hontou ni
26Jun/089

The unsustainable charm of being tsundere

My wish came true (albeit one year late). Asakura Yume is a tsundere imouto of the finest class. It's been a while since I enjoyed a well-crafted tsundere - one with a good basis for being thus and subsequently GROWING out of it. Yes, a good tsundere character is in my humble opinion one that doesn't stay tsundere.

Tsundereness is but a starting point. Its true charm lies in its promise of character development. One of my greatest anime pleasure is to see a tsundere bishoujo grow out of her insecurity and dishonesty to embrace her love. That is probably why I was so disappointed with the start of Zero no Tsukaima 2, where the relationship of Saito and Louise suffered a forced reset to maintain Louise's tsundere trait. (That happened in Shana 2 to a lesser extent. Although the development of Yuuji and Shana's relationship is nothing short of phenomenal in season 2.) Yume, on the other hand, was thoroughly lovely to behold as she grew out of her doubt and self-denial to build that wonderful relationship with her nii-san.

It's a dichotomy I know. For some, to mature bishoujos out of their tsundereness is to lose that very charm they represent. But for the few who see tsundere as a process rather than a destination, this growth is the very reason why bishoujo tsundereness is worth our love.

Here's to more Asakura Yumes.

Related posts:

  1. My favourite class of tsundere – Tsundere ojousama
  2. Louise Françoise le Blanc – My favourite Kugimiya Rie tsundere
  3. Tsundere – A personal take

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Comments (9) Trackbacks (1)
  1. Kabitzin
    June 26th, 2008 - 08:01

    That reset was one of my biggest problems with ZnT 2 (aside from there being waaaaay too much Agnes). I didn’t think SnS2 was too bad with the return of tsundere-ness, as Shana was still a lot more normal that she was in season 1 when she Yuuji as just a mystes. She went after it in season 2, and she has an excuse for being how she is (her upbringing).

    The idea of tsundere as a process intrigues me, and really captures for me why some tsundere characters feel annoying and others are lovable.

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  2. Hinano
    June 26th, 2008 - 09:40

    I agree with the man above.
    Sometimes you wanna see the tsundere be less tsun and more dere.
    Like geez woman how much abuse can the guy take?
    On the other hand, if the male lead continuously acts like a jackass (ie Saito and his growing interest in boobs), the tsundere lead doesn’t have much of an option there

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  3. blissmo
    June 26th, 2008 - 15:20

    Nope, I don’t really like tsundere at all.

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  4. RedMaigo
    June 26th, 2008 - 19:29

    I whole-heartedly agree with your post. A good tsundere is about character growth and emotional maturity overcoming the crippling insecurity and fear of loving someone. Otherwise the term tsundere becomes nothing more than another word for bitch.

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  5. kaz3phyrous
    June 27th, 2008 - 03:49

    it’s always nice to see a tsundere with more dere than tsun…

    and i wholly agree that resetting louise in znt 2 was a really bad move but i hope they would show a more dere louise in znt 3…

    i also was quite disappointed at first in shana 2 that they reset shana but her’s and yuuji’s relationship development by the end of shana 2 really made up for it…
    a more dere shana is = <3

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  6. Stripey
    June 28th, 2008 - 19:55

    Kabitzin: Oh yes… Agnes… uguu… I’m not sure I can look fwd to ZnT3.. but knowing my weakness for Louise, I’d just gobble it all up and regret. XD

    Hinano: Indeed, yet another reason to condemn ZnT2 for. I thought Saito’s growing mammary obsession was another kicker. I had at least some respect for that man in S1. :P

    blissmo: Hehe, I quote, Zyl who says this about wine – “You just haven’t found the right one” :)

    RedMaigo: So true. I can understand why many hate the tsundere archetype too since most are just stuck at their ‘bitchy’ phase :)

    kaz3phyrous: Shana grew so much in that aspect that she almost totally unrecognisable if comparing the 2 seasons. I applaud JC Staff for their focus on character growth in Shana 2 :)

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  7. Zyl
    June 29th, 2008 - 17:58

    Just saw Ep 12. Thumbs up and good job to Yume for making memories with Yoshiyuki instead of having last regrets. Loads of charm boostup from her chara design and Horie Yui’s great voicework.

    I particularly liked how the core premise of how she became tsundere (knowing that her love is hopeless because she had seen the future through *pun intended!?* dreams) was also the pivot that caused her to outgrow it. Nothing concentrate the mind (and the heart?) like perfect knowledge of imminent loss but that’s a kick up the mental arse that just isn’t replicable in most other tsunderes though.

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  8. flaskis
    July 5th, 2008 - 18:42

    Just a comment here.

    Yes, a good tsundere character is in my humble opinion one that doesn

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  9. Stripey
    July 11th, 2008 - 20:17

    Heh, actually I’m saying that I enjoy tsunderes that grow out of being tsundere. It’s ironical, yes :)

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