Naruto Character Guide - Female characters

Darkshaunz fancies himself some Kunoichis.

Let’s try and ignore the ugliness of Fillers for a moment. Try and zone yourself out to a time when Naruto actually followed the mangaka’s storyline, a time where the characters all had their normal state of powers and were what they were always meant to be, Kick ass ninjas. The zoning’s not complete though, now envision some of the more awesome female characters in the world of Naruto. Now, your brain is probrably hooked on Sakura, the pink-haired tsundere we were all meant to like. But I say this, get the pink-haired beauty out of your mind’s eye for a second; as I take you on a journey to appreciate the goddesses on the Naru-verse which stand out both in terms of beauty and general kick-assery!

We’ll start at the lower levels and work our way up. Naruto’s been out for a long time, and even non-serious Naruto fans have a pretty good grasp on the Naru-verse ranking system. Though the lowest would be Academy Student, there isn’t much focus on any such character aside from Konohamaru, the now deceased Third’s eccentric and energetic grandson. So let’s start at Genin level. Remember, we are taking this from those featured in the anime so far. At Genin level, you will probrably think “Sakura”, unfortunately for this pink thunder, she’s no good at all in the anime…she does next to nothing execpt whinging for Sasuke-kun all the time, which gets nigh irritating and also always getting captured/put in dangerous positions where the two chaps in Team 7 or Kakashi-sensei has to bail her out.

Cheer Up, Emo Kunoichi.

The first girl on the Genin ownage list is Hyuuga Hinata. WOAH! WOAH! You say, exclaiming loudly in your mind, surely you don’t quiet softie and Naruto-swooning Hinata? Yes, I mean her. To me, Hinata is a very well-crafted character by Kishimoto, she’s also far from useless, in fact the whole Naruto-kun crush is the perfect viel to mask to what is a very strong, very gentle and regal girl. She’s from the Hyuuga clan, an Elite clan surpassing even the Uchihas. It’s common knowledge that the Sharingan is actually a lesser derivative of the Byakugan (or True Sight). Being the Main Family heiress, this Princess is anything but a spoiled brat, but works hard to protect the ones she cares for, follows Naruto’s ninja code of never giving up and also has a very cool “moe” factor about her.

Hyuuga Hinata - Genin Class Kunoichi (Chuunin in Manga)
Techniques at Hinata-sama’s disposal:

Byakugan - Makes Superman’s X-Ray vision seem childish.
Juken (Gentle Fist) - So I heard you have Chakra Pores, Not anymore lol!
Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho (8 Trigrams Defence, 64 Palms) - 64 HIT COMBO!!! K-O! (No, seriously.)

Second girl on the Genin batting order would be Temari, the fourth child of the Sand Country’s Kazekage. On the offset, she is made out to be a crude and cruel lady, ready to bite off the heads of men. This tenacity and fierceness which eminates from this blonde beauty just makes her all the more appealing. Unfortunately for her opponents, her beauty is just going to be a distraction from the horrific salvo of wind-cutting jutsus she is likely to unleash on them. Wielding her trademark giant fan, this girl is as deadly as she beautiful. Her demonstration of power in the Chuunin exams, Sasuke-Chase and later the Gaara-Rescue arc in the manga are all proud achievements of skill, determination, compassion and tacticus on Temari’s part. Temari truly represents the element of the “Wind”, in which the Sand Country’s leader is called “Kazekage” (Wind Shadow).

Temari - Genin Class Kunoichi (Chuunin in Manga)
Techniques at Temari-san’s disposal:

Tessenjutsu Specialist - Only Naruto character to specialize in the Japanese War Fan.
Fusajin no Jutsu - Dust Wind Technique, Housewives will absolutely hate this one .
Daikamaitachi no Jutsu - Basically, Cutting anything with the power of Wind. Wind is Serious Business.
Summoning Technique: Kirikiri - Our beauty calls forth a crazy wind-cutting demon. Charming.

