History Main / ThinksLikeARomanceNovel

* Primaat in ''Comicbook/Trinity2008'' is contantly talking as though she's a romantic heroine, and the male heroes she's fighting are dashing potential love interests if they can just get past this misunderstanding. Primaat is a full-sized gorilla in a pink and white corset.

* In Step 1 of ''WebAnimation/ThereSheIs'', Doki imagines Nabi in this way and continues with the mindset throughout the series.

** The princesses of the Pastel Kingdom were raised by an OverprotectiveDad who rarely let them leave the palace or interact with boys. Thus, their views on romance are heavily colored by the fairy tales they've read. This makes them unrealistically eager to rush into the {{Arranged Marriage}}s that King Jack set up between them and the princes of the Plaid Kingdom. While the two older sisters get along well with their fiancés upon first meeting, [[FaceOfAThug Gwendolyn]] is shocked and heartbroken to overhear her fiancé Frederick calling her ugly. She had assumed, based on the stories she was familiar with, that all princesses were inherently beautiful and would always fall into LoveAtFirstSight with a PrinceCharming. It takes meeting the eponymous club for her to learn to develop a more nuanced perspective on romance.

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[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Jun of ''Anime/TheAnthemOfTheHeart'' thought of the world as a fairytale when she was younger. This only set her up for psychological trauma when her parents got divorced.
* Ryoko constantly exhibits this thinking in the manga and OVA versions of ''Manga/Area88''.
* ''Manga/BlackButler'' anime has Grelle Sutcliffe, who thinks like this about Sebastian. This has gone to the extent of Grelle yelling that she wants to have Sebastian's babies, complete with roses and sparkles (and a disgusted Sebastian). It's even used to get assistance from Grelle by promising her things such as an entire day to do whatever she likes with Sebastian, or an opportunity to take pictures of Sebastian in sexy poses.
* In ''Manga/BlackCat'', Kyoko has a scene like this where she imagines herself confessing her love to Train.
* In ''Manga/BloomIntoYou'', Yuu tends to think about love along these lines, having gotten much of her understanding of it from love songs and shoujo manga. She imagines love to be some kind of overwhelming feeling, so when [[NoSparks she doesn't feel anything after a guy confesses he has a crush on her]], she ultimately decides to reject it. She does appear to be falling in love with her crush, Touko, but because her feelings don't match up with what she thinks love is, it takes her a while to realize it. [[spoiler:While Yuu is genuinely brokenhearted after Touko seemingly rejects her AnguishedDeclarationOfLove, Yuu wonders if she ever truly loved Touko, since she doesn't feel as overtly upset as her friend Akari was after Akari faced something similar]].
* Marika from ''Manga/BokuraNoHentai'' thinks like she is in an idealistic 70s shoujo manga. Unlucky for her she is not. For example, when Ryousuke grabs her hand and pulls her to a secluded area of the school she thinks it's romantic at first. This is until he threatens to kill her if she tells anyone [[{{crossdresser}} his secret]].
* Hanano from ''Manga/{{Chihayafuru}}'' Thinks Like A {{Shoujo|Demographic}} Manga, initially seeing herself as the HollywoodHomely romantic heroine, Taichi as her [[SingleGirlSeeksMostPopularGuy popular guy love interest]], and Chihaya as the RichBitch rival. Unfortunately, this makes her WrongGenreSavvy, as Chihayafuru is actually a {{Josei}} [[GamingAndSportsAnimeAndManga Game Manga]], and Chihaya is the heroine.
* In ''Manga/ComicGirls'', the {{shojo}} artist Koyume has this mindset, to the point that her peers call her the "walking shojo manga."
* Literature Girl from ''Manga/DailyLivesOfHighSchoolBoys'' seems to think this way concerning her crush Hidenori -- in fact, her crush with him is out of [[LongingForFictionland her desire to re-enact her love novel]]. Hidenori, meanwhile, doesn't want anything to do with her -- in one skit he prefers ''PottyFailure'' to being seen by her!
* [[MadLove Misa Amane]] of ''Manga/DeathNote'' falls victim to this, and it's rarely PlayedForLaughs after she manages to fall for the handsome, charming, clever [[TheAce Light Yagami]]... who is, in actuality, the SerialKiller VillainProtagonist in this PsychologicalThriller, and who treats her like crap because he firmly believes LoveMakesYouStupid and [[StayInTheKitchen women are useless]].
* In ''LightNovel/TheDevilIsAPartTimer: High School'', a scene where [[WorthyOpponent Ashiya and Emi]] argue is contrasted with [[ClingyJealousGirl Chiho]]'s perspective of the same event. It is very different from reality.
* From ''Manga/DNAngel'' we have Daisuke who thinks this way about Risa Harada, and Risa Harada who [[LovesMyAlterEgo thinks this way about]] Daisuke's SuperpoweredAlterEgo [[PhantomThief Dark]].
* A ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' AprilFools story reveals that [[YaoiFangirl Erika's]] inner-narrative, [[ShippingGoggles when it comes to the subject of]] [[GuyOnGuyIsHot Shizuo and Izaya]], is written entirely in MillsAndBoonProse.
* In ''Manga/FairyTail'', [[SingleTargetSexuality Juvia]] does this ''a lot'' in regards to [[MrFanservice Gray]]. Somewhat more understandable than other examples since [[NoSocialSkills she's also very naive in regards to social interaction]].
* From ''Anime/FlintTheTimeDetective'', we have the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Anne Rice Vampire]] [[HandsomeLech wannabe]] [[ChivalrousPervert Merlock]], who has such fantasies about the female lead Sara. Kind of [[{{Squick}} squicky]] when you take into account that she's about ten, his age as a Dhampyr is skewed, and during an episode where Sara was [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever sized up]] without MagicPants, he saved her modesty by magicking up a PlayboyBunny costume for her. And took lots of pictures.
* May Chang of ''Manga/FullMetalAlchemist'' does this in regards to her [[ExpectingSomeoneTaller incredibly exaggerated]] idea of what Edward Elric looks like. After she meets Ed in person and learns how obnoxious he can be, she shifts her affections (and imagination) to Al after hearing a slightly exaggerated description of his human body. When they meet again up north, HilarityEnsues, ''especially'' when she meets Winry.
* Kiku in ''Manga/{{Genzo}}'', whenever she daydreams of she and the eponymous Puppet Master together.
* In ''Manga/JunjouRomantica'' it happens to a couple of characters. In Misaki's case, it involves Usami being a pervert (and then the exact thing happens), while in Nowaki's case, it was about Hiro-san being acting like a housewife (not a chance).
* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'':
** Miko dreams of a man - a prince - who is always looking after her, understands how she feels, and comes to her rescue when she is in distress. Both Fujiwara and Shirogane point out that the man Miko is looking for only exists in her dreams. [[spoiler:The DramaticIrony is that there already is such a person in her life that fits her ideals, and has the same idea of justice and altruistic love that she has. She just doesn't see the kindness Ishigami has shown to her. When she starts to see, she [[WhatIsThisFeelingCalledLove doesn't realize that she's starting to love him]].]]
** "[[ShowWithinAShow Today Will be Sweet]]" temporarily turns people that read it into shoujo romance caricatures of themselves, complete with ArtShift. The only character who has proven to be immune to it is [[ShipperOnDeck Karen]], and that's only because she's already in that mindset 24/7.
* The yuri pastiche ''The Lady Is a Romcom Protagonist!'' has the main character become this, but she uses ''shonen'' manga for her fantasies instead of the typical shoujo. As a result, everyday encounters at her OneGenderSchool become wrought with made-up scenarios straight out of the {{Ecchi}} and HaremGenre playbook.
* Malon has this viewpoint in ''Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. She sees herself as a tragic maiden who needs a prince to whisk her away from her [[SmallTownBoredom life as a farmgirl]]. Malon initially declines Link's rescue attempts until she realizes he's [[SheIsAllGrownUp grown up a lot]] in seven years.
* ''Manga/MidoriDays'': Ayase is very influenced by the shoujo manga she reads, to the point where whenever she imagines her romantic moments with [[ObliviousToLove Seiji]], he's suddenly a Bishonen and ''harpsichord'' music plays.
* A flashback in ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' featured [[SmallRoleBigImpact a bandit]] who mentioned that her dream was to become a maid and hopefully fall in love with her master.
* Wakamatsu in ''Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun'' often uses tactics only seen in shoujo manga in order to solve his problems with Seo. Since he's in a manga ''parodying'' the genre instead of playing it straight, they tend to backfire (for example, writing a challenge letter that turns out more like a love confession). He's also '''not''' trying to romance Seo which further makes his preferred sources rather illogical.
-->'''Wakamatsu:''' Senpai...where did I go wrong...?\\
'''Nozaki:''' ...Probably from the moment you started using shoujo manga.
* Rumi Asai of ''Mousou Shoujo Otakukei'' is in fact in a love story, but her only knowledge is from the wrong sub-genre: [[YaoiGenre Boys' Love]]. So however much Abe says he loves her, she continues to believe that his real love is his best friend Chiba (and seeing them together, it can certainly look that way) and all his protestations of love to a girl are the phase before he accepts his homosexuality. Even when an actually gay boy becomes involved, he is very different from what Rumi imagines.
* Invoked in chapter 2 of ''Musashi-kun to Murayama-san wa Tsukiatte Mita.'' When she starts dating Musashi, Murayama tries reading through her collection of romance manga to figure out how romantic couples are supposed to act. Unfortunately, [[LastMinuteHookup all the stories end with the confession]], so she has no idea what comes next.
* In one episode of ''Manga/MyWifeIsAHighSchoolGirl'', Asami simply walks into a store and has a marriage proposal a few minutes later. The shopkeeper certainly saw her in a favorable light--[[GaussianGirl slightly blurry]], [[BishieSparkle with sparkles and roses all around]].
* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
** In the anime, Boa Hancock does this for Luffy at the beginning of every episode while they're on the boat in transit from The Island of Women to Impel Down. [[spoiler:Actually a JustifiedTrope: from age 12 to 16, Hancock (alongside her sisters) was subjected to a horrifying BreakTheCutie ordeal that '''severely''' stunted her social skills.]]
** Sanji does this ''at all times''. Notably, during the Water 7 arc, he imagines he and Robin dancing in a fairy tale-esque setting.
* ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'':
** The hosts act the way they do because they know this is the way their clients think. Though, Tamaki seems rarely to think in a manner that ''isn't'' straight out of some category of RomanceNovel.
** On a related note, Renge seems to have trouble at first in grasping that the world doesn't act like a Dating Sim-Game.
* Sayaka Miki from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''. [[spoiler:She uses her wish to heal Kyosuke's arm, but it backfires - instead of the two of them getting together, Kyosuke goes back to devoting his attention to his music, and the more she learns about what she's let herself in for as a magical girl the less she feels able to pursue her feelings for him even when Hitomi delivers an ultimatum meant to urge Sayaka to make a love confession.]] It doesn't end well.
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Creator/RumikoTakahashi not only loves giving her characters overblown romantic fantasies but also idealized visions of victory, etc.
** Ryōga certainly thinks in these terms about half the times he dreams about confessing to Akane.
** During the Gambling King arc, Ukyō makes a bet with Ranma that if he lost against the BigBad, he would become her partner in a business venture... in the Siberian Tundra... where he would inevitably have a LoveEpiphany, and midst the desolation of the landscape their love would blossom. If that's not a Category Romance fantasy, we don't know what is.
** Tatewaki Kunō has these fantasies a lot... usually with two women throwing themselves at him (which, according to his SelfServingMemory, puts his fantasies in the genre of {{Nonfiction}}).
** Kodachi Kunō as well, though her fantasies appear to be a bit more intimate.
** Happōsai's fantasies tend more towards [[{{Lemon}} erotic fanfiction]] than [[RomanceNovel category romance]], though he's had his moments.
** [[StalkerWithACrush Hikaru Gosunguki]] tends to daydream along the lines of [[RomanticComedy Romance]] {{Sitcom}}s whenever he thinks about Akane.
** Despite being a "Chinese Amazon", Shampoo has also fallen for this trope. She has multiple fantasies about Ranma in a "white knight" or other romantic film/novel protagonist role with her and has even gone so far as to set herself up as a DeliberatelyDistressedDamsel ''twice'' in hopes of enjoying Ranma being her strong protector for once.
* In ''Anime/SailorMoon'', the eponymous character has a number of these fantasies about Tuxedo Mask, sometimes involving the arcade guy or the Moonlight Knight for good measure. She seems to slip into these fantasies at least once every couple of episodes in the first couple of seasons.
* Kyouko from ''Manga/SkipBeat'' lives and breathes this trope. She thinks straight out of classic fairy tales, though. Though there might be some overlap.
* Tanaka of ''Manga/WastefulDaysOfHighSchoolGirls'' comes up with extremely off-the-wall scenarios where she conquers boys and men, which show her complete lack of experience with the opposite sex. Every interaction ends up with the man uttering the same phrase about her:
-->-What an interesting woman!
* In ''Anime/YuGiOh'' [[MissingEpisode Season 0]] and [[Manga/YuGiOh the manga]], Hiroto Honda (Tristan Taylor) goes into this trope ''in spades'' regarding Miho [[ShyBlueHairedGirl Nosaka]]. He goes off on a fantasy/rant about them together almost ''every time'' he talks about/to her.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/FateBlackDawn'': Of all people, Morgan le Faye suffered from this. As far as she's concerned, her FatalFlaw is that she falls in love easily, holds her partners to an impossible standard, and then lashes out when they fail to live up to it. It says something that the only person she considers to have lived up to her standards is King Arthur. Of course, she also hates the King with a burning passion for "stealing" the throne; Morgan is complicated. By the time Shirou shows up, she's mostly moved past this and has no trouble viewing him objectively instead of holding him to an impossible ideal... and then he lives up to that ideal ''anyway''.
* Bella, from the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Luminosity}}'', deduces that attraction between two vampires is always symmetrical, mutual, and exclusive because vampirism has the odd quirk of conferring the hallmarks of romantic fiction to anyone afflicted by it. She realizes that if she chooses to become immortal then she will also be choosing to be inescapably in love with someone she doesn't even know or like.
* This trait is commonly assigned to Rarity in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfics.
** Rarity in ''Fanfic/TheUnexpectedLoveLifeOfDuskShine'', she strongly believes that Dusk is her prince charming and they are destined to be together. Pinkie Pie thinks that she is the [[FirstGirlWins first girl]].
** In ''Fanfic/FlashFog'', Rarity inadvertently starts a LoveDodecahedron because of her efforts to [[ShipperOnDeck try and get Fluttershy to respond to Pencil Pusher's crush]]. She even complains when Applejack, upon taking one look at the situation, [[CuttingTheKnot drags all four mares involved into a private room and spells out what the situation is for everyone to be cleared up]]. Applejack deconstructs this trope and explains why it's a bad thing to act this way by pointing out that romance novels deliberately present unrealistically "dramatic" stories of love because more realistic stories tend to be shorter and more boring, so anyone trying to follow the "rules" for a romance novel in real life is setting themselves up for a lot of heartbreak and disappointment.
** In Absolute Anonymous's ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/16594/shipping-goggles Shipping Goggles]]'', Rarity constantly interprets her friends' most minor actions as signals that they are deeply in love with each other, much to their chagrin. [[spoiler:She's right about Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, though.]]
* ''Fanfic/ANuisanceThoughThouArt'' has a ''murder mystery'' novel variant, when Sibenar learns about Maia's guardian suddenly dying and immediately starts to spout guesses about suspects and killing motives. His sister has to yell at him for making him stop.
