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The Not Love Interest: Difference between revisions
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== Anime and Manga ==
* In ''[[Black Cat (
* Before the Eclipse, Guts and Griffith of ''[[Berserk]]'' were very much like this. Griffith in particular took things to rather [[Yandere]] levels, particularly as he started falling further and further toward the [[Despair Event Horizon]]. Before Guts, Griffith was also the most important man in Casca's life as well. He tends to have that kind of effect on people.
* In ''[[Bleach]]'', Ichigo rushes into the unknown to save Rukia from Soul Society, and later does the same for Orihime, rushing into Hueco Mundo to save her. Neither girl is his official [[Love Interest]].
* In ''[[Naruto]]'', Naruto is somewhat attached to Sasuke, even after {{spoiler|he leaves Konoha to join Orochimaru, then goes rogue and basically becomes an international criminal}}. Before then, the show devotes not insignificant amounts of time to the two rivaling each other at becoming better ninja; both is (partly) the other's inspiration. However, Sasuke is not as much Naruto's friend as Naruto would like him to be.
* Tenchi and Kiyone of ''[[Tenchi Muyo!]]'' often drift into this kind of relationship, notable because she's one of the few regular female characters ''not'' infatuated with him.
* An interesting case in ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'': at the beginning of the series [[Team Mom|Anezaki]] [[Mama Bear|Mamori]] initially joined the football club for the sake of Sena, her childhood friend, arguably most important person at the time, and [[Not Love Interest]]. More specifically, she joined to protect him from the bullying of the football club’s captain, [[Magnificent Bastard|Hiruma]] [[Jerk
* In the TV series of ''[[Record of Lodoss War]]'', Spark becomes highly commited to his mission to save Neese, as he's the leader of the group. It's even made fun of by Leaf and Raina, who put quite an effort into [[Shipper
** ''[[Rune Soldier]]'', which is based on a work by the same author as Record of Lodoss War, does it again with Louie and Melissa. At first Melissa is devestated by being ordered by her god to support [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|unlikely hero Louie]] as a "Valliant Champion", as he is the complete opposite of what she always hoped for. Over the course of the show, she helps Louie to overcome some of his worst traits and comes to appreciate his genuinely good nature and desire to help people in need. Over time, she stops being constantly embarrased by having him as her valliant champion and even stands up to others to defend him against being called a useless idiot. While there are certainly some scenes with heavy romantic overtones between them, they never show any actual romantic interest for each other, and it's heavily implied that Ila is actually Louies girlfriend and has been so for quite some time before he met Melissa.
* Despite several characters making jokes and comments about it, Setsuna and Marina of ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00|Gundam 00]]'' genuinely seem to not have any romantic interest in each other. Their connection comes more from the fact that they are from neighboring countries and are both searching (in very different ways) for answers to the same questions. When outright asked if they were dating, they both deadpanned "We are not a couple" in unison, without any of the embarrassment or blushing [[She Is Not My Girlfriend|this kind of situation]] usually entails. If anything, their relationship is more akin to that between a mother and child.
* Despite the [[Ship Tease]] that [[Yaoi Fangirl|certain fans]] are all too eager to point out, this is [[Battle Butler|Riff]] and [[Broken Bird|Cain]]'s relationship in ''[[Godchild]]''. Cain has a number of [[Love Interest|Love Interests]] over the course of the series -- and they all have a noticeable impact on him -- but Riff is the person with whom all his trust and strongest feelings lie. And Cain is the only significant person in Riff's ''entire life.'' {{spoiler|It's played around with quite a bit towards series end, though arguably The [[Grand Finale]] managed to play the trope straight once more}}.
