She Is Not My Girlfriend / Anime & Manga

• Ace of the Diamond: Protagonist Eijun Sawamura constantly insists to his roommates in the Seidou dorm that Wakana, the girl who's always texting him from his hometown in Nagano, is not his girlfriend, just his childhood friend. They don't believe it in the least, especially when they get to meet her in person and see how pretty she is.
• In Attack on Titan, Ian at one point refers to Eren as Mikasa's boyfriend. She blushes and denies it.
  • In Attack on Titan: Junior High, a man assumes Annie to be Bertolt's girlfriend. Like Mikasa, he blushes and denies it.
• Bakugan Battle Brawlers gets a few of these. Dan and Runo have the majority of these, more commonly in Season 1, but Julie recently gave the "He is not my boyfriend!" line regarding Billy. This prompted a response of, "Now she's breaking up with me!" from Billy, who had an obvious crush on Julie from the very beginning. This was all of about a minute before things changed.
  • In the New Vestroia series, Dan tells Mira that Runo is not his girlfriend. The reaction from Shun and Drago?
  She's not?
• In Bakuman。, Fukuda volunteers to help Aoki with her manga illustrations, but is keen to make it clear to his editor, who asks why he is helping a rival mangaka, that he has no interest in her. It ultimately turns out that he really doesn't have any apparent feelings for her, since she ends up with Hiramaru without him being at all displeased about it, and it proves his commitment to "Team Fukuda" changing Jump.
  Fukuda: And just for the record, I don't have feelings for her or anything. I actually kind of hate her.
  Yujiro: You don't act like you hate her.
• In Beauty Pop, Kiri always has this reaction when her dad teases her about whether this or that boy is her boyfriend. Though, she often communicates this visually rather than verbally.
• Bleach:
  • Subverted with Ichigo and Rukia. When they're always seen together, sneaking off and whispering about Hollows, the high school rumor mill assumes they're dating. Ichigo always denies this, and when Orihime's friends ask Rukia about it, she asserts that she's just a friend. This does get zig-zagged, though, as Rukia responds to this question by immediately leaving Ichigo's house, under the impression that this line of questioning made her feel too human, which leads to Ichigo going on a quest to save her. At the end of the series, they do not end up together, ultimately defying this trope.
  • In Memories of Nobody, Ichigo is forced to buy Senna a new ribbon after she accidentally steals one. The shopper keeper asks if it's a present for his girlfriend, triggering this trope.
• Buso Renkin: After Kazuki's sister Mahiro and classmates catch him together with Tokiko, they immediately think she's his girlfriend. Kazuki and Tokiko briefly improvise "older sister" instead, baffling Mahiro.
• Captain Tsubasa: During the World Youth Cup arc, Hyuga accepts a good-luck charm from Maki Akamine, an Okinawan girl he's had Ship Tease with recently. Takeshi steps on the scene and recalls that up until then Hyuga was a Celibate Hero who never accepted any gifts from girls, so he starts teasing Hyuga about Maki. Hyuga then angrily chases Takeshi in front of the whole Japanese team, threatening to kill him with his Raijuu Shoot.
• In Case Closed, Ran gets very flustered when her friend teases her about being Shinichi's girlfriend. Interestingly, this is averted at two points in the manga. The first is when Conan teasingly asks her if Shinichi is the guy she's interested in only to be surprised when she freely admits that he is. The second is during a later case, when a woman asks Ran if she has a sweetheart (or, depending on you translate it, a lover), to which Ran replies, "I do have a person I like! [...] He's really smart and he's good at soccer. He's ready to help at any time. He's really cool... He's even a better detective than Dad!" Later on, it takes about 250 chapters for her to respond to Shinichi's Love Confession and once they become an Official Couple in chapter 1004, Ran is open to admit him as her boyfriend.
• Charlotte: Yuu and Tomori are often mistaken for a romantic couple,which both of them deny.
• City Hunter: The usual Ryo/Kaori dynamic. They always deny a romantic relationship between them. No one believes them.
• Nagisa and Tomoya from CLANNAD anime, before they went on and became the Official Couple. And even then, the denial is relatively minimal. When directly confronted with the accusation that she and Tomoya might be dating, Nagisa hastily looks away with a nervous blush and replies with what basically boils down to, "May we talk about something else, please?" In the Visual Novel, Nagisa and Tomoya are more open about their relationship, although Tomoya still tries to hide it from Sunohara out of embarrassment (it doesn't work).
