History Main / ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe

* Despite them being practically married, Keiichi from ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' has this reaction whenever Belldandy shows him affection. Early on, this showed how thoroughly his self-esteem and confidence has been trashed. Later on, he develops strong self-esteem and confidence but still cannot get over this. After all he and Belldandy [[YouAreWorthHell have gone through]], this mental block comes off as PingPongNaivete.

* The independent movie ''Film/TenInchHero'' does this heartbreakingly with the character of Jen. Played by Clea Duvall, Jen is the plain Jane of the workers in the store, who befriends a man online named "Fuzzy22." They decide to meet in real life, and when Jen finds out that [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0067768/ he's gorgeous,]] she runs out of the building crying, saying no guy like him could want her. [[spoiler: For the Record, in the end, he does want her.]]

* ''Literature/MindstarRising'':

* ''Mindstar Rising'' by Creator/PeterFHamilton. Heiress Julia Evans is convinced she's unattractive because she spent most of her teenage years in the company of her absolutely gorgeous best friend Kat. When she finally succeeds in getting the handsome doctor (Kat's former boyfriend) that she'd been pining over, ''he'' says the line -- an indication that a [[HollywoodHomely not-unattractive]] teenager ''who's just inherited a multi-billion dollar MegaCorp'' is a lot more desirable than she thinks.

* ''Manga/Evangelion303'': By chapter 12, [[FieryRedhead Asuka]] regards herself like [[BrokenAce a worthless failure and a nutcase]]. So that when [[HeroesWantRedheads Shinji]] [[spoiler:proposes]] her, [[http://eva303.smackjeeves.com/comics/1795225/061/ she says]]:

* In the documentary ''American Teen'', artsy outsider Hannah says a version of this when she's pursued by the school heartthrob, Mitch: "I mean, there are so many girls in this school who would give their left boob to be with him".

* In ''Manga/BitterVirgin'', female lead Aikawa Hinako cannot believe that anyone could love her. Following years of sexual abuse, permanently marked with a large C-section scar, and dealing with multiple issues including severe androphobia, she can't believe that anyone would like her if they really knew her. In fact, initially her belief that Suwa Daisuke especially could never be attracted to her is what made him safe enough to befriend. This is part of the reason it comes as such a huge shock when he confesses. It's also a two-way street since Daisuke couldn't ever imagine Hinako actually loving him (since she only accepted him because he was completely off-limits).

* The self-explanatory "[[OverlyLongTitle I Never Dreamed Someone Like You Could Love Someone Like Me]]" from the ''Film/Carrie1976'' soundtrack and performed by Katie Irving, which had become something of a minor BreakawayPopHit. It comes across as HarsherInHindsight when you've seen the film, but divorced from that, it's about a teenage girl who is in disbelief over the fact that her crush had just asked her to dance, and what's more, her partner is looking at her "as though [she's] beautiful", then cue TitleOnlyChorus.

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* In Ellen Conford's ''Seven Days to a Brand-New Me'', Maddy is floored when she learns that her crush Adam has liked her all along, even before she underwent a makeover to get him to notice her. Adam, however, is the one who actually says a variation of this trope sentence out loud despite being the one who looks like a "Greek God" (in Maddy's words), mainly because of his painful shyness caused by a stuttering problem.
* This is possibly one of the most annoying parts of the ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga''. Not three chapters can go by without Bella saying something along these lines, apparently just so that Edward can remind her (and the reader) of her good qualities. She even goes on like this ''when they're married''. Although Jake also gets this a bit in ''Breaking Dawn'', when he can't believe that Bella would be friendly with him when she was happily married to Edward.
* Referred to as "Jerk Syndrome" in the Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Literature/{{Thud}}''. Nobby's new girlfriend Tawneee is so incredibly attractive that most men don't even consider asking her out because there's no way a girl like that would go for ''him''. So the only guys who ask her out are either jerks who aren't afraid of rejection or losers (like Nobby) who are so used to rejection it doesn't scare them.
* ''Literature/HowlsMovingCastle'', both [[Anime/HowlsMovingCastle the movie]] ''and'' the book. Sophie doesn't believe that she's beautiful (and doesn't believe Howl, when he says so the first time, in the movie) and doesn't see any reason for Howl to pay any special attention to her. The fact that, for most of the book/movie, she looks like a withered old crone does ''not'' help matters.

* [[PlayingWithTropes Played with]] in ''Literature/The39Clues''. [[ShrinkingViolet Amy]] always found [[GentlemanSnarker Ian]] to be very good-looking. But she never guessed that he would start flirting with HER. [[IWasOnlyPretendingToLikeYou But, then again, this IS the clue hunt...]]