* Despite [[The Chick|Tea]] being his actual [[Love Interest]], [[Yu-Gi-Oh!|Yugi]] seems to care more about [[Anti-Hero|Yami]] and [[Badass Normal|Joey]] than her a lot of the time, and both of them are his [[Heterosexual Life Partner|heterosexual life partners]]. Also, Joey will love [[Big Brother Instinct|his sister]] and [[Heterosexual Life Partner|his best friend]] more than any girl who enters his life, and [[Aloof Big Brother|Kaiba]] will never actually ''like'' anyone aside from his [[Morality Pet|little brother.]]
* ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]'' has a [[Ho Yay]] example. Barnaby shows up in Kotetsu's life at a critical point in the latter's career and fits into so many "love interest stereotypes" [[hottip:*:a [[Troubled but Cute]] / [[Broken Bird]] [[Defrosting Ice King|Defrosting]] [[Sugar and Ice]] [[Kuudere|Ice King]] who [[Replacement Love Interest|bears some suspicious parallels]] [[Romancing the Widow|to the widower hero's]] [[The Lost Lenore|late wife]] and was {{spoiler|[[Mad Dictators Handsome Son|mentored by]] the show's [[Big Bad]]}} that the writer/artist for the manga adaptation has even joked about him being the show's 'heroine'. The creators' fondness for [[Ship Tease|teasing]] their "wonderful relationship" doesn't help.
* In ''[[
* Played straight in [[Mahou Sensei Negima]] in the case of [[Hikikomori|Chisame]], who is pestered relentlessly by [[Ridiculously Human Robot|Chachamaru]] to confess her feelings to [[The Hero|Negi]], to which Chisame replies that close friendships don't always have to be romantic.
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* ''[[Withnail and I]]''. As Paul McGann, who played, [[No Name Given|uh, the latter]], said, it's like a "marriage gone wrong", and their relationship drives the more serious part of the plot. There's no love interest for either of them; there's not even any any significant female characters.
* Danny is this to Nicholas in ''[[Hot Fuzz]]''. [[Word of God]] says that in the original script Nicholas had an actual love interest, but she was cut and some of her storyline and actual lines were [[Ho Yay|given to Danny]].
* The previous [[media:FraternalFidelity_3734.jpg|page picture]] is from the ''[[Doom (
* In the 2005 remake of ''[[House of Wax]]'', the characters played by Elisha Cuthbert and Chad Michael Murray seem very much like ex-lovers {{spoiler|who will reconcile at the end, since everyone else is dead}}. But they're brother and sister, so no.
* Barney and Sandra in ''[[
* In ''[[
* Ariadne and Dom in ''[[
* Calvin and Spooner's relationship in ''[[I, Robot (
== Literature ==
* Even after [[Harry Potter]] fell in love with Ginny Weasley, their romance always took a backseat to his friendship with Ron. Hermione also takes this role sometimes -- notably when the trio were separated in ''The Deathly Hallows''.
* [[Anti-Hero|Edmund]] and [[The Pollyanna|Lucy]], from the ''[[Chronicles of Narnia]]'', become this in ''[[Voyage of the Dawn Treader]]'', due to the fact that they always look for one another and desperately [[Call My Name|call each other's name]] when they are separated.
* ''[[
* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', Harry's relationship like Thomas is like this sometimes. Thomas Raith the [[Our Vampires Are Different|incubus]] is Harry's friend {{spoiler|and half-brother}} and they never have any doubts about the relationship, but when Harry is between girlfriends, Thomas takes on that role in the story a little bit: He's closer to earth in some ways and [[Always Save the Girl|has needed to be rescued more than once]].
* Because [[Sherlock Holmes]] isn't that close to his brother Mycroft and eschews the possibility of friendships and romantic interests as things that might get in his way, Dr. Watson is literally the only important person in his life. It's shown most clearly in ''The Three Garridebs'' when Watson is wounded, but it's apparent in subtler ways throughout the series. For his part, Watson, despite being a more emotional and social person than Holmes, has few friends, ''no'' surviving family, and is unmarried or {{spoiler|a widower}} for most of the series, so that Holmes is the most important person to him.
