So that’s how we arrive at our crossroad: horns and cute girls. There’s a running trend on what a horned character is – they’re normally supernatural, quite often powerful, and also quite often NSFW. Varies on the anime but you know the drill. Devil girls, dragon girls and alien girls alike… I’ll be ranking the best anime girls with horns from across every fandom you can imagine. And hopefully there’s a few new ones here for you too!
15. Aria
Anime: Aria the Scarlet Bullet
Apologies: I know that those aren’t real horns – they’re horn shaped hairclips.
But honestly she barely ever takes them off so who’s counting? (#15 that’s who’s counting)
The daughter of a Japanese mother and a British father descended from the Sherlock Holmes, Aria follows in the footsteps of her ancestors as a Butei – an international qualification for armed police.
To top it all off, she’s also a member of the British peerage with the title of Dame and holdings of her ancestor’s land in Baskerville estate.
Her cute figure is the result of stunted growth due to a bullet with mystical properties that elongates a person’s life, which is lodged in her back.
Her short stature and great detective skills has earned her the nickname “Defective Holmes”.
14. Il(Iru)
Anime: Shogo Chara Il is a fairy-god mother sort of figure. One of many Guardian Characters (Shugo Chara) from which the series drives its name. A tiny chibi demon figure, Il (who’s name comes from the English “devil”) loves chaos and conflict. She hates peaceful situations, saying that she’ll become bored soon enough. Alongside El (from angel), Il is one of two Guardians for Utau whichi s a high school idol and rival to the show’s main character, Amu. Her horns are just one of many brilliant designs.
13. Lilith
Anime: Everyday With a Monster Girl (Monster Musume) Lilith is a minor character from Monster Musume, an anime where monsters of all sorts lodge at the house of Kimihito Kurusu. Lilith is a lesser demon who shows up a couple of times. Lesser because her species does not fully mature, and instead looks like a child throughout their whole lives. Sadistic, masochistic, and cunning, Lilith knows how to use this to her advantage. She pretends to be a cute child to get what she wants – only to then backstab when most convenient. Great to share a beer with but watch out for the puppy dog eyes!
12. Aries
Anime: Fairy Tale Aries is a shy, reserved, and well-mannered Celestial Spirit who is companion to Lucy Heartfilia. Before becoming one of Lucy’s spirits, Aries was owned by the black hearted Karen Lilicia who would beat her and use her as a shield. Though nice both in spirit and demeanor, she is nonetheless a deadly and proficient fighter with the ability to conjure up massive amounts of pink wool as a weapon. Those horns are just a nice added touch.
11. Valac Clara
Anime: Welcome to Demon School Iruma-Kun! Valac Clara is an incredibly energetic demon girl at Barbirus High. Though friendly and outgoing, most students find Clara too quirky and her energy too much to keep up with. The nicer students avoid her, and the meaner students use her by pretending to be her friends to use her magical pockets. In a classic anime style, those magical pockets give unlimited snacks and drinks. Very anime if you ask me. Childish, imaginative, and completely naïve to a fault. She has an official erotic ranking (something they apparently do at the school) of 2%. A newborn baby has a ranking of 3% so make of that what you will.
10. Nora
Anime: The World Only God Knows The World Only God Knows is set in a timeline in which Hell has been remade. Old Hell, which thrived on chaos, was destroyed. And in its place spawned New Hell, an orderly society. As with any political change, there will always be stragglers who pine for the old system. Nora’s job is to track down these stragglers, often part of an organization called Vintage, and seal them back in hell. Sounds fun! Arrogant, crafty, brutal and intelligent best describes her. Not to mention Nora’s tactics for finding spirits have included torture, hypnotization, and even infiltrating into the higher ranks of Vintage to break it from within.
9. Bokuden Tsukahara
Anime: Sengoku Collection Sengoku Collection is certainly the height of weeb anime. It is based on the Sengoku Jidai, a bloody hundred year period of endless civil war where shogunates and clans fought for power over the emperor in Tokyo. Sengoku Collection turns all the generals into anime girls and sends them to the modern era. In this weird anachronistic weeb dystopia we find Bokuden Tsukahara. She is based after the famous swordsman who fought fiercely for the Kashima clan, a house of the Japanese Royal Throne. And yes you are seeing her right: she’s a small purple haired girl with small white horns coming out of her head. She’s still an astounding swordsman and definitely a force to be reckoned with…but if Sengoku Collection shows anything, it’s that nothing in the wold is really sacred. Still gonna watch it though.
