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  • Ah! My Goddess has Dai-Chan and Den-Chan (as they call each other), Keiichi's seniors in the Auto Club. Considering the cutesy nicknames and an apparent willingness to dress up in drag, this is again debatable. ...Just not as pleasantly so. Yikes, they're huge!
  • In Asteroid in Love, while in the beginning there's some level of enmity between Mikage and Mari, by the time they Graduate from the Story, they become very close. They study in the same college and live rather closely (In the anime they appear to be sharing the same apartment, while in the manga their buildings are across a narrow street), Chapter 46 shows Mikage sometimes cooks for Mari, while Mira, the Club Stub's new vice-president, expects the two to be together in evenings in case she needs help.
  • Attack on Titan: Several examples who are at least this.
    • Eren and Armin, childhood friends who were later made into a Power Trio when Mikasa joined them.
    • Erwin and Levi, noted for their deep trust of one another.
    • Reiner and Bertolt are childhood friends, and are very rarely seen apart.
    • Jean and Marco, at least until Marco's death made it into a Tragic Bromance.
  • Huey Laforet and Elmer C. Albatross from Baccano!. The relationship just becomes more and more suspect as more of their backstory comes into the clear (Elmer, for example, seemed to have a tendency to make bets with himself to see if he could make Huey smile within a certain time period). And some of the quotes from Huey, such as the ones below, make him seem very Tsundere towards Elmer.
    • In the 'What do you think about Elmer C. Albatross' section of the novel, Huey said this in 1705, 'An annoying person. That nosy personality of his will just cause problems. I'm looking forward to when he dies.' but in 2002 he seems to have warmed up to him more and says,'He is...a close friend. Simply a close friend. No less than that, no more than that. Though it would be too embarrassing to tell him something like that.'
  • Dan and Shun from Bakugan should count, as well as any brawler with a Bakugan of the same gender.
  • Oga and Furuichi from Beelzebub are this. While at the beginning it's less obvious, you learn more about the depth of their friendship as they continue to stick together. They may not look it, though, what with their constant bickering.
  • Best Student Council has two such couples, Kanade and Nanaho plus Sayuri and Rein. Both groupings were brought together thanks to major events from their respective childhoods.
  • Betrayal Knows My Name: Every (male) Zweilt Guardian and his partner. Though there's lots of Ho Yay going on there as well.
  • Sven and Train in Black Cat, who travel around together as sweepers all the time, and adopt a "kid" (although they're not really daddy figures to her). Their Heterosexual Life Partnership is so strong that Creed tries to turn Sven into a monster so Train will join up with him instead.
    • Lampshaded in the anime, where a waitress notes that Sven is the father, Eve is the daughter, and... awkwardly skips over Train.
  • Bleach:
    • Ikkaku and Yumichika were together long before they became shinigami (only briefly mentioned in the manga but expanded in an anime episode). Yumichika even hides his true power so that he can remain in the same division as Ikkaku. They're text-book examples of this trope since the manga doesn't even hint at them being anything more than heterosexual life partners, despite all the fandom and anime Ship Tease that exists.
    • Ukitake and Kyouraku have been together since at least their academy days which was a very long time ago. They're extremely close and they have a reputation for being the perfect battle partnership that's acknowledged even by Yamamoto himself. Ukitake being badly injured in battle is almost the only example of Kyouraku being willing to fight instead of trying to avoiding fighting that we've seen. That said, they're also text-book examples of this trope since the manga doesn't even hint at them being anything more than heterosexual life partners, despite all the fandom Ship Tease that exists.
  • Blue Lock: In this series we have Reo and Nagi who are best friends and self-described "partners" who for a time, were glued to the hip in all but the literal sense. Reo in particular refers to Nagi as my treasure without a hint of embarrassment and his reaction to seeing the latter's trapping abilities when he bumped into him at school looks similar to most "love at first sight" scenes. Nagi for his part will often request piggyback rides or back massages from Reo and gets surprisingly protective over him when he's upset or in trouble despite laziness being his core personality trait. Even Nagi deciding to team up with Isagi in the Second Selection where you form new three person teams comes off like a breakup with Reo getting extremely jealous over Nagi's sudden interest in him.