• Dandadan: This is the general reaction Ayase has when people rightfully call her out on her obvious crush on Okarun.
• Played With in The Dangers in My Heart: Anna Yamada anxiously asserts that she doesn’t have a boyfriend to two girls who insistingly assume that she does… while her actual crush Ichikawa was standing aside from her pretending to mind his own business. Then she immediately tells Ichikawa himself that she doesn’t.
  • Yamada's modeling manager Suwa later warns Ichikawa of any complications that his relationship might cause for her job... only Ichikawa to clear up that they're not dating. Suwa, who initially appeared menacing as possible, is visibly embarrassed. Ironically enough, Ichikawa was worried that he and Yamada didn't look like a couple to anyone. So this actually cheered him up.
  • The two hang on this trope harder than usual in the first few days of their 3rd year in middle school, because they don't want to give their classmate Kana/Kankan any green light for throwing a flash mob celebration for them.
• In Darker than Black: Shikkoku no Hana Misaki Kirihara was teased by a friend about her little obsession:
  Kanami: [grinning] Is it, by any chance, that you don't want to follow Contractors, but a certain man?
  Misaki: [turning to her, frowning, blushing, sweating and screaming] Wha—that's not...
  Kanami: [cheerful] Oh, I knew it! Your dear BK-201. Your panicking confirmation.
• DearS: In this case, Ren is not Takeya's slave.
• Digimon Data Squad contains this in the second episode, as Masaru and Yoshino are arguing:
  Chika: Stop arguing Like an Old Married Couple.
  Masaru & Yoshino: WHO ARE YOU CALLING A COUPLE!?
• Dogs: Bullets & Carnage has a double example of this. When Haine and Magato first met each other, both immediately assumed that the other is Naoto's boyfriend. Naoto is not amused.
• Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro: Sick of her friends teasing him about it, Senpai stands up and makes a loud public statement to the whole cafeteria that he's NOT Nagatoro's boyfriend... and then can't think of anything else to say, so he just sits down thoroughly embarrassed.
• Dorohedoro: Nikaido and Caiman zig-zag this early on. When this question is asked of Nikaido, her response is to deny, blush and think that she's too cowardly to be honest. When Caiman is asked the same a few chapters later, he also denies it but genuinely seems to mean it. He does get annoyed enough by the question to hit a baseball so hard it breaks a solid wooden pole in two, but that's implied to be because he just doesn't like the person who asked him. Also, Nikaido is secretly a mage and Caiman hates mages; it is possible her 'cowardice' refers to her being afraid to be honest with Caiman about that.
• Gohan towards Videl in Dragon Ball Z. He continually denies that anything is going on between him and Videl, even when Everyone Can See It, even Goku.
  • Dragon Ball Super does this with Future Trunks and Future Mai. Once again, Everyone Can See It, even Goku.
• Durarara!!: Aoba says this to his Blue Square members regarding Mairu and Kururi. Turns out it's rather tough to explain away that they both kissed him.
• Wanna see a funny face? Ask Eyeshield 21's Mamori if Hiruma is her boyfriend. By the end of the series, she's practically using the Subordinate Excuse.
• Fairy Tail:
  • Lucy has to deal with this trope a number of times. People have mistakenly hooked her up with Natsu, Gray, Loki/Leo, and Ren from Blue Pegasus.
  • This occurs with Elfman and Evergreen as well during the S-Class Trial Arc.
  • When they were younger, Gray would constantly follow Erza around and challenge her to fights. His peers teased him for this and asked if the real reason was because he was in love with her. He got embarrassed and denied it.
  • When Gray returns to the guild, Juvia cries tears of joy, which flood the guildhall. The other members ask Gray to stop his girlfriend before they all drown. Gray's response? "She's not my freakin' girlfriend!"
  • In the 100 Year Quest Arc, Jellal visits the Sabertooth guild for info about a dangerous criminal — a young girl later revealed to be Touka, who recently joined Fairy Tail. Minerva calls out Jellal on being interested in another girl besides Erza, whom he denies being in a relationship with.
• Fruits Basket:
  • Kyo gets pissed when any of his family teasingly suggests that he has a crush on Tohru. It's turned on its head at the end of the series, when some classmates notice the two being clingy to each other. When they ask as a joke if the two are now dating, Kyo matter-of-factly states that yes, they are.
