Otherwise known as the Jerk with the Heart of Gold, compare with Magnificent Bastard, Knight in Sour Armor, Antihero, Appearance Different From Personality, Jerkass Woobie, and Stale Graham Cracker Crust - Soft Marshmallow Filling. See tvtropes.org for more info (except for the last one, that one's mine).

In other words, I would like NON-ROMANCE manga (preferably shoujo-esque) with a PROTAGANIST that is tsundere, kuudere, whatever they are calling it these days, personality.

He must be a GOOD person deep (deep, deep, deep) down who is actually self-sacrificing and caring, but does not like to or just does not get the chance to, read:misunderstood, show this side of himself very often. Will probably blush endearingly when he accidentally does show kindness.

His exterior is unlikeable, whether he is rough, tough, delinquent, cold, brief, hot-headed, violent, prickly, snarky, stoic, arrogant, socially-awkward, indifferent, loud and obnoxious, mentally unstable (here's looking at you Oz), or just plain MEAN supposedly. He will leave you thinking, what an asshole. Right? Wrong!

If this were a romance, the girl's eyes would widen at XXX kind act (i.e saving a kitten, lending a jacket to the shivering maiden, helping someone in an indirect, roundabout way) and smile/giggle softly to herself, thinking "so he's really this type of person" or "maybe he's not such a bad person." CUE THE FAINT BLUSH. But I DO NOT want that typical shoujo, pink, steamy fluff. So that would be a bad example. Sasuke from Naruto would also be a BAD example.

The Yaoi/Shounen Ai Example (i would rather not, since they can be as bad as het romances in the amount of cavity-inducing scenes, but if you have an atypical one, go right ahead):
Tightrope
Totally Captivated - romantic interest, BEAST


The Shounen Example (haa, i want GOOD ART PLEASE):
Beelzebub - Oga is actually a really good example but his kind/not completely rotten heart is buried seventy thousand feet underground, aka HELL
Darker than Black - big bad contractor my ass, Hiei is a sweetheart in the anime
Fullmetal Alchemist - lots here
Junjou Karen na Oretachi da! - another really GOOD example
Prince of Tennis - Atobe

Others:
Monochrome Factor - The way the main treats his best friend, and that spectacular BLUSH
Teen Spirit
Illegenes
Kagerou Nostalgia - it's not that he thinks you have cooties, it's that
Kurosagi
GameXRush
NG Life
Hands Off
Hetalia - America and Prussia

BEST EXAMPLES I CAN THINK OF:
Haigakura -
and
Barakamon

For those of you who actually read this entire monster of a post, thank you so much!
Godspeed.





Last edited by hollyivy at 10:05 am, Feb 25 2011

These aren't guys who'd blush, but they're tough with a heart of gold.

Buraiden Gai
Jiraishin
Shin Angyo Onshi

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Avatar by tassyn.livejournal.com

Reading: Kingdom, Sangokushi, Historie

Kuroshitsuji

No romance, tons of female fans (so, shoujo-esq), main character sees himself as corrupted and evil and ruthless, but he occasionally shows his kindness, such as when he's willing to risk his life to save his cousin.

Last edited by unusuallove at 9:29 pm, Feb 24 2011

berserk definatly, thou this is not for the faint of heart

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"Sanity is for the weak"

Gareki from Karneval is the first one I thought of.

Edit - And Isagi-Kojima. It's tagged as shounen-ai, but don't worry - there's nothing sappy or annoying (or even romantic) in this one.

Get Backers - Don't mind the image on the series page (it's awful >.<) - the actual art isn't bad, and it gets much better with time. Ban (the dark-haired guy wearing glasses) is an almost perfect example of a male tsundere.

Seconding Buraiden Gai - but I'm afraid the art-style may not be to your liking. It isn't shoujo-esq either (more like shounen-esq, even though it isn't your typical shounen manga), but it's rather deep in some ways, and definitely worth a read imo.

Last edited by calstine at 11:34 pm, Feb 24 2011

Yay, thanks! Karneval's Gareki and Get Backer's Ban definitely fit; I don't know how I forgot about those.
I've tried reading Berserk, but yeah, way too much blood, gore & nudity for me. Buraiden Gai...I am really a very shallow person and art like that, no matter how good the storyline is, turns me off.

The Legend of Sun Knight / The Legend of Sun Knight (Novel)

I'd describe the protagonist as a knight antihero with a heart of gold, perhaps? To sum him up, he would smile kindly while vehemently cursing people with his mind while planning how to protect his friend.

If you're not a fan of the manhua art style, it gets less shoujo-y starting at chapter 5.

oh, i really recommend the legend of the sun knight.......its really cute and funny, all os rabbit neko's works are very very good

I will second legend of the sun knight, and ill add in kyou kara ore wa its classified as romance but its like late yuyuhakusho in focus.... almost nothing just causing him to show his good side a bit more often.... and it is burried deeeep, he is referred to by cheapshot mitsuhashi, and by "request" lord mitsuhashi xp.... the art isn't too great(ok its plain bad but gets better... never quite good tho) but if you get by that you will probably connect with the story and come back to it multiple times, an entirely undersold manga, and fully scanned.

Oh and Great teacher onizuka... there is some romance but mostly just him running around like a dog in heat lol, the prequels are rather funny as well.

you may also want to give aiki a chance.... it just doesn't fit with having a good side, he is the essence of evil, the antagonists trying to take over the world look like the goodguys half the time and he would sell his mother and brother for a bowl of ramen... or a spoon... or anything.... he may end up doing something good sometime and he does help in a roundabout way.... but if he does have a heart burried, the thing has been compressed into oil with how deep its down omo. Really funny with his arrogance tho so I couldn't avoid recommending it... and the fighting is cool.... and be warned its pretty ecchi...

Last edited by SAimNE at 11:31 am, Oct 12 2011

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Few favs
Comedy:
Kyou kara ore wa!!, Mx0, Angel Densetsu, Skip Beat, Ai Kora, The Devil King is Bored

Romance:
Hana to Akuma, No bra, Shinigami Trilogy, kindan no koi de ikou, Usagi Drop, Threads of Time, Girl Friends

Most under rated:
Kindan no koi de ikou, kyou kara ore wa!.
m0r l83r... maybe >_>