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Not what it looks like
In the eyes of fandom, a show's major selling point is that its principals are Schoolgirl Lesbians... but oops, it was just a Romantic Two Girl Friendship after all! The viewers have been Ship Teased; and now that the writers got their attention, they can write more comfortable (to them) relationships. The lesbian subtext may not even last beyond the opening credits.
The is pretty common in Bishoujo fandom, where the Romantic Two Girl Friendship develops for a number of unintentional factors. One could say that audience likes girls in large quantities, and seeing two girls acting cute, even at each other, is better than one. One could also point out that far more attention is put into the interaction and communication between the girls; while a relationship with a guy just "happens" with most development offscreen. And if they're the only people you see but the show still maintains particular tropes, the audience is sometimes led toward an imagined payoff that might not be there. Often, this is coupled with a young age for both characters as well as the lack of any actual 'sexuality' in either character, barring concessions, as this outcome is harder to rationalize for an adult character. Note that any romantic relationship with boys, on the other hand, is considered completely serious at any age. Yes, it's hypocritical.
Tends to raise the hackles of a show's Yuri Fandom, who tend to crop up more infrequently, but also makes them paranoid in the long run. Any male friend of one of the girls becomes the Sword of Damocles; a possible route of escape for the writers via Last Minute Hookup. So expect malevolence. It takes frustratingly little for a male character to become a love interest. A single scene, a Where Are They Now Epilogue, can instantly make canon to overturn entire seasons of interaction.
An ironic result of this is making a relationship explicit can result in enough fuel for viewers who oppose the shipping to simply scoff that any evidence of the pairing is "just fanservice." The fact that a great many shows avoid portraying relationships in significant detail muddies it further: so many other shows cop out at the last minute, so why should this one be different? The writers won't ever admit anything anyways.
Compare Faux Yay. Related to the Sweeps Week Lesbian Kiss.
Examples:
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Anime and Manga
- While the original Maria-sama Ga Miteru novels are a bit more lenient in subtext, the anime only has one canonical pairing, derailed when one member went off to become a nun, and when two girls are about to kiss, the camera cuts away as if it were something much more Harmful To Minors. This is especially unusual, as Marimite is pretty much defined by its Girls Love fandom.
- Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 spent its first half building the Sempai Kohai relationship — and Romantic Two Girl Friendship — between Priss and Linna. The final half of the series drops this subplot like a hot potato for a sudden romance between Priss and Leon.
- Ironically, it was the original Bubblegum Crisis OAV that gave rise to the mantra among many early anime fans that "All women in anime are lesbians. Unless they're bisexual."
- Nana has, at its core, the interesting relationship between the two titular Nanas: one a tough punk-rocker, the other a girly girl who likes frilly fashion. Disappointingly, most of the manga depicts the two girls' relationships with comparatively bland or annoying guys, to the point where the carefully set up romantic tension between them is all but thrown overboard—which isn't helped by the fact that one of them gets knocked up.
- One Nana develops an infatuation with her roommate later in the series, encouraging her to get together with (and get back to) the one decent opposite-sex relationship that she finds... because the man in question is close to both of them, and that will keep them together. She moons over her in a way that she doesn't moon over the man she eventually marries. Nothing comes of it though and both women do eventually marry.
- In more recent chapters of Nana, however, we find that, after a short while, both women do separate from their husbands. One of them leaves Japan, and the other plans to go after her, claiming that she "loves" her. It should be noted that the manga is still going on — and, as for now (February 2008), only author Ai Yazawa knows what's going to happen in the end.
- The OVA for Saber Marionette J introduced Marine, a new Marionette who somehow imprinted on Lime as her Master — and therefore, her implicit love interest. Although there is plenty of subtext in their relationship, Marine eventually realizes that her true
love master was the ocean, the first thing she saw when she awoke (underwater). Complicating this is Lime's perception of affection is generally much more childlike than the other androids. The more likely explanation is the OA Vs are Non Serial Movies whose topics couldn't be put into the next season of the show.
- The opening credits of the Venus Versus Virus combine this with Bait And Switch Credits, although the two girls never really have that kind of relationship in the show, which isn't helped by the Gecko Ending of the anime.
