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  • Several of the women in 7 Seeds, to varying degrees initially, though most become this due to Character Development.
    • Hana, who is not above exploring new places, often the first to even volunteer to check things out and will fight when it is necessary.
    • Botan is a trained policewoman and is no stranger to danger. One of her first action badass moments is tackling a crocodile to save some of her team members.
  • The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You:
    • Kishika more than qualifies with her samurai fighting skills. Her first appearance in the story has her defend Rentarou from some boys who were harassing him, and it's suggested that she patrols the streets looking for people to rescue on a regular basis.
    • Eira was trained in capoeira by her father, who's a capoeira instructor, and her first appearance has her taking down a couple of guys who wouldn't leave her alone, then stopping a moving car with a single kick without backlash. She and Kishika have a friendly duel when they first meet, and the two of them are evenly matched, with the fight ending in a draw by mutual elimination.
  • Absolute Duo is set at a school that teaches combat techniques, so most if not all the female students are skilled fighters.
  • In Action Heroine Cheer Fruits, stage shows featuring superheroines are very popular. Even disregarding the Show Within a Show elements, An is very good at gymnastics and Le Parkour.
  • Maki, AKA Airmaster, is a streetfighting Huge Schoolgirl with an added dash of desperate thrill-seeking. Her Unknown Rival, Sakiyama Kaori is also an Action Girl.
  • The group of assassins named Night Raid from Akame ga Kill!! has more women among its members than men. Although the members of Night Raid rather call themselves anti-heroes, they are still heroic enough for the female members to qualify for this trope.
    • Najenda is a former general of the army who deserted and founded Night Raid because she realized how evil the Empire is. She is an excellent leader and a very good fighter.
    • Leone also qualifies. She is by far the strongest fighter in the group.
    • And there is also Mine, who is not only an excellent assassin but could also hold her own in the fight against much stronger opponents.
    • Sheele has also shown during the plot that she is a good fighter and assassin.
    • Akame is one of the strongest members and the best swordswoman in the whole anime.
    • Chelsea shows great skill in various assassinations.
    • Sayo, who is not a member of Night Raid, and can not compete with any of the members, but is still said to be a good fighter.
    • Can’t forget Esdeath herself, a Frontline General, An Ice Person, a master swordswoman and all around One-Woman Army.
  • Maki of All Rounder Meguru is a red-haired kickboxing Huge Schoolgirl, and clearly an Expy of the Airmaster Maki.
  • Ryoko and Ikuno in Angel Densetsu; being always around Kitano it's a wonder they still manage to find people trying to bother them.
  • Naomi Armitage from Armitage III. She's so badass, in the second OVA, a lecherous creepo ends up getting absolutely terrified of her! And in Dual Matrix, she suplexed a guy in a heavy mech suit!
  • Attack on Titan: There are more than a few tough ladies in this series, on account of the army not discriminating based on gender.
    • Mikasa is the most deadly in battle amongst the 104th Trainee Corps and is stated to be as good as one hundred soldiers by herself, cooly killing with Titans with relative quickness.
    • Annie also stands out as a strong combatant and expert at hand-to-hand combat. She's also a Titan Shifter.
    • Although usually portrayed as The Ditz, Sasha deserves a mention for being the only character so far to have fought one-on-one against a Titan with no special equipment and live to tell the tale.
  • In Baccano! we have Chane, a mute knife wielder that holds her own against a guy with a shotgun, Ennis, a Battle Butler for the Big Bad of the 1930 storyline, and Rachel, Badass Normal Action Survivor who climbs around on moving trains and saves hostages from heavily armed aggressors without carrying any weapons of her own. The novels include several more that never made it into the anime. Lampshaded in the anime itself:
    Isaac: "Girls who are strong are faaantastic!"
    Miria: "Just like Amelia Earhart!"
  • Alita from Battle Angel Alita ZigZags between this trope and Dark Action Girl. With a sound mind, she's a regular Action Girl. But make her mad and she'll start getting really violent.
  • A regular occurrence in the Battle Spirits franchise.
    • Battle Spirits Shonen Toppa Bashin has Suiren. Though she has the misfortune of losing in her debut match, she proves to be one early on when she defeats both Striker and Bashin to win a tournament, becoming the main rival to the former. She is consistently shown to be just as good as her male teammates.
    • Later into the show Meganeko takes up card battling and manages to both win her first game and eliminate Smile in a tournament. She becomes a valuable member of Team Shomen Toppa afterwards.
    • Ultimately, pretty much every female character in the series is a battler, including Bashin's mom and a cat.
    • Battle Spirits Shonen Gekiha Dan has Mai Viole, one of the Bearers of Core's Light and a competent battler. While she seems to have turned into a Faux Action Girl in Brave, never battling despite the show bringing up the fact that she can, she later allies with Barone and effortlessly takes down rebels with a powerful Double Nova deck.
    • Additionally, there's Kajitsu Momose, who may be Delicate and Sickly but doesn't let it stop her from being a super-powerful battler who can take down male opponents when she's up for it.
    • Battle Spirits Heroes gives us Kimari, who strives to take over the world and is one of the strongest battlers in Japan.
    • Nora Nyao is an even bigger one, having made it up to the international level. She's also a martial artist who can kick butt outside of card games.
    • Battle Spirits Sword Eyes has Kizakura and Amarello, each one of the chosen Sword Eyes and strong battlers. Amarello, in particular, is dangerous with a whip and Kizakura has improvised now and then with the wooden staff she carries.
    • Battle Spirits Saikyo Ginga Ultimate Zero has Eris and her all-female crew of space pirates. Eris is eventually chosen as one of the Tri-Dragon Deity users and is the first one to defeat the Big Bad.
    • Sadly, Souun from Battle Spirits Burning Soul is a Faux Action Girl, but the ninja Okuni who is introduced much later manages to make a good showing for herself.
  • Casca from Berserk was a very credible one until... stuff happened. It's not and never was chickification because, considering what exactly happened, she has all the right in the world to break down. As of chapter 593, thanks to no longer being The Ophelia, Casca gloriously shows off her regained sword skills to the awe of her companions, who could never have dreamt that the invalid they were looking after was that strong.
    • Though not to the extent of Casca, Farnese has started heading in this direction as of late.
    • Schierke also kicks ass, but she tends towards being the Black Magician Girl rather than fighting physically.
  • Birdy the Mighty: True to the series' name, the eponymous heroine is a Space Federation officer with Herculean strength and nigh invulnerability. Meaning, she's someone whose "bad side" you don't wanna be on... unless your name happens to be "Gomez", or "Christella Revi".
  • Black Clover: Many female Magic Knights are this. Noelle develops into one as she learns to control her immense magical power offensively. Vanessa is a capable fighter using magical threads. Charlotte is the captain of a Magic Knights Squad who transforms her sword into a rose bush to fight. Even Charmy has her moments, creating a giant sheep to pummel enemies. The greatest one in the Clover Kingdom is Mereoleona, who is stated to be the strongest Magic Knight and fights using hand-to-hand combat in combination with her brutal Flame Magic. But above her was Aicer Silva, Noelle’s mother, who previously held the tie of being the kingdom’s strongest Magic Knight who not even Mereoleona could defeat, back when she was alive.
  • Black God firmly establishes Kuro's status in its first episode, after a Tribal End made the mistake of picking a fight with her, which made her spill her bowel of ramen. It was a hard lesson learned: Don't. Do it.
  • Black Lagoon is crawling with them... you've got the Dark Action Girl, the Lady of War, the Ninja Maid...just about every female character with lines can kick much arse when the mood strikes them.
    Benny: (referring to Revy Roberta and Balalaika) Those are, without a doubt, the three most terrifying women in the world.
    Dutch: This is feeling way too much like Ground Zero.
  • Virtually all of the main female characters in Blade & Soul such as Alka, Hazuki, and Dan Roana are these. Which is a good thing, because most parts of the world they inhabit is pretty harsh towards those unprepared for it.
  • Makie from Blade of the Immortal. Granted, she does not fight much, but when she begins she easily proves herself to be the best fighter in the entire series.
    • Doa is also seriously dangerous and even Rin can make a reasonable showing on a good day. Since Rin's goal aside of getting her revenge is to become one of these. . .
    • Hyakurin herself is quite competent with her bow and arrow.
  • Amanda from Blassreiter, in addition to being the only one of her whole Badass Normal team to survive...with her humanity. Maria also counts later in the series
  • Bleach has plenty of these:
    • Yoruichi Shihouin is probably the fastest and the most badass female character in the whole series, being able to lay a smackdown on Soifon, Yammy, Aizen, and several Mooks. In fact, she spends a good majority of her screen time kicking ass with hakuda alone.
    • Soifon succeeded her mentor Yoruichi to both the Onmitsukido and the Gotei's 2nd Division. Also, like Yoruichi, she is exceptionally skilled in hakuda and shunpou and chooses to fight with a hakuda/shikai combination. She's taken on some of the toughest opponents in the story, such as Barragan, a Walking Wasteland who could only be killed with his own power.
    • Rangiku Matsumoto is a lazy slacker in everyday life, but when she gets into battle mode (which, given the nature of this series, is often)? Don't Fuck. With. Her. Ever.
