History HoYay / EnsembleStars

* Mika has [[UndyingLoyalty a lot of loyalty]] to Shu and even promises to be with him until his death in the Halloween event, calls him "Oshi-san" which can be translated as "Master" and [[InnocentCohabitation lives together with him]] (Hilariously, Arashi thinks it's ''that'' kind of living together when Mika says it) and Shu, while he's bad at showing, does truly care for Mika, doing things like letting him stay in his house and taking sewing jobs in Halloween just so he get funds to leave for Mika once he graduates. They even call each other "My Kagehira" and "My Oshi-san" in the Halloween event.

* Wataru and Eichi... where to begin? It's not for no reason that fans often joke that the entire plot of Ensemble Stars originated with Eichi having a crush on a theatre kid. The two are enthralled with one another on a level normally associated with FoeYay, but despite everything that has happened between them they also just ''like'' each other ''so much''. And the new timeline doesn't beat around the bush either—the first ''fine'' event stars Wataru and Eichi ballroom dancing with loving smiles. Sure, in that story Eichi claims that he's never been in love (as though the writers suddenly remembered this is meant to be a ''joseimuke'' game), but Wataru seems ''especially'' unconvinced...

** While it wasn’t entirely clear at first, it’s revealed in A Dark Nights Passing that Leo is just as clingy and loving toward Madara as Madara is toward him, and their relationship is very co-dependent. Despite knowing of Madara’s shady behavior, he still views Madara as his “best hero” and wants to help him after all Madara had done for him. Izumi has taken notice of their relationship, and tells Madara that Leo also looks for love and comfort in him.

* Izumi is canonically in love with Makoto, to the point of stalking and following him around. This doesn't even just extend to Makoto, he talks about 'finding a suitable substitute' if Makoto won't keep him company. Said substitute being....Yuuta, of course.
** The Midsummer's night dream event is essentially very big with Izumi/Makoto in the same way as Band Ensemble. It has to be read to be believed.
** In one card set, Izumi is shown knitting a scarf for Makoto. Makoto's card proper has him willingly wearing the thing, embarrassed.

* Koga mentions that he followed Rei from middle school because of how much he [[UndyingLoyalty loves Rei]]. For bonus points, this was on the White Day event.

* Chiaki and Kanata are the DesignatedParents of their unit (all the other members being first-year students), with Kanata referring to their juniors as their children. Kuro even asks Kanata if he joined Ryuseitai because he fell in love with Chiaki (and Kanata never actually denies it).
-->'''Kanata''': I still… do not understand very well about heroes, but… I feel that I can come to "love" "Ryuseitai". Chiaki, and everyone, I will gradually come to "love" you…♪
-->'''Chiaki''': Is that so? I… share your feelings of love.
** The anime adaptation takes it a step further, with Kuro telling Kanata to help Chiaki look out for the Ryuseitai juniors because "it's the wife's job to look after the kids when the husband's away".
* Shu is canonically in love with Nazuna and treasures him dearly, being devastated when Nazuna left him for Ra*bits. The scene of Nazuna telling Shu he was quitting Valkyrie and asking Mika to come with him reads exactly like a bitter divorce with a child caught in the middle. Even after their parting, Shu still thinks of Nazuna as someone precious to him, and will try to keep anyone from hurting him, as seen in the Milky Way event when Eichi threatens to destroy Ra*bits.
** Wataru also tells Nazuna that only he can heal Shu with ThePowerOfLove, outright stating that Shu loved him and [[WhenSheSmiles his smile]] more than anything.
--->'''Wataru''': You are the “precious person” that he loved with all of his being, that even if he spent all of his life on you, he would not have regretted it, you know.
** For his part, Nazuna still cares deeply for Shu and Mika after his departure and wants to talk things out with Shu, who [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy actively avoids him]] for fear of lashing out and hurting him even more.
** In a flashback to their first year of high school, Shu and Nazuna go to a café together, with Shu repeatedly praising and declaring his love for Nazuna and Nazuna getting annoyed with Shu behaving like an embarrassing clingy boyfriend.
** In repayment festival, Nazuna reveals that the first time he met Shu, the latter fell in LoveAtFirstSight and jumped from the second floor just to tell Nazuna how charming Nazuna was, going on to declare that they were soulmates. The reason why Valkyrie is named the way it was is because it was what Nazuna likened his first impression of Shu to.
* Mika has [[UndyingLoyalty a lot of loyalty]] to Shu and even promises to be with him until his death in the Halloween event, calls him "Oshi-san" which can be translated as "Master" and [[InnocentCohabitation lives together with him]] (Hilariously, Arashi thinks it's ''that'' kind of living together when Mika says it) and Shu, while he's bad at showing, does truly care for Mika, doing things like letting him stay in his house and taking sewing jobs in Halloween just so he get funds to leave for Mika once he graduates. They even call each other "My Kagehira" and "My Oshi-san" in the Halloween event.

