| 1 | {{Love Dodecahedron}}s in Anime and Manga |
| 2 | ---- |
| 3 | * The archetypical Love Dodecahedron comes from Creator/RumikoTakahashi's ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' with [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Ranma Saotome]] to [[{{Tsundere}} Akane Tendo]] and the story follows their relationship changing from outright hatred, to a close friendship. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Ranma_relationships_6365.jpg Here's]] a chart of each relationship. |
| 4 | ** [[KidSamurai Tatewaki]] and [[LordErrorProne Kodachi Kuno]] are unaware that Ranma Saotome is a GenderBender and so they both [[StalkerWithACrush creepily pursue the opposite-gender form]] and [[MurderTheHypotenuse try to chase off the same-gender form]], unware of the fundamental flaws in this approach. Not least of which is Ranma is creeped out by both of them and straight, despite [[RealMenWearPink enjoying]] how he [[TheTease can trick guys better by taking girl form]]. Tatewaki [[HandsomeLech also]] pursues Akane Tendo, who retaliates violently. |
| 5 | ** Ryoga Hibiki has a massive crush on Akane Tendo, but she seems [[ObliviousToLove unaware of his feelings]], partially because [[CannotSpitItOut he's too shy to tell her how he feels]] and partially because the few times he has managed to get into romantic situations with her, he's scared her to death by [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength unthinkingly destroying everything around him]]. This is only encouraged by the fact she is apparently a MasterOfDelusion regarding the fact that [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter her pet pig P-chan]] is Ryoga's Jusenkyo curse form. He finally falls in mutual love with a sumo pig-obsessed NiceGirl named Akari Unryuu, who is sometimes derided as a Relationship Sue (mainly because [[WordOfGod the author admitted outright]] that she was made to give Ryoga a happy ending). |
| 6 | ** {{Anime Chinese|Girl}} Amazon Shampoo has an AccidentalMarriage to Ranma and routinely professes to love him -- for which she is rewarded by being the one girl, in canon, he actually seems to express some slight interest in (but nowhere near as much as he does in Akane). She, in turn, is pursued by her own StalkerWithACrush, Mousse (who considers himself an UnluckyChildhoodFriend). |
| 7 | ** [[WholesomeCrossdresser Ukyo]] "UnluckyChildhoodFriend" [[{{Bifauxnen}} Kuonji]], who can't seem to get Ranma's attention even when she's wearing a HadakaApron. The closest to a happy romantic ending she might get is with a [[WholesomeCrossdresser crossdressing male ninja]] named Konatsu, in the same manner that [[LastMinuteHookup Ryoga got Akari]]. |
| 8 | *** Oddly enough, just about everyone wanted [[PairTheSpares Ukyo and Ryoga to get together]] due to their complimentary personalities and how Akari Unryu and Konatsu was AdaptedOut. This included most of the animation staff, leading to a few ShipperOnDeck episodes in the TV show where Akane and Ranma try to hook the two up ([[HilarityEnsues it goes about as well as any plan does in this series]]). |
| 9 | ** [[TokenMiniMoe Hinako Ninomiya]] has a crush on Soun Tendo that he seems to ignore, partially because he's still not over his wife's death, partially because Hinako is a WomanChild with [[TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody several mental issues]]. |
| 10 | * ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'', another, earlier, famous manga by Rumiko Takahashi [[SubvertedTrope subverts]] this. It looks like a dodecahedron at first, but the relationship chart is much simpler: |
| 11 | ** Ataru initially loves Shinobu and does not like Lum, but ultimately he falls out of love with Shinobu and in love with Lum. His relationships are complicated by the fact he is [[LoveableSexManiac constantly lusting after pretty girls in general]], and his reluctance to admit that his [[HaremSeeker dreams of having a harem]] are never going to happen. His inability to just ''tell'' Lum that he loves her back only excaberates the problem. |
| 12 | ** Lum loves Ataru. Period. She is aware that she is regarded as a beauty by lots of other guys, but she has no interest in any of them. |
| 13 | ** Rei loves Lum, who despises him. Ran loves Rei, and hates that he loves Lum. However, Lum's continued disinterest and Ran's dogged efforts to [[ThroughHisStomach appeal to Rei's]] [[BigEater enormous appetite]] eventually coaxes Rei to focus on her. |
| 14 | ** Shinobu Miyake initially loves Ataru, competing for his heart against Lum, but soon gives up on him. Then she falls in love with Shutaro Mendo, only to end up giving up on him too after realizing her feelings are unrequited and he's not really a better catch than Ataru outside of his money. Finally, she falls in mutual love with NiceGuy Inaba. |
| 15 | ** Shutaro Mendo could have any girl he wants, but focuses his attention on Lum, largely because she bluntly states she has no interest in him. |
| 16 | * Another Rumiko Takahashi example: ''Manga/InuYasha'', with six or so sets of love triangles all linking in with each other. Okay, so where to start. |
| 17 | ** Inuyasha is in love with both Kagome and Kikyou. Kagome also loves Inuyasha, but is openly jealous of his relationship with Kikyou due to both her own teenager insecurities and the fact that lots of people see her [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter as a poor replacement for Kikyou]]. After being forcibly brought back to life, Kikyou also loves Inuyasha but is less open of her jealousy of his relationship with Kagome, and at first she's very poisoned with the hate spilling from their terrible separation '''and''' for the CameBackWrong deal, making her a downright {{Yandere}} for a while. [[spoiler:In the end, Kikyou dies peacefully in Inuyasha's arms, and after mourning her properly he gets together with Kagome.]] |
| 18 | ** Kouga is in love with Kagome, however Kagome is only in love with Inuyasha. The anime only character Ayame is in love with Kouga, ever since she was a child and very open of her jealousy of Kagome (at least at first). However, Kouga claims to only love Kagome. He ''may'' or ''may not'' have any feelings for Ayame, whom he made a ChildhoodMarriagePromise to when he was a teen youkai and she was a little girl -- which is the reason why she loves him in the first place. Kagome heartily supports Ayame's affections for Koga and is '''pissed''' when he ignores the other girl, since poor Ayame's feelings for him are extremely genuine. [[spoiler:In the anime, Kouga and Ayame ultimately get married.]] |
| 19 | ** In the past, Onigumo lusted for Kikyou after she took care of him when he was burned alive. However, she was only ever going to be in a relationship with Inuyasha. Therefore, Onigumo became Naraku, to win Kikyou and get rid of Inuyasha. Naraku is bothered by Onigumo's heart with feelings for Kikyou at the beginning of the series. At the end of the series [[spoiler: it's no longer clear if Naraku really does love Kikyou or if it was just Onigumou's heart still]] so he ''may'' be in love with her too, when he isn't despising her for existing. Except she evidently hates him, and with good reason. |
| 20 | ** In the present there' Houjou, who loves Kagome, yet she only sees him as a friend. Then in anime/movie only, Houjou's ancestor Akitoki who also loves Kagome -- except again she only considers him a friend. [[spoiler:The actual Hojou [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome fades away]] from the plot, the Hojou from the past marries a girl named Suzuka... and asks her to rename herself Kagome.]] |
| 21 | ** In the Shichinitai arc, the homosexual Jakotsu having a huge fixation on Inuyasha. However, Inuyasha considers Jakotsu only as a nemesis... and a disturbing one, considering how Jakotsu doubles as a CombatSadomasochist. Jakotsu also has a very close friendship and respect towards Bankotsu, and ''may'' even love him romantically as well. Bankotsu's own relationship with Jakotsu can be considered brotherly, though still close enough that he tells Jakotsu that he's his only real friend [[spoiler: and that he eagerly kills Renkotsu for, [[TheStarscream among other things]], killing Jakotsu.]] Phew, that was confusing. |
| 22 | ** Miroku and Sango should be fortunate that aside from the one time characters appearing here and there, they're otherwise strictly in love each other without any interferences. [[BelligerentSexualTension Except from themselves.]] |
| 23 | * Yet another Takahashi example can be seen in ''Manga/{{Rinne}}'': |
| 24 | ** Rinne Rokudo and Sakura Mamiya, our protagonists, slowly develop mutual crushes on each other, but [[CannotSpitItOut cannot bring themselves to admit their feelings to themselves or each other]] for most of the series. |
| 25 | ** Human exorcist Tsubasa Jumonji [[ChildhoodFriendRomance has had a crush on Sakura since they were kids]] and desperately wants to become her boyfriend. Naturally, he perceives Rinne as his rival for Sakura's heart. |
| 26 | ** Wealthy female shinigami Ageha is infatuated with Rinne, and thus she hates Sakura for "stealing him away from her". |
| 27 | ** Wealthy ''male'' shinigami Matsugo is in love with Rinne too. [[AmbiguouslyGay Possibly.]] At the same time, he's being pursued by a female shinigami classmate of theirs named Anju, who is desperately in love with him and refuses to consider that Matsugo simply may not be attracted to girls. |
| 28 | * ''Manga/{{Mao}}'', ''another'' Takahashi series, also has this, made more complicated by the time-travel elements. In the Heian period, male protagonist Mao was absolutely head-over-heels for the Kou Clan's heiress, Sana, as was his fellow onymoji student Hyakka. However, Sana was in love with a ''third'' onmyoji student, Daigo. Ironically, Sana's father decided to have Mao marry Sana, causing Sana and Daigo to plot together to fake their mutual deaths so they could elope. All the while, Mao was unaware that a girl named Yurako [[spoiler:Sana's secret twin sister]] was absolutely infatuated with ''Mao'' and hoped to one day win his heart. In the Taisho era, female protagonist Nanoka Kiba is quietly infatuated with Mao, but reluctant to act on her feelings -- first due to Mao's [[TheLostLenore obvious pining for the long-dead Sana]], then due to meeting the still-alive Yurako and learning about ''her'' intense feelings for Mao. Ironically, there are suggestions that Mao may be slowly developing feelings for Nanoka as they work together. |
| 29 | * Some would put ''Manga/MarmaladeBoy'' above ''Ranma ½'' in this respect. The {{eyecatch}}es throughout the series helpfully sort out who's actually an OfficialCouple for the viewer. |
| 30 | * ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi,'' is full of Love Dodecahedrons involving the main characters alone. The relationships are made ridiculously complex by the inclusion of amnesia, being under the influence of magical trees/candy, ambiguous use/interpretation of the word "partner", sexual assault by clones, time travel, magically aged {{bishonen}}, misplaced parental affection, mind reading, a cursed vampire loli, self-depreciating lesbian half-demons, and a robot. [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_abkMP58OLUA/Sp_OTSmR_vI/AAAAAAAAPeA/rMtOOsEYaMQ/s1600-h/%5BNegima%5D+Chart+up1055.jpg Here's a chart]] and [[http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/7391/andyouthoughtranmawasco.jpg a partial translation]] made around chapter 250. Not that it makes anything less complex. [[http://h.imagehost.org/0069/Negima.png Another chart as of chapter 297]]. They're even used [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cit_negima_-__8093.png in-story]]. |
| 31 | * ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'': In one of the ''Anime/MazingerZ'' sequels, the relationships chart got pretty complicated: Hikaru is in love with Duke. Duke may reciprocate her feelings. Rubina is in love with him. Duke certainly reciprocates her feelings. And Minister Zuril was in love with Rubina. It is even more complicated if you think about Kouji and Maria and add Sayaka to the mix. |
| 32 | ** And then you have to Boss was chasing after Sayaka in the original series and after Jun hono in ''Anime/GreatMazinger''. He was a HopelessSuitor in both cases, but some fans think he COULD have gotten one chance with Sayaka. |
