Female-lead anime is a dime a dozen. They are usually found in romance and slice of life focus anime such as the shoujo or josei genre. Choosing between two of her male romantic interests and finally ends up with the person who came later, leaving the childhood friend alone.

Although romantic anime is great on certain occasions, women can also thrive in action-focused fast-paced badass anime where they kick the bad guy's ass just as good or better than male-lead anime. For example, take a look at these three badass female-lead anime below.

Claymore (2007)
“Claymore” is a group of mutated monster-slayers with an all-female member. Each member adorned a pair of silver eyes with a big sword on their back and they always work solo. One of the Claymore is Clare who is currently tasked to eliminate a “youma” in a small village. 

Clare came too late as it already killed the whole family of a boy called Raki. The boy was saved but the whole village now hates him and decides to banish him. Desperate, Raki joined Clare on her journey as she continues to get stronger to exact her revenge without getting an “Awakening”.

Adapted from the manga by Norihiro Yagi, Claymore is a shounen anime targeted towards boys viewers. And yet the main protagonist is a woman which is atypical to most anime in the genre. This fact alone is what makes Claymore quite special. Not only does it has action and superpower but it also has an almost all-female cast.

 

 

 

 

 

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Yona of the Dawn (2014-2015)
Yona is a sheltered princess from the kingdom of Kouka living without a care in the world. She does not know any hardship and even the danger she is forced to face. 

Her father the emperor is dead, betrayed by her cousin whom she loves. Yona ran away with her loyal bodyguard Son Hak into the wilderness and recollect on what just happened. 
As she lives among her people, Yona realized that she is needed as an empress who cares for her people. Now she targeted her traitorous cousin to dethrone him and exact revenge.

 

 

 

 

 

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Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Ghost in the Shell is an anime movie that inspired Wachowskis “The Matrix” starring Keanu Reeves. It is set in a world where most people choose robotic parts as limbs in a technologically advanced civilization.

The movie is set in the near future 2029 in a fictional dangerous metropolis called Niihama City. One of the city’s police divisions includes Public Security Section 9 led by Major Motoko Kusanagi. 

She is currently chasing an enigmatic criminal, a hacker called “Puppet Master” whose victim laid bare without any of their memories. The effort to crack the case is more complicated than it once seems. Motoko started to find herself pondering on philosophical questions with answers only the Puppet Master seems to have.