Kuudere

"Kuudere" , also known as "Cool-Dere" in Western media, is a term for a character who appears expressionless and unapproachable at first glance, but becomes cute, loving, and deredere around their love interest. Although it might not appear like it at first, they are hiding a deep inner love that will come out after becoming close to their love interest. They have a clear separation of their character. They don't behave particularly notably when in a group, taking up a stiff appearance and a cold "don't get involved with me" aura that creates a wall between themselves and other people. They are also harshly blunt and straightforward with their true feelings, both good and bad, which often leads to them making sharp-tongued statements without considering other's feelings. However, they are also someone who will confess their love honestly, and when alone with their love interest they become so spoiled that their usual character falls apart. They usually have a unfriendly cool demeanor, but when they are alone with their love interest they become extremely clingy and have a more loving side than most. They will start behaving in cute ways, showing lots of emotions, blushing like crazy, and wanting their love interest to give them lots of affection. They are a character with a very drastic gap. After spending enough time with their love interest they will even feel comfortable showing this side of themselves in public, becoming a much more cheerful and emotional person overall.
== Etymology ==
=== Meaning of the Term ===
Kuudere (クーデレ) is a combination of "kuuru" (クール), meaning "cool (calm and unemotional, being unfriendly and not enthusiastic)", and "deredere" (デレデレ), a mimetic word for "being lovestruck".
They are characters that have a cool personality (kuu) at first glance but start acting cute and affectionate (dere) after you get to know them.
=== Origin ===
The concept of kuudere originates as far back as October 10, 2005, from the archetype known as sunao kuuru (素直クール), or honest cool. Sunao kuuru originated on the Japanese forum 2channel as the opposite of tsundere. The opposite of "tsuntsun" is "honest" and the opposite of "deredere" is "cool", or in other words, it's a girl who is honest and cool. Rather than someone who let their emotions get the better of them and was dishonest with their feelings like a tsundere, a sunao kuuru is always cool and always honest with what they are feeling.
Over time the concept grew and led to the creation of kuudere, for characters who start out acting sunao kuuru (honest cool) but eventually become deredere (lovestruck) for a certain person. The difference between the two archetypes is that a sunao kuuru does not change their attitude because of another person and is always cool with no gap in personality, whereas a kuudere loses their cool attitude and becomes cute and loving when around a certain person.
When comparing the Kuchiki siblings from the manga series Bleach, the difference between sunao kuuru and kuudere can be easily seen. While at the start of the series both characters appear cold and expressionless, remain calm even in dangerous situations, speak in a monotone voice, don't waste time on meaningless activities, keep their emotions locked away, keep others at a distance, act independent and self-reliant, and scold others in blunt ways (kuu), when Rukia is around her friends/love interest her personality completely changes and she starts acting cute, blushing, showing lots of emotions, being affectionate, letting others get close to her emotionally, and depending on others when she needs help (dere). In comparison, even though Byakuya has already been married and cares deeply for his younger sister Rukia, he still remains as stiff and stoic as ever. Even when expressing his affection for Rukia, he does it a calm way and at most will give her a slight smile. This does not mean that Byakuya never shows emotions, he just rarely does and shows them in a calm and cool way meaning he will never start acting cutesy and lovey-dovey. In other words, Byakuya is not a kuudere and Rukia is.
 A comparison of Biyakuya Kuchiki (top) and Rukia Kuchiki (bottom) from Bleach
Archetype 	Before	 	After
Sunao Kuuru	 	→	
Kuudere 	 	→	
=== Alternate Spelling ===
Although kuudere is almost always written in Japanese with katakana as "クーデレ" it is occasionally written as with the "dere" written in hiragana.
=== Localization ===
The kuudere archetype has many possible Romanized spellings. They mostly differ in whether to use the direct Japanese spelling "kuuru" or the English spelling "cool", and whether or not to add a hyphen between the "kuu" and "dere" to better show off it's a two-sided personality.
