best anime with woman as protagonist and no romance?

[konpyuutasan]

Surprisingly, Juuni Kokuki (Twelve Kingdoms) has little to no romance in it despite being a josei isekai. I prefer the novel though, since the additional earthlings in the anime are kinda jarring, imo. The novels feature an ensemble cast, while we're kind of stuck with Youko in the anime. She grows on you , but maaaan is she annoying in the first half.

As mentioned above, Balsa of Seirei no Moribito is perhaps the strongest female lead in fantasy to date. The novels are quite good too, and the manga follows up with the second arc, which I feel is even better than the first.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is definitely another one-- while romantic (and horrifying) in its themes it doesn't have any romance.

Also Ghost in the Shell, Stand Alone Complex was mentioned, but the second season (2nd gig) and The Arise series adds some rather misplaced romance into the story -- which doesn't really make sense imo. They also swapped her sexual orientation for some reason-- although since she doesn't have genitals I guess that's a moot point-- she only has virtual sex anyhow (as is made explicit in the manga). Come to think of it, she's pretty much the epitome of pan-sexual, being transhuman, virtualized/cyberized and semi-female. I mean at one point she pretty much 'does it' with a distributed artificial intelligence....

 

[comedyxtragedy]

Talentless Nana is good if you're looking for thriller psychology

 

[YuiiChan88]

Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?/So i'm a spider so what
https://mangadex.org/title/17709/kumo-desu-ga-nani-ka
Also its on cruchyroll ^-^

 

[Amenohi]

Gunsmith Cats, Shirobako, ...
Probably a few others I can't remember the name of, besides the ones already mentioned in this thread. Sports/competition themed ones has a good chance of having no romance, even the ones that has males in the cast.

 

[Mr_Detective]

Hyperdimension Neptunia.

 

[HoneyAlice]

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Psycho-Pass

 

[BirchJuice]

I don't remember, probably excellent: Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit
a small meta spoiler:

Spoiler

may contain a drop of romance

At least good: Kara no Kyoukai
Spoiler:

Spoiler

has (some) romance

Excellent: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Excellent: Ghost in the Shell movies, especially the first one.

 

[kohelemon]

Hmm, Jojo Stone Ocean? Now some may argue Anasui was rather blatant on his love toward Protagonist Jolyne, but he was like a Violent Sanji, and only got an Okay to Propose from Jolyne toward the end.
And in the end, it's alternate them that ends up together cuz everyone... Wait, I should halt there... Uhh... Ermes is cool, actually she might be my soul mate XD

 

[iamsonder]

ergo proxy has such a badass woman protag, too bad there was some romance in the last episodes which I would say was unnecessary.

and for the people saying kino's journey, i suggest you try to watch the og anime not the remake. the protag was written as of ambigious gender and then only later confirmed to be female. kino's pretty badass too with a motorcycle.

have to agree with the serial experiments lain one (guy who worked on it also made texhnolyze which is a personal fav of mine but the protag is a guy in a dystopian world) it really stands out and i've noticed it has gotten popular lately? rightfully so

black lagoon is another fav with an abundance of awesome female characters, i dont remember there being any romance(?)

puella magi madoka magica another banger, i watched this when i was younger

ghost in the shell haven't watched this one yet but have been looking to read it because i always heard good things about it

perfect blue another classic psychological anime with a woman protag i liked it

paprika another one i havent watched myself but im looking to watch sounds interesting

m i feel like there was more i thought of but it slipped my mind

 

[TestAddress]

Dragon Ball 🐉

 

[ProgNerIte]

Dragon Ball 🐉

I never knew that Goku was a woman

 

[TestAddress]

Witchblade by Gonzo ... BECAUSE THE FEMALE IS ALREADY A MOTHER!

 

[TestAddress]

Zombie Land Saga Season 2 episode 4. The very essence of Zombie Land.

 

[TestAddress]

i can name 1000 epic ones that has men as protagonists but 0 that stars women so

Maybe if we include idol anime which is rarely watched here we can add 1000 non-epic ones. I think they reached 1000s if you count their seasons individually.

Magical Girls
Idols
Virtual Tubers
Working Girls Anime, which is introduced by P.A. Works
Cute Girls Doing Crass Things
Panty and Stockings - this belongs to its own category
Pop Team Epic - depending on how you view them. Anime of the future.

 

[TestAddress]

Yeas I watched it. Kuma

Kuma kuma kuma bear.

i'm not joking, there's a series with that name

Kuma Kuma bear...

 

[TestAddress]

I never knew that Goku was a woman

From the nomenclature, some say one of Chenron's aspect is. Never watched that episode.

 

[ProgNerIte]

From the nomenclature, some say one of Chenron's aspect is. Never watched that episode.

Had it ever been stated that Goku had an aspect of chenron?

 

[Leik98]

Hataraku Saibou: A funny anime about the different cells in your body. The MC is a red blood cell girl.
Lucky Star: Only girls, and the MC is a gaming Otaku.

 

[rukiares]

I think Psycho-Pass is the best anime with a female protagonist and no romance. It has a gripping plot, amazing animation, and a complex moral dilemma. The main character, Akane Tsunemori, is a rookie inspector who joins the police force in a dystopian society where people are judged by their mental state. She has to deal with violent criminals, corrupt officials, and a mysterious mastermind who challenges the system. Akane is a strong, smart, and compassionate character who grows throughout the series. She doesn't need a love interest to be interesting or relatable. She is one of the best female leads in anime history, in my opinion.

 

[TestAddress]

If a single woman is the protagonist... then WATAMOTE.

It has been 10 years since the anime was aired.