Which Dere do you want?

[shinta|hikari]

What is your favorite Dere type anime character? Please state your reason as well. If you can, include a character you like that belongs to the category. Here are the choices:

Tsundere - The Japanese term tsundere refers to a character (usually female) who "runs hot and cold", alternating between two distinct moods: tsuntsun (aloof or irritable) and deredere (lovestruck). The tsuntsun can range from the "silent treatment" to "lovestruck kindergartener who pushes you into the sandbox." The reasons behind a Tsundere's behavior vary widely. Some are reasonable justifications. Others simply flow from the conflict between her feelings about the object of her affections and her reactions to having them, such 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, and conversely reject his compliments of her. Example: Tohsaka Rin from Fate Stay Night

Yandere - is a Japanese term for a person who is initially very loving and gentle to someone before their devotion becomes destructive in nature, often through violence. The term is derived from the words yan (ヤン?) meaning a mental or emotional illness and dere (デレ?) meaning to show affection. Yandere characters are mentally unstable, often using extreme violence as an outlet for their emotions. Example: Kotonoha Katsura from School Days

Dandere - A dandere character is one who is normally quiet and silent, possibly to the point of coming across as an emotionless girl at times, but will suddenly become talkative and sweet and cute when alone with the right person if they manage to push the right button to get them to pour their heart out, revealing that she (or he, of course) is actually just shy. Not to be confused with Kuudere which is a cool person that becomes lovey dovey. They are very similar in appearance and possibly behavior, but their underlying character reasoning is different. Being silent for the sake of being silent vs being cool. The name comes from an abbreviation of 'danmari deredere'. 'Danmari' means to be calm or to shut one's mouth up all the time, while 'deredere' means lovestruck. Example: Rei Ayanami from Evangelion

Kuudere - An anime/manga slang term for a character that is cold, blunt, cynical, and pretty much doesn't care if her beloved dies. That's what she is on the outside but she is actually caring and nice on the inside. Differs from tsundere since tsundere is when the character frequently runs hot and cold between tsun and dere. Kuudere is when the character only occasionally shows her caring side. Example: C.C. from Code Geass

Definitions are taken from Wiki, tvtropes.org, and Urban Dictionary

I vote Kuudere because they are generally mysterious and intelligent. The haughtiness and composure always get me, not to mention the usual long straight hair they have. I am currently really fond of Ferris from Denyuuden, who may not seem too Kuudere with her physical violence, but still fits that type more than tsundere due to her attitude.

[David75]

NormaruDere? or NanasakiAiDere
I would go KuuDere and DanDere, but I can't choose, so it's hard for me to vote as this is not multiple choice.

[Xelbair]

Yandere, they are just the best.

[Kraco]

I am currently really fond of Ferris from Denyuuden, who may not seem too Kuudere with her physical violence, but still fits that type more than tsundere due to her attitude.

How do you really know Ferris is any dere? From what I can see, she hasn't shown any romantic interest whatsoever in Ryner. She only showed compassion during that one scene when she saved his sanity, but that's it. Other times she's always beating or insulting him, at best using him as a slave. Such things would be very common in -dere behavior if it was actually in combination to somehow indicating she cares for him, but I haven't seen a single sign of that being the case.

Now, I'm a person who would like most shows to have some romance in addition to the main theme and thus I'm certainly not biased against it, but sometimes it just isn't there.

[KrayZ33]

Whats Shiki from Kara no Kyoukai?
(before/after the accident)

I can't really tell..

but I prefer that type.
its probably kuudere

[Kraco]

What is Revy of Black Lagoon? Something between tsun and kuu? Or just a less flashy tsundere (by modern standards)?

[KrayZ33]

Ye, she is probably the same as Shiki.

she has her tsun and kuudere moments.
and I think the mix between these 2 is the best.

because I can't really say that I dislike Tsundere characters (Mikoto), but I really hate it when they are overdoing it. (Toradora)

btw is "Index" some kind of a lesser Yandere-demon?

[MFauli]

tsundere make me wanna rape them.

i have no specific example, but from the above definitions, kuudere sounds most interesting from a plot development point of view.

[shinta|hikari]

@Kraco - I'm taking a hop of faith for Ferris. I'm pretty sure the dere will come, we just need to be patient.

Shiki is hard to classify because of her split personality but I would say she is more of a kuudere than a tsundere. She was more stoic than angry for the most part.

