Single Woman Seeks Good Man / Anime & Manga

Single Woman Seeks Good Man in Anime & Manga.

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• 7 Seeds: Natsu falls for Arashi pretty instantly, mostly because of her lack of self-confidence and he's the first guy who was ever nice to her.
• Keiichi Morisato from Ah! My Goddess. In fact, he never would have even had a chance to meet the wish-granting goddess Belldandy in the first place if it weren't for the fact he's a mistreated Nice Guy.
• Akame ga Kill!:
  • Mine is one of the female assassins of Night Raid, a band of trained killers who coldly execute their targets without a shred of sympathy. While originally hostile towards him when they first meet, she eventually develops a huge crush on the new recruit Tatsumi, because of his pure heart, true heroic character, and concern for others. In the anime, the attraction never pays off, as Mine dies confessing her feelings to Tatsumi, and Tatsumi dies not long after in the Final Battle. In the original manga, however, Tatsumi and Mine become an Official Couple after a while and marry at the end of the series.
  • Unfortunately, the team's greatest enemy, General Esdeath, lusts for Tatsumi while hunting him down. Needless to say, she wants to kill him when Tatsumi eventually tells her to her face that he's in a relationship.
  • This is the reason Kurome of the Jaegers ends up falling for her teammate Wave, due to a combination of his kindness, concern for his teammates, ferocious protection of her from being raped by Syura, and good intentions. It's enough that when Wave finally reciprocates those feelings and decides to Opt Out of the war to take care of her, she ultimately abandons the war and the Empire to be with him. In the anime, however, despite her feelings for Wave, it cannot dissuade her from wanting to kill her sister Akame. In the end, she is fatally stabbed through the heart by said sister, despite Wave's attempts to save her.
• Angel Densetsu: Ryoko's relationship with Kitano looked like it's going to fall into the All Girls Want Bad Boys trope (by his appearance), but after seeing Kitano's true nature, it becomes this trope instead.
• Battle Angel Alita:
  • Alita falls like a brick for the idealistic and sweet boy Yugo, but he isn't much into her and turns out to be a spine thief. When Alita finds out however, she doesn't care. And when Yugo finally seems ready to return Alita's feelings, he dies.
  • Happens later in the manga when she falls for Figure Four, a happy-go-lucky Big Guy who can handle himself against cyborgs. The moment seems to be after he stands up for his friend against her, despite his friend being a spineless wimp.
• Battle Royale; it's revealed that half the girls in class harbored a crush on protagonist Shuya (and he was completely oblivious to it all). To drive in the idea of how they seek a "good" man, Shuya is revealed to be one of the most idealistic, kind-hearted boys in the entire series. The "bad girls" in the class all fall into this category. They've all slept with numerous sleazebags — almost exclusively for cash, yet all they really want is a nice guy who cares about them. Hirono Shimizu is one of the aforementioned girls with a soft spot for Shuya; Yoshimi Yahagi is in love with her boyfriend Yoji Kuramoto, who despises the bad things she's done but loves her anyway. The most notable example, however, is the head honcho, Mitsuko Souma. She doesn't give a damn about any guy who lusts after her, but is deeply distressed when Yuichiro Takiguchi, the only person who was ever kind to her, dies.
• Berserk plays it straight between Guts and Casca. It's not Guts' ultra-macho behaviour nor his ability to destroy a whole army single-handedly that made Casca fall for him, it's rather his righteousness, his consideration towards her as well as their not so different backgrounds.
  • Griffith and Casca. She was attracted to Griffith because she thought he was a formidable man after he saved her from servitude and prostitution. Then he went over the Moral Event Horizon during the Eclipse. She didn't even have time to hate him; upon becoming Femto, the fifth Godhand, he proceeded to brutally rape her in front of Guts, and she lost her sanity and memories in the process.
  • The same can be said as for the Griffith/Charlotte couple. Except that Griffith is hardly a nice guy — he's just immensely capable of playing that role to get Charlotte as his Meal Ticket.
• In Black Clover, Noelle falls for Asta because of his kindness, accepting and praising her despite her lack of magic control, and strong sense of justice, standing up for her against her siblings when they mock her and saving innocent people regardless of their status. However, she's in constant denial over her feelings and he's too oblivious to notice them.
• In Black Lagoon, dangerous and very violent Revy becomes gradually attracted to the decent, kind and caring Rock, even though she hates to admit it. Her being a mashup of Dark Action Girl, Ax-Crazy and Tsundere REALLY helps their advancement.... However in "Roberta's Blood Trail", Rock is becoming more callous and manipulative, and it's suggested the reason Revy isn't pushing the relationship is because she's afraid of being disillusioned about him.
• In Bleach, at first sight Orihime Inoue liked Ichigo Kurosaki because she found his scowl cute. Later, it's revealed that they met in one of the darkest moments of her life (when her brother and caretaker died, leaving her alone in the world), and a while later they got to actually know each other as they became classmates. From then on, and especially after all the adventures that the True Companions have gone through (including a Rescue Arc where they fought to rescue her), Orihime considers Ichigo as the person who allowed her to develop her Barrier Warrior powers and, as she tells Riruka, "saved" her.