* Both Adrien and Alya have this problem in ''FanFic/TheOneToMakeItStay'':
** Adrien sees himself as a DoggedNiceGuy who absolutely ''deserves'' to date Ladybug. They're meant to be ''partners'', after all! Never mind how he constantly ignores her asking him to stop joking and flirting around so much and take their duties more seriously, or how she keeps insisting that she doesn't feel the same way about him... so far as he's concerned, she's just being ''stubborn'' and ''unreasonable'', and needs to get with the program already.
** Alya, meanwhile, is a [[ShipperOnDeck dedicated supporter]] of Marinette/Adrien and Ladybug/Chat Noir. She's so convinced that she understands Mari's heart better than her BFF does that she keeps strong-arming her into {{Zany Scheme}}s to try and win Adrien, and when Marinette tells her flat-out that she's given up on him and is dating Luka? She promptly accuses her of only doing so to [[OperationJealousy make Adrien jealous]], failing to understand why that outrages her so much. Then there's the [[ManipulativeEditing the stunt she pulls with the Oblivio footage]]... and her decision to [[spoiler:attempt an OperationJealousy of her own by having Lila date Adrien, ''without'' clearing that with Lila first. Assuming that Lila wouldn't mind getting together with Adrien for the sole purpose of helping Alya hook him up with ''Marinette'' later]].
* In ''Fanfic/SanctuaryTheLegendOfZelda'', Malon thinks like a fairy-tale. However, when Malon finally realizes that Sheik is actually the princess Zelda, she mentions that "the storybook ended" and she has to go back to reality. This is subverted when Zelda comes back to her.
* For ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' there is [[http://elixirxsczjx13.deviantart.com/art/Words-Unspoken-PG-1-197493724 this]] [[http://elixirxsczjx13.deviantart.com/art/Words-Unspoken-PG-2-197590231 comic]]. Thinking like a romance novel at its best.
* Justified in ''Fanfic/ATeachersGlory'': Ino uses experience with romance novels to judge whether Tamaki is just a retainer, or on the way to becoming mistress of the manor. Judging by the lack of jewelry and gifts, Ino correctly deduces that Tamaki and [[spoiler:Sasuke, the Uchiha Head]] are not sleeping together.
* Ginny from ''Theatre/AVeryPotterMusical'' appears to think this way. A lot. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE1FJec1YZM&feature=related She even has a song about it.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables'': Anne, especially as a teenager. She has an overactive imagination as it is, but add in a hopeless romantic streak and one too many romance novels, and you get some of the funniest moments in the series. As she gets older, however, her idealized notions of who she wants as a partner and what being in love is supposed to feel like start working against her. She is oblivious not only to Gilbert's feelings for her but of her own growing feelings for him. She suffers a painful reality check near the end of Anne of the Island when she realizes she isn't in love with the man who fits her ideals and is in love with the man she rejected for not fitting her ideals—the same man she might lose forever.
* ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'': Artemis's alter ego, Orion seems to believe he's the hero of a RomanceNovel.
* Creator/CarolineBCooney has a books series that begins with ''Both Sides Of Time''. It is about a girl from our century named Annie Lockwood who dreams of finding romance in a past century when women wore gowns and danced with handsome gentlemen at balls. She gets her wish and transports back to the Victorian era, though there is drama to be had.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** In the novel ''Literature/{{Mort}}'' by Creator/TerryPratchett, there is Ysabel, who goes into the room with the books of life writing themselves to read all the real-life stories of [[LoveHurts tragic love]] that there are, and these stories form the basis of her understanding of romance.
** While a lot of Pratchett's younger female characters have this problem, it's subverted in ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'': Glenda secretly reads pulp romance novels as her only known form of recreation, but she's not convinced and ultimately doesn't let them mislead her in her own life or her advice to others. In fact, it's the opposite; she eventually decides she's being ''too'' practical and hard-headed, especially in her advice to Juliet. She's still not convinced, but she's willing to meet romance tropes halfway.
** Subverted in ''Literature/{{Wintersmith}}'': The Nac Mac Feegle provide Tiffany with a romance novel to help her with the wintersmith... and she thinks all the characters should just be more sensible.
** The Gordon family in ''Literature/{{Snuff}}'' who are a parody of [[Literature/PrideAndPrejudice the Bennetts]], except Jane, who is an homage to Austen herself. Their understanding of how the world works is upended by Sam Vimes, leading to the other daughters getting jobs instead of hanging around waiting for a man who'll [[DowryDilemma accept their meagre dowries]], and Jane deciding to write crime thrillers instead.
* Creator/JaneAusten's ''Literature/{{Emma}}'' is perhaps literature's best example, though her RomanceNovel thoughts typically center around the people she's playing matchmaker for. Considering that the novel was a ''satire'' of thinking like a RomanceNovel, it only makes sense.
* Tomoya of ''LightNovel/HowToRaiseABoringGirlfriend'' is easily moved to tears by romance stories, but ObliviousToLove in real life. After a "fateful encounter" with a girl in his class, he is convinced that she would make an ideal love interest and ropes her into joining a team to create a VisualNovel with her as the heroine. He soon becomes frustrated that Megumi is a [[RidiculouslyAverageGuy subdued and boring girl]] compared to the fictional characters he's used to, or even to [[SupportingHarem the other girls on the development team]], and the story goes through multiple revisions as he struggles to express why despite being boring, he still considers her his "ideal heroine". Naturally, [[EveryoneCanSeeIt Tomoya is the last person to figure out]] that it's because he's genuinely in love with her.
* From ''Literature/{{Inkheart}}'', literal Arab {{Expy}} Farrid thinks this way about Meggie, even to the point of after their first kiss proclaiming they will get married. [[spoiler:It doesn't work out. [[WhatTheHellHero Really, Meggie?]]]]
* One father in ''Literature/JudgeDee'' blames his daughter's reading of great love stories for her behavior, refusing to take a husband who isn't "just right."
* Michael from the ''Literature/KnightAndRogueSeries'' manages to do this while also being able to use normal logic (or as much of that as he usually could.) He thinks that his love for Rosamund will overcome the barriers between them, but when she falls for another traveler he decides to help her, figuring that when she sees what it's like outside her pampered home life she'll give up on him.
* ''Literature/MadameBovary'''s title character is another classic example. She loved a sentimental novel even before going to a convent in her early teens, and while at the convent, romance novels were passed around by the girls, and she believes love can only exist in the grandiose, sentimental way. She ruins her marriage (and life) for this.
* In ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'', [[CuteBookworm Sophia]]'s fondest desire is to live out a romance like the ones she reads about in books. This is especially the case with Catarina; in a false world created to grant her heart's desire, she [[WallPinOfLove pins Catarina to the wall]] and confesses her love. At a slumber party, when asked what she would want to do with a potential lover, she lists everything she's ever read in books (including things that are clearly impossible, such as saving the world from an evil mage).
* The Count in ''Literature/PanTadeusz'' wishes his "enemy" (it's largely in his head) had a beautiful daughter or wife for the Count to be StarCrossedLovers with. He's an [[CloudCuckooLander artist]]. It's a thing.
* In the book version of ''Literature/ThePrincessDiaries'', Mia has tendencies toward this (and later writes romance novels herself) but a lot of it comes from being friends with Tina Hakim Baba, who is explicitly stated to think this way throughout the series.
-->'''Tina:''' I don’t know. But I do know that Michael loves you, and that’s all that matters!!!!!!!\\
'''Mia:''' (narrating) Everything is so simple in Tinaland. I so wish I lived there instead of here.
* Deconstructed in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' when ShelteredAristocrat Sansa Stark is betrothed to [[TheCaligula Prince Joffrey]]. She expects everything to play out like a courtly romance but then suffers a horrible TraumaCongaLine partly because of her idealism. She grows out of it.
-->'''Petyr Baelish:''' Life is not a song, sweetling. Someday you may learn that, to your sorrow.
* One R.L. Stine novel involves a heroine with perhaps a tenuous grasp on reality, as she typically has fantasies about being more assertive and attractive than she is, and stealing her love interest away from his RichBitch girlfriend.
* In ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'', Bella always compares her situation to romance novels or theater, varying from book to book (''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', ''Literature/WutheringHeights'').
* ''Literature/{{Ulysses}}'' does this in the infamous "Nausicaa" chapter. The first half is narrated by a simple young woman named Gertie [=MacDowell=] as she spends a carefree day at the beach with her girlfriends and contemplates a mysterious stranger [[CovertPervert gazing at her from the far end of the beach]]; her narration is written in a sappy, florid style that parodies romance novels of the 1920s. Then in the second half, it's revealed that the mysterious stranger is actually the protagonist Leopold Bloom, and the writing style completely changes as it switches back to the perspective of a world-weary adult man. Subverted, though, in that it's left ambiguous whether the first part was ''actually'' from her perspective, or just [[UnreliableNarrator Leopold trying to imagine the thoughts of a young woman]].[[note]] Creator/JamesJoyce supposedly [[WordOfGod claimed]] the latter.[[/note]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfBriscoCountyJr'' has a [[RomanceNovel Historical Romance Novel]] right in the middle of the plot basically any time the eponymous Brisco interacts with his LoveInterest Dixie Cousins. Whether this was the writers or characters thinking like romance novel plots is debatable.
* From ''Series/BabylonFive'' we have Marcus Cole, who out of idealism for love refused sex, and then fell in love with [[DefrostingIceQueen Susan Ivanova]]. Unfortunately, his HeroicSacrifice and her bad timing is one of the reasons why AllLoveIsUnrequited.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** For a short period near the end of Season 6, [[EvilIsSexy Spike]] seems to believe that his relationship to [[ActionGirl Buffy]] is the plot of a Gothic RomanceNovel. [[spoiler:That whole attempted rape thing really puts a damper on their relationship at the beginning of Season 7.]]
** And in Season 5 Spike follows the conventions of CourtlyLove; justified given his past as a Victorian-era wannabe romantic poet.
** And sixteen-year-old Buffy with Angel.
--->'''Angel:''' I'm just tryin' to protect you. This could get outta control.\\
'''Buffy:''' Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?\\
'''Angel:''' This isn't some fairy tale. When I kiss you, you don't wake up from a deep sleep and live happily ever after.\\
'''Buffy:''' No. When you kiss me I want to die.
* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'': One of the many, many, ''[[TheMasochismTango many]]'' problems between Sam and Diane is that Diane thinks like this, hoping their relationship will be a tale for the ages, ending with them dying in one another's arms, while Sam generally doesn't. Diane doesn't tend to take it well.
* The point of ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'' is how Rachel sees her life as a grand romance novel or film, not quite getting how incredibly crazy she comes off as her "romance" of her ex is just stalking. [[spoiler:Justified as it turns out in season three that Rachel has borderline personality disorder.]]
* On ''Series/GossipGirl'' Blair Waldorf [[ThinksLikeARomanceNovel Thinks Like A Romantic Movie]], or more specifically romantic films of the golden age Hollywood variety. To the point where her ex-boyfriend thinks the most romantic thing he can do to win her back is giving her an ultimatum a la ''Film/AnAffairToRemember''.
* Subverted on ''Series/HotInCleveland''. In the first season, Melanie's ex-husband shows up and they go out for part of the episode. He decides to go back to his ex (whom he left Melanie for), and Melanie runs to the airport to catch him. An airport employee even lets her through and there's a lot of talk about the trope. She then proceeds to [[ClusterFBomb tell him off]]. Melanie, never swears.
* In ''Series/TheMagnificentSeven'' TV series, the character [[{{Tsundere}} Casey]] [[{{Tomboy}} Wells]] is introduced as an injection of estrogen and love interest for upstart-youth J.D. Dunne. Her crush and idealism are so strong that she enlists the aid of [[HandsomeLech Buck Wilmington]], the group womanizer, for a BeautifulAllAlong gambit.
* In ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', this is one of the main culprits of Michael's personal failures. He consistently tries to live up romantic tropes but ultimately this is doomed because ThisIsReality. [[spoiler:Until he [[EarnYourHappyEnding marries Holly]], anyway!]]
* Lorna Morello of ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'' is obsessed with ''Theatre/WestSideStory'', ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'', and gossip magazines, and spends most of her time in prison planning her perfect wedding with her perfect fiance, Christopher. In reality, [[spoiler:they went on one coffee date before he broke things off, and she's a [[AxCrazy delusional]] StalkerWithACrush who's in prison for threatening him and his actual girlfriend]].
* In ''Series/{{Roswell}}'', Liz had more than a few elaborate fantasies about her LoveInterest Max coming on to her. They were very nice [[StrawberryShorthand strawberries]]...
* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?" the eponymous Adonais has everything lined up to be the MartyStu hero of his own RomanceNovel, pretty little Yeoman and all. [[spoiler: It doesn't work out.]]
* ''Series/UglyBetty'': A dental assistant in "East Side Story" is obsessed with romance movies and encourages Betty to RaceForYourLove to the airport and win Henry back.
* In the reboot ''Series/{{V|2009}}'', it would seem that the heroine's son who's unknowingly dating Cthulhu's daughter seems to think that he's just in some cross-cultural successful love story.
* Neal Caffrey from ''Series/WhiteCollar'' may be charming, intelligent, and sly, but he's also somewhat of a hopeless, diehard romantic. After all, this is the man that committed increasingly elaborate crimes to catch the attention of the woman he loved, went to prison because he walked straight into a trap to see her again, ''broke out of prison'' with three months left on his sentence to go after her, and countless other things, both for Kate and the women after her.
* The entire push of ''Series/{{You}}'' is how Joe sees himself as the main character of a loveable nice guy just looking for love and getting into rom-com situations. The audience is able to see the truth: that Joe is a sociopathic stalker whose beliefs push him to murderous actions but keeps seeing himself as the hero.
* In ''Series/{{Community}}'', Annie sometimes acts like she's in a coming-of-age RomCom around Jeff, with whom she has long-running romantic tension with. Eventually, she admits that she's just in love with the idea of being loved, "and if [she] can get someone like Jeff to do it, [she]'ll never be unloved."

