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Narrator: And don't forget the Yaoi Fangirl bait. Wait, what yaoi fangi... ooooh wait, there it is, I see it.

Anime and Manga characters pretending to be "just friends" with each other? Yeah, right, like that's ever gonna happen!

Compare examples of Ho Yay in other media.


Series Ho Yay articles:

Other Examples

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    A 
  • Area 88:
    • Area 88 has Mickey Simon. In the TV series, Mickey can be seen reading Playgirl magazine. In the OVA, he and Shin wind up playing tourist while on special assignment and end up in a place that mostly attracts couples. In all versions, he is at Area 88 because he could not adjust to civilian life after his return from Vietnam and had to break off an engagement. Did we mention that he was in the Navy?
    • Ho Yay between Shin and Mickey is even more pronounced in the manga. When Shin wakes up in the infirmary of Farina's land carrier and believes that Mickey has been shot down, he sheds enraged tears. When the two men are reunited in a holding cell aboard the carrier, the first thing they do is clasp each other's hands. Finally, when the two escape from the land carrier using stolen jets, they land in the Asran desert. Since Shin's feet were broken in a prior jet crash, Mickey offers to carry him, but Shin politely declines. They just don't write romance like that anymore...
    • Mickey and Rishar's first encounter in the manga also brimmed with ho yay. When Rishar first enters the infirmary, Mickey is shirtless and lying in bed. Later, the two engage in conversation while Mickey is getting dressed. At several points, Rishar gazes at Mickey almost affectionately.
  • Assassination Classroom:
    • Nagisa/Karma is a very popular shipping that crops up in the manga from time to time whenever the two are interacting with one another. However, their duel during the classroom civil war was what brought a lot to the table for the shippers.
    • Female examples:
      • Kataoka saving Kayano in the pool. The latter even says that Kataoka was so cool she think she might have fallen for her.
      • Kayano makes a similar comment to Yada again.
      • Irina is also teaching her female students the art of the French kiss.
  • Attack on Titan: Almost completely void of romance, but plenty of subtext to be found.
    • Eren and Armin (all the hand holding, and especially promising to fulfill their dream together) which can in turn spawn a One True Threesome with Mikasa.
  • Jean and Marco, especially in the anime.
  • Erwin and Levi. Interestingly enough, it took only one line to do this. It got very popular, of course, after A Choice With No Regrets came out, which is an official spin-off basically giving us Levi and Erwin's backstory starting with when they met each other.

    B 
  • Takumi and Go have some moments in Battery. For example, the first outro with Takumi, his little brother Seiha, and Go looks a lot like two guys and their kid.

    C 
  • Chainsaw Man:
    • Aki and Angel Devil:
      • Despite Aki's hatred of Devils, when Angel tells him that he's okay with dying as he's about to be blown away by the Typhoon Devil, Aki briefly grabs onto Angel's hand to pull him to safety and save his life, knowing that it will cause his own lifespan to be drained as a result of making skin-to-skin contact with him. This is especially significant considering that Aki's lifespan has already been shortened drastically as a result of his contract with the Curse Devil. After telling Angel that he's tired of watching people die in front of him, Aki wraps his arms around him and holds onto him as they wait for the wind to stop.
      • Angel volunteers to accompany Makima to kill Reze on his own rather than bringing Aki with him as she asked because he doesn't want him to have to kill a girl.
      • After Angel loses both of his arms as a result of his encounter with the Darkness Devil, Aki writes a letter of recommendation for Angel to be allowed to form contracts with the Devil Hunters at Public Safety so that he won't be exterminated.
      • Upon being told by Aki that his own death is imminent, Angel reveals to him that he sees the humans he has killed in his dreams and wants to save him so that he doesn't end up haunting his dreams as well.
      • Seeing Aki be taken control of by Makima causes Angel to remember her forcing him to kill the villagers who raised him even though she used mind control to suppress the memory, and he immediately attacks Makima in a vain attempt to protect his friend.
    • While picturing the women he knows as half-naked and internally going over whether he likes them or not, Denji pictures the Angel Devil along with them before mentioning that he's male and therefore not a candidate.
    • There's a panel where Quanxi, who's canonically a lesbian, bites into Fumiko's midriff to drink her blood while Fumiko blushes.

    D 
  • Dazzle:
    • Baroqueheat has some odd moments both with Alzeid and Father Jelice Beliyah. For an example of the latter, there is this line:
    Father Jelice Beliyah (after being questioned once whether or not he was holy): Your penance for this remark is bungee jumping, naked.
  • Demon King Daimao has hints of Hiroshi to Akuto. He thinks Akuto is amazing and always bugs him by pretending to be brothers and calling Sai "Demon King". He often states that he is Akuto's most loyal follower.
  • Hidenori from Daily Lives Of Highschool Boys spends quite a bit of time discussing the charm point of girls with his friends, and when he and Yoshitake shared an Accidental Kiss neither of them enjoyed it. Despite this, fans have taken to shipping them thanks to sketches like "High School Boys & Annoyances", most of which consists entirely of Hidenori getting annoyed over every little thing Yoshitake does - from the way he sits with his butt sticking out behind school chairs to that time he helped him find his keys - before looking at him fondly, which when taken out of context does make them seem like a married old couple.note 

    E 
  • It isn't that uncommon for people coming out of The Empire of Corpses to ask, among other questions, "Was Watson in love with Friday?" The movie is practically built upon Watson going to great lengths to fully revive his deceased friend, and the story reveals bit by bit how much he cares, eventually having him break down crying, "I just wanted to see you again! Why did you leave me?" The cherry on top of the subtext cake, though, has to be the ending: Watson decides to seal Victor's Notes within himself in a move that could very well kill him, and yet only asks if he can see Friday again and hear his voice, taking hold of the other's hand. While he trails off in his sentences, there are still heavy implications he only wants the two of them to be together once more. Fade to black for a few seconds, and the last shot before the credits is Friday gripping Watson's hand as if in reciprocation.
  • Excel♡Saga plays this oh so much with Excel and Hyatt, more or less unavoidable given that they live together and that they just loved placing Hyatt with all kinds of innuendo. The final episode of the anime, "Going Too Far", brings it to its logical conclusion with a bodyswap, Excel admiring Hyatt's breasts, briefly falling in love with each other's own bodies, and their... attempts to revert the process.

    F 
  • Fate/stay night is already covered under video games, but the anime does far more than the game with one pairing. For quite a while around mid-series, it really looks like Rin Tohsaka has a thing for Sakura Matou. Even the second OP suggests this. Of course, players of the game knew what the anime eventually reveals rather vaguely: they're actually sisters, but in the anime, only Rin knows.
    • If you aren't aware of Archer's relationship to Shirou, his entire death scene, which is interspersed with flashbacks of his younger self, is frankly very suspicious.
    • The prequel novel, Fate/Zero, has a fair amount present as well, which the anime only adds to.
      • For one thing, Saber and Irisviel seem to become very close, call each other "knight" and "princess", and have scenes involving hand-holding in a very romantic way.
      • Kirei's single-minded obsession with Kiritsugu makes him border on being a Stalker with a Crush, with the way he constantly thinks of him in his free time, pines to meet him, thinks of Kiritsugu as the solution to all his problems, and gives a brutal beating to both his wife and another woman who has romantic feelings for him. He's noticeably upset when Kiritsugu fails to notice him during the fire.
      • The infamous scene in the end of episode 6 is the most memorable thing in the fans' minds from it, with Kirei coming into his room to find Gilgamesh on his couch in a flirtatious pose, drinking and complimenting his wine, and speaking in a suggestive tone of voice, giving him bedroom eyes while they have a conversation about pleasure. That, and some very suspiciously symbolic hand placement. The fact that it's already established that they live together for the next ten years after Zero ends doesn't help either.
      • Waver spends most of the series living with a very large, bisexual Macedonian who walks around the house wearing neither pants nor underwear - and demonstrating the classic tsundere response (blushing and all) all the way.
      • Caster (Gilles de Rais) and Ryuunosuke. They find each other extremely COOL! and seem to understand each other very well, despite being insane, amoral Serial Killers; Caster even seems genuinely sad when Ryuunosuke dies. Ryuunosuke is also similar to Prelati, a young cleric (named in-story as Caster's teacher) with whom Gilles de Rais also had some possible subtext.
  • Fuuka has some moments of this trope, which is not helped by the cases in which other characters do deliberately tease each other:

