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Has Troper Tales
Tsundere
She's sun and rain.
She's fire and ice.
A little crazy, but it's nice.
And when she gets mad,
you best leave her alone.
She'll rage just like a river,
then she'll beg you to forgive her.
She's every woman that I've ever known.
—Garth Brooks, She's Every Woman

She would come up to me later apologizing. "I'm sorry, I have a sugar imbalance." (long pause, he replies) "No, diabetes is a sugar imbalance. You are an estrogen molotov cocktail!"... The strange thing was she had no build to anger...the only hint that she was about to snap was a split-second before she snapped, the room would smell like ozone...
Comedian Christopher Titus, talking about one of his Psycho Ex Girlfriends
A character, usually female, who runs 'hot and cold'; flipping between◊ aggressive and confrontational (tsuntsun, meaning "aloof" or "cranky") and affectionate or sentimental (deredere, meaning "lovestruck"). The distinct moods aren't usually subtle, especially with the former ranging from 'simple teasing' to 'lovestruck kindergartener who pushes you into the sandbox'.

The frequent weapons of choice for the Tsundere are the Megaton Punch and the Armor Piercing Slap, and heaven help you if she's got a Paper Fan. Favorite expressions include "Baka!", "Urusai!" ("Shut up!"), and "Don't get me wrong, I'm not doing it for you." The latter is usually accompanied by ferocious blushing. In tsuntsun mode, these characters often approach with three distinct tactics. While most tsunderes apply a combination of these, 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, and other painful forms of beatdown will follow. 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. 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. Example of a tsundere who favors this tactic: Neon Genesis Evangelion's Asuka Langley Soryuu.
  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.

What makes a Tsundere attractive is her determined attitude to do everything well; even if it's a cover for deep-seated insecurities, it's better than her wangsting about them. Furthermore, she's much less likely to suffer from Chickification as her less-than-doting personality is her major appeal; it's assumed that she only acts that way to hide her good heart or deal with romantic attraction. While she usually cuts down on the beatings 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), and will just learn how to channel her personality flips more constructively.

If a series doesn't have a explicitly romantic bent, sometimes this is an aspect of the girl being The Rival. The conflict comes from acknowledging that he is a Worthy Opponent but remembers just in time she's supposed to dislike the competition. That doesn't stop fans from seeing a romantic attraction between any tsundere and her preferred target, especially if said target is The Ditz.

Male tsunderes are rarer, 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.

Most Tsunderes deny their behavior, though a few glory in it. Younger 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 Tsun Dere into a Yamato Nadeshiko. If her Tsundere personality re-emerges, it's probably a sign that she's learned to love again.

Compare with Well Excuse Me Princess and Defrosting Ice Queen. May overlap with Mood Swinger, if she treat the entire universe this way, not just her love interest. Contrast with Yandere.

Also see Tsundere Sue for when a Mary Sue has elements of this.
Examples:

Anime
  • As implied by the title, the Tsuyokiss - Cool x Sweet anime and game take this to the natural extreme, giving the whole cast this personality type.
  • A recent and famous example is Suzumiya Haruhi in the series of the same name. It's arguable that she's a subversion, however, because her affectionate side really only comes out when she's most upset with the object of her affection. Conversely, when she is in a good mood, she drags him around by his tie, steamrolling over any and all complaints and generally achieving her greatest levels of violence and insensitivity.
    • How about Kyon himself being the rare male Tsundere (of course with the Wouldnt Hit A Girl restraint)? Not that this restraint slows him down at all; see tactics 1 and 3.
    • Kyonko is also frequently positioned as a tsundere... Or So I Heard.
  • Asuka of Neon Genesis Evangelion is another particularly extreme and famous example, as most characters of NGE are for their particular role.
  • Sawachika Eri in School Rumble.
  • Rin in Fate/stay night. She's heavily on the tsun side in "Fate", the canon storyline; it's in "Unlimited Blade Works", where she's the main love interest, that her dere side comes out (in the last scenario, "Heaven's Feel", she again plays Worthy Opponent-turns-The Lancer role). A perfect example (which made it into the anime) is the scene where she goes from trying to kill Shirou to tending his Rider-inflicted wounds in the space of a few minutes.
  • Konata in Lucky Star outright designates one of her friends as one, complete with the explanation that it's appropriate for girls with twin pigtails. This reference is probably due to the prevelance of tsunderes with pigtails at a time when the term started to come into general usage.
    • The Lucky Channel segment of Lucky Star even includes an extended rant over the term tsundere and how it has evolved over time, from a transitional personality process to someone who switches back and forth constantly.
      • Also, the main "joke" behind Lucky Channel is that the host constantly flips between saccharine sweet Moe Moe to jaded, cynical pro; although that's not so much to do with her personality being bipolar, and more to do with her being an "actor" who jumps from her "stage" personality to her "true" personality when provoked (and she's easily provoked).
  • Naru Narusegawa in Love Hina is famous for her "Naru punch".
  • Akane Tendo, and to some degree also Ukyou Kuonji in Ranma 1/2.
    Kasumi: "She's really a very sweet girl. She's just a violent maniac."
    • However, Ukyou can be argued as a minor Yandere after her initial introduction -- being publically friendly and affectionate, but violent and sometimes disturbingly underhanded when things don't go her way.
  • Rika in Hanbun No Tsuki Ga Noboru Sora.
  • Suiseiseki in Rozen Maiden appears to be like this in her introduction, but after that mostly only plays at it to be mischievous. Shinku and later Suigintou both approach the original definition of Tsundere.
  • Yoshino in Maria Sama Ga Miteru, especially whenever Rei teases her about being clingy.
  • Winry Rockbell in Full Metal Alchemist, especially towards Ed. Come to think about it, Ed also qualifies, although there is a different gender issue involved (as a result of the superposition of his bad temper and incredible trials, he has a bit of a macho complex...).
  • Vita in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, and Teana (towards Subaru) in the third season.
  • Sawatari Makoto from Kanon is one of the rare female examples who eventually becomes a Defrosting Ice Queen. In the last few episodes where she appears, she doesn't say one mean word.
  • Voice actress Rie Kugimiya is becoming famous for these, originally with Shana in Shakugan No Shana, along with her more violent Expy Louise in Zero No Tsukaima.
  • This was originally Ranpha Franboise's personality in Galaxy Angel. This was modified into a general overbearing romantic and golddigging streak in the television series, probably because tsundere need a boy to emote at.
  • Ran Mouri in Detective Conan. Since she's a national-ranked karate girl, her violent tendencies come in handy more than once, though.
  • Asuna Kagurazaka in Mahou Sensei Negima, although this trait has diminished in recent examples. After the first half of the series concluded, this role is taken up by Anya. In addition, Akamatsu himself describes Chisame as a borderline tsundere.
  • Mika Seido in Geneshaft who throughout the series yells pretty much everyone at one time or another especially her captian Hiroto Amagiwa whom she hold personally responsible for the death of her friend punching him in the first episode only to be one who is always by his bed when he's greatly injured, although claiming its a The Only One Allowed To Defeat You
  • The Seigaku Fangirl Tomoka Osakada from The Prince Of Tennis can be seen as a future Tsundere, since she's very open about her admiration for "Ryoma-sama" as well as impulsive and tomboyish *and* has a borderline Slap Slap Kiss relationship with another of Ryoma's friends, Satoshi Horio.
    • In the Seigaku team itself, one of the regulars can be seen as a male Tsundere, rather than the traditional Jerk With A Heart Of Gold: Kaoru Kaidoh, who is very antisocial and skittish yet also is incredibly naïve when it comes to relationships (seing him blush is quite cute) and adores animals. If you want to add romance of the Ho Yay variety, his relationships with either of his doubles partners (Momoshiro and Inui, more tsun-tsun towards the first and more dere-dere towards the latter) could (arguably) count. If you want het, remember him being VERY dere-dere towards the girls of the dating sim games.
  • Kaname Chidori in Full Metal Panic!. Though in her defense, she does have to put up with Sousuke blowing up parts of the school and traumatizing her classmates and teachers on a regular basis.
  • Despite being male, Wolfram in Kyou Kara Maou qualifies, since he complains about Yuuri about as much as he's grouchily possessive of him and despite being quasi-'dominant' looks more girly than him. In one OVA episode, another character actually uses the word tsundere to describe him.
  • Another Boys Love example: Souichi from The Tyrant Falls In Love spends half of the time yelling at, punching, and kicking Morinaga, and half of the time showing that he cares about him more than he'd like to admit or protesting a little too fervently when Morinaga interprets his motives as romantic ones, complete with furious blushing and stammered-out denials. A large part of this behavior stems from his homophobia, which severely hinders him from accepting the idea of him being in love with another man, much less being affectionate towards one.
  • Takako from Otome Wa Boku Ni Koishiteru, to the point that in the Bakers Dozen OVA, she plays the part of "Tsunderella".
  • Kyoko Otonashi from Maison Ikkoku expresses Tsundere qualities as a subversion of the Yamato Nadeshiko personality: basically, her outwardly perfect Japanese housewife persona hides her childish, almost bipolar bouts of tsundere-ness.
    • All of Takahashi's female leads appear to be Tsunderes. Perhaps this is why Takahashi Couples never seem to get together.
