Oblivious To Love / Western Animation

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• Alvin from ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks episode "Brittany the Body Snatcher". Brittany becomes more smitten with Alvin after that he defended her from some Alpha Bitches. But Alvin, due to a conversation with another classmate, believes her new behavior is because she's possessed by an alien.
• Angry Birds: Summer Madness: Matilda is completely unaware of Bomb's crush on her.
• In Beavis And Butthead, the episode "Vidiots" says it all. After they enroll in a dating service, they completely fail to realize the chicks who come by later are looking for them. And they wonder why they have trouble scoring!
• In The Boondocks, it’s hinted that Jazmine has a crush on Huey. However, Huey seems to be oblivious to her feelings due to him focusing on social and political issues.
• In the final episode of Braceface, Sharon is oblivious to Alden's feelings for her to the point where it's ridiculous.
• Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
  • Gadget Hackwrench manages to be amazingly oblivious to the advances of both Chip and Dale. Granted, sometimes the show implies that she's at least aware of Chip's interest.
  • Ironically, when Gadget falls for one-off character Sparky, he's completely unaware of her interest. Justified, as all the electrical shocks to his brain have left him... a little odd.
  • Dale himself proved clueless about Foxglove's none-too-subtle advances in her one appearance.
• Happened to an absurd amount in Clone High, with Abe completely oblivious to Joan's feelings until the final episode. When he realizes he loves her, he proceeds to ask Gandhi whether his feelings could be reciprocated. This leads to a flashback showing all the extremely obvious hints seen so far followed by Gandhi slapping him in the face.
  Abe: ...I see.
• In Codename: Kids Next Door, Gallagher Elementary's fourth grade president Jimmy has no idea that his secretary Anna is in love with him. She wrongly assumes that he reciprocates until "Operation: S.N.O.W.I.N.G." when he reveals his evil plan to make Numbuh 1's girlfriend Lizzie his unwilling queen. The heartbroken Anna then proceeds to help the Kids Next Door defeat Jimmy and finally confesses her feelings to him. He is taken by surprise but also touched.
• Danny Phantom remained completely oblivious to the affection of his best friend Sam until the final episode. This was to the point where everyone else, including Danny's Rogues Gallery, knew about it.
  Danny: This is Clueless 1. Why am I Clueless 1?
  Tucker: (To Sam) Tell him.
  Sam: (To Tucker) Shut up.
• In the Earthworm Jim TV series, it's uncertain if Princess Whats-Her-Name is this due to her childhood as a self-taught rebel against her evil tyrant of a sister, or if she reacts with confusion (and a hint of irritation) whenever Jim goes on about their relationship because she isn't into him in that way, has never given him any sign that she was interested, and he keeps on insisting they are boyfriend and girlfriend because he's basically a Cloud Cuckoo Lander.
• Egon is Oblivious to Janine's crush during the first seasons. He gets better with time. In Extreme Ghostbusters the crush of Eduardo over Kylie was at first treated as this, though some episode hinted that Kylie does knows and reciprocrates.
• On Grojband, Corey is totally unaware of Laney's massive crush on him, to her endless frustration. In fact, Corey wasn't even aware that Laney's a girl for the first half of the series. Becomes subverted after that realization, however, as Corey does become secretly aware of Laney's crush on him and comes to return it by the series finale.
• In Hey Arnold!, Arnold completely fails to realize that Helga is deeply in love with him (although the fact that she can only express it through insults may have something to do with it). Though Arnold being somewhat dense when it comes to romance doesn't help much either.
  • In two occasions (the episode "Grudge Match" and the book "Arnold's E-Files"), Helga starts monologuing about Arnold right in front of him, but gets cut off each time. Arnold's response? He has none. No, really. He literally stands there and has no reaction.
  • In the episode "Girl Trouble", Arnold's grandpa spells it out for Arnold, explaining all of Helga's behavior perfectly and even adds in a story about how he went through the same thing at that age. Arnold brushes off this idea as crazy.
  • Then, in the movie, Helga pretty much screams her feelings for him to his face and gives him The Big Damn Kiss. His first thought afterwards? Complete shock and asking if he heard Helga right. She then wondered if he was deaf.
• On Jimmy Two-Shoes, the title character doesn't realize that Heloise harbors a huge crush on him. And she's not exactly subtle about it either, becoming less so as the series goes on. At one point, Heloise wonders why she likes him. Word of God it's because sweet, innocent guys like Jimmy appeal to the last bit of humanity left in her. However, it’s hinted a few times later on that Jimmy may secretly be aware but chooses to ignore them for personal reasons.
• Lampshaded in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Kid's Stuff" where Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman are changed deaged. During the episode, a more hormonal tweenage Wonder Woman spends her time flirting with Batman, who’s too embarrassed to acknowledge it.