* In ''Literature/TheSchwaWasHere'' Calvin Schwa can't believe that Antsy, the main character, literally noticed him. It comes as a surprise because The Schwa is "functionally invisible."

* Jem Carstairs to Tessa Gray in ''Literature/TheInfernalDevices'', [[spoiler:after she accepts his proposal.]]
* [[ShrinkingViolet Lee Fiora]] in the novel ''Literature/{{Prep}}'' admires Cross Sugarman for two years before they start dating, and naturally she believes he is well out of her league due to being popular, rich, and experienced while she isn't.
* Since Literature/MichaelVey is more or less TheEveryman and his crush is a cheerleader, he thinks Taylor would barely give him the time of day. However, it turns out that she actually enjoys his company, and they end up as an OfficialCouple by the end of the first book.
* ''Literature/InDeath'': Eve sometimes wonders why a billionaire would love someone like her.

* ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'': {{Gender Inverted|Trope}} and {{Deconstruction}} in episode [[{{Recap/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS8E9Choreographed}} Choreographed]] when boring nine-to-five Glenn was so convinced that Naomi would cheat on him with one of her exciting and artistic coworkers that he injected a tracking chip into her while she was sleeping, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome which almost killed her because he didn't sterilize the injection site]].

* ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' has a [[GenderFlip gender-flipped]] version with Mr. Feeny and Dean Lila Bolander.
-->'''Mr. Feeny:''' "I can't imagine anyone being interested in us. I'm surprised ''she's'' interested in us."\\
'''Dean Bolander:''' "Oh, George!"\\
'''Mr. Feeny:''' "Oh, ''Lila''..."
** [[SugarWiki/{{WAFF}} It all got a bit sentimental after that]].

* On ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', take a look at Odo's face after he finally gets Kira. I guarantee you this line will be written all over his face whenever he so much as looks at her.
* Adrian Series/{{Monk}} sometimes says he can't believe his Trudy ever chose him among all.
* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': It's hinted [[InsecureLoveInterest Chandler]] feels this way about Monica. He struggles with women and relationships, his friends joke she's a lot hotter than him, he's very insecure about her ex-boyfriend [[{{AlwaysSomeoneBetter}} Richard]], and on several occasions at the beginning of their relationship, he thinks she's going to break up with him. Luckily she's very good at building up his confidence, so this fades as their relationship develops.
* In ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'', when Bennett meets Topher, it is very obvious that Bennett has a ''massive'' crush on him. Meanwhile, Topher is too much in shock that Bennett, who he knew of by reputation as a brilliant programmer, is a beautiful girl, and he is too tactful and embarrassed to really express his own attraction to her. It doesn't come out until later, when Topher, on a hunch, uses his Doll-disrupting device on Bennett, suspecting she isn't in her real body but rather a Doll's. Bennett isn't, and she is initially confused as to why Topher would think that, because Dolls are supposed to be beautiful...and when she makes the mental leap that Topher thought she was a Doll because of her beauty, ''this'' trope is written all over her face.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}'': More or less Artie's reaction when Brittany reveals she likes him back. Rachel also seemingly reacts this way with Jesse and Finn (to a lesser extent).
* Another "written all over his face" example from ''Series/{{Farscape}}'': John Crichton, as played by Ben Browder, has an absolutely astonishing talent for looking at Aeryn Sun like she's his Earth, moon, and stars all at once. Cue swooning fangirls - and swooning Aeryn.
* PlayedForLaughs in an episode of ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun''. Sally goes through a period of thinking she's ugly and believes her far-less-attractive boyfriend is a saint for even noticing her.

* Josh, the protagonist of ''Series/PleaseLikeMe'', is surprised that super-hot Geoffrey is into him, considering Josh himself looks "like a fifty-year-old baby".
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. Inverted when [[GreatGazoo Q]] offers to [[MarsNeedsWomen mate with Captain Janeway]].
-->'''Q:''' I know that you're probably asking yourself, why would a brilliant, handsome, dashingly omnipotent being like Q want to mate with a [[PunyEarthling scrawny little bipedal specimen]] like me?\\
'''Janeway:''' Let me guess. No one else in the universe will have you.

