History Main / NoGuyWantsToBeChased

* Downplayed in ''Manga/ToLoveRu'', early on Rito much preferred the shy Haruna to the comparatively aggressive Lala, but ends up falling in love with both anyway.

[[folder:Music]]
* The alternate version of {{Music/Delain}}'s "Frozen" switches between the perspectives of a woman and the object of her affections, who is deeply disturbed by it and responds as follows:
-->I foster illusions of which I am afraid\\
Unknown emotions repel your embrace\\
I foster illusions of which I am afraid\\
Afraid of your embrace
[[/folder]]

* In ''Manga/LudwigRevolution'', Ludwig is constantly on the lookout for a cute girl to become his wife. Consistently, throughout the entire series thusfar, the [[{{Gainaxing}} extremely well endowed]], [[{{Stripperific}} scantily clad]] witch Dorothea has been throwing herself at him. He's annoyed with her, and she's the girl he's ''least'' interested in.

** Ataru will not give up any opportunity to go out with, ogle, or feel up a girl... except for his hot alien princess fiancée, Lum, who's the ''only'' female who'd be happy to get his attentions. Her tendency to [[ShockAndAwe shock]] him whenever she gets excited and [[TheGlomp glomps]] when happy drives him further away.

* In ''Manga/BattleRoyale'', this is {{Lampshaded}} by Takako Chigusa during her TearJerker AnguishedDeclarationOfLove towards Sugimura. When she asks him if she was ever more than a friend to him, or if they could ever have been more, he hesitates. She then proceeds to joke, "Too intimidating for you, huh?" As Takako is known for being an more aggressive woman, it's later shown that the girl Sugimura likes, Kayoko, was a more gentle, shy girl.
* Daisuke of ''Manga/BitterVirgin'' is disgusted by Kazuki's relentless pursuit of him. This less because of her aggressiveness and more to do with her [[AxCrazy psychopathy]]. [[ParanoiaFuel she's always carrying a pair of scissors around]].
* ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'' Hinagiku believes that Hayate would think less of her if she chased him (like the other girls of the series do). In the Golden Week chapters he has shown that he is interested in her, though she is also turning towards the path of chasing him.
* ''LightNovel/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'' presents this trope mostly for comedy, but with a bit of sad irony behind it. Nyarko's [[ClingyJealousGirl clingy]], [[ManicPixieDreamGirl manic]], and [[LovableSexManiac horny]] way of expressing her feelings for Mahiro puts him off and makes him respond with {{Slapstick}}, which only makes Nyarko redouble her efforts, meaning she's only sabotaging herself. In one episode he openly admits that if Nyarko were less aggressive he'd probably have returned her feelings by now[[note]]sadly, he says this too quietly for her to hear and refuses to repeat himself[[/note]], and in another he outright tells her that her zaniness isn't just bothersome, but makes her declarations of love hard to believe (especially since she's fond of telling fibs for humorous effect). After he tells her as much in one episode, Nyarko responds that she has a hard time expressing herself ''without'' being goofy, but promises to keep saying it until he believes her -- and then says "I love you" in a sweet, heartfelt, and honest manner.

* Discussed and [[GenderFlip Genderflipped]] in the anime for ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry''. A dogged manly man incessantly tries to woo a waitress in the cafe Dante frequents. Jealousy ensues when she continually spurns his advances while hinting he should be more like Dante. [[spoiler: It's eventually revealed that she in fact IS attracted by the guy, but is put off because she wants to be the one to do the chasing.]] Its notable that unlike [[DoubleStandard most male examples]] of this trope, the guy in question is depicted as merely persistent, and not [[StalkerWithACrush creepy]]. In the end, Dante sets him straight.