    • Kyoko is interesting in that when we meet her parents, we discover that her mother is a Tsundere and in flashbacks, that Kyoko was even more openly a Tsundere in her youth. (Interacting with her parents seems to bring this out in her). It's as if Kyoko is the mascot for teenage Tsunderes who manage to grow-up and become the Yamato Nadeshiko that most of them want to be. However, her old Tsun Dere behavior is still there, ready to breakout if she relives old childhood experiences.
      • Notable in that she is a widow, and in Fan Fiction the lost of her Love Interest is a common method for changing a Tsun Dere into a Yamato Nadeshiko. If her Tsundere personality re-emerges, it's probably a sign that she's learned to love again.
  • Another possible "matured" Tsundere is Princess Ayeka of Tenchi Muyo fame. She attempts to put on a Yamato Nadeshiko personality, but is certainly suppressing violent tendencies (even in the OVA, where she has a much sweeter personality). The trigger for her adoption of the Yamato Nadeshiko personality? The loss of her Love Interest and half-brother, Yosho. Of course, she targets her violence out on to her rival rather then her Love Interest.
    • This seems to be the main Les Yay argument put forward for Ryoko and Ayeka.
  • Sakurako from the manga Ai Kora.
  • Revy of Black Lagoon is a borderline psychotic version of this, and has tried to shoot Rock on two different occasions during the first season, with her "dere-dere" side surfacing during the "Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise" arc from the second season (though there was that time she saved Rock at the end of the first season, something she swore she would never do).
    • This troper would describe Revy as someone who's both a Tsundere and a Yandere -- when she's being angry and confrontational she's bad enough, but when she lapses into Whitman Fever she's even worse.
  • In Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, the "returnee" student Kaere Kimura falls into this category, while conflating it with bipolar. She has reconciled her Japanese heritage with her time spent in an ambiguous foreign country by splitting her personality into a stereotype for each -- the perfect Japanese Yamato Nadeshiko and the loud foreigner who threatens to sue over every problem. The "dere" side is in love with the teacher, while the "tsun" side threatens him most often.
    • Mayo Mitama is described as a Tsundere by another character, but parodies the type by having a barely evident "dere" side, and a "tsun" side so outright psychopathic that no amount of "dere" could counterbalance it.
    • In episode 5 of the second season, the apologetic Ai Kaga briefly "becomes a tsundere character" for all the wrong reasons... Which prompts Itoshiki to wonder if a tsundere without the dere side is possible nowadays. Manga Fan Girl Harumi Fujiyoshi is quick to reply that it is, since the dere side can be "filled in by imagination". So true, indeed.
  • Sheryl Nome in Macross Frontier. She starts out as a self-important pop-star/idol but warms up to Saotome Alto, but still not too warm. Alto is the tsundere! He blows hot and cold to both love interests (Sheryl and Ranka).
  • Kirai in Girls Bravo, who is also his childhood friend. Particularly weird as she may be partly the reason Yukinari is afraid of girls.
  • Ayano in Kaze No Stigma.
    • And later Catherine (who has the same seiyu as Takako from Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru, above)
  • Kyou in Clannad. All around displayed as a spunky girl who goes into scary mode if you ever insult her, or maybe her twin sister Ryou, is known as violent, is not afraid to throw a dictionary to the head of anyone who pisses her off or endanger her pet boar (and also throw in a swift Dynamic Entry for good measure). But then, Episode 17 rolls in... she gets locked with the protagonist in a gym locker room and instantly goes deredere to the max. Fanservice~~
    • Speaking of the protagonist Tomoya, it's also arguable that's he's a tsundere as well, particularly regarding his relationship with Nagisa.
  • Triela from Gunslinger Girl definitely has some Tsundere-ish traits... starting with the twin-tail hairstyle.
  • Mion Sonozaki from Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni is a closet tsundere over Keiichi. Closet because, whenever her "dere" side appears, she's usually impersonating her twin. Satoko also presents some tsundere-like characteristics.
  • Mai Tokiha from Mai-HiME flips back and forth between "hot" and "cold" around Yuuichi, as she occasionally has to deal with his practical jokes and moments of perversity (accidental and otherwise), and the Clingy Jealous Girl who always hangs around him. Being the new girl in town, she still wants to do right by everybody... even him.
    • Natsuki Kuga also fits the description, displaying an abrasive exterior, but hiding a sensitive side that loves puppies and collecting lingerie.
    • Minor character Akira Okuzaki is also a textbook example, keeping up a rough facade but slowly opening up to her roommate, Mai's brother Takumi.
  • Kagero the Ninja-Girl of Ninja Scroll is a rare example of this trait played for tragedy, as she could not learn to express love and tenderness until it was too late.
  • Meg in Burst Angel/Bakuretsu Tenshi. A Faux Action Girl, too.
  • Tohno Akiha in Tsukihime is this, but being the Ojou, the tsun-tsun side shows up far more often.
  • Princess Cagalli Yura Attha in Gundam SEED has definite Tsundere moments, mostly when around the male leads, although she seems to have grown out of it (in a way) by Gundam SEED Destiny.
  • Sayaka Yumi from the Mazinger Z series, Kouji's hot-tempered and often downright slap-happy partner and girlfriend, is one of the first Tsundere girls given a major role in almost any anime/manga, therefore she can be seen as among The Oldest Ones In The Book.
    • Apart of Sayaka, several main female characters created by Go Nagai have strong Tsundere traits. The newest one is Tsubaki Tamashirou from Koutetsushin Jeeg, who acts rather similar to Sayaka in regards to her best friends and possible love intrest, Kenji Kusanagi.
      • Justified with Jun from Great Mazinger, in that being half-African, there are feelings of frustration that make her irritable at times.
  • Another early example would be Kasha Imhof (towards Cosmo) from Space Runaway Ideon, though she is definitely more on the tsun-tsun side throughout the series. The closest she comes to dere-dere is during the Kitty Kitten arc, but she finally acknowledges her feelings for Cosmo half-way through the Be Invoked movie.
  • More early examples? Chinese Girl Fa Yuiri from Zeta Gundam also qualifies as Tsundere in regards to her angsty neighbor and later partner Kamille Vidan, specially when Sarah Zaviaroff or Rosamia Badam are nearby. In the sequel Gundam ZZ, where Fa is described as the Team Mom, Elle Vianno and later Roux Rouka (though she's a bit more of a Defrosting Ice Queen) become the local Tsunderes.
  • Three of the four primary cast members of Code Geass qualify as Tsundere. It probably shouldn't come as any surprise that they make up the biggest Ship To Ship Combat groups in the show.
    • Lelouch, the protagonist, is a rare male Tsundere. Normally he's a snarky Magnificent Bastard who calls concepts such as "justice" and "honor" jokes and talks down of most people. Despite this, he goes out of his way to protect and look after those close to him, even his best friend-turned-rival and his equally Tsundere Mysterious Waif partner (see below).
