I'm looking for a manga or anime in which there is no romance and stars a female lead.

I'm requesting this sort of manga because I like reading stories with female main characters in them. But I'm getting tired of the romance. It's weird how all the stuff I find with female main characters—books, movies, and so on, always seem to pick up some romantic undertones. Even stuff like Skip Beat, Ashita No Ousama, and Glass Mask, which are all stories about women pursuing their dreams and developing amazing careers, contain the slightest bit of romance. Hence this request--with mangas that have no hint of romantic themes and is in the point of view of a female character.

Some examples of what I'm looking for that I've already read, liked, and fit these requirements:
A Lollipop or a Bullet
Juuni Kokuki (also called 12 Kingdoms)
Liar Game
Ciel
Warau Kanoko-sama (excluding its sequel)
Serial Experiments Lain (anime)

I have watched the animes, but hopefully the manga are as good or better:
Seirei no Moribito
Claymore (I think it was more on the guy's POV in the anime, but I might be wrong since it has been a long time)
Black Lagoon (it was the guy's POV but the anime is so good and Revy is a super fighter)
Kino no Tabi - The Beautiful World (Novel) and other related ones -- the anime and ova are superb!

Oh, this is interesting! I'm also interested in seeing what recommendations other people will come up with.

Anyway, for me...
Aqua and its sequel Aria
Dark Seed
Franken Fran
O/A
Sengoku Strays
Skyhigh (and all its sequels)
Kieli
Carat!
Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro
Kimi ni Shika Kikoenai
Line
Luno
Sakura no Ichiban!
Variante
Shoujo Nemu

...and I think that's it. A lot more than I expected, actually.

I second Seirei no Moribito and Kino no Tabi animes. Both of them are wonderful series.
Dennou Coil is also a great anime. It's like watching a Studio Ghibli film stretched out into a series.

________________

give claymore a try, it may feel like it does have some romance... but i asure ya until the last actual chapter, theres no romance involved.

Only oneshots come to my mind.

Hanshin - very thought-provoking, deep and interesting.

I am a Piano - abstract, different way of seeing things, nice art.

Tell Me a Lie - short, but has an unusual take on lies.

White Day - very short, nice read~

+1 for Hanshin

Helter Skelter
Kisshou Tennyo
Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
Taiyou no Ijiwaru
Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms
Twin Spica

________________

Oresama Teacher - I think it HINTS at a relationship but really it has less romance then Skip Beat now at almost 10 volumes.

Chihayafuru
Life
Delivery (I think. It's mostly about the lives of prostitutes. I can't remember any romance...)
FIVE Contains a PAINFULLY SLOW almost none existant love story with a kick ass heroine.

________________

This is one reason I love Juuni Kokuki... though I'll admit I wouldn't have disputed a a yuri harem for Yoko, lol...

Haibane Renmei
Kurau Phantom Memory

hm... let's see. the first thing that comes to my mind is:

+Honey Bitter - it's about detectives. the female lead has a special power - she can see the future, she can read thoughts etc. there is a little romance of course.
+Beauty Pop - this story is about hairstylist rivals. the male lead is always just the "second" and his most desired dream is to beat the girl.
+Purikyuu - it's about archery. the female lead wants to win a contest even if she is just a beginner. she puts so much effort to make it success.
+Aozora Yell - the male lead is a baseball player and the female lead wants to cheer him. that's why she wants to become a member of the school band. if I remember correctly she plays on trumpet.

hope these suit your taste! they have as less romance as they can.

Spontaneously - You could give C-Blossom - Case 729 and Coelacanth (subtle romances) a try, just like Bushidou Sixteen and Hyakujuu Kingdom, which focus mainly on friendship. ^^

________________
"It's like love is a bonus in your life. Even without it, I'm just fine. I don't feel like pointlessly searching for it. You don't have to make yourself unhappy." (Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji)

"Why does it rain?" - "To create drama." (Drops (Andou Yuki))

