True Companions / Anime & Manga

Just try and take them all out at once! Cause they will never go their separate ways, ever!

Nakama, the original term for True Companions, came from anime and manga; and to no one's surprise, you'll find a ton of examples here.

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• The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You: Rentarou christens his girlfriends “Rentarou’s Family” toward the end of Volume 2. The name sticks throughout the manga as all the girls prove their companionship with one another countless times, from rescuing members in distress to standing up against troublesome individuals to helping them with various projects.
• Also the main characters in Ai Yori Aoshi, which at first glance seems like a Love Hina clone. (They're very different in tone, though, as well as in their emphasis on realism vs. fantasy.) Completely understandable in the case of male lead Kaoru, in that he really has no family to return to. Several of the other characters have issues with their families, too.
• Akame ga Kill! has two sets of True Companions. Night Raid and the Jaegars eventually become this as the series progresses despite the fact that they could easily be labelled as dubiously moral people on either side.
• In Akuma no Riddle, the teacher (who's not in on The Masquerade) keeps using the word nakama for his class, pushing the idea that they're a happy family. It would hardly be possible for him to be more wrong...
• The five protagonists in Ame Nochi Hare, brought together by their common affliction.
• Angel Beats!, especially Otonashi and Hinata from the start of the series, but the SSS in general is pretty tight, especially by episodes 11 and 12 when their response to Otonashi telling them their belief about the afterlife is wrong is to simply give it a bit of thought, then all show up to fight with him anyway.
• In Attack on Titan, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin have been true companions since childhood. Curiously, Eren doesn't seem to be fully aware of this and seeks out other true companions as well. He initially has a hard time believing that Annie, Reiner, and Bertolt are his enemies because he saw them as comrades. When the truth is shoved into his face, he doesn't take it well. Eren also started bonding with the Survey Corps members assigned to monitor him which ended badly after they were all slaughtered by Annie.
• Azumanga Daioh follows Chiyo and her group of friends from their sophomore year of high school, 'til their graduation. Everything in between shows you the antics they get involved in and the growing experiences they share.
• By the end of Baccano!, quite a few of the Immortal Lovable Rogues of the series (to wit: Firo, Maiza, Ennis, Czes, the Gandor brothers, Isaac and Miria, as well as some others) have forged one of these — a huge contrast to the original set of the highly distrustful immortals in 1711 that had be scattered just to keep them from eating each other. Nice and Jacuzzi's gang is clearly one as well, though Jacuzzi seems to treat everyone like a member of his true companions.
• Team Fukuda in Bakuman。, composed of Fukuda himself, Mashiro, Takagi, Eiji and Aoki (Hiramaru's technically a member, but really just uses it as an excuse to take breaks from writing his manga whenever possible, and Nakai is one of the original members, but leaves eventually.) The group is formed by Fukuda to "change the face of Jump," which consists mostly of the team helping each other out with their respective manga while maintaining a healthy rivalry.
• The five members of BECK. As Koyuki puts it in the final chapters: Ryusuke pulling him along through thick and thin, Taira always giving him the push to move forward, Chiba's cooperative spirit giving him strength and Saku always believing him. And they return the feeling in their own ways: thanks to Koyuki, Ryusuke relearned how to smile and take pleasure from his music; Taira learned to socialize with his friends; Chiba became more assertive to his surroundings; and Saku strived to become a better drummer due to the faith Koyuki had in him.
• The Band of the Hawk in Berserk certainly qualifies as true companions, especially later on in the anime. The leader of the Godhand, Void, uses the term "nakama" when they offer their Deal with the Devil to him during the Eclipse. Griffith's acceptance of their offer and betrayal of his true companions is one of the reasons why Guts wants him dead. Guts gains another group of true companions two years after the Eclipse, with Casca being the only survivor of the previous band (though given her traumatized post-Eclipse state, it takes her a full 20 real years worth of arcs and an epic quest to Elfheim to get her back to what she used to be).
• In Betrayal Knows My Name, the word true companionship is actually used often in reference to the Giou Clan.
• The main characters of Bio-Meat: Nectar are a combination of True Companions and Fire-Forged Friends. They have survived all but hell on Earth together and have absolute faith in each other.
• The Black Bulls in Black Clover. They all care about each other greatly and are a close-knit group due to them all being societal outcasts, accepting each other when no other group would. They encourage each other to do their best, such as when Noelle practices her magic control to get them to the Underwater Temple, and are willing to go to great lengths to help one another, as seen when Asta's arms are cursed and they all try to find a cure. So much so that they barge into the Magic Parliament, the legal authority of the Clover Kingdom, to save Asta and Nero.
• The Lagoon Company and Hotel Moscow in Black Lagoon, both to themselves and each other. The reason why the Hotel Moscow unit under Balalaika act the way they do is because they used to be a unit of the Soviet Army, and so therefore their bond is that of soldiers. However, Balalaika's relationship to the Lagoon Company, a band of mercenaries that are not always on the same side as her, but who she is quite friendly to, is a good example of true companionship. Revy and Eda's relationship is another good example.
• Bleach:
  • Ichigo's true companions consist of the following:
    • When he and Sado were younger, Ichigo protected Sado against bullies Sado refused to fight. Upon learning that Sado won't fight for himself to honour his grandfather, Ichigo made a pact with him: they would fight to protect each other. They've watched each other's backs ever since.
    • Orihime, who first met Ichigo when she brought her dying brother to Isshin's clinic. She was a classmate who always worried him until he saved her from her Hollowfied brother. Once she manifested her powers and befriended Rukia, she encouraged and then joined Ichigo to go to Soul Society to save Rukia, and has been part of his circle ever since.
    • Uryuu challenged Ichigo as an enemy to get back at the Shinigami for allowing his grandfather to die. The challenge ended with Uryuu and Ichigo fighting side-by-side to save the town from a Hollow invasion. Uryuu claimed he went to save Rukia simply to fight Shinigami, but everyone knows he and Ichigo are really Vitriolic Best Buds.
    • Rukia sacrificed her power to give Ichigo the ability to protect people and ghosts in trouble. For that, she broke Soul Society law and was almost executed until saved by Ichigo to repay the debt he owed her. They've been Platonic Life-Partners ever since.
    • Renji began as an enemy sent to arrest Rukia and did his best to follow orders until confessing to Ichigo that he lacks the power and courage to save Rukia. Ichigo's resolve fires Renji's and Renji remains a loyal friend ever after.
