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Let's not. Honestly, I don't wanna hurt you so there's no point in us fighting anymore. You know I'm much stronger than Lucy. If you'd let me I'd be happy to protect you.
"Mayadere" is a term for a character who started as a villain trying to kill their love interest/the protagonist, but switches sides after falling in love with them and becoming deredere. They act as a type of tsundere that is dangerous and scary, and may even still make jokes about killing their love interest every once in a while. For some their attraction to their love interest may be immediate, while for others it may occur slowly over time as they develop feelings from their many confrontations. After truly falling in love they will completely abandon their villainous ways so they can be with the one they love. They will start acting in cute doting ways and wanting to receive lots of affection from their love interest. It is the classic story of enemies to lovers and shows that falling in love can change even the most villainous of hearts.
In Japan, this dere type is known with a completely different meaning. For the original Japanese meaning see: mayadere.
Etymology
Meaning of the Term
Mayadere is a combination of "Maya" (マヤ), a common Japanese girl name, and "deredere" (デレデレ), a mimetic word for "being lovestruck".
The name "Maya" refers to the character of Maya Kitajima from the 1976 romance drama manga series Glass Mask (JP). In regards to this Western variation, the name has no meaning.
Origin
The definition of this variation originated from a misunderstanding of the Japanese mayadere (マヤデレ) in 2009 when it was added as a tag on the Visual Novel Database, making it one of the earliest examples of a meaning being completely lost in translation in the Western community. It was defined as "A type of tsundere that is dangerous and scary. A heroine who started as a villain trying to kill the protagonist but then switched to his side after falling in love with him. One that still makes jokes about killing him once in a while...".[1]
However, the correct Japanese definition is "a character who normally comes across as kinda scary, but is actually sweet and deredere". This is in reference to the character of Maya from the 1976 romance drama manga series Glass Mask who is a child actor that is considered to be so genius that it is frightening. When Maya demonstrates her ridiculous skill of copying the entire performance of "La Traviata" on the first look, onlookers are frightened by her talent. Once in a role, it is as if the character has been lowered into her body, a so-called "possessed" actor. This even spawned another archetype known as osorushii ko (おそろしい子), meaning "scary child", where other manga series mimick the scared look of the characters who were watching Maya act. However, although Maya is usually a scary girl when she's alone with her love interest she becomes deredere and is very loving and affectionate. So mayadere was a term coined for specifically the character Maya when she shows her dere (i.e., it's Maya's dere... Mayadere), and later started to be used by Japanese fans for other characters who were similar to her.[2]
The use of this Japanese meaning can be seen as far back as 2006, so it did not take long for the meaning to be changed in the Western community. It is likely this "scary" line made its way to the Western community and was misinterpreted as "villains are scary... and when they become good they're dere, so this is what mayadere is", even though this is not correct. This also explains why the etymology of mayadere has been considered a mystery for so long in the Western community, because "Maya" is not a word, it is a name. The use of the term "mayadere" for an "enemies to lovers" dere type does not particularly make any sense because Maya is neither dangerous nor a villain (in fact, she's the main protagonist and is incredibly sweet), but it has become one of the most popular Western-created dere types under this name regardless. Perhaps it could be said that this Western variation simply adds "dangerous" and "villain" traits to the already existing formula of "looks scary but is actually deredere" making it a more extreme version of the Japanese meaning.
History
Early Influences
One of the earliest examples of a character switching sides after falling in love is the character of Android 18 who was introduced in the manga series Dragon Ball in 1991. Android 18, alongside her twin brother Android 17, were two humans who were kidnapped and experimented on by Dr. Gero and turned into killing machines designed to kill Goku and his friends. However, after going on a rampage and attacking several towns they were forced to flee when another android named Cell showed up to absorb their power. Despite 18 still being his enemy at the time, the character Krillin got a crush on her and started trying to help her in the middle of their fight. Following Cell's defeat, Android 18 remained antagonistic and vowed to come back for revenge but after secretly staying behind to spy on them she witnessed Krillin make a wish to Shenron to make her human again and remove the bomb Dr. Gero implanted in her. This act of kindness leads 18 to take a liking to Krillin and by the time of the next arc they are married with a child.