  Kid Green Lantern: (to an oblivious Kid Superman) Man, for somebody with, like, fifty different kinds of vision, you are so blind.
  Kid Superman: ... what?
• Kappa Mikey had this from Mikey to Mitsuki. Although one episode ended with him giving her a Longing Look...
  "Hey Gonard. I just realized something. Mitsuki's a girl."
• Kaeloo and Mr. Cat are both completely oblivious to the other's obvious feelings for them. It's incredibly obvious to all the other characters, so even Stumpy has figured it out, and yet neither of them manage to find out. In Kaeloo's case, it's partivularly egregious, since Mr. Cat has tried to hug her, kiss her and even asked to sleep with her. However, as the series progresses, they start to slowly become more aware of each other's feelings.
• Kim Possible
  • Ron never realized that Tara or Yori liked him until other characters explicitly stated as such.
  • The titular character herself counts, especially in So the Drama, where Ron's feelings for her became very blatant. Though one could easily argue it went both ways, since everyone seemed to be aware that they were meant to be except for them.
• Miraculous Ladybug:
  • Adrien doesn't seem to grasp why Marinette becomes flustered and awkward around him. Of course, he has the excuse that his father has kept him shut up in their mansion his entire life, and thus hasn't had enough social experience to pick up on the obvious. In addition, he only has eyes for Marinette's alter ego, Ladybug. As the show goes on, he picks up more admirers, and each time he's oblivious until someone spells it out for him. "Stormy Weather 2" implies that he's aware of it on some level, but in denial because he has a hard time believing anyone could be into him as Adrien when compared to Cat Noir.
  • Despite all the flirting he does, Marinette never realized Cat Noir (Adrien's alter ego) has genuine feelings for Ladybug until "Glaciator".
• In My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Rarity knows Spike has feelings for her, which is no surprise considering he's not very subtle about it. She dismisses it as nothing more than a Precocious Crush however, and rarely acknowledges it.
  • In Simple Ways, Rarity has a huge crush on Trenderhoof, who doesn't notice her because he's too busy having a crush on Applejack, who doesn't notice him because she's too preoccupied with farm work to question his presence. Rarity lamenting this leads to this exchange.
  Rarity: How could you ever know what it's like to be totally obsessed with a pony only to find out they're obsessed with somepony else?
  Spike: aside glance
• In The Owl House, Luz Noceda gets off on the wrong foot with Amity Blight, and is very happy when they actually do become friends later. What Luz doesn't realize is that Amity's feelings about her go far beyond mere friendship. In "Enchanting Grom Fright", when she discovers that Amity's greatest fear is being rejected by the person she wanted to ask to be her date to the school dance, Luz offers to be her date instead, completely unaware that she herself was the person Amity wanted to ask out to begin with. In the next episode, "Wing It Like Witches", Luz apparently doesn't even notice that Amity becomes a blushing, stammering mess every time she's in her presence. Word of God says that Luz fails to notice due to a combination of being too worried about Eda's curse to focus on romance and just being rather dense in general. Once the curse ceases to be an immediate issue, it only takes a single episode for her to piece it together, and the two begin dating shortly afterwards.
• On Phineas and Ferb, Phineas manages to remain completely oblivious to Isabella's feelings for him. It's a particularly bad case, since Isabella is not particularly subtle about her crush. For example, she once does this◊. He still doesn't get it.
  • Exaggerated in the "Summer Belongs to You" double-length episode, where Phineas can notice the obvious attraction of all the OTHER couples around him, but the notion of him going on a romantic date with Isabella, in Paris, shortly after she finishes singing an adorable song about her affections (In a show known for leaning on the fourth wall) is completely alien to him, causing Isabella to grow increasingly aggravated. And causes her head to explode. In her mind, of course.
  • However, The Movie showed he might not be so oblivious when Isabella kissed him at the end and he attempted to stop his memory from being erased.
  • Their roles switch in the period between the main series and the Flash Forward episode "Act Your Age", with Phineas developing feelings for Isabella in high school (by which point she’d given up) and her being completely unaware that he was now crushing on her. The others are naturally exasperated by this turn of events.
• Road Rovers: It’s hinted at throughout the series, but in the last episode, it is made quite obvious that Colleen has a crush on Hunter. She asks him if he would like to go for walk on beach to which he responds with an enthusiastic "You bet!" Cut to Hunter as a regular dog with Colleen holding his leash.
  Colleen: "Not exactly what I had in mind."
• Tommy on Robotboy, to Lola. Like most examples, Lola's not subtle about it...
• Scooby-Doo: In keeping with Fred's usual personality traits (that is, when he's given personality traits at all), he's shown in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated to be just as dumb and naive about romance as he is about most everything else (except for traps). Daphne practically throws herself at him, and he's completely clueless.
