In today’s article, we chose 15 yandere characters who we believe fit the term to a tee.
Yandere characters are a popular archetype among anime fans for various reasons.
First, their initial sweet and loving personalities make them relatable and easy to root for. As the story progresses, their darker, possessive and violent sides are revealed, adding an element of intrigue and complexity to their character. This duality in their personalities makes them exciting and dynamic, keeping the audience engaged and invested in their story.
Second, their intense emotional attachment and the lengths they go to for the person they love, often portrayed as a tragic backstory, evoke sympathy and understanding from the audience. This emotional connection helps to create a sense of relatability and empathy for the character, making them more appealing and endearing to the audience.
Third, their violent and possessive behaviour also adds a sense of excitement and tension to the story, as it raises the stakes and creates a sense of danger and uncertainty.
Overall, Yandere characters are well-received among anime fans due to their complex personalities, relatable backstory, emotional connection, and the excitement and tension they bring to the story.
- QWhat does “Yandere” mean?
- A
The term “Yan” comes from the Japanese verb “Yanderu (病んでる),” which means to be depressed or to suffer. The term “dere” describes a specific character archetype. Dere refers to a character’s personality type, usually about their affection towards a love interest.
When “Yan” is combined with “Dere,” you get the character archetype Yandere.
Yandere characters are characters who are initially sweet and loving but become violent and possessive when it comes to their love interest. They are often willing to harm or kill others to protect or be close to the person they love.
- QWho is the most “Yandere” anime character?
- A
The most iconic yandere character in anime is Yuno Gasai from Future Diary. She can be cute but super violent when she has to be (mainly to protect her Yukiteru). Her love for Yukiteru is rather insane if you ask me.
- 1. Yuno Gasai/Future Diary
- 2. Satou Matsuzaka/Happy Sugar Life
- 3. Himiko Toga/My Hero Academia
- 4. Kaede Fuyou/Shuffle
- 5. Kotonoha Katsura/School Days
- 6. Rolo Lamperouge/Code Geass
- 7. Megumi Shimizu/Shiki
- 8. Toma/Amnesia
- 9. Shuu Tsukiyama/Tokyo Ghoul
- 10. Seijuro Akashi/Kuroko’s Basketball
- 11. Shaiapouf/Hunter × Hunter
- 12. Misa Amane/Death Note
- 13. Touko Fukawa/Danganronpa
- 14. Mikasa Ackerman/Attack on Titan
- 15. Ayase Aragaki/Oreimo
- Summary
1. Yuno Gasai/Future Diary

Our queen of yandere, Yuno Gasai takes the number one spot on our list. She is the second diary owner and love interest of Yukiteru Amano. Yuno also proves that sometimes the crazy ones are the ones you got to let go of if you make it out alive after that.
Yuno’s personality can be described as obsessive, psychotic and deranged. She locked her parents in a cage and starved them to death on her original earth. On the outside, she comes off as a sweet and cute girl when interacting with Yukiteru, but on the inside, she’s always scheming and obsessing over him. She is insanely violent, and it’s best to stay away from her or Yukiteru for your own good.
Despite being the yandere psycho she is, she does not resort to killing as her first offence. It’s also shown in the series that the more she kills, the more deranged/unhinged she becomes. Yukiteru is her haven, and at the drop of his words, she can stop a murder at a moment’s notice.
2. Satou Matsuzaka/Happy Sugar Life

Satou is the series’s main protagonist and is a high school student deeply in love with a girl named Shio Koube. She will do anything to protect their relationship and will go to great lengths to keep her happy, even if it means committing murder.
Satou is a manipulator; she will lie to anyone to protect her paradise with Shio. Satou’s yandere personality is portrayed as a complex and unstable individual. Satou’s yandere personality is also revealed through her internal monologue, where she is shown to be conflicted and struggling with her morality. She is aware of the wrongness of her actions, but her love and obsession for Shio blind her from seeing the consequences of her actions.
In the series, Satou goes as far as killing her own friend and uses her aunt as an excuse for her inhumane behaviour. This is due to her aunt’s method of raising Satou. She would invite men over to sexually abuse her for fun while Satou watched from a corner.
3. Himiko Toga/My Hero Academia