* In ''Manga/SoulHunter'', [[{{Gonk}} Dokuson]] show [[ChivalrousPervert clear interest]] in women, and his even trying to seduce one in his first appearance. However, he is really put off by Tou Sengyoku agressive affection. He did say that he find her actractive, and actually even tried to hit on her before she start hogging him and he decide to try to run away.
* Yuya, the protagonist of ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'', is chased by a fortune teller girl named Mieru after he beat her in a duel and she declared him to be her "chosen one". To be fair to him, pretty much anyone would be creeped out when a twelve-year-old girl you never met before asks ''how many children you want to have with her.'' (For the record, Yuya himself is fourteen years old.)

** However, Marinette unwittingly puts this to the test the following day when, after tripping over into Adrien's arms, she impulsively says, "I think I might be falling for you." It leaves Adrien as flustered as Marinette usually is around him. After Marinette gets over her own embarrassment about it, she tries a couple more lines out on him the next day to enjoy his reaction, subsequently deciding to stop doing it out of guilt. But that night when she and Chat Noir are on patrol, he tells her about a girl in his class who's started using cheesy pick-up lines on him out of the blue (presenting himself as "a prime example of total composure"), leading her to figure that Chat ''is'' Adrien, and to decide to step up the flirting, as payback for all the times Chat has flirted with her during battles. In subsequent chapters, Adrien's reaction has been a mix of confused, embarrassed and flattered.

* ''Fanfic/BequeathedFromPaleEstates'': Poor Robb Stark is relentlessly pursued by every marriageable maid in the North once he's of age and starts taking up more responsibilities as the heir and future Lord of Winterfell. Justified by how his potential brides are going as far as spying on him, or are just so aggressive that he genuinely fears for his safety. [[spoiler:One of them reasons he fell for Aislinn Forrester is because she was the one girl who ''wasn't'' throwing herself at him]].

* ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2017'': A good part of the reason Gaston is fixated on Belle is because she's the only girl in the village who hasn't thrown them self at him. [=LeFou=] points out Gaston could easily marry one of the other girls and stop wasting his time with Belle, but Gaston prefers the challenge of winning over Belle.

* Mat's relationship with Tylin starts out this way in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', playing up HypocriticalHumor as Mat wryly comments that he's supposed to chase women, not the other way around. It then moves into DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale territory, but is still treated as comedic.

-->'''Bart:''' I am not weak or meek or anything but a man who likes to feel a man, not to be used for your own purposes. And as for passive women I despise them as much as I do aggressive ones. I just don't like the feeling of being the victim of a huntress leading me into a trap.
** They're both right. What Cathy says about Bart being misogynistic is true, but Cathy also ''is'' very deliberately seducing Bart as part of a schemes of hers, and he's right to feel he's being led into a trap.

* Subverted in ''Series/BostonLegal''. Denise is trying to get [[HandsomeLech Alan Shore]] to lose interest in her, and attempts to invoke this trope. HilarityEnsues.
* Kermit on ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' was always very reluctant when it came to Miss Piggy's advances. However whenever she focused her attention on a male celebrity guest (most notably Peter Ustinov, and Christopher Reeve), Kermit would promptly become jealous.

* Subverted on the [[RealityTV dating reality show]] ''Seducing Cindy'': In the second episode, Cindy Margolis says just before she takes a willing Leighton Stultz into a closet to make out at third base, "I just have to have you know. You're coming with me. I get to be the aggressor. I'm making this happen get over her.". Leighton later describes the make out session in a little more detail:

