...actually has more than a token amount of backbone and actually falls for someone other than the person harassing/abusing her (or something to that effect) but actually likes her -_-.

Basically, I'm looking for a (shoujo) manga where the heroine falls in love with someone that actually treats her properly from start to finish (with some side trips of course).

And if you need an example, think the opposite of Hot Gimmick (that story got too predictable for my liking).

Thanks for any assistance.

Edited: some spelling errors corrected.

Not changing this sig until Square-Enix & Namco-Bandai collaborate to produce a "Tales of..." game (Feb 8, 2008).

Onii-chan to Issho
Ouran High School Host Club
Faster than a Kiss
Sugar Family
Akagami no Shirayukihime
Shiawase Kissa Sanchoume

[img]http://i56.tinypic.com/acfmfo.png[/img]

Hear, hear! I notice that lots of mangas have the heroine being abused by one guy, then she meets a nice guy but STILL goes back to the abusive guy. 🙄

uhmm, Koukou Debut? The guy doesn't exactly harass her, but it's more of "gruff love", I guess ^_^; and Lovely Complex is a love-hate relationship.

oh, "The Kidnapping of Minja Jo's Boyfriend". It's manhwa, though. The girl's a jjang (sort of like a yankee if you "convert" it to Japanese) and the guy's a pretty boy. the art's not so pretty though.

How about where the girl abuses the guy? Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge, Sunako kicks ass. For future reference, heroin is a drug, heroines are female protagonists 😁

lol... amazing a single letter can make such a difference, thanks for the correction.

Not changing this sig until Square-Enix & Namco-Bandai collaborate to produce a "Tales of..." game (Feb 8, 2008).

I highly recommend Shinobi Life. Bad ass heroine, HOT bishie, and time travel. Can't get much better.

Other than that, I recommend checking out:

Penguin Revolution
Immortal Rain
Ai Hime
Love Attack
Faster Than a Kiss [Already recommended, yes, but now you know it's good]

Also, Perfect Girl Evolution (or The Wallflower, or Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge) is hilarious and has a kickass heroine.

I second Immortal Rain
Diamond Head
Mekakushi no Kuni
Anatolia Story

Can you turn into a leopard?

Cool, thanks for the recommendations guys/gals.

I've actually read a couple of those suggestions Perfect Girl Evolution (stopped reading for no good reason) and Koukou Debut (read everything currently available in english). So I'll check out the rest, but please, keep 'em coming.

Thanks.

Not changing this sig until Square-Enix & Namco-Bandai collaborate to produce a "Tales of..." game (Feb 8, 2008).

Kimi ni Todoke could fit this. Sawako can be kinda timid in some ways, but she can be strong too. And Kazehaya is about the nicest guy I've seen in shoujo manga. It's really a sweet, adorable manga.
Tonari no Megane-kun is a sweet, fun series about a tomboyish girl and her childhood friend (it's a concept that's been done manymany times, but this series is so adorable and happy and both characters are really nice kids)
Love Catalog is an all-around great shoujo manga. The main character can be a wimp sometimes, but the series differs from other shoujo manga in that the main characters get together in the first chapter (so the rest of the series focuses a lot on character growth, side characters, friendships, deepening relationships and so on... and it's all handled really well, realistic and sweet and often hilarious).
Katakoi no Tsuki was another manga I liked (just one volume, completely scanlated). It's got a nice blend of focus on romance and friendship and I really like the main character Kurumi.

I'm sure there are other series out there that fit this, but these were what I could think of for now. Hopefully they sound interesting to you!

I seem to recommend this to everyone but Kare Kano
Ah mental blank, can't think of anything else. >_>

W Juliet - The heroine is strong, no simple pushover although there are times when she turned into damsel in distress, her knight in shining armor would always come to the rescue, all round sweet romantic comedy(Sweet enough to give you a toothache 😛 )

Tokyo Crazy Paradise - Yakuza related manga so you can pretty much imagine how the heroine would be, some ass kickin' boyish kinda girl

Special A - She was the second strongest person in the entire school but ranked first in denseness in all mangas that i ever read(need a lot of patience to deals with her denseness)

Red Lion - This one is a manhwa, but it fits perfectly well with your description, try it out 😎

You like the things that i HATE, and i HATE the things that you like

I definitely second Tokyo Crazy Paradise. Also you've probably already read it but Skip Beat is awesome as well by the same author. Unfortunately it's not complete yet but it's still worth the read.

one manga that i recently read was tenshi nanka ja nai. a very very good manga that fits your qualifications

The One by Nicky Lee
Provence by Nicky Lee
Kare First Love by MIYASAKA Kaho
Bokutachi wa Shitte Shimatta by MIYASAKA Kaho
Skip Beat! by NAKAMURA Yoshiki