    • Neliel Tu Odershvank made her introduction by nearly taking down Nnoitra Jiruga and was formerly the Number 3 Espada in Aizen’s ranks.
    • Rukia Kuchiki, the little pint-sized-ice person...(not Toshiro) fought and won against Aaroniero Arruruerie. To put it into perspective, that battle made into the top 10 most popular Bleach fights of all time.
    • Hiyori Sarugaki is extremely aggressive both in and out of battle, using plenty of punches, kicks, and some impressive sword-fighting. She just might be one of the most action-oriented ladies in the series.
    • Retsu Unohana is also heavily implied to be an extremely powerful fighter, even when she tends to be more of The Medic alongside her whole medical squadron. So far she made Aizen back down with good reason; she's the original Kenpachi and a Blood Knight.
    • Lisa Yadomaru, with her badass Zanpaktou and Shikai, is the series' resident Badass Bookworm.
    • Mashiro Kuna does indeed kick quite a bit of ass, considering she was a lieutenant back in the day. Which is hard to believe since she's such a Genki Girl.
    • Ururu Tsumugiya, with her giant-ass bazooka-thing, is one of the standout examples of Small Girl, Big Gun.
    • Kuukaku Shiba hasn't seen much action, but she did do a little bit of fighting at the end of the Soul Society arc, knocking a giant flat on his butt with a single spell. Not quite as much of an Action Girl compared to, say, Yoruichi or Soifon, but still.
    • Momo Hinamori, after spending her time in the Soul Society arc as the Broken Bird, got to show off her Action Girl chops in the Fake Karakura Town arc when she pulled a Big Damn Heroes to save Matsumoto from getting obliterated. She then proceeded to fight alongside Matsumoto against Dark Action Girl Harribel's Amazon Brigade. She's also pretty badass in the fillers.
    • Jackie Tristan from the Fullbringer arc is pretty good at fighting as well.
    • Ichigo's mother, Masaki, gets point for using her Quincy powers to take on a Hollow that was giving a Captain class Shinigami trouble. She used her Blut Vene to tank his bite and one-shot it with a headshot.
  • In Blood+ you can see Saya. She has been hunting vampires for over 100 years, created by her evil twin sister. Their only weapon is a sword, the blade of which she soaks with her own blood because the vampires react very sensitively to it. When she is in the middle of the fight, she even qualifies for a One-Woman Army.
  • Blue Seed's Koume Sawaguchi fits this trope exactly, even to the point where she is considered to be the TAC's muscle against the Aragami. It's even acknowledged in the post-series Time Skip OVA when the other characters directly state that they can't fight the Aragami without Koume's help.
    • There's also second-in-command Ryoko Takeuchi, an ex-cop who doesn't take crap from anybody and is an excellent shot. She even carries a 10mm even when she's off duty. She and Koume team up on missions from time to time throughout the series, and when they do it results in a Curb-Stomp Battle.
  • Boruto does a better job handling it’s female characters compared to its predecessor, showcasing how capable they are.
    • Sumire Kekai is not only the first female character to show off her combat abilities, but she is also the first antagonist, and easily goes toe to toe with Mitsuki and Boruto, two prodigies.
    • Sarada Uchiha is the first character to have a solo fight and win, before the protagonist himself. Sarada is a dangerous combination of both her parents, with the Sharingan from her father and the monster strength inherited from her mother. She is also the only canon female Uchiha with Sharingan created by Kishimoto. Unlike Sakura in her childhood, Sarada is on equal footing with her teammates, and she is often the one giving the main blow to defeat a villain.
    • Chocho is usually your typical Plucky Comic Relief with her antics about food and romancing boys, until she decides to get dangerous.
    • Asuma's daughter, Mirai, deserves a special mention, for defeating a Sharingan user, Sarada.
    • Tsubaki Kurogane is a samurai girl from the Land of Iron, who was selected to become an exchange student exactly for being a Little Miss Badass. She is shown being around the same strength as a Chunin, even besting both Team 5 and Team 15.
  • A Bride's Story:
    • Amir has hunting and survival skills that can be turned to combat, and she’s physically courageous as well as fiercely protective of her new family. It’s actually stated that this was part of a normal education for girls where she’s from. Chapter thirty-three drives the point firmly home when she takes out her own father, the enemy commander, single-handed.
    • Karluk’s grandmother, Balkirsh, is an expert archer, and while she mostly stopped using her bow after she got married, she’s still got the touch, as well as Nerves of Steel. She also uses her talent for riding goats to rescue a small child from a steep cliff in a side chapter. She isn’t exactly young either.
  • The anime Brynhildr in the Darkness has magicians who can fight well. Especially Neko Kuroha should be mentioned because she has powerful powers and is involved in many battles.
  • Bubblegum Crisis centers around the Knight Sabres, an all women's group of power-armored mercenaries who opposes the Genom Corporation. All of them (except Nene) are physically fit and routinely face-off against Boomers that are capable of mowing down entire divisions of heavily armed police.
  • Sakura Kinomoto and Mei Ling from Cardcaptor Sakura. Since Sakura is one of the iconic Magical Girl heroines, this is to be expected. Mei Ling, meanwhile, is just a straight-up badass.
  • Case Closed: Karate expert Ran Mouri can kick down doors, break knives, dodge bullets, help kick the ass of 50-60 armed men, kick the ass of any person who hostages her or harms her loved ones, and even dent a cement telephone post if she's in the mood for it. And she's not the only one: Satou (standard police training, which includes judo), Kazuha (aikido), Sera (jeet kune do), Ran's mom Eri (judo) and Heiji's mom Shizuka (former kendo champion who has not let her skills go rusty) can handle themselves pretty well too.
  • A Certain Magical Index has many (as to be expected when all of the students in the city most of the story takes place in go through superpower development programs) to list a few there's: Misaka, Index (in a couple scenes), Itsuwa, Mugino, Kazaki...the list goes on.
  • Rosette Christopher in Chrono Crusade - a Church Militant, Badass Normal and Handicapped Badass that manages to be one of the strongest characters in the entire manga due to her being an epic Plucky Girl.
    • Rizelle also counts, (although she prefers manipulating others to fight for her unless she's pushed in a corner).
    • Satella and her sister Florette, AKA "Fiore", who are powerful jewel summoners.
  • All Claymores in Claymore, and also many Awakened Beings. In fact, for this series it's far easier to list those who aren't Action Girls than those who are! The aforementioned Claymores are superhuman half-monsters and half-women who wield the immense broadswords that give them their name, they're the only ones capable to recognize a Yoma disguised among Humans (monsters who can perfectly disguise themselves as Humans so that they can feed on their guts) and the only ones strong enough to actually fight them. In the past there used to be also male Claymores, but it turns out that only women can properly control their Yoma Energy, and when Yoma Energy goes out of control a Claymore is doomed to give in to his or her monster half and turn into an Awakened Being.
  • Kallen Stadtfeld / Karen Kouzuki from Code Geass, Ace Pilot of La Résistance.
    • C.C. also qualifies, maybe not as much as Kallen, but she can still kick quite a bit of ass.
    • Then there's Anya Alstreim and Action Mom Empress Marianne Even more if we consider that Anya was Marianne's Soul Jar. Princess Cornelia, meanwhile, fluctuated between this and Dark Action Girl. And then there's Sayoko, and Alice from Nightmare of Nunnally, too.
  • Electra from Cowboy Bebop: Knocking On Heaven's Door
    Spike: Are all the employees around here like you? You got some classy moves for a corporate girl.
    Electra: The more you know, the shorter your life will be.
    Spike: I love the kind of woman who could kick my ass.
    • Faye most certainly counts as well. Remember when she started kicking the ever-loving shit out of a bunch of thugs on Callisto? The same ones that Spike held his own against?
  • Honey Kisaragi from Cutey Honey may be one of the earliest examples in anime (along with Sapphire from Princess Knight, mentioned further down) where the female lead was the main character AND a downright competent Action Girl.
  • Francoise Arnoul aka 003 from Cyborg 009 is this when at her boldest. While she relays more in her Super-Senses and Wrench Wench skills, when she needs to defend herself and she can't rely on 009 or others, she'll do it without hesitation.
  • Mina Tepes in Dance in the Vampire Bund is an extremely badass young lady, dishing out plenty of Waif-Fu to spare.
  • The first several episodes of The Daughter of Twenty Faces show Chiko's rapid development from a seemingly Spoiled Brat to a cunning, resourceful, and skilled Phantom Thief action girl.
  • Marcille and Falin from Delicious in Dungeon are just as capable of kicking monster but as their male counterparts. Most female adventurers are this, really.
  • Devil Hunter Yohko: If the show's title doesn't make it clear enough, the titular heroine is a Magical Girl Warrior who can be best described as: "Sailor Moon meets Chun Li". Meaning, she'll put the sword down, if that's what it takes to get the job done.
  • Lenalee from D.Gray-Man is actually such an Action Girl that she Action Girls herself past her capabilities and temporarily gets Brought Down to Normal until she recovers and goes back to being the local Action Girl.
  • Yoshino from Digimon Data Squad had her moments as this, as did Izumi, from the Super Sentai-inspired 'kids-turn-into-Digimon' Frontier.)
    • Don't forget Rika of Digimon Tamers.
