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Dark Action Girl / Anime & Manga

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Dark Action Girl examples in anime and manga.

  • The group Jaegers from Akame ga Kill! has several female members.
  • Mirror Zero of Albegas is the Token Girl of the Dellinger military, and on top of being a spy who gathers information for the Dellingers, she conducts operations and pilots mechanical fighters herself.
  • Annie Leonhart of Attack on Titan has shades of this, being a cold and cynical soldier who enlists in the infamously corrupt Military Police Brigade, abandoning her Fire-Forged Friends without a second thought. She's also one of the Titan Shifter spies, and her rampage as the Female Titan leaves scores of veteran soldiers dead. She turns out to be a more complicated case, hinted to be a Broken Bird with serious Daddy Issues. Word of God explicitly states she isn't inherently evil, though it's hard to deny that she's a Sadist that likes to get.....creative with her kills. When Eren and Armin attempt to talk to her, she goes on one final city-smashing rampage before encasing herself in a Crystal Prison, denying the military the chance to learn her secrets.
    • Mikasa Ackerman actually has some darker shades, too. She develops over the course of the series and obviously holds some strong morals dear to her, but as soon as Eren is in danger she is willing to slice up pretty much anyone, friend or foe without a second thought to protect him. While most others join the Survey Corps to actually fight for mankind, Mikasa couldn't care less if Eren hadn't joined.
  • A brief glimpse of Caerula Sanguis' distant past in Volume 9 of Battle Angel Alita: Last Order shows that when she was part of the Chinese Triads, she was very much an example of this trope. After meeting Victor Byron, however, she softens a little. She softens further after meeting John Farrell in Volume 8, to the point that she became something of a Hero Secret Service, at first against Victor, to protect John Farrell's grandson, Arthur, eventually extending her protection to the whole of humanity.
  • Berserk only has about two. The first and one who engaged in the most fighting is Rosine, an insect girl Apostle who gave even Guts the fight of his life especially when she went One-Winged Angel. The second is Slan of the God Hand although her "fight" with Guts wasn't very long and she only got turned on by his attacks.
  • Birdy the Mighty: Moss from Decode's second season, to the point of being the most badass of the fugitives. Undine may count as well, if "girl" is the right way to describe her.
  • Grell Sutcliff of Black Butler is a Transgender woman who, in battle, uses a chainsaw and takes sexual pleasure in fighting Sebastian. She's later revealed to be at least a half of Jack the Ripper and Madame Red's accomplice in murdering the prostitutes.
  • Black Clover:
    • Fana is one of the strongest members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun. Her Flame Magic lets her unleash incredibly destructive fire and she's implacable and merciless towards the ones she loathes. Gaining her hatred is an easy action.
    • Vanica is the only female member of the Dark Triad and the host of a powerful devil. She's a maniacal Blood Knight who enjoys fighting strong enemies with childish glee, ordering her underlings to attack civilians just to rile up her foes. She uses Blood Magic to fight, overpowering her opponents even at a disadvantage, and turns more demonic as she expends higher percentages of her devil Megicula's power.
  • Black Lagoon:
  • Bleach has many with its large cast.
    • Several Arrancar in Aizen's army are, namely Tier Harribel, who is the Third and only female member of the Espada and a reserved yet deadly fighter. Her Amazon Brigade Apache, Mila Rose, and Sun-Sun, and Cirucci Sanderwicci, a rude and cocky bitch, are as well.
    • The Vandereich have Bambietta Basterbine, a Blood Knight with a Commissar Cap and Zettai Ryouiki, who is seen gleefully joining the Seiteirei invasion and cheerfully bisecting almost everyone in her way. Her next big appearance involved her slicing a guy in half in a moment of frustration after asking him to have sex with her.
    • Bambietta's gal-pals fit in here pretty well, too. Specifically Candice Catnipp, who fries Kenpachi with her Psycho Electro powers and later attacks Ichigo in the most Hot-Blooded way. Aside of that Liltotto Lamperd stretches her mouth to eat her enemies, and Meninas Macallon cutely drops entire buildings on hers.
    • Yachiru Unohana was one of these way back in the day. She was Soul Society's most brutal fighter and even today she is widely feared as Soul Society's most infamous criminal. The only reason she wasn't executed was because Soul Society wanted her on their side.
  • Saori, Kikako and Mako Fujisaki/Valkyria from Brynhildr in the Darkness. Saori can cut people into pieces, Kikako has a powerful Breath Weapon, and Valkyria has an arsenal of powers that can kill people. And she's the one who actually enjoys killing.
