History ActionGirl / Anime

* {{To Aru Majutsu no Index}} has many (as to be expected when all of the students in the city most of the story taskes place in go through superpower development programs) to lista few theres: Misaka, Index (in a couple scenes), Itsuwa, Mugino, Kazaki...the list goes on

* The heroine of ''MurderPrincess'' is possibly the most {{Badass}} ever.

* In ''{{Baccano}}!'' we have Chane, a mute KnifeNut that holds her own against a guy with a shotgun, and Ennis, a BattleButler for the BigBad of the 1930 storyline. The novels include several more that never made it into the anime.

* Sango from ''{{InuYasha}}'' is a demon-slayer with a [[{{BFS}} ludicrously-sized]] [[PrecisionGuidedBoomerang boomerang]], of all things. Kikyou also was an excellent [[TheArcher Archer]] and LadyOfWar, and Kagome eventually evolved into an ActionGirl of the same type as time passed. And we also got a CuteBruiser in Ayame. Kagura, however, was more of a DarkActionGirl.

* All of the main girls in HidanNoAria qualifiy, but in particular, Aria.

* Himeko Onizuka from ''SketDance'' was an [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower insanely powerful]] [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Delinquents: ''yankee'']] who unintentionally built a fearsome reputation for herself by taking on all comers wherever she went.
** Then she met Bossun. She [[IGotBetter got a lot better]], choosing to use her strength for the sake of helping others through the Sket Dan.

** Fortunately, meeting Bossun changed her life for the better--she would only use her crazy strength to help others through the Sket Dan.

* Briget, Ganessa, Chiffon, Kaho, Miyabi, Rana, Ingrid, Annette, Clio, Elizabeth, and Cassie from ''{{Freezing}}''.

** However, just as Johan can be viewed as a possible subversion of a CompleteMonster, Nina could be seen a possible subversion and even a DeConstruction of this. She starts out as a martial-arts expert who quickly becomes adept with fire-arms. However, in the second half of the seires, she becomes less and less "action-y" and even becomes a DistressedDamsel at various points. [[spoiler: Although present at the climax, all she does is tell Johan that she forgives him. This is very important in the story, but it is a far cry from the stuff she did earlier in the series as well as a far cry from this trope]]

* Usagi Tsukino and all the Sailor Senshi in ''SailorMoon''. But [[PluckyGirl Usagi/Moon]] in particular, because even though she's a bit of a crybaby, she's always the one who saves the day in the end, charging into the enemies' stronghold to save her JamesBondage boyfriend. Plus, she [[TookALevelInBadass takes several levels in badass]] over the course of the series, fully growing into her role as TheHero by the end. Of course, the rest of the Senshi are Action Girls too; [[HugeSchoolgirl Makoto/Jupiter]], [[{{Tsundere}} Rei/Mars]], [[ButchLesbian Haruka/Uranus]], [[LadyOfWar Michiru/Neptune]], [[BadassAdorable Minako/Venus]], [[TallDarkAndBishoujo Setsuna/Pluto]], [[ApocalypseMaiden Hotaru/Saturn]], and [[BadassBookworm Ami/Mercury]].

** Rukia Kuchiki, the little pint-sized-ice person...(not Toshiro), heck her fight with [[FanNickname Fake-Kaien]] made into the top 10 most popular bleach fights.

*** Not to mention, even when she ''is'' a martial-arts expert... we don't ''meet'' ehr as such. She's more of a CreepyChild and Ophelia when we see her at first, and it's later when we know what she can physically do.

** Fabiola, a relatively new character, is the exception, being essentially a more idealistic version of Roberta.

* Kaede Nagase, Asuna Kagurazaka, Evangeline A.K. [=McDowell=], Mana Tatsumiya, Ku Fei, and Setsuna Sakurazaki in ''MahouSenseiNegima''. As other girls in the class get involved in Negi's other life, they start drifting in this direction as well.
** [[spoiler: Yuuna Akashi and Makie Sasaki ]] have just joined the group.

** And no [[spoiler: Sayoko]]? Let's not forget her! And the same goes to Alice form ''NightmareOfNunnally'', too.

** However, just as Johan can be viewed as a possible subversion of a CompleteMonster, Nina could be seen a possible subversion of this. She starts out as a martial-arts expert who quickly becomes adept with fire-arms. However, in the second half of the seires, she becomes less and less "action-y" and even becomes a DistressedDamsel at various points. [[spoiler: Although present at the climax, all she does is tell Johan that she forgives him. This is very important in the story, but it is a far cry from the stuff she did earlier in the series as well as a far cry from this trope]]

** Momo Hinamori, after spending her time in the Soul Society arc as the DistressedDamsel, got to show off her ActionGirl chops in the Fake Karakura Town arc when she pulled a BigDamnHeroes to save Matsumoto from getting obliterated. She then proceeded to fight alongside Matsumoto against {{Dark Action Girl}} Harribel's AmazonBrigade. She's also pretty badass in the fillers.