  • A rather funny variant happens at one point, when a girl tries to confess her love for Kyo, only for him to brush him off. Uotani makes a snarky comment, leading to the girl somehow concluding that Uotani is the girl he's in love with. Since they don't exactly get along, they don't take to this theory well.
    DO YOU HAVE KNOTHOLES FOR EYES???
• Fujimura-kun Mates: Fujimura insists that he and Eri are just friends. But he never completely rejects her constant advances.
• Fullmetal Alchemist:
  • Edward Elric says this frequently about Winry Rockbell. When Ed calls Winry to get his automail repaired after a run-in with the homunculi and Brosh asks him if he's calling his girlfriend. Ed gets so incensed by this proposition that his yelling reopens his wounds. Later Ed has a spectacular Spit Take at Hawkeye's suggestion that he loves Winry, which nearly drowns poor Hayate. It also happens in Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) after Edward passes the state alchemy exam and writes to Winry to tell her so; Nina says that "Winry is a pretty name" and asks if she is his girlfriend, at which point, he flips out to a comparable degree of his height Berserk Button.
  • Winry insists to Rose that Ed is her childhood friend, despite the fact that she has already admitted to herself that she is in love with him.
• Genshiken: Said by Kousaka in his usual flippant way. His "not girlfriend" tries to change this any way she can, with little success. This doesn't last very long (all of three chapters, in fact), as the Genre Savvy Genshiken tell him to just admit it. He does, and thereafter goes from denying it to just not making a big deal out of it.
• Gundam:
  • Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam has the Argama crew thinking that Kamille and Fa are a couple and termed their quarreling as a means of "recreation".
  • This is done hilariously in Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Season 2 where Mileina asked Setsuna and Marina if they're lovers, the two answered simultaneously that they're not in a very flat expression. Then when Mileina asked Allelujah and Marie/Soma the same question, all she got is a Luminescent Blush from both of them, causing her to Squee in delight.
• Gunslinger Girl. Said by Triela to Maria Machiavelli, when the latter hints that Triela is in love with her handler Hillshire. The usual awkwardness is absent as Triela makes it clear that even if she was in love, the fratello relationship doesn't work that way. Later Mimi handcuffs them together in a Ditch the Bodyguards ploy, suggesting they "talk about love".
  Hilshire: Say, what did she mean by we should "Talk about love"?
  Triela: (picking the lock on their handcuffs) I think she's got the wrong idea about us.
  Hilshire: We're fratello. We don't need to talk about love.
• .hack//Legend of the Twilight: Most of the romantic comedy revolves around Shugo's and Rena's attraction to each other — and their efforts to deny it — in the first half of the series (they stop being embarrassed about in the second half).
• Hetalia: Axis Powers:
  • Sweden calls his partner Finland his wife, and so do fans. Finland denies it every time, partly because he's scared of Sweden.
  • Another variation: Japan had sex with his close friend Greece (more exactly, Greece learns that Japan's sex life is rather "non active" and gives him a "private lesson" to help him) and is in denial about that too. "It was just a dream! A dream! A DREAAAAAAM!"
    • And in another strip, while holding a practice conversation in Japanese with Greece, Greece asks him who "Nekojiro" [aka the pretend name Japan assumes for himself in that conversation] gets along with. Japan replies, "His friend, Nekokichi-san." Greece smiles and asks if he's "Nekokichi-san", which causes Japan to blush and stammer for a bit before replying with "No comment." Take from that what you will.
  • And England gets it played straight in a certain drama CD when France calls an Anglo-American argument everyone was eavesdropping on a "lover's spat" which he of course denies.
  • Switzerland would also like to remind you that he and Austria had never, ever, ever been Heterosexual Life-Partners.
• High School Ninja Girl, Otonashi-san: This was Arima's response to his mother when she said that Otonashi-san was no good for her son (since she wasn't rich). However, he said that if he did fall in love with her, it's none of his mother's business.
• Higurashi: When They Cry: Anime-only arc Musubienishi-hen has this happen to Mion and Keiichi. Takano comments that they look good together, and Mion vehemently denies it.
  • Keiichi, however, does not, and mumbles that he "wouldn't mind being Mion's boyfriend". After a pause, he stutters that it was a joke.
• Horimiya: Subverted in chapter 23 when Hori and Miyamura's Relationship Upgrade is kicked off by Hori's father asking if they're dating.