    • Byakuya is an aloof supporter of Ichigo, thanks to Ichigo's ability to save Rukia from execution. It's not until he's brainwashed by Tsukishima that the depths of his Undying Loyalty become clear: not even brainwashing can stop him from supporting Ichigo. Due to his captain responsibilities, he can rarely help Ichigo directly, but will arrange things so that Rukia and Renji can.
  • Squad 11 leadership group of Kenpachi, Yachiru, Ikkaku and Yumichika function as a close-knit dysfunctional family unit, all bound to Kenpachi by Undying Loyalty to serve him no matter what. The entire division is said to be unusually close-knit and loyal to its captain. Because of the Defeat Equals Friendship relationship Kenpachi and Ikkaku have with Ichigo, this makes these four shinigami loyal supporters of Ichigo as well.
  • Starrk views the Espada as his true companions. After being forced to live in isolation because his tremendous power destroyed anyone who came near him, to finally be able to live around people who could survive his presence was all he ever wanted. He's genuinely grateful to Aizen for having given him the opportunity to make friends with the other Espada.
• In Brave10, the Braves, for all their quirks and Teeth-Clenched Teamwork, are ultimately just a very dysfunctional found family who really do care beneath it all.
• The main characters of Captain Earth, Daichi, Teppei, Hana, and Akari, are this.
• Castle in the Sky: Zig-zagged with the Dola Gang of sky pirates: they're all loyal and chummy, despite their bickering, but the line between 'crew' and 'family' is blurry. Many of them even address Dola as 'mom'.
• The main character from A Certain Magical Index suffers severe consequences due to his True Companions. Ironically it is not that they are in danger but because so many of them are well-connected, personally powerful or politically powerful themselves, Touma gets noticed by the wrong kind of people. The kind of people who have no qualms about murdering him to ensure his "faction" never coalesces into something formidable. To wit, some of his True Companions include the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, a level 5 ESPer and a Saint.
• The four main heroes of Chrono Crusade are like this, possibly to replace their lost family members (they're all orphans except for Chrono, who betrayed the members of his race twice-over). This is probably the reason why Chrono and Rosette don't become the Official Couple until the very end.
  • In the manga, the Sinners are shown in Chrono's memories to form an odd sort of family with Mary Magdalene — which makes Chrono's eventual betrayal all the more traumatic to the rest, and also shows how ruthless Aion is when he proceeds to sacrifice them one by one for his goals.
• The main cast of CLANNAD; what were you expecting from a show where the main theme is "family?" Tomoyo even uses the actual term when she talks about what she considers to be the most important thing in life, obviously referring to Tomoya, Nagisa, and the rest.
• The Paburo Hunting Party in Claymore, consisting of Miria, Clare, Deneve, and Helen, form a close bond after surviving a Suicide Mission and become the seed of the rebellion that would ultimately bring down the Organization. After the Northern Campaign, their group is joined by three other survivors — Cynthia, Yuma, and Tabitha — and becomes know as the Seven Ghosts after their desertion. Additionally, they treat the fellow deserter Galatea as an Honorary True Companion, even though she did not participate in the Northern Campaign and never leaves Rabona to travel with them.
• The crew of the Bebop from Cowboy Bebop, which makes their eventual dissolution all the sadder. However, on a hopeful note, Faye and Jet are heavily implied to stay together on the Bebop as Platonic Life-Partners, and Edward and Ein went to live with the former's father, so none of them, save for Spike and his death(?), are truly alone, and Ed could easily return whenever she pleased.
  • Played with whenever the Red Dragon Syndicate features into the plot. Lin holds true to it in regards to social expectations of the individual, defending Vicious from Spike because Vicious, however much a sociopath, remained with that society and Spike didn't. His brother, Shin, holds true to the interpersonal expectations, contacting Spike, even as a deserter, and in his final moments voicing his belief that Spike will return to them.
  • Subverted completely with Vicious and Gren. Because of their shared experiences together in a war, Gren believed that Vicious would behave in this manner. Instead, Vicious set them up as a fall-guy for his own war-time spying and treason, leaving them to be fatally experimented on in a military prison. Needless, this put a damper on the relationship.
• Allen in D.Gray-Man considers his fellow Exorcists his true companions. Even Kanda, with whom he is constantly having glaring matches when they're not fighting Akuma. Lenalee even more so. In fact, she has outright said that she doesn't honestly care about the world outside her true companions, so long as they are safe and happy she will continue to fight.
• Darker than Black: The Contractors of the MI6. The fact that one of them (July) refers to the group as such is even a significant plot point, as it's one of an increasing number of indicators that Contractors and Dolls aren't quite as soulless and exclusively self-serving as everyone thinks.
• Twenty's gang in The Daughter of Twenty Faces is like this. Chiko even thinks of Twenty Faces as her father, and refers to him as such at least once, and calls Ken "Ken-nii-chan" (roughly, "big brother Ken"). Even after episode 6, Chiko is a true companion with Shunka and Tome.
• The Cyber Coil Detective Agency along with Daichi and Denpa make one big group of "true companions" in Den-noh Coil. There are also a few smaller circles such as Tamako, Haraken and Yasako, but the most notable is Yasako and Isako, who come to have their own special true companion relationship. This is also depressingly deconstructed by the show's end. Fumie for instance, in spite of all they went through together, drops the quest by episode 16, and doesn't regain any significance in the plot. She's Just a Kid, and while they're still good friends, it's asking a lot out of an eleven-year-old girl to go on potentially dangerous missions. And for all of Yasako and Isako's Pseudo-Romantic Friendship moments, any progress is put on hold, as Isako goes out to find her own path in life. It doesn't mean they couldn't reconnect later down the road, but it's firmly ambiguous how much of their bond will stick.
• Delicious in Dungeon draws a lot of its character development from the growing relationships between the main cast. Working together in a dungeon-delving party, they'd all cooperated well in the past, but they didn't actually know each other personally very much. As the story progresses, even the thorny and pragmatic Chilchuck slowly divulges more about his past and his family, and all of the party members become closer as friends.
• The core heroes of all the Digimon series. Although they don't always get along initially, they usually become true companions fairly early in the plot. Former villains or new characters may become true companions in the second half of the show.