Himiko is a villainous character and member of the league of villains, a group of villains who seek to overthrow the hero society. Himiko Toga’s character is also portrayed as a contrast to the series’ main protagonist, Izuku Midoriya, whose ultimate goal is to save and protect people, while Toga’s ultimate goal is to cause chaos and destruction.
Personality-wise, Himiko is portrayed as a manipulative, cunning, and intelligent villain. She is highly sadistic and enjoys playing mind games with her enemies, and she is also shown to be quite unstable, with her obsession with blood being a source of her sadistic behaviour. She is also quite infatuated with the series protagonist, Izuku Midoriya, and goes to great lengths to be near him.
Himiko is known for her quirk “Bloodcurdle,” which allows her to transform into anyone whose blood she has drunk. She uses this quirk to infiltrate the hero society and gather information.
4. Kaede Fuyou/Shuffle
Kaede is the childhood friend of the main protagonist Rin Tsuchimi and has known him since they were young. She has been in love with Rin since childhood and is jealous of the other girls interested in Rin. Despite her jealousy, she is kind and caring towards Rin and always tries to support him.
Kaede is kind, gentle and caring, always willing to help others. She is also quite intelligent and excels in her studies. She is also a hard worker and is determined to achieve her goals. But she does have those yandere soulless eyes; her gentle face can change into a hostile one, and whenever Rin ignores her, she gets super violent.
Overall, Kaede is a complex character; she is portrayed as a kind, caring and hardworking person but also as struggling with her insecurities and jealousy. Her character development throughout the series focuses on becoming more confident in herself and her feelings for Rin.
5. Kotonoha Katsura/School Days

Kotonoha is initially portrayed as a shy and introverted girl who is not very good at expressing her feelings. She has a crush on Makoto and is happy when he shows interest in her. However, as the story progresses, Makoto starts to cheat on her with other girls, causing Kotonoha to become increasingly jealous and possessive of him.
Kotonoha’s yandere qualities are revealed as she becomes more desperate to keep Makoto’s affection and becomes increasingly jealous and possessive of him. She starts to stalk him and becomes aggressive toward the girls he is interested in. She also becomes increasingly delusional, believing that Makoto truly loves her and that the other girls are just temporary distractions.
At the climax of the series, Kotonoha’s yandere qualities peak when she becomes so consumed by her jealousy and obsession with Makoto that she snaps and cuts off his head and his new girlfriend in a rage. She ends up disappearing in a small boat holding Makoto’s head. Yep, you have probably seen it on youtube. It’s her.
6. Rolo Lamperouge/Code Geass
I’m glad my siblings don’t obsess over me like Rolo over Lelouch. He is one of the main characters in the series and is a member of the secret organization known as the “Black Knights.”
Rolo’s love for Lelouch is also shown to be possessive and jealous. He becomes increasingly agitated and violent towards anyone he perceives as threatening Lelouch’s well-being, including his allies. He also becomes increasingly delusional and justifies his actions for Lelouch’s good. Furthermore, Rolo’s yandere tendencies are revealed through his sadistic streak and enjoyment of killing, which he justifies as a means to protect Lelouch.
In the end, Rolo is a complex character whose actions are driven by his emotional attachment to Lelouch and his past experiences as a failed experiment by the Britannian Empire. He is portrayed as a cold and distant individual who struggles with emotions and loyalty.
7. Megumi Shimizu/Shiki
Megumi is a supporting character; she is part of a group called Shiki, a group of undead creatures who feed on human blood. Megumi is initially portrayed as a self-centred, two-faced girl who is not well-liked by her peers. However, after becoming a Shiki, she becomes more confident and outgoing and enjoys her newfound power and immortality.
As the series progresses, Megumi’s character turns dark as her love for her best friend and crush, Natsuno Yuuki, becomes obsessed. Her love for Natsuno becomes so strong that she starts to stalk him and becomes jealous and violent toward anyone she perceives as a threat to their relationship. She also starts to justify her actions as being done out of love, even though they are clearly harmful and violent.
Furthermore, Megumi’s yandere tendencies are revealed through her sadistic streak and enjoyment of killing, which she justifies as a means to protect Natsuno and be with him forever.
8. Toma/Amnesia

Toma is 1 of the 3 main characters and the protagonist’s love interest. Toma is initially portrayed as a kind and caring person who is always willing to help the protagonist, but as the story progresses, it is revealed that he has a dark side.
He becomes highly possessive and jealous of the protagonist’s affections and becomes increasingly aggressive and violent towards anyone he perceives as a threat to their relationship. His dark side even led him to lie about being her boyfriend when she was admitted to the hospital staff, thus adding to his unhealthy possessiveness of the protagonist.
Toma believes that he should be the one to protect the protagonist. This recurring theme of obsession is a common trait among yandere-type characters. In one of the routes, he drugs the protagonist and locks her in a cage with stuffed animals out of “love.”
9. Shuu Tsukiyama/Tokyo Ghoul

Shuu is a ghoul and one of the main antagonists in the series. He is also known as the “Gourmet” due to his refined taste in human flesh and his love for gourmet food. Tsukiyama is initially portrayed as a knowledgeable, charismatic, cultured individual with a great sense of style.
It’s soon revealed that he is a cannibalistic ghoul obsessed with Kaneki, the series’s protagonist, and his flesh. He is also a sadistic individual who enjoys toying with and tormenting his prey.
As the story progresses, Tsukiyama’s character becomes more complex; it is revealed that he has a traumatic past and a mental disorder that causes him to crave human flesh. He also forms a strange bond with Kaneki and becomes obsessed with him, going to great lengths to make him his personal meal.
10. Seijuro Akashi/Kuroko’s Basketball