• Inuyasha:
  • It has Inuyasha calling Kagome "shard detector" in early chapters/episodes to deny any relationship with the reincarnation of his old girlfriend. She resents it every time, at first because she's a person, not just a detector, and later because of the Belligerent Sexual Tension between them. The most famous instance of this is probably Miroku's entry episode (Episode 16) near the end, where he denies a relationship... with Luminescent Blush and stuttering.
  • Even before that, Inuyasha has the famous "We're not lovers" exchange with Kagome in the Thunder brothers arc.
  • Subverted when Kagome's little brother Sota needs help confessing love to a girl in his class and he goes to Inuyasha for advice. He asks whether Kagome or Inuyasha said "I love you" first, having already assumed they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Despite Inuyasha's subsequent stuttering and blushing, he doesn't outright deny it.
  • Kagome also has several "He is not my boyfriend" moments, including one where her friends ask her about her boyfriend, and she replies that they are not together and were "thrown together by a cruel twist of fate." This confuses them greatly as they were referring to Houjo.
• In Iroduku The World In Colors, when Hitomi first gets sent to the year 2018, she ends up in the bedroom of Aoi Yuito, and is seen leaving by some of his friends, leading them to believe that the two of them are secretly dating. It takes a good amount of effort on Yuito's part to convince anyone otherwise.
• In Jin, when Ryoma suggests that there's something between Jin and Saki, the doctor freaks out and claims vehemently that it's nothing. He's mostly concerned with the fact that he's 36 and she's 16.
• Josee, The Tiger, and The Fish: Josee exclaims this with a blushing face and comical explosion when Kana the librarian asks about her relationship with Tsuneo as he calls her with the name of a character from the author Kana and Josee likes.
• Kagerou Project:
  • During Chapter 18 of the manga, Hiyori asks Momo about her 'boyfriend' Shintaro. Being brother and sister, the latter two blurt out this trope in mutual disgust.
  • When Takane presses Ayano about Shintaro, she insists vehemently that there's nothing there. The rest of the cast and fandom disagree.
• Tomoe and Nanami do this a lot in Kamisama Kiss. Though by chapter 38 of the manga Nanami privately admits to herself that she hopes to change that.
• Kanojo Ni Naru Hi Another: Freighted with extra meaning as the "girlfriend" in question is a former boy who has spent months vehemently denying and concealing an involuntary Gender Bender and his would-be love interest is afraid treating him as a girl (let alone claiming him as a girlfriend) would backfire.
• Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple: Miu complains loudly whenever anyone calls the title character her boyfriend.
  Miu: He's not my boyfriend! He's more like a little brother, or even a dog, you know like a stray dog you bring home because you feel sorry for it?
  Kisara: Hey, aren't you taking that a little too far?
• Kingdom Hearts II: At separate points, Sora is referred to as Kairi's boyfriend and Kairi is referred to as Sora's girlfriend. Both deny it, but it's very clear that they are romantically interested in each other.
• In Kochikame, Komachi Ono's parents mistakenly believe that their daughter and Kankichi Ryotsu are a couple, despite her constantly trying to tell them otherwise. They also take the two's constant bickering and fighting as their cover for flirting.
• Koe de Oshigoto!: Kanna and Motoki have this reaction to the suggestion that they're a couple, with the same Speech Bubble, no less.
• The Legend of Zelda (Akira Himekawa):
  • In the adaptation of Oracle of Seasons, Link keeps saying this, unconvincingly, to Ricky the kangaroo about Din.
  • In the adaptation of The Minish Cap, when a passerby teases Link on his relationship with Zelda, he immediately tells him to shut up.
• Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions!: Basically most of the interactions between Shinka and Kumin, regarding Dekomori in the movie and the 2nd Season.
• Love Hina has the standard response for Naru concerning Keitaro, only she goes further by rattling off his bad qualities defensively. She even does this once by reflex after they're engaged.
• Lucky Star: Most of the times Misao asks Kagami about Konata.
• In Martian Successor Nadesico, Akito repeatedly denies that Yurika is his girlfriend or that he's even interested in her. She refuses to believe that however, much to his chagrin.
• Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch: Rina Touin starts out saying this about Masahiro Hamasaki, especially in the manga (his anime incarnation gets off a little lighter, mostly because he's introduced at about the same time as Nagisa and he and Hanon need all the help they can get).
• Muhyo and Roji: In the ending, Busujima tells Imai that her "boyfriend" Roji got back together with Muhyo despite failing the advancement test, prompting her to get angry at the use of the term.