    • C.C. is most definitely Tsundere for Lelouch, usually talking to him in a mocking tone of voice, calling him names like "brat" and "stupid virgin", but after a few incidents where he learns about her past, she warms up ever so slightly. Even when they're nice to one another, though, they tend to couch it in Tsundere actions, such as using insults as playful nicknames or, for a larger example, see the last half of Season 1 Episode 15.
    • Kallen is also Tsundere for Lelouch, but in a different way. She thinks Lelouch is an arrogant Jerkass, but adores his alter ego Zero as a brave freedom fighter. After learning his identity, it takes her a little while to get adjusted to the concept, but eventually she goes Dere for him in both identities.
  • Ryoko Subaru from Martian Successor Nadesico, whose similarities to a more mature and professional Asuka Langley Soryuu are not entirely coincidental. Arguably, Akito acts this way toward Yurika, as a rare male example.
  • In one episode of the second series of Genshiken, the guys are taking a break together while at a major anime/manga convention and, in the course of discussing erotic games, start figuring out the plot path to Tsundere and fellow club member Ogiue as if she was a character in such a game, even calling her a "Tsundere" explicitly. Said Tsundere is actually listening in all this time, and getting more and more frustrated with her conflicting desires to both confront them and to avoid being noticed, because she swore up and down that she had no intention of going to the con.
  • Liz Ricarro from IGPX is a more muted tsundere - her arguments with Takeshi don't always extend to violence; most of the time they get along more or less fine, she usually has a concrete reason for berating or attacking him (Takeshi does kind of have an ego), and both are trained martial artists anyway. Takeshi puts it best in episode 2: "If you're not screaming, you're not happy.
  • Altezza from Fushigiboshi no Futago Hime.
  • Arguably, Sekai Saionji from School Days counts as a Tsundere in the beginning. She later shows Yandere traits and murders her love interest.
  • Ai Amano from Video Girl Ai. Note that she was not supposed to be a Tsundere, but a Yamato Nadeshiko - until Youta played her video in a broken VCR. Len Momono from Video Girl Len fits a bit more, though.
  • Hanazono Karin from Kamichama Karin.
  • Meryl in Trigun.
  • Misao Makimachi and Kaoru Kamiya in Rurouni Kenshin, despite the latter having the looks and garb of a Yamato Nadeshiko.
  • Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka and Temari from Naruto seem to fit the bill.
    • Especially Temari. She's very aggressive (borders on Ax Crazy in her initial appearance) and is definitely troublesome, but she also possesses a softer, more gentle side, and even forms a sort-of relationship with her Chunin exam opponent, Shikamaru. And when they say she has a Paper Fan Of Doom, they aren't kidding. Also, Shikamaru's mother Yoshino is quite tsundere-ish, which just goes to show that Nara men have a thing for troublesome women.
  • Koizumi from Lovely Complex exhibits this behavior, but that is mostly due to the indecisive and hard-to-read behavior of her love interest.
  • Aoba from CrossGame is a tough and somewhat tomboyish Tsundere, though more on the "tsun" side. Most of the plot focuses on her Defrosting Ice Queen process over more than six years.
  • Nanami and Miz Mishtal in El Hazard The Magnificent World.
  • Urumi Kanzaki in the GTO manga had a number of these moments... though a bit of a Yandere streak as well.
    • Anko Uehara takes it to the extreme; Her treatment of Noboru Yoshikawa drove him to attempt suicide, twice.
  • Kagura Sohma from Fruits Basket is a rather curious mix of Tsundere and Yandere, having the temper of the first type and some bits of the latter's insanity.
  • Mayu from Princess Kaguya.
  • Miyabi Johou (the local Stalker With A Crush with creepy glasses) in High School Debut.
  • Taiga Aisaka from Toradora!. Like the Shana/Louise/Nagi triumvate she, too, is voiced by Rie Kugimiya.
  • Otae and, to a certain extent, Kagura from Gintama are both examples of this. (Poor Gintoki and Shinpachi.)
  • In a rare male example, Ritsuka from Loveless is something of a Tsundere, though he certainly leans more toward the tsuntsun than the deredere.
  • Ami Kurimoto and Karin Aoi from DNA^2.
  • In another male example, Randy Mc Laine aka Ryo from FAKE can be seen as somewhat Tsundere-ish towards his partner and love intrest, Dee Latener. Doesn't help that Dee is not only an ex-Casanova, but quite the Handsome Lech who is often chased around by male Clingy Jealous Girl JJ. In the same manga, Carol fits a bit more as your typical Tsundere towards Bikky.
  • Rosette from Chrno Crusade is a super-genki Tsundere-cum-ActionGirl. Feeeeel the pain!
  • Riku from DN Angel. Through the magic of Sibling Yin Yang, her twin sister Risa is deredere-er than her.
    • It's also implied that the main lead's mother, Emiko, was somewhat like this when she was younger: whenever a boy tried to confess his love for her, she would respond that she would go out with him on one condition: "When we're married, we have to have a boy!" When the boys got understandably flustered, she'd angrily insist on the condition.
  • Lizette/Lisette, the Red Riding Hood in Ludwig Kakumei, combines this with Yandere-ish traits, but gets better at the end of the manga.
  • Hanon of Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch takes the standoffish approach toward Dogged Nice Guy Nagisa.
  • Trinity Blood's Astharoshe "Asta" Asran. Her relationship with Abel Nightroad, though not romantic (at least, not in canon), has strong elements of this. At first she violently threatens him (and does so again each time they meet), but comes to see him as one of her closest comrades. And that word is extremely meaningful to Asta.
  • Satomi Ozawa from Naru Taru is a quite dark version of this.
  • Karin and Soyogi from Umi no Misaki... though, if you'd been brought up to sleep with some dude you don't know, you might develop a cranky side too.
  • Another possible male Tsundere: Li Syaoran from Card Captor Sakura. Grumpy and tsun-tsun towards lots of people, but simply adorable and VERY dere-dere if you're Yukito or Sakura. A more straight example is Chiharu Mihara, who flips between slapping Yamazaki around for his outrageous lies or acting very sweet and awkwards when they're in private.
  • Nagisa in the manga Yume de Aetara is Tsundere all the way, her tsun-tsun side suffered by her suitors (specially Masao Fugno), with her dere-dere exposed with her first love (in the manga) or when Fuguno is genuinely honest with her.
  • Kasumi/Misty from Pokemon is one. She can be violent and furious, complete with wielding a frying-pan-of-doom (especially in the beginning or when you mention the word "bike" around her) or motherly, careing and romantic. (exspecially after obtaining Togepi) Early seasons seem to hint that this is because of the lead-character of the show,Satoshi/Ash, yet later seasons make it less obvious and let her become less Tsundere.
  • Yuriko Star from Irresponsible Captain Tylor.
  • Launch from Dragon Ball.
  • Yoko from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann fits this trope in the early episodes with her behavior towards Kamina--initially yelling at and chastising him, then softening towards him and kissing him. After his death, she largely outgrows this trope and becomes a full-fledged Cool Big Sis.