    • Miyako/Yolei of Digimon Adventure 02 predates all three above in terms of sheer ballsiness. She almost never fights hand to hand as her Digimon is the one doing it, but she never backed out of fights and once even had the pluck to try attacking Lady Devimon to protect her friends.
    • Sora of Digimon Adventure definitely qualifies as she was a Tomboy when she wasn't being the Team Mom.
  • Don't Meddle with My Daughter! follows the adventures of Athena and Clara, a mother/daughter duo of superheroines, who fight to defend the people of Tokyo from Deepthroat.
  • Dragon Ball:
    • Ranfan of Dragon Ball was the first female fighter the series showed. Despite her Fanservice tactics, her punches were so powerful they literally sizzled. Following this was Chi-Chi, daughter of the Ox-King and future wife of Goku, and Colonel Violet, the only female officer in the Red Ribbon Army.
    • The trend continued in Dragon Ball Z, introducing Android 18, the first character on-screen to ever defeat a Super Saiyan, and later Videl, a powerful Earthling in her own right who fought crime and learned ki and flying from Gohan.
    • Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku introduced Selypa/Fasha, a full-blooded Saiyan woman on Bardock's team.
    • Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound brought Zangya, a space pirate who defeated Krillin and went toe-to-toe with Trunks.
    • Still continuing the trend in the much controversial Dragon Ball GT is Pan, the granddaughter of Goku.
    • Dragon Ball Super continues the trend with the Saiyan women of Universe 6. Kale marks the first canonical appearance of the green-haired "Legendary Super Saiyan" transformation, and is able to master its berserk rage in a matter of a few episodes, while Caulifla is a fighting genius who is able to transform to Super Saiyan merely by seeing the transformation and having how it feels described to her. When the two fuse into Kefla, they are able to easily overpower Goku even in his most powerful forms, triggering his second transformation into Ultra Instinct. Goku's fight with Caulifla/Kale/Kefla, in particular, its ridiculously epic ending, is considered by many to be the highlight of not only the Universe Survival Arc but the entire series.
  • The title character from Explorer Woman Ray, Rayna "Ray" Kazuki, an Adventurer Archaeologist and also a black belt in karate, which comes in handy when fighting the bad guys after a mysterious artifact belonging to her.
  • Fairy Tail: Pretty much every female character is one. Some notable ones, however;
    • Erza Scarlet, also known as Titania, is one of the strongest members of Fairy Tail and a prominent fighter in every arc.
    • Mirajane is usually placid and acts as the Guild's bartender, but when she finds her loved ones in danger, she unleashes her own transformation powers which are said to be comparable to Erza.
    • Cana Alberona, the heavy-drinking, card-carrying bad-ass mage who never backs down from a fight, even against stronger opponents. After the Time Skip, she can use Fairy Glitter effectively, making her exceptionally powerful.
    • Juvia Lockser's entire body is made of water, and she's capable of creating and manipulating water however she pleases. When it's time to get dangerous, the results can be rather epic.
    • Lucy Heartfilia gradually becomes a full-on action girl with each arc, as she begins to fight alongside her Celestial Spirits. She also begins to rely less on said spirits and more on her agility and whip as the story progresses. She even defends herself pretty well in early arcs. Come the second time-skip, she gains a spell that allows her to use her Celestial Spirits power as her own in a manner similar to Erza and Mirajane.
    • Ultear Milkovich of Grimoire Heart starts out as an evil Dark Action Girl, but eventually, she turns over a new leaf and loses the "dark" part. However, she certainly doesn't lose a tiny bit of her badassery.
    • Wendy Marvell is a cute, sweet little 12-year-old girl who can mercilessly tear you apart with Wind magic. Being the Sky Dragon Slayer does have its requirements, after all.
    • Lisanna can transform parts of her body into those of animals in a form of magic called "Animal Soul." Also, she's not dead like everyone thought, which qualifies her even more now.
    • Sherria Blendy lays a good smackdown on several opponents, such as the fighting tournament she participates in.
    • Merudy comes from the same guild as Ultear and has an Absurdly Sharp Blade that can cut through just about anything. She also gets significantly more badass over the Time Skip and also turns over a new leaf like Ultear.
    • Evergreen of the Raijin Tribe can turn you into stone by looking at you.
    • Bisca Moulin may be a more minor character, but she can kick your ass into the middle of next month with magic guns.
    • Levy is a part of the most valued teams in Fairy Tail and was even considered for an S-Class exam.
    • Sherry Blendy of the Lamia Scale guild is a Marionette Master who leaps into battle quite competently during the Oración Seis arc.
    • Laki Olietta, also a minor character, has some awesome Back-to-Back Badasses moments with other members. Said partners she's teamed up with include Max and Gildarts.
    • Mavis is the founder of the whole Fairy Tail guild. This alone makes her worthy of special mention.
    • Kagura Mikazuchi, who fought on par with Erza using a sheathed sword!
    • Hell, even Carla has her moments, and she's a cat! She even learns some Transformation Magic later on to make her human, letting her get in on the action more frequently.
  • Saber and Rin Tohsaka in Fate/stay night are the two leading ladies and are both awesomely kickass.
  • Full Contact: Yumi Kiryu and Kana Kiyru, the karate dojo President's granddaughters. Yumi, in particular, is the strongest and most skilled character in the series, feared by all others who know her (including the President)). And Kana has the skill and power to still go head-to-head with Ryuuichi, even after she dropped karate for the past few years, while Ryuuichi has spent the whole series gradually taking one level in badass after another.
  • In the Fushigi Yuugi meta-universe, out of all the mikos only Takiko aka Genbu no Miko from Fushigi Yuugi Genbukaiden is trained in self-defense, and she's very good at handling herself with a naginata spear. It's a Justified Trope: Takiko is from the Japan of The Roaring '20s and a Yamato Nadeshiko to boot, so she was required to learn at least some basic moves of naginatajutsu as part of her rising.
  • Riza Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist pretty much defines this status. She is easily the most consistently competent and the least goofy of the Military Men, and let's not forget the "You're useless in the rain" scene. This is even more obvious in the manga and Brotherhood where she's portrayed as an expert sniper having saved both Hughes and Mustang's life during the Ishval Rebellion/massacre.
    • The manga and the Brotherhood anime series also gives us Lan Fan (bodyguard ninja to Ling Yao), Mei Chan (the cutest warrior princess ever), and Olivier Mira Armstrong (who defeats her younger brother Alex in a fight and takes on a homunculus in a tank).
    • The most badass female and the most badass person in the series is Izumi Curtis, the local Action Mom; she cements it during the Tales of a Master flashback to her training in Mount Briggs, where she is forced to fight for her life in Winter and does this by taking out patrols from the heavily trained Fort Briggs, then she throws a bear to the ground, knocks the damn thing out, and drags the bear back to the person who told her to fight for her life for a month. She then beats the shit out of him for being a famous martial artist instead of a famous alchemist. Hell, Izumi even manages to intimidate/impress Olivier and Alex!
  • Melissa Mao from Full Metal Panic!. Being a mecha pilot does this to you.
    • Tessa has had some particularly badass moments of her own, being the captain of a military submarine.
    • Kaname Chidori, believe it or not, also has some elements of this. She's just a regular, Ordinary High-School Student with absolutely no military/combat training whatsoever, yet she still manages to outwit and beat up assassins and is always somehow involved in the counter-attack that takes place following her capture, whether or not it's in a combat role.
  • Most Cures from Pretty Cure are magical girls who fight their enemies with powerful punches and kicks.
  • Galaxy Angel, the comedy anime of the video game of the same name, has the martial artist Ranpha and the gunwoman Forte.
  • Gangsta. has plenty of examples of female Twilights and Super Human Normals such as Erica, Beretta, Ginger, Eva, Sig, Sandra and Gina Paulklee who are all incredibly strong and extremely deadly. Erica and Ginger in particular can keep up with Lightning Bruiser Nicolas Brown in combat. To a much lesser extent there’s Alex a normal woman who at one point smacked down a rapist with a pipe to save a little girl.
  • It would seem that in GaoGaiGar, if you're a female humanoid, you're almost guaranteed for supporting roles on the backstage. However, starting in the OVA, we're introduced with Rune Cardiff Shishioh, who is actually a total Action Girl on her own and is probably the only female who takes combat directly head-on. Hell, in Super Robot Wars, she DOES actually take on robots bigger than her size armed with just her bazookas and fists (but with the help of her companion femmebots as well).
  • Major Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell 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.
  • Ginrei and Youshi from Giant Robo are members of an international police organization known as the Experts of Justice.
  • Remy Shimada in GoShogun and Go Shogun: The Time Étranger, first a mecha pilot, then a revolver-wielding explorer/adventurer.
  • Deconstructed in Great Teacher Onizuka with Tokiwa. A traumatized girl who has some skill in karate, she lures boys to a make-out spot and then beats the hell out of them... until one of them comes back for revenge with his buddies, who know martial arts and are actually prepared for her, and they defeat her with ease.
  • Rushuna in Grenadier. Her goal is to get the enemy to lose their will to fight by the power of her smile. She regularly fails on this part. So she has to use her Improbable Aiming Skills and Unorthodox Reload to shoot anything that moves. In a world of riflemen and samurai and superweapons, the most dangerous thing is a girl with large breasts and a six-shot revolver.
