Female characters in the lead role are seen very rarely in anime; either they are in the limelight because of the love interest with the hero or due to the moments of fan service. Generally, this happens in most of the series but not in the ones where these girls are violent and badass! Yes, we’re talking about the female antagonists in anime who bring some action to the series.

Pretty, beautiful, gentle – these are some terms used widely for women as they tend to be nice and comfy. But, not all women are nice; in other words, there are actually a bunch of them who are pure evil. These female villains in anime bring heat to the plot through their wicked plans, captivating backstories, and charming beauty that as a fan it’s sometimes hard to not root for them.

And, in today’s article, we’ll take a look at some of the best female antagonists in anime who are just as strong, cruel, and frightening as their male counterparts. So, without any further ado let’s get started.

10. Medusa Gorgon – Soul Eater

Mothers can’t be cruel, right? Seems like you haven’t heard of Medusa from Soul Eater. She is one of the most hated characters from the series and is so blisteringly evil that using her own child to pursue her goals isn’t a big thing. Medusa pretends to be a kind person, but don’t be fooled by her looks; she is more vicious than you can imagine.

Also known as Dr. Medusa, she used to be Death Weapon Meister Academy’s nurse. Initially acting as a kindly school nurse, she eventually reveals her evil intent and revives the Kishin Asura. Being a witch, she had magical powers combined with exceptional combat skills. She is one hell of an intelligent lady who adapts to her surroundings very quickly.

9. Rize Kamishiro – Tokyo Ghoul

Beauty can be deceptive and it fits exactly right with one of the best female antagonists in anime, Rize Kamishiro. Known as the “binge eater”, Rize is well-known to be a femme fatale even among the Ghouls. Not a single being wanted to be on bad terms with Rize as they knew it very well that opposing her means death is nearing.

She is one of the first villains to appear in the series and many considered her to be one of the strongest ghouls in Tokyo Ghoul. She lured Kaneki as well with her charming beauty in the hopes of devouring him, however, after a major accident Reze’s hunting season came to an end.

8. Daki – Demon Slayer

Daki is the latest addition to the list of female villains in anime and she comes from the critically acclaimed series, Demon Slayer. As one of the Twelve Kizuki, Daki is one of the strongest demons around and held the position of Upper-Rank Six with her older brother. She displays a prideful and twisted behavior of often toying with her victims before killing them.

Daki is remarkably attractive, fearful and full of attitude who happens to be one of the most formidable foes that the Demon Slayers have faced so far. Daki’s powerful Blood Demon art combined with her childish side, sorrowful past, and unbreakable bond with her brother makes her a fascinating villain to watch.

7. Isabella – The Promised Neverland

When The Promised Neverland started, Isabella seemed like a nice and kind person who genuinely cared about the children at the Grace Field House orphanage. However, it didn’t take much of a time for the series to unleash the evil side of Isabella as it turned out that she was simply trying to save her neck by raising children as livestock for demons.

This reveal came as a bit of shock for the fans as they weren’t expecting Isabella to be a such wicked woman. She has her own twisted way of loving children and was quite an intelligent lady with commendable strength. Blaming her entirely doesn’t seem right, after all, selling children off was the only way for her to avoid the same fate.

6. Balalaika – Black Lagoon

Black Lagoon is one of the very few anime with a female-dominated cast. Both, the protagonist and antagonist roles are played by amazingly admirable female characters. But, as we’re talking about female antagonists in anime, Balalaika is the one from the show which should be considered here. Balalaika is a Russian crime lord who runs Hotel Moscow.

She happens to be extremely rich and was once a captain in the Soviet army. She’s a complicated character who is more morally grey than evil. Balalaika knows how to tackle her opponents, after all, she is a potent being with a lot of skills and abilities up her sleeves. With all these features in place, she makes up to be a noteworthy villain.

5. Junko Enoshima – Danganronpa

The survival game of Danganronpa was designed by none other than the mastermind Junko Enoshima. Unlike other villains, Junko is a little bit different as she doesn’t do things for her personal gain. The only thing she wants is to fill the world with despair and misery, she’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen – even organizing killing games.

She went ahead and took charge of Hope’s Peak Academy with the idea of breaking down the spirit of all those who have been outside the academy. She broadcasted the killings of all the characters and enjoyed it. Junko is a sadistic, manipulative, horrifically cruel, and agent of pure chaos who does things out of malice and selfishness.

4. Himiko Toga – My Hero Academia

Himiko Toga is an eccentric girl who seems pretty wild and crazy. She is one of the nine lieutenants of the Paranormal Liberation Front and is quite popular in the My Hero Academia community because of her particularly deviant character. Although she is a member of the League of Villains, fans won’t stop falling for her childish smile and odd sense of humor.

But, she isn’t that much of a good person! She follows the missions assigned to her perfectly and can go to any means for accomplishing them. Mass murder, cannibalism, and kidnapping are the day-to-day activities of Himiko. Collecting blood samples of other people is her passion as later, she uses it to disguise herself which is a great aspect of her Quirk.

3. Lust – Fullmetal Alchemist

Maybe the name will sound kind of erotic to you but she’s nothing like that! Out of the seven Homunculi created by Father, Lust is the only female among them. While other homunculi’s personalities reflected on their name, Lust herself was never shown as being particularly lascivious. Instead, she is more of a sadistic lady who displays distinct pleasure in torturing her opponents and making them suffer.

She uses her seductive talks and charming beauty to manipulate others and can even be cruel depending on the situation. Her intellectual mind combined with her fast regeneration skills makes her a very formidable opponent. As one of the female antagonists in anime, she made quite a reputation in the community for his evil personality.

2. Esdeath – Akame Ga Kill

Esdeath can be called the Queen of cruelty and mass murder. She doesn’t show any mercy to her enemies and once, she vanquished an army of 400,000 soldiers alone which places her on the list of anime characters with the highest kill count. As a high-ranking general of the Empire, Esdeath takes her job seriously.

She is known to be one of the strongest & hottest female characters and has an unreal amount of skill within herself. She is a beast when it comes to battle and you wouldn’t wanna go up against her. Besides her physical capabilities, Esdeath displayed strong mental fortitude. If it wasn’t for the love of Tatsumi, Esdeath would have never been defeated.

1. Neferpitou – Hunter x Hunter

The emotional trauma and pain Neferpitou has given to the Hunter x Hunter community is too much to handle which is why she deserves to be on the list of female antagonists in anime. Although the character’s gender is ambiguous, we’re pretty much assuming Pitou is a female villain based on her body language and physical appearance.

Neferpitou was one of the three royal guards of Meruem and she served him very well. Unlike other chimera ants, she was the first to be born possessing Nen energy. As a major antagonist, she did her job pretty well by killing off Kite and later on, arousing the beast out of Gon. Thanks to her cruel and wicked personality, we got to see Gon’s ultimate transformation. Click here to see more anime characters transformations.

Which one of the following female antagonists in anime is your favorite? Feel free to comment down your thoughts and make sure to recommend some other characters like the ones listed above, also don’t forget to share this article with your fellow otaku friends.

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