8. Lucy(Kaeda)/Nyu
Anime: Elfen Lied Lucy is a diclonius, an evolution of the human race that has horns protruding out of their head. This also comes with psychokinetic abilities and invisible arms capable of massive destruction. Orphaned as a child, Lucy was bullied and traumatized growing up. When angered, young Lucy would lose control of her vectors leading multiple massacres in her wake. Unable to understand humanity’s fear and without ever having felt love, she become a recluse and a casual killer. That is, until she lost her memory and became Nyu, a sweet girl who wants nothing more than a peaceful life. She has quite a character history.
7. Q
Anime: [C] (The Money of Soul and Possibility Control) [C] is set in a reality where finances are literally fought over in an alternative realities known as Financial Districts. Those lucky (or unlucky) enough to be privy to this world are called ‘Entres’ (for Entrepreneur) and are given ‘assets’, special humanoid creatures that personify the entrepreneur’s future. Q is the asset of Sōichirō Mikuni, a calm veteran Entre who has three assets. Now Q is a young girl figure with long horns, and she seems out of place compared to Mikuni’s much stronger other assets. But there’s more than meets the eye – Q is sentient unlike other assets and chooses to fight for Mikuni.
6. Mina Ashido
Anime: My Hero Academia Mina Ashido is an outgoing and tomboyish hero in training. Although looking very much like a stereotypical alien, her physicality is the result of her Quirk. Aside from her horns, this quirk also gave her pink skin and yellow-on-black eyes. She has the ability to expel acid from her body which she can use as a weapon, a shield, and even as transport if she ejects it from her feet. However, when off-duty she’s like any other high school girl. She swoons over romance, can’t study for her life, and is a great dancer. Cheerful and easy-going, Mina is the life of the party. With horns.
5. Scanty
Anime: Pantyhose and Stocking with Garterbelt Scanty is one of the two demon sisters, dual-antagonists of the American looking anime Pantyhose and Stocking with Garterbelt. Along with her younger sister Kneesocks, the demon sisters are ironically infatuated with rules in contrast to their archnemeses, the fallen angels Panty and Stockings who revel in freedom to the point of anarchy. Foil to the extroverted Panty, Scanty is designed similarly with long flowing hair, a killer body, and a thirst for excitement. Along with Kneesocks, Scanty plots the downfall of the anarchy sisters and plans for an eventual subjugation of mankind under their strict authoritarian regime. Fun! If only she could stay that way.
4. Zero Two
Anime: Darling in the Franxx In a future where humanity has developed immortality, adults have become celibate, lazy, anti-social, and corrupted. Children, now called Parasites(how pleasant) are created synthetically for the sole purpose of operating giant mecha called FRANXX as boy-girl pairs against the Klaxosaur. Born of hybrid human and Klaxosaur blood, Zero Two has naturally pink horns and red rims around her eyes. Along with a pretty nice outfit that actually matches the horns! Bullied from a young age, she grew up to be sadistic but a professional and invaluable asset for Earth’s protection.
3. Kanna
Anime: Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Kanna Kamui is the youngest of the dragons who live with Kobayashi. Originally fearful towards humans, Kanna quickly warmed up to living with Kobayashi and even requested to be enrolled in school. Her daily escapades with her friends Saitama and Chloe (in the manga) have even developed into a spin-off manga series Kanna’s Daily Life.
2. Lum Invader
Anime: Urusei Yatsura Lum is the leading lady from Urusei Yatsura. Her race of horned aliens came to take over Earth. But in the spirit of sportsmanship, allowed a random earthling to battle them for control…in a game of tag. If Lum’s horns can be grabbed within 10 days, the aliens will let Earth live. What a game. The unlucky person chosen was Ataru Morobushi, a comically perverted 17-year-old. Ataru succeeds by using a contraption to grab Lum’s bra. And in an attempt to protect her modesty she covers her chest only to have Ataru grab her horns. “I’m getting married!” he cries for his girlfriend, Shinobu had promised to if he saved the Earth. “Well if you insist” replies the beautiful alien invader. And so begins one of the greatest slapstick anime of the 1980s.
1. Satania
Anime: Gabriel Dropout Satania is best girl and no one is taking that throne from her. No, no question. I don’t care if the others were objectively better characters. And this may be personal bias here but if you’ve ever seen Gabriel Dropout I think you’d understand. Coming in at #1 has to be the lovely demon Satania. Best. Girl.