The Third Genin which just needs to be mentioned would be Tenten from “Team Gai”. She’s just such a well-rounded Kunoichi, she’s got big dreams (She’s aiming to become like Tsunade), and she works hard as she constantly spars intensively with Neji in her daily training. Tenten has a soft, outer demeanour about her and yet she’s a Tigress on the Battlefield. She’s got a cool unique technique too, she utilizes Ninja-Scrolls to summon up a variety of deadly weapons during active combat phases, this includes Spears, Swords, Plasma Cannons and Kunais…the whole shebang. She’s the only Ninja in the whole of Konoha to specialize specifically in weapons, and plus her name is spelled with two “Sky” characters in the Chinese language, meaning “Double Heaven”. Heavenly? Why, yes. Deadly? Almost Certainly.

Tenten - Genin Class Kunoichi (Chuunin in Manga)
Techniques at Tenten-san’s disposal:

Weapons Specialist - Only character in Naruto to specialize specifically in Ninja Weapons.
Summoning Technique: Weapons - She should just pull out an MG42 or a Stinger.
Soshoryu - Means Double Dragon. Two Dragons are sure to kick ass.

So we’ve covered the Genin gals which really impress, with some outstanding performances under their belts. The next rank ups the ante a little bit. Chuunins are the backbone of any Hidden Village’s military. Chuunins are expected to display leadership, combat and tactical abilities which far surpass that of Genins. Technically, Hinata and Temari are Chuunins according to the manga timeskip, but just keep that in mind! We hit a little wall then, don’t we? There are no many female characters that we know well that reach the Chuunin level at this point in the anime. So we’ll have to leave the Chuunin maidens out, purely because Kishimoto didn’t create any (why, oh why!?).

Shikamaru’s a good example of a Hidden Leaf Chuunin, combining brilliant tactical prowess and finely-tuned combat techniques. This guy’s awesome in his own right too, but too bad the focus on this article isn’t on him or the other guys. Gomenasai Shikamaru-san!

Chuunins must be pretty tough am I right? Well, the next level of Ninja up the stakes further. Jounins are any Ninja village’s pride and joy. They represent a small echelon of Shinobi which surpass the expectations of a Chuunin, and are usually amongst the first candidates to be chosen as a Hidden Village’s leader, or “Kage”. There are a few maidens in the Naru-verse which have accomplished this coveted Ninja rank. Proving themselves to be gifted, brilliant and extremely tenacious ladies…these Goddesses will stop at nothing to completely obliterate you if you so happen to threaten all that is important to them in their beloved Hidden Villages. We’ve got ourselves a fine catch here; with the likes of Mitarashi Anko, Yuhi Kurenai and Shizune.

First on the Jounin honour roll is Mitarashi Anko, the sexiest Kunoichi in all of Hidden Leaf. I often refer to her as “Fishnet Lady”, because I swear she wears nothing but a Fishnet Bodysuit and a Trenchcoat…dead sexy, and always, I mean always, leaves me wanting so much more. But what makes this Fishnet Stocking seductress worthy of the Jounin title? Well, for starters she is the apprentice of Orochimaru, I think we all know just how insane/powerful/overpowered Orochimaru is etc. So being his apprentice, Anko has learnt a few Forbidden Jutsus, which makes her all the more juicy and mysterious. Her added sex appeal also comes from the fact that, like her sensei, most of her jutsus are snake-based. So let’s see, Serpent-Fishnet-Seductress-Lady, yeap she’s a sure-fire hit with the Naru-verse fans. Oh, and she also has a Heaven Cursed Mark seal on her too, given by good ol’ Orochimaru. Anko’s got a massive fanbase, and its obvious why, this lady is not to messed around with.

Mitarashi Anko - Jounin Class Kunoichi / Chuunin Exam Overseer
Techniques at Anko-sensei’s disposal:

Sen’eijashu - Snakes comes out from her sleeves, mega-sweet.
Sojasosai no Jutsu - Sacrificial Jutsu to do massive damage.
Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu - Basically, Fire Dragon Technique. So think lvl 99 Fireball.
Summoning Technique: Snakes - Motherfucking Snakes on the Plane.

Then we have Yuhi Kurenai, the team leader of Team Genin 8 (Kiba, Shino and Hinata). Kurenai-sensei is a very maternal character in Naruto, she has a very nurturing relationship with all three of ther students. However, she tends to be more concerned about Hinata, as she knows of Hinata’s somewhat dysfunctional family. She’s quite an easy character to like and relate with, as she’s a pretty down to earth lady. That’s all well and good, but she didn’t get to Jounin level for being an upstanding citizen, oh no, she’s completely badass with her Genjutsu (Illusionary Jutsus). Aside from Kakashi, she was the only one to directly attempt to attack Itachi using her trademark Tree-Binding Genjutsu. Kurenai-sensei can be seen usually wearing her trademark “Italian Tablecloth” getup, sporting what looks like Sharingan-Red Eyes minus the swirly things.

