What does “yandere” mean? yan-dere? ヤンデレ?
If you are a Japanese anime fan and have watched a lot of anime, have you ever met a “Yandere（ヤンデレ）” type character?
“Yandere" is said to be a character derived from “Tsundere“, many of which are female characters.
Both contain an element called “dere”. This “dere” element should be basically attractive as a character, but “yandere is a different story.
“Tsundere” type characters may exist in the game, in the comics, or around us, but there are not so many “Yandere” type characters.
You might feel scared if you actually have such a person nearby.
Let’s take a closer look at “yandere".
What does “Yan-dere" mean?
“Yandere” is a compound word consisting of “yami” and “deredere”.
”Yan” of “yan-dere” comes from the word “yan-deru (病んでる：being sick)”.
“Dere” of “yan-dere” comes from the word “dere-dere（デレデレ）” which means a state where someone who is attractive or sexy is in front of you, you are in love with that person or your face is dull and loose.
“Yandere" was a word that represents the personality of characters that appeared in anime, games and the like. These characters are mainly women, mentally ill, and an attitude of extreme affection to other characters and unusual behavior.
What is the origin of “yan-dere"?
The word “yan-dere” was born around 2005 as a derivative of the word “tsun-dere” that already existed on the Internet.
It’s no problem for her to love him.
However, her affection is too strong, causing mental illness and confusion. She praises him too much, dedicates him too much, acts violently, commits brutality and murders.
It means that such “yandere” characters are in the world of manga and anime.
Isn’t it scary if there are people like this around?
However, recently there seem to be some “yandere” people around us. It seems that such people often appear in everyday conversations among young people.
For example, the word is used to mean a state where “she likes him too much and she becomes unstable or very dependent on the relationship”.
If he cheated, she might stab him with a knife.
If she can’t see him for a while, she will send him a lot of texts and emails.
When the boyfriend is about to leave her, she will keep him in whatever way she uses.
She likes him too much and becomes a stalker.
If she can’t see him for a while, she gets depressed.
This term may be used for men, but it is predominantly used for women.
In manga and anime, as her / his “yandere” gets stronger, the character tends to move away from the happy ending.
In some anime, some “yan-dere” characters had terrible endings, which the anime production company received complaints from viewers.
Recently, due to demand from viewers, male “Yandere” characters are increasing. “Yandere” characters in manga and anime seem to be popular.
Some examples of “yan-dere" anime characters
“Yuno Gasai （Future Diary：未来日記（Mirai-Nikki））"
TTwelve owners of future diaries are participating in the survival game. Yuno likes Yukiteru Amano unusually and is almost a stalker.
If it is for him, she will kill a person, whether it is a child or an unrelated person.
“Shion Sonozaki（Higurashi When They Cry： ひぐらしのなく頃に（Higurashi no naku koro ni））"
This is a mystery series dealing with the mysterious death and disappearance related to the festival called “Wanagarashi”, which has been passed down to the devastated village of Hinazawa. Shion liked Satoshin Houjou, but he went missing. Her character was pretty scary at first and her personality changed later.
“Kotonoha Katsura (School Days: スクールデイズ)"
Kotonoha was also a pretty “Yandere” character, but it was caused by Makoto Ito, another main character, and Sekai Saionji, who was a cheating partner of Makoto.
Because Kotonoha was a poor girl who had broken down mentally because of a stupid male character, it might be unfair to call her “Yandere”.
But her last scene was splatter horror. It was horribly shocking that the broadcast was canceled.
This anime is called “controversial canceled work" among Japanese anime fans.
“Kaede Fuyou（SHUFFLE!:シャッフル！）
It was disappointing and frightening to see Kaede, the so cute and intelligent girl gradually collapsed into the character of “Yandere”.
The most famous scene was that she stirred the empty pot with a terrible expression. The anime production group received great criticism.
Is “yan-dere" the same meaning as “men-hera"?
“Men-hera（メンヘラ）" is a net slang meaning" a person who has suffered from a mental illness".
“Yan-dere" is a state that someone likes someone far too much and gets mentally ill.
“Men-hera" is someone who has a mental illness.
The difference between “yan-dere" and “men-hera" is whether the person has somebody to adore. “