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 gives them an opportunity to showcase their skills. With that in mind, we will be taking a look at the smartest female characters.
Updated on October 16, 2022, by Suzail Ahmad: Originally, female characters were not given enough screen time, which limited their development. However, as the manga and anime industries continue to evolve, female characters are finally becoming as good as their male counterparts. The authors are putting more effort into creating female characters so that they can be just as good as the rest of the cast. While there are many female characters who possess immensely powerful physical abilities, only a few of them use their mind to get out of tricky situations. So we have updated the list with some of the smartest female characters in the anime world.
11 Tsunade – Naruto
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.
10 Hange Zoe – Attack On Titan
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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.
9 Nami – 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 the 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.
8 Yumeko Jabami – Kakegurui
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.
7 Ed – Cowboy Bebop
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 in hacking, which made her an important part of the Bebop's crew.
With her skills, Ed was able to hack the Bebop and made 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.
6 Winry – Fullmetal Alchemist
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 about surgical instruments and advanced medical literature.
5 Mei Hatsume – My Hero Academia
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.
4 Shiro – No Game No Life
Shiro is one of the main characters from the beloved Isekai anime, No Game No Life. She is a part of an unbeatable gaming duo. On numerous occasions, Sora 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.
3 Makise Kurisu – Steins;Gate
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.
2 Merlin – Seven Deadly Sins
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.
1 Bulma – Dragon Ball
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, which 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.