Main Tropes Index

Troperville

Editing

Tools

Toys

Narrative

Genre

Media

Topical Tropes

Other Categories

Custom Search

alt title(s): Punchy Love
Stupid Wiki, i-it's not like I'm editing you because I like you or anything.

"When your mother was pregnant with you I tiptoed around the castle ... That's the other side of the coin. Grouchy one minute, and mushy the next."
Sir Kemry Allerion to his pregnant daughter in DragonLight

Oh, Arnold, how I love you. And yet I hate you! And yet I love you. And yet I hate you! And yet I love you.
Helga, Hey Arnold

A character (usually female) who runs 'hot and cold', flipping between aggressive and confrontational (tsuntsun, meaning "aloof" or "cranky" in Japanese) and affectionate and sentimental (deredere, meaning "lovestruck"). The distinct moods usually aren't subtle, especially with the latter ranging from 'simple teasing' to 'lovestruck kindergartener who pushes you into the sandbox'. The reasons behind a Tsundere's behavior vary, but typically rise from the conflict between her feelings about the object of her affections and her reactions to having them. This can be as simple as embarrassment or frustration at being so attracted to that boy, particularly if he has certain personality quirks or behaviors that infuriate her. She may not even realize that she is attracted to him.

There are two main types of Tsundere, depending on their default mood:

Type A (alias Type Tsun): These Tsunderes are tsuntsun (cranky) as their default mood. It takes something special to trigger their deredere side. The intensity of the tsuntsun can range from a "I must glare and fight my way through life" (Louise of Zero No Tsukaima) to a grumpy pessimist (Kagami of Lucky Star, possibly Rin of Yes Precure 5). It's not about intensity, it's just about what part of the tsundere personality is the public face and which one the hidden. If the Tsundere is The Rival, she is more likely to be Type A. When she does help her rival out, expect her to say something along the lines of "Don't get me wrong, I'm not doing this for you." This is usually accompanied by ferocious blushing. While she usually cuts down on the beatings and insults and shows more signs of mushiness as the series progresses, she will not be fully converted to "dere" in contrast to the Defrosting Ice Queen (which, ironically, was the original definition of Tsundere).

Type B (alias Type Dere): These Tsunderes have deredere as their default mood. They are sweet, kind and generous, but just happen to have a hidden violent side as well. In this case, her temper is almost always triggered by someone else, usually the male Love Interest. Either they're a Takahashi Couple, or the guy is an idiot or an Accidental Pervert, or she just has no idea how to handle feelings of love and attraction and thus is sweet to everyone except the man she's interested in. Unwanted suitors such as Dogged Nice Guys might also trigger the tsuntsun. Very often the male Love Interest will be very frustrated as everybody else keeps telling him how sweet the Tsundere is and wonders how they can possibly be describing the same girl. Might lead to an Informed Attribute if we never actually see the sweet side as default, since the Tsundere and her irritant are always together on screen. Type B Tsunderes are often subject to Adaptation Decay, Character Exaggeration and Flanderization that turns them into a Type A.

Type B should not be confused with a Yandere. If a Type B Tsundere was really convinced that her Love Interest didn't want her, she would revert back to her deredere side and probably enter a I Want My Beloved To Be Happy phase. A Yandere would calmly tolerate a lot of the things that a Tsundere goes bonkers over, but if a Yandere decides that her Love Interest really doesn't want her, she's likely to snap and Murder The Hypotenuse.

A common way of showing a Tsundere has mellowed or has had her heart won over by the Love Interest is to have her shift from Type A to Type B.

The Tsundere is also often complex. If she always lashed out, or always lashed out at what we think of as the obvious or in-series triggers, she could not hold the reader/viewer's interest. The exception is always there. The love interest could 'man up' by 'taking charge' causing the Tsundere to become submissive, with unfortunate implications as always. In Elfen Lied, the one tiny slap Kouta ever landed on Yuka was followed by an expression of absolute love and disgust that she would endanger herself, enough so that she simply falls into his arms. The tsundere could view a certain situation as not falling within her anger zone. One example from Love Hina had Naru basically shrugging off Keitaro's porn collection as normal for guys.

Tsunderes have three different tsuntsun tactics to choose from. Most of them apply a combination of the below, but some tend to favor one over the other:

  1. The Cold Shoulder: In employing this tactic, the tsundere resolves to not give the man in question the time of day. If she does talk to him, responses will be monosyllabic. Pointedly ignoring him in conversation and disdainful looks round out the total freeze she will lay on the dude. Example of a tsundere who favors this tactic: Genshiken's Chika Ogiue.
  2. The Violent Approach: Things get physical, and not in the good way. The tsundere, in a bad mood by this point, will punctuate verbal abuse with plenty of good old fashioned violence. Kicks, punches, slaps, and other painful forms of beatdown will follow. Heaven help you if she's got a Paper Fan or a Hyperspace Mallet. Example of a tsundere who favors this tactic: Ranma 1/2's Akane Tendo.
  3. The Smirk: Not as common a tactic, but effective in its own right, is for the tsundere to constantly belittle the love interest with sarcasm and putdowns. Favorite expressions include "Baka!", and "Urusai!" ("Shut up!"). Tsunderes who know the guy's point of pride will not hesitate to insult him on that account, and when this tactic is employed nothing the guy can do will be good enough to impress her. If they are a Takahashi Couple, Volleying Insults often occur. This kind of tsundere might be vulnerable to a Shut Up Kiss. Example of a tsundere who favors this tactic: Neon Genesis Evangelion's Asuka Langley Soryuu, though she's got more than a trace of The Violent Approach to her.
  4. All Of The Above: The tsundere's reactions will heavily depend on the situation she and the guy are placed in. Example of a tsundere who favors this tactic: Kimagure Orange Road's Madoka Ayukawa.

Deredere tactics vary, a lot, she can give Valentine's Chocolate to her love interest saying "Because I felt pity for you", help him with his chores (cooking for him is a favorite tactic (that they won't admit to)), or even beat him in a session of Training From Hell. If her motivations are inquired she will perform the Tsundere Blow, a combination of Suspiciously Specific Denial, Luminescent Blush and total evasion of eye contact (cue the squeeks of Moe Moe) further inquires however, ensure a Megaton Punch.

Most Tsunderes deny their behavior, although a few glory in it. Type B Tsunderes in particular often aspire to become a Yamato Nadeshiko, perhaps following the example of an older sister. When she fails in these attempts (usually directed at her Love Interest) expect her to either release her tsuntsun half on a convenient target (often her Love Interest), or to show off her deredere by breaking down and crying, (often in the Love Interest's arms). The loss of her Love Interest is a common method for changing a Tsundere into a Yamato Nadeshiko. If her Tsundere personality re-emerges, it's probably a sign that she's learned to love again.

A Tsundere's attractiveness is two-fold: on one hand, she is an independent, strong-willed girl, determined to do everything well. On the other, she has major endearing traits such as awkwardness with relationships (particularly, romance) or tomboyish tendencies, which she perceives as "weakness". However, where another girl would start wangsting about these, a Tsundere just blushes and covers them up with aggressive attitude. Furthermore, she's much less likely to suffer from Chickification, since her less-than-doting personality facet is her major appeal. For Type A, it's assumed that she only acts mean to hide her good heart or deal with romantic attraction. For Type B, her hidden tsuntsun side shows that she's more than just the sweet girl.

If a series doesn't have a explicitly romantic bent, a Tsundere can still come in the form of The Rival who acknowledges that the lead is a Worthy Opponent but remembers just in time that she's supposed to dislike the competition. Even then, many fans will see a romantic attraction between her and her preferred target, especially if said target is The Ditz.

Whether Type A or Type B, Tsunderes differ from a Jerk With A Heart Of Gold in that Tsundere moods tend to switch in reaction to the actions of select people. A Jerk With A Heart Of Gold is jerkish in general regardless of whether the other person is mean or nice, and shows his Heart of Gold at the appropriate times regardless of how the other person is treating them.

Oranyan is like the male equivalent of Tsundere, and are rare, as the main appeal of a cranky male character is usually his hidden heart of gold instead of his jerkishness, and hence he normally goes straight from "warm-hearted jerk" to "warm-hearted, all-around nice guy." Furthermore, a male exacting the typical tsundere behavior on a female in violation of Wouldnt Hit A Girl standards wouldn't sit as well with viewers, although some works get around this problem.

Compare with Well Excuse Me Princess. May overlap with Mood Swinger and evince Dont You Dare Pity Me and Fear Leads To Anger. Aloof Ally may show the same hot-and-cold behavior but for differing reasons. Contrast with Kuudere, where the "aggressive and confrontational" part is replaced with "cynical and emotionally undemonstrative", and with Yandere, which rather than being angry outside but sweet inside, is sweet outside and fucking nuts inside. Can grow up to become a Mistress to a Servant Boy. Tsunderes will often sport Twintails.

When paired with a Jerk With A Heart Of Gold, together they form a Takahashi Couple.

Also see Jerk Sue for when a Mary Sue has elements of this, and Oranyan for this trope's brother (Also the page to put examples of male characters.).

If this character is from modern anime and is a Type A Tsundere, it's more than likely that she'll be voiced by Rie Kugimiya.


Examples:

    open/close all folders 

Type A:

    Anime & Manga 

    Comic Books 

    Film 

    Literature 

    Live Action TV 

    Theatre 

    Video Games 

    Webcomics 

    Western Animation 

    Music 

    Real Life 

    Folklore 

Type B:

    Anime & Manga 

    Comic Books 

    Literature 

    Video Games 

    Webcomics 

    Western Animation 

Other

    Anime & Manga 

    Comic Books 

    Film 

    Literature 

    Live Action TV 

    Music 

    Tabletop Games 

    Theatre 

    Video Games 

    Webcomics 

    Western Animation 

    Real Life