  • Also deconstructed. He was raised by a tough love dad (later revealed to not be his dad, but was taken from his birth parents. He did a better job than birth parents and all of this was due to the machinations of the Nibiru entity.) His dad raised to be a typical manly-man with little focus on feelings. It takes him a while to come to terms with her liking him and him liking her.
  • Perhaps subverted in Episode 24. They finally kiss and Fred apparently proposes to Daphne, although his phrasing is either a metaphor for marriage or a certification for van seating arrangements (Daphne and/or Velma are always riding shotgun).
• In Samurai Jack, the Daughters of Aku provide a particularly sad example: Watching a buck and a doe nuzzling, they're utterly confused as to what's happening. The girls have been abused and neglected to such a degree that don't even know what affection is.
• She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
  • Adora and Catra were completely oblivious to how they felt for each other until the series finale.
  • Catra never seemed to catch on to Scorpia's crush on her. Since she never caught on to how Adora felt about her, it isn't that surprising when you think about it. Adora also never realized Scorpia was in love with Catra and that was why Scorpia didn't like her. Considering Scorpia is a Transparent Closet, they are that bad at reading hints.
• The Simpsons:
  • Mr. Burns seems to not notice that Smithers is in love with him, although this is understandable since Smithers only makes flirty comments in a backhanded way that could easily be misinterpreted.
  • In the episode "Colonel Homer", Homer becomes the manager of an upcoming country singer, Lurleen Lumpkin. He fails to notice that Lurleen is in love with him, even when she invites him to her trailer, and sings the highly suggestive song "Bunk with me Tonight" for him:
    Homer: Oh, that's hot. There isn't a man alive who wouldn't get turned on by that. (stands up) Well, goodbye!
  • In "The Bart Wants What it Wants", Rainier Wolfcastle's daughter Greta develop a crush for Bart. But he doesn't realize what his relationship with Greta means until Lisa scolds him for standing her up.
• South Park: In "Hooked on Monkey Fonics", Kyle falls for one-off character Rebecca, who, due to having No Social Skills from being a sheltered home-school student, doesn't recognize his advances.
• This is how Peter and Gwen's relationship started out in The Spectacular Spider-Man. They've wandered into Cannot Spit It Out territory now, though, and it will stay that way due to the show's cancellation.
• In season 3 opener of Star Trek: Lower Decks, we see Boimler working at his family's vineyard. He's constantly approached by attractive female workers, who are obviously flirting with him, only for Boimler to treat their suggestive comments literally and with annoyance.
  Genevieve: Hey, Bradward. Want to test the sweetness of my bushel?
  Bradward Boimler: Ugh, fine, Genevieve. Just give it 43 more sun hours at 21 degrees brix.
  Genevieve: (disappointed) Oh, okay.
  (later)
  Mandolina: Bradward, all these varietals are so confusing. Take me to the privacy of the pickery shed and explain them to me.
  Bradward Boimler: Come on, Mandolina, red goes in the red bucket, white in the white, you know that.
  (later)
  Lianne: Bradward, I'm soaked in juice, and I need help getting naked.
  Bradward Boimler: Just spray off with the hose, Lianne.
• In SWAT Kats, Jake/Razor doesn't seem to realize Callie's feelings towards him (doubly hilarious in that he and Chance/T-Bone have competed for her attention in the past.)
• In Thundarr the Barbarian, Ariel is clearly in love with the titular barbarian and he has no idea whatsoever. His reactions to her are strictly due to friendship (and chauvinism).
• In Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race Devin of the Best Friends spends most of the season completely oblivious to the fact Carrie (the other Best Friend) is hopelessly in love with him and has been since they were little kids. Amusingly, as soon as Carrie decides to give up on Devin and focus on the race, he realises he's in love with her and she becomes oblivious to his love. Eventually he manages to spit it out and they become a couple.
• Work It Out Wombats!: Ellie is unaware of Mr. E's crush on her, despite how obvious it is.
• The titular character of Yam Roll is oblivious to any gestures that aren't from Minamiko, who happens to only be oblivious to romantic gestures from him.
• It seems to be a Running Gag in Young Justice (2010):
  • When it comes to Kid Flash/Artemis, Everyone Can See It... except them. There's hints that Kid Flash is aware he's attracted to Artemis, but won't pursue her due to her replacing one of his friends. Artemis takes a while to realize her own feelings.
  • Miss Martian doesn't really catch on to Superboy's affection for her until he kisses her.
  • And there's Dick Grayson, who's oblivious to his Unlucky Childhood Friend Barbara Gordon.
  • In a (possibly) platonic version, Blue Beetle seems oblivious to just how interested Impulse is in him. It's because Bart's whole purpose for being there is to stop Blue from making a Face–Heel Turn and destroying the Earth.

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