Devoted to You

"Why is everyone so hot for this girl? Has she got beer-flavored nipples?"

— Patrick Verona, 10 Things I Hate About You

I'm Hopelessly Devoted to You!

Some ladies (or men) are just special. With no conscious action on their part, they are able to create an almost inescapable devotion in would-be suitors. Neither time nor distance can tame this obsession, and in the unlikely event that it does fade, the slightest contact with the man (or woman) will bring the obsession back, often stronger than it was before. Often there is no real explanation given for this level of obsessed devotion in comparison to other women (or men) in the series.

Usually a woman, and can come from almost any background: An Ordinary High-School Student, a Girl Next Door, an Action Girl, Idol Singer, Tsundere, Beautiful All Along, or a recent widow, Tall, Dark, and Handsome, Jerk with a Heart of Gold, Unlucky Everydude.

Related to the Chick Magnet, with a few key differences:

• Rarely has more than 1 or 2 men chasing her at a time.
• There is rarely an Unwanted Harem.
• In Shōnen and seinen stories, is usually not the main character; in Shōjo or josei stories, almost always is.

What defines this Love Interest is the single-minded devotion that is given to him. Even though she might not be the most attractive, wealthy, or interesting female in the group, her devotees will often discard any and all advances made by other women, up to and including no-strings-attached sex. Alternate takes are lovers who had to leave the girl for "her own good," often amid tons of Wangst. But he will always be in their hearts, and none of their attempts to move on can possibly succeed. Prone to have a Hopeless Suitor, Dogged Nice Guy, or maybe even a Stalker with a Crush.

May not always be the True Love of the main character, but since the main has become a Hopeless Suitor, he can't notice. Sometimes, one of the two men going after her will gracefully bow out, promptly find a new girlfriend, and step aside for the new guy who will be obsessed to show up within an episode or two. (see Marmalade Boy).

Usually virginal, she is never a slut. Compare Head-Turning Beauty and Even the Girls Want Her which usually don't apply, but is sometimes part of the package.

Romance writer Lani Diane Rich refers to this sort of thing as having a Glittery Hoo-Ha.

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Examples:

Anime and Manga

• Everyone in Ah! My Goddess is devoted to Belldandy. You'd be crazy not to be. Justified in that she is literally a Goddess.
• Code Geass: Kallen to Lelouch. Kallen outright admitted that if Lelouch had told her that he loved her (namely in their final meeting at Ashford before Zero Requiem), even if it was a lie, she would have "followed him to Hell". It was for this specific reason that Lelouch went through great pains to exclude her from ZR — ultimately, he could not bear the thought of dragging her down with him and sharing his fate, wanting her to live a happy life. She's not the only one who is devoted to him either; Shirley is just as devoted which ultimately results in her death and Tyke Bomb Rolo goes full-on Yandere for Lelouch he's that devoted. Even C.C. ends up very much so devoted to him, even though that ends in tears thanks to the Zero Requiem.
• Di[e]ce is pretty much "Obsessive Devotion: The Manga". Kazuki and Haruki are "kings" in death games modeled after chess. The bishops and knights on both sides are completely devoted to them - and the bishops have been raised to protect them all their life. Sion and Naoto refer to Kazuki as their only reason for living; Gara and Kirito call Haruki their only reason for living. Kazuki and Haruki, though, only show that level of single-minded loyalty towards each other.
• In If I See You In My Dreams, the Official Couple of Masuo and Nagisa manage to catch each one some suitors of this kind. In fact, Masuo was one of these for Nagisa but ascends to real love interest because his devotion and interest are proven as more genuine than his rival's.
• Ishigami from Kaguya-sama: Love Is War inspires complete devotion to him from Osaragi of all people. In most scenes where she appears, she is speaking in favor of him or approves of his intentions to court Tsubame. Chapter 192 reveals that this began in middle school after he called out jealous girls who were badmouthing Osaragi. From that point on, Osaragi developed feelings for him and was looking after him, determined to help him find happiness, even if it's not with her. She goes so far as to prioritize his happiness over her best friend, Iino's (who also develops feelings for him).
• Madoka Ayukawa from Kimagure Orange Road: Kyosuke Kasuga is dating a cute girl named Hikaru, but it's her best friend Madoka who has his devotion. Both girls are devoted to the guy.
  • Madoka is also extremely devoted to Hikaru, who once was her Only Friend. In fact, she'd rather keep her own love for Kyousuke under wraps than risk breaking Hikaru's heart.
• Macross:
  • Lynn Minmay from Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Hikaru Ichijo is obsessed with her throughout much of the series, even when she specifically states she is interested in someone else, and ultimately is too caught up in her Idol Singer career. Ultimately subverted when Hikaru moves on and ends up marrying the other vertex of the Love Triangle, Misa Hayase, and Minmay gives them her sincere blessings.
  • Myung Fang Long from Macross Plus is obsessed over by Guld and Isamu after an absence of several years caused by a very traumatic incident between the three. Isamu is in a Friends with Benefits relationship with his workmate Lucy, but even she realizes that Myung is the number one person in his heart.
• Kyoko Otonashi from Maison Ikkoku is a classic example, as both Unlucky Everydude Godai, and Bishie Sparkling Mitaka, are in a constant state of turning down many of their romantic prospects on the off chance that Kyoko is interested in them.
• Maria no Danzai: While Nozomu Okaya's gang of bullies are controlled by him using their fear of his wrath, they are also generally devoted to him and getting his favor in the gang. Tsubasa Kowase is obsessed with getting his favor and being acknowledged by him and tries to bribe him to get his friendship. Kumiru Shikimi has a massive crush on Nozomu; she craves his love and attention. It's telling that both Tsubasa Kowase and Kumiru Shikimi's last thoughts as they die are about Nozomu; Kowase tries to fight for survival, believing that he has Nozomu's acknowledgment, while Shikimi's last words are her belief that Nozomu will prevail despite realizing that she never had a real conversation with him before she died.
• Tohru's life in Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid pretty much revolves around Kobayashi. The anime even assigns her the Flower Motif of a Shepherd's Purse, which means "I offer you my all".
• Naruto: Hinata Hyuga has been in love with Naruto since they were children, his determination to keep chasing his dream in spite of everything that stood in his way having inspired her to never give up on herself. When she finally confesses her love to him in the Invasion of Pain arc, she outright told Naruto that she is Not Afraid to Die for him. In the Canon movie The Last: Naruto the Movie, Naruto becomes this to Hinata once he finally realizes just how important she's always been to him, and he vows to properly return the love she has held for him since forever, which is the impetus for them to finally become an Official Couple.

• Gokudera Ho Yay towards Tsuna in Reborn! (2004), the nature of which is questioned to this day. After their fight early in the manga, in which Tsuna saves Gokudera from his own friendly fire, Gokudera devotes his entire life to protecting and caring for Tsuna. In the Future Arc, Gokudera has been visiting Future!Tsuna's grave often to always leave flowers there, so it's very much Undying Loyalty, but the nature of Gokudera's feelings for Tsuna is up for grabs.
• Yasha towards Ashura in RG Veda. Just hours after he found Ashura, Yasha puts Ashura's well-being over his people's concerns and lives and devotes himself to protecting the child for the rest of the manga, even against his own brother. It's revealed it's because of a promise he made with Ashura; but thanks to it, he recognizes Ashura as the most important person in his life. He also dedicated himself to looking over Ashura's slumber for centuries in hopes of him waking up again.
• Suzuka from Suzuka: The eponymous character of this show, as Yamato even when in other relationships, is obsessed with her. In the manga, he turns down other women who are interested in him and even flat-out refuses sex because of his obsession.
• Hiren for Dante in Undertaker Riddle. Also Deconstructed since Hiren doesn't think of a plan or consequences when Dante gets kidnapped by the Big Bad, only thinking of how much he wants to save him.