• Booty Royale: Never Go Down Without a Fight!: In chapter 28, Kurisu begins to develop feelings for her assistant manager, Yajima, who's shown to be polite and a diligent worker. Yajima tries to maintain a proper working-class relationship with her, until she confronts him about his feelings for her several chapters later and says he be up-front about it. Yajima finally relents and officially becomes her boyfriend.
• Buso Renkin: Despite finding him annoying and exasperating at first, the first two arcs of the series see Tokiko fall in love with Kazuki due to his irrepressible optimism, virtue, strong will and determination to protect everyone.
• Captain Tsubasa:
  • Inside and outside the soccer fields, Tsubasa Ohzora is a Humble Hero and a very kind-hearted guy. No wonder Sanae and Kumi (and lots of nameless fangirls, in the TV series) fall in love with him. The pilot manga chapter directly alluded to this trope. There was a Love Triangle between main guy Taro Tsubasa, main girl Aki Yamazaki (who'd later become Sanae) and Hot-Blooded Genzo Wakabayashi: Genzo openly declared his love for Aki, but she apologized and turned him down because she already was in love with Taro.
  • Sweet Yoshiko is completely in love with Matsuyama, a kind and responsible Team Dad.
  • Koujiro Hyuuga started as a Jerkass who slowly evolved to a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, but what made his prospect girlfriend Maki Akamine fall for him was how he supported her in her budding career and gave her a Cooldown Hug when her team lost badly.
  • Yayoi Aoba is hinted (later confirmed in the Memories chapters) to have had her first crush on Tsubasa, but after she became the manager of the Musashi FC, she fell for Jun Misugi, who like Tsubasa is a very nice, kind-hearted, and selfless young man.
• Case Closed:
  • The flighty and boy-crazy Sonoko Suzuki ultimately swears by the trope as her long-distance boyfriend is the dorky Gentle Giant Makoto Kyougoku, who is socially awkward but is pretty much his White Knight to her White Lady.
  • Her best friend Ran Mouri likes Amateur Sleuth Shinichi Kudou who is very protective of his loved ones and has a strong sense of justice (And unbeknownst to them, he's living with her... as her sort-of little brother Conan Edogawa). Some people have wondered why Ran would like a guy like Shinichi... Well, in a private discussion with Conan (aka Shinichi himself), Ran stated that while he may have an unpleasant personality, he's also brave and someone you can rely on in a pinch. In fact, Ran first realized she was in love with him when he helped save a Serial Killer from falling to his death. When asked by the said killer why he [Shinichi] would even consider doing such an act, Shinichi responded with:
    "People kill each other and I don't understand, but for saving a life, is a logical reason necessary?"
  • Local Action Girl Miwako Satou chooses Nice Guy Takagi over Princely Young Man Shiratori. The biggest reasons for her choice are how kind and gentle he is, as well as him promising that he won't leave her alone, something very important for a woman who lost both her father and her First Love very messily. Not to say that the aforementioned Shiratori is a Bad Boy, nope; he's a bit of a jerk, but said jerkiness comes more from pride than actual malice and he's an honest and hardworking cop, a quality that he's had ever since he was a child ... which helps swear by the trope with local Hot Teacher Sumiko Kobayashi, who he helped when they were children. In fact, Shiratori's genuine desire to uphold the law to the benefit of people is the BIG detail that makes her fall in love with him, since it makes her remember how they met as children; from then on they're together and she's all but stated to be able to bring the best out of someone like him.
• In Claymore this is why Clare (despite being quite emotionless most of the time) fell for Nice Guy Raki because of his righteousness and compassion towards her despite Clare being a Claymore whom are usually hated and treated as blade-wielding witches by Muggles. When Raki almost dies, Clare even sheds Tender Tears and cradles him in her arms.
• In Code Geass this is the core of why Shirley likes Anti-Hero Lelouch. Despite his cynical facade and morally grey actions, Lelouch ultimately does care for people and Shirley is well aware he's a much nicer person than he lets on.
• Chrono Crusade: Hot-Blooded Tsundere Action Girl Rosette and the Shrinking Violet Nice Guy Chrono, who also qualify as a mild example of Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy.
• In Cross Ange, Fallen Princess main character Ange cites that this is the reason she falls for Badass Normal Tusk. Said guy is a loner who has lived by himself for most of his life being a steward to her Humongous Mecha Villkiss, and after meeting her has gone by the selfless mindset that if he can protect the strong, inspiring young lady who pilots Villkiss, then he's happy. In her own prickly words, as she says it to him after his heartfelt motive speech...
  Ange: You're a wimp... but you're pure.
• In Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Lucy quickly falls in love with the kind-hearted David. Just before their Relationship Upgrade she calls him the kind of guy who would jump into the fire to rescue someone—anyone—even when he knows he's going to get burned.
