Forum Settings
Forums
Top
  >  
Forum
  >  
Anime & Manga Recommendations
  >  
A Romance manga with no harem,...
RecentWatchedIgnoredSearch Forum

A Romance manga with no harem, love triangles, or even implied love for either of the main leads outside of each other?

New
Mar 10, 12:44 AM
#1
TakenTheName
Offline
Feb 2025
7
Hey. It's really hard to find a pure Romance manga. It seems that every Romance story out there has to have rivals thrown into the mix to spice up the story and cater to a wider audience. Even if you were to read a supposedly one-pair-focused story, there will always be a side character who falls in love with either MC and has to have some awkward arc about that. I don’t want that. I just finished watching Tsuki ga Kirei earlier, and while it is pretty much a show about two people getting closer to each other, another main character still managed to fall in love with one of the MCs.

After that, I started reading The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend, a manga which, judging from the title, you’d think there would only be one ship, but no. It turned into a love triangle not even halfway through volume 1. Roshidere is another similar example. The only two shows/manga that I know of which actually contains a single, uninterrupted ship is Otonari no Tenshi-sama and HajiOtsu. It's a story about THEM, two people awkwardly falling in love and getting closer to each other, and not a story about an MC, the transfer student, his sister, his sister's friend, his classmate, his classmate's friend, a mysterious girl he only sees at night, an idol, a pair of twins, his childhood friend, and a deity.

Basically, I want:

  • A Romance story with only a single main ship, that being the main characters.
  • Unnamed background characters that only appear once confessing/falling in love with either main character are fine. I’m okay with popular MCs, but I don’t want a named or side character to fall in love with them.
  • Even if a significant character were to fall in love with either MC for a brief moment, or it happened in the past, or they keep it hidden inside of them, then it is out. I don’t even want it to be implied.
  • Other ships outside of the MCs that do not include either MC are fine. Even if other characters fall in love with other characters besides the MCs, that’s okay with me. I just don’t want it to involve the MCs in any shape or form.

Thanks in advance!
TakenTheNameMar 10, 1:32 AM
Mar 10, 1:19 AM
#2
MeguSae38

Offline
Jan 2023
2653
Pure romance manga without harem, rivals or love triangles:

Pseudo Harem came to mind first, it's very cute and fairly short (and not a harem at all as the name implies)
Nagatoro-san (despite some light teasing of the MC by secondary female characters in a few chapters, doesn't fall into harem at all and stay focused on the main ship)
Spice & Wolf (there is technically a few love triangle moments in the novel but these have not been adapted in the manga, which is the work I'm suggesting, so you're completely fine with this)
Love After World Domination is another fairly short but super cute romance (and comedy) manga
Mar 10, 1:21 AM
#3
TakenTheName
Offline
Feb 2025
7
Reply to MeguSae38
Pure romance manga without harem, rivals or love triangles:

Pseudo Harem came to mind first, it's very cute and fairly short (and not a harem at all as the name implies)
Nagatoro-san (despite some light teasing of the MC by secondary female characters in a few chapters, doesn't fall into harem at all and stay focused on the main ship)
Spice & Wolf (there is technically a few love triangle moments in the novel but these have not been adapted in the manga, which is the work I'm suggesting, so you're completely fine with this)
Love After World Domination is another fairly short but super cute romance (and comedy) manga
@MeguSae38 Thank you so much for the recs! All of those look really good, I appreciate it!!
Mar 10, 3:51 PM
#6
zckfox
Offline
Jan 2020
350
Not sure how you are having problems finding pure romance stories that don't have harems or love triangles, there are tons.

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War
A Bride's Story
Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro
Hitomi-chan is Shy With Strangers
Witch Craft Works
Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku
Mar 11, 2:24 AM
#7
TakenTheName
Offline
Feb 2025
7
Reply to zckfox
Not sure how you are having problems finding pure romance stories that don't have harems or love triangles, there are tons.

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War
A Bride's Story
Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro
Hitomi-chan is Shy With Strangers
Witch Craft Works
Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku
@zckfox I'm probably just bad at looking, then. Thank you so much!
See All Discussions

More topics from this board

» Purely detective/deduction manga with an overarching story

propabanta - Mar 17

10 by propabanta »»
2 hours ago

» Looking for animes like that are based off yakuzas or delinquents

Vekizx - Mar 17

11 by Retro8bit »»
2 hours ago

» Serious Finished Seinen manga about running/marathon/jogging

propabanta - 9 hours ago

2 by propabanta »»
4 hours ago

» Recommend me FINISHED ANIME thats you worth 10 out of 10

dusitz - Yesterday

13 by mo_lave »»
Yesterday, 3:45 PM

» Any good harem shows?

removed-user - Feb 8

29 by Phosphorescence »»
Yesterday, 11:08 AM

MoreTop Anime

  1. 1 Sousou no Frieren
  2. 2 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
  3. 3 Steins;Gate
  4. 4 Shingeki no Kyojin Season 3 Part 2
  5. 5 One Piece Fan Letter

MoreTop Airing Anime

  1. 1 Ore dake Level Up na Ken Season 2: Arise from the Shadow
  2. 2 Kusuriya no Hitorigoto 2nd Season
  3. 3 One Piece
  4. 4 Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 3rd Season
  5. 5 Tian Guan Cifu Short Film

MoreMost Popular Characters

  1. 1 Lamperouge, Lelouch
  2. 2 Monkey D., Luffy
  3. 3 Levi
  4. 4 Lawliet, L
  5. 5 Roronoa, Zoro
It’s time to ditch the text file.
Keep track of your anime easily by creating your own list.
Sign Up Login