In the past few years, Anime has become more popular with shows like Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia, and Jujutsu Kaisen. Most people tend to agree with its treatment of women, whether they like anime or not. Women are either sexualized (like Nami from One Piece or Lucy from Fairytail) or aren’t part of the main plot despite being marketed as such (like Nobara from Jujutsu Kaisen or Sakura from Naruto). These factors alone have caused people to lose interest in anime. However, this article will list anime centered around women and treat their characters respectfully.
- Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
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This anime is centered on an elf named Frieren who has lived for over five hundred years. After a member of her adventuring party of ten years passes away, she reevaluates what life means to her. Her journey includes a journey to a literal place and her discovery of what time means to humans and herself.
Frieren’s story is heartfelt, as she feels lost for the first time after going so long without feeling it. However, another wonderful aspect of this series is her relationship with her apprentice, Fern. Fern is Frieren’s second chance to connect with humans, though this time, he is more aware of the toll time takes on humans.
The story is deep and respectful, balancing Frieren’s past love (not that she was aware of it at the time) with her current goals. It’s worth a watch! You can watch this on Crunchyroll.
- The Apothecary Diaries
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This is one of my favorite animes of the year. It’s centered around an apothecary named Maomao, who is kidnapped and sold to the courtesan palace that belongs to the emperor. Maomao begins as a serving girl, but once she saves the life of a courtesan’s baby, she elevates to a food taster. This puts Maomao in harm’s way if poison is in one of the dishes. However, Maomao is delighted by this as she’s fascinated by medicine and poison.
The series plays out as a detective story, with Maomao being a sort of Sherlock Holmes in feudal China. She is smart and funny, and watching her never gets old. You can watch this on Crunchyroll.
Kristen Bryant / Her Campus - Puella Magi Madoka Magica
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I’ve spoken about this anime before on my Halloween anime list, but I had to mention it again. The main cast comprises all girls, and each girl has a deep backstory and motivation. These girls battle against their desires, and they struggle in the face of unspeakable horrors. They fight each other, then band together when it matters. Also, even though a girl doesn’t need to be powerful to be written well, it is important to note that Madoka could beat Goku in a fight.
You can watch this on Crunchyroll, Hulu, or Disney Plus.
- Wonder Egg Priority
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This is another anime making its comeback from my Halloween list. Like Madoka Magica, it is centered around a cast of girls.
Something I enjoy about both of these anime is that the genre is psychological horror. Usually, when people think of women in anime, they think of shoujo (romance) anime. But girls have a place in shounen, in mystery, and yes, in horror. The story goes deep into the psyche of a girl’s mind and is exceptionally on point. Additionally, the story also includes trans girls, which is something I feel is rarely seen in anime.
You can watch this on Crunchyroll.
- Sailor Moon
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When making this list, I couldn’t not include this anime. For one, it’s a classic, so I’m sure most people have heard of it. It was written in the early 1990s, making it so much more impressive that it was female-focused and held up to the popularity of titans like Dragon Ball.
Sailor Moon is a magical girl anime in the classic sense, meaning it isn’t as horror-centric as Madoka Magica. However, it has a cast of girls who all have their tightly knit group, which is lovely to see. These girls face their battles head-on while continuing with their everyday lives.
A fun fact you may be unaware of is that Sailor Moon was extremely inclusive, featuring the lesbian couple Sailor Uranus and Sailor Venus in the story. You can watch the older version on Disney Plus and the newer one (Sailor Moon Crystal) on Crunchyroll.
- A Certain Scientific Railgun
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A Certain Scientific Railgun is an anime I had been considering watching for a while, and I’m glad I finally did.
It’s an anime about people having powers, but they’re explained in a very scientific sense. The main character is Makoto Misaka, and it’s a blast to watch her use her electricity powers in new and fun ways as she beats whatever she’s facing, be it thugs or evil scientists.
I thought this would be a fanservice-y anime (and if we’re being real, it is a bit), but in the first episode, when it was revealed that Misaka wears shorts underneath her skirt, I was sold. Is the bar low? Maybe, but it just really endeared Misaka to me. You can watch this on Crunchyroll.
- Horimiya
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I mentioned shoujo anime earlier, but it would be remiss of me not to include one here. Shoujo often worries me because the female lead is frequently a pushover while the male is a pervert, but that’s not the case with this anime.
Horimiya stands her ground, and her love interest is always respectful towards her. This was one of the first shoujo anime I ever watched, and I’m glad I started with this one, even though it raised the bar quite a bit. You can watch this on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Disney Plus.
Anime is often generalized into just fanservice, but I hope this list proves there is more than just fanservice to anime. It’s a medium, not a genre, so there is bound to be something for everyone, including anime with well-written women.
Now, I couldn’t include every anime, but here are some honorable mentions: Delicious in Dungeon, Fruits Basket, Kill la Kill, and the Fate franchise. I didn’t include these because they either don’t have the female as the main character or had a bit of fanservice.
Hopefully, this list gave you some good anime recommendations with strong female characters!