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* Elsewhere in the Buffyverse, when Spike appears in ''[[Angel]]'' season 5, he quickly takes on a role like this, as their complicated history and relationship drives a lot of drama, far more than anything to do with Angel's actual love interest for the season. Again it's noted by Joss on the DVDs. "We finally found the right girl for Angel - Spike." Hilariously, the in-universe movie adaptation of ''After the Fall'', called "Last Angel in Hell", gender-flips Spike into Angel's love interest.
** In season four Angel's son Connor filled this role.
* The Winchester brothers of ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]''. Though some fans will always [[Slash Fic|insist differently]].
* Kaylee seems to play this role for most of the crew of ''[[Firefly]]'' (the writers even admitting that [[Chandler's Law|the easiest way to create drama for everyone was to threaten her]]), with the exception of her actual [[Love Interest]] Simon.
** Mal and Zoe. One episode centers around Wash's complaints that there's [[UST]] between them. However, at the end of the episode Mal and Zoe's attempted kiss (to "defuse" this so-called tension) is ''painfully'' awkward. Even the resident [[Badass]] ''Jayne'', normally the most lecherous member of the crew, is unnerved.
{{quote| '''Zoe''': ''[dead monotone]'' Take me, sir. Take me hard.<br />
'''Jayne''': Now somethin' about that is just downright unsettlin'. }}
* Kirk and Spock from ''[[Star Trek:
** It's worth noting that they inspired the first [[Slash Fic]].
** Roddenberry himself declared about a romantic relationship: "...we certainly believe that the affection was sufficient for that, if that were the particular style of the 23rd century." Draw your own conclusions.
*** Played more [[Incredibly Lame Pun|straight]] in the [[Star Trek (
* [[
* House and Wilson in ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'', given that they're based on Holmes and Watson. Wilson is, if not the most important person in House's life, damn close.
* The US version of ''[[Queer
* ''[[Criminal Minds]]'': [[Genius Bruiser|Derek]] [[Mr. Fanservice|Morgan]] and [[Playful Hacker|Penelope]] [[Big Beautiful Woman|Garcia]].
** This conversation from the season three episode "Penelope" that takes place after {{spoiler|Garcia got shot}} says it all:
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* Tim and Daisy in ''[[Spaced]]''. One of the series's main subplots is the slow-but-steady erosion of the "not" from the phrase. {{spoiler|The last scene in the "Skip to the End" documentary demonstrates this, showing them as a couple with a child.}}
* Chuck and Ellie (his sister) seem to do a lot more hugging than Chuck and Sarah in ''[[Chuck]]''.
* No matter their [[Sensitive Guy and Manly Man|differences]], the [[Vitriolic Best Buds|insults flung between them]], or the [[With Friends Like These...|abuse heaped upon one another]], [[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]] and Arthur are destined to be together. Just not [[Ho Yay|''together'']] together.
* ''[[The Inspector Lynley Mysteries]]'': No one will ''ever'' be as important to Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers as they are to each other, to the point where they have explicitly called each other their reason to get up in the morning. Lynley's relationship with [[Love Interest|Helen]] consistently takes a backseat to his relationship with Barbara. If they're not in love with each other, they're this trope.
* ''[[Wire in The Blood]]'' had [[The Profiler|Dr. Tony Hill]] and his Most Important Person [[Fair Cop|DCI Carol Jordan]]. Seeing as Tony has difficulty being a real boy on the best of days, Carol kept him grounded and reminded him there was life outside work and serial killers.
* Dr. Cal Lightman and Dr. Gillian Foster on ''[[Lie to Me (TV series)|Lie to Me]]'', partners who own the Lightman Group and have serious [[Will They or Won't They?]] going on. Made explicit in "The Whole Truth", when Cal talks to the fiance of a man who engineered his own assisted suicide with the help of his best friend (named Leo):
{{quote| '''[[Romantic False Lead|Clara]]''': What about Dr. Foster? What is she to you?<br />
'''[[Living Lie Detector|Cal]]''': She's my Leo. }}
* ''[[Psych]]'': Girlfriends may come and go, but Shawn and Gus will always be the most important people in each others lives. Though the hit slash pairing is Lassiter and Shawn.