** [[ShrinkingViolet Hinata Hyuga]] seems to have fully became one since the Invasion of Pain. [[spoiler: [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome The Anime even gave her one of the only blows that Deva Path would take]]. And now that the [[WarArc Fourth Great Shinobi World War]] is on, she finally is living to her ActionGirl potential. First helping her cousin [[TheAce Neji]] blow away a bunch of Zetsus at the start of the battle. THEN later in the battle, actually [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome SAVING Neji and killing a Zetsu in one blow]].]] Hinata's a full on ActionGirl now.
** And of course, Kushina Uzumaki, [[spoiler: the former Kyuubi jinchuriki and Naruto's mom]]. The first [[spoiler: and only]] time she appeared outside a flashback featured her [[spoiler: completely restraining the Kyuubi with her chakra alone.]] Then when the flashback does come, we discover that Kushina was possibly the only person ever to actually [[spoiler: survive having a Bijuu extracted from her; less than an hour after she had given birth. After a ten month pregnancy. And less than an hour after ''that'', the Kyuubi tries to kill Naruto with its claw. Kushina does the HumanShield bit and catches the claw in her stomach. Despite all the crap previously listed, she [[BattleCouple (with some help from her husband)]] [[FridgeLogic stops a giant eldritch abomination's claw with pure physical strength.]]]]

* Major Motoko Kusanagi from ''{{Ghost in the Shell}}''.
** To clarify: She is likely the best there is in Section 9 at just about everything. The only character who was shown to be better than her at something was also thought to be ''too cool to exist''.

** Sakura and Tsunade tend to fluctuate between this trope and FauxActionGirl. Sakura started off as TheLoad, then had an Action Girl moment in the Forest of Death during the Chunin Exams, then TookALevelInBadass in Shippuden and became a full-on Action Girl... then fell behind again after the first two arcs. She did ''try'' to become an ActionGirl again when she tried to [[spoiler:kill Sasuke]], but... that didn't go very well. And Tsunade's whole introduction was just one giant CrowningMomentOfAwesome as she fought [[BigBad Orochimaru]] alongside Jiraiya, but after that, she kind of just became moving scenery... Sakura ''has'' had one or two Action Girl moments since her DayInTheLimelight, but YourMileageMayVary whether they'd actually qualify.

** And of course, Kushina Uzumaki, [[spoiler: the former Kyuubi jinchuriki and Naruto's mom]]. The first [[spoiler: and only]] time she appeared outside a flashback featured her [[spoiler: completely restraining the Kyuubi with ''her chakra alone''.]] Then when the flashback does come, we discover that Kushina was possibly the only person ever to actually [[spoiler: survive having a Bijuu extracted from her; less than an hour after she had ''given birth''. After a '''''ten month pregnancy'''''. And less than an hour after ''that'', the Kyuubi tries to kill Naruto with it's claw. Kushina's response? ''''Catch the claw in her stomach''''. Despite all the crap I just listed, she [[BattleCouple (with some help from her husband)]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome STOPS A GIANT ELDRITCH ABOMINATION'S CLAW WITH PURE PHYSICAL STRENGTH.]]]]

** Sakura and Tsunade tend to fluctuate between this trope and FauxActionGirl. Sakura started off as TheLoad, then had an Action Girl moment in the Forest of Death during the Chunin Exams, then TookALevelInBadass in Shippuden and became a full-on Action Girl... then fell behind again after the first two arcs. She did ''try'' to become an ActionGirl again when she tried to [[spoiler:kill Sasuke]], but... that didn't go very well. And Tsunade's whole introduction was just one giant CrowningMomentOfAwesome as she fought [[BigBad Orochimaru]] alongside Jiraiya, but after that, she kind of just became moving scenery... Both ladies ''have'' had one or two Action Girl moments since their [[DayInTheLimelight Days In The Limelight]], but YourMileageMayVary whether they'd actually qualify.

* The heroine of ''MurderPrincess'' is possibly the most {{Badass}} ever.

