Honor can be defined in several ways, and it’s often treated on a “you know it when you see it” basis for both fictional and real people, including Japanese anime. Dishonorable characters might lie or manipulate others, break a promise, or even fight dirty. An honorable character could never bring themselves to act so dishonestly.
Instead, the most honorable anime characters, including some popular anime women, hold themselves to a higher standard. Those honorable anime women value truth and fairness and have a strong sense of responsibility as well. Honorable characters believe in a fair fight devoid of dirty tricks, and such characters would never take advantage of others, even their enemies.
Update on May 30th, 2023 by Louis Kemner: anime fans love honorble, noble heroes who live by a strict code of ethics and push themselves to alwsays do the right thing, even it’s never easy. Such characters are truly inspiring to watch as honor-bound role models, and that includes a fantastic variety of anime ladies who live and die by their personal codes.
20 Kyoko Honda (Fruits Basket)
Kyoko Honda ranks among anime’s best moms, and she completely turned her life around after she met Katsuya Honda in Fruits Basket’s backstory. Kyoko had a tough home life and ran with a gang of delinquent girls, but after meeting Katsuya, she became a kind, supportive, and forgiving person.
As a mother, Kyoko vowed to set an excellent example for Tohru, including having a strong sense of responsibility and forgiving others. Kyoko also adopted a more easygoing “turn the other cheek” attitude, refusing to pick fights or let anything escalate.
19 Itsuka Kendo (My Hero Academia)
Some student heroes in My Hero Academia have a weak sense of honor and may act like borderline bullies for their own petty reasons, such as Katsuki Bakugo and Neito Monoma. By contrast, students such as Izuku Midoriya, Momo Yaoyorozu, and Itsuka Kendo favor teamwork and fairness above all.
Itsuka is class 1-B’s most honorable student, and she refuses to escalate the fierce rivalry between classes 1-A and 1-B. In fact, she often punishes Neito for antagonizing class 1-A, and will apologize on his behalf. Itsuka also defeated Momo in the joint training arc, but respected Momo’s abilities and acknowledged Momo as the better fighter.
18 Casca (Berserk)
By Berserk’s own brutal standards, the Band of the Hawk was a highly honorable and respectable mercenary battalion. Many of its members, such as Judeau and Pippin, were tough but fair and warmly welcomed the loner swordsman Guts into their ranks as a brother-in-arms.
The tsundere Caca was more hesitant, but she never caused a problem or compromised her honor or discipline even when Guts annoyed her. Later, Caca briefly replaced Griffith as the Band’s leader, being an inspirational, honorable, and responsible leader during the Band’s darkest days.
17 Konan (Naruto)
Konan the blue-haired kuudere may be a Naruto villain, but she still has a distinct sense of honor and integrity, unlike Akatsuki members like Hidan and Sasori. Konan, like her friends Yahiko and Nagato, were once idealistic kids who dreamed of world peace before things went tragically wrong.
Konan was devoted to the Akatsuki cause, but she didn’t really say or do anything truly villainous. She merely protected Nagato and his dream, and she was eventually swayed by Naruto‘s inspiring words later. She even gave Naruto a bouquet of paper flowers as an olive branch and stepped aside as a Naruto antagonist.
16 Rukia Kuchiki (Bleach)
Even if Rukia Kuchiki is a hot-tempered tsundere in Bleach, she is also a kind and helpful Soul Reaper who would do anything for a friend or squadmate. Rukia had a humble and difficult upbringing, so she is grateful for all the good people and things in her life, from her rank to her Captain and her human friends.
Rukia is also a fair and honest fighter who despises dirty tricks, such as Aaroniero’s disguise. Also, Rukia once killed a possessed Kaien Shiba out of desperation, and deeply apologized to Kaien’s surviving brother and sister later. To Rukia’s surprise, Kukaku casually forgave her at once.
15 Azazel Ameri (Welcome To Demon School, Iruma-Kun!)
Azazel Ameri is the student council president in Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-Kun!, and she takes her duties seriously. Ameri works hard to keep the council running smoothly for the benefit of every last Babyls student, and she won’t tolerate any cheating or bullying from her fellow students.
