The 25 Best Shy Anime Girls of All Time

Who are the best shy anime girls of all time?

If you’re an anime fan, then you know that shy anime girls make for some of the best Waifus. It’s just a fact!

There’s just something special about a timid and easily embarrassed character that you can’t help but fall in love with.

Although there are a lot of adorable, shy girls in anime, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to find only the best and cutest to ever be created. 

The Best Shy Anime Girls of All Time

Our ranked lists are created by researching and rounding up information from the most reputable web sources.

Here’s our list of the 25 best shy anime girls of all time:

25. Ikaros (Heaven’s Lost Property)

Ikaros is the main character of the series and she’s definitely beautiful.

An Angeloid who fell from the sky, it takes a while for her emotions to develop, but when she does she is very submissive and willing to go along with any of Tomoki’s schemes.

What’s more is, this shy girl loves petting round objects, and because of this, has a farm full of watermelons.

It might be weird, but there’s just something incredibly endearing watching this fallen angel pet melons.

24. Inori Yuzuriha (Guilty Crown)

One of the main characters of Guilty Crown, Inori, is a member of the resistance guerrilla group, Funeral Parlor.

A beautiful girl with light pink hair, she is incredibly slender and can look quite fragile compared to others around her.

Despite this, she is a skilled combatant and marksman, capable of taking down several soldiers by herself.

Although she first appears to be fairly emotionless and quiet, only speaking when necessary, she does gradually become more emotional, and usually shows her feelings through song as the lead singer of the internet band Egoist.

Inori is a shy girl of few words, but that only makes the times when she does open up all the more special.

23. Kotomi Ichinose (Clannad)

A childhood friend of Tomoya Okazaki, Kotomi is a genius and one of the best purple hair anime girls.

She’s a genius who is almost always seen in the library reading, and she especially enjoys foreign language books.

Although she is beautiful, she is very silent and relies on Tomoya to help with her social skills.

Tomoya’s friend Kyou also loves teasing Kotomi because of her large bust size, often hugging and groping her to get a cute reaction.

22. Eucliwood Hellscythe (Is This a Zombie?)

Often called Eu or Yuu for short, this cute girl is a necromancer of all things, and she is responsible for bringing Ayumu back to life and is currently living with him.

Another quiet girl, Eu, rarely ever speaks, choosing to communicate by writing on a notepad.

This is because her powers make it so that merely speaking can alter reality around her. However, this doesn’t stop Ayumu from daydreaming about her saying cutesy things.

Along with being silent, Eu also has incredibly low self-esteem, and fans can’t help but want to hug her and let her know just how special she really is.

21. Yuki Nagato (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)

Yuki is the third member of the SOS Brigade, and she’s an incredibly introverted bibliophile. This short, shy girl is absolutely precious and, with her limited social skills, you can help but fall for her.

Although she looks like a regular high school girl, she’s actually a humanoid interface, an alien data organism.

Because of this, she can manipulate the environment to her desires, such as reconstructing a destroyed classroom, creating a baseball bat that only hits home runs, and nullifying data links.

20. Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club)

Although not from an anime series, Yuri is one of the shy anime girls who many people have come to adore.

With long purple hair that would make even the best long hair girls jealous, Yuri is absolutely gorgeous.

She has an incredibly mature and sophisticated personality but can come across as shy and awkward due to her incredible self-doubt.

She tends to lose herself in books and fears that speaking out would make people, not like her.

Yuri is an incredibly well-written dandere character and, for those willing to play through the fourth-wall-breaking horror dating sim that is Doki Doki, she can be an amazing girl to invest your time in.

19. Juvia Lockser (Fairy Tail)

Juvia is a beautiful, blue-haired girl and former S-Class Mage. Like many other girls on this list, she also started off seemingly emotionless, only to grow over time.

Upon joining the Fairy Tail Guild, she became more outwardly happy and came to care deeply for those around her.

However, she is also incredibly shy, particularly about her body, and she is reluctant to shower with the other girls.

Of course, fans know she has nothing to feel shy about, though her shyness is incredibly sweet and cute.

18. Ryou Fujibayashi (Clannad)

The secondary main character and friend of Tomoya, Ryou, is the girl usually seen teasing Kotomi.

Although she looks similar to her twin sister Kyou, unlike her sister, she has short-cropped hair, as opposed to hip-length.

Her shy personality is another trait that sets her apart from her sister, and she usually won’t talk much unless her sister is around.

While she is good at chores, she isn’t the best cook and is way too timid to confess her feelings for Tomoya, something that leads to a lot of confusion and heartbreak later in the series.

17. Shiemi Moriyama (Ao No Exorcist)

With her blonde bob and bright green eyes, this Tamer in training is one of the dandere characters that you don’t want to overlook.

When she first appeared, she was incredibly shy and quiet due to having been shy and sick as a young girl, which left her unable to attend a school like other students her age.

Having never really left home before, she is also very naive, something that causes her to be fairly ignorant when it comes to adolescent experiences.

