Japanese manga and anime fans often sort and categorize their favorite characters with well-established arachetypes, most of all the -dere peresonality types.
Being based on the Japanese word dere, these archetypes describe how a given character might express and process their emotions, most of all love and affection, or perhaps strong friendships too.
The kuudere archetype, for example, describes any anime character who hides their warm affection behind a cool, detached exterior and perhaps a blank facial expression. These kuudere lovers tend to play it cool and not get too worked up, but over time, they will show their true feelings to the right person when they are finally ready.
10/10 Fiona Frost Secretly Longs For Loid
Spy X Family
Agent Nightfall/Fiona Frost is another master spy working for WISE, or Westalis’ best spy agency. After a point in Spy x Family, Fiona approached Loid and suggested that she should replace the lovely Yor Forger as the fake family’s mother figure, but Loid politely declined.
Fiona, as a true kuudere, played it cool in the inside while squealing with joy on the inside just to be around Loid. She nurses a fierce but secret crush on Loid, and she wants to replace Yor not just for Operation Strix’s sake, but for the sake of her own happiness, too.
9/10 Fuyutsuki Keeps Her Emotions Carefully Hidden
The Ice Guy And His Cool Female Colleague
The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague actually stars two kuudere characters, Himuro and Fuyutsuki, who express their kuudere feelings somewhat differently. Himuro makes the “cool, frosty lover” idea literal with his blizzard powers, while his charming co-worker Fuyutsuki is a detached, aloof lady who wants friends.
Fuyutsuki lacks ice powers, but she does have a calm, aloof persona as a kuudere girl whom her high school classmates found vaguely creepy. Fuyutsuki is difficult to read with her cold exterior, but her heart always beats warmly, especially with the polite and handsome Himuro as her new friend.
8/10 Makima Is Anime’s Most Menacing Kuudere
Chainsaw Man
Chainsaw Man tends to break down anime character archetypes with its crude and unpredictable protagonists, such as the punkish but vulnerable Denji and lovable Worst Girls like Power and Himeno. Then there’s Makima, an anime girl fans love to fear.
There’s definitely more to Makima than her cool, polite exterior would suggest, but Denji and anime fans have no idea what it is. For now, Denji admires Makima as a peculiar but magnetic kuudere who calmly and warmly welcomed him to the public safety bureau to fight devils for cash.
7/10 Rin Shima Knows All About Camping
Laid-Back Camp
Laid-Back Camp is an easygoing “cute girl doing cute things” edutainment anime that is all about the joys of going camping and exploring the great outdoors. Protagonist Nadeshiko and her friends are total derederes who make everything a party, while their friend Rin Shima is a detached but friendly kuudere.
Rin is an experienced solo camper who enjoys the solitude, making her a true introvert even by kuudere standards. Rin is totally self-sufficient, but she is generous enough to sometimes teach Nadeshiko’s squad how to make camp better or make suggestions on cross-country trips.
6/10 Isla Is An Amorous Robot Girl
Plastic Memories
Plastic Memories is an unusual blend of genres, being a romantic drama with strong science fiction elements reminiscent of Blade Runner. The anime features a charming young man named Tsukasa and his kuudere robot lady friend, the silver-haired Isla.
Isla doesn’t have much time left, and she’s desperately trying to make the most of her artificial life before it’s over. She and Tsukasa might even come together as lovers before the timer hits 00:00, and Tsukasa will test the boundaries of what real love is. He’s not sure if loving a machine is possible, but he can’t deny what he feels for her.
5/10 Nemu Kurotsuchi Quietly Befriended Uryu After He Helped Her
Bleach
Bleach mostly features tsundere characters and a few dereders and genki girls, though it also has a token kuudere, Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi of squad 12. She is Captain Kurotsuchi’s lab-grown “daughter” and assistant, but the Captain badly mistreated her during their battle with Uryu Ishida.
The calm, polite Nemu gladly accepted Uryu as a friend after he defender her in that fight, and they met again in Hueco Mundo when she and Captain Kurotsuchi rescued Uryu and Renji from Szayelaporro Grantz. Nemu doesn’t really show it, but she’s quite fond of Uryu as a friend.
4/10 Saki Hanajima Is Tohru’s Harmless Witch Friend
Fruits Basket
Saki Hanajima was widely feared and disliked in her girlhood because she could control electromagnetic waves, and she was blamed for a classmate getting injured. Saki never meant any harm, however, and she didn’t like being excluded so much.
The introverted, soft-spoken Saki became much happier when the kind Tohru Honda accepted her as a friend. Even now, Saki spends most of Fruits Basket as a quiet and aloof girl dressed in all black, but her and Arisa’s shared fondness for Tohru cannot be overstated.
3/10 Akira Tachibana Loves Running & Her Boss
After The Rain
After the Rain is a short but sweet seinen romance anime starring the high schooler Akira Tachibana. She loves running track, but an ankle injury is keeping her from competing. So, she accepted a part-time job at a restaurant where she developed a crush on her middle-aged manager, Mr. Kondo.
Akira and Mr. Kondo both respected their boundaries with this one-sided romance, with Akira quietly but earnestly trying to impress Mr. Kondo and be an active part of his life. Through Mr. Kondo, Akira also learned to appreciate literature, and she once compared a library to an aquarium of books.
2/10 Reina Aharen Expresses Love Through Food & Games
Aharen-San Is Indecipherable
Aharen-San is Indecipherable shows what happens when two kuuderes, a boy and a girl, become friends and use as few words as possible to build a relationship. Reina Aharen and her new friend Raido don’t talk much aloud, so they use gifts, food, and games as their love language.
Reina Aharen is a responsible eldest child and a caring friend. Even if she’s whisper-quiet, her actions announce her affection loud and clear, most of all for her dandere friend Oshiro and Raido. In particular, she enjoys meatballs and playing claw games at the arcade.
1/10 Nico Robin Gladly Joined Luffy’s Crew
One Piece
One Piece features a lot of energetic and wacky characters, many of whom are bakaderes or ahoderes, but there’s an exception. Nico Robin, introduced as Ms. All-Sunday, is a cool, smart, and friendly young woman with dark hair and cool outfits, and a smooth personality to match.
Nico Robin politely asked to join the Straw Hat crew after Baroque Works was vanquished, and Luffy accepted her as a loyal new friend. Nico did have some drama in the Enies Lobby arc, but otherwise, she’s been a lovable, classy kuudere who really stands out among the goofball Straw Hats.
Src: cbr.com
