the portal of Japan mojito published an article noting that the character’s tendency “cuckoo“, that is, the archetype of characters who are silent at the beginning, but who show emotions as the story develops, has fallen out of use today due to the overuse of the archetype and the fact that the character’s own style prevents on the “diversity”.
«Did you know that there used to be a personality called “kuudere”? There was a time when these types of characters were very popular, starting out cold but becoming lovable episode by episode. However, today the term has become a dead word and kuudere characters are becoming widely extinct.».
«If we look at history, the original “kuudere” is probably Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Her refreshing characterization as a quiet, expressionless beauty quickly became popular, spawning fans like Ruri Hoshino from “Kidou Senkan Nadesico” and Vanilla H from “Galaxy Angel.”».
«However, despite the appearance of the “Ayanami Type Heroines”, the concept of “kuudere” did not take root at the time. Rather, it was in the mid-2000s that the concept became popular in otaku circles. The trigger was Yuki Nagato from “Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu”. Therefore, “kuudere” as a sub-genre of “tsundere” caught everyone’s attention.».
«“Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu” was very popular when it was first written, but saw a huge boom when it was adapted into an anime by Kyoto Animation in 2006. Accordingly, the term “kuudere” became generalized. as a trait to refer to Yuki Nagato. , one of the most popular anime characters. To give you an idea of how popular it was back then, first of all Yuki Nagato was basically more popular than Haruhi Suzumiya who was supposed to be the main heroine.».
«The isekai classic “Zero no Tsukaima”, which appeared around the same time, became so popular that Charlotte Hélène “Tabitha” d’Orléans was more popular than Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, main the woman of history.».
«The “kuudere” boom continued to heat up in the world of light novels and bishojo games for a while after that. The fact that harem stories were a hit at the time helped, and every drama had at least one “kuudere” character. In 2009, the light novel “Accel World” was published, which won the “grand prize” of the Dengeki Novel Award, and the heroine of the novel, Kuroyukihime, is a character close to “kuudere”.».
«However, despite such a glorious history, the term “kuudere” is hardly heard today. On the contrary, the number of silent heroes has decreased significantly. The reasons often given for the demise of silent heroines are that they have been mass-produced too many times and people have grown tired of them because of their monotonous appearance. The fact that they don’t speak makes it difficult to create differences, but characters with the same hairstyle, long slits in the eyes, and similar looks may have been a result of boredom.».
«Of course, there are also some popular characters that fall into the “kuudere” category like Rina Tennouji from “Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Club’, and Takina Inoue from ‘Lycoris Recoil’. Will they regain their position as the dominant gender one day?».
font: mojito
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