Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
*''Anime/Charlotte1977'': [[spoiler: Charlotte towards Sandy. She initially viewed him as just a friend, but after she was separated from him, she began sorely missing him and thinking about him constantly. The Marquis notes that Char may have feelings for him, which is eventually confirmed to be true when Sandy tells her he is leaving for France. Charlotte begs him to stay, going through rage, bargaining and denial, unable to be frank and crying as he leaves.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 31,33 (click to see context) from:
* ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'':
** It's more than evident that Yamada is in love with Ichikawa, has no problem being physically playful with him provided that it's ''not'' romantic territory, and actively makes an effort to spend time with him. She tends to be, however, much less direct when it comes to ''talking'' about getting close to him, even on the level of admitting to specifically coming to him just for a talk early on. At one point she went along with his assumption that she was waiting at their school gate for someone. Which was correct; this was right after she stopped ''him'' to loan him some of her [[ShowWithinAShow shoujo manga]]. The first time she [[spoiler: indirectly confesses to liking Ichikawa, she bursts into tears.]]
** With Ichikawa it's zig-zagged; he's a lot more resistant to admitting to what he wants or saying something positive than he is to saying something negative. When the time comes, however, he will say what needs to be said (Though he'll still stutter). And it's arguably the reason Yamada can be more honest with more personal matters.
** It's more than evident that Yamada is in love with Ichikawa, has no problem being physically playful with him provided that it's ''not'' romantic territory, and actively makes an effort to spend time with him. She tends to be, however, much less direct when it comes to ''talking'' about getting close to him, even on the level of admitting to specifically coming to him just for a talk early on. At one point she went along with his assumption that she was waiting at their school gate for someone. Which was correct; this was right after she stopped ''him'' to loan him some of her [[ShowWithinAShow shoujo manga]]. The first time she [[spoiler: indirectly confesses to liking Ichikawa, she bursts into tears.]]
** With Ichikawa it's zig-zagged; he's a lot more resistant to admitting to what he wants or saying something positive than he is to saying something negative. When the time comes, however, he will say what needs to be said (Though he'll still stutter). And it's arguably the reason Yamada can be more honest with more personal matters.
to:
* ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'':
''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'': Conflicts in the series tend to wrap up with characters actually ''talking'' things through in the end, but nonetheless both of the leads have [[TwiceShy shades of this]].
** By his own admission, Ichikawa is a lot more resistant about admitting to what he wants or saying something positive than he is to saying something negative. When the time comes, however, he will say what needs to be said (Though he'll still stutter and probably curse himself...).
** It's more than evident through everything but her words that Yamada is in love withIchikawa, Ichikawa. She has no problem being physically playful with him provided that it's ''not'' romantic territory, and actively makes an effort efforts to spend time with him. She tends to be, however, much less direct when it comes to ''talking'' about getting close to him, But even on the level of admitting ''implying'' to specifically coming to him just for a talk early on.is a tall order (No pun intended [[HugeSchoolgirl on her part]]). At one point she went along with his assumption that she was waiting at their school gate for someone. Which was correct; this This was right after she stopped ''him'' to loan him some of her [[ShowWithinAShow shoujo manga]].manga]]. She becomes more upfront about some things as their relationship develops, and at the same time she tends to play with her words in regards to her feelings for him. The first time she [[spoiler: indirectly confesses to liking Ichikawa, she bursts into tears.]]
** With Ichikawa it's zig-zagged; he's a lot more resistant to admitting to what he wants or saying something positive than he is to saying something negative. When the time comes, however, he will say what needs to be said (Though he'll still stutter). And it's arguably the reason Yamada can be more honest with more personal matters.]]
** By his own admission, Ichikawa is a lot more resistant about admitting to what he wants or saying something positive than he is to saying something negative. When the time comes, however, he will say what needs to be said (Though he'll still stutter and probably curse himself...).
** It's more than evident through everything but her words that Yamada is in love with
** With Ichikawa it's zig-zagged; he's a lot more resistant to admitting to what he wants or saying something positive than he is to saying something negative. When the time comes, however, he will say what needs to be said (Though he'll still stutter). And it's arguably the reason Yamada can be more honest with more personal matters.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'':
** It's more than evident that Yamada is in love with Ichikawa, has no problem being physically playful with him provided that it's ''not'' romantic territory, and actively makes an effort to spend time with him. She tends to be, however, much less direct when it comes to ''talking'' about getting close to him, even on the level of admitting to specifically coming to him just for a talk early on. At one point she went along with his assumption that she was waiting at their school gate for someone. Which was correct; this was right after she stopped ''him'' to loan him some of her [[ShowWithinAShow shoujo manga]]. The first time she [[spoiler: indirectly confesses to liking Ichikawa, she bursts into tears.]]
** With Ichikawa it's zig-zagged; he's a lot more resistant to admitting to what he wants or saying something positive than he is to saying something negative. When the time comes, however, he will say what needs to be said (Though he'll still stutter). And it's arguably the reason Yamada can be more honest with more personal matters.
** It's more than evident that Yamada is in love with Ichikawa, has no problem being physically playful with him provided that it's ''not'' romantic territory, and actively makes an effort to spend time with him. She tends to be, however, much less direct when it comes to ''talking'' about getting close to him, even on the level of admitting to specifically coming to him just for a talk early on. At one point she went along with his assumption that she was waiting at their school gate for someone. Which was correct; this was right after she stopped ''him'' to loan him some of her [[ShowWithinAShow shoujo manga]]. The first time she [[spoiler: indirectly confesses to liking Ichikawa, she bursts into tears.]]
** With Ichikawa it's zig-zagged; he's a lot more resistant to admitting to what he wants or saying something positive than he is to saying something negative. When the time comes, however, he will say what needs to be said (Though he'll still stutter). And it's arguably the reason Yamada can be more honest with more personal matters.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Added example(s)
Changed line(s) 12 (click to see context) from:
* A particularly heartbreaking example occurs in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' during [[spoiler:the Eclipse]]. [[spoiler:Judeau wants to confess his love for Casca after being seriously wounded by one of the Apostles. When the time finally comes, all he can say to her is "I'm glad to see you cry.". He dies painfully in her arms immediately after]].
to:
* A particularly heartbreaking example occurs in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' during [[spoiler:the Eclipse]]. [[spoiler:Judeau wants to confess his love for Casca after being seriously wounded by one of the Apostles. When the time finally comes, all he can say to her is "I'm glad to see you cry.". " He dies painfully in her arms immediately after]].
Added DiffLines:
* ''Manga/BladeOfTheImmortal'':
** Rin quite obviously loves Manji a lot... So much so, in fact, that the only thing in the series that caused more violence than the RoaringRampageOfRevenge Rin set out on after the plot-instigating murder of her entire family was the RoaringRampageOfRescue she set out on after Manji got himself kidnapped about halfway through the plot... Unfortunately for Rin, there are two issues at play here: First of all, she happens to look remarkably similar to Manji's dead little sister, and [[LikeBrotherAndSister he regards her more-so as an opportunity to atone for being unable to save his sister's life than a potential love interest]]. And secondly, she feels that, once her revenge quest is over -- provided she survives it -- she's going to need to atone for all the bloodshed she's responsible for, a quest that Manji has no interest in tagging along with her for. [[spoiler:At the end of the series, Manji leaves Japan on a ship while Rin sets out to beg forgiveness of every family that suffered loss because of her quest for revenge. When Hyakurin suddenly snaps at her that she threw away her chance to Spit It Out and go with Manji just because she wanted to act like a responsible adult, Rin breaks down and starts crying.]]
** So, Giichi, you really like that Hyakurin girl, huh? Awesome. Don't forget to watch over her while she sleeps like a creep and be frustratingly overprotective, that always works. Save her life in a RoaringRampageOfRescue and nurse her back to health? Sure thing. Don't forget to [[ThinkNothingOfIt brush it off as nothing]] and act awkward when she tries to thank you for it. Make a deal with the devil for her freedom? Don't forget to keep it anonymous. Heck, disappear completely from her life so she'll never find out! She found you? Damn, better mope and insist you're not worth her time. She finally tells you outright that she loves you? Don't say a thing in response... Because, let's face it: you haven't got the foggiest clue how to verbally respond to that, do you?
** Rin quite obviously loves Manji a lot... So much so, in fact, that the only thing in the series that caused more violence than the RoaringRampageOfRevenge Rin set out on after the plot-instigating murder of her entire family was the RoaringRampageOfRescue she set out on after Manji got himself kidnapped about halfway through the plot... Unfortunately for Rin, there are two issues at play here: First of all, she happens to look remarkably similar to Manji's dead little sister, and [[LikeBrotherAndSister he regards her more-so as an opportunity to atone for being unable to save his sister's life than a potential love interest]]. And secondly, she feels that, once her revenge quest is over -- provided she survives it -- she's going to need to atone for all the bloodshed she's responsible for, a quest that Manji has no interest in tagging along with her for. [[spoiler:At the end of the series, Manji leaves Japan on a ship while Rin sets out to beg forgiveness of every family that suffered loss because of her quest for revenge. When Hyakurin suddenly snaps at her that she threw away her chance to Spit It Out and go with Manji just because she wanted to act like a responsible adult, Rin breaks down and starts crying.]]
** So, Giichi, you really like that Hyakurin girl, huh? Awesome. Don't forget to watch over her while she sleeps like a creep and be frustratingly overprotective, that always works. Save her life in a RoaringRampageOfRescue and nurse her back to health? Sure thing. Don't forget to [[ThinkNothingOfIt brush it off as nothing]] and act awkward when she tries to thank you for it. Make a deal with the devil for her freedom? Don't forget to keep it anonymous. Heck, disappear completely from her life so she'll never find out! She found you? Damn, better mope and insist you're not worth her time. She finally tells you outright that she loves you? Don't say a thing in response... Because, let's face it: you haven't got the foggiest clue how to verbally respond to that, do you?
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 84 (click to see context) from:
* A consistent problem in ''Manga/LastGame''. Although, it may be {{Justified}} in Yanagi's case because Kujou is just so ObliviousToLove that she might misinterpret his potential confession as a declaration of friendship instead.
to:
* A consistent problem in ''Manga/LastGame''. Although, it may be {{Justified}} {{Justified|Trope}} in Yanagi's case because Kujou is just so ObliviousToLove that she might misinterpret his potential confession as a declaration of friendship instead.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 47 (click to see context) from:
* In ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'', the three members of the Oarai student council are the only ones who know that [[spoiler:if the school does not win the tournament, it will be shut down]]. Naturally, while this motivates many of their decisions, they don't reveal it, with Anzu making a vaguely worded threat that Miho won't be attending school at Oarai for long if she doesn't join the tankery club, silencing Yuzu when she is about to tell Miho and Yukari the truth, and even being unable to tell Miho when she invites her to dinner for that exact purpose (leaving Miho suspicious). This proves counterproductive to the student council's plans when those LockedOutOfTheLoop are less concerned about winning, and they are ultimately forced to tell the truth when Miho considers forfeiting the match rather than risk people getting hurt.
to:
* Toward the end of ''Manga/TheGirlIWantIsSoHandsome'', Hinami "Hina" Ayukawa casually mentions to her girlfriend Shiki Hiiragi that she likes her romantically, and is shocked when Shiki replies that Hina has never said that to her before. Hina then goes through her memories of her most emotional moments with Shiki and realizes that no, she has never explicitly told Shiki that she loves her.
* In ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'', the three members of the Oarai student council are the only ones who know that [[spoiler:if the school does not win the tournament, it will be shut down]]. Naturally, while this motivates many of their decisions, they don't reveal it, with Anzu making a vaguely worded threat that Miho won't be attending school at Oarai for long if she doesn't join the tankery club, silencing Yuzu when she is about to tell Miho and Yukari the truth, and even being unable to tell Miho when she invites her to dinner for that exact purpose (leaving Miho suspicious). This proves counterproductive to the student council's plans when those LockedOutOfTheLoop are less concerned about winning, and they are ultimately forced to tell the truth when Miho considers forfeiting the match against Pravda rather than risk people getting hurt.
* In ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'', the three members of the Oarai student council are the only ones who know that [[spoiler:if the school does not win the tournament, it will be shut down]]. Naturally, while this motivates many of their decisions, they don't reveal it, with Anzu making a vaguely worded threat that Miho won't be attending school at Oarai for long if she doesn't join the tankery club, silencing Yuzu when she is about to tell Miho and Yukari the truth, and even being unable to tell Miho when she invites her to dinner for that exact purpose (leaving Miho suspicious). This proves counterproductive to the student council's plans when those LockedOutOfTheLoop are less concerned about winning, and they are ultimately forced to tell the truth when Miho considers forfeiting the match against Pravda rather than risk people getting hurt.
Changed line(s) 157 (click to see context) from:
* In ''Manga/TegamiBachiLetterBee'', Connor is unable to bring himself to tell Lag that Gauche, whom Lag befriended while being delivered to Cambel Litmus, [[spoiler:was fired from his Letter Bee position after going missing]]. In a one-shot story, a woman's maid is unable to reveal herself as the person who had sent her the picture postcards, because she had been forced to sell the gift she had received from her future employer when the two were younger. One of Lag's Heart Bullets reveals the secret, which the woman takes well.
to:
* In ''Manga/TegamiBachiLetterBee'', Connor ''Manga/TegamiBachiLetterBee''
** Connor, a Letter Bee who escorts Lag to the Letter Bee exam, is unable to bring himself to tell Lag that Gauche, whom Lag befriended while being delivered to Cambel Litmus, [[spoiler:was fired from his Letter Bee position after going missing]]. Lag only finds out the truth when, after he passes the exam, Zazie casually mentions that Lag's time is as good as Gauche's, and since Gauche [[spoiler:is no longer a Letter Bee]], Lag is at the top.
** In a one-shot story, a woman's maid is unable to reveal herself as the person who had sent her the picture postcards, because she had been forced to sell the gift she had received from her future employer when the two were younger. One of Lag's Heart Bullets reveals the secret, which the woman takes well.
** Connor, a Letter Bee who escorts Lag to the Letter Bee exam, is unable to bring himself to tell Lag that Gauche, whom Lag befriended while being delivered to Cambel Litmus, [[spoiler:was fired from his Letter Bee position after going missing]]. Lag only finds out the truth when, after he passes the exam, Zazie casually mentions that Lag's time is as good as Gauche's, and since Gauche [[spoiler:is no longer a Letter Bee]], Lag is at the top.
** In a one-shot story, a woman's maid is unable to reveal herself as the person who had sent her the picture postcards, because she had been forced to sell the gift she had received from her future employer when the two were younger. One of Lag's Heart Bullets reveals the secret, which the woman takes well.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Trope was cut/disambiguated due to cleanup
Changed line(s) 117 (click to see context) from:
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Scarcely a character in the entire series is capable of admitting his or her deeper feelings toward those he or she loves most [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYjn8NpXJcs (with Kaworu being the main exception)]]. Often even the exceptions turn out not to be exceptions. For example, Asuka's flamboyant confessions of love for Kaji [[OperationJealousy are to mask her growing attraction]] to Shinji. Of course, it doesn't work. Unfortunately, the consequence of that situation was the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and it could have been averted if the characters (mainly Shinji and Asuka) [[ForWantOfANail had been more open and sincere with each other]].
to:
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Scarcely a character in the entire series is capable of admitting his or her deeper feelings toward those he or she loves most [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYjn8NpXJcs (with Kaworu being the main exception)]]. Often even the exceptions turn out not to be exceptions. For example, Asuka's flamboyant confessions of love for Kaji [[OperationJealousy are to mask her growing attraction]] to Shinji. Of course, it doesn't work. Unfortunately, the consequence of that situation was the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and it could have been averted if the characters (mainly Shinji and Asuka) [[ForWantOfANail had been more open and sincere with each other]].other.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''. Triela is called on this (regarding her feelings for her handler Hilshire) by Mimi Machiavelli. Triela isn't sure whether her feelings are real or just BrainwashResidue from her conditioning, and as a fratello is supposed to be LikeBrotherAndSister it's not something they would talk about anyway. Even when Triela has her LoveEpiphany she ''still'' doesn't discuss it with Hilshire, knowing perfectly well he's not interested in a romantic relationship with a cyborg who looks like a fourteen-year-old girl.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 72 (click to see context) from:
* A variation in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar''. Instead of it being "cannot spit it out", it's "''will'' not spit it out" since the plot revolves around Kaguya and Shirogane trying to force each other into confessing without confessing themselves. [[spoiler:Although they actually do confess and get together long before the series ends]].
to:
* A variation in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar''. Instead of it being "cannot spit it out", it's "''will'' not spit it out" since the plot revolves around Kaguya and Shirogane trying to force each other into confessing without confessing themselves. While played for jokes at first, it's later established to be the result of both feeling deeply insecure and desiring the validation of the other confessing first. [[spoiler:Although they actually do confess and get together long before the series ends]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Trope has been renamed per TRS [1]
. also misuse
. also misuseChanged line(s) 123 (click to see context) from:
** Another example is [[NotGoodWithPeople Homura]]. She knows she loves [[spoiler:Madoka]], and is highly motivated by those feelings...but she can't express them without [[HeroicBSOD breaking down]] and sobbing incoherently (as seen in Episodes 8 and 12). This results in much confusion for [[spoiler:Madoka]], as Homura's ''actions'' indicate love but her ''words'' don't.
to:
** Another example is [[NotGoodWithPeople Homura]].Homura. She knows she loves [[spoiler:Madoka]], and is highly motivated by those feelings...but she can't express them without [[HeroicBSOD breaking down]] and sobbing incoherently (as seen in Episodes 8 and 12). This results in much confusion for [[spoiler:Madoka]], as Homura's ''actions'' indicate love but her ''words'' don't.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 10 (click to see context) from:
* ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}'' brings this to the logical conclusion. [[spoiler:[[CatGirl Hanekawa]]]] never confessed her feelings towards [[ObliviousToLove Araragi]] [[UnLuckyChildhoodFriend despite knowing him for years]], so he gets taken away by [[spoiler:Senjougahara]] who confessed to him not long after realizing her own feelings. Araragi never realized this [[spoiler:until the cat possessing Hanekawa spit it out to him]].
to:
* ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}'' ''Literature/{{Bakemonogatari}}'' brings this to the logical conclusion. [[spoiler:[[CatGirl Hanekawa]]]] never confessed her feelings towards [[ObliviousToLove Araragi]] [[UnLuckyChildhoodFriend [[ChildhoodFriendRomance despite knowing him for years]], so he gets taken away by [[spoiler:Senjougahara]] who confessed to him not long after realizing her own feelings. Araragi never realized this [[spoiler:until the cat possessing Hanekawa spit it out to him]].
Changed line(s) 38 (click to see context) from:
* Played straight by Saito and Louise in the first season of the ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' anime, averted early in the second. Particularly surprising considering [[LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana who]] these characters are [[{{expy}} expies]] of.
to:
* Played straight by Saito and Louise in the first season of the ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' ''Literature/TheFamiliarOfZero'' anime, averted early in the second. Particularly surprising considering [[LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana [[Literature/ShakuganNoShana who]] these characters are [[{{expy}} expies]] of.
Changed line(s) 40 (click to see context) from:
* ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'':
to:
* ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'':''Literature/FullMetalPanic'':
Changed line(s) 52 (click to see context) from:
* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'':
to:
* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'':''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'':
Changed line(s) 63 (click to see context) from:
* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'':
to:
* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'':''Literature/HighSchoolDXD'':
Changed line(s) 66 (click to see context) from:
* The girls in ''LightNovel/HowToRaiseABoringGirlfriend'' can't bring themselves to telling Tomoya how they feel, either because of competition from the other girls or because he seems to be ObliviousToLove.
to:
* The girls in ''LightNovel/HowToRaiseABoringGirlfriend'' ''Literature/HowToRaiseABoringGirlfriend'' can't bring themselves to telling Tomoya how they feel, either because of competition from the other girls or because he seems to be ObliviousToLove.
Changed line(s) 69 (click to see context) from:
* Played mostly straight with the members of Ichika's BalancedHarem in ''LightNovel/InfiniteStratos'', but wonderfully averted with [[spoiler:Laura, after being [[DefrostingIceQueen defrosted]]]]. Half an hour after she knows she's in love with Ichika, so does everyone else--Including Ichika, [[ObliviousToLove which is pretty damn impressive]].
to:
* Played mostly straight with the members of Ichika's BalancedHarem in ''LightNovel/InfiniteStratos'', ''Literature/InfiniteStratos'', but wonderfully averted with [[spoiler:Laura, after being [[DefrostingIceQueen defrosted]]]]. Half an hour after she knows she's in love with Ichika, so does everyone else--Including Ichika, [[ObliviousToLove which is pretty damn impressive]].
Changed line(s) 98 (click to see context) from:
* ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'':
to:
* ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'':''Literature/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'':
Changed line(s) 107 (click to see context) from:
** In ''[[LightNovel/NarutoHiden Shikamaru Hiden]]'', Shikamaru gets [[LoveMakesYouDumb tongue-tied]] when he's trying to ask [[spoiler:Temari]] out to dinner.
to:
** In ''[[LightNovel/NarutoHiden ''[[Literature/NarutoHiden Shikamaru Hiden]]'', Shikamaru gets [[LoveMakesYouDumb tongue-tied]] when he's trying to ask [[spoiler:Temari]] out to dinner.
Changed line(s) 133 (click to see context) from:
* Shana from ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'' doesn't have a bloody clue how to talk about her feelings, particularly about why she's falling for Yuji. This, of course, drives her {{tsundere}} behavior towards him; since she can't spit it out, beating him up works too.
to:
* Shana from ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'' ''Literature/ShakuganNoShana'' doesn't have a bloody clue how to talk about her feelings, particularly about why she's falling for Yuji. This, of course, drives her {{tsundere}} behavior towards him; since she can't spit it out, beating him up works too.
