No Hugging, No Kissing: Difference between revisions

* In an extreme example, ''[[Dragon Ball (Manga)|Dragon Ball]]'' follows the lives of several characters who marry and start families, although we're not shown much of the courting period at all, however there was a pretty noticeable build-up to both Goku/Chi-Chi and Gohan/Videl. This mostly came out of the creator's fears that he was terrible at romance.

* Eiichiro Oda of ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]]'' fame openly declared that there would not be any romance in the series, and instead focuses on the series theme of friendship, stating that [[Romantic Plot Tumor|romantic scenes would ruin the exciting, party-like mood in the story that appeals to boys or the boyish at heart.]] ''One Piece'' may have some characters who are in love, but Oda's never going to write romance into the story because it would ruin the mood it's established. According to Oda, if you want that kind of thing you should probably read a girl's manga.

* [[Naoki Urasawa]]'s ''[[Monster (Anime)|Monster]]'' is probably the only anime that can regularly feature a [[Love Chart|relationship/connections chart]] between its [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] without ''even one'' romantic relationship.

* ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (Anime)|Gundam Wing]]'' was written with no romance in mind at all. In an interview, the director specifically stated that he considered the political and symbolic relationship between the show's two leads more important than any potential romance.

* English dubbing of anime, especially those targeted at younger demographics, at times tends to remove or change overtly romantic-sounding dialog with something more [[The Power of Friendship|friendship related]]. For example, compare the scene at 1:47 to 2:30 of this clip of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvhpo0WF4sc episode 32] of ''[[Bakugan (Anime)|Bakugan Battle Brawlers]]'' with the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJmF6qzS6ns same scene] in its original Japanese. [[Inverted Trope|Or occasionally it goes in the opposite direction]] - adding it in when such context is not in the subbed version, for example in ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia (Manga)|Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' and ''[[Saiyuki (Manga)|Gensoumaden Saiyuki]]''.

* [[Word of God]]: "There is no romance in ''[[Lucky Star (Manga)|Lucky Star]]''." They go so far as to have a scene that sets up what looks like a love confession, {{spoiler|and then it turns out the guy wanted to talk to Kagami so he could beg her Yatsuhashi doll off of her.}}

* While ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (Manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' is very romance-heavy, to the point of [[No Loves Intersect]], an arguable example of this trope in action is the [[Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime)|2003 anime version]]. Both Rose and Winry in this version are implied to be in love with Edward - and it's been implied that Edward likes Winry back just like in the original manga (with Rose it's more ambiguous) - but Ed is too focused on his brother.

* Nelvana's ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura (Manga)|Cardcaptors]]'' dub managed to, [[Sarcasm Mode|amazingly]], [[Macekre|turn a romance-heavy anime into]] a [[No Hugging, No Kissing]] series. This isn't just [[Kissing Cousins|about]] [[Ho Yay|the]] [[Les Yay|controversial]] [[May-December Romance|stuff]]; even the most acceptable pairs (mainly Syaoran/Sakura) became devoid of romantic interest. This became particularly bad in the Sakura Cards arc, in which Syaoran's feelings towards Sakura sometimes got 50% of an episode. In the dub, all the romantic scenes are cut out and the dialogue is changed to some more generic subjects (fighting the forces of evil, etc). To fill in the minutes of lost footage, many flashbacks were added. For example, while ''Cardcaptor Sakura'' last episode is an intense, emotion-filled finale, ''Cardcaptors'' last episode is almost a [[Clip Show]].

* The author of the ''[[Slayers (Light Novel)|Slayers]]'' novels [[Word of God|stated]] that there would be no romance in his series at the very beginning, but the anime ignored this, pairing [[Dark Magical Girl|Lina]] up with [[Idiot Hero|Gourry]], at the very least [[Ship Tease|Ship Teasing]] Zelgadis and Amelia, and throwing in a few others for good measure. The author of the novels [[Word of God|later admitted]] that while he intended to make ''Slayers'' [[No Hugging, No Kissing]], the characters fell in love on their own.

* In the ''[[Pokémon (Anime)|Pokémon]]'' anime it seems like the only couples allowed consist of minor characters. None of the main characters are in relationships, and the only one who seems to want to be is Brock. Although, since [[Kid Hero|almost none of them have hit puberty yet]], this kind of makes sense. This doesn't stop the fandom from having vicious [[Ship-to-Ship Combat]] over which girl Ash should end up with, though.

* Despite the relationship between Rosette and Chrono being a major part of ''[[Chrono Crusade (Manga)|Chrono Crusade]]'', the word 'love' does not appear in the manga, in any context, ''ever''. It's also open to debate whether or not the two ever kiss (the angle on their final scene on the Pandaemonium leaves it ambiguous).

