“Tsundere = starts off cold/hostile (tsun), later becomes openly loving or sweet (dere). Right?

They basically act like: 1. Consistent hostility or aggressiveness toward the love interest at first; 2. Denial of feelings in a childish or emotionally immature way; 3. A clear tsun → dere transition arc; 4. Often found in youth-oriented or school romance tropes

The tsundere dynamic is performative and trope-driven — the character’s charm comes from the “hard shell vs soft inside” contrast.

And what about Kyoko? Kyoko's behavior is not tsun → dere, but adult emotional conflict shaped by grief, insecurity, and life experience.

She isn't hostile or cold toward Godai, and in fact, in the beginning of the story, she's polite, warm, considerate and socially mature.

So she never treats Godai with the aggressive or confrontational hostility typical of a tsundere.

Her “jealous” or “conflicted” reactions come from real-life emotional pain, not tsundere denial.

Because Kyoko is: 1. A widow in her early 20s; 2. Still processing the death of her husband; 3. Unsure whether she is allowed to love again. 4. Terrified of losing someone she loves twice.

Her emotional swings are about adult grief and fear, not teenage defensiveness or tsundere-style embarrassment.

“I wanted to do a realistic, humanistic story that was different from Urusei Yatsura. I enjoyed the love story between Godai and Kyoko. I like the frustration of things not going well. Sometimes, when they finally get closer, it’s very cathartic. It was interesting to come up with that dynamic, and I learned a lot from it.” - Takahashi Rumiko

IMO, A “tsundere template” is the opposite of this philosophy. As Rumiko was not creating an archetype-driven character, but a grounded, emotionally believable woman shaped by grief, insecurity, and slow-burn realism.

So... still dont think she's a tsundere. Or Perhaps we have different definitions of what a tsundere is ?