* Kanata and Madara's relationship has some undertones of this. Kanata acts very {{Tsundere}} towards Madara during various interactions together, being the only person he displays a SugarAndIcePersonality towards in the entire game, even after they make up in a way. And when they were younger, Madara and Kanata used to play ' House ' with Madara acting as the mama and Kanata the papa.

* While it wasn’t entirely clear at first, it’s revealed in A Dark Nights Passing that Leo is just as clingy and loving toward Madara as Madara is toward him, and their relationship is very co-dependent. Despite knowing of Madara’s shady behavior, he still views Madara as his “best hero” and wants to help him after all Madara had done for him. Izumi has taken notice of their relationship, and tells Madara that Leo also looks for love and comfort in him.

* By Ensemble Stars!!, Madara has passively hit on several of his fellow and former class-mates, including Chiaki who he calls “cute” in Meteor Bonfire.
* Anzu and Suzu were best friends once when they studied together at Kimisaki, until Anzu was forced to transfer due to tragic circumstances. Anzu takes a liking to Mika, trying to befriend him and saying that his eyes are pretty....because he reminds her of Suzu. Meanwhile, in ''Ensemble Girls!'' Suzu quickly gets a liking to the Protagonist.....because he's Anzu's brother and he reminds her of Anzu. It's obvious that they miss each other dearly, but Anzu blames herself for the failed rebellion and her school and Suzu blames herself for not supporting Anzu enough duing that time.
* Madara and Kuro's relationship as revealed in ''Revolutionary Live Which Heralds The Dawn'' is dripping with hoyay. Despite their claims that they aren't that close, and everyone else observing how close they seem, they're shown to have a really good relationship, with Kuro acting as the one who keeps Madara in check anytime he says anything [[TheGadfly out of line]]. Madara states that since the war, since they'd clashed several times back then, that he was always interested in him. They also have a deep [[WorthyOpponent mutual respect]] for one another, becoming FriendlyEnemies of a sort by the end of the event story. Keito even becomes jealous when he finds out that Kuro is becoming so closer to Madara.
** As of Ensemble Stars!!, it would seem that WordOfGod has taken notice of the fandoms interest in the pairs developing friendship, as it’s noted multiple times that Kuro and Madara have been spending more time together lately, have several stories depicting them doing so, and seem to be on better terms than they were in the previous year. One of Kuro’s idol stories has Madara attempting to feed Kuro.
* Tomoya is blissfully infatuated with Hokuto, who doesn't seem to take the blatant hint. The January 2019 Theatre Club scout in particular has HoYay in spades. It begins with Hokuto asking Wataru to be his lover... though only as acting practice. Still, a crowd forms and when Mitsuru asks Tomoya what's going on, Tomoya says it's a love confession. Mitsuru is surprised since they're both boys, but says that Tomoya must feel complicated considering that he loves Hokuto, and encourages him to express his feelings quickly before it's too late! Tomoya clarifies that Hokuto's confession isn't real, but doesn't in any way contradict his other assumption, saying instead that he doesn't need to confess because he expresses his love for Hokuto every day.
** It doesn't end there, either; later that day Hokuto asks to meet up with Tomoya and the latter wonders whether he means to practise giving a love confession with him, calling that a 'blissful development'! He's disappointed when that turns out not to be the case, but when Hokuto offers to pay for his lunch, he remarks that it feels like something out of an old-fashioned date, even though he passes on it.
* ''Wisteria'' goes surprisingly hard on Kanata and Souma - they have a cute sleepover together early on, and at the end of the story they both monologue soulfully about how much they worry about the other, with Souma describing poetically how he'd like to unfurl his mysteries with an air of true longing. But it really kicks into gear when Madara gives them their costumes - Souma describes Kanata as 'exquisitely beautiful', and then Kanata points out with a smile that they're playing two historical figures who were married, leading Souma to send him a charming look and remark that that would be 'an honour.'

* There are two separate occasions where Keito and Kuro compare themselves to a married couple - in Quarrel Fes Kuro notices that as they watch over Souma and Anzu they feel like parents taking care of their kids, and Keito wonders aloud which of them is the mother and which the father; in a later case, Keito brings an interesting manga to Kuro who notes that by always coming to him when he finds something interesting Keito is acting like a wife, and Keito merely remarks that he doesn't see anything wrong with doing that.