• The Dangers in My Heart: Anna Yamada politely ignores and avoids the advances of other boys for having shallow intentions and interest in her. She falls in love with the gloomy Shrinking Violet Kyōtarō Ichikawa for interacting with her genuinely, committing selfless acts of kindness and consideration on her behalf (And as covertly as he can most of the time) without any expectation of her even noticing him, and of course, because he's "funny".
• Played with in DEAD Tube, during the 48 hours of filming Mashiro requested from Machiya, she teased him with many cases in which his hormones and urges could get the best of him: filming her go pee, filming her during her sleep; Machiya kept his cool and didn’t take advantage of Mashiro, she states this being the reason why she likes him, because he is a “good boy”. This of course might be only a part of her reason, or it is a farce altogether, Mashiro knows Machiya is thrilled about murders and she likes to perform said actions, the two are a match made in heaven (or hell).
• Allen Walker from D.Gray-Man is one of the nicest guys in anime, and is also quite the Chick Magnet. Rohfa has a huge crush on him, Road is openly smitten with him, and it is implied in one of the Reverse novels that Lenalee is interested in him romantically.
• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba:
  • This is the entire deal of Mitsuri Kanroji's character. She was told by her emotionally abusive hag of a mother and a boy in her village that she was hideous, unloveable (both bull) and that no man would ever want her due to the color of her hair (a result of eating too much Sakura mochi) and her unnatural strength, so Mitsuri set out to prove them wrong and find a good husband. It's even for this very reason that Mitsuri dresses so revealing as she hopes she can allure a good man with her figure. She is attracted to multiple heroic dudes in the series, such as Rengoku, Muichiro, Tanjiro and (ironically) Genya. In the end, she falls for the dark and creepy Iguro, who has a Hidden Heart of Gold and has had a secret crush on her for ages.
  • Kanao Tsuyuri falls for Ideal Hero and perineal Nice Guy Tanjiro entirely because of his compassionate and righteous nature and ends up being Happily Married to him in the Distant Finale.
  • Nezuko, upon becoming a human again, remembers how Zenitsu (who's been a Hopeless Suitor to almost ever other girl) constantly protected and cared for her while she was a demon and the offered flowers and declarations of love he gave her and is moved to tears upon properly meeting him. They get married not too long after.
• In Doraemon, Shizuka likes and admires Nobita's kind heart, and eventually the two end up married in the future.
• Dragon Ball:
  • Chi-Chi fell for The Hero Goku while he was helping her find the Bansho Fan which could put out the burning castle of her father the Ox-King. She proposes to Goku soon after, yet due to him being a Wild Child with little understanding of civilization he mistakes "marriage" for food and claims he'll try it later but (in the manga) he never comes back to her. Upon meeting her again in the Piccolo Jr Arc, Goku doesn't reconise Chi-Chi to her anger and heartbreak. However after revealing who she is and the promise he made her in their match, Goku is apologetic and agrees to marry — much to Chi-Chi's joy. They marry and have a son soon afterwards.
  • Launch in the anime gets closer to Tien after his Heel–Face Turn, even tending his injuries in Kami House... and this in her "evil" blonde form. In the Z anime Launch steals food for Tien and wants him to join her in a life of crime but he isn't interested in that, though he still saves her from being swept away by a waterfall bursting with a Security Cling that makes Launch blush. When Tien and Chiaotzu leave to go train with Kami, Launch can't stand being seperated from Tien and tries to climb Korin's tower to reach him. When Tien is killed, she is seen drowning her sorrows in a bar. In Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot it's made clear she still very much loves Tien and wants to be with him again. This doesn't seem apply to her good blue-haired form though, who shows no interest in Tien.
  • Despite being out of his league in both looks and power, much of Android 18's attraction to Krillin seems to stem from how he showed genuine concern for her in an arc where heroes and villains alike treated her as nothing more than an enemy, weapon, or resource.
  • Videl didn't think much of Gohan at first upon meeting him in their high school, thinking him a dorky weakling. Gradually though she becomes more and more interested in him especially after he agrees to train her to fly and when Gohan suggests she cut her hair, Videl with a blush asks if he prefers girls with short hair and becomes abashed upon he explained it was just more practical when came to fighting. In the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai Tournament and the chaos that falls, Videl realises she's fallen in love with Gohan, much to her father's horror. They get married and have a daughter years later.
  • In Dragon Ball Super: Broly Cheelai was awed by Broly upon their first meeting, but she only starts to really like him when he displays his Bruiser with a Soft Center nature when she offers him food and when Broly defends her from a sleazy Frieza soldier. In the climax of the movie Cheelai even uses the Dragon Balls to save Broly from getting killed by Gogeta, wishing for Shenron to send Broly to the planet Vampa and goes there herself with a pilot Lemo (who says he understands how much this means to her), not caring one bit if this paints a massive target on her back for betraying Frieza.
• Dr. Slump: Arale in the future marries Nice Guy Obotchaman. (Both are Ridiculously Human Robots with the shapes and minds of children)
  • Hiyoko, Peasuke's girlfriend, is also an example.
