| |
| Basic Information | |
| Moe Attribute Name | Yandere |
|---|---|
| Moe Attribute Aliases | Yandere, pathological shyness, pathological infatuation |
| Moe Attribute Category | Personality types |
| Typical Characters | Kotonoha Katsura、Yuno Gasai |
| Related Moe Attributes | Tsundere、Yowajere、Darkening、Broken、Off-model、Heavy、Chijo、antisocial personality、Trance-like Yandere Pose、Love-struck |
 Characters with this trait
| |
Yandere(Japanese:ヤンデレ; English:Yandere), also written according to its Japanese pronunciation as "Yandere", is a personality and physical/mental state, and is also a type of attribute in ACG subcultureMoe Attributes。
Introduction
Yandere refers to a group of people who express a pathological love for their beloved that differs from ordinary people. They usually perform actions such as hurting their beloved, being dependent on them, or evenSelf-harmbehaviors, and generally end up with a quite tragic conclusion. To put it briefly, it can be understood as love with strong dependency, where one will stop at nothing to obtain, maintain, or prevent the loss of the loved one. Yandere characters often appear harmless, cute, and compassionate on the surface, but usually only for the sake of the person they adore or to deceive others. Yandere is also one of the few types that manifest "dere" on the surface, whereas other similar attributes such asTsundere、Menheraetc., all manifest the "dere" side internally.
Etymology
The "yan" (sick) in the term "yandere" literally means "illness," which here clearly refers to "mental illness," symbolizing the psychological unsoundness and pathology of a yandere; while "dere" shares the same root as the "dere" inTsundere"—in Japanese, "dere" refers to "behaving in a charming or lovestruck way because of liking something." Here, the combination of "yan" and "dere" means "expressing one's love in a manner similar to a mental illness because of liking something."
Classification
Although there is currently no unified classification for yandere types, in general, similar to some mental illnesses, yandere is also divided into "congenital" and "acquired." The former refers to those born with personality defects, whose attitude toward love is so pathological that they interact with their beloved through extreme means; the latter refers to those who lose their reason under severe mental stimulation and take extreme actions toward their loved one, leaning more toward what is commonly called "Darkening" (but the two cannot be equated; see below for details).
Acquired yandere generally stems from the character's subjective judgment of the opposite sex or the impact of the opposite sex's actions on the character. Factors such as the loved one being fickle, two-timing, or failing to clearly reject others' advances are all triggers for acquired yandere. Acquired yandere characters share a common trait—hidden beneath a cruel exterior is a heart with extremely poor stress tolerance. In real-world psychotherapy, doctors generally gradually understand the source of the patient's illness by questioning them to take measures for elimination; similarly, for those caught in a yandere state, as long as the stressor disappears, their yandere attributes may be alleviated. This is also why many characters, when their yandere state flares up, do not hesitate to kill their beloved just to get it over with.
Development History
The specific origin of the term "yandere" is currently unclear. Before the term "yandere" became popular in Japan, characters with similar personalities had already appeared in ACG works, such as the game "Higurashi When They Cry》's _Ryugu Rena, and theCleavershe held has even become one of the iconic "weapons" of yandere. Currently, it is generally recognized that in the anime broadcast in September 1971, "Doraemon] appearing inRoboko" is the "ancestor" of yandere in the ACG field. In order to protect her belovedNobitaeven towards Nobita'sMotherresorted to violence. In even older mythological stories, such asMasago Kiyohime, and the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar in Western mythology, etc., are also considered to have yandere traits.
The current mainstream view is that, in the work released in 2005, Galgame 《School Days》 and the anime released in the same year 《SHUFFLE!》 featured two characters with distinct traits — Kotonoha KatsuraandKaede Fuyou, which sparked widespread discussion, and it was then that the term "yandere" began to spread and become well-known.