    G 
  • Game×Rush: Memori and Yuuki have SO much between them. Also, the judo team ("Can I call you 'Big Brother'?!"), the G-ing bodyguards, and the male kids at the elementary school become big fans of Memori.
  • In Generator Gawl, somehow, with nothing said outright, the English dub manages to convey the impression that Koji and Ryo are married, with Gawl as their Keet boytoy/son.
  • Good Luck! Ninomiya-kun:
    • Mayu's older brother Mikihiro towards Shungo. He often goes out of his way to playfully tease him by getting in his face (literally), cornering him when no one's around, holding him close to his body so he can't get away when dragging him off to train, and even stalking him.
    • To a lesser extent, Shungo's friends Yoshida and Inoue act like fanboys in regards to Shungo sometimes, are fond of ambushing Shungo and tying him up without his consent, when they want him to participate in one of their many schemes.
  • Girls Bravo
    • At the beginning of one episode Koyomi and Miharu are having a bath together and Miharu gropes Koyomi and states how beautiful she thinks her skin is.
    • Maharu and Kirie occasionally get some-such as the Security Cling Kirie does to Maharu in episode 3.
    • In Episode 7, Kirie gropes Koyomi to garner approval from men in a crowd hoping for T & A. She also does this after telling Koyomi to, "bend over and stop holding (her) skirt," to mirror what Miharu did for the men in the crowd.
    • There is one episode (episode 6 season 2) where main character Yukinari is forced to dress up as a girl, in order to host a gaming tournament. His disguise is so convincing that even Handsome Lech Fukuyama mistakes him for a pretty girl, flirts with him, and grabs his crotch before discovering he's actually a boy.
  • Great Pretender: Lovable Rogue Laurent takes a laid-back, flirty attitude with nearly everyone, and protagonist Makoto is no exception.
    • In the first episode, he gets very up close and personal with Makoto after buying him a new suit, at which Makoto visibly blushes.
    • In the "Singapore Sky" arc, the two go to view the air race they're planning to scam. Laurent constantly offers Makoto some of his fancy boba tea, which either he's been drinking from himself, or which he bought specifically for Makoto. In then starts to rain, and Laurent motions for Makoto to join him under his umbrella.
    • In the "Snow of London" arc, Laurent playfully flirts with his associate Cynthia, and tells her directly that "I'm hitting on you." She fires back with, "I thought Edamame was your favorite."
    • When the two have a heartfelt conversation in the fourth arc, the song underscoring it is a love song.
    • The nickname "Edamame" itself becomes increasingly cutesy pet name-ish as the series goes on.
  • Great Teacher Onizuka has some Les Yay from Tomoko with Miyabi and Urumi. One of the inside sketches for Volume 20 has Urumi playing the Pocky game with a blushing Tomoko.
  • Guilty Crown gives Shu a lot of Does This Remind You of Anything? with everyone he uses his powers on, but his flashbacks with Gai takes it up to another level, not that they didn't already have a thing going on from the beginning of the series.

    H 
  • The Harukanaru Toki no Naka de franchise can already count as a Slash Fic Writers' Paradise just by way of having eight beautiful guys who are already paired up with each other for your convenience, and the Hachiyou Shou TV anime seems aware of the implications... While not actually addressing . For one, there's Tomomasa occasionally teasing Takamichi yet showing that he cares about him a lot. Then, there are a couple of scenes with Inori blushing slightly around Shimon after he finally accepted him as one of his True Companions. And let's not get into possible interpretations of the whole "unlocking the Four Seals" thing, the requirement for which is said to be the two Hachiyou's hearts becoming one...
  • Hayate the Combat Butler: While the series features a lot of same-sex deliberate Ship Tease (or just awkward one-sidedness), there are some examples which are more ambiguous as to the author's intentions:
    • The weird part is how Hayate acts around Kotetsu. No other character can get Hayate to show his dark side...which pretty much consists of being a Tsundere. Seriously, whenever they're together Hayate basically acts like a stereotypical tsundere love interest, albeit a particularly violent one with Ranma-esque strength and skill, and has twice managed not to kill him to have a dere moment... Which Kotetsu inevitably ruins instantly and gets beaten down HARD.
    • The friendship between Hinagiku and Athena, where Hina pretty much admired Athena on sight and blushed nervously as she tried to ask for her email address. It was explicitly stated that Athena didn't interact with anyone else like that and that the two were an unstoppable duo that basically ruled the school together.
    • From way back when Hayate went to the Kendo Club to get Nagi interested in sports (because Hinagiku mentioned Nagi tried to join before), we see that Nagi and Hinagiku had an almost identical start with Nagi admiring how cool Hinagiku was and playing out much the same as the above relationship - at least until Nagi realized she would never be like Hina.
    • And with the Greece Arc we also have much more Nagi/Ayumu moments with the two being seemingly inseparable friends at times, it even extends after and the two seem quite friendly even after returning to Japan. Also Ayumu told Nagi she loved her during her birthday story. It was very heartfelt.
    • Nagi and Isumi. Nagi outright asked Isumi to marry her when they first met and Isumi actually understood her manga, and Isumi says (regarding Hayate), "But I can see why my Nagi put her trust in him".
  • Heat Guy J: Mitchal & Ian. It's unclear if they're supposed to be a couple or just friends, but the fact that Mitchal blew himself up shortly after Ian's death, and the fact that they're almost always together is certainly yaoi fodder.
  • Hellsing:
    • Some fans see this between Seras and Integra, via the finger licking scene and also when the ghouls that Jan Valentine made out of Hellsing's initial guards basically swarm her. Seras promptly goes berserk and kills almost all of them, until Integra intervenes via hugging her from behind. Seras is also very devoted to Integra.
    • Also, there are people out there who support Alucard/Walter. Especially since The Dawn showed that Alucard could transform into an effeminate version of himself (Appropriately dubbed "Girlycard").
      • And not to mention Alucard saying that Walter's body was "a trillion times more beautiful" before it was rejuvenated by vampirism.
    • In the first anime, a Lesbian Vampire character named Boobanshee/Bubbancynote  tricks the entire Hellsing organization, save Seras and Alucard, into thinking that she is Integra's sister, Laura (a reference to Carmilla). Later, she attempts to drink Integra's blood, and even bites and licks her chest, after which Integra realizes that she has no sister; shortly after Bubbancy is dispatched and Integra refers to her as Countess Karnstein (another Carmilla reference). She also licks Integra's blood from her hand after stabbing her.
  • Early in the first episode of Hell Girl: The Cauldron of Three, Ai Enma appears in front of Hone Onna, licks a moist cherry and smiles in a rather seductive manner. The two are probably not gay, but there's a lot of Les Yay subtext there.
    • Also in the first episode, when Ai Enma makes Yuzuki Mikage susceptible to her Demonic Possession. It involved a hug and a kiss, while naked, in a bathtub.
      • And she kisses Yuzuki again at the end of the season, to show her her past. Seeing as Ai showed her past to both Tsugumi and Hajime before without having to kiss them, one can only imagine why she decide to show it that way...
    • What about Honne-Onna's diehard fangirls? One was ready to send someone to hell because she tought he was dating her! And another actually sent the other girl to hell because she tought she got too close to Onna!
  • Mion once said to Shion in the sound novels that if she was a boy she'd probably marry her.
  • The endings of Kai and Rei both show Rika and Hanyuu in positions where they're nearly kissing.
  • And then on the male side we have Satoshi and Keiichi. Yes, it is sort of a Crack Pairing, but then again, their Image Song say it's not so crack as we think.Satoshi likes to talk about Keiichi in a very loud manner. And then you notice the CD cover.
  • Oddly enough, Irie gets some with Keiichi as well in Tatarigoroshi-hen, when he rubs Keiichi's hands thoroughly while blushing and smiling and talking about how smooth and soft they are and how he'll punish his maids for not having hands like his, and how he'd "love to be served by hands like yours". A while later, in a totally different scene, he thanks Keiichi for "allowing him to enjoy his smooth skin".
  • Hikaru no Go includes, within the first three episodes, Akira making excuses to feel Hikaru's hands and before too long has the pair of them passionately declaring their obsession with one another amongst a cascade of Cherry Blossoms.
    • Hikaru & Akira's mutual obsession frequently tips the line into subtext and much of the dialogue could easily be seen to support this pairing. Kaga & Tsutsui also danced around this trope occasionally.
  • Himitsu: Top Secret Revelation has a starting subtle, then spiraling into 'but-is-it-actually-canon?' relationship between the good-willed newcomer, Aoki, and the Section Nine Chief, Maki.
    • There's so much here, it's hard to know where to begin. But their very first meeting looks like something out of a shoujo manga (despite the rest of the series being very much not). Aoki first sees Maki asleep on the couch, and there's a comment of his 'innocence', a close-up of his slightly parted pink lips (understand, there is Aoki's thoughts overlaying the scene so...), and the moment Maki is woken, he grabs Aoki's arm and the camera does a 360 degree shoujo twirl.
    • Maki often likens Aoki to his dead best friend, Suzuki, whom he has tons of regrets over due to the guilt of thinking he caused Suzuki's death.
    • Speaking of which, there's actually quite a bit between Maki and Suzuki despite the fact that the latter had a fiancee. Suzuki was willing to look through the brain images / memories of a mass murderer in Maki's place in order to protect him. And of course, because of how often Aoki is likened to Suzuki... you can see how any hints of hoyay for one towards Maki implies it for the other as well.
    • Whereas the team refer to Maki as 'Superintendent' or 'Chief', Aoki always refers to Maki as 'Maki-san'.
    • Aoki shows great concern whenever Maki collapses and is always the first to assure he is ok.
    • Aoki has shown a strong desire to really understand Maki, going as far as to risk his own mental state by seeing Suzuki's memories which has seen the mass murderer's memories to understand why Suzuki tried to kill Maki in the end, an echo of how Suzuki tried to protect Maki.
    • When Maki first collapses, Aoki is shown wondering what Suzuki must have been thinking next to a 'surprisingly fragile' Maki.
    • On a separate note, Kainuma, the mass murderer mentioned, without a doubt has a fixation on Maki. His end brain images show him talking to Maki knowing the latter will see him, claiming Kainuma loves him (in a twisted manner)
    • At the very end, all the credit-scene pictures show Aoki and Maki together, one of which looking particularly husband-wifey, and again we have Aoki's thoughts of wanting to understand Maki's entire being, to learn his 'secrets'.
  • His and Her Circumstances's Arima Soichiro has the power to inspire blushes and dreamy feelings in any male he sees. No joke.
  • Nono and Mugi from Hitohira tend to be quite affectionate with each other. Mugi gets very flustered whenever Nono gets near her, which happens quite a lot. Actually, Nono uses this to practically seduce Mugi to make her join her Drama Research Club—and then there is the scene in the hot tub. For the largest part it's not clear whether Nono means it, but in the end it becomes evident that Nono has genuinely deep feelings for Mugi.
  • House of Five Leaves: Yaichi & Masanosuke; in the beginning of the story you never know if Yaichi is going to kill Masa... or kiss him.
  • In the second episode of Hyper Police, Sakura— the kitsune with 8 and 1/5 tails— chases down Natsuki thinking that eating Natsuki will grant her a full set of nine tails. After knocking her unconscious, Sakura anticipates eating Natsuki. Some of the camera angles and dialogue give off a very rape-y vibe.
    Sakura: Stop resisting!
    • Later on when Sakura is introduced to Natsuki as new police recruit, Sakura gets right into Natsuki's face with a seductive gaze. She even licks Natsuki's face.
  • Hyouka has some of this between Hotaro and Satoshi. Satoshi often intrudes Hotaro's personal space whenever he's around Hotaro, and in several instances in the anime he intently puts his face very close to Hotaro's, with only about 5cm left between their lips (often to Hotaro's surprise). Plus the way he moves flamboyantly, how he attends the sewing club enthusiastically, his proficiency in cooking, and his obliviousness towards Mayaka's romantic advances throughout the series, all while he always gleefully approaches the passive, introvert and supposedly boring Hotaro in a crush-like manner.
  • Happy Happy Clover: There are moments in the anime and manga series where Clover and Mallow appears to really care about each other. This is more notable in the anime adaptation mainly during close up scenes between the two. They are mostly portrayed as lesbians by Japanese fans of the series. Doesn't help that in one story in volume 4 has Mallow asking that if she was a male would Clover kiss her or fall in love with her. This has also become a common pairing in Japan.

