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In this article:
- Cute anime girls are the bread and butter of otaku culture and the ones on this list belong to some of the most memorable anime shows of all time.
- These anime girls inspired thousands of fanmade artwork, cosplay, merchandise, and copycats in different shows.
- But tropes get stale after a while, which is why the most popular cute anime girl of 2022 is a trope breaker who manages to appeal to anime fans while being a far cry from her predecessors.
Show of hands. Outside of the shonen genre, who among us really remembers male protagonists as vividly as we remember the cute anime girls who starred in the same show?
Anime gets a lot of flak because of gratuitous fan service, but the need to appeal to audiences has meant that several anime shows follow a formula that pairs self-insert male protagonists with cool anime girls that overshadow them in every way.
Most of the time, they’re more popular because they’re more powerful, more badass, or are generally more interesting than the male lead. In the case of these cute anime girls, though, it’s that and the fact that they’re so heart-meltingly adorable.
The Cute Anime Girls We Can’t Stop Thinking About
1. Haruhi Suzumiya From The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2006)
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2007) was a cultural phenomenon when it first came out and is still one of the greats today. Most of that is thanks to the titular Haruhi Suzumiya who basically drives the entire plot of the show.
Haruhi is a cutie in the way most cute anime girls are: She’s just drawn that way. If it were just cuteness though, characters like Mikuru Asahina and Yuki Nagato can easily give her a run for her money.
What keeps her living in our minds rent-free is how vivacious she is.
While her stubbornness can be a little off-putting at times, it does make her stand out in a sea of cute girls with passive personalities. Well, that and the reality-bending powers that functionally make Haruhi a god both in the show and outside of it.
This anime girl became so popular that the parody religion of Haruhism was created around it.
2. Yui Hirasawa from K-On (2009)
You’ve got to hand it to Kyoto Animation, they really have the art of making cute anime girls down pat.
Not only did they give us Haruhi and the girls of the S.O.S Brigade, but they also created K-On! (2009), a show about cute anime girls in high school who start a band and figure out what they want to do with their lives afterward.
It was hard to pick between Azusa, Ritsu, Yui, Tsumugi, and Mio, but the spot on this list just had to go to Yui Hirasawa whose airheaded antics made her cute, funny, and frustrating all at the same time.
Yui’s love of cuddling, sweets, and cute things make her a quintessential innocent schoolgirl whom you can’t help but root for throughout the show.
Seeing her grow from a ditzy, under-motivated person into someone who’s dedicated to mastering her craft is endearing even if you don’t necessarily like the tropes associated with her.
3. Zero Two From Darling in the Franxx (2018)
Darling in the Franxx (2018) isn’t a light-hearted show like K-On! is, given that it’s a sci-fi anime with child soldiers, but it doesn’t lack cute anime girls.
Remember Zero Two? She was everywhere during the late 2010s and like most anime girls who became popular around that time and after, people were making PC setups designed after her.
So what keeps Zero Two living in fans’ minds rent-free until today? Aside from her signature all-pink look, Zero Two is a complex character with a tragic backstory.
Zero Two is a hybrid with Klaxosaur blood. As a child, people treated her like a monster or a wild beast that was too dangerous to be around and too inhuman to be kind to.
Because of this, she developed strange social habits (i.e. calling her co-pilots “Darling”) and a cold outlook on life that made her callous towards the feelings of others, even her so-called Darlings.
4. Misaki Ayuzawa From Kaichou Wa Maid Sama! (2010)
It’s been ages since Kaichou Wa Maid Sama (2010) came out, but if you type in “Misaki” into the search bar right now, she’s still the top search suggestion.
When you really think about it, there’s nothing special about Misaki Ayuzawa.
She’s your typical high school romance protagonist who competes for the top spot in academic rankings with the male protagonist who she has a love-hate relationship with. We’ve seen this before in Special A (2008) and later again in Love Is War (2019).
But the Demon President of Seika High School had cosplayers dressed in maid costumes for a good few years following the release of her show.
Personality-wise, what makes Misaki so appealing is how determined and hard-working she is. For the younger otaku out there, imagine if Shirogane was a cute anime girl with a sharp temper.
Misaki’s selflessness and fierce determination make her shine in our eyes and Takumi’s alike.
5. Megumin From Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World (2016)
You know a female character has made it to the vaunted ranks of cute anime girls when fans are still talking about her 8 years since she first made an appearance.
Megumin doesn’t look any different from most anime girls. If anything, she looks like she Haruhi or Yui if they were isekai‘d into Sword Art Online (2012). But that’s standard for most anime characters.
What makes Megumin memorable is her personality. She falls under the chuunibyo or chuuni trope which, for those of you who don’t know, basically means she thinks she’s more powerful than she really is and has an arrogant streak a mile wide.
In a video game anime like Konosuba, this means that she invested all of her stats into mastering the art of blowing stuff up. She’s always trying to set things on fire or send them to the moon (or, preferably both) in the show which is played to comedic effect.
