Best Trap Characters in Anime Shows

Trap characters in anime have a special place in our hearts, their quirks and traits are so different, diverse, creative and colourful and unique. They often manage to steal the show in the anime, even if they are presented as more of a minor character in the show; they have the biggest impact! A trap character in anime refers to a person of either gender that convincingly dresses as the opposite gender. Traps traditionally refer to boys dressed as girls while reverse traps are girls that dress as boys. Here are the most convincing traps in anime shows, that have us fooled time and time again and keep the audience guessing!

With these shows, you get the sense that crossed gender roles have come to be accepted a long time ago, which is unusual for a more conservative society such as Japan, where anime came to originate. Although traps are may often be used to present comedic situations, very rarely are they ever pushed aside for their particular predilections, and that’s great. Here are our best most convincing trap characters in anime shows, from reverse trap anime characters to possible transgender anime characters, these amazing creations are definitely out of the box and are a real play on traditional gender roles!

Best Trap Anime Characters in Anime Shows

1. Ruka Urushibara from Steins;Gate

Born as a male but desperate to have a female form, Ruka has always felt he was born in the wrong body. So when he gets the chance to use Rintarou’s machine, he does all in his power to change events to ensure he was born as a girl. In the anime he wears traditionally feminine attire, which gets him a lot of attention, and is a sensitive and emotional individual. With his delicate and beautiful, soft feminine features, he is commonly thought to be female biologically. Rintaro describes him as "More girly than any girl, more feminine than any female." Steins;Gate is kind of a surprising series to have a trap in it, but Ruka’s storyline makes a lot of sense and he/she is such a memorable and special character within the anime. 

2. Saika Totsuka from Oregairu

A student of Class 2F in Sobu High School and a president of the school's Tennis Club, he has a naturally feminine appearance and is often misplaced for a girl. In the anime Hachiman sometimes "forgets" that Totsuka is a boy. He has short, light grey/silver hair, large, sparkling blue eyes, and light skin tone. He is seen wearing his gym uniform throughout most of the series, often accompanied by his tennis racket, a towel around his neck or both. He is definitely a convincing trap anime character, especially due to his occasional adorable mannerisms and both girls and guys end up drawn to him!

3. Hideyoshi Kinoshita from Baka and Test

Despite the fact that he is in possession of great feminine beauty, Hideyoshi is one of the more normal members of Class F. Often mistaken for a girl, even girls forget that he is actually a boy. Only Akihgisa is able to truly recognize that he is actually a fine young man. However, in the school there is also a rumor that he is a third gender, known only as “Hideyoshi”.

4. Hime Arikawa from Himegoto

Hime is a hardworking character in the anime, working hard to pay back the great debt that his parents took out in his name. However, it transpires there is a shortcut he can take. In return for paying off the remainder of the debt owed, the the student council ask Hime to spend the rest of his high school career dressed as a beautiful woman, as well as devoting his time to the student council. He makes for an incredibly true to life female, with his bright pink hair tied with red ribbons and big blue eyes! He is such an unforgettable character in the anime!

5. Haku from Naruto

An orphan from the Land of Water, and a descendant of the Yuki clan, he later became a shinobi under Zabuza Momochi's tutelage whom he later partnered with, ultimately becoming a Mercenary Ninja. He is a 15 year old androgenous character in the anime, with soft features, long black hair, pale skin and large, dark-brown eyes, and a slender frame. He is easygoing, kind hearted and compliant in the anime and is often confused with a young girl, especially with viewers! Slice of life series are often rife with traps, but they are rarer in the shounen genre. However, for many fans, Haku was their first introduction to trap characters in anime.

6. Kuranosuke Koibuchi from Princess Jellyfish

This incredibly iconic, fashion focused and uber feminine character in the anime Princess Jellyfish is Kurako, going by this androgenous name to hide his biological gender. Instead of going to politics like the rest of his wealthy family, he loves to have fun and is a colourful and flamboyant character who adores cross dressing and wants to pursue a career in fashion. He dreams of being reunited with his mother and her extensive wardrobe full of fashionable and gorgeous clothes.