| 33 | ** And in ''Anime/CBCharaGoNagaiWorld'' ''Dr. Hell'' was involved in one with [[Manga/{{Devilman}} Akira, Miki, Siren, Kaim and Ryo]] |
| 34 | * For ''Anime/Persona4TheAnimation'', in Episode 5, we have Ai dating Yu to make Ichijou jealous, since he's actually in love with Chie, who Yosuke tries to hook up with Yu because he thinks she likes him, incorrectly. Though Chie's reactions in later episodes when Yu compliments her suggest Yosuke might not have been wrong. There are some complications from [[ChickMagnet Yu being a love interest for any readily present female social link]], which results in {{Hilarity Ensu|es}}ing on at least one occasion. Plus Yousuke is implied to have at least StupidSexyFlanders-like thoughts on [[EvenTheGuysWantHim YU himself]], [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday much to his dismay.]] |
| 35 | * In ''Literature/FromTheNewWorld'', [[ShrinkingViolet Mamoru]] has a crush on [[TeamMom Maria]] who likes her best friend [[TheHeroine Saki]], who loves [[TheSmartGuy Shun]], who reciprocates her love but is going out with [[{{Deuteragonist}} Satoru]], who also loves Shun. |
| 36 | ** Not to mention how Saki remarks, in the novel, that her strong bond with [[ChildhoodFriend Satoru]] makes him the person that she is most comfortable to be with. And when she sees Shun and Satoru together she isn't sure of whom she is jealous of. |
| 37 | * ''Anime/SteelAngelKurumi2'' has a small Love Dodecahedron, involving girls only, and more than half of them are androids. In one scene representing Saki's thoughts, an incomplete LoveChart is actually displayed with SuperDeformed versions of the involved characters and arrows indicating who likes whom. |
| 38 | * ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' plays with this trope. All the major recurring characters and most of the minor ones are caught up in a Love Dodecahedron that series creator Creator/HideakiAnno played for every last drop of {{angst}} and tragedy he could wring out of it, rather than laughs. [[https://web.archive.org/web/20111105163921/http://img2.me/7sYfO.png Here's]] a diagram, assuming some of the major theories are true. |
| 39 | * ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'': Tomoyo and Syaoran like Sakura, Syaoran and Sakura like Yukito, Meiling and Sakura like Syaoran, Yukito and Nakuru like Touya, and Touya likes Yukito and used to date Kaho. Oh, and Clow said that Yukito and/or Yue whom he shares his body, was supposed to end up in love with Sakura, while Yue is implied to have loved Clow deeply while Clow was still his master and given Yue's {{Tsundere}} tendencies towards his new mistress Sakura, he just may end up loving her that way too. [[spoiler:In the end, Sakura becomes an OfficialCouple with Syaoran and Yukito and Touya stay together.]] |
| 40 | * Relationships are complicated in Tsubasa's sister series, ''Manga/XxxHolic''. Doumeki and Kohane are devoted to Watanuki, but he's got a massive crush on Himawari, who may actually like him back but he ''thinks'' she likes Doumeki (when she's really more of a [[YaoiFangirl Doumeki × Watanuki shipper]]) which makes Watanuki jealous up the wazoo. Then Watanuki makes a bigger mess of things when he [[spoiler:throws away his friends, family, and freedom]] in order to pull an extreme IWillWaitForYou stunt for Yuuko, who had a relationship with Clow, whom Watanuki has been specifically noted to resemble. |
| 41 | * ''Anime/IsabelleOfParis'': ''Inhale''. Geneviève loves Jules, but her father arranged for her to marry Captain Victor. Jules is forced to accept this reality, but Geneviève still wants to be with him regardless. Meanwhile, Geneviève's sister, Isabelle, loves Captain Victor, but her [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend childhood friend]] Jean likes her and proposed the idea of marriage to her when they were children. She reacted by slapping him. |
| 42 | * ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'': Soi loves Nakago (while Nakago pretended to be in love with Yui.) However, Suboshi was truly in love with Yui but she is in a relationship with Tetsuya, before which she was in love with Tamahome who loved Miaka (and vice versa), and Hotohori was in love with Miaka [[spoiler:before moving on to Houki]] while Nuriko pursued both Hotohori and Tamahome (for a while anyway), and trails off a bit to [[spoiler:Miaka]]. And then there's [[HeManWomanHater Tasuki]], who is secretly in love with Miaka. [[spoiler:All hell breaks loose when Miaka has to choose between Tamahome's reincarnation Taka Sukunami or the "real" but evil Tamahome--and it doesn't even end with that. Mayo Sakaki of ''Eikoden'' then falls for Taka.]] |
| 43 | * Creator/YuuWatase's ''Manga/ShinshunkiMimanOkotowari''. Asuka Higuchi is Manato Sudou and Kazusa Sudou's half-sister. Kazusa has an [[BigBrotherAttraction incestuous admiration]] towards Manato, who falls in love with Asuka long after she falls in love with him. Asuka's rival Youko also likes Manato, whose friend Tooru liked Kazusa (who ''kinda'' felt the same way... kinda) before moving on to Asuka, who nearly trailed off to him a bit to kill the incest. And then things are spiced up: [[spoiler:Manato isn't really related to Asuka and Kazusa, who turn out to be full siblings. He was adopted by Yashiro-sensei (whom Asuka briefly thought to be a pedophile), whose real name isn't even Yashiro -- it was his best friend's surname, which he took after said best friend died. The ''real'' Yashiro, meanwhile, is Manato's real father, while Yashiro-sensei is the ''real'' Sudou who is Asuka and Kazusa's father, who was himself involved in a love triangle with the girls' mother and the real Yashiro. So in the end, Manato and Asuka get together anyway, plus Tooru and Kazusa end up as a BetaCouple in the sequel and Youko ''might'' have some feelings for her BeleagueredAssistant Sonoda]]. Even more... Asuka, Manato, Kazusa, Youko and Tooru resemble Miaka, Tamahome, Yui, Nuriko and Tasuki respectively. |
| 44 | %% * ''Manga/HatsukoiLimited'' is shaping up to be like that. ''Intentionally.'' |
| 45 | %% ZCE are not allowed. |
| 46 | * One of the ''Manga/{{Genshiken}}'' manga volumes actually contains a LoveChart for the dodecahedron in ''Anime/KujibikiUnbalance'', which was designed specifically to contain every permutation of the trope that it could... along with everything else. Just for fun, the volume following that one had the diagram for ''Genshiken'' (which ''isn't'' a Love Dodecahedron series). |
| 47 | * ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'' sports a dodecahedron, with Yurika's childish and possessive long-time love for Akito constituting F and A, and the rest being filled by various, changing constellations of the rest of the cast. As required by the trope, in the last episode Akito thinks Yurika is actually his great love and decides to marry her and live happily ever after.The trope is even mentioned during the dub's opening prologue, as delivered by the LittleMissSnarker: |
| 48 | -->'''Ruri:''' And what started out as a love triangle has become a septagon by my count... |
| 49 | * ''Manga/SchoolRumble''. Any further explanation of the tangle of relationships would turn into a full-on plot summary. Misunderstandings abound, the characters put each other through endless [[LoveMakesYouDumb lovey-dovey torment]]. Canonically, there are no less than 22 [[AllLoveIsUnrequited one-way relationships]] among the extended cast. And Growing. |
| 50 | * ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'': Merle likes Van, Van likes Hitomi, Hitomi likes Van and Allen, Allen likes Hitomi and Millerne, and Millerne likes Allen and Dreidn. There is Hitomi's crush from Earth, Amano. It turns out Hitomi's best friend Yukari was also in love with him but decided to support Hitomi rather than going after him herself. Van's appearance actually interrupted Hitomi's chance at a FirstKiss with him. Allen has a very... "complicated" love life. Before the beginning of the series, he was in love with Millerna's older sister Marlene, who died three years ago. Marlene was married off to the duke of Freid... but not before he impregnated her with a child she was barely able to pass off as the duke's son and the prince of Freid. Now he's in love with Millerna ''and'' Hitomi. |
| 51 | * ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has ''two'' particularly complex Love Dodecahedrons--both of which are primarily triangles, but complicated by the presence of additional people. Ready? The first, most central one is [[TwoGuysAndAGirl the Guts-Griffith-Casca relationship]]. Both Guts and Casca have deep feelings for Griffith, possibly partly romantic in Guts's case, definitely partly romantic in Casca's case. Griffith cares about both but seems incapable of fully returning their feelings, although he may have some romantic feelings towards Guts (but it is also hinted that he may have some feelings for Casca and would have possibly gone with her if his original plan did not succeed 100%). Eventually, [[OfficialCouple Guts and Casca get together themselves]], [[spoiler:but only briefly before it all goes to hell thanks to Griffith becoming the BigBad, and raping Casca into a coma which partially happened because Griffith became a GreenEyedMonster]]. This is turned from a particularly complex triangle into a dodecahedron by the presence of [[spoiler:Judeau]], who is quietly in love with Casca, and Princess Charlotte, who Griffith has manipulated into falling in love with him for the sake of his plans. Later, things get ''even more complex''; Guts becomes involved in a subtle triangle with Serpico and Farnese, which is then muddled by the introduction of [[spoiler:Farnese's fiance, Roderick]]. Meanwhile, Guts is still in love with Casca... [[HeartBrokenBadass who can't love him back]] at this point in her life because of her traumatic post-Eclipse condition and an [[NearRapeExperience incident]] involving Guts' EnemyWithin. Adding Farnese ''back'' into the picture creates a love triangle between she, Guts, and Casca because while she has a crazy deep crush on Guts and goes to crazy deep lengths to earn his respect and feelings, she knows that Guts only has eyes for Casca, despite that she's crazy and doesn't like Guts all that much. This has caused a great deal of resentment on Farnese's part, especially since she's Casca's caretaker and Guts actually depends on Farnese to take care of her for him. And now, the young witch Schierke [[PrecociousCrush has a crush]] on ''him'', and TagalongKid Isidro [[PuppyLove may be developing a crush]] on ''her''; this might become even '''MORE''' complex with the arrival of new teammate Isma who has been hanging around Isidro more and more. And now to top it all off when Casca is ''finally'' back to normal it's clear she still loves Guts very much, but can't look at him without having horrific flashbacks to the Eclipse! Got that? Good. Phew! |
| 52 | * Almost every manga by Creator/RiyokoIkeda will have one: |
| 53 | ** A seriously huge Love Dodecahedron occurs in ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles''. Let's see if we can catch everything: Fersen and Marie-Antoinette love each other [[StarCrossedLovers but can't be together]], Louis XVI loves [[ArrangedMarriage his arranged wife]] Marie-Antoinette, Oscar and Marie very seriously respect (maybe love?) each other, Oscar loves Fersen, André loves Oscar since they were children, Rosalie loves Oscar who would fully love her back if she (Oscar) were male (straight from the manga), [[spoiler:Rosalie's lost sister]] Charlotte loves Oscar, Alain loves Oscar (but whether he says it or not is different in the two continuities) but is also one of André's closest friends so he doesn't act on it in the end, Gerodelle loves Oscar (and almost gets her to become his wife through ArrangedMarriage), Bernard loves Rosalie who comes to love him back though she still has lingering feelings for Oscar, and in the end Oscar then loves André [[spoiler:and then they both die tragically]]. Phew! |
| 54 | ** Then there's ''Manga/DearBrother''. Mariko a [[ClingyJealousGirl clingy obsession]] with Nanako and later is {{tsundere}} for Kaoru [[spoiler: and Takeshi]]; Nanako loves Rei, who pines for [[spoiler: her half-sister Fukiko]], who acts possessive towards Nanako but [[spoiler: it's a cover since she actually loves Nanako's BigBrotherMentor Takehiko and mistakenly thinks Nanako is her rival]]; Tomoko isn't as super open as the others in these regards but she has a really cute PseudoRomanticFriendship with Nanako; and Kaoru also loves [[spoiler: her ex-boyfriend Takehiko, who returns her feelings [[StarCrossedLovers despite the problems in their relationship]]]], ''and'' she has quite a bit of LesYay with her best friend Rei, while also being the target of Mariko's admiration. '''''Whoa.''''' |