• Don't Meddle with My Daughter!: Applies to Clara and her three best friends: Risa, Kisara, and Jun. Clara is a fledgling superheroine while Risa and the others are heroines in training, who eventually plan to form their own power trio. The girls are so loyal to each other that when they were ambushed by Point Blank, he gunned each of them down as they were trying to save each other. Thankfully, all four survived the shooting and later make a full recovery.
• The good guys in Dragon Ball Z are definitely true companions: they're all close friends, despite going anywhere from three to ten years without speaking to each other, and although Vegeta spends the rest of his life resenting how Goku beat him up, he eventually becomes part of the group.
  • This actually goes further back to the original Dragon Ball. It started out with just Goku and Bulma, then we have a bandit and his sidekick, and a pig who won't "behave" himself.
  • Furthermore, the original Chinese novel that inspired it, Journey to the West (which is where the "real" Son Goku comes from), is also an example.
  • The Ginyu Force could also count as True Companions, even more so between Burter and Jeice.
• In Endride, Emilio tries to convince the Ignauts to help him kill the king. They laugh in his face because his plan is irrational and their aim is to peacefully depose the king, but Shun intervenes, asking for a chance for Emilio to prove himself, to which Demetrio concedes, letting the two follow along but without any promises. 10 episodes later, circumstances force Emilio to give up his goal and realizes he's been an idiot and he begins the atonement process by asking to join the Ignauts along with Shun. Demetrio tells them they'd long since considered them members of the team.
• The Gekkostate in Eureka Seven, who refuse to leave when Holland attempts to disband it to protect them, because they're a family.
• In Excel♡Saga, Excel's neighbors develop from three roommates to six close, albeit dysfunctional, true companions, with reluctant team leader Matsuya trying to get her entire team, not just herself, out of as much trouble their boss throws them into as she can.
• Expecting to Fall into Ruin, I Aim to Become a Blacksmith: Kururi quickly forms one with Prince Rhasa, Iris, Vaine, Curosshi, and Toto. With Prince Arc being The Friend Nobody Likes and Eliza being a late addition as Kururi's Love Interest.
• The Deimon Devil Bats from Eyeshield 21 with Mamori as Team Mom and Hiruma as Team Dad / Drill Sergeant Nasty / Sociopathic Hero.
• Fairy Tail comes complete with moments of "but s/he's your nakama!", among others. Being true companions is practically the whole premise, from the reason of their existence, to the being the very source of their most powerful defensive magic that literally saved them from annihilation! In every story-arc, being True Companions is at the core of why the good guys (i.e. Fairy Tail) win, ultimately. Natsu tends to be the most vocal in terms of the True Companionship; nothing pisses him off more than a baddie who will either injure or kill their own team members, except a baddie who attacks any of his closest friends.
• Any character that Kenshiro befriends in Fist of the North Star becomes his true companion not long after. The Power Trio of Kenshiro, Rei and Mamiya is probably the most famous example, but Toki, Fudoh, Shu, Ein, Falco and of course Bat and Lin are also as undyingly loyal to him as he is to them.
• Fullmetal Alchemist has this all over the place.
  • After an amnesiac Greed kills Bido, Ling whose body Greed shares demands to know why Greed killed someone who was supposedly his friend. Greed at first argues back that Bido was only that to the 'first Greed', but Bido's death by his own hands causes Greed to regain his memories and do a Big "NO!", and subsequently attack King Bradley, wanting to know what happened to his "possessions" and why King Bradley is in his memories. What made Greed mad wasn't that Bradley killed his friends. It was that Bradley killed his friends. Also, right before his Heroic Sacrifice at the end, Greed quietly admits to Ling that his greatest desire, in other words the thing he was most greedy for, was for companions. He dies acknowledging Ling and Ed as being his friends.
  • Ling refers to Lan Fan as "nakama" when he begs Hawkeye to allow him to pick her up from the sewers, where she is bleeding to death after severing her own arm when he refused to leave her behind.
  • Mustang and his five closest subordinates (plus Major Armstrong) are very much like this, in part because Mustang is A Father to His Men. Word of God says that by the time of the story, the six of them had developed a very tight familial bond after working closely together for so many years. Arguably this is particularly true of Hawkeye, who (to her knowledge) doesn't have any other living family.
  • To show how much Scar has developed, he refers to May Chang as this.
  • The Homunculi are family all coming from the same being, Father. Out of the siblings, Lust, Gluttony, and Envy are the closest, with Gluttony and Lust the closest together, as shown by Gluttony's devastation when Lust dies. This carries over into Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) (despite the fact that Lust really didn't care about him; she just wanted To Become Human).
• Fushigi Yuugi: No matter how much crap and drama they go through, the Suzaku Seishi love one another to bits. This trope is shown in its extremity when Tasuki attempts to commit suicide to repent for nearly raping Miaka in the OVA while Brainwashed and Crazy..
• Future GPX Cyber Formula's protagonist team, Sugo Asurada, are these towards the end of the TV series and the insert song in EP 17 drives the whole point home. However, it gets slightly toned down in the sequels, especially after the ZERO arc as the crew members are Demoted to Extra.
• The crew of the Daiku Maryu in Gaiking: Legend of Daiku Maryu have such strong companionship that each member is remembered by the order in which they joined; for example, The Hero Daiya was the 47th member to join, so is renowned as member #47. Even members who leave, such as Dick, are still remembered by their first number; Dick was introduced halfway through the series, well after Daiya was established as member #47, but Dick is still referred to as member #42.
• Everyone in Get Backers forms some kind of complicated extended True Companions, with "That doesn't mean I like you" and "The second we're not being paid to work together, all bets are off" in full effect. The various members of the VOLTS hierarchy in the first Mugenjou arc are probably the best example, however. Emishi wanted to treat Shido to a good time before killing him because they were true companions once; later, after foiling his double-suicide attack, Shido drags him to the doctor. When asked why he would save an enemy, Shido smiles and answers that while they are enemies now, they used to be true companions; one day, they could be true companions again.
• There's a few groups in Gintama that sometimes duke it out but sometimes overlap: The Yorozuya (Gintoki, Shinpachi, Kagura and Sadaharu), The Shinsengumi (Kondou, Hijikata, Okita, Yamazaki, etc.,) and the sort of disbanded Joui (Gintoki, Katsura, Takasugi and Sakamoto). However, by the end of the Benizakura Arc, it is pretty clear that whatever ties and sense of camarederie that Takasugi has had with Gintoki and Katsura in the past have been completely broken, with both Gintoki and Katsura declaring war on Takasugi for his actions.