Yuhi Kurenai - Jounin Class Kunoichi / Team 8 Leader
Techniques at Kurenai-sensei’s disposal:

Genjutsu Expert - Illusionary Jutsus Ahoy. She’ll blow your mind. Literally.
Magen: Jubaku Satsu - Basically, she inserts you into this tree and stabs you in your face, IN YOUR MIND.

Saving the Best for Last, we have Shizune. I’ll note here that she is above the rank of Jounin, Tsunade has appointed her rank to be Special Jounin and she also has command over a squad of skilled Jounins called “Team Shizune” (Consisting of Genma, Raido and Iwashi). Shizune is a calm, collected and talented Ninja in her own right. But that’s that, she was also an apprentice to Tsunade; who taught Shizune medical Jutsus, which transformed Shizune from just a Jounin to an indispensable presence in the ongoing Ninja War. She is the reason that many Konoha ninjas are still able to function even after receiving serious injury. Besides being totally awesome, she also has a very unique Jounin uniform, the long-sleeved version. She’s got five unique main jutsus up her sleeve, plenty of combat experience, the ability to heal herself and she also carries around a pig called Tonton. Seriously, when it comes to combat maiden kickassery, please look no further than Shizune-sama.

Shizune - Special Jounin Kunoichi (Combat Medic) / Team Shizune Leader / Tsunade’s Right Hand
Techniques at Shizune-sama’s disposal:

Shikomishindan - Needle Cannon, pew pew.
Shosen Jutsu - Mystical Palm Jutsu.
Chikatsu Saisei no Jutsu - Think Phoenix Down, but unlimited via Chakra. Awesome.
Fukumikuchi Hari - Needle Cannon again, but from her Mouth. Delicious.
Doku-Giri - She blows out Poison Gas Jutsu from her Mouth. Aromatic.
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu - Wins because we get to see many more Shizunes!

As you may be Anticipating, the Highest rank in all of the Ninja village is the “Shadow” or “Kage”. In Hidden Leaf village, it’s called the Hokage (with the element of Fire). There are Five recognized Kages in the Naru-verse in total, They are the: Hokage (Leaf), Kazekage (Sand), Mizukage (Mist), Raikage (Cloud) and Tsuchikage (Rock). We’ve so far seen three Kages in the anime; Hokage, Kazekage and Hoshikage. Though “Hoshikage” was a self-proclaimed title by the Hidden Star village ninja, and was not recognized by the other five villages (Plus it was Filler crap anyway). The current Hokage is the first of her kind, first being the fact that she’s the first female Kage of any Ninja village…If that isn’t serious business, then I dont know what is.

The Lady which currently holds this such position, and she has a very fine lineage indeed. Firstly, Tsunade by bloodline is the grand-daughter to the First Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, and she is also the Grand-Niece of the Second Hokage, being a direct descendant from two of the greatest Shinobi since the Great Ninja Wars, Tsunade can utilize a high volume of chakra with gentle and precise control: And so this gives her natural Superhuman Strength. If that weren’t enough, there’s also the fact that she is one of the Sannin (Along with Jiraiya and Orochimaru), who were all under the tutelage of the Third Hokage. Tsunade’s skill, strength, compassion and strong sense of leadership for her fellow Hidden Leaf-ers has propelled her to Legendary status within the Shinobi World. This is one Kunoichi that all can salute to.

Tsunade - The 5th Hokage / Densetsu no Sannin (Legendary Sannin)
Techniques at Hokage-sama’s disposal:

Superhuman Strength - A Passive skill now thanks to her Insane Chakra control.
Shosen Jutsu - Mystical Palm, passed on to Shizune.
Tsutenkyaku - Heavenly Kick. But I guarantee that it’s Hellishly Painful.
Sozo Saisei - Rebirth, basically (but only on critically wounded)
Ranshinsho - Distortion of Important Points. It’s like all your Vital Organs go on a Strike.