There is just something incredibly sweet about Shiemi, and many anime fans end up falling for her kind, but shy disposition.

16. Misaki Mei (Another)

Mei is the female protagonist and student of Yomiyama North Middle School. Labeled by her classmates as “the one that doesn’t exist”, she can usually be found sketching alone.

A solitary person, she’s very withdrawn and gloomy due to having lost someone close to her in the past.

Even so, she is kind and selfless when the need arises, and can be surprisingly childish at times.

This is something that is a welcome change from her usually demure facade, and it shows just how multifaceted she really is as one of the finest shy anime girls on this list.

15. Rei Ayanami (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

When first introduced, Rei was stoic, and little was known about her.

However, she really evolves throughout the series and becomes more involved and invested in the others around her.

The thing that makes her stand out the most is the well-written subtleties that make her seem so realistic.

While she is fairly withdrawn, there is still a spark of humanity that makes her relatable.

This is made even more compelling when you learn that her shy nature is born from low self-worth and the belief that she is expendable.

While she may not blush and stumble over words, this beautiful blue-haired anime girl is definitely easy to connect with once you get to know her.

14. Mashiro Shiina (The Pet Girl of Sakurasou)

This adorable character is the main protagonist and world-famous artist who enrolled at Suiko to learn more about drawing.

While she is an incredible artist, she lacks a lot of common sense and is often given to relying on others to take care of her.

Like many of the other anime characters on this list, she tends to be quiet, speaking in a soft voice only a few words at a time.

Mashiro is one of those girls that you can’t help but want to care for, and fans of the show definitely find themselves rooting for her in every episode.

13. Yoshino (Date A Live)

When it comes to adorable dandere characters, Yoshino definitely ticks all the boxes.

The second spirit shaved by Shido, she is never seen without her hand puppet, Yoshinon, who she uses to help her overcome her trouble speaking.

An incredibly kind, shy girl, she is the most passive spirit, and never fights back against the AST even as they try to kill her.

While she does learn to communicate more throughout the series, even being able to talk without her puppet, she never stops being cute, and her spirit form is simply the most adorable thing we’ve ever seen and one of the best shy anime girls.

12. Crona (Soul Eater)

Crona is a gender-neutral character, they have an incredibly low opinion of themselves.  Having been raised by Medusa Gorgon, they are wholly submissive and become nervous easily.

Sometimes they will even completely shut down due to being unable to deal with specifically stressful situations.

That said, Crona can be a dangerous enemy due to the unbalanced state of their mind caused by the abuse and torture they have experienced from both Ragnarok and Medusa.

Needless to say, it’s hard not to feel bad for Crona, and want to help them become less of a nervous wreck.

11. Asia Argento (High School DxD)

Asia is one of the main characters of the series and she possesses the ability to heal the wounds of Angels, Fallen Angels, Devils, and Humans alike.

A beautiful but timid girl, Asia is very innocent and inexperienced when it comes to socializing.

With her healing abilities, she refuses to turn away from the suffering of others, often trying to do whatever she can to help people.

People are often drawn to her purity, and she’s easily liked by everyone around her.

Watching her journey as she makes new friends and comes to show more courage is definitely worthwhile, and she’s easily one of the most likable characters in anime.

10. Tachibana Kanade (Angel Beats)

Known as Angel by the Afterlife Battle Front, Kanade is the Student Council President and ensures that all students are able to cope with their problems.

A beautiful pale girl with waist-length white hair, it can be difficult to understand her emotions due to her lack of expression. However, as the series progresses, she opens up more, especially to Otonashi.

Although she’s not traditionally timid, anime fans love seeing this quiet girl come out of her shell and learn to open up to the people around her.

9. Aries

Aries is a pink-haired dandere character whose timid nature makes her incredibly easy to fall for.

A Celestial Spirit and one of the 12 Golden Zodiac Keys, she’s very polite to everyone around her and apologizes so much you may mistake her for a Canadian.

Despite being easily frightened, she’s willing to fight for her owner and appreciates how kind Lucy is to her.

This willingness to protect those close to her definitely makes her one of the most memorable shy anime girls.

8. Chihiro Fujisaki (Danganronpa)

Chihiro is one of the most adorable characters in any anime series, and with their light brownish-copper hair they could easily fit in alongside even the most beautiful red-haired anime girls.

Appearing as a young high school student with a timid and shy personality, Chihiro has trouble making friends but is incredibly intelligent.

However, there is much more to this character than meets the eye, and due to being frequently bullied as a child, it is revealed that Chihiro began disguising himself as a girl to avoid the pressure of needing to be strong.

While this did work to stop the bullying, it didn’t stop his insecurities and, ultimately, he wants to be strong so that he can protect others around him.

7. Tomoko Kuroki (WataMote)

Tomoko is a typical dandere complete with shyness, social anxiety, and a crippling lack of social experience.

Regardless, she still wants to have best friends and a boyfriend and sees high school as a chance to start fresh.

