A.I. Love You: Forty can fill both roles. His/her big sisters Saati and Toni (their names mean "Thirty" and "Twenty" respectively since they are computer programs) wanted a younger sibling, but Saati wanted a sweet and feminine sister while Toni wanted a rough punk of a brother. The inevitable disaster gave rise to a Gender Bender who can switch at will between a sweet, gentle-hearted boy and a foul-mouthed punk of a girl.
Ai Ore! Love Me!: Akira and Mizuki play around this. Akira is feminine-looking and the "princess" of his all-boys school, while Mizuki is androgynous and the "prince" at her all-girls school. However, personality-wise Akira is quite dominant and masculine and Mizuki isn't really all that boyish — though in the counted times she does show a more assertive side, Akira isn't that displeased either.
Appleseed: Deunan and Briareos could possibly count, except that Briareos is a hulking cyborg four times the size of Deunan. But their relationship follows the trope pretty straight.
Seven-foot-tall, ripped Ladette aging and reserved, Reluctant Ruler Luchino B. Campanella.
Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts: Identical twins Yuuko (masculine girl) and Hideyoshi (feminine boy) Kinoshita. While Yuuko is typically feminine in traits (such as being good at cooking), her personality fits this trope because of her aggressive, prideful, arrogant, quick-to-anger, and competitive behavior. Hideyoshi, on the other hand, is calm, helpful, and supportive. Ironically, he is also much more popular than Yuuko, much to her dismay, because of hislooks.
Battle Royale: Although there are signs of it in the book and movie, Sakura Ogawa and Kazuhiko Yamamoto's relationship is shown to be like this in the manga.
Berserk, initially played straight with Farnese and Serpico. When she was introduced Farnese was a callous apathetic commander of the Holy Iron Chain Knights with a serious sadomasochist streak, while her step-brother Serpico is polite, sincere and dislikes the sight of blood and is a good cook while Farnese (who was raised in luxury) sucks at "servant's work". Ironically Serpico is actually a capable warrior while Farnese has no combat experience despite being more aggressive than him, later on, Farnese goes on some radical character changes and becomes more feminine.
Black Lagoon: Revy swears like a sailor, chugs rum, collects guns, and has no problem jumping onto a moving boat and killing every hostile on it, by herself, like an Action Hero. In the first arc, she was about to put Rock in a dress and hairbow because he seemed so feminine in contrast; the sensitive one who wants to talk things out without anyone getting hurt. Revy even tries to protect Rock from seeing tragic events e.g Yukio's suicide knowing how sensitive he is. However, there are times where this dynamic is subverted, such as when Rock stood up to Revy by refusing to apologize and grabbing her gun and when it was inches from blowing his head off, seeing his boldness shocked Revy and she treated him better after that.
Boku to Boku: Yuuki is a tomboyish bifauxnen who saves a cute girl from a pervert, only to learn said girl is a crossdressing boy and later becomes his friend. Later she gains the affection of another crossdressing boy.
Miwako Satou and Wataru Takagi. Takagi isn't super girlish but he's mentioned to be a "herbivore" (non-aggressive) kind of man (unless he's in the line of duty) and is a VERY dorky Nice Guy, whereas Satou is his tomboyish and straightforward Action Girlfriend.
Chrono Crusade: Chrono and Rosette. Chrono is implied in both versions to be better with housework (in the manga he's shown in an apron at one point, and in the anime, the Elder says he does the cooking and cleaning for him), and is much more meek and gentle (although has an extreme Berserk Button, often putting him into an Unstoppable Rage), while Rosette is loud, brash, swears constantly and was a Lethal Chef as a child. They both have their moments where they act more stereotypically like their genders (Chrono is very protective of Rosette, and Rosette is very fond of pretty dresses), but they still don't fit neatly into gender roles.
Claymore: Played up early on, between Clare and Raki, where Clare is the badass lone wolf from a mercenary organization sent to hunt demons, while Raki was the "damsel in distress" whom she rescued, and who then needed her companionship so traveled with her and made himself useful by cooking for her. This slides off later on as Raki starts learning the ways of combat, though does not disappear entirely.