  • N'rala/Nurara from "Captain Future"... as far as the zeitgeist allowed it. The Captain once floored her with a karate chop and commented "You're just a woman after all".
  • Although Rizelle of Chrono Crusade prefers to use her powers to get other people to do her dirty work for her, when confronted by Rosette, she proves herself to be one of these, using her marionette strings and Femme Fatalons to cause a massive amount of (clothing) damage in the process.
  • Claymore, as a World of Action Girls, has its Dark Action Girls.
    • Ophelia is a complete lunatic obsessed with taking lives. She even kills her own fellow Claymores. She would have killed Claire if Irene hadn't intervened, which lead Ophelia to beg her dearly departed brother to protect her, while alone in the woods, and then moving to a hateful and (at least in the anime version) profanity-flooded monologue that ended with three F-bombs before "awakening".
    • Also the even worse Roxanne, a Manipulative Bastard and Psycho Lesbian who, while she was still alive, would stalk powerful Claymores until she learned their technique and kill them when she was done doing so, allowing her to rise to the rank of Number 1.
    • Then there's Priscilla. The most powerful Awakened Being in the series due to her intense hatred, she's arrogant, calm, and brutal. Just after Awakening she killed Teresa, and has the vast power to utterly trash Alicia and Beth, Riful's daughter, and numerous Abyssal Ones.
  • Code Geass gives us Cornelia li Britannia, an especially cruel version of this trope. Her first appearance has her piloting a modified Gloucester into the heart of an enemy base as she belittles them and effortlessly takes them down. Despite her skill, however, she is no match for the likes of Kallen Kozuki, who can easily outfight her. Despite this, Cornelia is still fully capable outside of a Knightmare, having frightening swordsmanship skills.
    • The female members of the Knights of the Round also qualify, if only by their alignment. So do Valkyrie Squadron, Luciano Bradley's Amazon Brigade.
    • Villetta Nu also counts, but as a lesser example. While she is a capable pilot, she is rather ineffectual compared to the true aces of the show and is little better than an elite mook in a custom-painted Sutherland.
  • LadyDevimon from Digimon Adventure was thrown in, apparently at the last minute, as one of these. The only reason for this, however, appeared to be to set up an Evil Counterpart with whom Angewomon could have a Cat Fight, complete with slapping and hair-pulling. They even brought her back in Digimon Adventure 02 just to repeat the process.
  • Even if you put non-canon material into consideration, Dragon Ball only has about six- Launch in her blonde side (before she got better), Hasky a female mercenary who works for the Red Ribbon army, Colonel Violet who managed to escape Red Ribbon army's destruction, Android 18 from Future Trunks' timeline, Fasha the Saiyan warrioress from Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku (although her evilness is debatable), Zangya from the 9th movie Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound and Towa the evil scientist demon from Dragon Ball Xenoverse.
    • The Android 18 of the main timeline could be considered one as well, before her Heel–Face Turn.
  • Dr. STONE: Homura appears to be Tsukasa's very own version of Kohaku; one of the first things she does is prove her worth by nearly burning down the whole village. The jury's still out on whether or not she's really all that bad though; Senku seems to believe that they can convert her to his side with the allure of creature comforts that science can create.
  • The Villain Protagonist Lucy/Kaede from Elfen Lied. Mariko and her four clones, too. All of them have Vectors that can cut people into pieces.
  • Fairy Tail has several.
    • Ikaruga, a reserved and proud assassin who uses her katana to send slashes through the air that slice through all of Erza's armors as she tries to slaughter her, qualifies.
    • Erza Nightwalker, Erza Scarlet's Edolas counterpart and a Sociopathic Soldier who fought Scarlet to a draw before a Heel–Face Turn, definitely counts.
    • Flare Corona, a deranged woman of the Raven Tail guild who has a constant creepy grin on her face, is willing to resort to dirty tactics to win (like taking a child as a hostage) and is sadistic towards her enemies, trying to humiliate them at every chance she has. After Raven Tail is dissolved, she however pulls a Heel–Face Turn and reveals her previous behavior was a result of the influence of the guild on her, revealing being shy and good natured without them. She's still a bit creepy despite that, however.
    • Minerva Orland is the cruel Ojou of Sabertooth who gives Lucy a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown and tortures Millianna. Then after losing to Erza, she leaves to join a Dark Guild. After that she joins Tartaros, but then pulls a Heel–Face Turn.
