Many of the highest watched animes of all time fall under the Shonen genre. These are targeted towards teen boys aged 13-18, though they attract viewers of all ages and genders. Considering their target audience, many of these shows focus on male characters, with most of the main characters and villains all being men.

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Unfortunately, this means that a lot of shows don't represent women in a strong and powerful light — but they have the potential to do so. The incredible female characters who do shine spotlight in their shonen anime deserve some recognition for standing out.

10 Mikasa Ackerman (Attack On Titan)

Attack on Titan is of the few popular shonen animes whose women are just as valuable, well-rounded, intricate, and powerful as the men. Mikasa Ackermann is a strong, intimidating girl who protects Eren and those she cares about.

She is terrifyingly tough from childhood and grows up to become the second most skilled Scout in the entire world, right after her older relative, Levi. Mikasa rarely gets injured, has an impressive kill count, and is always there to rescue those in need.

9 Mirko (My Hero Academia)

The Rabbit Hero, Mirko, proves her immense strength time and time again. She's the highest-ranked female Pro-Hero in My Hero Academia, consistently rising in rank over time. Her quirk gives her enhanced strength, incredible hearing, boosted speed, great agility, and a high pain tolerance.

Mirko is also proficient in hand to hand combat, utilizing her powerful legs to beat down her opponents. She takes on multiple Nomu at a single time, something no other hero has been able to do. She's well deserving of her spot as a top Pro-Hero.

8 Misa Amane (Death Note)

Misa Amane doesn't have any magical combat skills or experience in fighting. Instead, her power comes from her passion, wittiness, and of course, from her Death Note. Misa made the deal to get the power of Shinigami Eyes, allowing her to see the name and lifespan of anyone she looks at.

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This gives her an edge on her enemies, as she can write down any person's name after seeing their face. Misa makes this list because of the sheer number of people she has killed. And in the world of Death Note, she is the most deadly human being to exist, next to Light.

7 Izumi Curtis (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Izumi is a master alchemist and master martial artist. She is easily one of the physically strongest characters in the series, having immense skill in hand to hand combat and using weapons. Her alchemy skills are impressive as well, and she is highly intelligent when it comes to using alchemy for good.

Izumi's best attacks were often followed by her painfully spitting up blood, due to a failed Human Transmutation in her past. However, she eventually overcomes this internal trauma and continues to be the toughest Fullmetal Alchemist woman.

6 Akame ga Kill (Akame ga Kill)

Akame, the titular female protagonist in Akame ga Kill, is the toughest member of the group Night Raid. She wields two masterful swords that make for deadly attacks, and her physical power is almost superhuman.

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Akame can slice through people as if they are water. She moves quicker than any human should be able to, defeating her enemies without giving them a chance to fight back.

5 Erza Scarlet (Fairy Tail)

Erza is an S-Class Mage of the Fairy Tail Guild, and a part of Team Natsu. She excels at swordsmanship, archery, and hand to hand combat. She also boasts incredible endurance, reflexes, durability, strength, and intelligence. Erza is famous for being the only sword Mage so efficient at re-equipping weapons and armor during a fight.

She has over 100 different armors to utilize in battle. Erza also can use Telekenisis, combining the ability with her proficiency in Sword Magic to control her swords remotely and sending them at her enemies.

4 Merlin (Seven Deadly Sins)

Seven Deadly Sins's take on this character is a very skewed version of Merlin from the story of Camelot. She is a mysterious figure who reveals more and more of her godly power as the show carries on, helping defeat some of the most terrible villains in the entire realm.

Her magic is stronger than any other characters so far. Not to mention, her intelligence surpasses that of even Goddesses and Demons, having outwitted the leaders of both races. Her power level is utterly frightening, but she uses it to make sure her comrades and friends are safe.

3 Kale (Dragon Ball Super)

Kale is a pure blooded Saiyan whose power is unmatched by any other female character in Dragon Ball Super. She can even overpower some of the toughest male characters in the show. Though usually timid, she unlocks a more violent personality when she enters her Super Saiyan state.

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As Kale unlocks her more powerful Super Saiyan abilities, she goes up against even tougher opponents, and even walked out unscathed by Goku's Super Saiyan Blue Kamehameha. Kale even kept up with Goku in his Super Saiyan God form.

2 Tatsumaki (One Punch Man)

One Punch Man has a collection of godlike heroes, including Tatsumaki, the S-Class Rank 2 professional hero in the Hero Association. She is recognized as one of the strongest heroes of all time, and leads as the most powerful esper.

Tatsumaki uses her mighty psychokinesis powers to defeat even the most deadly of enemies. She can also use these impressive powers to levitate and create magical barriers.

1 Kaguya Otsutsuki (Naruto)

The ultimate celestial being from the Naruto universe, Kaguya Otsutsuki was the very first wielder of chakra, and later became the Ten-Tails. Kaguya ate the fruit from the God Tree and obtained incomparable chakra and strength. She is able to merge with nature to fully control it, fly, and read people's thoughts.

After gaining the power of Ten Tails, she has nearly no weaknesses. Kaguya created an entire army and ruled over the land using people's fear of her immense power. When it comes to powerful women in shonen anime, this celestial is a hard one to beat.

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