Video Games
  • Seolla in Super Robot Wars Alpha and Original Generation...but only towards Arado. Katina, on the other hand, seems Tsundere, but is really just short-tempered and generally cranky. It's unknown if she and Russel are actually a couple, but they're both rather protective of each other.
    • Rio and her attitude toward Ryoto gave this editor Neon Genesis Evangelion flashbacks, but it's really more the fact that Rio is Hot Blooded and Ryoto...isn't. At least, not until she's had some time to work on him.
  • Tron Bonne in Mega Man Legends.
  • Leon Magnus in Tales of Destiny. Although in the original game, he was a complete jerk who never accepted his former companions as friends, the Remake rectified his personality. Although initially mistrusting and openly stating that he dislikes Stahn Aileron, he eventually caves into his persistent attempts to befriend him and agrees to fight alongside him as a companion. Of course, he then makes a Heroic Sacrifice moments after agreeing to accompany the hero once more, and he STILL states that he dislikes him, and that he never accepted that he was a friend. Doesn't help that he looks... rather girly despite his masculine voice and fights like a Lady Of War.
    • A more straight out example would be Rutee (Wow, she and Leon must've been real Tsundere siblings), who continuallys bicker with Stahn, but still ends up as his wife in the sequel. And in the said sequel, there's Nanaly Fletch, who constantly delivers Loni a backbone crusher if he pisses her off, especially about her tomboy nature, but in another second, she gets... a bit gushy on him. She even cried on his shoulder once.
    • This is par for the course in the Tales Series, really. You've got both Tear and Natalia in Tales of the Abyss, Farah in Tales of Eternia, Sheena in Tales of Symphonia, Chloe in Tales of Legendia, Iria in Tales of Innocence...
      • Tales Of Phantasia is a subversion of this trend only in that the tsundere did not get paired up with the lead. There was an awkward love triangle for a while, but it was mercifully dropped the moment said tsundere Arche met Chester.
  • The lead designer of The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess has openly admitted in an interview that Midna was designed with the Tsundere concept in mind.
    • Tetra from Zelda: The Wind Waker would arguably qualify too.
  • Etna from Disgaea, though it's only particularly apparent in the "Etna's Diary" subplot.
    • That being said, Laharl is textbook case despite being male. Both scenes involving Flonne's pendant just serve to drive the point home.
  • Angie from Trauma Center is an aloof/warm type.
  • Franziska von Karma in the Ace Attorney series, a young woman with an absolutely vile temper, a tendency to Whip It Good at the slightest provocation, and a fixation on perfection, but a terrific soft spot for the painfully codependent Adrian Andrews, who she eventually helps train into being able to stand on her own two feet. She finally cracks at the end of Justice For All and bursts into tears at a display of affection from Miles Edgeworth, her unrelated and older 'little brother'. By Trials and Tribulations she's acting hostile more out of habit than anything else, and shows a soft side around children, being genuinely heartbroken when a little girl yells at her. Phoenix even thinks to himself that her outright hostility is what makes her "cute."
    • He also notes that it may be a reaction to the severe fever from which he's suffering. However, since this troper found the "cute" remark funny enough to make him chortle, he thinks it was more than the fever talking.
  • Lyndis from Fire Emblem 7 can be seen as a Tsundere through her Slap Slap Kiss interactions with Hector of Ostia and her awkward, gentler reactions towards her vassal Kent or the nomad Rath. Same goes to Serra the Cleric in her supports with Erk and Matthew, though more pronunciated since she also exhibits Rich Bitch traits despite not being one ( She's actually a Stepford Smiler orphan who created the Rich Bitch persona to cope with her Parental Abandonment issues ) and acting more dere-dere towards Oswin. Farina, the tomboyish and money-grubbing Pegasus Knight, also counts as a Tsundere since she's got the Slap Slap Kiss with two males, Hector and Dart the Pirate. The Dragon Lord Vaida can be seen as an older, more scarred Tsundere in her supports with her ex-Lancer Heath and her confident Harken.
    • The Ninth game set this up as well in the Cat Girl Lethe and her various interactions with people (especially Ike, the leading male of this story). A lot more with the violent aspects than the nice aspects (to show how feral and feline she is). However, the Tenth game shattered all thoughts of her ending up with anyone.
    • And in the Fourth one, there's one Tsundere: Tiltyu the thunder mage. Sure, she acts really cheerful, pushy, spunky, rebellious, and even speaks TOO casually for a Princess, especially when her predestined is the rather timid Azel, she looks just about ready to be REALLY pushy on him. But in truth, beneath that, she shows great insecurity and loneliness, when you do actually get her to a love-improving conversation with Azel, you get to see that despite her outlook, she is really scared that nobody will trust her by being 'an enemy's daughter'. Then you see how scared she is when facing her father (justified, though, her father has a Holy Weapon that can possibly kill her in one hit). And then there's all those misfortunes she suffered right after.
    • The more straight out Tsundere in the fourth game would be Princess Ayra of Isaac. Sure, she can be one hell of a scary Action Girl, killing men with ease using the Ryuuseiken and bring a sort of Auntie Bear to little Shanan. But then, she can get a bit gushy when she's paired with Holyn... or have a Slap Slap Kiss romance with Lex. If you really want gushy, though, try pairing her with Arden...
  • Viconia DeVir in Baldur's Gate: Shadows of Amn, if the player creates a male protagonist and engages in her romance subplot. Probably at least partly because she comes from an entire race that Does Not Like Men, and partly because she's just plain evil.
  • Male example: Azai Nagamasa in Sengoku Basara. He just HAD to keep up his Justice Freak in front of his introverted wife Oichi, so he tells her to shut up often when she starts moping around. But when nobody's around, he turns away and presents a flower for her.
  • Iori Minase from The Idolm@ster.
  • Meryl Silverburgh from the "Metal Gear Solid" series, especially in the fourth installment. Her interactions with Johnny [Akiba] in the Outer Haven Shootout are perfect examples, especially when she decides to don the seme pants.
  • Lili from Psychonauts. She spends roughly the first half of the game belittling Raz in various ways, but is much sweeter to him in the second half--she's still feisty, though. To be fair, though, she is ten. Cooties might have something to do with it.
  • Prier from La Pucelle Tactics behaves this way towards just about all the men she encounters, but especially towards her brother Culotte and, to a lesser degree, Croix.
  • Lady Sylvanas from the Warcraft series can be seen as a tsundere. While she is the leader of the undead Forsaken and outwardly seems like a cold, uncaring person, she shows a hidden soft side during some moments in the fluff (especially towards the blood elves), and the resolution of one quest in World Of Warcraft shows Sylvanas mourning the loss of her sister and her "past" life when she sings The Lament of the Highborne.
    • Come to think of it, indeed. Before that song, if you give her the necklace, she shows surprise about the memories of her sister... then realizes that she's doing fluff in front of the undeads, so she quickly displays her cold attitude back and shoos you away... then sings that song. She really runs from hot, cold, and then hot again!

