Tsundere are one of the most popular types of love interests in nearly every genre and demographic of anime, from shōnen isekai to shojo romance. There are two different types of tsunderes: Tsundere Type A and Tsundere Type B. Tsundere Type A are brash and rude to everyone, but have a soft spot for their love interest. Tsundere Type B are particularly harsh towards one character in particular, because they love them so much.

It's very easy to write a toxic tsundere. Those characters can be taxing, because they tend to go too far with their harshness. Even with proper suspension of disbelief, some fans consider the overly aggressive tsunderes to be abusive, or at least annoying. But there are many well-written tsunderes with thoughtfully developed personalities, and they don't have an abusive streak.

10 Fakir Starts Off as Very Possessive in Princess Tutu

Fakir's Protective Towards Mytho

Fakir is almost antagonistic in the beginning of Princess Tutu. He's very possessive about Prince Mytho, and speaks harshly to everyone else; he doesn't really care whose feelings he tramples over. Fakir's particularly impatient with Ahiru, Duck, but eventually, he warms up to her.

Mytho isn't Fakir's love interest, but he's one of the few people that Fakir feels strongly about. Fakir's somewhere between Tsundere Type A and Type B. Eventually, he becomes just as protective toward his eventual love interest, Duck. Fakir's surliness is forgivable because he has such a wonderful character arc, and there are very nuanced reasons for why Fakir does what he does.

9 Shizuku Is Suspicious of Seiji in Whisper of the Heart

Seiji Makes Shizuku Feel Defensive

Shizuku wonders about whom the mysterious person is who checks out all the books in the library before she does in Whisper of the Heart. The mystery is a romantic one, and she's disappointed when she finds out just who the mysterious bookworm is. Seiji once made a flippant remark to Shizuku, which she took very personally.

Shizuku's prickly towards Seiji, convinced that he was trying to make fun of her and her writing. She's not a tsundere just for dramatic effect, but because she misunderstands Seiji. Seiji takes the first opportunity that he can to reassure her that that wasn't his intention. Once Shizuku lets her guard down, she finds that Seiji is a very warm and affirming person. She softens as the two of them fall in love over their artistic pursuits.

8 Kagome Gets Tired of InuYasha's Nonsense

If Kagome Didn't Bite Back, She'd Be a Doormat

Kagome doesn't know much about the new world she falls into from the well in InuYasha. She's greeted by a surly dog yokai named Inuyasha who's alarmed by how much she looks like his lost love, the priestess Kikyo. Kagome and Inuyasha have a tsundere-tsundere romance, but they are both different tsundere subtypes.

Inuyasha is rude and off-putting to everyone. He's even rude to Kagome, but he does have a soft spot for her and Kikyo. Kagome is a far more reasonable brand of tsundere; it's her default to be kind and patient with others. Inuyasha pricks Kagome's temper to no end, though. She's not rude just to be rude to him. She has every right to stick up for herself when he gets dramatic with her.

7 Faye Valentine Is a Scrappy Heroine in Cowboy Bebop

Faye Has Plenty of Clashes with the Aloof Spike

Faye Valentine is a lover girl in Cowboy Bebop, but she's been burned by love one too many times. Her former lover helped ruin her life, and is a huge part of what led her to joining Jet Black's crew on the Bebop. While she and Spike Spiegel are never officially a couple, they have some serious chemistry.

Spike isn't the most approachable hero, though. He and Faye bicker their fair share because they have two opposing personalities. Spike is cold and remote where Faye is a bit more vivacious. Though Faye can get scrappy, she has a heart of gold and wants what's best for Spike and the rest of the crew.

6 Tamahome Has a Lot on His Shoulders in Fushigi Yugi

Tamahome & Miaka Are Plagued by the Miscommunication Trope

Tamahome has a large responsibility in Fushigi Yugi. Though he cares very deeply about Miaka, he gets plenty annoyed with her. His frustration rises when he's trying to protect Miaka or talk some sense into her. Tamahome is rough around the edges, but he has very altruistic motives.

Tamahome adores Miaka, but their relationship is rife with drama complicated further by a love triangle. Tsunderes often resist romantic feelings because they're afraid of the might of their feelings, or they're afraid of being vulnerable. Tamahome and Miaka have some classic miscommunication-fueled fights because they're both afraid of the strength of their feelings.

