Let’s be clear, glasses are very cool. Characters who wear glasses are therefore cool.
It’s a solid argument and there’s absolutely no self-serving purpose behind that statement.

In seriousness though, here is a list of my favourite female anime characters who wear glasses (updated as of November 2021).
Top 5 Female Characters Who Wear Glasses
Honourable mentions to Chizuru Honshu (Bleach), Margery Daw (Shakugan no Shana) and Ririchiyo Shirakin (Inu X Boku).
Number 5: Okuda from Assassination Classroom

I love Okuda. While she is only a minor character in Assassination Classroom she is definitely an entertaining one and her unique approach to trying to assassinate her teacher by asking him to drink poison is pretty entertaining. Plus, if Okuda ever does get together with Karma those two would be lethal.
And look how this glasses wearing character managed to keep her glasses on in the face of an explosion. Well done.
Number 4: Kirihara Misaki from Darker than Black
Misaki is probably one of my favourite female characters with her down to earth nature, love of junk food, and general desire to actually find the truth and protect people rather than accept hearsay and rumours. She’s also good at her job and just a nice person while still being cool, calm and logical.
Her glasses are very much a part of who she is and when she takes them off (during a party) we really see just how disconnected she becomes (mostly because she can’t see). All and all, Misaki is definitely a character who wears her glasses with style in Darker Than Black.
Number 3: Mizuki Shibata from The Irregular at Magic High School
While her glasses serve a practical purpose, you have to admit Mizuki looks pretty adorable with her glasses on. While she’s not as talented as many of her friends (then again, who is) Mizuki certainly pulls her weight in the series. I’d have loved for her character to have had more screen time, but from a cast of mostly generic characters, Mizuki managed to stand her ground. She may not be as direct and forthright as some of the others on the list but she’s hanging in there throughout every conflict in the series.
Number 2: Mirai Kuriyama from Beyond the Boundary
The main character of this anime has a glasses fetish so who better to try and kill him than a bespectacled beauty. Okay, it might have worked better if she wasn’t terrified of her own power and hadn’t actually fallen in love with him, but you have to admit, she does look great in glasses. This show talks a lot about her glasses and she spends a lot of time cleaning them (which makes you wonder whether she actually needs them at all given how often she takes them off).
Mirai is a great character in Beyond the Boundary. She’s amusing and sulky and traumatized by her past, but she’s also really just wanting to reconnect and find her place in the world. While the plot may not have resolved beautifully, Mirai’s character is fantastic and she completely deserves the number 1 spot on this list but I just couldn’t put her ahead of the next character.
Number 1: Nagato Yuki from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
When I started this list there was almost no doubt that Nagato would end up as number 1. Even though her glasses wearing days are limited to a few episodes before she forgets to recreate them after a fight and Kyon tells her she looks good without them, Nagato Yuki is the definitive glasses wearing female.
So, who would you include on your list?
Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
Join the discussion in the comments.
Karandi James
You had me at Kirihara Misaki. 🙂
Great list!
Glad you liked it.
Mirai Kuriyama is to die for. Something about red glasses and pink/red hair absolutely does it for me.
I’m happy to see Sheele here. She was my favorite in Akame ga Kill right until she got offed. Good list.
Sheele was about the only character I connected with. Her death was a real loss (and fairly early).
Yay, Nagato Yuki! I’m glad she grabbed the top spot 😀
She totally had to.
Kuriyama mirai…
She’s one of my favorite. She’s cute and deadly at the same time.
She was a great character and the glasses are a must for her character.
Hanji attack on Titan. She is awesome
You sure the chick at number 3 isn’t popular for another reason? Wink wink… Nudge nudge
Maybe that’s the appeal for some viewers but I’m standing by my reasoning that she looks adorable in glasses.
Lol. I’m just saying. :3
Have you watched the Disappearance of Nagato Yuki? I thought it was better than Melancholy.
I couldn’t really get into the Disappearance of Nagato Yuki. It was like the same characters only less happening around them and I just kind of felt that I was happy with Melancholy so moved on.
Fair enough. I was surprised I liked it more without the supernatural stuff. I thought Haruhi was more likeable and I liked that the anime focused on Nagato.
Nagato is definitely a great character but I just needed a bit more going on.
^ Sinon was my favorite from that series, and only her. LOL
Also, I’ve been meaning to watch Beyond the Boundary for such a long long time! Definitely want to watch it after reading this blurb. 🙂
What a great idea for a post. Wonderful read as always 😀 As for the character I would include on my list, it would be Asada Shino, from the second season of Sword Art Online. I truly liked this character’s development from the shy girl with a dark past, to the strong woman at the end of the season. And ofcourse her alter ego in the game, Sinon, was even more awesome 😀
Nice choice.