Note: In Japan, this archetype is known as donkan. This page is being left up for historical documentation since it is a well-known Western dere type, but the character lists, galleries, and quotes are merged with donkan.
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I don't know why she always gets all shy and embarrassed every time I even like... look at her. It's kinda weird...
"Ahodere (Western)" is a term for an ahodere character who is oblivious to feelings of love and lacks common sense regarding romantic situations or relationships. They will be unable to realize their own feelings towards their love interest are actually "love" and they will also be unable to tell if someone else is in love with them, even if it's extremely obvious. After spending enough time with their love interest they will eventually realize that they are in love with them and can try to pursue a relationship with them.
In Japan, this dere type is known with a completely different meaning. To see the original Japanese version go to "Bakadere".
Meaning of the Name
Ahodere (Western) comes from the word "aho" (アホデレ), meaning "someone who lacks common sense and is generally unaware of their surroundings", and "deredere" (デレデレ), a mimetic word for "being lovestruck". It is used to refer to a character who lacks common sense about all things lovey-dovey.
Origin
The term originated on the internet in the Western community from a misunderstanding of the Japanese version of "ahodere" resulting in the creation of this as a variation to describe characters who are oblivious to love.[1][2][3] Use of this term can be traced as far back as 2020.[4]
There is a bit of confusion regarding the name of this dere type as in Japan "ahodere" is widely known with a completely different meaning. The dere type most commonly known in the Western community as "bakadere" is also interchangeably called "ahodere" in Japan. However, in the Western community, they are believed to be two separate dere types. The use of two separate spellings for the Japanese version likely lead Western fans to think they were two different types, when in fact they were not.
The Western definition could be described as a fool at love, while the Japanese definition is a fool in love. They also don't necessarily lack common sense in a general sense like the Japanese ahodere does, they only lack common sense when it comes to love or romance.
Personality
Aho Period
Ahodere (Western) are characters who are oblivious to other's feelings of love, as well as their own feelings of love. Regardless of how many hints they receive, or how obvious it is that someone is in love with them, they are simply unable to understand how their love interest feels until they outright say "I love you". And even then sometimes they "still" won't understand how they feel.
They will usually have their obliviousness greatly exaggerated, usually used for comedic value. Often the case is that every other character in the show can see how blatantly in love the love interest is, yet they are still completely clueless even though they're experiencing the affection firsthand.
Because of how oblivious these types of characters can be, they may do or say typically romantic things with their love interest without realizing the implications. They will act confused when their love interest acts embarrassed.
Some may not even realize they are in love themselves. These characters may mistake signs of being in love as something else, such as their cheeks turning red as being a cold.
Dere Period
Ahodere (Western) that don't realize they themselves are in love may start acting surprised when their body reacts on its own towards their love interest's words or actions. They will ask themselves questions like "Why is my heart beating so? Why am I blushing? Am I getting sick?". They will not understand what this feeling they are experiencing is at first.
When they finally realize that they're in love, they will be very surprised and may start to act differently around their love interest, usually in a very idiotic manner. Even after realizing their own feelings, they may however still be oblivious to the fact that their love interest loves them back.
Characters with this Personality
See Ahodere (Western)/Japanese Characters to see characters from Japanese media.
See Ahodere (Western)/Non-Japanese Characters to see characters from non-Japanese media.
Gallery
 Goku with Chi Chi from Dragon Ball  Maika Sakuranomiya with Dino from Blend S  Sakura Kinomoto with Tomoyo Daidouji from Cardcaptor Sakura  Tanaka with Ueno from Ueno-san wa Bukiyou  Chinatsu Yoshikawa with Kyouko Toshinou from Yuru Yuri  Arata Hinohara with Kotoha from Arata Kangatari |
References
- ↑ The Essentials of an Ahodere Anime Character. CBR (2022/11/25).
- ↑ Best Male Ahodere Characters In Anime. CBR (2022/12/18).
- ↑ Best Ahodere Anime Characters. CBR (2023/12/27).
- ↑ 40 Anime "Dere" Character Types That You Have Never Heard Of. Recommend Me Anime (2020/11/09).
| v • eDere Types | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | Standard |
Bakadere ♥ Biridere ♥ Bokodere ♥ Butsudere ♥ Dandere ♥ Darudere ♥ Deredere ♥ Dorodere ♥ Erodere ♥ Gandere ♥ Goudere ♥ Gundere ♥ Hajidere ♥ Himedere ♥ Hinedere ♥ Kamidere ♥ Kichidere ♥ Kiridere ♥ Kuudere ♥ M Dere ♥ Nyandere ♥ Onidere ♥ Rindere ♥ Roshidere ♥ S Dere ♥ Shindere ♥ Shundere ♥ Tsundere ♥ Tsuyodere ♥ Undere ♥ Usodere ♥ Utsudere ♥ Uzadere ♥ Wandere ♥ Yandere (Yanderu) ♥ Yandere (Yankii) ♥ Yoidere ♥ Zondere ♥ | |
| Variations |
Deretsun ♥ Tsun-Aho ♥ Tsun-Ama ♥ Tsunbaka ♥ Tsundora ♥ Tsunneko ♥ Tsun-Pure ♥ Tsunpuri ♥ Tsunshun ♥ Tsuntere ♥ | ||
| Western | Standard |
Bocchandere ♥ Byoukidere ♥ Kanedere ♥ Kekkondere ♥ Nemuidere ♥ Oujidere ♥ Oujodere ♥ Smugdere ♥ Teasedere ♥ Thugdere ♥ | |
| Variations |
Ahodere (Western) ♥ Kamidere (Western) ♥ Kidere ♥ Mayadere (Western) ♥ Megadere (Western) ♥ | ||
| Other | |||