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Sorry this is so late, but better late than later, right.....? (x2.... I posted this message last week too.)
This is a weekly series posted every Tuesday (sorta) to discuss the terms anime fans use today.
Today we have 'The Dere Episode'!
Tsundere
Taken from TV Tropes
The term was originally used to describe characters who began with a harsh outgoing personality, but slowly revealed a soft and vulnerable interior over time. Over the years the character archetype has become flanderized, and is now generically associated with a character who flips between the two emotional states at the slightest provocation, and usually at a specific person rather than a general sociability problem.
Example: Asuka Langley Soryu from Evangelion
Kuudere
Taken from TV Tropes
The term was originally used to describe characters who began with a harsh outgoing personality, but slowly revealed a soft and vulnerable interior over time. Over the years the character archetype has become flanderized, and is now generically associated with a character who flips between the two emotional states at the slightest provocation, and usually at a specific person rather than a general sociability problem. [..] Cold on the outside... sweet on the inside.
Example: Rei Ayanami from Evangelion
Yandere
Taken from TV Tropes
The word "yandere", a term that blossomed in moe fandom, refers to a character who is crazy about someone else...often literally and violently. [...] The character almost always appears perfectly cute and harmless on the surface... but underneath they may be obsessive, controlling, and sometimes just plain insane. Woe to anyone who happens to be the object of their often genuine affection. Even more pity should be saved for anyone who gets in the way — the psycho-obsessive is amazingly unwilling to put up with any rivals (but the rivals had it coming).
Example: Yuuno Gasai from Mirai Nikki.
Questions
Please note, you can use any type of 'dere' if you know them, but for simplicity's sake I only included the most popular 3.
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Are these descriptors/character tropes overused?
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Do they stick characters into a 'box' of non-unique traits or do they provide a good initial framework?
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Do these/ Can these character tropes apply to people in real life?
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Which of these tropes do you like, which do you dislike, and why?
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[–] Obsidian_ 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
I'm not really sure if tropes are overused, but if I had to guess I'd say yes they are. Tropes are easy to stick to and provide relatable characters to a wide variety of people. as far as the second question, some do and some don't. It all comes down to how a character is written and portrayed. I find if writers stick too faithfully to tropes and don't really include anything else, the character comes across as flat and fairly boring. That being said, if a writer includes a few easily-recognizable trope traits while fleshing the character out in other ways, then I'll probably like them better. It all comes down to who tropes are used
I do believe that these tropes exist in real life, to some extent. People had to have drawn inspiration for them from somewhere, right? Right. However, actual people are far too complex and different to be confined to tropes like these. Sure they can exhibit some trope traits, but being a 'full Tsundere' or a 'full Yandere' just isn't realistic in the real world.
My favorite is probably light Yandere. A character who is devoted to the point of slight paranoia, but not overly jealous or murderous or anything like that. Tsunderes are my least favorite. Most Tsunderes Ive seen strike me as emotionally unavailable or even unstable or abusive, and I just can't enjoy that. Other people might, and that's fantastic, but they just aren't for me.