Yandere
“Am I crazy? What’s truly crazy is this world,
that doesn’t allow me to be with you!”
– Yuno Gasai
Meaning: Yandere is composed of the term “yanderu” (“sick” or “mentally ill”) and “deredere” (“to be strongly in love”).
Explanation: Yandere characters have only clearly existed in this form in anime for a few decades, with many considering Yuno Gasai from “Mirai Nikki” to be the breakthrough of this character type.
A yandere is usually indistinguishable from other loving characters at first. However, once the attention of the object of love threatens to shift to other characters – or potential rivals appear – the delusional, mentally ill side of these characters reveals itself. A yandere wants her beloved person all to herself. They are unaware of their mentally ill nature.
Yandere characters do not shy away from violence and often conclude that there is only one way to secure a person’s love solely for themselves: all others must be eliminated, or the adored person must be imprisoned and endlessly bound.
Anime with yandere characters tend to initially seem cute and peaceful and gradually transform into a series with horror or thriller elements, as yandere characters sooner or later tend to commit cruel acts such as murder. Good examples include “Happy Sugar Life” or “Mirai Nikki”.
Yandere are basically the personification of the “Overattached Girlfriend” meme. One might think “I can fix her!”, but realistically, she will fixate on you and not let go.
Example characters:
- Yuno Gasai (Mirai Nikki)
- Satou Matsuzaka (Happy Sugar Life)
- Kotonoha Katsura (School Days)
