10 most disliked female characters in shonen anime

Sakura Haruno undoubtedly ranks as one of shonen anime
Sakura Haruno undoubtedly ranks as one of shonen anime's most disliked female characters (Image Credits: Masashi Kishimoto/Shueisha, Viz Media, Naruto)

Central female characters in shonen anime often walk the thin line of either being loved by the community or being generally disliked. Everyone has very strong opinions when it comes to shonen anime female characters, and they refuse to budge. The initial reaction and impression often set the tone for how female characters in shonen anime are perceived over the course of the series.

Here are the 10 most disliked female characters in Shonen anime, ranked in no particular order.


Tower of God’s Rachel and 9 others comprise list of 10 most disliked females in shonen anime

1) Sakura Haruno (Naruto)

Sakura as seen in the Naruto: Shippuden anime series (Image Credits: Masashi Kishimoto/Shueisha, Viz Media, Naruto)
Sakura as seen in the Naruto: Shippuden anime series (Image Credits: Masashi Kishimoto/Shueisha, Viz Media, Naruto)

Unsurprisingly, the first female shonen anime character to be addressed in this context is Naruto’s Sakura Haruno. She’s likely the poster child for disliked female characters, with many claiming to have hated her since the early episodes and chapters of author and illustrator Masashi Kishimoto’s hit manga series.

Many claim that they disliked the character originally for her crassness. Moreover, she did not make any major contributions in the first half of the series. Some claim that her character is still useless in the series’ final arc, mocking her for claiming to have caught up to Sasuke and Naruto.


2) Yuno Gasai (Future Diary)

Yuno Gasai as seen in the Future Diary anime series (Image Credits: Sakae Esuno/Kadokawa, Viz Media, Future Diary)
Yuno Gasai as seen in the Future Diary anime series (Image Credits: Sakae Esuno/Kadokawa, Viz Media, Future Diary)

Future Diary’s Yuno Gasai is dubbed by some to be the craziest female character in shonen anime for a variety of reasons. Her childhood was incredibly rough, with her mother essentially imprisoning and torturing her as a result of her father becoming increasingly busy with work and spending less time at home.

Yuno retaliates and kills her parents, burying them in her own backyard. Upon meeting protagonist Yukiteru Amano, she manipulates him and those around them to get what she ultimately wants. Considering all her actions in the series, she undoubtedly deserves a spot on the list.


3) Esdeath (Akame ga Kill!)

Esdeath as seen in the Akame ga Kill! anime (Image Credits: Takahiro, Tetsuya Tashiro/Square Enix, Yen Press, Akame ga Kill!)
Esdeath as seen in the Akame ga Kill! anime (Image Credits: Takahiro, Tetsuya Tashiro/Square Enix, Yen Press, Akame ga Kill!)

Akame ga Kill!’s Esdeath was hated by many ever since her initial introduction, where she seemingly oozed malevolence and evil. Her sadistic personality and ideologies are only further cemented throughout the series, showing that she truly believed that the strong live and the weak die.

As the series went on, fans only began hating her more, with almost no viewers arguing in favor of Esdeath or attempting to highlight the few, if any, positive aspects of her character. There’s little doubt that she’s one of the most disliked female characters in shonen anime.


4) Seryu Ubiquitous (Akame ga Kill!)

Seryu as seen in the Akame ga Kill! anime series (Image Credits: Takahiro, Tetsuya Tashiro/Square Enix, Yen Press, Akame ga Kill!)
Seryu as seen in the Akame ga Kill! anime series (Image Credits: Takahiro, Tetsuya Tashiro/Square Enix, Yen Press, Akame ga Kill!)

Also joining Esdeath is Seryu Ubiquitous, who even ends up working for the former via her joining the Jaeger squad. Seryu is despised because she shows herself to be arguably more sadistic than her commanding officer.

She’s shown to take pleasure in the torture she doles out, laughing in the faces of Night Raid members as she corners and tortures them throughout the series. Despite being second in command, she’s more evil than Esdeath herself.


