I get the impression that tsundere is sort of a recent thing in anime and games, but then I spot tsundere tendencies in characters like Naru Narusegawa (Love Hina) and even Akane Tendou (Ranma ½). So I ask you, what is the earliest tsundere character you can think of?
King Kong
I think a better question would be when was it fetishised as a character trait. Does tsundere as a term also go all the way back?
I'm sure Tsundere predates anime, well maybe not the term itself, but the character trait. What we see in Tsundere today is kind of a hyperbole of the woman that says "no", but in reality she wants it.
anta baka?!
Yeah, Asuka wasn't the first, but she sure epitomized it.
>>3
No, the term was coined a smidgen under five years ago.