Well, I like reading romances very much.

I like drama and (good) love polygons, dislike generic or shallow things or things that are waay too predictable. I like Harems but tend to drop them if do not offer something more (Mahou sensei negima *cough)

And I've been messing around in TV Tropes and noticed that I am happier when some tropes are subverted or avoided...

and basically I hate 2 tropes:
* First Girl Wins: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FirstGirlWins
* Hopeless Suitor: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HopelessSuitor

If they are subverted in a way that it surprises me it's perfect.
For example, I loved "Ichigo's 100%" ending and was utterly disappointed by "Toradora!" ending.

Also I love when things go beyond:
* Ship tease: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ShipTease (danm u FMA!)

but I am apparently a masochist because, in my case, "hope never dies".
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My preference goes:
* Seinen/Josei > Shounen > Shoujo

I've read more Shounen Romances and few Shoujos, but I don't dislike them (Reread Karekano a couple of times). And Shounen romances I read most of time out of habit, and I wouldn't put most of them high on my "favorites list".

____

So,
Any good recommendations?

So to be clear you are looking for a story that does have love triangles/polygons but avoids the tropes, "First girl wins" and "hopeless suitor"

How do you feel about stories that have no real triangles from the start and only follow a single couple? I can recommend quite a few of those, but not many with triangles and the requirements you've set.

mabye shuffle!, the anime. It was OK I guess

Then you may like Again!!, that'll keep you guessing and the plot is really good regardless of the love aspect.

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Screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it. I guess every superhero need her theme music...

Who didn't hate Toradora's ending?
Negima is more of an action series, Negi has 30 girls going for him but he's not interested in any of them (not even at the end).

Anywho, back on topic.
Vampire Juujikai has some romance towards the end (you should read it anyway, its a masterpiece).
Idol Pretender if you don't mind a gender bender where the protagonist is sexually confused.
Gyarugewe no Sekai yo, Youkoso! is a pretty unique harem, might not be what you're looking for.
Day of Revolution if you don't mind another gender bender, has an ending romance you probably wouldn't expect

Sorry if any of these are out for you, I may have misunderstood your request

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Is this me in a nutshell?
Pretty much.

I read mainly shoujo and josei, so not sure if these will click with you, but here goes:

You could try Cat Street or Kurokami no Helga? The first is shoujo (and all that comes with the label) but well-handled and might be what you're looking for. The second is josei and a favorite of mine, although the mature label isn't just for show. Otherwise, the best I can come up with off the top of my head is [/m]Blood+[m] and Koguresou Monogatari.

If you don't like predictability and are willing to wade through slightly more extensive drama, go for Hachimitsu to Clover, Cappuccino or Sakamichi no Apollon?

A single couple is fine too, I enjoy when there are more, but if it's good romance story I'd be glad to read too ^^

@dotsforeyes
Woah, your suggestions are very nice

I've read [m]Hachimitsu Clover[/m] and liked it. (read it twice)

These look like right up my alley:
* Kurokami no Helga
* Sakamichi no Apollon
* Koguresou Monogatari

[m] Cappucino [/m] looks quite nice too.

And I'm gonna give Cat Street a try, but this one didn't look particulary interesting for me...

@silencecomes
Thanks for the recommendations.

Vampire Juujikai looks good, 9 volumes is a good series length to plot development IMHO.

And I'm gonna give Gyarugewe no Sekai yo, Youkoso! a try, because it's short

Last edited by lambchopsil at 9:49 am, May 10 2013

Maybe Immortal Rain? I've said it once and I'll say it again -- I will recommend it to anyone regardless of what they're looking for. But for an action with romance, I loved it. It had the perfect amounts of comedy, romance, action, and heartbreaking tragedy. It was perfectly suited to my needs. And though there were some scenes that I thought I knew what was happening next, sometimes it surprised me. My sister likes it and she's also an M, though I'm an S, so it's good for all.

Some good romances you might like or not like so much, but that are some of my favorites are:
Boku wa Ookami
Seiyuu Ka!
Shiawase Kissa Sanchoume
Hana to Akuma if you're okay with tragedy.
Keppeki Shounen Kanzen Soubi was mostly humor, but there was the naive first love stuff which made it really sweet in my opinion.
Sarashi Asobi was a little predictable... but it was so cute. :/
Flowernoid no Shuufukushi was adorable! (in case you're wondering with all these 'cute' and 'adorable's... I think my dream is to be surrounded in nothing but manga [and cake] to the point that I could not lead my room if I wanted to. Hey! a girl can dream. )

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"Everything is okay in the end. If it's not ok, then it's not the end."

"I'm tired of all the nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. That's deep enough. What else do you want; an adorable pancreas?" - Jean Kerr

When I said 'death' before 'dishonor', I meant alphabetically.

Imagine what would happen if there were no more hypothetical situations.

Molester Man this is the best example imho of those tropes subverted.
Ciguatera this is the most f*cked up example imho of those tropes subverted.

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What I like in Trivial Pursuit style. Pick your category:

@reid1
I've read both. [m] Molester Man [/m] is great, loved it and I agree with you ^^

@distraughthallelujah
Ty for the suggestions gonna take a look at them (I've read Immortal Rain and it was quite nice).