[[folder:Music]]
* The music of Music/{{HIM}} is all about love, so it's natural this attitude may crop up from time to time in their lyrics. That being said, there are songs that are really just [[DeconstructedTrope commentaries on this way of thinking]] (e.g. "Soul on Fire"), or deliberately insert lovesick narrators who ''do'' think this way into situations where things obviously aren't working that way (e.g. "The Face of God", which appears to be about a LoveMartyr).
* Music/GordonLightfoot references this trope in 1970 BreakUpSong "If You Could Read My Mind":
-->''If I could read your mind, love, what a tale your thoughts would tell\\
Just like a paperback novel, the kind that drug stores sell\\
When you reach the part where the heartache come, the hero would be me.\\
Heroes often fail\\
You won't read that book again because the ending's just too hard to take.''
* Psychostick's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XC5bHlOps0 "It's Just A Movie, Stupid"]] features its lead singer discouraging his audience from following this line of thought in the bluntest, most vulgar way possible. It also acknowledges the typical gendered scenarios for the [[ChildhoodFriendRomance men]] and [[MeetCute women]] who hope to invoke this trope in their love lives.
* Anytime [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6XN7tBx8u8 "True"]] by Spandau Ballet plays, you can be sure that it's an indication of this.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKpAtxN0Sxo "Love Story"]] by Taylor Swift is what ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' would be like if it were a [[RomanceNovel YA Romance Novel]] instead of a [[VerySpecialEpisode cautionary]] [[MoralityBallad tale]]. [[AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle The more you know]].