* Kaoru in general routinely talks at length about how he only cares about girls and has no interest in guys, to the point where it starts to sound like a SuspiciouslySpecificDenial and a cases of HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday. One Madara line from the Chinese server even lampshades this, with him wondering whether Kaoru only says that because he's not honest with himself enough.
** Souma in particular seems to confuse Kaoru's sensors - when they first meet he mistakes him for a beautiful girl and goes to hit on him, only to try and back out immediately once he realises he's a guy. And yet he still describes him as pretty on a number of different occasions, and in one scene while they're arguing he suddenly says out of the blue that if Souma were a girl he'd administer a ShutUpKiss right then and there...

** In Ensemble Stars!!, Kaoru and Chiaki pretty much go on a date in the Shuffle Style event AtoZ. While Kaoru claims they’re only hanging out, that’s not the way the other characters view it, nor did Chiaki initially who didn’t mind the idea of pretending to be a girl to make the “date” easier for Kaoru. Not to mention all the cards Kaoru has blushing around other guys.
* Hinata loves flirting with Tetora (who is generally too oblivious to notice) - on two different occasions he pulls the 'Do you want dinner? A bath? Or...me?' routine, aka the Newlywed's Triplet used as a cliche example of idyllic married life. In one of those cases it's especially forward because the context is that Tetora didn't have any lunch to eat that day so Hinata recited that as a 'side dish', which in Japanese is also a euphemism for, um, ''fantasy material.''

** Hiiro and Aira quickly grow very close, with Hiiro becoming especially protective of him and generally acting like a boyfriend. Rinne certainly seems to think so, referring to Aira as 'girlfriend-kun' and warning Aira that guys like them aren't suitable for marriage. At another point, Hiiro surprises Aira accidentally, and he exclaims 'everything about you is bad for my heart!'

** The biggest offender by far is Rinne—he has no compunctions being as obnoxiously flirtatious as he likes, and he certainly doesn't hold back against anyone. But even then, he makes it no mystery that Niki is his favourite, not only making lewd comments about how Niki looks like a wife from behind and how he'd like to eat him up, but telling Kohaku that he shouldn't be too flattering or Niki will get jealous, insisting that Niki's in love with him. Whether Niki ACTUALLY feels anything other than annoyance back is much more ambiguous, however...
--->'''Niki:''' I never should have picked this guy up off the streets back then, I regret this on average three times per day...
--->'''Rinne:''' Ehhhh Niki, you're making me blush! You really think about me that often~?
*** The final instalment of the main story reveals that Niki is much more attached to Rinne than he usually lets on, with him telling Rinne he'd decided to look after him forever on the day they first met. When Rinne plans to quit being an idol and return to his village to assume his rightful position as chief, Niki prepares to go with him, telling Rinne to repay him for all the freeloading he allowed by taking care of Niki for the rest of their lives. The text all but explicitly spells out that they're eloping and that Niki is going to be Rinne's kept man. When their plan is eventually foiled, Niki even laments the loss of his HappilyEverAfter.
** However, Niki ''does'' seem very interested in Mayoi, telling him that he smells 'delicious' and that he shouldn't get too close or Niki might put him in his mouth instead of food... something which manages to even freak out ''Mayoi''.
* The second Ensemble Stars!! event, Date Plan A to Z, doesn't even hesitate before diving right in - the entire premise is that Kaoru was feeling lonely about not having a girlfriend, so Chiaki decides to ''dress up as a girl and be his girlfriend for a date.'' He only manages to find a red ribbon and so doesn't actually end up crossdressing, but still! And within the story, [[TheGadfly Natsume]] tells Niki and Mitsuru that Chiaki and Kaoru are dating, and while both are surprised neither questions it even for a moment.
* Wataru and Eichi...where to begin? It's not for no reason that fans often joke that the entire plot of Ensemble Stars originated with Eichi having a crush on a theatre kid. The two are enthralled with one another on a level normally associated with FoeYay, but despite everything that has happened between them they also just ''like'' each other ''so much''. In the last event of the original app, Wataru even effectively proposes to Eichi, getting down on one knee and handing him a mask and asking what it means - Eichi understands it instantly, that Wataru is signifying that he gives to Eichi his entire soul. And the new timeline doesn't beat around the bush either - the first fine event stars Wataru and Eichi ballroom dancing with loving smiles. Sure, in that story Eichi claims that he's never been in love (as though the writers suddenly remembered this is meant to be a ''joseimuke'' game), but Wataru seems ''especially'' unconvinced...
-->'''Eichi:''' However, I've never fallen in love in my life, so I don't have any solutions to suggest [for Yuzuru's "lovesickness"].
-->'''Wataru:''' *staring* Eh? Are you being serious? Eichi?

