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* ''Manga/ScienceFellInLoveSoITriedToProveIt'': The romantic leads are two science students who are trying to scientifically prove they are in love with each other. One of the ways they try to achieve this is by experimenting various things romantic couples usually do, and their actualy feelings for each other sometimes result in at least one of them getting a little overinvested in the experiment. Unsurprisingly, there is frequently some bystander who has to be told they are in fact ''not'' a couple.
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Crosswicking.
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Gathering all the SheIsNotMyGirlfriend examples from {{Anime}} and {{Manga}}.
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** One rather serious time was when James and Jesse sprung their trap on the two (while they were riding on a blimp), but then, realizing Brock wasn't there, mistook them for lovebirds on a date. Of course, they both vehemently denied it and got angry... And then everyone realized [[WhoIsDriving no-one was piloting the blimp.]] It didn't end well.
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** One rather serious time was when James and Jesse Jessie sprung their trap on the two (while they were riding on a blimp), but then, realizing Brock wasn't there, mistook them for lovebirds on a date. Of course, they both vehemently denied it and got angry... And then everyone realized [[WhoIsDriving no-one was piloting the blimp.]] It didn't end well.
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'''Masaru & Yoshino:''' WHO ARE YOU CALLING A COUPLE!?
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'''Masaru & Yoshino:''' [[ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne WHO ARE YOU CALLING A COUPLE!?COUPLE!?]]
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* ''Manga/DearS'': In this case, Ren '''is not''' Kousaka's slave.
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* ''Manga/DearS'': In this case, Ren '''is not''' Kousaka's Takeya's slave.
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** PlayedWith in the XY series with Ash and Serena. Miette knows that Serena and Ash aren't dating, but she also knows about [[EveryoneCanSeeIt Serena's massive crush on him]], so she frequently acts as though they're an item anyway, and frequently tries to "steal Ash away" just to mess with Serena.
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** PlayedWith Exploited in the XY series with Ash and Serena. Miette knows that Serena and Ash aren't dating, but she also knows about [[EveryoneCanSeeIt Serena's massive crush on him]], so she frequently acts as though they're an item anyway, and frequently tries to "steal Ash away" just to mess with Serena.
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** Lyra asked Dawn if Ash was her boyfriend at some point in the Diamond and Pearl arc.
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** PlayedWith in the XY series with Ash and Serena. Miette knows that Serena and Ash aren't dating, but she also knows about [[EveryoneCanSeeIt Serena's massive crush on him]], so she frequently acts as though they're an item anyway, and frequently tries to "steal Ash away" just to mess with Serena.
** Lana's sisters seem ''sure'' that Ash is her boyfriend, but she insists he's not.
** Lana's sisters seem ''sure'' that Ash is her boyfriend, but she insists he's not.
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** When Gray returns to the guild, Juvia cries tears of joy, which flood the guildhall. The other members ask Gray to stop his girlfriend before they all drown. Gray's response? "She's not my freakin' girlfriend!"
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** In the ''100 Quest Arc'', Jellal visits the Sabertooth guild for info about a dangerous criminal--a young girl later revealed to be Touka, who recently joined Fairy Tail. Minerva calls out Jellal on being interested in another girl besides Erza, whom he denies being in a relationship with.
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** In the ''100 Year Quest Arc'', Jellal visits the Sabertooth guild for info about a dangerous criminal--a young girl later revealed to be Touka, who recently joined Fairy Tail. Minerva calls out Jellal on being interested in another girl besides Erza, whom he denies being in a relationship with.
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** In the ''100 Quest Arc'', Jellal visits the Sabertooth guild for info about a dangerous criminal--a young girl later revealed to be Touka, who recently joined Fairy Tail. Minerva calls out Jellal on being interested in another girl besides Erza, whom he denies being in a relationship with.
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* In ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', Future Trunks and Future Mai get this, when EveryoneCanSeeIt, even [[IdiotHero Goku]].
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** In ''Manga/AttackOnTitanJuniorHigh'', a man assumes Annie to be Bertolt's girlfriend. Like Mikasa, he blushes and denies it.
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* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': During her internship, [[PluckyGirl Uraraka]] talks to [[TheHero Deku]] through the cellphone, and the Pro Hero Gunhead quickly assumes she's talking to her boyfriend. She denies it, [[EveryoneCanSeeIt but her later actions make it clear she's developed a crush on him.]]
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* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''. Said by Triela to Maria Machiavelli, when the latter hints that Triela is in love with her [[TheHandler handler]] Hillshire. The usual awkwardness is absent as Triela makes it clear that even if she was in love, the fratello relationship doesn't work that way. Later Mimi handcuffs them together in a DitchTheBoyguards ploy, suggesting they [[ChainedHeat "talk about love"]].
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* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''. Said by Triela to Maria Machiavelli, when the latter hints that Triela is in love with her [[TheHandler handler]] Hillshire. The usual awkwardness is absent as Triela makes it clear that even if she was in love, the fratello relationship doesn't work that way. Later Mimi handcuffs them together in a DitchTheBoyguards DitchTheBodyguards ploy, suggesting they [[ChainedHeat "talk about love"]].
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* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''. Said by Triela to Maria Machiavelli, when the latter hints that Triela is in love with her [[TheHandler handler]] Hillshire. The usual awkwardness is absent as Triela makes it clear that even if she was in love, the fratello relationship doesn't work that way. [[CreatorsPet At least it's not supposed to]].
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* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''. Said by Triela to Maria Machiavelli, when the latter hints that Triela is in love with her [[TheHandler handler]] Hillshire. The usual awkwardness is absent as Triela makes it clear that even if she was in love, the fratello relationship doesn't work that way. [[CreatorsPet At least it's not supposed to]].Later Mimi handcuffs them together in a DitchTheBoyguards ploy, suggesting they [[ChainedHeat "talk about love"]].
-->'''Hilshire:''' Say, what did she mean by we should "Talk about love"?\\
'''Triela:''' ''(picking the lock on their handcuffs)'' I think she's got the wrong idea about us.\\
'''Hilshire:''' We're ''[[LikeBrotherAndSister fratello]]''. We don't need to talk about love.
-->'''Hilshire:''' Say, what did she mean by we should "Talk about love"?\\
'''Triela:''' ''(picking the lock on their handcuffs)'' I think she's got the wrong idea about us.\\
'''Hilshire:''' We're ''[[LikeBrotherAndSister fratello]]''. We don't need to talk about love.
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* Kyouhei and ocassionaly Sunako from Manga/TheWallflower say this when other characters infer that they have a romantic relationship. The belligerant sexual tension between the two and the quite obvious fact that the two are the hero and heroine in a romantic comedy make such claims baseless.
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* Kyouhei and ocassionaly occasionally Sunako from Manga/TheWallflower say this when other characters infer that they have a romantic relationship. The belligerant belligerent sexual tension between the two and the quite obvious fact that the two are the hero and heroine in a romantic comedy make such claims baseless.
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* ''Manga/DogsBulletAndCarnage'' have a double example of this. When Haine and Magato first met each other, both immediately assumed that the other is Naoto's boyfriend. Naoto is not amused.
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* ''Manga/DogsBulletAndCarnage'' ''Manga/DogsBulletsAndCarnage'' have a double example of this. When Haine and Magato first met each other, both immediately assumed that the other is Naoto's boyfriend. Naoto is not amused.
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* Hilariously subverted in BakaAndTestSummonTheBeasts. EmotionlessGirl ClingyJealousGirl Shouko denies it when someone accuses Yuuji to be her boyfriend... because to her, Yuuji is her ''husband.''
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* Hilariously subverted in BakaAndTestSummonTheBeasts.Anime/BakaAndTestSummonTheBeasts. EmotionlessGirl ClingyJealousGirl Shouko denies it when someone accuses Yuuji to be her boyfriend... because to her, Yuuji is her ''husband.''
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* ''WhenTheyCry'' Anime-only arc Musubienishi-hen has this happen to Mion and Keiichi. Takano comments that they look good together, and Mion vehemently denies it.