** However, Helena is not happy with this situation either, and says woman "were not meant to woo."

* Inverted in the Union society in ''VideoGame/CulpaInnata'', which is built entirely on "scientific principles". It's the women who are expected to chase men, but only for the same purpose as Hollywood assumes men chase women in RealLife: sex and brief relationships. Long-term attachment is frowned upon in the Union and marriage... sorry, "[[InsistentTerminology nuptual agreements]]" are against the law. This is problematic for immigrants from so-called "rogue states" (e.g. Russia, China, India), which have more traditional values. A couple of Russian "primary sexual partners" is present in the game who were married back in Russia. Many women interviewed by the protagonist claim to have been hit on by the Russian man, only to feel disgusted. The Russian woman, in contrast to the Union women, is shown to be fairly passive and appears to be unlikely to engage in "the Chase".
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'': While the base game paints Wrex as something of a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Krogan]] Casanova, and he discusses how much he's looking forward to making babies again after the [[SterilityPlague Genophage]] is cured... the Citadel DLC reveals that, being the krogan leader (And thus, clearly the [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority strongest]] of the krogan), an awful lot of krogan women want him to be the father of their firstborn, and Wrex is less than happy about this. Of course, Wrex probably might not have minded so much if he was actually able to get a break from the whole thing and give his poor [[ExoticEquipment quad]] a rest. The fact that Eve/[[spoiler:Urdnot Bakara]] is encouraging it doesn't help the matter.
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' this is [[ShelteredAristocrat Luke]]'s reaction to his fiancee Natalia and "admirer" [[CuteBruiser Anise]]. Considering one is a RoyalBrat who is LovingAShadow and rather he just regain all his [[IdentityAmnesia memories]] right now (specifically of their ChildhoodMarriagePromise), and the other is a very flirty ''thirteen year old'' GoldDigger who invokes in-universe {{Squick}} from Luke through her antics, it's understandable. In regards to his LoveInterest though, he implies he likes the idea of her pursuing him, though that's in part [[HeroicSelfDeprecation low self esteem]].

* ''Webcomic/{{Megatokyo}}'' Largo and Erika's relationship is complicated. Their first encounter involved him hitting on her and her breaking his arms. This is because she thought that all he was interested in was sex. Then she becomes his gaming/computer-building student. As he proves earlier, while teaching his class, Largo takes people who pursue such knowledge ''very'' seriously, and doesn't want to dishonor or disrespect Erika by letting lust or romance "distract" him.

* Discussed in [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-confessions-female-nice-guy/ 5 Confessions of a Female 'Nice Guy']] from ''Website/{{Cracked}}'': The writer says that she was worried about looking desperate if her advances towards a guy where unsuccessful. She also talks about the DoubleStandard and use of this trope in movies.

* It's interesting to note that WesternAnimation/PepeLePew of ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' fame frequently chases ''any'' animal he perceives to be a female skunk -- [[HoYay even if they're not]] -- but most often he pursues a shy female cat named Penelope Pussycat. Generally, everyone runs off at the mere smell of a skunk nearby, but his overly affectionate, [[CuddleBug touchy-feely]] style is often another turn-off -- and then sometimes the odor is the only thing keeping Penelope away. Occasionally she's turned the tables on him by not only demonstrating that she likes him at least as much as he likes her, but also chasing ''him'' down to smother him in [[TheGlomp suffocating]] amounts of affection -- and all it took was removing her sense of smell (usually by her nose getting stuffy). Pepe, meanwhile, seems to prefer being the one who gives chase, and when he finds ''himself'' as the one being pursued, he'll run just as she ran from him (he [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this in one cartoon: "Why is it that whenever a man is captured by a woman, all he wish to do is get away?"). Only once did he run because of an odor; [[spoiler:at one point, Penelope -- under the name Fabrette --- exposed herself to limburger cheese fumes so that no smell would be too much for her so she could be with Pepe, but by then he'd realized his own noxious smell and got it removed via perfume, and when she came back she refused to accept he couldn't stand her smell]].

* Rori Raye encourages women to act with passively receptive "girl energy" (and to occasionally become the HystericalWoman due to being so in touch with her emotions) rather than proactive "boy energy" because men will be put off by a woman who acts like a man in pursuit of a relationship. This not only includes "big" things like walking up to him and saying hello first, asking him out, or asking that the relationship become exclusive, but even small, day-to-day things like reaching over to hold his hand during a movie on your fourth date. Apparently, women are not supposed to do anything but ''exist'' and respond to the man's overtures, [[MenActWomenAre never making one of her own]] at ''any'' point for ''any'' reason.