Changed line(s) 166 (click to see context) from:
%%* Esther Blanchett and Ion Fortuna from ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood''.
to:
%%* Esther Blanchett and Ion Fortuna from ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood''.''Literature/TrinityBlood''.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 172 (click to see context) from:
* Subverted in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''. Just before [[spoiler:Yusuke leaves to face his demon heritage]], he has one last meal at the Yukimura diner. Cue [[spoiler:Yusuke's marriage proposal]], which Keiko reacts to rather nonchalantly. The subversion comes when [[spoiler:Keiko returns to her room -- Yusuke drops "Oh, come on, Keiko... you know I love you." without nary a second thought]]. Keiko's response? [[spoiler:An even more nonchalant "Yeah, yeah."]]
to:
* Subverted in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''. Just before [[spoiler:Yusuke leaves to face his demon heritage]], he has one last meal at the Yukimura diner. Cue [[spoiler:Yusuke's marriage proposal]], which Keiko reacts to rather nonchalantly. The subversion comes when [[spoiler:Keiko returns to her room -- Yusuke drops "Oh, come on, Keiko... you know I love you." without nary a second thought]]. Keiko's response? [[spoiler:An even more nonchalant "Yeah, yeah."]]"]]
----
----
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
added Welcome Back, Alice example
Added DiffLines:
* ''Manga/WelcomeBackAlice'': Yo gets into a lot of trouble because of his inability to communicate whenever he has an interpersonal conflict with someone.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Cut page
Deleted line(s) 118 (click to see context) :
* Morei has this issue in ''Manga/OmujoOmutsuJoshi''. She has a hard time speaking her feelings to her childhood friend, Shouta. This is compounded by her attempt to appeal to him by going along with what she incorrectly thinks is Shota's fetish for girls in diapers. She stumbles over her attempt to declare her love for Shouta while showing him she's wearing one and accidentally convinces him ''she'' has the fetish as a result. In a later chapter, she fantasizes about trying again but can't go through with it.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Sinkholes (TRS cleanup for one of the tropes involved)
Changed line(s) 25 (click to see context) from:
** [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Shirley]] [[CuteClumsyGirl Fenette]] is not able to give a LoveConfession to [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob Lelouch]] [[SelectiveObliviousness that he actually pays attention to]] until a little over halfway through R2, [[spoiler:[[KillTheCutie and then she dies]]]].
to:
** [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Shirley]] [[CuteClumsyGirl Fenette]] Shirley Fenette is not able to give a LoveConfession to [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob Lelouch]] Lelouch [[SelectiveObliviousness that he actually pays attention to]] until a little over halfway through R2, [[spoiler:[[KillTheCutie and then she dies]]]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 8 (click to see context) from:
* Mikasa from ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', has been in love with Eren since they were kids, but he remained completely [[ObliviousToLove oblivious]] to it and she resigned herself to loving him from afar. [[spoiler: Come Chapter 123, Eren asks her out of nowhere what exactly he means to her and Mikasa, completely blindsided, stammered out that he was her family. She would later come to see this moment as one of her greatest regrets, especially considering the path that Eren went down shortly after this encounter...]]
to:
* Mikasa from ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', has been in love with Eren since they were kids, but he remained completely [[ObliviousToLove oblivious]] to it and she resigned herself to loving him from afar. [[spoiler: Come [[spoiler:Come Chapter 123, Eren asks her out of nowhere what exactly he means to her and Mikasa, completely blindsided, stammered out that he was her family. She would later come to see this moment as one of her greatest regrets, especially considering the path that Eren went down shortly after this encounter...]]
Changed line(s) 10 (click to see context) from:
* ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}'' brings this to the logical conclusion. [[spoiler: [[CatGirl Hanekawa]]]] never confessed her feelings towards [[ObliviousToLove Araragi]] [[UnLuckyChildhoodFriend despite knowing him for years]], so he gets taken away by [[spoiler:Senjougahara]] who confessed to him not long after realizing her own feelings. Araragi never realized this [[spoiler: until the cat possessing Hanekawa spit it out to him]].
to:
* ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}'' brings this to the logical conclusion. [[spoiler: [[CatGirl [[spoiler:[[CatGirl Hanekawa]]]] never confessed her feelings towards [[ObliviousToLove Araragi]] [[UnLuckyChildhoodFriend despite knowing him for years]], so he gets taken away by [[spoiler:Senjougahara]] who confessed to him not long after realizing her own feelings. Araragi never realized this [[spoiler: until [[spoiler:until the cat possessing Hanekawa spit it out to him]].
Changed line(s) 12 (click to see context) from:
* A particularly heartbreaking example occurs in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' during [[spoiler: the Eclipse]]. [[spoiler: Judeau wants to confess his love for Casca after being seriously wounded by one of the Apostles. When the time finally comes, all he can say to her is "I'm glad to see you cry.". He dies painfully in her arms immediately after]].
to:
* A particularly heartbreaking example occurs in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' during [[spoiler: the [[spoiler:the Eclipse]]. [[spoiler: Judeau [[spoiler:Judeau wants to confess his love for Casca after being seriously wounded by one of the Apostles. When the time finally comes, all he can say to her is "I'm glad to see you cry.". He dies painfully in her arms immediately after]].
Changed line(s) 14 (click to see context) from:
** [[TheNondescript Takashi Kosuda]] has moments of this when trying to express his feelings for the series protagonist, [[LovableSexManiac Yamada]]. [[spoiler: When he finally works up the courage to confess his love to her, his message is garbled by train doors closing ''on his neck'' before he is whisked away]].
to:
** [[TheNondescript Takashi Kosuda]] has moments of this when trying to express his feelings for the series protagonist, [[LovableSexManiac Yamada]]. [[spoiler: When [[spoiler:When he finally works up the courage to confess his love to her, his message is garbled by train doors closing ''on his neck'' before he is whisked away]].
Changed line(s) 18 (click to see context) from:
* ''Anime/BloodPlus'': Haji. Poor Haji loved Saya for the entire series but he remains the stoic quiet guy. For centuries, ever since a young Haji saw Saya in 1870, he pined away but he never tells her until the very last episode at the very last moment when [[spoiler: Saya is trying to kill Diva's babies and wants to die herself - and even then he only coughs it up when Kai forces him to. Of course, a few minutes later Amshel shows up and wrecks their moment, leaving Haji buried in rubble]]. Just think how much better Saya's life would be if he had said it sooner.
to:
* ''Anime/BloodPlus'': Haji. Poor Haji loved Saya for the entire series but he remains the stoic quiet guy. For centuries, ever since a young Haji saw Saya in 1870, he pined away but he never tells her until the very last episode at the very last moment when [[spoiler: Saya [[spoiler:Saya is trying to kill Diva's babies and wants to die herself - -- and even then he only coughs it up when Kai forces him to. Of course, a few minutes later Amshel shows up and wrecks their moment, leaving Haji buried in rubble]]. Just think how much better Saya's life would be if he had said it sooner.
Changed line(s) 22 (click to see context) from:
* Used famously in Creator/{{CLAMP}} works, especially ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', ''Manga/{{Wish}}'' and the newer series ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' and ''Manga/XxxHolic''. They also tend to use a unique variations of this trope especially with the dreamseers. Who can see the possible futures both good and bad. They'll tell the rest of the cast whenever the future is good, however when the future is generally bad they won't say anything. The reason behind this is because as long as they don't tell the key players that future then they can change it, but telling others of that future can set it in stone. [[spoiler: And the ''only'' dreamseer who actually DID say the future was still unchanged... said so after ''her'' death]].
to:
* Used famously in Creator/{{CLAMP}} works, especially ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', ''Manga/{{Wish}}'' and the newer series ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' and ''Manga/XxxHolic''. They also tend to use a unique variations of this trope especially with the dreamseers. Who can see the possible futures both good and bad. They'll tell the rest of the cast whenever the future is good, however when the future is generally bad they won't say anything. The reason behind this is because as long as they don't tell the key players that future then they can change it, but telling others of that future can set it in stone. [[spoiler: And [[spoiler:And the ''only'' dreamseer who actually DID say the future was still unchanged... said so after ''her'' death]].
Changed line(s) 25,27 (click to see context) from:
** [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Shirley]] [[CuteClumsyGirl Fenette]] is not able to give a LoveConfession to [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob Lelouch]] [[SelectiveObliviousness that he actually pays attention to]] until a little over halfway through R2, [[spoiler: [[KillTheCutie and then she dies]]]].
** This also applies to Lelouch himself. ManipulativeBastard he might be, but he's also a BadLiar and keeps his mouth shut when he really shouldn't. This results in a good chunk of tragedy in the show, especially his inability to be honest [[spoiler: about the exact circumstances surrounding Euphemia's death]].
* Jeremy from ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'' encounters this a lot. He can't tell his step-brother Ian about Greg's abuse after [[spoiler: Ian tells him that he vows to make their new family a happy one]]. He can't tell his mother Sandra about it out of fear that she will be {{Driven to Suicide}}. He tries to tell his [[spoiler:boarding school roommate William about it by saying that he got the whip marks on his back from an evil spirit (Greg) that beat him in his house's torture room (his bedroom), but William doesn't get it]]. All in all, {{Poor Communication Kills}}. Literally.
** This also applies to Lelouch himself. ManipulativeBastard he might be, but he's also a BadLiar and keeps his mouth shut when he really shouldn't. This results in a good chunk of tragedy in the show, especially his inability to be honest [[spoiler: about the exact circumstances surrounding Euphemia's death]].
* Jeremy from ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'' encounters this a lot. He can't tell his step-brother Ian about Greg's abuse after [[spoiler: Ian tells him that he vows to make their new family a happy one]]. He can't tell his mother Sandra about it out of fear that she will be {{Driven to Suicide}}. He tries to tell his [[spoiler:boarding school roommate William about it by saying that he got the whip marks on his back from an evil spirit (Greg) that beat him in his house's torture room (his bedroom), but William doesn't get it]]. All in all, {{Poor Communication Kills}}. Literally.
to:
** [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Shirley]] [[CuteClumsyGirl Fenette]] is not able to give a LoveConfession to [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob Lelouch]] [[SelectiveObliviousness that he actually pays attention to]] until a little over halfway through R2, [[spoiler: [[KillTheCutie [[spoiler:[[KillTheCutie and then she dies]]]].
** This also applies to Lelouch himself. ManipulativeBastard he might be, but he's also a BadLiar and keeps his mouth shut when he really shouldn't. This results in a good chunk of tragedy in the show, especially his inability to be honest[[spoiler: about [[spoiler:about the exact circumstances surrounding Euphemia's death]].
* Jeremy from ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'' encounters this a lot. He can't tell his step-brother Ian about Greg's abuse after[[spoiler: Ian [[spoiler:Ian tells him that he vows to make their new family a happy one]]. He can't tell his mother Sandra about it out of fear that she will be {{Driven to Suicide}}. He tries to tell his [[spoiler:boarding school roommate William about it by saying that he got the whip marks on his back from an evil spirit (Greg) that beat him in his house's torture room (his bedroom), but William doesn't get it]]. All in all, {{Poor Communication Kills}}. Literally.
** This also applies to Lelouch himself. ManipulativeBastard he might be, but he's also a BadLiar and keeps his mouth shut when he really shouldn't. This results in a good chunk of tragedy in the show, especially his inability to be honest
* Jeremy from ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'' encounters this a lot. He can't tell his step-brother Ian about Greg's abuse after
Changed line(s) 30 (click to see context) from:
** [[OneShotCharacter One of the guests]] in episode 4 is a {{Hikikomori}} with an [[AbusiveParents abusive mother]] who left him when he was young. His GoodStepmother did her best to get through to him, hoping he would call her “mom” one day, but he constantly brushed her off. [[spoiler: After committing suicide, he questions why he never said that to her and berates himself for it]].
to:
** [[OneShotCharacter One of the guests]] in episode 4 is a {{Hikikomori}} with an [[AbusiveParents abusive mother]] who left him when he was young. His GoodStepmother did her best to get through to him, hoping he would call her “mom” one day, but he constantly brushed her off. [[spoiler: After [[spoiler:After committing suicide, he questions why he never said that to her and berates himself for it]].
Changed line(s) 48 (click to see context) from:
* Although ''Anime/GunXSword'' begins with Wendy offering to marry Van as a reward for [[StandardHeroReward saving her hometown]], Wendy never confesses her deepening feelings for him, despite some good opportunities. Instead, her feelings for him are displayed mostly through GreenEyedMonster moments. [[spoiler: Her decision not to say anything when they part in the finale looks a lot like an AbortedDeclarationOfLove, but since they end up being reunited in the DistantFinale -- at a time when she's actually old enough to be in a relationship with him -- things work out in the end]].
to:
* Although ''Anime/GunXSword'' begins with Wendy offering to marry Van as a reward for [[StandardHeroReward saving her hometown]], Wendy never confesses her deepening feelings for him, despite some good opportunities. Instead, her feelings for him are displayed mostly through GreenEyedMonster moments. [[spoiler: Her [[spoiler:Her decision not to say anything when they part in the finale looks a lot like an AbortedDeclarationOfLove, but since they end up being reunited in the DistantFinale -- at a time when she's actually old enough to be in a relationship with him -- things work out in the end]].
Changed line(s) 64 (click to see context) from:
** The girls usually have NO problem telling Issei of their feelings, often at the same time... in his bed... as he's trying to go to sleep. The only one that does is [[spoiler:Rias, because she's worried he doesn't see her as anything but the Occult Club's president]]. Issei has trouble telling Rias how he feels, too. [[spoiler: He's still emotionally scarred from being rejected and literally murdered by the first girl confessed to, a fallen angel named Raynare, who'd been masquerading as a normal girl and stringing Issei along before killing him]].
to:
** The girls usually have NO problem telling Issei of their feelings, often at the same time... in his bed... as he's trying to go to sleep. The only one that does is [[spoiler:Rias, because she's worried he doesn't see her as anything but the Occult Club's president]]. Issei has trouble telling Rias how he feels, too. [[spoiler: He's [[spoiler:He's still emotionally scarred from being rejected and literally murdered by the first girl confessed to, a fallen angel named Raynare, who'd been masquerading as a normal girl and stringing Issei along before killing him]].
Changed line(s) 70 (click to see context) from:
* ''Manga/ItazuraNaKiss'': A lot of grief would've been avoided had [[spoiler: Naoki simply voiced his growing feelings for Kotoko earlier. It took a GreenEyedEpiphany to finally declare to her]].
to:
* ''Manga/ItazuraNaKiss'': A lot of grief would've been avoided had [[spoiler: Naoki [[spoiler:Naoki simply voiced his growing feelings for Kotoko earlier. It took a GreenEyedEpiphany to finally declare to her]].
Changed line(s) 73 (click to see context) from:
* In ''Anime/KaleidoStar'', Ken Robbins tries often to tell Sora Naegino that he greatly loves and admires her, but never gets the chance. In a more adult version, Kalos Eido loves his best friend Sarah Dupont, but feels guilty for their common past and doesn't want to let her know. And last, Jerry the policeman can't tell his best friend Kate that he loves her since they've been friends for ''decades'' and he fears to lose that friendship [[spoiler: When he ''does'' tell her, he graduates to VictoriousChildhoodFriend]].
to:
* In ''Anime/KaleidoStar'', Ken Robbins tries often to tell Sora Naegino that he greatly loves and admires her, but never gets the chance. In a more adult version, Kalos Eido loves his best friend Sarah Dupont, but feels guilty for their common past and doesn't want to let her know. And last, Jerry the policeman can't tell his best friend Kate that he loves her since they've been friends for ''decades'' and he fears to lose that friendship [[spoiler: When [[spoiler:When he ''does'' tell her, he graduates to VictoriousChildhoodFriend]].
Changed line(s) 86 (click to see context) from:
** Also, all of the TSAB's experience with them at that point was as emotionless, deadly constructs who would stop at nothing to protect the Book of Darkness - not exactly people with a trustworthy reputation. Even if Nanoha and Fate are willing to think otherwise, it's clear they're not the ones calling the shots on the case.
to:
** Also, all of the TSAB's experience with them at that point was as emotionless, deadly constructs who would stop at nothing to protect the Book of Darkness - -- not exactly people with a trustworthy reputation. Even if Nanoha and Fate are willing to think otherwise, it's clear they're not the ones calling the shots on the case.
Changed line(s) 116 (click to see context) from:
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Scarcely a character in the entire series is capable of admitting his or her deeper feelings toward those he or she loves most [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYjn8NpXJcs (with Kaworu being the main exception)]]. Often even the exceptions turn out not to be exceptions. For example, Asuka's flamboyant confessions of love for Kaji [[OperationJealousy are to mask her growing attraction]] to Shinji. Of course, it doesn't work. Unfortunately, the consequence of that situation was the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and it could have been averted if the characters (mainly Shinji and Asuka) [[ForWantOfANail would have been more open and sincere with each other]].
to:
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Scarcely a character in the entire series is capable of admitting his or her deeper feelings toward those he or she loves most [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYjn8NpXJcs (with Kaworu being the main exception)]]. Often even the exceptions turn out not to be exceptions. For example, Asuka's flamboyant confessions of love for Kaji [[OperationJealousy are to mask her growing attraction]] to Shinji. Of course, it doesn't work. Unfortunately, the consequence of that situation was the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and it could have been averted if the characters (mainly Shinji and Asuka) [[ForWantOfANail would have had been more open and sincere with each other]].
Changed line(s) 121 (click to see context) from:
* In ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', Ahiru can't tell Mytho that she loves him -- Not because of nervousness, but because she will ''cease to exist'' once she does. This becomes very troublesome in the first season finale when [[spoiler: Princess Kraehe offers to return Mytho's emotion of love, but only if she says that she loves him]].
to:
* In ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', Ahiru can't tell Mytho that she loves him -- Not not because of nervousness, but because she will ''cease to exist'' once she does. This becomes very troublesome in the first season finale when [[spoiler: Princess [[spoiler:Princess Kraehe offers to return Mytho's emotion of love, but only if she says that she loves him]].
Changed line(s) 137 (click to see context) from:
* In ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'', Yayoi decides to pull an April Fools prank, saying that she's going to get transferred to another school. It's all fine and dandy, except for one hitch - the person she told it to was Miyuki, who panics and begins spreading the news, spiraling into Reiko holding a farewell party with the rest of the class and Yayoi unable to say anything because the other girls keep putting words in her mouth. It isn't until Akaoni reveals the truth through a manga Yayoi drew and lost that the girls realize that it was a lie. They're pretty disappointed at her... until they realize it was Miyuki's fault for believing it in the first place!
to:
* In ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'', Yayoi decides to pull an April Fools prank, saying that she's going to get transferred to another school. It's all fine and dandy, except for one hitch - -- the person she told it to was Miyuki, who panics and begins spreading the news, spiraling into Reiko holding a farewell party with the rest of the class and Yayoi unable to say anything because the other girls keep putting words in her mouth. It isn't until Akaoni reveals the truth through a manga Yayoi drew and lost that the girls realize that it was a lie. They're pretty disappointed at her... until they realize it was Miyuki's fault for believing it in the first place!
Changed line(s) 157 (click to see context) from:
* In ''Manga/TegamiBachiLetterBee'', Connor is unable to bring himself to tell Lag that Gauche, whom Lag befriended while being delivered to Cambel Litmus, [[spoiler: was fired from his Letter Bee position after going missing]]. In a one-shot story, a woman's maid is unable to reveal herself as the person who had sent her the picture postcards, because she had been forced to sell the gift she had received from her future employer when the two were younger. One of Lag's Heart Bullets reveals the secret, which the woman takes well.
to:
* In ''Manga/TegamiBachiLetterBee'', Connor is unable to bring himself to tell Lag that Gauche, whom Lag befriended while being delivered to Cambel Litmus, [[spoiler: was [[spoiler:was fired from his Letter Bee position after going missing]]. In a one-shot story, a woman's maid is unable to reveal herself as the person who had sent her the picture postcards, because she had been forced to sell the gift she had received from her future employer when the two were younger. One of Lag's Heart Bullets reveals the secret, which the woman takes well.
Changed line(s) 162 (click to see context) from:
* Played with in ''Manga/ToLoveRu''. In the first chapter, Rito plays it straight and then subverts it when he does finally confess to Haruna. Only for Lala to get in the way. It then plays the trope fairly straight for a time. However the reason changes from shyness to indecisiveness as he is no longer sure of his feelings. [[spoiler: As soon as he is sure of his feelings for Lala, he confesses to her immediately, then goes to confess to Haruna who he still loves, making it a subversion]].
to:
* Played with in ''Manga/ToLoveRu''. In the first chapter, Rito plays it straight and then subverts it when he does finally confess to Haruna. Only for Lala to get in the way. It then plays the trope fairly straight for a time. However the reason changes from shyness to indecisiveness as he is no longer sure of his feelings. [[spoiler: As [[spoiler:As soon as he is sure of his feelings for Lala, he confesses to her immediately, then goes to confess to Haruna who he still loves, making it a subversion]].
Changed line(s) 172 (click to see context) from:
* Subverted in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''. Just before [[spoiler: Yusuke leaves to face his demon heritage]], he has one last meal at the Yukimura diner. Cue [[spoiler: Yusuke's marriage proposal]], which Keiko reacts to rather nonchalantly. The subversion comes when [[spoiler: Keiko returns to her room -- Yusuke drops "Oh, come on, Keiko... you know I love you." without nary a second thought]]. Keiko's response? [[spoiler: An even more nonchalant "Yeah, yeah."]]
to:
* Subverted in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''. Just before [[spoiler: Yusuke [[spoiler:Yusuke leaves to face his demon heritage]], he has one last meal at the Yukimura diner. Cue [[spoiler: Yusuke's [[spoiler:Yusuke's marriage proposal]], which Keiko reacts to rather nonchalantly. The subversion comes when [[spoiler: Keiko [[spoiler:Keiko returns to her room -- Yusuke drops "Oh, come on, Keiko... you know I love you." without nary a second thought]]. Keiko's response? [[spoiler: An [[spoiler:An even more nonchalant "Yeah, yeah."]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Up To Eleven is now a disambiguation
Changed line(s) 28 (click to see context) from:
* ''Anime/DeathParade'' has a couple instances of this taken UpToEleven, as these moments often lead to the [[DeadAllAlong character’s deaths]]. Notably:
to:
* ''Anime/DeathParade'' has a couple instances of this taken UpToEleven, up to eleven, as these moments often lead to the [[DeadAllAlong character’s deaths]]. Notably:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Fixing bad example indentation
Changed line(s) 31,32 (click to see context) from:
** Starting in episode 7, [[TheNameless the dark-haired woman]] realizes [[spoiler:she’s a dead human]], but every time it seems like she’s going to talk to Decim about it, she stops herself. Telling him early on likely would have changed the course of the series and stopped her from enduring some of the DarkerAndEdgier moments that occurred after. There are multiple other instances of her clearly wanting to discuss something with Decim but being unable to, leading to him [[WellIntentionedExtremist taking drastic measures]] to be able to understand her better.
