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"Tsun-ama" (JP) is a term for a tsundere character who always spoils and pampers their love interest in a very sweet and affectionate manner even when acting cold and dishonest about their feelings. They are get embarrassed by showing affection and will act like they don't care while at the same time doing everything in their power to make their love interest happy and feel loved, such as always buying them gifts or constantly doing nice things for them. They will indulge their love interest excessively because it is their way of showing their love without having to actually say it. However, over time they will start to be more honest with their feelings and show a more openly affectionate and honest deredere side.
Etymology
Meaning of the Term
Tsun-ama is a combination of "tsundere", meaning "a character who can't be honest with their feelings of love so they act distant and standoffish to conceal them", and "amayakashite (甘やかして), meaning "to pamper or spoil someone (indulging them excessively)". It means to act cold while pampering your love interest.[1]
Origin
The term originates from the 2018 romance manga series Tsun-Ama na Kareshi (JP) to describe the character Yuki. Yuki is someone who can't be honest about his feelings toward his girlfriend Emi so he acts cold, but constantly spoils and pampers her regardless because he loves and cares about her so much. He fills her to the brim with joy and surprise every day.[1][2]
The series was localized into English with the title Sweet & Tart Boyfriend. The English version described it as "a romantic partner whose personality is tart even when being sweet".[3]
Localization
It is also sometimes unofficially localized as tsun-sweet in the Western community, since the root kanji "ama" (甘) means "sweet".[4]
Personality
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They will spoil their love interest while acting cold at the same time.[1] They will do things such as buying their love interest the most expensive ice cream and then lying that it's the only kind the store had to not have to admit they just wanted to spoil them. They will always be buying them their favorite things, such as plushies or sweets.[5]
Like a normal tsundere they are embarrassed by their loving feelings and will try to hide them. Even though their feelings are more than apparent by their constant pampering of their love interest, they will still refuse to say they love them at first (though on the inside they're gushing over how cute they are). While they don't often admit it verbally and act cold to hide it, they show their love through their caring actions towards their love interest and are always sweet on them. They are not the kind of people who will spoil just anyone, so this is their way of showing how much they love them even though they can't always admit it. They will also be very supportive of their interest, such as doing things like going on a diet with them so they don't have to do it alone (even if it's their fault they need to lose weight in the first place because they are always spoiling their love interest). [5]
They may practice trying to say the words "I love you" when they are alone, so they will be able to tell their love interest their true feelings.
Differences From Other Archetypes
It is similar to a regular tsundere in that it goes from "cold" to "loving", but the main difference is that when a tsun-ama is showing affection they spoil their love interest excessively. More specifically "dere(dere)" is the appearance of being pampered (amae), while "ama(yakashite)" is the act of doing the pampering. A regular tsundere may still pamper their love interest occasionally instead of just being the one getting spoiled, but it won't be the extent a tsun-ama does and they will usually be the one trying to get affection. Additionally unlike a normal tsundere that will be sometimes "tsun" sometimes "dere" a tsun-ama will act both "tsun" and "ama" at the same time; they will pamper their love interest but act cold while doing it.
Similar Archetypes
- 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. Tsun-ama is a variation of this type.
List of Characters
Gallery
 Yuki with Emi from Tsun-Ama na Kareshi  Yuki with Emi from Tsun-Ama na Kareshi  Yuki with Emi from Tsun-Ama na Kareshi  Shinada Takumi from Delicious Party♡Precure  Casca from Berserk  Casca from Berserk |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Tsun-Ama na Kareshi. Pixiv Comics (2018/09/07).
- ↑ Tsun-Ama na Kareshi. Square Enix (2018/09/21).
- ↑ Sweet & Tart Boyfriend. Penguin Random House (2023/10/27).
- ↑ Tsun-Ama na Kareshi. MyAnimeList (2018/09/21).