History FireForgedFriends / AnimeAndManga

* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'': Sure, Mikuru Asahina, Itsuki Koizumi, and Yuki Nagato may have competing objectives and ideals, but when Kyon tells them that, for example, he needs Yuki and Mikuru to help him fix an alternate universe, they will move mountains to achieve the goals. This has reached the point where the three of them have sworn allegiance with the SOS Brigade, and are willing to go against their vastly more powerful superiors if they end up with a conflict. Kyon and Koizumi are particularly noteworthy given Kyon's initial dislike and distrust of him. By the ninth light novel, Kyon has come to trust Koizumi and begun to include him on the list of people he cares about whereas earlier novels he only lists Haruhi, Mikuru, and Yuki. Kyon and Koizumi are still definitely VitriolicBestBuds, but they know they have each other's backs. Koizumi and Asahina also stand out given that they were the two who were most philosophically opposed regarding Haruhi's power, and both separately tried to convince Kyon to distrust the other one. But Koizumi is the first person Asahina goes to in Endless Eight when she finds out she is stranded in time, Koizumi and his Organization work to rescue Asahina when she is kidnapped in the seventh light novel, and by the eleventh book Koizumi tells her older self that he considers present-day Asahina to be a loyal friend even though he doesn't trust the older one.

** Pretty much the formula for adding onto Luffy's TrueCompanions. He makes an offer, which they usually refuse at first. He then fights the current ArcVillain by their side and afterward they usually make the decision to join his crew. Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Brook all join this way, while Usopp is invited after the villain was defeated and doesn't hesitate, and Robin invites herself.

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'': Nuanced case. Despite Akira’s first meeting with Reina being a fierce argument, and a MexicanStandoff (multiple) with her bodyguard Shiori, this eventually happens between him and the two, but it’s a long road. The first sign of it is Akira being forced to trust the two in a BackToBackBadasses situation. But Akira still ends up being distrusted by Reina and [[LetsYouAndHimFight forced to fight Shiori]] shortly after, showing them his UnscrupulousHero side which causes the two to be quite fearful of him, even if they do have many friendly conversations and team ups after. It’s only after Reina makes ThePromise to Akira that they can be said to be TrueCompanions.

** Pretty much the formula for adding onto Luffy's TrueCompanions. He makes an offer, which they usually refuse at first. He then fights the current BigBad by their side and afterward they usually make the decision to join his crew. Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Brook all joined this way, while Usopp was invited after the BigBad was defeated and did not hesitate, and Robin invited herself.
*** Franky may be the best example of this among the Straw Hats. Initially, the dislike was mutual; Luffy (and the rest of his crew) hated Franky for beating up Usopp, and Franky wanted revenge on Luffy for blowing up the Franky House and beating up his family (in retaliation). [[ConflictKiller The two put aside their differences when CP9 came into the picture]], and Franky's reluctance to join the crew after the whole thing was over was mainly due to having attachments to Water 7 and his family.
*** Robin herself also counts as a lesser example, since she, too, began as an enemy of the Straw Hats, albeit one who was not overly malicious to them. Still, Luffy only lets her on the crew once she shows up on his ship and explains why she should be allowed to join, and most of the crew is displeased that he allows it. Even after she wins most of them over to at least accepting her presence, Zoro still doesn't fully trust her and she remains a bit distant from them. But by the time that [=CP9=] appears to arrest her and take her away, Robin has come to love the Straw Hats enough that she goes willingly to spare them from being killed, and they in turn care about her so much that they follow after her and ''declare war on the entire world'' just to get her back.

** A pair of slightly lesser examples are Smoker and his protégé Tashigi of the Marines. They pursued the Straw Hats to the Grand Line after they escaped Loguetown, and didn't think of them any differently than other pirates (aside from considering them more threatening than most). Then comes the Alabasta arc, where the BigBad, Crocodile, [[LockedInARoom imprisons some of the Straw Hats and Smoker in a cage]] and explains his EvilPlan to them. Smoker shows the first sign of this trope when they escape--he only escaping with his life because Luffy had him saved--by letting the Straw Hats go free, though it would be fair to say that that's because of his LawfulGood nature. After that, Smoker passes command to Tashigi while he informs his superiors, and she allies with the Straw Hats in order to bring Crocodile down. At the end of it all, Smoker and Tashigi still hold a grudge against the Straw Hats as pirates, but they respect them a lot more.

* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', Kuwabara goes from being an UnknownRival to Yuusuke to being his best friend this way after they find themselves on the same side by coincidence more than once.
** In general the whole Urameshi Team of Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei is this, especially after the Dark Tournament.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' gives us an odd example in Ash's Charizard. It started perfectly happy and loyal as a Charmander, but after evolving into Charmeleon, became defiant and disobedient. This trend continued for quite some time after it evolved into Charizard, though its disobedience was more a result of pride and overconfidence than simple spite. When Charizard came close to death when hit by a Poliwrath's ice beam, though, it watched as Ash worked hard to keep its tail flame lit, even though he was hurting himself in the process. Thereafter, it became steadfastly loyal.

* Negi and Kotaro go through this in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'': they start out as enemies, have to join forces to defeat a demon, and are good friends after that.
** Ditto Yue and Emily Sevensheep: Emily starts off as the AlphaBitch, but opens up to Yue after [[spoiler:Yue saves her from a Griffin Dragon]].

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Pretty much the background of Kakashi Hatake. Back then a DrillSergeantNasty who isn't really in the best terms with his teammates Obito Uchiha and Rin, his strict by-the-rules persona was changed by [[spoiler:Obito's choice to save Rin when she was kidnapped, even [[WhatTheHellHero calling out Kakashi on his callousness]]. As a result, Kakashi intervenes to save Obito, and helps Obito activate his Sharingan. Unfortunately, the rescue mission ends with Obito having to [[HeroicSacrifice protect them in a cave-in, crushing him in the process]] and [[TragicKeepsake giving his Sharingan]] to Kakashi]]. This tragic ordeal made Kakashi more lax and understanding of others, even adopting Obito's lackluster work ethic.
** Initially, Team 7 starts out as a jumbled mess of dysfunctional relationships: Naruto hates Sasuke and has [[LovingAShadow a one-sided shallow crush]] on Sakura, Sasuke finds both Naruto and Sakura annoying, [[SingleTargetSexuality Sakura loves Sasuke]] and can barely stand Naruto. Once Kakashi puts them into a situation where they're forced to work together, they start to get along and become friends, although Sasuke and Sakura [[NoRespectGuy still found Naruto too annoying to actually care about his problems]]. However, Sasuke pulls a FaceHeelTurn at the end of Part I [[spoiler:and from then on goes through quite the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor]]. Not that it ends up mattering much, since Naruto "How can I be Hokage if I can't save one friend"/"I'll take all your hatred" Uzumaki and Sasuke "My body moved on its own"/"I've come to accept you" Uchiha exemplify this trope.
** At times, even the bitter relationship between Naruto and the Kyuubi is like this. When Naruto is on the brink of death, the Kyuubi would willingly lend chakra to him to protect himself. However, during the War, when [[spoiler:the real Madara appeared and attempted to summon the Kyuubi]], he gave as much chakra as he could to Naruto, saying that [[spoiler:he would rather help Naruto than be controlled by Madara]].
* Nanoha and Vita in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'', with Vita's hostility towards Nanoha decreasing drastically after they worked together to beat up the [[EnemyWithout self-defense program]]. Fate and Signum might also count but [[WorthyOpponent both were shown from the start to be perfectly willing to be friends if they weren't on opposing sides]].
** During the time between ''A's'' and ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikerS StrikerS]]'', Vita became much less distant to Nanoha after [[spoiler:she failied to protect her in the mission involving the Type IV Gadget Drones who nearly killed Nanoha]].
** Similarly, Nanoha and Arf in Season 1; Arf initially dislikes Nanoha, thinking of her as far weaker than Fate and being suspicious of her motives for reaching out to Fate. After Arf gets thrown out of the Garden of Time, she reluctantly decides to accept Nanoha's help in saving Fate. By the time Nanoha becomes friends with Fate, Arf has also come to like her.
* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', Kuwabara goes from being an UnknownRival to Yuusuke to being his best friend this way after they find themselves on the same side by coincidence more than once.
** In general the whole Urameshi Team of Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei is this, especially after the Dark Tournament.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': All around hardass Guts starts off hostile and cold towards the rest of the mercenary group Band of Hawk due to his extremely DarkAndTroubledPast. Most of the Band of Hawk hate him and barely accept him as Raid Leader, but after fighting numerous battles alongside them (ending a hundred year war in process) and even celebrating victory together, the Band come to adore him. [[BreakingTheFellowship When Guts leaves]], things go FromBadToWorse as not only are the Band distraught but their leader [[VillainWithGoodPublicity Griffith]] can't cope with losing his man crush and sleeps with the princess of the kingdom, earning him a year of being tortured. Guts returns in timely fashion to save the Band from assassins in a BigDamnHeroes moment, earning the trust of the Band again and helping them free Griffith from captivity.
** Things do not go well for the Band of Hawk in the end however, [[spoiler: as Griffith pulls a brutal FaceHeelTurn and sacrifices all of them to a horde of demons, so he can have the power of the God Hand. The unjust deaths of most of his friends puts Guts on an UnstoppableRage for two years where he straight-up kills every demon he sees, and plans to avenge his companions by killing Griffith as slowly and painfully as possible. However, Guts eventually attracts a new group of allies, a RagtagBunchOfMisfits who develop into TrueCompanions as they fight alongside each other]].
* In ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', this is Ranma and Ryoga's friendship to the core. Ryoga may have spent half his life obsessed with exacting vengeance against Ranma, and Ranma may hate the whole P-chan situation, but by the end of the series they've had so many EnemyMine team-ups that they're probably the most trustworthy ally either one has. After Mousse joins them to help defeat Prince Herb, he too falls under this category.

* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'': Sure, Mikuru Asahina, Itsuki Koizumi, and Yuki Nagato may have competing objectives and ideals, but when Kyon tells them that, for example, he needs Yuki and Mikuru to help him fix an alternate universe, they will move mountains to achieve the goals. This has reached the point where the three of them have sworn allegiance with the SOS Brigade, and are willing to go against their vastly more powerful superiors if they end up with a conflict. Kyon and Koizumi are particularly noteworthy given Kyon's initial dislike and distrust of him. By the ninth light novel, Kyon has come to trust Koizumi and begun to include him on the list of people he cares about whereas earlier novels he only lists Haruhi, Mikuru, and Yuki. Kyon and Koizumi are still definitely VitriolicBestBuds, but they know they have each other's backs. Koizumi and Asahina also stand out given that they were the two who were most philosophically opposed regarding Haruhi's power, and both separately tried to convince Kyon to distrust the other one. But Koizumi is the first person Asahina goes to in Endless Eight when she finds out she is stranded in time, Koizumi and his Organization work to rescue Asahina when she is kidnapped in the seventh light novel, and by the eleventh book Koizumi tells her older self that he considers present-day Asahina to be a loyal friend even though he doesn't trust the older one.
* ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' gives us Gold and Silver. They first meet after Silver steals one of Prof. Elm's Pokemon, and Gold sets out to beat Silver and retrieve said Pokemon. They meet up a few more times, and Silver tells Gold to stay out of his way each time. They don't start to act like friends until the Lake of Rage, when Gold finds out Silver's backstory, Silver sees Gold stand up for him, and they realize they have a common enemy in The Mask of Ice. At the end of the saga, [[spoiler: Gold [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices himself]] to so that Silver (and Crys) won't have to, and Silver almost cries because of it. [[UnexplainedRecovery Gold gets better.]]]]
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' gives us an odd example in Ash's Charizard. It started perfectly happy and loyal as a Charmander, but after evolving into Charmeleon, became defiant and disobedient. This trend continued for quite some time after it evolved into Charizard, though its disobedience was more a result of pride and overconfidence than simple spite. When Charizard came close to death when hit by a Poliwrath's ice beam, though, it watched as Ash worked hard to keep its tail flame lit, even though he was hurting himself in the process. Thereafter, it became steadfastly loyal.
** This is the case for almost every Pokemon Ash has ever caught. He wouldn't even have the trust of his starter Pikachu if the two hadn't been attacked by Spearows. Combine that with how many Pokemon he befriends specifically because of a Team Rocket attack...
* ''Anime/Persona4TheAnimation'' {{deconstruct|edTrope}}s this trope. [[spoiler: The Protagonist Yu is forced to live out his nightmare in which the murders stop in his town. With no more murders, all of his friends drift apart, because the only thing keeping them together was solving the murders, and without them, they had nothing in common. In the end, it was just that, a nightmare induced by Mitsuo's Shadow. In reality, they had already developed into TrueCompanions.]]
* ''[[VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry Higurashi Rei]]'' [[{{Deconstruction}} shows that]], if the tragedies in everyone's life never happened, they wouldn't be friends. On top of that, Rika's closest friend Satoko would be bullying her and Keiichi wouldn't even be in Hinamizawa.