  • Boys over Flowers has Sojirou Nishikado and Akira Mimasaka—very heterosexual and always together (except when they're not).
  • Also, there is Meg and Jo from Burst Angel, although some clips can tell otherwise...
  • Cardfight!! Vanguard: Tetsu Shinjou and Ren Suzugamori. Tetsu remains incredibly devoted to Ren, even as Ren becomes more and more unstable.
    • Taishi Miwa and Toshiki Kai also count.
  • Kudo Shinichi and Hattori Heiji in Case Closed certainly seem to fit this trope, to the point where Hattori is willing to die for Kudo.
  • CLAMP have many examples of this to varying degrees of legitimacy depending on interpretation.
    • Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-: Kurogane and Fay are the most recent of many CLAMP ambiguous couples. The two characters were designed to contrast each other in physical appearance, personality, backstory and clothing. Life partners status accentuated by Fay being forced to feed on Kurogane's blood to survive.
    • Then again, considering all characters in Clampverse are bisexual by default, this particular trope is kind of a stretch for all of CLAMP's works in general.
  • Liszt and Chopin in Classi9: They are Childhood Friends and do almost everything together as Mozart points in out in the introduction chapter. They are roommates in Melite, often duet together in and out of school, are each other's +1 at dinner parties, etc. Chopin has more experience than anyone else when it comes to Demon!Liszt and is vastly unimpressed by his antics by now, whereas Liszt has the experience of a nurse because he is used to taking care of Chopin. Their duets are also a way of watching out for each other, as Chopin tries to keep Liszt under control and Liszt's mere presence near him reduces Chopin's stress tremendously.
  • Helen and Deneve in Claymore, although the "heterosexual" part is up for debate. At any rate, theirs is the longest-lived friendship amongst the protagonists, and Helen was the one who snapped Deneve out of her suicidal depression in their early days together.
    • The Humans Galk and Sid seem to be into this too as they never stopped working together to defend the Holy City of Rabona for all of the seven years that passed during the series' main Time Skip. The Claymores Rachel and Audrey are obviously pretty close too, they even use nicknames between each other (to the fandom's delight).
  • Code Geass: Lelouch and Suzaku were this as children and try to be this in the first season of the anime (more evident in the supplementary material than the show, especially the manga where they are usually side-by-side at Ashford). This all goes to hell very quickly. By R2, however, they seem to be this again, as Suzaku is The Dragon to Lelouch's Big Bad and they are cohorts and allies.
  • In Dance in the Vampire Bund this trope is played straight with the Earthclan. Adult Werewolf warriors are always in pairs called Renri-no-eda which means "two branches intertwined, never to part." They are inseperable, and all Earthclan are male, but except for Angel's pretty explict affection for Akira none of the pairs seem romantically inclined with one another.
    • Another example is Princess Mina's relationship with Yuki which appears to be turning into this.
  • Death Note's Mello and Matt might be this. Matt's not around enough for it to be certain. The fangirls however, see their relationship as being something else...

  • In D.Gray-Man Mahoja and Anita are definitely this, as are Johnny and Tup (until THAT happens), and Reever and Komui.
  • Digimon Tamers has Kazu and Kenta. They're good for major Ho Yay. The dub-censored Accidental Kiss is practically superfluous.
    • Most same-sex Digimon/Chosen Child partners will probably also be this (most explicitly in the English dub of Adventure when Izzy actually says he loves Tentomon). There'd probably be a lot more attention to this if Digimon wasn't built on the Children Are Innocent trope.
  • Kei and Yuri in Dirty Pair. (Though considering that they not only work together and socialize together, but live together and spend long periods of time alone together in deep space, as well as a few comments by their original creators, the "hetero" aspect is somewhat suspect. Some point to their relentless guy-chasing, which is a good point... if you believe in No Bisexuals.)
    • As one might imagine, this trope was inspired by the Dirty Pair Discussion page.
    • Their spiritual successors in that respect are Kiddy Grade's Eclair and Lumiere. From the same show, Dextera and Sinistra. Most of the other partners are either same-sex or... dubiously platonic.