While her plans don’t always work out the way she’d hoped, they do make for hilarious situations, especially when it involves her acting perverted in order to appear more mature and cool.

She’s as adorable as she is hilarious and watching her interactions with other characters only makes her that much cuter.

6. Sailor Mercury (Sailor Moon)

One of the five original Guardians of the Solar System, Ami Mizuno, is Sailor Mercury with powers based on water and ice.

In her civilian life, she’s shy and doesn’t make friends with other characters easily, often preferring to spend time alone studying and reading. This caused other girls to believe she is snobby and arrogant, despite the opposite actually being true.

While math and science are her strong suits and she loves studying them, she also has a secret love of pop culture and romance novels, which makes her one of the best shy anime girls, hands down.

5. Mizore Shirayuki (Rosario + Vampire)

Often seen with a lollipop in her mouth, Mizore is a Yuki-Onna who joins the Newspaper Club at Yokai Academy.

When introduced, she appeared to be a very depressed and lonely girl and after confessing to her love interest Okuto Kotsubo, he began to quickly take advantage of her, eventually leading to her freezing him.

This is one dandere girl who gradually transitions into a tsundere, as after falling for another boy, Tsukune Aono, she decides she loves him so much that she wants to have children with him, even if she needs to force him.

Despite her stalking tendencies, Mizore is definitely a character that is hard to forget, and she’s certainly left a lasting impact on fans in both the manga and anime.

4. Rikka Takanashi (Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions!)

The main protagonist of the series, Rikka, is a small girl who wears an eyepatch over her right eye in order to hide her “wicked eye”, which according to her, holds a dark power. (Though it really is just a colored contact lens.)

Rikka stands out from other girls for the way she lives in her delusions, which often change to reflect her feelings.

While she will occasionally “break character”, this really only happens when she becomes flustered or is hit in the head.

Despite trying to act like a smooth, mysterious sorceress, in reality, she is very clumsy and fails whenever she tries to join clubs or activities like cheerleading.

3. Sawako Kuronuma (Kimi ni Todoke)

A high school girl with long black hair who just wants friends, her resemblance to the girl from the Ring, Sadako Yamamura, complicates things a lot.

Because of her appearance, she was ostracized by her peers, which allowed her to become even more socially inept.

Although she appears shy and distant, often taking things too seriously, she is a sweet girl who just wants to be able to make connections with other people.

Selfless and hardworking, she does eventually find friends thanks to Shouta, Chizuru, and Ayane, and by the time of her graduation, she rises to be the most popular girl in school!

2. Orihime Inoue (Bleach)

Wife of Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime has a sensitive, friendly, and optimistic personality, despite sometimes being relatively naive.

As one of the cutest shy anime girls, she’s adorable when she zones out or gets carried away with her daydreaming. She loves flow-print clothing, watching comedies, and eating some of the weirdest foods you can imagine.

Orihime is just perfect in almost every way and she’s definitely worth watching the series for.

1. Hinata Hyuga (Naruto)

Hinata is the leader of all dandere characters and our choice for number one.

Without a doubt, she is the best out of all the shy anime girls and we had to give her the top spot.

In Naruto, Hinata stands out as one of the most memorable anime characters, and watching her story unfold is incredibly rewarding.

From a young age, Hinata was polite, never speaking to other people without using proper honorifics.

As she grew older, this trait didn’t fade, and she remained meek and timid for a long time, only being able to fully open up after having her true feelings reciprocated by Naruto.

Summary

There’s just something special about shy anime girls that’s incredibly compelling. Between their cuteness and their ability to make anyone say “Awww…”, there is no denying that these girls are special.

While there is no shortage of shy girls in anime, these 25 are by far some of the most adorable and memorable.

If you’re in the anime community and haven’t seen some of these girls in action, now’s the time to add their series to your watchlist!

Here’s a quick recap of the 25 best shy anime girls of all time:

1. Hinata Hyuga
2. Orihime Inoue
3. Sawako Kuronuma
4. Rikka Takanashi
5. Mizore Shirayuki
6. Sailor Mercury
7. Tomoko Kuroki
8. Chihiro Fujisaki
9. Aries
10. Tachibana Kanade
11. Asia Argento
12. Crona
13. Yoshino
14. Mashiro Shiina
15. Rei Ayanami
16. Misaki Mei
17. Shiemi Moriyama
18. Ryou Fujibayashi
19. Juvia Lockser
20. Yuri
21. Yuki Nagato
22. Eucliwood Hellscythe
23. Kotomi Ichinose
24. Inori Yuzuriha
25. Ikaros

If you enjoyed this article, check out our other anime girl lists:

• The 10 Best Anime Dragon Girls of All Time
• The 25 Best Brunette Hair Anime Girls
• The 25 Best Blonde Hair Anime Girls
• The 25 Best Short Hair Anime Girls

What’s your favorite shy anime girl of all time? Leave a comment below.