Line #42 Main/RedundantRomanceAttempt


1	Even though science has made great strides at understanding the molecular and neural mechanisms underlying attraction, it's still a mystery what makes one specific person attractive to another. For this trope's purposes, though, that's just [[BeYourself being yourself]].
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3	A LoveInterest, for some incomprehensible reason, likes the way the protagonist is. So, acting out of character just to impress them only ends up pushing the love interest away or, at the very least, confusing them. Where did that quirky, unconventional, non-stereotyped personality go?
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5	It almost always leads to AnAesop: "You should have just been yourself all along!"
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7	That's why {{romance arc}}s that start off with dishonesty and bluffs are doomed. Compare and contrast AchievementsInIgnorance, a character accomplishes an ImpossibleTask because they didn't know it was impossible. SubTrope of BeYourself, AnAesop about being true to oneself regardless of what others might think. Contrast LovingAShadow, being in love with the ''idea'' of someone rather than the actual person.
8	----
9	!!Examples:
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11	[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
12	* ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'': Keiichi's attempts to work up the courage to kiss Belldandy cause him to heat up. Belldandy misinterprets this as a fever and tries to "cure" him with her magic.
13	* ''Anime/FullMetalPanicFumoffu'': Jindai High School's social science club decides to hold a flirting contest in order to decide which school club will get to use the new classroom that has opened up. Shinji convinces Sousuke to join the photography club's team, assuming that having a handsome ChickMagnet on their side would guarantee them a win. Unfortunately, Sousuke is specifically a CluelessChickMagnet who unwittingly wins people over through [[EndearinglyDorky endearing social awkwardness]] and who has absolutely zero experience with romance, courtship, or [[NoSocialSkills just plain people-ing]]. Even after Kaname gets him to understand that a "girl hunt" [[LiteralMinded does not allow for literally capturing the girls in question]], Sousuke winds up immediately scaring off every single woman he approaches (save for an old lady who leads him forget the contest entirely in order to help her pick out a present for her grandson), resulting in an embarrassing loss for the photography club.
14	* ''Manga/{{Gokusen}}'': When Minoru starts dating a girl, Kumiko fires him so that he can have a normal, respectable life with his girlfriend... who immediately dumps him. She only liked him because he was {{yakuza}}.
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16	[[AC:Fan Works]]
17	* ''Fanfic/TheApprenticeTheStudentAndTheCharlatan'': Nova Shine and Twilight Sparkle have already gotten each other's attention, they just want to look nice to each other. Twilight goes on a spa day with Rarity, and Nova (on a suggestion from Spike) decides to grow a mustache with [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E6BoastBusters Spell 25]]. It goes very, very wrong. When they finally meet up, Twilight fixes Nova's mistakes by changing him back basically to him as he was, and Nova simply messes up Twilight's mane to make it more natural to her.
18	* ''Fanfic/ADelicateBalance'': Twilight's attempt to get on Applejack's good side before confessing her feelings only ends up making Applejack annoyed at her. When she finally does get it out, Applejack says she appreciates the honesty more than anything else.
19	* ''Fanfic/{{The Games We Play\|FriendshipIsMagic}}'':
20	** Rainbow Dash eventually admits that she actually doesn't find Mare Do Well all that annoying, provided she's not putting on those superior airs.
21	** All things considered, Pinkie's attempts to woo [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash]] probably would have been much better off if she'd never come up with the idea of using Mare Do Well.
22	* ''WebAnimation/WolfsRetardedMission'': Wolf's first date with Daisy.
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24	[[AC:Films -- Animation]]
25	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'': Aladdin has already charmed Jasmine by being himself, but his "Prince Ali" persona just comes off as another RoyalBrat like the ones she rejected as suitors. Note that the disguise and fake name themselves are pretty much necessary--the Sultan isn't going to let Jasmine marry a commoner, so it's {{justified\|Trope}}.
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27	[[AC:Films -- Live-Action]]
28	* ''Film/FarAndAway'': Due to Shannon's wealthy upbringing, Joseph feels inferior. So, he tries to become somebody he thinks she would find attractive, somebody rich and classy. This only makes her annoyed with him, because she liked how different he was from the people she knew growing up.
29	--> '''Joseph:''' I tried to prove myself to you, but I know nothing of books or alphabets or sun or moon or... All I know is Joseph loves Shannon. That's all that really matters to me.
30	* ''Film/GroundhogDay'': On the original day, Phil's first date with Rita goes great, so he wants it to continue. When he tries to force the same reaction during the next loop, his forwardness pushes her away. He finally gets it right by being himself again, mistakes and all, and not forcing any outcome.
31	* ''Film/TheWeddingSinger'': Robbie manages to win Julia's heart by just being himself, but then he becomes convinced that she'd be more interested in him if he were rich so he starts trying to land a high-paying job. He also begins to slide into {{Jerkass}} territory and drives Julia away before winning her back by just being himself.