* President Jed Bartlet and Leo McGarry on ''[[The West Wing]]''. They act and bicker exactly like an old married couple, spend all the time possible together, tease and flirt (in a joking way), and play a blatantly spousal/parental role in the staff's nuclear family-modeled [[True Companions]]. While Jed may have an excellent wife and family outside of the west wing of the White House, Leo is for all purposes the love interest in Jed's "other" family inside the west wing, with the thrill of politics in place of sex and romance.
* Jack and Liz Lemon are this on ''[[30 Rock
* On ''[[Dexter]]'' the titular [[Serial Killer Killer|vigilante]] has his [[Not Blood Siblings|sister]] Debra. He even notes in one episode that if he could have feelings for anyone, they would be for her.
* Mulder and Scully of ''[[The X-Files]]'' were this for each other from the get-go, and they were supposed to stay that way; the original idea was that they would never be more than platonic work partners. However, the chemistry between the actors caused their platonic relationship to look pretty non-platonic in the eyes of the fans, and by season five, the writers started playing with the idea that they could be more than friends. By season seven, they were.
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* ''[[Skins]]'' had this with Emily and JJ in the latter's S3 episode. They helped each other overcome their problems and became close friends and, at the end of the episode, they even slept together. However, Emily made it clear from the beginning that it was a pity screw, simply a response to JJ's earlier statement that if he got to be normal for a day, the first thing he'd do was lose his virginity. The viewers know it's not going anywhere since, like the Kurt/Mercedes example above, Emily [[Lipstick Lesbian|just isn't into boys]] [[Incompatible Orientation|that way]].
* [[Black Best Friend|Wallace]] to ''[[Veronica Mars]]''. Of course [[Executive Meddling]] said it would never happen. Weevil and Dick could also qualify as the same. Actually anybody but Troy, Duncan, Logan, and Piz could qualify
* In ''[[The Sentinel (TV series)|The Sentinel]]'', Blair Sandburg serves as this for Jim Ellison, serving as a support to deal with Jim's physical and emotional problems as a Sentinel and also [[Distressed Dude|needing Jim to rescue him]] every other episode.
* [[Starsky and Hutch (TV series)|Starsky and Hutch]] are often this towards each other, especially when in danger.
* In''[[Warehouse 13]]'' You have Pete and Myka, in a show like this normally the two main characters have [[UST]], but Pete and Myka have purely platonic feelings for each other and don't think of each other in a sexual way, which Myka states in one episode after they think they had sex.
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== Video Games ==
* Otacon is Solid Snake's Not Love Interest in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]''. In the first ''MGS'', they have what could be described as a [[Meet Cute]] in a warped sort of way, exchange some emotionally loaded dialogue, and, if Meryl (the actual love interest) dies, Snake leaves with Otacon instead. And then they wind up [[Has Two Mommies|raising a kid together]] in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriots]]''.
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9uNX5bwTZU The voice actors have some fun] with how "Not" Otacon actually is (see the lengthy ''MGS'' entry under [[Ho Yay]]). In [[Canon]], though, MGS4 tried to [[Ship Sinking|sink]] the Snake/Otacon ship and make it clear he was the Not Love Interest and Snake's Platonic Most Important Person. [[Yaoi Fangirl|It]] [[Die for Our Ship|didn't]] work.
** And Meryl counts, too. Even though she canonically survives, she never does become Snake's love interest. Hell, she actually hooks up with the series' dedicated [[Butt Monkey]]!
