Ho Yay / Luca

Given the film's focus on Luca and Alberto's friendship, on top of the two in general being really touchy-feely with each other (though this was more common in platonic friendships during the time the movie takes place), the film has no shortage of Ho Yay, to the point it has been nicknamed "The Gay Fish Movie" by fans.

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• Luca's Imagine Spot of riding across the country with Alberto on the Vespa is very similar to other explicitly romantic Imagine Spots. When the Wild Vespas join in, together they are the colors of Italian, Green, White and Red. Green represents freedom, White represents faith and purity, and Red represents love. The boys are riding the Vespa of Love together.
  • The boys' entire motivation for getting the Vespa in the first place is loaded with this, given that their plan is to drive far away together and sleep under the stars. Alberto's emphasis that it should be just the two of them doesn't help, either.
    Alberto (To Luca about running away): We don't need school, we don't need anybody.
• Alberto gets up in Ercole's face when he insults Luca, saying he smells like a pescheria (Italian for "fish shop" per the sign on Massimo's house). It's the same kind of intensity a guy would show if someone insulted his girlfriend, especially when it comes to smell.
  Alberto: Hey. My friend smells AMAZING!
• The bicycle scene just before the Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure. It's a blink-and-miss thing, but Alberto looks down and notices Giulia placing her hand on Luca's which causes him to flip and tell Giulia to back off.
  • This exchange doesn't help.
    Alberto: I'm his friend, I know what he needs.
    Giulia: Oh yeah? And what does he need?
    Alberto: Me! We'll just ride it like we did on the island - together.
  • Alberto's envy of Luca and Giulia's relationship in general is quite full of this. While his personal abandonment issues are clearly influencing his attitude, quite a few viewers note that Alberto's jealousy feels similar to a boy being annoyed that his crush is paying more attention to a new friend instead of him rather than a form of platonic jealousy. While the film likely intends it as a dilemma of New Friend Envy, it's also interesting that, in a trio with one girl and two boys, it's one of the boys being "fought" over, as Alberto shows no romantic interest in Giulia or vice-versa (Giulia is notably either ignorant or naive about Alberto's initial jealousy).
  • When Giulia shows Luca her book about astronomy, Alberto is waiting very impatiently from the window for Luca to hurry up and is nearly acting like a possessive boyfriend rather than a jealous friend. As they eventually leave, he shoots Giulia a Death Glare, which some fans joke practically screams "Back off, he's mine!"
  • Hilariously, when they actually leave, it turns out that all Alberto just wanted to show Luca is that he added flames to the drawing of their Vespa, which he explains in a very serious tone. It's quite clear that he only dragged Luca away from Giulia because he wanted his full attention on him.
• A darker example, but when Ercole's trio corners Alberto and Luca, Alberto immediately shields Luca from them. Later in the same scene, Luca returns the favor by raising a harpoon at Ercole harming Alberto. It's the closest we ever see Luca come to potentially harming anyone in the film aside from his fight with Alberto later on, and it's possible that if Ercole hadn't stopped, Luca might have tried using it.
  • Disturbingly, several queer viewers describe the scene feeling reminiscent of a hate crime, with Ercole's group cornering and hurting a pair of boys they find "suspicious". While In-Universe, Ercole is talking about them being "fishy" tourists, out of universe, it sounds almost like he suspects the two of having a relationship.
    Ercole: Something's fishy with you two - I mean, besides the smell. You're hiding something!
• During the race, Luca decides to expose his sea monster form if it means helping Alberto (whose true form is already exposed to the watching crowd of people and who tells Luca not to move so he doesn't get exposed as well). He races forward on his bike, and the two boys reach their hands out towards each other in a very climactic fashion.
• Then there's the Train-Station Goodbye which has Alberto running alongside the train as Luca heads off to Genova.
• There's the Italian love song sung during the credits, "An Empty City." The lyrics speak of a city bustling with activity, and full of life. But the singer hopes and pleads that the one they truly love will return soon, because the city feels empty without them. "Come back to me, my love. And the city will be empty no longer, and I will live with you all of my days." The song reads as a love ballad pertaining to Luca and Alberto, with Luca in Genova and Alberto working in Portorosso, waiting to finally see each other again.

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