History Main / TheNotLoveInterest

** Shion and Nurugai. Shion is the mentor of Tenza, whom Nurugai falls in love with, and takes Tenza's place as her guardian after he dies. He is similarly dedicated to ensure Nurugai's safety, and even promises [[spoiler:to leave the Yamada Asaemon clan [[DeclarationOfProtection in order to better keep her safe]], and promises to help her find her now scattered tribe.]] Unlike with Tenza, however, Nurugai never expresses any romantic desire for Shion, and later chapter shows that their relationship is more like a [[ParentalSubstitute father and daughter]] than a romantic couple.

* ''VideoGame/{{Aveyond}} 4: Shadow Of The Mist'' has Myst, the MysticalWaif {{Deuteragonist}} whose mission to save her little brother triggers Boyle's RedemptionQuest to become a hero. Despite having the typical role of a LoveInterest, she explicitly says that she can't stand people like Boyle, and has more of a ShipTease with Robin instead.

* ''Manga/HellsParadiseJigokuraku'' has Gabimaru and Sagiri. Sent as a pair to the [[DeathWorld highly dangerous]] [[IslandOfMystery Kotaku Island]] in search for the elixir of life, the two develop respect for each other's strength/resolve, and care for one another's well-being. However, Gabimaru is HappilyMarried to someone else (in fact, his entire motivation throughout the plot is to be reunited with his wife), so it is unlikely that Sagiri will become his love interest.

* Ariadne and Dom in ''Film/{{Inception}}''. The latter is still a little hung up on his deceased wife and the former gets some ShipTease with Arthur, and there's a tiny bit of an age gap too.

*** In ''[[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier The Winter Soldier]]'', the ''lack'' of a LoveInterest is almost a running gag. Steve still loves Peggy, [[spoiler:but she's well into her 90s and suffering from dementia.]] His post-war comics LoveInterest, Sharon Carter/Agent 13 is introduced in this movie, but they speak to each other exactly twice. Instead, the Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson, and Natasha Romanoff all take different aspects of The Not-Love Interest: the Winter Soldier serves as Steve's primary motivation, because [[spoiler:he's actually a brainwashed Bucky Barnes]]; Sam Wilson is his emotional support, with whom he's able to talk about his feelings for once; and Natasha is his [[{{Foil}} character contrast]], companion through most of the action, and gives the movie its flirty banter, though it's made subtly clear that the two of them have a platonic "work wife/husband" type of relationship and most of that banter revolves around her trying to set him up with other women.
*** In ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', while Steve has more interactions with Sharon Carter, including some clear sexual tension between them [[spoiler:which was somewhat resolved with TheBigDamnKiss early on]], his primary motivation and catalyst for his actions is [[spoiler:again, Bucky Barnes]], who, by this point, is cemented as the second most important character in the ''Captain America'' films, after Cap himself. [[spoiler:Steve is so [[UndyingLoyalty loyal]] and devoted to Bucky that he's willing to split up the Avengers, become a fugitive, desecrate his name and legacy, and more-or-less take on the entire world for him. Bucky, on his end, seemed to stay away from Steve for so long because he didn't want to cause his best friend anymore pain]]. Natasha and Sam also reprise their roles in this film as well, particularly Sam, who quickly engages in a semi-friendly rivalry with Bucky that feels an awful lot like interactions between one's first and second wives.
** ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'' has Doctor Strange and Karl Mordo, with the later playing this role (complete with a RescueRomance) [[spoiler: until his FaceHeelTurn]].

** Castiel also fills this role for Dean and vice versa. Dean spends almost a full year in Purgatory trying to save Castiel and praying for him every day, snaps Castiel out of insanity/brainwashing multiple times by telling him he needs him, mourns him like a lost lover whenever he dies to the point where Sam compares it to the way their father grieved over their mother, and Castiel has given up his life and the favor of Heaven to protect Dean too many times to count. In fact, pretty much the main reason Castiel ended up becoming the closest thing Dean had to a long-term love interest outside of Sam was that he clearly ''wasn't'' intended to be a love interest for Dean; as [[https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/iywepl/supernatural_fandom_rise_of_the_supernatural/ this summary of early Supernatural fandom details]], the fans vehemently rejected the show's attempts to create a female love interest for Dean because they feared that a romance would take focus away from Dean and Sam's relationship but they embraced Castiel who was male and thus not a romantic threat to the brothers' bromance, which ironically led to Castiel getting almost the same amount of screentime and emotional energy with Dean that a traditional female love interest would have had.