  • Akane (although at first it seemed to be the opposite),eventually starts dating Tsukutsun, who is a very levelheaded and friendly boy, and even marries him.
• D.N.Angel has every female fall for the phantom thief Dark, with the exception of Riku Harada who falls in love with the sweet, good-natured Daisuke.
• In Eden of the East, Selecao No. 11 is Kuroha Diana Shiratori, a modelling agency president whose personal quest to "save Japan" is motivated by the country's hideously misogynistic culture. Her favourite tactic is seducing rapists and other cruel men and then castrating and torturing them when they're in the seclusion of her apartment. However she develops an affection for Takizawa because he's a "good boy" and eventually becomes an ally to him.
• Lucy whose real name is Kaede from Elfen Lied falls for Kouta because he is the first person to be genuinely kind to her and not shun her because she is different (he even finds her horns cool). Even though she gets, to say the least, deranged and murderous later in life, she continues loving Kouta for his virtues and refuses to harm him.
• Eureka Seven:
  • Eureka falling for friendly and sensitive Renton for his good nature fits this trope like a glove.
  • Anemone falls for Dominic, her caretaker, because taking care of her is not a job for him, and he also was genuinely kind to her despite how utterly troubled she is.
• Fairy Tail: Mavis Vermillion fell in love with Zeref because she saw the tortured soul beneath his exterior, and his kindness in helping her and her friends learn magic. Thus, she is immensely disappointed in the man he is today, though she does recognize the circumstances that caused his change in character (specifically her death) are more than justifiable.
• In Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works], Rin admits that while she's annoyed by Shirou's martyr complex, she can't help but be drawn to his noble and kind nature.
• In Fist of the North Star, all the bloodthirsty warriors and cruel overlords want gentle and beautiful Yuria as their wife but she would rather give herself to the badass yet genuinely kind, generous and caring Kenshiro.
• In Freezing, the fact that Kazuya Aoi is respectful and kind towards the very troubled Satellizer makes her develop affection towards him. Also applies to Lana. She was told before leaving her village that the man who could make her Stigmata "resonate" would be her destined partner. Kazuya's Freezing has this exact effect, leading to her initial interest in him as a partner.
• In Fruits Basket, this happens quite frequently. Kyoko falls deeply in love with Katsuya (though very sarcastic, he was the first person to ever try to understand her and treated her kindly). Machi falls for the gentle, good-natured Yuki. Mitsuru becomes very close to Ritsu, bonding over the stress Shigure causes them. Komaki is practically married to Manabu who, zaniness aside, is very attentive and caring towards her, and the time he went overboard was in a misguided desire to help her (which she immediately bites him for). Rin actually says that the reason she fell in love with Haru was because he was "a kind boy", who took care of her after everyone else abandoned her. Even in the case of Kyo, Tohru is attracted to the sweet, loving side of him that becomes more and more prominent as the series goes on.
  • Given that everyone in this manga is severely tramautized and/or have emotional issues, this isn't surprising. A gender-flipped example is Tohru herself, who breaks the Vicious Cycle of abuse that isolates everyone in the Sohma family by just being nice to them and listening to their troubles. (Of course, Tohru has issues of her own, but that's not the point.) Only two people ,- Kyo and Momiji ,- love her romantically, but as the plot progresses, all the Sohmas grow fond of her — including Akito, the extremely cruel Big Bad, who turns out to be a terribly unloved person underneath all the craziness. And it's Tohru's kindness that helps her have her Heel–Face Turn. It is this platonic love that gives the Zodiac the confidence to stand up to the Evil Matriarch that controls their lives.
• In Future GPX Cyber Formula, Asuka Sugo doesn't return the affections of the Royal Brat rich kid and racer Randoll, she instead falls for the sometimes temperamental but Nice Guy Hayato, who also happens to be her longtime friend, and falls for him because of his extraordinary will to win and his honesty.
• Gangsta.: Alex is a Broken Bird and most of the men in her life (except for her little brother Emilio) have been nothing but abusive, violent or perverted (or all three at once) to her. So it's no big suprise the man who gave tissue for her bloodied nose, held her hands steady while she struggling to open her pills and frequently saved her life from thugs and rapists: Nic — she falls for.
• In H2, Haruka comments in an early chapter that all the guys she's ever liked have turned out to be jerks. Noticing the way she's looking at Hiro, his childhood friend Hikari comments "I don't think you're off this time". She isn't.
• Hana no Ko Lunlun is a Magical Girl series in which the titular heroine searches for a MacGuffin through Europe. The closest to a Love Interest that she has is a handsome photographer named Serge, who's a Nice Guy and some more and keeps helping her when she needs it.
• In Hellsing Seras didn't like Pip at first (understandably given he was being a French Jerk when he met her) but after Pip became nicer upon getting to know her on missions Seras started to like him — though was still bashful when he tried to kiss her. When Pip pulls a Heroic Sacrifice saving her from Zorin Blitz and gives her a Last Kiss while dying, Seras breaks down crying cradling his body and then unleashes epic Unstoppable Rage againist his killer. Due to drinking Pip's blood however, he gets to live on inside Seras as her familar.