Soul Eater
Bouken Erekitetou
7 Billion Needles
Oumagadoki Doubutsuen
K-On!
Yotsuba&!
Gunjou
Ghost In The Shell
Aria and Aqua
Tokyo ESP
Kingyo Used Books
Hito Hitori Futari my new favourite.
Azumanga Daioh
Magatsuhi a one-shot
Jack Frost and Hellsing, No-a and Seras are the narrators, though Jack and Alucard are kind of the main characters.
Arachnid
Bucchigiri CA
Coral - Tenohira No Umi
Mahou Gyoushounin Roma
Helen ESP
Coppelion
Deus X Makina
Excel Saga technically Excel adores Lord Ilpallazo… but, yeah, you're not gonna feel any serious romantic vibes.
Gwisin Byeolgok
Itsukasei Metsubou Syndrome
Kemono No Souja haven't finished it, but there was no romance up to the point where I've read it.
Kyousougiga
Teizokurei Daydream
XO Sisters The co-protagonist is gay, so there is no romance to be had.
Alien Nine
Ryushika Ryushika written by ABE Yoshitoshi, who also worked on Haibane Renmei and Serial Experiments Lain.

Last edited by Ashoka at 4:53 am, Jul 26 2012

Quite a few of the suggestions people have given have romance in them. Along the same lines: P.A. is good. Others with no romance:
Magician (KIM Sarae)
The God of High School
Tower of God
Tantei Gakuen Q I haven't read this all so I don't know
Doll Star
Zekkyou Gakkyuu...it may have romance later judging by the cover of the tenth volume, and the stories the narrator tells have romance in them
Moon-Ah
In Full Bloom (YON Jae-Won) no romance in this
Magi
Haruka 17 no romance yet and it's about show business
Ran to Haiiro no Sekai she's...five?...so there's no romance.
Gokusen I guess you could maybe call it a subtle romance, but seriously? If you're not looking for it you won't see it.
Kimi ni Shika Kikoenai
Annarasumanara

I'd never noticed that most series with female leads tend to have romance in them before!

________________
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captin of my soul.
William Ernest Henely

I rate manga with 5 being the average score.

Teppuu maybe?

________________

Wow. I'm shocked by the sheer amount of mangas and animes that fit what I'm looking for. I honestly wasn't expecting there to be many and then I discover there are a lot of appealing choices. It's going to be difficult to decide which I'll read first. I'm also floored that so many people took the time to reply back, so I wrote some responses to them below. Thanks and thanks again!

@ akira143
I've seen both Claymore and Seirei no Moribito before and enjoyed them immensely, so I'll give some of your recommendations a chance, even if they aren't exactly what I'm looking for.

@Suxinn
Kieli, Sengoku Strays, and Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro are all manga I read and liked (and that I, for a reason I fail to comprehend, forgot to recall). The rest of your recommendations I never heard before (which made me feel vaguely hopeful—I never thought there'll be many that fit!) and looked really interesting—like Skyhigh, Luno, and Shoujo Nemu. Thank you very much for writing all that down.

@ I heard of Denno Coil before but never saw it. But I have seen the Studio Ghibli movies and loved them, so I now feel kinda motivated to see it. Thank you.

@ Hanshin comes close to being the most unusual manga description I've read yet. Yet...it is a very rare thing for a manga in the point of view of a female character to be about the relationship between sisters. For that alone, I'll be sure to read it.

@ Roughan I love your recommendations. I never heard of any of them and all of them fit what I'm asking. I can't thank you enough.

@Kitteh_13 I never realized that Chihayafuru had a manga. I've seen some episodes of the anime though and it's really good. I'll think I'll actually prefer reading it as a manga instead of watching it in episodes so thank you.

@ jedinat I've seen Haibane Renmei before but I've never heard of Kurau Phantom Memory. The summary sounds really good and I'm actually pleasantly surprised to find a sci fi rec here that fit the requirements. Thanks.

@ Nesseay One word. Purikyuu. I have a secret love of shoujo despite the overwhelming amount of romance they mostly entail. So finding one so shoujoish without the romance is a delight.

@ Yankee-chan The last two recommendations are a treat, since there are so few mangas with female main characters that focus on friendship. And Coelacanthe is my favorite manga! Anyone who likes it is bound to have impeccable taste. (I gotta admit though I'm biased.)

@ Ashoka Such a huge list, so many I haven't read, and all of them fit what I'm looking for. Thank you so much for writing all that down.

@ kichiX I'm really, really liking Haruka 17 just by the description. And the others look good. (By the way, Gokusen? Amazing manga)

@ Hatu-tan Judging by the summary, your recommendation reminds me of Girl's The Wilds. So just for that, I'll look into it. Thank you.