* In ''Anime/MyHime'', Natsuki and Mai initially dislike each other, but by the end of the series, consider each other close friends.
* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', Ed and Ling start out with a rough (''very'' rough) alliance based upon mutual goals. After finally escaping a [[VoidBetweenTheWorlds pocket dimension]], in which they had to fight a [[EldritchAbomination giant hellbeast]], they immediately [[HandshakeSubstitute fistbump]], and have a better understanding of each other in the continuing crises. [[VitriolicBestBuds Not that they ever stop bickering.]]
** In a more general sense, almost ''everyone'' in the series got closer to their friends facing adversity together (and everyone fights less [[EnemyMine while fighting other stuff]]).
* The members of the [[NaiveNewcomer 104th Trainee]] [[NewMeat Squad]] become this, in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan''. Those that weren't already this after three years of [[TheSpartanWay brutal training]] become it in the aftermath of the battle for Trost.
* Akina and Hibari of ''Manga/DontBecomeAnOtakuShinozakiSan'' dislike each other immediately upon meeting, however their experience winning a Tabletop RPG, and Akina's realization that Hibari is wrapped around Ayu's finger much like she is Kaede's, help them start to bond. In a later chapter, they bond further when Akina learns that, like herself, Hibari keeps her being an otaku secret and they have to work together to protect each others' secret from their non-otaku friends. They eventually develop into a pair of VitriolicBestBuds.
* ''Manga/UshioAndTora'': Ushio often whacks Tora with the Beast Spear to keep him in line, and Tora always makes the excuse that no bakemono but him is allowed to eat Ushio, but as the story progresses the two become fast friends and watch each other's back - even while still giving the same excuses as ever.
* Usagi and Rei in the 90's ''Anime/SailorMoon''. Rei was outright mean to her at times and they always teased or mocked each other, then the whole love triangle between them and Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask started. By the end of the first season they become really close in senshi-related issues. When [[spoiler:Rei dies in the second to final episode of the first arc, Sailor Moon goes HeroicBSOD]], after [[spoiler: everyone's revived]] and they go through more adventures, Rei is almost always the first one to shout Usagi's name and stand up for her when she needs it, and Usagi returns the favor as much as she can.
* In ''Anime/{{Endride}}'', it is an understatement to say Emilio and Shun don't get along, but from [[RescueIntroduction jailbreaking]] to running off to join [[LaResistance revolutionaries]] to fighting off [[QuirkyMinibossSquad the Truculent]], they begin to rely on each other out of necessity, and [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther keep coming to each other's rescue]] even when they can't explain it to themselves.
* In ''Manga/Brave10'', most of the Braves are [[CastFullOfCrazy weirdos]] who come to appreciate each other through tense combat situations rather than the usual avenues.
* In ''Manga/TegamiBachiLetterBee'', Lag Seeing first meets Gauche Suede when the latter is assigned to deliver Lag to Cambel Litmus. Gauche saw delivering Lag as just another job, and coldly kept a certain distance from Lag, while Lag often made fun of Gauche. During the trip, the two end up viewing each other's memories due to an accident with Gauche's Shindanjuu, they fight together to survive against a vicious Gaichuu and Lag carries a wounded Gauche to safety. By the end of the journey, they've become friends, and Lag decides to become a Letter Bee to see Gauche again.

