A tsundere is a character archetype that commonly appears in anime and manga. The term describes a character who starts off cold and temperamental but slowly becomes warm and affectionate over time. While tsundere characters can appear in any context, they most often appear in romance stories as potential love interests.
Tsundere heroines are a common sight in anime nowadays, but they’ve been around since the early ’80s with characters like Lum from Urusei Yatsura. Therefore, anime has a long, storied history of tsundere heroines and love interests. Here are some characters who represent the pinnacle of the tsundere archetype.
Updated on September 28, 2024, by Mark Sammut: Tsundere anime girls are seemingly destined to remain a fixture of the industry forever, and that is not a negative. Fall 2024 anime will be starting shortly, and the lineup includes a return of one of the all-time great tsunderes: Ranma 1/2’s Akane. The season will probably contain a few more examples of this archetype, although it remains to be seen whether they manage to rank among the greatest ever.
32 Saki Saki – Girlfriend, Girlfriend
A Strangely Receptive First Girlfriend
Saki Saki is the childhood friend of Naoya Mukai, who has doggedly pursued a relationship with her for quite a while. At the beginning of the series, she has finally begun dating him, only for him to suddenly suggest adding a third person to their relationship.
While Saki is open about her feelings for Naoya, her shyness and exasperation at his antics lead her to act cold and prickly at times. Despite all this, she does love Naoya and wants to continue being in a relationship with him, regardless of how he acts.
31 Aoba Tsukishima – Cross Game
An Estranged Old Friend That Grows Warmer With Time
Aoba Tsukishima and her older sister Wakaba were inseparable, which is why she always hated it when Wakaba spent time with their neighbor, Koh Kitamura. The two of them never got along, and when Wakaba died in an accident, the two of them drifted apart for several years.
When their paths cross again later in life, Aoba and Koh’s relationship remains frosty. However, as Koh starts to take baseball seriously and become a proper pitcher, Aoba can’t help but respect him. Their initially antagonistic relationship slowly turns into a romantic one.
30 Ami Kurimoto – DNA2
The Classic Tsundere Childhood Friend
Ami Kurimoto is the childhood friend of Junta Mochizuki, a boy with a bizarre allergy to girls that causes him to vomit whenever he is attracted to one. Despite this, Ami is an exception to this allergy, likely because Junta sees Ami as a sister more than a woman.
Regardless of Junta’s feelings, Ami does feel affection for him, though she is not honest about it. Because she knows Junta only sees her as a friend at best, she does her best to act out the role of a feisty childhood friend while keeping her feelings hidden.
29 Maki Shijo – Kaguya-sama: Love Is War
The Overly Prideful Potential Homewrecker
Maki Shijo is the best friend of Nagisa Kashiwagi, a fact that becomes complicated when Nagisa starts dating Maki’s crush, Tsubasa Tanuma. She initially liked Tsubasa first, but due to being overly prideful, refused to actually confess, leading to the situation as it is now.
Even now, Maki refuses to admit that she likes Tsubasa, despite occasionally attempting to get in between him and Nagisa in the hopes that they’ll break up. Despite being a potential spark for drama, Maki is surprisingly thoughtful and kind, though she certainly has an obvious tsundere streak that only makes her situation worse.
28 Hinagiku Katsura – Hayate the Combat Butler
A Talented Heroine And A Loyal Friend
The Student Council President of Hakuo Academy, Hinagiku Katsura is an incredibly competent young woman who is skilled with swords. She meets Hayate when he enrolls in her school to accompany his master Nagi Sanzen’in, and slowly falls in love with him as they continue to encounter each other.
For Hinagiku, her love for Hayate causes complications due to her friendship with Ayumu, who has also been in love with Hayate for a long time. While Hinagiku finally manages to be honest about her feelings for Ayumu, it takes a bit longer for her to reveal them to Hayate.
27 Risa Koizumi – Love Com
A Tall Girl With An Unlikely Crush
Risa Koizumi is tall for a girl, a fact that she hates. She constantly butts heads with the shortest guy in class, Atsushi Otani, but the two decide to work together when they learn that the other is interested in their friend.
Unfortunately, things don’t work out as their respective crushes start dating each other instead, but Risa finds that instead of feeling sad, she finds herself seeing a new side to Atsushi. As time passes and the two remain friends, she starts noticing that they have a lot in common and pair well together. Though she is initially unwilling to admit it, she soon realizes that she has fallen in love with him.
