Best Female Tsundere Anime

Here is the list of my favorite female tsundere characters. I love these awesome characters because to me they represent strong women who don’t need to rely on a man and that’s why at times they struggle to open up to the male characters (similar to how strong women behave in real life).

I’ve searched for tsundere character lists before and the ones I find usually list characters from more popular animes. I wanted to create a list that also includes less popular tsunderes for the die hard fans like myself who are constantly looking to discover new anime with these kinds of characters. I’m sure I left off a couple so if you have a recommendation for me please comment below, it might be because I haven’t yet seen that anime and would love to check it out! I had so much fun putting this list together, I hope you enjoy it 🙂 

*The following character descriptions may contain plot spoilers so read at your own risk*

Emilia Justina-The Devil is a Part-Timer!

Stuck in modern day Japan with her sworn enemy Satan and his Demon General Alsiel, Hero Emilia Justina makes a promise to defeat him once and for all. However due to unforeseen circumstances and a lack of magical powers, she is forced to become allies with them and soon comes to realize Satan might not be as bad as she thought he was. What I really enjoyed about this anime is it’s a forbidden love story with a tsundere character, which is rare. Usually forbidden romance stories have both characters fighting to be together and in this one you have the tsundere character fighting to keep herself apart from the male lead because she knows they can’t be together. If you want to watch an anime where the female lead can’t seem to hate her enemy, you should check out Emilia Justina in The Devil is a Part-Timer!

Watch it here

 

Misaki Ayuzawa-Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama!

Misaki is the first female student council president of her school and with her strong feminist views, she has gained the reputation of being a boy hater among the students. When Takumi Usi, a popular boy takes interest in Misaki and begins following her around and saving her from dangerous situations, Misaki’s pride is hurt and she decides to start lashing out against Takumi by calling him a stalker and an idiot. No matter what she says, Takumi won’t give up on her. This is an anime full of scenes with the male lead continuously saving the female lead and her getting mad because he did. I really appreciate the author making Takumi the kind of man who wasn’t afraid to pursue a strong woman. If you have a lot of feminine pride, you might enjoy watching Misaki’s character interactions with Takumi in Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama!

Watch it here

 

Mari Tsutsui-Rainbow Days

The only person Mari Tsutsui likes is her best friend Anna. She becomes furious when her best friend starts hanging out with a boy who likes her, Natsuki Hashiba. The worst part is that boy has a friend named Tomoya who is interested in Mari and won’t leave her alone! Even when she pushes him away he still comes after her. Throughout the anime Mari is constantly trying to run away from him but what happens when she begins to develop feelings for him? I always love a good anime where the popular male character is chasing after the female character who couldn’t care less for him. If you want to watch a sweet high school romance bloom check out Mari Tsutsui in Rainbow Days.

Watch it here

 

Taiga Aisaka-Toradora

Taiga Aisaka is helping her next door neighbor Ryuuji Takasu get close to his crush and her best friend Minori Kushieda. After the pact they made to help each other get close to their crushes, they begin to spend more time together and Taiga starts to develop feelings for Ryuuji. Since he likes her best friend, Taiga decides to be cold towards Ryuuji so she doesn’t hurt her friend’s feelings but as he builds his own harem over the episodes she lashes out even more as her jealousy increases. This anime is different because the male lead doesn’t realize the female lead has developed feelings for him since she has always been cold toward him. I love that the author threw in the harem because it really leaves you wondering who the male lead will end up with since he doesn’t realize Taiga’s feelings. If you’re looking for an anime with a female lead who has to overcome her tsundere personality so she can confess to the male lead, check out Taiga Aisaka from Toradora.

Watch it here

 

Rena Kariu-ReLife

Rena Kariu has had feelings for Ohga Kazuomi for years but is cold to him whenever he comes around to in order hide them. Her world and her hidden feelings begin to be shaken up when Arata comes into the picture because he makes it his mission to push Ogha and Rena together. Will she be able to keep her composure with Arata around? What made this anime different is that Rena and Ohga have been friends for years so she uses a tsundere attitude to hide her feelings because she doesn’t know how Ohga feels and is worried he will reject her. The funny part is Ohga doesn’t really understand why Rena is cold toward him. If you’re looking for an anime where the tsundere already has a relationship with the person they are cold toward, check out Rena Kariu in ReLife.

Watch it here

Zakuro-Otome Yokai Zakuro

Initially attracted to Kei Agemaki when she first meets him, Zakuro later becomes disgusted when she discovers he is afraid of spirits and has a hard time defeating them in battle. Unfortunately she gets partnered with Kei and often times calls him a “Wuss” because he struggles to interact with spirits. When Zakuro is in danger, Kei has to overcome his fear in order to save her. What made this anime different is the female tsundere has a strong reason to be cold toward the male lead, because he is basically insulting her race since she is half spirit and half human. Even in the first couple of episodes he is freaked out by Zakuro who he later falls in love with. It’s an interesting progress to watch because Zakuro’s tsundere personality begins to change when Kei starts to be more accepting of spirits. If you’re looking for an anime that features a tsundere affected by discrimination, check out Zakuro from Otome Yokai Zakuro.