7. Souta Takanashi from Working!!

With three older sisters, Souta has been constantly tormented by them and received a number of girl hand-me-downs due to his age. While he dislikes older women due to his sisters and doesn’t cross dress all the time, after working at Wagnaria, he occasionally cross dresses when Inami’s father comes to visit her at work. His youthful face makes it a great success.

8. Aoi Hyoudou from Class President is a Maid!

Aoi Hyoudou is the nephew of Satsuki, the owner of the maid cafe where Misaki Ayuzawa works, the son of Satsuki's older brother and is a professional cross-dresser. One of the coolest androgynous anime characters, his soft and feminine features allow him to cross dress with ease; he has big blue eyes with long eyelashes and dark purple hair styled in a bowl cut. As the net idol Aoi-chan he wears a blonde, curly wig and wears Satsuki's old dresses and is almost always, mistaken for a girl by both men and women. Over time, his voice starts to change, making it more manly and less cute, much to his dismay. His stage persona is a popular internet idol and he enjoys toying with the feelings of men. However, this trap is also kind of a tsundere when it comes to showing his true feelings.

9. Haruhi Fujioka from Ouran High School Host Club

Haruhi is a reverse trap anime character that is totally in tune with her male persona, she doesn't see herself as being particularly female at all. She keeps her hair short, a hairstyle that at first happened by accident when some gum got stuck in her hair and she was forced to cut it short like a boys, and wears a male uniform as she finds it comfiest and thus is able to concentrate on her studies better. In the anime, after a run in with the all male Host Club at school, she is coerced in to joining. It takes some time for some members to realize that she is actually a girl, but in order to pay their debt to her, they continue to present her as a boy.

10. Load Galax from Gatchaman Crowds

One of Gatchaman Crowds main characters, he is a prodigy who created GALAX and X. He was used in an elaborate plan by Berg Katse to destroy Earth. He also goes by the pseudonym LOAD among the GALAX community and when going out in public. This programmer’s soft features generally make him look quite feminine, but when by himself, he dresses as a boy. However, when he goes out, he crosses dresses in a blonde wig and punk rock clothes that make him one of the most badass programmers around.  He also reminds me a lot of Velma, which can only be a good thing! 

11. Kino from Kino’s Journey

A composed, stoic, and precocious 15 year old who travels with her motorrad, Hermes, Kino is practical and often brutally honest; she is an adventurer and survivalist, also an excellent marksman with amazing speed, agility, and accuracy. With her short hair and androgenous appearance, her gender is often unclear and we can be unsure whether she is more of a tomboy anime character or trap anime character in the series; no matter, when you are travelling on the road, sometimes it is easier and safer to look like a boy. 

12. Kaoru Hanase from Tamako Market

Thought to perhaps be a trans girl or transgender anime character, Kaoru Hanase is such a special character in the anime. Even though no attention is ever brought to it, she has not only an androgenous name but is voiced by a male voice actor, in a typically masculine fashion. She is also not shown to have any female appendages such as breasts and is considerably taller than many female characters in anime. This hint, yet mystery, definitely creates a curiosity that keeps fans talking, but the fact that it is hinted at and kept a mystery is such a special thing, as we can simply see Kaoru as the beautiful owner of the flower shop with soft, feminine features and fluffy blonde hair that definitely makes her appear as like the lovely woman that she is.

13. Chihiro Fujisaki from Danganronpa

When Chihiro was a child, he became the subject of harassment and bullying. He was always told to "be a man" and that he was "so weak despite being a boy", and because of that, Chihiro slowly but surely began to develop a "weakness complex". In order to escape the bullying, Chihiro began to dress as a girl to disguise his gender so that people wouldn't bully him and think him weak. This only served to worsen his complex, as it wasn't addressing the root of his problems, and he would get bullied even more if the truth was found out. With his soft features and school girl uniform, he is often mistaken to be a girl and it must have come as quite a surprise to first time Danganronpa fans when Fujisaki revealed himself to be a boy. However, despite the way he dresses, it doesn’t change the fact that he is a computer genius and an awesome trap character in the anime.