- The manga is licensed as a yuri manga, actually. The yuri subtext is much more apparent in the manga too.
- Very, very apparent.
- Revolutionary Girl Utena shocked fans by giving them what they wanted, but through a conclusion that suggested more than it showed. Utena and Anthy are engaged, share a room, share a bed, make a wonderfully handsome couple on campus, and gaze at each other adoringly during the opening credits. Their feelings for each other grow more and more intense as the series progresses. And, in the end, they do choose each other over any male love interest! Many fans believed, however, that the way it was depicted wasn't explicit enough, despite the show still being marketed as a shoujo series.
- The relationship between Fate and Nanoha in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha has quite a bit of this, leading to some internet backdraft. The makers of the show likely didn't want to ruin the nakama-dynamic with romantic relationships, but they really push the issue by making the female leads share an apartment and even a bed together—not to mention having them adopt a child who starts calling them both "mama".
- Nevertheless, the Megami Sound Stages tried to explain that really, Fate was "more of a sister to Vivio" than a mama, and that Fate sent herself into deep space missions in order to "get out of the way." Something the voice actresses of the characters themselves have declared Dis Continuity.
- The Vivid manga (which take place two years before Force, in the same continuity as the other works in the franchise) retconned the Megami Sound Stages, by the notes along the first chapter (which said Fate and Nanoha raised Vivio together) AND Vivio, who said in the same first chapter that she had two mothers (and acknowledging it's something strange, but they're her mothers), and the last Soundstages released for the C76 Comiket definitely sunk any possibility of the Yuunoha pairing. And in bonus, we have Vivio in this Sound Stage saying in the prologue that she is Nanoha and Fate's child.
- Averted to an extreme in Strawberry Panic; Each of the three couples focused on in the show remain so or become official at the end of the show. Even the Psycho Lesbian couple we see actually break up at one point.
- The opening credits of Magical Pokaan feature TWO pairs of Bait And Switch Lesbians. Although the four main female characters are paired up and almost-kiss each other while sort of naked, nothing even close to this happens in the actual show... but then again the entire OP seems deliberately misleading.
- Used in an episode of Rental Magica. In order to ensure the safety of her mage corporation, Addie plans on getting married - to Honami. Almost the whole episode is spent on them preparing for this girl-girl wedding. Then Itsuki interrupts, runs off with the brides, and declares that he'd rather take the Tenchi Solution. It was an Almost Kiss too...
- A lot of relationships between the girls in Oniisama E get blown up prematurely by various degrees of human failings. In the end all female main characters enter relationships with men.
- Hidamari Sketch has a mild example, in that Miyako sometimes flirts heavily with Yuno
 ◊, just to let things fizzle out because of her unfocused nature. And then of course there is the relationship between Hiro and Sae, although that is more a clear case of romantic two girl friendship.
- Members of the Neon Genesis Evangelion fanboy community frequently claim to see proof of an illicit affair between head scientist Akagi Ritsuko and Bridge Bunny Ibuki Maya. Upon closer inspection it becomes clear, however, that no super evidence of any sort of relationship beyond the teacher/student exists, and that Maya is more likely experiencing a (nonsexual) schoolgirl crush and/or is a Ritsuko fangirl (when looked at this way, the viewer is forced to consider one of the key scenes in The End of Evangelion movie in a completely new way). It is never implied, overtly or otherwise, that Ritsuko reciprocates these feelings, thus Maya's love (if it is there, of course) is more likely to be fully unrequited.
- Another way to look at it is that Neon Genesis Evangelion is bent on hacking traditional expectations of romance and love to bits with a rusty shovel. There was no affair, but in the End of Evangelion the Rei swarm takes on the form of your dearest, truest love, that which you hold closest to your heart, and then you die. Maya gets kissed- full, on-the-lips, kissed- by Ritsuko. That means either she was deep in the closet or, using the above explanation, completely asexual.
- Happens annoyingly often in H-Doujins. The cover shows two girls...but in the story, there's only straight sex. Sometimes, there is actually only one girl.(With no explanation.)
- The relationship between Mikan and Hotaru in Gakuen Alice has something of this. Despite both girls becoming ever closer in the course of the series, leading to numerous heartwarming moments, it is becoming very clear that the writer intends to hook Mikan up with Natsume, a boy. Sure, all of the characters are relatively young, but still...