Watch it here

 

Ayano Kannagi-Kaze no Stigma

 

Ayano Kannagi is a skilled En-Jutsushi and the successor of her family with a hot attitude to match her fire skills. She is forced to partner with the cousin she hates, Kazuma Yagami, to find the identity of the killer who murdered the Kannagi family members. As they begin to spend more time together, Ayano develops a crush on Kazuma and gets extremely jealous when he brings other women around. Whenever he tries to pursue Ayano, she pushes him away and acts like she doesn’t care about him. What I liked about this anime is that Kazuma didn’t like Ayano right away either, he had to spend time with her in order to fall for her. I think this anime paints a realistic picture of two people falling in love unlike a lot of the tsundere animes, where one character likes the tsundere almost immediately or within a short period of time. If you like a challenging tsundere romance, check out Ayano Kannagi in Kaze no Stigma.

Watch it here

 

Aki Adagaki-Masamune-kun’s Revenge

Aki Adagaki has a reputation as “The Cruel Princess” because she rejects boys who confess to her in harsh ways and gives them nasty nicknames. While she puts up a front, behind closed doors she eats an embarrassing amount of servings because of her hypoglycemia. When Masamune discovers her secret she gets angry at him but overtime he starts helping Aki in different ways and little by little he starts to grow on her. What makes this anime unique is that the two main characters have known each other in the past and have crossed paths again because Masamune wants revenge on Aki. It’s also interesting because Aki was a tsundere in the past as well so you wonder what caused her to be that way and keep up her act in the present. 

Watch it here

 

Tsukushi Makino-Boys Over Flowers

Tsukushi Makino stands up to the F4 for her friends and in return is given a “Declaration of War” by the group’s leader Tsukasa. Due to her bold personality, Tsukasa falls for her. However, when he decides to start to pursuing Tsukushi, she has no interest in dating him because she doesn’t like him as a person and is in love with his best friend Rui. I will be honest and say that while I like Tsukushi as a tsundere at times she drove me crazy. Even though both Tsukushi and Tsukasa are tsunderes, this story focuses more on her having to warm up to Tsukasa. What I really liked about this anime is that Tsukasa had it all going for him, he was rich, powerful, handsome and really cared about Tsukushi so it drove me crazy how long it took her to really notice him and get over the guy who didn’t really like her. I also don’t like in some parts of the story she thought she was better than him. This is one of the only tsundere anime where I’ve seen the female lead get her karma because she was too cold toward the male lead for too long. If you’re looking for an anime with a more realistic female lead character, check out Tsukushi Makino from Boys Over Flowers.

Watch it here

 

Sunako Nakahara-The Wallflower

Sunako Nakahara has been forced to live with four beautiful young men because her aunt is offering them free rent for the exchange of turning Sunako into a lady. Sunako has had low self esteem ever since her first love told her she was ugly and as a result she decided to hide herself in her room and overtime became interested in weird hobbies. The four boys try to get Sunako to break out of her shell and she continuously fights them back on it. What I liked about this anime is there was a noticeable difference in the female tsundere and strong male lead. She was more of an average girl and he was a popular, handsome guy. He was the extrovert in the relationship, trying to get her to break out of her shell. She needed more encouragement from the strong male lead who she was cold toward, which is very different from many other anime where the tsundere does a self reflection and decides to warm up on their own. If you are looking for a tsundere character with an interesting relationship with the male lead check out Sunako Nakahara in The Wallflower.

Watch it here

 

Erina Nakiri-Food Wars

Erina Nakiri has the reputation of the “God’s Tongue” because she has the talent of critiquing the taste of culinary dishes. She is the judge for Souma Yukihira’s transfer test and tries to disqualify him from attending the school even though she enjoys the taste of his dish. Throughout the episodes Erina gives Souma a hard time because she doesn’t like that he comes from a common background and that he learned to cook at a diner, but she secretly loves the taste of all of his dishes. She will never admit she likes them, so she puts up a tsundere act to keep anyone from finding out. This anime is different because instead of hiding romantic feelings Erina instead hides the fact she enjoys Souma’s culinary dishes. I think there is supposed to be romance later on between Erina and Souma but it’s interesting the way the author has decided to move them in that direction with more of a focus of food than feelings. If your looking for a change from a tsundere cliche, check out Erina Nakiri in Food Wars.

Watch it here