26 Sagiri Ameno – Yuuna And The Haunted Hot Springs
A Standard Tsundere With A Ninja Spin
Sagiri Ameno is a member of a demon-slaying clan of ninjas. A serious young woman who is focused solely on her duties, she has very little experience with romance. When Sagiri initially encounters Kogarashi Fuyuzora, she mostly sees him as a bother, but when he displays his strength in exorcism, she starts to see him as a dependable ally.
These feelings slowly grow from camaraderie to love, although Sagiri refuses to admit it. Both her pride and her unwillingness to get in the way of the other girls who are in love with Kogarashi keep her from admitting her feelings for him.
25 Noelle Silva – Black Clover
A Noble Tsundere With More Pride Than Sense
Sometimes, pride can be one reason a tsundere heroine might choose to mask her affection behind aggression. Noelle Silva, despite being a noble with large amounts of magic power, is regarded as a failure by her family, giving her an inferiority complex that she tries to hide by acting overly prideful.
When her initially low opinion of Asta turns into romantic interest, Noelle is unable to reconcile her feelings of appreciation with her initially arrogant first impression. Asta isn’t helping things, since he isn’t getting the hint. Still, Noelle’s acknowledgment of her feelings motivates her, allowing her to become stronger and better as a person.
24 Miko Iino – Kaguya-sama: Love Is War
The Strict And Upright Student Council Member
Miko Iino is the uptight, justice-minded fifth member of the Shuchiin Student Council. Initially cold and reserved towards the other members of the Student Council, she slowly warms up to them throughout the series – except for Ishigami, whom she continues to treat with contempt.
Despite this, Iino starts to develop feelings for Ishigami after getting closer to him during the festival but hides it due to his feelings for another girl. Despite their frosty relationship, Iino tries her best to be kind to Ishigami when she can, though she has difficulty being honest with her feelings.
23 Ran Mori/Rachel Moore – Detective Conan/Case Closed
A Tsundere Childhood Friend With A Caring Side
Ran Mori (known as Rachel Moore in America) is the karate-practicing childhood friend of Shinichi Kudo, currently masquerading as the elementary school kid detective Conan Edogawa. When the two were still together, they had a fairly close relationship, and it’s clear that they harbored romantic feelings for each other.
Unfortunately, their romantic progress was halted when Shinichi was forced to take APTX 4869, turning him into a small child. Because he is forced to hide his identity from Ran, Conan often goes a while without contacting Ran as Shinichi, causing her worry. Because of this, she is more caring than other tsundere characters, though she still exhibits common tendencies.
22 Mikoto Misaka – A Certain Magical Index/Scientific Railgun
An Electric Heroine With Conflicted Feelings
Mikoto Misaka is a Level 5 Esper known as the Railgun, making her one of the strongest espers in Academy City. While her massively powerful electromagnetic powers make her a force to be reckoned with, she finds herself frustrated by Toma Kamijo and Level 0 Esper who supposedly has no special abilities.
As Mikoto and Toma continue to interact, Mikoto slowly falls for him, especially as he helps her out of various crises. While she is initially not honest about her feelings towards him, she eventually accepts them when she sees how much danger Toma puts himself through.
21 Kaori Makimura – City Hunter
A Beleaguered Assistant With A Hidden Affection
Kaori Makimura is the ever-exasperated partner of the City Hunter Ryo Saeba. Ryo is quite the troublemaker, and his skirt-chasing and unabashed flirting force her to constantly put a stop to his antics, often requiring her to use massive hammers or other forms of slapstick to keep him in line.
Despite all this, Ryo has a sentimental and serious side to him, and Kaori can’t help but fall in love with that aspect of his personality. While she does her best to hide her affection from him by any means possible, it’s clear to everyone except Ryo himself that she cares for him deeply.
20 Yui Kotegawa – To Love Ru
The Strict Disciplinarian With A Weakness For Romance
Yui Kotegawa is a stickler for morals, which is why she constantly badgers the main characters Rito Yuuki and Lala, who always seem to get themselves caught up in scandalous situations. She has a strong dislike for perversion and degeneracy — which puts her in a complex situation when she ends up falling for Rito, whom she sees as a major source of both.
