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  • Anpanman:
    • One-sided variations appear very commonly. Some characters (normally girls), become friends with Baikinman, despite him wanting to have nothing to do with them. Multiple times, a single kind deed will make the other party believe that Baikinman's not a villain whatsoever, much to the surprise of everyone else, and even when being told the truth, they'll still see Baikinman as a friend, even when he himself tells them otherwise. Even Anpanman himself treats Baikinman with the same kindness he shows others (most noticeable in the educational videos, where the feeling reciprocated), but they will go back to being enemies as soon as Baikinman does something to endanger someone else.
    • Also in the series is the Donburiman Trio. Multiple episodes are made up of them fighting over which donburi is the best, them leaving in a huff, getting upset about being without the others, and reconciling by the end of the episode. Why do they stick together? Because they are the Donburiman Trio, so they'll always have each others' backs and still be best friends, even if they all hate each other sometimes.
  • Attack on Titan:
    • Levi and Hanji tease each other almost constantly, but they seem to be very comfortable around one another, and an interview has mentioned Hanji, Levi, and Erwin all having a close, trusting bond.
    • Eren and Jean, who seriously disliked each other as trainees, are gradually becoming good friends. They still fight and argue a lot though. Much later, Jean defends the Rumbling as a last resort by Eren to protect their home from complete annihilation by their enemies, while most of the survivors were horrified.
  • Azumanga Daioh has Yomi and Tomo, and Nyamo-sensei and Yukari-sensei. While both of these pairs are clearly adversarial, they do maintain a friendship of a sort. Although in both cases, particularly the latter, it may simply be a case of having been together so long, they're probably just stuck with each other. There's a poster about the first pair.
  • Black Butler: a downplayed example. Sebastian and Ciel both enjoy doing small things to bother the other, especially on Sebastian's end. Sebastian seems to take great amusement in teasing the boy, while Ciel in turn will go out of his way to be impetuous and bratty, even tricking him into drinking salted lemonade as a "reward" in an early chapter.
  • Black Clover: Luck likes to tease Magna with shocks and pranks, with Magna often getting angry at him. Despite this, the two acknowledge each other as best friends and often go on missions together, with them forming the Special Assault Duo of the Black Bulls.
  • Revy and Eda from Black Lagoon are either this or With Friends Like These...... It's kind of hard to tell. They certainly haven't done anything selfless to help each other yet, but seem to get along well enough when they share a common goal. (i.e. money, booze, Seinfeldian Conversation, shooting at other people, or any combination of the above.)
  • Bleach:
    • Almost all of Ichigo's closest relationships are based on this trope with the exception of his relationships with Sado and Orihime. For example, Ichigo and Rukia, while having been part of each others lives from first chapter to last, argue a lot. Rukia will punch Ichigo and shout if it means restoring his resolve, and Ichigo will snark about her attitude and her bizarre taste in art.
    • Ichigo and Ishida began as snarking enemies but very quickly faded into not-friends who snarked each other constantly and pretended to be enemies. They still can't admit they're friends but their classmates and the rest of their group find their vitriolic relationship to be very amusing, especially given how alike the two really are. Orihime has begun lampshading how strong their friendship has become, much to their horror. It's also a Generation Xerox example; their fathers have almost the same relationship with each other.
    • Ichigo and Renji also tend to butt heads within moments of trying to do almost anything, often to the point of immediate physical violence, but will nonetheless put their lives on the line for each other at a moment's notice.
    • Ichigo and Tatsuki have a violent, argumentative relationship that goes back to their distant childhood.
    • Outside Ichigo and his companions, we have Harribel's three subordinates, who constantly yell at and insult each other, but are such effective team players that on their first on-screen fight together, they easily curb-stomp multiple lieutenants and are only stopped by no less than Captain Commander Yamamoto himself.
  • In Brave10, Saizo and Sasuke are this, going along with their Red Oni, Blue Oni relationship. Saizo is often hostile and grouchy towards Sasuke and Sasuke sometimes physically lashes out at Saizo rather than just say what's he's thinking, but Sasuke's usually doing it to remind Saizo that's he's important and needed, and Saizo more than once has walked away from an argument complimenting Sasuke on how unwavering he is.
  • Cannon Busters: Philly teaches Sam about this concept in episode 8. He tells her that friends more often rib and insult each other than complement one another as Sam does. Sam takes to the idea, insulting Philly's hygiene and odor, getting laughs out of Philly. She later entertains a group of would-be kidnappers with this until Philly retrieves her.
  • Cells At Work! White Brigade: Having worked together since they were myelocytes — the WBC equivalent of childhood — the mature Neutrophils frequently snipe at each other as long-time coworkers often do.
  • Touma and Misaka in A Certain Magical Index are very much this, seeing as most times they talk to each other there are usually some jabs mixed in (unless its a serious situation). It gets funny during a couple times Touma calls and asks Misaka for help with something... like getting through a shuttered subway entrance...
  • Rosette and Chrono in Chrono Crusade. Chrono's actually a full-grown demon, but his child-like disguise and Nice Guy disposition matched with Rosette's Hot Bloodedness make for lots of griping, teasing, and roughhousing (see Rosette's self-coined Super Noogie). Despite this, they're in a trust-based contract and are sort of, you know, inseparable.
  • City Hunter: Ryo and Umibozu. They insult, prank and make a fool of each other all the time, and when caught on opposing sides of the same job they don't hesitate at trying to kill each other, but when one is in need the other has a chance to show up and help, and woe is the fool who gets in their way.
    Ryo: "Kaori, it's so obvious you don't read Fist of the North Star. You write it 'Invincible Enemy', but you read it 'Friend'.
  • CLANNAD: Despite the fact that Tomoya regularly pulls pranks and snarks at Sunohara, they share a close friendship. In actually serious situations, they will help each other.
  • Lelouch Lamperouge and Suzaku Kururugi in the Code Geass Sound Stages, when Lelouch and Nunnally were staying with Suzaku prior to the invasion of Japan. They initially hated each other, but became friends after looking for a lost and injured Nunnally together. The two were willing to make fun of the other's physical and mental strengths and weaknesses, but they worked well together and formed a bond before Britannia invaded.
