Hi everybody! I'm looking for a manga/novel/movie with the following requirements:

- a female protagonist
- female lead is not stoic
- the male love interest is cold towards towards everybody because that's just the way he is
- the female lead dislikes the guy as a result
- romance between the two; older male, younger female
- the female lead stops disliking the guy after she discovers that he is really a good person

It is preferred if: (Since these points are really specific, not all of them have to be fulfilled.)

- the romance doesn't happen until late in the story
- the romance is unexpected for the reader and the characters in the story
- there is an age gap
- the male character secretly cares for the girl like as a guardian or parent
- the female initiates the romance
- there are scenes before the actual romance takes place that causes the reader to believe that there will be romance between the two characters, but those feelings are dispelled due to other events in the story

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Kimi wa Boku no Toriko Nare
sry don't know any more that could fit...

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in need of romance?
uncommon, sad, sweet

Dengeki Daisy kind of fits.

Pride and Prejudice.

North & South.

I would recommend

Toshokan Sensou (Novel) there is also a manga version Toshokan Sensou: Love & War

Both are good, but I prefer the novel (the male lead comes off a bit more cold in the novel).

Anyways, it fits most of your requirements and is personally my favorite series.

Has a female protag
She is not stoic
The male love interest isn't exactly 'cold' but definitely not the friendly type
The female protag definitely doesn't like him at first
The male love interest is older than female protag
She does stop disliking the guy and comes to respect him

Preferred stuff:

The romance develops slowly so it will happen later in the story
There is an age gap of about 5 years
The male character definitely cares for the girl secretly in a guardian like manner and with good back-story reasoning too.
The female protag is more assertive in terms of initiating things like romance, but it's almost equal in a way between the characters.

You may not like:

The female protag is slightly taller than the male character, but only slightly. However, the way it's portrayed is actually quite endearing and hilarious.

Is not mainly focused on romance, and includes action and some fight scenes.

Perfect Couple fits fairly well.

Hmmm, there's Shiawase Kissa Sanchoume and Ao Haru Ride which fulfill most of your requirements.

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“All the kids have always known,
that the emperor wears no clothes,
but to bow down to him anyway,
is better than to be alone.â€

-Arcade Fire

maybe . . . Hot blooded woman if you dont mind korean manga. Its kinda weird but very funny.
also some others that might work:
aoi kiseki: not the best but kinda cute
grand sun: amusing and i think worth the read
hana to akuma: fits almost all of your requirements except the hating thing.
highschool debut: she never hates him but he is cold.



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"You cannot understand that which you do not know and that misunderstanding breeds hatred."
-a night of a thousand dreams

Hotaru no Hikari fits almost everything you asked for and is one of my all time favorites. Scanslation has come to a halt about halfway through though

Love So Life Maybe..