    I 
  • Immortal Rain: Rain and Yuca were incredibly close friends, so much that Yuca made Rain immortal to save his life and to make sure they'd meet again when he was reborn. But Yuca also got all the orphans horribly killed, shot Freya in front of Rain and fed him her flesh, made a cruel bet with him, and then shot himself in the head, leaving Rain traumatized and alone for six centuries. In flashbacks, Yuca also seems to enjoy suddenly appearing next to Rain or randomly stroking his face while talking to him... Something he does to multiple characters, at least two of whom are female, so it may not have been intended as a ship tease.
  • Inuyasha:
    • Shuuga (Myoga the flea's wife to be) possesses Inuyasha and tries to seduce Shippo in episode 65.
    • Sesshomaru's follower, Jaken revealed that the reason he started following Sesshomaru around in the first place is that he thought ol' Fluffy was beautiful (and states it) and followed him, despite being ignored for several days. This only happens during an anime filler episode and never happens in the manga.
  • THE iDOLM@STER - One of the rivals during the Idol Agency Sports Meet falls instantly in love with Makoto.

    K 
  • In Kanamemo, even apart from the three canon lesbian characters, there's a considerable amount of les yay between Kana and Mika, particularly in the Furo Scene episode.
  • Mai and Sayuri from Kanon. Note Mai's exchange with Yuuichi after she coldly makes Sayuri leave from one of their sword practices.
    Yuuichi: Hey! What are you trying to do?
    Mai: I care for Sayuri. I love her. That is why...
    Yuuichi: Unable to express yourself, huh...
    • Also, when Sayuri is injured by a demon and hospitalized, it causes Mai to completely break down and even try to kill herself. Mai also gets really mad upon seeing Sayuri get attacked by the demon.
  • The manager at Karin's second job once groped Karin's boobs in an attempt to cheer her up. Didn't work.
  • Karin and her friend Maki have a bit of this. In one episode she stayed over Karin's house and they took a bath together where Maki playfully groped Karin's boobs. Also, in the first episode Karin's vampiric attraction to Maki is reminiscent of a lesbian attraction. She even leans in to bite Maki's neck, which looks very much like an attempted kiss.
  • Karneval certainly has ample amounts of Ho Yay:
    • Gareki's obvious affection for, and protectiveness of, Nai. Nai's innocence particularly affects him, and he obviously holds him in higher regard than most kids, whom he seems to believe should all rot.
    • Yogi's rather over-enthusiastic devotion to Gareki, though pretty much one-sided.
    • Hirato and Akari, though it's usually Played for Laughs.
    • Plus the blatant Les Yay that arises because, much like Hinoe from Natsume's Book of Friends, Eva dislikes men and prefers the cute softness of girls like Tsukumo.
  • Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl essentially is about a lesbian Love Triangle between Tomari, Hazumu, and Yasuna, plus a fourth girl, but there's also some Les Yay between Ayuki and Tomari. The Les Yay is different in the manga and anime, but it's still there, be it coincidental or not (Ayuki does say she likes someone).
    • Not to mention that, especially in the anime, it seems that only the girls want Tomari. "I was surrounded by reporters, and just when I thought it was all over... Tomari-chan leapt to my rescue!" "KYAAAAA!"... "Tomari is so cool sometimes that she makes my heart skip a beat." "She's even received love letters from girls before." "Ah, my wonderful prince!" "I'm also attracted to her!" "She's like a prince!"
    • Before Hazumu got turned into a girl he and his best friend Asuta had some Ho Yay going on, and after Hazumu's Gender Bender change, Asuta develops romantic feelings for Hazumu.
  • Kekkaishi: Yoshimori was extremely adamant in his attempts to get closer to Gen and Hiura at times. Then there's Kakeru's extreme devotion to Michiru. Also, Yoshi's male bonding moments with Sen can get downright confusing sometimes.
  • Kimi ni Todoke: There was a bit of this when Sawako and Kurumi had their first conversation. The fact that Sawako used to see Kurumi as a female version of Kazehaya, says much.
  • Kochikame: there's quite a bit of close scenes between Ryotsu and his fellow male officers, often involving one or both ending up naked
  • In Kujibiki♡Unbalance, there is a significant level of Les Yay:
    • In the manga, the relationship between the Vice President and the President; the Vice President does deny it, but this is the only time she is blushing. In fact, the only times Kasumi Kisaragi gets flustered or looses her cool are when Ritsuko Kübel Kettenkrad is involved, which the latter occasionally teases her about.
    • Anime and manga, but most overtly in the manga, Yamada's relationship with Renko, obviously; in the manga, she enjoys Renko's physical abuse just a little bit too much, and asking for more with delight.
    • Then there is a hint of it between Tokino and Ranko in the manga; judging from Yamada's reaction, causing a something of a brief Les Yay Love Triangle.

    L 
  • La Corda d'Oro has Hihari/Yunoki on the Ho Yay side and Fuyuumi/Hino on the Les Yay side.
  • Land of the Blindfolded: Arou-kun with Namiki-san and Honma, his classmate from junior high.
    Kanade: Arou-kun, you actually have a yukata, too?
    Arou-kun: ... I borrowed it from Namiki.
    Namiki-san: And I was the one who dressed him!
    • Examples of Arou-kun/Honma as well:
      Honma: I was sooo happy at that moment! It was kinda like being with an unfriendly cat that you suddenly manage to win over! I wanted to give him a hug right then and there!
      [blushes with a background full of flowers]
    • And then again:
      Kanade: You must have... really liked him!
      * pause*
      Honma: Arou is... special.
  • Last Exile: The engineer Gale admits to a crush on Claus, and Dio seems awfully fond of him, with all that glomping and whatnot. Of course, everybody loves Claus in this series. And who does Claus get that doughy-eyed look of love for? His vanship.
  • Ayumu and Hatori from Life (2002) have a very close, Les Yay-filled, friendship in the manga. Hatori is Ayumu's Living Emotional Crutch, they hold hands several times, and they always have each others backs. Both have canon love interests (though Hatori's is offscreen in another town) but they don't come close to their friendship. They even share a rather romantically tinged CPR scene.
  • Little Witch Academia. Having an almost all-female cast, it goes without saying. Diana/Akko has, without a doubt, the most support among the fandom. Notable Les Yay moments include Diana confessing to love Akko under the influence of magic, Akko going out of her way to get Diana back to Luna Nova after she left, and even official staff art showing Diana blushing while hugged by Akko, and looking very flustered when Akko tries on some British clothes. One of the creators have even stated that Akko doesn't need a (male) love interest, since she has Diana (and Ursula).
  • Love Hina: Naru and Mutsumi in the shower shortly after Mutsumi is first introduced in the manga.
    • While Keitaro is away, Mutsumi "dresses up" as him (by putting on glasses, rearranging her hair) in the hot springs and puts the moves on Naru. While the reason she gives is to merely try and make it easier for Naru to express her feelings for Keitaro, she seems to enjoy the resulting steamy action WAY too much for that excuse to hold much water.
    • Motoko has a trio of girls who follow her around, begging for her attention, ganging up on anyone who says anything negative about her, and — on at least one occasion — being upset with her because she spends so much time in male company (since Keitaro moved in).
    • On one occasion Motoko gives her cloak to Shinobu after her sword technique shreds Shinobu's clothes.
    • When Kanako first arrives in Love Hina Again, she disguises herself as Naru and feels up a number of the residents of Hinata Inn as research for her disguises. Motoko's "examination" takes place in an alleyway, and draws quite a crowd of nosebleeding men.
      • Much more discreet in the manga, where Kanako-as-Naru attacks Motoko inside the Hinata House, using the convenient pretense of privately teaching her about what could be in the entrance exams.
  • Lychee Light Club's Zera seems to favor childish, do-nothing Jaibo above all other subordinates for no apparent reason for the first two chapters of the manga adaptation, frequently touching him and showering him with grandiose promises or allowing him to slack off noticibly. Then it becomes apparent in chapter three that the two are actually lovers, and the favoritism is at least partially justified.
    • Throw in former leader Tamiya's undertones of challenging Zera to regain his place as head of the club, and Jaibo's lack of personal space when tailing Tamiya on Zera's orders, and there are the makings of a pretty good hatesex threesome.

