Bakadere Anime Archetype: Everything You Need to Know

The bakadere anime archetype refers to innocent, childlike characters who often embarrass themselves in front of their crush. These characters are often comedic relief and well-loved by audiences. In this article, we’ll teach you everything you need to know about bakadere, including what it means, common personality traits and MBTI types, and popular bakadere characters. Plus, learn the difference between bakadere and ahodere, as well as other similar anime archetypes.

Bakadere Meaning

Bakadere (or ahodere) is an anime archetype used to describe characters who are childish, innocent, and clueless. These characters often embarrass themselves trying to impress their crush. The term comes from the Japanese “baka,” meaning “foolish” and “deredere,” meaning “to be lovestruck.”

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What is a bakadere?

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Bakaderes are anime characters who are child-like and silly. Bakadere is one of the many anime archetypes used to sort characters by common personality traits. Bakadere characters are often well-meaning, simple-minded people who often behave strangely to try to impress their love interest or friends. While they usually fail at these antics, viewers find them amusing and endearing.^{[1]
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- The word bakadere is a combination of “baka,” meaning “foolish,” and “deredere,” meaning “to be lovestruck.” When put together, these words explain how the character feels and expresses their love—in this case, foolishly.
- The term originated online in Japan to describe the character Fuko Ibuki from the 2009 anime Clannad ~After Story~.
- The term was used in the media for the first time in 2013, when it was featured on the 90th episode of the Maji Pon! radio show.
- Anime characters often call each other “baka” as an insult, but when fans label a character as bakadere, it’s a term of endearment.

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Bakadere Personality Traits

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Bakaderes are known for their juvenile behavior. They may act more childish around their love interest, or they could have a naturally child-like personality. Either way, it often makes other characters step in as a big brother or sister figure, as the bakadere often needs someone to look after them and keep them out of trouble.^{[2]
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Bakaderes get their name because of their immature, foolish behavior. Their actions are typically endearing, even when things go drastically wrong, so fans often see them as silly rather than dumb.^{[3]
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Bakaderes typically have cheerful, sunny personalities. They tend to be excitable and always look on the bright side. Even when they embarrass themselves in front of their crush, they bounce back quickly and are ready to try to impress them again.^{[4]
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While bakadere characters are usually silly, they’re very affectionate and loving toward those they care about, especially their love interest. When they’re with their crush, they may act more serious and caring than they do otherwise.
Bakaderes tend to rush into things without fully thinking them through, especially when it comes to trying to impress their crush. Because they don’t usually think logically, their plans often backfire and land them in embarrassing situations.^{[5]
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Popular Bakadere Characters

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Many silly, comedic anime characters are bakadere. Bakadere characters can be found across countless anime series, including shows that often have more serious storylines. Here are a few popular bakadere characters from various anime and manga series:^{[6]
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- Fuko Ibuki from Clannad ~After Story~
- Millianna from Fairy Tail
- Ryuunosuke Tanaka from Haikyuu!!
- America from Hetalia Axis Powers
- Mina Ashido from My Hero Academia
- Naruto Uzumaki from Naruto
- Tamaki Suoh from Ouran High School Host Club
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Western cartoon characters can also be bakadere. While Western media doesn’t classify characters into the same archetypes as anime characters, many cartoons have the same characteristics and personality traits as bakadere anime characters. Here are some popular Western cartoon characters that could be classified as bakadere:
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Ice King from Adventure Time
- Linda Belcher from Bob’s Burgers
- Bubbles from The Powerpuff Girls
- Cosmo from The Fairly Odd Parents
- Beast Boy from Teen Titans Go!
- Draculaura from Monster High

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The Appeal of the Bakadere Archetype

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One of the most obvious reasons bakaderes appeal to anime fans is because they add a sense of humor to the anime. While bakaderes are named for the humorous ways in which they express their romantic feelings, some bakadere characters may not have a romance plot at all and are instead used for comedic relief.^{[7]
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After watching a bakadere character embarrass themselves repeatedly to try to impress their crush, you can’t help but root for them. When the character finally does get with their love interest, their relationship is usually cute and innocent because of the bakadere’s child-like personality. These relationships can be refreshing to watch.
Real life can be stressful and harsh, so many anime fans relax by watching the comedic antics of a bakadere character. Even if the anime has serious moments, the bakadere’s appearance can be enough to make you smile and forget about your worries.

