Best Anime With Female Protagonists, Ranked

There are plenty of anime with strong female leads, with titles like Sailor Moon, the Ghost in the Shell series, and Revolutionary Girl Utena being some of the most well-known. These titles paved the way for other quality anime with female protagonists.

Some leading ladies have made their name in the anime world with their strength, while others are primarily known for their brains. If there’s one thing they all have in common, it’s determination. These ladies won’t let anything stop them from doing their jobs or accomplishing their goals. Let’s highlight the best anime with female MCs.

Updated on May 5, 2025 by Mark Sammut: The best anime with female main characters has received a few new contenders from the Spring 2025 season. While too early to definitively rank them, the lineup’s standout shows deserve to be watched.

Exciting Spring 2025 Anime With Female Protagonists

Winter 2025 had plenty of great anime with female MCs, including a show (The Apothecary Diaries) that is still airing episodes during Spring 2025. As fantastic a character as Maomao is, she is hardly the current season’s only great leading lady. Spring 2025 has arguably one of the strongest lineups of female-led shows in a long time. Let’s highlight the season’s best shows that are driven by girls and women.

• Kowloon Generic Romance – Shaping up to be one of the best romances of the year, this unique series has a lot going for it, beyond a fascinating female protagonist. Set in the future but taking place in a city that is inspired by the past, Kowloon Generic Romance touches upon nostalgia, identity, and memories. Suffering from amnesia (or something similar), Reiko has an awkward dynamic with her coworker, one stemming from a past relationship that she cannot remember. Reiko’s past self is treated like a different woman, albeit one that is still inherently tied to the protagonist.
• The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom – A protagonist who is just “too” perfect sounds boring on paper; however, this anime has been surprisingly good so far. While extremely powerful and a hard worker, Saint Philia struggles to connect with people, causing her to be actively disliked. Therefore, her fiancé sells her to a neighboring kingdom that lost their Saint. Once there, Philia gradually starts to realize that she deserves to be treated far better than she used to be. Honestly, Philia is just OK, but she shares the spotlight with her sister, Mia. The latter is one of the best female characters of Spring 2025.
• Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray – A franchise about horsegirls has no business being consistently amazing, yet Uma Musume has generally maintained a high standard. A spin-off that can be watched in isolation, Cinderella Gray is a top contender for the best anime of the season, along with featuring one of Spring 2025’s standout MCs. Oguri Cap is just an absolute delight, and her journey to become the ultimate horse girl represents the sports genre at its peak. Watch it.
• Witch Watch – Based on a manga by the same author behind Sket Dance, Witch Watch revolves around Nico, the eponymous mage, and Morihito, her reluctant friend-turned-familiar. While hinting at romance, this show prioritizes comedy above everything else, which is a good thing since the humor has generally hit the mark. Nico is a fairly traditional female lead for a shonen comedy, albeit one who triggers most of the comedy scenarios rather than acting as a foil. She is fun.
• Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty – The reign of girl bands continues, and Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty ramps up the laughs. In a school that expects its students to be all prim and proper, four girls break free through rock music. The first couple of episodes were a blend of great comedy, good music, and top-notch animation, setting the stage for what will hopefully remain one of the season’s best anime about girls.
• Anne Shirley – Now, for something a touch different, this anime is an adaptation of L.M Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. The source material is a literary classic with one of the most beloved female protagonists of all time. This story is beloved in Japan, largely thanks to a 1979 anime. The new version is just as brilliant as that classic series.

41

You’re Under Arrest!

Join Female Officers On Their Everyday Adventures

In You’re Under Arrest, Natsumi Tsujimoto is a young woman who’s just starting her new job at the police station. On her way there, she gets cited by an officer, Miyuki Kobayakawa. When Natsumi arrives at the precinct, she finds out her partner will be none other than Miyuki. What starts as a rocky partnership turns into a friendship that both of them come to cherish.

The show mostly centers around Miyuki and Natsumi, but the supporting characters also play a big part. It’s a good choice for anyone wanting to see a cast mostly made of women with buddy cop vibes. The animation might be a little outdated, but that shouldn’t stop viewers from seeing this underrated gem.

40

Madlax

Two Female Leads Who Are Strong In Different Ways

Madlax is a young woman who is a mercenary and seems to have almost supernatural skills. Margaret Burton is a 19-year-old girl who attends a college for aristocratic families. Neither of them can remember anything from over twelve years ago, and the word “Madlax” is something both of them know, but can’t explain how. When a book given to Margaret attracts the attention of a criminal network, the two young women meet and travel together to find out the truth about it and themselves.

It starts a little slow, but once the action starts, it doesn’t stop. Both Margaret and Madlax are strong women but in very different ways. Madlax has been hardened by her time as a mercenary but is still a gentlewoman when not fighting. Margaret may not have any combat experience, but that doesn’t stop her from trying to learn the truth.

39

Legend of Basara

A Teen Picks Up Her Fallen Twin Brother’s Mantle

An oldie, but goodie that still holds up today. Sarasa is a young woman whose twin brother, Tatara, was chosen to be the savior of Japan who will stop the tyrannical rule of the Red King. However, Tatara is killed when their village is destroyed and Sarasa pretends to be him to keep hope alive and avenge her brother’s death.

