Summary
Anime remains one of the most diverse forms of entertainment in terms of animation, as creators in Japan have different takes in terms of genres and tropes. For instance, the gender-bender anime genre remains quite a hit for romance fans. However, while allgender-bender animeshare the same basic premise of a person switching genders, the way their stories work is almost always different from one another.
As such, it can be tricky for anime fans to find a gender-bender anime that’s worth the time and investment, especially now that there are so many available to watch. Thankfully, certain shows do end up rising above the competition. Just whichgender-bender anime is the best?
Here are a few criteria and notes:
Updated on Jul 19, 2025, by Mark Sammut:Asgender-bender animeare not all that common, Summer 2025 does not have any representatives. Fortunately, the poster child of gender-flips, Ranma ½, will be back in the Fall season. Until then, you might wish to check out a few older series, including two new additions that are slightly unique cases. Click below to jump to these anime.
To say thatAyakashi Trianglehad a troubled production cycle would be an understatement. Despite debuting in Winter 2023, the anime had to wait until that year’sSummer anime seasonto complete its single-hour run. Due to its elongated release schedule,Ayakashi Trianglesquandered a somewhat decent start, dooming itself to be nothing more than a footnote in the year’s anime output. Still, thisgender-bender serieshas just enough positives to warrant a very weak mention, even if I would generally recommend checking out the manga.
The eponymous Ayakashi are essentially spirits, and they can be dangerous if they happen to find someone with a lot of energy. Kanade and Matsuri can both see these creatures, and the latter strives to keep the former out of harm’s way. One day, a cat-like Ayakashi transforms Matsuri into a girl, a change the shinobi takes in her stride.
All things considered, mostgender-bender animedo not push the envelope too much. Well,Back Street Girls: Gokudolsis an exception that throws any semblance of good taste out of the window, crafting a story designed to push buttons. The result is a polarizing series that can be either painfully funny or nearly unwatchable, depending on the viewer.
The premise revolves around three Yakuza members who are forced into a gender change so they can become idols, allowing them to earn money for their boss.Back Street Girlsis at its best when mocking the idol culture or exploring parallels between thatindustry and the Yakuza; that said, the anime relies on a lot of tired punchlines. Beyond that,Back Street Girls' animation is very static, to the point of barely having more movement than just a standard manga page.
Fair warning,Back Street Girlsrevels in poor taste. The anime can be funny in an “did they really do that” type of way, but I also wouldn’t recommend it to just anyone.
Based on a one-shot manga by Monkey Punch, the author behindLupin the Third,Cinderella Boycomes across as a fusion of multiple classics. Besides sharing similarities withLupin’s character designs and humor, the male lead is named Ranma, a pretty obvious reference to the most famousgender-bender animecharacter of all time. The concept is fairly interesting. Two detectives, Ranma and a woman named Rella, get in an accident and are “saved” by a doctor who puts them into the same body. Each day, one person and their associated body come out, swapping at midnight.
Cinderella Boyis a unique gender-bender since Ranma and Rella are presented as different people inhabiting the same body. Technically, they are not swapping genders but instead sharing real estate and time. The 2003 anime is the definition of a mixed bag that never comes close to matching the brilliance of its inspirations. That said, the show has decent comedy and a few fun action sequences.
Generally speaking, most anime that explore gender-bending feature protagonists who are forced into a new body, and they are just trying to adapt to a tricky situation. However, exceptions exist, andHeaven’s Lost Property’s Tomoki might provide the most stereotypicalcomedy haremtake on the concept. Through supernatural shenanigans, Tomoki gains the ability to change his gender, becoming Tomoko in the process. Why? Well, he wants to enter public baths that are exclusively for women.
Frankly, at one point or another, there had to be a perverted protagonist who uses the power of anime to gender-bend his way into crossing the line, andHeaven’s Lost Propertyhandles the idea relatively well. Sure, the humor is very “2000s,” but Tomoki receives his comeuppance at the end. Tomoko comes back in a later episode as well, although that transformation is shorter-lived than the original.
Similar toHeaven’s Lost Property,KonoSubauses a gender body swap to indulge its protagonist’s unsavory vices. This time,Kazuma swaps bodies with Princess Iristhanks to a magic spell, allowing them to both experience life from a different perspective.
