Common female anime tropes? You probably have an idea of what those look like.
Or at least, something came to your mind when you read the headline.
Some female anime tropes are:
- Not at all cliche.
- It doesn’t always include fan service contrary to popular belief.
- And like male tropes, are unique and many times likeable.
So with those facts in mind, let’s dig deeper.
Here’s a list.
1. The crazy Yandere
The anime airing right now called Dark Gathering has an anime character called Eiko, and she’s a classic example of a Yandere.
She’s also being voiced by the same voice actress as Satou Matsuzaka from Happy Sugar Life, making the female anime trope a commonality even for the VA.
This female anime trope will never go out of style and fans will always love the duality of a Yandere (even if they wouldn’t in real life).
2. The smol anime girl who’s older than she looks
The smol anime girl can be someone like Taiga Aisaka, who in realistic terms is younger than she looks but only by a few years (she’s like 18 years old).
Then you have anime Loli’s who are 100s of years old but look smol, cute, and too young to be their age.
Then you have mothers who are deliberately designed to look 20 years younger than they are like Masamune Makabe’s mother in the anime Masamune Kun No Revenge.
3. The girl with an attitude
Ryuko Matoi is an example of a girl with an attitude. Then there is Revy Rebecca, Lina Inverse, and too many to name.
Whether that attitude comes from a genuine place or not is irrelevant to this female anime trope.
4. The submissive female anime character
Kosaki Onodera is a good example. She’s the childhood friend of Ichijou in Nisekoi, and the girl who’s introverted, gentle, sweet, and has waifu material qualities.
Other submissive characters are Esdeath (when she’s romantic), Hinata Hyuga, Yuno Gasai, and even the mother of Yuji Sakai called Chigusa from Shakugan No Shana.
5. The female character with a BIG appetite
Yamato from Kantai Collection is a relatively unknown but relevant character to mention here. She has a massive appetite which goes well with the kind of “ship” she is in this military style series.
When she is served a plate, her appetite is insane. The same is true for Akagi, the girl who Fubuki (the MC) looks up to.
Her appetite for food is a common female anime trope and not one that’s just for male characters.
6. The Tsundere who can’t admit her feelings in the beginning
Taiga Aisaka was like this at the beginning of Toradora. But so was Shana from Shakugan No Shana. Both of these characters were responsible for making the Tsundere tope popular years later.
The reason Tsundere’s are stubborn with their feelings is because they’re insecure and don’t want to make the first move. This leads them to either being semi-violent, or in a word, stupid.
Women in real life can also be this way where they like a guy but act as if they don’t, leading to conflicting feelings or failing at getting what they want romantically.
7. The damsel in distress
It has to be said, though I feel like these days (2023 and beyond) the damsel trope has been dying out slowly but surely. It’s not as common anymore with so many diverse anime and styles nowadays.
Still, anime like Rokudenashi despite deliberately insulting cliches and tropes did use this in 2017 when it aired.
Fairy Tail in a sense has this or at least it did at one point.
Rurouni Kenshin in a mild sense had this as well, but it wasn’t to an extreme or to the point of it being cringey.
8. The USELESS female character
Sometimes the useless trope for a female anime character comes down to parodies or sometimes they’re gunely useless.
One example of it being used in a comedic setting is with Konosuba (Goddess Aqua). Her useless vibe is part of the laughs and silliness.
Then you have characters like Sakura Haruno in some parts of Naruto because of how badly she’s written. Or you have characters like the new police girl who’s introduced in Psycho Pass season 2 who ends up being useless.
9. The badass female character
Rebecca Reed from Shakugan No Shana or Margery Daw from the same anime can be classed as a “badass female character”.
So can Ryuko Matoi from Kill La Kill, Satsuki Kiryuin from the same series, Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail, Mikoto Misaka from Railgun, or even Yayoi-Chan from Dark Gathering.
These types of female characters pull their weight, are significant in the anime’s story, and contribute to the plot or action a great deal.
10. The shy girl
Naru Sekiya from the anime Hanayamata is a shy girl and an introvert as well. Shy girls in anime are always seen as cute, innocent, and can do no wrong (and often they’re exactly as described).
Another similar character would be Sumi Sakuraswa from Rent A Girlfriend, and fans loved her character (and trope) a lot.
11. The horny female character
It has to be said, but they do exist. Either in ecchi anime shows, harem anime shows, or anime where lewdness and “naughtiness” is part of the anime’s plot or theme.
Take the anime Seitokai Yakuindomo for example. This anime focuses on sex jokes and sarcasm, and one of the female characters (a teacher) is horny as f*ck.
Anna Nishikinomiya from A Boring World Where The Concept Of Dirty Jokes Doesn’t Exist fits this role as well.
12. The girl who becomes part of the male harem
Yae Kokonoe from the anime In Another World With My Smartphone becomes part of Mochizuki’s harem and later becomes one of his many wives.
In other harem anime like Masamune Kun No Revenge, Masamune’s harem grows from start to finish, despite him ending up in a relationship.
In the typical harem like Date A Live, many girls become part of Shido Itsuka’s harem, fulfilling the common female anime trope.
13. The girl who says “Onii chan”
Sometimes there are anime girls who say Onii chan even if they’re not related by blood to the male character in question. Sometimes it’s a matter of being fond of an older male figure, and seeing them as family, etc.
We see this in the anime Clannad in a sense (season 1). In deliberate cases like Umaru Chan, you see the example of this common female anime trope playing out.
14. The girl who says “Ara Ara”
Raphiel from the anime Gabriel Dropout is an example of this character. She’s unusual in that she isn’t an adult female character (who typically uses the phrase).
Other characters like Kurumi Tokisaki also say it (she’s also a Yandere, making her a multi-female anime trope).
15. The female character who fulfils a fetish (MILF, etc)
Ishuzoku Reviewers will always be a good example of Fetish anime characters, or even anime shows with fetishes.
You have monster girls, snake girls, slime girls, demon girls, and the list stretches on and on. It’s an extreme of this female anime trope that satisfied some sort of fetish.
There are anime shows like Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks? – this anime clearly plays on the MILF trope of many female characters.
Though, you see it more often in Hentai to be fair.
16. The anime girl with BIG assets
Ilulu the dragon in the anime Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is a good example of this. But maybe Lucoa is a better example from the same anime.
She has “big assets”, aka – big boobs and big oppai, and this female anime trope is common.
Sometimes, “assets” refers to the female name character having a big butt like Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail, or Lucy Heartfilia from the same series.
Or even someone else entirely like Mirajane Strauss from Fairy Tail yet again.
17. Female anime characters who are maids or slaves who’ve been saved
In the first example of common female anime tropes, you have Rem and Ram from Re:Zero.
They’re famous maids.
Or even Lilith from The Maid I Hired Recently Is Mysterious.
Then you have slaves who’ve been saved like Raphtalia from Shield Hero (a demi-human), or Setsuna from Redo Of Healer who is also a demi-human and is also saved by Keyaru.
The commonality isn’t a coincidence.
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