| 55 | ** In ''Manga/{{Claudine}}'', Claude falls in love with Cécilia Lacques, but she doesn't return his affections because she sees him as a girl. Cécilia's brother, Louis, is sleeping with Claude's father Auguste, [[spoiler:as is Cécilia]]. Rosemarie has been in love with Claude since they were kids and is jealous of Claude and Cécilia and serves as an {{Unwitting|InstigatorOfDoom}} [[spoiler:when she reveals Cécilia and Auguste's affair to Louis, whose fury incites him to kill them both]]. And that's without bringing Sirène into the mix. |
| 56 | * ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ'' has a messy romantic situation where Judau is pursued by three girls: Elle, Roux, and [[BigBad Haman]]. Elle is also pursued by [[TheCaptain Beecher]], and Roux by [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Glemmy]] after she uses ShowSomeLeg to distract him. The resolution is quite bloody: [[spoiler: Haman becomes Judau's primary love interest, and Elle goes with Beecher. However, Roux kills Glemmy, and Haman is DrivenToSuicide in the final episode. Judau and Roux end up together by default.]] |
| 57 | * In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'': Kira and Sai are both interested in Flay, who sleeps with Kira in an effort at manipulating him into dying for her, but later begins to fall for Kira for real. Kira also has a developing relationship with Cagali, who in turn has a lot of chemistry with Athrun, Kira's ex-best friend turned enemy. Athrun in turn in engaged to Lacus, and cares about her as a friend, while she is interested in Kira and at times he acts like he is ''also'' very interested in Kira. In the end Kira ends up with Lacus, Cagali is revealed to be Kira's sister and ends up with Athrun, and Flay dies. |
| 58 | ** Its sequel series, ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'', has one that revolves around Athrun. There's Cagalli, Meer, Meyrin, and for a time Meyrin's older sister Lunamaria... such is expected for the series' resident [[{{Expy}} Char-clone]]. [[spoiler: Meer dies in an HeroicSacrifice, Lunamaria gets together with Shinn, and it's left up in the air whether he'll return to Cagalli's side when she's done with handling the ORB reconstruction, or stay as AmicableExes with her and view Meyrin as his SecondLove.]] |
| 59 | * ''Literature/StrawberryPanic''. To the extreme. Between almost everyone, but especially towards Nagisa -- who is mostly [[UnwantedHarem quite reluctant]] about it. |
| 60 | * A minor Love Dodecahedron figures into ''Anime/MyHime'', used for both [[PlayedForLaughs comedic]] and [[PlayedForDrama dramatic]] effect: Reito likes Mai [[spoiler:(and so does his EnemyWithin alter-ego, the Obsidian Lord)]]; Yuuichi also likes Mai, but [[CannotSpitItOut doesn't want to admit it]]; Mai cares for both of them as friends, but doesn't want to decide between either (at first); Shiho loves Yuuichi, and is [[ClingyJealousGirl extremely jealous]] because she thinks Mai's trying to steal Yuuichi from him ([[spoiler:she isn't...''he's'' the one who takes the initiative]]); and Mikoto and Mai apparently [[LesYay like each other a lot]]. Then again, Mikoto "likes" a lot of people, but she's closest to Mai and [[spoiler:Reito, her brother]]. |
| 61 | ** It's also present in the manga. Not only do Mai and Shiho still love Yuuichi (who also loves Mai) and Mikoto still likes Mai, but Natsuki also likes Yuuichi, with Takeda still pursuing her and Shizuru having an implied interest in her. |
| 62 | * By the time ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' reaches the finale, it's had enough love triangles and other flings that the relationships get...complicated. Ahiru loves Mytho, Mytho (as his emotions are restored) appears to love Princess Tutu (who is Ahiru in disguise), Rue also loves Mytho, Professor Cat threatens all the girls with marriage but seems particularly sweet on Ahiru, Fakir [[spoiler:begins to love Ahiru in the second season]], and she may love him back. Pique has a crush on Fakir, but in one episode thinks she loves Mytho. Fakir's childhood friend Raetsel loves his adoptive father Charon, and [[spoiler:almost gets married to Mytho]], but [[spoiler:ends up married to some guy named Hans in the end]]. Autor confesses love to Rue, [[spoiler:but too late, because Mytho chooses Rue in the end]]. Throw in some HoYay with Fakir and Mytho, Rue and Ahiru, and Autor and Fakir and you've got what fans call the "[=OT5=]", or "only true fivesome". That is, almost any of the four main characters, plus Autor, could be matched with another with some logic to it. Although the poor side characters still get left out of that. |
| 63 | * ''Manga/DNAngel''. Let's see here: Daisuke likes Risa, but Risa only likes him as a friend and would much rather have Dark, which is Daisuke's secret {{Bishonen}} alter-ego. Dark, on the other hand, seems to have a thing for Risa's twin sister Riku (though, depending on the medium, he might have a slight thing for Risa, too), who hates Dark but has a crush on Daisuke, who may or may not like Riku back. Meanwhile, Satoshi's getting his HoYay on with Daisuke (and probably Dark, too), while his SuperpoweredEvilSide Krad wants to rip them limb-from limb (and also seems to be interested in his host in [[HoYay that way]]). Daisuke's best friend, Saehara, is in love with Menou, but also develops something for Mio Hio, who develops feelings for Daisuke. |
| 64 | ** Satoshi may also be developing feelings for Risa. (The anime left them smiling shyly at each other). |
| 65 | * ''Manga/SamuraiHaremAsuNoYoichi'': |
| 66 | ** One is slowly building: Tsubasa likes Washizu, who accidentally confessed to Ayame when he was really trying to confess to Ibuki (his crush), while Ibuki is slowly building feelings for the title character, who's really too much of an IdiotHero to even notice that someone is in love with him. This can only get more entangled. |
| 67 | ** Ayame and Tsubasa's bodyguard Angie have a crush on him as well! And a new girl's been just introduced by kissing title character in front of Ibuki. |
| 68 | * While the ''Manga/{{Gravitation}}'' manga has a definite OfficialCouple throughout its run in Shuichi and Yuki, that doesn't stop other characters from complicating matters with ShipTease and {{subtext}}. Shuichi is the only person Yuki truly likes, but Yuki's fiancee Ayaka likes him almost as much as Shuichi does. She gets over her crush on Yuki in time to fall for Shuichi's best friend Hiro who likes her back, but shows hints that he harbors more-than-friendly feelings for Shuichi. Shuichi's boss Tohma is married to Mika, Yuki's older sister, but is implied to ''at the very least'' have [[StalkerWithACrush scarily protective feelings]] towards Yuki (which is made even {{squick}}ier when you realize they're technically brothers), and is fawned over by [[SubordinateExcuse devoted subordinate]] Sakano. Tatsuha, Yuki's younger brother, once molested Shuichi because he looks a lot like his adored idol Ryuichi, and gets into an actual relationship with Ryuichi who probably likes him back, but also has the hots for Shuichi (as revealed in the sequel series). |
| 69 | * Humorously done in ''Literature/MazeMegaburstSpace''. ''Everyone'' the titular character travels with ends up sexually interested in either of the two mazes, with the exception of the old man. Wanna know what's worse? [[spoiler:The two mazes eventually are revealed to be siblings and [[BrotherSisterIncest in love with each other]]. Guh?]] And everything seems to get settled with everyone ending up together. Isn't it wonderful when it cleans up nicely? |
| 70 | * ''Manga/{{Rizelmine}}'' has more of line than a polygon but it's complicated enough to count here. Rizel and the daughter of one of Rizel's foster parents are after the main character... who has a crush on his teacher, who is about to get married; meanwhile the main's best friend has a crush on a classmate who has a crush on Rizel (or at least her bear-print panties). |
| 71 | * ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Hinata likes Naruto, who likes Sakura, who likes Sasuke (complete with endless {{Ship Teas|e}}ing about how any of these ''might'' become requited). On top of this Ino ''might'' still like Sasuke and Tenten ''might'' like Lee who in turn ''might'' still like Sakura, and Shikamaru ''might'' like Ino, who ''might'' like him; or he ''might'' like Temari, who also ''might'' like him. Meanwhile, Karin is totally hot for Sasuke, except she isn't anymore, except she is again. Dear God in Heaven! That's not even all of it. [[spoiler: In the end Naruto marries Hinata, Sakura and Sasuke stay together, Shikamaru marries Temari, Ino marries Naruto and Sakura's friend Sai, and the others just get the Hell away from all of this.]] |
| 72 | * ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'' has a huge one just centered around the main character, Hayate. Said dodecahedron contains a few girls who look much too young for him, a handful of classmates, one [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend former classmate]], [[EvenTheGuysWantHim two men]], a [[TalkingAnimal tiger]] and many more. The only thing keeping it from turning into a HaremAnime is that Hayate is (for the most part) [[ChasteHero completely unaware.]] And don't get me started on the other little love triangles that aren't part of the main Love [[AlienGeometries Escher-scape Geometry]]. |
| 73 | * Even ''Anime/{{Hamtaro}}'' has [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hamster_relations_hahaha.gif a chart]]. Hamster relations are SeriousBusiness. |
| 74 | * ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'': [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend Haruhi is definitely not Kyon's girlfriend]]. (Except for that one time they kissed, but nothing romantic seemed to come of that, other than [[spoiler:saving the world...]]) Neither is Sasaki. Kyon has an unspoken crush on Mikuru, but is unable to act upon it, because Haruhi might get jealous and destroy the world without even ''knowing'' she's doing so. Mikuru has been [[BlackComedyRape groped and molested]] by [[DepravedBisexual Haruhi]] at least once. Kyon also has a very tender, protective relationship with Yuki, who once tried to [[spoiler:alter reality so they could be together]]; Yuki also has lots of LesYay with Ryoko, who is sometimes {{Shipp|ing}}ed with Kyon, despite (or perhaps ''because'' of) the fact that she [[spoiler:tried to kill him]]. And then there's Koizumi, whose hobby seems to be [[HoYay making Kyon feel uncomfortable with his sexuality]], but is shown in an alternate continuity to be in love with Haruhi (and claims that Haruhi is a covert YaoiFangirl as an excuse for all his HoYay... but then again, this is ''Koizumi'', so who knows what truly goes with him). |
| 75 | ** Sasaki is '''not''' Kyon's ex-girlfriend with a crush on him. Also, Kyon can't act on his feelings for Mikuru because [[spoiler: as Mikuru is a time traveller, cross-temporal romances are forbidden]]. And then there's the scene in the snow lodge, where the geometric properties of the Love Dodecahedron is actually a ''plot point''. |
| 76 | * ''Manga/PeachGirl'' is a love dodecahedron that just gets more complicated with each episode. It starts off with Momo in love with one character, but another character is in love with Momo. Then Sae steps in. Every complication in the series comes from her and just keeps going. |