* In ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'', Shiro is [[LivingEmotionalCrutch the most important person]] to Keith, to the point that Keith becomes unhinged when he thinks Shiro might be dead. A lot of Keith's motivation throughout the series is protecting [[BadassInDistress Shiro]] and keeping him safe, [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl to the point of jeopardizing crucial missions against galactic threats on the off chance that Shiro could be harmed or leave him]]. At one point Keith makes an explicit DeclarationOfProtection towards Shiro under intimate circumstances, which Shiro acknowledges and accepts. Keith even prefers [[TogetherInDeath dying along with Shiro]] to the prospect of living on without him, and gives him a (platonic) AnguishedDeclarationOfLove. The show also compares and contrasts Shiro's relationship with Keith to his former lover. However, although neither have a proper love interest to speak of [[spoiler:until Shiro's LastMinuteHookup with a minor character in the ending, the result of a last-minute AuthorsSavingThrow]], the series makes it clear that this is a case of a mentor/mentee relationship turned found family rather than a romantic bond, even though this is an instance where IncompatibleOrientation would not be an issue on [[StraightGay Shiro's]] part..
** Keith and Lance would also qualify, sharing a lot of similar beats as canon romances. They bicker a lot, are often associated with each other, and help motivate each other with their “rivalry”. There’s the infamous Bonding Moment scene where they clasp hands and stare into each other’s eyes while agreeing that they make a good team. Keith cradled Lance in his arms, which Lance denies with fervor. Season 3 has Lance becoming right hand man to Keith’s leader and is shown to be the only person Keith listens to with Lance helping him pull his head out of his ass. When Lance is concerned about there being more paladins than there are lions, suggesting that he himself step down as he’s the worst member of the team, Keith reassures him, offers to step down as leader for the next mission to even out the paladin/lion ratio, then steps down completely. Come season 7, we see Keith not being able to say no to Lance, Lance almost hyper focusing on Keith despite this season setting up [[spoiler:Allura]] as his love interest, and then Lance and Keith choosing each other on the game show with Lance’s reasoning being sappy and genuine. Season 8 gives Lance a canon romance with [[spoiler:Allura]], yet he has a romantically-coded scene of Keith complimenting him and them watching the sunset together, which mirrors a scene from season 1 between Hunk and Shay (Hunk’s ShesNotMyGirlfriend from earlier seasons). Reportedly, many members of the cast and crew shipped them, one of the writers wrote them as ambiguously crushing on each other before he left the show, but the execs’ had disdain for the ship.

* ''Manga/XxxHOLiC'':

* In the ''Manga/{{Area 88}}'' manga, Shin and Mickey have this dynamic. The two men are frequently in each other's company and confide in each other. Mickey protects Shin on several occasions, and when he hears that Shin has been shot down, he immediately rushes off to find him. Shin's relationship with Mickey seems much deeper than his relationship with his girlfriend, Ryoko.

* ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'': At the beginning of the series [[TeamMom Anezaki]] [[MamaBear Mamori]] joined the football club for the sake of Sena, her childhood friend and Not-Love Interest. More specifically, she joined to protect him from the bullying of the football club’s captain, [[MagnificentBastard Hiruma]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Yoichi]]. Initially, Sena is all Mamori cared about, getting worried over his injuries and yelling at Hiruma for picking on him. However, as the series progressed, Mamori started [[ShipTease spending more time with]] and [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther getting closer to]]...the aforementioned [[BelligerentSexualTension Hiruma Yoichi]]. It got to such a point that at the end of the manga, although Sena is still a dear friend to her, Mamori completely intends for her and Hiruma to play seriously and defeat him, since he's on a rival team now. So while Sena remains the Not-Love Interest and important to Mamori, it's [[ShipTease hinted]] that [[OfficialCouple at the end of the day]], sticking by Hiruma is higher on her priority list.

* In ''Manga/LetterBee'', Lag found his first companion, and eventual bodyguard, in Niche, whom he rescued from a freakshow. She, in turn, is very dedicated towards him and acts like a ClingyJealousGirl whenever he gets too close to someone else. However, their relationship never turns into romance, as Lag's ''true'' LoveInterest is Sylvette.

* In ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'', Asuna is Negi's partner and the girl closest to him out of all the students in his class, and at least half of them are in love with him. Despite getting a lot of ShipTease, their relationship remains familial for the most part and never turns to serious romance. This is definitely settled near the end of the manga when Negi tells Asuna who is the girl he likes ''that'' way and Asuna's reaction confirms it's not her (not that she cares, she in fact tries to get Negi to confess to the other girl right away). It should be noted that Negi also admits that while he isn't in love with her, Asuna will always be his most important person.

