History Main / CelibateHero

* ''LightNovel/FateRequiem'': Erice Utsumi outright rejects the concept of romance, saying it would distract her from her mission to defend the city of Akihabara from rogue Servants.

* Kagemori Mamoru of ''LightNovel/GuardianNinjaMamoru'', he believes that "Love Is a Distraction" mainly because the girl that he is assigned to is so dimwitted at times that she would [[TooDumbToLive not survive]] without his constant protection and that going out with a girl would detract from his duty. [[KnightTemplarParent His parents]], on the other hand, would argue that Mamoru also has a special duty to find a girlfriend so he can get married and give them some grandchildren so the family tradition can be carried on.

-->'''Poobah:''' Ah, love! The joining of hearts! The exchanging of gifts and fluids! It is not for our kind, brothers. Love is a temptress, a succubus intent on shopping for furniture. Deny love, my boys, or suffer the ultimate fate: Sunday with the in-laws!

%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'': Mater. [[spoiler:At least until the second movie]].

* It's not hard for the heroes of ''Fanfic/{{Fractured}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]'']] [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover crossover]] and its sequel ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}'' to fall into this, even in a downplayed fashion. Virtually everyone is MarriedToTheJob, which is lampshaded by Samantha Shepard during her HeroicBSOD--the last serious relationship she had was before basic training! Relationships (for any of the main cast) are just another thing that has to wait until the war is over.

* Takatoshi Tsuda from ''Manga/SeitokaiYakuindomo'' lives in a world where AllWomenAreLustful and yet he barely shows any signs of romantic or sexual attraction to any of the (many) girls around him. When entering his room at one point, Shino noted that [[ADateWithRosiePalms it didn't smell like semen]].

* Marlene of ''Webcomic/JetDream'', apparently indifferent to sex of any sort, thinks of [[GenderBender her sex change]] as a minor inconvenience that occasionally gets in the way of [[ForScience Doing Science]]. The occasional urge can be dealt with easily enough by using [[ADateWithRosiePalms her Jet Dream Vibrostick]]. This attitude doesn't last forever, though.

* [[DeconstructiveParody Parodied and deconstructed]] in ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' with Colonel Bud Manstrong, who is your typical celibate 50s-style ScienceHero taken to his LogicalExtreme; a sexually repressed MommasBoy[=/=]chronic [[ADateWithRosiePalms masturbator]] who is so [[NoSocialSkills socially inept]], scientifically obsessed, and mentally unstable that he drives his neglected girlfriend into the arms of another man, faints in terror from receiving a handjob, and ultimately collapses into a nervous breakdown.

* ''Manga/TowardTheTerra'' takes this trope to its extreme conclusion. Even the ''thought'' of intimate relationships doesn't seem to exist in the same universe as Soldier Blue [[spoiler:or the next Soldier (title for the leader of the Mu), Jomy. Interestingly, Tony has a girlfriend... but she obligatorily dies a few episodes before he becomes Jomy's replacement]]. Odd considering that they need all the psionic power they can get, AuthorityEqualsAsskicking, and power is a function of genetics.

%%* Gru of ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'' was one in the first movie.

** [[spoiler:Albus Dumbledore]] and [[spoiler:Severus Snape]] are both celibate for reasons not made clear until ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''. WordOfGod has it that after his crush on [[spoiler:Gellert Grindelwald]] caused [[spoiler:Dumbledore]] to [[spoiler:lose his moral compass and buy into Grindelwald's beliefs about the subjugation of Muggles]], which led indirectly to the [[spoiler:death of his sister]], he deliberately gave up on romance and focused upon his studies for the rest his life. [[spoiler:Snape]] is more of a Celibate NominalHero, though, who apparently never has sex due to his unrequited love for Lily.

* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'''s Shizuo Heiwajima has pushed the possibility of a relationship entirely off the table. He doesn't see it as a weakness or liability -- [[IJustWantToHaveFriends he craves human contact more than anything else, romantic or otherwise]] -- but experience has taught him that [[HeroWithAnFInGood he's dangerously prone to hospitalizing people he wants to be close to.]]

