The Top 30+ Yandere Characters in Anime

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Anime expert Megan Blue explains what a yandere is

Co-authored by Megan Blue and Raven Minyard, BA

Last Updated: August 4, 2026 Fact Checked

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Yandere Characters

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What is a yandere?

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Other “Dere” Types

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Yanderes: They’re sweet, they’re shy, and they’re capable of cruelty and violence when it comes to their love interests. This character archetype is one of the most popular in anime and manga, and there are plenty of unforgettable yandere protagonists and antagonists. For this article, we interviewed anime and manga experts to compile a list of some of the most popular yandere characters and explain what a yandere is. Let’s dive in!

The Best Yandere Characters

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An illustration of popular yandere characters from anime.

Anime expert Megan Blue says a yandere is a character who is violently obsessed with their love interest. Some popular yandere characters include Toga from My Hero Academia, Akito Sohma from Fruits Basket, Ayano Aishi from Yandere Simulator, Yuno Gasai from Future Diary, and Shuu Tsukiyama from Tokyo Ghoul.

Section 1 of 3:

Popular Yandere Characters

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“One of the most popular characters that I would personally consider a yandere is Toga from My Hero Academia,” says Blue. “Her entire mentality is ‘I love you, so I’ll stab you, and I’ll drink your blood.’”^{[1]
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Megan Blue
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Meet the wikiHow Experts

Megan Blue is an anime expert with over 25 years of experience watching anime. She also hosts The Fangirl Watches podcast and shares pop culture video essays online.