[[folder:Roleplay]]
* Harriet from ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'', rather surprisingly [[TheEeyore given her personality]], has been greatly influenced by {{Visual Novel}}s when it comes to her ideas of romance. [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome Before he mysteriously disappeared]], she was more than happy to ignore David's obvious faults and instead see him as the sort of handsome, aloof character that would whisk her away from her worries.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* The villain Tenderheart from ''Dark TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'' believes in the delusion that life works like a romance novel and her criminal career is based around the idea that a superhero will fall in love with her.

[[folder:Theater]]
* ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof'' toys with this in the song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Hj7bp38f8 "Matchmaker"]].
* ''In The Man of Mode'', Mrs. Loveit thinks this way, despite the fact that the man she's in love with, Dorimant, plays the field and is a trickster. PlayedForLaughs
* In ''Reefer Madness'', the musical, High School Sweethearts Mary and Jimmy have not yet finished their coursework for Romeo and Juliet. They believe that the two will get married, "have a baby, and make lots of friends!"

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Tsubaki Yayoi in ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', which makes [[spoiler:the circumstances of her MoreThanMindControl and MindRape induced FaceHeelTurn all the more tragic]]. This is clearest ([[PlayedforLaughs and funniest]]) in Bang Shishigami's joke ending, when [[ShipperOnDeck she]] ends up "helping" him propose to Litchi... via trying to stage a ShotgunWedding, which makes ''Bang himself'' go all "WTF?!"
* ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'': Korwa is obsessed with the idea of happy endings, and often tries to orchestrate melodramatic or cliched scenes into happening. This does have a more positive angle as well, however; she's the one, alongside Tweyen, who gently encourages Carren to get in touch with her parents and try to understand their position because she knows that Carren permanently falling out of contact with her parents can only lead to regret later in Carren's life.
* Elphelt [[BeMyValentine Valentine]] in ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear Xrd -SIGN-'' never changes out of her stylized wedding gown and frequently launches into lengthy tirades about how wondrous married life with her defeated opponents (or their friends) would be.
* ''VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue'':
-->'''Bar Wench:''' Right now, I'm just a lousy, stinking bar wench, but one day my knight in shining armor will ride through those doors and sweep me off to a new life with shimmering palaces and dazzling wealth...\\
'''Ruby:''' Uh, I think you'd better lay off the romance novels for a while, sister... Fabio ain't comin' for ya, I'm sorry to say...
* In the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' franchise:
** Tali, [[TheCutie perhaps not surprisingly,]] has moments of this if you [[RomanceSidequest romance her.]] She deliberately plays up the RescueRomance trope since Shepard's saved her life so many times, saying that she can't imagine ''why'' a sweet young woman would fall for the dashing space captain who rescued her. In the [[VideoGame/MassEffect3 third game's]] Citadel DLC, it's further revealed that her favorite movie is an InterspeciesRomance love story... and she's been stealing romantic dialogue from it in order to woo you. It's played mostly for awkwardness, and if you tease her about it, she notes that "''You're'' not complaining."
** [[DeadpanSnarker Garrus]] shows signs of this on his romance path. In his case, it's less that he has an idealized version of love and more that [[InterspeciesRomance he has no idea how human relationships work]] and is implied to have been watching romance vids for pointers. This is especially obvious in the Citadel DLC, where he and Shepard decide to have a ''pretend'' first date, and he reveals that he's been taking [[DanceOfRomance very real dance lessons]] [[GrandRomanticGesture in order to impress her.]] Like Tali, this is mostly intended to make him endearing.
* One stage in ''VideoGame/OsuTatakaeOuendan 2'' has Christine Kamogawa, an actual romance novelist who draws inspiration from her wild {{Imagine Spot}}s.
* In ''VideoGame/RuneFactory4,'' Porcoline is like this towards the PlayerCharacter. [[SingleTargetSexuality He has a massive crush on them regardless of their gender,]] and is convinced that they're madly in love with him as well and that they're going to sweep him off his feet. If you make a PlatonicDeclarationOfLove towards him, he even interprets it as a ''marriage proposal'' and tries to carry them off to get married right that second. Since he's not an ''actual'' LoveInterest for the PC, however, he's never successful.
* ''VideoGame/TheSims3'' has Sims with the "Hopeless Romantic" trait.
* In ''VideoGame/StardewValley,'' this is Elliot's shtick. He's a dreamy, romantic writer with a romanticized vision of just about ''everything,'' he constantly talks in a [[PurpleProse flowery and overwrought way,]] and if you decide to [[RomanceSidequest romance him]], he constantly uses poetry and glittery metaphors in order to describe his affections for the player character and even takes them on an OldFashionedRowboatDate. He can even potentially even [[ShipTease write a romance novel dedicated to the PC, whether or not they decide to date him.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'': Kazuma Kiryu, though using a [[Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible more classical definition of "romance"]]. He believes in a ''heavily'' romanticized version of the {{Yakuza}}, and tries to embody this ideal of an honorable enforcer who does what is just even when the law disagrees. However, the games portray Yakuza activities much like reality: thugs and strongmen for organized crime, with just enough standards that the law leaves them alone more often than not. A good deal of drama is wrung from Kazuma's worldview being completely incompatible with the reality around him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'': Pearl has a tendency to see things this way, spending most of the original trilogy believing Phoenix was her cousin Maya's "special someone". PlayedForDrama in that she thinks this way because she grew up in a village with a ''ridiculously'' high divorce rate - it's implied she's ''never'' seen a relationship that worked, leading her to romanticize romance.
* ''VisualNovel/ContractDemon'': [[DownplayedTrope It's downplayed]], although Eleni was hoping for a romance between her and the demon she summoned, she didn't genuinely expect to develop a crush on Kamilla.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* Cancer from ''WebAnimation/AstroLOLogy'' is obsessed with romantic media and often finds herself engulfed in her own fantasies about dating a guy, only to be disappointed when the expected soap opera or romance cliché doesn't play out like she intended when she tries to get that to happen in real life.
* In Step 1 of ''WebAnimation/ThereSheIs'', Doki imagines Nabi in this way and continues with the mindset throughout the series.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* PlayedWith in ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': when [[ValleyGirl Lumpy Space Princess]] was [[RaisedByWolves living with wolves]] she tried to analyze pack dynamics like it was a teen drama, with the wolves "cheating" on their significant others whenever they licked somebody else.
* [[CuteBookworm Jinora]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' is this way, as her idea of a perfect romance is based on the historical fiction she reads. Considering the [[{{Wuxia}} sort of universe]] she lives in, and that she's only 10, [[NightmareFetishist stories involving genocidal dragon battles and suicide by volcano]] qualify as historical romance.
* WesternAnimation's champion of this would have to be ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes''' Pépé Le Pew.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** In the episode "The Ticket Master", Rarity is certain that going to the [[DancesAndBalls Grand Galloping Gala]] will play out just like a fairy tale, with her introduction to the country's most eligible stallion (the princess' nephew) who instantly falls in love with her and marries her after a whirlwind romance.
** When she actually meets the Prince in "Best Night Ever", she tries to make the fantasy a reality. It... doesn't really work out, mainly because the prince in question is [[PrinceCharmless a self-centered jerk]]. In fact, when the mane cast are forced to flee the chaos they've caused at the gala, Rarity loses her glass slipper, and when Pinkie Pie lampshades [[TheGirlWhoFitsThisSlipper the obvious trope]], Rarity freaks out and [[DefiedTrope stomps the slipper into pieces before continuing]]. Not that it really matters.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': Luz's obsession with magic and fairy tales occasionally brushes with this trope. In general, she thinks of her adventures in the Boiling Isles like a young adult fantasy novel, complete with romantic subplot. Her ideas of being TheChosenOne and having a greater destiny get her in trouble a few times with characters like Adeghast using illusions to lure her into a trap that resembles her storybook dreams. Her falling in love with [[spoiler:Amity]] in many ways feels like a fulfillment of a number of Luz's romantic fantasies and she even admits to wanting to take them on a SliceOfLife style date when the conflict settles.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', Starfire feels this way about her TrueCompanions, enough to recite novel-length poetry with a brightly-colored floral background.
* Naturally, with the premise of ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' being "''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' characters mentors a next generation of SpiritualSuccessor", Pépé's main student, Fifi La Fume, also has this as her chief personality, right down to often reading actual romance novels to pass time.
[[/folder]]