* Once on the old Arsenio Hall Show a leather clad blonde actress was all over Arsenio, sitting on his lap, grabbing his knee and wrapping her leg around his head. Arsenio had to fight her off and in doing so ripped her jacket. Then she removed her jacket and approached him slowly. Arsenio Hall ran off the stage and she chased him, thus ending their interview early and giving Daisy Fuentes an unscheduled appearance to fill the time slot. Arsenio complimented the blonde woman (whom he joked was on crack) on her breasts and legs, so who knows, he might have gone for it, but according to him he had a girlfriend at the time (possibly Paula Abdul who he dated around then) and this was televised after all.

* It's interesting to note that Pepe [=LePew=] frequently chases ''any'' animal he perceives to be a female skunk -- [[HoYay even if they're not]] -- but most often he pursues a shy female cat named Penelope Pussycat. Generally, everyone runs off at the mere smell of a skunk nearby, but his overly affectionate, [[CuddleBug touchy-feely]] style is often another turn-off -- and then sometimes the odor is the only thing keeping Penelope away. Occasionally she's turned the tables on him by not only demonstrating that she likes him at least as much as he likes her, but also chasing ''him'' down to smother him in [[TheGlomp suffocating]] amounts of affection -- and all it took was removing her sense of smell (usually by her nose getting stuffy). Pepe, meanwhile, seems to prefer being the one who gives chase, and when he finds ''himself'' as the one being pursued, he'll run just as she ran from him (he [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this in one cartoon: "Why is it that whenever a man is captured by a woman, all he wish to do is get away?"). Only once did he run because of an odor; [[spoiler:at one point, Penelope -- under the name Fabrette --- exposed herself to limburger cheese fumes so that no smell would be too much for her so she could be with Pepe, but by then he'd realized his own noxious smell and got it removed via perfume, and when she came back she refused to accept he couldn't stand her smell]].

* A few ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' WesternAnimation/PepeLePew cartoons, starting with "WesternAnimation/ForScentimentalReasons", end with a reversal where the object of Pepe's affections no longer sees him as an AbhorrentAdmirer and begins to chase ''him''. No matter how hard Pepe pursued the poor girl before hand, Pepe is universally horrified by aggressive women and the cartoon ends with him running away from her.

* Inverted in ''Literature/SannikovLand''. Annuir demands to become Ordin's second wife and is determined never to leave him, and he likes her very much for that. [[spoiler:She sticks to him even after his first wife abandons him, and ends up following him to Russia, despite knowing that civilization has marched on really far and she will have to get used to a it (it's the early 20th century, and Annuir's culture is ''Neolithic'')]].

[[quoteright:350: [[Magazine/{{Punch}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ladies-of-creation-bloomerism-3_9759.jpg]]]]

* Gender Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug''. Marinette at first doesn't find Chat Noir's constant flirting to be attractive, but she is crushing on his alter ego, the more sweet and shy Adrien Agreste. Funnily enough, the original idea for Ladybug and Chat Noir's dynamic plays it straight; where Chat Noir's advances aren't welcome to Ladybug, Marinette's constant pursuit of Felix isn't warmly received, either.

* ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'': Tsuna ''has'' blushed and felt his heart flutter for every main girl character (Obviously Kyoko, [[CoolBigSis Bianchi]], Chrome, Lal Mirch, even ''Uni'') '''except''' Haru. Out of all of them, towards Tsuna, she is the most aggressive and direct in her pursuit (granted, if Bianchi were even interested in Tsuna, she very likely would [[{{Yandere}} be the most aggressive]]). Tsuna makes it very clear that he has no romantic interest in Haru, and constantly has to try to slap down all of her advances.