| 77 | * In ''Manga/Reborn2004'', there's a rather intriguing Love Dodecahedron (though quite a bit of it goes into the realm of obsession and HoYay). Tsuna has a crush on [[SatelliteLoveInterest Kyoko]], who is incredibly oblivious and only seems to care about her brother Ryohei (though she did express attraction to Gokudera). DepravedHomosexual Lussuria is... interested in a weird, sadistic necrophiliac sort of way with Ryohei. Ryohei is oblivious like his sister and only concerned with living [[HotBlooded TO THE EXTREME]]. Gokudera is Tsuna's StalkerWithACrush that has a ''huge'' BodyguardCrush on him and hates anyone that gets too close to Tsuna. Then there's Yamamoto, who [[HoYay seems annoyed that Gokudera hates him and wants Gokudera to open his heart up to him]]. Haru had a weird paedophiliac crush on Reborn at first, but eventually falls (more seriously) in love with Tsuna, who only seems to see her as a friend. And then there's Mukuro, who... ''*ahem*'' [[GrandTheftMe wants Tsuna's body]], and Mukuro's two followers who admire him to the point of being obsessed fanboys. Chrome might sort of like Tsuna, or she [[{{Selfcest}} might like Mukuro-sama]] (though Mukuro seems to see her more like a sister / comrade in pain). And Hibari, who seems awfully obsessed with meeting Mukuro again to pay back for the humiliation Mukuro put him through. And I-Pin has a crush on Hibari. Then Ryohei has a brief infatuation with I-Pin's adult form, while in the future he and Hana are a canon couple. |
| 78 | ** Bianchi's love for Reborn. |
| 79 | ** MemeticMolester [[TheSmartGuy Spanner]] and his friendship with [[TheDragon Irie Shoichi]] and their boss BigBad [[WhiteHairBlackHeart Byakuran]] who is very friendly and discusses the meaning of flowers with his enemy Mukuro? No wonder the fangirls go crazy... |
| 80 | ** [[HoYay Dino and Hibari]]. It doesn't help that their weapons are a whip and a pair of handcuffs respectively, and that their training sessions are [[HandsOnApproach always very physical]]. Make of that what you will. |
| 81 | ** The Varia Love Dodecahedron. Well, let's see... Squalo seems to have something like a BodyguardCrush on his boss Xanxus. Xanxus views everyone as trash but has something for the one who defeated him a.k.a Tsuna. Belphegor and Fran have this interesting relationship including Bel stabbing Fran just for fun. Oh, Squalo and Yamamoto's relationship could be considered something like a TeacherStudentRomance. |
| 82 | ** And now with the Simon Family thrown into the series, [[TheWoobie Enma]] and Tsuna's chemistry. |
| 83 | * ''Manga/BlackCat'', although being a shounen action manga / anime, has a rather impressive love dodecahedron. Kyoko, Rinslet, Saya, and Creed all fell in love with [[EvenTheGuysWantHim Train]], though Train is mentally / emotionally immature and apparently UsefulNotes/{{Asexual}}, therefore rendering all of their feelings for him unrequited. (Although it's impossible to say whether or not Train would have eventually matured mentally to start developing romantic feelings for Saya, but that's beside the point). And then there's Echidna who [[LoveMartyr loves Creed]], but Creed is [[StalkerWithACrush too gay for Train to care]]. And then there's Janus' feelings for Rinslet, but Rinslet (at least in the manga) seems to be hesitant about returning his feelings due to her crush on Train. And then there's hints that Charden might like Kyoko, who explicitly states that she would like Charden if not for Train. And then there's [[PrecociousCrush Eve's crush on Sven]], but Sven is much more concerned with Train (being Train's {{Heterosexual Life Partner|s}} and all)... it's all a mess. |
| 84 | * ''Anime/{{Gankutsuou}}'' is one ''huge'' Love Dodecahedron. There's the Count, who used to be in a LoveTriangle with Albert's parents, but his love and friendship with Albert's mom and dad turned to hate. Haydee seems to love the Count too, though it's debatable whether it reaches the realm of romantic or just as a father substitute. And then Albert has a gigantic crush on the Count, who might have [[spoiler: eventually felt something for Albert too, considering that it was [[HoYay the power of Albert's kiss]] that made the Count return to being human]]. Albert also initially seemed to have a crush on Peppo, until he found out that [[spoiler: "she" was actually a "he", and that he was actually a spy for the Count]]. Peppo does have a crush on Albert, though. And Albert's [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend best friend Franz]] is [[LoveMartyr secretly and desperately in love]] with Albert, who is completely oblivious. But Franz has a fiancee, Valentine, who was in love with him (and rather jealous of Albert). Maximilien falls in love with Valentine, and she eventually reciprocates his feelings. And then there's Albert's fiancee, Eugenie, who initially thinks she doesn't love him, but realizes later that she ''does'' -- Albert, however, is sort of confused about her [[spoiler: however in the end he realizes that he really loves her.]] And then there's Andrea, who, for revenge, [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty tries to rape Eugenie]] ''and'' [[spoiler: seduces his ''[[{{Squick}} own mother]]'']]... and that's not even getting into all the women the Count managed to seduce. Messy relations indeed. |
| 85 | * ''Literature/{{Akikan}}'' has one that encompasses almost all of its cast. Goro "Gigolo" Amaji is in love with Yurika, who's lesbian for Najimi. Najimi has been in love with Kakeru since they were kids, but her Akikan Yell is sweet on her. Kakeru has Najimi's crush on him, as well as his MagicalGirlfriend and Akikan, Melon. He may have something going for Kizaki, while Kizaki's boss Otoya is in love with him. |
| 86 | * The Love Dodecahedron in '' Anime/CodeGeass'' mostly centers on its protagonist [[MagnificentBastard Lelouch AKA Zero]]. He's loved by [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend Shirley]], [[CoolBigSis Milly]], [[GenkiGirl Kaguya]] (as Zero only, since she never meets Lelouch until everything turns sour), [[ActionGirl Kallen]] (initially only as Zero, changes when she learns his identity), and [[RebelliousPrincess Euphemia]] (BrotherSisterIncest half-sibling version). He sees Shirley as a friend until [[spoiler:he's forced to mindwipe her]], realizing his feelings for her only then, but pushing her away until [[spoiler:Rolo kills her]]. Thinks of Milly as a good friend, has little interest in Kaguya due to her rather young age, (she IS 14) but seems to be fond of her and respects her intelligence, (and her suggestion of a harem is approved by C.C., and never shot down) and considers Euphy his first love. About Kallen... he has feelings for her, but the extent those feelings is never fully explored within the show, though are clearly strong. He and [[MysteriousWaif C.C.]] have strong mutual respect that at times seems much deeper than the "strictly PlatonicLifePartners" which WordOfGod has labeled it. [[ShelteredAristocrat Suzaku]] and Euphemia enter into a relationship late in Season 1, [[spoiler:only to end tragically when Lelouch kills Euphy out of necessity]]; it's also said that he and Lelouch's little sister Nunnally have feelings for one another, or at least she has a crush on him. (And Lelouch once in a while wondered [[ShipperOnDeck if hooking Nunnally up with Suzaku]] would be a good idea.) Late in the series, when Lelouch pushes everyone away while [[spoiler:pretending to be the evil Emperor of Britannia]], the writers attempted to hook Kallen up with Suzaku's [[TheLancer Lancer]] Gino, but the poor execution annoyed most fans and was later shot down by the staff. This is without dipping into the HoYay / LesYay (Lelouch/Suzaku, Lelouch/Rolo, Kallen/C.C., etc.), the supposed-but-not-too-unplausible BrotherSisterIncest angle between Lelouch and Nunnally, and other things ([[OfficialCouple Ohgi/Viletta]], [[CrackPairing Jeremiah/Sayoko]]...). |
| 87 | ** WordOfGod actually says that Lelouch views C.C as his equal and not as a mother figure, but at the same time made it clear that [[PlatonicLifePartners those feelings]] are not romantic in nature. It's more a case of ABoyAndHisX. Well, [[ABoyAndHisX A Boy And His]] [[MysteriousWaif waifish]], [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld immortal]] [[CuteWitch Geass Witch]], as the case may be. |
| 88 | ** Overall, Lelouch is a CelibateHero and highly reactionary about romance. Even his [[spoiler: short-lived romance with Shirley]] is started by her alone, without any suggestion that Lelouch was interested in a romantic relationship with her beforehand. On the other hand, he admits that the closest to a first love he had was Euphemia, and propositioned SexForSolace to Kallen during a HeroicBSOD of his (and got rewarded with a slap). |
| 89 | * ''Manga/StrawberryOneHundredPercent''. Where to begin. Revolves around a main character and three (arguably seven) heroines. Main character Manaka Junpei wants to film girl A. He confesses to girl B because of the resemblence between A and B. Girl A actually has a crush on him but is loved by main character's friend/rival. Girl C is also interested in the main character. Childhood friend girl D sleeps in the same room as him, usually naked. His teacher is interested in young boys (or so it seems). Too shy girl E, friend of girl A, grows close to main character because of Girl C's actions. Main character is indecisive. HilarityEnsues. |
| 90 | * The Negamoon Arc (season 2) of ''Manga/SailorMoon'' has one, although it wasn't so much confusing as long. Best summed up by a [[https://www.youtube.com/comment_servlet?all_comments&v=j_Qrh7whZlU comment]] left on Youtube: |
| 91 | -->''"Wait a sec... If Prisma likes Saphire, and Saphire liked Emerald, and Emerald liked Diamond, and Diamond likes Serena, and Serena likes Darian... Then does that mean this whole plot is a love Hexagon?"'' |
| 92 | ** An interesting four-way on the Doom Tree arc. Usagi and Mamoru have an interesting dynamic because only ''she'' remembers that they were in love while Mamoru is still hit with amnesia so [[{{Tsundere}} he's weirded out]] by her advances, which he sees as coming out of nowhere. Alan and Ann are HumanoidAliens and [[LastOfHisKind last of their kind]], as well as in love with each other. Alan falls in love with Usagi, Ann falls in love with Mamru, and both are oblivious to it. Yet Alan gets jealous of Mamoru over Ann, who gets jealous of Usagi over Alan. When Alan sees Ann with Mamoru he seems to forget that he is in love with Usagi and the same goes for Ann when she sees him with Usagi. Alan and Ann argue over this in their final episode. [[spoiler:By the end they get rid of their {{Yandere}}-like obsession and leave Earth together and happy, while Mamoru (who has gotten his memories back) and Usagi re-hook up.]] |
| 93 | * ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'' [[{{Tsundere}} Kaname]] and [[CuteClumsyGirl Tessa]] are in a LoveTriangle with [[TheStoic Sôsuke]]. Sōsuke is confused about his feelings for Kaname (seeing as how he's never really loved anyone before) and it's not until way later that he finds himself returning her feelings. Tessa's antagonistic brother [[RomanticFalseLead Leonard]] is in love with Kaname to {{Yandere}} extremes, but she dislikes him. Tsubaki is ''also'' in love with Kaname, has something with Sōsuke, and Mitsuki has an unrequited love for him. And then there's Gauron, who is an AxCrazy StalkerWithACrush that has a crazy love and obsession for [[EvenTheGuysWantHim Sosuke]]. And the two twins he raised, Yu Fan and Yu Lan, are both [[WifeHusbandry very much in love with him]] ([[{{Twincest}} and each other]]). And then there's [[PsychoForHire Gates]], who has an unhealthy paedophile obsession with the twins. This Love Dodecahedron is made even ''more'' complicated in the novels, where Nami, who ''also'' falls for Sōsuke, is brought into the picture, and Sōsuke has slight romantic feelings for her. And then Lemon likes Nami (but also seems to have quite a bit of HoYay with Sōsuke). |
| 94 | * ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'', surprisingly. Because there have so many main characters, this has evolved out of Shipping. And that doesn't even go into ''loving'' Pokémon angle. |