* The eponymous LightNovel/GoblinSlayer is too obsessed with his mission to wipe out goblins to think about dating. He later admits he turns down his lovely companions' advances because he is too emotionally damaged for intimacy. He is aware of concepts like marriage and workplace dating and was quick to figure out that Female Knight was carrying a torch for Heavy Warrior.

* The heroine of ''LightNovel/KinosJourney'', is casually but determinedly celibate -- at least in the anime. The novel series, which is ongoing, still has a chance of bringing up an Official Love Interest for her -- though so far no signs can be seen to that effect.

* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'':

--> '''[=Zer0=]:''' [[{{Haiku}} Combat is my love. / Brutal violence, my partner. / I need no one else.]]

* Adell from ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2|Cursed Memories}}'' spends most of the game loudly proclaiming that he can't stand women. This turns out to be due to a traumatic run-in with a [[SuccubiAndIncubi succubus]] years before.
** Laharl from ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'' is already 1313 years old, but can't stand sexy women, and doesn't appear to be attracted to non-sexy women either. This might also have something to do with the fact that he is AllergicToLove. He is a perfect example of the "Love is Beneath Me" type. We should point out that, centuries-old or no, Laharl has yet to complete puberty and is still considered JustAKid by demon standards -- he acts confused/horrified when an older character tries to give him TheTalk. In the [[LightNovel/DisgaeaNovels novels,]] he's an UnwantedHarem, attracting both young girls (such as Etna, Flonne, her younger sister Ozonne, Gordon's 13-year-old daughter Jane,) and Sakura, an adult woman.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{The Brothers Grunt}}'', the Grunts are celibate (Sammy's infatuation with lamps notwithstanding). In a flashback, the Poobah urges the Grunts to shun romance.
-->'''Poobah''': Ah, love! The joining of hearts! The exchanging of gifts and fluids! It is not for our kind, brothers. Love is a temptress, a succubus intent on shopping for furniture. Deny love, my boys, or suffer the ultimate fate: Sunday with the in-laws!

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'': The titular character displays no interest in sex, unlike virtually every other character. While she had a crush on Trent for years and later gets in a serious relationship with Tom, she never seems to want to do anything physical besides kiss them. She does decide to have sex with Tom eventually, but treats it more like something to do just because she feels like she ought to, not something she really ''wants''. The two end up not having sex in the end.

* ''Franchise/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
** ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'': Robert E.O. Speedwagon from ''Manga/PhantomBlood'' is stated to be one when [[spoiler:he died at the age of 89]], single and unmarried. Along with that, his actions and [[TrueCompanions friendship]] with [[IdealHero Jonathan Joestar]] allowed him to hit the jackpot and fund a powerful organization whose resources [[GreaterScopeParagon help future generations]] of Joestars battle villainy while advancing scientific and medicinal progress, even in [[spoiler:the ''Steel Ball Run / Jojolion'' AlternateUniverse]].
** ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable'': Josuke Higashikata does not flirt relentlessly and is not perverted like Joseph, but when the girls near him express interest in him, he is flattered and was shown in the first episode to get along quite well with his female classmates and admirers. While he does express interest in women, it is not his main priority. Josuke is also on par with Johnathan Joestar as one of the [[NiceGuy most generous and kind-hearted]] members of the Joestar family tree, especially since his [[FightingSpirit Stand]], Crazy Diamond, [[HealingHands heals life and restores objects]]. That being said, [[BerserkButton if you insult his hair]] or hurt an innocent, you'll learn that GoodIsNotSoft ''[[CombatMedic the hard way]]'', thanks to Crazy Diamond's strength rivaling Jotaro Kujo's [[LightningBruiser Star Platinum]].

* Surprisingly because of how much of a tease and flirt she is, the titular ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' never engages in any sort of romance with anyone. WordOfGod has stated that while she likes teasing Luka, the negative effects of a MayflyDecemberRomance keep her from doing anything further. ''VideoGame/Bayonetta3'' reveals that [[spoiler:they'll hook up eventually and conceive a daughter, Viola]]

The Japanese definition for not just this but men in general is called a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbivore_men Herbivore man]].

