Popular Female Anime Characters We've All Had A Crush On

All around the world, lots of people have taken an interest in anime, from children to adults. 

Anime is a Japanese style of animation for film and television with many genres aimed at adults and kids. While in Japan it refers to all animated productions, it means only Japanese animation for people living outside Japan. 

With amazing stories and a variety of genres, it's filled with great characters that we relate to and fall in love with. But which female anime characters do we love the most? Who are the most beautiful, cute or powerful? Certainly, there's a long list so this includes only some of them.

And while it's partially based on my opinion, this list is also created through research from the internet and other's personal ranking to get a diverse range and agreement.

Enjoy the throwback but if you haven't seen some of the anime, then you need to watch them. In addition, if you're looking for anime characters to draw, the perfect cosplay, or someone to include in your next hit fanfiction, you've come to the right place. Here are the best female anime characters. 

Top 10 most beautiful and powerful female anime characters:

• Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail
• Asuna from Sword Art Online
• Saber from Fate/stay night
• Akame from Akame Ga Kill
• Mirajane Strauss from Fairy Tail
• Momo Yaoyorozu from My Hero Academia 
• Sinon (Shino Asada) from Sword Art Online
• Yoruichi Shihouin from Bleach
• Nami from One Piece
• Shinoa Hiragi from Seraph of the End

Top 10 cutest female anime characters:

• Hinata Hyuga from Naruto
• Nezuko Kamado from Demon Slayer
• Mina Ashido from My Hero Academia
• Shiro from No Game No Life
• Kanade Tachibana from Angel Beats
• Eri from My Hero Academia
• Charmy Pappitson from Black Clover
• Yoshino Himekawa from Date A Live
• Wendy Marvell from Fairy Tail

In detail, here are some of the most popular female anime characters.

Best Female Anime Characters:

1. Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail

Ranked number 1 by some of the public, Erza is one of the best and most powerful female anime characters. Not only is she smart and strong, but also beautiful, funny and sweet. As one of the best mages in the guild, she's everything we want to be like and we've definitely had a crush on her since the start of the popular anime, Fairy Tail.

Erza Scarlet, also nicknamed Titania, is an S-Class mage in the guild Fairy Tail. Erza is in love with Jellal, with whom she shares a past and a close, special relationship with. Also, Jellal never had another girlfriend since Erza is his love interest.

Additionally, one of my favourite things about her is when she changes outfits/armour as they all look amazing and show her in different looks, including sexy, beautiful and tough. 

Fairy Tail is a manga and anime by Hiro Mashima, which was first broadcasted on 12 October 2009 and had its last episode on 29 September 2019. It's an adventure and fantasy show that follows the endless journeys and battles of the magic guild, Fairy Tail.

2. Asuna from Sword Art Online

Just like Erza, Asuna is one of the most iconic female anime characters. She's from the well-loved anime Sword Art Online, also known as SAO. Asuna is the heroine and one of the players in the video game. In view of this, she shows her great fighting skills as one of the most powerful characters and she looks badass good when she does. Furthermore, her outfit is one often seen at cosplays.

She's a great character with romance, strength, beauty and drama. Asuna is Kirito's girlfriend and they later get married in the game. Asuna and Kirito never break up and they even adopted a child named Yui, although she's an artificial intelligence - thus their relationship is one of the things I love most. Unfortunately, in season 2, Asuna becomes a minor role in the background. 

The popular anime Sword Art Online, directed by Tomohiko Ito, was first broadcasted in 2012 and has a spin-off called Gun Gale Online (GGO). It is about people being trapped in the online role-player game, Sword Art Online. 

3. Saber from Fate/stay night

Another anime girl who's seen as strong is Saber from Fate/stay night. She's a well known and favourite character with a memorable outfit and hairstyle. Being that she's independent, powerful, loyal to the master she serves, and beautiful, you definitely won't forget her. 

Saber's real name is Artoria Pendragon and she's from the Saber class, the strongest class. In the original Fate/stay night, Saber is the love interest of the main character, Shirou, and they end up together. However, in the other versions, Shirou has two different love interests. It sounds confusing, but trust me, that's what makes it more interesting and intriguing. 

The Fate/stay night series with 4 different versions started in 2006 and ended in 2017, and was directed by Yuji Yamaguchi and Kenichi Takeshita. They're all really good so I recommend watching them all. 

4. Hinata Hyuga from Naruto

As a classic manga and anime directed by Hayato Date, Naruto was a long series with many sequels and great love from everyone. Furthermore, our hearts melted for the quiet but determined ninja, Hinata, who had a crush on the protagonist. She's considered one of the cutest and most beautiful anime girls and her fighting spirit for living up to her noble clan name made us like her even more. 

Hinata married Naruto and they had two children - their son Boruto Uzumaki and their daughter Himawari Uzumaki. Also, unlike what some may fantasize about, Neji does not have a crush on Hinata. In the start, Neji hated Hinata and the main house of their clan because he believed they are the cause of his father's death. 

5. Nezuko Kamado from Demon Slayer

The must-watch anime that everyone has been seeing lately is Demon Slayer, which started in 2019 and was directed by Haruo Sotozaki. And one of the main characters has caught our eyes. With an iconic and super cute look, Nezuko is one of my favourite female characters and is great for cosplays. 