    M 
  • Besides the obvious Official Couple in Maiden Rose, there seems to be something between Second Lieutenant Azusa and Date (though they're probably just very good childhood friends). Their friend, Moriya was also worried about Azusa when he wanted to go to No Man's Land with Klaus, but Date's reaction was a little more intense. Azusa saying sorry, holding Date's arm and reaching for his face, and Date's distress was very sweet and ambigious. Shipping Goggles can bring out subtext for Moriya/Azusa for some fans as well, possibly because Moriya fulfils many Seme stereotypes quite well.
    • Apart from Duchess Theodora, Berkut has his Ho Yay moments too: Touching Taki's chin to piss him off (and it works) and his intense, bordering on obsession vendetta against Klaus (even if Klaus' thoughts about him are along the lines of 'Seriously, what the hell is he doing here?').
  • Maid-Sama!: Yukimura and Usui, especially when the latter kisses the former! You either laugh out loud or be disturbed every time this happens. Perhaps both.
    • There's even more ho yay involving both when Kanou steps into the picture.
    • Chapter 54 compares the teasing relationship of Usui's older brother with his valet to that of Usui and Misaki. It cannot help but come across as very Ho Yay.
    • There's also Hinata walking up to a wet, half-naked Usui, sizing him up, and cheerfully concluding that he probably would be completely hot for Usui if he was actually a girl.
  • There's apparently something about Misaki that makes Maria Miyazono Hot for Student. Made doubly awkward by the fact that she's somehow related to Usui.
  • Magic User's Club: With Ayanojyo Aburatsubo's passionate declarations of love for the extremely reluctant Takeo Takakura, it leaves very little to the imagination... also be on the watch for the rather sweet "friendship" between Sae and Nanaka.
  • Marginal Prince: Yuuta ends up in several... questionable situations with practically everybody in St. Alphonso. In the first episode he runs into Alfred and ends straight-up in his arms. Meanwhile, Mikhail manages to do the same to him, landing in Yuuta's arms or cradling against his chest practically every time he shows up. Yuuta also has a very certain thing for Joshua, which could on the one hand be interpreted with general admiration, but then episode 14 rolls around and has Yuuta go "Dokidoki" ("my heart's pounding") when Joshua approaches him very closely...
    • Then there's also Joshua himself, who just has this vibe whenever he's with Henri. It doesn't help that Joshua is pretty much the only one Henri doesn't snark at and even lets him come pretty close to him, while usually brushing off others. And of course, their families hate each other while the two boys absolutely don't. Joshua is usually the first to worry about Henri and they come up to each other when nobody else would.
    • Sylvain, while being really friendly and open with practically everyone, seems to be especially fond of Haruya.
  • The Mega Man Star Force anime had a surprisingly large amount of Ho Yay between Geo and Omega-Xis, to the point where it became an in-joke among the group subbing it. Got particularly bad in one episode that had all the EM aliens suffer shifts to recessive personality traits (Ophiuchus became fangirlish, Wolf acted dog-like, etc.) Omega-Xis, however, immediately comments to Geo that the comet they're watching 'reminds me of your lovely eyes.'
  • Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch:
    • Rina angsts about not being able to save Noel for, like, half of the first season. Luchia also tends to cry into her chest. She also happens to be very popular with classmates of both genders; in one episode, two girls give her love letters. Being an (informed) Bifauxnen probably helps. And don't get me started on Sheshe and Mimi, who are possibly canon...
    • Lanhua is disappointed that the mermaids aren't as beautiful as she was told.
    • Lady Bat is a crossdressing boy, but certain dubs didn't pick up on it and refer to him as a girl. This is the result.
    • Alala calls Luchia cute and the latter blushes and is flattered.
    • Certain fans couldn't help noticing the over-the-topness of the reunion of Caren and Noel. So much that the author actually created Subaru, Caren's Love Interest, to stop fans from shipping the sisters together. Not that it worked much.
  • Midori Days: Kota, Kota, Kota.
    • In the manga there's a lot of Ho Yay from Kota as he gets to know Seiji; also some Les Yay between a couple minor characters.
    • Kota seems to be a bit sweet on Seiji...
      • For example, on one occasion Seiji unknowingly turns Kouta on a lot when he sucks Kouta's injured finger. It's all enough to make Midori feel very uneasy...
      • And in another instance when Seiji dresses as a girl to catch a pervert on the train, his buddy finds Seiji "just his type". Likewise, when Kota cross-dresses, Seiji finds him incredibly attractive, enough for Seiji to become afflicted with The Dulcinea Effect towards... drag. Unfortunately for poor Kouta, such feelings don't transfer over when he's dressed normally as a boy..
  • Mobius Doumei, though it's about two best friends crushing on the same girl, has enough Ho Yay between hot-blooded Kaguya and cool Takemasa to entertain the fangirls. If the first chapter ending with the have-nothing-to-do-with-each-other-in-school guys having a super-friendly secret meeting at the park - and call each other by their first names, confusing the female lead - doesn't do it for you, then all the totally platonic physical contact will. Kaguya's heart goes doki-doki around Takemasa when he gets flustered, and Takemasa comments to himself on the obvious parallels between Matsuri (the heroine) and Kaguya. They make it perfectly clear that their feelings for Matsuri aren't going to get in the way of their shared dream, and post-confession Matsuri thinks to herself that their friendship with/feelings for her is nowhere near the strength of their own bond.
  • My Bride is a Mermaid plays this between Nagasumi and Masa. A poll of the fans revealed Masa/Nagasumi to be the 2nd most popular pairing.
  • There's also the fact that Maki acts rather Yandere towards San.
  • My Love Story!!: Takeo and Suna are very close childhood friends who are always referring to each other as "handsome"note  and will not hesitate to point out how awesome their best friend is. The third episode reveals that Suna turns down every girl who confesses to him because they also happen to be Takeo's crushes and because of how mean they are to Takeo behind is back, and they generally will drop whatever they're doing just to support each other. It is also noted that Takeo is the ''only'' one capable of making Suna laugh.

    N 
  • Nodame from Nodame Cantabile seems to have an interest in Saiko during their chance encounter in a karaoke bar. Truth be told, Nodame is very drunk at the time—and it's rather short-lived, since Saiko shows her disapproval by smacking her down hard.
    • The Camp Gay character Okuyama has a crush on male lead Chiaki. Since Nodame started to hang out with Chiaki and has a crush on him herself, Okuyama considers her as a rival and often bullies her and anyone else who tries to get close to Chiaki.
  • Nora, as a Kid with the Leash-fighting-series, features a deep bond that could easily be interpreted as even deeper. To wit:
    Nora: What? My magic's been damaging you?! Why didn't you tell me?
    Kazuma: [flatly] It's not all that big of a deal.
    Nora: Don't lie! You're really losing blood! Why don't you just revoke the contract if it hurts that much?!
    Kazuma: Because I'm having fun.
    Nora: ... what...?
    Kazuma I've never had a pet before. It's worth the pain to have a dog of my very own.

    O 
  • Onmyou Taisenki:
    • Riku and Kogenta. Kogenta once delivered this gem of a line: "I like either one of you", in which both "you's" in question are Riku. He also got all jealous when Yuuma referred to Riku without honorifics.
    • Riku and Teru: the former of which will go traipsing around Japan to save the latter, whom often uses (even more) formal dialect when referring or speaking to Riku.
    • Teru also attracts some of this with Mutsuki: they instantly connect with each other and spend much of the rest of the series together even locking hands before going unconscious.
    • Ryuugi and Riku the former of which instantly takes to the latter, and shows interest in making sure he keeps his body fit (through exercise and making him supper with lots of vegetables).
    • Souma(9-10) and Riku(13) also attract some: most of Souma's initiative is for Riku's sake, they sleep in the same room, Souma is most relaxed and open around Riku (using Boku rather than Ore solely with Nazuna, his canon love intrest, and Riku), and a nun who watched over Souma for an undetermined amount of time once stated that the one who 'brought back Souma's smile' was Riku.
  • Outlaw Star: Aisha is extremely affectionate towards Suzuka, calling her Suzu much to the latter's displeasure. Of course she is somewhat childish, so maybe it's her immaturity that causes her to disrespect personal space.

