Is a tsundere a tomboy?
What about a person who knows kung fu?
What about other worlds?
Robots?
The anime world is both weird and full of different things.
There are so many different kinds of tomboys, from the girl who dresses like a boy to the girl who fights like a man but is still feminine, from transgender men to people who change gender every other episode (looking at you, Ranma).
Even though it’s hard to describe, the tomboy (and all related character archetypes) is a common type of anime character.
These characters are the perfect mix of all the different kinds of men and women. They can be sexy but shy, strong but feminine, shy but athletic, the hybrid everyone and the star of the show.
So, without further ado, here is my list of some of my favorite tomboy-like figures.
Here are the best anime tomboys according to Japanese fans.
32. Yuuko From Nichijou
Yuuko is the perfect example of a tomboy who isn’t really much of a tomboy, girl, or boy.
In the popular slice-of-life anime Nichijou, Yuuko is the tomboy who is “anyone.” She is the major character.
A natural choice for the lead of a show called “Everyday Life,” which means “everyday life.”
Yuuko is silly, naive, and carefree, which gets her into more trouble than she’s worth.
She’s also a jokester who loves to make puns and play tricks on people, but they rarely laugh at her.
She also thinks she is a great artist, but her best friend Mio, who is becoming a mangaka, is much better.
A great show with a cute character.
31. Misty From Pokémon
Is Misty a girly-girl?
I can’t sleep because of that question.
There are a few threads on Google that describe why she isn’t a tomboy… But if it’s so clear that she’s not a girl, why do people keep arguing that she is?
If the most basic description of a tomboy is a girl who acts and dresses like a boy, then Misty is a great example of a tomboy.
She is the most aggressive of the three characters in the first Pokémon anime, and she dresses very… not girly.
Also, in the games, she is called “the tomboyish mermaid” when she is the gym boss.
30. Eiko Aizawa From Squid Girl
Eiko Aizawa is a masculine girl who runs the Lemon beach house in Kamakura with her sister Chizuru. This is another slightly memorable but pretty average entry.
When Ika Musume, the squid girl, comes up from the ocean deep to take over the world, Eiko stops her and makes Ika become a Lemon staff to pay for the damage caused by the “invasion.”
She’s a pretty typical tomboy because she likes sports, talks rudely, and doesn’t like to wear clothes.
29. Kei From Akira
Kei is one of the three important people in Akira.
She is a loyal member of the Neo-Tokyo government opposition, and she is the one who brings in a number of important people.
Just before she is jailed, she finds out that she has psychic powers, which is a very important skill in Akira. But she herself can’t use them.
So she has to do it through other people.
Kei is sensitive but has a strong will, is a great fighter, and is very smart. He can face the end of the world and still live.
28. Kaori Makimura From City Hunter
Kaori Makimura is a hitwoman, assassin, and protector. She and Ryo Saeba, who she likes, started the City Hunter team together.
Even though she is in good shape and has a body that is great for her job, she is often mistaken for a man, which causes a few problems.
Kaori can handle herself in any fight, and she has many tools to use against her enemies.
Ryo is her only enemy left, and no matter how hard she tries, he won’t fall in love with her.
27. Mikasa Ackerman From Attack On Titan
Mikasa is hot-tempered, calm, and kind.
She is also a good soldier and one of the best in the army.
Mikasa is also one of the last Asian people in the world, which has given her a lot of trouble as a child.
Her being a tomboy lets her be both caring and passionate, even though she is full of contradictions.
But also calm in the face of chaos and death, which is a good trait to have when you and your family are facing giant zombies.
Mikasa, who looks out for everyone, even the boys, has little to fear.
26. Haruko Haruhara From FLCL
Not really a person, so can you still be a tomboy?
Haruko Haruhara is a member of the Galactic Space Police Brotherhood and is on a mission to catch the famed space pirate Atomsk.
She is a violent, unpredictable, spunky person who is violent and unpredictable.
Does she do it because it’s right?
Not even close.
She is the main anti-hero in the FLCL series.