Though she’s quick to cry and has some moments of weakness, Sarasa doesn’t give in to the pressure and remains strong in her mission to avenge Tatara. Though the animation is outdated, fans should check this anime if they’re looking for a good anime with a strong female lead.

38

The Story Of Saiunkoku

A Young Woman Working Hard Even When Her Gender Works Against Her

Shurei Hong is a young woman who dreams of having a government job, but this post is forbidden to women. Her family has fallen on hard times and Shurei works various odd jobs to make money. However, her luck changes when the emperor’s grand advisor asks her to be the emperor’s consort and teach the emperor, Ryuki Shi, to be a good ruler. Shurei takes this opportunity as a way to make money, but also make her dreams come true.

It’s inspiring to see Shurei working with what she has to achieve her goals and not let it get her down. Court life and politics aren’t things to blow off and Shurei is determined to make Ryuki into a great emperor.

37

Flip Flappers

Two Middle Schoolers Going On Bizarre Magical Girl Adventures

Cocona is a middle school girl whose life is pretty ordinary until she meets the mysterious and eccentric Papika. Papika decides to bring Cocona into Flip Flap, an organization looking for strange fragments that can grant wishes in another world. During their second mission, they are sent to another world to defeat a monster, but a rival magical group defeats it. Cocona and Papika become determined to perfect their transformations and get stronger so they can collect more fragments.

Flip Flappers is a pretty good show for magical girl fans who want something a little more zany than traditional shows like Sailor Moon and not dark like Puella Magi Madoka Magica. This is a more comedic and lighthearted show that focuses more on the coming-of-age aspects.

36

Pretear

A High Schooler Must Quickly Prepare To Save The World

Pretear is a magical girl anime that combines aspects of Cinderella and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Himeno Awayuki is learning to deal with her new life when her father marries a rich woman with two daughters. She questions her place since her father is neglectful and her stepmother and stepsisters make her life miserable. Destiny intervenes when seven knights appear before her and tell her she’s the Pretear. The Pretear is the only one capable of destroying monstrous beings known as Demon Larva and must stop the Princess of Disaster from spreading them.

Himeno doesn’t get too much time to process everything and agrees to help. She uses her free time to train herself as quickly as possible to become stronger. Her confidence and strength are constantly being tested by everyone around her. Luckily, she’s able to pull herself together with some help from the Knights.

35

Canaan

A Photographer Finds Herself In The Middle Of A Deadly Plot

Canaan is a mystery-thriller anime about photographer Maria Osawa looking for the next newsworthy story along with her partner Mino. After hearing about some strange events happening at a local carnival, Maria’s life is flipped upside down.

She gets caught up in a large plot over a deadly virus that could threaten humanity. Luckily, she is protected by her old friend Canaan, a mercenary seeking revenge on her former teammate, Alphard. All three women are connected and the series follows this as Canaan and Maria work together. Alphard might seem like a typical villain leading a terrorist group, but there’s more to her than meets the eye.

34

Azumanga Daioh

A Great Comedy With A Female Cast

This anime follows the everyday lives of a group of female students and their two teachers. Chiyo is a child prodigy student who’s struggling to find her place in the school, poor Sakaki loves cute animals but they seem to hate her, Ayumu’s too busy daydreaming the day away, Yomi struggles to be the voice of reason for her crazy friends, Tomo has mastered the paradoxical art of being an energetic slacker, and Kagura is struggling with her one-sided athletic rivalry with Sakaki. Meanwhile, teachers Yukari and Minamo, are hilariously struggling to navigate relationships and work.

This is one great comedy anime for anyone who doesn’t want to follow a complex storyline. It’s just following the girls and teachers as they live normal lives but with that perfect blend of anime absurdity and outbursts.

33

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Proof That Being A Magical Girl Isn’t All Sunshine And Rainbows

Middle school students Madoka and Sayaka discover the world of magical girls after meeting Kyubey, a mysterious talking cat-like being. Kyuybey offers them a wish in exchange for their souls and become magical girls. However, they quickly learn that being a magical girl isn’t what they thought it would be and that the truth is much darker and deadlier than anything they could ever imagine.

If anime fans are looking for a pretty dark magical girl anime, this one is it. Puella Magi Madoka Magica shows that not everything is sunshine and rainbows for the girls who choose to become magical girls. Not to mention Kyuybey shows that just because something looks cute, doesn’t mean it’s good.

32

Wotakoi: Love Is Hard For Otaku

It’s Not Everyday That Female Otaku Are Given The Spotlight

Narumi Motose is a young woman who’s excited to start her new job. After being shown around the office, she runs into her childhood otaku friend, Hirotaka Nifuji. Though happy to see him again, she tries to hurry away before he reveals her otaku lifestyle in front of their coworkers, Hanako Koyanagi and Taro Kabakura. Little does she know, Koyanagi and Kabakura are also otakus and a friendship between the four of them blossoms.

The anime gives equal screen time to all four characters, but Narumi and Koyanagi’s scenes are comedy gold. The two of them share a lot of similarities with a strong love for cosplay (in Narumi’s case, she doesn’t dress up but admires those who do), BL manga and anime, and video games. Even when they have disagreements, it’s hilarious to watch and a breath of fresh air that they don’t get toxic.