Tabletop Games
  • Anna Lin from the continuing examples in Bliss Stage.
    Anna: "I've seen better men than you face worse things than you can imagine. Don't think you're a hero, and don't think I'm your friend!"

Western Animation
  • Helga Pataki in Hey Arnold moons over Arnold in private and even has a shrine devoted to him, yet she can only act nasty and bullying to him in public.
  • Linka from Captain Planet. No, she doesn't like Wheeler that way or so she says, but she's been close to kiss him several times and is his Clingy Jealous Girl, so...
  • EVE from WALL-E is a non-human example. She helpfully illustrates why you do not give one of these ladies a plasma cannon.
    • The repair scene at the end (particularly where she blows out the ceiling to get him sunlight) is a perfect example of the "Ohmygodhe'sintroubleGETTHEFUCKOUTOFMYWAY" protectiveness Tsunderes can exhibit when their love interest is threatened.
  • Cindy Vortex from The Adventures Of Jimmy Neutron. She's far more "Tsun" than "dere," but there are a few times she lets her true feelings for Jimmy slip through.

Webcomics
  • Faye in Questionable Content.
    • She's also a bit of a subversion, as she's aware she has "issues" and is currently seeking professional help for them. (Even if she agreed to seek that help in order to avoid the other elephant in the room (Marten's feelings towards her))
  • Despite what she says in this strip, Eri-chan in Okashina Okashi is closer to Yandere than Tsundere.
  • Parodied somewhat with Chiaki in Sparkling Generation Valkyrie Yuuki where the character in question is left in utter bewilderment by her own jumps between happy and exceedingly depressed explaiming that she has "No idea how she should feel!" Truthfully, she's more of a genki girl, but...
  • Erika Hayasaka of Megatokyo.