* Rui to Wes in ''[[Pokémon Colosseum]].'' Their initial meeting certainly seems like it's working up to a [[Rescue Romance]], as Wes saves Rui from a band of kidnappers. The two team up, and Rui follows Wes everywhere. Without Rui's ability to see Shadow Pokemon, there isn't much Wes can do, so they depend heavily on each other. However, after that, there's not much evidence that their relationship is anything but platonic. Even the end of the game (which the [[Genre Savvy]] viewer might expect to hold some kind of [[Love Confession]]) has... not much, really. Maybe Rui's just [[All Girls Want Bad Boys|not into bad boys.]] Though it's hard to establish any kind of a relationship when [[Heroic Mime|Wes never says anything]].
* Similarly, in the "This is not a [[Meet Cute]]" department, there's Double H to Jade in ''[[Beyond Good
* Kumatora to Duster (or maybe it's the other way around) in ''[[
* Yosuke to the Protagonist in ''[[
* A lot of people play Neeshka like this, in ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]'', as she's a genuinely likable character, but the developers never finished her [[Romance Sidequest]]
* It's very possible to have one of these in ''[[Dragon Age Origins]]''. Alistair and Morrigan are the most obvious ones, provided you're outside of their preferred gender, but pretty much anyone in your party can become this.
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* In ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'', Sora's devotion to his friend Riku and determination to find him is one that you would normally expect to see an RPG hero express towards a [[Distressed Damsel]] [[Love Interest]].
{{quote| '''Sora:''' Riku... It's Riku. Riku's here! I looked for you. I looked everywhere for you!!}}
* ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'': According to Luigi, Princess Peach is Mario's [[Not Love Interest]].
* ''[[Final Fantasy XIII-2]]'' has this with Noel and Serah. They have basically the same dynamic as any other male and female lead of a JRPG, but Serah is engaged to Snow, and Noel has [[Ship Tease]] with Yeul.
* Miles Edgeworth to Phoenix Wright in ''[[Ace Attorney]]''. Old childhood friend, troubled past, Edgeworth's frozen prosecutor heart melted by Phoenix's honest passion...it's no surprise they're the most common ship in the fandom.
** At the same time, Maya Fey, the second most popular shipping option. She and Phoenix go everywhere together, they clearly care deeply about each other, and he often has to [[Distressed Damsel|rescue her from some danger]]. But when [[Shipper
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* Questionable example: In the episode of ''[[Danger Mouse]]'' where DangerMouse fights a dragon, the [[Genre Savvy]] dragon insists on doing things right, and since DM doesn't have a love interest, the dragon makes [[Cowardly Sidekick]] Penfold the designated "[[Damsel in Distress]]".
* In ''[[The Road to El Dorado]],'' Miguel and Tulio are each other's Not Love Interests--not only do they hide their friendship by fighting, confess how much they mean to one another as they think that they're slowly dying, but they even have a painful break-up! According to some, the original script had them more explicitly be lovers--no wonder their [[Ho Yay]] factor is so high.
* Gwen to Ben in ''[[
** It's much more apparent in ''Alien Force'' since both characters have matured greatly, rarely fight, and openly hug each other
* Terry and his [[Girl Friday]] Max in ''[[Batman Beyond]]'', mostly because other than Bruce she's the only person he can trust with his [[Secret Identity]].
* Despite having a history together (As well as being the primary ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' turn-on) [[Femme Fatale|Blackarachnia]] always came second to [[The Hero|Optimus]] in terms of importance when compared to Sentinel. He leaves the fembot behind behind to save Sentinel and himself which results in her transformation to technorganic, gets more episodes devoted to their rivalry, and in BA's last appearance he seemed more concerned about Sentinel than her. The ironic thing about this? The she-spider was the reason for their antagonist rivalry in the first place!
* On ''[[My Life
* On ''[[Teen Titans (
** Some fans see this with Raven and Robin, who also share a few unusually close moments.
* This is mostly what ''[[Ren and Stimpy]]'''s relationship in the original series is about. In the adult spinoff called ''Adult Party Cartoon'', however, they are quite explictly portrayed as a homosexual couple.
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