Ever liked an anime girl but later found out that’s a boy- congratulations! You’ve been trapped!
Anime traps have been around since anime itself. Another commonly used term for anime traps is “femboy.” Whether you look at old-timers like Dragon Ball Z or modern-day anime like Attack on Titan, anime traps trapping fans left and right.
But what defines an anime trap? Is it all about cross-dressing and behavior?
Yes and no!
While the costumes and gentle behavior play a huge part, it’s their physical appearance that really seals the deal.
Anime traps have a physical and facial structure that resembles the opposite gender. So, a boy who looks like a girl is an anime trap. On the other hand, a girl who looks like a boy is a reverse anime trap.
Yes, it goes both ways!
But today, we’ll focus on some OG anime traps only; and save reverse anime traps for some other day.
20 Best Anime Trap Characters – Spoiler Alert!
Below is a list of some of the best anime traps. These are not the best only because they are beautiful, but because they are really, really beautiful.
Let’s get trapped!
20. Tetra – Log Horizon
- Age: –
- Height: 157 cm
- Voice Actor: Yukiyo Fujii (Japanese), Chelsea McCurdy (English)
Big round eyes, pink hair, and a heart tattoo under the left eye- it’s hard not to fall into this anime trap. But those who’ve seen the show know what is underneath the petite figure.
FYI, it’s a man trapped in a young woman’s body.
The plot justifies this bizarre transition pretty well, so no one’s judging if you fell for it.
19. Aoi Hyoudou – Kaichou wa Maid-sama!
- Age: 25
- Height: 165 cm
- Voice Actor: Hiromi Igarashi (Japanese), Luci Christian (English)
Aoi Hyoudou might just be the most on-point anime trap on this list. He dresses up and works as a maid at a maid cafe just to toy around with men. And as the nephew of the maid cafe owner, no one questions his actions.
But, Aoi is eventually outed by the protagonist of the series, Misaki Ayuzawa- who also works at the same maid cafe.
18. Kazuto Kirigaya – Sword Art Online
- Age: 17
- Height: 172 cm
- Voice Actor: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Japanese), Bryce Papenbrook (English)
Also known as Kirito, Kzuto Kirigaya is one of the main characters of Sword Art Online.
Kazuto wasn’t always an anime trap. Although he had a delicate appearance, Kazuto had no characteristics that made him a trap. However, as the series progressed, the creators turned him into one of the cutest anime traps.
His longer hair brought out a feminine look, and his behavior changed.
17. Load Galax – Gatchaman Crowds
- Age: 18
- Height: 168 cm
- Voice Actor: Ayumu Murase (Japanese), Shannon Emerick (English)
Load Galax is an alias for Rui Ninomiya. Rui is a teenage boy. But, when working on his super-secret mission or going out in public, Rui immerses himself into his trap avatar.
To transform into Load Galax, Rui wears a blonde wing and a short black dress with a black choker. And the feminine body movements apply the finishing touches.
He is one of those anime traps that you knowingly fall for.
16. Chihiro Fujisaki – Danganronpa
- Age: –
- Height: 148 cm
- Voice Actor: Koki Miyata (Japanese), Kara Edwards (English)
Chihiro Fujisaki is one of the hardest anime traps to figure out, mostly because he has been like this from the start.
Because of his weak build, Chihiro got bullied as a child. And instead of facing his harassers head-on, he started cross-dressing to avoid being called a “weak boy.” But things only got worse, and soon the boy shut himself in.
Later, he finds his calling in programming and AI development.
15. Ritsu Sohma – Fruits Basket
- Age: 22
- Height: 174.3 cm
- Voice Actor: Miina Tominaga/Kengo Kawanishi (Japanese), Sarah Hussey/Katelyn Barr (English)
Ritsu Sohma is another anime trap that finds comfort in hiding his true identity. According to Ritsu, “cross-dressing keeps him stress-free.” But it sure stressed a lot of Fruits Basket fans when they found out about Ritsu’s trap.
