As this is an Ending Trope, unmarked spoilers abound. Beware.
Times where the protagonist doesn't get together with whomever they've been pursuing in Anime and Manga.
- This is played straight in the third act of 5 Centimeters per Second, despite a good taunting/glimmer of hope thrown in for good measure at the end - which doesn't pan out.
- Android Kikaider: The Animation is more a case of someone talking him into walking out on the girl.
- Blade of the Immortal: Rin develops feelings for her bodyguard Manji, but he mostly sees her as a little sister, and the fact that he's immortal makes him reluctant to have a committed relationship with someone he'd inevitably outlive. The two part ways after Rin fulfills her quest for revenge, and the epilogue has Manji meeting Rin's great-granddaughter after the Meiji Restoration.
- Blue Flag: The penultimate chapter reveals that the main couple of the manga, Kuze and Taichi, broke up two years after they got together and finished high school, in a mutual agreement. They have grown distant due to the awkwardness, though they still share a circle of friends, and Taichi is invited to Kuze's wedding to another man. Taichi himself eventually figures out he's attracted to both men and women, and starts a relationship with his male friend Touma, to whom he has since married.
- Despite all their Unresolved Sexual Tension, the titular character of Canaan and her friend Maria never make the Relationship Upgrade. Their lives are too different and they go their separate ways.
- The final chapter of Ciguatera reveals that protagonist Ogino eventually broke up with his hot girlfriend Nagumo, after realizing he has become dependent on her and lacks the maturity to give her a happy life. Nagumo is last shown 9 months pregnant and married to someone else, while Ogino got his act together and found a new love. It's probably for the best and they're both shown to be happy.
- Code Geass had a field day with this trope:
- Shirley died shortly after her Anguished Declaration of Love so she and Lelouch didn't end up together.
- Season 2 also spent a lot of episodes teasing the sexual tension between Lelouch and Kallen. That also came to a halt when Lelouch willingly pushed her away so she wouldn't get involved in his final plan.
- Finally, Lelouch also didn't end up with C.C. because of his own death. Suzaku also did not get Euphemia; although they were in a relationship briefly, Euphie gets shot by Zero/Lelouch after the SAZ Japan massacre. Given the subtext, Lelouch did not get Euphie either.
- This also still happens in the movie series. Shirley doesn't end up with Lelouch under different circumstances, such as living to see him die as part of his Thanatos Gambit, and even after playing a part in bringing him Back from the Dead, he ultimately goes with C.C. It is implied he's just as sad as she probably is that things didn't turn out as she thought.
- Cross Ange implies this with Hilda. She originally starts off as part of a harem with her captain, Zola, and her childhood friends, Chris and Rosalie. Then Zola is killed, and Hilda later tries to escape Arzenal to find her mom. After discovering her mom hates her for being a Norma and having the cops called on her, Chris and Rosalie hate her for abandoning them (and Hilda even drives them away by stating she saw them as nothing more than pleasure outlets) and they buy her stuff away from her. As the story goes on, she starts to bear a begrudging crush for Ange, and eventually admits it to her in Episode 23. While Ange does kiss her and says she's not weird for feeling the way she does about another girl, Ange is already in a romantic relationship with Tusk, who took her virginity the previous episode. So while Tusk and Ange marry after the final battle (and open that cafe Tusk wanted), and Chris and Rosalie are seen back together after some altercations, it is ambiguous where Hilda is, whether she joined a polyamorous relationship with Ange, or she's still single after everything.
- In Digimon Adventure the kids are really too young to be concerned with dating, but when Digimon Adventure 02 rolls around, Taichi/Tai does not end up with childhood friend Sora, as she instead hooks up with Yamato/Matt.
- Fantastic Children fits this perfectly and it's even a large part of the plot. He seems to eventually accept to live with it. The guy she picks is a good guy and all, but it is still a bit of a downer.
- Despite having three potential Love Interests, the main character of FLCL ends up with no one. It implies that he will end up with Ninamori but only after they're not kids anymore and are more mature. This is averted in the manga, where he ends up with Haruko but he has to chase after her.
- Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) ends this way (twice): in the TV ending, Ed is trapped in our world searching for a way to get back while Winry and Rose are left behind, and in The Movie Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa after finding a way back to Amestris and reuniting with Winry, he realizes that our world needs him more than Amestris and seizes his last chance to return and seals off the portal connecting the two worlds for good, leaving Winry behind yet again. The original manga and second anime unambiguously end with Ed and Winry together.
- In The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Makoto doesn't get together with Chiaki, which is especially egregious considering he asked her first and through how much trouble and grief she went through to make it happen. Although it is indicated that they plan to meet again in his time:Chiaki: I'll be waiting in the future.
Makoto: I'll be right there. I'll run there. - Punpun spends the entirety of Goodnight Punpun pining after his first love, Aiko. They eventually meet again and begin dating in his twenties, however their relationship is unhealthy and the circumstances aren't perfect. For one, they're on the run from the police for killing Aiko's mother. It ultimately ends very poorly as Aiko ends up killing herself. Punpun tries to too but survives, though he loses an eye.
- The infamous ending to The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach! has the revelation that Princess Peach was already engaged to a prince named Haru, which upsets Mario but he wishes her good luck regardless. Needless to say, said prince was never featured in any Super Mario Bros. media again.
- Played straight in the ending of Guilty Crown for Shu. To add insult to the injury of losing his lover Inori, he also lost his right arm, two of his close friends, and his eyesight. The only thing motivating him to keep living is Inori's soul ended up transfering into him to indirectly live on through him and providing him mental comfort.
- Isabelle of Paris features a Love Dodecahedron, ending tragically for everyone involved.
- Jean loves Isabelle, who rejects him every time he asks her to wed him. That is, until he's shot in front of her. A frenzied Isabelle begs him not to die and tells him she loves him, but Jean assures her that she doesn't have to lie, before succumbing to it.
- Geneviève abandons her Arranged Marriage with Victor for Jules. Victor spends the rest of the series unable to get over her. In the Grand Finale, he is shot by the French army while defending Paris from siege. While dying, he mistakes Isabelle for Geneviève and spends his last moments thinking he's in her arms.
- Isabelle held feelings for Victor even though he was engaged to her sister. Victor never reciprocates her feelings (likely due to the fact that Isabelle is fifteen), and when he does find out Isabelle loves him, he doesn't care because he's fixated on Geneviève and bitter that she chose Jules over him.
- In Jewelpet Sunshine, the protagonist Kanon dates her crush Mikage for several episodes. Then comes The Reveal that they're siblings, and Kanon has to forcibly give him up, without a consolation prize.
- Inevitable in nearly all installments of Knight Hunters due to the protagonists being Doom Magnets - the few potential love interests who don't end up dead get the It's Not You, It's My Enemies treatment. The only exception here is Farfarello, who leaves with his love interest at the end of the Schwarz audio drama to lead a happy, kill-free life.
- Lady!!: Happy example - Lynn fell in love with Arthur Brighton because he was a Princely Young Man who comforted her when her mother died and her immediate family was...slow to accept her. Arthur, while finding Lynn a cute kid, never loved her back, and instead confessed his love to Lynn's older sister Sarah. Sarah and Arthur eventually get married, and while Lynn always knew it was going to happen (Arthur doesn't do a good job of hiding his feelings, despite his aristocratic demeanor, and Sarah/Arthur of similar ages while Arthur is five years her senior), she does cry a bit on their wedding day. However, Lynn finds herself enamoured with Arthur's younger brother Edward and falls for him when she's older. In the anime, this was changed to Lynn (as a child, not an adult like her manga counterpart) noticing that Sarah had already captured his heart and willingly switching to Edward.
- At the end of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2016), Midna leaves to resume ruling the Twilight Realm. Link leaves Ordon Village soon thereafter, meaning that he doesn't get together with Ilia either.
- Lupin III: Lupin's success with the ladies tends to be hit-or-miss. Such as:
- In Island of Assassins, he tried hitting on Ellen, though it was mainly just fun 'n games for him, until he learned how she became part of the Tarantulas. She was initially put off by his attempts to flirt with her because she didn't trust him. By the end of the film, her opinion of him had changed, but only so far as thanking him for giving her a brief moment of freedom. Said with her dying breath.