| 95 | ** Let's try to describe it: Misty has feelings for Ash, but she left the show without any resolution on that, and [[WordOfGod the former head writer]] even said that [[http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/showpost.php?p=1251369&postcount=3397 she never really had romantic feelings towards him]], but since he left the show a long time ago and the pairing received hints after he left, it's still a strong possibility. May had a BelligerentSexualTension routine going on with Drew, but she was also implied to like Ash. Dawn had ShipTease moments with Ash, Kenny (who was highly implied to have a crush on her) and [[LesYay Zoey]], and she's also stalked by [[StalkerWithACrush Conway]]. There's no "implied" with [[ChildhoodFriends Serena's]] own HUGE crush, would later get a romantic rival in [[TheTease Miette]] (who may either be actually interested in Ash or was just trolling Serena), and Trevor and Tierno seem to have crushes on Serena (although in one episode Tierno blatantly voted for voted for Shauna in the Showcase over Serena). Ash was hinted to like Misty during the early seasons, but by Johto he turned into a full ChasteHero, though there are still rare moments of ShipTease from his side with all the female leads. And then there's a bunch of minor characters and [[InterspeciesRomance some Pokémon]] with [[ChickMagnet confirmed crushes on Ash]]. And then we have Brock, who [[CasanovaWannabe crushes on every pretty girl he sees]], but [[StatusQuoIsGod it never goes anywhere]], even with the girls that are interested, and his single attempt to settle down ended with him running away for reasons that were [[NoodleIncident never explained]]. And there's also Jessie and James of Team Rocket, who may or may not have feelings for each other. [[OverlyLongGag And]] there are probably some more people that I forgot. To make matters worse, the anime tendency to ShipTease all sorts of couples but [[NoHuggingNoKissing never actually resolving anything]] means that this Love Dodecahedron will probably only get more complicated in the future. Also, it's hinted that Iris and Cilan both have crushes on Ash (and with Cilan being a male, Ash would cross into EvenTheGuysWantHim...[[AmbiguouslyGay sorta]]) and/or each other. At some point the show will have run for so long that we'll require some sort of 3D model just to see everyone in this web of relationships. |
| 96 | * Even ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' isn't safe from messy relationships. Here, [[ShortTank Misty]] likes [[IdiotHero Red]] who either likes [[TheMedic Yellow]], [[ClassyCatBurglar Blue (female)]], who seems to enjoy flirting with him more than any other character or is ObliviousToLove. Meanwhile, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Gold]] has ShipTease with [[ExtremityExtremist Crystal]] and Yellow, but also has some HoYay moments with [[TheRival Silver]] who may or may not have feelings for his surrogate sister Blue (female). From the Hoenn trio, [[CampStraight Ruby]] has a [[OfficialCouple canon]] SlapSlapKiss relationship with [[WildChild Sapphire]] who may have had a crush on Red, and [[TheNapoleon Emerald]] has sort-of feelings for Crystal. Lastly, [[BigEater Diamond]] has a crush on [[DefrostingIceQueen Platinum]] who might feel the same way or she might also like [[HotBlooded Pearl]] who might like her back, or she's really just ObliviousToLove. [[SerialEscalation And those were just the main characters....]] |
| 97 | * ''Manga/SweetBlueFlowers''. Let's see: Kyouko has unrequited feelings for Yasuko, who is in love with her ex-teacher Kagami, who is engaged to Yasuko's sister Kazusa--and her sister Kuri appears to have liked him as well. Fumi is heart-broken when her lover Chizu announces that she's getting married and starts an affair with Yasuko to get over her pain [[spoiler:although it doesn't last long]]. Fumi also struggles with her resurfacing feelings for Akira, who in turn is [[ObliviousToLove blissfully out of the loop]] for most of the series. And yes, aside from Kagami [[YuriGenre they are all girls]]. |
| 98 | * Things start to get pretty messy in ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'' when it comes to relationships. Chrono has known Rosette since she was a child, and they both start to develop feelings for each other. However, Rosette also has a crush on her legal guardian, Father Remington. Soon, Rosette and Chrono get Azmaria and Satella in their group of TrueCompanions. In the anime, Azmaria has a crush on Chrono, and in the manga Satella is a paedophile and finds Chrono (who is a demon that's nearly a century old, but [[OlderThanTheyLook appears to be a 12-year-old boy]]) ''very'' attractive. Chrono and Rosette are looking for Joshua, Rosette's brother, who was kidnapped by Aion, a former friend of Chrono's. Joshua is [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity driven insane by demonic power]] and is obsessed with his sister, but is also very attached to his maid, Fiore; In the anime, he thinks she's his sister, but in the manga he's very aware she isn't and instead seems to possibly have a one-sided crush on her. Fiore may or may not care for him in return. However, Shader glomps Fiore in one scene and asks her to marry her, and [[spoiler:[[MaybeEverAfter at the end of the manga, they're shown riding off together on a motorcycle]]]]. Also, Joshua later [[spoiler:kidnaps Azmaria and then blushes when [[SheCleansUpNicely he sees her wearing a pretty dress]]; he later ends up marrying her.]] In the past, Chrono and Aion were best frends (with some HoYay, particularly in the anime), until Chrono [[spoiler:kidnapped a girl named Mary Magdalene and fell in love with her. Father Remington was her guard, and also appears to have been in love with her. In the manga, Aion may or may not have cared for her, as well. It finishes badly, since Magdalene herself ends up dead at Chrono's hands.]] In the past, Shader seems to have been close to Chrono. Also, Rizel is in love with Aion, but Jenai is in love with her. Aion ignores Rizel and focuses on Joshua and Chrono. In the manga, he seems obsessed with Chrono and Pandaemonium, it's later revealed that it's because [[spoiler:Chrono is his twin brother, and Pandaemonium was formerly their human mother, Lilith. His obsession with them, particularly with Pandaemonium -- whom he appears to kiss in one scene! -- ocassionally borders on incest]]. |
| 99 | * ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' fandom likes to believe that the show has elements of this, but in truth most of the "evidences" are subject to interpretation and fan wishes. Ichigo has somewhat of an UnwantedHarem that has developed over the course of over 400 chapters, consisting of his classmate Orihime (who's explicitely in love with him), the Arrancar Nelliel (with a sort-of PrecociousCrush on him), [[MsFanservice the shapeshifter Yuroichi, who would transform naked in front of him just to tease him]], and Xcution member Riruka (who's {{tsundere}} for him ''and'' a bit [[HomoeroticSubtext for Orihime]]). Ichigo's [[PlatonicLifePartners best friend]] Rukia and Renji [[ChildhoodFriendRomance were close before becoming Soul Reapers, and Renji is hinted to still have feelings for her, while Rukia never confirms or denies her feelings for Renji.]] Ishida acts like he ''might'' have a crush on Orihime, but he doesn't address the matter since he has other things to do, and she likes him as a friend but only has eyes for Ichigo. And then there's Aizen-Hinamori-Hitsugaya-Matsumoto-Gin, and every leg of that except Hitsugaya-Matsumoto has a decent amount of support in canon. DieForOurShip abounds, and the Zanpakuto filler arc doesn't help any, because while Hinamori and Matsumoto [[LovelyAngels get along pretty well]], their Zanpakuto spirits Tobiume and Haineko don't -- [[VitriolicBestBuds in a sort-of way]]. [[spoiler: The manga finishes with Orihime/Ichigo and Rukia/Renji as the {{official couple}}s, and there's a whole light novel dedicated to Rukia and Renji's wedding.]] |
| 100 | * ''Manga/ToLoveRu'' has a pretty impressive one in the anime alone, and the manga gets even crazier. Going into full detail might take up half this page, but in addition to the standard love triangle, it also has shy/emotionless assassins and aliens who change gender when they sneeze. In the latter case, the alien's male side is in love with one of the two female leads, while the female side is in love with the male lead. Naturally. |
| 101 | * ''Manga/MyBrideIsAMermaid''. Where should we start? Okay, *deep breath*. |
| 102 | ** Nagasumi and Sun are engaged/dating, and are definitely in love with each other. |
| 103 | ** Lunar is [[strike:friends]] [[TheRival rivals]] with Sun, but in love with Nagasumi, [[{{Yandere}} who she treats like a slave.]] |
| 104 | ** Mawari is Nagasumi's [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend childhood friend]] and more or less in love with him. |
| 105 | ** The ClassRepresentative has a crush on Nagasumi, but can't admit it. She's also accidentally [[LoveLetterLunacy confessed her love...]]''[[LoveLetterLunacy to Sun]]'', forcing her to create the Last Amazoness persona. |
| 106 | ** Kai is Sun's [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend childhood friend]], and ''very much'' in love with her, even though she's not really interested. Hasn't stopped him yet. |
| 107 | ** Akeno is trying to break up Nagasumi and Sun's relationship, but is starting to admit that she thinks Nagasumi is getting pretty manly. |
| 108 | ** And [[GayOption Masa]]...''[[GayOption confuses]]'' Nagasumi. And his mother. Mostly just for laughs, though. |
| 109 | * ''Manga/TheGentlemensAlliance'' is a soap opera-esque shoujo manga with a predominantly teenage cast; it's no wonder this trope is very much applicable. Aside from the [[spoiler: main LoveTriangle involving the protagonist and ''[[TwinSwitch twins]]'']], there are many unrequited feelings to go around, much misconception of the characters' [[ObliviousToLove feelings]] to be had, and the occasional RomanticFalseLead shows up to complicate things even ''further''. The male and female protagonists both have their own (partially) {{Unwanted Harem}}s and characters decide to go from passionately pursuing one character for chapters on end to another at the drop of a hat (or [[CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds when the storyline demands it]])...and this isn't even taking into account the tangled love lives of ''adults'' in the story: the [[EveryoneIsRelated family]] of the major characters. |
| 110 | * ''Manga/SgtFrog'', with the added {{Squick}} value of having most of the arrows being {{Interspecies|Romance}}. Let's see. Quite a few people have crushes on [[NiceGuy Fuyuki]] including [[SplitPersonality Momoka]] and a reporter from the school newspaper. He is mostly ObliviousToLove, but seems to have developed a crush on a one-shot character he met near the beginning of the story (a mermaid, by the way). Keroro has attracted the attentions of [[{{Yandere}} Tamama]] (another male Keronian) and [[ApocalypseMaiden Angol Moa]]. [[{{Ninja}} Koyuki]] likes Natsumi and so does [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Giroro]]. Natsumi for her part likes Mutsumi, who shows no strong romantic interest. Giroro himself has also attracted the attentions of another: a cat. |
| 111 | * ''Manga/PandoraHearts'': Between the main character, Oz,'s [[ShipTease shippy moments]] with ''[[LauncherOfAThousandShips everyone]]'' -- [[MagicallyBindingContract Alice]], [[BodyguardCrush Gil]], Sharon, Echo and [[BelligerentSexualTension Elliot]] are only the tip of the iceburg, it's no wonder fandom is [[ShipToShipCombat divided]] when it comes to pairings. |
| 112 | * ''Manga/NagasareteAirantou'' [[UnwantedHarem comes with being the only guy on an island full of females that he can't escape from]] |
| 113 | * ''VisualNovel/{{Shuffle}}'' plays this trope straight in the anime version. In the visual novel is the same situation, the only difference being that you choose person F. |
| 114 | * Subverted slightly in the manga ''Wa!'', while there is a compilcated love comedy situation involving many characters, the path of crushes and admiration is written so that it forms a perfect circle. A loves B who loves C who loves D who loves E who loves F who loves A. How this will be eventually resolved is anyone's guess. |
| 115 | * ''Manga/KaguyaHime'': Would be a simple cyclic LoveTriangle, except everybody wants Akira. Except Yui, whose feeling towards Akira are ambiguous while he seems to only live for Midori. Midori, like everybody, wants Akira. Akira wants Yui -- and Mayu, but won't let herself touch Mayu. Mayu loves Akira but thinks sex is a horrible, dirty thing, and threatens/blackmails her into promising not to ever sleep with anyone. Oh, and everybody wants Akira. And then there's everybody else. |
| 116 | * ''Anime/HikariNoDensetsu'': Hikari and Takaaki started as friends, but over the years Hikari began seeing him as more than that. Shiina also has feelings for Takaaki, and this causes a rift in her and Hikari's friendship. Meanwhile Mao (manga-only) has always had eyes for Hikari, but she's oblivious to his feelings. There's also an anime-only character called Maria Lenova who Mao is implied to like. |
