A Little Tough Love: 5 Kuudere Otome Guys

If you’re just joining the party, this is the fourth post in my Character Archetype series, where I spotlight five otome LIs from each of the major character archetypes. These posts are a complement to my Beginners Guide to Otome Games posts, particularly the one on Common Character Archetypes in Otome Games. There I give a very general rundown of the most common character archetypes that appear in otome games with a few examples of characters that fit each trope.

Last time around I covered one of the character archetypes that I’ve recently come to appreciate more, the super sweet, Genki characters. Which you can check out by clicking the link: ‘It’s All In a Smile: 5 Otome Game Genki Guys’. This time around I’m covering the cold-blooded kuudere character types, some of my absolute favorite otome love interests.

The Basics: What Are Kuudere?

Kuudere is a term derived from the terms “kuu” which comes from the Japanese pronunciation of the English word “cool” (クール), and “dere dere” (デレデレ), which means “lovey dovey”. These characters are usually cold or distant at first, but this is only a self-defense mechanism used to protect themselves from getting hurt. While they can be blunt and very direct in their manner of speaking they can be very caring and affectionate once you melt through their frosty exterior.

Kuudere types are very similar to Tsundere and Dandere characters, as all three display cool or indifferent behavior towards others. However kuudere characters tend to remain rather cool and composed with brief moments of warmth, while tsundere characters constantly switch between personalities and a dandere character’s coolness stems mostly from their shyness.

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