Nezuko Kamado from Demon Slayer is the younger sister of the main character, Tanjiro. At the start of the storyline, Nezuko is 12 years old. She was turned into a demon and helps Tanjiro on his adventures and fights - being protective of him. Nezuko's boyfriend is Zenitsu Agatsuma and they later get married and have a family. 

Although this strong girl doesn't talk much and lost some of her memories, she is still kind and caring with the willpower to not eat humans or their blood. Nezuko was also hypnotised to see all humans as her family so she doesn't eat them. She is partially self-aware. Furthermore, Nezuko is not an ordinary demon as she recharges with sleep instead of human blood. Nezuko is very strong with superstrength and the ability to change her body size, such as shrinking. 

Why does Nezuko bite a bamboo?

Nezuko bites a bamboo so people don't see her demon fangs and it acts as another way to stop her from attacking a human and going wild. Due to Nezuko not speaking for many years and always having the bamboo muzzle, she stutters when she tries to talk. 

6. Mina Ashido from My Hero Academia

As this anime got popular in 2019, many fans commented on their love for Mina, the pink alien girl with powers to spray acid. You might not have had a crush on her but probably wanted her as a friend because of her contagious smile and bubbly personality that I think makes her so likable. Moreover, Mina is so cute and makes the pink skin look good - definitely our new pink representative.

If you need a good, entertaining anime to watch, My Hero Academia is my new first recommendation as it's got everything from action-packed scenes to heartwarming ones and funny ones - and Mina adds to making your day brighter. Mina is training to be a superhero in Class 1-A, alongside the main character, Izuku Midoriya.

My Hero Academia, directed by Kenji Nagasaki, was released in 2016. It's set in a world where most people have powers called "Quirks". Although Izuku Midoriya doesn't have a Quirk, he wants to become a hero. 

7. Akame from Akame Ga Kill

This beautiful black-haired girl from Akame Ga Kill is recognisable even if you haven't seen the show. Although some watchers dislike how it strayed from the manga, the style was good and the first half was entertaining as I agree. The strongest person in the Night Raid from Akame Ga Kill is Akame, which isn't a surprise with the title. While Akame doesn't get along with Tatsumi at first, she later falls in love with him. 

Akame Ga Kill was first released on 7 July 2014 and directed by Tomoki Kobayashi. The story of Akame Ga Kill follows Tatsumi as he joins the Night Raid, an assassination group from the Revolutionary Army to eliminate Prime Minister Honest, who is the main villain of Akame Ga Kill.

8. Yoruichi Shihouin from Bleach

From one of my favourite and first anime, Yoruichi was a strong female character that I loved. Many fans love her beauty and fun personality. Furthermore, this interesting character has a cool ability to turn into a cat and she's a skilled fighter. I think her dark skin and purple hair also make her more memorable even though there are plenty of beautiful and sexy girls in Bleach.

Yoruichi is apparently Mexican and Japanese. Also, it is not officially confirmed if she was in a relationship with Kisuke, but we love how strong she is independently. She's so powerful that she has a Bankai even though she never uses it.

The well-known anime Bleach was directed by Noriyuki Abe and the start was aired on 5 October 2004 and ended in 2012 while the manga ended in 2016. The plot of Bleach is about Ichigo Kurosaki as he becomes a Soul Reaper and is joined by his friends to fight Hollows, who eat human souls, and other dangers.

9. Shiro from No Game No Life

While there are many anime about video games, Shiro is probably the cutest I remember her a lot because of her innocent look yet smart personality. Shiro is in love with Sora in the manga but he doesn't know and sees her as a little sister, as we probably would like her to be for us. Although Shiro and Sora kissed, it was for survival in the game with no feelings.

Being the main female protagonist, Shiro is 11 years old and has a step-brother, Sora. She's a calm strategist who loves playing games at home. Shiro's IQ would be around 250-400.

No Game No Life, directed by Atsuko Ishizuka, was released on 9 April 2014 and is a good anime but sadly, there is no intention for season 2. Firstly, the gamer siblings Shiro and Sora are transported to another realm where conflicts are settled through games and they try to defeat the God of Games, Tet.

10.  Kanade Tachibana from Angel Beats

Angel Beats is a well-known anime you've probably heard of or seen and Kanade Tachibana, or Angel, is popular with her gorgeous white hair, and she's one of my favourite girl characters. Despite being a short anime, many fans have commented that Angel Beats is a really good anime though with a sad ending. 

With the nickname Angel because of her special abilities, Kanade Tachibana is a student at the Afterlife school around 16-17 years old. Yuzuru Otonashi loves Kanade and they get together at the end when Otonashi is reincarnated since he died multiple times in Angel Beats.

Directed by Seiji Kishi, Angel Beats aired from 3 April 2010 - 26 June 2010. It revolves around Otonashi waking up in the afterlife and joining the Afterlife Battlefront, Shinda Sekai Sensen (SSS), to fight a girl called Tenshi. The main villain in Angel Beats are The Shadows.

Who is the best female anime character?

There is a long list of amazing female anime characters as so many creators make characters that we can't help but fall in love with. By all means, this list is very subjective. But at the top of the list, we might see Erza Scarlet, Asuna, Hinata Hyuga and many more from some classic anime. 

We've most likely had a crush on these girls as they're either beautiful, cute or both. Significantly, they have great personalities and we can relate or look up to them, which make them even more popular. So, did you have a crush on these female anime characters, or do you have some favourites that aren't on this list?