The term is most commonly romanized directly as "kuudere" using the traditional Japanese method of romanized spelling. It can also be written as "kūdere", "kúdere", or "kudere" using the method since the long "u" sound can be romanized as "uu", "ū", or "ú", and is sometimes ignored altogether and written as a single "u".
It is also sometimes alternatively romanized as "coo-dere", using the English spelling of the word "cool" instead of the Japanese spelling "kuuru". In the subtitled version of episode 10 of the 2007 anime series Lucky☆Star by FUNimation, the term received an official localized English name for the first time as "cool-dere". It is also sometimes unofficially romanized as "coodere" without a hyphen.
Another more uncommon spelling is "qudere", though there is only one known series that used this romanization.
=== Usage ===
*In 2006, the dictionary site Japanese Slang Dictionary stated: "It refers to a woman (character) who appears cool at first glance, but becomes amae and deredere when you get to know her."
*In 2016, the entertainment news site AppBank stated: "She usually has a cute cool demeanor, but when they are alone she becomes extremely clingy."
Note: Like most dere types, kuudere was originally defined as a female character with these traits but has since also been used for male characters on occasion, though rare.
=== Misuse ===
In the Western anime community, there is a huge misconception that "kuudere" refers to "any character who shows no emotions and never changes" and that "showing any emotions means you can't be a kuudere". However, this is 'not' true, and kuudere has 'never' been an archetype for emotionless characters. Sometime around 2017 it was spread that "coodere" was a term for a character who starts cool and then later becomes lovestruck (the correct definition), while "kuudere" is a term for a character who is devoid of showing emotion and never changes no matter what (an incorrect definition). The commonly held belief is:
* Coodere (Western) - A character who initially comes across as cold, indifferent, or even hostile, but gradually warms up and develops feelings for the protagonist over time. They act kuudere at first, but turn completely lovestruck later on.
* Kuudere (Western) - A character who maintains a calm, collected, and emotionless demeanor even when expressing affection. They are not outwardly expressive, but their feelings can be inferred from subtle changes in behavior or body language. Kuudere characters are usually highly intelligent and rational, prioritizing logic over emotion. The key distinction is that coodere characters gradually open up and show their softer side, while kuudere characters remain stoic and unemotional even when exhibiting care for others.
It is not known why this split between "coodere" and "kuudere" happened, but both terms are nothing more than alternative ways to romanize "クーデレ" and both refer to the same archetype of a character who seems "cool" (kuuru) at first glance but then changes and becomes "lovestruck" (deredere) once you get to know them. This incorrect meaning can even be seen prevalently by looking at the differences between the English and Japanese Wikipedia articles for the term "kuudere". While the Japanese Wikipedia article correctly states the meaning described in this article, the English Wikipedia article incorrectly states the definition is "a character who appears to not have emotions", with no relation to being dere mentioned at all. However, it makes no sense to include the suffix "-dere" in a character trope if the character exhibits no traits of it and it seems as though "coodere" was an attempt to bring back the correct meaning of kuudere to the Western community.
When looking at these definitions the "coodere (Western)" definition accurately describes kuudere while the "kuudere (Western)" definition better describes the predecessor archetype sunao kuuru, which is a Japanese term for a character who is always honest with their feelings and always cool in their attitude, never changing even after falling in love and expressing affection in a cool manner. Though even then it's not quite the same because a sunao kuuru character is straightforward and honest with their feelings of love and the appeal comes from the gap in perception, from a character who seems like they don't show emotions but is surprisingly forward at saying their emotions, even if they don't always show it on their face.
== History ==
=== Official Media ===
The archetype of kuudere is very popular in manga and anime and has been used in several series. The first currently known usage in official media comes from episode 10 of the 2007 anime series Lucky☆Star during the "Lucky Channel" segment at the end of the episode when the character Minoru Shiraishi briefly mentions "kuudere" while discussing the concept of tsundere.
