What is Kuudere? - Gets You a Birthday Card and Leaves it On the Table without Telling You [Definition, Meaning]

Kuudere. Noun. Wikipedia defines it as “a character archetype considered cold hearted and indifferent, but not showing their true colors.” Well that’s super clear… what does it mean? A kuudere character is someone who generally has a very cool, in the sense that they aren’t very friendly and loud, and non-communicative exterior, but once one gets to know them, they have a very warm and loving interior. There is a catch though; THEY have to be the ones to show you their interior. You won’t just earn access to them as person unless they want you to.

The "kuu" in kudere comes from the Japanese loanword from English word “kuuru” which means cool. Like with tsundere, the dere part comes from “deredere” in Japanese which means to become lovey-dovey. So the basis of a kuudere character is someone who stays aloof, potentially making it clear that this is well below them, but in reality they actually have a very soft spot for the main character.

The other main difference to point out is a tsundere versus a kuudere. A tsundere character goes from hot to cold outbursts. This is usually triggered by them being discovered in their moment of weakness. The Kuudere character does not really swing from polar opposites, but rather they shift from a cold quiet vibe, to a caring/loving quiet vibe.

Kuudere is a character archetype that is one of the more recent ones to appear. For a while, it was very difficult to identify them apart from tsundere because of the fact that they do seem to tsuntsun or turn away in disgust. Take Shinku from Rozen Maiden for example, she’s always turning away from Jun calling him her slave and talking down to him aka being cold/cruel towards him.

However, it’s the fact that it never turns into an explosion of anger or yelling or hitting that puts her in the cool or kuudere category. It’s precisely because she does keep her “cool” while being loving towards him. This is the critical point of a kuudere character. Cold, but loving/caring.

When one does think of Kuudere characters, almost all characters point to Rei Ayanami from Evangelion. Sometimes referred to as the “Rei Ayanami Expy” (Try googling it!), it basically points to some basic characteristics and features that the kuudere character will have. Usually they are young in age aka around the 10-20 range. They have very muted tones when it comes to hair. See Rei from Evangelion and Nagato from Haruhi for examples. They have very pale skin and probably a dark and/or mysterious past.

A few more major points to point out (and then we’ll get to the shows!) are that they always seem to be in control. This stems from their cool (kuu) exterior that shows them in control of their emotions. Next, they are friendly once you get to know them, and even sometimes, they are quite warm. Finally, they are will change moods usually at some points and let their guards down, but that will not be something that is flipped once and then can never go back.

Now, *cues music* let’s get into it!