But what if we reverted the process and brought anime into history? A fantastic way to do this is by modding Civilization VI with anime-themed mods – like custom leaders and civilizations, but designed around anime. You thought warring over hexagon tiles was fun before? Wait until you see cute anime girls “resolving” territorial disputes.
10. Flactline’s Game & Anime City States
Check Out This Mod City-states are the best business partners a player can have in a game of Civ. You can’t skip over city-states if you’re going to anime-fy your game. Fortunately, creator Flactline has a fantastic pack of independent cities based on popular anime and games.
Sakuragaoka Academy (K-ON!) Littlewing Orphanage (Angel’s 3-Piece) Seisho Music Academy (Revue Starlight)
These all join the likes of Aperture Science (Portal) and Glitch City (VA-11 Hall-A) for a fully geeked-out geopolitical bloc.
9. Chika Fujiwara Leads Japan
Check Out This Mod Fans of Kaguya-sama: LOVE IS WAR will recognize Chika Fujiwara, the airhead Secretary of Shuchi’in Academy’s Student Council. Chika isn’t precisely one of the academy’s brightest – so having her lead Japan might not seem like a good idea at first. But what this massively popular waifu lacks in brains, she makes up for in charisma. Chika’s leader trait nets her massive benefits from each delegation, embassy, and declared friendship with another nation. She also gets half her diplomatic favor back after pushing a World Congress resolution because she’s adorable and everyone loves her.
8. Megumin Leads the Crimson Magic Clan
Check Out This Mod Next up, we have an arcane leader whose sophisticated magic and womanly wiles will turn geopolitics on its head. Oh, wait. Scratch that. It’s just Megumin. This loud and eccentric girl is an Arch-Mage of the Crimson Magic Clan and now leads them against the world’s nations in the only way she knows how: with explosions. Some of the new civ’s best features are the Arch Wizard – a powered-up medieval ranged unit – and the ability to Cast Explosion Magic, which acts as a one-tile nuke with no fallout. Perfect for taking cities! Big fans of Konosuba should complete the set with Aqua’s Axis Order.
7. Remilia Scarlet Leads the Scarlet Devil Mansion
Check Out This Mod Touhou has a way of making it into everything, thanks to its massive popularity in Japan. Representing this storied franchise comes Remilia Scarlett, a powerful vampire and the mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion – which she now leads in the world’s hexagonal tapestry. Some of the Scarlet Devil Mansion’s greatest assets are Fairy Maids and the Koumakan Great Library. The Fairy Maids are basically cheaper builders with better mobility, and the Koumakan Great Library is a unique replacement for the Campus that provides “Great Touhou Points” upon completion. These points can be spent to summon Touhou characters, similarly to Great People. Most of them provide primarily military bonuses.
6. Rimuru Tempest Leads the Tempest Federation (TTIGRAAS)
Check Out This Mod If you’re looking for a different kind of Isekai anime that’ll make you enjoy the genre again, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is the best choice. In this Civ 6 mod, we see Rimuru leading the Tempest Federation just like in the anime. As a nation born in the Jura Forest, this civ gets tons of bonuses from forest and jungle tiles. They can also build on woodland without removing yields. Rimuru’s Great Sage ability proves helpful when choosing government policies. On top of giving you an extra wildcard slot, it also turns military slots into wildcard and diplomatic slots into economic.
5. Azur Lane’s Sakura Empire Leaders
Check Out This Mod Why get a single anime leader when you can get four? We’ve already seen civs like Greece, England, and France led by different leaders in the vanilla game. Azur Lane’s Sakura Empire joins the list with a squad of ship-girl leaders. Ayanami, Yukikaze, Yuudachi, and Shigure all have distinct leader abilities and fully voiced dialogue. As expected of an Azur Lane nation, the Sakura Empire gets bonuses for naval operations. There’s also a unique governor (Akashi) to help with logistics and special units like the adorable Universal Bulin. And if you like Azur Lane, make sure to check out the Eagle Union civ as well.
4. Hololive EN’s First-Generation Leaders
Check Out This Mod Hololive and v-tubers in general have become a global phenomenon with devoted fans worldwide. With Facebook’s Metaverse looming ominously on the horizon, it might not be long before we see the fate of the world being discussed at UN meetings with animated anime girl avatars. Might as well get used to it in Civ 6 with Hololive’s first generation of virtual world leaders. Ame, Gura, Ina, Kiara, and Mori lead their own civilizations with powerful abilities based on their backstories. For example, Ina’nis leads the faith-based Old Gods, and Gura is the immortal empress of Atlantis.
3. Fischl, Barbara & Noelle Lead Mondstadt (Genshin Impact)
Check Out This Mod As long as they’re backed by the Knights of Favonius and the Church of Barbatos, anyone could lead Mondstadt – even Fischl, Barbara, and Noelle. As the City of Winds and Idylls, Mondstadt is famous for its immense natural beauty. As such, tiles in the empire receive appeal bonuses from adjacent mountains and rivers. Their farms and plantations also trigger culture bombs and provide extra culture per turn. In addition, you’ll be able to create Outrider Knights – a faster Skirmisher-level unit – to explore the lands around you faster. Or if you’re more of a Liyue person yourself, check out Keqing and Ningguang too.
2. Mikoto & Misaki Lead Academy City
Check Out This Mod It has been a while since A Certain Scientific Railgun was at its peak popularity. But the series remains one of the most beloved in recent memory. What made me give this mod the second spot on the ranking was how balanced the Civ and Leader abilities are. You could use these in a regular game and it wouldn’t be unfair – unlike some previous entries. The Lv.5 Judgement Scout is the perfect exploration boost at the start of a game, and the Institute unique district helps you focus on science above all else – as expected of Academy City. Mikoto has a military focus with the Misaka Sisters unit, while Misaki gets bonuses to diplomatic play thanks to reading minds.
1. Artoria Pendragon Leads Britain
Check Out This Mod It doesn’t get more bad-ass than the mythical King Arthur – who led Britain and defended it from its enemies with a magical sword and an army of valiant knights. This legendary ruler was already in Civ 6 since the Heroes & Legends mode came out, but this mod by Kcucumber makes them a playable leader – with one main difference. In the Fate game and anime franchise, King Arthur is a woman – Artoria Pendragon, also known as Saber. That’s about the only difference though. In Civ 6, Artoria has the full support of her Round Table unit. And her Excalibur ability lets her melee and cavalry units ignore city walls. Talk about a force to be reckoned with!