    • Kyôka of Tartaros, the head of the Nine Demon Gates, is first introduced callously disregarding the people she killed who could not handle her Curse, terrifying fellow Dark Action Girl Minerva. A Dominatrix and Sadist, her Cold-Blooded Torture was enough to break Erza, whom she later matches blow for blow and came very close to defeating.
    • Seilah is a fellow member of Tartaros who calmly uses her Macro to command Elfman to destroy the Fairy Tail Guild, nearly killing everyone inside. She then shows herself to be a Yandere when she wants to kill Lisanna because she was embarrassed in front of Kyôka, and then kicks Mirajane's ass and nearly kills her.
    • The Albareth Empire arc gives us the absolutely ruthless Dimaria Yesta. On top of being a Master Swordsman who enjoys taking her time to cut off her opponents' clothes to humiliate them, she's more than willing to kill Wendy and Sherria, who were no older than around 13-14, for opposing the Empire. It's best played straight when she gets furious over Ultear's thought projection interfering with her Age Seal (which freezes time), and reverts to her Physical God form, shooting Carla through the ribs and torturing Wendy with an Agony Beam that makes her experience all the pain she's ever felt throughout her entire life. If it weren't for Sherria's God-Slaying magic and receiving Third Origin from Ultear (a spell that greatly increases one's magic power, at the cost of never being able to use magic again) to defeat Dimaria, she, Wendy, and Carla surely would have been killed.
  • Gavrill Madaraki from Franken Fran, the almost-invincible shapeshifting leader of an army of pillaging thugs.
  • Lust from Fullmetal Alchemist. Beautiful, cruel, and seductive, she's the only female of the Homunculi and uses her Femme Fatalons as penetrating spears. Her "lust" is one for violence and murder.
  • In Guardian Fairy Michel, Lady Salome uses robots and fairies to fight Kim and Michel.
  • GUN×SWORD's Fasalina, who (unlike the only other girl in her group, Melissa, who was merely confused) fully embraced the methods of The Claw and, most of the time, puts up a damn good fight against the heroes.
  • Gundam has plenty of female baddies:
  • Zorin Blitz and Rip Van Winkle from Hellsing. Both are Nazi Vampires that enjoy death and destruction.
  • Hero Tales has Shouka, powerful enough to put an entire town under her rule. Suffers The Worf Effect when Housei fights her with a mundane bow and beats her.
  • Hetalia: Axis Powers has Belarus, a Clingy Jealous Girl and Boisterous Bruiser who skirts the line between this and Action Girl. She has been known to carry around knives and, while not villainous (she's more childish and extremely jealous/obsessive than evil), is often portrayed as having darker motives than the other Action Girls in the series, plus she has a Hair-Trigger Temper and exhibits strange behavior.
  • Kyala from Highlander: The Search for Vengeance qualifies for this. She is an immortal, who was a soldier in Japan in the sixteenth century. She is a badass fighter, and at the same time a cruel sadist.
  • Highschool of the Dead: Before the outbreak, Saeko Busujima was the captain of her school's Kendo Club, so she was already proficient with a sword. Then "They" came, which gave her the perfect excuse to use it - 'cuz Saeko is an Ax-Crazy Blood Knight, who literally gets off on violence. Which she openly confessed to Takashi, when she told him how she'd once beaten a would-be rapist within an inch of his life... and enjoyed it. Not because he tried to rape her, but because of the euphoric glee she got from beating the ever living sh*t out of someone without restraint. And she's GOOD at it. Which is why Takashi's glad she's on their side and regards her as a necessary evil.
  • Inuyasha: Kagura started off as this and eventually softened via Character Development into an Aloof Ally of the good guys that fitted the cynical version of a Heel Face Turned Dark Action Girl; strictly speaking, she was a Dark Action Girl due to being enslaved to the Big Bad, which made her a Broken Bird as well.
  • Satsuki Kiryūin from Kill la Kill The Rival and sister to the protagonist Ryūko definitely qualifies. She's an extremely powerful Dark Action Girl whose Fighting Spirit alone could down a 500 hundred men and wields a black blade katana Bakuzan which matches Ryūko's BFS scissors all while being powered by Junketsu. After being freed from her mother Ragyō's influence she becomes the Deuteragonist.
  • Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato: Nara-oh Renge. Ability-wise, as she's very ruthless in battle and has the skills to back it up. Returns to being an Action Girl on the side of good when she's Back from the Dead.
