The reason for that title and not “Femme Fatales of Anime” or "Anime Femme Fatales” is because I’m not actually limiting this to Animation, it can include Manga, Doujinshi, Visual Novels and other “Anime Style” Games. I’m writing this intro before I’ve fully finalized the list so don’t take that as a guarantee all of those will be represented.
I’m not including Fujiko Mine because she’s so synonymous with the concept of Femme Fatales in Anime that her inclusion would be a distraction. I'd unavoidably get comments either complaining that anyone but her is number 1, or that making her number 1 was a lazy spineless choice. Plus I have nothing to say about her that hasn’t already been said. I’d rather use this list to draw attention to more Niche characters.
My standards for what makes a Femme Fatale can be at the same time more rigid and more fluid than others. First of all the meaning I mean here is a literary synonym for a Seductress/Temptress, not women who kill. Noir is my favorite Anime but I don’t consider anyone in it a Femme Fatale.
I also disagree with TVTropes separation of the Femme Fatale from The Vamp (and on the topic of Anime specifically a good chunk of who they call Fille Fatales rather than Femme Fatales) they are the same in my view. Also unlike TVTropes I’m not acknowledging any “rare male example”, I do think it’s theoretically possible but on TVTropes it’s more often just a male character being a Player in a typically male way. I have already talked about Kaito Ace from the Sailor V Manga but I only considered calling him one in a specific context. An Otokonoko might make the list, but I doubt it, most Otokonoko characters I’m familiar with are pretty Wholesome.
But there are still a variety of kinds of characters who fit my definition of a Femme Fatale. Fujiko is the Catwoman type, but there’s also the Poison Ivy type, the 40s Film Noir type, the classical Biblical Epic type, the literal Succubus type. You can also be a Heroic Femme Fatale in my view, many certainly are morally ambiguous and sympathetic, me giving this Label to a character isn’t innately a moral condemnation. And maybe even some types I would perhaps deem truly unique to Otaku/Shoujo media with no good analogues in Normie media.
For example an Anime Femme Fatale could theoretically not be offering anything Sexual or Romantic at all. Moe is in part about understanding that men don’t necessarily need to expect anything from a Pretty Girl to be convinced to do what she wants. Most Anime Girls use this power for Good rather than Evil though, so I can’t guarantee anyone like that will be on the list.
And that’s enough talking about who’s not on the list. Let’s get started.
I’m going to put an Asterix on my inclusion of Gigi Andelucia from Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway since in Anime form that story is still incomplete. People have read the Novels even in English and thus have an idea of how off the mark or spot on I am about this, but I haven’t. For now though this film gives me mild 40s Film Noir vibes, not aesthetically but in how it’s written. And so Gigi’s unique place on this list would be as the Anime character most like a Classic 40s Film Noir Femme Fatale. Again not every character designated the Femme Fatale of a given Film Noir is an entirely bad person.
Nana Hiragi from Talentless Nana. Really just the first episode where she is a good example about it not being necessary to be Sexual or Romantic at all.
Akane Minegawa from Scum’s Wish. She’s a character who likes Reverse NTRing people just because she can, she's quite fun.
Riko Mine Arsene Lupin IV from Aria of the Scarlet Ammo and its spin off Aria of The Scarlet Ammo AA. She’s my favorite character from these shows and a large part of why I watched them to begin with, voiced excellently by Luci Christian. I believe I've talked about this character on this blog before in other contexts. In the spin off she has a younger protege, I’m not giving her her own entry though.
Mami Nanami from Rent-A-Girlfriend. I suppose I have as little to say that hasn’t been said already for her as I do for Fujiko. But as an unironic Rent-A-Girlfriend enjoyer I wanted to express my solidarity.
Kaede Sakura from Kampfer. Some might consider it a spoiler for me to list her here, but I don’t care. She’s great, once she shows her true colors she is very seductive.
Maya Kamiwazumi from Fault!! Service: Aratanaru Rival. She's the best example I can think of right now of being both a Kuudere and a Femme Fatale. She also fits into the trope of a spurned Lesbian going after the boyfriend of the girl who spurned her, which is a problematic trope but can be done well in my opinion. I'm optimistic that in the source material for this you can get a true Threesome resolution to this triangle, but I can't know for certain since the game probably isn't available in English.
Sempai from Your Fault a Yuri NTR Doujin by Kazushiro also known as 115990. She’s a great example of the kind of Femme Fatale that is most commonly found in Yuri. A compelling combination of traditionally Masculine Assertiveness and Feminine Allure.
Kaori Nanahoshi from another Doujin with a longer more inconsistently translated name, 516668. Unlike most Reverse NTR doujins this one truly is a gender reversal of what usually happens in a regular NTR in that the villainess Rapes her male target. Now you may think “if it’s Noncon where does the Seductress stuff come in”, well what’s really devious is she uses those Seduction techniques after she’s already Violated him in order to emotionally confuse and manipulate him.
Flay Allster from Mobile Suit Gundam Seed has quickly become my number one. This character has an Arc and really isn’t a Femme Fatale yet during the first 10 episodes She’s a Femme Fatale in a distinctly Shoujo feeling way as a result of a Woman being the lead writer of Gundam Seed giving it a number of Shoujo qualities. It’s one thing to watch a woman pretend to love a man she’s indifferent to. But what’s really Toxic and unnerving here is that Flay actually Hates Kira when she starts emotionally seducing him. One could also make a whole Video Essay about how the Electra Complex is in play.
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