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Bakadere vs Ahodere

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Japanese anime fans often use the terms interchangeably, as the root words “baka” and “aho” have similar meanings. Bakadere is the more widespread of the two, as “baka” comes from the standard Japanese and “aho” comes from the Kansai dialect. These terms both describe childlike, silly characters.^{[8]
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In Western media, ahoderes are oblivious to love. These characters are typically oblivious to their own romantic feelings and can’t tell when someone else is in love with them. The term originated on the Western internet in 2020 and is thought to be a misunderstanding of the Japanese version of ahodere.^{[9]
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- “Aho” means “a character who lacks common sense and is unaware of their surroundings” and “dere” comes from “deredere,” which means “to be lovestruck.” When put together, it’s easy to see how fans would interpret this as someone oblivious to love.
- One way to think of the two ahodere archetypes is the Japanese archetype is a fool in love, while the Western version is a fool at love.

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Bakadere MBTI Type

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The bakadere archetype has the ENFP personality type. While each bakadere character is unique, the overall archetype is most closely associated with the ENFP Myers-Briggs type. ENFPs are extroverted (E), intuitive (N), feeling (F), and perceptive (P). This MBTI type fits the bakadere archetype because these characters aren’t shy about their feelings and remain optimistic.^{[10]
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- The Japanese ahodere type is the same MBTI type as bakaderes, while the Western version is most closely associated with the ISFP type (introverted, sensing, feeling, and perceiving).
- Myers-Briggs or MBTI is a personality test used to sort people into 1 of 16 personality types based on factors like introversion vs. extroversion and feeling vs. thinking.

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Similar Anime Archetypes

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Bakaderes share many traits with other anime archetypes. In many cases, bakadere characters can be placed into other archetypes due to their overarching similarities. Here are some other archetypes that bakaderes are typically associated with:^{[11]
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- Dojikko: Dojikko characters are known for being cute and clumsy, though they may not act silly outside of their clumsy moments.
- Moe: Moe characters embody cuteness and innocence. Many bakadere characters may be described as moe because of their child-like behavior.
- Tsun-Aho: Tsun-Aho is a term to describe tsundere characters who try so hard to seem uninterested in their love interest that they end up making a fool of themselves.
- Deredere: Deredere characters are lovestruck and do not hide their romantic feelings. They’re openly affectionate, energetic, and sweet.

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Other Dere Types

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Yandere Yandere characters are completely obsessed with their love interest to the point they border on insanity. They’re very possessive and may be so attached to their crush that they resort to violence when they feel their relationship is being threatened. The term “yandere” comes from “yanderu,” which means “mentally unstable.”^{[12]
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- Some popular yandere characters include Misa Amane from Death Note, Akito Sohma from Fruits Basket, and Himiko Toga from My Hero Academia.
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Tsundere Tsundere characters act cold, distant, and stuck-up around their love interest to hide their feelings for them. They pretend to dislike their crush because they can’t be honest about their feelings, but as they get to know them better, they slowly open up and allow themselves to be more affectionate. The term “tsundere” comes from “tsuntsun,” which means “to turn away or ignore someone.”^{[13]
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- Some popular tsundere characters include Taiga Aisaka from Toradora!, Uryu Ishida from Bleach, and Ezra Scarlet from Fairy Tail.
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Kuudere Kuudere characters, sometimes known as “Cool-dere” in Western media, are calm, indifferent, and typically appear emotionless. When they’re with their love interest, however, they’re usually more loving and affectionate. They may appear icy at first, but deep down, they’re kind and caring. Kuudere comes from the word “kuuru,” which means “calm and unemotional, showing great control over your feelings.”^{[14]
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- Some popular kuudere characters include Tachibana Kanade from Angel Beats, Violet Evergarden from Violet Evergarden, and Kikyo from InuYasha.
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Dandere Dandere characters are extremely shy, quiet, and may seem emotionless to strangers. When they’re alone with their love interest, however, they suddenly become talkative and bubbly. The word “dandere” comes from “danmari,” which means “silence, keeping silent, or uncommunicative.”^{[15]
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- Some popular dandere characters include Hinata Hyuga from Naruto, Megumi Tadokoro from Food Wars!, and Wendy Marvell from Fairy Tail.

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If you’re a fan of bakadere characters, check out animes like Naruto, One Piece, Pokémon, and My Next Life as a Villainess.

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Bakadere characters are most often found in slice of life animes, though they can appear in action stories, as well.

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