    P 
  • Paprika: Himuro, seems to have fetishized Osanai, since we briefly see dirty magazines in his apartment with a younger Osanai on the cover, and his dreamscape features a towering statue of Osanai as a Greek god.
  • If it's possible to have Ho Yay between a boy and his parasitic limb, Parasyte is it. Only Shin has ever had to deal with his right hand asking if it could see his dick in a public bathroom.
  • Peach Girl gives us hints of Sae/Momo what with Sae's obsession with messing with Momo and making her life difficult. They eventually become good friends.
  • Pet Shop of Horrors: Leon and D, subject to interpretation.
    • Both of the above tropes apply also to D's dad and FBI agent Vesca/Weskar Howell, rubbing off on readers on an almost Generation Xerox level.
    • In the original manga series, D almost gets raped 3 times by men & Leon prevents two of them, one of those rape attempt included a kiss & getting to second base, Leon tries to feel-up D's identical twin sister & proclaims that she's beautiful because boobs made all the difference, D gets 5 marriage requests from men, in an extra chapter Leon admits that D looks better in "dresses" than western men's clothing, D gets really pissy if Leon is near women, Leon spies on D's date with a girl, Jill insists that Leon was jealous when D went out with Wong, Jill & other coworkers tease Leon about D, Leon blames everything on D as an excuse to see him as often as possible, Leon eventually ends up eating most meals at D's, Leon is easily flustered by D & often blushes, Leon & D go to the beach together & a picnic, Leon tried to convince D to strip down at the beach, Leon brings D sweets even when he's not trying to interrogate him, Leon abandoned his friends/home/family/work & spent 20 years chasing D, D cried when he parted from Leon for the last time, D once said to himself that he enjoyed Leon's company & didn't know if he'd be able to let him go.
  • Phi-Brain: Puzzle of God: Very, very blatant between Rook and Kaito.
    • Cubic also counts, with his possessiveness and obsession with Kaito.
  • Please Twins!: Kousei towards Maiku.
  • Potemayo has Kaoru, one of Those Two Guys, being increasingly gay for the other, who doesn't notice because he's crushing on someone else (that someone else being the series' eponymous moeblob).
    • Considering Kaoru references Brokeback Mountain and says, "Isn't friendship between men beautiful?"...
  • Princess Princess is essentially a series set in an all boys school where the most feminine boys are forced to dress up as girls and accept the adoration of the rest of the school. Some don't mind, most adjust. A good majority of the Ho Yay can be found between Tooru and Yuujirou, what with the fact that they get along pretty well, spend their free time talking about their deep concerns/emotions with each other, Yuujirou playfully hinting on occasion to be in love with Tooru...Heck, early on, Tooru's cousin, who's a Stalker with a Crush, shows up to harass him. After several unsuccessful attempts to get rid of her, Yuujirou puts his arm around Tooru's shoulders, gives the stalker a very catty look, and says "Sorry, he's taken." ...He then proceeds to kiss Tooru on the lips to drive the point home. Tooru and Yuujirou's relationship beyond that is up in the air, but there are plenty of further hints. This is to the point where Yuujirou's mother once assumed that Yuujirou and Tohru were an item.
    • It's also insinuated that Akira is Tooru's type. Also, in the live-action drama, Mikoto and Otoya are hinted to have feelings for one another after being Locked in a Room. Helped along greatly by the fact that the mangaka moonlights as a yaoi dojin artist.
    • The sequel, Plus, basically runs on Ho Yay. Seriously, the whole thing is about the relationship between the two new princesses.
    • And the anime ending. Oh god, the anime ending. Basically a slide show of Tooru and Yuujirou doing... Funny stuff.
  • Princess Resurrection also titled Monster Princess has lots of Les Yay between lesbian vampire Reiri and Hime. There's also some between Reiri and Riza.
  • Princess Tutu has Mytho and Fakir for this trope. Thanks to Mytho being heartless, he does what anyone tells him to do — which leads to Fakir being overly protective of him. At several points he pushes Mytho against the wall and gets oddly close to him while giving him orders. He also caresses Mytho's face a few times, but never orders him to put on pants. Later on Ahiru notes that "Fakir might care about Mytho even more than I do." This is possibly Lampshaded in the second season when Mytho hugs Fakir, and a schoolgirl who's watching faints at the sight.
    • The outtakes found on DVDs 1 and 2 of the English dub blatantly making fun of the pairing (mainly due to Chris Patton's (Fakir's) ad-libbing).
      Mytho: I wonder... what it is that I think of you, Fakir?
      Fakir: You want my ass.
    • Duck and Rue have subtler, but still noticable subtexts between each other in the dialogue. Also, Duck shows a bit of an attraction to Freya, the flower girl in Akt 16. The victim of the week who continually painted pictures of Rue also counts!
  • Psychic Squad has Kaoru's fascination with beautiful women (preferably large-chested) which she acts upon on a regular basis. Oh yeah, Kaoru is also only ten years old.
    • When she grows older she habitually flirts with any pretty girl that strikes her fancy.
    • Both Kyosuke and Sakaki towards Minamoto.
  • In Puella Magi Kazumi Magica, Kaoru and Umika seem very close; in the first chapter they leave a note telling Kazumi they're out dating. We later see them together in a coffee shop, and there aren't any boys around. The third chapter also has some moments; Kaoru doesn't seem to mind being trapped in a witch with Umika.
  • Puella Magi Oriko Magica is definitely blurring the line between this and pure text—there's still Hide Your Lesbians, but it seems to go only to the extent that at no point in the series does either Kirika nor Oriko directly say "I love you" or kiss. They do spend an awful lot of time hugging, though... and sleeping in the same bed... and talking about how important they are to each other... and Kirika had an entire one-shot dedicated to "confessing" to Oriko... more or less, their interactions seem to be an experiment as to how obvious the writer can make it that two characters are in a romantic relationship without actually having them be in a romantic relationship.

    R 
  • There's tons of Les Yay between Kate and Paula in Red Garden, which only gets stronger as the series goes on. Paula even says she loves Kate near the end, though in context it's unclear if this is just really strong friendship or not.
  • Rio -Rainbow Gate!- has Rio and Rina, two childhood friends who are awfully close to each other. As in, sleeping in the same bed naked, be all touchy at the pool side, and taking a bath together at a hot springs Rina embraces Rio while both are naked.
  • Kenshin and Sano from Rurouni Kenshin become the unlikeliest of friends after Kenshin kicks the crap out of him—in the manga, Kenshin even explictly says Sano is one of the few men he trusts with his life. The anime even adds an extra duel after Sano foils his old childhood friend's plot to blow things up, and Kenshin cradles Sano's unconsious body with a very tender smile on his face.