Ameri also fancies herself a real-life shojo protagonist, and she dearly hopes to score a big romance with Iruma Suzuki, even if Iruma is a total ahodere. Ameri wishes to win Iruma’s heart fairly and make herself an honorable and respectable love interest Iruma can naturally fall for.
14 Shoko Komi (Komi Can’t Communicate)
Shoko Komi is a fairly ordinary high school student, so she doesn’t think about honor and chivalry much in her daily life. Still, many Komi Can’t Communicate fans may agree that Shoko Komi is an honorable and dignified girl who will go to remarkable lengths to do what’s right.
Shoko’s honor is mostly based on her humility and sense of fairness, and she is also very selfless and generous. Best of all, later in the manga, Shoko supported her romantic rival Rumiko and insisted that they have a fair and respectful rivalry for Hitohito Tadano’s heart.
13 Katarina Claes (My Next Life As A Villainess)
Katarina Claes is a goofy deredere protagonist who totally inverted her original otome game character in My Next Life as a Villainess. The game’s original Katarina was a horrible bully, but the new one will always rush over to help people in need, most of all Maria Campbell.
The new Katarina may be famously dense, but she’s also honorable, respectable, and compassionate, which is why so many of her friends love her. Katarina’s doing what she must to avoid her own doom, but she would also agree that protecting and supporting her friends is its own reward.
12 Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye is many things to Colonel Roy Mustang: his subordinate, his friend, his battle buddy, and even his conscience. Hawkeye is a cool, smart professional who sets an excellent example as a soldier, and she refuses to sacrifice her humanity for her duty.
Riza Hawkeye is honorable on both a personal and professional level. She will follow orders without question and execute them perfectly, and she also wisely stopped Roy from killing Envy in a fit of vengeful rage and hatred. Riza is too honorable to kill a villain like that, and she won’t let Roy try it, either.
11 Erza Scarlet (Fairy Tail)
Many of Fairy Tail‘s main heroes are honest, honorable, and compassionate wizards who would do anything for a friend, with the power of friendship being their main theme. Mutual trust and respect are a given in the Fairy Tail guild, and that goes for Erza Scarlet, too.
Erza is immensely powerful, but she won’t boast about it. Instead, Erza acts like a responsible big sister for troublemakers like Natsu and Gray, and she will always face her enemies with fairness and respect in mind. Erza relies on her training and friendship to prevail, not dirty tricks or cheating, even when everything is on the line.
10 Mikasa Ackerman (Attack On Titan)
Most of Attack on Titan‘s most honorable and disciplined characters are soldiers who put duty first for the sake of others, such as the charismatic leader Erwin Smith. Eren’s childhood friend Mikasa Ackerman is also an honorable anime warrior, though she wouldn’t always describe herself that way.
Mikasa might get reckless at times, but she will never stoop to dirty tricks, lies, or manipulation to get the job done. She follows the rules, does what people ask of her, and fights hard to defend the innocent. An example was when Mikasa single-handedly fixed a traffic jam to help people flee the approaching Titans early in the series.
9 Kagome Higurashi (Inuyasha)
Kagome Higurashi is an isekai heroine who fell into a time-travel well to end up in feudal Japan, where magic and demons are a daily reality. Kagome was terrified and overwhelmed at first, but she also had the noble heart of a true hero and soon learned to fight as a skilled archer to prove it.
Kagome often loses her temper as a tsundere, but she’s never a bully or a liar. She has a strong sense of fairness and justice, and she will gladly support and protect anyone who needs her. She may forgive someone who made an honest mistake, but she’ll never forgive true monsters like Naraku.
8 Pyrrha Nikos (RWBY)
Even if she died tragically early in the RWBY animated series, it was still clear that Pyrrha Nikos was the series’ most honorable warrior of all. She was a kind and helpful fighter who had a good heart and strong discipline, making her a model student at Beacon Academy.
Pyrrha selflessly helped Jaune train, and she was also a reliable and respectful teammate for team JNPR during their time together. Finally, Pyrrha honorably volunteered to become the new Fall Maiden, but she died during the fall of Beacon, a heartbreaking end to her wonderful character arc.