One of the most notable examples of this type is the character of Golden Darkness from the 2006 harem romance manga series To LOVE Ru. Darkness is a lonely assassin who is hired to kill Rito Yuuki but decides to take her time and under the pretense of still needing to complete her mission to kill Rito, chooses to stay on Earth. As Darkness spends more time on Earth, she builds a very strong relationship with Rito's mature younger sister Mikan, and with Rito himself, whom she develops romantic feelings for. Despite being sent to Earth to assassinate him, Rito shows kindness to her and because of this she's not sure about her feelings or whether she wants to kill him but tries to convince herself that he is still her target. Later on in the series she finally accepted her feelings and told Mikan about her love for Rito. She then commenced a fight to save Rito's life and after the battle Darkness at last confessed her feelings to Rito.
Personality
Mayadere characters start as dangerous and scary villains who try to kill their love interest (Maya), but switch sides after falling in love with them (deredere).
Maya Period
Gajeel Redfox after leaving Levy McGarden unconscious and hanging from a tree from FAIRY TAIL
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Mayadere characters start as dangerous and scary villains who are trying to kill the protagonist/their future love interest.
The mayadere character and the love interest might simply be on opposite sounds of the war, such as the classic tale of the hero vs villain, or they might be specifically targeting their love interest, such as someone who was hired to assassinate them, or even their love interest might just have been in the wrong place at the wrong time and gotten in their way.
This doesn't necessarily mean that the mayadere character is pure evil, however, as they also might just be doing someone else's bidding or feel as though they don't have a choice to but continue down their current path and try to kill anyone who wants to stop them. It could also be said that someone who can be swayed by love was never truly pure evil in the first place.
Dere-kake Period
Gajeel Redfox saving Levy McGarden and letting himself get beaten to atone for hurting her from FAIRY TAIL
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As time goes by the mayadere character will develop romantic feelings for their love interest and will start to second guess their antagonistic role. They may see a different side of their love interest or they may learn more about them from their many encounters. Perhaps they saw how far their love interest was willing to go to save their friend and started to admire their compassion. They may even be forced to team up to combat a mutual threat, such as a much stronger common enemy, and gain feelings for each other during their truce after getting to spend more time talking with them and laughing. It is during this time that they start to become attached to those on the good side and have a sudden change of heart.
They can still hold some grudges toward their love interest even after starting to fall in love with them and still act like a villain, but they will be less harsh with them after returning to their antagonistic role. Often the case is that they are conflicted and confused about their feelings. What do they care about more: their mission or the feelings in their heart and the person they love? Some mayadere characters may not even be in a position where they 'can' change sides even if they wanted to. They may simply work underneath a bigger villain and force themselves to hurt their love interest even if they don't want to.
They may even do some small acts of compassion for their love interest, such as taking care of their injuries after being hurt. They may not even be after their love interest specifically and just want to do enough to stop them from interfering so they take care of them to make sure they don't become seriously hurt. If they join their love interest's team they will begin to reveal or show a different side of themselves that the love interest couldn't see when they were still an enemy. They may show new ways of thinking and act more morally after their love interest teaches them other ways of seeing the world, though they may still make jokes insisting they're still going to kill their love interest every once in a while.
They may even try to make some form of atonement to make up for hurting their interest, such as by saving them from danger or punishing themself.
Dere Period
Gajeel Redfox flirting with Levy McGarden from FAIRY TAIL
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However, eventually love changes even the most evil hearts. There will come a point at which the mayadere character can no longer deny their true feelings. They have completely and utterly fallen in love with their love interest and will give up anything to be with them.
Some mayadere characters may have an immediate attraction and very quickly become deredere while others may have a long journey to get here. Whichever path the mayadere character takes they will eventually switch sides completely and become a good-hearted and loving person. They will begin acting in cute ways and wanting to be lovey-dovey with their love interest. They may feel a lot of regret of their villainous past or especially that they ever tried to hurt the one they now love.
Common Templates
Because the nature of this dere type it is quite open to interpretation of how exactly a mayadere character develops so there are many possible formats.