• My Dress-Up Darling: Wakana Gojo is obviously attracted to Marin Kitagawa's looks and cheery personality, but whenever someone suggests they may be dating or something, he's quick to deny it. Justified due to his own insecurities, as he considers her so painfully out of his league that he cannot fathom that a girl like her would be interested in him that way, even though she's not exactly subtle about her own feelings for him.
• My Hero Academia: During her internship, Uraraka talks to Deku through the cellphone, and the Pro Hero Gunhead quickly assumes she's talking to her boyfriend. She denies it, but her later actions make it clear she's developed a crush on him.
• Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water: The title character obviously has feelings for Jean, but she declares otherwise to both Grandis and Marie when both call her out about it. (Naturally, since she has never known anything about love before, she does not know how to acknowledge it or express herself.)
• Nana & Kaoru does this with both Nana and Kaoru simultaneously.
• Used twice in Naruto. First, with Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei (turns out later they were dating and she's pregnant with his baby... too bad he's dead) and later with Shikamaru and Temari (although they weren't dating at the time, they hooked up at some point and were shown as married with a kid in chapter 700.)
  • In Boruto, Naruto's son, Boruto, and Sasuke's daughter, Sarada, have some scenes like this in which one time after bickering Like an Old Married Couple, Mitsuki says that they make a nice couple, to which they both simultaneously deny it.
• Negima! Magister Negi Magi:
  • Setsuna is always saying this regarding her relationship with Konoka, especially after their impromptu Not a Date in the manga. Everyone else just smiles.
  • Asuna denies that she has feelings for Negi. Nobody (including people who have known her for weeks or even less) buys that.
• Neon Genesis Evangelion: The simultaneous version. Asuka starts chewing out Shinji for not bringing their lunches, while he tries to get his side in. Toji tosses off a remark that they're arguing Like an Old Married Couple. Cue double Luminescent Blush (they HAD kissed not many days earlier), then simultaneous denial in perfect stereo.
• Nodame Cantabile: Chiaki keeps denying vehemently that Nodame is his girlfriend — even though he spends massive amounts of time with her, mostly at his own place. Things don't get any clearer when he decides to bring her to see his father, which does lead to a temporary break-up though.
  • Not to mention hugging her a few times, kissing her a couple of times, asking her to come to Paris with him, letting her stay in his room when he's not around, letting her share a bed with him... the man is stubborn.
• One Piece: Camie the mermaid does a variation of this trope when asked if she was Hachi's girlfriend, and her blushing and nervous reply neatly confirms her love for him, which had been strongly implied ever since his cover arc.
• Penguindrum: Shouma and Ringo go through several rounds of saying this about the other.
• Pokémon: The Series:
  • The anime does this a few times with Ash being mistaken for being Misty's boyfriend, especially in the second movie.
  • One rather serious time is when James and Jessie spring their trap on the two (while they are riding on a blimp), but then, realizing Brock isn't there, mistake them for lovebirds on a date. Of course, they both vehemently deny it and get angry... Then everyone realizes no-one is piloting the blimp. It doesn't end well.
  • Misty is also asked if Tracey is her boyfriend. Naturally, she denies it.
  • Also, Drew and May invoke this trope as well, when Harley directly asks them if they're dating.
  • In one episode, a couple accuse both Ash and May and Jesse and James of being couples. Hilariously, it is during a Feud Episode between the boys and girls, and the inquirers believe their bickering is a sign of their closeness.
  • Lyra asks Dawn if Ash is her boyfriend at one point in the Diamond and Pearl arc.
  • Exploited in the XY series with Ash and Serena. Miette knows that Serena and Ash aren't dating, but she also knows about Serena's massive crush on him, so she frequently acts as though they're an item anyway, and frequently tries to "steal Ash away" just to mess with Serena.
  • Lana's sisters seem sure that Ash is her boyfriend, but she insists he's not.
• Pokémon Adventures toys with this in the Emerald arc. We may never know if Ruby actually forgot, refuses to admit his feelings in public, or secretly likes the reaction, but his feigned amnesia in regards to his confession to Sapphire at the end of the R/S arc drives Sapphire up a wall so goddamn hard.
• RahXephon: A similar version is executed with Ayato and Meg, the Shinji-Asuka equivalents of the show, down to the simultaneous blushing shout. In this case however, their statement is true: Meg does have a crush on Ayato but he's interested in Haruka.
