How many black anime characters can you actually name? Probably very few. While there are countless female characters who take the lead in anime series, there are quite fewer notable black females in comparison. Probably the main reason is that Japan is a mono-ethnic nation. Regardless, there have been quite a few black females who have strong character development that deserve the spotlight.
1. Casca from Berserk
A respected leader and formidable warrior, Casca is seemingly a good example of a strong black female character. As a child, she joined the mercenary band and rose to become its second-in-command. Casca is a rare example of a full-arc person. She fell victim to violence in several violent events throughout her life. As a result, her mental state shattered, and she became a non-verbal woman who need round-the-clock care.
2. Yoruichi Shihoin from Bleach
Yoruichi is a pure hand-to-hand fighter and prefers to drink milk, which fits with her ability to turn into a cat form. I know some people think that Yoruichi is Japanese or mixed, but as far as I could investigate she’s black. I do kind of have a problem with part of her attitude, though. For example, it is obvious that Ichigo does not want her flirting with him, but she ignores it and does it anyway. That’s not being “playful” or “teasing” – No, means No.
3. Coffee from Cowboy Bebop
Like many of the characters seen on Cowboy Bebop, Coffee is a badass bounty hunter. However, the short screen time she got highlighted just how unique her character was and she left a lasting impression. What else can you say about a woman whose weapon of choice is a grenade launcher? Hope we’ll get to see more of her in the future.
4. Iris from Pokemon
Some fans hated Iris because of her constant comments and belittling of Ash Ketchum. She was no Pokémon Master herself and she had a phobia of Ice-type Pokémon. However, that’s not to say she doesn’t have fans – I myself quite like her character.
5. Mira Naigus from Soul Eater
Mira has a whole mummy character theme going on which is kind of weird. She is a Demon Weapon, which means she can transform at will into a weapon. In her case, she takes the form of a combat knife. As a knife, Mira is sharp enough to easily pierce human flesh.
6. Hilda from Eureka Seven
Hilda is a splendid example of a black female. She’s a calm, wise, and independent pilot of the Terminus type R808. Hilda has quite a bossy side to her, and if something irritates her, she is not at all shy to make her stand straight out, which makes her a great character in my opinion. I love her “I take no nonsense from anyone” approach.
7. Sister Krone from The Promised Neverland
Sister Krone has the unmistakable afro hairstyle and plump lips of a black woman. Actually, she kind of has exaggerated black stereotypical features in my opinion. I know It’s hard to draw “definitively black” characters, but still! Krone may be a very manipulative person, who fights only for her own agenda, but due to her unfortunate circumstances, it’s hard to blame her for wanting to become a Mama in order to live the best possible life she could.
8. Gidget from Eureka Seven
Although Gidget doesn’t get as much screen time as other characters in Eureka Seven, she improves the anime’s lighter moments by her relaying tactical data to the crew or talking about relationship issues with Eureka. She also has a sense of style that I find refreshing. She’s definitely the best dresser in this anime that otherwise focuses on military and Mecha themes.
9. S.A.M. from Cannon Busters
S.A.M. – Special Associate Model” is a high-end robot programmed for friendship, who appears to be a black female. Because of her innate programming, S.A.M. tries to make friends with everyone and everything around her. However, it doesn’t mean she doesn’t pack a few secret surprises for anyone who threatens her. After all, she is a Cannon Buster and that says everything!
10. Caldina from Magic Knight Rayearth
A dancer and an assassin, Caldina is a woman of many talents. She is an accomplished illusionist and hypnotist and also incredibly good at card games and other games of chance. With the perfect figure that she hardly ever covers, Caldina is one of my personal goddesses. She comes from Chizeta, a country home to many black women.
11. Carole Stanley from Carole Tuesday
Carole is a treasure, she is very independent and has a great talent for music, which is what motivates her, as she wants to become a musician. As such, she is inspired by other black female musicians like Beyoncé and Aretha Franklin. She is really wholesome and funny, and rather relatable as a person.
12. Canary from Hunter x Hunter
A ruthless bodyguard with a heart of gold, Canary makes a cool character. Although she’s not a very major, she does get the badass moment of single-handedly kicking an entire group of invaders’ collective asses. She isn’t some caricature of black people with hyper-exaggerated features like some anime has an unpleasant tendency to do.
13. Urd from Oh My Goddess
To be honest, because Urd is a hybrid of Goddess and Demon, she actually has a half-white, half-black appearance. I love Urd not only for being a hero and an occasional anti-hero but also as someone who has a real level of depth to her. Although she is only a second-class goddess, she actually carries the anime. She’s confident, complex, and cunning, and everything I look for in a character. Actually, I have to give it to the creators of Oh My Goddess that every female character, even the minor ones, has a real personality to them.
14. Mila Rose from Bleach
Franceska Mila Rose is a skilled swordswoman who can be rather sadistic when on the battlefield. I love her black amazon look, with her wavy brown hair and her violent energy. I believe that even though she is a side character, she’s still a great addition to the show because she always stands out as her own person.
15. Nadia from Nadia: The Secret Of The Blue Water
Nadia is an Atlantean young lady. I know that there has been some debate that she is a native of the Mediterranean, but as far as could investigate it appears they made Nadia a black female. She is certainly darker in the brown/red range than many around her if that proves anything. She is a person who cares for others and sometimes even puts them before her own wellbeing.
