In recent years, the shonen genre has evolved past what it used to be back in the late 80s and throughout the 90s. Back when anime first started to draw big audiences in the West, many localized animation was very cut and dry. The storytelling was comprised of "dude has to kill the villain to save the world, or everything everyone ever knew would be destroyed or conquered." Luckily, some gems managed to score large swaths of airtime in the States, such as Cowboy Bebop, YuYu Hakusho, Sailor Moon, etc.
Thanks to the success of those anime, the trend of having strong female characters in future shows was set in stone. Many of these characters have grown to be fan favorites due to their in-depth storylines, character progression, and power, leading to the diverse cast of characters in anime that we have today. Here are some of the strongest female protagonists in anime to grace our televisions.
10 Yona and Her Archery (Yona of the Dawn)
When her father is killed, and her uncle usurps her throne, Yona is forced to leave castle Hiryuu and join up with the Wind Tribe, a group of loyalist warriors, to find the children of the Four Dragon Warriors and save the kingdom. While on the journey, Yona asks Hak, a young warrior from the Wind Tribe, to teach her how to fight. Yona of the Dawn is a great story that shows the main protagonist, Yona, grow from a sheltered young woman in a castle to a strong, capable, and skilled archer and swordswoman; compared to many other ladies on this list; her power cannot take her higher.
9 Rinka Urushiba and Physical Permeantation (Tokyo ESP)
When high school student and part-time waitress Rinka Urushiba wakes up after a strange "dream" of touching a glowing fish in the sky, she is suddenly confronted with the reality that she now has awakened to being an esper and can phase through objects. When another esper, Kyotaro, whom she met the night prior, appears, the two team up to fight crime committed by other espers.
Rinka is a particular case. While she has strong spatial awareness and reflexes, the only thing that would truly set her apart from others on the list is her esper ability of physical permeation. Permeation allows Rinka to phase herself and whatever she is in contact with (other objects, clothes, and people) through physical objects, such as walls, floors, doors, etc. This could be used to get the upper hand over opponents, as Mirio Togata from My Hero Academia has shown. This could especially be the case if Rinka used CPC( Close Panda Combat) that her father, Rinda Urushiba, taught her in conjunction with Physical Permeation.
8 Rikka Isurugui's Sick Ninja Moves (BLACKFOX)
As future heir to the Isurugui clan, Rikka was trained to be a ninja from a young age. However, after a band of mercenaries killed her father and grandfather, she swore revenge and dawned the persona of Lily to get back at those who killed her family. A skilled fighter, Rikka has extraordinary agility and a strong mastery of swordplay and stealth maneuvers. Coupled with the Black Fox suit, an experimental suit built by her deceased father and grandfather that enhances her strength, speed, and durability, she is a force for many to fear.
7 Maka Albarn Has Serious Skills (Soul Eater)
Soul Eater is loved by many, and the characters are a large part as to why. Maka, the protagonist of the show, is a two-star Meister at Death Meister Academy, who, together with her demon weapon turned death scythe, Soul Evans, reap evil souls. With extreme agility, fine control over soul wavelengths, and mastery using the scythe, Maka is a versatile fighter who has her bases covered. Her anti-demon wavelength is extremely potent against evil forces and can double as both a defensive and offensive measure making her the bane of villains everywhere.
She can even focus her wavelength into Soul while he is in his demon weapon form and unleash it as a wave of destructive, cleaving energy.
6 Medaka Kurokami Is Almost Perfect (Medaka Box)
Originally the student council president for Hakoniwa Academy and later the active chairwoman, Medaka is one of the most powerful shonen protagonists in history. She has superhuman speed, superhuman strength, transformations that rival Super Saiyan's, an increased healing rate, expertise in close combat, a ridiculous mental acumen, and the ability to control her body down to the nerves. She only loses to an actual half-demon and a lady with freaky esper powers that can move stuff with her mind, which is an incredibly high bar to set and a well-deserved position.
5 Misaka Mikoto Can Pump Out One Billion Volts (A Certain Scientific Railgun)
Misaka upsets this list in a way that most others cannot match. As a fourteen-year-old student of Tokiwadai Middle School, her physical prowess is not as strong as many on this list. However, what she lacks in brawn she more than makes up with brain - or rather, brainpower. In A Certain Scientific Railgun, Misaka is one of the top dogs among espers. As a Level 5 esper, Misaka has incredible power at her disposal because of her esper ability (aptly named Railgun). Not least of which is her ability to shoot over a billion volts of electricity, including from her forehead. Misaka can also manipulate the magnetic properties of items at will and create truly behemoth constructs.
4 Bazett Fraga Always Hits First (Fate/Hollow Ataraxia)
Bazett Fraga entered the Fate universe as a Master and designated seal enforcer during the Holy Grail War of Fuyuki. Unfortunately enough for her, she was caught off guard by the show's primary antagonist, Kirei Kotomine, and left to die. In a world that this did not happen, Bazett would most probably be the favored Master in the 5th Grail War to win as her strength and skill as an enforcer with the Church is second to none.
Being a Fraga, she is one of the few humans in the world to have direct access to a Noble Phantasm without using a Servant summoning ritual by way of the Fragarach, a sword that always strikes first but only after the enemy has used their strongest attack. The sword can manipulate time and causality to stop the enemy's attack and leave them in a vulnerable state where the sword zeroes into the heart for a kill-strike.
3 Ryuko Matoi Is a Cut Above Most (Kill la Kill)
Ryuko Matoi is recognizable far and wide by anime fans everywhere with her signature red and black motif. Just as recognizable is her giant red scissor blade - one half of a full set but no less dangerous when not paired with its sister blade, and Ryuko has shown time and again throughout the series that she knows how to use it.
Dangerously quick and lethal in her own right, Ryuko's strength and prowess did nothing but increase upon learning that she was not a regular human. Instead, she was a human/life fibers hybrid inadvertently created by her father when he tried to save her after dying shortly after birth. Coming to terms with this fact allowed Ryuko to break past her human limits and continue to get stronger to the point where she, alongside her sister Satsuki, managed to beat Ragyo - another human/life fibers hybrid that was capable of surviving without a head.
2 Clare and Her Half-Awakened State Is Killer (Claymore)
A member of the all-women Organization that manages the Calymores', Clare is a swordswoman of great repute, even if she is originally the lowest-ranked member of her group. Augmented by the blood of monsters that hunt humans, the Yoma, Clare has superhuman strength, superhuman speed, and rapid regeneration. While on paper, this may seem weak compared to some of the other protagonists in this list, Clare also has access to a transformation that partially turns her into a Yoma, further increasing her attributes to ridiculous heights - being one of the only Partially Awakened claymores in Claymore.
1 Towa Higurashi Takes After Her Father (Yasahime: Princess Half Demon, a Fuedal Fairy Tale)
The primary protagonist of the Yasahime, Towa Higurashi, makes the top of the list by having the innate power of the Beast King himself, Sesshomaru. Even at a young age, Towa has displayed impressive feats of strength that set her apart from not only humans but demons of the Feudal era as well. After an incident occurs, Towa is even able to unleash her rage in the form of two great dragons, Soryuha, Sesshomaru's own ability that he used with InuYasha's Bakuryuha to defeat So'unga.
Like her father, Towa is also able to utilize a whip of demonic power and is immune to poisons. Because she grew up in the modern era and had no one to teach her how to use the full extent of her demonic power, Towa is still learning as she goes along but the sheer benefits of being born a hanyu and having the blood of the Great Dog Demon, Toga, is monumental in and of itself.