* In one of the [[Word of God|author freetalk sections]] in the first volume of ''[[Natsume Yuujinchou (Manga)|Natsume Yuujinchou]]'', the author mentions that she wanted to "make a supernatural manga without much of a romantic element."

* The only display of romantic affection in ''[[Claymore (Manga)|Claymore]]'' has so far been the single kiss Clare gave to [[Designated Love Interest|Raki]] just before leaving him for good. Everything else never goes beyond [[I Owe You My Life]] sentiment and [[Vitriolic Best Buds]] relationship, much to the frustration of the considerable [[Yuri Fan|Yuri Fandom]] of the series.

* Despite how deep most of the relationships tend to run in ''[[Soul Eater (Manga)|Soul Eater]]'' - with Soul and Maka being the most canon example - [[Word of God|according to Ohkubo]] in an interview he doesn't plan on taking any of them to a romantic level. Though he also tends to troll his fans so whether or not he's being honest is unsure, and the [[Ship Tease]] isn't helping.

* Probably the reason ''[[Hunter X Hunter (Manga)|Hunter X Hunter]]'' is a total sausagefest. Any women in the series are minor characters who don't stick around long. The two main characters are also prepubescent.

* According to [[Word of God]], ''[[Daily Lives of High School Boys (Manga)|Daily Lives of High School Boys]]'' isn't so much about romance than teenage boys (and some girls) doing things. In fact, the closest things to romance the series have are the Literature Girl and Emi's crushes towards Hidenori, and even then they are one-sided (and in the latter's case, it was even grounded by [[Surprise Incest]]).

* ''[[Tintin (Comic Book)]]'' has this in spades, no major characters have shown any interest in romance whatsoever. The only exception is Professor Calculus, who has an innocent crush on Bianca Castafiore.

* Awkwardly done in ''[[Weird Science (Film)|Weird Science]]'', in that the two teenagers, despite having created a woman of their complete desire, make no explicit attempts to even try to have sex with her. Somewhat justified in that Gary and Wyatt go pretty quickly from being in awe that they actually created Lisa to being absolutely terrified of her, once she displays her [[Reality Warper]] powers.

* [[HP Lovecraft|H. P. Lovecraft's]] stories do not focus on even the slightest bits of romance or affection. Even when the protagonist mentions a wife, it is usually in a rather offhand manner. The story ''The Thing on the Doorstep'' involved a marriage as a plot point but it wasn't the marriage of the protagonist, but that of a friend. Even then, no acts of romantic affection between said friend and his love interest are ever described, and, said marriage was actually just a way for an [[Eldritch Abomination]] inhabiting the woman to keep the husband close at hand since said [[Eldritch Abomination]] wants to eventually take control of said husband's body. Even friendships are subject to this since Lovecraftian protagonists often describe friendships in a detached manner.

** It is also true that ''any'' mention of sexual activity in Lovecraft is not only off-screen, but depicted as grotesque and produces abominable things that should not be. (''[[The Dunwich Horror (Literature)|The Dunwich Horror]],'' ''[[The Shadow Over Innsmouth (Literature)|The Shadow Over Innsmouth]]'')

*** There ''were'' a couple occasions where Five was allowed to hug his female companions, such as after he rescued Nyssa from {{spoiler|George Cranleigh}} on the roof of a burning building in "Black Orchid", after Tegan {{spoiler|is released from the Mara}} in "Snakedance", and when [[Stalker With a Crush|Sharaz Jek]] intimidates Peri in "The Caves of Androzani".

* While ''[[Corner Gas (TV)|Corner Gas]]'' isn't ''completely'' devoid of romance, the level is incredibly low for a show about six single, middle aged characters (and Oscar and Emma), and the few episodes do deal with romance [[Ship Sinking|bring up pairings just to dismiss them]].

* ''[[30 Rock (TV)|30 Rock]]'' is very clear about this: Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy will never get together. Never. Not once. (Although they were married for one episode, due to a technicality, for what it's worth.)

* ''[[Warhammer 40000 (Tabletop Game)|Warhammer 40000]]'' and all of its spinoffs, including the role-playing games, tend to gloss over or completely avoid the subject of romance and love, bar that love and desire feed one of the [[Eldritch Abomination|Gods of Chaos]]. It's understandable, given the settings' all-encompassing emphasis on war and mayhem, but even in the books, offhand references at best are the rule, with exceptions few and far between.

** Very mildly averted in the ''[[Ciaphas Cain (Literature)|Ciaphas Cain]]'' novels, where Cain is a devoted pursuer of women, and there's a few other relationships mentioned when they cross his path. It's mostly offscreen, and mostly implied, but it's there.

** The [[Expanded Universe]] manga adaptations of the games completely defy this and openly show Link and Zelda having feelings for each other (though usually more Link than Zelda). Much of the less canonical material, such as [[The Legend of Zelda (Animation)|the American cartoon]], the American comic that ran in Nintendo Power, and the [[The Legendof Zelda CDI Games (Video Game)|CD-I games]], also place them a lot closer together (though the cartoon turns it into [[Slap Slap Kiss]]).

