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"Gundere" (JP) is a term for a tsundere commanding officer character who is unable to honestly express their feelings of affection to their love interest so they turn into a drill sergeant and berate them for not being good enough, but over time begin to reveal their true deredere feelings as they overcome their drill sergeant reflex.
Etymology
Meaning of the Term
Gundere (軍デレ) is a combination of "gun" (軍), meaning "army", and "tsundere" (ツンデレ), meaning "a character who can't be honest with their feelings of love towards their love interest so they act distant, standoffish, and stuck-up to conceal them".[2]
Origin
The term originates from the romance comedy manga series Mission! School (JP) released in 2011, with the 15th chapter being titled "Gundere". It was used to describe the character Ayane Hazuki.[1][3]
After falling in love with her subordinate Takuya Ishikawa, Ayane becomes embarrassed to reveal her feelings to Takuya so instead she yells army commands. For example, one day when he said "Good morning, Hazuki-san!" to her, she replied back saying "Don't talk to me like you know me, private!" and then called him a "phimosis private" for addressing a superior officer by name (whereas internally she was blushing because he said her name). When Ishikawa asks her out on a date to the upcoming festival she yells at him to go train if we has time for that, before following it up with a "b-but if a person like you insists" and agreeing. While at first she was too embarrassed to show honest affection by the end of the series she becomes completely open and lovey-dovey, with the two even getting married in the final chapter.[1]
It is described by another character as "the soldier's version of a tsundere".[4]
Personality
Gundere characters are unable to honestly express their feelings of affection to their love interest so they turn into a drill sergeant and berate them for not being good enough (gun), but over time begin to reveal their true lovey-dovey feelings as they overcome their drill sergeant reflex (deredere).
Gun Period
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Gundere characters are commanding officers who are unable to express their feelings of affection to their love interest subordinate so they turn into a drill sergeant and berate them for not being good enough. This is normally done in an over the top tsundere way.[1]
Gundere characters desperately want to show their affection to and have a loving relationship with their subordinate/love interest, but they are unable to be honest with themselves so they fall back into old habits and start yelling commands at them. They will verbally berate their love interest for daring to have the audacity to address their superior in a casual or friendly way. They will tell them they are worthless, that they need to train harder, or even curse insults at them.[1]
Almost Dere Period
When a gundere character insults their love interest instead of telling them how they really feel they will become very embarrassed with themself and start questioning why they are doing this. They will wonder why they can't just be honest.[1]
A gundere character will also display typical tsundere behavior such as saying "Why don't you go train if you have that sort of time! B-but... if a person like you insists, i-it can't be helped, I'll go with you." when asked on a date. They will make excuses for why they are doing it so they don't look like they are being friendly with them.[1]
Dere Period
With time, a gundere character will slowly start to be able to reveal their true feelings of affection and overcome their drill sergeant reflex. After this they can be openly affectionate towards them, adopting a cute and lovey-dovey deredere attitude.[1]
Differences From Other Archetypes
Gundere could be thought of as a mix of tsundere, someone who can't be honest with their feelings, and someone who yells at their love interest because they want them to do better. The difference is a gundere doesn't yell because they want their love interest to improve, and they don't do it on purpose either, they yell as an involuntary reflex because they are too embarrassed to just be honest and tell their subordinate they're proud of them. They get angry at themselves for not being able to be honest and take it out on their love interest.
The other difference between tsundere is that there is a power dynamic between the gundere and the love interest, where the gundere is a superior of their love interest.
Similar Archetypes
- Gandere: A term for characters who lash out at their love interest by shooting guns at them when they get embarrassed in order to hide their feelings of love.
- Thugdere: A term for a character who often mistreats, bullies and hits their love interest to hide their true feelings.
- Tsundere: A term for a character who can't be honest with their feelings of love towards their love interest so they act distant, standoffish, and stuck-up to conceal them. Gundere is a variation of this type.
List of Characters
Gallery
 Ayane Hazuki from Mission! School  Ayane Hazuki from Mission! School  Ayane Hazuki from Mission! School  Ayane Hazuki from Mission! School  Ayane Hazuki from Mission! School  Ayane Hazuki from Mission! School |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Mission! School 3. Dragon Age Comics (2011/05/06). Archived on 2025/06/30. “In front of her beloved Ishikawa, Hazuki's <Gundere> and <Butsudere> have become complicated, and now a rival for her love appears!”
- ↑ What is Gundere. Nico Nico Pedia (2010/08/09). Archived on 2025/06/30. “Gundere is a variant of tsundere. Usually a strict and competent superior officer and even when they achieves results, "Don't get me wrong!" However, what if there is affection behind it that they cannot show even if they want to?”
- ↑ Mission! School 3. Kadokawa (2012/09/02). Archived on 2025/06/30. “In front of her beloved Ishikawa, Hazuki's <Gundere> and <Butsudere> have become complicated, and now a rival for her love appears!”
- ↑ Mission! School (Chapter 15). Dragon Age Comics (2011/05/06). Archived on 2025/07/02. “Right now ojou-sama is an aggravated gundere. Well, it's the soldier's version of a tsundere. You want to do it in front of the person you like more and more. Well think of it as a way of showing love towards Ishikawa-kun, a cold kind of love.”