* In ''Film/ThePrincessDiaries'', Mia mentions that the perfect kiss should involve foot-popping, like in the movies.

* In ''Film/ThePrincessDiaries'', Anne Hathaway describes what her perfect first kiss will be like.
* In a deleted scene from ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', Inara is having a conversation with another Companion School instructor, revealing that many apprentice companions believe Inara and Mal had quite a {{lemon}}y [[RomanceNovel love story]] going on.

* In ''Series/{{Community}}'', Annie's attraction to Jeff seems to stem from her thinking she's in a coming-of-age RomCom with Jeff as her love interest. Eventually, she admits that she's just in love with the idea of being loved, "and if [she] can get someone like Jeff to do it, [she]'ll never be unloved."

* [[WrenchWench Kaylee]] from ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' seems to think this way when it comes to [[TheSmartGuy Simon Tam]] -- even trying BeautifulAllAlong (though it was more for her benefit), ThroughHisStomach (though she seems to cook for the whole crew a lot, and [[ThoseTwoGuys being his best friend]] (resting her legs on his lap).

* In ''Fanfic/SanctuaryTLOZ'', Malon thinks like a fairy-tale. However, when Malon finally realizes that Sheik is actually the princess Zelda, she mentions that "the storybook ended" and she has to go back to reality. This is subverted when Zelda comes back to her.

* In ''Anime/YuGiOh'' [[MissingEpisode Season 0]] and [[Manga/YuGiOh the manga]], Hiroto Honda (Tristan Taylor) goes into this trope ''in spades'' regarding [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair Miho]] [[ShyBlueHairedGirl Nosaka]]. He goes off on a fantasy/rant about them together almost ''every time'' he talks about/to her.

* Princess Anna from ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' thinks in conventions very similar to most early Franchise/{{Disney Princess}}es: hitting it off with one person after a single night is enough to convince her that they're soulmates. [[spoiler:Prince Hans, the guy in question, is [[PricneCharmless anything BUT a good prince]], and manipulates this way of thinking for all it's worth in a bid to get his hands on the throne of Arendelle for himself]].

In its most severe cases, one character is totally in love with another and the idea of confessing his/her feelings sends said character directly into full blown delusions of grandeur about returned affections. The character tends to think of romance in completely idealized terms, and their train of thought plays out like the summary of a [[RomanceNovel category romance novel]].

* From ''Anime/FlintTheTimeDetective'', we have the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Anne Rice Vampire]] [[HandsomeLech wannabe]] [[ChivalrousPervert Merlock]], who has such fantasies about the female lead Sara. Kind of [[{{Squick}} squicky]] when you take into account that she's about ten, his age as a Dhampyr is skewed, and during an episode where Sara was [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever sized up]] without MagicPants he saved her modesty by magicking up a PlayboyBunny costume for her. And took lots of pictures.

** Miko dreams of a man - a prince - who is always looking after her, understands how she feels and comes to her rescue when she is in distress. Both Fujiwara and Shirogane point out that the man Miko is looking for only exists in her dreams. [[spoiler:The DramaticIrony is that there already is such a person in her life that fits her ideals, and has the same idea of justice and altruistic love that she has. She just doesn't see the kindness Ishigami has shown to her. When she starts to see, she [[WhatIsThisFeelingCalledLove doesn't realize that she's starting to love him]].]]

* The yuri pastiche ''The Lady Is a Romcom Protagonist!'' has the main character become this, but she uses ''shonen'' manga for her fantasies instead of the typical shoujo. As a result, everyday encounters at her OneGenderSchool become wrought with made up scenarios straight out of the {{Ecchi}} and HaremGenre playbook.

** Sanji does this ''at all times''. Notably, during the Water 7 arc he imagines he and Robin dancing in a fairy tale-esque setting.

* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Creator/RumikoTakahashi not only loves giving her characters overblown romantic fantasies, but also idealized visions of victory, etc.

** Despite being a "Chinese Amazon", Shampoo has also fallen for this trope. She has multiple fantasies about Ranma in a "white knight" or other romantic film/novel protagonist role with her, and has even gone so far as to set herself up as a DeliberatelyDistressedDamsel ''twice'' in hopes of enjoying Ranma being her strong protector for once.

* Bella, from the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Luminosity}}'', deduces that attraction between two vampires is always symmetrical, mutual and exclusive because vampirism has the odd quirk of conferring the hallmarks of romantic fiction to anyone afflicted by it. She realizes that if she chooses to become immortal then she will also be choosing to be inescapably in love with someone she doesn't even know or like.

* Princess Anna from ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' thinks in conventions very similar to most early Franchise/{{Disney Princess}}es: hitting it off with one person after a single night is enough to convince her that they're soulmates. [[spoiler:Prince Hans, the guy in question, is anything BUT a good prince, and manipulates this way of thinking for all it's worth in a bid to get his hands on the throne of Arendelle for himself]].

* Giselle in ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' thinks like a Disney fairy tale romance is the most natural thing in the world. But then, she's literally from an animated fairy tale universe and has to spend most of the film adjusting to life in the cynical reality of New York. Said cynical relaity ''is'' still part of a greater Disney fairy tale, though, so it manages to work out.

* In ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'', Zeke appears to have something like this train of thought--he was true to himself, so of course the girl he likes will return his affections! If not, there's always [[ThroughHisStomach other ways...]]

* ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables'': Anne, especially as a teenager. She has an overactive imagination as it is, but add in a hopeless romantic streak and one too many romance novels, and you get some of the funniest moments in the series. As she gets older, however, her idealized notions of who she wants as a partner and what being in love is supposed to feel like start working against her. She is oblivious not only to Gilbert's feelings for her, but of her own growing feelings for him. She suffers a painful reality check near the end of Anne of the Island, when she realizes she isn't in love with the man who fits her ideals, and is in love with the man she rejected for not fitting her ideals—the same man she might lose forever.

** While a lot of Pratchett's younger female characters have this problem, it's subverted in ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'': Glenda secretly reads pulp romance novels as her only known form of recreation, but she's not convinced and ultimately doesn't let them mislead her in her own life or her advice to others. In fact it's the opposite; she eventually decides she's being ''too'' practical and hard-headed, especially in her advice to Juliet. She's still not convinced, but she's willing to meet romance tropes halfway.

* Tomoya of ''LightNovel/HowToRaiseABoringGirlfriend'' is easily moved to tears by romance stories, but ObliviousToLove in real life. After a "fateful encounter" with a girl in his class, he is convinced that she would make an ideal love interest, and ropes her into joining a team to create a VisualNovel with her as the heroine. He soon becomes frustrated that Megumi is a [[RidiculouslyAverageGuy subdued and boring girl]] compared to the fictional characters he's used to, or even to [[SupportingHarem the other girls on the development team]], and the story goes through multiple revisions as he struggles to express why despite being boring, he still considers her his "ideal heroine". Naturally, [[EveryoneCanSeeIt Tomoya is the last person to figure out]] that it's because he's genuinely in love with her.

* Deconstructed in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' when ShelteredAristocrat Sansa Stark is betrothed to [[PrinceCharmless Prince Joffrey]]. She expects everything to play out like a courtly romance, but then suffers a horrible TraumaCongaLine partly because of her idealism. She grows out of it.