7 Nobara Kugisaki (Jujutsu Kaisen)
Jujutsu Kaisen’s curse villains are dishonorable thugs and monsters, but even if the sorcerers also use negative emotions to fight, they are usually much more honorable. A stellar example is Nobara Kugisaki, Yuji’s new best friend who’s a fellow first-year student at the Tokyo sorcery school.
Nobara is tough but fair as a fighter and as a person, and she only fights dirty against curses who refuse to do the same. In daily life, Nobara is an honorable tsundere who’s a key member of Yuji’s team and a reliable ally. And on her honor, Nobara refuses to bend to sorcery society’s strict, unfair norms about girls and women, instead carving out her own positive identity and setting an example for other sorcerer girls in the process.
6 Asuna Kagurazaka (Mahou Sensei Negima!)
Even if the Mahou Sensei Negima! anime was short compared to the source manga, it was clear that Asuna Kagurazaka was an honorable tsundere who always had her young teacher’s best interests at heart. Asuna quickly learned to fight, then became Negi Springfield’s sworn defender and friend.
No matter her juvenile tantrums, Asuna has an honorable heart and a strong sense of fairness and honesty. She cannot stand dirty tactics, bullying, or cheating, and she will work hard to fairly get anything she wants. This may be why Asuna was sometimes clad in knightly armor, complete with a formidable sword as Negi’s battle partner.
5 Miko Iino (Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War)
Even if Miko Iino is often a stubborn and unpopular student at her school, she doesn’t fuss at people just to annoy them – she wants to make society better. In Kaguya-Sama: Love is War, Miko was introduced as a stern but well-meaning student who sought to curb the student council’s antics however she could.
Miko Iino truly wishes to improve her fellow students’ lives with rules and a code of ethics, making her insufferable but also honorable and idealistic. She’s the type to do something right or not at all, and eventually, Kaguya and Miyuki admired her for that.
4 Shikimori (Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie)
Most of the characters in Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie are friendly, helpful, and honest people who make this slice-of-life high school anime a pleasant watch. Most of all, the pink-haired Shikimori is a noble, honorable, and upstanding citizen whom everyone at her school respects and adores.
Shikimori didn’t get jealous when a female classmate expressed an interest in her boyfriend, for example. Instead, Shikimori talked it out with her and even provided emotional support, making the two girls friends instead of rivals.
3 Aileen D’Autriche (I’m The Villainess, So I’m Taming The Final Boss)
I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss is a seinen isekai anime whose protagonist, Aileen Lauren d’Autriche, found herself in her favorite otome fantasy game. But even as a reborn villain, Aileen is determined to do right by others and protect them.
Aileen doesn’t let antagonistic people like Prince Cedric and Lilia Rainworth bring out her bad side. Aileen is more fixated on supporting Claude the kuudere as a misunderstood demon lord, and Aileen also takes the high road with her honesty, integrity, and forgiveness against all threats.
2 Angelica Redgrave (Trapped In A Dating Sim)
Trapped in a Dating Sim takes place in a shojo game world where society is far from equal. Aristocratic and noble families look down on others, and girls and women are always held in higher esteem than boys. Fortunately for protagonist Leon Bartfort, the himedere Angelica Redgrave has her noble side.
Angelica is stern and demanding, but she also refuses to look down on others just because she can. She will instead judge people fairly by their own merits and befriend them, leading to her wholesome friendship with Leon and the meek dandere Olivia.
1 Misaki Ayuzawa (Maid-Sama!)
Maid-Sama! stars one of anime’s most popular tsunderes, the hardworking student council president Misaki Ayuzawa. On one hand, she’s quick to get into verbal fights and didn’t easily forgive her father even when her sister and mother did, but Misaki still has a code of honor.
Misaki pushes herself to be Seika high school’s ideal student council president, all to make it a better institution for the school’s new female students. Misaki is also honest to a fault concerning her job, and won’t tolerate underhanded tricks, lies, manipulation, or cheating from other people.
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