Unrequited Love?

[all_flying]

So, I've been looking for... or rather, has been hunting for awhile now. A story about a guy with a seemingly helpless one-sided love towards a girl. Doesn't matter if he ended up with his dream girl or not, doesn't matter if it has triangle or not but more than that is a no (referring to love polygon like Hatsukoi Gentei, School Rumble and such). Short or long series, finished or unfinished, one shot is good too. Bonus point if he has multiple/series love interest (e.g. Toudouin Masaya and Minamoto-kun Monogatari).

Notable example aside from already mentioned: Byousoku 5cm, Wagatsuma-san, Onanie Master Kurosawa, Hachimitsu Clover, Sennen Joyuu, and every single one shot I've failed to mention.

FAQ:

• What if the girl is the one having a one-sided love? It's fine as long as she is the protag.
• What if the love interest isn't interested in opposite gender? It's fine.
• Protag is the one being gay? No, except gender bent (will approach in case by case standard).
• Netorare? No by explicit/exact definition, unrequited ≠ NTR'd (e.g. OMK is not Netorare by exact definition).
• What if the whole unrequited thingy only happened inside protag's head? Only if it was caused by main love interest's ambiguous/half-baked response (e.g. In Minamoto-kun Monogatari: Chisato Hanada case). And definitely not because of MC's denseness.
• Shoujo manga/anime? No

So, is there anyone who want to help completing this quest?

[Tenzen12]

White album 2 : story is unrelated to WA1
Molester man :/same author as Kurosawa, but it's more of crush that love
FLCL (Fury cury): anime is batshit crazy on every level, so be prepared
Gekan shoujo Nozaki-kun- girl try confess, but end as mangaka assistant instead. Comedy but sweet one.
Kimikiss pure rouge
Kokoro connect
Sakurako-san : mystery. MC (the Watson has crush on eponymous Sakurako-san (Sherlock).
Tenjou Tenge anime doesn't cover whole story of manga. Martial arts themed.

[SeijiSensei]

I'll recommend the film Millennium Actress by Kon Satoshi if a female main character is acceptable.

[all_flying]

Originally Posted by Tenzen12

White album 2 : story is unrelated to WA1
Molester man :/same author as Kurosawa, but it's more of crush that love
FLCL (Fury cury): anime is batshit crazy on every level, so be prepared
Gekan shoujo Nozaki-kun- girl try confess, but end as mangaka assistant instead. Comedy but sweet one.
Kimikiss pure rouge
Kokoro connect
Sakurako-san : mystery. MC (the Watson has crush on eponymous Sakurako-san (Sherlock).
Tenjou Tenge anime doesn't cover whole story of manga. Martial arts themed.

Most of that has been on my watched list but I'm afraid most of it aren't in my intended category. But thanks for the input anyway

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

I'll recommend the film Millennium Actress by Kon Satoshi if a female main character is acceptable.

Sennen Joyuu = Millennium Actress

[TinyRedLeaf]

Chihayafuru

YouTube

https://youtu.be/Sw_k4o48TTY

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Go, Taichi! I'm rooting for ya, even if the odds are never in your favour.

[Arya]

Yep, Chihayafuru is also my first pick if I have to think about unrequited love. The story is still ongoing so nobody knows how it will end. There are two seasons and of them I recommend the first. The second one could even be left out until/if next season will come out, hopefully!!

Nagi No Asukara somehow has it as a premise, and how to move on If you like a dramatic approach and outstanding visuals (but to be fair it has a really restrained side to balance it, that's the compelling side of the story for me).

True Tears also could fit, but seeing your response to Tenzen12, probably not.

[BWTraveller]

That's a list that will have no end I imagine. First thing came to my mind however is an odd one, since the romance is not central to the plot but really fascinated me: Guyver. In Guyver, the hero Sho has been in love with his childhood friend Mizuki for a long time, but she only has eyes for Student Council President Agito and doesn't even see Sho as a man. For a while she is either completely clueless or pretends to be, and after she's forced to face it she continues to pursue Agito for at least a while.

