The anime community often uses the "-dere" archetypes to briefly describe how an anime character behaves around their friends and, most of all, around a love interest. "-Dere" means "love," so a "-dere" type describes how a character expresses their affection for others. "Tsundere" is a popular example, but there's also the cool, aloof "kuudere" type and the shy "dandere" type.
Danderes are timid, unassertive lovers who don't have confidence in themselves. The most popular danderes tend to be girls, like Shoko Komi from Komi Can't Communicate and Miku Nakano from The Quintessential Quintuplets, but some anime fans also love dandere boys. These anime boys aren't assertive and tough like Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star or Berserk's Guts, but plenty of fans adore these dandere boys for being cuddly, gentle lovers who don't try too hard to prove their manliness.
10 Rokuro Okajima Wants Everyone To Please Get Along
Black Lagoon
Black Lagoon's characters tend to be cruel, ruthless, or just plain reckless when skirting the law in southeast Asia. Revy the gunslinger is a bitter tsundere who has thick walls around her heart, and Balalaika is quick to crush her enemies without mercy.
Then there's Rokuro Okajima, soon nicknamed Rock. Once in a while, he actually does enjoy blowing up his enemies, but mostly in self-defense or to shield the innocent from harm. Otherwise, Rokuro is a gentle, diplomatic person who couldn't scare a Roanapur street thug if he tried.
9 Shoya Ishida Hoped He Was Worth A Second Chance
A Silent Voice
A Silent Voice is a heartfelt anime movie that's all about the struggles of two young adults trying to truly communicate their feelings to one another. Shoya Ishida cost himself all his friends when he bullied Shoko Nishimiya, and he soon lost all his self-esteem.
Shoya feels terrible as an ex-bully and dearly hopes he can make amends. Now he's a timid, self-doubting boy who means well, which makes him a classic dandere. Incidentally, Shoko is a dandere herself, but she does have the courage to tell Shoya that she loves him despite their painful past.
8 Armin Arlert Is Eren's Daffodil Friend
Attack On Titan
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Mikasa Ackerman is Eren's loyal kuudere friend in Attack on Titan, while their blond mutual friend, Armin Arlert, is more like a dandere. Armin doesn't have a love story in Attack on Titan, but he does express his dandere side when speaking to his friends or when he tries standing up to bullies.
Armin Arlert is criticized for having the strength and durability of a flower, but he has a sharp, creative mind to make up for it. Armin's gentle dandere personality is also a welcome contrast to Hange Zoe's loudmouthed ways and Captain Levi Ackerman's simmering intensity.
7 Koji Koda Had To Find His Voice
My Hero Academia
Koji Koda and Tamaki Amajiki are cuddly dandere boys from My Hero Academia, and they both underestimated their potential as Pro Heroes. Despite getting accepted into the elite U.A. school, Koji Koda doubted his own worthiness as a hero and rarely stood out. Tamaki had a similar experience.
Then Koji pulled himself together and learned to speak with his Anivoice Quirk. He is still shy around other people, but he is now bold enough to summon nature's wrath and send bugs, birds, worms, and more at his foes. Koji is also greatly fond of his classmates, but he is too timid to actually tell them that.
6 Wakana Gojo Wants To Sew Clothes In Peace
My Dress-Up Darling
My Dress-Up Darling is a rom-com seinen where opposites attract in the world of cosplay and tailoring. The outgoing Marin Kitagawa recruited her dandere classmate, Wakana Gojo, to help her make some great cosplay, and Wakana timidly accepted her offer.
Wakana is a gentle and unassertive boy who tries to hide his hobby of making hina dolls, which he's been teased about before. Now, Wakana can take pride in his outstanding costumes with Marin, though he'd rather not be shoved into the spotlight. He wants everyone to look at Marin, not him.
5 Toru Kirishima Is The Yakuza's Best Foster Dad
The Yakuza's Guide To Babysitting
The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting is an example of gap moe, where a character's outward appearance sharply contrasts with their true inner nature. Toru Kirishima may be a fearsome Yakuza thug, but he's also a naturally gentle, timid man who just wants everyone to be happy.
Toru is a total dandere anytime he's not cracking skulls for the boss. He may be a tough guy now, but in his boyhood, he was a soft-spoken fellow. In the present, he was shy and nervous when Yaeka's classmates' mothers all checked him out. Toru may be handsome, but he's too meek to impress the ladies.
4 Zenitsu Agatsuma Doesn't Believe In Himself
Demon Slayer
Demon Slayer's Zenitsu Agatsuma is unusual among danderes, and he might also be described with more niche -dere types as well. Zenitsu is a fearful and timid boy who has no faith in himself as a demon slayer, and he also fears that he won't find a wife before dying.
Zenitsu hides his fearful, timid side with his loud outbursts and habit of fussing at Tanjiro, making him a whole new kind of dandere, almost like a tsundere. Meanwhile, Nezuko Kamado the deredere is the apple of Zenitsu's eye, but he has yet to actually impress her and convince her to marry or even date him.
3 Ken Kaneki Was A Bookish, Soft-Spoken Student
Tokyo Ghoul
After a point, Tokyo Ghoul's anti-hero Ken Kaneki was unrecognizable as a dandere or any -dere type. He soon became a ferocious, tortured ghoul in scary black clothes with a creepy mask and terrifying ghoul appendages in battle.
Before all that, Ken was a classic dandere boy, a gentle college student who paid more attention to books than to the people around him. Ken was charmingly shy and soft-spoken when he met Rize Kamishiro, only to face the horrible truth that he had finally scored a date with a flesh-eating ghoul.
2 Hitohito Tadano Gets So Bashful Around Komi
Komi Can't Communicate
Komi Can't Communicate is actually about two dandere characters, with the gorgeous Shoko Komi being the main character and Hitohito Tadano being the best supporting character. Tadano has adequate social skills and can make his own friends, unlike Komi, but he's still more dandere than not.
Tadano is a meek, self-deprecating boy who is simply happy if everyone else is happy, and he'd much rather not stand out. His adorable dandere side truly shines when he's around Shoko Komi, though, because he fully returns her romantic feelings, but he's much too bashful to act on them.
1 Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama Tries Not To Use His Psychic Powers
Mob Psycho 100
Shigeo Kageyama, often going by "Mob," is a total dandere whose immense psychic powers contrast greatly with his dandere personality. All throughout Mob Psycho 100, Mob tried to quietly ease his way through life, refusing to hurt other people or call attention to himself.
Mob also shows remarkable restraint with his destructive psychic powers and expresses warm compassion toward everyone and everything around him. Mob is also a model older brother for Ritsu, demonstrating great humility and kindness at all times.