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"Tsundora" (JP) is a term for a tsundere character who acts so cold and dry towards their love interest when being dishonest with their feelings that they make it seem like they are serious, showing a complete and absolute rejection of their own feelings. It is a higher state of tsundere where at first glance they appear to only be as cold and dry as the Arctic tundra with no deredere side whatsoever in sight. However, unlike the tundra there are times when their icy exterior will start to melt and their more loving and affectionate side will slowly show through over time.
Etymology
Meaning of the Term
Tsundora (ツンドラ) is a combination of "tsundere" (ツンデレ), meaning "a character who acts distant, standoffish, and stuck-up towards their love interest in order to conceal their feelings of being lovestruck", and "dorai" (ドライ), meaning "dry (tone of voice; a delivery of words that sounds cold and lacking in emotion)". It refers to a higher state of tsundere that is just cold but not dere.[3][4]
It is also a pun on the word "tsundora" (ツンドラ), which is the Japanese word for "tundra (an arctic region that has a permanently frozen layer below the surface)". Because these two words sound so similar it is easy to make a pun that a tsund-ere is so cold that they are actually a tsund-ora. This is in reference to the cold dry delivery of their words and the (seeming) lack of any "dere" aspects of the character.[2][3][4]
Origin
Hitagi Senjougahara with Koyomi Araragi from Bakemonogatari
The archetype originates from the 2009 anime series Bakemonogatari (JP). In the first episode, Hitagi Senjougahara claims that she would be considered a tsundere to which Koyomi Araragi retorts that someone like her should be called a tsundora (tundra) instead, comparing her icy nature to the permafrost found in a tundra.[1]
Localization
The term was officially romanized as "tsundora" in the English release of the visual novel Umineko When They Cry (JP).[2] However, in all official media for Bakemonogatari this pun is translated as simply "tundra", leaving out elements of being related to tsundere.
Since the pun doesn't quite translate into English, the archetype is often unofficially localized as "tsundra" in an effort to make the pun make more sense in English, though perhaps "tsun-dry" would make more sense.
Other Meanings
There is also another "tsundora" type that showed up on Japanese social media as an unofficial nickname for the character Veldora from the series That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (JP) in 2018. This "tsundora" is an abbreviation of the phrase "tsundere dragon" (ツンデレドラゴン) and is a reference to how Veldora, the evil and scary powerful dragon, suddenly started acting cute and tsundere in his introduction in the first episode.[4] This surprised audiences and made him a huge hit thanks to the gap between his scary appearance and adorable tsundere personality. After the episode aired, Japanese social media became flooded with mentions of "tsundere doragon" and later simply "tsundora".[5]
History
Early Influences
Although the use of the word "tsundora" as a variation of tsundere appears to originate from Bakemonogatari, there are earlier instances of characters being called "tsundora" in reference to having an ice-cold personality. In the 2005 light novel series Watashitachi no Tamura-kun (JP), the character of Hiroka Soma is officially introduced as "the beautiful Tsundora Queen" (JP) (translated in the English release as "Ice Queen") due to her cold and standoffish personality.
Official Media
Jessica Ushiromiya from Umineko When They Cry
The term was later used officially in the visual novel Umineko When They Cry (JP) to describe two different characters. The first is Beatrice.[6] The second is Jessica Ushiromiya.[2]
Personality
Tsundora are characters who act so cold and uninterested towards their love interest that they come off as completely serious in their rejection of their own feelings. They act tsuntsun as dry as possible, rarely showing any deredere side and making it seem like they are only tsun.
While a regular tsundere will call their love interest childish names in a flustered fashion—hinting at the fact that they don't actually believe in their own words—a tsundora on the other hand will make brutal, ice-cold comments about their love interest making it seem like they really 'do' hate them. This makes it very difficult for their love interest to understand that they like them. However, eventually, the ice-cold exterior will melt and their more loving side will slowly show through over time.
Similar Archetypes
- Kuudere: A term for a character who appears expressionless and unapproachable at first glance, but becomes cute, loving, and deredere around their love interest.
- Megadere: A term for a female goddess character who is initially cold, hostile, violent, and feared by others as an angel of death or goddess of destruction, but is actually a very innocent girl and becomes purely deredere for their love interest.
- Tsundere: A term for a character who has loving deredere feelings for their love interest but is unable to be honest with them so they end up acting distant, standoffish, and stuck-up to conceal them. Tsundora characters are a variation of this trope.
List of Characters
Gallery
 Ram from Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu  Shinmon Benimaru from Enen no Shouboutai .jpg "Hoozuki from Hoozuki no Reitetsu (5).jpg (410 KB)") Hoozuki from Hoozuki no Reitetsu .png "Sousuke Sagara from Full Metal Panic! (1).png (154 KB)") Sousuke Sagara from Full Metal Panic!  Tighnari from Genshin Impact  Tighnari from Genshin Impact |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bakemonogatari: Tsundora Girlfriend. TCG Republic.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Let’s read Umineko: episode 2: part 4. Canmom (2017/07/17). “"People who aren't honest about their feelings, such as you, Milady, ...what was that word again, I learned it from George-sama. Thats right, they call them 'tsundora'. Apparently they will be quite popular a few decades from now, you know?" Tsundora is the word "tundra" converted into Japanese sound system. It is used as a pun and reference to the term tsundere, which is a well-known character personality trait in fictional Japanese works.”
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 What Is Tsundora. Pixiv Encyclopedia (2022/12/08). “Originating from tundra (and also meaning "tsuntsun + dry (dorai)"), it is a higher version of tsundere, referring to a state of being cold but not dere. However, compared to the completely merciless snowy climate, the point is that there are times when the snow melts slightly. On pixiv, it is mostly Senjougahara Hitagi.”
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 What Is Tsundora. Nico Nico Pedia (2010/02/14). “Unlike tsundere, this refers to a character who never becomes dere. Always "tsuntsun" and extremely "dry" (dorai). Absolute and complete refusal. The greatest charm of this character is the harsh coldness of the permafrost (the tundra region). This is a genre that has been gaining recognition little by little since Bakemonogatari.”
- ↑ Is the Huge Success of "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" Thanks to the Tsundere Dragon?. Kodansha (2016/05/26).
- ↑ Umineko no Naku Koro ni. Let's Play Archive. “Reasoning... is love. If we don't love each other, the reasoning won't start. In that case, how can we say that we love each other? 'If you think you can solve it, just you try.' 'You're incompetent, like hell you can solve it.' Yeah, according to George-aniki, you call that sort of thing 'tsundora'. Heheh, that brutal witch is finally starting to look a bit cute. ...If I meet her again, I wanna try saying 'You're such a tsundora'. If I meet her again, somewhere...”