Summary

In most anime, characters rely mainly on their physical strength to help them in tough situations, and this strategy may work in most cases. However, it is not rare to find an opponent with a stronger ability and in these cases, it would be extremely foolish to rely on strength alone.

So, in these situations, it is important to have the brains to plan a formidable strategy. Female anime characters have developed over the years and instead of just being a bystander in most cases, they are now much more involved in the story, and it allows them to showcase their skills. With that in mind, we will be taking a look at the smartest female characters.

Tsunade in Naruto

Updated on July 21, 2025, by Suzail Ahmad:Female anime characters have not always been treated in an appropriate manner. In the past, most female leads were limited to very obscure roles, making it hard for them to stand out.

Over the years, things have changed drastically. The new anime titles put a lot of stress on the female leads and attempt to make them appealing to the audience by giving them special abilities. Aside from endowing them with insane physical abilities, the new female characters are given incredibly high IQs. Thesesmart female anime characterslet their achievements do the talking.

Hange Zoe duringn a battle in Attack on Titan

Tsunade is one of the main characters in theNarutoseries. As a Genin, she was a part of Team Hiruzen, and under her teacher’s guidance, she grew up to become the best medical ninja in the entire world. Tsunade’s medical knowledge helped her to save the lives of countless ninjas. Without her medical expertise, the Hidden Leaf would have suffered far more casualties in wars.

Tsunade’s intelligence allowed her to create antidotes to the strongest of poisons in a very short time. She has successfully performed surgeries that were considered impossible to execute. When the Six Paths of Pain invaded the Hidden Leaf, Tsunade did not rush to fight them. Instead, she solely focused her energy on healing the ninjas, which enabled the Hidden Leaf to keep fighting. In the fight against Madara Uchiha, it was Tsunade’s techniques that keptthe other Kagealive.

Nami Using Climatact One Piece

Accomplishments: Tsunade revolutionized the role of medical ninjas in Naruto. She proved how important it was for every ninja team to have medical ninjas on board. Tsunade had extensive knowledge of poisons, medicines, and the human body. With the right tools at her disposal, Tsunade could perform elaborate medical procedures.

Hange Zoe is the current Commander of the Survey Corps. She was promoted to the position after Erwin Smith was killed in the battle of Shiganshina. The members of the Survey Corps have faith in her as she has proved her intelligence on several occasions.

Kakegurui Anime Happy Yumeko and Sad Ryota

Due to her fascination with Titans, she has devoted her life to studying them. This caused her to develop a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. The heap of information that she possesses has enabled her to create weapons and gadgets that are effective against Titans. Hange Zoe is an incredible leader, who can formulate strategies in a very short time. This trait, along with her other strengths, makes her one of thesmartest female anime characters.

Accomplishments: In a world where most people were afraid of Titans, Hange Zoe was among the few who were mesmerized by them. She took a keen interest in their morphology and came up with different ideas for weapons and other useful equipment that made things easier for the Survey Corps.

Ed from Cowboy Bebop

Nami is the navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates. She joined the crew in the East Blue saga. Even as a child, Nami had outstanding cartography skills, which impressed a brute like Arlong, and he used her ability to his own benefit. Nami’s navigational skills are on a completely different level from other navigators. After training in Weatheria, Nami’s understanding of the weather and its aspects greatly improved.

In addition to her talent as a navigator and cartographer, Nami has used her intelligence to get the better of her opponents in fights. In the Whole Cake Island arc, she was the one who found out that Big Mom’s Vivre Card was enough to scare the homies. She also used her Clima-Tact to form clouds and drench Cracker’s biscuits so that Luffy could eat them easily. Moments such as these prove that Nami is truly one of thesmartest One Piece characters.

winry full metal alchemist looking through a scope with confused Edward

Accomplishments: Nami is a perceptive character who can analyze her opponent’s strengths and weaknesses in no time. However, she truly excels at predicting the weather. Due to her extensive training in Weatheria and her experiences, Nami is able to read the signs and warn her friends about any possible dangers.

She is the main protagonist ofKakegurui. Yumeko has a serious case of gambling addiction. Her personality completely changes when she gets ready to gamble. During her gambling sessions, she may act like she does not have a plan, but on the contrary, she is a very cunning person.

Mei Hatsume with her invention

She is able to read her opponents and figure out their strategies, and she comes up with a counter to beat them. Yumeko has shown that she can come up with elaborate strategies that involve as many as thirty steps.

