History Main / TrueLoveIsExceptional

* Rei in ''Manga/{{MARS}}'' dates any girl willing to sleep with him, most of them shown as brash, shallow, and self-obsessed, until he meets painfully introverted and artistic Kira, who has some serious issues regarding sex and is the first girl not to immediately make for the bedroom.

->''"I do love nothing in the world so well as you: is not that strange?"''

If the protagonist of a love story HasAType at the start of the story, their final True Love will not be of that Type. The guy who prefers the ProperLady will end up with the {{Tsundere}}, the girl who only gets turned on by "[[AllGirlsWantBadBoys bad boys]]" will end up with a [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan nice guy]], and occasionally the (mostly) straight person will end up with [[IfItsYouItsOkay someone of the same gender]] (who -- especially in tales of YaoiGuys -- may be a double-whammy by being the "wrong" type ''as well as'' the "wrong" sex).

* Subverted in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar''. Miko falls in love with Ishigami despite him having a lot of characteristics that she finds to be a major turn-off (he disregards the rules, is mean to her, and doesn't take school seriously). The dramatic irony of the situation is that everything else about him matches up with what she wants ''exactly'', she just can't see it like the other characters and audience can. [[spoiler:The same is true of Ishigami-- while he prefers bubbly, kind, openly friendly girls, he's too fixated on Miko for the cast to ignore and the story likewise reveals that he's had her in mind since middle school.]]

* Subverted in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar''. Miko falls in love with Ishigami despite him having a lot of characteristics that she finds to be a major turn-off (he disregards the rules, is mean to her, and doesn't take school seriously). The dramatic irony of the situation is that everything else about him matches up with what she wants ''exactly'', she just can't see it like the other characters and audience can.

* In ''Manga/WhisperedWords'', Ushio makes it very clear that [[SchoolgirlLesbians she only cares for extremely cute girls]]--much to the lament of her best friend, Sumika, who does not consider herself cute in the least, being a rather tall karate prodigy. Things become rather ... complicated, once Ushio realizes she has developed feelings for Sumika after all.

One of the most popular variants is the TroubledButCute guy who only dates so-called "easy" girls until he finds true love with the GirlNextDoor -- falling into the old (sexist) adage that "there are girls you sleep with and girls you marry," a popular mantra for parents who didn't mind their son "sowing his wild oats", but [[DoubleStandard didn't want a girl who was less than virginal]] marrying into the family. (The same is, of course, true of women who are presented as making a distinction between "men they sleep with" and "men they marry", although in accord with the DoubleStandard, it's less likely to be brought up as an issue).

One explanation for this is namely in exploring differences between what one ''desires'' in a partner and perhaps what one ''needs'' in a partner (namely, that what they could want may not necessarily be what they need in a partner so they could have a long-lasting relationship.) Another could be circumstances; the two would typically not be seen together, but have been through so much together than the bonds allow them to see them different than if they were strangers.

* Rei in ''Manga/{{MARS}}'' dates any girl willing to sleep with him, most of them shown as brash, shallow and self-obsessed, until he meets painfully introverted and artistic Kira, who has some serious issues regarding sex and is the first girl not to immediately make for the bedroom.

* Subverted in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar''. Miko falls in love with Ishigami despite him having a lot of characteristics that she finds to be a major turn off (he disregards the rules, is mean to her, and doesn't take school seriously). The dramatic irony of the situation is that everything else about him matches up with what she wants ''exactly'', she just can't see it like the other characters and audience can.

* Heather Douglas, Marvel's telepathic Moondragon has one of the more convoluted stories, starting off as a manipulator who would sometimes use sex as a weapon and always was involved with males. Then to her own surprise she fell in love with Rick Jones's wife Marlo Chandler, but that did not work out. Marlo eventually returned to Rick, and to ensure her future happiness, Heather "confessed" that she thought she had subconsciously made Marlo fall in love with her in the first place. Phyla-Vell, the cosmically aware daughter of Captain Marvel (the first one, with Phyla herself being the fourth), was so moved by that self-denying lie that she fell in love with Heather, who thus unexpectedly found her true love after all.

