Protagonists who fake emotions
12 years ago
Posts: 51
I'm looking for manga where the main characters know how to control their own emotions, and fake emotional response to manipulate other people, eg: anger to coerce, sadness to gain sympathy, passion to gain support, kindness to gain loyalty, remorse to gain forgiveness, etc... They must absolutely never emotionally break down, even in the face of mortal danger, betrayal, or failure, where their ability becomes crucial to overcome their own emotional breakdown.
Any genre is welcome, action, comedy, romance, horror, etc...
12 years ago
Posts: 1030
Maybe Nozoki Ana? Edit: Oops, sorry, I don't think it totally fits. Emiru is more like "two-faced", like she is acting sometimes... I can't be sure about "neve emotionally break down".
12 years ago
Posts: 1139
Death Note comes to mind.
Maybe try looking at the tags Manipulative Protagonist, and Manipulative Antagonist/s
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12 years ago
Posts: 51
Quote from Kitty18dnsz
Death Note comes to mind.
Maybe try looking at the tags Manipulative Protagonist, and Manipulative Antagonist/s
Yeah Light definitely fits what I'm looking for. Even when gun was pointed at him, he was still calculating, even faking terror to try to get an upper hand. Akiyama of Liar Game could also fit, heck it's hard to see whether he's truly compassionate or it's just an act to get people to his side, and that's why it's so interesting to read on him. Johan of Monster might fit if he's the MC.
The problem with those tags is that most of them tend to "lose it" when they fail/succeed in their endeavors. Most of them fall more into emotionless rather being in control of their emotions. Also, authors like to add "redeeming point" by having them truly care about something/somebody (to the point of losing composure/temper over), eg; ideal, child, friend, parent, lover, memento, power, etc.., and "character development" when they start to gain real emotions. And finally they usually aren't the MC, so we don't get to see what's happening in their minds.
12 years ago
Posts: 786
The closest I can think of is Eumenes from Historie, though this is already on your lists so...
The protagonist from Chang Ge Xing also kind of fits. Though she also has moments when she isn't acting and when she really does feel sad, angry, etc.
Oh, right, the main character from Kurosagi also definitely fits this, though the manga seems to be going in the direction of him being less, well, cold/distant. Still, he's definitely the closest example I can think of for this one.
There are also several characters in Montage (WATANABE Jun) who might or might not fit this, though your mileage may vary on whether the male lead fits.
You could also try Zetsuen no Tempest since one of the major questions in the manga so far is whether one of the male leads is acting or not. Again, your mileage may vary on whether this really fits, though.
12 years ago
Posts: 388
A bit of a stretch, but Yoo Jung from Cheese in the Trap sorta fits. He's the main character's (current?) love interest. He's much more subtler than any of the other characters mentioned in this thread so far, so he might not be edgy enough for you, lol. (Light is definitely the king of this theme.)
He basically pretends to be a nice guy and does things on the sly to get what he wants, primarily by using people. He's actually quite childish in that he's a little petty about certain things. On occasion he'll actually threaten or use physical violence. When he gets angry, I think it's like a "cold" angry. So in a way, it's not that he specifically fakes things per say, but it's more like an avenue that he will use on occasion.
To be fair, I should mention that I think he is genuine most of the time (at least with the heroine), but when he's maintaining an image, or trying to get what he wants he gets that way. Since it's a romance manhwa, I should probably talk about how the heroine changes him (if at all):
I finished the second season, and to be honest, it's hard to say that his personality has really changed much. His interactions/impressions with certain people have changed, but I don't see him changing that manipulative part of himself any time soon.
I seriously wish Jung's bad side would show up a lot more. It's so fascinating.
(BTW, Manhwa starts kinda slow and can be confusing for some people since it's told in "current time" and flashbacks back and forth. )
Wish I could come up with more characters. I'm extremely picky with my shounen/seinen choices and there aren't too many manipulative characters (that I consider interesting and well-developed) in shoujo/josei.
12 years ago
Posts: 51
Quote from Suxinn
The closest I can think of is Eumenes from Historie, though this is already on your lists so...
` The protagonist from Chang Ge Xing also kind of fits. Though she also has moments when she isn't acting and when she really does feel sad, angry, etc.Oh, right, the main character from Kurosagi also de ...
Wow, I have no idea I even have Historie on my reading list. I probably read it a time long ago and completely forget about it. Will have to check it again.
I have the feeling the male lead of Montage (WATANABE Jun) might fit in the future, when he start to grasp emotions. As much as I love and am extremely biased toward romance between childhood friends, it's really unclear whether he truly cares for his childhood friend.
I read Kurosagi and Zetsuen no Tempest in the past but lost interest. Now it's probably a good time to resume reading 😀 Chang Ge Xing looks promising too
Your recs actually remind me of characters (especially the octopus sensei and the narrator MC) from Ansatsu Kyoushitsu, another manga I haven't read for a while
12 years ago
Posts: 217
Member12 years ago
Posts: 1181
Try
Gun x Clover-the mc hides his true nature,,
Kimi wa Boku no Toriko Nare-I think the mc is hiding something, he always just Smiles and act nice
Masamune-kun no Revenge-fakes his emotions
Sexless Friend-fakes his emotions in front of girls..
Unbalance x 2-maybe
12 years ago
Posts: 1029
12 years ago
Posts: 34
Ajin
The MC is literally not what he seemed. Even his sister thinks he's a monster.
12 years ago
Posts: 640
12 years ago
Posts: 302
Lasboss x Hero sorta
4 years ago
Posts: 1
You should check out
The Eminence In Shadow
And If you don’t mind manhwa
The Ember Knight