Since then, the "yandere" moe attribute has risen in the ACG field, and moe girls with this attribute have continued to emerge, the most famous of which is 《Future Diary》's characterYuno Gasai, what she displayed in the gameTrance-like Yandere Posehas almost become a symbolic icon of "yandere". Some readers also "bring up the past" and "retroactively recognize" characters with similar traits that existed before the concept of "yandere" was born.
Currently, with the continuous expansion and innovation of ACG content, yandere has been subdivided into various types (definitions vary, one of which is shown below). In some cases, "yandere" may only serve as one facet of a character's personality rather than their defining feature. Due to the public stereotype that "yandere equals doing violent and bloody things to a lover," as well as other reasons, there are instances where a consensus has not been reached between official sources and readers, or among readers themselves, regarding whether certain characters possess yandere traits.
Social Perception
In fictional works, yandere often bring about tragedy and can evoke sympathy from the audience. There was once a sentence in the English Fandom entry for yandere:[1]：
| “ | ” |
The obsession, courage, and diligence of a yandere for their loved one are shocking. Double suicide can also be considered a manifestation of yandere, but yandere characters sometimes choose to eliminate the loved one who has no intention of dying along with themselves.
However, in reality, when the concept of "yandere" first emerged, there was significant public controversy regarding this moe attribute. The controversy focused on the huge contrast between the "sick" and "sweet" aspects, which some audiences found unacceptable, as well as a rejection of the "yandere" concept itself. There were even cases where production teams were unwilling to officially admit a character was a "yandere." The production company of "School Days,"0verflow's CEO大沼あきおexpressed great distaste for the public classification of Kotonoha Katsura as a "yandere," believing that Kotonoha's killing ofMakoto Itouwas merely a "feeling stronger than just wanting someone to be good to you." Regarding the resistance of some viewers towardsKaede Fuyouthe yandere attribute, the production team and voice actors of "SHUFFLE!" expressed their regrets and repeatedly emphasized that they had no intention of "ruining the character."
Nowadays, as the audience for violent-themed works continues to expand and the exploration of moe attributes has progressed from physical traits to inner personalities, "yandere" is no longer as feared as it once was. Many people like yandere moe girls, and there are even cases of people claiming they "want to marry someone of the opposite sex with yandere attributes." Most of these claimants focus on the yandere character's devotion to love while overlooking the "sick" side. Of course, these jokes can be entirely regarded as suchMouth-high, as people who truly possess such traits in reality are extremely rare, and no one would joke with their own life or future."What do you mean you like yanderes? You just want a companion who dotes on you every day.jpg"。
In Western regions, the term "yandere" generally refers only to the type of yandere who likes to use violent means.
Dealing with Yanderes
During key stages when facing the object of their affection, yanderes generally have a pair of round yet hollow and dark eyes, and speak with profound meaning. Under pressure, the object of affection sometimes rethinks their relationship with the yandere character, and may even ease the conflict and accept them; however, even then, some yanderes still commit extreme acts. Others who are made enemies by the yandere do not have such opportunities to ease the conflict. In some works, there are cases where multiple yanderes love the same target, making the characters' fates even more arduous.
Important Misconceptions
- Yandere is not the literal meaning of "frailty caused by being weak and sickly" or "Yowajere".
- AlthoughTsundereTsundere and yandere have extremely similar pronunciations in Japanese ("Tsundere" and "Yandere"), but the causes and results of the two are completely different. One only shows their affection at specific times and to specific objects, while the other unhesitatinglydarkens and recklesslyexpresses their feelings (love and hate).
- Yandere andDarkeningare also different; yandere refers to a morbid psychological state (mental illness) displayed under extreme love and bashfulness for something, while "darkening" refers to the mind switching to a dark personality and performing extreme actions inconsistent with their usual image. Darkening is generally a reaction produced under a specific situation, or it could be a character with a dark side revealing that state. There is some overlap between the two; some yandere characters have experiences of darkening, but not all yanderes have a darkening stage, as there are also innate yanderes. Conversely, characters who display a very yandere personality after darkening might be classified as yandere, but most cases of darkening do not involve becoming a yandere.