* One ''Comicbook/AstroCity'' comic focuses on a man haunted by dreams about a strange woman, later revealed to be his wife who was [[RetGone retconned out of reality]] as a casuality from a villain's attempt to RetGone superheroes. One thing that confuses him about his "dream girl" is that she really isn't what he would normally think of as his type; one of his friends notes the same thing about his own wife.

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* ''Fanfic/TheChildOfLove'': In chapter 1 Shinji thinks it is curious he -an introvert- is more drawn to a girl as hot-heated as Asuka rather someone more tranquil like Rei.
* ''Manga/{{Evangelion 303}}'': In [[http://eva303.smackjeeves.com/comics/911299/022/ chapter 3]] [[{{Tsundere}} Asuka]] tells to Shinji that she will be keeping an eye on him, and Shinji wonders why can't a normal, well-adjusted girl say that to him. In [[http://eva303.smackjeeves.com/comics/1046811/029/ chapter 5]] Asuka screams that [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend Shinji is not her boyfriend]], and her ideal boyfriend is completely different from Shinji: her ideal man is manly, confident, beefy, always acts carefully and thinks with lightning speed. Shinji and Asuka [[RelationshipUpgrade got together]] at the end of that episode and [[spoiler:got engaged]] in chapter 13.
* In ''FanFic/{{Shatterheart}}'' [[spoiler: R!]]Syaoran believed that he would always love sweet Sakura, only to fall in love [[spoiler: and eventually get engaged with]] with Kurogane who is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold .

* In ''[[Fanfic/TheBlackSheepDogSeries Black Mask]]'', Sirius claims to prefer "blondes with loose morals", preferrably Muggles or muggleborn. He ends up falling for Colette Battancourt, a sheltered, ProperLady Pureblood witch that his family wouldn't disapprove of too much. Lampshaded by Regulus, who asks his brother what he likes about Colette, since she's the type of girl Sirius would normally find boring.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'': Princess Fiona dreamt having a typical storybook ending with her PrinceCharming, who would slay the dragon and climbed to the highest room in the tallest tower and break the curse that turned her into an ogre at night. She ends up falling in love with Shrek, an ogre who is a far cry from PrinceCharming, and when the curse breaks she ends up becoming an ogre permanently (which doesn't really bother her since her mannerisms were ogre-like in both of her forms). In the sequel, when Shrek offers her the chance to live their HappilyEverAfter in beautiful human forms, can you guess what Fiona's response is?

* In ''Film/{{Tremors}}'' Val has a precise checklist for women he dates; "long blonde hair, big green eyes, world class breasts, ass that won't quit and legs that go ''all'' the way up!" (Unspoken is the fact they have three names and the intellects of cheese spread.) He ends up falling in love with Rhonda, a brunette with blue eyes who is rather short and HollywoodHomely. (But at least she has ''brains''!)

* In ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables'', Anne Shirley had always insisted that she would only marry a man who fit her ideal. Tall, dark, handsome were non-negotiable requirements. Preferably one who owned a castle somewhere, like Spain. In the end, she winds up with Gilbert Blythe. She had rejected him many times for not fitting her ideal. (Granted, Gilbert ''is'' tall, dark, and the handsomest guy in her hometown -- but he trained as a doctor, he was too much of a [[GirlNextDoor Boy Next Door]], and she [[IDontWantToRuinOurFriendship didn't want to ruin their friendship.]]) [[note]] The BelligerentSexualTension was the focus of the first book, not the rest of the series. At the end of ''Anne of Green Gables,'' Gilbert and Anne talk, Anne admits that holding a grudge for once incident years ago was silly, and they become friends. Given that Anne ''does'' have feelings for Gil but won't acknowledge them and Gilbert is not at all subtle about his feelings, it turns very quickly into a JustFriends relationship where EveryoneCanSeeIt. [[/note]]

