Tsundere anime girls are a hallmark of anime and manga. They’re typically the Best Girl in their respective series. They act annoyed and shy, but they blush when their love interest compliments them. They have featured in such recent series as Yumemiru Danshi wa Genjitsushugisha, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead. Who doesn’t like a tsundere school idol, or an athletic realist just trying to survive a zombie apocalypse?
Cultured otaku may expect seiyu Rie Kugimiya to take up most of the list, since she is the Queen of Tsundere. Well, that’s where you’re wrong. She took up less than half of the list for the sake of variety.
1. Louise de La Vallière (The Familiar of Zero / Zero no Tsukaima)
Any tsundere anime girl list has to start with a character Rie Kugimiya voiced. It’s the law. Louise is the titular Zero of the series, a number gained from not only her initial talent in magic, but her three sizes. Like many Rie Kugimiya-voiced tsunderes, she’s team justice, whereas the other girls surrounding the would-be harem protagonist have plot on their side. This leads to violent and cute outbursts directed towards Saito.
2. Shana (Burning-Eyed Shana / Shakugan no Shana)
Another Rie Kugimiya-voiced tsundere anime girl, and she is, yet again, team justice. Shana was given her name by another would-be harem protagonist, Yuji. Her name comes from her sword Nietono no Shana (Vairocana of the Offering Room). She isn’t too violent like Louise, but she makes her feelings known when Yuji gets closer to endearing himself to her. Her father figure Alastor doesn’t know why she gets flustered by a mere Mystes, but he too warms up to the one his partner chose.
3. Taiga Aisaka (Toradora!)
Yet another Rie Kugimiya-voiced tsundere anime girl who is also team justice. If Kugimiya ever voiced a team plot tsundere girl, the world might just end. Or be a paradise. I’m willing to chance those odds. Taiga makes up the “Tora” part of the title, as she was given the nickname “Palmtop Tiger.” She is prone to viciously snapping at people like a cute tiger. Her crush on Ryuuji Takasu, the “dragon” part of the title, is subtle at first. She eventually declares that he is hers.
4. Aria H. Kanzaki (Aria the Scarlet Ammo / Hidan no Aria)
Aria is also voiced by Rie Kugimiya, but this team justice tsundere wears clothes that tend to shift in some very interesting ways. Aria is a highly-intelligent girl with superhuman abilities, traits she inherited from her ancestor Sherlock Holmes. She is also very prideful and lacks social awareness, which made finding friends and allies difficult for her until Kinji came along.
5. Kirino Kousaka (Oreimo)
Kirino is a tsundere anime girl that is both not team justice and not voiced by Rie Kugimiya. She’s not team plot, but she has a reason to wear bras. The target of her tsundere love and violence is her own brother Kyosuke. In the visual novel and on her route, they’re actually step-siblings, so they can get married and have kids. She’s prime waifu material because she’s a model and a gamer. Kirino makes solid arguments for why she’s Best Girl.
6. Rin Tohsaka (Fate/stay night)
Rin starts things off thinking little of Shiro. She acts brash and proud, cold and analytical, but she’s kind and caring on the inside. Rin is also remarkably powerful, and a serious contender in battle. She shows her kinder side as times move on, and teaches Shiro some magic. In one of the better routes of the game, she forms a pact with Saber to keep her around so Shiro can get his own harem route with the both of them. Best Girl status: confirmed.
7. Akane Tendo (Ranma ½)
Soun Tendo and Genma Saotome made an agreement years ago that their children would wed and unite their families. Genma only had one son, Ranma, whereas Soun had three daughters. The eldest daughter is interested in older men, and the middle daughter is more interested in money. Additionally, neither of them is a martial artist. The youngest daughter, Akane, is a martial artist, so it’s determined that they will wed. Ranma and Akane are against it, and Akane is especially annoyed. She typically vents her frustrations with the typically laid-back and careless Ranma. However, the two begin to share a spark of another kind.
8. Asuka Langley Sohryu (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
A combination of a traumatic childhood, advanced intellect, and advanced EVA piloting skills have given Asuka a superiority complex. She typically treats her housemate Shinji with disdain, often using the line “anta baka?!” with him on a regular basis. Despite starting the series with feelings for the much older man Kaji, there are signs that she has some feelings for Shinji as the series progresses.
9. Yui Kotegawa (To LOVE-Ru)
Yui is the prim and proper head of the school disciplinary committee. She despises anything “shameless”, especially Rito’s lady-killer track record. Though she hates anything considered improper, or outrageous, like Lala’s general attitude, she comes to harbor feelings for Rito. Her conflicting emotions and her high-strung attitude make for quite the adorable tsundere anime girl, and a prime candidate for the Harem Plan.
If someone is interested in taking Yui home, they’re in luck. The Yui Kotegawa POP UP PARADE Figure not only captures her tsundere stature, but it’s also now available to purchase from the J-List shop’s To LOVE-Ru section. She looks a bit “shameless” here, and we love her for it.
10. Chitoge Kirisaki (Nisekoi)
Like Ranma and Akane before them, Chitoge and Raku Ichijo are made to get engaged by their parents. Unlike the Tendo and Saotome families, the Bee Hive Gang and the Shuei Clan were on the verge of war until
Adelt Wogner Kirisaki and Issei Ichijo decide to set their children up in a fake relationship to prevent conflict. Chitoge is vehemently against this, and she uses her superhuman strength to make that clear. Despite that, one of the reasons she loves her ribbon is because, years prior, Raku complimented her when she had it.
11. Naru Narusegawa (Love Hina)
Naru is the unofficial leader of the Hinata House, and her beauty and intelligence are only matched by her short temper and her strength. She was against having Keitaro act as their landlord, since Hinata House is an all-girls place, and she considered Keitaro to be a pervert. Like Keitaro, Naru dedicates herself to entering Tokyo University to fulfill a promise she made in the past. Despite her initial dislike of Keitaro, Naru eventually warms up to him.
12. Misty / Kasumi (Pokémon)
While Pokémon isn’t quite a romance series, Misty is still Best Girl, and she’s a top-tier tsundere anime girl. She’s one of the first people Ash/Satoshi meets when he leaves Pallet Town to go on his Pokémon Journey. This meeting leaves her bike in ruins, and she demands that he replace it, much to his horror. This thin excuse allows her to tag along with him on his adventure. Their personalities clash more than once, but it’s clear that she cares about him. However, Misty isn’t above going all out in a battle against him.
What do you make of our list of some fine tsundere anime girls? Do you think we missed one? Did you find a new favorite girl to fawn over? Let us know in the comments below.
