The term bishonen is tossed around a lot in anime spheres. Its loosest definition is a handsome character with charm and love interest potential. More specifically, a bishonen is a character with gentlemanly manners and fine features who models a lot of princely virtues only seen in idealized fairytales. A kuudere tends to be a bishonen, and vice versa — naturally, there's a large intersection between the two character types' personality traits. These characters are highly cerebral. They don't speak often, but they are highly observant, and when they do speak, it's something they've given careful consideration.

Kuudere characters are often actual princes in fantasy anime, like Prince Zen inSnow White with the Red Hair, or school princes in contemporary anime, like Yuki Sohma inFruits Basket. Though everyone adores the tsundere ofFruits Basket, Kyo Sohma, Yuki is a close second fan favorite in the series. Where tsunderes have an explosive temper, kuuderes are patient and calm. On paper, such a character archetype may seem boringcompared to a tsundere or yandere, but the kuudere's quiet nature makes their rare emotional displays all the more significant.

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Kuudere Love Interests Are Gaining More And More Popularity

Though tsundere love interests tend to be in the pulpiest romance anime, a surprising amount of anime love interests are kuudere — especially the bishonen characters. Kiyoka Kudou ofMy Happy Marriage, Claude Ellmeyer ofI'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss, Himura fromThe Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague, and Yamada fromMy Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 are just a few recent character examples who illustrate how the kuudere love interest is only rising in popularity. Kuudere bishonen are vastly popular for a reason; they embody many aspects of an ideal guy partner. He's gentlemanly and kind, and his worst personality trait is that he tends to play his cards close to his vest. But asthe kuudere's love interest peels back his layers, they reveal that hidden depths lie within. These characters don't wear their emotions on their sleeve, and they think about things deeply.

Claude Ellmeyer ofI'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss must master his emotions because losing control means losing control of his magic. The audience understands his emotional displays from clues like flowers wilting and his telling gestures toward Aileen. Claude may be self-contained, but that doesn't stop him from making grand gestures for his fiancé's sake. He can't bear the idea of seeing her hurt or reviled because he knows what it's like to be similarly targeted. Likewise, Yamada ofMy Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 shows disapproval toward Akane in the beginning, but he can't stop himself from silently assuming the role of her knight in shining armor whenever she needs anything. Kuudere characters tend to lead with compassion, even if they don't advertise that they do. That kind of consideration, gentility, and self-control are highly attractive in a guy in and outside the anime world.

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Why Are So Many Kuuderes Silver-Haired?

Characters like Prince Zen, Yuki Sohma, and Kiyoka Kudou all have one physical trait in common: their silvery hair. To Western audiences, silver hair acts as a kind of shorthand for showing cool elegance, wisdom, beauty, and a frosty exterior. The Japanese symbolism behind silver is also associated with the wisdom of age, as well as precision and masculinity. Traditionally, silver-haired characters are beautiful and strong, but they don't need to show their temper or flex their muscles to communicate their strength to others. They have more of an emotional fortitude that perfectly complements a kuudere love interest's personality.

The Japanese associate silver with being staid and modest, too. Kuudere take those qualities and bring them to a zenith point. Their staid modesty is both a blessing and a difficulty at times.Kuudere are often considered ice queens and kings. They may even seem emotionally stingy to others, but generally, it's for a good or complex reason. A kuudere doesn't let just anyone into their rich inner world. They seek true understanding with people and have little energy for shallowness. It communicates an emotional depth that not all anime archetypes have. But when kuudere characters do let someone into their world, they are there for them one-thousand percent. They are so devoted to a rare few people that it often surprises the masses who assume them to be cold, remote, and austere. Kuudere characters may have internal conflict, but they are often cavalier about it — they're low-angst, wise characters who consider all angles of an issue before interacting. Their politesse requires a lot of self-discipline.

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Kuudere Are Refreshingly Kind And Contemplative

Kuudere characters are defined by their icy exterior. They prove the adage that "still waters run deep," but only to a rare few people who take the time to get to know who they really are. Kuudere love interests feel very deeply, especially about their morals and their love interests. Kuudere characters make for a great opposites-attract romance. Aileen, for instance, is sunshiney, energetic, and optimistic inI'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss. The demon lord Claude is like a gentle counterbalance, grounding Aileen as she adds some much-needed sunlight into his life. A kuudere who falls for an energetic character has the same dynamic as Hades falling for Persephone. It makes for a sweet, refreshing chemistry that differs from the aggressive tsundere and their wide-eyed love interest.

Their "princely" manners and virtues, paired with their surprisingly flirtatious moments, make for a versatile, mature love interest with mass fan appeal. Their internal conflict has room to be more nuanced, and they have less formulaic character development. Where the tsundere Inuyasha and Kagome have high highs and low lows in their romantic back and forth, Kiyoka and Miyo have more of a steady upward trajectory inMy Happy Marriage. Though Kagome and Inuyasha are a great classic romantic couple, Inuyasha's dithering becomes taxing and even cruel. In contrast, Kiyoka makes mistakes and accidentally treads over his timid fiancé's feelings inMy Happy Marriage, but he quietly observes her and learns something new from each interaction. He may be stern and stoic, butKiyoka quickly becomes Miyo's steadfast protector. A kuudere love interest may have less explosive emotional beats in a romance, but their quiet kindness, maturity, and loyalty have mass appeal and don't hinder them from making grand romantic gestures when the time is right.