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33	[[AC:Literature]]
34	* ''Literature/PowderAndPatch'': {{Invoked}}. Philip pretends to have become a foppish flirt because he wants to see whether Cleone will tell him she liked him better before.
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36	[[AC:Live-Action TV]]
37	* ''Series/ElChavoDelOcho'': Whenever Profesor Jirafales thinks Doña Florinda is cheating on him (more often than not, with Don Ramón), he resorts to rather... agressive ways to prove his love towards her is stronger, even though it's just a misunderstanding and Doña Florinda never realizes what he's trying to do.
38	* ''Series/FamilyTies'': A guy gets ready for a date with Mallory by asking Alex for tips. Alex (who apparently is genuinely trying to help) proceeds to give a bunch of chauvinistic advice (starting with ordering for her and getting worse from there). Naturally, it doesn't end well. Alex's advice might have worked well for the kind of woman Alex would be interested in dating. For his sister, who is more or less the political ''opposite'' of the kind of woman he'd be interested in dating... not so much.
39	* ''Series/GreenWing'': After Martin buys Caroline at the slave auction, Mac gives him some frankly rather dubious advice to act like an arsehole, successfully destroying the entire date from the get-go. He does fix it by having Martin tell Caroline he'd been hypnotised and Caroline had accidentally said his "trigger-word."
40	* ''Series/{{iCarly}}'': Sam tries to attract a boyfriend by being girlier. Turns out he likes her the way she is--tomboyish and rough around the edges.
41	* ''Series/{{MASH}}'': Radar catches a girl's attention by just being sweet and Radar-like, and without realizing it, tries to grab her attention again by pretending to be an ex-footballer, by ignoring her and 'playing cool', and then by trying to be 'interesting' with talk about rabbits. She's mostly confused, but in the end, he admits what he's been trying to do and they end up together... [[SnapBack until the next episode.]]
42	* ''Series/{{The Office\|US}}'': Michael—unaware that he's being romantically set up—is quirkily joking his way into the heart of Pam and Jim's friend. When Michael learns the truth, he exits the bar, unbuttons the top button of his shirt, puts on a backwards hat, and re-enters as "Date Mike," whose antics are so obnoxious the girl leaves early.
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44	[[AC:Music]]
45	* Creator/OliviaHolt: The narrator of "Had Me @ Hello" just wants to dance with her LoveInterest, but he doesn't realize that and is, instead, 'trying too hard' to get her heart.
46	-->''You don't have to try too hard\
47	You already have my heart\
48	You don't got a thing to prove\
49	I'm already into you''
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51	[[AC:Roleplays]]
52	* ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'': Michal catches Lenore's eye with his ability to make fire. He then tries to act suave and flirtatious, making a fool of himself.
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54	[[AC:Webcomics]]
55	* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'': Kat [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=244 tries]] to give herself a makeover to attract the attention of Alistair. Annie subsequently removes the makeup and tells her she looks fine the way she is.
56	* ''Webcomic/LeastICouldDo'': {{Parodied}}. Rayne spends half an evening trying to charm an interested girl at a bar by using his various tricks and zany techniques. When she finally gets mad and calls him on it, he admits that he had been messing around, and resolves to just be his true self... the whole time slipping into a completely artificial DoggedNiceGuy persona. Mick, the actual DoggedNiceGuy, is at his RageBreakingPoint about it.
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58	[[AC:Western Animation]]
59	* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'':
60	** [[Recap/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballS1E27TheDate "The Date"]]: Despite Penny frequently showing she reciprocates Gumball's attraction, he ignores his mom's advice to be himself and listens to his other family's ideas about how to impress Penny (except Anais, who abandons him after trying to teach him manners). More to the point, he misses that Penny didn't ask him on a date, she wants a shoulder to cry on over her dead pet. Luckily, Gumball discovers Mr. Cuddles is alive, and manages to get back Penny's favor by returning him to her—although Gumball ends up more concerned with a multitude of spider bites.
61	** [[Recap/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballS4E14TheRomantic "The Romantic"]]: Despite all evidence, Gumball thinks his relationship with Penny is on the rocks. To rekindle it, Gumball sets her up on a romantic scavenger hunt, most of which injures or endangers her because of his incompetence. However, the last part (a fireworks show) goes off without a hitch, somewhat salvaging the debacle.
62	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': In [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheFortuneteller "The Fortune Teller"]], Sokka gives advice to Aang on how to get a girl to like you (of course, Aang wants to impress Katara, but Sokka thinks he's talking about Meng). His advice is that Aang's way too nice and that he needs to act very aloof. Aang (unsuccessfully) attempts to act aloof, which both annoys and confuses Katara. Ironically because [[ObliviousToLove he doesn't care about Meng at all]] he does a GREAT job of acting aloof to her, impressing Sokka.
