Anime fans can use all kinds of terms and phrases to describe a certain kind of character, and these archetypes are more popular than casual anime fans might realize. These aren’t stock characters or cliches; terms such as dandere, tsundere, and himedere each have their own definitions, but those definitions are broad enough so none of them ends up being a stereotype.
The dandere type is a fine example, describing a kind-hearted but shy and unassertive character who can’t easily express their friendliness or love toward another person. Dandere characters are lovable because they are innocent, shy, and easy to sympathize with, and dandere girls, in particular, are some of the anime community’s favorite characters of all. Many of them end up as Best Girl of their own series.
10/10 Kisa Sohma Came Out Of Her Shell At Last
Fruits Basket
Most of the dere archetypes are present in the classic shojo tale of Fruits Basket, with protagonist Tohru Honda being a deredere, Yuki being a kuudere boy, and Kyo being a fierce tsundere. That leaves Kisa Sohma as a dandere, a shy girl who is afraid to speak to anyone due to bad experiences at school.
The meek Kisa hardly embodies the tiger zodiac spirit in her. She is gentle and hardly ever spoke, but Tohru became a big sister figure to her and helped Kisa come out of her shell, which amazed Kisa’s friend, Hiro. Kisa is still soft-spoken, but she has some basic self-confidence now.
9/10 Kosaki Onodera Can’t Easily Confess Her Feelings
Nisekoi
In the high school comedy series Nisekoi, Chitoge and Tsugumi are both brash tsunderes and Marika is a total megadere where protagonist Raku Ichijo is concerned. Meanwhile, Raku’s own love interest, the lovely Kosaki Onodera, tends to blush and run away anytime things get halfway serious.
Kosaki keeps urging herself to open her mouth and get serious about her romantic feelings for Raku, but her natural dandere nature and the fierce competition from those other girls makes things difficult. Kosaki can also communicate through food, but that’s not easy, either.
8/10 Shoko Nishimiya Won’t Give Up On Shoya
A Silent Voice
The anime movie A Silent Voice is a heartwarming drama about the consequences of bullying, the virtue of forgiveness, and the power of friendship. In this series, the punkish Shoya Ishida tormented Shoko Nishimiya, which eventually disgusted his classmates and cost him all his friendships.
Shoko never fought back, nor did she intend to. This shy, generous dandere has faith that Shoya is a good person deep down, and her quiet but positive feelings paid off. In high school, Shoya found Shoko again and made every effort to make amends for the past. Shoko silently but gratefully gave him that chance.
7/10 Kanao Tsuyuri Flips Coins To Make Her Decisions
Demon Slayer
The Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho, has been coaching a quiet but hardworking apprentice named Kanao Tsuyuri, who is a sword-slinging dandere of the highest caliber. Due to past trauma, Kanao won’t speak a word, and she relies on coinflips to make decisions. But perhaps that may soon change.
Kanao was totally shy when she met the lively, caring Tanjiro Kamado, and she was overwhelmed at first. Then Kanao warmed up to Tanjiro and even took his advice to bravely make her own decisions rather than let random chance guide her actions.
6/10 Wendy Marvell Keeps Getting Stronger
Fairy Tail
The blue-haired wizard girl Wendy Marvell joined the Fairy Tail guild after a mission with them against Oracion Seis, but at the time, Wendy had a tough time asserting herself as a friend or as a wizard. She had talent as the sky dragon slayer, but even with Carla’s support, Wendy fell short.
Slowly, over time, Wendy gained some much-needed confidence as a wizard and as a Fairy Tail member, though she is still naturally soft-spoken and selfless. Wendy is much quicker to praise a guildmate or friend than brag about her own capabilities.
5/10 Megumi Tadokoro Shows Her Love With Food
Food Wars!
Megumi is another blue-haired dandere girl who has obvious talent, but not much confidence to go with it. Megumi favors seafood and home-style cooking in the kitchen, and she’s big on hospitality, which suits her warm, gentle personality perfectly.
However, competitive and fierce chefs like Alice Nakiri and Ryo Kurokiba tend to overshadow Megumi, and she didn’t have the guts to stand up to them until later. Megumi is also a close friend of Soma’s, and as a true dandere, Megumi gets overwhelmed anytime Soma praises or helps her. But she’s grateful, too.
4/10 Sawako Kuronuma Looks Like A Horror Movie Villain
Kimi Ni Todoke
The dark-haired Sawako has a warm, caring personality, just like Megumi and Shoko, but rarely does she get a chance to prove it. Sawako, unfortunately, looks like a horror movie villain, so people tend to avoid her, which led Sawako to become shy and unassertive as a true dandere.
All that is about to change. Sawako met a friendly boy named Shouta Kazehaya in high school, the first person to see and appreciate Sawako for who she actually is. Now, a new romance may take root, though Sawako is still pretty shy as a dandere.
3/10 Miku Nakano Must Somehow Win Futaro’s Heart
The Quintessential Quintuplets
The five Nakano sisters have the same face and the same birthday, but on the inside, they couldn’t be more different. Nino is a hotheaded tsundere and Yotsuba is a goofy deredere, while the #3 sister, Miku, is a classic dandere and also one of anime’s best.
Miku, like most danderes, is unassertive, has little faith in herself, and is very shy, most of all around her crush, Futaro Uesugi. Miku won’t give up, however. She is determined to not just win Futaro’s heart, but also make sure that all five Nakanos are treated fairly in the process. Miku is shy, but she will still stand for something.
2/10 Shoko Komi Must Make 100 Friends
Komi Can’t Communicate
Shoko Komi is widely admired as the most beautiful and elegant girl in her school, but aside from her good looks, everyone has the wrong impression of her. Shoko is not the arrogant, aloof ice queen she seems to be. Instead, Shoko is a dandere with a communication disorder, meaning she never speaks at all.
Shoko is terribly shy, and because of all this, she never had a real friend before. But this year will be different. With the help of her first real friend, Hitohito Tadano, Shoko will put herself out there and make 100 friends to find true happiness and reinvent her social life.
1/10 Hinata Hyuga Learned How To Fight For Love
Naruto
Hinata Hyuga of the esteemed Hyuga clan had a truly inspiring character arc in the story of Naruto as a gifted but unassertive dandere. Like Naruto, Hinata grew up without any friends or self-esteem, only for Naruto to transform her life with some encouraging words during the chunin exam.
From then on, Hinata fought hard to become a true shinobi whom everyone, most of all Naruto himself, can be proud of. She is still charmingly shy and bashful as a true dandere, but now Hinata can and will fight for the people whom she loves, and Naruto is immensely proud of her. Later, he loved her for it.