• The Girl Who Leapt Through Time has spades and spades of this trope. Makoto has a lengthy conversation with both her aunt and the two other members of her true companions group, Kosuke and Chiaki, about how their group dynamic would change if any of them started to date, be it outside their group or with each other. In fact, Makoto goes to incredible lengths with her time-traveling powers to prevent Chiaki from asking her out due to this.
• In Guyver, everyone who fights alongside Sho, especially Mizuki and Tetsuro who have been with him since the beginning. Even the Zoalords that aren't monsters form their own true companionship.
• Haruhi Suzumiya:
  • The SOS Brigade very gradually become true companions over the course of the novel series, in spite of three of them being secret agents with competing agendas and the other two being Kyon and Haruhi. Eventually it gets to the point where in one of the light novels, Itsuki tells Kyon that if his Organization ever comes into conflict with the SOS Brigade, he will betray them and side with Kyon. The same for Yuki. They were both heartwarming moments.
  • In the 11th book, Itsuki makes another speech declaring that the SOS Brigade is the most important thing in his life and that he, Yuki, and present-day Mikuru will always be loyal to it.
• In an episode of Hell Girl, Hone-Onna asks if Ren considers her and Wanyuudo to be True Companions, and is patently dismayed when he replies that he does not. He later mutters to himself that he actually sees them as kazoku, family, which implies that this is the only thing closer than a true companion. This is especially poignant as none of them actually have ever had families. Enma Ai is also considered a True Companion as well: they'd do anything for her, and her extremely rare moments of warmth are reserved for them.
• Hell Teacher Nube: Nube's students share an unbreakable bond, and many of them would risk their lives for the sake of the other. This is especially poignant in the final volume, where Kyoko, not wanting to part with her friends after graduating class, falls prey to a cursed tree, who offers her to remain with her classmates forever. The rest of her classmates, and later Nube, follow her into the cursed tree to get her back, even though doing so would almost certainly get them killed.
• Italy, Germany and Japan of Hetalia: Axis Powers.
  • Fanon portrayed the Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland) as this in modern-day settings, and then they were confirmed as this trope in the Hetalia Bloodbath 2010.
  • In Paint it, White! while the Allies (except for Canada) and the Axis powers don't like the idea of working together, they still look out for each other when they're in danger of an alien invasion. In the final battle, a few of them are assimilated because they were distracted/concerned with other members of the group being assimilated around them.
    • The Allies even call themselves this in an Image Song, with Russia wondering to himself if it's true.
  • This is also a major part of most of RPGs that have spawned from it: All the nations fighting together to escape/survive whatever is thrown at them (be it weird over-grown insects or giant alien-like monsters.) This often results in heart-wrenching scenes when one puts another's life above his own and sacrifices himself 'so they can get out alive'.
• High Card: Theodore, on paper the Big Good of the series, discourages this, advocating for his employees to see each other as work colleagues and nothing more. Nonetheless, the High Card team develop into real friends over the course of the season, with even Leo disobeying his father's orders in the Season 1 finale so that he, Vijay, Wendy, and Bernard can help Finn save Chris from sacrificing himself to save his sister via X-Hand.
• Higurashi: When They Cry details what happens to True Companions if paranoia starts eroding their bonds of friendship; the second season details exactly what they're capable of when it doesn't. Friends may help you move but True Companions help you move bodies.
• The movie version of Howl's Moving Castle has Howl refer to the castle gang explicitly as his "little family". Howl, Calcifer, and Markl have true companions-like relationship going from the start, with the orphaned Markl having Howl as a kind of surrogate father; Sophie, Heen, Turniphead, and the Witch of the Waste all join later. Turniphead leaves when he becomes a Prince again.
• The four main characters of Hunter × Hunter are definitely this. The Phantom Troupe are also this and a Criminal Found Family. Meteor City is a mix of Breakfast Club and True Companions on a mindbogglingly massive scale. Maintain some semblance of a society among the trash heaps of the world's largest landfill takes some teamwork.
• Inazuma Eleven is built around this through and through: no matter if a match is lost or a point is taken, the individuals come before the team and the team comes before a victory. Mostly prevalent in the first three seasons, but survives on multiple occasions in the following ones.
• The five main characters in Inuyasha (Inuyasha himself, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo). When Miroku and Sango fall in love, he tells her that he doesn't want an actual relationship with her until they have completed their mission, because he values her too much as a "companion in battle".
• Subverted in Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. Given a choice between fleeing with his Love Interest or loyalty to his 'wolf pack', the protagonist shoots her on the orders of his superior.
• Every one of the sagas in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure depicts a protagonist group of true companions, but probably the group from Golden Wind (Giorno Giovanna, Bruno Bucciarati, Leone Abbacchio, Guido Mista, Narancia Ghirga, Pannacotta Fugo, and Trish Una) is the most close-knit of them all.
• Karakuri Circus: Narumi develops both romantic and filial feelings for Shirogane and Masaru respectively; when the latter two take off, they form a similar connection with Nakamachi Circus.
• Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple abounds with them on both the protagonist and antagonist sides. Most notable are the masters of Ryouzanpaku and the Shinpaku Alliance. Its even lampshaded by a character that the Shinpaku Alliance exudes "the melody of friendship".
• It takes Satsuki of Kill la Kill quite some time to realize it, but the Four Devas aren't exactly her underlings so much as undyingly loyal friends.
  Ryuko: So you have a bunch of incomprehensible fools caring for you, just like me.
  Satsuki: Sure seems like it.
• The "Afterschool Tea Time" of K-On! is a circle of very close friends first and a band second. They're so close that at the end of high school they all apply and ultimately get into to the same college, with Mio giving up a scholarship to a prestigious university to do so.
  • After performing at their final high school festival concert together, all five of them break down crying at the thought of being separated after graduation.
  • From what we can see the members of Death Devil, Sawako's high school band, were very much like their distant kouhai Afterschool Tea Time. Although working life has caused them to drift apart somewhat, they are still True Companions after all these years.