  • Satoshi Hiwatari/Hikari and Daisuke Niwa in D.N.Angel may be heading this way after the series ends. Between the times they've saved each others lives and the magic they were caught up in it is impossible for them to not have some sort of tight relationship after everything, although the type of relationship is up for vigorous debate among fans...
  • Goten and Trunks in Dragon Ball Z have been very tight friends all their lives and, as teenagers, quite often spill over into Ho Yay. Whether their being Fusion Dance partners makes this better or worse is debatable.
    • In the second Dragon Ball GT ending, it begins with all the married couples being shown together: Goku and Chi-Chi, Gohan and Videl, Vegeta and Bulma, Krillin and Eighteen...and then cuts right to Trunks and Goten walking along, in the same style. Apparently the creators consider them "life partners" after one fashion or another.
    • Before Trunks and Goten there was Goku and Krillin. The two went from little kids to men in their forties as best friends. Krillin's death in the Namek saga is what triggers Goku going Super Saiyan for the first time. In GT, Krillin is the last person Goku says goodbye to on Earth, even getting his wife and sons out of the way before one last spar with Krillin.
      • Dragon Ball Z Abridged lampshades this by making Goku frequently more concerned with Krillin's well-being than his son's.
    • From Dragon Ball to the end of Z (and GT, if you count it), Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu are pretty much always together unless the former is feeling especially protective. When it seems like Chiaotzu will be staying dead near the end of the Frieza Saga, Tien volunteers to stay in the afterlife with him without hesitation. Brought up in the abridged series.
  • Mikado Ryugamine and Masaomi Kida from Durarara!!. They've been best friends since elementary school, and stayed in touch when Kida moved to Ikebukuro. It got to the point where Kida was practically begging Mikado to move to Ikebukuro to be with him. And despite Kida claiming they're in a Love Triangle with Anri, the two aren't any less close because of it.
    • There's also Simon and Dennis, who've stuck together for at least the last twenty years since joining The Mafiya together.
  • Hase and Yushi from Elegant Yokai Apartment Life. To such an extent that they end up becoming something akin to surrogate parents to the ghost of a child who died under heartbreaking circumstances.
  • Rogue and Sting from Fairy Tail seem to be this. Their exact relationship hasn't been delved into, but they're at least significantly closer to one another than they are with anyone else in the human cast, in part because so far the only time they've been shown standing more than five feet from on another is when they've been required to split up for a tournament event.
  • The anime Free! gives us Haruka and Makoto. They're childhood friends who sometimes tend to act Like an Old Married Couple.
  • Mustang and Hughes in Fullmetal Alchemist. Academy friends, met up again in the Ishvallan War, and Hughes signed on to support Roy from below. Roy takes Hughes's death very hard, and goes on a psychotic rampage when he finds the perpetrator, Envy.
  • In Full Metal Panic!, an interesting example of this with a large age gap is Sousuke and Kalinin — though it was more so in their past history than currently in the series. As Kalinin put it, "Sousuke and I being inseparable seems to be destiny."
  • A younger example would be Nagisa and Honoka from Futari wa Pretty Cure... Their attacks work by holding their hands and they get stronger when they tighten their hold.
  • Hayato and Kaga from Future GPX Cyber Formula have a very close friendship up until the SIN arc, despite being in longtime rival teams. In fact, in the final episode of ZERO, they have a spiritual communcation by using the Zero Zone with Kaga saying that he is much like him.
    • Heinel and Gudelian from the same series are also an example of this trope. Despite their constant fighting and bickering, they have a close working relationship, especially when they create their own team.
  • In Gankutsuou, Albert considers himself to be Heterosexual Life Partners with Franz. The amount of Ho Yay on Franz's end, however, is so thick you could cut it with a knife.
  • Ban and Ginji in Get Backers are the embodiment of this trope; even the other characters in the series remark on their "unbreakable bond." The resolution of the plot in the final arc of the manga actually hinges on the strength of their friendship. The 'S' in Get Backers means neither of us is ever alone!