* ''Literature/IAmNotASerialKiller'' has another example that's less "not their usual type" and more "wait, they're actually into someone?" John is shocked and confused by his genuine interest in and affection for Marci-because ''he's a diagnosed sociopath''. [[AntiHero As he well knows]], rules are meant to be broken. He also inverts the [[MadonnaWhoreComplex "girls you sleep with and girls you marry"]] variant-[[TheIngenue Brooke]], ends up being a shallow infatuation, and [[GoodBadGirl Marci]] is maybe the only person in the world he really loves.
* Tends to happen a lot in Piers Anthony's ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' series. The protagonist goes on an adventure to gain something (sometime, specifically, true love), but at the end of the story CharacterDevelopment has set in and they're no longer interested in what they looked for, and has likely fallen for a companion in the meantime. In "Ogre, Ogre", Smash Ogre seeks help to rid himself of the Eye Queue Vine (which makes him un-ogrishly smart and thus an outcast among his kind, and undesired by female ogres) and in return having to escort the girl Tandy. In the end, [[spoiler: he discovers that he always was intelligent, and having spent time with Tandy, he now finds other ogres boorish and unpleasant, including the females; he'd much rather be with Tandy]]. Similarly, in "Faun & Games" Forrest wants to find another faun, but when he does so (after lengthy, character-building adventures) he finds her shallow and uninteresting, even though she acts pretty much the way he did at the story's beginning. Fortunately, [[spoiler: his companion Mare Imbri rejoins him in the end]].

** Lampshaded in the episode "Carpe Noctem" where an old man switches bodies with Angel, and is seen having sex on Wesley's desk. Cordelia isn't suspicious, saying that going at it with "some cheap blonde" is just the sort of thing Angel would do. However, when Fred mentions she was "some cheap brunette" the gang realizes there must be something wrong with Angel, and springs to action.

** The insecure Chandler was terrified of commitment and went through MinorFlawMajorBreakUp with his few relationships. Then he fell in love with his best friend Monica, and not only accepted her 'high maintenance' faults but felt good about dealing with them. With her help he forged through his own issues and proved to be an unbelievably sweet boyfriend and later husband.

* On ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' Penny always dated the dimwitted JerkJock type. Her on-again off-again relationship with [[HollywoodNerd Leonard]] made her realize what she really wanted was a NiceGuy who challenged her intellectually (in other words, Leonard).

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* In Creator/JaneAusten's ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility'', Marianne wants to find a man who is as demonstrably passionate about life as she herself is. She finds it in Willoughby, but when he turns out to be a callous rake who [[spoiler:seduced and abandoned a young woman, leaving her pregnant and dissolute]], and then abandons ''her'' in favor of marriage to a rich woman, she instead finds her happiness with the older Colonel Brandon - a quiet, serious, well-mannered man who is much less outspoken about his feelings.

** Monica previously stated she preferred 'mature' and sophisticated guys, but appreciated how Chandler's humour relaxed her. It's especially noticeable when her ex-boyfriend [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter Richard]] appears and, despite him being her previous ideal man, she still picks Chandler. The pair established the [[HappilyMarried happiest relationship]] on the whole show.

** In one of her "off again" phases, we got to see her current boyfriend. Who was dumb as a post and pretty self-absorbed. He was ''friendly'' enough ... he just didn't put a lot of thought into preserving other peoples' feelings. Which basically made him Sheldon without the high IQ.

* This is the entire plot, albeit forced on the main character, of ''Film/ShallowHal.''

* In ''Manga/SasamekiKoto'', Ushio makes it very clear that [[SchoolgirlLesbians she only cares for extremely cute girls]]--much to the lament of her best friend, Sumika, who does not consider herself cute in the least, being a rather tall karate prodigy. Things become rather ... complicated, once Ushio realizes she has developed feelings for Sumika after all.

If the protagonist of a love story wants a certain type of person at the start of the story, their final True Love will be very different. The guy who prefers the ProperLady will end up with the {{Tsundere}}, the girl who only gets turned on by "[[AllGirlsWantBadBoys bad boys]]" will end up with a [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan nice guy]].

Occasionally, the True Love will differ even from the preferred gender, with accompanying IfItsYouItsOkay. The double-whammy is popular in tales of YaoiGuys, where not only is one character the "wrong" gender for his partner, but the "wrong" personality type as well.

Generally, this is shown in terms of "you don't know what you're looking for until you find it", and, on a more pragmatic level, makes for a better story under the RuleOfDrama. Would you ''really'' want to watch two hours of "person dates a bunch of similar people until they find the one that suits them best"? Or worse, a nice couple who hit it off immediately and hook up without any problems.