  • Since Defeat Means Friendship, there are only a few female characters from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha who still are Dark Action Girls:
  • Naruto has a load of bait-and-switch Dark Action Girls who sometimes don't live up to their initial posturing or pull a whiplash-inducing High-Heel–Face Turn, but the standout is Tayuya, the flute-playing, Sir Swears-a-Lot genjutsu expert of the Sound Four, who easily cows her Ax-Crazy coworkers, punches out the eponymous hero, and demonstrates, perhaps better than anyone in the series, save Uchiha Itachi, why genjutsu is not the "soft" one of the three main ninja skill sets. She then goes toe to toe with Shikamaru, the smartest guy in the whole series, and proceeds to back him into a corner and break his nigh-unbreakable binding jutsu with sheer brute force and bloody-mindedness. The only thing that stops her is having a forest dropped on her courtesy of Temari, a badass Action Girl whose idea of a "cat fight" is breaking her opponent's spine and then tossing them across the room.
  • Evangeline from Negima! Magister Negi Magi, before her Heel–Face Turn. Not that she'd ever admit to having made one.
  • One Piece has its fair share, from Miss Double Finger (and arguably Miss Merry Christmas) to Kalifa. Boa Hancock initially appeared to be this, but mellowed out over time (though she can still be cruel to enemies). The sole female member of the Blackbeard Pirates, Catarina Devon, counts. The Wano arc adds Ulti and Black Maria from Arc Villain Kaido's Flying Six. The strongest Dark Action Girl is of course Pirate Emperor Big Mom who's equal to Kaido in being a Person of Mass Destruction.
  • The titular character of Overlord (2012) Satoru Suzuki/Momonga has multiple Dark Action Girls under his command, most notably his two main love interests, his elegant and beautiful, but barely stable and cutthroat Ax-Crazy second-in-command Albedo, and the Cute and Psycho vampire and guardian of the Nazarick's first three floors Shalltear Bloodfallen, both of which are among if not the best fighters on their side, as well as there most evil.
    • Another member of the guardians is Aura Bella Fiora a tomboyish dark elf, The Beastmaster, and co-guardian of the sixth floor with her twin brother Mare Bello Fiore.
    • For an example not on their side, we have Clementine, a boisterous and sadistic Blood Knight who enjoys brutally killing anyone unfortunate enough to cross her path with a big Slasher Smile on her face.
    • There is also The Pleiades, who with the exception of their leader Sebas, are a squad consisting entirely of Ninja Maids, meant to serve as The Great Tomb of Nazarick's and its leader's last line of defense if the guardians failed.
  • Sabrina and Lorelei of Pokémon Adventures. Interestingly enough, both of them have joined forces with the protagonists at some point due to an Enemy Mine situation; in fact, Sabrina does so against Lorelei.
  • Every female villain in the Pretty Cure franchise does count to a degree, but the most outstanding example is Dark Precure, who doesn't rely on Monsters of the Week.
  • Puella Magi Madoka Magica has Kyouko Sakura. She gets better, to the point of even pulling a Mercy Kill/Heroic Sacrifice so that Sayaka (who she has become very sympathetic toward) doesn't have to die alone, even admitting that part of the reason she became a Magical Girl in the first place was because she wanted to protect someone.
  • Early in Re:Zero the major threat is Elsa Granhiert. She's a polite raven-haired beauty with exceptionally eccentric fashion sense. She is also a ruthless assassin with a disturbing appreciation for the beauty of her enemies' guts and the combat skills to put up a decent fight against one of the most powerful knights in the kingdom.
    Elsa: If I lose my fangs, I'll use my claws. If I lose my claws, I'll use my bones. And if I lose my bones, I'll use my life.
  • Pirotess from Record of Lodoss War, a female dark elf who serves as the villainous counterpart to the high elf on the heroes' side, Deedlit.
  • The Saga of Tanya the Evil has the titular character Lt. Tanya Degurechaff, possibly one of if not the youngest examples of this trope, at only around ten years old. Yet on the battlefields of an alternate version of World War I, she is one of the most powerful and ruthless soldiers you could ever have the misfortune of meeting, even earning herself the nickname The Devil of The Rhine. Tanya is a mage born with an incredibly high amount of power, that makes blasting through entire companies of enemy mages, ground soldiers, planes, and artillery a breeze, not that she won't resort to cutting her enemies open with her bayonet and even blowing herself up if she has to. She is also an extremely ruthless, brilliant, and sociopathic leader, willing to get her own men killed simply for annoying her and only pretending to care about her troops or country to further her own personal gain.
  • Sailor Moon:
    • Any of the Sailor Animamates from the last season. Sailor Animamates were the servants of Big Bad Sailor Galaxia, who was hunting down Star Seeds/Sailor Crystals across the universe. They were all once good, but Sailor Senshi become evil when they lose their Sailor Crystals.