** And sixteen year-old Buffy with Angel.

* The point of ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'' is how Rachel sees her life as a grand romance novel or film, not quite getting how incredibly crazy she comes off as her "romance" of her ex is just stalking.

* On ''Series/GossipGirl'' Blair Waldorf [[ThinksLikeARomanceNovel Thinks Like A Romantic Movie]], or more specifically romantic films of the golden age Hollywood variety. To the point where her ex-boyfriend thinks the most romantic thing he can do to win her back is give her an ultimatum a la ''Film/AnAffairToRemember''.

* In the reboot ''Series/{{V 2009}}'', it would seem that the heroine's son who's unknowingly dating Cthulhu's daughter seems to think that he's just in some cross-cultural successful love story.

* The entire push of ''Series/{{You}}'' is how Joe sees himself as the main character of a loveable nice guy just looking for love and getting into rom-com situations. The audience is able to see the truth: That Joe is a sociopathic stalker whose beliefs push him to murderous actions but keeps seeing himself as the hero.

* ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'': Korwa is obsessed with the idea of happy endings, and often tries to orchestrate melodramatic or cliched scenes into happening. This does have a more positive angle as well, however; she's the one, alongside Tweyen, who gently encourages Carren to get in touch with her parents and try to understand their position, because she knows that Carren permanently falling out of contact with her parents can only lead to regret later in Carren's life.

* In Step 1 of ''WebAnimation/ThereSheIs'', Doki imagines Nabi in this way, and continues with the mindset throughout the series.

* Jareth in ''Webcomic/GirlsNextDoor'' thinks like a shipping fic when it comes to his relationship with Sarah. So yes. He genuinely expects things like [[SlapSlapKiss a fight with her ending in an anger fueled make-out session]]. Sarah's opinion about this is pretty much: "[[YouWatchTooMuchX Eurgh. Whatever you've been reading, you shouldn't be.]]"

** Tsukiko has this mixed with two other tropes -- WrongGenreSavvy and InsaneTrollLogic. First, she thinks that because [[HumansAreBastards Living Are Bastards,]] then the Undead, as the antithesis of life, must actually be [[NotEvilJustMisunderstood good and just misunderstood.]] This makes her act like she lives in a romance novel with strong ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' overtones, not in a fantasy setting based on ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. Because of that, she considers Xykon to be this perfect man who will finally fall in love with her, and sees Redcloak as nothing more than his cowardly loser sidekick who gets between them and who she can humiliate without consequences. [[spoiler:Finally, Redcloak decides to prove to her that a) she is wrong about the undead and b) underestimating him is a very bad idea.]]

* In ''Webcomic/WeakHero'', Lily's got it in her head that her beautiful, aloof classmate Gray is a pitiable soul in dire need of protecting from all of the cram school's bullies, and that it's up to her to be his protector. The truth is quite the opposite. He's a BullyHunter who [[TheDreaded instils fear]] in anyone who crosses him.

* ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'': Kazama Kiryu, though using a [[Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible more classical definition of "romance"]]. He believes in a ''heavily'' romanticized version of the {{Yakuza}}, and tries to embody this ideal of an honorable enforcer who does what is just even when the law disagrees. However, the games portray Yakuza activities much like reality: thugs and strongmen for organized crime, with just enough standards the law leaves them alone more often than not. A good deal of drama is wrung from Kazama's worldview being completely incompatible with the reality around him.

* In ''Webcomic/WeakHero'', Lily's got it in her head that her beautiful, aloof classmate Gray is a pitiable soul in dire need of protecting from all of the cram school's bullies, and that it's up to her to be his protector. The truth is quite the opposite. H's a BullyHunter who [[TheDreaded instils fear]] in anyone who crosses him.

* Very few RomanceNovel heroines ''actually'' think this way, as it would sort of defeat the [[DarkestHour black moment]] of the three-act structure. Their authors, however, are literally paid to invoke this trope but only as part of the writing process. Many, if you sit down and talk to them, have similar ideas about love as most people who ''don't'' read {{romance novel}}s. It's all about selling the fantasy. They're very aware of what they're doing. Just because someone can enjoy a romance novel doesn't mean they can't tell the different between it and reality. Reality has way fewer [[MartyStu single billionaires]] running around waiting to fall in love with [[UnkemptBeauty the plain girl who doesn't bother with her appearance, but still has great hair and skin.]]

* Bella, from the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' fanfic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6137139/1/bLuminosity_b Luminosity]]'', deduces that attraction between two vampires is always symmetrical, mutual and exclusive because vampirism has the odd quirk of conferring the hallmarks of romantic fiction to anyone afflicted by it. She realizes that if she chooses to become immortal then she will also be choosing to be inescapably in love with someone she doesn't even know or like.

* Caroline B Cooney has a books series that begins with ''Both Sides Of Time''. It is about a girl from our century named Annie Lockwood who dreams of finding romance in a past century when women wore gowns and danced with handsome gentlemen at balls. She gets her wish and transports back to the Victorian era, though there is drama to be had.

* Anytime [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6XN7tBx8u8 "True"]] by Spandau Ballet plays, you can be sure that it's an indication of this.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKpAtxN0Sxo "Love Story"]] by Taylor Swift is what ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' would be like if it were a [[RomanceNovel YA Romance Novel]] instead of a [[VerySpecialEpisode cautionary]] [[MoralityBallad tale]]. [[AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle The more you know]].
* Psychostick's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XC5bHlOps0 "It's Just A Movie, Stupid"]] features its lead singer discouraging his audience from following this line of thought in the bluntest, most vulgar way possible. It also acknowledges the typical gendered scenarios for the [[ChildhoodFriendRomance men]] and [[MeetCute women]] who hope to invoke this trope in their love lives.

* ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof'' toys with this in the song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Hj7bp38f8 "Matchmaker"]].

* One stage in ''VideoGame/OsuTatakaeOuendan 2'' has Christine Kamogawa, an actual romance novelist who draws inspiration from her wild {{Imagine Spot}}s.
* ''VideoGame/TheSims3'' has Sims with the "Hopeless Romantic" trait.

* ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'': Kazama Kiryu, though using a [[Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible more classical definition of "romance"]]. He believes in a ''heavily'' romanticized version of the {{Yakuza}}, and tries to embody this ideal of an honorable enforcer who does what is just even when the law disagrees. However, the games portray Yakuza activities much like reality: thugs and strongmen for organized crime, with just enough standards the law leaves them alone more often than not. A good deal of drama is wrung from Kazama's worldview being completely incompatible with the reality around him.
* In ''VideoGame/StardewValley,'' this is Elliot's shtick. He's a dreamy, romantic writer with a romanticized vision of just about ''everything,'' he constantly talks in a [[PurpleProse flowery and overwrought way,]] and if you decide to [[RomanceSidequest romance him]], he constantly uses poetry and glittery metaphors in order to describe his affections for the player character and even takes them on an OldFashionedRowboatDate. He can even potentially even [[ShipTease write a romance novel dedicated to the PC, whether or not they decide to date him.]]
* In ''VideoGame/RuneFactory4,'' Porcoline is like this towards the PlayerCharacter. [[SingleTargetSexuality He has a massive crush on them regardless of their gender,]] and is convinced that they're madly in love with him as well and that they're going to sweep him off his feet. If you make a PlatonicDeclarationOfLove towards him, he even interprets it as a ''marriage proposal'' and tries to carry them off to get married right that second. Since he's not an ''actual'' LoveInterest for the PC, however, he's never successful.

* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'': Pearl has a tendency to see things this way, spending most of the original trilogy believing Phoenix was her cousin Maya's "special someone". PlayedForDrama in that she thinks this way because she grew up in a village with a ''ridiculously'' high divorce rate - it's implied she's ''never'' seen a relationship that worked, leading her to romanticize romance.

* WesternAnimation's champion of this would have to be ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes''' Pépé Le Pew.

* [[CuteBookworm Jinora]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' is this way, as her idea of a perfect romance is based on the historical fiction she reads. Considering the [[{{Wuxia}} sort of universe]] she lives in, and that she's only 10, [[NightmareFetishist stories involving genocidal dragon battles and suicide by volcano]] qualify as historical romance.
* PlayedWith in ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': when [[ValleyGirl Lumpy Space Princess]] was [[RaisedByWolves living with wolves]] she tried to analyze pack dynamics like it was a teen drama, with the wolves "cheating" on their significant others whenever they licked somebody else.

* Caroline B Cooney has a books series that begins with Both Sides Of Time. It is about a girl from our century named Annie Lockwood who dreams of finding romance in a past century when women wore gowns and danced with handsome gentlemen at balls. She gets her wish and transports back to the Victorian era, though there is drama to be had.
* Creator/JaneAusten's ''Literature/{{Emma}}'' is perhaps literature's best example, though her RomanceNovel thoughts typically center around the people she's playing matchmaker for. Considering that the novel was a ''satire'' of thinking like a RomanceNovel, it only makes sense.
* From ''Literature/{{Inkheart}}'', literal Arab {{Expy}} Farrid thinks this way about Meggie, even to the point of after their first kiss proclaiming they will get married. [[spoiler:It doesn't work out. [[WhatTheHellHero Really, Meggie?]]]]
* One father in ''Literature/JudgeDee'' blames his daughter's reading of great love stories for her behavior, refusing to take a husband who isn't "just right."
* ''Literature/MadameBovary'''s title character is another classic example. She loved a sentimental novel even before going to a convent in her early teens, and while at the convent, romance novels were passed around by the girls, and she believes love can only exist in the grandiose, sentimental way. She ruins her marriage (and life) for this.