| 117 | * ''Literature/{{Toradora}}'' is practically the king of this trope. Taiga really likes Yuusaku. Yuusaku likes Sumire, who may or may not like him back. Also, Yuusaku [[spoiler:liked Taiga before, back when she didn't like him]]. Ryuuji likes Minorin. Minorin likes him back but there might also be Taiga. Ami really likes Ryuuji. By the end, [[spoiler:only Taiga and Ryuuji are the official couple]]. [[LoveHurts Make of that what you will.]] |
| 118 | ** As one Website/YouTube commenter puts it- "The SHIPPING standings- Ryuuji likes Minorin, but likes Taiga as well without knowing it. Ami likes Ryuuji. Taiga likes Yuusaku, but probably Ryuuji as well without knowing it. Yuusaku is friends with Taiga, but not really anything else. Minorin likes Ryuuji, but thinks that Taiga likes him more." |
| 119 | * The relationships in ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' defy two-dimensional {{Love Chart}}s. Juri, Ruka, and Shiori are isolated in a relatively simple Type 2 (possibly type 12) LoveTriangle, but everyone else? Where to begin... Utena falls for Akio, who is [[spoiler:[[BrotherSisterIncest sleeping with Anthy]]]], while Anthy may have feelings for Utena, who may have feelings for her in return. Touga, meanwhile, falls for Utena while still dating half the girls in the school, including Kozue, who had a relationship with [[TwinCest her brother Miki ]], who now has a crush on Anthy because [[ReplacementGoldfish he projects on her his thoughts on Kozue... sorta]]. Nanami has a crush both on Miki and on [[BigBrotherAttraction Touga]], and Mitsuru has a crush on her. Touga also has some serious [[HoYay unresolved issues]] with Saionji, who claims to adore Anthy (even though she may just be a means to an end), and certainly isn't interested in Wakaba, whose crush on him precipitates the entire story and makes her oblivious to the affection of [[ChildhoodMarriagePromise Tetsuya]]. And depending on how you want to [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic interpret the car]], Akio seduces [[spoiler:''both'' Utena and Touga]], and quite a few others, including Tokiko who was loved by Mikage, though he now fixates on her younger brother Mamiya. [[spoiler: And Mamiya was DeadAllAlong, and is being impersonated by Anthy.]] And I am ''very'' sure I've missed a few, so feel free to add anything in. Also, see the series page for another interpretation of all the relationships; it's... complex. |
| 120 | * ''Anime/{{Penguindrum}}'', has a dodecahedron. Ringo is trying to [[spoiler: become her dead sister Momoka and thus fixing her broken family]] by coming on [[spoiler: and almost raping Momoka's love]] Tabuki, who is married to the very shady [[spoiler: and mentally/physically scarred]] Yuri, who [[spoiler: also loved Momoka and tries to rape Ringo because they're so much alike]]. And then Ringo starts to fall in love with Shouma whose [[spoiler: parents killed Momoka in the first place]]. The incestuous LoveTriangle between Kanba, Himari and Masako looks like an episode of ''Series/LeaveItToBeaver'' by comparison. Toward the end, that dodecahedron [[spoiler: includes Himari who is actually Shouma's soul mate (though whether it's romantic or not is't super clear), Kanba who is in love with Himari [[LoveMakesyouEvil to the extreme]], and Masako who is in love with Kanba [[BigBrotherAttraction despite being his full-blooded]] younger [[HalfIdenticalTwins twin sister]]. ([[NotBloodSiblings Kanba and Himari were actually adopted by the Takakuras]]) Oh, and are we counting Yuri's ex-lover [[ButchLesbian Tsubasa]] in as well?]]. In the end [[spoiler: both Kanba and Shouma sacrifice themselves and are {{ret gone}}d to save Himari and Ringo, respectively -- right after confessing their feelings to both girls.]] |
| 121 | * ''Manga/{{Psyren}}'': Both Kagetora and Ian have proposed to Matsuri several times and been turned down. Sakurako and Marie love Ageha, who confessed to the former and is oblivious to the latter. Shao loves Marie, who is also unaware, while Frederica and Misura have some LesYay tendencies toward Marie (who even has her own StalkerWithACrush, Vigo). On top of that, Kabuto has a thing for both Frederica and Sakurako, and Oboro is really HoYay for Ageha. |
| 122 | * ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' has Touma's immense harem complicated by: the fake Unabara [[spoiler:Eztali]], lesbian StalkerWithACrush Kuroko, and who knows how many other Fangirls/fanboys who want Misaka; among other characters (trying to get the list and directions together is a hefty task). And that's just Touma's harem. |
| 123 | * ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'' sets up an interesting one with [[HeadlessHorseman Celty's]] story: Shinra has a crush on Body!Celty which may or may not be requited, while Celty really just wants to get her head back, but Head!Celty is in love with Seiji, who is caught in a love triangle between Head!Celty and [[BrotherSisterIncest his sister Namie]], as well as [[spoiler: his girlfriend Mika (who ''got plastic surgery to look like Head!Celty'')]]. Though it turns out to be both simpler and more complex than that as the story progresses. Also, [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Mikado]] likes [[TheQuietOne Anri]], who [[{{Keet}} Kida]] also likes but he has an on/off relationship with [[SatelliteLoveInterest Saki]]. She is also stalked by [[TeacherStudentRomance Nasujima-sensei]]. The problem with her is that if she returned any of the affections, [[spoiler:she'd slice the recipient to ribbons due to being the possessor of Saika]]. Oh well, at least the guys have [[HoYay each other]] to keep each other company. |
| 124 | * ''Manga/VampireGame'' runs on this. Lucy loves Ashley loves Leene is crazy about Yuujel who's got a thing for Ishtar who's in love with Darres who ''she'' thinks is in love with Selen who actually loves Galahad. Laphiji loves Seiliez likes Ishtar while everyone thinks he's sleeping with his mom but he's actually banging Sharlen who's also doing Jened who raped the Old Man of the Sea's daughter and has a creepy obsession with Falan only matched by Illsaide's creepy obsession with Falan who herself loves Illsaide but who is also very fond of Vord who loves Ishtar. Also on the Ishtar-loveboat is Duzell, who also has feelings for Illsaide and used to have a thing with [[spoiler:Rishas/Lailis]] while flirting up a storm with Diaage and having some serious tension with Phelios. Phelios, meanwhile, had an affair with [[spoiler:Diaage]] while telling Duzell "I want you to be mine". Lailis loves Duzell but Lassen loves ''her''. Hume loves Illsaide and Jill loves Maura loves Jill. Nobody loves Krai. |
| 125 | * ''Manga/FairyTail'' actually doesn't have a Love Dodecahedron, although that doesn't stop Juvia from thinking there is. |
| 126 | --> [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Pandemonium!]] |
| 127 | ** In Juvia's mind, Natsu loves Lisanna and Lucy, both girls love Gray, and Loke loves Lucy. Then Meldy loves Ultear, who loves Gray. Finally, Sherry loves Lyon, who loves Juvia, who loves Gray, who loves Lyon. Surprisingly enough, there's at least some basis in fact for the pairings that don't involve Gray, and in Lyon's case, Juvia simply misinterpreted Gray's anger over Lyon's advances on Juvia to mean that Gray was interested in Lyon. |
| 128 | * ''Manga/DawnOfTheArcana'': Cain has [[AllLoveIsUnrequited unrequited feelings]] for his arranged fiancee Louise, who in turn has [[SiblingTriangle unrequited feelings]] for Cain's brother Caesar, [[HappilyMarried who is in love with]] Nakaba, [[PerfectlyArrangedMarriage who returns his feelings]]. Loki [[BodyguardCrush may]] or [[TheNotLoveInterest may not]] have unrequited feelings for Nakaba, [[spoiler:but it is strongly hinted that he does in Chapter 21.]] |
| 129 | * ''Anime/TheGirlWhoLeaptThroughTime'' has Chiaki and (possibly) Kousuke having feelings for the main protagonist Makoto who is oblivious and prefers to stay friends with the two of them [[spoiler: until she realizes her feelings for Chiaki]]. Makoto's friend Yuri likes Chiaki who, as stated above, likes Makoto. Same with another student Kaho who likes Kousuke. |
| 130 | * ''Manga/{{Amakusa 1637}}'' has one of these as well. Natsuki loves Miyamoto. Miyamoto loves her [[spoiler: but later is amnesiac — and then he falls again for her when he gradually recovers his memories.]] Naozumi loves Natsuki [[spoiler: and also Shirou, though he also saw him as a ReplacementGoldfish for Natsuki since he was her IdenticalStranger, [[KillTheOnesYouLove and killed him]] when he realizes it.]] Otsu loves Miyamoto [[spoiler: whom she knows as UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi.]] Kinji ''may'' have had feelings for [[EvenTheGuysWantHim Shirou]] coming from [[UnluckychildhoodFriend their shared childhood]] [[spoiler: but later redirects them to Eri]]. Eri [[spoiler: kinda reciprocates Kinji's feelings]] but she also has a PseudoRomanticFriendship with Natsuki and says that, had Natsuki been a male, she would be fully in love with him. |
| 131 | * ''Manga/OukeNoMonshou'''s own love dodecahedron is like this. Pharaoh Memphis of Egypt and Carol Reed love each other. [[BrotherSisterIncest Memphis's sister]] Isis and Princess Caphra of Libya love Memphis. Prince Ishmin of the Hitites, Prince Minos of Chrete and Jimmy Brown love Carol. High Priest Minueh loves Isis. Kapta lusts after Carol, while Emperor Algol of Assyria wants Carol but only as his puppet queen to dominate Egypt. Phew! |
| 132 | * ''Manga/IdolPretender'' has Chinami who's in love with Yuika, who [[spoiler: eventually declares her love for Fem!Chinami]], Chinami acting very {{Tsundere}} towards Oguri, and [[spoiler:Aoi and Takizawa crushing on Chinami and Oguri, respectively.]] |
| 133 | * ''Anime/{{Simoun}}'' starts off with Neviril in love with Amuria, who dies in the first episode. Aaeru very obviously crushes on Neviril, though the former [[ObliviousToLove just doesn't get it]] while the latter is more afraid of her than anything. Paraietta is in love with Neviril, too, but is heavily friendzoned. Kaimu loves Paraietta herself, but she prefers to ignore it. Meanwhile, Kaimu's [[BrotherSisterIncest own sister Alti loves her in a very unsisterly manner]], much to her discomfort. As if to counterbalance that, the series gives us four very stable pairings: Dominura/Limone, Mamiina/Rodoreamon, Anubituf/Guragief, and [[spoiler:Yun/Onashia]]. |
| 134 | * ''Anime/AnoHanaTheFlowerWeSawThatDay'' has version that starts as PuppyLove and stays strong after several years have passed in-story. Both Jinta/Jintan and Atsumu/Yukiatsu crush on Meiko/Menma, and they still do years after her death. Naruko/Anaru liked Jintan as a kid and still does as a teenager, but Yukiatsu considers her as a possible ReplacementGoldfish since [[BirdsOfAFeather they have many things in common]]. Chiriko/Tsuruko likes Yukiatsu despite knowing that he views them as JustFriends while he's still hung up on Menma ''and'' might move onto Anaru rather than her. And for Menma herself, as a CuteGhostGirl [[CantCatchUp with the mentality of a child]], she ''still'' likes Jintan back like she did before kicking it. |
| 135 | * ''Anime/NerimaDaikonBrothers'' has Hideki, who's in love with [[KissingCousins his cousin Mako]], who's in love with her cousin (and Hideki's brother) Ichiro, who's in love with... a panda. |
| 136 | * At one point in ''Manga/SquidGirl'', [[http://i.imgur.com/yzoisQP.jpg Eiko notes the "chain of attraction"]] that's developed: Sanae is obsessed with Ika, who loves terrorizing Nagisa, who has a crush on Goro, who is in love with Chizuru. And then Kiyomi and her friends enter the picture, too. |
| 137 | --> '''Eiko:''' I don't even want to imagine the relationship map for this. |