* Negi and Kotaro go through this in ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'': they start out as enemies, have to join forces to defeat a demon, and are good friends after that.

* ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'': All around hardass Guts starts off hostile and cold towards the rest of the mercenary group Band of Hawk due to his extremely DarkAndTroubledPast. Most of the Band of Hawk hate him and barely accept him as Raid Leader, but after fighting numerous battles alongside them (ending a hundred year war in process) and even celebrating victory together, the Band come to adore him. [[BreakingTheFellowship When Guts leaves]], things go FromBadToWorse as not only are the Band distraught but their leader [[VillainWithGoodPublicity Griffith]] can't cope with losing his man crush and sleeps with the princess of the kingdom, earning him a year of being tortured. Guts returns in timely fashion to save the Band from assassins in a BigDamnHeroes moment, earning the trust of the Band again and helping them free Griffith from captivity.

* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'': Sure, Mikuru Asahina, Itsuki Koizumi, and Yuki Nagato may have competing objectives and ideals, but when Kyon tells them that, for example, he needs Yuki and Mikuru to help him fix an alternate universe, they will move mountains to achieve the goals. This has reached the point where the three of them have sworn allegiance with the SOS Brigade, and are willing to go against their vastly more powerful superiors if they end up with a conflict. Kyon and Koizumi are particularly noteworthy given Kyon's initial dislike and distrust of him. By the ninth light novel, Kyon has come to trust Koizumi and begun to include him on the list of people he cares about whereas earlier novels he only lists Haruhi, Mikuru, and Yuki. Kyon and Koizumi are still definitely {{VitriolicBestBuds}}, but they know they have each other's backs. Koizumi and Asahina also stand out given that they were the two who were most philosophically opposed regarding Haruhi's power, and both separately tried to convince Kyon to distrust the other one. But Koizumi is the first person Asahina goes to in Endless Eight when she finds out she is stranded in time, Koizumi and his Organization work to rescue Asahina when she is kidnapped in the seventh light novel, and by the eleventh book Koizumi tells her older self that he considers present-day Asahina to be a loyal friend even though he doesn't trust the older one.

* [[VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry Higurashi Rei]] [[{{Deconstruction}} shows that]], if the tragedies in everyone's life never happened, they wouldn't be friends. On top of that, Rika's closest friend Satoko would be bullying her and Keiichi wouldn't even be in Hinamizawa.

* In ''Manga/LetterBee'', Lag Seeing first meets Gauche Suede when the latter is assigned to deliver Lag to Cambel Litmus. Gauche saw delivering Lag as just another job, and coldly kept a certain distance from Lag, while Lag often made fun of Gauche. During the trip, the two end up viewing each other's memories due to an accident with Gauche's Shindanjuu, they fight together to survive against a vicious Gaichuu and Lag carries a wounded Gauche to safety. By the end of the journey, they've become friends, and Lag decides to become a Letter Bee to see Gauche again.

* In ''Anime/MaiHime'', Natsuki and Mai initially dislike each other, but by the end of the series, consider each other close friends.

* In ''Manga/Brave10'', most of the Braves are [[CastFullOfCrazy weirdos]] who come to appreciate each other through tense combat situations rather than the usual avenues.

*** Robin herself also counts as a lesser example, since she, too, began as an enemy of the Straw Hats, albeit one who was not overly malicious to them. Still, Luffy only lets her on the crew once she shows up on his ship and explains why she should be allowed to join, and most of the crew is displeased that he allows it. Even after she wins most of them over to at least accepting her presence, Zoro still doesn't fully trust her and she remains a bit distant from them. But by the time that CP9 appears to arrest her and take her away, Robin has come to love the Straw Hats enough that she goes willingly to spare them from being killed, and they in turn care about her so much that they follow after her and ''declare war on the entire world'' just to get her back.