*** Her inability to communicate her feelings in general turns out to be her FatalFlaw: [[spoiler:she committed suicide after shutting herself off from everyone, believing there was no way people could ever understand one another, and that even hoping for it was pointless]].
*** Her inability to communicate her feelings in general turns out to be her FatalFlaw: [[spoiler:she committed suicide after shutting herself off from everyone, believing there was no way people could ever understand one another, and that even hoping for it was pointless]].
to:
** Starting in episode 7, [[TheNameless the dark-haired woman]] realizes [[spoiler:she’s a dead human]], but every time it seems like she’s going to talk to Decim about it, she stops herself. Telling him early on likely would have changed the course of the series and stopped her from enduring some of the DarkerAndEdgier moments that occurred after. There are multiple other instances of her clearly wanting to discuss something with Decim but being unable to, leading to him [[WellIntentionedExtremist taking drastic measures]] to be able to understand her better.
***better. Her inability to communicate her feelings in general turns out to be her FatalFlaw: [[spoiler:she committed suicide after shutting herself off from everyone, believing there was no way people could ever understand one another, and that even hoping for it was pointless]].
***
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 28,29 (click to see context) from:
* ''Anime/DeathParade'' has a couple instances of this taken UpToEleven, as these moments often lead to the [[DeadAllAlong character’s deaths]]:
** The guests featured in the first episode are a married couple with a strained relationship. [[TheCynic The husband]], an incredibly scrutinous man, has long suspected his wife of being unfaithful, but never brought it up with her. Instead, when they’re driving off to their honeymoon, he gets mad when she won’t tell him why she’s on her phone, so he tries to take it away from her, only to [[spoiler:drive themselves of a mountain, killing the both of them as well as their unborn baby]].
** The guests featured in the first episode are a married couple with a strained relationship. [[TheCynic The husband]], an incredibly scrutinous man, has long suspected his wife of being unfaithful, but never brought it up with her. Instead, when they’re driving off to their honeymoon, he gets mad when she won’t tell him why she’s on her phone, so he tries to take it away from her, only to [[spoiler:drive themselves of a mountain, killing the both of them as well as their unborn baby]].
to:
* ''Anime/DeathParade'' has a couple instances of this taken UpToEleven, as these moments often lead to the [[DeadAllAlong character’s deaths]]:
deaths]]. Notably:
** The guests featured in the first episode are a married couple with a strained relationship. [[TheCynic The husband]], an incredibly scrutinous man, has long suspected his wife of being unfaithful, but never brought it up with her.Instead, when they’re While driving off to their honeymoon, together, he gets mad when she won’t tell him why she’s on her phone, so and when he tries to take it away from her, only to [[spoiler:drive her he [[spoiler:drives themselves of a mountain, cliff, killing the both of them as well as their unborn baby]].
** The guests featured in the first episode are a married couple with a strained relationship. [[TheCynic The husband]], an incredibly scrutinous man, has long suspected his wife of being unfaithful, but never brought it up with her.
Changed line(s) 32 (click to see context) from:
*** Her inability to communicate her feelings in general turns out to be her fatal flaw: [[spoiler:she committed suicide after shutting herself off from everyone, believing there was no way people could ever understand one another, and that even hoping for it was pointless]].
to:
*** Her inability to communicate her feelings in general turns out to be her fatal flaw: FatalFlaw: [[spoiler:she committed suicide after shutting herself off from everyone, believing there was no way people could ever understand one another, and that even hoping for it was pointless]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ''Anime/DeathParade'' has a couple instances of this taken UpToEleven, as these moments often lead to the [[DeadAllAlong character’s deaths]]:
** The guests featured in the first episode are a married couple with a strained relationship. [[TheCynic The husband]], an incredibly scrutinous man, has long suspected his wife of being unfaithful, but never brought it up with her. Instead, when they’re driving off to their honeymoon, he gets mad when she won’t tell him why she’s on her phone, so he tries to take it away from her, only to [[spoiler:drive themselves of a mountain, killing the both of them as well as their unborn baby]].
** [[OneShotCharacter One of the guests]] in episode 4 is a {{Hikikomori}} with an [[AbusiveParents abusive mother]] who left him when he was young. His GoodStepmother did her best to get through to him, hoping he would call her “mom” one day, but he constantly brushed her off. [[spoiler: After committing suicide, he questions why he never said that to her and berates himself for it]].
** Starting in episode 7, [[TheNameless the dark-haired woman]] realizes [[spoiler:she’s a dead human]], but every time it seems like she’s going to talk to Decim about it, she stops herself. Telling him early on likely would have changed the course of the series and stopped her from enduring some of the DarkerAndEdgier moments that occurred after. There are multiple other instances of her clearly wanting to discuss something with Decim but being unable to, leading to him [[WellIntentionedExtremist taking drastic measures]] to be able to understand her better.
*** Her inability to communicate her feelings in general turns out to be her fatal flaw: [[spoiler:she committed suicide after shutting herself off from everyone, believing there was no way people could ever understand one another, and that even hoping for it was pointless]].
** The guests featured in the first episode are a married couple with a strained relationship. [[TheCynic The husband]], an incredibly scrutinous man, has long suspected his wife of being unfaithful, but never brought it up with her. Instead, when they’re driving off to their honeymoon, he gets mad when she won’t tell him why she’s on her phone, so he tries to take it away from her, only to [[spoiler:drive themselves of a mountain, killing the both of them as well as their unborn baby]].
** [[OneShotCharacter One of the guests]] in episode 4 is a {{Hikikomori}} with an [[AbusiveParents abusive mother]] who left him when he was young. His GoodStepmother did her best to get through to him, hoping he would call her “mom” one day, but he constantly brushed her off. [[spoiler: After committing suicide, he questions why he never said that to her and berates himself for it]].
** Starting in episode 7, [[TheNameless the dark-haired woman]] realizes [[spoiler:she’s a dead human]], but every time it seems like she’s going to talk to Decim about it, she stops herself. Telling him early on likely would have changed the course of the series and stopped her from enduring some of the DarkerAndEdgier moments that occurred after. There are multiple other instances of her clearly wanting to discuss something with Decim but being unable to, leading to him [[WellIntentionedExtremist taking drastic measures]] to be able to understand her better.
*** Her inability to communicate her feelings in general turns out to be her fatal flaw: [[spoiler:she committed suicide after shutting herself off from everyone, believing there was no way people could ever understand one another, and that even hoping for it was pointless]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
TRS cleanup: Flame Bait
Changed line(s) 72 (click to see context) from:
* One reason for the IdiotPlot in ''Manga/KedamonoDamono''. Haruki [[IJustWantToBeNormal has his reasons]], though.
to:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 12 (click to see context) from:
* A particularly heartbreaking example occurs in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' during [[spoiler: the Eclipse]]. [[spoiler: Judeau wants to confess his love for Casca after being seriously wounded by one of the Apostles. When the time finally comes, all he can say to her is "I'm glad to see you cry.". He dies painfully in her arms immediately after.]]
to:
* A particularly heartbreaking example occurs in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' during [[spoiler: the Eclipse]]. [[spoiler: Judeau wants to confess his love for Casca after being seriously wounded by one of the Apostles. When the time finally comes, all he can say to her is "I'm glad to see you cry.". He dies painfully in her arms immediately after.]]after]].
Changed line(s) 14 (click to see context) from:
** [[TheNondescript Takashi Kosuda]] has moments of this when trying to express his feelings for the series protagonist, [[LovableSexManiac Yamada]]. [[spoiler: When he finally works up the courage to confess his love to her, his message is garbled by train doors closing ''on his neck'' before he is whisked away.]]
to:
** [[TheNondescript Takashi Kosuda]] has moments of this when trying to express his feelings for the series protagonist, [[LovableSexManiac Yamada]]. [[spoiler: When he finally works up the courage to confess his love to her, his message is garbled by train doors closing ''on his neck'' before he is whisked away.]]away]].
Changed line(s) 18 (click to see context) from:
* ''Anime/BloodPlus'': Haji. Poor Haji loved Saya for the entire series but he remains the stoic quiet guy. For centuries, ever since a young Haji saw Saya in 1870, he pined away but he never tells her until the very last episode at the very last moment when [[spoiler: Saya is trying to kill Diva's babies and wants to die herself - and even then he only coughs it up when Kai forces him to. Of course, a few minutes later Amshel shows up and wrecks their moment, leaving Haji buried in rubble.]] Just think how much better Saya's life would be if he had said it sooner.
to:
* ''Anime/BloodPlus'': Haji. Poor Haji loved Saya for the entire series but he remains the stoic quiet guy. For centuries, ever since a young Haji saw Saya in 1870, he pined away but he never tells her until the very last episode at the very last moment when [[spoiler: Saya is trying to kill Diva's babies and wants to die herself - and even then he only coughs it up when Kai forces him to. Of course, a few minutes later Amshel shows up and wrecks their moment, leaving Haji buried in rubble.]] rubble]]. Just think how much better Saya's life would be if he had said it sooner.
Changed line(s) 26,28 (click to see context) from:
** This also applies to Lelouch himself. ManipulativeBastard he might be, but he's also a BadLiar and keeps his mouth shut when he really shouldn't. This results in a good chunk of tragedy in the show, especially his inability to be honest [[spoiler: about the exact circumstances surrounding Euphemia's death.]]
* Jeremy from ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'' encounters this a lot. He can't tell his step-brother Ian about Greg's abuse after [[spoiler: Ian tells him that he vows to make their new family a happy one.]] He can't tell his mother Sandra about it out of fear that she will be {{Driven to Suicide}}. He tries to tell his [[spoiler:boarding school roommate William about it by saying that he got the whip marks on his back from an evil spirit (Greg) that beat him in his house's torture room (his bedroom), but William doesn't get it.]] All in all, {{Poor Communication Kills}}. Literally.
* In ''Manga/DestinyOfTheShrineMaiden'' [[spoiler:the plot would have been almost completely different if Chikane had told Himeko about what happened in their past lives.]]
* Jeremy from ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'' encounters this a lot. He can't tell his step-brother Ian about Greg's abuse after [[spoiler: Ian tells him that he vows to make their new family a happy one.]] He can't tell his mother Sandra about it out of fear that she will be {{Driven to Suicide}}. He tries to tell his [[spoiler:boarding school roommate William about it by saying that he got the whip marks on his back from an evil spirit (Greg) that beat him in his house's torture room (his bedroom), but William doesn't get it.]] All in all, {{Poor Communication Kills}}. Literally.
* In ''Manga/DestinyOfTheShrineMaiden'' [[spoiler:the plot would have been almost completely different if Chikane had told Himeko about what happened in their past lives.]]
to:
** This also applies to Lelouch himself. ManipulativeBastard he might be, but he's also a BadLiar and keeps his mouth shut when he really shouldn't. This results in a good chunk of tragedy in the show, especially his inability to be honest [[spoiler: about the exact circumstances surrounding Euphemia's death.]]
death]].
* Jeremy from ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'' encounters this a lot. He can't tell his step-brother Ian about Greg's abuse after [[spoiler: Ian tells him that he vows to make their new family a happyone.]] one]]. He can't tell his mother Sandra about it out of fear that she will be {{Driven to Suicide}}. He tries to tell his [[spoiler:boarding school roommate William about it by saying that he got the whip marks on his back from an evil spirit (Greg) that beat him in his house's torture room (his bedroom), but William doesn't get it.]] it]]. All in all, {{Poor Communication Kills}}. Literally.
* In ''Manga/DestinyOfTheShrineMaiden'' [[spoiler:the plot would have been almost completely different if Chikane had told Himeko about what happened in their pastlives.]]lives]].
* Jeremy from ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'' encounters this a lot. He can't tell his step-brother Ian about Greg's abuse after [[spoiler: Ian tells him that he vows to make their new family a happy
* In ''Manga/DestinyOfTheShrineMaiden'' [[spoiler:the plot would have been almost completely different if Chikane had told Himeko about what happened in their past
Changed line(s) 33 (click to see context) from:
* A non-romantic example from ''Manga/FairyTail'' is [[spoiler:Cana, who is Gildarts' daughter. However, she was originally raised by her mother who apparently never told Gildarts about her, and after her mother died, Cana sought out Gildarts but couldn't work up the nerve to tell him she was his daughter. It was more than a decade before Gildarts found out.]]
to:
* A non-romantic example from ''Manga/FairyTail'' is [[spoiler:Cana, who is Gildarts' daughter. However, she was originally raised by her mother who apparently never told Gildarts about her, and after her mother died, Cana sought out Gildarts but couldn't work up the nerve to tell him she was his daughter. It was more than a decade before Gildarts found out.]]out]].
Changed line(s) 44 (click to see context) from:
* Although ''Anime/GunXSword'' begins with Wendy offering to marry Van as a reward for [[StandardHeroReward saving her hometown]], Wendy never confesses her deepening feelings for him, despite some good opportunities. Instead, her feelings for him are displayed mostly through GreenEyedMonster moments. [[spoiler: Her decision not to say anything when they part in the finale looks a lot like an AbortedDeclarationOfLove, but since they end up being reunited in the DistantFinale -- at a time when she's actually old enough to be in a relationship with him -- things work out in the end.]]
to:
* Although ''Anime/GunXSword'' begins with Wendy offering to marry Van as a reward for [[StandardHeroReward saving her hometown]], Wendy never confesses her deepening feelings for him, despite some good opportunities. Instead, her feelings for him are displayed mostly through GreenEyedMonster moments. [[spoiler: Her decision not to say anything when they part in the finale looks a lot like an AbortedDeclarationOfLove, but since they end up being reunited in the DistantFinale -- at a time when she's actually old enough to be in a relationship with him -- things work out in the end.]]end]].
Changed line(s) 46,47 (click to see context) from:
* In ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'', a lot of Hime's problems, especially around Iona and her JerkAss attitude around her, is due to the fact that she just can't spit out her DarkSecret, that [[spoiler:she accidentally opened the Axia Box, releasing the Phantom Empire.]]
* [[http://www.myanime.me/screenshots/115206-episode-13-screenshot-005.jpg Shallot]] from Creator/TatsuyamaSayuri's ''Manga/HappyHappyClover'', has a secret crush on [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DIrNEiChB8E/UJXnXltOkoI/AAAAAAAAAVk/sdbUuqxYuMQ/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-11-04-10h42m25s69.jpg Clover's best friend Mallow]]. In one story from the first volume, Shallot asks Clover to deliver a secret letter to Mallow and tells her it's a secret between him and her. [[{{Foil}} But Kale's baby brothers hears]] what Shallot and Clover we're talking about and later when Clover loses the letter. She decides to look for it, but the entire forest animals hears about the letter which was a result that Kale's brothers said to one of them and started asking each animal. When things start getting out of hand, Clover then see's Mallow asking for the letter that Shallot secretly gave Clover. By the end, the entire forest knows about this while Mallow is confused and Shallot is embarrassed. In the second volume, where a the main characters would answer questions to readers/fans. Shallot reveals that he wants to tell Mallow that he likes her, but its impossible to him since she's mostly spending time with Clover. However in the final volume, when Shallot get's hurt. Mallow recently in that volume wanted to be a doctor and decides to visit Shallot. Near the end of the story, [[LoveConfession Shallot accidentally admits to Mallow that he likes her.]] [[DoubleTake When he realized that he said that,]] [[ThatCameOutWrong he tries to say that it wasn't supposed to sound like that.]] But Mallow's response? [[OfficialCouple He gives him a big hug!]] After Mallow hugged him, Shallot get's so excited that he passes out as a response. Mallow responds by trying to wake him up, she also monologues about her heart feeling "fuzzy and warm" after he said that to her. Ever since that day, [[GenkiGirl Clover]] [[CuddleBug mentions that Mallow's been giving alot of hugs to him lately.]] Near the end of the final volume, [[HappilyMarried he and Mallow get married during the epilogue of the series.]]
* [[http://www.myanime.me/screenshots/115206-episode-13-screenshot-005.jpg Shallot]] from Creator/TatsuyamaSayuri's ''Manga/HappyHappyClover'', has a secret crush on [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DIrNEiChB8E/UJXnXltOkoI/AAAAAAAAAVk/sdbUuqxYuMQ/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-11-04-10h42m25s69.jpg Clover's best friend Mallow]]. In one story from the first volume, Shallot asks Clover to deliver a secret letter to Mallow and tells her it's a secret between him and her. [[{{Foil}} But Kale's baby brothers hears]] what Shallot and Clover we're talking about and later when Clover loses the letter. She decides to look for it, but the entire forest animals hears about the letter which was a result that Kale's brothers said to one of them and started asking each animal. When things start getting out of hand, Clover then see's Mallow asking for the letter that Shallot secretly gave Clover. By the end, the entire forest knows about this while Mallow is confused and Shallot is embarrassed. In the second volume, where a the main characters would answer questions to readers/fans. Shallot reveals that he wants to tell Mallow that he likes her, but its impossible to him since she's mostly spending time with Clover. However in the final volume, when Shallot get's hurt. Mallow recently in that volume wanted to be a doctor and decides to visit Shallot. Near the end of the story, [[LoveConfession Shallot accidentally admits to Mallow that he likes her.]] [[DoubleTake When he realized that he said that,]] [[ThatCameOutWrong he tries to say that it wasn't supposed to sound like that.]] But Mallow's response? [[OfficialCouple He gives him a big hug!]] After Mallow hugged him, Shallot get's so excited that he passes out as a response. Mallow responds by trying to wake him up, she also monologues about her heart feeling "fuzzy and warm" after he said that to her. Ever since that day, [[GenkiGirl Clover]] [[CuddleBug mentions that Mallow's been giving alot of hugs to him lately.]] Near the end of the final volume, [[HappilyMarried he and Mallow get married during the epilogue of the series.]]
to:
* In ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'', a lot of Hime's problems, especially around Iona and her JerkAss attitude around her, is due to the fact that she just can't spit out her DarkSecret, that [[spoiler:she accidentally opened the Axia Box, releasing the Phantom Empire.]]
Empire]].
* [[http://www.myanime.me/screenshots/115206-episode-13-screenshot-005.jpg Shallot]] from Creator/TatsuyamaSayuri's ''Manga/HappyHappyClover'', has a secret crush on [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DIrNEiChB8E/UJXnXltOkoI/AAAAAAAAAVk/sdbUuqxYuMQ/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-11-04-10h42m25s69.jpg Clover's best friend Mallow]]. In one story from the first volume, Shallot asks Clover to deliver a secret letter to Mallow and tells her it's a secret between him and her. [[{{Foil}} But Kale's baby brothers hears]] what Shallot and Clover we're talking about and later when Clover loses the letter. She decides to look for it, but the entire forest animals hears about the letter which was a result that Kale's brothers said to one of them and started asking each animal. When things start getting out of hand, Clover then see's Mallow asking for the letter that Shallot secretly gave Clover. By the end, the entire forest knows about this while Mallow is confused and Shallot is embarrassed. In the second volume, where a the main characters would answer questions to readers/fans. Shallot reveals that he wants to tell Mallow that he likes her, but its impossible to him since she's mostly spending time with Clover. However in the final volume, when Shallot get's hurt. Mallow recently in that volume wanted to be a doctor and decides to visit Shallot. Near the end of the story, [[LoveConfession Shallot accidentally admits to Mallow that he likesher.]] her]]. [[DoubleTake When he realized that he said that,]] that]], [[ThatCameOutWrong he tries to say that it wasn't supposed to sound like that.]] that]]. But Mallow's response? [[OfficialCouple He gives him a big hug!]] After Mallow hugged him, Shallot get's so excited that he passes out as a response. Mallow responds by trying to wake him up, she also monologues about her heart feeling "fuzzy and warm" after he said that to her. Ever since that day, [[GenkiGirl Clover]] [[CuddleBug mentions that Mallow's been giving alot of hugs to him lately.]] lately]]. Near the end of the final volume, [[HappilyMarried he and Mallow get married during the epilogue of the series.]]series]].
* [[http://www.myanime.me/screenshots/115206-episode-13-screenshot-005.jpg Shallot]] from Creator/TatsuyamaSayuri's ''Manga/HappyHappyClover'', has a secret crush on [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DIrNEiChB8E/UJXnXltOkoI/AAAAAAAAAVk/sdbUuqxYuMQ/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-11-04-10h42m25s69.jpg Clover's best friend Mallow]]. In one story from the first volume, Shallot asks Clover to deliver a secret letter to Mallow and tells her it's a secret between him and her. [[{{Foil}} But Kale's baby brothers hears]] what Shallot and Clover we're talking about and later when Clover loses the letter. She decides to look for it, but the entire forest animals hears about the letter which was a result that Kale's brothers said to one of them and started asking each animal. When things start getting out of hand, Clover then see's Mallow asking for the letter that Shallot secretly gave Clover. By the end, the entire forest knows about this while Mallow is confused and Shallot is embarrassed. In the second volume, where a the main characters would answer questions to readers/fans. Shallot reveals that he wants to tell Mallow that he likes her, but its impossible to him since she's mostly spending time with Clover. However in the final volume, when Shallot get's hurt. Mallow recently in that volume wanted to be a doctor and decides to visit Shallot. Near the end of the story, [[LoveConfession Shallot accidentally admits to Mallow that he likes
Changed line(s) 60 (click to see context) from:
** The girls usually have NO problem telling Issei of their feelings, often at the same time... in his bed... as he's trying to go to sleep. The only one that does is [[spoiler:Rias, because she's worried he doesn't see her as anything but the Occult Club's president]]. Issei has trouble telling Rias how he feels, too. [[spoiler: He's still emotionally scarred from being rejected and literally murdered by the first girl confessed to, a fallen angel named Raynare, who'd been masquerading as a normal girl and stringing Issei along before killing him.]]
to:
** The girls usually have NO problem telling Issei of their feelings, often at the same time... in his bed... as he's trying to go to sleep. The only one that does is [[spoiler:Rias, because she's worried he doesn't see her as anything but the Occult Club's president]]. Issei has trouble telling Rias how he feels, too. [[spoiler: He's still emotionally scarred from being rejected and literally murdered by the first girl confessed to, a fallen angel named Raynare, who'd been masquerading as a normal girl and stringing Issei along before killing him.]]him]].