Live Action TV
  • The Landlady from Kung Fu Hustle. Well, more like a cranky old woman very early on, getting pissed off at the residents complaining about the lack of amenities and screaming really loud for them to all shut up (and it's later a Plot Point), not to mention slapping the crap out of her husband whenever he hits on a bucktoothed resident lady of the complex. But, she's shown to be protective and not a jerk later on in the movie.
  • Miss Piggy from The Muppets exemplifies this trope. In Muppet Babies, she's basically Asuka Soryuu in pink and lace.
  • As does Susan from Coupling to some extent. If she uses the word "apparently", run.
  • Dorothy Patrillo Zbornak, from The Golden Girls.
  • This troper watched this Monty Python sketch and saw it to be a tsundere butcher with a boater hat.
  • Barely averted by Far Scape in the character of Aeryn Sun. She might seem to be a Tsundere at first, but is disqualified for running hot and cold at the same time, as opposed to running hot and cold alternately, resulting in a sort of permanent The Spock exterior with passions that never quite surface; a definite lack of Slap Slap Kiss due to her Megaton Punch actually hurting Crichton; and her coming by her behavior honestly as a borderline Super Soldier trained The Spartan Way suddenly cut adrift from her in no way Mildly Military lifestyle and ending up on the wrong end of a Stern Chase.
  • Evelyn Kwong of Neds Declassified School Survival Guide. Cookie didn't realize what he unleashed when he said that the challenge of beating him was what motivated her.
  • Mindy of Drake And Josh in her second appearance only. The animosity she had towards Josh in her first appearance had more of a Magnificient Bastard vibe then Tsundere, but her second appearance they realized they were evoking Slap Slap Kiss. After that she was a rather loving girlfriend.
  • Lynda Day from Press Gang embodies this trope par excellence. 'Lynda's favourite colour is obedience, folks. It's true! Hard? They had to use an industrial laser to pierce her ears!' ''Her ears aren't pierced.' 'I didn't say it worked!'.