  • In Guardian Fairy Michel, Kim White is an ace pilot, sharpshooter, and friend to fairies everywhere. While Michel gets powers as well, it's Kim who helps turn the tide of battle.
  • Yuki Nagato of Haruhi Suzumiya. There's a reason why she's called a Badass Bookworm. She's badass enough that she doesn't need to move a limb to fight. She can open her mouth, and (at least in the anime), chant SQL queries backwards, sped up. At one point, she blocks a gigantic cave cricket's attack without flinching by using a gigantic forcefield. Most of the time, she uses her data manipulation for good, like helping the team win a baseball match in order to prevent the world from ending and playing a kickass electric guitar solo. And that's not even mentioning the battle with Ryoko Asakura, who is no slouch in that department herself.
  • Hinagiku of Hayate the Combat Butler. She regularly defeats opponents, inspiring awe from the protagonist. She tries playing Deliberately Distressed Damsel to capture his attention, under the impression he likes weak girls, but usually, the opponents trigger her Berserk Button and she completely demolishes them.
    • Athena could also qualify. She's the one who opened Hayate's potential and trained him, but since all of her battles so far have been against the main character, it's questionable whether she goes here or Dark Action Girl.
  • Kiruko from Heavenly Delusion is this, though the manga’s emphasis on pragmatism and realism (despite having a Sci-Fi theme) lends to zig-zagging as well. She’s no slouch in the athletics department and is a skilled sharpshooter who is armed with a ray gun she calls the “Kiru-Beam,” which is strong enough to pierce through most objects and even capable of dealing heavy damage to the “Man-Eaters” - giant monsters with supernatural abilities that prey on humans in a post-apocalyptic Japan. She also has her traveling companion Maru to help her on their journey to find a place called “Heaven.”
    However, her Kiru-Beam can only hold up to four shots before it needs its battery recharged and misfires often. Also, the human bandits she goes up against fight dirty and often in large packs, forcing Maru and herself to rely on more pragmatic ways to deal with them such as using the environment to her advantage. Finally, the Man-Eaters are nigh impossible to kill if her Kiru-Beam happens to be out of shots (unless Maru can somehow reach them), making her a Weak, but Skilled example who sometimes has to avoid fights or run from them with Maru out of necessity.
    • Due to the realism theme of the manga, Kiruko also has to deal with many real life issues during her travels and sometimes during fights. She once had to survive in a hostile area while dealing with her period, has to worry about malnutrition as well as exhaustion from wandering the road - both of which tend to be more prevalent threats than the Man-Eaters (both Maru and Kiruko have to eat and find shelter while resting, after all), and scavenging for useful items that can be bartered later leads to all sorts of dangers like a hungry wild bear. Finally, no matter how tough an Action Girl she is, being raped as well as gaslighted by the man she trusted the most - her former Big Brother Mentor Inazaki Robin - was a harrowing experience for her. The story makes it clear that even badass women who can fight literal monsters can still be traumatized, but fortunately she has Maru to help her out when a situation turns sour.
  • Sagiri Yamada Asaemon from Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku is the lone female samurai of the Yamada Asaemon clan and a strong sword fighter. Throughout the manga, she was looked down upon by her fellow samurai and even her own father for taking a role that men usually take, but as the series progressed, more and more of them begin to accept her. She did had a brief Faux Action Girl moment in Chapter 7/Episode 4 during her first encounter with the monsters on the island, but not long afterwards, during the fight with Rokurota, she adopted the "middle way" which was a middle ground between being emotional and methodical, and took numerous levels in badass. Yuzuriha, being a kunoichi, also qualifies, as does Nurugai.
  • Seras Victoria and Integra from Hellsing; Integra is just, well, Integra, and Seras... Oh my gosh, after Seras drinks Berandotte's blood, she takes so many levels in badass it's not even funny!
  • Most of the females of Hetalia: Axis Powers are hinted to be or at least count as this. Being personified countries who have lived through several wars probably means that they sort of have to be.
    • The biggest example would be Hungary, who was a Cute Bruiser even as a small child. Even after her Girliness Upgrade she still manages to single-handedly punch and kick the crap out of Prussia's army. She also is shown to have skill with a sword, a spear, and, most iconically, a frying pan. Although she also is shown with a rifle in some official art.
    • Belarus gets shades of this, threatening Latvia with knives in her first appearance and gaining a generally Boisterous Bruiser attitude in more recent strips, outright attacking Finland and Denmark in the 2010 Christmas and 2011 Halloween events respectively.
    • Belgium, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Vietnam and Ukraine are all hinted to be this. All are Plucky Girls, and in official art, Belgium and Liechtenstein have been depicted with rifles (and we see Liechten training with Switzerland in canon), Monaco in chain mail and a coif, Vietnam with an oar held as if she were about to beat someone with it and Ukraine with a saber.
  • Highschool of the Dead has Rei Miyamoto and Saeko Busujima, who's her Dark Action Girl counterpart:
    • Rei begins the series using makeshift polearms but is eventually given a M1A1 Springfield assault rifle with a bayonet attachment, which becomes her weapon of choice for the remainder of the series. She's also had training in martial arts and isn't afraid to get physical with "them". Despite this, she occasionally lapses into Damsel in Distress territory, but soon claws her way back full-on badass status.
    • Saeko is aloof and composed on the battlefield, and well suited for the new world she finds herself in, since it allows her to indulge in her true nature. Beneath the calm exterior, lies an Ax-Crazy sadist who revels in cutting down her enemies, to the point of becoming sexually aroused by it. For her, "they" are little more than a Redshirt Army, which she's more than "happy" to demonstrate.
    • For most of the series, Saya serves as the brain of their group, but after spending time watching Hirano and picking up a few pointers along the way, she eventually becomes their second gunner. Those lessons came in handy when she went into Mama Bear mode to save Alice, in chapter 29. She even tells Hirano not to help her because she was determined to do it herself with her next shot. Next page...scratch one bogey.
  • In the Kai Arc of Higurashi: When They Cry, Mion, Shion, Rena, and even Satoko are quite amazing fighters, considering that they are just simple teens (Keiichi is also a good fighter, but he does not count, because he is a boy). They do not quite reach the status of action girls, but they are only six, and can defeat several adult men before Takano kills them.
    • In the Outbreak Arc, however, Rena is really an action girl, as she defeated together with Keiichi, in the fight twenty villagers.
  • In Idol Densetsu Eriko, Eriko's friend Yasuko is a Tae Kwon Do expert and motorbike enthusiast, and handles any fight scene that happens.
  • Sango from Inuyasha is a demon-slayer with a ludicrously-sized boomerang, of all things. Kikyou also was an excellent Archer, and Kagome eventually evolved into an Action Girl of the same type as time passed. And we also got a Cute Bruiser in Ayame. Kagura, however, started off as a Dark Action Girl, but became one of the rare few of that trope to undergo a Heel–Face Turn (into the stand-offish and cynical type mentioned in said trope). The sequel series, Yashahime, gives us Towa Higurashi, Setsuna, and Moroha as its protagonists.
  • Ais Wallenstein from Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? is an adventurer and strong fighter. She destroys powerful monsters several times.
    • Actually, almost every female adventurer in this anime qualifies for it.
  • Sakuya from Isuca is a girl from a clan that captures and seals away monsters for a living and is a very skilled archer.
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
  • In Jujutsu Kaisen, Nobara Kugisaki is one of the first-year students at Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School. She battles against the cursed spirits that roam around Japan, along with Fushiguro and Yuji. It's not only Nobara, however, as there are other girls who are also shamans who fights curses such as the twin sisters, Maki Zenin and Mai Zenin, Momo Nishiyama, Mei Mei, Kasumi Miwa, and so on.
  • Kimagure Orange Road, being a junior high school romance story, doesn't often call for action sequences. But when it does, Madoka "the Pick" Ayukawa is ready and able to take out a whole gang of delinquents. Or, you know, skateboard down the girders of a building under construction. Whatever the situation, she can handle it . . . as long as it doesn't involve ghosts.
  • Practically every single female character in Kill la Kill qualifies, even the more feminine ones like Mako's mother.
  • Episode 60 of Kirby: Right Back at Ya! features a pale-haired alien girl named Sirica, who visits Pop Star one night to get revenge on Meta Knight for the supposed murder of her mother, Garlude. She wields a Swiss-Army Gun and on top of that, is one of the Star Warriors who helps Kirby and the Cappies reach eNeMeE’s fortress by hijacking one his Destraya vessels in the series finale.
  • Lupin III:
    • Naturally, Fujiko Mine is the series' primary example. While often portrayed as anti-heroine, her status has varied. She was originally a seductress, who got by on her looks and feminine wiles since she lacked any fighting skill. However, she was later retooled by Hayao Miyazaki, during his work on The Castle of Cagliostro. Reception to the change was lukewarm at first, but was well received with time, so that it's become her standard characterization. She was even given her own spin-off series, years later.
    • Island of Assassins: Ellen didn't have a choice in the matter, because her parents sold her into slavery when she was a child, in order to support their alcoholism. She was conscripted into the Tarantulas sometime afterward, and was trained to be an assassin.