  • Crest of the Stars: Given how large part of their social life is based on a culture of polite insult, it's not surprising that most of the Abh friendships happen this way. Among the best examples are Bibauth brothers, Crown Prince Dusanh and his Chief of Staff, and Admiral Spaurh with, well, everyone.
  • ''Daltanious"' has Danji and Kento. Both are Hot-Blooded young men, and because of that their ideals tend to clash, but Kento is more of an Idiot Hero while Danji is reserved, though he has a hidden temper. Unfortunately for both of them, they have to work together to form Daltanious and save the Earth from Zaal attacks...
  • Rei "Hana-no-Saint-Juste" Asaka and Kaoru "Kaoru-no-Kimi" Orihara in Dear Brother. When they're in good terms, they playfully insult each other while smiling. When not, Kaoru will do her best to support the very emotionally unstable Rei no matter what.
  • Death Note:
    • Light Yagami and Ryuk the Shinigami. Most of their conversations consist of Jerkassery: teasing and insulting each other in equal measure.
    • Also Light and L fall into this, especially during the Yotsuba arc when Light becomes a Nice Guy that genuinely likes L but L isn't too enthusiastic about it, knowing (but unable to prove) that Light is an (amnesiac) mass murderer. It becomes more of a one-sided vitriol on L's part. Although, even though L knew Light was Kira almost immediately and the two were False Friends from the beginning, it's implied that L genuinely respected Light's intellect and deep down may have wanted to be his friend. In the Alternate Continuity novel L: change the WorLd where Light is Driven to Suicide after L nearly catches him, L mourns the fact that he couldn't arrest or reform Light and outright calls him his only friend. Light on the other hand was a sociopathic narcissist, but showed subtle signs of remorse over betraying the closest thing to a real friend he ever had.
    • Matsuda and Aizawa. The latter would criticize the former for his idiocy, but Matsuda still looks up to him.
  • When Akina is first introduced to Hibari in Don't Become an Otaku, Shinozaki-san!, Hibari is at Akina's throat from the start, largely due to Akina being a newbie to their current activity of Tabletop RPGs. Akina earns her respect, and later they begin to bond. In particular, one chapter has them bond over hiding their otaku sides from their non-otaku friends when they have to watch out for each other.
  • Dragon Ball:
    • Goku has several of these such as Vegeta and Krillin. Their initial relationship was, much like many of Goku's friends, fairly antagonistic. Krillin even lampshades this point in relation to Vegeta, as uniting against the common foe of the Androids can help keep Vegeta cooperative long enough for this to take hold.
    • Also, Trunks and Goten, at least when they're 8 and 7 respectively. Trunks calls Goten an "idiot" or a "little child" numerous times, but with a big grin on his face and clearly no malice; less commonly, Goten calls Trunks out on the fact that he's a member of the world's richest family and has no real reason to be competing for money like he does. Once they become teenagers, this snarking has largely faded, to be replaced by Homoerotic Subtext.
    • Yamcha and Tien occasionally gave out hints of this, as well. They start out as pretty bitter rivals (no doubt accentuated by Tien breaking Yamcha's leg out at the end of their tournament match), but after Tien's Heel–Face Turn, they become pretty solid friends, if occasionally still snarky toward one another. Yamcha even jokingly calls Tien " a little pig-headed" before the latter makes an attempt to help Gohan by blasting Cell... which is followed immediately by Yamcha joining him in the attack.
    • Bulma and Chi-Chi in Z. They both find themselves arguing over their husbands and sons, but they do get along most of the time.
    • Bulma and Goku starts with this kind of relationship. Goku while initially naive was quick to point-out whiny and mean Bulma was, while Bulma often yells about how naive Goku is. This is especially apparent in the first story arc. Despite that, they do care for each other with Bulma worrying about Goku's safety and Goku rescuing Bulma when she's in trouble. By the time of Z the vitriolic part is all but gone, although it does pop up every blue moon, mostly Goku doing or saying something stupid and Bulma punishing him for it like a big sister.
  • Shinra and Shizuo from Durarara!!. Shizuo spends about half of the friendship (unsuccessfully) trying to resist the urge to beat Shinra senseless (largely for being such a gossip and motormouth). Luckily for him, Shinra has something of a mile-long masochism streak, and doesn't consider things like "he regularly dislocates your jaw" to be barriers to friendship. Then again, Shinra's a weirdo by Ikebukuro standards: a Back-Alley Doctor who's been fascinated with Shizuo's freaky strength since they were kids, and there's the matter of his girlfriend...who's missing her head.
  • In Endride, circumstances are such that Shun can't survive in Endora or get back home without Emilio's help, and Shun is the only person gullible and powerful enough to help Emilio take out Delzaine, so they spend most of their time together early on exchanging insults and sometimes outright blows. Eventually they just spend so much time together, they start caring by default, whether they get along or not.
  • Fairy Tail:
    • Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster. They constantly snark and insult each other at every time, however both have proven time and time again that they would sooner take a bullet (or whatever other magical attack comes their way) through the face for the other.
    • Also Natsu and Gajeel have become this over time, with Gajeel being a bit more snarky than Natsu is, however both of them are friendly to each other in their own way, make a perfectly awesome team, and do actually care about each other as friends.
    • Not to mention Lucy and Juvia, both best friends and rivals in love (well, Juvia considers Lucy a rival, anyway.)
    • Erza and Mirajane were this in their youth back when Mira was a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, to the point their spats made Natsu and Gray look completely civil, but they were still friends willing to take a hit for the other. They grew out of this when Mira Took a Level in Kindness.
    • Really, this could apply to everyone in the Fairy Tail guild; the brawls that spark up between members for no good reason have been legendary and frequent. Often whenever anyone returns from a mission.
  • Shinagawa and Izumi of Flunk Punk Rumble. While they spend much of their time together either viciously staring each other down or outright brawling, they make a good team, and in spite of the fact that they clearly don't get along and often outright detest each other, they both seem content to admit that just because they hate each other doesn't mean they don't like each other, and would each inarguably (and demonstrably) go to the ends of the earth to save the other from danger.
