This month the United Nations observes the impact women in the sciences have had on society. Women like Alice Ball, who created the first successful treatment for leprosy. There is also Ada Lovelace, who would become the first computer programmer. Throughout history, society has a way of glossing over the role women play in advancing the sciences. The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is February 11.
In celebration, we thought it might be a good time to recognize some of the most notable scientist anime girls. The process of narrowing down a top ten was not easy. The Anime Planet database tags more than 260 thousand female scientists. Time and effort stop us from covering each of these. Therefore, this post compiles a list of 10 favorite scientist anime girls. These are in random order rather than by ranking. We felt that ranking them would detract from the spirit of the day.
As you review the post, please feel free to let me know if I overlooked your favorite female scientist in anime. Leave a comment below and let me know your picks.
10. Jun Shiomi
- Field: Food Sciences
- Anime First Appearance: Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma, ep. 19 ‘The Chosen Ones’ (2015)
We start off our list with the quirky alum and lecturer of Tōtsuki Academy. An applied scientist, Jun Shiomi looks at how herbs and spices enhance taste. As a student, she was a prodigy who earned a spot on the Elite Ten Council. Jōichirō Saiba would torment the young girl by having her taste test his crazy concoctions. Following her graduation, Jun took over her father’s lecture series. A bit eccentric, her adoptive ward does the heavy lifting to keep Jun on track.
Cute and petite, Jun’s size sometimes causes some to feel she is a student. She has long brown hair, tied back into a ponytail. Jun wears thin, square-framed glasses. Her attire is a T-shirt and track shorts, supplemented by a lab coat during her lectures. Jun’s passion for spices sometimes causes her to forget self-care. A Pisces, her birthday is March 3.
Food and diet are vital to people’s health. A failure to understand what does or does not work could have dire effects on people and society. Plus, who does not like a good meal? Therefore, Jun Shiomi takes a place on our countdown of top scientist girls in anime.
9. Ayame Himuro
- Field: Information Sciences
- Anime First Appearance: Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It, ep. 1 ‘Science-Types Fell in Love, So They Tried to Analyze It’ (2020)
What is love? This is the question our main character attempts to discover. A post-graduate student, Ayame Himuro is a researcher at Saitama University. She finds that she has feelings for a rival co-worker. Inexperienced, the object of her affection asks Ayame how she knows that she is in love. The pair of scientists prove they are in love through a series of experiments.
Wearing business attire cloaked in a lab coat, Ayame Himuro is a stunning young lady. She has waist-long lavender-colored hair, lifted into a small ponytail. Her dress has a mind of its own, as it can wag back and forth whenever she works alongside her beau. Generally, Ayame’s features give off an ethereal presence. She is a creative thinker, who explores the world through the lens of logic. Her path of discovery is an internal battle between the heart and brain.
As female anime characters go, Ayame is the perfect waifu. Her intelligence combined with an off-the-chart cuteness landed her in the S-tier. Ayame Himuro is one of anime’s best women in science.
8. Washu Hakubi
- Field: Physics (god-tier)
- First Anime Appearance: Tenchi Muyo! Tenchi Universe, ep. 6, ‘No Need for Resident Officers!’ (1995)
In the realm of science, none is more powerful or smarter than Washu Hakubi. Heck, she can change the laws of Newton. A Chousin, Washu is one of three deities who created the universe. A member of the Universal Science Academy, she created weapons adept at destroying worlds. Exiled, Washu would set up shop on Earth.
Literally, Washu’s design is ever-changing. She can shape-shift but prefers to take the form of a 12-year-old girl. In this form, her key feature is spiky, red hair. This hairstyle models the crab legs-design of kabuki masks. A mad scientist type, she yearns for the validity of her genius. This leads her to create A and B, two dolls that sing her praises. Of all her nicknames, she despises the title ‘Little Washu.’
Washu has a rich character heritage and our outline does not do her justice. She may have personality flaws but her heart is in the right place. Although she comes from another world, Washu Hakubi is a clever and fierce physicist and inventor.