    • Kazuki and Juubei, sometimes treading into Ho Yay territory — though mostly for comic relief.
    • This show loves the trope, since it's a Power of Friendship story anyway. There's also Emishi and Amon, who go from "strangers on a bus" to Boke and Tsukkomi Routine partners to HLP in what canNOT be more than one day.
    • Paul and Der Kaiser are also later revealed to have been this; with Der Kaiser even making Paul his son's godfather. Though they eventually end up going their separate ways, they still understand and trust each other completely.
  • There are a lot of examples in Gintama but most prominently Sakata Gintoki and Katsura Kotarou, being Childhood Friends who continue to bother each other into adulthood. They often bicker with each other Like an Old Married Couple but his friendship with Katsura is probably the longest friendship Gintoki has in his life. Takasugi Shinsuke was once this with Gintoki and Katsura during their childhood and teenage years. They are also this with Sakamoto Tatsuma after he joined them during the Joui war. Collectively they were known as the Joui Four Heavenly Kings and were quite close to each other.
  • Rally Vincent and Minnie May in Gunsmith Cats. (Again, the hetero gets a little muddled, considering that in the first volume, May gropes Rally and comments on the firmness of her nipples after shooting a gun; at the end of the volume, Rally returns the favor, giving May a fairly extensive groping and going so far as to comment "they're like little pebbles".)
    • Also we later find out that May already had a lover that she's still holding a torch for.
    • The groping doesn't necessarily mean anything, and explained that the definition of 'private areas' in Japan is a little different than many other places. Friends (male or female) may well end up groping each other and commenting on what they feel as a joke.
  • Haikyuu!!:
    • Kageyama and Hinata who are exceptional partners (often referred to by other characters or even each other) on-court and Vitriolic Best Buds off-court.
    • Asahi and Nishinoya who are introduced in the series together and are often treated like partners as Kageyama and Hinata on the court. It is more apparent with the reveal that they are travelling the world together from the North Pole to the pyramids after the time-skip.
    • As most characters are introduced as duos, this can be argued for many pairings such as: Vitriolic Best Buds Iwaizumi and Oikawa, Childhood Friends Kenma and Kuroo, and not too friendly Tsukishima with his Only Friend Yamaguchi.
  • Haruhi Suzumiya:
    • Kyon and Koizumi are slowly turning into this, whether Kyon admits/likes it or not.
    • Taniguchi and Kunikida also qualify. They're almost always seen together.
  • In Heat Guy J, Clair and Giovanni have a relationship like this, to the point where it appears they have a mild psychic connection.
    • Also Ian and Mitchal. To the point that Mitchal blows himself up shortly after Ian gets shot.
  • America and Japan in Hetalia: Axis Powers. They're on opposing sides during the WWII storyline, but are depicted as having become close friends in the modern-day strips and have virtually no Ho Yay moments between them despite being featured together in a good number of strips, in contrast with their more ambiguous relationships with England and Greece, respectively.
    • Austria and Switzerland used to be this way as children. No matter how many times Switzerland denies it.
    • Spain and Romano, who always seem to be shown together in the modern-day strips. Though there might also be some Ho Yay going on there, what with Spain being quite fond of Romano at the very least and Romano being quite Tsundere towards him.
    • Lithuania and Poland act like this as well, although the latter pushes the definition of 'heterosexual' quite a lot.
    • England and France: the weird case when it overlaps with Sitcom Arch-Nemesis.
    • Romania and Bulgaria are this, after having a rocky start to their friendship. Truth in Television, as those countries have had close relationship in Real Life.
    • If the relationship between Italy and Germany is just platonic, they're definitely this; they're almost constantly seen together, and have been close allies since World War II.
    • England and Portugal have a deep bond, as per Word of God. They do have the world's oldest living alliance in the Windsor Treaty, and England is said to have taught Portugal how to fight Spain, and lends him the technological skill that he needs.
    • Finland and Estonia are very close. They have known each other for a while, and Finland is so excited to see Estonia after leaving Denmark's control with Sweden that he glomps him. The two are said to plan festivals together, and Estonia asks Finland to put in a good word for him with the other Nordics in his attempts to join them. A lyric from one of Estonia's character songs urges them to become "not just friends, but brothers."