14. Yukimura Kusunoki from Haganai

A supporting character from the Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai series, she is first introduced as Kodaka's stalker. Her first meeting with the Neighbor's Club resulted in gender confusion, as her appearance was typically feminine despite her claiming to be male. She admiringly sees Kodaka as a romantic and masculine outlaw who lives life the way he wants to, and eagerly pledges to become his "underling" on the basis that he can learn to become less effeminate through serving to him. She is the fourth member of the Neighbor's Club and often struggles to make friends due to her identifying as male, her pursuit and fascination for manliness making her male counterparts uncomfortable. Persisting that he is a boy who dresses as a very cute girl, it is then later revealed that she is actually a girl, but her parents, who really wanted a son, made her believe that she was a boy from a young age.

15. Jun Watarase from Happiness

Jun is a transgendered character in the anime, who was born male, but identifies strongly as female. She aspires to be female in every way, more than just cross dressing and effortlessly passes for being female, due to her soft and feminine features and long pretty purple locks. Generally accepted as a trans girl in the anime, she needs not worry, as the girls at her school treat her as they would any other girl, even allowing her to change clothes with them. She has the desire to date Yuuma, but Yuuma, being unable to view her as a female like the girls, strongly refuses. Jun adores hanging around other girls, and doesn't take her girl friends acceptance of her lightly. Jun's signature attack, the Patriot Missile Kick, is a flying side kick, normally used as a means to keep Hachi under control.

16. Mako-Chan from Minami-ke

An elementary school student in class 5-2, and a classmate of Chiaki Minami, Mako-Chan is a super feminine and funny anime character with adorable outbursts and flourishes! One of the cutest trap characters in anime, this anime is so worth a watch. After all, what better way to get closer to the girl that you like than to dress up as a girl and befriend her? Of course, when she sees you as a girl, your romance isn’t ever going to get anywhere, and that’s the joke.

17. Kashima Yuu from Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun

Even though she is female, Yuu is considered the prince of the school. Popular with female students and a huge flirt, she is an iconic reverse trap anime character. Her short hair and the male school uniform she wears both make her look very dignified. Combined with her soft features, she makes one hell of a handsome prince.

18. Shidou Mariya from Maria Holic

This anime trap love story features a really cute anime trap romance involving a girl who breaks out in hives when she is around boys, but wants to fall in love. Instead, she falls in love with Mariya who is actually a boy dressed as a beautiful blonde girl. This is such a unique anime romance with reversed gender roles and is definitely one to watch!

19. Hotaru Tachibana from Aoharu x Machine Gun

The main protagonist of the series, she is the Student Council President of her current High School, in addition to survival game team Toy Gun Gun. She is androgenous in appearance, with typically masculine interests and she could easily be seen as a reverse trap anime character. Whoever she is, a tomboy, a trans boy or trap anime character, there's no one cooler with better survival skills than Hotaru. When she joins the Toy Gun Club, it is the perfect chance for all her tomboy strengths to shine.

20. Pico from Boku no Pico

This controversial anime features highly sexualised content - if this is for you definitely also check out these Best Trap Hentai Anime Shows! - so be warned, this is probably not one you will want to watch with parents/anyone around. As the most infamous and legendary trap of anime, Pico was a necessary inclusion and this notorious series is known for being not for the faint hearted. Pico works at his grandfather’s coffee shop for this summer. Seems harmless enough. It is when he encounters a person named Tamosu, a spark of love and lust forms between them. It is a yaoi hentai anime with some very graphic scenes.

Did we miss any more good anime traps? Let us know in the comments section below.

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