There are plenty of stories where someone gives up someone or something important for love. But what about stories where someone gives up love because someone else is more important? 40571f

The criteria:

--the main character has an important lover or love interest -- someone the MC is, or would be, serious about.

--however, there is someone who is more important than the lover. This person can be a relative, friend, colleague, mentor, protégé, whatever, I don't care! As long as the MC has no romantic interest in the Other Important Person.

--also, the relationship with the Other Important Person must be a positive relationship, not a negative one -- so no stuff like, "Sorry, lover, but finding and taking revenge on my father's murderer is more important than you."

--and most importantly, there must be some kind of conflict between the lover and the Other Important Person. Note that the differences between the lover and the Other Important Person do not have to be irreconcilable. The main character does not have to actually pick between the two of them. However, the possibility must come up, and the main character must say, either in words or in actions, "If push comes to shove, I'm picking my Other Important Person over my lover."

The issue between the lover and the Other Important Person can be of any type -- maybe they don't like each other, or maybe they work for opposite sides, or maybe they have conflicting life goals, or maybe they both want to be with the MC but are moving to opposite sides of the country -- whatever, I don't care. There just has to be some issue that leaves the MC torn between the two of them.

Again, the main character doesn't have to pick the Other Important Person over the lover, but the MC cannot pick the lover over the Other Important Person, and the MC must make it clear that, if the lover and the Other Important Person continue to be at odds, the MC will pick the Other Important Person.

And again, the lover can be "just" a love interest, as long as the MC is seriously in love with this person.

So, is there anything out there like this? Any genre but hentai is okay. Thanks in advance! (And sorry for the ridiculously long explanation of exactly what I'm looking for. -.0; )

There was a little part (Really little) like that in legend of nereid but it wasn't the MC

the guard kills his lover because the important person wants to use her death to further his career and also take revenge on the guard for having a lover

And there are some (small) parts in the breaker that might fit, however they are more comic relief then serious business

And if MC chooses work over lover is also fine.
Then, 9 banme no musashi

This is exactly like Kimi no Iru Machi it is sooooo goood!!

I think Flowers of Evil counts, but it's going to be a spoiler to tell you why it may or may not. But I guess all it's really going to spoil is what the MC ends up doing about the situation, and you're kind of asking for that spoiler with this post. So here goes (by the way, I'm still leaving a lot of the plot for you to discover, so I'd suggest reading the spoiler).

First of all, it's incestuous, so . . .

Basically, there are twins (fraternal - a male and a female). And for a while they think they're in love or in lust or whatever. But then one of them starts pulling away because they meet someone else, we'll call them The Lover.

The one who's pulling away realizes that they aren't actually in love with their twin, that they just loved them so much that they mistook it for being romantic love. And they begin to fall for The Lover (by the way, The Lover and the Other Twin hate each other - jealousy issues). But the Other Twin really does have twisted feelings for the Twin Who Is Pulling Away, and so they ask them to leave everything, including their Lover, and come away with them.

The Twin Who Is Pulling Away agrees, not because they're in love with the Other Twin, but because they love them so much they don't want them to be unhappy, even if it means giving up The Lover. So, when push came to shove, they chose their sibling over their Lover.

I know it's not perfect, because you wanted the relationship between the MC and the Other Important Person to be completely platonic, but it's unrequited love, and the MC doesn't pick the OIP because of any romantic feelings.

I'm pretty sure this works for what you want.

I second Flowers of Evil. But I suggest not reading that spoiler because that does basically reveal the whole plot of Flowers of Evil.

This link might help.
[url]http://mangaupdates.conexionsite.com/showtopic.php?tid=22223&hl=duty[/url]

[img]http://www.nodiatis.com/pub/11.jpg[/img]

Dance in the Vampire Bund
Hitsuji no Uta

I can't say that there's absolutely no romantic interest here in the other important person, but in both cases it's not something that goes anywhere because of the nature of their relationship to them.

Quote from iheartramen

I second Flowers of Evil. But I suggest not reading that spoiler because that does basically reveal the whole plot of Flowers of Evil.

Note: DO NOT read the first spoiler box in this post unless you've read the manga. It will ruin it. The second one is fine, though.

The two most important elements of the story:

the fact that her brother is the obsessed one and not her and the fact that they both die in the end I did not spoil. I only told this person that ! the MC ends up choosing their twin over their lover which they would have figured out, since the requirement for this post was a manga where the MC chooses an Important Other over their Lover. I would suggest reading the spoiler, because the manga doesn't fit perfectly due to the unrequited love issue, and so it may not be what you're looking for (though I'm pretty sure it is). Though of course you can do what you want. That's why I put a spoiler box around it.

maybe this

http://mangaupdates.conexionsite.com/showtopic.php?tid=24007&hl=friend over lover

"I'll shut your mouth~~~~~ with mine~~~"

二息歩行

Awesome! Thanks for all the recs, guys.

(I'm skipping the spoilers, just to be on the safe side.)

The other threads are great, thanks. Neither is exactly what I want -- the duty one is too broad, and the friend/sibling over lover one is too specific about the genders of the people involved, which I do not care about at all -- but they do help. If anyone has any further recs that don't fit in with either of those threads, shoot 'em my way!

Bokura ga Ita

[img]http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh9/xsaranghaex/seigaku.gif[/img]

Basara if I correctly... I should reread it now. <3

Chitose etc.

It's like that so far. Main character falls in love with a guy, only to discover he already has a girlfriend and the two of them have been together since 5th grade and are determined not to break up no matter what. Of course it turns out that

the romantic love they once had for one another has now disappeared completely--and they know it--but the reason why they keep choosing one another over other romantic interests is because of a shared childhood trauma. They may not love each other romantically anymore, but they are still each other's most important person.

It's an ongoing manga so I don't know if it will turn out the way you want in the end, but at least the first 20+ chapters fulfill your request.

Oh hmm.. that plot definitely reminds me of Kare wa Tomodachi. I don't when exactly, but it'll get there.