* ''Manga/SevenSeeds'': Forced, but also decided on their own by the various teams themselves. They are awoken after TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, so they are supposedly the last humans who survived... and part of the project they are members of does include the repopulation of the human species. Team Autumn has ''forbidden'' any kind of sex that can lead to pregnancy in their team, [[spoiler: though this has not stopped Ryusei and Kurumi, she is pregnant during her second appearance,]] and the rest of the teams simply decide that having sex, and hence risking pregnancy, is ''not'' a good idea at the moment... things are still up in the air, with no proper, safe shelter for them to live or raise a child in.

* The remake incarnation of ''Manga/BirdyTheMighty''[='=]s title characteris very much thi, prefering to focus on her duties instead of pursuing romance.

* Edward Elric of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', for "distraction" reasons, since he has to get his brother's body back first [[spoiler: until the very end, that is]]. He stays like that throughout ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'' though. Several potential love interests appear but, ShipTease aside, his main focus is always his brother.

** Note that at the end of the TV series [[spoiler: Guy gets a body after purifying Zonuda/Mikoto, something which she seems very, very happy about.]] Take that as you will.

* While ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'' Hayate falls more on the ChasteHero side of the line, when he is approached by [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend Ayumu]] about her crush, or rather, later when approached by the student trio, he thinks he's unworthy of her love [[spoiler: because of Athena's teaching him that he had to be financially able to support a girlfriend]].
* [[BigGood Sir Integral Fairbrooks Wingates Hellsing]] in ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}''. At 22-years-old, she explicitly says she's 100% virgin, which given that non-virgins that get bitten by vampires turn into mindless ghouls and [[NatureAdoresAVirgin virgin ones turn into vampires themselves]], with a will of their own, it's probably safe to say she deemed it practical in her line of work (vampire-and-other-dark-creatures hunting) while romance may be ruled out partly because of MarriedToTheJob and/or ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies (or perhaps "it's not you, [[BodyguardCrush it's my]] [[SociopathicHero vampire servant"]]). It's worth noting that by the end of the manga [[spoiler: after 30 years of waiting for Alucard's return she has remained unmarried and a virgin (after all, Seras says she can turn her into a vampire if she wants), which may further hint at their LadyAndKnight romance.]]

** ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'': Robert E.O. Speedwagon from ''Manga/PhantomBlood'' is stated to be one when [[spoiler: he died at the age of 89]], single and unmarried. Along with that, his actions and [[TrueCompanions friendship]] with [[IdealHero Jonathan Joestar]] allowed him to hit the jackpot and fund a powerful organization whose resources [[GreaterScopeParagon help future generations]] of Joestars battle villainy while advancing scientific and medicinal progress, even in [[spoiler:the ''Steel Ball Run / Jojolion'' AlternateUniverse]].

** Mai stubbornly denying her feelings leads to some [[ClingyJealousGirl vicious enmity]] and [[ParentalAbandonment painful loss]] for her later on. [[spoiler: She gets the guy in the end, while WordOfGod says that Natsuki and Shizuru also get together eventually.]]

* Sasuke Uchiha of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' is a total ChickMagnet, but shows no interest whatsoever in romance. He most likely falls under "Love is a Distraction" and "Genre Savvy". He might also be a ChasteHero, as he never addresses the issue (not even after Sakura's AnguishedDeclarationOfLove). A logical explanation could be that he became [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge obsessed with revenge]] before he was old enough to care about such things, and also [[ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies fears that Itachi or his own "inner darkness" might destroy anyone he's close to.]] What makes this particularly odd is that his other stated goal is to rebuild his clan. [[spoiler: However in the epilogue, he and Sakura are together and have a daughter Sarada.]]

** Averted with Gol D. Roger, though it's debatable how much of a hero he was. [[spoiler: He and his lover, Portgas D. Rouge, are the parents of Portgas D. Ace. Part of the reason that Roger turned himself in at the end of his life was to protect them.]]

* Sanzo in ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}'' displays no sexual interest or preferences, despite both the anime and manga going out of the way to show that he breaks every other vow he had to take as a Buddhist priest. WordofGod says that he does, indeed, maintain his vow of celibacy, not out of consideration for his Buddhist beliefs (he has none, despite his job) but because he dislikes being touched in "that way". In the ''Burial'' arc of the manga, it's shown that [[spoiler: the first people he ever killed intended to rape him]], and it's implied this wasn't an uncommon occurrence in his life, with his physical attractiveness inviting a lot of creepy attention. Sanzo rarely allows ''anyone'' to touch him at all, with varying levels of exception for his traveling companions, especially Goku.

