Esdeath is a ruthless tyrant who believes only the strong should be allowed to live. Because of this, she enjoys putting her victims through hellish torture before executing them. After falling in love with Tatsumi, she proceeds to crack his neck and drag him back to her love dungeon. However, after failing to make him defect from Night Raid, she is forced to chase after him once he escapes from her clutches.

Despite possessing several traits akin to the traditional sadodere in regards to her wartime methodology, Esdeath is also shown to be incredibly loyal to her subordinates. She values strength and so, when she finds it, she respects those who wield it. It isn't too strange to see how she garnered such a following over the years, and even Tatsumi finds himself somewhat charmed by her womanly ways. Esdeath occupies the tenth spot for having a much more compassionate side to her than upon first glance

It seems the sadodere tropes are with characters from birth as Takagi is the youngest character on this list. She loves to tease her classmate Nishikata whenever she gets the chance. Nishikata tries will all his might to best her in the art of teasing but falls short every time. We can see several parallels to Nagatoro in Takagi, who loves mercilessly teasing a helpless classmate.

However, what is surprising about this relationship when compared to Nagatoro and Hachioji, is just how mature these near-infants are in relation to their anime superiors. Takagi seems to have quite the level head on her shoulders, possessing the ability to not only tease her classmate into a defeated submission but also to articulate her thoughts very eloquently. it seems a lot more thought goes into being a sadodere than upon first glance.

Akeno is the “ara ara” onee-san of the High School DxD universe. While Rias plays the role of a more traditional love interest, and Asia plays the part of a little sister, Akeno introduces herself to your parents with a confident “he calls me mommy too”. The cast often finds themselves embarrassed by Issei’s insatiable libido (at least for the first two seasons). However, Akeno has always been the one to match Issei’s thirst for copulation, sometimes even surpassing it (much to the chagrin of a bashful Issei and the rest of the cast).

Akeno often argues with her main rival; Rias. With both of them being a relatively similar age and body type, Akeno tries with all her might to best Rias in winning Issei’s affections. This often results in her mercilessly teasing Issei in an attempt to have him favor her. Rias is not as confident as Akeno and occasionally scolds Issei for being too forward. Akeno, on the other hand, makes Issei just uncomfortable enough that he might one day submit to her dominatrix-style methods.

Have you ever looked from across the way; out into the endless expanse of people before you at a restaurant or cafe? There, amidst the crowd of strangers, you catch a glimpse of something special. You don’t know exactly why but that one characteristic is just so entrancing, so alluring, and so attractive, that it sends your mind into a frenzy of desire. For some, it’s the glistening color of someone’s eyes. For others, it’s the melodic voice that dances along the air currents. For Sarasvati, however, it’s the thick juicy behind of our protagonist; Aikawa Ayumu!

Aikawa cultivates a rather large harem over his journey throughout Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? but one lesser-discussed member is the senpai of the vampire-ninja clan, the chief maid at the masochist cafe, and proud disciple of Sir Mix-a-Lot, Sarasvati. Falling in love with Aikawa upon first witnessing his butt-line curve, she aggressively confessed her love for him and pledged to be by his side forever (although this was proposed almost like an ultimatum). Sarasvati’s sadistic nature also persists through her work as an idol as well; as she dominantly mocks her adoring fans under the guise of Kirara Hoshikawa. Should you be dummy thicc and alert passersby of your presence with each passing step, perhaps Sarasvati will be referring to you as “My Darling” sometime very soon.

Mizarisa is a recently released character who throws her hat into the ring of sadodere girls. When we first meet Mizarisa, she appears to be a potential love interest present in the world of Kiwame Quest. After being prompted to accept a proposal of “intense feeling” Yuuki is blindsided when he is not met with a loving embrace from a cute girl, but by a tortuous strapping down of his body to a table. Yes, unfortunately, Mizarisa is the prison warden, who loves nothing more than to inflict horrendous pain on the inmates.

Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem in a video game. However, the gimmick of Kiwame Quest is that all the pain felt by one’s character, is transferred to that person in real life! With seemingly no means of escape, Yuuki does the only thing he can think of. He soils himself. However, instead of being repulsed by the growing wet patch on Yuuki’s trousers, Mizarisa is sent into an even greater flurry of emotions; becoming entranced by the fact her torture caused Yuuki to wet himself. Usually, sadodere characters stick to light and playful teasing of their love interests. For the few of you out there who would prefer your girl to walk up and down your spine in plated high heels, be sure to give Mizarisa the contact information to your burner phone.

Minatsuki “Hummingbird” Takami, is a fellow inmate alongside Ganta in Deadman Wonderland. We are first introduced to her when she puts on a facade to Ganta. She makes out as if she were a helpless and defenseless maiden, hoping to coerce Ganta into going easy on her during their fight. When said fight debuts, however, Minatsuki unveils her true sadistic side; revealing that she experiences sexual pleasure upon seeing others come to harm.

It’s clear to see how Minatsuki’s trauma led her to become so deranged. After an earthquake shook Minatsuki’s greenhouse, leaving her stranded, her mother decided it best to save a plant instead of her own daughter, leaving Minatsuki stranded. She even activated her blood powers and murdered her own father. However, after being reunited with her estranged brother, Minatsuki’s sadodere tendencies drop off dramatically. She is known to erupt into a fit of anger upon being surprised, however, so be sure to always knock twice before intruding, lest you receive a kick in your netherregions like an unsuspecting Ganta.

Maika is not inherently sadistic. In fact, her personality is almost a direct counter of the traditional sadodere. However, where her inner dominator shines through is with her character at a cafe. Due to the sadistic look that covers her face when she smiles, Maika was scouted as the sadistic cast member at a small cafe. She often treats her customers badly and, despite being constantly reassured that these paying patrons enjoy being victimized, she cannot help but snap back to her usual apologetic self whenever her shift comes to a close.

Maika is the only character on this list who doesn't inherently possess a lot of the sadodere characteristics. Where most sadodere take great pleasure in the pain they cause, Maika often struggles to exact such torture onto people. She earns a spot on this list for trying so damn hard to appease the masochists of the world.

Obsessed with Izuki, Toga makes her debut into My Hero Academia as a member of the fearsome League of Villains. In love with blood and making people bleed, whenever she comes into contact with our beloved Deku, she tries by all means at her disposal to make him bleed. After all, as Toga puts it, he “would be cooler if he bled more.”

The inspiration for this list and one of the leading figures in catapulting the sadodere into recent popularity, here we have Hayase Nagatoro. Nagatoro finds no greater joy in life than teasing her timid and easily embarrassed senpai, Naoto Hachioji. Whether this is brazenly offering her body unto him, ridiculing his introverted personality, or physically manhandling him when he acts out of line, Nagatoro is every closeted masochist’s dream girl.

Nagatoro might not be all she appears, however. On several instances, she is confronted by others vying for Naoto’s affections, on top of the occasional dream in which Naoto grows tired of her sadistic ways and leaves her forever. It’s in these moments that we see a more vulnerable or jealous side to Nagatoro. It’s clear that she has feelings for Naoto and should be more careful. After all, there is only so much torture one can take before eventually throwing in the towel.

While Nagatoro perhaps is the cause of the recent explosion of interest into sadodere characters, it just didn’t feel right to put the girl who responsible for turning so many viewers into masochistic wannabee torture dolls. Kurumi Tokisaki occupies a very unique spot in the Date A Live franchise. She is by far the most confident in her seduction of Shido (aside from a questionably…*ruff* endeavor performed by Origami) and consistently cements her role as the sadodere in Shido’s harem (which, by this point, consists of several other characters including tsundere and kuudere).

Kurumi loves to tease and mock Shido’s lack of experience in the field of romance. One such expedition the two embark on is a trip to buy lingerie. While Shido tries with all his might to remain dominant in such an embarrassing situation (actively recommending his specific taste in naughty clothing), Kurumi fires back by not only accepting his opinions but actively trying on the clothes in front of him! Kurumi Tokisaki is one of the original sadodere and, perhaps, without her we would not have seen future characters like Nagatoro be as successful.