- The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure: From the moment he first sees her, Lupin does his damnedest to woo Sir Archer's granddaughter, Diana. She repeatedly blows off his advances throughout the film; including belting him several times for emphasis. By the end, she agrees to have dinner with him but makes it clear that THAT's as far as it goes.
- Gender-inverted examples are common in the Macross series:
- Super Dimension Fortress Macross: At the end of the series, Hikaru Ichijo picks Misa Hayase instead of Lynn Minmay. However, Minmay becomes the couple's friend and joins them in the SDF-2 Megaroad-01.
- A similar fate happens to Ranka Lee in the second Movie of Macross Frontier, where Alto Saotome declares that he loves Sheryl Nome, but Ranka believes that one day Alto will come back and Sheryl will be awake from the coma. Since the movie is an Alternate Continuity, this is averted in the TV series.
- Maken-ki!: By the final chapter (124), Kai is no closer to hooking up with the Amazonian redhead, Azuki. Usui doesn't fare any better in his romantic pursuit of Himegami, who still only regards him as one of her friends.
- Mob Psycho 100: At the end of the series, Mob confesses his love to his Childhood Friend Tsubomi before she moves, but she admits that she never really thought to see him in that way. They do have a healthy platonic relationship in the epilogue though, with them chatting over the phone regularly.
- "Murai-kun Wants to Fuck Mizuno-kun": Gender-Inverted. In the end Mizuno goes to the restaurant again hoping to see Murai, but sees him the morning after his rendezvous with call girl Urara and assumes they're dating. The "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue mentions that Mizuno ultimately married a female coworker and has a child with her, while Murai is in a polyamorous relationship with Urara and a bisexual male coworker.
- No. 6: Shion did not get the guy or girl. Not only does Nezumi leave him behind when they're done, but Safu, his Het Option, would Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence. However, there might be hope because Shion promises that he'll meet Nezumi again at the end of the anime and novels.
- Now and Then, Here and There: According to most anime conventions, Shu should deserve to live happily with Lala Ru after all the suffering both have been through together. Nope. Lala Ru dies, and any chances of Shu getting together with her Earth Expy Sarah are effectively dashed when he returns to his world without her. However, the audience knows from watching his character throughout the story that he'll be able to live happily anyway.
- Played with Onani Master Kurosawa. Kurosawa starts an unholy alliance with Kitahara, who later starts blackmailing him. It's the perfect set-up for an eventual love story, right? Guess again; Neither Kitahara nor Kurosawa seem particularly interested in each other, aside from their common goals. In fact, Kurosawa is in love with cute, bookish Takagawa during most of the manga. At first she seems to have an interest in him, but eventually she starts dating Nagaoka, afro-otaku extraordinaire. That can't last, right? She's the princess of the High School and he's a clown. Wrong. Kurosawa gets over Takagawa, who seems quite happy with Nagaoka, and ends up dating Sugawa, the yankee that beat his ass because he came over her uniform to avenge Kitahara.
- A running gag for Sanji in One Piece. For a womanizer, no single woman is ever seen falling for him.
- Sanji does eventually get a requited love in Charlotte Pudding, but circumstances and conflicting loyalties drive them apart.
- Zoro and his deceased friend Kuina are a possible example. Life was unkind to the guy.
- Patlabor: No matter the continuity, Gotoh never ends up with his fellow captain, Shinobu. Throughout the OVA continuity, she maintains a strictly working-class relationship between them. In the end, not only does he not get the girl, he finds out she once had an affair with her instructor, while she was a cadet at the Tsuge Institute. Worse, the second Movie concludes with her turning herself in with Tsuge, because she still had feelings for him. Gotoh doesn't end up with her in The Mobile Police/New Files continuity either, but they at least soften the blow a bit with the Ingram-Man episode, which ends with Shinobu confessing her feelings for him. Except it was All Just a Dream.
- In Pokémon Adventures, Steven teases Wallace, knowing that the real reason that the Water-type trainer stepped down from being the Champion to become a Gym Leader was for an excuse to spend more time with Winona. Too bad that is one of the reasons that is implied why they broke up. (The main reason was that Winona felt uncomfortable having someone stronger than her for a boyfriend.)