When she first appears, she runs over a 12-year-old boy with a Vespa and then hits him over the head with a bass guitar.
25. Casca From Beserk
Casca was a unit leader for the feared military group Band of Falcon, which helped the Kingdom of Midland win many important battles against their enemies.
Casca grew up in a poor mountain town with six brothers and sisters. She was the only girl and often went hungry.
At age 12, she was sold to a nobleman to be his maid. On the way to the house, the nobleman tried to rape her.
Griffith, the leader of the Falcons, suddenly shows up and cuts off the pervert’s ear. But instead of killing the aristocrat himself, he gives Casca his sword.
Since then, Casca has been a loyal and scary Falcons member.
That is, until something awful happens…
In reality, she just wants to take Atomsk’s skills for herself.
As for the Police Brotherhood?
They don’t care because, most likely, they don’t even exist.
24. Nagisa From Pretty Cure
Nagisa Misumi is one of the two main characters in the famous magical girl anime Futari Wa Pretty Cute, which my girlfriend told me about as “Weeb Essential Viewing.”
I’m a weeb so I watched it.
Nagisa becomes a Pretty Cure only because Mepple lands in her room and annoys her enough to make her take him to meet his partner Mipple, who was in Honaka’s outhouse at the time.
Nagisa, who changes into Black Cure, is written to be the right match for White Cure, who changes into Honaka Yukishiro.
Honaka is smart, attractive, and a woman.
Nagisa is rough and sporty.
She picks on her younger brother, like all bigger siblings do, and when he tells their mom, she yells, “Don’t snitch!” at him.
Nagisa is the best lacrosse player at school and gets many love letters from fans. Nagisa’s fans aren’t straight, but that’s too bad because she is.
23. Amanda O’Neil From Little Witch Academia
Amanda O’Neil made her first appearance in the second movie Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade. She went on to be a main character in the 2017 series.
The sassy, athletic, and cocky delinquent tomboy who gets in trouble because she does dangerous but amazing physical tricks.
In Handsome and Elegant, she changes into a boy to sneak into the all-boys Appleton Academy, which doesn’t like magic. No one thinks she is strange.
She also shows that she is a natural sword fighter when she beats several fencers without using her wand.
22. Utena From Revolutionary Girl Utena
In anime, high schools are strange places where anything could happen.
And the anime Revolutionary Girl Utena’s Ohtori Academy is one of the most strange places I’ve ever seen.
At Ohtori, students fight with swords for the hand of ‘Rose Princess’ Anthy.
Utena acts like a boy, but she wants to be a prince.
She is a great swordswoman and beats all the other suitors to win Anthy’s hand, making her dream of becoming a prince come true.
But as with all anime high schools, something darker is hiding in the darkness….
21. Ukyo Kuonji From Ranma ½
Ranma can’t be included because he’s a guy (or maybe she’s a girl), but Ranma’s longtime love interest Ukyo Kuonji can.
Like Ranma, Ukyo is the right mix of male and female, but the show isn’t about him changing into a girl. Instead, it’s about him crossdressing a lot.
Even though they were childhood friends, Ukyo’s tomboyish attitude and ability to win play fights hid the fact that she was a girl from Ranma. It wasn’t until many years later that Ranma found out the truth.
Like Seishiro, Ukyo is presented as a male student, even though she only wore a boy’s outfit to attend an all-boys school.
But he never goes to school because he wants to become the best Okonomiyaki cook in the world.
She eventually finds Ranma again, falls in love with him, and dresses like a woman to attract his attention… but finally goes back to dressing like a boy.
20. Winry Rockbell From Fullmetal Alchemist
Throughout the Fullmetal story, Winry Rockbell plays the role of Edward Elric’s sister, his love interest, and his rival.
Edward and Al’s childhood friend Winry and her grandma Pinako made Edward’s mechanical arm after the terrible accident with the transformation that starts the series.
Her mechanical and medical skills will come in handy when she fixes Edward’s arm after he hurts it in the service more than once.
