This time around, I'm looking for manga under these two specifications :-

1. A story featuring two protagonists - male and female, who are not romantically involved with each other.
Please note that I want them both to have almost equal times in the lime-light; that is- they must both be the main characters.
Also, this should be obvious- but they should not be related to each other. Except in incest manga, it's pretty much a given that if the two protagonists are father-daughter, mother-son or brother-sister, their relationship would be platonic. But I want a manga where the fear of taboo love is not the thing that is keeping them from a romantic relationship. They should just naturally have no romantic interest in each other. Not even hints / subtext. (Unless the 'subtext' is purely fan-dumb type like what people see between Hakkai and Yaone in Saiyuki - in which case it's okay.)

The only example I can think of in this respect is xxxHoLic. (No matter what anyone says, I don't see Yuuko and Kimihiro's relationship as a romantic one.)


2. A manga with a female protagonist who is not involved in romance of any kind or description.
No matter how many "happy couples" she has around her, even up until the end of the manga, she should have no interest in finding a boyfriend, getting married etc. She has other things in life that are more important (job, hobby, family or whatever), and prefers to pursue her dreams. And please note- she must be the main character or one of the main characters...not a side character!

Examples - Again, I only know of Yuuko in xxxHoLic. Glass Mask doesn't really fit because it's kind of obvious she'll wind up with that guy in the end.
The protagonist of Kisshou Tennyo may or may not be like that. Could someone please confirm?

Any genre is welcome except hentai, shotacon, lolicon, ecchi, smut, harem and reverse-harem. Also, while shounen-ai and shoujo-ai is fine, please don't recommend yaoi or yuri.

Sorry for being so long-winded...But I hope someone can recommend something
Thank you for taking the time to read this!


Last edited by calstine at 1:45 pm, Jul 8 2010

For 1:
Liar Game
Maybe Black God, though it's not that great.

For 2:
YKK
Doll Star - IIRC
Milk Closet

Although in these it's mostly a matter of romance just not being relevant rather than the main character actively not getting involved with anyone.

A Certain Scientific Railgun might fit - the protagonist is very opposed to any relationship with the major male character, but there's lots of tension along those lines and some fake going out - she might just end up being extremely tsundere for him.

2.
Vitamin (SUENOBU Keiko)

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@Aikanaro-
Thank you for the reply! And - I can't believe I forgot to mention Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou for No. 2! Thanks for reminding me about that.
You're right about A Certain Scientific Railgun having too much tsundere-ness. I tried it a while back and didn't like it at all. I'll try the others out.

@xgloriOHZ -
I always wanted to read that manga, but thought it was too short. But, now- I'll be sure to try it out. Thank you!

Last edited by calstine at 4:08 pm, Jul 9 2010

#1:
Soul Eater -- although some people may say there are some romantic hints between Maka and Soul, I believe I read somewhere that the mangaka doesn't plan on romance?
Claymore -- this would also work for #2, though it's possible she'll end up with Raki, since he turned out to be a buff hottie after the timeskip XD (though he may not be featured enough to count as a main protagonist)

#2:
Seol Hui -- I suppose it's possible she'd end up with someone, but with the way she acts...

Alisa with Silver Hair should fit No. 2 pretty well.
As for Kisshou Tennyo - I think it's early days yet to decide, since only a couple of chapters have been scanned. I don't think it'll ever end up being a 'romantic' story, though.

And- by the way...you must know that this request is too far-fetched, right? Especially the first one ^^
I have yet to see a single manga with male and female protagonists that didn't turn out to be romance

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@magical_poof -
Thanks for the suggestions! I'll try them out.



That just goes on to show how unrealistic most manga are, I guess. If every girl in this world ends up with a guy just because the two of them spend a little time together, then I would've had about 20 boyfriends already...but in reality, I've never had even one!

Anyway - thanks for Alisa. I'll read it after more chapters come out.
As for Kisshou - I guess it really is too early to tell...I'll have to wait on that for a while...It might never get scanned completely anyway.

For your first request I think Iryuu - Team Medical Dragon should fit. The dude Asada has relations with the nurse Miki(not really romantic more like physical really) but she isn't the female lead. The female lead is Dr.Satou and so far(upto 63 chapters) I have seen no romance or even hints of romance between them. Its more like professional, and asada himself denied that he was romantically interested so I think it should fit. The manga is awesome anyways and I think you will like both the male and female lead.


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Angel Beats--best anime of the 2010 spring season

Team Medical Dragon... now there's an interesting-looking manga! I just hope it's as good as people say it is.
And...I know my request is tough, but is that really all? How sad

More suggestions are always welcome!

For number one:
Black Lagoon - doesn't look like the 2 main protagonists will end up together.
Beelzebub - I guess it'll qualify, but it's not finished as well.

Though I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for...

As for number 2:
Warau Kanoko-sama - I'm not sure if this will end without the main heroine falling in love with someone, but since it's so episodic, you can just pretend it ended before that happens.

Thank you for creating this thread.

1.
666Satan - I'm pretty sure, it's been a while since I've read it.
Monster - there are a lot of characters, with a pretty unique way of dividing panel time, but when it comes down to it Tenma and Nina are the main two characters
Gold Rush 21
River's Edge

2.
Kamikaze Girls - the stories of two girls, the first of which fits

liar game -but the girl pretty annoying for me

@drolemil -

You're welcome And thank you for the recommendations; they all look good!

Thank you everyone else for your replies!

More is always welcome, of course.

It's still too early to say for sure, but I think Moon and Subaru might fit #2.

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2. Code Geass: Nightmare of Nunnally

Although it says it's ecchi, I didn't really see it. (apparently one of the reviews said there were panty shots, don't know) The only people she "loves" are her brother and her friend, but those aren't romantic relationships. Just try it out until you feel uncomfortable, if you do.

Sorry if this isn't okay...

Also Yotsuba&!, although she is a little kid with almost no direction, might not be what you are looking for either...

Another might be Shaman Warrior, more so the second half, although I'm not sure if the female main does stay without romance until the end. It might be considered a little graphic and the main female doesn't appear until a couple of volumes into the series. This also might fit into 1. but

My last for now is Franken Fran. It does get pretty gory and freaky, really, but Fran just keeps doing what she loves. She does love the doctor (who created her), I think, but it isn't a kind of romantic love, if any. The manga doesn't focus totally on her, but also the story for each chapter, without her, so the story won't be all about her, well, kinda...
Update: Shoot, this does have ecchi elements too, but not all the chapters. I guess you might want to skip this one...

I'm sorry if I confused you with my ramblings.

Last edited by Sybear at 12:49 am, Jul 27 2010

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