Tsundere - the one person love story

This post shall focus on the female tsunderes. There are male tsunderes as well, but they are not nearly as prevalent.

Okay, let's try to post again.

Last post I focused on dere, mainly kuu- and tsun-. Now let's drill deeper into the more popular tsundere, as I ask myself, "Why the hell is it so popular?"

There are a couple of reasons, actually.

One is addressed in this article by the escapist. By making conversation a bit of game, you can't help but feel satisfied if you manage to reach the point of sweetness. The tsun makes the dere sweeter, like a bottle of water is all the more refreshing after a marathon. Contrast, say, the yandere, which undergoes a deterioration of affection, making them not as appealing (they still have a scarily large amount of fans).

But the popularity of tsunderes not only lies in the demand, but the supply as well. Tsunderes are popular to write because they are easy to make story out of, especially a romance. Stories require a complication, a conflict to overcome. In many romantic tales the conflict lies in a third 'wrong' love interest that one of the main chars falls for. But making a third character, even a flat one, takes effort, and can backfire spectacularly trying to balance between making the character likable enough for a char to fall for, but unlikable enough to come second. Another source of conflict can be a clash between the two members of the couple, but we have another balancing act. Too little conflict is boring, too much ruins the romance. And again we need two compelling characters.

A tsundere is love and conflict all in one.

Her love interest doesn't even have to be interesting (and a lot of mediocre anime leads aren't), a stock generic male is all that's needed for tsundere to act tsundere towards. Show the conflict of emotions in the tsundere and bam, instant story. Added bonus; making the male bland and generic makes it easier for the audience to project upon.

Tsunderes have their female fans, too, those who see them as role models. Admittedly, the 2D tsundere is a rather big step up from the 1D prize trophy, but the 2D tsundere is rather flat. Unfortunately, this had led to the 'only weak women are girly' train of thought which is not good for feminism or the rest of us.

What I think I would like to see more is female characters that go beyond a simple '-dere' archetype. Yes, characters can be tsundere, but by god, please don't make it all they are.