• In Hetalia: Axis Powers, we have the Action Girl Hungary. She is head over heels in love with her ex-husband and current boyfriend, Austria, who's a Neat Freak Sheltered Aristocrat. "My heart is Austrian territory!", she tells to Seychelles in the original script of Gakuen Hetalia. (Although she rarely minds seeing him being felt up by other males...)
  • Ho Yay version: Many fans believe this is one of the reasons for Greece implicitly having more of a chance with Japan than Turkey does. Sure, Greece might be a bit of a lech and get into fistfights with Turkey, but his Nice Guy qualities are so prominent that he's the one Japan's most likely to be in a happy and stable relationship with in fanworks.
  • Possibly one of the reasons for the Sweden / Finland pairing being so popular. Sweden is afflicted with a bad case of Face of a Thug, but he's very sweet and gentle underneath.
• Honoo no Alpen Rose: Kind and sweet Jeudi falling since the beginning for the Nice Guy Lundi, despite Count Germont's pursuing and the appearance of Teen Genius Leonhardt. (Although Leon is also a Nice Guy, Lundi still has the advantage.)
• Kagerou Project: Takane Emomoto has a huge crush on her (only) classmate, Haruka Kokonose -, Oblivious to Love textbook-Nice Guy. Not that she'll admit it to anyone. Including herself. Unfortunately, the day she did decide to tell him happened to be the day they were both murdered. Before either had a chance to say anything. His last words imply the feeling was mutual.
• Played for Drama in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War. Kaguya fell in love with Shirogane because he showed her that there is such a thing as a truly altruistic person, and she is an Insecure Love Interest due to feeling that her past as an Ice Queen makes her unworthy of loving somebody as kind as him. It's also the source of the series' premise, as the entire reason she wants him to confess to her rather than the other way around is that she's afraid that all the signs of him liking her are just her misinterpreting his natural kindness towards everyone.
• Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple: Miu falls in love with Kenichi because he is kind, honorable, brave and protective. Even though for much of the story she's the stronger of the two, she never doubts that one day he'll be able to protect her as much as she does him.
• While Hikaru's attraction to Kyousuke Kasuga in Kimagure Orange Road comes from her accidentally seeing him use his Psychic Powers and thinking he's the most awesome guy around, Madoka's own crush on him comes from how Kyousuke is among the few males at their school who treats her as a person instead of just fearing her. (Well, the other guy who does it from the start is Yusaku but he's smitten with Hikaru instead, while Hatta and Komatsu only start talking more to Madoka once Kyousuke does so.)
• One of the things that makes Kimi ni Todoke so refreshing to read is that the heroine's love interest is a genuinely Nice Guy who wins her over by simply being sweet and kind to her.
• Komi Can't Communicate: Shouko Komi, the most beautiful girl in the class falls in love with her Best Friend, Tadano Hitohito because of his caring, dependable personality and she really enjoys being with him. She has eyes only for Tadano.
• Kotoura-san:
  • A young woman with Yuriko's looks and temperament probably wouldn't have much trouble finding a date, but she relentlessly pursues the nebbish but intelligent and kind Dai'chi. His apparent refusal to acknowledge her charms, sexual or otherwise, merely spurs her attempts to make him notice her.
  • On the other hand, Haruka loves Manabe not only because he accepts her for who she is, but also he literally speaks his mind, regardless of his sexual fantasies.
• Little House with an Orange Roof: Shoutarou looks like a typical middle-aged Japanese man, but he is a good dad, a Benevolent Boss, and all-round caring, compassionate and kind. This earns him the attention of a lot of women.
• Love Hina: In the end, Naru does finally marry Keitaro (after she tones down the worst of her Tsundere traits), and we have Shinobu and Motoko suffering from unrequited love.
• This is how all the main girls of Love Lab eventually fall in love for their respective love interests.
  • Riko admits her feelings for Nagi after he takes her side and defend her and her friend from creeps even after she decked one of them and was scared Nagi wouldn't find her attractive because of that. Nagi telling her she was really cool was the final nail in the coffin.
  • Romance obsessed Maki kept denying her growing attraction to un-romantic and blunt Yan, until the culture festival, were he works his butt off for the event to be succesfull without expecting, or wanting recognition for it. She makes so he recieves the thanks of his classmates anyway, and the realization hits her at how happy she is seeing him rewarded for his work.
  • Nervous Wreck Suzu develops a closeness with Riko's brother Ren, and eventually feelings for him for all the times he gave her advice and helped her grow a spine.
  • For how... weird Sayo's relationship with her boyfriend Yu is, and annoyed at how clingy he can be, she still sees him as her boyfriend and wants to stay with him. She just doesn't like saying it, or have it pointed out.
  • Eno immediatly falls for Haru after he helps her get off the bus and guide her to a toilet while she was motion sick. And when she accidently headbutts him, he said it didn't even hurt because her hair is like cotton candy.