  • Food Wars!: Soma has this type of relationship with his father Jouichiro. Jouichiro is whimsical and immature to the extreme in spite of being one of the best chefs in the world. Soma shares his father's cooking skills, but is intensely competitive, and often blows up when Jouichiro indulges his whims or doesn't take cooking seriously. However, Jouichiro is clearly supportive and loving towards his son, Soma admires his father very much and their relationship is rock solid.
    • The friendship between Hinako Inui and Kojiro Shinomiya. Hinako doesn't leave no stones unturned to pick at Shinomiya and cheer for those he cooks against, and Shinomiya returns the favor by tying her up all the time. But, Hinako is also one of the biggest defenders of Shinomiya in private, and Shinomiya admits she is one of his precious friends.
  • Fullmetal Alchemist:
    • Jerk with a Heart of Gold Edward Elric has this kind of relationship with his superior Roy Mustang. He complains about Mustang piling on orders, and the two snark and snipe frequently; but in reality, they care about each other.
    • Ed's relationship with Ling. Ling is sort of an Idiot Hero (or at least acts the part) and considers Ed a good friend. Ed is annoyed with Ling's mooching food and money off of him, with his seeking immortality (essentially an evil goal given the method of getting it in this universe), and with the fact that Ling is much taller than him even though he's a year younger. Deep down, however, Ed does actually like Ling (which becomes obvious when the two are trapped in Gluttony's stomach), and that's clear by the end of the series.
  • Once they get past the whole brainwashed murder attempt incident, Tamahome and Tasuki of Fushigi Yuugi fall into this. Tamahome regularly provokes the already short-fused Tasuki, and uses Tasuki's absolute phobia of water as a particular source of torment. Meanwhile, Tasuki tends to "accidentally" set Tamahome on fire, needles him about his Money Fetish, and starts using Tamahome's hated childhood nickname as soon as he finds it out. Still, when push comes to shove it's actually Tamahome who manages to give a successful I Know You Are In There speech when Tasuki goes Brainwashed and Crazy himself, and it's the idea of betraying a friend that finally gets Tasuki to successfully fight from the inside, even attempting suicide in order to stop himself.
  • Essentially the relationship between Saki and the entire Genshiken through most of the story. Saki is disturbed or confused about the nerdy (and porn-obsessed) interests of the rest of the club, and responds to them with snark and insults unto the very end, despite eventually regarding most of the club members as close friends. Also, although she claims to wish for the day the Genshiken club is closed, she's more than willing to stand up for them.
  • Ryoma and Hayato in Getter Robo have this relationship in some continuities. The fact they like the same girl, Michiru, doesn't help. They have come to blows at least once, and an early iconic sequence in Getter Robo Armageddon involves them in a Mexican Standoff.
  • The Major and Batou frequently have this dynamic in various Ghost in the Shell storylines, especially in the original manga and Arise OVAs. Arise, which serves as a sorta-kinda alternative prequel to the whole franchise, shows that this has grown from the pretty genuine and bitter rivalry they had in their army days, when Motoko was with the 501'st Secret Commando Unit, consisting of total-conversion cyborgs, and Batou was in JGSDF Rangers. They frequently clashed during various clandestine missions due to the Right Hand Versus Left Hand attitude prevalent in the JSDF brass at the time,note  but mellowed out since both retired and were hired into Section 9.
  • Gintama:
    • Gintoki and Katsura have their verbal scuffles, the latter tries to drag the former back into their resistance group while the former tells him in so little words to shove it — but when they team up against an enemy or twelve, the results are frequently awesome.
    • The Shinsengumi have a bond similar to this, as well. They even refer to it as a "rotten friendship".
  • In Great Pretender, the "official" stance that Team Confidence has towards one another is that "We're not friends, and we're not family. Screw up, and we'll dump you." In reality, they clearly care deeply about one another and will, in fact, go out of their way to help each other when things go south. They nonetheless keep referring to one another as if they're fair-weather friends.
  • Haruhi Suzumiya:
    • In The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Kyon and Itsuki hang out a lot, because they are both SOS Brigade members, but Kyon doesn't seem to like Itsuki at all. However, by the last three novels — especially after Koizumi helps rescue Asahina in novel 7 — Kyon has come to trust Koizumi, list him on the people that he cares for, and even hang out with him socially. He still snarks at him constantly (albeit a bit more mildly). Their relationship in the last two novels is epitomized in a scene where the two are playing catch with a baseball and Kyon silently acknowledges that he has come to respect Koizumi and trust his judgement while verbally making fun of Koizumi's psychobabble and contemplating throwing the baseball into Koizumi's face as a prank.
    • Kyon and Haruhi can be this at times coupled with some belligerent sexual tension. After Disappearance (the fourth novel and end of the anime adaptation), the two soften up slightly towards each other.
    • Also with Taniguchi and Kunikida. He even said to Tsuruya that he threw Kunikida out the window once ("And that's how we became friends.")
    • As well as Kyon and Taniguchi, with the latter always looking for chicks and rating them. In an early novel, Kyon even notes he does not even like Taniguchi but hangs out with him and Kunikida so that he does not look like a loner freak to his classmates.
    • Really, it's more or less Kyon and everyone else in the SOS Brigade. He begrudges everything that he does in it, but wouldn't change it for the world if given the choice ...and he was.
  • Hinata and Kageyama in Haikyuu!! qualify as they start out as rivals (and never really stop viewing each other like that) but when they end up playing for the same volleyball team in high school, they quickly develop an extremely strong bond that makes people like coach Ukai think they've known each other for years despite only meeting once before in their last year of middle school. Depite how well they get along on the court, they're often seen bickering, mocking and insulting each other with Kageyama calling Hinata "dumbass" ("boke" in the original dub).
    • Iwaizumi and Oikawa. Oikawa is often pushing Iwaizumi’s buttons on purpose, and Iwaizumi returns it, usually physically. Despite that, they still have what Oikawa describes as a "perfect trust" in each other.
  • Heavy Object has the main characters Qwenthur and Havia, a commoner engineering student and noble soldier. The two struck up a friendship but often quarrel and scuffle with one another over petty things. They actually refer to each other as "worst friends".