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* ''WhenTheyCry'' ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' Anime-only arc Musubienishi-hen has this happen to Mion and Keiichi. Takano comments that they look good together, and Mion vehemently denies it.
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** In ''Manga/{{Boruto}}'', Naruto's son, Boruto, and Sasuke's daughter, Sarada, have some scenes like this in which one time after bickering LikeAnOldMarriedCouple, Mitsuki says that they make a nice couple, to which they both simultaneously deny it.
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* This was Arima's response to his mother in ''Manga/HighSchoolNinjaGirlOtonashiSan'' when she said that Otonashi-san was no good for her son (since she wasn't rich). However, he said that if he did fall in love with her, it's none of his mothers business.
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* This was Arima's response to his mother in ''Manga/HighSchoolNinjaGirlOtonashiSan'' when she said that Otonashi-san was no good for her son (since she wasn't rich). However, he said that if he did fall in love with her, it's none of his mothers mother's business.
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* In ''Manga/DetectiveConan'', Ran gets very flustered when her friend teases her about being Shinichi's girlfriend. Interestingly, this is averted at two points in the manga. The first is when Conan teasingly asks her if Shinichi is the guy she's interested in only to be surprised when she freely admits that he is. The second is during a later case, when a woman asks Ran if she has a sweetheart (or, depending on you translate it, a lover), to which Ran replies, "I do have a person I like! [...] He's really smart and he's good at soccer. He's ready to help at any time. He's really cool... He's even a better detective than Dad!"
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* In ''Manga/DetectiveConan'', Ran gets very flustered when her friend teases her about being Shinichi's girlfriend. Interestingly, this is averted at two points in the manga. The first is when Conan teasingly asks her if Shinichi is the guy she's interested in only to be surprised when she freely admits that he is. The second is during a later case, when a woman asks Ran if she has a sweetheart (or, depending on you translate it, a lover), to which Ran replies, "I do have a person I like! [...] He's really smart and he's good at soccer. He's ready to help at any time. He's really cool... He's even a better detective than Dad!"Dad!" Later on, it takes about 250 chapters for her to respond to Shinichi's LoveConfession and once they become an OfficialCouple in chapter 1004, Ran is open to admit him as her boyfriend.
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--> [[EveryoneCanSeeItShe's not?]]
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--> [[EveryoneCanSeeItShe's [[EveryoneCanSeeIt She's not?]]
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** In the New Vestroia series, Dan tells [[TheSmurfettePrinciple Mira]] that Runo is not his girlfriend. The reaction from [[TheLancer Shun]] and Drago?
--> [[EveryoneCanSeeItShe's not?]]
--> [[EveryoneCanSeeItShe's not?]]
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* Emi from ''LightNovel/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'' is always assumed to be Maou's jealous ex by those who don't know that the two of them are actually a hero and demon lord from another world (and even by someone who actually ''does'' know, in the fourth light novel). The fact that she blushes while denying these accusations does not help her case.
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* Emi from ''LightNovel/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'' is always assumed to be Maou's jealous ex by those who don't know that the two of them are actually a hero and demon lord from another world (and even by someone who actually ''does'' know, in the fourth light novel). The fact that she blushes while denying these accusations does not help her case. After [[spoiler:[[OurPhlebotinumChild Alas=Ramus]]]] shows up, people start assuming that Emi is Maou's ''wife'', to the vehement objections of both of them.
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* Subverted in chapter 23 of ''Manga/{{Horimiya}}'' when Hori and Miyamura's RelationshipUpgrade is kicked off by Hori's father asking if they're dating.
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* ''Manga/CityHunter'': The usual Ryo/Kaori dynamic. They always deny a romantic relationship between them. No one believes them.
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** When Kano presses Ayano about Shintaro, she insists vehemently that there's nothing there. [[EveryoneCanSeeIt The rest of the cast and fandom disagree.]]
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** When Kano Takane presses Ayano about Shintaro, she insists vehemently that there's nothing there. [[EveryoneCanSeeIt The rest of the cast and fandom disagree.]]
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* ''Manga/FairyTail'':
** Lucy has to deal with this trope a number of times. People have mistakenly hooked her up with Natsu, Gray, Loki/Leo, and Ren from Blue Pegasus.
** This occurs with Elfman and Evergreen as well during the S-Class Trial Arc.
** When they were younger, Gray would constantly follow Erza around and challenge her to fights. His peers teased him for this and asked if the real reason was because he was in love with her. He got embarrassed and denied it.
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** Edward Elric says this frequently about Winry Rockbell. When Ed calls Winry to get his automail repaired after a run-in with the homunculi and Brosh asks him if he's calling his girlfriend. Ed gets so incensed by this proposition that his yelling reopens his wounds. Later Ed has a spectacular SpitTake at Hawkeye's suggestion that he loves Winry, which nearly drowns poor Hayate. It also happens in the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist 2003 anime]] after Edward passes the state alchemy exam and writes to Winry to tell her so; Nina says that "Winry is a pretty name" and asks if she is his girlfriend, at which point, he flips out to a comparable degree of his height BerserkButton.
** Winry insists to Rose that Ed is her childhood friend, despite the fact that she has already admitted to herself that she is in love with him.
* ''Manga/InuYasha'':
** It has Inuyasha calling Kagome "shard detector" in early chapters/episodes to deny any relationship with the reincarnation of his old girlfriend. She resents it every time, at first because she's a person, not just a detector, and later because of the BelligerentSexualTension between them. The most famous instance of this is probably Miroku's entry episode (episode 16, "Mystical Hand of the Amorous Monk, Miroku!") near the end, where he denies a relationship... with LuminescentBlush and stuttering.
** Even before that, Inuyasha has the famous "We're ''not'' lovers" exchange with Kagome in the Thunder brothers arc.
** Kagome also has several "He is not my boyfriend" moments, including one where her friends ask her about her boyfriend, and she replies that they are not together and were "thrown together by a cruel twist of fate." This confuses them greatly as they were referring to Houjo.
* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'':
** Setsuna is always saying this regarding her [[BodyguardCrush relationship]] with Konoka, especially after their impromptu NotADate in the manga. Everyone else [[EveryoneCanSeeIt just smiles]].
** [[{{Tsundere}} Asuna]] denies that she has feelings for [[ChickMagnet Negi]]. Nobody ([[EveryoneCanSeeIt including people who have known her for weeks or even less]]) buys that.
* The standard response for Naru concerning Keitaro in ''Manga/LoveHina'', only she goes further by [[{{Tsundere}} rattling off his bad qualities defensively]]. She even does this once by reflex [[spoiler: after they're engaged.]]
* In ''Manga/{{Jin}}'', when Ryoma suggests that there's something between Jin and Saki, the doctor freaks out and claims vehemently that it's nothing. He's mostly concerned with the fact that he's 36 and she's 16.
* Most of the romantic comedy in ''Manga/DotHackLegendOfTheTwilight'' revolves around Shugo's and Rena's attraction to each other--and their efforts to deny it--in the first half of the series (they stop being embarrassed about in the second half).
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': The simultaneous version. Asuka starts chewing out Shinji for not bringing their lunches, while he tries to get his side in. Toji tosses off a remark that they're arguing LikeAnOldMarriedCouple. Cue double LuminescentBlush (they HAD kissed not many days earlier), then simultaneous denial in perfect stereo.
* A similar version is executed in ''Anime/RahXephon'' with Ayato and Meg, the Shinji-Asuka equivalents of the show, down to the simultaneous blushing shout. In this case however, their statement is true: Meg does have a crush on Ayato but he's interested in Haruka.
* The title character from ''Anime/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater'' obviously has feelings for Jean, but she declares otherwise to both Grandis and Marie when both call her out about it. (Naturally, since she has never known anything about love before, she does not know how to acknowledge it or express herself.)
* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'':
** A large portion of their fellow students assume that Haruhi and Kyon are dating; Kyon's friend Taniguchi in particular is completely convinced of this, no matter how often Kyon says otherwise. Also, after Kyon and Nagato [[spoiler:finally defeat Ryoko the GirlWithPsychoWeapon]], Taniguchi finds Yuki lying against Kyon while holding onto his arms, and now Taniguchi firmly believes that Kyon had sex with Yuki in the classroom... Kyon's heated (for him) over-explanation doesn't help. His friend points out that for both [[DeadpanSnarker Kyon]] ''and'' [[TheStoic Yuki]] to show that much emotion over anything is very suspicious. Which is absolutely correct.
** After Haruhi and Yuki, there is an ''{{inverted|Trope}}'' case in the 7th novel with [[spoiler: Mikuru and Kyon. Kyon is asked if Mikuru is his girlfriend by some (apparently) random guy. Kyon actually replies that she ''is'' his girlfriend, to make the situation not any more awkward.]]
** Kyon seems to have a knack for this trope. The 9th novel mentions that [[spoiler:people apparently thought his strange friendship with Sasaki meant that she was his girlfriend]].
* ''WhenTheyCry'' Anime-only arc Musubienishi-hen has this happen to Mion and Keiichi. Takano comments that they look good together, and Mion vehemently denies it.
** Keiichi, however, does not, and mumbles that he "wouldn't mind being Mion's boyfriend". After a pause, he stutters that it was a joke.
* Chiaki from ''Manga/NodameCantabile'' keeps denying vehemently that Nodame is his girlfriend--even though he spends massive amounts of time with her, mostly at his own place. Things don't get any clearer when he decides to bring her to see his father, which [[spoiler:does lead to a temporary break-up though]].
** Not to mention hugging her a few times, kissing her a couple of times, asking her to come to Paris with him, letting her stay in his room when he's not around, letting her share a bed with him... the man is stubborn.
* Second episode of ''Anime/DigimonSavers'', as Masaru and Yoshino are arguing:
-->'''Chika:''' Stop arguing LikeAnOldMarriedCouple.\\
'''Masaru & Yoshino:''' WHO ARE YOU CALLING A COUPLE!?
* Souichi from ''Manga/TheTyrantFallsInLove'' reacts violently when, after having sex, Morinaga suggests that they are "lovers" and later on, "sex friends" (his response to the latter is punctuated by dumping hot coffee on Morinaga's head). All this leaves poor Morinaga wondering just what kind of relationship they ''do'' have.
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
** The anime did this a few times with Ash being mistaken for being Misty's boyfriend, especially in the second movie.
** One rather serious time was when James and Jesse sprung their trap on the two (while they were riding on a blimp), but then, realizing Brock wasn't there, mistook them for lovebirds on a date. Of course, they both vehemently denied it and got angry... And then everyone realized [[WhoIsDriving no-one was piloting the blimp.]] It didn't end well.
** Misty was also asked if ''Tracey'' was her boyfriend. Naturally, she denied it.
** Also, Drew and May invoked this trope as well, when Harley directly asked them if they were dating.
** And in one episode, a couple accused both Ash and May ''and'' Jesse and James of being couples. Hilariously, it is during a FeudEpisode between boys and girls, and the inquirers believe their bickering is a sign of their closeness.
* ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' toys with this in the Emerald arc. We may never know if Ruby actually forgot, refuses to admit his feelings in public, or secretly likes the reaction, but his feigned amnesia[[spoiler: in regards to his confession to Sapphire at the end of the R/S arc]] drives Sapphire up a wall so goddamn hard.
* Makoto and Sekai in ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays'' do this constantly, even after [[spoiler: they start sleeping together]].
* Rina Touin from ''Manga/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch'' starts out saying this about Masahiro Hamasaki, especially in the manga (his anime incarnation gets off a little lighter, mostly because he's introduced at about the same time as Nagisa and he and Hanon need all the help they can get).
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Ranma and Akane repeatedly deny that they share romantic interest. In fact, whenever someone mentions [[PerfectlyArrangedMarriage them being engaged,]] they immediately try to explain that it was their parents' choice, not their own choice. Sometimes, however, when some other man is after Akane, Ranma doesn't deny it. He actually brings it up and says that she's his fiancée. It's one of his CrazyJealousGuy habits.
* Creator/RumikoTakahashi [[BelligerentSexualTension seems to like this trope]], as it appears in ''Manga/MaisonIkkoku'' and ''Manga/InuYasha'' as well.
* Used twice in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''. First, with [[CoolBigSis Kurenai-sensei]] and [[FormerTeenRebel Asuma-sensei]] [[spoiler: (turns out later they ''were'' dating and she's pregnant with his baby... too bad he's dead)]] and later with [[ObfuscatingStupidity Shikamaru]] and [[LadyOfWar Temari]] [[spoiler: (although they weren't dating at the time, they hooked up at some point and were shown as married with a kid in chapter 700.)]]
* ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'':
** [[MoeAnthropomorphism Sweden calls his partner Finland his wife]], and so do [[FourthWallMailSlot fans]]. Finland denies it every time, partly because he's [[TheBigGuy scared of Sweden]].
** Another variation: Japan had sex with his close friend Greece (more exactly, Greece learns that Japan's sex life is rather "non active" and gives him a "private lesson" to help him) and is in denial about that too. [[AllJustADream "It was just a dream!]] [[Funny/AxisPowersHetalia A dream! A DREAAAAAAM!"]]
*** And in another strip, while holding a practice conversation in Japanese with Greece, Greece asks him who "Nekojiro" [aka the pretend name Japan assumes for himself in that conversation] gets along with. Japan replies, "His friend, Nekokichi-san." Greece smiles and asks if ''he's'' "Nekokichi-san", which causes Japan to blush and stammer for a bit before replying with "No comment." Take from ''that'' what you will.
** And England gets it played straight in a certain drama CD when France calls an Anglo-American argument everyone was eavesdropping on a "lover's spat" which he of course denies.
** Switzerland would also like to remind you that he and Austria had never, ever, ''ever'' been HeterosexualLifePartners.
* ''[[Anime/{{Bakugan}} Bakugan Battle Brawlers]]'' gets a few of these. [[TheHero Dan]] and [[{{Tsundere}} Runo]] have the majority of these, more commonly in season 1, but [[TheChick Julie]] recently gave the "He is ''not'' my boyfriend!" line regarding [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend Billy]]. This prompted a response of, "Now she's breaking up with me!" from Billy, who had an obvious crush on Julie from the very beginning. This was all of about a minute before [[ChildhoodFriendRomance things changed]].
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** Averted in the manga. After Rukia's habit of dragging Ichigo off to hunt hollows starts rumours flying around the school (actually, Keigo starts them to cause trouble but Ichigo never finds this out), the girls end up asking Rukia (to her SpitTake surprise) if there's anything going on and Rukia confirms there isn't. That is the end of it and this trope never comes into play. WordOfGod confirmed he wasn't interested in writing a romance story and views Ichigo and Rukia's relationship as [[PlatonicLifePartners close but not romantic]].
** This trope is played straight in the anime, however, as the animators rewrote this scene to include rainbows and turn it into a JustFriends scene complete with all the romantic undercurrent this trope evokes. The animators have written this trope for Ichigo and Rukia into the anime on as many occasions as they can get away with, usually in filler scenes where they will use filler characters in an EveryoneCanSeeIt manner or even rewrite canon characters (such as Nel) in a ClingyJealousGirl way to imply there's something going on between Ichigo and Rukia. None of it is based on anything from the manga, however.
** In ''[[Anime/BleachMemoriesOfNobody Memories of Nobody]]'', Ichigo is forced to buy Senna a new ribbon after she accidentally steals one. The shopper keeper asks if it's a present for his girlfriend, triggering this trope.
* Camie the mermaid in ''Manga/OnePiece'' does a variation of this trope when asked if she was Hachi's girlfriend, and her blushing and nervous reply neatly confirms her love for him, which had been strongly implied ever since his cover arc.
