I read a lot of romance manhwa/webtoons and as I've been playing lads I've been thinking about what male leads our dear LIs remind me of. I spent way too much thought and time into this and obviously these are just my own personal takes. Also there's some mild spoilers ahead. Without further ado, here are the characters I think are most similar to our boys:
My pookie is 100% Noah from I am the Villain. I mean he's a prince working as a knight and he's head over heels for the woman he's a knight for. Also he gets pretty jealous/possessive and he literally looks like Xavier. A secondary (not nearly as perfect of a fit as Noah) option that may seem a bit of an odd choice at first is Lucas from Who Made Me a Princess. He's extremely powerful but also extremely lazy and is always recharging, enjoys playing games and joking with fl but is broody or aloof with others, teleports himself and fl to literally anywhere, he's older than he looks, and gets a bit jealous.
(I've already made another post about how Xavier is Prince Endymion and Lumiere is just Tuxedo Mask, but obviously that's like an S-tier comparison)
The community as a whole has decided that Raf is Jinshi from Apothecary Diaries and Tamaki Suoh from OHSHC. However, I would like to add my own selection to the ring: Prince Cesio from I wasn't the Cinderella. He's got godly powers, is a talented artist, has secrets galore, and is excellent at acting (sometimes bashful, sometimes manipulative, sometimes coy).
Here we've got the classic "fl runs to the scary duke for help and the duke is actually a total softy for fl" trope. Since it's such a common trope, I've got some options to choose from, but I would like to present Duke Noah Wynknight from Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion, mostly for the personality and the dynamic between him and Raeliana being similar to mc and Sy. But ALSO outside of that specific genre, we've got crimelord Sylus himself in Gabriel Angelini from Mafia Nanny.
(Honorable mentions: Duke Dante Heigenberg from To Whom it No Longer Concerns - he's got the added "she doesn't remember me" aspect and also "I fully support my wife's shenanigans")
I'm going to have to ask you to hear me out on these because these are some very different choices. We've got Richard from In the Doghouse... iykyk. But also Crush from Cherry Crush - childhood friends turned lovers, but also so much trauma and the poor boy was turned into a cold weapon whose only source of warmth and joy is the one he loves, can't outrun the bad stuff, would be happy to just live the domestic life, has secrets that he slowly unveils, breaks trust but is willing to do whatever it takes to mend things (yes it's bl and also it's a drama not a romance but like he's LITERALLY Caleb).
(Honorable mentions: Emperor Heinrey from The Remarried Empress - puppy dog eyes for days, possessive, doing things behind fl's back, particularly doing shady things as a high ranking official. Also a little bit of Caelus from For My Derelict Favorite? I don't remember much of the story but I do remember that Caelus lost part of himself and fl had to help build him up again and give him a reason to live - it reminds me a bit of post explosion/post HW Caleb so that's the only reason why I'm bringing him up)
This one was the hardest for me because I'm least familiar with Zayne. So forgive me if I'm off with these. I've got Prince Alfonso from I'm the Queen in this Life - him and fl met when they were younger, he's the poster child of literal perfection and exactly who you'd bring home to meet the parents, but he's forbidden from being with fl. Also Oh Hyeondo from Selfish Romance, because he's been a career focused guy who's been hurt in the past and slowly falls in love with fl as he helps her pick up the pieces after she experiences heartbreak from someone that he's at some point known/been friends with - slow burn. Also lots of sweets involved.
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While I've read a lot, my TBR list is still longer than the list of what I've finished. So I'm sure that there are some better choices out there for some of the guys. Also there's some manhwa/webtoons I've listed where I haven't finished them or I'm not caught up with the most recent chapters/episodes. I have read enough of them though to feel good about my comparisons.
Also this wasn't necessarily intended to be a "hey if you like this LI, then I recommend this story" kind of list, but I genuinely really like all the ones I've listed. So while I'm not directly recommending them (esp. In the Doghouse, I am not going to be responsible for that), they are worth reading and I also have no friends who read these so like hmu and we can chat about themmmm 🥹👉👈