* Sumire from ''Manga/KimiWaPetto'' has it in mind to date a man with her "Three Highs" - [[AllAmazonsWantHercules taller than her, more educated than her, and earns more than her]] because she's learned from experience that NoGuyWantsAnAmazon. Naturally, she falls in love with Takeshi, a short and out-of-work modern dance student.

* Part of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'''s late mother Kushina Uzumaki's dying wish was for him to find a girl like herself. Presumably, Kushina may she meant a FieryRedhead with a HotBlooded personality. Even more so, Naruto had a [[LovingAShadow one-sided shallow crush]] on Sakura ([[ShipSinking until Chapter 469]]), who is a pink-haired {{Tsundere}} with that exact personality. But the girl whom Naruto [[OneTrueLove truly fell in love]] with and got HappilyMarried to, [[spoiler: Hinata]], is the [[ShyBlueHairedGirl complete opposite]] of what Kushina figured. On the other hand, given how Kushina did not actually explain herself, it's not known what she truly meant.
** Although something to note is how despite being a dead-ringer toward his dad Minato, Naruto is much more like his mother in personality. In fact, Hinata being the level-headed and calm one of the two makes her seem more like Minato in their relationship. Perhaps Kushina assumed Naruto would take more after Minato than herself.
** Humorously enough, in the Genjutsu world that Sakura and later Tenten ended up, Hinata does act very assertive and HotBlooded and being aggressively interested in that version of Naruto Uzumaki (who is called Menma and his surname is that of his father's, Namikaze.) Beyond looking more like Minato than Naruto, Menma Namikaze also acts more like Minato, albeit more surly and serious.

* In ''[[Literature/TheBelgariad Polgara the Sorceress]]'', Polgara has genuine romantic feelings for two men in her past (and loved one of them) -- Kamion, the first Rivan Warder, and Ontrose, a Wacite Arendish knight. Both are urbane, polished, cultured, well-spoken, courtly, and ''definitely'' noble. Though Ontrose in particular becomes something of a LostLenore to her, the man she ultimately marries, thousands of years later, is... a plain-spoken, straightforward, unpolished, honest, hardworking blacksmith with no aristocratic connections whatsoever named Durnik.

* In the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''/''Series/{{Heroes}}'' crossover series ''Fanfic/{{Interventions}}'', Spike forms a strong bond with Nikki/Jessica as he represents an unconventional blend of what each of her personalities want in a man after D.K.'s death, with Nikki needing a good father figure for Michael while Jessica prefers the 'bad boys'.

* In ''FanFic/{{Shatterheart}}'' [[spoiler: R!]]Syaoran believed that he would always love the SpoiledSweet Sakura, only to fall in love [[spoiler: and eventually get engaged with]] with JerkWithAHeartOfGold Kurogane.

* One also could put [[SpiderMan Spider-Man]] and Mary Jane Watson in this category, especially as MJ in her original form was not even intended to be a serious love interest by the creators. Here it took the tragic death of Gwen Stacy, which also affected Mary Jane deeply, and a few other twists and turns until the two realized how well they fit together and could finally tie the knot.

** Although something to note is how despite being a dead-ringer toward his dad Minato, Naruto is much more like his mother in personality. In fact, Hinata being the level-headed and calm one of the two makes her seem more like Minato so perhaps Kushina assumed Naruto would take after his dad in personality
** Humorously enough, in the Genjutsu world that Sakura and later Tenten ended up, Hinata does act very assertive and HotBlooded while being very interested in Naruto or rather his counterpart, Menma Namikaze (who acts much more like Minato though more serious and surlier.)

* Part of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'''s late mother Kushina Uzumaki's dying wish was for him to find a girl like herself. She actually didn't make it clear on what exactly she meant, but presumably she meant a FieryRedhead with a HotBlooded personality. Even more so, Naruto had a [[LovingAShadow one-sided shallow crush]] on Sakura ([[ShipSinking until Chapter 469]]), who is a pink-haired {{Tsundere}} with that exact personality. But the girl whom Naruto [[OneTrueLove truly fell in love]] with and got HappilyMarried to, [[spoiler:Hinata]], is the [[ShyBlueHairedGirl complete opposite]] of what Kushina wished in the end. However, it is interesting to note that Naruto is primarily like his mother in personality while Hinata is calmer and more level-headed like his dad. Maybe Kushina assumed Naruto would be like his dad?