Code Geass: Put Lelouch with a girl. Any girl. Some more specific examples:
Lelouch with Kallen and C.C. are non-romantic examples (maybe). Lelouch is badass, but his forteis strategy; Kallen (the Ace PilotAction Girl) and C.C. (the immortal witch) protect him.
A more romantic example is Lelouch's dynamic with Shirley; she's part of the swim club, is more upfront (in the end) in regards to the romantic relationship, and can't cook. Meanwhile, Lelouch, particularly in his civilian identity, is a House Husband in skillset (cooking, cleaning, and sewing are all canonical skills of his) and plays up his more gentle, if snarky, side as "Lelouch Lamperouge".
There's also Kaguya, a 14-year-old girl who is the president of half the world and very serious about being the third maiden protecting Lelouch.
DARLING in the FRANXX has Ichigo (a socially assertive spitfire) and Goro (her quiet, diplomatic Number Two), who met when she convinced him to fight off the bullies preying on him.note Technically; he'd been watching her for a while before that. His character arc is about developing the courage and emotional knowledge to honestly convey his feelings to her; hers is about understanding and accepting what she truly feels.
Dragon Ball Z: Teen Gohan and Videl play it very straight, she's a stubborn Tomboy and he's a shy bookworm their high school days consist of Videl pushing Gohan around and chasing his alter ego Great Saiyanman. Of course there's double irony of Videl secretlyhaving a crush on him and fact Gohan is actually thousands of times stronger than her and his reluctance to fight Videl comes from the fear of hurting her.
Robot Girl Arale is a careless troublemaker who loves monsters, superheroes, playing with poop, and she's completely clueless about romance, while Robot Boy Obotchaman is very polite, sensitive, and romantic. This only applies to their personalities, since they both can fight and have the same Super-Strength.
Arale's closest friends and classmates were the tall, feisty, tomboyish Akane and the short, wimpy, and insecure Peasuke.
Doraemon: There is a gadget called "Boygirl". It is a spray which have ability to make boys girlish and girls boyish.
Ergo Proxy: Re-L Mayer and Vincent Law; Vincent is easily more emotional while Real is usually expressionless, impatient, or angry.
Good Luck Girl!: Ranmaru and Tsuwabuki aren't a couple (although Ranmaru wishes they were) but their dynamic fits this trope well. Tsawabuki is the dutiful promoted to parent big brother to his four younger siblings, he is skilled at domestic chores and is pretty even-tempered. Ranmaru is the ridiculously Hot-BloodedBorn in the Wrong CenturyHeir to the Dojo girl. It's not that Tsuwabuki is not manly but that Ranmaru is significantly MORE manly. Case in point, number of girls in their class in love with Tsuwabuki? Three. With Ranmaru? Pretty much all the rest!
Haikara-san ga Tooru: The Lad-ette Benio in two of these. A non-romantic version with her best male friend Ranmaru (a very feminine-looking boy who's a member of a kabuki troupe — who as much is put in the Unlucky Childhood Friend role), and a more romantic one with her arranged boyfriend Shinobu Iijyuin (who, like the below-mentioned André Grandier from The Rose of Versailles, isn't that girly but is still more patient and sensitive than she is.)
Hayate the Combat Butler: Hayate Ayasaki is extremely polite, humble, and skilled at domestic tasks. Mirroring him is pink-haired swordswoman Hinagiku Katsura (one of his Love Interests) who is assertive, highly-athletic, and projects an aura of leadership. Simply put, he can make women around him feel their femininity is being challenged and she is cooler than any of the boys at school resulting in most of the guys andgirls crushing on her. Each of them is a mix of traits however, and Character Development has resulted in them evening out somewhat. Hinagiku becomes less "tomboy" and more "girly", by showing that she is just as good a cook as master-chef Hayate and adores cute things, as well as focusing on her romantic side. Hayate gets to show off his determination and combat ability in addition to his dedication to duty and fulfilling his promises. Notably, he seems to like her "boyish" traits and Imagine Spots from her show that she kinda likes his "girlish" side as well.
Roderich/Austria and Elisaveta/Hungary, though it's a variation. Austria is more of a Princely Young Man rather than traditionally feminine. While Hungary is more feminine than most blue girls, being an adoring Team Mom. Doesn't stop her from kicking your assif you dare to harm him though.