5 Mamoru Gets Annoyed by Usagi's Immaturity in Sailor Moon

Mamoru & Usagi Bicker Like Cats & Dogs

Mamoru has a much more tsundere characterization in the original Sailor Moon anime than in the manga series or in the reboot, Sailor Moon Crystal. It adds a bit more zest to their romance because Usagi pines after the kind and genteel Tuxedo Mask, wondering who his true identity is. Interestingly enough, she pines and wonders after him, only to clash with him constantly as the civilian, Mamoru Chiba.

Mamoru finds Usagi annoying because she's loud, clumsy, and irresponsible. While all those things are true about Usagi, sometimes she just can't help but be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Fate literally throws the two eventual lovers together, and sometimes fate takes a turn for the literal and Usagi physically crashes into Mamoru on the street. Mamoru doesn't remain a tsundere forever, which is key. The more he gets to know Usagi's true self, the more he admires her and shows patience with her goofy but lovable personality.

4 Lu Shouxue Doesn't Know Who to Trust in Raven of the Inner Palace

Lu Shouxue Needs to Be Solitary to Survive

Shouxue must operate by very specific rules to survive in Raven of the Inner Palace. As the Raven Consort, she's meant to keep to herself and her lonely part of the palace where she serves and exorcises spirits. The solitude protects her because if people were to find out her true identity, her life would be forfeit.

Shouxue doesn't know what to do with herself when the Emperor visits her and asks for her help. She helps him, though to do so technically violates the strictures of her role as Raven Consort. The Emperor enjoys Shouxue's company, and he wants to be her friend, but his efforts are met with high walls and cold defensiveness. Not only does Shouxue not know whether she really can trust the Emperor, she's simply not used to having friends. Both the Emperor and Shouxue are kindhearted people with noble intentions, though.

3 Kyo Sohma Learns How to Be a Gentler Person in Fruits Basket

Tohru Gives Kyo Room to Heal

Kyo Sohma is used to being the reject of a very dysfunctional family in Fruits Basket. If he doesn't look out for himself, no one will. Martial arts and mentorship from his karate master are some of the few things that have ever given Kyo comfort, affirmation, and direction in his life. Sometimes he goes too far with the martial arts, though, and tries to pick fights--especially with Yuki Sohma.

When Kyo meets the gentle Tohru Honda who always seeks friendship and understanding, Kyo's normal coping skills don't really work. Kyo's a traditional Type A Tsundere who keeps everyone at arm's distance, scaring them off with his loud voice and brash behavior. But Tohru is different for Kyo. He feels compelled to hold himself accountable and apologize to her if he's ever brash around her, resolving to do better. He's also quite protective of Tohru, the way he wished someone had been protective of him when he was a more vulnerable person.

2 Casca Does Not Take Kindly to Guts in Berserk

Casca Thinks Guts Is an Upstart

Guts crashes into Griffith and Casca's life like a bat out of hell in Berserk. He's a young, defensive, and prideful upstart with a sword, and Griffith sees potential in him right away. He asks Guts to join the Band of the Hawk, which is unsettling to his right-hand warrior, Casca, to say the least.

Casca is very terse and strict with Guts. It's not her job to be kind to him, but she also feels like he didn't do much to earn his place in the Band of the Hawk. He also makes decisions based on his intuition rather than logic, and she has far more tactical experience than he does. It's understandable that she would find him annoying, in that sense. But as Guts gains the Hawks' respect, he also earns Casca's trust. Guts has good intentions, and Griffith is right to think that he has amazing potential as a warrior and leader.

1 San Has Good Reason to Mistrust Humans in Princess Mononoke

Ashitaka Shows San a Path Out of Hatred

San is a devoted soldier of the forest in Princess Mononoke. She learned the best from her fierce wolf mother, Moro. It's understandable that she completely rejects humanity because she's only ever seen the worst parts of it. Her human parents abandoned her as a child to save themselves, and her human neighbors systematically destroy her forest home and fellow animal allies.

Ashitaka throws a wrench in things, challenging San's world view. Not only is he a good man, he challenges San to see with eyes unclouded by hate. San reacts against Ashitaka at first, lashing out at him and trying to convince herself that she hates him. San doesn't hate Ashitaka though, because deep down she knows she has no reason to. She's just a person who has a just cause and is in a lot of pain. San learns how she can still fight for the peace of her forest without sacrificing her body and soul to hatred.