If you’ve watched anime or been in anime conversations before, you may have heard people talk about tsunderes or yanderes. These words actually do have meanings, and they help generalize a character’s personality. The end part, dere, means that a character is in love. Meanwhile, the first part of the word is how the character acts normally, with kuuru meaning cold.

Dere types used to be just for love interests and focused on a romance perspective. But as the years have gone by, people have focused less on the dere part of the word. Instead, they’ve focused more on the variable type of the personality. Even though the archetypes may be tropey, the reason for why they act like that in the first place can allow for great character drama and backstories. I’d like to go over some of the most popular dere types and examples you can find in some of the most popular, critically acclaimed anime of all time.

I Can Fix Them – The Yandere

Characters classified as yanderes are obsessive regarding their love and personality in general. These characters often resorting to stalking or even murder. The poster child for the yandere archetype is Yuno Gasai from The Future Diary. Over the course of the show, she murders and attacks multiple people that she thinks are “taking” her love interest Yukitero away from her. She goes to such lengths because Yukitero served as a pillar of support during an abusive childhood. She doesn’t want to lose his love like how she lost her parent’s love. As a result, she goes to extreme lengths to make sure he remains “hers”, embracing her delusions in the process.

Frozen In Ice – The Kuudere

Kuuderes are defined by their subdued personalities. Sometimes it’s because the person is naturally very relaxed. Other times, it’s due to trauma or mental disorders like autism. For example, there’s Violet from the show Violet Evergarden. She gets a job at a postal office as an Auto Memory Doll. They write letters for people that help express their emotions and thoughts. And because of her interactions with people that are suffering different kinds of grief and happiness, she’s able to process her own grief and show more of her emotions.

Another kuudere is Shiina from The Pet Girl of Sakurasou. While it’s never stated outright, she suffers from autism. This can be seen with how she’s a savant at art, creating masterworks shown in world famous museums. On the other hand, she doesn’t know how to do the most basic household chores and struggles with understanding human emotions. One of the major conflicts of the show is how she wants to run away from the art world and become a normal student, because the world is placing all these unreasonable expectations on her. And as the anime progresses, she learns these life skills and gains genuine friendships.

Just Can’t Be Honest – The Tsundere

Tsunderes are the most popular dere type by a large margin. The tsun part of the word translates to a character who is initially hostile before revealing a warmer and more friendly personality over time. And this contrast between their hostile and sweet sides is what makes them so popular. One of the most notable tsunderes is Vegeta from Dragon Ball. Yes, theste archetypes can apply to both women and men!

Vegeta is a tsundere because, as a prince of the alien Saiyan race, he is initially very cold and values his pride and ego above all else. However, as he spends more time on Earth and interacts with Goku and the other characters, he becomes friendlier. And when he eventually marries one of the other characters, he goes through a see-saw of admitting and not admitting his love to her that’s adorable to witness.

One other classic tsundere is Taiga from Toradora. She’s not your typical tsundere. In the beginning, she’s only shy around her crush, and is violent and cold towards almost everyone else. However, as the show progresses and she makes more friends, it turns out she’s violent because her parents didn’t fully lover her. She develops trust issues with others as a result, and it’s only after she reveals her vulnerabilities and accepts love, both platonic and romantic, from others that those trust issues go away.