Changed line(s) 64 (click to see context) from:
* ''Manga/ICantBelieveISleptWithYou'': Both women seem to have trouble spelling out their feelings. The Landlady almost makes an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove, but is [[MomentKiller interrupted by Chiyo's cell phone ringing in their ears.]]
to:
* ''Manga/ICantBelieveISleptWithYou'': Both women seem to have trouble spelling out their feelings. The Landlady almost makes an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove, but is [[MomentKiller interrupted by Chiyo's cell phone ringing in their ears.]]ears]].
Changed line(s) 66 (click to see context) from:
* ''Manga/ItazuraNaKiss'': A lot of grief would've been avoided had [[spoiler: Naoki simply voiced his growing feelings for Kotoko earlier. It took a GreenEyedEpiphany to finally declare to her.]]
to:
* ''Manga/ItazuraNaKiss'': A lot of grief would've been avoided had [[spoiler: Naoki simply voiced his growing feelings for Kotoko earlier. It took a GreenEyedEpiphany to finally declare to her.]]her]].
Changed line(s) 68 (click to see context) from:
* A variation in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar''. Instead of it being "cannot spit it out", it's "''will'' not spit it out" since the plot revolves around Kaguya and Shirogane trying to force each other into confessing without confessing themselves. [[spoiler:Although they actually do confess and get together long before the series ends.]]
to:
* A variation in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar''. Instead of it being "cannot spit it out", it's "''will'' not spit it out" since the plot revolves around Kaguya and Shirogane trying to force each other into confessing without confessing themselves. [[spoiler:Although they actually do confess and get together long before the series ends.]]ends]].
Changed line(s) 74 (click to see context) from:
* Many [[LoveTriangle love triangles]], such as the one in ''Manga/KimagureOrangeRoad,'' have a third wheel who thinks that the main character returns their feelings. In the case of ''KOR'', he doesn't, but feels it's far better to lead her on for the entire series instead of sitting her down and explaining the situation, as he ''does'' care for the girl as a sister and can't bring himself to hurt her feelings. It certainly doesn't help that the girl whom he ''does'' have feelings for is the ''best friend'' of the third wheel ''and'' an ActionGirl who already promised to help the wheel girl, as well as willing to [[IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer beat the shit out of him if he causes said girl harm]].
to:
* Many [[LoveTriangle love triangles]], such as the one in ''Manga/KimagureOrangeRoad,'' ''Manga/KimagureOrangeRoad'',F have a third wheel who thinks that the main character returns their feelings. In the case of ''KOR'', he doesn't, but feels it's far better to lead her on for the entire series instead of sitting her down and explaining the situation, as he ''does'' care for the girl as a sister and can't bring himself to hurt her feelings. It certainly doesn't help that the girl whom he ''does'' have feelings for is the ''best friend'' of the third wheel ''and'' an ActionGirl who already promised to help the wheel girl, as well as willing to [[IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer beat the shit out of him if he causes said girl harm]].
Changed line(s) 79 (click to see context) from:
* In ''Manga/LoveHina'' it took the vast majority of the fourteen volumes of the published manga for the male protagonist to even get past "I L...". [[spoiler:The entire ''rest'' of the manga consists of the same happening to the ''female'' lead.]] It's fun to follow, but incredibly excruciating at the same time. It's eventually [[LampshadeHanging referred to this]] in the [[MetaGuy Kanako arc]] {{OVA}}s.
to:
* In ''Manga/LoveHina'' it took the vast majority of the fourteen volumes of the published manga for the male protagonist to even get past "I L...". [[spoiler:The entire ''rest'' of the manga consists of the same happening to the ''female'' lead.]] lead]]. It's fun to follow, but incredibly excruciating at the same time. It's eventually [[LampshadeHanging referred to this]] in the [[MetaGuy Kanako arc]] {{OVA}}s.
Changed line(s) 88 (click to see context) from:
** Deconstructed concerning Kira and Flay. Before his fated duel with Athrun, Kira tells Flay there's something he wants to tell her, despite all the time she's been manipulating him. When Kira disappears after the fight, Flay realizes that she did like him. Fate ends up conspiring to keep the two apart until the very end [[spoiler:where Rau Le Crueset ends up shooting down her escape craft as one last KickTheDog moment.]]
to:
** Deconstructed concerning Kira and Flay. Before his fated duel with Athrun, Kira tells Flay there's something he wants to tell her, despite all the time she's been manipulating him. When Kira disappears after the fight, Flay realizes that she did like him. Fate ends up conspiring to keep the two apart until the very end [[spoiler:where Rau Le Crueset ends up shooting down her escape craft as one last KickTheDog moment.]]moment]].
Changed line(s) 93 (click to see context) from:
** And then there's the non-romantic version with the main plot, which is most prominent with Rin, Asahi's [[KidFromTheFuture Granddaughter from the Future]]. She could very easily clear up a lot of the mysteries and confusion about the plot (in particular whom Asahi ends up marrying), but she's expressly forbidden from revealing future knowledge, with her punishment for doing so being barred from returning to the future for some time. [[spoiler:Near the end of the series, as the cast starts to put things together, she says "To hell with the rules" and owns up to everything because she wants to prevent the BadFuture she comes from where practically the entire cast are alone and sad due to their friendships and lives breaking down.]]
to:
** And then there's the non-romantic version with the main plot, which is most prominent with Rin, Asahi's [[KidFromTheFuture Granddaughter from the Future]]. She could very easily clear up a lot of the mysteries and confusion about the plot (in particular whom Asahi ends up marrying), but she's expressly forbidden from revealing future knowledge, with her punishment for doing so being barred from returning to the future for some time. [[spoiler:Near the end of the series, as the cast starts to put things together, she says "To hell with the rules" and owns up to everything because she wants to prevent the BadFuture she comes from where practically the entire cast are alone and sad due to their friendships and lives breaking down.]]down]].
Changed line(s) 112 (click to see context) from:
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Scarcely a character in the entire series is capable of admitting his or her deeper feelings toward those he or she loves most [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYjn8NpXJcs (with Kaworu being the main exception)]]. Often even the exceptions turn out not to be exceptions. For example, Asuka's flamboyant confessions of love for Kaji [[OperationJealousy are to mask her growing attraction]] to Shinji. Of course, it doesn't work. Unfortunately, the consequence of that situation was the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and it could have been averted if the characters (mainly Shinji and Asuka) [[ForWantOfANail would have been more open and sincere with each other.]]
to:
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Scarcely a character in the entire series is capable of admitting his or her deeper feelings toward those he or she loves most [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYjn8NpXJcs (with Kaworu being the main exception)]]. Often even the exceptions turn out not to be exceptions. For example, Asuka's flamboyant confessions of love for Kaji [[OperationJealousy are to mask her growing attraction]] to Shinji. Of course, it doesn't work. Unfortunately, the consequence of that situation was the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and it could have been averted if the characters (mainly Shinji and Asuka) [[ForWantOfANail would have been more open and sincere with each other.]]other]].
Changed line(s) 117 (click to see context) from:
* In ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', Ahiru can't tell Mytho that she loves him -- Not because of nervousness, but because she will ''cease to exist'' once she does. This becomes very troublesome in the first season finale when [[spoiler: Princess Kraehe offers to return Mytho's emotion of love, but only if she says that she loves him.]]
to:
* In ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', Ahiru can't tell Mytho that she loves him -- Not because of nervousness, but because she will ''cease to exist'' once she does. This becomes very troublesome in the first season finale when [[spoiler: Princess Kraehe offers to return Mytho's emotion of love, but only if she says that she loves him.]]him]].
Changed line(s) 126 (click to see context) from:
* The foundation of pretty much all the tension and drama of ''Manga/WhisperedWords'' is based on Sumika's inability to tell Kazama that she loves her. Kazama likes girls too, and very openly... But Sumika isn't her type, and is petrified that a confession of love would destroy their friendship. [[spoiler:As of chapter 20, the tension is even more balanced on this, from both sides: Kazama is in love with Sumika as well, but doesn't know that Sumika likes girls (or even just her), so she is also terrified that confessing ''her'' love would tear them apart.]]
to:
* The foundation of pretty much all the tension and drama of ''Manga/WhisperedWords'' is based on Sumika's inability to tell Kazama that she loves her. Kazama likes girls too, and very openly... But Sumika isn't her type, and is petrified that a confession of love would destroy their friendship. [[spoiler:As of chapter 20, the tension is even more balanced on this, from both sides: Kazama is in love with Sumika as well, but doesn't know that Sumika likes girls (or even just her), so she is also terrified that confessing ''her'' love would tear them apart.]]apart]].
Changed line(s) 158 (click to see context) from:
* Played with in ''Manga/ToLoveRu''. In the first chapter, Rito plays it straight and then subverts it when he does finally confess to Haruna. Only for Lala to get in the way. It then plays the trope fairly straight for a time. However the reason changes from shyness to indecisiveness as he is no longer sure of his feelings. [[spoiler: As soon as he is sure of his feelings for Lala, he confesses to her immediately, then goes to confess to Haruna who he still loves, making it a subversion.]]
to:
* Played with in ''Manga/ToLoveRu''. In the first chapter, Rito plays it straight and then subverts it when he does finally confess to Haruna. Only for Lala to get in the way. It then plays the trope fairly straight for a time. However the reason changes from shyness to indecisiveness as he is no longer sure of his feelings. [[spoiler: As soon as he is sure of his feelings for Lala, he confesses to her immediately, then goes to confess to Haruna who he still loves, making it a subversion.]]subversion]].
Changed line(s) 168 (click to see context) from:
* Subverted in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''. Just before [[spoiler: Yusuke leaves to face his demon heritage,]] he has one last meal at the Yukimura diner. Cue [[spoiler: Yusuke's marriage proposal,]] which Keiko reacts to rather nonchalantly. The subversion comes when [[spoiler: Keiko returns to her room -- Yusuke drops "Oh, come on, Keiko... you know I love you." without nary a second thought.]] Keiko's response? [[spoiler: An even more nonchalant "Yeah, yeah."]]
to:
* Subverted in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''. Just before [[spoiler: Yusuke leaves to face his demon heritage,]] heritage]], he has one last meal at the Yukimura diner. Cue [[spoiler: Yusuke's marriage proposal,]] proposal]], which Keiko reacts to rather nonchalantly. The subversion comes when [[spoiler: Keiko returns to her room -- Yusuke drops "Oh, come on, Keiko... you know I love you." without nary a second thought.]] thought]]. Keiko's response? [[spoiler: An even more nonchalant "Yeah, yeah."]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 162 (click to see context) from:
* Tatsuya and Minami in ''Manga/{{Touch}}''. He likes her and she likes him, and she even kisses and confess to him before the 20th episode. It still took over 100 episodes...
to:
* Tatsuya and Minami in ''Manga/{{Touch}}''. ''Manga/Touch1981''. He likes her and she likes him, and she even kisses and confess confesses to him before the 20th episode. It still took over 100 episodes...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
page moved in complaince of localization policy (the title of the official english release takes precedence)
Deleted line(s) 33 (click to see context) :
* ''Manga/EvenIfItWasJustOnceIRegretIt'': Both women seem to have trouble spelling out their feelings. The Landlady almost makes an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove, but is [[MomentKiller interrupted by Chiyo's cell phone ringing in their ears.]]
Added DiffLines:
* ''Manga/ICantBelieveISleptWithYou'': Both women seem to have trouble spelling out their feelings. The Landlady almost makes an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove, but is [[MomentKiller interrupted by Chiyo's cell phone ringing in their ears.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
trope split
Changed line(s) 70 (click to see context) from:
* Tomoe from ''Manga/KamisamaKiss'' has some real problems admitting his feelings to Nanami. Part of it comes from the fact he's her servant and bodyguard and he was forced into that position against his will. Part of it stems from his disapproval of InterspeciesRomance (he's a {{Kitsune}} and she's a human). And part of it is simply that he is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
to:
* Tomoe from ''Manga/KamisamaKiss'' has some real problems admitting his feelings to Nanami. Part of it comes from the fact he's her servant and bodyguard and he was forced into that position against his will. Part of it stems from his disapproval of InterspeciesRomance (he's a {{Kitsune}} [[AsianFoxSpirit Kitsune]] and she's a human). And part of it is simply that he is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 69 (click to see context) from:
* In ''Anime/KaleidoStar'', IllBoy Ken Robbins tries often to tell Sora Naegino that he greatly loves and admires her, but never gets the chance. In a more adult version, Kalos Eido loves his best friend Sarah Dupont, but feels guilty for their common past and doesn't want to let her know. And last, Jerry the policeman can't tell his best friend Kate that he loves her since they've been friends for ''decades'' and he fears to lose that friendship [[spoiler: When he ''does'' tell her, he graduates to VictoriousChildhoodFriend]].
to:
* In ''Anime/KaleidoStar'', IllBoy Ken Robbins tries often to tell Sora Naegino that he greatly loves and admires her, but never gets the chance. In a more adult version, Kalos Eido loves his best friend Sarah Dupont, but feels guilty for their common past and doesn't want to let her know. And last, Jerry the policeman can't tell his best friend Kate that he loves her since they've been friends for ''decades'' and he fears to lose that friendship [[spoiler: When he ''does'' tell her, he graduates to VictoriousChildhoodFriend]].
Changed line(s) 119 (click to see context) from:
** Deconstructed: Sayaka Miki ''does'' have her chance to get together with an IllBoy Kamijou as her friend Hitomi Shizuki ''does'' ask her if she loves him. Sayaka's inability to just spit it out already makes her friend consider the answer is no. She has her reasons, yes, but still...
to:
** Deconstructed: Sayaka Miki ''does'' have her chance to get together with an IllBoy Kamijou as her friend Hitomi Shizuki ''does'' ask her if she loves him. Sayaka's inability to just spit it out already makes her friend consider the answer is no. She has her reasons, yes, but still...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ''Manga/EvenIfItWasJustOnceIRegretIt'': Both women seem to have trouble spelling out their feelings. The Landlady almost makes an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove, but is [[MomentKiller interrupted by Chiyo's cell phone ringing in their ears.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 127 (click to see context) from:
* It's very obvious from early on in ''Anime/SenkiZesshouSymphogear'' that Miku is harboring romantic feelings for her best friend, Hibiki. Unfortunately, Miku can't bring herself to confess and Hibiki is [[ObliviousToLove far too dense]] to figure it out. [[spoiler:The final scene in the series has Miku finally work up the courage to presumably confess her love, with Hibiki replying that she ''also'' has something to tell Miku and hopes it's the same thing, but the series ends without any explicit confirmation]].
to:
Added DiffLines:
* It's very obvious from early on in ''Anime/{{Symphogear}}'' that Miku is harboring romantic feelings for her best friend, Hibiki. Unfortunately, Miku can't bring herself to confess and Hibiki is [[ObliviousToLove far too dense]] to figure it out. [[spoiler:The final scene in the series has Miku finally work up the courage to presumably confess her love, with Hibiki replying that she ''also'' has something to tell Miku and hopes it's the same thing, but the series ends without any explicit confirmation]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
TRS has decided that Schoolgirl Lesbians is no longer a valid trope. Removing all links to the page and changing them to more appropriate pages if one can be found
Changed line(s) 125 (click to see context) from:
* The foundation of pretty much all the tension and drama of ''Manga/WhisperedWords'' is based on Sumika's inability to tell Kazama that she loves her. Kazama [[SchoolgirlLesbians likes girls too]], and very openly... But Sumika isn't her type, and is petrified that a confession of love would destroy their friendship. [[spoiler:As of chapter 20, the tension is even more balanced on this, from both sides: Kazama is in love with Sumika as well, but doesn't know that Sumika likes girls (or even just her), so she is also terrified that confessing ''her'' love would tear them apart.]]
to:
* The foundation of pretty much all the tension and drama of ''Manga/WhisperedWords'' is based on Sumika's inability to tell Kazama that she loves her. Kazama [[SchoolgirlLesbians likes girls too]], too, and very openly... But Sumika isn't her type, and is petrified that a confession of love would destroy their friendship. [[spoiler:As of chapter 20, the tension is even more balanced on this, from both sides: Kazama is in love with Sumika as well, but doesn't know that Sumika likes girls (or even just her), so she is also terrified that confessing ''her'' love would tear them apart.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* The lynchpin of the ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' manga is [[NiceGuy Keiichi]] and [[MagicalGirlfriend Belldandy's]] [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan ironclad relationship]], and Keiichi's inability to blatantly express his love without help from a third party, even though Belldandy has no trouble at all with it. He was '''much''' [[CharacterizationMarchesOn closer to Bell in the early manga, though]], and seems to be getting better at it in recent chapters. It should '''also''' be noted that the trope is {{averted}} in the 1994 {{OVA}}, and in the 2005 animé's first season ([[SeriesContinuityError ...but ignored in the second]]), and both seem to be more popular and well-known among fans than the manga. The manga's finale reveals the reason for the backsliding is [[spoiler:mortals and gods are not allowed to enter an intimate relationship. Because Keiichi's wish for Belldandy to remain at his side could not be voided, the Ultimate Force suppressed his urges to the point that even holding hands was embarassing]].
* ''Manga/AiYoriAoshi'':
** The whole series would have been much simpler if Aoi and Kaoru could just tell Kaoru's [[TheUnwantedHarem Unwanted Harem]] that he was taken. Also much shorter. On the upside, it paves the way for Tina's crowning moment.
** Tina is another example. Her inability to confess her love to Kaoru before the series begins leads to her going on a year-long trip around the world, mainly to try and get over it.
* In the backstory of ''Manga/AizawaSanMultiplies'', the title character spent two years crushing on her classmate Souta Mizutani. She even named a cat after him because of it.
* In ''Manga/AoiKiseki'' the female lead Ageha is unable to interact with her beau without going full {{Tsundere}} and confessing her feelings out of sheer shyness. When she finally works the courage to do so, a nasty fall damages her brain, robbing her of her ability to speak. Ouch.
* Moe in ''Manga/AsteroidInLove'' had a crush on Misa for several years as of PresentDay, but she didn't have the confidence to confess to the latter until Mikage encouraged her to.
* Mikasa from ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', has been in love with Eren since they were kids, but he remained completely [[ObliviousToLove oblivious]] to it and she resigned herself to loving him from afar. [[spoiler: Come Chapter 123, Eren asks her out of nowhere what exactly he means to her and Mikasa, completely blindsided, stammered out that he was her family. She would later come to see this moment as one of her greatest regrets, especially considering the path that Eren went down shortly after this encounter...]]
* Kaorin of ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' can't do anything about her crush on the resident HugeSchoolgirl, as she becomes so [[LoveMakesYouCrazy flustered]] around Sakaki that it's amazing that she can talk at all.
* ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}'' brings this to the logical conclusion. [[spoiler: [[CatGirl Hanekawa]]]] never confessed her feelings towards [[ObliviousToLove Araragi]] [[UnLuckyChildhoodFriend despite knowing him for years]], so he gets taken away by [[spoiler:Senjougahara]] who confessed to him not long after realizing her own feelings. Araragi never realized this [[spoiler: until the cat possessing Hanekawa spit it out to him]].
* In ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'', Moritaka Mashiro's uncle Nobuhiro was in a correspondence with his classmate Miyuki Haruno (Miho's mother) for years, but was unable to confess his feelings to her until he was able to make a living off of manga, wanting to date her with the intent of marrying her and feeling unable to do so considering her rising to become the secretary to her company's president. Miyuki eventually fell in love with another man and had children, as while she felt the same about Nobuhiro, she was unable to wait any longer. Kaya's father notes that Moritaka and Miho admitting their feelings to each other is the crucial reason why their relationship will have a different outcome.
* A particularly heartbreaking example occurs in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' during [[spoiler: the Eclipse]]. [[spoiler: Judeau wants to confess his love for Casca after being seriously wounded by one of the Apostles. When the time finally comes, all he can say to her is "I'm glad to see you cry.". He dies painfully in her arms immediately after.]]
* ''Manga/BGataHKei'':
** [[TheNondescript Takashi Kosuda]] has moments of this when trying to express his feelings for the series protagonist, [[LovableSexManiac Yamada]]. [[spoiler: When he finally works up the courage to confess his love to her, his message is garbled by train doors closing ''on his neck'' before he is whisked away.]]
** Yamada is worse. She and Kosuda start dating at about Chapter 20. Kosuda finds this out about 200 chapters and almost two in-universe years later.
* The fact that the two sisters Asu and Kyou from ''Manga/BinbouShimaiMonogatari'' love each other a lot can't prevent them from communicating poorly on a regular basis, making them run in panicky circles where a few choice words would have helped immensely. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BinbouShimaiMonogatari1.jpg But the making-up hugs are cute indeed]]. [[{{Squee}} Awww...]]
* Charlotte Roselei from ''Manga/BlackClover''. She has a very bad experience of this when it comes to the one she is in love with. When Yami only wants to ask her about the curse she suffered from, not only does she interrupt him but also ''runs away screaming'' when she thinks he is about to make her confess. Eventually, she admits her love for Yami to her squad and they are supportive about it, much to her surprise. But she's still completely unable to admit it it ''to Yami''. For added hilarity, he shows up to talk to her almost immediately afterwards.
* ''Anime/BloodPlus'': Haji. Poor Haji loved Saya for the entire series but he remains the stoic quiet guy. For centuries, ever since a young Haji saw Saya in 1870, he pined away but he never tells her until the very last episode at the very last moment when [[spoiler: Saya is trying to kill Diva's babies and wants to die herself - and even then he only coughs it up when Kai forces him to. Of course, a few minutes later Amshel shows up and wrecks their moment, leaving Haji buried in rubble.]] Just think how much better Saya's life would be if he had said it sooner.
* Hagino in ''Manga/BlueDrop'' for the largest part doesn't tell Mari that she is the commander of the space ship that caused the disaster in which Mari's parents died.
* In ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'', it's hard to say that the plot would have changed had he told Rosette, but Chrono constantly dodges around telling Rosette about his past -- to the point that "one of these days, I'll have to tell you a story" practically becomes his CatchPhrase. The few times he ''does'' seem to be about to explain it, he's interrupted. In the manga, Rosette has to go into his soul and dig around in his memories to find out the truth.