7. Ritsuko Akagi
- Field: Engineering
- Anime First Appearance: Neon Genesis Evangelion, ep. 1 ‘Angel Attack’ (1995)
Chief of Project E, Ritsuko Akagi is a gifted woman. Work is a priority, which comes off in a no-nonsense vibe when working with colleagues. Her role is the care and upkeep of the Evangelion or Eva of Tokyo-3. The Eva is a humanoid weapon designed to combat the Angels. She also maintains Magi, a supercomputer her mother built.
With a lithe frame, Ritsuko Akagi is eye-catching. She has short dyed blonde hair, heightened by her green eyes. Her most distinct facial feature is a mole under her left eye. As expected of anime scientists, she wears a white lab coat. Her one bad habit is being a heavy smoker.
By design, few folks truly understand Ritsuko. Not quite an introvert, she curbs her emotions and hides her personal life from others. Once married, Ritsuko has an on-again off-again relationship with Gendo Ikari. This is a bit messed up when you consider that he dated her mother.
As people, we all come with a certain level of baggage. These life lessons integrated into our personality make us who we are. Ritsuko Akagi has flaws; however, these traits make for one great anime scientist.
6. Hakase
- Field: Mechanical Engineering
- Anime First Appearance: Nichijou – My Ordinary Life [OVA], ‘Nichijou Episode 0’ (2011)
Nichijou is a fun anime with many colorful characters but none as colorful as Hakase. She is an 8-year-old science prodigy. Her true name is not known but Hakase means professor in Japanese. She is fond of sharks and sweets. Her base of operations is at home, also known as Shinonome Laboratories. She lives at home with her cat and an android girl. The trio all play a prominent role in the series.
The pint-size Hakase is actually average height for an 8-year-old. She has waist-length, light reddish hair. Her large blue lean hard into her cuteness factor. Hakase wears a white laboratory coat that is so long that it seems like a long tee shirt. She loves inventing new things and often uses her friends as unwilling test subjects. Despite being cute and very smart, she has bouts of being an immature little girl.
Hakase embraces anime’s mad scientist trope but this is a comedy series. Her actions may be a bit outlandish but she has a way of making science look fun. Although an over-the-top character, Hakase may inspire some young girls to have an interest in the sciences.
5. Rika Shiguma
- Field: Chemistry, Computer Science and Engineering
- First Anime Appearance: Haganai: I don’t have many friends, ep. 4, ‘Upperclassmen Don’t Hold Back’ (2011)
Rika Shiguma is a genius and one of the series’ key supporting characters. Her grasp of the sciences led to a posting at the prestigious St. Chronica’s Academy. A shut-in, science was the focus of Rika’s life until a fateful encounter. The story’s lead saved Rika from an experiment gone wrong. To get close to her savior, she joins the Neighbor’s Club. Free to express herself, the Neighbor’s Club learns that Rika may be smart but she has one dirty mind.
A Pisces, February 28 is Rika’s birthday. She is a bit shorter than the average height for a woman. A yellow scrunchie ties back her long brown hair into a ponytail. Rika has dark eyes outlined by wireframed glasses. These are for fashion and not to correct vision. With the rare exception, she wears the school uniform covered by a lab coat. Her manner and image favor the mad scientist trope.
Piscean have a limitless need to explore the world around them. This trait would explain Rika’s love for science and gaming. A bit strange at times, Rika Shiguma’s qualities make her a fun scientist.
4. Maomao
- Field: Biology, Chemistry, and Pharmacology
- Anime First Appearance: The Apothecary Diaries, ep. 1 ‘Maomao’ (2023)
Maomao is the lead figure of The Apothecary Diaries. Born in a brothel, she grew up in and around the red-light district of Li’s capital. Adopted, her father educated the young tike with the goal that she would escape life on the streets. She became well-versed in Asian and Western medical practices. Abducted, Maomao would find herself working as a court lady in the Inner Palace of Li. The insightful young lady now uses her skills to explore and solve the inner court’s mysteries.