Might like Bitter Virgin manga, it deals with a rather unique unrequited love, since the girl is terrified of men and is only able to be around him because she believes he'd never see her as a "woman". As a result, not only is his love unrequited, he has to make sure she never realizes that he's attracted to her, much less that he knows exactly what happened to make her so justifiably terrified of men.

Pastel manga is this for a good while. Mugi falls in love with Yuu very early on, but not only is she unaware of this, he feels obligated to keep her in the dark. Her father passed away and her mother is gone, so she has nowhere else to live but with friends of the family, namely him, and if she realizes he's in love with her things could get really awkward. He doesn't want to make her feel like she can't stay in the only place she has, so he keeps quiet.

Cardcaptor Sakura becomes this after a while, with major (though not main) character Syaoran realizing partway through his love for a girl who doesn't see him as anything but a friend.

Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou (The Kawai Complex Guide to Manors and Hostel Behavior) is a great case of unrequited love, with the main character pining after a bookworm whose grandfather owns his apartment and who's barely social at all, much less interested in love.

While I haven't watched all of Toradora, it might fit. As I understand it, the hero is pining after a girl who doesn't seem to love him back, and winds up teaming up with that girl's best friend, who's crushing on HIS best friend, and both try to help each other get with their love. I think you can guess where this is going.

Acchi Kocchi has Tsumiki, a slight tsundere who's in love with her childhood friend Io, a moron who wouldn't even realize what she feels if she kissed him. I'm absolutely certain there's plenty more where that came from.

A few of these are "fake" unrequited love, where the girl secretly does love the boy back but he doesn't realize it. Others, though, play it straight.

Might want to take a good, long stroll through TV Tropes. I don't see a specific trope for simple unrequited love, probably because it's too common, but there are plenty of sub-tropes that fit the bill and will give you plenty to work with.

[all_flying]

Originally Posted by Arya

Yep, Chihayafuru is also my first pick if I have to think about unrequited love. The story is still ongoing so nobody knows how it will end. There are two seasons and of them I recommend the first. The second one could even be left out until/if next season will come out, hopefully!!

Nagi No Asukara somehow has it as a premise, and how to move on If you like a dramatic approach and outstanding visuals (but to be fair it has a really restrained side to balance it, that's the compelling side of the story for me).

True Tears also could fit, but seeing your response to Tenzen12, probably not.

Seen all of them except Chihayafuru. Was planning to watch the anime but always got distracted by one thing or another

Originally Posted by BWTraveller

That's a list that will have no end I imagine. First thing came to my mind however is an odd one, since the romance is not central to the plot but really fascinated me: Guyver. In Guyver, the hero Sho has been in love with his childhood friend Mizuki for a long time, but she only has eyes for Student Council President Agito and doesn't even see Sho as a man. For a while she is either completely clueless or pretends to be, and after she's forced to face it she continues to pursue Agito for at least a while.

Might like Bitter Virgin manga, it deals with a rather unique unrequited love, since the girl is terrified of men and is only able to be around him because she believes he'd never see her as a "woman". As a result, not only is his love unrequited, he has to make sure she never realizes that he's attracted to her, much less that he knows exactly what happened to make her so justifiably terrified of men.

Pastel manga is this for a good while. Mugi falls in love with Yuu very early on, but not only is she unaware of this, he feels obligated to keep her in the dark. Her father passed away and her mother is gone, so she has nowhere else to live but with friends of the family, namely him, and if she realizes he's in love with her things could get really awkward. He doesn't want to make her feel like she can't stay in the only place she has, so he keeps quiet.

Cardcaptor Sakura becomes this after a while, with major (though not main) character Syaoran realizing partway through his love for a girl who doesn't see him as anything but a friend.

Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou (The Kawai Complex Guide to Manors and Hostel Behavior) is a great case of unrequited love, with the main character pining after a bookworm whose grandfather owns his apartment and who's barely social at all, much less interested in love.

While I haven't watched all of Toradora, it might fit. As I understand it, the hero is pining after a girl who doesn't seem to love him back, and winds up teaming up with that girl's best friend, who's crushing on HIS best friend, and both try to help each other get with their love. I think you can guess where this is going.

Acchi Kocchi has Tsumiki, a slight tsundere who's in love with her childhood friend Io, a moron who wouldn't even realize what she feels if she kissed him. I'm absolutely certain there's plenty more where that came from.