Theatre

Literature
  • Ce'Nedra from the Belgariad is apparently generally regarded, at least by Japanese readers, as one of the clearest Western examples of the trope.
  • Pretty much every female protagonist in The Wheel Of Time.
  • Princess Eilonwy from The Chronicles of Prydain says "Taran, I'm not speaking to you" about five times a novel, and as the last line of at least the first three.
  • Susana Cabeza de Vaca from Mount Dragon. Replace baka with pendejo and hijo de puta, make her dark-skinned and smart, and you have a Mexican tsundere!
  • Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. Or at least written that way in the Kiera Knightly film version.

Real Life
  • There are some things that man was never meant to know.
  • Recently, Tsundere Cafes have been opening in the Otakuland of Akihabara. Similar to Meido Cafes, the waitresses there are young attractive women, each acting tsundere-ish towards their patrons: very rude and impatient at the beginning ("Here, sit." "Am I supposed to wait for you, or what?" "Have you decided on your order yet?!") but getting increasingly more apologetic and dere when they are about to leave ("I'm sorry I said all those things to you... you will come again, won't you?.."). Witness reports say that this change is irresistible. The waitresses apparently enjoy their jobs immensely, too, but, heck, getting paid for being rude to customers? A dream job.
    • This is sort of the gimmick of the American restaurant Ed Debevicks where both male and female waitstaff are deliberately rude to customers.
  • Although not a fictional character and not female, John Lennon from The Beatles reportedly had a personality like this. He could get incredibly angry, punch a man in the nose, and then a few minutes later he would apologise profusely and offer a hug.

Comic Books
  • This was Gwen Stacy's original personality in the Spider Man comics, flipping between concerned and lovestruck over Peter to hating his guts for a minor transgression like him not responding to Harry Osborn's jokes. After her death, however, she was Flanderized in the minds of most readers and writers into a Purity Sue.
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