63	* ''WesternAnimation/DonkeyKongCountry'': In [[Recap/DonkeyKongCountryS1E24TheBigChillOut "The Big Chill Out"]], DK's sudden interest in big business is born out of the belief that this will impress Candy, due to comments made by Bluster. Naturally, Candy is not happy with her boyfriend becoming a "boring old Bluster clone" and sets him straight.
64	%%* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Chris once takes girl advice from his dad with predictable results.
65	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Lieutenant Kiff has already kicked it off with Amy, but he's too shy to follow it up. So Zapp Brannigan offers to give him romantic advice. Considering that Zapp's idea of a pick-up line is "I find that the most erotic part of a woman are their boobies", Kiff's next date doesn't go very well.
66	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': Bolin initially [[AchievementsInIgnorance attracts Opal without even realizing it]] and needs a [[SarcasmMode genius of love]] like Mako to spell it out to him. And also tell him that his previous love interests were either TheDitz Ginger or AxCrazy Eska, so it's about time to aim for someone who is neither of those things. Bolin initially tries to act smooth which only turns Opal ''off''. She immediately [[WhatTheHellHero calls him out on it]] then advises him to BeYourself, which greatly improves both their growing relationship and each's CharacterDevelopment fitting with the franchise's CentralTheme of Balance.
67	* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'':
68	** This is the basis of the infamous love square. Marinette tries to get Adrien's attention by planning dramatic love confessions but is so self-conscious [[spoiler:(and traumatized from a previous crush)]] that she can only stammer in Adrien's presence. Unbeknownst to her, Adrien is attracted to Ladybug, her superhero persona, because of her braveness despite fear and her capacity to inspire an entire city. Because of this, Ladybug rejects Chat Noir's constant advances and grand declarations of love without realizing that Adrien is Chat Noir.
69	** {Subverted}} with Adrien and Kagami. Kagami's attraction to Adrien is initially born from their similar backgrounds--neglected rich kids with next to no freedom-- and his polite, subdued personality. In other words, she's crushing on Adrien the model, not Adrien, the goofy, {{pun}}-loving boy. The moment he starts relaxing around her and trying to show her his true personality, she gets weirded out. It doesn't help that he's being a lackluster lover, so she breaks up with him.
70	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTales'': TwiceShy Lancer and Bright Eyes each get {{Unnecessary Makeover}}s from their friends [[JerkJock Ace]] and [[AlphaBitch Melody]] in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyTalesS1E14RollAroundTheClock "Roll Around the Clock"]]. Acting 'cool' only causes them to lash out--"I didn't know you were such a ''JERK''!"/"And I always thought you were smart, not some AIRHEAD!"--but they reconcile after dumping their makeovers and just acting normally, much to the mystification of their friends.
71	* ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'': In [[Recap/OKKOLetsBeHeroesS1E23SecondFirstDate "Second First Date"]], it's revealed in a flashback that Enid used to have a crush on Rad in middle school. He was a lot less macho and narcissistic than he is today. However, he gets [[ToxicFriendInfluence bad advice from his friends]] and acts like a jerk for most of their first date, therefore ruining whatever chance at romance they could have had. Even after realizing he blew it and would have had a better shot if he had been himself, his friends convince him to [[IgnoredAesop deny any responsibility and "double down."]] Now Enid is extremely cynical but has a rather odd, platonic friendship with Rad.
72	* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': Jeremy obviously likes Candace just as much as she likes him, but she's so blinded by her own insecurities that she still goes out of her way to make him notice her. In reality, he likes that she acts unhinged out of a deep desire to look after her younger brothers--Jeremy himself is a protective older brother.
73	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': In [[Recap/SouthParkS7E8SouthParkIsGay "South Park is Gay"]], the men and boys of South Park adopt the "metrosexual" craze that is sweeping the country (i.e. they start acting effeminate and become obsessed with grooming and fashion). At first their wives and girlfriends like the way their men are more hygienic and willing to communicate, but after a while they start to grow tired of how self-absorbed and narcissistic the men are getting. At the end of the episode, the men abandon metrosexuality, and their women admit that men need to be masculine even if that means they're sometimes gross.
74	* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'': In [[Recap/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012S1E15TheAlienAgenda "Alien Agenda"]], when Leo spots [[DatingCatwoman Karai]] watching the Turtles' fight, he starts [[LargeHam showing off]] and exaggerating the danger, to the confusion of [[ObliviousYoungerSibling Donnie and Mikey]], and irritation of [[AgentScully Raph]].
75	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Undergrads}}'': Nitz tries to woo Jessie (after accidentally seeing her naked) by making traditional grand romantic gestures at her, even though she liked him already and these gestures repel her. Not to mention just assuming that they were already in a relationship the minute he found her attractive. "Please don't break up with me!"
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Context Main / RedundantRomanceAttempt