    S 
  • Saint Seiya, having a Cast Full of Pretty Boys for the most part, can have a lot of this if you look at their manly warrior bonding with the right slash goggles. The most infamous is probably the "House of Libra" moment between Shun and Hyoga, which is staged very much like a love-making scene. The fact that Shun is making a Heroic Sacrifice to save Hyoga's life, and Hyoga is next seen carrying an unconscious Shun in a moment of Pietà Plagiarism only adds to it.
  • Sakura Gari , written by Yuu Watase, contains some explicit Yaoi and Shonen Ai. It's interesting to note that Watase tends to write Shoujo romantic dramedy series, so this manga series is a rather large departure from that. In addition to the obvious Yaoi relationships (Souma/Masataka) there's also a lot of hints that some male side characters are attracted to Souma. Plus, there's the fact that Souma is a Depraved Bisexual who is pretty much willing to sleep with anyone he can get, and while most of the people he sleeps with/gets involved with fall in love with him and pretty mucch become his stalkers after he's done with them, he's only interested in the one pereson (Masataka) who has absolutely no interest in him. As a matter of fact, it's addressed that the main reason he fell in love with Masataka was because Masataka was "different from the others." And Souma, of course, unaccustomed to not getting sex from someone he wants, proceeds to tie Masataka up and rape him repeatedly.
  • The first episode of Samurai Champloo apparently has Mugen dream of a naked Jin taking a bath, and ep21 has him bolt off in search of Jin after he's presumed dead, despite them just having found his firmly-established Girl of the Week in a weak state. Fuu also mistakes their conspiring as something less innocent. And then there's Yukimaru, Jin's old schoolmate from eps 16 and 17, who is WAY more obsessed with Jin's reasons for leaving him behind than with seeking vengeance for their murdered sensei. He's also pretty much the only opponent in the series that Jin tries to walk away from rather than kill outright.
  • Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei: There's a bit in episode 10 of Zoku, with all of the boys in the class directing it towards Nozomu.
    • One episode has a segment looking at chicken/egg issues and giving just-so-story explanations. For the issue of whether underwear proceeded modesty, Jun and Kino are shown as Adam and (St)eve in the Garden of Eden and "check each other out" before opting for fig leafs.
  • The official art is a good provider of Ho Yay. Take this magazine picture for example that features Kafuka spreading sunscreen in a almost sensual manner onto the stomach of a blushing Chiri.
  • School Rumble: Eri and Yakumo make up after the play in the second season with a fast-paced dance that ends up with Yakumo coming out on top in a surprise reversal. The crowd goes wild.
    • Not to mention Itoko being very close with fellow teacher Youko Sasakura.
      • Gets lampshaded in the valentine's Day issue when Harima said they should just get married already.
    • Yakumo is a frequent victim of Les Yay courtesy of Akira and Sarah.
    • A Running Gag is Harima and Tani-sensei getting Mistaken for Gay.
  • Scrapped Princess: Pacifica and Winia hit it off almost immediately during their first meeting in Episode 3.
    • Most of the fanbase thought this when seeing Seness and Eirote.
  • Sekirei: Quite a bit. The bond between an Ashikabi and a Sekirei is explicitly romantic in nature, and a few same-sex pairs exist.
    • Minato and Homura, which is further complicated by their inability to admit their feelings and Homura's unstable gender. Actually a subversion. When finally winged by Minato, Homura starts appearing more female. Homura can still gender-bend at will (even better now with stable powers), but always plays straight around Minato when serious.
    • Mikogami and Mutsu. An omake involves Mikogami expressing interest in what would happen if he kissed Mutsu down there.
    • Uzume and Chiho, who state their love for one another repeatedly.
    • Uzume and Kazehana also pile it on a bit, both being The Tease.
    • Musubi enjoys groping her rival, Tsukiumi.
    • Yukari gropes Musubi when they first meet, and later expresses the desire to do so again. When she runs into Tsukiumi, she appears eager to do it with her as well, causing her to flee. Interestingly, Yukari appears to swing both ways since she's perfectly straight with her Sekirei, the Bishounen Shiina.
    • Matsu with pretty much everyone. Like Yukari, she seems willing to go either direction.
    • Karasuba, who aggressively pins Musubi to a wall and commands her to get stronger, with the handle of her sword poking Musubi in a very suggestive fashion. It's also implied that Yume is The Lost Lenore, in a very disturbing kind of way. If you read the manga towards its conclusion, you find it can get even more disturbing.
  • Sensual Phrase: Atsuro and Towa, in the anime.
  • Sentou Yousei Yukikaze is actually nicknamed "Brokeback Air Force" in some fan circles because of the very obvious subtext between Rei Fukai and his commanding officer and only (human) friend, James "Jack" Bukhar. The two are as close as Rei's personality allows, and share a number of strangely tender moments. Jack is very attached to Rei, tries his best to protect him and bring him "back" to the human world, and is willing to openly go against military protocol for him. Rei obviously likes Jack and is shown relaxed and maybe even happy around him, but ultimately he's even closer to Yukikaze and chooses it in the end. Jack's CO even comments on this weird Love Triangle between two men and a fighter jet AI:
    General Cooley: Are you afraid that Yukikaze is going to take him away from you again?
  • The Sgt. Frog anime is filled with this, thanks to rampant Flanderization. Tamama's obsessive crush on Keroro was already in the manga, but the series ramps it up to eleven. Then there's Kururu/Giroro... next to nonexistent in the original series, yet Ship Teased throughout the anime, complete with Kururu getting Blush Stickers around Giroro, giving him (suitably twisted) gifts, even hacking into his brain and replacing fond memories of Natsumi with memories of him. Dororo's Flanderization into The Woobie also makes him... a bit overly desperate in trying to get Keroro and Giroro to remember him...
    • The manga has also recently spotlighted Zoruru's obsession with Dororo in rather... questionable fashion, leaving it open to interpretation just what he's after beyond recognition.
    • All the girls at Natsumi's school seem to idolize her obsessively, and Koyuki actually has a crush on Natsumi.
    • In the dub, one of Natsumi's friends critisizes Saburo, and tells her: "You can find a better boyfriend. Or girlfriend."
  • Shiki: Tohru and Natsuno have this a lot. Tohru is the only one who the usually aloof Natsuno opens up to. After Tohru dies and becomes a vampire, Natsuno is willing to risk his life to convince him to escape the village with him. When Tohru says he can't Natsuno lets him drink his blood and eventually is killed by Tohru, willingly. Also, when Tohru does drink Natsuno's blood in one scene, it looks like he's straddling him.
  • As if Kitaki didn't have enough tension with Kagetora in Shinobi Life (there's even a scene where Kitaki has Kagetora chained to a bed!), the Ho Yay between him and Rihito is pretty much the definition of the trope.
  • Shōnen Onmyōji: Plenty of it between Masahiro and Guren.
  • Rouge the Bat in Sonic X has a ton of sketchy moments that quite resemble flirting with Topaz, who typically blushes or gets angry at them. Additionally, Sonic has one with Knuckles in which he seems to flirt with him, with flower in hand as an added bonus. This scene with Sonic and Knuckles very much resembles a lovers quarrel, including Knuckles saying "You're late" and Sonic responding to his grumpiness with "Don't be like that!"
    • The climax of the gang's adventures in Chris's world reaches untold levels of Ho Yay-ness all due to Chris turning off the portal before Sonic leaves for good so that he never leaves his side. The unsettling close shots of a teary-eyed Chris while holding onto a running Sonic are just... Wow. Amy would be jealous if she could tell that much.
  • Gateau Mocha's flirtation with Marron in Sorcerer Hunters is blatant enough in the manga, but in the dubbed version of the anime Marron is implied to flirt back a little.
    • There's also Marron's brotherly (?) affection for Carrot in the manga.
    • Milphey's shameless flirtations with Carrot and Onion.
    • In volume 3 of the manga, Chocolat attempts to sneak into Carrot's bed only to find herself on top of Salad Chips, an attractive older woman who looks more like a teenager. Salad only giggles and says this is "her first time with a girl".
  • Space Battleship Yamato (a.k.a. Star Blazers) has the pretty, pretty villain Desslok. In the second season, he and the Comet Emperor Zordar jump into each other's arms to greet each other. Zordar also praises Desslok constantly, to the infuriation of his (Zordar's) girlfriend. Not to mention how Desslok, in New Journey, is outright stated to be sulking and constantly thinking about a "strange friendship" he feels for Wildstar. Also, Desslok spends much of the second season obsessed with Wildstar, only (temporarily) ending the obsession when he discovers Wildstar has a girlfriend.
  • Space☆Dandy:
    • Played for Laughs with the aliens in Episode 6, who insist that Dandy and Meow share a bed with them. One of the beds is even red and heart-shaped.
    • In-universe example after Prince falls for Dandy.
    • Slightly between Bea and Dr. Gel. Bea worries a lot when Dr. Gel appears to be buried in work, and Gel's final words upon being sucked into a black hole is "Hold me close, Bea!"
  • Speed Grapher: Besides Bob being in love with Saiga, Tsujido is really attached to Suitengu. Played with more subtlety than in many anime, though.
  • The eponymous Kurumi from Steel Angel Kurumi 2 shows the same admiration for her master as her predecessor did for hers in the prequel—only this time her master is a girl. Yes, this also involves hopping into the bath with her and copious amounts of fawning and cuddling. Of course, the fact that the girl's female best friend also has a crush on her only raises the les yay even more.
  • The Story of Saiunkoku is rife with Ho Yay, as might be expected from a series which takes place in the Cast Full of Pretty Boys that is the Saiunkoku Imperial Court. The most obvious example is Heterosexual Life-Partners Ran Shuuei and Li Kouyuu, but there are also plenty of other moments... such as the fit Kou Reishin throws when Tei Yuushun accepts promotion to Prime Minister, asking Yuushun to "choose me!", in response to which Yuushun smilingly tells Reishin that he'd prefer it if, instead, Reishin were to choose him. And then there's the remarkable amount of Ho Yay between Shou Yosei and Sa Enjun, both of whom are old men.
  • Strawberry Marshmallow: Miu's behavior toward Nobue is ambiguous. Chika is often a more straightforward victim of Miu's rather..affectionate side.
  • Student Council's Discretion: This is the main point of Mafuyu's Ken/Nakameguro delusions, but in episode 12 it becomes "real" along with Nakameguro.
    • Chizuru loves to cuddle and "abuse" Kurimu in a little sister kind of way. Sometimes, she hints to wanting to be involved with Kurimu.
    • When Miu says that she and Chika have kissed, Chika doesn't deny it.
  • In Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Zentraedi leaders Britai and Exsedol intercept a broadcast of Max Jenius and Milia Fallyna wedding on the Macross. Britai is puzzled by the motivation behind such an act, and Exsedol explains to him the human concept of love (which is extremely alien to Zentraedi). Then Britai suddenly says, "Love? Maybe I can understand that after all," with a knowing smirk on his face. From the context it makes it seem as if he had the hots for Exsedol. More amusing than anything else, as Britai has blue skin and a metal prosthesis over half his face and Exsedol is... deformed, to put it lightly.
  • Susume! Kitakou Housoubu: Toyama is very protective of Noto, and even asks Noto to marry him and kisses him in Chapter 8. Hinaji had a crush on Noto.
  • Sweet Magic Syndrome being a school girl Yonkoma has quite a bit of lesbian hijinks, from Amako and Puddings Pseudo-Romantic Friendship that borders a lesbian relationship with Caramel who can't stop flirting with every female in existance.
  • Sword of the Stranger: Fuugo seems to be attracted to Luo-Lang; this is lampshaded by another character at one point while the latter is on a mission)
    "You almost look like a wife who has lost their husband."