* ''Manga/SoulEater''

* ''Anime/MawaruPenguindrum'': Kanba Takakura explicitly tells his sister ([[BrotherSisterIncest and prospect love interest]]) Himari that he HATES it when girls follow him around and give him presents like handmade sweaters or lunches. [[spoiler: His ClingyJealousGirl suitor Masako knows it, but she's unfazed and ''deliberately'' invokes this on him. (So does her penguin Esmeralda, who chases after Kanba's penguin #1).]]
* Discussed and [[GenderFlip Genderflipped]] in the anime for ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry''. A dogged manly man incessantly tries to woo a watress in the cafe Dante frequents. Jealousy ensues when she continually spurns his advances while hinting he should be more like Dante. [[spoiler: It's eventually revealed that she in fact IS attracted by the guy, but is put off because she wants to be the one to do the chasing.]] Its notable that unlike [[DoubleStandard most male examples]] of this trope, the guy in question is depicted as merely persistent, and not [[StalkerWithACrush creepy]]. In the end, Dante sets him straight.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheMask'': Stanley meets a girl named Evelyn who he gets along with very well but then when she accidentally puts on the mask, Eve comes out and she is a lustful, aggressive and unpredictable woman who Stanley becomes scared of because of it along with the fact she tries to kiss him a lot, gives hard hugs which she is inexperienced with people who are not like her, then takes him to the Coco Bongo which she swings him around until she accidentally puts him through the ceiling which causes her to feel guilty so she decide go easy on him by giving out gentle kisses, a light hug and talking softly with Stanley who though was scared of her at first can see that like Evelyn she is a good-hearted woman which he even starts to consider letting her around but he knows that is wrong because Eve might stick around forever if she does not take her face off therefore leaving Evelyn trapped under the mask no longer in control of her actions while Eve is in charge so he decide to take her face off which he does in the end though he clearly regrets having to do it.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheMask'': Stanley meets a girl named Evelyn who he gets along with very well but then when she accidentally puts on the mask, Eve comes out and she is a lustful, aggressive and unpredictable woman who Stanley becomes scared of because of it along with the fact she tries to kiss him a lot, gives hard hugs which she is inexperienced with people who are not like her, then takes him to the Coco Bongo which she swings him around until she accidentally puts him through the ceiling which causes her to feel guilty so she decide go easy on him by giving out gentle kisses, a light hug and talking softly with Stanley who though was scared of her at first can see that like Evelyn she is a good-hearted woman which he even starts to consider letting her around but he knows that is wrong because Eve might stick around forever if she does not take her face off therefore leaving Evelyn trapped so he decide to take her face off which he does in the end though he clearly regrets having to do it.

* ''LightNovel/HaiyoreNyarkoSan'' presents this trope mostly for comedy, but with a bit of sad irony behind it. Nyarko's [[ClingyJealousGirl clingy]], [[ManicPixieDreamGirl manic]], and [[LovableSexManiac horny]] way of expressing her feelings for Mahiro puts him off and makes him respond with {{Slapstick}}, which only makes Nyarko redouble her efforts, meaning she's only sabotaging herself. In one episode he openly admits that if Nyarko were less aggressive he'd probably have returned her feelings by now[[note]]sadly, he says this too quietly for her to hear and refuses to repeat himself[[/note]], and in another he outright tells her that her zaniness isn't just bothersome, but makes her declarations of love hard to believe (especially since she's fond of telling fibs for humorous effect). After he tells her as much in one episode, Nyarko responds that she has a hard time expressing herself ''without'' being goofy, but promises to keep saying it until he believes her -- and then says "I love you" in a sweet, heartfelt, and honest manner.

[[folder:Theater]]

* In some Harveytoons cartoons, and in at least two {{Popeye}} cartoons, the male protagonist would run screaming in horror from the country-bumpkin woman who shrieked "A MAAAA-YUN!" and started to chase him.

[[folder: Real Life]]

* [[MoeAnthropomorphism Russia]] from ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' wants to [[TakeOverTheWorld become one with everybody]], especially with the sweet and mild-mannered [[TheWoobie Lithuania]] who's more scared of him than anything else. Except for his [[BrotherSisterIncest sister]] [[{{Yandere}} Belarus]], the one nation who [[StalkerWithACrush actively tries]] to become one with him to the point of reducing him to TearsOfFear.

