Top 10 Androgynous Anime Characters

“Soul Eater” (2008-09)
The child of Medusa Gorgan, an amoral and duplicitous witch, Crona is raised from childhood to be a weapon; bonded with the intelligent demon sword Ragnarok and receiving copious infusions of malleable black blood. The product of years of abuse at the hands of their mother and weapon partner, Crona has rapid mood swings between crippling timidity and insane bloodlust. Though they wear a dress, Crona’s gender is unconfirmed throughout the entire run of the series, making them one of the more nebulous entries on our list.

“Ouran High school Host Club” (2006)
The androgynous female protagonist of the series, Haruhi must work off a debt to her school’s resident male host club, which she excels at, given her greater ease talking to girls than her peers. Practical and down-to-earth compared to the more affluent students she attends school with, as well as the numerous Shoujo genre tropes her fellow host members embody, Haruhi is a firm believer in not allowing gender to define one’s destiny, making her a perfect fit for our list.

“Black Butler” (2008-14)
While fans might point to series protagonist Ciel Phantomhive, whose young age, doll-like appearance, and occasional cross-dressing did make him a candidate for this list, our choice ultimately had to go to the fanged, murderous Grell Sutcliff. A rogue Shinigami, Grell is ostentatious, theatrical, and completely without a moral compass. Although biologically male, it’s unclear if Grell self-identifies as a woman, mostly because they use both male and female Japanese pronouns. All that’s for certain is their infatuation towards Sebastian.

“Kino’s Journey” (2003)
Femininity is overrated. Kino may not be feminine, but she’s definitely a badass…although both are anything but mutually exclusive. This gun-toting, perpetually traveling girl has modeled her life on that of the man who saved her, even going so far as to take his name for her own. Her journey through an occasionally violent, fairy tale-like world is one of similar juxtapositions. As the central theme of the series goes, “the world is not beautiful, therefore it is beautiful.”

“Dangan Ronpa” (2015)
Chihiro isn’t exactly the poster boy of the macho-man lifestyle. Fed up with being ridiculed, he decides to cross dress to avoid future abuse. Although, given that he was murdered after revealing his secret in the “Battle Royale”-esque game he and his fellow students become embroiled in, it’s completely understandable why the feminine hacker decided not to broadcast it. Still, at least Chihiro managed to live on, sort of, through a computer program built in his image, appropriately called “Alter Ego.”

“Cowboy Bebop” (1998-99)
Our next entry is the youngest member and resident cyber wiz of the Bebop crew. “Radical” Edward’s ridiculous moniker is just one of the many reasons she’s a free spirit. While the rest of her shipmates are usually engaged in just trying to make ends meet, Ed generally does what she wants, when she wants, making her an absolute treat to watch. And given what her absent, and absent minded, father is like, it’s not hard to see why she walks to the beat of her own drum.

“Baka and Test” (2010-11)
You’d think sharing a name with a samurai and using speech patterns usually associated with elderly men would be enough for Hideyoshi to convince his classmates that he’s a guy. But unfortunately for him, that doesn’t matter to a lot of his classmates, or the show itself, as he’s often the subject of some admittedly hilarious over-the-top fan service; A trait that just makes Hideyoshi all the more lovable. Not many other characters can say they have a personalized bath.

“Fullmetal Alchemist” and “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” (2003-04, 2009-10)
Androgyny and shapeshifters tend to go hand in hand. Envy is one of the central antagonists of both “Fullmetal Alchemist” series and is able to look like anyone, though they tend to favor a particularly gender-neutral appearance, with a belly-bearing top and bike shorts-like bottoms. Unlike most of the entries on this list, Envy has no true gender, as they are a homunculus, an artificial life form; with their true form being something akin to a many-legged lizard.

The “Dragon Ball” franchise (1986-)
This powerful, sadistic alien ruler has some viewers scratching their heads to this day. One of Dragon Ball’s most memorable villains, we think that while Freeza’s androgyny can be partly traced to his alien nature, as well as Akira Toriyama designing him like a slightly foppish member of royalty, the biggest cause for fans’ confusion is probably some of the voice actresses cast to voice him in dubs. The most infamous of these makes Freeza sound like a hoarse elderly woman. Then again, the purple lips may have made ambiguity inevitable from the get-go.


Before we get to our number one choice, here are a few honorable mentions:

Luka Urushibara
“Steins;Gate” (2011)

Smeddy
“Record Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight” (1998)

Warrant Officer Schrödinger
“Hellsing Ultimate” (2006-12)

Lady Oscar François de Jarjayes
“The Rose of Versailles” (1979-80)

Neferpitou
“Hunter X Hunter” (1999-2001, 2011-14)

“Naruto” (2005-09)
Don’t let the maiden-like appearance fool you: Haku is a boy. While his beautiful looks have the audience and Naruto himself thrown for a loop, Haku’s not just a pretty face. He makes up one half of a particularly memorable villain duo early in the series, along with his master, the rogue ninja Zabuza. Haku’s tragic past, unique fighting abilities, as well as his heartbreaking death, have cemented him in anime pop culture.

Do you agree with our list? Which androgynous anime character is your favorite? For more ambiguous Top 10s posted daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.