* ''Manga/CityHunter'': Ryo. The one time he tried to declare his love for Kaori, he couldn't finish the phrase. Then Kaori accidentally blew up the building, preventing him from succeeding in his attempts at finishing the phrase.
* Used famously in Creator/{{CLAMP}} works, especially ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', ''Manga/{{Wish}}'' and the newer series ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' and ''Manga/XxxHolic''. They also tend to use a unique variations of this trope especially with the dreamseers. Who can see the possible futures both good and bad. They'll tell the rest of the cast whenever the future is good, however when the future is generally bad they won't say anything. The reason behind this is because as long as they don't tell the key players that future then they can change it, but telling others of that future can set it in stone. [[spoiler: And the ''only'' dreamseer who actually DID say the future was still unchanged... said so after ''her'' death]].
* In ''Manga/Classi9'', [[spoiler:Bach]] has troubles dealing with discovering [[SweetPollyOliver Ren's gender]], so much he can't bring himself to tell her he knows.
* ''Franchise/CodeGeass'':
** [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Shirley]] [[CuteClumsyGirl Fenette]] is not able to give a LoveConfession to [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob Lelouch]] [[SelectiveObliviousness that he actually pays attention to]] until a little over halfway through R2, [[spoiler: [[KillTheCutie and then she dies]]]].
** This also applies to Lelouch himself. ManipulativeBastard he might be, but he's also a BadLiar and keeps his mouth shut when he really shouldn't. This results in a good chunk of tragedy in the show, especially his inability to be honest [[spoiler: about the exact circumstances surrounding Euphemia's death.]]
* Jeremy from ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'' encounters this a lot. He can't tell his step-brother Ian about Greg's abuse after [[spoiler: Ian tells him that he vows to make their new family a happy one.]] He can't tell his mother Sandra about it out of fear that she will be {{Driven to Suicide}}. He tries to tell his [[spoiler:boarding school roommate William about it by saying that he got the whip marks on his back from an evil spirit (Greg) that beat him in his house's torture room (his bedroom), but William doesn't get it.]] All in all, {{Poor Communication Kills}}. Literally.
* In ''Manga/DestinyOfTheShrineMaiden'' [[spoiler:the plot would have been almost completely different if Chikane had told Himeko about what happened in their past lives.]]
* All Daisuke needs to do in ''Manga/DNAngel'' to stop transforming into Dark is to get the girl he loves to love him in return -- but that includes loving ''Dark'', since Dark is a part of him. Daisuke is unable to bring himself to tell her the truth, partially because he's scared of rejection and partially because part of him isn't sure if he ''wants'' Dark to leave.
* ''Anime/EurekaSeven'':
** Three of the characters, a seasoned rebel named Holland, his girlfriend/second in command Talho, and a young boy named Renton get into an argument over an injured teammate. Holland pretends he doesn't care, and goes on a mission to save a head priest "for a lot of money." Renton is furious that he doesn't care. Talho understands that Holland is saving this priest because he can save their teammate. Holland beats Renton up for his suggesting they try to save their teammate, Talho slaps Holland for not telling Renton that he wants to save their teammate, she also slaps Renton for not realizing that Holland wants to save their teammate (but she doesn't tell him this). This leads to Renton leaving the crew, and falling into the company of a rival mercenary. Just because everybody Cannot Spit It Out.
** In another example, Renton, who's looking for relationship advice because he wants to tell Eureka he loves her, winds up looking at a porno rag, and of course, he gets caught. The men think he wants to do it with Eureka, so they convert his room into some sort of love nest, and Holland of course finds out and beats the shit out of Renton.
* A non-romantic example from ''Manga/FairyTail'' is [[spoiler:Cana, who is Gildarts' daughter. However, she was originally raised by her mother who apparently never told Gildarts about her, and after her mother died, Cana sought out Gildarts but couldn't work up the nerve to tell him she was his daughter. It was more than a decade before Gildarts found out.]]
* Played straight by Saito and Louise in the first season of the ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' anime, averted early in the second. Particularly surprising considering [[LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana who]] these characters are [[{{expy}} expies]] of.
* In the ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' manga and second anime, Winry and Ed have this in SPADES. To the point where he'd rather recite the periodic table of elements than admit his feelings.
* ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'':
** Through the entire anime, Kaname was unable to bring herself to come out and confess to Sôsuke. Granted, ''anyone'' should have been capable of noticing her feelings without a direct confession, but... [[ChasteHero Sôsuke]] [[CloudCuckooLander being]] [[NoSocialSkills Sôsuke]], normal methods [[ObliviousToLove don't work with him]].
** He probably had a clue and, by the look of the ''Second Raid'' finale, he reciprocated even though he wanted to keep it a secret from Mithril for obvious reasons.
** In ''The Second Raid", Tessa angrily denounces Sôsuke's inability to just say [[LoveTriangle that he loves Kaname over her]].
--->'''Tessa:''' Do you understand my feelings, even a little bit? You're the worst! You pretend to be kind and friendly, but you're just an egotist! You're always pretending... Why don't you just admit it? "''I want to be with her! Don't stand in my way!''"
** Wraith comes to Mao with important news. But after watching Mao rally the forces by commanding them to embarrass their annoyingly overconfident fallen comrade, [[spoiler:Kurz]], by completing the mission without him, Wraith immediately clams up and insists the news actually wasn't that important and would probably just ruin the mood. [[spoiler:Said news is that Kurz actually survived and had just finished rehabilitation]].
* In ''Anime/GirlsBeyondTheWasteland'', Yuuka starts to realize that she likes Buntarou, but can never bring herself to tell him directly, either due to fear of rejection, or because she doesn't want to screw up the group dynamic in the event they started dating.
* In ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'', the three members of the Oarai student council are the only ones who know that [[spoiler:if the school does not win the tournament, it will be shut down]]. Naturally, while this motivates many of their decisions, they don't reveal it, with Anzu making a vaguely worded threat that Miho won't be attending school at Oarai for long if she doesn't join the tankery club, silencing Yuzu when she is about to tell Miho and Yukari the truth, and even being unable to tell Miho when she invites her to dinner for that exact purpose (leaving Miho suspicious). This proves counterproductive to the student council's plans when those LockedOutOfTheLoop are less concerned about winning, and they are ultimately forced to tell the truth when Miho considers forfeiting the match rather than risk people getting hurt.
* Although ''Anime/GunXSword'' begins with Wendy offering to marry Van as a reward for [[StandardHeroReward saving her hometown]], Wendy never confesses her deepening feelings for him, despite some good opportunities. Instead, her feelings for him are displayed mostly through GreenEyedMonster moments. [[spoiler: Her decision not to say anything when they part in the finale looks a lot like an AbortedDeclarationOfLove, but since they end up being reunited in the DistantFinale -- at a time when she's actually old enough to be in a relationship with him -- things work out in the end.]]
* In ''Manga/HanaKimi'', Mizuki loves Sano, and Sano loves Mizuki pretty much from Chapter 3 onwards. Also, that's about when Sano also finds out that Mizuki really is a girl. And neither knows about what the other knows until chapter 133.
* In ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'', a lot of Hime's problems, especially around Iona and her JerkAss attitude around her, is due to the fact that she just can't spit out her DarkSecret, that [[spoiler:she accidentally opened the Axia Box, releasing the Phantom Empire.]]
* [[http://www.myanime.me/screenshots/115206-episode-13-screenshot-005.jpg Shallot]] from Creator/TatsuyamaSayuri's ''Manga/HappyHappyClover'', has a secret crush on [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DIrNEiChB8E/UJXnXltOkoI/AAAAAAAAAVk/sdbUuqxYuMQ/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-11-04-10h42m25s69.jpg Clover's best friend Mallow]]. In one story from the first volume, Shallot asks Clover to deliver a secret letter to Mallow and tells her it's a secret between him and her. [[{{Foil}} But Kale's baby brothers hears]] what Shallot and Clover we're talking about and later when Clover loses the letter. She decides to look for it, but the entire forest animals hears about the letter which was a result that Kale's brothers said to one of them and started asking each animal. When things start getting out of hand, Clover then see's Mallow asking for the letter that Shallot secretly gave Clover. By the end, the entire forest knows about this while Mallow is confused and Shallot is embarrassed. In the second volume, where a the main characters would answer questions to readers/fans. Shallot reveals that he wants to tell Mallow that he likes her, but its impossible to him since she's mostly spending time with Clover. However in the final volume, when Shallot get's hurt. Mallow recently in that volume wanted to be a doctor and decides to visit Shallot. Near the end of the story, [[LoveConfession Shallot accidentally admits to Mallow that he likes her.]] [[DoubleTake When he realized that he said that,]] [[ThatCameOutWrong he tries to say that it wasn't supposed to sound like that.]] But Mallow's response? [[OfficialCouple He gives him a big hug!]] After Mallow hugged him, Shallot get's so excited that he passes out as a response. Mallow responds by trying to wake him up, she also monologues about her heart feeling "fuzzy and warm" after he said that to her. Ever since that day, [[GenkiGirl Clover]] [[CuddleBug mentions that Mallow's been giving alot of hugs to him lately.]] Near the end of the final volume, [[HappilyMarried he and Mallow get married during the epilogue of the series.]]
* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'':
** Kyon seems to be the only cast member who is oblivious to Haruhi's attraction to him (even though she would likely die before admitting as much, perhaps even to herself).
** Conversely, Kyon has admitted on multiple occasions (in the novels, at least) that he is attracted to both Asahina Mikuru and Nagato Yuki (but never confesses as much to either girl). [[spoiler:In a subversion of the latter, Asahina warns Kyon that he mustn't allow himself to become too close to her]].
** This trope mostly applies to Haruhi, who would simplify things a lot if she actually said something, and unlike Kyon, doesn't have a reason to keep quiet.
* Although most of the girls of ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'' UnwantedHarem have the ability to use this trope, the only one who really gets it enforced on her is Hinagiku, though she did manage to confess once, it was timed so that he couldn't hear it, and otherwise it gets mixed with interuptions or her simply, as she explains to Ayumu, wanting him to start the confessions.
* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'':
** A great deal of time involving England and America involves both of their inabilities to share their feelings, mixed dangerously with England's {{tsundere}} tendencies and America's JerkWithAHeartOfGold habits targeted right back. This ShipTease has affected the fandom as well as the canon universe immensely.
** Sweden -- every time he tries to talk to Finland, he becomes flustered and can't finish what he was about to say. It doesn't help that Finland seems to be ObliviousToLove, either.
* ''Manga/HidamariSketch'':
** Sae has trouble telling her little sister Chika how much she really cares for her.
** Likewise, Natsume is sending Sae [[{{Tsundere}} mostly confusing messages]], although it's admittedly quite hard to get through Sae's [[SelectiveObliviousness obliviousness]].
* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'':
** The girls usually have NO problem telling Issei of their feelings, often at the same time... in his bed... as he's trying to go to sleep. The only one that does is [[spoiler:Rias, because she's worried he doesn't see her as anything but the Occult Club's president]]. Issei has trouble telling Rias how he feels, too. [[spoiler: He's still emotionally scarred from being rejected and literally murdered by the first girl confessed to, a fallen angel named Raynare, who'd been masquerading as a normal girl and stringing Issei along before killing him.]]
** Akeno has trouble confessing at first, knowing Issei's hatred of Fallen Angels and fearing he would hate her, too, due to her half-blood heritage as one. Once he assures her he couldn't hate her if he tried, she gets a lot more clingy, in a good way.
* The girls in ''LightNovel/HowToRaiseABoringGirlfriend'' can't bring themselves to telling Tomoya how they feel, either because of competition from the other girls or because he seems to be ObliviousToLove.
* Including it in the Anime & Manga section even though it's technically an Original English Language manga. In ''Manga/{{Dramacon}}'' by Svetlana Chmakova, despite three years of blatant flirtation and although, like Kagome and Inuyasha, each has more of less come to an understanding with regards to the other's feelings, [[spoiler:neither Christie or Matt openly confess their feelings before the story's final act]].
* Played mostly straight with the members of Ichika's BalancedHarem in ''LightNovel/InfiniteStratos'', but wonderfully averted with [[spoiler:Laura, after being [[DefrostingIceQueen defrosted]]]]. Half an hour after she knows she's in love with Ichika, so does everyone else--Including Ichika, [[ObliviousToLove which is pretty damn impressive]].
* ''Manga/ItazuraNaKiss'': A lot of grief would've been avoided had [[spoiler: Naoki simply voiced his growing feelings for Kotoko earlier. It took a GreenEyedEpiphany to finally declare to her.]]
* In ''Manga/JunjouRomantica'', Misaki has enormous difficulty on two counts: he can't bring himself to tell Usami he loves him, and he's so concerned with never being a burden to anyone that he's pretty much incapable of saying what he wants from other people, even when they flat-out ask him and are obviously willing to do whatever he wants. Naturally, this leads to complications, as he tends to go along with what other people want -- even when the reason why they want it is because they think it'll make ''him'' happy...
* A variation in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar''. Instead of it being "cannot spit it out", it's "''will'' not spit it out" since the plot revolves around Kaguya and Shirogane trying to force each other into confessing without confessing themselves. [[spoiler:Although they actually do confess and get together long before the series ends.]]
* In ''Anime/KaleidoStar'', IllBoy Ken Robbins tries often to tell Sora Naegino that he greatly loves and admires her, but never gets the chance. In a more adult version, Kalos Eido loves his best friend Sarah Dupont, but feels guilty for their common past and doesn't want to let her know. And last, Jerry the policeman can't tell his best friend Kate that he loves her since they've been friends for ''decades'' and he fears to lose that friendship [[spoiler: When he ''does'' tell her, he graduates to VictoriousChildhoodFriend]].
* Tomoe from ''Manga/KamisamaKiss'' has some real problems admitting his feelings to Nanami. Part of it comes from the fact he's her servant and bodyguard and he was forced into that position against his will. Part of it stems from his disapproval of InterspeciesRomance (he's a {{Kitsune}} and she's a human). And part of it is simply that he is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
* In ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'', Yuichi's aunt Akiko never thinks to mention to him that [[spoiler:the girl whose death traumatized him 7 years ago was still alive in the hospital]] until the memory resurfaces.
* One reason for the IdiotPlot in ''Manga/KedamonoDamono''. Haruki [[IJustWantToBeNormal has his reasons]], though.
* The title character of ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' is totally unable to take initiative in starting a romantic relationship with Miu, even though she obviously likes him. All of the masters are constantly guessing (and probably betting on) when he'll finally say something.
* Many [[LoveTriangle love triangles]], such as the one in ''Manga/KimagureOrangeRoad,'' have a third wheel who thinks that the main character returns their feelings. In the case of ''KOR'', he doesn't, but feels it's far better to lead her on for the entire series instead of sitting her down and explaining the situation, as he ''does'' care for the girl as a sister and can't bring himself to hurt her feelings. It certainly doesn't help that the girl whom he ''does'' have feelings for is the ''best friend'' of the third wheel ''and'' an ActionGirl who already promised to help the wheel girl, as well as willing to [[IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer beat the shit out of him if he causes said girl harm]].
* ''Manga/KimiNiTodoke'': [[ShrinkingViolet Sawako]] keeps stopping short of saying what she really feels time and time again because of her [[ExtremeDoormat overly selfless and humble personality]], an endless source of frustration and misunderstandings for those who care about her.
* Kotaro and Mayumi in ''Manga/KotaroMakaritoru'' absolutely love each other but feel too embarrassed to confess it to the other. When one of them is about to muster enough courage to confess, [[MomentKiller expect someone else to show up and ruin the moment]].
* In the animated adaptation of ''Manga/KotouraSan'', there is Haruka and Hiyori to Manabe. Interestingly, Manabe and Haruka's romance progresses fine regardless, and Haruka confessed in the end regardless. Averted in the manga, where Haruka confessed in the ''third chapter''.
* A consistent problem in ''Manga/LastGame''. Although, it may be {{Justified}} in Yanagi's case because Kujou is just so ObliviousToLove that she might misinterpret his potential confession as a declaration of friendship instead.
* In ''Manga/LoveHina'' it took the vast majority of the fourteen volumes of the published manga for the male protagonist to even get past "I L...". [[spoiler:The entire ''rest'' of the manga consists of the same happening to the ''female'' lead.]] It's fun to follow, but incredibly excruciating at the same time. It's eventually [[LampshadeHanging referred to this]] in the [[MetaGuy Kanako arc]] {{OVA}}s.
* In the first two seasons of ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'', the villains have their own reasons for doing what they're doing, but refuse to tell why despite Nanoha wanting to talk to them. Nanoha (whose main characteristic is her honesty and straightforwardness) decides that the only way to get them to explain their actions is to [[DefeatMeansFriendship beat them in combat]] and [[WarriorTherapist demand an explanation]]. It works.
** The Wolkenritter are concerned about Hayate being uncovered as master of the Book of Darkness and being labeled a criminal as a result, which could be one reason why they don't tell Nanoha and her friends their story.
** Also, all of the TSAB's experience with them at that point was as emotionless, deadly constructs who would stop at nothing to protect the Book of Darkness - not exactly people with a trustworthy reputation. Even if Nanoha and Fate are willing to think otherwise, it's clear they're not the ones calling the shots on the case.
* After episode 9 of ''Anime/MagicalShoppingArcadeAbenobashi'', Sasshi finds himself unable to bring himself to tell Arumi that [[spoiler:Masa-jii is dead]].
* In ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'', Clef can't bring himself to reveal that [[spoiler:the Magic Knights are summoned to kill the Pillar of Cephiro as a failsafe if that person becomes evil and threatens the land]]. He deeply apologizes for this later.
* ''Manga/{{Mahoraba}}'' takes the romantic variety to insane levels, leaving you to wonder if either of the mains have tongues at all until the last episode.
* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'':
** A large amount of problems in the series and its sequel could have been avoided had Athrun actually spoke his mind to various people, instead of moping around silently and constantly going "it's nothing" when people asked him what he thought.
** Deconstructed concerning Kira and Flay. Before his fated duel with Athrun, Kira tells Flay there's something he wants to tell her, despite all the time she's been manipulating him. When Kira disappears after the fight, Flay realizes that she did like him. Fate ends up conspiring to keep the two apart until the very end [[spoiler:where Rau Le Crueset ends up shooting down her escape craft as one last KickTheDog moment.]]
* In ''Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun'', Sakura probably wouldn't even be Nozaki's assistant at all if she'd just told him she liked him instead of chickening out and saying she's his fan. [[ObliviousToLove Nozaki being Nozaki]], of course, he took it the wrong way. She makes the same mistake the second time. Later, she states that she wants to make Nozaki fall for her and confess first because she's afraid that if she confesses again Nozaki will just use it to mine ideas for his manga.
* ''Manga/MyLoveStory'' plays this straight between Takeo and Rinko for about three episodes before Makoto gets annoyed and forces them both to tell the truth, resulting in the two going steady almost immediately. Makoto basically spares the audience about 20 episodes worth of angst and romantic tension.
* ''Manga/MyMonsterSecret'' plays with this trope in just about every way possible. In the first chapter it's averted, with protagonist Asahi going to confess to his classmate Youko...only to get thrown off his stride when he walks into the classroom and sees her with [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire fangs and giant bat wings]]. When she says she'll have to leave the school now that her secret is exposed, he promises not to tell anyone and asks her to be...[[JustFriends his friend]]. He hides his true feelings for a while, but in hindsight he decides it's better this way since if he'd said "Be my girlfriend" right then, it would have looked like he was blackmailing her. A couple of friends who have known him for years also think it's a good thing, since Asahi has a tendency to admire girls and mistake that admiration for love[[note]]Which is exactly what happened with Youko -- she projected the image of a [[IceQueen cool beauty]], but is actually cheerful, friendly, and [[TheDitz kind of an airhead]][[/note]], but by being friends first he gets to know the real Youko and develop actual feelings for her. He does end up confessing for real about halfway through the series, and the two become a couple, though the confession letter he wrote in the first chapter [[BookEnds doesn't get opened until the very last]].
** There's also other characters who have feelings for Asahi, and can't spit it out for various reasons. ClassRepresentative Nagisa is [[AliensStealCable an alien who got most of her knowledge on Earth by reading manga]], and is also incredibly insecure about her feelings. [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl Shiho]] tries to deny her feelings for Asahi because she and Youko have known each other since they were kids and she'd never do anything as scummy as stealing her best friend's boyfriend. And of course, both of them are major [[ShipperOnDeck Shippers on Deck]] for the couple (while Youko ships Nagisa with Asahi before realizing her own feelings). Both of them actually do confess, but entirely so that Asahi can let them down gently and they can move on with their lives.
** And then there's the non-romantic version with the main plot, which is most prominent with Rin, Asahi's [[KidFromTheFuture Granddaughter from the Future]]. She could very easily clear up a lot of the mysteries and confusion about the plot (in particular whom Asahi ends up marrying), but she's expressly forbidden from revealing future knowledge, with her punishment for doing so being barred from returning to the future for some time. [[spoiler:Near the end of the series, as the cast starts to put things together, she says "To hell with the rules" and owns up to everything because she wants to prevent the BadFuture she comes from where practically the entire cast are alone and sad due to their friendships and lives breaking down.]]
* ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'':
** Catarina has a large mixed gender harem, all of whom were ''supposed'' to be interested in each other in various ways. Since she thinks that they still must be into each other like they are in the game they were based on, she doesn't factor herself into the group's romantic interactions. All of them are trying to get her to figure it out by being indirect and get frustrated when she completely blows them off. Only Maria and Mary get close to actually spitting it out. For Maria in particular there is no excuse: The lines she gives are ones that Catarina ''knows'' would be a confession if they were said to anyone else.
** Catarina's parents, the Duke and Duchess, had one in the backstory. They both fell in love with each other [[LoveAtFirstSight at first sight]], but never ''told'' each other. Catarina's father basically proposed to her mother by going to her father instead, which he feels guilty about. In the original timeline, this eventually led to PoorCommunicationKills; the Duke adopted a boy with strong magic, who the Duchess assumed was his illegitimate child. She hated the boy and shunned her husband, becoming a bitter old shrew and contributing both to Catarina's villainy (as she was left to be spoiled by her father) and Keith's womanizing (because he was starved for affection). In the new timeline, Catarina's attempts to be nice to Keith result in the Duchess confronting the Duke about it. When she realizes Keith is ''not'' her husband's bastard, she becomes much nicer to him, and the Duke and Duchess [[SickeninglySweethearts enter into a honeymoon phase]]. They grow up as a happy, close family.