Fan Works

• Let's just say in Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità, Germany and Japan are completely devoted to Italy. Maybe a little too devoted to him.
• In Advice and Trust, Shinji tells Asuka several times she's all he wants. All his female classmates want him, but he doesn't care at all.
• Thousand Shinji: Shinji and Asuka are completely devoted to each other. Shinji swore that she'd never lose him because he'd always go back to her, no matter what. Later on, he spent one month absorbed into his robot and then another month in a coma. During those two months, Asuka broke down because she needed him more than anything. When he returned, she was happy because she knew she'd never be alone again.
• In Children of an Elder God, Shinji and Asuka were teammates and co-workers at the beginning; later on, they were friends and True Companions. And after a while they became inseparable. At one point Asuka tells Shinji that she will not leave him, ever. And she doesn't.
• Ghosts of Evangelion: Since they were fourteen Shinji and Asuka spent their whole lives together. And when Asuka passes away, Shinji dies straight after.
• The Second Try: After the end of the world, Shinji and Asuka had to work together to survive. Their bonds got stronger and they became extremely devoted to each other.
• In Neon Genesis Evangelion: Genocide, Shinji doesn't care how overbearing or rude Asuka is. He wants to be with her forever, and he doesn't care for other girls romantically.
• Evangelion 303: In Shinji's words, Asuka is the only woman he'll probably ever love. When he proposed her and Asuka asked if he could promise to be true to her for as long as he lives, he said yes.
• A Crown of Stars: Shinji is fully devoted to Asuka. When Ching talks to Asuka, she points out that no woman keeps his attention for longer than five seconds before he's looking at Asuka again. Throughout the story, he repeatedly tells the red-haired girl that he belongs to her.
• In Last Child of Krypton, there're several girls after Shinji, but he only has eyes for Asuka.
• In Once More with Feeling, Shinji is desired by all his female classmates... and he doesn't care for their adoration, affection, or obsession at all. He only has eyes for Asuka.
  Even if he wasn't irreparably in love with Asuka, the thought of being a prized possession to be shown off like a piece of jewelry wasn't exactly appealing.
• This is more or less outright stated to be the case for the Official Couple in the Contractually Obligated Chaos series. They are virtually inseparable, and their exceptional bond is part of the evidence which points to them being the objects of a very ancient prophecy.
• In Hellsister Trilogy, Wildfire spends one thousand years trapped in a star. During his captivity, he never stops loving and wanting to see his girlfriend Dawnstar again.
• To Forge an Heir: Heavily deconstructed with Criston Cole. His obsessive devotion to Rhaenyra is portrayed as unhealthy for both her and him. In addition to Criston being more dedicated to the idea of Rhaenyra being the perfect heir and ruler, Rhaenyra subconsciously fears disappointing him by not living up to those high expectations, causing her undue stress. After he murders Otto Hightower in a rage for insulting her by beating him to death and ignores all her orders to stop the attack, to the point of striking her, Rhaenyra is forced to acknowledge that she can't trust him with the protection of her family, as his blind loyalty to her may cause him to harm them if he believes they could be any threat to her.

Films — Animated

• In The Book of Life, Manolo and Joaquin have both been in love with Maria since they were kids; ten years apart has not dulled their love for her at all. Joaquin is even shown to be popular with women, but he still only has eyes for Maria. For her part, Maria is just as devoted to them, if more platonically. To the point where she gets really annoyed when they start fighting each other over her.

Films — Live-Action

• Allison from Get Over It is a perfect example that the main character has to get over in order to meet his true love.
• From Grease, Hopelessly Devoted To You!
• Kevin James' Love Interest in Hitch.
• The entire plot of There's Something About Mary was based on the eponymous character being one of these.
• Mikaela from the Transformers Film Series. That is until her sudden departure offscreen between Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Literature