16. Rei Houourmaru from Kill La Kill
Initially an African child from a hometown that was caught up in a civil war, Rei managed to become Ragyo’s right hand at Revocs Corporation. Actually, if Ragyo hasn’t saved her as a child, she would most certainly have died back then. That is probably why Rei is so loyal to him.
17. Miyuki Ayukawa from Basquash
As you can probably tell by now, it’s rare for anime to have black girls! This one here actually got the brains too. Furthermore, I must confess Miyuki is the only reason I ever got curious to watch the anime and I feel it’s too bad they kind of push her to the side for Haruka. Miyuki is truly a valuable character with a very meaningful contribution as an engineer when it comes to making upgrades on the Mechs.
18. Yao Ro Dushi from Gate – Thus the JSDF Fought There!
There are many dark elves in anime! However, a black female Elf is rare. Yao Ro Dushi is 300 years old but looks very much younger. She’s not only good with the bow, able to hit her target at 300 meters, but also quite capable with a sniper rifle, which makes her a very dangerous individual.
19. Hild from Oh My Goddess
Hild is actually Urd’s sexy mom, who is also on this list. She holds a very high position, which is actually the Leader of Hell. As such, she is the most powerful demon in the show, rivaled only by her daughter who is half-demon half-goddess. As the ruler of demonkind, Hild has the tendency to be friendly and then horrifying, which is cool. She can be genuinely laid-back like her daughter, but the crazy girl claws come out the moment you try to cross her.
20. Michiko Malandro from Michiko To Hatchin
A badass biker girl, Michiko lives in a world full of corruption where the police are run by a cartel. She will do whatever it takes to win, her determination literally breaks the walls of a well-secured prison. Michiko is rather compulsive in her behavior and gets pissed quickly, she is very violent, and can be emotionally abusive, but also has a soft side.
21. Atsuko Jackson from Michiko to Hatchin
Atsuko is an Afro-Diamandran policewoman turned outlaw vigilante who used to live in the same orphanage as Michiko Malandro. Although the two characters seem to have a score to settle between them, Atsuko seems to have mixed feelings for Michiko and is sometimes seen helping her out of a bad situation.
22. April from Darker Than Black
April is an easily memorable character, she has a superpower and can manipulate atmospheric pressure. This means she can create a rain cloud, velocity winds, and such. Yep, just like Storm from X-Men.
23. Hiryute Sisters from Danmachi
Tione and Tiona are the Amazon Twins! They both were born in Telskyura, a country led by the goddess Kali and inhibited strictly by women. Like all the amazons in Telskyura. The twins are fierce black warriors, trained from early childhood in barbaric death battles against other amazons and monsters.
24. Choi Mochimazzi from Tamako Market
Choi is a 15-year-old fortuneteller and serves as Prince Mecha’s escort. It’s obvious that she has a crush on the prince and was shown dreaming about him. I think many people can relate to the way she humiliates herself when she makes a mistake. That is something I believe a lot of us do.
25. Sol Marron from Black Clover
As a child, Sol was about to be attacked by the men who destroyed her village. If it wasn’t for Charlotte, who saved her, she would have died or worse. Since all the men of her village had just left her to die, Sol since developed a hatred for men. She deeply admires Charlotte and always follows her around. Some say this admiration for Charlotte is actually a romantic feeling toward her. Sol is a member of the Blue Rose Knights and uses Earth Magic.
26. Dorothy from Great Pretender
Dorothy is a black female, born with black hair, and later dyed to white-pink. As someone who is a professional con woman, Dorothy is charismatic and confident. I love how extroverted she is and that she is never shy to show what she wants.
27. Marbet Fingerhat from Victory Gundam
This black lady is a mobile suit pilot on the Victory Gundam unit. Marbet pilots the Gundam alongside Uso and Oliver. At first, she feels disgusted towards Oliver but later falls in love with him and the two marry and have a kid together. Marbet is a very cool character and can really take a lot of pain she showed this when she suffered a leg injury during a battle that almost finished her pilot career.
28. Claudia LaSalle from Super Dimension Fortress Macross
In the Super Dimension Fortress Macross 1982 anime series, Claudia LaSalle is an American officer serving on board the bridge of the titular spaceship SDF-1 Macross. Claudia holds the very important position of being in charge of weaponry and navigation of the space fortress. Despite her technical occupation, she is great at giving advice on matters of the heart to her best friend Misa.
29. Karako Koshio from Deadman Wonderland
Karako, aka Game Fowl, is one of the people who were infected with the mysterious worm. She is the one who exposed the secrets of Deadman Wonderland prison to the world, leading to the closure of the facility. All the way through, she proved her resilient and tough nature, which makes her a great character in my opinion.
30. Sherry McDowell-Walken from GunGrave
Last and certainly not least is Sherry from GunGrave. Daughter of top assassin Bear Walken, Sherry fell in love with Harry McDowell and married him. Little did she know that her husband is so ambitious that he plans to betray and murder Big Daddy, the leader of the Millennion organized crime group. This murder will bring disastrous results to her entire family.