  • There are several of these in High School D×D, mainly in the Occult Research Club:
  • Gon and Killua from Hunter × Hunter, although chapters from Greed Island onwards have Killua heavily treading the line between this and Ho Yay.
  • Iris Zero: Mizushima Toru and Hijiri Shinozuka are best friends and confidants in each other. Even before Toru was involved with Sasamori, he established a bond with Hijiri after saving his friend.
  • Subverted by Rikimaru and Ranmaru of Kagerou-Nostalgia. They've been forced into this trope by the Big Bad they serve. As Ran used to be a girl that Rikimaru had a crush on. The whole thing's naturally played for angst.
  • Kaguya-sama: Love Is War has Kaguya and her personal maid Hayasaka. The two of them were raised side by side and view each other as sisters. It's even suggested that their bond is the only thing more important to Kaguya than her crush on Shirogane.
  • Arguably, Youji and Ken in Knight Hunters: Weiss Kreuz, to the extent that Youji warns Ken about the dangers of getting serious with a girl he's falling for — and, several episodes later, Ken returns the favor.
    • By the end of Weiss Kreuz: Gluhen, Ken appears to be well on his way to being Heterosexual Life-Partners with Aya, to the point that he follows Aya to England in Weiss Side B. When Ken explains his reasons for doing so, Aya hangs a lampshade: "...really like a naggy wife."
  • Kids on the Slope has Kaoru and Sentaro, who bond over their shared interest in playing jazz.
  • Ryuko and Mako from Kill la Kill, though Mako's heterosexuality is dubious at best.
  • Kimi ni Todoke has two such pairings: Yano & Yoshida, and Hirano & Endo. In each duo, it's nearly impossible to think of a scene where one is not without the other.
    • To a lesser extent, Ryu and Kazehaya also count.
  • Kuroko's Basketball Loves this trope. Namely with Kuroko and his buddy, Kagami. Though their heterosexuality has always been a topic of debate among fans.
    • Kaijou's Kise and Kasamatsu.
    • Midorima and Takao from Shuutoku.
    • Kagami and Himuro, also Kuroko and Aomine in the past.
    • Kiyoshi and Hyuuga.
  • Dio and Luciola from Last Exile seem to be this.
  • In Legend of the Galactic Heroes there's Reinhard and Kircheis. Reinhard clearly perceives the extremely loyal Kircheis to be one of the two most important people in his life, the other one being his sister. This is up to Kircheis's untimely death protecting Reinhard from an assassination attempt. Reinhard changes greatly after that, becoming colder, with many characters commenting that a big part of Reinhard has died as well. Even then, however, Reinhard still consults with Kircheis, asking himself what he would do or say in a given situation, and favouring his dead heterosexual life partner's opinion higher than that of, oh, his WIFE.
  • Lucky Star has Yutaka and Minami. While they do not consider themselves anything more than best friends, their friend Hiyori draws them in yuri.
  • Lupin and Jigen from Lupin III. Of all the gang members, these two are together the most and are even suggested to live together in several specials and films. Probably one of the oldest and greatest bromances in anime history.
  • Elenore and Margaret in Madlax do this to a lesser degree. Margaret being oblivious to the fact that Elenore is a lesbian, even right to the point where the latter dies later in the series.
  • Nanoha and Fate in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. In the third series they share a bed, dedicate several hours before sleeping to "strategy planning and personal time" and adopt a Mysterious Waif together, having her call them both "mama". Yet they both refer to the other as nothing more than a "best friend" and are never seen doing anything explicitly sexual. Most likely an extreme case of Hide Your Lesbians. As of this interview, the "hetero" part has been thrown out.
    • The three are now called the Takamachi Family, according to the last Sound Stages released; take that in any way you will.