- The Aoi Hana anime combines this with bait and switch credits, what with all the romantic imagery involving Fumi and Akira. Sure, Fumi is openly lesbian and seen in an unambiguous relationship with a girl, but that girl is not Akira.
- In the manga, however, Fumi confesses to Akira, and after numerous chapters of confusion Akira accepts.
- The first ED of Needless. Partial subversion though is that the Cute Mute Kuchinashi is a real lesbian crushing over Cruz who had to CROSSDRESS!!!
- Amanchu! could be considered a mild version, in that Hikari's cheerful flirting with Futaba gets toned down considerably as soon as more characters are introduced.
Film
- Kissing Jessica Stein revolves around the two main female characters' budding relationship...which ends soon after the two move in together, and one of them hooks up with a man.
- Which makes her bisexual. And the other woman was still portrayed as a lesbian by films end.
- In Twilight (the movie) Alice says that she and Bella will be "really good friends" in a suggestive manner, and Edward responds with a sneering, "Can you keep your thoughts to yourself!" It turns out that Alice is SO TOTALLY NOT GAY, and she REALLY REALLY MEANT THEY WOULD JUST BE GOOD FRIENDS.
- Like that will ever ever stop the Shippers. Actually wait this is Twilight we're talking about...anyone who isn't Jacob or Edward is never going to get shipped with Bella
- On the DVD commentary for Bring It On, the director notes that a scene showing Kirsten Dunst and Eliza Dushku (who has a strong lesbian fanbase) in bed together wasn't intended to hint at girl-on-girl action. Really!
- The Israeli movie Walk on Water is about a Mossad agent who is sent to assassinate an aging former Nazi, then meets the man's grandson, who gives him a new outlook on life. They get really close. I mean, really close, and then it is revealed that said grandson is gay. Then, in the end, the Mossad agent gets together with the grandson's sister, an until-then-minor character. The Ho Yay between the agent and the grandson, however, was so blatant that I couldn't help but wonder if the grandson was originally intended to be the agent's Love Interest.
- Bend It Like Beckham was originally intended to be a lesbian love story and the entire plot of the movie seems to be building up to a relationship between the two female leads. Unfortunately the qwriter and producers wimped out and so instead we got a boring, lifeless, unconvincing romance between her and a generic looking guy who was blander than a beige wet dish rag. Oh and we got some charming "Bigotry played for laughs" scenes from the shrill, unpleaseant mother of one of the female leads too.
Live Action TV
- Quite a few Alias fans suspect that Rachel was intended to be a lesbian due to her pointedly saying that Agent Grace wasn't her type in an early appearance. For whatever reason, she was confirmed as straight later.
- In the same episode (I think), Peyton made a comment to Rachel about how their friendship was great becaause "there's no competition."
- A decidedly vocal section of the Law And Order SVU fandom firmly believed that Alex and Olivia were together, Shipping Goggles aside. This was later disproved by Olivia being baffled at the idea that she might be gay, much to the irritation of the A/O shippers. (Dick Wolfe is not known for his bravery about this, however. Is this because I'm a lesbian?, anyone?)
- Disproved? Please. Any shipper who is going to let a little thing like that sink their Ship needs to hang up their Shipping Goggles and hand in their badge.
Music
- The musical Group t.A.T.u did this for early marketing. Horny guys think the two singers are lesbians buy the C.D.s find out they're a pretty good group. Continued onstage after they were known not to be, sort of an odd musical equivalent of Kayfabe.
Video Games
- Since your typical hentai game has one or two major male characters and boatloads of pretty girls, the marketing images often involve multiple female characters looking mighty friendly, even if there's not even a romantic friendship between them in-game. For that matter, several games play up a romantic friendship between two girls and teasingly suggest that one of them may be gay for the other, only to eventually drop that subject without so much as a girl/girl kiss ever being shown. Obviously some authors do not agree that Girl On Girl Is Hot.
Webcomics
Western Animation
- The male equivalent happens in The Road To El Dorado when Tulio is seduced by Chel, and an hour later, pretty much forgets about Miguel.
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