I'm looking for series in which male lead is ordinary, through one way or another he becomes friends with a cool girl and sooner or later romance sparks between the two.

The important part here is the female lead. Such characters are usually tall, sporty, good looking, give an air of maturity and tend to be a good buddies (appearance can differ though). Even in romance they don't lose their cool or start acting super shy (so they're nothing like typical shoujo female leads or tsunderes).

As for romance I would prefer if the female lead was interested in an ordinary guy, but the other way around is ok too. The guy doesn't really have to be all that ordinary. I would love to see the part about being friends\buddies with the girl alongside the romance.

Examples:
Koaka Head - senpai (she plays a big role in the second volume)
Change 123 - Fujiko (and probably Hibiki, but to a lesser extent)
Dark Air - Shaenando
Medaka Box - Medaka
Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai! - Momoyo (when she's not too busy molesting all nearby girls)
Witchcraft Works - Kagari.. but maybe she is a bit too crazy about male lead to work as a proper example of what I'm looking for

Especially looking for characters like Fujiko from Change 123

Please NO: hentai, shounen ai, shoujo ai

Took me awhile to find anything that wasn't in your reading or completed list already.

Saw Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou just a couple of days ago and it looks like it's heading in that direction.

Hmm, it seems like a challenging quest. I am also interested in the results. I would have suggested baby steps although it's a bit far fetched, because the girl is cool, assertive, including about love, so she is not a tsundere, but she still lacks the mature aura, unlike the male lead

Last edited by fontain at 11:19 am, Feb 13 2014

I guess I'll give it a go. The things I listed were the general idea about the character. She doesn't have to fit all of them perfectly.

The only one I can think of that kinda fits this is Beauty Pop, but the romance in that story is very, very subtle. Even though when she finds out that the main guy likes her she was very non-chalant about the whole thing, so in that regards it would work. She was never flustered around him.

BUMP

I often recommend W Juliet. It is gender bender, but sweet and has very good art. The male main character isn't...normal, though. Don't skip over though, he's not a tranny or anything. Same with the female lead, Ito Miura. She's a rough tomboy, yet pretty in the end. Oh, and it's nothing like yuri, either. Ito has the dark hair:


________________
"'The lives I've taken will be paid for with my own life.' That's one way to look at it...but it doesn't mean they come back once you die. Lives can also be paid for by the sword; by redeeming yet other lives. That is why 'Hitokiri Battousai' is still alive in the Meiji Era."

don't click this link...

BUMPING
Another example I came up with:
Girls of the Wild's - all the main girls fit to some extent (some of them fit better while some less)

When I mentioned all the triats in the first post, I didn't mean that the girl needs to have all of them at the same time. I just wanted to give the general picture. If the description was misleading I recommend basing the recommendations on the examples.

P.S. A character like Fujiko from Change 123 would be great.

I haven't read any of your examples, but the girl in Ciguatera sounds like what you're looking for. I didn't like it though because the male lead annoyed the hell out of me.

Akira - not a romance manga but there's a strong romantic subplot. Girl fits your description. Relatively ordinary guy in the context of a supernatural plot.

Velvet Kiss if you're okay with smut. The girl isn't sporty or very friendly, but she's cool and mature. Ordinary guy. Older characters.

Tonari no Kaibutsu-Kun - Girl isn't sporty or friendly, but she's cool (that is, she doesn't have a friendly personality - but she is friends with the guy). Guy is a little strange.

Last edited by hkanz at 1:27 pm, Jul 11 2014

How about Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabukome wa Machigatte Iru. - Mougenroku