Despite her aggressive moralizing, Kotegawa is surprisingly innocent when it comes to love, and despite her dislike for overt affection, she’s much more receptive to it with the person she likes. While Kotegawa is never a major love interest in either the main series or its sequel, she remains a popular character who features frequently.
19 Shinobu Miyake – Urusei Yatsura
The Jilted Ex-Girlfriend With Super Strength
Shinobu Miyake was Ataru’s girlfriend before Lum came crashing into their lives and changed them forever. Though Shinobu was fairly used to Ataru’s philandering ways, the addition of Lum ended up supercharging her jealousy, despite Ataru showing no interest in her.
Normally, Shinobu is a very sweet and kind girl, but when her rage or jealousy is triggered, she gains super strength, making getting on her bad side very dangerous. Though her affections change from Ataru to other characters early on, she never loses her tsundere tendencies.
18 Kana Arima – Oshi No Ko
The Smart-Mouthed Acting Genius
Kana Arima was once a child actress renowned for her ability to cry on command. However, when she reconnects with Aqua as a high school student, she is washed up, having lost her popularity. Nevertheless, she maintains a strong front, refusing to give up on her acting career.
Kana falls in love with Aqua relatively quickly, but she has yet to be honest with her feelings due to her lack of self-esteem. Still, she maintains a friendly relationship with Aqua that is occasionally combative due to both of them being uncommunicative.
17 Louise De La Valliere – The Familiar Of Zero
The Tsundere Archetype Taken To Extremes
Louise de la Valliere is a mage at the Tristain Academy of Magic – and a complete failure mocked by her fellow classmates as “Zero” due to her inability to cast even the simplest of spells. During an exercise where the students were expected to summon their first familiars, Louise ends up summoning Saito Hiraga, a young boy from another world.
Initially, Louise berates and mistreats Saito, considering him to be completely useless. However, as Saito proves his worth and the two become closer, she eventually falls in love with him. Unfortunately for Saito, reciprocating her feelings does not improve her jealousy or short temper.
16 Kagome Higurashi – Inuyasha
Opposites Attract, Even 500 Years Apart
Kagome Higurashi was just a normal high school girl until she was dragged into a well by a demon. There, she finds herself 500 years in the past and meets Inuyasha, the half-demon. With Inuyasha’s abrasive personality and Kagome’s virtuous nature, it’s not a surprise to see the two butting heads.
Still, as the two worked together to gather the shards of the Shikon Jewel, Kagome and Inuyasha found themselves attracted to each other. Unfortunately, the presence of Inuyasha’s former lover Kikyo complicates things, keeping Kagome from being upfront with her love. Nevertheless, her affection for Inuyasha is true, and she is more honest than most other tsunderes about it.
15 Soi Fon – Bleach
The Cold-Blooded Captain Of The Second Division
Soi Fon is the swift and speedy captain of the Gotei 13’s 2nd Division, making her one of the most powerful Soul Reapers in Soul Society. Calm and collected, she’s fairly well-known for being a harsh and unrelenting person.
That is, however, unless she’s around her mentor Yoruichi, due to her zealous admiration that borders on romantic. While she still had some disdain for Yoruichi due to her disappearing from Soul Society, it’s clear that affection is still there.
14 Lina Inverse – Slayers
Experienced In Magic, A Beginner In Romance
As an adventure-comedy series set in a fantasy world, Slayers does not put a lot of emphasis on romance. Nevertheless, it is pretty clear that there is something romantic happening between the main character, Lina Inverse, and her traveling partner, Gourry Gabriev.
Since the two of them often bicker and tease each other over their various shortcomings, it’s hard for Lina to come clean about her feelings for the swordsman. While the two never really begin a relationship, it’s clear that the two of them are extremely close.
13 Naru Narusegawa – Love Hina
A Fierce Love Interest With A Violent Temper
Of the various heroines on this list, Naru Narusegawa is easily among the most hotheaded and aggressive tsunderes in anime. She is quick to anger, jumps to conclusions instantly, and is swift to resort to violence — classic tsundere traits. Her love interest Keitaro Urashima has a lot of problems, and trying to stay on Naru’s good side is one of them.
Still, when Naru eventually realizes her feelings and accepts them, she quickly becomes a very loving and affectionate girlfriend. While she still has her violent tendencies, she is much more understanding, which is indicative of her maturing relationship with Keitaro.
