Any romance where the girl carries deep scars?

[Seiryuu]

I'm looking for some romance works where the girl has been through some real, very serious trauma. Stuff where she'd been abused, assaulted, raped, betrayed, or otherwise hurt, or where her past self and past actions hold an equal level of pain for her, leaving the girl fragile, brittle, and defensive. A past full of regret is also good. Bonus if the trauma leaves her with a sense of shame or guilt, so that in her eyes she does not deserve to be loved. The sort of thing where the man has to struggle to accept everything she's carrying, and to convince her to let him do so.
18+ or even pure hentai anime/manga are OK, so long as the H material is a legitimate and meaningful part of the story; for instance, to show the things the girl has experienced or is experiencing that hurt her so bad, or to show just what she'd been or done in the past that fills her with shame.

The new anime Ookami-san seems to fit this.

Spoiler:

Ryouko acts tough and refuses to accept help or even friendship because of some horrible event that happened in her past, in which the boy she'd loved had betrayed and severely hurt her without any remorse. She's terrified of being betrayed and hurt by someone she loves and trusts, and so doesn't allow herself to accept anyone. Ringo's claim that they're similar seems to possibly suggest that she too has a painful past that she hides behind a cheerful smile instead of a scowl. Either expression is equally effective as defense if applied right.

Another where the girl's experience is severe and traumatic is the manga "Life", where as I've heard a popular boy in school repeatedly rapes and abuses the main girl but no one is willing to believe it, even her own family.

Just three restrictions:
This should be a romance or contain romance as a major aspect of the plot.
Some reasonable limit to the brutality shown, meaning not too much blood etc.
No suicide, I don't want a story that ends with the girl deciding to end the pain by ending it all.

[Reckoner]

Myself; Yourself

I don't want to say too much though or I'll spoil it. One of the girls in the show carries some deep scars.

[Hooves]

Hmm that is a very descriptive view of what you want to see, and I was going to suggest one anime but after reading (Some reasonable limit to the brutality shown) made that anime go bye bye.

There are many animes that I've seen that the "man" carries deep scars, not the women, so sorry for not being much help, but I'm sure someone will find the exact one your looking for

Just alone the (Some reasonable limit to the brutality shown) kills many anime choices I had in mind

[Kittenlady]

Bitter Virgin springs to mind. The main female character in that had some serious issues.

[jedinat]

I usually avoid such stories, but Mars is good. Though the guy is even more messed up than the girl...

[Last Sinner]

Manga suggestions:

The 2nd half of the Genshiken manga deals with that. Ogiue is very anti-social and scarred. She's got some baggage which she's struggling to overcome. Sasahara ends up being the unlikely guy for her. Don't watch the anime version 2nd season at all - it completely skipped over this.


There were three mini stories within Confidential Confessions that would qualify.

Volume 1, 2nd story - A teen girl who had a crap upbringing ends up as a prostitute. A street performer she meets one night makes her want to change.

Volume 5, 1st story - The female lead is raped by random thugs. She tries to cut all ties with her former life, including her boyfriend. But he's willing to stay with her despite it all.

Volume 6, 1st story - The female lead has an obsessive ex-boyfriend, which goes to gradually more sinister levels of obsession. She and her current boyfriend struggle to overcome it.

In addition, the 2nd volume was solely about a teen female tennis player who had a tennis coach that abused his students, but there was no romance in that volume. Volume 4 had a female-female relationship where one of them was abused by her father and the two struggled to overcome it. But those ones might not be what you're looking for.


Anime/Manga:

The josei series NANA may also qualify since it is primarily romance focused and one of the two female leads, Nana K/Hachi, has crap boyfriend after crap boyfriend. (The author herself had an abusive husband and based the series on her experiences.) Although in this one, it's more about struggling to find her way and herself via her own means as well as her best friend, Nana (female), rather than relying on a male to do so. But it may still be worth your while.


Anime:

Soukou no Strain may also qualify. The female leads watches all her friends, including her boyfriend, be murdered in the first episode - by her brother. She then joins the military to hunt him down. This one involves mechas a bit and isn't the best thing ever, but most people enjoy the series for the female lead gradually winning the struggle to overcome her past and eventually find peace and love. May be worth your while.

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by Last Sinner

Anime/Manga:

The josei series NANA may also qualify since it is primarily romance focused and one of the two female leads, Nana K/Hachi, has crap boyfriend after crap boyfriend. (The author herself had an abusive husband and based the series on her experiences.) Although in this one, it's more about struggling to find her way and herself via her own means as well as her best friend, Nana (female), rather than relying on a male to do so. But it may still be worth your while.


Anime:

Soukou no Strain may also qualify. The female leads watches all her friends, including her boyfriend, be murdered in the first episode - by her brother. She then joins the military to hunt him down. This one involves mechas a bit and isn't the best thing ever, but most people enjoy the series for the female lead gradually winning the struggle to overcome her past and eventually find peace and love. May be worth your while.

Those Anime/Manga sound addicting enough for me to actually go and watch them, thank you for the info Last Sinner, and also hope thats what Seiryuu is looking for also.