* Taikoubou AKA [[spoiler: Fukki]] from ''Manga/SoulHunter'': He never shows any romantic interest in any of the female characters. It probably didn't help that the only female character that was chasing him was an incredibly hideous monster. And it probably didn't help that he was [[spoiler:actually an [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld ancient alien]]]].

** Ken Kaneki evolves into this over the course of the series, tending to keep his precious people at arm's length to protect them. When he departs to carry out his six-month RoaringRampageOfRevenge, he denies [[ImpliedLoveInterest Touka]]'s request to go with him and actively shuns her for the next several months to keep her safe. Averted as of :re, [[spoiler: in which he and Touka finally becomes an OfficialCouple.]]

* Keima from ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows'', despite being known all over the Internet for being "The Capturing God" for his incredible skills at DatingSim games. He didn't even raise an eyebrow when he accidentally saw Haqua changing in front of him, and during [[spoiler: his FreakyFridayFlip with a girl]], he doesn't take advantage of the fact, preferring to play his games.
* Jack Atlas from ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' has become this after the Dark Signer arc, saying in the final episode that women would hinder his path. [[spoiler: Carly and he had a mutual love confession as she died, but reviving with amnesia and being DemotedToExtra put an end to that.]]

* ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'' throws out a justified example: [[spoiler: Ninjette uses a ninja technique that channels her sexual frustration into fighting prowess]].

%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'': Mater. [[spoiler: At least until the second movie]].

** The Director's Cut contains a part where, [[spoiler: after Mrs Mozart comes to him for help, he demands that she return to him that night in exchange for his support]]. However, it's subverted even then; he lets her undress before ringing the bell for the servant to show her out. Whether he planned from the start to humiliate her out of spite, or whether he actually intended to go through with it but found himself unable is unclear; Salieri explicitly states that he was "in love, or at least in lust" with another girl Mozart bedded, so apparently he isn't asexual but for whatever reason, he did not actually blackmail sex from [[spoiler: Mozart's wife]].

* In ''Film/TheVillain'': Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger's 'Handsome Stranger' is a celibate hero [[spoiler: to the extent that the leading lady chooses the bad guy instead]].

** Harry Dresden spends a heck of a lot of the novels not getting any, and being quite bitter about it. Though he's given a few chances, he never takes them because they generally come with a lot of baggage (e.g. she's a lust demon or his underage apprentice), and he refuses to enter into a relationship that isn't pure and based on love, and he also doesn't want to bring anyone else into his dangerous world if he can help it. The fact that his first girlfriend was [[spoiler: brainwashed into trying to kill him, and whom he thought for years he had killed]] and his second girlfriend [[spoiler: got turned into a vampire because of his involvement with her]] may have something to do with it. Although even with that track record, succubi making fun of how pathetic your sex life is has got to hurt. It gets to the point where it turns out Harry's latest love interest was [[spoiler:psychically mind-controlled into being attracted to him.]]
** Having [[spoiler: Carlos, who until that point certainly talked a good game,]] outed as a virgin by said succubus must have taken some of the sting out of it (or at least given him an ample means of redirecting the mockery). It also makes him another example, though his reason (for that matter, whether it's a conscious choice or just lack of opportunity) isn't explored.

* ''Literature/TheObsidianTrilogy'', written by Creator/MercedesLackey and James Mallory, features a hero who remains chaste and celibate -- virginal and unmarried, respectively -- for a year and a day in return for his life being saved by a unicorn. The penalty for breaking his vow, since his life was saved, will be death by goring. While the first woman he meets is his sister, and the next woman he finds himself intrigued by is the queen of the elves and happily married, the third woman he is attracted to is neither attached nor unattractive nor uninterested in him. This case also gets an interesting treatment in that the unicorn [[spoiler: apparently ''becomes'' fertile (or non-celibate) because of the hero's year of celibacy. The hero and unicorn's parting at the end of the series states that the hero no longer needs to be celibate, but that the unicorn won't have to be either!]]
* Michael in ''Literature/RedeemingLove'' fits this trope for the first half of the novel: he’s still a virgin at the age of 26, and remains so [[ChastityCouple for several months into his marriage to the heroine]] (because he feels that the emotional connection formed during sex is crucial, and as a [[BrokenBird former prostitute]] she is [[LieBackAndThinkOfEngland unable to make that connection]]). He does eventually break out of this role and they ''very eventually'' end up HappilyMarried, with a healthy helping of IdealizedSex and [[spoiler: BabiesEverAfter]].