• Kotoura-san: After more than 10 years' worth of purely emotional torture, Haruka Kotoura thought her Crapsaccharine World would never have any sympathy for her just because she's a Telepath that had been exposing everybody's lies even though she had no idea that entire time. When she transfers into her new school, she meets her one saving grace from her pain: Yoshihisa Manabe. He is one of the few people that Cannot Keep a Secret, Will Not Tell a Lie, and is an Honest Advisor through and through despite the fact that Tatemae is a dominant concept in the setting. About a month later, Yuriko Mifune recruits Haruka into the ESP club with the intention of scientifically proving Psychic Powers to the world and to protect those that have them. Of course, Yoshihisa convinces her to let him in as well where they then meet Dai'ichi Muruto. Over the course of the story, they all help Haruka break her inner shell and to guide her Character Development while challenging the cruel, wistfully lying world that cast them out in the first place. Haruka herself said it best in episode 11:
  Haruka: Maybe I am a monster, but I met people who reached out to me.
• This was invoked in episode 6 of Gourmet Girl Graffiti. Tsuyuko suggests Ryou, a Minor Living Alone with some Hates Being Alone issues, to stop trying to be so self-sufficient, and to ask her friends for help once in a while, while the two watches Kirin and Shiina barbecue some fish, an activity Tsuyuko forbade Ryou from joining.
• The four Links from the The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords (2004) manga are understandably close. At the end, Vio even refers to them as Shadow's family.
• Likewise, the tenants of the Hinata House in Love Hina qualify. Witness the way that every time one of them leaves, the others all go out to try to find them. Even Kanako, who joins up late and is initially hated by all of the others, ends up becoming part of the "family" by the end.
• Riot Force 6 from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS are this. It helps that Fate is a mother figure to Erio and Caro.
  • Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate consider their relationship as this. Nanoha and Fate helped Hayate with her predicament in the Book of Darkness incident so she and her knights helped them get their positions as instructor and enforcer, which in turn, prompted the two to join Hayate in forming Riot Force 6. Hayate comments that the three of them will be stuck helping each other for life. Nanoha and Fate have no problems with this arrangement.
• The School Festival in Manabi Straight! has "from friends to true companions" as its theme. The "friends" in this case is a different Japanese word, tomodachi, which indicates a shallower level of intimacy.
• There is an episode of Martian Successor Nadesico dedicated to sending up the concept of true companions; it includes what is possibly one of the funniest sequences in the series.
• In Mirage of Blaze, both the Kagetora clan and the Uesugi army are eventually betrayed in favor of Haruie and Nagahide.
• The Shuffle Alliance in Mobile Fighter G Gundam. Also, Argo and his pirate crew, which he specifically refers to as his "true companions".
• Monster Hunter Orage: The lead character. His teammates even comment on this fact, with varying levels of annoyance.
• The Searchers from the Monster Rancher anime. Genki summoned his first companion, Mochi, and befriended Holly and Suezo shortly after arriving to the game world. Then he befriended Tiger, Hare, and Golem, and this fellowship proved to be like a well-oiled machine in the battles against Moo and his Elite Four. Even after defeating Moo, their bond remained strong just in time for the Post-Script Season new adventure.
• Negima! Magister Negi Magi
  • For the students their club organizations tend to make true companionship-like bond. The two most clearly shown are The Library Exploration Club and the Baka Rangers (due mostly to their making up the core of Negi's Ala Alba). The Sports Girls have been getting a similar treatment since they took a bigger stage the latest arc.
• The students of Class 1-A from My Hero Academia have become a close bunch of Fire-Forged Friends ever since they survived the attack at the USJ. After overcoming multiple challenges and villains together, the students have become more akin to a tight family with Momo and Tenya filling the role of Team Mom and Team Dad, respectively.
  • This trope is on full display during the final arcs. When Deku left U.A. behind due to All For One wanting to kill him in order to steal his Quirk, his friends refused to stand idly by and through a confrontation were able to get him to return to UA.
  • Happens again when they found out that Aoyama was revealed to be the U.A. traitor. While they were upset, they are willing to forgive him upon learning that All For One threatened to kill his family if he refused. The person whom they are really mad at was All For One himself for forcing their friend to commit such horrible acts as they get ready to stop him once and for all.
• Naruto: A major theme is that the entire Leaf is this; the Will of Fire is the spiritual foundation which says the most important thing in life is being willing to risk your neck for someone else. It is not confined to the Leaf and many characters — Naruto, most notably — form such a bond with many people he meets. Most other villages have their own version of the Will of Fire too, if not its Martial Pacifist inclination.
  • Probably the most striking example is Shikamaru's speech to the squad retrieving Sasuke about how he personally didn't care much for Sasuke, but would try to bring him back anyways, because he was their nakama. Also a very good illustration of the nebulous nature of the term. The dub used "comrade", in the military sense of the term.
  • When Sasuke crosses the line on allying to Akatsuki for revenge against the village and the other nations demand his head, Shikamaru decides he's too much trouble, as having another village killing him would incite a Cycle of Revenge from Ino and Sakura, and decides to kill him. As stated above, Sasuke was only considered comrade by his peers mostly from military sense, except for Naruto. Simply put, they decided he's no longer one of them and must be taken down.
  • Another later example involves the difficulties Naruto and Sakura have accepting newcomer Sai to their team; despite his betrayal, they still see Sasuke as True Companions, and Sai is treated with much hostility as an interloper. (His grating, offensive personality doesn't really help matters.)
  • During the "Rescue the Kazekage" arc, while describing Naruto's bond with Gaara to Chiyo, Kakashi specifically uses the word 'nakama.'
  • All of the teams named with numbers (Team 7, Team 8, Team 10) are groups of four people. Through the powers of Character Development, they all become tight-knit.
  • This is established early on by Kakashi, just after he passes Team 7 in his established test — he states in as many words that in the world of ninja, although breaking the rules makes you "scum", abandoning your comrades makes you "worse than scum", and thus passes them for supporting each other. This theme only grows throughout the story.
• Ojamajo Doremi:
  • The Ojamajos themselves qualify. Their undying loyalty to one another and the sheer fact that they've been through so much together really ties them close. Doremi in particular just draws everyone to her with her endless compassion and goodness despite her flaws. This comes to a head in the Grand Finale when the graduation ceremony is put on hold when Doremi suffers a massive Heroic BSoD in light of her being separated from everyone. Virtually everyone whom she has met over the series expresses what they could have become had it not been for her and greatly desire for her to snap out of her pained stupor.
• One Piece:
  • The Straw Hat Pirates are one of the best examples of this trope.
    • It's especially evident in the Enies Lobby story arc, when Luffy and pals declare war on the World Government (a ruling body that encompasses over a 170 different countries) in the name of crewmate Nico Robin. The statement they made was that they would never betray her over her "burden". Instead, they chose to make her burden their burden.