    • Subaru and Teana still play this straight, though both are just as Ambiguously Gay as Nanoha and Fate were. The two first met in the academy when they were paired as roommates and training partners (as a result of being the only ones with custom-made Devices), and served together for their time in the Bureau until Mobile Sixth Division disbanded. They then went their separate ways to the Disaster Relief and Enforcer positions they always wanted (albeit with considerable reluctance on Subaru's part), but according to Teana, Subaru emails her so frequently she doesn't even feel as though she's gone.
    • One of the more heartwarming things in INNOCENT is that Precia and Lindy are best friends who are raising their children side by side, meaning that Fate gets to be with her biological family and her adopted family.
  • Athrun and Kira from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Most everyone came with a strong pairing: Trowa and Quatre, Trowa and Heero, Quatre and Heero, Duo and Quatre, and to a lesser extent Heero and Duo.
  • Graham Gregson and Zelik Lindemann in Mother Keeper have been friends for around 30 years. Graham having saved Zelik's life and stayed by him along with the fact Graham is the only person to get a discount at Zelik's shop, something he doesn't give to any of his other friends, it's impossible to claim they aren't close. Though recent chapters may put doubt on Graham's intentions, he's gone above and beyond for Zelik on multiple occasions.
  • My Hero Academia has the unlikely duo of loud, energetic, sometimes goofy Present Mic and dour, serious,sometimes lazy Eraser Head. Eraser Head thinks Mic is loud and obnoxious and has been known to headlock him to shut up his humorous nicknames. But they have been close since they were U.A. Students and hurting one will definitely get the other one kicking your butt.
  • My-HiME has (at least) two such pairs, Chie/Aoi and Haruka/Yukino being the most visible. Amusingly, both pairs eventually join Natsuki and Shizuru in the My-Otome Official Couple pantheon.
  • My Love Story!! Has Takeo Gouda and Makoto Sunakawa, or "Suna" for short. They've been best friends since they were three, and routinely put each other's feelings and desires above their own. Takeo is also the only one who can make Suna laugh, and they both have a habit of referring to each other as handsome. If it weren't for Takeo's girlfriend Rinko, one could be forgiven for thinking they were in love with each other.
  • My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! has the monkey girl and Atsuko Sasaki, who had been best friends since middle school. Atsuko's greatest wish after the monkey girl's untimely death was to one day be reunited with her in another life, and the fact that she never got to say goodbye to Atsuko is the only regret Catarina ever expresses when thinking back on her past life (other than the fact that she died so young). While the two do become friends again as Catarina and Sophia, this dynamic no longer exists due to Sophia having a crush on Catarina.
  • Naruto has many examples. The Akatsuki are paired in teams, some work well together, and others are Vitriolic Best Buds.
    • Kotetsu and Izumo, so close they have been Mistaken for Gay.
    • Shikamaru and Chouji also fit the bill — being best friends without all the convoluted rivalry alongside it.
    • Kakashi and Might Guy. Despite their one-sided rivalry, it's obvious the two are best friends who would do anything for each other. One could easily argue that after the death of his team, Guy was probably the only positive relationship Kakashi had until Team 7 formed.
    • The heart of the series might be how Naruto feels this for Sasuke — no matter how much the latter is trying to prove him Wrong Genre Savvy.
    • Boruto has Boruto and Mitsuki, Sarada and Chocho, and Shikadai and Inojin. All are said to be best friends.
  • Asakura and Sayo of Negima! Magister Negi Magi, though for a change, it's the "life" aspect that's a bit questionable due to one of them being a ghost. The two have been practically inseparable after Sayo became visible to Asakura. They go on scoops together, get lost in the Magic World together, take baths together with Sayo's possessed voodoo doll resting between Asakura's breasts... And they are still together in the "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue.
    • Negi's father Nagi had 6 of those in form of his team, Ala Rubra. Not only he knew more than half of them since he was child (the youngest we see him is twelve and it looks like they already knew each other for years), they fought together in Great Magic War, which at one point could be described as "them versus the rest of the world" (they won), saved the world, and after that they traveled together for 10 years helping people. The only reason why they stopped was because he mysteriously disappeared 10 years prior to the beginning of the story. Nagi also formed pactios with both Jack Rakan and Albireo. So.