* One R.L. Stine novel involves a heroine with perhaps a tenuous grasp on reality, as she typically has fantasies about being more assertive and attractive than she is, and stealing her love interest away from his RichBitch girlfriend.
%%%%* Mia from ''Literature/ThePrincessDiaries'' thinks about her love life (and other people's love lives) in this way a lot of the time. So does her friend, Tina.
%%* Too many Creator/PGWodehouse characters to name.

* In ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'', Bella always compares her situation to romance novels or theater, varying from book to book (''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', ''Literature/WutheringHeights'').
* Deconstructed in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' when ShelteredAristocrat Sansa Stark is betrothed to [[PrinceCharmless Prince Joffrey]]. She expects everything to play out like a courtly romance, but then suffers a horrible TraumaCongaLine partly because of her idealism. She grows out of it.
-->'''Petyr Baelish:''' Life is not a song, sweetling. Someday you may learn that, to your sorrow.

* ''Literature/{{Ulysses}}'' does this in the infamous "Nausicaa" chapter. The first half is narrated by a simple young woman named Gertie [=MacDowell=] as she spends a carefree day at the beach with her girlfriends and contemplates a mysterious stranger [[CovertPervert gazing at her from the far end of the beach]]; her narration is written in a sappy, florid style that parodies romance novels of the 1920s. Then in the second half, it's revealed that the mysterious stranger is actually the protagonist Leopold Bloom, and the writing style completely changes as it switches back to the perspective of a world-weary adult man. Subverted, though, in that it's left ambiguous whether the first part was ''actually'' from her perspective, or just [[UnreliableNarrator Leopold trying to imagine the thoughts of a young woman]].[[note]] Creator/JamesJoyce supposedly [[WordOfGod claimed]] the latter.[[/note]]

---> '''Tina:''' I don’t know. But I do know that Michael loves you, and that’s all that matters!!!!!!!
---> '''Mia:''' (narrating) Everything is so simple in Tinaland. I so wish I lived there instead of here.

* The entire push of ''Series/{{You}}'' is how Joe sees himself as the main character of a loveable nice guy just looking for love and getting into rom-com situations. The audience is able to see the truth: That Joe is a sociopathic stalker whose beliefs push him to murderous actions but keeps seeing himself as the hero.
* Neal Caffrey from ''Series/WhiteCollar'' may be charming, intelligent, and sly, but he's also somewhat of a hopeless, diehard romantic. After all, this is the man that committed increasingly elaborate crimes to catch the attention of the woman he loved, went to prison because he walked straight into a trap to see her again, ''broke out of prison'' with three months left on his sentence to go after her, and countless other things, both for Kate and the women after her.
* From ''Series/BabylonFive'' we have Marcus Cole, who out of idealism for love refused sex, and then fell in love with [[DefrostingIceQueen Susan Ivanova]]. Unfortunately, his HeroicSacrifice and her bad timing is one of the reasons why AllLoveIsUnrequited.

* On ''Series/GossipGirl'' Blair Waldorf [[ThinksLikeARomanceNovel Thinks Like A Romantic Movie]], or more specifically romantic films of the golden age Hollywood variety. To the point where her ex-boyfriend thinks the most romantic thing he can do to win her back is give her an ultimatum a la ''Film/AnAffairToRemember''.
* In ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', this is one of the main culprits of Michael's personal failures. He consistently tries to live up romantic tropes but ultimately this is doomed because ThisIsReality. [[spoiler:Until he [[EarnYourHappyEnding marries Holly]], anyway!]]
* Subverted on ''Series/HotInCleveland''. In the first season, Melanie's ex-husband shows up and they go out for part of the episode. He decides to go back to his ex (whom he left Melanie for), and Melanie runs to the airport to catch him. An airport employee even lets her through and there's a lot of talk about the trope. She then proceeds to [[ClusterFBomb tell him off]]. Melanie, never swears.
* Lorna Morello of ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'' is obsessed with ''Theatre/WestSideStory'', ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'', and gossip magazines, and spends most of her time in prison planning her perfect wedding with her perfect fiance, Christopher. In reality, [[spoiler:they went on one coffee date before he broke things off, and she's a [[AxCrazy delusional]] StalkerWithACrush who's in prison for threatening him and his actual girlfriend]].
* The point of ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'' is how Rachel sees her life as a grand romance novel or film, not quite getting how incredibly crazy she comes off as her "romance" of her ex is just stalking.
* ''Series/{{Cheers}}:'' One of the many, many, ''[[TheMasochismTango many]]'' problems between Sam and Diane is that Diane thinks like this, hoping their relationship will be a tale for the ages, ending with them dying in one another's arms, while Sam generally doesn't. Diane doesn't tend to take it well.
* ''Series/UglyBetty'': A dental assistant in "East Side Story" is obsessed with romance movies and encourages Betty to RaceForYourLove to the airport and win Henry back.

* Film/{{Hellboy|2004}} appears to be a big ol' softie for a romantic storyline with his girlfriend like any RomanceNovel addict. Arguably, since in the second movie she essentially condemned the world to save [[ApocalypseMaiden Hellboy]], Liz Sherman has RomanceNovel ideals in the form of "Love at any cost."
* In ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'', Zeke appears to have something like this train of thought--he was true to himself, so of course the girl he likes will return his affections! If not, there's always [[ThroughHisStomach other ways...]]
* In a deleted scene from ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', Inara is having a conversation with another Companion School instructor, revealing that many apprentice companions believe Inara and Mal had quite a {{lemon}}y [[RomanceNovel love story]] going on.
* Chet Keefer, in the film ''Film/TheMarryingKind'' is annoyed by his wife's view on love and marriage, and thinks she is too influenced by romantic films.
* In ''Film/SkyHigh2005'', the main character has one of these moments when he first sees the StudentCouncilPresident, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR8D2yqgQ1U that song]] plays and everything faces away. [[BlatantLies True love, no doubt about it.]]
* Played with in ''Film/SleeplessInSeattle''. It was {{lampshaded}} with Rosie O'Donnell's line "You don't want to be in love. You want to be in love in a movie." However, little did she know, ''Sleepless In Seattle'' is itself a romantic comedy, so it turns out Meg Ryan's character was actually Right Genre Savvy.
* Tom in ''Film/FiveHundredDaysOfSummer'', who insists on imagining Summer as a ManicPixieDreamGirl against all evidence to the contrary, and gets his heart broken as a result.
* Giselle in ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' thinks like a Disney fairy tale romance is the most natural thing in the world. But then, she's literally from an animated fairy tale universe and has to spend most of the film adjusting to life in the cynical reality of New York. Said cynical relaity ''is'' still part of a greater Disney fairy tale, though, so it manages to work out.

* Literature/AnneOfGreenGables: Anne, especially as a teenager. She has an overactive imagination as it is, but add in a hopeless romantic streak and one too many romance novels, and you get some of the funniest moments in the series. As she gets older, however, her idealized notions of who she wants as a partner and what being in love is supposed to feel like start working against her. She is oblivious not only to Gilbert's feelings for her, but of her own growing feelings for him. She suffers a painful reality check near the end of Anne of the Island, when she realizes she isn't in love with the man who fits her ideals, and is in love with the man she rejected for not fitting her ideals—the same man she might lose forever.

* For ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' there is [[http://elixirxsczjx13.deviantart.com/art/Words-Unspoken-PG-1-197493724 this]] [[http://elixirxsczjx13.deviantart.com/art/Words-Unspoken-PG-2-197590231 comic]]. Thinking like a romance novel at its best.
* Ginny from ''Theatre/AVeryPotterMusical'' appears to think this way. A lot. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE1FJec1YZM&feature=related She even has a song about it.]]

* Justified in ''Fanfic/ATeachersGlory'': Ino uses experience with romance novels to judge whether Tamaki is just a retainer, or on the way to becoming mistress of the manor. Judging by the lack of jewelry and gifts, Ino correctly deduces that Tamaki and [[spoiler:Sasuke, the Uchiha Head]] are not sleeping together.
* In ''Fanfic/SanctuaryTLOZ'', Malon thinks like a fairy-tale. However, when Malon finally realizes that Sheik is actually the princess Zelda, she mentions that "the storybook ended" and she has to go back to reality. This is subverted when Zelda comes back to her.

* ''Fanfic/FateBlackDawn'': Of all people, Morgan le Faye suffered from this. As far as she's concerned, her FatalFlaw is that she falls in love easily, holds her partners to an impossible standard, and then lashes out when they fail to live up to it. It says something that the only person she considers to have lived up to her standards is King Arthur. Of course, she also hates the King with a burning passion for "stealing" the throne; Morgan is complicated. By the time Shirou shows up, she's mostly moved past this and has no trouble viewing him objectively instead of holding him to an impossible ideal... and then he lives up to that ideal ''anyway''.
* ''Fanfic/ANuisanceThoughThouArt'' has a ''murder mystery'' novel variant, when Sibenar learns about Maia's guardian suddenly dying and immediately starts to spout guesses about suspects and killing motives. His sister has to yell at him for making him stop.

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/editpost.php?postid=1549484208095969700
%% Previous thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1462779844086587400
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.

* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Creator/RumikoTakahashi not only loves giving her characters overblown romantic fantasies, but also idealized visions of victory, etc.
** Ryōga certainly thinks in these terms about half the times he dreams about confessing to Akane.
** During the Gambling King arc, Ukyō makes a bet with Ranma that if he lost against the BigBad, he would become her partner in a business venture... in the Siberian Tundra... where he would inevitably have a LoveEpiphany, and midst the desolation of the landscape their love would blossom. If that's not a Category Romance fantasy, we don't know what is.
** Tatewaki Kunō has these fantasies a lot... usually with two women throwing themselves at him (which, according to his SelfServingMemory, puts his fantasies in the genre of {{Nonfiction}}).
** Kodachi Kunō as well, though her fantasies appear to be a bit more intimate.
** Happōsai's fantasies tend more towards [[{{Lemon}} erotic fanfiction]] than [[RomanceNovel category romance]], though he's had his moments.
** [[StalkerWithACrush Hikaru Gosunguki]] tends to daydream along the lines of [[RomanticComedy Romance]] {{Sitcom}}s whenever he thinks about Akane.
** Despite being a "Chinese Amazon", Shampoo has also fallen for this trope. She has multiple fantasies about Ranma in a "white knight" or other romantic film/novel protagonist role with her, and has even gone so far as to set herself up as a DeliberatelyDistressedDamsel ''twice'' in hopes of enjoying Ranma being her strong protector for once.

* Kyouko from ''Manga/SkipBeat'' lives and breathes this trope. She thinks straight out of classic fairy tales, though. Though there might be some overlap.

* A ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' AprilFools story reveals that [[YaoiFangirl Erika's]] inner-narrative, [[ShippingGoggles when it comes to the subject of]] [[GuyOnGuyIsHot Shizuo and Izaya]], is written entirely in MillsAndBoonProse.
* In one episode of ''Manga/MyWifeIsAHighSchoolGirl'', Asami simply walks into a store and has a marriage proposal a few minutes later. The shopkeeper certainly saw her in a favorable light--[[GaussianGirl slightly blurry]], [[BishieSparkle with sparkles and roses all around]].
* In ''Manga/FairyTail'', [[SingleTargetSexuality Juvia]] does this ''a lot'' in regards to [[MrFanservice Gray]]. Somewhat more understandable than other examples since [[NoSocialSkills she's also very naive in regards to social interaction]].
* Literature Girl from ''Manga/DailyLivesOfHighSchoolBoys'' seems to think this way concerning her crush Hidenori -- in fact, her crush with him is out of [[LongingForFictionland her desire to re-enact her love novel]]. Hidenori, meanwhile, doesn't want anything to do with her -- in one skit he prefers ''PottyFailure'' to being seen by her!
* Kiku in ''Manga/{{Genzo}}'', whenever she daydreams of she and the titular Puppet Master together.
* May Chang of ''Manga/FullMetalAlchemist'' does this in regards to her [[ExpectingSomeoneTaller incredibly exaggerated]] idea of what Edward Elric looks like. After she meets Ed in person and learns how obnoxious he can be, she shifts her affections (and imagination) to Al after hearing a slightly exaggerated description of his human body. When they meet again up north, HilarityEnsues, ''especially'' when she meets Winry.
* Ryoko constantly exhibits this thinking in the manga and OVA versions of ''Manga/Area88''.
* [[MadLove Misa Amane]] of ''Manga/DeathNote'' falls victim to this, and it's rarely PlayedForLaughs after she manages to fall for the handsome, charming, clever [[TheAce Light Yagami]]... who is, in actuality, the SerialKiller VillainProtagonist in this PsychologicalThriller, and who treats her like crap because he firmly believes LoveMakesYouStupid and [[StayInTheKitchen women are useless]].
* Sayaka Miki from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''. [[spoiler:She uses her wish to heal Kyosuke's arm, but it backfires - instead of the two of them getting together, Kyosuke goes back to devoting his attention to his music, and the more she learns about what she's let herself in for as a magical girl the less she feels able to pursue her feelings for him even when Hitomi delivers an ultimatum meant to urge Sayaka to make a love confession.]] It doesn't end well.
* Hanano from ''Manga/{{Chihayafuru}}'' Thinks Like A {{Shoujo|Demographic}} Manga, initially seeing herself as the HollywoodHomely romantic heroine, Taichi as her [[SingleGirlSeeksMostPopularGuy popular guy love interest]], and Chihaya as the RichBitch rival. Unfortunately, this makes her WrongGenreSavvy, as Chihayafuru is actually a {{Josei}} [[GamingAndSportsAnimeAndManga Game Manga]], and Chihaya is the heroine.
* In ''LightNovel/TheDevilIsAPartTimer: High School'', a scene where [[WorthyOpponent Ashiya and Emi]] argue is contrasted with [[ClingyJealousGirl Chiho]]'s perspective of the same event. It is very different from reality.
* Marika from ''Manga/BokuraNoHentai'' thinks like she is in an idealistic 70s shoujo manga. Unlucky for her she is not. For example, when Ryousuke grabs her hand and pulls her to a secluded area of the school she thinks it's romantic at first. This is until he threatens to kill her if she tells anyone [[{{crossdresser}} his secret]].
* Jun of ''Anime/TheAnthemOfTheHeart'' thought of the world as a fairytale when she was younger. This only set her up for psychological trauma when her parents got divorced.
* In ''Manga/ComicGirls'', the {{shojo}} artist Koyume has this mindset, to the point that her peers call her the "walking shojo manga."
* Invoked in chapter 2 of ''Musashi-kun to Murayama-san wa Tsukiatte Mita.'' When she starts dating Musashi, Murayama tries reading through her collection of romance manga to figure out how romantic couples are supposed to act. Unfortunately, [[LastMinuteHookup all the stories end with the confession]], so she has no idea what comes next.
* A flashback in ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' featured [[SmallRoleBigImpact a bandit]] who mentioned that her dream was to become a maid and hopefully fall in love with her master.
* Rumi Asai of ''Mousou Shoujo Otakukei'' is in fact in a love story, but her only knowledge is from the wrong sub-genre: [[YaoiGenre Boys' Love]]. So however much Abe says he loves her, she continues to believe that his real love is his best friend Chiba (and seeing them together, it can certainly look that way) and all his protestations of love to a girl are the phase before he accepts his homosexuality. Even when an actually gay boy becomes involved, he is very different from what Rumi imagines.
* In ''Manga/BloomIntoYou'', Yuu tends to think about love along these lines, having gotten much of her understanding of it from love songs and shoujo manga. She imagines love to be some kind of overwhelming feeling, so when [[NoSparks she doesn't feel anything after a guy confesses he has a crush on her]], she ultimately decides to reject it. She does appear to be falling in love with her crush, Touko, but because her feelings don't match up with what she thinks love is, it takes her a while to realize it. [[spoiler:While Yuu is genuinely brokenhearted after Touko seemingly rejects her AnguishedDeclarationOfLove, Yuu wonders if she ever truly loved Touko, since she doesn't feel as overtly upset as her friend Akari was after Akari faced something similar]].
* The yuri pastiche ''The Lady Is a Romcom Protagonist!'' has the main character become this, but she uses ''shonen'' manga for her fantasies instead of the typical shoujo. As a result, everyday encounters at her OneGenderSchool become wrought with made up scenarios straight out of the {{Ecchi}} and HaremGenre playbook.
* Malon has this viewpoint in ''Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. She sees herself as a tragic maiden who needs a prince to whisk her away from her [[SmallTownBoredom life as a farmgirl]]. Malon initially declines Link's rescue attempts until she realizes he's [[SheIsAllGrownUp grown up a lot]] in seven years.
* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'':
** Miko dreams of a man - a prince - who is always looking after her, understands how she feels and comes to her rescue when she is in distress. Both Fujiwara and Shirogane point out that the man Miko is looking for only exists in her dreams. [[spoiler:The DramaticIrony is that there already is such a person in her life that fits her ideals, and has the same idea of justice and altruistic love that she has. She just doesn't see the kindness Ishigami has shown to her. When she starts to see, she [[WhatIsThisFeelingCalledLove doesn't realize that she's starting to love him]].]]
** "[[ShowWithinAShow Today Will be Sweet]]" temporarily turns people that read it into shoujo romance caricatures of themselves, complete with ArtShift. The only character who has proven to be immune to it is [[ShipperOnDeck Karen]], and that's only because she's already in that mindset 24/7.
* Wakamatsu in ''Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun'' often uses tactics only seen in shoujo manga in order to solve his problems with Seo. Since he's in a manga ''parodying'' the genre instead of playing it straight, they tend to backfire (for example, writing a challenge letter that turns out more like a love confession). He's also '''not''' trying to romance Seo which further makes his preferred sources rather illogical.
-->'''Wakamatsu:''' Senpai...where did I go wrong...?\\
'''Nozaki:''' ...Probably from the moment you started using shoujo manga.

* Franchise/TheDCU character Flamebird appears to think this way: Themed Weapons + Costume + Vigilantism = Instant Relationship with Superhero Crush!

* ''Website/TheOnion'' has [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/romanticcomedy-behavior-gets-reallife-man-arrested,757/ an article about a man who thinks this way]]. RealityEnsues.

''VisualNovel/ContractDemon'': [[DownplayedTrope It's downplayed]], although Eleni was hoping for a romance between her and the demon she summoned, she didn't genuinely expect to develop a crush on Kamilla.