  • Hetalia: Axis Powers:
  • High School D×D has Issei and Ddraig's relationship, them being stuck with each other (literally) hasn't helped them. Ddraig has complained numerous times to Issei for things that the latter does in his life from embarrassing nicknames to complaining how weak Issei is while Issei himself snarks at whatever insults Ddraig says. However, they still consider the other person their very own best friend and life long partner with Ddraig refusing to move away from Issei while the latter was crying when he thought his best friend and another part of himself was dying.
  • The title character and Koga from Inuyasha who, as romantic rivals, could, according to Kagome, "scrap (...) all day"; have fought side-by-side against numerous adversaries while trading barbs about each other's ancestry, personal cleanliness and fighting experience. (Or, rather, the lack thereof...). The rivalry-friendship evolves notably from the first appearance of Koga as a main sort-of villain, when he is quite determined to kill Inuyasha in a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown, and it isn't even remotely funny. Once he discovers that Inuyasha wasn't the one who killed all his friends, he settles into a comfortable role of showing up occasionally and being annoying. In fact, the two have a tendency to rescue each other from various horrible situations, snarking at each other all the while for being unable to escape themselves, and they keep it up right until the end, when Koga's Jewel shards are stolen, but there is definite friendship between the two. Which is possibly why so many fans were up in arms when Inuyasha stated in the final battle, "there isn't one missing," and Koga notably was.. In fact, some fans seem to have realized that theirs is perhaps the most ultimate of Rumiko Takahashi's slashes
  • Kanon Mizushirou and Ruby of Jewelpet Sunshine probably beat each other up every day, yet they absolutely trust each other and one worries if the other is not acting like herself.
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:

    K-Z 
  • Kaze No Shojo Emily: Emily and Ilse. They're close friends and practically attached at the hip, but half the time they'll be at each other's throats like cats and dogs. Then again, their first interaction was Ilse roughing up Emily on her first day of school and screaming that all Murrays were terrible, so it makes sense.
  • K-On! has Ritsu and Mio, with the former constantly bullying the latter and the latter often hitting the former; regardless, they make no effort to hide the fact that they do care for each other, and their friendship is arguably the closest out of the main group.
  • Kagerou Project loves this.
    • First there's hikiNEET Shintarou and Ene, the cyber girl who lives in his electronics. They're almost always fighting, and Ene has practically made it her job to troll him whenever chance she gets. Despite this they actually do care about each other and Ene is genuinely trying too get Shintarou to lighten up the only way she can.
    • Kido and Kano. Kano teases Kido and purposely does things to provoke her (sometimes to points of violence) and the two bicker constantly. They actually care a whole lot for each other, having grown up together and helped the other maintain their eye abilities — crosses over into Slap-Slap-Kiss territory sometimes, as it's hard to tell just how close they are.
    • Hibiya and Momo have this going on too, even once Momo managed to become a Cool Big Sis to Hibiya.
  • Tomoe and Mizuki, Nanami's two servants, from Kamisama Kiss. Mizuki first showed up in a minor villain role before being defeated by Tomoe. A short while later Mizuki entered into a magic contract with Nanami, much to Tomoe's displeasure. They work together and even have a somewhat friendly understanding while at the same time competing enthusiastically for Nanami's affection and approval.
  • Kenichi and Tanimoto in Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple. After he first defeats him in combat, Kenichi insists becoming Tanimoto's best friend despite the fact that Tanimoto wants nothing more than to beat his face in. Being a Slave to PR, he's willing to tolerate it, but once nobody's looking...
  • The two main protagonists of Kishin Douji Zenki are the titular Zenki himself, a Fiery Redhead Blood Knight who cares very little for humanity, and Chiaki, a cheerful Nice Girl who believes in the good in mankind. Both have a tendency to constantly bicker and argue with each other, plus Zenki might even sometimes try to kill her in his unsealed form from time to time and Chiaki would get annoyed with his way of doing things and subject him to humorous punishments and teasing. But when the time comes that they're working together, they both prove to be Platonic Life-Partners and fight alongside each other really well as a team, and they even genuinely care for each other deep down. Zenki would often leap to her defense when she's in danger, and Chiaki would show concern for him when he gets hurt.
  • The two leads of KonoSuba, Kazuma and Aqua, give off this impression, though sometimes it verges onto Headbutting Heroes territory. Much more vitriolic than most examples since the two are rarely ever not hostile to one another.
  • Konata and Kagami from Lucky Star are pretty good examples of this (or Belligerent Sexual Tension, depending on how seriously you take the Les Yay vibes). Much of their dialogue consists of verbal jousting, and the barbs get quite vicious on occasion. You just know that both would happily give every organ in their body to the other if they had to.
  • Yuuno and Chrono develop this kind of relationship in between the first and second seasons of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. The Comically Serious Chrono teases Yuuno about his ferret form, and these are the only jokes he ever makes.
  • The Male Leads Little Lion Daughter: A parent-and-child example is shown between Lionia Voreoti and her adopted father, Duke Pelliot Voreoti. When Duke Voreoti decided to adopt a child on a whim, Lionia is the only one who didn't cry at the mere sight of his Face of a Thug. Indeed, she talks back, talks smack, and isn't afraid to go on the attack. As their relationship develops, playful teasing is their primary form of communication and affection; it is clearly affectionate as Pelliot is a doting father who helps Lionia and offers emotional support when she needs it, while Lionia in turn eventually becomes able to call him "Dad" after some initial hesitation.
  • Kouji Kabuto and Boss from Mazinger Z and its sequels (Great Mazinger and UFO Robo Grendizer) and spin-offs (Mazinkaiser, Shin Mazinger, Shin Mazinger Zero...). Their first meeting consisted of Boss picking one fight with Kouji. They often bicker with each other, but they do get along rather well.
  • Michiko Malandro and Atsuko Jackson from Michiko & Hatchin, maybe with a side of Unrequited Love.
  • Tohru and Elma from Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid were close friends in the backstory, until they had a falling out... in theory anyways. Despite claiming to be bitter rivals, their actions are much closer to that of friends in the middle of an ongoing argument, something which Kobayashi repeatedly lampshades. Of course, it helps that both of them secretly want to become friends again, something which comes to pass in chapter 64. Season 1 of the anime even had this as the subject of their shared Image Song, despite not covering the events of their former friendship until the following season.
