Tsundere represent one of the most popular "dere" types in anime and manga. Compared to more energetic and personable types like the deredere or highly disturbing yandere, tsundere initially seem unapproachable, arrogant, and downright intimidating to the people around them. They build walls around themselves, making them harder to get close to than other types.
However, everyone agrees that a tsundere character has an inherent charm, and some of their personality quirks may even be considered endearing. Whether it's because their icy exteriors hide a warm interior or because fans resonate with their backstories, disliking some tsundere is impossible.
10 Kaguya Acts Tough, But She's Super Naive About The World
Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War
Kaguya Shinomiya from Kaguya-sama: Love Is War puts up a confident, even arrogant front that others describe as ice-cold and intimidating. She never wants to show a single moment of weakness or emotion, having been raised to believe that no one should ever guess what she's thinking.
Because of how she was raised, Kaguya only acts like she understands the ways of the world to avoid her weaknesses getting exploited by others, especially Miyuki. Kaguya's actually pretty naive to the world's ways and doesn't even know how to take care of herself when she catches the common cold or flu.
9 Maki's Hard Attitude Goes Well With Her Aspirations
Jujutsu Kaisen
Maki Zenin from Jujutsu Kaisen is known for her straightforward personality and blunt way of communicating with others. Sometimes she comes on way too strong and, in her words, seems like a heartless demon when she doesn't intend to.
Maki can sometimes come off as pretty aggressive and even mean, but she has a heart of gold and would do anything to protect her friends. Maki's tough attitude goes well with her aspirations to prove the Zenin clan wrong and get retribution for what they put her through.
8 Cherry May Act Cold, But He Cares About His Friends
Sk8 The Infinity
Cherry from Sk8 The Infinity's reputation outside of "S" precedes him as a professional AI calligrapher. Cherry treats customers with the utmost respect but tends to be a little standoffish and cold with the people he's closest to.
Always bantering with Joe and keeping Sk8 The Infinity's main duo at an arm's distance, Cherry just has a funny way of showing how much he cares for the people around him. He always looks out for Reki and Langa, even offering them skating advice before Langa's race against ADAM.
7 Tsukishima Just Acts Like He Doesn't Care So He Doesn't Get Attached
Haikyu!!
Not every member of Karasuno is passionate about volleyball — at least, not outwardly. Compared to high-energy types like Nishinoya and Hinata, it's hard to see why Tsukishima even joined Karasuno's team in the first place, besides maybe his height.
Throughout Haikyu!!, Tsukishima's been consistently prickly and perpetually sarcastic, often making harsh jabs at Hinata for his height and criticizing his passion. However, Tsukishima actually distances himself from his teammates and avoids getting too excited during a game because he doesn't want to end up like his mother.
6 Ichigo Is A Classic Tsundere
Bleach
It'd be remiss to forget Bleach's Ichigo Kurosaki in any conversation about anime's greatest tsundere. Ichigo acts like a coldhearted delinquent who doesn't care about anybody else, but that's the opposite of his goal of protecting his friends.
Ichigo genuinely cares about the people closest to him and goes to any length necessary to protect them. Ichigo may talk a good game, but he gets flustered super easily. He also has a notoriously short fuse, so it's easy to provoke him and exploit it.
5 Midorima Has A Unique Way Of Showing That He Cares
Kuroko's Basketball
In Kuroko's Basketball, the Generation of Miracles is full of eccentric personalities, but very few compare to the green-haired astrology enthusiast, Midorima Shintaro. Despite his superstitious personality, Midorima takes himself way too seriously and — like other the other prodigies — overestimates what he can do on the court.
Midorima never leaves the house without checking his horoscope and carrying his lucky item of the day. Midorima may act high and mighty, but he genuinely cares about people he respects. He offered Kagami some advice before Seirin played against Akashi's team. Later on, he offered Kuroko his lucky item of the day per his horoscope as a birthday gift.
4 Taiga Is The Palm-Top Tiger
Toradora!
Taiga Aisaka from Toradora! is one of anime's most beloved female tsundere. Tsundere weren't exactly popular before Toradora! aired, but Taiga solidified the archetype as a fan favorite. Referred to as the Palm-Top Tiger, Taiga's frail appearance shouldn't fool anybody.
Taiga walks around with a wooden sword and tons of attitude. She's not afraid to call people out for anything and her hot-headed personality intimidates everybody. It's a hilarious contrast to the laid-back Ryuuji. Still, she shows a softer side with friends that she would never let anybody else see.
3 Inosuke Is Rude & Crude, But He Always Protects His Friends
Demon Slayer
Demon Slayer's Inosuke Hashibara is as stubborn as an ox and always looking for the next fight. Always charging headfirst into battle, Inosuke doesn't care about first impressions or making friends — he just wants to win. Inosuke wouldn't dare show anything other than his typical headstrong attitude since showing emotion or looking weak is a sign of weakness in the wild.
However, despite his aggressive disposition, Inosuke's actually a pretty loyal comrade to have around. Time and time again, Inosuke has come through for Tanjiro and the gang, even putting his life on the line for them.
2 Tomoe Is Too Stubborn For His Own Good
Kamisama Kiss
Tomoe from Kamisama Kiss is a fox yokai and the familiar at the Mikage shrine. Formerly a wild, untamable fox who ran around causing chaos with Akura-ou, Mikage tamed him into a reliable familiar.
Tomoe stubbornly rejected Nanami as the new god for the duration of Kamisama Kiss, but eventually grew to respect her a little bit. By the end of the series, they fell in love. Still, Tomoe's stubborn personality never quite faded away, and he still struggles with letting other people get too close to him.
1 Kyo Is Just Afraid Of Getting Close To People
Fruits Basket
Kyo Sohma from Fruits Basket just looks like a typical moody teen with an attitude problem at first, but his behavior is pretty understandable after seeing how the rest of his family treats him. Since he's the cat, Kyo's ostracized and treated as a monster by the rest of the clan.
For most of Fruits Basket, Kyo rejected all of Tohru's kindness because he didn't want to believe that anybody would actually befriend him, much less fall in love with him. It took him a long time to finally open up to her, all the while criticizing himself for always running away before anyone could get too close.