You may try
Ah! My Goddess! that has several cool female characters. Belldandy, the female lead, is your conventional "ideal girl", but if you want something less ideal and more fun, there is always Urd, Bell's big sis.
Mai-HiME features many great female characters.
I made
this (short) list a few years ago, it contains my favourite anime ladies. You may find some series fit for your taste there as well.