    • The Secret of Twilight Gemini featured Lara as its Girl of the Week, who was the gun-toting rebel leader of the Geltic Tribe. Shortly before the film's climatic final battle, The Elder reveals to her and Lupin that Lara is descendant of the Geltic Royal Family, which literally makes her a Rebellious Princess!
  • Madlax has a good number of them;
    • Limelda Jorg fits in this catagory Even though she did kill Vanessa, she did managed to take out a good number of the Elite Guard she used to be in plus a group of mercinaries out to kill Madlax. And in later episodes it's hinted that she's taken out a few more squads but it got credited to Madlax by Friday Monday.
    • Finally there's Elenore Baker; a prime example of Ninja Maid. In certain circles it's joked er...hinted that she's the teacher of Roberta from Black Lagoon.
  • Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha has Nanoha, Fate, Vita, Signum, Subaru, Teana... you know, it'd probably be easier to list the female mages that wouldn't count as an Action Girl. Even the White Magician Girl could kick your ass, or at least have her dragons do it for her.
  • Hikaru Shidou from Magic Knight Rayearth is this in spades - threaten any living being, or heaven forbid her dearest friends, and you might as well curb-stomp your own ass.
    • Umi and Fuu also qualify lots and lots. (The three did have training previous to the Cefiro Read Trip after all: Hikaru as a kendoka, Umi as a classic fencer, and Fuu as archer). Also Caldina. And of course...we can't forget Nova (which gives action-girl Hikaru a whole new dimension since Nova is Hikaru...or more specifically her shadow). Now just take a moment to consider how badass Nova herself is and you'll get my meaning...
    • Don't forget the princesses Tatra and Tarta. Aska is a pretty decent Summoner, too.
    • Princess Emeraude herself. Though she initially refused to do anything, when grief took over her heart, she decided it was time for action, which involved a BFS and her own Mashin.
  • You don't have to look far in Magi: Labyrinth of Magic to find an Action Girl, because almost all of them are notable for being real Action Girls. From main character Morgiana, to Sinbad's Generals Yamuraiha and Pisti, to even the Kou Empire's Princesses Hakuei and Kougyoku. And they're all awesome for it.
  • Maken-ki!: It'd be easier to list the girls who aren't, since virtually every female in the series is combat ready. So we'll focus on the ones in the main cast:
    • Haruko grew up studying martial arts with her friend, Takeru, at his father's dojo. Since then, she's become a proficient swordswoman and is the wielder of Murakumo; which is one of the original 8 Maken. Near the end of the Venus arc, she fought and defeated Demitra, the vice-commander of their unit.
    • Inaho doesn't see as much action as the others, mainly because she's the plucky comic relief. But she still gets her moments to shine, such as when she saved Takeru from a rockslide and when she helped fight Celia.
    • Himegami is the deuteragonist and the daughter of Yamato no Orochi. As such, she's royalty and a demigoddess, who's capable of casting high-level summons and magic. Plus, she possesses Yasakani which has the power of the 8 original Maken combined. Meaning, she's inherently one of the most powerful characters in the series, and was ultimately the one who defeated Ouken Yamato.
    • Azuki serves as the group's unarmed combat specialist and is acknowledged as one of the strongest girls at the academy. She's introduced being challenged to a duel by Kai, for the right to be with her (which he loses). Later, she fought Yan-Min during the Venus arc and narrowly defeated her. And during the Okino Island chapters, she joined the battle against Otohime Yamato's enslaved minions and her brother, Gouken.
  • Rune Balot of the novels/manga/movies, Mardock Scramble. She's an ex-hooker cyborg capable of shooting bullets out of the air with her eyes closed, has a transforming weapon, super-senses, and highly advanced technopathic abilities. She's practically a force of nature.
  • Almost every single female character in Master of Martial Hearts. Even the most unsuspectable ones. Single exceptions are Faux Action Girl Miko and Cute Mute, nameless, Natsumi's mom. Partly subverted because Natsumi's mom, before getting broken into a mute StepfordSmiler used to be a fairly good Action Girl.
  • May I Ask for One Final Thing?: Scarlet, the lead heroine, starts the story by beating the ever-living hell out of a room full of people that wronged her, then goes on to perform many other such feats, including taming a dragon.
  • From the creator Go Nagai, the Mazinger trilogy features several Action Girls:
  • Mikura from Mezzo Forte is the weapons and hand-to-hand combat specialist of the Danger Service Agency, and easily outclasses any of the male characters in a one-on-one fight. Her foil, Mafia Princess Momomi Minoi, qualifies as a Dark Action Girl being that she's the only character in the OVA that can stand toe-to-toe with Mikura.
  • Despite being a victim of a lot of pranks, Hot Teacher Machiko Mai from Miss Machiko often gives back as much as she takes. She's more athletic than the rest of the staff (including the phys ed teachers), able to pick up skills like skateboarding in one or two tries, and knows martial arts of some kind — several episodes involve her beating the crap out of someone who goes too far. (One memorable instance of this involved her breasts popping free from her shirt from a thief who had taken her as a hostage, which she used as a the start of a breast-and-karate-chop combo.)
  • Allenby Beardsley from G Gundam is an example in the Gundam franchise. Don't let the girly-looking Gundam and the girlish speech patterns fool you: she can kick you ass six ways to Sunday, and she will. If you have to doubt her skill, in her first scene she actually fought Domon in an arcade simulation when they first met; neither of them won, but the machine was the real loser as their combined fighting skills caused it to break down.
  • In Monster, Nina is not only capable of kicking ass (and running without pain while in heels) but also scaring people completely shitless (and in at least one case, pissless) when they get in her way. It's possible she inherited some of this from her mother who escaped from a high security military base while in labor.
    • However, Nina could be seen a possible subversion and 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 series, she becomes less and less "action-y" as we learn the massive MESS of a past that she's been through. Although present at the climax, all she does is tell Johan that she forgives him. Even more so: the fandom conveniently "forgets" that while Nina is a martial-arts expert... we don't meet her as such: we met her as a mix of Creepy Child and Ophelia, and it's later when we know what she can physically do.
  • Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit: Balsa is a wandering spearwoman turned bodyguard, in order to atone for the 8 lives she once took, who finds herself charged to protect Prince Chagum. So if anyone wants him, they're gonna have to go through HER. Good luck with that.
  • Syal and Lennard in Mother Keeper are both the main badass for their respective groups and do most of the fighting.
  • Anyone in My Hero Academia who gets into U.A. High School's superheroics class counts towards this trope by default. There's also an action girl among the support-oriented group, a Gadgeteer Genius named Mei Hatsume.
  • My-HiME:
    • The HiME, plus a Robot Girl and a fake HiME.
    • Haruka Suzushiro, who isn't a HiME, kicked a tank, held off two armed guards so her friend could run for help, and head butted Shizuru Fujino before dying by disintegration.
  • In Naruto, a lot of the female ninja zig-zag between this and Faux Action Girl but the ones who are always Action Girls are among the most badass characters in the franchise and even the ones who lean more towards Faux Action Girl are at least decent and competent fighters.:
    • Sakura Haruno. She Took a Level in Badass in Shippuden when she defeated Sasori, an Akastuki member and became a full-on Action Girl. She had more Action Girl moments such as killing with a single punch one of the Pain's summons, taking charge when Naruto was going eight-tailed fox in that arc, when she takes down White Zetsu in one punch. Later it's revealed that she knows how to use the Strength of a Hundred Seal like Tsunade and kills a massive a amount of juubis to everyone surprise and shock. She even goes against Madara Uchiha on her own so Naruto and Sasuke could have an opening to attack him. In the final fight she punches the major villain of the series and if it wasn't for that Naruto and Sasuke couldn't have won that fight.
    • Temari holds the shining distinction of not only being the only female to participate in the Chunin exams to actually win a fight, but to add insult to injury she did it twice in a row. She later rescued Shikamaru and defeated Tayuya in the Sasuke Retrieval arc.
    • Tsunade is this in her introduction in Part 1. The whole thing was just one giant awesome scene as she fought then-Big Bad Orochimaru alongside Jiraiya, but after that, she became the Hokage and focused more on being a Reasonable Authority Figure. In chapter 562, she proved that she had more than some few seconds of Action Girl set aside for a special occasion by activating a secret forbidden technique and punching a hole through Madara's Susanoo. And then she ran out of seconds and Madara (who was not even mildly inconvenienced by the attack) turned his Susanoo into a mountain-busting giant.
    • The introduction of Mei aka the Mizukage has added another Action Girl to the list. When Sasuke attacked the Kage summit, she almost killed him by having won the local Superpower Lottery by having a double kekkei genkai.
    • And of course, Kushina Uzumaki, the former Kyuubi jinchuriki and Naruto's Action Mom. The first and only time she appeared outside a flashback featured her 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 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 Human Shield bit and catches the claw in her stomach. Despite all the crap previously listed, she (with some help from her husband) stops a giant eldritch abomination's claw with pure physical strength.
    • Ten-Ten, who has a very hands-on fighting style. If only the story could show us her achievements...
    • Hinata Hyuga began as a shy and self-deprecating Shrinking Violet, but ever since Part II, she slowly but surely evolved into a Lady of War. She finally achieved full-blooded Action Girl status in the Fourth Shinobi World War Arc and The Last, where not only she finally becomes Naruto's Battle Couple partner and vital to defeat the Big Bad, but she also personally takes back her little sister Hanabi's stolen eyes by ripping them from said Big Bad's own eye sockets.