The most prominent example of the term being used officially is the 2020 romance manga series Yatara to Sasshi no Ii Ore wa, Dokuzetsu Kuudere Bishoujo no Chiisana Dere mo Minogasazu ni Guigui Iku and the character Shirokane Koyuki. Koyuki was known around the school as the "Venomous Snow White" due to her sharp tongue, snow-white hair, and cool demeanor. This was until Naoya Sasahara saved her one day resulting in both of them falling in love with the other at first sight. Naoya soon learns that underneath her cool demeanor, Koyuki is nothing more than a weak girl armed with bravado and lies, and the two begin to communicate little by little to confirm that they like each other.
Another prominent example is the character of Yui from the 2020 romance manga series Tonari no Kuuderella o Amayakashitara, Uchi no Aikagi o Watasu Koto ni Natta . Yui is a transfer student from England who was given the nickname "Kuuderella" by her classmates because of her cold and expressionless persona. She has a stiff appearance and is harshly blunt and to the point showing her disinterest in her other classmates' attempts to get close to her. That is for everyone except her next-door neighbor Katagiri Natsuomi. One day Katagiri overhears a girl singing and realizes it is his classmate Yui. After telling her she has a beautiful singing voice and learning that she is very naive despite living by herself, he decides to help her. Contrary to her icy personality at school, when she's alone with Katagiri she is very emotional and expressive. She gets happy when he calls her cute, she blushes uncontrollably when she sees him without a shirt on, she becomes cheerful when he praises her, and she honestly expresses her thanks to him for helping her change. After spending a little time with Katagiri, Yui starts to make a change in her behavior at school which causes the rest of her classmates to wonder if something good happened to her. Rather than ignoring Katagiri, she tells him "good morning" and blushes while she smiles at him, and rather than pushing everyone else away completely she accepts her female classmates' offers to eat lunch together, though she is still cold to the other boys. Little by little she starts to become more comfortable showing her emotions while in public as she grows closer to and falls more in love with Katagiri.
Another example is the character of Nanase Suzuho from the 2021 romance manga series Bishoujo to Buraritabi . Her classmate Takahashi Sho decides to go on a trip and when he arrives at the station platform, he notices her looking sad and invites her to go on the trip with him. At first, Nanase is suspicious, but she takes off her usual iron mask and begins to enjoy herself, relaxing in a foot bath and savoring the local cuisine.
== Characteristics ==
=== Moe Factor ===
The moe appeal of kuudere lies in the cuteness that comes as a result of the large gap between their usual "cool" personality and when they become "dere". The idea of a character who appears cold and expressionless at first glance but is actually cute and loving gives off strong amounts of adoration towards that character. This is especially true for kuudere characters who simply have a hard time expressing their emotions. The moment when they finally realize their true feelings of affection can bring strong amounts of satisfaction to the audience like they watched them grow as a person and feel happy for them for finally making it to that point.
=== Design ===
Kuudere characters are most often depicted as having white or silver hair, possibly as a reference to their "cold as snow" personality. They will typically wear lots of blue or purple since these colors tend to evoke vibes of calmness. Blue is also fairly common as a hair color as well.
== Personality ==
Kuudere characters appear cold and expressionless at first glance (kuu) but become cute and loving around their love interest (deredere). The idea of a character that starts "colder than most" but is actually "more loving and affectionate than most" creates a very intense gap in their personality. They usually have a cute cool demeanor, but when they are alone with their love interest they become extremely clingy.
=== Kuu Period ===
At first, a kuudere character will always be seen keeping a "cool" attitude, remaining very calm, confident, expressionless, unenthusiastic, unfriendly, and showing great control over their feelings. They always keep their emotions in check and have a rigid stance, appearing stiff and unyielding at all times.
They are characters who are often very strict and are focused more on their school work or career than romance. They are also typically very mature characters.
They are characters who are not in the mood to deal with others and as such they don't rely on others even if they are struggling with something. They don't talk much and take a cold uninterested and unapproachable attitude towards other people, most often speaking in a calm monotonous voice. However, they are also not shy about saying what is on their mind and are sometimes even a little 'too' honest, speaking their opinions without much regard for other people's feelings. This comes out in the form of them making brutally blunt ice-cold comments when they don't like someone or want to be left alone, which is why they are often described as "sharp-tongued".