Arklight Blues and Sea Cucumber are manga experts and digital manga artists who are collaborating on an original manga.
Ayano Aishi is the protagonist of the anime-inspired game Yandere Simulator, so there was no way we couldn’t include her on this list. Also known as Yandere-chan, she suffers from Aishi Condition, which prevents her from feeling empathy or remorse. Because of this, she’ll do whatever it takes to gain Taro’s affections, including killing her classmates.^{[2]
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Yuno Gasai is often considered one of the best yandere characters and is nicknamed the “Yandere Queen.” Yuno is totally obsessed with her crush, Yuki, whose goal is to get through the deadly competition without killing anyone. Therefore, Yuki’s sole goal is to help him so they end up together. She’ll do whatever it takes to protect him.^{[3]
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When Satou Matsuzaka forms an attachment to a girl named Shio, it’s later revealed that she’s actually holding Shio captive. Satou claims it’s for Shio’s own good, and she commits arson and murder to “protect” her. She’s not afraid to manipulate and blackmail people to keep up the illusion of her “happy sugar life.”^{[4]
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Yukako Yamagishi typically acts shy and sweet, but her true colors are revealed when she’s around her crush, Koichi Hirose. She kidnaps and tries to brainwash him, and many fans consider her to be the first yandere.^{[5]
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The snake yokai Mizuki kidnapped Nanami when he discovered she was the new land god of the Mikage shrine. Later, Nanami seeks his help, and when she falls unconscious, he kisses her and becomes her second familiar without her consent. He may be lonely, but that doesn’t excuse his actions.^{[6]
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Kaede Fuyou starts out as a nice girl dealing with trauma from her mother’s death. She wants to spend time with her friend Rin, but Rin chooses to hang out with Asa Shigure instead. When the two go on a date, it pushes Kaede to her limit. She slams Asa against a wall, which causes her to have a heart attack.^{[7]
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Shuu Tsukiyama may present as classy and sophisticated, but he’s actually pretty messed up. He follows a pretty girl home to steal and eat her eyeballs. He also enjoys sniffing Kaneki’s blood, which is pretty disturbing in its own right.^{[8]
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Lucy has two distinct personalities. After being shot in the head, she develops a meek, innocent personality called Nyu. Meanwhile, as Lucy, she’s dangerous and can kill anyone. She’s in love with Kouta, but she killed his family when he didn’t invite her to a festival.^{[9]
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Megumi Shimizu has always had a huge crush on Natsuno Yuuki, but her obsessive behaviors only intensify after she becomes a vampire. She kills anyone who gets close to him and is only stopped when the villagers stake her.^{[10]
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While many yanderes are antagonists, Keisuke is one of the protagonists in Blood of the Reprimanded Dog. Because they grew up together, he’s very attached to his friend Akira. In one of the series’s bad endings, he kills Akira and pulls out his organs while saying, “I love you.” Yuck!^{[11]
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For a yandere, Kurumi Tokisaki actually becomes pretty likeable. As the “Worst Spirit” in Date A Live, she has killed thousands of people and hates humans. Over time, however, she becomes more neutral toward them and even becomes an ally. She uses her sweet persona to trick people, but she only tortures criminals.^{[12]
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Griffith is one of the most powerful anime villains of all time, and he also happens to have quite a few yandere characteristics. He’s immediately attracted to Guts and his potential for power, but he grows jealous of Guts’s popularity and his relationship with Casca. Like other yanderes, he’ll do whatever’s necessary to regain control.^{[13]
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Akito Sohma (Fruits Basket) “Fruits Basket is a great example of [a show with] multiple male yandere characters, especially if you look at the head of the Soma family, Akito,” says Blue.^{[14]
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Megan Blue
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Expert Interview} Akito always wants to be the center of attention and grows jealous when the Zodiacs start paying more attention to Tohru. In the end, Akito goes so far as to stab Tohru and Kureno.
- Note: Akito is male in the 2001 anime, but female in the 2019 anime and the manga.
All things considered, Minatsuki Takami has a pretty good reason for becoming a yandere; her mother chose to save a plant instead of her during an earthquake. Since then, Minatsuki has become a compulsive liar. She seems shy, but it’s revealed that she killed her father and torments her brother. She loves seeing people suffer.^{[15]
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Let’s face it—none of the male characters in Diabolik Lovers is a green flag, but Kanato is one of the most disturbing. He acts like a young child, often throwing tantrums, and he’s obsessed with his Teddy bear, which contains his mother’s ashes… that he burned himself. He doesn’t want anyone else coming close to the heroine Yui, but he also doesn’t care if he hurts her.^{[16]
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Shinkawa uses the virtual world to cope with bullying, so it’s no surprise that he saves Asada Shino from her own bullies. However, things change when he confesses his feelings and she rejects him. He injects her with a drug and declares that she belongs to him, but luckily, Kirigaya Kazuto saves the day before Shinkawa can kill her.^{[17]
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Akane Hiyama and Seiji Aino become a couple after their names are written in the Kiss Note, but this only makes Akane more possessive. When she hears that Seiji and Guri kissed, she tries to kill both of them. When Seiji gets paired with other girls in the Kiss Note, Akane will stop at nothing to make sure he belongs to her.^{[18]
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Kofuku is such a yandere that she even terrifies Bishomon, the goddess of war. Kofuku acts naive, but under the surface, she’s sinister and will do whatever it takes to get what she wants.^{[19]
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Shion Sonozaki is heartbroken that her crush, Satoshi Houjoi, has Hinamizawa Syndrome and will do anything to avenge him. She tortures his sister, Satoko, because she believes Satoko was to blame for Satoshi’s condition. When Satoshi goes missing, Shion kills anyone she suspects is involved, including her own family members.^{[20]
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Anna Nishikinomiya runs a tight ship as the student council president, banning any type of “impurity.” The problem is, she’s totally obsessed with Tanukichi Okuma and feels conflicted about enforcing the law. Throughout the series, she becomes more depraved, going so far as to stalk and sexually assault Tanukichi.^{[21]
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Alois Trancy is pretty possessive over his butler, the Spider Demon, Claude. He won’t hesitate to hurt anyone he thinks is stealing Claude’s attention, and he has a taste for blood—literally. He becomes ecstatic when he accidentally tastes Ciel Phantomhive’s blood.^{[22]
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When Light (as Kira) kills the criminals who killed Misa Amane’s parents, she becomes completely devoted to him. She’ll do anything for him, including cutting her life in half to receive Shinigami Eyes, not just once, but twice.^{[23]
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Toma acts as if he cares about the unnamed heroine of Amnesia, but he’s not as nice as he seems. He lies about being the heroine’s boyfriend and goes so far as to drug her so she can’t leave him. When she finds out, he locks her in a cage. He’s definitely not the yandere you want to mess with.^{[24]
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Kotonoha Katsura will do anything to get Makoto Itou’s attention, which means she’s constantly competing against Sekai Saionji for his affections. While both characters have yandere tendencies, Kotonoha is always the one who takes things furthest, including accidentally causing a few deaths.^{[25]
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At first, the antagonist of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion seems innocent, but like all yanderes, that’s just an act. When Lelouch regains his memory of Nunnally, Rolo reveals himself to be a ruthless killer and becomes obsessively possessed with Lelouch. He’ll do whatever it takes to keep Nunnally away so that he can be Lelouch’s one and only sibling.^{[26]
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Suzune is a complex yandere. She dealt with a lot of abuse growing up, leading her to form a strong attachment to her adoptive brother, Jinta. Unfortunately, her demon instincts take over and she becomes obsessed with him, killing Shirayuki out of possessiveness.^{[27]
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Shin is one of the first major villains in Fist of the North Star. He’s completely obsessed with Yuri, the fiancée of the protagonist Kenshiro. He literally creates a kingdom to impress her, and he’s a jealous and vindictive character.^{[28]
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Because Komi Can’t Communicate is a slice-of-life anime, Yamai Ren may not be as violent as other yanderes on this list, but her behavior is still inappropriate. She attempts to isolate Komi, takes inappropriate photos of her, and even gropes her. She’ll do whatever it takes to get closer to Komi.^{[29]
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Yuka Minase has always supported her childhood crush Kakeru Satsuki, but after the Red Night, she becomes possessive of him. She commits acts of violence against friends and enemies alike, and she wants a world that’s just the two of them. She loves fairytales and wants to live “happy forever after” with him.^{[30]
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With his sadistic personality, it’s no surprise that Vincent Nightray is the villain of Pandora Hearts. He’s obsessed with Gilbert Nightray and tortures anyone who comes near him. He also finds pleasure in torturing his subordinates whenever they make a mistake.^{[31]
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Mao’s mental instability stems from his childhood. When he was only 6-years-old, he was given the mind-reading Geass, and his mental state was negatively affected by his continuous mind-reading abilities. When he discovers he can’t read C2’s mind, he becomes obsessed and shoots her when she rejects him.^{[32]
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Eiko Hozuki is quite pleased when she becomes eternally bound to her boyfriend Keitaro after an occult experience gone wrong. However, over time, her feelings for him turn into obsession. She spies on him and wants to know who he’s spending his time with. But, she’s not as bad as other yanderes, as she’s willing to help him make other friends.^{[33]
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Section 2 of 3:

What is a yandere character?

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A yandere is a character who is totally obsessed with their love interest. “The yandere is that violently obsessive character who will fight anyone who comes near their love interest,” explains Blue. “They might come out with stalking or fighting another person who likes their partner or the person they want to be their partner. They might even fight their partner if they don’t return the yandere’s affection… Violence and love are two sides of the same coin for a yandere.”^{[34]
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Megan Blue
Anime Expert

Expert Interview}
- “Usually, a yandere is [a female character] who starts off very loving and twists into being obsessive,” adds Blue.^{[35]
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  Megan Blue
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  Expert Interview} There are also male yanderes, however.
- Manga experts Arklight Blues and Sea Cucumber explain that yanderes “have a very toxic, possessive, jealous interior and act very soft on the outside.” They add that yanderes aren’t as humorous as the other “dere” types.^{[36]
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  Arklight Blues and Sea Cucumber
  Digital Manga Artist and Manga Expert
  
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- Think you could handle a relationship with a yandere? Take our “Would I Survive a Yandere Relationship?” quiz to find out!

Section 3 of 3:

Other “Dere” Types

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“Dere” refers to how a character displays affection. “Deres” are different character archetypes that are based on how a character behaves when they’re around their crush or love interest. Yanderes are one of the most common types, but there are many others, as well. Here are some of the most popular:
- Tsundere: Characters who seem cold and aloof, but slowly warm up and show their sensitive side.
- Dandere: Characters who are typically shy, quiet, or emotionless, but open up and become confident around their love interest.
- Himedere: Female characters who are ladylike and often come from a noble background; they’re initially stuck-up and want to be pampered by their love interest, but slowly become more compassionate.
- Hiyakasudere: Characters who enjoy teasing and flirting with their love interest.
- Deredere: Characters who are extremely loving and affectionate toward their love interest.
- Which type of “dere” are you? Take our quiz to find out!