    • But the best example in this series is a villain, namely Kaguya, the mother of the Sage of Six Paths, inventor of the Sharingan and Rinnegan and the first person ever to use chakra. She once stole a sacred fruit and used its power to win all wars, and in her day, the entire world either worshiped her as a goddess or feared her as a demon.
  • In Neon Genesis Evangelion the two female leads, Asuka and Rei, perform incredible acts of badassery from within their Evas at multiple points in the series. Additionally, Major Misato Katsuragi is the operations director for the Evangelion project, and although she mostly functions as Mission Control, she is very deadly with a pistol, as three JSSDF Commandos found out the hard way when they attempted to harm Shinji in End of Evangelion.
    • And the Rebuild movies give us Mari.
  • Mirielle, Kirika, and Chloe in Noir. I mean, they are assassins! Definitely warrior material.
  • One Piece: Several actually. Word of God states this is intentional because Eiichiro Oda wants to make female characters both male and female fans can like.
    • Nico Robin is completely able to keep up with the Monster Trio (Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji) in a fight; this comes full-circle when she joins with Kyros and Rebecca for the fight against Diamanté, one of Doflamingo's dragons, a role that is only taken by the aforementioned Trio. In Wano Robin actively joins Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Jinbe, and Brook in curb-stomping the Beast Pirates. Robin even smacks down Black Maria of the Flying Six to free Sanji, as the former believed she’d be easy prey. During the fight with Black Maria, Robin Takes a Level in Badass to a massive degree gaining a powerful and demonic new transformation “Demonio Fleur” which she uses to curb stomp Black Maria.
    • Nami wasn't one at first, but starts growing into the role after being given her Clima Tact, where she becomes able to fight. After the Time Skip, she's finally a One Woman Army like the rest of the crew, and that's before she upgrades her Clima Tact with Zeus, one of Big Mom's homies.
    • A prominent example is Boa Hancock, said to be the strongest woman in the whole world and can perfectly back up said claim thanks to her Kick Chick skills and Taken for Granite powers. Hancock's whole tribe the Kuja are this as well being proficient in Haki.
    • Vivi wasn't too shabby herself as seen in the finale of Alabasta arc when she takes down Mr. 7 and Miss Father's Day from Baroque Works with her Peacock Slashers. Though unlike Robin she can't compete with the Monster Trio when it comes to strength and is Overshadowed by Awesome.
    • Speaking of Baroque Works, Miss Monday, Miss Valentine, and Miss Doublefinger also fit this bill being incredibly strong in their own right.
    • Iron Mace Alvida was the first Dark Action Girl in the series and only becomes stronger after getting a Devil Fruit power.
    • Tashigi is of the more traditional variety being a powerful swordswoman whose taken down a Nigh-Invulnerable Logia user and Dark Action Girl Monet. Fitting she's identical to Kuina the girl who beat Zoro 2001 times.
    • Kalifa from CP9 is an evil example being a powerful Kick Chick who took down strong foreman like Lulu and even Sanji (albeit he was holding back) and gave Nami one of her toughest fights in the series.
    • Technically, Emperor Big Mom, however, is actually the strongest woman in the world. Being Person of Mass Destruction who’s equaled Kaido in combat. Big Mom's many daughters particularly Galette, Amande and to a lesser extent Smoothie follow her example.
    • Carrot who unofficially joins the crew in Whole Cake Island arc, is incredibly powerful and speedy female Rabbit Mink whose gotten the jump on even Zoro. Then there's her Sulong form.
    • Vinsmoke Reiju, Sanji's sister is super strong thanks to Bio-Augmentation and her poison powers have let her go toe to toe with Big Mom's Elite Mooks.
    • Ulti from Kaido's Elite Mooks the Flying Six is definitely this, as she matched and overpowered Luffy's powerful headbutt with her own. Fitting she can turn into a Pachycephalosaurus. She almost breaks Nami’s skull in their fight and tanks several thunderbolts from her Clima-Tact. Nami does eventually beat her, but it took devastating pounding from the aforementioned Big Mom to soften Ulti up for Nami to finish her off.
    • Black Maria is a mixed example, while she is strong being a Spider-Woman unlike Ulti and other aforementioned examples she isn’t as scrappy with her foes. She instead prefers using tricks and traps which is how she captures Sanji before torturing him while he’s bound up in her webs. In fact when Robin lands a massive slap on her, Black Maria whines that Robin “dared” strike her face. However after a Let's Get Dangerous! Maria does give Robin a helluva fight and almost beats her... until Robin activates her Super Mode in rage and literally snaps Maria in half.
  • Ryo from Otomen can handily defeat anyone who comes her way, including a rampaging bull.
  • Outlaw Star has Aisha Clan Clan, who's a member of the Catrl Catrl empire and one of the strongest characters in the series. While "Twilight" Suzuka is a reknowned underworld assassin, who earned her name and reputation for having eliminated all of her targets at sunset... with a wooden sword!
  • Panzer World Galient: Hilmuka. Martial artist, sniper, strategist... you better believe she can look after herself in a fight (even if she is forced to fight in a gravity-altered environment).
  • Patlabor: The women of the SVU2note  are all dedicated police officers, like their male counterparts:
    • As the series' Hero Protagonist, Noa Izumi is the pilot of Unit 01 and eventually becomes one of the division's top Labor pilots. She's shown to be just as capable when she isn't piloting "Alphonse".
    • Lt. Kanuka Clancy is "on loan" from the NYPD's bomb squad and is the Forward for Unit 02.note  She returns to her own division, at the end of her stint with the SVU, and is eventually replaced by Kumagami.
    • In addition to taking over as Forward for Unit 02, Takeo Kumagami is a black belt in Judo and is a qualified instructor. She's so proficient at it that no one in the division has lasted more than a few seconds in a spar with her (though Noa holds the record for lasting 8 seconds against her).
    • Finally, there's Shinobu Nagumo, the reserved and respected captain of Special Vehicles' 1st division. Her service record is so exemplary, that some have wondered why someone of her obvious talents would settle for such a thankless position.
  • Masako Natsume from Penguindrum is a deadly shot with her slingshot and can handle herself in had-to-hand combat pretty well.
  • Phantom Quest Corp.: As Phantom Quest's president, Ayaka Kisaragi has made a living from studying the occult and eliminating all manner of spooks across Tokyo. And while she's undeniably good at her job, she's the reason that her company's constantly up their ears in debt.
  • In Pikaia, there's Wendy, who possesses Charles Atlas Superpower and becomes a vital asset to the Time-Divers after her Heel–Face Turn.
  • A cardinal rule of Pokémon Adventures is that if you have paired X chromosomes and you come into a Pokédex by hook or by crook, you are one of these to a degree without exception.
    • Blue is the Classy Cat-Burglar who is more than willing to use her feminine wiles (as well as some major advance planning in some cases) to get what she wants. Sabrina and Lorelei learned this the hard way.
    • Yellow is the kind of person who would rather befriend Pokémon than battle with them, but even Sird realizes (and Lance learns through experience) that cutting off any possibility of diplomacy with her is a cosmically bad idea.
    • Crystal is the only trainer in the entire series to complete the Pokédex for all non-legendary entries, and even then she may borrow off the others to fill out those entries. Her accuracy with leg-propelled Pokéballs is second to none, and Arceus help you if she learns Capoeira to compliment that style.
    • Anyone who looks under the Wild Child and Badass Normal entries should be aware of what Sapphire is capable of; capable in combat both with and without her Pokémon, and hardly a slouch in the cranial department despite her complications in Roxanne's written challenge. She also developed a soft spot for Ruby, and though he hasn't gotten in a hot spot she needed to wholly bail him out of, it's safe to assume that threatening his safety with her in proximity is akin to a death wish.
    • Despite her isolated and spoiled upbringing, Platinum Berlitz comes from a family of scholars and can easily classify as the most knowledgeable out of the entire lot. Even though her bodyguards aren't what you'd expect from their profession, it's not a bright idea to tick her off or endanger them, either.
    • White started out as mainly a Neutral Female, but when her Tepig Gigi left to be with N, she Took a Level in Badass and quickly gained 6 Pokémon, defeated a Battle Subway Master, and defended a Legendary, ALL IN THE SPAN OF ABOUT 2 CHAPTERS.
    • Modest transfer student Whi-two ("Whitley" in English translations) was revealed to be a former member of Team Plasma. Despite her efforts to keep her identity a secret, she couldn't keep her skills at battling hidden, as shown when she ends up becoming the top female trainer in her class. That said, she actively avoids this trope as much as possible; as she has taken Team Plasma's "Pokémon rights" doctrine to heart and hates and fears anything to do with capturing Pokémon or making them fight.
    • Thanks to fellow protagonist X being a Hikkikomori, Y immediately stands out as Action Girl due to always being the first person to defend her friends from Team Flare. It also helps that she's a skilled Sky Trainer herself, often soaring the skies and leaping headfirst into danger the moment she sees it. Her determination in protecting her friends and Kalos actually results in Xerneas itself choosing her as its trainer!