*** Then, after the TimeSkip, we have the Punk Hazard Arc. Vice-Admiral Smoker and Captain Tashigi, now the commanders of a base filled with AxCrazy Marines, are waiting to intercept the Straw Hats in the New World, but when they take an unexpected detour to an island that is supposed to be deserted, they head there. They soon find out that something very fishy is going on, and are caught in the middle of it, [[spoiler:undergoing a FreakyFridayFlip as one of the first fragments of trouble]]. Eventually, both of them end up [[LockedInARoom trapped in a cage with the Straw Hats]] ''again''p, (and Robin, who was TheDragon when it happened last time, lampshades it) along with the BigBad's subordinate, [[spoiler:Shichibukai Trafalgar Law]], who had revealed himself to be a WildCard, and watching the EvilPlan play out in front of them. [[spoiler:When they escape, the Marines are forced into a full-blown EnemyMine with the Straw Hats and Law, including such things as Sanji taking command of the Marine underlings and Tashigi and Zoro teaming up against TheDragon]]. At the end of it all, Smoker and Tashigi [[spoiler:seem to be almost friendly with the Straw Hats, while their subordinates flat-out state that they admire them]].
** In the Dressrosa arc, the number of Fire-Forged Friends forged against Donquixote Doflamingo gives rise to [[spoiler:the Straw Hat Grand Fleet]].

* Nearly every hero besides Goku in ''Manga/DragonBall'' and ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' became one this way: [[DefeatMeansFriendship getting defeated by Goku]], spending some time getting used to his cheerful good nature, and then having to fight alongside him against a new threat. Krillin [[LampshadeHanging spells out this trope]] partway through ''Dragon Ball Z'', arguing that despite having foreknowledge of their next threat, they should merely prepare to battle rather than make a preemptive strike, as nobody was sure whether or not Vegeta wouldn't just kill them all if he didn't have something other than "defeat Goku" on his to-do list.
* Joseph and Caesar in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' both hated each other when they first met, and couldn't stand the idea of working together. After their first confrontation with the Pillar Men, they became close friends to the point where [[spoiler: Caesar's final action before he dies is to retrieve the antidote to the poison inside Joseph.]]

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Pretty much the formula for adding onto Luffy's TrueCompanions. He makes an offer, which they usually refuse at first. He then fights the current BigBad by their side and afterward they usually make the decision to join his crew. Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Brook all joined this way, while Usopp was invited after the BigBad was defeated and did not hesitate, and Robin invited herself.
** Franky may be the best example of this among the Straw Hats. Initially, the dislike was mutual; Luffy (and the rest of his crew) hated Franky for beating up Usopp, and Franky wanted revenge on Luffy for blowing up the Franky House and beating up his family (in retaliation). [[ConflictKiller The two put aside their differences when CP9 came into the picture]], and Franky's reluctance to join the crew after the whole thing was over was mainly due to having attachments to Water 7 and his family.

** The Dressrosa arc. The number of Fire-Forged Friends forged against Donquixote Doflamingo gives rise to [[spoiler:the Straw Hat Grand Fleet]].

** In a flashback, Ichigo and Chad seem to be this to a degree. Ichigo was initially hostile towards Chad (questioning his TechnicalPacifism and passively accusing him of lying) but turned up to save him when he was attacked (and of course refused to defend himself).

* ''Manga/PokemonSpecial'' give us Gold and Silver. They first meet after Silver steals one of Prof. Elm's Pokemon, and Gold sets out to beat Silver and retrieve said Pokemon. They meet up a few more times, and Silver tells Gold to stay out of his way each time. They don't start to act like friends until the Lake of Rage, when Gold finds out Silver's backstory, Silver sees Gold stand up for him, and they realize they have a common enemy in The Mask of Ice. At the end of the saga, [[spoiler: Gold [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices himself]] to so that Silver (and Crys) won't have to, and Silver almost cries because of it. [[UnexplainedRecovery Gold gets better.]]]]