* Wanna see a funny face? Ask ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'''s {{Mam|aBear}}ori if [[MagnificentBastard Hiruma]] is her boyfriend. [[spoiler: By the end of the series, she's practically using the SubordinateExcuse.]]
* [[{{Tsundere}} Taiga]] and Ryuji of ''LightNovel/{{Toradora}}'' are a shining example of this. Taiga goes on a massive parade of destruction upon finding out that the whole class was gossiping about them. It doesn't help that Taiga hangs out at Ryuji's house and he makes her Bentou every day, and they go to and from school together and they eat dinner together just about every day.
* [[NiceGirl Nagisa]] and [[DeadpanSnarker Tomoya]] from ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'' anime, before they went on and became the OfficialCouple. And even then, the denial is relatively minimal. When directly confronted with the accusation that she and Tomoya might be dating, Nagisa hastily looks away with a nervous blush and replies with what basically boils down to, "May we talk about something else, please?" In the Visual Novel, Nagisa and Tomoya are more open about their relationship, although Tomoya still tries to hide it from Sunohara out of embarrassment ([[EveryoneCanSeeIt it doesn't work]]).
* Hilariously subverted in BakaAndTestSummonTheBeasts. EmotionlessGirl ClingyJealousGirl Shouko denies it when someone accuses Yuuji to be her boyfriend... because to her, Yuuji is her ''husband.''
* [[TheStoic Fudo Yusei]] of ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' pulls this off after [[spoiler: Aki's dad gets Yusei to help Aki after her duel with Misty. Martha jokes Yusei for crushing on Aki--a fact that Yusei vehemently denies.]]
** Was used before in ''[[Anime/YuGiOh Duel Monsters]]'', when Mai saw Yugi and Téa hanging out (before the Battle City is announced) and asks if they are dating (technically they kind of ''were'' on a date, but Téa still points vehemently that they're just ''friends'').
** Happens early in ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'' to Yuya and Yuzu. Sora asks Yuzu to get Yuya to mentor him, saying he'd do it if his "girlfriend" asked him to. They both deny it(with Yuzu in particular blushing), but Yuya goes a step further by saying he wouldn't be with a "rude girl" like her. Cue paper fan smack from Yuzu.
* Said by Kousaka from ''Manga/{{Genshiken}}'', [[CloudCuckooLander in his usual flippant way]]. His "not girlfriend" tries to change this any way she can, with little success. This doesn't last very long (all of three chapters, in fact), as the GenreSavvy Genshiken tell him to just admit it. He does, and thereafter goes from denying it to just not making a big deal out of it.
* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''. Said by Triela to Maria Machiavelli, when the latter hints that Triela is in love with her [[TheHandler handler]] Hillshire. The usual awkwardness is absent as Triela makes it clear that even if she was in love, the fratello relationship doesn't work that way. [[CreatorsPet At least it's not supposed to]].
* ''Manga/DearS'': In this case, Ren '''is not''' Kousaka's slave.
* ''Manga/SkipBeat'' opens with Sho stating this about Kyoko, his [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend childhood friend]] [[LikeBrotherAndSister whom his parents raised]], whom he was essentially using as a maid. Of course, [[spoiler: after he says it enough times and she [[BeautifulAllAlong successfully enters show business]], he realizes that it's not true--by which time she has stopped seeking his affections and is [[ObliviousToLove completely oblivious to the fact that he is now actually seeking hers]].]] Sho and Kyoko continue to deny that they are or ever have been dating, even after [[spoiler: he states that she ''belongs to him'' and attempts to drive off his romantic rivals.]]
* A variation of this is found in ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' with Sōsuke about Kaname. During a dance party on the ''Tuatha De Dannan'', Kurz mentions to Sōsuke that Kaname is very pretty, cute, and has a nice sense of style. ''Any'' man would fall for her in an instant. Sōsuke coldly and cuttingly replies that he wouldn't know, since he isn't interested. This is ''very'' interesting, considering that this might be one of the few instances where Sōsuke acts like a {{Tsundere}} (breaking from his usual [[TheStoic stoic]] manner).
** And likewise with Kaname--as a {{Tsundere}} you'd think she'd blow her stack when asked this question, but she usually acts embarrassed instead. Mind you their formal relationship (with Sōsuke as her secret bodyguard) isn't something she can explain to people either.
* Yuko from ''Manga/XxxHolic'' displays this kind of attitude in relation to her not-boyfriend Clow, and she tends to get rather vindictive should someone suggest she had some kind of relationship with the guy.
* Kanna and Motoki from ''Manga/KoeDeOshigoto'' have this reaction to the suggestion that they're a couple, with the same {{Speech Bubble|s}}, no less.
* ''Manga/TriGun''. When a couple bodyguards assume she's fighting with her "boyfriend", the Broom Boy (a.k.a. Vash the Stampede), Meryl Stryfe is very quick to inform them that not only is he ''not'' her boyfriend, but she doesn't even like him! Whatever she has to tell herself to get through the job.
* Often said by Yusuke in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' about Keiko.
* ''Manga/NanaToKaoru'' does this with both Nana and Kaoru ''[[http://www.mangatoshokan.com/read/Nana-to-Kaoru/Quicker/32/9 simultaneously.]]''
* In ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'', Fukuda volunteers to help Aoki with her manga illustrations, but is keen to make it clear to his editor, who asks why he is helping a rival mangaka, that he has no interest in her. It ultimately turns out that [[spoiler:he really doesn't have any apparent feelings for her, since she ends up with Hiramaru without him being at all displeased about it]], and it proves his commitment to "Team Fukuda" changing Jump.
-->'''Fukuda:''' And just for the record, I don't have feelings for her or anything. I actually kind of hate her.\\
'''Yujiro:''' You don't act like you hate her.
* Miu of ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' complains loudly whenever anyone calls the title character her boyfriend.
-->'''Miu:''' He's not my boyfriend! He's more like a little brother, or even a dog, you know like a stray dog you bring home because you feel sorry for it?\\
'''Kasara:''' Hey, aren't you taking that a little too far?
* ''LightNovel/{{Oreimo}}''
** Spelled out by Kyousuke regarding Manami in episode 6. His friend Akagi calls him out on the seeming hypocrisy of his explanation.
--->'''Akagi:''' So basically she's nothing more than a childhood friend to you, you're not going out with her, you have no feelings for her, but you won't allow other guys to make a move on her?\\
'''Kyousuke:''' Yeah, so?\\
'''Akagi:''' ''[sighs]''
** The original novel, however, goes on with this PlatonicLifePartners-ish excuse he makes to the reader when he feels his phrase sounded like he was in denial:
--->''Well, the answer was my honest. I just don't think there is a sharp-eyed guy that could see the appeal behind Manami's homeliness, but if he does appear, I'm going to defend her with all I have. Got it? It's in her company I can relax the most, even with nothing romantic about that. I won't give in to anyone who'd try and take that away from me.''
* In ''Manga/LuckyStar'' Most of the times Misao asks Kagami about Konata.
* In ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack: Shikkoku no Hana'' [[HeroAntagonist Misaki Kirihara]] was teased by a friend about her little obsession:
-->'''Kanami:''' ''[[[CheshireCatGrin grinning]]]'' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Is it, by any chance]], that you don't want to follow ''Contractors'', but a ''[[DatingCatwoman certain man]]''?\\
'''Misaki:''' ''[turning to her, frowning, [[LuminescentBlush blushing]], sweating and screaming]'' Wha--that's not...\\
'''Kanami:''' ''[cheerful]'' Oh, I knew it! Your dear BK-201. ''Your panicking confirmation.''
* ''LightNovel/SpiceAndWolf'' has several instances of Lawrence calmly explaining to others that he and Holo aren't in that sort of relationship. At some point along the way, it starts becoming something of a lie. The series also inverts it when Lawrence tells other people they meet that Holo is his wife (an easy explanation as to why a young woman would be travelling alone with him), which is, naturally, untrue.
* In ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' people generally assume that Mikado and Anri are dating. When they explain that they aren't, the typical reaction is usually, "Really? ...sweet, I have a shot at her, then!" Note: [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove They do not]].
