I've become really, really sick of the reincarnation trope in which people are fated to be lovers/enemies because of their past life, so I want some recommendations for reincarnation stories that are about fighting against this "predetermined fate/destiny" and forging a future as their own person.

Even if the "forging their own future" deal isn't so clear-cut, any in-depth examinations of the whole fate/destiny/rebirth themes are ok too, as long as they are really, truly in-depth. (I don't want just a throwaway line; I want it to be a major theme.)

I guess the best example of what I want is Angel Sanctuary, though I have kind of a love/hate relationship with it. But its ideas about going against fate/one's past life are definitely what I want.

Another good example would be Spirit Circle, since a huge part of it is actually about how Fuuta isn't any of his past lives and is his own person. And it seems one of the major conflicts will be how he reconciles this knowledge with current self.

If you can't find anything like the above, I would also be interested in any manga about defying one's fate/destiny in general. I just really like stories in which characters struggle and succeed to become their own person.

I'm fine with all genres, except hentai. Yes, that means I am completely fine with yaoi and yuri, so feel free to suggest those too, as long as they fit. And if you have the time, please check my lists beforehand, thank you!

P.S. I'm actually trying to get through Please Save My Earth right now. I'm on volume four. But do the characters ever stop with the whole "our past selves did this and that" schmuck that they have going on right now? Like, do they ever become their own people, outside of their past lives? Or are they toted as basically carbon copies of their past selves throughout the manga?

Last edited by Suxinn at 2:35 am, Jan 3 2014

xxxHoLic - Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle gives the "going against fates.." and if you look at it in a way, also reincarnation

Try "Falls in Love with 300-Year-Old Girl". Its short, but might be what you are looking for

Well, Umi no Misaki definitely fits it.. In the recent chapters, you will see that he denied his destiny with the priestesses..
D•N•Angel•-nemesis denying, but the manga is unfinished, try the anime..
Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou-maybe, also try the anime..
Mirai Nikki-maybe, more like time paradox

Last edited by Knightzomegaz at 6:50 am, Jan 2 2014

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Recommend me horror , yaoi and shoujo manga please

Most of these I've already read, but thanks for the recommendations anyway! (I'll add a reminder to my original post to check my lists.)

Regarding Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, yes, it's about going against fate (in a really vague way), but it's reincarnation-side of the story is the exact opposite of what I'm looking for. In fact, Clamp's works were actually part of the reason I made this thread because they always play the "love transcends space and time and rebirth" card which is actually... kind of disturbing in my opinion. Whatever happened to free will?

And, well, xxxHoLic isn't about reincarnation at all? Except when it crosses over with Tsubasa. It's whole "inevitability" gimmick is also the exact opposite of what I'm looking for because the characters don't necessarily go against it. They try to make do the best they can when the "inevitable" happens.

DN Angel... I guess vaguely works if you're looking at it from Satoshi's point of view, but in terms of defying one's destiny, I want it to be an overarching theme that's faced by basically everyone in the story, instead of a self-contained theme focused on a single character.

Mirai Nikki doesn't work at all.

Also, I'm only at the beginning (volume 3) with Uragiri wa Boku no Namae o Shitte Iru, but so far it seems like the protagonist is treated (by the main guy at least) as basically the same as his incarnation. And there hasn't been any discussion at all about the disconnect Yuki feels as an individual person and his identity as a reincarnation. Does this change/get better as the series goes on?

Anddd, I'll check out these other series that I haven't read. Thanks again!

Try Bokura no Kiseki as it seems to fit exactly, especially later on.

+1 for Bokura no Kiseki, it has a nice balance of people trying to move on from their past (while simultaneously investigating it) with varying degrees of success. The protagonist in particular has a lot of conflicted feelings about wanting to atone for his failures in a past life while simultaneously trying to live as best he can in the present.

And Please Save My Earth is definitely all about letting go of who you were in a past life and how people should use their reincarnation as another chance to be the kind of person they want to be and draws a line through who they were vs who they are. That development is pretty slow though, but it's satisfying in the end imo.

Psyren doesn't have reincarnation in it but it is all about fighting fate so you might like that?

It's a bit gory but I really enjoyed reading Threads of Time

Maybe Yukarism. They don't exactly fight fate (as far as I can tell), but they sort of resolve things that were left by their past lives.

Maybe Genjuu no Seiza. MC is supposedly the reincarnation of a religious leader. (Think Dalai Lama style). He doesn't believe it and resists being taken away. His followers from "his past life" (we're not entirely sure if he really is the same person) struggle if he's actually the high priest or alternatively, if he's been corrupted due to being exposed to the outside world.

Last edited by SilverStorm at 4:08 am, Jan 4 2014

Seol Hui may fit what you're looking for. The main character finds the reincarnation of her lover, who tries to have nothing to do with her.

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