Accomplishments:Yumeko has acute observation skills that allow her to notice the smallest details. This, combined with her sharp memory, makes her one of the best gamblers in anime history.

Shiro, no game no life

Ed is amongthe main charactersinCowboy Bebop.Despite being just 13 years old, Ed is excellent at hacking. At an early age, she developed an astounding skill at hacking, which made her an important part of the Bebop’s crew.

With her skills, Ed was able to hack the Bebop and make it come to her. Her skills were so impressive that Ed was considered to be a legendary hacker, whose existence was considered a myth. Over the course of the series, Ed managed to help the crew of Bebop on several occasions with her abilities.

Makise Kurisu from Steins Gate Stretching

Accomplishments: Ed is phenomenal at basically everything computer-related. She’s particularly good at hacking into systems. Despite being a teenager, she was able to tamper with Bebop’s controls. With time, her talents would have improved, and she became one of the best in the world at her job.

Daughter of the late Yuriy and Sarah Rockbell, Winry is an extremely talented automail engineer. She was considered to be a prodigy because of her ability to create and repair automail. At the age of just 11, Winry managed to create automail limbs for Edward Elric.

Merlin from Seven Deadly Sins anime woman with black hair and purple outfit smirking

Winry’s abilities impressed her grandmother, who was an exceptional engineer herself. By the end of the series, Winry had become one of the best automail engineers in the world. In addition to her skill as an engineer, Winry has a good deal of knowledge of surgical instruments and advanced medical literature.

Accomplishments:Winry had a difficult childhood, but that did not stop her from becoming a master craftsperson. She spent a lot of time with her grandmother, which improved her understanding of automail. With time, she understood the limitations of automail. This enabled her to create complicated items, such as functioning limbs, with automail.

Mei Hatsume is a student from Class 1-H, which belongs to U.A.’s Department of Support. She is an excellent inventor, who has helped people with her inventions. She designedspecial gloves for Midoriya, which allowed him to create better air blasts while minimizing the damage to his own body.

She has created many more inventions and most of them have been a big help to their wielders. Along with her ability to create new equipment, Mei also has an eye for business.

Accomplishments:Mei Hatsume has been responsible for creating sharpshooting gear, jet packs, iron soles, auto balancers, air force gloves, and much more. Those who have used her gadgets are aware of her incredible skill, and some of them have had her create new equipment.

4Shiro – No Game No Life

Can Predict The Movements Of NPCs

Shiro is one of the main charactersfrom the beloved Isekai anime,NoGameNoLife. She is a part of an unbeatable gaming duo. On numerous occasions, Shiro has easily beaten a supercomputer, which is not an ordinary feat by any means.

Her intelligence allows her to formulate strategies to counter the moves of her opponent. Shiro’s only weakness is when she faces opponents who show emotions. In such cases, she is unable to predict their next actions, and she begins to doubt herself.

Accomplishments:Shiro’s greatest achievements include outsmarting a supercomputer multiple times, mastering 18 languages, and predicting bullet trajectories with ease.

Makise Kurisu is a genius who graduated from university when she was just 17. After her graduation, she became a member of the Brain Science Institute. While Okabe Rintarou is a mad scientist who is capable of creating excellent gadgets, Kurisu’s intelligence is superior to his. However, her intelligence became a curse as her father tried to kill her several times.

Accomplishments:Makise Kurisu demonstrated her high intelligence at the age of 11 when she disproved her father’s theorems. This was just the beginning, as she went on to disprove more of her father’s theories. It is also worth noting that she graduated from college at the age of 14.

Merlin is amember of the Seven Deadly Sins, which is the strongest group of knights in Britannia. She was born in the Belialuin and her talent as a mage was immediately recognized by her father. For the majority of her life, Merlin was immersed in books about magic, and it allowed her to become the strongest mage in existence.

She was shrewd enough to outsmart both the Demon King and the Supreme Deity. The boons from both of them only made Merlin stronger. Merlin’s special ability— Infinity made her a dangerous opponent as it allowed her to increase the duration of her spells. Merlin knows about all kinds of spells, so she can easily get out of tough situations.

Accomplishments:Merlin was forced to study and learn about magic when she was still a kid. Her father was aware of her potential, and he didn’t want it to go to waste. So he kept a close watch on her. Merlin read different manuscripts about spells and mastered them in no time. She was able to create equipment that helped her allies win many battles.