** Aoba also says this to his [[spoiler:Blue Square members]] regarding Mairu and Kururi. Turns out it's rather tough to explain away [[spoiler:that they both kissed him]].
* Aria and Kinji of ''LightNovel/AriaTheScarletAmmo'' say that about each other several times.
* Fujimura from ''Manga/FujimuraKunMates'' insists that he and [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Eri]] are just friends. But he never completely rejects her constant advances.
* In the ending of ''Manga/MuhyoAndRoji'', Busujima tells Imai that her "boyfriend" Roji [[spoiler:got back together with Muhyo despite failing the advancement test]], prompting her to get angry at the use of the term.
* In ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'', Akito repeatedly denies that Yurika is his girlfriend or that he's even interested in her. She refuses to believe that however, much to his chagrin.
* Shouma and Ringo from ''Anime/MawaruPenguindrum'' go through several rounds of saying this about the other.
* Gohan towards Videl in ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. He continually denies that anything is going on between him and Videl, even when EveryoneCanSeeIt.
* ''Manga/FruitsBasket'':
** Kyo gets pissed when any of his family teasingly suggests that he has a crush on Tohru. It's turned on its head at the end of the series, when some classmates notice the two being clingy to each other. When they ask as a joke if the two are now dating, Kyo matter-of-factly states that yes, they are.
** A rather funny variant happens at one point, when a girl tries to confess her love for Kyo, only for him to brush him off. Uotani makes a snarky comment, leading to the girl somehow concluding that ''Uotani'' is the girl he's in love with. Since they don't exactly get along, they don't take to this theory well.
---> DO YOU HAVE KNOTHOLES FOR EYES???
* In ''Manga/{{Kochikame}}'', Komachi Ono's parents mistakenly believe that their daughter and Kankichi Ryotsu are a couple, despite her constantly trying to tell them otherwise. They also take the two's constant bickering and fighting as their cover for flirting.
* In ''LightNovel/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions'' basically most of the interactions between Shinka and Kumin, regarding Dekomori in the movie and the 2nd Season.
* Taken a step further in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' when Kiyoh assumes that Gimmy and Darry [[IsThatCuteKidYours are two kids that]] [[BelligerentSexualTension Kamina and Yoko]] had together.
--> '''Kiyoh:''' Yoko! When did you have children? Don't tell me you and Kamina--?!\\
'''Yoko:''' As if that'd happen!
* In ''Manga/RaveMaster'', Haru and Elie do this a lot, starting when Haru's father asks if they are together. They finally admit their feelings near the end of the story.
-->'''Gale Glory''': Ha ha! You got yourself quite a catch there, son. Nice rack too.\\
'''Haru Glory''': I told you... it's not like that.
* [[BelligerentSexualTension Tomoe and Nanami]] do this a lot in ''Manga/KamisamaKiss.'' Though by chapter 38 of the manga Nanami privately admits to herself that she hopes to change that.
* In ''Manga/DetectiveConan'', Ran gets very flustered when her friend teases her about being Shinichi's girlfriend. Interestingly, this is averted at two points in the manga. The first is when Conan teasingly asks her if Shinichi is the guy she's interested in only to be surprised when she freely admits that he is. The second is during a later case, when a woman asks Ran if she has a sweetheart (or, depending on you translate it, a lover), to which Ran replies, "I do have a person I like! [...] He's really smart and he's good at soccer. He's ready to help at any time. He's really cool... He's even a better detective than Dad!"
* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', Ian at one point refers to Eren as Mikasa's boyfriend. She blushes and denies it.
* Kyouhei and ocassionaly Sunako from Manga/TheWallflower say this when other characters infer that they have a romantic relationship. The belligerant sexual tension between the two and the quite obvious fact that the two are the hero and heroine in a romantic comedy make such claims baseless.
* ''Franchise/KagerouProject'':
** During Chapter 18 of the manga, Hiyori asks Momo about her 'boyfriend' Shintaro. Being brother and sister, the latter two blurt out this trope in mutual disgust.
** When Kano presses Ayano about Shintaro, she insists vehemently that there's nothing there. [[EveryoneCanSeeIt The rest of the cast and fandom disagree.]]
* This was Arima's response to his mother in ''Manga/HighSchoolNinjaGirlOtonashiSan'' when she said that Otonashi-san was no good for her son (since she wasn't rich). However, he said that if he did fall in love with her, it's none of his mothers business.
* Emi from ''LightNovel/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'' is always assumed to be Maou's jealous ex by those who don't know that the two of them are actually a hero and demon lord from another world (and even by someone who actually ''does'' know, in the fourth light novel). The fact that she blushes while denying these accusations does not help her case.
* Anime/SamuraiFlamenco: Mari assumes that [[HoYay Goto and Masayoshi]] are a couple. [[EveryoneCanSeeIt Twice]]. Goto denies it both times.
* ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'' has the Argama crew thinking that Kamille and Fa are a couple and termed their quarreling as a means of [[BelligerentSexualTension "recreation"]].
* This is done hilariously in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' Season 2 where Mileina asked Setsuna and Marina if they're lovers, the two answered simultaneously that they're not in a very flat expression. Then when Mileina asked Allelujah and Marie/Soma the same question, all she got is a LuminescentBlush from both of them, causing her to {{squee}} in delight.
* ''Manga/KingdomHeartsII'': At separate points, Sora is referred to as Kairi's boyfriend and Kairi is referred to as Sora's girlfriend. Both deny it, but it's very clear that they are romantically interested in each other.
* ''Manga/DogsBulletAndCarnage'' have a double example of this. When Haine and Magato first met each other, both immediately assumed that the other is Naoto's boyfriend. Naoto is not amused.
* Freighted with extra meaning in ''[[Manga/KanojoNiNaruHi Kanojo Ni Naru Hi Another]]'' as the "girlfriend" in question is a former boy who has spent months vehemently denying and concealing an involuntary GenderBender and his would-be love interest is afraid treating him as a girl (let alone claiming him as a girlfriend) would backfire.
----
* ''Manga/FairyTail'':
** Lucy has to deal with this trope a number of times. People have mistakenly hooked her up with Natsu, Gray, Loki/Leo, and Ren from Blue Pegasus.
** This occurs with Elfman and Evergreen as well during the S-Class Trial Arc.
** When they were younger, Gray would constantly follow Erza around and challenge her to fights. His peers teased him for this and asked if the real reason was because he was in love with her. He got embarrassed and denied it.
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** Edward Elric says this frequently about Winry Rockbell. When Ed calls Winry to get his automail repaired after a run-in with the homunculi and Brosh asks him if he's calling his girlfriend. Ed gets so incensed by this proposition that his yelling reopens his wounds. Later Ed has a spectacular SpitTake at Hawkeye's suggestion that he loves Winry, which nearly drowns poor Hayate. It also happens in the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist 2003 anime]] after Edward passes the state alchemy exam and writes to Winry to tell her so; Nina says that "Winry is a pretty name" and asks if she is his girlfriend, at which point, he flips out to a comparable degree of his height BerserkButton.
** Winry insists to Rose that Ed is her childhood friend, despite the fact that she has already admitted to herself that she is in love with him.
* ''Manga/InuYasha'':
** It has Inuyasha calling Kagome "shard detector" in early chapters/episodes to deny any relationship with the reincarnation of his old girlfriend. She resents it every time, at first because she's a person, not just a detector, and later because of the BelligerentSexualTension between them. The most famous instance of this is probably Miroku's entry episode (episode 16, "Mystical Hand of the Amorous Monk, Miroku!") near the end, where he denies a relationship... with LuminescentBlush and stuttering.
** Even before that, Inuyasha has the famous "We're ''not'' lovers" exchange with Kagome in the Thunder brothers arc.
** Kagome also has several "He is not my boyfriend" moments, including one where her friends ask her about her boyfriend, and she replies that they are not together and were "thrown together by a cruel twist of fate." This confuses them greatly as they were referring to Houjo.
* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'':
** Setsuna is always saying this regarding her [[BodyguardCrush relationship]] with Konoka, especially after their impromptu NotADate in the manga. Everyone else [[EveryoneCanSeeIt just smiles]].
** [[{{Tsundere}} Asuna]] denies that she has feelings for [[ChickMagnet Negi]]. Nobody ([[EveryoneCanSeeIt including people who have known her for weeks or even less]]) buys that.
* The standard response for Naru concerning Keitaro in ''Manga/LoveHina'', only she goes further by [[{{Tsundere}} rattling off his bad qualities defensively]]. She even does this once by reflex [[spoiler: after they're engaged.]]
* In ''Manga/{{Jin}}'', when Ryoma suggests that there's something between Jin and Saki, the doctor freaks out and claims vehemently that it's nothing. He's mostly concerned with the fact that he's 36 and she's 16.
* Most of the romantic comedy in ''Manga/DotHackLegendOfTheTwilight'' revolves around Shugo's and Rena's attraction to each other--and their efforts to deny it--in the first half of the series (they stop being embarrassed about in the second half).
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': The simultaneous version. Asuka starts chewing out Shinji for not bringing their lunches, while he tries to get his side in. Toji tosses off a remark that they're arguing LikeAnOldMarriedCouple. Cue double LuminescentBlush (they HAD kissed not many days earlier), then simultaneous denial in perfect stereo.
* A similar version is executed in ''Anime/RahXephon'' with Ayato and Meg, the Shinji-Asuka equivalents of the show, down to the simultaneous blushing shout. In this case however, their statement is true: Meg does have a crush on Ayato but he's interested in Haruka.
* The title character from ''Anime/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater'' obviously has feelings for Jean, but she declares otherwise to both Grandis and Marie when both call her out about it. (Naturally, since she has never known anything about love before, she does not know how to acknowledge it or express herself.)
* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'':
** A large portion of their fellow students assume that Haruhi and Kyon are dating; Kyon's friend Taniguchi in particular is completely convinced of this, no matter how often Kyon says otherwise. Also, after Kyon and Nagato [[spoiler:finally defeat Ryoko the GirlWithPsychoWeapon]], Taniguchi finds Yuki lying against Kyon while holding onto his arms, and now Taniguchi firmly believes that Kyon had sex with Yuki in the classroom... Kyon's heated (for him) over-explanation doesn't help. His friend points out that for both [[DeadpanSnarker Kyon]] ''and'' [[TheStoic Yuki]] to show that much emotion over anything is very suspicious. Which is absolutely correct.
** After Haruhi and Yuki, there is an ''{{inverted|Trope}}'' case in the 7th novel with [[spoiler: Mikuru and Kyon. Kyon is asked if Mikuru is his girlfriend by some (apparently) random guy. Kyon actually replies that she ''is'' his girlfriend, to make the situation not any more awkward.]]
** Kyon seems to have a knack for this trope. The 9th novel mentions that [[spoiler:people apparently thought his strange friendship with Sasaki meant that she was his girlfriend]].
* ''WhenTheyCry'' Anime-only arc Musubienishi-hen has this happen to Mion and Keiichi. Takano comments that they look good together, and Mion vehemently denies it.
** Keiichi, however, does not, and mumbles that he "wouldn't mind being Mion's boyfriend". After a pause, he stutters that it was a joke.
* Chiaki from ''Manga/NodameCantabile'' keeps denying vehemently that Nodame is his girlfriend--even though he spends massive amounts of time with her, mostly at his own place. Things don't get any clearer when he decides to bring her to see his father, which [[spoiler:does lead to a temporary break-up though]].
** Not to mention hugging her a few times, kissing her a couple of times, asking her to come to Paris with him, letting her stay in his room when he's not around, letting her share a bed with him... the man is stubborn.
* Second episode of ''Anime/DigimonSavers'', as Masaru and Yoshino are arguing:
-->'''Chika:''' Stop arguing LikeAnOldMarriedCouple.\\
'''Masaru & Yoshino:''' WHO ARE YOU CALLING A COUPLE!?
* Souichi from ''Manga/TheTyrantFallsInLove'' reacts violently when, after having sex, Morinaga suggests that they are "lovers" and later on, "sex friends" (his response to the latter is punctuated by dumping hot coffee on Morinaga's head). All this leaves poor Morinaga wondering just what kind of relationship they ''do'' have.
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
** The anime did this a few times with Ash being mistaken for being Misty's boyfriend, especially in the second movie.
** One rather serious time was when James and Jesse sprung their trap on the two (while they were riding on a blimp), but then, realizing Brock wasn't there, mistook them for lovebirds on a date. Of course, they both vehemently denied it and got angry... And then everyone realized [[WhoIsDriving no-one was piloting the blimp.]] It didn't end well.
** Misty was also asked if ''Tracey'' was her boyfriend. Naturally, she denied it.
** Also, Drew and May invoked this trope as well, when Harley directly asked them if they were dating.
** And in one episode, a couple accused both Ash and May ''and'' Jesse and James of being couples. Hilariously, it is during a FeudEpisode between boys and girls, and the inquirers believe their bickering is a sign of their closeness.
* ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' toys with this in the Emerald arc. We may never know if Ruby actually forgot, refuses to admit his feelings in public, or secretly likes the reaction, but his feigned amnesia[[spoiler: in regards to his confession to Sapphire at the end of the R/S arc]] drives Sapphire up a wall so goddamn hard.
* Makoto and Sekai in ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays'' do this constantly, even after [[spoiler: they start sleeping together]].
* Rina Touin from ''Manga/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch'' starts out saying this about Masahiro Hamasaki, especially in the manga (his anime incarnation gets off a little lighter, mostly because he's introduced at about the same time as Nagisa and he and Hanon need all the help they can get).
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Ranma and Akane repeatedly deny that they share romantic interest. In fact, whenever someone mentions [[PerfectlyArrangedMarriage them being engaged,]] they immediately try to explain that it was their parents' choice, not their own choice. Sometimes, however, when some other man is after Akane, Ranma doesn't deny it. He actually brings it up and says that she's his fiancée. It's one of his CrazyJealousGuy habits.
* Creator/RumikoTakahashi [[BelligerentSexualTension seems to like this trope]], as it appears in ''Manga/MaisonIkkoku'' and ''Manga/InuYasha'' as well.
* Used twice in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''. First, with [[CoolBigSis Kurenai-sensei]] and [[FormerTeenRebel Asuma-sensei]] [[spoiler: (turns out later they ''were'' dating and she's pregnant with his baby... too bad he's dead)]] and later with [[ObfuscatingStupidity Shikamaru]] and [[LadyOfWar Temari]] [[spoiler: (although they weren't dating at the time, they hooked up at some point and were shown as married with a kid in chapter 700.)]]
* ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'':
** [[MoeAnthropomorphism Sweden calls his partner Finland his wife]], and so do [[FourthWallMailSlot fans]]. Finland denies it every time, partly because he's [[TheBigGuy scared of Sweden]].
** Another variation: Japan had sex with his close friend Greece (more exactly, Greece learns that Japan's sex life is rather "non active" and gives him a "private lesson" to help him) and is in denial about that too. [[AllJustADream "It was just a dream!]] [[Funny/AxisPowersHetalia A dream! A DREAAAAAAM!"]]
*** And in another strip, while holding a practice conversation in Japanese with Greece, Greece asks him who "Nekojiro" [aka the pretend name Japan assumes for himself in that conversation] gets along with. Japan replies, "His friend, Nekokichi-san." Greece smiles and asks if ''he's'' "Nekokichi-san", which causes Japan to blush and stammer for a bit before replying with "No comment." Take from ''that'' what you will.
** And England gets it played straight in a certain drama CD when France calls an Anglo-American argument everyone was eavesdropping on a "lover's spat" which he of course denies.
** Switzerland would also like to remind you that he and Austria had never, ever, ''ever'' been HeterosexualLifePartners.