  • Mitsuba Marui & Miku Sugisaki from Mitsudomoe are generally rivals for the title of the Alpha Bitch. However, if one thinks the other's in genuine trouble (Mitsuba is sick, or Mitsuba thinks Miku's been kidnapped) they'll go to the other's aid.
  • From Monster Rancher, we have Tiger and Hare, both who love nothing more than to snark and insult each other. But if the other was in any trouble, the other won't hesitate for a second to jump in and help them.
  • In Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Hori constantly gets pissed off at Kashima for one reason or the other and Kashima often teases Hori or tries to do him favors that end up looking like harassment on his end, but when all's said and done they clearly respect and admire each other, and otherwise get along very well. Sometimes Kashima actually provokes Hori on purpose because she enjoys the attention.
  • My Bride is a Mermaid: Kai and Nagasumi spend about 90% of their shared screentime fighting or otherwise being antagonistic towards each other, but during an episode where Kai is Mistaken for Dying Nagasumi is genuinely grieved at the thought and treats him with respect, trying to make his last days as good as possible. And in the finale, they have no problem working together toward a common goal.
  • My Monster Secret:
    • It seems to be the only kind of friendship the demon Principal Akane can have with anyone: she and Youko are constantly snarking at and trolling each other, but Youko admits she "likes Akane a bit" and Akane often helps Youko in a Trickster Mentor way. The same Akane is close friends with Youko's not-quite-Yamato Nadeshiko mother Touko, who stills likes to repay her for all her trolling in their high-school days. She's also constantly exploiting and trolling Fallen Angel Shirogane Karen, but Karen's the only person she's willing to treat to a meal.
    • Okada and Mikan have this dynamic, with Oka often taking little shots at Mikan, as if he was waiting for her retaliation. It turns out he has a crush on her (and she seems aware of it), but Cannot Spit It Out, considering his snarky and nonchalant personality.
  • Naruto:
    • Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno following their reconciliation in the Chunin Exams.
    • Back when Sasuke was still with Konoha, he and Naruto were like this, trading insults and each giving as good as they got. After he left, their relationship crossed into a different trope. They were this once again when Sasuke joins up with him again in the fight against Madara. After Sasuke's permanent Heel–Face Turn, they truly go back to this, with Naruto insulting him as they lay bloodied and battered after their last fight. This remains even in adulthood, with Naruto getting comedically angry at Sasuke for insulting him over his performance in their battle with Shin Uchiha Sr.
    • To varying degrees, Naruto has this with some of the Konoha 11, most notably Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Shino, and Neji. Naruto often makes fun of his friends for their personality quirks, and they make fun of him for his, but they stand together in dangerous times. In a filler arc, the Arc Villain whom Naruto had often talked with reminds him of how he often complained about his friends. Naruto responds that while they do fight, he likes them and trusts them to help stop his Evil Plan. In fact, the only one of Naruto's friends who he completely subverts and averts this is his future wife Hinata, because he's always nice to her whenever they're together and he never once berates her for anything.
    • The reason why Naruto has a vitriolic relationship with Shikamaru, Kiba, and Choji in particular is because they were all in the same class at the Academy together and, despite their different personalities, all four of them pissed off Iruka with their bratty behavior when it came to study. Their bond despite the bickering is especially shown during the "Sasuke Recovery Mission" where they (as well as Neji) come to help Naruto out.
    • Kakashi and Guy are very much this. At times, they consider themselves rivals and challenge each other to contests of skill, such as eating contests, racing, and playing Rock, Paper, Scissors, which Kakashi usually wins (e.g forcing Guy to have walk around Konoha on his hands). At other times, they dance together and give each other piggy back rides both acting like total man children. Then, when the need arises, they become Bash Brothers. Why Kakashi and Guy are such close friends is likely due to Sakumo (Kakashi's dad) asking Guy to be friends with his son, as both their fathers are dead along with Kakashi's teammates so Guy is literally the only true companion Kakashi has apart from his students. By the time of Boruto, Kakashi and Guy are Heterosexual Life-Partners.
    • Rock Lee and Neji are certainly this. Whenever Team Guy is shown in canon or filler episodes, Rock Lee and Neji are nearly always at odds thanks to their completely different mentalities. Lee believes in hard work and training to overcome odds, while Neji believes in natural talent and birthright. After the Chūnin Exams and Neji's philosophy is crushed by Naruto, Neji and Lee become more vitriolic. At one point after seeing Guy piggy back Kakashi, Lee immediately offers to do the same to Neji who, as The Stoic, is perturbed. When Neji dies in the Final Battle, Lee cries his eyes out.
  • Asuna and Ayaka from Negima! Magister Negi Magi, to the point that their classmates worry about them if they aren't fighting. Asuna calls Ayaka a pedophile for having a crush on Adorably Precocious Child Negi, while Ayaka belittles Asuna for having a crush on her much older teacher and for getting terrible grades. Despite this, they're tight enough that it borders on Les Yay on some occasions (Asuna even admitted late in the series that meeting Ayaka "might have been the best luck she had in her life").
  • Nichijou:
  • One Piece:
    • The Straw Hats in general are like this toward one another, at any given time at least two or three of them are arguing and/or hitting each other. They're basically a Vitriolic Crew. But don't let that fool you, they're all immensely fond of each other. If you hurt one of them, the others WILL kick your ass (and considering they are, as of now, considered one of the most dangerous crews on the New World...). The most notable examples are:
      • Sanji and Zoro. If they're not fighting together they're snarking at each other. Cue many a Yaoi Fangirl's speculation as to what would happen if they snap. Played up for laughs by Oda himself. Hell since Mihawk is rarely present in the series, Zoro and Sanji are the series constant rivals always trying to one up each other. They even unknowingly challenged each other to the same hunting competition that the two legendary giants, Dorry and Brogy did 100 years ago, despite their differences they have underlying respect and understanding for each other which they'd never admit to.