When she and her brothers move to Rush Valley, the automail heart of the world, she gets a lot of loyal customers right away because of how good she is.
19. Kobayashi From Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid
Like Yuuko, Kobayashi is “the everyone” because she doesn’t stand out.
She is a woman, but she doesn’t look very good.
She does things that men do, but she’s not one of the guys. But Kobayashi has a lot more going on than just what meets the eye.
She pulled a sword out of a Dragon’s back when she was drunk one night.
The next day, the dragon comes back and begs to be Kobayashi’s maid.
As the story goes on, Kobayashi is forced to become an adoptive mother. She also becomes the earth’s guardian and, in later manga chapters, a magician.
Her calm mind and good heart have helped everyone around her adjust to their new lives, and now Kobayashi’s life is starting over.
18. Bulma From Dragon Ball
It’s not a stretch to say that there would be no Dragon Ball without Bulma.
Bulma was first seen in the first episode of Dragon Ball, and she’s almost as important to the show as Goku.
She shows Goku how powerful the Dragon Balls are and brings him down from the mountains to the city.
Even though Bulma doesn’t have any abilities, she is very important because of her brilliant mind and determination.
Bulma doesn’t mind using her charms to find the dragon balls, which often leads to…somewhat unnecessary eye candy…But TV was different in the 1980s.
17. Ryuko From Kill La Kill
He is strong, angry, and violent, and he has a difficult past.
Ryuko Matoi shows up at Honnoji Academy as an exchange student one day.
The school is run by the student council, and they use their Goku Suits, which give them superpowers and can change shape, to keep people in line.
How come?
To find out more about her father, who was killed. Who better to ask violently than the leader of the group, Satuski Kiryuin?
Ryuko is easily beaten by Satusuki’s men, so she runs away to the place where she grew up.
There, the blood from her wounds wakes up Senketsu, a sailor outfit that Ryuko’s late father made to be intelligent.
At first, she didn’t like how their magical girl change showed her body, mind, and past. But over time, she learns the power of being comfortable with her body, mind, and past.
This gave her the chance to finally fight Satuski again and find out why her father died.
16. Sailor Uranus From Sailor Moon
Sailor Uranus, who is out as a lesbian, is one of the most important pro-LGBT anime characters.
She has caused so much controversy that there aren’t enough stars in the sky to cover the number of pieces written about her.
Haruki Tenoh, who goes by the name Sailor Uranus, dresses as a boy, has a girlfriend named Sailor Neptune, drives race cars, and is good with swords.
But at the same time, she’s stylish, caring, and at ease in both her sailor and princess roles.
Uranus has always been one of Sailor Moon’s most popular characters, especially because she has both male and female qualities.
Because of these things, Sailor Uranus can’t be anything but number one on my list.
15. Miwa Yamamura From Barakamon
Miwa Yamamura is a supporting character of Barakamon.
She is a middle school student with a bit of a boyish personality and a friend of Tamako Arai.
14. Hajime Shinoda From New Game!
Hajime is a classic example of a boy who acts like a girl.
One of the only two male characters in New Game, which has an all-girl cast.
Hajime is a character artist and a huge otaku. Her desk is full of superhero figurines and models, and you can always find her watching superhero anime.
After suggesting a robot dodgeball game in the second season, Hajime is put in charge of making games.
Even though she’s the most manly tomboy in the series, she’s not the most interesting.
13. Kinuhata Saiai From A Certain Scientific Railgun
Kinuhata Saiai is a character introduced in the Toaru Majutsu no Index series and a recurring character in Toaru Kagaku no Railgun.
She is a Level 4 esper and is an operative of ITEM, an organization in the Dark Side of Academy City led by Mugino Shizuri, and is a capable combatant in the team.
12. Hotaru Tachibana From Aoharu x Machinegun
Hotaru Tachibana is the main protagonist of the series.
She is the Student Council President of her current High School, in addition to being affiliated to her survival game team called Toy ☆ Gun Gun.
