Thinking About "Tsundere"

At separate points in this week's episode of Spy x Family, Anya and Becky called each other a "Tsundere." That was my favorite thing about this episode, and that got me to think: "Why?"

For those new to anime. Tsundere is a character archetype (usually a female) who has a violent/harsh and soft/loving sides and alternates between them. Nowadays the term is usually used by anime fans to describe characters who hide their soft/loving nature with a cold facade. Usually with violence.

The term "Tsundere" is very popular in anime & it's one of my favorite anime-specific archetypes. I also love many characters who fall under this umbrella. When done well, Tsundere's characters are easy to relate to. Done badly, tsundere characters feel like the author is filling a trope checklist.

Tsundere is one of the many "Dere" archetypes. It's also the most popular as it's the most referenced type in anime fandoms. (Yandere being a close second, but let's not talk about serial killers today.)

When I think of why I love Tsundere so much, I go back to the characters that define the term for me. Toradora's Taiga & Zero no Tsukaima's Louise. (Interestingly, both are essentially the exact same character shaped by different lives.) Railgun's Misaka Mikoto is a good example too. The male example for me is the titular Inuyasha. though MHA's Bakugo is a good recent example.

"It's not like I'm helping you because I like you. Baka!" -- A Typical Tsundere.

The current standard definition for a Tsundere character is actually different than the original one. Originally Tsundere referred to any character that starts cold and got warmer over time. That's different from Tsundere character archetype I described above.

My favorite example to showcase the difference is Mushoku Tensei's Eris Greyrat. She fits the original definition, but we don't consider her a "true" Tsundere because doesn't follow the typical Tsundere archetype formula. Eris starts out as a violent child who matures to be a powerful & thoughtful woman. She doesn't hide her feelings with violence like other Tsundere characters. Still, she shows enough traits of the archetype to be called one in the fandom.

I don't know where I was going with this, so I'll go back to this week's episode of Spy Family. Both Anya and Becky don't fit any Tsundere type which makes the two scenes funny for me.

The tsundere of the Spy x Family series is actually Damian! He's so cute when he hides his feelings. (That's another male example, I should've mentioned above.)

Tsundere as an archtype is cliche at this point, but as they say, these tropes become cliche for a reason. I actually look forward to how each anime puts a spin on the Tsundere trope, even if it's just characters using it falsely to refer to each other.

What do you think?

• The cover image of the article is taken from Spy x Family Ch.36.