* [[TheMedic Medicine Cats]] in ''[[Literature/WarriorCats Warriors]]'' have to take a vow to never have kittens. [[spoiler: Not that it stops them.]] Subverted with Mudfur. He's already a father while he was a medicine cat, but he already had kits with Brightsky when he was a warrior. But after her death and the deaths of three of their kits, THEN he became a medicine cat.

* FBI agent Paul Ballard in ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'', shortly after he found out [[spoiler: his girlfriend's a doll]]. He even refused to sleep with Echo, whom he's crazy in love with, for a long time, because she was messed up from being a doll and he felt it would be wrong.

* Magnus of ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneBalance'' isn't interested in romance, and is very uncomfortable when put into romantic situations as [[spoiler: he's still [[TheMourningAfter mourning]] the loss of his wife.]]

** Samara is a DoubleSubversion. While her [[KnightErrant Code]] does not restrict romance, she merely chooses not to engage in it. [[spoiler: It turns out this is because her three daughters all suffer a rare asari condition that basically makes them sexual vampires, and have to live in isolation -- except for the one who went on the run and became a serial killer.]]

* Arthur cannot sleep with anyone in the main story of ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2''. If a prostitute propositions you, your choices are "decline" where he'll say something nice like "No thanks" or "reject" where he'll say something meaner like "I like women." The most you can do with his actual {{Love Interest|s}}, his recently widowed ex, is hold hands (though they do want to actually be together once he ties up some loose ends and saves some money) and the only time he kisses anyone it's a [[ItMakesSenseInContext a man dressed in drag that's trying to cause a distraction]]. It's likely a combination of still being in love with his aforementioned ex and [[spoiler: having a kid from what seems like a one-night stand dying along with his baby mama. He probably doesn't want to make that "mistake" again and ruin two innocent people's lives]].

** Captain Tagon has been shown to be firmly in the "bad relationship experience in the past". That is to say, the last girlfriend he brought home [[spoiler: turned out to be an assassin, rigged with flesh-eating nanobots. The nanobots' first victim was his mother...and then it got worse until his father had to step in and KillItWithFire]].

-->-- '''Characters/{{Wonder Woman|TheCharacter}}''', ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited''

* Cmdr. Ed Straker of ''Series/{{UFO}}'' is manifestly celibate after an acrimonious divorce, after the loss of his son to his successor, and the death of his son, even though a variety of attractive and eligible women have a go at him (e.g. Lt. Barry). His reaction to the rampant libido shown by the rest of his staff ranges from cold disregard to amusement.
* Daryl from ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' is this. He HatesBeingTouched due to his abusive childhood.
* ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'': Artie has been this in his long years as a Warehouse agent [[spoiler: until he started dating Dr. Vanessa Calder. However, since his current circumstances put him in more danger than usual, he's broken up with her and returned to this]].

* Prince Sebastian Vael of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' actively avoids sex, due to his vows of chastity upon becoming a brother of the Chantry. Players can enter a romance him, but don't expect him to sex with you. [[spoiler: Though it's implied he may eventually break his vows entirely if you are in a rivalry romance with him.]]

* ''Manga/SamuraiGun''. Ichimatsu is a regular customer of local HookerWithAHeartOfGold Ohana, but his "business" with her is strictly the non-sexual services provided. He's not unaware of her own romantic attraction to him and isn't exactly unattracted to her himself, but he has ...''issues'' with sex, due to the fact that, as a child, he was {{forced to watch}} his elder sister be raped and then murdered. He later learns that the one who did the deed was actually a servant of the same council of freedom fighters that he serves as a Samurai Gun; apparently, deliberately traumatising children so as to create recruits for the project was a deliberate tactic of theirs, to both make them "available", give them a way to control them, and to start their TrainingFromHell.

