Anko Mitarashi

is the examiner for the second exam of the Chūnin Selection Exams.

Background
Anko was once the student of Orochimaru. Later she, along with nine others, were branded with Orochimaru's first ten Cursed Seals of Heaven. Of the ten, Anko was the only one to survive, establishing the one-in-ten chance of surviving the Cursed Seal. Orochimaru supposedly rejected Anko as a subordinate, believing she did not have the lust for power or vengeance needed to fuel the Cursed Seal. Orochimaru lost interest in her, though he believed there was some value in letting her live.

Personality
Anko is easygoing, tomboyish, and sometimes hyperactive, making her very similar to Naruto in many ways. Despite portraying several Naruto-like habits, she has shown to be very intelligent and studious. However, she is also shown to have a bloodthirsty (in a literal sense) side, as shown when she scratched Naruto's face with a kunai, and licked away his blood. This probably comes from her time with Orochimaru. She regularly makes sure to have at least basic knowledge of the landscape for which her next mission will take place.

Anko has also picked up other habits from Orochimaru, such as using her tongue to lick her kunai or lips before fighting.

Appearance
Anko is a kunoichi with light brown, pupil-less eyes. Her violet hair is done up in a short, somewhat spiky ponytail. She is commonly seen wearing a tan overcoat, complete with a fitted chain mail body suit that stretches from her neck down to her thighs. The chain mail seems to be somewhat transparent, since her body can be seen underneath. She wears a dark orange skirt, as well as a Forehead Protector, a small pendant, and shin guards.

Abilities
As a child, Anko's talent for ninja arts were presumably high, as shown from Orochimaru's initial interest in her. Anko knows several forbidden techniques, taught to her by Orochimaru, the most notable of which is Twin Snakes Mutual Death, a murder-suicide technique she attempted to use to eliminate her former sensei in the Forest of Death for the sake of Konoha. She can also summon snakes like he can, though she only does so once, during the Land of the Sea filler arc. She also has incredibly quick reflexes, able to outmaneuver several of Orochimaru's attacks. Her accuracy is also on a compatible standard, being able to make a Konoha symbol by throwing 58 dango sticks after eating the dango, some of which were thrown while wiping her mouth and looking in the other direction. Her intelligence is also presumed to be fairly high, and she can do quick mental mathematics. Within a minute of her arrival at the Chūnin Exams, she was able to count all 78 genin and 26 teams.

Chūnin Exam arc
Anko was the proctor for the second exam, which she announced during Ibiki Morino's speech, after she made a rather loud entrance into his class, annoying him since she was early. During the second exam, Izumo Kamizuki, Kotetsu Hagane, and Mozuku notified her of three dead Grass ninja. Anko saw that all of their faces had been stolen, and, after she recognized the face-stealing technique, she demanded the Grass ninjas' IDs. After seeing the IDs, Anko realized that the Grass ninja called Shiore, who she met earlier, was Orochimaru in disguise. Later, she arrived at a confrontation with Orochimaru, and it was revealed that he used to be her sensei.

Orochimaru was able to reawaken her Cursed Seal during their battle in the Forest of Death, thus incapacitating her with the pain and ending their fight. She later talked over her encounter with the Third Hokage, but he reassured her, telling her it wasn't her fault that Orochimaru got away.

Invasion of Konoha arc
When the Sound and Sand villages invaded Konohagakure, she did not take the front lines, and instead assisted bystanders in getting away from harm.

Sea Country arc
In the anime, Anko's past was explored during the Land of the Sea filler arc, in which she led Naruto, Ino Yamanaka, and Shino Aburame on a mission to protect a shipping convoy. The Land of the Sea is where Anko was found after Orochimaru had branded her with his Cursed Seal, and subsequently abandoned her. Orochimaru had also erased any memory Anko had of the event, so this was a chance for her to remember. After the mission, Anko found her way back to the place where she received the curse mark from Orochimaru, and remembered what actually had happened. She was glad to discover that she wasn't tossed away like trash as she first had thought, but chose to leave Orochimaru herself.

Part II
Anko made a number of cameos in the Naruto: Shippūden anime; during one of Naruto's dreams, he interrupted a number of kunoichi (amongst them was Anko) relaxing in a hot spring while he was peeking. She later appeared at Asuma's funeral, along with several other characters not present at the funeral in the manga. She was also mentioned by Naruto in one of the anime's ending sketches; in the sketch, Naruto invited Chiyo to try Konoha's best dumpling restaurant, saying that even the "scary snake lady" liked to eat in this place.

Hunt for Itachi arc
In the anime, after Sasuke absorbed Orochimaru, Anko was shown to be on a mission with Mozuku and Iwashi. Sensing someone behind her, she threw a kunai into a bush and killed a white snake. Knowing that a white snake was Orochimaru's signature, she covered her seal with her hand and looked toward the sky ominously.

Invasion of Pain arc
Before Pain attacked, Anko was dispatched, along with Sai and Yamato, to track and locate Kabuto Yakushi. Anko cautioned the rest of them to not let Kabuto detect them. However, right after discovering his location, Yamato interrupted, and apologized to her and Sai, stating that they had an emergency on their hands, after discovering that Naruto had broken his seal on him, and had achieved his six-tailed transformation.

Five Kage Summit arc
With Sai and Yamato back in Konoha, Anko is still currently tracking Kabuto while she is unknowingly being trailed by a few ANBU. The acting Hokage Danzō, sends some ANBU to locate Kabuto before Anko finds him.

Appearances in Other Media
Anko has so far made 10 playable appearances in Naruto video games; 5 in Japan (Naruto Ultimate Ninja 3, Narutimate Accel, Narutimate Accel 2, Naruto Gekitou Ninja Taisen 3, and Naruto Gekitou Ninja Taisen 4), and 5 in the English-speaking markets (Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3, Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja 4, Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2, and Naruto Shippūden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3). In Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm, she is a support character that is available for free download via the Playstation Store. She also often makes non-playable appearances as a background character, a guide when navigating the main menu and various game modes, or a shopkeeper for purchasing unlockable items.

Trivia

 * Anko is Kishimoto's favorite female character, due to her 'relationship with Orochimaru'.
 * Anko is quite popular for a side-character, and even came in 11th place, right behind Hinata, in the first official character poll.
 * Anko Mitarashi's name is derived from the sweet red bean paste used in popular dango, while her family name is after the Mitarashi syrup.
 * In the Ultimate Ninja games, Anko has the ability to go into Curse Seal Mode instead of Ultimate Mode when facing Orochimaru.
 * According to the Official Databook:
 * Anko's favorite foods are sweet bean soup and dango, (dumplings). Her least favorite type of food is spicy-tasting food.
 * Her hobby is tea ceremonies.
 * Her favorite phrase is "Arriving!"