A few of these are "fake" unrequited love, where the girl secretly does love the boy back but he doesn't realize it. Others, though, play it straight.

Might want to take a good, long stroll through TV Tropes. I don't see a specific trope for simple unrequited love, probably because it's too common, but there are plenty of sub-tropes that fit the bill and will give you plenty to work with.

Guyver > I almost read it as

Spoiler for Gyver:

Bitter Virgin sounds like a synopsis of an LN I've read last year. When the girl doesn't interested in opposite gender, but the difference is MC dressed up as a girl and try to make contact with her will check later

Pastel sounds interesting might also check later.

Everything else I've completed it.

I've come across a lot of them (known and unknown ones) They're just different in degree. But when stuff like One Piece and Nisekoi were being labeled as "Unrequited Love" it makes me feel like pulling all of my hair.

Anyway, thanks for the recommendation, the conquest is still not finished yet.

[SPARTAN 119]

Ore ga Doutei o Sutetara Shinu Ken ni Tsuite/"About How I'll Die if I Lose My Virginity":

Essentially the protagonist, Kazuya Ichijou has been a sexually promiscuous playboy since he graduated high school. One day, he meets up with his 32-year old virgin former high school friend, Masaki Tanaka, and the next day, Masaki murders him. Instead of dying, Kazuya finds himself back in his high school days, and has to find out why his best friend killed him (hint: It's not what you'd think), and has to navigate a maze of unrequited loves and hidden motives, and in the process, help Masaki earn a happy ending of his own if he wants to survive in this new lifetime.

On another note, OreDoutei would not qualify as traditional NTR, but it is a manga for mature audiences, including sex, murder, and dark themes. However, if you liked the time-travel psychological mystery feel of Boku Dake ga Inai Machi/Erased, you would probably enjoy this as well.

[Sackett]

Most romance anime have this.

Try Maison Ikkoku

[BWTraveller]

Originally Posted by all_flying

Seen all of them except Chihayafuru. Was planning to watch the anime but always got distracted by one thing or another



Guyver > I almost read it as

Spoiler for Gyver:

Bitter Virgin sounds like a synopsis of an LN I've read last year. When the girl doesn't interested in opposite gender, but the difference is MC dressed up as a girl and try to make contact with her will check later

Pastel sounds interesting might also check later.

Everything else I've completed it.

I've come across a lot of them (known and unknown ones) They're just different in degree. But when stuff like One Piece and Nisekoi were being labeled as "Unrequited Love" it makes me feel like pulling all of my hair.

Anyway, thanks for the recommendation, the conquest is still not finished yet.

Just one warning about Bitter Virgin: though I very seriously recommend it, it is rather emotional for a "seinen" manga. The girl isn't just "scared" of men, she's suffering from a very real and serious androphobia, and has a VERY good reason for this. This may push some people off, though in my opinion her past and pain make the way things turn out all the better.

[SarahEm1234]

Itazura Na Kiss
The girl is the one with unrequited love in this story. There are also many adaptions such as the Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, and Thai Dramas. It has an anime too

[kitten320]

First thing to pop to mind is Suzuka. Second thing to pop in mind is ef: A Tale of Memories as well as it's sequel. And 3rd thing to come to mind is Love Hina, classic. But manga explores it in far better detail.

I'm bad at telling genres apart, all romance is the same to me so sorry if some are not right.

Akatsuki no Yona - it is shoujo but it's mostly adventure series.
AnoHana and Ano Natsu de Matteru if memory serves me right.
Seconding Chihayafuru, amazing series with romance or not.
Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! but mostly in season 2
If you are fine with ecchi, you could try Green Green. Not the best series though.
Pretty sure Hanasaku Iroha had some.
Mai HiME had several unrequited loves going on.
Mai Otome too but I found that love story weird... there is quiet a bit of age difference.
I believe Mayo Chiki! had some too.
Nodame Cantabile
Then there is always Ore no Imouto... duno how you feel about incest...
Rosario to Vampire, I would stick with manga though.
Sakamichi no Apollon
Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
Toradora!
White Album 2


That's far more than I expected...