5) Rachel (Tower of God)

Rachel as seen in the Tower of God anime series (Image Credits: SIU/Young Com, Naver Webtoon, Tower of God)
Rachel as seen in the Tower of God anime series (Image Credits: SIU/Young Com, Naver Webtoon, Tower of God)

Tower of God’s Rachel went from being someone fans were unbothered by to a character who’s hated by nearly every shonen anime fan. Her betrayal of Baam in the final episodes of the series’ first season earned her the ire of the fans of the series and members of the general anime community.

Her delight in reflecting upon her actions only further upset and angered fans, leading to some incredibly harsh words being posted about her on social media.


6) Nina Einstein (Code Geass)

Nina Einstein as seen in the Code Geass anime (Image via Sunrise Studios)
Nina Einstein as seen in the Code Geass anime (Image via Sunrise Studios)

Nina Einstein never seemed to do right thing in the eyes of fans throughout Code Geass. She was disliked ever since her introduction, and the this only worsened as a certain XXX scene in the series made fans despise her even more intensely.

The second part of the series didn’t exactly make things better for her, showing her inventing the series’ equivalent of an atomic bomb. The bomb, once detonated, ended up killing 35 million people, earning her further ire from fans everywhere.


7) Malty S. Melromarc (The Rising of the Shield Hero)

Malty as seen in The Rising of the Shield Hero's anime series (Image Credits: Aneko Yusagi/Media Factory, One Peace Books, The Rising of the Shield Hero)
Malty as seen in The Rising of the Shield Hero's anime series (Image Credits: Aneko Yusagi/Media Factory, One Peace Books, The Rising of the Shield Hero)

Malty S. Melromarc is the princess of the country Melromarc, and first allies herself with the Shield Hero during The Rising of the Shield Hero’s first few installments. However, she begins claiming that Naofumi assaulted her which results in her being pampering by nearly every governmental figure in the kingdom. Naofumi, on the other hand, is rejected by the same people.

Eventually, she gets what she deserves when her mother returns and assumes her throne, being able to plainly see through the lies of her daughter. As one of the most disliked female characters in shonen anime, she received a fitting punishment, as per fans.


8) Big Mom/Charlotte Linlin (One Piece)

Big Mom as seen in the series' anime (Image Credits: Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Viz Media, One Piece)
Big Mom as seen in the series' anime (Image Credits: Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Viz Media, One Piece)

One Piece’s Big Mom, whose real name is Charlotte Linlin, is undoubtedly one of the most disliked female characters in shonen anime. The initial buildup of her character made her out to be a formidable opponent, worthy of the title Yonko.

However, upon the start of the Whole Cake Island arc, a significant portion of her screentime involved her yelling about food in a delirious state and she did not even seem like herself. Combined with her terrible decisions and actions as a mother that were revealed during the arc, the development was enough to make fans hate her.


9) Misa Amane (Death Note)

Misa Amane as seen in the Death Note anime (Image Credits: Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata/Shueisha, Viz Media, Death Note)
Misa Amane as seen in the Death Note anime (Image Credits: Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata/Shueisha, Viz Media, Death Note)

Death Note’s Misa Amane is an interesting case. Many viewers and readers confess to truly loving and appreciating her upon her introduction. However, her shallow character doesn’t really develop throughout the series, and she becomes pigeonholed as Light’s number one fangirl.

She constantly begs him to use her even if it results in her death, and she’s very rarely shown to be acting in her own interests at any point during the series. While she does play an incredibly useful role in the final stages of Light’s battle with L, viewers still harbor an intense hatred for her.


10) Tenten (Naruto)

Tenten as seen in the series' anime (Image Credits: Masashi Kishimoto/Shueisha, Viz Media, Naruto)
Tenten as seen in the series' anime (Image Credits: Masashi Kishimoto/Shueisha, Viz Media, Naruto)

Finally, Naruto’s Tenten closes out the list of the most disliked female characters in shonen anime. She made no significant contributions to the series in her limited screen time. Dubbed a 'useless' character by fans, she did not do anything to be worthy of admiration, so fans began disliking her instead.

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Edited by Mohini Banerjee
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