• Maison Ikkoku: Though occasionally a jerk, most of Godai's jerkish behavior comes from being too nice (and hence unreliable), if that makes any sense.
• Shiranui Hansode in Medaka Box loves Zenkichi because he is "too sweet to stomach". He is the one person she would never truly betray. She's even willing to support his attempts to woo Medaka even though she hates Medaka. Even after she drops her long act as Medaka's Double, she still seems to have a soft spot for him.
• In Midori Days, Ayase initially despises Seiji seeing him as nothing but a violent delinquent. This starts to change when a bunch of delinquents from another school try to take her away for some "fun" and Seiji is the only person who defends her (the other students taking a "not my problem" stance). She falls for him for real when she sees him willingly taking a beating to protect his friend.
• Lacus Clyne falls for Nice Guy and male Shrinking Violet Kira Yamato in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, even though this means breaking her arranged engagement to Athrun Zala. While Athrun is himself a good person too, the engagement was arranged by their parents, and it's all but stated that Athrun and Lacus considered each other friends rather than prospect lovers and were going along with it because their parents were expecting it, hence why when Lacus hooks up with Kira, Athrun doesn't mind, and vice versa.
  • Also, Flay Allster at first hated Kira since he was unable to save her beloved father, so she pretended to love him so she could drive him to his death. However, Kira was genuinely and constantly kind to her, and Flay found herself falling in love with him for real... which would only end in tragedy for her.
• Monkey High!: Dignified, aloof Haruna falls for Macharu. Why? He was the first person who went out of his way to befriend her in spite of her cool demeanor. Plus, he's endearingly awkward and has a fun sense of humor that gets even Haruna.
• My Dress-Up Darling: Female lead Marin Kitagawa falls for the kind and sincere Wakana Gojo, who always does his best to support her on her cosplay hobby and make her happy. In turn, Gojo is attracted to Marin's cheery and lively personality, and her efforts to help him overcome his social anxiety issues.
• My Hero Academia: As the story advances, Ochaco Uraraka develops a crush on Izuku Midoriya, who is a kind, helpful and friendly boy who saved her during the Entrance Exam, and he's the only boy she has ever been shown to harbor romantic feelings toward. Even prior to realizing how she felt, she would often gush about him or be concerned for his wellbeing more than others, and she gets extremely flustered when asked if she likes him. It enters deconstruction territory when she realizes these feelings could become a distraction that interferes with her judgment as a hero, so she tries to suppress them.
• My Love Story!!: Rinko falls for Takeo because he rescued her from a groper on the train, punched the groper's lights out when he tried to claim that she was asking for it, and in general is gentle, supportive, and considerate of her needs and wishes (even if he didn't always understand what those wishes were). She sees all these qualities as making him extremely handsome. The inverse is true as well: Takeo fell for Rinko because she's unfailingly kind, generous, and in his words, "pure-hearted". By comparison, all of his crushes before Rinko were only polite to his face and mocked him behind is back, something he didn't know until Suna told him.
  • Takeo's mother and father are this way too, with Mr. Goda saying that he married Mrs. Goda for her vivacity and altruism.
  • Although Suna shows little interest in dating on a good day, he's made it very clear that he will never date any girl who treats Takeo poorly, and seems to use how girls talk about Takeo behind his back as a litmus test for how good a person they are.
• Naruto:
  • This is the reason why Tsunade fell in love with Dan Kato and not Jiraiya. Dan was a good man who wanted to become Hokage to protect the village and supported Tsunade's ideals to save as many people by training more medics.
  • Subverted and Exploited with Sakura towards Naruto. In Chapter 469, she makes a blatantly fake love confession to Naruto that lists all of the reasons why he is better for her and Sasuke isn't, so that she could manipulate his one-sided shallow crush on her and get him to stop chasing Sasuke for her. Naruto easily sees right through her, calls her out for lying because he knows that she only loves Sasuke, rejects her outright by telling her that he hates people who lie to themselves, and then breaks his promise to her◊ by telling her "There's no promise between us anymore", because he wants to rescue Sasuke not for her anymore, but for his own reasons now.
  • Asuma Sarutobi is a Former Teen Rebel, but by the time he got together with the local Team Mom Kurenai, he had matured into a well-loved Team Dad.
  • Tenten's potential relationship with Lee has been teased both in the main series and in the Rock Lee's Springtime of Youth spin-off. There was also a scene, in Chapter 238, where Tenten lovingly looked at Lee and blushed as she admired his devotion and hardworking personality.
  • As revealed in the Canon movie The Last: Naruto the Movie, Hinata fell in love with Naruto when they were children after he protected her from three bullies on a snowy day before they enrolled in the Academy.