      • Sanji often expresses disdain towards the most male members of the Straw Hats, usually only seeming to care about the safety and well-being of the female members (all two of them). He has shown to care for them, particularly Usopp and Chopper, he just usually won't express it apart from giving guidance in a crisis. This was also his relationship with his adopted father figure. In fact, he doesn't act angry around men he actually hates, preferring a coolly snotty maitre d'-like attitude. It's only after he makes friends with a man that he'll deign to screech insults at them.
      • Some of the loudest shouting matches are between Nami and Usopp, with either one calling out the other on whatever zaniness they're trying to pull. When they're not fighting, however, they're working together to keep up with the physically-stronger members of the crew. Usopp even provides Nami with magic weapons and helps her work out strategies for using them. This is probably because Nami and Usopp are the only members of the original crew with above-average intelligence, as the other smarter members (Chopper, Nico Robin, Franky, and Brook) did not join until later.
    • Not that there aren't fully un-vitriolic relationships in the crew, despite how it may sound (You will pretty much never see Nami snap at Chopper or Robin the same way she will the other members, for example). Luffy meanwhile generally doesn't openly squabble and snap at the crew, though you will see them do so to him due to his Idiot Hero status. Of course they adore him and will defend him and his honor at the drop of a hat, just as well as they will snap at him for being Luffy.
      • Nami and Luffy as well. Nami beats Luffy up when he gets in one of his idiotic modes, or even when Luffy gives away treasure to random allies. But Nami is extremely protective of Luffy shown when Sanji beats up Luffy to an inch of his life, Nami slaps him as he hurt their captain despite Sanji getting infatuated with Nami, and Luffy gave Nami his Straw Hat, a privilege other Straw Hats don't necessarily claim.
    • The aforementioned Legendary Giants Dorry and Broggy are this, they were once bosom buddies until a certain hunting competition put them at odds for a century. Basically in Little Garden they try and kill each other every day but their battles constantly end in ties until their weapons break while helping the Straw Hats and they resort to their fists. Ironically when Broggy thinks he actually killed Dorry (thanks to Mr 3) he bursts into tears and later is overjoyed to learn that Dorry is okay and hugs him tightly, much like Zoro-Sanji/Shanks-Buggy they don't truly hate each other and only their Friendly Rivalry keeps them at odds.
    • Another ancient example is Montblanc Noland and Calgara of the Shandorians who started off nearly killing each other and then some Character Development became best pals which is lampshaded by Noland's men who are shocked to see how quickly the two completely different men bonded. Calgara does become hostile with Noland again for cutting down their ancestral trees but changes his mind when he learns Noland only did so to protect Calgara's people against a disease, which causes Calgara to desperately try and reach Noland who sails away. Though the Shandorians ring their Golden Bell which is a welcome sign and invitation to come back to Noland and his men, unfortunately Noland and Calgara never reunite as the former is executed and the latter dies on his currently Floating Continent.
    • Iceburg and Franky who argue about everything, from when they were young to even when they were adults. The two meet again on bitter terms after Franky's alleged death, with Franky resenting Iceburg for working with the World Government, which executed their mentor Tom, and Iceburg blaming Franky for his role in causing Tom's execution. Nevertheless, Iceburg entrusts Franky with the blueprints to Pluton even knowing Franky might be tempted to build the ship himself, and has this to say as he leaves.
      Iceburg: "We never change, do we? We yell at each other as soon as ... look, I won't forgive you and you probably won't forgive me either, but Franky..." (tears up) "... Idiot ... I'm glad ... that you're alive!"
    • The relationship of Shanks and Buggy continues to be this, no matter how much time has passed, the huge gap between their abilities, or how much Buggy continues to deny it. Funnily while Buggy rarely says anything nice about Shanks and disgusted at the sight of his Strawhat, Shanks on the other hand has nothing but fondness for Buggy. This was seen during Marineford when Shanks (whose completely serious in this arc) sees his Buggy for the first time in years he gets a big smile on his face while Buggy just antagonizes him until Shanks offers treasure.
    • Duke Dogstorm and Master Cat Viper are the of the same mold of Shanks and Buggy, Zoro and Sanji, Iceberg and Franky. In fact, despite being quite close when they were young, Dogstorm and Cat Viper cannot stand each other in the present day and the entire livelihood of Zou was shifted so the Dog and Cat could avoid each other. Dogstorm rules all day, Cat Viper rules all night, there was a massive Oh, Crap! when they both up at the same time. When actually face to face again, Dogstorm and Cat Viper insulted each other's injuries, injuries received when getting tortured together and were about to attack each other before Momonosuke stopped them. Later after the Info Dump they give the Alliance, Dogstorm and Cat Viper start reminiscing about old times and briefly act like friends again which Usopp is quick to point out.
  • Asuka Masamune and Hajime Tonomine from Otomen. Hajime considers Asuka his number one rival and takes every opportunity they meet to see who is better at the task at hand. However Asuka often asks Hajime for favors, and they keep the other's secret, i.e., their Otomen identities. Recent volumes have even shown Hajime having a grudging respect for Asuka, though that doesn't stop him from engaging his rival in battle!
  • Pokémon: The Series:
    • Ash and Misty practically named this trope. This is due to the fact despite being friends they are rivals for being top Pokémon trainers, and because their personalities naturally clash with each other. Many characters seem to take their bickering as a clue to "Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other".
      Nurse Joy: What's the saying? You only hurt the ones you love?
      Ash and Misty: (both blush) No way!!!
    • Jessie and James in Team Rocket. Though they are constantly bickering (Jessie used to beat up James quite often) they do genuinely care about each other, are good friends, and remain a team despite constantly losing to a bunch of kids. Meowth as well tends to scold or flat out scratch them when they're out of line. Yet, as demonstrated in "Unlocking the Red Chain of Events", any one of them will go to the mat for the other(s).
    • Tepig and Oshawott are a rare Pokémon example. While there have been Pokémon in the past that fought with each other despite being on the same team, these two seem to be the most recurring example. They often fight for juvenile reasons, but most of the time they're happy being on the same page.
  • Ranma ½:
    • Ranma and Ryōga eventually evolve into this, being Worthy Opponents, although this is definitely NOT the case at the start of the series. Ranma has a similar relationship with most of his other rivals, though not quite as strong.