• Both lampshaded and justified with Lotus Cloud in Bridge of Birds — this is part of the evidence that she's actually a goddess.
• Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter. Though she has two boyfriends before him, she's always been in love with Harry. Even after they break up for a time, she remains fiercely loyal to him.
• Played with in The Hunger Games. Peeta claims that this is true of Katniss, but we never see anything in the rest of the narrative that points to it. However, Peeta himself is head over heels for her and incredibly devoted to her so he probably just assumes everybody else will see her the way he does. On the other hand, the books are from Katniss's point of view, so it could be that he's right and she just doesn't notice.
• Every single one of Catarina's suitors in My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! are completely and totally devoted to her, forsaking interest in anyone else while there is still even the remotest chance that Catarina can reciprocate. Even in this case, special mention must go to Mary, who does not let any opportunity or chance to prove her total devotion to Catarina go by. She will do anything if it makes Catarina even the slightest bit happy, even to the point of swearing to eat poison if Catarina is the one serving it to her.
• Basil Hallward to Dorian in The Picture of Dorian Gray, lampshaded. Though it can be justified with Dorian's beauty, which fascinates everyone.
• Bella Swan from The Twilight Saga makes both Edward and Jacob (and by extension their entire families) willing to fight and die for her, to the exclusion of all else. For her part, she hates being fought over and their attempts to control her "for her own safety", and the whole thing only fully resolves when Jacob moves on..
  • Her daughter Nessie is even worse. Dozens of vampires are willing to go to war with the vampire government just to protect her. Except for the Romanians, who just hate the vampire government and want an excuse.

Live-Action TV

• Winifred Burkle from Angel: both Gunn and Wesley obsessed about her before and after their relationships.
• Delenn of Babylon 5. John Sheridan, of course, is hopelessly, passionately in love with her, and she returns his affection in equal measure. But her attache Lennier is also head-over-heels in love with her, and he has no chance whatsoever because Delenn is just as starry-eyed over Sheridan as Sheridan is over her.
• Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Both Angel and Spike are classic examples of characters held in thrall by Buffy. Both before and after being with Buffy, they were creepy stalkers.
• Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: White Josh is endlessly frustrated that all his straight male friends seem to fall head over heels for Rebecca (who he himself can't stand) and never manage to move past her. Rebecca spends a little more than half the series with this kind of all-consuming infatuation for Josh ^note not White Josh, the other Josh, who's just called "Josh" because calling him "Asian Josh" would be racist, but she eventually gets over him.
• The Flash (2014): Barry Allen to his best friend Iris West. Iris is the love of his life, and there isn't anything in the world Barry wouldn't do for her — including stepping aside to allow her to be with someone else. At one point, Barry even explicitly states that everything he does, he does for her. While Iris remained oblivious, and later, in denial, of her feelings for him for most of Season 1, it was obvious to everyone around her, including her boyfriend Eddie Thawne, her father Joe, and Barry himself (thanks to Time Travel) that she was every bit in love with Barry as he was with her, and just as devoted to him as he was to her.
• Friends: Gunther, Ross, and later Joey to Rachel.
• Rory of Gilmore Girls. The number of boys in the entire series who aren't immediately attracted or enthralled by her can be counted on one hand.
• For Gossip Girls Chuck Bass there has only ever been Blair in his heart. He remains devoted to making her happy even when she's with someone else, including giving food poisoning to the man who's trying to stop her wedding to Prince Louis.
• Noah's Arc: Noah seems to have continuous access to deeply dedicated boyfriends, with little real effort on his part. At one point even a millionaire rapper pursues him.
• Our Miss Brooks: Miss Brooks is devoted to Mr. Boynton, with Miss Enright often appearing as her rival for his affections. Miss Brooks wins, finally marrying Mr. Boynton in the cinematic grand finale.
• Olive from Pushing Daisies even sings I'm Hopelessly Devoted To You! once.
• Salem: John Alden, Sebastian Marburg, and, for a short time, Dr. Samuel Wainwright all directed towards Mary.
• Lana Lang of Smallville. Clark to a lesser extent.
• Sookie Stackhouse from True Blood comes to mind. She's attractive and can read minds, but Vampire Bill and Sam pretty much can't go for 30 seconds without thinking about her.
• Elena from The Vampire Diaries. She has Stefan and Damon fawning over her.
  • Also, Stefan. Stefan has managed to attract all of the female characters, including Elena, Katherine, Caroline, and Rebekah. It has turned into an Unwanted Harem for Stefan and even a Psychotic Love Triangle in regards to Stefan/Elena/Katherine/Rebekah.
• Veronica Mars: Duncan and Logan are pretty much unable to ever forget Veronica, no matter how hard they try. Duncan was so devoted that he slept with her even when he thought she was his sister. May not count because Logan slipped him a roofie first.