    • The Doom and Gloom Girls, Queen Beryl's last and strongest warriors from the anime, who very nearly succeeded in defeating the Sailor Senshi.
    • Also the Ayakashi Sisters, Evil Counterparts of the Inner Senshi and pretty competent combatants. In the anime, however, they have a collective Heel–Face Turn.
  • Saint Seiya has Ophiuchus Shaina start off as this in the classic series (before undergoing a High-Heel–Face Turn), and a few others like Geist (anime only) who is Shaina's sister, and Mermaid Thethis in the Poseidon saga.
    • Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas features two. The first is Pandora, one of the dragons of Hades who, unlike her counterpart in the original Saint Seiya, gets involved in fights and doesn't fears to face the whole Sanctuary for the sake of her lord. The other is the Specter Behemoth Violate, who is able to fight toe-to-toe with Gold Saints with no problem.
    • Saint Seiya Omega brings more examples, among the most prominent ones Hornet/Scorpio Sonia, Gemini Paradox, the Big Bad from the second season Pallas, and her subordinate, Great Sword Gallia.
  • Sands of Destruction features a couple, though who and to what extent varies by adaptation:
  • Karinka from Steel Angel Kurumi toes the line. She beats another main character, and lives primarily so she can destroy the main character and steal her boyfriend. Oh, yeah, she curses like a sailor, too.
  • Adiane from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann beats down an entire brigade on land and is the most violent and psychotic member of the Beastmen Generals. Her Gunmen even brings to mind Vagina Dentata.
  • The anime Tokyo ESP has several examples.
    • Kobushi Kuroi not only has the ability to make herself invisible, but is also a talented boxer. In the course of the plot, however, she becomes a heroine.
    • However, her sister Kozuki Kuroi remains evil. She is also a good fighter and has special powers.
    • Lin Lianjie also qualifies, as does Amie Namuro. Both are especially evil.
    • The second major villain is Minami Azuma, who also plays this trope.
  • Tokyo Ghoul features several of these, all deadly Ghouls that enjoy playing with their food and killing anyone that gets in their way.
    • Binge Eater Rize Kamishiro, a serial predator that targets attractive young men and enjoys "gently scrambling" their insides.
    • The series loves pulling a Samus Is a Girl with its Big Bads, with the major threats of the side-stories Jack and Joker both revealed to be women. Perhaps the greatest example of this in the series is the legendary Hero Killer, Eto/Sen/the One-Eyed Owl. She is considered the most dangerous Ghoul in Tokyo, a brilliant Evil Overlord, and so powerful that only Arima, Kaneki (eventually), and Furuta have been able to take her on in battle.
    • The sequel introduces another in the form of Nutcracker, another deadly fighter with a preference for male victims. Guess why they call her that.
  • In Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, Mai Kujaku becomes one in the Doma arc and eventually steals the souls of Pegasus and Jonouchi (though, she has a Heel–Face Turn right after stealing the latter's soul).
  • Trigun has two among the Gun-Ho-Guns: Dominique the Cyclops who gives Vash a genuinely tricky fight thanks to her Magic Eye and Elendira the Crimsonnail who has Briefcase Blaster along with illusion powers and Super-Speed.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! GX:
    • The two female Seven Stars Assassins, Camula and Tania, are among the four strongest members. Aside from Amnael, they are the only members to win against the Key Guardians, but both of them end up defeated by Judai.
      • Tania is actually a tiger, and she becomes an ally in the third season.
    • Asuka becomes one temporarily during the second season when she becomes a member of the Society of Light, and she replaces her Cyber Girl deck for a White Night deck.
    • If you see the Big Bad of the third season, Yubel, as a girl, then "she" counts as one. Woman Scorned is pretty much the reason for
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds:
    • Aki is one as the Black Rose Witch, a violent and destructive duelist with Psychic Powers, before reconciling with her parents.
    • Misty and Carly as Dark Signers. Misty tries to avenge her younger brother's death by trying to kill Aki, the person she thinks is responsible for his death, and nearly defeats her twice. Carly defeats Divine in a duel, in which her final attack sends him falling down a building, nearly killing him, and could have defeated Jack if not for a Heroic Sacrifice.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL:
    • Droite starts out as one, although Affably Evil. She later becomes a regular Action Girl.
    • Merag is the only female member of the Seven Barian Emperors. To make Rio's Face–Heel Turn more effective, the first crime Merag commits is killing Tetsuo, although she kind of regrets it.

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