** On the other hand, every female of appropriate age ([[Shotacon|and one that's not]]) in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Video Game)|Ocarina of Time]]'' seems to be [[Chick Magnet|hot for Link]]. Princess Ruto even becomes [[Childhood Marriage Promise|engaged to him]].

** Zelda in ''[[The Legend of Zelda the Minish Cap (Video Game)|The Minish Cap]]'' is giggly and openly flirty with Link (or as openly flirty as you can be with someone who [[Heroic Mime|doesn't really give feedback]]).

** At the end of a linked ''[[The Legend of Zelda Oracle Games (Video Game)|Oracle of Seasons/Ages]]'' game, Zelda kisses Link on the cheek, and a heart appears above his head.

** Marin in ''[[The Legend of Zelda Links Awakening (Video Game)|Link's Awakening]]'' seems to be the closest to an actual love interest Link has, doing all but hugging or kissing (or directly speaking about their feelings).

** Ilia in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Video Game)|Twilight Princess]]'' matches Marin in that you can tell they're close even though they don't ''physically'' show it (there's even a [[Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone]] gag).

** Towards the end of ''[[The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks (Video Game)|Spirit Tracks]]'', {{spoiler|after Zelda gets her body back, she hugs Link (he blushes at this) and after you've beaten Malladus the camera zooms in on Link and Zelda holding hands.}}

** ''[[The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass (Video Game)|Phantom Hourglass]]'' made Link and Tetra act... very, very sweet towards each other (yeah, even Link, he even had some face-expressions that were only used for cutscenes related to Tetra).

** While ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Video Game)|Skyward Sword]]'' plays it mostly straight between Link and Zelda with nothing more than the standard mild [[Ship Tease]] between the two, there's a surprising aversion involved in one sidequest. The NPC running the Item Check, Peatrice, unambiguously becomes infatuated with Link as his patronises her stall at the bazaar, and dialogue options allow Link to return her feelings if the player so chooses. It culminates in an open declaration of love between the two before she picks up on the fact that Link is kinda busy with something at the moment and decides they should wait until he's finished up this business to tell her father the good news.

* ''[[Betrayal At Krondor]]'' has no romance, Disregarding Owyn's crush on Gamina or references to James's one-night-stands. This is facilitated by all six of the main characters being male.

* Similar to the ''Zelda'' example, the relationships in the ''[[Super Mario Bros]]'' games seem mostly platonic with Mario and Luigi only receiving kisses on the cheek for the reward to each rescue. Surprisingly, Luigi is asked about Mario and Peach's relationship in ''[[Super Paper Mario (Video Game)|Super Paper Mario]]'', and he admits that it is confusing but they seem to be just friends. Additionally, ''[[Super Mario RPG (Video Game)|Super Mario RPG]]'' employed joke kisses (where Bowser and Booster could accidentally wind up kissing Mario on the cheek or each other on the lips while trying to steal a kiss from Peach). Aside from that, the series just [[Ship Tease|teases]] potential pairings such as Luigi/Daisy and Yoshi/Birdo.

* ''[[Touhou (Video Game)|Touhou]]'' has no romance whatsoever. Hell, only a literal handful of characters even have known family members.

* Love and sex are never mentioned in ''[[Dark Souls (Video Game)|Dark Souls]]''. The only marriage ever mentioned is off screen and neither character involved is personally encountered. It might just be that the world [[Crapsack World|sucks]] so much no one can really bother thinking about such things, or that the Dark Sign is also [[Sterility Plague]].

* The closest thing to romance in ''[[Invader Zim (Animation)|Invader Zim]]'' is [[Mauve Shirt|Gretchen]]'s implied crush on [[Hero Antagonist|Dib]], [[Eviler Than Thou|Tak]]'s brief and incredibly violent "relationship" with Zim (motivated by revenge and SCIENCE!, respectively), and [[Robot Buddy|GIR]]'s very obvious interest in [[Creepy Child|Gaz]].

** [[Word of God|Lauren Faust specifically noted that]] ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' was not a show which would contain romance of any kind for the [[Fan Nickname|mane cast]]. Despite this, Rarity is initially attracted to [[Prince Charmless|Prince Blueblood]] (she got over ''that'' quickly though) and Spike has a [[Precocious Crush]] on Rarity herself {{spoiler|which she is apparently aware of}}. All other romantic scenarios happen to minor characters, so there is still a [[Valentine's Day Episodes|Valentines' Day]] episode and "[[My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (Animation)/Recap/S2 E18 A Friend in Deed|A Friend In Deed]]" has Cranky and Matilda. And dare we mention Shining Armor and Princess Cadence? By the end of their episode they've both hugged ''and'' kissed.