A petite young woman, Maomao’s lanky frame masks her true vigor. She has emerald green, mid-back length hair that has two loose braids framing her face. Her painted-on freckles and build give her a child-like façade. This is on purpose, as Maomao does not want to stand out. Her love of learning about toxins earned her the nickname ‘Poison Maiden.’
Maomao is a tour de force. Smart and adaptable, she thrives in court life and life on the streets. Based on the manga alone, she would capture the first-place spot. However, Maomao drops a few spaces to be our fourth great anime scientist girl.
3. Rakshata Chawla
- Field: Biomechanical Engineering
- Anime First Appearance: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, ep. 17 ‘Knight’ (2007)
Rakshata Chawla is a key support character in the world of Code Geass. She is a talented scientist with a knack for applied and theoretical principles. Her aptitude would lead to advances in research and development for the Military District of India. After the District sided with the rebellion, she took on leading the Black Knights Research and Development Team. She and her team would go on to invent many of the weapons systems used by the Knightmare Frames.
Born in India, Rakshata is a tall slender woman with light brown skin. Attractive, she has long blond hair. A purple bindi, a painted dot, rests on her forehead. Dressed in a pantsuit and lab coat, she takes on the anime trope of researchers except for the tobacco pipe she carries. Rounding out her image, Rakshata is always calm and dignified.
She is one captivating character in anime. Her looks may be one thing but it is her aptitude that moves the story. Although the series is close to 20 years old, Rakshata Chawla endures as a great woman in anime.
2. Bulma
- Field: Applied Physics and Engineering
- Anime First Appearance: Dragon Ball, ep. 1 ‘The Secret of the Dragon Balls’ (1986)
Jump inside the Wayback machine, as we journey back to the mid-1980s for our next entry. Bulma is a scientist and the lead female character in the series. She is the youngest child of the Capsule Corporation’s founder Dr. Brief and his wife, Bikini. A prodigy, Bulma has a talent for decoding alien tech. Her skills led to the invention of the Dragon Radar, used to find Dragon Balls by Goku. She married Vegeta and the couple had two children, Trunks and Bulla.
Over the years, Bulma’s design was in a state of flux. One needs to look no further than her hairstyles to see these changes. She had over fifteen different styles, with three color shades. Despite these changes, her body type remains pretty consistent. A tomboy at heart, she is unafraid of being a girly girl. Her clothing often displays the family’s company logo on it.
Bulma holds a special spot in the Dragon Ball series. More often than not, Shonen scientists are a plot voucher needed to fix the lead’s problem before going back to the lab. Far from being a trope, Bulma and her knowledge play an active role in the Dragon Team’s success. She deserves recognition as one of anime’s greatest female scientists.
1. Kurisu Makise
- Field: Neuroscience
- Anime First Appearance: Steins;Gate, ep. 1 ‘Prologue of the Beginning and the End’ (2011)
A child of divorce, Kurisu Makise, and her mother moved to the States so the teenager could attend college. A genius, the teen received a degree in neuroscience. Her youth and academic feats were a source of both respect and disdain from peers. Kurisu took a job with the Brain Science Institute at Viktor Chondria University. Her team would use Kurisu’s thesis’ to create the Amadeus Initiative. This project uses AI to convert memories into digital data.
Average height, Kurisu is a slender young lady. She has waist-long, russet hair and plum-colored eyes. ‘Kuri’ means chestnut. A sensible woman, Kurisu does not fold easily in the face of challenges. She always acts in a coolheaded manner. Despite being level-headed, she gets upset at her nicknames. Chiefly, the title of ‘The Zombie’ was bestowed on her by Rintaro Okabe. Kurisu Makise birthday is July 25. Her zodiac sign combines passion and stubbornness. She embraces these qualities along with the need to create. A fan favorite, Kurisu Makise rounds out our list of anime’s women of science.