    • Ranma and Akane, also. When they're not using their insults to deliberately hurt one another, they demonstrate a surprisingly strong rapport in which they cheerfully exchange barbs back and forth.
    • Nabiki and Kuno tend to hang out despite it mostly being Kuno bragging to her, and Nabiki making comments at his expense.
  • Reborn! (2004) does this too with Gokudera (the jerk) and Yamamoto (the oblivious idiot), mainly in the crack arcs.
  • Rebuild World:
    • With the protagonist Akira having No Social Skills, those he gets along with best, either repeatedly tease him, or he occasionally assails them with Brutal Honesty. Or there’s some mixture of both.
    • This is what Carol's friendship with Viola is like, with them each considering themselves "bad girls" and taking a sort of pride in it. Carol also enjoys teasing Sheryl for her reactions while they work together to help Akira.
    • The Playful Hacker Shirou is like this with the bodyguard assigned to him by the MegaCorp Sakashita Heavy Industries, Halmers. Halmers is the more vitriolic of the two, and they both deep down don't want the other to be hurt despite being in conflict after Shirou goes on the run.
  • Rental Magica has Adilicia and Honami, a pair of opposites bound by respect, disagreement and constant rivalry up to The Only One Allowed to Defeat You. They became like this back in Wizarding School where Addie plainly didn't perceive anyone else as even close to an equal — not that this part changed much. Even more evident in the Love Triangle: they don't mind much that Itsuki is unsure in which one he should be more interested, but instantly band together if it looks like he's distracted by someone else.
  • Kurumu, of Rosario + Vampire, becomes this kind of friend towards Mizore and Yukari after character development sets in, teasing them about the weirdness of their respective species and their attempts to snare Tsukune. (The manga is predominately a harem series, and all three originally met because they were interested in the same boy.) It's a mark of how far their characters have evolved when they can let go of their jealousy and fear to snark with the playfulness that they do, and the manga has no shortage of moments when they drop even that and just support each other.
  • Sailor Moon: Most incarnations have this in some form:
    • The 1990s Sailor Moon Anime:
      • Rei and Usagi in the anime version are a softened version. Usagi does get upset by Rei's name calling but Rei is her closest friend out of the Sailor Senshi (her death affects Usagi much worse than that of the other girls) and it is Rei who she entrusts with the silver crystal when she can't trust herself not to give it to the enemy in return for Mamoru, and later is the one who expresses more sympathy for Usagi when she finds out in Stars that Mamoru has disappeared and Usagi was a Stepford Smiler over it.
      • The DiC dub made it seem Raye was trying to usurp Serena's position as leader at times instead due to removal of subtlety in the dub. They blatantly made Raye openly express a desire to be leader instead of Serena and changed the show of trust between the two surrounding the silver crystal into having Raye keep it when Serena left it at Raye's house by accident instead of returning it.
      • And Sailor Moon Abridged took the dub version and took out the subtlety.
      • The anime also, at times, had this between Minako and Makoto. Usually when they were arguing over a guy. Interestingly this showed up in both their second season and fourth season power up episodes.
      • The anime also hints that Saphir and Esmeraude have a relationship like this. When Esmeraude gets so jealous of a captured Sailor Moon that she chooses to help her get free, Saphir guesses her intentions yet does nothing to stop her. Then he goes greet Esmeraude, confronts her on what she's done, and adds that he didn't intervene because he is also jealous of Moon.
    • In every adaptation Chibiusa's in she has this kind of relationship with Usagi. It makes this trope because the two aren't technically sister like they pretend to be and Chibiusa doesn't yet consider Usagi to be her mother They often fight over treats, toys, and Mamoru's attention. Chibiusa complains about Usagi's immaturity while Usagi complains about Chibiusa's cruelty and general brattiness. But the two do love each other very much. They both are genuinely sad when ever Chibiusa has to return home, and Chibiusa draws a picture of Usagi secretly naming it "the person I admire most" Then of course you have Usagi risking her life to save Chibiusa's best friend in the S season, jumping off a platform thousands of feet in the air in order to save Chibiusa in Super S, and jumping into a black hole to save Chibiusa in the Super S movie.
    • In the Sailor Moon manga, Rei has this type of relationship more with Minako, not Usagi. The live action version followed the manga in the case of Rei and Minako's relationship with hints that there may have been something else hidden under the fighting to the point that during fights the two always had each others backs and when Minako died it was Rei who was most upset out of the senshi despite how only a few episodes earlier Rei left them due to a fight with Minako
  • Sakura Discord has the two protagonists, Kousuke and Nomiya. Kousuke says right off the bat that he and Nomiya "can't agree on anything", yet it's obvious they can't live without each other.
  • In Sakura Quest, Maki Midorikawa, a washed-up actress, and Sanae Kozuki, a freelance web designer, often snark at each other, but are as close with each other as their other three friends in the Manoyama tourism board are.
  • Samurai Champloo. Jin and Mugen have completely opposite personalities and ultimately plan to fight to the death but are best friends. At the end of the show they finally have their fight to the death, which just ends in a draw when both their swords break. They put the whole thing behind them after that and admit to being friends.
  • Resident Blood Knights Margery Daw and her contractor Marcosius in Shakugan no Shana. Most of their interactions involve Marcosius teasing Margery, and her smacking him and calling him stupid. Despite that, they're clearly very close and rather violently protective of each other.
  • From Shaman King we have Yoh Asakura and Ren Tao with the latter usually snarking at Yoh's ideals and trust in others. Though Ren will usually go along with him anyway.
  • In Sing "Yesterday" for Me, there's Rikuo and his old friend Fukuda. Fukuda often snarks at Rikuo, and doesn't hesitate to criticize his aimlessness in life, but is one of the few friends still in touch with Rikuo, and encourages him to get his life on track. Despite often finding Fukuda annoying, Rikuo tells Shinako that if not for Fukuda, he'd still be working part-time at the convenience store, which is why he's grateful to him.
  • Cherry Blossom and Joe in Sk8 the Infinity. They've been best friends since childhood and care deeply for each other, but you'll only see them be gentle towards each other when one is hurt and pay direct compliments when the other is out of earshot. Anytime they are together on screen, they bicker, poke fun at each other, shout and snark, and use the most creative of insults.
