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 a unique fighting style and power to the screen.
• Fighters like Yor Forger are refined, deadly, and among the best martial arts in anime.

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

That said, most iconic martial artists in manga are men, such as Goku from Dragon BallGarou from One Punch Manand Rock Lee in Narutojust to name a few. However, this does not mean that this is a discipline made only for men. On the contrary, there have been quite a few notable female martial artists who have also graced the screen. With that in mind, here are some of them best female martial artists in anime.

7 Sakura Haruno

A revolutionary 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 the average person, and she can hold her own in a regular fight as well. But compared to a skilled taijutsu practitioner like Rock Lee or her teammates, Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura really lacks. But everything changed when she studied under the guidance 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, much like boxing. Additionally, Tsunade also teaches Sakura how to store her chakra so she can use it to enhance her speed, power, and regenerative abilities. Thanks to the combination of a real boxing technique along with enhanced muscles and chakra, a single punch from Sakura packs enough power to destroy an entire building. At this point, she is easily the strongest puncher in Konoha right now.

6 Boa Hancock

A terrifying kicker

• First appearance: Episode 409
• Martial arts: Capoeira/Taekwondo

Amazonian 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 pirate, Boa Hancock is therefore the most powerful warrior in her homeland.

Hancock's fighting 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 ability, and the result is a stunning pirate empress who can turn anyone to stone and leave them as nothing but tiny rubble with a single kick.

5 Annie Leonhart

A great fighter

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

Out of each character in Attack on Titan, Annie is probably the most talented 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 when she infiltrated Paradise Island as a teenager.

Although never officially mentioned in the series, Annie's stance and movement are similar to Muay Thai, with some Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sprinkled on top. This is why, unlike other shifters who rely on their titan's special ability, Annie's main offensive prowess comes from her martial arts. Even when she transforms into the Female Titan, she still stands guard and is ready to unleash a deadly kick at any moment.

4 Yoruichi Shihouin

A Thunderous Mixed Martial Artists

• First appearance: Episode 15
• Martial arts: Hakuda/Mixed Martial Arts

In a world where everyone fights with their sword, Yoruichi Shihouin is the only one who always fights with his 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 the Gotei 13 knows Hakuda, but Yoruichi takes this technique to greater heights. One should think of her as Might Guy from Naruto.

Also, as the former commander of the Onmitsukido (Soul Society's Special Forces), Yoruichi takes great pride in his 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, further increasing 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 known as the Heavenly Restraint. This technique severely limits Maki's cursed energy output, making it impossible for her to use a cursed technique or even see cursed spirits. However, in exchange for the glaring weakness, Maki gains strength, speed, and agility beyond what a normal person can generate.

Through intense training since a young age, Maki has now become an expert in hand-to-hand combat, and she can also use all types 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 leads to her breaking her opponent's legs or at least strangling them in an instant.

2 Violet Evergarden

A battle-hardened fighter

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

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

This ruthless approach means there is nothing anyone can do to intimidate 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 dodging their bullets. She is also not bound by any specific technique and simply uses the most appropriate move to take down the enemy, be it through a kick to the head, a punch to the stomach 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 Your forger

A very deadly mixed martial artist

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

Like Violet, Yor Forger is also trained from a young age to be an assassin. The difference is that while Violet was forced to be a soldier, Yor became an assassin by choice, although the reason is mostly because she needs money to raise her brother. Both are very lethal martial artists with hands and legs capable of killing their targets. What makes Yor superior to Violet is her far more refined techniques and inhuman strength harnessed through years of conscious muscle training.

As an assassin, Yor is extremely well versed in human anatomy and knows where to attack to incapacitate her target. Not only that, but her attacks also pack enough power 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 knock a potential threat to the concrete with her over the shoulder throw, crush their oxygen supply with a triangle choke, or even snap their neck with a classic guillotine choke. With such a large arsenal of techniques she can use to take out her targets, it's safe to say that Yor Forger is best female martial artists in anime and one of the best martial arts in general.