Smartest Female Characters In Shonen Anime, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• Female characters in anime showcase intelligence and strategic skills beyond physical strength.
• Characters like Tsunade, Hange Zoe, and Nami exhibit exceptional intelligence in tough situations.
• Smart female characters like Mei Hatsume, Shiro, and Bulma use their brains to outwit opponents efficiently.

In most anime, characters rely mainly on their physical strength to help them in tough situations, and this strategy may work in most cases. However, it is not rare to find an opponent with a stronger ability and in these cases, it would be extremely foolish to rely on strength alone.

So, in these situations, it is important to have the brains to plan a formidable strategy. Female anime characters have developed over the years and instead of just being a bystander in most cases, they are now much more involved in the story, and it allows them to showcase their skills. With that in mind, we will be taking a look at the smartest female characters.

Updated on November 25, 2024, by Suzail Ahmad: Female anime characters have not always been treated in an appropriate manner. In the past, most female leads were limited to very obscure roles, making it hard for them to stand out.

Over the years, things have changed drastically. The new anime titles put a lot of stress on the female leads and try to make them appealing to the audience by giving them special abilities. Aside from endowing them with insane physical abilities, the new female characters are given incredibly high IQs. These smart female anime characters let their achievements do the talking.

11 Tsunade

Created Antidotes For The Most Potent Poisons

Tsunade is one of the main characters in the Naruto series. As a Genin, she was a part of Team Hiruzen, and under her teacher’s guidance, she grew up to become the best medical ninja in the entire world. Tsunade’s medical knowledge helped her to save the lives of countless ninjas. Without her medical expertise, the Hidden Leaf would have suffered far more casualties in wars.

Tsunade’s intelligence allowed her to create antidotes to the strongest of poisons in a very short time. She has successfully performed surgeries that were considered impossible to execute. When the Six Paths of Pain invaded the Hidden Leaf, Tsunade did not rush to fight them. Instead, she solely focused her energy on healing the ninjas, which enabled the Hidden Leaf to keep fighting. In the fight against Madara Uchiha, it was Tsunade’s techniques that kept the other Kage alive.

Accomplishments: Tsunade revolutionized the role of medical ninjas in Naruto. She proved how important it was for every ninja team to have medical ninjas on board. Tsunade had extensive knowledge of poisons, medicines, and the human body. With the right tools at her disposal, Tsunade could perform elaborate medical procedures.

10 Hange Zoe

Knew Everything About Titans

Hange Zoe is the current Commander of the Survey Corps. She was promoted to the position after Erwin Smith was killed in the battle of Shiganshina. The members of the Survey Corps have faith in her as she has proved her intelligence on several occasions.

Due to her fascination with Titans, she has devoted her life to studying them. This caused her to develop a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. The heap of information that she possesses has enabled her to create weapons and gadgets that are effective against Titans. Hange Zoe is an incredible leader, who can formulate strategies in a very short time. This trait, along with her other strengths, makes her one of the smartest female anime characters.

Accomplishments: In a world where most people were afraid of Titans, Hange Zoe was among the few who were mesmerized by them. She took a keen interest in their morphology and came up with different ideas for weapons and other useful equipment that made things easier for the Survey Corps.

9 Nami

The Best Navigator In One Piece

Nami is the navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates. She joined the crew in the East Blue saga. Even as a child, Nami had outstanding cartography skills, which impressed a brute like Arlong, and he used her ability to his own benefit. Nami’s navigational skills are on a completely different level from other navigators. After training in Weatheria, Nami’s understanding of the weather and its aspects greatly improved.

In addition to her talent as a navigator and cartographer, Nami has used her intelligence to get the better of her opponents in fights. In the Whole Cake Island arc, she was the one who found out that Big Mom’s Vivre Card was enough to scare the homies. She also used her Clima-Tact to form clouds and drench Cracker’s biscuits so that Luffy could eat them easily. Moments such as these prove that Nami is truly one of the smartest One Piece characters.

Accomplishments: Nami is a perceptive character who can analyze her opponent’s strengths and weaknesses in no time. However, she truly excels at predicting the weather. Due to her extensive training in Weatheria and her experiences, Nami is able to read the signs and warn her friends about any possible dangers.

8 Yumeko Jabami

Has Superhuman Memory

She is the main protagonist of Kakegurui. Yumeko has a serious case of gambling addiction. Her personality completely changes when she gets ready to gamble. During her gambling sessions, she may act like she does not have a plan, but on the contrary, she is a very cunning person.

She is able to read her opponents and figure out their strategies, and she comes up with a counter to beat them. Yumeko has shown that she can come up with elaborate strategies that involve as many as thirty steps.

Accomplishments: Yumeko has acute observation skills that allow her to notice the smallest details. This, combined with her sharp memory, makes her one of the best gamblers in anime history.

7 Ed

Expert At Hacking

Ed is among the main characters in Cowboy Bebop. Despite being just 13 years old, Ed is excellent at hacking. At an early age, she developed an astounding skill at hacking, which made her an important part of the Bebop’s crew.