6. Asuka Langley From Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)
While we’re on the topic of cute anime girls with a legendary status, we can’t miss mentioning Asuka Langley of Neon Genesis Evangelion fame. She’s been living in fans’ minds rent-free since 1995.
Asuka is a classic tsundere character who’s often seen calling the lead male, Shinji, an idiot. Despite this, fans found her appealing and have kept her popular for over two decades, pointing to her appearance and spitfire personality as the reasons behind her appeal.
Asuka’s fame isn’t a coincidence. She was initially slated to be the protagonist of Neon Genesis Evangelion before Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, the manga’s creator, decided to change the protagonist to a male.
He felt having Asuka as the protagonist would make Evangelion too similar to his previous work.
Instead of protagonist Asuka, what we got was a character specifically designed to be the “idol” of Evangelion. Let’s put that in simpler terms that don’t require knowledge of Japanese idol culture: Asuka was engineered for fame.
7. Kagome Higurashi From InuYasha (2000)
We’re moving into classic anime territory. Cute anime girls are a dime a dozen, but few of them can match up to Kagome Higurashi from InuYasha (2000), one of the O.Gs of the isekai genre.
Kagome Higurashi is a hit among male and female fans alike because of her kind personality. This doesn’t mean she’s a pushover.
Kagome is an outspoken tsundere who doesn’t let anyone tell her what to do, not even her equally tsun love interest and co-protagonist, Inuyasha.
Sure, this sometimes leads both of them into unnecessary danger, but it’s also why Kagome is able to adjust easily to being transported centuries back in time and having to deal with demons and warlords.
8. Violet From Violet Evergarden (2018)
Don’t even try to act surprised. You knew this was coming. Whether it’s a ranking of who’s the best waifu, most badass female protagonist, or cutest anime girl, Violet Evergarden never fails to make an appearance.
This is the third time a Kyoto Animation show’s protagonist showed up on this list which just goes to show that if it’s cute anime girls you want, KyoAni is the studio to follow.
The best part is that KyoAni actually takes the time to write its female protagonists well. Violet Evergarden is a sweet, well-meaning girl, but the show takes her seriously and doesn’t shy away from the reality of her past as a soldier.
Though Violet Evergarden (2018) doesn’t have as much fanservice, or really any at all, compared to other shows, Violet has become one of the best anime girls of the 2010s-2020s because of how strangely relatable she is.
9. Nezuko From Kimetsu no Yaiba (2019)
Nezuko Kamado is one of the most popular cute anime girls in recent memory. She’s the sister of Tanjiro Kamado, the lead protagonist of Kimetsu no Yaiba (2019). While she doesn’t get a lot of speaking lines, she’s an active participant and driver of the show’s events.
After all, her brother wouldn’t have joined the Demon Slayer Corps if not for the hope of finding a cure for her demonic transformation.
Before she became a demon, Nezuko was a sweet girl who was known for being the most beautiful in her village. After her transformation, though, she’s reduced to a child-like mental state that’s cute yet sad.
10. Kaguya Shinomiya From Kaguya-sama: Love Is War (2019)
Student council anime girls are on a whole different level and Kaguya is no exception. The lovely female lead of Kaguya-sama: Love Is War (2019) is a walking trope but because of the premise of the show, her tsundere tendencies don’t end up feeling overused.
Kaguya is a classic Japanese beauty with long black hair and a lady-like demeanor. Instead of making her stiff and unapproachable, her sheltered background has made her innocent and shy.
Kaguya isn’t without competition. Chika Fujiwara gets almost as much attention as she does because of her low-key sarcastic personality and snide sense of humor.
As far as fans are concerned, the show is just as much about Kaguya and Shirogane’s romance as it is about the waifu war between these two cute anime girls.
11. Sailor Moon From Sailor Moon (1992)
Most cute anime girls are of the shoujo genre. Sailor Moon, though? She is the shoujo genre.
The patron saint of magical girls inspired dozens of anime shows catered to young girls after proving that women do want to see female heroes who are capable and cute at the same time.
When she isn’t Sailor Moon, Usagi Tsukino is a high school student who couldn’t do math to save her life.
Her airheadedness would be annoying in any other character, but with Usagi’s big heart, it’s easy to overlook her flaws (and tendency to overeat).
12. Marin Kitagawa From My Dress-Up Darling (2022)
When My Dress-Up Darling was released in January 2022, anime fans already knew who was going to be the #1 waifu of the year.
Marin Kitagawa may look like a manic pixie dream girl, but as the show goes on, it’s clear that she just really loves cosplaying and takes a genuine interest in Gojo because he’s also extremely passionate about his hobbies.
Unlike female leads of other romance anime shows, Marin is no tsundere. She knows she likes Gojo and wastes no time in getting him wrapped around her finger.
Her clear enthusiasm for what and who she likes makes her a breath of fresh air not just among female leads in the romance genre, but in anime shows in general.
That picture of Sailor Moon is so fricking adorable ? ^_^