Long-term Enemies
Emi Yusa blushing after falling on Sadao Maou during their fight from The Devil is a Part-Timer!
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These characters have been bitter enemies with their love interest for a long time. Their mission is to kill their love interest, but across their many confrontations slowly come to understand one another and end up falling in love with them instead. This may also have been hired by someone else to assassinate their love interest and have no ill feelings for them directly, which makes it easier to sway them over to the side of love and cause them to abandon their mission.
An example of this type is the character if Emi Yusa from The Devil is a Part-Timer. Emi Yusa is also known as the Hero Emilia who had a sworn duty to vanquish Satan/Sadao Maou and put an end to the long-standing war between humans and demons so the two of the had battled countless times. After Satan escapes her by fleeing to Earth through a dimensional portal she follows after him which causes both of them to end up losing most of their magical powers. Although their dynamic had changed because of this, Emilia's mission had not and if she had to kill Satan with a plastic knife she bought at the dollar store she was going to do it! However, when Emilia ends up losing her wallet during the fight and can't afford to buy a bus ticket home she reluctantly asks Satan to let her spend the night. This pattern would continue for a long time, with Emilia insisting she's going to kill Satan the first chance she gets because she can never forgive him for killing her father, yet despite this she gradually grows closer because, across their many confrontations, she started to see a different side of him. She started to question why Satan, the Lord of Evil, was helping random civilians he didn't know or why he seemed so kind and compassionate. As time went on she started to question her duty or if what she was doing was even the right thing. She questioned how this person could possibly be the same person who killed her father and started a war as her newfound feelings towards him conflicted her.
Their dynamic would change permanently later on when Emilia finds out that her father is still alive and she was lied to about Satan killing him. This causes Emilia to start spiraling and thinking her entire life's mission is meaningless. Her whole life had been spent trying to get revenge for her father and now she has no choice but to forgive Maou. She feels confused by this and decides to return to her homeworld. However, while there she gets captured by the Angels and is betrayed for getting close to Satan and is set to be executed. While thinking about everything that had occurred after being locked away she started crying and begging for Maou to come save her, which he did. After this moment she ends up becoming one of his generals in the fight against the angels. Although it was a very long process Emilia begins to grow very close to Satan and develop romantic feelings for him.
Reluctant Enemies
Juvia Lockser falling in love at first sight during her fight with Gray Fullbuster from FAIRY TAIL
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These types of mayadere characters are someone who is simply on the opposing side of their love interest by complete chance and then fall in love with them after they meet. They will reluctantly choose to keep fighting against their love interest even though it hurts since their feelings are not that deep yet. They may also beg their love interest to not get in their way so they won't have to hurt them before ultimately choosing that love is more important to them and switching to the side of their love interest after truly falling in love with them.
An example of this type would be the character of Juvia Lockser from Fairy Tail. Juvia was a member of an antagonistic guild whose master decided to attack the Fairy Tail guild. The person that Juvia ended up having to fight with was a member of Fairy Tail named Gray Fullbuster. Although they were enemies she immediately became infatuated with him because of his attractive appearance. However, after he insulted her by calling her "gloomy" she decided to put her feelings aside and attacked Gray. Although she was attacking him, she continued to make comments about how much she wanted to be with him.
After she was defeated she started to reminisce about her sad life and how she had spent all her life alone until her current guild gave her a home. She was the "gloomy rain woman" that nobody wanted. After she was about to fall off the building following her defeat she was suddenly saved by Gray. When asked why he had saved her he said that he couldn't let her die because he could tell she wasn't truly a bad person and the two spent some time talking. She was so happy to receive kindness for the first time that her gloomy demeanor started to change and the rainy atmosphere that she created disappeared, allowing her to see the sunshine in the sky for the first time. This moment caused her love for him to become genuine and following the disbandment of her former guild, she decided to dedicate her time to meeting back up with Gray. After helping Gray and his friends in their next mission, redeeming herself in their eyes in the process, they invited her to join Fairy Tail. After this she could be seen constantly following Gray around, trying to make him fall in love with her and fangirling over him in a very megadere (Western) fashion. While at first she still displayed some hostility towards others, likely as a result of her traumatic upbringing, throughout the series her relationship with Gray causes her to completely change. No longer was she gloomy or hostile, she was cheerful and kind to everyone.