[SeijiSensei]

I'll leave open the question of whether it's "romantic," but Kure-nai otherwise fits your request.

[Guardian Enzo]

You can debate the nature of the past trauma, but Hiromi from True Tears generally meets your description amazingly well. Plus, it's a tremendous romance serious generally.

[barcode120x]

Definitely Suzuka for trauma and romance.

I'll second Myself; Yourself too, that definitely fits your description as well.

[Kaze Shachou]

I'll agree with Myself;Yourself and True Tears

They've got what your looking for. Both enjoyable romance series overall as well.

[kitten320]

Yeh, I guess Suzuka would suit too. The main heroine did have issues as to why she tried to avoid the main hero and had to over come them as well as main hero had to try an except them or make her forget about them.

[Kotohono]

Maybe Air though the scar is very deep, it's for a different reason than you asked, and I'd rather avoid putting spoilers here.

Edit: Also Bakemonogatari fit somewhat well too, given Hitagi's past.

[Hooves]

Just recently watched True Tears now I second this as well

[Shiroth]

The manga Cat Street fit's a few of the themes you're looking for in a series.

Originally Posted by Summary

The story centers around Keito Aoyama, a former famous child actor. Due to a childhood incident, she retired from her career early and withdrew from normal society. Now 16, she passes her days in boredom and without purpose. But one day she runs into a stranger who takes her to El Liston--a free school for high school students like herself, who don't have a place where they belong. Though hesitant at first, Keito decides to enter El Liston and subsequently, she begins a new stage in her life. With the help of her only remaining childhood friend, Taiyou, and her new classmates Rei, Momiji, and Kouichi, Keito slowly finds the courage to open up to others and to accept their support. Will Keito return to acting? Will she find true friends? Love?

One of the stories main themes in the trauma the main character Keito suffered when she was young, and how to overcome what has happened in the past. Outside of just that, the manga is one of the best i've ever had the pleasure of experiencing, and would love for more people to pick up this title.

[Seiryuu]

Originally Posted by Hooves

Hmm that is a very descriptive view of what you want to see, and I was going to suggest one anime but after reading (Some reasonable limit to the brutality shown) made that anime go bye bye.

There are many animes that I've seen that the "man" carries deep scars, not the women, so sorry for not being much help, but I'm sure someone will find the exact one your looking for

Just alone the (Some reasonable limit to the brutality shown) kills many anime choices I had in mind

When I say reasonable limit, what I mean is simply that I don't want to see massive gore or have a character sustain injuries that they shouldn't be able to survive.
For instance, I once downloaded a manga out of curiosity, and found that the description was very conservative; the main character was apparently able to quicly heal from any wound, up to and including decapitation, and as a result predators let loose completely. That was very unreasonable, and once I glanced through it I deleted it.

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by Seiryuu

When I say reasonable limit, what I mean is simply that I don't want to see massive gore or have a character sustain injuries that they shouldn't be able to survive.
For instance, I once downloaded a manga out of curiosity, and found that the description was very conservative; the main character was apparently able to quicly heal from any wound, up to and including decapitation, and as a result predators let loose completely. That was very unreasonable, and once I glanced through it I deleted it.

Well I don't know if this is a reasonable anime on your terms but I would suggest Blood+

Spoiler for Blood+:

As the character knows more and more about herself, and what she did in the past, she begins to completely lose it, but with the help of her faithful servant "Haji" she is able to make it through (trying to not spoil) The main character is "Able" to heal quickly, but as she learns more about herself she decides to not use that power (because the supply to use that power is like a vampire) (The gore in the battles is not like "They cut the person to a million peices, and they somehow still live"

If this doesn't fit your description, then sorry for mis-leading.

[Animelover#1]

I would reccomend Ef: A tale of memories, and She, the ultimate weapon. However in She, the ultimate weapon, the girl starts normal and the something happens to her. so slightly different. beware though. It's a sad anime

[SuzushinaYuriko]

I second Bakemonogatari and ef - a tale of memories. No, actually, the second season ef - a tale of melodies fits your requirements more, but the first season also has a pretty tragic main heroine because of her condition. Both are good.

If you don't mind shounen-ai/fantasy and Ritsuka being a boy then Loveless.

If you can stand a lot of blood and gore then Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (one character in particular).

If you don't mind the predictable mahou shoujo elements at the beginning and watch at least up to the great middle/end and the spectacular second season, then Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha. The fights and system of magic weapons used are excellent as well.

Shigofumi: Letters from the Departed has quite a unique one. It starts off a bit episodic but then delves into Fumika's past, which is quite well written out.

[MamoruUsagi]

Mars Mars is an amazing manga. Kira was raped by her stepfather when she was a teenager. Kira is dating Rei, who is very sexually active. During Kira and Rei's first year of dating, whenever Rei feels her up or tries to do more than kissing, Kira pulls back and panics and Rei doesn't know why. Eventually, Rei figures it out and confronts Kira. Kira's stepfather returns and Kira moves in with Rei and they are able to have sex and live together while having a sexual relationship and Kira's scars of her rape are healed through her relationship with Rei.

Mars is an epic, amazing romance manga you must read.