Like in many other shonen anime, the Naruto gals have it rough. The writers of Naruto weren’t exactly kind to any of its side characters, but its female characters take the most hits from the kunai of irrelevance.
Despite the underwriting, some of the series’ kunoichi still manage to shine. Except Karin. Never Karin. Karin set back feminism by thousands of years.
10. Kaguya Otsotsuki
Despite being an underdeveloped surprise antagonist, Kaguya Otsotsuki is the most significant threat that Naruto and friends ever faced. She is the most powerful character in the Naruto universe, bar none. And when she was first introduced … she was terrifying. Her white eyes. Her long black nails. Her eerie stillness and silence. I got chills when she was first reaching for Sasuke and Naruto in order to snuff out her descendants’ reincarnations for good. Her backstory as a wronged and vengeful mother was also more than many of Naruto’s women are offered by way of motivation.
9. Ino Yamanaka
After the events of Naruto, Team 10’s Ino Yamanaka gets sidelined. Hard. She has a thrilling battle with her rival Sakura during the chunin exams … and that’s about all she gets. While her entire character is basically written as a foil for Sakura and rival for Sasuke’s undeserving affections, she does have a moment to shine during the Fourth Great Shinobi War. After the death of her father, she takes over in his stead and is able to use her clan’s telepathic jutsu powers in order to relay critical information to the Allied Shinobi Forces during their battle with Madara. She also serves. Look at her character design in Shippuden. Slay.
8. Sakura Haruno
Sakura … Sakura … Sakura … SO much potential for a great female character. Sadly, she often falls flat. Sakura is the student of Lady Tsunade, one the of Leaf Village’s legendary Sannin. Sakura has a ton of skill. She has monstrous strength, and she is one of the most talented medical nin in the series—second only to Tsunade herself. She singlehandedly saved Naruto’s life (quite literally) when she cut him open and pumped his heart with her hand after it had stopped during the battle with Madara.
Her character (like the series itself) suffers from the Sasuke Effect. Her unexplained affection for one of the series’ most abusive and irredeemable characters is hard to watch. He tries to kill her and she still ends up marrying the guy. Girl, you gotta move on.
7. Anko Mitarashi
Anko appears as a proctor during the chunin exams, and is a total badass. Unlike most of the female cast of Naruto, she justifies her existence without the presence of a man. She’s loud, brash, and one of the village’s most highly skilled jonin. Her quick thinking and observational skills allow her to detect that Orochimaru has infiltrated the chunin exams, and she is even able to briefly hold her own against the legendary ninja on a few separate occasions. Plus, she’s got snake powers. How cool is that?
6. Hinata Hyuga
Hinata Hyuga exists solely for the purpose of supporting Naruto, which sucks. However, some of the ways that she shows that support are absolutely badass. She takes the licking to end all lickings during her chunin exam bout with her cousin Neji, and refuses to back down against a more skilled opponent because Naruto is watching. She then steps in and saves Naruto’s life during his battle with Pain. Her shining moment comes when she slaps the shit out of Naruto during the Fourth Great Shinobi War to bring him back to his senses after the death of Neji. It’s one of the few moments of the series when words (and her open palm) turn the tide of a critical battle … which ends up saving the world.
5. Lady Chiyo
Granny Chiho is the GOAT. The eldery Hidden Sand Kunoichi is the greatest living puppetry ninjutsu practitioner, maybe the greatest ever to live. She is also one of the most gifted medical nin in history, rivaled only by Tsunade in her knowledge of poisons. She is also one of the most noble characters in the series, and gives her life to revive Hidden Sand kazekage Gaara from death—thereby giving the Land of Wind itself a new lease on life. Fierce, wise, and loyal to the end, the only reason that she isn’t higher on this list is her lack of screen time.
4. Kushina Uzumaki
Kushina Uzumaki only appears in Naruto for a few episodes, but she’s one of the most endearing characters in the series. Along with her husband Minato, she sacrificed herself in order for baby Naruto to survive. Her best moment comes when Naruto unlocks her dormant chakra sealed within him, allowing the pair to have one of the most heart-warming, tear-jerking mother/son convos in the series. She is one of the few female characters in the series whose actions are not motivated by romantic affection, but rather, a love of a deeper and more universal sort.
3. Tenmari
Tenmari doesn’t f*ck around. While Sakura, Ino, and Hinata are all pining after dudes during the chunin exams, Tenmari is there to represent her nation and take care of her brothers. Lord knows that baby Gaara needs supervision. She embarrasses Tenten in their match during the chunin exams, and later provides critical relief to Shikamaru during the Sasuke retrieval arc. Her defining trait is her maturity, her ability to focus her energy on causes that matter. Protecting the Kazekage. Supporting her nation’s alliance with the Leaf. Kicking ass. While she eventually develops a thing for Shikamaru, her romantic affections for a man never define her choices—unlike nearly every other kunoichi in the series.
2. Konan
Konan. Is. Dope. She is the only female member of the Akatsuki, and easily one of the most powerful—so powerful, in fact, that she would have blown Obito Uchiha to bits with 500 billion explosive tags if he hadn’t used that cheap-ass Izanagi “rewrite reality” technique. Known as Lady Angel, Konan sports one of the best character designs in the series. Wings made out of paper bombs? C’mon. Like Tenmari, she is a character who is driven by ideals. She believes in her comrade Nagato’s vision of world peace, and ends up sacrificing her life in order to see it through.
1. Lady Tsunade
The Fifth Hokage herself, Tsunade Senju is easily the most well developed female character in Naruto. A descendant of ninja god Hashirama Senju and one of the Leaf’s three legendary sannin, she is easily one of the most powerful characters in the series. She is the greatest medical nin to ever live and pioneered the art of medical ninjutsu. Without the lifesaving techniques she developed, the Fourth Great Shinobi War would have ended in crushing defeat for the Allied Shiobi Forces. She also serves as the Leaf’s leader and is responsible for critical decisions regarding the safety and security of the village. Her influence upon Naruto cannot be overestimated. It simply wouldn’t exist without her.
(featured image: Pierrot)
Published: Mar 29, 2024 04:19 pm