Who says being quiet and sweet is just for cute girls? Anime boys can be just as alluring when they take on some of the trademark traits that herald a dandere. 

Often overcome by shyness, dandere boys have a great heart below the surface that takes a lot of coaxing to get out. They may not be the coolest of men, but they reward loyalty and kindness in turn.

And here’s the list of 19 most popular dandere boys in anime.

19. Tatsuhiro Satou from Welcome to the NHK

Taking on the bottom of our list is Tatsuhiro. While he is quiet and occasionally kind, it is his NEET circumstances that likely make him as dandere as he is. 

Often he is conflicted with trying to pull off acts of kindness, with his anxieties getting in the way of his good heart.

 

18. Takashi Morinozuka from Ouran High School Host Club

Morinozuka walks the fine line between dandere and kuudere, as many on our list do. In fact, he is a good bit of both. While he undoubtedly cool, this strong silent type of man is as caring as they come. 

Not only does he devotedly take care of his childish cousin Honey, but he takes care of the rest of the Host Club when they are in trouble as well.

17. Haru Yoshida from My Little Monster

Haru is kind of an odd duck for a dandere, thus why he ranks so low. While he can be loud and occasionally violent, he displays a lot of dandere traits as well. 

He can be kind and has shown that he can be shy when he thinks people have a preconceived notion of him. This causes him to cling to Shizuka when he first returns to school.

16. Shouta Kazehaya from Kimi ni Todoke

While cool and popular, when it comes to the world of love, Shouta is as awkward as the dandere girl that he likes. 

Typically sparse and thoughtful with his words, he fits the soft-spoken model of the dandere man while also featuring the same unbridled kindness.

15. Kakashi Hatake from Naruto

Surprised? Well, you should be. While Kakashi has the power behind him to crush his enemies, he is, for the most part, not a vicious person. 

While trying to overcome his father’s reputation, he had to work hard, and he has had to make some difficult choices in the past, but he has never not shown kindness to those around him. Whether it was trying to protect his friends or his students, Kakashi is silent and sweet like a real dandere.

14. Noboru Yoshikawa from Great Teacher Onizuka

Short and physically weak, Noboru is the perfect target for bullies, as many dandere men are. However, despite his depression about it, Noboru still remains kind and very forgiving. 

One of his most endearing traits is his loyalty after being shown just a modicum of kindness by Onizuka. He even went so far as to strip in front of a crowd to prove he was being bullied and save Onizuka from being fired.

13. Yuu Kusakabe from Wolf Girl and Black Prince

Yuu is the complete opposite of the aggressive Kyouya, but despite this he vies for Erika’s affections. Although she ultimately chooses the bad boy, Yuu still steals the scene as a great dandere. 

He is so shy that he can barely look people in the eyes and his muttering can make conversation difficult.

12. Kouta Shinohara from First Love Monster

Like most of the other males in First Love Monster, Kouta is in love with Kaho, but too shy to make his feelings clear. 

While silent and kind, he often hides himself behind his hair and a scarf. Underneath the bangs is a slightly effeminate face to match his slight build.

11. Bols from Akame ga Kill

Like so many dandere men, Bols covers himself up with a mask that hides much of his emotions. Despite his heavily muscled, intimidating appearance, he is particularly shy to people he does not know. 

While people are often curious about what is under the mask, he refuses to remove it even though his wife insists it will not trouble people. Unfortunately for this dandere character, he is troubled by the job he is tasked with – burning villages – which causes him a lot of guilt.

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10. Mochizou Ooji from Tamako Market

Mochizou is the literal boy next door in Tamako Market. He is the childhood friend of Tamako and his family runs the mochi shop across from Tama-ya. 

Although their fathers do not get along due to competition, their children remain friends and Mochizou constantly deals with his crush on Tamako in the most non-assertive way possible.

9. Ren Mihashi from Big Windup!

As an innately nervous person, Ren has very low confidence in his abilities. His shyness is also compounded by a brief period of bullying in middle school where his teammates believed he was placed on the team due to his father’s past glory. 

While this makes him not want to play ball anymore, it is revealed that his skill at pitching is top-notch.

8. Tadase Hotori from Shugo Chara!

Although his cute appearance makes him popular, Tadase is extremely shy and not good at speaking in public. However, deep inside he still wants to rule the world, which spawns his more assertive Guardian character Kiseki. 

While asked out frequently, Tadase always reject the girls for his own sake in order to cover up his own shy shortcomings.

7. Asahi Kuromine from Actually, I Am

Honest and straightforward, Asashi can’t be trusted to keep a secret, which is basically the entire premise of Actually, I Am. After he finds out his crush is a vampire, he struggles to keep the secret. 

However, his expressions are easy to read, although his innate shyness does endear him to a lot of people.

6. Japan from Hetalia Axis Powers

Hetalia takes the stereotype that most Japanese people are quiet and collected and takes it to the maximum with their character Japan. While quiet, he manages to keep his cool when confronted with more aggressive characters. 

However, he is a sweet man that can be easily embarrassed, two of the big heralds of the dandere archetype.

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5. Shin-Ah, the Blue Dragon from Yona of the Dawn

Since childhood, all Shin-Ah wanted was a friend, but because of the legend in his village of his cursed eyes turning you to stone (which they don’t), he was shunned by everyone. Despite this, he protected his village and lived in the deepest shadows of their cave system. 

After meeting Yona, Shin-Ah takes silent joy in helping her and being around his friends, the other dragons. Despite his lack of talking, his gestures often give away just how kind he is.

4. Atsushi Murasakibara from Kuroko’s Basketball

Atsushi defines the phrase “never judge a book by its cover”. He is extremely tall and looks pretty fierce, but in reality he a kind man of very few words. 

While skilled at basketball, off the court he is a kind man despite many being intimidated by him.

3. Hakuya Mitsumine from Engaged to the Unknown

Hakuya probably says only a few sentences throughout Engaged to the Unknown, but it is other people talking about him and his own gestures that speak volumes. 

When Kobeni is in trouble, he is always there to save her. When she is feeling down, he is there to pat her on the head, something he attributes to physical affection. 

Despite blending into the background sometimes, his loyalty and unwavering kindness to his engaged is as touching as they come.

2. Ken Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul

Although his personality changes throughout the series due to some events, Ken Kaneki is almost the perfect dandere character. 

Quiet and bookish, Ken is almost the complete opposite of what you would expect from a ghoul. 

He is too kind to want to eat people, but like most, he is determined to survive. Even after his heart is hardened, he still has some kindles left in him towards his friends.

 

1. Sakamichi Onoda from Yowamushi Pedal

So what is our number one spot? It is probably not what you were expecting. Sakamichi is a shy and sweet boy that was looking to join the anime club at school, but found that it had closed down due to lack of interest.

After a twist of fate, he took up cycling, becoming one of the jocks that he once had disdain for. 

Like your typical dandere male, he is weak, but he is determined and kind. He is quiet, but willing to work hard for his goals. Due to his near pristine personification of this dere type, it is what lands him at the top.

Did we miss one of your favorite dandere anime boys on our list? Probably, it can be so difficult to decide if they are dandere or kuudere so a couple missed the cut, but what we do know is that shy anime boys are the best boys. Tell us all about your favorite dandere boy in the comments section below.

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(source:recommendmeanime)