She was much more tomboyish when she was younger (and frequently kicked Austria's butt), but mellowed when she got older and she ended up in his care.
Himitsu Kichi: Haruka and Kotake from the one-shot My Own Secret. She's a boyish Bifauxnen who practices judo and he's a feminine guy who likes cooking and sewing.
Infinite Stratos: The biggest badass Ace Pilot Chifuyu Orimura living with her little brother and main protagonist Ichika Orimura for the majority of their lives. He is the series House Husband who takes care of all the housework while she earns the money for both of them.
Kanojo Ni Naritai?!: Invoked when the (already slightly effeminate) protagonist begins crossdressing to attract the attention of a cool tomboy he has a crush on. He later finds out she actually isn't a lesbian and the one shot ends with implications they will begin dating.
Sora and Sebastian from Massugu ni Ikou. Sora is loud, rude, and athletic Dachshund while Sebastian is a polite and dainty Yorkie with a bow on his head. Sora is quite protective of Sebastian. She's also in love with him, but he's Oblivious to Love.
Minami-ke: Makoto isn't girly per se, but most of his scenes alongside the tomboy Touma feature him masquerading as a girl. In one episode, he also describes masculine and feminine traits inherited from his mother and father, respectively.
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory has Mora Bascht and Chuck Keith. Although Chuck isn't all that girly, he's a fairly unassuming guy, and Mora is pretty Amazon (and head and shoulders taller than him), so this vibe is definitely present.
The Wakamatsu/Seo couple has this dynamic, as Wakamatsu is a sensitive guy who believes in Shoujo Genre manga while Seo is a brash lad-ette.
For a platonic example, Kashima and Mikoshiba. Kashima is a Tall, Dark, and Handsome "prince charming" who can easily make girls fall in love with her, while her best friend Mikoshiba is a shy guy who often behaves like a Tsundere. When Mikoshiba tries to ask Kashima to become his pretend girlfriend (which she agreed to), the roles got reversed and Mikoshiba claimed that he felt like he has got a boyfriend instead.
Played with but ultimately averted in Nana & Kaoru. Kaoru is short, uninterested in sports and academics, has no real professional aspirations, prefers to blend into the crowd in public, but is an excellent cook and very skilled at sewing and other craftwork. Nana is tall, athletic, an outstanding student with very high career prospects and plenty of public leadership positions, yet is a hopeless cook and despite (or perhaps because of) her incredible beauty, knows almost nothing about cosmetics and make-up. But beneath these traits, Kaoru and Nana share an intense longing to respectively fulfill the masculine and feminine roles, and to be loved by a partner who recognizes and values them respectively as a man and a woman. The most prominent conflict of the story is Kaoru's struggle to overcome his self-doubt and self-hatred and accept his worthiness to stand by Nana's side as a man and a dom.
Neon Genesis Evangelion likes to analyse gender roles, and as such plays with the trope regarding the couples in the series:
Shinji is obviously a House Husband in training, cooking and doing most of the chores around the house he occupies with Asuka and Misato, and has a shy, timid, and kind personality most of the time (unless extensively provokedor completely snaps). By contrast, Asuka is a Fiery RedheadAction Girl who revels in combat and remains the better pilot for most of the series.
While Kaji is clearly quite manly, he has some feminine touches to his personality, in that he enjoys gardening, drinks coffee, specializes in espionage, and likes tidying up. This is in contrast to Misato who enjoys cars, drinks beer, specializes in combat, and is very sloppy (as seen that Shinji picks up after her and Asuka.)
Nuko Duke has Sasame (female) and Kei (male). Kei has silky long hair, and is very good at keeping the house. Sasame has Boyish Short Hair and is a natural charmer towards females. Naturally, people frequently get their genders mixed up.
Ore-sama Teacher: Several pairs, as the female protagonist Mafuyu is a Tomboy/Action Girl. So there is Mafuyu and Hayasaka, Mafuyu and Okegawa, Mafuyu and Ayabe...
Otome no Iroha: In the manga, the main siblings' grandmother comes back from the dead and forcibly Gender Bends them because of this. Her feeling was that the odds of a Pink Boy and a Blue Girl successfully marrying, let alone providing great-grandchildren, were so minute she had to take matters into her own hands.