** Alice is this to Oz. Oz adores her to no end, calling her "his sun" and taking his devotion to {{Yandere}} levels early on. In fact, [[spoiler:it was Alice who gave Oz life and a conscience of his own through love and care back when he was her stuffed rabbit]]. Their closeness leads many people to believe they are in love, but eventually WordOfGod confirms their relationship isn't of romantic nature.

** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' has Felix for companion Dorian Pavus. He's Dorian's best friend and helps him by infiltrating the Venatori, but Dorian states that there was never anything between them as Dorian would not have betrayed the trust of his then-mentor, Felix's father, by seducing his son.

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect'': For a player who chooses not to have Shepard (of either gender) enter into a relationship with her, Liara falls into this role during the second and third game. While Shepard has their coterie of TrueCompanions, Liara's loyalty and devotion to Shepard takes her beyond that of a mere friend and teammate. For specific genders, male Shephard has Tali comes to this level in the second game if he manages to negotiate her loyalty mission with her father's reputation intact; meanwhile, female Shephard has Thane fill the role, to the point that his [[spoiler:death scene]] makes it quite clear he loves her deeply, as she does him.

* Otacon is Solid Snake's Not Love Interest in ''VideoGame/MetalGear''. In the first ''MGS'', they have what could be described as a MeetCute in a warped sort of way, exchange some emotionally loaded dialogue, and, if Meryl (the actual love interest) dies, Snake leaves with Otacon instead. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'', they're best friends for the whole game, tease each other and support each other emotionally when things get rough. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'', they're [[HasTwoMommies raising a kid together]], Otacon is supporting Snake through his serious illness, and the game ends with an emotional declaration from the both of them that they will stay together until the end of Snake's life. Creator/HideoKojima even stated, with some irony, that Otacon was Snake's 'love interest' in ''4''.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9uNX5bwTZU The voice actors have some fun]] with how "Not" Otacon actually is (see the lengthy ''MGS'' entry under HoYay). In {{canon}}, though, [=MGS4=] tried to [[ShipSinking sink]] the Snake/Otacon ship and make it clear he was the Not Love Interest and Snake's Platonic Most Important Person. [[YaoiFangirl It]] [[DieForOurShip didn't]] work.
** And Meryl counts, too. Even though she canonically survives, she never does become Snake's love interest. Hell, she actually hooks up with the series' dedicated ButtMonkey!

* ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'' has Hanako Yamada, the ninth and penultimate rival. She's your Senpai's adorable if clingy younger sister. She adores her older brother so much she transferred into his school to be with him, and her death or disappearance will take a huge hit out of Senpai's hidden SanityMeter. Despite her presence in the game being a clear reference to the LittleSisterHeroine trope in romance anime and dating sims, there's nothing incestuous about their relationship at all. The reason why Hanako is a rival is because she's so clingy she'd demand that Senpai not get a girlfriend for the forseeable future, simply because she's scared he'd stop paying attention to her. Unfortunately, that's enough to be targeted by [[VillainProtagonist Ayano]].

* In ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'', Phi is the first girl that Sigma meets. They initially have a [[BelligerentSexualTension belligerent relationship]], her ending is the TrueEnding of the game, and she has a lot of plot relevance... but she and Sigma are never even hinted to move in a romantic direction. At best, they go from TeethClenchedTeamwork to something resembling friends. [[spoiler: Although there are some scenes with them when you fail to defuse the bombs, they're not exceedingly romantic.]] WordOfGod has also confirmed that the two will never be a couple at any point. And for good reason, as ''VisualNovel/ZeroTimeDilemma'' reveals: [[spoiler:[[LukeIAmYourFather Phi is actually Sigma's]] ''[[LukeIAmYourFather daughter]]''. Not only that, but ZTD also introduces Diana, whom is Sigma's ''actual'' love interest...and Phi's mother.]]