* ''VideoGame/GreedFall'': Should a female De Sardet take an [[BodyguardCrush interest in her bodyguard]], Kurt, his reaction will be one of disbelief that continues throughout the romance. She is royalty and he is a solider, thus he sees her as far beyond his station.
--> '''Kurt:''' I must admit that I still find it difficult to believe that someone as gracious as you may have found an interest in someone like me.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' has this with returning squadmate Tali'Zorah vas Neema/[[spoiler:vas Normandy]], mostly because she and Commander Shepard are of entirely different species, and Tali's species cannot survive outside of their environmental suits for long due to a weakened immune system. Garrus also has elements of this, being notably surprised that Shepard would be attracted to a man with scars, especially one who's a different species than her. Thane has elements of this due to his thinking that Shepard deserves better than a [[TheAtoner repentant assassin]] who's busy dying of an incurable disease. Jack is genuinely shocked that Shepard has romantic rather than sexual intentions and flatly refuses to believe it for a long time.
** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Kaidan has this attitude towards [[GayOption male Shepard]] or a female Shepard who didn't romance him during the first game, neatly explaining why he wasn't a romance option in the first game; it didn't even occur to him to think of the possibility until Shepard [[spoiler:let Ashley die to save Kaidan's life]], but circumstances such as Kaidan's SurvivorsGuilt, Shepard's MarriedToTheJob and their [[WeUsedToBeFriends divide in regards to Shepard working with Cerberus after seemingly faking his death during the events of the second game]] prevented them from discussing the matter until the third game.

* In ''VideoGame/RuneFactory4'', both Xiao Pai and Dylas are a bit surprised if the player asks them out. The former because she's [[CuteClumsyGirl incredibly clumsy]] and there are [[OvershadowedByAwesome so many other pretty girls in town]], and the latter because he's [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold bad at communicating]] and [[HotBlooded tends to act like an idiot without thinking]].

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' allows the player to customize the main character (or Avatar) and marry another character. One such option, for a male avatar, is Felicia, a klutzy and accident-prone maid. In the S-Rank Support conversation with her, Felicia will admit that she loves the Avatar, but would never expect him to feel the same way because he grew up as a Nohrian Prince and royalty just wouldn't feel that way about one of their own maids. She's very surprised and very happy when the Avatar says he loves her, too.
* Should the protagonist choose to give him Valentine's Day chocolate in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', Bedivere is blindsided to the point that he completely fails to register the chocolate for a good half a minute before freezing mid-sentence, insisting that this can't actually be happening, and turning into a stuttering mess so flustered that he almost forgets to give the protagonist the gift he had prepared for them.
* Dusa of ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'' has a crush on Zagreus that can be seen from space. But he's the Prince of the Underworld, and she's not just the household maid but a severed gorgon head, and thus Dusa resigns herself to distant admiration. So she's absolutely baffled when Zagreus starts going out of his way to court ''her''. [[spoiler:Ironically, it's after getting close to him that she realizes she's probably asexual, and they both agree they're BetterAsFriends.]]
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel IV'', has a couple of Rean's potential love interest react this way, if he chooses them instead of the narrative leaning Alisa, who a lot of characters in-universe, including some of the love interest, expects him to chose. Though they make it clear they won't give up on him until he makes a final choice, which Rean does during the final chapter of the game.

* ''Manga/KaijuGirlCaramelise'': Kuroe Akaishi is such a longtime loner and an outcast at her school that when popular ChickMagnet Arata Minami becomes the first person in years to strike up a proper conversation with her, she assumes that he's just a manipulative [[TheCasanova Casanova]] so eager to expand his harem that he's willing to add even a "freak" like her to it. It takes a subsequent "date" for her to realize that [[SheepInSheepsClothing his kindness and attraction to her are sincere]].