* ''[[Anime/{{Bakugan}} Bakugan Battle Brawlers]]'' gets a few of these. [[TheHero Dan]] and [[{{Tsundere}} Runo]] have the majority of these, more commonly in season 1, but [[TheChick Julie]] recently gave the "He is ''not'' my boyfriend!" line regarding [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend Billy]]. This prompted a response of, "Now she's breaking up with me!" from Billy, who had an obvious crush on Julie from the very beginning. This was all of about a minute before [[ChildhoodFriendRomance things changed]].
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** Averted in the manga. After Rukia's habit of dragging Ichigo off to hunt hollows starts rumours flying around the school (actually, Keigo starts them to cause trouble but Ichigo never finds this out), the girls end up asking Rukia (to her SpitTake surprise) if there's anything going on and Rukia confirms there isn't. That is the end of it and this trope never comes into play. WordOfGod confirmed he wasn't interested in writing a romance story and views Ichigo and Rukia's relationship as [[PlatonicLifePartners close but not romantic]].
** This trope is played straight in the anime, however, as the animators rewrote this scene to include rainbows and turn it into a JustFriends scene complete with all the romantic undercurrent this trope evokes. The animators have written this trope for Ichigo and Rukia into the anime on as many occasions as they can get away with, usually in filler scenes where they will use filler characters in an EveryoneCanSeeIt manner or even rewrite canon characters (such as Nel) in a ClingyJealousGirl way to imply there's something going on between Ichigo and Rukia. None of it is based on anything from the manga, however.
** In ''[[Anime/BleachMemoriesOfNobody Memories of Nobody]]'', Ichigo is forced to buy Senna a new ribbon after she accidentally steals one. The shopper keeper asks if it's a present for his girlfriend, triggering this trope.
* Camie the mermaid in ''Manga/OnePiece'' does a variation of this trope when asked if she was Hachi's girlfriend, and her blushing and nervous reply neatly confirms her love for him, which had been strongly implied ever since his cover arc.
* Wanna see a funny face? Ask ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'''s {{Mam|aBear}}ori if [[MagnificentBastard Hiruma]] is her boyfriend. [[spoiler: By the end of the series, she's practically using the SubordinateExcuse.]]
* [[{{Tsundere}} Taiga]] and Ryuji of ''LightNovel/{{Toradora}}'' are a shining example of this. Taiga goes on a massive parade of destruction upon finding out that the whole class was gossiping about them. It doesn't help that Taiga hangs out at Ryuji's house and he makes her Bentou every day, and they go to and from school together and they eat dinner together just about every day.
* [[NiceGirl Nagisa]] and [[DeadpanSnarker Tomoya]] from ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'' anime, before they went on and became the OfficialCouple. And even then, the denial is relatively minimal. When directly confronted with the accusation that she and Tomoya might be dating, Nagisa hastily looks away with a nervous blush and replies with what basically boils down to, "May we talk about something else, please?" In the Visual Novel, Nagisa and Tomoya are more open about their relationship, although Tomoya still tries to hide it from Sunohara out of embarrassment ([[EveryoneCanSeeIt it doesn't work]]).
* Hilariously subverted in BakaAndTestSummonTheBeasts. EmotionlessGirl ClingyJealousGirl Shouko denies it when someone accuses Yuuji to be her boyfriend... because to her, Yuuji is her ''husband.''
* [[TheStoic Fudo Yusei]] of ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' pulls this off after [[spoiler: Aki's dad gets Yusei to help Aki after her duel with Misty. Martha jokes Yusei for crushing on Aki--a fact that Yusei vehemently denies.]]
** Was used before in ''[[Anime/YuGiOh Duel Monsters]]'', when Mai saw Yugi and Téa hanging out (before the Battle City is announced) and asks if they are dating (technically they kind of ''were'' on a date, but Téa still points vehemently that they're just ''friends'').
** Happens early in ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'' to Yuya and Yuzu. Sora asks Yuzu to get Yuya to mentor him, saying he'd do it if his "girlfriend" asked him to. They both deny it(with Yuzu in particular blushing), but Yuya goes a step further by saying he wouldn't be with a "rude girl" like her. Cue paper fan smack from Yuzu.
* Said by Kousaka from ''Manga/{{Genshiken}}'', [[CloudCuckooLander in his usual flippant way]]. His "not girlfriend" tries to change this any way she can, with little success. This doesn't last very long (all of three chapters, in fact), as the GenreSavvy Genshiken tell him to just admit it. He does, and thereafter goes from denying it to just not making a big deal out of it.
* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''. Said by Triela to Maria Machiavelli, when the latter hints that Triela is in love with her [[TheHandler handler]] Hillshire. The usual awkwardness is absent as Triela makes it clear that even if she was in love, the fratello relationship doesn't work that way. [[CreatorsPet At least it's not supposed to]].
* ''Manga/DearS'': In this case, Ren '''is not''' Kousaka's slave.
* ''Manga/SkipBeat'' opens with Sho stating this about Kyoko, his [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend childhood friend]] [[LikeBrotherAndSister whom his parents raised]], whom he was essentially using as a maid. Of course, [[spoiler: after he says it enough times and she [[BeautifulAllAlong successfully enters show business]], he realizes that it's not true--by which time she has stopped seeking his affections and is [[ObliviousToLove completely oblivious to the fact that he is now actually seeking hers]].]] Sho and Kyoko continue to deny that they are or ever have been dating, even after [[spoiler: he states that she ''belongs to him'' and attempts to drive off his romantic rivals.]]
* A variation of this is found in ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' with Sōsuke about Kaname. During a dance party on the ''Tuatha De Dannan'', Kurz mentions to Sōsuke that Kaname is very pretty, cute, and has a nice sense of style. ''Any'' man would fall for her in an instant. Sōsuke coldly and cuttingly replies that he wouldn't know, since he isn't interested. This is ''very'' interesting, considering that this might be one of the few instances where Sōsuke acts like a {{Tsundere}} (breaking from his usual [[TheStoic stoic]] manner).
** And likewise with Kaname--as a {{Tsundere}} you'd think she'd blow her stack when asked this question, but she usually acts embarrassed instead. Mind you their formal relationship (with Sōsuke as her secret bodyguard) isn't something she can explain to people either.
* Yuko from ''Manga/XxxHolic'' displays this kind of attitude in relation to her not-boyfriend Clow, and she tends to get rather vindictive should someone suggest she had some kind of relationship with the guy.
* Kanna and Motoki from ''Manga/KoeDeOshigoto'' have this reaction to the suggestion that they're a couple, with the same {{Speech Bubble|s}}, no less.
* ''Manga/TriGun''. When a couple bodyguards assume she's fighting with her "boyfriend", the Broom Boy (a.k.a. Vash the Stampede), Meryl Stryfe is very quick to inform them that not only is he ''not'' her boyfriend, but she doesn't even like him! Whatever she has to tell herself to get through the job.
* Often said by Yusuke in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' about Keiko.
* ''Manga/NanaToKaoru'' does this with both Nana and Kaoru ''[[http://www.mangatoshokan.com/read/Nana-to-Kaoru/Quicker/32/9 simultaneously.]]''
* In ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'', Fukuda volunteers to help Aoki with her manga illustrations, but is keen to make it clear to his editor, who asks why he is helping a rival mangaka, that he has no interest in her. It ultimately turns out that [[spoiler:he really doesn't have any apparent feelings for her, since she ends up with Hiramaru without him being at all displeased about it]], and it proves his commitment to "Team Fukuda" changing Jump.
-->'''Fukuda:''' And just for the record, I don't have feelings for her or anything. I actually kind of hate her.\\
'''Yujiro:''' You don't act like you hate her.
* Miu of ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' complains loudly whenever anyone calls the title character her boyfriend.
-->'''Miu:''' He's not my boyfriend! He's more like a little brother, or even a dog, you know like a stray dog you bring home because you feel sorry for it?\\
'''Kasara:''' Hey, aren't you taking that a little too far?