Although Ritsu ditched his kimonos and long blonde hair by the end of the series, it was too late.
14. Kiku – One Piece
- Age: 22
- Height: 287 cm
- Voice Actor: Mariya Ise (Japanese), Kayleigh McKee (English)
The most handsome swordsman in Wano looks like a beautiful woman but is actually a biological male. She fooled the whole of Wano, so don’t feel bad if you fell for her.
Kikunojo does embrace her femininity to the fullest, though. She calls herself “a woman at heart” and her warm and loving personality is proof of that. But, her badass swordsmanship cannot be ignored.
13. Shiota Nagisa – Assassination Classroom
- Age: –
- Height: 160 cm
- Voice Actor: Mai Fuchigami (Japanese), Lindsay Seidel (English)
Nagisa is a cute, calm, deadly assassin- and Nagisa is a boy. Not a girl, a BOY!
It’s hard to understand why one of the best assassins has to have such a passive physical appearance and resemble a cute anime girl. Maybe that’s why I’ll never be a mangaka.
Shattered dreams aside, Shiota is indeed an anime trap, and a dangerous one at that!
12. Gasper Vladi – High School DxD
- Age: 17-18
- Height: 150 cm
- Voice Actor: Ayane Sakura (Japanese), Alison Viktorin (English)
This might just be the hardest pill to swallow, but Gasper Vladi of High School DxD is a cross-dressing vampire/human. On top of the cute little girl’s uniform and thigh-high leggings, Gasper’s pinkish eyes and platinum-blonde hair make him look like a beautiful girl.
And that’s saying something since there’s plenty of beauty floating around in High School DxD.
11. Fish Eye – Sailor Moon SuperS
- Age: –
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: Akira Ishida (Japanese), Deborah Drakeford/Erik Scott Kimerer (English)
One of the OG anime traps, Fish Eye is a fish-granted humanoid (whatever that means) with a male body and a feminine face. But since the body is covered under some very stylish and sparkly clothes, it’s easy to fall for this anime trap.
The fact that Fish Eye targets and hunts men makes him one of the best anime traps of all time. While some anime traps don’t exploit their appearances, Fish Eye does so, and to supreme effect.
10. Mariya Shidou – Maria Holic
- Age: 16
- Height: 160 cm
- Voice Actor: Yū Kobayashi (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)
You know a trap is good when it not only fools the men but also charms a lesbian, which is exactly what Mariya did.
Mariya Shido is the younger twin of Shizu Shido, who is actually a girl and goes to an all-female school. And Mariya takes up Shizu’s name and joins her school to win the chairmanship of the school.
She’s a trap for the viewers and a reverse trap for other characters in the series.
9. Neferpitou – Hunter x Hunter
- Age: –
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: Ayumi Fujimura (Japanese), Sarah Williams (English)
This humanoid cat only had one purpose- to serve and protect the Chimera Ant King! And he did that pretty well before he died.
So, sadly, this anime trap won’t be trapping you anymore because now you know they are male and dead!
Although one could say that Neferpitou isn’t an intentional anime trap because he resembles a cat, and all the cats look feminine. But not all cats have feminine traits- and Pitou does!
8. Haku – Naruto
- Age: 15
- Height: 155.9 cm
- Voice Actor: Mayumi Asano (Japanese), Susan Dalian (English)
This was the most shocking revelation, and not just for me.
But to be fair, the creators went all out to make Haku one of the best anime traps ever. He’s voiced by female actors, both in English and Japanese versions, and the costume and personality traits are as feminine as it gets.
Even Naruto fell for this trap, and he fell hard, calling Haku more beautiful than Sakura.
7. Hideri Kanzaki – Blend S
- Age: 16
- Height: 150 cm
- Voice Actor: Sora Tokui (Japanese), Griffin Burns (English)
Stockings, ribbons, long silver hair, and a beautiful girly voice- who would think Hideri is a man? But you have to do whatever you can to put food on the table, and that’s exactly what Hideri does.