* Natsu from ''Manga/SevenSeeds'' has such low self-esteem and is so socially awkward that when ''any'' guy shows any kind of interest in her, even if it's simply being nice, she wonders how this could happen.
** A gender-flipped version of this with Mark and Maria from the Ryugu Shelter arc. Mark is a little-light ventriloquist who has an obvious crush on super famous idol singer Maria. When Maria shows some real interest in him, Mark is so stunned that he can barely speak coherently anymore.
* In ''Manga/DestinyOfTheShrineMaiden'', Himeko is positively puzzled about what Chikane sees in an "[[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent ordinary girl]]" like her. The answer Chikane eventually gives is "If I am the moon, then you are my sun: I may be beautiful and mysterious but I can only shine with your reflected light." Bonus points for this explanation being entirely consistent with the metaphysical laws of their universe. The reader can also see that Himeko is far less...obsessive than most of Chikane's admirers, and her presence helps Chikane not to brood so much.
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'':
** Ako and Natsumi, two self-proclaimed "Average middle school students" hit this trope at one point, regarding Negi's "[[OvernightAgeUp cousin Nagi]]" and Kotaro, respectively.
** In the sequel ''Manga/UQHolder'', [[spoiler:Chisame]] basically says this when Negi confesses to her, citing herself as the "biggest loser of the bunch".
* ''Manga/BattleRoyale'':
** Shuya had this kind of reaction when he found that Noriko had always harbored a crush on him, and had always been watching him. He acts completely shocked, despite how it's later revealed that [[ChickMagnet pretty much half the girls in class harbored crushes on him]].
---> '''Shuya:''' ... me. You watch... me?\\
'''Noriko:''' ''[[[LuminescentBlush Blush]]]'' Uh-huh.\\
'''Shuya:''' Me. ''You'' watch me. One of the prettiest girls in school...
** Yuuchiro's crush on Mitsuko Soma may count as well, seeing how he admits "having been admiring her from afar for quite some time..."
* This is pretty much how Sawako from ''Manga/KimiNiTodoke'' acts all the time.

* Despite them being practically married, Keiichi from ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' has this reaction whenever Belldandy shows him affection. Early on, this showed how thoroughly his self-esteem and confidence has been trashed. Later on, he develops strong self-esteem and confidence but still cannot get over this. After all he and Belldandy [[YouAreWorthHell have gone through]], this mental block comes off as PingPongNaivete.
* [[PlayingWithATrope An interesting case]] occurs in ''Manga/FutureDiary''. [[SchoolIdol Yuno]] looks over at [[FriendlessBackground Yukiteru]] during class, and he brushes it off thinking "Nah, couldn't be,". She later admits to flat-out [[StalkerWithACrush stalking him]] later that same episode, and has apparently been doing so for a ''year'', and he's actually surprised she knows his name. However, while he does think she's pretty, she actually wasn't his school crush, and his reaction to finding out about the whole stalking thing was fear rather than pleasure.
* Happens to Mei in ''Manga/SayILoveYou''. She is a [[LonersAreFreaks social outcast with no friends]], and yet attracts the attention of Yamato, the most popular guy at their school. She is hesitant at first, due to wondering if she was just one of Yamato's latest conquests, but over time he proves that he does genuinely like her.

* In ''Manga/MyMonsterSecret'', part of the reason it takes so long for Youko to confess her feelings for Asahi is that she's convinced herself that he doesn't reciprocate and thinks she's a pain in the neck (due to being her SecretKeeper) but is [[NiceGuy far too nice]] to openly admit it. She actually gets [[LampshadeHanging called out on this]] in the chapter ''after'' [[RelationshipUpgrade they become a couple]]:
--> '''[[TricksterMentor Akane]]:''' Just to make sure, I hope you're not stupidly wondering whether you're good enough for Kuromine or something.
* ''Anime/TheAnthemOfTheHeart'': Takumi admits to being surprised that the incredibly accomplished Natsuki would go for someone like him, as he considers himself boring.

* In ''Manga/CherryMagicThirtyYearsOfVirginityCanMakeYouAWizard'', when Adachi first learns of Kurosawa's crush on him, he's baffled. Up until that point, Adachi had assumed Kurosawa didn't even know who he was.
* A MadLove variant happens in ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia''. [[spoiler:[[TheHero Izuku Midoriya]] is shocked to learn that [[CuteButPsycho Himiko Toga]] is actually in love with him, but her definition of love involves killing people, sucking their blood and becoming them. She actually manages to bypass Izuku's [[SpiderSense Danger Sense Quirk]] because, despite what she's doing her feelings are genuine]].
* Gender-flipped in ''Manga/KomiCantCommunicate'' where Tadano, who has the ability to read the room/mood that borders on straight up telepathy, keeps telling himself that he has no chance with any of the girls, let alone the two other main characters of Komi and Manbagi. It's much to his shock when he finds out they both like him [[spoiler:within minutes of each other]]. After this he starts going out with [[spoiler:Komi, with Manbagi's prompting and blessing]].

* ''Film/TheSaint1997'' - Emma says something to this effect to Thomas More [Simon in disguise] before he takes her to bed.

* In the documentary ''American Teen'', artsy outsider Hannah says a version of this when she's pursued by the school heartthrob, Mitch: "I mean, there are so many girls in this school who would give their left boob to be with him"

* In the movie ''Film/LoveActually'', the character Sam races after the girl he loves in order to confess to her before she gets on her plane. He finally catches up to her and says her name. She turns around and says HIS name. Stunned, he mutters, "I thought you didn't know my name." She replies with a sweet smile, "Of '''course''' I do."
* Rachel says this almost verbatim in ''Film/SomethingBorrowed''.
* In ''Film/ReadMyLips'' Uttered, the phrase is uttered almost word for word by unfortunate-looking Clara to ex-con Paul.