* ''LightNovel/{{Oreimo}}''
** Spelled out by Kyousuke regarding Manami in episode 6. His friend Akagi calls him out on the seeming hypocrisy of his explanation.
--->'''Akagi:''' So basically she's nothing more than a childhood friend to you, you're not going out with her, you have no feelings for her, but you won't allow other guys to make a move on her?\\
'''Kyousuke:''' Yeah, so?\\
'''Akagi:''' ''[sighs]''
** The original novel, however, goes on with this PlatonicLifePartners-ish excuse he makes to the reader when he feels his phrase sounded like he was in denial:
--->''Well, the answer was my honest. I just don't think there is a sharp-eyed guy that could see the appeal behind Manami's homeliness, but if he does appear, I'm going to defend her with all I have. Got it? It's in her company I can relax the most, even with nothing romantic about that. I won't give in to anyone who'd try and take that away from me.''
* In ''Manga/LuckyStar'' Most of the times Misao asks Kagami about Konata.
* In ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack: Shikkoku no Hana'' [[HeroAntagonist Misaki Kirihara]] was teased by a friend about her little obsession:
-->'''Kanami:''' ''[[[CheshireCatGrin grinning]]]'' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Is it, by any chance]], that you don't want to follow ''Contractors'', but a ''[[DatingCatwoman certain man]]''?\\
'''Misaki:''' ''[turning to her, frowning, [[LuminescentBlush blushing]], sweating and screaming]'' Wha--that's not...\\
'''Kanami:''' ''[cheerful]'' Oh, I knew it! Your dear BK-201. ''Your panicking confirmation.''
* ''LightNovel/SpiceAndWolf'' has several instances of Lawrence calmly explaining to others that he and Holo aren't in that sort of relationship. At some point along the way, it starts becoming something of a lie. The series also inverts it when Lawrence tells other people they meet that Holo is his wife (an easy explanation as to why a young woman would be travelling alone with him), which is, naturally, untrue.
* In ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' people generally assume that Mikado and Anri are dating. When they explain that they aren't, the typical reaction is usually, "Really? ...sweet, I have a shot at her, then!" Note: [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove They do not]].
** Aoba also says this to his [[spoiler:Blue Square members]] regarding Mairu and Kururi. Turns out it's rather tough to explain away [[spoiler:that they both kissed him]].
* Aria and Kinji of ''LightNovel/AriaTheScarletAmmo'' say that about each other several times.
* Fujimura from ''Manga/FujimuraKunMates'' insists that he and [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Eri]] are just friends. But he never completely rejects her constant advances.
* In the ending of ''Manga/MuhyoAndRoji'', Busujima tells Imai that her "boyfriend" Roji [[spoiler:got back together with Muhyo despite failing the advancement test]], prompting her to get angry at the use of the term.
* In ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'', Akito repeatedly denies that Yurika is his girlfriend or that he's even interested in her. She refuses to believe that however, much to his chagrin.
* Shouma and Ringo from ''Anime/MawaruPenguindrum'' go through several rounds of saying this about the other.
* Gohan towards Videl in ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. He continually denies that anything is going on between him and Videl, even when EveryoneCanSeeIt.
* ''Manga/FruitsBasket'':
** Kyo gets pissed when any of his family teasingly suggests that he has a crush on Tohru. It's turned on its head at the end of the series, when some classmates notice the two being clingy to each other. When they ask as a joke if the two are now dating, Kyo matter-of-factly states that yes, they are.
** A rather funny variant happens at one point, when a girl tries to confess her love for Kyo, only for him to brush him off. Uotani makes a snarky comment, leading to the girl somehow concluding that ''Uotani'' is the girl he's in love with. Since they don't exactly get along, they don't take to this theory well.
---> DO YOU HAVE KNOTHOLES FOR EYES???
* In ''Manga/{{Kochikame}}'', Komachi Ono's parents mistakenly believe that their daughter and Kankichi Ryotsu are a couple, despite her constantly trying to tell them otherwise. They also take the two's constant bickering and fighting as their cover for flirting.
* In ''LightNovel/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions'' basically most of the interactions between Shinka and Kumin, regarding Dekomori in the movie and the 2nd Season.
* Taken a step further in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' when Kiyoh assumes that Gimmy and Darry [[IsThatCuteKidYours are two kids that]] [[BelligerentSexualTension Kamina and Yoko]] had together.
--> '''Kiyoh:''' Yoko! When did you have children? Don't tell me you and Kamina--?!\\
'''Yoko:''' As if that'd happen!
* In ''Manga/RaveMaster'', Haru and Elie do this a lot, starting when Haru's father asks if they are together. They finally admit their feelings near the end of the story.
-->'''Gale Glory''': Ha ha! You got yourself quite a catch there, son. Nice rack too.\\
'''Haru Glory''': I told you... it's not like that.
* [[BelligerentSexualTension Tomoe and Nanami]] do this a lot in ''Manga/KamisamaKiss.'' Though by chapter 38 of the manga Nanami privately admits to herself that she hopes to change that.
* In ''Manga/DetectiveConan'', Ran gets very flustered when her friend teases her about being Shinichi's girlfriend. Interestingly, this is averted at two points in the manga. The first is when Conan teasingly asks her if Shinichi is the guy she's interested in only to be surprised when she freely admits that he is. The second is during a later case, when a woman asks Ran if she has a sweetheart (or, depending on you translate it, a lover), to which Ran replies, "I do have a person I like! [...] He's really smart and he's good at soccer. He's ready to help at any time. He's really cool... He's even a better detective than Dad!"
* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', Ian at one point refers to Eren as Mikasa's boyfriend. She blushes and denies it.
* Kyouhei and ocassionaly Sunako from Manga/TheWallflower say this when other characters infer that they have a romantic relationship. The belligerant sexual tension between the two and the quite obvious fact that the two are the hero and heroine in a romantic comedy make such claims baseless.
* ''Franchise/KagerouProject'':
** During Chapter 18 of the manga, Hiyori asks Momo about her 'boyfriend' Shintaro. Being brother and sister, the latter two blurt out this trope in mutual disgust.
** When Kano presses Ayano about Shintaro, she insists vehemently that there's nothing there. [[EveryoneCanSeeIt The rest of the cast and fandom disagree.]]
* This was Arima's response to his mother in ''Manga/HighSchoolNinjaGirlOtonashiSan'' when she said that Otonashi-san was no good for her son (since she wasn't rich). However, he said that if he did fall in love with her, it's none of his mothers business.
* Emi from ''LightNovel/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'' is always assumed to be Maou's jealous ex by those who don't know that the two of them are actually a hero and demon lord from another world (and even by someone who actually ''does'' know, in the fourth light novel). The fact that she blushes while denying these accusations does not help her case.
* Anime/SamuraiFlamenco: Mari assumes that [[HoYay Goto and Masayoshi]] are a couple. [[EveryoneCanSeeIt Twice]]. Goto denies it both times.
* ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'' has the Argama crew thinking that Kamille and Fa are a couple and termed their quarreling as a means of [[BelligerentSexualTension "recreation"]].
* This is done hilariously in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' Season 2 where Mileina asked Setsuna and Marina if they're lovers, the two answered simultaneously that they're not in a very flat expression. Then when Mileina asked Allelujah and Marie/Soma the same question, all she got is a LuminescentBlush from both of them, causing her to {{squee}} in delight.
* ''Manga/KingdomHeartsII'': At separate points, Sora is referred to as Kairi's boyfriend and Kairi is referred to as Sora's girlfriend. Both deny it, but it's very clear that they are romantically interested in each other.
* ''Manga/DogsBulletAndCarnage'' have a double example of this. When Haine and Magato first met each other, both immediately assumed that the other is Naoto's boyfriend. Naoto is not amused.
* Freighted with extra meaning in ''[[Manga/KanojoNiNaruHi Kanojo Ni Naru Hi Another]]'' as the "girlfriend" in question is a former boy who has spent months vehemently denying and concealing an involuntary GenderBender and his would-be love interest is afraid treating him as a girl (let alone claiming him as a girlfriend) would backfire.
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