  • Gender Inverted with Naruto towards his future wife Hinata. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 has a sidequest where Naruto makes the "Ultimate Decision" between innocent girls like Hinata or brisk girls like Sakura and Ino. The innocent girl choice is described as what Naruto really likes, while the brisk girl choice is described as the safe option so that Sakura and Ino wouldn't get mad. This fits well with canon: One of the reasons why Naruto develops a strong friendship with Hinata that grows into love is because out of all his friends, she always treats him with respect and kindness. In Chapter 77, when Hinata gives Naruto her ointment, he thanks her and points out that she's "far too kind." This scene even gets a meaningful Call-Back in The Last. Finally, in his Image Song for The Last — which is a response to Hinata's song — Naruto states that while he didn't notice the depths of Hinata's feelings for him during the main series, he points out that she's always regarded him with "overflowing kindness."
  • What really made Naruto's mother, Kushina, fall in love with his father, Minato, was him rescuing her from the Kumo ninja who kidnapped her and afterwards referring to her long red hair, something that was repeatedly made fun of, as beautiful.
• Negima! Magister Negi Magi: Most of the girls fall under this — at least, those who have a crush on Negi. (Which is still most of them.) Negi himself is a very kind, caring, protective boy, and most of the time the girls initially fall for him because they see that kindness as they become friends with him or he helps them out.
• Neon Genesis Evangelion:
  • Hikari Horaki falls for Toji Suzuhara and is literally asked by Asuka about what she sees in him. She replies blushingly that she sees his kind side, which baffles Asuka.
  • Ironically, both Asuka and Rei fell for the Shrinking Violet main character Shinji, who at least tried to understand their massive issues. And then shit happened.
  • Shinji himself pretty much fell for Kaworu, because he was genuinely gentle to him and told him openly that he loved and cared for him. Even Kaworu's last moments were full of kindness towards Shinji
• One Piece:
  • Boa Hancock falls in love with Luffy Because He Was Nice To Her. Well, that, and he punched out a World Noble, one of only two people in the world with the guts to go through with it. And the World Nobles were those who actually enslaved and tortured Hancock and her sisters nearly into insanity, making her the... really troubled person she is.
  • It is unlikely that any fictional character has tried harder to find a husband than Lola has, having asked 4452 men to marry her, including all of the male members of the Straw Hats, even the non-human Chopper and the undead Brook. They all said no. If her appearance doesn't turn them away, her habit of coming on too strong will; it tends to be the first thing she asks upon meeting men. Luckily, she takes rejection in stride, and she still shows no signs of giving up. Lola finally gets lucky with the 4453th man: Goti from Bege's crew whom she falls for after Goti saves her from the Navy, getting married to him on the Chapter 993 cover page.
  • This trope becomes vital in the Whole Cake Island saga. Initially, Charlotte Pudding despised her arranged groom Vinsmoke Sanji, and happily collaborated with her cruel mother Big Mom in what was supposed to be a fake wedding that would finish with them killing Sanji and his Big, Screwed-Up Family to take a hold of their wealth and scientific discoveries. Thing is, Sanji just happened to tell Pudding at some point that her Third Eye is really pretty... and Pudding, a very bitter Broken Bird who had gone the Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds way because of said Third Eye, collapsed in tears and couldn't bring herself to kill him. This means, Sanji's well-timed kind words completely undid Big Mom's plan, saved his and his family's lives, and made Pudding genuinely fall in love with him (as much as her severely broken mind allows her). The kicker? Pudding is one of the aforementioned Lola's younger sisters.
• Paprika, where the attractive Dr. Chiba reveals that she's in love with the seriously obese Tokita, because of his kind, loving heart.
• Phantom Quest Corp. has two between Ayaka and Makiko.
  • Ayaka realizes she isn't getting any younger and desperately wants to find that 'special someone'. She knows Detective Karino is in love with her and goes out of his way to prove she can depend on him, which she likes about him, even though he screws up a lot of the time. But she doesn't make it easy for him.
  • Makiko is a 19 year old college freshman, who finds herself the unfortunate target of Dracula's thirst for virgin blood. By the end of the first Incident File, she falls for Bosco, an anemic vampire who runs a teashop and helped save her from Dracula.
• Pokémon the Series: XY: Serena has a confirmed crush on Ash Ketchum and had originally left home and started her journey in order to meet him again.
• Puella Magi Madoka Magica has an example between two girls. Homura falls in love with Madoka because she's a kind optimist who genuinely wants her to feel appreciated, which she badly needs after a whole life of illness and isolation. In this instance, dramatic conflict is caused through Madoka's brutal death, which spurs Homura to travel back in time and do a lot of bad things to avert it.
  • The sequel film explores the trope further. Homura still admires Madoka's compassion, but she also dislikes it: as long as they live in an imperfect world, Madoka will feel compelled to sacrifice herself for the good of others. And in their universe, this is likely to end in her death. Ultimately, this trope is... deconstructed. Homura loves Madoka deeply, yes, but thanks to her Dark and Troubled Past is ultimately very dependent on Madoka and has gone to some extreme ends to try and protect her while also trying to help her. Madoka's selfless love for people always contrasts against Homura's once-selfless-but-then-increasingly-selfish love for her, which leads to Homura ultimately swearing by Love Makes You Evil: she undermines all of Madoka's hard work because she believes it will make Madoka happy (since Homura believes Madoka was not truly happy with her sacrifice and subsequent apotheosis.) However, deep down, it's also because this would make Homura happy (in placing the person she cares about most in a Gilded Cage.) Which Homura even admits at some point. So the girl who once wanted to be Madoka's savior out of gratitude... ultimately becomes the Devil to her Angel.