* ''Franchise/ArchieComics'':

* In ''Manga/LudwigRevolution'', Ludwig is constantly on the lookout for a cute girl to become his wife. Consistently, throughout the entire series thusfar, the [[Gainaxing extremely well endowed]], [[{{Stripperific}} scantily clad]] witch Dorothea has been throwing herself at him. He's annoyed with her, and she's the girl he's ''least'' interested in.

* In ''Manga/LudwigRevolution'', Ludwig is constantly on the lookout for a cute girl to become his wife. Consistently, throughout the entire series thusfar, the [[BigBouncyBreasts extremely well endowed]], [[{{Stripperific}} scantily clad]] witch Dorothea has been throwing herself at him. He's annoyed with her, and she's the girl he's ''least'' interested in.

** Rachel is attracted to a cute guy but he's not asking her out. Pheobe suggests that she simply ask him out instead, but Rachel can't do it because she has ''never'' asked anyone out in her entire life; all her relationships having been initiated by guys. So she decides it would make her sound "too desperate" and instead resorts to dropping hint after hint, trying to get the guy to chase her.

* It's interesting to note that Pepe [=LePew=] frequently chases ''any'' animal he perceives to be a female skunk -- [[HoYay even if they're not]] -- but most often he pursues a shy female cat named Penelope Pussycat. Generally, everyone runs off at the mere smell of a skunk nearby, but his overly affectionate, [[CuddleBug touchy-feely]] style is often another turn-off -- and then sometimes the odor is the only thing keeping Penelope away. Occasionally she's turned the tables on him by not only demonstrating that she likes him at least as much as he likes her, but also chasing ''him'' down to smother him in [[TheGlomp suffocating]] amounts of affection -- and all it took was removing her sense of smell (usually by her nose getting stuffy). Pepe, meanwhile, seems to prefer being the one who gives chase, and when he finds ''himself'' as the one being pursued, he'll run just as she ran from him. Only once did he run because of an odor; [[spoiler:at one point, Penelope -- under the name Fabrette --- exposed herself to limburger cheese fumes so that no smell would be too much for her so she could be with Pepe, but by then he'd realized his own noxious smell and got it removed via perfume, and when she came back she refused to accept he couldn't stand her smell]].

This is where a guy is shown to be actively put off by a girl's aggressive pursuit of him. Conversely, if she were more [[ShrinkingViolet shy and modest]] about her feelings, he would like her more. The use of this normally implies that men want to be the ones to chase and pursue a relationship, and ''hate'' it when it looks like, for any moment, this is ''not'' the case. To put it simply: a man wants to catch a woman; not be caught.

* Rory Raye encourages women to act with passively receptive "girl energy" (and to occasionally become the HystericalWoman due to being so in touch with her emotions) rather than proactive "boy energy" because men will be put off by a woman who acts like a man in pursuit of a relationship. This not only includes "big" things like walking up to him and saying hello first, asking him out, or asking that the relationship become exclusive, but even small, day-to-day things like reaching over to hold his hand during a movie on your fourth date. Apparently, women are not supposed to do anything but ''exist'' and respond to the man's overtures, [[MenActWomenAre never making one of her own]] at ''any'' point for ''any'' reason.

* Discussed and [[GenderFlip Genderflipped]] in the anime for ''Anime/DevilMayCry''. A dogged manly man incessantly tries to woo a watress in the cafe Dante frequents. Jealousy ensues when she continually spurns his advances while hinting he should be more like Dante. [[spoiler: It's eventually revealed that she in fact IS attracted by the guy, but is put off because she wants to be the one to do the chasing.]] Its notable that unlike [[DoubleStandard most male examples]] of this trope, the guy in question is depicted as merely persistent, and not [[StalkerWithACrush creepy]]. In the end, Dante sets him straight.

** It also claimed that, "100% of men surveyed said that they hate it when a woman asks them out--"It ruins all the fun.""

* Mai Shiranui from ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' seems to provoke this in Andy Bogard. His feelings for her emerge only in situations when she's not pressing him to feel attracted to her.