    T 
  • Tactics. The characters are so gay that the authors themselves have made yaoi doujinshi of them. (Specifically, "Lovesick".) Kantarou and Haruka in particular are the most notable example, and its more apparent in the manga than in the anime but still there.
  • Talentless Nana has the extremely intimate Pseudo-Romantic Friendship between Nana Hiiragi and Michiru Inukai. The two of them are best friends, constantly depicted together with flowers in splash pages, have been drawn sleeping together in the same bed (after Michiru falls ill), and Michiru is one of the few people able to make the normally friendly, cheerful, and composed Nana break character and expose her true emotions.
  • Tamako Market: Shiori for Tamako: Shiori watched Tamako for some time before finally becoming friends with her.
  • There's heaps in Tanaka-kun is Always Listless between the titular Tanaka and his close friend who looks after his lethargic self, Ohta—in the first chapter of the manga, Ohta is introduced physically moving Tanaka back to his seat during cleaning, before patting his back with flowers surrounding his person.
    • In the anime, instead of lending him his handkerchief when Tanaka gets one side of his bangs wet, Ohta withholds it on purpose thinking that he wanted to preserve his "breathtakingly beautiful listlessness." (The manga uses less Ship Tease in his wording.)
    • On Tanaka's side, he teases that they should just get married when they grow older, and later outright imagines himself and Ohta as an old married couple, with the very words.
  • The Tatami Galaxy: Ozu rubs up against the narrator when they're about to sabotage a romantic night for several couples with fireworks from across a riverbank. "But it's so cold..."
    • In episode 2, they kiss in a movie.
    • The so-called "black string of fate".
    • "It's my way of expressing my love!"
  • Tears to Tiara has the Les Yay variant, between Defrosting Ice Queen Octavia and Genki Girl Morgan. Actually more blatant in the anime than the original video game. In the anime, Octavia even gives Morgan a necklace with Octavia's name carved into it, and says that she's keeping one with Morgan's name on it. They then proceed to vow that if they die fighting, it will be by each other's side.
  • Tenchi Muyo! has this by the bucketload, especially between Ryoko and Ayeka. There's even a scene (albeit in an alternate-alternate universe) where the two of them come under the effects of a love spell and nearly kiss!
  • Texhnolyze: Ichise and Touyama have an ambiguous partnership. For example, there's a scene where Touyama gets behind Ichise and loosens his tie off him.
  • Cheeky Angel
    • Genzo and Kobayashi get a bit of this.
    • then there's the Les Yay Megumi and Miki are very, very close and its pretty obvious that both are attracted to each other, much to the fanclubs worry.
    • When asked if they feel "that way" about each other, Megumi states clearly that, yes she does. Miki's answer is a bit more vague stating that Megumi is her "most important person on the planet"
    • Miki asks Megumi once if she's ever been attracted to a girl the question is poised in a way that makes it obvious she's thinking about herself. Then when some friends are taking a combatabilty test Megumi asks them if her and Miki are good as lovers, they are.
    • Megumi also seems to have no problem attracting other women such as Reiko, a thief, and Genzo's sister, Setsuka, and pretty much any woman who talks to her for more than two seconds, both love to hug and touch Megumi. Her classmate Chie even dicusses having sex with her.
    • Then there's Yoriko, Megumi's live in maid, who in one swift Les Yay-tastic move pushes Megumi down on a bed, it might have gone further but they were interupted by Megumi's father.
    • Quite a bit for Keiko and Megumi and a small bit for Keiko and Yoshimi.
  • Togainu no Chi: The anime is based on a boys' love game so Ho Yay abounds, in practically every episode. In fact certain scenes in the anime are even more HoYaytastic than their R18 PC BL game counterpart, probably as compensation for not including certain other scenes.
    • Episode 4... just episode 4. Starts out with Keisuke x Akira, then moves right along to Rin x Akira, and then wraps it up with Shiki x Akira. There's also Arbitro stating to have an interest in Akira, a blue haired guy gets all up in Akira's personal space, and another guy comments on how pretty Akira is.
    • Nano carries an unconscious Akira like in a Bridal Carry in Episode 10. Akira then carries Keisuke in the same way at the end of the same episode.
  • To Love Ru features an Accidental Kiss between Rito and Ren, and other shippy moments.
  • Minto from Tokyo Mew Mew has a hero-worship for Zakuro that definitely verges into Les Yay at times (she even confesses her love at one point, though in context it's ambiguous what kind of love she was talking about).
    • At another point, Ichigo teases her for never having had a boyfriend, and Minto dreamily responds that just being with Zakuro-Oneesama is enough for her.
    • In the dub, this gets upgraded to text in one scene, where Zoey asks the Mew Mews what they find attractive, and Corina immediately thinks of Renee. (In the original, she thought of a male dancer; see No Bisexuals for the explanation.)
  • In Tona-Gura!, there is enough of this to occasionally border on Ship Tease between Kazuki and Chihaya. Hatsune also seems to be highly enamored of her sister's cuteness, even moreso than Ui for Yui. This may be in part because Hatsune knows how much it freaks out the staid Kazuki.
  • There might be a bit of this in Toradora! from Yuusaku to Ryuuji. In Episode 9, Yuusaku enters the kitchen naked after hearing Ryuuji's voice. Sure, guys hang out together in towels, but completely naked? A bit questionable.
    • And then, of course, there are the numerous hints that Minori has feelings for Taiga which, by the end, are dropped in favor of hints of feelings for Ami.
  • Toriko has the best friends forever/partners for life between Toriko and Komatsu. Also worth mentioning is Sani, an almost Camp Gay guy who's really touchy feely towards anyone he considers beautiful, and Komatsu happens to be one of them. In fact, it seems anyone who gets to know Komatsu seems to get a crush on him (platonic or otherwise).
    • There's also a page from chapter 125 where four of the male cast members slow dance on a cruise ship.
  • The Touch (1981) and its anime has some Ho Yay moments with Koutarou (mostly one-sided). Koutarou almost seems to be in love with Kazuya. It should be noted that Koutarou is Kazuya's catcher on the baseball team.
    • Let's not forget Yoshida, whose idolization of Tatsuya ends up with Tacchan telling Yoshida that he's "just not into that kind of thing".
  • The Tower of Druaga: When Jil first sees Utu without his helmet on, he blushes and says he didn't think Utu would be that good looking.
  • The Transformers: Energon comic villain duo Snow Cat and Demolishor spent the latter part of the series being very, very close. They were almost never seen apart from each other and found excuses to hug in several scenes. In addition, the Decepticon Mirage had about as obvious a crush on Galvatron as you can find in a children's television show, mourning that Galvatron "doesn't know how much I care about him", swooning when he gained another powerup and grew to greater heights and on one very strange occasion spoke of him in loving terms after transforming in a ballerina-like pose with a glowing pink heart displayed in the background behind him. This was stressed even more in the Japanese pre-dub, in which the previously mentioned line was originally "Nobody loves Galvatron more than I do!". It doesn't help that Mirage is purple.
  • Trigun has Vash and Wolfwood; Legato's fanboying over Knives; in the magazine version of the Trigun Maximum manga, Legato telling Vash that he is beautiful. After beating him to a bloody pulp. And in case Legato's antics aren't sinister enough, there's also Knives's twincestuous vibes towards Vash.
    • Some moments between Vash and Wolfwood:
      • In Chapter 20 of Maximum, after hearing from Luida how Vash continues to be kind to others even as his life is brutal and full of suffering, Wolfwood notices Vash smiling. This prompts him to smile while blushing, and in his internal monologue, he calls Vash by his name, which is notable since he almost always avoids saying Vash's name and uses nicknames to refer to him instead.
      • After Wolfwood risks his life to rescue Vash from his captivity in Knives' Ark even though he knows defying the Eye of Michael will put the orphanage at risk, he is badly injured by Chapel and Livio. When he's about to be killed, Vash summons his feathers to shield him. After Knives uses his powers to remotely attack Vash and Elendira arrives to inform Vash of how hopeless his odds of winning are, Vash responds by stating that he doesn't care whether he can win or not, but that Wolfwood is reason enough for him to continue fighting. Vash then uses his Angel Arm to blast a hole in the Ark for him and Wolfwood to fall out of, which is notable since this is the first time he activates it willingly.
      • During Chapter 60 of Maximum, Vash has an internal monologue about how close Wolfwood is to him. He thinks about he wants to live on with him, and the Dark Horse translation phrases this as, "That is why after all was said and done, I wanted to share my tomorrows with him." This is made even more significant by the fact that Vash previously didn't display much value toward his own life and was mainly continuing to live for the sake of defeating Knives. The idea of having Wolfwood by his side was enough to make him genuinely want to live.
      • As Wolfwood is dying from overdosing on the serums, he chooses to spend his final moments having a drink with Vash. Some fans have pointed out that this scene is reminiscent of a wedding, with the combination of confetti falling from the sky, a church bell ringing, and the fact that the bottle the two of them are sharing is labeled "The Bride."
      • Wolfwood is so important to Vash that Legato trying to kill Livio is what finally pushes him to break his oath to never take a life, as Wolfwood sacrificed himself to save Livio and Vash doesn't want to let his death be in vain.
  • In The Third: The Girl with the Blue Eye it is made rather clear that Paife has feelings for Honoka, which might even have been mutual if Iks hadn't been around, considering how Honoka enjoys Paife's presence.
  • In the first episode of Tsuritama when Haru sees Yuki go past in a car and decides he's the one who has to go fishing with him. It only continues from there as he also decides they must live together, which Keito easily agrees to because she wanted Yuki to have a "flower" to brighten his days.
    • Natsuki and Yuki also grow close over time, but the Ho Yay in their relationship culminates near the last episode where Yuki says he cares about him (and Haru) while unknowing of the fact that Natsuki's standing behind a wall eavesdropping on the conversation with a obvious blush and silly grin on his face.