  • Soul Eater:
    • Maka and Soul in. Soul heaps verbal abuse at his meister and gainsays her half the time, while Maka usually replies with a heavy book to Soul's face. Naturally, the two are inseparable and will Take The Bullet for each other without a moment's hesitation. In the first episode it appears Soul does not even like Maka that much... until:
      Maka: What excuse do men have for cheating?!
      Soul: *snort* How should I know? Like I said, cool guys don't cheat on their partners.
    • Later episodes and chapters make it known that this is very much a close relationship and some chapters seem to imply that their snark has to do with their own insecurities (like Soul's inferiority to his brother Wes and Maka's inferiority toward other[female] meisters who want to be Soul's partner).
    • Maka and Black*Star also fit this. Maka doesn't let Black*Star get away with his arrogance quite as much as Tsubaki and Soul seem to, and Black*Star tends to insult Maka's strength...but they've known each other since they were small (Unlucky Childhood Friend to Soul/Tsubaki, maybe?) and Black*Star not only hunts down the person who left Maka paralyzed, but becomes extremely angry with and attempts to fight Crona when Crona claims to have no memory of Maka.
  • The Story Between a Dumb Prefect and a High School Girl with an Inappropriate Skirt Length:
    • Akina and Ranko show shades of this. They are unapologetically antagonistic when it comes to their desire to win Izubuchi's affections. But outside of that, they otherwise get along reasonably well and Ranko even stops their competition to help a collapsed Akina during the sports festival.
    • Despite their constant antagonizing of each other, Izubuchi shows concern for Tsukishima when he's hurt.
  • Gertrud Barkhorn and Erica Hartmann from Strike Witches. Barkhorn is strict and disciplined. Hartmann is lazy and aloof. They bicker and argue constantly, but they have been together for years (often being roommates) and it is obvious to everyone how much they care about each other. Together they are the #1 and #2 ranked fighter aces in the world. When Hartmann gets shot down, the normally supertough and badass Barkhorn almost goes catatonic.
  • Hal and Kai from Switch (2002). Hal is constantly referring to Kai as 'useless' and 'no good', sometimes even using the phrases in place of Kai's name. Despite this, Kai remains affectionate and loyal to Hal.
  • The eponymous Tiger & Bunny don't reaaaaally fit this description until episode 25, when they're working together as willing partners but also squabbling over who's going to pay for a damaged car. Before this they were completely unwilling partners, or Barnaby was busy forgetting who Kotetsu was and hunting him down for murder... Yeah, it's complicated.
  • In Tokyo Shinobi Squad, Jin and his teammates are constantly hurling insults and Backhanded Compliments at each other, but they still work like a well-oiled machine.
    Papillon: [about Jin] He's pigheaded, but also sensitive in weird ways. He's tactless, he's got no money... but rest assured, you're safe with him. When actually decides to put in effort, he always follows through.
    Jin: Is that supposed to be a compliment? Well I'll tell you about her! She's arrogant, full of herself... she's got a bad mouth and she's superficial. There's little to like about her as a woman, but she's smart!
  • Taiga and Minori both share this with Ami by the end of Toradora!, getting to the point where Taiga's insulting nickname for Ami, "stupid chihuahua", becomes more of a term of affection.
  • Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs:
    • The protagonist Leon being a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, and his Robot Buddy Luxion being a Sarcastic Devotee, their conversations mostly consist of arguing and insults.
    • Leon remains friends with Those Two Guys Daniel and Raymond despite their Brutal Honesty criticisms of him in part due to sharing the same oppressed social status.
    • Louise’s hatred of and quarreling with Noelle develops into this over time.
  • Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!: Uzaki constantly teases Sakurai about his loner tendencies and Sakurai will often regard Uzaki as a nuisance. Still though they often hang out together and are clearly friendly with each other (and start to like each other but Cannot Spit It Out). So much so that most other characters think the two are dating.
  • The Vampire Dies in No Time: Ronaldo and Draluc live pestering each other and getting under each other's skins, and even when opportunities come up to get rid of Draluc, Ronaldo still insists he only wants him to stay because their dynamic is extremely important and popular for his books. Despite this, it's shown that they're still living together thirty years in the future.
  • Just about every word Sawamura says to Rintarou in Wa ga Na wa Umishi is snarky. He's not above hitting him either. Yet somehow the two work together great when a job needs to be done, right down to saving each others' lives multiple times.
  • Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun: Azz tends to tolerate Clara because Iruma likes her than because he himself does. The two of them are polar opposites and often bicker over Clara's antics. The narration notes that, after they bonded by trying to cook for Iruma, their number of conflicts increase.
  • Watanuki and Doumeki from ×××HOLiC. Doumeki acts like an ass around him? Check. Will Doumeki spend hours digging under the rain to rescue him? Definite check!
  • Yona of the Dawn:
    • Hak and Jaeha. They tease each other constantly, but it's very clear they respect and care for each other deeply and that Jaeha has essentially filled Suwon's old place as Hak's closest friend. Hak's nickname for Jaeha "Droopy Eyes" started out as a deliberate insult but quickly grew into an Insult of Endearment.
    • Hak and Kija. They initially didn't get along at all, but over time grew quite fond of each other. The both have insults of endearment for each other in the form "Dark Dragon" for the former and "White Snake" for the latter.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!: Jonouchi and Honda. They snipe at each other a lot, but they always have each other's back.
  • YuYu Hakusho: Kuwabara and Yusuke, who start out seemingly set up as outright rivals, except...not really. They argue with each other a lot, but Kuwabara was among the few people who were genuinely upset about Yusuke's death at the start of the series, and Yusuke would get angry if someone was screwing over Kuwabara. They two develop the closest bond among Team Urameshi.
  • Zombie Land Saga: Saki and Lily. The two rib at each other endlessly. Saki gives Lily all sorts of demeaning nicknames based on her height and age, and mocks her absurdly masculine dead name. Lily often mocks Saki's overenthusiasm and gruff demeanor, and is usually the first to snark whenever Saki is Suddenly Shouting. Though it's all mostly harmless, and the two clearly maintain a strong friendship through it all.

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