    • In turn, the Straw Hats are this to anyone they befriend on their adventure, especially Luffy. You just met him and you were mildly nice to him? Congrats, you made a great friend for life, as though he knew you for years. Hell, a character could be a former enemy of his and he'd still immediately become a good friend of theirs if they change their ways. It's to the point that he will not hesitate to defend new friends he's made along the way with reckless abandonment. Reprecussions be damned if anyone Luffy considers a friend gets hurt.
    • Early on, the crew pledges to fight Arlong for Nami's freedom, despite the fact that she had betrayed them and taken off with their ship and all their treasure.
    • At the end of the Water 7 arc, it seemed to be a test of whether Usopp understood what it meant to be true companions, as it involves him coming to terms with how his hubris and grief caused him to turn against the crew.
    • At Thriller Bark, Zoro is prepared to give his life to save Luffy's. Sanji also attempts to sacrifice himself but is stopped by Zoro who in this way effectively saves two of his true companions at the same time.
    • Speaking of Thriller Bark, this trope is played a little darker in the case of Gecko Moria. It is heavily implied that his former crew was much like Luffy's... until they were all killed by Kaidou, marking his Start of Darkness.
  • In the Whitebeard War arc, a full-scale war between pirates and the government erupts, with the pirates going to war just to save Ace. Also notable because Ace is revealed not to be blood related to Luffy, instead being Gold Roger's son.
  • As Whitebeard's life flashed before his eyes, we see a younger Newgate express that a family was all he ever wanted. And he got it.
  • The Heart Pirates are incredibly loyal and protective of each other and their captain, Trafalgar Law. They're actually quite similar to the Straw Hats, but much less on the zany and idiotic side.
  • Some of the villains get in on this too. Just because they're Luffy's enemies and generally bad people doesn't mean they don't care about their crews:
    • The first story arc featuring Buggy the Clown has him using some of his men as human shields, but after getting separated from and reunited with his men, he seems to have undergone some character development where he cares a lot more about their safety now. At the very least, he's shown to have a close bond with his top officers.
    • Arlong is a Fishman supremacist who takes over an entire island where he and his crew of fellow fishmen rule over humans with an iron fist and the constant threat of death for disobedience. That said, he loves his crew deeply and sees them as his brothers, and is horrified and very emotional when he discovers a bunch of them massacred by Zoro. The feeling's mutual too, as he grew up in the same neighborhood as a lot of his crew. Even long after his defeat when one of his crew makes a Heel–Face Turn and apologizes for all the harm they caused, he still doesn't seem to have lost any respect for "Arlong-san".
    • Donquixote Doflamingo is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and one of the most evil, sadistic, and manipulative villains in the series. He has also explicitly stated that he considers anyone with an officer rank to be his family, and takes it personally when people antagonize them in any way. Just laughing at one of them for having a silly voice is punishable by death in his eyes.
    • Kaido is one of the Four Pirate Emperors and recognized as "The Strongest Creature in the World". He's a fearsome giant of a man who wants to plunge the entire world into war for the fun of it and will casually dispose of allies who are no longer useful to him, but he also shows genuine care for the star players of his crew, even treating one of his defeated top men with respect and tenderness where many villains in the series wouldn't care.
    • CP9 appears to be this in their cover arc. Although during the events of the Water 7 saga they were shown to be efficient coworkers at best and squabbling rivals at worst, after the destruction of Enies Lobby they all escape to safety together, and the less-injured members even entertained children to pay for Rob Lucci's medical treatment. The end of the arc has them being blamed for the Enies Lobby disaster and on the run from the government, though post-timeskip at least Lucci and Kaku are back working for the government as CP-0, with the status of the others unclear.
• Ouran High School Host Club:
  • The title group is portrayed as being like a family — to the point that Tamaki calls himself "father", Kyouya "mother" and Haruhi his "daughter". When Tamaki begins to develop romantic feelings for Haruhi, he constantly denies them by focusing on their relationship as "father and daughter" (to the point of squick levels for some fans).
  • Tamaki has an effect on all of them that he doesn't even realize; though they all have specific connections within their group, it's Tamaki's influence that ties them all together as one. Arguably, Haruhi also has this effect to a lesser degree, making her and Tamaki a bit of a power couple when it comes to group dynamics. There'd be shit going down if anything happened to any one of the Host Club, but if anything happened to Tamaki specifically, it'd be a full-on war with the rest of the world. And that's exactly what happens, with the Host Club calling in the entire rest of Ouran Academy as backup for good measure.
• Outlaw Star: Gene and his crew start off as a ragtag bunch, who shape up to become a certified crew of outlaws. They're such a tight-knit group, that when the assassin Leilong was hired to kill them, he had a change of heart and decided to find a crew of his own, like Gene's.
• PandoraHearts: Alice at one point considers Oz, Gilbert and Break (and maybe Sharon too) to be this. It's quite cute. They demonstrate the fact that they're true companions left and right: saving Gil's hat, watching each other's backs, putting themselves at risk for each other, etc. And if you doubt Break or Sharon's being true companions, remember, it was Break who gave up that bell with the memories in it for Sharon's life without even flinching.
• Pokémon: The Series:
  • Really, Ash and all of his Pokémon party could be called this. It's part of the reason why he's a pretty good trainer, because he respects his Pokémon and they respect him.
  • The Pokemon that he is undoubtably the closest to are the "Gang of Four" (as they are called), Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charizard. These are four of his oldest Pokemon (Pikachu being his starter) and his relationship with them is far closer than it is with any others. While only Pikachu is currently with him, the bond the four shared with him was symbolized near the end of the Battle Frontier when he was reunited with the other three for his third battle with the Pyramid King Brandon (and finally won).
  • Ash also forms a true companionship with his travelling companions, creating new bonds each time he travels to a new region. Arguably, since he's more than willing to befriend and/or help almost anyone he runs into, he's the nexus of an ever-growing super-true companionship of people and Pokémon across the known regions of the Pokémon World. Even his rivals grow to accept him as a companion.
  • Jessie, James and Meowth of Team Rocket also qualify; they share an extremely close bond that gets highlighted at least once a Generation. (They're also auxiliary (if troublesome) members of Ash's true companions, as numerous plots have shown.)
  • Harley is very close to his Cacturne and his Banette, calling them his "buddies".