11. Mahiru Inami From Working!!
Mahiru Inami is an androphobic, 17 year-old high school student who works at Wagnaria as a waitress.
She is one of the main female characters in the story, Working!!
10. Kanna Kirishima From Sakura Taisen
Kanna is a fit young woman with visible biceps and tanned skin.
She usually wears a red, sleeveless shirt, slacks, and a tan jacket.
Her hair is born and reaches her chin, and is usually held in place with a white headband.
9. Naoto Shirogane From Persona 4 the Animation
Naoto Shirogane is a playable character in Persona 4.
Arriving in Inaba to help investigate the murders, this fifth generation of the famed Shirogane detectives enrolls as a first-year student at Yasogami High School.
8. Makoto Kikuchi From The iDOLM@STER
Makoto Kikuchi is one of the original idols from 765 Production, initially appearing in the arcade version of the game THE iDOLM@STER.
She is available in all the 765PRO console games, and THE iDOLM@STER Million Live!: Theater Days. She is voiced by Hiromi Hirata.
7. Kenjou Akira From KiraKira Pretty Cure A La Mode
Kenjou Akira is one of the six main Cures in the series KiraKira☆Pretty Cure A La Mode who is a second year high school student.
She is gentle and has a strong sense of justice like a “dog”.
Akira’s alter ego is Cure Chocolat, the Pretty Cure of strength and love, and she is based off chocolates and dogs.
6. Suruga Kanbaru From Monogatari Series
Suruga Kanbaru is Koyomi Araragi’s underclassman, star player of the school’s basketball team and one of Hitagi Senjougahara’s acquaintances from junior high school.
She is often seen having her left arm covered with bandages.
5. Yuu Kashima From Monthly Girls’+ Nozaki-kun
The “Prince” of the school is really a tomboy at heart, and the girls love him. Yuu loves to be the center of attention.
That’s why she takes acting classes, and she’s pretty good at it. Yuu does not like to work too hard, though.
It’s interesting to see how different she is from a tomboy when she plays the prince in a very cliched fairytale version at the club’s theatre club. Yuu is a good example of a tomboy.
Kashima is quite tall and has a prince-like personality that makes the girls fawn over her.
4. Haruhi Fujioka From Ouran High School Host Club
Haruhi Fujioka is a fictional character and the main protagonist from the manga series Ouran High School Host Club, which was created by Bisco Hatori.
3. Seishirou Tsugumi From Nisekoi
Seishirou is a professional killer who first showed up as a male transfer student. Her code name as a killer is “Black Tiger,” and Chitoge has known her since they were kids. Seishirou tries to keep a promise he made ten years ago to be Chitoge’s guardian.
Her character is a tomboy, and people often mistake her for a boy because she looks like both a boy and a girl. She doesn’t mind at all that she is a “anime trap” girl.
Through the way the characters use gendered expressions, the anime Nisekoi shows how manhood and femininity are shown.
The audience can tell that Seishiro Tsugumi is a tomboy because her job is based on violence and she acts like a boy.
When Tsugumi is acting aggressively or is in full-on fight mode, she uses more masculine expressions. As clear as her use of forceful language is, it shows that she is a tomboy.
2. Kino From Kino’s Journey -the Beautiful World
Kino is a quiet girl who finds comfort in the idea of going on an adventure. She never loses her cool and always keeps a serious attitude.
Every place she goes, she finds something interesting and worth learning about. This way, she learns more about the world. But she often lets things go on their own instead of stepping in to help solve the problem.
The World is not beautiful, so it is,” is the main idea behind her thought. Still, she can be very kind when she really wants to help.
1. Masumi Sera From Detective Conan
Masumi is a girl who has a lot of charm. She can beat up big-time thieves all by herself. Masumi used to wear boys’ uniforms when she was younger, which caused many people to think she was a boy.
Even more so because she wears a boyish outfit and has short hair. This will change though when she moves to a new school and starts wearing the outfits for girls.
One day, her genes will work out, and her chest size will be the same as her mother’s.
