Top 5 Anime Girls Who Kick Butt

So Angelina Jolie is the next summer action movie star in Salt. (Tread lightly, Brad.)

Here is our list of

Top 5 Anime Girls Who Kick Butt

#5 - Balsa (Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit)

Good thing spear-woman Balsa has sworn to save lives. Unfortunately, that whiny prince Chagum filled her last spot for "life saver." Talk about late to the party!

#4 - Sango (InuYasha)

Don't let this demon slayer's pretty teenage looks throw you for a loop. She can decapitate you with her ginormous boomerang "Hiraikotsu." If you hear that name called out, duck. And that weapon is not Sango's only big accessory. Her cute cuddly Kirara is actually a stallion-sized demon cat.

Awwwww . . . .

Ahhhghghgh!!!

#3 - Nancy Makuhari (Read or Die)

"Miss Deep" here is not only a super-powered spy with master handgun and hand-to-hand combat skills; she's also a clone of Mata Hari, vicious enough to choke herself to death. Stay away.

#2 - Marlene Angel (Blue Gender)

Marlene is an orphaned soldier bent on killing giant mutant bugs, so she doesn't have much time for niceties. That's okay, we'll stand back and let her do the dirty work. (It worked for her boy toy Yuji)

#1 - Major Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell)

She may be the sexiest major we've ever seen, but this cyborg can also break our necks with a pair of chopsticks. Lucky for us we love her for her brain.

That's right, ladies. We're the sensitive type. (Just don't hurt us. Much.)

Top 5 Anime Eyeglasses

To counter the sudden surge in coolness by last time's topic--sunglasses--let's crank the dial to the opposite side and examine characters with

Top 5 Anime Eyeglasses

These aren't the top 5 anime characters who wear glasses (sorry, Yomiko Readman).

No, these are characters whose eyeglasses play a pivotal role in the story, or at least make you pull off your own glasses, chew on the end, and go, "Hmmmm . . ."

#5 - Lady Une (Gundam Wing)

With glasses, Lady Une is a treacherous, murderous witch. Without her glasses, she becomes a lovelorn peacemaker. If you're sniffing out a split personality disorder, you may be the next candidate for piloting Gundam Wing Zero--or filling in for Dr. Oz.

#4 - Gendo Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

These tinted eyeglasses worn by Nerv's commander are the perfect shade with which to gaze down at your son with perpetual disapproval.

#3 - Eri Ninamori (FLCL)

Ninamori is the mayor's daughter, class president, and lead role in the school play. But her uppity actions are mostly a mask of her frustrated life, something main character Naota finds out when she stays at his house. Her eyeglasses are just one secret she keeps.

#2 - Yukino Miyazawa (His and Her Circumstances)

Out in public, Yukino is a perfect student without blemish. Inside her house, though Yukino is an eyeglasses wearing slob with self-esteem issues. Rival classmate Arima Soichiro finds out Yukino's private identity, and the hi-jinks ensue.

His and Her Circumstances takes the Eri Ninamori-studied episode of FLCL and gives it a full series treatment--with teenage melodrama.

#1 - Robin Sena (Witch Hunter Robin)

Robin is a pyrokinetic hunter of evil witches--not bad work if you can get it. Unfortunately, Robin's powers interfere with her eyesight. Before she can burn her teammates to a crisp, Robin goes to the eye doctor and returns wearing Dumbledore half-moon spectacles. Those granny glasses go perfect with her Pippy Longstocking pigtails.