** Sun and Blake bond over [[CommonalityConnection being Faunus]], with Sun acting as a ChivalousPervert early on (something that [[CharacterizationMarchesOn he grows out of quickly]]) but soon [[TrueCompanions proves his genuineness by refusing to let her go alone]] when she returns home out of a HeroicBSOD over what happened at Beacon and to her team, especially her partner Yang at the hands of [[PsychoExGirlfriend Adam]]. Although Sun and Blake hit some other romance tropes typical in anime such as DatingWhatDaddyHates, [[ShipSinking their ship sinks]] once Blake reunites with her team and [[PutOnABus Sun returns]] [[ButNowIMustGo to his own]], with Blake continuing where she left off with [[ShipTease Yang]] while [[PlatonicLifePartners Sun denies he did it to romance Blake and instead did it because they're friends]]. According to WordOfSaintPaul, Blake loves both Sun and Yang.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Jaune and Ruby quickly form a bond through a shared feeling of social awkwardness when they're both new to Beacon. They then bond as leaders of their respective teams, and the two teams are very good friends. Jaune is also quick to offer back-up to Ruby if he thinks she's in trouble. However, Ruby has shown no romantic interest in anyone and Jaune initially falls for Weiss until he begins to reciprocate Pyrrha's feelings for him.

* ''LightNovel/Gamers2015'' has Keita Amano and Aguri Sakurano, whose example lines up pretty much exactly with the way it’s described in the "Deconstructed” part of the Playing With page. They repeatedly demonstrate how important the other is to them, eat out at a restaurant together on a regular basis, and have a much more playful VitriolicBestBuds dynamic than he does with his SitcomArchnemesis Chiaki. Ironically, their friendship was founded on a mutual RomanticWingman support for each other’s respective love lives, yet that same friendship is itself one of the greatest sources of strain on their relationships. It eventually gets to the point that [[spoiler:Tasuku temporarily breaks up with Aguri because he wants to be as close to her as Keita is, and both of Keita’s actual love interests view Aguri as their biggest rival to his heart]].

* This was ''probably'' what was intended for teenage runaway Ro and robot assassin with a heart of gold Zeta on ''WesternAnimation/TheZetaProject.''[[FanPreferredCouple The fans]] had a [[RoboShip different]][[ImpliedLoveInterest interpretation]].

* ''LightNovel/Gamers2015'' has Keita Amano and Aguri Sakurano, whose example lines up pretty much exactly with the way it’s described in the "Deconstructed” part of the Playing With page. They repeatedly demonstrate how important the other is to them, eat out at a restaurant together on a regular basis, and have a much more playful VitriolicBestBuds dynamic than he does with his SitcomArchnemesis Chiaki. Ironically, their friendship was founded on a mutual ShipperOnDeck support for each other’s respective love lives, yet that same friendship is itself one of the greatest sources of strain on their relationships. It eventually gets to the point that [[spoiler:Tasuku temporarily breaks up with Aguri because he wants to be as close to her as Keita is, and both of Keita’s actual love interests view Aguri as their biggest rival to his heart]].

* Despite Princess Zelda and Link from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'' being the princess and hero of their games respectively, there are some games where any romantic hints aren't there at all, or where it's heavily implied that the two don't end up together even if they do know each other. But since almost every single game stars a completely different Link and Zelda, this tends to change wildly between games. The clearest example is ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' where Link has two hypothetical love interests,[[note]] Ilia and [[FanPreferredCouple the preferred option]] Midna[[/note]] ''neither'' of which is Zelda, who is entirely stoic and professional in her dealings with him.
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect'': For a player who chooses not to have Shepard (of either gender) enter into a relationship with her, Liara falls into this role during the second and third game. While Shepard has their coterie of TrueCompanions, Liara's loyalty and devotion to Shepard takes her beyond that of a mere friend and teammate. For Maleshep, Tali comes to this level in the second game if he manages to negotiate her loyalty mission with her father's reputation intact, and for Femshep it's Thane who fills the role, and despite not being in a relationship his [[spoiler: death scene]] makes it quite clear he loves her deeply, as she does him.

* Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Brotherhood''. They're set up as having a close bond, tons of {{Subtext}}, but with an ambiguous MaybeEverAfter ending. Then it was confirmed by WordOfGod that [[spoiler: their career aspirations prevent them from ever actually getting together]].

* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' finds this trope in the ''Alicitization'' arc character Eugeo. Because Kirito spends so much time in Underworld mentally, he treats Eugeo as if he were a lifetime companion and becomes his brother in arms on the battlefield. Their bond becomes so great that on multiple occasions after the first half of the arc, Eugeo's ideas, supportive words and [[spoiler:his TragicKeepsake, the Blue Rose Sword]] keep Kirito in his right mind and motivates him. In the climax of the arc Eugeo is even elevated to the importance of his other love interests, but it is ''only'' Eugeo that is able to give Kirito a HeroicSecondWind.