* The title character of ''Anime/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater'' is obviously attracted to Jean, even though she otherwise claims he's merely a friend. Unfortunately she is unable to admit her love for him ''or'' what she actually wants from him because she simply doesn't know how to act appropriately except through rage (she gradually changes that behavior). Jean, by contrast, is much more open, honest, and demonstrative.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Hinata regarding her feelings for Naruto until she ''did'' spit it out... and almost got killed by Pain immediately afterward. [[PlotArmor She survived]], but Naruto did not directly respond to her feelings [[spoiler:until ''The Last'']] (see below).
** Naruto. He had extreme admiration and fondness for his teammate Sasuke, viewing him as his best friend and the person he could relate to more than anyone else, wanting his acknowledgment. However, he was too stubborn, prideful and jealous of Sasuke's skills and reputation to ever admit it, and acted like he hated him most of the time. Until Sasuke stabbed a chidori through his chest and nearly killed him... yeah, it took that much. Of course, their relationship was [[VitriolicBestBuds complicated, even in the best of times]].
** Naruto was also this with his other teammate Sakura; he couldn't confess that he had a crush on her due to his promise to bring back Sasuke. {{Subverted|Trope}} when Sakura used this promise to kill Sasuke and [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim spare Naruto further emotional pain]] by giving him her [[NeverLiveItDown infamous]] [[FalseConfession fake love confession]] so he'd stop chasing him. Naruto easily saw right through her, [[WhatTheHellHero called her out on her dishonesty]], [[ShipSinking rejected her outright]], and stated that the promise was no longer the reason why he wanted to save Sasuke; he has [[TrueCompanions his own reasons]] now.
** As stated above, Naruto has this ''again'' in ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'', this time concerning [[spoiler:his genuine [[OneTrueLove true love]] for Hinata]]. Sakura herself disputes the above example and helps Naruto realize that [[LovingAShadow his crush on her was more a product of his rivalry with Sasuke and how he wanted to beat out Sasuke at something for once than any actual romantic feelings]]--which was implied back in [[http://www.mangapanda.com/naruto/3/17 Chapter 3]]--while [[spoiler:his love for Hinata is sincere and real. Naruto ''does'' spit it out to Hinata in the movie, twice (compared to the ''years'' it took Hinata to spit it out two years ago). The first time he spat it out, it didn't go so well thanks to [[BigBad Toneri]]. However, after the FinalBattle, he [[GrowOldWithMe proposes]] to her and she happily accepts, the two enter a relationship, get HappilyMarried, and have two children]].
** In ''[[LightNovel/NarutoHiden Shikamaru Hiden]]'', Shikamaru gets [[LoveMakesYouDumb tongue-tied]] when he's trying to ask [[spoiler:Temari]] out to dinner.
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'':
** Effectively {{invoked|Trope}} when Negi tries to ask his father's allies who his [[MissingMom mother]] is. Unfortunately, Rakan swore them to silence until he "acknowledges Negi as a man", seemingly so that Negi would have even more incentive to beat him in their upcoming fight.
** Naturally, it's then revealed with no build up at all, by a newly introduced character. It's later confirmed by Jack Rakan, in the same offhand manner:
--->'''Jack:''' Oh, by the way, [[spoiler:Arika]] really is your mother. See you later. ''(heads off to bathroom)''.
** But can you really stop there? The entirety of ''Negima'' is comprised of characters who can't spit it out. Nodoka, Yue, Chachamaru, Evangeline, Asuna, Negi, Kotarou, and a slew of side characters have relationships they refuse to act on, for reasons ranging from denial, feelings of unworthiness, fear of hurting others feelings, or amnesia.
** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]]:
--->'''Kotarō:''' What's with her? All she's saying is, "L-L-L-L" over and over again.
%%** Also subverted early on by Nodoka, [[ShrinkingViolet the last person you'd expect]]. Which makes it all the more unfortunate (as revealed in the ''rushed'' ending) that she was rejected.
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Scarcely a character in the entire series is capable of admitting his or her deeper feelings toward those he or she loves most [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYjn8NpXJcs (with Kaworu being the main exception)]]. Often even the exceptions turn out not to be exceptions. For example, Asuka's flamboyant confessions of love for Kaji [[OperationJealousy are to mask her growing attraction]] to Shinji. Of course, it doesn't work. Unfortunately, the consequence of that situation was the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and it could have been averted if the characters (mainly Shinji and Asuka) [[ForWantOfANail would have been more open and sincere with each other.]]
* Every time Haru from ''Manga/{{Ojojojo}}'' makes an effort to say something genuinely nice or sincere to Tsurezure (or anyone else of a lower social status), she reflexively twists her words into something condescending. She gets a little better about it over time, and eventually does give Tsurezure a proper LoveConfession (after they've already been dating for a few months).
* Morei has this issue in ''Manga/OmujoOmutsuJoshi''. She has a hard time speaking her feelings to her childhood friend, Shouta. This is compounded by her attempt to appeal to him by going along with what she incorrectly thinks is Shota's fetish for girls in diapers. She stumbles over her attempt to declare her love for Shouta while showing him she's wearing one and accidentally convinces him ''she'' has the fetish as a result. In a later chapter, she fantasizes about trying again but can't go through with it.
* How anime fans (and indeed anyone with half a brain) react to ''Anime/OneStormyNight''. They keep saying the word "friend" but you keep thinking one of them should just blurt out the obvious.
%%* Dramatic example: ''Manga/PeachGirl''.
* In ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', Ahiru can't tell Mytho that she loves him -- Not because of nervousness, but because she will ''cease to exist'' once she does. This becomes very troublesome in the first season finale when [[spoiler: Princess Kraehe offers to return Mytho's emotion of love, but only if she says that she loves him.]]
* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'':
** Deconstructed: Sayaka Miki ''does'' have her chance to get together with an IllBoy Kamijou as her friend Hitomi Shizuki ''does'' ask her if she loves him. Sayaka's inability to just spit it out already makes her friend consider the answer is no. She has her reasons, yes, but still...
** Another example is [[NotGoodWithPeople Homura]]. She knows she loves [[spoiler:Madoka]], and is highly motivated by those feelings...but she can't express them without [[HeroicBSOD breaking down]] and sobbing incoherently (as seen in Episodes 8 and 12). This results in much confusion for [[spoiler:Madoka]], as Homura's ''actions'' indicate love but her ''words'' don't.
* ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'': Much of the later drama happens because Fuutarou discovers that, five years ago, he met one of the Nakano sisters in Kyoto, and they made a promise to become top students. Said quintuplet [[spoiler:(later revealed to be Yotsuba)]] starts doing everything in her power to keep Fuutarou from learning the truth and even tries to get him to forget about her. As it turns out, this is all because [[spoiler:she instantly recognized Fuutarou when they meet again at the start of the series, but she feels ashamed that unlike him, she couldn't fulfill their promise. This is also the reason why she doesn't confess her feelings for him, [[InsecureLoveInterest thinking that she has no right to pursue him]], and after noticing that her sisters are falling in love with him, she decides to step aside to give them a fair chance too]].
* ''Manga/Reborn2004'' stars Tsunayoshi "Tsuna" Sawada, an UnluckyEverydude with a crush on his classmate Kyoko who Cannot Spit It Out. One of Reborn's first tasks in making Tsuna a suitable heir to the Vongola Mafia family is using his "Dying Wish Bullet" to make Tsuna confess his love to Kyoko. But in the end, she still thinks he was joking, and he has yet to convince himself to confess a second time.
* ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'' has [[{{Tsundere}} Inner]] [[DefrostingIceQueen Moka]], who refuses to admit her [[EveryoneCanSeeIt increasingly]] [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan obvious]] affection for [[NiceGuy Tsukune]].
* In ''Franchise/SailorMoon'', the entire cast tends to silently worry over important plot points or conflicted emotions rather than discussing it with the rest of the ensemble. Usagi sits and stews in wistful silence over her emotionally-charged interactions with the brainwashed Mamoru in the Dark Kingdom arc. Rei and Mamoru brood over their visions and psychic dreams without mentioning it to the others. In the Dark Moon arc, Mamoru doesn't tell Usagi or the others that he has been having chest pains and coughing up blood because he doesn't want to be a burden to them. Minako has been dealing with serious emotional and self-esteem issues in the Dark Moon arc too, especially since she was the only one who didn't recover her powers yet but she didn't tell the others until Minako finally shouted at them for constantly mentioning the Outers and forgetting everything Minako had did prior to.
* In ''Manga/{{Saki}}'', Nodoka desperately tries to cover up her feelings for Saki whom she keeps referring to as nothing but a friend--not to much avail, though.
* The foundation of pretty much all the tension and drama of ''Manga/WhisperedWords'' is based on Sumika's inability to tell Kazama that she loves her. Kazama [[SchoolgirlLesbians likes girls too]], and very openly... But Sumika isn't her type, and is petrified that a confession of love would destroy their friendship. [[spoiler:As of chapter 20, the tension is even more balanced on this, from both sides: Kazama is in love with Sumika as well, but doesn't know that Sumika likes girls (or even just her), so she is also terrified that confessing ''her'' love would tear them apart.]]
* The inability of various characters in ''Manga/SchoolRumble'' to confess their love, Harima's feelings for Tenma being the principle example.
* It's very obvious from early on in ''Anime/SenkiZesshouSymphogear'' that Miku is harboring romantic feelings for her best friend, Hibiki. Unfortunately, Miku can't bring herself to confess and Hibiki is [[ObliviousToLove far too dense]] to figure it out. [[spoiler:The final scene in the series has Miku finally work up the courage to presumably confess her love, with Hibiki replying that she ''also'' has something to tell Miku and hopes it's the same thing, but the series ends without any explicit confirmation]].
* ''Manga/SgtFrog'' spent an entire episode milking the trope, as Momoka's attempts to refer to Fuyuki on a first-name basis lead to increasingly absurd changes in the conversation.
* Shana from ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'' doesn't have a bloody clue how to talk about her feelings, particularly about why she's falling for Yuji. This, of course, drives her {{tsundere}} behavior towards him; since she can't spit it out, beating him up works too.
* ''Manga/ShesMyKnight'': It takes Ichinose an entire chapter just to ask Mogami for one of the muffins she baked, let alone tell her he likes her.
* Akina of ''[[Manga/ShinozakisanKiWoOtaShikaNi Don't Become an Otaku, Shinozaki-san!]]'' cannot spit ''anything'' out. She can't tell Kaede and Micchy she is more into fashion then otaku stuff, and she ''really'' can't say that she is in love with Kaede, especially to herself. This latter also causes her to have difficulty referring to Kaede by her first name.
* In ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'', Yayoi decides to pull an April Fools prank, saying that she's going to get transferred to another school. It's all fine and dandy, except for one hitch - the person she told it to was Miyuki, who panics and begins spreading the news, spiraling into Reiko holding a farewell party with the rest of the class and Yayoi unable to say anything because the other girls keep putting words in her mouth. It isn't until Akaoni reveals the truth through a manga Yayoi drew and lost that the girls realize that it was a lie. They're pretty disappointed at her... until they realize it was Miyuki's fault for believing it in the first place!
* It took until the very last episode of ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' -- more than 2 years after it became painfully obvious to everyone -- for Misa (Lisa) to finally drop the L bomb on Hikaru (Rick).
* This is more or less Creator/RumikoTakahashi's S.O.P.: [[BelligerentSexualTension At least one member of the pairing must not be able to confess their feelings]]:
** ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''.
*** After spending most of the series calling Akane an "uncute tomboy", Ranma finally musters up the courage to tell her that actually, he thinks she's really cute -- and [[CassandraTruth then she doesn't believe him because she thinks he's trying to trick her]].
*** In one of the songs from the albums, "November Rain", the lyrics imply that Ranma is incapable of letting anyone, even himself, know what his true feelings for Akane are.
---->'''Ranma:''' I'm not being true with myself. Yes, I know, but I can't say those words.
*** Ryōga spends the entire manga obsessing over how much he loves Akane, but never actually tells her without being interrupted by something. to make things worse for him, the one time he spits it out, it turns out to be a MistakenDeclarationOfLove.
*** Akane is also guilty of this. In the arc where Ranma becomes Nabiki's fiance instead, Akane is jealous of Nabiki's ability to tell Ranma how she feels because she can't tell him so easily.
** ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'':
*** Ataru can't admit he really loves Lum because if he did, he'd have to give up his dreams of a harem. (It should be noted that this makes sense to no-one other than Ataru, given [[CasanovaWannabe his horrible luck with women]].)
*** Also during the second tag duel in the fifth movie, Ataru refuses to say that he loves Lum despite the stakes -- because under those circumstances the words wouldn't be meaningful.
** ''Manga/MaisonIkkoku'': Godai is openly in love with Kyoko, but is too wishy-washy to 'fess up. Kyoko is aware of this, but is conflicted both by a rich rival suitor and her inability to let go of her dead husband.
** ''Manga/InuYasha'':
*** Although Inu-Yasha and Kagome seem to have "reached an understanding" as to how they feel about each other, neither has been able to actually say the words, even to themselves.
*** Even worse, and more obvious is the Sango/Miroku quagmire, where one side can occasionally get their feelings out, but the other either locks up or [[MomentKiller spoils the moment]], though they did eventually get on the same page.
** ''Manga/OnePoundGospel'': Thoroughly averted with Kosaku Hatanaka, who's quite vocal about his wish to live with Sister Angela and have her as his girlfriend. Subverted with Angela herself; she likely ''could'' spit it out, if this didn't conflict with her wish to become a full nun.
** ''Manga/{{Rinne}}'': Rinne seems to figure it out fairly early on that he feels something for the main heroine Sakura, even if he isn't sure just what. However Sakura's straight face and calm attitude leaves him unsure as to how she feels and prevents him from saying anything even he worked up the courage to.
* ''Manga/TalesOfWeddingRings'': Sato and Krystal have been in love for ten years, but just can't tell each other. The series starts with Krystal leaving for her "home town," only for Sato to follow her through a portal to another world where she's about to enter into a magical ArrangedMarriage to some guy she's never met. She dodges this by marrying Sato instead. While initially Krystal insists that [[MarriageOfConvenience it's just a political marriage]] and they don't have to do anything, they quickly [[SubvertedTrope realize that's stupid, admit they're in love with each other, and treat their marriage as real]]. WordOfGod is that the manga was originally going to be a long case of WillTheyOrWontThey, but plans changed very early on. Of course, because Sato and Krystal have terrible luck, [[InterruptedIntimacy they keep getting interrupted before they can actually consummate their marriage]].
* In ''Manga/TegamiBachiLetterBee'', Connor is unable to bring himself to tell Lag that Gauche, whom Lag befriended while being delivered to Cambel Litmus, [[spoiler: was fired from his Letter Bee position after going missing]]. In a one-shot story, a woman's maid is unable to reveal herself as the person who had sent her the picture postcards, because she had been forced to sell the gift she had received from her future employer when the two were younger. One of Lag's Heart Bullets reveals the secret, which the woman takes well.
* In ''Anime/TekkamanBlade'', an early episode has D-Boy's transformation crystal being broken, forcing him to use a modified Pegas robot to transform into Blade. Late in the series, when he's losing his memory due to a DeadlyUpgrade, he forgets that his crystal broke and starts trying to transform on his own. Despite that he is searching the ground frantically and asking, over and over again, where his crystal is, Pegas refuses to say even something as simple is "I have your crystal, give me the command," instead uninformatively urging D-Boy to transform. Later, he dryly explains, "D-Boy refuses to access my Tek-Set function."
* ''Manga/ThoseWhoHuntElves''. All it would take to save the group tons and tons of trouble every episode is for somebody to approach an Elf and say "Hello, there. This might seem like an odd request but my friends and I are looking for fragments of a very important spell that's been imprinted on the bodies of five random Elf women. You don't happen to have recently found yourself with a strange marking on your body, have you? You HAVE? Great! Would you mind if we went to a quiet, private location to check if it's one of the fragments and remove that for you if it is?" Instead of, y'know, randomly assaulting and ripping the clothes off every one they come across.
* Kotetsu from ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' has this tendency to the point of it being a FatalFlaw. He doesn't like hurting people or worrying them with his own problems, and so prefers to keep unpleasant information to himself. This is a frequent cause of misunderstandings and leads to quarrels with both his daughter and his partner.
* ''Anime/TimeOfEve'' has robots who appear emotionless, but are revealed to secretly be RidiculouslyHumanRobots. Both they and their human masters [[FantasticRacism are not comfortable with this]]. Sammy in particular is a good example: she hides her concern [[spoiler:and growing affection]] for her master Rikuo, and is [[spoiler:afraid to be seen at the cafe even after he finds out she's a regular]].
* Played with in ''Manga/ToLoveRu''. In the first chapter, Rito plays it straight and then subverts it when he does finally confess to Haruna. Only for Lala to get in the way. It then plays the trope fairly straight for a time. However the reason changes from shyness to indecisiveness as he is no longer sure of his feelings. [[spoiler: As soon as he is sure of his feelings for Lala, he confesses to her immediately, then goes to confess to Haruna who he still loves, making it a subversion.]]
* In ''Anime/TomicaHyperRescueDriveHeadKidouKyuukyuuKeisatsu'', despite his usual egomania, Karigari becomes so flustered around Sasagawa that he is unable to confess his feelings to her. That or circumstances will interrupt him, like a spacecraft suddenly about to plunge down onto the city. Of course [[ObliviousToLove she has no clue]].
* In ''Manga/TonaGura'', would-be couple Kazuki Arisaka and Yuuji Kagura sometimes get so flustered by their obvious feelings that they cannot speak to each other at all, not out of anger, but out of trepidation. In one instance, where he has fallen on top of her (legit in this case, despite his immature tendency to grab at her), they are at this point so tongue-tied that a primal AccidentalPervert[=/=]{{Tsundere}} moment passes with only a few "Excuse Me"s -- and that's all.
* Completely averted in ''Manga/TonariNoKashiwagiSan''. Yuuto confesses his feelings to Kotone the same day as his LoveEpiphany (though it was technically by accident).
* Tatsuya and Minami in ''Manga/{{Touch}}''. He likes her and she likes him, and she even kisses and confess to him before the 20th episode. It still took over 100 episodes...
%%* Esther Blanchett and Ion Fortuna from ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood''.
* In ''Manga/{{Tsukigasa}}'', Kuroe and Azuma have this in regards to their feelings but also on the larger scale of failing to communicate exactly what happened in the incident where Azuma cuts off Kuroe's arm and all the fallout from that.
* In ''Anime/UmiMonogatari'', Kanon doesn't confess that she likes Kojima because she's afraid he'll reject her.
* This is suspected to be the case with Rudolf in ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry''.
* In ''Manga/Yuria100Shiki'', Yuria can't tell Shunsuke how she feels about him, because she's SexBot and has no idea if her feelings are real or just part of her programming. Also because she doesn't really know ''how'' -- everything outside of "how to be a sexbot" she's had to learn on her own and is still very naive about most things.
* Subverted in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''. Just before [[spoiler: Yusuke leaves to face his demon heritage,]] he has one last meal at the Yukimura diner. Cue [[spoiler: Yusuke's marriage proposal,]] which Keiko reacts to rather nonchalantly. The subversion comes when [[spoiler: Keiko returns to her room -- Yusuke drops "Oh, come on, Keiko... you know I love you." without nary a second thought.]] Keiko's response? [[spoiler: An even more nonchalant "Yeah, yeah."]]
* ''Manga/AiYoriAoshi'':
** The whole series would have been much simpler if Aoi and Kaoru could just tell Kaoru's [[TheUnwantedHarem Unwanted Harem]] that he was taken. Also much shorter. On the upside, it paves the way for Tina's crowning moment.
** Tina is another example. Her inability to confess her love to Kaoru before the series begins leads to her going on a year-long trip around the world, mainly to try and get over it.
* In the backstory of ''Manga/AizawaSanMultiplies'', the title character spent two years crushing on her classmate Souta Mizutani. She even named a cat after him because of it.
* In ''Manga/AoiKiseki'' the female lead Ageha is unable to interact with her beau without going full {{Tsundere}} and confessing her feelings out of sheer shyness. When she finally works the courage to do so, a nasty fall damages her brain, robbing her of her ability to speak. Ouch.
* Moe in ''Manga/AsteroidInLove'' had a crush on Misa for several years as of PresentDay, but she didn't have the confidence to confess to the latter until Mikage encouraged her to.
* Mikasa from ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', has been in love with Eren since they were kids, but he remained completely [[ObliviousToLove oblivious]] to it and she resigned herself to loving him from afar. [[spoiler: Come Chapter 123, Eren asks her out of nowhere what exactly he means to her and Mikasa, completely blindsided, stammered out that he was her family. She would later come to see this moment as one of her greatest regrets, especially considering the path that Eren went down shortly after this encounter...]]
* Kaorin of ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' can't do anything about her crush on the resident HugeSchoolgirl, as she becomes so [[LoveMakesYouCrazy flustered]] around Sakaki that it's amazing that she can talk at all.
* ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}'' brings this to the logical conclusion. [[spoiler: [[CatGirl Hanekawa]]]] never confessed her feelings towards [[ObliviousToLove Araragi]] [[UnLuckyChildhoodFriend despite knowing him for years]], so he gets taken away by [[spoiler:Senjougahara]] who confessed to him not long after realizing her own feelings. Araragi never realized this [[spoiler: until the cat possessing Hanekawa spit it out to him]].
* In ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'', Moritaka Mashiro's uncle Nobuhiro was in a correspondence with his classmate Miyuki Haruno (Miho's mother) for years, but was unable to confess his feelings to her until he was able to make a living off of manga, wanting to date her with the intent of marrying her and feeling unable to do so considering her rising to become the secretary to her company's president. Miyuki eventually fell in love with another man and had children, as while she felt the same about Nobuhiro, she was unable to wait any longer. Kaya's father notes that Moritaka and Miho admitting their feelings to each other is the crucial reason why their relationship will have a different outcome.