Forced Enemies
Sakuna Memoir crying because she doesn't want to kill Komari Gandesblood from The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess
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These types of mayadere characters want to be with the one they love but simply can't and are forced to try to kill the person they love. This may be because they work for someone higher up and still owe them a debt, maybe they are being manipulated, or maybe someone in their family has been taken as ransom and they have no choice but to stay and follow orders. What usually happens in this scenario is the mayadere character will finally learn to confide in their love interest after struggling alone and the two will join up to save the mayadere character so the two of them can be together.
An example of this type would be Sakuna Memoir from The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess. Sakuna is introduced to her love interest Kamori Gondesblood under orders to investigate the terrorists together where she quickly befriends her, forming a sister-like bond. However, it was later revealed that the terrorist they were investigating was none other than Sakuna all along. Odilon of the terrorist organization Inverse Moon had invaded the Memoir House and kidnapped her entire family. He forced her to join the terrorist organization and turned her into his submissive servant because he wanted to use her special ability. In every mission prior Odilon would threaten to kill her family if she didn't comply. Thinking that he would spare her family if she did what he said, Sakuna reluctantly followed his orders.
During the Seven Crimson Lords War, Sakuna confronted Komari and attempted to carry out her orders from Odilon to kill Komari but she couldn't bring herself to kill the only friend that she had made. She then broke down into tears and ended up telling Komari everything about her past, how Inverse Moon took her family, and how they tried to get her to kill Komari. To her surprise, however, Komari forgave her, embracing her, and assuring her that everything was going to be okay. Komari further stated that despite her circumstances, she still wanted to be her friend and that 'she' would become Sakuna's new family. Sakuna was very touched and embraced Komari back in tears, thanking her for still wanting to be her friend despite everything that happened and apologized to her as well for what she almost did. After some time Odilon showed up and started relentlessly beating Sakuna for disobeying his orders but Komari was able to put a stop to it and kill him, setting Sakuna free from her torment. Following this point, Sakuna was able to make her own choices and she decided to stay by Komari's side, though she demanded to be punished for her actions. The trauma also led Sakuna to develop a strong dependency on Komari, and her romantic feelings towards her caused her to display several yandere tendencies.
Difference From Other Archetypes
It is very similar to kichidere since both types start as dangerous and scary, but end up cute and affectionate. The most difference is simply on what the focus of each type is. Kichidere focuses on the mental state of a character, going from insanity to being saved by their love interest and adopting a more loving side. In comparison, a mayadere character does not have to suffer from insanity and the focus is on the character trying to kill their love interest but then in the process falling in love through their fights. A kichidere character also does not necessarily have to try to kill people, they just have to act dangerous even if there's no intent behind it.
Similar Japanese Archetypes
- Kichidere: A term for a character who has gone insane and acts like a crazy lunatic, but whose romantic feelings toward their love interest are surprisingly cute and deredere.
List of Characters
See Mayadere (Western)/Japanese Characters to see characters from Japanese media.
See Mayadere (Western)/Non-Japanese Characters to see characters from non-Japanese media.
Gallery
 Gajeel Redfox from FAIRY TAIL  Emi Yusa from The Devil is a Part-Timer!  Kurumi Tokisaki from Date A Live  Android 18 from Dragon Ball  Illyasviel von Einzbern from Fate/stay night  Charlotte Pudding from ONE PIECE |
References
- ↑ Tag: Mayadere Heroine. Visual Novel Database (2009/08/14). “This type of a tsundere is dangerous and scary. Think of a heroine who started as a villain trying to kill the protagonist but then switched to his side after falling in love with him. One that still makes jokes about killing him once in a while...”
- ↑ Mayadere Blog. FC2 Blog (2006/10/04). “The word is "Mayadere". Maya is the scary girl from Glass Mask. And even though she's usually a scary girl, when they're alone she becomes deredere... it's a word that's a little different from tsundere.”
| 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 | |||