    • Officer Jenny tends to take this role throughout Pokémon: The Series. It doesn't always work out.
    • Speaking of Action Girls from the Pokémon anime, all of Ash Ketchum's female companions are this:
      • Dawn may well be the biggest Action Girl of them all, with her battle style being the closest to Ash's and often having Piplup deliver the finishing blow along with Pikachu.
      • Misty is the very first companion Ash had, and had no trouble keeping up with him; he actually had to keep up with her.
      • Iris starts off as a rookie, but she's also super competitive, which helps her become one of the top battlers in the main cast. By her return in Journeys, she’s already become Unova’s Champion.
      • May very much came off as one, evident in her theme song.
      • Serena isn't exactly on the other girls' level (mostly because her goal doesn’t require any battle training), but she's still a competent battler who can help the group fight Team Rocket and other threats.
  • Princess Sapphire is one of the earliest examples in this medium, what with Princess Knight being created way back in the fifties and considered as the mother of all Shoujo manga. Friebe also counts.
  • Sakurako and Matsuri from Psyren are "Universal-type" PSI users, which as the name implies means they are good at everything. Fredrica and Marie, despite being kids, are equally capable.
  • Due to battling against Witches, all of the Magical Girls in Puella Magi Madoka Magica fall under this trope. Of particular notability is Homura, whose powers didn't give her a magical weapon, forcing her to improvise with explosives and guns that were stolen from the Yakuza.
  • Queen's Blade: Pretty much everyone without a Y Chromosome is capable of kicking ass to some degree or other.
  • To some extent, Akane Tendō and most of Ranma's harem from Ranma ½. While they may not be as strong as Ranma and most of the main male martial artists, they can still beat the shit out of 90% of the boys their age.
    • For comedic purposes, Akane tends to become temporarily physically stronger than all the characters.
    • In a normal world, Akane would be the most badass person around. This is the girl who has to fight every single guy in the school just to get to class each morning, because Kuno had unilaterally declared that any guy who can defeat her gets to date her, and she's never lost to any of them. And she views this routine as merely irritating. It's her bad luck that she lives in a world with martial artists on the level of Ranma and Ryoga, and she appears weak only in comparison.
  • Raideen:
    • Mari is often a Damsel in Distress, but becomes this for a while. When Akira was temporarily blinded, she piloted the Sparker in his place and also once piloted Bluegear.
    • Rei can shoot guns, pilot ships and hold her own against Fossil Beasts. She's arguably the most skilled of the Copelander Corps.
  • Yuuri of Red River (1995) gradually develops into one throughout her journey in the ancient world, starting with her revenge for Tito.
  • The Rising of the Shield Hero has Raphtalia, Filo, and Rishia from Naofumi’s party, all of whom are front line fighters who focus on offense while Naofumi provides defense. There’s also Kizuna, Glass, and Therese from Glass’ World, with Glass in particular giving Naofumi a hard time that he’s forced to retreat the first time they fought and barely ends their second fight in a draw.
  • From the Robot Romance Trilogy:
    • Chizuru Nanbara of Combattler V is a mecha pilot capable to sortie even when she is deadly ill, and additionally she's capable of actual ground combat against Campbellian Mooks if the situation calls.
    • Megumi Oka of Voltes V is mecha pilot, highly-trained soldier and ninja, she tends to go solo on ground (for sneaky ninja activities) and usually prevailing if she needs to fight or disarm people.
    • Nana from Daimos is The Gunslinger and a jet fighter pilot, and she's also a pretty capable karateka (though not as good as Kazuya). While Erika averts this in the canonical works, the unofficial manga crossover with the rest of the Trilogy robots Victory Five had her discover a Humongous Mecha on her own and discovered that she did have piloting talent all along, thus becoming a Battle Couple with Kazuya.
  • Juliet Fiamatta Asto Capulet, Romeo × Juliet. An excellent Swordsman, she was a vigilante known as the Red Whirlwind and was more than a match for the guards of the city. As she realizes what her heritage as the last Capulet truly means, she has to balance both mental stability and fighting skills...
  • Inner Moka, especially, from Rosario + Vampire, but all of them have solo or tag-teamed at beating the snot out of some hefty Monster of the Week candidates.
  • Ruin Explorers: Ihrie, Fam, and Rasha, are all adventurers who make their living by exploring ancient ruins in search of treasure they can either use, or sell. Of the three, Ihrie is the only swordswoman, while Fam and Rasha are spellcasters.
  • Rune Soldier Louie: Jeanie is not only the most action oriented member of the female cast, she doubles as The Big Guy of the group, being she's the tallest and has more muscle than Louie! The two of them even duke it out near the end of episode 12. Jeanie outlasts Louie and knocks him out.
  • Rurouni Kenshin:
    • Kaoru Kamiya is a competent kendo practitioner who sadly gets Overshadowed by Awesome when compared to the near-superhuman abilities of the other main characters. Despite this, when she does get to show off her skills, she proves extremely effective, such as when she delivers a Curb-Stomp Battle to Katamari. The anime and live-action film adaptations also generally tend to treat her much better, giving her more fights and therefore more chances to show how skilled she really is.
    • Misao Makimachi is a fast and agile Ninja girl, though like Kaoru, she tends to get Overshadowed by Awesome. However, this is to a much lesser extent than Kaoru, thanks to having a larger amount of fights, where she tends to put on a good showing. Also like Kaoru, she's treated much better in the live-action films, where she fights in a larger amount of major battles compared to the manga or anime.
  • Ryu's Path: Maria is an experienced astronaut and wields a needle gun. She's introduced as ready to use it on Ryu until she realizes he's not a threat.
  • Sailor Moon is about Usagi Tsukino and her friends who transform into Magical Girl Warriors to battle demons, Usagi herself becoming the titular Sailor Moon. Her friends, meanwhile, become Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Saturn, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, and Sailor Pluto. The series is iconic for not only running on this trope, but doing it in a way that portrays their "girly girl" aspects as strengths instead of weaknesses. Not only that, there are several occasions where the male lead (Usagi's boyfriend) is put in the Damsel in Distress position and the eponymous heroines must rescue him.
  • sasami-san@ganbaranai being comprised of a mostly female cast has a lot of these. Yagami kagami is the biggest example of this as she took down an entire army and various enemies with her wide arsenol of weapons. She's also an example of a robot girl, storing numerous weapons in her nimble body like machineguns and missiles.
  • Saint Seiya is usually less fair to the females in this sense due to the Values Dissonance (it's a shonen franchise that comes from The '80s), but two Action Girls from the much newer spinoff series stand out: Crane Yuzuriha from Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas and Aquila Yuna from Saint Seiya Omega. While Yuzuriha certainly can hold her own, Yuna has the advantage of being one of the core cast of the series and receives a lot more development.
  • Pururuun aka Polly Esther in Samurai Pizza Cats. So tough, she has even been known to beat up her own co-workers if they annoy her in any way!
  • Jun from Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. She actually can be considered as another Trope Codifier of this, since the mere fact that she was an Action Girl in an otherwise male team was revolutionary for its time. Jun was one of the first female action heroes in anime. She was also the team's expert in electronics and blowing things up. And she ran a snack bar when she wasn't with the team.
  • Whenever anything action oriented needs to be done in School-Live!, it's up to Kurumi and her trusty shovel. Later, Miki becomes a secondary Action Girl, acting when Kurumi can't.
  • Mutsumi Mitsuba from Seitokai Yakuindomo is a 2-dan black belt in Judo and is generally competent in that. In fact, she founded the judo team when she just entered high school and immediately have respectable results, despite recruiting a team of complete newbies.
  • The 108 Sekirei in the series of the same name are an overwhelmingly female species of battle aliens. About half of them have been shown, and only three girls don't qualify as Action Girls. Of those three, two make up for their lack of physical prowess by being More Deadly Than the Male.
  • Sgt. Frog: Nearly every main female character will qualify occasionally, if not regularly.
  • Shakugan no Shana has the titular heroine who often fights alone against man-eating monsters.
    • Almost all female Flame Hazes are action girls.
  • Anna Kyoyama and Tao Jun from Shaman King are two of the biggest badasses in the series, every bit on-par with the male badasses.
  • Tiara from Shamanic Princess uses Full-Contact Magic during a fight, summons shadow creatures to do her bidding, whips out shadow-swords, and becomes a sexy demon warrior with deadly fighting skill.
  • Himeko Onizuka from Sket Dance was an insanely powerful ''yankee'' who unintentionally built a fearsome reputation for herself by taking on all comers wherever she went. Then she met Bossun. She got a lot better, choosing to use her strength for the sake of helping others through the Sket Dan.
  • Lina Inverse from Slayers: She left a path of devastation wherever she went, kicking the collective arses of everyone between her and whatever goal she was pursuing at the time.
    • Amelia has plenty of action girl moments, including this one at 18:05 where she exorcises an entire town of its ghost infection.
    • Filia once angrily destroyed a town under baiting by Xellos in this episode at 17:04.
  • Maka Albarn of Soul Eater. There is no shortage of instances where she's kicking ass by swinging and twirling that Sinister Scythe of hers. Tsubaki and the Thompson sisters Patti and Liz are shown as very capable too, on the rare occasion that they fight without their meister partners.