- Meowth in the Pokémon: The Original Series episode "Go West, Young Meowth", who tries to help his love interest who spurned him in the past. He defeats his long-hated rival Persian but the girl Meowth chooses the Persian over him anyway.
- In Princess Tutu, Ahiru does not get together with Mytho, but gets to stay with Fakir as a duck.
- Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Sayaka ends up losing Kyousuke to Hitomi. This does not end well. Later, Homura does not get Madoka. This does not end well either.
- The anime version of Revolutionary Girl Utena: Touga tries to win over Utena because she's the only girl at their school who doesn't immediately fall for him - in fact, she rebuffs him many times, and they ultimately don't end up together, with Utena being lost in another dimension and all. There's also the movie, Adolescence of Utena, where Touga is already dead from the beginning.
- School Rumble. Tenma is the lead female. Kenji is the lead male. Tenma never returns Kenji's feelings; she doesn't even know about them. Not that it would really make a difference since she's too much in love with the second male lead. Tenma ends up with the amnesiac, brain-damaged Karasuma. It's strongly suggested Harima ended up with Eri. The one who did not get the girl actually didn't get the guy: Yakumo. She's the only main character who definitely didn't get anyone.
- In the Slayers Light Novel series, the bounty hunter Luke constantly tries to win the affections of his perpetually grumpy partner Millina, all to no avail. This ultimately comes to a climax in the fourteenth novel when Millina is stabbed with a poisoned knife and denied any medical care. She more or less tells him off, telling him to keep on living and don't bother worrying about her.
- In Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann:
- Kamina dies shortly after he and Yoko admit their feelings towards each other.
- Kittan goes into a suicide mission after kissing Yoko (which cemented her status as the person with "the kiss of death" in the fandom) and it seems she reciprocated his feelings, as in her personal Lotus-Eater Machine one of her alternate/happier lives has her marrying him.
- Simon and Nia get married, but immediately afterward, she fades away due to an earlier Heroic Sacrifice.
- The Vision of Escaflowne:
- The heroine, Hitomi, chooses to go back to Earth while Van stays behind in Gaia to help his world heal from the war it just endured. Despite the show being dramatically cut down from its planned run, that was the intended ending all along. That said, she does still have to ability to teleport instantly to his realm.
- No member of the show's Love Dodecahedron ends up with his/her love interest - Merle resigns to being an Unlucky Childhood Friend, Millerna and Dryden's Arranged Marriage is called off (although he still hopes to be worthy of her someday ), and Allen, who already lost the girl in the past to an Arranged Marriage and death, loses Hitomi to Van (but does find his sister, which is probably what he wanted more than romance at that point).
- Welcome to the NHK: Though they stay friends. At least in most versions. The anime and novel both end fairly ambiguously, but the manga has Satou promise to rekindle their relationship after he cleans up.
- The manga ending for ×××HOLiC follows much in the same vein. Set in a Distant Finale 100 years in the future where Watanuki has lost both Himawari and Doumeki to them dying of old age. Made even sadder by the fact that after Tsubasa ended Watanuki couldn't leave his Inn Between the Worlds and that its very nature was harmful to Himawari making her only able to see him once a year, and she eventually moved on with her life. He comes to accept it though, congratulating her on her marriage.
- Hazuki from Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito never gets her girl Hatsumi, at least in the anime, despite her valiant efforts of chasing her through several alternate dimensions. It is heavily implied that Hatsumi grants Hazuki one night with her but then erases her memory afterward, which caused quite a bit of outrage among yuri fans.
- Your Lie in April ends with Kousei and Kaori not ending up together. Kaori did love him but he didn't learn this until he read her posthumous letter.
- Played with in Yuri!!! on Ice: Yuko seems this way when Yuri first meets her again, after going back to his hometown in Kyushu. He reminisces on their time growing up and learning to skate together, and comments "she's still cute," only for the viewer to learn, moments later, that she's now married with triplets ...to a guy who used to bully Yuri, no less. But of course, Yuri's not exactly straight, and we haven't met a certain manic pixie Russian figure skater just yet...
