Yandere - Television Tropes & Idioms

alt title(s): Dere Tsun

She'd do anything for love. Anything...

The word "yandere", a term that blossomed in moe fandom, refers to a character who is crazy about someone else. Literally. Despite the anime-inspired name, this type of character is much, much older than that, as one of the earliest examples is Medea of Greek Myth.

The character almost always appears cute and harmless on the surface... but underneath they are obsessive, controlling, and sometimes just plain insane. Woe to anyone who happens to be the object of their "affection". Even more pity should be saved for anyone who gets in the way, as the psycho-obsessive is amazingly unwilling to put up with any rivals. Some have long histories of mental instability and in some cases have always been a little "off", perhaps the product of Break The Cutie. Often eventually goes off the deep end and becomes an Ax Crazy Girl With Psycho Weapon.

Interestingly, these types of characters can still be perceived as Moe if they can build up enough tragic audience sympathy, despite the argument that many originally become popular by being subversions of wishy-washy female characters until the fandom ended up loving them in the typical way. Sometimes this can actually play out in story, if the Love Interest ever starts to rethink his relationship with this girl, she might threaten to harm herself if he ever leaves her. This threat might be explicit, but often is more subtle.

Such characters are almost always female, regardless of the other character, if only because of the moe fandom sample bias. Male characters who display similar tendencies usually end up being mere Jerk Asses rather than true psychopaths, but the occasional male yandere (specially if he's got Cute Shotaro Boy or Bishonen looks) isn't unheard of.

See also Clingy Jealous Girl, Love Makes You Evil, Love Makes You Crazy, Stalker With A Crush, and If I Can't Have You. Compare Stepford Smiler and Psycho Supporter. Contrast with Tsundere, a female character who often acts cranky, but harbors a hidden sentimental side, and the Bitch In Sheeps Clothing, in which a character is consciously using the illusion of purity and niceness to cover up a sadistic true nature (Though a BISC can become a Yandere if we add mental unstability to the mix).

Occasionally they are just Yangire, a subspecies where the psychosis is an outside influence not related to love, which may or may not be removed.

Yandere may have emerged as a deconstruction of Yamato Nadeshiko archetype: a perfect, obedient woman, who has no priorities of her own, except the ones of her family and her husband. A yandere is all that, only driven to logical extreme and then examined realistically: a sentient individual put in such position would invariably experience enormous strain. No wonder that sooner or later she would snap at a slightest provocation. Ironically, it is this realistic take that makes a yandere so endearing to the audiences, often even more so than the traditional Yamato Nadeshiko.

It should be noted that while many below listed examples are drama and horror ones, this trope is not exclusively Played For Drama. It might just as well be Played For Laugh through Comedic Sociopathy as it is for drama or horror.

Almost all the examples listed below are spoilers, so read at your own risk.

Part of the dere family along with Tsundere (angry outside, sweet inside) and Kuudere (cold outside, sweet inside).