| 138 | * ''Literature/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'' has its own version of the harem standard. [[ManicPixieDreamGirl Nyarko]] is madly in love with [[OnlySaneMan Mahiro]], and while he likes her [[CanNotSpitItOut he won't admit it]] partly because her zany and overbearing attitude puts him off. [[EmotionlessGirl Cuuko loves]] Nyarko and [[AdorablyPrecociousChild Hasta loves]] Mahiro, but since they're straight it's IncompatibleOrientation[[note]]and even moreso for Cuuko-Nyarko, since their races are mortal enemies[[/note]]. Cuuko initially didn't like Mahiro, but after temporarily using him to get her own PsychoLesbian cousin Cuune off her back, she partly falls for him and is now advocating [[MarryThemAll the threesome option]]. Tamao has a crush on Mahiro, but is friends with Nyarko, decided she can't compete, and thus [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy stands aside]] and even [[ShipperOnDeck helps Nyarko out]], and [[PairTheSpares might have something going ]] with [[ClassRepresentative Yoichi]]. Luhy Distone eventually develops feelings for Hasta, and considers Mahiro a romantic rival (to his confusion). In the anime Yoichi keeps [[MeetCute running into]] CanonForeigner [[YaoiFangirl Tsuruko]], and in the yet-to-be-adapted novels Atoko is actively trying to destroy the Nyarko-Mahiro relationship because she literally feeds on the suffering of broken hearts. And on top of all this is the fact that [[WeirdnessMagnet Mahiro]] has a certain ''je ne sais quoi'' that makes him "strangely attractive" (Nyarko's own words) to all sorts of aliens. |
| 139 | * The clash between the love dodecahedron happens in ''Manga/{{Beelzebub}}'s'' ''Santa Claus'' arc, where there the ''Best Couple Grand Prix'' is held in Saint Ishiyama High. When Kunieda, who is obviously in love with Oga, asks him to participate together, he already is participating with Hilda. Tojo and Shizuka also go together, causing Izuma, who has apparently a crush on Shizuka, to ask Kunieda to enter the competition with him, so neither Shizuka nor Oga would win. After Tojo and Shizuka are defeated by Oga and Hilda, Izuma loses his motivation because of Shizuka's loss and leaves Kunieda behind, resulting that she has to replace him with Aiba, who has a crush on her. |
| 140 | * ''Manga/MinamiKe'' has Kana, Fujioka, Riko and Akira. Akira is attracted by Riko's long hair, who probably doesn't even know him, Riko has a crush on Fujioka, who doesn't know it and loves Kana instead, [[ObliviousToLove who doesn't figure out that he loves her]]. Kana and Akira are good friends, leading to Fujioka being jealous of him. Akira mistakes Riko for Fujioka's girlfriend, believing that glancing at her is the reason why Fujioka is mad at him. |
| 141 | * In ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'', Akito Takagi, seeking ideas on how to write female characters, meets fellow mangaka Yuriko Aoki ("Ko Aoki"), but keeps the meetings secret from his girlfriend Kaya Miyoshi out of fear that she would get jealous over him turning elsewhere for advice. While there, he meets his former classmate and academic rival, Aiko Iwase, who gives him a copy of her book with a love letter inside. Miyoshi then discovers the letter and becomes quite upset and [[MistakenForCheating mistakes him for cheating]] and she and Takagi have an argument. The Love Dodecahedron involves even the AlphaCouple Moritaka Mashiro and Miho Azuki, since they are the respective best friends of the BetaCouple. Mashiro refuses to tell Azuki the truth, resulting that these two have an argument, too. Fearing that Mashiro and Azuki might break up, Takagi and Miyoshi want to discuss the situation, but Takagi meets Aoki, who suddenly hugs him and is about to confess her love for him. Of course, Miyoshi sees them and mistakes him for cheating with yet another woman and tries to run away, forcing Takagi to catch her up and to ''propose'' to her. Takagi and Aoki clear up the misunderstanding and the relationship of Mashiro and Azuki is rescued as well. |
| 142 | * In ''Anime/{{Glasslip}}'', Yanagi likes Yuki who likes Touko who seems to be getting interested on Kakeru, who is strongly hinted to return said interest, while Hiro likes Sachi who ''also'' [[LesYay likes Touko]]. |
| 143 | * In ''Manga/AkatsukiNoAria'', Aria and Natsuo love each other [[BrotherSisterIncest even though they're siblings.]] But Aria is also loved by her teacher Shiroyuki, Natsuo's cousin Tsukio and her arranged boyfriend Daidouji, whereas Natsuo is loved by Aria's senpai Shouko and his [[{{Yandere}} crazy]] arranged girlfriend Benio amonf others. |
| 144 | * ''Manga/MyMonsterSecret'' starts as a light HaremSeries, with three girls attracted to Asahi, but there are a few more facets that complicate things. Because he CanNotTellALie, [[EveryoneCanSeeIt everyone is aware]] that Asahi has feelings for Youko...everyone [[ObliviousToLove except Youko herself]] that is, who even tries to [[ShipperOnDeck ship him]] with their friend Aizawa. Meanwhile, Aizawa and Asahi's ChildhoodFriend Mikan both have feelings for him, are good friends with Youko, and fully realize that they stand slim to no chance of winning him over; however, they aren't going to give up that easily, turning the whole thing into a kind of FriendlyRivalry where they still try to get closer to Asahi while playing ShipperOnDeck for each other. After Youko finally [[LoveEpiphany realizes she has deeper feelings for him]] and they [[RelationshipUpgrade become a couple]], Aizawa finally gives up (or ''tries'' to) while Mikan dials things back, not actively trying to disrupt their relationship but seemingly setting herself up as a potential [[OnTheRebound rebound romance]] after getting some words of encouragement from her future self. [[spoiler:Late in the series it's revealed that in the BadFuture, Youko disappeared and Asahi remained single and lonely into old age; Future Mikan felt bad that she couldn't properly comfort him in his time of need and wanted to fix that by encouraging her younger self, out of the belief that [[YouCantFightFate they couldn't change the past]]. However, in the end Youko [[ScrewDestiny proves them wrong]] and Asahi [[WackyMarriageProposal proposed to her in mid-air]], meaning that the Bad Future won't be coming to pass, at least in this timeline.]] |
| 145 | ** Meanwhile Okada, who's been friends with Asahi and Mikan since middle school, also has a seemingly hopeless crush on Mikan, while Asahi's younger sister Mei has a crush on Okada. After deciding he stands no chance with Mikan, Oka goes OnTheRebound with Mei [[spoiler:that lasts all of one date, with her encouraging him not to give up on Mikan. This leads to him confessing once more, which seems to register better with Mikan because he's being totally honest rather than forcing himself to look cool. On top of this, it's been subtly implied by the time-traveling characters that they do end up together in the future.]] |
| 146 | ** Asahi's other friend Sakurada eventually reveals [[spoiler:he has a crush on their homeroom teacher [[OldMaid Akari]]. Everyone is dumbstruck at first, but then the entire cast (minus Akari's grandmother Akane) becomes [[ShipperOnDeck Shippers on Deck]] and does their best to help him out. Eventually he does confess, though Akari feels they should hold off on dating until after he's graduated.]] |
| 147 | ** Youko's childhood friend Shiho eventually realizes she has feelings for Asahi, but she has absolutely no intention of pursuing it; indeed, when misinformation from the future made her think she'd stolen Asahi away from Youko, she broke down crying at the thought that she could ever so such a horrible thing to her best friend. [[spoiler:Now it's been revealed that her actual future husband is Shimada, which she finds even ''more'' distressing.]] Shiho's [[SharingABody other half]] Shirou has feelings for Youko, but he's long since stood aside for Asahi. |
| 148 | ** On the more humorous side of things, Asahi's ''other'' friend Shimada has feelings for Ryou, who's actually Aizawa's older brother using a female MobileSuitHuman and who was initially just exploiting Shima's crush for a MealTicket. He also seems to have the hots for assistant teacher Yumi, who's actually [[spoiler:Youko's father Genjirou [[GenderBender turned into a woman]] by Akane.]] On top of this, [[spoiler:Shiho, while loudly protesting that she has no intention of marrying Shima, still tries to get his attention because her pride as a ShamelessFanserviceGirl won't let her tolerate someone ignoring her; Aizawa, who was helping Shiho try to change her fate, is distressed by this because she feels like Shiho's actions are making it ''more'' likely that she'll end up marrying Shima.]] |
| 149 | * For a such a grounded manga, ''Manga/BokuraNoHentai'' has a messed up romance chart despite the characters mostly being under fifteen: |
| 150 | ** Marika is in love with Tamura and shows signs of liking Ryousuke. |
| 151 | ** Ryousuke has a girlfriend [[spoiler:but falls for Marika]] |
| 152 | ** Tamura is in lust with Marika however [[UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} doesn't see her as a girl]] |
| 153 | ** Satoshi likes Marika and shows some signs of liking Tamura. |
| 154 | ** Marika's best friend Akane falls for Tamura but they don't know they like the same boy. |
| 155 | ** Mai has a crush on Marika but [[IncompatibleOrientation Marika only likes boys]]. |
| 156 | * In ''Anime/NagiAsuALullInTheSea'', a love dodecahedron makes up half of the drama in the series, while stopping a nuclear winter fills the other half. |
| 157 | ** Hikari obviously likes Manaka. Manaka likes Hikari but possibly had feelings for Tsumugu. Kaname likes Chisaki, but she likes Hikari. Tsumugu has shown interest in both Manaka and Chisaki. |
| 158 | ** After the time skip, Hikari still likes Manaka [[spoiler:but loses her ability to love]]. Miuna, who grew up, likes Hikari. Sayu likes Kaname, who still has feelings for Chisaki even though she grew up and he didn't [[spoiler:but he eventually accepts Sayu's feelings]]. Chisaki likes Hikari, who is now younger than her, but also likes Tsumugu. |
| 159 | * ''Anime/{{Kiznaiver}}'' has one between the titular group: Katsuhira is in love with Sonozaki, who loves him back, but Chidori has a crush on Katsuhira for quite a while now, so Tenga agrees to help her out, but in the middle of it, he develops a MatchmakerCrush for her, sometime in between, Nico ends up falling for Tenga, being that she is the sole character to realize one of these is going on and how hurtful it will be when they realize that AllLoveIsUnrequited. Meanwhile, Maki is still grieving over her LostLenore Ruru, but Yuta is falling for her. Hisomu though is completely out of it. |
| 160 | * ''Anime/FafnerInTheAzureDeadAggressor'' has a rather impressive one: Akira and [[AmbiguouslyBi Rina (in the movie)]] like Maya, who has a thing for Kazuki, who is also liked by Shouko and Canon. Shouko herself is Kouyo's object of admiration. Meanwhile, Kazuki [[AmbiguouslyGay doesn't seem too interested in having a romantic relationship with any of the girls]] and is [[HoYay suspiciously focused on his best friend Soushi]] to a point that Maya [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this ''several times'', making Soushi something of an ImpliedLoveInterest for Kazuki. Sakura and Kenji [[spoiler: get married]], but Kenji is (as of Exodus) also liked by Rina who is in turned liked by Sui. Reo likes Mimika, who really admires Hiroto who is implied to have a thing for Seri [[ShipTease who does seem to reciprocate]] but also harbors very deep feelings for Tsubaki. |
| 161 | * ''Manga/ScumsWish'' gets pretty complicated. To start with, Hanabi and Mugi are both in love with their [[TeacherStudentRomance teachers]], Narumi (Hanabi's older {{Childhood Friend|Romance}}) and Akane (Mugi's former tutor), respectively. While they don't have feelings for each other ([[spoiler:at least initially]]), they pretend to date each other to numb the pain of their [[AllLoveIsUnrequited unrequited loves]]. Then Narumi falls in love with Akane, and they start dating, but [[spoiler:Akane is actually a {{Sadist}} who is leading him on because she knows it will hurt Hanabi]]. Meanwhile, Mugi's [[PatientChildhoodLoveInterest childhood friend]] Noriko is in love with him, and Hanabi's best friend Sanae is in love with her. And if all that wasn't enough, Sanae's cousin Atsuya is later revealed to be [[KissingCousins in love with her]]. |
| 162 | * ''Anime/TrueTears'': [[DefrostingIceQueen Hiromi]], [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Noe]], and [[PatientChildhoodLoveInterest Aiko]] are all in love with [[ChickMagnet Shinichiro]], who has feelings for [[spoiler:both Hiromi and Noe]]. Meanwhile, Shinichiro's best friend [[DoggedNiceGuy Miyokichi]] is in love with Aiko (who he's actually dating, unaware of her feelings for Shinichiro). Finally, [[TheStoic Jun]] turns out to be in love with [[spoiler:his sister Noe]]. |