  • Kirika and Mirielle in Noir. The "hetero" is a little suspect here, though. Not only do the two share the same bed, but in one episode, while staying in a hotel, they've apparently ''pushed the beds together''.
    • Later in the series, Chloe makes it very clear she seeks a lesbian relationship with Kirika.
  • Yuuya and Yamato from Nukoduke are inseparable, as the ghost of Yuuya's late girlfriend cheerfully remarked. The two are childhood friends, and Yuuya frequently hangs out in Yamato's house because his own parents are rarely around, and they take care of one another really well. Even when they're both independent adults, their social circle are mostly still limited to themselves.
  • Johnny and Yosaku of One Piece, a bounty hunter pair who have the slightly hetero suspect position of following at Zoro's heels like lost puppies and idolizing him to a deeply heartfelt degree.
    • Also Jango and Fullbody, who are significantly less suspect in their enthusiastic joint pursuit of attractive female superior officer Hina. Although they do have a knack for breaking out into off-the-cuff, perfectly coordinated dance numbers.
    • Sanji and Zoro. Despite his obsession with women, he will drop everything to argue with Zoro. But they both respect each other as the two guys who anchor the crew.
    • Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy spend an inordinate amount of time together which made it all the more devastating when Usopp left. In regards to Luffy and Usopp, Luffy was able to recognize him just by his father's descriptions. It was also Usopp who motivated Luffy to continue fighting against Lucci
    • Zoro and Luffy have been with each other from the start. Zoro always understands what Luffy is about to do next without any words spoken. He's also the only crew member who never questions any order. Zoro even gave up his life and dream in exchange for Luffy's life when Kuma attacked. Luffy, in turn, strongly believes in Zoro and his strength, fully acknowledging his fighting prowess and often saying that there's no way Zoro would lose.
    • The Straw Hats as a whole, really.
    • Shanks still see his relationship with Buggy as this, which is true no matter how much Buggy continues to deny it. Buggy, however, sees him as a sort of Sitcom Archnemesis, so it's best to identify them as Vitriolic Best Buds.
  • Kyoya and Tamaki in Ouran Highschool Host Club Tamaki refers to himself as the father of the group and Kyoya as the mom. Kyoya doesn't seem to mind.
  • Gil and Oz in PandoraHearts. In fact, their bonds are so strong that fans and characters in the series wonder if it's hetero at all. Especially on Gil's part. Word of God often plays up their guy love to reel in more fangirls.
    • Elliot and Leo also count as this.
  • Ash and Brock from Pokémon: The Series appear to be life partners; they've been spending their time together for years.
    • Ash and Pikachu even more so, since they've been together from the beginning of the series.
    • Ash and Clemont could qualify for this as well seeing as they immediately hit it off after meeting and have similar admiration for each other. Clemont and Ash even agree that Clemont is Ash's right hand man!
  • Many of the doubles pairs in The Prince of Tennis. (Some might be pushing it more towards Ho Yay: Koharu and Yuuji, maybe Ohtori towards Shishido and Eiji towards Ooishi.)
    • The instances in which Atobe Keigo is seen without Kabaji Munehiro somewhere nearby can be counted with one hand. To drive the point home, the fanbooks not only mention that they first met when Atobe was four and Kabaji three, but that Kabaji (and presumably his family) moved from England to Japan simply to follow Atobe.
    • Ryoma and Momoshiro. As the first regular Ryoma meets, the two are among the closest members of the Seigaku team. The only doubles match Ryoma plays in the series is with Momo, it's Momo who tries to help his best friend when he forgets how to play tennis.
  • In Ranma ½ the most stable and enduring relationship of any of the cast is between Soun Tendo and Genma Saotome. In that series that really isn't saying much. Plus those two are stable old guys, helping with the 'stable' part.
  • Sailor Moon has a whole mess of them. There's Ami and Makoto, Chibiusa and Hotaru, Rei and Usagi (original anime), and Rei and Minako (manga).
  • Judas and Luca of Saint Beast aren't really heterosexual, but they are very much the "best buddy/life partners" aspect of this trope. Goh and Gai can be argued to be this as well. In an aversion Rey and Shin, though having known each other as long as the other duos, are not as once they meet the others they largely gravitate away from each other despite maintaining their friendship.
