Particularly when it comes to characters who commonly appear in different genres, anime contains a lot of cliches and archetypes. The most notable of these "-dere" subcategories is "tsundere," in which a harsh persona is revealed to be much nicer in actuality. Although Taiga Aisaka from Toradora isn't the only example of this sort, she is perhaps the best.
The "goudere" is one of the most obscure "-dere" varieties. Despite being less well-known than other character archetypes, goudere has a lot of representation in well-known anime. Here are some examples of well-known programs with goudere cast members and a definition of the term.
What Does the Goudere Anime Archetype Mean?
The etymology of goudere derives from "gou" (overpowering) and "dere-dere" (lovestruck), denoting a love interest whose passion for their beloved is overwhelming. As with most "-dere" archetypes, these characters are usually female. Her goals are not only to gain the romantic affections of her "love," but also achieve whatever it is he desires. Doing either of these can result in violent, uproarious circumstances, with the goudere obsessed with helping their love interest in whatever way they can. Likewise, they might take certain desires or requests literally, making their potential lover more annoyed than enamored in the process.
This gives the goudere some similarity to the "megadere" and "yandere" archetypes. The former involves the megadere loving someone in a fanboy/fangirl-type fashion, whereas yandere are obsessed and clingy to an extreme degree. The main detail that separates them is the fact that goudere are genuinely in love with the object of their affections, and even their most malignant actions aren't intentionally cruel or harmful.
What Well-Known Anime Has Goudere Characters?
One great example of a goudere is Albedo, the female protagonist from the isekai series Overlord. Her passion for her guild commander Ainz knows no bounds, to the point where she is incredibly clingy and jealous of other females around him. Albedo constantly tries to get his attention, with nearly all her actions meant to impress him in some way. Her passion for him is almost uncontrollable, for better or worse. Not only has she quickly counterattacked if Ainz is seemingly hurt, but she constantly throws herself on him in a sensual manner, much to his chagrin.
Tohru, the titular dragon lady from Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, is an example of a yuri goudere. Rescued by a human woman named Kobayashi, Tohru falls in love with her in gratitude. This even changes her previous outlook on humans, as she had been raised to hate them. Now she only attacks humans if they appear to be some threat to Miss Kobayashi -- regardless of whether said threat is actually real. Juvia Lockser from Fairy Tail is an example of a goudere from a shonen series, as she's driven to stave off romantic rivals for Gray Fullbuster's affection as a so-called "hobby."
Given that so much of the genre is wish fulfillment and power fantasy, several harem and isekai anime feature goudere female characters, or at least characters close to this category. Given how ubiquitous the genre is, there will likely be more mainstream goudere characters in the near future, making the term just as well-known as the beloved tsundere.
