It’s hit or miss when it comes to female characters in anime, and too often it’s a miss. Orihme Inoue and Misa Amane are on one side, and Maki Zenin and Jolyne Cujoh are on the other. However, the female characters in Attack on Titan are a force to be reckoned with.
Anime is infamous for its bad representation of women. They are just used as eye candies. The girls themselves are wrote to have nothing special about themselves other than their bodies.
Most of the time, the men in anime are full of personality, dreams and vigour. Where as the women are treated like a cardboard cutout. Their only interest is the male lead, whom she likes but who doesn’t care about her at all.
Occasionally, you’ll find a shonen manga that really gets it. That doesn’t mean that all the characters in the work are perfect. One or two of the characters might still be sticking to the dogma, but that’s still a great improvement though.
One such shonen manga is Attack on Titan. It’s clear that a lot of thought and time went into making this one. Many people agree that Attack on Titan gets the correct representation of women as well.
Attack on Titan really stands out because its female characters are not about beauty at all. They are all about strength, courage and kindness.
Note: There will be hints about what happens in the last part of the manga, so please be careful.
List of the best Attack on Titan female characters
- Ymir (Founding Titan)
- Mikasa Ackerman
- Hange Zoe
- Annie Leonhart
- Historia Reiss
- Pieck Finger
- Sasha Braus
- Gabi Braun
- Yelena
- Carla Yeager
10. Carla Yeager
We are going to start off this list of the best Attack on Titan female characters with none other than Carla Yeager.
Eren’s mother, Carla, was featured only briefly in one episode before her unfortunate passing, which Eren later engineered.
The show usually focus on the survival and politics of the titan world. We rarely get a glimpse at how people live inside the walls.
Even though her screen time was minimal, we were given a moment to appreciate her love for her son. Not only that, she also loved Mikasa as her own child, even though she was basically a rescued orphan.
Even during the time of her death, she cared more about Eren and Mikasa than herself. Which is why she asked the city guard to save them instead of her. This shows just how kind and loving she was as a mother.
9. Yelena
When I saw Yelena for the first time, I knew something was wrong. Deceptive and able to get what she wants, she’s everything you’d want in a dangerous bad girl.
But no matter how clever she was, she couldn’t be anything more than Zeke’s sidekick.
No matter how much she cared about Zeke, she was not trustworthy because she couldn’t think for herself.
On any other day, this wouldn’t be acceptable for a woman to do. However, her passion makes sense, so I’ll let it slide.
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8. Gabi Braun
I can already hear the boos, and I know Gabi is one of the most hated female characters in AOT. But you all need to stop being mean to Gabi.
In a way, Gabi is one of the best written female characters in Attack on Titan.
Everyone was upset when she killed Sasha. But by the end of the episode, I realized that she was just a child.
Plus, Eren had just killed a lot of her friends. By the time we got to The Marley Arc, we were finally getting to the heart of the matter. We were figuring out who the real bad guys were. Somewhere along the way, people decided it was this 12-year-old girl.
Gabi was practically the female version of childhood Eren. Just like how Eren had hatred for Titans, she had hatred for the Eldians. Like him, she trained in the military and became the best.
She was one of the best warrior candidates to inherit titan-shifting powers.
Gabi was also the one who tried to kill Eren and would have succeeded if not for the coordinate.
She showed what he might have become if he had been born in Marley and been exposed to a lot of racism, propaganda, and indoctrination as a child.
7. Sasha Braus
When something is gone, you really don’t know what you had.
It may appear at times as though Sasha contributed little to the survey corps. But without her, the story would have been significantly different.
This is why everyone, but especially Connie and Jean, responds to her death the way they do.
She made me laugh out loud, and when it was time to leave, she was there with the rest of her team.
She was brave, kind, and friendly, and she was also the best shot they had. Long live Potato Girl.
6. Pieck Finger
Pieck was supposed to be a middle-aged man, but Isayama’s editors told him to change things. We can definitely say that it turned out to be a good thing for us fans.
Pieck is one of the most interesting female characters in Attack on Titan.
Even though she works with Marley, she wants her people to be free more than anything else.
The cart titan isn’t very good at tactics, but she saved Zeke and Reiner in Shiganshina.
She was the only warrior who could understand Zeke’s plans because they were on the same intellectual level as her.
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5. Historia Reiss
Christa Lenz’s growth into the powerful Historia Reiss is one of the best examples of a character development.
She started out as the King’s secret daughter who wasn’t his real daughter. Later, she ends up becoming the Queen on her own terms. Not to mention, her personality changed from weak and timid to more confident and responsible.
Her relationship with Ymir is one of the most important parts for her character development. The fight with her father also made that even more clear.
4. Annie Leonhart
Annie was one of the three people on the Paradis infiltration squad. She was the female Titan.
Her titan has the ability to harden, which is why she was encased in a shell she made herself for most of the show.
She also had the power to call other titans to her. She is only second to Levi when it comes to fighting with her hands.
We find out later that this is because of her past and some of the trauma she went through. Her adoptive father made her go through rough and intense training all in the name of love and care.
She is incredibly strong, and she has shown more than once how smart she is. I mean, you have to be willing to see through a plan that Armin himself came up with.
3. Hange Zoe
So I’m going to bend a few of these rules. Isayama has confirmed that Hange is genderqueer and asked that he/she pronouns be used equally in the manga if gendered pronouns are used.
This is something that most people don’t know.
So, even though Hange isn’t a woman, I think they should be on a list of the best Attack on Titan female characters.
Hange is known for playing the part of a crazy scientist. However, if you’ve seen the show, you know that they are much more than that.
In contrast to their close friend and another fan favorite, Levi Ackerman, they are lively and show a wide range of emotions.
After Erwin died, it was pretty clear that Hange would take over. Especially since Hange was the only ones who made the thunder spears.
Just because of that, they made this list’s top three. Let’s get real. People will remember them and think highly of them.
2. Mikasa Ackerman
Mikasa is in the top two for obvious reasons. Many people put her in the top spot, but she has one big flaw that keeps her from being number one.
First, though, the good things. No matter her gender, Mikasa is one of the strongest characters in the story.
She might be second only to Levi and maybe Eren after he got the founder.
However, let’s not forget what Mikasa did to Eren and how she was inches away from Levi’s throat with a blade.
We were told that Mikasa is worth more than 100 soldiers, and she proved that every chance she got.
The biggest problem with Mikasa is her obsession for Eren. Mikasa’s only reason for being for three seasons was Eren Yeager. Other than being the best scout, I have no idea who that girl is.
She does, however, come into her own in the last few seasons and chapters. But that’s only because of what Eren did.
1. Ymir (Founding Titan)
This could not go any other way. When we learned that Ymir made the clay bodies of everyone who turned into a titan, it changed the way I thought about the show.
Every Eldian who has ever lived can trace their roots back to Ymir, and her titan was the strongest of all.
From the beginning to the end, her life was sad because she was a slave, and King Fritz used her to grow his empire.
I have a lot to say about Eren, but the best thing he ever did was finally set Ymir free.
If you are a fan of Attack on Titan in general and one of the above female characters in particular, you should check out the official website for Attack on Titan merchandise at attackontitanmerch.store to buy stuff including clothing, accessories, and collectibles.
You can also find more information about the series as well as updates on upcoming episodes and chapters.
That’s it for this article. These were the top 10 best female characters from the epic shonen anime series, Attack on Titan!