Why Are Tsundere Love Interests So Popular in Romance Anime & Manga?
Although tsundere love interests often top the popularity charts in romance anime programmes, they are not exempt from criticism.
Tsundere personalities have a hard exterior that is saved for their closest friends and crushes, yet they also have a tender inside. This often translates to characters being referred to be “hard to obtain” in western media. Even though tsunderes are the most well-liked -dere kind, some fans want to know why. Some claim that tsunderes are poorly worded and that it is unreasonable for someone who is always unhappy to have a tender side reserved for only one person. Some people even believe that tsunderes encourage bad relationship dynamics and contrast them with the happier individuals, such as derederes or bakaderes.
However, it’s obvious that this -dere type is here to stay given the sheer number of romantic anime and manga featuring a tsundere love interest. Some of the most well-known tsundere characters in romantic series are Kyo Sohma from Fruits Basket, Tomoe from Kamisama Kiss, Atsuhiro from My Sweet Tyrant, and the small but formidable Taiga Aisaka from Toradora! Fans can’t help but be fascinated by their often brooding exterior giving way to a warmer, more sensitive inner in front of their loves, even if their existence wasn’t without controversy.
Tsunderes Are Often Compared to Other -Dere Types, But Their Interactions Create Entertaining Dynamics
Tsunderes often face criticism for their sullen demeanour, witty remarks that might be seen as insults, and explosive tempers. Such comments, however, fail to take into account that tsunderes are easily agitated and display devotion in unusual ways. They don’t demonstrate their love in overt shows of affection, but they do constantly watch out for and defend the people they adore. Additionally, their sarcastic personalities provide amusing interactions with other -dere types. For instance, Kyo and Tohru from Fruits Basket share a charming dynamic.
Kyo is the embodiment of tsundere love interests whereas Tohru is a kind-hearted bakadere whose generosity is sometimes abused. Even though he is outwardly hostile and cruel to everyone else, Kyo would never consider harming Tohru and constantly goes over and beyond to keep her safe. Kyo’s more harsh demeanour is softened by Tohru’s sensitivity and unrelenting compassion, which allows for some of the couple’s cutest exchanges. Apart from Tohru and his tutor Kazuma, Kyo’s gentler side is seldom shown to anybody else in the series.
The interaction between Atsuhiro and Non in My Sweet Tyrant is similar. The sole distinction is that Non is a deredere whereas Atsuhiro is a tsundere. Derederes are renowned for having a great deal of empathy and compassion for others, but they’re also quite spirited. The melancholy and often reclusive tsunderes are a pleasant contrast to derederes’ tendency to be the life of the party.
In My Sweet Tyrant, Atsuhiro often pushes Non aside while seeming irritated with her. He can’t help but admit how much he loves her, and how agitated he gets. Atsuhiro makes an effort to hide his actual emotions for Non from everyone else by making caustic jokes and projecting an air of disinterest. That’s not to suggest Atsuhiro never expresses devotion to Non; he simply reserves it for private moments.
Tsunderes Are So Popular Because They’re Inherently Endearing
Fans adore their beloved tsundere every time they appear on screen, which is understandable given that their prickly -dere personality creates intriguing interplay with other characters. Tsunderes can be found in every segment and subgenre of anime, but romance series are where they are most prevalent since they so fully embrace and develop the type. Tsundere comes in a variety of flavours, and not all characters that fit this mould are overtly hostile. Some people are merely sarcastic geniuses who utilise conversation to keep their crushes away from them.
The ideal illustration of this is Tomoe from Kamisama Kiss. He vowed to never recognise Nanami as the new land deity when he first saw her. He continued to do his obligations as a familiar, but he said that this was only because he was anticipating Mikage’s arrival. When Nanami acknowledged that she had become fond of him during their time together, things for this snarky fox yokai became tricky. Being Nanami’s familiar, Tomoe is unable to completely refuse. Tomoe treated Nanami with devotion and even compassion that he wouldn’t display to anybody else since he was still her familiar, despite the fact that he didn’t originally desire anything romantic with her.
Tomoe began to wonder why he was so agitated about a human female as Kamisama Kiss went on. When he learned that there could be more to their connection than merely a god and her familiar, his deal with Nanami briefly fell through. No matter how icy he may seem to be, Tomoe’s warmer demeanour and clumsy efforts at love are appealing, as is often the case with tsunderes. At first, it’s difficult to like them, much less fall in love with them.
Usually, their crushes first hate them or are at least scared by them. It makes sense why this -dere type is critiqued, although these characters sometimes have unparalleled emotional heft and a propensity for superb writing. Tsunderes are also by nature appealing, and many viewers like the concept of a character who is normally cruel to everyone else having a soft side for one particular individual. Without these tsunderes offering equal amounts of amusing banter and sweet moments, anime and manga would have a huge hole.
Why Are Tsundere Love Interests So Popular in Romance Anime & Manga?
- Reference Sites:
- https://animesee.com/
- https://www.crunchyroll.com/
- https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/
- https://www.cbr.com/