    • And later on there's Team Mom Marie Mjolnir, fighting Justin.
  • Trixie from Speed Racer actually was quite more action-geared than the then-norm in the original 60's series. When she did get whacked with a Distress Ball, she did her best to fight back and often was more trouble than worth to their captors.
  • In Spider Riders, all three of the female Riders. Corona is a skilled archer who fights as an equal partner with the male lead. Aqune is a super-powerful fighter who has taken on multiple opponents at once and can handle herself well even without transforming. Being a child, Sparkle gets less opportunity to show off, but has still taken down one of the Big Four singlehandedly.
  • Chizuru from Squid Girl is normally peaceful but if you A) mess with her family or B) mess with her store she will kick your ass and like Tomoyo she kinda stands out since it's not a action manga.
  • Tenchi Muyo!: As the show's title implies, the girls really have no need for Tenchi.
    • Ryoko was formerly the Galaxy Police's "Most Wanted" Space Pirate and is easily the most powerful female among the main cast, thanks to Washuu creating her to be the ultimate biological weapon. Ryoko has a shitload of powers and abilities at her disposal - including self-replication, the ability to regenerate lost body parts, teleportation... Suffice to say, you'd do better to make a list of powers she doesn't have.
    • As the crown princess of Planet Jurai, Ayeka is nothing to sneeze at either. She wields the power of Jurai, which is said the be the greatest in the known universe, and can create high-level barriers.
    • Ryoko's "mother", Washuu, is heralded as the greatest scientific genius in the universe (noticing a trend here?), including being able to create pocket dimensions on a whim. At times, her abilities seem too much for the series, until it's revealed she's really one of the Three Goddesses that created the universe.
    • And Kiyone is a hyper competent and proud officer of the Galaxy Police, which sadly, isn't reflected in her service record, due to being stuck with Mihoshi as her partner. But in the few moments she's allowed to shine, she's shown to be very resourceful and dedicated to her career.
  • The Testament of Sister New Devil has several of the main heroines who can fight. However, Mio is not as good, though it's justified as she just recently learned about her powers, and is still in the process of mastering them.
  • Renka Urushiba and Minami in Tokyo ESP serve as easily the two most badass characters in the series and their fights are absolutely brutal.
  • Tokyo Ghoul has quite a few. Namely Touka, who can fight on par with dangerous Ghouls with her kicks and kagune, which can fire shards and deliver slashes. There's also Akira Mado, a powerful Investigator who can go toe-to-toe with S-Rank Ghouls with Quinque known for their difficulty to use. Hinami even becomes one by Tokyo Ghoul:Re, mastering her dual kagune to the point she could give Takizawa trouble.
  • All five of the main girls in Tokyo Mew Mew. Zakuro's undoubtedly the most straight-up example, but Ichigo, Mint, Lettuce, and Pudding are capable of fighting as well.
  • Sakura in Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE- becomes one during the second half of the Tokyo arc. She gets to use guns like a big girl!
  • Mikoto in Tomica Hyper Rescue Drive Head Kidou Kyuukyuu Keisatsu may not get as much of a chance to shine as her male teammates, but that doesn't stop her from being a competent driver. When she gets her upgraded machine, White Pearl Hope, she even Takes a Level in Badass.
    • There's also Munakata, who drives the Transporter Gaia and is capable of taking out multiple Walker Vehicles all on her own.
  • Alicia Melchiott and all the other girls in the Valkyria Chronicles anime are Action Girls, just like their video game counterparts. (Except for Susie, who was never one to begin with...)
  • In Vampire Knight, Yuuki becomes this to some degree after Kaname transforms her back into a vampire, and after The Reveal.
  • Yui Lee from the Vampire Princess Miyu TV series, specially noticeable in that she is NOT a Shinma and yet manages to survive out there. Miyu herself is more of a Dark Magical Girl.
  • Variable Geo features an entire cast of super-empowered heroines, who're competing in an MMA tournament for the title of "Virgin Goddess".
  • In a canon omake of Vinland Saga, Ylfa fantasizes about becoming a badass pirate queen. The fact that she eagerly joins in on the occasional whale hunt proves she's no tender maid.
  • Words Worth is a rare departure from the norm in hentai, as it features women who're capable of actually defending themselves:
  • Sumire Iwaya of You're My Pet, is a classy career woman who's punched out a boss's fake tooth, beaten up muggers on at least three different occasions, taken out Yakuza goons, given her boyfriend a split lip, and busted out some wrestling techniques to use on the men who kidnapped her pet, Momo.
    Momo: No wonder they call her the Department of Technique!
  • You're Under Arrest!: Natsumi and Miyuki are almost always involved in every major case and have the service records and commendations to prove it. They're known to the people of Tokyo as Bokuto Precinct's "Super Duo".
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!: The franchise doesn't have that many female Duelists in comparison to male Duelists, but they are present.
    • Yu-Gi-Oh!:
      • Mai Kujaku is the most prominent example of the franchise, being the first prominent female duelist in the series.
      • Downplayed with Anzu. While she doesn’t duel that much, she is the only main female lead to have not suffered an onscreen loss.
      • Ishizu Ishtar is one of the few Duelists who came close to beating Kaiba in a duel (and the only woman who ever dueled him on-screen). Granted, her Millennium Necklace granted her the power to see the future, but she followed the very same moves she did within her visions. The only reason she lost is because Kaiba Screwed Destiny.
      • Her ancestor Isis was one of the six High Priests, the royal guards of the Pharaoh Atem.
      • Rebecca Hawkins, most prominently in the first half of season 5, where she is the only Grand Championship participant besides Jounouchi to be on the side of the heroes.
      • Vivian Wong, an antagonist (but not a villain) in the Grand Championship arc. Plus points for knowing martial arts.
      • Mana is a magician and uses magic to fight enemies. Her ka is even Black Magician Girl.
    • Yu-Gi-Oh! GX:
      • Asuka Tenjouin, the Queen of Obelisk Blue and the strongest female student of Duel Academia. Her alternate ARC-V counterpart is even one of the good guys.
      • Rei Saotome is another competent female Obelisk Blue student.
    • Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds:
      • Aki Izayoi started as a Dark Action Girl, who used her Psychic Power to hurt her opponents. She later joins Yusei's side and eventually becomes a D-Wheeler.
      • Luca, who is a much more competent Duelist than her older twin brother Lua.
      • Sherry, a fully-fleshed female D-Wheeler who came very close to defeat Yusei and might had won if the duel wasn't interrupted. However, she seems to prefer physical violence to settle things over dueling.
    • Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL:
      • Rio Kamishiro, Shark's younger twin sister, is a fully-fleshed out Duelist and doesn't like to be simply Shark's sister and she even challenges him at one point. As Merag, she is a Dark Action Girl.
      • Cathy is not only a female Duelist, but she also has the agility of a cat (or Catwoman), and she can be competent in dealing with foes outside of dueling.
      • Anna Kozuki has a very aggressive dueling style and has a lots of faith in raw power. She is also physically very strong and carries her flying cannon everywhere she goes around.
      • Droite becomes this after her Heel–Face Turn, shifting from Dark Action Girl to Action Girl.
    • Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V:
      • Arc-V is currently the only entry in the franchise to have the highest number of female duelists featured, some of whom are given more focus than usual.
      • Yuzu Hiiragi, the Deuteragonist. She is also one of the very few female Duelists who want to become stronger and is the first female lead in the franchise to defeat the main protagonist in a Duel.
      • Serena, Yuzu's Fusion counterpart, is a Blood Knight and is very proud about her abilities, possessing the same physical skills like other Academia students.
      • Yoko Sakaki, Yuya's mother, used to be a Japanese Delinquent when she was young. She is still a Duelist.
    • Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
      • Aoi Zaizen, the main female lead, is a skilled Duelist in her own right and is considered as one of the top Duelists in LINK VRAINS.
      • Emma Bessho, apart from being a skilled Duelist, is also a skilled Bounty Hunter.
    • Yu-Gi-Oh! SEVENS: Like Arc-V, SEVENS features a wide variety of Action Girls, with two in particular, Romin and Asana, having defeated Yuga, the main protagonist, in a Duel.
      • Romin Kirishima may be the youngest female lead in the franchise at 11 years old, but that doesn’t stop her from becoming a badass Duelist after she’s revealed to know how to play. She even becomes the second female lead in the franchise shown to defeat the main protagonist in a Duel.
      • Haruka "Tiger" Kamijo is very tough and aggressive Duelist and is the only named character her brother Luke is unable to defeat.
      • Asana Mutsuba started out as Dark Action Girl and was the main antagonist of Goha 6th Elementary arc, even defeating Yuga in a Duel, before transitioning into an Action Girl after her Heel–Face Turn.
  • YuYu Hakusho:
    • Genkai is still one of these as a seventy-plus year-old woman, and, when she was younger, she helped Team Toguro with the Dark Tournament, her being the only girl on that team.
    • Mukuro is so badass that she rose to the rank of a demon king while having her hands shackled together for hundreds of years.
    • Also Kokou and Natsume, who are among the old drinking and fighting pals of none other than Raizou, a Demon King just like Mukuro.
    • Botan also counts. If attacked directly, she'll easily be able to defend herself, even with mundane items like a baseball bat.

Alternative Title(s): Anime

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