* [[BigGood Jalal]] from the ''Fanfic/ShadowchasersSeries'' has never married and has tried to avoid relationships in [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld his entire one-thousand-year lifespan]]. He knows that if he did, it would be a MayflyDecemberRomance which would leave him depressed and heartbroken as he watched his wife, children, and even grandchildren grow old and die. This hasn't stopped his close ally Adrian, although it's likely that ''his'' wife is also immortal.

* ''Literature/JohannesCabal'': The title character is a dour {{Workaholic}} {{Necromancer}} who shows no interest in physical diversions and even has a platonic OddFriendship with a succubus, to her ongoing amusement. His decade-long quest to [[{{Necromantic}} resurrect]] his [[TheLostLenore Lost Lenore]] is likely the cause, but he deflects the subject when his friends mention his celibacy.

** God commanded Jeremiah not to marry nor have children due to the fact that things in Jerusalem would be so bad during the days of his ministry that people will mourn over the loss of families and children because of the Babylonian invasion and the famine and poverty that would result from it.

* As surprising as it may seem, Epicurus and his philosophy {{UsefulNotes/Epicureanism}} are reported as advising to be this. Indeed while judging pleasure to be the highest good, Epicurus made a classification of pleasure: 1) the natural and necessary ones (eating and sleeping), 2) the natural but unnecessary (sex), and 3) the unnecessary and unnatural (power and politics). Giving that according to Epicurus sex fits the second type and that he himself never married and had no children, it's pretty clear that he encouraged people to be single. However, there's no indication that he forbade it either, as there's mention of married Epicureans in the Garden, and one letter has him advise a young man who loves sex on how to do this responsibly (since he clearly wasn't just going to stop). The later Epicureans appears to have been more positive on this, and most probably married. Moreover, translation of the quote that Epicurus is reported to have laid this out in has been questioned by later scholars, who feel the real meaning was that a wise person should refrain from marriage and sex only depending on the circumstances. Epicurus' will, for instance, provides for one student's child marrying another Epicurean in the future. What's indisputable, however, is that he and later Epicureans cautioned people to take care with romantic love, knowing it could cause harm. Epicurus extolled friendship-we can surmise that he'd think marriage should be based on that.

* [[DeconstructiveParody Parodied and deconstructed]] in ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' with Colonel Bud Manstrong, who is your typical celibate 50s-style ScienceHero taken to his LogicalExtreme; a sexually repressed MommasBoy/chronic [[ADateWithRosiePalms masturbator]] who is so [[NoSocialSkills socially inept]], scientifically obsessed, and mentally unstable that he drives his neglected girlfriend into the arms of another man, faints in terror from receiving a handjob, and ultimately collapses into a nervous breakdown.

-->'''Zoot:''' "We are but eight score young blondes and brunettes, all between sixteen and nineteen- and- a- half, cut off in this castle with no one to protect us. Oooh. It is a lonely life: bathing, dressing, undressing, knitting exciting underwear."

* Yuno in ''Manga/BlackClover'', despite being a massive ChickMagnet, has no interest in women or dating whatsoever. Asta is in a similar position. He either ignores it or looks uncomfortable when women flirt with him, [[IgnoreTheFanservice averts his eyes at revealing sights]] that give his male companions nosebleeds, and flat-out refuses to peep on the girls in the bath. This is because he has such a powerful crush on Sister Lily from his home village that he refuses to consider other romantic prospects. He's also oblivious to Noelle and Mimosa.

* ''Literature/{{Shimoneta}}'': Despite Ayame's fascination with porn and lewd jokes, it's heavily implied that she's still a virgin, given her [[BlueWithShock tendency to]] [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere panic]] whenever she's faced with the real thing. In the manga, it's also shown that she only regards Tanukichi [[StrictlyProfessionalRelationship as a friend and ally]] of SOX. Whereas the anime adaptation gives them a brief moment of ship tease near the end of episode 11, but the series concludes with them [[StatusQuoIsGod still being friends.]]