- The yandere attribute is often accompanied by extreme behaviors such as violence, but violence is not a necessary condition for determining the yandere attribute. Some yandere characters frequently engage in violent or grotesque behaviors (such asYuno Gasai), giving the audience the illusion that yanderes must be insane, which is actually a generalization.Misconceptions。
- Some people, due to the lack of a standard translation, mistakeMenherafor Yandere. In a broad sense, both are part of "Menhera," but in reality, there are many differences. For details, please see theMenheraentry.
- Some people cannot distinguish between Yandere andYamikire. Although both may use cruel and violent means, Yandere usually act out of emotion, while Yamikire does not. For details, please see theYamikireentry.
- Although most Yandere are female, the Yandere attribute has no gender restrictions; male characters can also be Yandere. Due to social impressions and gender differences, the "sick" (yan) aspect of male Yandere is often amplified, making them more easily associated with violence, danger, and criminal behavior, while the "lovestruck" (dere) component may be reduced.
Types of Expression
Types of Yandereare diverse, the following are their general expression types (Yandere Type TableShiratsuyu-class ver.), which in actual situations may be a mixture of one or more types:
- Dependency Type (andMenheraVery similar)
- A type that is highly dependent on the other person in many aspects, especially mentally, and cannot live without the other person.
- Cannot live if the Admiral is not thereShiratsuyu："I'll always, always be number one in the Admiral's heart, right? If I'm not number one in the Admiral's heart, I won't be able to work hard!"
- Monopolizing type
- A type that wants to make the other person their own exclusive possession, potentially using variousconfinementmethods on the other person.
- In order to become something that belongs only to themImprisonmentthe Admiral'sShigure："Admiral, having me is enough. I also belong only to the Admiral; you are my possession and mine alone."
- Exclusion Type
- A type that does not allow other members of the opposite sex to have any interaction with the partner., and in more severe cases, anyone other than themselves.. They might use variousexclusionmethods against others.
- Not allowing others to make a move on the Admiral, eliminating everyone in the vicinity.Murasame："As for that girl, she's already been scrapped. Because you already have Murasame~☆"
- Aggressive Type
- When the partner makes a mistake, such as interacting with the opposite sex, receiving things from the opposite sex, etc., a type that will punish the other party.
- Love must be felt through the body, emotionally unstable.Yuudachi："Hmph~ You're so kind to people other than Yuudachi, toopoi? Bad Admiral, I'll have to punish you."
- Stalker type
- A type that will grasp all information about the other party clearly, all information about you。
- Holding everything about the other party in their handsHarusame："Yes! Harusame knows everything related to the Commander! Because I've always been watching you..."
- Harmless type (relative to the beloved)
- A type that does nothing to the other person and only continuously self-harms.
- Self-harming without doing anything to the AdmiralSamidare："If the Admiral is happy, I will be happy too. I will keep doing my best."
- Adoration Type
- A type that greatly adores the other person and exists entirely for their sake.
- Wanting to exist only for the sake of the other personUmikaze："I'll do anything for the Admiral. Please use me until I break❤"
- Delusional Type
- A type that arbitrarily fits communication into their own imagined scenarios.
- A delusional girl who freely imagines mini-scenariosKawakaze："We've been together all this year too ❤ Eh, you only arrived in summer? What are you talking about, we've clearly been together the whole time."
- Isolation-inducing type
- A type that intentionally spreads unfavorable rumors about the other person so that they have no choice but to rely on them.
- Spreading bad rumors about the Admiral so he can only rely on herSuzukaze："Admiral~ Are you alone again? As I thought, the Admiral just can't do without Suzukaze." This example feels very forced and terrible, but since it's from the image, there's nothing that can be done.
But in reality, the characters mentioned above in "Kantai Collection" original work allNonelack the Yandere attribute, please do not misunderstand.