* Kamiya Kaoru of ''RurouniKenshin'' is mostly a FauxActionGirl than a proper ActionGirl, but we ''do'' have Misao Makimachi, a fast and agile {{Ninja}} girl who can dish out some damage.

*** Tsunade is a full ActionGirl, well LadyOfWar actually. The reason why she became part of the scenery? Hokages don't ALWAYS have to fight. She had to do the more mundane things for the village, and her fight with Pain was cut due to ExecutiveMeddling (The Editor didn't want panel time wasted apparently, according to [[WordOfGod Kishimoto]]). Thus she was forced to use her best ability, her healing and her summoning, which what most people fail to realize, ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome saved the entire population from the village from Pain's Shinra Tensei]]''.

** Ururu Tsumugiya, with her giant-ass bazooka-thing, is one of the {{Most Triumphant Example}}s of the SmallGirlBigGun trope.

* The heroine of ''MurderPrincess'' is possibly the most {{Badass}} [[MostTriumphantExample ever]].

* Amira from ''{{Otoyomegatari}}'' is a subtle example, as she's a skilled equestrian, archer and hunter. But this was part of a normal upbringing where she's from.

* Lenalee from ''DGrayMan'' is in fact ''such'' an ActionGirl that she Action Girls herself ''past her capabilities'' and temporarily gets BroughtDownToNormal until she recovers and goes back to being the local ActionGirl. This, however, doesn't stop the [[RealWomenNeverWearDresses "feminist fangirls"]] to unfairly and falsely peg her as a FauxActionGirl, sadly.

* Usagi Tsukino and all the Sailor Senshi in ''SailorMoon''. But [[PluckyGirl Usagi/Moon]] in particular, because even though she's a bit of a crybaby, she's always the one who saves the day in the end, charging into the enemies' stronghold to save her JamesBondage boyfriend. Plus, she [[TookALevelInBadass takes several levels in badass]] over the course of the series, fully growing into her role as TheHero by the end. Of course, the rest of the Senshi are Action Girls too; [[HugeSchoolgirl Makoto/Jupiter]], [[{{Tsundere}} Rei/Mars]], [[ButchLesbian Haruka/Uranus]], [[LadyOfWar Michiru/Neptune]], [[BadassAdorable Minako/Venus]], [[TallDarkAndBishoujo Setsuna/Pluto]], [[ApocalypseMaiden Hotaru/Saturn]], and [[BadassBookworm Ami/Mercury]].

* ''CowboyBebop: Knocking On Heaven's Door''

* Asuka Langley Soryu from ''NeonGenesisEvangelion''. [[spoiler: Painfully and brutally subverted when she gets wtfpwned by the Mass Produced Evas in ''The End of Evangelion''.]] In her defense, she ''did'' [[spoiler:single-handedly fight back against the entire offensive, including the mass-produced Evas and kept trying to fight after getting [[DidntSeeThatComing impaled by a mass-produced Lance of Longinus]], so her final battle qualifies as a {{crowning moment of awesome}} followed by a CurbStompBattle.]]
** She's even more of an ActionGirl in the manga, where her introduction consists of her fighting a gang of street thugs at an arcade and ''kicking all of their asses!''
** Sadly, she didn't get too much action in ''Rebuild'' (at least not yet. According to the Trailer for the next film, [[spoiler: She will return with an EyepatchOfPower]], so there's still hope.
** However, ''[[RebuildOfEvangelion Rebuild]]'' makes up for this by giving us ''Mari Iilustrious Makinami'', whose [[BadAss badassitude]] might even surpass the original Asuka. In fact, two of her three appearances have been fighting scenes.
** Misato Katsuragi has her moments, too.
*** So does Rei Ayanami.

* Lenalee from ''DGrayMan'' actually is ''such'' an ActionGirl that she Action Girls herself ''past her capabilities'' and temporarily gets BroughtDownToNormal until she recovers and goes back to being the local ActionGirl. This, however, doesn't stop the [[RealWomenNeverWearDresses "feminist fangirls"]] to unfairly and falsely peg her as a FauxActionGirl, sadly.

** The recent introduction of Mei aka the Mizukage has added another ActionGirl to the list. When [[spoiler: Sasuke attacked the Kage summit, she ''heartily'' participated in the group activity of bashing his face in and knocking him off his high horse. And we even get to see that she actually has won the local SuperpowerLottery by having ''a double kekkei genkai'', too!]]

* Utena Tenjou and Juri Arisugawa from ''{{Revolutionary Girl Utena}}'', though almost all the female Duelists get their ActionGirl moments there.