* In the light novels, it is implied that Firo Prochainezo from ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' is one temporarily, although it is because the woman he is in love with is asexual. [[spoiler:They do eventually get married... fifty years later.]]

* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'''s Shizuo Heiwajima has pushed the possibility of a relationship entirely off the table. He doesn't see it as a weakness or liability -- [[IJustWantToHaveFriends he craves human contact more than anything else, romantic or otherwise]] -- but experience has taught him that [[HeroWithAnFInGood he's dangerously prone to hospitalizing people he wants to be close to.]]

* The eponymous LightNovel/GoblinSlayer is too obsessed with his mission to wipe out goblins to think about dating. He later admits he turns down his lovely companions' advances because he is too emotionally damaged for intimacy. He is aware of concepts like marriage and workplace dating and was quick to figure out that Female Knight was carrying a torch for Heavy Warrior.
* Kagemori Mamoru of ''LightNovel/GuardianNinjaMamoru'', he believes that "Love Is a Distraction" mainly because the girl that he is assigned to is so dimwitted at times that she would [[TooDumbToLive not survive]] without his constant protection and that going out with a girl would detract from his duty. [[KnightTemplarParent His parents]], on the other hand, would argue that Mamoru also has a special duty to find a girlfriend so he can get married and give them some grandchildren so the family tradition can be carried on.

* Mikuru Asahina from ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya''. It's not just about Haruhi unconsciously [[RealityWarper using her powers]] out of jealousy if Mikuru gets close to Kyon, but Mikuru is actually a {{Time Travel}}er who is ''not'' allowed to have a relationship with someone outside of her own time frame, per obvious work reasons.
** In the first book, Haruhi says that while she is a "healthy young woman, after all," she doesn't have time for sex, what with trying to find [[spoiler: the people right in front of her]].

* The heroine of ''LightNovel/KinosJourney'', is casually but determinedly celibate -- at least in the anime. The novel series, which is ongoing, still has a chance of bringing up an Official Love Interest for her -- though so far no signs can be seen to that effect.

* ''LightNovel/{{Shimoneta}}'': Despite Ayame's fascination with porn and lewd jokes, it's heavily implied that she's still a virgin, given her [[BlueWithShock tendency to]] [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere panic]] whenever she's faced with the real thing. In the manga, it's also shown that she only regards Tanukichi [[StrictlyProfessionalRelationship as a friend and ally]] of SOX. Whereas the anime gives them a brief moment of ship tease near the end of episode 11, but the series concludes with them [[StatusQuoIsGod still being friends.]]

* Played with in ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' in regards to [[CursedWithAwesome Zelgadis Graywords]]; in the anime, due to some {{Flanderization}}, he possibly falls under the "love is a distraction" excuse (as [[ShipTease ship teasing]] with [[GenkiGirl Princess Amelia]] demonstrates, he feels awkward around her at times). In the original novels, however, it's a completely different matter, as Zel mentions at one point that if he ever were to become intimate with a woman, he would hurt her severely because of his rock skin (which also implies that he may not be a virgin). He opposes raping Lina Inverse in the first novel because of this, as opposed to a more awkward reaction that his anime counterpart would probably have. WordOfGod mentions his intimacy issues in an interview.

* In Mercedes Lackey's ''[[Literature/FirebirdLackey Firebird]]'', Ilya unwillingly becomes this. Once he takes on the role of the fool, the women of the palace lose interest in him.

* ''Series/{{The Mandalorian}}''. In "The Sanctuary" {{The Hero}} is given the opportunity to settle down the {{Girl of The Week}}, but he says it's not for him. Incidentally there's a complication that makes this an EnforcedTrope, as a Mandalorian is not supposed to show their face to anyone else. When it's suggested that Mando had sex with a NewOldFlame he's asked if he took the helmet off during the deed. Mando doesn't reply and it's not confirmed if they actually were lovers.

* Surprisingly because of how much of a tease and flirt she is, the titular ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' never engages in any sort of romance with anyone. WordOfGod has stated that while she likes teasing Luka, the negative effects of a MayflyDecemberRomance keep her from doing anything further.
* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'': [=Zer0=], who, when asked if he had anyone special in his life, responded that he is only interested in fighting.