They are characters who purposefully create this cold "don't get involved with me" persona as a wall to keep others from getting close to them. Generally, this cold demeanor causes most other people to avoid being around them so they will typically be seen by themselves and not have many friends if any at all. This is a fairly big reason they tend to develop feelings for their love interest: they will be one of the only people trying to spend time with them and talking with them.
=== Dere-kake Period ===
As they start to become closer to their love interest, they will start to change. Before they have become entirely lovestruck, they will often be seen blushing at their love interest while trying to keep their cool composure. Even if their mind tells them they want to stay calm, their body tends to react to their feelings on its own and they come to the surface anyway. They may start questioning their feelings and their love interest will be constantly on their mind. They may also do things like smiling at their love interest when no one is looking or coming up and silently holding their love interest's hand when they are alone. Often things they could previously do without so much as flinching, such as getting close to their love interest's face, will suddenly cause them to become very embarrassed and start blushing uncontrollably. When they are first falling for their love interest they may even be able to keep themselves composed in public, but when they get home they start frantically blushing and going on about how they love them to themself.
Many times they are not good at expressing their emotions and may become embarrassed by the thought of falling in love with someone, sometimes even directing their sharp tongue toward their love interest.
Even though they act like they're independent and don't need other people's help, most often the truth is that they are armed with nothing more than stubbornness and lies and are, in truth, very naive about the world. They might struggle to do things alone because they don't want to rely on others, which is something they will be thankful to their love interest for teaching them how to do. Over time they will learn to allow themselves to depend on another person for support and to rely on their love interest to help deal with their insecurities and emotional needs.
From spending time alone with their love interest and becoming more comfortable showing their emotions they will begin to ease up their cold persona in public. Their classmates might notice a sudden change in their behavior and wonder what happened to put them in a better mood. They may take little steps to start showing their expressive side in public, such as smiling at their love interest in class or trying to get closer to a few other students to make friends, even if they're still cold to the rest of the class.
=== Dere Period ===
While it might not appear like it, kuudere characters are people whose inner affection is hotter than others. They are hiding a deep inner love that will come out after becoming close to their love interest, at which point they will begin to show them their cute side. When they have finally come to terms with their feelings, they are someone who will honestly and straightforwardly confess that they have fallen in love. They will become transcendentally spoiled (amae) and want their love interest to give them lots of affection when they are alone together, becoming very clingy and acting very cute and passionate towards them.
They are usually people who don't want others to see them in this state, which may be a form of a defense mechanism. It's for this reason they will only show this cute side of themselves when they are alone with their love interest. Their usual persona will fall apart and they will want to become intimate and be spoiled with affection by their love interest when nobody is looking. They will feel more comfortable just being themselves and relaxing in the presence of their love interest, letting down their cold walls. They will become cheerful and expressive, and honestly confess to their love interest that they feel happy that they finally have someone they can depend on for emotional and physical support. They are usually very thankful to their love interest for showing them that there is more to life and helping them change to see that even someone like them can have fun and become loved. Things that they previously thought were pointless, like as romance and going on dates, suddenly means more to them than anything.
After spending enough time with their love interest and growing as a person they will start to feel comfortable behaving this way even out in public and doing things like going on dates or being cute with their love interest even when other people are looking. They will become cheerful and get along with the rest of their classmates, showing a drastic and permanent change from their initial persona.