* Madara gushing over how excited he is to talk to Rei and how he'll do anything he asks him to, even murder, gives off some HoYay vibes.
* Madara and Leo's relationship as detailed in ''Concerto'' [[HeterosexualLifePartners comes off as this]].

** In repayment festival, Nazuna reveals that the first time he met Shu, the latter jumped off the second floor just to tell him how charming Nazuna was and goes on to declare that they were soulmates. The reason why Valkyrie is named the way it was is because it was what Nazuna likened his first impression of Shu to.

* Kanata and Madara's relationship has some undertones of this. Kanata acts very {{Tsundere}} towards Madara during various interactions together, being the only person he displays a SugarAndIcePersonality towards in the entire game, even after they make up in a way. And when they were younger, Madara and Kanata used to play ' House ' with Madara acting as a the mama and Kanata the papa.

--->Niki: I never should have picked this guy up off the streets back then, I regret this on average three times per day...
--->Rinne: Ehhhh Niki, you're making me blush! You really think about me that often~?

* Wataru and Eichi...where to begin? It's not for no reason that fans often joke that the entire plot of Ensemble Stars originated with Eichi having a crush on a theatre kid. The two are enthralled with one another on a level normally associated with FoeYay, but despite everything that has happened between them they also just ''like'' each other ''so much''. In the last event of the original app, Wataru even effectively proposes to Eichi, getting down on one knee and handing him a mask and asking what it means - Eichi understands it instantly, that Wataru is signifying that he gives to Eichi his entire soul. And the new timeline doesn't beat around the bush either - the first fine event stars Wataru and Eichi ballroom dancing with loving smiles. Sure, in that story Eichi claims that he's never been in love (as though the writers suddenly remembered this is meant to be an otome game), but Wataru seems ''especially'' unconvinced...

'''Eichi:''' However, I've never fallen in love in my life, so I don't have any solutions to suggest [for Yuzuru's "lovesickness"].
'''Watar:''' *staring* Eh? Are you being serious? Eichi?

* In ''Wisteria'', Madara's costumes have Kanata and Souma dress up as a two historical figures who were married. Kanata apropos of nothing points this out, and Souma remarks that it would be 'an honour.' And this is not long after calling Kanata 'exquisitely beautiful' in this costume.

* The second Ensemble Stars!! event, Date Plan A to Z, doesn't even hesitate before diving right in - the entire premise is that Kaoru was feeling lonely about not having a girlfriend, so Chiaki decides to ''dress up as a girl and be his girlfriend for a date.'' He only manages to find a red ribbon and so doesn't actually end up crossdressing, but still! And within the story, [[TheGadfly Natsume]] tells Niki and Mitsuru that Chiaki and Kaoru are dating, and while both are surprised neither questions it even for a moment.

There is an incredibly high amount, more than you might think in a game with a female protagonist surrounded by boys.

* Chiaki and Kanata have been implied to be the DesignatedParents of their unit (all the other members being first-year students), Kanata referring to their juniors as their children. Kuro even asks Kanata if he joined Ryuseitai because he fell in love with Chiaki (and Kanata never actually denies it).

* Shu thinks of Nazuna as his best 'masterpiece' and treasures him, being devastated when Nazuna left him for Ra*bits. Even after their parting, Shu still thinks of Nazuna as someone precious to him, and will try to keep anyone from hurting him, as seen in the Milky Way event when Eichi threatens to destroy Ra*bits.

* Jin and Akiomi are not immune to this, with it being confirmed that Akiomi did have a crush (and fondly remembers, years later) on a girl he met on the rooftop ([[DisguisedInDrag Who is Sagami in disguise]]), Jin calling Akiomi "Akiyan" and inviting him over to his place to relieve stress late at night.
* Yuta tells Hinata to not steal Shinobu from him on the strawberry picking scout story when Hinata tries to befriend him, and that Shinobu belongs to him.

--->''"Someone who is important to me? Fufu. Why, that would be the little Young Master whom I always serve."''

* Madara gushing over how excited he is to talk to Rei and how he'll do anything he asks him to, even murder, gives off some hoyay vibes.