* A particularly heartbreaking example occurs in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' during [[spoiler: the Eclipse]]. [[spoiler: Judeau wants to confess his love for Casca after being seriously wounded by one of the Apostles. When the time finally comes, all he can say to her is "I'm glad to see you cry.". He dies painfully in her arms immediately after.]]
* ''Manga/BGataHKei'':
** [[TheNondescript Takashi Kosuda]] has moments of this when trying to express his feelings for the series protagonist, [[LovableSexManiac Yamada]]. [[spoiler: When he finally works up the courage to confess his love to her, his message is garbled by train doors closing ''on his neck'' before he is whisked away.]]
** Yamada is worse. She and Kosuda start dating at about Chapter 20. Kosuda finds this out about 200 chapters and almost two in-universe years later.
* The fact that the two sisters Asu and Kyou from ''Manga/BinbouShimaiMonogatari'' love each other a lot can't prevent them from communicating poorly on a regular basis, making them run in panicky circles where a few choice words would have helped immensely. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BinbouShimaiMonogatari1.jpg But the making-up hugs are cute indeed]]. [[{{Squee}} Awww...]]
* Charlotte Roselei from ''Manga/BlackClover''. She has a very bad experience of this when it comes to the one she is in love with. When Yami only wants to ask her about the curse she suffered from, not only does she interrupt him but also ''runs away screaming'' when she thinks he is about to make her confess. Eventually, she admits her love for Yami to her squad and they are supportive about it, much to her surprise. But she's still completely unable to admit it it ''to Yami''. For added hilarity, he shows up to talk to her almost immediately afterwards.
* ''Anime/BloodPlus'': Haji. Poor Haji loved Saya for the entire series but he remains the stoic quiet guy. For centuries, ever since a young Haji saw Saya in 1870, he pined away but he never tells her until the very last episode at the very last moment when [[spoiler: Saya is trying to kill Diva's babies and wants to die herself - and even then he only coughs it up when Kai forces him to. Of course, a few minutes later Amshel shows up and wrecks their moment, leaving Haji buried in rubble.]] Just think how much better Saya's life would be if he had said it sooner.
* Hagino in ''Manga/BlueDrop'' for the largest part doesn't tell Mari that she is the commander of the space ship that caused the disaster in which Mari's parents died.
* In ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'', it's hard to say that the plot would have changed had he told Rosette, but Chrono constantly dodges around telling Rosette about his past -- to the point that "one of these days, I'll have to tell you a story" practically becomes his CatchPhrase. The few times he ''does'' seem to be about to explain it, he's interrupted. In the manga, Rosette has to go into his soul and dig around in his memories to find out the truth.
* ''Manga/CityHunter'': Ryo. The one time he tried to declare his love for Kaori, he couldn't finish the phrase. Then Kaori accidentally blew up the building, preventing him from succeeding in his attempts at finishing the phrase.
* Used famously in Creator/{{CLAMP}} works, especially ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', ''Manga/{{Wish}}'' and the newer series ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' and ''Manga/XxxHolic''. They also tend to use a unique variations of this trope especially with the dreamseers. Who can see the possible futures both good and bad. They'll tell the rest of the cast whenever the future is good, however when the future is generally bad they won't say anything. The reason behind this is because as long as they don't tell the key players that future then they can change it, but telling others of that future can set it in stone. [[spoiler: And the ''only'' dreamseer who actually DID say the future was still unchanged... said so after ''her'' death]].
* In ''Manga/Classi9'', [[spoiler:Bach]] has troubles dealing with discovering [[SweetPollyOliver Ren's gender]], so much he can't bring himself to tell her he knows.
* ''Franchise/CodeGeass'':
** [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Shirley]] [[CuteClumsyGirl Fenette]] is not able to give a LoveConfession to [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob Lelouch]] [[SelectiveObliviousness that he actually pays attention to]] until a little over halfway through R2, [[spoiler: [[KillTheCutie and then she dies]]]].
** This also applies to Lelouch himself. ManipulativeBastard he might be, but he's also a BadLiar and keeps his mouth shut when he really shouldn't. This results in a good chunk of tragedy in the show, especially his inability to be honest [[spoiler: about the exact circumstances surrounding Euphemia's death.]]
* Jeremy from ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'' encounters this a lot. He can't tell his step-brother Ian about Greg's abuse after [[spoiler: Ian tells him that he vows to make their new family a happy one.]] He can't tell his mother Sandra about it out of fear that she will be {{Driven to Suicide}}. He tries to tell his [[spoiler:boarding school roommate William about it by saying that he got the whip marks on his back from an evil spirit (Greg) that beat him in his house's torture room (his bedroom), but William doesn't get it.]] All in all, {{Poor Communication Kills}}. Literally.
* In ''Manga/DestinyOfTheShrineMaiden'' [[spoiler:the plot would have been almost completely different if Chikane had told Himeko about what happened in their past lives.]]
* All Daisuke needs to do in ''Manga/DNAngel'' to stop transforming into Dark is to get the girl he loves to love him in return -- but that includes loving ''Dark'', since Dark is a part of him. Daisuke is unable to bring himself to tell her the truth, partially because he's scared of rejection and partially because part of him isn't sure if he ''wants'' Dark to leave.
* ''Anime/EurekaSeven'':
** Three of the characters, a seasoned rebel named Holland, his girlfriend/second in command Talho, and a young boy named Renton get into an argument over an injured teammate. Holland pretends he doesn't care, and goes on a mission to save a head priest "for a lot of money." Renton is furious that he doesn't care. Talho understands that Holland is saving this priest because he can save their teammate. Holland beats Renton up for his suggesting they try to save their teammate, Talho slaps Holland for not telling Renton that he wants to save their teammate, she also slaps Renton for not realizing that Holland wants to save their teammate (but she doesn't tell him this). This leads to Renton leaving the crew, and falling into the company of a rival mercenary. Just because everybody Cannot Spit It Out.
** In another example, Renton, who's looking for relationship advice because he wants to tell Eureka he loves her, winds up looking at a porno rag, and of course, he gets caught. The men think he wants to do it with Eureka, so they convert his room into some sort of love nest, and Holland of course finds out and beats the shit out of Renton.
* A non-romantic example from ''Manga/FairyTail'' is [[spoiler:Cana, who is Gildarts' daughter. However, she was originally raised by her mother who apparently never told Gildarts about her, and after her mother died, Cana sought out Gildarts but couldn't work up the nerve to tell him she was his daughter. It was more than a decade before Gildarts found out.]]
* Played straight by Saito and Louise in the first season of the ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' anime, averted early in the second. Particularly surprising considering [[LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana who]] these characters are [[{{expy}} expies]] of.
* In the ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' manga and second anime, Winry and Ed have this in SPADES. To the point where he'd rather recite the periodic table of elements than admit his feelings.
* ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'':
** Through the entire anime, Kaname was unable to bring herself to come out and confess to Sôsuke. Granted, ''anyone'' should have been capable of noticing her feelings without a direct confession, but... [[ChasteHero Sôsuke]] [[CloudCuckooLander being]] [[NoSocialSkills Sôsuke]], normal methods [[ObliviousToLove don't work with him]].
** He probably had a clue and, by the look of the ''Second Raid'' finale, he reciprocated even though he wanted to keep it a secret from Mithril for obvious reasons.
** In ''The Second Raid", Tessa angrily denounces Sôsuke's inability to just say [[LoveTriangle that he loves Kaname over her]].
--->'''Tessa:''' Do you understand my feelings, even a little bit? You're the worst! You pretend to be kind and friendly, but you're just an egotist! You're always pretending... Why don't you just admit it? "''I want to be with her! Don't stand in my way!''"
** Wraith comes to Mao with important news. But after watching Mao rally the forces by commanding them to embarrass their annoyingly overconfident fallen comrade, [[spoiler:Kurz]], by completing the mission without him, Wraith immediately clams up and insists the news actually wasn't that important and would probably just ruin the mood. [[spoiler:Said news is that Kurz actually survived and had just finished rehabilitation]].
* In ''Anime/GirlsBeyondTheWasteland'', Yuuka starts to realize that she likes Buntarou, but can never bring herself to tell him directly, either due to fear of rejection, or because she doesn't want to screw up the group dynamic in the event they started dating.
* In ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'', the three members of the Oarai student council are the only ones who know that [[spoiler:if the school does not win the tournament, it will be shut down]]. Naturally, while this motivates many of their decisions, they don't reveal it, with Anzu making a vaguely worded threat that Miho won't be attending school at Oarai for long if she doesn't join the tankery club, silencing Yuzu when she is about to tell Miho and Yukari the truth, and even being unable to tell Miho when she invites her to dinner for that exact purpose (leaving Miho suspicious). This proves counterproductive to the student council's plans when those LockedOutOfTheLoop are less concerned about winning, and they are ultimately forced to tell the truth when Miho considers forfeiting the match rather than risk people getting hurt.
* Although ''Anime/GunXSword'' begins with Wendy offering to marry Van as a reward for [[StandardHeroReward saving her hometown]], Wendy never confesses her deepening feelings for him, despite some good opportunities. Instead, her feelings for him are displayed mostly through GreenEyedMonster moments. [[spoiler: Her decision not to say anything when they part in the finale looks a lot like an AbortedDeclarationOfLove, but since they end up being reunited in the DistantFinale -- at a time when she's actually old enough to be in a relationship with him -- things work out in the end.]]
* In ''Manga/HanaKimi'', Mizuki loves Sano, and Sano loves Mizuki pretty much from Chapter 3 onwards. Also, that's about when Sano also finds out that Mizuki really is a girl. And neither knows about what the other knows until chapter 133.
* In ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'', a lot of Hime's problems, especially around Iona and her JerkAss attitude around her, is due to the fact that she just can't spit out her DarkSecret, that [[spoiler:she accidentally opened the Axia Box, releasing the Phantom Empire.]]
* [[http://www.myanime.me/screenshots/115206-episode-13-screenshot-005.jpg Shallot]] from Creator/TatsuyamaSayuri's ''Manga/HappyHappyClover'', has a secret crush on [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DIrNEiChB8E/UJXnXltOkoI/AAAAAAAAAVk/sdbUuqxYuMQ/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-11-04-10h42m25s69.jpg Clover's best friend Mallow]]. In one story from the first volume, Shallot asks Clover to deliver a secret letter to Mallow and tells her it's a secret between him and her. [[{{Foil}} But Kale's baby brothers hears]] what Shallot and Clover we're talking about and later when Clover loses the letter. She decides to look for it, but the entire forest animals hears about the letter which was a result that Kale's brothers said to one of them and started asking each animal. When things start getting out of hand, Clover then see's Mallow asking for the letter that Shallot secretly gave Clover. By the end, the entire forest knows about this while Mallow is confused and Shallot is embarrassed. In the second volume, where a the main characters would answer questions to readers/fans. Shallot reveals that he wants to tell Mallow that he likes her, but its impossible to him since she's mostly spending time with Clover. However in the final volume, when Shallot get's hurt. Mallow recently in that volume wanted to be a doctor and decides to visit Shallot. Near the end of the story, [[LoveConfession Shallot accidentally admits to Mallow that he likes her.]] [[DoubleTake When he realized that he said that,]] [[ThatCameOutWrong he tries to say that it wasn't supposed to sound like that.]] But Mallow's response? [[OfficialCouple He gives him a big hug!]] After Mallow hugged him, Shallot get's so excited that he passes out as a response. Mallow responds by trying to wake him up, she also monologues about her heart feeling "fuzzy and warm" after he said that to her. Ever since that day, [[GenkiGirl Clover]] [[CuddleBug mentions that Mallow's been giving alot of hugs to him lately.]] Near the end of the final volume, [[HappilyMarried he and Mallow get married during the epilogue of the series.]]
* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'':
** Kyon seems to be the only cast member who is oblivious to Haruhi's attraction to him (even though she would likely die before admitting as much, perhaps even to herself).
** Conversely, Kyon has admitted on multiple occasions (in the novels, at least) that he is attracted to both Asahina Mikuru and Nagato Yuki (but never confesses as much to either girl). [[spoiler:In a subversion of the latter, Asahina warns Kyon that he mustn't allow himself to become too close to her]].
** This trope mostly applies to Haruhi, who would simplify things a lot if she actually said something, and unlike Kyon, doesn't have a reason to keep quiet.
* Although most of the girls of ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'' UnwantedHarem have the ability to use this trope, the only one who really gets it enforced on her is Hinagiku, though she did manage to confess once, it was timed so that he couldn't hear it, and otherwise it gets mixed with interuptions or her simply, as she explains to Ayumu, wanting him to start the confessions.
* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'':
** A great deal of time involving England and America involves both of their inabilities to share their feelings, mixed dangerously with England's {{tsundere}} tendencies and America's JerkWithAHeartOfGold habits targeted right back. This ShipTease has affected the fandom as well as the canon universe immensely.
** Sweden -- every time he tries to talk to Finland, he becomes flustered and can't finish what he was about to say. It doesn't help that Finland seems to be ObliviousToLove, either.
* ''Manga/HidamariSketch'':
** Sae has trouble telling her little sister Chika how much she really cares for her.
** Likewise, Natsume is sending Sae [[{{Tsundere}} mostly confusing messages]], although it's admittedly quite hard to get through Sae's [[SelectiveObliviousness obliviousness]].
* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'':
** The girls usually have NO problem telling Issei of their feelings, often at the same time... in his bed... as he's trying to go to sleep. The only one that does is [[spoiler:Rias, because she's worried he doesn't see her as anything but the Occult Club's president]]. Issei has trouble telling Rias how he feels, too. [[spoiler: He's still emotionally scarred from being rejected and literally murdered by the first girl confessed to, a fallen angel named Raynare, who'd been masquerading as a normal girl and stringing Issei along before killing him.]]
** Akeno has trouble confessing at first, knowing Issei's hatred of Fallen Angels and fearing he would hate her, too, due to her half-blood heritage as one. Once he assures her he couldn't hate her if he tried, she gets a lot more clingy, in a good way.
* The girls in ''LightNovel/HowToRaiseABoringGirlfriend'' can't bring themselves to telling Tomoya how they feel, either because of competition from the other girls or because he seems to be ObliviousToLove.
* Including it in the Anime & Manga section even though it's technically an Original English Language manga. In ''Manga/{{Dramacon}}'' by Svetlana Chmakova, despite three years of blatant flirtation and although, like Kagome and Inuyasha, each has more of less come to an understanding with regards to the other's feelings, [[spoiler:neither Christie or Matt openly confess their feelings before the story's final act]].
* Played mostly straight with the members of Ichika's BalancedHarem in ''LightNovel/InfiniteStratos'', but wonderfully averted with [[spoiler:Laura, after being [[DefrostingIceQueen defrosted]]]]. Half an hour after she knows she's in love with Ichika, so does everyone else--Including Ichika, [[ObliviousToLove which is pretty damn impressive]].
* ''Manga/ItazuraNaKiss'': A lot of grief would've been avoided had [[spoiler: Naoki simply voiced his growing feelings for Kotoko earlier. It took a GreenEyedEpiphany to finally declare to her.]]
* In ''Manga/JunjouRomantica'', Misaki has enormous difficulty on two counts: he can't bring himself to tell Usami he loves him, and he's so concerned with never being a burden to anyone that he's pretty much incapable of saying what he wants from other people, even when they flat-out ask him and are obviously willing to do whatever he wants. Naturally, this leads to complications, as he tends to go along with what other people want -- even when the reason why they want it is because they think it'll make ''him'' happy...
* A variation in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar''. Instead of it being "cannot spit it out", it's "''will'' not spit it out" since the plot revolves around Kaguya and Shirogane trying to force each other into confessing without confessing themselves. [[spoiler:Although they actually do confess and get together long before the series ends.]]
* In ''Anime/KaleidoStar'', IllBoy Ken Robbins tries often to tell Sora Naegino that he greatly loves and admires her, but never gets the chance. In a more adult version, Kalos Eido loves his best friend Sarah Dupont, but feels guilty for their common past and doesn't want to let her know. And last, Jerry the policeman can't tell his best friend Kate that he loves her since they've been friends for ''decades'' and he fears to lose that friendship [[spoiler: When he ''does'' tell her, he graduates to VictoriousChildhoodFriend]].
* Tomoe from ''Manga/KamisamaKiss'' has some real problems admitting his feelings to Nanami. Part of it comes from the fact he's her servant and bodyguard and he was forced into that position against his will. Part of it stems from his disapproval of InterspeciesRomance (he's a {{Kitsune}} and she's a human). And part of it is simply that he is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
* In ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'', Yuichi's aunt Akiko never thinks to mention to him that [[spoiler:the girl whose death traumatized him 7 years ago was still alive in the hospital]] until the memory resurfaces.
* One reason for the IdiotPlot in ''Manga/KedamonoDamono''. Haruki [[IJustWantToBeNormal has his reasons]], though.
* The title character of ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' is totally unable to take initiative in starting a romantic relationship with Miu, even though she obviously likes him. All of the masters are constantly guessing (and probably betting on) when he'll finally say something.
* Many [[LoveTriangle love triangles]], such as the one in ''Manga/KimagureOrangeRoad,'' have a third wheel who thinks that the main character returns their feelings. In the case of ''KOR'', he doesn't, but feels it's far better to lead her on for the entire series instead of sitting her down and explaining the situation, as he ''does'' care for the girl as a sister and can't bring himself to hurt her feelings. It certainly doesn't help that the girl whom he ''does'' have feelings for is the ''best friend'' of the third wheel ''and'' an ActionGirl who already promised to help the wheel girl, as well as willing to [[IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer beat the shit out of him if he causes said girl harm]].
* ''Manga/KimiNiTodoke'': [[ShrinkingViolet Sawako]] keeps stopping short of saying what she really feels time and time again because of her [[ExtremeDoormat overly selfless and humble personality]], an endless source of frustration and misunderstandings for those who care about her.
* Kotaro and Mayumi in ''Manga/KotaroMakaritoru'' absolutely love each other but feel too embarrassed to confess it to the other. When one of them is about to muster enough courage to confess, [[MomentKiller expect someone else to show up and ruin the moment]].
* In the animated adaptation of ''Manga/KotouraSan'', there is Haruka and Hiyori to Manabe. Interestingly, Manabe and Haruka's romance progresses fine regardless, and Haruka confessed in the end regardless. Averted in the manga, where Haruka confessed in the ''third chapter''.
* A consistent problem in ''Manga/LastGame''. Although, it may be {{Justified}} in Yanagi's case because Kujou is just so ObliviousToLove that she might misinterpret his potential confession as a declaration of friendship instead.
* In ''Manga/LoveHina'' it took the vast majority of the fourteen volumes of the published manga for the male protagonist to even get past "I L...". [[spoiler:The entire ''rest'' of the manga consists of the same happening to the ''female'' lead.]] It's fun to follow, but incredibly excruciating at the same time. It's eventually [[LampshadeHanging referred to this]] in the [[MetaGuy Kanako arc]] {{OVA}}s.
* In the first two seasons of ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'', the villains have their own reasons for doing what they're doing, but refuse to tell why despite Nanoha wanting to talk to them. Nanoha (whose main characteristic is her honesty and straightforwardness) decides that the only way to get them to explain their actions is to [[DefeatMeansFriendship beat them in combat]] and [[WarriorTherapist demand an explanation]]. It works.
** The Wolkenritter are concerned about Hayate being uncovered as master of the Book of Darkness and being labeled a criminal as a result, which could be one reason why they don't tell Nanoha and her friends their story.
** Also, all of the TSAB's experience with them at that point was as emotionless, deadly constructs who would stop at nothing to protect the Book of Darkness - not exactly people with a trustworthy reputation. Even if Nanoha and Fate are willing to think otherwise, it's clear they're not the ones calling the shots on the case.
* After episode 9 of ''Anime/MagicalShoppingArcadeAbenobashi'', Sasshi finds himself unable to bring himself to tell Arumi that [[spoiler:Masa-jii is dead]].
* In ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'', Clef can't bring himself to reveal that [[spoiler:the Magic Knights are summoned to kill the Pillar of Cephiro as a failsafe if that person becomes evil and threatens the land]]. He deeply apologizes for this later.
* ''Manga/{{Mahoraba}}'' takes the romantic variety to insane levels, leaving you to wonder if either of the mains have tongues at all until the last episode.
* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'':
** A large amount of problems in the series and its sequel could have been avoided had Athrun actually spoke his mind to various people, instead of moping around silently and constantly going "it's nothing" when people asked him what he thought.
** Deconstructed concerning Kira and Flay. Before his fated duel with Athrun, Kira tells Flay there's something he wants to tell her, despite all the time she's been manipulating him. When Kira disappears after the fight, Flay realizes that she did like him. Fate ends up conspiring to keep the two apart until the very end [[spoiler:where Rau Le Crueset ends up shooting down her escape craft as one last KickTheDog moment.]]
* In ''Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun'', Sakura probably wouldn't even be Nozaki's assistant at all if she'd just told him she liked him instead of chickening out and saying she's his fan. [[ObliviousToLove Nozaki being Nozaki]], of course, he took it the wrong way. She makes the same mistake the second time. Later, she states that she wants to make Nozaki fall for her and confess first because she's afraid that if she confesses again Nozaki will just use it to mine ideas for his manga.
* ''Manga/MyLoveStory'' plays this straight between Takeo and Rinko for about three episodes before Makoto gets annoyed and forces them both to tell the truth, resulting in the two going steady almost immediately. Makoto basically spares the audience about 20 episodes worth of angst and romantic tension.
* ''Manga/MyMonsterSecret'' plays with this trope in just about every way possible. In the first chapter it's averted, with protagonist Asahi going to confess to his classmate Youko...only to get thrown off his stride when he walks into the classroom and sees her with [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire fangs and giant bat wings]]. When she says she'll have to leave the school now that her secret is exposed, he promises not to tell anyone and asks her to be...[[JustFriends his friend]]. He hides his true feelings for a while, but in hindsight he decides it's better this way since if he'd said "Be my girlfriend" right then, it would have looked like he was blackmailing her. A couple of friends who have known him for years also think it's a good thing, since Asahi has a tendency to admire girls and mistake that admiration for love[[note]]Which is exactly what happened with Youko -- she projected the image of a [[IceQueen cool beauty]], but is actually cheerful, friendly, and [[TheDitz kind of an airhead]][[/note]], but by being friends first he gets to know the real Youko and develop actual feelings for her. He does end up confessing for real about halfway through the series, and the two become a couple, though the confession letter he wrote in the first chapter [[BookEnds doesn't get opened until the very last]].