Seijuro is initially portrayed as a highly skilled and competitive basketball player who is also the school’s basketball team captain. He is also known for his cold, aloof personality and intimidating presence.
His yandere traits are revealed as he becomes increasingly possessive and controlling towards his teammates, going to great lengths to ensure their obedience and loyalty to him and the team, even if it means resorting to physical and psychological abuse.
Seijuro differs from our above-listed characters because his yandere aspect doesn’t turn into a deranged killer; he really is just a guy with a wholesome goal, not some psycho woman who won’t let their love interest breathe the same air as other women.
11. Shaiapouf/Hunter × Hunter
Shaiapouf is a member of the Royal Guard, a group of powerful warriors who serve the King of the Chimera Ants. He is also known as “Pouf” and is one of the main antagonists in the series. Shaiapouf is initially portrayed as a loyal and obedient servant to the King of the Chimera Ants.
Shaiapouf’s character becomes more complex, revealing his deep emotional attachment to the King of the Chimera Ants, which borders on obsession. His yandere traits are revealed as he becomes increasingly possessive and jealous of the King’s affections, going to great lengths to ensure his loyalty and obedience to him, even if it means resorting to violence and manipulation.
One really cool aspect of Shaiapoufis that he can communicate with insects; coupling that with his high intellect, he became a well-liked character in the fandom. He also was memed a lot too.
12. Misa Amane/Death Note
Misa is portrayed as a bubbly and outgoing person but also as someone who is highly ambitious and willing to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals. She is also shown to be highly intelligent and skilled in manipulating people to get what she wants.
She can be considered a yandere character because of her intense emotional attachment to Light Yagami, the series’ main protagonist. Misa becomes deeply infatuated with Light, and she becomes willing to do anything to protect him and be with him, even if it means committing the most heinous of acts.
Misa’s relationship with Light is iconic among veteran anime watchers. You could probably find a plethora of fanfics involving the two, as well as fan art.
13. Touko Fukawa/Danganronpa
Touko is one of the main characters in the series, and her character dynamic is really interesting to break down. She’s a character with a lot of sorrow, and it’s no surprise why she lashes out the way she does.
Touko has a split personality due to her traumatic past and her struggles with mental illness. Her shy and introverted side is a remnant of the bullying she received in school. Her other side, “Genocide Jack,” is her alter ego, turning her into a murderous machine hell-bent on killing handsome men. Her yandere traits are revealed as she becomes increasingly possessive and jealous of her friends’ affections.
Interestingly, her murderous alter ego would appear at the sight of blood. She also makes various appearances throughout the series and is immortalized by fans.
14. Mikasa Ackerman/Attack on Titan

Mikasa is part of the main cast throughout the series (Goated) run. Mikasa meets Eren Yeager when they are both children. Human traffickers killed Mikasa’s parents, and Eren, a friend of Mikasa’s family, saved her from being taken. Eren’s actions left a strong impression on Mikasa, and from that point forward, she pledged to protect and stay by his side.
Mikasa’s loyalty to Eren is a recurring theme, and her strong attachment to him is one of the reasons why she is willing to put herself in danger to protect him. Mikasa’s past and her relationship with Eren is a central aspect of her character development; it helps to shape her motivation, personality and behaviour throughout the series.
To be honest, Mikasa is technically a yandere due to her obsession with being at Eren’s side, but I think it is a lot more whole than a lot of the characters above. She would still kill and do anything for him; even when he turned on her, she still looked after him. It really makes a guy like me think, “damn, I wish it were me for real, minus the titan stuff.”
15. Ayase Aragaki/Oreimo

Ayase is Kirino’s modelling friend. At the start, Ayase is portrayed as a kind and caring girl, the actual, wholesome type we love. This changes drastically whenever Kirino’s brother gets involved.
Over time, We learn more about Ayase’s yandere side. She is super jealous and possessive of Kirino’s affections; she has resorted to blackmail and manipulation and loses her sense of rationalization. Her obsession with Kirino has landed her in situations where her peers have a specific “yandere mark” for her. She’s not psycho like our Queen Yandere Yuno, but she does have an unhealthy obsession with her co-worker.
Man, I would never want to be Kyosuke in this situation, Ayase has even sent him death threats over Kirino, and there’s no way I’m sleeping with both eyes closed if I were him. Her yandere look is well-designed and really gives off that controlling vibe.
Summary
Yandere characters are famous in Japan and the West, perhaps because we all have a hidden desire to be loved madly by someone. However, I would give up these characters in real life because I want to live my life in peace.
Anyways, we hope you found a character that piques your interest!
Be sure to keep checking back on our site for more great anime recommendations!