| 163 | * In ''Manga/NatsuENoTobira'', Ledania is loved by many guys including [[ThoseTwoGuys Jacques and Lind]], but she loves Marion. Marion falls for Sara [[spoiler: aka the wife of the Count of Cluny]], to the point of [[spoiler: losing his virginity to her]], and isn't romantically interested in Ledania [[spoiler: (though Sara implies almost at the end that he ''may'' have slight feelings for her after all, and [[ShipperOnDeck encourages Ledania's love a little]])]]. Claude claims that he likes Ledania and they get along in the anime, but in reality [[spoiler: [[HomoeroticSubtext he is in love with Marion]] and [[SpurnedIntoSuicide commits suicide over it]], with Marion [[MyGreatestFailure heavily blaming himself]].]] [[spoiler: The tension between Jacques and Lind for Ledania ends up peaking horribly when Lind's ManipulativeBastard nature is revealed right after Claude's suicide, and things end up going FromBadToWorse. [[KillTheCutie Almost fatally]].]] |
| 164 | * ''Manga/YuruYuri'' combines this with ChromosomeCasting, resulting in a CastFullOfGay. Ayano likes Kyoko, who likes Chinatsu, who likes Yui. Sakurako and Himawari like each other [[BelligerentSexualTension but can't seem to realise it]]. Sakurako also has some feelings for Akari, and there are some ShipTease moments between Kyoko and Yui. |
| 165 | * ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple:'' More of a Love Tessaract: |
| 166 | ** [[TheHero Kenichi]] is [[SingleTargetSexuality only interested]] in [[ActionGirl Miu]]. It becomes apparent to the reader (but not Kenichi) relatively early on that Miu returns his feelings (even if she doesn't understand what she is feeling), but due to their situation his {{Training|FromHell}} takes vast precedence over progressing their relationship. Thus, they remain JustFriends, each developing a sort of UnwantedHarem of their own. On Kenichi's side we have [[GirlNextDoor Izumi]], [[AnimeChineseGirl Renka]], [[PerkyFemaleMinion Raichi]], and possibly [[TeacherStudentRomance Shigure]]. On Miu's side we have [[TragicVillain Kanō]], [[FriendlyRivalry Takeda]], and [[ShadowArchetype Ryūto]] (although that last is more in Rimi's imagination than anything else, see below). |
| 167 | ** WordOfGod says Renka's attendant Ryū Genson (the dark-haired half of ThoseTwoGuys alongside the white-haired Shokatsu Kouan) has had a crush on her since they were children, forming a ''four stage unrequited love chain'' (at least during the series proper). |
| 168 | ** [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl Rimi]] loves Ryūto and ''will tell anyone at the slightest provocation.'' A series of misunderstandings leads her to think he has a crush on Miu. Perhaps as a child he did-- readings of this vary-- but nowadays he just plays his cards close to his chest, and doesn't reveal (or perhaps doesn't realize) his feelings for Rimi until he fights [[spoiler:alongside]] Kenichi. |
| 169 | ** The ultimate dodecahedron in the series centers on [[CantCatchUp Ukita]]. Ukita has a crush on [[KickChick Kisara]]. [[AmazonianBeauty Freya]] has a crush on Ukita. Simple LoveTriangle, right? But wait, there's more! Ukita believes that [[{{Bifauxnen}} Shiratori]] is a guy, and his rival for Kisara's affection. In fact, Shiratori also has a crush on Ukita, which is implied to be one of the reasons Kisara is reluctant to admit her feelings toward him. It's left ambiguous whether [[ChildProdigy Chikage's]] actions are a PrecociousCrush toward Ukita, or her treating him as a sort of surrogate big brother, but either way they elicit feelings of jealousy in the other girls. Furthermore, Freya [[PairTheSpares ends up paired with]] Takeda in the DistantFinale, tying the "Ukitangle" in with the main dodecahedron. |
| 170 | * ''Anime/DarlingInTheFranxx'' manages to have an extensive one, despite most of the characters involved having no knowledge of sex or romantic love. Goro and Ikuno like Ichigo, who likes Hiro, who has reciprocated feelings for 02, who is lusted after by Mitsuru (though it's revealed that he actually has feelings for ''Hiro''), who also marries Kokoro, who is liked by Futoshi. Zorome and Miku are the only members of the squad not tangled up in this, unless you count Zorome's physical attraction to 02. |
| 171 | * While it's not the central focus of the plot, ''Anime/DevilmanCrybaby'' has one: [[spoiler: Ryo has feelings for Akira, who is in love with Miki, who also holds a flame for Akira. But Miki is loved/hated by Miko, who ''also'' expresses an interest in Akira; while Miko is crushed on by Kukun, who Miko may or may not like back.]] |
| 172 | * ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'': A rather complex one ends up developing around Yu Ishigami, the series' "secret protagonist". Ishigami is in love with upperclassman Tsubame Koyasu, who likes him but doesn't know [[TheFourLoves which kind of "like"]] it is and is still dealing with [[TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest emotional baggage from her last relationship]]. Ishigami's SitcomArchNemesis Miko Iino ends up developing feelings for him, but he doesn't reciprocate, merely respecting her as an honest person and hard worker. Miko's best friend Kobachi Osaragi also has a one-sided crush on Ishigami thanks to him [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe defending her against mean-spirited gossip back in middle school]][[note]]Her celebrity mother had an affair that destroyed her marriage, which lead to Kobachi having to put up with "pity" that was really just thinly-veiled jealousy[[/note]], but [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy put her own feelings aside]] to [[ShipperOnDeck ship him with Tsubame]] (who also helped her back in middle school); she does this even though she's fully aware of Miko's feelings, because she believes that Ishigami and Tsubame deserve each other. |
| 173 | * The comedy and conflict in ''Literature/Gamers2015'' is primarily driven by the main cast believing they’re in one of these, when it’s initially more like one or two love triangles exacerbated by misunderstandings. |
| 174 | ** Protagonist Keita Amano has a mutual crush on SchoolIdol Karen Tendō, but somehow fails to realize that she’s his StalkerWithACrush and both of them assume the other is indifferent to them at best. Keita’s classmate Tasuku Uehara figures out how Karen feels and thinks it would be funny to play RomanticWingman for him. Tasuku introduces Keita to Karen’s classmate Chiaki Hoshinomori, who quickly proves to be BirdsOfAFeather with him, but both are too stubborn about their minor disagreements to admit that they are friends. Tasuku soon figures out that Keita and Chiaki’s online aliases are AcquaintedInRealLife and becomes a genuine ShipperOnDeck for them, while still trying to matchmake him with Karen. |
| 175 | ** Due to Tasuku being a MasterOfTheMixedMessage, his attempts to engineer a love triangle between Keita, Karen, and Chiaki are misinterpreted as flirting, and Tasuku’s own girlfriend Aguri assumes he’s cheating on her with them. Keita befriends Aguri to smooth over the misunderstandings, but soon comes to suspect Tasuku’s infidelity as well. The PlatonicLifePartners OddFriendship between Keita and Aguri is similarly MistakenForCheating by Tasuku, who doubles down on the love triangle scheme to keep Keita away from Aguri, creating a vicious cycle. Keita tries to defend Aguri and Tasuku’s relationship from Chiaki’s crush on Tasuku, not realizing that he comes off as bragging about Aguri being '''his''' girlfriend, and Chiaki relays this misconception to Tasuku and Karen. |
| 176 | ** After a misunderstanding leads to Keita and Karen starting a relationship, that’s when the real love dodecahedron kicks in. Chiaki’s crush on Tasuku fades as she falls in love with Keita when she discovers he’s her two online best friends. She CannotSpitItOut to him, to the point that she gets her little sister Konoha to stand in for her when he comes close to finding out the truth about her online identities. [[SiblingTriangle Konoha also falls in love with Keita]], but turns her feelings into a MatchmakerCrush and tries to support Chiaki in getting with him. Meanwhile, Tasuku’s MistakenForCheating is eventually resolved, but is soon replaced with him, Karen, and Chiaki all getting insecure upon discovering that Keita and Aguri’s friendship has grown into them being TheNotLoveInterest to each other. Tasuku—despite believing that Chiaki is a better match for Keita—collaborates with Karen to maintain the existing relationships, putting them both at odds with Konoha. It only gets more complicated from there, particularly with the later additions of Aguri's cousin Main and CanonForeigner Ayumu. |
| 177 | * Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun: |
| 178 | ** In Chapter 45, Wakamatsu starts to think that [[{{Bifauxnen}} Kashima]] is dating not only Seo but also Sakura. This leads him to draw a love triangle involving the three of them (with Mikoshiba also on the side with "Friend?" written for him and Kashima). The misunderstanding is cleared when Nozaki finally realizes the situations and explains who Kashima actually is. |
| 179 | ** Due to some misunderstandings and [[OneDialogueTwoConversations misleading conversations from all sides]], Ryousuke believes for most of Chapter 91 that there is a love rectangle of sorts between Miyako, Nozaki, Maeno and Miyamae. (He misinterprets their current/former work relationships as anything but professional.) He later becomes worried that he will be thrown into the mix and said rectangle will become a love pentagon. This mess (as well as the original misunderstanding about her and Nozaki) is cleared up when Miyako confirms that everything is purely work-related. |
| 180 | * ''Manga/JunjouRomantica'': |
| 181 | ** Kaoruko is in love with Misaki, who's dating her cousin Akihiko. Kaoruko initially demands Akihiko marry her in order to escape her arranged marriage with Haruhiko, [[spoiler: another cousin who happens to be Akihiko's half-brother, though]] due to the Usami's TangledFamilyTree they aren't actually related. Misaki being the only one to encourage Kaoruko to follow her dreams, falls in love with him. |
| 182 | ** Then there's Mizuki, who happens to have a crush on Akihiko, his cousin on the other side, and to Misaki's consternation, loves flaunting it about. We later [[spoiler: learn was all an act to spy for [[BitchInSheepsClothing Fuyuhiko]], Akihiko's father, and really in love with Kaoruko]]. It wasn't until [[HyperAwareness Ijuuin and Kaoruko]] drop the major hint that [[spoiler: she’s moved on, and [[ObliviousToLove returns his feelings]]]]. |
| 183 | ** Haruhiko falls for Misaki, which angers [[CrazyJealousGuy Akihiko]]. After [[spoiler: being clearly rejected by Misaki, Haruhiko still loves Misaki but will [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy no longer pursue him]]]]. Despite their rocky relationship [[spoiler: he even warns Akihiko that their father might be trying to tear them apart]]. |
| 184 | ** [[spoiler: Ijuuin]], Misaki's [[spoiler: favorite mangaka]], fell in LoveAtFirstSight with Misaki after the latter encouraged him during one of his slumps. When they meet once again after three years[[spoiler: Ijuuin believes it's]] the RedStringOfFate that brought them together again. However he’s able to tell right away that Misaki was dating Akihiko. After making his LoveConfession to Misaki and [[DidNotGetTheGirl being turned down]], he still [[SelectiveObliviousness continues his pursuit]]. When it's finally [[InnocentlyInsensitive pointed out to him]] by Mizuki that Misaki might come hate him, that he stops. However, he tells Akihiko to his face that if he ever saw Akihiko had upset Misaki, he'd steal him away. Though in a bonus chapter, he's starting to be [[ShipTease ship teased]] with Yuu Yanase from the above mentioned Manga/SekaiichiHatsukoi. |
| 185 | * ''Manga/KindergartenWars'': Sylvia is in love with Luke, who Rita is attracted to, but Rita also might have feelings for Doug, who ''does'' have feelings for Rita, but Doug is also the target of Hana's crush. [[spoiler: And then Natsuki developps a crush on Hana.]] |
| 186 | * ''Manga/{{Lady}}'': Lynn and Sarah both like Arthur. Edward likes Lynn. [[spoiler: Arthur likes Sarah]]. Unfortunately, [[SchoolIdol Vivian]] also likes Edward. [[AlphaBitch Mary]] is implied to have feelings for Arthur, hence why she blackmailed him to go the ball with her. [[spoiler: By the end of the anime, Lynn ends up with Edward, while Sarah ends up with Arthur.]] |
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