Best Female Martial Artists in Anime

Summary

• Female martial artists in anime shine just as brightly as their male counterparts.
• Characters like Sakura and Boa Hancock bring unique fighting styles and power to the screen.
• Fighters like Yor Forger are refined, lethal, and among the best martial artists in anime.

Action, particularly martial arts, is one of the most popular genres in anime. In fact, it doesn’t matter what subgenre follows the action—action/fantasy, action/comedy, action/adventure, etc.—they are guaranteed to have some elements of martial arts in them.

That being said, most iconic martial artists in manga are men, such as Goku from Dragon Ball, Garou from One-Punch Man, and Rock Lee in Naruto, just to name a few. However, that doesn’t mean that this is a discipline solely made for men. On the contrary, there have been quite a few notable female martial artists that have graced the screen as well. With that in mind, here are some of the best female martial artists in anime.

7 Sakura Haruno

An Earth-Shattering Boxer

• First Appearance: Episode 1
• Martial Arts: Taijutsu/Boxing

Sakura has never been good at hand-to-hand combat (Taijutsu). As a ninja, she is certainly better than an average person, and she can stand her ground in a regular fight as well. However, compared to a proficient taijutsu practitioner like Rock Lee or her teammates, Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura is certainly lacking. But everything changed when she studied under the tutelage of the fifth Hokage, Tsunade.

Sakura not only learns about medic jutsu from Tsunade, but she also learns about martial arts that focus on his fist, sort of like boxing. Furthermore, Tsunade also teaches Sakura how to store her chakra so that she can use it to enhance her speed, power, and regenerative ability. Thanks to the combination of a proper boxing technique along with enhanced muscle and chakra, a single punch from Sakura packs enough power to destroy an entire building. By now, she is easily the strongest puncher in Konoha right now.

6 Boa Hancock

A Petrifying Kicker

• First Appearance: Episode 409
• Martial Arts: Capoeira/Taekwondo

The Amazon Lilly is a society full of warriors. As such, the only way to earn respect in this place is to be a strong warrior as well. As the Empress of the Amazon Lilly and the Captain of the Kuja Pirates, Boa Hancock is therefore the most powerful warrior in her homeland.

Hancock’s combat technique focuses heavily on her long and flexible legs to generate a powerful kick that looks like a combination of Capoeira and Taekwondo. Her kick has enough power to destroy the hard shell of a Pacifista. Add to that her petrifying devil fruit ability, and the result is a stunning Pirate Empress who can turn anybody into stone and leave them as nothing more than tiny rubbles with a single kick.

5 Annie Leonhart

A Giant Fighter

• First Appearance: Episode 2
• Martial Arts: Muay Thai/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Out of every character in Attack on Titan, Annie is quite possibly the most gifted fighter in the series. Trained by her father since she was a child as a means of self-defense, Annie was already an expert in hand-to-hand combat by the time she infiltrated Paradis Island as a teenager.

While it is never officially mentioned in the series, Annie’s stance and movement are similar to Muay Thai, with a bit of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sprinkled on top. That’s why, unlike other shifters who rely on their titan’s special ability, Annie’s main offensive prowess comes from her martial art. Even when she transforms into the Female Titan, she still puts her guard up and is ready to unleash a lethal kick at any given moment.

4 Yoruichi Shihouin

A Thunderous Mixed Martial Artists

• First Appearance: Episode 15
• Martial Arts: Hakuda/Mixed Martial Arts

In a world where everybody fights with their sword, Yoruichi Shihouin is the only one who always fights with her bare hands. Yoruichi is an expert in hand-to-hand combat known as Hakuda, which is similar to Mixed Martial Arts in the real world. Every shinigami in Gotei 13 knows Hakuda, but Yoruichi takes this technique to greater heights. One should think of her like Might Guy from Naruto.

Furthermore, as the former Commander of the Onmitsukido (Soul Society’s Special Forces), Yoruichi takes great pride in her extraordinary speed. As if that’s not enough, she has also mastered an advanced technique called Shunko. Once activated, this technique will envelop her body with lightning-like Reiatsu, which further increases her speed and power.

3 Maki Zen’in

A Heavenly All-Rounder

• First Appearance: Episode 5
• Martial Arts: Mixed Martial Arts

Maki Zen’in was born under a sacred binding vow called the Heavenly Restriction. This technique heavily restricts Maki’s cursed energy output, which makes it impossible for her to use a cursed technique or even see cursed spirits. In exchange for that glaring weakness, however, Maki is granted strength, speed, and agility beyond what a normal person can generate.

Through intensive training since a young age, Maki has now become an expert in hand-to-hand combat, and she can also use all kinds of melee weapons. Thanks to her absurdly strong and flexible body, Maki’s fighting style is incredibly fluid. She can flawlessly chain kicks and punches, which inevitably lead to her breaking the opponent’s bones or at least choking them out in the blink of an eye.

2 Violet Evergarden

A Battle-hardened Fighter

• First Appearance: Episode 1
• Martial Arts: Mixed Martial Arts

Every martial artist discussed thus far has used their combat technique in tandem with their innate ability, be it through devil fruit power or titan shifting. For Violet Evergarden, however, it’s purely about martial arts. As somebody who was trained to be a killing machine and has spent years on the battlefield, Violet arguably has the most dangerous fighting style of most martial artists in anime. The reason is simply because she would go onto the battlefield solely to kill the enemy, without worrying about what would happen to her in the process.

This reckless approach means that there’s nothing anyone can do to scare her, and nothing will stop her from killing the enemy. That’s why she never hesitated to jump into a group of soldiers and start breaking their arms, legs, and especially their necks while avoiding their bullets at the same time. She isn’t bound by any specific technique either and simply utilizes the most appropriate movement to take down the enemy, be it through a kick to the head, a punch to the gut, or a devastating choke, just to name a few. During this dark period in her life, Violet Evergarden was truly the embodiment of a living weapon.

1 Yor Forger

A Highly Lethal Mixed Martial Artist

• First Appearance: Episode 2
• Martial Arts: Mixed Martial Arts

Similar to Violet, Yor Forger is also trained from a young age to be a killer. The difference is that, while Violet was forced to be a soldier, Yor became an assassin out of her own choice, though the reason is mostly because she needs money to raise her brother. Both are highly lethal martial artists with hands and legs that can kill their target. What makes Yor superior to Violet is her much more refined techniques and inhuman strength harnessed through years of deliberate muscle training.

As an assassin, Yor is extremely well-versed in human anatomy and knows which spot to attack in order to incapacitate her target. Not only that, but her attacks also pack enough power so that she doesn’t really need a weapon to take out her target. Her sidekick can break a target’s arm, and her right hook can crack their jaw.

If that’s not enough, she can slam a potential threat onto the concrete with her over-the-shoulder throw, shatter their oxygen supply with a triangle choke, or even snap their neck with a classic guillotine choke. With such a vast arsenal of techniques that she can use to take out her targets, it’s safe to say that Yor Forger is the best female martial artist in anime and one of the best martial artists in general.