== Differences From Other Archetypes ==
The archetype that most closely resembles kuudere is dandere, due to both types appearing as quiet and expressionless on the surface, however, the main difference mostly comes down to their 'reason' for acting that way. Kuudere characters are quiet and expressionless by choice because they are very cool and confident and intentionally keep their emotions in check, whereas dandere characters are quiet and expressionless because they are simply not good at showing their emotions. Kuudere characters are also very uninterested and uncaring of others at first and choose to keep others at a distance, while dandere characters typically want to talk with others but they just can't because they are not good at communicating. When spoken to, a kuudere character is likely to make some blunt sharp-tongued comment and hurt the other person's feelings because of their overly honest nature, while a dandere character would either just not respond at all and remain in complete silence or very quietly and softly reply. A kuudere is not afraid to tell others when they want to be left alone, while a dandere does not have the confidence to do so nor do they want to be cold to others. Another key difference is that even if both types are expressionless, a kuudere character will have a cold and unapproachable aura around them to keep others away, while a dandere character will have almost no presence and just blend into the crowd. Simply put, kuudere is a deliberate and forced attitude to keep a wall between themself and others, while dandere is just genuinely how the character is. So with all of this on mind, dandere could be described as a "silent and friendly" version of kuudere. It is also worth noting that neither archetype are for "emotionless characters", which can be considered its own separate unrelated archetype.
While kuudere was created to be the complete opposite of tsundere, it can also be confused with it because of how both types of characters act cold towards other. The biggest difference is simply the reason for why they act this way. Aside from the obvious difference of tsundere characters being very emotional and lacking a cool expression, the reason why a tsundere acts cold towards their love interest is because they want to hide their feelings for them. In comparison to this, the reason a kuudere acts cold to others is the complete opposite. Rather than acting cold because they're 'dis'honest, it's because they're 'too' honest. A kuudere character wants to be left alone and they will not hesitate to make blunt statements to get their true feelings across. While a tsundere character will act embarrassed and desperately try to make excuses to hide the fact that they secretly want to be close with them.
This also extends to the sub-type tsundora, which can be seen as a mix of kuudere and tsundere. Similarly to a regular tsundere a tsundora character is in denial of their own feelings and will act defiant towards their love interest, but rather than acting flustered and stuck-up they say it in a cold and emotionally dry bitter way like a kuudere character. The biggest difference is that a tsundora character only does this to hide their feelings, while kuudere characters are just brutally honest to a fault. Tsundora characters also don't necessarily have a stiff appearance like a kuudere either. Tsundora characters also typically only act this way towards their love interest, while a kuudere acts this way to everyone aside from their love interest after they become close to them.
== Similar Japanese Archetypes ==
* Dandere: A term for a character who is silent and expressionless most of the time, but will suddenly become cute, talkative, and deredere when they are alone with their love interest.
* Rindere: A term for a mature and dignified female character who normally has a cool reserved exterior, but becomes cute, loving, and deredere after getting closer to their love interest.
* Tsundora: A term for a tsundere character who acts so dry and emotionless when being distant that they make it seem like they are serious, showing a complete rejection of their own feelings.
* Western:Kidere: A term for a kuudere character who possess ice powers. This is an unofficial Western variation of kuudere.
== List of Characters ==
See Kuudere/Japanese Characters to see characters from Japanese media.
See Kuudere/Non-Japanese Characters to see characters from non-Japanese media.
== Gallery ==
Kuudere Gallery.png|link=Kuudere/Gallery
Nano Eiai from The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You.jpg|Nano Eiai from Kimi no Koto ga Daidaidaidaidaisuki na 100-nin no Kanojo
Shirayuki Himeji from Liar Liar 2.jpg|Shirayuki Himeji from Liar, Liar
Shirokane Koyuki from Yatara to Sasshi no Ii Ore wa, Dokuzetsu Kuudere Bishoujo no Chiisana Dere mo Minogasazu ni Guigui Iku 5.jpg|Shirokane Koyuki from Yatara to Sasshi no Ii Ore wa, Dokuzetsu Kuudere Bishoujo
Origami Tobiichi from Date a Live kuu 1.png|Origami Tobiichi from Date a Live
Anastasia Nasuhara from OniAi kuu 3.jpg|Anastasia Nasuhara from Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne!
Shizuka Mikazuki from Zom 100.gif|Shizuka Mikazuki from Zom 100
== References ==
Category:Distant