• Ranma ½: Ranma and Akane repeatedly deny that they share romantic interest. In fact, whenever someone mentions them being engaged, they immediately try to explain that it was their parents' choice, not their own choice. Sometimes, however, when some other man is after Akane, Ranma doesn't deny it. He actually brings it up and says that she's his fiancée. It's one of his Crazy Jealous Guy habits.
  • Rumiko Takahashi seems to like this trope, as it appears in Maison Ikkoku and Inuyasha as well.
• In Rave Master, Haru and Elie do this a lot, starting when Haru's father asks if they are together. They finally admit their feelings near the end of the story.
  Gale Glory: Ha ha! You got yourself quite a catch there, son. Nice rack too.
  Haru Glory: I told you... it's not like that.
• Samurai Flamenco: Mari assumes that Goto and Masayoshi are a couple. Twice. Goto denies it both times.
• School Days: Makoto and Sekai do this constantly, even after they start sleeping together.
• Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove it: The romantic leads are two science graduate students who are trying to scientifically prove they are in love with each other. They try to achieve this mostly by experimenting various things romantic couples usually do, and their actual feelings for each other sometimes result in at least one of them getting a little overinvested in the experiment. Unsurprisingly, there is frequently some bystander who has to be told they are in fact not a couple.
• Skip Beat! opens with Sho stating this about Kyoko, his childhood friend whom his parents raised, whom he was essentially using as a maid. Of course, after he says it enough times and she successfully enters show business, he realizes that it's not true — by which time she has stopped seeking his affections and is completely oblivious to the fact that he is now actually seeking hers. Sho and Kyoko continue to deny that they are or ever have been dating, even after he states that she belongs to him and attempts to drive off his romantic rivals.
• SPY×FAMILY: The fake married couple, Loid and Yor, are often accused of this by their adopted daughter Anya, which both immediately deny.
  Anya: Papa and Mama are flirting.
  Loid and Yor: No, we're not!
• Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann takes a step further with this when Kiyoh assumes that Gimmy and Darry are two kids that Kamina and Yoko had together.
  Kiyoh: Yoko! When did you have children? Don't tell me you and Kamina—?!
  Yoko: As if that'd happen!
• Totsugami: In chapter 5, Chikage comes over Tasaku's house to give him a lunchbox along with all the homework he missed. Nakiri sees her and asks Tasaku if she is his girlfriend. Tasaku gets flustered and hurriedly denies this.
• Trigun: When a couple bodyguards assume she's fighting with her "boyfriend", the Broom Boy (a.k.a. Vash the Stampede), Meryl Stryfe is very quick to inform them that not only is he not her boyfriend, but she doesn't even like him! Whatever she has to tell herself to get through the job.
• The Tyrant Falls in Love: Souichi reacts violently when, after having sex, Morinaga suggests that they are "lovers" and later on, "sex friends" (his response to the latter is punctuated by dumping hot coffee on Morinaga's head). All this leaves poor Morinaga wondering just what kind of relationship they do have.
• Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!:
  • Whenever asked about the subject of romance between her and Sakurai, Uzaki denies any sort of feelings towards him, insisting that the only reason she even hangs out with him is that he's a loner and she feels as if it's her duty to make sure he's not left alone, even going so far as to say that he's in love with her and can't keep his hands off her (granted, she's not exactly wrong about him having feelings toward her). She takes this to an almost absurd degree when she finds out that Sakurai is leaving after he graduates in two years. It's to the point that not only does her father get rather miffed about her denial, but both Sakaki and Ami, who were supporting her, get royally pissed off at how much in denial she is.
  • Uzaki's younger brother Yanagi once blurted out the trope in front of a girl he liked back in middle school, apparently out of embarrassment. This ended up costing him the chance for a relationship with her, something he deeply regrets.
• The Wallflower: Kyouhei and occasionally Sunako say this when other characters infer that they have a romantic relationship. The belligerent sexual tension between the two and the quite obvious fact that the two are the hero and heroine in a romantic comedy make such claims baseless.
• ×××HOLiC: Yuko displays this kind of attitude in relation to her not-boyfriend Clow, and she tends to get rather vindictive should someone suggest she had some kind of relationship with the guy.
• In Yu-Gi-Oh!, Mai sees Yugi and Téa hanging out (before the Battle City is announced) and asks if they are dating. Technically, they kind of were on a date, but Téa still vehemently points out that they're Just Friends.
• YuYu Hakusho: Often said by Yusuke about Keiko. They have had Unresolved Sexual Tension since they were preteens that resolves on a Relationship Upgrade in the last few chapters.

---