Hideri lands a job at Cafe Stile, thanks to his girly appearance, so he decides to stick to it.
But, the angry man inside takes center stage on occasion.
6. Felix Argyle – Re:Zero
- Age: 20
- Height: 172 cm
- Voice Actor: Horie Yui (Japanese), Sarah Anne Williams (English)
Looking at those eyes, hair, and cute ribbons, it’s easy to mistake Felix for a woman.
Nicknamed Ferris, Felix Argyle is conscious of his appearance and very comfortable with it as well. His feminine/feline appearance is because of the demi-human blood running through his veins. And although this resulted in his shunning, Felix fully embraced it.
Within the series, Felix loves to tease those who can’t fail to determine his gender. And those are some of the funniest scenes in the series.
5. Kenjiro Hato – Genshiken Nidaime
- Age: –
- Height: –
- Voice Actor: Kazutomi Yamamoto/Ai Kakuma (Japanese)
Kenjiro Hato is a male who cross-dresses as a female to reduce the shame he feels for being a fudanshi. For those of you who don’t know, fudanshi is slang for a boy who likes to yaoi, also called BL(Boy’s Love).
Basically, Kenjiro is into homosexual hentai, even though he is a straight guy. And he only cross-dresses to make sure his classmates won’t judge him for liking BL manga and hentai.
Of course, I didn’t know that before I fell for this guy!
4. Kurapika – Hunter x Hunter
- Age: 19
- Height: 171 cm
- Voice Actor: Noriko Hidaka/Yuki Kaida/Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese), Cheryl McMaster/Erika Harlacher (English)
This Blacklist Hunter is the last Kurta. And while he hunts to avenge his clan, he also traps innocent anime fans who feel slightly uncomfortable afterward and start questioning everything they think they know about genders.
Moving on from that oddly specific description, Kurapika is a superb protagonist for two Hunter x Hunter arcs, and his fighting skills alone make them an entertaining watch.
3. Xianming Lin – Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens
- Age: 19
- Height: 165 cm
- Voice Actor: Yūki Kaji (Japanese), Daman Mills (English)
Just look at this guy. I mean…
Everyone was ogling at Lin until he uttered the famous words- “Idiot! I’m a guy.”
That androgynous face and those blonde locks would have the cutest anime girls questioning their appearances. On top of that, he says things like, “what’s wrong with men wearing skirts when women can wear pants.”
The man knows how beautiful he is, and he can dress. But he is a trained assassin and can kill with more than just his looks.
2. Ruka Urushibara – Steins; Gate
- Age: 17
- Height: 161
- Voice Actor: Yū Kobayashi (Japanese), Lindsay Seidel (English)
I’m positive that Ruka Urushibara was created as a female character, and Jukki Hanada(the writer) turned him into an anime trap just for the heck of it. There’s hardly a masculine feature in Ruka’s body- aside from the most important one, of course.
But other than that, he’s the poster-boy anime damsel through and through.
He gets pushed around and bullied by male and female classmates, so much so that they are the ones forcing him to cross-dress.
1. Astolfo – Fate Apocrypha
- Age: –
- Height: 164 cm
- Voice Actor: Rumi Okubo (Japanese), Faye Mata (English)
Topping the list is the immortal Rider of Black, Astolfo. And although he’s labeled as a ladies’ man in the series- he is one of the most convincing anime traps of all time.
Astolfo purposely dresses up as a girl because he likes cute things. From his dresses to hair accessories, everything a princess would do, Astolfo does!
On top of all that, he gave us one of the best gender reveal scenes in anime.
And that concludes my list of the best anime traps.
Unlike the ones on this list, not all anime traps are that hard to figure out. But don’t be too hard on yourself- they are quite “convincing.”