Guy struggling to reach a girl's level

[BWTraveller]

After watching an episode of a new series, I became curious to see a certain type of story: the hero is a young man eagerly pursuing his personal path in life, and he has a female friend who is far above him in this area, and knows it. I'm particularly looking for stories where reaching and surpassing the girl is one of his serious goals (though not the final goal), or where he's desperate to gain her respect or get her to notice him without pitying him. Bonus if the boy's in love with the girl and is looking to become stronger either to impress her or to be able to protect her (if the field being compared is combat-related).

Naturally, one very good example of this would be Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple. Kenichi enters into the world of martial arts to become strong enough to get out from beneath his bullies' feet and then start protecting others that said bullies would stomp on. Then he joins the Ryozanpaku dojo and meets the owner's daughter, Miu, who's so tough it's scary (to the point I've seen he frequently jumps between her and thugs out of concern for the thugs' lives), and he rather quickly develops feelings for her. When asked how strong he wants to be, he at one point early on says he wants to be strong enough to protect someone precious after looking at Miu. Honestly, it doesn't seem to take too long before Miu starts to notice his efforts as well as his overall worth, though he's still so weak that she has to go rather easy on him (as far as I've gotten again).

I don't care whether this is anime, manga or LN. I'm fine with ongoing series but I'd prefer concluded ones, and ones that won't take me months to finish or reach any payoff. Also, it doesn't matter to me just how long it takes the guy to reach this initial goal, as long as it takes more than a few chapters. Long enough to see the boy struggling and desperately trying to achieve his goal of standing on equal footing with her or surpassing her. I have nothing against sudden shifts, like maybe the boy struggling for a period until he "awakens" (this itself has plenty of potential for interesting conflict when the tables are so suddenly turned). It's also fine if the pair's paths aren't actually the same if it's still comparable (for instance a girl with powerful magic and combat skills and a boy whose skill is more in areas like precision application of limited power or craftsmanship who eventually crafts tools that allow him to surpass her despite his inability to compare in magic or raw power).

[Chibiloli]

"Is it wrong to pick up girls in a dungeon?"

[rladls2121]

Hundred
Infinite Stratos
Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry

[larethian]

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

[NervZero]

Shin Chou Kyou Ryo

This anime fits well into what you are looking for... It is more serious than Mightiest Disciple, but it does have the element of the guy trying to reach the level of a girl...

https://myanimelist.net/anime/959/Sh...o__Condor_Hero

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom

This anime also seems to fit... Again it is more serious than the show you used as an example... It also has some nudity in it... It is not serious nudity it is mostly someone changing clothing or conversation while someone is in the shower and the mist covers....

https://myanimelist.net/anime/5682/P...or_the_Phantom

[Tenzen12]

UQ holder
Baby Steps

Comes to mind

[BWTraveller]

Originally Posted by Chibiloli

"Is it wrong to pick up girls in a dungeon?"

That certainly fits rather well. I very slightly prefer a girl who is a bit closer to the hero, or who has at some point in the past had been close to him. Aiz is a distant stranger in a separate guild/"Family" whom he pursues, whereas if possible I'd prefer something with a girl who either has a prior familiarity with the hero or is in a position that provides more frequent contact. That said, Bell most certainly doesn't waste time finding ways to rectify that distance, thus why it's only a "very slight" preference.

I'll have to look back at Hundred, IS and Cavalry since I don't remember this but it's been a while.

I have only skimmed UQ Holder, but if you're talking about the hero's relationship with Evangeline, that's more of a matter of admiring a mentor rather than trying to catch up to, reach or surpass a female friend.

I'll have to look at Baby Steps but from what I've read it seems like it fits right along side Kenichi, in that both have a boy directly participating in the same dojo/club as a girl his age, who associates with him regularly even if he has a long way to go to earn her respect in the field that he's pursuing and she's passionate about.

I also have a minor example that has a relatively quick journey to approval and shows what I meant by different but comparable paths: Gunota ga Mahou Sekai ni Tensei Shitara, Gendai Heiki de Guntai Harem o Tsukucchaimashita!:

Spoiler:

In this story, the hero is a gun otaku from our world who's killed in early adulthood and reincarnates as Lute, a boy in a magic world where one's magic capabilities are among the most important determining factors for one's future. His power is WEAK, very weak, but a wolf-girl named Snow, born at the same time and raised at the same orphanage, is actually quite strong. Growing up he often causes trouble for everyone, Snow included, and is generally viewed as weaker and a troublemaker for how he pushes himself to near death. Then he gets his hands on some magic metal that he can craft to any shape he wants, and uses his old world memories to craft guns and magic bullets. By the time he's starting to approach adolescence, he's managed to create and master his first firearm. When goblins attack a nearby village and the Lute and Snow are there, he winds up saving her and everyone else's lives. He's still got barely any magic and by the pursuits that matter in their world, he's still far below Snow. That said, through ingenuity and craftsmanship he managed to find a way to make his meager magic excel even beyond the impressive powers of his childhood friend and growing love interest, in an instant earning respect and admiration where before there had only been concern.

[larethian]

Sakurasou is as good a fit as Danmachi. And it is also a pretty high quality series in plot and characters. The former is SoL, the later is fantasy.

As for Baby Steps, the focus is on the protagonist's matches and the fuel for his motivation does not actually primarily come from the girl. She was the initial trigger and while she does continue to provide some degree of motivation, a large part comes from his rivals and watching other strong players. However, since it's a top-tier high-quality (non-superpower) sports series, I'll still recommend to watch/read it.

[tedybearsoka]

thought the manga is on hiatus and will probably never be finished i kind of feel that legend of main might be an ok recomendation