For her part, Iris heads out into the city alongside Megumin, a combination that proves to be pretty explosive since neither girl knows how to defuse potentially tense situations. Conversely, Kazuma uses this gift to live the high life for a while…and to try and take a bath with two girls. Completely in character for the isekai protagonist.
While not painting Kazuma in a great light,KonoSubanever rewards him for his stupid or bad behavior, and the payoff to this storyline is simple but funny. I firmly believeKonoSubais one of the funniest anime ever, but you probably should not watch it solely to see this gender-bender episode.
The final season ofSailor Moon’s original run,Sailor Starsis probably the most divisive entry, and a large part of that reaction has to do with the Sailor Starlights. A trio of galactic-travelling magical girls, the Starlights come to Earth on a mission, and they decide to blend in by becoming male idols. In the anime, they are gender-bender characters, which is not the case in the manga. So, they can swap between male and female, although they spend most of their time as the former and limit the latter for when they take ontheir magical girl forms.
Frankly, the gender-bender aspect is probably the most fascinating part about the Starlights, as they are otherwise fairly bland (although Seiya can be interesting, at times). They also don’t mesh that well with the Sailor Guardians, all of whom are way more likable than this trio. They are also introduced so late in the anime that they feel like footnotes inSailor Moon’s history. At least, they were brought back inSailor Moon Cosmos.
An isekai gaming anime that adds a gender-bender twist,She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Manis mostly just OK, with the adaptation not quite managing to match the quality of the source material or the manga version. Still, if someone is craving a lighthearted OP fantasy with a relatively likable protagonist, they might enjoy this short journey, even if the trip might not linger in their memory for that long.
Sakimori Kagami is the gamer behind Danblf, one of the most powerful wise mages of Ark Earth Online. Long story short, he falls asleep and wakes up as his character within the game’s world, albeit a few hundred years in the future. However, Danblf’s conventional magician look has been tweaked slightly, and now he resembles a little girl.She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Mandoes not actually make that big of a deal about the gender-swap aspect, as Sakimori does not seem particularly uncomfortable in the new form. As such, this aspect is pretty quickly forgotten, with the anime becoming a fairly typicalOP MC isekai story.
Kämpferis one of those anime that, while enjoyable, will probably not stick in a viewer’s mind for all that long. The series does not excel in any area, delivering middling action, serviceable humor, and inoffensive characters, all things that combine to create an experience that goes in one ear and out the other. Just to be clear, there is nothing wrong with fluff, as long as it is entertaining.Kämpferis just fun enough to warrant a recommendation, even if it is nowhere near the best gender-bender anime ever.
Essentially, Natsuru becomes a magical girl, albeit one who fits other chosen girls rather than evil monsters. While this situation leads to a couple of notable fights, it mostly culminates in comedic high jinks as Natsuru tries to fit in at school while keeping his dual gender a secret. The story does not build all that much momentum as it goes along, and it kind of peters out at the end; still,Kämpferis a decent watch.
Coming across asGintama-lite,Sket Danceis primarily a school-based comedy that, occasionally, gets weird. One of the anime’s more bizarre storylines sees Bossun and Himeko swap bodies during a school trip, a situation that proves to be very difficult for both of them. Himeko, naturally, is not particularly excited by the prospect of Bossun interacting directly with her body during ordinary daily events that will definitely come up, so she takes it upon herself (as Bossun) to handle contact. Things are made even more complicated when another girl, Saaya, approaches Bossun (Himeko) to try and get a read on whether he is interested in Himeko.
Sket Danceis surprisingly dedicated to this premise, with the body swap lasting roughly three episodes. The anime uses this circumstance to further develop Bossun and Himeko’s friendship and (potential) romance, so this storyline ends up being plot-relevant rather than just an extended gag.
Maze: The Mega-Burst Space
Now, here is an oldie but a goodie, at least for people who enjoy over-the-top comedy in the vein of something likeSlayers. Admittedly,Maze: The Mega-Burst Spacedoes not reach the same heights as that show, but it is still an enjoyable romp that throws seemingly everything at the wall to see what sticks. Anisekai fantasy comedy mecha anime,Mazeis a messy, silly, and “of its era” production that, while not amazing, has a ’90s charm.
The protagonist, Maze, has a pretty strange and awkward backstory. During the day, they are in female form; during the night, they become male. Now, this transformation is not just physical but also comes with a significant personality change. These forms are (effectively and literally) different people, which is quite unusual for agender-bender anime.