** There's also other characters who have feelings for Asahi, and can't spit it out for various reasons. ClassRepresentative Nagisa is [[AliensStealCable an alien who got most of her knowledge on Earth by reading manga]], and is also incredibly insecure about her feelings. [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl Shiho]] tries to deny her feelings for Asahi because she and Youko have known each other since they were kids and she'd never do anything as scummy as stealing her best friend's boyfriend. And of course, both of them are major [[ShipperOnDeck Shippers on Deck]] for the couple (while Youko ships Nagisa with Asahi before realizing her own feelings). Both of them actually do confess, but entirely so that Asahi can let them down gently and they can move on with their lives.
** And then there's the non-romantic version with the main plot, which is most prominent with Rin, Asahi's [[KidFromTheFuture Granddaughter from the Future]]. She could very easily clear up a lot of the mysteries and confusion about the plot (in particular whom Asahi ends up marrying), but she's expressly forbidden from revealing future knowledge, with her punishment for doing so being barred from returning to the future for some time. [[spoiler:Near the end of the series, as the cast starts to put things together, she says "To hell with the rules" and owns up to everything because she wants to prevent the BadFuture she comes from where practically the entire cast are alone and sad due to their friendships and lives breaking down.]]
* ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'':
** Catarina has a large mixed gender harem, all of whom were ''supposed'' to be interested in each other in various ways. Since she thinks that they still must be into each other like they are in the game they were based on, she doesn't factor herself into the group's romantic interactions. All of them are trying to get her to figure it out by being indirect and get frustrated when she completely blows them off. Only Maria and Mary get close to actually spitting it out. For Maria in particular there is no excuse: The lines she gives are ones that Catarina ''knows'' would be a confession if they were said to anyone else.
** Catarina's parents, the Duke and Duchess, had one in the backstory. They both fell in love with each other [[LoveAtFirstSight at first sight]], but never ''told'' each other. Catarina's father basically proposed to her mother by going to her father instead, which he feels guilty about. In the original timeline, this eventually led to PoorCommunicationKills; the Duke adopted a boy with strong magic, who the Duchess assumed was his illegitimate child. She hated the boy and shunned her husband, becoming a bitter old shrew and contributing both to Catarina's villainy (as she was left to be spoiled by her father) and Keith's womanizing (because he was starved for affection). In the new timeline, Catarina's attempts to be nice to Keith result in the Duchess confronting the Duke about it. When she realizes Keith is ''not'' her husband's bastard, she becomes much nicer to him, and the Duke and Duchess [[SickeninglySweethearts enter into a honeymoon phase]]. They grow up as a happy, close family.
* The title character of ''Anime/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater'' is obviously attracted to Jean, even though she otherwise claims he's merely a friend. Unfortunately she is unable to admit her love for him ''or'' what she actually wants from him because she simply doesn't know how to act appropriately except through rage (she gradually changes that behavior). Jean, by contrast, is much more open, honest, and demonstrative.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Hinata regarding her feelings for Naruto until she ''did'' spit it out... and almost got killed by Pain immediately afterward. [[PlotArmor She survived]], but Naruto did not directly respond to her feelings [[spoiler:until ''The Last'']] (see below).
** Naruto. He had extreme admiration and fondness for his teammate Sasuke, viewing him as his best friend and the person he could relate to more than anyone else, wanting his acknowledgment. However, he was too stubborn, prideful and jealous of Sasuke's skills and reputation to ever admit it, and acted like he hated him most of the time. Until Sasuke stabbed a chidori through his chest and nearly killed him... yeah, it took that much. Of course, their relationship was [[VitriolicBestBuds complicated, even in the best of times]].
** Naruto was also this with his other teammate Sakura; he couldn't confess that he had a crush on her due to his promise to bring back Sasuke. {{Subverted|Trope}} when Sakura used this promise to kill Sasuke and [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim spare Naruto further emotional pain]] by giving him her [[NeverLiveItDown infamous]] [[FalseConfession fake love confession]] so he'd stop chasing him. Naruto easily saw right through her, [[WhatTheHellHero called her out on her dishonesty]], [[ShipSinking rejected her outright]], and stated that the promise was no longer the reason why he wanted to save Sasuke; he has [[TrueCompanions his own reasons]] now.
** As stated above, Naruto has this ''again'' in ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'', this time concerning [[spoiler:his genuine [[OneTrueLove true love]] for Hinata]]. Sakura herself disputes the above example and helps Naruto realize that [[LovingAShadow his crush on her was more a product of his rivalry with Sasuke and how he wanted to beat out Sasuke at something for once than any actual romantic feelings]]--which was implied back in [[http://www.mangapanda.com/naruto/3/17 Chapter 3]]--while [[spoiler:his love for Hinata is sincere and real. Naruto ''does'' spit it out to Hinata in the movie, twice (compared to the ''years'' it took Hinata to spit it out two years ago). The first time he spat it out, it didn't go so well thanks to [[BigBad Toneri]]. However, after the FinalBattle, he [[GrowOldWithMe proposes]] to her and she happily accepts, the two enter a relationship, get HappilyMarried, and have two children]].
** In ''[[LightNovel/NarutoHiden Shikamaru Hiden]]'', Shikamaru gets [[LoveMakesYouDumb tongue-tied]] when he's trying to ask [[spoiler:Temari]] out to dinner.
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'':
** Effectively {{invoked|Trope}} when Negi tries to ask his father's allies who his [[MissingMom mother]] is. Unfortunately, Rakan swore them to silence until he "acknowledges Negi as a man", seemingly so that Negi would have even more incentive to beat him in their upcoming fight.
** Naturally, it's then revealed with no build up at all, by a newly introduced character. It's later confirmed by Jack Rakan, in the same offhand manner:
--->'''Jack:''' Oh, by the way, [[spoiler:Arika]] really is your mother. See you later. ''(heads off to bathroom)''.
** But can you really stop there? The entirety of ''Negima'' is comprised of characters who can't spit it out. Nodoka, Yue, Chachamaru, Evangeline, Asuna, Negi, Kotarou, and a slew of side characters have relationships they refuse to act on, for reasons ranging from denial, feelings of unworthiness, fear of hurting others feelings, or amnesia.
** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]]:
--->'''Kotarō:''' What's with her? All she's saying is, "L-L-L-L" over and over again.
%%** Also subverted early on by Nodoka, [[ShrinkingViolet the last person you'd expect]]. Which makes it all the more unfortunate (as revealed in the ''rushed'' ending) that she was rejected.
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Scarcely a character in the entire series is capable of admitting his or her deeper feelings toward those he or she loves most [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYjn8NpXJcs (with Kaworu being the main exception)]]. Often even the exceptions turn out not to be exceptions. For example, Asuka's flamboyant confessions of love for Kaji [[OperationJealousy are to mask her growing attraction]] to Shinji. Of course, it doesn't work. Unfortunately, the consequence of that situation was the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and it could have been averted if the characters (mainly Shinji and Asuka) [[ForWantOfANail would have been more open and sincere with each other.]]
* Every time Haru from ''Manga/{{Ojojojo}}'' makes an effort to say something genuinely nice or sincere to Tsurezure (or anyone else of a lower social status), she reflexively twists her words into something condescending. She gets a little better about it over time, and eventually does give Tsurezure a proper LoveConfession (after they've already been dating for a few months).
* Morei has this issue in ''Manga/OmujoOmutsuJoshi''. She has a hard time speaking her feelings to her childhood friend, Shouta. This is compounded by her attempt to appeal to him by going along with what she incorrectly thinks is Shota's fetish for girls in diapers. She stumbles over her attempt to declare her love for Shouta while showing him she's wearing one and accidentally convinces him ''she'' has the fetish as a result. In a later chapter, she fantasizes about trying again but can't go through with it.
* How anime fans (and indeed anyone with half a brain) react to ''Anime/OneStormyNight''. They keep saying the word "friend" but you keep thinking one of them should just blurt out the obvious.
%%* Dramatic example: ''Manga/PeachGirl''.
* In ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', Ahiru can't tell Mytho that she loves him -- Not because of nervousness, but because she will ''cease to exist'' once she does. This becomes very troublesome in the first season finale when [[spoiler: Princess Kraehe offers to return Mytho's emotion of love, but only if she says that she loves him.]]
* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'':
** Deconstructed: Sayaka Miki ''does'' have her chance to get together with an IllBoy Kamijou as her friend Hitomi Shizuki ''does'' ask her if she loves him. Sayaka's inability to just spit it out already makes her friend consider the answer is no. She has her reasons, yes, but still...
** Another example is [[NotGoodWithPeople Homura]]. She knows she loves [[spoiler:Madoka]], and is highly motivated by those feelings...but she can't express them without [[HeroicBSOD breaking down]] and sobbing incoherently (as seen in Episodes 8 and 12). This results in much confusion for [[spoiler:Madoka]], as Homura's ''actions'' indicate love but her ''words'' don't.
* ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'': Much of the later drama happens because Fuutarou discovers that, five years ago, he met one of the Nakano sisters in Kyoto, and they made a promise to become top students. Said quintuplet [[spoiler:(later revealed to be Yotsuba)]] starts doing everything in her power to keep Fuutarou from learning the truth and even tries to get him to forget about her. As it turns out, this is all because [[spoiler:she instantly recognized Fuutarou when they meet again at the start of the series, but she feels ashamed that unlike him, she couldn't fulfill their promise. This is also the reason why she doesn't confess her feelings for him, [[InsecureLoveInterest thinking that she has no right to pursue him]], and after noticing that her sisters are falling in love with him, she decides to step aside to give them a fair chance too]].
* ''Manga/Reborn2004'' stars Tsunayoshi "Tsuna" Sawada, an UnluckyEverydude with a crush on his classmate Kyoko who Cannot Spit It Out. One of Reborn's first tasks in making Tsuna a suitable heir to the Vongola Mafia family is using his "Dying Wish Bullet" to make Tsuna confess his love to Kyoko. But in the end, she still thinks he was joking, and he has yet to convince himself to confess a second time.
* ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'' has [[{{Tsundere}} Inner]] [[DefrostingIceQueen Moka]], who refuses to admit her [[EveryoneCanSeeIt increasingly]] [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan obvious]] affection for [[NiceGuy Tsukune]].
* In ''Franchise/SailorMoon'', the entire cast tends to silently worry over important plot points or conflicted emotions rather than discussing it with the rest of the ensemble. Usagi sits and stews in wistful silence over her emotionally-charged interactions with the brainwashed Mamoru in the Dark Kingdom arc. Rei and Mamoru brood over their visions and psychic dreams without mentioning it to the others. In the Dark Moon arc, Mamoru doesn't tell Usagi or the others that he has been having chest pains and coughing up blood because he doesn't want to be a burden to them. Minako has been dealing with serious emotional and self-esteem issues in the Dark Moon arc too, especially since she was the only one who didn't recover her powers yet but she didn't tell the others until Minako finally shouted at them for constantly mentioning the Outers and forgetting everything Minako had did prior to.
* In ''Manga/{{Saki}}'', Nodoka desperately tries to cover up her feelings for Saki whom she keeps referring to as nothing but a friend--not to much avail, though.
* The foundation of pretty much all the tension and drama of ''Manga/WhisperedWords'' is based on Sumika's inability to tell Kazama that she loves her. Kazama [[SchoolgirlLesbians likes girls too]], and very openly... But Sumika isn't her type, and is petrified that a confession of love would destroy their friendship. [[spoiler:As of chapter 20, the tension is even more balanced on this, from both sides: Kazama is in love with Sumika as well, but doesn't know that Sumika likes girls (or even just her), so she is also terrified that confessing ''her'' love would tear them apart.]]
* The inability of various characters in ''Manga/SchoolRumble'' to confess their love, Harima's feelings for Tenma being the principle example.
* It's very obvious from early on in ''Anime/SenkiZesshouSymphogear'' that Miku is harboring romantic feelings for her best friend, Hibiki. Unfortunately, Miku can't bring herself to confess and Hibiki is [[ObliviousToLove far too dense]] to figure it out. [[spoiler:The final scene in the series has Miku finally work up the courage to presumably confess her love, with Hibiki replying that she ''also'' has something to tell Miku and hopes it's the same thing, but the series ends without any explicit confirmation]].
* ''Manga/SgtFrog'' spent an entire episode milking the trope, as Momoka's attempts to refer to Fuyuki on a first-name basis lead to increasingly absurd changes in the conversation.
* Shana from ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'' doesn't have a bloody clue how to talk about her feelings, particularly about why she's falling for Yuji. This, of course, drives her {{tsundere}} behavior towards him; since she can't spit it out, beating him up works too.
* ''Manga/ShesMyKnight'': It takes Ichinose an entire chapter just to ask Mogami for one of the muffins she baked, let alone tell her he likes her.
* Akina of ''[[Manga/ShinozakisanKiWoOtaShikaNi Don't Become an Otaku, Shinozaki-san!]]'' cannot spit ''anything'' out. She can't tell Kaede and Micchy she is more into fashion then otaku stuff, and she ''really'' can't say that she is in love with Kaede, especially to herself. This latter also causes her to have difficulty referring to Kaede by her first name.
* In ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'', Yayoi decides to pull an April Fools prank, saying that she's going to get transferred to another school. It's all fine and dandy, except for one hitch - the person she told it to was Miyuki, who panics and begins spreading the news, spiraling into Reiko holding a farewell party with the rest of the class and Yayoi unable to say anything because the other girls keep putting words in her mouth. It isn't until Akaoni reveals the truth through a manga Yayoi drew and lost that the girls realize that it was a lie. They're pretty disappointed at her... until they realize it was Miyuki's fault for believing it in the first place!
* It took until the very last episode of ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' -- more than 2 years after it became painfully obvious to everyone -- for Misa (Lisa) to finally drop the L bomb on Hikaru (Rick).
* This is more or less Creator/RumikoTakahashi's S.O.P.: [[BelligerentSexualTension At least one member of the pairing must not be able to confess their feelings]]:
** ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''.
*** After spending most of the series calling Akane an "uncute tomboy", Ranma finally musters up the courage to tell her that actually, he thinks she's really cute -- and [[CassandraTruth then she doesn't believe him because she thinks he's trying to trick her]].
*** In one of the songs from the albums, "November Rain", the lyrics imply that Ranma is incapable of letting anyone, even himself, know what his true feelings for Akane are.
---->'''Ranma:''' I'm not being true with myself. Yes, I know, but I can't say those words.
*** Ryōga spends the entire manga obsessing over how much he loves Akane, but never actually tells her without being interrupted by something. to make things worse for him, the one time he spits it out, it turns out to be a MistakenDeclarationOfLove.
*** Akane is also guilty of this. In the arc where Ranma becomes Nabiki's fiance instead, Akane is jealous of Nabiki's ability to tell Ranma how she feels because she can't tell him so easily.
** ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'':
*** Ataru can't admit he really loves Lum because if he did, he'd have to give up his dreams of a harem. (It should be noted that this makes sense to no-one other than Ataru, given [[CasanovaWannabe his horrible luck with women]].)
*** Also during the second tag duel in the fifth movie, Ataru refuses to say that he loves Lum despite the stakes -- because under those circumstances the words wouldn't be meaningful.
** ''Manga/MaisonIkkoku'': Godai is openly in love with Kyoko, but is too wishy-washy to 'fess up. Kyoko is aware of this, but is conflicted both by a rich rival suitor and her inability to let go of her dead husband.
** ''Manga/InuYasha'':
*** Although Inu-Yasha and Kagome seem to have "reached an understanding" as to how they feel about each other, neither has been able to actually say the words, even to themselves.
*** Even worse, and more obvious is the Sango/Miroku quagmire, where one side can occasionally get their feelings out, but the other either locks up or [[MomentKiller spoils the moment]], though they did eventually get on the same page.
** ''Manga/OnePoundGospel'': Thoroughly averted with Kosaku Hatanaka, who's quite vocal about his wish to live with Sister Angela and have her as his girlfriend. Subverted with Angela herself; she likely ''could'' spit it out, if this didn't conflict with her wish to become a full nun.
** ''Manga/{{Rinne}}'': Rinne seems to figure it out fairly early on that he feels something for the main heroine Sakura, even if he isn't sure just what. However Sakura's straight face and calm attitude leaves him unsure as to how she feels and prevents him from saying anything even he worked up the courage to.
* ''Manga/TalesOfWeddingRings'': Sato and Krystal have been in love for ten years, but just can't tell each other. The series starts with Krystal leaving for her "home town," only for Sato to follow her through a portal to another world where she's about to enter into a magical ArrangedMarriage to some guy she's never met. She dodges this by marrying Sato instead. While initially Krystal insists that [[MarriageOfConvenience it's just a political marriage]] and they don't have to do anything, they quickly [[SubvertedTrope realize that's stupid, admit they're in love with each other, and treat their marriage as real]]. WordOfGod is that the manga was originally going to be a long case of WillTheyOrWontThey, but plans changed very early on. Of course, because Sato and Krystal have terrible luck, [[InterruptedIntimacy they keep getting interrupted before they can actually consummate their marriage]].
* In ''Manga/TegamiBachiLetterBee'', Connor is unable to bring himself to tell Lag that Gauche, whom Lag befriended while being delivered to Cambel Litmus, [[spoiler: was fired from his Letter Bee position after going missing]]. In a one-shot story, a woman's maid is unable to reveal herself as the person who had sent her the picture postcards, because she had been forced to sell the gift she had received from her future employer when the two were younger. One of Lag's Heart Bullets reveals the secret, which the woman takes well.
* In ''Anime/TekkamanBlade'', an early episode has D-Boy's transformation crystal being broken, forcing him to use a modified Pegas robot to transform into Blade. Late in the series, when he's losing his memory due to a DeadlyUpgrade, he forgets that his crystal broke and starts trying to transform on his own. Despite that he is searching the ground frantically and asking, over and over again, where his crystal is, Pegas refuses to say even something as simple is "I have your crystal, give me the command," instead uninformatively urging D-Boy to transform. Later, he dryly explains, "D-Boy refuses to access my Tek-Set function."
* ''Manga/ThoseWhoHuntElves''. All it would take to save the group tons and tons of trouble every episode is for somebody to approach an Elf and say "Hello, there. This might seem like an odd request but my friends and I are looking for fragments of a very important spell that's been imprinted on the bodies of five random Elf women. You don't happen to have recently found yourself with a strange marking on your body, have you? You HAVE? Great! Would you mind if we went to a quiet, private location to check if it's one of the fragments and remove that for you if it is?" Instead of, y'know, randomly assaulting and ripping the clothes off every one they come across.
* Kotetsu from ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' has this tendency to the point of it being a FatalFlaw. He doesn't like hurting people or worrying them with his own problems, and so prefers to keep unpleasant information to himself. This is a frequent cause of misunderstandings and leads to quarrels with both his daughter and his partner.
* ''Anime/TimeOfEve'' has robots who appear emotionless, but are revealed to secretly be RidiculouslyHumanRobots. Both they and their human masters [[FantasticRacism are not comfortable with this]]. Sammy in particular is a good example: she hides her concern [[spoiler:and growing affection]] for her master Rikuo, and is [[spoiler:afraid to be seen at the cafe even after he finds out she's a regular]].
* Played with in ''Manga/ToLoveRu''. In the first chapter, Rito plays it straight and then subverts it when he does finally confess to Haruna. Only for Lala to get in the way. It then plays the trope fairly straight for a time. However the reason changes from shyness to indecisiveness as he is no longer sure of his feelings. [[spoiler: As soon as he is sure of his feelings for Lala, he confesses to her immediately, then goes to confess to Haruna who he still loves, making it a subversion.]]
* In ''Anime/TomicaHyperRescueDriveHeadKidouKyuukyuuKeisatsu'', despite his usual egomania, Karigari becomes so flustered around Sasagawa that he is unable to confess his feelings to her. That or circumstances will interrupt him, like a spacecraft suddenly about to plunge down onto the city. Of course [[ObliviousToLove she has no clue]].
* In ''Manga/TonaGura'', would-be couple Kazuki Arisaka and Yuuji Kagura sometimes get so flustered by their obvious feelings that they cannot speak to each other at all, not out of anger, but out of trepidation. In one instance, where he has fallen on top of her (legit in this case, despite his immature tendency to grab at her), they are at this point so tongue-tied that a primal AccidentalPervert[=/=]{{Tsundere}} moment passes with only a few "Excuse Me"s -- and that's all.
* Completely averted in ''Manga/TonariNoKashiwagiSan''. Yuuto confesses his feelings to Kotone the same day as his LoveEpiphany (though it was technically by accident).
* Tatsuya and Minami in ''Manga/{{Touch}}''. He likes her and she likes him, and she even kisses and confess to him before the 20th episode. It still took over 100 episodes...
%%* Esther Blanchett and Ion Fortuna from ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood''.
* In ''Manga/{{Tsukigasa}}'', Kuroe and Azuma have this in regards to their feelings but also on the larger scale of failing to communicate exactly what happened in the incident where Azuma cuts off Kuroe's arm and all the fallout from that.
* In ''Anime/UmiMonogatari'', Kanon doesn't confess that she likes Kojima because she's afraid he'll reject her.
* This is suspected to be the case with Rudolf in ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry''.
* In ''Manga/Yuria100Shiki'', Yuria can't tell Shunsuke how she feels about him, because she's SexBot and has no idea if her feelings are real or just part of her programming. Also because she doesn't really know ''how'' -- everything outside of "how to be a sexbot" she's had to learn on her own and is still very naive about most things.
* Subverted in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''. Just before [[spoiler: Yusuke leaves to face his demon heritage,]] he has one last meal at the Yukimura diner. Cue [[spoiler: Yusuke's marriage proposal,]] which Keiko reacts to rather nonchalantly. The subversion comes when [[spoiler: Keiko returns to her room -- Yusuke drops "Oh, come on, Keiko... you know I love you." without nary a second thought.]] Keiko's response? [[spoiler: An even more nonchalant "Yeah, yeah."]]