Typical characters with this attribute
Female
- Yukiho Karasawa/Yukiho Nishimoto————《Journey Under the Midnight Sun》
- Mifuyu Shinkai————《Phantom Night》
- Mika Tsukishima ————《Crazed Fruit》
- Roboko (Roboko) ———— "Doraemon" (The first yandere in Japanese manga history; from being jealous of Shizuka to restricting Nobita's contact with any other females, even throwing a punch at Nobita's mother)
- Yukako Yamagishi————《JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) (The first in Jump historyAppeared in 1993The StrongestCan lift objects 5 times heavier than a person with her hairYandere)
- Kaede Fuyou————《SHUFFLE!) (The character's image in the anime version differs greatly from the original galgame; the original is a harmless, worship-type yandere, while the anime added a strong sense of possessiveness)
- Kotonoha Katsura(Bloody End, Forever),Sekai Saionji(Death by Crushing) ———— "School Days》
- Yuno Gasai————《Future Diary) (The most brutal yandere in Japanese manga history, almost everyone knows
her appearance）She is essentially the ancestor of yandere - Xue Liyan————《The Stepmother] (The first truly domestic yandere; in order to make Cheng Guangshan fall in love with her, she began to humiliate his ex-wife Yin Hanwei, driving her to suicide. After Cheng Guangshan grew suspicious of their relationship, she plotted to kill their son Cheng Di.Ultimately, she could not escape the fate of death）
- Natalia Arlovskaya————《Hetalia》
- Ayano Aishi、Ryoba Aishi————《Yandere Simulator》
- Shion Sonozaki(Watanagashi-hen, Meakashi-hen),Satoko Hojo(Gou/Sotsu)Tsar————《Higurashi When They Cry》
- Junko————《Touhou Project] (Fanon)
- Ayase Aragaki————《Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai" (Game Yandere route fanon setting)
- Kyoko————《Is This a Zombie?》
- Yura Kozuki————《Cartagra ~Affliction of the Soul~》
- Ooi————《Kantai Collection》
- Dauntless———— "Sky Front》
- Hokuto Hirosaki————《Student Council's Discretion》
- Manaka Sajyou————《Fate/Prototype》
- Kiyohime————《Fate/Grand Order》
- Harley Quinn————DC Comics
- Giffany————《Gravity Falls》
- Mayu Misono————《The Lying Boy and the Broken Girl》
- Mayu Sakuma————《THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS》Has the same name as the one above
- Wendy Testaburger————《South Park》
- MAYU————VOCALOID
- Elves————《Date A Live) (If you don't love me, I'll use my superpowers to kill you, hmph!)
Mikan Tsumiki————《Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair》In reality, she regained her memories as a Remnant of Despair due to Despair Disease, becomingRemnants of Despaireveryone of whom will be deeply in love with or obsessed withJunko Enoshima- Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself————《OVERLORD) (The Third Princess of the Re-Estize Kingdom, she has a twisted love for the commoner child she took in and raised as a bodyguard. Albedo of the Great Tomb of Nazarick evaluated her as "having the mental state of a heteromorph despite being human.")
- Akagi、Taihou、Jun'you、Chapayev、Implacable————《Azur Lane》In the setting, Taihou was spoiled by her Sakura Empire seniors, so
- Yuri————《Doki Doki Literature Club!》
- Satou MatsuzakaKilled her best friend for a future with Shio-chan、Satou's Aunt、Sumire MiyazakiThese two are much more "sick" than Satou, to the point where even Satou herself finds them unbearable————《Happy Sugar Life》
- Yuzu Rurumori————《The Ones Within [Now Streaming]》
- Ichinose Hizuki————《Imouto Choukyou Nikki》In the third ending, unable to accept the reality that Honoka and her brother are dating, she killed Honoka.
- Haruna Niekawa————《Durarara!!》
- Selen Hemein————《Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town》
- Amau Satori————《Armed Girl's Machiavellism》
- Kyoka Kubikari————《The Yandere Girl Who Will Take You to Hell》If Touji isn't careful, he'll be "snip-snapped" by Kyoka's utility knife.