  • Hakkai and Gojyo in Saiyuki. Word of God is that, while he technically owned the place and stayed there occasionally, Gojyo's house wasn't a home until Hakkai moved in.
    • Sanzo and Goku.
    • Plus they're all four of them all together all the time, with four-way attachments that mean they all feel unbalanced if they lose one.
    • Equally so in Gaiden, particularly Tenpou and Kenren, as Konzen and Goku's relationship goes more towards parent and child.
  • Grizzly Bear and Shirokuma (Polar Bear) from Shirokuma Cafe have been friends since they were cubs. Grizzly has borne the brunt of Shirokuma's jokes and antics since then, but wouldn't trade their friendship for anything else.
  • Li Kouyu and Ran Shuei from The Story of Saiunkoku. They are very rarely seen apart and attend social functions together, despite one being a scholar and the other being a general.
  • Hibiki and Miku from Symphogear, though Miku's hetero part is doubt, especially in G.
    • They are roommates in their school and sleep in the same bed (we don't know if there is a second), so they are literally lifepartners (at least in school).
    • Kanade and Tsubasa had this kind of relationship before Kanade died in the first episode.
    • Kirika and Shirabe in G although, much like Hibiki and Miku above, the hetero part is in doubt but this time from both parties. Then the hetero part is completely thrown out in GX when Kirika confesses her love for Shirabe.
  • Mihoshi and Kiyone in Tenchi Muyo! (yet again, the "hetero" is somewhat in question.) This trope is somewhat justified by the fact that the two are stranded on Earth and struggling to support themselves financially; sharing an apartment seems like a reasonable fiscal decision, if one doesn't factor in Mihoshi's klutziness.
    • The variants in Pretty Sammy were a bit different. At one point, Kiyone was visualizing her future family with a handsome man, and one of the children was a dead ringer for Mihoshi! While Kiyone protests mightily, it looks more like a case of "She Protests Too Much".
      • Unless this is taken to imply Kiyone perceives a semi mother-daughter (or at least, older sister) relationship with Mihoshi, in that she has to take care of Mihoshi and watch out for her. Which would also fit.
      • Kiyone's Expy in the OVA series is more clear, treating Mihoshi exactly like a little sister.
  • Simon and Kamina of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann are a very badass form of this.
  • By the halfway mark of Tiger & Bunny Kotetsu has become the first and Only Friend Barnaby has had in his entire life. Despite already having a best friend (Antonio), by series end Kotetsu seems to have grown quite fond of Barnaby as well.
    Kotetsu: [Speaking to a partially-amnesiac Barnaby in episode 23] Were the times we spent together that easy to forget!? You and I...we were the best team ever!
    • And just before the closing credits of the last episode;
    Barnaby: If you're making a comeback I suppose I'll have to, as well.
    Kotetsu: Why's that?
    Barnaby: Because I'm your partner!
  • A Town Where You Live has main protagonist Haruto and Takeshi who have been best friends since childhood and can be seen gleefully making fun of each other while having a guy's day out away from their respective girlfriend/wife. Takeshi even names his first child partially after Haruto!
  • Trigun: Vash and Wolfwood meet, bicker, and then seem to just...click somehow. They're the only people they know who can see through them so well, and also the only people they trust half as much to have their backs in a fight, and operate on incredibly similar wavelengths...they're best friends for life by the end of their second adventure together.
    • And this is despite them being one another's Foils and having profound philosophical differences, despite heaps and heaps of secrets, and despite Wolfwood being in the employ of Vash's Evil Twin all along. And in the manga, Wolfwood creepily seesaws between devotion and reflecting that Vash is sitting there with his back open and he could shoot him to death right now and get rid of half of the superpowered mutant threat to humanity...but eventually decides not to.
  • Natsumi and Miyuki from You're Under Arrest! (Again, the creators seem to enjoy casting suspicion on the "hetero" part through various contrivances, including official art.) Although the plot is pretty clear about the guys they get paired with.

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