Noanimecharacter archetype is more iconic: the tsundere is the ultimate waifu, and in rare cases, husbando. These characters are instantly identifiable by their cold demeanour: though they are presented aslove interests, they rebuke the protagonist at every turn, giving them harsh words instead of support or affection.
It’s a facade: deep down, tsundere characters do have feelings for the protagonist. They just can’t express them well enough, and pretending to be unkind or indifferent is their way of dealing with it. These characters represent one of the most common tropes in romance plots: trying to win someone’s heart, even if they don’t like you.
10Rin Tohsaka
Fate/Stay Night
Rin is classically tsundere: she is haughty in her attitude and regal in her demeanour, mixing in elements of a himedere alongside her tsundere personality. She frequently uses harsh words, acting like she’s above other people. That hasn’t stopped her from being one of the most popularFate characters.
When she’s treated with friendliness and sincerity, though, Rin gets flustered. Her character design and facial expressions all scream tsundere: elegant, embarrassed, and more than a bit annoyed.
9Kurisu Makise
Steins Gate
One of the most common criticisms of the tsundere archetype is that they often have one-note personalities: they don’t do much except tell the protagonist to shut up, which doesn’t make them lovable. Kurisu Makise is refreshingly different: though she shows shades of tsundere in her careless disregard for Rintaro Okabe, she isn’t mean.
Instead, Kurisu is just smart to the point of being arrogant. As agenius studentwho had multiple research papers published at a young age, she has reason to think highly of herself. Her foil is Kyouma Hououin - real name Rintaro - whose goofy experiments fail to excite her until they actually succeed.
8Hitagi Senjougahara
Monogatari
Unlike many tsundere characters, Senjougahara plainly tells the protagonist she loves him early on. A lot of this has to do with theMonogatari series’weird watch order, of course, but you don’t have to wait long for her to date Araragi.
Thereafter, she refuses to let him off the hook. Senjougahara’s mind is always running at full speed, and Araragi is forced to go along with it. He’s actually lucky that he’s an immortal vampire: anyone else might not be able to bear her cruelty.
7Kaguya Shinomiya
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War
The titular Kaguya is a self-acknowledged tsundere: she doesn’t want to let her feelings show. Despite her crush on Miyuki Shirogane, she sees love as war, and confessing would make her lose.
This leads to a lot of comedic situations, with both characters trying to make the other confess first. The two eventually do come together, but that gives rise to new conflicts: being in a committed relationship isn’t any easier than wanting to have one.
6Erza Scarlet
Fairy Tail
Erza Scarlet took her time to be tsundere, yet over the course of the story her characterization grew steadily colder. Due to her strength and intimidating nature, Erza is the right fit for the archetype right off the bat, but the anime adaptation built up a stronger focus on her tsundere aspects.
Despite her cool demeanour and strength, Erza proves to care deeply about her friends. All in all, she’s a more accessible dere than many characters of this archetype.
5Edward Elric
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Edward Elric is a rarity in the tsundere pantheon: not only is he male, but he’s also a main character, rather than a supporting one. It’s interesting to see a tsundere play out as the hero: Edward has his own drives and motivations for most of the story, and hissibling bonddrives much of his adventure.
When it comes to his love interest Winry, however, Edward can’t get the words out. He loves her for far longer than either of them realize, but it’s only at the very last moment - before they split up for another extended period - that he’s able to tell her his feelings. Even then, he tries to make it seem like an equivalent exchange.
4Erina Nakiri
Food Wars
Erina has every right to be arrogant: dubbed the God Tongue, her palate is so refined that she’s automatically a better chef, and judge, than most of the students at her culinary school. Her prestigious lineage has also made her something of a de facto princess, and many people try and fail to impress her.
Then along comes themain character Soma, frying pan in hand and unrefined to the extreme. Soma is like nothing Erina has seen before: he doesn’t fawn over her, but he does want to make her admit his food is delicious. Erina isn’t ready to give up her haughty attitude anytime soon, but the two do unite when the school undergoes a hostile takeover.
3Asuka Langley
Neon Genesis Evangelion
At one point, Asuka Langley was the most popular anime character of all time - some would even argue that she was the original waifu. Asuka is downright cruel to Shinji, not just with her words but with her fists, often subjecting him to physical violence.
Later episodes showed Asuka to be a much more layered character than her initial meanness suggests. She struggles with insecurities, and her professed hatred for Shinji is a form of self-denial. The two never get together, leaving their relationship one of anime’s biggest what-ifs.
2Taiga Aisaka
Toradora
Taiga Aisaka is the quintessential tsundere: she is as much a foil to Ryuuji as she is a love interest. Toradora features a comedic back-and-forth between the two, culminating in one of the nicest endings an anime has had.
Due to her short stature and fiery temper, Taiga is dubbed the Palmtop Tiger. This is in contrast to Ryuuji, whose name means dragon. A tiger and a dragon: they’re perfect for each other. Taiga will always be one of the first characters to get brought up when you talk tsundere.
1Shana
Shakugan no Shana
Voice actress Rie Kugiyama had the pleasure of voicing not just one, buttwo of the most iconic tsundere charactersof all time. Much like her expy Taiga, Shana uses her cold nature to disguise her love for the main character, and tells him to shut up often.
As a Flame Haze whose sole purpose in life is to fight monsters from another dimension, Shana’s tsundere personality makes sense. Yet through her experiences and conversations with Yuji Sakai, Shana slowly learns to be human, and to voice her feelings. Where her sole pleasure in life had once been melon bread, Shana quickly learns to love Misaki City.