- Chiya Takashiro(Aggressive Type),Takashiro Ichiyo(Worship Type),Chiyoda Koyomi(Monopolizing Type),Shikakura Yuki(Stalker Type),Gumonji Sorako(Dependent Type),Amatori Nayuta(Delusional Type) ———— "NOeSIS》Almost all the moe girls in this game are yandere, with all kinds of types available.
- Mimori Togo、Kohori Chikage————《Yuki Yuna is a HeroSeries》Two extreme Yuna fans, both sacrificing everything for Yuna.One patriot cuts down trees to betray the country, while another's tragic hatred involves the innocent Wakaba.
- Giselle Gewelle————《BLEACH》 (Otokonoko)Feels an abnormally morbid pleasure when killing dying targets.
Libra————《Mental Omega》(This character eventually ruled/mind-controlled the entire world)- Kisara————《Engage Kiss》
- Eveline————《Resident Evil series》
- Chao Feng————《Thunderbolt Fantasy》 (Princess of Seiyuu, who wants to monopolize the heavenly singer Lang Wu Yao for his magical voice, calling him her nightingale and confining him to the imperial palace, though Lang Wu Yao eventually escaped)
- A.B.A————《Guilty Gear series] (Has a severe attachment to her "husband," the key-shaped battle axe Paracelsus)
- Salome————《Salome, the play of the same name (written by Oscar Wilde)》(To be precise, this person is the first yandere in history)
Male
- Ryoji Kirihara————《Journey Under the Midnight Sun》
- Kanato Sakamaki、Azusa Mukami————《DIABOLIK LOVERS》
- Enishi Yukishiro————《Rurouni Kenshin》
- Masato Kusaka————《Kamen Rider 555》
- Mitsuzane Kureshima————《Kamen Rider Gaim》
- Shinra Kishitani————《Durarara!!》
- Jin Kisaragi————《BlazBlue》
- Seiju————《Under The Moon》
- Seba————《Mayonaka no Zombie》
- Mao、Rolo Lamperouge ————《Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion》
- Kaneda Wabisuke————《Gekka Ryouran ROMANCE》
- Kiryu Setsuna————《Kengan Ashura》
- TOMA————《AMNESIA》
- General Shepherd————《Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2》
- Onaga Zenya、Mita Mutsumi————《sweet pool》
- Masato Kurumi————《Moshi, Kono Sekai ni Kamisama ga Iru to Suru Naraba》
- Nishizono————《Erased》
- Vincent Nightray、Jack Vessalius ————《Pandora Hearts》
- Junta Azumaya————《DAKAICHI -I'm being harassed by the sexiest man of the year-》
- Shuu Tsukiyama————《Tokyo Ghoul》
- Haruka Inaba————《Cuticle Detective Inaba》
- Kyouji Shinkawa————《Sword Art Online》
- Claude Frollo————《The Hunchback of Notre-Dame》
Gender unknown
Mazinger ZERO (Shin Mazinger ZERO/Shin Mazinger ZERO vs. Great General of Darkness
Related
Website of the same name
Well-known anime image site“moe.imouto.org”(Moe Imouto) changed its domain name on March 11, 2012, for some reasons to“yande.re”, which is
Real-life cases
- Sada Abe Incident (1936): A real-life yandere of the Showa era who fell in love with a man, eventually killed him, and even took some of his organsyes, exactly the one you're thinking ofcut off to keep as a collection.
- Shinjuku attempted murder incident (Phoenix Incident, 2019): A girl named Yuka Takaoka, unable to continue supporting her boyfriend who was a professional host, slashed and wounded him with a kitchen knife and prepared to commit suicide with him. Fortunately, the man was eventually saved, and the woman was arrested by the police. When asked about her motive, she said, "I loved him so much, I couldn't help it, I had to kill him" (Original text:好きで好きで仕方がなかった。一緒にいるためには殺すしかないと思ったので、殺そうと思った）。