Pokémon Adventures has the Camp Straight coordinator Ruby and the aggressive battle-loving Tomboy Sapphire. Ironically enough, it was implied they had more traditional roles when they were younger. However, both underwent a traumatic incident involving Salamance as young children. Ruby felt ashamed in how his battling frightened Sapphire and developed into someone calmer and more serene while Sapphire was ashamed by her timidity in response and became more fiery.
Ash's Unova companions in the anime, Iris and Cilan. Cilan cooks and has a more passive and nurturing role while Iris is more battle-oriented and wild.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Junko is a corporate ladder climber as well as a Hard-Drinking Party Girl when off-work. Tomohisa is her level-headed and kind House Husband. This is reflected in her style of dialogue, which is more similar to Kyouko's than any of the other female characters (though less vulgar).
The calm and serene So Touma and hyperactive tomboy Kana Mizuhara from Q.E.D..
Ukyo Kuonji is a Bifauxnen who manages to attract two different Wholesome Crossdresser suitors. The second of these, Konatsu, was raised so femininely that they can almost be argued as female-identifying, to the point their his reaction when surprised in a bath is to squeal like a girl and cover non-existent breasts.
Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo can be seen as a zigzagging example of this. Akane is a notoriously short-tempered and violence-prone tomboy, infamous for her total lack of cooking skill, horrible at anything arts and crafts (such as making cookie shapes, sewing, painting, etc), and poor at housework. Ranma, in contrast, is capable of acting much more feminine, is very good at cooking and sewing, hates mess to the point he once forgot about burglarizing a flat to clean up the mess inside instead, can turn into female more or less at will, and often dressed up as a girl for whatever Zany Scheme he was pulling. On the other hand, Akanedesperately wants to be more feminine and tries her hardest to achieve that, and had both stereotypically "girly" fears (such as loathing ghost stories) and a rather idealized view of femininity (due to her beloved mother's early death andhaving been raised by her Yamato Nadeshiko older sister Kasumi), while Ranma is a macho jock-type who'll even go around near-naked in female form because he's that masculine. Akane also prefers wearing dresses and skirts when not in her martial arts gi (even when discounting her school uniform), while even in female form Ranma only wears girls' clothes when wearing a disguise, a swim suit (out of necessity), or to keep his/her mother happy as "Ranko" before Mrs. Saotome learned about his genderbending curse.
The Rose of Versailles: André Grandier and Oscar François de Jarjayes. Perhaps not a textbook example, since André is not tremendously effeminate. But André is the more sensitive and people-oriented one, while Oscar is very direct and more goal-oriented. Oscar is referred to as the "light", and André as the "shadow".
Rurouni Kenshin: Despite being a notorius former assassin, Kenshin Himura has a slender physique and feminine-looking face with long hair, is one of the most polite and deferential speakers you'll ever find, and is very skilled at housework, eventually becoming a house-husband. His female landlord and eventual wife, Kaoru Kamiya, is a skilled kendo instuctor who brings in the dojo's income and often wears a masculine training gi (although is also a feminine beauty when dressed in traditional women's clothes), is a short-tempered tsundere, and her cooking skills are mediocre at best.
Saiyuki: Genjo Sanzo and his new best friend Sharak Sanzo are two peas in a pod. They're a mirror reflection of each other, except for appearance. Genjo Sanzo is short, was mistaken for a girl a lot as a kid, is teasingly referred to as "princess," has men hitting on him because of his looks, wears a long flowing garment, and is the weakest guy in his party. Sharak has barely noticeable breasts, wears men's monk robes, is very buff, is covered in scars, talks and carries herself in a masculine manner, plus she does not like being thought of or looked at as a woman.
Sakura Discord: Mebuki and Oka are revealed to have been very close in the third volume. She's a blunt, sarcastic and uncaring Academic Athlete while he's a nice and soft pretty boy, who met her through his reading hobby. After much drama involving Mebuki's family, they end up together. And they turn out to have a strange and unexpected affinity when it comes to trolling.
Kazuto "Towa" Sakuma and Miya from Sensual Phrase. Kazuto's a very girly-looking rock musician who dresses as a female even off-stage. Miya is the Bifauxnen beautician who both dates him and created his androgynous looks.
