Only One Shonen Anime Has The Best Female Cast, And It's Not Even Close

The way female characters are treated in anime is always a touchy subject, and that’s especially true for shonen anime. More often than not, female characters in shonen anime will have little to offer beyond cheap fanservice and endlessly pining for the protagonist, and even when the story does try to give them some depth, it will often be rushed, poorly executed, or otherwise pale in comparison to whatever development the male characters are given.

The controversy surrounding female characters in shonen anime will never end, and what makes it worse is that it’s nowhere near as bad as people think. While there are plenty of shonen anime that undeniably did their female characters dirty, there are just as many that always did right by them, and one series, in particular, probably has the best female cast in all of anime, and even after over 20 years, that idea is still all but impossible to deny.

Why Zatch Bell! Has The Best Female Cast In Shonen Anime

If there’s any shonen anime that makes a case for having the best cast of female characters, it would have to be the cult classic Zatch Bell! from Toei Animation. Not only are the female characters rarely ever sexualized, if only because many of them are children younger than 10, but Zatch Bell! is never afraid to let the female characters fight as much as the male characters, nor is it afraid to have them get beaten up in the same way, which makes it feel far more balanced than its contemporaries, even after so many years.

That practice has allowed so many of the female characters to stand out even more than the male characters at times. Laila from the Millennium Demon arc was the key to everyone defeating Demolt and foiling Zofis’ plans, Cherish almost defeated Zeon and freed Zatch’s friends in the climax of the Faudo arc, and Tio, despite being the typical female protagonist with support-based powers on paper, isn’t defined by having a crush on Zatch and is always one of the most essential fighters on the team, and her character development to get to that point is nothing short of amazing.

The true standout, though, is Kiyomaro’s main rival in the Zatch Bell! anime, Sherry Belmont. Not only is it rare and refreshing for a shonen protagonist to have a female rival, but Sherry gets just as much depth and time to show off her strength and intelligence as Kiyomaro, and she even defeats the first major antagonist by herself in the manga, something even male rivals rarely get to do. Sherry is probably one of the best rival characters in shonen anime, and her being a woman only makes that even better.

Between the lack of fanservice and the sheer amount of action and depth afforded to them, Zatch Bell! has a far better handling of its female characters than the average shonen anime; that’s always been one of the anime’s greatest strengths, and even after so many years, most other shonen anime pale in comparison when it comes to their female characters.

What Shonen Anime Needs To Change About Its Female Characters

Zatch Bell! is truly a standout anime when it comes to female representation, and other shonen anime would be wise to learn from it. All Zatch Bell! did was flesh out its female characters to the same degree as the male characters and not subject them to excessive fanservice, but something as simple as that has made all the difference in defining its female cast as legendary; that isn’t to say there aren’t plenty of great female characters in modern anime, but there should be far more, and following Zatch Bell!’s example is a perfect way to fix that.

Writing female characters well is hardly an issue exclusive to anime, but regardless of the medium, the only way it will ever improve is if the people in charge put in some genuine effort to do better. The past few years have seen some improvement on that front, but to this day, Zatch Bell! remains the gold standard for how shonen anime should handle female characters, and as well-deserved as that may be, ideally, other shonen anime will be able to share that honor one day.