Dandere



"Maybe you haven't noticed but my emotions are dangerous. I can't afford to feel anything."

- Raven to Starfire

Kuudere is a popular anime/manga character archetype that derives from the Japanese pronunciation of the English word 'cool'. Like its sister term Tsundere, it became popular during the release of Neon Genesis Evangelion, with the debut of w:c:hero:Rei Ayanami, who to this day remains one of the best and most well-known examples. It is used to describe characters who always remain calm and composed. Though they act serious on the outside, they often have a very dry, sarcastic sense of humour. They tend to have deep love for someone (whether romantic or otherwise) but are afraid to show it too often because they view it as a weakness, either because of who they are or because of the situation they are in. More often than not, they come off as emotionless, acting very cold, blunt and cynical.

Like all the -dere terms (Tsundere, Kuudere, Dandere, Deredere, Himedere and Yandere) Kuudere is usually used to describe heroines, but can be used to describe male heroes as well, and male examples tend to be more common than that of the other terms. For example, w:c:hero:Kiritsugu Emiya from Fate/Zero can be considered a Kuudere because of his tendency to hide his feelings for his wife, as he believes he has to act cold and professional to win the Fourth Holy Grail War.

The main difference between Tsundere and Kuudere is that tsunderes constantly switch between 'tsun' and 'dere', while kuuderes only occasionally show their 'dere' side. Because of this, they are perhaps the most 'evil' of the six terms (the obvious exception being Yandere) with all but a few being anti-heroes.

Other Examples

 * w:c:hero:C.C. from Code Geass
 * Raiden from the Metal Gear series
 * w:c:hero:Shiki Ryougi from Kara no Kyoukai
 * w:c:hero:Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4
 * w:c:hero:Tomoya Okazaki from Clannad
 * w:c:hero:Levi Ackerman from Attack on Titan
 * w:c:hero:Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell
 * w:c:hero:Homura Akemi from Puella Magi Madoka Magica
 * Raven from Teen Titans
 * w:c:hero:Fie Claussell from The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
 * w:c:hero:Sesshōmaru from Inuyasha
 * w:c:hero:Hitomi Kashiwa from Welcome to the N.H.K.
 * w:c:hero:Hagi from Blood+
 * w:c:hero:Koneko Toujou from HighSchool DxD
 * w:c:hero:Yayoi Kunizuka from Psycho-Pass
 * Yin from Darker than Black
 * w:c:hero:Kazuma Yagami from Kaze no Stigma
 * w:c:hero:Wilhelmina Carmel from Shakugan no Shana
 * w:c:hero:Mitsuru Kirijo from Persona 3
 * w:c:hero:Tokaku Azuma from Akuma no Riddle
 * w:c:hero:Reki from Aria the Scarlet Ammo
 * Homura from Sekirei
 * w:c:hero:Kyouko Kirigiri and w:c:hero:Peko Pekoyama from the Danganronpa series
 * w:c:hero:Byakuya Kuchiki from Bleach
 * w:c:hero:Tabitha from Zero No Tsukaima
 * w:c:hero:Sailor Pluto from Sailor Moon series
 * w:c:hero:Ikaros from Heaven's Lost Property
 * w:c:hero:Rima Mashiro from Shugo Chara
 * w:c:hero:Blake Belladonna from RWBY
 * w:c:hero:Mei Aihara from Citrus
 * w:c:hero:Ange Ushiromiya from Umineko: When they Cry
 * w:c:hero:Freudia Neuwahl from Rosenkreuzstilette
 * w:c:hero:Mara Jade Skywalker from Star Wars: Expanded Universe
 * w:c:hero:Origami Tobiichi from Date A Live
 * w:c:hero:Setsuna Higashi from Fresh Pretty Cure
 * w:c:hero:Presea Combatir from Tales of Symphonia
 * w:c:hero:Yuri Tsukikage from HeartCach Pretty Cure
 * w:c:hero:Melinda May from Marvel Cinematic Universe
 * w:c:hero:Miyu Edelfelt from Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya
 * w:c:hero:Kanade Tachibana from Angel Beats
 * Garnet from Steven Universe
 * w:c:hero:Quiet from Metal Gear Solid V
 * w:c:hero:Shadow the Hedgehog from the Sonic franchise
 * w:c:hero:Auron from Final Fantasy X
 * w:c:hero:Yusaku Fujiki from Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
 * Batman from DC Comics
 * w:c:hero:Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto
 * Jughead Jones from Archie Comics/Riverdale
 * w:c:hero:Craig Tucker from South Park
 * w:c:hero:Shoto Todoroki from My Hero Academia
 * w:c:hero:Sucy Manbavaran from Little Witch Academia
 * Cthugha from Haiyore! Nyaruko-san