Music

• Zucchero: The song "Cosi Celeste" (Very Celestial) tells about a woman Zucchero is hopelessly devoted to, describing her as "his babe", likening her to "a planet that is moving around him", and the ensuing love to "floating over a flower" (later specifying it's a water lily).

Video Games

• In Final Fantasy IV, Kain is willing to betray his best friend of years in order to gain the love of Rosa, Cecil's lover.
• Persona:
  • In Persona 4, Rise is going to flirt with you. A lot. More than any of the other girls. Even if you turn down her romance. This game also tells us of another example coming from the previous game, which is further elaborated on in Persona 4: Arena. Speaking of which...
  • In Persona 4: Arena, it is revealed that, since the end of The Answer, every single thing Elizabeth has done is for the sole purpose of working towards the goal of saving the P3 protagonist from his ultimate fate. Keep in mind that this self-imposed task is, by all logic, practically impossible to achieve.^{explanation(MASSIVE P 3 SPOILERS)}  Basically, as long as Erebus is around, the protagonist cannot be saved. Erebus can be defeated, but it will simply pop up again on its own, as it is the collective shadow of mankind born of the desperation brought about by life's trials — essentially, it's humanity's shadow. Therefore, as long as there exists a considerable number of humans who yearn for death, even if subconsciously, the protagonist must remain the Great Seal to prevent Erebus from touching Nyx and causing The End of the World as We Know It. Also keep in mind that it has already been three years since Elizabeth came to this resolution. That said, this devotion has, among many other things, led her to make an annual tradition of one-shotting an Eldritch Abomination just to make it leave the protagonist alone in peace for a while.

Visual Novels

• Miyako toward Yamato in Majikoi! Love Me Seriously!. She inherited her mother's titanic sex drive, and her father's singleminded devotion to love one person for his entire life, to the point where she'd rather die alone than settle for anyone else (and since she stops short of being a full-on yandere this is exactly what her future is like if he ends up with anyone else, although she does make it clear that if his relationship with said other girl doesn't work out she'll be right back after him). In fact, it's this level of sheer devotion that prevents him from getting romantically involved with her despite her throwing herself at him every day for years since he feels he can't reciprocate nearly as deeply (and on her route he actually brings this up, only for her to tell him that he's being absurd and of course he's not going to be madly in love with her from the start, and nor does she expect him to be).
• In Nameless all of Eri's (mysteriously humanified) dolls are attracted exclusively to her. This is explained to be due to her being their owner, and their sole source of affection until they became human. This is exemplified in a few ways.
  • Tei bluntly refuses all other girls' gifts and advances, until he starts trying to keep her away from him because he thinks he's bad for her (and he's not wrong).
  • Yuri's concept is to be highly desirable yet non-threatening, always giving ladies just as much as they want. However, he flirts shamelessly with Eri, as opposed to his more suave interactions with other girls, which he usually doesn't initiate.
  • Yeonho, while surrounded by admirers, is completely willing to ditch everyone around him to plaster himself to Eri's side.
  • Lance, in a classic example, doesn't really like hanging out with anyone but Eri in any situation but work.
• Shall We Date?: Ninja Shadow has a rather odd variation of the trope: Kagura's Split Personality, the Anti-Hero and Blood Knight Homura. He was born from Kagura's Dark and Troubled Past and is seen taking many risks and doing many questionable things to keep him safe. When the Player Character (and his Morality Pet) Saori actually asks him if he wants anything for himself other than Kagura's safety, Homura is at quite the loss...

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