* Ron Stoppable, to ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible''. Not that she's never noticed him, with his being her {{sidekick}} and a fair amount of mutual [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend S/he Is Not My Girl/Boyfriend]] going on, but he still felt like this in the (first) GrandFinale. [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in the {{Uncanceled}} final season. Kim's nerdy cousin Larry gets kidnapped by Dementor because he directed his henchmen to grab "a young man with Kim Possible who doesn't look like he belongs with Kim Possible".

* Luna Loud in ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' surprised many fans by believing this trope about her crush Sam. She struggles most of the episode with confessing since she felt she wasn't cool enough for Sam before ultimately slipping a love note into Sam's [[spoiler: which is apparently short for "Samantha"]] locker. We don't get to see Sam's full reaction aside from a smile, which is a good sign so far.

* ''Film/{{Carrie}}'' - The phrase itself is not used, but Carrie's reaction to being asked out by Tommy Ross is pretty much identical to the reactions of the people who do use the phrase. This ends disastrously because of the AlphaBitch playing a cruel trick that made Carrie think Tommy was in on it. (What makes it more tragic is that the book explicitly shows he was starting to genuinely love her, albeit in a non-romantic way.)

->'''Vette:''' You're a super powerful Sith Lord who could have anything he wants. I'm a former slave and a thief. And you chose me? Seriously?
->'''Male Sith Warrior:''' You're beautiful, charming, sometimes crazy, and always exciting. What man wouldn't choose you?

* In ''The Disappearance of LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' this is pretty much the alternate universe Yuki's reaction to Kyon suddenly (from her viewpoint) taking ''any'' interest in her.

* ''LightNovel/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfOtomeGamesIsToughForMobs'': Due to the fact he considers himself nothing but a "mob" or background character in the ''Otome'', Leon is genuinely shocked when Angelica (The DesignatedVillain) and Olivia (The PlayerCharacter) both confess that they love him. [[spoiler:It turns out that this is in part due to the manipulations of another reincarnation stealing the capture targets destroying the normal plotline of the ''otome''.]]

* Deconstructed in Tal Bachman's "She's So High". It's about how amazing the singer's crush is, and the idea that the singer couldn't really offer her anything. And then she asks him out...and the singer declines, because of his low self-esteem.

* This is possibly one of the most annoying parts of the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' Saga. Not three chapters can go by without Bella saying something along these lines, apparently just so that Edward can remind her (and the reader) of her good qualities. She even goes on like this ''when they're married''. Although Jake also gets this a bit in ''Breaking Dawn'', when he can't believe that Bella would be friendly with him when she was happily married to Edward.

* ''LightNovel/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfOtomeGamesIsToughForMobs'': Due to the fact he considers himself nothing but a "mob" or background character in the ''Otome'', Leon is genuinely shocked when Angelica (The DesignatedVillain) and Olivia (The PlayerCharacter) both confess that they love him.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': This is the biggest reason why Naruto was unable to notice [[EveryoneCanSeeIt Hinata's feelings]] for him, in a {{Gender Inverted|Trope}} example. Naruto's depressing childhood instilled in him a [[HeroicSelfDeprecation lack of self-worth]] that he hid behind bravado and arrogance when he was younger. It didn't help that almost all of the girls in his class--including [[{{Tsundere}} Sakura]], the object of his [[LovingAShadow one-sided shallow crush]] until [[ShipSinking Chapter 469]]--treated him horribly and turned their attention to [[TheRival Sasuke]], which made Naruto think that all girls are only interested in [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys guys like Sasuke]]. After Hinata confessed her love to him in the Invasion of Pain arc, Naruto was completely stunned, and even for a while afterwards, he thought she meant [[LoveYouAndEverybody she loved him as a friend]]. [[spoiler:It also prevented him from understanding his own feelings for her--and judging by the dialogue from the other characters in the [[WarArc Fourth Shinobi World War Arc]] and ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'', it's heavily implied that Naruto ''has'' been in love with Hinata for a while. When he finally does understand in the movie, is when this trope is exemplified full force. This was confirmed with his HeroicVow: he never thought someone [[NiceGirl as kind]] [[YamatoNadeshiko and beautiful]] as Hinata would genuinely [[WartsAndAll love him for him]]]].