Shundere

Shundere is a term for a character who gets sad when their love interest doesn't pay attention to them, but is deredere when they do. They hate being alone and will make a really cute sad face that makes their love interest unable to refuse them.
== Etymology ==
=== Meaning of the Term ===
Shundere (シュンデレ) is a combination of "shun" (シュン), an onomatopoeia for "becoming sad", and "deredere" (デレデレ), a mimetic word for "being lovestruck".
=== Origin ===
While the exact origin is unclear, it appears to have been created on the Japanese internet sometime in early 2008.
The first known use of the type in an official media comes from the 2011 erotic visual novel Otomimi ∞ Infinity for the character Kusahara Hanemi, who was described as the "speed-crazy shundere girl who hates loneliness". The series defined the archetype as "she becomes sad when [her love interest] doesn't pay attention to her or she is alone, which is what is known as a shundere type."
== Personality ==
Shundere are characters that if the person they love doesn't pay attention to them they become sad and visibly down (shun), but if they pay attention to them they become loving and overly affectionate (dere).
=== Shun Side ===
If their love interest doesn't pay any attention to them they can feel so disappointed that they become sad, but the "shun" appearance and mannerisms are incredibly cute and draw people in which makes them a naturally charming character who simultaneously harbors deredere feelings for their love interest.
They may also be more on the timid side and get anxious when they are alone or not being paid attention to so they become sad when their love interest isn't with them. They are someone who hates being alone.
=== Dere Side ===
However, whenever they are with their love interest they will act just like a normal deredere character, who is overly affectionate and loving towards their love interest. They will be very clingy towards their love interest and not care if someone sees them being affectionate with them.
Overtime they may even grow to be more independent from their love interest and not tear up when they're not together.
== Differences From Other Archetypes ==
When compared with utsudere—characters who are depressed but becoming cheerful around their love interest—shundere is a lot more harmless type of sadness. So it could be said that while utsudere is more on the "tragic and depressed" side, shundere is more on the "cute and pouty" side. They are similar in that despite their sadness they both become deredere when they are with their love interest, but for utsudere characters it is more like a temporary band-aid since their depression is unrelated to their love interest while for shundere characters it is the cure for their problem, since their sadness is caused entirely by not being with their love interest.
There is a common misconception in the Western community that a shundere is simply an "utsudere who doesn't have a reason for being sad", however, this is not true. Although this meaning has gained popularity online, it is not how the type is used in official Japanese media.
It is also very similar to tsunshun in that they both want to spend time with their love interest and become sad when they can't, but the main difference is the reason for why their love interest doesn't give it to them. With a tsunshun character they 'push' their love interest away because 'they' can't be honest with their feelings, while a shundere is honest with the way they feel and seeks attention but their love interest doesn't give it to them. Rather than being pushed away, their love interest simply 'chooses' it themself or is otherwise unable to give it for whatever reason. So in that sense they are opposites.
== Similar Japanese Archetypes ==
* Tsunshun: A term for a tsundere character who acts standoffish and disinterested in their love interest and then becomes sad because they couldn't be honest with their feelings. This could be seen as a mix of a shundere with a tsundere.
* Utsudere: A term for a character who is normally depressed and gloomy all the time but becomes cheerful, loving, and deredere when around their love interest.
== List of Characters ==
See Shundere/Japanese Characters to see characters from Japanese media.
See Shundere/Non-Japanese Characters to see characters from non-Japanese media.
== Gallery ==
Shundere Gallery.png|link=Shundere/Gallery
Holo shun from Spice & Wolf 2.jpg|Holo from Ookami to Koushinryou
Kusahara Hanemi from Otomimi Infinity 2.png|Kusahara Hanemi from Otomimi ∞ Infinity
Kusahara Hanemi from Otomimi Infinity 3.png|Kusahara Hanemi from Otomimi ∞ Infinity
Kusahara Hanemi from Otomimi Infinity 4.jpg|Kusahara Hanemi from Otomimi ∞ Infinity
Kusahara Hanemi from Otomimi Infinity 9.png|Kusahara Hanemi from Otomimi ∞ Infinity
Kusahara Hanemi from Otomimi Infinity 8.png|Kusahara Hanemi with Sagawa Yamato from Otomimi ∞ Infinity
== References ==
Category:Melancholic
Category:Kind