    U 
  • In Umineko: When They Cry, Ronove has No Sense of Personal Space around Battler especially.
    • EP3: "I see that to shake hands with you, Battler-sama, I must create a fitting atmosphere in a suitable location, and exchange sweet words and physical language with you that rings true to your heart." Then he gets this smile on his face and whispers, "You know, I also lo-ve these kinds of situations? Pu ku ku ku!" while getting all into Battler's face (whose reaction is to blush). A while later, Beatrice (who gets some Ship Tease with Battler later in that arc) says something among the lines of being jealous that they already get along so well. Jokingly, but still, doesn't stop the implications.
    • Umineko Chiru also give us Les Yay in the form of plenty of subtext between Dlanor A. Knox and Erika, which is more strongly evident in the sixth arc. And in EP7, we have Ho Yay in the relationship between a certain Willard H. Wright and Lion Ushiromiya, if the latter is indeed a man, that is, which has butt pinching and some rather suggestive screencaps.
  • Undertaker Riddle:
    • Between Riddle and Roen.
    • Between Hayato and Riddle. So much it's not even funny!
    • Also between Dante and Hiren. Hiren even calls himself Dante's faithful dog.
  • Ryuunosuke Fujinami of Urusei Yatsura seems to be a lightning rod for this trope. Apart from the large group of fangirls that she amasses in Tomobiki High from her first day onwards, she also has a lot of this with Shinobu in certain episodes, and even went on a "fake date" with her once. And then she meets Benten and the Ho Yay goes off the charts...
    • Thanks to a lipstick that draws the lips of the people using it together, Ataru and Handsome Lech Mendou end up in a full-frontal smooch by mistake. Both are promptly disgusted — a dappya fish monster even offers the readers three panels to recover from this shock. The participants of the kiss think they require more.

    V 
  • Vampire Doll: Vincent and Guilt-na-Zan, Kyoji and Kyoichi, Tonae and Shizuka, Hugo and Dante, Dune and Fahrenheit. Even all the side characters...
  • Vampire Princess Miyu: In the TV series, pretty blatant between Larva and Garline, especially from the latter's side: he acts like a spurned lover, mentions Larva's "beauty", takes his hand, caresses his cheek...Also, in regards to Les Yay in the manga, the difference between how Reiha treats Ranka and Miyu is very... extreme. When Ranka is injured in the process of sheilding Miyu from her wrath, Reiha becomes very courtly and kisses her wounded hand. Ranka's reaction to this is a shudder.
  • It should be a blatant Trope Crime for this not to have been included, but Vassalord is practically Nanae Chrono's experiment as to how much Ho Yay could be crammed into a series without actually diving straight into the Boys' Love shelf line. With sexy vampire cyborgs and other crazy hotness and plotlines.
    • But that doesn't mean it skirts around the Shounen-Ai when it gets around to it though, even when Charley "kisses" Rayflo everywhere but the lips...
    • Particularly memorable was the scene where Charley fed from Rayflo by kneeling in front of him and sucking on his... inner thigh. All with Rayflo blushing and breathing heavily.
  • Venus Versus Virus is made of Ho Yay. You can't go a few chapters, or scenes in the anime, without finding Lucia/Sumire subtext.
  • Violinist of Hameln: Done very intentionally in the manga with Hamel and Raiel - the other characters flat out accuse them of being gay a few times. And let's not even get into Olin harassing Hamel. And then there's that scene when Clarinet is introduced, and the heavily implied crush Clari may have had towards either Lute or Horn (or both? It's never truly clarified) for most of his life.
    • Watanabe hangs so many damned lampshades in the manga that it's a wonder no one's mistaken it for some kind of deranged chandelier. He draws roses in the background during the yaoi parodies, for crying out loud.
    • Examples of Ho Yay above at no point go beyond gags, though. In Schelkunchik, on the other hand, you cannot help but suspect this, when Schel and Great fall into the same roles that Flute and Hamel played in the original series.
  • Vision of Escaflowne: Nariya and Eriya in VERY skimpy clothes while dueling. Then they start straddling each other and one Cat Girl almost kisses another. The context is spoilerrific.
  • This Vocaloid flash of Hatsune Miku and her "creator" is brimming with bittersweet Les Yay.

    W 
  • Weiß Kreuz: There's a lot of this between the four main Bishōnen characters.
    • The antagonists too. Schuldig and Crawford are awfully comfortable with one another.
  • When Marnie Was There: Anna forms a Pseudo-Romantic Friendship with Marnie that includes them both promising that they'll be each other's "secret," slow-dancing together in the moonlight, declaring each other to be "the girl I love more than any other girl," and Anna acting like a Woman Scorned when she sees Marnie leaving with a boy and then tearfully shouting that she'll always love her after Marnie begs for her forgiveness. Becomes No Yay when it's revealed that Marnie is the spirit/memory of Anna's grandmother, but it's still not that big of a stretch at all to interpret Anna as a closeted lesbian especially considering that her interactions with Marnie were basically her replicating the interactions that Marnie had with her male love interest/future husband in her childhood.
  • Wild Adapter. Kubota and Tokito, full stop. There's the hand holding, the hugging, the assumptions the rest of the cast clearly makes, the sharing a bed... The manga was actually published as yaoi in Japan. So it's pretty much canon, actually.
  • Wild Life: Way too many to count. Ryoto constantly hits on Tesshou, and is explicitly stated to be either gay or bisexual. Ryoto hitting on Tesshou is a running gag, and henceforth, the one-sided Ho Yay moments are piled on throughout the manga.

    Y 
  • Yamada Taro Monogatari: Mimura always being alongside Taro, even going so far as to introduce Taro to his family and make his grandfather think that Taro is his lover. They hug a lot, too. And then there's Suguira's canonical crush on Taro...
  • The very human-like robots in Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou exchange data through interfaces on their tongues. Since there are hardly any male models, this can lead to very Les Yay situations, like in the scene where Kokone delivers Alpha a message from her owner. In the manga there is even one female-type robot who abuses this trait in an attempt to get closer to Kokone, by using her as a messenger. One wonders why they don't simply use data-exchange cords, like Alpha does with her camera.
  • Yotsuba&! has some of this between Asagi and Torako. It's never stated outright, but it's very easy to interpret them as being in a romantic relationship rather than just being friends.
    • Koiwai and Jumbo seem to be very close friends. A few panels even make them look like Yotsuba's dads.
  • In You're Under Arrest! chapter 47, Natsumi, Miyuki, Yoriko, and some others of their coworkers went out to dinner to celebrate the new year. They offered to buy a 3000¥ all-you-can-eat ramen for the person who would drink the most; this was because the others were curious about how Natsumi acts when drunk. When drunk, Natsumi complained about her lack of progress in her relationship with the chief, culminating with this:
    Natsumi: Say, Miyuki, is it true that I don't have feminine charm?
    Miyuki: [thinking] Now, she's starting to get depressed!
    Natsumi: However, look, I have a beautiful chest, no? It's strange, it's really unjust!
    Miyuki: [thinking] Uh oh, I have a bad premonition!
    Natsumi: Maybe I need to try with girls...
    Miyuki: Uh... wait... [thinking] What's she saying?
    Natsumi: [collapses unconscious on top of Miyuki, on the bench seat]
    Miyuki: [to the others] Do something, don't just watch us! (to Natsumi) No, stop, Natsumi! [thinking] I can't push her off, she's too strong.
    Natsumi: [begins to snore]
    Yoriko: Are you ok?
    Miyuki: [stands up] Am I ok? No, not at all! You just stayed there to watch without doing anything! [shoots them with a BB gun]
  • Yumeiro Pâtissière: Andou likes invading Kashino's personal space and likes calling him "Maa-chan" from time to time. And Hanabusa seems to be awfully mesmerized by Henri in chapter 17...

    Z 
  • Zettai Muteki Raijin-Oh has three pilots that have chemistry in any combination. This was actually lampshaded in the OVA, when a Monster of the Week cast a spell on them that makes Kouji fall in love with Jin, and Asuka fall in love with Kouji. It doesn't last very long.
    • Also Belzeb and Taida.
  • Blake (Blade) and Luke from Zoids Fuzors. However, this seems to have been deliberarte Lampshading; neither of them has a canonical female love interest, and the pair share more then a few Ho Yay moments. Bearing in mind that one of them has Luke saying "There's something I need to show you" and then undoing his shirt.
  • Zombie Loan: Shiba and Chika. Tohou's obsession with Shito. Chika and Shito...Pretty much any guy with any other guy.
    • Also, Koyomi's "other" personality Yomi has a definite fondness for groping Michiru's breasts and attempting to molest her.

Alternative Title(s): Anime

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