With her skills, Ed was able to hack the Bebop and make it come to her. Her skills were so impressive that Ed was considered to be a legendary hacker, whose existence was considered a myth. Over the course of the series, Ed managed to help the crew of Bebop on several occasions with her abilities.

Accomplishments: Ed is phenomenal at basically everything computer-related. She’s particularly good at hacking into systems. Despite being a teenager, she was able to tamper with Bebop’s controls. With time, her talents would have improved, and she became one of the best in the world at her job.

6 Winry

A Generational Automail Engineer

Daughter of the late Yuriy and Sarah Rockbell, Winry is an extremely talented automail engineer. She was considered to be a prodigy because of her ability to create and repair automail. At the age of just 11, Winry managed to create automail limbs for Edward Elric.

Winry’s abilities impressed her grandmother, who was an exceptional engineer herself. By the end of the series, Winry had become one of the best automail engineers in the world. In addition to her skill as an engineer, Winry has a good deal of knowledge of surgical instruments and advanced medical literature.

Accomplishments: Winry had a difficult childhood, but that did not stop her from becoming a master craftsperson. She spent a lot of time with her grandmother, which improved her understanding of automail. With time, she understood the limitations of automail. This enabled her to create complicated items, such as functioning limbs, with automail.

5 Mei Hatsume

Her Inventions Changed Lives

Mei Hatsume is a student from Class 1-H, which belongs to U.A.’s Department of Support. She is an excellent inventor, who has helped people with her inventions. She designed special gloves for Midoriya, which allowed him to create better air blasts while minimizing the damage to his own body.

She has created many more inventions and most of them have been a big help to their wielders. Along with her ability to create new equipment, Mei also has an eye for business.

Accomplishments: Mei Hatsume has been responsible for creating sharpshooting gear, jet packs, iron soles, auto balancers, air force gloves, and much more. Those who have used her gadgets are aware of her incredible skill, and some of them have had her create new equipment.

4 Shiro – No Game No Life

Can Predict The Movements Of NPCs

Shiro is one of the main characters from the beloved Isekai anime, No Game NoLife. She is a part of an unbeatable gaming duo. On numerous occasions, Shiro has easily beaten a supercomputer, which is not an ordinary feat by any means.

Her intelligence allows her to formulate strategies to counter the moves of her opponent. Shiro’s only weakness is when she faces opponents who show emotions. In such cases, she is unable to predict their next actions, and she begins to doubt herself.

Accomplishments: Shiro’s greatest achievements include outsmarting a supercomputer multiple times, mastering 18 languages, and predicting bullet trajectories with ease.

3 Makise Kurisu

Became A Neuroscientist At 14 Years Old

Makise Kurisu is a genius who graduated from university when she was just 17. After her graduation, she became a member of the Brain Science Institute. While Okabe Rintarou is a mad scientist who is capable of creating excellent gadgets, Kurisu’s intelligence is superior to his. However, her intelligence became a curse as her father tried to kill her several times.

Accomplishments: Makise Kurisu demonstrated her high intelligence at the age of 11 when she disproved her father’s theorems. This was just the beginning, as she went on to disprove more of her father’s theories. It is also worth noting that she graduated from college at the age of 14.

2 Merlin

Knows About All Kinds Of Magic

Merlin is a member of the Seven Deadly Sins, which is the strongest group of knights in Britannia. She was born in the Belialuin and her talent as a mage was immediately recognized by her father. For the majority of her life, Merlin was immersed in books about magic, and it allowed her to become the strongest mage in existence.

She was shrewd enough to outsmart both the Demon King and the Supreme Deity. The boons from both of them only made Merlin stronger. Merlin’s special ability— Infinity made her a dangerous opponent as it allowed her to increase the duration of her spells. Merlin knows about all kinds of spells, so she can easily get out of tough situations.

Accomplishments: Merlin was forced to study and learn about magic when she was still a kid. Her father was aware of her potential, and he didn’t want it to go to waste. So he kept a close watch on her. Merlin read different manuscripts about spells and mastered them in no time. She was able to create equipment that helped her allies win many battles.

1 Bulma

Invented Numerous Items That Helped Her Allies

Bulma is a genius scientist who works for the Capsule Corporation. Despite having the physical strength of an ordinary human, Bulma’s intelligence is on an entirely different level. She is responsible for creating numerous inventions that have changed the lives of countless people.

The Dragon Radar is among her best inventions as it allows people to track the priceless Dragon Balls, which can grant any wish. Bulma was also able to make armor that was akin to Vegeta’s armor. Above all, she was even able to create a time machine.

Accomplishments: It is nearly impossible for any character to stand out in Dragon Ball, but Bulma is an exception. She is an intellectual who has used her experiences to create useful gadgets such as the Dragon Radar, Gravity Room, and special armor that have benefited the Z fighters.