  • The regional trios (and Kanto foursome, counting Yellow) in Pokémon Adventures fit this trope — the bond between the Sinnoh Holders, especially, is emphasized in the seventh and eighth chapters.
  • The Sacred Swordsmen of Unova: Terrakion, Cobalion, Virizion and Keldeo.
• The protagonists of Project ARMS fit this. At one point, they are described by an enemy as parts of a whole body (Yugo as the "ears", Kei as the "eyes", Takashi as the "legs", and Ryo and Hayato as the "arms"). In the anime, they jokingly refer to each other as "comrades in ARMS".
• The main Power Trio of Psychic Squad starts out like this. In the beginning Minamoto has to make a lot of effort to gain their trust and eventually they start to include him.
• Puella Magi Madoka Magica, in a very atypical sense. The five key characters, who in an ordinary example of the mahou shoujo genre would be a typically bickering yet loving group of true companions, instead make and break allegiances and compete for magical resources, often violently. It's later revealed that they have lived across multiple timelines, in many of which they were all close friends — but it always ended badly. This is driven home by the spin-off manga The Different Story, specifically by its final line.
  Mami: If I could make a wish, I would wish to meet all of you in a world without witches.
  • Played straight in Rebellion, in Homura's idealized world. The girls call themselves the "Puella Magi Holy Quintet", spending carefree days going to school and hanging out with each other, while utterly demolishing Nightmares with impeccable teamwork during the night.
• The core teenaged cast of Ranma ½ can possibly be interpreted as true companions, particularly in the later seasons and OVAs. This still didn't keep them from beating each other up at the drop of a hat. A dramatic shift in the Ranma-Ryoga-Mousse dynamic took place during the Musk Dynasty arc. Since Ranma is locked as a girl, Ryoga and Mousse plot to let Herb kill her (or do so themselves) while they remove their own animal curses. However, when they start to put their plan to action, and it backfires, Ranma doesn't just fail to begrudge them, she actually yells at them to save themselves even as Herb is about to kill her. Later, Ryoga and Mousse come back to help Ranma unlock the curse and save her life from Herb. Notably, and despite the unavoidable bickering and squabbling later in the series, the "bitter-rivals" relationship changed to "loyal-allies" after this event.
• True Companionship is even more obvious (though not discussed/mentions as often) in Hiro Mashima's other (now less popular work) Rave Master. Musica gave up the only woman who he ever could really connect with romantically — and nearly himself — for the team, and the final battle is one long string of various suicide attacks just for Haru. And that's the tip of the iceberg.
• In Reborn! (2004), Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto, Ryohei, Hibari, Mukuro, Chrome and Lambo are true companions in a more literal sense of the term.
• Rebuild World: Two groups.
  • The friends Akira makes at the Cartridge Freak, the Brains and Brawn hunter duo of Elena and Sara, and the Friendly Shopkeeper Shizuka who's Team Mom, all of them being like a Big Sister Mentor to Akira. Akira's Virtual Sidekick Alpha tries to put a stop to this by manipulating Akira into feeling betrayed by the duo, but Shizuka's intervention limits, and time heals, those wounds.
  • Ojou Reina, and her Ninja Maid Sibling Team bodyguards Shiori and Kanae, with Shiori being a more subdued Team Mom, and the three women being a Freudian Trio. This has the eventual addition of Togami as Reina's Love Interest.
• The six party members from Record of Lodoss War. The way their interpersonal dynamics go, it may be a dysfunctional one at times, but they definitely still count.
• The main characters of Red Garden. The girls all hang out with different cliques, and they never would've even spoken to each other if it hadn't been for Lise dying.
• Ronin Warriors: the leads are True Companions. For the majority of them the Ronin are their family for all intents and purposes as their actual parents are either dead, or are physically or emotionally distant. This is largely subverted with the four Dark Warlords, who for most of the series don't give a damn about each other.
• The cast of Rosario + Vampire definitely qualify, especially in the more recent chapters. Tsukune and the girls all care about each other very deeply, and have always been willing to go to great lengths for each other.
• Pretty cruelly deconstructed in Rumbling Hearts. Takayuki, his girlfriend Haruka and their common best friend Mitsuki are this, though Mitsuki also has a secret crush on Takayuki... things are stable, aren't they? Well, Haruka barely survives an horrible accident but is left in a coma; when she wakes up years later... not only are Takayuki and Mitsuki together, but she suffers a bad case of Trauma-Induced Amnesia. At Haruka's doctor's request, everyone (not only Takayuki and Mitsuki, but also Haruka's family) decide conceal the truth that three years have passed among other things... and despite all of Mitsuki and Takayuki's efforts to keep Haruka's fragile mind safe (which includes them hiding their relationship), the consequences emotionally destroy everyone in the main cast... Haruka included.
• The Kenshin-gumi (Team Kenshin) from Rurouni Kenshin are obviously true companions. Megumi even pictures her family when she sees Kaoru and Yahiko arguing.
• Sailor Moon:
  • The Sailor Senshi. It's only fitting, consider how many suffer from Parental Abandonment. This is lampshaded in The '90s anime's Image Song for Sailor Mars and Mercury called "Hottokenai Yo" (Loosely translated as "I Can't Leave Her Alone!"):
    I can't leave her alone, because she's like family, I'll combine forces with her.
  • This was also one of the first things we learned about Sailor Uranus and Neptune's relationship to show they weren't just Sixth Rangers.
  • The Shitennou of the Dark Kingdom fit the example in the original manga. Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite, and Jadeite were like brothers and were visibly upset when members of the group were killed. In the anime, however, they were happy to backstab one another, except lovers Kunzite and Zoisite.
  • The Amazon Trio in the anime turned out to be this, even though they didn't understand or realize it until the end.
• In Saint Beast, the eponymous six Saint Beasts. Unfortunately brainwashing can override friendship. Fortunately, The Power of Love can overcome it, if too late.
• The Bronze Saints from Saint Seiya, very much so. The Gold Saints to an extent too.
• Both the Sanzo-ikkou and Kougaiji-ikkou in Saiyuki. While the latter are very open about it, the former will deny it until they're blue in the face. The Konzen-ikkou in Gaiden are somewhere in between: they're not as comfortable together as Kougaiji's group, but they're a much more cohesive unit than their reincarnations.
• Jin, Mugen, and Fuu in Samurai Champloo exemplify the trope, since Jin and Mugen are in a state of indefinitely delayed duel to the death, and refuse to let it go.
• Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The Science Ninja Team. They are the five that act as one.
• The Basketball Teams in Slam Dunk tend to be like this. There is also Sakuragi's gang, who might tease and laugh at his expense but still stand by his side when he truly needs their help.
• The focal cast of Sk8 the Infinity by the mid to later episode, though they're not without their (at times unknown) internal strife, which is fitting for a band of teens to mid/late-twenty-year-olds. Specifically Reki, Langa, Miya, Cherry, Joe and Shadow. It starts with Reki befriending Langa, and the two thereafter accidentally start befriending the rest of their future S crew. They quickly befriend Miya and finally get him to laugh and have fun again, before Reki defends Miya against The Dreaded of the story, and Miya tries to help Reki in return. The adults then slowly build a rapport with the teens of the group, partially through them pushing their way into their lives. By the end, it gets to the point where Shadow, the one people expect to be the most callous, is the one yelling at Joe that they need to get Cherry to the hospital immediately for head injury before Joe, who is more level-headed, almost tries picking a fight with the series' antagonist, Adam.
• The four major protagonists of Slayers, because of their rather anti-heroic natures.
• The Spider Riders. They even have an ancient prophecy about it. When all eight riders gather together, the Spirit Oracle will appear.
• The five primary Blade Children in Spiral. It's worth noting that The Stoic Eyes is the one who actually uses the word "true companionship," when he tells Rio not to get herself killed.
• Star Driver: The Midnight Flight Drama Club were already true companions, but the arrival of Takuto seems to be bringing them closer and closer together.
• Lottie in Str.A.In.: Strategic Armored Infantry refers to her team as true companions and tries to convince Sara of such.
• The crew of the Super Dimension Fortress Macross, both civilian and military. When the civilians are denied the opportunity to leave the ship for Earth partway through the series, they are understandably angry, but counter with an attitude of "This ship is our home! We can live a happy life here too!" A couple random extras in one scene remark that people are beginning to identify themselves more as "people of the Macross" than their previous nationalities.
• The cast of Tenchi Muyo! is another such example, although being that they are all related, if distantly and via fusion in places, the label for this is somewhat murky.
• The cast of Transformers: Super-God Masterforce forms a pair of these. Unusually, the true companions sense is more pronounced with the Decepticons, which eventually leads to Clouder, Wilder, and Bullhorn joining the Autobots after King Poseidon and Devil Z abandon them.
• Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs: Played straight and subverted with two separate parties, with the groups that do each reversing in the Role Swap AU Marie Route.
  • In the main novel continuity:
    • Marie's Reverse Harem she pulled a Hijacked Destiny on Olivia to get, Julius, Jilk, Brad, Greg, and Chris, are a band of five Idiot Hero Fire-Forged Friends serving as co-rivals to Leon alongside Marie, with the rivalry gradually mending through Rivals Team Up moments.
    • Leon's group of fellow Impoverished Patrician nobles present themselves explicitly as this, but subvert it proving Fair-Weather Friend at the first sign of adversity, only working together after Leon pulls "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word on them when they were planning on scattering.
  • In the Marie Route:
    • With Olivia being possessed by a Vengeful Ghost, the reverse-harem of five have Teeth-Clenched Teamwork at best, scheming against and bullying one another thanks to Olivia stoking their jealousies.
    • Thanks to Marie playing The Matchmaker and saving their futures for a Comically Small Bribe, as well as Leon gathering them in a Misfit Mobilization Moment to rescue Marie from being sold off by her abusive family, the poor nobles become true companions as part of a wider faction built up around Team Mom Marie and Team Dad Leon, all going Defector from Decadence away from the Kingdom.
• The five (or six, if you count Cloney) main characters from Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-. Goes so far that at one point, trying to explain their dynamic to an outsider, Fai jokingly/seriously (the outsider can't tell which) says that Kurogane is Syaoran, Sakura and Mokona's father. The nicknames "Kuro-daddy" and "Fai-mommy" have since caught on in the Fandom.
• In the manga Vagabond, the Yoshioka school of swordsmanship as a whole are essentially an independent samurai clan that, whatever their feelings about eponymous head and playboy layabout Yoshioka Seijuurou, are extremely devoted to his younger brother Denshichirou to the point that disciple Otagurou Hyousuke offers his arm (shattered in a training accident) as a "sacrifice" with which Denshichirou may proceed with his training, they accept senior disciple Ueda Ryouhei as their leader, perhaps even the "soul" of the Yoshioka all along, after Miyamoto Musashi cuts down the two brothers. Unfortunately this is the undoing of both themselves and the school, as Ueda's able to get all seventy remaining swordsmen except for the crippled Hyousuke to join in his plan to ambush and kill Musashi at Ichijouji, but the plan isn't changed even when the leaders know that Musashi's found out. On the individual, tactical and leadership levels they have not prepared to fight in what's "no longer a duel," and except for the absent Otagurou all of them pay for this failure with their lives, ending the Yoshioka school.
• Hamel, Flute and the rest from Violinist of Hameln are this. It is actually stated within the manga that as most of the group had lost their mothers, Flute was like a mother to them.
• The Voltes Team in Voltes V, as the opening song tells us so eloquently.
• Takatsuki and Nitori in Wandering Son. They have other friends but they're not quite as close to them.
• Watanuki, Doumeki and Himawari from ×××HOLiC often make sacrifices for each other and some side characters end up falling into this as well.
• Yes! Precure 5 features true companionship-powered kamikaze mecha-butterfly. (Coco and Nuts get left out, though.) Featured as a logical expansion of the previous seasons' use of The Power of Friendship.
• All five Yu-Gi-Oh! series. In fact, one could say "true companionship" is the entire point of the series (other than them dueling). And the families the characters start out with grow with impressive speed. It's one of the 5D's buzzwords, along with 'kizuna' (bonds), 'kibou' (hope), and 'zetsubou' (despair) (the last for the villains of the second half of the 5Ds. However, even they eventually rejected it in favor of hope.)
• The main cast of YuYu Hakusho. Yes, even Hiei who might not seem like this most of the time. But after watching all of Chapter Black, you can tell he truly cares for his friends to actually contribute to stopping the opening of the tunnel to demon world.
• Franchouchou of Zombie Land Saga become an inseparable team by the end of the first season. They regularly help each other out of tough spots and have faced numerous seemingly insurmountable obstacles to become the best idol group they can be.

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