The shonen genre in the anime and manga world hosts some of the most popular franchises to date. Full Metal Alchemist, Bleach, and Naruto have characters who are so iconic that their reputations reach across generations. With so many 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.
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 May 26, 2022, 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.
15 Morgiana - Magi: The Labyrinth Of Magic
Considered the tritagonist of Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, quiet and eccentric Morgiana ends up being one of the most compelling characters in the series. Known to be much emotionally and physically tougher than her 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. The Magi character 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.
14 Kagura - Gintama
Although a bit odd to include a character from Gintama which is primarily a parody of shonen anime, Kagura has 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 to characters in Gintama, 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.
13 Big Mom - One Piece
Charlotte Linlin, also known as Big Mom, is one of the most interesting side characters in One Piece due to her unique status. Serving as the leader and matriarch of the Charlotte Family, Big Mom heads the Big Mom Pirates and is one of the 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 the One Piece series, 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.
12 Orihime Inoue - Bleach
Originally serving as Ichigo Kurosaki’s primary connection and love interest in the Human World, Orihime Inoue of Bleach has become one of the more interesting characters in the series. Although initially sidelined as simply a damsel in distress, Bleach finally 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 her with 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.
11 Komugi - Hunter X Hunter
Sometimes, even the strongest of individuals don’t necessarily have to be skilled in combat - they simply need to know how to interact with others. Such is the nature of Komugi of Hunter 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.
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.
10 Lara Tybur - Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan is full of well-crafted characters, though some may have very brief moments on the screen. The constant battle against the ruthless titans and even more deadly humans creates 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.
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.
9 Yoruichi Shihoin - Bleach
Bleach has 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.
8 Deneve - Claymore
The Claymore series premiered in the May 2001 issue of Monthly 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 the Claymore series 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.
7 Chris 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.
6 Kofuku - Noragami
Kofuku is the Goddess of Poverty who pretends to be the God of Fortune in Noragami. She is severely underappreciated by the other characters in the series, for simply being the Goddess of Poverty.
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.
5 Canary - Hunter X Hunter
Canary is a powerful character in Hunter X Hunter and despite that, she is often overlooked due to limited screentime. At the age of ten Canary took down a professional bounty hunter and one hundred of his men.
The apprentice butler is even able to effortlessly keep Gon from trespassing multiple times. Her loyalty to Killua surpasses her loyalty to her position. She was shown to be able to use various assassination techniques such as Shadow Step.
4 Andriod 18 - Dragon Ball Z Franchise
In the Dragon Ball franchise, there are plenty of characters that are overshadowed by Saiyan powerups. However, Android 18 is one of the biggest victims of limited screen time. When introduced to the series Android 18 and her brother were a fearsome set of foes. Android 18's character arc is one of the more fulfilling antagonists to ally arcs.
When she's first introduced she is able to ruthlessly overpower Vegeta, due to her infinite stamina. After the Cell Saga, she starts a new life. She has a family that she puts above everything else, and still keeps her personality. Her skills as a solo and cooperative fighter come in handy in Dragon Ball Super during the Tournament of Power.
3 Maki Zenin - Jujutsu Kaisen
A major supporting character in Jujutsu Kaisen, Maki is a second-year at Tokyo Jujutsu High. She is rejected by her family due to her lack of cursed energy, but she overcomes this in her own way. Though she left her family, they still try to stall her growth as a sorcerer, resulting in her grade four rankings. Maki makes up for her lack of cursed energy, by mastering various cursed weapons.
She is able to overwhelm Kasumi and her sister in fights. Maki's physical strength is second only to Yuji's. The ability to masterfully switch between different weapons during a fight is one of the many skills that set her apart.
2 Lenalee Lee - D.Gray-man
An exorcist for the European Branch of the Black Order, Lenalee was the assistant Branch Cheif. Lenalee has a strong devotion to her family and friends and sees them as the entire world. She pushes herself to her limits, even to the point of using her abilities while barely conscious.
Many of the characters in the D.Gray-man series have tragic backstories, but Lenalee's determination to protect her family allows her to put her fears aside.
1 Sakura Uchiha - Boruto & Naruto
Sakura is one of the most famous underrated characters, solely from the amount of hate she receives online. If she is shown in promotional material for the series, waves of people appear just to claim how useless she is as a character, and that's far from it. In her early years in the Naruto series, her character was the third wheel when compared to the other members of Team 7.
As the series progresses she overcomes this dynamic and after training with Tsunade she becomes recognized as one of the greatest medical ninjutsu users in the world. She is able to heal even the most fatal wounds and using the Strength of a Hundred Seal, Sakura is even able to put her body in a state where it heals itself.