• Rosario + Vampire: The girls in Tsukune Aono's Unwanted Harem fell for him before he Took a Level in Badass, and long before Art Evolution kicked in and turned him into a bishounen. Being a Nice Guy was literally all he had going for him, but he was a really, really nice guy.
• The Rose of Versailles: Oscar develops a romance with André, who's described as a "very sensitive and passionate young man", and a "true working-class hero".
• Rune Soldier Louie: It's subtly implied for most of the series, but episode 15 and especially the final one makes it clear that Ila is secretly in love with Louie. In the former, she tries to get him to notice her, while midway during episode 23, she finally loses her composure as she asks the others to help him (at 6:40-7:50). In the end, once everything has been settled, Louie and co. head off on another journey. Ila says she'll wait for him.
• Rurouni Kenshin: Kaoru didn't fall in love with Kenshin Himura because he was the infamous Battousai the Manslayer. She fell in love with him because he became her friend after he defended her dojo from bandits without asking for anything in return.
• SPY×FAMILY:
  • While Yor tries to convince herself that their marriage is just a beneficial lie, it's very much clear that she adores Loid for being a kind, selfless man, especially when he doesn't judge her for her suspicious activity outside of her day job.
  • Fiona is absolutely this, though she hides it well. She's known Loid for many years being his protégé and partner in W.I.S.E. and has become infatuated with him desperately wanting to be his wife (cover or not) and in her inner monologue claims she finds the softer side of Loid brought out by Anya and Yor even more desirable. Sadly for Fiona she's fighting an uphill battle as Loid is unware of her feelings for him and understandably doesn't think she'd be a fit mother for Anya (having Spartan-level parenting skills) and Fiona's rival Yor is freakishly strong to the point of overshadowing her. Though despite her defeat, Fiona claims she'll never give up in her quest to replace Yor and be with Loid, putting herself through Training from Hell in the wilderness.
• In Tiger & Bunny, Karina ends up falling for the selfless, hyper-compassionate Kotetsu. Likewise, Tomoe (Kotetsu's late wife) started warming up to him once it became apparent that the supposed Delinquent was skipping classes to perform after school superheroics rather than to get into pointless fights like she assumed.
• Tokyo Mew Mew gives us Ichigo Momomiya, a sweet, slightly ditzy girl who has an adorable crush on, and eventually develops a romance with Masaya Aoyama, who's a really nice guy. Then it gets complicated. In addition to being a good-hearted person, Masaya is also her Mysterious Protector but he's also the Big Bad. Then his and Ichigo's love conquer it all in the end.
• X1999: The relationship between the initially frigid and distant Arashi and the cheerful, sweet and caring Sorata is a textbook example of this trope. She's annoyed with him at first since she's not used to deal with such persons, but she soons sees that there's a genuinely good heart underneath all the flirting...
• You're Under Arrest!: It's well known that Natsumi is crazy about Kachou and flirts with him whenever she gets the chance. But it's subverted in Episode 33, which finally reveals why he doesn't reciprocate:
  Kachou: (aloud, to himself) "You're a good girl, Tsujimoto... if only I were 20 years younger."
  • The trope is (eventually) played straight with Natsumi's relationship with Shouji Tokairin. While at first she's annoyed because he's the first officer in the precinct who is able to match her in strength and eating competitions, she falls for him when she sees how committed he is to his duty to save lives. It finally gets sealed when they kiss before he departs for training abroad, and despite Shoji not always being around the precinct, their relationship remains strong.
  • Also with Miyuki's affection for her fellow officer, Ken Nakajima. Though unlike the others above, they're both too shy to confess their feelings for each other.
• Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Has Ameri Azezal, the tough dominering Student Council President of Babels School falling in love with Iruma Suzuki, a human, for being a kind person and who was the first person in her life to treat her as just another student instead of fearing/admiring her as the student council president. Once her personality was reversed and nearly lost her position, Iruma was the one who helped her regain her confidence and regained her position, causing her to have a Love Epiphany realizing her love for him. The fact that she knows that Iruma's a human won't stop her from pursuing him romantically.
• Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V:
  • In her youth, Yoko Sakaki was the boss of an all-female biker gang. She was tough, and took on anyone that looked at her funny. One day, while fighting a guy that took one of her crew hostage, a man showed up and put on a show everyone loved, which diffused all the tension. That man was Yusho, and seeing someone who was able to resolve a situation like that without fighting made her fall in love with him. They eventually got married and had a kid together, and by the start of the series proper, she is the loving mother of the protagonist, Yuya.
  • Yuzu Hiragi is the same. The series shows that Yuzu holds feelings towards the protagonist Yuya besides friendship. She makes the point that she likes it when Yuya is his All-Loving Hero self and has reacted with worry when he starts acting aggressively, whether willingly or not.

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