* The January 2019 Theatre Club scout has this in shades: it begins with Hokuto asking Wataru to be his lover... though only as acting practice. Still, a crowd forms and when Mitsuru asks Tomoya what's going on, Tomoya says it's a love confession. Mitsuru is surprised since they're both boys, but says that Tomoya must feel complicated considering that he loves Hokuto, and encourages him to express his feelings quickly before it's too late! Tomoya clarifies that Hokuto's confession isn't real, but doesn't in any way contradict his other assumption, saying instead that he doesn't need to confess because he expresses his love for Hokuto every day.
** It doesn't end there, either: later that day Hokuto asks to meet up with Tomoya and the latter wonders whether he means to practise giving a love confession with him, calling that a 'blissful development'! He's disappointed when that turns out not to be the case, but when Hokuto offers to pay for his lunch, remarks that it feels like something out of an old-fashioned date, even though he passes on it.

** But the biggest offender by far is Rinne - he has no compunctions being as obnoxiously flirtatious as he likes, and he certainly doesn't hold back against anyone. But even then, he makes no mystery that Niki is his favourite, not only making lewd comments about how Niki looks like a wife from behind and how he'd like to eat him up, but telling Kohaku that he shouldn't be too flattering or Niki will get jealous, insisting that he's in love with Rinne. Whether Niki ACTUALLY feels anything other than annoyance back is much more ambiguous, however...

* Arashi specifically talks about liking both [[BiTheWay boys and girls]] in a mini event.

* Hinata loves flirting with Tetora (who is generally too oblivious to notice) - on two different occasions he pulls the 'Do you want dinner? A bath? Or...me?' routine, aka the Newlywed's Triplet used as a cliche example of idyllic married life. In one of those cases it's especially forward because the context is that Tetora didn't have any lunch to eat that day so Hinata recited that as a 'side dish', which in Japanese is also a euphemism for, um, ''fantasy material.''

--->''Oh, geez. If you were a girl, I'd have said, "I'm going to shut that mouth which shouts abusive language", and given her a kiss~ You've got long hair and seem like a girl, but you're a guy, after all~ I don't swing that way.''

* In ''Wisteria'', Madara's costumes have Kanata and Souma dress up as a two historical figures who were married. Kanata apropos of nothing points this out, and Souma remarks that it would be 'an honour.' And this is not long after calling Kanata 'equisitely beautiful' in this costume.

* The Undead/Akatsuki [[ValentinesDayEpisodes Chocofes]] event has quite a bit of this. It starts with Souma calling Kuro out to give him haltingly give him chocolates, all framed like he'll be confessing, until it's revealed Souma just saw a convenience store sign telling him to give chocolates to those important to you. Later, when Adonis wonders about why girls have to give chocolates to boys on Valentine's, Souma points out that ''he'' gave Adonis chocolates, and Adonis asks him seriously what he intended by that, before Souma again explains that he just gave chocolate to all of his friends. And then there's everyone agreeing over Kaoru's 'male sexual appeal', from Keito saying that he excels in the area to Kuro even getting goosebumps after Kaoru strikes a gunshot pose... (Kaoru insists that goosebumps are okay, but Kuro better not feel his heart thumping faster because of him.)

* Nagisa and Hiyori are ''extremely'' close, to the point that Nagisa says that he lives for Hiyori. In one flashback, Hiyori says he misses Nagisa because they're in different classes and Nagisa wonders whether that's why he feels so cold, because Hiyori is his sun. Hiyori excitedly motions for him to sit next to him and a moment later, Eichi asks bemusedly why the two are holding hands; Hiyori nonchalantly replies 'because we love each other?'

* In ''Wisteria'', Madara's costumes have Kanata and Souma dress up as a two historical figures who were married. Souma definitely notices and seems quite happy about it, though Kanata is too busy being {{Tsundere}} towards Madara to really react.

* There are two separate occasions where Keito and Kuro compare themselves to a married couple - in Quarrel Fes Kuro notices that as they watch over Souma and Anzu they feel like parents taking care of their kids, and Keito wonders aloud which of them is the mother and which the father; in a later case, Keito brings an interesting manga to Kuro who notes that by always coming to him when he finds something interesting Keito is acting like a wife, and Keito merely remarks that he doesn't see anything wrong with doing that.

* Unexpectedly turns up between Hajime and Kaoru in ''Love Comedy'' - an article comes out revealing that Kaoru has been spotted getting close with a girl, but the girl in question was actually just [[DudeLooksLikeALady Hajime]]. Said closeness involved Kaoru talking about some of his worries and Hajime comforting him by squeezing his hand tightly, which Kaoru said reminded him of his mother (and he's compared chasing after women to looking for a mother figure before). He enjoys it so much that later he easily asks Hajime if they can hold hands for a moment and Hajime happily agrees. Then on stage they get a bit close again and Nazuna reprimands them, with Rei commenting that he'd told Kaoru that he wasn't allowed to fool around with girls, but he hadn't said that ''boys'' were permitted, either!