Yandere

A yandere is an archetype from Japanese manga, anime, and other fictional works. It's generally a woman who starts with a lovesick, sweet and affectionate exterior but becomes mentally unstable and obsessive due to her overwhelming love for someone. Her love for a person becomes a pathological obsession, and she is intensely possessive and jealous of anyone who gets close to her love interest. A yandere typically presents a "dere" (lovesick/sweet) side to their love interest while harboring a dark, aggressive "yanderu" (sick) side, which they conceal until a trigger causes it to surface. In BDSM and kink spaces, yandere has been adopted from its anime origins into a roleplay identity. In this context, it describes a partner who is obsessively devoted, clingy, and possessive, often expressed as either a dominant character (controlling, jealous, threatening rivals) or a submissive one (worshipful, dependent, eager to please). Like other fandom-related roles such kitten or catgirl, yandere is played out in a consensual way. In this case, people love the fantasy of overwhelming love and obsession without replicating abuse. ### Origins of the Term The word yandere combines the Japanese “yanderu” (to be sick or mentally ill) with “dere” (from "deredere," meaning lovestruck or affectionate). Even before the word yandere existed, anime and manga featured characters who blended sweetness with dangerous obsession. Archetypes like tsundere (hostile but softens over time) and dandere (shy and silent but opens up) emerged in anime, manga, and visual novels during the 1980s–1990s. The term yandere, however, became widely recognized with the 2005 erotic visual novel game called "School Days." This visual, choose-your-own-ending story became infamous for its shocking, violent endings. Its main character, Katsura Kotonoha, was dubbed the “yandere queen” in Japanese online spaces.