[Ryllharu]

What is Revy of Black Lagoon? Something between tsun and kuu? Or just a less flashy tsundere (by modern standards)?

I believe quite strongly that Revy doesn't fall into any of these categories, and I've gone into it at moderate length on irc. Maybe things will change later, but she's not one.

I guess the kind I like the most are a moderate cross between a strong tsundere and a kuudere. The way I like to describe them are something greater than or equal to a 80-20 tsun-to-dere ratio. I like them to be more feisty, but for an actual reason. Shallow ones won't do either, they need to have some good depth. That means characters like Caska (Berserk), Asuka (Evangelion), Misaki (Blood Alone), Urumi (Onizuka), Inner Moka (Rosario + Vampire), Nah Hae-Young (Unbalance x Unbalance), characters like that.

It can't go overboard though, or be too vicious for no reason (see most Kugimiya Rie tsunderes).

But the best of them all is Ayukawa Madoka from Kimagure Orange Road. She's so much more than the average tsundere. There is subtlety and depth to her iciness, a deeply caring side that she hides for selfless and legitimate reasons. Not to mention she has brains to match her beauty. Fire and ice all rolled into one, and to say that you can describe her with terms like "tsundere" or "kuudere" would to a great disservice to her character development throughout the anime/manga.

I'll vote for straight-up tsundere. Iciness is good, but they can come off like emotionless dolls (Rei), or uncompromising bitches (Suzuka). Dere is nothing without the fire that masks it.

[shinta|hikari]

I agree about Revy. Even if she and Rock do become an explicit couple, I doubt she will be dere in any major way.

[Buffalobiian]

I really can't decide. I've got awesome girls in mind in every category except Yandere. It all comes down to the individual execution for me.

Since I have to pick one, however, I'll go with Tsundere for the sheer fact that they'll talk to you in both Other and Dere phases.

[Kraco]

I agree about Revy. Even if she and Rock do become an explicit couple, I doubt she will be dere in any major way.

Hmm... Yeah. Now that you mentioned it, that's highly likely indeed.

What comes to this poll, I'm going to vote tsundere. There are interesting and likable characters in every category (except yandere), but in the end I think tsundere, while the most numerous, I reckon, are also really interesting with the personality shift.

As long as it's not the Kugimiya Rie tsundere aberration, which may make me drop the series.

[Xelbair]

Aww - what's with all the yandere hate?
They are lovable, a bit dangerous(enough to spice life a bit) - and unpredictable - which is great, because if she was predictable it would be no fun.

[shinta|hikari]

No one hates yandere. The choice has 3 votes in it, compared to the dandere which has only 1.

[Archangel]

No one hates yandere. The choice has 3 votes in it, compared to the dandere which has only 1.

Probably because hardly nobody ever heard of it before reading it here

[shinta|hikari]

It is the newest term (not character type though) after all, so I can't blame people who haven't heard of it yet.

[Xelbair]

The most awesome thing would be mix of yandere and dandere - similar to Nu in blazblue <3

[Yukimura]

I vote Yandere. Yandere are the characters that I feel are most likely to be treated/received as they deserve to be within stories. Tsundere, at least in my experiences, have tended to be overly proud of their status as unabashed bitches and they are accepted and coddled by cast and audience alike because of thin layers of 'past trauma' that supposedly excuse their horrible behavior. Yandere are often just as if not more traumatized but their violent tendencies are not played for laughs. Since they are usually brought to account by the cast and story for their actions I find them much more satisfying as characters in that their negative actions have negative consequences for them. It probably helps that I tend to root for relationships to be strained to the point of failure before I can be satisfied with them and yandere relationships almost inevitably fulfill that desire.

Honorable mention to Kuudere that don't warm up too much or become too lovey-dovey/mushy by the end of the story (C.C.). As a strong anti-sappiness advocate I am turned away by romance that does not involve some form of interpersonal tragedy or hardship to bring the characters down to earth before they ever proceed with any sort of romance.

[shinta|hikari]

I like that view on Yandere. Most people like them just because they seem different/new or psycho, and not what goes on beyond the disturbed exterior.

Yandere (almost) always have a reason for their behavior, unlike the tsundere that are sometimes just bitches. I can't really blame such tsunderes though, because they are characters written for a shallow and generic story that simply required a character slot fulfillment of this archetype.