The main characters of She's My Knight, Bifauxnen Mogami and Tsundere Ichinose, embody this. Look at the Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun example for Kashima and Mikoshiba to get a sense of what their relationship is like.
Special A: Brash, competitive Hikari and thoughtful, cultured Kei. It also inverts typical plot roles: Kei has loved Hikari since forever but is too shy to say it; Hikari is so dense that she doesn't notice.
Toradora!: Ryuji and Taiga have aspects of this in personality, but it contrasts with their appearance. Taiga is small ("looks like a doll") but has a brash, loud and angry personality. Ryuji has the Face of a Thug but is generally quiet and enjoys housework (especially cleaning but also cooking).
Urusei Yatsura: Ryunosuke was unwillingly raised to be the ultimate manly man by her father, and later discovers she's in an Arranged Marriage with Nagisa, the ghost of a guy raised to be ultra womanly. In the one story they share together after Nagisa's introduction, Nagisa is shown acting like Ryunosuke's House Husband, still wearing dresses, and Ryunosuke complains that he cries at the slightest criticism. That said, the trope isn't entirely clearcut; Ryunosuke wants to be more feminine, and still maintains a very strong sense of feminine modesty. Nagisa, on the other hand, has some very masculine failings; he's gluttonous, a bit of a horndog (albeit only for Ryunosuke), and whilst he doesn't like to fight, contrasting his hardened brawler of a fiancee, he's actually very good at it, and is the only character in the series to ever beat Ryunosuke in a fight. Ironically, they find a Commonality Connection in that neither likes the idea of fighting girls.
Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie concerns the relationship between a cute, but popular, naturally athletic, and cool girl and her supportive, unlucky, cute Protectorate boyfriend. In-universe and out, many think they could switch genders and they'd fit in each other's roles perfectly.
Usotsuki Lily: Numerous, including the main couple Hinata and En, with boyfriend En being a pretty crossdresser and girlfriend Hinata shown to be a pretty boy when crossdressing and sometimes does not know her own strength.
Utopia Of Homosexuality: Jung Suk Ha and Park Bong Bin are respectively a Butch Lesbian and a Camp Gaywho eventually end up together. Yes, a very misleading title.
Wandering Son: Downplayed with Maho and Riku. Maho is a loud, aggressive girl while her boyfriend Riku is a softspoken Nice Guy.
Hinagiku and Takuro's romance plotline in the original manga version of Wedding Peach particularly centers around this, with them having been Childhood Friends but drifting apart as gender differences became more intrusive in their lives. Takuro ends up developing an inferiority complex over being emotionally sensitive and physically weak (and therefore not being enough of a "man") while Hinagiku gets repeatedly told she'll never get a boyfriend for being too masculine. Eventually, Takuro accepts a Deal with the Devil to make him stronger, more capable, and more confident, but it has the trade-off of making him arrogant and conceited, which breaks Hinagiku's heart because what she really liked about him was his kindness. Eventually, one attempted Heroic Sacrifice and a heart-to-heart later, they work it out.
Woman in the Man: Childhood friends Tsuyomaru and Hazumi, a short story by Masakazu Katsura. Mixed with "Freaky Friday" Flip as they switch bodies.
Welcome to Room #305: Yoona and her twin brother Yoon Sung when they were young. Yoona is boisterous, looked androgynous, and would get into fights protecting her short, crybaby brother. As adults, Yoona is still The Lad-ette but Yoon Sung is a Jerkass.
W Juliet: Ito and Makoto. So much that it's even implied that they'll get married in drag!
Your and My Secret: Soft-spoken boy, Akira Urehara and loud-mouthed girl Nanako Momoi being Body Switched into one another's bodies. Just about everyone notices how much more masculine Akira and how feminine Nanako has become, and approve.
Your Lie in April: Tsubaki and Kousei, when they were in elementary. Kousei was a short, sensitive boy who played the piano while Tsubaki was an athletic tomboy.
You're My Pet: Sumire and Momo. Sumire is an efficient, successful journalist who watches pro wrestling and Sentai anime in her spare time and is a martial arts master on the side, while Momo is a modern dancer who is fairly emotional and doesn't mind taking on the role of Sumire's pet.
