bar in Central City. The bar is often frequented by Roy Mustang, and at first, seems like a tool to highlight his womanizing ways. However, as the series progresses Chris and by connection, her business is revealed to be more than a bar.
The women under Madame Christmas' care act as secret informants to Mustang’s squad. Madame Christmas is a skilled intelligence operative and acts as a contact between the Colonel and Lt. General Grumman in East City. The final piece of intelligence she relays to Roy is the true identity of Selim Bradley.
6Kofuku - Noragami
Kofuku is the Goddess of Poverty who pretends to be the God of Fortune inNoragami. She is severely underappreciated by the other characters in the series, for simply being the Goddess of Poverty.
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She originally was not given a name and was even barred from possessing a shinki, like the other gods. Her powers of disaster and destruction are feared in the universe. Despite this, she found love with her current shinki who gave her her name. Kofuku even temporarily adopted another shinki as their child. This was short-lived when she eventually released their bond. The spirit would get hurt realizing they would never age like other children. Her ability to sympathize with others' pain is why she deserves so much more fanfare.
